SHALHEVET HIGH SCHOOL • Los Angeles, CA November 2017 • Cheshvan 5778 • Vol. 18, Issue 2 shalhevetboilingpoint.com
Fairness hands Lorell first ‘strike’ under new ‘covenant’
With hammers and heart, juniors help rebuild Houston on chesed trip By Lucy Fried, Features Editor
By Hannah Jannol, Editor-in-Chief At midnight Aug. 26, Maya Wadler was the only member of her family awake as rains pounded the streets and water seeped through the floorboards of her Houston home. At 2:30 a.m., her house was two feet deep in water, and the fire department had arrived for a “mandatory evacuation.” “We ran out of the house without clothes or shoes, we just had what was on us,” Maya said. “We went in a boat to the highway, where they put us in a dump truck to drive to a shelter. Obviously I was crying and really scared.” Maya, a senior at Robert M. Beren Academy, is one of 42,000 Houstonians whose homes were damaged due to record flooding in category 4 Hurricane Harvey, according to the Federal Emergency Management’s website. Houston got the largest amount of rainfall ever recorded in the United States from a storm, with 51.88 inches of rain. Lasting from Aug. 23 to September 3, the hurricane killed 82, according to widespread media reports The Washington Post. On their chesed trip to Houston -- rescheduled from November to October to respond to the record-setting storm -- the juniors visited Beren Academy, Rabbi Segal’s former school, where Maya said 70 out of 350 students’ homes were flooded. From Oct. 15 through 19, Shalhevet’s juniors hammered away drywall, pulled nails from walls, and removed doors from hinges to break down several houses that had been flooded so they could be rebuilt. The 62-person class also volunteered at the Continued on page 10
BP Photos by Katia Surpin
MASKED: Eliana Cohen lifts a fallen piece of drywall; Zack Muller uses a crowbar and a hammer to remove a windowframe from the wall. Both wore masks to protect themselves from dust, mold and debris as students took apart a flooded house belonging to Mr. Ronald Parker, whose home had been flooded for the third time.
Agenda Chair Daniel Lorell has been given a first strike by the Fairness Committee for violating a new “covenant” requiring him to follow school rules and participate in events. Enforcing the covenant with a “three strike rule” was decided by the Fairness Committee after Agenda faculty adviser Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg took Daniel to Fairness for being late to Kabbalat Shabbat services on the freshman-senior retreat Sept.1, which he deemed to be a violation of the covenant. Daniel admitted he had been late to services, but said the covenant was too vague for him to have known he was violating it. “It says to participate in school events, which I did,” said Daniel, since he came to the rest of the activities in the retreat. “I gave my best effort and this was the first time I had done anything other than exemplify the values enumerated in the covenant.” The Fairness decision, shared with the Boiling Point by Fairness chair Benny Zaghi, states that three violations of the covenant will result in a community-wide re-vote on the chair. The basic guidelines and themes of the covenant were discussed by the executives of the committee (Secretary Tobey Lee, Vice Chair Talia Gill, Agenda Chair Daniel Lorell) at the end of last year. Agenda faculty adviser Ms. Aviva Walls then wrote the first draft of the covenant because, she said, the committee “divides responsibilities and it ended up being my responsibility.” Rabbi Schwarzberg edited her draft and then the faculty advisers brought the document Continued on page 4
Sunday SAT now at Shalhevet By Jacob Feitelberg, Deputy Editor-in-Chief After 25 years of trekking to locations as far away as Woodland Hills and Willowbrook, for the first time students took the Sunday SAT on Fairfax near Olympic Oct. 15 — at Shalhevet High School. Twenty-nine students from 14 different schools took the test on the second floor, filling up all the classrooms, and were proctored by Shalhevet staff and some outside people. Fifteen of the 29 students — about one third the testing capacity Shalhevet signed up for — were Shalhevet students. “Nothing about it wasn’t smooth,” said senior Ariel Cohen, who took the test that day. “It was better than running smoothly. It felt like a comfortable environment.” Senior Amin Lari said that Shalhevet was better suited
for testing compared to the Inglewood testing center he had been to before -- in the flight path of planes landing at Los Angeles International Airport “In Inglewood you get airplanes flying over you every t e n minutes,” said Amin, “while in Shalhevet you were in a quiet room.” Other locations where Shalhevet students have taken the college entrance exams include Morningside High School in Inglewood, L.A. Adventist Academy in Willowbrook, El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, and USC, according to alumni surveyed by the Boiling Point. Most high school students around the country take the
Niche memes connecting Jews worldwide with humor By Hannah Jannol, Editor-in-Chief Yaakov Fein, more commonly known by his Instagram meme username @theturntjew, is just one of many Instagram meme page creators who have become popular for posting memes featuring relatable jokes about Judaism, targeting a Jewish audience. He has made more than 630 memes on his account, which has 4,500 followers as of late October. A recent one that received more than 350 likes was was about sin -- aveirah -- and the evil inclination, or yetzer hara -- timed for the Yom Kippur. “When you do an aveirah and the yetzer hara is trying to convince you that it’s not a big deal,” he wrote, as a caption for a photo of an attorney’s ad
Continued on page 3
Continued on page 9
WHAT’S INSIDE... Outside News, Page 17
Opinion, Page 19
19
TWO BOILING POINTS OF VIEW
PROM VS. SOIREE This year’s seniors voted in favor of prom, but they still have time to change their minds. Should they?
17 JOE LIEBERMAN EXPLAINS IT ALL
Torah, Page 6
Q&A with Joseph Lieberman
6
Former Senator tells all as a retired politician.
SEPHARDIC MINYAN
NEW MINYAN The Sephardic minyan is back , right next door to Hashkama minyan.
The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Community
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Student campaign gathers 4,704 pads and tampons for the poor By Clara Sandler, Community Editor
countries cannot go to school because once a month, for a week, they would have a period and On Sunday, Oct. 22, senior Sarina Finn stood use “crazy things like rags and leaves, and a lot of on the corner of one of the busiest intersections times get infections,� she said. in L.A.’s Orthodox community, in 94-degree “It kind of became us thinking about the isheat, holding a sign that said “THE DRIVE: Do- sues in our own community, like tampons and nate tampons and pads for women in need.� pads are kind of not thought about in big drives Her goal was to raise awareness of a problem like canned food and toothbrushes and shampoo, most had never thought about: period supplies but tampons and pads are always passed over. are hard to afford for women of limited means. There’s a lack of this product in donations.� Sarina had a large bin sponsored by the JewSarina planned to organize a period supply ish Family Service, and during her drive it filled drive at Shalhevet. But in a sign of the sensitivity -- four times -- with packages of women’s health of the issue in Orthodox Judaism, they were not supplies donated by passersby. At the end of the allowed to hold the drive at school. day, she had collected 4,704 tampons and pads. Principal Dr. Noam Weissman supported the As cars roared past and honked uproariously, cause but not the presentation. she explained to interested pedestrians what her “Obviously we want to help these women, project planned to achieve and how she’d distriband there’s nothing at all wrong ute donations. with feminine hygiene products,� “There’s a big stigma towards Dr. Weissman said. There were husbands periods and I think that a womHe said he thought a campaign an shouldn’t be embarrassed for who came up to me about period products would need buying tampons or pads – that’s preparation, with Town Halls and and said ‘I’ve never a natural thing,� Sarina said. other discussion, whereas Sarina’s even bought these Sarina had been planning a plan would have “shock value.� drive for women’s health prodthings for my wife.’ “At Shalhevet we require subucts since the summer, and tlety and nuance, and it’s not the That was really cool although it had suffered one most tzanua thing,� Dr. Weissman to see, that even at setback, she persisted and was said, using the Hebrew word usually pleased with the results. Walgreen’s, I did translated as “modest� and that imThe drive’s goals were to plies keeping certain things private. educate and make it destigmatize women’s health as He was also worried that some a more normalized a topic, raise awareness of the younger students might not react lack of resources for monthly thing. appropriately. supplies, and make it okay to -- Sarina Finn, 12th grade “The thing I said to them was talk about it – along with helpI wanted it to be more based on ing as many women as possible. necessities, as part of a necessities Sarina said her main inspiracampaign for people in general, tion began over the summer when she and junior and I think they wanted to focus it on tampons, Nomi Willis were re-starting Shalhevet’s Girls and I wanted tampons to become part of this, as Learn International club, a co-curricular focused opposed to it being exclusively about that,� Dr. on the education of girls in Third World coun- Weissman said, “And not as a shock value sort tries. of thing.� She thought about how many women in those To Sarina, this changed the project in a way
Photo by Honor Fuchs
IMPACT: Senior Sarina Finn, right, and junior Nomi Willis wanted to “normalize� the need for monthly supplies. that interfered with her message. “When each girl has her period, that is a personal thing for them, but the whole idea of a period and the fact that women have their period is definitely not a private thing,� said Sarina. Ms. Atara Segal, who has studied Jewish law that relates to women’s health as part of her current training to become a yoetzet halacha, agreed that tzniut, or modesty, was involved. “Tzniut is about what’s appropriate for a specific context,� Ms. Segal said. She said a period products drive could be tzanua if presented in an educational way. “Tzanua is about what’s appropriate for a specific context,� Ms. Segal said. She said people’s comments like, “She’s in a bad mood, she must be on her period,� showed a lack of understanding about the issue. “That is so inappropriate,� Ms. Segal said. “People have emotions because they have emotions, not because they’re dictated by their bodies. That’s a misconception that some boys in our school have about women getting their periods.� She said it would be good for students to learn that some women’s lives, especially poor women or women in developing nations, are negatively impacted every month from getting their period. Sarina believes women’s health has a large stigma attached to it and that it is a taboo topic many wish to avoid discussing. She still wishes Shalhevet had let her hold the drive at school.
If the drive had been held at Shalhevet, she said, she probably would have collected less, but she would have accomplished her greater goal of raising awareness. “The point of the drive wasn’t only to get the tampons and pads but it was also to raise awareness,� she said. After Sarina was rebuffed, she decided to keep trying, and organized a public drive. She set up her stand outside the Walgreen’s at the corner of Pico and Robertson, and stood there for three hours accepting donations from members of the community, answering questions from people interested, as well as being denied and turned down by many of those she approached. When the day was over, she brought what she’d collected to the JFS, which did not have room for them all and sent some to their location in the Valley. Dr. Weissman was one of those who bought supplies and put them in the bin. Judaic Studies teacher Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg posted a Schoology message the night before the drive urging students to participate. Meanwhile, she said that there were men who came up to her, asked her questions and donated. “There were husbands who came up to me and said ‘I’ve never even bought these things for my wife!’� Sarina said. “That was really cool to see, that even at Walgreen’s, I did educate and make it a more normalized thing.�
Calendar Nov
Sun, Nov 5 End of Daylight Savings Shalhevet Open House Nov 8-12 Glouberman tournament Nov 23-24 Thanksgiving Break Thurs, Nov 30 Parent Teacher Conferences Nov 16-19 Princeton model Congress
IN THIS ISSUE:
Dec
Fri, Dec 1 Yom Iyun dec 8-10 10th grade chesed trip Dec 12-19 chanukah Dec14-17 Choir performance Tour in seattle Wed, Dec 20 choir chanukah Concert dec 25-JaN 1 Winter break Thurs, Dec 28 Asara b’tevet
MORE ON THE WEB:
Community, Pages 1 - 5 Torah, Pages 6-7
Complete Q&A with Joe Lieberman
Features, Pages 8-13 Arts, Pages 14-15
Q&A with Santa Rosa teen about fires
Outside News, Pages 16-17 Opinion, Pages 18-21 Sports, Pages 22-24
VIDEO: Juniors volunteer in Houston
Much more on teachers’ doctorates
BROADCAST: Live Glouberman coverage VIDEO: Sukkot VIDEO: Yom Kippur
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The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Community
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Where feelings go too far By SHANA LUNZER, StAff CoLUmNiSt When we were children, all we could do was feel. We knew very little, so our beliefs were based mainly on intuition. We didn’t know the difference between right and wrong per se, but we did know that our feelings were hurt when someone wouldn’t share with us. It was an age when our feelings were always validated and always accepted as truths, regardless of how irrational -- unbeknownst to us at the time -- they may have been. Once we entered elementary school, we began to truly know things. We learned how to derive what we thought we knew empirically, and our feelings were left by the wayside. We still felt, but we far more strongly believed in what we had newly discovered than in what we felt. We were decisive and headstrong, so what we knew or thought we knew was the only relevant part of any conversation. The same trend typically continued into middle school, but around then feelings made a comeback. We were pre-teens flooded with hormones and we needed to be told that what we were feeling was okay, and very normal. We were told that sharing our feelings was courageous, that sharing what we were going through with others took real strength. Now we are in high school, and unfortunately, somewhere along the line, feelings and knowledge have become confused. We have decided that feelings can substitute for knowledge and consequently, instead of being a mark of bravery, feelings have become an act of cowardice. We “feel,” so we do not have to “know,” and so we can’t ever be wrong. This has robbed us of the strength of conviction we had as children.
Somewhere along the line, feelings and knowledge have become confused. The phenomenon has gone beyond what happens between friends or in the classroom, it has somehow wormed its way into Town Hall. Instead of facts, information or arguments with constructive suggestions, speakers now often begin their statements with “personally..” or “I feel that…” When this happens, it undermines the goals of Town Hall. In a recent New York Times opinion article, Molly Worthen explains the paradox: “‘I feel like’ masquerades as a humble conversational offering, an invitation to share your feelings, too — but the phrase is an absolutist trump card. It halts argument in its tracks.” One of the most important aspects of Town Hall is that we learn how to have legitimate and productive conversation, with a safety net. It is supposed to prepare us for the real world where we will be thrown into the deep end with people who hold drastically different views than ours, but people we must nonetheless have conversations with. Not to say that there isn’t room for personal comments or feelings to further an argument -- but only to do that, not to substitute for the argument itself. There is a time and place for feelings and overtly personal jokes, but that’s on the turf during lunch, not in the gym on Thursdays. If Town Hall becomes just a place of feelings, and snarky comments, we are setting ourselves up for failure when we finally leave the Shalhevet bubble. Moreso, we are wasting the opportunity to teach and learn from each other, and to inspire each other to be better. If we can leave “I feel” behind now, we will be ahead of the game when we leave, because this is not a problem that ends with graduation.
BP Photo by Neima Fax
SPLIT: Senior Rosie Wolkind led the girls’ portion of Town Hall Oct. 19. Students were divided by gender for the first half of the meeting.
If it hurts, is it harrassment? And who should report it? Town Hall explores the question in wake of Harvey Weinstein scandal By Shayna Becker, Staff Writer After a week of graphic revelations about Harvey Weinstein’s assaults on female actresses, Shalhevet students butted heads at Town Hall Oct. 19 about sexual harassment in the workplace, where the burden falls to report such acts, and what defines sexual harassment overall. The first part of Town Hall was divided by gender, with girls in the gym and boys in the large Beit Midrash on the third floor. Then for the final 25 minutes, two genders convened and the conversation rapidly fired up. Among the girls, students wondered why victims are sometimes blamed not only for what happened to them, but for not having reported it, and why employees who knew what was happening and what Mr. Weinstein was doing have not been blamed. Senior Rosie Wolkind led that discussion, starting out by noting that the behavior had been an “open secret” in Hollywood for many years, meaning that most people in the industry knew about it yet no one would say it publicly. Rosie asked where the responsibility to speak out should be placed. One of the discussion questions that the Agenda Committee had set up was what the implications of “whisper culture” are. Students said whisper culture was more like gossip, and might feel like speaking out or reporting abuse but didn’t have the same effect. “Whisper culture isn’t just victims whispering to each other about it,” said senior Maia Zelkha. “It’s people who are in the same positions of power, and even higher power, knowing, but not saying anything.” “I’m just wondering why it’s felt that the burden of being sexually assaulted falls on the victim for them to speak out,” Maia said, noting that many in Hollywood had been silent for decades. Meanwhile, the boys talked about what exactly sexual harassment is. Some wondered whether the problem was being blown out of proportion. “Can we go back to the ‘honey’ word… I don’t see the connection there,” said one male student in the boys’ Town Hall. “If anything it would be a complement.” But freshman Rami Fink thought otherwise. “I think that whatever makes people feel uncomfortable about who they are, and what sex they are, what sexuality they are, what race they are, that’s a problem,” said Rami. “You can call it sexual harassment, but whatever it is, it’s a problem.” The boys were shown a statistic they were told was from the Washington Post, stating that around 33 million women had been sexually harassed, while 13 million women had experienced sexual abuse in work-related scenarios.
Those numbers were actually from an ABC News-Washington Post poll conducted earlier that week, which did not define either the terms harassment or the term abuse. The students then all gathered together in the gym and discussed what took place in their separate Town Halls. Sophomore Noah Hertzberg asked what was being measured in the ABC News-Washington Post poll. “Thirty-three million women in the U.S. have been sexually harassed -- I said, ‘Okay so is that verbal harassment or is that actual physical harassment?’” said Noah, describing what he’d asked upstairs. “And then that brought on the topic of okay, well if you call someone honey, that is harassment. Then I’m like okay, well, how is that harassment? How does that make any sense?” He said if the definition of harassment included calling someone “honey,” then the problem was not as bad as the boys were being told. “Let’s say 10 million women were harassed physically,” Noah said. “If you called 23 million honey, that just inflated the number to 33 million. You don’t have as big of a problem as we make it seem.” That led to a comment by Judaic Studies teacher Rabba Ramie Smith, who described something she’d found hurtful while a high school student at Salanter-Akiva-Riverdale (SAR) Academy in New York. She said if she had to go to the boys’ side of the mechitzah, she would be teased. “Almost every single time a girl walked on the boy side of the mechitza, they would be yelled at,” said Rabba Smith. “I was made to feel very, very, tiny, like I didn’t belong, like this wasn’t my space, by men around me, simply because I was a girl. It wasn’t so overt, it wasn’t so outright, but that is definitely sexual harassment. It’s not about what is being said -- it is about how it makes people feel.” Sophomore Joseph Klores responded. “This was not sexual harassment because the rules are men on one side, women on the other,” said Joseph. “They weren’t yelling at her simply because she was a girl, they were yelling at her simply because she wasn’t following the clearly known rules. It would have been the same situation if a man went on the women’s side.” English teacher Ms. Crincoli disagreed, saying later that she wanted to speak up for girls who statistics show are harrassed in schools. “I felt that I needed to say something so that those girls, and especially girls who statistics show have been harassed, or abused, sexually, don’t feel like their burden is on them, because it’s not,” said Ms. Crincoli. “If we are trying to be anything, we are trying to be good people. We need to make sure that we understand that we have a moral responsibility to our fellow human beings.”
Sunday SAT now being given at Shalhevet Continued from page 1 SAT on Saturdays, but students with religious restrictions on Saturday, including Jews and Seventh-day Adventists, may take it Sunday. However, testing centers for Sunday test takers are more limited, which means that a student living in Beverlywood, who could take the SAT at Hamilton High School on Saturday, would have to drive to Inglewood or beyond to take it on Sunday. Shalhevet became a Sunday test center because it offered to, according to Ms. Lisa Gruenbaum, Associate Director of College Counseling. Shalhevet neither paid proctors or made money from administering the test. Shalhevet is signed up also to hold the March SAT. Ms. Gruenbaum said that as of now, there is no plan to start offering the ACT, but if having the SAT at Shalhevet proves to be very positive for the students, then they will start considering that as well. “We felt it necessary for there to be a bigger Sunday test center in our own Jewish community,” Ms. Gruenbaum said, “and not just for
the good of Shalhevet students but also for the good of the greater Jewish community in Los Angeles.” Ms. Gruenbaum also described how having Shalhevet as a Sunday testing center could help students more easily observe Shabbat and not take the SAT on Saturday. “The more we can do for our students to be somewhat committed to their Jewish values I think is a ‘pro’ in our mindset here,” she said. “We are not trying to tell anyone what to do or when to do it, but when they know it’s offered here, it makes it that much easier for them to choose Sunday over Saturday.” Out of the senior class, 10 students said that they took the SAT on Saturday. Senior Oren Rad, who took the test in August said that location didn’t play into his choice to take the test on Saturday, but he thinks more people will take it on Sunday now. “I think everyone will be more inclined to take it [at Shalhevet] because it is our school,” said Oren. “It’s not far, and we know all the teachers here. It’s more comfortable.”
Ariel liked having the test at Shalhevet after previously taking it at LA Adventist Academy. “I didn’t need to wake up at an unreasonable hour to get take my SAT which already would throw me off,” said Ariel.. “It was also really helpful to be in a familiar environment,” she said, “and Shalhevet’s facilities were really great for testing conditions and much better than any test center that I’ve ever taken a test at.” Ariel also said that she thought Sunday testing taking would eventually become something everyone would do at Shalhevet. “I don’t think that suddenly changing the location would make people keep Shabbat or anything like that,” said Ariel. “I do think that the convenience of it and also kids going into Shalhevet entering the 11th grade and starting to think about testing,” she said, “knowing that they could test at Shalhevet but only if they take it on Sunday, then it will be a normal thing where no one is taking the test on Saturday and everyone is taking the test on Sunday.”
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The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Community
Shalhevet AIPAC delegation to double thanks to scholarships course, which is required for them and optional for the other 10. The The number of students planning to attend the spring AIPAC course meets at Shalhevet a couple trip is expected to more than double this year, from nine students Wednesdays per month through last year to 20 this March, thanks to anonymous donors who February. Alumna Liat Distler (formerare providing both full and partial scholarships to subsidize the ly Liat Menna, class of 2014), who $1,500-per-student cost. According to Admission Director and Firehawks for Israel ad- was involved with Firehawks for Israel while at Shalhevet, is viser Ms. Natalie Weiss, all 20 students have been teaching the course. Liatt awarded either full or partial scholarships for the attended UCLA and is trip to Washington D.C. next march. Partial I don’t expect to be an now an analyst at a mortscholarships are $500 each and full scholarships expert by the end, but I gage bank. are $1,500 each, she said. want to be able to know BP Photo by Katia Surpin “Israel advocacy real“We are all thrilled that more students are gowhat kind of arguly at it’s root is just being PANEL: Students in the AIPAC fellowship program heard from parents Stephen Kupferman, Joseph Enging on AIPAC,” Ms. Weiss said in an email interments I am going to lanoff and Matthew Lefferman about their experiences in AIPAC and why they think it’s so important. knowledgeable about what view with the Boiling Point. potentially have to go you’re talking about,” Liat “It’s an incredible learning experience. It’s up against. It’s not a said in an interview. “ As “I don’t expect to be an expert by the end, but I want to be able hard to describe what it’s like to be at a conference one-sided issue. I know … someone who was involved in Israel advocacy on cam- to know what kind of arguments I am going to potentially have to with 18,000 people, the majority Jewish, who are that I’ve seen stories pus from the get-go of my college career, I realized there go up against,” Jack said. interested in ensuring the strong partnership befrom one particular weren’t enough people like me who were really passionate “It’s not a one-sided issue. I know that I’ve seen stories from one tween the U.S. and Israel.” about Israel.” side and I want to see particular side and I want to see it from both sides.” She said the total amount being donated She said her goal would be to get Shalhevet’s students Senior Rosie Wolkind will be going this year for the first time. it from both sides. would be about $20,000. comfortable talking about issues that are discussed on “For a while I felt that Firehawks for Israel, while it’s an amazing Head of School Rabbi Ari Segal said the -- Jack Resin, 9th grade campus, especially the ones that backers of Israel may not club, hasn’t been focused as much on the advocacy education asschool had been wanting to increase AIPAC parhave heard discussed before. pect,” said Rosie. “I hope that this will give me a good starting point ticipation for some time. “This is definitely a part of my advocacy -- being able to really use next year, wherever I’m going.” “As we have been strategizing and working Ms. Weiss said that the larger delegation would follow the same through these ideas, donors came forward to ask if they could sup- to pay it forward and share my experiences and learn with the stuport our efforts,” Rabbi Segal said in an email. “We worked with dents,” Liat said. “Just as much as they are in the class learning from program as in previous years, which in the past has included visits with members of Congress. Next year the group may go earlier, to them to develop this idea more fully, and the donors were happy me, I’m learning from them.” Freshman Jack Resin hopes that through the program he will be in Washington over Shabbat, she said. to sponsor it.” She said hopes the scholarship program will be able to continue To get the students ready, Shalhevet has started a 12-session become further educated on Israel advocacy. He looks forward to in future years. course about political advocacy and AIPAC’s mission. The 10 stu- learning from Liat. dents who are receiving a full scholarship have already started the
By Sivan Karz, Staff Writer
Fairness hands Agenda Chair Lorell first ‘strike’ under new ‘covenant’ Continued from page 1 to committee members for their signatures. Rabbi Schwarzberg said the covenant came from a need to define “what it means to be a student leader and what it means to represent the school.” “That comes with two responsibilities beyond the particular committee,” Rabbi Schwarzberg said. “That is to model for other students what it means to be a leader at Shalhevet, that could be anything from acting appropriately when there’s a guest speaker, being on time to class, being on time to davening, not being disruptive etc.” Secondly, he said, there are a number of events that the school has, like Open House, that “require student leadership to articulate and model what student leaders at Shalhevet look like.” The covenant required presence and participation in both environments; appropriate behavior within school and student events, and at events with people from outside of Shalhevet. Rabbi Schwarzberg said the view of the school is that if someone is a leader, they should model the values of the school, within reason. “We understand what it means to be a junior or senior in high school,” he added. According to Rabbi Schwarzberg, the covenant is between the committee members and “the school community.” He and Ms. Walls considered bringing the discussion of student leadership to Town Hall, but there was “a need in the moment to establish this.” Ms. Walls said it had to do with a concern of accountability in previous years. “It came out of a reaction from what happened with Agenda last year,” she said. “There was no accountability, people didn’t show up to meetings...In order to avoid that, we set expectations early and we’re holding people accountable to those expectations. “Part of that is through signature, and part of that is calling people out -- in the gentlest, kindest way.” Rabbi Schwarzberg and Ms. Walls said they are open to the student body discussing it, but were not sure if most students would be concerned about something primarily affecting student government leaders. “There are some things that are better to be left drafted by the bodies that it most directly affects,” Ms. Walls said, comparing it to if the student body discussed the rules for Model Congress trips. Agenda Vice Chair Talia Gill said she expected to have to sign a covenant because in her interview for candidacy, Rabbi Schwarzberg and Ms. Walls asked lots of questions about student leadership. It did not change her feeling about running. “If anything, it probably made me like it more,” Talia said. “It’s just that when you run for a student leadership position that means more than just participating inside the school.” She added that if the student doesn’t believe what he or she did warrants a strike, there should be a discussion between the student and their faculty advisor. If they cannot come to a resolution, she thinks it should go to Fairness. Rabbi Schwarzberg said the covenant was brought forward by faculty since Shalhevet is not a “true democracy,” but takes a “democratic approach to education.” “I think we need to amend the word ‘democracy’ for Shalhe-
vet,” he said. “It is a democratic approach to education, but we’re clearly not a democracy. For example, the administration approves student proposals for them to become law. That’s clearly something that is different from a democratic state.” He said faculty are there to work with students, offer their expertise and professional experience in order to “shape the best product possible.” “It is the responsibility of the adults to not abuse that power,” he added. THE FAIRNESS CASE The “three strike rule” that enforces the covenant arose when Agenda Chair Daniel Lorell missed most of the Friday night services on the senior retreat, which Rabbi Schwarzberg saw as a violation of the covenant but Daniel did not. The two eventually agreed that the covenant’s definition of being “enthusiastic participants in school programming” was too vague. Daniel’s interpretation of the compact would say he did not break the agreement, since he did participate in the senior retreat by attending the rest of it in full. He also believes that he should mainly be expected to participate in events that require student representatives, like Open House. Rabbi Schwarzberg said he brought the case forward to clarify the practical execution of the covenant. “Because I think this was a point of ambiguity for Daniel, and maybe even for us as well, of establishing some parameters for being the Agenda chair this year,” Rabbi Schwarzberg said. He said he told the Fairness Committe that the case was not at all about consequences. “I’m here for you guys to parse this out and think about what it means to be a good leader at this school,” he said he told them. He said he was looking to have something that is “as clear as possible about what the expectations are,” admitting the covenant was unclear. Rabbi Schwarzberg added that if he saw the ruling was “missing the purpose” then he would try to appeal it or add edits to it. He said he is fine with the community discussing it, but is not sure every student could be engaged in an hour-long Town Hall just about student leaders. THE DECISION The decision states that this year the Agenda chair gets three strikes. On a first strike, he will receive a warning; the second strike would result in a punishment, and the severity of violation would be considered by the Fairness Committee. The third strike would lead to a re-vote of the chair by the community. Next year, the committee ruled, all student government committee chairs, not just Agenda, would be subject to this policy, because only the Agenda chair knowingly signed the covenant this year. Daniel thought all chairs should follow the covenant this year. “If it’s an issue of consenting to this before running, that’s not how it went with me, so I don’t see why the other chairs are not included,” Daniel said. Fairness co-chair Benny Zaghi said this decision “gave students chances to make human mistakes, but still held them accountable.” Twelfth grade representative Amin Lari thought three strikes was
TEXT: Top, the covenant written by Agenda advisers Rabbi Schwarzberg and Ms. Aviva Walls, which all officers signed last summer. Rabbi Schwarzberg said Agenda Chair Daniel Lorell violated this code. Above, the Fairness decision reached in the case of Rabbi Schwarzberg versus Daniel Lorell. too harsh, but his view was the minority. Benny said three strikes would be enough, and if something was too small to be a strike then it could be a discussion between the chair and the faculty adviser. Any faculty member can recommend a chair receive a strike, Benny added. Rabbi Schwarzberg said he thought the new policy was harsh, and said he was open to discussing it, too, in Town Hall. “If kids were against it, I would be disappointed by that,” he said. “The purpose of covenant was to ensure that those committing themselves to Agenda are doing it for the right reasons.”
The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Community
Whodunnit? Biology class analyzes ‘artificial vomit’ to solve murder mystery By Molly Litvak, Staff Writer Holding the test tube as far away as possible, freshman Evy Rosenkranz crossed the classroom hoping that the chunky, brown and smelly mixture wouldn’t spill. The substance was part of a lab exercise in Dr. Elizabeth Basheer’s freshman Biology class, and it was supposed to be vomit -- a key piece of evidence in a murder mystery whose clues all had to do with what the victim had been eating before he died. “It looked so real, and I was worried it would get on me,” said freshman Evy Rosenkranz. The various “suspects,” the story went, had all been at different restaurants at the time of the crime, each serving food that would break down into different macromolecules -- things like lipids, carbohydrates and proteins. So to find the murderer, students had to investigate the contents of the victim’s stomach to determine where he had last eaten. Whoever’s whereabouts matched the victim’s stomach contents would be the murderer. Dr. Basheer created the brown mixture -- supposed stomach contents, or an artificial “vomit” -- to solve the crime. Freshman Gaby Bentolila said it grossed her out because it looked so real. “When I saw the vomit, even though it was artificial, it made me want to vomit myself,” said Gaby. Some thought the smell was neither good nor bad; others thought it smelled like dog food. To many it looked real and smelled familiar. “It smelled a little bit like noodles,” said freshman Yaakov Berg. Dr. Basheer said she found the lab online and chose it because it was “hands-on.” “If you had never seen a sunset and I just said it is a big yellow ball that goes down past the horizon, that sounds plain and boring,” Dr. Basheer said. “But if you get to see a sunset and experience a sunset firsthand, you can learn a lot more. Same with
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hands-on labs.” The teacher said she blended boiled noodles, olive oil and baked beans to make the substance. “I really wanted to engage the students and make the artificial vomit as real as possible and as disgusting as possible,” Dr. Basheer said in an interview. BP Photo by Ellie Orlanski Entering the classroom at the beginning of C block Sept. 18., the first thing the students saw was CHEMICALS: Freshmen in Dr. Basheer’s biology classes began their lab by the unusual mixture, which was sitting in a beaker adding murky, brown ‘artificial vomit’ to test tubes. the size of a jug of water. Many made repulsed faces while others were amused. would turn to pinkish purple. Test tubes and instructions were handed out and there were The possible resturants were Frankie Bones, which served butgloves available for those who were extremely distery pasta and olive oil; Fat Baby’s Pizza; and The Smokegusted. house, which served wings and celery. Lipids and carboAs the class went on, vague nausea started to hydrates were more likely to be found at Frankie Bones, I really wanted to fade away and was replaced by looks of determiwhile lipids, carbs and protein could all be found at Fat engage the students nation to find which suspect was guilty. Baby’s Pizza. The Smokehouse would most likely show up and make the artificial “At first I was disgusted because I thought the as carbohydrates and proteins. vomit as real as possithrow-up was real,” said freshman Shani Menna. Test tubes with a mixture of the artificial vomit and ble and as disgusting “But eventually I discovered that it was made up Benedict’s solution had to be carefully placed in hot waas possible. and she just included the macromolecules needter for about 40 seconds, then taken out using a test-tube -- Dr. Basheer ed, without supplying real throw-up.” holder. Some students worried that they would drop the In order to find the murderer, students had to container. combine the artificial vomit with various chemiWhen the lab was finished, the results were cal solutions that would identify macromolecules. that the victim had eaten food that contained lipids and Students ran from one side of the room to the other clutching the carbs -- not protein -- which meant he had eaten at Frankie Bones, test tubes and various chemicals. the same place his girlfriend had eaten. This meant that the girlIn the presence of starch, iodine would turn purple, blue or friend was the murderer. black. This would mean that the victim had eaten starch -- so a While a lab based on vomit might have seemed unapsuspect who had claimed to have been at a restaurant that served pealing at first, students said it strengthened their knowledge of starch could potentially be the murderer. macromolecules. In the presence of sugars, Benedict’s Solution added to the vom“Most labs are not especially interesting,” said Yakov it would change from blue to yellow, green, or brick red. And in Berg. “This lab was a lot more fun because there was a story behind the presence of protein, such as pasta or potatoes, Biuret Solution it that we had to figure out. It’s just fun to solve a mystery.”
Class documentary on L.A. housing crisis selected for national film festival to schools, was stationed in the school parking lot. Two classes “Lost Angeles: A City Without a Home,” the 14-minute doc- worked in this bus, and students umentary produced by Ms. Michelle Crincoli’s and Mr. William could also drop in during their Reusch’s film and government classes of 2015-16, has been selected free periods. Many did. Final edits of the film were to be shown at the All American High School Film Festival this done by the MFC staff over the month in New York City. According to Mr. Tom Oliva, Executive Director of the All summer of 2016, and the film American High School Film Festival (AAHSFF), Lost Angeles was premiered online and in a Town selected from among more than 2,000 entries submitted in the doc- Hall that September. Using voiceovers, interviews umentary category. Mr. Oliva said this was “probably their strongest year in doc- with artsy back-drops, and B-roll umentary” and selecting from the submissions was very difficult. (background footage) of busy FESTIVAL: ‘Lost Angeles,’ filmed and produced by students of Ms. Crincoli and Mr. Reusch, will be shown Los Angeles street corners and There were 155 documentaries chosen. in New York. It highlights problems faced by renters and interviews Shalhevet parents who are landlords. At the festival in New York, the judges will pick 10 finalists housing developments, the film among all of the categories, and among those will be one overall presents much of the housing winner. Last year the overall winner was a drama titled Noose, by crisis in Los Angeles, analyzing “Ultimately a good documentary, the first thing that we look Jackson Shipman and Nick LaMarca of Carlsbad High School. It’s real estate prices, laws such as the for is the story and does it emotionally move the needle,” Mr. OliEllis Act and interviews with experts on the a dark comedy detailing va said. “By the end of watching the film, do you feel moved or housing crisis. a teen’s failed suicide atInterviews with both tenants and changed in some way? So obviously the film succeeded at that.” tempt. Documentaries are about Ms. Crincoli said no one from Shalhevet plans to attend the landlords -- including some ShalheShalhevet’s video screening, which is set for late October. She said it was her idea to vet parents -tell a story of the conopens with shots of steeducation and awareness, so how to submit the film, but not because she expected it to be selected. tinuous gentrification of L.A., which reotypical images of Los cool is it that New York City is “Knowing this world, I don’t think you should ever expect ‘to has made affordability and livability Angeles: TV show billseeing the struggles of people living rarities in the ever-growing metrop- get in,’” said Ms. Crincoli, who took over the Film class in the boards, luxurious homes in Los Angeles? 2015-16 school year. “I felt that the documentary was quality work olis. with backyard pools and -- Ms. Michelle Crincoli, Film teacher Among other things, the doc- and that it should be seen by people.” Rodeo Drive. Adam Taryle ‘17 submitted the film, because the festival requires umentary describes the Ellis Act, “But behind this a California state law passed in online student submission. He was also a member of the class. fantastical veil of luxury, “I was kind of surprised because I thought it would be hard for landlords to “go out of the landlord are more mundane, real life challenges,” narrates alumna Maayan 1985 that allows Waldman, class of ‘17, who was a junior when the documentary business” and grants them the right to evict tenants to do so. Ac- us to win, but it turned out to be a pretty solid documentary,” said cording to the documentary, some landlords take advantage of this Adam. “I can see why it received the acclaim that it did.” was made. Adam said he thinks the film was selected because it had to do The narration, split between different student filmmakers, slow- law to improve their apartments so they’ll be allowed to raise rents with a current issue that provoked people’s interest. In his junior for the tenants who come next. ly explains how rising population and housing costs, among other The film especially spotlights tenant J.P. Laven, a writer and year, he was primarily involved in the research and interview profactors such as real estate laws and limited tenant’s rights, have contributed to “a city without a home” -- a housing crisis that has made friend of Ms. Crincoli. Mr. Laven had been evicted illegally from cess. Ms. Crincoli said she thinks the film made the cut because the it nearly impossible for working class individuals to remain in or his apartment, which led to his skepticism about housing in Los students localized a national crisis to their hometown. Angeles. move to Los Angeles. “Documentaries are about education and awareness, so how Mr. Oliva, of the festival, did not remember Lost Angeles speDuring production, a purple bus belonging to the non-profit Mobile Film Classroom (MFC), a digital media program led by cifically because he views thousands of student films for selection. cool is it that New York City is seeing the struggles of people living industry professionals that brings a film studio and instruction But he said it must have been excellent in order to be chosen for in Los Angeles,” she said. the festival.
By Hannah Jannol, Editor-in-Chief
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The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Torah
TORAH
NOVEMBER 2017
Sephardic minyan returns After four-year hiatus, students again organize on their own to create a space for Sephardic prayer and traditions who is there is either davening, quiet, or wants to experience Sephardic culture they haven’t experienced at Shalhevet before.” Judaic Studies teacher Rabbi Daniel Bouskila, At 7:10 a.m. Sept. 12, there was a new sound heard at Shalhevet -- the music of a Sephardic min- the Director of the Sephardic Educational Center who now also teaches 10th grade Talmud at ShalBP Photo By Neima Fax yan. hevet, helps lead the minyan and says Sephardic LEADING: Senior Benny Zaghi, who started the Sephardic Minyan, has help leading it from his classmate Ilan Every school day since praying is engaging. Bouskila, right. Students who attend are used to praying Sephardic style at home or in lower school. then, about seven girls and “There’s no one chazan,” or cantor, 15 boys have met in the small Rabbi Bouskila said. “There’s no rabbi. Beit Midrash in Room 305. also went to Gindi Maimonides Academy, and has serious davening. But he felt it had lost its touch. It’s the community that are leading.” Upon entering, the boys -“We go to a mainly attended Shalhevet’s Sephardic minyan twice now “Now it’s become a place where kids can joke The new minyan is at least the third who wear a tallit in addition around and talk and never really expect a conse- with her friends. She says she enjoyed it, but that it is Ashkenazi school, and time Shalhevet has hosted a daily minyan to their tefillin -- sit in the it’s really cool to see according to Sephardic nusach, or cus- quence, because children are running it,” said Benny. very different from the Ashkenaz minyan. larger section on the left, and “Sephardic say a lot more things out loud, all the Benny introduced the current effort with a Sept. toms. The first was in 2001, and a second the girls sit in the smaller secthem taking in the guys have a part and say different things, and it’s a 8 post on Schoology. student-led initiative was started in 2012 tion on the right. “I want to start up a serious and fun Sephardic lot more energetic,” Bailey said. “Ashkenaz is a lot minority and making and lasted for three school years. Around 7:30, Hashkama Minyan at this school again in the near future and more ‘we’re gonna daven, and get it done,’ but it’s Alumnus Joshua Einalhori ‘14 helped sure that everyone minyan -- which follows Ashstart that student-led Sephardic minyan I want to know how many kids are in,” he wrote, not gonna be that energetic unless we’re saying Halkenazic style, with only marfeels welcome and lel or something special.” when he was a sophomore. He said the along with other details. ried men wearing a tallit -Juniors Isaac Kahtan and Sam Navon had also Sophomore Natalia Shabtay thanked the school accepted.” goal was “to pray in our own environstarts next door, in the large been thinking of starting a Sephardic minyan, and for allowing it. ment, not have to do the customs that -- Natalia Shabtay, Beit Midrash of Room 306. when they saw this post, asked Benny if they could “We go to a mainly Ashkenazi school,” said Natawe’re not used to.” The tunes are different 10th grade “There were a lot of issues in the be involved in its leadership. Currently, Isaac, Sam, lia, “and it’s really cool to see them taking in the miin the Sephardic minyan -other minyans that were changing also,” senior Ilan Bouskila, and Rabbi Bouskila -- Ilan’s fa- nority and making sure that everyone feels welcome more Middle Eastern soundand accepted.” said Joshua, now a senior at Binghamton ther, help Benny run the Minyan. ing -- and most prayers are Rabbi Bouskila hopes that the new minyan will Students who attend come from both Sephardic University in New York. “A lot of the Sepsung aloud, with the voices and Ashkenazic backgrounds. Many Shalhevet stu- be a permanent fixture of Shalhevet. hardic community was not with it, so we all kind of on the men’s side usually being louder than the voic“There’s always going to be a lot of Sephardim in dents are used to davening according to Sephardic es on the women’s side. It’s longer, which is why it made our own davening group.” the school,” he said, “and the school should say, ‘We culture and tradition -not only because of their The minyan was still going when Joshua gradustarts 20 minutes earlier. family backgrounds but also because davening is on principle should always have a Sephardic minated, so he’s not sure why it ended, but alumnus Eric And since Sephardic Jews originated in Arab naSephardic at Gindi Maimonides Academy, one of yan,’ not just here and there.” tions, they pronounce Hebrew words and some let- Bazak ‘16 said it ended in the fall of 2013 because Shalhevet’s main feeder schools. “I think it’s really really important that all trathere wasn’t enough interest. Eric said the introducters, like ayin, differently from Ashkenazi Jews, who “I felt like I was back in middle school, because ditions are represented in the school, and there’s a tion of Hashkama minyan also took attention away descended from Eastern Europeans. we had Sephardic davening there, and it made me significant ... Sephardic population at Shalhevet,” Senior Benny Zaghi, who started the new min- from the Sephardic minyan. want to daven more than the Ashkenaz minyan,” Rabbi Bouskila told the Boiling Point. “It’s beautiful This year, the reverse may have been true. Benny yan, says that there is a positive atmosphere in the Zaghi previously helped lead the Hashkama minyan, said junior Tara Chriki, who has been to the minyan primarily to see that the students -- not me -- that Sephardic minyan. a few times. the students are the ones who made a part for this, “These kids want to daven,” said Benny. “Anyone which was originally for students who wanted more Junior Bailey Mendelson, who is Ashkenazic, and organized it all and created it.”
By Eva suissa, Torah editor & rachel lasry, staff writer
Optional extra Judaic classes extend day in both directions there on Wednesdays. The parent-child learning program, called Students are opting for extra Torah study this “DBL” -- for Davening, Breakfast and Learning -year with three new programs outside of school will meet 12 Sundays throughout the school year, hours this year: early morning learning with specifically before each holiday and the weeks of Rabbi Lieberman, a Sunday morning parent- Shabbat Rosh Chodesh. “Our approach for the Gemara is just learnchild learning program led by a different Judaic faculty member each week, and small Tanakh and ing,” said Judaic Studies teacher Rabbi David Block, who runs the BMC and DBL programs. Talmud classes after school. None of the learning is graded, and some of “It’s really nice to be in a low-stakes environment the programs were suggested by students them- where you don’t get graded.” The Tanakh program is focused on “creating selves. About six students usually come to early consistency and breadth in Tanakh, as opposed morning learning in the Beit Midrash, according to depth,” he said. Talmud is learning Masechet to Rabbi Lieberman, while about nine participate Beitza, and studying it in the traditional manner in the Talmud Beit Midrash Chabura, or BMC, -- meaning going page-by-page in the Gemara, which takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays in whereas in Shalhevet’s normal Lahav curriculum, the Beit Midrash, and in the Tanakh BMC held students learn specific pages that are pertinent to the topic students are studying. Ta n a k h and Talmud BMC were both responses to student requests. Junior Sharon Khalil had the idea for the Tanakh program and approached Dr. Weissman and Rabbi Block, while senior Tali Schlacht had BP Photo By Noa Segal the idea for LEARN: Beit Midrash Chabura, led by Rabbi David Block, meets Tuesdays and Thursdays.
By Clara Sandler, Community editor
ways offered early morning classes, and people the Talmud program. “I’ve always loved Tanakh and I wanted more showed up. And of course we go off topic many times. It’s a great way to start the day.” than just three hours a week,” said Sharon. Whenever he gets tired and canTali already takes Advanced Genot focus on learning, he said, he mara Shiur three times a week during closes his eyes for a minute and tells breakfast, but wanted more. ‘Six hours himself that when he opens them “Six hours including AGS was including AGS he has to be focused. not enough,” said Tali. “Now I have “It usually works for about seveight hours of Gemara and I love it.” was not enough. en minutes, and then I have to do it Some co-curriculars have been Now I have eight again,” he said. pushed to later starting times so that hours [per week] The DBL program has met students can attend the BMC prothree times so far, and will meet gram. Athletic Director and basketof Gemara and nine more times throughout the ball coach Ryan Coleman no longer I love it.’ school year. The first shiur was led has afterschool basketball practice on -- Tali Schlacht, by Rabbi Block and the second was Tuesdays and Thursdays. Choirhawks led by Ms. Atara Segal. director Mrs. Joelle Keene now starts 12th grade Scholar-in-residence Rav Judah choir practice at 5:15 p.m. instead of Mischel led the shiur on Oct. 22. 4:45, and the practices end at 7 p.m. The fact that none of the learninstead of 6:30. ing is graded is significant to PrinciOthers are just allowing BMC participants to arrive late. Junior Talia Gill, in pal Dr. Noam Weissman, and follows a pattern of Talmud BMC, is always an hour late to Model increased enrollment in yeshivas and seminaries Shalhevet has seen among recent graduates. Congress. Most recently, 38 out of 55 of last year’s gradEarlier in the day, Rabbi Lieberman leads a learning session of Mishna, specifically Seder uating class -- 69 percent -- are spending their gap Moed, which is just finishing the first chapter years in Israel in such programs, where students of Masechet Shabbat. He says that people have study Torah l’shma -- for its own sake -- usually shown up every day, despite the other commit- receiving no college credit. “Students at Shalhevet love Torah, it’s as simments they have in addition to their schoolwork ple as that,” said principal Dr. Noam Weissman. and need to sleep. “So far, there hasn’t been a day that no one “There’s been a culture that’s been created that’s showed,” said Rabbi Lieberman. “It’s hard, it’s been about Torah learning, that’s been about Toearly in the morning, and [people have] so many rah l’shma, and students at Shalhevet want more.” Sharon Khalil says that they’re thinking about co-curriculars and this and that. But it’s been changing the name of the Gemara BMC. pretty good. “Maybe Night Seder,” she said -- which is “I have been doing this for four decades,” said Rabbi Lieberman, who had been principal what evening Gemara shiur is called in yeshivot of YULA Girls High School for 10 years before and seminaries in Israel. coming to Shalhevet. “Wherever I taught, I al-
The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Torah
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DVAR TORAH
Weinstein, Lech Lecha, and Ramban By Ilan Bouskila, 12th Grade
Wikimedia
Early on in Parshat Lech Lecha, we encounter a very disturbing episode that hits especially hard, given what’s been circulating the news about Harvey Weinstein sexually harassing and assaulting women in the Hollywood industry. In Chapter 12 of Bereishit, the parsha reads: As [Avram] was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘I know what a beautiful woman you are. If the Egyptians see you and think, ‘She is his wife’ they will kill me and let you live. Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive thanks to you. When Avram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw how very beautiful the woman was. Pharaoh’s courtiers saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s palace And because of her, it went well with Avram... But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his houshold with mighty plagues on account of Sarai, the wife of Avram. Pharaoh sent for Avram and said, ‘What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife, take her and begone!’ And Pharaoh put men in charge of him, and they sent him off with his wife and all that he possessed. These lines detail a clear account of the objectification of women that was commonplace in the Biblical era (not that anything has changed). First, the fact that the Egyptians would straight-up murder According to Avram for his beautiful wife is incredibly messed up. “Hey, I Ramban, the punishknow she’s a human being and ment for Avram’s sins all, but let’s fight over her like in Egypt -- treating she’s the Gaza Strip” is how someone like an object I imagine this going. Avram for him to command as says, “How about instead of me he pleases -- is that the standing up for you, protecting you, or avoiding the situation Jewish people become slaves in Egypt, treated all together, I allow these men to get what they want out of like objects for the you without any consequence Egyptians to command because I’m scared.” Sarai, as they please. of course, has no recorded response. Being the wise navi that he is, everything Avram predicts comes true! The Egyptians immediately objectify Sarai, and “the woman [is] taken into Pharaoh’s palace.” “It went well with Avram.” There’s even more #MeToo style dirt in the narrative, but we can afford to skip it. Who needs to see anything else -- God punishes the Egyptians for their evil ways, and we can get this show on the road! Only question is: what about Avram, who treats his wife like a lesser being and allows her to be “taken into Pharaoh’s palace?” “Avram was very heavy with cattle, with silver, and with gold.” He seems to be rewarded for his noble, valiant, and faithful deed by God. Seems crazy, right? Ramban (Nachmanides) agrees. In his commentary on these verses, Ramban asserts that “our father Avram sinned grievously.” He goes further to explain that yes, Avram may have riches in the short term, but his actions had negative effects on the generations that came after -- a concept called ma’aseh avot siman labanim, meaning the actions of ancestors (specifically the Avot) affect the lives of their descendants. According to Ramban, the punishment for Avram’s sins in Egypt -- treating someone like an object for him to command as he pleases -- is that the Jewish people become slaves in Egypt, treated like objects for the Egyptians to command as they please. Midah k’neged midah, roughly translating to “what goes around comes around.” In light of the horror stories we’ve been hearing recently about Harvey Weinstein, this parsha hits very close to home. The Torah and Ramban together are showing just how strong of a crime the sexualization and objectification of women is. Following the logic of Ramban, those “little” offenses like commenting on a female employee’s figure at the workplace and a seemingly meaningless pat on the lower back could result in the heaviest of punishments.
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NOVEMBER 2017
10 things you’ll need for the Glouberman tournament
Why is it so hard to run a student business at Shalhevet? By Sam Hirschhorn and zack hirschhorn, Staff Columnists
By| Sadie Toczek, Lifestyle Editor
1. Shalhevet Swag. It is as simple as just representing. One great way to show who you are supporting is having it written on your sweater, hat, jersey etc. 2.Simply showing. The games for the most part are at school so there is no valid reason not to show up and support your fellow Firehawks. 3. Get involved. While showing up is a great first step to add to the excitement of this tournament, go even further. Sign up to be an announcer, clean-up committee and several other jobs that the school needs during this event. (Also, if you were not already fighting over those positions, another incentive is chesed hours!!) 4. Jewish geography. All the yeshiva league schools are coming and this is a great opportunity to get to know kids from across the country to make connections for seminary/ yeshiva or just life-long friends.
Jewish Geo
graphy
5. Do use deodorant. Although this seems fairly obvious, many people forget or do not use enough during this event. We are all crammed in a small gym, jumping around and sweating so please just make sure you smell nice as a courtesy to other people. 6. Shidduch, yes please. Nice. Jewish. Boys. Everywhere. 7. Leave the competition on the court. Pretty self-explanat ory. Part of being a rebellion against low expectations is being a mensch in all arenas. 8. Signs. In past years, Shalhevet players get signs made for them. Most of the time there are funny, but we are not that picky. 9. Find your song. If by now you still do not know the lyrics to that song or any other infamously played ones, get on it. 10. Shalhevet Spirit. This is Shalhevet’s Steve Glouberman Tournament. We have the home court advantage, in addition to all our classmates, so it would be wasteful and silly not to be the loudest in the gym.
Design by Maya Miro
This year, the major student-run businesses at Shalhevet are bagels, pancakes and the Student Store. Last year, the major student businesses were bagels, pancakes, and the Student Store. Two years ago, the major business are bagels, pancakes, and the Student Store (shocking, we know). Our freshman year there was slightly more diversity, with Snacks On The Go supplementing bagels and pancakes, and the Student Store out of commision due to Shalhevet being at the JCC. This leads us to an obvious question: Why are there so few successful businesses at Shalhevet? Why are the successful ones so similar, year after year? And what has made those businesses succeed, while others fail? First, let’s try to answer the first question: why do businesses at Shalhevet fail? The biggest reason is that they have low profit margins -- the amount by which revenue exceeds costs -- combined with an extreme amount of effort and commitment required to stay afloat. Low profit margins at Shalhevet are a result of three major factors: lack of economies of scale, high fixed costs, and the price set by large companies outside Shalhevet that can afford those low profit margins due to their high volume of sales. When companies become larger, they begin to achieve something called economy of scale, which allows them to produce their product at a lower cost. Such economies include buying in bulk and specialization. Because businesses at Shalhevet are usually run by just a couple of people, they don’t have the size to keep their expenditures low. Secondly, the largest initial cost in starting a business is the fixed cost of buying equipment, like toaster for the bagel business and griddles for the pancake business. Since the profit margin is already low, this initial fixed cost provides another barrier to entry and makes profit even slimmer, as now the founders have to pay off their initial investment. This is one of the reasons that businesses which survive their first year tend to stay alive the next year -- they don’t need to reinvest in new equipment, so their profit will be larger. Lastly, the price these businesses charge needs to be relatively low, or Shalhevet students will no longer buy their products. Although Shalhevet businesses can charge more for convenience -- students don’t need to leave campus or bring food from home -- they still need to charge something like the general accepted price for that item. This price is set by large corporations (outside Shalhevet), which can afford to set the price low, as their large volume (and resulting economies of scale) offsets the low profit margin. While Shalhevet businesses’ small profit margins might seem annoying in a vacuum, imagine how difficult they must get when compared to the effort required to start a school business and keep it running. Student entrepreneurs must sell during every breakfast or alienate customers who want consistent service, because consumers need to know whether to bring food from home. Selling during breakfast also requires business owners to wake up early every day to go to Hashkama minyan, so they can be free to sell during the breakfast period. This disqualifies those who are in AGS or who need that period to desperately do math homework or cram for a quiz next period (like us). When faced with the prospect of waking up early, working hard for an hour every morning, and missing a free period, most people simply don’t have the drive - especially since the money isn’t that great. Lastly, psychology might also explain why new businesses find it hard to succeed at Shalhevet. Status quo bias, also know as consumer inertia in economics, is a physcological phenomenon that explains why people are resistant to change. This means that even when change would be beneficial, people still stick with what they know. Although switching what business you buy from is pretty easy, this phenomenon could also help explain why businesses at Shalhevet stay so consistent: people get used to them and do not want to switch. But if it’s so impossible to create a business at Shalhevet, then how do some of them succeed? First of all, these businesses are all focused on food, which is something that is time-specific -- that is, one cannot buy it later that night, like a pencil or a notebook -- and competition is otherwise limited for most students, because only seniors and second-semester juniors have off-campus privileges and can buy food at Starbucks, for example. Secondly, all the existing businesses have low monetary input costs and require little preparation. On the other hand, smoothies -- an example of a failed business -- require relatively expensive (and perishable) fruit and are much more difficult to make than spreading cream cheese on a bagel or giving someone a bag of chips. Most importantly, though, the successful students are willing to put in the work, even if the profit margin is small. And eventually, if they stick for it long enough, they can make real money. This year, we have the same three businesses at Shalhevet that we had last year, and next year we will probably still have those same businesses again (in case you didn’t get it, starting a business is hard). But that’s perfectly okay. It’s the free market at it’s finest - and the breakfast is pretty solid too.
The Boiling Point •November 2017• Features
Niche memes connecting Jews worldwide with humor and some bite Continued from page 1 stating, “Just because you did it doesn’t mean you’re guilty.” Yaakov, 24, grew up in Seattle as a Conservative Jew, and later became Orthodox on his own, and now lives in Jerusalem, Israel. He started his meme page a little over a year ago, right after graduating from Yeshiva University with a degree in marketing. Since then, he has made aliyah and lived as a counselor at Yeshiva Mevaseret in Jerusalem. Yaakov, or maybe his alterego @theturntjew, started out sending relatable jokes to a WhatsApp groupchat with his friends from yeshiva. He realized these jokes could resonate with many others, not just his yeshiva friends. “They honestly just pop in my head,” Yaakov said in a phone interview. “Some people think I sit down for hours coming up with ideas, but if I see something a joke just comes to me.” Though niche, Yaakov is not the only Jewish meme account on Instagram. There are many others, including @ jewishvibes, @jewishmemes2.0, @chassidishemagnets and others. The pages all post funny memes about Jewish holidays, culture, laws and life. Many of them are administrated by Orthodox Jews, and some therefore require knowledge of observant practice. But Jews across the denominational spectrum follow the accounts to see something that is Jewish, humorous They have some pretty fire and relatable. memes. And it’s also refreshAnother meme page ing when you hear a Jewish is @jewishvibes, which has 6,300 followers and joke that isn’t anti-Semitic. 150 memes as of late If anything these memes are October. The account lifting up Judaism, so it’s nice is dually run by Daniel to see that. Estrugo, a graduate of Salanter Akiva Riverdale -- Honor Fuchs, 11th Grade (SAR) high school and a current Yeshiva University finance student; and Frisch School graduate Mikey (Michael) Greenblatt, who studies at CUNY Baruch. “I just saw that there was no real content online about Modern Orthodox life,” said Daniel in an interview. “A lot of Jewish media is Reform, so we saw an opportunity for a meme account in this niche market.” Mikey joined after Daniel made the account, and said he comes up with his ideas by paying more attention at Shabbat lunch, for example. Meme content creators must always be on the lookout for relatable jokes. A lot of their followers are yeshiva day school students or young graduates. A few, they said, are also converts. “They probably search ‘Jewish’ on Instagram,” said Daniel of his followers. He said a lot of them say they are Jewish converts in their Instagram bios. Shalhevet senior Ilan Bouskila said he likes Jewish meme pages @jewishvibes, @theturntjew and @jewishmemes2.0. “The memes are especially relatable, and it’s cool to feel like you’re in on an inside joke that very few people get,” said Ilan. He compared it to the proliferation of memes about the PSAT he’s noticed after all students in the U.S. take the exam. “All the kids are like ‘wow, it’s crazy that, like, me and just a few million other teenagers can relate to this, it’s the coolest thing ever,’” he said. Yaakov Fein said he has had a steady increase in followers, except for when the even more popular page @jewthings -with 44,000 followers -- re-posted one of his memes. Around 30 of his followers are Shalhevet students. Junior Honor Fuchs said she likes what Yaakov’s memes represent in the broader landscape of media. “They have some pretty fire memes,” said Honor. “And it’s also refreshing when you hear a Jewish joke that isn’t anti-Semitic. If anything these memes are lifting up Judaism, so it’s nice to see that.” Most of his posts have the same image as a meme that’s already popular on more mainstream meme accounts, but with a Jewish spin for the caption. His memes vary in subject matter and humor. A lot of them are seasonal - after Yom Kippur, he posted a photo of a girl looking judgmental with the caption, “When Yom Kippur ended 10 minutes ago and someone’s already speaking lashon hara,” or gossip. But when there are no holidays, he turns to timeless jokes about Jewish practices, like shidduch dating (dating that uses a matchmaker). For example, he posted a photo of a woman holding an edited spinner wheel with different possibilities for the wheel to land on, such as “memes,” “conspiracy theories,” “unwanted opinions” and “jokes about my suffering.” The wheel is captioned, “When you run out of things to talk about on a shidduch date and you have to think of a new conversation topic on the spot.”
One of the most risky memes he has posted took a popular meme format of a woman smiling at something on her phone, and in the next frame frowning at something else on her phone. In Yaakov’s post, the woman is smiling at “Women getting more involved in Judaism,” and then she frowns at a photo of a Women of the Wall protest. Yaakov said he noticed a small decrease in followers after that post. But it wasn’t all bad, and some of his best experiences with the page have involved what’s been controversial. Following the Women of the Wall post, a female follower of his privately messaged him and said she didn’t understand the meme. She likely came from a Conservative or Reform Jewish background, Yaakov said, and didn’t understand how there could be a difference between women positively getting involved in Judaism and Women of the wall. Yaakov told her about the halacha that has been interpreted to mean only men can wear tefillin or read from the Torah, that a mechitza is integral to Jewish prayer and his other stances. “I think Women of the Wall is just more of a feminist movement than women sincerely trying to connect to God,” Yaakov said. But Honor, who has worn tefillin before and supports Women of the Wall, was offended by the post. “It defeats the purpose of having a Jewish meme account if you bring Jews down for their opinions,” said Honor. Yaakov is religiously Orthodox and politically conservative, and he often posts about this as well, usually mocking Modern Orthodox and Open Orthodox Jews. A lot of his more risque memes reflect these traits. On the political side, for example, he wrote the caption “How do you sleep at night knowing that you deciding to make Aliyah has further contributed to the Israeli occupation of Palestine?” accompanying a photo of a man sleeping blissfully on clouds. The idea was to show that he sleeps easily knowing he is occupying land that is considered by many to be Palestinian. What hits closest to home for Shalhevet students is comedic teasing of Modern Orthodox Jews for being hyper-sensitive and overly particular about their denomination. But that does not mean they’re offended by it. “I think it’s hilarious, it’s clearly a joke,” said Ilan Bouskila. “When people take those things to heart, they’re just taking themselves too seriously.” Yaakov’s meme page @theturntjew also sometimes earns him money. One of the marketers of a Birthright program called Yael Adventures contacted him to advertise through his page. When people sign up for the program with his referral code, “TheTurntJew,” he now makes a commission. I just saw that there was He promotes this no real content online about by having this information in his InstaModern Orthodox life. A lot of gram bio, and postJewish media is Reform, so we ing memes about saw an opportunity for a meme Birthright where he account in this niche market. references signing up for the program. -- Daniel Estrugo, @jewishvibes Some more mainstream meme accounts, like Claudia Oshry Soffer’s @ girlwithnojob, make a fulltime salary through advertising the page. Claudia’s boyfriend, Ben -- @boywithnojob -- also went to Yeshiva University, according to Yaakov. The pair has since married (his name is Ben Soffer). Now -- thanks to Jewish memes -- they both have jobs.
The struggles of staying home for Pesach, @jewishvibes
For all those times you accidentally let kashrut slip your mind in the kitchen, @jewishvibes
@theturntjew addresses the complicated relationship between Orthodoxy and Women of the Wall
Everyone can relate: quick reminder to clean up your act, @theturntjew
Saracheck victories determine your future...you know it’s true, @jewishvibes
All those times you let your inner demons take over,@theturntjew
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The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Features
College apps take a back seat to basics for disaster victims By Lucy Fried, Features Editor For 12th-grade students, the impending college or gap year experience can consume one’s mind, and becomes the theme of every conversation. But for students affected by recent natural disasters, the focus of senior year has shifted. Ari Rosenthal, who lives in Santa Rosa, Calif., where a sudden wildfire consumed 2,834 homes and thousands of other structures, has had to change schools. A senior at the public Maria Carillo High school up until the Oct. 9 fires, he has just begun attending Jewish Community High School of the Bay in San Francisco, near relatives with whom his family is staying. His house was burned down, and he and his family rushed to a relative’s one-bedroom apartment in Berkeley, where they are currently staying until they find a permanent place. “That car ride was really intense,” Ari said. “We were saying the Shema the whole time.” Ari is applying Early Decision to Yeshiva University, which has given him an extension on its application deadline. But he said that school has taken a backburner to other priorities after the disaster. “Considering where college applications fall on the scheme of physical things, I was more worried about surviving and, you know, finding a house,” he said. “Within 24 hours, we had both lost our home and were looking for a new place to live.” Maria Carillo High School was closed for three weeks after the fires, and Ari said this was used as a time to recuperate. But it also caused many to fall behind in their Advanced Placement classes. “The teachers in the AP classes said that they would not be able to extend the time during which we could take the AP test,” he said. “It’s unfortunate, so what kids at my school have to do is go to school on Saturday, or stay after class to make up material.”
twitter.com/CityofSantaRosa BURNED: A charred home in Santa Rosa, where more than 2,000 homes burned last month. Schools were closed, seniors fell behind on APs and college plans were changed as some transferred to new schools far away. Some colleges are accommodating students’ loss of time and focus due to disasters and tragedies, including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, the fires in Santa Rosa, and the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania are among schools that have altered their application schedule, along with all campuses of the University of California and the University of Texas. In an email to all seniors who had visited, Columbia University Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid
Jessica Marinaccio wrote that the university’s Early Decision deadline was being extended to Nov. 15 from Nov. 1 for those affected by natural disasters or the shooting. Early Action deadlines have also been extended. Yale and Penn extended by 10 days, while other schools said those who need extensions may request them by email. The University of Texas at Austin has extended its priority application deadline by a full month, to Dec. 1 from Nov. 1. All of those universities also offered application fee waivers to affected students who requested them. Maya Walder, a senior at Robert M. Beren Academy in Houston, said her plans to prepare for college were totally altered when her home was destroyed in Hurricane Harvey. Her house was flooded five feet deep, reaching kitchen counters, beds and the dining room table. “This situation forced me to make my decision really early on,” Maya said. Her plan was to take one more ACT and then decide where she’d like to go. But because of the stress of recuperating from the flood, and the amount of work and focus that taking another test and applying to numerous colleges would require, Maya has made her decision quickly. She will be attending Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women in New York, after a gap year next year. “Now I’m settling with this score and going to Stern, because there’s no time to decide,” she said. “I’m okay with it now, but I didn’t want to have to make that decision.” Like Maya, Ari Rosenthal is also finding a new perspective on senior year. “I think for kids my age school is everything,” he said, “but this disaster really showed me that your life and your family are truly everything. “Yes I had to change schools and I have to meet new people, but that’s a price I guess I’m willing to pay to be alive.”
With hammers and heart, juniors help rebuild Houston on annual chesed trip Continued from page 1 -- a junior at the pluralistic Emery Weiner High School -- and his brother took precautionary measures. “Not much is still there today, and we all saw what Harvey was about to unleash on Houston,” said Simon. “Me and my brother ran to a local sporting goods store and bought a huge cooler to keep perishable foods in, and we arrived only to find about five coolers left. My parents bought 36 60-pound sandbags and covered up the house from the outside.” I was out of school Simon was watching the McGregor vs. Mayweather for a week, and when boxing match at a friend’s house in the Jewish neighborhood of Bellaire, Tex., when the hurricane hit. Although we got back, the entire neither his or his friend’s houses suffered any damage, he school community and 10 others were stuck inside the friend’s house for three volunteered to help days due to water levels outside. “We were quickly trapped inside the house, and found families in the [Emery ourselves surrounded by four feet of water the next mornWeiner School] coming,” Simon said. “My car was submerged, and because munity and the Jewish there was so much water, my dad couldn’t come get me until the water receded enough that the streets were safely community. driveable.”
Houston Food Bank, played basketball and volleyball against Beren Academy’s teams, and visited the Orthodox Union Synagogue (OUS) which had been flooded and gutted, stripped of its carpeted floors. Many of its doors were removed, and just before the storm its Torahs had been taken out and preserved.
Chesed coordinator Mrs. Sarah Leah Gormin said the Houston community reached out to her and to head of school Rabbi Segal for help. “We saw a great need, and we had to act soon,” Mrs. Gormin said. “While we are not immediate responders, the students became lifelines for many lives in Houston.”
During one of their two seven-hour The juniors said their trip to Houston was humbling, and made construction days, the group worked on them more appreciative of they what they had. a house belonging to Mr. Ronald Parker, “It made me really appreciative of what I have at home and how 65. With Jewish disaster relief organization thankful I am for my friends,” said Kira Faerstain. “The man of the Nechama, students learned how to complete house I was cleaning lost everything and was completely alone, and each construction task as they approached it it made me realize how grateful I am.” -- with two Nechama supervisors appointed Natanel Sadeghi said that seeing the destruction in person could to each of the five groups at various houses, not be compared to reading about it or seeing pictures. as these projects were most of their first expe“The Houston trip was very meaningful and eye opening to riences working with tools. me,” Natanel said. “I stay updated with all the current events that Mr. Parker was born on the couch in this happen and they all have photos and videos. But to go and see all house, was raised in it, and lived there with of it first hand and hear the stories of the people who live there was his mother and two brothers until Harvey. such a different experience.” The four of them had been residing in a moSimon Gerst of Emery Weiner School said his city had come tel for 51 days due to flooding. - Simon Gerst, 11th Rabbi Barry Gelman of United Orthodox Synagogue together in the disaster. “A regular, plain, vanilla motel -- it’s borgrade, Emery Weiner “Houston is an amazing and resilient city, and the response to showed the juniors around his home, which had been daming,” Mr. Parker said. “I want my satellite, I School,Houston the aftermath of Harvey is truly indicative of that,” said Simon. aged by its second flood, and the flooded shul as well. want all my computers back up. I want to He described how the synagogue’s dining hall had dou- “I was out of school for a week, and when we got back, the entire play with all my computers like I was before bled as a makeshift sanctuary during high holiday services, school community volunteered to help families in the Emery comthe flood.” munity and the Jewish community. as it was the room that sustained the least This was the third major flood his house “It was incredible to see the communal love, had endured, the first two being Tropical Storms Dean in 1995 and amount of damage, and took students on a tour of the and it truly exemplifies the culture of the Jewish Allison in 2001. But the most recent one came as a surprise to him building before before sharing a take-out Chinese dinWe saw a great community and Houston as a whole.” ner. On their last morning on the way to the airport, and his family. need, and we had to act While her house is being redone, Maya and her “I knew about Harvey, but I didn’t think it was going to strike the juniors and faculty chaperones sat in a circle in the soon. While we are not family have temporarily moved into a condo near Houston,” he said. “We looked out of the window on the night it main sanctuary and sang zmirot, Jewish songs, that the Best Western Hotel where the juniors stayed, echoed through the cavernous, empty room. was coming up, and we had virtually no water.” immediate responders, six miles away from the shul that her family norRabbi Gelman described the complicated reality of But within an hour the water had progressed to six inches, and the students became mally walks to. She said the situation makes being moving forward after a hurricane. it rose rapidly. lifelines for many lives religiously observant more complicated, and that “After the emergency is over and people have dried “The next time we looked out, about an hour-and-a-half later, her family has to find places to stay for holidays the water was all up to the driveway and the gates,” Mr. Parker said. out their homes and taken out their ruined belongings, in Houston. and Shabbat. “One more hour and water was bubbling up under the seals of the there are a lot of needs that need to be met in terms of “It’s a really good location,” she said of the Best perimeter of the house. So we had this awful smelling water, and it expenses that were not anticipated before the flood,” - Mrs. Sarah Leah Western, “but not good for Jews. We come in evlooked like water from the toilet coming into the house. It was over Rabbi Gelman said. Gormin, Chesed ery Shabbos and also for the chagim. We’re going “We’ve been very fortunate that there’s been an 24 inches.” Coordinator to be doing that for the next eight months, apparThe water levels exceeded expectations, and many in Houston outpouring of support from all over the country.” ently, because my house isn’t going to be ready for The juniors’ trip to Houston came from a relatively were left scrambling for shelter as the storm continued to rage. eight months.” Maya said that while she and her father stayed home, her mother last-minute change of plans in location and dates. In Rabbi Gelman, who has four children himself, now faces the and sister had gone to a neighbor’s house that was on higher ground an email from Principal Dr. Noam Weissman to the junior families Sept. 14, he explained the reasoning for the switch from previous challenge of leading a community in moving forward. for protection. “The mantra that we’ve been using is putting one foot in front plans, which would have taken the class on a shorter chesed trip to But this only helped temporarily. of the other, and not getting paralyzed,” Rabbi Gelman said. “We’ve “The neighbor’s house had begun to take on water, so they had Las Vegas in November. “Initially, our plan was to have this chesed trip in late Novem- tried to help people realize that this is a terrible situation and we been rescued separately by the police department,” Maya said. “We weren’t expecting that. They’re two feet above us, so it’s kind of crazy ber to a different community closer to L.A., but then Houston was don’t want to sugarcoat that, but at the same time, to give people devastated by this hurricane,” Dr. Weissman wrote. “From reports the sense of confidence that with community support, ultimately that they also got water.” After seeing the damage that Hurricane Harvey had done fur- we’ve heard, there is endless amount of work to be done and we are they’ll be able to come out on the other side okay.” ther south in Rockport, Tex., in the storm’s first days, Simon Gerst proud to go there to help, and do whatever we can.”
The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Features
#HOUSTON STRONG AFTER THE FLOOD: From top, the class of 2019 hears to the rabbi in the gutted sanctuary of United Orthodox Synagogue; Daniel Medavoy displays a snake, displaced by the flooding, found where students were working; Rabbi Yagil Tsaidi hugs a co-worker from Catholic Charities of Houston; Amir Maman, Leor Kaminski and Adam Ritz remove ruined drywall from a house that was destroyed; Talia Gill carries debris in a plastic bin; Mikey Kahtan and Elianna Hirschman head back into the house after adding debris to a pile; Adin Keiter adds to a pallette at the Houston Food Bank aid distribution center. Stories, page 1 and opposite.
Photos by Katia Surpin Page design by Abbi Sentchuk
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The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Features
Doctors in
From biology to Torah to political theory, By Clara Sandler, Community Editor
W
hat do stem cell differentiation, females with disabilities in the classroom, the relationship between Jewish and American law and a medieval Greek rabbi’s Talmud commentary have in common? They are all topics of doctoral research by Shalhevet faculty members. Currently, there are five faculty members who have finished their doctorates -- one recently -- and four more whose are in progress. Five have or are pursuing Ed.Ds -- the degree of Doctor of Education -- and four have or are pursuing Ph.Ds, or Doctor of Philosophy. “An Ed.D. is more of a professional degree” for educators, said Dr. William Walton, Ed.D., who is Math Department chair and Director of Curriculum and Instruction. “With a Ph.D., you’d be required to take two languages, and in an Ed.D. program you don’t have to do that,” Dr. Walton said. “An Ed.D. usually has a more focused dissertation, focused on a specific problem, whereas a Ph.D. dissertation would tend to be more academic.” Judaic Studies teacher Rabbi Abraham Lieberman is currently working towards his Ph.D., while science teacher Dr. Elizabeth Basheer, history teacher Dr. Keith Harris and part-time law and religion teacher Dr. Avi Helfand already have theirs. Along with Dr. Walton, Principal Dr. Noam Weissman has received his Ed. D., while Education Support Coordinator Ms. Ashley Evins, Judaic Studies teacher and Mashgiach Ruchani Rabbi David Block, and General Studies Principal Mr. Daniel Weslow are working on it. Whatever differences there may be between Ed.D.s and Ph.D.s, both require the writing of a dissertation based on original research. Here are the topics studied by Shalhevet’s faculty members. Dr. Basheer received her Ph.D. in Chemistry in 2013 from the University of South Carolina. For her dissertation, titled “Plant Based Materials for Cell Alignment and Differentiation,” she studied stem cells, and specifically how they differentiate on a virus-coated surface. Dr. Basheer said she was trying to induce the stem cells to become smooth muscle cells, and induce mesenchymal stem cells to become bone cells, which with more research may have resulted in artificial blood vessels. Some cells -- for example, aortic stem cells taken from the aorta of an animal -- become, or align with, the type of cells you attach them to. “You can take aortic stem cells, and whenever you put them on a nano-aligned surface, you can induce alignment in them,” Dr. Basheer said. “They can sense the nanostructure and then align to that nanostructure, which is interesting because it’s really small. For a cell
to sense something that small is quite interesting.” So Dr. Basheer tried using cells coated with viruses, which are also very small. It didn’t work, but in disproving her theory, she discovered that virus-coated surfaces do not induce differentiation in smooth muscle cells. That matters because researchers have high hopes for stem cells, and being able to use them means understanding how and where they can be coaxed into differentiating into the kinds of cells that doctors want. Rabbi Block, Judaic Studies teacher and mashgiach ruchani, is pursuing an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and curriculum development at Yeshiva University. He is studying the larger question of why Jewish History is taught and learned today. John Locke believed Rabbi Bock has tried to find out if that each person there are any strategies and philosomust be orthodox to phies that were used to frame Jewish himself, which means history in the past, and to see if they you can’t authorize are still relevant today, as well as ungovernment to make derstanding the religious value behind you act in a way instudying the subject. consistent with your “Here at Shalhevet, and many other beliefs and identity. places, Jewish History is a part of the Ju-- Dr. Avi Helfand daic Studies curriculum, which means it’s up there with Tanakh, with Talmud,” Rabbi Block said. “There’s something religious about it, as opposed to just learning the history of our nation, which would not necessarily be a religious thing. We want to keep the academic rigor, but we also need the religious value.” He’s looking at curricula, understanding how they were written, what is studied and how it’s learned. In his research, Rabbi Block has been surprised that historians struggled with the same question about the subject’s relevance and importance that he is asking today. He has also noticed that no one has created a Jewish history curriculum whose target audience is Modern Orthodoxy. He plans to write one himself, in addition to the regular academic, written portion of the dissertation, and to be done writing in a year. Ms. Evins, Education Support Coordinator, hopes to finish her Ed.D. at USC later this month. Her subject is Special Education and she is writing her dissertation on how females with disabilities are understood in the classroom -- in particular, whether teachers notice when women and girls
need help based on their own perception of disability, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and gender. “I lost my hearing in my left ear, and I realized that it was really hard for people to understand that I had a disability because it’s not visible,” said Ms. Evins. “I really wanted to understand more of how I look at disability, and how other teachers understand and make meaning of that.” Through her program at UCLA, Ms. Evins was placed into another program called Center X, where she worked in low-income schools in Los Angeles. “There’s a huge advocacy component [through] the Center X program,” she said. This has shown her “how equity is a huge issue in the educational system, and how teachers can help students advocate for themselves in ways that can have long-term effects for their lives.”
Dr. Harris received his Ph.D. in 2011 from the University of Virginia in American History, specializing in the 19th century. “I’ve always had an interest in the Civil War and Reconstruction, even since I was a little kid I would read about it,” Dr. Harris said. His dissertation, titled Across the Bloody Chasm: The Culture of Commemoration Among Civil War Veterans, is about how veterans of that conflict differed in the ways they honored and remembered it. “After the Civil War, veterans got together in different groups…, and depending on what side they were on, they had very different ways,” Dr. Harris said. “They emphasized certain things, and deemphasized certain things. “They tried to preserve the memories of their cause in the very best light possible.” His dissertation was published by the Louisiana State University Press, and Dr. HarIf I could hide somew ris is still publishing articles about the Civil months, I could proba War in different historical Civil War journals. a plan of what has to
hasn’t been done yet.
-- Rab Dr. Helfand, who teaches the upperclassman Law, Religion and the American Jewish Community class, received his Ph.D. in Political Science 2009 from Yale University, where he also received his J.D. -- his law degree, or Juris Doctor -- in 2007. His dissertation, called “A Liberalism of Sincerity: Lockean Toleration and the Internal Point of View, “focused both on how individuals should have personal freedom, and how the implications of this affect our society. He created an original theory of toleration that “builds on liberal theories that believe governments derive their legitimacy from the consent of their citizens.”
The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Features
n the House
, Shalhevet’s faculty advances knowledge But Dr. Helfand sees this as creating a problem. “If government power and authority is all about the consent of the citizens, then those citizens can consent away their individual liberties in exchange for promises of security and orderliness,” he said. His theory responds to this dilemma. He said his idea is that, “individuals have a political obligation to be sincere on matters of core concern--to remain true to who they are and what they believe.” Building on the philosopher John Locke’s theory of tolerance, Dr. Helfand argues that it is this political obligation of sincerity that prevents people from consenting away their rights. “John Locke believed that each person must be ‘orthodox to himself,’ which means you can’t authorize government to make you act in a way inconsistent with your beliefs and identity,” he said. “That would ultimately lead to the individuals being insincere.” When Dr. Helfand is not at Shalhevet, he is a law professor at Pepperdine University Law School, and has been published in the Yale Law Journal, Duke Law Journal, The Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times, among other publications. He said he mostly writes about religious law and religious liberty, and its relationship to the U.S. constitution.
Rabbi Lieberman, who joined the faculty this year, originally started his dissertation for his Ph.D. in Rabbinics from Yeshiva University in 1987, but never finished it. He long ago completed all his coursework and language tests, and recently decided to go back to completing his research. He is studying the commentary of Rabbeinu Baruch, a rishon (commentator who lived between 10501500) who was born in Greece, ended up in Syria and wrote commentaries on parts where for eight of the Talmud. Rabbi Lieberman is studying ably finish it. There’s his methodology, his influence and the way be done, it just he saw the Halachic process. . bbi Abraham Lieberman He chose Rabbeinu Baruch because he has never really been researched before. Rabbi Lieberman wanted to look at him systemically and study the halachic implications of what he wrote. Rabbeinu Baruch focused on halachic process, and used a process different from Rashi and Tosafot. He hopes to finish it within the next two to three years. “If I could hide somewhere for eight months, I could probably finish it,” Rabbi Lieberman said. “There’s a plan of what has to be done, it just has hasn’t been done yet.” Rabbi Lieberman decided to go back and finish his dissertation a couple of months ago, while transitioning from his former post
as Head of School at YULA Girls High School to his new position at Shalhevet. Dr. Walton received his Ed.D. from UCLA in 2014 in Educational Leadership, and his dissertation, called The Price of Independence: Tuition, Annual Giving, Endowments and Financial Aid in Independent Schools, looked at qualitative research and quantitative research on tuition price, endowment, percent of students on financial aid, annual giving and how those factors intersect in budget and financial aid decisions. “My dad was a private school teacher,” Dr. Walton said. “I obviously benefited from financial aid being a faculty kid. [Stem cells] can sense the There’s no way we could have nanostructure and then align afforded the tuition, so finanto that nanostructure, which cial aid has always been very is interesting because it’s near and dear to my heart.” In his research, Dr. Walton really small. For a cell to learned that prior to the 2008 sense something that small recession, an average of 20 is quite interesting. percent of students were on -- Dr. Elizabeth Basheer financial aid, but after the recession schools became more generous with their giving. He also learned that a large endowment does not correlate with providing generous financial aid, whereas usually schools that raise a lot for their annual giving fund are the most generous. “If you have a big endowment it will matter, but a million-dollar endowment won’t matter,” Dr. Walton said. “But if you can raise a million dollars each year, that’s going to have a much larger impact.” Dr. Weissman received his Ed.D. last June from USC in Educational Psychology, specifically in curriculum design. He said he wrote his dissertation, about how to teach Israel education in today’s world, every morning for 16 months from 4:20 to 6:40 AM. He said he had noticed that there was no formal or agreed-upon Israel education curriculum, despite there being many classes and courses, and therefore decided to write one himself -- discovering a lot about himself on the way. “Re-learning all of the history, different narratives and perspectives changed me as a person and really allowed me to be much more passionate about Zionism than I ever was, and I didn’t think that was possible,” Dr. Weissman said. Dr. Weissman said he learned two lessons -- one about teenagers and their thought processes, and one about his personal Zionism.
“Understanding and really going through an analysis of the identity development of teenagers is a process, and not something that is a given,” Dr. Weissman said, “and it’s not something that many educators pay enough attention to. “We all have to go through identity challenges in order to arrive at identity achievement,” he continued. “Educational Psychology is understanding how humans are motivated, how people acquire knowledge, how organizations function. It’s one thing to experience it, and it’s another thing to understand the theories of how students learn, how students feel, and how students can get motivated.” Mr. Weslow is hopes to finish his Ed.D. at Pepperdine University in February or March. He started it back in 2007, and has now gotten back to it. Mr. Weslow’s dissertation focuses on students’ transitions to high school between eighth and ninth grade in private schools, independent schools, Jewish schools and Catholic schools. “My entire career I’ve been in middle schools or high schools or running secondary schools,” Mr. Weslow said, “so I’ve seen the interactions between students, parents and faculty in different stakeholders with that transition and how significant it is.” He is studying how students adapt, how faculty is involved and assists and how the transition affects parents. He hasn’t formulated his thesis yet, but his evolving observation is that no two schools approach the transition the same way -- that each school has its own way of acclimating ninth-graders, and that regardless of institutional values, norms and priorities, there’s a thoughtful process. “It’s always changing to improve, with students’ success and support being the number one priority,” said Mr. Weslow. All nine of the teachers struggled or are struggling to balance their dissertations and family life. Dr. Weissman said his dissertation took a toll. “I don’t think I was healthy for three years,” he said. “It’s something that I’m trying to get better at. I definitely saw my family less.” Like Dr. Weissman, Mr. Weslow wakes up early in the morning, but he uses that morning time to read the paper or catch up on TV. When he gets home from work, he turns his phone off for 90 minutes to be present for his family, and then will work on his dissertation four nights a week, especially on weekends. When all their dissertations are finished, there will be nine doctors at Shalhevet, along with eight rabbis, one rabba, one Juris Doctor, and eventually one Yoetzet Halacha. And some overlap -- since Rabbi Block and Rabbi Lieberman will both have Ph.D.s.
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Arts & Culture
NOVEMBER 2017
At the Skirball, a writer’s tale is told in art Anita Brenner’s books led a generation of Mexican artists to find their voice and break out from stereotypes By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Arts & Culture editor The walls of the Skirball Cultural Center are lined with works by 35 of the most important and famous artists in post-revolutionary Mexico. But what holds them together is the life of an unknown yet pivotal cultural figure who pioneered a modern vision of California’s neighbor to the south. That figure is Anita Brenner -- not an artist, but a writer, who greatly influenced many Mexican artists, filmmakers, and other authors. The Skirball’s Another Promised Land: Anita Brenner’s Mexico explores her life, and the role she played in revitalizing Mexico’s art through the artists she The exhibit also inspired. It is at the explores similarities Skirball until between post-revoluFebruary tionary Mexican culture 2018. General admisand the early culture of sion is $12 Israel. but free on Thursdays. As a Jew growing up in Mexico and in Texas, Ms. Brenner, who was born in 1905 and died in 1974, experienced both anti-semitism and racism. This would later have a prominent effect on her ideology and artistic goals. Having grown up with people telling her who she was, Brenner saw Mexicans’ need to have a voice of their own, and she was determined both to call out stereotypes and to educate an American audience about the beauty of Mexican culture. Through essays, travel magazines and work with other artists, she dedicated her life to making this possible. Thus the exhibit is composed of works of those she influenced or brought to fame. Among 150 pieces on display are works by the notable artists Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, Edward Weston, Jean Charlot and Frida Kahlo -- all of them Brenner’s colleagues, friends or both. Together their works visually narrate Brenner’s life and contributions. Orozco’s drawing “Tourists” fixates on the stereotypes of Europeans that Mexicans are weird and primitive. A scene of European tourists depicts them as large, frightening figures. Instead of looking at the country’s beautiful people and the vibrant culture, the tourists look away -- as if to say that they already have notions of what Mexicans are. The Orozco drawing is displayed next to a copy of Brenner’s book Your Mexican Holiday, which presents the beauty of the country’s landscape and the intricacy of its culture. Visitors entering the exhibit start in a corridor with text and photographs detailing Brenner’s early life growing up in Mexico as the daughter of Latvian Jewish immigrants. The exhibit then opens up to a visual timeline, composed of text, film and artwork, that wraps around the room. In the center of the room there sits a re-creation of a small cafe where viewers can sit at tables and read reproductions of letters from Brenner’s archive. Emblematic of the exhibit, the subject matter of Jean Charlot’s Idol is a classic European female nude, but the figure expands to the edges of the canvas and takes an almost block-like shape, recalling ancient Aztec carvings; Charlot draws on Mexican heritage and evokes the power and eternality of their culture. Brenner’s influence was felt in film as well. For example, in 1930, renowned Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein began
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his Que Viva Mexico, which, through editing and distinctive camera angles, attempted to connect ancient and modern Mexico. Eisenstein credited Brenner’s most famous pieces of writing, Idols Behind Altars, as an inspiration for the film. In the book, Brenner explores modern Mexican art along with ancient history and folklore. The Skirball exhibition features a Having grown up with segment of Eisenstein’s people telling her who she film projected onto a was, Brenner saw Mexicans’ wall.The exhibit also exneed to have a voice of their plores similarities between post-revolutionown, and was determined ary Mexican culture both to call out stereotypes and the early culture of Israel. Posters from and to educate an American around this time stand audience about the beauty of out with bright colors and depictions of the Mexican culture. beautiful Mexican landscape filled with strong farmers and workers -- hearkening back to early Zionist art, which showed Israeli vitality in a very similar manner. As the title of the exhibit suggests, Brenner recognized these similarities herself. She was a passionate socialist and was interested in kibbutzim. She used her observations of kibbutzim and the way they promoted themselves in her marketing of Mexico. Overall, the show is very dense and not always straightforward. But it has a greater meaning than its individual parts. It is not just about the specific paintings, photographs, and film, but the context that Brenner’s life gave to them. By using art to tell the story of a writer, it lets the audience in on the story of someone who they have likely never heard of, and
INSPIRED: Art by Anita Brenner’s colleagues and friends, clockwise from top right: cover of Mexico/ this month magazine, by Vlady, 1956; cover of Mexico/ this month magazine, by Vlady, 1958; Kneeling Child on Yellow Background, by Diego Rivera,1927; Smith, Kline, and the French Labratories, Mexico City, by Katia Horna, 1960; cover of Mexico/ this month magazine, by Bartolí, 1956; La India, by Abraham Ángel, 1923; Satellite Towers/ Torres de Satellite, by Mathias Goeritz, date unknown; Dance in Tehuantepec/ Danza en Tehuantepec, by Diego Rivera, 1935; The Massacre in the Main Temple, by Jean Charlot, 1922; Anita Brenner, by Tina Modotti, 1926. without having to read a whole book. The work of Anita Brenner’s friends was a major factor in the realization of Mexico’s culture. Before the political revolution, the people of Mexico were told who they were -- mostly other people’s’ stereotypes. But a new artistic revolution gave them the opportunity to create an identity for themselves, and share it with the world. That a Jewish woman used her background of persecution to facilitate this is something all Jews can be proud of.
Art from skirball.org, used by permission Page design and collage of Mexican art by Zev Kupferman
The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Arts & Culture
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In ‘Broad City,’ being Jewish moves beyond the punchline Of course the two different scenes are comedic -- the show airs on Comedy Central after all. But they do an excellent job of painting what it is like to be a loud and curly-haired JewIt’s nothing new in Hollywood ess in a world where straight blonde hair is idealized. While for Judaism to be the object of most shows use loud body language and curly hair as negative comedy, as in bar mitzvahs or men stereotypes to ridicule Jews, Broad City not only welcomes wearing peyot used as a demeaning those two traits, but scoffs at their opposites. Throughout, the punchline. But in the first episode show’s script does not mock Ilana for her Jewish attributes - it of Season Four of Broad City, embraces them as shown in these two memorable scenes. Most being Jewish was finally not the importantly, the two main characters are the writers of the punchline, but the substance of the show, and Jewish themselves in real life. Their experience and season’s debut episode. comportment seem organic, and that’s probably because they The premier episode, which are. aired Sept. 13 on Comedy Central, Anti-semitic stereotypes are not the only ones the episode was a double-view flashback Wikimedia addresses. Like every other episode of the series, this episode of showing viewers how the two main characters, Abbi Abrams (Abbi COMPANION: Abbi Jacobson, left, and Ilana Glazer play Jewish 20-somethings in New Broad City offers a wide array of socio-political commentary. For York City in Broad City. The show’s comedy centers on their daily routines and mishaps. example, when Ilana is alone on the subway, she leans in to watch Jacobson) and Ilana Wexler (Ilana African-American breakdancers on the train, and gets kicked in continues, “But when your hair Glazer), met. Ilana uses her Metro the face in the process. One of the men offers her all the money is curly, it looks like -- “ and then it is compared to hair found card to swipe Abbi into the New York subway when Abbi’s Metro his group has made that day, to which she replies (assuming he is elsewhere. Ilana calls the girl who says this a five-letter word startcard does not work, and the two make the ride. There is a second of a lower socio-economic class) that she is just a “silly, uppering with “b,” but in the same breathe surrenders, “But I’ll go over reality where the two do not make the subway. middle class NYU [epithet], so I wouldn’t take any money from it with the iron again.” She stomps off in defeat as the three other In the one where they do make their ride, after Abbi thanks you.” The man reveals he also goes to NYU -- the prestigious girls look elatedly at one another, exclaiming, “Good job.” Ilana, they go about their days separately, but then run into each Tisch School of the Arts, in fact. “We all do,” he says, pointing to This scene is filmed using a technique where two characters other and become friends at the end of the episode. The viewer of his four dancing partners. Upon learning this, Ilana takes the $20. facing each other are filmed in separate shots, highlighting the Season 4 can now see what Abbi and Ilana’s lives were like without The episode title “Sliding Doors” is a nod to the 1998 movie metaphorical and physical contrast between the three roommates each other, which was pretty gloomy. Sliding Doors, which was about a woman named Helen (Gwyneth and Ilana. While the hair remark derides the stereotypical Jew-fro Longtime viewers of the first three seasons -- on Hulu -- know Paltrow) who either misses or makes her train. The film alternates hairstyle, the show is really parodying those who mock Jew-fros. their friendship well. Abbi is a pushover while Ilana is pushy; Abbi between the two trajectories of her life depending on whether she Also during this encounter, Ilana declares she contributes “a lot is an aspiring artist working her way up from janitor to trainer at misses it or not. When she makes the ride, her life’s miserable. But of culture” to the suite. She also uses over-the-top body language a trendy New York City gym, while Ilana hangs by a thread at her when she does not, her life turns out perfectly. and hand gesturing throughout the discussion, while her likely sales job. Ilana is a hedonist who can’t do monogamy, while Abbi In the first episode of Broad City’s fourth season, the alternate is single for most of the show but copes with her chronic loneliness seventh-generation-American counterparts sit or stand straight and episode where the two spend the whole day together upon missing speak with their hands clasped calmly on top of their laps. with frequent visits to Bed, Bath and Beyond (their 20-percent-off their train seems like the right one. It explains a lot of the back Meanwhile, in the alternate reality where Ilana and Abbi don’t coupons never expire). story to the first three seasons -- Abbi’s obnoxious squatter roomget into the subway on time, they spend the whole day together. In this episode, Ilana is living in an NYU suite with three mate, her tattoo, why Ilana’s hair is worn curly and many more The two are chatting on a park bench when the sprinklers go off, WASP-y roommates, all of whom she calls Madison. She walks hallmarks of the show’s plot and characters. Why this is not the ruining Ilana’s hair-straightening efforts. Instantly a wet curly in on the Madisons having a suite meeting without her, since true reality is made clear by a shocking twist in the ending. mop, Abbi responds, “No, it looks so good like that. Why do you the meeting is about their mutual disdain for Ilana. They talk to In the world where they do make the train, on the other hand, straighten it?” each other to explain the situation calling one another by their most of their day is horribly separated, and they gladly run into Ilana retorts “‘Cause I look like a true Jew if I don’t straighten full names, such as “Jessica Merkel-Keller” and “Parker Luxton,” each other at the end of the day. This turns out to be the right it.” names that ring of all-American convention. The three have natustory after all. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Abbi shrugs. Ilana says Abbi rally thin, pin-straight hair adorned in neutral-colored headbands; The fact that the right reality is the one where they have just wouldn’t understand, but then Abbi reveals that she, too, is they wear high-cut blouses and they speak in a condescendingly isolated, miserable days for most of that universe until they run Jewish. Though Abbi doesn’t go through the agony of straightenpolite tone. into each other ties together the knot that rests at the center of the ing a Jew-fro everyday, Ilana is inspired by the comment and This mimics the more common caricaturing of Jews -- bankseries -- the idea that some friendships are so powerful they can decides to wear it curly everyday from then on. ers and lawyers named Chaim Goldberg, bar mitzvah boys called change a person’s entire life. The real world is not about everything In the reality where Ilana is insulted by her roommates, Abbi Shmuli, doctors with big noses and nasal voices. So the show is happening perfectly -- missing the subway with someone and then and Ilana have gone their separate ways after making the subway. stereotyping, but it is “reverse stereotyping,” thus directly redressinstantly becoming best friends. It’s about separation, loneliness When they reconvene at the end of the episode, Ilana tells Abbi ing anti-Semitism. It’s similar to the recent trend of white-people and lack of identity, up until you meet someone who, gradually, she loves her hair, which is choppy due to a bad hair day. jokes in response to centuries of demeaning jokes about black makes those things a bit more endurable. Together, the two parallel incidents illustrate the show’s endurpeople. ing theme of embracing imperfection and the unconditional love Among the suitemates’ many complaints about Ilana, one is and acceptance of true friendship. prefaced by their saying, “We know this one is just mean,” and
By Hannah Jannol, Editor-in-Chief
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Outside News NOVEMBER 2017
Florida teens say Hurricane Irma was ‘like buckets of water being thrown at our window’ According to Floridians contacted by the Boiling Point, the greatest panic about Hurricane Irma occurred before the storm hit. Sitting alone in hot, dark houses with boarded up windows, In anticipation of what everyone believed would be a catastrophe, amidst whirring generators, crackling radios and flickering battery people nervously hoarded water and food, boarded up windows and powered lamps, thousands of Floridians waited restlessly for the his- prepared for loss of power. toric Hurricane Irma to strike. Daniella Lewinger said people were particularly apprehensive for Then, on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 10, it did, having caused Irma because it fell just after Hurricane Harvey, which lasted from more than a million people to evacuate in a state of panic. Overlap- Aug.17 to Sept. 3, causing 77 fatalities and up to $180 billion in ping with the impact of the destructive Hurricane Harvey in Hou- damages, according to U.S. Secretary Treasury Steven Mnuchin. ston, Tex., the catastrophic effects predicted for the even larger Irma Adding to the panic, the hurricane actually took an unexpected had the internet buzzing, urging people to get out. turn west, hitting the Tampa area on Florida’s west coast, instead of Daniella Lewinger, a ninth grader who lives in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and other cities on the east. This turn caught a lot of westFla., witnessed the build-up and aftermath of the coast residents off guard. storm. She evacuated with her family to a house in However, she said she felt prepared, because she had “If you let yourthe Atlanta Jewish community, before direct impact lived through many hurricanes already. self get scared ... -- after a family poll. “If you let yourself get scared...every little thing just every little thing “We all got together and took a vote,” said Danmakes you more worried,” Daniella said. “If you assume just makes you iella in an interview with the Boiling Point. “The mait’s going to be okay and do the best you can, there is nothmore worried... jority vote was to leave, so we all left.” ing more you can do about it. Worrying isn’t going to help Worrying isn’t Rabbi Allan Houben, Judaic Studies Principal at you.” going to help you.” Atlanta Jewish Academy, saw Irma from a different Meanwhile, Deborah Wainberg, a friend of Daniella’s perspective. Although suffering from power outages, who lives in the same city and goes to the same school, had -- Daniella Lewinger, Rabbi Houben’s main connection to the storm was a very different experience. This was Deborah’s first hurriFt. Lauderdale helping Jewish evacuees find places to the stay until cane, and her family decided not to evacuate, because they the storm passed. did not live in an evacuation zone. He and other members of his community housed Despite the tension during the build-up beforehand, displaced Florida families, and also provided Shabbat services and Deborah, who lives on the east coast of Florida, found the storm kosher meals to around 1,500 people. Although the events sparked itself easier than expected. from a tragedy, Rabbi Houben described the outcome as being quite “This was our first time going through a hurricane and it wasn’t as beautiful. scary as people were saying,” said Deborah in a telephone interview “It doesn’t matter what shul you belong to,” Rabbi Houben said. with the Boiling Point. “It doesn’t matter who you are, or what walk of life you come from. “It was really hard rain...lots of water. It seemed like buckets of Everyone stands together to take care of each other. It was a beautiful water were being thrown at our window. It was honestly just eight thing, when the community comes together like that…an outpour- hours of rain, it wasn’t that bad.” ing of chesed,” or lovingkindness. Before Irma hit, tweets from President Trump, news media re-
By| Kate Orlanski, Staff Wrtier
Table Talk News to Help You Schmooze
Photo taken by NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team
EYE: Hurricane Irma lingered off Florida’s southeast coast longer than expected, confounding predictions that it would head up the east coast and devastate Miami. Instead, it moved west over Cuba and then turned north, heading up the state’s west coast. ports and nervous calls from relatives circulated through the homes of Floridians. All of the pressure from government agencies and the media to immediately evacuate raised the question of why so many decided to stay and ride out the storm. Jean-Louis Casabonne of Sebring, Fla., who works for a software company and lives halfway between Florida’s two coasts, was one of them. He said he felt prepared to ride it out, closely following the path of the hurricane on the news and taking that time to prepare for the impact. “It’s calm with an underlying level of anxiety...like a ticking time bomb,” said Mr. Casabonne of the anticipation he and and his community felt when waiting for the big storm. During the storm itself, most residents were simply stuck indoors, he said. Mr. Casabonne said people who were more likely to leave were those who are more vulnerable, such as the elderly, or people with small children. His own children are grown. Still, the hurricane was memorable, and not like a typical day of bad weather, Mr. Casabonne said. “When it’s at is heaviest, everything just sort of vibrates,” he said, “It’s loud. It’s like having a train go by.”
Uber faces federal investigation for unlawful business tactics By| tyler ekaireb, Outside News Editor
Opioid Crisis declared national emergency By| Jacob feitelberg, Deputy Editor-in-Chief
suited for national disasters that for health crises. Dr. Andrew Kolodney, co-director of opioid President Trump announced Oct. 26 that he policy research at the Heller School for Social Polwas instructing the Department of Health and icy and Management at Brandeis University, told Services to declare the opioid epidemic a national the New York Times that without a much larger public health emergency. sum of money, the emergency declaration will not The declaration called for more of the grant help get rid of the opioid crisis. money already in the budget to combat the crisis, President Trump said that the government but does not supply immediate additional fund- would start an aggressive advertising campaigning ing, according to the New York Times. trying to convince people to not start using opiIf the crisis were declared a national emergen- oids in the first place. cy, then under a law called the Stafford Drug overdoses killed more AmeriAct, the government would have been cans last year than guns or car accidents, “91 Americans able to tap into the Federal Emergency according to the New York Times, with die every day Management Agency’s Disaster Relief heroin and fentanyl contributing to the from opioid fund to fight the crisis. This act is what majority of overdose deaths. is invoked for disasters such as hurrioverdose” The number of Americans dying canes and earthquakes. from drug overdoses per year has tripled Instead, President Trump’s anfrom 1999 to 2016, going from just unnouncement invokes the Public Health der 20,000 people per year to more than Services Act, which tells federal agencies to direct 64,000 people, according to National Institute of more grant money, hire experts in the field, and Drug Abuse. expand the use of “telemedicine” — where cliniAccording to the U.S. Department of Health cal health care is provided via long-distance com- and Human Services (HHS), in 2015 12.5 milmunication if doctors are in short supply, usually lion Americans misused opioid prescription in rural areas. drugs, which are commonly prescribed for relief According to CNN, a senior Trump adminis- of short-term or long-term pain. tration official said that FEMA money was better
San Francisco-based Uber corporation is under federal investigation by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Joon Kim, for illegally tracking the driver activity of one of its largest competitors, Lyft. “Thanks to a secret software-based effort within Uber called ‘Hell,’ Uber could track how many Lyft drivers were available for new rides and where they were,” reported The Information, a news site that follows the technology industry. A concurrent class action lawsuit, brought on by a former driver, was recently dismissed by Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley. Although she permits a refile, it is unclear whether the case will proceed. Uber argued that the information was readily accessible and there was no proof of eavesdropping, nor any allegations of injury or monetary loss. Uber reportedly monitored trips and fares in different locations, and collected data on drivers who worked for both companies so it could incentivize exclusive use of Uber’s platform. The Los Angeles Times reported that the company stopped using the software in 2016. This incident joins a number of allegations surrounding Uber’s hardline tactics. Another Uber program discovered in March, known as ‘Greyball’, enabled it to avoid law enforcement investigators by identifying “terms of service vi-
olators” and denying their ride requests. Allegations ranging from stealing medical records and Google’s self-driving technology to withholding evidence in court have seen the company plagued with lawsuits, many still in the process of settlement. Under pressure from board members and investors related to ongoing internal tumult, former CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick ultimately resigned in late June, and the company’s worth has continued to drop as multiple investors fled, reducing stock prices by 15 percent. But the company continues to grow. Although Uber maintains a negative net income, losing about $2.8 billion in 2016, ride requests have increased by 150 percent in that time. And regardless of the unwelcome publicity, the company’s aggressive business strategy seems financially effective. BP GraPhic By Zev KuPferman The company’s new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, will have to deal with a host of difficulties and allegations, including sexual harassment and discrimination, most of which began well before he arrived. A former CEO of Expedia, Khosrowshahi has had little time as yet at Uber, but his résumé made him a natural choice for his new board of directors. Expedia’s quadrupling of its revenue while he was CEO and his reportedly collected personality have instilled hopes of a virtuous and successful future among Uber’s stockholders.
The Boiling Point •November 2017 • Outside News
Q&A with
Joseph Lieberman By| Jordan Fields, Q & A Editor
Sen.Joseph Lieberman served in the United States Senate from 1988 to 2013, representing the state of Connecticut where he was born. He started his career as a Democrat, but later became an independent. In the election of 2000, Sen. Lieberman was chosen to be the Democratic running mate of Vice President Al Gore, the first time a Jewish American had run on a national party’s presidential ticket. They lost the closest election race in U.S.history, winning the popular vote by 544,000 votes but losing by five electoral votes after a close race in Florida – ultimately decided in the Republicans’ favor by the Supreme Court – gave the electoral college majority to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Senator Lieberman is a Modern Orthodox Jew and attended Kesher Israel Congregation while in Washington, D.C. He now works for the New York law firm of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman. Boiling Point: What were your feelings about being the first Jewish candidate on any presidential ticket? Sen. Lieberman: I feel very grateful, very honored and also I had a sense of responsibility to make it work -- in other words, to conduct myself in a way that people would say win or lose, they did not lose because there was a Jewish candidate on the ticket. And I feel good about how all that happened. Just to go back to the gratitude, I had and always will have a lot of gratitude to Al Gore, because the choice of a vice presidential running mate is totally by the presidential nominee. And Gore had the confidence not only in me, but [in] the American people -- that they would be ready to have a Jewish candidate running for one of our top two offices, and that that [would] not mean the ticket would not win. And of course the fact that we got 544,000 more votes than the other ticket, regardless of that electoral college, is proof that he is right. Until election night it was just a great experience. BP: If you had been elected as vice president, do you think you still would have kept Shabbos?
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Al Gore’s running mate says he would have observed Shabbat as vice president, and that Jewish law would have allowed exceptions when necessary. He also describes being Sen. Barack Obama’s mentor when the future president was first elected.
observances to achieve their secular career goals. This is a country that has become very diverse and very accepting in many ways. BP: While you were on the campaign, of course you met many people from many different backgrounds. What was it like to meet many Americans? Sen. Lieberman: People are people and people were wonderful. One of the Secret Service people who was with me and in other campaigns he said he has never seen so many people say to the candidate: “God bless you.” [He said], “You know I think most of them are not Jewish, so I think it is Christians telling you that they respect your religion.” And that in a way that was a real common bond. The people of the country are diverse and welcoming. I know there is a lot of news today, which I do not like, about anti-immigrant feeling and certain rise on the right and on the left to of either ethnic or racial bigotry. But I think fortunately that is still a fringe group and the basic American ethic of the overall majority of the American people is accepting and tolerant. I learned from parents to treat everyone with respect and listen, and do not think you know more than anybody. The person who has a less important job than you may be more of an expert at something than you are, so you can learn and that is what I tried to do with my campaign, including the national campaign. BP: How do you think President Obama was for Orthodox Judaism? Do you think he was a good president for Orthodox Judaism? And how do you think President Trump is doing in that regard? Sen. Lieberman: I think the good news is that, both of them are different in their policies, but I think both of them are friends of the Jewish community and Orthodox Jews are tending to vote more Republican than Democrat. But I thought President Trump treats the Orthodox Jews with respect, but I thought President Obama did the same. He certainly treated me with respect. I will tell you a little story: They had a program where they asked each of the senators to have one Democrat and one Republican be their mentor, in an effort to create bipartisanship. And Senator Obama asked me to be his mentor, and that meant a lot to me.
Sen. Lieberman: Yes. I would have kept Shabbos, with the exception that when there were public responsibilities associated with being vice president, that I would do them. I think there is a body of Jewish law that makes it clear that people in positions of responsibility that have to do with Senator Lieberman visits Navy base in Groton, Connecticut. the well-being of the community, and particularly the security of the community, in a sense have a Minister Netenyahu would say, and others would higher obligation to fulfill those responsibilities say, that he never supported President Trump and than to carry out every religious requirement for BP: What was that like working with Presi- I don’t think he really did. He had a pretty good Sabbath. I never had any concern about that, and relationship with the Clintons also. dent Obama and being his mentor? Vice President Gore did not either. He clearly has a comfortable feeling now that Trump’s in office [and is comfortable] with PresiSen. Lieberman: Well, one of the things I disBP: When you were in the Senate or just politics in general, was it ever difficult to be in poli- covered was that he did not need much mentor- dent Trump, and I hope it lasts because it is good ship! He was and is quite gifted. Very good with for America and Israel. tics and balance that with being Jewish? people, very smart, very hardworking. Civil man, BP: What advice would you give today to Sen. Lieberman: The bottom-line answer is no, you know? A gentleman. We talked about some of the rules of the sen- high school students? Should they consider goit was not hard to balance my Jewish life with my ate, I do not mean the rules, not the parliamentary ing into government or politics? public life. Does it take work sometimes? It does. For in- rules. But I would counsel him on how to be efSen. Lieberman: I could look back at it -- I was stance, I always said from the beginning of my fective, and part of that was making friends not career as a state senator way back in the 1970s only among Democrats but among Republicans, 40 years old when I took office and I started with some hopes and dreams, and I was really blessed to that I would not do any politics on Shabbat, but because in the end you cannot get anything done when you do not have some realize a lot of them and to have the opportunity to I would to the best of ability fulfill all of my public responsibilities, because I thought that was my support from the party other than the one you’re hold offices in which I could get things done and to make things better for people. in. obligation. I would say you have to be ready to work hard, … And I would say he was a very good student. I was pretty much always able to do that. For but it is worth working hard, because you can have instance, when I got to the Senate I really made a He did not need much teaching. an enormous impact on the community you live in commitment that I would never miss a vote on a BP: What are your thoughts about Prime or the country you live in. Shabbat. Does that mean I had to make an effort, I would say that sometimes young people tell did sometimes I walk the four-and-a-half miles Minister Netenyahu’s support of then-ccandifrom my house to the Capitol or back? Yes I did. date Trump, and now of President Trump? Do me that they decide that they want to be in pubBut it was not that big of a deal, and I was able you think he was making a mistake in that re- lic service and they say what should I do, and I to do it and I thought it was important to do it gard or do you think he is doing the right thing? surprise them by saying that first, read as much history and biography as you can, so that you can that way. Sen. Lieberman: I think Prime Ministers and understand what went before you and you can I do feel very strongly -- and I will say it to you because you are young, Jordan -- is that we are in a Israeli politicians ought to stay out of American have some specific idea of the impact a leader can wonderful country where young people Jewish or elections and then try their best to have very good have for the good or bad. In your reading, You may otherwise, should feel, or any religion should feel, relationships with whoever wins those elections, develop some heroes or mentors in history. And if you are still interested, go out and start that they will never have to forsake their religious obviously at the presidential level. So I think Prime
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getting involved. And I can tell you this from my own experience: be ready to take a risk and run for something where you can lose, because that Is the only way you can make progress in any career. BP: While you were in the Senate or other office, can you tell me a mentor or two that you had? Sen. Lieberman: Yeah. That’s a great question. President Kennedy was a great inspiration in my life, but I was only a kid when he got elected. There was a man named Abraham Ribicoff, who was a Governor and Senator from Connecticut. He happened to be Jewish and is a hero of mine. When he got elected, I got to know him and he became very important to me in that way. When I got to the Senate, I would say there were two people who were mentors. One was a Senator named Pat Moynihan -- he was a Senator from New York, he was a Democrat. The other was a senator from New Hampshire named Warren Rudman, he was a Republican. But honestly some of the things I learned, most were from my contemporaries. I wouldn’t say that they were mentors, but John McCain and I became very good friends, and I have the greatest admiration and affection for him, and just by his public service and commitment to our country, he taught me a lot.
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Opinion
NOVEMBER 2017
EDITORIALS
Modesty isn’t the issue when poor women need assistance By the BP Editorial Board Two weeks ago, senior Sarina Finn — standing on the corner of Pico and Robertson outside Walgreens — collected 4,704 tampons and pads for women in need. Not only was this charity innovative, but it was extremely important, as low-income women all over Los Angeles have a real difficulty maintaining their health and dignity every month during their periods. Sarina’s primary goal was to help these women in a practical way, and she was also interested in destigmatizing the period. A woman will spend roughly 6.25 years of her life on her period, which is normal, necessary and healthy. Yet it seems as if it still seen as a shameful, private experience. When Sarina asked if she could hold what she called “The Drive” at Shalhevet, she was told by Dr. Weissman that school was not the appropriate place for it because periods are private, and as a Jewish institution we must approach this topic in a tzanua, or modest, manner. He suggested Sarina hold a drive for all types of necessities and include a bin for “feminine hygiene” -- which would have
missed the point. He also worried about the maturity of students at school who would encounter the drive. But such immaturity is exactly why there should be talk about periods. Shalhevet upperclassmen would show an example to the younger students of how to be appropriate and respectful. Periods are a sign of a healthy woman; if a woman does not get her period, there is concern. They are a natural part of life and women should not be shamed for it. Guys saying, “Is it that time of the month?” or people ignoring the issue of homeless women getting their periods on the streets needs to be spoken about so it can stop. We would never tell someone to not raise awareness for an illness. So why would we silence someone who wants to bring attention to something that is normal and healthy? Sarina’s drive did not even have the word “period” in it; it was just titled The Drive. But if she had chosen to have that word in the name it would make perfect sense. If the point was to help women who are embarrassed to share their struggle because of the sensitivity of the topic, then
desensitizing people to the word will ultimately help women get the supplies that they need. There has also been an issue of religious sensitivity. This might stem from the fact that in Judaism, a woman on her period is considered tameh, or ritually impure, and must immerse herself in the mikvah afterwards before her husband may touch her. Although this is true, the Boiling Point lives by a phrase in Leviticus Chapter 19: “Don’t be a tale bearer, [but] don’t stand idly by the blood of our neighbors, I am God.” This is extremely apt here. We must literally not stand idly by the blood of our low-income female neighbors; we must let go of our preconceived notions to spread awareness and ensure all women have what they need for this normal, God-given monthly process. If our community can rise above this issue for the sake of charity and understand that a beautiful part of women’s biology needs to be discussed, we can begin to end the shame and difficulty that women experience on their period. Period.
Bring the ‘covenant’ to Town Hall By the BP Editorial Board The Agenda Committee’s officers signed a “covenant” early this year, outlining guidelines that every officer had to abide by, such as adhering to the Student Handbook, being in dress code, being enthusiastic about school programs, and volunteering at school events. It was written by the committee’s faculty advisers. Recently, Rabbi Schwarzberg brought Agenda Chair Daniel Lorell to Fairness, saying he had violated the covenant by missing Kabbalat Shabbat while on the freshman-senior retreat. The Fairness Committee responded by laying out guidelines to enforce the covenant with a new three-strike policy: each violation of the covenant will count as a strike, and after three strikes, the school votes on whether the chair gets to keep his or her job. We see a multitude of problems with this.
Since the covenant is an agreement between the community and its leaders, it does not make sense that the community did not have a say in what the covenant says. It should have been brought to Town Hall for a community-wide discussion and vote. It should have been amended to be more specific. And it should have also been amended to communicate the ideals of our current Just Community. Although Rabbi Schwarzberg said there was “a need for it in the moment,” the need for a democratic process involving it was stronger. If the foundation of a Just Community is democracy, and the covenant is in place to ensure that its leaders adhere to follow what the community wants, then it only makes sense that these rules are derived from our democratic process. The whole point of it is government by consent of the governed -- otherwise known as buy-in. If no one besides Rabbi Schwarzberg and Aviva Walls minds if Daniel Lorell does not attend
Open House, should Daniel give up three hours of his time to to please those two people? If attendance and participation are strong ideals for the Just Community, then perhaps the Agenda Chair candidates need to prove that they have a history of participation in school events. Either way, the Shalhevet student body and staff should have a say. And if the punishment can be as severe as impeachment, it is also important that the expectations in this covenant are crystal clear. Why would Fairness have to determine whether our leaders violate these clauses? It is also important that there is some leniency; although Shalhevet holds students to a high standard, it is important that these expectations are doable. It’s easy to imagine that such a covenant could be extremely valuable for our Just Community. But the community has to have a say, and the way to do that is through Town hall.
Editor-in-Chief Hannah Jannol
The Boiling Point National Award Winners 2007-2017 International First Place Award 2011-2016
2013, 2014, 2016, 2017
National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Finalist 2015, 2014, 2012 Online Pacemaker Finalist 2015, 2017
Simon J. Rockower Awards 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
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Sweepstakes Awards, Blue and Gold Comprehensive Writing Award 2016
Awards in Jewish Scholastic Journalism
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Gold Crown Award 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Gold Circle Awards 2011-2017 Columbia Scholastic Press Association
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Opinion Editor Aidel Townsley
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Sports Editor Tobey Lee
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Senior Editor Benjamin Zaghi
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THE BOILING POINT is the student-produced newspaper of Shalhevet High School and a public forum for the students and the community. Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the members of the Editorial Board, which consists of the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Web Editor, Community Editor and Faculty Advisor. We welcome submissions for signed editorials from members of the Shalhevet Community, and the final decision about printing them is made by the Editorial Board. Letters to the Editor may be submitted via e-mail to shalhevetboilingpoint@gmail.com. The Boiling Point reserves the right to edit letters and opinion submissions and all become the property of The Boiling Point. Signed opinion articles and advertisements in The Boiling Point purchased by third parties do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Editorial Board or The Boiling Point as a whole. To advertise, please contact the Advertising Editor at 2019.j.fishman@shalhevet.org. The Boiling Point encourages readers to inform the newspaper of any possible factual errors found in print or online by emailing us as at shalhevetboilingpoint@gmail.com. When appropriate, we will fix the story online, and correct the error on Page 2 or on this page in the next print edition. Policies on conflict of interest and the use of anonymous sources can be viewed at shalhevetboilingpoint.com under the “About” tab.
The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Opinion
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TWO BOILING POINTS OF VIEW:
Seniors’ decision for prom up in the air Soiree was voted down by the senior class, but they can still go back on their initial decision.
PROM?
No: It’s against our values By Tali scHLACHT, 12th grade In recent weeks, Shalhevet seniors have been debating whether to hold a prom or a Senior Soirée. Soirée was implemented for the first time last year with the class of 2017, and the administration had hoped it would set a precedent for future senior classes. This year’s seniors voted on the issue Sept. 22. and Soirée lost by 13 votes out of 57 cast -- 3522. But the seniors still have the option to change their minds and go back on their vote, as the administration is eager to hold the school-sanctioned event. Some have already changed to favor Soiree. They are right. There cannot truly be a better way to culminate our time at Imagine how it would Shalhevet than spending a final night together at an event that feel for students to is inclusive of all seniors, and only Shalhevet students, before get all dressed up to go out for a bit, and we go our separate ways. when all their classFor last year’s Soirée, the seniors were treated to dinner at mates are heading Tierra Sur at the Herzog Wine Cellars, followed by a ride on to a party, they just a yacht and a stay at the oceanfront Embassy Suites Hotel. head home. Pictures were taken and students had the chance to dress up, and the evening went on into the morning hours. There was no alcohol and all but one student attended. This year, seniors would be in charge of Soirée, just as they were in charge of prom in the past. During a recent Gemara class, Rabbi Stein suggested that if students would prefer not having faculty in the dance room at the hotel, they could ask Dr. Weissman about it and perhaps he’d agree. Soirée creates the perfect setting for bonding with classmates and teachers and saying goodbye. But if students have suggestions for another alternative to prom, the administration has made it clear that it is totally open to it. Our administration wants to hear from us! The main thing missing from Soirée is the party called “after-prom” -- the unsafe, post-prom event where students are often peer-pressured into drinking, drugs and other inappropriate behavior. As Principal Dr. Noam Weissman described it at this year’s meeting with the seniors, in previous years some students drank large quantities of alcohol at after-prom, which aside from being illegal can be deadly. Administration is trying to prevent that, which is why the school is willing to itself spend more than $10,000 for Soirée, almost entirely funding it. Also, prom fails to include all students, which should be the real goal of the night. It’s been made clear to all of us that there are students who believe prom is not an environment they want to be part of, and who will therefore not attend. Some have said that since prom is different from after-prom, then a student uncomfortable with the obvious “after” issues can just skip the after-party. But can you imagine how it would feel for students to get all dressed up to go out for a bit, and when all their classmates are heading to a party, they just head home? Finally, even without after-prom, the basics of prom culture create a lot of social pressure to find dates and spend an exorbitant amount of money, while Soiree -- subsidized by the school -would cost just $80 dollars per student, less than the combined price of a prom ticket, dress, shoes, makeup and hair. Although prom is a tradition in many high schools across America, it’s not a tradition that fits with our Shalhevet beliefs. After four years in an environment which cares deeply about promoting Jewish values, it doesn’t seem right to conclude our time at Shalhevet by holding a night filled with things we’ve learned so many reasons to avoid. If we vote for Soirée then in 20 years if we’re asked,“What was your high school prom like?” we can be proud to say that we did something that meant something to us and expressed who we were and what we stood for -- instead of a dangerous, pricey and non-inclusive prom. Instead, we should sum up our Shalhevet experience in a much more inclusive, appropriate, and meaningful experience called Senior Soirée. It’s a new tradition, and it should be here to stay.
Yes: Prom is not after-prom By RAMI GRUMan, 12th grade Last year, following five years of effort, the administration finally succeeded in convincing Shalhevet’s senior class to eschew traditional prom celebrations in favor of a replacement created by the administration, dubbed “Senior Soirée.” This year, however, the seniors have thus far decided against the Soirée in favor of a return to prom. The administration has expressed its disappointment with this decision, and urged seniors to reconsider. They have argued both to students and parents that having a soirée would eliminate concerns regarding both safety and inclusivity towards those who do not want to partake in Prom -- both of which have been issues that have arisen during typical senior class end of year celebrations. But ending the year with a Soirée would not be more moral, or even more in line with Shalhevet’s values, than ending it with a prom. That’s because the problem isn’t with prom -- it’s with after-prom, which most likely would occur in some fashion even after a Soirée. In contrasting the virtues of a typical prom and Soirée, it is critical to separate the separate entities of prom and after- prom. The vast majority of violations of “Shalhevet values” -- namely immodesty and the proliferation of alcohol -- occur during the after-prom. If having a soirée would also eliminate the possibility of an after-prom, the view of Soirée as being more in line with Shalhevet’s values would be understandable. But aside from its name, there is no aspect of after-prom that requires it to occur in tandem with prom -- and indeed, after-prom type celebrations were not eliminated last year. They merely occurred without prom as a preliminary. According to numerous members of last year’s senior class -- none of whom would allow their names to be used for this article -- there was a grade-wide party the night of graduation. “We didn’t feel like a Soirée deterred us from having parties,” said one 2017 graduate who did not want to be named. These parties resembled an after-prom party, with alcohol, marijuana and mixed dancing. Additionally, most members of last year’s senior class attended the YULA after-prom, which took place a few days after Soirée. So while some considered the 2017 Soirée a resounding success in concluding seniors’ Shalhevet journey in a manner that was in accordance with Jewish values, the reality Aside from its name, there was that their last experience together as a grade was is no aspect of after-prom at a party, just like the classes of previous years. that requires it to occur After-prom celebrations do indeed involve violain tandem with prom tions of Modern Orthodox values and safety risks, but and indeed, after-prom prom itself does not. If the senior class holds a prom, celebrations were not students who feel either unsafe or unethical attendeliminated last year. They ing after-prom can simply attend prom and skip the merely occurred without after-party. prom as a preliminary. Such students are in no better a position if the senior class decides to have a Soirée: they will be able to attend Soirée without encountering dangers to either their safety or religious values, but they will still be either uncomfortable attending or excluded from the after-prom party that will come a few days earlier or later. So while the administration continues to push for the senior class to reconsider its decision to have prom in favor of Soirée, they should know this: the choice will have no bearing on whether or not Shalhevet’s values will be collectively violated by the senior grade this June. No matter what else happens, there’s nothing they can do about the fact that this year will likely conclude with an after-prom-like event involving alcohol and more. They should focus their fundraising efforts -- and the $10,000 expense of Soirée -- elsewhere.
Photo Illustrations by Zev Kupferman
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The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Opinion
Understanding 9/11 requires more than facts
By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Arts & Culture Editor Sept. 11, 2001, was one of the darkest days in U.S. history. Three thousand people’s lives came to an end. How should we properly commemorate this fateful day? This year, Shalhevet aimed to have General Studies teachers incorporate 9/11 into their lesson plans. For example, in all of Mr. Reusch’s History and Government classes, students learned about the impact of 9/11 on our lives today, even in Los Angeles. In Mr. Weslow’s English class, students discussed how 9/11 would be remembered in the future. This was excellent, but our 9/11 programming can be improved. Because unlike other tragedies of this scale, it is recent enough that most people who experienced it are still alive. Last year, Shalhevet had a short assembly during which there was a video shown and a speech given by Mr. Reusch. There was no such assembly this year. There have, however, been several other assemblies held for different special days and events. Shalhevet has held assemblies and used class time for holidays including Martin Luther King Day, Yom Yerushalayim and Yom Hazikaron. These commemorations showed our school’s commitment to giving students a sense of both Jewish and American history. For 9/11, all students -- not just Mr. Reusch’s and Mr. Weslow’s -- should have a General Studies class, and there should also be a school-wide assembly
where they can hear from people who have a personal connection to the event. Sept. 11 is unique in that it is one the most significant nation-shaping events of our previous generation. People who experienced it are still alive. We could use this opportunity to gain a different perspective of the events. One of the comments that I hear most when I talk to adults about 9/11 is how surprised they are that enough time has passed that a young adult was not alive when it happened. That day had an impact on everyone who can remember it. The image of the towers falling will be with them forever. This is something that today’s teenagers lack. Imagine if we could hear from survivors and people who experienced other major events in history -- like the D-day invasion or the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In this case, we do have that opportunity. We should take advantage of it. While it would be challenging to organize an event that does justice to the victims, hearing from individuals would greatly change our perspective. We can know every fact about what happened at the time, but we will never be able to understand what it was truly like to live through it -- or how the lives we live are different from what came before. To truly understand how it felt to live at this time, we should hear from real people. The events of 9/11 deserve more than a history lesson.
commons.wikimedia.org Page design by Noa Segal
The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Opinion
B’H
WELCOME AND B’HAZLACHA TO ALL THE PLAYERS IN THE ANNUAL
STEVE GLOUBERMAN z’l BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT NOVEMBER 8-12
Disasters since Issue 1: Hurricane Harvey (Houston) Hurricane Irma (Florida) Hurricane Maria (Puerto Rico) Santa Rosa fires (Northern California) Las Vegas mass shooting WHERE TO DONATE: redcross.org/donate nechama.org jcdr.org jewishfederations.org/crisis-relief
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Sports NOVEMBER 2017
Glouberman tournament adding three more teams and one more day Firehawk JV squad added to make an even number for schedule By Tobey Lee, Sports editor
The third annual Steve Glouberman Tournament is coming up and now has a third day of basketball, which could affect all of Shalhevet. The reason for an additional day is that there are now 12 boys teams at the tournament instead of nine. New teams this year include Shalhevet neighbor Harkham Gaon Academy, which meets at the Westside Jewish Community Center (JCC); Katz Yeshiva High School of Boca Raton, Fla.; Northwest Yeshiva High School of Seattle; and Rabbi Alexander S. Gross Hebrew Academy of Miami. The tournament was originally supposed to have 12 boys teams, but Flatbush Yeshiva High School of Brooklyn, N.Y., dropped out. When that happened, it became impossible to divide 11 teams into even pools, so Shalhevet’s junior varsity boys team will now participate as the 12th team. Athletic Director Ryan Coleman said the tournament grew because a large number of teams contacted Shalhevet asking to play in it, so more teams were invited. In fact, he said that if Shalhevet had accepted or extended invitations to all of the teams that asked about the tournament, the tournament could have hosted 16 to 20 boys teams. But it would have been too difficult to find homes for that many players to stay in. “The amount of schools that reached out to us because they heard positive things about the tournament was kinda overwhelming,” Coach Ryan said. Development Coordinator Raizie Weissman said around 60 families in the community are hosting 232 out-of-state players this year. Including coaches, the community hosts around 275 people -- up from 200 players from across the country for the tournament. She said it’s not difficult to get families to host, but it takes persistence. “At first, it takes awhile for them to hear it a couple of times,” Ms. Weissman said. “It’s definitely stressful in the beginning, but we always get it done.” Because it’s getting larger each year, officials are hoping that
YULA will co-host the Glouberman Tournament once their boys’ school gym, currently under construction, is completed. Since Steve Glouberman, z”l, the Shalhevet parent in whose memory the tournament is named, went to YULA and played basketball for that school as a teen, so it would be a natural fit, Coach Coleman said. “Steve Glouberman is an alumni of YULA, so in my mind, that [idea of co-hosting] would kind of make sense,” he said. “We would love if we were able to do that at both sites.” He has not formally discussed this yet with YULA’s athleti director. But he added that since the high schools are 2.5 miles apart, it might not be logistical. “Geographically, it’s not the best situation in the world,” he said. The Westside Jewish Community Center (JCC), on the other hand, is close by, and therefore convenient for parents and students to park or walk from to from Shalhevet. The JCC, which is Harkham Gaon’s home court, will be used as a location for Glouberman. Coach Coleman said that he wants to eliminate as much driving as possible.
Meanwhile, at this year’s tournament the Lady Firehawks are looking to win their second Glouberman title and defeat Boca, a team they lost to last year at Glouberman and also at the Hyman Galbut tournament in Miami. On the other hand, the boys varsity and JV teams are looking to win their first Glouberman title ever.w This year, the tournament will again have six girls teams, two of them different from last year’s roster -- Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School of Teaneck, New Jersey and Rabbi Alexander S. Gross Hebrew Academy of Miami, according to Athletic Director Ryan Coleman. The girls’ Israeli team Elitzur-Petach Tikvah girls team and North Shore will not be returning. “I believe that they’re reasoning was that they just weren’t competitive enough, we invited them back, but they didn’t think they were competitive,” Coach Coleman said. The boys Elitzur team will be returning. Both the girls and boys Firehawk varsity teams are in rebuilding stages, as each team lost key seniors with graduation last year. Additionally, the girls team has a new coach, Jeff Remer, this season. Coach Coleman thinks the girls could win the tournament for the second time. “Shalhevet has improved a lot in the off season and working with Coach Remer, I would anticipate that they will be the team to beat in the tournament,” he said. Sophomore star guard Kikuyo Shaw is looking forward to facing Boca. “We’re kind of going through this whole team rebuilding, and with only like a month to actually practice, we sort have to become a cohesive team,” Kikuyo said. Since the Firehawks lost to Boca in championship games at both Glouberman and Hyman P. Galbut Girls Basketball Tournament last year, she’s looking forward to playing them this year “to redeem ourselves”. She said the three keys to winning the tournament would be teamwork, coordination and mental toughness. “The first game will be crucial in determining how we continue on through the tournament,” said Kikuyo. Senior forward/center Loren Edry said that calling screens, rebounding and boxing out, and making layups and free throws would all be important. “The most important thing we need to do is communicate on the court,” Loren said. On the boys team, junior Asher Dauer is excited to show what the team has to offer on the court. He explained that the team has only had one scrimmage game, so -- as it has been every year -Glouberman will be the team’s first real experience playing competitively together. This is because the CIF basketball season doesn’t start until Nov. 20. yeshivahs.org “The most important thing is to stick to Ryan’s game plan,” Asher said. “Offensively, nobody can NEW: The Storm, of Katz Yeshiva High School in Boca Raton, Fla., is one of four new get carried away in their own game, and also, same boys teams playing in the Glouberman tourmanent this year. Shalhevet's teams say thing on defense, don’t try to do too much -- and they are in a rebuilding season after high-scoring players graduated last year, but work as a team, that’s when we’re at our best.” Coach Ryan Coleman thinks they have a chance to do well, especially with new girls Co-captain Ben Mashiach said that team coheCoach Jeff Remer. The tournament runs Wednesday, Nov. 8 through Sunday, Nov. 12. siveness is the biggest challenge for the Firehawks.
To kneel or not to kneel: that is not the question By CLARA SANDLER, Community Editor Around the NFL, players are kneeling during the National Anthem to protest our president and racial discrimination around the United States. Players and owners are uniting to stand up for what they believe, and I support them. But this is not a political column, so I am not going to go on a whole rant about my opinion on this issue. I am here to talk about the place that politics has in sports. During Week 5 of the football season, Vice President Mike Pence appeared at the San Francisco 49ers vs. Indianapolis Colts game and then left before the game even started, because players knelt in protest. President Trump commended his actions, tweeting “I asked @VP Pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled, disrespecting our country. I am proud of him and @SecondLady Karen.” Actor Zach Braff tweeted and pointed out that Pence “… wait for it…. Protested.” It seems that Mr. Pence was protesting the behavior of protesting — which to me does not make a lot of sense. Regardless, President Trump, Vice President Pence and their supporters think that players are disrespecting our country and troops by kneeling during the anthem. Others feel that football players are rather being very patriotic by exercising their First Amendment right to free speech. But what does this have to do with sports? Sports usually are an escape from politics and real-world problems. Sports unite us. Even if we support different teams, Los Angeles Lakers fans and Boston Celtics fans can agree that basketball is a great sport. Unfortunately, the issue of choices during the National Anthem is now dividing people in what should be a sacred place. And in a country already so divided about guns, health care and who should be president, the last thing we need is another divisive issue. So here’s what I say: live and let live. If Vice President Pence wants to show up to the pre-game show and then leave, it is his right. If the Pittsburgh Steelers choose not to leave their locker room during the National Anthem, it’s their right, too. The most beautiful thing about our country is that it is a place that strives for equality and freedom. Sports may divide us by team and by city, but they should not divide us between those who stand and those who kneel, or between people who feel one way or another about race, guns, healthcare or the president. Instead, let’s focus on the sports themselves. Let’s focus on playing the games, on supporting our teams, on appreciating a beautiful catch or a crazy interception or a ridiculous slamdunk. I support those who kneel, who stand, who sing, who hum, and who walk out when others do or don’t do those things. I support those who speak out against, and those who speak out in favor. But now, let’s focus on the games instead of the news. The Dodgers are in their first World Series win since 1988, and even the Rams are having what appears to be their strongest season in a long time. It’s inevitable — politics will be present in the sports world. But it’s also okay to cheer the teams and enjoy a Jeff’s hot dog at the ballpark. Because really, what else would you rather be doing? “I definitely think our biggest competitor would be ourselves and just playing as a cohesive unit, as a team,” said Ben. Only once has a Firehawk team won the Glouberman tournament. The Lady Firehawks beat the Frisch Cougars of Paramus, N.J., in the tournament’s first year of play back in 2015. The closest the boys varsity team has come was also back in 2015, when they lost to YULA in the semifinal. The tournament is named in memory of alumni parent Steve Glouberman, who had three children, Leah ‘13 and twins Jeremy and Rachel ‘15, who all participated on sports teams at Shalhevet. Mr. Glouberman played basketball at YULA. Other teams that will not be returning are MTA boys team and both North Shore’s boys and girls teams. MTA has a basketball tournament prior to Steve Glouberman, so their coach thought it would be too much if the team missed two weeks of school, according to Coach Coleman. Regarding North Shore, he said Shalhevet did not extend an invitation to them because their players were a little “rambunctious,” and did not represent the tournament's values. Whatever the personnel, it’s clear that this year’s Glouberman tournament will be bigger than ever, in both time, number of teams, and number of hosts. Ben Mashiach is looking forward to multiple days that are just focused on basketball. “I think I’m looking forward to the environment of just basketball, basketball, basketball -- that whole mentality of just putting in 110 percent every single day when you wake up in the morning and just putting blood, sweat, and tears into basketball.”
The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Sports
23 Girls football team wavers on Loma Linda, may end season with no games after LA Adventist closes athletic program By Tobey Lee, Sports Editor For the second year in a row, the girls flag football team did not join in the Loma Linda tournament last month. Last year, it was because of Sukkot, but this year not enough players wanted to go. In a Schoology post Oct. 18 to the Girls Flag Football team page, Athletic Director Ryan Coleman explained the situation. “Players and families, I regret to inform you all that the team will not be going to the tournament this weekend in Loma Linda," Coach Coleman wrote. "There were not enough commitments and far too many people wavering whether they wanted to go or not." And that was not the final blow to the girls' season. YULA cancelled a game schedule Oct. 25, and as of this week a field had not been found for a game against Glendale Adventist. L.A. Adventist in Willowbrook, about 40 minutes southeast of Shalhevet, was an opponent in past years, but this year they had no teams at all. "Every sports program at their school was shut down due to a lack of funding, so that’s one less school we have to play against,” said Coach Coleman, calling the school "one of the teams that we used to play all the time." The Lady Firehawks played half of their games against LA Adventist last year, which means that athletic director Ryan Coleman will have to find other teams that are willing to play against the Firehawks. Coach Coleman described the problem in an interview. “There is no league for girls flag football, so it’s a struggle to find games," he said, "unless we’re going to travel an hour and a half to play a single game." That left YULA, and Coach Coleman said he had been notified that YULA assembled a team, but that it had not started practicing. A game was scheduled between the Firehawks and Panthers on Oct. 25, but YULA canceled because according to YULA’s athletic director, the game was never confirmed, only suggested. According to Coach Coleman, YULA suggested playing on Nov. 9, but Shalhevet declined
BP Photo By Jillian EinalhoRi HISTORY: Firehawk quarterback Nicole Feder raised the ball over the players from LA Adventist High School in Sept. 2013. LA Adventist closed its athletic program this year, possibly ending Shalhevet's season. since it is in the middle of the Glouberman Basketball Tournament. Outside of YULA, the team is tentatively scheduled to play Glendale Adventist on Nov. 7. But according to Coach Coleman, Glendale Adventist still has to secure a field and asked Shalhevet to find one, but preparations for Glouberman made that impossible for him. Coach Coleman has coached the girls team himself this year, having coached boys football and baseball in addition to the varsity basketball team in the past. Cornerback Sarina Finn said in September
that the team needed more of a bond to succeed. “We’re a lot less connected than last year, I think because we started practicing so late,” said Sarina. The Firehawks started practicing Sept. 25, which was less than a month before they were supposed to go to Loma Linda. Sarina thought the team would start off rusty, since they do not have lots of chemistry and are a particularly big team. Also, with 10 freshmen on the team, new ninth-graders would be playing important positions left vacant by seniors who graduated last year.
But she also said that since the team is not in a formal league, the Firehawks can enjoy practicing more. “Football, for girls at least, has always been more of a fun sport rather than so much of a competitive sport,” she said. Last year, the girls team finished without playing at Loma Linda and ended up playing just four games, finishing with a 2-2 record. This year, the team had only two games scheduled, one against Glendale Adventist and one against YULA.
Shalhevet beats YULA in a rivalry that never gets old In the middle of the third quarter, cheers and screams rose as Firehawk seIt was bright and sunny on Sunday after- nior Sam Hirschhorn returned a punt for noon, Sept. 17, when the Shalhevet Firehawks 80 yards. He twisted and spun through took the field against their crosstown rivals, the a sea of black and yellow, and continued YULA Panthers, in their annual rivalry game sprinting all the way to the end zone. The fans went wild -- but the referee in flag football. As the Hawks lined up for the kickoff, their red and black uniforms clashed called a controversial flag-guarding pendramatically against the stark yellow of the Pan- alty that retracted the touchdown. Throughout the rest of the game, thers’ jerseys. And that was only the beginning of the con- the Shalhevet defense put an immediate flict as the two hyped-up teams met at Woodley stop to any YULA attack. Shalhevet juPark in Van Nuys. The Westside Modern Ortho- nior and offensive lineman Ami Nelson dox community’s two largest high schools have described the defense as a key reason for the win. an ongoing rivalry across all sports, “Our defense was and flag football, in just its fifth definitely -- really season, is the newest. I have memories shut themthere down,” said Shalhevet won 12-6 after leadback in 9th grade Ami. ing the whole game. BP Photo By Rami Fink While the game it“It felt good to beat them, but of losing to YULA, KICKOFF: Shalhevet's Avi Weinreb gets ready to return a kick against YULA Sep. 17. self carried on as any we wanted to destroy them,” said and it feels good other, emotions ran senior Ilan Bouskila. It was the week before Rosh to be the winner high“Itfor allwasthe players. declined to elaborate with any specific examples. definitely Hashanah, but the players insisted in any way to the other team. He said he expects the two teams to meet it was all in fun. Ilan’s father, Juthis time. more of a personal thing -“They’re good -- they didn’t talk trash talk or there was a difference,” said again in the playoffs, and predicted that YULA daic Studies teacher Rabbi Daniel -Ami Nelson, 11th grade anything bad like that,” Daniel said. Ami. “I have memories back in would win then. Bouskila, wondered whether senseMeanwhile, the Firehawks spent the weekend But along with the other emotions in evi9th grade of losing to YULA, less hatred -- the dreaded sinat chiof Oct. 20-22 at the Loma Linda flag football and it feels good to be the win- dence, there was also a degree of respect. nam -- might be involved. Sam Hirschhorn said Judaism brought the tournament in San Bernardino County, winning ners this time.” “Who’s ready for the sinat chione out of their three games their against SevSenior and receiver Sam Hirschhorn said teams together in spite of the rivalry. nam match of the year?” Rabbi Bouskila asked. “Of course there was rivalry and trash talk… enth Day Adventist high schools. “Any trash talk was totally friendly,” replied “tensions are really high” whenever the two The team finished the regular season undebut in the end we’re all Jews, and I think both teams meet. Ilan. “We both wanna beat each other really bad- teams remembered that,” said the Shalhevet se- feated, with a record of 7-0. However, the team YULA scored only once -- in the second has been eliminated from the playoffs, as they nior. quarter -- though it got close many times. The ly,” said Sam. From YULA’s perspective, Shalhevet was lost in the semifinals to De Toledo 28-0 on Oct. YULA’s coach Dayvon Ross wasn’t sure Shalfirst play of the game was a deep pass to YULA noted for sportsmanship -- and a lack of insults. 26. receiver Daniel Dahan that was swatted down by hevet had really earned the win. YULA’s captain, Daniel Dahan, said the Fire“They had the refs on their side, and that’s Firehawk freshman Mikey Oelberger to prevent what gave them the win,” Coach Ross said. He hawks had skill, and were not disrespectful a touchdown.
By Rami Fink, Staff Writer
The Boiling Point • November 2017 • Sports
24
New coach brings intensity to volleyball team are doing now, and she helped us get better at playing as a team,” she said. On Oct. 17, the girls played Ambassador High School in the
By Nicholas Fields, Staff Writer
New girls volleyball coach Mrs. Marla Weiss has changed pretty much everything about Shalhevet’s volleyball team. Shalhevet gym — without the juniors, She has increased practice from once who were in Houston on their chesed trip. or twice a week to two hours every weekBut even without them, before the game day, according to team co-captain Emily sophomore Maya Tochner said this would Schoen. She has also created a playbook of be different than in years past. “schemes” — strategies the team practices “We have set plays,” Maya said. “We and can use in various situations during know exactly what to do in all the situagames. tions.” And she has established specific roles Still, the Firehawks lost three sets to and positions for the players to focus on zero. After the game, Coach Weiss talked regardless of where they are in the rotation about the girls struggles. on the court — an approach she called “po“The team is still learning fundamensition playing.” tals, positioning and how to put it all to“Rather than the girls playing every pogether,” she said. sition as they rotate around the court, they Ambassador’s coach, Mr. Paul Viggiano, are focusing on a single position,” Coach seemed familiar with Ms. Weiss’s approach. Weiss said in an interview. “So there are BP Photo By ZoEy Botnick “I think they can improve on where athletes that are just middle hitters, there are athletes that are just outside hitters and PEP TALK: Volleyball coach Ms. Marla Weiss offers pointers to her players during a game they are on the court and everybody taking the position that is supposed to be their defensive players, there are athletes that are against Ambassador High School in the gym Oct. 17. position,” said Coach Viggiano after the only setters so they are learning to specialgame. ize.” court.” Coach Weiss said the Firehawks’ whole approach to volleyball So far, the team has played 15 games and has won three of them. Coach Weiss, who is the sister of Admissions Director Ms. Nathad changed, and it would take time for the girls to adapt. When the season ended Oct. 23, their record was 3-12, compared alie Weiss, replaced former coach Mike Sweet, who Coach Coleman “I think that the demands are very different, the expectations to last years record of 5-5. said was let go after last year’s season because he is also an actor and are very different, they are learning a tremendous amount so there “As much as they are improving, every aspect of the game could had too many time conflicts. is quite a bit of a learning curve going on and I think the kids have still use more improvement,” the coach said. “We’re still learning In past years, Coach Weiss said, the Firehawks “weren’t reresponded really well,” said Coach Weiss. a lot about offensive and defensive schemes. They’re still learning ally position volleyball players, they didn’t have separate defensive Maya said she’d already noticed the difference. about technique, because they can all improve on technique in schemes or serve-receive schemes. It was just like a recreational type “Last year we didn’t really know what we were doing, we didn’t some way.” of situation, and I’m hoping I introduced a different level of comknow how to work together, we didn’t know how to follow through “As great as it’s been there is always room for improvement.” petitive volleyball to the school and to the group.” with plays that we’d go over at practice,” said Maya. “But this year Firehawk co-captain senior Naomi Bijou said the new approach we are applying everything we learn at practice to our games and it’s Ms. Weiss joined Shalhevet’s staff this year after coaching for is beneficial. really helped us,” she said. 25 years at Beverly Hills High School. She said she would like to “We look more professional,” said Naomi. “Last year we looked Team co-captain Naomi Bijou enjoys the practices even though improve the team both offensively and defensively. kind of like a joke. This year we are learning how to block, we are they are time-consuming. Athletic Director Ryan Coleman said that was why he chose her. learning how to do more advanced things than what our coach did “We have practice every day for two hours and if not, then we “This coach wanted to make the program better and really cares last year, because he thought we weren’t good enough to do any of have a game,” Naomi said. “It does take up a lot of time, but if about the kids and their fundamentals,” Coach Coleman said in an that.” you’re dedicated and you love playing then it’s not really an issue. interview. “So the program has definitely taken a step in the right Maya Tochner agreed. It’s only been annoying when I’ve had a lot of work, but besides direction and has definitely been spending a lot more time on the “We’re a lot more disciplined when we play, we know what we that it’s really fun.”
After success of club, running club evolves into team and wins first meet By Shayna Becker, Staff Writer Shalhevet’s running club, founded late last spring to help people run in a relaxed, non-competitive environment, has now evolved into a popular competitive team at Shalhevet. The idea for the team grew out of the success of the running club, created last May by college counselor Ms. Lisa Gruenbaum. Ms. Gruenbaum wanted students and staff to be able to run together for health and fun. It met after school on Fridays, and still does. “We just chill together on a Friday afternoon,” said history teacher Dr. Keith Harris, a member of the running club. “It’s low stress.” But when school started this fall, the Athletic Department announced the formation of a cross-country team. Twenty-nine students attended an information session and 14 joined the team, which practices four times a week and competes against other schools. The Firehawks' cross country team won their first meet, a two-mile race against Summit View - Westside at Rancho Park Oct. 17, by a score of 29-26. Sophomore Tobey Lee took first place with the fastest time of 15:38. “The outlook for the team is looking good as long as the people who participate are committed,” said Athletic Director Ryan Coleman. According to Coach Coleman, the team was formed after “a few parents and students” told him that they had an interest in starting a cross-country team. “Our league did not have cross country as a sport,” he said. “I pitched it to the other athletic directors in our league and a couple of them actually had similar interest.” Shalhevet is leading the new cross-country section of its CIF league. According to Coach Coleman, the other coaches said “we could add it as a sport as long as I wanted to head the sport and be the commissioner of that sport for our league. So there we are.” The Firehawk team is coached by John Holcomb, a longtime Los Angeles runner who Coach Coleman said has led the Cal Coast cross-country club for around 29 years and trained world class ath-
letes as well as beginners. Practices are held four times a week, Coach Coleman said, and team members can also attend the running club but that doesn’t count as one of their practices. Team members run Sundays at 7:30 a.m., and after school anywhere from 5 p.m. to as late as 9 p.m., said sophomore team member Josh Lewis. And competitiveness is a big part of it. “Feeling like I’m lagging behind someone is not a good feeling,” said sophomore team member Sheyna Schusterman. “You always want to be at the top of your game, and if I know that the person next to me is faster, than I am always self-conscious that I have to try and run way more fast -- just because I have to be faster than the person next to me.” Meanwhile, the running club continues, with stress-free, low requirement runs taking place every Friday after school. Three members of the cross country team run on Fridays, -Athletic Director and is unintentionally composed of entirely Ryan Coleman sophomores, according to Maya Schapira, member of the running club and cross country team. Ms. Gruenbaum said she created the running club as an easy, free and fun way to be active and promote self-care. “I knew we did not have any running, track and field, or cross country team,” Ms. Gruenbaum said. “I grew up in public school and [those sports were] just like a norm. You don't need equipment, you don't need field space really to just go run. So I thought this would be pretty easy to get going.” According to sophomore Maya Schapira, students joined the running club for an environment to run, have fun, and be with friends. “I like to run, and being with my friends who like it too makes me enjoy it a lot more,” said Maya, who is in the club and now also on the team.
The outlook for the team is looking good as long as the people who participate are committed.
BP Photo By ZoEy Botnick DASH: Members of the running club ran by the Petersen Museum at Wilshire and Fairfax Oct. 27. Whether both the club and the team will endure long-term remains to be seen. “I think if people really want to run they will join cross-country, and they will be too busy for the running club,” said Josh Lewis. “Running club was never super serious, it was mostly people just going out for a run.” But Maya said she would do both. “People would take cross country seriously and be like [the running club] is an extra practice,” said Maya, who belongs to both. “I am able to go and this will help me for future runs, which I am planning on doing.”