George

When I tell people familiar with Bates' setting that I go there, the first thing they ask is, “How do you like Lewiston?” Lewiston is known as the grittiest of Maine cities. I mean, this is Maine, and even it's grittiest is still tamer than plenty of bad neighborhoods in college cities. I feel completely safe walking around by myself during the daytime. At night, I don’t stray far from campus if I’m alone. Lewiston was actually one of the things that made me want to come to Bates. Lewiston is real. Every college campus has great security, so it's nice to be able to have a few minute walk into town that can immediately rattle you back to reality. I really wanted to go to school in a city, but I knew that it was more important to me to attend a small school. With Bates, I was able to compromise these two desires (small school, real--but small--city.)

Sometimes you'll hear students complain that Bates is too small. While it's true that gossip gets around pretty quickly and you can almost always find a familiar face in a crowd, that's one thing you have to think about when considering a small school. And, of course, on the flip side of having a small student population is the small class sizes and individual attention you get from professors.

Every professor you've ever had (even for a big lecture class three years ago) remembers your name. Some professors even study their students' ID pictures before the first day of class so that they can call on people by name during the first few minutes of the first class. Creepy? Maybe. Awesome? Definitely. There are a lot of high-achievers here, but they're competitive with themselves, not with their classmates. You don't usually share your grades on individual assignments with friends unless you did poorly and want to ask for help. People usually only discuss grades they got in a course after they've completed the course and it's over and done with. For example, two of my closest friends won prestigious awards for academic achievement during the first year. I didn't even know about their honors until about a year later when I accidentally fell upon the press release! They were never grade-obsessed, always modest, just like everyone else.

You can always find a friend in the library on a weeknight, but I feel like I've had more intellectual conversations in a friend's dorm room and in Commons (the dining hall) than in the library. The library's the place where most of the high-achievers spend lots of time pouring over their readings and notes. Of course, sometimes this is necessary. But students also work through their academics by discussing class topics over lunch with friends.

There really is no such thing as a typical Batesie. That sounds like a college guidebook cliché, but it’s true. Most students are active in many different facets of the college experience. I have one friend who works as a tour guide, captains intramural teams every season, volunteers down the street at a hospital, plans to major in neuroscience, participates in student government, and loves seeing theater productions (especially Shakespeare.) On top of all this, he’s a genuine guy who always has time to make you laugh.

Though of course sports teams and other groups sit together for dinner sometimes, we do a lot of table hopping. It’s not uncommon to spend a couple hours in Commons (the dining hall) for dinner, moving from table to table and chatting with acquaintances you run into in the pizza line.

Mostly just because it's located in Maine, Bates isn't the most diverse school in terms of racial and geographic heritage.

Off the top of my head, it seems like the crew team and all a-cappella groups are the popular and most talked-about groups on campus. If you see something missing, you’re encouraged to start your own group and get a [small] budget as long as it’s something within reason.

There are always things to do. Especially on the weekends, it seems as though you usually have to strategically plan out your days so that you can hit everything you want to and still get your homework done. One of my favorite events is Village Club Series, which hosts a musical artist to play in a coffeehouse-like setting every Thursday night. There’s free chai and relaxing music from up-and-coming musicians, often singer-songwriter types. It’s the perfect event for a Thursday evening.

Since we’re a small school, you almost always know someone involved in a student-centered activity that’s going on. In fact, it seems like everyone knows someone in an a-cappella group, so pretty much the whole school shows up when there’s an a-cappella performance. Last year, the NCAA Div. III Men’s Tennis tournament was held here, and there was a great turnout to support our players. Professors and their families also love to come to events like these, which is pretty cool.

Ah, the social scene. Partying definitely occurs on the weekends, but there’s always alcohol-not-necessary-to-have-fun events, and also people just playing board games and people watching a game on TV and having just a beer or two. On a Friday at dinner, you’ll often hear buddies asking each other, “You drinking tonight?” Any response is accepted by the asker – usually s/he’s just looking to plan for the night ahead, not pressure a friend into anthing. Overall, if you wanna party with alcohol, there’s opportunities to do that, but if you wanna party without drinking or just hangout on a weekend, you’ll feel free to do that.

Also, because of dorm designations (low-chem, chem free, etc.), there are dorms that lend themselves more to partying, so you have some control over how party-centered your floormates will be, depending on where you choose to live.

One stereotype is that we're the hippiest of the Maine liberal arts colleges (Bates, Bowdoin, Colby.) A positive stereotype that I hear is that Bates is that it's "really friendly."

The school is definitely conscious of the environment and other so-called "hippie" subjects. Sustainability is a word that you'll hear a lot. As someone who recycles but is not terribly geared toward the environment, I find that people are significantly more aware of the environment here than they are at home, but pressure to share their views is not overwhelming. As for the students themselves, there's definitely a number of people who are leaders when it comes to environmental issues. I hesitate to call them hippies because they're active in other pursuits as well and don't huddle together 24/7.

The friendly thing is certainly true. Of course, anywhere you go, there are going to be some people who, at times, are less approachable. But, for the most part, I would feel comfortable having a conversation with pretty much anyone on campus. A friend of a friend that you've only just met will invite you to a gathering in his room that night. A Commons (dining hall) staff member will joke with you in line at the salad bar.

I love Bates! While it's great that lots of people take advantage of the opportunity to go abroad, I've decided for academic reasons to stay on campus, and I couldn't be happier! Bates gives you the opportunity to go outside your comfort zone while, at the same time, providing you with a warm, loving place to come home to. For anyone looking at colleges, especially small, nurturing liberal-arts schools, I can't think of anything better.

My least favorite thing about Bates is the great amount of dogs on campus (I hate dogs.) If that's the biggest thing I have to complain about, then I'd say it's a pretty great place!

And if that doesn't do it, then hear this: our food is amazing. Seriously. It's summer break and I miss Commons food.