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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 2016)
RECIPE / U.S.A. June 20, 2016 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 9 Students chide Dartmouth for lack of faculty diversity By Michael Casey The Associated Press C GRILLED CHEESE TWIST. Servings of Spicy Grilled Paneer are seen in London. Paneer is Indian un- salted white cheese. It has a mild flavor so takes to marinades really well and, unlike most cheeses, it can be grilled without melting, so that it softens in the middle and chars on the edges. (AP Photos/Meera Sodha) A spicy turn on grilled cheese By Meera Sodha The Associated Press W hen it comes to cooking, my father has never really strayed into the kitchen. Once, when my mother was away, he made himself a “salad” using a can of tuna, a red pepper, and a cucumber and called me (and a handful of others) as enthusiastically as if he’d won the lottery to let us all know. In search of something celebratory to cook for him one Father’s Day, I asked him what his favorite dish was. He replied, “Anything you or your mother cook for me is always the best” — a good answer from a man who would otherwise be eating tuna salad every day. But the joy of being my father’s daughter is that I know the things that make him stop and smile for a moment. And that thing, for my father, is cheese, in particular paneer. Paneer is Indian unsalted white cheese. It has a mild flavor so takes to marinades really well and, unlike most cheeses, it can be grilled without melting so that it softens in the middle and chars on the edges. This marinade is for the dish known as Paneer Tikka in India. It’s made with some pantry staples like coriander, cumin, chili powder, and yogurt. The marinade gives the paneer an addictive, lip-smacking, and savory flavor. And the bonus: This low-effort-high- reward dish doesn’t take much time to whip up, leaving you more time to spend with your father. Editor’s Note: Meera Sodha is an Indian foods expert and author of Made in India: Recipes from an Indian Family Kitchen. Spicy Grilled Paneer Start to finish: 30 minutes Servings: 4 4 tablespoons Greek yogurt 1 lemon, juiced, plus extra wedges to serve 1 tablespoon chickpea flour 4 large cloves of garlic, peeled 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground coriander 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt 1 1/2 teaspoons red chili powder 1 tablespoon canola or other neutral oil 1 lb. paneer 2 handfuls of fresh coriander, chopped 2 bell peppers, cubed 1 red onion, cut into 8 pieces 1 small zucchini, thickly sliced The paneer is best served hot with a salad, raita, and some Indian flatbreads, like roti or naan. Paneer is more widely available in Asian supermarkets, specialty stores, and online. You’ll also need some skewers. Blend the yogurt, lemon juice, chickpea flour, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, and chili powder together in a blender, then tip the marinade into a bowl. Add a handful of chopped coriander and mix. Cut the paneer blocks into nine equal-sized cubes and add to the marinade. Stir to mix. Then thread each of your skewers alternately with the onion, pepper, zucchini, and paneer. To cook the paneer, coat a griddle pan with oil and heat the pan until very hot. Lightly oil the pan so the paneer doesn’t stick. Place the skewers onto the pan and turn every minute or so until they are evenly cooked and a little charred on each side. Serve with fresh coriander and lemon wedges. Nutrition information per serving: 443 calories (284 calories from fat); 32 g fat (19 g saturated, 0 g trans fats); 114 mg cholesterol; 416 mg sodium; 13 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 28 g protein. ONCORD, N.H. — Since arriving at Dartmouth College in 2014, Melissa Padilla would chat with her friends about the lack of diversity among the faculty and wonder why there weren’t more instructors who looked like them. But it wasn’t until May when one of her favorite teachers, an assistant professor of English who is Asian American, was denied tenure that the 26-year-old senior went public with her concerns. Angry over the denial, Padilla joined dozens of students and faculty at the Ivy League school who launched a campaign demanding that Aimee Bahng’s case be reconsidered. They pressed the administration for answers over the tenure process and launched a petition in support of Bahng that has gathered more than 3,600 signatures. Protesters took to social media using the hashtags #fight4facultyofcolor and #dontdodartmouth on Bahng’s behalf. They also held a campus rally in May that included a casket representing the “death of our education” and carried roses for each of the minority faculty they say have left the college since 2002. “Once we sort of got past the anger, we were kind of shocked,” said Padilla, who is Mexican and lives in the United States with her family on a green card. “We didn’t understand why the college would not take this opportunity to keep a professor of color on campus that is not only providing the academic prestige they want but is also mentoring students of color.” Dartmouth is the latest university to find itself in the crosshairs of students angry about the makeup of its faculty and, in some cases, its student body. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, one of the first protests kicked off at the University of Missouri over harassment of students and the dearth of African-Ameri- can faculty. They have spread to campuses across the country, where demonstrations and sit-ins have forced administrators to consider bolstering diversity training, expanding African-American programs, and hiring more minority faculty to improve the racial climate. “Dartmouth is not singular,” said Cathy J. Schlund-Vials, president of the Association for Asian American Studies, who signed the petition and sent a letter in support of Bahng. “When one looks at the last year and the number of protests that have occurred on college campuses around this issue of diversity, tenure denial is part and parcel of the larger trend among higher ed institutions.” Students are targeting faculty diversity because they have seen so little progress on the issue — despite repeated promises of universities to recruit and retain faculty of color. In 2013, 21 percent of full-time faculty was nonwhite, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Most Ivy League schools fared even worse, with Dartmouth acknowledging only 16 percent of its faculty were minorities — compared with 35 percent of its student Celebrated Indian bodybuilder Manohar Aich dies at age 104 Continued from page 7 against colonial oppression. “It was in the jail that I began weight training seriously. This helped me prepare myself for the world championship,” Aich said in 2012. “In jail I used to practice on my own, without any equipment, sometimes for 12 hours in a day,” he recalled. The jail authorities were impressed with his perseverance and he was given a special diet to help build his stamina. India’s independence in 1947 led to Aich’s release from jail. Dogged by poverty, Aich and his wife struggled to put their four children through school. There was little cash to indulge his passion for bodybuilding, but Aich took up odd jobs to earn a little on the side. His 1950 win of a “Mr. Hercules” contest spurred him to set his sights on the Mr. Universe tournament in London. In 1951, Aich took second in the contest, and stayed on in London to prepare for another shot at the title. He returned to India after winning the title in 1952. Aich often told his fans that the secret to his long life was his ability to take his troubles lightly and remain happy during difficult times. That, and a simple diet of milk, fruits, and vegetables along with rice, lentils, and fish kept him healthy, he said. #fight4facultyofcolor. Assistant professor of English Aimee Bahng poses outside her office building on the Dartmouth campus in Hanover, New Hamp- shire. Students at Dartmouth are criticizing the Ivy League school for its lack of faculty diversity and have launched a petition in support of Bahng after the Asian American was denied tenure. They took to social media using the hashtags #fight4facultyofcolor and #dontdodartmouth on Bahng’s behalf, held a campus rally in May that included a casket representing the “death of our education,” and carried roses for each of the minority faculty they say have left the college since 2002. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) body. Craig Wilder, who is African American, spent six years at Dartmouth teaching history before leaving in 2008 for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He recalled how the college would promote diversity and brought in several talented scholars of color during his tenure. But he said the scholars often left after not getting tenure or being promoted. “I was not alone in questioning the morality of continuing to recruit promising scholars to an institution that had a questionable commitment to their success,” said Wilder, who had tenure at Dartmouth. “That doubt fully informed my decision to leave.” While Dartmouth wouldn’t comment on Bahng’s tenure case due to privacy concerns, the college insists that it is taking the issue of diversity seriously. In November 2014, it announced a goal of increasing minority tenure-track faculty from 16 percent to 25 percent by 2020, which requires an extra $100 million over the next 10 years. It also is doubling the amount in its diversity recruitment fund to $2 million per year. Similar campaigns have been launched by Brown University, which is spending $165 million on efforts to address diversity and racism, including $100 million to diversify faculty. Yale University has committed $50 million to diversify its faculty. Bahng arrived at Dartmouth in 2009. Along with her teaching and writing on Asian-American literature, feminist sci- ence and technology studies, and queer theory, the 40-year-old mentored under- graduate and graduate minority students and helped create and teach a popular course dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement. Bahng said she didn’t make a stink about her tenure denial, even though she thinks Dartmouth got it wrong. At the same time, “I recognize we are in a certain moment when students and facul- ty and staff of color across many institu- tions of higher education feel as though we are at a sort of breaking point,” she said.