Stratton, of Northeast Harbor, is studying mosques in the island nation, whose Muslim population totals around 8 percent. An art and visual culture major at Bates, Stratton is continuing research that he began at the college during a junior-year program in Sri Lanka. He returned there in November and will stay at least until August 2006.

“Receiving the Fulbright is a great honor,” he says. “I’m excited to be back in Sri Lanka doing work that I think is challenging and valuable.”

“My work relates to architectural history and conservation, but also addresses more complex questions about ethnic and religious identity among Sri Lankan Muslims,” Stratton continues. Buddhists constitute nearly 70 percent of the population, with Hindus and Christians the other substantial religious minorities.

“There’s a tremendous amount of history recorded in the architecture of Sri Lankan Muslims that reinforces important aspects of ethnic identity,” he says. “Sadly, much of this architecture is disintegrating or being replaced by modern buildings without adequate records being made of the original structures.”

Stratton is documenting historically valuable mosques that are in danger of destruction or of renovation that would obliterate their symbolic worth. He also plans to compare historical and contemporary examples of Islamic architecture, with an emphasis on architecture’s role in expressing identify.

Finally, he plans to compile documentary materials that will facilitate others’ research in the field. “I hope to collect a significant amount of information for further study,” he says, “all of which can be given back to local communities.”

“The Fulbright allows me to examine Islamic religious architecture and identity politics outside the traditionally understood boundaries of the Muslim world and in a highly dynamic cultural environment,” Stratton says. Between the December 2004 tsunami that killed about 31,000 Sri Lankans and the simmering conflict between the island’s government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, it’s a tumultuous period in Sri Lankan history.

“The peace process between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers will have an inestimable impact on Muslims,” Stratton says. “In many cases, they have strong ties to both the Sinhala Buddhist majority, with whom they have shared the island since pre-Islamic times, and the Tamils, with whom they have linguistic and cultural ties.”

“They’re an underrepresented group with a great deal to gain or lose in the near future, depending upon how the political situation develops.”

Stratton is also working with design students at the Colombo School of Architecture, in Sri Lanka’s capital, examining the ongoing efforts to rebuild housing in the island’s coastal regions in the wake of the devastating tsunami.

Stratton is one of more than 1,000 U.S. students traveling abroad during the 2005-06 academic year through the Fulbright Program. Established in 1946, the program’s purpose is to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the rest of the world.

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. It operates in more than 150 countries worldwide.

Bates College swimmer Phil Barr (Lincoln, R.I.), a survivor of the 2003 Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, R.I., who made an inspirational return to varsity swimming his senior year despite damaged lungs, was named the male 2005 NCAA Sportsmanship Award winner.

“I have seen courage, compassion, selflessness and determination displayed in many ways over the years, but never more than what Phil Barr displayed at Bates,” said his coach, Dana Mulholland.Barr, a four-year competitor who graduated with an economics degree in 2005, was “a teammate, confidant, leader and role model,” according to head coach Dana Mulholland.

But the example Barr set in 2004-05 outshone even those qualities.

Barr suffered burns and lung damage in the fire that killed 100 people on Feb. 20, 2003. He was placed in a drug-induced coma for 21 days and was released with about 45 percent lung capacity. After more than a year of intense rehabilitation, he returned to Bates in September 2004.

Despite just 87 percent lung capacity, he rejoined the swim team and competed, but not without more physical suffering. “Swimming induced tremendous coughing and discomfort daily,” Mulholland said. “Yet Phil never talked of his plight, and he never expected special treatment and never made excuses. He attended all practices — including double sessions during break — and meets, and he trained as hard as anyone on the team.”

Before and after his ordeal, Mulholland said, Barr helped develop positive team policies, promoted responsible social behavior, inspired a serious practice attitude and advocated dedication to off-season conditioning.

At season’s end, Barr faced another challenge: pneumonia. Diagnosed two days before the New England Small College Athletic Conference championships, Barr was resigned to sitting out the final meet of his career. But he showed up on the second day of competition to support his teammates, and Mulholland said his arrival “inspired some great performances from his fellow swimmers.”

As a token of his and the team’s great appreciation, Mulholland invited Barr to swim the butterfly leg of the medley relay preliminary, as the team was guaranteed a spot in the final. “Phil completed the leg, exhausted but fulfilled,” the coach said. Barr then relinquished his spot for the finals to make the team more competitive. At the finals, Barr was the loudest supporter during the race, Mulholland said.

The NCAA Sportsmanship Award is presented by the organization’s Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct. It honors student-athletes who, through their actions in the competitive arena of intercollegiate athletics, have demonstrated one or more of the ideals of sportsmanship, including fairness, civility, honesty, unselfishness, respect and responsibility.

“I am thrilled by Phil’s award,” said Suzanne Coffey, director of athletics, “because he embodies all aspects of this honor. In a sports culture that too often puts the individual before team, Barr’s dedication, respect and selflessness encompass the definition of student-athlete. We at Bates are fortunate to have an athletics culture that celebrates sportsmanship and decency in every aspect of life, and Phil perfectly symbolizes these qualities.”

“Phil is polite, gracious and humble in his interactions with teammates, coaches, officials, parents and opponents,” Mulholland added. “He is always aware of his teammates’ goals, and his teammates and others are always more important to him than he is. In swimming, a sport known for the recognition of individual performance, ‘team’ is a real term for Phil.”

Barr has founded an organization to donate time and funding to victims of The Station fire and their families. Barr now works as an investment bank analyst at JP Morgan in New York City.

A complete story of Barr and the Station night club fire can be found at www.bates.edu/x66344.xml

The first students arrived at Bates in a trickle. Junior adviser Jason Touhey of Franklin, Mass., met the first of his 20 incoming first-year students, a student from Jordan, in Roger Williams Hall on Aug. 26 while both were moving in. From there, the two made the trek to the fourth floor of the 106-year-old dorm in tandem as they carried hefty belongings up three flights of stairs.

At the southern tip of campus, another junior adviser, Gregory Weaver of Londonderry, N.H., took his first Clason House first-year to the Den for breakfast before showing the student where to pick up his room keys and dispensing vital information: the departure time of his Annual Entering Student Outdoor Program (AESOP) trip.

The trickle of arrivals would become a steady stream by Sept. 1, as all members of the 583-person Class of 2005, Bates’ largest-ever incoming group, arrived to kick off their first — and the College’s 147th year — with orientation, a week designed to create an immediate sense of community between new students and Bates.

Elsewhere on campus before orientation, the staff of the Deans of Students office was busy preparing for junior adviser/resident coordinator training. The intensive one-week program includes a day of leadership activities at Camp Kieve in Nobleboro as well as campus speakers addressing various topics: dispute mediation, multicultural living, alcohol awareness and basic information to help incoming students discover and use all the Bates resources around them.

Fun making friends
Behind Hathorn Hall, the ground-level office of the Bates Outing Club, known as the equipment room, or “e-room,” was quiet as most AESOP trips were under way. A group of students carrying large backpacks waited as leaders helped students fill a van with camping equipment. The typically three- or-four-day trips bring students to scenic outdoor spots in Maine and New Hampshire. “The idea is to get first-years into a small group from the start and to give them a core group of people they will get to know well on their trip, while having fun in the process,” said AESOP co-coordinator Sam Chamberlain ’03.

“For us, the goal is to welcome first-years into the Bates community and answer any questions they have.” Approximately half of the 580 members of the Bates Class of 2005 participated in 28 trips in the outdoor pursuit of their choice, be it biking, canoeing or hiking. Bates students serve as leaders of the trips, most having completed an AESOP trip themselves in previous years with the student-run Outing Club. All AESOP trips returned to campus on Friday, Aug. 31.

Sports return
Meanwhile, a contingent of first-years and upperclass students broke in some of the new athletic facilities on campus. As the men’s and women’s tennis teams celebrated the one-year anniversary of the James G. Wallach Tennis Center, a pack of cross country runners launched into a spirited run, crossing nearby Russell Street into a Lewiston neighborhood, while the women’s field hockey team ran windsprints amid teammates’ cheers of support on the year-old Campus Avenue Field, featuring an AstroTurf surface.

Community orientation
Once on campus after AESOP trips, all incoming students will participate as a community in orientation activities: On Saturday, Sept. 1, in Pettengill Hall’s Perry Atrium, new students register from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., students may visit the Ladd Library circulation desk to receive a password for e-mail and network service access; from 7:45 to 8:45, students will convene in their dorm lounges and meeting areas for a discussion on dorm and campus policies.

In addition, the selection of dorm officials typically will take place at this time. From 9 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. is “First Night,” for students: Mike Green, former professional football player and nationally recognized speaker on alcohol and drug issues, will speak in the Gray Cage. Orientation continues on Sunday, Sept. 2 in the college Chapel with Joe Bertolino, associate dean of students at Barnard College, and Bill Leipold of Rutgers University-Newark as they present “When Gays Move into Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.” On Wednesday, Sept. 5, classes begin at 8 p.m. and conclude at 4 p.m.

At 4:10 p.m., award-winning composer, saxophonist and best-selling author James McBride will officially open the 147th academic year at Bates College with the convocation address The Color of Water: A Meditation on Identity.

Class of 2005 at a glance
Bates has had its third consecutive record year for new student applications, with 4,424 applications received for the incoming Class of 2005.

Just under a third of these applicants were offered admission, and approximately 600 are expected to be enrolled when fall semester starts September 5.

The ratio of women to men in the new class remains near parity, with 52 percent women and 48 percent men.

The Class of 2005 includes 55 U.S. citizens who identified themselves as racial or ethnic minorities, 37 international students, and another 22 students who hold dual citizenship in the United States and another country.

The top foreign countries represented in the first-year class include Japan with eight students, Jamaica with three and Korea and Thailand with two apiece. In all four class years, Bates has 90 students from 66 countries.

The Class of 2005 has the largest-ever representation of U.S. states: 41.

New England states provide 53 percent of the total, with 150 students from Massachusetts, 66 from Maine, 55 from Connecticut, 38 from New Hampshire and 10 each from Rhode Island and Vermont.

Other states with ten or more students include New York (66), Pennsylvania (19), New Jersey (19), California (18), Maryland (17), Colorado (11), Minnesota (10) and Washington (10).

Of those students who were ranked in their high school classes, 89 percent ranked in the top 20 percent of their graduating classes.

This is the third year in a row that Bates has received a record number of applications. Bates received 4,384 applications in 2000 and 3,955 in 1999.

Just under a third of these applicants were offered admission, and approximately 600 are expected to be enrolled when fall semester starts Sept. 5.The ratio of women to men in the new class remains near parity, with 52 percent women and 48 percent men.

The Class of 2005 includes 55 U.S. citizens who identified themselves as racial or ethnic minorities, 37 international students, and another 22 students who hold dual citizenship in the United States and another country.

The top foreign countries represented in the first-year class include Japan with eight students, Jamaica with three and Korea and Thailand with two apiece. In all four class years, Bates has 90 students from 66 countries.

The Class of 2005 has the largest-ever representation of U.S. states: 41.

New England states provide 53 percent of the total, with 150 students from Massachusetts, 66 from Maine, 55 from Connecticut, 38 from New Hampshire and 10 each from Rhode Island and Vermont.

Other states with 10 or more students include New York (66), Pennsylvania (19), New Jersey (19), California (18), Maryland (17), Colorado (11), Minnesota (10) and Washington (10).

Of those students who were ranked in their high school classes, 89 percent ranked in the top 20 percent of their graduating classes.

This is the third year in a row that Bates has received a record number of applications. Bates received 4,384 applications in 2000 and 3,955 in 1999.