{"id":103115,"date":"2016-09-16T11:07:41","date_gmt":"2016-09-16T15:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=103115"},"modified":"2018-08-14T15:34:31","modified_gmt":"2018-08-14T19:34:31","slug":"students-unplug-what-happens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2016\/09\/16\/students-unplug-what-happens\/","title":{"rendered":"When students unplug, what happens? (Hint: they like it)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Unplugged<\/a>

Unplugged from everything except the sky above, students and their professors call it a night at a Madison River campground near Yellowstone National Park on May 17. (Josh Kuckens\/Bates College).<\/p><\/div>\n

The first two weeks of the year are nearly frenetic as clubs and organizations recruit new members, sports teams get underway, and professors lay out expectations and challenges.<\/p>\n

And a lot of this happens as students plug into the Bates network.<\/p>\n

But what happens when students unplug? For that, we look back to the spring, when 14 students spent a stretch of time offline during their Short Term fieldwork in the Northern Rocky Mountains with geology professors Dyk Eusden ’80 and Genevi\u00e8ve Robert.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what the 14 had to say about being unplugged. (Hint: they liked it.)<\/p>\n

Owen Ahlborn \u201919<\/h5>\n

Physics major Owen Ahlborn \u201919 of Providence, R.I., read eight books. \u201cI really didn\u2019t do much reading for pleasure before this, so it\u2019s been sick to just cruise through a bunch of books and to have a bunch of time to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

His list included A Farewell to Arms<\/em>, One Hundred Years of Solitude<\/em>, Alive<\/em> (about the 1972 plane that crashes in the Andes with a team of soccer players), Cooked<\/em> (by Michael Pollan), The Martian<\/em>, plus one \u201cthat I can\u2019t remember right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jake Atwood \u201919<\/h5>\n

Jake Atwood \u201919 of Natick, Mass., said he had experience going without his phone for extended periods. The Spanish and philosophy double major said that \u201cit\u2019s really good to take a break from technology every once in a while and remember the other things that are important in life. I\u2019ve loved that about this trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick Barker \u201918<\/h5>\n

Environmental geology major Nick Barker \u201918 of Lancaster, N.H., said he rediscovered the fun of reading before bed. \u201cAt Bates, we have so much required reading, so I don\u2019t want to read before bed. I just want to sit in bed and relax.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, he adds, \u201cgoing to bed when it\u2019s dark and waking up when it\u2019s light has been pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsey Beauregard \u201918<\/h5>\n

Lindsey Beauregard \u201918 of Hollis, N.H., said being offline meant \u201ca lot of face-to-face time with people and more time to reflect on what I want to pursue in the future.\u201d The value of those conversations confirmed why she\u2019s \u201ca big fan of not being obligated to check technology every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

A neuroscience major, she did a lot of reading for pleasure, and it was \u201cinteresting to hear all the recommendations that people have and read their books.\u201d It\u2019s given her an appreciation for “literature as art” instead of being \u201cjust what I can get from a story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Students<\/a>

Students play cards in their West Yellowstone campground cabin on May 21 during their Short Term geology trip to the Northern Rockies. (Josh Kuckens\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n

Jack Doyle \u201918<\/h5>\n

Geology major Jack Doyle \u201918 of Mendham, N.J., said that his phone broke so he\u2019d be offline anyway. \u201cI actually really enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adelae Durand \u201919<\/h5>\n

Adelae Durand \u201919 of Cumberland, R.I., said that her mom was kind of \u201cfreaked out\u201d by not hearing from her. \u201cBut it\u2019s good to get into the wild and seclude yourself,\u201d said the neuroscience major. Although, she allowed, she was starting to miss home.<\/p>\n

“It makes me wonder what my attachment to the news was all about back home.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Elise Emil \u201917<\/h5>\n

An environmental studies major from Washington, D.C., Elise Emil \u201917 said that she had been \u201caddicted\u201d to news about the presidential race before the trip. That was before a data blackout at Craters of the Moon. Since then it had been two weeks, \u201cand it\u2019s pretty nice to be detached. It makes me wonder what my attachment to the news was all about back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danielle Fournier \u201918<\/h5>\n

Danielle Fournier \u201918, an economics major from Sugarland, Texas, said she \u201cbroke out the hammock a lot more than I would at Bates. Then again, maybe not, since it\u2019s Short Term.\u201d<\/p>\n

She valued the time to read: \u201cI picked up a Walmart book for the first time, but I couldn\u2019t tell you what it was.\u201d And she thinks everyone is \u201ctalking about what we\u2019re doing\u201d more than they would back on campus.<\/p>\n

Ian Hillenbrand \u201917<\/h5>\n

Geology major Ian Hillenbrand \u201917 of Terrace Park, Ohio, said that \u201cplaying games, spending time with new friends, and having a communal experience without technology have been great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ashley Kulesza \u201918<\/h5>\n

Ashley Kulesza \u201918 of Great Falls., Va., valued spending time \u201creading and journaling.” The geology and environmental studies double major said she “liked being outdoors with minimal distractions, and that includes technology and all that comes with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam Rickerich \u201918 said he read for pleasure more on the trip than he had the past four years.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tess Miller \u201919<\/h5>\n

Tess Miller \u201919 of Santa Monica, Calif., liked doing more reading because \u201cI\u2019m an awful reader. Let\u2019s hope I keep with it\u201d back home. Away from the screen, she learned \u201ca lot of random bird-watching stuff\u201d from professors Eusden and Robert, along with \u201cknot-tying from other students and weird fun facts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam Rickerich \u201918<\/h5>\n

Sam Rickerich \u201918 of York, Maine, said he read for pleasure more on the trip than he had the past four years. \u201cFour books, maybe five,\u201d said the geology and mathematics double major: The Adventures of <\/em>Huckleberry Finn<\/em>, A Farewell to Arms<\/em>, \u201csome random book that Hazel [Cashman] gave me, and now I\u2019m working on One Hundred Years of Solitude<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah Stanley \u201916<\/h5>\n

Environmental studies and politics double major Sarah Stanley \u201916 of Springvale, Maine, was impressed by how \u201ca lot of people are powering through books, but me, I\u2019m focused on the disc and the basketball\u201d \u2014 taking time to play hoops at the University of Western Montana early in the trip and to throw around the Frisbee at day\u2019s end when they were at campgrounds later on.<\/p>\n

Hazel Cashman \u201918<\/h5>\n

And finally, and out of alpha order because her comment is a good way to end, Hazel Cashman \u201918 of Bellingham, Wash., said it was good \u201cnot having to worry about things that I had convinced myself are important when I was back at Bates.\u201d<\/p>\n

An anthropology and geology double major, she was surprised that she enjoyed \u201cnot having to keep up with all those social responsibilities because “it\u2019s a lot of effort, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Interviews by Josh Kuckens\/Bates College.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What happens when students unplug? For that, we hear from 14 students who spent a stretch of time offline during their Short Term fieldwork in the Northern Rocky Mountains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":103117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[4,11012],"tags":[10841,10845],"class_list":["post-103115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-life","category-student-life","tag-geology","tag-short-term"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103115"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117672,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103115\/revisions\/117672"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}