After numerous incidents in the past two years that have led the Bard administration to resort to charges of community fines, the Bard Debate Union decided make this issue a topic of debate. The questions we were most interested in answering were: are community fines fair? whom should they target – specific dorm communities or the entire Bard community? And what, if anything, would be a preferable alternative to stopping acts of vandalism and other rule infringements on the Bard College campus? Thus, the topic for Wednesday night’s debate was: “This house is in favor of community fines at Bard College.” Needless the say, the debate attracted a large audience of over 40 community members who proceeded to, after the debate, engage in a long conversation about how to best create and foster a sense of community responsibility on campus. Thank you to the Bard Debaters and the DOSA office for making this event not only incredibly interesting and thought-provoking but for engaging so many community members in the process!
