This has been a month of firsts and lasts, of beginnings and endings, of the sweet and bittersweet. But as a community, we have enjoyed the experiences together. Please take a look at these last moments of the academic year in the latest edition of This Month at Bates.
Framed Tower
Tree foliage frames the campus’s iconic Hathorn Hall bell tower.
That Ultimate Season
In late May, Orange Whip, the men’s ultimate team, filled Garcelon Field with their practice as they prepared to depart for Milwaukee for the Ultimate Division III College Championships, the first appearance for the men’s club team.
Gillespie Hall Dedication
President Garry W. Jenkins attends a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for Gillespie Hall, the college residence located at 280 College St. now named in honor of John Gillespie ’80, whose engagement with Bates spans more than four decades, including 20 years on the Board of Trustees and four years as its chair, retiring in June 2023.
Gillespie Hall is home to 152 students each year, as well as a live-in staff member from the Dean of Students office, and signifies a vital part of the residential liberal arts experience.
Picture Perfect
When in bloom, the hallmark Hathorn Hall magnolia tree commands the attention of most who pass by it.
Walking Lessons
Miguel Angel Pacheco ’24 of Caracas, Venezuela, offered a lesson in walking on stilts to Jackie Coraci ’26 of New York City. “Super cool,” Coraci said. “But harder than I expected.”
Last Lab
Jahan Baker-Wainwright ’25, Kyle Beebe ’26 and Margie McLeod ’24, complete their final lab for their Short Term course, “Chemistry and the Arts,” taught by Associate Professor of Biochemistry Geneva Laurita.
Laurita’s Short Term course explores the intriguing connection between chemistry and the arts, covering topics like pigment and dye origins, ceramics, polymers, and print-making. And for the course’s final lab, the seniors and their classmates worked on creating and applying colored pottery glazes, a chemistry-heavy process.
Lone Stars
Cole De Magistris ’24 of Emerson, N.J., teams up with Aidan Bergeron ’27 of Pelham, Mass., to lead a talkback with Academy Award-winning director John Sayles and actors Maggie Renzi and Chris Cooper after a sold-out Portland Museum of Art screening of Sayle’s 1996 film Lone Star.
The event was part of the Bates Film Festival, which is produced by Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies Jon Cavallero and his Short Term Students. Films were screened at both Bates and in Portland March 29-April 3, and were free of charge to the public.
WriteIn!
Lexi Inger ’26 of Yarmouth, Maine, a student in Director of Student Writing Bridget Fullerton’s education course “Theory and Practice of Writing and Tutoring,” leads an exercise called “Scibblish” with Lewiston Middle School students in Hathorn Hall. The creative writing activity was part of a half-day program, “WriteIn!,” sponsored by the Student Writing and Language Center, with a grant from the Harward Center for Community Partnerships.
The course, said Fullerton, gives students a greater understanding of how writing centers like the one at Bates “work within broader social, academic, and cultural systems. This event allowed students to put some of that learning and awareness into immediate practice.”
Senior Strut
This happy, uplifting group of senior friends were photographed outside the Gray Athletic Building early in Senior Week — days and nights full of hugs, smiles, and more hugs. The occasion was the Farewell Celebration for Seniors and Faculty, and these seniors are rowing teammates all living in Moody House this year. From left, Isaac Levinger, Charlie Berman, Claire Scott, Livia Bernhardt, Abby Somosky, Hope Stamp, and Lucy Del Col.
“I wouldn’t want to spend my last week at Bates celebrating graduation with anyone else,” said Bernhardt, a biochemistry and mathematics double major from Leicester, Vt. “It’s wonderful to celebrate and cherish the last few days on campus with each other.”
The Birds
A murder of crows circles one of the spires of Chase Hall at dusk as Short Term draws to a close.
Uncorked
Cristina Salazar Gutiérrez ’24, a politics major, pops the cork during the ritual binding of her senior thesis before a community of students, faculty, and staff on the steps of Coram Library on May 21, 2024. Written under the supervision of Associate Professor of Politics Clarisa Pérez-Armendáriz, Gutiérrez’s thesis is titled “Liberation Theology in Colombia: Political Women’s Movements: How is Liberation Theology Present in Modern Women’s Political Movements in Colombia?”
The Bus Stops Here
Alan Wang ’24 of Jiaozuo, China, earned one of this year’s four Green Innovation Grants to support an effort to build a more substantial, welcoming, and noticeable bus stop at Bates near Gomes Chapel.
Totalling $8,000, this year’s other grants also went to Bates students to support the college’s first bird-safe window treatment; recycling signs for residence-hall rooms; and the Bates bike program.
Ivy Edition
Bates mason Ron Tardif and Amelia Hawkins ’24 work together to install the Class of 2024 ivy stone that Hawkins designed. Here, he’s showing her how to add mortar to the hole in the brick wall prior to installing the stone. At first reluctant, Hawkins soon crouched down and got to work. “People will see me doing something and come over and start asking questions,” Tardif said. “The best way to answer is: ‘Here, try it.’” Tardif said.
Final Touches
A painter, viewed through the window of Hathorn Hall, puts the finishing touches on a new shade of blue for the pediment of Lane Hall.
It’s a Great Day To Be Alive
Students in Associate Professor of Sociology Heidi Taylor’s Short Term course “Innovative Pedagogy: Designing a Sociology of Loss” pose for a class photo during a showcase event that featured various practitioner taught courses and course design in a partnership with faculty and students. Taylor’s students designed a course on the “Sociology of Loss” that will be taught during the next academic year. The group compiled materials, selected course topics, generated ideas for class sessions, and created assignments.
Bates’ Best
President Garry W. Jenkins enjoys a moment of levity after presenting Bates’ Best Award to Neen Koenigsbauer P’22, P’24. At right is her son Tad ‘24. Bates’ Best honors are awarded annually to dedicated alumni and parent volunteers who express a passion and commitment for advancing the mission of the college.
Academic Honors
Mohammed Shwani ’24 of Kirkuk, a city in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, strides across the stage of the Olin Arts Center during his induction into Phi Beta Kappa, the academic honor society.
Senior Class Portrait
Members of the senior class raise their arms and smiled for their official class portrait on Garcelon Field on the morning of Friday, May 24, 2024.
A Last Time
Director of Dining, Conferences and Campus Events Cheryl Lacey raises her arms in triumph as she notes that she has successfully orchestrated her last senior portrait-champagne event on Garcelon Field. Lacey will be retiring in February 2025 after 26 years of service to the college.
‘An Offering of Song’
(From left) Seniors Jeremiah Germain, Anthony Morton Jr., George Hawkins III, and ZaQuir Jones respond to An Offering of Song, “If I Ain’t Got You,” presented by a senior a cappella ensemble during the Baccalaureate service held on May 25, 2024, on the Historic Quad.
Under the Trees
The Baccalaureate service presented by the Class of 2024 was held on a beautiful Saturday morning on the Historic Quad.
The Kickers
A group of friends offer their highest kicks for photographers ready to immortalize their efforts on the steps of Hathorn Hall just after the conclusion of Baccalaureate.
Diploma Delivery
Mike Voisine of Facility Services and fellow members of the grounds and maintenance team deliver diplomas to the Coram Library stage on the morning of Commencement on May 26, 2024.
Just James
Associate Dean for International Student Programs James Reese, a member of the Bates staff since 1977, observes graduating seniors process past Parker Hall on the Historic Quad during the 158th Bates Commencement.
We Did It!
Sabeeh Khan of Islamabad, Pakistan, raises his hand in triumph after receiving his degree in economics at Commencement ceremonies for the remarkable and resilient Class of 2024.
Hug Near Hathorn
Caroline Cassell ’24 hugs Professor of Sociology Emily Kane following Commencement on May 26. Over the last four years, Kane got to know Cassell in several dimensions, as a teacher, academic advisor, and supervisor when Cassell worked for Kane as a research assistant. A triple major in sociology, theater, and gender and sexuality studies, Cassell earned a Fulbright Student grant for 2024–25 in Bulgaria.
Hoist Him High
Jakob Adler ’24 of Los Angeles receives a loving lift from his father and mother, Dan and Jenna, and brother Eli, as families and friends gather after the Commencement ceremonies conclude.
‘We’re Back!’
Emily Diaz ’23 of New York City (left) and Sam Jean-Francois ’23 of Boston were thrilled to be back on campus for Commencement to cheer on their Bates friends in the Class of 2024. Their presence personified one of the three pieces of advice from keynote speaker Mary Louise Kelly: “Cherish your friendships and fight for them.”
Getting Stoned
For two years in the 1970s, the Bates ivy stone tradition waned. Some years later, in 2006, the Class of 1975 added their stone.
This year, to celebrate their 50th Reunion, the Class of 1974 joined the Bates tradition, which dates to 1878. Their stone, designed by classmates Charles Grosvenor and Nicki Taylor and featuring the Bobcat in an MGM roaring lion motif, was installed recently by Bates mason Ron Tardif, and will be officially dedicated on Saturday, June 8.
Harbingers of Summer
These rhododendrons, adjacent to Parker Hall, were ready for their close-up on June 3, 2024.
