Sign up for the College Behind Bars newsletter to learn more about the film and events nationwide. She spent four years in prisons taping material for the documentary, which is her solo directorial debut. TATRO: No. And when I actually started my courses, I was shocked by how rigorous and how demanding the program was. So I grew up in Flushing, Queens. And then they're like, strip. DAVIES: We're talking about the new PBS documentary "College Behind Bars" with Lynn Novick, the director, and with Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro, two formerly incarcerated graduates of the Bard Prison Initiative. To learn more about the restoration of TAP, read Jessica Neptunes the Director of National Engagement blog post here & Executive Director, Max Kenners, letter to our supporters here. The recent PBS series, "College Behind Bars," chronicles Mr. Hall's eventual parole and release in 2015. College Behind Bars, the four-part documentary about the transformative power of education, premiered nationwide on PBS in November 25, 2019. YOON: Oh. Vocational training is fine, but we should also be having an opportunity for higher education. The vast majority of people in this country that are incarcerated are going to be returning to society. The numbers that I remember from the documentary was that at - there were about 890 or so in the institution, 110 in the program, which is a pretty good number. But in reality, out here, the degrees matter. I sit in there for about 30 minutes with my phone on the side playing music. Helping prisoners go to college helps New York, Press Release: TURN ON THE TAP NY PRAISES GOVERNOR HOCHUL FOR INCLUDING TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR INCARCERATED NEW YORKERS IN BUDGET, WBAIs On the Count The Prison And Criminal Justice Report, BPI and College Behind Bars in The Appeal, College Behind Bars with Max Kenner and Sebastian Yoon. The documentary, "College Behind Bars," airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations and will also be available for streaming. And I remember walking in and seeing men like me in prison uniforms, except that they were speaking Mandarin. And I started to respond with violence because I thought I had no other option. 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. TATRO: Having a liberal arts education has made me a much deeper thinker. (SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "COLLEGE BEHIND BARS"). And also with us are Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro, two formerly incarcerated graduates of the Bard Prison Initiative. YOON: And it was a very interesting moment for me where I realized that the education that I was receiving in prison was the same education that I would receive had I gone to college out 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? Jule Hall walks through Sunnyside, Queens, his neighborhood. WebCollege Behind Bars, which airs on PBS Monday and Tuesday night, offers TV audiences a rare window into the U.S. correctional system. They have the bike path right on the corner that leads all the way to the East River. And I think the answer is no. My father was in Vietnam, came home drug-addicted and has never really recovered from that. GROSS: FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. That kind of thing. They worked with former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, whose dossier was leaked and published. As a result, the number of college-in-prison programs in New York fell from over 70 to 4. I have several friends who are still incarcerated that I spent my summers outside of class tutoring, and they're now in the program. 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. Also with us is the director of the documentary, Lynn Novick. And I just wonder if you could reflect a bit on how it might have changed you - Dyjuan. Find standards-aligned teaching resources for Read BPIs open letter here. Mr. Hall is the first formerly incarcerated person to be hired full-time by the Ford. Get the latest news about BPI and our work. So let's just listen to this. Do they have a place as opposed to, you know, this really rigorous academic program? This movement took on renewed urgency following Congresss reinstatement of Pell Grant access to incarcerated students in 2020. Both of you went into prison as teenagers and came out as young men. 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. YOON: So I believe that, you know, the degree is just a piece of paper, and I think there's too much significance tied to the degree. You may change your parameters at any time using the link found at the bottom of every email. I mean, there's - it's in the prison auditorium - right? college behind bars where are they now. Few people know the joy of a free Sunday like Jule Hall. But as we got to know the students, we began to understand the circumstances of their lives, which, as you say, were complicated, sometimes tragic, often involved exposure to violence and other tragic experiences. Today, BPI enrolls over 300 incarcerated students full-time in programs that culminate in degrees from Bard College; it offers extensive support for its alumni in and around New York City; and, it has developed the BPI Summer Residency, an intensive, experiential, and hands-on series of workshops on the nuts and bolts of college-in-prison for new and emerging practitioners led by BPI staff and alumni. And I kind of froze in place and just looked around the room and just felt really, really inspired. And I wondered - I couldn't help but wonder when I went - when I submitted this application, would they see this and give me a chance for an interview had I not been able to write that I received a Bard bachelor's degree? 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. No, I'm done. Starbucks is a place where people dont notice each other; theyre more focused on their computer or their phone. 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? Get the latest news about BPI and our work. (Speaking Korean) Thank you. 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. You know, you forgot your book; you can't just go back and get your book. They work in business, the arts, and media; they attend graduate school; they have careers in human services. Yoon and Tatro earned college degrees taking rigorous courses taught by Bard College faculty in a maximum-security prison. The College: Comprehensive Academic Engagement. And what the film shows and the work at BPI shows is that that cannot be more untrue. And I always remember, no, no, no. After the federal Pell ban in 1994, New York implemented a ban on TAP eligibility in 1995. Most had circumstances early in their life, which were really, really tough, heartbreaking in many cases. Read the Interview in Mother Jones Post Date: 12-11-2019 YOON: I never stopped being a student. We see him, don't we? So, you know, Bard has some re-entry services, mainly job placement and career development. And fewer than 4% have gone back to prison. 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. 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. 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. I grew up in a single-parent household, the child of a disabled mother. DAVIES: Right. It's not our business. Yoon and Tatro both entered prison as teenagers, and both earned bachelor's degrees in the Bard Prison Initiative. And so I was a little bit intimidated by that. Of course, I recognize where this comes from: I wasnt around children for 22 years. How can we have justice without redemption? A groundbreaking exploration of incarceration, injustice, race in America, and the transformative power of education. Prison is not an easy place to get an education. Now that Im thinking about it: more often than not, Im recognizing that the Twin Towers is not part of that skyline anymore. college behind bars where are they now. And then you address your father directly. DAVIES: Yeah, this business of counts - I mean, Sebastian Yoon, do you want to explain this? A QUIET START I allow myself to sleep no later than 7:30, because on a weekday I get up around 5. I mean, it's a wide range of liberal arts curriculums. DAVIES: Yeah. And there's - I'll just let the listeners know there's an emotional moment here where you start to speak of your family, and you have to stop and compose yourself. College Behind Bars, a four-part documentary directed by award-winning filmmaker Lynn Novick takes you on an intimate journey of a dozen BPI students who are earning their college degrees while incarcerated. 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. In 2016, BPI was proud to join the first cohort of sites receiving experimental eligibility through Second Chance Pell. DAVIES: Dyjuan Tatro, what was your graduation experience like? - with, you know, caps and gowns and photos and parents in the audience. 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. YOON: Two more years after my bachelor's degree in 2017. And I went to prison for 12 years at the age of 19, 20 for assault. Our guests are Lynn Novick, who directed the documentary, and Dyjuan Tatro and Sebastian Yoon, two graduates of the program. 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. You know, I am originally from Albany, N.Y. Even after you graduate, as long as you are in a prison in which Bard Prison Initiative operates, you're allowed to take courses. What I prize is the education and the knowledge that I received in the process of obtaining that degree. This is when you, Sebastian Yoon, are speaking at the graduation. Fact: Learn more about Pell restoration on our blog. Colleges or universities partnering in the Consortium. 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. They've earned college degrees and are now employed. You may change your parameters at any time using the link found at the bottom of every email. 1. As a result, the number of college-in-prison programs in New York. Let's listen. You are Korean American, right? I want that education. Thank you so much for speaking with us. 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. A scholar who has taught in prison weighs in on 'College Behind Bars,' which airs Nov. 25 and 26 on PBS. And, you know, spending time in the classrooms - as Sarah Botstein, the producer, and I did - I kept thinking, I wish I could go back to college and have this experience because it is - the classes are small. Since its first cohort in 2001, BPI students have earned over 52,000 credits and more than 550 Bard College degrees. Congratulations. 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