Erin Maurer was uncomfortable the first time she entered the room full of prisoners. Questions filled her head as she became the object of unwanted stares. "What are they thinking? Is it a joke for them?"

Now Maurer, (senior-administration of justice) the current coordinator for Prison Ministry, knows the answers to those questions.

Maurer and members of the Newman Catholic Student Association volunteer their time and friendship at the State Correctional Institution at Rockview. They make their visit the second Sunday of every month and every Friday during Lent.

Sunday mornings, the group of students celebrates Catholic mass with the prisoners and joins them for a breakfast of toast and Wheaties afterward. Maurer said the breakfast fare is extremely bland, adding, "(The prisoners) have to put up with our complaints."

She said the prisoners occasionally try to make cinnamon rolls to please the volunteers but usually burn them instead.

During Lent, the 40-day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday observed by Christians as a season of fasting and penitence, the prisoners act out the stations of the cross while the volunteers watch from the audience and recite prayers along with them.

Melissa Casey (freshman-chemistry) said a prisoner to whom she writes was excited about the part he was given.

"He was the soldier that nailed Jesus to the cross; he was excited because he was allowed to be violent," she said.

The Newman Association began volunteering at Rockview six years ago, although the number of volunteers was small. Last year, only four students went to Rockview, but this year about 75 students signed up to go.

Maurer said she credits word of mouth as the reason for the large increase in interested students.

"It's a rewarding experience and volunteers tell their friends about it," Maurer said.

Patti Herman (sophomore-forestry science) said she has volunteered since spring 1993 because it makes her feel good.

Although the students enjoy the time they spend with the inmates, they have to remember that they are in a prison and must be careful, Maurer said. She said she reminds the volunteers that these people are in prison for a reason.

Before students can go to Rockview, their names must go through a two-week clearing process. Once they are permitted to enter the prison, the volunteers still must go through several check points, Maurer said.

Herman said she is always apprehensive about going, "But once I get there, I'm fine," she said.

Casey said she began volunteering last semester and was nervous her first time, being unsure of what to expect. Now she said she realizes that most of the men are like anyone else on the street.

"They appreciate us too much to take advantage or harm us in any way," she said.

There are some unofficial rules the volunteers follow when they go to Rockview, Maurer said. For one, they don't ask inmates about the reason why they're in prison. Maurer said they don't like to dwell on the negative aspects. Women try not to dress suggestively or embrace a prisoner. Doing so could cause jealousy among the inmates, which may lead to conflict, she said.

During their time at Rockview, the volunteers have discovered the personalities behind the stereotypes. Mark Weiss (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies) said he feels the media tend to stereotype prisoners and prison life in general.

"Prisoners are outcasted in today's society; somebody has to be there for them," Weiss said.

The prisoners appreciate that the students don't stereotype them and are grateful people are willing to visit them, Herman said.

"The prisoners are always respectful and always say thank you," she said.