Sometimes the biggest difference between a prison inmate and an Ivy League student is opportunity. A group of prison inmates got the opportunity to face off against Harvard students in a debate and the outcome was eye-opening.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the prisoners were from eastern New York correctional facilities and included men who were serving time for murder. They were a part of the Bard Prison Initiative, which offers college courses for the incarcerated.
The prisoners also have a more difficult route when preparing for a debate. They aren’t allowed to use the Internet, and it can take weeks for them to receive updated books, newspapers and journals.
But the prisoners were up to the task as they had to argue in favor of an issue they disagreed with. Resolved: “Public schools in the United States should have the ability to deny enrollment to undocumented students.”
Along with defeating Harvard, the prison debate team also have victories against the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the University of Vermont.
But the Bard program is an aberration when compared to other prisons across the country. Most states have cut funding for prisoners to obtain a GED or college degree in jail. As a result, most prisoners are unprepared to enter the workforce once they are released.
Out of the 300 inmates who earned a degree through the Bard program, less than 2 percent returned to prison in three years.
