MIT Lecture on Angkor Wat

Before departing for Cambodia we were fortunate to attend a lecture at MIT for our group given by Professor Mark Jarzombek, Associate Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, and Professor Caroline Jones, Director, History, Theory & Criticism Section & Professor of Art History at The MIT School of Architecture and Planning. We were treated to a fascinating visual history of Southeast Asia covering the rise and fall of the Angkor period, with specific emphasis on the architecture and history of the Angkor Wat temples.

Presentation of Study Topics

Members of the trip met at The Berkman Center at Harvard University to present the topics they had researched. These topics ranged from Cambodian history, Khmer Rouge tribunals, religion, architecture, economics, foreign relations, sociology, medicine, to women’s rights and human trafficking.

Massachusetts State House Tour

State Representative Alice Wolf invited members of the delegation to the State House to receive the Massachusetts proclamation that she sponsored in honor of the opening of “The Cambridge School.” State Representative Jonathan Hecht joined us at the meeting. We were kindly given a tour of the State House. We carried the framed proclamation to Cambodia and presented it to the Principal of our school.

Trip to Lowell for lunch with Educators

CRLS delegation met with Phala Chea, Lowell Public School Administrator, Chamroeurn Ly and Rasy Pheng from the Documentation Center of Cambodia in Phnom Penh – www.dccam.org - while enjoying lunch at Tep Thida restaurant in Lowell, MA. Home to 35,000 Cambodians, Lowell is the second largest Cambodian community in America. 30 percent of the Lowell High School student body is Cambodian.