Chinese Dance And Music
Ross School seniors were able to compare and contrast traditional Chinese dance and music with the modern day equivalent on March 30. Barbara Tjiong, the head of the Plainview Chinese Cultural Center, was invited to speak to the students in the Senior Lecture Hall. With the help of seniors Allison Bauser and Yi Ying Zhu, she demonstrated three traditional dances in China, the graceful ribbon, umbrella and fan dances. Then students were shown videos of contemporary Chinese music and dance, featuring rap and hip-hop. The presentation was part of their studies on China of Today, which integrates English, art history and science. Specifically, the students are focusing on how Western society has influenced the country.

"We are showing the arts and humanities in China and the shift from the ancient world to the present and the effects of globalization," said cultural history teacher Kimble Humiston. Demonstrating how old and new China have merged through dance and music allows the students to understand complex global issues by linking them to pop culture. "The concept of globalization becomes visible and audible," said Kimble.

Moot Court Competition
Ross alumni Kinara Flagg, a first-year law student at Columbia Law School, who placed second at the national Frederick Douglas Moot Court competition in Irvine, CA. The three-day competition, from March 19 through March 21, featured six rounds of oral arguments. Kinara, along with her partner Maren Messing, outmaneuvered second- and third-year law students from schools all over the country. The talented team argued a fictitious employment discrimination case. In 2002, Kinara graduated from Ross School, where she learned the art of public speaking and fine-tuned those oral arguments skills. "At Ross we did a lot of oral presentations," she said. "In the small class atmosphere you learn you're not afraid to talk. There's an expectation that everyone has to contribute in a small class at Ross and people's opinions are really valued." This summer Kinara will be interning at the National Women's Law Center in the Family and Economic Security department.