Lycoming College News

Death penalty opponent to speak

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Vicki Schieber, an opponent of the death penalty, will speak at Lycoming College on Thursday, March 31, at 7 p.m. in the Mary Lindsay Welch Honors Hall. The free, public event is sponsored by Lycoming’s United Campus Ministry and Criminal Justice Department, the United Churches of Lycoming County and Pax Christi of Northeast Pennsylvania.

In 1998, Schieber’s daughter, Shannon, was raped and murdered while attending graduate school on a full scholarship at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Despite their tragic loss and strongly motivated by Christian moral principles, Schieber and her husband, Sylvester, have dedicated their lives to seeking an abolition of the death penalty.

Schieber is chair of the national organization Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights and has published pieces in the “Philadelphia Inquirer” and the “Washington Post.” She has testified before the United States Senate, as well as other legislative arenas, and speaks regularly to church and student organizations. In 2008, she served as a member of the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment. The Schieber family story has been included in an NBC film on the death penalty.

Lycoming College is a national liberal arts and sciences school dedicated to the undergraduate education of 1,400 students. It is recognized as a Tier 1 institution by U.S. News and World Report. Founded in 1812 in Williamsport, Pa., Lycoming is one of the 50 oldest colleges in the nation.

Lycoming hosts State Prison Society community conversation

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

Author, advocate and former inmate speaks as part of Strauser Lecture Series

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - R. Dwayne Betts, a former inmate, prison reform advocate and the recipient of the 2010 NAACP Image Award for Literary Debut, spoke at Lycoming College as part of the 12th annual Larry Strauser Lectureship in Criminal Justice on Thursday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. Heim Building G-11.

At 16 years old, Betts, a good student from a lower-middle class family, carjacked a man. He had never held a gun before, but with this first offense, he committed six felonies within minutes. Betts pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison. While there, he became a poet, an advocate and an educator. His first book, the memoir "A Question of Freedom," was published in August 2009. It chronicles his years in prison during which he reflected on his crime and whether a "moment of insanity" would, or would not, define him. In 2010, Betts received the NAACP Image Award for Literary Debut for this book.

An advocate for juvenile justice and prison reform, Betts is also the national spokesperson for the Campaign for Youth Justice and recently published a book of poems, "Shahid Reads His Own Palm."

The Strauser Lecture Series, sponsored by Lycoming's criminal justice department, is held each year to honor the memory of Larry Strauser, a 1959 Lycoming graduate and member of the College’s faculty from 1973 until his death in 1999. Strauser, who earned a master's in public administration from the University of Arizona, started the interdisciplinary criminal justice program at Lycoming in 1977.

Photo 1: R Dwayne Betts

Photo 2 (left to right): Dr. Susan Ross, chair and associate professor of criminal justice; Megan Hoffman '13; Erik Book '13; Ed Robbins, intructor of criminal justice and Lycoming County chief juvenile probation officer; R. Dwayne Betts; Dr. Elyshia Aseltine, assistant professor of criminal justice; and Kerry Richmond, assistant professor of criminal justice

College to host forum on restorative justice and conflict resolution

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.—Lycoming College’s criminal justice department will hold a forum on restorative justice, mediation and conflict resolution and how these principles can be integrated into the criminal justice system. The event will be held On Wednesday, Oct. 20, in the Academic Center C-303 at 7 p.m.

Featured speakers will be Marie Hamilton and Melanie Snyder. Hamilton has been a volunteer in the Pennsylvania prison system for more than 30 years. She has been influential in implementing a variety of programs based on restorative justice and conflict resolution in the prisons.

Snyder recently wrote a book about Hamilton’s work titled, “Grace Goes to Prison: An Inspiring Story of Hope and Humanity.”