First TEDx Bard Brimming with Hope, Optimism
From left, Chaya Huber, Luca Heidelberg ’24, Tom Chitwood ’26, Thanasis Kostikas ’26, Emily O’Rourke ’25, Alex Nguyen '23 and Sarah deVeer. Huber and deVeer were mentors to the organizing committee. Photo by Aya Rebai ’24
The future is an obscure and scary time for us all. With more news coverage than ever, it can be hard to feel optimistic about … anything, really.
Bard College understood this misery about the future, and sought to tackle it. On Sept. 30, Bard held a day-long conference with TEDx all about Shaping Our Future. The numerous presentations, given by faculty, students, and other community members, covered a broad range of topics, from grief to mass incarceration. Yet, even the bleakest of the speeches had an undeniably hopeful look at the future. The message was clear: Progress is always possible.
There were about fifteen minutes between each set of speakers. The break served as a convenient time to get snacks, and to reflect. Based on what audience members said, it would seem that TEDx Bard was highly successful.
“I think I’m more optimistic,” said one student, Autumn. This was shortly after a talk that was a personal and touching account of her spiritual journey and mental health recovery. “Hearing her story and how many hard things she dealt with, versus where she is now, makes me feel very secure and hopeful.”
Autumn’s friend and fellow Bardian, Mary, added, “This TEDTalk … made me feel more connected to other departments and people, especially on such a spread out campus.” Mary also remarked feeling much more comfortable approaching people following the talks.
The final set of talks were about more materialistic threats to our future. Usually, being lectured about climate change, or inaccessible education, or the flawed justice system brings a person down, but not this time. The speakers did not linger on what the issue was, but rather what can be done about it. By the end of the last talk, the room was electric.
“Something exciting about this event is that it takes intergenerational perspectives.” said Is. He is not a Bard student, but is close friends with one who happened to be speaking that day. Is was there to support, and was blown away by the talks. “We have so many people from many backgrounds. I think it’s important to give us all voices … it’s good to see our peers speaking about the future we are heading into.”
This was Bard’s first collaboration with TEDx, and it went splendidly.
“I grew up watching TED Talks. I’m surprised to have one at my school.” Mary said. “I hope they continue doing it.”
Read more about how the event went from dream to reality, right here.
Post Date: 10-04-2023