Paul Kirby is reporting for the Times Union more than 50 Afghan refugees are expected to attend Bard College for free beginning next spring, Bard President Leon Botstein said this week. During a press conference on December 7, Botstein said a total of 177 people are to be enrolled at the Annandale-on-Hudson campus or at other Bard facilities. The placement of Afghan students is part of the college’s Afghan Student Fund, which provides living, legal and other necessary support to Afghan students who come to Bard, according to the college’s website. “The College has committed to providing a full package to each student, including tuition (which is being waived), room and board, books, and a stipend.” Botstein said educational institutions have the responsibility to help.. He said the college was able to get the students out of Kabul with the help of American University in Afghanistan and the American University of Central Asia where Bard has a dual degree program. “We have an obligation, a moral obligation,” Botstein said. “it is the right thing to do.” Read the full story in the Times Union