bard first year experience

What does it mean to be a Bard student in the year 2014? This blog is designed to welcome the incoming class of Bardians by introducing them to the campus, culture, and community they'll be joining in August. Got questions? Send an e-mail to [email protected], give us a call at the Center for Student Life and Advising (845-758-7454), or go to the ask page up top and fire away. Brought to you by the Dean of Student Affairs Office.

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"Alright then, we'll invent our own Bard game -- it'll be like a cross between Sudoku and baseball."

-- First-Year Dean Mary Ann Krisa talking to Assistant Dean of Student Timand Bates '02  on a quiet afternoon in Sottery Hall

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First-Year Course Registration!

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Photos from Opening Day 2014.

A warm welcome to the Class of 2018 -- hope L&T is treating all of you well! 

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First-Year Dean Mary Ann Krisa watches the Class of 2018 assemble for a class photo on the rugby field from the top of the library.

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Oh hello, Bard Class of 2018!

This is a little letter to you all just to say hi, and to welcome all of you to Bard this August! You may not know who we are (or maybe you do!) so I thought it would be best to formally introduce you to Lux Literary Magazine. Lux is one of Bard’s many publications, a literary and arts magazine. Here is our mission statement:

Lux Literary magazine is the only print publication at Bard focused entirely on student work. It is funded, edited, and published bi-annually entirely by Bard students. We are dedicated to publishing the written and visual art of our peers. By creating an open venue for student work, we aim to promote expression and exchange amongst student writers and artists. 

We do not publish: self-help, FYSEM papers, misdirected submissions to Boobs at Bard, 3-D objects, or videos (we just don’t know how to publish them).  All other poetry, prose, and art can be sent to [email protected]

As a magazine, we publish biannually from submissions we gather over the semester, but we also run the Lux Lending Library, a free book exchange which operates from Sawkill where we have plenty of books! So try to check it out before you purchase things for the semester, it’s bring a book take a book and we’re organized by labeled categories, so bring some books you don’t want and have a feast of books! WE HAVE SO MANY FYSEM BOOKS! So check us out once L&T starts!. And if you’re free on Sunday the 24th at 6:30, we are going to be having an info session about our magazine and how you can apply to be an editor :)  For further inquiries, send us a message or email us at [email protected].

Safe travels to Bardland this weekend! LUX 

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A view of Ludlow Lawn, one of the best spots for lounging, thinking, studying, and hanging out on campus.

(To be fair, there are a lot of places that are good for all of the above.)

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See you tomorrow, Class of 2018!

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Princeton Review: Top 10 Colleges With the Best Classrom Experience

The Princeton Review recently ranked the colleges with the best classroom experience using reviews from about 130,000 students at 379 top colleges. The college at which students reported the highest satisfaction in classroom environment was Bard College in New York. 

The private, liberal arts institution also ranked high in the “Most Liberal Students” list and “Most Accessible Professors.”

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Walking next to Nü-Kline on a nice afternoon in Annandale.

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Peer Counselors (PCs)* Jasper Katz '15 and Leah Silverberg '16 take a break from Residence Life's pre-L&T training on the couch in Sottery Hall (Center for Student Life and Advising).

*What other schools might call RAs (Resident Assistants/Advisors) or HAs (Hall Assistants/Advisors).

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A walk around the Lorenzo Ferrari Soccer Complex.

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A view of the sunset from behind Hudson.

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The results are in!

We asked the class of 2018 who would win in a fight between Charles Darwin and Franz Kafka, and, as promised, here's the final breakdown of the votes:

Franz Kafka: 35

Charles Darwin: 52

Uncertain/Tie: 15

[Total number of votes: 102]

Looks like Charles Darwin is the clear winner!

As one respondent pointed out, "He wasn't called 'Darlose.'" 

(Sorry Franz, better luck next time.)

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From the NYC Pride March. Bardian and proud!

(Image courtesy of the Bard-St.Stephen's Alumni/ae Association)

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In the survey we sent out last week, we asked you who would win in a fight between Charles Darwin and Franz Kafka. (Don't worry, there's still time if you'd like to fill it out -- just click here.)

We'll tally up the votes on Monday and post them here, but here are some of our favorite responses so far:

"Darwin. He has win in his name."

"Kafka. The Germans have made a bit of a habit out of humiliating the British in battle."

"Franz Kafka, because he would unleash all of the pent up anger he had towards his dad on Darwin. He'd be sobbing the whole fight, but he'd win."

"I'll let you know when I finish both books."

"Kafka could defeat anyone with the force of his dark wit."

"Franz Kafka, because Darwin had been dead for about a year after Kafka was born, so it would be pretty easy for Kafka to beat him since he has pretty much already won."

"Whoever had some previous brawling experience would probably win."

"Charles Darwin, because glorious facial hair will get you everything in life."

"It bugs me to say that Kafka would Darwin."

"I think it would be a pretty fair fight, but neither of these guys stand a chance against President Botstein so yeah."

Take the weekend to fill out the survey if you haven't already, and many thanks to the Class of 2018 for the laughs.

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Class of 2018!

Are you bored?

Do you have five minutes?

Do you like to answer surveys?

Do you like filling out surveys even when there isn't a prize?

Are you vaguely interested in helping us help you?

Do you have an opinion about who would win in a fight between Charles Darwin and Franz Kafka?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, we'd love it if you took a tiny bit of time to fill out this survey that we'll use to make sure Language and Thinking--and the rest of your time at Bard--is as swell as possible.

Just click here to be taken to the survey page.

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A sneak peek of the 2014 Language and Thinking Program anthology. The anthology is a collection of written material that first-year students read during August. The authors and texts featured in the anthology change every year, but if you're curious, click here to view the table of contents for the 2013 edition. Last year, first-year students read Judith Butler, Thomas Kuhn, Gertrude Stein, Martin Luther King, Jr., Hannah Arendt, Michel Foucault, Junot Diaz, Ralph Ellison, and many other writers and thinkers from a wide variety of eras, backgrounds, and disciplines.

All of the material found in the anthology speaks to the central question of L&T: What does it mean to be human in the year 2014?

34 days until the Class of 2018 arrives on campus!