A new addition to BatesNews, “Say What?” is an occasional roundup of what Bates folks are saying about this and that.
Leigh’s Handshake
“Leigh had the best handshake of all time. He was not a big guy, but he would make sure he had the upper hand when he shook your hand. It was something that I always really enjoyed. Just shaking his hand.”
— Men’s basketball head coach Jon Furbush ’05, remembering longtime financial aid director and official basketball scorer Leigh Campbell ’64, who died July 31
Homing In
“It’s taught me what it really means to invest in the place one calls home.”
— Religious studies major Anna Maheu ’21 of New York City on her summer work, funded by the Bates Harward Center, with the Good Food Bus, a mobile market that brings locally sourced produce to Lewiston neighborhoods
Learning to Fall
“I spent like two hours falling down. But for some reason, I loved it. I think I did because it was just so darn hard.”
— Two-time Nordic skiing Olympian and Bates’ first female All-American Nancy Ingersoll Fiddler ’78, speaking to the Bates Bobcast about her first time skiing at Bates
Two Words
“Our watchwords in putting together the whole semester have been ‘choice and flexibility.'”
— President Clayton Spencer, speaking on Maine Public Radio’s show Maine Calling with other presidents of Maine colleges about Bates’ approach to reopening for the fall 2020 semester, in which all students and faculty could choose to participate in-person or remotely
On the Dot
“I remember looking up, and I think there were about 15,000 people there. I remember seeing these red dots, all these guys smoking cigars. You had this haze of smoke and then these red dots all over the place. But that didn’t really stop you.”
— Men’s track and field legend John Douglas ’60 speaking to the Bates Bobcast about competing at Madison Square Garden, where he set the program’s indoor long jump record of 25 feet, 0.75 inches, which still stands
Centering the Problem
“I have a strong preference for the term ‘anti-racism’ over terms like ‘racial equity.’ Anti-racism centers the thing, it centers the problem, it centers the behavior, and it names the people who are responsible for fixing that behavior…. Anti-racism calls us to look at the very specific action, 400 years’ worth, that white folks need to grapple with and deconstruct.”
— Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Noelle Chaddock, speaking to Maine Public’s radio program Maine Calling on the meaningful actions can people take for racial justice
Contrary to the National Interest
“These new directives from ICE undercut our ability to educate students fully, cause unnecessary fear and anxiety, and run contrary to our national interest in positioning the U.S. as the higher education destination for talented and ambitious students from across the globe.”
— Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students Joshua McIntosh on the college’s response to guidance issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, since rolled back, with respect to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program and remote learning
To Do List
“I’m not sure they miss school per se, but they’re itching to do things. They are incredibly eager to put their minds to work and spend time outside around others.”
— Politics major Georgia Moses ’21 of Arlington, Mass., on her summer work, funded by the Bates Harward Center for Community Partnerships, with children at Hillview Family Development, a public housing community in Lewiston
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