Welcome to the new year, Batesies!
Dear Members of the Bates Community,
Welcome to the 2024–25 academic session!
I hope that the start of classes today finds you excited for all that lies ahead—for yourselves, and for our Bates community—in the new academic year. I look forward to working with you to advance the college, to celebrate our shared successes, to strengthen our sense of community and connection, and to embrace new opportunities as they present themselves.
I am also mindful that even as we settle into the new semester on our campus, we are not immune to the concerns and frictions of the broader world. For some of us, events beyond Bates are deeply personal and troubling. For all of us, care for one another and attention to how we talk about things that are difficult and divisive will be even more important than usual in the months ahead.
Indeed, as I said at Convocation yesterday, it is central to our educational mission that we open ourselves to opportunities to learn more about each other and the wider world. We must continually challenge ourselves to enter into constructive dialogue, to actively listen and respectfully debate, to consider the impact of our words and actions on others. This does not mean that we cannot speak uncomfortable truths, but rather, that we must approach every conversation and interaction with the understanding that it is our shared obligation to foster a community that allows all voices to be heard.
Of course, our commitment to engage “the transformative power of our differences,” as expressed in our mission statement, also means that there is no place for harassing rhetoric targeted at individuals or groups of individuals at Bates. In our community, we will not tolerate hate speech or harassment in any form.
I look forward to undertaking the project of community building with you over the weeks and months to come. And I wish you every joy and success for the new academic year.
Warmly,
Garry