The Mount David Summit is an annual celebration of student research, artistic work, and community-based scholarship at Bates College.

Each year at the end of the winter semester, students from all classes present their work to each other and to faculty, staff, families and community members in a symposium format. The Summit spotlights the rich and varied academic activities of Bates students across the disciplines, and honors the vibrant intellectual life of the college. Named for the landmark “mountain” on the campus, the Summit is guided by the motto of the college — Amore ac Studio — loosely translated, With Love and Zeal, With Ardor and Devotion: devotion to scholarship, creativity, and the life of the mind.

This year, seniors presented a panel “Senior Thesis Research in Sociology” moderated by Francesco Duina, Chair and Professor of Sociology.  The various topics presented were:

• Jalen Baker ’16: Why Do I Have to Say Black Lives Matter? Gauging Bates Students’ Perceptions of Black Lives Matter in an Age of Color-Blind Racism
• Emma Bilodeau ’16: It’s Not All Black and White:  Black Young Adults’ Perceptions of Transracial Adoption
• Bridget Feldmann ’16: “Para que nadie diga despué s: ‘Yo no sabía nada”: What Determines How People Remember? An Examination of Imperialism, Ideological Divisions, and Strategies of Collective Memory in Post-dictatorship Chile
• Josh Giesler ’16: Reimagining the South African Nation: Case Studies of the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup
• Tommy Graziano ’16:  Equal in Value, Distinct in Purpose: Practicalities of Evangelical Christian Marriages

Other sociology students were also involved in the Mt. David Summit:

• Mallory Cohen ’17: Creative Intervention: Arts Education for Incarcerated Youth – part of a panel “Individuals and Society: Power, Control, Opportunity” moderated by Michael Rocque, Assistant Professor of Sociology
• Nate Levin ’16: Structural, Cultural, and Political Factors that Facilitate an Unfair Exchange for Collegiate Athletes at the Division I Level – presented a poster