Main content

Students for Prison Education and Reform Records

Notifications

Held at: Princeton University Library: University Archives [Contact Us]

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: University Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Students for Prison Education and Reform

Students for Prison Education and Reform (SPEAR) is a student organization that works to empower students to advocate for prison reform on issues such as mass incarceration, educational opportunities for prisoners, solitary confinement, the death penalty and related issues. SPEAR has five committees that work to advance its mission: events, education, research, advocacy, and communications.

The Students for Prison Education and Reform (SPEAR) records consist of documents used by the leadership team of the organization to advance its mission including meeting minutes, planning documents, documents that outline the goals and aspirations of the organization, and materials relating to the organizational structure of the group. The files were created and utilized by SPEAR members in the Google Drive platform; when the files were downloaded by the processing archivist, however, they were converted to Microsoft Word and Excel formats.

The folders are arranged chronologically.

The records were donated by the SPEAR organization in December 2015 (accession number AR.2015.110) as part of the Archiving Student Activism at Princeton (ASAP) initiative. Additional records were donated in April 2016 (accession number AR.2016.037).

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

This collection contains files that were created in the Google Drive platform. The files converted to Microsoft Word and Excel files when downloaded by the processing archivist. Researchers are responsible for meeting the technical requirements needed to access these materials, including any and all hardware and software.

This collection was processed by Lynn Durgin in December 2015. Finding aid created by Lynn Durgin in December 2015 and updated in November 2016.

Appraisal was conducted according to Mudd Manuscript Library policies and procedures.

Publisher
University Archives
Access Restrictions

This collection is restricted until 2025 October 2.

Use Restrictions

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. The Trustees of Princeton University hold copyright to all materials generated by Princeton University employees in the course of their work. For instances beyond Fair Use, if copyright is held by Princeton University, researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of materials from the Princeton University Archives.

For instances beyond Fair Use where the copyright is not held by the University, while permission from the Library is not required, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Collection Inventory

Scope and Contents

44 digital folders

Includes meeting minutes, planning documents, documents that outline the goals and aspirations of the organization, and materials relating to the organizational structure of the group. The files were created and utilized by SPEAR members in the Google Drive platform; when the files were downloaded by the processing archivist, however, they were converted to Microsoft Word and Excel formats.

Physical Description

14 items

Fall 2013, 2013 August 12-2015 December 6. 1 item.
Scope and Contents

5 digital folders

Includes materials related to outreach, leadership roles and structure, meeting minutes and related documents.

Physical Description

1 item

Spring 2014, 2014 February 3-2014 May 12. 1 item.
Scope and Contents

5 digital folders

Includes materials relating to full group meetings and leadership team meetings of SPEAR, as well as files related to projects and events.

Physical Description

1 item

Expansion, 2014 April-2014 July 29. 1 item.
Scope and Contents

1 digital folder

Includes planning documents related to the development of the organization.

Physical Description

1 item

Fall 2014, 2014 February 4-2015 December 6. 1 item.
Scope and Contents

18 digital folders

Indcludes materials related to advocacy for solitary confinement issues, the Project Solidarity intitiative (in which Princeton students correspond with prisoners), "Abolish the Box" efforts (relating to criminal history questions on the common application for undergraduate admission), as well as meeting notes, agendas and related materials.

Physical Description

1 item

Spring 2015, 2015 January 30-2015 December 6. 1 item.
Scope and Contents

10 digital folders

Includes files on advocacy for removing the criminal history questions from the common application for undergraduate admission, documents relating to the 2015 annual conference, documents related to the events committee, meeting agendas and notes, photographs of the Central Park Five discussion, and related documents.

Physical Description

1 item

Fall 2015, 2015 September 19-2015 December 6. 1 item.
Scope and Contents

5 digital folders

Includes materials related to the Communications Committee, the 2015 annual conference, leadership meetings and related files.

Physical Description

1 item

Uncategorized SPEAR Documents, 2015. 1 item.
Scope and Contents

Includes files related to event planning, outreach, and governance.

Physical Description

1 item

Scope and Contents

Consists of documents that were created and used by leadership team of organization in the Spring of 2016. The files were created as Google docs in the Google Drive platform; when the files were downloaded by the processing archivist, however, they were converted to Microsoft Word and Excel formats.

Physical Description

73 digital files

Full-group Meetings, 2016 February 23-2016 March 1. 4 digital files.
Physical Description

4 digital files

SAPR (Student Alliance for Prison Reform), 2016 January 19-2016 January 31. 2 digital files.
Physical Description

2 digital files

Sentencing, 2016 January 20-2016 January 20. 1 digital file.
Physical Description

1 digital file

Post-Incarceration, 2016 February 22-2016 February 22. 1 digital file.
Physical Description

1 digital file

Conference 2016, 2016 February 14-2016 April 17. 16 digital files.
Physical Description

16 digital files

Uncategorized Spring 2016 Documents, 2016 January 13-2016 April 14. 26 digital files.
Physical Description

26 digital files

Education, 2016 February 29-2016 April 18. 13 digital files.
Physical Description

13 digital files

Leadership Meetings, 2016 January 09-2016 March 8. 8 digital files.
Physical Description

8 digital files

PPD, 2016 April 12-2016 April 19. 3 digital files.
Scope and Contents

Deals with private prisons.

Physical Description

3 digital files

Print, Suggest