“We have to remember that sport is a performance, and athletes are performers,” says Amy Bass ’92.

An academic expert in the fascinating intersection of sport, culture, and society, Bass shared three insights about what’s going on when sports teams 鈥� in this case, Bobcat teams 鈥� gather for their pre-season photo shoots and pose in creative, fun, and powerful ways, as seen in these examples.

What separates athletes from other performers 鈥� say, an improv group 鈥� are the many rules of their sport, which means that athletes can’t readily express themselves as individuals within the context of their sport, even when it comes to what they wear.

“We’re seeing right now, how FIFA during the World Cup,” says Bass, a and frequent opinion contributor to CNN and other media outlets.

For athletes, rule-free zones are few. There’s the NFL end zone, where, for example, star receiver Justin Jefferson does his Griddy dance after a touchdown 鈥� or during a freewheeling 乐播传媒 sportrait session when a couple of 乐播传媒 volleyball players do their own version of the dance (see below).

Bass’ second point is about how sport creates meaning. “Spectators use sport to make meaning out of our lives. But it’s harder for athletes to make meaning out of their lives through sport 鈥� again because of those rules and prescriptions.”

A sportrait session is where an athlete can make a statement about themselves. Some statements are silly, some witty, and some “pretty powerful,” says Bass, pointing to a pose by a 乐播传媒 swimmer last year, along with the athlete saying that her broad and muscular swimmers’ shoulders are her “badge of honor.”

“That’s a pretty significant statement,” says Bass. “That’s women taking up space in terms of the kind of bodies that they feel that they need and want to have 鈥� and that they can have 鈥� to succeed at what they do.”

And third, as much as these photo sessions offer fun moments for self-expression, Bobcats mostly talk about the way the sessions build team unity at the start of a season.

During the sessions, the team is pretty much in control of things, with encouragement and guidance from the photographer, Brewster Burns. Coaches aren’t a big part of the show.

“Team building has to include some kind of player autonomy,” says Bass. “A coach can’t tell the players how to be together.” She recalls a moment , which chronicles the 2015 championship season of the fabulously multicultural Lewiston High School boys’ soccer team. “One night they created a team song. And then they tell their coach what it is, and what his part of it is.”

In the past 鈥� before digital replaced film, allowing for expansive photo sessions 鈥� team building moments might occur elsewhere, maybe during “a pasta dinner the night before the big game,” Bass says. Now, team photo day “is another version of the pasta dinner the night before.”

Here are our 13 favorites from the fall 2022 season:

Gather ‘Round

For their sportrait, these four first-year football players gathered around a spinning football.

“We’ve seen NFL players individually spin the ball and ‘warm’ their hands over it, like a campfire, so we decided to sit by our campfire and warm our hands,” explains quarterback Sergio Beltran (right) of East Palo Alto, Calif.

The four teammates “had become very close friends pretty quickly, so we decided to take a sportrait together.”

Mallow Yellow

This squishmallow, Dinosaur Hal, resides in the volleyball team’s locker room. “He’s like a team squishmallow,” says Ellie Asada ’26 of Honolulu, Hawaii, who credits teammate Madison Broda ’23 of Portland, Maine, with the idea. “She loves squishmallows.”

Angel Among Us

This image is inspired by the iconic logo of the Charlie’s Angels franchise.

Rowing coxswain Rowan Cody 鈥�25 of Madison, Wis. stands in the center, “guarded” by her fellow rowers.

“As the coxswain, she鈥檚 kind of the brain of the boat so that鈥檚 the significance behind her position in the photo,” explains Sakakeeny-Smith on behalf of the group.

Eight Is Enough

When we first glanced at this photograph, we figured it was a stop-motion strobe image, the kind , showing the swing of golfer Alex Voight Shelley 鈥�24 of State College, Pa.

In fact, the image shows the golf swings, at various points, of all eight 乐播传媒 women’s golfers. “We wanted to show the sequence of a golf swing in one of our photos,” explains Voight Shelly on behalf of her fellow juniors (Acton and Shind) and senior (Battye).

“We loved this photo because it shows that while golf is mainly thought of as an individual sport, having a supportive team environment is what really pushes us to be better athletes.“

Voight Shelley is joined by Grace Acton ’24 of Harvard, Mass., Nerea Barranco 鈥�25 of Zarautz, Spain, Sylvia Battye 鈥�23 of Auburn, Ala., Ruby Haylock 鈥�26 of Hartford, Maine, Maddy Kwei 鈥�25 of Pasadena, Calif., Kendall Reed 鈥�26 of Newtown, Conn., and Mira Shind 鈥�24 of Wellesley, Mass.

‘I find your lack of Bobcat Pride…’

This amalgam of various Darth Vader strangle moments is courtesy of football offensive linemen Quinn Woods ’23 (left) of Minot, Maine, and Cole De Magistris 鈥�24 of Emerson, N.J.

De Magistris (“I’m a big Star Wars fan”) came up with the idea, using props from when he was a kid. “All I needed was a teammate to complete the picture and Quinn was the perfect guy for the role.

Says Woods, “It鈥檚 an instant classic that we can look back on forever.”

De Magistris even came up with his own tag line for the photo: “I find your lack of Bobcat Pride…disturbing.”

Strong Focus

Football wide receiver Maverick Selementi 鈥�26 of Montclair, N.J., uses his hands to frame and emphasize the ski mask he’s wearing, which Selementi refers to as a “shiesty,” after the Memphis rapper who popularized the accessory.

It’s a Keeper

That’s soccer goalkeeper Bruce David 鈥�25 of Pittsburgh in front, with additional arms support from fellow keepers Erik Janzon 鈥�25 of Ridgefield, Conn., and Nico Hessel 鈥�26 of Brattleboro, Vt.

“As a keeper, you often have times where you’re in top form and you feel like the opposition has no chance at putting a shot past you 鈥� when it seems like you have six arms to an opposition striker,” says Janzon. “We wanted to channel this feeling.”

Like a kicker for an American football team, soccer keepers don’t have a lot of company at their position, so “good camaraderie is extremely important,” Janzon adds.

“We play the most competitive and isolated position in the sport, and we’re the only players who truly understand the challenges that come with playing our position.” Good camaraderie “helps us continue to push one another to get better during training.”

Out to the Curb

Senior year for a college athlete is bittersweet. For most, the end of a competitive career is near. And that’s how these four senior soccer players ended up with their bit.

“We were sort of reflecting on how this season was the start of the end,” said McKersie. “Soon we’d be ‘washed-up’ former college athletes!”

‘Where We Come From’

Football defensive back Mohamed Coulibaly 鈥�23 and receiver Mohamed Diawara 鈥�23, cousins from Philadelphia, Pa., hold the national flag of Mali.

“The flag means a lot,” says Coulibaly. “Both of my parents and both of Mohamed’s parents are from Mali. It represents where we come from. It’s important to remember the culture and the things we embody that come from our parents. It’s in our DNA.”

Sister Act

Sisters and field hockey players who hail from Auburn, Maine, Anna Cote ’25 and Paige Cote ’23 offer their takes on poses that show the strength of siblings.

In the photo at left, Anna is in foreground, and Paige’s arms are seen, flexed. In the right photo, Anna is hugging Paige.

Words to Row By

Rowers Genesis Bussey 鈥�24 (left) of Bronx, N.Y., and Ollie Young 鈥�23 of Burlington, Vt., cross arms as they display team bracelets with the words “Bright” and “Grit.”

Each year, as the women’s rowing team nears NCAA Championship season, the squad’s seniors choose a word to rally around, explains Young. “Bright” and “Grit” are the words from 2021 and 2022.

“Each senior speaks to what that word means to them, and everyone carries that with them as we move forward, no matter where we go,” says Young. “Everyone on the team gets a bracelet, and a teammate ties it for you. It’s a tradition that connects the team throughout the years 鈥� even after each class graduates.”

Two Griddy

“We just thought it would be a funny picture to have,” says volleyball player Kate Hansen 鈥�25 (right) of Menlo Park, Calif., doing the Griddy dance with teammate Alyssa Lowther 鈥�25 of Wyckoff, N.J.

Here’s a quick tutorial from the Griddy master himself, NFL star receiver Justin Jefferson.

Maine Theme

When the summer camp where Gabe Coffey 鈥�23 of Bangor, Maine, worked last summer bought new flags, he offered to take this well-worn Maine state flag.

“I had no real idea of what I鈥檇 do with it,” he said, until the cross country team prepared for its team photos. “I realized I鈥檓 the only Mainer on the men’s team, and thought it apropos to make it known.”

Krista Aronson

乐播传媒 College program encourages diverse picture books for children 鈥� Sun Journal

Steve Collins of the Lewiston Sun Journal spoke with Professor of Psychology Krista Aronson, the creator of the Diverse BookFinder.

Now in its third year, DBF鈥檚 online database and physical picture-book collection makes diverse children鈥檚 books more accessible, Aronson told Collins. Since its launch, the physical collection has grown, and the DBF has helped dozens of libraries analyze diversity in their own collections.

Associate Professor of Psychology Krista Aronson reads in Ladd Library with her daughter Hope in 2017. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

Aronson also spoke with Meghan Mangrum of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, who wrote about teachers in the Tennessee city who are trying to diversify their own book collections.

鈥淲e live right now in segregated societies, and we think of school or work as places where we come in contact with people who are different from ourselves,鈥� Aronson said. 鈥淭hat’s going to be increasingly common, and we need to prepare our children to be successful in those environments.”

Read the stories:聽

• 鈥�,鈥� Sun Journal, Dec. 12, 2019聽
• 鈥�,鈥� Chatanooga Times Free Press, Nov. 23, 2019聽

Matt Tavares 鈥�97

Children鈥檚 book about Santa鈥檚 reindeer lands 乐播传媒 grad on bestseller list 鈥� Multiple outlets

Portland Press Herald reporter Ray Routhier interviewed Matt Tavares 鈥�97, a noted children鈥檚 book author and illustrator whose latest picture book, Dasher, made The New York Times bestseller list, as well as numerous online lists of holiday-themed children鈥檚 books.

Dasher, Matt Tavares鈥� latest children鈥檚 book, is his first to hit The New York Times bestseller list. (Courtesy of Matt Tavares)

Tavares wrote and illustrated his first picture book for his senior thesis at 乐播传媒, under Robert Feintuch. Dasher, his 20th book and the first to make the bestseller list, is a kind of origin story for Santa鈥檚 reindeer.

Tavares lives with his family in Ogunquit, Maine, where, as he told Routhier, the beautiful Maine winters are inspiring.

鈥淚 do a lot of my writing during the winter,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 find winter in Maine is a good time to clear your mind and really focus on your story.鈥�

Read the stories:聽

• 鈥�,鈥� Sun Journal, Nov. 28, 2019
• 鈥�,鈥� Portland Press Herald, Dec. 15, 2019聽
• 鈥�,鈥� Today, Nov. 21, 2019聽
• 鈥�,鈥� The Washington Post, Dec. 2, 2019

Francesco Duina

Why are poor Americans more patriotic than their wealthier counterparts? 鈥� The Guardian

Writing for The Guardian, Professor of Sociology Francesco Duina pointed out that the poorest Americans are the ones who love their country the most. One hundred percent of the lowest-income Americans are proud of their country 鈥� more than Americans with higher incomes, and certainly more than citizens of other nations love their countries.

Most of the financially disadvantaged people that Francesco Duina interviewed for Broke and Patriotic, he says, “take ownership of their life histories.” They don’t blame the system. (Theophil Syslo/乐播传媒 College)

Duina is the author of the book Broke and Patriotic: Why Poor Americans Love Their Country. By interviewing residents of Montana and Alabama, Duina learned that some of those with the lowest incomes saw the United States as a place of dignity, abundance, and freedom.

鈥淎s long as they remain deeply patriotic, America鈥檚 poor won鈥檛 rise up,鈥� Duina wrote. 鈥淚ndeed, they鈥檒l continue to fill the ranks of the military, strive and sacrifice to help America assert itself in the world, and even feed into and support the slogans and successes of the country鈥檚 political leaders.鈥�

Read the story:聽

• 鈥�鈥� The Guardian, Nov. 20, 2019聽

Katherine Frank 鈥�94

New chancellor named for UW鈥揝tout 鈥� Wisconsin Public Radio

Rich Kramer of Wisconsin Public Radio interviewed Katherine Frank 鈥�94, who will be the next chancellor of the University of Wisconsin鈥揝tout, the state鈥檚 polytechnic university. She will take the post in March.

Katherine Frank 鈥�94 is the new chancellor of the University of Wisconsin鈥揝tout. (UW-Stout Communications)

Frank studied English at 乐播传媒 and holds a doctorate in English from the University of Washington. She has held a range of administrative positions, most recently as vice president of academic innovation and professor of English at Central Washington University.

Frank told 乐播传媒News that Professor of English Steven Dillon and Professor Emerita of English Carole Anne Taylor, who died in 2015, were instrumental during her time at 乐播传媒. 鈥淭hey are/were remarkable scholars, teachers, and mentors, and I feel very lucky to have worked with them and many others in the English department at 乐播传媒.鈥�

Read the story:聽

• 鈥�,鈥� Wisconsin Public Radio, Nov. 26, 2019

Amy Bass 鈥�92

Mike McGraw has been 鈥榚veryone鈥檚 father figure, brother, friend and mentor鈥� 鈥� Sun Journal

When Mike McGraw announced his retirement, historian and author Amy Bass 鈥�92 wrote a heartfelt tribute to the longtime Lewiston High School boys soccer coach.

Bass is the author of One Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together, which chronicles how the soccer team, largely made up of African immigrants and reflecting the changing demographics of Lewiston, won its first state championship in decades in 2015.

Amy Bass 鈥�92 (right) poses with Mike McGraw (center) and Kim Wettlaufer 鈥�80 during a reception at the Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services offices in Lewiston during her visit to the city and 乐播传媒 to promote her book One Goal in March 2018. (H. Jay Burns/乐播传媒 College)

Bass got to know McGraw, the rest of the coaching staff, and current and former players deeply. Quoting many of those players, she wrote that Lewiston was better for McGraw鈥檚 leadership.

鈥淲hether on the soccer pitch, in a classroom, or at a local watering hole, that is who Mike McGraw is 鈥� someone who can talk to anyone from the moment he looks at them with his twinkling blue eyes,鈥� Bass wrote.

Read the story:聽

• 鈥�,鈥欌赌� Sun Journal, Dec. 3, 2019聽

Ben Cline 鈥�94

One year on Capitol Hill, Republican Rep. Ben Cline has been effective even while in the minority 鈥� The Roanoke Times

U.S. Rep. Ben Cline 鈥�94 was recently the subject of a lengthy profile in The Roanoke Times. A first-term Republican representing Virginia鈥檚 6th District, he鈥檚 aligned himself with the GOP and President Trump, while simultaneously reaching across the aisle, wrote reporter Amy Friedenberger.

U.S. Rep. Ben Cline 鈥�94. left, poses with Rep. Jared Golden 鈥�11 during a summer 2019 乐播传媒 Magazine聽photo shoot in Washington, D.C. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

Cline succeeded longtime Rep. Bob Goodlatte 鈥�74, who retired in 2019.聽Now a member of the Judiciary Committee, Cline is part of important decision-making around issues like gun control and immigration 鈥� all overshadowed, of course, by the fall鈥檚 impeachment hearings.

On Dec. 13, Cline voted 鈥渘o鈥� on articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, though the Judiciary Committee as a whole voted to send the articles to the full House for a vote.

Still, in one of the most partisan environments imaginable, Cline tries to work with Democrats. 鈥淵ou need to understand where the other person is coming from in their position and recognize that they come at it from a position of morality as well,鈥� Cline told Friedenberger.

Read the story:聽

• 鈥�,鈥� The Roanoke Times, Nov. 30, 2019聽

Rebecca Herzig

When deadly X-rays were used for hair removal 鈥� OZY

At the turn of the 20th century, using X-ray treatments to remove body hair came into vogue, wrote Virat Markandeya of the digital magazine OZY. Doctors and scientists didn鈥檛 know how dangerous high doses of X-rays were, and deadly cancers later afflicted many women who had undergone the treatments.

Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies Rebecca Herzig works with a student in 2016. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

To explain the appeal of X-ray hair removal, Markandeya turned to Rebecca Herzig, a professor of gender and sexuality studies at 乐播传媒 and an expert on the politics of body hair.

Some women turned to X-rays because they 鈥渂ypassed the inescapable physicality of all other hair-removal technologies鈥� like shaving and waxing, Herzig wrote in a 1999 article in the journal Technology and Culture.

Read the story:聽

• 鈥�,鈥� OZY, Nov. 26, 2019聽

乐播传媒 Museum of Art

Art exhibits 鈥楢bound鈥� on campus 鈥� Portland Press Herald

In the space of a week, the Portland Press Herald covered both of the 乐播传媒 Museum of Art鈥檚 current exhibitions, placing them at the forefront of a strong showing of art at Maine colleges.

乐播传媒 Museum of Art attendant Louise Ouillette and Tony Leavitt, a science teacher at Tripp Middle School, take a closer look at Vanessa German’s artwork. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

Bob Keyes reviewed Vanessa German鈥檚 Miracles and Glory Abound, which explores the stories societies tell themselves and who gets left out of those stories. One piece reimagines Emanuel Leutze鈥檚 famous 1851 painting, 鈥淲ashington Crossing the Delaware.鈥�

鈥淕erman aims to add depth to those stories by fleshing them out and starting a conversation about public memory,鈥� Keyes wrote.

Elsewhere in the museum, Daniel Kany took a look at Stages for Being, an exhibition of photography by Ralph Eugene Meatyard, who took surreal photos featuring his family, and props like masks and dolls, in abandoned places.

Additionally, the museum collaborated with the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts on another photography exhibition, Jack Montgomery & Ralph Gibson: Appearances, at the University of Southern Maine.

Read the stories:聽聽

• 鈥�,鈥� Portland Press Herald, Dec. 2, 2019
• 鈥�,鈥欌赌� Portland Press Herald, Dec. 8, 2019
• 鈥�,鈥� Maine Arts Scene, Nov. 30, 2019聽

Commons

乐播传媒 College offers high-end cuisine to students and public 鈥� Sun Journal

Lindsay Tice of the Lewiston Sun Journal grabbed lunch at the 乐播传媒 dining hall, interviewing President Clayton Spencer, Assistant Vice President for Dining, Conferences and Campus Events Christine Schwartz, and several students about what makes a Commons lunch so good.

Commons, as seen from the second floor balcony. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

Tice marveled at the cereal wall, the thinly cut French fries, and especially at the beef panang curry on offer, which, she said, made her a 鈥渃urry fan鈥� for the first time.

鈥淪o why does the 乐播传媒 dining hall win so many awards?鈥� she wrote. 鈥淧art of it is the sheer amount of choice. Part of it is the focus on sustainability. And part of it is that the food is really that good.鈥�

Read the story:聽

• 鈥�,鈥� Sun Journal, Nov. 24, 2019聽

Jeffrey Lynn 鈥�30

Remember Jeffrey Lynn? 鈥� ClassicMovieChat.com

The blog , which shares photos and stories from the Golden Age of Hollywood, posted about Jeffrey Lynn 鈥�30, an actor who made a name for himself in film during the 1940s.

Jeffrey Lynn 鈥�30 (right) sits with Grosvenor Robinson, professor of elocution at 乐播传媒, in 1941.

Lynn鈥檚 notable roles include My Love Came Back, opposite Olivia De Havilland, and A Letter to Three Wives, with Kirk Douglas and Jeanne Crain. He also famously screen-tested for the role of Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind. (The part ultimately went to British actor Leslie Howard.)

鈥淭he blandly handsome actor was most often cast as a young husband, a young recruit, or an interesting boyfriend,鈥� wrote Joe Morella and Frank Segers.

Lynn also fought in World War II, for which he received a Bronze Star, and later worked as a film and theater producer.

Read the story:聽

• 鈥�鈥� ClassicMovieChat.com, Nov. 21, 2019聽

Netflix options ‘Friday Night Lights’-like soccer story 鈥極ne Goal鈥� 鈥� The Hollywood Reporter

and the reported that Netflix has bought the rights to One Goal by Amy Bass 鈥�92.

The book, whose publication in February gained national attention, tells the story of the Lewiston High School boys soccer team, comprising mostly immigrants from Somalia and other African countries, that won the 2015 Maine state championship.

During a visit to Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services in Lewiston in March, Amy Bass 鈥�92 talks to Shobow Saban, a Lewiston High School graduate and key figure in her book,聽One Goal.聽 (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

Bass cautioned that a book鈥檚 optioning does not necessarily mean it will be produced 鈥� but she said the story of the LHS soccer team is an important one to tell.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very much about Lewiston being a microcosm of bigger things happening right now,鈥� she told the Press Herald. 鈥淐ommunities that come together don鈥檛 always stay together. It takes a lot of work.鈥�

Baxter State Park, home of Mount Katahdin, gets new director 鈥� Portland Press Herald

The , the , and reported that Eben Sypitkowski 鈥�05 will become the newest director of Baxter State Park, which contains Mount Katahdin, Maine鈥檚 highest peak.

An environmental studies major at 乐播传媒 who studied coastal bloodworm digging for his honors thesis, Sypitkowski is currently the park鈥檚 resource manager, and he told WABI that he hopes to continue the vision of Gov. Percival P. Baxter, who donated the land for the park in the early 1930s. 聽

鈥淭his is a place to turn off your cellphone and let your relationship with nature be contemplative and not structured by commercial interests,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is a place to step out of our connected world, and reconnect with yourself and nature.鈥�

Large study finds colleges that go test-optional become more diverse and maintain academic quality 鈥� Inside Higher Ed

and other news media reported the findings of a major study of optional SAT policies co-authored by Bill Hiss 鈥�66 and Valerie Franks 鈥�98.

One of the study鈥檚 major conclusions is that SAT-optional policies can lead to an increase in underrepresented students in both the applicant pool and the first-year class.

The study also finds that, once in college, students who did not submit test scores posted lower grades initially, 鈥渂ut they ended up highly successful, graduating at equivalent rates or 鈥� 聽at some institutions 鈥� 聽slightly higher rates than did those who submitted test scores,鈥� according to Inside Higher Ed. 鈥淭his, the report says, is 鈥榯he ultimate proof of success.鈥欌��

As dean of admissions from 1978 to 2000, Bill Hiss ’66 spearheaded the college鈥檚 test-optional policy. Since then, he’s tracked the policy’s effect at 乐播传媒 and nationally. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

The study is the second major SAT-outcome study for which Hiss and Franks have been key players.

Hiss, who was 乐播传媒鈥� dean of admissions from 1978 to 2000, spearheaded the college鈥檚 move to test-optionality in the 1980s. He and Franks have studied the issue extensively as more and more schools 鈥� most recently and notably the 鈥� drop the requirement to submit SAT or ACT scores.

Working: Building a brand 鈥� Sun Journal

The Lewiston caught up with Robert Little 鈥�12, a local filmmaker whose latest projects include shooting for DIY Network鈥檚 reality series Maine Cabin Masters.

Little鈥檚 company, Sublime House Media, works on 鈥渇ilmmaking that could have a positive impact,鈥� writes Kathryn Skelton. He鈥檚 parlayed experience filming in Indonesia and for National Geographic into making videos that help immigrants, and working with kids on filmmaking.

For Maine Cabin Masters, Little is following a crew of builders who fix up cabins in the woods. 鈥淓very profession has a wealth of knowledge, and I feel like people forget that about the trades,鈥� Little told Skelton. 鈥淰ideo in a lot of ways is a trade. You鈥檙e making a product, and there鈥檚 lots of tools involved.鈥�

Researchers to study history and impact of increased rain in the Arctic 鈥� The Boston Globe

What happens when, because of climate change, rain replaces snow in the Arctic?

Professor of Geology Mike Retelle and a colleague at UMass Amherst have won a $760,430 grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate the phenomenon, reported.

Professor of Geology Mike Retelle poses with Allie Balter ’14 and Greg de Wet ’11 at a field site in Svalbard, Norway, in 2013. (Courtesy of Greg de Wet)

Increased rainfall could have devastating effects on communities like Svalbard, Norway, which could suffer landslides and flash flooding.

According to a , Retelle and Bradley will study lake sediments in Svalbard in order to reconstruct a long climatic history. 鈥淭his will provide a unique perspective on the nature of recent sedimentary changes and provide insight into the effects of contemporary changes in climate on the hydrological regime of this region,鈥� Retelle said.

At 乐播传媒 College, new focus on 鈥楶urposeful Work鈥� 鈥� WGBH-FM

Boston public radio station WGBH-FM profiled, a signature 乐播传媒 program that helps students discover work that aligns with their interests and values.

The station talked to Callie Reynolds 鈥�18, who completed a Purposeful Work internship in her Connecticut hometown in 2015; she also completed the 鈥淟ife Architecture鈥� course that teaches students how to approach the twin life goals of professional and personal fulfillment.

In 2017, Gerald Nelson 鈥�18 interned at Sports Illustrated Kids as part of the Purposeful Work Internship Program. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

Purposeful Work, she says, 鈥渋s all about figuring out what I want to do with my life.鈥� She鈥檚 now heading to Stockholm to work for the nonprofit study-abroad foundation DIS.

Reporter Kirk Carapezza also interviewed Peter Bysshe 鈥�93, who was on campus during Short Term to teach a course on brand culture building, part of the Purposeful Work program that offers practitioner-taught courses on practical and applied areas of study.

“When I work with designers, I love watching them get from a stuck place to an unstuck place,鈥� Bysshe told Carapezza. 鈥淲e recognize that liberal arts students can do anything. We have them do real things so they can feel what it’s like, so it’s not just rhetoric anymore.”

Why are poor people in America so patriotic? One man went on an odyssey to find out 鈥� Salon

Chauncy Devega of Salon talked to Professor of Sociology Francesco Duina, author of Broke and Patriotic, about why the poorest Americans .

Asked why Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, Duina said Trump tapped a backlash against ideas such as political correctness.

Professor of Sociology Francesco Duina teaches a course in political sociology. (Theophil Syslo/乐播传媒 College)

For Trump, political correctness amounts to collective demands for unconditional equality. For him, 鈥渢his is a way of saying that these collective identities — whether it鈥檚 blacks, gays, women, etc. — demand things from the government as a matter of right,鈥� Duina said.

Yet to Trump and his supporters, such demands are a 鈥渘on-American thing,鈥� he added, that go 鈥渁gainst the tradition of individualism: You have certain basic rights as an individual, not as a group.

鈥淚 think the people who voted for Trump by and large could be characterized as more individualistic-oriented. They lack interest in the government providing things for them and are more interested in the government getting out of their way. His voters and other supporters also feel that the government is corrupt and catering to all sorts of people instead of them.鈥�

Can tech save the humanities? 鈥� The Boston Globe

The incorporation of technology into subjects like English and philosophy could breathe new life into the humanities, . Moreover, the increasing prevalence of technology in our society makes the humanities more necessary than ever.

Joshua Macht 鈥�91 talks about entrepreneurship with Shaina Lam 鈥�17 of Portland, Maine, in 2014. (Sarah Crosby/乐播传媒 College)

Humanities and technology can intersect in promising ways, such as creating a game based on Henry Thoreau鈥檚 life or, as students in 乐播传媒鈥� Digital and Computational Studies program did this year, helping dancers compose music with their bodies.

鈥淚f the humanities are ever to enjoy a true resurgence, it will come as a result of a reinvention that embraces a fresh new take on old disciplines,鈥� Macht writes.

Studying art, philosophy, or literature could also guide the development of technology. 鈥淲e鈥檒l need to develop not just the technical skills to build better tech, but also the moral and ethical reasoning to guide how society deploys them,鈥� he writes.

Art review: Prints with a purpose 鈥� and power 鈥� Maine Sunday Telegram

In curating an exhibition of prints and posters in Portland, Maine, Myron Beasley debunked the myth that good art is 鈥減ure in itself and free from any ideological or utilitarian purpose,鈥� the Maine Sunday Telegram鈥檚 Daniel Kany.

Beasley, an associate professor of African American and American cultural studies, curated 鈥淧rint, Protest, Power,鈥� exhibited at Able Baker Contemporary from May 18 to June 22. The prints and posters in the exhibition, created mainly by black artists during and after the civil rights movement, had clear messages of political action and fighting for justice.

鈥淭he works make a compelling case not only that there is much to be done, but that such efforts can and will be successful,鈥� Kany writes. 鈥淭he art builds on successes of the past as well as current topics of change politics, so when it looks to the future, it does so not desperately, but confidently.鈥�

The quest to make super-cold quantum blobs in space 鈥� Wired

reported on Associate Professor of Physics Nathan Lundblad鈥檚 work with the Cold Atom Laboratory, the first-ever environment that is both cold enough and free enough of gravity to create a Bose-Einstein condensate.

In 2014, Associate Professor of Physics Nathan Lundblad works with summer student researcher Ben Lovitz 鈥�15 of Portland, Ore., in Lundblad’s ultra-cold atomic physics lab. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

The Cold Atom Lab was launched to the International Space Station in May. The 鈥渂lobs鈥� the lab creates 鈥渟hould yield new insights about how atoms organize themselves,鈥� writes Sophia Chen.

Working remotely, Lundblad will study this entirely new state of matter. 鈥淚magine you were in a culture where you鈥檇 never seen ice,鈥� Lundblad said. 鈥淵ou find out that when you cool water past 32 degrees Fahrenheit, this amazing form of H2O appears that is crystalline and regular.鈥�

A camp for Jewish connections 鈥� The Jewish Week

The Jewish Week named Carine Warsawski 鈥�07 one of its . Warsawski is the founder of Trybal Gatherings, which creates camp-like retreats for young Jewish adults.

Though she traveled to see family frequently growing up, Warsawski told the magazine that she first felt truly connected to Judaism during a camp, and during college and afterwards she worked at camps and for student tour companies. 鈥淚t became important to lead experiences that helped people connect to their Jewish culture, no matter the geography,鈥� she said.

鈥淪ummer camps are one of the Jewish community鈥檚 greatest assets,鈥� she added. 鈥淭rybal is an opportunity to take my own transformative experiences from camp and offer [that] to others.鈥�

Implicit Bias: Understanding our own beliefs 鈥� Maine Public

Weeks after a Starbucks employee called the police on two black men sitting in the store and Starbucks implemented an afternoon of anti-bias training for its employees, Lecturer in Neuroscience Laura Ligouri on implicit bias.

Ligouri, the founder of a nonprofit that applies psychology and neuroscience to human rights issues, said implicit bias is an unconscious process that influences people鈥檚 preconceived ideas about others and can lead to prejudice against groups different from one鈥檚 own.

Laura Ligouri, teaches 鈥淣euroscience, Ethics, and Society鈥� in May. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

Ensuring that implicit biases don鈥檛 lead to discrimination takes more work than a few hours of training, Ligouri said 鈥� to understand and confront their biases, people must slow down and be willing to have uncomfortable conversations on an ongoing basis. 聽

鈥淭o create change, it has to be a commitment to a program that becomes a practice,鈥� she said. 聽聽

Diet may influence the spread of a deadly type of breast cancer, study finds 鈥� ScienceDaily

Researchers including Charles Perou 鈥�87 have found that blocking an amino acid found in certain foods might stop the spread of a particular type of breast cancer, the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center .

The team discovered that limiting asparagine 鈥� found in 鈥渄airy, whey, beef, poultry, eggs, fish, seafood, asparagus, potatoes, legumes, nuts, seeds, soy and whole grains,鈥� according to the press release 鈥� in mice prevents the spread of triple-negative breast cancer.

The next steps are to test the effects of asparagine in healthy humans and then in cancer patients.

Perou is a leading researcher into variations of breast cancer and precision medicine. In October, the AACI Distinguished Scientist Award for his work in those fields.

When professor and author Amy Bass 鈥�92 returned to Lewiston this week, her first visit was to Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services.

By mid-afternoon on Monday, the organization’s Bartlett Street offices, located across from the Italian Bakery on the periphery of the downtown Tree Streets neighborhood, was bustling.

There were sandwiches, sambusa, and conversation, plus signed copies of Bass鈥� latest book, One Goal, which tells the story of the 2015 championship victory of Lewiston High School soccer team, many of whose members were Somali immigrants.

The book features聽many of the people who warmly greeted Bass on Monday: Lewiston High School soccer coach Mike McGraw; former star player Shobow Saban; Abdikadir Negeye, a founder of what is now MIRS; a few of the players on that championship team.

At a meet-and-greet at the Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services office, Amy Bass ’92 talks with Shobow Saban, one of the key figures in her new book. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

鈥淚t鈥檚 an American story, and it鈥檚 one that I hope teaches us what we can learn and who we should be,鈥� Bass said to a 乐播传媒 audience on Wednesday, another stop on the Lewiston leg of her book tour that鈥檚 attracting widespread media attention, including a visit to Lewiston by the NBC Today Show.

is Bass鈥� fourth book. A history professor and director of the honors program at the College of New Rochelle in New York, she鈥檚 an expert on the intersection of race, sport, and society and a frequent contributor to Salon, Slate, and CNN, and she won an Emmy Award for her work as an NBC research supervisor during the 2012 Olympics.

Those credentials 鈥� and the vivid writing and attention to detail they demonstrated 鈥� helped Bass convince the team and the community to give her the access she needed to tell the Blue Devils鈥� story.

She had become interested in it in November 2015 鈥� the Blue Devils鈥� championship victory was a striking juxtaposition to American politicians鈥� anti-immigrant rhetoric following the terrorist attacks in Paris that same month.

Amy Bass ’92 waits to speak to a 乐播传媒 audience about her book on March 14. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

鈥淚t still feels overwhelmingly relevant, the moment this book is coming out in,鈥� Bass said in an interview.

Bass spent months afterwards poring over newspaper articles, books, and yearbooks. She learned everything she could about Lewiston and the high school soccer team, before she interviewed McGraw.

She then traveled to Lewiston several times in 2016 and 2017. She talked to McGraw and his coaching staff. She talked to the players, many of whom hail from several African countries. She talked to their parents. She talked to Kim Wettlaufer 鈥�80, former director of Trinity Jubilee Center, a soup kitchen and community center that serves as a kind of hub for the Somali community, including support for youth soccer. She established trust and was invited into their homes, classrooms, and locker room.

鈥淚t still feels overwhelmingly relevant.鈥�

Putting to work her skills as a historian, Bass also watched hours of video footage, social media posts, and text messages. Most importantly, she said, she learned 鈥渢he art of hanging out.鈥�

鈥淚 had to figure out how to be more patient and not be in such a hurry,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was, 鈥業鈥檓 going to go to the youth recreation track meet in Poland this afternoon and just hang out and see who鈥檚 there, and watch the Lewiston little kids run.鈥� It was hanging out on Lisbon Street and talking to people so if the players said, 鈥楬ey, where are you?’ I could say, 鈥業鈥檓 here.鈥欌��

Amy Bass ’92 talks to Kim Wettlaufer ’80, former executive director of Lewiston’s Trinity Jubilee Center and a supporter of youth soccer, at a meet-and-greet at the Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services offices. (Jay Burns/乐播传媒 College)

Bass鈥檚 ability to hang out was apparent to Shobow Saban, a central character in the book.

Saban, who came to Lewiston from Somalia as a child, is a 2011 Lewiston grad who attended Assumption College. A well-known Lewiston figure, he now works at MIRS (he and his bride were on the cover of the Spring 2017 issue of 乐播传媒 Magazine).

鈥淐oming to me and asking other individuals in the community, she learned a lot of the culture,鈥� he said of Bass. 鈥淪he learned how soccer evolved in the city of Lewiston. That鈥檚 worth sharing with others.鈥�

And in telling the story, Bass learned more about her college town than she ever did in college. She also got a refresher course on 乐播传媒, which is no stranger to members of the Bass family: Amy鈥檚 mother, Ruth Haskins Bass 鈥�55, is an alum, as is her sister Elissa 鈥�85; a niece and nephew are current students.

鈥淚 hadn鈥檛 lived in Lewiston since 1992,鈥� Amy Bass told the Lewiston Sun Journal. 鈥淎nd I have to say, I was a pretty typical college student. And one of the first things I had a hard time getting over is how much more 鈥榠n鈥� Lewiston 乐播传媒 is now than it was when I was there. When I am on campus, I am amazed at how much more flow there is between the campus and the city at large.鈥�

The result is an intricately detailed account of the Blue Devils鈥� road to the 2015 championship. One Goal traces Lewiston鈥檚 18th-century Franco roots to the 21st-century influx of immigrants from Somalia and other African countries, which provided a much-needed economic boost but exposed racial tensions in the town.

Somali middle and high school students, many of whom grew up in refugee camps and lived in several countries before coming to Maine, brought with them a love of soccer. They played constantly, and the skills they developed in pickup games at Simard-Payne Park, in Somali-led youth leagues, and on Abdullahi Abdi鈥檚 middle-school team, made them top picks for the high school team.

Lewiston High School boys’ soccer coach Mike McGraw listens to Amy Bass read from her book One Goal in Commons on March 14. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

鈥淲e live above the hockey arena 鈥� says Wettlaufer, referring to the Androscoggin Bank Colis茅e, formerly the Central Maine Youth Center. 鈥淔or years I鈥檝e watched, even on 30-degree days. If the parking lots are clear, the kids are out there playing soccer.鈥�

By 2015, the Blue Devils roster comprised players from six different nations, primarily Somalia. McGraw, their coach, used the players鈥� strengths and styles 鈥� Maulid鈥檚 handspring flip throw-in, Abdi H鈥檚 preternatural ability to put the ball in the net, Austin鈥檚 goalkeeping 鈥� 聽to build a top-ranked team. He also got involved in the community and accommodated Somali players鈥� family and religious obligations, all while insisting that white and Somali players support each other and play together.

鈥淲e talk about the ability to tolerate difference or embrace difference,鈥� Bass said, 鈥渂ut they were capitalizing on difference.鈥�

There was an undercurrent of hostility and even violence toward the Somali community in Lewiston; the Somali players faced discrimination and racial slurs from classmates and fans of opposing teams.

But many in the community rallied around the Blue Devils, and the team, using the rallying cry 鈥�pamoja ndugu鈥� 鈥� 鈥渢ogether brothers鈥� 鈥� won the championship game against Scarborough High School. 聽

Places in Lewiston 鈥� Simard-Payne Park, Trinity Jubilee Center, the Italian Bakery 鈥� are as present in the book as they were for its characters, and moments like the bus ride home from the Blue Devils鈥� heartbreaking 2014 championship loss to the 2015 pregame pasta dinner at Trinity are written as if Bass were there. 聽

鈥淚鈥檓 so grateful for the openness and the trust and the access, because it鈥檚 a lot to let someone in and trust someone with your story,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he community, across the board, really did that.鈥� 聽

And they turned out to see the result: Coaches, players, students, and local residents packed rooms in MIRS, 乐播传媒, and the Lewiston Public Library to hear Bass read from the book.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an enormous relief that they have the book, and we can talk about it, and we鈥檙e okay with it,鈥� she said of its characters.

鈥淚鈥檓 so grateful for the openness, trust, access, because it鈥檚 a lot to let someone in and trust them with your story.鈥�

The 2015 championship 鈥� and the subsequent 2017 championship that Bass wrote into One Goal at the last minute 鈥� didn鈥檛 solve racism and xenophobia in Lewiston, she acknowledges. But the Somali presence on the high school soccer team became a point of pride for the Somali community and Lewiston as a whole; the 2015 championship game drew a crowd of 4,500.

Lewiston High School assistant soccer coach Dan Gish talks with player Yusuf Mohamed. (Courtesy of Amy Bass)

Bass sees the team as an example of multiculturalism at its best 鈥� of capitalizing on the strengths of each culture and each individual player to create a team greater than the sum of its parts, with implications beyond one game.

It reminds her of the ancient Olympics, Bass says: the purpose of bringing the city-states together thousands of years ago was not to end war but to suspend it, to give the Greeks an idea of what life without war was like.

鈥淭o envision peace is really important,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 know what it looks like and what it feels like, how do you know it鈥檚 happened?鈥�

Rebecca Herzig

In a year of and , Plucked, by Johnson Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Rebecca Herzig, has hit at least one end-of-year list, The Economist‘s best books of 2015.

The book, by The Economist last February, is a “curious account of hair-erasing, and why people have tried clamshell razors, lasers, lye depilatories, tweezers, waxes, threading and electrolysis to try and free themselves from hairiness.”

has praised Herzig for this “smart and engaging” social history that examines the “insidious repercussions and political currency” of all those hair-removal practices, “which reverberate as loudly now” as when those practices began in the West 200 years ago.

Plucked has had a remarkable 2015 run. It’s been reviewed some 20 times in the mainstream media, and Herzig herself has been interviewed, has written articles on the topic, or had the book excerpted in nearly two dozen media outlets.

Ben Ayers ’99

A feature story in Bloomberg Business spotlights the work that Ben Ayers ’99 is doing as the Nepal director of the nonprofit dZi Foundation, a development group focused on rural communities.

Titled “,” the story by Abe Streep focuses on Ayers and dZi as a way to contrast sustainable vs. short-term relief efforts in Nepal after the April 2015 earthquake.

Ayers and dZi focus on helping communities by, for example, rebuilding schools to “develop the kind of prosperity that can make a community more resilient when it鈥檚 confronted by natural disaster.”

Ayers, a magna cum laude English major at 乐播传媒 who has worked in Nepal for much of his post-graduate life, tells Street that it’s “easy to drop off some tarps and call it good. I think this is more effective.”

Ben Chin ’07

National and local media offered to the Lewiston mayoral race, in which Ben Chin ’07 lost a Dec. 8 runoff election to incumbent Robert Macdonald.

The New York Times said the race was a “,” describing Chin as a well-organized and well-funded “activist with the liberal Maine People鈥檚 Alliance” and noting that the conservative Macdonald was a “Vietnam veteran and former police detective, who did little campaigning.”

The Bangor Daily News noted that it’s “,” where a large population of immigrants from African countries has made the city, according to the Times, “younger and more racially diverse than the rest of Maine” while noting that these new citizens’ political leanings are left-leaning compared to the aging population of longtime residents.

Amy Bass ’92

Another manifestation of Lewiston’s diverse racial makeup (and, some would say, a true harbinger of the city’s future) came last month when the Lewiston High School boys soccer team won the state title.

Amy Bass ’92, a professor of history at the College of New Rochelle and a frequent media contributor on issues around race and sport in U.S. society, noting that the Lewiston team has players from Congo, Kenya, Turkey, Germany, and Somalia, reflecting the influx of immigrants over the last 15 years, playing alongside teammates whose families have much longer roots in Lewiston.

“Seven members of the championship team came from the same refugee camp,” she writes. “They knew each other before becoming classmates and teammates.”

In recent years, Lewiston has “grappled with its identities,” Bass writes. “It has not, by any means, been a painless transition.” Youth soccer, she writes, “has been a microcosm of that process.” In fact, “it would be tough to overstate the importance of soccer in these community relations.”

A film about the Lewiston soccer team’s triumph by Ian Clough, a 2001 Lewiston graduate and former soccer player:

Lisa Simpson (乐播传媒 ’20?)

It’s a communications strategy that you learn in kindergarten: When teased, respond with humor.

In the Dec. 6 episode of The Simpsons, Lisa Simpson’s solar-powered car stalls during an alternative-energy car competition. She gets teased with, as said, “strangely specific insults” that suggest that she’s doomed to, in order, 乐播传媒, Maine winters, and Division III basketball.

“But rather than lick its wounds over the slight, the college decided to own the joke,” .

The college and Facebook channels along with an invitation to Lisa to apply to 乐播传媒.

“Cute gesture,” the Chronicle said, “and a fun use of the college鈥檚 social-media platforms.”

Here’s a roundup of 乐播传媒-relates Olympic news from home and abroad.

Emily Bamford ’15

Australian Olympic skier Emily Bamford ’15 talks with reporters about her preparations for her events. If you thought snow was snow, she notes that the Sochi snow “is really different from what we had in Europe. It’s taking some getting used to.”

At one point she references salt, which is sometimes applied to a course on a warm day though it seems counter-intuitive. The salt thaws the snow, which then refreezes into a harder and more consistent surface.

Her events, the giant slalom and slalom, are scheduled for Feb. 18 and 21, respectively.

Amy Bass ’92

Amy Bass ’92 is a scholar of the Olympics and professor of history at the College of New Rochelle.

A scholar of the Olympics and an Emmy-winning researcher for NBC Sports, Amy Bass ’92 recently penned essays for about the political backdrop of the Sochi Games and for on the apparent devaluation of bronze and silver聽鈥� at least in terms of Olympic medals.

For all the criticisms of Russian politics and calls for a boycott, critics forget that “the Olympics have never been a freezing of world politics, but, rather, an opportunity to cut through the horror with moments of greatness,” she writes.

Still, “it is naive to think that sport is above politics, that any kind of level playing field exists, or that sport allows the world to put its problems on hold.”

Writing for CNN Opinion, Bass says that even for medal contenders who fall short, it is “enough just to be there.” Yet for others, winning a gold medal is all there is.

Bass, professor of history and director of the Honors Program at the College of New Rochelle, has worked eight Olympics for NBC Sports. She supervised the Research Room for the 2012 Summer Games in London, winning an Emmy along with her team.

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Erica Rand

The college’s Whitehouse Professor, Erica Rand is an avid figure skater, shown here doing a catch-foot spiral. (Mike Bradley/乐播传媒 College)

乐播传媒 professor and cultural critic Erica Rand is an amateur figure skater who wrote Red Nails Black Skates: Gender, Cash, and Pleasure On and Off the Ice, a book that brings her academic expertise about sexuality, race and gender to bear on the curiously gendered world of figure skating.

Writing for the , Rand comments about the selection process that snubbed skater Mirai Nagasu, noting that the three skaters chosen over her “have a key credential that Nagasu lacks: the glorious glow of flowing blond hair that signals, if not always accurately, the highest echelons of whiteness and proper heterosexual femininity.”

Rand, the college’s Whitehouse Professor, has appointments in the Department of Art and Visual Culture and the Program in Women and Gender Studies.

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Peter Carlisle ’91 is the managing director for Olympic and action sports for Octagon. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

Peter Carlisle ’91

Sports agent Peter Carlisle ’91 is once again at the Olympic Games.

Carlisle to Portland Press Herald columnist Steve Solloway about the feel of the Games.

The security presence in Sochi, he says, is like Goldbug, the little creature found on each page of Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. 鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 hard to locate, but it鈥檚 always there,鈥� said Carlisle.

Carlisle represents snowboarder Kelly Clark, among other athletes. In this prior to the games, Carlisle comments on the drive his client possesses.

 

 

Amy Bass ’92 and her NBC research team won an Emmy Award for their coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, reports the New Rochelle Daily Voice.

Amy Bass ’92 is a history professor at the College of New Rochelle who contributes research expertise to NBC Olympics coverage. Photograph courtesy of the College of New Rochelle.

Bass, a professor of history and director of the Honors Program at the College of New Rochelle who worked eight Olympics as a researcher, supervised the network’s Olympic Research Room at the 2012 Summer Games in London.

Bass’ Emmy was in the “Outstanding Live Event Turnaround” category, for live-to-tape edited segments of an event (various Olympic events in this case) and must air within one day of the completion of the event being covered.

Bass brings robust scholarship to her work.

Her books include Not the Triumph but the Struggle: The 1968 Olympic Games and the Making of the Black Athlete (University of Minnesota Press, 2004) and the edited collection In the Game: Race, Identity, and Sports in the 20th Century (MacMillan, 2005) and Those About Him Remained Silent: The Battle Over W.E.B. Du Bois (University of Minnesota Press, 2009).