University to share documentary 'Counted Out'

09/17/2025

"Counted Out," an illuminating and timely documentary that investigates one of the biggest crises of our time through an unexpected lens, math, will be screened on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at SUNY Cortland.

Hosted by SUNY Cortland's School of Education and the New York State Master Teachers Program, the 2025 film produced by Reel Link Films will begin at 6 p.m. in Old Main Brown Auditorium. The two hour event will include a discussion following the screening.

Admission is free, but participants must register in advance by filling out the online form or scanning in the QR code. Two hours of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) credits are available for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade teachers.

The documentary has been featured in many international film festivals, reviewed by major media outlets and discussed on national podcasts.

"Ultimately, 'Counted Out' is a film that poses a question fundamental to democracy: if we can't understand a system that governs us, how much power do we actually have?" said the film's director, Vicki Abeles.

"In our current information economy, math is everywhere: the people we date, the news we see, the influence of our votes, the candidates who win elections, the education we have access to, the jobs we get. It's all underwritten by an invisible layer of math that few of us understand, or even notice."

In her quest to understand math's critical role in people's lives, the director uncovered a movement of scholars, activists and educators who also see math as more than an academic subject.

For the documentary, she interviewed:

• Rebecca Galicia, a mother whose traumatic experience with math in school derailed her career ambitions and access to the economy.
• Glenn Rodriguez, a former prisoner whose parole was blocked by an unfair algorithm. He got his freedom by reverse-engineering the algorithm to reveal its flaws.
• The late Bob Moses, before his passing in 2021. The legendary civil rights activist and architect of the Mississippi Freedom Summer also was founder of the Algebra Project.
• Educator Karim Ani, founder of Citizen Math, an online math resource that supplements math lessons for grades 6-12.
• Julia Angwin, who co-founded and was editor-in-chief of The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the impact of technology on society, and recently founded Proof, a nonprofit news studio investigating the most important questions of our time.
• Roger Antonsen, a logician, mathematician, computer scientist, author, public speaker, science communicator and artist; and many other noted mathematicians.

"For them, math is a tool for understanding and harnessing the beauty, wonder and possibility of the world we live in," Abeles said. "And our lack of access to that tool is, in their view, the critical civil rights issue of our time."

Through a mosaic of personal stories, expert interviews, and scenes of math transformation in action, "Counted Out" shows what's at risk if America keeps the status quo.

"Do we want an America in which most of us don't consider ourselves 'math people'?" Abeles said. "Where math proficiency goes down as students grow up? Or do we want a country where everyone can understand the math that undergirds our society - and can help shape it?"