[中文版本]

The highly anticipated results of the Second Washington Chinese Culture Festival Youth Essay Contest were officially announced on November 18. In total, 16 students, including William Fu, Cynthia Zhang, Andrew Zhao, and Neil Xu, won first prizes across the Chinese, English, and Non-Chinese categories. Meanwhile, Victoria Wang, Coco Li, Jessica Yao, and three other students claimed the Online Popularity Awards. The full list of winners can be found in the appendix and is also available on the Zaidao website: http://thez.us.

This year’s contest stood out for its large number of submissions, high-quality entries, wide coverage, and enthusiastic participation by non-Chinese youth. Over 170 essays were received from the Greater Washington area and 10 other states including Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Illinois.

In addition to the enthusiastic participation of many Chinese American students, non-Chinese youth also actively contributed, expressing their deep interest and love for Chinese culture through their essays. Furthermore, Chinese students took on the challenge of writing in English, demonstrating their enthusiasm and ability for cross-cultural exchange.

The success of this contest was supported by Chinese schools and educational institutions. Students from various campuses of Hope Chinese School in the Greater Washington area (Potomac, Rockville, and Herndon), the Chinese School of the Chinese Americans, and Harvey Chinese School actively participated. The Arizona-based newspaper 《China Press》 mobilized several local Chinese schools to join. Washington International School also encouraged its students to submit essays, showcasing their passion for learning Chinese.

The entries covered a wide range of themes and topics, reflecting the participants' understanding and love for Chinese culture. Some students wrote about their experiences participating in the Chinese Culture Festival, vividly recounting their impressions and reflections. Others shared stories about traveling or engaging in cultural exchanges in China, demonstrating a deep appreciation for Chinese culture. Several essays started from everyday life, illustrating the role of cultural inheritance within families and communities. Many works also explored U.S.-China relations from the perspective of youth, offering unique insights and thoughtful observations.

Innovation in form and expression was a major highlight of this contest. Some essays conveyed traditional culture through family stories and ancestral experiences, while others explored the inheritance and development of Chinese culture in modern society. The Chinese and English entries complemented each other, not only showcasing the participants' profound understanding of Chinese culture but also reflecting their talents in language and creative expression.

To ensure fairness and integrity, all participants signed a declaration stating that their work was original and not generated by AI, plagiarized, or ghostwritten.

The judging panel consisted of authoritative experts, adding professionalism and credibility to the contest. The Chinese group was chaired by Jiange Chen, former director of the Washington office of 《China Press》 and a historian of Chinese diaspora. Other judges included Shanying Li from Hope Chinese School, Yingzhe Tao from Howard Chinese School, Hongwei Zhang from the the American Chinese School, and Shu Liu from Baltimore Chinese School. The English group was judged by veteran writing expert John Noran (周虎安), who has conducted writing workshops in over 350 schools and libraries across the U.S.

The Chinese Culture Festival is the largest and most influential cultural exchange event in the Chinese American community in the Greater Washington area, garnering attention and acclaim from American society. On August 31, the 21st Chinese Culture Festival was grandly held in Washington, D.C. The Youth Essay Contest, organized by the festival committee and hosted by the Zaidao website (TheZ.us), served as a platform for Chinese American youth to showcase their talents and encouraged them to express their understanding and love for Chinese culture through writing.

The contest not only enhanced the participants' sense of identity and belonging to Chinese culture but also promoted the inheritance and dissemination of Chinese cultural heritage.

The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on the afternoon of December 7 in Maryland, where the winners will be recognized, and the Bo Le Awards and Excellence Organization Awards will also be presented. Further details will be announced later.

Special thanks to sponsors such as Universal Stones, New Light Sign Company, Richen Group, and Hibachi Seafood Buffet for their generous support of this contest.

Appendix: Second Washington Chinese Culture Festival Youth Essay Contest Winners

Chinese Category - Elementary School
First Place： Cynthia Zhang，William Fu (傅梓航)
Second Place：Alex Kejun Cao (曹可均)，Theodore Wang (王赋言)，Timo Lan (蓝天牧）
Third Place：Michael Yang （杨骐嘉），Andrew Yang （笑笑），Aaron Ruan（阮兰峻），Gabriel Wang（王宥实），Tei Patel（钱太之）
Honorable Mention: Shuyao Li（李舒窈），Franklin Wang（汪小洋），Adam Nie （聂亚当），Amelia Song（宋鲁宁），Alex S. Chen（陈世泽），Eli Fu（傅梓源），Gracie Ham（马驰椿），Michael Chen（陈小麦）, Murphy Tu （土豆）, Everly Jing（景云华）, Isabella Wu（伍雅薷）, Sophie H Zhang （张盈若）, CoCo Li（李师杨）

Chinese Category - Middle School
First Place：Andrew Zhao（赵博言), Neil Xu（徐启宁), Lexi Tang（邓乐晞), Aiden Xiao（肖云瀚)
Second Place：Ginny Liu （刘圆圆), Iwan chen（王梓辰), Kelly Dai（戴凯丽), Leah Li（李娅), Samanta He（贺琨藏), Kathleen Xin（辛雨薇)
Third Place：Kyle Zeng（曾祥天), Eric He（何昊洋), Selina Wang（王姝心), Allen Niu（牛啸天), Alice Zhao（赵嘉一), Alexander Gu（顾沛田), Emma Guo（郭鸿萱), Sophia Wu（伍雅萱), Nili Li（李小叶), Angela Wang（王昱茜), Eric Wang（王浩宇), Nora Ma（马丫然)
Honorable Mention: Ivan Chang（张博豪)，Keven Ye（叶开为)，Wellington Zhou（周忠轩)，Wenqing Ma（马文情)，Kevin Liu（刘必耀)，Kelly Wang（汪芊颖)，Rani Ziran wei（魏子然)，Ivy Xu（徐家蕙)，Bryce Long（龙道为)，Ava Lin（林莹)，Kevin chen（陈凯文)，Allen Ou（欧志国)，Annie Ou（欧爱妮)，Jinyuan Guan（关金源)，Ethan Chen（陈翼乐)，Benjamin Guo（过德浩)，Andrew Cai（蔡思恩), Emily Liu（刘星玥)，Henry Jiang（江季达)，Nathaniel Ni（倪浩轩)，Chloe Deng（邓朵朵)，Angelina Chen（陈欣凌)，Bella Lee（李贝拉)，Jason Xiao（肖泊辰)，Jacob（冯新民)，Daniel Cao（曹兮)，Emily.Qiu（邱重垣)，Chloey Fang（方欣扬)，James Fang（方毅成)

Chinese Category - High School
First Place： Nathan Tian(田旻楷)， Annie Yang(杨晓玥)
Second Place：Gracelyn Chen (陈蕙心)， Claire Qi（齐乐乐）， Aaron Tianyi Zhang（张天诣）
Third Place：Bruce Liu(刘琪煜）， Victoria Wang(王睿真），Crystal C hen(陈子元），Hannah Liu(刘润宇），Jessica Yao(姚嘉璐）， Julia Pitt(强竹涵）
Honorable Mention：Alex Dai(戴宇文）， Aiden Wang(王天笑）， Steven Xu(徐家澍）， Joyce Fang(方心）， Zai Ye(叶子濛）， Jaylina Shi(施雨彤）， Bernice Gao(高艺菲）， Jackie Zhu(朱家祺）， Sophie Zhu-Yun Pitt(强竹韵）， AnnieWang (王欣昕）， Kelin Du (杜科霖）， Venita wang(王诗礼）， Anthony Zhuang， Beckett Murphy(马千令），Elle Murphy(马心梅）， Benji Kurtzig(吴恩杰）

Chinese Category - Non-Chinese Descendant
First Place：Helena Hill(琳娜）
Second Place：Alex Suh(住彬）
Third Place： Rai Goswami(艾玛）, Haze Warren(王真）
Honorable Mention：Anton Jordan(安东）, Sofia Vakis(王淑菲）, Lena Schwartzman (蓝娜）, Liam McCuaig(马和奇）

English Category - Elementary School
First Place：Gloria Teng(滕楚萌)
Second Place：Aimee Chen(陈婧怡)
Third Place：Jason Fan(范陆安)
Honorable Mention：Sophie Shuyan Chen, Mollie Hu(胡墨莉), CoCo Li(李师杨), Sophie H Zhang (张盈若)

English Category - Middle School
First Place：Larissa Deng(邓睿莎), Emma Guo(郭鸿萱)
Second Place：Alex Huang(黄四之), George Hong(洪浩淋)
Third Place： Ivy Wang(王一辰), Sherry Wei(魏西雅), Paloma Naftulin, Peter Guo(郭靖)
Honorable Mention：Alice Zhao(赵嘉一), Kelly Wang(汪芊颖), Summer Lu(卢好), Aaron Wu(武子舟), Melodie Li(李伊一), Jasper Song(宋玉), Hannah Liu(刘子悠), Joseph Xu, Callum Seay-Lee, Neil Xu(徐启宁), Chloey Fang(方欣扬)

English Category - High School
First Place：Gloria Liu(刘蒜苗)
Second Place：Mark Li(李润麒)
Third Place：Daisy Jin(金樂彤)
Honorable Mention：Wenqing Ma(马文情), Joyce Fang(方心), Tansy Yu(余丹婵), Sophia Li, Alissia Dupriez(汪丽霞)

English Category - Chinese Students
First Place：Ziming Zhai(翟梓铭)
Second Place：Lucarlevia(刘玥彤)
Third Place：Ziyu Zhu(朱子钰)

English Category - Non-Chinese Descendant - Middle School
First Place：Isabella Tamayo (伊萨贝拉)
Second Place：Sana Baig (贝莎娜)
Third Place：Carah Cerutti (苏静怡)， Alan Mateo-Berganza Echebarria (蒙艾伦)
Honorable Mention：Mia Taylor(米小雪)， Charlotte Warren(王佳琪)， Ian Rivera(炎泽泰)， Stella Batteh， Jack Beardow(毕杰克）， Zahra Halakhe(何雅薇）

English Category - Non-Chinese Descendant - High School
First Place：Sheridan Henneberg(何喜丹）
Second Place：Ali Campbell(乔安莉）
Third Place：George Demekas-Ruiz(戴朝智）, Kiera Kumar(柯可娜）
Honorable Mention：Julia Cerutti(苏莉雅）, Abigail Dauchy， Thomas Adler(安天睦）， Alexandre Mousset， Cécile Nelles(艾西西）

Popularity Award：
Victoria Wang(王睿真)， CoCo Li(李师杨)， Jessica Yao(姚嘉璐)， Gloria Teng(滕楚萌)， Julia Pitt(强竹涵)，Samanta He(贺琨藏)

By

载道 翻译 (Translation) 2024-12-19

[中文版本]

On August 31, 2024, at the Chinese Culture Festival held in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, the students from the Zaidao website set up a booth to promote the "2nd Chinese Culture Festival Junior Essay Competition" and organized a "How Much Do You Know About Chinese Culture?" trivia quiz with prizes. This event attracted active participation from all people at the festival.

The Zaidao website students carefully selected and designed questions across 12 categories, covering various subjects such as Chinese traditional festivals, history, literature and art, and geography. They created a spinning wheel that randomly chose a category, then allowed participants to choose questions of varying difficulty levels based on their own knowledge. At the event, more than ten students from Zaidao took turns engaging with the visitors, asking questions, giving hints, announcing answers, and awarding prizes, all in a fun and interactive manner to spread knowledge of Chinese culture.

Many eagerly participated in the activity, showing a strong interest in Chinese culture and demonstrating a certain level of understanding. Chinese-American students, parents, and Chinese international students also took an active part. The event attracted participants of all ages, including young children, teenagers, and family teams. The entire event lasted nearly 7 hours, with a steady stream of visitors at the booth and occasional lines forming for answering questions.

Zaidao (thez.us), created by American Chinese youth, is dedicated to encouraging Chinese writing among Chinese-American teenagers. The website's mission is to convey ideas through writing, build friendships through literature, preserve culture through words, and connect the world through text. Last year, the website successfully hosted the first Chinese Culture Festival Junior Essay Competition. This year, they will continue to host the second contest, further promoting Chinese culture. The theme for this year's essay contest is "Chinese Connection: My Beautiful Encounters with Chinese Culture," inviting all young people who love Chinese culture to participate.

By

贾盈盈 翻译 (Translation) 2024-09-20

[中文版本]

At this conference, I wasn’t able to get interviews with the people I prepared for, however, I did have a few talks with conference speakers that had experiences or perspectives that I thought were interesting. I had a brief exchange with Asra Nomani, who has had experience fighting for meritocracy at Thomas Jefferson High School in Virginia, which I felt was related to a personal situation of mine. I also had a brief exchange with Paul Lott, who I thought had a very interesting take on improving equality in K-12 education, that quality teachers weren't enough, and change needs to occur in the household.

In the “Asian Community Grassroots Movement in Defending Equal Education Rights and Meritocracy” at the conference panel, Nomani recounted her experience of defending meritocracy. The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia is one of the nation's best high schools, ranked #14 nationally. 

In 2020, the school changed its admissions policy, adding a “holistic review process” that considered the students’ eligibility for free school lunch, whether they attended a historically underrepresented middle school, etc. Although admissions don’t consider applicants’ name, race, ethnicity, or sex, the change in admission policy is believed by some parents to be against Asian American student enrollment. Nomani recounted her experience trying to fight this change as a parent, explaining how the students who were able to get in through this policy change often dropped out because it was too difficult. Nomani explained that this artificial boosting of diversity wasn’t helping either side.

I thought that this was interesting because it resembled what was happening at the middle school I attended. Takoma Park Middle School is a school with a magnet program that had a change in admission policy, similar to Thomas Jefferson. The school changed from a merit-based admission system to a lottery-based admission system that was more inclusive. This previous school year (2023-2024) was the first year in which all the students were admitted through this policy, and the effects were obvious. 

Although diversity was boosted by this change, the performance of students has decreased significantly. A good indication of this is the Mathcounts math competition, wherein students from Takoma Park usually dominate the leaderboard. However, of the 2023-2024 Takoma students, not a single one placed in the top 16, making the Countdown Round, whereas previously nearly all the students from Takoma would enter the top 16. This is deeply unsettling to me and all the other Takoma alumni, but we weren’t so sure what to do about it. Hearing that other schools have had similar situations has motivated me to try to do something about it.

At the conference, one of the issues that was discussed was equality in K-12 education. The goal of equal K-12 education across the country is to make college admissions more equal for all, whilst keeping admissions based on merit. One way to promote equal K-12 education that was discussed was to bring quality teachers to schools in lower-income areas. The idea is that good teachers create good students.

However, Paul Lott rejected that claim, saying that the culture of the community mattered much more in creating good students. Lott is an education advocate, author, and founder of the National Society for the Advancement of Black Americans (NSABA). He is the inventor of the “Parent Method,” which helps parents teach effective learning skills to their children for independent study. Lott claims that to create good students, the most important aspect is not teacher quality, nor school facility quality, but rather the parents of the student, and their beliefs about education.

For example, if the parents of a student don’t believe in education and the education system, maybe because of their own experiences with the system in the past, then the student will almost certainly share that perspective on education. If the students don’t believe in the educational system, they aren’t willing to learn from it, and this results in poor performance. 

On the other hand, families that greatly valued education had students who were much more willing to learn and were more successful. A study done by Lott showed that students and families with generational school excellence from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, i.e. several generations of the family attending these top schools, had a consistent common factor that accounted for that generational excellence. That common factor was the culture of education, their habits, and so on, which was unconsciously passed from generation to generation. The study showed these inherited good habits were more important for success than other factors, such as IQ. Lott claims that this shows why schools cannot fix the quality of students in an area, rather it's up to the parents to instill the value of education into their children. Lott’s study showed that once the family’s culture had this focus on education, each generation would be more successful than the previous.

I thought this perspective on improving the quality of students in struggling areas was interesting, and makes quite a lot of sense. However, this also does make the issue much more difficult. Instead of just inserting good teachers, it becomes necessary that the entire culture of the community must change.

(Contributed by the CAPA-MC Junior Reporter Club)

By

Daniel Li 翻译 (Translation) 2024-08-03

[中文版本]

On December 7, 2024, the Second Washington Chinese Culture Festival concluded with the Youth Essay Contest Awards Ceremony held at the A Plus Adult Medical Day Care in Maryland. The contest, themed "Ties to China," began in July and attracted 170 enthusiastic participants from across the U.S. and China. Through their writing, the contestants showcased the profound charm of Chinese culture, reflecting the cultural confidence and creativity of a new generation.

Over 50 award recipients and their families gathered to celebrate this cultural milestone alongside festival organizers, representatives from the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., and distinguished guests from the Washington, D.C. area.

Highlights

Over ten students from the Zaidao website actively participated in the event, handling various tasks. Student representatives Rachel Wang and Emily Jia presented reports on the contest's preparation and evaluation process. Over four months, the contest received 166 submissions, including 109 in Chinese and 57 in English, a 2.2-fold increase from the previous year. Notably, 27 submissions came from non-Chinese participants, eight of which were written in Chinese, showcasing the depth and breadth of cultural integration.

Heartfelt Reflections

During the awards segment, contestants shared their thoughts on the creative process and their understanding of Chinese culture:

• Tian Minkai, the first-place winner in the high school category, described how last year's bamboo dance performance at the festival inspired his essay, reigniting his passion for Chinese language and writing. His essay this year shared his experiences learning Chinese and his connection to Chinese culture.

• Yang Xiaoyue, another high school first-place winner, spoke about how the festival inspired her to narrate life influenced by Chinese traditions, solidifying her love for expressing cultural appreciation through writing.

• Betsana, a student from the Washington International School and a non-Chinese participant, shared her insights on learning Chinese, emphasizing how it was a wise decision to deepen her understanding of the world. She expressed pride in articulating the influence of Chinese culture through this competition.

Award Presentation

The ceremony peaked during the awards presentation. Winners of the first, second, and third prizes, along with honorable mentions and the "Most Popular Online Article" award, took the stage to receive trophies and certificates. Special gifts, including dragon-themed toys and Xinhua dictionaries, were provided by the Chinese Embassy.

The event also honored exceptional educators and institutions with the Bo Le Award and Organization Award for their contributions to Chinese education and cultural promotion. Teachers like Nong Qiumei, Bai Hongjie, and others were among the 20 awardees, while schools such as the Washington International School and Sino-American Student Scholars Exchange Association received organizational recognition.

Cultural Legacy: A Bridge Across Borders

Zhu Di, Consul General of the Chinese Embassy, highlighted the festival as a vital platform for U.S.-China cultural exchange. The essay contest offered youth a chance to showcase talent and express cultural identity.

Chen Jiange, chair of the Chinese-language judges, noted the remarkable growth in both quantity and quality of submissions, encouraging participants to further enhance their writing skills and appreciation of Chinese language and culture.

John Noran, a seasoned English writing judge, praised the contestants' works, expressing admiration for their ability to convey the beauty and power of culture.

Looking Ahead: Writing New Cultural Chapters

The success of the essay contest relied on support from the festival committee, the Chinese Embassy, educational institutions, media, and the broader community. Media outlets like the Chinese American News and New World Times provided extensive coverage. The online voting for the "Most Popular Article" attracted significant attention, with some articles exceeding 50,000 views. The Zaidao website hosted interactive activities such as a cultural trivia contest and essay contest promotions, resonating with the local community's passion for Chinese heritage.

Moving forward, the Washington Chinese Culture Festival and essay contest will continue to use literature as a bridge for U.S.-China cultural exchange, inspiring more youth to embrace and preserve Chinese culture. As one parent noted, "This is not just a competition but a profound lesson in understanding cultural values."

The ceremony concluded with heartfelt blessings. Here's to another successful festival next year, bringing more touching cultural stories to life! Special thanks to sponsors like Universal Stones, New Light Sign Company, Richen Group, Hibachi Seafood Buffet, and Pleasant Gardens Assisted Living for their generous support.

For the full list of winners and to read the essays, visit the Zaidao website (http://thez.us).

By

载道 翻译 (Translation) 2024-12-19

[中文版本]

Call for Submissions: Chinese Culture Festival 2nd Annual Youth Essay Competition of the Chinese Culture Festival

The 22nd Washington Chinese Culture Festival will be hosted on August 31, 2024, coinciding with the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. The festival committee sincerely invites young people from everywhere to participate in the 2nd Youth Essay Competition of the Chinese Culture Festival!

Essay Theme: Chinese Connections: Recording Your Beautiful Encounters with Chinese Culture.

Suggested Angles:

○ Your experiences at the Chinese Culture Festival

○ Tracing Chinese Culture: Chinese cultural elements around me

○ Passing on the Torch: Stories of people who love Chinese culture

○ Deeply Rooted: The impact of Chinese culture on my growth

○ In the Eyes of Youth: My perspective on the current state and future of China-US relations

Eligibility:

• Ages 6 to 24
• Each participant can submit one essay in Chinese and one in English, but content must differ

Contest Groups:

• Elementary School, Middle School, High School, International Students (who have come to the U.S. for vitality and have been studying for 5 years or less), English Language Group, and Chinese Students Group (English writing required).

Word Count:

• 300-2000 words

Judging Rules：

• The organizing committee will invite experts to form a jury that evaluates all entries.

All submissions that meet the publication criteria will be posted on the Zaidao website （http://thez.us/）and will receive awards from the China File Festival, with the finalists receiving SSL hours.

• After the deadline, the Zaidao website（http://thez.us/）will publicize all the files that meet the publication criteria on the web and there will be an award for the“most popular”files.

• Teachers are encouraged to recommend student works, and the "Bole Award" will be given based on the number and quality of student works recommended.

Important Points in Time:

• Deadline for submissions: 2024 September 20
• Popularity Award Channel Open: September 25 - October 5
• Judging announcement date: October 6, 2024
• Awards Ceremony (expected): October 15, 2024

Submission Method:  

https://forms.gle/cyY6kvspE7yBbron7

For inquiries please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Contact: Ms. Li: 703-344-4172

Mr. Wang: 301-250-0119

For details and entry rules, keep checking back to the Carrier Grid station at http://thez.us/

Organized by: Washington Chinese Culture Festival Committee

Hosted by: Zaidao Website http://thez.us/

July 2024

By

载道 翻译 (Translation) 2024-08-03

[中文版本]

In an interview at the AACE 2024 Conference on Equal Education Rights, keynote speaker Gail Heriot, who is a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, stated that there was a concerning lack of meritocracy within U.S. college admissions. Her position as a current professor of law at the University of San Diego has shown her that the college admissions process has “a lot of discrimination going on” and that it is not only negatively affecting the people who were rejected, but the people who were accepted as well. 

Heriot explains “I think it's important that students go to a school where they're going to learn the most. And in that respect, it's not simply a question of getting into the most prestigious school.” She believes that when colleges admit applicants to bolster diversity within the student body, it impacts the performance of those applicants because they are participating in a school or program that they may not be academically prepared for.

Additionally, in 1996, Heriot co-chaired the campaign to pass Proposition 209 in the state of California, which amended the state Constitution to say that the state shall not discriminate against or grant preferential treatment to any individual or group based on race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin for public employment or services. Then, in both 2020 and 2024, Heriot was part of the opposition to efforts to repeal Proposition 209. She attributes these attempts to repeal Proposition 209 as the result of the misguided thought that “[many people are] doing a good thing to give preferential treatment, for example to African Americans to a lesser extent Hispanics. And they think that this is going to make the country better.” Heriot ties this back to her belief that students should go to a school or college “where [their] academic credentials put [them] in the ballpark with other students”. 

She states that it is “educationally unsound to have big gaps in academic credentials between some students based on race.” Professor Richard Sander at UCLA, another speaker at the AACE Conference, revealed that there would be more African American attorneys graduating from law school if there was no preferential treatment, compared to the current situation. “African American students are not being given a favor, by being admitted to a school where their academic credentials will put them at the bottom of the class,” Heriot says.

On the topic of the recent Supreme Court SFFA (Students for Fair Admissions) vs. Harvard ruling that race-based college admissions policies are unconstitutional, Heriot believes that oversight from a third party, as well as strict enforcement and implementation of the new decision, will be necessary for colleges to change their admissions process. “As a lawyer, the law will only take you so far… this has become a very ideological thing, some people insist that they are doing the right thing and they’re going to try and do it under the radar,” she says. She suggests that state legislators should conduct oversight over their state universities to ensure that the Supreme Court ruling is being complied with, with enforcement by the federal government as well.

As for the future of equal education rights, Heriot remarks that many things still need to be accomplished. “One thing is that we have to make sure the public understands what is going on because when the public understands it, they’re on our side.” She says that a large majority of the public believes “what they were told, which is that there isn’t any preferential treatment going on, or that if there is preferential treatment going on, it's just a featherweight in favor of underrepresented minorities.” Heriot also expressed concern about the process by which governors will appoint people to oversee the college admissions changes, stating “we want to make sure that it’s not just friends of the governor that the governor wants to give a nice part-time job to.” She believes that lawsuits or congressional action will be needed to remove certain incentives that the federal government has used to encourage colleges and universities to discriminate or grant preferential treatment.

An example Heriot provided was the Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) which grants large sums of money to universities with a total percentage of Hispanic or Latino students higher than 25%. Heriot criticizes the HSI, stating “Not 25% needy students, not 25% students who struggle with the English language, but just purely a matter of ethnicity. And that’s pretty clearly unconstitutional.”

Outside of the AACE Conference, Gail Heriot continues to champion equal education rights by fighting against unjust or discriminatory policies, whether that is with federal or state governments or local opposition.

(Contributed by the CAPA-MC Junior Reporter Club)

By

戴焱 翻译 (Translation) 2024-08-03

 [中文版本]

 Chinese Category - Elementary School：

First Prize： Cynthia  Zhang，William Fu (傅梓航)

Second Prize：Alex Kejun Cao (曹可均)，Theodore Wang (王赋言)，Timo Lan (蓝天牧）

Third Prize：Michael Yang （杨骐嘉），Andrew Yang （笑笑），Aaron Ruan（阮兰峻），Gabriel Wang（王宥实），Tei Patel（钱太之）

Honorable Mention:  Shuyao Li（李舒窈），Franklin Wang（汪小洋），Adam Nie （聂亚当），Amelia Song（宋鲁宁），Alex S. Chen（陈世泽），Eli Fu（傅梓源），Gracie Ham（马驰椿），Michael Chen（陈小麦）, Murphy Tu （土豆）, Everly Jing（景云华）, Isabella Wu（伍雅薷）, Sophie  H Zhang （张盈若）, CoCo Li（李师杨）

Chinese Category - Middle  School：

First Prize：Andrew Zhao（赵博言), Neil Xu（徐启宁), Lexi Tang（邓乐晞), Aiden Xiao（肖云瀚)

Second Prize：Ginny Liu （廖慧圆), Iwan chen（王梓辰), Kelly Dai（戴凯丽), Leah Li（李娅), Samanta He（贺琨藏), Kathleen Xin（辛雨薇)

Third Prize：Kyle Zeng（曾祥天),  Eric He（何昊洋), Selina Wang（王姝心), Allen Niu（牛啸天), Alice Zhao（赵嘉一), Alexander Gu（顾沛田), Emma Guo（郭鸿萱), Sophia Wu（伍雅萱), Nili Li（李小叶), Angela Wang（王昱茜), Eric Wang（王浩宇), Nora Ma（马丫然)

Honorable Mention:  Ivan Chang（张博豪)，Keven Ye（叶开为)，Wellington Zhou（周忠轩)，Wenqing Ma（马文情)，Kevin Liu（刘必耀)，Kelly Wang（汪芊颖)，Rani Ziran wei（魏子然)，Ivy Xu（徐家蕙)，Bryce Long（龙道为)，Ava Lin（林莹)，Kevin chen（陈凯文)，Allen Ou（欧志国)，Annie Ou（欧爱妮)，Jinyuan Guan（关金源)，Ethan Chen（陈翼乐)，Benjamin Guo（过德浩)，Andrew  Cai（蔡思恩), Emily  Liu（刘星玥)，Henry Jiang（江季达)，Nathaniel Ni （倪浩轩)，Chloe Deng（邓朵朵)，Angelina Chen（陈欣凌)，Bella Lee（李贝拉)，Jason Xiao（肖泊辰)，Jacob（冯新民)，Daniel Cao（曹兮)，Emily.Qiu（邱重垣)，Chloey Fang（方欣扬)，James Fang（方毅成)

Chinese Category - High School

First Prize： Nathan Tian(田旻楷)， Annie Yang(杨晓玥)

Second Prize：Gracelyn Chen (陈蕙心)， Claire Qi（齐乐乐）， Aaron Tianyi Zhang（张天诣）

Third Prize：Bruce Liu(刘琪煜）， Victoria Wang(王睿真），Crystal C hen(陈子元），Hannah Liu(刘润宇），Jessica Yao(姚嘉璐）， Julia Pitt(强竹涵）

Honorable Mention：Alex Dai(戴宇文）， Aiden Wang(王天笑）， Steven Xu(徐家澍）， Joyce Fang(方心）， Zai Ye(叶子濛）， Jaylina Shi(施雨彤）， Bernice Gao(高艺菲）， Jackie Zhu(朱家祺）， Sophie Zhu-Yun Pitt(强竹韵）， Annie Wang (王欣昕）， Kelin Du (杜科霖）， Venita wang(王诗礼），  Anthony Zhuang， Beckett Murphy(马千令）， Elle Murphy(马心梅）， Benji Kurtzig(吴恩杰）

Chinese Category - Non-Chinese Descendant：

First Prize：Helena Hill(琳娜）

Second Prize：Alex Suh(住彬）

Third Prize： Rai Goswami(艾玛）,  Haze Warren(王真）

Honorable Mention：Anton Jordan(安东）,  Sofia Vakis(王淑菲）,  Lena Schwartzman (蓝娜）,  Liam McCuaig(马和奇）

English Category - Elementary School

First Prize：Gloria Teng(滕楚萌) 

Second Prize：Aimee Chen(陈婧怡) 

Third Prize：Jason Fan(范陆安) 

Honorable Mention：Sophie Shuyan Chen,  Mollie Hu(胡墨莉),  CoCo Li(李师杨),  Sophie H Zhang (张盈若), Amelia Song (宋鲁宁)

English Category - Middle School

First Prize：Larissa Deng(邓睿莎),  Emma Guo(郭鸿萱)

Second Prize：Alex Huang(黄四之),  George Hong(洪浩淋)

Third Prize： Ivy Wang(王一辰),  Sherry Wei(魏西雅),  Paloma Naftulin,  Peter Guo(郭靖)

Honorable Mention：Alice Zhao(赵嘉一),  Kelly Wang(汪芊颖),  Summer Lu(卢好),  Aaron Wu(武子舟),  Melodie Li(李伊一),  Jasper Song(宋玉), Hannah Liu(刘子悠),  Joseph Xu,  Callum Seay-Lee,  Neil Xu(徐启宁), Chloey Fang(方欣扬)

English Category - High School：

First Prize：Gloria Liu(刘蒜苗)

Second Prize：Mark Li(李润麒)

Third Prize：Daisy Jin(金樂彤) 

Honorable Mention：Wenqing Ma(马文情), Joyce Fang(方心), Tansy Yu(余丹婵), Sophia Li, Alissia Dupriez(汪丽霞)

English Category - Chinese Student

First Prize：Ziming Zhai(翟梓铭)

Second Prize：Lucarlevia(刘玥彤)

Third Prize：Ziyu Zhu(朱子钰)

English Category - Non-Chinese Descendant - Middle School

First Prize：Isabella Tamayo (伊萨贝拉)

Second Prize：Sana Baig (贝莎娜)

Third Prize：Carah Cerutti (苏静怡)， Alan Mateo-Berganza Echebarria (蒙艾伦)

Honorable Mention：Mia Taylor(米小雪)， Charlotte Warren(王佳琪)， Ian Rivera(炎泽泰)， Stella Batteh， Jack Beardow(毕杰克）， Zahra Halakhe(何雅薇）

English Category - Non-Chinese Descendant - High School

First Prize：Sheridan Henneberg(何喜丹）

Second Prize：Ali Campbell(乔安莉）

Third Prize：George Demekas-Ruiz(戴朝智）,  Kiera Kumar(柯可娜）

Honorable Mention：Julia Cerutti(苏莉雅）, Abigail Dauchy， Thomas Adler(安天睦）， Alexandre Mousset， Cécile Nelles(艾西西）

Internet Popularity Award:

Victoria Wang(王睿真)， CoCo Li(李师杨)， Jessica Yao(姚嘉璐)， Gloria Teng(滕楚萌)， Julia Pitt(强竹涵)， Samanta He(贺琨藏)

By

载道 翻译 (Translation) 2024-11-18

[中文版本]

Bentao Cui, President of the Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Success (BPCAE), is a steadfast advocate for merit-based education. With a background in entrepreneurship and political activism, Cui has emerged as a prominent advocate for educational reform. He is committed to upholding merit-based education and ensuring that all students have access to quality education free from ideological bias. With three children in Boston, the hometown of prestigious Harvard University, Cui understands the critical importance of a fair and rigorous education system. 

Cui’s commitment to educational reform is deeply personal. He has witnessed firsthand how current policies impact his children's motivation and aspirations. "The ruling was very damaging to the motivation of my children," Cui explains. "They feel that no matter how hard they work, the admission policies are unfair to them."

Cui firmly believes that a merit-based education policy is essential for fostering a culture of excellence and fairness. Such a system ensures that students are evaluated on their abilities and achievements, rather than other criteria that can undermine their efforts and potential.

Under his leadership, The BPCAE is dedicated to challenging and reforming policies that detract from meritocracy. The organization works to engage parents, educators, and policymakers in meaningful discussions and actions to improve the education system. Cui emphasizes that a fair admission process is not just about individual success but about upholding the principles that make educational institutions and, by extension, the nation, strong and competitive.

Cui envisions an education system where every student, regardless of their background, has an equal opportunity to succeed based on their merit. He believes this approach is vital for nurturing talent and maintaining the high standards that have long been a hallmark of American education.

Bentao Cui’s dedication to merit-based education is driven by a desire to ensure that all students, including his children, can achieve their fullest potential. Through his leadership at BPCAE, he continues to champion policies that promote fairness, motivation, and academic excellence in Boston and beyond.

(Contributed by the CAPA-MC Junior Reporter Club)

By

沈安琪 翻译 (Translation) 2024-08-03

[中文版本]

On June 29th, the Asian American Coalition for Education (AACE) held a conference on the topic of equality in education. The event hosted a large audience and several guest speakers from different groups and organizations such as the Heritage Foundation, the Pacific Legal Foundation, AACE itself, and many others. It was not only an opportunity for discussion and debate forums, but also served as a celebration for the one-year anniversary of the landmark SFFA v. Harvard/UNC Supreme Court decision.

For 46 years, the Supreme Court had allowed colleges and universities to consider an applicant’s race among other factors in their admissions decisions, primarily to promote educational diversity. However, SFFA (Students For Fair Admissions) argued that Harvard and UNC's admission practices resulted in lower admission rates for Asian American applicants despite their stronger academic credentials compared to other racial groups. SFFA stated that these types of admissions practices were causing unjust discrimination, and asked the Supreme Court to disallow universities from taking race into account as a factor in future admissions policies and applications. Instead, SFFA suggested that colleges should be mandated to change their processes to one where admissions officials would not know the race or ethnicity of the applicant they were reviewing.

The AACE, organizers of the conference, hosted the event at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill. The audience included employees of government agencies, non-profit organizations, and lawyers from legal foundations. 

Also attending the conference were keynote speakers Mr. Patrick Strawbridge, lead lawyer in the SFFA case, and Prof. Gail Heriot, U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner. Their speeches referred to recent legal battles in shaping admissions policies and promoting fairness in college admissions, as well as the need for strict implementation and oversight to ensure that these rulings would be integrated adequately. Several people expressed doubt that colleges would adhere to these new standards or change their admissions policies without oversight from a third party.

Following the speeches was a debate panel on the effectiveness of standardized testing in college admissions. Many speakers and even audience members called attention to disparities in test preparation and access, highlighting concerns that standardized testing exacerbates inequalities rather than easing them. Additionally, several speakers pointed out that standardized testing preparation depends heavily on how closely educators are following the standard curriculum, or in essence, teaching what will be on the standardized testing instead of what students need to know.

The conference also dedicated a large portion of its time to discussions on improving K-12 educational outcomes for underperforming minority students. Speakers, including education policy experts such as Dr. Richard Sander from UCLA, emphasized the need for targeted interventions and equitable resource allocation to address systemic barriers to academic success. A recurring topic was the focus on how several top colleges across the US were found to be guilty of rejecting students with stronger applications to safeguard their diverse student body, as in the aforementioned SFFA v. Harvard case.

After the conclusion of all three debate panels and several speeches by guest speakers, everyone, including most of the audience, left the Hyatt and walked a few minutes to the nearby Supreme Court building. They then gathered on the white marble steps in front for a memorable group photo.

(Contributed by the CAPA-MC Junior Reporter Club)

By

戴焱 翻译 (Translation) 2024-08-03

[中文版本]

Voting Link: Zaidao Website http://thez.us

"Popularity Award" Voting Deadline: Sunday (11/17)  ALREADY ENDED

The Second Washington Chinese Culture Festival Youth Essay Contest received over 170 submissions from participants in the Greater Washington area, Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Illinois, and more. There has been a significant increase in submissions from non-Chinese Descendant students, and students from China have also actively participated. The contest features outstanding works in both Chinese and English, reflecting a deep understanding and creative expression of Chinese culture.

To ensure a fair and just evaluation, each participant has signed a declaration affirming that their work was not created by AI, plagiarized, or ghostwritten. The judging panel has conducted multiple rounds of assessments. Currently, the judging process is in its final stages, and the results will be announced soon!

Now, all 170+ contest entries are online. Use your keen eyes to help select the "Popularity Award" winning works and show your support and encouragement to these talented young writers!

How to Vote: 

Please visit the Zaidao website: http://thez.us
On the homepage, click on "Essay Competition". Scroll down to find: Chinese Group, English Group, Non-Chinese Descendant Group, and Chinese Student Group.
Click on the group that interests you, and the webpage will display the directory of all the essays in that group.
Click on an essay title to enjoy the work.
To vote, simply click the heart icon below the author's name.

The Chinese Culture Festival is one of the largest and most important cultural exchange events for the Chinese community in the Greater Washington area, receiving widespread attention and praise in American society. On August 31, 2024, the 21st Chinese Culture Festival was held grandly in Washington, D.C. The second Youth Essay Contest of the Culture Festival is organized by the Chinese Culture Festival Committee and hosted by the Zaidao website (thez.us). Zaidao is a bilingual platform founded by Chinese American youth in the United States, dedicated to inspiring youth to learn Chinese and explore Chinese culture.

The Chinese Culture Festival Committee is jointly organized by the U.S.-China Business Association, the Federation of Alumni Associations of Chinese Universities in the Greater Washington Area, Harvey Chinese School, the Chinese Community Alliance of Washington, the U.S.-China Economic and Cultural Exchange Association, the U.S.-China Experimental School, the United Chinese American Professional Association, the Hope Chinese School, and the Washington Area Chinese Community Association.

By

载道 翻译 (Translation) 2024-11-13