3 ESL students lead Constitution Day discussion
By Luisa Wiewgorra
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For the second year in a row, the ESL program organized a panel discussion about the U.S. Constitution in collaboration with the Office of Student Life and the Office of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement.
“As a team, we thought it was a great idea to include ESL students/ international students in this event to show differences and similarities between the American constitution and the constitutions of their respective countries,” said Hadeel Betti, the Director of the Intensive English for Academic Purpose Program (ESL) at Madonna University.
“I am always looking for ways for ESL students to engage on campus in a meaningful and authentic way and that was one good way to do that and to showcase students and the value that they bring to Madonna University,” said Betti.
International student Sarra Dhaouadi participated in the panel discussion representing women from Tunisia. After studying in the ESL program for one semester, she is now pursuing her Masters’ Degree in Business Administration.
“I was very excited to talk about our constitution because two days ago, there were elections in Tunisia. I was happy to say this in front of all these people and to stand up as an Arab Muslim Tunisian girl talking about Muslims and Arab people,” said Dhaouadi.
“I asked Sarra to participate because people usually have a stereotypical image of what an Arab woman looks like and she represents a different image and woman from her country. She is also very knowledgeable about her constitution,” said Betti.
Dawid Malik, an ESL student, came to the United States only one short month ago from Poland to improve his English and continue his education as a priest in the seminary in Orchard Lake.
“The panel discussion was a challenge for me and I was nervous. I was wondering if people could understand my English, but I wanted to participate because I knew that it would be a good experience that I want to be a part of,” said Malik.
Chuan Van Trinh, a Religion Studies major from Vietnam, has been at Madonna for his second year, but it was his first time in the panel discussion on Constitution Day.
“I really liked the panel discussion. I want to thank the organizers for giving us a chance to share what we think about our constitutions. I also had the chance to talk about my personal experience about domestic violence in Vietnam and I appreciate it so much,” said Trinh.
Representing a mix of nationalities, these students talked about how their citizens feel about their constitutions. This shows how different practices work for other countries.
“Celebrating Constitution Day provides a great opportunity for students to appreciate the importance that this founding document has for the United States. We also celebrated the value that international students bring to Madonna and the value that American students bring to the development of our international students. We all learned from each other in a respectful and celebratory fashion, and that is our Franciscan way,” said Djennin Casab, Director of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement.
The goal is to engage international students on campus, and have them share their worldviews to change and widen other students' perspectives.
“I think this is what ultimately leads to peace because it is when people have one on one conversations with each other and share perspectives with each other. Just as our panels were saying they thought that when they were going to come here that things were going to be so different in the U.S than they were. I would love to have more activities like this on campus,” said Chris Benson, Assistant Vice President, Dean of Students and Director of the Graduate Studies in Higher Education Administration.
[email protected]
For the second year in a row, the ESL program organized a panel discussion about the U.S. Constitution in collaboration with the Office of Student Life and the Office of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement.
“As a team, we thought it was a great idea to include ESL students/ international students in this event to show differences and similarities between the American constitution and the constitutions of their respective countries,” said Hadeel Betti, the Director of the Intensive English for Academic Purpose Program (ESL) at Madonna University.
“I am always looking for ways for ESL students to engage on campus in a meaningful and authentic way and that was one good way to do that and to showcase students and the value that they bring to Madonna University,” said Betti.
International student Sarra Dhaouadi participated in the panel discussion representing women from Tunisia. After studying in the ESL program for one semester, she is now pursuing her Masters’ Degree in Business Administration.
“I was very excited to talk about our constitution because two days ago, there were elections in Tunisia. I was happy to say this in front of all these people and to stand up as an Arab Muslim Tunisian girl talking about Muslims and Arab people,” said Dhaouadi.
“I asked Sarra to participate because people usually have a stereotypical image of what an Arab woman looks like and she represents a different image and woman from her country. She is also very knowledgeable about her constitution,” said Betti.
Dawid Malik, an ESL student, came to the United States only one short month ago from Poland to improve his English and continue his education as a priest in the seminary in Orchard Lake.
“The panel discussion was a challenge for me and I was nervous. I was wondering if people could understand my English, but I wanted to participate because I knew that it would be a good experience that I want to be a part of,” said Malik.
Chuan Van Trinh, a Religion Studies major from Vietnam, has been at Madonna for his second year, but it was his first time in the panel discussion on Constitution Day.
“I really liked the panel discussion. I want to thank the organizers for giving us a chance to share what we think about our constitutions. I also had the chance to talk about my personal experience about domestic violence in Vietnam and I appreciate it so much,” said Trinh.
Representing a mix of nationalities, these students talked about how their citizens feel about their constitutions. This shows how different practices work for other countries.
“Celebrating Constitution Day provides a great opportunity for students to appreciate the importance that this founding document has for the United States. We also celebrated the value that international students bring to Madonna and the value that American students bring to the development of our international students. We all learned from each other in a respectful and celebratory fashion, and that is our Franciscan way,” said Djennin Casab, Director of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement.
The goal is to engage international students on campus, and have them share their worldviews to change and widen other students' perspectives.
“I think this is what ultimately leads to peace because it is when people have one on one conversations with each other and share perspectives with each other. Just as our panels were saying they thought that when they were going to come here that things were going to be so different in the U.S than they were. I would love to have more activities like this on campus,” said Chris Benson, Assistant Vice President, Dean of Students and Director of the Graduate Studies in Higher Education Administration.