Crossing Borders Conference Brings MMC and BHCP Communities Together for Scholastic Discussion

The program commenced with opening remarks by the conference organizers: BHCP Director Aileen Baumgartner, Humanities Division Chair Peter Naccarato and Communication Arts Professor Katie LeBesco. A series of concurrent panel presentations and discussions followed, which ranged in subject from “The Baptist Gourmet” to “Write On! A Group Experience” to “The HEOP’s Student Experience at Marymount Manhattan College.” During lunch, inmates shared a selection of engaging poems, songs and dances with the audience.

“For our BHCP students, the conference was hugely enlightening, empowering, and gratifying. It’s a day when we celebrate knowledge for its own sake, not because it is practically good to have a degree, but because it is simply good to engage in intellectual pursuit,” Aileen Baumgartner said. “This is an entirely new idea for most of our students, and they love it; it opens worlds for them and they realize, maybe for the first time in their lives, that they can in fact be a part, even a valuable part, of those worlds.” 

Katie Chakey ’08 presented “Creative Kinetics,” a plan for a rehabilitative movement, voice and reflection program to be potentially integrated into substance abuse and psychiatric treatment of women at Bedford Hills. 

Kaitlin Luongo ’09, Jillian Mains ’09 and Associate Professor of Psychology Cheryl Paradis presented on the “Current Issues in Psychology and Law” panel. Luongo examined “The Role of Sexual Orientation on Attitudes toward Battered Women’s Syndrome” and Mains studied “Attitudes toward Convicted Sex Offenders.” Luongo and Mains each conducted surveys of Marymount Manhattan students and presented their findings and conclusions. Paradis reviewed the two studies, suggested ideas for further research, and discussed the findings in a modern context. 

During the “Justice and Restoration” panel, Judith Katz, Judy C., Rosalyn S., Cynthia B. and Donna H. discussed the experience of making “What I Want My Words to Do to You,” a film about women in a writing program at the BHCP. Barbara Martinsons discussed Greek plays as a point of reference during her “Possibilities: Forgiveness and Repair” presentation.

The conference fostered academic interaction and conversation among students and faculty of MMC and the BHCP program: “I started to feel more and more like a woman attending a college conference than I did like an inmate at Bedford Hills,” one of the BHCP students said. “Inside, I was beaming.”

“The Crossing Borders conference once again demonstrated the high quality of scholarly inquiry at MMC and Bedford Hills; the presentations were dynamic and thought-provoking, and students and faculty alike seemed energized by our shared experience that day,” Professor Katie LeBesco said.

Other Bedford Hills College Program professors included Thomas Gora and Duston Spear.

Other Marymount Manhattan College students included Lara Butfilowski, Alyssa Hardy, Alex Kane, Sharon Keeler, Erin Mulderig, Ingrid Sotelo, Rebecca Steckler, Jessica Stevens, Gabrielle Venito and Chelsea Zeffiro.

Other Marymount Manhattan professors and staff included Michael Backus, Radhika Balakrishnan, Susan Behrens, Rachel Brandoff, Millie Falcaro, Stella Kim, David Linton, Magdalena Maczynska, Eberly Mareci, Cindy Mercer, Diana Nash, Waleska Padilla, Michelle Ronda, Kevin Smith, Gloria Stevens, Jill Stevenson, Roy Tietze and Blanca Vega.

Guests included Charon Hribar and Derrick McQueen of the Union Theological Seminary Poverty Initiative, Robert Scott of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Education Justice Project and poet Lisa Williams. 

This event marked the second Crossing Borders Conference at Bedford Hills. The first took place in April 2007. Through the Bedford Hills College Program, MMC offers college and college-preparatory coursework to inmates at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, a New York State maximum-security prison for women. The BHCP consists of non-credit and credit-bearing courses, awarding Associate of Arts degrees in Social Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Sociology. In 1997, Marymount Manhattan College became the program’s degree granting institution as part of a unique consortium of colleges that supports BHCP.

Published: October 28, 2008