Starting with summer, and ending with fall (but it still feels like summer), we’ve traversed the map, with stops in the wilderness, on the playing fields, in our classrooms, and back outdoors. From faculty, students, and staff to feathered friends, we’ve curated candid moments and posed portraits for your appreciation. We do hope you will enjoy This Month at Bates.

Backpacking in Baxter

Baxter State Park Camping Trip 07/2/2023
Huck Triggs ’24 for Bates College

Nash Holley ’24 of Freeport, Maine, casts his line on Aug. 30 during a three-day backpacking trip to Baxter State Park with Bates friends. “It was kind of like getting our AESOP that we lost to COVID,” said Huck Triggs ’24 of Malibu, Calif., who took this photograph.


An Annual Adventure

Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Reuven Frye ’26 of Montclair, N.J., and Tyler Stearns ’26 of Walpole, Mass., announce their orientation trip to first-year students during the raucous kick-off costume party at the Keigwin Amphitheater. The two led their first-year students on an exploration of opportunities for community engagement in Maine.

This year’s edition of the college’s Annual Entering Student Orientation Program (AESOP) offered 57 trips around Maine and New Hampshire to the Class of 2027, giving the new students a sense of their place on campus, in Lewiston, and in Maine, and to help them feel an integral part of the Bates community.


Tight-knit

2023 AESOP trips with the Class of 2027 on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023.

Nezinscot Farm, located just 20 minutes away from campus in Turner, is perhaps the perfect spot to spend a day outside—if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, that is. The farm is surrounded by 250 acres of organic farmland consisting of veggie gardens, rolling fields, farm animals, and the Nezinscot River. Although there are a variety of farming activities included in this trip, related to produce as well as livestock, you can expect to have some dirt under your nails by the end of the day! Running water and toilets are available at Nezinscot farm.

Evacuation Access Level: 1
Frontcountry
Activity Level: Intermediate
Sleeping Arrangements: In your Bates room assignment on campus
Meet the leaders!

Hey hey! My name is Morgan and I am WICKED excited to be your AESOP leader! As a born and raised Mainer, I am excited to help you get to know your new home state and fill you in on all of the best hidden spots! A little bit more about myself is i’m on the swim team here at Bates along with my co-leader Max, I love hiking, skiing, and surfing around New England, I lifeguard at Tarbell pool, I am an avid Mt Joy and Noah Kahan listener, I love love naps, and I am obsessed with the fruit pizza in commons here at Bates! I spend most of my days either hopping around tables in commons, hanging at the pool or gym, or searching for good trees to set my hammock up in. Fun fact about me is that I have been to 20+ concerts in and around Maine and strive to double that by the time I graduate! Max and I are SO STOKED to meet y’all and get to show you around the great outdoors up here!! Cheers to an incredible AESOP trip filled with loadssss of adventureeeee and an easy transition to Bates wherever you’re coming from!

Hi everyone! I’m Max, a rising sophomore who plans on majoring in Biochemistry. I’m from Dublin, CA, and back home I took care of all sorts of pets, so I’m super excited to go to Nezi
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Among this year’s AESOP trips was an excursion to Nezinscot Farm, a diversified family farming operation in nearby Turner. Here, students and leaders on the “FarmSOP” trip pose outside the farm’s yarn and fiber studio.

The farm comprises 250 acres of organic farmland and farm animals; a gourmet food shop, cafe, and bakery; and a fromagerie and charcuterie.


Colorfully Cooling

Opening Convocation on Tuesday, September 5, at 11:00 a.m. We will gather—rain or shine—on the Historic Quad to celebrate the opening of the 2023–24 academic session and to welcome the Class of 2027 to Bates.

President Garry W. Jenkins welcomes and addresses those gathered.

Co-presidents of the Bates College Student Government, Rebecca Anderson ’24 and Dhruv Chandra ’24, offers greetings.

Our faculty speaker this year will be Associate Professor of Biology Andrew Mountcastle, who was chosen by the graduating Class of 2023 as their gift to the members of the Class of 2027. Professor Mountcastle’s remarks are titled, “Embracing an Imperfect Process.”

Immediately following Convocation, all are invited to attend a brief tree-planting ceremony held in memory of those in the Bates community who died during the past year. The location of this year’s gathering will be on the Historic Quad next to the Class of 1927 Mouthpiece.

Afterward, lunch will be served in front of Commons with seating in the Bardwell Field tent for the entire college community. In the event of rain, this lunch will only be available to students.








Convocation on Tuesday, September 5th at 11 a.m. and welcome a new class of Bates students to campus. Directly following Convocation you are invited to the
In Memoriam Tree Planting Service  (on the Historic Quad, next to the Class of 1927 Mouthpiece) 
We will share a brief moment together at the start of the year to remember and reflect on our departed friends and colleagues from the Bates College community through music, poetry, and the ritual of pouring water on a newly planted tree.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Opening Convocation this year was a hot and humid day, with the morning temperature soaring to 80 degrees. So folks like Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Kat Anderson found ways to stay cool.


Bobcat Welcoming Bobcats

Opening Convocation on Tuesday, September 5, at 11:00 a.m. We will gather—rain or shine—on the Historic Quad to celebrate the opening of the 2023–24 academic session and to welcome the Class of 2027 to Bates.

President Garry W. Jenkins welcomes and addresses those gathered.

Co-presidents of the Bates College Student Government, Rebecca Anderson ’24 and Dhruv Chandra ’24, offers greetings.

Our faculty speaker this year will be Associate Professor of Biology Andrew Mountcastle, who was chosen by the graduating Class of 2023 as their gift to the members of the Class of 2027. Professor Mountcastle’s remarks are titled, “Embracing an Imperfect Process.”

Immediately following Convocation, all are invited to attend a brief tree-planting ceremony held in memory of those in the Bates community who died during the past year. The location of this year’s gathering will be on the Historic Quad next to the Class of 1927 Mouthpiece.

Afterward, lunch will be served in front of Commons with seating in the Bardwell Field tent for the entire college community. In the event of rain, this lunch will only be available to students.








Convocation on Tuesday, September 5th at 11 a.m. and welcome a new class of Bates students to campus. Directly following Convocation you are invited to the
In Memoriam Tree Planting Service  (on the Historic Quad, next to the Class of 1927 Mouthpiece) 
We will share a brief moment together at the start of the year to remember and reflect on our departed friends and colleagues from the Bates College community through music, poetry, and the ritual of pouring water on a newly planted tree.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

On their way to Opening Convocation, members of the Class of 2027 stream past the Class of 1927 Mouthpiece, where a poster of the Bobcat welcomes students back to campus. “We really missed you,” says the Bobcat’s thought balloon.


Class Conversations

FYS 203 - Family Stories
What is a family? What are the stories that are told about family and how do they betray experiences that are at once culturally specific and often universal in their telling? How are we comforted and sustained by constructs of family; how are we limited, for example, by heteronormative and class-based assumptions that constrain the expression of household and kinship? In this course, students explore family stories in various genres (film, memoir, novel, television) to deepen their understanding of how this formative human experience is played out in a broad diversity of cultures.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

This semester, Professor of French and Francophone Studies Kirk Read (right) is teaching the First-Year Seminar “Family Stories,” which kicked off on Sept. 6 with a rousing series of conversations in his Roger Williams classroom. “It’s my absolute favorite class to teach,” he said.

The course’s theme, he says, is about family, connection, kinship, belonging, and cultural specificity — which “is ripe fruit” for students in their first months at Bates, he says. “We read stories from a variety of cultural viewpoints, with some ‘grounding voices’ on storytelling (Adichie), intersectionality (Crenshaw), and displacement (Baldwin), that hopefully resonate with lived experiences or concerns around the room.”


Breakfast Buddies

Lucy Sarno ‘27 of York, Maine, (t-shirt, blonde hair) and Simona Muscarella ’ 27 of Buffalo, N.Y., (tank top with brown hair) are on their way to breakfast in Commons on the morning of Sept. 6, 2023, the first day of classes. They met because they live across the hall from each other.


“I’m excited. It’s going to be good to  have a routine,” Sarno said.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

First-year students and new friends Lucy Sarno (left) of York, Maine, and Simona Muscarella of Buffalo, N.Y., head to breakfast in Commons on Sept. 6, the first day of classes. They met because they live across the hall from each other in Kalperis Hall. “I’m excited. It’s going to be good to have a routine,” Sarno said.


Cutting to the Chase

Garry Jenkins told a gathering on Sept. 7 that he has noticed a frequent theme in chatting with members of the college community: their warm feelings for 104-year-old Chase Hall. The ceremony took place in the Chase Hall courtyard in a dreamlike haze of angled sun and temps nudging 90. Also speaking was Geoff Swift, Bates vice president for finance and administration and treasurer, who joined Jenkins in thanking the parties who helped bring the renovation to a successful conclusion — including Pam Wichroski, retired head of capital planning and construction, who was an early advocate for the project.

Student government Co-President Dhruv Chandra ’25 helped Jenkins and Swift cut the wide garnet ribbon to end the re-opening formalities, whereupon some 250 folks attending the event made for the refreshment tables or entered Chase for a look around. 

There are ”one million interesting, comfortable nooks and crannies where you can hide out if you need to make a call, review your notes, or have a mindful few minutes,” estimated another speaker at the reopening, Allen Delong, senior associate dean for Purposeful Work and one of the building’s new inhabitants.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

And with a snip of some big Bates scissors, historic Chase Hall is now (re)open for business.

From left are Vice President for Finance and Administration Geoff Swift, President Garry W. Jenkins, and Bates Student Government Co-President Dhruv Chandra ’25 of Kolkata, India.

Chase reopened after a year-long renovation project to provide better and more convenient access to student-services.

In his remarks, Jenkins said that he has noticed a frequent theme in chatting with members of the college community: their warm feelings for 104-year-old Chase Hall.  “They tell me about special, unforgettable moments that happened here,” Jenkins said.

Even as longtime services were relocated from the building in recent years, leaving students fewer reasons to visit, there was “still something about Chase that made it part of the beating heart of this campus,” he said.


Arm’s Length

Women's soccer plays Emerson in opening home game.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Goalkeeper Ruby Reimann ’25 of Oak Bluffs, Mass., clears the ball during the women’s soccer team’s home opener against Emerson College on Sept. 9.


‘My New Spot’

“I used to study in Pettengill but this is going to be my new spot.”

— Izzy Baumann ’26 of Falmouth, Maine, works on an organic chemistry assignment in the newly renovated Chase Hall.

“I love to study here,” she says.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

It didn’t take long for students to prowl newly renovated Chase Hall, searching for new favorite study spots.

“I used to study in Pettengill but this is going to be my new spot,” said Isabelle Baumann ’26 of Falmouth, Maine, seen working on an organic chemistry assignment. “I love to study here.”


On the Ball

Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams with Coach Paul Gastonguay have a U.S. Open Watch Party, attended by President Garry W. Jenkins who is a tennis player, and faculty tennis liaison Aleks Diamond-Stanic,
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

President Jenkins, an avid tennis player, joins a U.S. Open watch party hosted by head coach Paul Gastonguay ’89.


A Night to Remember

Student performers such as uchethechompman (Uche Anwanyu ’25), DJ Drod (Daniel Rodriguez ’24) and MAVY (Mavy Ho ’26) took the stage at BatesChella on Sept. 23, 2023. Set in the Bardwell Tent from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., BatesChella also offered food, a photo booth, and an inflatable slide.

Photography by Carly Phillpot '27

The BCO photographer, a first-year student from Centennial, Colo.,, says: "From a first year perspective, I loved how vibrant everyone was. Whether students came straight from doing homework or other social gatherings, they provided so much energy for the student artists to feed off of. It felt like a really happy environment in the midst of academic work, and it as a lot of fun!"

9466, 9672, 9789: Uche
9817: Daniel
9933: Mavy
Carly Philpott ’27 for Bates College

Uche Anwanyu ’25 (aka Uche the Chomp Man) of Brooklyn, N.Y., performs at BatesChella, an outdoor music and fun bash held on a recent cool September evening.

“Whether students came straight from doing homework or other social gatherings, they provided so much energy for the student artists to feed off of,” said Carly Philpott ‘27 of Centennial, Colo., who took this photograph. “It felt like a really happy environment in the midst of academic work, and it was a lot of fun!”

Also performing were DJ Drod (Daniel Rodriguez ’24 of Longboat Key, Fla.) and MAVY (Mavy Ho ’26 of Gorham, Maine).


Developing Skills

Visiting Professor of Digital and Computational Studies Chris Agbonkhese teaches DCS 109 - Intro to Computer Science for Software Development to students in Hedge G18 on Sept. 29, 2023.



This course is an introduction to computational thinking and problem solving via an introduction to computer programming, designed for students interested in broadly applying computing and software solutions across a range of disciplines. It considers computing as a discipline of study, exploring the representation and manipulation of data, fundamental algorithms, efficiency, and limits of computing. Students learn fundamentals of computer programming using Python, including basic data structures, flow control structures, functions, recursion, elementary object-oriented programming, and file I/O, as well as discussion of higher-level concepts including abstraction, modularity, reuse, testing, and debugging. By implementing programs in contexts such as image processing, voting algorithms, DNA sequence analysis, and simple games, students develop an understanding of computational problem solving and gain experience in broadly applicable software development skills.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Visiting Professor of Digital and Computational Studies Chris Agbonkhese teaches a course introducing students to computer science for software development in Hedge Hall.

For students interested in broadly applying computing and software solutions across a range of disciplines, the course is geared toward problem solving and developing computational thinking skills.


Diving Head-First

Even as summer draws to a definitive close in Maine, creatures are still out and about. At Lake Andrews, my afternoon walks yield several species every day: most prominently to me, the double-crested cormorant and Eastern painted turtle.


Cormorants are fishing birds, capable of holding their breath for two minutes and diving nearly 150 feet deep. Only a few cormorants inhabit Lake Andrews, but if you watch them for long enough, you’ll see them emerge from the water with wiggling fish. Around 5 p.m. every day, the birds fly away to roost somewhere else for the night. Pretty soon, they’ll fly permanently south until next year.


The turtles will not leave Lake Andrews in the winter. Instead, they’ll burrow down into the muck and stay mostly still for the entire season, not needing to break the ice for a breath. For now, they frequently top rocks along the shore at the base of the amphitheater, where the late sun warms them. 


Having nature right on campus is one of my favorite things about Bates. I’m partial to photographing it, but regardless of how you experience nature, Lake Andrews walks are the best medicine for some weekend stress.
Carly Philpott ’27 for Bates College

“Even as summer draws to a definitive close in Maine, creatures are still out and about,” said Carly Philpott ’27 of Centennial, Colo., an avid amateur naturalist. At Lake Andrews, those creatures include double-crested cormorants (seen here) and Eastern painted turtles.

Cormorants are fishing birds that forage for fish underwater, and are capable of holding their breath for two minutes and diving nearly 150 feet deep. “If you watch them for long enough, you’ll see them emerge from the water with wiggling fish,” Philpott says. “Pretty soon, they’ll fly south until next year.”


Spreading Awareness

Kaneohe, Hawaii, poses with a t-shirt and Water bottle in connection with a fundraiser that her Bates volleyball team running to support Maui residents who lost family members and property  in the Lahaina wildfires.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Unlike many students starting college for the first time, Logan Yogi ’27 of Kaneohe, Hawaii, didn’t want to leave her home on O’ahu to come to Bates last month.

That’s because the deadly wildfires that consumed nearby Maui in early August left her shaken, worried about the friends and family in her close-knit Hawaiian community, and feeling she needed to do more.

So she arrived at Bates with a goal: “to bring awareness…because every little bit helps.” She has worked with her volleyball teammates, including two others who are from Hawaii, to hold fundraisers for the Hawaii Community Foundation, which supports the relief efforts through the Maui Strong Fund.


Walk and Talk

Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Lexi Inger ’26 of Yarmouth, Maine, talks to her brother, Joe Inger ’21, during her daily walk around the Puddle on the afternoon of Sept. 28.

Last year, when things didn’t start out that swell for Inger, she would take a walk around Lake Andrews as a daily meditation, one that included a call to her supportive big brother. She’s continued the tradition this year.


Defending the Den

Sept. 17, 2023 - (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)
Sept. 17, 2023 – (Russ Dillingham for Bates College)

Forward Rawson Welch ’24 of Denver, Colo., battles a Williams defender during the Bobcats’ home opener on Garcelon Field.


Kessler Kick-Off

Introducing your 2023-24 Kessler Scholars!

President Garry W. Jenkins (@presgarryjenkins) poses with the college's first and already amazing cohort of Kessler Scholars during a Sept. 13 Kessler Scholars Coin Ceremony. The ceremony kicked off the scholars' bright journey at Bates and beyond and helped to welcome the scholars to the National Kessler Scholars Collaborative.

Kessler Scholars, a Bobcat First Program, provides holistic support, including mentoring, for a diverse community of high-achieving Bates students who are the first in their family to pursue a four-year college degree.

In the second photo, Azajul Islam Neloy ’27 of Dhaka, Bangladesh, proudly holds a commemorative coin, presented to each new Kessler Scholar in the Bates Class of 2027 during the ceremony and dinner. “The support I have received as a Kessler Scholar from Bates has exceeded all of my expectations,” Neloy said. “The personalized mentoring sessions for the Kessler Scholars have given this initiative a new dimension. As an international student, I am immensely proud and honored to represent my country, Bangladesh, in the Kessler Scholars community.”

(Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

President Jenkins poses with the college’s first cohort of Kessler Scholars during a coin ceremony in September that kicked off the scholars’ bright journey at Bates — and beyond — and helped to welcome the scholars to the National Kessler Scholars Collaborative.

Kessler Scholars is a Bobcat First Program, providing holistic support, including mentoring, for a diverse community of high-achieving Bates students who are the first in their family to pursue a four-year college degree.


Sticking With It

Bates Field Hockey plays University of Southern Maine on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Morgan McDuffee Field in the first home competition of the 2023-24 season.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Maria Femia ’25 of Canton, Mass., scored two goals and dished out an assist in a Bates win vs. the University of Southern Maine. Through early October, Femia was the team’s leading goal scorer, with six, and the Bates team was ranked 10th in the nation.


Change of Scenery

“Usually at this hour, we’d be down in the lecture hall.”

—Associate Professor of Biology Brett Huggett explaining why he took his dendrology students to the Carnegie Greenhouse rather than have them remain in the classroom to identify tree species.

Huggett teaches BIO 271/Dendrology and the Natural History of Tree, a field-based course in which students engage in the scientific study of the natural history and identification of trees and important shrubs native to New England, and some commonly planted non-native trees. Topics include the anatomy, function, taxonomy, biology, and uses of trees. Lecture topics support weekly outdoor laboratories, which may include trips to such field sites as the Saco Heath, Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary, and Wolfe's Neck State Park. Study of the woody flora of New England serves as a foundation for further work in biology, environmental studies, conservation, or related fields.

(Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

#batescollege #biology #stem #tress #dendrology #liberalarts #faculty #lab
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

“Usually at this hour, we’d be down in the lecture hall,” said Associate Professor of Biology Brett Huggett.

On this late-September day, he decided to bring his dendrology students to an alternative “classroom” in Carnegie Science Hall: the rooftop greenhouse, where they gathered to learn how to identify tree species using specimens that Huggett had gathered in his fieldwork.


Sprinting Towards Success

First place in women's cross country meet.
Tom Leonard ’78 for Bates College

Phoebe Pohl ’25 of Wayland, Mass., finished fourth in the Bates Invitational, held at Roy’s Disc Golf in Auburn.

The Bobcats tallied 35 points, good for first out of six teams, 21 points ahead of runner-up Tufts. Of the top 20 runners at the meet, nine were Bobcats.


Easy Breezy

"The weather accentuates the vibe on campus, which is really good right now."

— Jermiah Germain '24, a psychology major from Boston, passing by Coram Library on his way to his residence on a splendid September afternoon, where the temperature topped off at 71 degrees with a fresh and dry northwesterly breeze.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

“The weather accentuates the vibe on campus, which is really good right now,” said Jermiah Germain ’24, a psychology major from Boston, passing Coram Library.

It was a splendid September afternoon, where the temperature topped off at 71 degrees with a fresh and dry northwesterly breeze.


Blooming at Bates

Defensive football player Johnny Walker of Brooklyn, N.Y., poses for a portrait on Garcelon Field on Sept. 22, 2023.


#21 Johnny Walker
CB 6' 0" Senior
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Too small to play tackle football in high school — but always loving the sport — Johnny Walker ’24 of Brooklyn, N.Y., has gotten his chance at Bates.

He got taller and bigger late in high school, and by the time he came to Bates he was ready to play some kind of contact sport.

“Initially, I was planning on playing for the club rugby team,” Walker said. But during Orientation, he got talking to classmate Ben Conrad of Ivoryton, Conn., a football player. “Ben said, ‘Dude, just come out and play football,’ and that was the seed of the idea.” 


Getting a Handle on It

Mac Gaither ‘24 of Palo Alto, Calif., environmental studies, searches for a serial number on his bike outside Commons on during an Annual Bicycle Registration Event hosted by Campus Safety and Rainbow Bicycle on September 25, 2023. 

(Theophil Syslo | Bates College)
Theophil Syslo | Bates College

Mac Gaither ‘24, an environmental studies major from Palo Alto, Calif., checks for a serial number on his bike outside Commons during a bicycle registration event co-hosted by Campus Safety and a Lewiston bike shop, Rainbow Bicycle.


Benches of Bates

“I like this spot. I feel like the benches on this campus are pretty underrated.” In terms of outdoor seating options for the Bates bottom, the college’s colorful Adirondack chairs garner a lot of attention. But Lucia Pizarro ’24, an English major from Cranford, N.J., is a fan of the wood benches, like the one she chose next to Gomes Chapel. She’s sad when the benches hibernate for the winter (i.e., get put into storage by the grounds crew) but she’s enjoying the warmth while it “while it lasts.” Pizzaro was reading for her course, “Calling Bull: Data Literacy and Information Science,” taught by Associate Professor of Digital and Computational Studies Carrie Diaz Eaton, which teaches students how to spot, dissect, and publicly refutes false claims and inferences based on quantitative, statistical, and computational analysis of data.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

In terms of outdoor seating options for the Bates bottom, the colorful Adirondack chairs garner a lot of support.

But Lucia Pizarro ’24, an English major from Cranford, N.J., is a fan of the wood benches, like the one she chose next to Gomes Chapel. “I like this spot. I feel like the benches on this campus are pretty underrated.”

Pizarro was reading for her course, “Calling Bull: Data Literacy and Information Science,” taught by Associate Professor of Digital and Computational Studies Carrie Diaz Eaton. The course teaches students how to spot, dissect, and publicly refutes false claims and inferences based on quantitative, statistical, and computational analysis of data.


Instead of Studying

They came to study, but they ended up "quadding."

A group of friends arranged themselves in Adirondack chairs this afternoon and prepared to work, but various distractions, including the great outdoors, a guitar, and a tambourine, led them down a slightly different path that featured folk music, conversation, and even a bit of reading — Naomi Klein's climate crisis classic, “This Changes Everything."

See a few moments that include Mazie Chamberlin '27 of New York City and Jeb Martin '27 of Chattanooga, Tenn., guitar with Jilly Scott-Lewis '27 of Portland, Ore., Milo Gold '27 of Brooklyn, N.Y.,Kennedy Mathis '27 of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Isadora Newman '26 of San Francisco.

(Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

#batescollege #bates2027 #bates2026 #fall #music #study #friends
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Mazie Chamberlin ’27 of New York City plays the guitar while “quadding” with new Bates friends on the Historic Quad.

The friends arranged themselves in Adirondack chairs, prepared to work. But pleasant distractions, including the great weather, a guitar, and a tambourine, led them down a slightly different path that featured folk music, conversation, and a bit of reading — Naomi Klein’s climate crisis classic, This Changes Everything.


Catching Up

Assistant Professor of Classical and Medieval Studies Mark Tizzoni fishes up teaching on the steps between Pettengill and Lane halls on the morning of Sept. 7, 2023.

His course is titled “CMS 291 - Colonization and Resistance in Late Antique North Africa” and it’s described this way:


While treated by some scholars as peripheral, North Africa was and is a central arena in global history. This course examines the Maghreb in the dynamic period of transformation that saw the Roman Empire devolve into separate political and social entities, ca.200-700 C.E. In these critical centuries, North Africa and North Africans served both as anchors preserving Roman culture and society, and key agents in its transformation and devolution. Approaching the topic through primary and secondary sources, this course focuses on key themes: colonization and resistance, ethnicity and identity, and cultural and social cohesion. Recommended background: CM/HI 102.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Mark Tizzoni, assistant professor of classical and medieval studies, and Truman Williams ’25 of Montclair, N.J., continue their conversation following a class session of Tizzoni’s course “Colonization and Resistance in Late Antique North Africa.”

“We were talking about Indigenous and Roman identities and the ways in which they competed and coexisted in the colonized landscape of the late antique Maghreb,” said Tizzoni. “That, and catching up after summer break!”


Toe-to-Toe

Adi Kolff ’25, a double major in biology and in earth and climate sciences from Philadelphia, and Abby Marriott ’25, an environmental studies major from Brooklyn, N.Y., compare the size of their feet on the Historic Quad. On the third-to-last day of summer, the duo kicked off their shoes, then got curious to see whose feet were bigger. Close call: Marriott is a women’s 11; Kolff, a men’s 10.5.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Adi Kolff ’25, a double major in biology and in earth and climate sciences from Philadelphia, and Abby Marriott ’25, an environmental studies major from Brooklyn, N.Y., compare the size of their feet on the Historic Quad.

Close call: Marriott is a women’s size 11; Kolff, a men’s 10.5.


Leading the Way

“Participating in the Bonner Program links me with the Lewiston-Auburn community and provides me with the opportunity to connect with incredible individuals who share our passion for making a positive difference.”

— Sivani Arvapalli ’26 of South Windsor, Conn., commenting on her role as a Bonner Leader.

The Bonner Leader Program is an opportunity for students with a passion for community service and civic engagement. They spend four hours each week working with community partners in the Lewiston-Auburn area.

Posing for a Bonner Leaders portrait at the Annual @harwardcenter Volunteer Fair are, from left, Vyshu Viju ‘26, Robbie Washburne ‘26, Chidera Kalu-Uka ‘27, Marisela Flores Pineda ‘24, Leith Chikh Rouhou ‘26, Sivani Arvapalli ‘26, and Hana Roggendorf ‘27.

First-year and returning Bates students were invited to stop by the tent outside of Commons on Wednesday, Sept. 13, for a chance to meet with a variety of community partners.

The event promotes an opportunity to develop engagement with the community and to learn more about the depth of Lewiston-Auburn culture. Organizations representing tutoring, mentoring, arts and culture, food justice, legal reform, and immigrant integration — and more — attended.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

A group of Bonner Leaders pose for a photograph during the annual volunteer fair, sponsored by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships.

With a commitment to community service and civic engagement, Bonner Leaders spend four hours each week working with Lewiston-Auburn community partners. The experience “provides me with the opportunity to connect with incredible individuals who share our passion for making a positive difference,” said Sivani Arvapalli ’26 (second from right) of South Windsor, Conn.

From left, Vyshu Viju ‘26, Robbie Washburne ‘26, Chidera Kalu-Uka ‘27, Marisela Flores Pineda ‘24, Leith Chikh Rouhou ‘26, Sivani Arvapalli ’26, and Hana Roggendorf ‘27.


Killing It

Bates hosts Connecticut College on September 16, 2023.

(Theophil Syslo | Bates College)
Theophil Syslo/Bates College

Ami Evans ’26 of Honolulu had 11 kills in the Bobcats’ 3-2 victory over Connecticut College in September.


Top Teacher

Associate Professor of Mathematics Katy Ott teaches “Mathematics for Justice" course in Carnegie 339 on Thursday, Sept. 28, at 1:10 p.m.

MATH 233 - Mathematics for Social Justice
This course teaches quantitative literacy, critical thinking and problem solving skills in a socially relevant context. Students use mathematics as a powerful analytic framework for understanding and developing realistic solutions to issues of social, political, and economic justice. The overarching goal of this course is for students to develop the ability and inclination to use mathematics to understand, and improve, the world around them. Prerequisite(s): MATH 106. Recommended background: MATH 205.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Associate Professor of Mathematics Katy Ott leads a session of her course “Mathematics for Social Justice,” which teaches quantitative literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills in a socially relevant context.

Ott recently received the 2023 Kroepsch Award, the college’s highest award for excellence in teaching. On a humorous note, one student’s nomination said that Ott’s “ability to not only teach the class in a wonderful interesting way, but in a low-stress environment that almost tricks you into understanding the subject, will always baffle me!”


‘United’ at Bates

From left, United World Davis Scholars
Miguel Ángel Pacheco González '24 of Caracas, Venezuela '24 of Caracas, Venezuela; Maria Francisca Pereira Pinto Casteira da Rocha ’24 of Porto, Portugal, and Sebastian Fallas of Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica, pose for a group portrait after they had posed for individual head and shoulder photos. They used juggling rings belonging to Miguel, as props.
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

This year, 47 students from 28 different countries have come to Bates as Davis United World College Scholars.

From left, here are three who are seniors this year: Miguel Angel Pacheco of Caracas, Venezuela; Sebastián León Fallas of Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica; and Maria Francisca Pereira Pinto Costeira da Rocha of Porto, Portugal. As photo props, they used juggling rings belonging to Pacheco.

The Davis UWC Scholars Program awards need-based scholarship funding to graduates of schools and colleges in the United World Colleges movement. It is the world’s largest international undergraduate scholarship initiative.

The program is dedicated to supporting promising students from diverse cultures at selected American colleges and universities “to create greater international understanding among the world’s future decision makers.”