Telephone and letter illustration. Aubrie Rice // Publicity Center
By MacKenzie Dexter
With Washington entering another month of quarantine due to COVID-19, Washington’s correctional facilities as well as college students are finding ways to make sure everyone is safe and connected during the pandemic.
Shred the Contract [STC], a Western student organization, is working to support those incarcerated in local and state correctional facilities during COVID-19.
“As a group, we strive to recognize the humanity in everyone, and know that nobody has been sentenced to death by a virus,” Dana Ericksen, Western senior and STC member, said in an email. “We started supporting folks incarcerated at the Whatcom Jail because they are a part of our community, and we recognize how at risk and vulnerable they are at this moment.”
While STC’s primary focus is ending Western’s contract with Aramark Corporation, Western’s food service provider, Ericksen said that their fight to support incarcerated people and Aramark’s relationship to Western are more related than one might think.
Whatcom Jail also uses Aramark for their food services. The connection from the food service sparked the STC to stand up for rights of incarcerated individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I also want to point out that Whatcom Jail also uses Aramark as their dining provider, though we would be doing this work regardless,” Ericksen said in an email. “We are most directly supporting these folks through our letter writing events and by asking our followers to call the jail and demand adequate protection and release of people.”
Since the spread of COVID-19 has caused national and statewide lockdowns, fears over lack of social distancing, limited sanitation and vulnerability for those incarcerated made STC take action.
Ericksen and members of STC are encouraging people to follow their social media pages so they can stay up to date on meetings and new information pertaining to their efforts. Contact information of elected officials are also available on their pages in an effort to voice students’ concerns over incarcerated individuals safety. Some of their requests are to stop booking people in the Whatcom Jail until the pandemic is over, to supply sanitary items and to release those over 50 and the immunocompromised who are awaiting trial. STC also provides scripts that can be used for the phone calls to elected officials.
“We are also asking folks to make calls to elected officials, as well as the jails and prisons themselves to put pressure on people who have the power to do the right thing,” Ericksen said in an email. “We have specific demands on our social media, but generally these involve increasing safety measures in prisons and releasing folks.”
Ericksen said that the guidelines, such as social distancing, that individuals are supposed to follow during the COVID-19 pandemic are challenging for incarcerated individuals. These requests for safety don’t just come from students.
“Many of these demands come directly from people inside who are asking the public to do these actions,” Ericksen said in an email. “Our elected officials have been elected by us, and it’s important that they hear from us and use the power that they have justly.”
Corrections Chief Wendy Jones said that specifically for Whatcom County’s jail, every inmate who enters the building is screened. This includes taking their temperature and asking if they have any symptoms relating to COVID-19. If they answer yes or have a fever, they are referred to a health care staff for further screenings and given a mask.
“If the medical staff determine that someone may have COVID[-19] or who has a recent history of a possible exposure, they will do a COVID[-19] test and the individual will be isolated until we have the results,” Jones said in an email. “If there is credible history of a possible exposure, they will be quarantined until it is determined they are negative.”
Jones said that depending on how ill a person is, they will be treated in isolation or discharged to the quarantine area for services.
“In the case of COVID[-19]-if they are not presenting with serious symptoms requiring hospitalization, we would either place them in medical isolation or, depending on their legal charges and whether or not they had a place to live, might go to the Court and request a medical temporary release,” Jones said in an email.
According to Jones, this means the individual would be released to go home with the proper care and safety instructions for them and anyone else who may live with them. Or, the individual would need to check with the Health Department to see if they could stay at the new quarantine location in Bellingham on Byron St. Once the individual recovers they would return to custody.
Jones said those incarcerated at Whatcom Jail showing symptoms of any illness, not just COVID-19, will be treated by their medical staff.
“If someone has an illness that is presenting with serious symptoms—great difficulty in breathing, chest pains, stomach pain, edema, etc., we will either get them into the ER, or if it is something like issues with their stomach, we might run a bunch of tests, then our doctor would refer to a gastroenterologist, etc,” Jones said in an email.
Jones said that all areas of the jail are cleaned and sanitized multiple times a day. She also said that starting in mid-March of 2020 the jail has been reducing its population with booking restrictions. Jones said that inmates are not given hand sanitizer, due to the risk that inmates will drink it, but soap is provided.
“With the assistance of local law enforcement, the court systems, the prosecutor’s office and the public defenders, this has resulted in a 75% reduction in bookings and an approximately 50% reduction in our average daily population,” Jones said in an email. “With this reduction, we are able to house people in units where they are able to maintain social distancing.”
Jones said that while she has not heard from STC, she said that several Western professors have demanded that inmates be released and to not take in any inmates over fear of individuals getting sick.
Jones wants to make it clear that neither she nor the sheriff have the authority to release inmates once they are admitted.
“Individuals remain in jail because of a decision of a judge,” Jones said in an email. “Our prosecutor’s and public defender’s office have worked very collaboratively with the court system to move as many offenders out of the facility as they can without endangering the safety of the public.”
According to Jones, as of May 29, no cases of COVID-19 from inmates and staff have been reported at Whatcom Jail.
More information about COVID-19, including number of confirmed cases, can be found on The Washington State Department of Corrections website.
Besides calling elected officials, STC also hosts letter writing Zoom meetings to write to those incarcerated.
“We are doing this to offer support and kind words to those inside, and to let them know that there are people out here who see them and care,” Ericksen said in an email. “We are also holding these events in the hopes of educating others about the issues and conditions those inside are facing, as well as providing a space to build community.”
Westrum Lowe, a STC member, said that he believes it is important to show support and contact those incarcerated, even without the impacts of COVID-19.
“We must remember the individuals currently incarcerated are still a part of our community. Many of the people currently incarcerated will eventually leave and work toward rebuilding their lives as our neighbors,” Lowe said in an email. “One aspect of letter writing is to remind us of that.”
STC also hosts an Abolition Study Group to facilitate discussion of what the absence of prisons would look like. Members read, watch videos and listen to podcasts before coming together to meet and discuss the materials. Ericksen said that while much of their work focuses on direct action, educating themselves and having discussions is also important.
“This can be an isolating time for many, but this is also such a crucial time to build community, and we are hoping to create a space for this within these events,” Ericksen said in an email.
Michael Prostka, STC member, said that he hopes their conversations and their efforts resonant with attendees so they can carry similar work outside the community.
“I think it’s important to remember that the people involved in these study groups and letter writings (including us) still have a lot to learn about incarceration, abolition, resistance tactics, and everything else,” Prostka said in an email. “By forming these groups, we hope to create a space where this knowledge can be shared, developed, and expanded.”
On May 31, Western’s STC, Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights [SUPER], Young Democratic Socialists of America [YDSA] and The Whatcom Peace and Justice Center are hosting “Community Caravan: A Day of Abolitionist Action.” At noon, they will be traveling from Whatcom Jail to Western to request that Western admin end the dining contract with Aramark. More information about the event can be found on STC’s Instagram.