From thermoses in the classroom to preparation in the locker room, from eggs in the dining hall to wax in the studio, we’ve navigated campus from March to April. Spring sprung, but Maine’s winter returned with a blast. Featuring students, faculty, staff — and even a canine companion — it’s all here for your inspection: the latest edition of This Month at Bates.
Cowboy the Corgi
Cowboy, who is a corgi, takes his turn sitting for a portrait in the Bates Communications and Marketing studio in early March after his owner, Carrie Green, an assistant coach of softball, sat for her portrait as a new member of the Bates community.
Eye on the Ball
Facing Nichols College opponents in mid-March, Nicky Desai ’24 of Hopkinton, Mass., won his doubles match with partner and fellow captain Matthew Danielson ‘24 of St. Petersburg, Fla., and his singles match as the Bobcats rolled to a 9-0 win. On the same day, the Bobcats also blanked the University of Southern Maine.
‘Gateway Into an Alternate World’
The portrait of Joseph Vineyard ’24 of Danville, Vt., was taken in the darkroom in Olin Arts Center, where he is illuminated by a red safelight used when developing photographic materials.
Vineyard is among eight studio art majors whose work will be featured at this year’s Senior Thesis Exhibition. He has produced a digitally drawn 2D animation that tries to demonstrate the physical effects that a person might feel during a panic attack.
The animation, he says, seeks “to give those who have not experienced [a panic attack] a way to visualize what someone may be feeling, as well as provide those who struggle with anxiety and panic attacks to have their experience affirmed and show that they are not alone.”
The piece affords insight into how Vineyard views art. “Art to me is like a gateway into an alternate world, a place for the viewer to get lost in and find an experience that reflects or is unlike their own.”
Framed by Commons
This early-morning view from the Gorayeb Mezzanine in Commons frames parts of three Bates buildings: from left, Chase Hall, Carnegie Science Hall, and Ladd Library.
In the foreground are the brick pillars of the Class of 1910 Gate, once where fans paid to enter Garcelon Field for football games and now the ceremonial entrance to the plaza that fronts Commons.
His Own Devices
In late March, Skelton Lounge was the site of a dress rehearsal for Nomeacuerdo (or how did i lose the cradle), a theater performance devised and directed by Miguel Ángel Pacheco ’24 of Caracas, Venezuela.
The piece was “devised theater,” which emphasizes collaboration and improvisation, and was inspired by El Próximo Tren by the Argenitian poet, dramatist, director, and theatrical researcher Alfredo Rosenbaum. It explores human migration and sense of place — loss, remembering, invisibility, and being forgotten.
An interdisciplinary arts and performance major, Pacheco acted with Bora Lugunda ’25, Jeremy Felton ’26, Grace Martin ’27, Carlos Roberto González ’24, and Adelle Welch ’25.
Touch of Tea
Wherever you go at Bates, there they are: Thermoses, water bottles, or your basic mug. These were seen during a seminar in Pettengill Hall.
It’s All in the Planning
On the ground floor of Ladd Library, mathematics majors and senior classmates Duc Anh of Hanoi and Ethan Bean of Oaken, Va., work together during in Ladd’s Peer Learning Commons on a proposal for the upcoming Bobcat Ventures event.
Wax World
Olivia Rabin ’24 of Montclair, N.J., works on her artwork in her Olin Arts Center studio on March 21, 2024, preparing for the 2024 Senior Thesis Exhibition.
Rabin has always been fascinated and inspired by “nature and the fantastical,” and in this image she’s using the natural properties of wax.
“Wax flows like water but as it cools and solidifies it almost freezes a moment in time and space, allowing for the magic to be captured. In these works, I was able to find connections between my interests in nature, magic, water, and wax. The emotions I feel from these are something that I both want to explore and give back.”
She recalls watching the documentary series Blue Planet, narrated by David Attenborough, as a child. “This and the works by people similarly inspired by the natural world inspire my current work, exploring the connections between my headspace, the act of expression, and the physical world.”
Bobcats in Hats
After receiving themed hats as a gift, majors and minors in religious studies pose for a photograph during a department dinner in Commons hosted by Associate Professor of Religious Studies Alison Melnick (left) and Professor of Religious Studies Cynthia Baker (right).
Between the professors are (front) Phoebe Stern ’24 and Chloe Dwinal ’25, and (back) Sophie Leight ’26, Shay Campolongo ’26, Stella Simonds ’27, and Suhana Liedtke ’25.
Locker Room Routines
Members of the Bates men’s lacrosse team go through their pre-game routines in the lacrosse locker room in Underhill Arena before facing Trinity in late March on Garcelon Field.
Among the players are, at left, Drew McClutchy ’27 (No. 19) of Farmington, Conn., sitting pensively with his helmet and gloves at his feet. Seated at center listening to music is Tyler Chang ’25 (No. 32) of Manhasset, N.Y. Other players include tri-captain Denzel Evans ’25 (No. 42) of Baltimore, Roan Hopkins ’27 (No. 39) of Yarmouth, Maine, and Gray Doyle ’27 (No. 33) of Summit, N.J.
A Shakespearean Moment
In the Bates production of The Gravediggers Union, about a colorful collection of gravediggers at a New Hampshire cemetery who are suddenly at risk of losing their jobs, Caroline Cassell ’24 of Woodstock, Vt., played Mike, a drummer in a local band.
Cassell and fellow actor David Allen ’24 of Dorchester, Mass., both acted in the production as part of their senior thesis work in theater.
Cassell praised the guidance of visiting director Kevin R. Free, who was inspiring, open, and collaborative. “He supports and makes room for us as whole human beings. While his direction is focused, it also allows us to explore characters on our own, which I’ve really enjoyed,”
A Championship Season
The Bates swimming and diving teams were honored at halftime of the women’s lacrosse game vs. Middlebury on March 16 for their superb seasons, and 13 swimmers who qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships were introduced to the crowd.
At the championships, March 20–23 in Greensboro, N.C., the women placed 18th in the country and the men 34th.
Eggscellent Omelets
Tuesdays are a great day to be a Bobcat because it’s omelet day in Commons.
And every omelet day needs an omelet man. At Bates, that’s Dining Services second cook Bradley McArthur.
He says the omelets he makes later in the morning, when the grill has had a chance to season, are better — “much like a cast-iron skillet.” He also likes teasing and joking with the students.
Irrepressible Duo
The annual Great Day to Be a Bobcat giving day was March 14, and among the guests who offered thanks to donors (via whiteboard) during the day-long livestream were Professor of French and Francophone Studies Kirk Read (left) and Associate Vice President for Dining, Conferences, and Campus Events Christine Schwartz.
Nearly 2,400 alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students, and friends made gifts this year, busting past the donor goal of 1,907 (which represents the number of students enrolled on campus). All told, donors contributed more than $1 million to Bates.
Inspirational Women
March was women’s history month, and the glass entrance to the Office of Intercultural Education shared expressions, written with whiteboard markers, of what the month means to Bates folks.
Managing the Healing Process
Following a discussion in a Roger Williams Hall classroom, Bora Lugunda ’25 (left) of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, greets Chantal Kayitesi, one of three visitors to Bates who shared stories with students about their lives as survivors of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi of Rwanda.
Alexandre Dauge-Roth, professor of French and francophone studies, organized the three-day event, “Rwanda 30 Years After: Trauma Healing of Genocide Survivors and Intergenerational Trauma.”
Lagunda had asked the Rwandans how outsiders can best approach interviews with survivors to help document the history of the atrocity. “It’s not that hard,” said Jean Bosco Rutagengwa. “Survivors want to tell their story. It’s good when they share the details, because it helps in the healing process.”
Fiesta Latina
Cristina Salazar ’24 (right) of San José, Costa Rica, and Micaela Cateriano, a Lewiston High School senior, perform a dance during a dress rehearsal for P’al Mundo (For the World), an annual performance showcase sponsored by Raices Unidas, the Latinx student organization at Bates.
This year’s theme was Fiesta Latina, honoring the “joyful spirit that defines our diverse cultural celebrations,” said the organizers.
Spring Snow, Part I
After a rainy and warm winter, Bates was surprised by two big late-season snowfalls, a foot on March 24, and another foot or so on April 3–4.
This photograph was taken from a window in Roger Williams Hall shortly after the first snowstorm as the high spring sun started doing a number on the new snowfall.
Eureka! It’s Norton Virgien ’74
This year’s College Key Distinguished Alumni in Residence, Norton Virgien ’74 speaks with Xucheng Zheng ’27 of Shanghai, China, after his talk in the Benjamin Mays Center.
An Emmy-winning director of animated movies and series, Virgien most recently co-created and directed Disney Juniors’ Eureka!, nominated for Outstanding Animated Series at the 2023 NAACP Image Awards.
Previously an episode director with KlaskyCsupo (Rugrats, Duckman, Santo Bugito), he co-directed The Rugrats Movie and Rugrats Go Wild.
Between Snowstorms
On a pleasant spring day between two spring snowstorms, these friends found a sunny spot in the History Quad. “I wanted to go outside before three feet of snow gets dumped on us,” said Charlotte Racine ’27 (right) of Richmond, Va.
She’s with Maia Seigerman ’26 of Larchmont, N.Y., Chris Scotti ’27 of Bronxville, N.Y., and Cal Schrupp ’24 of Gilford N.H. The four students were in a discussion based on a prompt from Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies Rebecca Herzig for the course “Technology in U.S. History.”
Point Taken
President Garry W. Jenkins talks with Mike Hussey, a member of his senior management team, during the monthly gathering of the Presidents Council, a group of staff members who direct college programs.
Women’s Lacrosse Rolls
Caroline Keating ’26 of Rye, N.Y., advances the ball during the women’s lacrosse team’s 22-2 victory over Husson University. A midfielder, Keating chipped in to the win with a goal.
Catching Up
Dining Services staff members Diana Mba Oyana (left) and Sonia Roy have an early dinner, around 3:30, before the supper crowd arrives.
Spring Snow, Part II
It’s a blizzard for her birthday!
With heavy snow falling (nearly a foot by midday), Amelia Wallis ‘24 of Norwich, Vt., celebrated her 22nd birthday on April 4 with Bates buddies, who threw her a snow party on the Historic Quad.
“It’s an amazing day to celebrate with friends,” said Wallis.
You can spy Wallis in her aqua blue jacket, seated at the head of a snow horse, which followed a snow fort they built from a big pile of snow left by Facility Services plows.
A magnificent effort to match the day’s spring storm.
