Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Some within academic and public quarters have stated, oftentimes forcefully, that the spread of radical Islam within the correctional facilities of the United States and other states, poses an inherent and immediate threat to the security of these countreis. The goal of this paper is to examine the actual extent of the threat posed by the spread of radical Islam within the prison systems of the United States and other states. In the course of the paper we will attempt to answer the following questions: How do we define the risk? What is its nature? Is it a true threat or merely a perceived one? If an actual threat, what measures can our officials take to identify it and what can they do to mitigate and control it within our prisons? There is no denying that to some extent the threat is real. We seek to examine the true extent of this threat. Those who have investigated the rise and spread of radical Islam within our prisons consistently suggest that threat is grave. The cases of Richard Reid and Jose Padilla, both former inmates who converted to Islam and who later took up the cause of terrorism, are cited as core evidence. An al-Qaeda training manual seized by British authorities in 2003 which directs its operatives, should they be incarcerated, to actively recruit fellow inmates, is also frequently referenced. Beyond these pieces of evidence, however, the proof is limited at best. Instead, it is simply assumed that terror organizations are actively constructing a ?fifth column? composed of former inmates within our borders.To this end, we will attempt to both clinically examine and, if possible, test the threat posed by radical Islam within our prisons in an effort to determine the nature and extent of the threat. We examine a series of case studies looking at individual cases in the United States, and then place recruitment in US prison systems in a cross national comparative framework. At the individual level, we will examine cases of Padilla and Reid. We also examine the cases of other lesser-known individuals (such as Jose Emilio Suarez-Trashorras) who are known to have converted to radical Islam while in prison and who later became involved in terrorist activities. Such examinations are important insofar as they will allow us to partially address the first two questions posed above. At the international level, we will compare the US with the UK, Spain and France, three countries known to have serious problems with Islamic radicalization within their prison systems. An examination of these cases will permit us to address the remaining two questions.In addition to our case studies, we will present our preliminary descriptive and analytic statistics. It must be noted that an absence of accurate statistics is perhaps the single greatest obstacle to properly evaluating and understanding the extent of Islam radicalization within Western prisons, particularly those of the United States. Within the US, for example, prison officials do not formally survey prisoners as to their religious affiliations. Moreover, were such surveys to be conducted, the inmates are not required to respond. Further complicating the situation is the fact that the few informal surveys that have been conducted by corrections officials tend to demonstrated that many inmates simply do not know what denomination of a given religion they practice. This is a significant hurdle. That being said, we compile as thorough an examination of our Muslim prison population as possible by utilizing federal and state data, in order to at least begin to identify trends indicating the extent of conversion and subsequent radicalization of inmates. We are currently in the process of also developing a survey of Muslim prison chaplains designed to shed further light as to the percentage of radicalized Muslim inmates indoctrinated within our correctional facilities. Finally, this paper will conclude with appropriate recommendations, based upon our findings, that we believe would assist policy-makers in thwarting and controlling Islamic radicalization within US prison systems, while respecting prisoners legitimate rights to the exercise of their religious beliefs while incarcerated. These recommendations should be implemented at two levels, namely, prevention and rehabilitation. Preventative measures would entail a more thorough vetting process of the clerics, contractors and volunteers providing Islamic services to inmates. They would entail the implementation of training for corrections officers, allowing them to identify radicalization. Prevention would likewise entail the screening of all Islamic literature disseminated within prisons. Rehabilitation would entail identifying inmates at-risk of being radicalized as well as individuals who have already been radicalized. To this end, it has been suggested by one author that out-reach programs could be successfully implemented. The viability of such programs will be examined.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In this session participants will learn about a unique mentoring model between Lewis & Clark College and two Portland area school districts designed to recruit and retain new minority teachers.

Publication Type: Roundtable
Abstract: A state education agency, research university, and P-12 schools collaborate to provide high schoolers with an on-campus residential experience, which is designed to recruit diverse candidates to teacher education programs.

Publication Type: Roundtable
Abstract: What are the implications of recruiting foreign teachers for urban schools? This session will illuminate teacher shortage issues, foreign teacher preparation, and challenges of foreign teacher recruitment.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The effect of ethnicity upon political participation presents an interesting paradox to political scientists. No consensus exists on the extent to which the interaction between contextual factors and individual level characteristics allow individuals to overcome barriers to participation, or how this relates to patterns of mobilization. While it is well documented that contacts and mobilization are effective in turning out the vote, few scholars have asked the question of who gets mobilized, and why? In this paper, we use a modified model of the effects of group size and group empowerment for Latinos in the United States to predict which Latinos reported being mobilized prior to the 2000 Presidential election. The modifications include a departure from an emphasis on the presence of Black or Latino mayors as a measurement of empowerment. Instead, we propose using a multiple-level Latino representation model of empowerment. Using a five state survey of registered Latino voters collected after the 2000 elections, we test this alternative model of empowerment to determine if Latino registered voters, living in districts with Latino representatives, are more likely to be contacted and asked to vote. Further modifications include making a distinction between type of contact and the addition of other characteristics that have been found to significantly impact Latino participation. The strategic nature of party contacting leads organizations to contact those individuals who are already the individuals most predisposed to participate. Probit regression analysis finds that Latinos represented by co-ethnics are more likely to be mobilized than Latinos represented by White or Black elected officials, providing additional support for the notion that descriptive representation empowers minority communities. However, the relationship is not linear. Latinos with only one Latino representative are the most likely to receive mobilization while those with two or three representatives are less likely.