A Bates crowd at the Courthouse Plaza on Lisbon Street listens to the all-college a cappella performance that concluded "College Night in Town." Photograph by Mikey Pasek '12.

Walking from Park to Lisbon Street through Lewiston’s downtown Courthouse Plaza, students, staff and faculty waved and swapped “hi’s” on their way to and from adventures in food, drink and music.

It was the inaugural “College Night in Town,” and the overwhelming participation of local businesspeople and student contributors made it possible to sample and celebrate, in just a few hours, the diversity of what downtown Lewiston and Auburn have to offer.

Reporting for Bates Communications: Elana Leopold ’12, Erica Long ’12 and Elizabeth McKean ’12.

More than 400 students, faculty and staff from Bates, Lewiston-Auburn College, Kaplan University and Central Maine Community College bustled along the main streets and the mill canals of these red-brick cities in pursuit of Greek gyros, French bistro dishes, wine and beer tastings, and discounted spring rolls; poetry readings and displays of student art; and performances including jazz, Bollywood dance and an a cappella finale that packed an open plaza.

College Night in Town began what’s hoped will be a long tradition, likely to take place each fall and spring from now on. The event is designed to cultivate strong social and economic ties between local students and businesses downtown. How does it work? The businesses offer discounts and special programming for student customers, while the organizers drum up interest, as well as student artists and performers, on campus.

Isaiah Rice '15 performs at the Courthouse Plaza on Lisbon Street during "College Night in Town." Photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College.

“It’s meant to be a spark that reminds students of all of the amazing attributes in the Twin Cities,” says co-organizer Mikey Pasek ’12. “Streams of students realized the important connection between the college and the community. We wanted to create the college town environment that Lewiston-Auburn can be, and that students hope it will be.”

The evening’s only hardship was having to decide what to skip. One popular dining option was Mother India, on Lisbon Street, whose tangerine-hued interior and spicy flavors provided the perfect antidote to an overcast evening. Savory crowd-pleasers included the saag paneer, tandoori chicken and garlic naan.

Chopsticks Restaurant in downtown Lewiston was the place for some shared appetizers — special-offer $3 crunchy spring rolls and sweet teriyaki chicken skewers — and a well-attended 45-minute set of folky originals and covers by Sawyer Lawson ’12.

“I like the friendly restaurant environment, a little less formal than a concert,” said Nina Slote ’12. “Sawyer’s music is great to hear in a low-key space with food and other friends to chat with.”

Some of us dressed smartly to dine at Fuel, where delicacies like poached salmon sous vide and steak au poivre — usually reserved for parents’ visits — were discounted. Others opted for wood-fired pizza at Forage, the new foodie-oriented market on Lisbon Street, or sampled Narals, another new restaurant, which serves Middle Eastern cuisine in Auburn.

Narals was another of the many venues that hosted back-to-back student performances, along with the Lisbon Street plaza, the Lyceum Gallery and She Doesn’t Like Guthrie’s, as well as Chopsticks. Ska’d For Life, an energetic group powered by horns and the soulful voice of Olivia Norrmén-Smith ’13, kicked off the night. Their 30-minute set served up covers like Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie” and Spoon’s “Underdog” to an excited audience on Narals’ dance floor.

Those of age were beckoned into The Vault, a specialty wine and beer store, by a complimentary beer tasting and a friendly shop dog named Malcolm. Students flocked to the old bank vault in the back of the store to sample distinctive brews, including one with a faint smoky flavor, a hoppy double I.P.A and a tasty pale ale. Others browsed bottles of specialty red and white wines.

She Doesn't Like Guthrie's is full up for a Strange Bedfellows performance during "College Night in Town." Photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College.

Guthrie’s, the eco-friendly restaurant and performance space, incorporated artwork from Bates students into an already appealing décor featuring cozy lighting, wooden tables and guitars hanging on the wall. Students munched delicious burritos and panini while awaiting the main event: a stand-up comedy routine by Bates’ Strange Bedfellows.

Playing to an SRO crowd, the Bedfellows worked up audience enthusiasm to such a pitch that the owners of Guthrie’s inquired about bringing them back in the future.

About 20 people attended the Multifaith Chaplaincy’s weekly nondenominational service {Pause}, transported for the occasion to Kimball Street Studios. For {Pause}, which asks attendees to focus as much on the silences as the performances, moving to Lisbon Street offered a poignant opportunity for campus-dwellers to meditate on the sounds of downtown. Car alarms, sirens and passersby were not a distraction, but rather a complement to the readings of original poetry and a cello performance, all by Bates students.

The evening concluded in the Lisbon Street plaza with a well-attended address by Mayor Robert E. McDonald and an a cappella concert featuring the Merimanders, the Deansmen, the Crosstones and Take Note. McDonald thanked participants for the impressive turnout and involvement in the community. He cited the evening as a great success.

Cody Tracey '15 of Baltimore, Md., performs in the Lyceum Gallery in Lewiston during the inaugural “College Night in Town," May 9, 2012. Photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College.

Next year co-organizer Megan Murphy ’13 will lead College Night in Town, building an even better town-gown connection onto this strong foundation. While younger students gained a much better idea of just how much downtown has to offer, the fellow seniors we talked to regretted that they’d only enjoy this event once.

But they were gratified that they managed to check a few hotspots off the “things to do before I graduate” list. Anyway, we can always come back: L/A will be waiting.

For Short Term 2012, the theater production workshop is adapting a spoken-word piece by Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Shown listening to Joseph are, from left, Katie Straw '12, Yasin Fairley '12, Ashley Booker '12, dance professor Rachel Boggia and theater lecturer Kati Vecsey. Photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College.

Short Term is so eagerly anticipated at Bates that it just might be fair to say that you are no Bobcat unless you spend the Maine winter yearning for it.

Short Term is the perfect storm — in a good way — of the Bates experience during the time of year when literal nor’easters finally become scarce. For five weeks in the spring, students are immersed in a single course chosen from a curriculum that blends rigorous, stimulating and exploratory content.

Even if they’re not taking a Short Term unit, many students also stay on campus to do substantial work in the community, conduct full-time research or complete the spring varsity season (commonly referred to as “Sport Term”).

At the same time, campus is abuzz with concerts, games and general undiluted fun. And there is no better month than May to be beckoned off-campus by Lewiston-Auburn delicacies like Dairy Joy and the Pop Shoppe Diner, or by the natural beauty of Maine at Range Pond or Old Orchard Beach.

Writer-performer Marc Bamuthi Joseph, left, and Jane Costlow, Griffith Professor of Environmental Studies, lead a group of students in a perambulation as part of the Short Term course "Walking: The Practice, Politics, and Pleasures of One's Own Two Feet." Photograph by Hank Schless '14.

Short Term has come a long way from 1966, when it was implemented to enable students who so desired to finish their degree in three years instead of four. Today students must complete two Short Term units to graduate, though most take three, the maximum allowed.

Some professors use this time of year to delve into specific interests and passions, which results in classes that are engaging, experimental and just plain fun. Take, for instance, this year’s “Walking: The Practice, Politics, and Pleasures of One’s Own Two Feet,” taught by Jane Costlow, Griffith Professor of Environmental Studies.

Students will be asked to reflect on this mode of transportation through readings and interviews, and to practice it in urban and rural settings. Naturally, as the course description states, “the ability and willingness to walk in all weather is essential.”

Other eye-catching courses include “The Asteroid Impact Threat: What Can We Do?,” “Spy Games: The Role of Espionage in International Affairs” and “Microbes and Everyday Life.”

Short Term is also an unparalleled opportunity for community-based research. Several courses, like “Literacy in the Community” and “The Methodology of Coaching,” incorporate service-learning placements in Lewiston-Auburn; “Tour, Teach, Perform” puts Bates dancers into local schools to create choreography with students.

This year, too, the Harward Center for Community Partnerships is launching “Short Term Action/Research Team,” aka STA/RT, an intensive fellowship program in which students work on community-based research and research-based action initiatives.

Expanding the scope of community somewhat are courses investigating the uniqueness of Maine, such as “Wabanaki History in Maine,” a study of the state’s indigenous peoples and their contemporary presence; “Field Studies in Geology,” which, cross-listed in environmental studies, is taking students to locations around the state for a primer in geology and environmental studies fieldwork; and “Making African American History: Preserving the Archives of the Portland NAACP.”

Students in the 2012 Short Term course "Introduction to Historical Methods," aka "History Hell," make a presentation to their classmates. Photograph by Hank Schless '14.

In the last, an independent study, students will help make accessible, for the first time, the records of the Portland chapter of the NAACP, founded in 1920. As they arrange and describe this documentary treasure trove, a collection of the Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine at the University of Southern Maine, Bates students will consider its considerable importance to the public record.

For some Batesies, Short Term is a ticket to fantastic locations beyond Maine’s borders. Students are exploring the mythical origins of Dracula, Romanian history and the narrative of travel in Transylvania itself during “Transylvanian Journey: Myth, Reality and the Traveler ‘Beyond the Forest.’ ”

Taking in lectures, experiencing everyday life and practicing basic ethnographic techniques, participants in “Contemporary Cuban Culture” are applying first-hand what they have previously studied about race, music, sexual identity and the post-Soviet Union “Special Period” in Cuban history.

And one off-campus course, “Saudi Arabia,” is happening because of the initiative and determination of a student: Leena Nasser ’12 of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The course, co-led by her and anthropology professor Loring Danforth, explores trends of modernization, the role of oil and economic development, Islam in Saudi culture and the role of women in Saudi society. Nasser has been so instrumental in planning this course that it’s likely to be a one-time offering.

Maura Neal '12, Metehan Mete '12 and Lecturer in Biology Karen Palin examine bacterial samples gathered from around campus as part of Palin's Short Term course "Microbes and Everyday Life." Photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College.

Of course, Short Term comprises all kinds of academic adventures. For many departments, this is a valuable opportunity to immerse majors in rigorous courses that bolster their research capabilities and prepare them for conducting thesis during senior year. Hence “Political Inquiry,” “Building a Studio Practice,” “Introduction to Historical Methods” and “Introduction to Abstraction.”

Despite nicknames like “History Hell” (the methods course) and “Math Camp” (abstraction), these required courses build camaraderie among majors and hone needed skills. Some departments sweeten the deal with tangible rewards for extensive participation, like history hats and politics mugs.

As for “Political Inquiry,” professors Bill Corlett and Clarisa Perez-Armendariz have revamped their Short Term offering — but there’s no word yet if a catchy nickname is in store.

Some presenters in the "Creative Economy and How To Grease It" event on March 31, 2012: From left, Anna Stockwell '08, Peter Pawlick '05, Jeremy Fischer '06, Joshua Macht '91 and Andrew Karp '09. Photograph by Simone Schriger '14.

“Optimize opportunities for serendipity. Have a bias towards saying yes.”

These aren’t words from the latest self-help best-seller, but instead the jubilant advice Jeremy Fisher ’06 gave an eager crowd of 53 Batesies sitting around white-clothed tables on the second floor of the Muskie Archives.

On Saturday, March 31, campus got a visit from Fisher and the Mafia — the Bates Creative Mafia (BCM) that is. This group of alums working in creative fields collaborated with the Bates Career Development Center (BCDC) to host a daylong workshop, The Creative Economy and How to Grease It, designed to explore career directions in industries like marketing, communications and publishing.

A daylong affair, the workshop was lively and engrossing, as smartly dressed presenters and attendees engaged in conversation that was animated and at times cheeky. Positive and productive energy pulsed through the room, especially during the Dining Services-catered working lunch that opened up time for socializing.

An affiliation of about 60 members, the BCM brings together New York City-based alumni for networking and professional development opportunities. Monthly meetings include member presentations; past topics have included “An Introduction to Introductions” by Fisher, as well as event planning for the on-campus workshop.

For the March event, the BCM organized a panel of nine Batesies working across the creative economy to share real-life insights, experiences and the kind of advice they would have liked to get before leaving Bates.

Starting with presentations about their personal experiences, the panelists offered playful stories of transitions, self-actualization, community and their own projects.

Andrew Karp ’09 is an account manager at the award-winning international advertising firm Cunning. Describing his post-graduation transition, Karp talked about moving into his first New York City apartment and “feeling like I wasn’t a college kid anymore.”

Participants listen intently during a presentation by the Bates Creative Mafia on March 31, 2012. Photograph by Simone Schriger '14.

Karp prescribed keeping up a constant do-something attitude while trying to get established after graduation. “Don’t hesitate to produce something,” he counseled. “It’s important to have things going on outside work that you’re passionate about.”

Carola Cassaro ’09, a product designer at the New York design firm Method, recounted how she bounced from job to job after Bates — and how it worked out fine. “It’s OK to try things out and keep puzzling,” she assured the audience.

In fact, that was a theme for the day, as the alumni promised students that they won’t have to figure everything out the minute they graduate. “It’s liberating to discover you don’t have to decide . . .ever,” exclaimed Peter Pawlick ’05, a colleague of Karp’s at Cunning.

“It’s not a straight path,” explained Anna Stockwell ’08, an editor at the prestigious lifestyle magazine Saveur. “It’s about really being active, sending resumes and being involved in your community.”

After Bates, convinced she wanted to be a photographer, Stockwell interned at several photography and fashion magazines. But she found herself constantly dreaming about food, perusing cooking blogs and planning recipes during the work day. So she switched course, started her own blog, took a food-writing course and began interning at Saveur.

Eight months later she was hired as a full-time assistant editor.

Josh Macht ’91, group publisher at the Harvard Business Review Group, encouraged the students to discover what they want and to remember their own value. “Figure out where you want to be,” he said. “Constantly weigh where you want to be, what you’re willing to give up and what you’re not.
“What kind of company do you want to work for? You’re valuable. They need you.”

Throughout the day the BCM members emphasized the power of community and connecting. Fisher, CEO of the Web-based social sharing platform Wander, underscored the importance of getting out and meeting people. Stockwell, who found each of her internships through Bates connections, has in turn had the chance to hire four Bates alumni for projects at Saveur.

It was a jam-packed day. The inspiring morning session gave way to afternoon workshops where the attendees broke into small groups and explored self-actualization, community and how “to do something.” Easing into the spirit of collaboration, they speculated about projects they could work on together.

Participant Claire Lampen ’12 found it helpful, she said, “to see alums who have recently graduated and gone through this process, and who we kind of know and can definitely relate to.”

The presenters emphatically reassured participants about the career value of the Bates education. “Everything you are studying is relevant to everything,” Pawlick said. “It’s so much more helpful to what we do, grappling with complex cultural and communication problems, if you can do research and solve problems.

“We can teach technical skills, but we can’t teach critical thinking.”

This October 2010 image shows Mikey Pasek '12, at right, with Jourdan Fanning '13 moving furniture in the Office of Intercultural Education, a location that includes space for Bates Hillel. Photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College.

Soggy rice in Commons, issues with general education requirements or unjust national energy policies — many of us are content to complain about the issues that irk us on a daily basis.

Not Mikey Pasek ’12, senior class co-president. It isn’t Pasek’s style to grumble while waiting around for improvement. Instead he feels duty-bound to take action and make change happen.

A native of Ardmore, Pa., Pasek has served as class co-president since his junior year, and is a student government representative to both the President’s and Dean’s advisory committees. He was one of four students taking part in the committee that revised the college’s mission statement in 2010. In all these positions, Pasek challenges the apathy that he sometimes recognizes among peers and sees as symptomatic of larger cultural tendencies.

He explains, “We are so lucky to live in a world of democratic institutions — at Bates the student has a voice, and if you don’t take up your own voice, you take away part of your own self-determination.”

Pasek finds that one of the most effective means of championing issues is to make specific in-person appeals — one-on-ones with peers or campus officials. Creating personal connections, highlighting individual potential and establishing a narrative other people can feel positive about, quite simply, all get results.

At Bates, he says, “appealing to an institutional framework is often not the most effective way of getting support. Campaigning for a personal cause shows you believe in what you’re working for and makes people excited to help you.”

Pasek is just as straightforward with his opinions of the world beyond Bates. He has contributed several opinion pieces to various publications in the last four years, including articles in Lewiston’s Sun Journal and Jewish Exponent, a Philadelphia-based weekly newspaper.

Pasek also helped co-found Bates’ J-Street U, a chapter of the national student activist organization promoting peace, security and social justice for Israel and Palestine. He serves as vice-president for the local chapter and is the national organization’s co-chair for New England.

The Bates chapter is highly regarded by the national organization. With Pasek and President Alex Friedman ’12 at the helm, the chapter collected 500 student and staff signatures that persuaded Maine’s U.S Rep. Michael Michaud to sign the so-called Price-Welch letter encouraging continued U.S-Palestinian aid.

Pasek’s interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict shapes his academic experience as well. He is currently gearing up to defend a yearlong honors thesis on American Jewish perception of Israel for his self-designed political psychology major.

Recognizing that not all Bates students share his ease in leadership roles, Pasek has also helped facilitate Bates communities of interest that he is not as personally tied to. Co-president of Hillel, Pasek does not identify as particularly religious, but is aware that Hillel serves an important role on campus creating a space for a group sometimes underrepresented on campus.

Pasek is well-attuned to the activist’s delicate balancing of self-interest and the common good. For him, it boils down to engaging issues that one is passionate about, but also appreciating that part of effective engagement is removing oneself from the equation. He cites a well-known saying by the ancient Jewish sage Hillel: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And, if not now, when?”

– By Elana Leopold ’12

Happy diners think globally and eat locally at the 2012 International Dinner, held March 3 in the Gray Athletic Building. Photograph by Simone Schriger '14.

The annual International Dinner, held this year on March 3, was a feast for all the senses.

On one wall, a display of flags from around the world transformed the plain interior of the of the Gray Athletic Building. Brightly patterned traditional garb popped out in the crowd.

Amidst the murmur of happy diners, special dance performances and a playlist of international music set the festive atmosphere. And an intriguing combination of spices and scents made it impossible to forget the main attraction: the food.

This year the menu featured an impressive array of 44 dishes from nearly 30 countries. There were the familiar and delicious — two types of spring rolls from Vietnam, chicken enchiladas from Mexico and crepes from France — as well as the distinctive and delicious: chin chin, a fried donut-like snack from Nigeria and Ghana; saltibarsciai, cold beetroot soup from Lithuania with an unforgettable magenta color; and gajar ka haluwa, an Indian dish made with carrots and milk.

At the dinner, food becomes a common ground to explore, learn and celebrate the diversity in the Bates community. More than 350 people took part — students, professors, staff and local residents.

In short, “Food is a wonderful way of sharing your culture,” said Shlesma Chhetri ’12, of Kathmandu, Nepal, and co-president of the International Club, which sponsored the event.

Thailand’s red curry is a good example of the cross-cultural exchange. Over the centuries, Thai cuisine has been influenced by South Asian, Chinese and European cooking — and the fiery red chilies that give the curry its color came originally from Central America, brought to Thailand by Portuguese explorers.

But ultimately none of that matters. What does matter is the delicious explosion of flavors that immerses you in a dimension of Thai culture, sparking appreciation, interest and dialogue.

The dining is only half the story. The task of cooking food for 350 people, combined with limited equipment and space and difficult-to-locate spices, was an epic in and of itself. As Chhetri explains, “For the cooks and helpers, it is like an adventure.”

Shared pots, pans and all seven kitchens on campus, American and international classmates started cooking the night before and even made a special trip to Portland for ingredients.

For International Club co-president Hieu Nguyen ’13 of Hanoi, Vietnam, the dinner is what sparked his involvement in the club: His freshman year he made Vietnamese spring rolls and lotus soup.

Since then, Nguyen has remained committed to the club because of its “open and friendly environment and the beauty of diversity.” The ambiance and popularity of the International Dinner certainly bear that out.

– By Izzy McKean ’12

Right to left: Daniel Waters '12, director Elizabeth Castellano '12, Hanna Allerton '15, Charles McKitrick '14 and Caitlyn Defiore '12 (back to camera) rehearse for "A Doll's House."

With an ending that has shocked audiences for more than a century and still sparks debate about a woman’s role in family and society, Henrik Ibsen’s 19th-century play A Doll’s House is the winter mainstage theater production at Bates.

Elizabeth Castellano ’12 of New Suffolk, N.Y., directs A Doll’s House as part of her honors thesis in theater. Performances take place 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, March 8-10, and Monday, March 12; and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 10 and 11, in Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St.

Admission is $6 for the general public and $3 for seniors and non-Bates students. Tickets are available at www.batestickets.com. For more information, please call 207-786-8294.

Set in Norway in the 1870s, Ibsen’s play sent jaws dropping throughout Europe with its bold presentation of a wife’s rebellion against her oppressive husband and society as Nora Helmer, the play’s “doll,” is forced to decide between family and self. The play has been produced around the globe, and was released as a well-received 1973 film starring Anthony Hopkins and Claire Bloom.

Castellano adapts Ibsen’s story to World War I-era New York City, where the pressures and promises of city life and the women’s suffrage movement amplify for today’s audience the impact of Nora’s rebellion.

“The ‘city’ offers hope for a different life.” Castellano says. “It represents nontraditional thinking, a place to fit in even if you don’t fit in.”

Along with the city’s timeless promise of freedom, opportunity and social mobility, the setting reflects other aspects of American life that modern audiences will find relatable. As Castellano says, “The roles of men and women in society transcend time and are relevant to our lives in the 21st century.”

Castellano has an eye for plays that depict controversial relationships between men and women. Last spring she directed David Mamet’s Oleanna, a provocative drama about a female student’s relationship with her male professor.

“I don’t think it’s as important to have questions answered in theater,” Castellano says, “as it to ask questions, and with any luck, spark debate.”

A theater major, Castellano is one of the rare students to direct a mainstage play, a task typically undertaken by a member of the faculty. (The last time a student directed a mainstage production was 2008.) To complete her honors thesis in theater, she will also write an extensive scholarly essay examining A Doll’s House through historical and theoretical research.

With an elaborate set and costumes reflecting the period, A Doll’s House is an exciting production for the Bates community. The cast represents a variety of class years, including first-year Hannah Allerton of Brooklyn, N.Y., as Nora Helmer.

“My hope is that all of us involved in this production of A Doll’s House come away with a little more insight into human behavior, with a greater love of theater and with memories of good times,” Castellano says.

– by Erica Long ’12

Cast members in the Robinson Players' production of "The Laramie Project": Alanna Hoffman '15 as the Narrator; Nick Auer '15 as Jon Peacock, Matthew Shepard's academic advisor; Jonathan Schwolsky '15 as Tectonic Theater Project member Andy Paris.

Seeking to spark constructive dialogue on campus and in the community, a student theater group at Bates College presents Moisés Kaufman’s The Laramie Project in performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10-11, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12. All shows are in Gannett Theater, Pettigrew Hall, 305 College St.

Tickets are $5 and available at the door. Proceeds go to Outright L/A, a Lewiston-Auburn organization that supports LGBTQ youth in a safe and affirming environment. For more information, please contact mschloss@bates.edu.

A 4 p.m. panel discussion follows the Sunday performance in Gannett Theater. Featured are members of the production; Heather Lindkvist, director of the Diversity in Excellence Leadership Team at Bates; and members of OUTfront, an LGBTQ advocacy group on campus. Refreshments will be served.

Time magazine described The Laramie Project as “a pioneering work and a powerful stage event.” The play captures the voices of residents of Laramie, Wyo., following the brutal 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was gay.

Immediately following the murder, members of the New York City-based Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie, seeking “the story of the people of Laramie in their own words,” as the troupe’s website states.

Led by Tectonic artistic director Kaufman, they returned repeatedly over the next two years to collect interviews. The result is a script comprising 40 haunting and authentic narratives structured as a series of “moments” supported by monologues.

The play, produced by the Robinson Players, is co-directed by senior Michelle Schloss of Unionville, Conn.; and junior Spencer Collet of Leawood, Kan. Schloss and Collet’s theatrical strengths complement each other: The former is a seasoned director while the latter has a strong acting background. Accordingly, Schloss focuses on mapping character movement, and Collet on developing the monologues.

“The play doesn’t make any argument at all,” Schloss explains. “It focuses on the community and asks: Why did this happen here? It shows all the different viewpoints and lets those sink in.”

Collet adds, “You get all of these very intense issues presented at once in a way that’s compelling because they come from real people. If it does anything, The Laramie Project celebrates our differences no matter what they are. We are not making any definitive judgment — apart from, hate is wrong. ”

Fairly and effectively dramatizing these differences has tested the Robinson Players. Collet explains, “The biggest challenge is to present it so that people don’t come away saying, ‘Those people there must be terrible.’ All groups portrayed in this show are given an equal say.”

“Every opinion, whether or not people here agree with it, is valid and real,” Schloss agrees.

Departing from a decade-plus of annual Robinson productions of The Vagina Monologues, Laramie engages contemporary discourse on gender and sexuality. Collet, who performed in the play in high school and suggested it to the Bates company, intended it to be a catalyst for student and community dialogue.

Accordingly, the company has teamed up with OUTfront to develop the post-show panel. OUTfront also suggested Outright L/A as the organization to receive the proceeds.

Schloss and Collet praise the 14 actors for their maturity and focus in playing characters who are unlike them and for tackling the challenge of playing 40 characters. “Every single member of this cast is phenomenal, and I’ve never been in a theater situation where you have that,” states Collet.

Among the players are:

Nick Auer, a first-year from Fairfield, Conn., who portrays Aaron McKinney, one of Shepard’s assailants;

Charles Emple, a senior from Swampscott, Mass., who plays a member of the Tectonic Theater Project, as well as Aaron Kriefels, who found Shepard and placed the 911 call;

Jennifer Flanagan, a senior from Sherborn, Mass., playing an administrative assistant at the university;

MacKenzie Pendergast, a first-year student from Greenwich, Conn., who plays Reggie Fluty, the policewoman who responded to Kriefels’ 911 call;

Liam Zaaijer, a senior from South Orange, N.J., who portrays a limousine driver in Laramie and also Father Roger Schmidt, the minister who held the first candlelight vigil for Shepard.

Travis Jones, a junior from Ithaca, N.Y., is responsible for the set design, and senior Ian Dulin of Bennington, Vt., created the lighting design.

Since its premiere in 2000, more than 30 million people around the country have seen Laramie at high schools, colleges, community theaters and professional playhouses.

– By Izzy McKean ’12

Human Curling during the 2012 Winter Throwdown. Photograph by Simone Schriger '14.

Marching toward a freshly painted Lake Andrews curling court in a parade of neon-, flower- and cheetah-patterned Spandex, competitors in the first annual Intercollegiate Winter Throwdown came brandishing team mascots, notably the superb white-bearded wizard gnome of the University of Maine at Farmington.

The teams were greeted at the Puddle by the games’ three judges, who issued succinct guidelines for the third event, Human Curling. Blocking and inter-team strategizing allowed; butt-scooching forbidden! As judges, contestants and spectators watched, the teams launched their living, breathing projectiles on green and purple discs toward a spray-painted black target.

Teams from Williams, Wesleyan, Tufts, UMF and Bates faced off in the initial heats. Following several overthrows, a more refined level of technique emerged that led Williams and the two Bates teams to an ultimate curling battle. In the end, team Lamesauce — Sam Prawer ’13 and first-years Sean Murphy, Erick MacLean and Nate Tower — narrowly beat Williams for the gold.

Produced by the Bates Outing Club, the Jan. 27-29 Throwdown was inspired by a now-defunct winter competition between Bates and close rivals Colby and Bowdoin. The resurrection was the brainchild of Matt Baker-White ’13, who thought hosting a winter event “would be a fun undertaking for the Outing Club, and a great way to get to know other outing clubs and bond with them over a shared passion.”

In addition to Human Curling, the Throwdown featured a cross-campus scavenger hunt whose to-dos included “planking” around campus, a human pyramid atop Mount David and pictures with the Outing Club’s current and previous presidents, Colin Barry ’12 and Kellen MacFadyen ’12, respectively.

The action-packed Throwdown schedule also included a sledding relay race and a Whisperlite campstove cooking contest at the BOC lean-to, in Greene, for Sunday breakfast. Both contests yielded impressive results. For instance, one team in the relay race made good use of a surfboard against the more typical toboggans and discs. And Tufts’ goat-cheese crepes took the breakfast crown, but Williams’ team also deserves an honorable mention for their maple beer-soaked crisp bacon.

Throwdown organizers made sure to introduce the visitors to the classic BOC game of Stump, featuring it as a major event. The game, played in the BOC E-Room, in the basement of Hathorn Hall, is played with participants circled around and two nails set in a large tree stump. The object is to toss a hammer up so that it spins, catch it again and swiftly hammer the competition’s nails fully into the stump. The last player with a protruding nail wins.

Throwdown judge Saebyul Choe ’14, a BOC Stump standout, was more than happy to advise Bates’ guests on technique. “Tossing the hammer clockwise gives a lot more leverage when coming down,” she explained to a struggling UMF competitor.

Despite the excitements of Stump and the weekend’s other games, competitors agreed that Human Curling was the most fun. Co-organizer and judge Torri Zapack ’13, however, wasn’t entirely convinced. “Crepes! On a Whisperlite! And they had goat cheese,” she exclaimed.

Williams received the first-ever Throwdown Winner’s Cup during the closing awards ceremony. Bates Tunesquad, Tufts, Lamesauce and the teams from Wesleyan and UMF ranked second through fifth, respectively. The BOC anticipates a long life for the games: the Cup, handcrafted from E-Room cross-country skis, has space for the names of game champions through 2024!

Baker-White and Zapack were extremely pleased with the inaugural event. He and Zapack learned a lot from “the real-life event planning experience,” Baker-White said, noting that even after months of preparations, “it still felt like we were flying by the seat of our pants for much of the weekend!”

“One of the best things about the BOC is its ability to come up with anything — like conceive of an event — and go for it. It’s a huge advantage of being completely student-run.”

– By Elana Leopold ’12

Marc Bamuthi Joseph engages with his audience in the aisles of the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall. (Photographs by Phyllis Graber Jensen)

For a performance Jan. 13, performer, educator, activist and slam poetry champion Marc Bamuthi Joseph took the Olin Concert Hall stage—only to leave it again.

“This place is really fancy,” said Joseph, jumping off the stage into the audience. “I believe in ‘not fancy.’ ”

Joseph offered a staged (or off-staged) reading of his acclaimed performance piece red, black & GREEN: a blues in the evening event, part of Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances at Bates.

The piece is usually performed on a circular stage, with large “houses” on wheels representing different American cities. His Bates reading performance included two of the four acts, Chicago and Oakland. (The Bates Dance Festival presents the full-blown production April 27-28.)

Joseph called upon the Bates audience to fulfill the roles usually performed by the other artists working on the project. For one poem, the audience was split into four sections, each with a verse of “I’ve Got Peace like a River.” Without breaking cadence, Joseph would conduct the audience in singing while he moved around the room telling the story of a woman who emigrated to the U.S. from Sudan to escape the violence there, only to have her son murdered in Chicago.

Along with the excerpts from rbGb, Joseph offered original poems from previous projects. In tribute to King Day, he began with a piece dedicated to the civil rights leader. Using quotes from some of King’s greatest speeches, Joseph asked how far America has come in realizing King’s “dream.”

When an audience member asked Joseph how he came to be a performer, he answered with a rap from the album that, he says, changed his life, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy. “Chuck D gave me a whole new vocabulary for liberation,” said Joseph.

But his last piece of the evening, a story from his time in Senegal, also shed some light on his emergence as a performer. After realizing his vulnerability to street hustlers and theft, Joseph encounters an American woman who is fighting the traditional practice of genital mutilation.

While visiting one village, that friend asks him to distract an impromptu village dance party while she negotiates an end to genital mutilation with the village elders. As a poet, Joseph is unsure how to “distract” a crowd of dancing locals. On a whim, he breaks into the hip hop dances he learned growing up in New York City–and the village is won over, as was the Bates audience by his re-enactment.

Joseph performs on the Olin stage.

Joseph worked his magic in a more intimate setting the evening prior to the Olin performance. While plows cleared the streets after the winter semester’s first snowstorm, Bates students congregated in the student-run coffee house, the Ronj, to enjoy an evening of hot chai, music and poetry from Joseph and student performers.

Sponsored by the Arts House, the evening was a successful turnout of student talent.

It was one of several opportunities for students to interact with Joseph, who also visited anthropology, dance, environmental studies and rhetoric classes during his four-day visit.

Standing in the middle of the room rather than onstage, Joseph performed two energetic spoken-word pieces that combined dance with storytelling and role-playing to captivate the room.

Humorous but introspective, Joseph’s pieces tackle questions about identity: What does it mean to be a father? What does it mean to be “hip hop” outside of America? Joseph danced, contorting his body to show pain, pleasure and confusion, his arms and legs swinging out over the heads of students sitting on the floor around him.

Eleven students representing all class years read original poems. Although some seemed nervous, the room was supportive and everyone got a hand. Many students admitted it was their first time reading in front of their peers.

“All of the student readers and performers were incredibly talented,” said Emma Timbers ’14, a creative writing major who co-organized the event with fellow Art House representative Doug Welsh ’14. “And it was exciting to see so many freshmen sharing their work.”

For some, reading has been an important aspect of their time at Bates. Seniors Charlotte Simpson and Alana Folsom, both members of the Bates Authors Guild, read from their creative writing theses. About half of the readers performed original slam poems and invited the audience to join their new slam group.

As for student musicians, Sawyer Lawson ’12 kicked off the evening with a bluesy acoustic guitar set. Also performing were Grace Glasson ’14, who performed folksy covers and originals on ukulele, and Hansen Johnson ’13, who performed covers and originals on acoustic guitar.

– by Erica Long ’12

From left, Associate Dean of Students James Reese joins Bates Multifaith Chaplain Bill Blaine-Wallace, Victoria Blaine-Wallace and Associate Multifaith Chaplain Emily Wright-Magoon in singing “We Shall Overcome.” (Photographs by Phyllis Graber Jensen)

Before reading the Call to Worship at Bates’ annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Worship Service on Jan. 15, Dean of Students James Reese shared his memories of King’s speech during the March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963.

“My father was there,” said Reese.  “I was watching TV trying to find my dad in the crowd.”

Reese then asked the Chapel congregation to “stand close to one another like they did that day.”

This year’s King service was marked by stories like Reese’s, reminders that for some members of the Bates community, the March on Washington and King’s assassination remain vivid. On this bitterly cold January night, students, faculty, staff and neighbors gathered to share these memories and celebrate King’s life and dream with music, dance and a pledge of commitment to civil justice.

In his homily, keynote speaker Julian Agyeman shared his memories of watching King on television from his home in East Yorkshire, England.

In his homily, keynote speaker Julian Agyeman discusses his memories of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

“TV opened a whole world for me,” Ageyman said of watching footage of the American civil rights movement.  “A world that was literally in black and white.”

He continued by asserting that King’s dream transcends issues of race.  A member of the Tufts University faculty and an advocate for environmental justice and sustainability, Agyeman asked the community to think about the creative and intellectual resources lost when young people are unable to realize their potential. He suggested that if a cure for cancer may be hidden in a patch of rainforest that will be destroyed, it could also be in the mind of a boy or girl who is unable to afford an education.

As in years past, the service included a letter-writing session that reflected this year’s King Day theme of environmental justice. While a jazz trio featuring music professor Dan Chapman and physics professor John Smedley performed, the congregation wrote to thank President Obama for announcing the first-ever nationwide mercury pollution standards for power plants last December.

A combined a cappella choir performs John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

The evening also featured poignant musical offerings by the Gospelaires, the Deansmen and a combined a cappella choir. The Gospelaires, led by Stephen Saxon, include Bates alumni and members of the Lewiston community along with current students.

“I Just Can’t Give up Now” featured a solo by 2011 Bates graduate Megan Guynes. Dance major Victoria Lowe ’12 accompanied the Gospelaires with original choreography for “I Wanna Be Ready.”

This year’s offering was donated to Lots to Gardens, an organization, founded by a Bates alumna, that uses sustainable urban agriculture to provide healthy and fresh food, and civic empowerment, to the youth of Lewiston and Auburn.

– by Erica Long ’12