Free on Paper

  • Made By CUP With:
  • Students
  • Tags:
  • Court System

Students investigate parole and its impact on New Yorkers.

Students practice their interviewing and filming skills.
Students ask each other questions in preparation for interviews with directly impacted individuals, elected officials, public defenders, people working in the system, and members of their communities.

In 2021, there were about 35,000 people under active parole supervision in New York State. Until very recently, New York imprisoned more people for non-criminal “technical” violations of parole than any other state in the country. People could be automatically imprisoned for violations like missing an appointment with a parole officer, being late for curfew, or testing positive for alcohol and other drugs.

In the winter and spring of 2022, CUP collaborated with Teaching Artist Hugo Rojas and students at the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice to investigate this issue and how it impacts New Yorkers. The group interviewed members of the community and experts working on the issue.

Together, they created the documentary video Free On Paper, a film that explores who makes decisions about parole and how we can advocate for change.

Students learn how to use video recording equipment.
Students experiment with making hand shadows.

"What I enjoyed was basically the amount of creativity we had to use in order to make this a reality. That was sick. It was really fun. And it was really interactive, like you really have to get hands on and that's what I enjoy. You know, if you’re hands on or something, you probably get the best out of it."

– Wesley Almanzar, Bronx LGJ student

Watch the Film


Debut Presentation

Click here to watch

Project Collaborators

Educational Partner

Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice
Johanie Hernandez
Kimberley Felder

Teaching Artist

Hugo Rojas

Students

Destiny Rivera, Gabriela Ortega, Hanse Bonilla, Jelenny Lopez, Sephora Anoumou, Trejah Brown, Wesley Almanzar

Special Thanks

Otis Palmer, Phara Souffrant Forrest, Laura Eraso, Karen Narefsky

Funding Support

Major support for this program was provided by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and Council Member Vanessa Gibson. CUP Urban Investigations programs are also supported by the Lotos Foundation.