It’s a line from a postmodern novel: “Which do you drink? The water or the wave?” We plan to drink the water. But then the waves come crashing, says Chris Schiff in his Baccalaureate address.
“A great, unpretentious, family-style Commencement!” is how a livestream viewer from Santa Fe, N.M., described this year’s Bates graduation. Here’s how it went, hour by hour.
The 157th Bates Commencement saw degrees conferred on 439 Bates seniors and an address by author and scholar J. Drew Lanham — a self-described “bird-loving Black kid” from South Carolina — who spoke about freedom and Benjamin Mays, and called on the graduates “to be better, to do better” and “to be an arc in the bigger circle” that gives power to our freedom.
The Class of 2023 ivy stone was designed by Abby Segal, who is a professional magician. But there’s no dazzling illusion in the design, just simple storytelling about a class navigating COVID.
This year’s Senior Address at Commencement will be offered by Rishi Madnani ‘23 of Langhorne, Pa., who came to Bates with two major expectations about his path forward. And both were upended.
Author of The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature, Lanham is a MacArthur Fellowship–winning ecologist, ornithologist, and inclusive wilderness advocate.
Baccalaureate is a reflective ceremony planned and led by members of the graduating Class of 2023 in collaboration with the Bates Multifaith Chaplaincy. The ceremony is designed to celebrate the graduates’ journey through Bates and beyond, and the event speaks from the languages of those from many religions, spiritualities and traditions and combines poetry, music, dance, and reflection.
We are looking forward to welcoming Bates families and friends to campus in May to celebrate the Class of 2023. We will update the website as more details are confirmed.
As bleary-eyed seniors slowly arrived on Commencement morning, we were there, inviting them to pose for slow-motion portraits. Slow no more!
It’s a line from a postmodern novel: “Which do you drink? The water or the wave?” We plan to drink the water. But then the waves come crashing, says Chris Schiff in his Baccalaureate address.
“A great, unpretentious, family-style Commencement!” is how a livestream viewer from Santa Fe, N.M., described this year’s Bates graduation. Here’s how it went, hour by hour.
The 157th Bates Commencement saw degrees conferred on 439 Bates seniors and an address by author and scholar J. Drew Lanham — a self-described “bird-loving Black kid” from South Carolina — who spoke about freedom and Benjamin Mays, and called on the graduates “to be better, to do better” and “to be an arc in the bigger circle” that gives power to our freedom.
The Class of 2023 ivy stone was designed by Abby Segal, who is a professional magician. But there’s no dazzling illusion in the design, just simple storytelling about a class navigating COVID.
This year’s Senior Address at Commencement will be offered by Rishi Madnani ‘23 of Langhorne, Pa., who came to Bates with two major expectations about his path forward. And both were upended.
Thesis binding by Bates seniors — with lots of friends! — is a college ritual like none other. (Trust us: We’ve checked.)
Author of The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature, Lanham is a MacArthur Fellowship–winning ecologist, ornithologist, and inclusive wilderness advocate.
Baccalaureate is a reflective ceremony planned and led by members of the graduating Class of 2023 in collaboration with the Bates Multifaith Chaplaincy. The ceremony is designed to celebrate the graduates’ journey through Bates and beyond, and the event speaks from the languages of those from many religions, spiritualities and traditions and combines poetry, music, dance, and reflection.
Want to show your Bobcat pride? Download one of our printable PDFs.
We are looking forward to welcoming Bates families and friends to campus in May to celebrate the Class of 2023. We will update the website as more details are confirmed.
Commencement 2023 is on Sunday, May 28 at 10am on the Historic Quad.