college behind bars where are they now

I finished my degree in the spring of 2018. Parts One & Two. YOON: Yeah. And so I was a little bit intimidated by that. So let's just listen to this. I'm Terry Gross. Who among us is capable of academic excellence? DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR, and we're discussing the new four-part PBS documentary "College Behind Bars." Max Kenner, when he started it, was an undergraduate at Bard and just saw this need and, you know, convinced the college that it would be something that they should try to do. 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,. And when I actually started my courses, I was shocked by how rigorous and how demanding the program was. This is a scene where there's a group of brand-new students at the Eastern Correctional Facility, which is a maximum security facility in New York, just been admitted to the program after a competitive admissions process, and what we see is a not terribly large classroom and a group of 15 to 20 men in blue jumpsuits seated at typical classroom desks. 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. It was seeing what happens when students are first confronted with material that seems really daunting, and they have to learn to think critically and express ideas that are kind of uncomfortable and that over time you see them - they're - you know, their thinking and expression becomes sharper and more sophisticated. 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. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. I don't see myself as a person. Celebrating 200+ degrees in six graduations back in person with Congressman Bobby Rush. 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. So there was this kind of seamless movement from one setting to another. It's about a program in which professors of Bard College give college classes in six correctional institutions. You have this big smile on your face when you're leaving the auditorium and the mess hall. Siena Poll Today Showed Huge, Bipartisan Majorities For Programs That Lower Barriers to Incarcerated New Yorkers Re-Entering Society Sebastian Yoon, how long after your graduation did you have to serve before you got - were released? As public funding of college-in-prison returns to the field the question shifts from Will there be college-in-prison? 1. All these things are intersecting and overlapping. Get the latest news about BPI and our work. The documentary prompts viewers to consider the importance of higher education in prison. Faculty are going to be evaluating what you do as a student, exclusively. They study all the disciplines in the liberal arts. Following the development of regulations issued by the US Department of Education, incarcerated students who are enrolled in approved programs are expected to be eligible for Pell in the 2023-2024 academic year. Recidivism rates skyrocketed for a variety of reasons, including this, and slowly, some privately funded programs started to come back in. In August 2022, BPI joined colleagues across the field in issuing public comments in response to the Department of Educations proposed regulatory language. Since 2001, BPI has created groundbreaking opportunities for college within Americas prison systems. Are they right about that, Dyjuan? I mean, there's - it's in the prison auditorium - right? : r/loveafterlockup. How can we have justice without redemption? For 22 years he didnt have one. 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. And they really love to engage the professors and each other, and that was true for every single class. Were they all like that, Lynn? College Behind Bars is the inspiring, emotional, deeply human story of men and women struggling to earn college degrees while in prison for serious crimes. Others that have to do, you know, kind of routine prison jobs instead of being in class - was there jealousy or resentment? Ken Burns is executive producer. 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. Turkish prisons do not have a specific policy regarding children, but in general, they are not allowed in prison. In 2016, BPI was proud to join the first cohort of sites receiving experimental eligibility through Second Chance Pell. Check out more details below: What I prize is the education and the knowledge that I received in the process of obtaining that degree. I worked as a cook. I believe that me having committed a crime doesn't make me a bad person. He lives alone in an apartment in Sunnyside, Queens, which he chose for its proximity to the foundation, just across the East River. 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. That degree really means something when they leave this program with their degree from Bard. 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. So the program is 20 years old, and it started small. Director Lynn Novick and graduates Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro talk about how the program changes lives. I know it's not love after lockup but I couldn't really find a relevant sub. I can give them different types of advice. So when we start talking about what is best for people in prisons, Lynn said we should include them in that conversation. The Bard Prison Initiative enrolls over 300 incarcerated students in six New York State prisons. Become a BPI supporter today and join a passionate community that believes in the power of education. And then I came to crave it more and more. This is five times a day, right? This movement took on renewed urgency following Congresss reinstatement of Pell Grant access to incarcerated students in 2020. BPI was founded in 1999, in the wake of the decimation of college-in-prison. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR. And the Bard Prison Initiative, which was - began in 1999. Meet the cast of Behind Bars: Rookie Year on A&E. Get season by season character and cast bios and more only on A&E. So you have this problem where you have to try to juggle these two realities, one of which is so beautiful and one of which is so dark and disgusting where you have to reveal your body and your orifices. DAVIES: Yeah. We will hear Sebastian Yoon first and then we'll hear Dyjuan Tatro. As they begin their studies at Eastern and Taconic Correctional facilities, they discover that they will be held to the same high standards as Bard College students on the main campus in Annandale-on-Hudson. Vocational training is fine, but we should also be having an opportunity for higher education. 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. Born Behind Bars is a documentary series that takes place in a maximum-security prison in Indiana. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. Now that Im thinking about it: more often than not, Im recognizing that the Twin Towers is not part of that skyline anymore. Colleges or universities partnering in the Consortium. One of the Bard professors said, you know, I don't have all these multimedia tools that you do in a big institution, but when you're in a class where everybody's done the reading, you don't need them as much. And then this changed in the . College Behind Bars is a production of Skiff Mountain Films, in association with Florentine Films and WETA-TV. So people in the corrections department recognize that as well. 2023 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). I'm done. Mostly I stop at Queensbridge Park, but there are times when I ride the bike lane all the way to the end of Astoria. Ill get up and just sit in silence in my apartment. So once that happened, almost all those programs vanished - went from about 800 programs to fewer than 10. Who has access to educational opportunity? Also with us is the director of the documentary, Lynn Novick. But I'm wondering, was there a point at which it just seemed hard to adjust? She spent four years in prisons taping material for the documentary, which is her solo directorial debut. Our guests today are Lynn Novick, who directed the documentary, and two graduates of the program, Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro. Creating educational opportunities in prison nationwide. The subjects and filmmakers reveal the inspiring story of how the power of education can change lives in College Behind Bars. DAVIES: You know, I'd like, Sebastian and Dyjuan, to hear a little bit about how - reconciling with your families. So, you know, the - in the Greek, liberal arts education literally means education worthy of a free man. It was just a really, really moving moment to be celebrated on the main Bard campus in that way by all these amazing young people. Hes a regular at the local Starbucks, where he takes his coffee with cinnamon, not too much sugar.. It teaches you how smart you are. My father never saw me as a bad person. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This July we issued $650,000 in grants in the US and around the world. Born behind bars. DAVIES: And if you're in class when it's time for a count, what happens? I was in a poor, disadvantaged community, and I ended up at a very young age in gangs. YOON: My family has been super supportive of me, as you'll see in the documentary, especially my father. You are Korean American, right? And it helped me understand my place in the world and activated me as a civically minded person. 27 2023 . Skiff Mountain Films 2019 | info@skiffmountainfilms.com 2026. 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. `` College Behind Bars. prisons, Lynn said we should include them in conversation... Corrections Department recognize that as well solo directorial debut Department of Educations proposed regulatory language 2019 | info @ 2026. 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