Facebook is still the granddaddy of social networks, with 2.4 billion monthly active users, according to one measure.

In 2019, the 乐播传媒 Facebook page offered its 18,856 followers about a post per day, or 354 total. Of those posts, 190 offered links to 乐播传媒 stories, 96 featured photography, and 69 displayed a video.

Those posts garnered 55,097 reactions:

• 49,360 “Likes”
• 4,480 “Loves”
• 660 “Wows”
• 315 “Hahas”
• 243 “Sads”
• 39 “Angrys”

One way to measure the popularity of a post is by looking at total “engagements”: the number of reactions, comments, and shares that the post receives.

In 2019, posts on the 乐播传媒 Facebook page had 88,902 total engagements. And here are the top 10!

10. Feb. 16 鈥� Fulbright good news, Part I (980 engagements)

Each year, two Fulbright-related news items draw lots of attention. The first is in February, an announcement of 乐播传媒鈥� rank among U.S. liberal arts colleges for producing Fulbright U.S. Student award recipients. The second is a spring announcement of a new cohort of recipients.

For 2019, with 13 awards, 乐播传媒 ranked fourth as a producer of Fulbright U.S. Student award-winners. It was the college’s fourth straight year as one of the top five “Top Producers.”

https://www.facebook.com/batescollege/posts/10156861733815822

9. June 10 鈥� The 2019 乐播传媒 Summer Reading List (996)

As eclectic as the community that contributes to it, the annual Good Reads: The 乐播传媒 College Non-Required Reading List for Leisure Moments always captures attention when it’s published each spring.

Founded by Sarah Emerson Potter ’77, now retired as the director of the 乐播传媒 bookstore, the list is going strong in its 23rd year.

https://www.facebook.com/batescollege/posts/10157128485400822

8. June 2 鈥� Franky’s fist bumps (1,000)

Famous on campus for his fist-bump greeting, always delivered with a kind word, beloved 乐播传媒 custodian Franky Urueta was elected by the Class of 2019 to deliver the Baccalaureate Address.

An Apache Native American, Urueta used his address to talk about his path from California to Maine, and he urged the seniors 鈥渢o give positive energy to people鈥� so that 鈥渢hey give you positive energy back.鈥�

https://www.facebook.com/batescollege/posts/10157107598145822

7. March 27 鈥� 乐播传媒 announces 2019 Commencement speaker (1,006)

Around the country, the announcement of a college’s Commencement speaker is the unofficial start of graduation season.

At 乐播传媒, the 2019 speaker was Jennifer Doudna, CRISPR gene-editing pioneer. Her fellow honorands were Megan Smith, a high-tech visionary; and Travis Mills, an advocate for combat-injured veterans. (A fourth honorand, labor and social justice icon Dolores Huerta, accepted her degree at Convocation.)

As one 乐播传媒 follower commented, “Kudos to 乐播传媒 for their stellar Commencement speaker choices. From Bryan Stevenson to Jennifer Doudna…so impressive!”

https://www.facebook.com/batescollege/posts/10156947561775822

6. April 29 鈥� Texas teenager pays tribute to Vietnam casualty David Nash ’68 (1,018)

For her high school English class, Annakate Kelley of Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, was assigned to create a video tribute of an American killed in Vietnam.

The assignment was linked to a reading, The Things They Carried, author Tim O鈥橞rien鈥檚 collection of short stories about combat soldiers in Vietnam.

With sensitivity and respect, Kelley created a video honoring 乐播传媒 alumnus David Nash ’68, who died in Vietnam in 1970. Along the way, Kelley’s work has catalyzed conversation and memory-sharing among those who loved Nash.

https://www.facebook.com/batescollege/posts/10157025620735822

5. Aug. 16 鈥� 乐播传媒 announces its largest federal grant ever (1,046)

It was a big year for 乐播传媒 grants from the National Science Foundation.

In August, the college received a $3.97 million NSF grant to create a groundbreaking Visual Experience Database to support visual recognition research with applications in neuroscience and artificial intelligence.

Then, in October, 乐播传媒 announced that Holly Ewing, a professor of environmental studies and the Christian A. Johnson Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at 乐播传媒, is one of four co-principal investigators on a $5.9 million NSF grant to use high technology against a low-tech problem: the increasing hazard posed by cyanobacterial blooms in lakes.

https://www.facebook.com/batescollege/posts/10157295020240822

4. May 26 鈥� Commencement 2019 photo album (1,090)

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what’s the total from a Facebook photo album from Commencement?

Published on the afternoon of graduation day, the album features stem-to-stern coverage of that climactic occasion, from the arrival of diplomas at the Coram Terrace stage to the final family portraits.

https://www.facebook.com/batescollege/posts/10157102556140822?__xts__[0]=68.ARA5fDpvvvlkoAXXk6BL-Wjed92Jc9NX_z87rOw_MEAAlk7nQIBhYtuq8Oge2abtpadLedTzCLnS9G5eM96ud8Iz1f-CZayTSo7ehHJBfefZIlDFQqgza7_Zyki4jC1KcarvWhIoN4GWCf2HvE6cuiTY8UDFo2-tDiCje6o6nmP55WjmN4m9ui6bw6uFPBRMRCQQvkL6oWcDFTChmlLT53xEKNx6djPiGpp6q9wJcrAHQ-fygg8Z3ue3YUp3hvxrZeKmNrLOThwdsKBhNnK4XC7c2uy8dsMpHE7BRoou8jP46rBD73Z1TALoe0Z58nForylGFYk11CB2QyfVPz07vEnln6yPcz2PQIq5lkm6hqMiM39fBX1gSIaff6kOZNeBhmip6ezWu24ahVUZt7VIHWNRjmZNmoObATvw39y1fm6VQrisC2kO9EyvOc0gT1VMc-TGxPH6KDJuPC8OX1Ng6qyHxeVeiiUG8rsws46fgNTaqOhCFV6vTO7zcQrWwpA&__tn__=-R

3.聽 Oct. 20 鈥� Women’s rowing wins Head Of The Charles (1,107)

乐播传媒 made history in October 鈥� and Facebook followers responded 鈥� as the Bobcat women’s rowing team won its third straight Collegiate Eights race at the Head Of The Charles Regatta, becoming the first women’s or men’s team to achieve a three-peat of that race.

Earlier in the year, the Bobcats won their third consecutive NCAA Division III national championship.

https://www.facebook.com/batescollege/posts/10157461454095822

2. May 22 鈥� Fulbright good news, Part II (1,273)

Around Commencement each year, the college announces the new cohort of seniors and young alumni who’ve received offers of Fulbright Student awards.

This year, 20 Fulbright awards were offered to graduating seniors and five to recent graduates. It was the second time in three years that offers to 乐播传媒 people touched the college’s high-water mark of 25.

https://www.facebook.com/batescollege/posts/10157080349350822

1. May 16 鈥� 乐播传媒 achieves carbon neutrality (2,279)

乐播传媒 seniors who last spring celebrated the college’s achievement of carbon neutrality were still tweens when, 12 years ago, the college committed itself to that goal.

鈥淭his achievement shows 乐播传媒 at its best,鈥� said 乐播传媒 President Clayton Spencer. 鈥淥ur mission statement calls for responsible stewardship of the wider world, and at this point in our history on this planet, there is no higher need than addressing climate change.”

https://www.facebook.com/batescollege/posts/10157065170270822

Out of some 700 U.S. colleges and universities to sign a carbon-neutrality pledge in 2007, 乐播传媒 is one of only seven to date that have reached that goal. The college beat its own 2020 target for attaining neutrality, announced in a 2010 Climate Action Plan, by a year.

鈥淲e have met this goal through shared effort, commitment, and creativity by the entire college community with students leading the way,鈥� Spencer said.

Big 乐播传媒 events and great college news (not to mention blazing maple trees in autumn glory) bring out the likes among followers of the college’s official Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter channels.

Here are the top five social media posts for each 乐播传媒 channel in 2018 as ranked by SproutSocial engagement metrics.

Facebook

乐播传媒 College has 17,630 followers on Facebook.

1. Feb. 10 鈥� NBC gives a big 乐播传媒 shout-out as Olympian Dinos Lefkaritis 鈥�19 enters Olympic Stadium

Marching as a team of one 鈥� between Kyrgyzstan and Chinese Taipei 鈥� of Larnaca, Cyprus, drew an extended shout-out from NBC announcers Mike Tirico and Katie Couric during Winter Olympics opening ceremonies last Feb. 9.

Now back at 乐播传媒, Lefkaritis is completing his academic studies (he’s an economics major and pursuing the Combined Program for engineering) and skiing for the Bobcats.

https://www.facebook.com/6177010821/posts/10155970549010822

2. Aug. 9 鈥� J.J. Cummings ’89 takes command of the world’s largest aircraft carrier

The U.S. has 11 nuclear-powered carriers, and a 乐播传媒 grad, Navy Captain J.J. Cummings ’89, now commands one of them: the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy鈥檚 newest and the world鈥檚 largest.

https://www.facebook.com/6177010821/posts/10156420037915822

3. Nov. 15 鈥� Jared Golden ’11 wins Maine鈥檚 2nd District congressional election

Nine days after the general election, Jared Golden 鈥�11 was declared the winner in Maine鈥檚 2nd Congressional District.

Golden鈥檚 election took more than a week to decide because neither he nor incumbent Bruce Poliquin got a majority, so the election was decided by Maine鈥檚 new ranked-choice voting format.

He’s the second alumnus to win a House seat in 2018, joining Republican Ben Cline 鈥�94, elected to represent Virginia鈥檚 6th Congressional District.

https://www.facebook.com/6177010821/posts/10156646793930822

4. Feb. 19 鈥� 乐播传媒 ranks first nationally in Fulbright Student Awards

In February, 乐播传媒 was announced as the No. 1 producer of Fulbright Student award recipients among U.S. liberal arts colleges for 2017鈥�18.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright is the U.S. government鈥檚 flagship international educational exchange program.

https://www.facebook.com/6177010821/posts/10155995766400822

5. May 17, 2018 鈥� 乐播传媒 announces state-of-the-art science building

In May, 乐播传媒 announced that it will break ground in 2019 on a new science building.

To be located on Campus Avenue, the three-story structure of approximately 65,000 square feet will offer versatile teaching and research spaces, advanced instrumentation rooms, and areas designed to promote study and interaction.

https://www.facebook.com/6177010821/posts/10156223538670822

Instagram

乐播传媒 College has approximately 10,800 followers on Instagram.

1. April 7, 2018 鈥� Hedge Hall maple tree (Take 1)

Between the never-ending winter and the stress of finals, early April at 乐播传媒 is not exactly a student’s favorite time of year.

Playing on that vibe, this juxtaposition of images, one taken from Hedge Hall in winter and the other from Hedge in gorgeous autumn, played on the meme 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 love me at my…, then you don鈥檛 deserve me at my….” while reminding students just how beautiful 乐播传媒 was six months prior.

The post originated on the college’s Twitter feed (see below) before taking on new life on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhSVuAbh_yn/

2. Oct. 17 鈥� Hedge Hall maple (Take 2)

This year’s look at the blazing Hedge Hall maple tree was taken around 4:40 p.m. on Oct. 16.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpDCGk2nnZO/

3. Oct. 21 鈥� Women’s聽 Varsity Eight wins Head of the Charles race

The 乐播传媒 women’s varsity eight defeated 27 boats to win the Women’s Collegiate Eights at the 54th Head of the Charles Regatta.

The defending NCAA champion Bobcats took first for the second straight year and for the third time in program history.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpNmmIwn2K3/

4. May 25 鈥� The Class of 2018 Class Photo

Two days before Commencement, members of the Class of 2018 gathered at Garcelon Field for their traditional class photo.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjNjagZneae/

5. Jan. 27: Gail Dow 鈥�60 cheers on Puddle Jumpers

Decked out in 乐播传媒 regalia, loyal alumna Gail Dow ’60 of Lewiston turned out for the 2018 Puddle Jump on Jan. 26.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BedJwnrhtxs/

Twitter

乐播传媒 College has approximately 12,500 followers on Twitter.

1. Aug. 1 鈥� Benjamin Mays’ birthday

Featuring a tweet by Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King, the college’s birthday tweet honored Benjamin Elijah Mays, a member of 乐播传媒 Class of 1920, as “undeniable proof of the emancipating potential of education.”

Each and every day here at 乐播传媒, the inspiring life of Benjamin Elijah Mays, 乐播传媒 Class of 1920, offers us undeniable proof of the emancipating power of education.

— 乐播传媒 College (@乐播传媒College)

2. Feb. 23 鈥擜 dean’s statement to support civic action

After the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., high school students around the nation held walkouts to protest gun violence, risking disciplinary action by their schools.

Since disciplinary actions are reported as part of the college-application process, many high school students feared that their 17 minutes of protest would affect their acceptance status.

On Feb. 23, 乐播传媒 Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Leigh Weisenburger announced that “乐播传媒 Admission will not penalize you for participating in peaceful protest,” and explained why.

Please read this important message from Dean of and Financial Aid, Leigh Weisenburger.

— 乐播传媒 College (@乐播传媒College)

3. Nov. 15聽鈥斅燡ared Golden ’11 wins historic election

Nine days after the general election, Jared Golden 鈥�11 was declared the winner in Maine鈥檚 2nd Congressional District as Maine became the first state in the U.S. to employ ranked-choice voting for a federal office.

Jared Golden 鈥�11, D-Maine, wins the ranked-choice vote in 鈥檚 2nd Congressional District; he鈥檒l join fellow alum Ben Cline 鈥�94, R-Va., as newly elected members of Congress.

— 乐播传媒 College (@乐播传媒College)

4. April 7 鈥� Hedge Hall maple tree, Take 3

This winter-fall juxtaposition of scenes outside Hedge Hall, using the viral meme聽 “If you don’t love me at my…, then you don’t deserve me at my…,” gained lots of attention.

If you then you don't
don't love deserve
me at my me at my

— 乐播传媒 College (@乐播传媒College)

5. March 25 鈥� “Voices of 2018” with Rakiya Mohamed

In an installment of the video feature “Voices of 2018,” double major in biological chemistry and African American studies Rakiya Mohamed ’18 of Auburn, Maine, explains how she balanced two very different subjects.

“What is the point of getting this education if you’re not going to go out there and do something with it 鈥� do something bigger than you with it?” asks Mohamed, who delivered the Senior Address during Commencement.

She's a scientist, but she's also a scholar in African American Studies. See how Rakiya Mohamed '18 of Auburn, Maine found the answer to the question, "Who Am I?" in the latest "Voices from the Class of 2018."

— 乐播传媒 College (@乐播传媒College)

Somerville is an incubator for young alums adjusting to the real world, says Swita Charansomboon '04, standing in Davis Square near a familiar mass-transit symbol. Photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen.

It’s 8:15, and I’m on the MBTA’s Red Line doing the morning-commute thing into Boston from Somerville, Mass. Half-asleep in my wrinkled business-casual clothes, I’m on autopilot, mouthing the conductor’s words: “Daaavis”…”Porter”…”Hahvahd”…”Doors open on the right.” I plug into my iPod, and the Deansmen’s “Fliptop Twister” transports me back to 乐播传媒, to my fourth-floor room in Adams where I can hear the Deansmen singing on Olin’s terrace.

Suddenly, one face among the morning commuters strikes a clear note in my head. The Patagonia jacket, the messy bun, the glasses 鈥� she was in one of my psychology classes. Jacky? Janet? Our eyes meet across the heads of other riders, and after two seconds of recognition we both look away.

I didn’t feel much like a 乐播传媒ie that morning. Neither did she, apparently.

But why not? I always miss 乐播传媒 during my morning commute. It starts with the small wish to enjoy just one more long breakfast in Commons with friends. That starts a domino effect, as I recall when the guy upstairs ate seven hot peppers on a dare during Junk Food Night at Commons, walks to Dairy Joy during Short Term with all my hallmates, and the happy feeling of finding a slip for a package in my mailbox.

When the 乐播传媒 campus tips at graduation and spills 450 or so graduates into the real world, many young alums (not to mention grads from other NESCAC schools) end up about in and around Somerville. According to College records, around 150 so-called BOLD alums (Bobcats of the Last Decade) live in the three Somerville zip codes 鈥� probably more if you count the usual number of “undocumented” young 乐播传媒ies.

It’s small wonder that the “乐播传媒ies in Somerville” Facebook group says that you can’t go to a bar in Davis Square and not run into a 乐播传媒ie.”

If we chose to attend 乐播传媒 for high-minded reasons, we choose to live in Somerville and similar neighborhoods for more prosaic ones, like cheap rent or access to the T and I-93. Like college admissions, there’s a legacy effect, too. For example, Sherika Blevins ’05 moved to Somerville because a 乐播传媒 friend, now her current roommate, had preceded her, settling in Magoun Square.

Beyond convenience, Somerville is also an incubator, its comfortable, laid-back atmosphere helping young alums adjust to city life. “The typical 乐播传媒ie is usually not the city type,” suggests Mihoko Maru ’05. “So it makes sense for us to live in Somerville. It has an off-campus housing feel, which I appreciate since I always lived in houses at 乐播传媒.”

Last night, as I walked down Holland Avenue toward Teele Square for a 乐播传媒 gathering, I moved among Tufts students with backpacks and young professionals toting logoed messenger bags. Even the pace felt the same as walking the Quad.

Somerville is also where new challenges accelerate our sense of personal change (which is part of the reason we might feel ambivalent about our 乐播传媒ie identity on the T). These common challenges are the same for everybody, says Blevins. “It’s hard to find a job, and the starting pay for college grads is pretty sad. It’s a hard, big dose of reality.”

The new post-乐播传媒 reality can make us question choices we made at 乐播传媒. A gathering at a friend’s house under the pretense of “catching up” might instead focus on feeling trapped in a job we took just to pay off student loans. Or we might envy business or engineering graduates from major universities who seem to have their entire careers mapped out. We fret about not choosing a job in our major field and losing touch with our passion 鈥� or we question whether it was our passion in the first place. We worry about running out of time to figure it all out. “Scared” is a word I hear a lot during our gatherings.

Katie Harris ’04 runs the Interlibrary Borrowing Office at MIT. “I had no idea what I wanted to do after 乐播传媒,” she says. “I only knew that I wanted to avoid working in a corporate atmosphere.”聽After a short stint in a bookstore, she found the MIT job. Now with a better sense of her strengths, she hopes to go to graduate school. “I can take what was a practical career move and infuse it with something I love, like studying art, cultures, and history,” she says.

Real-world pressures get personal, too. A college romance fails the test of distance, or good friends drift apart. “Sadly, it’s been very hard to stay in touch with those who moved elsewhere,” says Harris.聽“Facebook helps, though.”

One recent grad talked about how his friendship with another grad tensed up after they shared an apartment. “We both needed to save money and we were friends at 乐播传媒, so I thought it would be more of the same fun. But we were on very different schedules, so we couldn’t hang out after work. It was just completely different from 乐播传媒.” They each found their own place after their lease expired.

Asked what they missed about 乐播传媒, these young alums listed a number of specifics 鈥� like running into friends at the library on late nights or adventures in Maine 鈥� that complement my own memories. Taken together, they create both a wistful longing for 乐播传媒 community and a hope to find it in the real world.

“The 乐播传媒 community gives students emotional well-being,” Maru says. At BU, where she just completed a one-year master’s program in psychology, “I really had to plan if I wanted to see people.” This contradiction 鈥� missing 乐播传媒, finding a bit of it in Somerville, yet needing to move on 鈥� fuels the conflicting emotions in recent grads who pass by each other in Somerville.

The future? The indie band Modest Mouse sings, “We’ll all float on OK.” And secretly, we suspect that when we eventually figure out what we really want to do, we will do better than OK.

By Swita Charanasomboon ’04
A summa cum laude聽major in French and psychology, Swita Charanasomboon ’04 was a research analyst for McKinsey and Co. after graduation and is now studying at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.