"As a black African dancer, I am constantly expected to conform to stereotypical perceptions of the Western world and of African traditionalists. Africa is widely perceived on the one hand as a war zone ravaged by the Aids pandemic and poverty and on the other hand as exotic, colourful and primitive. I propose to deconstruct this stereotype through my personal history, my work as a performer and choreographer living in a city and my research on urban popular contemporary intercultural dance forms." Gregory Maqoma

In its first-ever concert held during the academic year, the internationally acclaimed Bates Dance Festival collaborated with the Bates College Concerts Committee to present Beautiful Me by the renowned South African company Vuyani Dance Theatre on Oct. 16 in Bates College's Schaeffer Theatre. The performance kicked off the troupe's North American tour.

A global fusion of rousing live music sets the pace for this solo tour de force by the exquisite dancer and choreographer Gregory Maqoma, a rising star on South Africa's dance and theater scene. Beautiful Me speaks honestly about the profound task of finding one's authentic voice and redefining our notion of postmodern African choreography.

During his week in residence at Bates, Maqoma and his company members -- Isaac Katlego Molelekoa; violin; Mandla Madienkosi Nhlapo, percussion; Bongani Kunene, cello; and Poorvi Bhana, sitar -- offered a noonday concert, gave master dance workshops, spoke to music and anthropology classses and with members of Amandla!, and met with faculty members whose teaching focuses on Africa.

For a glimpse of his experience at Bates, watch the following short video.

Nezha Rahil portrays Kenza in Fouzi Bensaidi's "What a Wonderful World."

The Global Lens film series at Bates College continues with What a Wonderful World by Moroccan director Faouzi Bensaïdi in 8 p.m. showings on Friday, Dec. 4, and Sunday, Dec. 6, in Room 105, Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell St.

Admission is $5. What a Wonderful World (94 min.) is in French and Arabic with English subtitles. For more information, please contact 207-786-6135 or this E-mail. (more...)

Jared Golden '11, whose Marine and civilian experiences are the subject of a Sun Journal profile, and Mustafa Basij-Rasikh '12 of Afghanistan, who is among several siblings who have come to the U.S. for education, will be interviewed on the community radio station WMPG on Monday, Nov. 16, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Listeners can tune to 90.9 or 104.1 FM, or hear the streaming signal. Appearing on the award-winning Blunt Youth Radio call-in program, Golden and Basij-Rasikh will be interviewed by high school co-hosts Tim Woods, a Cheverus High School senior, and Lilly Pearlman, a South Portland High School senior.

A Boston Globe story describes the support network for six siblings of the Basij-Rasikh family of Afghanistan, several of whom are studying in the U.S., including Mustafa '12, a double major in politics and economics at Bates. The siblings' plan, the Globe says, is "nothing short of a family-wide foray into the fabric of Afghan society" to restore the warn-torn country. Their supporter include Sally and Don Goodrich, who lost their son Peter '89 in the Sept. 11 attacks. Focusing their efforts on education in Afghanistan, the Goodriches created the Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation and have built a girls school in Logar Province and hosted dozens of Afghan students who come to study in America, including Basij-Raskih siblings. (View story from The Boston Globe, Sept. 19, 2009.)

President Elaine Tuttle Hansen makes a point during the annual Higher Education Media Dinner. Also pictured are Andrew Hacker of the New York Review of Books and Jane Karr of The New York Times. (Photo by ASU Media Relations)

Nine college and university presidents including Bates President Elaine Tuttle Hansen were invited to join about two dozen members of national news media recently in a dialogue on higher education. (more...)

To: The Bates Community
From: Christy Tisdale, director of health services, and Tedd Goundie, dean of students
Date: Nov. 9, 2009

Dear Members of the Bates Community,

As of Nov. 6, there have been 281 students diagnosed with ILI this semester and, following the CDC guidelines, presumed to have had H1N1. There are only three students who are currently ill with ILI, each of whom is recuperating at home. Our protocol for treating students with H1N1 remains unchanged. Only students with multiple roommates will be placed in isolation houses, all others will be asked to self isolate in the residence halls or return home. After a hiatus of a couple of weeks, students have resumed their work in the local community in schools and other agencies.

Contrary to our most recent report to the community, we no longer expect to receive more H1N1 vaccine in the near future. There is a national shortage that is greater than was anticipated. We have a very limited supply of the injectable H1N1 vaccine left and that will only be used for students with chronic illnesses who have not received the vaccine to date. Those students should come to the Health Center and review their medical data by FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009. If the student meets our criteria, an H1N1 vaccine will be administered. Any remaining vaccine will then be returned to our distribution center.

Since fall recess we have seen an average of less than one new case reported per day, and barring any significant changes in this pattern, we expect this to be our last update concerning H1N1. Once again we thank all students, parents, staff and faculty who helped us through this difficult period.

With our wishes for good health for all,

Christy Tisdale
Director of Health Services

Tedd Goundie
Dean of Students

The day after voters overturned Maine's gay-marriage law, Portland Press Herald columnist Bill Nemitz writes a poignant profile of Jesse Connolly '01, who led the campaign to keep the law and whose late father, in the '70s, began the political fight to protect homosexuals under Maine law. Jesse Connolly's media appearances this fall included on one MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show, where she notes that the strategy to overturn Maine's law is identical to the strategy used in California in 2008 to outlaw gay marriage there. "Have you benefited from that?" she asks Connolly, a politics major at Bates. He tells Maddow that "we've looked at the playbook of the other side. We think our ads put these guys back in their box. We're not going to let anything go unchallenged. We push back very hard and we push back very quickly." View video from The Rachel Maddow Show, Oct. 20, 2009. Connolly was often quoted in the media in October:

Maine-based Bates alums professionally involved in food and nutrition spoke at Bates in March. From left, Kirsten Walter '00, director of the St. Mary's Nutrition Center; Maine farmers Steve Hoad '72 of Windsor and Nicolas Lindholm '86 of Penobscot; and Borealis Breads founder Jim Amaral '80.

Inspired by the 2008 opening of its new dining Commons and a $2.5 million gift from an anonymous donor supporting organic, natural and farm-fresh food, Bates College devoted the 2008-09 academic year to reflecting on issues, from environmental impacts to food justice, around what and how we choose to eat. (more...)

Lim Kay Tong stars as Mr. Johan and Shanty is Sita in Nan Achnas' "The Photograph."

The Global Lens series of international films at Bates continues with The Photograph, by Indonesian director Nan Achnas, in 8 p.m. showings on Friday, Oct. 9, and Sunday, Oct. 11, in Room 105, Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell St.

Hosted by the Bates College Museum of Art, the series continues on Fridays and Sundays throughout the fall. Admission is $5. "The Photograph" (98 min.) is in Indonesian with English subtitles. For more information, please contact 207-786-6135 or this E-mail. (more...)