When a group of students chalked sidewalks and pathways on campus, and erected triangle-shaped flags on the quad on Wednesday, their efforts to demonstrate gay pride were literally erased. The question on our minds is, what kind of message does it send to the student body about its rights of expression and social justice when these chalk drawings had to be eliminated before dawn?

One message is that someone at Bates seems a little too preoccupied with the appearance of the campus. Heaven forbid that prospective students and their parents witness vestiges of something as liberal or controversial as gay pride. What if they were to think that student activism is a common occurrence on campus?

We think it should be. It is wonderful that Bates students feel compelled to

take some initiative and a firm stand on what they believe. It shows that we're learning, thinking and trying to make the world better. It also proves that we're courageous enough, and that we believe in what we're doing enough, to go against the grain. Possibly.

If Bates is to change, and if we are to move forward, sometimes uncomfortable and unpopular issues have to come to light in full and unmoderated by the powers that be. It does no good to let them fester under the surface, however seemingly smooth it may appear.

No one should be uninformed of social politics. We don't live in isolation, we live with each other. And that means we live with each other's personal politics. Enter the saying, "the personal is political."

College isn't always easy or fun. This is our time to learn and form values and ideas. But we ask, how can it be done if the administration discourages our efforts to be involved in these politics?

The campus is for students, not prospective students. There is no reason that Bates should be masked as a harmonious place, because, quite simply, from the news that has been made here, it is not.

Whatever "aesthetic ideals" the administration holds for the campus should be reviewed and possibly revised. Students should be entitled to use the open space as a forum for learning. And that means they should be able to express themselves in this open space.

Clearly, it does no good to limit our discourse to class discussions or to the infrequent and poorly attended campus-wide assemblies sponsored by the administration. Students spend only a fraction of their on- and off-campus days in these venues.

If Bates wants young adults to form solid values, young adults need to be able to face these issues inside and outside the classroom. And if the only way to motivate student discussion is by marking the campus with chalk, let that be the way. It might be messier than a moderated discussion, but then again, so is life. The College needs to give more than lip service to the ideals that it purports to have.