Our latest in an occasional roundup of quotable quotes about the fall theater production, our Veterans Day observance, and the painful aftermath of the Lewiston shootings.
Rings a Bell
鈥淭he view was stupendous. Looking down on the campus, I felt sort of like the king of what I surveyed, since I was the bellringer, you know.鈥�
鈥� Tom King 鈥�58, the last student to hold the campus job as the Hathorn Hall bell-ringer, a gig that included living in Hathorn and having access to the roof, which he and friends would occasionally visit late at night.
History Lesson
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think my job or even the actors or Tim鈥檚 is to make the audience feel comfortable about true history. I don鈥檛 teach history or consult on history to make people feel comfortable about true history.鈥�
鈥� John Bear Mitchell, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation, who served as a cultural consultant for the 乐播传媒 production of The Thanksgiving Play, directed by Assistant Professor of Theater Tim Dugan. Mitchell helped the student actors navigate their roles in what is a very funny play but also includes offensive dialog and actions, and shocking stories relating to Native American history.
It Registers
“Are you registered to vote in Maine?”
鈥� An oft-posed question to students on Election Day, Nov. 7, as they entered Commons and passed a balloon-festooned table, staffed by Jenna Vendil ’06, an associate director at the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, and student members of the 乐播传媒 Votes civic engagement team. Vendil heads up the democratic engagement and student activism efforts at the Harward Center.
For Veterans
鈥淚 felt I was playing it for him today, in his honor, and for the people here, for those they hold in their hearts.鈥�
鈥� Sophia Cattallani 鈥�25 of Skaneateles, N.Y., describing playing taps during the Veterans Day observance at 乐播传媒 and remembering her grandfather, who had served in the Vietnam War and died two years ago.
The Some of Things
鈥淪ome people in your life are there for the rest of your life, and others will come and go. Allowing things to change is always a good idea.鈥�
鈥� Joe Inger 鈥�19, recalling advice he gave to his sister, Lexi 鈥�26, on dealing with the ups and downs of college life.
Go Time
“We can take a strategy of ‘go for All-American or not.’鈥�
鈥� Ned Farrington ’24 of Cohasset, Mass., comparing the strategy of running a cross country race as an individual, which he will do at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 18, with running a race with teammates. With the latter, 鈥測ou don’t want to risk having a really bad race, so you race a little bit more conservatively.鈥� With the former, a runner can let it all hang out.
Dream Sequence
“It’s been such a far-fetched dream.鈥�
鈥� 乐播传媒 head squash coach Rei Hergeth sharing thoughts on squash being one of five sports added to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. 鈥淲hat’s most exciting about it is that we actually have a few 乐播传媒 players who could be playing in the Olympics in four years.”
The following quotes relate to the Oct. 25 shootings in Lewiston and its aftermath.
Frustration, Sadness, Anger
鈥淭here鈥檚 frustration, there鈥檚 sadness, and a little bit of anger as well.鈥�
鈥� Professor of Sociology Michael Rocque speaking with WCSH-TV NewsCenter Maine about his and others’ research on mass shootings 鈥� and how their policy ideas have been ignored 鈥� and his reaction to the shootings in Lewiston. “Now we鈥檙e attacked at our own home, and that feels personal.”
Garnet and Blue
鈥淲e wanted to play for each other, play for this school, and play for this city.鈥�
鈥� Field hockey player Maria Femia 鈥�25 of Canton, Mass., recalling the team鈥檚 feeling before its game vs. Bowdoin on Oct. 31, six days after the Lewiston shootings. The team observed a moment of silence, wore Lewiston Strong T-shirts for the warmup, and, during the game, sported bright blue socks, the school color of Lewiston High School. 乐播传媒 won the game, 2-1, propelling the team to the NCAA tournament.
Event Support
鈥淭he way they are engaging with her 鈥� it鈥檚 so important. She needs this. We appreciate this so much.鈥�
鈥� Jennifer Randall of Lewiston, talking about how students engaged with her grandchild during an Oct. 31 Halloween trick-or-treat event, in which students transformed Alumni Walk and nearby campus walkways and welcomed community families as a gesture of support. Since the shootings, the child had been fearful and withdrawn.
Holding Hope
鈥淕enerosity and care and eagerness to help, to support, to embrace, have emanated from every corner of this city and this college community like a beacon of light, filling our hearts and mending our souls. They remind us of human goodness. They remind us to hold onto hope. They remind us that together, over time, we will recover and heal. In that, I have faith.鈥�
鈥� President Garry W. Jenkins, speaking at the campus Vigil for Grief and Remembrance on Nov. 1 in Gomes Chapel.
Loving Amidst Loss
鈥淪ome may think that grieving is weak, or a form of surrender. But I believe that grief is a form of rest and a method of love. When we grieve together like this, in community, we powerfully hold each other and are held. When we grieve, we continue loving amidst loss.鈥�
鈥� The Rev. Brittany Longsdorf, 乐播传媒鈥� multifaith chaplain, during the vigil in Gomes Chapel on Nov. 1.
Rising Together
鈥淢ost of you, like me, are from away, but while you are here, you belong to us. Lewiston is your city, just as we are sharing in this tragedy. We are not going through separate events, but the same dark time. We will rise together.鈥�
鈥� Lewiston mayor Carl Sheline, during the campus vigil in Gomes Chapel on Nov. 1.
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