I understand some people say they have “concerns”. Perception is not reality. Perception is often flawed, biased, and just plain incorrect.
Point to a list of violent events that happened on campus and/or involve students or faculty. Anyone claiming a campus is unsafe should be able to provide facts to support such a strong statement. Without facts and statistics, we’re left with the possibility that bias informs the statement.
I don’t have a dog in the fight of Lewiston or Bates. But I hate to hear individuals/institutions/cities/communities mislabeled because of bias.
There’s a saying: “Your ignorance is not my reality.”
To be clear, the “your” is a nameless entity, not any specific person on CC. The saying means just because someone makes a unsupported statement doesn’t mean I have to give it any credence or make decisions based on one false statement.
As a former Bates prospective student, I saw multiple posts about why Lewiston was not a great city, and not many discussing what Lewiston had to offer. I am simply showing how Lewiston changed my perspective on the world and that it is a great town to be in. Take it the way you want, but I am sure not many people are digging to find 20 year old articles about Lewiston’s crime. Myself, my family, classmates, and some professors had never heard of the story that you showed on this thread btw.
That is why what I cite is based on sources attending or otherwise affiliated with Bates College or living in Lewiston.
This really should not be an argument. It is a consumer issue & a safety issue. Consumers should have access to as much information as is readily available from respected sources.
I did not show the story about the murder of the Bates College hockey player in a Lewiston street fight between Bates College students and non-Bates College students. That article was posted by another.
I just want to understand how Bates could be considered an unsafe space if there are not a string of violent incidents associated with the campus. Not just Bates, but any university. One or two incidents over 20 years is not a trend. Or if it does make a disturbing trend, we need to include many more universities/cities on the list of places about which to be concerned.
I think that you may misunderstand the focus of this thread.
This thread is about the town/city of Lewiston, Maine and the issues of the town such as poverty & crime & available activities/entertainment.
Bates College is mentioned because Bates is located in Lewiston.
Yours is the first post switching the focus away from the city of Lewiston to a new focus as to whether or not Bates campus is a “safe space”.
Nevertheless, the city of Lewiston’s issues do affect the Bates community as it is a small school of about 1,850 students who are not restricted to campus.
Regarding crime rates, Lewiston’s is higher than that of Maine overall, but lower than that of the US overall.
However, since the median (in terms of parent SES) student at Bates is not getting financial aid grants or scholarships, such a student probably grew up in a very low crime area, and probably avoided going to places like Lewiston whose the median household income is probably at most 1/5 of their parents’ income (a student from a median income for Lewiston household who attends Bates would be in the bottom 9% that is getting Pell grants).
While Lewiston probably does have a higher crime rate than many of the Bates students’ home towns, the perception of Lewiston as a “poor” area probably increases the perception of higher crime than there actually is, because many similar SES areas that Bates students may have avoided near their home towns have higher crime rates.
Nevertheless, poverty, crime, & entertainment are matters important to those who consider investing four years of their young life there and a very significant amount of funds.
Overall, this is a consumer issue & consumers should have access to as much reliable information as is necessary in order to make an informed decision.
P.S. The same is true for one considering studying in Fairfield, Connecticut, or in Seattle, Washington or elsewhere. But the local community takes on an enhanced level of concern for a small school in a fairly isolated location.
2018: Lewiston had a violent crime rate of 232/100K. The average across USA was 380/100K.
By Population: I couldn’t quickly locate the date for cities under 40K population, but in the 40K-60K range, Lewiston’s VCR compares to Altamonte Springs FL (Orlando), Minot ND, Dubuque IA, San Gabriel CA, Manchester CT. I might be mistaken, but I don’t think those cities are referred to as crime-ridden places to be avoided. Maybe Lewiston is the victim of bias-driven misconception?
@Publisher , have you recently visited Bates? Sorry, but it is not isolated. It’s 40 minutes from another real city (Portland) with a real airport, right off a major freeway. There are two hospitals next to the college. There are plenty of restaurants, shopping, neighborhoods, schools. It’s not far to the coast. There is a museum in town, an outdoor amphitheater, 18 parks, schools, a bowling alley, a cinema, and more. I really have to wonder what your motive is in attempting to portray this town as a hotbed of criminal activity. You saying it is, repeatedly, does not make it true. Unigo is as far from reliable as you can get.
The OP is a college student who likes his college and wants others to know that he likes it. He wants to clear up a misconception about the town his college is in. Presumably, he hopes to inform others that even though Lewiston isn’t amazing, it also isn’t bad. I don’t see a big mystery here, but I do see snobbery.
Again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If someone doesn’t want to go to college in a former mill town that has seen better days, but is certainly not dangerous, then don’t go to that school. If someone cares a lot more about the experience they will have when they attend that school, then go to that school. There are so many great colleges that are in towns that have seen better days.
As far as entertainment, Bates has (not counting covid) so many activities. To say that students are not entertained is just not true. They do tons of fun things, at the college and elsewhere.
When we toured Bates, I offhandedly asked why they had so many Fulbright scholars. The AO partially credited the partnership between the college and town since students had ample opportunities to work on community-based projects in Lewiston. Vassar was just starting to implement programs like that at the time but wasn’t quite there yet. Even if it’s not unique to Bates, that kind of community engagement appealed to my kid.
I personally know four Bates students who have won Fulbright and other national awards at Bates. Yes, the college does a great job of assisting students with those applications.
2018: Lewiston had a violent crime rate of 232/100K. The average across USA was 380/100K.”
So it is much safer than average.
Students can make the short drive to Portland and find all the restaurants and entertainment they could ever want. Portland is reported to have more restaurants per capita than almost any city in the county. It’s usually rated as one of the best cities in the US to live.
A lot of people live in Lewiston and commute to Portland, that’s how close the cities are to each other. My first boss, an engineer, made the daily commute for decades.
Again, this is not really a thread about Bates College and its academics.
Bates College is not in Portland, it is in Lewiston–the city which is the subject of this thread.
P.S. According to a quick google search: The drive time from Lewiston to Portland is 46 minutes in light traffic (possibly including a toll road & 58 minutes if one wants to avoid the toll road).
I wouldn’t walk across Hartford on foot. I didn’t hesitate for one second in Lewiston.
A good litmus test is that the Bates campus is not enclosed, nor is it “closed” or “gated” or “locked” at night.
It’s an “open” campus that blends seamessly with the town, like Carleton/Northfield for instance.
Lewiston is not what people call “urban” as a euphemism for “ghetto”. It’s a working class town.
For what it’s worth, it’s safer in Lewiston than in New Haven and New Haven never comes up as a criterion
Seriously, location is a criterion. But I’m not sure why people who want a LAC near a town would see Lewiston as a problem.
In the context of this particular website and this particular forum, Lewiston and Bates should be considered together. No one is pretending that Lewiston is Portland.
And I read it. Bates students are not bored. The college does an excellent job of giving students a huge variety of things to do.
The OP has clearly stated his intent, and you have made your point. Let’s please try to stick with the OP’s intent.
People should be open to reading topics closely before alleging motive. I responded to a post way up-topic, indirectly observing that voter suppression does not represent the most serious criminal activity that Bates has experienced in the last 20 years. As stated earlier, the case was not “dug up,” but rather is one with which I was already quite familiar. In terms of the victim’s legacy, I do not think it’s entirely healthy that his story had been unknown to those who should know Bates better than myself. Subsequently, I posted a Bangor Daily News article, noting a “‘crime rate cut in half.’” This article also was disparaged, probably because of its conflicting headline, which interested viewers were free to explore beyond, of course.
On a personal level, I have visited Bates, am open to the merits of Lewiston, and have encouraged a relative to visit the school as part of her college search. I also have recommended Bates many times in Search and Selection topics.
Sorry, but I do not understand what you are reading that leads to your comment about entertainment. I did write that this thread is partially about entertainment in Lewiston because that is what OP chose to focus on.
Sorry if this thread didn’t go as you would like, but I believe that discussion of Lewiston is appropriate in a thread titled" The Horrible Misconceptions about Lewiston".
P.S. It seems clear that what some consider “misconceptions about Lewiston” are not misconceptions to others unless you elect to only believe the positive comments from multiple credible published sources.
P.P.S. Seems like this topic has been beaten to death. The overall message is that it is important to investigate from a variety of sources the city of Lewiston for those considering Bates College.
