Bates Faces, the once beloved online yearbook and directory, has disappeared from Garnet Gateway, leaving many students befuddled. “Bates Faces was the invisible connection between us” Lucy Read ‘27 comments. So what happened to the Garnet Gateway staple?
According to Bates Associate Vice President for Title IX & Civil Rights Compliance and Title IX Coordinator, Gwen Lexow, the site was removed after multiple students “expressed concerns about Bates Faces.” These issues were largely related to privacy, as Bates Faces shared student names, images, class years, and hometowns online. The lack of control students had over the availability of this information online raised an issue for faculty members to deliberate.
The availability of information wasn’t the only issue reported to Lexow. Students also “expressed concerns over how some of that information was being used.” Lexow says, “what they shared was compelling” and forced faculty to “begin looking more seriously at it and evaluate if it was appropriate for us [Bates] to continue to have it.”
The deliberation of the site’s fate happened “fairly quickly” as faculty took student concerns seriously and acted in what they believe is in the best interest of the Bates Community, resulting in the removal of Bates Faces from Garnet Gateway.
Reactions from students on the removal have varied. Grace Gesmondi ‘25 looks back fondly at discovering fellow students also from Rhode Island saying, “It was a fun way to see who was from my home state.” Nate Shore ‘27 feels passionately about the removal saying, “it was comparable to some of the greatest heists in the last few centuries, not limited to the theft of 13 priceless paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.” On another note, Campbell MacDonald ‘27 says, “I’m not sure it’s ever been used for a wholesome reason. Nonetheless, I’m sad to see it go.”
While Lexow appreciates the affinity students had for the database, at this time there are no scheduled plans for improvements to the site or for a replacement. “My understanding is that it is gone for good,” says Lexow.
Bates Faces joins a list of retired Bates legends. While the site will be remembered fondly by many and criticized by others, the removal speaks to Bates’s broader shift towards greater equity among students.
