Class of 2014 Graduation Special Edition

The Lion's Tale

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Graduation special a

February 23, 2014

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cesjds

photo provided by Freed Photography

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graduation the

lion’s tale

Bridging cultures through rap

editors

editors-in-chief

jeremy kaplan, nina simpkins managing editor, copy

dina rabinovitz

managing editors, design

malka himelhoch, david kulp managing editor, web

matt litman copy

cole cooper, yonatan greenberg news

uri schwartz, jonah shrock & mark reichel chadashot

mijal altmann, margalit zimand & michael berkowitz features

emma hofman, alysse weinberg & hannah nechin

entertainment

sj hyman, shira ungar & hannah wexler

by stukrantz former managing editor

I was having one of those nights exploring the nether-regions of Spotify. I think it first came up on Spotify’s “Radio” function, but I don’t really remember. I was so taken with the song’s rhythms, flow and beats that I listened to it 16 times on repeat.

Of note, however: the song was in Russian, and I understood

not one word of it. All I knew about “Ne Znamenit” by the Russian rapper Karandash, surely a luminary in his field, was that it was pleasing to listen to. (I think I may have heard “DJ Superman” in there somewhere, so perhaps this musical superhero is a collaborator on the song.)

As my newfound affinity for Karandash and a longstanding passion for Israeli hip-hop inspired me to seek out other foreign rappers, I found myself immersed in languages and cultures I never would have come across without Karandash. (If my memory serves me correctly, I have on my iPod rap from Israel, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Australia, Colombia, Canada, Somalia and India.)

More broadly, I gained an appreciation for how easily I can be attracted to another culture. Just because the song is authored by

tralia) or Sagol 59 (Israel) makes me want to visit the birthplaces of those artists, and immerse myself in their respective cultures. To maximize the human experience, we must step out of the comfort zones of our own culture.

Let me make one thing very clear: I have no illusions about the weirdness of listening to music I don’t understand. But oftentimes, it is necessary to set aside those concerns and merely enjoy something worth enjoying.

As Mila Kunis says in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “We’re all crazy, right? So who cares?”

I gained an appreciation for how easily I can be attracted to anotheR culture.“ • STU KRANTZ (‘14) a non-American rapper, and is in a non-English language, does not mean that I can’t enjoy it. Simply experiencing the sweet vibrations of Movits! (Sweden), Drapht (Aus-

in depth

maddie dworkin, carol silber & josh paretzky sports

evan kravitz, brian schonfeld & gabi pilarski

Enjoy every minute of your experience

multimedia

yosi vogel graphic

r’ay fodor

photo

ariella kulp, dahlia lehman

social media

jeremy schooler business

alec schrager, allie wiener

senior reporters robbie belson, danny waksman

reporters isaac dubrawsky, jonathan foldi, jacob gross, talia horowitz, yonah hyman, ethan kane, danielle katz, miriam minsk, abigail mintz, aaron schonfeld, brian shorr, gabi swagel, joel vardon, elizabeth warrick & arielle weinstein

by matthewfoldi former chadashot editor

I never thought I would make it this far. Now that graduation is a memory, I can reflect on my years at JDS and say that they go by fast. Af-

ter the math final — my final test in all of high school — I went back and toured the Lower School, remembering that it wasn’t that long ago that I could cram all my stuff into lockers that size, make challah for the weekends, have all my classes in the same room, and look forward to recess.

It is with that in mind that I offer the following advice: you only have a fixed amount of time here, so enjoy every minute, no matter how hard those minutes are.

Whether you’re in 7th grade or

writing a linear argument — is something most people just need to know how to do to succeed in

claire burke

adviser emerita susan zuckerman The Lion’s Tale Editorial and Ethics Policy

Signed columns reflect the opinion of the writer; staff editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of The Lion’s Tale editorial board.

The Lion’s Tale staff welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns, all of which must be signed. The staff reserves the right to refuse any material and may edit letters or columns for length, clarity, libel, obscenity and/or disruptiveness.

Submissions may be emailed to jdslionstale@gmail.com, mailed to The Lion’s Tale, or brought to room 328.

The Lion’s Tale is funded by The Simon Hirshman Endowment for the Upper School Newspaper and The Kuttner-Levenson Endowment for the Upper School Cultural Arts and Student Publications, and community advertisement. The Lion’s Tale reserves the right to refuse advertisement for any reason.

The staff will adhere to the ethics policies of The Society of Professional Journalists and the National Scholastic Press Association.

The adviser will be held to the Journalism Education Association’s Adviser Code of Ethics.

go the extra mile by joining Winter Track as a personal challenge, and it proved to be one of the best decisions I made in high school, so don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. If I can make it through track, you can start the club of your dreams, trust me.

Despite all the drama, these are the best years of your life, but there will always be opportunities, because, as Bowling For Soup has said, “High School Never Ends.”

Every student should take public speaking

staff adviser

As the student newspaper of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, The Lion’s Tale is a forum for student opinion and expression. All content is determined by students. Its purpose is to inform the CESJDS community and to express the views of its staff and readers. The staff has made every effort to ensure the accuracy and objectivity of its news.

just finished your iSearch, there is no excuse for letting the time slip by, because you’ll never get it back.

As anyone who knows me can tell you, politics is what drives me, and I’ve never found a campaign I haven’t wanted to work for. Whether or not politics is your thing, try to find something that motivates you to get out of bed in the mornings, and get involved. You have more free time than you know, and you’ll add a dynamism to your personality you didn’t know you had.

This year I decided to truly

by colearonson former web copy editor

Speaking publicly is tough.

It requires preparation, presence, good sentence length, proper tone variation, enunciation, unobtrusive limb movements and wit.

These skills are hard and crucial to develop, so CESJDS should require every student to take a class that teaches them.

Speaking to groups — like

If a teacher told me to shorten my spoken sentences and sharpen my elocution, I might frown and retort that I fell asleep in her class yesterday, so maybe she ought to sharpen her elocution, and talk about something interesting in the meantime. Nevertheless, it would behoove me to accept her criticism, and stay awake to watch an experienced public speaker in action.

I imagine most students are somewhere between “anxious” and “freaked” when they speak publicly. They stiffen, their mouths dry, and they frighten so much that

Better to teach students the way of the spoken word in our youth, when the penalty for mishaps is docked points, not wages.“ • cOLE aRONSON (‘14) life. Many JDS teachers grade participation, but don’t critique students’ speech as they do students’ essays. One reason may be that criticizing the way someone speaks — a routine action — might offend.

they forget whether Robespierre was a Jacobin or a Jacobean. The best fixes for these natural reactions are practice and criticism. I remember once practicing a speech for my father. His pointers: slow down, be loud, shorten words, and for goodness sake, cut dependent clauses. I speak with greater comfort now because I received good instruction, and I gave many bad speeches before I adopted my dad’s methods. And I’m still nervous when I speak to 50 people who me to be thorough, lucid and funny — at once! But everyone will have to do it many times. Better to teach students the way of the spoken word in our youth, when the penalty for mishaps is docked points, not wages.

graduation

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Proactivity: first step to success

by alexflum former web editor-in-chief

As I prepare to vacate my locker and trek to Israel, I do not feel the expected sensation of completeness. I finished my time at CESJDS; I put in the effort and the work.

I have reached the finish line, the pinnacle of my stint here, just to begin another race.

I had my goals declared the first day I set foot in the school. They have been refined over the years, but I still have the same goal: to become a successful and respected sports broadcasting journalist. The time that I have spent as a member of The Lion’s

Tale staff did not just prepare me for the future; it will serve as a precursor to everything I do en route to achieving my goals.

Through Lion’s Tale I developed two strong qualities that I take a lot of pride in: dedication and proactivity.

Through my commitment to the publication I was able to jump-start my sports broad-

sure that we did not fail. I kept my determination intact and now at the end of my senior year I am associated with the statement, “reporting from ___, this is Alex Flum — LT — TV.” Would have been a good senior jersey. ... I’ll settle for Flumdog Nose Best.

Obviously, as a journalist I am required to possess these skills. However, these attributes can be put to use by everyone. If there is one thing I can impart on to my peers and all others who will roams the halls of JDS, it is to be proactive, to never give up, and to never give in. Reporting to you one last time as a member of Lion’s Tale, this is Alex Flum, LT — TV.

Reporting to you one last time as a member of Lion’s Tale, this is Alex Flum, LTTV.“ • Alex Flum (‘14) casting career calling playby-play for basketball games.

When it appeared as though we would not be able to make our vision of Lion’s Tale TV come to life, I persevered and did everything I could to en-

Why I am done with newspaper

by alisonkraner former features editor

I’m spending a few days before Israel on some final college visits.

After a year of interviews and applications, I’ve learned how to answer a lot of questions, sometimes without thinking about my responses. The beginning of an interview usually goes like this: “What do you do outside the classroom?”

“Mainly, I’m an editor for my school paper.”

I reply easily because when I think about all the times in the past three years when I was questioning or

stressing or enjoying myself outside of class, mostly, I was working on the Lion’s Tale.

Next comes the question that still makes me think, no matter how many times someone asks: “Do you want to be part of the paper in college?”

I’ve given a lot of answers, ranging from the “definitely” that proves dedication to the “I’m not sure” that’s closer to

journalism behind either.

Even if I’m not working on articles, I won’t lose my love for writing and editing. I’ll still look for graphics and fonts that make me think even if I don’t use them to design pages. I will still strive to be curious and dedicated.

I am grateful for and constantly inspired by the time I spent as a Lion’s Tale editor and the people I worked with. I can take a break because I know I’m not abandoning something that consumed my time over the past few years (in all the best ways) and transformed my thought process.

So, the next time someone asks if I’ll join the newspaper in college, I’ll say, “No, I’m ready to try something else.”

I am grateful for and constantly inspired by the time I spent as a Lion’s Tale editor .“ • Alison kraner (‘14) the truth, but I’ve given these varying answers thoughtfully and honestly, and I’ve finally found the right one.

I’m not going to join the newspaper in college, but I’m not going to completely leave

Honoring the first amendment right in high school

by dorefeith former editor-in-chief

Here in America, we don’t think twice before expressing an opinion. We openly criticize government officials and policies. As we learn in our history courses and from the news, many around the world don’t have that opportunity.

My father’s father fled Nazi Europe for Britain and eventually the United States. My mom and her parents made aliyah from another totalitarian power, the Soviet Union, in the late 1970s. Both my mother and my grandfather grew up in parts of the world in which the individual didn’t matter, and individuals’ opinions mattered even less. Fortunately for all of us, we live in the United States, where open debate is not only allowed, but encouraged.

Some of the bravest and most effective dissidents in history have produced underground publications to undermine the sitting authoritarian government.

More than 200 years ago, Thomas Paine distributed his pamphlet, Common Sense, to promote American independence from the British monarchy. During Soviet rule, Jews produced underground Zionist and religious literature in the form of books, magazines and newspapers. After Iran’s rigged June 2009

the above situations, no one is inherently courageous to publish in a country as free as ours, but the exchange of opinions is vital to the preservation of our democracy. The Lion’s Tale gives students — who are not old enough to vote and who may not otherwise get involved with politics — to rehearse their involvement in the democratic experiment. In the past year only, The Lion’s Tale has published a dress code complaint and a request to lighten the amount of work for seniors in the first quarter. One of its editorials has criticized the then-new class leveling system, another suggested that more teachers try the “flipped classroom” approach, and two others have evaluated Kehillah and BYOD. I’ve greatly enjoyed working on our school newspaper, and I hope that it will remain a forum for students to express their views unabashedly regarding JDS, its surrounding community, Israel and the United States.

I hope that LT will remain a forum for students to express their views unabashedly.“

• Dore Feith (‘14)

presidential election, leaders of the Green movement used social media to rally thousands in Tehran in what has been nicknamed the “Twitter Revolution.”

As I write, parts of Twitter are blocked in Venezuela as thousands of anti-government protesters gather in the streets.

Unlike the writers in

graduation

Congratulations Class of 2014

Photo courtesy of Freed Photography

Top row: Dore Feith, Andrew Siegel, Benjamin Shemony, Jacob Borenstein, Daniel Kravitz, Jonathan Prigal, S. Kobi Fodor, Jesse Zweben, Jonathan Silverman, Eli Friedland, Samuel Felsen, Martin Lempert, Zachary Lupuloff, Eric Sayag, Evan Satinsky, Daniel Grossman, Judah Drelich, Daniel Thorne.

Second row: Matthew Foldi, Scott Gershman, Ilan Goldstein, Alyssa Rothfeld, Ari Charnoff, Jeffery Blackman, Shirel Altmann, Ariel Ingber, Eitan Synder, Joshua Bloch, Gabriel Hardgrave, Aaron Segal, Seth Cohen, Aaron Boxerman, Stuart Krantz, Michael Greenberg, Alison Kraner, Steven Reichel, Jack Gruber.

Third row: Jason Cohen, Jonathan Reem, Alexander Flum, Noah Soumekhian, Dean Bregman, Jacob Serfaty, Eitan Armon, Yael Krifcher, Natalie Mark, Robert Ost, Juliana Isaac, Brock Bader, Jazmin Gelbart, Cole Aronson, Eden Gal, Alex Kramer.

Fourth row: Katia Nabatkhorian, Jeremy Liss, Benjamin Gaskill, Yael Green, Linor Shemesh, Adir Hakakian, Dean Shilo, Sarah Rubin, Samantha Gruhin, Sara Kresloff, Ayal Subar, Haley Lerner, Leonard Kapiloff, Gabrielle Mendelsohn, Leah Schwartz, Hannah Iskow, Gefen Kabik, Claire Mendelson, Jonathan Orbach.

Fifth row: Ethan Steinberg, Jeremy Etelson, Matthew Halpern, Ilana Bernstein, Danielle Kimel, Gabrielle Cohen, Rachel Kalusin, Sydney Greene, Gavriel Kleinwaks, Hillary Druckman, Diana Bender-Bier, Rina Bardin, Ronit Schwartz, Shira Torchinsky, Matan Meloul, Maya Kotz.

Bottom row: Jane Macklin, Olivia Wasserman, Maya Goldstein, Arielle Oppenheimer, Keera Ginsberg, Julianna Nechin, Samantha Kevy, Adeena Eisen, Noah Mayerson, Naomi Solkowitz, Rachel Sniffen, Rachel Skulnik, Rachel Davis, Rebecca Panitch, Leah Schaperow, Hannah Halpern, Sara Bender-Bier, Shahar Balva.

Not Pictured: Gil Arbell, Jacob Weinberger

For more tales from the lion’s den, visit:

LionsTale.org @jdslionstale

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@jdslionstale

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