From a national delicacy to common street food, the transformation of Pastillas

by Jennifer Kwon

The mini pastillas are significantly smaller than normal pastillas in size but the savory flavor remains. (Photo by Jennifer Kwon) 

RABAT, Morocco — Pastilla is one of the most beloved dishes in Morocco’s already renowned cuisine, but many Moroccans cannot afford to regularly eat the 16 inch diameter layered phyllo dough stuffed with meat, which can cost 450 dirhams (about 45 US dollars) in a country where minimum wage is $250 dollars a month..  That’s where Imane Allawi, 20, comes in — offering 3 inch diameter mini pastillas that she sells for just 8 dirhams each, less than one US dollar.

“Pastillas are very expensive because there is meat and so many spices. So not all Moroccans can afford them,” said Adnane Kiras, a regular customer of Allawi’s pastillas.

Situated in the alleyway off the bustling streets of the old Medina, or souk of Rabat, the capital, Allawi’s ten year old shop is crowded with children in the afternoon as they skip home from school, and adults in the evening as they finish up a long day at work. Every thirty minutes, Allawi fries a fresh batch of pre-made pastillas, which she carries to her storefront from her home kitchen every morning.

Along with pastillas, Allawi’s shop offers other cheap, convenient snacks that are filling enough to replace meals. (Photo by Jennifer Kwon)

The small pastillas are the size of a child’s palm. A dish of pastilla usually takes at least three hours to make and requires more than 10 different spices, according to Brahim El Ataoui, a chef and waiter at the Center for Cross Cultural Learning in Rabat.

“People used to kill 24, 25 to 30 small pigeons to make one dish of pastilla,” explained El Ataoui. “It is more common to make it with chicken now, but even then you need one and a half chickens.”

The sweet taste of toasted almonds, cinnamon, sugar and honey starkly contrast the salty flavor of shredded chicken pieces soaked in local spices, including turmeric, cumin, and saffron, and herbs, including coriander, wrapped in many layers of crisp, fried dough, known as phyllo.

Even in the eyes of a professional chef like El Ataoui, pastillas correlate with wealth and “spending money.” The street pastillas of Allawi attempt to break this barrier and bring this luxury dish to the tables of Moroccans from all walks of life.

This article was published in Reporting Morocco  http://morocco.roundearthmedia.org/from-a-national-delicacy-to-common-street-food-the-transformation-of-pastillas

CCC Administers the Auctions for Lloyd’s Credit Notes

Lloyd’s American Trust Litigation was a unique coupon settlement. Normally, coupons are for commodities or goods. Here the coupons were for liabilities and debt. Despite the complications involved, CCC again successfully handled the transactions and auctions of the certificates.

It all started in 2002 when Citibank was accused of violating its fiduciary duties and responsibilities as the trustee of the Lloyd’s American Trust Funds by the plaintiffs representing Lloyd’s of London class members who were damaged.

Citibank was held responsible of repeatedly transferring money from one trust fund to another without permission, engaging in commingling of different trust funds, and failing to maintain appropriate records of the fund’s transactions.

Even though Citibank denied the accusations, it settled by issuing $8,500,000 in cash and $11,500,000 in coupons to class members who were underwriting members of Lloyd’s. These coupons were called Credit Notes (“Notes”) and could be used to receive “equitas premium” credit to reinsure one’s liabilities for prior underwriting periods.

As a part of Lloyd’s Reconstruction and Renewal (R&R) plan, these Notes provided a means to compensate for losses during all periods before 1993, since the New York State Department of Insurance determined that Lloyd’s had not maintained the required minimum surplus.

Here, CCC stepped in as the broker and administrator of auctions for the Notes among class members. The court has granted CCC the authority to facilitate a secondary market for the Notes in order to increase the redemption rate.

These Notes were in effect coupons off of Lloyds services, in this case usable as debt relief. They were distributed according to each class members’ amount of debt: the more debt a class member held, the more Notes he or she received. The Notes could be used to pay for all or a portion of debt to Lloyd’s.

As a secondary market maker, CCC conducted auctions for class members who wished to sell a portion of their Notes or buy more Notes. The bargain price of the coupons was adjusted in each auction to accommodate the appropriate needs of the sellers and buyers of the coupons. 

In the end, CCC facilitated the transactions of approximately 67% of distributed credit notes. It was an impressively high rate, considering the fact that many class members had used their own credit notes to eliminate their debt. Through this case, it proved that CCC can not only successfully trade a good or a service but also accomplish trading debt relief.

This article was written during my internship at Chicago Clearing Corporation (CCC) in 2015. 

Coupon Administration Experts at Chicago Clearing to Administer Korean Air Passenger Antitrust Litigation

Chicago Clearing Corporation (CCC) will soon begin administering a major settlement in the airline industry, Korean Air Passenger Antitrust Litigation. 

As of December 2, 2013 when the Court gave a final approval, Korean Air will pay $39 million in cash and additional $26 million in travel vouchers (also called, coupons) to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that it had engaged in a price-fixing scheme. Asiana Airlines previously agreed to pay $21 million in cash and coupons. 

But for some potential claimants, this may not feel like a typical happy ending, justice-served fairy tale. 

Shortly after the court was dismissed, more than a dozen passengers voiced their dissatisfaction. One of their biggest complaints was the notoriously low redemption rate for vouchers.

Putative class member Said Nedlouf argued that many class members would most likely throw away the coupons after realizing the hassle of trying to sell them.                 

“Common sense suggests that a large number of class members will likely discard the coupon in disgust after realizing that going to the trouble of selling the coupon is just not worth it,” he told the news service Law360.                 

This is exactly why CCC has been hired to be the coupon administrator, voucher consultant, and market maker for the Korean Air Passenger Antitrust Litigation. 

“While we understand the objectors’ concerns, we are quite confident we can alleviate their worries and create a fair market for the coupons,” said James Tharin, founder and owner of CCC.

As the voucher consultant, CCC proposes the rules and means of redemption and transfer for the Korean Air coupon. Then as the coupon administrator, it facilitates the redemption of coupons. CCC will staff, train, and manage a call center to respond to inquiries regarding coupons or the secondary market. In addition, it plans to create a coupon database that is available 24/7 online. 

CCC anticipates the creation of a series of two-sided auctions where a large amount of coupons can be sold and bought at one price. It is also hoping to keep a transparent book displaying the best bids and offers in the marketplace where a buyer and seller can transact business.

     

Founded in 1992 by Mr. Tharin, CCC has over twenty years of proven success in developing, administering and creating secondary markets in class action coupon settlements. It has created 13 unique coupon markets and recovered more than $200 million dollars for harmed class members.

This article was written during my internship at Chicago Clearing Corporation (CCC) in 2015. 

Chicago Clearing Kicks Off with BMW M5 Litigation case

In 1991, a class action lawsuit was filed against BMW by the purchasers of 1988 M5 BMW automobile (model E28 M5) who claimed that the company produced more than it had originally stated. They alleged that the overproduction of vehicles caused a diminution of value of the limited edition model. 

BMW settled the litigation by issuing transferable discount certificates worth of $4,000 each to eligible class members that could be applied towards the purchase or lease of a new BMW. If class members did not wish to use their certificates, they could sell them instead. 

At around the same time, Chicago Board Options Exchange market maker named James Tharin received a call from the defense attorney representing BMW in the class action lawsuit. The plaintiff’s attorney In the case demanded BMW find a market maker to bring value to the class members who chose not to redeem their coupons on the purchase of a new BMW. The defense counsel knew Jim’s reputation as an expert market maker, called Jim, and an industry was born. 

Following the Court’s instruction, Jim founded Certificate Clearing Corporation (CCC) and created the first market for transferable class action coupons. 

As the designated market maker of the settlement, CCC worked to optimize the coupon market by buying BMW certificates that class members did not want to use and reselling them to customers planning to purchase or lease of a BMW vehicle. 

CCC facilitated the buying and selling of BMW certificates and by doing so, increased the efficiency of the overall market and redemption rate of the coupons. 

As a result, CCC bought and sold over 630 certificates and effectuated a 60% redemption rate. Since only 7% of the BMW M5 Litigation class members used their own coupon to purchase or lease a new BMW, CCC played a crucial role in increasing the usage and value of these certificates. 

Chicago Clearing was off to a great start with the BMW M5 Litigation, paving the way for the continued success of over 20 settlements in the next two decade. To this day, CCC remains to be the only entity that has created a successful class action coupon market more than once. 

This article was written during my internship at Chicago Clearing Corporation (CCC) in 2015. 

Settlement Rumors Swirl Around Petrobras Scandal

Brazil's Petrobras corruption scandal has garnered a lot of attention in the U.S., and with good reason. A Brazil-based integrated oil and gas company, Petrobras has been accused of inflating the cost of contracts for construction and engineering companies and other suppliers, and then using the excess for kickbacks to company executives and bribes to politicians and political parties.

Further complicating matters, both here and especially in Brazil, is the fact that the Brazilian government itself owns over 50% of the company. The corruption is allegedly intertwined with the state itself. 

The U .S. Department of Justice has taken note of the scandal because Petrobras shares were widely traded in the United States. In fact, it was the largest foreign company on the New York Stock Exchange until recently. Petrobras’ market value has steadily declined to less than $40 billion from almost $300 billion seven years ago.

Last week Reuters reported that there might soon be a settlement with U.S. authorities. If there is, it could be the largest settlement of corporation corruption charges since 2008, when Siemens AG settled with the DOJ and the Securities and Exchange Commission for $800 million. According to Reuters, settlements with the US could be over $1.6 billion.

Petrobras officials have denied that a settlement is in the works, but rumors persist. The DOJ and the SEC declined to comment.

Whatever is happening here in the US, Brazilian authorities are clearly trying to move beyond the scandal. According to Reuters America Latina, the Brazilian government today offered offering over 20 companies that have been implicated in the scandal a chance to pay $4.2 billion in fines for the right to resume business with Petrobras. This move was strong enough to nudge Petrobras shares up 2.2% in today’s trading.

CCC will be carefully tracking this scandal, as well as domestic litigations related to it, and will reporting on its progress. Should a settlement ever emerge with a shareholder class, CCC will be ready to file claims for any investor.

This article was written during my internship at Chicago Clearing Corporation (CCC) in 2015.

African Cooking and Cultural Reggae

Starting with the Reggae Night at the Cave on Friday, May 8, to the Jollof rice cook-off between Jeffrey Bissoy-Mattis ‘16 and Kennyi Aouad ‘17 on Saturday, May 9, the campus celebrated African culture through its music, dancing, and food.

Bissoy ‘16, the president of Men of Carleton (MOC), whose family comes from Cameroon initially thought of the Reggae Night event and reached out to Aouad ‘17 and Jojo Kuria ‘16 who lead the Afro-Caribbean Association (ACA) on campus.

“I’ve been having this idea since my freshman year because there is almost nothing here that represents African or even African-Caribbean culture. I get jealous when other cultural organizations or associations like ASIA or LASO host a lot of huge festivals throughout the year, and it got me wondering why don’t we ever do things like that?” said Bissoy.

He also elaborated that he has not been always satisfied with the party scene at Carleton.

“Coming from an African heritage, dancing is huge. You cannot go to a party and not dance. So I have been disappointed by the lack of dancing at parties here.”

He explained that even though the Cave event was advertised as Reggae Night, the playlist had a mixture of African pop and Latin pop music along with Reggae music. They were planning to bring in musicians from the city, but the transition from winter to spring term and academics prevented them from applying for additional funding.

The Jollof cook-off that took place the next day at the Cassat basement was an idea that both Bissoy and Aouad came up with when they were “talking smack to each other” on who could cook better jollof rice.

“I think every culture has their variation of it such as fried rice. With jollof rice, rather than boiling your rice, you have to prepare the broth and seasonings in which you can boil it. So in this case, I make jollof rice with tomatoes or spices and add vegetables and chicken broth,” said Aouad.

In the end, Aouad whose family comes from Ghana received more votes from the judges and participants of the cook-off. He pointed out that jollof rice is popular in West Africa.

Wanchen Yao ‘17 who had no prior knowledge or experience with jollof rice claimed that she enjoyed the food and the company a lot. The presentation and friendly competition between the two also added flavor to the event.

The people who tasted their rice agreed that they had different styles of cooking jollof rice. While Bissoy’s rice was lighter, Aouad’s rice was more spicy and savory. Yao said she liked them both, but Kennyi’s appealed to her a bit more.

“It was fun, everybody knew each other so we got straight to the presentation and tasting of the Jollof. Everyone who tried the food liked it a lot. It was just a group of people having fun and enjoying Jollof,” remembered Yao.


This article was published by The Carletonian (May 22, 2015)

Northfield joins Assyrian activism movement

At the International Festival at Carleton College on May 2nd, 2015, there was a booth that was unfamiliar to many students and residents of Northfield community among many familiar, colorful flags and dishes from countries all around the world. 

It was a donation booth for the Assyrian Aid Society to support the recent Islamic State militant group’s attack on Assyrians in northern Syria. Rinya Kamber, who is the only student of Assyrian descent on campus and the founder of “Northfielders for Assyrians” society, hosted the booth to both raise awareness of Assyrian culture and heritage and reach out for support from the local community. By the end of the two-hour event, she raised $487 which was an unprecedented, large amount of money compared to the past couple of years’ donation collections.

Rinya has started the “Northfielders for Assyrians” group since the ISIS launched an attack on a cluster of Christian towns, mostly resided by Assyrians, in northern Syria on February (and continued to in following months). Over the course of a week, more than 250 casualties have been reported and more than thousand priceless Assyrian artifacts and museums, including the 3,000-year-old enormous winged bull sculptures that serve as the sacred archeological icon of Assyria, were bulldozed and destroyed. 

After a couple of days of the attack, Rinya held a panel discussion and the large turnout of almost 130 people led her to create an organization to continue cultivating people’s interest in Assyrian culture.

Come support me and my people for a brunch discussion in response to recent attacks on Assyrian Christians by ISIS militants in northern Syria. Hear my native Assyrian family speak of their experiences in person. Learn about who Assyrians are, why ISIS is attacking us, and what you can do about it. Please stand in solidarity with me on Sunday. I sincerely hope to see every one of you present during this tragic time.

The event initially attracted students’ interest for it was stated to provide “traditional Assyrian brunch of chai, sweets, and other Mediterranean appetizers”, but many have stayed for Rinya’s father and mother’s fascinating accounts of personal stories and Assyrian history.

Rinya’s father spent 21 years in the village that was recently destroyed by ISIS. Having his own father as the survivor of the Assyrian genocide in 1933, he had anticipated the crisis that has now happened long before and immigrated to the States with his siblings and parents, hoping for a better life. His life in the States can be described as a classic rags-to-riches story; he came here with nothing and worked his way to the top, and now he owns two banquet halls in Chicago area. All the engagements, weddings, baptism, funerals, and other significant life events of people in the Assyrian community of Chicago take place in his banquet halls.

Rinya’s mother is also of Assyrian descent but was raised in the States, for her father moved from Iraq before her birth. She is very involved in local Assyrian churches and volunteer work, reorganizing the education system for churches in the community like Sunday school. 

Both Rinya’s mother and father are recognized as a strong leader of the Assyrian society in Chicago. While he is socially involved in the community, hosting parties and weddings, through networking and extensive connections, her mother is politically involved. She helps Assyrian people and refugees to immigrant to the United States, and he assists them in getting jobs, finding housing, filing taxes, and talking to lawyers (since many cannot speak English).

And now, Rinya is following the footsteps of her parents and helping her community by raising Assyrian awareness. Her approach of reaching out to the general public, not only the Assyrian community, is somewhat unusual for it has been an exclusive community so far. 

“What Assyrians have done in crisis is to lean on each other because the history of systematic genocide conditioned them to trust their own. Even the younger generation who were born in other countries outside of the Middle East, including America, are cautious because they have been continuously told by their parents and grandparents of painful, terrifying accounts of genocide. Those thoughts of skepticism is ingrained in people’s minds and propagate through generations because of the existing societal bubble,” she explained.

In order to raise people’s awareness, Rinya has been sharing articles about ISIS attacks but also about Assyrian culture and history on social media and student Facebook groups. Until now, Assyrians have never had substantial attention from the media, and she believes they should take advantage of this rare opportunity. Under her leadership, the college chose to donate the profits from this year’s International Festival to the Assyrian Aid Society. She hopes that gaining people’s attention and informing them of the importance of preserving Assyrian heritage will work as a chain reaction for bigger actions and eventually help establish a safe haven for refugees and immigrants scattered around the world.

“Most of what we can do is to inform ourselves but I actually think that can go a long way. It not only made me feel little less helpless of this situation, but people here have came up to me to talk to me about what’s going on and trying to learn about our culture. Hopefully, later on in life, when they hear about Assyrians again, I want people to remember that they had a fellow student at Carleton whose family was directly affected by these attacks. Because Assyrian awareness is being lost, and that’s what we are very afraid of: that no one is going to pay attention.”

Rinya said she was delightfully surprised when a lot of her fellow peers at college, including those who are not Assyrians or not even Christians, showed interest in her organization and enthusiastically supported her actions. A junior named Aman Irfanullah who identifies himself to be Muslim commented on one of the Facebook posts on ISIS attacks and emphasized with her situation. 

“These people are monsters that have no regard for human life, peace, and the religion that they claim to fight for. I and any Muslim that I have interacted with stand with you and your people during this crisis. I am sorry that these people are destroying your culture, there are no words for this kind of tragedy,” wrote Irfanullah.

But Rinya’s attempt of stepping outside of the bubble and reaching out to people who are not Assyrians, or even Christians, is not entirely unprecedented. Recently, the community has been attempting to raise unity amongst Assyrians and other groups of Middle Eastern Christians under the hashtag “UnitedNotDivided”. 

The Assyrian Chaldean Syriac Student Union claimed on its Facebook page that this campaign is to “raise unity amongst Assyrians, regardless of church denomination, political affiliation, self-identification or current geographic location, and to fight for the livelihood, rights and freedoms of our brothers and sisters in our homeland with one loud and united voice.”

This movement was extended to include other Middle Eastern Christians when St. Mary Assyrian Church of the East had a joint prayer with fellow Egyptian Orthodox Christians in the Chicagoland area in late March. It implied the acceptance of other church denominations into the Assyrian community.

“These are the kinds of things that give me hope; when two groups of people can put aside their differences and show solidarity with one another in times of difficulty. Let's learn from this act of compassion, and take it a step farther by reaching out to our Non-Assyrian communities, informing them about Assyrian history, language, culture, and the current state of our nation and people. That way, we will have the strength to initiate the kinds of changes we want to see,” Rinya advocated.

A Non-profit organization called “A Demand For Action (ADFA)” also works to protect the minorities (including Assyrians but also to others) of Iraq and Syria. Since the occupation of northern Syria by Islamic extremists and the following domestic invasion of Iraq, the religious minorities have become the victim of daily robberies, kidnappings, rapes, and murders. Thousands of Middle Eastern Christians had to fly from their own home due to the imposition of Islamic law and religion. ADFA strives to establish a refugee camp or any sort of a safe haven to protect these minorities in danger, and includes not only Assyrians but other fellow Christians residing and being constantly assaulted in the Iraq, Syria, and Iran.

Rinya believes that for these movements and organizations in action to gain more power, they need outsiders, who are not directly involved in the situation, to be involved. But she knows that it is impossible to draw people’s attention overnight. That is why she founded the “Northfielders for Assyrians”, to be the building block of a bigger future.  

“I think the only way we will be making progress is to reach out to people for help. We are not going to able to help ourselves, and I think that the mistake we made so far is Assyrians only leaning on each other. So what I’m trying to do with “Northfielders for Assyrians” is to reach out to communities that are different from us, to ask for help, to ask for advice," she continued.

"We want the refugees to be taken care of. They need to have a refugee camp where they can live safely without the threat of being murdered or displaced or converted to a different religion. We want hostages to be released, and we want, eventually down the line, establish a safe haven for Assyrians. Those are big things, that probably won’t start from Northfield, but with some support, you never know what things will end up at.”

Kamber ‘17 seeks Assyrian awareness

Sophomore Rinya Kamber (Photo: Thomas Hiura)

On March 1st, a sophomore student named Rinya Kamber hosted a panel discussion, along with her parents, on ISIS attack on Assyrian Christians in northern Syria. She has followed up the discussion by forming a group called “Northfielders for Assyrians” to aid the Assyrian cause, in response to the recent attacks, and to raise awareness of the Assyrian people and culture.

Kamber emphasized that the heartbreaking news on numerous casualties and hostages held captive by the ISIS militants, and also discussed the destruction of over a thousand priceless Assyrian artifacts, churches, and museums. They include 3,000-year-old enormous winged bull sculptures known as Lamassu that serve as the sacred archeological icon of Assyria and a 10th century Chaldean Catholic church north of Mosul in Iraq.

“I wonder what the world would do if this happened to the Pyramids of Giza, The Great Wall of China, or the Colosseum of Rome. The majority of priceless artifacts in the museums, churches, and in cities where all the Assyrian culture has been kept and preserved for thousands of years are now all burned and destroyed and annihilated,” said Kamber.

Kamber’s father immigrated to America when he was 21 from the very village in northern Syria attacked by ISIS. Having his own father as the survivor of Assyrian genocide in 1933, he had anticipated the crisis that has now happened long before and came to the States with his siblings and parents, hoping for a better life.

His life in America can be described as a classic rags-to-riches story. Coming here with nothing, he now owns two banquet halls in Chicago area. All the engagements, weddings, baptism, funerals, and other significant life events of people in the Assyrian community of Chicago take place in his banquet halls. He also helps new immigrants and refugees, most of whom can’t speak English, in getting jobs, finding housing, filing taxes, and talking to lawyers.

Kamber’s mother is also of Assyrian descent but was raised in the States, for her father moved from Iraq before her birth. She is also very involved in local Assyrian churches and reorganized the education system of churches like Sunday school programs. Additionally, she volunteers in children centers in Iraq and helps Assyrian refugees to immigrant to the United States.

Unlike her parents, Kamber is attempting to help her people and the Assyrian community by reaching out to the outsiders, who are not Assyrians or even Christians. What Assyrians have done in crisis is to lean on each other because the history of systematic genocide conditioned them to trust and only trust their own. They are known to be skeptical and distrustful towards others.

Even the younger generation born in other countries outside of the Middle East, including America, are cautious because they have been continuously told by their parents and grandparents of painful, mortifying accounts of genocide. Thoughts of skepticism are strongly ingrained in people’s minds and propagate through generations. Kamber’s attempt of stepping outside of the bubble and reaching out to people who are not Assyrians, or even Christians, is unprecedented.

“I think the only way we will be making progress is to reach out to people for help, to people who do have a power, who do have a voice, because Assyrians right now are virtually voiceless and powerless. What I’m trying to do with “Northfielders for Assyrians” is to reach out to communities that are different from us, to ask for help, to ask for advice,” she said.

In order to raise people’s awareness, Kamber has been sharing articles about ISIS attacks and Assyrian culture and history on student Facebook groups. Under her suggestion, the International Festival committee chose to donate the profits from this year’s event to the Assyrian Aid Society. She hopes that gaining people’s attention will work as a chain reaction for bigger actions and eventually help establish a safe haven for Assyrian refugees and immigrants scattered around the world.

“Hopefully, later on in life, when Carleton students hear about Assyrians again, I want them to remember that they had a fellow student at Carleton whose family was directly affected by these attacks. Assyrian awareness is being lost, and that’s what we are very, very afraid of: that no one is going to pay attention.”

This article was published by The Carletonian (May 1, 2015)

https://apps.carleton.edu/carletonian/?story_id=1272258&issue_id=1272190&section_id=722331

Students Reflect on legacy of Professor Zhao

Tai Chi professor remembered for passion, values

As a founder of the Chinese Language program and Chinese Studies in China off-campus program at Carleton, Professor Qiguang Zhao’s death on Friday, March 13th caused a lot of grief and sorrow among the students.

Zhao was a popular professor. One of his courses “Taoist Way of Health and Longevity”, also known as the Tai Chi class for its signature outdoor Tai Chi sessions, was famous for its exceptionally long wait-list.

He was also active outside of school as a prolific author of more than 20 books, including “Do Nothing and Do Everything”, and as a regular commentator on a Hong Kong TV channel, Phoenix TV.

He was also an avid swimmer: he started swimming at the age of five and eventually became a champion swimmer in his home city, Beijing.

Students who knew Zhao outside of class offered their personal accounts and memories.

Hanna Lee ‘15 took a class called “Chinese Poetry and Classical Chinese” with Qiguang last term and was part of his off-campus program in China during her sophomore fall.

“The impression I first got from him was that he was a very friendly, open person. Despite his old age, he was very open to new ideas and cultures, and he didn’t have any uneasiness or difficulty hanging out with us, young college kids.

I especially liked the way he taught our class. He didn’t criticize people’s ideas but was really open toward different behaviors and speech styles... He treated the subject more casually by having fun activities than approaching it in a solid, rigid academic setting.

Because he was a Taoist and a philosopher, he held a different viewpoint from most of us, including me, and talked about starting a Taoist movement in Northfield. I hope there’s someone who can continue his legacy.”

Catherine Pan ‘16 took Zhao’s Tai Chi class last spring and personally got to know him last term during Chinese Lunch Table sessions as a Chinese language TA.

“I first met him through a Tai Chi class, but I didn’t have a chance to talk to him (because there were around sixty students in class) until last term when I ate at the Chinese language table at LDC. We started talking about where we’re originally from in China, and I felt a sort of a connection when we talked about how China is changing and our new lives in the states.

We ended up talking about his new book that he was working on and his previous television appearances. He was on the TV talk show that was really popular, just like The Oprah Winfrey Show, and I remember translating the show from Chinese to English when we watched it during our Tai Chi class.

He was also a commentator on the famous Phoenix TV that I wanted to work for, so I was especially fascinated. He mentioned that he was retiring soon before he left for Florida, and that he was planning on his next step in his life. He was a really passionate person exuding positive energy wherever he went.”

Nora Liu ‘15 worked with Zhao as his TA since last spring and assisted several of his other projects, like editing and organizing articles and essays he wrote.

“I haven’t thought of him as a professor but more as a friend. He’s a believer of Taoism and we talked a lot about his philosophy and way of thinking and living.

I would never forget our last conversation; it was the day before I received an email of his death, the first reading day. He asked me to have lunch together at LDC, and he told me about his plans for spring break with his family in Florida.

We also talked a lot about my future plans, and in that sense, I see him more as a mentor, guiding my way through. He knew I was really interested in the apparel industry, and he was also thinking about retiring and had some projects in mind that he never had a chance to finish in school. So he said, ‘Well, we could probably do something together’, like building a Taoism organization or building and promote Taoism philosophy. We were planning to do something together after my graduation, so it was really a big shock to me.

I clearly remember when I received that email while I was studying at The Hideaway, and it still feels somewhat unreal to me.

But I also remember what he taught me; having great passion for whatever you do, loving everyone around you, and always trying to give something rather than wanting to receive.

It was always about giving something to people around you, and he thought it would bring you the most happiness.”

This article was published by The Carletonian (April 10, 2015)

ESL Resources Often Second Choice for Students

The Writing Center offers one-on-one tutoring sessions to help ESL students

A group of volunteers under the leadership of Bailey Ulbricht ‘15 tutors Syrian refugees to help them practice their English, and a number of Carleton students teach in weekly Adult ESL classes. But how are ESL students at Carleton receiving help?

Surprisingly, Carleton does not offer English language courses specifically designed for ESL students. Because the students are required to take SATs (or ACTs) and additionally TOEFL for non-native English speakers to apply for Carleton, the college assumes all the students have advanced command of the language.

Instead, the Writing Center offers one-to-one tutoring sessions held by designated writing consultants to help ESL students to improve their academic writing skills. The students in need of help usually voluntarily sign up for the services, but there are some cases when they are referred by professors or other students.

“What I want to avoid is the situation where student feels they are being made to come here like a punishment,” explained Renata Fitzpatrick, the Assistant Director of Writing Center and Coordinator of Second Language Writing. “My goal is to support them if they want it, but nobody is trying to force anything.”

According to Fitzpatrick, often the students who ask help are not those who have trouble expressing themselves in English or didn’t have much exposure to English, but those who are already advanced and skilled writers.

“It’s not just a service for people having trouble or struggling, but it is also for people who care about writing,” Fitzpatrick clarified.

“I do need help in correcting grammar sometimes but mostly, the reason I go to the writing center has nothing to do with English language itself,” Jialin Jiang, a freshman from Ningbo, China, confirmed. “It has to do more with structuring essays and correcting the logic.”

Jiang did confess that when he writes in English, he is more prone to wander off from the topic in his paper than he would in his native language, Mandarin Chinese. “I’m less capable of structuring my essay stronger and coming up with new perspectives and ideas.”

Along with the writing center, the Office of Intercultural & International Life (OIIL) supports ESL students by creating a safe and supportive environment to foster conversations and practice the language in more social settings.

Beginning with the International Student Orientation, held a couple of days before New Student Week, international students have many opportunities throughout the year, such as International Term Dinners and the annual International Festival, to build and engage in a supportive, understanding community.

The OIIL office also assigns each student with a mentor, known as Peer Leaders, at the beginning of the year to offer personal guidance and build stronger relationships within the community.

“Often when you’re struggling with language, creating this safe space can allow those individuals to practice the language and feel more comfortable expressing their opinions,”

Brisa Zubia, the Assistant Director of Intercultural and International Life, explained. “Whereas in classrooms, it may be more difficult to do that.”

According to Zubia, when the students feel comfortable speaking out and making mistakes verbally instead of being ashamed or trying to cover them up, they are more likely to speak up in more restrictive settings like classrooms and perform better academically.

Jiang, who has been on campus for almost two terms now, shares the same sentiment. “I am a shameless speaker, often shamelessly confident,” he said. “I make mistakes but that is how we all learn, and I know I will get better in time.”


This article was published by The Carletonian (February 27, 2015)

Mock Trial Presses Suit to Championships

In the Regionals of annual American Mock Trial competition hosted by Hamline University in Saint Paul Friday, Jan. 30 to Sunday Feb. 1, the Carleton Mock Trial team won third place and qualified to continue to opening round championships over spring break.

Additionally, Emily Starr ’16, an economics major, won all-region top attorney, and Suhail Thandi ’17 won all-region top witness for their outstanding scores.

The American Mock Trial Association has four levels of competition for college students.

The first level is Invitational, which is solely for practice and not counted for points. The second level is Regionals, and the top seven to eight teams from each Regional group advance to the third level, Opening Round Championships (ORCS).

The top six teams from ORCS move on to the fourth and the final level, Nationals.

According to Ryan Gorey ‘17, one of the four team captains along with Taylor Mayhall ‘15, Kaitlyn Cook ‘15, and Emily Starr ‘16, it has been the highest advancement achieved by the club since one of the Carleton teams was  “randomly” placed third in Nationals ten years ago.

“The club has been newly built in the past four years, especially under Taylor and Kaitlyn's guidance,” Gorey explained.

“This year, we earned our way in third place in Regionals, outranking Macalester and University of Wisconsin-Madison, both nationally recognized teams.”

Founded in 1996, the Carleton Mock Trial team currently consists of 15 members, playing either attorney or witness roles, divided into two competing teams.

The club meets three times, in total of six to seven hours, every week to write themes, strategize witness calls, and practice case law and rules of evidence objections.

“The main purpose of the club is to develop public speaking, acting, legal, writing, and logic skills,” Mayhall said. “But the members tend to become very close friends in the process.”

This year’s unprecedented success can be attributed to having an intact group of members and changing the focus of the presentation, according to Mayhall.

While Thandi said focusing on essential arguments strengthened the team’s competitiveness, Gorey revealed that also polishing on rhetoric and articulation helped persuade the jury and the judges effectively.

“Even though, objectively, there may be facts that will prove your case better, if you don’t have the means to present those in a professional way, sometimes less powerful information will have more power in persuading the jury,” Gorey said.

“So changing our perspective on how to present our information was the key.”

The club members went on additional trips to New Jersey during winter break this year and participated in a tournament hosted by Monmouth University, aside from the usual invitationals at Macalester College, St. Olaf College, and the University of St. Thomas.

While only individual speakers have won awards for outstanding performances in the past, one of the teams won first place at St. Olaf, Monmouth University, and the University of St. Thomas.

“It’s my favorite community at Carleton,” Gorey expressed his appreciation of the club. “Watching people find their moments, where they click, and seeing everybody's growth over the course of the entire year are really exciting to watch.”


This article was published by The Carletonian (February 20, 2015)