Carrie Murphey ’06, assistant dean of students for first-year programs, likens the experience of Orientation to a kaleidoscope.
“If one thing isn’t fitting quite right, or they’re feeling like, ‘Hmmm, not quite sure how this feels,’ they have lots of opportunities and lots of clicks of the kaleidoscope to see themselves in other parts of Bates,” she says.
Photographers Phyllis Graber Jensen and Theophil Syslo followed members of the Class of 2021 for much of Orientation, as they walked Lewiston, learned about the importance of reasoned inquiry, and spent their days and nights in the woods, on a farm, or at sports practice.
The clicks of the kaleidoscope started Tuesday, Aug. 29, as the new students met advisers in various First-Year Seminars, continued with off-campus AESOP trips and on-campus varsity sports practices late in the week, then returned to campus for Tuesday’s Convocation and the start of classes on Wednesday.
Jaelene Perez '20 of the Bronx, Precious Johnson '20 of Chicago, and Jesus Carrera '20 of Waco, Texas, pose for student photographer Alexandria Onuoha '20 of Malden, Mass., during the OIE reception. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)
Wednesday, Sept. 6: Catching up at the OIE's reception, from left, are John Collantes '18 of Park Ridge, Ill., Sally Ceesay '18 of the Bronx, Jeanne Hua '18 of Honolulu, and Frederick Cheng '18 of San Leandro, Calif. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)
Wednesday, Sept. 6: Brooke Drabkin '18 of Roslyn Heights, N.Y., (facing camera) hugs Cash Huynh '18 of New Orleans during an Office of Intercultural Education reception held to welcome the Class of 2021 and give returning faculty, staff, and students a chance to connect and reconnect. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)
Wednesday, Sept. 6: Students listen to a discussion about the "Odyssey" during the first lesson of Lisa Maurizio’s First-Year Seminar, “Classical Myths and Contemporary Art.” Students in the course “explore the ways in which myths give members of a society, whether ancient or modern, meaningful tools to describe and explore issues, values, and conflicts.” (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)
Tuesday, Sept. 5: After Convocation, Marshall Vale pours a cup of water from Lake Andrews on the soil around a red oak sapling near the Class of 1929 Gate. Each year, a memorial tree is planted to honor members of the Bates community who have died in the past year. Marshall Vale’s wife Katie Vale, college librarian and vice president for information and library services, died in December. (Theophil Syslo/Bates College)
