"College Behind Bars" airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations. 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. TATRO: Having a liberal arts education has made me a much deeper thinker. DAVIES: And Sebastian, you can tell us a little bit about your transition. So there was this kind of seamless movement from one setting to another. And at the age of 10, my family - once my dad made enough money, we moved to Long Island. ALBANY,ReadMore, Tags: CCF, College in Prison, Press Release, TAP, Turn on the Tap, In this episode, listen to an in-depth conversation with Max Kenner '01, alumnus Dyjuan Tatro '18, and Vivian Nixon, Executive Director of College & Community Fellowship who discuss the impact of federal Pell Grant restoration; what's next for TAP restoration in New York; theReadMore, The Appeal featured several segments about BPI in two Justice in America podcast episodes, as well as an op-ed. YOON: Well, classes usually happen in between counts. For the NFLs My Cause My Cleats campaign, Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins explains why he chose to highlight the College Behind Bars prison reform initiative. Because when people ask that question or that question's being asked, that's usually the implicit assumption, that they are only capable of this level of education. Virtually none return to prison. 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. How can we have justice without redemption? DAVIES: Dyjuan Tatro, what was your graduation experience like? And before the 1994 Clinton crime bill, there were college programs in almost every correctional facility in America. But I needed that degree in order to get my first interview, and then I went to four more interviews after that where I was able to prove myself through speech. 56 views, 2 likes, 3 loves, 4 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from New&Living Way Gospel Temple: Sunday service DAVIES: Sebastian Yoon, tell us what it was like getting started in these classes. And I said, that's what I'm going to do, and I was in a different facility at that time - easier said than done. But first, we need you to sign in to PBS using one of the services below. I go to bed around 9 or 10. NOVICK: Yeah. I wake up every morning and I realize Im free and Im just so grateful to be here.. Ill fix me a scrambled egg with a cinnamon raisin bagel in my toaster. Ill get up and just sit in silence in my apartment. There's a lot of interaction with the students, with the professor and with each other, and a tremendous amount learning also goes on outside the classroom. Vocational training is fine, but we should also be having an opportunity for higher education. And Max Kenner, who is the founder and executive director of the program, is welcoming the new students. Are they right about that, Dyjuan? After the federal Pell ban in 1994, New York implemented a ban on TAP eligibility in 1995. By Tyler Kendall January 17, 2020 / 2:19 PM / CBS News Dameon Stackhouse was several years into his. And within, you know, a month, they're doing college-level reading and writing. So how long does this take? I'm a college student. And that had been true for over a generation, and it was well understood and accepted that education was an essential part of criminal justice and of rehabilitation. But that means a lot that weren't - probably some applied and did not get in. How College in Prison Turns Around Lives and Saves Taxpayers Money, Knowledge & Redemption, A Conversation with Lynn Novick and Jule Hall, Incarcerated People Can Do More than Beat Harvard in a Debate. Also with us are Dyjuan Tatro and Sebastian Yoon, graduates of the program. I mean, I think, you know, having taught in the program myself, you walk into class, and the students are there. So we really take the opportunity that we had seriously and try to give back in real, tangible ways to the wider population. But I'm wondering, was there a point at which it just seemed hard to adjust? I'm going to ask each of you to give me your first impressions here. They both earned college degrees and are now employed. You have to go back to your cell. It took me six years to get from where I was to where Bard was. 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. Rodney has been incarcerated for 17 years and is currently incarcerated at Fishkill. Skiff Mountain Films 2019 | info@skiffmountainfilms.com BPI transforms wealth, power, and purpose in America by providing full-scholarship, college education in the most unlikely places. I had to understand the idea of hubris, and I had to understand the idea of tragedy, and I had to understand these concepts. Let's start with a clip from the documentary. And I started to respond with violence because I thought I had no other option. The series follows the inmates as they give birth and raise their children behind bars. There are counts. But for the men gathered on this October afternoon, it. Both of you went into prison as teenagers and came out as young men. Adjust the colors to reduce glare and give your eyes a break. All these things are intersecting and overlapping. I can give them different types of advice. DAVIES: We're talking about the new PBS documentary "College Behind Bars" with Lynn Novick, who directed the series. So I was charged at the age of 16 for manslaughter in the first degree, and I was sentenced to 15 years. And I just want to - after the euphoria of graduation, I mean, you certainly - you know, you had this terrific asset, this college degree that a lot of ex-offenders don't. What you see at the end is a testament to the power of education, and why it remains such a dangerous and underrated weapon against a racially and economically unjust status quo in this nation., The powerful new miniseries suggests we might find hope in the transformative effect of higher education., [A] nuanced look at education in the prison industrial complex., An important educational call to arms. Or sushi, for that matter. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR. It's two different systems, right? My colleagues are aware of different types of cuisine and restaurants and whenever we travel together for work or have a lunch together, theres this tendency to talk about food and wine. college behind bars where are they now. Do they have a place as opposed to, you know, this really rigorous academic program? TATRO: And, you know, I'll just add that we have been - we have done screenings in prisons from California to Massachusetts. We, you know, without quite realizing at the beginning, have ended up exploring this really deep question. I mean, both - from the documentary, it seems that both of you had supportive families. Who has access to educational opportunity? college behind bars where are they now. Read BPIs open letter here. - and wait until you get the all clear? In 1993, Mr. Hall, then 17, was involved in a gunfight in Brooklyn, when a bullet fired toward him killed his neighbor instead. The documentary prompts viewers to consider the importance of higher education in prison. College Behind Bars, which airs on PBS Monday and Tuesday night, offers TV audiences a rare window into the U.S. correctional system. "We all have. Find standards-aligned teaching resources for Dyjuan, what's it been like connecting with your family again? People were invested in this. 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. You know, what's striking about this program is that - I think a lot of people who think about ways that prisons can help incarcerated people get jobs when they get out of prison is to provide vocational training - you know, teach people to be welders or auto mechanics or, you know, stuff like that. 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. 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. You know, it's interesting. "College Behind Bars" follows students in the Bard Prison Initiative, a privately funded college program that began in 2001 in New York state prisons. Ill get up and just sit in silence in my apartment.. 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. With so much at stake, BPI is doubling down on our commitments to national engagement in policy and practice including The BPI Summer Residency for emerging programs and practitioners. 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. So, you know, the - in the Greek, liberal arts education literally means education worthy of a free man. You're looking ahead. The type of things that are available to people in prison currently are somewhat outdated. This past is constantly being resurrected. In his senior project, BPI student Rodney Spivey-Jones 17 traces the long history of struggle against anti-Black racism in America. And this is a moment from the film after the graduation ceremony, which we just saw, where I guess, Sebastian, you got your degree and, Dyjuan, you were attending but you're reflecting on what it's like to finish this joyous event and then leave the prison auditorium and then return to the housing unit where you will be rudely searched and then go back to your cells. And I was bullied a lot. You know, I am originally from Albany, N.Y. YOON: My family has been super supportive of me, as you'll see in the documentary, especially my father. After graduation, there were like, 30, on each side of the shower room just waiting for you. Mostly I stop at Queensbridge Park, but there are times when I ride the bike lane all the way to the end of Astoria. Bad Boys bakery was a social enterprise set up in HM Prison Brixton, in the UK. Ken Burns is executive producer. He worked 11-hour shifts, so he was mostly at work. You know, I'm a brother. Hold on. Learn more about Pell restoration on our blog. And because the coffees so bad, we overcompensate with sugar or creamer. DAVIES: Yeah. And then, you know, you're approaching this search area, and you're in this liminal place. NOVICK: Yes, indeed. I'm going to get emotional. College Behind Bars remains - especially in the first episode - admirably focused on the practicalities of prison life and prison programmes. So within the prison context, you know, people know who the guys are in BPI, and they come to us for advice. You may change your parameters at any time using the link found at the bottom of every email. Im trying to act younger than my age, so I sometimes listen to trap music. Were they all like that, Lynn? TATRO: Sure. When incarcerated students from the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) Debate Union beat a team from Harvard, their victory made headlines around the world. Recidivism rates skyrocketed for a variety of reasons, including this, and slowly, some privately funded programs started to come back in. They were doing advanced mathematics, math without numbers on the board. It raises questions we urgently need to address: What is prison for? oyster bay snow crab combo meat puckett's auto auction okc does tulane have a track. Use one of the services below to sign in to PBS: You've just tried to add this video to My List. YOON: For me, a liberal arts education cultivated in me conceptual and intellectual openness that invited me to consider worlds outside of my world from different times, thought and space. Accuracy and availability may vary. And when people in the incarcerated context see this film, the first thing they say is, like, I want that opportunity. So it's just - it's really an open question. YOON: Two more years after my bachelor's degree in 2017. TATRO: You know, this - I'm the first person in my family who's ever gone to college. Creating educational opportunities in prison nationwide. Great to have all of you. You know, he likes to tell me, you know, many people, when they get pushed down to their hands and knees, the easiest thing for them to do is just lay down. The BPI student body mirrors that of the prison system at large: students come from communities with the fewest quality educational opportunities that are most impacted by crises of hyper-policing and mass incarceration. And then this changed in the '90s when we had the crime bill, right? DYJUAN TATRO: You know, one of the most salient moments for me in my time in BPI is my first time walking in to the Bard library at Eastern Correctional Facility. Like, that's who I am. (Video Courtesy ESPN, Monday Night Countdown. I know it's not love after lockup but I couldn't really find a relevant sub. And it has had a profound impact on my personality and just the way that I move through the world today. Everyone that we got to know well took full responsibility for what happened and explained the context in which it happened and how they are reckoning with it today. The four-part series follows the journey of men and women incarcerated in. Who among us is capable of academic excellence? Copyright 2019 NPR. (Speaking Korean) Thank you. Incarcerated men and women are admitted to the Bard Prison Initiative, a rigorous college program, where some make great strides while others . Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. 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. And what this education does is it untaps (ph) that potential. They've earned college degrees and are now employed. And what were the circumstances that that landed you in this prison? 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. And I think - I was lonely. 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. You know, Lynn Novick, I believe this project grew out of your own experience teaching a course, right? The recent PBS series, "College Behind Bars," chronicles Mr. Hall's eventual parole and release in 2015. And I always remember, no, no, no. CONTACT: Eric Koch | ericdkoch@gmail.com So when we start talking about what is best for people in prisons, Lynn said we should include them in that conversation. Learn more about this important amendment to the Merit Board rules, and its disproportionate impact on incarcerated women, on our blog. CAST OF CHARACTERS Im ashamed to say this, but I people-watch. He started his college education behind bars. Let's keep the noise down. You can just see this intellectual blossoming. In this era of mass incarceration, America is the world's largest jailer, with more than 2 million men and women behind bars; 630,000 are released annually, and nearly 50 percent end up back in . SAVOR I usually order a venti Pike, not too strong. And that moment when that letter came forever altered the trajectory of my life. I have several friends who are still incarcerated that I spent my summers outside of class tutoring, and they're now in the program. 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