Mount David Summit

Mount David Summit is this once-a-year event in which students present their research/thesis/activity/passion…. I guess the list goes on and on. Some times there are group presentations, and for the most part, people design huge posters that get printed out on glossy paper to be displayed. Most of these students present their thesis work, and that basically means they stand next to their poster and answer questions that people might have. The atrium in Pettengill is packed, and I always end up knocking into people trying to navigate the crowd to find my friends’ posters. I typically have no idea what they’re talking about, and I get the impression that they usually get a bit tired of answering lame questions, like defining what it is they’re working with. I mean, they’ve spent all year/semester investigating and reading up on something, and I’m just not usually capable of asking them challenging questions– something which I think ultimately bores the typical Batesie. Or at least the Batesie that presents at Mount David.

I should mention that Mount David Summit is named for the (small) mountain behind Rand and New Rand Village. Before that new dorm was built, people would steal trays from old commons (they were bigger than the new ones) and slide down the hill. There have been various incarnations of this “traying team”. Another thing Mount David is great for is the quick hike for a view, which seniors typically climb the night before/morning of graduation. On top of that, apparently the first person you kiss on the top of Mount David is the one that you marry…. so maybe that’s where the inter-Batesie marriage statistic comes from….

give me back my quiet library

The library is noisy. It’s not usually. In the middle of the semester, there are only a couple people at each table each evening. In the middle of the semester, you can find a free computer at the drop of a hat. In the middle of the semester, you don’t have to stake out a study area before breakfast to guarantee a space later on that day. In the middle of the semester, I don’t have to change locations to Pettengill to minimize distractions so I can get my work done.

Unfortunately, it’s almost exam week. This means that the first floor of the library assumes its status as “student center” (nerdy, I know). This means that the background noise level of the library rises a few decibels. This means I have to listen to music to drown out overhearing random conversations about classes I’m not in.

Batesies don’t particularly like change, and for me, this is a prime example. These “crunch time” changes in the library atmosphere force us “regulars” to change our habits, and I’m pretty sure we get a little bitter. My friends that work on the first floor migrate to the second floor, and those friends used to working on the second floor head up to the third. (Apparently the intensity of students studying on each floor increases as you climb more stairs…) My recent solution? Pettengill.

thrift stores aren’t really my thing

So Friday afternoon my friend and I took a little break and went on an adventure. (Yes, I had a lot of work to do. And yeah, I probably would have had a more fun weekend if I had done a little more homework on Friday afternoon. But I had finished a super-hard physics test that morning, and the Cosmo that’s been lying around my suite instructed me that taking a break at the end of the week is a great way to “decompress” or something like that. Obviously I should be following advice found in Cosmo… or maybe it’s just embarrassing that I know enough about the April issue to be able to use it as an excuse for my trip off campus…)

We went to Orphan Annie’s in Auburn. Orphan Annie’s is a thrift store. It’s just down the street (or rather, up a little hill) from Gritty’s (a popular dinner-out destination). I didn’t really have any idea what to expect, since I’m not exactly well versed in “thrift store” atmosphere. Now I know why.

I don’t tend to think of myself as stuck up by any means, but I guess I’m just not a big fan of earrings that have already been worn, and the light layer of dust over everything (even though the dusk in my room is probably more substantial… sorry, Mom). The clothes weren’t exactly my taste… although they might have been if I were around 25 years ago or so. The store in general was cute though– if that’s your thing. They had nice dishes, and super sparkle-y jewelry. They had cool bracelets too, which is what I was there to look for. I mean, Gala’s coming up. I’ve got the dress, but I definitely needed to find some accessories. So I was looking for some funky bracelets to spice up a plain ol’ black dress. I saw some things that might work… but then I saw the price of some of the them. More than $20 for a funky plastic bracelet? yeah right. I like Gala, but not that much.

So we went to Claire’s instead, and I got some gold bangles. (The last round of stuff I bought from Claire’s was jewelry for the 80’s dance…)

the “d” word

(Completely unrelated to what I’m about to say… I just sat in the library for about 10 minutes staring around the room, lurking for an open computer. For those of us who study in the library on a regular basis and are used to being able to get a computer when we want, this was very frustrating. Yeah, finals are approaching.)

Here’s the real thing I want to talk about: diversity. It’s been a big word on campus for the past few years. Some people think we have it, some don’t, some think we need more, and I would say there are a good number of people who just don’t care. One adult in this morning’s Information Session however did seem to care. Us Senior Admissions Fellows finished our talk about Bates, and opened it up to student questions. They asked some great questions about balancing academics with committment to a sports team and different programs on campus. (Note to self, I don’t actually know a whole lot about the Econ department, so I should probably stop offering to target my talk to what programs students are interested in…)

Anyway, so this parent patiently waited until it was his turn, and asked us what diversity was like on campus. “Can you give us a breakdown,” he said, “of the composition of students on campus?” We were stumped, but not because we didn’t know the answer. But really, how do you answer a question like that? I don’t have statistics off the top of my head, and said as much. We proceeded to tell him about how Bates is constantly pushing itself to do better in representing all different types of students– both of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, but to also increase socioeconomic diveristy. We talked about how Batesies are really good at representing a diversity of experience– but then I started to wonder, is that enough?

Afterwards, my partner and I debriefed. What should we have said? There must have been a better answer. I mean, I talked about how my experience at a small prep school makes Bates seem like New York City in terms of diversity, compared with my roommate’s view, coming from a large public school. This is just on the visible diversity. I keep telling myself that visible diversity is not where diversity ends. I really believe that the range of experiences entering Bates students have– and what Batesies experience through abroad programs, etc. during their four years here– is what makes the community an exciting place to be. Not just because our student body represents x number of continents, countries and states.

Yet visible diversity makes a big difference when you’re walking around the campus on a tour. If you see people predominantly of one race, one gender or one ethnicity, I’m willing to bet you will have a gut judgment of that school, and it won’t necessarily be positive. So regardless about what I think of the multiple layers of diversity, visible diversity is what you’ll get an impression of as you walk around the campus for an hour. What you don’t get to see on your tour is the type of discussion that happens both in and outside of the classroom. For a campus that can look overwhelmingly caucasian, we are remarkably conscious of that fact and our history.

Here at Bates we pride ourselves on our founding history (by abolitionists in 1855) and the egalitarian values we’ve always supported. I would say that most Bates students have been encouraged (if not in high school, definitely at Bates) to think critically about the intersection between race and socioeconomic class, race and gender, gender and class…. I know that in many of my classes, it is evident that Batesies think critically about how they got where they are today, and what social structures/conditions have either helped or hindered that position.

This is definitely a question that’s always in the back of my mind. How do I feel about the diversity on campus? And at what point will it stop being “diverse” and we will be difference-blind, such that diversity of experience will be the only thing that matters? Might that ever exist?
So tell me, how do you explain this to a room of about 60 prospective students and their parents in 5 minutes?

http://www.bates.edu/x163013.xml 

March Madness.

And that madness I’m talking about isn’t related to basketball. This “madness” starts at the end of February and pushes on to the last weeks of March. Ultimately what I’m saying is that March at Bates is tough. Don’t get me wrong– Bates does a great job of keeping us entertained. We had ZOX come play last weekend– lots of fun, I heard, and there have been comedians and movies and trips. My friends and I have kept busy too– March is apparently a really popular birthday month. No joke, I have celebrated on the 4th, 11th, 13th, 16th (times two), and now the 18th. There are upcoming birthdays on the 21st and the 26th… You would think that with the amount of birthday cake I’ve eaten not only would I weigh 500 pounds but also that the sugar high would push me through this gray month. But no. Maybe these doldrums are a direct effect of our lack of vacation. I mean, I’m pretty sure this stretch of time is the longest Batesies go without a vacation. Rumor has it the administration is trying to give us a long weekend somewhere in here, but in my past four years, March has always been a question of stamina. Can you pace yourself not to burn out before finals in early April? Can you get enough sleep to be able to stay awake through that early morning lecture (especially if they happen to run out of travel mugs in Commons)? Can you stay focused long enough in the library to make the time you spend there worthwhile? I think my current answer to these questions is no. Hopefully someone has learned better than me. I think what’s really throwing me off is the feeling that all my classes are wrapping up. I feel like the end of the semester is just around the corner, and (thankfully for my thesis progress) it’s not really. We have three weeks or so left until finals, and I’m working on a final presentation, because the last couple weeks of my seminar are going to be group presentations. My roommate just gave her final presentation for her history class. What’s going on here? It’s almost as if the last couple weeks of the semester don’t really count. Until I remember how hard my physics final is going to be… The one high point in March? That would definitely be Gala– the all-college semi-formal with multiple bands playing and a chocolate fountain. That perks me up just thinking about it… maybe now I have enough energy to make the study guide I’ve been putting off….

gotta love birthdays!

So I’m sitting in my bio lab right now. We’re just wrapping things up… and by wrapping things up, I mean that I’m posting on my blog in my efforts to multitask. I’ve tried my best to answer as many questions as possible, but let’s face it– on a Thursday afternoon after a grueling week of classes, not many people want to ask a lot of questions during the 1-4pm lab. There are a dedicated few– and few means about half the lab…

I am in a great mood today. Generally, I love Thursdays for multiple reasons. 1) I like labs. 2) I like giving info sessions at the Admissions Office– it’s kind of nice to talk ad nauseum about a place that I love, and to have people care about what I say (or at least pretend to care) … 3) I only have homework for one class on Friday, and 4) it’s almost the weekend.

This Thursday is even better, because it’s my suite-mate’s birthday! Her mom sent us a cake from a really tasty local bakery (Grants) and we’re having people over to sing, etc. And I’m looking forward to tomorrow when we’re going to celebrate again– with dinner out at a great restaurant called Fishbones (also in L-A)! Not to mention, I finished my French portfolio with time to spare, and I’m super psyched I get to pass it in! Just one step closer to graduation…

I hope my French professors aren’t reading this.

This can take multiple forms, and I think that Bates students, for the most part, have mastered this. For example, right now I should be working on my portfolio required of all French majors. I need copies of three essays from my time at Bates, one chapter of my thesis and a personal statement describing my involvement/experience with French. What do I have so far? A draft of a personal statement, a draft of a thesis chapter and 5 (not so well written) essays from former French courses. This is proving to be a wee bit of a problem. I mean, I have until Friday… but I guess that doesn’t really make things any better. Hey, at least I’m starting on Monday, as opposed to Thursday evening, right? Instead of working on my portfolio, I have instead looked for jobs (I admit, that’s a good thing), worked on my journal project for my art class (yeah, I get to draw pictures and cut and paste… way fun), cleaned my room (although my roommate might not agree with my definition of “clean”), and posted on my blog (which I’ve been meaning to do). That’s the beauty of productive procrastination though. You get stuff done– just not the RIGHT stuff. At some point, I’m going to run out of relatively fun things to do, and I’m going to have to work on this portfolio. Hopefully it will be before Thursday… eek.

midwifery

Tonight in the midst of mild progress on my thesis, I was completely sidetracked. I had what my roommate calls a “college moment.” I found myself at a computer on the first floor of the library sandwiched between two girls. One I knew from our involvement in the Feminist Action Coalition, and the other, from my French seminar. Apparently the desire to “hide from thesis” was overwhelming, and so naturally we started talking about topics that were merely peripherally related to our theses, women and childbirth. This conversation took on its own twists and turns, and led us to midwifery in Maine. As a student interested in pre-med type things, I was (and still am) extremely curious about the different types of midwifery, and how it is integrated into, particularly, our local hospitals. Apparently in Maine there is a high demand of midwives. I am not quite sure why this is– not that there needs to be a reason. I thought maybe it would be because of the high immigrant population in L-A (Lewiston-Auburn), but then learned that it’s increasing in popularity all over Maine. Definitely something to learn a lot more about, and maybe even take advantage of the Harwood Center for Community Partnerships to help set me up to shadow a local midwife…?

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I guess I wasn’t that thrilled it was Friday. There are some weeks when I just can’t stop counting the minutes until my classes finish on Friday. Luckily this wasn’t one of those weeks (but lately, most have…).Friday brought news of more snow (whose merit is being debated all over campus and in the community too… I talked to the checkout person at Shaws the other day about how much snow was enough. Verdict: We hit that saturation point a while ago.)  Friday also brought the concert culminating Corey Harris’s (’91) week-long stay at Bates. He’s this fantastic blues/reggae musician who has spent time all over the world, tracing this roots through music. This past week he’s been guest-lecturing in classes throughout multiple departments– people couldn’t stop talking about how cool he is.And after hearing him play a mix of his own music and some covers, I couldn’t help but agree. My gut reaction was, “He went to Bates?!” I was so excited that, with a major in Anthropology and a minor in French, a Bates grad could go on to do something so fascinating. (Not that we’re not all fascinating in our own right… but on the brink of “independence”, I have spasms of worry about what happens after May 25.) I mean, it seems like his academic interests supported his interest in music– and that’s just really cool when things overlap like that.