Critical

August Comte integrated theoretical and practical studies of human beings, forming sociology. He wanted to be able to predict and control people’s impulses by studying them. By doing this, a more rational social order could be created. The relationship between society and individuals is very complex. This sociological approach is used to evaluate objects as they are regarded by humans, especially focusing on areas such as marriage and the family, class systems, race, gender, religion and other types of collective behavior (Berger 2009, 51).

This is an appropriate theory to use when evaluating the behind the scenes work that happens at Bates. Society and humans work together; they are a part of each other. Society is reflected in artifacts and in this case, society is reflected in the people and groups of people who work behind the scenes at Bates. These employees of the college are often forgotten when going about every day life; however, it would be impossible for the college to run without this type of personnel.

The behind the scenes work at Bates can be seen as an institution that is part of an ongoing system of institutions. There are commons workers, chefs, groundskeepers, security guards, mail workers, office staff, cleaning services and all of these people fall under the general category of “personnel” or facility services. Furthermore, these people can also fit under the category of a Bates Employee. They are also residents of Maine, individuals living in the greater Lewiston-Auburn area, members of their communities as well as the Bates Community. In regards to the sociological theory, this notion is called “structural-functionalism” and it recognizes the many roles that institutions play in their environment, within other institutions.

Functionalists are also very aware of latent functions: functions that go unnoticed and manifest functions: functions of which we are inherently aware (Berger 2009, 53). This group of Bates employees has many latent functions, often they are unnoticed by the faculty and students at Bates, however, they play such a huge role in the lives of every person who steps foot on the Bates Campus. In some other ways, these employees have manifest functions as well, when a student gets into trouble, they often deal with a security guard, who can otherwise be latent, but quickly become very relevant. Another example is the mailroom workers, these people become very noticeable when a student or faculty member is picking up their own mail but one would not necessarily think of these workers when interacting with them.

It is necessary, in order to complete this critical evaluation, to ask what is not included in our research and Bates’ records. There are a lot of holes in our research; we credit this to the lack of representation for the people who work behind the scenes at Bates. It came to our attention that until the early 1990’s, nobody was protecting the rights of such institutions within Bates. They were discouraged, and sometimes not allowed to bring their personal lives into the school. They weren’t allowed to blend such institutions, as the sociological approach would suggest. There is evidence that has been mentioned in both the historical and evocative sections that the employees were not permitted to speak French, their native language while working. They were not meant to be heard speaking any language but English (The Bates Student, January 17, 1992).

It is interesting that Bates has always encouraged inclusion, civil rights, and welcoming all types of people onto their campus. They seemed to not apply these values to employees at Bates. What makes it so that the college can preach such inclusion but discriminate against this group of people that serve as the backbone to the college?