Welcome to part two of our day in the life of Commons — Tuesday, March 12, 2024 — a day when we followed all the goings in the college’s beloved dining hall, from very early in the morning through to lunch, supper, and closing time.
In part one, we started at 4 a.m. with the arrival of the Bates baker, then it was on to breakfast. Here is part two, from lunch to a long day’s journey into night.
We photographed and interviewed both the staff who create an awesome dining experience for students, and the students who, in unison, speak their appreciation for creating such a happy place on campus.
All along, the staff of Bates Dining Services kept the campus Bobcats well-fed and ready for their next adventures, whether work or play. By day’s end, the work will span 17 hours, from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m.
11:22 a.m.
In a daily ritual, members of the rowing teams gather for a meal in their traditional spot, a corner facing Alumni Walk. Clockwise from top left: Maddie Kemp ‘25 (blue sweater), Finian Guinney ‘27, Oli Seline ‘24, Megan O’Donnell ‘27, Emily Everett ‘24, Wiley Anderson ‘26, and Olivia Szachta ‘25.
Anderson’s laptop is open to mathematical matrices, and in a couple hours the team would decamp to the Traquina Boathouse to put out their docks for the season — all suggesting the potential for wide-ranging lunchtime conversations among these seven friends and teammates.
“We love the corner of Commons,” says Seline. “We’re a large team, so it can be hard to get to know everyone on a more personal level, but Commons is the perfect place for great conversation. Whether 30 minutes — or sometime a few hours — it’s one of my favorite spaces on campus.”
11:26 a.m.
Upstairs in Commons, a variety of lunch meetings are already in full gear.
In the Penobscot Room, a half dozen faculty and staff who are involved in Short Term courses that travel abroad, including Associate Professor of Religious Studies Alison Melnick, seen here, are getting advice from the staff of the Center for Global Education and others.
At left is Director of Campus Safety Paul Menice. He chimes in with a promise to the faculty members that he is just a call away. “There are 10 to 12 deans on call in a rotation,” Menice said. “Our resources go well beyond campus and Lewiston. When in doubt, call us, and we can get the resources you need.”
11:29 a.m.
This student’s lunch creation includes falafel, braised red cabbage, cucumber, tomato, tahini sauce, and spicy potato wedges.
11:35 a.m.
Unless you’re an alum of the last decade or so, the term “tabling” sounds like something out of Robert’s Rules of Order.
But in Commons, “tabling” is how students raise awareness of events and programs by setting up tables just inside the front door and trying to capture the attention of students streaming in for a meal.
Here, Owen Fox-Whelpton ’25 (seated left) of Washington, D.C., and Lauren Farrell ’24 (seated right) of Middletown, Conn., staff a table promoting Sex Week. They’re speaking to Jeremy Schrieber ’24 of Denver, Colo.
About a half-hour later, they turned the table over to Emma Erkkila ‘26 of Helsinki, Finland, and Julia Oliver ‘25 of Montpelier, Vt.
“Happy Sex Week!” the pair calls out to friends coming into the building.
Sex Week is sponsored by Well-Being at Bates, a program that gives students information and resources about all dimensions of their well-being. “And I don’t see how sex wouldn’t be part of our well-being,” says Oliver. On this day, their table this day has pamphlets, stickers (“Consent Is Sexy!”), and condoms.
“I love to call out people I know, but also just be really outgoing towards everyone about whatever we’re tabling about,” says Oliver.
“It’s fun to see how they’ll respond to you. Some people have headphones on and keep going. But a lot of people will say, ‘Happy Sex Week to you, too!’ Which is fun. You’re like, ‘Woo-hoo!’”
11:49 a.m.
The youngest diner at lunchtime is asleep right now. That’s 16-month-old Sunny Sue, the daughter of Jon-Michael Foley (right), a member of the Facilities Services grounds crew, and his wife, Rachel Nutting (left).
Rachel comes to campus once a week from her gym, CrossFit 196, where she’s the owner and head coach, to have lunch with her husband and daughter.
“Sunny Sue comes from a long line of double first names,” quips Jon-Michael.
Today he’s eating Thai grilled chicken, and spaghetti from the pasta bar, plus some fruit salad. “Fruit, every time,” he says.
11:53 p.m.
Opened in 2008, Commons put much of the food prep — and the preparers — into full view of appreciative diners.
The Commons “servery” clusters a variety of stations, or “bars,” into a critical mass of temptation. Rather than a strict flow from check-in to serving line to chair, students enter, scope out the scene — who’s where, what’s to eat — then circulate through the marketplace.
The heart of the servery is the giant brick-and-copper oven, ringed by a counter offering the most popular eats: pizza, pasta, soup, salad, and deli.
Here’s a partial accounting of what was offered at the various bars on March 12 for lunch:
- Bobcat Bar: Beef shepherd’s pie, breaded haddock, spicy potato wedges, steamed broccoli
- Grill: Thai grilled chicken, long grain white rice
- Brick Oven: Crunchy turkey melt
- Vegan bar: Jasmine rice, braised red cabbage, broccoli, and falafel.
- Pasta Bar: Pasta options with a variety of sauces
- Deli: Potato pesto soup, chicken noodle soup, plus sandwich fixings
- Bakery: Desserts including vegan pumpkin pie, key lime cheesecake bar, chocolate cake
11:56 p.m.
With bowls in hand, Nina Greeley ’24 of Scarborough, Maine, and Nick Gajarski of Dublin, Ohio, ‘24 pose for a portrait.
12:12 p.m.
In the large double meeting room upstairs in Commons, another lunch meeting brings together students who are members of the Residence Life staff, such as junior advisors or community advisors (formerly residence coordinator).
They’re meeting with Brandon Ouellette, one of the professional counselors from the college’s Counseling and Psychiatric Services.
Seen here is Aidan Riano ’24 of New York City, a community advisor team leader. Ouellette offered advice, took their questions, and welcomed tips and insights about how the student leaders manage various situations in the houses and residence halls where they work.
12:32 p.m.
The dining team is into its ninth hour on the job, and already it’s time to focus on the next day. Violet Bernard, cold kitchen supervisor, gets to work making to-go egg and cheese sandwiches for the following day.
Each will be wrapped in foil (seen at left), and if there’s a paw sticker, it means they don’t have cheese.
12:41 p.m.
Lunch is in full swing, both down below in the main dining hall and upstairs in the Gorayeb Mezzanine, at left.
There, first-year students Haley Ganzer of New York City and Braedon Parker of Kearney, Neb., relax at a table by themselves, having slipped the bonds of academia, if only for a moment.
Here, they wait for their friends, and their friends’ friends, relishing the idea that there may be some in the group they do not know — yet.
“We always sit up here, because it’s quiet,” Ganzer says. “My roommate introduced me to her friends, and we all kind of stuck together. It’s easier to hear people up here.”
12:42 p.m.
Ruby Haylock ’26 of Hartford, Maine, carves out a study spot on the second floor of Commons.
12:47 p.m.
Kendall Jones ’25 of Plymouth, N.H., and Britton Gorfain ’25 of New York City check in as lunch winds down; they are both teaching assistants for organic chemistry.
4:20 p.m.
At the vegan bar, Matthew Escorsio, a first cook, prepares samples of the food that will be served at supper. In the foreground is a yummy side dish that he prepared with carrots, yellow squash, kale, parsley, lime, red onions, red peppers, black beans, cherry tomatoes — among other goodies.
Part of Dining Services’ rigorous health-safety protocols is gathering samples of each food item at each meal in the event that testing is later required.
4:22 p.m.
The late-afternoon light spills into Commons as Molly Furman ’24 of Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., work on her laptop.
She’s been doing some people-watching in Commons, but with an academic purpose: a sociology project about student perceptions of Commons and its traditions, such as how students don’t use trays, or how, when someone drops a dish, everyone claps.
Are those traditions intimidating to newcomers, or merely folksy and fun? “One time I was eating with a professor and he asked, ‘Why are you not using a tray?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know!’ I think people don’t want to look different, you don’t want to stand out.”
5:09 p.m.
Inês Reis ’27 of Angra do Heroismo, Portugal, works for Dining Services in the evening. Here she gets frozen french fries ready for the deep fryer.
“Commons is a big part of the Bates community,” she says. “I’m glad I get to contribute to it all. Everyone gives so much to provide the best experience, and being part of the behind-the-scenes is exciting, especially on busy days!”
Reis gets kudos from her bosses for handling the deep fryer, a deceptively challenging job, whether it’s fries or chicken tenders. The work is “hot and busy,” says Michael Staffenski, associate director of culinary and retail operations.
5:10 p.m.
Dining Services staff members Diana Mba Oyana (left) and Sonia Roy finish their early dinner before the supper crowd arrives.
5:11 p.m.
When diners finish their meals, they return dishes and flatware to a conveyer system that delivers the dishes to the dishroom, where (from left) Dining Services workers Ryan Bouchard, Abu Guhat, and Ali Hamse take over.
The solid waste stream includes about 100,000 pounds of product that goes to compost annually, and an additional 140,000 pounds of food scraps that go to the Sourground Farm pig farm in Sabattus, Maine.
5:23 p.m.
Student worker Axelle Tougouma ‘27 of Fada N’Gourma, Burkina Faso, takes her position as a monitor at the exit door from Commons. Later on in the evening, she’ll pitch in to help the staff tidy up the dining room.
She’s enjoyed getting to know her dining colleagues, whether longtime Mainers or new Mainers who’ve immigrated to Lewiston.
Tougouma says she’s not a fan of the cold, but colleagues have taught her that some people love winter. “There is such a genuine bond within us carried by discussions around different topics. My favorite is talking about winter, which I am not a fan of compared to Mainers. What more valuable work is there than learning from each other?”
6:05 p.m.
Emma Upton ’24 (right) of Amherst, N.H., and Jackson Quinn ’24 of Falmouth, Maine, are nearly finished with supper.
Upton is a studio art major, and she spent some on a project for her print-making course: “carving linoleum to make a self portrait through relief block printing.” One of eight studio art majors who exhibited in this year’s Senior Thesis Exhibition, she used sketched self-portraits to create mixed media abstractions.
6:18 p.m.
Calvin Capelle ’25 of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., displays his supper meal: beef pastrami sandwich on white bread, macaronic and cheese, and some greens.
6:27 p.m.
Dinner is in full swing. Upstairs, members of the ultimate team Cold Front and friends have dinner together. On the menu tonight is:
- Bobcat Bar: chicken stuffed with broccoli and cheese; salmon picatta; Israeli couscous; chateau blend.
- Grill: beef pastrami, shoestring fries.
- Vegan Bar: vegetable Chili, tofu tikka masala, brown rice, caponata siciliana.
- Brick Oven: pizza
- Pasta Bar: Pasta options with a variety of sauces.
- Deli: potato pesto soup, chicken noodle soup.
- Bakery: dinner rolls, carrot cake, Lucky Charms marshmallow bar.
6:51 p.m.
Maggie Gill ’27 of Tenants Harbor, Maine, finds a quite spot in the Fireplace Lounge.
7:39 p.m.
In the Renyi Meeting Room on the second floor, Dan Barsky ’03, via Zoom, engages a room full of student entrepreneurs during a meeting of Bobcat Ventures, the student entrepreneur program supported by the Center for Purposeful Work.
Barsky is an intellectual property attorney in Miami who is active in South Florida’s entrepreneurial and startup community. Joined by Pranav Ghai ’93, a Bates trustee, the two alumni shared insights on crafting compelling pitch decks and presentations and took student questions.
8:04 p.m.
Cristina Salazar ’24 (right) has some fun catching up with dining staffer Sonia Roy.
“I love being able to go into Commons and saying hi to everyone,” says Salazar. “At this point, they feel like family to me and have provided me with a huge sense of belonging and home.”
Roy is originally from Peru, and Salazar, who is from San José, Costa Rica, values their shared Latin American heritage. “I am able to connect with her so closely through language and culture! I feel like she’s a mom for me while being so far away from mine.”
8:15 p.m.
John Haelsen, a first cook, cleans and closes down the grill, which began the day making omelets and ended the day grilling beef pastrami.
8:42 p.m.
One of the last, lingering diners in Commons were two first-year students who had just met: Rahaa Jeagar “RJ” Nikzat (left) of Mashhad, Iran, and Josh Ezerioha from Lagos, Nigeria.
They engaged in conversation about their experiences as international students at Bates and their impressions of life in the U.S.
They came together thanks to a conversational matchmaker, of sorts: Tracy Stevenson, a cook’s assistant, who suggested they might enjoy each other’s company.
8:46 p.m.
Jackie Robert scans in some of the last diners of the evening.
8:58 p.m.
Billie Coburn, the board plan manager for Dining Services, is on the phone with Associate Director of Dining John Lajoie, briefing him on a mini-emergency. A gasket blew on the soft-serve ice cream machine, creating a huge mess that the staff cleaned up. A repair will take two hours, which Lajoie and his team will tackle in the morning.
9:20 p.m.
Right before closing up the dining operation, Coburn (second from left) checks in with colleagues, from left, RJ Loring, Nick Bolduc, and Abu Guhat.
Coburn says he always tries to looks around to see who needs help. For the dining team, pitching in is a big part of the culture.
For example, Ramadan has just begun, which means that anywhere from several to a dozen colleagues who are Muslim will break their daily fast with Iftar and prayer just after sunset.
At that time, other staff switch jobs for the hour that their colleagues are praying. Coburn picks up a sheet with the time of sunset in March and April that he printed earlier, so he’s certain when it occurs. “Today it was 6:43 p.m, and there were seven people. We’ll get it done. It’s the holiest month in the Islamic calendar.”
In terms of language diversity, about 17 percent of the 120 dining staff speak English as a second language; interpreters who speak French or Spanish are often part of staff meetings.
9:23 p.m.
After doing one final check-in with his crew, Coburn heads to the front of the building to lock the doors. By 11 p.m., all cleaning and closing down will be done, and the building fully put to bed — some 19 hours after the Bates dining team began their day.
Writing and reporting by Deirdre Stires, Jay Burns, and Hannah Kothari ‘26.
