Stories about "theme of unity"
Theme of unity shines through in Bates Convocation

Thursday, September 8, 2005 4:30 pm

Speakers who addressed the Convocation audience Sept. 6 offered ample food for thought to the incoming Class of 2009, from the historical evolution of academic freedom to life lessons implicit in the Bates education. But unity — as in unity of self and unity on campus — was a subtext for remarks by both the featured convocation speaker, the Rev. Peter J. Gomes '65, and President Elaine Tuttle Hansen. Gomes referenced a sermon on his first Sunday on campus, in 1961 during what was then called "Freshman Week," that stressed Bates' role in assembling the diverse components of character into "a life worth living." Hansen, meanwhile, called for a shared campus commitment to robust intellectual inquiry.