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Bard College
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Inside Scoop

Quick Stats

School Slang
  • Blithewood: The campus’s pristine estate, replete with Hudson River view and romantic arcadia.
  • Broadway: Tivoli’s main street, but most often used to refer to the popular pizzeria.
  • CCS: Center for Curatorial Studies (Bard’s graduate school).
  • The Circle: Ovular parking loop in front of Manor House.
  • Cruger Village: A cluster of quiet dorms near the campus’s northern tip.
  • L & T: Learning & Thinking, the early August pre-program for freshmen.
  • Leon: President Leon Botstein
  • Midnight Breakfast: Bi-annual late-night breakfast/party in Kline.
  • The Moderator: Bard's student-run, nude magazine
  • The New Gym: Where you go to lift, swim, and sweat it out.
  • PAC: Fisher Performing Arts Center
  • PC: Peer Counselor
  • The Quad: The closest thing Bard’s got to a traditional collegiate lawn, situated between the campus center and the Toasters.
  • The Ravine: The woodsy canyon that circumscribes half of Bard’s campus.
  • RD: Residence Director
  • RKC: Reem-Keydon Center for Science and Computation
  • SMOG: Student-run, converted auto garage used for live shows
  • The Stargon/Rabbit Ears: A huge, angular rotating metal sculpture upon which supine students can watch the nighttime stars shift.
  • Stone Row: A series of sweet on-campus dorms available only to upperclassmen.
  • The Swan: Notorious off-campus bar the Black Swan.
  • Tewks: Unaffectionate sobriquet for the most dreaded dorm on campus (a.k.a. Tewksbury commons).
  • The Toasters: A unique brand of dorms that resemble a certain kitchen appliance.
  • The Tomb: The acrid, mysterious catacomb hidden beneath Bard Chapel.
  • The Tree House: A dilapidated watchtower built across the bow of a Blithewood maple.
  • The Triangle: The grassy polygon near Bard’s main entrance.
  • The Vault: Bard library’s ultra-quiet fourth floor.
  • The Village: Another cluster, this one closer to the center of campus.
  • The Waterfall: Obvious, but not exactly easy to find. Bard’s mystical waterfall sits hidden atop a hill somewhere deep inside the  campus’s southern wilderness.
  • Woods: Bard’s photo facility located (you guessed it) in the Annandale woods.
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School
  • It’s nice to have a bike.
  • It’s really in the middle of nowhere.
  • Social scene is very cliquey.
  • Start thinking about your major ASAP (despite what profs say).
  • There’s a heavy reading load.
  • You probably won’t like the advisor assigned to you.
  • Your sleep schedule will change drastically (i.e., sleep all day, stay up all night).
Tips to Succeed
  • Ask around about Profs before taking their class.
  • Develop close relationships with your profs, especially your advisor.
  • Don’t eat at Kline every day.
  • Get away from Bard every so often (go to NYC).
  • Have an idea of your interests before coming.
  • Keep up with your work.
  • Love the subject into which you Moderate.
  • Moderate how much you party because nobody is going to do it for you.
  • Pick classes you’re interested in.
  • Study in the library, not your dorm room.
  • The amount you learn is up to you.
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Bard Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Inside Scoop at Bard College

middlecampusdweller

'13

Literature

4.2
A-

Balance

Bard kids are highly individualistic, and sometimes having too many of these types of kids crammed into one school can produce a very manic campus vibe. It's important to find balance at this school; have some friends you party with and a few to study with, but also seek at close relationships. Bard grads tend to congregate together so making bonds at the school while you're there can provide a full social life after graduation. But remember that you're at Bard to study, so pick a few professors, read their work, have them work with you and graduate knowing you got the best out of your education.

Dec 02, 2011

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Inside Scoop at Bard College

Jusayin

'15

Psychology

2.3
C

High on the Weekend & Smart on the Weekdays

I've never been around so much smoke, weed-heads, alcohol and smart ppl at the same time smh

Nov 17, 2011

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Inside Scoop at Bard College

Rocketpearl

'11

Asian Studies

5.0
A+

Bard Hippies

No one cares about what you wear, what you believe in, or how you wants to represent yourself. You can walk around campus naked. You can sit and have either lunch or dinner with your professors. It is not something you can find at other colleges.

Jan 24, 2011

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Page 1 of 3

Facts

Traditions
  • Assassins: Sign up for Assassins and you get two things—a water gun and a human target. Steeped in a thick mix of paranoia and adrenaline, Bardians sneak through campus in search of their assigned victim, all the while wary that they themselves may be being tracked. Lots of watery eliminations and clandestine assassinations lead to the elimination of all but one—the crème de la crème of Assassins and the recipient of a $500 cash prize.
  • Bard vs. Columbia Rugby Match: Bard’s most notorious rival on the rugby field is none other than NYC’s Columbia University, hated for their arrogance, admired for their composure, and feared for their hard tackling. Once a year, Columbia comes to Bard, in order to take on our hometown heroes, all while onlookers publicly castigate them for their allegedly unapologetic Republicanism. Further fueling the rivalry is the somewhat arcane fact that, back in 1860, it was none other than Columbia that founded the fledgling Bard College. Bard-Columbia games today embody some strange sort of perpetual revolution; Bard’s sustained breaking-away from its overbearing mother-university.
  • Bardstock: Come Spring Fling, Bard bands gather outside for a day-long festival of music. The school’s most talented musicians get a chance to show off their skills, playing everything from jazz to rock to techno, as students lounge on the lawn and peruse the ad hoc vendor stands. A fun day in the sun, Bardstock has become one of the most highly-anticipated events of the year.
  • The Budget Forum: Each autumn, the student body convenes at Kline Commons to discuss how this year’s student budget will be allotted. Adhering to the most democratic methods currently available, student clubs are allowed to state their case in front of the rest of the school, demanding a certain (typically small) percentage of the total funds in order to pursue their own club itineraries. The more convincing their presentation, the more money they receive. The Budget Forum has become known for its wacky club proposals, its unpredictable arguments, and its rowdy audiences. It’s not uncommon for clubs looking for a little extra cash to put on extravagant pre-planned performances in hopes that they might sway the student government into hooking them up with enough money to operate effectively for the rest of the year.
  • Coming Out Week: The tail-end of October marks Coming Out Week, a seven day series of events organized by Bard’s Queer Alliance designed to encourage gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer-identified, and trans-gender students to openly embrace their sexuality. Bardians can attend movies and lectures exploring issues related to coming out.
  • Midnight Breakfast: What’s the best way to unwind during finals? Most Bardians would suggest eating a ton of eggs and bacon and then getting up on stage and belting out a classic pop song a la karaoke. Midnight Breakfast gives everyone a chance to eat a late night meal and take their mind off theirs exams; it’s thus easily found a 12 a.m. spot in Bard’s long lineup of traditions.
  • Moderation/Senior Project Shows: Each year, seniors and moderating students in the Division of the Arts present their projects to the rest of the school. Films, dances, music ensembles, and studio art shows bring in hundreds of art-hungry Bardians eager to digest the year’s crop of productions. During this week, artists advertise heavily for their shows, drawing up posters and tacking them all over town. A rich Bard tradition, this time provides attendees with a vivid understanding of just how much work goes into choreographing a dance or filming a full-length movie, or the extent to which art majors go to perfect their paintings and sculptures.
Urban Legends
  • Avril Lavine is currently enrolled as an off-campus freshman.
  • Chevy Chase got kicked out of Bard in the '70s for releasing a cow on campus.
  • Robbins House was originally used as an insane asylum some hundred years ago.
  • The third floor of Manor House is inhabited by the ghost of a young girl.

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