A Message from Leon Botstein

A message shared to the incoming class from President Botstein.

Dear Members of the Class of 2027,

Welcome to Bard.

I look forward to greeting many of you on arrival day, and to other opportunities to meet and speak in person during the Language and Thinking program.  

I want to take this occasion to underscore a process you should take advantage of that is time sensitive and significant. Bard is one of the few colleges that takes the time to ask students to register to vote. For those of you in the entering class who are eligible to vote, each time you move, for the remainder of your life, you will need to make explicit arrangements to vote.

Moving to college might be the first time some of you will live, officially, at a new address that makes you eligible to vote outside your home district. This may require you to make a decision about where you will register to vote. College students are eligible to vote where they study. This allows them to cast a ballot in the local community here in the Hudson Valley. Students can also register at home and vote via absentee ballot.

Two years ago, this country marked the 50th anniversary of the ratification of the 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. The 26th Amendment states “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.”

Unfortunately, we all too often hear about an inconsistent and low turnout of voters, particularly among those who are between 18-to-24 years old. Many fail to vote because they are not familiar with voter registration processes or absentee ballot requirements. Some do not fully understand their own rights related to voting.

National attempts to frustrate and impede young people from voting on college campuses are all too commonplace. The media portrays young voters as disinterested, thereby reinforcing the prejudices that young people are too immature to vote or that young people in college are more prone to “dangerous” views. Our view is that all eligible voters—in all countries, especially the United States—-should cast a ballot.  

The process of registering to vote is not as straightforward as it might be, given the persistent efforts to disenfranchise youth voters. Bard College has found itself in an ongoing struggle to protect and enable the right to vote for students here in Dutchess County, actively defending students’ right to vote and securing an accessible polling place on Bard’s campus as a result of multiple lawsuits. Although you are coming to college to learn and pursue your individual goals and interests, voting and civic participation are valued here and we will make every effort to protect and enable your right to vote.

When you arrive on campus, Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement and Election@Bard, a student-led voter engagement program, will be registering students to vote, whether you choose to do so at home or at Bard. They will also be gathering information to help students vote absentee. I am asking those students who are eligible to register to vote and then to take the time to cast your vote this fall, both in contests for local government, where many of the key decisions that impact the daily lives of citizens are made, and in this spring’s primaries.

Next year, pivotal federal elections will be held. Bard is located in a competitive congressional district. It plays a major role in local and state and national affairs. But I believe that there is no such thing as an off-year election. All elections require maximum participation.

As constituents of our elected officials, we should engage with issues we care about. We all should debate key matters such as the economy, foreign affairs, the rule of law, immigration, healthcare, education, and the environment. Important outcomes are frequently determined by close local elections. School boards can exercise censorship, banning books deemed “dangerous”; local municipalities play a key pivotal role in zoning, law enforcement, and public health.  

There are certainly ways for us to engage with the political process that do not require voting or being eligible to do so. This semester you will have a chance to study voting; Bard is partnering with three Historically Black Colleges and Universities —Tuskegee University, North Carolina A&T and Prairie View A&M — in a collaborative course on the history of voting. All efforts to improve the quality of life of others are welcome. Helping to educate others as we learn ourselves is something each of us can participate in. However, voting is crucial to the protection of our shared constitutional rights to free speech and public assembly and to the practice of democracy.

For those seeking further information, please reach out to Election@Bard or to the Center for Civic Engagement at [email protected].

With best wishes,

Leon Botstein

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