You may change your parameters at any time using the link found at the bottom of every email. When that door closes, you're at Bard College. I never saw a class where people weren't paying attention - not one - and we were in a lot of classes. 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. Hold on. And it helped me understand my place in the world and activated me as a civically minded person. Our guests today are Lynn Novick, who directed the documentary, and two graduates of the program, Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro. Now, I still havent taken to wine. 27 2023 . So when we start talking about what is best for people in prisons, Lynn said we should include them in that conversation. DAVIES: There was a time when higher education in correctional facilities was pretty common. It gave me the ability to put names to systems and things that had impacted my life. It teaches you how smart you are. And you see people on this kind of, like, exponential learning curve from places where they, you know, might not seem at first glance that they're ready for "college work," quote, unquote. (SOUNDBITE OF ROBBEN FORD AND BILL EVANS' "PIXIES"). Who among us is capable of academic excellence? 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. And this is not obviously the happiest part of your life, but - and you can say as much as you want about it, but I think the audience would be interested in knowing a bit about what your life was like coming up. YOON: My fellow graduates, my friends, let me remind you that we have an obligation to share our stories and to uphold the idea that if we wish to have a better world, as we all do, then we must first change ourselves. With Botstein onboard as a producer, Novick set out to direct what became the four-part PBS docuseries "College Behind Bars." Executive produced by Burns, the documentary examines mass. 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. And, you know, just being in a classroom setting where I was sitting down with people from different backgrounds, listening to their stories and their ideas and you start to appreciate that despite the differences that we have, there are so much more similarities among us. How Jule Hall, Graduate of the Bard Prison Initiative, Spends His Sundays, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/10/nyregion/jule-hall-college-behind-bars-pbs.html. And there was a tremendous void. Episodes. "College Behind Bars" follows students in the Bard Prison Initiative, a privately funded college program that began in 2001 in New York state prisons. Since its first cohort in 2001, BPI students have earned over 52,000 credits and more than 550 Bard College degrees. The documentary, "College Behind Bars," airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations and will also be available for streaming. I'm interested in your take on this - whether vocational programs should be there. YOON: But to those who would ask that question, Dave, you could also ask them, would you ask the same question of students who are out here? College Behind Bars is a production of Skiff Mountain Films and is directed by Lynn Novick. College Behind Bars first premiered Nov. 25, 2019 on PBS and has since then become popular among Netflix audiences. Most had circumstances early in their life, which were really, really tough, heartbreaking in many cases. Born behind bars. So that was, like, really, really kind of humbling to see that type of support from the general population. This is FRESH AIR. Learn more about this important amendment to the Merit Board rules, and its disproportionate impact on incarcerated women, on our blog. Sebastian Yoon, tell us a little about yourself. You've just tried to add this show to My List. And I was bullied a lot. It raises questions we urgently need to address: What is prison for? For more information about ways to support the Bard Prison Initiative, please visit our Support page or contact bpidevelopment@bard.edu. 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. And I think what surprised my father the most was just how much I transformed while I was incarcerated. The documentary prompts viewers to consider the importance of higher education in prison. And one of the things that I saw as I watched the four episodes - and this reminded me of - I taught middle school and high school many, many years ago. For streaming, visit pbs.org . I wish you continued success. College Behind Bars | A Film by Lynn Novick | PBS All Episodes Now Streaming Men and women in prison for serious crimes try to earn college degrees in this groundbreaking story of. And then upon entering prison, I felt the same otherness that I felt while I was in middle and high school. While Rodney and Sebastian complete their 100-page senior projects and present them to fac, Men and women in prison for serious crimes try to earn college degrees in this groundbreaking story of incarceration, inju, When incarcerated students from the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) Debate Union beat a team from Harvard, their victory made. Bad Boys bakery was a social enterprise set up in HM Prison Brixton, in the UK. Part 1: 'No One Ever Taught Me Any of That.'. YOON: My family has been super supportive of me, as you'll see in the documentary, especially my father. My father was in Vietnam, came home drug-addicted and has never really recovered from that. Kind of how large are the classes? DAVIES: Yeah. Faculty are going to be evaluating what you do as a student, exclusively. 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. We should not expect that they are only capable of vocational training. And that totally allowed me to reimagine myself. PBS chronicles 12 inmates who value education in 'College Behind Bars' The film fills the screen with stories about human transformation as cameras follow a dozen incarcerated men and women. Part of our job is to provide grants and support to other organizations and individuals who are working towards social justice reform. Both are featured in the PBS documentary series College Behind Bars. "College Behind Bars" airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations. What I prize is the education and the knowledge that I received in the process of obtaining that degree. Incarcerated men and women are admitted to the Bard Prison Initiative, a rigorous college program, where some make great strides while others . In December 2020 Congress finally restored Pell Grant eligibility as part of the omnibus spending and COVID relief bill. And it has had a profound impact on my personality and just the way that I move through the world today. You know, I am originally from Albany, N.Y. The subjects and filmmakers reveal the inspiring story of how the power of education can change lives in College Behind Bars. Copyright 2019 NPR. A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE Once I put something in my stomach, I bike ride. I thought it was incredibly well done in all ways. 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. He started his college education behind bars. In 1994, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act made people in prison ineligible for Pell Grants. Dyjuan, you want to share something? Are children allowed in Turkish prisons? They study math, as Dyjuan said, languages, history, literature, art, science, philosophy, economics, public policy, you know, public health. (Speaking Korean) Thank you. COLLEGE BEHIND BARS, a four-part documentary film series, tells the story of a small group of incarcerated men and women struggling to earn college degrees and turn their lives around in one of the most rigorous and effective prison education programs in the United States - the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI). On November 24, 1990, James Wiley armed himself with a shotgun and brutally shot down his stepmother and two brothers in their home in Thermopolis, Wyoming. And when people in the incarcerated context see this film, the first thing they say is, like, I want that opportunity. And that moment when that letter came forever altered the trajectory of my life. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. CAST OF CHARACTERS Im ashamed to say this, but I people-watch. Anyone can read what you share. Let's listen. 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. (SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "COLLEGE BEHIND BARS"). But first, we need you to sign in to PBS using one of the services below. I mean, I think there are a lot of powerful stories in these documentaries of these students. And when I actually started my courses, I was shocked by how rigorous and how demanding the program was. But one of the things that was also great - there are instances where the other prisoners would accommodate us, where they would say, you know, the Bard guys are working at this table; let's go over here and make noise, or, like, the Bard guys are in the room - in their rooms studying. By Megan Heintz. I had to write that I swept and mopped floors. Thats another thing I think is a spillover from prison: I saw the television as a space of conflict because people would argue over what to watch, so I stayed away from it. And it was often a joke that I would show up at school and get all these awards, and they would say, but you were never here. Dyjuan Tatro and Sebastian Yoon are graduates of the Bard Prison Initiative. When incarcerated students from the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) Debate Union beat a team from Harvard, their victory made headlines around the world. I wake up every morning and I realize Im free and Im just so grateful to be here.. 2023 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). These programs transform the negative impacts of criminal punishment and create radical inroads of access and opportunity to higher learning. So it's just - it's really an open question. 80% are BIPOC. Good job. And they thrust you right back into prison. He worked 11-hour shifts, so he was mostly at work. TATRO: You know, one of the great things about, you know, Bard is that it's recognized that it's not enough just to, you know, kind of issue a degree and give someone an education, send them back out into society. They come to us for essay-writing classes and math tutoring so that they can prepare to get into the program themselves. I'm an uncle. They have the bike path right on the corner that leads all the way to the East River. How can we have justice without redemption? GROSS: Tomorrow on FRESH AIR, our guests will be Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch, the former Wall Street Journal reporters who formed Fusion GPS, a private research company. So, to savor this rich, hot drink in my hand is so fabulous with cinnamon, not too much sugar. That's how I got my job at Open Society Foundations. Also with us are Dyjuan Tatro and Sebastian Yoon, graduates of the program. . WASHER WARS After that, I will follow that bike lane back home and do my laundry. In the beginning, you don't even know how to use a comma. Siena Poll Today Showed Huge, Bipartisan Majorities For Programs That Lower Barriers to Incarcerated New Yorkers Re-Entering Society Once enrolled, BPI students engage with the college full-time, embarking on a course of study that is ambitious and matches the breadth and intensity of any undergraduate learning experience. "College Behind Bars" airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations. to What will the field of college-in-prison look like? For 26 years, BPI joined other advocates in championing the return of Pell eligibility for incarcerated students. Now that Im thinking about it: more often than not, Im recognizing that the Twin Towers is not part of that skyline anymore. DAVIES: You know, I'd like, Sebastian and Dyjuan, to hear a little bit about how - reconciling with your families. You got this education, and you're trying to help people now. Become a BPI supporter today and join a passionate community that believes in the power of education. They become the support system that we need to rely on. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Since 2001, BPI has created groundbreaking opportunities for college within Americas prison systems. Our guests are Lynn Novick, who directed the documentary, and Dyjuan Tatro and Sebastian Yoon, two graduates of the program. College Behind Bars was filmed over four years at two different prisons by Novick and producer Sarah Botstein, allowing the show to follow what happens to students in BPI: some transform,. 4/22/2019 You can just see this intellectual blossoming. My father never saw me as a bad person. Men and women in prison for serious crimes try to earn college degrees in this groundbreaking story of incarceration, injustice, race in America, and the transformative power of education. It raises questions we urgently need to address: What is prison for? And you see this room, and then all of a sudden, reality just comes crashing upon you. Get the latest news about BPI and our work. So there was this kind of seamless movement from one setting to another. Ill fix me a scrambled egg with a cinnamon raisin bagel in my toaster. So there are a lot of things that impede your education in that space. My family loves Bard College. So let's just listen to this. After the federal Pell ban in 1994, New York implemented a ban on TAP eligibility in 1995. 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. All Rights Reserved. DAVIES: And the crime that got you in was that you shot someone in retaliation for an attack on you and your sister, right? This is FRESH AIR. Max is the founder and executive director of the Bard Prison Initiative, and Rodney received his bachelor's degree from Bard College in 2017 through the Bard Prison Initiative. TATRO: By the way, you know, the recent research shows that for every dollar a state invests in college and prison, it saves $4 to $5 in re-incarceration costs. DAVIES: And that's from the documentary "College Behind Bars," directed by our guest Lynn Novick. You got to go back to your - I guess to your cell - right? And they really love to engage the professors and each other, and that was true for every single class. As a result, the number of college-in-prison programs in New York. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. In spring 2021 the NYS legislature passed the bill, and it was signed into law in July 2021. The fifth annual BPI Public Health Fellowship Symposium featured the 2021 Public Health Fellows virtual presentations of their projects captured in the video above and the conversations linked below. TURN ON THE TAP NY PRAISES GOVERNOR HOCHUL FOR INCLUDING TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR INCARCERATED NEW YORKERS IN BUDGET Who has access to educational opportunity? And what's incredible is that you can also serve as tutors, so you're constantly working with other students who are trying to obtain their associate's degrees or bachelor's. Mr. Hall is the first formerly incarcerated person to be hired full-time by the Ford. Fact: So I grew up in Flushing, Queens. The recent PBS series, "College Behind Bars," chronicles Mr. Hall's eventual parole and release in 2015. I was a very precocious child. The faculty generally find this experience so energizing because of that exact thing - that they have to sort of - if they're teaching a course on the Bard campus and in BPI, they actually have to make the BPI version a bit harder, get more assignments and, you know, up the reading because the students are just so eager for the material and expect so much. TATRO: You know, this - I'm the first person in my family who's ever gone to college. I'm a son. And I remember walking in and seeing men like me in prison uniforms, except that they were speaking Mandarin. And in the context of the '90s and the tough-on-crime rhetoric and the super predator kind of, you know, demonization of people who have been convicted of crimes, as part of the Clinton crime bill, there was an amendment to withdraw eligibility for Pell grants for people who were in prison. Parts 3 and 4 air Tuesday. Few people know the joy of a free Sunday like Jule Hall. My family took care of me for 12 years while I was in prison, and now I'm in a position in life where I can support and be there for them. After the 94 Crime Bill, state lawmakers followed the federal lead and rescinded state-level tuition assistance programs. And as I move forward in life and as I work to be a part of this social justice reform movement, I feel very passionate about it and excited that we are going to make progress. And I started to respond with violence because I thought I had no other option. And it's just really, really - has been so emotional for me to see their reaction and have their support through all this and be able to share so much positivity with them after having gone through so much darkness in life. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. DAVIES: There was a time when higher education in correctional facilities was pretty common. And then this changed in the '90s when we had the crime bill, right? One of the things I used to do is kind of put my headphones on with classical music, and that's how I would get my reading and get my work done. And I just wonder if you could reflect a bit on how it might have changed you - Dyjuan. Through the lived experiences of the students and their families, this is a groundbreaking story of incarceration, injustice, race in America, and the transformative power of education. And that's not to say that it's not challenging, but that is to point to the fact that, if we support people transitioning back in society in the right way, they'd be capable of almost anything, you know? YOON: Yeah. Our stories, our lives, they are influenced by a great number of people. Were they all like that, Lynn? And they are ready, and they are prepared, and they've done all the reading, and they've read the footnotes, and they've read the ancillary reading, and they are - you know, you better know what you're doing. 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. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. "Officer Leath was a true example of an officer dedicated not only to safety and security of the prison infant unit, but also exemplified the goal to help incarcerated women become good mothers before leaving . And I think it bred for me empathy, which is something that I didn't have a lot of when I was a teenager. You're looking ahead. I mean, Dyjuan, I think you had a brother who had been - a younger brother who'd struggled and had been incarcerated at some point. So, you know, the - in the Greek, liberal arts education literally means education worthy of a free man. YOON: Two more years after my bachelor's degree in 2017. That degree really means something when they leave this program with their degree from Bard. That means that 50% to 60% of the 630,000 people who get out of prison every year are back in prison in three years. Dyjuan, what's it been like connecting with your family again? And that's - Pell grants are supposed to be based on economic need. TATRO: Having a liberal arts education has made me a much deeper thinker. college behind bars where are they now. I went on to work for Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney on his attorney general campaign here in New York. 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. College Behind Bars, a four-part documentary film series directed by award-winning filmmaker Lynn Novick, produced by Sarah Botstein, and executive produced by Ken Burns, tells the story of a small group of incarcerated men and women struggling to earn college degrees and turn their lives around in one of the most rigorous and effective prison education programs in the United States the Bard Prison Initiative. DAVIES: Wow, that's really remarkable. DAVIES: Sebastian Yoon, what about connecting with your family? Add College Behind Bars to your must watch list! 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. 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. DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR, and we're discussing the new four-part PBS documentary "College Behind Bars." Hes a regular at the local Starbucks, where he takes his coffee with cinnamon, not too much sugar.. So people in the corrections department recognize that as well. I'm going to get emotional. College Behind Bars is an intimate look at the lives and experiences of a dozen BPI students and their families that confronts . Who among us is capable of academic excellence? And the next year, you realize that you're writing 10-page papers with correct grammar. Jule Hall walks through Sunnyside, Queens, his neighborhood. 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? Prison has the worst coffee, oh, my goodness thats one of the things I think anybody would tell you. Could you talk just a little bit about the process? Adult learners are, you know, much more mature and have life experience. You know, it's interesting. DAVIES: You know, this is tough material in these classes. Creating educational opportunities in prison nationwide. Or sushi, for that matter. But while I was receiving that education, as I said, it was liberating. All rights reserved. BPI alumni overwhelmingly go home to their communities and give back in ways that positively impact the lives of others. John & Catherine Debs, The Cousins Foundation, Inc., Abrams Foundation, Schwartz/Reisman Foundation, Ted Dintersmith & Elizabeth Hazard, McCloskey Family Charitable Trust, and Donna & Dick Strong. Simpson and Fritsch have a new book called "Crime In Progress." People were invested in this. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. And at the age of 10, my family - once my dad made enough money, we moved to Long Island. YOON: And part of that crime bill, Dave, was comprised - allocating $10 billion to build more prisons, and $10 billion at the time was enough to pay for higher education in prisons for more than 200 years. But I thought what just happened in the auditorium was also reality. I guess you still treasure that moment, don't you? And fewer than 4% have gone back to prison. The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) works to redefine the availability, affordability, and expectations typically associated with higher education in America. After serving 22 years in prison, he is making up for lost time, with a job at the Ford Foundation, good coffee and a long soak in the tub. DAVIES: You know, getting a liberal arts education is - it is a lot of work, and it expands one's horizons in a whole lot of ways. When kids stopped bothering me, I guess I started feeling this false sense of empowerment. They contribute to their communities in all the ways one might expect of any college graduate. (SOUNDBITE OF MARCUS ROBERTS' "IT'S MARIA'S DANCE"). It is a marvelous new film by @KenBurns, @LynnNovick, and @sbotstein! TATRO: So I actually graduated with my BA after I was released from prison. I'm Terry Gross. Bard Prison Initiative graduate Sebastian Yoon, featured in the new PBS documentary College Behind Bars, shares how BPI changed him and the Eastern Correctional Facility, where he was incarcerated until March. Lacy Aaron Schmidt was just 14 when he murdered his ex-girlfriend, Alana Calahan, in Columbia County, Georgia. Leath on "Born Behind Bars" Those interviewed in the video say Leath truly cared about the babies and their mothers in the nursery. SERIOUS READING I dont watch TV. You can see then Minister. Learn more about Pell restoration on our blog. Rodney, Sebastian and Giovannie embark on yearlong senior, The debate union faces Harvard. So I know when I was in college and I was reading Greek tragedy or Shakespeare or, you know, classic texts, it was just an assignment to me. The majority were first arrested as minors. We always have to be mindful of how those people like myself are returning back to their communities and back to their families. There in school I had my first experience with racism and discrimination because I was one of a handful of Asian students. That was not our experience at all. The Residency leads to an ongoing community of practice that builds on over a decade of cultivating a nationwide network of leading universities and colleges in the field, through the Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison. We see him, don't we? And today, there are 300 students in six facilities in New York state, mostly men, but there's one facility for women as well. Let's get back to the interview FRESH AIR's Dave Davies recorded with Lynn Novick, director of the new PBS documentary "College Behind Bars," and Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro, two graduates of the Bard Prison Initiative. By signing up for BPI emails, you are agreeing to receive news and updates from BPI. Who has access to educational opportunity? 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. How much noise is there, and does that make it hard to read, Dyjuan? If this kind of opportunity were widely available and the sort of foundational skills made possible, a lot more people could take advantage of it. This is the thing we know how to do, and we happen to do it here. Ill get up and just sit in silence in my apartment.. And she said, well, welcome to college. Like, that's who I am. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR.
Roseboro Funeral Home Hendersonville, Nc,
The Two Damsels Cervantes Summary,
Philip Lombard Age,
Onelife Fitness Guest Pass,
Cz Over Under Problems,
Articles C