Bates College | May 12, 2009

CAMPUS-WIDE FORUM AND OPEN HOUSES for the Bates Facilities Master Plan Update - To hear information and share ideas related to the Facilities Master Plan Update please join us for the following events: a Campus-wide Forum will be held on Wednesday, May 13th from 3:00 to 5:00 PM in New Commons Rooms 221/222 and Open Houses will be held in New Commons Room 221 on Wednesday, May 13th from Noon to 1:30 PM and on Wednesday, May 20th from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. The Facilities Master Plan Update addresses current and future needs for the buildings, open spaces and facilities that compose the campus and establishes a framework for phased improvements. For more information look for posters and announcements around campus - we look forward to your participation.

Lecture by JAMIL DAKWAR, National Director, ACLU Human Rights Program on*Palestinian Human Rights in the Age of Obama: U.S., Israel, and the 'War on Terror'* - Wednesday, May 13, 4 pm, Benjamin Mays Center - Bates Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine welcomes Jamil Dakwar, director of the Human Rights Program of the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU Human Rights Program uses human rights strategies to complement existing ACLU advocacy on national security, immigrants' rights, women's rights and racial justice. In March 2005, the ACLU Human Rights Program and Human Rights First filed a landmark lawsuit charging former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other senior military leaders with direct responsibility for the torture and abuse of detainees. In May 2007, the ACLU Human Rights Program challenged the CIA on behalf of Khaled El-Masri, an entirely innocent victim of rendition who was released without ever being charged. The Human Rights Program is also currently involved in cases challenging inhumane practices in U.S. detention facilities and in organizing litigation to combat human trafficking.

COLLEGE LECTURES SERIES: Eric G. Wilson will speak on May 13 at 7pm in Chase Hall on the "The Power of Melancholy." His lecture will draw from his most recent book "Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy "(New York: Sarah Crichton/ Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2008) " "In "Against Happiness", the scholar Eric G. Wilson argues that melancholia is necessary to any thriving culture, that it is the muse of great literature, painting, music, and innovations and that it is the force underlying original insights. Francisco Goya, Emily Dickinson, Marcel Proust, and Abraham Lincoln were all confirmed melancholics. So enough Prozac-ing of our brains. Let’s embrace our depressive sides as the wellspring of creativity. What most people take for contentment, Wilson argues, is living death, and what the majority takes for depression is a vital force. It’s time to throw off the shackles of positivity and relish the blues that make us human." (http://www.wfu.edu/~wilsoneg/againsthappiness.html)

ART LECTURE: Bates College Department of Art and Visual culture Presents: Bruce Brown, Independent Curator, Curator Emeritus at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art - Speaking on "Art Seen from Two Sides: Collector & Curator" - Wednesday, May 13, Olin Arts Center, Room 104, 7:00 p.m. Reception to Follow. The illustrious and celebrated Maine collector and curator, Bruce Brown is known throughout the state as the Freeport high school teacher whose teaching of Maine studies in the 1970s led to his becoming one the preeminent collectors of contemporary Maine artists and thus being named in 2007 one of America's significant art collectors. He is curator emeritus of the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport where he served from 1987 to 2006. Among his other contributions has been the organization of state-wide senior-thesis exhibitions. His visit is in conjunction with our course "Building a Studio Practice." Works from his own collection have been widely exhibited including major exhibitions at the Portland Museum of Art and Colby College.

FREE ICE CREAM and FREE FILM SCREENING of the movie Free Swim, followed by Q & A with the founder of Swim to Empower sponsored by New World Coalition. Free Swim is a documentary film about the paradox of coastal people not knowing how to swim. Taking place on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas we follow a group of kids as they overcome their fears, gain confidence and reconnect with their environment by learning to swim in open waters. With fresh memories of a friend drowning and the conflicts of growing tourism, for these kids it’s not just about floating, but gaining new skills for their future. Highlighted in the film is Swim to Empower, a non-profit organization that aims to address the disturbing reality that 80% of Bahamians cannot swim. Brenna Hughes, the founder of Swim to Empower, will be presenting the film and will answer questions about VOLUNTEERING, non-profit organization establishment, as well as other topics you may want to discuss. Wednesday May 13th, 7:30 pm in PGill G52

FILMBOARD has its annual drive-in movie this THURSDAY at 9 pm outside on the Library Quad!!! In anticipation of the sequel's release in the coming month, we are showing Transformers!!! Based on the popular toys that transform from machines into giant robots, this live-action movie from Pearl Harbor director Michael Bay finds the planet Cybertron inhabitants engaging in a secret war for control of Earth's natural resources, which they desperately need for fuel. Able to disguise themselves as cars, airplanes, boats and more, the transformers prove a tough enemy in this film starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, and Jon Voight. All are welcome and it is a free event. In case of inclement weather, the showing will take place in the Gray Cage. See you all there.

This Saturday the Student Activities Office will be offering a BUS TO OLD PORT for the day on Saturday The bus leaves from in front of Chase Hall at noon and returns to campus by 5 pm. Sign up in the Student Activities Office in Chase Hall.