{"id":108913,"date":"2017-08-11T11:08:43","date_gmt":"2017-08-11T15:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=108913"},"modified":"2024-07-01T15:09:57","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T19:09:57","slug":"when-new-bates-students-meet-lewiston-heres-what-they-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2017\/08\/11\/when-new-bates-students-meet-lewiston-heres-what-they-say\/","title":{"rendered":"When new Bates students meet Lewiston, here’s what they say"},"content":{"rendered":"

You have one chance to make a first impression, and when it comes to Lewiston’s chance to impress first-year students, the occasion is the annual Downtown Walkabout during Orientation.<\/p>\n

Held on Labor Day, the walkabout comprises many small group tours, each led by current students whose involvement in the Lewiston-Auburn community, through the college’s Harward Center for Community Partnerships<\/a>, makes them expert guides for the day.<\/p>\n

On their way back to campus, the first-years are asked two questions. The first is, “What caught your eye, interest, or imagination?” The second: “What questions does this experience raise for you?”<\/p>\n

Here are some responses from newbies in last year’s entering Class of 2020.<\/p>\n

1. Bates\u2019 approach…<\/h5>\n

Bates\u2019 approach to serving the community as a partner instead of as a savior made me think.<\/p>\n

2. Our tour guide engaged…<\/h5>\n

Our tour guide engaged with Lewiston-Auburn community members during our tours. It showed her genuine comfort and care for the community.<\/p>\n

\"150907_Orientation_LA_Tours_0634\"<\/a>

A Lewiston Walkabout tour stops at the intersection of Lisbon and Maine streets on Sept. 7, 2015. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n

3. I was interested…<\/h5>\n

I was interested in the non-gentrification of Lewiston.<\/p>\n

4. Lewiston is the safest city…<\/h5>\n

Lewiston is the safest city in Maine! Poverty obviously doesn\u2019t equal crime.<\/p>\n

5. The diversity of the downtown…<\/h5>\n

The diversity of the downtown caught my eye\u00a0\u2014 not only human but storefront and organizational diversity, too.<\/p>\n

6. I liked how old spaces…<\/h5>\n

I liked how old spaces were being remade and modernized. I think it is so cool that these old buildings are being preserved. Also, I liked learning about the monthly Art Walk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

7. The large amount of culture…<\/h5>\n

The large amount of culture in such a small city surprised me. The city felt very real, which is uncommon for a college town.<\/p>\n

8. I really like the Somali\u00a0area…<\/h5>\n

I really like the Somali\u00a0area in Lewiston. The shops and restaurants were all local and such a different culture than I am used to.<\/p>\n

9. Although Lewiston…<\/h5>\n

Although Lewiston does have poverty, the city is still very vibrant and alive.<\/p>\n

10. I am intrigued by the stories…<\/h5>\n

I am intrigued by the stories of Bates alumni and what they have done in this community, and what we as students can do in our new community.<\/p>\n

11. In Kennedy Park…<\/h5>\n

In Kennedy Park, lots of different families (racially, income, etc.) really put into perspective how diverse Lewiston-Auburn is.<\/p>\n

12. Different groups of immigrants…<\/h5>\n

Different groups of immigrants have combined over time to form the community of Lewiston.<\/p>\n

13. Lewiston has so much to offer…<\/h5>\n

Lewiston has so much to offer to everyone regardless of race, gender, and\/or sexual orientation.<\/p>\n

14. The multicultural and multifaith community…<\/h5>\n

The multicultural and multi-faith community interested me, and it made me very interested in learning more about Lewiston’s diversity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lewiston’s chance to make a first impression on first-year students comes next month during the Downtown Walkabout during Orientation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":108922,"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":[1],"tags":[4087,10830,6683],"class_list":["post-108913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-batesnews","tag-harward-center-for-community-partnerships","tag-lewiston-auburn","tag-orientation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108913","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=108913"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151187,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108913\/revisions\/151187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}