Why Bard Celebrates Constitution Week: A Conversation with Sophie Novick-Prucher ‘29
Photo byline: Sophie Novick-Prucher ‘29 (center) and Lucero Ofelia Philips ’29 (left) registering students to vote; Photo by Gaspard Bason ’29.
By Lauren Rodgers ‘27
For Sophie Novick-Prucher, the lead intern of Election@Bard, constitution week is a great opportunity for students to learn their rights and how they exercise them— especially the right to vote. “It’s a great week to bring up how the constitution is relevant, and how many of the amendments that were written long ago are still not being enforced today,” said Sophie. “Election@Bard displayed a massive constitution poster to show everyone what’s written into law in our country.”
For Sophie, the constitution is not a passive document— it’s a recording of our nation’s promises to its people that must be actively considered and accounted for. “Oftentimes, we think that the constitution is just this piece of paper, and we take its amendments for granted as a part of our society. But if you go through the amendments and look at what the 14th or 15th amendments are promising, you’ll start to notice that a lot of things that are supposedly written into law are not always implemented,” she said.
One of those amendments includes the right to vote. As the lead intern of Election@Bard, the right to vote is an issue Sophie is passionate about. “Constitution week is a great way to bring awareness to just how hard people fought to get where we are. The fact that women were only allowed to vote just over a hundred years ago is something we shouldn’t take for granted— that fight took decades,” she said, “And until 1971, 18 year-olds weren’t allowed to vote. It’s a great reminder of how far we’ve come and how long it takes to win a fight.” Sophie encourages all students to exercise their right to vote this upcoming election cycle, and to register to vote as soon as they can. “This is a huge election year, and you can vote in the campus center on November 3rd. All you have to do is register, and it’s very easy to do.” If you want to exercise your right to vote this fall, visit Election@Bard’s office hours to register.
The Annandale Advocate would like to thank Sophie Novick-Prucher for her time.
Post Date: 09-20-2026