On September 18, the Guarini Institute for Government and Leadership introduced its new program, Pizza & Politics, where the campus community can gather together to listen to guest speakers and discuss important political news while enjoying lunch in a relaxed setting.
For the inaugural event, guest speaker Luke Hansen, S.J., associate editor of America magazine, discussed “Escaping Guantanamo: A Jesuit Tells Us What He Saw Inside the Offshore Prison.” Hansen has gone inside the prison camps at Guantanamo Bay – a controversial United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba that was established in January 2002 to detain extraordinarily dangerous prisoners, to interrogate prisoners in an optimal setting, and to prosecute prisoners for war crimes.
In his travels, Hansen has met with chaplains, attorneys, medical staff and prison guards, and also visited with former Guantanamo prisoners that resettled in Bermuda. A frequent speaker and writer on the legal, political and ethical implications of Guantanamo, he has received awards from the Catholic Press Association for his coverage of the prison.
“There’s always been a spectrum of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay,” said Hansen. “From those who are in Al-Qaeda, to militant groups, to those who are jut suspected of being a terrorist. The response to Terrorism by the United States was less focused on putting prisoners into the legal system. We approached it with a war mentality.”
Guantanamo Bay has always been under scrutiny for its treatment of prisoners and living conditions. While the Guantanamo Bay detention camp has released many of its 800 prisoners since the institution was established in 2002, 164 men remain in the prison. While many political figures and activists have tried to close the camp completely, the move has been met with resistance.
He added, “In the U.S. today, there are more than 2.2 million men and women in prisons and jails, so to imprison 800 people in Guantanamo Bay was normal. We live in a culture of mass incarceration.”
“I didn’t know anything about Guantanamo Bay other than that it was a terrible place in Cuba,” said Caridad Ruiz ’16, an English education major. “But the guest speaker was very articulate and taught me a lot about Guantanamo Bay. I’m not into politics at times, but this issue was very interesting.”
The next Pizza & Politics event will be held on November 20 with guest speaker Maria Nieves, president and CEO of the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce. For more information on this event or about the Guarini Institute for Government and Leadership, visit https://www.saintpeters.edu/guarini-institute/.