Greetings from Bard!

<p>Gosh, it’s been months since my last post on CC! Now that I’m two weeks into the Language & Thinking Workshop at Bard (for those of you who don’t know what that is, L&T is a mandatory three-week writing program that all freshman must undergo before matriculating), I figure it’s a good time to post some thoughts and feelings about the college that I’ll be spending the next five years in (five because I’m a double-degree conservatory student).</p>

<p>The campus is beautiful. It is covered with greenery, and the view of the Hudson River from the Blithewood mansion/economics center (itself a really majestic sight) at the western (I think) edge of the campus is beautiful (though I must admit somewhat less impressive than I had hoped). The entire campus is rather small, which is to say you can get everywhere around campus on foot, but it is big enough that many students feel the need for bikes. I myself prefer walking, and some students jest that it may be because Bard is such a healthy campus (with everyone having to walk or bike a considerable amount in an average weekday) that the desserts served at Kline commons (where we have all our meals) are so good! I often hear comments like “the food leaves much to be desired, but the dessert more than makes up for everything else”, but I generally find the pizza and pasta and most (though not all) of the other food they served to be delicious.</p>

<p>One word of caution for alcohol lovers – we have a so-called “dry L&T”, and any student caught drinking during this three-week program will be booted out. Of course, that doesn’t stop some students from partying and drinking all night during weekends (or so I’ve heard).</p>

<p>Our president, Leon Botstein, is a really cool guy. You just have to hear him speak! And then you have to hear him conducting the American Symphony Orchestra, which he does when he is not running the college or conducting the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. And then you have to hear him speak about physics, and then you start wondering if there’s anything he can’t do. A quote from his welcome speech – “I myself have an extremely satisfying sex life.”</p>

<p>The students and faculty alike have been really friendly. I haven’t come across anyone snobbish or exclusive.</p>

<p>L&T is fairly demanding but also fun. The amount of homework you have to do really depends on the teacher you get, but in general you can look forward to a lot of reading and writing on the subject of memory and identity, culminating in a 5-to-7-page-long (apparently some teachers wanted 10) “intellectual essay” that draws upon at least three of the texts we read during the workshop. L&T is more or less a prelude to the freshman seminar, a mandatory year-long philosophy-based course.</p>

<p>I am living in Obreshkove, one of the “new toasters” (thus nicknamed because of their visual appearance resembling toasters; the “new toasters” are adjacent to the “old toasters” which are, obviously, older). Because it is a new dorm, it is clean and nice and best of all, it has air conditioning! It is a so-called “wellness dorm”, and is smoke and substance-free. (There are, of course, non-smoke-and-substance-free dorms; you indicate your preference in the housing application form that is provided after you get your acceptance letter.) It is also a freshman-only dorm; apart from the peer counsellors (who are upper-classmen), each “new toaster” houses 20 freshman. The rooms are slightly smaller than some of the older dorms, but much nicer (or at least, that’s what I’ve heard; I haven’t been to any other dorm apart from the other new toasters).</p>

<p>That’s it for now; I’ll post more soon.</p>

<p>Hi wmgan,
Thanks for the update. Bard sounds like a very interesting school. With the Double Degree program being so new, it would be great to hear your impressions of the conservatory as you get into the school year. Could you let us know how many students of each instrument are in your class and also about the practice facilities? Are there enough grand pianos and do you fulfill your ensemble requirements in a choir or orchestra? I hope you don't mind a ton of questions. My son took some lessons with your piano professor and is very interested in applying for Fall 2006. Any information you can provide would be very much appreciated.
Chris</p>