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New York Times Reports on Bard College’s Efforts to Free Ali Faqirzada ’28
“If you stand for the truth and for learning and all the virtues of a serious education and an examined life and you believe in the idea of justice, you have to act,” said President Leon Botstein.
New York Times Reports on Bard College’s Efforts to Free Ali Faqirzada ’28
Ali Faqirzada ’28 at Bard College. Photo by Aaron Schock
Immediately following his detainment, Bard Vice President for Strategy and Policy and Chief of Staff Malia Du Mont ’95 and Vice President for Student Affairs Dumaine Williams ’03 visited Faqirzada at Delaney Hall, the ICE detention facility in New Jersey where he is being held. “I would describe it as feeling like a member of the family had been taken,” said Du Mont, a US veteran of the Afghan War.
The College, alongside Human Rights First and the Episcopal Diocese of New York, has worked to enlist bipartisan federal, state, and local elected officials in efforts to organize and advocate for Faqirzada’s release. Two Bard alumni/ae at the law firm Quinn Emanuel have offered pro bono legal services to represent Faqirzada in his asylum case.
Post Date: 11-16-2025
Tanya Marcuse interviewed by Emma Ressel ’16 in Lenscratch
In photography “sometimes things truly, fully come together,” Marcuse said.
Tanya Marcuse interviewed by Emma Ressel ’16 in Lenscratch
Associate Professor of Photography Tanya Marcuse.
Ressel was a Lenscratch Student Prize winner in 2024. She attended Bard’s Photography Program and has held solo exhibits in New Mexico and is on the shortlist for the 2025 Aperture Portfolio Prize. Marcuse has taught at Bard since 2012. She recently completed her 14-year, three-part project Fruitless | Fallen | Woven, inspired by the Biblical story of the fall from Eden.
Post Date: 08-27-2025
Sonita Alizada ’23 Begins a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford in Fall 2025
“[Bard] faculty have been incredibly supportive, offering guidance, mentorship, and resources," she said.
Sonita Alizada ’23 Begins a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford in Fall 2025
Sonita Alizada ’23.
Alizada, who double-majored in human rights and music, says Bard played a “crucial” part in her award. “The faculty here have been incredibly supportive, offering guidance, mentorship, and resources that helped me refine my academic and professional goals. They provided encouragement and constructive feedback throughout my application process and helped me navigate each step with confidence.”
She looks forward to continuing her work supporting Afghan women and children by combining “academic research with practical impact.” She looks forward to taking public policy classes at Oxford and focusing specifically on women and children's rights. “I’m deeply honored to receive the Rhodes scholarship, [and] I hope to bring back insights that can further support vulnerable communities,” she said.
Post Date: 08-27-2025