college behind bars where are they now

And, you know, one of the just greatest moments there is that when the BPI students were getting up to walk the stage, the president of the college, Leon Botstein, said - you know, he said these are some of our most distinguished and greatest students, and the whole student body stood and gave us a resounding round of applause. They have the bike path right on the corner that leads all the way to the East River. All Rights Reserved. College Behind Bars is directed and produced by Lynn Novick; produced by Sarah Botstein; edited by Tricia Reidy ACE; produced by Salimah El-Amin and Mariah Doran; original music by Jongnic Bontemps; cinematography by Buddy Squires ASC and Nadia Hallgren. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. So I walked out of prison on August 10 of 2017, and I was back in college on August 24 finishing my B.A. College Behind Bars. Tell me how the experience compared with what you expected. The bipartisan restoration of Pell Grant eligibility to incarcerated students is a clear political endorsement of the value of college-in-prison, signaling to New York that it is past time to also restore TAP. And it has had a profound impact on my personality and just the way that I move through the world today. But first, we need you to sign in to PBS using one of the services below. Last week, the New York State budget included a major victory for educational equity, ending a 26-year-old ban on access to need-based Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) grants for incarcerated students. TATRO: You know, I'm not taking it back to my cell and going to sleep with it. College-in-prison, which had been common in prisons across the country, collapsed. TATRO: No. I'm Terry Gross. BPIs newest initiative, the Bard Microcollege, expands yet further the scope and impact of this work, delivering high-quality liberal arts education to communities outside of prison through partnerships with community-based institutions. rush medical college leadership; college behind bars where are they now. DAVIES: And your dad went through some really tough times, sent you to Korea when you were little 'cause he was trying to find a way to keep things together. I had to show my passion. Let's start with a clip from the documentary. So that was, like, really, really kind of humbling to see that type of support from the general population. But the problem is that there can - bells can ring off in prison at any time. I realized that all my experiences and my skills were related to prison work. We will continue our conversation after a short break. "College Behind Bars" airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations and will be available for streaming. And I am the most proud father in the world. I'm going to get emotional. I mean, I think there are a lot of powerful stories in these documentaries of these students. My father was in Vietnam, came home drug-addicted and has never really recovered from that. You've just tried to add this show to My List. Confronted with the inhuman monotony of life behind bars, Mr. Hall became a serious student, ultimately gaining admission to the Bard Prison Initiative, a competitive, full-time degree program run by Bard College. . During the 2016 presidential campaign, they were hired by Republicans and then by Democrats and investigated connections between Trump and Russia. People were invested in this. Born behind bars. Shot over four years in maximum and medium security prisons in New York State, the four-hour film takes viewers on a stark and intimate journey into one of the most pressing issues of our time our failure to provide meaningful rehabilitation for the over two million Americans living behind bars. Well, you know, for a number of the graduates - and this was true of Sebastian, not Dyjuan - there was this - there's this terrible paradox where, you know, the fact that you are completing your college degree and graduating doesn't mean that you are released from prison. NOVICK: You know, Sarah and I, when we got into the project, we were focusing on the transformational aspect of it, power of education, and what did it mean to get this education while in prison? The PBSand Emmy-nominated documentary "College Behind Bars" seeks to showcase the students of BPI as well as the need for more prison college programs throughout the country. As public funding of college-in-prison returns to the field the question shifts from Will there be college-in-prison? After the federal Pell ban in 1994, New York implemented a ban on TAP eligibility in 1995. College Behind Bars, the four-part documentary about the transformative power of education, premiered nationwide on PBS in November 25, 2019. And what the film shows and the work at BPI shows is that that cannot be more untrue. For me, my family has been YOON: My dad, appa, I'm sorry for having dishonored our family, for putting you through such an undeserved and unbearable pain. They come to us for essay-writing classes and math tutoring so that they can prepare to get into the program themselves. They study all the disciplines in the liberal arts. DAVIES: And from the graduation ceremony of the Bard Prison Initiative. And the Bard Prison Initiative, which was - began in 1999. And he said - he says to me, you stood up. In one of our most power episodes ever, BPIs founder Max Kenner and recent graduate Sebastian Yoon join Adam this week to discuss howReadMore, One graduate, featured in a new PBS documentary, shares the ups and downs of earning a degree behind bars. Since its first cohort in 2001, BPI students have earned over 52,000 credits and more than 550 Bard College degrees. And there was a tremendous void. I have two brothers - one older, one younger. Get the latest news about BPI and our work. Did you feel yourself changing as you moved through these courses? And so I was a little bit intimidated by that. We will hear Sebastian Yoon first and then we'll hear Dyjuan Tatro. Like, that's who I am. But I also look at the Manhattan skyline. Even after you graduate, as long as you are in a prison in which Bard Prison Initiative operates, you're allowed to take courses. NOVICK: Yeah. 4/22/2019 Funding provided by Bank of America, Ford Foundation / JustFilms, National Endowment for the Humanities, Meg & Tomas Bergstrand, Regina K. Scully, The Lise Strickler & Mark Gallogly Charitable Fund, a fund at The New York Community Trust, Patty Quillin through the Meadow Fund at Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Barbara & Richard Novick, Chicken & Egg Pictures, The William H. Donner Foundation, Hartley Film Foundation, Bertha Foundation, The Harnisch Foundation, Compton Foundation, and Lisa Philp.And members of The Better Angels Society: John & Catherine Debs, The Cousins Foundation, Inc., Abrams Foundation, Schwartz/Reisman Foundation, Ted Dintersmith & Elizabeth Hazard, McCloskey Family Charitable Trust, and Donna & Dick Strong. college behind bars where are they now. I always thought that my logic and my feelings trumped others - no pun intended. But that means a lot that weren't - probably some applied and did not get in. So you can be in class midway, and if the bell rings because the count was off or if there's a security problem, then you have to go back to your cells. Are children allowed in Turkish prisons? And the next year, you realize that you're writing 10-page papers with correct grammar. And at the age of 10, my family - once my dad made enough money, we moved to Long Island. DAVIES: It's to literally count to ensure that every inmate is is accounted for. And so, you know, this experience has not only been personally rewarding and amazing for me. That's how I got my job at Open Society Foundations. BPI was proud to partner with College and Community Fellowships #TurnOnTheTapNY campaign to restore access to New Yorks state-level need-based student grants, the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) for incarcerated students. Director Lynn Novick and graduates Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro talk about how the program changes lives. And when I actually started my courses, I was shocked by how rigorous and how demanding the program was. We should not expect that they are only capable of vocational training. The type of things that are available to people in prison currently are somewhat outdated. You may change your parameters at any time using the link found at the bottom of every email. I had to understand the idea of hubris, and I had to understand the idea of tragedy, and I had to understand these concepts. And one day, we went to a karaoke bar, and a fight erupted, and somebody ended up losing his life. And that's - Pell grants are supposed to be based on economic need. Skiff Mountain Films 2019 | info@skiffmountainfilms.com The doc is also a moving portrait of individuals determined to defy the odds and build a better future for themselves.. Incarcerated men and women in New York State are admitted to the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), one of the most rigorous co, Sebastian, Dyjuan and Tamara reflect on the difficult circumstances of their childhood, while the debate team prepares to, The debate union faces their rival across the river, West Point. Funding for College Behind Bars is provided by Bank of America; PBS; Ford Foundation / JustFilms; National Endowment for the Humanities; Meg & Tomas Bergstrand; Regina K. Scully; The Lise , Find standards-aligned teaching resources for. No, I'm done. DAVIES: There was a time when higher education in correctional facilities was pretty common. I worked as a cook. And I will say this - when we started the project, sometimes people would say to us, oh, most people in prison will say that they're innocent and they didn't do the crime that they're there for. TATRO: You know, I think that we want to have as many opportunities open to people in prison as possible. Celebrating 200+ degrees in six graduations back in person with Congressman Bobby Rush. Become a BPI supporter today and join a passionate community that believes in the power of education. TATRO: So I actually graduated with my BA after I was released from prison. They love this film. And so the film ends up and their stories end up, you know, raising some really important questions about violence and about harm and incarceration, and what is prison for, and what is the value of education? it is the only time that they can trust they . I just wanted acknowledgement and this feeling of power and security. It raises questions we urgently need to address: What is prison for? Please consider giving a gift to support BPIs groundbreaking work to redefine college access in America and to counter the harm of mass incarceration. And Max Kenner, who is the founder and executive director of the program, is welcoming the new students. I'm a math major, went on after that to do some project management and data collection for a tech company and then started thinking about how I could get back in the world. And then they're like, strip. NOVICK: I'd just add that one of the really remarkable things about this program is that the admissions process is looking for people who have kind of intellectual curiosity and determination. Yoon and Tatro both entered prison as teenagers, and both earned bachelor's degrees in the Bard Prison Initiative. GROSS: FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. The recent PBS series, " College Behind Bars ," chronicles Mr. Hall's eventual parole and release in 2015. Episodes. Justice in America Episode 29: Schools in Prison Yoon and Tatro earned college degrees taking rigorous courses taught by Bard College faculty in a maximum-security prison. I have to read a lot for work, so whether its grants or theory-related and I mean, its great reading, but its not like Walter Mosley or some of those things I became fond of. For more information about ways to support the Bard Prison Initiative, please visit our Support page or contact bpidevelopment@bard.edu. According to records, James murdered his stepmother and three stepbrothers in cold blood. We will continue our conversation after this short break. LYNN NOVICK: The most significant thing for me was that when Max Kenner asked me if I would teach a course on documentary and history, he said the students would love to have a film class, but you have to promise, if you're going to do it, this has to be extremely rigorous. When we come home now, we often help each other get jobs. Your support helps make this possible. But the Allens still have mixed feelings about free degrees for inmates. So let's just listen to this. For 22 years he didnt have one. And so, you know, I think we always need to consider that we're not talking about people in prison getting a degree in isolation, you know? Believes in the Bard prison Initiative support BPIs groundbreaking work to redefine college in! I was a time when higher education in correctional facilities was pretty common the New students one day we... Community that believes in the power of education and our work counter the harm mass. In 1994, New York implemented a ban on TAP eligibility in 1995 in 1999 mixed feelings about degrees! And tomorrow night on PBS in November 25, 2019 they come us! Davies: there was a little bit intimidated by that walked out of prison August! Was released from prison humbling to see that type of things that are available to people prison! The bike path right on the corner that leads all the way to the field the question from! Groundbreaking work to redefine college access in America and to counter the harm mass. 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Acknowledgement and this feeling of power and security the Bard prison Initiative, please visit our support page or bpidevelopment. Still have mixed feelings about free degrees for inmates I move through the world ceremony! They come to us for essay-writing classes and math tutoring so that they can trust.! Program, is welcoming the New students executive director of the services below up losing his.! Pell ban in 1994, New York implemented a ban on TAP eligibility in 1995 and has never really from... With correct grammar prison as possible I am the most proud father in the Bard prison Initiative, had... Courses, I think that we want to have as many opportunities Open to people in prison teenagers! Often help each other get jobs this show to my List documentaries of these students two brothers one. And it has had a profound impact on my personality and just the way the! The graduation ceremony of the Bard prison Initiative access in America and to counter the of... 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