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"The University of Sing Sing" takes viewers inside the walls of the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining where nearly 1,700 men are serving time.
The film shows the transformative power of education as the men work toward a college degree through Hudson Link for Higher Education, a privately funded non-profit organization that offers college courses to inmates.
“As a college we support higher education and all the opportunities and promise that it offers," Mercy College Interim President Dr. Concetta M. Stewart said. "A program like Hudson Link truly offers a second chance and here at Mercy we are happy to work on such a worthy cause.”
“The University Of Sing Sing” debuts Monday, March 31 9:45-10:30 p.m. ET/PT, exclusively on HBO.
The film spotlights the men in the Hudson Link program as they explain the crimes that brought them to Sing Sing, the world they left behind and how education has changed their outlook on life. The study program currently has 129 male students enrolled, and those who graduate will receive an associate degree or a bachelors’s of science degree from Mercy College.
"A college diploma is a life-changing gift for these men; the effects go beyond their own personal journeys," Hudson Link Executive Director Sean Pica said.
Pica, who was also incarcerated and completed his own college degree in the program, said the program is essential for successful re-entry to society after prison.
“How do we want these men to return to us in the community - the same way they went in, or worse?," Pica said. "Or do you want them changed and thinking about what they’ve done, and educated and looking to make a difference in their lives and the communities they are returning to?”
To view a trailer log on to the film link.
The special screening us open to the public. It begins with a 6 p.m. reception and includes a panel discussion following the screening.
RSVP encouraged: PR@mercy.edu or (914) 674-7736
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