It’s been over a month since New York State correctional officers went on a wildcat strike, advocating for better staffing, pay, and more — sending 40 prisons into lockdown, including the facility that houses MMC’s Bedford Hills College Program (BHCP). Since then, a deal was reached to end the strike, bringing some officers back to the prison, but the staffing issue persists. 

BHCP gives the incarcerated individuals at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility an ability to pursue degrees through academics and extracurriculars. Since 2006, MMC has hosted the Crossing Borders Academic Conference at the correctional facility every 1-2 years, with around 200 attendees. The event allows professors and students, both inside and outside, to present their work and reminds Bedford students they are part of a broader academic community. Due to staffing shortages, Crossing Borders was canceled this year. 

“We can’t even think about asking to have 100 outside guests into the facility right now. And graduation is more of a priority, so we’re just gonna cancel crossing borders at this point and hope and pray that we can have graduation this year,” said Coordinator of the Prison Education Program Jessica Soble. “It’s really just a security thing; they don’t have enough coverage for extra people to be in the prison.”

Despite the disappointment of canceling a decades-long tradition, BHCP staff continue to work hard to complete their principal goal of completing the semester. With correctional officers back in the facility, BHCP coordinators are able to drop off assignments and supplies at the front gate of the prison — something they did via mail during the lockdown. 

A week’s worth of supplies and assignments are given to an officer at the front gate and then taken to the various cells of the incarcerated individuals. The program is essentially a repeat of the distance learning protocol BHCP used during the pandemic. Soble was a student of the BHCP during the pandemic, so she remembers the importance of continuing learning — even from a distance. 

“That was kind of our saving grace at the time because when they’re in this lockdown situation you have nothing to do, and these are girls that are used to working all day and then going to school at night and having homework,” said Soble. “So it was really like we really had a lot of sleepless nights working restlessly these last few weeks to make sure that these girls can get their credits and get what they need to graduate because it’s deeper than just missing a semester for some of them.” 

Soble’s own experience is a testament to the difference one semester can make for a BHCP student. Because of completing credits through the college program, Soble was able to apply for a Limited Credit Time Allowance (LCTA) and reduce her sentence. Losing a semester could mean losing valuable credits towards 6-24 months off of a sentence. 

“You have to have so many credits and it has to be continuous. If they miss the semester they don’t get that,” said Soble. “Just to put it into context, I was released on May 22. My oldest daughter graduated high school exactly 3 weeks later and made me promise after 10 years that I would be there. So something like this would’ve crushed my whole world cause I wouldn’t have made it.” 

Despite the rocky road, things are starting to look up, and Soble hopes that within a week or two Professors will be back in the facility with the BHCP students. The hope is to be in-person for the last half of the semester. 

Reflecting on the support BHCP has received from MMC along the way, Soble spoke in reference to Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs / Dean of the Faculty Katie Langan and Interim President Peter Naccarato, saying, “Katie, Peter, they’ve always been super super supportive of this program.”

“I feel like if it was a bigger college, if it wasn’t so intimate they would be like ‘oh no just pull the semester and it’ll be a wash, we don’t care about what they’re going through.’ But Katie and Peter, their first question was ‘how are the women?’ So it’s a different vibe,” said Soble. “They really do care and they genuinely support this program.”