News Fred Barnes Is Finding Security Tightens around PAC Constuction You a Place to Stay Full-time gaurds keep area safe, intruders out Next Fall !by Jacqueline LaDuke by M. Zubair Hossain Unless you have Everyone knows how to climb security guard at the site is the construction site the been sneaking around near over or under a fence, but not a part of the regular Bard whole time. They walk As this year's room draw left hundreds the PAC construction site most people probably don't staff. There are 14 guards on around and make sure no of students in the TBA list, students wondered lately, you probably have not know that doing so could get the regular staff and they one is there and that there what the recent changes had brought them. noticed the newest addition them arrested. Anyone who couldn't afford to lose one per aren't any other safety haz­ Have the changes been for the better or for the to our campus: a security climbs over the fence at the night to watch the PAC site. ards. They must wear hard­ worse? Kline discussions were filled with guard monitoring the site at PAC site could be arrested, The current guards at the site hats at all times in case of resentment on the room draw process. night. but it's not likely for a Bard were handpicked and trained falling debris, which in fact, Current sophomores were the ones who suf­ The first question student to be arrested. If the by Ken Cooper himself. fell on a guard's head one fered most through the process. Unlike the pre­ everyone probably has is guard at the site catches a When looking for someone to night. Luckily it was some­ vious years, the the freshmen were happier 'Why?' Upon interviewing Bard student roaming around, man the site, he had to look thing small, and because of than the class above them. The Observer Ken Cooper, Director of the extent of his or her pun­ for someone that was not the hardhat, he wasn't hurt. found this rather odd, and thus decided to find Security, I was informed that ishment will probably be to only a certified security The guards must check in out for its readers what changes were made in many non-Bard people are have a talk with Cooper and guard, but someone who also with the dispatcher every the room draw process and how they have curious about the building, other members of the admin­ knew about construction. hour to let them know that affected the accommodation fortune of the stu­ and come a long way just to istration. But if an outsider One .of the guards, Ray, everything is alright. dents in general. see what it's like. We appre­ (such as one of the too famil­ worked at Bard last year So for now, you Previously,after the allocation of guar­ ciate the interest, but since iar Red Hook high school patrolling traffic going to must stay in your seats and anteed housing to the incoming freshman, the building is not finished kids) is caught, the local Manor and Robbins. Ray enjoy the beauty of the rooms were allocated to the seniors-to-be and yet, the area is 'raw' and a police will be called and it will loves Bard. Performing Arts Center from then the juniors and then lastly to the sopho­ raw construction site is dan­ be taken into their hands. I would have liked to the outside. Special permis­ mores. Given the housing shortage that Bard gerous. There are metal The administration isn't taking have been able to go to the sion can be granted to take a had been facing throughout the years, many poles people could trip on, this lightly. The reason for a site to meet Ray or one of the tour of the site if you want to students, especially sophomores, suffered electrical wires, water, mud, Security guard at the PAC other security guards to see do a project or something through the process. As Fred Barnes said while and other things that people site is because it is a dan,9er­ how it is to work on the site, related. However, because talking to this correspondent, 'It was incredibly could hurt themselves on, ous place where people (and but unfortunately I wasn't of the danger of walking stressful. ..and crazy time ... for the sopho­ especially at night in the dark, animals such as all of the able to. But, fortunately, I around in the site, the tours mores... and we ended up having a lot of sh.1- when most curious people wild cats that roam around had Cooper give me a brief must be escorted and due to dents moving off-campus who should have come to explore the site. north campus!) could easily description of what the the lack of staff, the tours are stayed on campus to be better students ... And There is fencing around the injure themselves, especially guards do. They work from rare. But if you would like to also they had to spend the summer thinking site, but the purpose it serves at night. 6pm - 6am (although I don't try to get in and see the site, about where they are going to be ... when they is more a warning than to The second ques­ think that one guard works a contact Ken Cooper in the should have been thinking about more impor­ actually keep people out. tion is probably "Who?' The 12 hour shift), and they patrol Old Gym. tant things and getting ready to moderate.' Thus, the previous room draw process did not do much justice to the sophomores who were ~~--­ expected to moderate once they returned to August 1999 school after summer. Sophomore year has ~0~0,0 always been a difficult year for Bard students, with no guarantee of getting housing, and the • <\. s intense pressure of moderation. President April 2003 "\,\ov Leon Botstein felt intrigued by this state of s\-t~ affairs in the room draw process and thus $52 million decided to make guaranteed housing available co◊ to the sophomores in order to release this extra 2 105,000 sq. feet burden in this difficult year of their stay in Bard. Such has been the major change in the room draw process this year and it has been a diffi­ cult one to implement. In a conversation with 400-1000 flexible seating w/ 800 standard this correspondent, Fred Barnes said, 'Basically I sat down and went through every room on campus where people live currently, and how it Giving you a name to drop when you leave. worked out with juniors, '------ .......seniors, freshmen and sopho­ mores, and then I took blocks of rooms and assigned them to juniors, sophomores and fresh­ men, and hence when you got the housing information pack­ March 2000 I ---- Constructionstarted age it was marked with either blue or pink. That was the only November 2002 t---- Projected Finish way in which we could distin­ guish what the rooms are for. So by doing that we were able to cut back on the number of ---Size people on the to-be- announced (TBA)list...And I have rooms that I keep out of room draw 20,000 cars/day - - - Capacity . ..continued on page 5 Re--enforceingroad, k - What They're Doing strengthening barriers. P/a,ygroundEquipment? yup. <'. Rumors that the mud pit behind the Camps Center is the future site of new ·m-l·/ ~ ~~-'°""I , \.·. • ..._ ..·,···-.. .(;I I Ravine houses are incorrect. __ The mud will make way for a new Campus Center parking lot with 15- ui~Ul..-e ,h, ! --0., !\"'KT·< r ,r·, minute spaces. In accordance with Bard's hard on for footpaths, what once Vf\\,v was Ravine Road will be a trail behind the new toasters. Next to the cul-de-sac parking area at the back entrance of the '~ \i.·r•"J~ Campus Center will be Bard's own playground. Q.. ···-··----'+ A swing set, a gift from a previous graduating class, has recently been .., assembled. Horseshoe pits will be moved next to the swing and a tetherball set t:J"' C) is on order for placement there, as well. Also planned is a patch for 4-Square t,::I and picnic tables. ~... When all is said and done, the mud will turn to grass and the current p.. ;:"' •• -c - \I '~, ,, -· .., li!II~ . : ,,,,;.. Campus Center driveway and unofficial parking lot will be strictly for delivery 0 ,_,,;;,,,,,~ ~> , I·, ll(~,:,.::? ,, trucks. Unauthorized vehicles will be ticketed. a' {II The hope is to get construction finished by commencement weekend, C) ·.c•-"_.., ·' --:.r<'!fh-"' ... ... d- &e~:--¾( .w-~ ~~,. but 'I was told not told hold your breath,' said Alan Josey. ...C)◄ May 17,2002 Ne\vs J\nIntimate Portrait of Our Bangladeshi Classmates How a group of students from across the globe have come to rock your world. !by Jacob Cottingham ~--------------------' I Reazur says what struck him. was that people thing through which you grow yourself. You Before I came to Bard, I knew precious little about in America were so orderly, "they usually form learn so much from helping other people ... The opportunity is there and it's so easy, peo­ Bangladesh, other than a rough idea of it's location and a concert a line to get something, whereas in for the country that George Harrison did in the seventies. As the Bangladesh there would just be a crowd." ple should utilize it." Reazur was on the SLC years went by it seemed I was meeting more and more students Because there is more order in work and most last semester and next semester will be from Bangladesh, and often they were very active in the campus other things, Reazur said it's easier here to Secretary of Central Committee and Mehnaz community.