Bates, Lewiston-Auburn community cope with McDuffee death

To the Campus Community,

We continue to express our grief. We have received hundreds of messages of condolence from within the College, from alumni, parents and friends, and from members of the Lewiston and Auburn community — neighbors, city officials, school children and scores of citizens.

Family and friends of Morgan are beginning to plan a memorial service to be held on campus; we will announce the details of the service as soon as they are determined.  Grief counseling remains available to those in need through the Health Center.

Members of the Campus community should be aware of the safety procedures and services that have long been in place — including the Safewalk Alert program, the Security phone system, the availability and reliability of Bates’ EMS, the identification and self-defense programs, and the whistle and alert systems.

In addition, effective immediately, the College Security officers have expanded the areas of escort and are responding to personal requests for escorting, including those via cell phone. Security staffing has also been increased, as have patrols on campus and off.  Lewiston Police patrols have been increased, as have their frequency.

Established this past January, a Neighborhood Alliance, with the College and the immediate neighborhood, now meets regularly to increase communication and to address common issues, including issues of safety.  Holly Gurney, Assistant Dean of Students or Chris Cuevas, Security Officer, or Bill Hiss, Vice President for External and Alumni Affairs, who serve on the Neighborhood Alliance, would welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

We will be exploring the installation of courtesy telephones (not to replace but to be in addition to existing security phones) on the outside of residence halls, so that communication can be eased and the frequency of “propped doors” diminished.

Information is now being gathered to determine whether the College can use existing technology to connect off-campus students to the Bates internet system efficiently and effectively.  Moreover, the same exploration will occur to determine if we can connect off-campus students to the Bates voice mail system.

Finally, a full-time Assistant Director of Campus Security will be identified as the security liaison with the Neighborhood Alliance and will, over the next few days, develop specific means of assisting in the interactions of campus members and the neighboring community.  This will provide additional support to all, but particularly to the students living off-campus.

The efforts of Security, the efforts of the Lewiston Police, the support of the neighborhood and that of the campus community are directed to the shared objective of confirming a safe environment.  Everyone benefits if there is a reaffirmation to the attention, precautions, and interest in maintaining such an environment .

Thank you,
Donald W. Harward
President

Note: A full list of the College’s Security and Campus Safety programs is found on the Security website.

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To the Community,

There will be a memorial service at 7 p.m. Friday, March 15th in the Chapel in remembrance of Morgan McDuffee. Those who wish to gather following the service may do so in the Perry Atrium in Pettengill Hall.

We wish to thank Morgan’s friends, Peter Lasagna and Kerry Maloney for their thoughtful planning of this service.

Celeste Branham
Dean of Students