of the dormitories", and expeditions to Camden. When alumnus Edmund Muskie was governor, he participated in a torch relay from Augusta to Lewiston in celebration of the 1960 Winter Olympics.
Robert F. Kennedy, with his naval classmates, built a replica of their boat back in Massachusetts out of snow in front of Smith Hall, during their carnival. This tradition is second only to Dartmouth College as the oldest of its kind in the United States. Students are known to participate in what has been colloquially termed as the 'Dartmouth Challenge', which consists of alcohol related activities, closely related to the parent ritual Newman Day, a tradition the college started in the 1970s. The carnival has been hosted by the Bates Outing Club since its conception. On the Friday of Winter Carnival, the Outing Club initiates the annual Puddle Jump, wherein a hole is cut by a chainsaw or axe in Lake Andrews and students jump in.
== Athletics ==
The college's official mascot is the bobcat and official color is garnet. The …
