About Us

The Bates Student is the editorially independent student-run newspaper of Bates College since 1873

The Bates Student began as a monthly, then bi-weekly publication, as a combination campus newspaper, alumni magazine, and literary journal. Student editorials, poetry, fiction, and non-fiction writing, and sports results were the main features of the newspaper until its format was changed in 1916. That year the paper became a “classic” newspaper in both size and content, reporting on campus news and events along with an editorial opinion page.

The only interruption in the print run of The Student occurred after the printing of the final issue of volume 70 on May 6, 1943. Volume 71 was not started until the following year, with the first issue arriving on March 15, 1944. This gap is likely due to a major decline in student enrollment during World War II.

During the pandemic, The Student was published as a weekly newsletter by the students of Bates College. Currently, the paper is published every other week on Thursdays as a newsletter and in print once a month. The Student reserves the right not to print any article and to edit for clarity and length.

Past editions of The Student are also available digitally on SCARAB for the years 1873-2019.

Views expressed in letters to the editor, columns, and forum articles are the opinions of the writers unless explicitly stated and may or may not reflect the opinions of the staff.

 

Equity and Inclusion in The Bates Student

The Bates Student recognizes our history, our institution’s history, and the history of journalism itself as exclusionary and extractive on multiple fronts. As a campus community and student organization composed of different racial, gender, sexual, religious, political, and other intersectional identities and backgrounds, we seek to discuss, analyze, and reflect on issues affecting our campus and the world at large. The Bates Student is committed to pursuing stories with care and respect to all community members.