A12B| Monday, October 21, 2019 ** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Inmate Debate Win Unlocks New Future
Three former New York prison team members who beat Harvard in 2015 say they are proof that education can turn lives around
prison two years ago, after
12 years of incarceration for
assault, and now has a bach-
elor’s degree from Bard Col-
lege as a math major.
He worked for U.S. Rep.
Sean Patrick Maloney during
his unsuccessful bid for New
York attorney general, advis-
ing the Democrat on crimi-
nal-justice issues. They met
when the congressman took
an interest in Bard’s model
for college in prison, which
has been replicated nation-
wide.
Now Mr. Tatro, who lives
in Manhattan, is a govern-
ment-affairs and advance-
ment officer for the Bard
Prison Initiative, trying to
help lawmakers understand
its goals and fund its expan-
sion.
“We’re in the business of
defying expectations of who
college is for and where it
might lead,” he said.
The prison initiative de-
pends mostly on private do-
nors. Its leaders are pushing
for the broad restoration of
federal Pell grants for tuition
for incarcerated students.
Prisoners were ineligible for
Pell grants after the 1994
crime bill became law.
Then in 2016, the U.S. De-
partment of Education al-
lowed a small group of col-
leges, including Bard, to tap
such funds through a “Sec-
ond Chance Pell” pilot, which
recently was renewed with
bipartisan support.Critics say tax dollars
shouldn’t pay for college for
felons when many law-abid-
ing citizens are racking up
massive student debt. “Re-
sources should be dedicated
to struggling middle-class
families who are finding it
hard to afford college for
their own kids,” said ScottReif, spokesman for Republi-
can leadership in the New
York state Senate.
Supporters of prison edu-
cation quote a nonpartisan
Rand Corp. study that found
such programs save money
by reducing recidivism.
The average annual cost
for each person in a NewYork prison is $69,000, by
state data, and about 40% of
offenders return to custody
within three years of release.
The Bard Prison Initiative
says its college program
costs about $9,000 for each
student yearly, and its
alumni’s recidivism rate is
less than 4%.A passion for giving
back to others
At 35, Carlos Polanco is
working on a memoir, relish-
ing his mother’s chicken
with sweet plantains and en-
joying romantic novels by
Nicholas Sparks. He talks of
the simple pleasure of feel-
ing free to buy books he
spots on sale.
“I completely lose track of
time reading and that’s been
great,” he said.
When Mr. Polanco left
prison two years ago, after
serving 14 years for man-
slaughter, he ended up in a
homeless shelter. He worked
as a math tutor at several
nonprofits, including one
that helps college freshmen
adjust to tougher workloads.
“It’s a passion of mine to
be able to give what I know
to others, specifically stu-
dents, so they can navigate
those sort of rough waters
that college tends to some-
times drown you in,” he said.
Mr. Polanco moved to a
New York City apartment
and finished his bachelor’s
degree at Bard last year. Hemajored in applied mathe-
matics in biology.
After stints as an office
manager and personal
trainer, Mr. Polanco now
works as an accounts-pay-
able analyst at 40 North, an
investment business on the
46th floor of a Midtown
Manhattan office tower with
panoramic views. He tapped
the Bard network to find
that post.
“To debate, it’s necessary
to fully immerse yourself in
the subject matter, and that
skill set translates into any
job,” Mr. Polanco said.Fostering ‘empathetic
thinkers’
Carl Snyder, 42, won’t be
released from prison until
2024 at the earliest. A 10th-
grade dropout, he was incar-
cerated for murder when his
son was a baby. Now his son
is 22.
Mr. Snyder says he has
deep regrets, but tries to
stay positive and prepare for
his return to the world out-
side.
While behind bars he has
earned a general-equivalency
diploma, a bachelor’s degree
in social studies from Bard
and a master’s degree in
professional studies from the
New York Theological Semi-
nary.
His capstone project is ti-
tled “A New Covenant: Re-
storing and Cultivating a
Civic Consciousness to En-
gage Youth in Embracing So-
ciety.” The paper calls for
teaching debate skills to chil-
dren as a way to help them
see different points of view.
“Debate provides a forum
where young people can en-
gage in complex social topics
in a safe space,” Mr. Snyder
said. “You need empathetic
thinkers.”
He has encouraged his
son, a construction worker,
to pursue college, so far to
no avail.
Mr. Snyder finds satisfac-
tion in growing squash, kale
and cilantro in a garden at
the prison. And he is taking
courses in public health.
Peers call him “the great
debater,” a skill he uses to
argue about the relative tal-
ents of basketball star Le-
Bron James and other ath-
letes.
Mr. Snyder often thinks of
his debate teammates’ new
lives outside of prison, and
the pride they carry from
their big day four years ago.
“I feel like part of me is
out there,” he said.W
hen inmates
inaNew
York maxi-
mum-security
prison beat
Harvard in a debate four
years ago, their victory made
international headlines and
highlighted the intellectual
talent behind bars.
Now, the three debaters
who outsmarted the Ivy
Leaguers have a new round
of accomplishments. Two
have found professional foot-
ing after release. The third,
still in prison, has earned a
master’s degree and wants
to work in public health
someday.
They say they always will
feel bonded to their debate
team at the Bard Prison Ini-
tiative, which offers free col-
lege to incarcerated men and
women. They aim to prove
the power of a rigorous edu-
cation to turn lives around.
“We hope we can tell a
story that changes the nar-
rative of who people in
prison are,” said Dyjuan Ta-
tro, who took the debate
stage that high-pressure af-
ternoon inside Eastern New
York Correctional Facility in
the Catskills. He calls his
team’s triumph “a story
about hard work, redemp-
tion and hope.”
The Bard Prison Initiative,
part of Bard College in An-
nandale-on-Hudson, enrolls
more than 300 students in-
side six New York prisons.
About 20 men at a time
earn coveted spots on the
debate team at Eastern,
which has lost only two of
its 11 matches in six years.
This past spring, it beat
challengers from the
University of Cambridge in
the U.K.
The win over Harvard pro-
vides one of the emotional
peaks in a new four-hour
documentary, “College Be-
hind Bars,” which explores
the lives of people serving
time for serious offenses and
struggling to become pro-
ductive citizens.
Directed by Lynn Novick
and executive produced by
Ken Burns, the series will air
Nov. 25 and 26 on PBS.
‘Defying expectations of
who college is for’
With a broad smile and
close-cropped beard, Mr. Ta-
tro cuts an elegant figure as
he juggles meetings and calls
at work. Thirty-three years
old, he was released from
BYLESLIEBRODY
GREATERNEWYORKWATCH
ALBANY
Lawmakers to Hold
Hearing on Recycling
New York state lawmakers will
hold a hearing on recycling amid
China’s decision to restrict scrap
imports.
The halt on China’s imports of
wastepaper and plastic has dis-
rupted U.S. recycling programs,
but it also has spurred invest-
ment in American plants that
process recyclables.
The heads of the state Senate
and Assembly environmental con-
servation committees say they
Torrington fire Chief Peter
Towey says off-duty firefighter
Brian Parks arrived at the scene
of the fire at about 12:30 a.m.
Saturday before the rest of the
department and safely evacuated
the residents.
No one was injured.
Chief Towey says the blaze
started in the garage and spread
to the single-family home.
Crews requested a second
alarm due to the severity of the
fire and brought in off-duty fire-
fighters.
The Drakeville, Harwinton
Westside Volunteer, and Tor-
ringford Volunteer Fire Depart-ments provided mutual aid.
The displaced residents are
staying with relatives. The cause
remains under investigation.
—Associated PressCONNECTICUTHousing Authority
Gets Federal FundingThe Connecticut Housing Fi-
nance Authority has received fed-
eral funding to counsel Connecti-
cut homeowners facing possible
foreclosure and educate first-time
home buyers.
The U.S. Department of Hous-ing and Urban Development
awarded Connecticut $140,723.
The funding will supplement
CHFA's annual investment of
about $590,000 in home buyer
education and counseling.
David Hopkins is president and
CEO of the Urban League of
Greater Hartford, an agency re-
ceiving some of the funding. He
says the money allows his organi-
zation to provide one-on-one
counseling sessions and classes
that help first-time home buyers
understand the process of buying
a home and the responsibility of
owning and maintaining it.
—Associated PressNEW YORK
Teenager Arrested
On Rape ChargesNew York state police say a
teenager arrested on rape and
sexual-abuse charges posted the
assault on social media. Police say
the 16-year-old was arrested in
Brewster on Friday.
State police say they learned
that the assault was recorded
and posted to social media. They
are warning the public that shar-
ing or viewing the video is a
crime and subject to arrest.
—Associated Presswill hear testimony to examine
statewide recycling issues in New
York City on Monday.
The hearing will examine New
York’s recycling markets and the
effectiveness of municipal recy-
cling planning, among other
issues.
—Associated PressCONNECTICUTFamily Rescued
From Burning HomeAn off-duty firefighter is being
credited with rescuing a Connecti-
cut family from their burning home.Carl Snyder, at lectern, spoke during a debate against Harvard in 2015 at the maximum-security Eastern New York Correctional Facility.Fellow inmates call Carl Snyder, left, ‘the great debater.’ Dyjuan Tatro recently spoke with audience members at the New York Film Festival. Below, Carlos Polanco says he is working on a memoir.
FROM TOP: JAMES SPRANKLE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (3); PETER FOLEY FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNALGREATER NEW YORK
NY