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Sam Duffy (GV junior) is in the process of creating a documentary that aims to exploit the connection between schools and the legal system. Duffy has been an avid photographer for a while, but when he became bored with taking pictures, he decided to transition his skills to videography. For Duffy, this project is the first of its kind.

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“The movie originally started because I have to do it for a human relations class.

It’s only supposed to be five minutes, but I got really interested in the topic. My idea came from previous classes, like my homelessness class with Eric Burmeister. All of this combined kind of triggered my mind and said Let’s do this. I’ve recently built a big interest on the school-to-prison pipeline, and my goal is to exploit that.

The school-to-prison pipeline is a phenomenon where schools are funneling students into the legal system and getting them in trouble not just by suspension but by taking legal action, as well. For example, school resource officers were originally implemented into schools to prevent school shootings. Now, it’s at a point where if a teacher can’t handle something, the school resource officer is the one stepping in.

There are several studies about this kind of thing, and one of the most interesting facts is that 68 percent of male prisoners do not have a high school diploma. So why are we trying to take kids out of high schools when we know that it is not good for them?

My goal is to finish by the end of summer, but I want to make sure it is really good by the time I put it out there. I’m just doing my part to spread awareness about this very real issue.”