Community and Security   Prevention   Rules and Regulations   Crime Statistics   Vehicle Regulations

Campus Parties         Alcohol and Drugs            Disturbances Fire Drills            Fire Extinguishers            Harassment Standards of Behavior             Vandalism/Property Damage               Weapons Campus Parties All students interested in hosting a campus event must attend a workshop on responsible planning and practices given at the start of each semester. All campus wide events (i.e., in Kline, campus center, or residence hall social spaces) must be registered at least three days in advance. Registration forms are available in the Office of Student Activities. Students must acquire guest passes from the Safety and Security Office for any event attendees who are not part of the Bard community. All material posted or distributed on campus, including flyers, posters and banners, must include information identifying at least one person responsible for the material and contact information for that person. Failure to include identifying information may result in removal. Any event at which alcohol is served must be registered by two hosts who are both over the age of 21 and have attended a social event planning workshop. All kegs must be registered. Any additional setup/cleanup arrangement charges will be billed to the hosts. An event that develops from a small, initially private gathering to a larger, more public one and/or having a significant impact on the larger campus environment must be registered with Safety and Security through the on-call administrator. If this is not done, Safety and Security will treat the event as unregistered and will respond accordingly. Any event may be stopped if it becomes too disruptive in the judgment of the Safety and Security Officer. Interfering with Safety and SecurityÕs responsibilities in this matter will be considered a breach of policy and community principles and will jeopardize a hostÕs ability to sponsor future events. No student has the right to bind the College to contract with an outside vendor (e.g., a film or performance). All contract arrangements must be made with the approval and supervision of the Director of Student Activities. Bard College strongly affirms the right of free speech for each member of the Bard community. This right includes the freedom, through College departments and organizations, to invite to the campus speakers and representatives of off-campus organizations as long as the visits do not disrupt the CollegeÕs regular educational or administrative functions. As an independent academic institution, Bard College is under no obligation to make its facilities or services available to, or act as the agent for, off-campus organizations, whether private organizations or agencies of government. Alcohol and Drugs The College will provide educational programs and counseling services to address the issues of alcohol/drug use, to increase awareness, and to assist those in need of help, as in those potential instances of addiction, chemical dependency, and other negative consequences resulting from use. Assisting someone to get help for problem or addictive use is an act of legitimate and reasonable concern. Each member of the community is responsible for living within the parameters of the alcohol and drug policies and for encouraging others to do the same. Violations of the spirit and intent of these policies will be responded to by disciplinary action; penalties will reflect both the degree and number of offenses and may include warnings, community service, fines, probation, suspension, mandatory leave, and expulsion. Those whose drinking or drug use repeatedly leads to problem behavior will be dealt with more severely due to the predictable relationship between the use and the behavior that follows. Alcohol Policy The College expects, moderation, restraint, and care in the use of alcohol, when an individual is legally entitled to it. Open containers of alcohol are not permitted unless at a registered event. College funds may not be used for the purchase of alcoholic beverages to be served to under-aged individuals and reasonable means should be used to identify under-aged persons to ensure that alcohol is not served to them. Food and nonalcoholic beverages must be available. Alcohol must be tended at all times. Hosts are responsible for all guests, whether invited or not. Alcohol may not be mentioned in the advertising and/or publicity of an event. All members of the Bard community must take responsibility for their own actions and for compliance with the laws of New York State and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. The major points of the law are as follows: Legal Age/Intoxicated Individuals: no person shall sell, deliver, give away, cause, permit or procure to be sold, delivered or given away any alcoholic beverages to: 1) any person, actually or apparently, under the legal age (21) or 2) any intoxicated person or any person, under the influence of alcohol. Dram Shop Liability: any person who shall be injured in person, property, means of support, or otherwise by an intoxicated person, or by reason of the intoxication of any person, whether resulting in death or not, shall have a right of action against any person who shall, by unlawfully selling to or unlawfully assisting in procuring liquor for the intoxicated person, have caused or contributed to the intoxication. In any such action the injured person will have a right to recover actual and exemplary damages. Social Host Liability: creates civil liability for anyone who knowingly furnishes alcoholic beverages to any intoxicated person under the legal age of purchase if the intoxication results in injury or damages to a third party. False ID: Any person under the legal age of purchase who is found to have presented or offered false or fraudulent written identification of age for the purpose of purchasing or attempting to purchase alcoholic beverages may be faced with probation and a fine. Drug Policy An academic environment is incompatible with the use of illegal drugs and the abuse of other drugs/substances (not medically prescribed and supervised). If such use should occur, the best efforts of the College notwithstanding, such activity must neither interfere with nor become the focus of the lives of members of the community. The College prohibits illegal possession or transfer of any controlled substance so defined in the statutes of New York State. The College does not apply sanctions of the law, but it does not ignore the law, nor does it stand between the student and the law. The outcome from selling, making, distributing, or possession of a significant amount of illegal drugs will be prompt and forceful College action. The student will be asked to resign from the College. A student who chooses not to resign will be suspended by the Dean of Students with appeal through normal procedures. Information received on dealers is shared with local police agencies. Disturbances Quiet hours are 12:00 midnight to 9:00 a.m. throughout the week. Students and guests are required to observe quiet hours in all residence halls. Some residence halls are designated as quiet residences and individual residence halls may vote on quiet hours, so check with the peer counselor. Students or guests causing noise disturbances may be asked to move within 48 hours of the violation. Fire Drills Fire drills are held three times each academic year to comply with New York State laws and to familiarize students with protective procedures. When the fire alarm sounds, act immediately: 1. Close the windows. 2. For protection, put on a coat and wear hard-soled shoes. 3. Feel the door for heat to determine that it is safe to enter the corridor. 4.Turn off the lights. 5. Do not rush. Continued order and quiet is essential. 6. Go to the designated exit area as quickly as possible. 7. Do not leave the designated area until cleared to do so, so that you may be accounted for. Everyone must respond to the alarm. Do not use an elevator. Think clearly about all the available exits from the building, in case one exit is blocked, so that you can alter your route without causing delay or panic. If you are in the study or social areas, leave by the nearest exit without returning to your room. If you are not in your room at the time, make sure you are accounted for as soon as possible. Refusal to vacate a building during a fire drill or alarm is a serious disciplinary infraction and may result in a fine, suspension, or cancellation of the On Campus Living Agreement. During a fire drill or alarm, everyone is required to leave the building, a fine for not doing so is $50. Fire Extinguishers Tampering with fire extinguishers or alarms is a serious offense. Persons found tampering with the fire extinguishers or alarms will be charged the replacement/repair costs plus a $100.00 fine and may face disciplinary action. Harassment A person commits harassment of another if s/he: makes telephone calls without purpose of legitimate communication; insults, taunts, or challenges another person in a manner likely to provoke a violent or disorderly response; makes repeated communications anonymously, or at extremely inconvenient hours, or in offensively coarse language; subjects another person to an offensive touching (i.e., unwanted sexual contact, shoving, striking or kicking); intentionally and repeatedly follows someone in or about a public place (i.e., "stalking"); engages in any other course of alarming conduct serving no legitimate purpose. In the case of harassment, tell the harasser that their actions/comments are unwelcome. Be clear and direct. Avoid ambiguity about feelings or intentions. Document every incident in detail: describe specific actions, comments, the location, names of witnesses; file a complaint. Confusion, fear of not being believed, embarrassment, and concern for others, including the harasser, sometimes keeps people from reporting; harassers tend to be "repeaters." Depending on the nature and severity of the harassment, a complaint can often be resolved by having a supervisor or administrator speak with the harasser; other times more formal proceedings may be in order. Complaints may be filed with the Dean of Students, Dean of the College, Director of Human Resources, or the Chair of the SJB. Recognize the seriousness of the problem; become informed and help inform others; get support and speak up; offer emotional support to harassed individuals, support them for speaking up; donÕt engage in or condone behavior that demeans anyone; let harassers know that their behavior is offensive to you as well as to the targeted person; foster mutual respect throughout the campus community. Standards of Behavior Bard College has a long tradition of eclectic assemblage. The College benefitted immeasurably from an influx of ŽmigrŽ scholars in the 1940s and 1950s, many of whom were political refugees. To this day it maintains itself as a place of refuge. The values we agree to live by reflect our commitment to maintaining standards of behavior, which are based on trust, honesty and the desire to create a community where different voices can be heard with tolerance, understanding, and honest critique, both within and outside the classroom. Any behavior that constitutes verbal or written abuse, threats, intimidation, violence, or harassment against any member of the Bard community will not be tolerated. It is impermissible to engage in conduct that deliberately causes embarrassment, discomfort, or injury to other individuals or to the community as a whole. Ignorance, humor, anger, or alcohol or substance abuse will not be accepted as an excuse or rationale for such behavior. The College holds its members to a higher standard of behavior than that required by law. All who live, work, and study at Bard are here by choice and, as part of that choice, should be committed to these standards. Any behavior alleged to violate the principles embodied in this general statement, or found elsewhere in the Student Handbook or College Catalogue, will be thoroughly investigated in a manner that protects the rights of all parties. Violators of Bard College policies will be subject to disciplinary action. Vandalism/Property Damage Destruction of College property is not tolerated. Individuals involved in acts of vandalism will be fined $100.00, plus the cost of replacement or repair and will be assigned hours of community service. Serious offenses may result in suspension or expulsion. If it cannot be ascertained who is responsible for the damage or loss in a residence hall, an assessment will be made against all residents equally. Weapons The use or possession of laboratory or harmful chemical explosives, firearms, ammunition, firecrackers, knives, or other weapons including any BB gun, air rifle, or similar firing device, is prohibited. The possession of weapons will result in serious sanctions. The Penal Law of the State of New York (section 265.01) defines criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree as follows: A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree when he knowingly has in his possession a rifle, shotgun, or firearm in or upon a building or grounds used for educational purposes, of any school, college or university, except the forestry lands, wherever located, owned or maintained by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, without the written authorization of such educational institution. Violation of the above code is classified as a Class A misdemeanor and is punishable by a one-year sentence and/or a $1,000 fine.