TLS 2021 Trustee Leader Scholar Program
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND SOCIAL ACTION
Bard
Rowan: Mira me contó Felipe que estás trabajando en el concierto de Dragonetti. ¿Verdad? Kevin: Si, pero tengo muchas dudas en algunos pasajes. Desde el compás 57 en adelante… Rowan: He wants to play the Dragonetti Concerto?! From bar 57 to the end! I haven’t even played it. How am I supposed to even teach this? Especially over Zoom. Where am I going to start! (Kevin plays from bar 57 to the end.) Rowan: ¡Muy bien! Has mejorado un montón desde la última vez que te vi. Déjame ver por dónde empezamos. Antes de ver el pasaje necesitamos reforzar la mano izquierda primero para que el pasaje esté más claro. Recuerda que cuando estás en la posición aguda del instrumento, el peso de tu brazo y mano izquierda tiene que descansar completamente en el instrumento. Otra cosa, cada vez que cambies de posición, asegúrate que el pulgar esté pisando la cuerda. ¿Entiendes? Intentalo a ver y toca sol, la, si, do, re subiendo y bajando. Wow! He actually did it! He understood everything I said over Zoom. What a great player. Thank God for my own professor too. I’m in shock. ROWAN PUIG DAVIS '21, CUERDAS PARA CALI
Front cover image: Community Connect 2
Theme for the Year
BREATHING TOGETHER IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 AT THANKSGIVING my family and friends gather in our living room. I pass around warm biscuits to tide people over ’til the big meal, and ask each person to respond to a question. This year’s session was on Zoom, sadly without the biscuits. As an introduction, I told this story: My dad and I were really into sports, and he often took me to football games at the LA Memorial Coliseum. Built for the ’32 Summer Olympics, it has narrow concrete tunnels that lead out to the seats. In the tunnels I had a special way of moving against the flow of the crowd; like a salmon swimming into the falls, I let myself be gently pinballed through the moving throng. I was a really small kid, not even 5 feet tall when I started high school, so I didn’t hurt anyone. It did slow me down and made my dad nuts, but I just loved the solid contact, my shoulders banging against people’s hips and arms. When COVID-19 is over I’m going to find a big crowd, mill around in it, and absorb the energy. I asked everyone, “So what small thing, perhaps even a surprising thing, will you do when COVID-19 is over?” The kids answered, “Play tag in the park,” “Wrestle in the sandbox,” “Crowd onto the slide.” The adults said, “Hug my friends and neighbors,” “Sit close to strangers in the coffee shop,” “Share a beer at a small table stuffed into the corner of my favorite restaurant.” Everyone is craving the nearness of others. Many of the TLS student-prompt responses this month talked about the need for the physical presence of other people. I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise, but I am struck by the intensity of the desire to simply be close to other people. It reminds me that first and foremost we are bodies that need other bodies. I think, too, about how much energy and conversation has been spent this year on the act of breathing. We all have to pay attention to where our breath goes, where it comes from, and how far apart we need to be from other people. And our breath itself . . . whom can it go onto, or not? Are we safe behind our masks? Are we safely masked off from others?
Theme for the Year |
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We filter the very atmosphere, sanitize it. With other people in the car we drive fast with the windows down. The miraculous, invisible sea of air we all depend on is dangerous. How profoundly isolating, and also how profoundly bonding. We are all experiencing the fragility and interdependence of things. It’s extraordinary to consider that every person on the planet is concerned about the same thing today: breathing safely. Even as COVID-19 reminds us how delicate life can be, it also calls us to remember the awesome collective that we are. How many times in our lives will we be so vividly conscious of our continuity with the other people on the planet? It follows that everything we do in TLS revolves around these principles: 1) we are all in it together, and 2) we need each other. Most of the student-led projects in this booklet have somehow responded to needs in the community. Like so many efforts in the time of COVID-19, our projects have flaws. Some things—like playing ball and sharing a plate of cookies—just cannot be digitized. But the student projects in this booklet are also heroic. We tutor and teach and lead art projects on screens, having traveled around town delivering kits of supplies to local children. TLS students set up socially distanced sewing events to repurpose old clothes into creations to be given later to local youth. Recently the clothes makers asked me to order them a “bedazzler”. . . whatever that is! Bard student musicians give online lessons to children who could not otherwise afford private instruction. English as a Second Language (ESL) classes have gone virtual and are reaching people regionwide. I believe the Bard students have done an incredible job of inventing ways to keep their bonds with the community alive. I acknowledge these students and thank them with my whole heart for participating in the collective so responsively and powerfully. Sincerely, Paul Marienthal Director, Trustee Leader Scholar program
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Trustee Leader Scholar Program Bard College’s Trustee Leader Scholar (TLS) program supports leadership development in the context of hands-on, student-initiated, community engagement projects. What is TLS? The Trustee Leader Scholar program is the formal civic engagement and leadership development program for undergraduate students at Bard College and is deeply rooted in the mission and outreach efforts of the Bard Center for Civic Engagement. TLS supports the liberal arts mission of enlightened citizenship: personal development in the context of community building. Who is in TLS? Every Bard student is eligible to apply to TLS, and TLS students come from every academic discipline on campus. Approximately 50 undergraduates participate as leaders who, in turn, recruit hundreds of volunteers to their projects. Most TLS students remain actively involved in the program throughout their college careers. What do TLS students do? TLS students design and implement social action projects based on their own compelling interests. For example, they run tutoring programs in local youth detention centers; provide regular ESL sessions to nonEnglish speakers who live locally; mentor young men of color from underserved communities in the Hudson Valley; and work in New Orleans alongside formerly incarcerated men and women to restore voting rights for citizens who have served their time. TLS students write extensive proposals, budgets, and personal accounts of their activities. They meet one-on-one with program administrators and attend workshops to explore issues in social action, public speaking, and interpersonal communication skills. TLS students also raise their own funds, and many become proficient letter-writing campaign organizers.
Trustee Leader Scholar Program |
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What makes TLS special? Many colleges provide volunteer and community service opportunities. Bard is one of the few that puts substantial resources and trust behind student-led initiatives. Students must propose the work. Projects must contribute positively to the world and challenge the student— organizationally, ethically, and emotionally. What are some key values in TLS? TLS addresses the issues of paternalism and privilege that are stirred up by the notion of “helping others.” Students are encouraged to read widely about oppression, identify their own motivations and needs, and experiment with ways of organizing that treat other people as partners, not passive recipients. We try hard to strike a balance between inward reflection, societal awareness, and passionate action. TLS projects are hard. They force students to reflect critically about participation in the world, and develop beliefs based on real-world engagement with others. TLS considers this life training. We also say “yes” a lot. What is the ultimate goal of TLS? TLS puts into the world capable, sensitive adults who have the ability to generate, plan, fund, and implement large-scale projects that matter and that influence environments positively. Many TLS students leave Bard and go on to create their own nonprofit organizations. A number of important College initiatives began as student projects in the TLS program, including the Bard Prison Initiative, Bard Early College in New Orleans, Brothers at Bard, and the award-winning Spanish-language magazine La Voz. How does TLS differ from similar programs? TLS is a civic engagement development program, not a community service office. TLS students do not earn academic credit for their participation. Separating TLS work from the academic calendar allows students to design and implement ambitious civic engagement projects spanning multiple years, and for this they receive a stipend. TLS recognizes that organizing a major project while completing Bard’s rigorous academic requirements is a demanding load, and is not for everyone. It is worth noting, however, that many TLS students have said, “My project was the most important thing I did in college.”
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How do I apply to the TLS program? TLS applications are considered on a rolling, year-round basis. The best way to start the process is to talk with TLS staff members, who are always open to hearing the words, “I have a TLS project.” Students are encouraged to consider TLS from the moment they arrive on campus. The office is on the second floor of Bertelsmann Campus Center, Room 213. How can I help if I am not a Bard student? Making contacts and building networks are crucial to success. TLS flourishes because of the enthusiasm of Bard students, faculty, and administrators, as well as community members outside of the academic environment who generously give their time, creative energy, and financial support.
Our MMI teacher excitedly shows me a video of his first student, a little girl. Her mom is raising her alone and really hoping music lessons are going to make a difference for her daughter. The little girl sits at the piano with the stern, tight brow of a serious artist. She plays very slowly and meticulously, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” one deliberate note at a time. She has taught herself the song by ear. Her eyes narrow as her whole universe becomes the black and white keys. She plays through the piece twice, hitting the final note with a confident flare, “How I wonder what you ARE,” and then a wave of her hand. SOPHIA JACKSON '25, MUSICAL MENTORSHIP INITIATIVE
Trustee Leader Scholar Program |
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Current TLS Projects
A note on the COVID-19 pandemic: Many projects have been able to pivot and provide wonderful energy and expertise to a variety of organizations. Some projects simply need to remain on hold for the time being. For example, there is no online connectivity in youth incarceration facilities, or easy way to connect online with children who are on the spectrum. The student leaders of these projects keep in close contact with their community partners and will restart their projects the moment it is safe to do so. Each of the following descriptions of projects that are affected by COVID-19 contains a note to that effect. African Roots Project The African Roots Project partners with the library at the A. J. WilliamsMyers African Roots Center in the city of Kingston, New York, in its mission “to promote literacy through teaching and learning about the African roots experience, including history and culture, through a dynamic exchange of information, action, ideas, and creativity.” Bard volunteers provide projects tailored to school-age students and participate in additional events and celebrations planned by African Roots Center volunteers and staff. The library will reopen when the pandemic has passed. Student Leader: Marra Garcia ’21 Albany High Theater Outreach We provide visual arts experiences for students at Red Hook’s Linden Avenue Middle School. Energizing and enlivening experiences are important during the COVID-19 pandemic. We deliver supplies safely in advance of the lessons and conduct activities online. When it is safe, our arts experiences will go live at the school. Student Leader: Manny Williams ’22 All Pieces Fit All Pieces Fit works with the Center for Spectrum Services in Lake Katrine, New York. Bard student volunteers assist paraprofessionals in the classrooms of students, ages 3 to 12, who are on the autism spectrum. The Bard volunteers help provide normalcy and companionship to the students. Following each classroom session, volunteers reflect on their experience. In this way, All Pieces Fit becomes
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African Roots Project
an educational experience as well as a volunteering experience. The project is on hold during the pandemic. Student Leader: Jahari Fraser ’22 Astor Services for Children and Families Astor Services for Children and Families in Rhinebeck, New York, functions as a school and residential space of rehabilitation, providing mental health services to children who have experienced emotional and/ or physical trauma. Bard students become mentors and positive role models for these children, leading a range of activities for two hours each week. Activities are taught in a one-on-one or group setting, and range from theater and cooking to pottery and science projects; the activities depend on the shared interest of each Bard volunteer and the Astor student. After working with the children, we meet for supervision with a therapist at Astor to discuss the sessions, hold additional trainings, and ask questions. The project serves as an opportunity for children to be part of a safe, fun environment in which they can develop their passions and learn skills. This program helps children who are overcoming obstacles in their lives to feel appreciated, listened to, and acknowledged. The project leadership is in transition due to the pandemic.
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Bard Math Circle
Bard Math Circle The Bard Math Circle provides a supportive environment for children who are self-proclaimed math nerds to explore their passion for the subject. Not only do we hope to teach children something new every time we provide a service, we also hope to introduce them to a precollege community to which they can relate. Math is a hard subject and thus the general public finds it hard to love. However, we hope to show these children that math has a lot more beauty to it than whatever their school may have time to express. Furthermore, appreciating this beauty doesn’t have to be isolating. Due to the COVID-19 health crisis, our services could no longer be in person. But we have worked hard to ensure that this pandemic will not be an impossible obstacle. Though now remote, we have kept our same offerings. On weekends, we offer an assortment of enrichment and contest-prep workshops. In late summer, we provide a weeklong day program, called CAMP. We host mathematics competitions, including AMC 8/10/12 and Purple Comet. We have also expanded our tutoring network. We are up to 21 tutors in order to accommodate the growing
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need for math help at home. To ensure that each potential student can take advantage of this service, we provide tutoring for those in need, free or at a reduced price. We also have begun to use social media to increasingly highlight mathematicians who belong to marginalized groups. Student Leader: Felicia Flores ’22 Bard New Orleans Exchange Since 2005, the Bard New Orleans Exchange has empowered New Orleanians working to rebuild their city as a more just, equitable, and sustainable place. An entirely student-run program, the Bard New Orleans Exchange has members who have traveled to New Orleans each year since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. More than 900 Bard students have worked to meet the needs of local communities through close partnerships with organizations such as the Broadmoor Improvement Association, McDonough 35 Senior High School, Andrew H. Wilson Charter School, and Bard Early College in New Orleans. In recent years we have shifted our focus toward criminal justice reform. One of our main community partners is VOTE (Voice of the Experienced), which is run for and by formerly incarcerated people, creating a strong coalition of those affected by the criminal (in)justice system. VOTE works to fully restore the voting, employment, housing, and medical rights of currently and formerly incarcerated people (FIP). We also partner with the First 72+ and Operation Restoration, reentry resources that work to halt the cycle of incarceration through the leadership and wisdom of FIP themselves. While in NOLA, our project assists with community outreach, day-to-day operations, research, and legislative advocacy. At Bard we offer film screenings, panels, and other events to educate our community about how we can all impact this important social justice movement. We love our family in New Orleans and look forward to the next chapter of the project. Due to the pandemic, the winter 2020–21 trip was not possible. The project pivoted to assist online and phone get-outthe-vote campaigns in swing states. Student Leaders: Stecy Mbemba ’22 and Thea McRae ’22
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Brothers at Bard
Bard Science Outreach Bard Science Outreach (BSO) promotes science education among middle school and high school students in the Hudson Valley. Every year we invite students from Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook, New York, to the Bard campus to perform scientific experiments; we also mentor them in their independent science projects that go on to become science fair projects. BSO works with Bard faculty and students to host and judge the middle school science fair, coaching students for countyand state-level fairs down the line. BSO helps develop community projects that become part of the Citizen Science program at Bard. We cooperate with other TLS projects such as the Bard Math Circle, and are always looking for ways to collaborate with other groups and events in the community. We welcome involvement from both science majors and people who are simply interested in science. BSO leadership is in transition due the pandemic.
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Black Body Experience Conference The Black Body Experience Conference is an annual event that takes place each spring semester. We provide a platform for Black marginalized genders in their prospective fields to speak on a specific topic each year. We invite local community members, college students, and members of the Bard conference into safe and contained discussions that may involve race, identity, gender, sexuality, and the socioeconomics of difference. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the spring 2020 conference was a virtual event, and therefore able to accommodate many more student participants from a variety of locations. Student Leaders: Talaya Robinson Dancy ’21 and Sage Swaby ’22 Brothers at Bard A character development, peer-mediation mentorship program for young men of color from underserved backgrounds, Brothers at Bard (BAB) is currently working with 15 high school students in 9th through 12th grades in Kingston, New York. The Bard members of the project play the role of “big brothers,” or mentors, to the young men in the cohort. Brothers at Bard has the ability to empower young men by exposing them not only to successful men of color but to men of color currently attending a highly selective four-year college. The mentors run a series of character development workshops and team-building activities with the cohort to promote academic excellence and college readiness. Our most important objective is to create a safe space and brotherhood circle among the students to generate a supportive atmosphere for character and identity development. BAB measures each mentee’s growth on a case-by-case basis by tracking improvements in attendance, behavior, and the classroom. As a mentoring program, we make sure our mentees are making positive life choices to ensure they continue to live a healthy, successful life they can define for themselves. During the pandemic, BAB has partnered with Ramapo for Children, a residential facility for developmentally challenged youth. Student Leaders: Jeremias Brea De Los Angeles ’23 and Lorenzo Diaz ’22
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2020–21 Trustee Leader Scholar Program Project Leaders
African Roots Project
Albany High Theatre Outreach
Marra Garcia
Manny Williams
Brothers at Bard
Black Body Experience Conference
Talaya Robinson-Dancy
Jeremias Brea De Los Angeles
Sage Swaby
Lorenzo Diaz
Earth's Tomorrow Foundation
Haiti Jakmel Ekspresyon Exchange
Me in Foundation
Mikelison Womack
Abigail Robinson
Sydney Williams
Old Gym
Ali Kane
Grace Sanger-Johnson
Sister2Sister
Sakinah Bennett
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Skylar Walker
Ramapo for Children
Faith Williams
Juliette "JT" Groarke
Anna Schupack
Student Athlete Community Outreach
Lukas "Luke" Klatke
All Pieces Fit
Bard Math Circle
Jahari Fraser
Felicia Flores
Stecy Mbemba
CommunityConnect/LLL
Jonathan Cseh
Rowan Puig Davis
Musical Mentorship Initiative
Nicaragua Education Initiative
Marco Caguana
Aleksandar Vitanov
Red Hook ESL Center
Tatiana Alfaro
Thea McRae
Cuerdas Para Cali
Samantha Schwartz
Sophia Jackson
Bard New Orleans Exchange
Odalis Panza Gonzalez
Red Hook Residential Tutoring Program
Brianna Estrada
Freddie Hernandez
Sucre
Thrive On!
Ja'Quan Fleming
Keyvious Avery Aidan Galloway
Youth Initiative in Africa
Yaseer Abdulfatai
Ardel'Paschal Sampson
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Cuerdas Para Cali
CommunityConnect: Life, Learning, and Language The CommunityConnect program provides support to local, newly immigrated children and children of newly immigrated families, through mentorship and English as a Second Language (ESL) tutoring. In healthy times Bard tutors travel to local elementary schools in Red Hook and Rhinebeck to meet individually with ESL students at close to a 1:1 relationship. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 program is entirely online, with tutoring sessions scheduled almost every day. We use an original pedagogy created by our community coordinator, Laura Selicaro, focusing on academic support, language-building exercises, creative enrichment, and mentorship. Student Leaders: Jonathan Cseh ’21 and Samantha Schwartz ’23 Community Engagement Arts Project The Community Engagement Arts Project (CEAP) focuses on community art making that supports the process of finding a personal, creative, and empowering voice through visual arts, movement, theater, music, poetry, and play. CEAP members use the arts to interact with children, teens, and adult community members to explore the emotional content of their lives
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and overcome personal challenges. Members attend on-campus arts workshops led by professional practitioners and educators to equip themselves with the knowledge and confidence to design and implement their own workshops at sites such as Coarc in Mellenville, New York; Camphill Ghent in Chatham, New York; and the Red Hook (New York) and Tivoli (New York) Public Libraries. In addition to engaging in arts programs with communities outside Bard, CEAP seeks to use the arts to build stronger community at Bard. The project leadership is in transition due to the pandemic. Cuerdas Para Cali Cuerdas Para Cali (Strings for Cali) (CPC) is a group of classically trained musicians who inspire students and encourage cultural exchange through music education. Each summer, CPC travels to Colombia to work with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Siloé, a youth orchestra based in the Siloé barrio of Cali. The Orquesta de Siloé was founded by Fundación Sidoc to give disadvantaged youth in Siloé the opportunity to study music, providing them with instruments, education, and performance outlets. CPC’s goal is to support the Siloé students in their musical growth, and to have a positive impact throughout their community. The project involves teaching and performing along with intense personal engagement and exchange. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CPC continues its work via Zoom and hopes to be able to travel to Colombia in the summer of 2021. Student Leader: Rowan Puig Davis ’21
We’re anthropologists digging for lost gems in the sandbox. Most of the kids can’t find anything, but Luis digs furiously! I talk to Luis about the importance of sharing wealth with those who have less. He’s not totally uninterested, but he is also obsessed with amassing. He finds them all. I am persistent, and continue speaking to him quietly on the value of sharing. Towards the end he gives away gems until everyone has the same amount. Something must have clicked. JONATHAN CSEH '21, COMMUNITYCONNECT
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Earth’s Tomorrow Foundation The Earth’s Tomorrow Foundation works with K–12 students by teaching them to become environmentally conscious through the use of hands-on sustainability projects. These projects help students become innovative thinkers as they start to solve some of the world’s leading environmental issues, such as water disparities across the nation, pollution, and global warming. Ultimately, our students are tomorrow’s leaders, and through the Earth’s Tomorrow Foundation we make change together. During the pandemic, the project offers online workshops to middle school children in Red Hook. Student Leader: Mikelison Womack ’24 Haiti Jakmel Ekspresyon Exchange The Haiti Jakmel Ekspresyon (JE) Exchange is a student-driven partnership with a community center in Jakmel, Haiti. The project facilitates development within the local community by providing the center with STEM courses taught by Bard students. On a deeper level, the project is a cultural exchange that encourages the empowerment of Bard and JE students alike. Every July, a small group of Bard students travels to Jakmel to teach courses on data mapping and collection to local politicians, students, professors, and city developers. The subjects for data collection range from HIV/AIDS rates to water justice, but most important, the areas of focus are determined by the Haitians themselves. By placing the power of data back into the hands of the people, the community can effectively access the needs of the city and surrounding towns, without relying on foreign aid and NGOs. The project anticipates making the trip in summer 2021. Student Leader: Abigail Robinson ’21 Me In Foundation The Me In Foundation is an organization that enables underrepresented youth from low-income communities to be the writers of their own stories. Through an eight-week program, students immerse in a variety of artistic disciplines that challenge them to view themselves in a world with endless possibilities. We are working online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student Leader: Sydney Williams ’24
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Musical Mentorship Initiative The Musical Mentorship Initiative (MMI) is designed to support local communities while simultaneously allowing college students to develop mentorship skills. MMI aims to enable students from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences to explore instrumental guidance, primarily students who are unable to afford private lessons offered by professional organizations and instructors. During this time of COVID-19, instruction is online. The Bard students have taken workshops on teaching pedagogy and are well prepared to be musical mentors. Student Leaders: Sophia Jackson ’25 and Aleksandar Vitanov ’25 Nicaragua Education Initiative The Nicaragua Education Initiative facilitates educational projects that empower community members in Chacraseca, a rural town in western Nicaragua. For the past 15 years, Bard students have traveled to Chacraseca for three weeks in January and live with host families there. The initiative has evolved from hurricane relief to sustainable education. We provide English, science, and math lessons to community members who range from age 5 to adult. We also implement art projects as a means of encouraging creative expression. We maintain a presence in Chacraseca throughout the year by funding a number of academic scholarships. While our project provides community members with eclectic lessons, it also fosters a valuable educational and multicultural exchange. The Nicaragua Education Initiative values learning both inside and outside of the classroom. The connections and relationships we build cannot be learned at a desk, and this multicultural exchange widens the perspectives of each individual involved in the project. The January 2021 trip was not possible but we hope we can make the trip in June. Student Leaders: Marco Caguana ’21 and Odalis Panza Gonzalez ’21
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Old Gym The Old Gym is Bard’s only student-run theater. Centrally located on the Annandale campus, it is a converted gymnasium that now functions as a black-box space with all the amenities of a fine amateur theater. We focus on presenting student work to showcase the abundance of creativity and talent at Bard. The Old Gym’s mission is to provide a safe, multipurpose space for anyone (dancers, actors, directors, musicians, photographers, visual artists, filmmakers; both majors and nonmajors) to create radical, visionary work and share that work with the Bard community. We have several annual events including theater festivals, a haunted house, and the Black History Month Gala. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Old Gym leaders have been trained to use ZoomOSC, a sophisticated version of Zoom that supports multifaceted online productions. This includes lighting and sound cues, and complex cutting between computers. A number of Old Gym productions in spring 2021 will take advantage of this technology. Student Leaders: Ali Kane ’22, Grace Sanger-Johnson ’23, and Faith Williams ’22 Ramapo for Children Project The Ramapo for Children project connects the Bard community with an organization located in Rhinebeck, New York, that provides training, services, and programs for individuals with special needs and the people who surround and educate them. Bard students engage with a transitionto-independence program for young adults, school group retreats, monthly teen leadership programs, weekend events, and a 250-child summer camp. The Ramapo for Children TLS project works collaboratively with Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement on Science Night Out and MLK Day of Engagement events. During the pandemic, Bard students have developed an extensive pen-pal program with the Ramapo residents. Student Leaders: Juliette Groarke ’21 and Anna Schupack ’22
The first time Ramapo drops off the letters to us at Bard we meet down at the garden. I expect to see a lone staff member, but a whole van full of familiar faces pulls up beside us. They all wave wildly at the window. Emma says, “They were so excited to come to Bard to see you guys!” ANNA SCHUPACK '22, RAMAPO FOR CHILDREN PROJECT
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Red Hook English as a Second Language Center The Red Hook English as a Second Language (ESL) Center is a biweekly ESL class in which nonnative English speakers work with Bard students in a one-on-one relationship. Originally addressing migrant workers’ needs to learn English—to advocate for themselves and become part of the Hudson Valley community—the center has opened its doors to other students while maintaining migrants from Latin America as the core of our student population. As leaders, we seek to create a comfortable learning environment for community members who might feel isolated by limited English proficiency, while allowing Bard students the opportunity to build relationships with members of our community who may otherwise be overlooked. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Red Hook ESL has begun offering online tutoring, opening its sessions to people from the entire region. Student Leaders: Tatiana Alfaro ’21 and Freddie Hernandez ’21 Red Hook Residential Tutoring Program Bard student volunteers hold weekly tutoring sessions with the young men incarcerated at the Red Hook Residential Center (RHRC) in Upper Red Hook, New York. Subject areas include reading, writing, math, and social studies, as well as TASC/SAT prep. With the assistance of the RHRC administration, we tailor teaching to fit the needs and interests of each student to align with their class curricula. Through this project, we hope to offer students at RHRC the opportunity to meet or exceed their grade level and to enhance their understanding of fundamental academic material, and, most of all, to foster in them an appreciation for continued education. This project is on hold until COVID-19 has passed. Student Leader: Brianna Estrada ’21
I tell my mentee about how my father was absent for the majority of my childhood and how I’m getting through life accepting that fact. I tell him my realization that I have had multiple people show me love in my life, and how I push to succeed with that in mind. JEREMIAS BREA DE LOS ANGELES '23, BROTHERS AT BARD
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Sister2Sister
Sister2Sister Sister2Sister is a program in partnership with Kingston High School in Kingston, New York, that connects high school–age girls with Bard College mentors to promote unity, self-confidence, and a sense of support through the arts. In addition, weekly discussion groups target ways in which the students can prepare for college and life beyond high school. This includes field trips to colleges in the area. Sister2Sister has recently expanded to other high schools, specifically within the Bard network, by hosting conferences for young women at the Bard High School Early Colleges. Sister2Sister hopes to become a national program, creating a sisterhood throughout the globe. Sessions take place online during the pandemic. Student Leaders: Sakinah Bennett ’21 and Skylar Walker ’21
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Student Athlete Community Outreach Program Student Athlete Community Outreach Program (SACOP) teaches life lessons through sports to students ages 12 through 18 at the Red Hook Residential Center, which houses adjudicated males from many different backgrounds. Bard participants include a number of student athletes from the College’s varsity teams. Many of the same characteristics that make someone a successful student athlete, such as hard work, discipline, and communication, are the skills that can be used to live a respectable life. By demonstrating good habits through sports and relationship building, we are creating friendships with these young men and showing them how to be successful once they leave the center. The SACOP, now in its second year, hopes to expand, with the goal of making a positive difference in every person who participates. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the project has pivoted to large-scale, on-campus work projects, building trails and rustic stairs on campus land. Student Leader: Lukas “Luke” Klatke ’21 Sucre Sucre is an organization based on upcycling clothing and reconstructing the apparel into better pieces. In addition to expressing sustainability in fashion, this TLS project donates all the clothing to local youth in the wider Kingston and Poughkeepsie areas. Volunteers work together to make trendy, accessible, and inclusive clothes with creative designs, and to create fundraisers. Potential fundraising events include a tote bag sale and pop-up shops on campus. After the COVID-19 pandemic, we will also provide sewing and design workshop classes for 6th- through 12th-grade youth groups. Student Leader: Ja’Quan Fleming ’24
Keyvious and I are in the process of assembling the kits, items our members helped us select which we were able to purchase with the money they helped us raise. What’s more, the tie-dyed masks made by our members for our Masks 4 Meals campaign have been selling like hotcakes. AIDAN GALLOWAY '21, THRIVE ON!
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Thrive On! Thrive On! lowers barriers of entry to resources and opportunities for marginalized communities through a variety of nonprofit campaigns and initiatives. Specifically, we work with underserved populations in Kingston, New York, including those experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. Student Leaders: Keyvious Avery ’21 and Aidan Galloway ’21 Youth Initiative in Africa The Youth Initiative in Africa designs programs for African youth to encourage a positive view of higher education by sending Bard student volunteers to host a monthlong program. The program includes learning workshops and hands-on activities, ultimately furthering the knowledge of students in their intended fields of study, preparing them for college-level work, and inviting them into the exciting world of critical thinking. To develop these workshops and activities, volunteers host “fun nights” at the A. J. Williams-Myers African Roots Center in Kingston, New York. This project points toward summer 2021 or summer 2022 for the trip to Africa. Student Leaders: Yaseer Abdulfatai ’23 and Ardel’Paschal Sampson ’23
Whack Whack Whack Whack. The rebar won’t move. My forearms are tired, my wrist is sore. It’s our fourth log today. Again, Whack Whack Whack. We’ve hit a rock, a big rock. OK, Whack Whack. My arms are exhausted, Whack. There’s movement! We’re through the rock, we’re through the rock! My arms are exhausted. One last WHACK. Rebar disappears into the hill. LUKE KLATKE '21, STUDENT ATHLETE COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM
In the face of the pandemic, the student athletes could not volunteer at Red Hook Residential, a youth incarceration center. With energy to burn, they turned their attention to the Bard campus and took on a building project. The stairs are on a trail that hundreds of people use each year. The facing page documents the process.
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TLS Fair on campus
JOIN A TLS PROJECT Every project needs volunteers. A TLS student initiated and facilitates each of these projects, but the success of the work always depends on widespread participation. Please get involved. Contact the student leader listed in this booklet. HAVE YOUR OWN IDEA FOR A PROJECT? Meet with us to discuss how to make your project come to life—even if your idea is still in formation. We are always available. Paul Marienthal, Director Micki Strawinski, Administrative Assistant Room 213, Bertelsmann Campus Center 845-758-7056 tls@bard.edu
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Selected Project Archive Activists Worldwide AIDS/HIV and Reproductive Education (AWARE): Russia Bard Branches Community Center Bard Builds Bard College Community Garden Bard Food Initiative Bard Health Initiative (BHI) Bard Model United Nations Initiative Bard Permaculture Initiative Bard Senegal Project Bard Space Program Bard–Sri Lanka Project Bhopal Memory Project Brookwood Building Up Hudson Chiapas Solidarity Project Child-to-Child Nepal Children’s Gardening Program Children’s Rights Are Human Rights, Amnesty International Conference Coalition for Peru Relief Conversations on Education Dream to Achieve Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow Germantown Tutoring Project Ghana Project Global Cultural Outreach Gifted Girls at Columbia Girls Group Girls Math Club Girls Who Code Habitat for Humanity at Bard Hope in Devereux
International Tuberculosis Relief Project Making L&P Matter Media Analysis Project (MAP) Mexico Solidarity Network Delegation Migrant Labor Project Period. Project Why: Bard Sail Forward Senior Citizen Writing Project Sounds of Social Change SSTOP (Students Stopping Trafficking of Persons) Thailand Project Trans-Action Initiative Tuimarishane! Understanding Arabs and Muslims Visible and Invisible Disabilities Awareness Project Write-On!
For the entire project archive, visit the TLS website: cce.bard.edu/community/tls/ Photos by Bard students
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We are doing “Hold Your Head, Guard Your Heart” about ways to protect our energy and spirits to promote growth and wellness. One of the mentees says that we have to love certain people at a distance when they are bad for our energy. We love them, but we keep them at a distance, because we have to allow ourselves to grow. LORENZO DIAZ '22, BROTHERS AT BARD
Bard College PO Box 5000 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504-5000 845-758-7056 | tls@bard.edu | cce.bard.edu/civic-action/tls