Skip to main content.
Bard
  • Bard
  • Academics sub-menuAcademics
    Bard College Commencement
    • Academics
      • Programs and Divisions
      • Structure of the Curriculum
      • Courses
      • Requirements
      • Discover Bard
      • Bard Abroad
      • Academic Calendar
      • Faculty
      • Libraries
      • College Catalogue
      • Dual-Degree Programs
      • Bard Conservatory of Music
      • Other Study Opportunities
      • Graduate Programs
      • Early Colleges
  • Admission sub-menuAdmission
    • Applying
      • Apply Now
      • Financial Aid
      • Tuition + Payment
    • Discover Bard
      • Campus Tours
      • Meet Our Students + Alumni/ae
      • For Families / Familias
    • Stay in Touch
      • Join Our Mailing List
      • Contact Us
  • Campus Life sub-menuCampus Life
    Bard Campus Life

    Make a home in Annandale.

    • Living on Campus
      • Housing + Dining
      • Campus Resources
      • Get Involved on Campus
      • Current Students
      • New Students
      • Visiting + Transportation
      • Athletics + Recreation
      • New Students
  • Civic Engagement sub-menuCivic Engagement
    • Bard CCE The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) at Bard College embodies the fundamental belief that education and civil society are inextricably linked.

      Take action.
      Make an impact.

      Get Involved
      • Campus + Community
      • In the Classroom
      • U.S. Network
      • International Network
      • About CCE
      • Resources
      • Support
  • Newsroom sub-menuNews + Events
    Upstreaming
    • News + Events
      • Newsroom
      • Events Calendar
      • Video Gallery
      • Press Releases
      • Office of Communications
      • COVID-19 Updates
    • Special Events
      • Commencement Weekend
      • Alumni/ae Reunion
      • Family + Alumni/ae Weekend
      • Fisher Center
      • Bard SummerScape
      • Bard Athletics
  • About Bard sub-menuAbout Bard

    A private college for the public good.

    Support Bard

    Legacy Challenge
    • About Bard College
      • Mission Statement
      • Bard History
      • Love of Learning
      • Visiting Bard
      • Employment
      • OSUN
      • Bard Abroad
      • The Bard Network
      • Montgomery Place Campus
      • Campus Tours
      • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
      • Sustainability
      • Title IX and Nondiscrimination
      • HEOA Disclosures
      • Institutional Support
      • Safety and Security
      • Inside Bard
      • Alumni/ae Network
      • Family Network
      • Support Bard
      • Legacy Challenge
  • Give
  • Search

Bard News

Back to All News

Newsroom Menu
  • Newsroom
  • Events Calendar
  • News Archive
  • Press Releases
  • Video Gallery
  • Special Programs sub-menuSpecial Programs
    • Commencement + Reunion Weekend
    • Family + Alumni/ae Weekend
    • Fisher Center
    • Bard SummerScape
    • Bard Athletics
  • Office of Communications
  • COVID-19 Updates

Bard College Student Athletes Support the Hudson Valley’s Special Olympians

Student athletes participating in Special Olympics Day at Bard College
More than 300 Bard College varsity athletes have contributed to the Special Olympics program over the past year, working with local agencies, hosting a Special Olympics Day, and raising money, including by participating in the Polar Plunge.

Twenty Bard student athletes took part in the 20th Annual Polar Plunge at the Fresh Air Fund’s Sharpe Reservation in Fishkill on February 25, raising $2,500 for Special Olympics New York. Headquartered in Schenectady, it is the largest Special Olympics program in the United States and the sixth-largest in the world, serving 65,000 athletes and involving 35,000 volunteers.
Bard College students participating in the 2018 Polar Plunge.
Bard College students participating in the 2018 Polar Plunge.

The Fishkill Plunge was just the latest in a series of events benefitting local Special Olympians, efforts initiated by the Bard College Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). The Committee is composed of two student athletes from each of Bard’s 19 intercollegiate athletic programs, in addition to three student officers.

“The Polar Plunge is an opportunity for our student athletes to show support for a great cause by literally jumping into freezing cold waters,” says Emily Weisman, a Bard senior and the president of SAAC. “What is great about all of our Special Olympics fundraisers is the community aspect of it. As student athletes, we want to make the most of our platform, and use our voices and teams to support amazing causes.” Nearly one-fifth of all Bard students participate in a varsity sport.

Bard’s student athletes also raised $1,715 for the Special Olympics through the Change War, an annual fundraising contest between New York–based NCAA Division III athletic conferences. Bard College is a member of the Liberty League, which each year challenges the Empire 8 to see which league can collect the most coins. “Not only do we love competition,” says Weisman, “but we love to be able to compete for something bigger than a win. This matters to us.” The 2018 Change War will take place April 2–8.

In addition to fundraising events, SAAC hosts a Special Olympics Day on the Bard College campus each spring. Last year, 56 guests from the Astor Home for Children in Rhinebeck, the Devereaux School in Red Hook, the Anderson School for Autism in Staatsburg, and the Children’s Home of Kingston attended. Participants rotated through six stations, where more than 40 Bard student athletes taught them basketball, volleyball, squash, soccer, lacrosse, and track and field. (This year’s event will be held in April on a date to be announced.)

“Our student athletes are Bard students first, which means civic engagement matters to them,” says Bard College Director of Athletics Kristen Hall. “They’ve learned that they can mobilize and make a difference. They are great representatives of the Athletic Department, and for Bard College as a whole.”

Post Date: 03-06-2018
Bard College
30 Campus Road
PO Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York 12504-5000
Phone: 845-758-6822
Admission E-mail: [email protected]
©2023 Bard College
Follow Us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Follow Us on Instagram
You Tube
Information For:
Prospective Students
Current Employees
Alumni/ae 
Families
Quick Links
Employment
Travel to Bard
Site Search
Support Bard
COVID-19 Info