SMU Magazine Winter 2001 - Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
SMU Magazine Winter 2001 - Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
SMU Magazine Winter 2001 - Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
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Campus News<br />
Brother Louis DeThomasis poses with Yao Yuecan, father <strong>of</strong> <strong>SMU</strong> freshman Ting Yao, at the Great Wall during Brother Louis’ November visit to China.<br />
candid about the flaws in their educational<br />
system and open to learning<br />
about the U.S. system.<br />
“They recognize our institutions<br />
<strong>of</strong> higher education as the best in the<br />
world,” he said.<br />
And any perceptions he had<br />
about the communist country<br />
quickly dissipated when the work<br />
began, Brother Louis said.<br />
“There was no feeling that they<br />
were programmed to say certain<br />
things,” he said.<br />
While he expected to work<br />
within set communist parameters,<br />
Brother Louis said, boundaries were<br />
never an issue.<br />
“Though we know that there are<br />
those boundaries, we never hit<br />
them,” he said. “I could’ve expected<br />
much less candor and more guardedness,<br />
none <strong>of</strong> which I saw.”<br />
Brother Louis believes issues<br />
discussed during the trip — combined<br />
with a surprising amount <strong>of</strong><br />
Chinese entrepreneurship — will<br />
help China pull ahead <strong>of</strong> Russia in<br />
the race toward an effective free<br />
enterprise system.<br />
“It’s a reality that I never<br />
thought was possible,” he said.<br />
The trip opened his eyes to the<br />
realities <strong>of</strong> life in China, he said, and<br />
Brother Louis looks forward to<br />
meeting with the Chinese educators<br />
again.<br />
The U.S. group extended an invitation<br />
to the Chinese hosts to come<br />
visit <strong>Minnesota</strong> schools, and the Chinese<br />
were “very enthusiastic.”<br />
The Chinese educators are<br />
expected to visit <strong>Minnesota</strong> next year.<br />
≠<br />
Summer China program is<br />
accepting student applicants<br />
Dr. Ting Ni and the <strong>SMU</strong> history department are sponsoring<br />
a trip to China next summer. Students will spend three<br />
weeks in Tianjin and visit Tiananmen Square, the Ming Tomb,<br />
the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, among other points<br />
<strong>of</strong> interest.<br />
Students can earn three to six credits <strong>of</strong> global issues or<br />
history credits during the trip. Cost is approximately $1,300-<br />
1,600, which includes airfare and lodging. Financial aid is<br />
available to qualified students taking six credits.<br />
A performance by a Chinese acrobat troupe.<br />
WINTER <strong>2001</strong> 7
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