51��������

On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, six seniors presented their senior theses in Society, Culture, and Thought (SCT) to a packed CAPA Symposium.

Yami Antonio ’25 studies Psychology and Anthropology at Bennington. She spent her summer Field Work Term in Kuala Lumpur and Penang as a student ethnographic researcher for the Consortium of Forced Migration, Displacement and  Education.

Julie Gargiulo '27 studies Costume Design at Bennington. She spent her winter Field Work Term in New York interning with local seamstress, Mery Fernandez.

Since graduating in June, Em Gutierrez '24 is now working as part of the case management team at TransSOCIAL, which advocates for and serves the trans communities in Georgia and Florida.

In the class Examining Space, taught by Sculpture faculty member John Umphlett, students learned their way around iron forge and the glass studio at the (SAW), just 25 miles from campus in Salem, New York.

Advanced Animation students reflect on their experiences at the 2024 Ottawa International Animation Festival.

The inducted four new fellows for 2024, including anthropologist and 51�������� faculty member Miroslava (Mirka) Prazak.

Dance Magazine highlighted the 36 BFA students, 20 continuing low-residency MFA students, and 13 faculty members from University of the Arts who have merged into 51��������.

By Ashley Brenon Jowett

Over the summer, Annika Owenmark '25 completed a Field Work Term experience at Cal Shakes as the coordinator for the youth summer conservatory. 

Over the summer, Roberta Martey '25 completed a Field Work Term internship in Kyoto, Japan, where she worked as an intern on a Social Kitchen project with the .

At 51��������, students have the opportunity to expand their education beyond campus by cross enrolling in courses at Williams College in Williamstown, MA. Shadan Karimi '25 took advantage of this opportunity to participate in Design for the Pluriverse, a Williams College course dedicated to sustainability and community. 

By Anne Thompson

The Advocate Will Greer '24 and his campaign for Vermont state representative in the Bennington 2 district.

By Ashley Brenon Jowett
Illustration by Nate Padavick

As a homage to Dylan Thuras ’04’s Atlas Obscura, we’re sharing seven of the website’s wondrous Bennington-area places. You will barely be able to resist using the map for a spooky road trip this fall.

Faculty member John Umphlett's latest sculpture, , on view at the North Bennington Outdoor Sculpture Show (NBOSS) at the Bennington Museum through November, takes the form of a cross with angled arms–and is designed, too, for Umphlett's own entombment.

Coco Rohde '26 reflected on her Field Work Term experience at Brooklyn Children’s Theatre.

On Friday, October 25, 51�������� will host a Podcast Symposium for students, podcasters, writers, journalists, and anyone interested in learning about podcasting. 

More than 100 people attended the Ben Belitt Colloquium on Arts and Literary Culture in Tishman Auditorium on 51��������’s campus on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. They joined panelists Pulitzer Prize Winner Jericho Brown, the MacArthur Award-winning novelist Jonathan Lethem ’86, celebrated poet Camille Rankine, and moderator and Bennington faculty member Benjamin Anastas to learn about the life and work of Queer Black poet and essayist Reginald Shepherd ’88, an underrecognized member of the Bennington literary community in the eighties. Below is a piece Lethem wrote for and read at the event.

51�������� alumni are publishing novels, memoirs, non-fiction, poetry, and photography books. Check out the round up below to learn who is publishing, winning awards, and appearing in paperback this fall. 

Classroom experience, public action, college theater, environmentalism, and LGBTQ friendliness set Bennington apart.

Local indie-folk-rock musical artist Carling Berkhout '19 spoke to The Brattleboro Reformer about her latest album, Omens.

Housekeeper Michele Hurley is one of eleven children born and raised in Bennington. She started working at the College in the Fall of 1979, and four of her siblings—Mike, Nick, Jenny, and Tim—have all graced the staff roster at various times from the seventies through today. We sat down with her in Commons to learn more about her remarkable contributions over the last 44 years and counting.

Poetry at Bennington, an endowed program of short-term residencies that brings established and emerging poets to 51�������� for public readings and close work with students, has announced its Fall 2024 lineup of featured poets. All Poetry at Bennington events are free and open to the public. They take place in various locations on the College’s campus.

Almost a century ago, under the looming threat of fascism, Franklin D. Roosevelt warned Americans about global conflicts pitting representative governments founded on individual liberty against emerging fascist dictatorships. Reflecting on John Dewey’s progressive education philosophy, FDR said, “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.”

Bennington, VT: Two Bennington alumni, both entrepreneurial leaders, have been elected to join the 51�������� Board of Trustees. They are Bryn Mooser ’01 and Eddie Ubell ’09.

Constance and Grace, a play by Miriam Campbell '26, was selected for the 2024 New South Young Playwrights Festival at Horizon Theatre Company in Atlanta.

Exhibition reveals the personal collections of 51�������� community members September 17–November 23. 

Saving Democracy Together, an innovative non-partisan online and in-person course open to students, alumni, and the public, attracted more than 250 online registrants and 100 in-person participants in its first of seven sessions on Thursday, September 5.

At Bennington, Killion Knight '25 studies Drama, along with Creative Writing, Dance, and Philosophy. During the summer, Knight completed a Field Work Term experience at , a nonprofit working to connect queer individuals in need of support to mental and physical health resources.