Posted Sat, 03/31/2012 - 09:34 by Fishville
从去年同学们陆续准备和参加美国的标准考试，到我们逐字逐句斟酌大家的申请作文，再到完成各式各样的表格以赶上年底的截止日期，我们为每位学生所展现的智慧与毅力而自豪! 三月底四月初，在大家经历了毎天焦虑的等待之后，我们迎来了收获的季节。与谷物的秋收不同，大学申请完成于大地返春我们这里前庭后院鲜花盛开的日子里。
我们十分荣幸能有这个缘份参考学生和家长做出那些或许是至关重要的决定。一位名人曾在回顾他的人生的时候觉得，其实人生最关键的几步是在年轻时代完成的。虽然申请结果兴奋与遗憾共存，但你们即将登上跨越太平洋的飞机的那一刻一定会改变同学们的人生轨迹。
Posted Sat, 03/24/2012 - 17:23 by Fishville
Photo from RECORDS, Washington University in St. Louis.
超出很多国内外建筑学界人士的预料，今年建筑领域的最高奖普利兹克奖（Pritzker）授予来自杭州的中国建筑师王澍。这个奖由总部设于芝加哥的普利兹克家族的Hyatt基金会颁发，芝加哥大学医学院也由普利茲克冠名。普利茲克奖与更著名的授予新闻界的普利茲奖 （Pulitzer）似乎没有关联，虽然它们都是来自东欧的犹太人的姓氏。
同样像中了彩票似的，圣路易斯的华盛顿大学早己邀请好的王澍的Maki讲座恰好在他获奖的二天之后。在美国这类演讲有时是一年以前就定了。这也给了我们在王澍教授演讲前与他交谈的机会。谈及他就是在国内也不属于主流派，他笑称主流派至今还没有向他道贺呢。我对他的好多作品中建筑周围的水的来源很感兴趣，后被告知那是人工引入的循环水，因为王澍认为水在中囯哲学中具有特殊的含义。他不认为中国近期经济的崛起与中国建筑界走向世界相关，他认为是中国几千年深厚的人文底蕴在起作用。
Posted Tue, 03/20/2012 - 15:32 by Fishville
耶鲁大学骷髅会的房子，照片：雅美途
看到国内現在富裕后出现的奢侈品崇拜現象，我想在这里说说我们家的一些与奢侈品有关的经历。这也是我常常喜欢在聚会中谈到的故事。
我们在美国待了十年后，2000年第一次回国。这么长时间在外，回国不免要带些礼物，我们选择的和大家相似，多是些属于国内熟知的美国的品牌，像耐克的鞋和MM巧克力糖之类，将限额的行李塞得满满的。返美国时，我们也带回了一些国内亲友送的礼物，其中包括太太的嫂子送的一个当时并没有引起我们特別注意的包。当你被告知这个故事后，你以后选送贵重礼品时，也要惦量一下你的收礼的对象到底识不识货。
Posted Tue, 02/28/2012 - 16:49 by Fishville
Jeremy Lin with his mother, Shirley, left, and father, Gie-Ming. "Jeremy's life was formed by his parents," Fu-Chang Lo, an elder at the family's church, said.
很多媒体热衷报道林书豪Cinderella般的崛起与毎场球的战绩，但鲜有涉及他的成长及家庭的报道。纽约时报周末的这篇深层调查性的报道填补了这个空缺。
这是一个非常典型的华裔美国家庭在美国从一无所有的穷学生开始的奋斗历史。你如果不同意这＂典型＂的用词，那就是他们家推的是孩子的篮球，而不是一些华裔家长热衷的数学等学术竞赛，或者钢琴与小提琴。
Posted Tue, 02/28/2012 - 16:29 by Fishville
雪雁 (Snow Geese)，Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, 位于Missouri, Kansas, Iowa和Nebraska四州交界的野生动物保护区。照片版权: 鲁植
美国最高法院10月份辩论平权法案时，允许正反方在8月份之前提供支持或反对的证据。这封来自亚裔政治团体百人会主席吴仙标的邮件，就是想征集亚裔的意见以助最高法院末来公正的判决。那就是以后的大学录取应该撇开人种因素而更看着学业背景与个人潜质。
由马友友，貝津铭和林樱等著名华裔美国人组成的百人会希望得到五万亚裔美国公民和绿卡持有人签名的民意调查结果。按下面的连接你将很容易完成这一民意调查。你只需提供姓名和地址，然后选＂For＂这一选项，就表达了你不希望你的孩子需要比別的族裔的孩子高出几百分才有可能上他们梦想的学校的意见。
Posted Sun, 02/26/2012 - 14:03 by Fishville
Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, 位于Missouri, Kansas, Iowa和Nebraska四州交界的野生动物保护区。照片版权: 鲁植
最高法院要到今年十月份才开始审平权法案，现在美国左派掌权的各名校校长或文理学院院长己纷纷表示对他们不乐意见到的判决的担心。全美排名数一数二的文理学院Amherst的院长甚至说，以后民主党当政应提名更多的左派大法官，去把现行的政策再恢复过来。
媒体也热衷于此议题，纽约时报开了专区供讨论。为了避免单一的观点，时报这次请了六位作者讨论平权法案去留的理由(見下面的转载). 从自由派的哥伦比亚法学院的非洲裔女教授，到华裔的理论物理教授，再到保守派的耶鲁法学院教授。第一次看见观点如此偏右的耶鲁教授，还是位讲座教授，真是自由派大本营的稀客。不过耶鲁杰出校友William Buckley曾经是美国現代保守运动的代表性人物，有人认为他的贡献直接导致了里根的上台以及一系列削弱政府干预经济的国策。
Posted Sun, 02/26/2012 - 13:59 by Fishville
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. Photo from internet.
美国最高法院今天决定受理新的有关平权法案涉嫌歧视白人和亚裔大学申请的上诉案子。起诉者是一个叫Fisher的白人女学生，她被得克萨斯大学奥斯丁分校拒绝后读了路易斯安娜州立大学。这个最高法院的䅁子将比向美国教育部抱怨歧视的华裔或印度裔的例子重要得多。
我们不谙美国复杂的法律, 也不知道最后判决意见书的深度与广度。从起诉人的经历来看，她受歧视的程度还不能与亚裔被常春藤另眼相待相比。因为她的仅学业总平均成绩的排名就没有进入最靠前的10%，这是得州规定的自动上奥斯丁分校的条件。
Posted Fri, 02/17/2012 - 20:35 by Fishville
Jeremy Lin
Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty
It's Time for the Ivies to Embrace Sports
Jeremy Lin's Success Energizes Harvard, but the Ivy League's Athletic Prejudice Endures
By RACHEL BACHMAN, WALL STREET JOURNAL, FEBRUARY 10, 2012.
Jeremy Lin, the NBA journeyman who has produced three 20-point games for the New York Knicks, and who takes the court Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers, is doing something few athletes have ever done. He's getting Harvard all fired up.
Lin, a 2010 graduate whose game runs on a mix of sneaky speed, fast-paced ballhandling and a mastery of the pick and roll, is one of only three Harvard players to reach the NBA.
Posted Fri, 02/17/2012 - 20:31 by Fishville
The Knicks' four straight victories have all come since Jeremy Lin joined the rotation. He also had seven assists.
林书豪和易建联是姚明退役后NBA仅有的二位华裔球员。长在湾区的林书豪申请大学时，最想去的学校是斯坦福大学。他被斯坦福拒绝后只能在常春藤的哈佛或布朗中选哈佛去读书和打篮球。他前年从哈佛经济专业毕业入选NBA的时候就引起媒体关注，因为他是哈佛自1954年近六十年来入选NBA的首位毕业生。上次入选NBA的常春藤球员是2003年的耶鲁毕业生。哈佛为其校队的业绩也录用一定数量的具有篮球天赋的黑人学生球员，林能从他们中脱颍而出已属难能可贵。他的职业生涯始于旧金山的Warriors队，后又转队并尝试多次被裁的滋味，很长时间他都只是NBA的边缘球员。易建联也好不到那里去，都只有坐冷板凳的命。
林书豪去年来纽约尼克斯的时候也只是临时合同，他也不敢在大苹菓安顿下来租房子，只能睡他在纽约读牙医的兄弟的沙发上。这对动辄数百万收入的球员来说只能是笑谈。从上月底开始林书豪终于迎来了属于他的时刻，他连续四场球得分超过20分，并以28和38他的职业最高得分带领尼克斯战胜犹他爵士和湖人等强队。美国主流媒体都以显著位置大量跟踪报道林的战绩。看来他不需要担心再睡沙发或到海外去打球了。林书豪的成功也对亚裔大学申请人将起到正面的作用。在多次反抗常春藤涉嫌歧视亚裔申请人的抗争中，哈佛总是以亚裔缺乏校友录取优惠或鲜有入选运动队为原因说明亚裔为何难被录取，前者由于我们来的晚而申请人中拥有几代校友祖辈的不多，后者则是在大众化的运动项目像美式足球或篮球中亚裔少得可怜。虽然現状还是难以改变，但有位明星总会起到一些示笵作用。
With 38 Points, the Legend Grows
By HOWARD BECK, New York Times, February 10, 2012.
The tension got higher, the stage a little brighter and the competition significantly stiffer. Expectations ticked ever upward. If the moment when Jeremy Lin ran out of magic and gusto was going to arrive, it probably should have been this one.
Posted Fri, 02/17/2012 - 20:22 by Fishville
Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, 位于Missouri, Kansas, Iowa和Nebraska四州交界的野生动物保护区。照片版权: 鲁植
这个话题今年又来了，美国教育部正式受理一件抱怨哈佛和普林斯顿歧视亚裔学生申请人的案件。对哈佛和普林斯顿这次抱怨的是同一人，一位来自加州的印度裔优秀高中生。这个抱怨与去年九月美国最高法院受理的相似案件相呼应，又是发生在美国选举年，应该值得关注。看了普林斯顿Espenshade教授的关于此议题的最新专著，再次感慨美国名校对亚裔申请人的歧视，也使我们想起北大清华对北京和湖北考生不同的录取标准。下面这篇文章的作者Daniel Golden为此争议的话题几年前也出过书，作为犹太人的他也喜欢把当年哈佛耶鲁对犹太人的配额与他们现在对亚裔的限制相比较。
Harvard Targeted in U.S.Asian-American Discrimination Probe
By Daniel Golden - Feb 2, 2012, Bloomberg.
The U.S. Education Department is probing complaints that Harvard University and Princeton University discriminate against Asian-Americans in undergraduate admissions.
Posted Fri, 02/17/2012 - 20:18 by Fishville
From Yale Daily News, JANUARY 31, 2012
哈佛在创下去年6.2%的最低录取率记录之后，今年首次呈现申请人数下降。八所常春藤中五所出现申请人数下降的局面，尤以纽约的哥伦比亚大学下降比例最高。哥大去年首次使用普通申请表，致使申请人数暴胀了百分之三十多，今年的数字可能是对去年的非理性増长的一种修正。耶鲁是今年涨幅最大的常春藤盟校，但还是略低于斯坦福的増长比例。去年斯坦福录取率可能是历史上首次低于耶鲁（7.1% vs. 7.35%）。今年以录取率为标准的最难进的美国大学的顺序可能将是哈佛，斯坦福，耶鲁，普林斯顿和麻省理工。
Yale sees rise in applications
BY ANDREW GIAMBRONE
STAFF REPORTER, YALE DAILY NEWS, TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2012
Yale has reported the highest percentage increase in applications in the Ivy League this year.
The University received 28,622 applications for the class of 2016, a 5.8 percent jump from last year’s 27,283 applications. In contrast, Harvard and Princeton drew 1.9 and 1.7 percent fewer applications, respectively, than they did for the class of 2015. Three college guidance counselors and admissions experts interviewed said the decrease in applications at Harvard and Princeton, as well as at other Ivy League universities, surprised them more than Yale’s increase.
Posted Tue, 01/31/2012 - 19:19 by Fishville
Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, 位于Missouri, Kansas, Iowa和Nebraska四州交界的野生动物保护区。照片版权: 鲁植
What a roller coaster game for this year's Republican primary! After Gingrich's stunning win in South Carolina in which Romney lost almost twenty points within ten days based on the poll and final election results, I thought that I was screwed up by an over-confident prediction posted before the New Hampshire primary (see below). Florida is the fourth largest state in the United States in terms of electoral colleges for election as many of us could still have a relatively fresh memory on the Florida’s recount in 2000 Bush vs. Gore campaign. With today's double-digit victory in Florida's winner-take-all primary, Romney seems going to be the first one since 1980 to become the Republican nominee without winning South Carolina. It was equally amused to read Bob Dole's comments on Newt Gingrich as Dole said that Gingrich was "one-man-band" and "either his way or the highway".
Posted Sun, 01/29/2012 - 17:20 by Fishville
For Intrigue, Malaria Drug Gets the Prize
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr., New York Times, January 16, 2012
The Chinese drug artemisinin has been hailed as one of the greatest advances in fighting malaria, the scourge of the tropics, since the discovery of quinine centuries ago.
Artemisinin’s discovery is being talked about as a candidate for a Nobel Prize in Medicine. Millions of American taxpayer dollars are spent on it for Africa every year.
Posted Sat, 01/28/2012 - 08:19 by Fishville
今天奥巴马总统在安娜堡密西根大学宣布了他对大学财政资助改革的新方案。如果这一榄子计划被美国国会通过，那将增加未来联邦政府对美国大学本科教育的影响力度。了解美国公立大学体制的人都知道，美国州立大学的本科教育是由各州政府资助的。联邦政府对美国大学的巨大影响力主要是通过其对研究项目的资助来体現的，但这主要涉及研究生院或医学院。奥巴马这次提议将以往对低收入家庭的联邦贷款从10亿増加到80亿美元，这项贷款改革前分到毎个学生身上只有几千美元。我们不知道新方案是意在幅盖更多的学生还是增加对毎个学生资助的额度。我们知道这样的数额对于一个国家来说还是十分有限的，而且还是贷款而不是不需还的资助。哈佛或耶鲁以往一年的预算就超过10亿美元，而它们给予学生的无需偿还的按家庭富有程度的财政资助（严格意义上的助学金）毎年就超过1亿美元。奥巴马是在美国国会宣称全面控制预算的大气候下提此项改革方案的，你可以想像那些源于茶党的共和党议员会怎么说。
Obama College Aid Proposal Puts a Focus on Affordability
By TAMAR LEWIN, NYT, January 27, 2012.
President Obama is proposing a financial aid overhaul that for the first time would tie colleges’ eligibility for campus-based aid programs — Perkins loans, work-study jobs and supplemental grants for low-income students — to the institutions’ success in improving affordability and value for students, administration officials said.
Posted Sun, 01/15/2012 - 10:59 by Fishville
雪雁（Snow Geese), Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, 位于Missouri, Kansas, Iowa和Nebraska四州交界的野生动物保护区。照片版权: 鲁植
"年轻人，到西部去"，这是大家熟悉的口号。它很好地描述了在新移民将波士顿或纽约建成相当規模的城巿后，人们仍然向往新机遇并鼓励年轻人到西部去冒险的美国历史。我们現在居住的密苏里州以前相对于费城也是西部，这样你就能理解为何西北大学在芝加哥而Case Western Reserve大学在更东边的克利夫兰了。
西部后来不仅成为很多美国人的新家园，整个开垦的过程也被视为美国探险精神的象征。好莱坞拍了大量被称为西部片的电影来反应美国人开发西部的故事，象我们在国內就看到的电视系列＂草原小屋＂。我们的数次东海岸之行，加上一次往返于圣路易斯和洛杉矶的旅程，使我们驱车在美国的东西大动脉70号高速公路上几乎横跨了美国。如果从密苏里往西开70号髙速公路，你会穿过相对平坦而也有些乏味的堪萨斯州。当你开始爬落基山脉时，你会在山脚下遇到科罗拉多州的最大城巿丹佛。看看从丹佛起始向西连绵的山路以及丹佛东边一望无际的平原，你会联想到当年那些坐着马车或徒步的垦荒者也许是走累了，不想再爬山了。一些人留下来建新的家园，这样便有了丹佛的发展。
Posted Mon, 01/09/2012 - 18:02 by Fishville
雪雁（Snow Geese), Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, 位于Missouri, Kansas, Iowa和Nebraska四州交界的野生动物保护区。照片版权: 鲁植
罗姆尼赢了他自己都认为不会赢的艾荷华州的党团初选，他只在最后几天当他的民调开始领先时才全力在艾州竟选，结果以罕见的八票胜选。下周二的新罕布什尔州的全民初选，罗姆尼将会轻松赢得这个紧邻他所在的马萨诸塞州的州。南卡则是他的软肋，上次他在那里惨败于麦肯。一方面罗姆尼来自相对自由的东北部；另一方面，美国是一个以新教为主的国家，至今除了肯尼迪是天主教徒之外全部美国总统都是新教徒，你可以想象一个摩门教徒在保守的南方会受到多大的阻力。罗姆尼现在最值得欣慰的是他在保守的南卡州民调也领先约十个百分点。这样借助初选的人气，我们可以80%的肯定地说罗姆尼将赢得共和党的提名。
Posted Sun, 01/01/2012 - 20:54 by Fishville
Posted Sun, 01/01/2012 - 19:56 by Fishville
雪雁 (Snow Geese)，Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, 位于Missouri, Kansas, Iowa 和Nebraska四州交界的野生动物保护区。照片版权: 鲁植
Lure of Chinese Tuition Pushes Out Asian-Americans
By Oliver Staley - Dec 28, 2011, Bloomberg.
Kwanhyun Park, the 18-year-old son of Korean immigrants, spent four years at Beverly Hills High School earning the straight As and high test scores he thought would get him into the University of California, San Diego. They weren’t enough.
The sought-after school, half a mile from the Pacific Ocean, admitted 1,460 fewer California residents this year to accept higher-paying students from out-of-state, many from China.
Posted Sun, 01/01/2012 - 19:37 by Fishville
Tiger Cub roams free at Harvard, Chua says
University | 7:07 p.m. | Dec. 27, 2011 | By Daniel Sisgoreo, Yale Daily News.
A Tiger Mother must allow a grown child to make her own choices, Law School professor Amy Chua writes.
A year after Law School professor Amy Chua first told the world via the Wall Street Journal that Chinese mothers are superior, she returned to the national spotlight to say she only applies her notoriously strict parenting methods when the tiger cubs are in the den.
Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, Chua's daughter with Law School professor Jed Rubenfeld, her husband, matriculated at Harvard this fall. Since then, Chua has been a "hands-off" parent, she wrote in an article published in the Journal this weekend. Chua and Rubenfeld never nag their daughter about picking a major or about "what she does at night," Chua wrote in the article. Tiger parenting techniques are most effective on younger children, for these children become "independent, creative, courageous" adults that no longer require involved parents to guide them, Chua said.
Posted Sun, 01/01/2012 - 17:33 by Fishville
上海浦东夜㬌，照片来自同学阿西。
上海的同学寄来祝圣诞节的电邮以及上海代表性夜㬌的几张照片。我将这些精品照片及我写的回复放此以祝大家长假期快乐！
"曾几何時我们能想像上海如此壮覌，美丽和大气? 使它能恢复30年代的底气而自比纽约，伦敦和巴黎。朋友祖母去世时，他感叹她能亲历美国二十年代的大萧条和肯尼迪将人送上月球的反差。我想说我们经历的这30年中国在物质和規念上的变化更甚。
前天我的一位学生朋友从中国南方写电邮告诉我，她正忙着装饰房间以庆祝圣誕之夜。我則囬信感叹西方文明对中国年轻一代的影响，并说我们81上大学時恐怕只知道現在要到美国去不用坐船而用坐飞机了。今天她告诉我現在国内一些年轻人看圣诞节比春节更重。我但愿这只是极少数，不然美国总统也能为中国制定下一个五年计划了。
Posted Sun, 01/01/2012 - 17:24 by Fishville
Fishville's Notes：这真是一个可以用来拍好莱坞电影的題材。一位从北卡州大退学的己经27岁的华裔男生冒充哈佛本科生，他不但混进哈佛本科生宿舍，还在Facebook上声称自己是哈佛学生。近日他的骗局被识破，他本人也被警察带走。问他为什么这样做，他说他可能是太寂寞了。哈佛的学生媒体和耶鲁毎日新闻都报道了此事件。当然千错万错是这位刘同学不该伪造个人学历。但在我们看来，他的所做所为以及媒体对此事的热衷报道，都与哈佛的牌子相关。试想谁会在意一位冒充堪萨斯大学的学生而在劳伦斯校园上课呢？ 你可能会说他虽家境貧寒而自己却创造一切机会求学。
Weld Visitor Abe Liu: I Was Lonely
By Amy Friedman and Justin C. Worland , CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Published: Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Abe Liu, a 27-year-old student at Harvard Extension School, was escorted out of Weld Hall on Thursday by Harvard University Police Department officers after sleeping in friends’ rooms in the freshman dormitory and telling students that he was a freshman at the College.
Posted Sun, 01/01/2012 - 17:16 by Fishville
Fishville's Notes: It is now very clear that an interview conducted by Forbes India with Yale President Richard Levin were partially fabricated. The interview indicated that Levin said Yale is exploring the possibility of opening a campus in India in five years. But Levin almost denied in the same day after being contacted by Yale Daily News that his words in that interview were basically not his. We simply can not imagine this could come from a creditable news media bearing Forbes’name. Yale had created a joined campus with National University of Singapore: Yale-NUS. There were some concerns from Yale alumni when Yale had been approaching by Singapore a few years ago. They worried about the potential dilution of Yale brand although approximately half of Yale-NUS's governing body were from Yale and the graduates from this jointed efforts will not be awarded a Yale degree. Now it comes an India deal, but Yale President refutes the major claims from that interview and stated clearly that Yale will not seek to open a similar campus in India based on a various concerns indicated in these two articles below.
Levin refutes plans for India campus
By Tapley Stephenson, December 5, 2011, Yale Daily News
According to an interview with Forbes India published today, University President Richard Levin wants to open a campus in India "in the next five years," so long as certain conditions are met.
Posted Sat, 12/31/2011 - 12:54 by Fishville
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雪雁，来自位于Missouri, Kansas, Iowa 和Nebraska四州交界的野生动物保护区。照片版权: 鲁植
一位北京的学生在完成申请后，写来新年祝福同时也表达对最终被那所学校录取的担心。下面是我的回信。因信谈及一般感触也勿涉及隐私，所以放此当作年终或新年感言。
＂美国曾经被称为The land of opportunity, 我想美国現在对于像你这样拥有抱负的如此年轻的学生，同样应该是机会之地。当然诚恳和刻苦努力是在这里生存的基石，这个你在国内家里也是父母经常教诲的。而我要强调的则是要多与美国社会交流，多参加学校里的活动并多交美国朋友。课堂上更应慎密思考后多提有智力水准的问题，在美国沉默的少数族裔是最没有出息的。开始你会觉得孤单或不适，但美国是一个相对包容的社会。这一点能很好地从美国选出一个能耐确实有限的黑人总统看出。虽然欧洲自认比美国更左更自由派，但北非裔成为法国总统或土耳奇裔当选德国总理，这还是不可想像的。
Posted Tue, 12/27/2011 - 23:23 by Fishville
Branford College, YaleUniversity, New Haven, Connecticut. Photo courtesy: Fishville
Fishville's Notes：现在几乎所有的学校都发布了2012年的早期录取结果。今年耶鲁早期行动接受的学生比去年少（675）致使其早期录取率为15.7％。亚裔学生今年更加困难，哈佛公开表示它继续去年的录取趋势以増加非洲裔和拉丁裔的录取数。这当然是以减少亚裔配額为代价的。这次哈佛做得更加理直气壮，因为它有白宫新規則做坚强后盾。哈佛说他们的变化反映了“联邦政府的要求改变有关种族和族裔资料的收集和报告的方式＂。这指的是白宫的新政策（美国新政策敦促大学种族多样化)。它要各大学尽其所能使美国校园更加多元化而扩招少数裔学生，说这样能产生更具＂创意＂的学习环境。所以当您投票选举时，想想您的儿子或女儿被无故拒绝或延搁录取的命运。
Now virtually all of the schools released their early program's decisions for class 2012, this year Yale accepted less students (675) than last year with an acceptance rate of 15.7% for its early pool. Asians were suffered even more as Harvard openly said that it follows last year's trend to further increase the numbers of African-Americans and Latinos on the expense of decreasing the Asian quotas. This time they do it with the strong backing of the White House's new guideline as Harvard said that there was " changes in federal requirements concerning collecting and reporting race and ethnicity information". That was referring to White House's new policy (美国新政策敦促大学种族多样化) with regard to do what ever it takes to make America's classroom more diversified to generate "more creative" learning environment. Once again, thinking about more for your next election votes if your sons or daughters were rejected or deferred basically for no reason.
Posted Tue, 12/27/2011 - 23:16 by Fishville
Fishville's Notes：耶鲁和北京大学本科生的交流计划至今己满五年。现在双方同意续签合同以让这一有利于两国青年交流的计划得以继续。北大给予耶鲁学生与其本科生同住的特殊待遇，其它留学生则住留学生楼或宿舍。耶鲁选北大而非清华也与它人文见长有关，虽然耶鲁校长莱文在清华百年校庆时说清华最早的五位校长四位曾经求学于耶鲁。图为耶鲁校长莱文和北大朱书记在协议签署后握手言欢。书记对外用Chairman好似国家主席对外称President也不可说是一权衡之举。后来发现这Chairman是指党委书记兼任的University Council的Chairman，看来也比在耶鲁被称为书记好.
Yale and Peking Universityrenew student exchange programs
By Ben Prawdzik, Tapley Stephenson
Staff reporters
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Five years after Yale and Peking University began their joint undergraduate program in Beijing, China, Yale administrators said Friday’s agreement to extend the program reflects their satisfaction with the arrangement in its current form.
Posted Tue, 12/27/2011 - 23:10 by Fishville
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
Fishville's Notes：今天中午和朋友去品尝传统小吃豆浆与油条，顺便分享上周末在堪萨斯市附近看雪雁的照片。但从朋友那学到的最激动人心的技术，是如何用苹果的iPAD手写汉字及输入，这将使本博客启动用中文写作的新旅程。现代科技改变人生与通讯由此可见一斑。这一简便的输入方式完全靠形象识别，使我又回到书写美丽汉字的喜悦，虽然这次是用手指头而非传统的毛笔或钢笔。旅美20余年，现在开始用母语组织和表达思想与意见，這真是太好了。由衷感谢英年早逝的乔布斯，虽然触感识别技术并非其发明，但是他仅将此推广到全球已足以赢得我们的尊敬。现将儿子的一篇＂老文章＂放此保存。
An Ivy State of Mind
By Jason Wu
November 2010 Issue, ThinkTank Learning Magazine
During high school, I thought I had a pretty good idea about the kind of students I would meet at college. They would be just like the elect of the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri-the kids I knew from school or camp or debate- polished, sharp, and good at math. Everyone was, after all, more or less the same. We were Westernized, smart (but not bookish), and members of the landed gentry. How could anyone be different?
Posted Tue, 12/27/2011 - 23:04 by Fishville
Unlocking Early Admissions
By Daniel Bethencourt
Tuesday, December 6, 2011, Yale Daily News.
In 2006, Harvard and Princeton made a bold move: they ended a program that had sustained college admissions for decades.
They claimed their early admissions policies were leaving behind students at large, underfunded public schools, who often don’t apply early because they may not know about the option or are discouraged from applying early by misinformed counselors. For two Ivy League schools that had placed a large emphasis on recruiting diverse student bodies over the last decade, that gap had become a serious concern.
Yale’s admissions office, under sudden pressure, had to ask itself what fair admissions really looked like.
Posted Tue, 12/27/2011 - 22:56 by Fishville
In this Nov. 18, 2011 photo, Harvard University student Lanya Olmstead stands in front of an entrance to the school's quad as passers-by stream by, in Cambridge, Mass. Ethnically, she considers herself half Taiwanese and half Norwegian. But when applying to Harvard, Olmstead checked only one box for her race: white. ((AP Photo/Steven Senne))
Fishville's Notes: For a country that cherishes so much on personal freedom and social justice, one critical policy from the United States could generate a bizarre phenomenon described in this article from the Associated Press. Some college applicants with Asian background intentionally hide their backgrounds to avoid being viciously discriminated in their application process. Almost all of the examples in this essay have an Asian mother and a White father which allow them choose either White or leave it blank completely in their application form, their Caucasian father's names do a great favor here. If you checked "Asian" in the box of the common application, your chance for a positive news arriving home during the Christmas time will be drastically decreased. For those who have a Chinese father and a White mother, you should be prepared to face the ultimate higher expectation. While we ask students to choose "Asian" honestly as they have no choices (for those applying from mainland), it is indeed a sad reality for us to read and for the author to pen these amazing but unfortunately real stories from those students of this nation's most elite colleges.
From the published works of Princeton professor Thomas Espenshade, Asians needed 1550 points on their SAT to be competitive in the schools like Harvard, Yale or Princeton while for Whites or African-Americans you only needed SAT scores of 1440 or 1120, respectively. The admissions officers treated applicants with the same difference with regard to your extracurricular activity and leadership skill as well. The data is real, and the discrimination is brutal. However, we don't know whether the colleges evaluated the mixed racial candidates differently. In the application form, they also asked your mother's name and other personal information. If the mother had not adopted her husband's surname, then the admissions officers could easily learn the candidate's background. Recently a new guideline from the Department of Education has asked schools to do everything possible to make a mixed racial student body for a very obscure reason of so-called increasing creativity in America's classrooms. This policy should be considered as a significant deviation from the general interpretation of the Supreme Court's 2003 decision on Michigan's case. In the end, only your votes could help to speak your true voices.
Posted Wed, 12/07/2011 - 16:12 by Fishville
Private-College Presidents Getting Higher Salaries
By Tamar Lewin, New York Times, December 4, 2011
Presidents at 36 private colleges earned more than $1 million in 2009, up from 33 the previous year, according to a study by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The annual study, using data from federal tax documents, found that the median compensation — including salary and benefits — was $385,909, a 2.2 percent increase from the previous year. The median base salary increased by 2.8 percent to $294,489.
Posted Wed, 12/07/2011 - 15:53 by Fishville
Missouri's Bald Eagle, the symbol of the United States. Photo Courtesy: Jim Rathert.
College Diversity Nears Its Last Stand
By Adam Liptak, New York Times, October 15, 2011
Adam Liptak is the Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times.
Washington
ABIGAIL FISHER, a white student, says she was denied admission to the University of Texas because of her race. She sued in Federal District Court in Austin, causing Judge Sam Sparks to spend time trying to make sense of a 2003 Supreme Court decision allowing racial preferences in higher education. “I’ve read it till I’m blue in the face,” Judge Sparks said in an early hearing in Ms. Fisher’s lawsuit. But the meaning of the central concept in the decision — “this esoteric critical mass of diversity of students,” he called it — kept eluding him.
