Category Archives: November 2015

November 2015

November 2015

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This Fall semester, CELOP is celebrating its 40th anniversary!  To commemorate the occasion, the CELOP Sun dedicates its November 2015 issue to 40 successful years of CELOP.  Take a look back through the slideshow, and the history and timeline; listen to students and teachers reflect on their time at CELOP in the videos; and read the story of Carol Pineiro’s ski trip with her class from about 30 years ago!

While CELOP marks this milestone in its long history, it continues doing what it does best: it fosters a community of English language learning.  Likewise, the CELOP Sun is a creative outlet for this community, so don’t forget to read our other articles.  We announce the winners of the fall foliage contest, and have articles covering CELOP activities such as apple picking and the recent Japanese festival: Matsuri.

CELOP Turns 40

A Birthday Poem for CELOP – by Nawaf Alhazmi
Students from Years Past Wish CELOP a Happy Anniversary: a Video – by Felix Poon
Teachers Reflect on 40 Years of CELOP: a Video – by Ahmed Hawsawi, Ahmed Alshareef, and Osaid Ali
The History of CELOP – by Maria Palermino
40 Years of CELOP: a Photo Gallery – by Felix Poon
The World of CELOP 40 Years Ago – by Katja Davidoff
Unique Gifts CELOP Teachers have Received from the Past 40 Years – by Elsie Seber
A CELOP Ski Trip – by Carol Piñeiro
A Student from 1983 Visits CELOP – by Carol Piñeiro

Other Articles

Fall Foliage Photo Contest 2015 – by Felix Poon
Apple Picking – by Hanadi Naji
Experience Japan at the Matsuri Event – by Franca Paola
Restaurant Review: Raising Cane’s – by Hanadi Naji
Antibiotics Are Not Magical Drugs – by Rawan Alahmadi

The History of CELOP

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The Founding

CELOP was founded in 1975 by Robert Saitz and Francine Stieglitz who were both professors teaching in the English Department at that time. The center was their brainchild. Before CELOP was created, English Department instructors held classes for international students in that department.   Francine Stieglitz was the first director.

Development and Growth

The center was first located at 730 Commonwealth Ave., and in the very first year there were 345 students; however, that number grew to 840 in 1978 and 1100 in 1980.   In the very early years, scholarship students sent from Venezuela and Iran made up the student body. There were also students from Saudi Arabia, Japan, and other Latin American countries.

Susan Doll became the next director of CELOP in 1984. Then, the very next year when Margot Valdivia became the associate director, a large number of students from Beirut, Lebanon arrived; they were the Hariri students. The business tycoon and former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafic Hariri, sponsored this group. They continued to come for about a year or so. CELOP has continued to grow and attract students from different parts of the world since then.

Students Today and Famous Alumni

Margot Valdivia became the director and Bruce Rindler the associate director in 1988.  Six years later, in 1995, CELOP moved to 890 Commonwealth Ave. At that time, CELOP continued to grow and attract students from different parts of the world. One of our more famous students was Psy, the Korean pop culture sensation who started the Gangnam Style craze. Psy studied at CELOP in 1996. Another famous student was A-Mei, a famous pop singer and songwriter from Taiwan, who studied at CELOP in 2005

Cooperation with Foreign Universities, Companies and Cultural Mission

Nowadays, CELOP students come from many parts of the world as well as from many famous universities and company sponsorships. These include Waseda and Hosei universities in Japan, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), and the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission to the US (SACM). CELOP students continue on to prestigious undergraduate and graduate programs such as the Harvard Graduate School of Design, BU College of Engineering, BU School of Law, BU Questrom School of Business, and many more. CELOP continues to be a vibrant leader in English as a Second Language training and special orientation programs under the leadership of Alan Broomhead, Managing Director, and Colin Large, Associate Director.

The World of CELOP 40 Years Ago

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Close your eyes and imagine the world of CELOP students and teachers in 1975. If you think it wasn’t that different, those of us who were around and cognizant in the 70’s could tell you quite a different story.

Technology
Our view of technology and the things we take for granted were quite a bit bigger and more cumbersome, but exciting, nonetheless. Computers were fairly large and desktops were starting to become more common in offices and various jobs. The link below shows the history of computers and where we were in 1975 in their development and use.

www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers

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Cars
Popular cars were sometimes revival hotrods from the late 60’s or decked out vans and sedans with long low front ends. Although humans have been proud of their cars since they first arrived, people in the 70’s were often very proud of their great rides and vans with extra accessories. With the exception of the uber rich, most cars before the 70’s came with basic essentials. The birth of the decked out van and sedan or Cadillac came with added accessories, implying a lifestyle shift from basic commuter to using cars for pleasure and leisure time. The advent of drive-in movies of earlier decades added to this idea.

Clothing  Styles

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1975 saw a shift from the hippie era to the disco era. Indian print shirts, fringes, and extra wide bell-bottom pants adorned many. There were matching pantsuits, make-up in bold colors, or those who preferred the natural only look. Fake fur in bright colors showed up on many outfits. Women started to wear more suit ensembles for work, usually consisting of jackets with wide lapels and/or a matching shirt or turtleneck. High boots also accompanied skirts and dresses. Women wore platform shoes, often hidden beneath elephant bell-bottom pants. Men also wore bell-bottom or flared pants and shirts with wide lapels and partially open on the neckline. Pantsuits for both men and women were often matching. Women’s one-piece jumpsuits were also popular. The materials of clothes changed from more natural styles like cotton or suede to super shiny or silky shirts, ushered in by the disco era. Men wore shoes with heels and both men and women wore tight form fitting pants in shiny or silky fabrics.

Hair Styles

Hair went from being long on both men and women to becoming bigger in volume. Many sported afro style hair and the previous decade of ironing hair made way for lots of big curls and hair spray. Disco hair for both men and women was heavily styled and sprayed. Feathered and layered haircuts, blow dried back and sprayed with a surplus of hairspray were also popular.

Life in the 70's was generally an exciting time of personal freedom and expression.  Many were determined to put their energy into humanity and into making the world a better place for everyone. There was a shift in thought from personal gain to community. Focus on individual style and a movement towards further personal growth, helped some people to become the idealists they are today.

Photo credits and sources;

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Unique Gifts CELOP Teachers Have Received from the Past 40 Years

November 2015,

curated by Elsie Seber

Kim Perkins

  • A beautiful pashmina
  • a Japanese silk evening bag
  • a necklace
  • a pair of earrings

Joey Nevarez

12002843_10100291425338361_5739859534563662360_nIn the Hosei program this summer, I had mentioned my love of kale a couple times. It probably came up first when I took the students to the grocery store in our food unit, where we did some tasting and talked about why the food is organized the way it is. On the last day, my students presented me with a goodbye gift: a bouquet of kale! I loved it and thought it was so weird and surprisingly thoughtful. I'm attaching a picture, along with a  pictures I took a field trip with my first class at CELOP (summer 2014).

Jacquie Loconte

The most interesting gift that I received from a student was a 5 foot tall stuffed llama from Peru. When I took it home, my cat was terrified of it. One semester a Kuwaiti student gave me, my daughter and every girl in the class a gold necklace!!! That same student also gave me a long gold dress and a head to toe black veil.  Some classes chipped in to give me a Mikimoto pearl necklace, a Tiffany necklace, a Cartier pen and a Swarovski necklace and earrings!!!! I’ve gotten lots of little knickknacks and cat things since students know I love cats.

Dates, teas, bottles of wine have also been common gifts.

 

A CELOP Ski Trip

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by Carol Piñeiro

I once took a class of CELOP students on a ski trip in the 1980's to Nashoba Valley, a small slope west of Boston. None of them had ever gone skiing before, so we got a “ski package”, which included equipment rental and lift ticket along with a lesson. They tried really hard all afternoon, but it was difficult for some of them to go down the “bunny hill” without falling. However, most of them learned how to put their skis together in a wedge to stop, and a few of them even learned to “slalom”, or go back and forth as they went down the hill.

Before we went into the ski lodge to have dinner, they asked if they could go up on the ski lift just once and try going down the hill. I told them it was dangerous if they didn’t know how to ski well, but they kept pleading until I agreed. When we reached the top, they were surprised at how high it was, but they started bravely down the hill. Instead of doing the slalom as they had been taught, however, they went straight down, some falling or almost running into other skiers. Several of them were shouting "aaahhh!!!" at the top of their lungs, so people would get out of the way. They were going so fast that it was hard to stop when they got to the bottom. Miraculously, no one was hurt!

When I reached the bottom, the ski patrol was there, asking who was in charge of the group. I told them I was, and they said that what we had done was dangerous, so we couldn’t ski anymore. Actually, none of us wanted to ski anymore, so we returned our equipment and went into the lodge to eat dinner. As we relaxed by the fire, some of the students even fell asleep because of all the exercise that day. Eventually, we drove back to Boston, and they were really happy to get to their dorms and go to bed. We had a lot of fun, but that's the first and last time I've taken a class to the slopes!

Carol ski trip