During a pre-orientation trip in late August, new Bates students and their trip co-leaders dive into the calm waters of the Basin on the New Meadows River near Bath, Maine. To get this photo, trip co-leader Lincoln Benedict ’09 (second from left) rigged his camera to the mast and tripped it with a remote control he’s holding in his left hand. Known as AESOP, the Outing Club–run orientation program offers around 40 trips annually and is one of just a few nationally that students alone oversee. From left: co-leader Emily Chandler ’09, whose family shared their Vineyard Vixen 34 sailboat for the AESOP trip; co-leader Benedict; and first-years Ben Williams, Stephen Wright, Erin Pinover, and Monica Rodriguez. Standing near the stern is Maria Rouvalis.
