BenningtonWorks Admitted Students Day

Ade Bryon ’24, Rodrigo Diaz ’25, Peace Kolomba ’25, and Mia Jay-Pachirat ’25 traveled to COP28 in Dubai to participate in a protest for DeltasUNite, building capacity for youth with partners drafting a new United Nations Convention on Conserving the River Deltas (UNCCRD). They met young climate activists from around the world, learned about the climate crisis from top scientists and national leaders, and gained a world-class education on the state of climate negotiations.

Alma Reiss Navarre ’24 has studied ballet their entire life. But at Bennington their love of dance, choreography, and movement combines with work in public action, visual arts, music, and accessibility to support a wide range of “non-linear growth".

As part of a “Community Reading + Celebration” in the Student Center, BIPOC Bennington students presented their work, including the latest edition of r0ver magazine.

Bennington College’s B-Rad radio station was ranked #14 among college radio stations nationwide by the Princeton Review. Student DJs spoke about their experiences working on the station.

Shlesha Pradhan ’24 studies Biology, Neuroscience, Dance, and Music, exploring how music can enhance physical therapy experiences. She shared how Bennington’s flexible Plan Process allows her to combine her passions across disciplines.

• Students in the Fall 2023 How to Build a Forest course learned the tools and concepts needed to evaluate land from an ecological perspective. They presented their final projects across a variety of mediums, including podcasts, blogs, paintings, sculptures, and illustrated guides.
• When she arrived at Bennington, Halley Le ’25 was interested in chemistry and sustainability, specifically environmental chemistry or research pertaining to solar energy conversion and solar fuels. She is using her Field Work Terms to explore how chemistry intersects with these scientific fields.
• In Fall 2023, students presented their research experiences working with Drosophila: the common fruit fly. As varied as their research was, each agreed that fruit flies are a great model organism. 

From populist "rousings" in South Asia to resurgent civil society in Venezuela, from digital hate to photographic violence, from the question of first-person authority to Hannah Arendt’s vision of democracy, senior presentations in Society, Culture, and Thought showcase the breadth and depth of Advanced Work in SCT.

• During the class Examining Space, students learned how to shape foundry wax and prepare sand molds for the purpose of conceiving and realizing an object in iron. 
• Sawyer London ’24 has had a lifelong interest in ceramics. At Bennington, he has taken a broad range of courses— including in food studies and art history, sculpture and textiles, and environmental studies and public action—to supplement his studio work.
• Xiao (Smile) Ma ’23 discusses her experience exploring Visual Arts at Bennington.
• Recent graduate trustee Alisha Bade Shrestha ’23 discusses her experience studying Performing and Visual Arts at Bennington College and the "small nestled miracles" she found on campus.
• Learn about the new Milford Graves: A Mind-Body Deal Exhibition on view at Usdan Gallery.

A Reading and Discussion by Bennington Creative Writing Students
Eight current Bennington students, including seniors accepted for grad school in creative writing, will share their poetry and prose, and then discuss what it's been like to study creative writing at Bennington.

The Physics of Medieval Siege EnginesWe will set up the trebuchet (and probably a potato cannon) outside of Dickinson and launch various things out towards the pond.

Birds of BenningtonJoin us for a birding walk around the beautiful Bennington College campus. We'll explore local habitats, observe native bird species, and get an up-close look at our avian neighbors through a live mist-netting demonstration. Whether you're a seasoned birder or brand new to the world of birds, this is a great chance to experience hands-on fieldwork and learn more about Bennington’s vibrant natural environment. A limited supply of binoculars will be available.

How to Create a Plan in Dance at Bennington
Join us for an engaging session where Bennington's dance students and faculty will explore the intricacies of the dance program. Together, they'll answer questions about course studies, plan proposals, interdisciplinary approaches, and the program's academic rigor.  

Supporting Your Student: Building the Plan
A well-rounded overview of academics at Bennington, this session with Maurice Hall, Provost, includes discussions of Bennington’s Plan, Field Work Term, and how Bennington’s self-directed learning model and faculty advising and mentoring will help students develop academically and prepare them to rethink, invent, and change the culture.

Supporting Your Student: First Year Transitions
Kate Child, Associate Dean of Academic Services, and Ali Tartaglia, Associate Dean & Director of Integrative Wellness, will focus on the summer before the first year, new student orientation, and other elements of the first-year transition process. They will guide families regarding  the type of support their students can access  before, during, and after their move to Bennington.

Anomaly / Flexible Teaching and Learning Tool
All are invited to interact with a large generative designed inflatable object that was produced as part of a class In Sculpture called unconventional spaces. We will be deflating and inflating the form , as well as inviting possibilities that lend themselves specifically for purposes of community thinking/ improv style.  Some ideas include inviting sound, initiating physical membrane manipulation through regulating pneumatic tension, and forcing exterior /alien objects to interact with the object. The open participation and experimentation continues and hold true to its named existence: something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected.  Come interact /witness this event with us. It will be an experience and activity that generates more questions than answers.

Learn Daoism with Tai-Chi and Qi-Gong
Tai-Chi  (Taiji) is a Chinese martial art and meditation system. The symbol of Tai-Chi is the famous Chinese Yin and Yang symbol also called taiji. 

Qi-Gong is a form of gentle exercise intended to increase one’s vital energy (qi), hence the name. Qi-Gong and Tai-Chi are both commonly practiced by Chinese people.

In this workshop, participants will get some hands-on experience with Qi-Gong the Tai-Chi martial art and learn a little bit about Daoist philosophy in the process.

What is AI and how does it work?
An overview of the nature of AI, and insight into how AI actually works.

Additional Session Info Coming Soon

Supporting Your Student: Campus Safety
For many parents helping their student consider college options, campus safety and security is at the forefront of their minds. In this session, Paul Baker-Porazinki, Director of Campus Safety, provides information on how campus safety works to create a safe living and learning environment for everyone at Bennington while nurturing the individuality and rigorous creativity of our students. Additionally, the session provides information on the beginning of year, academic breaks, end of year transportation, accessing the local area without a car, and what safety resources students can expect on campus. 

Supporting Your Student: Belonging at Bennington
What does “belonging” mean at Bennington College? This session will discuss how Bennington College builds community and support for students as well as strengthens student experiences outside of the classroom. The session will be led by Li-Chen Chin, Vice President and Dean of Student Life; Alfredo Medina Jr, VP for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Donnie Redd, Director of Residence Life & Community Standards; and Ali Tartaglia, Associate Dean & Director of Integrative Wellness.

Everything That Never Happened: Re-envisioning Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice
This is an open rehearsal of Sarah Mantell's "Everything That Never Happened," a student/faculty performance production. Jessica and Lorenzo are in love, but in order to be together they must plan an escape from her father’s house, the Venetian ghetto, and her entire culture. Taking place in the gaps between “The Merchant of Venice” and the realities of Jewish history, “Everything That Never Happened” is a play about a father, a daughter, disguise, assimilation, pomegranates, and everything Shakespeare left out…. 

How to Build a Pronouns System
Join linguistics faculty member Thomas Leddy-Cecere and students from the advanced course LIN 4106 Constructed Languages: Between Entertainment and Idealism for a discussion of what makes a pronoun system, and what concerns, priorities and choices confront the creator of a constructed language (ConLang) who generates a pronoun system of their own.  The students will share work from their own nascent ConLangs, and the questions we explore together will engage the linguistic, cognitive and social dimensions of pronouns as one of humankind's most basic and essential communicative tools.

Additional Session Info Coming Soon

Supporting Your Student: Bennington Graduates Land on their Feet
Bennington’s hands-on inquiry-based approach to education prepares students—as civically engaged citizens, as proactive contributors to their workplaces, and as insightful lifelong learners—after Bennington. This session will explore how the Plan Process, Field Work Term internships, and graduate-level academic advising prepare our graduates for success via a Q&A with three recent Bennington alumni. John Link, Associate Dean of Career Development & Field Work Term, and Barbara Alfano, Director of First Year Forum, present.

Supporting Your Student: Health & Wellness
Ali Tartaglia, Associate Dean & Director of Integrative Wellness, will review the resources available to students on campus and how to access them.

This session will focus on Field Work Term, Bennington's unique annual internship period, and how students engage with the world beyond the classroom. John Link, Associate Dean of Career Development & Field Work Term, will present.

Join Cait York to explore the academic, housing, emotional support animal, and meal plan accommodations available to students at Bennington College. During our time together we will highlight the accommodation process, important dates, and timelines, and questions about the difference between accommodations in high school and college accommodations. There will be plenty of time for questions from families and students. This session will be particularly helpful for students who have utilized accommodations or received additional academic support in high school and those who are considering a request for academic accommodations in college.

What is it like to be a student at Bennington? A panel of student life staff members and current students will discuss all things Bennington, from housing to clubs and how to get involved as a first-year student.