DID YOU KNOW?  Ramona Banuelos was the first Hispanic woman to serve as U.S. treasurer.  March is the national women’s history month, a time to celebrate and honor the achievements of women.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Residents from BLAKE STREET TOWERS, a Lewiston Housing Authority apartment complex, will be visiting Bates for lunch. Come chat with residents and help those in wheelchairs to get food. 11am in Commons (131 Fish Bowl). – Sponsored by the Harward Center

The Politics Department invites you to a candidate presentation  in International Political Economy - G A N E S H   T R I C H U R, Assistant Professor of Global Studies,  St. Lawrence University will give a talk on “East Asian Regional Dynamics and the Current World-Systemic Crisis" - 4:15pm  ~  Pettengill G65 - Refreshments will be provided

THE LOVE 146 FAST AND VIGIL is today.  Thanks to the 370 students who signed up to miss dinner at Commons tonight as a way of donating to Love 146.  At 6:30, all are invited to a brief vigil to show solidarity with trafficked children.  It will be at the lower library terrace.

CELEBRATION OF FREEDOM: Bates a capella groups and  dancers will be performing with performers from the Lewiston community to help raise money for the middle school’s Civil Rights Team so that the team may attend a student leadership competition.  Admission is $3 for bates students with ID.  7pm, Lewiston Middle School Auditorium.

Working on a paper? Get some feedback tonight about your writing from experienced Bates peer writing assistants. The Peer Writing Center in Ladd is open from 7 to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday nights as well as Sunday afternoons from 1 to 5. No appointment necessary--just stop by with your paper and assignment and enjoy some constructive conversation about your writing. See you there!

Looking for a supportive study environment?  Try MCC STUDY NIGHTS Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-9pm, Multicultural Center, 2nd Floor Lounge.

The Department of ART AND VISUAL CULTURE Presents: Susan L. Ward, Professor, Department of History of Art and Visual Culture, Rhode Island School of Design - Wrangling the Gothic Census: How Americans Collected Medieval Sculpture - Olin Arts Center, Room 104 - 7:00 p.m.  Reception Following

"THE SOCIETY OF PHYSICS STUDENTS presents the first annual G.Ruff-J.Pribram colloquium on 7:30 PM in Carnegie 204.  Remember the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) that opened up in Europe this past fall?  Did you think it would suck us all up into a black hole?  Come hear O. Keith Baker (Yale University, ATLAS Collaboration) talk about what the LHC is all about and find out the truth about the black hole scenario.  Refreshments (including Chai) and desserts (including mini pastries and paw cookies) will be served after the colloquium."

READINGS: Sarah Manguso is the author of the memoir The Two Kinds of Decay(2008), the story collection Hard to Admit and Harder to Escape (2007), and the poetry collections Siste Viator (2006) and The Captain Lands in Paradise (Alice James Books, 2002). In 2008 Manguso was awarded the Joseph Brodsky Rome Prize in Literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. 7:30 pm in Skelton Lounge.

VILLAGE CLUB SERIES: Come hear Mark DeRose, Avi and Celia light up the stage. Mark De Rose blends introspective lyrics with heartfelt acoustic rock. And Avi and Celia are two resounding voices bond together to deliver gritty, original music. Simmering with hip-bending, blue-tinged melodies, this powerhouse duo is creating something that it totally their own. Benjamin Mays Center 9:00 PM. Free Chai and Cookies.

Friday, March 20, 2009 -  CREOLE TABLE  - Focus: Dominican Republic - 5.30 pm, Multicultural Center - Table's Guest:  JUNOT DIAZ, author of Drown and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao  which won the John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award,  the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the 2008 Pulitzer  Prize.  RSVP to ttaylor@bates.edu by next Wednesday (seating is limited to 20)

This weekend FILMBOARD proudly presents The Curious Case of Benjamin Button!!!  David Fincher directs this adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic tale set in the early 20th century that follows Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt), a man who was born in his 80s and continually grows younger. The story throws linear conventions upside down to explore love, loss and memories from the perspective of a character living under incredibly unique -- and unexpectedly difficult -- circumstances. Cate Blanchett co-stars in this Oscar nominee for Best Picture. Show times are Friday at 7 and 10, Saturday at 2 and 7, and Sunday at 2 and 5 in Olin 104.  NOTE: show times are slightly different from usual due to the length of the movie.  As always, admission is only $1 No better way to catch up on movies from this past fall or watch them again! Free posters are also available for the fall releases W., The Rocker, and Transporter 3, so please come see a Filmboard member at the showing if you are interested.  Please remember, there is no food or drink allowed in Olin 104.  *Brought to you by your friends at Filmboard*

COFFEEHOUSE: The International Club presents to you another great coffee house. With a whole range of performance including a bollywood dance, a sword-balancing belly dancer, some hip hop antics and plenty more!!! Come one and all to Chase Hall lounge at 7.30 pm on Friday, March 20th and witness a great exhibition of talent from all over the world!!!

Have no fear, the DATING DOCTOR IS HERE! That's right, the man who inspired the movie Hitch with Will Smith is coming to Bates this Friday at 9pm in the Benjamin Mays Center.  David Coleman is known nationwide as The Dating Doctor and "America's Real-Life Hitch." He has been named the National Speaker of the Year on 10 separate occasions - 7 times by Campus Activities Magazine and 3 times by The National Association for Campus Activities. He recently won again for 2006! He is a highly sought after speaker, entertainer, and retreat facilitator. - http://www.datingdoctor.com/bio.html The Dating Doctor David Coleman is brought to you by the Chase Hall Committee.

BATES BUS SCHEDULE: The bus departs from Campus Ave. in front of Chase Hall.  Sign-up in advance for all trips in the Student Activities Office in Chase Hall.  This Saturday’s trip will be going to the OLD PORT free.  Bus leaves Chase Hall at 12 noon and returns to campus at 5:00 pm.

Join SANGAI ASIA for an ARTS AND CRAFTS WORKSHOP, where we will be making lanyard bracelets, stars, decorating fans, and teaching calligraphy! Be creative and show off your artistic skills to your friends! Col280 Kitchen on Saturday, March 21 at 1:00 pm.

This Saturday, you won't want to miss the musical stylings of CRAZYWATER (Derek Rocchini, piano/vocals and Alex Iyer, percussion). 8-11 pm, Commons Fireplace Lounge, featuring special guest vocalists Nick Blomberg and Megan Guynes.

5:00 pm Japanese Table – New Commons Building, Room 116
12:00 pm Room To Love.  Please join us for a weekly Multifaith worship service in which we explore the matters of the human heart. Thursdays at noon at 161 Wood St.
5:00 pm French Table – New Commons Building, Room 131 A,B,C
6:00 pm Hillel meets every Thursday at 6:00 in New Commons Renyi Room #211. Join us for dinner and to spend time with other Jewish students.
6:00 pm BCTV is a student run organization working to broadcast talent through television. We will be doing    news segments, Bates Cribs, and more. Meetings are in New Commons Jarnryd Meeting Room  #222. -   (except April 30 in Room 226)
7:00 pm Physics 108 weekly PALG session.  The session is open to all students of the class and is led by Maddie White.  Carneg 113 (except March 26)
7:00 pm Come join the Women's Resource Center for its weekly meeting! We will be discussing and planning upcoming events and all are welcome to join and share their ideas! WRC, 45 Campus Ave.
7:00 pm Come to the meetings of the Bates Secular Student Alliance, the first and only Bates College organization dedicated to non-religious Batesies. All are welcome, religious or not! Pettengill 116
8:00 pm Come juggle with the Juggling Club!  We meet between 8 and 10pm in the Skelton Lounge of Chase Hall. No experience necessary, drop by anytime.