Nine of 11 US Spelling Bee finalists this year are Indian-Americans
Washington: Nine of the 11 finalists for this year's US Spelling Bee contest are Indian-Americans, reflecting the dominance young kids from the small ethnic community have had on this prestigious and high-pressure endurance test for more than a decade now.
The 11 spellers, of which nine are Indian-Americans, will compete for the champion title during the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals on July 8, a statement said on Monday.
During the in-person finals, the Bee will have the option of activating a spell-off if needed. The spell-off would be activated in the closing minutes of the competition if a champion has not yet been declared in a traditional, one-person, one-word round, it said.
"We are honoured to introduce our 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee Finalists. Round after round, this group of spellers proved their mettle, and we look forward to seeing them show off their knowledge and hard work as they square off against the dictionary on the national stage, said Dr J Michael Durnil, executive director of the Bee.
Congratulations to all of this year's 209 national qualifiers they've persevered over a year that has been challenging in many ways, and our team is proud to have witnessed their journey, he said.
The National Bee is a high-profile, high-pressure endurance test as much as a nerd spelling match and spellers spend months preparing for it.
The final rounds of this year's contest will be hosted in person at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, and will be broadcast live in prime time on ESPN2.
The 11 finalists are Roy Seligman, 12, from Nassau, The Bahamas; Bhavana Madini, 13, from New York; Sreethan Gajula, 14, from Charlotte, North Carolina; Ashrita Gandhari, 14, from Leesburg, Virginia; Avani Joshi, 13, from Illinois; Zaila Avant-garde, 14, from New Orleans; Vivinsha Veduru, 10, from Texas; Dhroov Bharatia, 12, from Dallas; Vihaan Sibal, 12, from Texas; Akshainie Kamma, 13, from Texas and Chaitra Thummala, 12, from San Francisco.
Over the past 20 years, Indian-Americans have been dominating the Spelling Bee contest even though they comprise only about 1 per cent of the US population.
The Bee was cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. But there were eight co-champions in 2019, seven of whom were Indian-Americans, bringing the total number of Indian-American champions since 1999 to 26.
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Bill making CM chancellor of RDPR varsity replacing Guv passed in Council by one vote
Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 18: The bill that proposes to replace the Karnataka Governor as chancellor of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) University with the Chief Minister, was passed in the Karnataka Legislative Council on Wednesday, by one vote.
Having passed by both houses of the legislature, the bill will now have to go before the Governor for his assent to become a law.
Leader of Opposition in the council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy opposed the bill and demanded for a division of votes during the voting on the bill. Hence, Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti arranged for row wise headcount of members both in favour of and against the bill.
The division of votes showed 26 votes in favor of the bill, and 25 against it.
The Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University (Amendment) Bill, 2024 passed by the Assembly on Tuesday, seeks to amend the 2016 Act to make provisions for the Chief Minister to be the Chancellor, and for appointment of the vice chancellor by the chancellor from the panel of three persons suggested by search committee.
The Opposition BJP-JD(S) legislators walked out of the Assembly on Tuesday after clashing with the Congress, during the passage of the Bill.
Several opposition members questioned the intention of the government in replacing the Governor as the Chancellor of the university and insisted that the field of education should not be politicised.
JD(S) MLC T A Sharavana said the move seems to be out of hate towards the Governor, and suggested that there should always be a cordial relationship between the government and the Raj Bhavan.
"What the government is going to achieve by keeping the Governor away. CM is always busy politically and administratively. Can he give enough time towards the affairs of the University?" he asked.
BJP MLC C T Ravi questioned whether the Governor was not "cooperative" towards the University's functioning? "What is the intention behind bringing this amendment that was not there when the actual bill was brought a few years ago? Why is the constitutional authority being removed from the Chancellor's post?"
Congress MLC Ivan D'Souza, while defending the bill, said, "In what way the Governor can help the university? If the CM is the chancellor, he can organise funds for the development of the university. Nowhere law stipulates that only the Governor should be the chancellor. States like Gujarat have withdrawn the Governor from Chancellorship of various universities in their state."
Replying to the discussion, RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge said, the bill was not brought with any political malintention or out of any political hatred or to have any confrontation with the Governor.
The bill has been brought in to make the university function more efficiently, to make it coordinate with the government better and, to provide better quality of education and training for youths, he added.
"I have nowhere said that the Governor was not cooperating. As we felt that this is one of the better ways to manage the university, we have brought these amendments. Show me any guidelines including the UGC guidelines which says that only the Governor should be the Chancellor. No such guideline anywhere," Kharge said, pointing out that in various states like Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh, the Governor has no role in several Universities.
