Groups

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2BEATS is a hip-hop dance group made up of a group of individuals from a broad range of dance backgrounds united in our passion and love of dance. Rehearsals are once or twice every week depending on dancers’ schedules and performances. We aim to perform at Bates’ major events and dancers who choose to perform can expect extra rehearsals and a faster pace class environment. We wish to create a positive, supportive, and safe community where anyone, regardless of experience can teach, choreograph, or have fun learning Hip-Hop. There will be opportunities to hold classes for both the Bates and Lewiston/Auburn communities and to take master classes with professionals. Come join 2BEATS and let’s put some swag in the Bates community!

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Aceplus is a dance and art group made up of Asian artists. With our roots in Asian culture, the group has since evolved to encompass a wide range of choreography and music. We also have a tight relationship with Asian contemporary art and have enormous interest in producing Asian pop culture related product design/ graphic design ( based on the dance group Aceplus). So, in short, Aceplus is not only a dance group but also an artistic space focus specifically on Asian art.
We aim to help promote the Asian dance/art community and provide a shared, inclusive space for our members to grow and support one another. As a mixed gender, multicultural group, we value originality, diversity and creativity in our dances. We hope that our presence will make a reflection of Bates’ diverse and creative environment. Ourselves as Asian artists wish to support and try to challenge the fact that Asian artists have been long marginalized in western culture. ( we welcome all cultrual background prospective members but we mainly focus on showing and presenting Asian Arts.
We can deliver a unique and pleasurable visual experience based on Asian culture to the Lewiston/ Auburn community. We will be honored if we can perform for the Lewiston/Auburn community.

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Africana Club celebrates the African continent in its entirety. We provide a forum for discussing the political, social, and cultural landscape of Africa. Although we strive to create a medium for African students to connect, Africana is open to students of all backgrounds who are interested in engaging in this dialogue.
We urge members to network with one another, grow strong ties within the community, and uplift each other. Through our annual fashion show, we seek to reclaim the African narrative that is often misrepresented in the mainstream by showcasing African culture and talent. We recognize the diversity of experiences within Africa and aspire to shed light on them. Most importantly at Africana, we pride ourselves on the strength of our community, and our mission to uplift one another.

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Members of the Africana club get to learn more about the African continent by interacting with students from the continent and exploring its diversity through entertainment, food, politics etc

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ASL club seeks to give students the opportunity to learn American Sign Language and engage with the deaf community. We work with an instructor as well as online resources to learn and practice signing with other members.

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ASA (Asian Students Association) is an organization for students interested in exploring, discussing, and partaking in Asian culture. We achieve this by bringing together students who identify as Asian and who have a curiosity about the culture to foster awareness of the histories, peoples, and cultures on campus. ASA is a new club due to the combination of AASIA (Asian American Student in Action) and Sangai Asia. We hope to continue to host cooking nights for the Bates community, enjoy communal dinners with authentic Asian cooking, provocative discussion nights where we delve into difficult dialogues, and celebrate cultural celebrations such as Lunar New Year, Diwali, and Nauryz. ASA serves as a resource for anyone in the Bates community interested in talking about topics that affect Asian communities in or outside the United States (adoption, immigration, assimilation, cultural differences) and for students interested in Asian identity.

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The Aspirations Club is a group of students who work to support the post-high school aspirations of youth in the Lewiston-Auburn area. In conjunction with the Harward Center for Community Partnership, Aspirations Program, the Aspirations Club achieves its goal to support the aspirations of L-A youth by organizing Bates students to participate in local mentoring programs, such as the Lewiston High School Mentorship Program; the facilitation of the Harward Center College Access Mentoring Program (CAMP); the organization of Aspirations Days hosted at Bates College; and a community for students who are eager to deepen their understanding of about college access inequities and post-high school opportunities in the Lewiston-Auburn community. The Aspiration Club aims to accomplish these goals because of a recognised need for post-high school programming in the Lewiston-Auburn area. In Lewiston High School (LHS), the college attendance rate follows the low statewide rates of attendance, with only 59% of graduates enrolling in a vocational or secondary school (Maine Department of Education, 2021). Additionally, LHS lags behind in the average high school graduation rate in Maine, with only 66.95% of students graduating as compared to the state average of 86% in 2021 (Maine Department of Education, 2021). Research points toward positive, adult mentorship and guidance as a tool for greater educational and general life success of mentees, a role which the Aspiration Clubs will center its efforts around (Bowers et al. 2014; Dubois, Herrera & Rivera 2018).. We believe the Aspirations Club does have a stake in this work as being a part of an elite higher education institution, we believe that Bates College has a responsibility to engage with the Lewiston-Auburn youth to reduce access barriers to post-high school opportunities when requested by community members and partners. This practice will ideally allow for resources and institutional higher education knowledge to be distributed beyond the Bates Campus to the benefit of L-A youth while also providing Bates students with a deep connection with members of the L-A community and an enriching educational opportunity.

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The Bates Arts Society is a place of community for artists with the necessary resources required to uplift creative people on campus and engage them into the larger Lewiston-Auburn community in an artistic and creative manner. The Bates Arts Society encourages students of all disciplines to continue the Bates College Mission of being “sustained by a love of learning” through artistic explorations of the world around them. Our goal is to provide the space and resources for students who want to learn about new artistic media, explore old artistic media, or host art-related events on campus. We have exclusive access to a shared studio space, storage for any and all personal supplies, and a budget allocated specifically for students interested in artistic residencies. We understand that creative spaces are essential to self discovery. They are important places that depend on inclusion and facilitate community through shared interests and learning from each other.

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Access to funding, an artistic community and shared studio space.

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The Astronomy Club's mission is to provide opportunities for the Bates and Lewiston-Auburn communities to engage in astronomical activities like stargazing and telescope sessions. We aim to motivate a sense of wonder and curiosity, as well as a sense of belonging for everyone when looking up at the night sky. We will learn together and educate each other on topics spanning modern and indigenous astronomy and cosmologies. Participation in the Club and its activities is open to everyone regardless of their level of astronomical, physical, or mathematical knowledge.

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Bates Builds/Habitat for Humanity's mission as a Bates College club and a chapter of Habitat for Humanity is to establish an avenue for Bates students to make a lasting, visible impact in the lives of those in need of decent, affordable shelter in the Lewiston/Auburn community. We build locally. Our goal is to allow Bates students to have many opportunities to constructively interact with the Lewiston/Auburn community and communities across New England. At the end of each trip, there should be a visible difference in the project and in the lives of the partnering families and students. We put on weekly fundraisers with the Habitat Waffle Haus or with other creative means. Our larger fundraisers include an international dodgeball tournament. The goal of these fundraisers is to provide awareness for our cause, have fun, and raise funds for build trips in the process.

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Bates Christian Fellowship is a large and diverse family of students. We strive to grow in love for God and God's people of every ethnicity and culture, and to come to a deeper understanding of the Scriptures. There are many small groups that meet weekly for Bible study, discussion, and prayer. There are also larger weekly meetings for everyone to gather together for worship, sharing and planning. The Fellowship hosts many events throughout the year. Many of them are service opportunities on campus or in the Lewiston community and others are just fun times for the campus to gather and share His Love. Our activities are always open to the entire Bates community students, faculty and staff. BCF is associated with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

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Bates College Quiz Bowl is a group that aims to create a community for accrual general knowledge at Bates and to participate in buzzer-based trivia activities such as quiz bowl throughout New England. The Quiz Bowl team also intends to help local middle and high schools set up and encourage Quiz Bowl teams

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The purpose of this club is to create a space for individuals from underrepresented communities to come together to excel in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). This club will function as a support system for Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) individuals. We intend to bring in established alumni from underrepresented communities to share their stories of success and note how their diverse backgrounds and identities played a role in their career journeys. This club will offer support, companionship, inspiration, and facilitate success by fostering young diverse leaders.

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We aim to enrich and promote lion dancing in the Bates and the Lewiston-Auburn communities. We want to keep the tradition of Chinese lion dancing alive by teaching it to students here at Bates.

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The Bates Historical Society seeks to offer an environment in which individuals can come together to share our passion for what was. To learn about the past is to understand the forces that make the present. History is not an isolated subject. Implicitly, when we learn about politics, economics, math, physics, etc., we are learning about a long process of adaptation, experimentation, writing, thinking, some failures and some brilliant successes; understanding the way the world was helps us recognize the forces that animate our present, not just what we would traditionally call history, the simple facts of the past, but rather all facets of human experience.

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The Bates Musicians Union represents an inclusive community of bands, musical artists, sound technicians, and performers coming together to organize and host live music events for Bates College and venues in the surrounding community. We are an independent resource from the Music Department that provides sound equipment, instruments, and rehearsal space to musicians who wish to form bands and further explore their instruments.

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The mission of the bitcoin club is to spread the understanding of bitcoin's potential impact not only as a technology, but to evaluate the potential uplifting impact it can have on humanity.

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The Black Student Union at Bates College is a sociocultural organization committed to cultivating spaces for African-American and Black diasporic students. Our goal is to foster unity amongst one another through programming and social events that are centered around shared experiences. We value the diverse perspectives of Black people and take the initiative to support intersectionality amongst individuals. The Black Student Union fosters connections with the Lewiston/Auburn community to create a richer experience for all.

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The Bollywood Dance Team is focused on introducing Bollywood dancing, a unique and exciting culture of dancing inspired by the huge film industry, to the Bates campus and nearby community. We provide numerous workshops for Bates students and community members, and have performances throughout the year which are open to any student regardless of their dancing background. In this way, we hope to foster an energized and open dancing space, while sharing a cultural experience.

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Our organization exists for the purpose of celebrating the Caribbean and its people. We are primarily an organization that seeks to both enrich the Bates experience of our members by increasing the integration of Caribbean students within the Bates community and to foster lifelong relationships through cultural programming aimed at building community between the two. We hope to illustrate the power of difference by allowing any student to join and learn as well.

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The Catholic Student Community is the Roman Catholic affiliated organization at Bates College. The group works alongside the College’s Catholic Chaplain in organizing a weekly Mass and other spiritual activities such as prayer/discussion meetings and dinner meetings. The group is also active in the Lewiston community, volunteering with local churches and charitable organizations.

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The purpose of the Bates College Cheese Club is to create a space for those who love cheese while educating our members about the cheeses of the world. Cheese is an expensive commodity and we want to make it accessible to all. Further, we hope to bring in cheese experts from all over to spread knowledge of the cheese-making process. We hope to hold events pertaining to the consumption of cheeses and related to learning more about it, such as blind cheese tasting, watching educational films, and going on trips to local dairy farms. We hope to partner with these farms to learn how to make cheese and foster a connection to the broader Maine community. We do not believe there is a club that fulfills this need at present. Additionally, we pledge to be a welcoming and inclusive space that encourages diversity of thought regarding cheese (which can be a surprisingly controversial topic given agriculture) as well as all other topics.

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The Bates Chemical Society is a chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS). We strive to acquaint students with ACS, aid in the choice of a career or graduate school, and spark curiosity and passion for chemistry in Bates and the greater Lewiston community. We provide Bates and Lewiston high school students with interesting educational opportunities in the form of speakers, films, tours, demos and, seminars. We serve as a social and educational organization that unites people through the field of chemistry.

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To introduce people to the game of chess and to provide a space for new and experienced players alike. We want to encourage growth within everyone's individual game, while communally learning tactics and openings.

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Chicks on Sticks aims to create a space for female-identifying skiers and riders in an outdoors industry that otherwise limits accessibility and inclusivity. Providing a community that advocates and aims to make skiing and other snow-sport activities supportive, fun, and welcoming overall allows more access to the outdoors for the female-identifying community.

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The Circus Club brings the newly flourishing art form of circus to Bates College. We explore different areas of circus, primarily aerials (such as silks and aerial hoop) and juggling, in addition to acrobatics, unicycling, walking on stilts, diabolo, and other skills. Through weekly meetings, we work on strength, flexibility, and technique in a relaxed, low-pressure setting tailored to the interest of club members. Circus Club is open to everyone of all levels of experience (many of our members have no prior circus experience at all), and we are happy to help anyone learn the arts of circus!

Circus Club provides a space for Bates students to practice the circus arts and to build community through the circus arts, and collaborate with each other. Furthermore, Circus Club provides a space for students to discover new skills and interests, in addition to providing a space for students to be able to teach/share their circus interests with other students. Finally, Circus Club seeks to share the Circus Arts with community members in Lewiston-Auburn by participating in community events and running Circus skill-learning workshops.

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Access to our circus equipment!

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Building off of the values of the Bates student body, Bates Club Nordic Skiing aims to provide an accessible and inclusive environment for students to engage in Maine’s outdoors during the winter. Bates Nordic is dedicated to supporting all abilities and experience levels to ensure that anyone who wants to get on skis is able to. This club aims to provide a holistic nordic skiing experience by encouraging competition among those who desire it, a fun learning environment, and a break from busy work schedules.

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The mission of Bates Club Tennis is to provide all Bates students with an opportunity to hone their tennis skills, and to provide an athletic outlet for all students on campus. Club tennis aims to cater to all - from the first-time player to the experienced tennis veteran. Club Tennis strives to provide the Bates community with a low-stakes tennis association. Bates Club Tennis is also committed to be involved within the Lewiston/Auburn community.

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The Bates College Co-Ed Club Volleyball organization's mission is to provide a safe and equitable environment for any member of the Bates community to foster a love for the sport of volleyball. We strive to develop existing talent as well as welcome new members to the sport of volleyball by cultivating skills through practice. Club Volleyball is an essential part of the Bates community because it is an outlet for students to participate in recreational activities while learning valuable life skills such as teamwork, sportsmanship, and perseverance. We continue to make an effort in unifying Bates College through volleyball by creating a safe and inclusive environment for all students on this campus no matter their skill level.

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There are no membership benefits from being in club volleyball every individual who identifies as being a member of club volleyball has an equitable opportunity to participate in the sport.

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Bates Democrats are concerned students and citizens who tend to vote for Democrats, and are politically active and aware. With a large focus on local politics, we sponsor speakers, work on campaigns, host forums, meet with politicians, and engage in discussions on hot political topics. Bates Democrats has a close working relationship with the Maine Democratic Party and acts as the official Bates College chapter of the Maine College Democrats- a College Democrats of America affiliate.

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The College Guild Branch of Bates helps further College Guild’s goals of providing free correspondence courses that connect incarcerated people with a scholarly community. Research has shown that incarcerated people who have participated in prison education programs have a 50% reduced chance of recidivism. Our Bates branch helps to increase outreach, garner student volunteers, and support for the College Guild base camp in Brunswick, ME. Once a month, student volunteers receive a unit from an incarcerated individual and complete it within a week, remotely. Units cover anything and everything, from creative writing, to biology, to Greek & Roman mythology. Some of the incarcerated folks to whom we write are incarcerated in the state of Maine. Inside the state of Maine, the prison population is about 2400, and the state spends an excess of 350 million/year on those 2400 individuals. Lewiston is a particularly interesting city to understand incarceration. It has the highest number of suspensions of students in all of Maine’s school districts, and the highest juvenile incarceration rate in the entire state of Maine. Although some of our students are from other parts of the United States, our mission helps to remind Bates students to break out of our often-times insular campus bubble. Ultimately, College Guild at Bates provides students ample opportunity for civic engagement and worldly stewardship.

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College Guild is a non-profit organisation based out of Brunswick, Maine that provides free correspondence-based educational materials to incarcerated individuals. The Bates chapter allows the college community to engage with prisoners’ work by encouraging constructive criticism and empathy in education. By signing up, you will receive a unit of student-prisoner work per week.