Walls to Bridges Course Application Form

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SDS 240R – W2025 Art & Society: Imagining Justice and Liberation

IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION
Please ensure you read the following prior to completing or submitting this application.

This is a Walls to Bridges(W2B) course. That means it takes place inside the Grand Valley Institution for Women, which is a federal prison in Kitchener/Waterloo. W2B classes involve equal numbers of incarcerated (“inside”) students and university/college-based (“outside”) students learning together as peers.

Of particular note:

This is a 0.5-credit course and oral participation will be more stringent than a typical undergraduate class, and the pedagogy involves a fuller responsibility toward the course’s learning goal than in a traditional classroom.
Because the course takes place inside a correctional facility, all students must follow rules established by the prison. We’ll share those rules with all students and welcome any and all questions.
Students are responsible for their transportation to and from the Grand Valley Institution for Women at 1575 Homer Watson Blvd, Kitchener, Ontario.
Cell phones, laptops, tablets, cigarettes, vapes, marijuana are all contraband and must be left at home. Sometimes students will be sniffed by a trained CSC dog.
Walls to Bridges courses include a large group project.
The Walls to Bridges program includes guidelines that shape dynamics of privacy and respect inside and out of the classroom. This includes a commitment from “outside” students to not investigate their classmates’ conviction histories.

Applicant Information

First Name

Last Name

Faculty/Program/Level of Study

(example ARTS - SDS - 2A)

UWaterloo ID #

Please enter your UWaterloo Student ID #

UWaterloo Email

Please enter your UWaterloo email.

Background and Statement of Intent

1. What draws you to this course? What do you think it might offer you? What do you bring to it?

2. What seems most challenging to you personally about taking a course like this? How would you try to meet that challenge?

3. What impressions about prison and jail did you receive growing up? If you think about your current understanding of the Canadian criminal justice system: where does that understanding come from? What various sources have helped shape your current understanding of it?

4. Prisons are very different from university environments. Your movement in the building is limited and there are different rules than in the university. These rules include no electronics inside the prison, no purses, bags, or food, no exchanging of personal information, first name use only, and being escorted to the washroom. W2B are unique courses where the experience can feel transformative and uplifting. However, we also ask if you feel prepared to take a course in this environment?

5. Have you ever had the experience of trying to find your way in a relatively foreign environment or with a group of strangers? Please offer comments about this experience.

6. This course includes a lot of sharing opinions and ideas and sometimes people disagree. How do you think you respond to tension or discomfort between people?

Walls to Bridges T-shirt sizing

We have unisex Walls to Bridges t-shirts for all students. What is your t-shirt size?

Have you previously taken a course(s) with Professor Fortier?

Please let us know yes or no. If yes, please let us know which course you have taken with Professor Fortier and which term it was taken in.