AB: I went to University High School in 2000 and later spent about 2 years in CYA where I got my GED. [The California Youth Authority or CYA incarcerates more than 5000 young people in correctional facilities across the state.]

TCLA: What are the differences in resources between a regular high school and CYA?

AB: The difference is the motivation of the teachers. I know when I was going to school out here [at University High School], the teachers tried to work with you. They see you slipping with your grades and they come talk to you and counsel you. In [CYA], teachers aren’t motivated at all. They don’t give you grades, they just give you credits. They don’t say, ok, you got an A, B, or C in my class. They just give you the credits if you do the work. So, there’s a difference right there. It’s f--ked up to because they are affecting a whole classroom full of students. Sometimes they have a math teacher teaching English. They have an English teacher teaching math, and he don’t even know how to do math. Like, I can do math better than some of the substitute teachers they had there. And it’s sad because they don’t know what they are doing. They brought in a PE teacher to teach my math class before. He didn’t teach us s--t. He just gave us the work and sat his ass down. People need help there. We get substitute teachers a lot. Most of the teachers are on the verge of getting fired, so there isn’t any motivation to actually put effort into their job.

TCLA: Do students receive adequate resources?

AB: Hell no. They don’t give a s--t. They got the same books from a long time ago. Math, the books are all f--ked up. Students themselves tag in them. But there should be a way to work that out. They give us paper and pencils. Pencils are most of the time f--ked up, only a couple of inches long. No eraser. Sometimes teachers don’t even got paper. They got to go to other classrooms to get paper. Or they’ll run out of paper and most of us have to write on paper towels. They don’t lend us pens because supposedly we could stab someone. The library is bulls--t. They offer stupid books. They don’t offer knowledgeable books.

TCLA: What are stupid books?

AB: They’re not stupid. It’s just me, I don’t like to read a lot of fiction books. I like to read stuff that will help me out. They don’t have too much of that there because they figure that most of the people there can’t understand. They don’t have anything to offer us, [like] maybe a psychology book; something to improve myself; maybe some craftsmanship books, woodworking, or something like that. Anything just to read. They should have a wider selection of books. The library is only the size of a living room.

TCLA: Is there one resource inequality that concerns you –and if so, what is it and why do you think it’s important?

AB: I don’t think there is just one. I guess the most important one is the classroom. The classrooms are f--ked up. They are dusty. Old desks, I stabbed myself on that s--t a couple of times. During the summer, it’s hot as f--k. They don’t got no air conditioning, no coolers no nothing. Cant’ f--king learn in that type of condition. And when it gets cold, it’s the same thing. Basically they don’t have the proper tools to help people learn. They can’t find new books for us. They can’t find more paper for us. They can’t buy better pencils for us. That’s all [the students] want, the basic s--t. They just expect paper, pencil, and a basic book. No paper that was under a leaky roof and is wrinkled because it was wet and they dried it off, and not a pencil that’s been there longer than them. The basic resources that you need to learn. You need paper. You need pencils. You need books to learn. Its important to someone’s learning. It’s just like a tool. How are you gonna build a house with just your hands? You need a hammer and some nails.

TCLA: What would it mean for students to receive education on “equal terms” in relation to these resources?

AB: I definitely think its always gonna be different because of the setting and the type of students that are gonna be there. Its unequal in almost every way you could think about it. It’s not the same. It doesn’t give us opportunity. They call the CYA a youth training school. That’s what it’s supposed to be. They don’t train s--t.

TCLA: So should the resources between “regular” and CYA be the same?

AB: Yeah, definitely! It should be the same as far as materials go, and teachers.

TCLA: What should be done to achieve equality?

AB: Give more money to the school instead of taking it away. They take a lot more money away than they give. Teachers don’t get paid enough, then they’re not motivated. There’s no class materials, they’re not motivated, and kids aren’t motivated. If you give more money to them it would change a lot. It won’t make everything perfect, but at least you’re giving them what they need.

TCLA: What actions do you recommend to students or parents interested in joining this struggle?

AB: If I knew that, I’d try to do it my damn self. I guess they could write letters to the governor, let him know how s--t is in there.

TCLA: What difference could equal educational resources make in today’s struggle against racism?

AB: People who aren’t educated can’t really see things for what they are. They can’t see that they are not getting the same opportunity. Most people don’t even leave their neighborhoods at all. There are a lot of people in [CYA] who live in LA, but have never been to the beach. If they had an education, they could see what’s going on, they could see that they are not being treated fairly. They could see that they're not getting as much stuff as other schools out here. Most people who went to CYA didn’t have an education. You look at everybody else who is doing good in school, most of them aren’t getting locked up. Education keeps people away from crime because you know what’s up. Education is crime prevention. People who are educated don’t f--k around. If you were there, you’d understand what I was saying.