Creative & Expository Writing

MTC_OpenLine-thumb-creative

As creative writers and critical thinkers, our students and alumni pursue a wide range of literary forms outside the classroom.

A Letter From and For Your Future

Mourning Our Losses

On Resilience: Aaron Kurtis Mikkelsen

On Resilience: Ray Ray

Academic Writing

MTC_OpenLine-thumb-academic

Inside the classroom, students have a variety of intellectual interests that are reflected in term papers, final projects, and other course assignments.

Symposium on Criminal Justice Reform and Philanthropy—Students Reimagine Reform

My Past, Present, and Future Experiences in Education

Biology with Lab

Dungeons & Dragons—A Life Changing Experience

Published Works

Our students and alumni's work is regularly published in a variety of national news outlets.

Listening to Taylor Swift in Prison

September 15, 2023 | Joe Garcia |

The Radical Shift in Drug Treatment Happening Inside California Prisons

January 31, 2023 | Juan Moreno Haines |

At San Quentin Prison, Law Students See Restorative Justice In Action

January 31, 2023 | Juan Moreno Haines |

First-ever International Prison Radio Conference shows potential of ‘story power’ to effect change

October 20, 2022 | Rahsaan "New York" Thomas, Co-Host and Co-Producer ("Ear Hustle" Podcast) |

San Quentin Is Still Punishing People for Being Sick

October 6, 2022 | Katie Rose Quandt and Juan Moreno Haines | typeinvestigations, The American Prospect, San Quentin News: Katie Rose Quandt and Juan Moreno Haines printed September 19, 2022

The Backstory: Juan Moreno Haines

October 2, 2022 | Paco Alvarez | typeinvestigations

A Conversation With Joe Garcia About His Recent Page One Feature Story

September 13, 2022 | Joe Garcia | Prison Journalism Project/Vol. 3 Issue 9: Telling Stories from Inside the Walls

My Wild and Winding Path to a College Degree Behind Bars

September 7, 2022 | Rahsaan Thomas | The Marshall Project

Op-Ed–In prison, the work of journalism is challenging but essential

July 12, 2022 | JUAN MORENO HAINES | Los Angeles Times

Tying Water Access to Labor in Overcrowded Prisons is Wrong

July 8, 2022 | Steve Brooks | Cal Matters

I got COVID in San Quentin and watched as hundreds more were infected and 29 died. Here’s our story.

October 9, 2021 | Juan Moreno Haines | San Francisco Chronicle

A prison reckoning with remorse

August 15, 2021 | Rahsaan Thomas | Boston Globe

How I Convinced My Incarcerated Peers to Make Language a Priority

April 19, 2021 | Rahsaan Thomas | The Marshall Project

Following Deadly COVID-19 Outbreak, Incarcerated People at San Quentin Grapple with Vaccinations

April 9, 2021 | Juan Moreno Haines and Kevin Deroi Sawyer | El Tecolote

Student Steve Brooks Honored by Society of Professional Journalists

February 8, 2021 | Mount Tamalpais College | Society of Professional Journalists

Even in a Pandemic, San Quentin Must Restore Rehabilitation Programs

December 14, 2020 | Marcus Blevins | San Francisco Chronicle

Student Juan Moreno Haines on COVID-19 Inside San Quentin

August 14, 2020 | Juan Moreno Haines | The Appeal

Inside San Quentin Prison, You Sit and Wait Until COVID-19 Comes for You

July 23, 2020 | Joe Garcia | Washington Post

Right Side of History

July 3, 2020 | Steve Brooks | Prison Journalism Project

‘I Spent 11 Years In Prison—And Produced a Rap Album at San Quentin’

June 25, 2020 | David Jassy | Newsweek

America is Isolated. I’ve Been There Before. Lessons I’ve Learned from San Quentin

April 10, 2020 | Kenyatta Leal | USA Today

Dispatches from San Quentin—Is San Quentin State Prison the Future of Prison Reform?

October 20, 2019 | James King | WitnessLA

I Host a Popular Podcast. I’m Also in Prison.

September 26, 2019 | Rahsaan Thomas | The Marshall Project

I Did 18 Years in Prison for Murder. Now I’m On a Mission to End Gun Violence.

June 28, 2019 | James Houston | San Francisco Chronicle

The Judge and Jury Agreed I Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Did I Just Serve 16 Years For Murder?

June 22, 2019 | Adnan Khan | New York Times

Spring Lake

May 28, 2019 | Carl Raybon | Voice of Witness

My Crossroads Moment

March 12, 2019 | Troy Dunmore | Voice of Witness

Dispatch From San Quentin—Young, Earnest and Criminalized

March 4, 2019 | James King | WitnessLA

Dad Deserved Better

February 6, 2019 | Joe Garcia | Voice of Witness

Oral History at San Quentin Prison

February 2, 2019 | Cliff Mayotte | Voice of Witness

I Ran a Marathon in Prison

January 15, 2019 | Steve Brooks | Voices of Witness

On Art and Voting—Thinking About Tuesday’s Elections from Inside San Quentin

November 7, 2018 | James King | Witness LA

One Prison Taught Me Racism. Another Taught Me Acceptance

October 1, 2018 | Jesse Vasquez | The Washington Post

Redemption is Not Just for Me

February 12, 2018 | Emile DeWeaver | San Francisco Chronicle

I Thought Being Gay Was a Sin Until I Saw My Friend Suffer in Prison

August 17, 2017 | James King | The Marshall Project

Allow Parole for Lifers—Reformed Violent Criminals—Under Proposition 57

April 24, 2017 | Emile DeWeaver | The Mercury News

When a Wedding Narrowed the ‘Emotional Distance’ of Prison

February 9, 2017 | James King | The Marshall Project

What Does It Mean to Be a Real Man?

October 12, 2016 | Mesro El Coles | Juvenile Justice Information Exchange

Creating a Healthy Society

April 29, 2016 | Sam Vaughn | Mount Tamalpais College

Apple, Ex-cons, and Second Chances

April 17, 2015 | Aly Tamboura | San Francisco Chronicle

Earning a Degree in Jail—Karl Marx, Aristotle and Strip Searches

April 10, 2015 | Timothy Nash | HuffPost

previous arrowprevious arrow
next arrownext arrow
Slider

Open Line masthead artwork by alumnus, Philip Menendez