By TINA IYER
Features Editor
 

The children of Bates College faculty, staff, and administrators may be recognized faces on campus - the cute little girl on the quad or the cool kid in your language class - but as a whole, it seems likely that the average Bates student takes very little notice of the other youth that share our space.

These faculty (and staff and administrator) brats, however, are a thriving group of toddlers, children and young adults with their own thoughts about Bates, life in Lewiston, and what it means to really be a Bates kid. Four years is nothing compared to a lifetime.

Perhaps the best way to catch these kids is to check out the college facilities. The pool in Merrill Gymnasium, the ice arena, the indoor and outdoor tracks, the game room, and the tennis courts are all popular among Bates children.

Ladd Library becomes an important resource for the older children, but also provides movies for younger ones to watch while they wait for their parents to finish work or get out of a faculty meeting. "I've seen almost all of the musicals," says Hannah Matthews, 10, the daughter of Professor of Music Bill Matthews and Paula Matthews, associate librarian at Ladd.

The Den is another hotspot; Lewiston High School sophomore Nicholas Danforth, the son of Loring Danforth, professor of anthropology, and his wife Peggy Rotundo, the associate director for the Center for Service-Learning, spends many an afternoon there, as does Associate Professor of Russian Dennis Browne's four-year old daughter Sydney, who said, "I like those Doritos."

For Nate and Toby Farnsworth, the children of Professor of Psychology Georgia Nigro and Lecturer in English Rob Farnsworth, the Coke machines in Pettigrew are a big attraction. The Farnsworth kids and almost all the other children agreed that Internet access through college computers was a definite perk.

The kids also get taken to convocation, graduation, Harvest Dinner and the weekly barbecues during Short Term. During the summer, many children of Bates staff and faculty participate in College-run programs such as sports camp and Art Smart. When feeding the ducks in the puddle was still kosher, it was a favorite activity as well.

Humanities Reference Librarian and Lecturer in Classics Tom Hayward explained that for his two children Jamie, 18, and Abby, 15, growing up on Nichols Street meant that the campus was their backyard, park, and provider of entertainment.

Ben Matthews, the 14-year old brother of Hannah and an employee of Information Services for the past two years, put it in this way: "Having parents that work here [at Bates] has given me an inside look at the College that I wouldn't have had, plus access to several valuable resources, including the athletic facilities, the library, and the computing resources. I find myself utilizing these as often as I can, for school projects and my own personal interests."

Not only does Bates offer these children fun and games; the campus also is an important center for the arts and the intellect.

Jamie Hayward, the son of Tom Hayward and a first-year student at Brown University, explained over e-mail, "Bates is one of the few places to go for intellect, culture, and so on in the Twin Cities. As a young child, my parents always took me to events, and as I grew older I used Bates as a resource, a hangout, and a forum for exploring `the college life.'"

His father agreed, saying, "Bates is a wonderful enrichment. In Lewiston in particular, Bates is a goldmine."

Carmita McCoy, assistant dean of admissions and director of multicultural recruitment, sees similar advantages to bringing up her 7-year-old son Nicholas at Bates. "I believe in bringing Nick to lectures, concerts, the events of October Weekend. He should be exposed to various cultural offerings," McCoy said. She noted that the past three years on the Bates campus have heightened her son's "hunger for learning."

These children do not simply take advantage of (and nor are they forced to take advantage of) the various facilities and offerings available on campus. They are not visitors who show up for a lecture and can't find Muskie Archives, or people who don't know how to use the library. These children, whether seen or unseen by students, feel at home with the faculty and in the buildings.

Ben Matthews recognized the value of being able to contact professors who are experts in fields he's interested in. His sister Hannah has no fear of all of those armed with a Ph.D. "Professors are just people," she said.

Associate Professor of Physics John Smedley is pleased that at Bates, "there are a lot of interesting people for him [his son Ian] to run into."

Ian himself knows a little bit about physics: "You have to work with lasers a lot."

Professor Smedley smiled, adding, "Well, some of us do."

Associate Professor of Anthropology and Women's Studies Elizabeth Eames's 5-year-old son, Nimal, thinks that the best thing about Bates is being spinned in the chair in his mother's office. With any luck, this outweighs the pain he feels at being taken to "these stupid boring dinners," such as the one held for Dr. Cornel West last week.

Much of the enjoyment that the campus provides for these Bates children appears to lie hidden in their parents offices. Dennis Browne has a veritable toy store in his office. "I have crayons, paper, dinosaurs," he said.

"Whenever I can, I spend time at Bates," said Ian Smedley. When asked why, Ian grinned and said, "I like to be under his desk." He promptly jumped out of his chair and scurried under the desk, explaining all the many treasures that are hidden underneath.

For Nick and Toby Farnsworth, as well as Brandon Haines, Professor of Mathematics David Haines' elder son, the lure of the office is the computer.

The Farnsworth boys, however, prefer the computer in Nigro's office to the one in Farnsworth's. "Dad's office is bor-ing!" Professor Farnsworth said as his sons nodded. Mom's computer has games; Dad's doesn't.

In Lane Hall Sallie Hackett of secretarial services tells me that her "live wire" of a daughter, Amanda, 8, loves coming to the office with her mother. She draws Hackett's colleagues pictures and refers affectionately to Clementine Brasier as "Clam."

These children are at home in the office, wreaking playful havoc at barbecues, using the faculty as a resource, and getting to know their parents colleagues. They also know the campus in a way that few students ever will. Over dinner, Elizabeth Sheppard, director of special projects and summer programs, said, "There are a lot of things about Bates that the students don't know. Stevie [Sheppard's eight year old son] knows where all the forts on campus are. Do you?"

I didn't. I do now, but am sworn to secrecy because the first fort (there are many) was almost taken away. Nate Farnsworth said, "Some guys tried to overrun our first fort, but we took it back."

Another point, then, is this "we" that Nate refers to. These Bates kids are not isolated individuals hiding out in the library watching movies; they are a network of children that play and grow up together, brought together by their parents and also responsible for bringing their parents together.

Hannah Matthews was quick to state that "Nate [Farnsworth] is my best friend." Born only a few months apart, and living in the same neighborhood, Hannah and Nate spent their toddler years together. Although Matthews is now at Waynflete School in Portland, and Farnsworth at Hebron Academy in Hebron, they still find time to see each other on weekends and during the summer.

Ben Matthews, one of the older Bates kids, explained, "Most of my close friends are also the children of faculty at Bates, and we bond really well together, as a hoard, as we've been called. Our relationships are different from those with outside kids because we have a common bond that we can actively take advantage of."

However, Ben's peer, Nicholas Danforth, suggested that while it was the connections of his parents that led to his being introduced to his friends, the friendships themselves blossomed independently. Nigro agreed, saying that she attributed the close friendships of both her sons with other Bates children to longevity more perhaps than any other reason.

It is Bates friendships that are of overriding importance in these childhoods. Ann Danforth said that her favorite thing about Bates was her friends.

The friendships of Bates children are not only of benefit to the kids; parents also get to know each other through each other's children. Dean of the College James Carignan mentioned that his four children, now fully grown, were a conduit through which he was able to meet others, and McCoy remarked that often people will talk with her only because they know her as "Nick's mom."

As valuable as these "hoards" of Bates kids are to each other, and as much as they might enjoy the campus on their own, they still have to contend with the perhaps overwhelming presence of students (gasp!) on campus. Stevie Whitaker spends more time on campus during the summer than any other season (perhaps because him mom is in charge of summer programs), and has asked him mother upon seeing the college students return, "Why are all these big kids here?"

But the big kids are here, and are supposed to be here, and the Bates children must cope. And they cope well. Overall, the children that were spoken with had positive things to stay about the student population.

When Amanda Hackett spent the day with her mother for "Take Your Daughter to Work Day," she collected student autographs. Jamie Hayward, who took two classes at Bates as a senior at Lewiston High School, explained, "As I group I find them [Bates students] a bit intimidating, however as individuals they are very interesting and friendly. I made some very deep friendships with Bates students."

Often times the exposure that Bates children get to Bates students is through babysitting. The college becomes a great source for faculty and staff to find babysitters and "playmates," and their children can grow extremely fond of their older caretakers.

The Farnsworth's most recent babysitter was Carolyn BonDurant '97. Nate and Toby's fondness for BonDurant seemed to owe a great deal to the fact that she let them shoot at Jeep Cherokees with their water guns. "We hate Jeep Cherokees because they're cheesy," Nate remarked.

For the children of athletic directors such as Ric Mackey, head alpine ski coach, and Al Fereshetian, head men's cross country track and field coach, the experience with students is slightly different.

J.J. Mackey, a third-grader at Pettengill School, the son of Mackey and his wife Jill, assistant director of management and information manager, often comes to Bates after school to watch his dad's practices. A skier from the age of two, J.J. became incredibly close to the team that his father had last year, and was sorry to see the seniors (the bulk of the team) graduate.

Fereshetian's four children, ranging in age from five to eleven, also get to know their dad's runners. "We like all of Daddy's athletes," Vanessa, 11, said. Fereshetian himself appreciates the way his students allow his children to interact with them, seeing this as extremely beneficial. "The kids we come in contact with are very highly motivated, and its a great example for our kids," Fereshetian said.

Abby Hayward had many Bates babysitters as a youngster, and said, "I learned to adjust to them [Bates students] when I was little, so I was comfortable around them."

She mentioned, however, that her peers and non-Bates friends do not feel the same way. While the children of Bates faculty and staff tend to have good views of the students, she said the children of the Lewiston community think of average Batesies as "crunchy, wealthy kids who walk around in their preppie clothes."

Nicholas Danforth understands this conception of Bates students, given the difference in socio-economic class between Bates and many Lewiston residents, but says that he harbors no general perceptions of Bates students. "I meet and interact with a larger range of people so I don't have narrow ideas about them."

This stereotype of the College can become a problem for the Bates kid when he or she gets older.

The younger set seem proud of their parents connections to Bates, J.J. Mackey used the word "special" to describe how he feels about being a Bates kid, and Amanda Hackett is proud of her mother's job at the College as well.

Many other children are simply neutral. Brandon and Justin Haines, the sons of David Haines, do not see their link to Bates as good or bad; it is simply where their father works.

If this does become an issue at all, which it may not, this happens when the children are older. Carignan explained that in high school his children played down their father's position as an administrator at Bates. "Our kids tried very hard to be regular. They were very conscious of their own desire not to be pegged as Bates faculty brats," said Carignan.

Perhaps the worst thing for these Bates children was the noise of pile driving all summer long. Toby Farnsworth's last words to the College were, "Finish the new building so mommy can have a new office and a new computer."

As much as they might like the students, and growing up at Bates, actually going to Bates for college doesn't appeal to many of the children, or to many of the parents.

Vanessa and Lauren Fereshetian, ages 11 and 8, wouldn't mind going to Bates, but their 7-year-old brother Justin is still unsure. Hannah Matthews also would consider Bates, but informed me that Ben will go to MIT.

Stevie Whitaker has plans to go to Bates and live with Toby Farnsworth and Nick Wright. But when questioned, neither Toby nor Nick could make any promises.

Other children are more interested in going to school where their parents went. Nate Farnsworth said he'll go to either Bates or Brown (where both Nigro and Farnsworth went to school). Ian Smedley stated, " I might go where my dad went. Colby."

Farnsworth would rather his sons went "to school as far from Maine as possible. Maine is a great place, to come home to."

For Ben Matthews, Bates is not an option. "I am too familiar with the campus and the people on it for it to be a new, enlightening experience," he said.

Jamie Hayward opted for Brown University over Bates, and explained that at the two schools, "Many things are different, some the same, all interesting. I find however that spending time at Bates prepared me to a certain extent for being on a campus."

Although Matthews said that the advantages of raising children at Bates far outweighs the disadvantages, such a statement should alleviate the fears of Paula Matthews, who is "a little worried that they [her kids] might be kind of jaded" about college.

The biggest worry for Bates parents, however, is the lack of diversity in Lewiston. Nigro acknowledged the great socio-economic diversity that is present in Lewiston , but said, "I'm sorry it's so white."

Paula Matthews mentioned the value of the Franco-American population in town, as well as the worth of her children growing up recognizing that not everyone is well off.

For most parents and children, the College somewhat makes up for the lack of multiculturalism in Lewiston. Carmita McCoy said that while there is a shortage of African-American role models for her son, "the multicultural students, faculty, and staff at Bates are a remedy."

Despite some of these odds, for most of these Bates parents, the experience of bringing up children on a college campus is a positive one. Beth Sheppard grew up on the University of Maine - Orono campus, and said, "I'm much richer for the experience."

Robert Farnsworth remarked, "its an incredible advantage, it makes parenting a thousand times easier." While parenting might not be so simple for those single parents on campus, there is a network among the faculty. For years (and possibly still), large trash bags of maternity clothes and kid clothes were making the rounds of the faculty and staff.

Many of the parents also note the college community's impartation of values: its stress on education, learning, thinking and ideas. Beth Sheppard is pleased that her children, Stevie and Katherine, 3, are growing up knowing that "women can do cool things."

Hannah Matthews spells on a 7th or 8th grade level. Her brother is a computer genius. Beth Sheppard's son Stevie and his friends discussed the inaccuracies of Disney's version of "Hercules." These children, and all the others, prove Tom Hayward right. "The Bates population is an exceptional one. The children are likely to be exceptional, too."