Emma Gillespie

We’ve all been there, sitting at the back of a lecture, looking out at rows of people watching football highlights, shopping for new shoes or texting about lunch plans. Sitting in class feels like watching 25 tiny TVs, all on different channels. Multitasking culture is so ingrained into Bates student life that class time feels like the perfect opportunity to do other work.

On the snowy Monday morning of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Bates students packed into Memorial Commons to attend the panel, “Reel Talks: Love Anger and the Struggle for Justice: Sinners”. One of the workshops offered as part of Bates’ 2026 MLK Jr. Day observance, the panel discussed Ryan Coogler’s 2025 film, Sinners, exploring themes of race, sex, colonialism, and generational trauma. Panelists included Stephanie Kelley-Romano, professor of rhetoric, film, and screen studies, Charles I.