Bard College lawsuit alleges widespread racist and sexually predatory behavior

This seems pretty terrible.

For Immediate Release: August 25, 2022

Attorneys: Larry Organ, Esq. (415) 453-4740; Avery Gilbert (845) 380-6265;

For Years, Bard College Protected Racial Harassers and Alleged Sexual Predators on its Privileged Upstate New York Campus

Annandale-on-Hudson, NY – Bard College: Black guests held at gunpoint. Reports of sexual assaults that went uninvestigated. Employment decisions based on race. Black and Brown scholarship students marginalized, relegated to a dirty basement, and offered fried chicken, Kool-Aid, and watermelon. An insular, nearly all-White faculty and administration. A lone Black administrator fired for whistleblowing and daring to ask that Bard provide Title IX accommodations to a Black student who survived a campus rape. A blockbuster complaint filed in Federal court today has it all—reading like a potential sequel to “Get Out” set at Bard College in the quaint Hudson Valley hamlet of Annandale-on- Hudson.

The six-count suit against Bard College details racial discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination. The Plaintiff, a Black female professor and administrator, who remains unnamed in the complaint, was a sounding board and refuge for students of color on campus. For many years she alerted Bard senior faculty and administrators that students of color felt marginalized, discarded and discriminated against. She grew appalled by Bard’s failure to support students who bravely came forward with sexual assault and harassment allegations, urging the College to do more than silence victims to protect its public image. Rather than lauding Plaintiff Doe’s efforts to protect students and address racism and sexual assault at Bard College, Bard retaliated against her.

Plaintiff Doe endured over a decade of egregious racist, sexist, and homophobic conduct by Bard faculty and senior administrators. Bard professors called Plaintiff Doe “feral” and “arrogant.” Plaintiff Doe was denied promotions and told “not to think so much” of herself “for her pedigree,” referencing her multiple Ivy League degrees, while lesser-qualified White employees were promoted—including a senior administrator who assaulted Plaintiff’s partner. Bard unapologetically had her African American guest lecturers held at gunpoint by state police in the middle of the night. The College denied Plaintiff Doe the office security other White administrators were given despite knowing she was the subject of violent racist attacks on campus and had received emails— through Bard email— headed What’s up nger bch,” and “GO BACK TO AFRICA you f-ing CNTS.”*

Numbers don’t lie. From 2009 to 2019, all but one of Bard’s seventeen vice- presidents were White. From 2009 to the beginning of 2018, no Black person sat on Bard’s powerful “Executive Committee.” The complaint alleges that average tenure of Black and Latinx administrators at Bard College is three years while the average tenure for White administrators is three decades. An anonymous survey of Bard administrators of color suggests this tenure disparity is due to Bard’shostile work environment for people of color.

“I spent years trying to change this culture from the inside, seeing Bard systematically marginalize Black and Brown students and enduring every imaginable form of workplace discrimination. When students informed me of sexual misconduct and racial harassment by powerful administrators and faculty, I reported the allegations to the college time and again but no action was taken other than to retaliate against me. The only forum left to me is the federal courts,” said the anonymous plaintiff.

“This lawsuit exposes a long history of race-based segregation and discrimination on the Annandale campus of Bard College—it is our hope that by bringing this lawsuit Black and Brown students will have the same opportunity to think and learn on Bard College’s Annandale Campus that White students do and decades of an insular, unaccountable White administrative structure will be addressed,” said Avery Gilbert, the Director of the Strategic Advocacy Clinic who is bringing the case, along with trial-attorney Larry Organ.

Plaintiff is represented by the Strategic Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School, the California Civil Rights Law Group, and the Law Office of Avery P. Gilbert. The lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of New York under Docket # 7:22-cv-07258. Attorneys Avery Gilbert and Larry Organ are available for comment. At this time, Plaintiff Doe has chosen to remain anonymous.

About the Strategic Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School

The goal of the Strategic Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School is to encourage students to become independent thinkers able to engage multiple avenues of persuasion simultaneously to push for structural change in service of criminal justice reform and democratic function. The clinic provides a real-world laboratory for students to tackle pressing issues related to criminal justice and inequality using a coordinated and interdisciplinary array of advocacy tools including strategic litigation, administrative advocacy, coalition building, media, and communications.

About California Civil Rights Law Group

The California Civil Rights Law Group, led by prominent trial attorney Larry Organ, won the largest race harassment verdict in American history in Diaz v. Tesla . CCRLG is dedicated to furthering the cause of employee civil rights by fighting race and sex harassment, discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination. To learn more about CCRLG, please visit http://www.civilrightsca.com/.

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By common interpretation, this states that the plaintiff was assaulted on more than one occasion, presumably on campus. If this really happened, would it have been mentioned as merely equivalent, as in this context, to the long list of other complaints?

I am always leary about sensationalism.

This is a news release by a law firm, and it does not read like something written by somebody who is interested in justice, but somebody looking to advertise the law firm. It is using the breathless, sensationalist language used by tabloids, whose purpose is to make money off of the pain and suffering of other people.

I’ve read the blog of California Civil Rights Law Group, who are representing the plaintiff, and it reads very different. I don’t know what’s going on - maybe they hired somebody from New York Post…

I would like to read what the actual complaint is, but I’m not paying for it.

I attended Bard my freshman year and can vouch that the racism, sexism, homophobia, harassment, and assault described in this post is not sensationalism. I personally had many similar experiences: encounters with openly racist faculty and staff, conversations with misogynistic straight students, and countless instances of overhearing or witnessing microaggressions against Black and Brown students and faculty; I’ve heard numerous similar stories from others. The liberal reputation of Bard’s academic philosophy is often used to overshadow these realities (intentionally). And the “cool hipsters”–who make up a large portion of the student body–choose to turn a blind eye.

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I am a University of Chicago graduate and currently writing about the history of social justice/injustice in New York universities. I was kindly invited as a guest presenter, ironically, at a conference on equity/inclusion/racism/etc. at Bard. I can confirm first hand, having seen a few instances while on campus for only a few days, that there is an environment that is unsafe and openly hostile to people of color as well as those who openly identify as LGBTQ. I was called upon to give testimony at a case I witnessed while just on campus for a few days; as far as I know, my testimony did nothing to bring closure or justice. I was part of a discussion group with the community and it seems like, sadly, the progressive and forward-thinking days of Bard are in the past. I hope that the institution can use this as a way to own this and do a deep self-reckoning.

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Just to add, as a mentor and counselor to young people, I was deeply disturbed by the environment there, and as a student of history, saddened by the diminishment of this storied institution. I always try to look for silver linings, and hope that Bard can one day return to a progressive and inclusive oasis in these times, especially for the sake of our youth who so desperately need these kinds of places.

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Unusual to find people who are traditionally on opposite sides of the political spectrum find a common target. Those that despise Soros (far right) and those who “hope that Bard can one day return to a progressive and inclusive oasis”

Seems like there is a lot going on here that may not be obvious to the casual observer.

— Steely Dan

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Catcher; did anybody mention George Soros? I’m confused as to how this is relevant…One thing that seems very strange, though, too—Bard’s acceptance rate is 65%, currently…which hints at a school that is very much running on a tuition-based operating budget model…So despite this fundraising, it seems as if Bard may perhaps be quite over-extended…A 65% admissions rate, as well as Bard’s having plummeted to nearly the bottom of the LAC rankings…those seem like strong hints of trouble to me, at least? I would think very hard before sending my child to a school with that kind of institutional planning/management structure.

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In 2021, Bard College accepted 65% of students, around 3,181 of the 4,912 students who applied…shocking–that strikes me as closer to a public, state university–and nothing wrong with that at all–but for the tuition cost–that’s pretty striking!

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Welcome to CC. I think you will find that conversations often progress when people add information to provide potential context. So no one mentioned it, I introduced it.

Similarly no one previously mentioned Bard’s acceptance rate previously. Thanks for doing that.

It is a bit odd how 4 very recent CC joiners all choose their first and only posts to be highly negative regarding Bard. So I am trying to understand why that might be.

Obviously the recent legal claims and allegations are disturbing but it does occur to me that many people have an ax to grind against a traditionally progressive school like Bard that has a controversial benefactor such as Soros. Just wondering.

I didn’t see a single Soros headline, that’s why I’m confused…? Thanks for your welcome! I only saw the one post that mentioned Soros, that you posted.

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As stated upthread, this is a sensationalist press release and not confirmed fact. Clickbait first time posts are always suspect. Closing.

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