CCE News

Every Friday for the month of July, we will be highlighting guest speakers from the summer course; Women & Covid-19. This course examines the Covid-19 crisis effect on women and the historical, cultural, and social reasons why women, despite their majority in many other sectors of life, are greatly affected by such disparities. It is taught by Cammie Jones and Elmira Bayrasli.

For the first week, the spotlight is on Zsanai Epps from Black Women’s Health Imperative! 

Zsanai Epps is the Manager of Special Projects and My Sister’s Keeper Program Manager at Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI). Zsanai assists in the management of Change Your Lifestyle. Change Your Life. (CYL2 )’s strategic direction and guiding the program toward increasing the availability of CYL2 in underserved communities, enrolling and sustaining participants in the program, increasing clinician screening, detection and referral of prediabetes, and helping to build the capacity of BWHI’s program partners to sustain the program. Zsanai also manages BWHI’s My Sister’s Keeper (MSK) advocacy and leadership development program for women on Historically Black College and University (HBCU) campuses.

To hear a clip from this course’s discussion with Zsanai, head to @BardCCE on Instagram! And check out the sources below to connect with Zsanai and her work.

Social media accounts:

• Twitter:
  • Zsanai Epps: @enviablezsanai
  • BWHI: @blkwomenshealth
• Instagram:
  • Zsanai Epps: @enviablezsanai
  • BWHI: @blkwomenshealth
• Facebook
  • Black Women's Health Imperative

Further Learning: Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (Streaming on Hulu)
 

The Open Society Foundations announce $100 million in funding for Bard College to support and extend its commitment to innovative higher education programs in the United States and around the world.
 
The grant, awarding $10 million per year for 10 years, will strengthen and expand Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement initiatives, central to both its undergraduate liberal arts curriculum and its leadership role as a founding partner of the new Open Society University Network.
 
“The Open Society Foundations have partnered with Bard College for nearly three decades to make higher education more inclusive and accessible,” said Patrick Gaspard, president of the Open Society Foundations. “At a time when democracies and the right to free expression are under threat—and every institution of higher education is facing enormous challenges due to the COVID-19 and economic crises—we need to invest in teaching and education that advance the values of an open society. As George Soros has said, we need to export critical thinking.”
 
Bard does important work in the New York City area and across the United States. Over the past decade, Bard has built a global network of rigorous and innovative programs, including the Bard Prison Initiative, the Bard Early College Network, and Bard’s International Partnerships. These programs are designed to deliver a high-quality liberal arts education to underserved populations at home and across the globe.
 
Bard and Central European University are the founding organizing institutions of the Open Society University Network, which the Open Society Foundations endowed with $1 billion earlier this year. The Open Society University Network will build on Bard, Central European University, and Open Society’s work globally. It will integrate teaching and research across higher education institutions worldwide as well as offer network courses and joint degree programs, and will regularly bring students and faculty from different countries together. The network aims to provide access to students from communities that have faced barriers and exclusion, including incarcerated people, the Roma, and refugees and other displaced groups.

“Bard is deeply grateful for the support of George Soros and the Open Society Foundations, their work in public schools and prisons, as well as international partnerships, and most recently, their role in founding the Open Society University Network,” said Bard College President and Open Society University Network Chancellor Leon Botstein. “This philanthropy has enabled Bard to fulfill its mission as a private university for the public good.”

CONTACT
Laura Silber
laura.silber@opensocietyfoundations.org

Bard College and Foreign Policy Interrupted (FPI), in cooperation with the Open Society University Network (OSUN), announce the inaugural class of fellows. The FPI-Bard Fellowship is for midcareer women in foreign policy who are eager to share their expertise and engage in policy discussions.

Nine women, across a range of foreign policy disciplines, will participate in a six-week workshop focused on op-ed writing, media training, public speaking, and pitching editors.

The 2020 FPI-Bard Fellows

Adjoa Anyimadu
Molly Hayes Baril
Liliana Diaz
Aleksandra Dier
Catherine Eng
Elizabeth Losos
Haruna Minora
Susi Snyder
Audrey Kawire Wabwire

FPI started the fellowship in 2014 and has trained over 40 women, across a wide range of areas, including cybersecurity, Asian defense, conflict resolution, science, and technology. Previous FPI Fellows have been published in the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, the New Republic, and the New York Times.

“I’m thrilled to partner with Bard College and the OSUN network on an expanded version of the fellowship program,” said FPI cofounder and CEO Elmira Bayrasli. “Bard and OSUN’s global reach and focus on building community and creating value makes it the right partner.” Bayrasli was named director of the Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program (BGIA) in January.

“This is a fellowship for women around the world, from different backgrounds and disciplines. Bard and OSUN provide wonderful networks to help FPI reach more talented women whose voices and expertise can only add value to today’s pressing challenges,” said Jonathan Becker, executive vice president of Bard College and vice chancellor of OSUN.

For information about applying for an FPI-Bard Fellowship, write to fpibardfellowship@gmail.com.
 

On Monday, June 8, the Open Society University Network and the Talloires Network continued COV-AID, an initiative to support universities engaged in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, through their webinar series: Adapting to the New Reality: Civically Engaged Universities Offer Strategies and Hope. This series continues with the webinar "Civically Engaged Universities and the Pandemic: Issues of Displacement and Economics."

This webinar featured a panel: 
Rebecca Granato, Associate Vice President for Global Initiatives, Al Quds Bard (Palestine)
Miklos Koren, Professor of Economics, Central European University (Hungary)
Maire Leane, Senior Lecturer, University College Cork (Ireland)
Vera Stojanovic, student leader, University College Cork (Ireland)
Agata Lisiak, Professor, Bard College Berlin (Germany)
Nieves Segovia, President, SEK Education Group (Spain)

This panel was moderated by Lorlene Hoyt, Executive Director, Talloires Network housed at Tufts University.

Webby Award winners this year include Tatiana Prowell ’94 (Special Achievement) and Ronan Farrow '04 (Best Host - Podcast). The two were among the honorees at the virtual 24th annual awards show on May 19, hosted by Patton Oswalt. This year’s event was dedicated to individuals and organizations using the Internet in response to COVID-19.
 
Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and Bard College and Simon’s Rock alumnus Ronan Farrow won for his role as host of the Catch and Kill podcast, based on his best-selling book on the takedown of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
 
Bard College alumna Dr. Tatiana Prowell ’94 of Johns Hopkins University received a Special Achievement Webby for her use of the Internet to organize a blood drive and to inspire COVID-19 survivors to donate their plasma to those still in the fight to recover. In response to receiving the honor, Dr. Prowell said simply, “Love and serve. That’s It.” Dr. Prowell gave a powerful, in-depth interview on Radiolab about her work during the pandemic and the struggle of her beloved Papa Doc—her brother-in-law’s father, an internist in California—with the virus.

 

The Open Society University Network (OSUN) will host a candid dialogue with Patrick Gaspard, president of the Open Society Foundations, on Wednesday, July 1, from 9–10 a.m. Moderated by Jonathan Becker, vice-chancellor of OSUN, the discussion is cosponsored by OSUN and Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.

This spring, Bard College Professor Kwame Holmes and 13 of his students geocoded and collected information on hundreds of properties in Kingston’s Midtown section in an effort to study the hidden geography of property ownership in the city. Students explored the role of corporate ownership in the local property market, as well as the impact of Airbnbs and other vacation rental sites on the rental market. The class, Urban Abandonment: A Housing Justice Lab, was a collaboration of Bard’s Environmental and Urban Studies and Human Rights programs and part of the Bard Center for Civic Engagement Engaged Liberal Arts and Sciences (ELAS) Program, an interdisciplinary program in which students work with different geographies, organizations, and programs in local communities.

Using property tax information from Ulster County Real Property Tax Service Agency, Holmes and his students found that, of the 481 properties they studied in one section of Midtown Kingston, 275 were owned by non-local owners, those who did not have an address within the neighborhood area. Non-resident owner addresses were geocoded, revealing the importance of Saugerties, Westchester County, and New York City to Kingston’s land market. Non-resident owners could be found as far as California, Texas, and Florida. Eighty-seven properties were owned by Limited Liability Corporations, 10 of which shared names with corporate landlords operating in states across the country. These dynamics, the class realized, illustrate the extent to which land in Kingston is a site of profit extraction, and very little of that capital directly benefits local residents.

Furthermore, gathering information from Airbnb, Holmes’s class found that there were 110 vacation rentals available in Kingston, compared to 43 advertisements for regular long-term rentals available on Craigslist. The average rent per bedroom per month on Airbnb was $4,187, a price over 300% more expensive than a regular monthly rental. Holmes, who recently presented the class’s findings to the Kingston Common Council’s housing committee, said the Kingston Housing Lab was born out of an interest in transforming how communities talk about housing inequality and scarcity in small towns.

“Rather than focus on ‘the most affected population’ and recite statistics about rent as a percentage of median income, we wanted to shine a light on home owners and land ownership as an economic and cultural phenomenon and explore their impact on housing availability, quality, and pricing,” said Holmes, scholar-in-residence, Bard Human Rights Program, and faculty advisor, Bard Prison Initiative. “Housing security, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, is a public health issue. We’re interested to learn the impact of ownership from afar upon living conditions of renters, particularly in working class areas. Are non-local landowners more likely to sell for an immediate profit, exposing renters to an involuntary displacement? More transparency in and analysis of ownership patterns are essential for the maintenance of public health.”

Holmes, who is slated to talk about present his class’s results on Radio Kingston and make a presentation to the Kingston Land Trust this week, said he plans to expand the Kingston Housing Lab project, working with students to gather information on all of Kingston’s properties, as well as reach out directly to non-local property owners—particularly those who own three or more residential properties in a neighborhood—to better understand how they interact with their properties and relate to the communities wherein they own.(6.23.20)
 

Brian Mateo, associate dean of civic engagement and director of strategic partnerships for the Bard Globalization and International Affairs program, has been accepted as a Stephen M. Kellen Term Member on the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Founded in 1921, CFR is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. 

In addition, Mateo will be serving as a mentor for Climate Reality Project’s first ever Virtual Global Training from July 18 to July 26, 2020. The training is facilitated by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, and participants learn the science of climate change, how to inspire others to take action, and also grassroots organizing. Training in August 2019, Mateo has written and presented on climate change and how it affects vulnerable populations, people with disabilities, and education. The deadline to apply to be trained as a Climate Reality Leader is June 25, 2020. Click here to apply and learn more.

(6/23/20)
 

Mariel Fiori spoke in front of 1,000 people at the second annual walk in Kingston. Read the transcript of her speech in English and Spanish below or watch the video here.  Read about the event in the Daily Freeman here.
 

“This film following students of the Bard Prison Initiative is a tribute to their ambition and endeavour,” writes Lucy Mangan for the Guardian, “and an indictment of the absence of funding for such programmes.” College Behind Bars is airing on BBC Four this week.
 

"Reflecting on the Moment" is a collaborative initiative spearheaded by the Dean of the College in consultation with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The new series invites alumni, current undergraduates, faculty, and staff to have honest conversations about the current moment we are living in the wake of a global pandemic and systemic police brutality. The aim is to present models of inclusive dialogue, to draw from the rich personal experiences and expertise of our ever-developing and ever-changing community, and to present approaches for community activism and engagement in the name of racial equity and justice."

In the first installment, Dariel Vasquez, co-founder and co-director of Brothers@Bard and Brothers@ as well as Class of 2017, and Drew Thompson, Assistant Professor of Africana and Historical Studies and Director of Africana Studies, speak about the role of mentorship and the university in the wake of the global pandemic and police brutality.

Visit the Bard Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources webpage.

As part of the Brooklyn Rail New Social Environment Lunchtime Conversation series, BPI Founder and Executive Director Max Kenner ’01, BPI alumnus Darren Mack ’13, director of community engagement and advocacy for JustLeadershipUSA, and Christopher Perez, program director of Bard Microcollege at Brooklyn Public Library, took part in a discussion about their work and experiences with BPI and Bard Microcollege, the history of the programs, and the challenges moving forward in the context of decarceration, COVID-19, and other issues. The conversation was moderated by MIT history professor Craig Steven Wilder and included a Q & A with viewers.

Bard College has received a grant from Second Nature, a Boston-based NGO that supports climate action through higher education. The grant from the Climate Solutions Acceleration Fund will support a project of Bard’s Office of Sustainability to create collection drives for items that contain refrigerants, while aiming to map the ecosystem of refrigerants management in both Ulster and Dutchess counties. The goal is to establish a process that can then be replicated.

On June 2, the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership, the Open Society University Network and the Talloires Network hosted the second Tomorrow Is Now conference with guest speaker Joel H. Rosenthal, president of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, as he explored Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy in today’s global challenges. 

Hosted by Manuela Roosevelt, Chair of the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership, Tomorrow Is Now is the title of the last book authored by Eleanor Roosevelt.

The Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership is honored to host the Tomorrow Is Now virtual conference series in partnership with the COV-AID project sponsored by the Open Society University Network and the Talloires Network. Members of Eleanor’s Circle, as well as students and faculty across the global networks, are invited to participate in the live Zoom sessions where speakers from around the world will reflect on the relevance of Eleanor’s legacy during the pandemic.

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Additional Info:

Manuela Roosevelt is the Chair of the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership, a private nonprofit that works in tandem with the National Park Service for the enhancement of visitors' experience at the home of Eleanor Roosevelt, Val-Kill, in Hyde Park, in upstate New York. The organization funds educational programs, lectures, and has raised more than $2.5 million for NPS to assist in restoration projects at the site. She is the Editorial Director at Callaway Arts and Entertainment, a publisher and cross-platform media company in New York City. She lives with her family at Springwood, the estate where Franklin D Roosevelt was born that now belongs to the National Park Service.

Joel H. Rosenthal is president of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. He is also a faculty member in the Bard College Globalization and International Affairs (BGIA) program in New York City. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University and B.A. from Harvard University. As a scholar and teacher, Rosenthal has focused on ethics in US foreign policy, with special emphasis on issues of war and peace, human rights, and pluralism. His first book Righteous Realists (1991) is a study of Hans Morgenthau, George Kennan, and Reinhold Niebuhr, among other American realists. His edited volume Ethics & International Affairs: A Reader (Georgetown University Press; 3rd edition, co-edited by Christian Barry) is a compilation of essays from major figures in the field and is widely used in college and university courses. In 2016, he was appointed Dorsett Fellow at Dartmouth College. His numerous national and international awards include the Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Studies Association in 2019 for his life-time achievement in International Studies and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Social Science from the University of Edinburgh. He is the editor-in-chief of the Carnegie Council's flagship journal, Ethics & International Affairs, published by Cambridge University Press.

“On behalf of the entire Bard College community, I want to express our solidarity with all who grieve for the deaths, with all who live in constant fear of the brutality of racial discrimination, and with all who find themselves without hope in these dark and violent times. [...] Something has to change in a way that actually helps the lives of our fellow citizens and neighbors of color.” —Bard College President Leon Botstein

Dear Members of the Bard Community, 
 
I am writing to all of you today with sentiments that I know are widely shared throughout the Bard College community. 
 
Words cannot properly express the anger, sadness and despair each of us feels at the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, the killing, by two civilians, of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick Georgia, and the murder, once again by officers sworn to uphold the law, of Breonna Taylor, in Louisville, Kentucky. The victims were all black; the perpetrators were all white. 
 
On behalf of the entire Bard College community, I want to express our solidarity with all who grieve for the deaths, with all who live in constant fear of the brutality of racial discrimination, and with all who find themselves without hope in these dark and violent times. 
 
As we all continue to follow the unfolding national crisis, I also wish to express Bard’s support for the journalists who have covered and continue to report on these events and their aftermath, particularly those of color such as CNN’s Omar Jimenez, who have been punitively targeted by the police because they are professionals of color. Not only are black lives in danger, but our fundamental civil liberties, including freedom of the press are at risk today.
 
The Bard College community includes members and families connected to Bard’s main campus in Annandale, Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and Bard’s seven public High School Early Colleges in New York City, Newark, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Cleveland, and New Orleans. Bard’s family includes the students and their families in the Bard Prison Initiative, Bard’s Microcolleges in Brooklyn and Holyoke Mass., and our Clemente Courses throughout the nation. The majority of the students Bard serves across its network are non-white, and nearly half come from families in poverty. 
 
The mission of this nation’s universities and colleges requires faith in the proposition that language and reason are the proper shared instruments of politics and society. Places of learning are dedicated to the belief that, in the long run, the pen is indeed mightier than the sword. Bard takes pride in its commitment to these ideals.
 
However, if we are to redeem these noble and just convictions, we must confront the complacency and hypocrisy with which this country has dealt with the systematic injustice based on race that is visible every single day. The COVID-19 pandemic has made the tragic consequences of our tolerance of economic and social inequality plain, as we watch Americans of color suffer disproportionately from the epidemic and the national failure to combat this new disease and its spread. 
 
We must do more than express outrage. Something has to change in a way that actually helps the lives of our fellow citizens and neighbors of color. We have witnessed too many of our nation’s failures to make progress in the matter of racial justice after eruptions of civil unrest. The failures to make sufficient progress, during Reconstruction, after the racial violence of the 1920s, the broken promises of Brown vs. Board of Education of the 1950s, and the dashed hopes after the urban riots of the late 1960s remain vivid in our collective memory. To add insult to injury, we seem to accept with striking passivity the divisive hostility, the open appeal to prejudice, the incompetence, mendacity and ignorance that now represents the Executive Branch of our Federal Government.
 
We have come to accept as normal the persistence of discrimination, the toxic link between race and economic justice, in which the quality of our public schools plays a central role, and the daily experience of fear on the part of people of color. Universities and colleges must no longer accept the unacceptable that we have the power to change: a substandard education for people of color, particularly in our cities. In an era when the rich have become richer, and when the technological consequences of economic inequality—the digital divide---have accelerated, how can we tolerate the status quo?
 
I want to assure each and every one of you that Bard College will continue to do its utmost to lead in the task of articulating a better vision of democracy and government and a better reality for all in our country in the sphere of education. Bard’s mission is not restricted to the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge. It seeks to forge a link between what is true and what is right and good, a connection between epistemology and ethics. Bard is proud to be an institution committed to combating injustice through education. Its investment in educational access for historically underserved populations is in support of the cause of a more just and civil society. 
 
I recognize this is a deeply frightening, frustrating, and challenging time for students, faculty, and staff, particularly those of color. On behalf of the College, please know that Bard is with each of you in spirit, even if, for the time being, we cannot be physically together. In the face of these difficult circumstances, our commitment and resolve is to work together to play our part in building a better future. We will try to do our best as the nation confronts its failures and, guided by its better angels, resolves to change, and realizes the promise of freedom and justice for all. 
 
Leon Botstein
President
Bard College
 

Written by Joelle Powe ‘22

The Program in International Education (PIE) and Bard’s Tuition Exchange bring about twenty five to thirty students from across the Bard network and Tuition Exchange partners to the Annandale campus each semester. My role within the Institute for International Liberal Education (IILE) is to support integration efforts into the Bard community by connecting this group of students to CCE’s community outreach programs, friendly Peer Counselors, and other international students. In this position, I also organize excursions and join the group to explore beautiful places that I am also seeing for the first time as an international student. 

I first started working with PIE and Exchange students after my now supervisor, Trish Fleming, pulled her car over to ask me to work with the Fall 2019 cohort. She had seen my presentation encouraging conversations across cultures at The Difference and Justice Symposium shortly before that, and asked me to support the next cohort in their adaptation process. I have worked with Bard Abroad for almost a year now and I continue to support my second cohort as they come to the end of their semester with an unexpected ending. 

Since the unprecedented circumstances presented by COVID-19, a number of PIE-Exchange students have returned to their home countries, while many remain on campus. In March, I myself returned to my home in Jamaica. To keep them connected to one another, as a group going through the same experience, I created newsletters.  I reached out personally to each student, those who remained in Annandale as well as those who returned to Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Egypt. With their stories and photos, I was able to compile a newsletter to share with the entire group. One student is sewing masks, another is coloring, one who lives in the US sent in a photo of the hopeful poem her mom posted on their fridge. I hope that seeing the way they’re all responding, surviving, and thriving will remind them that they are still part of an experience and community at Bard, despite being apart.
 

On Monday, May 11, the Open Society University Network and the Talloires Network continued their work with COV-AID, an initiative to support universities engaged in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, through their webinar series: Adapting to the New Reality: Civically Engaged Universities Offer Strategies and Hope. This series continues with the webinar  "Civically Engaged Universities and the Pandemic: Strategies that Work"


This webinar featured a panel: David and Rosalie Rose Distinguished Professor of Science, Mathematics, and Computing at Bard College Felicia Keesing, Director of the Center for Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Policy at Central European University Diana Ürge-Vorsatz, Assistant Professor at Ziauddin University Fatima Jehangir, Associate Professor at Singapore University of Social Sciences Carol Ma, and the Dean for IMU Community Engagement at International Medical University Khoo Suan Phaik.

This panel was moderated by Erin Cannan, Dean of Civic Engagement at Bard College.

 The series is sponsored by Open Society University Network (OSUN) and the Talloires Network (TN), housed at Tufts University.

Written by Audrey Russell '20
Although many student-run clubs and projects have been changed drastically by the COVID-19 pandemic, several of them are still going strong–including the CultureConnect TLS project. To learn more about how the project has adapted to the new learning environment, I spoke to psychology major Jonathan Cseh '21, who has quickly turned the Bard chapter of CultureConnect around to suit today’s living conditions.

AR: What are the goals of CultureConnect, and what does the TLS project do?
JC: We send Bard volunteers to two local elementary schools (one in Red Hook and one in Rhinebeck). We primarily tutor newly immigrated families in the area. The majority of childrens’ families come from Central America–namely, Mexico and Honduras–but the children themselves tend to be born in the United States. Generally, their parents speak English poorly or not at all, and as a result the students are relatively disadvantaged at home. Their parents aren’t able to help with homework, and because they work so much these students come home to empty houses. CultureConnect speaks to these disadvantages to provide tutoring in math and English, as well as other activities. Volunteers do a lot of playing outside with the students before going into classrooms to promote positive emotional and social development. Although most of the students speak perfect English, some of them–particularly in Red Hook–speak no or little English because they recently immigrated, so tutors speak Spanish and help them to read, write, and speak.

AR: How did you get involved with CultureConnect, and what has your leadership experience been like so far?
JC: I initially heard about CultureConnect from my very good friend Mitchell, who had been running the project at the time. He told me about it and I thought it sounded like an amazing way to make a positive difference in the community. I’ve always been fond of tutoring and playing with children, so I thought I would enjoy it. After one semester of being a volunteer–I tutored once a week–Mitchell studied abroad in Russia and asked me to replace him. He saw that I was dedicated and passionate, and he liked how openly and enthusiastically I interacted with the kids, so he asked me to replace him as leader.
I have a few roles as leader. One is to recruit new volunteers by tabling in Kline and the campus center. Once I have a long list of people, I communicate with everyone to schedule two or three training sessions. Here, current tutors provide a rundown of the program, and educate new volunteers on its values and goals, as well as tools to use as tutors to be effective in what they do. After this period, they start the program. Twice a week, I drive the volunteers to our elementary schools in Red Hook and Rhinebeck. During operation, I oversee the things that are happening and walk around from classroom to classroom to make sure everything is going well. I also do a lot of administration work and communication with other branches of CultureConnect. It’s a lot of emails and coordination!

AR: How has CultureConnect changed since March–for you, the students, and other volunteers?
JC: We are doing what we can at a distance, and operating at a limited capacity since there’s only so much we can do remotely. Since so many of the children we work with are financially disadvantaged, they don’t have computers or videochat like more privileged people do. Basically, we just call the phones of parents and do activities with students over the phone. We’ve assigned one volunteer to each child (or group of siblings). Sometimes we give help with homework in math or English, but right now we’re doing a variety of activities: vocabulary and reading activities where they read to us and we help them; science and social studies activities with the help of certain websites; and whatever else volunteers feel will be fun or useful. Each tutor has a lot of creative freedom, so each student is getting a personalized experience. For example, I like to assign my student lots of fun, descriptive creative writing activities, just because they are still beneficial even if they aren’t directly related to homework. 
One thing I’ve learned is how adaptive we are. When you get a bunch of people together who are focused on making a change and helping the community, it’s amazing how many people will show up and help. We currently have seventeen students that are paired with tutors and meeting at least once a week and doing these beneficial activities. That’s incredible, because even with this lack of physical connection in quarantine, we see them adapting and finding ways to do what they can. This is a result of the individual care and passion of each person and individual, and it shows how resilient and adaptive people who really care about making a difference can be.

 

On May 5, the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership, the Open Society University Network and the Talloires Network hosted the first Tomorrow Is Now conference with guest speaker Peter Baker, Chief White House Correspondent of The New York Times, as he explored Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy in today’s global challenges. 

Hosted by Manuela Roosevelt, Chair of the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership, Tomorrow Is Now is the title of the last book authored by Eleanor Roosevelt.

The Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership is honored to host the Tomorrow Is Now virtual conference series in partnership with the COV-AID project sponsored by the Open Society University Network and the Talloires Network. Members of Eleanor’s Circle, as well as students and faculty across the global networks, are invited to participate in the live Zoom sessions where speakers from around the world will reflect on the relevance of Eleanor’s legacy during the pandemic.

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Additional Info:

Manuela Roosevelt is the Chair of the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership, a private nonprofit that works in tandem with the National Park Service for the enhancement of visitors' experience at the home of Eleanor Roosevelt, Val-Kill, in Hyde Park, in upstate New York. The organization funds educational programs, lectures, and has raised more than $2.5 million for NPS to assist in restoration projects at the site. She is the Editorial Director at Callaway Arts and Entertainment, a publisher and cross-platform media company in New York City. She lives with her family at Springwood, the estate where Franklin D Roosevelt was born that now belongs to the National Park Service.

Peter Baker is the Chief White House Correspondent for The New York Times and a political analyst for MSNBC who covered President Obama, three previous presidents, and now President Trump. He previously worked for The Washington Post and is the author of five books, including days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House. He lives in Washington with his wife, Susan Glasser, and their son, Theo Baker.

By Elena Thompson '23

Bard student and anthropology major Caroline He ‘23 has been working hard to support those hardest hit by COVID-19 since February. As the head organizer of the Coronavirus Relief Benefit Concert, which took place in Olin Hall on February 22nd, she was able to help raise over $16,000 for medical supplies, all of which were sent to a hospital in China’s Hubei Province. The concert also aimed to raise awareness about the impacts of the outbreak.

However, Caroline’s work did not end there. Upon her return to China, she joined an NGO, Ginkgo Fellows in COVID-19 Relief Action. This volunteer operation, which was launched on January 30th, 2020, began its work collecting and delivering medical supplies to Hubei Province. However, on March 10, with the global movement of the outbreak, they expanded their operations to promote global endeavors by other organizations in affected regions.

As a volunteer at this organization, Caroline helped build and maintain a website, full of resources and information on the coronavirus. She helped translate firsthand experiences and advice on relief action from Hubei. These resources are now available in seven languages, including English, Spanish, Italian, Farsi, and German. You can check out her work here. 

Bard alumna Diya Vij ’08, associate curator of public programs for New York City’s High Line, talks to Hyperallergic about her interest in nurturing “the health and well-being of individuals, the city, and the planet through art-centered and civically oriented happenings, on and off the High Line.”
 

In early March, Dan Budd, owner of Taste Budd’s Café in Red Hook Village, realized the area was about to be hit with the most significant need in a generation. “I saw the loss of control to pay my employees, food bills and loans within two or three weeks.” Feeling inspired amidst the worry of things he could not control, Budd decided to turn his attention to what he could affect in the community. “The high risk population,” he said, “like seniors and those with compromised immune system [needed] to stay home.” So Budd founded Red Hook Responds, a volunteer organization supported by the town and villages of Red Hook.

He continued, “With online fundraising, acquired grants and small pay-what-you-can donations Red Hook Responds is feeding 50 to 100 people a day with meal delivery.” But, he figured, “we could easily move to 200-400.”

Out of this need, Red Hook Responds was created. Budd couldn’t do it alone, though. With financial support from the Ascienzo Foundation and the Dutchess Responds Fund, and with the help of community members and Bard students, Budd organized a helpline for residents in need of grocery and prescription delivery. It quickly turned attention to meal delivery.  “We also have neighborly chats to help keep our community connected and offer... wellness type checks,” said Budd.
 
At the time of this writing, Red Hook Responds had 391 volunteers and continues to grow. Among them are numerous students from Bard College. “We have key Bard students, like Emma Bernstein and Bree Bogle, who are operators and shift leaders.  They are working remotely from Pennsylvania, The Bronx, locally and… other locations,” Budd said. “The Center for Civic Engagement,” he added, “has been behind us all along.”
 
Budd plans for Red Hook Responds to stay on as a permanent fixture in the community after the coronavirus pandemic abates. “I see… more challenges ahead,” he said, including farming assistance, creative arts connections, and more. But he knows his young organization can’t do it all. “We coordinate, enhance and support existing and new volunteer efforts,” he said. And he knows Bard students will be with him all the way.
 

By Emily Costello ‘23

     Valentina is a co-leader of the Bard Immigration Coalition and is also an intern for the CCE. She has recently been volunteering some of her time to Red Hook Responds to help those in the local Bard community.

     "Before signing on with Red Hook Responds, I was told that it would be very similar to my job at the CCE, that of a front desk intern. At first, I couldn't [fathom] how, but now almost 2 weeks into volunteering, I am starting to see the parallels that there are, in being an active listener, being keen to detail, to that of directing people in the right direction. As a hotline operator, my work consists of responding to any incoming calls and documenting their "service" request of sorts, such that of meal delivery, via the respective google form. The "service" request then falls on to the responsibility of the various dispatchers we have onboard and the requested service is provided during the day in question, or as otherwise specified by the caller in need of the service. While my work is minimal compared to that of dispatchers, delivering the requested services to those in need, it's gratifying to be of help even if it's minimally. Finally, I would like to take advantage of this space, and encourage those who have the time, and or are looking for ways to help those in need, to become volunteers for Red Hook Responds, and consider donating directly to undocumented immigrants affected by COVID-19 (or organizations helping undocumented and immigrant communities), as well as, poor and working-class, Black and Brown people, as these demographics are some of the hardest-hit groups of people in lieu of this health emergency."

Want to learn more about Red Hook Responds? Check out their website https://www.redhookresponds.org/
Follow the Bard Immigration Coalition on Instagram @bardimmigrationcoalition
 

• What is the purpose of the food pantry, and how does it work?

The purpose of the food pantry (or the food support closet - we’ve been calling it both) is to provide Bard students supplemental food supplies. We don't want to take over from Kline or Chartwells, but we understand that while Bard has a high price tag - not everyone has the means to pay it and taking food from Kline to be eaten later as snacks is not always an option. We want to give students one less thing to worry about if they get hungry, are too busy to get to Kline, run out of meal swaps, just want a snack or want to make a meal with their friends. It’s open once a week for 2 hours in the basement of Tewksbury (you knock on the basement door and someone lets you in). We get 50-100 students every week and give out 250-500 items. We are also open by appointment. We work mainly on donation, from Bread Alone in Kingston and a church in Tivoli, but we also supplement with Hannafords for our more popular items. This project has been met with good intentions from surrounding communities and it’s really nice to see. We supply food to all 4 grades, as well as both on and off campus students. Each student is asked to only take 5 items but - like all things - if there is a need, they are more than welcome to take more. 
 

• How did you get involved, and what is your role?

I am one of the 3 student founders (myself, Isabel Ballard and Jamie Hoelzel). Izzy was abroad this semester but she helped set it up. Jamie and I do it all; we go out to get donations, go shopping for food, label, put the food into our system, organize, clean the space, we send out emails trying to get more local donations and we are the ones there during our open hours. I do all of the order forms and the traditional running of club duties while Jamie works more with students. Since it's just the two of us, we wear a lot of different hats. 
 

• What is the origin story of the project?

Izzy wanted to start a food pantry to make Bard more accessible to all students. The administration wasn't going to create something, since we have so many dining options, so we made it a Bard Wellness Club initiative. 
 

• How has your work changed as a result of COVID-19? How are you supporting students staying on campus?

I am off campus, filling out order forms and requests for next semester while Jamie is our on the ground person. There is a google form where students can fill out an order of food (and items like soap, shampoo, etc) that she packages up and then a student response team comes and picks it up and delivers it directly to the student’s door. We have 60 packages going out a week. The CCE has been a great help, with donations, supplies, and even letting us borrow some of their volunteers. 
 

• How can students get involved, or support the initiative?

While the situation with COVID-19 continues, students should email wellness@bard.edu to speak to our faculty advisor (Annia Reyes).
However, once things get back to normal, you can shoot me an email at gc4291@bard.edu. We are always in need of volunteers to help stock, label and manage the room during open hours.  

We really need more help next semester as all 3 of us will be seniors and this pandemic has shown that food security is more important than ever. This was started to offer more resources to our student community and we would be horribly upset if it couldn't survive past us. Jamie and I put in so many hours a week to make this project work, and not to be totally cheesy - but we need YOUR help to keep it running. 

Pictured below: Jamie and her grandmother; Grace and theirs. 

 

Jamie- Jamie (She/Her) is our on the ground head at this time. She is filling orders, responding to emails and making sure people stay safe and still have access to the pantry. She is a studio art major, lover of Disney and responsible for the positive sidewalk chalk around Bard Campus. One of the best people you can meet at Bard - she always has time for people and is always ready for a late night walk. 

Grace- My name is Gracie and I use They/She pronouns. I’m one of the founding members of the Food Pantry and the Wellness Club. I helped set up the pantry before I returned home, going shopping, creating COVID-19 protocols with Jamie and getting some initial funding. I’m a rising senior in the biology program and have a deep love for tidal rivers. I’m a super energetic person and LOVE LOVE LOVE cats. And fish. And cows. And chickens… I might just really enjoy animals. 
 

By Emily Costello '23

Even in a time of social distancing, Bard College’s campus is far from empty. International, immunocompromised, and financially vulnerable students are just a few examples of those who have chosen to stay on campus during quarantine. To advocate for the safety of quarantined students, sophomores Syl Shread, Finn Tait, and Jackie Lerman formed the Student Response Team, an effort that coordinates food and medicine deliveries to the students that need them. I spoke to one of the SRT’s leaders, Syl Shread, to find out more about the team’s efforts. 

The idea of the Student Response Team came about when three students held a meeting with Dean Nohlgren to discuss the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable Bard students. Among groups of concern were international students whose visas were at risk, or could not safely return to their country of origin; immunocompromised or otherwise health-compromised students that needed to self-isolate immediately; and students that relied on Bard for food and housing security. While the SRT leaders walked into the meeting with questions about disabled students, the group quickly broadened its horizons and dedicated itself to meeting the needs of everyone who would be hit harder by the pandemic. 
Although the team initially involved over 50 student volunteers before the sudden drop in the number of students living on campus, Tait, Shread, and Lerman currently oversee about 20 students who do regular food, medicine, and package deliveries. 

The initiative required a lot of work in the beginning, and Shread recalls dropping their academic obligations to spend over eight hours per day figuring out how to coordinate meal deliveries. The hard work paid off, though, and the team is now able to seamlessly deliver packages, meals, and medicine. At first they were involved in the deliveries themselves, but Shread left Bard’s campus for health and personal reasons. They now play an administrative role by coordinating delivery efforts. “Knocking on the door of a student in quarantine always [brought] me a certain level of joy,” writes Shread of the delivery experience. Although they have left the Bard campus, they still coordinate a weekly schedule of food and package deliveries.

Although no one knows what the Student Response Team will look like in the summer and fall, Shread understands Bard students’ need to feel connected to the college’s community, even during social distancing. “I want to point out that the students who had friends and family at higher risk or who were at higher risk themselves were the ones who stepped up,” writes Shread of  what they’ve learned through the SRT. “At Bard, we often see this in our student activism: those who need the community the most are the ones creating it. If you are benefiting from the hard work of students of color, those with lower socioeconomic status, women and trans students, and disabled students, to name a few, think about the ways you can become more involved and please never take this labor for granted.”
 

Tatro, government affairs and advancement officer at the Bard Prison Initiative, talks about getting his education behind bars and the value of educational programs like BPI for incarcerated people. “I look back and now realize that I had this vague sense that college was something that I should have been striving for. I had no real expectations that it was something that I would actually ever do,” Tatro says. “I vividly remember sitting in Five Points Correctional Facility and seeing a 60-minute segment on the Bard Prison Initiative come on, and there were these amazingly smart men who were in prison just like me, wearing green like me, embarked on this rigorous educational endeavor. At that moment, I decided that was what I was going to do.”

By Emily Costello '23

Anna Shupack ’22 has been actively engaging in her community in the past few weeks. Of the many projects she is involved with, Anna enjoys volunteering her time for the South End Children’s Cafe the most. This organization, based in Albany, runs after-school programs and helps provide food security for kids. Due to the pandemic, the organization has started to collect groceries and deliver them to families in need of extra support. Anna has helped with picking up donations at restaurants, dropping them off at the center, and delivering groceries to families. In order to keep herself and others safe, Anna follows strict procedures to make sure that she does not come in close contact with anyone or risk spreading germs.
     “It has been really nice to help out an organization that is doing very important work to make sure everyone has the support they need right now”, Anna said. “I was thinking about how hard it must be for all of these kids to be so isolated and how much pressure there is on their families.”
     This led to her creating art kits to be donated to kids around Albany. The art supplies are provided by her mother’s business, The Albany Art Room. Anna also collects book donations to include in the art kits. 
     “I try to cater each package to the age and interest of the child. It has been really nice to get to know the kids and their families from afar and get involved with this work.”
     Anna was then asked to put her art skills to use and paint a mural at the South End Children’s Café for the 518 Rainbow Hunt, which is an initiative based near Albany and inspired by similar initiatives in Italy. The idea is for people to hang images of rainbows in their windows, post pictures on social media with the hashtag #518rainbowhunt, and take drives or walks to find other rainbows, all the while maintaining appropriate social distancing measures. (Check out the Facebook page @518RainbowHunt and follow the hashtag on Instagram!)
     Another way that Anna is getting involved in her community during this time is through her internship with Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, which is a grassroots organization based in the Hudson Valley that fights for immigrant justice, utility justice, and other civic engagement campaigns. Some of Anna’s tasks include calling residents in Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster Counties to check in with them and make sure they have access to necessary resources, such as food delivery, childcare, financial support, and more. 
     Anna Shupack is just one of the many Bard community members finding ways to engage in her own local community and help those who are struggling during this time. Follow the Bard Center for Civic Engagement to learn of opportunities for you to get engaged with our community, or look for opportunities near you!

On Monday, April 13, the Open Society University Network and the Talloires Network launched COV-AID, a new initiative to support universities engaged in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The effort began with the first in a series of webinars: “Adapting to the New Reality: Civically Engaged Universities Offer Strategies and Hope.”

This webinar featured a panel: Bard College President and OSUN Chancellor Leon Botstein, Universidad Veracruzana Rectora and Talloires Network Vice Chair Sara Ladrón de Guevara, and Tufts University President and Talloires Network Chair Anthony P. Monaco. The series is sponsored by Open Society University Network (OSUN) and the Talloires Network (TN), housed at Tufts University.

Jonathan Becker, Bard’s Vice President for Academic Affairs and Director of Center for Civic Engagement, describes Bard’s efforts to respond to the COVID-19 crisis in the classroom and in the community.

Life in the era of COVID-19, as in all times of crisis, amplifies our basic instincts. Do we become anxious or confident, selfish or generous, rigid or adaptable? The same applies to institutions. And right now, at this moment of national and global crisis, Bard College is demonstrating who we are: student-focused, innovative, entrepreneurial, and civically engaged. We regularly underscore to our students the importance of critical thinking, the capacity to improvise and adapt, and the need for resilience. Our teaching is informed by a commitment to promoting in students a sense of agency and a belief that they can contribute in their own ways to society and culture and thereby help shape the future. The very nature of our close and creative approach to education is informing our development of new and effective ways to teach and support our students and engage with our communities, even as we adapt to this crisis and its impact on higher education.

In the Classroom
Our student-centered approach to teaching, combined with small class sizes typical of residential liberal arts colleges, has been pivotal in facilitating a more healthy transition to online teaching. Students are not spending class time watching a pre-recorded lecture, as often happens with larger classes, but are engaging with their professors and each other in seminar-style discussions, and working together, synchronously or asynchronously. Many Bard students and faculty elected to keep meeting during spring break, using the extra time to seek comfort and camaraderie in this transformed learning space, and to continue working together outside of scheduled class times. One professor, responding to students eager to “stay after class,” opened a separate Friday afternoon reading group on David Copperfield. Another is offering two sections of his class, one at the regularly scheduled time and another several hours later so as to accommodate students in China.

We have discovered that Bard’s global footprint and innovative liberal arts curriculum have prepared us for this crisis in unexpected ways. We have pioneered the use of connected-learning approaches (for learning, we prefer the term “connected” to “online”) in virtual international exchanges that we call network classes. For the past five years, hundreds of students at seven liberal arts institutions across the globe participated in parallel courses and interacted synchronously and asynchronously as they studied themes such as global citizenship, freedom of expression, and migration. Digital approaches paired with “low-tech” assignments have created dynamic environments used extensively in Bard programs such as Experimental Humanities. As a result, faculty in the program have been able to quickly produce a handbook and other resources to help colleagues successfully make the transition to remote instruction while maintaining the student-centered liberal arts approach at the heart of Bard’s educational philosophy. (The handbook has now been translated into five languages.)
 
Many of the teaching methods we use so effectively in person translate extremely well to a connected learning environment. Writing prompts that are part of the signature approach of Bard’s Institute for Writing and Thinking, for example, enable multiple students to post their thoughts simultaneously in chat rooms, allowing others to respond and the professor to identify where best to engage further. 

Creativity and adaptability are critical to teaching, particularly in the arts and humanities. While many colleges and universities have cancelled live performances this spring, our Theater and Performance Program mobilized students and visiting artists to use an inventive, modified version of Zoom to transform a production of Caryl Churchill’s Mad Forest into a hybrid art form, somewhere between a theatrical performance and a live-action film, that has been conceived, rehearsed, and performed entirely online. A literature professor has offered a special one-credit class on Literature and Epidemics. Bard’s President Leon Botstein, often skeptical of the claims of technology to improve on traditional models of undergraduate education, is joining his colleagues in music to embrace the moment with regular classes, lessons, and new performance experiments with Bard’s more than 100 music conservatory students spread across the globe.

Our experience in COVID-19 has made it clear that there is no substitute for face-to-face learning, especially in the arts and experimental sciences. We also recognize that our capacity to transition swiftly and successfully to a connected learning environment is in part due to relationships forged previously in in-person classes on campus that occurred earlier in the term. It’s clear to us that COVID-19 will not result in a wholesale transition to online learning, but that liberal arts colleges such as Bard will be far better positioned to utilize the technology and platforms of connected learning than is commonly recognized. Our core strengths and traditions are compatible with and translate well to the online experience. 

Student Life
Bard’s move to connected learning this semester has included cocurricular and student life, which is so central to the residential liberal arts experience. The underlying view is that we need to continue to embrace the whole student on campus and off. Student Activities has responded with a steady stream of virtual events for our dispersed student body, be it with poetry readings, live performances, or fireside chats. Student clubs are still meeting and we are hosting online conferences, debates, and essay contests, often in collaboration with our international partners. 

Community Engagement
We have also remained engaging with our local community. The Bard Architecture and Design Program is using 3D printers to make medical equipment and the Theater and Performance Program's costume department is making masks for local hospitals. Students in Engaged Liberal Arts and Sciences, Bard’s version of service learning, are working with a variety of organizations to provide support to those struggling under the pressures of the coronavirus. The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) has drawn on student, staff, and faculty volunteers across the institution to partner with more than 40 community partners to distribute food, create online lessons for local students, and create programming with and for Bard’s Lifetime Learning Institute. La Voz, which is sponsored by CCE and the only Spanish-language newspaper in the region, continues to publish and its editor, a Bard alumna, appears regularly as host of a local radio broadcast. Brothers at Bard, a mentoring program for men of color, is continuing its support of high school students in the neighboring city of Kingston and in New York City, and is even connecting with alumni through online meetings and a book group. Nearly 100 students, faculty, and staff have volunteered to help tutor students in the network of eight Bard High School Early Colleges (BHSECs) spread across the U.S. 

Working with Partners Nationally and Globally 
As we adapt to rapidly changing circumstances, we draw on experiences, partnerships and networks that we have developed over decades. Academic affairs officers, student affairs officers, and members of offices of civic engagement across Bard’s national and international networks of partners meet regularly to exchange ideas and insights on the transition to an online world and to offer each other support. There are great benefits in these exchanges. For example, faculty at our dual-degree partners—including the American University of Central Asia, Al-Quds University, and Bard College Berlin—teach blended learning classes, which mix in-person, in-class learning with online reading and discussion, to refugees in Jordan and Bangladesh and in-service teachers in Kyrgyzstan, and are eager to share with U.S.-based faculty through a series of webcasts. Similarly, BHSEC faculty, who have amazingly diverse experience and who share common teaching values with those in Annandale, have shared experiences during the transition online.  

The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), which runs the largest degree-granting prison education program in the country, has been extremely helpful in addressing the vexing issue of access because they are used to strict limits: their approach to innovative asynchronous assignments has been particularly helpful in assisting faculty to work with students who, because of personal circumstances or geographic locations, struggle with synchronous learning.

Written materials, sample assignments, and webcasts from across Bard’s networks have been posted on the Network Resources page sponsored by the Open Society University Network.

Looking Ahead
We recognize that virtual connections cannot, and should not, replace the in-person experience, and that much of our success in this transition is based on the teaching methods we have forged over the years. We also know that there will be additional challenges in the future, as the crisis continues and even as it resolves. But we remain optimistic in our capacity to work with students both within and outside of the classroom and to demonstrate that the liberal arts curriculum—more essential now than ever—can be successfully adapted. When the crisis ends, we will further adapt our connected approaches, like virtual international exchanges, and will make important contributions to the reestablishment of face-to-face learning, and, critically, the reestablishment of public life.

While COVID-19 poses many challenges to higher education, the Bard College community is leaning in to the challenge, not settling into a holding pattern. We do this in the knowledge that, by embracing what we are at our best, we will be able to maintain our commitment to our students’ learning and well-being. When we look back on this time, we will be able to say that we practiced what we preach, and we learned how to do what we do better.
 

“Life in the era of COVID-19, as in all times of crisis, amplifies our basic instincts. Do we become anxious or confident, selfish or generous, rigid or adaptable? The same applies to institutions. And right now, at this moment of national and global crisis, Bard College is demonstrating who we are: student-focused, innovative, entrepreneurial, and civically engaged.” —Jonathan Becker, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Bard College

A broad network of Bard faculty and staff—including Ivonne Santoyo-Orozco and Ross Exo Adams in the Bard Architecture and Design Program; Maggie Hazen and Melinda Solis in Studio Arts; IT’s Doug O’Connor, Hayden Sartoris, and Christopher Ahmed; and the Philosophy Program’s Katie Tabb—has come together to produce face shields for frontline health-care workers who are grappling with a nationwide shortage of protective gear.

With two 3D printers loaned by Bard physicist Paul Cadden-Zimansky, Exo Adams and Santoyo-Orozco set up a makeshift lab in Tivoli to fabricate reusable face shields for health-care workers. When the lab is fully operational, they expect to produce up to 50 shields per week. Hazen and Solis have begun a production line as well, using 3D printers purchased with proceeds from a GoFundMe campaign established by MFA alumna Luba Drozd ’15 that has raised more than $20,000. A small batch of shields has already been distributed to Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson, New York, and the group is now looking for more distribution options in the Hudson Valley. Deliveries of face shields are also scheduled for Albany Medical Center and, in Dover, New Jersey, Saint Clare’s Hospital, where a Bard student’s relative works and on whose behalf the student made a request. Anyone interested in distribution or in assisting with the project should contact Doug O’Connor (oconnor@bard.edu), who is centralizing the distribution efforts with the help of CCS Bard students.

And in Annandale, members of the Fisher Center’s Costume Shop—together with Audrey Smith from Buildings and Grounds, Rosalia Reifler from Environmental Services, and Saidee Brown from the President’s Office—have sewn nearly 200 face masks for the essential College employees who remain on campus.
 
To learn more about virtual engagement opportunities at Bard, visit Bard Connects.

When the College moved to remote learning in March, Posse Scholar Yaseer Abdulfatai ’23 and two of his fellow Bardians headed home to Georgia—an unscheduled two-day road trip. As a first-year, “this transition from school to home has been weird and unexpected,” says Yaseer. But the support he’s received from his Bard professors and peers has helped him through. His professors have stayed in touch, responding to his emails and meeting with him virtually using Google Meet. “It’s been really beneficial to me as a student to know that I still have the academic support of my professors,” says Yaseer.

At home, Yaseer has created a new routine, making time for schoolwork as well as spending time with his extended family and staying connected with friends. One way he connects is through Netflix Party, which allows him to watch Netflix with his friends in real time, despite the distance between them. “Even though my friends and I are far apart we are able to do something together,” says Yaseer. “I really enjoy spending that quality time together.” Connecting with his family and friends has helped Yaseer to keep his spirits up. Still, he’s looking forward to being back on campus next semester, becoming a Residence Life Peer Counselor, and helping to lead the Trustee Leader Scholar Youth Initiative in Africa.

The Center for Civic Engagement has a new webpage devoted entirely to our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. From virtual volunteer opportunities to helpful links and resources to contact information for local and state elected officials, we're publishing important information so you can easily find ways to connect, engage, and take action during this time.

The Center for Civic Engagement, Bard Office of Sustainability, and Bard Farm are leading a 30-day challenge to the Bard community: commit in the month of April to daily actions for environmental and social good. Join today! Together, we can have a big impact. The team name is Bard College Network, Friends and Family.
 

By Faith Palmer Fotta

As the Coronavirus continues on its path we want to share some steps the town of Red Hook, Dutchess County, and New York State are taking to support community members in both monitoring the situation and providing information and resources that may be helpful for residents.

Dutchess County's Department of Behavioral and Community Health’s updates:
www.dutchessny.gov/coronavirus
New York State Department of Health:
https://health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/coronavirus/
Centers for Disease Control:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
 
The Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health is charged with the prevention and control of communicable disease and is the local point of contact for Covid-19. The DCDBCH is monitoring the situation and will adjust strategies as the disease in the community evolves. An informational hotline number was established and is now taking calls at 856 486 -3555.

The NYS Health Department has issued a clinical guidance website for healthcare providers that host readiness webinars for hospitals, local health department, college, and university medical professionals.

According to Dr. Howard Zucker, the New York State Health Commissioner, "this virus is being carefully monitored at federal, state and city levels to ensure the public's health and safety, and while awareness is important, the current risk to New Yorkers is low. We are working closely with the Centers for Disease Control to receive daily updates and stand ready to assist." 

New York State Governor Mario Cuomo has issued information on a comprehensive plan to address school closings if a child falls ill and/or tests positive for the virus. Cuomo has unveiled a plan for New York to produce its own hand sanitizer. The sanitizer, which is projected to cost $6 a gallon to make, will be distributed for free to schools, local governments, and health care facilities in need. The Governor has passed legislation regarding sanitizing protocols for public transport, nursing homes, and schools.

Gov. Cuomo has sent an expedited bill to the legislature that would guarantee paid sick leave to New Yorkers placed on quarantine due to the Coronavirus.  

Due to the consistently changing nature of the virus and the need for institutions and response teams to adapt, the information is always evolving. Therefore, it is important to stay in tune with trusted sources. One very valuable resource is right here on the Bard website.

Take good care of yourselves and remember, " Keep Calm and Wash Your Hands"

Want to get involved in our effort to host more civics education or events? Let us know at civic@bard.edu. If you have questions about civics or suggestions about what you would like to see in this space, email fp3751@bard.edu. We're interested in what you think. Watch for more information in the coming weeks, and stay engaged! 
 

Bard College and Foreign Policy Interrupted (FPI), in cooperation with the Open Society University Network (OSUN), announce the launch of the FPI-Bard Fellowship. The FPI-Bard Fellowship is for midcareer women in foreign policy who are eager to share their expertise and engage in policy discussions.

The fellowship is a six-week online workshop that covers such topics as op-ed writing, media training, editorial story pitching, and public speaking. It is intended for women over 30 in the middle of their careers in international relations, finance and investing, technology, foreign policy, or national security. There are five slots for the FPI-Bard Fellowship, which will take applications through Friday, April 3. Interviews will be conducted mid-April. Final decisions will be made by May 1.

FPI started the fellowship in 2014 and has trained over 40 women, across a wide range of areas, including cybersecurity, Asian defense, conflict resolution, science, and technology. Previous FPI Fellows have been published in the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, the New Republic, and the New York Times.

“I’m thrilled to partner with Bard College and the OSUN network on an expanded version of the fellowship program,” said FPI cofounder and CEO Elmira Bayrasli. “Bard and OSUN’s global reach and focus on building community and creating value makes it the right partner.” Bayrasli was named director of the Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program (BGIA) in January.

“This is a fellowship for women around the world, from different backgrounds and disciplines. Bard and OSUN provide wonderful networks to help FPI reach more talented women whose voices and expertise can only add value to today’s pressing challenges,” said Jonathan Becker, executive vice president of Bard College and vice chancellor of OSUN.

For information about applying for an FPI-Bard Fellowship, write to fpibardfellowship@gmail.com.
 

On Friday, February 28, the Bard Debate Union together with the Center for Civic Engagement hosted the Ninth Annual Middle and High School Debate Tournament at Bard. The tournament was the largest it has ever been, welcoming over 150 students, teachers, and parents from schools in Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Poughkeepsie, Arlington, Cold Spring, Garrison, and Dover.

The three topics up for debate, all drawn from this year's World Universities Debating Championship, were: abolishing the Olympic Games, whether news platforms should be required to uphold BBC–style impartiality, and the pros and cons of social credit systems. The students had been researching and preparing for their debates for nearly two months. At Bard, each of the three debates were judged by panels of Bard Debate Union members and teachers and coaches from the participating schools. At the end of the day, top speakers and teams were announced, with the winning high school team from Poughkeepsie High School and the winning middle school team from the Manitou School.

"As always," says Co-Director of the Bard Debate Union Ruth Zisman, "the middle and high school tournament is our favorite day of the year. Not only does it give us all a chance to remember the excitement and power of debate by watching people do it for the first time, but it gives us an opportunity to connect with debaters and educators from all over the Hudson Valley for an exciting day of open discourse and conversation."


Since 2012, when the tournament first took place, the Bard Debate Union has worked tirelessly to help foster the development and growth of debate programs all over the world, often in unlikely places: in 10 local school districts, three New York State Prisons, seven Bard Early Colleges and Early College Centers, and five international partner institutions from Kyrgyzstan to Russia to Palestine. For the Bard Debate Union, debate is about much more than just competition; it is about opening space for important and difficult conversations, connecting with the community both locally and globally, and helping to empower the young leaders we need in the 21st century.

The Middle and High School Debate Tournament was only the beginning of a big weekend for the Bard Debate Union. Bard students went on to win the Empire Debates at the King's College in New York City the next day, Saturday, February 29. Read that story here.

Upcoming events for the Bard Debate Union include:

Mar 15–20: Fourth Bard Network Debate Conference at Central European University (Budapest, Hungary)
Mar 27–29: North American Women and Gender Minorities Debating Championship (Rochester, New York)
Apr 18–20: US Universities Debating Championship (Chicago, Illinois)
May 1: Bard Prison Initiative Public-Style Debate (Eastern New York Correctional Facility)
May 9: Bard Early College Debate Tournament (Bard High School Early College Newark)
 

The Bard Debate Union won the 9th Annual Empire Debates at the King's College in New York City on Saturday, February 29 and Sunday, March 1. The tournament—an annual favorite for the Bard Debate Union—welcomes college and university debate teams from throughout the United States. All participants debated in five preliminary debates on topics ranging from the reunification of Northern Ireland to the use of state travel bans to the celebritization of political figures. Top placing teams advanced to a semifinal and then final round.

After a very close final round against teams from McGill, Morehouse, and Vanderbilt, Bard Debate Union members Gwen Stearns '21 and Pascal O'Neill '23 were named champions of the tournament. Hadley Parum '21 and Elaina Taylor '20 were semifinalists. The team also won a number of speaker and judge awards: Gwen Stearns '21 was Fourth Open Speaker, Matt Caito '20 placed 10th Open Speaker, Pascal O'Neill '23 was named Third Novice Speaker, Dalia Alayassa (PIE student from Al-Quds Bard, currently studying at BGIA) was Second ESL Speaker, and Rayo Verweij '20 advanced as a judge. An outstanding showing by the entire team.

The Debate Union's victory was the second act in a big weekend for the team. The day before, they had hosted the largest-yet Middle and High School Debate Tournament on the Bard campus. Read that story here.

Chandrai Jackson-Saunders, school psychologist at Bard High School Early College in Washington, DC, has been named School Psychologist of the Year. She accepted the award at the National Association of School Psychologists Annual Convention in Baltimore on February 19.

“I advocate prevention over trauma,” says Jackson-Saunders. “This includes a focus on social-emotional learning; parental engagement; and community partnerships. School psychologists are really good at trauma. I want us to be great at prevention. This will require not only psychologists, but educational systems and the community caring for our children to focus on creating a positive environment on the front end with the goal of reducing the amount of trauma on the back end.”

 Chandrai Jackson-Saunders has served as a school psychologist in the District of Columbia Public School System for more than 30 years. Born in Hawkinsville, Georgia, Jackson-Saunders was raised primarily in Washington, DC. She is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown with an undergraduate degree in psychology, and of Howard University with graduate degrees in educational psychology and school psychology. Chandrai Jackson-Saunders is a staunch advocate for children’s welfare and works extensively with community and social organizations both locally and nationally.

On Saturday, February 22, Bard College students organized a concert in Olin Hall to benefit the fight against COVID-19, the novel coronavirus first discovered in China that has caused the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency.

The benefit concert is part of an ongoing fundraising effort by students around the COVID-19 outbreak. Ahead of the concert, Bard student leaders collaborated with students from Vassar College, Colby College, and Oberlin College, with the help of the Cleveland Clinic and John Hopkins University Alumni, to raise more than $12,000. These funds purchased medical supplies, including disposable surgical masks, goggles, and protective clothing for medical workers, all of which were sent to a hospital in China’s Hubei Province.
 
Student volunteers organized the benefit concert at Bard with support from the Bard Chinese Student Organization, the Center for Civic Engagement, and the Bard College Conservatory of Music. The aim of the event was to raise additional funds for China and increase awareness about the impacts of the outbreak. The concert was free, but the hosts encouraged attendees to give online or to place donations in decorated boxes around the hall.

The event began with comments by Bard student organizers Caroline (Ziyue) He '23 and Zongheng Zhang '21. Caroline He, an anthropology major at Bard, described the outbreak in China and the danger to health care workers and the population in general. She went on to describe discrimination faced by Asians and Asian Americans in the wake of the epidemic. "Fear is our instinct. The way we conquer it and empower ourselves is to take responsibility, no matter how big or small," she told the audience. "Our responsibility is to resist. When society doesn’t encourage us to build real connections, it is a kind of solidarity and resistance that we keep reaching out to each other, and build friendships. [...] It’s not about nationality; it’s not about skin color; it’s not about gender. What matters is that we care, and we stand together. We support each other."
 
Bard College President Leon Botstein also offered remarks. "A virus is a virus. It does not discriminate among humans, and neither should we," said President Botstein. "Coronavirus has had devastating impacts in China. This concert is an important opportunity to be in solidarity with our Chinese students and colleagues."

Zongheng Zhang, a Bard Conservatory student, organized the evening's music program and conducted the orchestral portion of the concert. He is pursuing a double degree in music and psychology, while also taking graduate conducting courses in the Conservatory. Bard College Conservatory of Music students performed the following program:

• Sonata-Reminiscenza, Op.38 No.1 by Nikolai Medtner
• "The Silk Road Camel" (丝路驼铃) by Yong Ning
• "Nostalgia" (思乡曲) by Sicong Ma
• "Dun Huang" (敦煌) by Ying Jiang
• Orchestra
  • "Flowing Streams," by Yuankai Bao
  • "Dialogue of Flowers," by Yuankai Bao
  • "The Dance of Yao People," by Yuan Mao
  • Symphony Overture No.1, by Xia Guan

 
The concert concluded with Chinese students gathering in the audience in Olin to sing "Invisible Wings," a song by Angela Chang about finding hope and strength in the face of despair. Students put their arms around each other and some shed tears as their classmates sang.

Efforts during the concert and afterward have raised an additional $4,400 to date. These gifts benefit the Firefly Plan, an organization that purchases sanitary products and food for hospitals in the most affected regions.

Bard College student Sonita Alizada addressed the United Nations on Tuesday, February 11, 2020. Sonita is a rapper and a human rights activist from Afghanistan. She spoke movingly about how she was sold into child marriage twice, escaped, and went on to become an advocate for education for girls worldwide.

Sonita's family left Afghanistan for Iran when she was a girl, and lived in Iran for several years as undocumented refugees. During this time, Sonita began to make music to express her frustration and fear as her family began to discuss selling her as a child bride. "I was breaking the law in Iran at that time. And still now women are not allowed to sing or rap solo," she explains. "Honestly, back then I knew the law, but I felt like my dreams were bigger than the fears that I had from police."
She met the Iranian filmmaker Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami, who helped Sonita make a music video for her song "Brides for Sale," which went viral and called attention to Sonita and the plight of many Afghan girls. Maghami made a documentary about Sonita's struggle to escape child marriage, Sonita, which was released by New Wave Films in 2016. Sonita won the World Documentary Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the IDFA Amsterdam Film Festival. With support from Maghami, the True Life Fund, and the Strongheart Group, Sonita was able to move to the United States, complete her secondary education, and continue to college.

Sonita was taking English language classes at American University in Washington, D.C. when a friend told her about Bard. "I felt like this would be the best place for me, because I like a close connection with my professors. So when I came here I realized that professors here, they were supportive, students were diverse, and it’s been—I really like it here and am happy with the decision that I made because they're not only supporting my education; they also support me with my advocacy work, which is very important."

Sonita is taking classes in human rights and international studies at Bard. "I'm taking First-Year Seminar, of course. I loved Mary Shelley's Frankenstein—not so much Darwin!" She enjoys working with other Bard students who are English language learners. Denise Minin, the English language program coordinator at the Learning Commons, has become a friend and an advocate to Sonita. She continues to write music and perform, regularly booking the recording studios on campus so she can work on her first album.
Sometimes, her music and her advocacy work have her studying on the train or in a hotel before an event. "I usually have some time before the performance or before the speech, so I do my homework in between," she explains.

These days, Sonita misses her family. "I didn’t tell my family when I came to the U.S. They wouldn’t have let me come here, so I basically ran away." Though her parents were initially angry, seeing Sonita's success with music and school has changed their way of thinking. "Right now they are my biggest fans," she says. Her sister rejected a marriage prospect, and their parents didn't force her. The transformation Sonita has seen in her own family gives her hope.

They understand that a girl can actually support herself. My mother, she thought I had no chance of saving myself, because they always think that we have to marry a guy, and only the guy can take care of us. So now it’s proven to her that girls are strong, they can make their own decisions, they can support themselves, they can also support others. It took a long time. It’s not that easy. But I’m just saying that change is possible even in families, Afghan families that are very conservative. They just follow old traditions. But for my mother to change that much, it was very shocking for me. I felt like if I can change my mom, if I can change my family, I can change other families, too, to think about their girls, to see that there are other possibilities for their girls other than just being mothers while they are children.

Sonita has been nominated for a Women Building Peace Award, as presented by the United States Institute of Peace. The award honors a woman peacebuilder whose substantial and practical contribution to peace is an inspiration and guiding light for future women peacebuilders. Sonita will find out the results over the summer.

Sonita has a busy semester shaping up. In addition to coursework and her album, she's started to write a book about her life. She's looking forward to performing at a Human Rights Watch event in San Francisco next month. She will also likely be speaking at the UN again in March, on behalf of the organization Girls Not Brides.

She continues to push to address the root causes of child marriage—poverty and lack of education—and to advocate for local people to take the lead in reform in their own countries. "The problem with some organizations is that they come from the U.S., they come from other countries, to a country like Afghanistan, but they don't really understand the root of this problem," she observes. "You can't just fight with your ideology against their culture. So they need to ask leaders from their communities to help them with what changes they want to bring." Organizations need to not only support the girls, she explains, but also educate the parents.

Sonita finds that her roles as a college student and public figure exist in harmony. "There are so many courses here that talk about human rights," she observes. "The students here are very engaged with human rights and helping the environment—with everything. My friends, they're very supportive of girls’ education. So whatever I do most of the time they’re like, 'This is kind of what we do.' They are doing projects, too. We're doing the same kind of work, I just do it somewhere else." She describes her friends working on civic engagement projects and volunteering, then laughs, "I find them more active than me sometimes."

Jonathan Becker, executive vice president of Bard College and vice chancellor of the Open Society University Network (OSUN), talks about what sets OSUN apart from other international partnerships. “We are trying to build this ecosystem across these multiple institutions, which will allow us to be resilient, to regenerate, [and allow] ideas to flow across the network,” he tells Times Higher Education.
 

Bard College is one of three private, four-year institutions of higher education to receive the first-ever Richard Guarasci Award for Institutional Transformation from Campus Compact, a national coalition of more than 1,000 colleges and universities committed to building democracy through civic education and community development. The award is one of Campus Compact's Impact Awards, which honor "individuals and institutions for their achievement in advancing the public purposes of higher education." Bard was recognized for its commitment to extending opportunities for liberal arts education to historically excluded communities.

“A cornerstone of this work is the Bard Early Colleges High School program, which provides access to credit-bearing, tuition-free college courses in the liberal arts for high schoolers from Manhattan, Queens, Newark, Cleveland, and Baltimore," reads the award announcement from Campus Compact. "Students who participate in the program are taught by college faculty in undergraduate seminars and receive college credits up to an associate of arts degree. Other programs offered by Bard College, such as the Bard Prison Initiative, further demonstrate their commitment to access to education for marginalized groups.”

This award continues an auspicious start to 2020 in which Bard has taken a leadership role in the formation of the Open Society University Network and has received the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement. Bard is proud to continue its collegiate mission to function as a private college for the public good.

More About the Programs

The Bard High School Early Colleges (BHSEC) were founded in 2001 on the belief that many high-school-age students are eager and ready for the intellectual challenges of a college education. In the BHSEC Class of 2018, 83 percent of students completed the associate’s degree and 96 percent completed the high school diploma with at least one year of transferable college credit. Across the Bard Early College network of 2,850 students, over 40 percent of students are first-generation college students, over 60 percent are low income, and over 70 percent are students of color.

The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) was founded in 1999 by undergraduates at Bard College in response to the decimation of college-in-prison nationally. Today, BPI is spread across six prisons in New York State. It enrolls over 300 students and organizes a host of extracurricular activities. Since 2001, BPI has issued roughly 50,000 credits and 550 degrees; it offers more than 160 courses per academic year and engages an extraordinary breadth of college faculty.

Civic engagement is at the core of Bard’s institutional mission, which reflects the fundamental belief that higher education institutions can and should operate in the public interest. With an entrepreneurial spirit and a sense of civic duty inspired by social consciousness, the Center for Civic Engagement at Bard College and the Bard Network use their resources to develop vibrant and sustainable programs that tackle critical issues of education and public policy.

Bard Prison Initiative alumnus and staff member Dyjuan Tatro is one of thousands of New Yorkers on parole who can be sent back to jail for technical violations—small and sometimes unavoidable mistakes, like returning home from work after curfew. Tatro and other advocates are fighting to change the strict parole regulations with the Less Is More Act.

Justus Rosenberg, Bard Professor Emeritus of Languages and Literature and Visiting Professor of Literature, has penned a new memoir, The Art of Resistance: My Four Years in the French Underground (William Morrow, 2020).

Bard’s Clemente Course in the Humanities in Kingston, New York, kicks off its spring session this week at the Kingston Library. Marina van Zuylen, Bard faculty member and Clemente Course director, talks about the nationwide Clemente Course, and how the program connects to Bard’s mission to make college education more inclusive and accessible. The spring 2020 Kingston Clemente Course begins on Thursday, February 6 and takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. There is no tuition, and the program includes free childcare and transportation. Students earn 6 Bard College credits upon completion. Prospective students are encouraged to come to the open house to preview the program on Tuesday, February 4, 6:00 to 8:00 pm, or simply attend the first class on Thursday. Marina van Zuylen is a professor of French and comparative literature at Bard, director of the French Studies Program, and national academic director of the Clemente Course in the Humanities.
 

Bard MFA alumna Christine Sun Kim performed the national anthem and “America the Beautiful” in American Sign Language at the opening of the Super Bowl, alongside singers Demi Lovato and Yolanda Adams. It was an act of both patriotism and protest. And it brought both joy and frustration. Christine Sun Kim Writes for the New York Times

Malik Gaines, former Bard MFA faculty member, presents new drawings by Kim in ArtForum.

Interview with Kim in Artnet