Every night, the AC on Call conducts rounds on campus and enters residences to build relationships with students, offering support where necessary. One of the main reasons for rounds is to normalize the AC’s presence in residences. Rounds happen at different times depending on the day of the week. On weekdays, Sunday through Thursday, rounds start at 8pm and end at 11pm. On Friday and Saturday, rounds start at 10pm and end at 1am.

While Campus Safety officers are awake and on duty 24/7, Area Coordinators respond to calls as needed after rounds are over. At any time when an AC is called, they will be within 10 minutes of campus. They may be at home, in Commons, in the office, or asleep, but they will respond as soon as they are called by Campus Safety.

Area Coordinators often respond to calls in residence halls. To maintain privacy, students in the building will not know about the type of situation unless they are directly involved.

If you need help, please call Campus Safety and inform them about your situation:
(207-786-6254).

After explaining why you need help, either you or Campus Safety officer will request the AC on Call and they will be alerted of the situation. ACs are trained to handle many types of conflict, and will ultimately create a plan to support you or other students.

There are a variety of incidents that an Area Coordinator could respond to. These include, but are not limited to:

• Student Conduct Policy Violations
• Medical Incidents
• Mental Health Support
• Wellness Checks
• Student Support
• Title IX / Civil Rights Compliance Reports

Note: Area Coordinators respond to situations inside of residence halls while Campus Safety officers respond to situations that are outside or in other campus buildings. Sometimes, Campus Safety and ACs respond together.

After an Area Coordinator responds to a situation, they are required to write a detailed report about what happened and the actions taken. These reports contain information about who, what, when, where, and why. Students can request reports in which they are mentioned by reaching out to studentaffairs@bates.edu.

When needed, a follow-up meeting may be scheduled after a report is submitted.

For violations of the Student Code of Conduct, this meeting will be conducted by the Office of Community Standards.

For situations that require additional support, the appropriate parties (ex. Student Support Advisors, Residence Life, etc.) and/or the Bates Care Collaborative will provide coordinated, proactive, and person-centered support for the impacted student(s).

Campus Safety Officers and Area Coordinators will always organize a response to any situation. Other campus partners or external services are readily available to respond as well.

For medical needs, Bates EMS and Campus Safety will be the ones to urgently arrive to the scene, with ACs usually arriving a few moments later. United Ambulance Service is also always dispatched whenever Bates EMS is called, but they can be called off if Bates EMS can manage the situation. United Ambulance Service will manage situations that require further assessment, including transportation to a nearby hospital.

United Ambulance Service may also respond to significant mental health-related situations, transporting students when needed.

For mental health related needs, the Area Coordinator on Call also works with ProtoCall, which is a 24/7 mental health support service. Through this service, and on-call counselor will assess a student’s mental state and recommend next steps to the student and the AC on Call.

Campus Safety is available to provide additional support alongside the AC on Call, whether that is for a mental health situation, interpersonal conflicts, Title IX and Civil Rights Compliance reports, or anything else when they are requested. Both the AC on Call and the Campus Safety Officers have their respective support systems that enable them to provide extensive support to the impacted student(s). These support systems will evaluate the situation and decide on any initial responses and connect students to additional resources.

Additionally, the Lewiston Police Department is available to help whenever requested. They assist in the management of a number of situations, including but not limited to assisting students in filing a police report or to intervene in a situation where an individual(s) is causing significant harm to the Bates community.

For anything off-campus, United Ambulance and LPD will respond to the situation, as Campus Safety and Area Coordinators do not have jurisdiction in off-campus residences.

LPD may also respond to anywhere on-campus. If LPD is called by a non-Bates entity for any situation at any location, LPD takes precedence over Campus Safety and Area Coordinators. Lastly, LPD can enter any Bates residences for any concerns, whether it is for a noise complaint for a large gathering, a conflict between individuals, or any other reason.

In addition to their on-call responsibilities, Area Coordinators are part of the ResLife team and can be found in Chase Hall Suite 001.

As part of this team, ACs are responsible for various office duties and projects, including work in residence life, housing, community standards, first-year experience, and/or other departmental areas.

Area Coordinators also serve as supervisors of Residence Life Student Staff members in different residences throughout campus — creating holistic, inclusive, and supportive environments for all students.

While it may be possible that the Area Coordinator is on-call, it is also likely that they are just being part of the Bates community! All Area Coordinators live on-campus as their role requires them to be readily available whenever they are on-call. As a result, they enjoy some of the same services and benefits as students, such as eating in Commons, going to the gym, or attending campus events.