Two years ago, a member of the Washington State Penitentiary education staff, Dr. Joe Cooke, Jr., approached the Whitman debate program about hosting a debate where Whitman students and prisoners debate together over current issues. Dec. 3, 2013 marked the date of the first ever debate.

Ensconced behind the soundboard in the cozy KWCW studio, it's easy for a college DJ to imagine that nobody is actually listening. Few Whitties own radio sets, and while friends and family might be...