A Clinton School graduate and current student are featured in this week’s Arkansas Times annual “Big Ideas” issue. Cory Biggs (’11) and Fernando Cutz (’12) each contributed a short essay offering an idea to improve the Central Arkansas Community.
Biggs’ idea is to utilize holistic defense in the criminal justice system. A graduate of the concurrent MPS/JD program with the Bowen School of Law, Biggs writes that combining the work of public defenders with traditional social services can help reduce recidivism in the community. Here’s an excerpt of Biggs’ essay:
In Arkansas, there are a lot of groups — from drug courts to veteran support organizations to social services — that are working toward the same goal, but not under the same roof. In a holistic justice system, a defendant could, for instance, get legal support in one room and meet with a drug or workforce counselor in another, instead of being referred from one agency to another and so on, possibly missing an important link along the way due to scheduling or transportation problems.
Cutz offers a simple idea: community volunteerism. In his essay, he recounts an effort by he and fellow classmates to mentor students in the Eastern Arkansas Delta region about college access. Here’s an excerpt:
I know the Delta is a ways away for many of us, but we can look closer to home for other opportunities. There is always great need in your own backyard. Whether it’s through your house of worship, your child’s school, a foodbank or a local veteran’s organization, what’s important is to find something that you care about, and give them a bit of your time.
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