Rah! Rah! Rah!

Charles McCalla was ready to be paroled from Illinois' Stateville prison last month, but he asked if he could stay until June. He wanted to stay in--for a while, at least--so that he could eventually stay out. He was in his junior year of college, which is run at the prison by Northern Illinois University, and would miss his exams if he left.

"I became tired of running in and out of prison," McCalla said. "I came to the conclusion that I couldn't communicate with intelligent people. If I got a job, it would be just through sympathy on somebody's part." He had already finished grade school and high school during previous stretches for car theft, larceny and armed robbery. During his present stretch for parole violation, he has taken 137 semester hours. His major: English.

McCalla's request was a bit unusual, but, said Warden Frank Pate, "I talked to the parole board, and they agreed to let him stay." McCalla settled down to study in the prison library. Hearing of his plight, Northern Illinois U. snipped academic red tape and gave him his exams early. He sailed through with a B average and sailed out of Stateville only 23 days late. Next fall he hopes to enjoy the real and academic freedom of an undergraduate senior, perhaps on the Northern Illinois campus.

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