CCE News

As part of a new partnership, Artsy will launch Greenhouse Auction’s first social impact auction, “Higher Power—Brothers@: Benefit Auction 2021,” which opened on November 29 and will run until December 10 at 4pm ET. This online benefit auction supports Brothers@. Cofounded by Dariel Vasquez ’17 and Harry Johnson ’17, Brothers@ is a dual-beneficiary high-school retention and college persistence organization with the mission of improving the academic and social-emotional outcomes of young men of color in both secondary and post-secondary education. The nonprofit organization is designed to empower men of color to pursue their academic goals and enter the workforce, particularly in industries that have lagged in diversity.

“Brothers@ is excited to partner with Artsy on Higher Power, featuring some of this generation's most prominent artists of color. Together, we are providing a platform to showcase artists who are not traditionally recognized by the mainstream for their influence in the art world. Brothers@ is thrilled to be part of this cutting-edge endeavor,” said Vasquez.

Curated by rising star K.O. Nnamdie—recently featured in New York Observer’s “Arts Power/50” issue—the auction features works by 15 artists who have lent their support to Brothers@’s mission through their participation. By leveraging the collective platforms, this auction marks a unique opportunity for collectors and artists alike to support the next generation of men of color to enter, shape, and lead the future of the art world.

“Higher Power speaks to the many points of entry into my diasporic experience; a collective connection to ancestry. This selection of works features potent moments of resilience, uprise, and ultimately triumph,” says K.O. Nnamdie. 

Bidding will be open exclusively on Artsy here and will close on Friday, December 10 at 4:00pm ET. To bid, visit the auction at: https://www.artsy.net/auction/higher-power-brothers-at-benefit-auction-2021.

Each work ships from New York City. Shipping costs are the responsibility of the buyer. Applicable sales tax will apply to works shipped to and within the US. 

For more information or media inquiries, contact Artsy at specialist@artsy.net / 646-381-3901.

The Bard Debate Union at Eastern Correctional Facility returned to in-person debate for the first time since 2019, narrowly defeating Morehouse College on Friday, December 3. The teams debated the legacy of Malcolm X, who enrolled in college and participated in competitive debate while he was incarcerated. The debate touched on mass incarceration, contemporary systemic racism, philosophies of education, the meaning of college-in-prison, and the history of the Black freedom struggle. The topic was inspired in large part by the writing and research of Jed Tucker, longtime member of the Bard Prison Initiative faculty and leadership. 

The teams were honored to be joined by author Tamara Payne who—alongside her late father, Les Payne—coauthored the Pulitzer Prize–winning Malcolm X biography The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X. After the debate, Payne offered remarks, reflected on the historical significance of the event, and described the debate as a “very special way to honor the memory of Malcolm X.”

Bard Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Director of the Center for Civic Engagement Jonathan Becker and Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Civic Engagement Erin Cannan are coteaching a new course on local politics and civic engagement. As part of the course, Bard students have accepted internship positions in local governments, including the offices of Red Hook Village Mayor Karen Smythe, Red Hook Judge Jonah Triebwasser, and Tivoli Deputy Mayor Emily Major. Students are also working at the City of Hudson mayor’s office, and with State Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D-46). 

“Jonathan and I realized that there is very little engagement with local government here, when more engagement of local people and Bard means more civic literacy and a better functioning government,” said Cannan in an article appearing in the Red Hook Daily Catch. “Few people have access to youth voices, the perspective of someone who is current on certain trends that older people don’t have. Students are going to move into the world soon, and this experience gets them ahead of the times and properly engaged in politics.”

By Astrid Guzmán Hernández (Bard College '25)

Today, Bard College’s 1000-acre campus is chock-full of asphalt roads and buildings in the Gothic Revival style, but it wasn't always that way. The ELAS archaeology course “Anthropology 211: Ancient Peoples Before the Bard Lands: Archaeology Methods and Theory” seeks to uncover what the societies 5,000 years ago left behind.

This class doesn’t just take place in a classroom. Students also gather at the Forest Site archaeological dig located next to the Honey Field. Although it’s close to the center of the college grounds, this wooded promontory high above a creek still feels strangely isolated, with a sea of tarps separating it from the rest of the campus. 

On a recent visit, I saw students hard at work either scraping at their designated area or sifting through the dirt they had already dug up. Professor Christoph Lindner excitedly pointed out the recent discoveries by Emily, one of the twelve students participating.  She explains how the orange and grey speckling on the burnt stones in the bottom of her shallow quarter-square-meter trench means that, at some point, there was possibly a fire here. Fifty feet away is another student, McKinlay, who is working separately from the rest of the group. McKinlay is an anthropology major working on her senior project, hoping to find material she can use to further develop her research. She’s been allowed to work in a section of the site where fragments of pottery are concentrated in abundance.

Slowly but surely, students uncover signs of previous civilizations in the area. Flint here, charcoal there, pieces of scattered pottery: in this class Bard undergraduates get a rare opportunity to bring to light items that are important in both the historical and contemporary contexts. They ultimately want to share their results with the Stockbridge-Munsee Community of the Mohican Nation, through another senior project that includes an online interactive digital map of the site linked to photographs, videos, and textual interpretations.

Anna Likhanova (Bard '25)

Even before I first arrived for the Language and Thinking orientation on the campus early in the semester, I had decided to start the Amnesty International Human Rights Club at Bard. In high school, I was a part of Amnesty Norway and I knew that it was something I wanted to bring to my new community.

We’re always asking ourselves, "How can we figure out ways to make the world a better place and then help facilitate this change?” I’m originally from Russia, and human rights in my home country is a sore topic. Even before I became more conscious of what my rights are, I always felt that treatment of human rights needed to be improved. This is what first inspired me to join Amnesty at my high school. I went on to become a club head and then group coordinator at Bard.

Recently I was honoured to be recognized by the Center for Civic Engagement and participate in a panel during Family and Alumni weekend. I spoke about the purpose of the club and what’s possible in the future, as I hope to establish a legacy so that the Amnesty Club will be here when I graduate and human rights awareness at Bard will become a tradition that moves beyond current programs and academic discussions.

While I am leading Bard’s Amnesty chapter, my hope is to collaborate with other clubs and Trustee Leader Scholar projects in order to bring the human rights conversation not only to campus but also to nearby Red Hook and Tivoli.

On December 10th, Bard's Amnesty Club hosts an open discussion about human rights for International Human Rights Day, where we will discuss what it means to take direct action through the framework of Amnesty International, bringing a positive and holistic change to the community.

The Andrew Goodman Foundation has released a news story detailing the long battle conducted by Andrew Goodman Ambassadors at Bard College, supported by the Center for Civic Engagement, to obtain expanded access to voting on campus. In the end, the hard work paid off as the Dutchess County Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bard College’s right to an on-campus polling site.

As explained in the article, Bard College students for a long time had clear and documented difficulties voting at their allocated polling site, the Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist, which they found to be neither safe nor accessible. 

After previously unsuccessful attempts at changing the polling site, Bard College student activists worked with The Andrew Goodman Foundation to file a lawsuit against the Dutchess County Board of Elections for violating students’ voting rights.  Student ambassadors took the lead on organizing their campus community in support of the litigation, collecting testimonies from student voters, and actively building momentum leading up to the 2020 election. In late October, the Supreme Court ruled in their favor and granted an on-campus polling site for the first time.

Speaking to the importance of Bard’s long term commitment to this battle, Andrew Goodman Campus Co-Champion Sarah deVeer says, “As a private college working for the public good, we constantly are pushing for our students to think with us on how to leverage our resources (including voter protection resources) for the community. And our students are doing exactly that: They are modeling what it means to build an inclusive voting environment.”

Read the full article.
 

Today, the New York Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the decision of Dutchess County Supreme Court Judge Maria Rosa to situate a polling place on the Bard College campus for District 5 voters.

The unanimous four-Judge Appellate Division panel agreed with Judge Rosa and the Petitioners Bard College, faculty, and students on all counts. The appeals court found that, following Bard’s prior 2020 litigation victory which resulted in polling location on campus, Commissioner Haight’s continued efforts in 2021 to prevent on-campus voting were “arbitrary and capricious.” 

“This is an important victory, both locally and nationally, in the fight against voter disenfranchisement, in this case discrimination against youth and those protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act,” said Bard’s Executive Vice President Jonathan Becker. “It is unfortunate that the county leadership has condoned, actively or through their silence, Commissioner Haight’s efforts to undermine democracy, even as he has now wasted well over $100,000 of taxpayer money over the past decade in failed attempts at voter suppression that have been repeatedly rejected by the courts.” 

“A common-sense solution to provide accessible and safe voting should not be this hard,” said Erin Cannan, Vice President for Civic Engagement. “We are thrilled to have arrived once again at a solution that works for all of our voters in District 5.”

Counsel on the lawsuit are Michael Donofrio, Esq. of Stris & Maher LLP, Doug Mishkin, Esq., and Yael Bromberg, Esq. of Bromberg Law LLC.

“When Congress and the states ratified the 26th Amendment fifty years ago, they specifically contemplated the special burdens young people face in accessing the ballot, including the lack of on-campus polling locations,” said Yael Bromberg, Esq. of Bromberg Law LLC and Twenty-Sixth Amendment legal scholar. “In Dutchess County, a single county commissioner was so intent on suppressing the youth vote, that he was willing to compromise the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), several provisions of NY Election Law, and basic COVID protocols. Today’s win means that the student, ADA-friendly, and COVID-conscious on-campus polling location can once again provide a safe and accessible option for all Dutchess County voters.” 

“We appreciate the quick and decisive action by the New York courts in rejecting Commissioner Haight’s anti-voter litigation strategy and ensuring that all voters in the district will have access to a safe, convenient, secure polling location on November 2,” said Mike Donofrio, Stris & Maher’s Pro Bono Practice Leader.

“On one level, this case was about ensuring the existence of a polling place on the Bard campus, holding the Board of Elections accountable for its arbitrary and capricious decisions, and protecting the voting rights of students, BIPOC, and people with disabilities,” said Bard senior Tomas Forman, a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “On another level, the case was about using the power of courts to send the message that discriminatory decisions on the part of administrative agencies that are nonsensical and simply rely on the status quo will no longer be tolerated. We as plaintiffs hope that this case can serve as a model for other institutions and groups fighting for like causes. Following Judge Rosa's determination, the Bard College community, constituting nearly 70% of registered voters in our district, will have a safe, accessible, welcoming, and convenient place to exercise their rights under the 26th Amendment.”

“Ensuring a polling site on campus is not only a huge victory for voting rights of students, but also disabled voters,” said Bard sophomore Sarah Seager, a leader of organizational plaintiff Election@Bard. “Allowing voters a safe and accessible space to vote, which is what the Bard campus polling site provides, is expected of all polling sites. As a Bard community we are excited to provide that space for voices to be heard as people practice their civic duty of voting. I, along with the Election@Bard team, am excited to see what the future of Dutchess county looks like when the voices of students are heard.”

Voters in District 5 will be able to vote at the Bard College polling site in the Bertelsmann Campus Center, and at the Church of St. John’s on River Road.

This ruling is the latest chapter of a decades-long fight, including legal challenges, for student voting rights by Bard College students, including Andrew Goodman Foundation Student Ambassadors. Additional information on the fight for a polling site at Bard can be read here. News about previous rulings can be read here, here, and here.

By Alejandra Ortiz  (Bard College '22)

OSUN held its inaugural Virtual Student Leadership Conference on October 9-10, giving attendees an opportunity to learn about and develop leadership skills, as well as connect with a global network of like-minded colleagues. Over 140 Students spanning the network, from 21 institutions in 68 countries, attended the online event, participating in workshops devoted to helping them learn more about themselves as leaders and as human beings. (See a map representing the global spread of attendees here.)

Speakers at four workshops focused on different aspects of leadership, including self-care, resilience, goal-setting, teamwork, networking, and time management. On the first day, Jonathan Becker (Vice Chancellor of OSUN) asked students about the meaning of leadership and William J. Barber III (Director of Strategic Partnerships, The Climate Reality Project), asked students to reflect on what is their personal philosophy as a leader and the importance of being a student of history. Barber also focused on leadership as it relates to education, action, struggle, and success within the climate justice and racial justice movements. The last speaker of the day was Jovanny Suriel (Dean for Civic Engagement, Bard College), who discussed goal setting and time management. 

Speakers during the second day of the conference focused on students’ well-being and the importance of intercultural communication among leaders. Kahan Sablo (Dean of Inclusive Excellence, Bard), Annia Reyes (Director of Health & Wellness, Bard), Erin Cannan (Vice President of the Center for Civic Engagement at Bard), Sonita Alizada (rapper, activist, and Bard student), Zarlasht Sarmast (Global Fellows Program Coordinator, American University of Central Asia [AUCA]), Nurzhamal Karamoldoeva (Executive Director, CCE AUCA), and Zhamal Dzhumashova (Program Coordinator, CCE AUCA) discussed self-care, teamwork, resilience, and intercultural communication. These sessions successfully taught participants how to deal with the pressures of being a leader.

Many of the students in attendance expressed a strong dedication to improving their leadership skills so they might help solve problems affecting their home countries. Many spoke passionately about their current projects and what they needed to learn so they could reach those goals.

Organizing and participating in the conference gave me an opportunity to reflect on my own leadership skills and to check in with myself. I learned new ways to manage my time, my work, and teamwork and I appreciated that the guest speakers we gathered drew people deeper into the issues being discussed. 
 
Seeing students actively attend conference events and participate in the exercises was a powerful reminder that there are many people who want to see positive global change. These students and future leaders hail from countries all over the world that have complex human rights problems that need to be resolved. To successfully address these issues, leaders are needed–individuals who can motivate those who seek positive change to organize, build movements, and become leaders themselves.
 
Overall, students who attended the conference reported learning new skills such as how to use SMART goals to manage their time and how to work effectively with teams. Many were excited to meet other students from the OSUN Network and looked forward to new opportunities to connect. Serving on the editorial team of the OSUN Global Commons publication is one of many opportunities currently available.

On October 21, Associate Dean of Civic Engagement Brian Mateo spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations for their higher education webinar series on how higher education administrators can encourage student civic engagement and participation in global issues. Mateo posits that we want students to gain a great deal more than academic knowledge from their college or university experience. “I strongly believe that we want them to be critical thinkers,” he states. “We want them to understand and practice equity, be strategic problem solvers, understand the power of reflection and active listening, [be] community builders, practice empathy, be lifelong learners, and also ultimately be engaged individuals.” Brian Mateo is the associate dean of civic engagement at Bard College, the director of strategic partnerships in Bard College’s Globalization and International Affairs Program, program director for civic engagement at the Study of the U.S. Institutes for Scholars, and a security fellow at the Truman National Security Project.

This fall the Bard Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) celebrated ten years of realizing Bard's vision of acting as a private institution in the public interest. CCE’s long list of accomplishments includes an array of student and institutional initiatives—from the Trustee Leader Scholar (TLS) Program and the Bard Prison Initiative's degree-granting programs to the Open Society University Network (OSUN) and dual-degree partnerships with universities worldwide. 

“The reason we created Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement was because we thought that the whole that is Bard’s engagement efforts was greater than the sum of its parts,” says Jonathan Becker, CCE Director, in a short video commemorating the anniversary. 

All CCE projects are animated by robust and sustainable partnerships that actively address local, national, and global problems, reach underserved populations, and tackle critical issues of education and public policy.

Paul Marienthal, Director of the TLS Program, explains in the video that students design civic engagement projects based on their own compelling interests. Some of the local projects students mounted, including Brothers at Bard, Red Hook Responds, and Election@Bard, are highlighted in the video.

“I still can’t believe how much we were able to accomplish,” says Ameer Shalabi, TLS Student Leader of the Bard Palestinian Youth Initiative, which helped to renovate schools, plant olive trees, and build a library in Palestine. 

Becker also explains how CCE’s upcoming decade will focus on supporting OSUN, continuing to provide access to rigorous education for those who need it most, and developing meaningful partnerships with local communities. 

Watch the anniversary video here.

Jalil Sadat escaped Kabul during the Taliban takeover and has settled safely at Bard College after a long and arduous trip from Afghanistan. “A month ago I had never imagined living somewhere else besides Kabul,” he told a reporter from NBC News. His life changed in a matter of hours as he watched Kabul fall, and his family scrambled to find help. His brother had worked for the U.S. government in Afghanistan for years, and Jalil was a student at the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF). He and his family knew these connections to the U.S. put them in danger. Jalil managed to escape by convincing a U.S. Marine at the chaotic Kabul airport that his life was at risk, but he had to leave his family behind.

Jalil boarded a plane for the first time in his life and left the country. Sleeping on the ground in refugee camps, he made the trek from Afghanistan to Qatar, then Germany, and finally to the United States. When he arrived in Washington, D.C. he reached out to a Bard professor with whom he'd taken online classes as an AUAF student, and asked for help. “Seeing how people are willing to help—it's amazing,” Jalil says. He thinks about his family back in Kabul every moment of the day, and stays in close touch with them. “There is all that feeling of guilt at times ... because of the fact that I'm safe, I'm here, and my family is not.”

In August, Bard pledged to help Afghan students find safe havens to continue their studies at Bard. The College has committed to take in as many as 100 students at its campuses in Annandale, Berlin, and Simon’s Rock. The Open Society University Network (OSUN) has helped nearly 200 Afghan students depart Afghanistan and reach OSUN campuses, most of whom are attending the American University of Central Asia, Bard’s longtime dual-degree partner. More students are expected to arrive at Bard and on other OSUN campuses in the coming weeks.

Last week Bard signed an agreement with the American University of Afghanistan, an OSUN partner, to develop dual-degree programs for Afghan students in collaboration with OSUN, facilitate student and faculty exchanges, and further support AUAF students who continue to arrive in the US. “The AUAF community is proud to undertake this powerful affiliation with Bard College, and we are grateful to Bard and OSUN for stepping forward with immediate, meaningful aid to the young women and men of Afghanistan who deserve to pursue their studies without fear,” said AUAF President Ian Bickford.

Bard is offering full-tuition scholarships to up to 100 Afghan students. Learn more about the program for refugee students and scholars here.

Human Rights and Global Public Health major Verónica Martínez-Cruz has been honored for her work to bridge language barriers and ensure full and equal participation of Hispanic residents in all aspects of civic, economic, and cultural life in the Hudson Valley. State Senator Michelle Hinchey (D-Saugerties) presented Martínez-Cruz with a New York State Senate Commendation Award.

“Verónica Martínez-Cruz is doing incredible work to build language justice in the Hudson Valley and create inclusive multilingual spaces that empower our Hispanic community to participate equally in our society,” Hinchey said. “Language is power, and it can determine whether a person has access to resources, information, and decision-making processes that affect their daily lives. Verónica possesses a deep understanding of these challenges, and despite being a full-time Bard College student and working other part-time jobs, she remains a committed advocate of our Spanish-speaking neighbors. For all of Verónica’s efforts to build a stronger and more connected community, it was my honor to present her with a Senate Commendation Award.”

Martínez-Cruz has served as a Council Member for both the Kingston Food Co-op and the Kingston Land Trust, as well as serving as a freelance interpreter and translator for area organizations, including the Hudson Valley Young Farmers Coalition, Kingston Midtown Arts District, Kingston YMCA Farm Project, and Catholic Charities of Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster Counties.

“As a faithful believer in Language Justice, it has always been of the utmost importance to me that language resources exist so that Spanish speakers and other immigrants living in and around Kingston can have access to understand and be a part of the changes that are happening every day in our community,” Martinez-Cruz said. “Although I did not expect this recognition, as I am only a small piece of the giant puzzle that is mutual aid, I thank Senator Hinchey for this great honor. Immigrants are part of our community and if we work together we can ensure not only a better future for us but also for future generations.”

Senator Hinchey gathered community members at the Pollinator Garden across from John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Kingston to honor Verónica with the Commendation Award in the presence of organizational collaborators including Executive Director of Kingston Land Trust Julia Farr, Kingston Food Co-op Council Chair Joe Greenberg, Kingston YMCA Farm Project Director and Farmer KayCee Wimbish, Kingston YMCA Farm Project Education Director, Susan Hereth, and members of the YMCA Youth Crew. 

I received an exciting e-mail on September 23 announcing that Election@Bard had just won another lawsuit allowing for a polling site in the campus center; this time it wasn't just an emergency ruling. The Dutchess County Board of Elections has a long history of attempting to suppress student voting rights and we all wonder if they will continue to try to keep students from exercising their right to vote. They may, but not for now. If they do, the Board of Elections will continue to use taxpayer money to support an appeal and drag out the issue. For now, we are experiencing a moment where Bard’s efforts to support students is paying off for everyone.   

My involvement in the issue began this summer. I have been an active member of Election@Bard since I arrived on campus in 2019. Since that time I have learned a great deal about the efforts of Bard students, faculty, and staff to get a polling place on campus, as well as the long history of efforts by other parties to suppress student voting rights. 

I was one of the many students that had voted at St. John’s Episcopal Church in 2019 and at the Bertelsmann Campus Center in the 2020 election. In July of this year, I was asked by Election@Bard leaders if I wanted to be part of this ongoing fight and I became a plaintiff in the lawsuit. As a plaintiff, my role was to represent Bard's student body, many of whom had voted at St. John’s in previous years and in the Bertelsmann Campus Center in 2020. I was thrilled and excited to become involved in this issue and was more than willing to fight for the rights of all students. This means more than just being able to vote. It means that Bard students and local residents will have access to a safe and accommodating polling site and that there is real value in standing up for what’s right. 

The opportunity to fight for students' voting rights is exciting, emotional, and a great opportunity to learn how to advocate not just for students but also for those with whom we share our public spaces–our community.

Bard College and the University of Waterloo teamed up to win a Swift Grant award from Lever for Change. With this support, the two universities will expand their online Worldwide Teach-In on Climate and Justice in March to engage students and faculty members from all disciplines in countries in Africa. The collaborative project aims to reach more than a million students from all over the globe to learn about climate change, climate solutions, and climate justice. 

The Worldwide Teach-In is a project of the Graduate Programs in Sustainability at Bard College in conjunction with partners worldwide and the Open Society University Network’s Solve Climate by 2030 Project. For the past three years, OSUN’s Solve Climate by 2030 has been supporting globally coordinated education about the climate crisis. The project has engaged hundreds of colleges, universities and high schools– from Malaysia to Minnesota, and from Austria to Alabama– in discussions of climate solutions, across the curriculum. Targeting participation by a million students across the planet, the Worldwide Teach-in on Climate and Justice event on March 30, 2022 is perhaps the most ambitious component of the project yet, advancing a three-hour teach-in model that maximizes student involvement through faculty leadership. 

“As educators, there is nothing more important than engaging students across our campuses in this extraordinary moment in which we are living,” says Eban Goodstein, director of Bard Center for Environmental Policy and director/faculty of Bard's Graduate Programs in Sustainability. 

Lever for Change is a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation affiliate, whose mission is to unlock significant philanthropic capital and accelerate social change around the world’s most pressing challenges. In May 2021, Lever for Change introduced the Swift Grants fund, aimed to provide small grants to Bold Solutions Network members for collaborative projects. This fund provided an outlet for the world’s top problem solvers to leverage expertise and join forces to find creative solutions in their fields.

Lever for Change received proposals for innovative, collaborative projects addressing climate, health, and refugee support. In total, they selected five projects. Over the next year, each team will use their $25,000 Swift Grants to implement their respective projects.

Decision Keeps Bard Campus Voting Site Open for All District 5 Voters

Dutchess County Supreme Court Judge Maria Rosa sided with Bard College today in ruling that District 5 voting locations will remain at Bard’s Bertelsmann Campus Center and St. John the Evangelist Church in 2021. The ruling upholds the court’s 2020 decision supporting the opening of a Bard campus voting site, dismissing an effort by Republican Election Commissioner Erik Haight to revert to the 2019 location as “arbitrary and capricious.”

“We’re gratified by this reaffirmation of the original decision establishing an accessible voting site at Bard,” said Erin Canaan, Vice President for Civic Engagement who was one of the plaintiffs. “This is a win not just for students, but for all voters in the district, including those with disabilities. We look forward to welcoming all District 5 voters to Bard this fall and for years to come.”

In July, the student-led voting rights initiative Election@Bard was joined by students, staff, and the president of the College to file a lawsuit against the Dutchess County Board of Elections after Commissioner Haight and Democratic Election Commissioner Hannah Black failed to agree upon a polling site for the forthcoming 2021 elections by the March 15th deadline. Haight insisted that the site revert exclusively to the 2019 location at St. John’s the Evangelist despite the court’s previous 2020 ruling, the successful voting experience at the Bard site in 2020, and the Town of Red Hook Board’s reaffirmation in February of its prior, unanimously approved resolutions supporting the Campus Center as the District 5 polling site. Haight also blocked attempts to conduct a state-mandated American with Disabilities Act survey at St. John’s, despite extensive documentation that the Board’s 2019 survey was fatally flawed.
 
“This is the third time in the past decade that Commissioner Haight has lost a lawsuit challenging his attempts to suppress the youth vote and ignore the needs of the disabled. His repeated arbitrary and capricious actions, as determined by state and federal courts, have now cost county taxpayers close to $100,000,” said Executive Vice President Jonathan Becker. “Bard and the petitioners are fully prepared to defend Judge Rosa’s decision in the event of an appeal.” 

“Judge Rosa’s decision sends a strong message as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment and unprecedented youth voting rates nationally,” said Yael Bromberg, co-counsel for the plaintiffs, a constitutional litigator and Twenty-Sixth Amendment scholar. “While voting rights are being legislated in our nation and state capitols, often overlooked local election administration decisions can decisively impact the youth vote. These efforts are particularly successful when, as here, college administrations like Bard College lead by supporting youth-lead efforts.”
 
Bard students have resorted to litigation or the threat thereof to fight efforts aimed at limiting their voting rights five times since 2000. The courts ruled in favor of the students in all preceding legal actions. The current lawsuit follows years of advocacy by Bard College students, including Andrew Goodman Student Ambassadors and their peers, for an on-campus polling site.

"Student voters should be able to vote where they study and live,” said Bard student Sarah Seager ‘24, who currently heads Election@Bard. “This win makes that possible. Having a polling place on campus is essential to providing accessible voting for Bard students. I am thrilled to see this and look forward to seeing Bard students being heard through their vote."  

Bard student Sarina Culaj, a plaintiff in the case, said, “I am ecstatic over the news that we have finally won the lawsuit. This is one huge victory that brings us one step forward in fighting against voter suppression.”

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Bard students Sarina Culaj, Tomas Forman, and Alejendra Rodriguez Ortiz; Bard College President Leon Botstein; Bard College Vice President Civic Engagement Erin Cannan; Bard College Associate Director of Student Activities Cynthia Cunningham; and Election@Bard.

Counsel on the lawsuit are Michael Donofrio, Esq. of Stris & Maher LLP, Doug Mishkin, Esq., and Yael Bromberg, Esq. of Bromberg Law LLC.

The full lawsuit can be read here.

Additional information on the fight for a polling site at Bard can be read here.

Make a Gift to Bard's Afghan Student Fund

Bard College junior, rapper, and international human rights activist Sonita Alizada spoke at a virtual United Nations Ministerial Event on Tuesday, September 21 focused on supporting women’s rights in Afghanistan. Alizada is an Afghan refugee who narrowly escaped being sold into marriage as a young girl. She has become an outspoken advocate for women and girls globally, using her music to call for an end to forced marriage. 

The UN event, “Safeguarding the achievements of 20 years of international engagement in Afghanistan: how to continue supporting the future of Afghan women and girls and their access to education,” aimed to assess the challenges and risks currently faced by Afghan women and girls and identify how the international community can provide support and defend the progress that has been made in women’s rights and gender equality in the country.

Addressing the ministerial meeting, Alizada said, “You have been told that this is my story. The only reason that you’re hearing it is because my story is the only one, the only one of millions of Afghan women and girls that has had a happy ending. So let me be clear: this is not my story; it is the story of girls who will be ripped from their homes by Taliban militants and never be able to see their families again, of little boys who will never hear a woman’s opinion in their classroom and growing up under the Taliban’s brainwashing.” 

Alizada called on those assembled to take immediate action by not recognizing the Taliban government, working to guarantee the rights of women and children, securing access to the Internet in Afghanistan, inviting Afghan people into conversations with decision makers, and working to keep Afghan girls in school.

Sonita Alizada was born in Herat, Afghanistan, under the Taliban regime. Her family fled the country for Iran when she was a child and lived as undocumented refugees. When Alizada’s family attempted to sell her into marriage, she resisted by finding her artistic voice and speaking out. Her first rap single, “Daughters for Sale,” was a viral hit and brought worldwide attention to the plight of millions of women and girls who are forced into marriage. Alizada is now a human rights and music major at Bard and plans to become a lawyer and to return to her country to work on behalf of Afghan women and children.

Alizada is a leader in conversations and activism at Bard College for women in Afghanistan. Monthly events supporting Afghan women take place in collaboration with the Bard Center for Civic Engagement (CCE). Bard students interested in getting involved in this important advocacy work can reach out to the CCE at civic@bard.edu.

Watch the Full UN Event Here
 

The Afghan Student Fund at Bard College  

Bard College has pledged to take in as many as 100 students, as well as threatened scholars, to Bard’s campuses in Annandale, Great Barrington, and Berlin. The needs are great and efforts to support the educational, physical, psychological, financial, and legal needs of these displaced individuals will be a marathon, not a sprint.      

Bard has created the Afghan Student Fund to provide living, legal, and other necessary support to Afghan students who come to Bard. The College has committed to providing a full package to each student, including tuition (which is being waived), room and board, books, and a stipend. The Afghan Student Fund provides a clear way forward for educational opportunity and accessibility, and continues Bard’s legacy as a place of refuge in dark times. Give to the Afghan Student Fund

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For the second year, Bard College has been named by Washington Monthly among the U.S. colleges doing the most to turn students into citizens. Bard's student-led voting rights initiative Election@Bard has defended students’ right to vote since 2014 and is supported by Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement. In last year’s presidential election, Bard College hosted an on-campus polling location for the first time after a court ruling that followed more than two decades of student activism.
 

On March 30, 2022, Bard College is organizing a Worldwide Teach-in on Climate and Justice, targeting participation by a million students across the planet. “As educators, there is nothing more important than engaging students across our campuses in this extraordinary moment in which we are living,” Goodstein says. Eban Goodstein is the director of the Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability. The Worldwide Teach-in is a project of the Graduate Programs in Sustainability at Bard College in conjunction with partners worldwide and the Open Society University Network. 

The Bard Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) celebrates its 10th anniversary by honoring community partners. The festivities will take place on Friday, September 24, 4pm to 6pm, at Blithewood lawn on Bard’s Annandale campus. All New York State COVID-19 guidelines will be in place. Attendance to this event is by invitation only.

Civic engagement is at the core of Bard’s institutional mission, reflecting the fundamental belief that higher education institutions can and should operate in the public interest. CCE initiates programs; fosters sustained partnerships; and supports and connects student, faculty, and staff of Bard’s local, national, and international networks as they work to make a difference in the civic life of their communities. 

The work of CCE would not be possible without the dedication and generosity of community partners. This year, the 10th anniversary celebration recognizes the following individuals and partner organizations:

Dan Budd, Community Hero Award
In honor of his work in the Red Hook community during the COVID-19 pandemic

Troy Ellen Dixon, Community Hero Award
In honor of her work in the Kingston community during the COVID-19 pandemic

Lifetime Learning Institute at Bard College, Crusader Award
In honor of their 20-year commitment to learning across the ages 
(Award will be accepted by Nancy Kryzak, LLI President)

Felicitas Thorne, Champion Award
In honor of her unwavering support of civic engagement at Bard

For more information about Bard College Center for Civic Engagement, visit cce.bard.edu.

Renowned author Sandra Cisneros will be a live guest on the show La Voz con Mariel Fiori on Radio Kingston on Friday, September 10 at 10:00 a.m. Fiori is a Bard College alumna and the editor of La Voz, a Spanish-language magazine focused on the Hudson Valley and published at Bard. Fiori and Cisneros will discuss the author’s new novel, Martita, I Remember You, which is bilingual and will be published this month. They will also talk about The House on Mango Street, the centerpiece of the NEA Big Read Hudson Valley for March and April 2022. Bard College was awarded a Big Read Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for this community-wide reading program in Red Hook, Rhinebeck, and Kingston this coming spring.

Please send questions for Cisneros to lavoz@radiokingston.org and Fiori will incorporate as many as possible into the interview.

Tune in WKNY 1490 AM, 107.9 FM, online on RadioKingston.org, and live on the Radio Kingston facebook page on September 10 at 10:00 a.m. The interview will be conducted in Spanish; it will be broadcast live and recorded. The recording will be available later in the day on the archive of the show on Radio Kingston's website.

This article was originally published in Karin Fischer's latitude(s) global education newsletter.

Bard College Executive Vice President Jonathan Becker, who is also the acting president of the American University of Central Asia, has been scrambling to try to get endangered students out of Afghanistan. “The stakes are high for all students but especially for young women who won’t be able to pursue higher education under the Taliban,” he said. “These are women who are smart, who are empowered, who are extraordinary.”

Working with Bard and the Open Society University Network, where he is vice chancellor, Becker has persuaded universities to host displaced students and raised tens of thousands of dollars to pay for chartered airplanes. Bard will take as many as 100 students as well as threatened scholars. But a big challenge remains: how to get visas for the students to go to other countries.

In recent days, Becker got some good news: The government of Kyrgyzstan, where AUCA is located, has pledged to issue 500 visas to students from Afghanistan. Now, he hopes other countries will do the same. “It’s a sprint to get these students out.”

READ MORE
Full story: Heartbreak and What You Can Do: How Higher Education Can Aid Afghanistan (latitudes)
American University in Kyrgyzstan Is Offering Afghan Women a Haven. Will the Taliban Let Them Go? (Passblue)

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to support efforts in reversing the Russian government’s recent designation of Bard College as an “undesirable” organization. Bard first partnered with St. Petersburg State University 25 years ago, cofounding Smolny College, Russia’s first liberal arts college. Bard’s longstanding affiliation, degree partnership, and exchange programs with St. Petersburg State University have been critical to building ties between young Americans and Russians, and played a large role in developing a cohort of Americans well-versed in Russian language and culture. The recent designation of Bard College by the Russian government effectively ended this program and makes any student or worker associated with Bard’s program a potential criminal subject to fines or imprisonment.

After 40 years in prison, Gregory Mingo was pardoned on the night of Monday, August 23, along with several other incarcerated people, in one of Andrew Cuomo’s last acts as governor of New York State. Bard College students in HR 321, Advocacy Video, worked together with students in the Defenders Clinic at CUNY Law School and the human rights organization WITNESS to create short video self-presentations by applicants for clemency in fall 2020, including one with Mr. Mingo. The Bard-CUNY team visited Mr. Mingo in prison in the midst of the pandemic to interview him.

To be granted clemency is a rare victory after an arduous process on the part of the incarcerated individual and their advocates. “There could not be a better person to leave prison and rejoin the rest of us,” wrote Thomas Keenan and Brent Green, who cotaught the class, in a message to the Bard community. Watching the video, they said, “you can easily see why the Governor's decision was long overdue. Advocating for basic human rights and decency, especially in apparently enlightened situations like ours, ought to be unnecessary. The reason we teach this at Bard, and attempt to put it into practice, is that it's not, and because sometimes—but who knows when—it works.”

Advocacy Video is an Engaged Liberal Arts and Sciences class cotaught by Thomas Keenan, professor of comparative literature and director of the Human Rights Program, and Brent Green, visiting artist in residence. This is a Human Rights course crosslisted with Film and Electronic Arts. The four videos produced by students in fall 2020 are available on the Human Rights Program website.

“It’s not one faculty offering a course. It's a real team approach,” says Gedeon on how the program differs from other summer schools. “There can be a group of five or six or seven people working and teaching together. . . Very often, because it's a team, there's a chance to be multidisciplinary so it's not just one narrow discipline but a multidisciplinary union with a 360-degree look around the world and within those fields. And that's exciting.” Bard College and the Central European University cofounded the Open Society University Network with the support of the Open Society Foundations.

Christina Jones has been working with the A. J. Williams-Myers African Roots Center in Kingston on The Green Book Project, in which she has sifted through archival materials to uncover more about how the Green Book played a role in local Black history. Christina graduated this year from the Bard College Conservatory of Music with a double degree in anthropology with a concentration in Africana studies and cello performance. This fall she will head to Cambridge University to pursue her graduate studies. She recently spoke about The Green Book Project on an episode of Let's Talk, Kingston on Radio Kingston.

Last month, Bard College and the Open Society University Network sent out a call to Afghan graduates of American programs in Afghanistan and the region. Immediately 120 replies came back. “I had a student this summer who had to miss class because ‘the Taliban surrounded our town.’ She indicated to me her final paper would be late because a bomb blew up her house,” Jonathan Becker told the Atlantic’s George Packer. “This is a tragedy of epic proportions.” After reading Honorable Exit, Thurston Clarke’s account of efforts by individual Americans to save their Vietnamese allies before the fall of Saigon in 1975, Becker realized how little time was left. In recent days Bard and Open Society have appealed to universities in the region to host Afghan evacuees, and to foundations and board members to pay as much as $400,000 to charter flights out of Afghanistan. “In many cases we have institutions to host them. Colleges, universities, and funders are stepping up,” Becker said. “That is not a problem. The challenge is the time to get people out and get them visas into those countries.” Jonathan Becker is OSUN vice chancellor, executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs and director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Bard.

Bard High School Early College in Baltimore has received a $1.5 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to expand its academic curriculum and deepen its student guidance programs to better support Baltimore City Public School students pursuing early college credits and degrees at Bard College. Bard High School Early College (Bard Baltimore) is the only degree-granting early college high school in the district, seeks to improve the transition from high school to college and increase access and success in higher education, particularly for students from low-income and historically underrepresented communities.

[Read more in the Baltimore Sun: “Bard High School in Baltimore announces $1.5 million grant will go toward advising for students”]

"This gift opens a world of possibilities for our entire school community, from students to families to faculty to alumni,” said Bard Baltimore Principal Francesca Gamber. “As we welcome students back from the pandemic, the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies will help us to respond to their academic and social-emotional needs in ways that will amplify the success we've already seen over the past six years. BHSEC Baltimore strives to be a citywide leader in toppling the barriers to a college education, especially for students of color, and in disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline.  We are grateful for this support, which will advance our work so significantly."

Bard Baltimore opened in 2015 as a partnership between Bard College and the Baltimore City Public School District. Students at Bard Baltimore begin full-time Bard College coursework at the end of the 10th grade, with the ability to earn 60 or more transferable college credits and a Bard College Associate in Arts degree, tuition-free, by the end of the 12th grade.

The 419 students currently enrolled at Bard Baltimore reflect the diversity of the city and the promise of its young people. Of the graduating class of 2020, 93% graduated with a high school diploma and at least one full year of transferable college credit. Fifty-four percent earned their Bard AA degree, and 85% have gone on to further college studies. Bard Baltimore graduates have continued their studies at leading colleges and universities in Maryland and nationwide. Eighty-one percent of the Bard Baltimore student body is Black and more than half are first-generation college goers.

“This recognition of Bard’s successful early college model by the Bloomberg Philanthropies is deeply gratifying and will play a significant role in its continued success in Baltimore,” said Bard College President Leon Botstein.

Since Mike Bloomberg’s graduation from Johns Hopkins University in 1964, he has demonstrated a special commitment to his alma mater — serving as chair of the Board of Trustees and supporting efforts across the university including major capital projects, endowed professorships, and undergraduate need-based scholarships — and its home city of Baltimore. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ engagement in Baltimore focuses on education, small businesses, job creation, and workforce development programs, especially for the city’s youth. In 2017, Bloomberg Philanthropies partnered with Goldman Sachs to expand the successful 10,000 Small Businesses program to Baltimore to help local entrepreneurs grow their companies — there are now 392 Baltimore program alumni.

As part of its Career and Technical Education portfolio, Bloomberg Philanthropies supports Grads2Careers, a program that connects Baltimore City Schools graduates with free job training and job placement, and the HeartSmiles-Living Classrooms Year-Round Fellows work experience program for high school students and young adults.  Bloomberg Philanthropies also hosts a program connecting Baltimore high school students with summer internships at arts organizations, and through its Arts Innovation and Management program, small and mid-sized Baltimore-based arts organizations participate in management training.

Bloomberg Philanthropies has worked directly with Baltimore city leaders to use data to improve decision-making and government services for residents through the What Works Cities program; to improve public safety with creative solutions from a dedicated innovation team (i-team); and to hone leadership and management skills through the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative.

"Bard Baltimore is vitally important in the landscape of higher education in Baltimore,” said Bard Early College Executive Director Stephen Tremaine. “Bloomberg Philanthropies' extraordinary commitment to this unique campus will deepen the school's impact for young people across Baltimore, particularly in disinvested and underestimated Baltimore communities. Mr. Bloomberg's leadership as Mayor of New York City was crucial to the initial expansion of the Bard Early College model. His continued leadership in education, and continued commitment to the City of Baltimore, is crucial to opening doors and changing lives in Baltimore."

This generous gift will enable Bard Baltimore to significantly expand its advising and support of students and alumni/ae, helping to ensure that the school’s early college students are progressing not only faster but also farther.
 
About the Bard Early Colleges
The Bard Early College model replaces the 11th and 12th grades with the first two years of college, all within public schools. BEC provides adolescents with a rigorous, credit-bearing, college course of study in the liberal arts and sciences following the 9th and 10th grades, at no cost to students or their families. Students receive up to 60 college credits and an associate in arts (A.A.) degree from Bard College, alongside a high school diploma. These schools are designated as public high schools and accredited as branch campuses of Bard College.

Founded in 2001, the Bard Early Colleges are a nationally recognized network of tuition-free early college operated through partnerships with public school systems in five states and Washington, DC. These schools provide high school students, particularly those who face significant structural obstacles to a college degree, with a rigorous, tuition-free college course of study in the liberal arts and sciences and the opportunity to earn college credit and an associate’s degree alongside their high school diploma. With over 3,000 students nationwide, the Bard Early College network radically expands college access and success within public school systems. For more information about Bard Early College, visit bard.edu/earlycollege.


About Bloomberg Philanthropies:
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 810 cities and 170 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. In 2020, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $1.6 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok.

About Bard College
Founded in 1860, Bard College is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located 90 miles north of New York City. With the addition of the Montgomery Place estate, Bard’s campus consists of nearly 1,000 parklike acres in the Hudson River Valley. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of music degrees, with majors in nearly 40 academic programs; graduate degrees in 11 programs; eight early colleges; and numerous dual-degree programs nationally and internationally. Building on its 160-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College has expanded its mission as a private institution acting in the public interest across the country and around the world to meet broader student needs and increase access to liberal arts education. The undergraduate program at our main campus in upstate New York has a reputation for scholarly excellence, a focus on the arts, and civic engagement. Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders. For more information about Bard College, visit bard.edu.

This week, I had the opportunity to sit in on a Bard summer class on civic engagement. It was truly an eye opening experience. At an online meeting, students voiced their views on what civic engagement meant to them. Michele Pierre-Louis, the former Prime Minister of Haiti, Michele Pierre-Louis, joined as the guest speaker for the latter half of the meeting.

Students were asked to propose solutions on how to improve civic engagement in their respective countries, based on assorted articles and videos they had analyzed. They presented ideas like including extracurricular classes on civic engagement in middle and high schools, implementing more social organizations in schools, and encouraging motivation and a community-driven society. 

Following the discussion, Pierre-Louis expanded on the theme by recounting what she did to enhance civic engagement in Haiti during her tenure. What I found particularly interesting were the similarities between her ideas and the solutions that the students had proposed. She emphasized the fact that civic engagement does not always have to be a huge political action led by the government, but rather involvement at the local level. She explained a real-life example: when she visited a school in Haiti where a teacher had engaged their students to create solar panels and for use in other schools that had no electricity. This was not overseen by the government or any other large organization, but was nevertheless a significant service that aided communities in need, which is the main objective of civic engagement. 

As a current high school student, this meeting gave me a glimpse into a real college course and expanded my knowledge on a subject I have not learned much about in school. I am grateful to have had this opportunity to listen to such impactful voices and to educate myself more about civic engagement in other countries.

Mia Berger is from New York City and is currently a student at the Taft School, a boarding high school in Connecticut. Mia enjoys studing English and French and hopes to intitiate a civic engagement club at school, where she can share what she's learned this summer and further explore the topic with her friends.

Smoke from large wildfires burning in the western United States and Canada led to potentially dangerous air quality conditions in the Hudson Valley in late July, according to the Kingston Air Quality Initiative (KAQI), a collaboration between the Bard Center for the Study of Land, Air, and Water and the City of Kingston. Sensors on the roof of the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center on Broadway in Kingston—and confirmed by street-level monitoring in Kingston and on the Bard campus—showed significantly elevated levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) for several hours on July 20 and July 26. Although the levels didn’t exceed the 24-hour EPA standard of 35 ug/m^3 (micrograms per cubic meter of air), readings were found to be as high as 70 ug/m^3 for several hours at multiple locations. New York State issued air quality warnings for the entire state that week.

“Being able to track real-time effects of climate change-related disasters on local air quality is a powerful tool supporting Kingston's efforts to become a sustainable and climate-adapted community,” said M. Elias Dueker, assistant professor of environmental and urban studies at Bard College and director of the Bard Center for the Study of Land, Air, and Water. “While wildfires are predicted to continue in the West, and we may not be able to prevent the smoke heading our way, we can do work to limit our own contributions to poor air quality locally, including car exhaust and wood burning. These actions are not just good for the planet, but good for ourselves and our neighbors. Our Hudson Valley air is precious and we must protect it.”

PM2.5 is made up of microscopic particles that are the products of burning fuel, and is released into the air through exhausts from oil burners, gas burners, automobiles, cooking, grilling, and both indoor and outdoor woodburning. PM2.5 particles are so tiny they stay suspended in the air for long periods of time, allowing them to travel long distances before depositing. When these particles are inhaled, they can enter the bloodstream through the lungs, creating or exacerbating health issues. Several studies have shown that PM2.5 produced by wildfires or by burning wood is more dangerous to human health than that produced, for example, by vehicle emissions. A study from UC San Diego Scripps Institute was released very recently showing the PM2.5 emitted by wildfire smoke results in up to 10 percent more respiratory admissions to hospitals than other sources of PM2.5.

KAQI’s monitoring efforts over the past year and a half have focused on a regional assessment of air pollution from fine particulate matter (PM2.5), as measured from the roof of the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center on Broadway in Kingston. While KAQI’s first year of monitoring found that levels of PM2.5 rarely reached dangerous thresholds as regulated by the EPA, this summer has been a different story, going beyond local fuel combustion. Smoke plumes from the fires raging out west have been travelling across the continent over the past few weeks, resulting in hazy skies and prompting several air quality alerts in the midwest and northeast. As wind and temperatures pick up out west and worsen fire conditions, the effects will likely continue to be felt in the Hudson Valley as air packets over burning areas travel east and eventually deposit from the upper to lower troposphere, affecting the air quality at ground level. Dueker said that wider-scale community and neighborhood-level monitoring are on the horizon.

The Kingston Air Quality Initiative began in January 2020 as a partnership between Bard’s Community Science Lab and the City of Kingston Conservation Advisory Council’s Air Quality Subcommittee to conduct a first-ever Kingston-centered air quality study. Since then, Kingston residents and Bard College students, staff, and faculty have conducted air quality monitoring in both indoor and outdoor environments. Bard’s air quality monitoring program is supported by the Open Society University Network Community Science Coalition, which works to bridge the gaps between climate-adapting communities and academic institutions. For more information on KAQI and specific details on the wildfire monitoring, please visit landairwater.bard.edu/projects/kaqi or kingston-ny.gov/wildfires. To get involved, please contact Eli Dueker at edueker@bard.edu.

About Bard College
Founded in 1860, Bard College is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located 90 miles north of New York City. With the addition of the Montgomery Place estate, Bard’s campus consists of nearly 1,000 parklike acres in the Hudson River Valley. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of music degrees, with majors in nearly 40 academic programs; graduate degrees in 11 programs; eight early colleges; and numerous dual-degree programs nationally and internationally. Building on its 161-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College has expanded its mission as a private institution acting in the public interest across the country and around the world to meet broader student needs and increase access to liberal arts education. The undergraduate program at our main campus in upstate New York has a reputation for scholarly excellence, a focus on the arts, and civic engagement. Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders. For more information about Bard College, visit bard.edu.(8/3/21)

By Miriam Roday '18

When you’re starting your career, people will often say, “getting a job is all about who you know.” 

For students fresh out of college, this may sound impossible. You have probably been consumed with schoolwork for the past four years or your resumé consists of babysitting gigs you took to earn extra money. You likely didn’t have the time to get to know a lot of people and network for a job. 

The first step is simple: start talking. 

Your top priority should be setting up informational interviews. Your goal is to find out exactly what a job entails by asking targeted questions. Use these “informationals” as a way to collect insights other people have gleaned that you can integrate into your planning for the future. When hearing about another person’s experience, you’ll naturally begin to reflect on your own. You may realize—I like the idea of working a 9–5 job, or I wouldn’t mind disrupting my routine for a monthly business trip.

Treat it like a job interview: Take it seriously, but don’t go into it thinking that it’s a test and if you pass, you’ll leave with a job offer (of course, that has happened before, so bring your A-game). Instead, you should note the decisions another person made that helped them succeed. The lessons they share will inform your thinking as you determine the job you’re best suited for right now.
Here are five steps to get started. 
 

1. Pick on friends and acquaintances first 

Think of trusted professors, mentors, or friends who would be willing to introduce you to someone in their network. Instead of reaching out to a stranger on LinkedIn, first leverage connections that people in your life have already built.
 

2. Prep for the informational 

Every interview will vary based on who you’re talking to, but you still need to come up with an elevator pitch. This means, rehearse a succinct explanation that tells the interviewee who you are. Next, state why you’re talking to them. For example, “I’m looking for a job and I’m curious about what it's like working at a consulting firm. I was hoping to discuss your experience in that field, so I can figure out if it’s the right path for me.”
 

3. Ask questions and engage

People love talking about themselves. Use this to your advantage! Be an active listener by writing down any insights they share and stay present. After your elevator pitch, you might ask:

• How did you enter this field? 
• What was your job interview like and how did you prep for it?
• Can you describe a typical work day? 
• What is the most rewarding or challenging part of this work? 
• What previous experience do you have that helped you succeed?

If you get stuck, go for the classic: What is something you know now that you wish you knew at the beginning of your career?
 

4. Keep track of your contacts

Write down the person’s name, contact information, when you met, and what you discussed at the meeting. As you get better at this and do more informationals, you’ll forget the details of each interaction. Don’t miss an opportunity to reconnect with someone because you can’t remember what they care about (see pro-networking tip below).
 

5. Follow up

After the meeting, always send a thank you note. You want to acknowledge that your new contact took time out of their day to talk with a stranger. Also, they may have offered to put you in touch with someone from their network with whom you share mutual interests; in your note, reiterate your desire to talk with that person. To expand your own network, you must act on every one of these opportunities. If you wait too long, the offer will get stale.
Pro networking tip: Keep the conversation going! Check-in with your contacts periodically. If you have an exciting life update—you were published or got into grad school—tell them about it. This will keep you fresh in their minds and hopefully invest them in your professional growth.
When you interview for a job, you still need to demonstrate that you’re the right fit for an organization. But if you’ve done your networking, when a job comes along, people in a position of power will remember you. They’ll tell the hiring manager to pull your resumé out of the pile. They’ll vouch for your intellect, your value, and your potential to contribute because they know you and what you’re capable of. 

It’s all about who you know

Getting a job requires a lot of research, patience, and hard work. When people say “it’s all about who you know,” what they mean is, it’s all about putting in the work to get to know others and letting them get to know you. At the end of the day, those who cultivate robust professional networks do so by actively creating opportunities to connect with others. 

Miriam Roday is a researcher with the Joint Advanced Warfighting Division of the Institute for Defense Analyses. She is a fellowship editor for Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. She began her career at 19 in the U.S. Senate and has since held positions across the public and private sectors including with non-profit organizations, congressional committees, political campaigns, and research institutions. 
The opinions expressed here should not be construed as representing the official position of the Institute for Defense Analyses, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.

Miriam graduated from Bard in December 2018. She was part of the first class to graduate as a Global and International Studies major and wrote her Senior Project on Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. She also participated in BGIA, where she secured a paid internship at the International Crisis Group working in their legal department. 

Miriam co-organized the Student World Affairs Conference in 2017 and presented on a panel about "Global Citizenship" at the Smolny Student Conference in St. Petersburg. That same year, she applied for and won a Community Action Award for her internship on Capitol Hill and received another Award for her internship at Stanford University the following summer. As a freshman, Miriam co-founded a TLS project, Sail Forward, and taught Speech & Debate and Civics at Germantown Middle School. During her time at Bard, she also worked at the Learning Commons as an ESL tutor. 
 

On Thursday July 15, 2021, Bard College President Leon Botstein joined with the student-led voting rights initiative Election@Bard and staff and students of the College to file a lawsuit against the Dutchess County Board of Elections for violating the voting rights of students. The lawsuit, filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in Dutchess County, follows yearslong efforts by Bard students to establish an on-campus polling location. This comes after the October 2020 court ruling that the campus voting site would be open to all District 5 voters for the last presidential election.

The Bard College community comprises the overwhelming majority of the district’s eligible voting population at nearly 70%. The alternate polling site, St. John’s Episcopal in Barrytown, proposed by Republican Commissioner Eric Haight, is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Haight refuses to abide by state law mandating an accurate survey of the site. St. John’s is inaccessible by public transportation in clear violation of New York State Election Law, and is situated on an unsafe route that lacks sidewalks and adequate street lighting. The route creates a significant hardship for voters with disabilities and the majority of students who don’t have cars. The lawsuit challenges the ongoing failure of the Dutchess County Board of Elections to comply with the New York Constitution and state laws by discriminating against youth voters and refusing to open a polling location on the Bard College campus where the vast majority of voters in the district live, work and study.

This lawsuit follows an agreement just prior to the 2020 election after Supreme Court Judge Maria Rosa found Haight’s representations on the record for failure to situate an on-campus polling site to be “simply untrue.” Judge Maria Rosa ordered that there be polling sites at both Bard College Bertelsmann Campus Center in addition to St. John the Evangelist. The Campus Center is nearly three times larger than St. Johns, is ADA compliant, and is within walking distance of most voters in the district. This change proved to be a success in the presidential election of 2020. With nearly 85% of Bard students registered to vote, there was a line outside the Campus Center early that Tuesday morning awaiting the opening of the polls. Students and other residents of District 5 were all able to vote in the Campus Center safely and conveniently, all while maintaining the protocols of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the resounding success of the last Election Day in providing a safe and convenient space for voters and poll workers across political parties, the Town of Red Hook Board reaffirmed its previous, unanimously approved resolutions supporting the Campus Center as the District 5 polling location on February 9, 2021. Nonetheless, the Board of Elections has taken the extraordinary measure to refuse to certify a District 5 polling location for the November 2, 2021 General Election. This current lawsuit is in response to the BOE’s attempt to flagrantly disregard its statutory obligations to designate a polling location by the state deadline, and to erroneously presume that the status quo may apply as a substitute. Conveniently, the BOE has presumed that the status quo mandates that only the Church may serve as the polling location for District 5 voters – even though both the Church and the on-campus location served voters in 2020.

“Bard College is committed to the link between education and democracy,” said Bard College President Leon Botstein. “Our efforts to fight the suppression of youth voters is central to this commitment. We believe that colleges should not simply offer rhetorical support for students, but act in the public interest. That is why I have joined students as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.”

“Voting, and encouraging others to do the same, is arguably the most impactful way people can influence our democratic processes. Government–at all levels–has a fundamental obligation to ensure accessible, safe, and equitable access to the ballot. Historically and presently, federal, state, and local agencies– as well as those who administered them in their official capacities– have leveraged their power to directly suppress and restrict the vote of young people, communities of color, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups,” said student plaintiff Tomas Forman. “The case here in Dutchess County District 5 is unique, but is also in many ways a reflection of what has, and is, happening elsewhere. This litigation is about more than simply ensuring a polling place on the Bard campus. It's also about sending a clear message, undergirded by the legitimacy of adjudication, that election boards across this country can no longer suppress voting by placing polling places in arbitrary, inaccessible, and frankly unjustifiable locations.”

“I feel that this lawsuit is one of the first steps that must be accomplished in order to combat voter suppression in our district,” said student plaintiff Sarina Culaj. “As a Bard student, I feel the direct impact of youth voter suppression through the actions that Commissioner Haight has taken to block the addition of a polling place on campus. Through the lawsuit, I hope that we can not only create a permanent polling place on the Bard campus, but also show that youth voting can and will be uplifted in our district.”

“Bard has been fighting student voting rights in court for 22 years now,” said student plaintiff Alejandra Rodriguez Ortiz. “That is a long period of time for students to not have voting rights in the 21st century. This lawsuit will hopefully bring voting rights for students and new opportunities for the Dutchess County community.”

“The Board of Elections, particularly Commissioner Haight, is continuing its efforts to suppress the youth vote in this, the 50th anniversary of the 26th amendment which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18,” said Jonathan Becker, Bard’s Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs. “The Board has failed to assign a polling site, misled voters in the district, and blatantly ignored rules pertaining to the Americans with Disabilities Act. What is going on in Dutchess County with the suppression of the youth vote is a microcosm of what is taking place across the country with underrepresented communities. It is shameful and it is shameful that political leaders, through their complicity and silence, condone such repressive measures.”

“Fifty years ago, this nation came together across partisan lines to support the expansion of the ballot free of age discrimination through the ratification of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment,” said Yael Bromberg, co-counsel for the Plaintiffs, and legal scholar of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment. “The principles that drove the ratification of that Amendment continue to be true today: young people are critical to the practice of democracy. We must remove obstacles to the ballot—and that includes bringing polling places on campus. The Dutchess County Board of Elections has made its intentions clear: it simply does not want Bard College students to vote—counter to the values of our democracy, which are beyond partisanship.”

“My colleagues at Stris & Maher and I are honored to represent Bard, its faculty, staff, students, families, and neighbors and humbled by their longstanding dedication to making the Bertelsmann Center available as a safe, convenient polling location for the voters of Red Hook’s District 5,” said Michael Donofrio, co-counsel for the Plaintiffs. “We look forward to vindicating their rights in the course of this litigation.”

This is the fifth instance since 2000 where Bard students have resorted to litigation or the threat thereof over schemes aimed at limiting their voting rights. The courts ruled in favor of the students in all preceding legal actions. The current lawsuit follows years of advocacy by Bard College students, including Andrew Goodman Student Ambassadors and their peers, for an on-campus polling site.

The lawsuit is brought on behalf of Bard students Sarina Culaj, Tomas Forman, and Alejendra Rodriguez Ortiz; Bard College President Leon Botstein; Bard College Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Civic Engagement Erin Cannan; Bard College Assistant Director of Student Activities Cynthia Cunningham; and Election@Bard.

Counsel on the lawsuit are Yael Bromberg of Bromberg Law LLC, and Michael Donofrio of Stris & Maher LLP.

The full lawsuit can be read here: https://tools.bard.edu/wwwmedia/files/8850342/87/Bard-CourtDocs.pdf

For further information on the fight for a polling site at Bard, go here: https://cce.bard.edu/community/election/voting-rights/

About Bard College
Founded in 1860, Bard College is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located 90 miles north of New York City. Bard’s campus consists of nearly 1000 park-like acres in the Hudson River Valley. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of music degrees, with majors in nearly 40 academic programs; graduate degrees in 11 programs; nine early colleges; and numerous dual-degree programs nationally and internationally. Building on its 161-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College has expanded its mission as a private institution acting in the public interest across the country and around the world to meet broader student needs and increase access to liberal education. Bard is known for its academic excellence and emphasis on the arts and civic engagement, and is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders. For more information about Bard College, visit bard.edu.7/19/21

Bard students Gwen Stearns ’21 and Pascal O'Neill ’23 represented the Bard Debate Union in the 2021 World Universities Debating Championship (July 6–13), an annual event that draws nearly 400 students from over 50 countries. While generally hosted in person (the Bard Debate Union has attended this event in Greece, Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand), this year’s tournament was held online, hosted by Debate Korea (South Korea). 

Gwen and Pascal debated teams from across the globe, including winning rounds against Harvard, Yale, Cambridge, the London School of Economics, and University of Toronto. After nine grueling preliminary rounds, they made Bard history by becoming the first Bard team to advance to elimination rounds at the world championship. Some of the motions they debated included: “This house opposes the academization of social justice movements,” “This house prefers environmental movements heavily prioritizing a local agenda over a global one (e.g., focusing on local pollution rather than climate change),” and “This house, as South Korea, would aim to significantly increase its cross-border economic cooperation with North Korea.” Ultimately, Gwen and Pascal ended the tournament in 13th place.

For more information about the Bard Debate Union, visit debate.bard.edu.

Bard students Gwen Stearns ’21 and Pascal O'Neill ’23 represented the Bard Debate Union in the 2021 World Universities Debating Championship (July 6–13), an annual event that draws nearly 400 students from over 50 countries. While generally hosted in person (the Bard Debate Union has attended this event in Greece, Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand), this year’s tournament was held online, hosted by Debate Korea (South Korea). 

Gwen and Pascal debated teams from across the globe, including winning rounds against Harvard, Yale, Cambridge, the London School of Economics, and University of Toronto. After nine grueling preliminary rounds, they made Bard history by becoming the first Bard team to advance to elimination rounds at the world championship. Some of the motions they debated included: “This house opposes the academization of social justice movements,” “This house prefers environmental movements heavily prioritizing a local agenda over a global one (e.g., focusing on local pollution rather than climate change),” and “This house, as South Korea, would aim to significantly increase its cross-border economic cooperation with North Korea.” Ultimately, Gwen and Pascal ended the tournament in 13th place.

For more information about the Bard Debate Union, visit debate.bard.edu.

“Programs that marry education access and engagement with issues of social justice explicitly for the benefit of those who have been impacted by incarceration are few and far between, but that mission is at the heart of a new tuition-free program hosted by the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI),” writes Tamar Sarai Davis of the new Microcollege in Harlem.
 

Rising junior Sonita Alizada’s music and global activism to end child marriage has inspired her friends on campus. Some have joined Sonita’s organization, Arezo, which raises money to support impoverished children in Herat, Afghanistan, Sonita’s hometown.

The Open Society University Network (OSUN) Civic Engagement program is pleased to welcome a new cohort of Global Engagement Fellows for the 2021–22 academic year.

Global Engagement Fellows are undergraduate students from across the network who are selected for their interest in and commitment to civic engagement. Fellows promote and coordinate civic engagement projects with other students on their campus, lead workshops in project management and development, and help to coordinate the annual Get Engaged: Student Action and Youth Leadership Conference.

This talented and ambitious set of fellows was chosen based upon their leadership skills and the development of their own community-based projects. 

Welcome to the new Global Fellows:
Ahmed Omar Abdi (Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya)
Amina Ahmed (American University of Central Asia ’23)
Sundus Al Fararja (Al Quds Bard College ’23) 
Abdul Walid Azizi (American University of Central Asia ’22)
Nelo Dlamini (Central European University ’25)
Mohamed Omar Farah (Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya)
Wisdom Tochi Kalu (Ashesi University ’22)
Lorraine Makuyana (Ashesi University ’22)

Several of the outgoing Global Engagement Fellows shared words of wisdom for the incoming class. Most discussed how the program helped them to elicit and nurture the skills needed to transform their aspirations into actions benefiting their communities. Their guidance centered on meeting inevitable challenges by remaining flexible and drawing on the support of their fellow travelers.   

Viktar Filipenka (European Humanities University ’21):
“I'll quote Samuel Beckett: ‘Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better.’ Communicate and cooperate; that's the way.” 

Oceanne Fry (Bard College Berlin ’21): 
“Take your time planning, budgeting, and scheduling before diving in. At the same time, once your project or event gets going, don't be afraid of last minute changes and necessary adaptations to unexpected factors.”

Adeeb Hadi (Bard College Berlin ’21): 
“My advice is to remember that the limit of creativity is the sky and the road is long. Do not expect your path to be easy, but your persistence will lift you up.”

Wisdom Tochi Kalu (Ashesi University ’22): 
“The journey of civic engagement will not be smooth and there will be times when you'll doubt everything. Don't be scared when those days come because resilience, like an anchor, will hold you firm.”

Shadin Nassar (Al Quds Bard College ’21): 
“In a world where the issues are clear but the solutions are not, my advice to this diverse group of leaders is to see challenges as opportunities. Strive to establish an environment of continuous improvement by putting new ideas into action and working together to empower others so they can cultivate civic engagement projects that are crucial for societal development.”

Our thanks and congratulations go out to all of the 2020–21 Global Engagement Fellows, who exhibited unwavering determination and commitment to civic engagement during a very challenging year. Not only did their efforts produce real community impact, but they set the bar high and inspired a new group of Fellows who will build their own impressive collaborations.

St. Petersburg State University and Bard College have had a joint-degree program since 1999.

Bard College, which has worked to spread liberal-arts education around the globe, has been designated as an “undesirable” organization by the Russian government, prevented from all activity and operations in the country. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office announced the blacklisting on June 21, saying that Bard’s work “threatens the constitutional order and security of Russia.” Anyone in the country who is affiliated with the College could face fines or imprisonment.

The Chronicle of Higher Education spoke with Bard’s longtime president, Leon Botstein, about the designation. Visit chronicle.com for his complete remarks.

Zarlasht Sarmast is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and 2020 graduate of the American University of Central Asia. She has previously served as the spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kabul and communications specialist for GIZ in Central Asia. She is currently pursuing a masters degree in International Relations and Security at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

With my project, “Womenity Club,” I aspire to reach out to Palestinian women, especially marginalized women, and to make them aware of their social, economic, and political rights, helping them achieve intellectual empowerment. In two years, I aim to mobilize a group of youth who can effectively dialogue on women's rights under Palestinian legislation.

As a Global Fellow, I aim to assist OSUN students so they can engage with their communities as active and responsible citizens. In my role coordinating the Monthly Civic Engagement Workshops, I plan on communicating and working with young leaders throughout the network, helping them to organize effective community-building projects. 

On Friday June 25, author, educator, classicist, tattooer, and Bard College alumnus Phuc Tran ’95 will give a book talk in honor of World Refugee Day. Tran’s talk is presented by Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement, the Office of the President, and Alumni/ae Affairs, along with the OSUN Hubs for Connected Learning Initiatives. This special event, which takes place at 5 p.m. EDT, will be moderated by James Romm, James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics and director of the Classical Studies Program. Join via Zoom link.

Phuc Tran ’95, who migrated with his family from Vietnam in 1975, has been a high school Latin teacher for more than 20 years while simultaneously establishing himself as a highly sought-after tattooer in the Northeast. Tran graduated from Bard College in 1995 with a BA in Classics and received the Callanan Classics Prize. He taught Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit in New York at the Collegiate School and was an instructor at Brooklyn College’s Summer Latin Institute. Most recently, he taught Latin, Greek, and German at the Waynflete School in Portland, Maine.

Tran’s 2012 TEDx talk “Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive” was featured on NPR’s TED Radio Hour. His acclaimed memoir, SIGH, GONE: A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In, received the 2020 New England Book Award for Nonfiction. He tattoos and lives with his family in Portland, Maine.

Bard College has a deep and longstanding history as a sanctuary and refuge for vulnerable populations. Beginning in the mid-1930s and throughout the war years, Bard gave refuge to distinguished writers, artists, intellectuals, and scientists fleeing Nazi Europe. Since the 1980s, Bard has brought scholars at risk from Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East to teach and do research in Annandale-on-Hudson, and continued its strong commitment to refugees directly through initiatives such as the Bard Sanctuary Fund, which supports undocumented students and refugees by providing scholarship, living, legal, and other necessary support while they are enrolled at Bard.

Bard’s global work to support refugees and advance human rights was strengthened profoundly in 2020 when the College cofounded the Open Society University Network (OSUN) with Central European University and support from the Open Society Foundations. Providing access to students from communities that have faced barriers and exclusion, including incarcerated people, the Roma, refugees, and other displaced groups is a central part of OSUN’s work to make higher education more inclusive and accessible worldwide. Supporting that work, OSUN was elected cochair in 2020 of the Taskforce on Third Country Education Pathways, launched by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. The task force is charged with developing best practices for higher education pathways that respond to the needs of refugees, internally displaced individuals, and others displaced by crises across the globe.

About Bard College
Founded in 1860, Bard College is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located 90 miles north of New York City. With the addition of the Montgomery Place estate, Bard’s campus consists of nearly 1,000 parklike acres in the Hudson River Valley. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of music degrees, with majors in nearly 40 academic programs; graduate degrees in 11 programs; eight early colleges; and numerous dual-degree programs nationally and internationally. Building on its 161-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College has expanded its mission as a private institution acting in the public interest across the country and around the world to meet broader student needs and increase access to liberal arts education. The undergraduate program at our main campus in upstate New York has a reputation for scholarly excellence, a focus on the arts, and civic engagement. Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders. For more information about Bard College, visit bard.edu.
 

My goal as a Global Fellow is to encourage students to get involved civically, whether it means starting their own projects or volunteering for existing ones. I look forward to working with and learning from like-minded students who share my passion for civic engagement so I can build my own project. In taking on this role, I expect to grow as both an activist and a leader.

I am a teacher in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya and my goal is to serve as an advocate for refugee children who need access to schooling. I look forward to interacting with other Global Fellows this year so I can gain from their experience. This will help me in my project “Children Out of School,” which promotes civic engagement activities that support vulnerable children in refugee camps or elsewhere who need schooling.

I am the founder and program director of Your Unique Understanding, a youth-led nonprofit organization that supports sustainable development in Vietnam by empowering ethnic minority youth through education, career education, soft skills training, and leadership programs. As a Lead Global Fellow, the goal of my projects, “Youth Engagement Training Initiative” and “Global Fellows Magazine,” is to build up civic engagement among student leaders by amplifying their voices, providing intensive training programs, and supporting collaboration on the institutional level.

Bard has designed and launched Camden Reach, a partnership with Camden, New Jersey's public school system. In this pilot project, juniors from five Camden high schools take a college class each semester in addition to their regular coursework. The goal is to offer classes to students who might not consider college, allow them to earn free credits, and, perhaps most importantly, let them prove to themselves that they can handle college-level work. Camden Reach is a growing consortium of colleges and universities, soon to provide an early college curriculum to students in any Camden public high school. “We always say the best way to prepare for college is to do college,” says Stephen Tremaine, vice president for early colleges at Bard.

 

I am the founder of My Scholarship Info, a social initiative that seeks to connect African students with vulnerable backgrounds to higher educational opportunities. Specifically, we coach students as they apply to academic programs. As a Lead Global Fellow, I want to promote civic engagement activities within and outside my campus and network and collaborate with global fellows on their projects.

I am the Founder and President of My Vision Initiative, an organization that empowers young women and girls in Zimbabwe in the areas of personal and professional development, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Being a Global Fellow grants me the chance to expand my project within Zimbabwe and across the network, allowing students who are passionate about gender equality and the empowerment of women to launch their own impactful projects.

Brian Mateo, associate dean of civic engagement and director of strategic partnerships at the Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program, has been selected for the 2021 Out Leaders List in National Security and Foreign Policy. Sponsored by Out in National Security and New America, the list spotlights the work of 40 LGBTQIA+ leaders serving in government, the military, think tanks, academia, and nongovernmental organizations. New America will host a virtual celebration on June 17 to celebrate this year’s Out in National Security Leaders and New Voices.