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Nate Shore is a freshman at Bates College from Kennebunkport.
At Bates College, the campus has reached an eerie stillness. Through the small gaps between fully drawn curtains, we watch the occasional student scurry across the grass back to their dorm as they pick up highly awaited grab-and-go meal boxes prepared by the students and staff that made the commons dining hall their home Wednesday night as we all remained sheltered in place.
Wednesday night, many of us sat in dorm rooms that were not our own, listening to police and fire radio apps and local turned-national news, like many of our families at home. We listened as staple after staple of the city’s establishments were named as potential new shooting locations. While each of us scavenged through social media for numbers, locations, and names, it was clear that our inquiries would only be answered with time. We still wonder when that time will be.
As the hours of the early morning continued, it became clear that our chances of making it back to our dorm rooms was not an option on this night. As sleeping arrangements for those of us who were locked in were made, a display of the true Bates, Lewiston, and Maine spirits came forth. Classmates offered their pillows, blankets, clothes, and comfort to those who had to spend the night. While as difficult as it is to seek comfort during this time, from freshmen to seniors, everyone has pulled their weight.
At dawn Thursday morning, the many who had trouble sleeping through the night found themselves surrounding the common room television. Thoughts of frustration for the senseless violence and the lack of information have students in a stressful hold as hour by hour we still wait for answers. Little by little the common rooms have emptied with displaced students guided by campus safety back to their respective dorms and those who have already been in their buildings taking time by themselves.
Although it is only blocks away, it is difficult to understand the weight of this national event from our locked-down campus. But we do know as hard as this is on our campus it does not come close to what the victims and families are feeling. As I sit in the now empty Page Hall common room, I imagine everyone on campus, in Maine and the country, is asking the same question: When will this all be over?
