By ERICA J. ELLIS
Staff Writer
 

Vaidya, Walker-Robinson, and Orpilla all spoke positively about the idea of October Weekend.

"I like the idea a lot. It gives students the chance to explore opportunities they might otherwise not have a chance to. In my case this [New England] was the one part of the U.S. that I hadn't experienced or seen," said Orpilla, a native Californian and participant in October Weekend 1994.

Walker-Robinson, who visited Bates during October Weekend 1993, expressed similar positive sentiments on the subject, but also stressed the need to think critically about issues of accurate representation. "I think it's good, but there are a few things that are not good. I don't feel as if everyone is open about Bates, how the school is towards people of color, different attitudes, et cetera. They didn't really show how to deal with racism and the many other forms of discrimination."

Commenting on her personal experience at October Weekend, Vaidya, who participated in October Weekend 1996, said, "It helped me to see the student side of life at Bates, but it didn't give me any idea of the racist, homophobic and apathetic attitudes on the campus."

Both Orpilla and Walker-Robinson mentioned the pleasant interaction they had with current Bates students and how this affected their decision about the college. "The people were nice. Everywhere I went I got smiling faces from everyone . . . It felt so homey. I thought maybe I really do belong here. I liked it a lot," said Walker-Robinson.

Orpilla remains in contact with his October Weekend host, who has since graduated. "One of the things I took back with me were the people here. A lot of the people I came across were very open-minded and willing to talk to me. ... It's one of those things that you look back on and say this is why I chose this college. . . I wouldn't have chosen Bates if that wasn't the feeling I got," he said.

Walker-Robinson and Orpilla spoke about affirming experiences with the Bates admissions staff. When citing what she felt was the best thing about her October Weekend for experience, Walker-Robinson specifically mentioned the admissions staff: "I guess the best thing was the fact that with the admissions staff I was able to talk to them as though they were my equals," she said.

Orpilla said he thought admissions people were extremely helpful in arranging activities and making connections which were in line with his interests and talents.

Accessibility of faculty also plays a major part in influencing prospective students' decisions.

Orpilla shared a story about his experience with a professor in the Environmental Studies department: "I had missed the class that I had signed up for, but this professor took the time to talk to me about the department and my interests. I was really happy that he didn't turn me away even though I missed his class. He made the time to talk to me. I didn't find this at other schools where the professors didn't have time to talk to prospective students." When asked about various logistical aspects of the weekend, such as hosting arrangements and organization of activities, Vaidya replied, "on the whole, the arrangements were set up pretty well in terms of commonalities of interests."

Walker-Robinson also spoke on the subject of general organization of the program, saying that the activities were well organized, she was made to feel at home, and that the program provided enough free time for prospective students to explore the campus on their own.

Although Vaidya, Orpilla and Walker-Robinson had heard both accolades and warnings about life in Maine, none of the students knew much about the state before coming to Bates.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't really hear anything bad about Maine except from my cousin. He was in job corps in Bangor and he really had it out with racism there. That's another town, so I really didn't look into it that much. Maine is going to have racism and my being in a predominately white campus, I'm bound to expect that. So I chalked it up as why not visit, give it a try and see how it is," said Walker-Robinson.

Vaidya stated that she came with beautiful, pastoral images of Maine, but that her visit didn't leave her with a clear impression of Lewiston and Bates's relationship to it. "The state of Maine is beautiful, but there are a lot of community issues that I didn't realize before I got here."

A self-described "outdoorsy-type of person," Orpilla heard from a few of his high school teachers who attended graduate school in New England that "it's just beautiful up there."

Orpilla feels that Bates's location provides a variety of options for weekend activities. "Even though there are certain amenities that you do without when you live in Maine, you can get the best of both worlds. Portland, Boston and Montreal are all within driving distance," he said.

Although Vaidya said that October Weekend can only give a limited picture of life at Bates for students of color, she felt that the program was not misleading to students of color. "I don't think it's misleading because they [prospective students who participate in October weekend] get many different points of view from white students and people of color. They get to see many sides of life at Bates such as dorm life and parties," she said. "You can only get so much from the time frame that October Weekend allocates, but it definitely doesn't give them the full impact."

Orpilla feels that the ultimate responsibility for learning about the atmosphere of a college falls on the student. "It's up to the student to go out and talk to people and see if it's a place they really like, that's why it [October Weekend programming] is open-ended," he said.

Walker-Robinson, on the other hand, expressed some misgivings about the openness of the Bates students when approached by prospective students with questions. "I wish more students of color would talk to them [prospective students] about racism, sexism and any other kind of discrimination. I really think it would help the prospective students a lot. They may choose not to come to Bates, but would you rather them get here and actually transfer or have a nervous breakdown while they're here or would it be better to have them be happy some place else? I feel as though some students would still come here after knowing the experiences of students of color on this campus negative or positive. At least they would be aware and prepared to handle certain experiences or incidents better. I wasn't prepared as much as I could have been."

Walker-Robinson, Orpilla and Vaidya all cited October Weekend as a strong influence in their decision-making process. Each student felt that there was room for improvement, but believed in the overall benefit of the program for individual students of color and the Bates community as a whole. All three will be participating in at least some of the program activities this October Weekend.