Written by Jwoo
This section of the OPEEP newsletter, called “A Day in the Life,” is a space to share about the daily lives of students at our partner prison facilities. Our goal with the series is to demystify the everyday lives of incarcerated people and the spaces of prison. We believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to learn more about prisons and the people they house so that we can work against the harmful stereotypes that buttress our country’s carceral state and logics. So thank you for reading and sharing in this work!
Each contribution is written and shared by the student directly. There is some light editing for clarity and space.
_______________________________
4:45 am: A hand shakes me awake. It's the CO, who tells me I am on the list for random drug testing this morning.
5:10 am: After the COs’ count, I get dressed and wait by the gate with a large group for them to clear count.
5:30 am: Count clears and about 20 guys move to the front door, waiting for the call for people to be tested.
5:32 am: As soon as the CO opens the door, all 20 people sprint to the gym where they conduct the test. All six dorms release 20 to 40 people each, all at once.
5:33 am: I'm 4th in line, out of breath from the sprint. The administrators crack jokes about being “down with the OPP” as we collect our bottles and head to the bathroom for the pee test. The task is quick and painless and as I leave to head back, the line has built to around 100 people. Meanwhile, the guy who was in line behind me gets cuffed and sent to the hole because he tried to pass a vial of fake pee as his.
6:00 am: Lights on. I have to go to commissary. I am puppy raising and if I don't bring my dog with me, the lady in charge will be disappointed, so I go fetch Fritter from the kennel and we head to commissary.
7:00 am: The lady is nice to me today (thanks Fritter!) but yells at three different people while I'm there. I leave with 90% of what I had planned to get on my slip (a list of groceries), which is luckier than normal. Once we hand the slip over, we don’t see it again so it's hard to confirm what we don’t get.
9:00 am: There's a canine meeting that no one knew about. Me and Fritter get dressed up to talk to the service dog reps. He looks good with his yellow vest on, which lets the world know he's a service dog in training.
10:30 am: Meeting wraps up and I go back to my rack for counts at 11:00
11:30 am: Once count clears, I have to do school work. I have a lot to get done.
1:00 am: I have the privilege of being able to do my own laundry rather than sending it off because the dog work I do – and all that dog hair. Now that’s a good boy.
2:30 pm: Nap time for me and Fritter
4:00 pm: Standing count
4:30 pm: Decompression time. I head to the dog yard for two hours of running and playing with Fritter. Today, there’s few clouds, it’s not too hot, surprisingly nice with the sun out.
7:00 pm: I come back to the dorm. My friends peer pressure me to play cards until count.
9:00 pm: Count time. Fritter's bedtime. I put my hoodie over the kennel to keep the heat in overnight, as it gets quite cold in there.
9:30 pm: Peer pressured into more cards. Hearts again.
11:00 pm: Rush to take a shower before count
12:00 pm: Count time and bedtime. Today was actually better than most days.