It is generally agreed upon that college is a formative experience which provides students with the opportunity to be independent and responsible for their education and their lives, often for the first time. Many adults nostalgically recall their college days, and chances are you have often heard the phrase, “college was the best time of my life!” But what is it that makes college such an important and memorable experience?

When asked this question, one NYU student commented, “There’s a very electric environment that happens when you throw a bunch of kids together who are living without their parents for the first time. There’s no parental force lurking in the background making us get up for class. We’re all there to learn, but there are also endless opportunities to party which you didn’t have in high school because your parents were always home.”

BHSEC differs from other high schools because of its early college program, which offers college level classes in a simulated college environment to high school kids. As we all know, the basic idea is that some kids don’t need four years of high school and are ready for a college education at sixteen. There is little question as to whether most BHSEC students are ready for college-level work after sophomore year. Most students who survive the “high school” years are very intelligent and resourceful individuals with a great capacity for knowledge and avidity for learning.

The question then is not whether BHSEC students are ready for college, but whether BHSEC students are really better off in this faux-college environment. “I don’t feel like I’m in college. I’m in the same building I was in last year, I’m with the same students, and I even have some of the same teachers. It’s not ‘early college,’ it’s just hyper-intensive high school,” said a Year 1 student. Many students share these sentiments, feeling that despite its best efforts, BHSEC is at best a poor imitation of a college environment.

This deficiency of atmosphere may in itself not be a problem. In fact, for ambitious young people who thrive on academic challenge, BHSEC’s approach to education may provide a refreshing alternative to traditional NYC public schools. But BHSEC’s unique approach to education leaves its students in limbo: while we are expected to take on the responsibilities of university students, due to our age we are not granted the freedom -- at school, home, in society -- that students eighteen and over normally receive. Moreover, while we are unable to enjoy the many liberating aspects of adulthood, we are excluded from the forms of youthful freedom that high school students enjoy.

During the first week of its college years at BHSEC, my class -- the class of 2007 -- gathered in the auditorium to listen to Mr. Peterson tell us about how wonderful BHSEC could be and warn us about the dangers of not taking our education seriously. We were told that we were privileged. As BHSEC students, we would be treated as if we were in college, and experience high school in a uniquely intellectual way. However, when the floor was handed over to students for questions, we were repeatedly disappointed. We were told there would be no spirit weeks, no field days, etc. because these are the activities of a traditional high school, not a superior institution like BHSEC.

Sarah Marlow wrote in a past issue of The Horizon in an article about “senior” year (10th grade) at BHSEC, “I think high school is definitely a formative experience, and I’m beginning to worry that we’re missing out on most of it. Bard doesn’t have a pep squad, or a homecoming dance, or anything like that. We come to school. We learn. We go home and do tons of work. End of story.” Ms. Marlow expresses a general desire that many students have for some traditional activities at our nontraditional high school. It seems that BHSEC lies somewhere between high school and college, but instead of combining the best of both, it deprives its students of the positive social aspects of high school and the independence of college, leaving only rigorous academics. The result is an environment which makes learning stressful and frustrating rather than interesting and fun.

Obviously, the forces that dictate the freedoms and restrictions of our age group will not conform to the requirements of our school, but this is an issue that deserves more serious discussion than it is currently receiving. A good start would be for us to seriously consider and face criticisms, rather than ignoring or idly explaining them away.