Bard Student Club Works to Bridge the Gap for Low-Income and First-Generation Students on Campus

Since 2017, the SCALE Project (Socioeconomics and the Lived Experience) has become integral to the lives of Bard students. This student-run club collaborates with students, faculty, and administrators at Bard to make college less of a financial burden for students and provide resources to make the college experience less daunting, especially for first-generation and low-income undergraduates. The SCALE project has instituted some essential financial aid programs on campus, such as the Language Learning Book Fund, and a Pell-eligible parking waiver. Lauren Rodgers ’27 interviews two of the three current leaders of Bard’s SCALE Project biology major McKenna Reeves ’26 and economics and philosophy dual major Estefany Lara ’26. “At a place like Bard, where there is such a variance of income and income discrepancy among students, I think it's really important that low income students know that they're not being overlooked, and they know that there's someone here for them,” said Reeves. “It's important that student voices be heard. We meet a lot with administration to make sure that student voices are being heard.” 

Post Date: 10-15-2024