SVCC Student Is Doing Good With His Time
While doing time, Saleem Abdul-Basir is using his time to create something positive for the rest of the world. Basir, an inmate at Lunenburg Correctional Center in Victoria, Virginia, is the author of the Annual African American History Contest sponsored by Southside Virginia Community College. The contest is also held within the prison system for interested inmates through the Education Department.
For the past five years, Southside Virginia Community College sponsors an African American Quiz Contest for students and the community. Recently, some of those who make the event possible as well as one of the contestants met at Lunenburg Correctional Center. They are (Left to Right) Bernadette Battle, Counselor at SVCC’s Christanna Campus, Saleem Abdul-Basir, contest author, Ronald Walker, an inmate who got 100 percent correct on the quiz, Le’Tina Giles, Student Activities Coordinator on the John H. Daniel Campus, and Ann Cavan, Principal, Department of Correctional Education, LCC. |
Basir compiles the annual quiz throughout the year. Since inmates do not have access to the Internet, he uses the resources of the small library located at the prison, donated magazines and books and newspapers to research the contest questions and answers each year. Basir uses about 20 to 25 books and other resources in his research. The test is not easy, it takes knowledge and research on the part of participants.
SVCC has sponsored the quiz for college students and the community during the past five years. Monetary prizes are awarded and a special luncheon is hosted for the winners. LCC has offered the contest within its walls for the past ten years. In 2009, one inmate, Ronald Walker, aced the contest. Prizes are also awarded to the winners at LCC.
The contest author graduated from SVCC while incarcerated and also completed the Cisco Networking program. He works as an administrative aid in the Education Department of the prison. He can work with the computers in the area and has self-taught himself much of the software and troubleshooting.
As Imam, leader of the Muslim community at LCC, Basir leads religious services on Fridays. He counsels other inmates through his religion which he converted to during the 1960s. He has served in this capacity at the Virginia State Penitentiary, Nottoway Correctional Center and LCC.
The Make It Happen Program has been held at SVCC since 1998 and was established to enhance the retention and graduation rates of minority males at the college. Recently, a chapter was started at the prison with some modifications to the existing program held on campus. Basir acts as inmate advisor for the program at LCC. In this capacity, he acts as liaison with the college students, the administration of the DCE School and SVCC. His selection was made for several reasons including the fact that he is an SVCC graduate, has worked for DCE in various schools and has been incarcerated for numerous years and has taken every opportunity to improve himself through college, vocational programs, academic programs, computer expertise, and also, is author of the history quiz.
There are three main goals of the new program including retention of African-American male inmates enrolled at SVCC , helping them maintain a 2.75 GPA, acting as a bridge between the inmates and the other participants so that they will not do the things that got the inmate in prison in the first place, and to show that inmates are not negative like portrayed in the media but can give back to the community in positive ways.
One way the program is giving back is by packaging African Daisy/Showstar seeds for elementary school students. These can be planted and grown and are part of a service project the inmates undertook for the community.
Within the prison walls, Basir is able to counsel prisoners, especially the younger ones just coming into the system.
“I can help them see and learn from our mistakes, avoid the pitfalls,” he said. He also notes that education is a key to survival in a penal institution.
“You have to do your time but your mind belongs to you,” he said about encouraging other inmates to learn.
Dr. John Cavan, SVCC President, strongly believes that education is the key to stopping repeat offenders. He encourages the staff of the college to offer classes behind the walls as well as programs like Make-It-Happen that benefit students on campus and those that are incarcerated as well as the community. Also, Dr. Cavan is very enthusiastic every February about the African-American Quiz Contest.
History is being made every day. One day, one of the questions on the African-American Quiz might be “What author compiled the most information on African-American History in a lifetime? “ The answer: Our own Saleem Abdul Basir.
(c) 2009. Southside Virginia Community College. All rights reserved.
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