College protests were in the news a lot last year, with "safe spaces", Halloween costumes and professors' "microaggressions" some of the flashpoints. But a more piquant issue emerged from the dining halls of Oberlin College in Ohio.

It's an issue of "cultural appropriation" of food (not honoring a dish's native land with proper presentation), and the great General Tso of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and his eponymous chicken are embroiled in the controversy along with other Asia-specific dishes, such as sushi (Japan), banh mi sandwiches (Vietnam) and tandoori (India).

Some students at the $50,000-a-year private liberal arts school were steamed that the typically fried General Tso's chicken was served, well, steamed. It's a paradox because General Tso's chicken is almost always deep fried (without regard to the arteries) and smothered in a hot, sweet sauce with dried red peppers, chives and broccoli flowers often sprinkled in the crunchy mix.