Classroom 4 is a fly on the wall look at Dr. Reiko Hillyer’s class “The History of Crime and Punishment in the United States” taught in a prison and comprised of half incarcerated and half liberal arts students from Lewis & Clark. Dr. Hillyer has taught the class for over a decade. Teaching this class inspired Reiko’s most recent book, A Wall is Just a Wall: The Permeability of the Prison in the Twentieth Century United States (Duke), about which she was featured on CNN. The film is executive produced by Edward Norton and Tracey Bing.

Classroom 4 was shortlisted for the 2026 Oscar, and was nominated for Best Documentary Short at the 2025 edition of the Critics Choice Award. The film also won the Jury Award for Best Documentary at the Aspen Shortsfest, and Best Documentary at LA Shorts. Classroom 4 screened at prestigious festivals such DC/DOX, DOC/NYC, Woodstock Film Festival and Hamptons International Film Festival. The film was acquired by PBS’ POV and was broadcast on November 25, 2025 and now available via streaming on the PBS website.

Moderator: Margareth Etienne (University of Illinois, College of Law, Senior Associate Dean for Graduate and International Programs)

Panelists:  Dr. Reiko Hillyer, Zelda Roland (Director, Yale Prison Education Initiative), Alpha Jalloh (former YPEI student, current Yale undergraduate), and TBD (Outside Law Student from James Forman’s inside/outside class in CT).