Benevolent Bard College

Another plane delay. Oh brother. Instead of earthquakes and tornados New England gets nor'easters (cyclonic storms) with heavy snow, rain and flooding. The intensity of this nor'easter bombed its way through New York this weekend. I aimed to hop a train and cancel my reservations with Continental but they refused refunds. Being at the mercy of airlines is nothing new and gives me time to think about more important matters. Like, last night's CBS 60 minutes episode.

Correspondent Bob Simon visited an elite liberal arts college just south of Albany that educates inmmates at a nearby maximum security prison called Eastern Correctional Facility. The ex-cons are serving long sentences for assault, rape and murder and possibility of early parole is slim. 50% of those that do eventually leave just end up back on the streets more desperate than before. That's where Bard College is making a difference. Bard provides a privately-funded program to rehabiliate and free the minds of the incarcerated so when they finally enter the world they have the ability to think and reason.

"The Bard College program, which is privately funded, has been in this prison for six years and the academics are tough. One inmate tells Simon he and other inmates study five or six hours a day, outside of class, to make the grade." Courses, like English, sociology, philosophy, and German are more important than learning a trade or some vocational training because it teaches you how to cope in life, sums up an ex-con. Benevolent Bard makes an investment in people that society has written off and in effect is reducing crime.

"Not every prisoner gets the opportunity; only about 10 percent of the inmates who apply to the college program are accepted. Prison life can be so routine and depressing, it's no wonder that these men jump at the chance to escape with their minds, if not with their bodies."

This is radical thinking on Bard's part and in my opinion, a no-brainer for reducing crime.