Anonymous asked: Are students required to have cameras when studying Film & video? If so, which type should they use?
Hello stranger,
Video students are by no means required to have their own equipment. The college runs ans extraordinarily well stocked “video-cage” in which students can check out anything and everything you might need or want to make work. I’m sure you’ll have a blast exploring it!
Best,
Sarah ‘15
Anonymous asked: Students of color! From what I see in pictures, there's always white students interacting with other white students. Socially, do you non-white students feel left out or excluded? Or do you think your skin color has nothing to with anything and no one could even care less?
I asked my friend Sara Green to answer this one — she’s an expert.
-Alan ‘15
Hey! It’s really neither. Instead what you have is sort of an awkwardness when questions or comments about race are brought up. My experience has been that people would rather not talk about race- students of color and white students alike. Alas, hope is alive! Recently, there has been a small group of students that is creating spaces to talk about race in academic and student-led spaces. I could talk forever about race at Bennington. Email me if you want to keep talking; there are a lot of intricacies in the conversation. (sgreen@bennington.edu)
Anonymous asked: Does Bennington offer double majors?
Bennington doesn’t offer majors, much less double ones. Because of the ‘plan process’, each student develops their own unique program, as it were, specific to his or her own interests. A lot of times these are questions that can be explored through multiple disciplines; its like looking at the same thing through two different vantage points. Other students choose to do something that might be more similar to a ‘double major’ — they right their plan in two different disciplines and choose to keep them separate. If you are worried that you won’t be able to explore all your interests, don’t be. The freedom we have here, in my experience, prevents us from getting too boxed in. (The best way to understand the plan is through examples — check these out)
-Alan ‘15
Anonymous asked: Hi, if I haven't gotten any course registration/housing stuff, should I be worried? I know it's supposed to come mid-May, but it seems like other people have gotten it.
Don’t worry! If it still hasn’t come through in a couple of days I recommend shooting your councilor an email or giving the office a call: 800-833-6845. You’ll have plenty of time to fill everything out. In the meantime…
-Selina ‘15
Anonymous asked: If I've never acted at all in my life, can I sign up for an acting class?
Most definitely. I did that last year (as a junior) and absolutely fell in love.
- jason ‘13
Anonymous asked: Is there a pdf available of the course curriculum for the coming term?
Just this online link.
-Selina ‘15
Anonymous asked: do you guys spend a lot of your budget on capital improvements? like fancy looking buildings?
I have no idea. I don’t even know if we have access to the budget. If I do, I have never looked. We did just build CAPA (rumored at $20 million), and are now renovating commons. I’d say the’re quite capital!
Kevin ‘13
Anonymous asked: Would you say that Bennington is more hippie or more hipster?
I’m gonna punt on this answer, because honestly I don’t know. But, Jason just showed me this video by a Bennington alum on what it means to be a hipster.
Kevin ‘13
[video]
[video]
Anonymous asked: Are you guys gonna make a map of where all the incoming freshman class is from like there was last year? That was pretty cool..
I’ll be around this summer and that sounds like a great project! I’ll keep you updated. Glennis will also be around and since she studies design I bet we could come up with something good.
Looking forward to it!
-Selina ‘15
Anonymous asked: Hi! So I've been hearing a lot about something called "Greenwall" lately. What is it, and is it really that bad?
Every Bennington student has a Greenwall story. It’s the registration event that takes place in Greenwall Auditorium where you can add or drop classes for the upcoming term. It can be stressful but if you just take a deep breath and realize that your life doesn’t depend on securing the perfect schedule you’ll be fine. Teachers are very reasonable and if there’s a class you really want you can always get on the wait list and keep showing up until they let you in. Michael’s looking nervous but really don’t freak out!
-Selina and Michael ‘15
Anonymous asked: What is the social science major like? What careers can you get from a social science degree?
Bennington approaches education from a different foundation than what you’d typically find in a major/minor system. Here’s a great explanation of Bennington’s divergence from that system.
After checking in with a resident Anthropology professor here, the social science skills you acquire at Bennington could be utilized through a couple different dimensions. Firstly, studying social science hones your critical thinking skills, which are especially relevant to life in a post modern world. More concretely, you could pursue a career in the NGO/non-profit sector, civil society, international relations, or academia among other things. Typically after getting a BA social science students go onto grad school though many work for a couple years beforehand.
-Michael and Selina ‘15
Anonymous asked: Is FWT major specific? or can I do anything I find interesting ?
That really depends. In my experience my advisor has pushed me to pursue FWTs related to my plan and areas of concentration. However, if you found a position that really peaked your interest chances are you can relate in some way to what you’re studying, even if the connection isn’t super explicit. Below are some photos of the globe outside the FWT office with colored dots indicating FWT sites. Big cities like New York always clock in with the 100+ count!
-Selina ‘15
Bennington Vermonster is the school’s first club ultimate team, formed in the Fall of 2012. We take our name from a mythical beast that haunts the path to Jennings–Goat Boy, the Vermonster.