Despite the chilly temperatures, we’ve had a warm start to the winter semester. Thesis bindings, invigorating sports matches, community events, and inspiring MLK Day events made January a month to remember. Take a look at some heart-“warming” moments in the latest edition of This Month at Bates.
Thesis Takes a Bow
Ananya Rao ’25 (left), a triple major in environmental studies, politics, and theater from Bedford, N.H., gets a hug from her senior thesis advisor, Sally Wood, a visiting assistant professor of theater, during a thesis-binding ceremony on the steps of Schaeffer Theatre.
Rao’s acting-focused senior thesis included a role in Wolf Play, staged last fall. She was joined on the Schaeffer steps by her friend and fellow theater major Sophie Wheeler ’25 of Skowhegan, Maine, who directed Wolf Play for her directing-focused theater thesis. Wheeler is also majoring in rhetoric, film, and screen studies.
Thesis-binding ceremonies represent a “new” tradition over the last decade. Seniors take to public spots on campus, whether Coram Library terrace or the walkway in front of Hathorn, where they place a print copy of their completed thesis into a rigid black binder, as friends and faculty and staff gather around offering good cheer for a job well done.
First Day Feels
After breakfast, students file out of Commons in anticipation of their first day of winter semester classes, shortly before 8 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2025.
Back to Bates
On the first day of the winter semester, Associate Professor of German Jakub Kazecki welcomes students to his course, “German Language and Culture,” in Roger Williams Hall.
Hitting the Books
From left, Sam Manogue ‘26 of Wynnewood, Pa., Lydia Frew ‘25 of Norwich, Vt., and Lilah Rousso ‘25 of London, England, catch up in Ladd Library on the first day of winter semester classes.
Fierce on the Court
Bates women’s basketball guard Alexandra Long ’25 of Newtown, Pa., does what she does so well, blocking a shot as the Bobcats defeat Babson in Alumni Gym.
Long’s 55 blocked shots last year were the second-most in the NESCAC, behind only her teammate Elsa Daulerio ’26. The teammates are among NESCAC leaders in blocked shots again this year (Daulerio is third, Long 12th).
Winter Awakens
A sunrise casts a golden glow over the Bates campus the first day of the winter semester.
Push and Pull
Students go through their workouts in Davis Fitness Center, located in Underhill Arena, one of two dedicated fitness and strength/conditioning facilities at Bates.
“Working out is very therapeutic for me. I love coming to the gym because it’s a break after classes and a great chance to focus on me,” says Kyra Ong ‘26 of Kahului, Hawaii.
Teaching with Passion
Associate Professor of Education Mara Tieken, recipient of the 2024 Kroepsch Teaching Award, leads a discussion in her “Perspectives on Education” course in Pettigrew Hall. Students engage with foundational educational theories and their real-world applications.
Tieken was described by one former student “as a fantastic planner, a fierce advocate for education, [and] a compelling teacher, a mentor for those pursuing careers in education and those who are not.”
Focused and Fearless
Alec Spiro ’25 of Portland, Ore., defeated his Middlebury opponent in three games to earn a victory at the No. 1 top spot in the Bobcats’ lineup.
Reaching for the Sky
Aiden Habas ’28 of Hulmeville, Pa., peers into the spotting scope of the Stephens Telescope located atop Carnegie Science Hall on a night when Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and the waning gibbous moon appeared close together in the January sky over Lewiston. The viewing was sponsored by the Bates Astronomy Club.
Victory Profile
Scarlett Hine ’28 of Bronxville, N.Y., reacts during her victory over her Hamilton opponent during the Bobcats’ 9-0 triumph at the Bates Squash Center.
Connected Celebration
Kendall Jones ’25, a chemistry major from Plymouth, N.H., poses with her mom, Kristin Snow, on FaceTime, who had virtually joined her daughter’s thesis-binding ceremony on the Coram Library terrace.
“She was so supportive to me throughout the thesis process,” says Jones. “I called her all the time for advice and encouragement, so it was important to me that she got to see me bind the thesis.”
Also binding her senior thesis was Emily X. Huang ’25 of San Francisco, whose thesis explores the effects of music therapy on physiological markers of stress.
Weighty Matter
Matt Charpentier ’27 of Cape Neddick, Maine, competes in the weight throw during the Bates Invitational in Merrill Gymnasium.
Model Research
Ryan Bavis, the Helen A. Papaioanou Professor of Biological Sciences at Bates, poses in his Bonney Science Center office.
Bavis, with colleagues from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, is part of a multimillion-dollar research project that will tackle a subject that is notoriously difficult to study: sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. Until now, scientists have not identified a reliable animal model to study SIDS. Bavis and his colleagues are aiming to change that.
Setting the Stage
Tyler Harper, Stephanie Pridgeon, and James Reese share a light moment while solving tech issues before a screening of Children of Peace and a follow-up discussion in Pettengill Hall on the day before Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Harper is an assistant professor of environmental studies, Pridgeon an associate professor of Hispanic studies, and Reese an associate dean of students for international student programs.
Unity in Celebration
At the Bates President’s House, President Garry W. Jenkins hosted a dinner for students, faculty, staff, and visiting guests on the evening before Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Guests included keynote speaker Erica Chenoweth, members of the college’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Planning Committee, and student debaters from Morehouse College who traveled to Bates to take part in the annual Benjamin Elijah Mays Debate with debaters from Bates.
Movement in Reflection
The night before the full day of programming on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Bates community gathered in Gomes Chapel for the MLK Spoken Word Festival.
Misaki Fukushima, a Hirasawa Scholar from Tokyo, evoked the horrors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki through her performance, in which she danced to Beethoven’s sonata Pathétique and read a poem by a Japanese physician and survivor of the Nagasaki attack, Takashi Nagai.
“Although I am not from Nagasaki or Hiroshima, I grew up hearing stories of the devastation caused by atomic bombs,” says Fukushima, who hand-wrote the poem on Japanese paper and carried it in the form of an origami crane throughout her dance to symbolize peace.
“As an artist, I often feel powerless to directly impact immense issues like war and peace. However, through dance, I can empathize with the suffering of others and convey those emotions.”
Honoring the Dream
Erica Chenoweth, an expert on nonviolent protest who gave this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. keynote address in Gomes Chapel, listens to a speaker’s introduction.
‘The Greatest Form of Black Resistance’
“I just love talking about rich Black folks,” quips Andrew Goddard ’27 of Enfield, Conn. as he presents the history of the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Okla.
Through the early 1900s, the Black neighborhood became famous for its economic prosperity — then became infamously known for being destroyed by a white mob over just two days of murder and mayhem in 1921.
Goddard’s presentation grew out of a project he completed last fall for the course “Black Resistance from the Civil War to Civil Rights,” taught by Frances Bell, a visiting assistant professor of history. “I thought about the concept of Black wealth,” he says.
“I concluded that garnering capital in a nation where our ancestors were once viewed as capital may be the greatest form of Black resistance possible under capitalism.”
Championing Dialogue
A workshop focused on “Building Bridges for Healing” offers restorative justice exercises. Andrew Forsthoefel, the restorative practice systems specialist with the Cumberland County Public Health Department, guides workshop attendees through a restorative justice circle practice.
Debating the Issues
Bates debater Ari Hahn ’27 of Carbondale, Colo., and Morehouse College debater Quentin Davis of South Orange, N.J., chat and strategize during the annual Benjamin E. Mays Debate, held in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall.
This year’s topic was “Resolved: Law and order exists for the purpose of establishing justice.” It drew from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” in which King decried the inaction of the country’s faint-hearted “white moderates” who professed allegiance to the civil rights movement yet seemed to prefer inaction to action.
Mays, a 1920 Bates graduate, was a longtime Morehouse College president known as the “Schoolmaster of the Movement” for mentoring Martin Luther King Jr. and other future civil rights leaders.
Fearless on the Floor
Peter Psyhogeos ’26 of Cumberland Foreside, Maine, dives for a loose ball during the men’s basketball team’s game vs. Colby.
Full Speed Ahead
Alannah Ardrey ’27 of Absecon, N.J., strides out during her approaches to the long jump during the Bates Invitational at Merrill Gymnasium.
Swimming Seniors
Teammates cheer on Stephanie Tropper ’25 of Solon, Ohio, prior to a Senior Day meet vs. the University of New England and Maine Maritime Academy at Tarbell Pool.
Making a Splash
From left, Marrich Somridhivej ’26 of South Windsor, Conn., Nate Oppenheim ’28 of Easton, Conn., and Tim Johnson ’27 of Brewster, Mass., cheer the fourth member of their 400-yard medley team, Max Cory ’26 (in the water) of Dublin, Calif., after the foursome took first place and sett new school and pool records with their time of 3:15.75. vs. Tufts University.
Gliding into the Night
Bates students take over the ice at The Colisée in Lewiston for a night of skating, laughter, and Winter Carnival fun in late January.
Strength in Motion
Seniors Ava Lyon of Naples, Fla., and Drew Williams of Guilford, Conn., bring good cheer to local children during National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Feb. 2, 2025.
The event, held in the Gray Athletic Building, introduced young athletes to various sports through interactive drills and games.
