The faculty which makes these judgments is essentially a teaching faculty--the kind that would be interested in mak- ing such detailed analysis of its students. Only fourteen members have doctorates. In addition, Case calls it far from the ideal size, in spite of the high faculty-student ratio. More members, according to him, are needed in order to furnish an intellectual climate for the faculty as a whole. The students keep the faculty on their toes with stimulus from "good, bright, eager undergraduate minds."

The college, however, makes an attempt to create a greater intellectual atmosphere by drawing prominent speakers to special "Weekends" sponsored by various divisions.

Thus, although Bard has succeeded perhaps best in the education it offers per sc, it faces serious problems here too. Because of its extremely small size and limited resources it can not attract too many outstanding men for its faculty. The same is true for its student body, though it is of an extremely high calibre.

Poor Plant

Those individuals who do go to Bard find themselves in the midst of an extra-ordinarily beautiful campus. But Bard presents an unimpressive physical plant. The girls' dormitories and one of the boys dormitories are excellent, both roomy and comfortable. Most of the men, however, live in barracks--wooden structures put up temporarily after the war and never replaced. The science building is very fine, but the old structure where most of the classes are held and where most administration offices are located is horrible. An offensive odor pervades the place and the stairs creak menacingly. The theatre is miniscule and looks to be falling apart. By far the finest looking building is rarely used. The magnificent Zabriskie Estate manor house, "Blithewood," overlooking the Hudson, is used occasionally for conferences and dances, but stands idle most of the time.

For natural beauty, on the other hand, the college's 875 acres overlooking the Hudson are almost incomparable. Natural waterfalls and pleasant winding paths through beautiful wooded areas add to the natural charm of the place.

Despite its natural appeal, the present buildings are depressing and Bard finds itself completely unprepared comfortably to house and provide adequate classrooms for its present students, let alone providing for the increase in numbers it expects and finds necessary to achieve in the next few years.

The people living in this place have a most unique social life. The most obvious thing about it is its apparent informality. Jeans and shirt-sleeves are worn continually every day of the week, excepting a few formal dance nights. Bardians congregate in three centers of social activity. During the day, they drop into the campus coffee shop, located in the same building as the women's dorms and the science laboratories, where they fraternize in irregular bunches around variously shaped tables, intermittently moving to and from the counter and the post office, which adjoins the restaurant.

When they finish their studying before 11 p.m. students somehow travel the half mile to Mike's Club in Annandale. This is a place to sip alcohol and munch hamburgers in an atmosphere dominated by the juke-box and low lights. Here students will often encounter members of the faculty and administration as well as the nearby Red Hook High School basketball team. With genial waitresses and table-to-table spirit, Bardians find it easy to dispose of long weeknights and even longer weekends.

Most students admit, however, that Bard is a far from ideal place in which to spend an entire year, or even a month, unbroken. Each Friday, therefore, a fairly large number board trains, drive automobiles, or simply hitchhike the 95 miles to New York City.

Realizing the boredom attendant in living in the tiny community, the college has attempted to provide more interest for the students directly on the campus, through extracurricular activities. But it is a difficult task to keep these going. The newspaper disbands almost yearly. Small groups of students have organized clubs in a few of the more important departments to present various programs for weekends and weekday nights. It is noteworthy that students concentrating in all undergraduate fields participate in those meetings.

The best way, perhaps, to describe Bard's social life in a few words is set forth by Richard M. Gummere '34, chairman of Bard's Board of Admission. "The only social rule at Bard is not to follow any social rules for the sake of conforming." Yet, in such a small place, it follows automatically that the students can be individuals merely by existing in the community.

Apathy to Community

This emphasis on individuality at such a small place has frequently led to a complete disregard for the community. Not only is this reflected by the apathy in student organizations, but in the devil-may-care attitude to the honor system. Bard has parietal rules drawn up by the students themselves, and an honor system, but as one student described it, "As long as we don't bother anyone else, we don't pay too much attention to the rules."

Both students and officers agree that Bard ought to be larger, roughly double its size. Such expansion might solve both financial and faculty problems and would create a more varied yet more integrated student body.