JUNE 2016

SHALHEVET HIGH SCHOOL • Los Angeles, CA June 2016 -Sivan 5776 Volume 16, Issue 5 shalhevetboilingpoint.com

TABLE: From left, General Studies Principal Mr. Daniel Weslow, Hannah Jannol of the Boiling Point, and Dean of Students Mr. Jason Feld posed questions to candidates for Agenda Chair during a heated, first-ever debate in the gym May 12. Debate story is on Page 4.

BP Photo By Ezra Fax

Now found, school constitution takes the stage

By ZEV KENT, Sports Editor For two weeks in May, Shalhevet’s student government was consumed with what seemed like an insurmountable challenge, as a question arose about whether a nonsenior could serve as Agenda Chair, and the Just Community Constitution could not be found.

Sophomore Rosie Wolkind, who was Agenda Secretary this year, wanted to run for chair though she’ll be only a junior next fall.

Committee adviser and Dean of Students Mr. Jason Feld quickly decided that

she could run. But other candidates – and many students – complained that the post should be held by a senior, and neither side in the debate could prove it was right.

While editors of this newspaper hunted for the document, the controversy ripped through Just Community elections and was a major topic at a candidates’ debate on May 10.

Finally, on the day of voting, the constitution was found.

“The Agenda Committee,” it said, “shall be composed of a chairperson from the senior class, a vice chairperson from the senior or junior class, a secretary from the senior,

junior, or sophomore class, two representatives from each grade, two faculty representatives, and a single administrative advisor.”

By then, rising senior Bennett Schneier had been elected, defeating Rosie and two other candidates in his own grade. Since the Agenda Committee did not release vote totals, it’s not known whether Rosie’s votes could have elected someone else had she not been on the ballot.

As the controversy raged, Mr. Feld defended his decision to let her run.

“I want to trust the electorContinued on Page 12 ate,” Mr. Feld

With lights twinkling, photo club holds first show

By SADIE TOCZEK, Staff Writer Shalhevet’s Photography Club held its first-ever exhibition and auction last month in the Wildfire Theater, displaying members’ favorite works in soft lighting against a black backdrop.

An afterschool crowd of about 30 who paid $3 admission wandered among the artworks, which had been printed on poster paper and hung on the theater’s north wall.

For entertainment, the club played hiphop, funk and contemporary music from a stereo, and offered popcorn, cookies and juice-boxes for the guests to have as they walked through the gallery.

The black theater walls drew attention

to the photos, and made the vibe “chill,” according to club founder Maia Zelkha.

“I wanted it to be fun and relaxed, and interesting,” Maia said. “I had comic book and plant vendors, there was music playing, there was food, I just wanted it to be chill.”

In addition, four vendors sold music, plants, comics and zines – which are selfpublished, homemade publications, usually made on a home printer or photocopier. Liberty Fuchs, sister of freshman Honor Fuchs, sold high-heeled shoes decoupaged in comic strips. Oakwood High School sophomore Marlena Greenberg, a friend of Maia’s, sold portraits of guests she drew on the spot.

But the main event was the photos,

which guests could enter a raffle to purchase.

Thirteen 15x18-inch prints on poster paper hung at various heights along the theater’s north wall. Contributors were sophomores Tali Schlacht, Jacob Perlman, Hannah Jannol, Maia Zelkha, Bar Aviv, Amberly Hershewe, Tehila Sarir and Daniel Lorell, and junior Gaby Ohana.

The group is self-organized and selftaught.

“The club didn’t teach us how to take photos,” said Daniel Lorell, “I learned mostly from online forums and just fiddling around.”

There was a Continued on Page 16 range of sub-

60 percent of seniors will head to Israel, most to yeshiva, seminary By cLARA SANDLER, Staff Writer More than 60 percent of the 2016 graduating class will spend next year in Israel, continuing a steady upward trend, according to principal and boys’ Israel adviser Reb Noam Weissman.

Among this year’s graduates, 28 of 44 students plan to spend a gap year Israel. Twenty-three will attend yeshiva or midrasha (girls’ seminaries), and four students will go to non-yeshiva programs. Four of the total plan to join the IDF the year after, and one student is planning on going to Israel but doesn’t know where yet.

That compares to 20 percent – six out of 29 graduating seniors – in 2014 and 38 percent in 2012. In 2015, it jumped to 59 percent; 19 out of the 32 students in that class were in Israel this year. The Boiling Point was not able to find figures for 2013.

Reb Weissman attributed the change to how students feel about studying Torah.

“The last two years, the kids have been very, very into learning and very, very into Israel and their Zionism,” said Reb Weissman. “It’s been a natural progression to spend another year learning in Israel.

“This next year in Israel is a year for them to cultivate their desire to learn, but specifically be at Zionist institutions,” he said.

Some knew they would go Continued on Page 18 from early ages, but others did

HAREIDIM ON TV

14 LAYLA MEETS HILLARY

5, 6, 21 TEACHER TURNOVER

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KIDDUSH CLUB

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Community

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Spray paint, dancing and kavanah for Yom Haatzmaut

By BENjamin ZAGHI, Staff Writer When you see Israeli flags waved in the air, kids jumping up down and listening Israeli music being blasted in the gym, you know its Yom Ha’atzmaut at Shalhevet. March 12, students wore blue and white, matching the blue and white balloons and paper streamers that covered the decorated gym, and forgetting the competitive Just Community elections that had been consuming the student body that week.

From an hour-long davening to start the day through breakfast, an art slam and impromptu dancing and rapping, students’ energy never waned.

“Waking up that morning I didn’t expect to be rapping in front of a crowd with my principal or painting a mural that expressed my personal ideas about Israel,” said sophomore Mendy Mentz later.

“Going home from school that day I knew it would be a memorable part of my Shalhevet experience.”

Yom Ha’atzmaut’s davening began with a bang; students waving Israeli flags and praying with eyes closed, seeming to concentrate greatly. Parents had been invited too, and joined for davening and Hallel, sharing in the spirit with their kids.

“I feel blessed that our kids are a part of a school which teaches so much ahavat Israel,” or love of Israel, said Michal Lasry, mother of sophomore Eliezer Lasry. “It was moving to see the kavannah and ruach” – intention and spirit -- “the students and rabbis had.”

After the ecstatic davening session in the gym, students dispersed to the cafeteria and a breakfast of bagels and eggs to energize them for what was to come. Students were then brought back to the gym and heard the Choirhawks sing “I Hope You Dance,” which senior Asher Sebban said reflected Israel’s attitude toward living to the fullest in spite of tragedy.

Next, the students were divided by grades for an activity led by

Artists for Israel, a group that spreads Israeli culture and tries to beautify Israel through art. Outside in the parking lot, students tried to express their feelings about Israel by painting graffiti on the blacktop on a large white wooden board.

When the students were finished, the professionals painted on top of it, creating a colorful artwork in memory of Israel’s 68th birthday. They also painted the school’s usually-closed back drive way gate, which will be there permanently according to Raizie Weissman, Students Activities Director.

Later on, students took microphones in the gym and began to rap alongside their peers and teachers. Dancing and yelling continued in the gym as a dance battle broke out between the boys and girls.

“I was amazed by Shalhevet’s unity during Hallel, dancing, and the Graffiti activity,” said sophomore Ariel Cohen. “On Yom Ha’atzmaut, we maturely avoided the divide and distraction the Just Community elections had the potential to create.”

The day before, Shalhevet had honored all the Israeli soldiers who fell during their time serving the army, on Yom Hazikaron.

An all-school ceremony was held in the gym in the morning, with candle-lighting for specific fallen soldiers, or Israelis who had died fighting in the army. With the help of Students Activities Director, Raizie Weissman, Judaic Studies Teacher, Ilana Wilner, and Hebrew Department Coordinator, Mickey Rabinov, the assembly was very captivating, having many kids become emotional.

BP Photo By Gaby Benelyahu

BP Photo By ezra fax

CANVAS: Outside in the parking lot, students spray-painted and decorated a large white wall in honor of Israel’s 68th year of independence.

For ‘Hineini’ winner, friendship is a piece in the jigsaw puzzle

By MAAYAN WALDMAN, Community Editor During his acceptance speech for one of the most prestigious awards a high school student in Los Angeles can receive, junior Yaakov Sobel looked up from his prepared remarks and saw his friend Sam jumping and waving at him with excitement.

Yaakov knew instinctively that his night of honor needed to be shared, and invited Sam to join him at the microphone.

“Come, why don’t you come stand next to me,” Yaakov called to Sam, beckoning him with a welcoming hand gesture. As Sam made his way up to the stage, the well-dressed audience of nearly 350 at a home in Beverly Hills burst into applause.

Nothing was amiss. The two boys- Yaakov and Sam, who has special needs and whose real name isn’t Sam- stood together, arm in arm and smiling proudly.

There could not have been a better way to show exactly why it was Yaakov who was being honored near the close of a night of food, music, and speeches at the annual Friendship Circle “Garden Party” event honoring its 481 volunteers Tuesday May 24.

Yaakov was receiving the Hineini award, presented each year to a volunteer who displays stellar dedication to the Friendship Circle, which assists children and young adults with special needs.

In the midst of his acceptance speech, Yaakov not only noticed Sam’s excitement, but on the spot thought to include him in the moment.

“You can take that as a distraction,” Yaakov said later, “Or you can say, ‘Wow, he loves the attention.

Why don’t I just invite him onto the stage and have him stand there with me to include him in it.’”

The Friendship Circle is a non-profit, Chabad organization that provides programming and support for children and young adults with special needs and their families. The Los Angeles branch was founded in 2003, making this its “bar mitzvah” year.

Yaakov has volunteered for almost every Friendship Circle program, including Hebrew School, Sunday Circle, Friends at Home, holiday programs, birthday bashes, and summer and winter camps.

He also helps in the office and with set-up and clean-up for events, and he has been especially active in the weekly afterschool Karate class.

In his speech, Yaakov thanked the Friendship Circle for being a place where everyone can feel included, no matter how different he or she feels.

“Society is like a jigsaw puzzle and every single person in society is a piece, with a different shape and a different cut from every single

You deal with that.”

In his speech, Yaakov confided to the audience that he initially became involved with the Friendship Circle as a participant, working hard to overcome personal struggles with dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD. But at age 14, he became a volunteer.

“Yaakov has truly come full circle,” said Rabbi Michy Rav Noy, the director of Friendship Circle Los Angeles, “and the fact that he has been able to utilize his experiences is very telling.”

Rabbi Michy said Yaakov reminded him of King Solomon’s words, “I have seen that there is an advantage of wisdom over silliness like the advantage of light over darkness.”

This verse, he explained, really teaches that true greatness is attained when light comes from darkness.

“Yaakov is a great example of being able to elevate the part of our lives that are most challenging,” he said.

Yaaokv met Sam, who has autism, at the karate program.

“Today as I stand here and look at Sam, I see someone who is perfect and beautiful in every way,” Yaakov shared in his speech, looking out to Sam in the crowd.

“And as I look at my friends from Friendship Circle – yes, all of them – I see that every single one of them is perfect.”

IMPROVISED: In the middle of his acceptance speech, junior Yaakov Sobel He continued by saying that everyone is made “in had his friend “Sam” (right) join him onstage. Yaakov and Sam, who has the image of God.” autism, have been friends for many years.

Just because your cut may be different from the person next to you, Yaakov said, doesn’t mean you are Photo: MG Infocus worth any less. As he added later, “Sometimes it’s our flaws that make us beautiful.”

After Yaakov and Sam had embraced, Sam sat down for a few In his closing remarks, Yaakov thanked the Friendship Circle moments beside him while Yaakov continued his speech. Then Sam left the stage, and Yaakov glanced back to where he’d been sitting. organization, addressed the friends he made there, and called for action from the audience.

He saw his award plaque on the seat, broken in two.

“Friendship Circle has created a place that is safe for people who Turning again towards the audience, rather than looking distraught or upset, Yaakov had the biggest smile on his face. “When don’t necessarily fit into the mold of a rigid society,” Yaakov said. he sat down, the trophy fell and broke into two pieces, so it was “The community that Friendship Circle has built conforms to the my own little jigsaw puzzle,” Yaakov said later in an interview. “We needs of our special and perfect friends.”

He then turned to Sam. made that joke.”

“You’re beautiful,” Yaakov said. “You’re perfect. You’re my best Yaakov said the moment had encapsulated what it means to be friend. Every time we hang out, you make me smile. You make me part of the special needs community.

“It was a very Friendship Circle-esque speech,” he said. “Every- happy. You bring joy and meaning into my life.”

To everybody else at Friendship Circle, Yaakov said to never forthing goes wrong and you just gotta keep your composure up there, get that they are perfect and that Friendship Circle is always a home keep a smile on your face, keep relaxed.”

“The wind was in my face, I lost my place a ton of times, and for them – “the place,” he said, “that will create the mold around it just did not go as planned at all,” he explained. “But that’s okay. you for a perfect fit.” other piece in that jigsaw puzzle,” he said. “If that jigsaw puzzle is put together just right, then it makes a beautiful picture.”

However, Yaakov explained that an often mistaken approach to children with special needs is to try to put them somewhere where they don’t fit.

“Rather than asking some of the other pieces to make some room for that piece, we try forcing that piece into a place where it just doesn’t fit,” he said. “They’re looking at how to fit the individual into society, instead of how society can, and should, accommodate each individual.”

MORE ON THE WEB:

Video and live blogs of campaign rallies ... More photos of Yom Haatzmaut ... Videos of Agenda Chair debate, Choirhawks Spring Concert and Shalhevet Gala ... and more

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Community

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COLUMN THREE

Classes create documentary exploring rising housing prices Charm gives way to beauty, with places to learn, to sleep, to hide By mati davis, 12th Grade Many people ask me what I am going to miss about Shalhevet, and I usually say, “The old building.” Sure, the new one isn’t cockroach infested, and yes, it doesn’t look like an insane asylum, but the clean, sterile new building doesn’t have the same personality as the old Shalhevet.

Still, there are many advantages to the new building. The first and most visible is how beautiful it looks on the outside. A friend from New York was talking to me about the old building a few weeks ago and asked, “Is that the place that looks like a prison?” Now, no one can disagree that the design of the building looks modern and beautiful. Inside, we finally have natural light and open space, which we didn’t have before. I can now proudly say that Shalhevet is that beautiful building on Fairfax between Wilshire and San Vicente.

The copious amount of space in the new building is another benefit. In the old building, walking down the three halls that we had, I would see every one of my past and present teachers.

I sorely miss the charm, character, and uniqueness of the old Wildfire theatre, -Mati Davis, 12th Grade

Now, with three levels, I only have to see the teachers I want to, and there are many hiding spots in case one is approaching who I don’t want to see.

Also, we now have places to hang out, study, hide and meet. That didn’t exist in the old building. There’s even a place to sleep; I, along with many others, use the turf on the third floor to nap when I have a free period.

Still, some aspects of the new building lack charms the old building did have. We have a new theater at one end of the gym, but at least to me, with its rolling metal wall it looks like a black garage, rather than a cute shoebox theatre. A lack of backstage space, dressing rooms, and permanent seating are especially big challenges when putting on performances. Though it now is lying in rubble, I sorely miss the character and uniqueness of the old Wildfire Theatre Lab. Also, Shalhevet has never had stairs before, and it presents a challenge not only to those of us with rolling backpacks. Sure, it’s good for our health, and of course, most of us can do it, but when one has to trek up and down the stairs 12 times every day, one comes home very sweaty and tired.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe Shalhevet has had its best year ever thanks to the new building. And though the theater is still a bit dysfunctional, I know that like the rest of the school it will host many years of memories for students to come.

TRAILER: Classes worked inside a Mobile Film Classroom truck to research the Los Angeles housing crisis and later to edit the documentary, which debuts next fall .

BP Photo By Katia Surpin

By maayan waldman, Community Editor Wonder what the purple, decorated truck that sat in the Shalhevet parking lot three times a week for about an hour was all about?

Ms. Crincoli’s upperclassmen film class, with the help of Mr. Reusch’s three sections of Government and Economics, was working on a documentary about rising housing prices in Los Angeles and what that means for the city. The truck belonged to Mobile Film Classroom, or MFC, a media arts program led by industry professionals that brings film education to schools.

A trailer for the documentary, titled Lost Angeles, a City without a Home, was finished this week and posted on the Student Activities page on Schoology. The rest of the film is expected out in next fall.

“It’s really fun to feel like an editor,” said junior Nicole Soussana, who is taking film this year.

Inside the truck, computers line the walls on both sides, and a recording booth is walled off at the back. Cushioned work stools provide seating for everyone in the class.

“I didn’t realize we would be working in this professional truck, and it’s really cool that this is actually going to come out in September,” Nicole said.

The documentary explores the Los Angeles housing crisis through interviews with landlords, tenants and real estate agents as well as random citizens.

The primary interviewee is J.P. Laven, a

writer and friend of Ms. Crincoli. Mr. Laven was evicted by his landlord from his apartment, but consulted a lawyer who told him it was an illegal eviction.

He was ultimately able to continue living in that apartment, but the process prompted him to think about the housing issues and even to research laws such as the Ellis Act, which became an important subject in the documentary.

The Ellis Act is a law that allows landlords to potentially evict tenants for the sake of “moving out of business,” a concept that the film goes to some lengths to explain.

Students were involved in every step of the filmmaking process from researching and interviewing to filming and editing.

“I thought it was a really great idea to take all the lessons we learned this year about shots and all different camera techniques and apply them,” Ms. Crincoli said.

In the beginning stages of the project, which began in early May, MFC staff guided the students in exploring the topic, in particular teaching how conduct all aspects of an interview, from asking open-ended questions to setting up the camera and collecting footage of scenes across the city.

After gathering much research and film footage, the students began writing interviewing.

They found that while some tenants were satisfied with the upkeep of their apartments, others have bad relationships with their landlords and have noticed rising housing prices in their neighborhoods.

The landlords interviewed also had mixed views. Some stated that caring for the tenants was their upmost priority, and others noted that the rising housing prices and its potentially difficult repercussions for tenants are inevitable.

When one of Mr. Reusch’s government classes joined, the two classes divided themselves up into specialty groups— housing and architecture, tenants, landlords, and governmental officials – to make things more efficient.

Other government classes created Instagram and Twitter pages, along with three potential movie poster designs.

MFC became involved after Ms. Crincoli met Manon Banta, the group’s Executive Director, at a social event last year. Knowing that she would be taking over for the previous film teacher, Ms. Melanie Berkey, Ms. Crincoli planned to make it an end-of-year project.

It also provided a way to keep the seniors engaged for the first half of May as they prepared to go to Poland. The juniors took over after that, but Ms. Crincoli’s still said her only regret about the project is the lack of time.

Mobile Film Classroom will finish compiling and editing the footage over the summer, Manon told the students, and the plan is for the documentary to come out in September.

Meanwhile, MFC’s faculty said their office would be open over the summer to any Shalhevet students wishing to help out and continue their involvement in the documentary. .

Over summer, school to increase classrooms and fix plumbing; student parking lot will still be unavailable By jacob feitelberg, Staff Writer

As with any new construction, there are still a few problems unresolved in Shalhevet’s new building as its first year of classes ends this week.

A pipe problem between the faculty bathroom and the second floor has been causing sewage to back up into the bio lab, more classrooms are needed and there’s still no student parking lot.

But Executive Director Robyn Lewis says all but the parking problem will be resolved over the summer. Biology Teacher Dr. Melissa Noel described in an email what the plumbing issue was, based on what one of the plumbers told her. “[He said] the three faculty bathrooms’ toilets, pipes and the safety shower drain in the Biology lab are connected,” Dr. Noel said in an e-mail response to Boiling Point questions. “Therefore, when the toilet gets clogged, the sewage backs into the drain in the lab and spills on the floor.”

Freshman Joseph Zaghi described what happened when sewage came up in the lab during his Period H Biology class twice this semester.

“We were watching a movie and then people started to smell it,” said Joseph. “We turned on the lights and there it was all brown.”

Executive Director Mrs. Robyn Lewis said workers would be working on the plumbing issue over the summer.

She said one or possibly two new classrooms will be added for next year. There will be a new classroom for science and robotics where the Genius Bar was located this year, and another may be created by adding a moveable wall to divide the large Beit Midrash.

“During the summer we will be working on Beit Midrash A and the Robotics lab,” said Mrs. Lewis. “The plans for Beit Midrash A is to put in shelves for books and a temporary divider that can be put up, but nothing is certain yet.

Shalhevet will also be renovating the basement for IKAR.”

One problem that will take longer to solve is student parking, The school lent the its old student lot to Alliance Residential as part of the deal for the sale that funded construction of the new building.

Alliance is building 184 apartments on the site of the old building.

Though apartment frames are now becoming visible out the school windows, there’s still another year of construction to go.

“We are due to receive use of the student parking lot back after Alliance completes construction, which is anticipated to be approximately one more year,” Mrs. Lewis wrote.

The school had lent the student parking lot to Alliance for their construction as part of the deal for the sale that funded the school’s construction. It will be one more year until the students get their parking lot back from Alliance.

BP Photo By Ezra Fax

NOT YET: The student parking lot on San Vicente (left) will still be occupied by Alliance Residential complex next year. Construction site is at right.

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The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Community

Voters choose newcomers to lead Agenda Committee By zev kent, Sports Editor

CONTEST: From left, Micha Thau, Rosie Wolkind, Bennett Schneier and Maya Golan faced off in a debate at a special one-hour assembly May 12 in the gym.

BP Photo By Katia Surpin

Four candidates for Agenda Chair debate range of issues in contentious election

By Hannah Jannol, Arts and Culture Editor

spot. But she pledged that if elected, elec- we want to do for the Agenda Committee,” tion guidelines would be “more in the hands Rosie said.

She added she still stands by her stateSparks flew in the Agenda Chair candi- of the people.”

Maya countered that there had been ment. Maya confirmed she did in fact inidates debate May 12, with charges, countercharges, and at least one candidate saying no transparency in the election committee. tially say she “did not have time” for the she didn’t have the chance to respond to a Rosie agreed the rules should have been dis- Fairness case, but according to Maya, the discussion was much more casual than cussed publicly. direct and untrue charge.

Then, in a comment that elicited a cho- Rosie made it out to be.

Standing behind lecterns at the front of During an election “soapbox” event on the gym, all four candidates to lead Agenda rus of “oohs” from the audience, Rosie addanswered questions posed by administrators ed that she had suggested to Maya that she the third floor grass, the day following the and a Boiling Point representative, as stu- file a Fairness complaint against her if she debate, Maya told the rooftop audience that she did try to take the issue of Rosie’s candidents listened for 40 minutes during what is thought her candidacy was unfair.

“Maya,” said Rosie, “I also asked you to dacy to Fairness. normally Advisory period.

Rosie instantaneously apologized to Juniors Maya Golan, Bennett Schneier take me to Fairness and you said you don’t Maya, and the misunderstanding was have time for that.”

Maya asked the moderators, cleared up.

“I think that this could have all been “Can I respond?”

We were short on time, we wanted to give Debate rules stated that if a can- avoided if the guidelines were voted on in every candidate an opportunity to speak didate was directly referenced, they the first place, which I pushed for in our would be allowed a 60-second rebut- meetings,” Rosie told the Boiling Point. “I and that is not only the perogative but also tal. But the discussion of the election also tried my hardest to convince the other the responsibility of the moderators. committee had already had several candidates to go forward with a hearing on --Jason Feld, Dean of Students a junior running.” back-and-forths.

Meanwhile, senior Noah Rothman also “Please hold your response,” said Mr. Feld. “We talked over the issue says he sent a case to Fairness about a nonand Micha Thau and sophomore Rosie with the moderators, we’re going to move senior running for Agenda Chair. He said Wolkind answered questions about their on to the next question, and you can cer- committee chairs told him they turned down his case in order to prevent a delay. experience, commitment to Agenda, policy tainly respond in your closing statement.”

Citing the confidentiality of Fairness Mr. Feld told the Boiling Point later that views and leadership ability, as well as their views on how this year’s election policies the moderators had to move on in the in- Committee activities, Jacob Dauer would terest of allowing other candidates to speak. neither confirm nor deny that the commitwere decided.

“We were short on time, we wanted tee had met on the issue.

Bennett, who went on to win the elecBut in some years seniors have voted tion, said a “fundamental change” in the to give every candidate an opportunity to way Town Hall runs was needed, and that speak and that is not only the prerogative while on the trip, either by computer or he would bring a more relaxed and humor- but also the responsibility of the modera- by paper ballot managed by the senior class tors, and so we moved on to the next ques- presidents. ous tone to the weekly all-school meetings.

Mr. Feld defended the need to move the By far the most contentious topic was tion,” Mr. Feld said today.

Maya did not bring up the subject in process forward quickly. the election itself. This year’s arrange“After Friday, I’m more than happy to ments — including candidates having to her closing remarks, but said later than if be interviewed by administration to run, she had been allowed to respond, she would discuss all of those extra issues and what we the Agenda Chair debate format, “soapbox” have told the audience she did in fact take can do moving forward,” said Mr. Feld in an speeches on the roof for other candidates the time to submit a written case to Fairness interview. “But I don’t want us to take our instead of an assembly, and a non-senior be- on May 6, via e-mail to Fairness Committee eye off the ball, which is these candidates are running and they’re investing their time and ing allowed to run for Agenda Chair for the Co-Chair Jacob Dauer.

She withdrew the case, she said, after her their effort, and this is going to be a free, first time— were made by an unelected election committee, a subcommittee of Agenda candidacy interview with Mr. Feld on the organized, fair election, and we’re letting the same day, in which Maya said he discour- voter decide... I will let our record and the tasked with setting election protocol.

The Agenda Committee had approved aged her. Candidates this year were required work that we’ve done stand.” the subcommittee’s plan without bringing to interview with administrators in it to Town Hall for discussion. Candidates order to run.

Mr. Feld cited his concern for were asked whether they favored the new This could have all been avoided if the guidepolicies or would let the Just Community the delay. lines were voted on in the first place, which “I told her that it’s her right to have a chance to vote on them next year.

I pushed for in our meetings.

All four candidates responded by saying take a case to Fairness ...but that she that if elected, they would bring the matter has to understand that the election --Rosie Wolkind, 10th grade for discussion by the community next year. process will need to be suspended until the entire process works its But the comments became personal.

Rosie began by saying that despite her way through,” Mr. Feld said.

He also said decisions about election Maya said she felt deterred because she untraditional sophomore candidacy, she bedid not want to deprive this year’s seniors policies this year have been based on the lieved in a “transparent democracy.” “governing principle” that voters should Bennett responded that Rosie could not of a vote.

Rosie said she made the charge because make all decisions at the ballot box. be in support of transparency, because the “The principle of the process is that peodecision allowing her to run had been made she was unaware that there had been a Fairby administration without student involve- ness proposal, and candidates were attack- ple who want to run should have the right ing her publicly and personally about her to lay their case out and we need to trust the ment, and violated school democracy. students and the voters to make their deciRosie said she had asked Mr. Jason Feld, age, not her policies.

“I felt that we were wasting the students’ sion,” Mr. Feld said. “That was the governDean of Students and Agenda adviser, if her running was okay, and he said yes on the time and they should be hearing about what ing principle.”

Bennett Schneier, who is known for his humorous and controversial comments at Town Hall, was elected Agenda Chair May 13, becoming the first Agenda Chair without previous committee experience since Daniel Schwartz in 2012-2013.

Along with Bennett, junior Isaac Goor won Agenda Vice Chair and freshman Lucy Fried became Secretary. Both are also newcomers to the committee.

Sophomore Jordan Fields was elected secretary of the Fairness Committee. Juniors Alex Reich and Becca Sentchuk ran unopposed for co-chair.

Co-chairs of the Student Activities Committee (SAC) will be juniors Jordan Levine and Gaby Benelyahu, and sophomore Ariel Cohen was elected SAC Vice Chair. Freshman Maya Miro will be secretary.

None of next year’s Agenda Committee officers have previous experience. Bennett could not be reached for comment Friday after the votes were counted, but Isaac says this inexperienced committee will be good for the school.

“I think it’s cool,” said Isaac. “I think it will pave the way for kids who don’t usually participate. It will give them a good reason to, because it’s not the same as the year before.”

It was a happy comeback for Bennett, who lost the election for Agenda Vice Chair by two votes to Alec Fields. This year, Agenda did not release vote tallies, so there was no way to know how close it was.

Outgoing Chair Micah Gill said Bennett’s lack of experience wouldn’t make much of a difference.

“I think it’ll show a little bit in the beginning of the year, but I don’t think it’ll be a long-term issue,” said Micah. “Bennett and Mr. Feld will work together and pick up right where we left off at the end of this year.”

He added, though, that the Agenda Chair could be more than just the leader of the Just Community.

“I would love to see Bennett act as a leader in the school not exclusively during Town Hall and not exclusively during JC-related events,” said Micah. “The Agenda Chair is our de facto school president, and I think it’s important hat everyone in the school looks up to him on a 24 - 7 basis.”

While this year’s election week was filled with controversy, Election Day itself was much more organized than in previous years.

Voting was in the gym and was organized by grade.

Instead of a mob of students trying to grab at papers around a single table, students were called up two at a time to cast their votes at tables staffed by teachers.

There were four voting stations, one per grade and several feet apart from one another, and four lines on the opposite side of the room of voters who were waiting. Voting took place during breakfast and lunch.

After the voting, the ballots were taken to Mr. Feld’s office to be counted by Mr. Feld, General Studies Principal Mr. Daniel Weslow, and Boiling Point Arts and Culture Editor Hannah Jannol. The winners and runners-up for each position were announced on Schoology at 3:20 p.m., and on the Boiling Point’s Facebook page less than a minute later.

Bennett defeated fellow juniors Maya Golan and Micha Thau and sophomore Rosie Wolkind in one of the most debated elections ever. New procedures, which had been adopted without being discussed or voted on at Town Hall, and a sophomore running were two major issues brought up over the course of the week.

“It was a complicated election,” said Micha after the results were announced. “I think I was someone who would’ve brought a lot of change. I think people really felt the need for something more revolutionary, and I think Bennett was that person. I’m sorry I won’t be able to serve the Just Community as its Agenda Chair.”

SAC Co-chair Jordan Levine said it had been a great contest and looked ahead to next year.

“I’m really excited,” said Jordan. “It was a really tight race because all three of the [SAC] candidates were really qualified for the job. I’m excited to work with my co-chair.”

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Community

5

With activities and talking, club gives local seniors what they say they need

By Lucy fried, Staff Writer

dents.

“It’s so important to be in touch with the surDr. Franklin Prieser sat in a beige chair, his vivors, we are lucky enough now to be in personal leather shoes resting on a beige carpeted floor as contact with them,” Lindsay said. “We need to he belted out “America the Beautiful,” overpower- take advantage of that.”

In the homes; residents appreciate the Jewish ing the other voices in the room through a handheld microphone as the instrumental played on a connection as well.

“I have a confidence now after meeting you karaoke machine in the corner.

Then he looked up from the Sing-Along with girls for about a month or so that Judaism will ElderSong lyric book, his previously serious face survive,” said Mr. Hoffman. “You have preserved my faith in Judaism.” overridden by a grin.

Students are assigned to either the South or “I love to sing,” Dr. Prieser told a visitor to his residence at the Beverly Hills Carmel North As- North Carmel home, and the residents and their sisted Living home May 17. “I worked in a lot of buddies participate in different activities and places for a long time, and then all of the sudden group discussions, relating to Judaism. Students I was retired, and now I go around finding things bring costumes and plan other fun activities relating to Jewish holidays to hopefully bring joy into for myself to do.”

Every week this year, a Shalhevet club called the residents’ lives.

“It’s really in our advantage that they’re JewBetter Together has provided what some like Dr. ish homes so Prieser are missing: somewe all have that thing to do. Every Tuesday in common,” from 4 to 5 p.m., approxiI have confidence now after meeting you Lindsay said. mately 10 female students girls for about a month or so that Judaism “There’s this one have visited the Beverly Hills guy there and Carmel North and South, will survive. You have preserved my faith. after every single sister homes on opposite --Arnold Hoffman, senior resident meeting he says, sides of Burton Way in Bev‘You guys bring erly Hills. the light into the “It’s a bright light in a very dull week,” said Arnold Hoffman, 96, who house.’”

Bridgette Woolinsky, activities director at the resides at the South home and participates in BetNorth Carmel home, used similar words to deter Together.

With a two-year grant funded by the Legacy scribe Better Together.

“When the students come in, we see the resiHeritage Foundation, the Better Together program has now grown from a family affair to what dents light up,” said Ms. Woolinsky. “And for our students hope will be a permanent part of Shalhe- residents with memory issues, it helps them to vet’s chesed program. It started when junior Alec feel present, and helps them feel like they’re not Fields and his siblings regularly visited a great- forgotten.”

Junior Sarah Yadegari, who visits the South aunt and uncle there and delivered cookies, divrei Torah and news updates to their friends, then Carmel home, said the feeling was mutual.

“They’re always saying how delighted they are expanded to a school activity at Maimonedes and to see us and how happy our visits make them,” later, Shalhevet.

Last year, Judaic Studies teacher and Chesed Sarah said. “It’s so much fun brightening their coordinator Mrs. Ruthie Skaist took charge of it days, and they really end up brightening our and became program liaison for the grant. This weeks.”

The homes are about two miles from school, year it was taken over by junior Lindsay Schacht.

More than a few of the residents are Holocaust and every week at 3:40 PM during SWAP, Lindsurvivors, which is an additional draw for the stu- say and junior Dana Alkoby drive four to five

BP Photo By NIissa Kreitenberg

CHESED: Freshman Tara Chriki gave mishloach manot to a senior citizen at the Beverly Hills Carmel in March.

She is among 10 female students who visit weekly to enhance the days of some of the residents.

girls to the meetings. Coordination can be tricky, ing, we have to always make sure that they feel Lindsay said, as can finding discussion topics that heard and that their story is very important.”

But residents said Better Together actually everyone can engage in. Subjects that have been used in past visits have been the importance of helps them with their memory.

“Having you visit stimulates certain memories memory, belief in miracles, and Zionism.

“I have to make sure I’m planning something that I don’t think I remembered before,” said 86, that’s interesting to the students and the residents who lives at the South home.

Ms. Woolinsky described the value of learning at the retirement home so that everyone enjoys it,” Lindsay said. “But they tell us all the time that from the elderly.

“They’re just people,” Ms. Woolinsky said. “A they don’t really care what we do, they just like when we’re there and they just like being with us.” lot of times people assume that because they’re Although run by the same company, the two older they don’t have anything to give, but they homes attract slightly different residents. Accord- have so much -- they have stories, they have the wealth of knowledge.” ing to Ms. WooAlthough the grant is linsky, the South running out and Mrs. Skaist home is more When the students come in, we see the is leaving after this June, evdeeply rooted in residents light up... It helps them to feel eryone expects the program Judaism, with present. to continue. Lindsay will most of its resicontinue to run the prodents being Euro--Bridgette Woolinsky, Carmel North gram, and the new faculty pean. liaison will be Mrs.Sarah “Across the Leah Gormin, the new street has a more European flavor, [while] this has a more lodge-y, Chesed coordinator and wife of Talmud teacher Rabbi Derek Gormin.

American feel,” Ms. Woolinsky said.

That was good news for Gilda, a resident of Another difference is that the residents at the North home are significantly more forgetful than Carmel South.

“There are so many things to talk about,” said the residents at the South home, often forgetting Gilda. “It’s just the beginning. We talk about our the student visitors from one visit to the next.

“They’ll often repeat themselves and not real- upbringings and our backgrounds. We learn from ize it,” said Sarah, “and even though sometimes them and they learn from us.” it’s difficult to nod your head and be understand-

Known for personal touch, Ruthie Skaist leaves to pursue painting ley said. “I think that it is a very important quality to have in a teacher and what I will miss most about her.”

On Yom Hashoah, mixed groups of all grades A trained artist with eclectic interests, Ruthie dispersed to tables spread around the gym and Is leaving to pursue painting. She originally was shared their thoughts on memory, connection interested in fashion design, but decided it would and the Holocaust. It started turn her into someone she did not want to be, and with a stack of small pictures changed her focus. and each student choos“Art has always been this dream -- I never ing one to ponder. There thought I would actually be able to do it,” Ruthie were speeches and discussaid. sions, and then, at the end She also never thought she’d of the assembly, students be at Shalhevet for five years – were asked to stay silent for Art has always been this dream--I never originally she had a two-yearap5 minutes, while writing thought I would actually be able to do it. pointment -- but she has made answers to questions posed --Ms. Ruthie Skaist many close friendships among on giant posters on the walls the faculty and said she would around the room. not be cutting her ties. She did Roughly 250 students not rule out returning one day. and faculty all on their feet, Principal Reb Noam Weissreading and writing and Ruthie has has taught 9th- man said he would miss her. walking around the room, “I loved working with her, and it’s fun when through12th-grade Tanach and for five timed minutes made 9th- and 10th-grade Jewish His- teachers in school are both friends and colnot a sound. tory. Her students said they felt leaguesm,” Reb Weissman said. “I will miss her That was only one of the BP Photo By Gaby Benelyahu personality, and the dynamic of the school will cared for. activities dreamed up and “She is very good at reading definitely be different.” led by Ms. Ruthie Skaist, PRIVELAGED: Mrs. Skaist said that leading the meditation minyan at Shalhevet was an honor.

Meanwhile, Shalhevet has already hired new the students, when she sees that who is leaving Shalhevet after five years of teaching Judaic Studies, leading ery person is unique and special, and they need to the students aren’t present in the class, she either Judaic staff members, including Rabbi David the Meditation Minyan and advising the Chesed always remember to highlight their uniqueness,” does meditation with us or we have a laid back Block, Rabbi Yagil Tzaidi and his wife Caroline, said Ms. Skaist, known by everyone as Ruthie, in conversation about what we had been learning,” and Mr. Jeremy Shine who take over Holocaust Committee. education. said freshman Bailey Mendelson.

She also has led advisory groups and, more re- an interview. “Everyone has so much to offer.”

“The relationship she forms with the students She called leading the Meditation Minyan, cently, run all-school programs on Yom Hashoah and Martin Luther King Day. Both programs which she developed with Rabbi Derek Gordon is very strong, which enables her to read us,” Bai-

By Abby Blumofe, Staff Writer

were co-developed with English teacher Ms. Michelle Crincoli.

Big or small, Ms. Skaist’s activities seemed to highlight each individual involved.

“It may not seem logical, but I believe that ev-

and Ms. Atara Segal, a “privilege,” and said she thought it was important for each student to choose a way to pray.

“I had the privilege of leading and taking part in meditation tefillah,” Ruthie tells Boiling Point.

“Meditation was so meaningful because I think we all need more relaxation, and it makes me happy to see students choose that on their own.”

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Community

6

Athletic Director leaves after five years of wins, milestones, new teams

By Lucy Fried, Staff Writer Mr. Elliot “Eli” Schiff, who has served as Athletic Director since 2012 and oversaw the creation of the boys flag football team and girls swim and dance teams along with the first Steve Glouberman Basketball Tournament, will not return for the 2016-17 school year.

“A lot has changed, and it’s been really great to watch the program expand,” Mr. Schiff said, reflecting upon his Shalhevet career.

He cited as highlights of his tenure the flag football team’s backto-back championships, the girls football team beating YULA, watching the volleyball team progress and the Glouberman tournament – in addition to moving into the school’s new building and its first-ever on-campus gym.

“The school feels like more of a community,” he said.

During Mr. Schiff’s tenure, Firehawk sports teams scored some memorable victories, most notably two girls basketball championships – a first win at the Galbut Tournament in Miami in 2015 and the other at the Glouberman contest – and one boys, at Sarachek in 2013 at Yeshiva University.

Both the boys and girls basketball teams made trips to CIF semifinals, and boys and girls flag football, girls soccer, boys baseball, and girls basketball teams all defeated crosstown rival YULA at least once since the fall of 2012 when he took over.

These achievements were made despite changing coaches at least once – sometimes mid-season – in baseball, boys basHe always tried to get as many people as ketball and boys possible involved in sports, which shows he and girls flag footreally cared not only about the athletics, but ball.

But though he also about the students. saw Firehawk ath--- Michelle Greenberg, 11th grade letics grow in size and success, his favorite part of the job was watching the progress of the students.

“It’s really impressive to watch their confidence and skill levels go up,” Mr. Schiff said. “As freshmen you see these kids come in and they don’t really know what they’re doing – they have that deerin-the-headlights look.

“From not being so secure with themselves freshman year to really taking charge as seniors--that’s the most interesting part for

Mr. Schiff planning it. me.”

“He set a good Beginning in fall precedent and he did 2011, Mr. Schiff an amazing job, conserved first as facilisidering it being the ties director in the first one,” said Liora. old building. He then “I really appreciate the served four years as planning he put into athletic director, with all my sports events.” a one-year overlap in Mr. Schiff held the both positions for five athletic director posiyears in all. tion longer than any The job’s biggest of his three immediate challenge, he said, predecessors, some of was finding fields whom were in charge to practice and play for a year or less. In adon. This year was the dition to finding pracfirst Shalhevet had its tice and game fields own gym -- a huge and times, the job inimprovement for bascluded finding coaches ketball and volleyball and referees and order– but other sports ing equipment. still have to scramble LEGACY: Under Mr. Schiff, the Firehawks moved into “Calendering” was and practice fields are the new gym and hosted Glouberman tournament. another challenge, he sometimes far away. said, complicated by The swim team everything from Jewuses pools at other ish holidays and school schools and someBP Photo By Gaby Benelyahu events to sharing stutimes practices on dents with other co-curriculars. land.

Also, with such a relatively small school, there’s always a chalIn spite of this, several new teams were developed under his leadership – including the swim team, dance team and the very lenge in Shalhevet sports to compete with schools of much greater size. successful boys football team.

“Other teams had 200 kids try out for the soccer team, when Others teams were strengthened as well, particularly the boy’s Junior Varsity basketball team, which went 11-3 this year. you compare that to the fact that we have 200 kids in the whole Firehawk athletes said they appreciated Mr. Schiff’s work school it creates a challenge.”

But wins and losses are not what Mr. Schiff will remember most. developing teams and connecting to students.

“You’re gonna have ups and downs in any sport,” Mr. Schiff said.

“He always tried to get as many people as possible involved in sports,” said junior Michelle Greenbcerg, who was on the flag foot- “What’s interesting to me is how the students handle the changes ball and swim teams this year, “which shows he really cared not only and how they grow into leadership positions. I really love to see the commitment on behalf of the students and see how they really about the athletics, but also about the students.”

Junior basketball point guard Liora Rabizadeh, who participated grow, both as players and as individuals.” in the Glouberman tournament, was grateful for the effort put in by

Two science teachers depart, leaving uncertainty in department Dr. Noel and Ms. Sirkis decide to leave, meaning school is seeking new Chem, Bio and CIJE teachers By eric bazak, Editor-in-Chief Two of this year’s science teachers, Dr. Melissa Noel and Ms. Amy Sirkis, will not be returning to Shalhevet next year, giving the department a new, smaller look in the fall.

Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry would not be offered, nor will Anatomy and Physiology, General Studies Principal Daniel Weslow announced in a June 6 email to all returning students.

“There is no denying the number of changes this year with faculty, and the movement in the Science department, as well as the challenges with the timing,” Mr. Weslow told the Boiling Point in an email response to questions.

But he said one new teacher would be announced this week, and that the school was “looking to fill our final vacancy as soon as possible.”

“Although we will miss Dr. Noel and Ms. Sirkis and everything they did to strengthen our science program, we are excited about all of our new hires,” he wrote.

Students were saddened and surprised when the teachers made their announcements, in both cases to morning classes. Dr. Noel told her Advisory group May 31.

“I’m incredibly sad, because she was one of the best science teachers I’ve ever had,” said sophomore Jonah Sanders.

Dubbed “Dono” (rhymes with Froyo) by some students, Dr. Noel taught SAS Biology, 9th grade Biology, and Anatomy and Physiology, and had been an educator at Shalhevet for three years. Dr. Noel is known by students for her approachability and patience.

Last year, she took nine students to the University of San Diego to perform endoscopies on pigs.

She was born and raised in Puerto Rico and has a Ph.D in neurobiology from the David Rockefeller Graduate Program in New York City.

She also experimented on mice as part of her research on fetal alcohol syndrome.

Ms. Sirkis was hired this year to teach AP Chemistry, Chemistry, Physics, and the afterschool CIJE engineering course. On May 12, she

next year. Calculus AB and BC will be the only APs offered. AP Chem will eventually be replaced by SAS Chemistry, officials said earlier this year.

Despite the loss of those two teachers, Mr. Weslow said next year’s Science Department will be mostly the same.

“Obviously, any new teacher will bring their own approaches to the subject matter, so our science classes may look different next year than they had in previous years,” Mr. Weslow wrote. “But no substantive changes are in the works for next LEAVING: Dr. Melissa Noel developed and taught year.” the first SAS Biology course, which replaced AP Bio. Dr. Noel and Ms. Sirkis are the fifth and sixth science teachers to leave since June 2013, and follow the BP Photo By Gaby Benelyahu departures of Dr. Sean Kangataran, informed her Period H sophomore Chem stuDr. Jay Smallwood, Mr. Christopher Buckley, dents she would be returning to Pilgrim School and Dr. Melanie Fine.

They are also two of five in Koreatown, where she taught for several years current general studies teachers who will not be before switching to Shalhevet.

After her resignation, the school decided not returning to Shalhevet next fall. to offer AP Chem, which would have been one of only three remaining AP courses available

The Boiling Point wishes a Mazal Tov to Stacey Enoch, Amy Sirkis, and Melissa Noel on their upcoming weddings

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Community

SURPRISED: Jake Benyowitz ‘16 received the Mensch Award from school founder Dr. Jerry Friedman, who hinted at the winner’s identity by dancing a few seconds of Jake’s signature beat-boxing.

GRADUATION: The 44 members of the Class of 2016 became the first to graduate in Shalhevet’s new gym on Sunday, June 5. Students sat on risers on the stage, parents and guests filled about 600 seats on the gym floor, and graduates marched in to cheers, camera flashes and a recording of “Pomp and Circumstance.” Diplomas were handed out by Larry Gill and Esther Feder, current and past board presidents.

7

8

FEATURES JUNE 2016

From promoting a pair of jeans, a $2.5 million company ‘Instabrand,’ founded by Joey Chowaiki ‘10, invites clients to use social media for advertising and to spread awareness

By NICOLE SOUSSANA, Staff Writer

ing where they could buy a pair of pants like this.

A man by the name of Cree Lane Jones posts a picture on Ins“That’s when it clicked in our tagram of himself standing over the misty ocean, carrying his two heads -- why can’t these be our billchildren in a wide and rusty gray bucket. Why? boards?” Joey said.

It’s an ad, but it’s not trying to sell anything. Around the world, Joey had been planning to 663 million people live without access to clean water, and in those study at SMC for two years and places, women and children travel hours on foot each day carrying then transfer to UCLA to for a 40 pounds of water to stay alive. That’s about the weight of Mr. business degree. But no one was Jones’ children. He and many others have posted pictures of them- doing endorsements on social selves carrying something 40 pounds heavy to raise money to do media at the time, and he saw something about it, through a company called InstaBrand. an opening. He decided to quit It’s just one more way that people are using social media to make school and commit all of his time to business. things happen, but in this case, the idea comes from Shalhevet Unlike other kinds of advertising, social media makes it very alumnus Joey Chowaiki, class of 2010 and brother of senior Nata- easy to track customer engagement. Also, advertisements are not sha. Joey started InstaBrand in 2013 with his friend, Alex Dahan. being forced upon the viewers – d rather, people are choosing to see The “40 Pounds” series is for charity, but most of InstaBrand’s advertisements since they are following these influencers on social clients are commercial, among them Disney, Calvin Klein, Pepsi, media. This results in viewers being less frustrated to see an ad in and L’Oreal. their feed. Additionally, the InstaBrand team works on making the “This truly is the future of advertising,” Joey said in an interview ads not so obvious. with the Boiling Point, “and it’s a fun way.”

“We advertise very organically,” Joey said. “So, for example, it InstaBrand is an advertising agency that concentrates on putting will look like they are just naturally drinking a Coca-Cola.” advertisers in contact with influencers -- otherwise known as “proJesse Greenberg, InstaBrand’s talent coordinator and account moters,” a term coined by the company. It works with all forms of manager, explained the water carrying campaign. Emergen-C, a social media, but primarily with Instagram. company which produces powdered drink mix vitamin supple“It’s like normal advertising,” Joey, “but instead of us going to ments, that was partnered with Charity: Water, sought to spread banner ads, magazines, and billboards, we put it solely on social awareness about women in Africa who must travel long distances media.” for clean water. Jesse’s task was to find the Joey was in his second year at Santa right influencers to post a picture on InstaMonica College when he started his comgram of themselves carrying something 40 It’s not something that pany. At the time, he was working with pounds heavy, with a caption that teaches happens overnight.

Alex, a childhood friend, on a line of their followers about the problem while also -- Alumnus Joey Chowaiki ‘10 denim products. The pair bumped into challenging them to post a similar picture two peopled they were following at the with the hashtag #40pounds. time on Instagram, and recognized them The strategy worked. One influencer instantly. was Andrea Duclos (https://www.instagram.

It occurred to them that if those two com/p/BD1ECgkw5pI/?taken-by=ohdeardmen wore Joey and Alex’s jeans on social media, it would be a great rea), an Instagramer with 55,200 followers who received over 1,500 opportunity to advertise their product, as opposed to standard likes on her picture. forms of advertising.

Another recent campaign was for Hollister Co.’s Spring ColThey proposed to pay them with free pants, and the lection. Jesse found teen influencers with strong followings to post deal was made. This resulted in thousands of their followers ask- Hollister Co. outfits. In their captions they spoke about different

ORGANIC: Instrabrand tries to make the advertisements on social media seem natural and interesting. Above and at left, promoters carry 40 pounds to raise awareness about water shortages in Africa.

BP Photo By Gaby Benelyahu

aspects of spring. One Instagramer who was a part of this campaign was Madison Pettis, an actress with 2.5 million followers on Instagram. Her picture received 84,200 likes and 479 comments. Joey Chowaiki said that while his business is booming now – with an investment of $2,5 million from TI Capital in this year and offices in New York, Los Angeles, Milan-Italy, and soon London – starting your own business takes a lot of hard work and commitment. He and Alex were working an estimated 16 hours a day for the first seven months of InstaBrand, and were joined by Alex’s brother and his brother’s friend.

“It’s not something that happens overnight,” he said. He encouraged those looking to start a business to always accept help or advice.

After three years in business, InstaBrand now has various teams who communicate with the advertisers and pair them with influencers based on the targeted audience the advertiser desires, and regarding the specific campaign. For example, if an advertiser wishes to promote its rings, InstaBrand has the ring sizes of all its influencers in its database.

The next step is for the account management team to message all the influencers who will be participating in this campaign. Lastly, InstaBrand’s creative team collaborates with the advertisers for new and fun ideas, such as the “Share a Coke” campaign they worked on with Coca-Cola.

InstaBrand’s collaboration with Emergen-C and Charity : Water proved to be very successful. Thousands of people have posted pictures on Instagram with the hashtag #40pounds and Cree Lane’s photos resulted in a lot of positive feedback and publicity.

Comments included things like “Love this!” and “That’s Awesome!” Which is a little like how Joey feels about his company.

Junior becomes insta-famous with entreprenurial fan pages presented a PowerPoint depicting why he was best suited for the job.

He said he earns at least $200 a month, which can rocket up to $900 NBA basketball has risen to become the country’s second-favorite when Kobe does something special.

He also sells products on his website LADE.BigCartel.com, which sport to watch. Junior Aron Cohen has turned that fact into a lucrative business that he operates from his computer, sometimes at school. started when he sold a tee-shirt he designed to 45 people, earning Among the many social media outlets that pro sports has spawned, $550. This, he says, has taught him valuable skills.

“I gained a huge skill of sports management,” Aron said, “and also Aron’s three Instagram accounts have 160,000 followers combined.

He started his first account, lakersalldayeveryday, Aug. 1, 2013 out of it’s taught me a lot about advertising, and I gained skill in the area of love for the Lakers, and it is now apparently the second-largest Laker social media in general.

“I don’t let it get in the way of my school work, I manage my Instagram page in the world.

His other two accounts are dodgersalldayeveryday, about the Los time,” he said. “For example, whenever there is a Laker game I either do my homework before or after the Angeles Dodgers, and communitynbamegame, because I need to give updates mes, about the NBA. about the game.”

“I thought I would forget about it in a I thought I would forget about it in a week but I All this has shown him that if he puts week but I kept on getting more and more kept on getting more and more followers. his mind to something, he can complete followers and it motivated me to keep goit. He thinks of working in social media ing,” Aron said in an interview. “I never -- Aron Cohen, 11th grade sports management or advertisement expected it to even get over a thousand folprofessionally one day. lowers.”

There have been challenges as well.

Although his accounts require hard work -- up to two hours on game days -- he enjoys running them and Aron was once hacked, and he also has received online criticism. But he has also been reposted by George Lopez and Jordan Clarkson, and plans on continuing.

He has a methodical way of posting consistently. He obtains his is followed by nine current or past Laker basketball playerse.

Aron’s future with his accounts is unknown. For example, if he photos from Google or photos he’s been tagged in, and his only informational sources are Laker Twitter accounts and other major Twitter attends college in a different time zone, it would be impractical to sources. When he needs to update during school, he does so - rushed continue the accounts.

Until then, though, he has many fans who hope he’ll continue his - and puts out a simple update with a picture and a basic caption.

He also takes advertising. Companies often approach him to social media presence with zeal.

“I love it,” said junior Isaac Goor. “It’s repping Laker pride even either post ads on his page or to promote their companies on Instagram, directing web traffic to their website. He became the Insta- though we’ve been playing like garbage. It shows Lakers fans are not gram promoter for Adidas Outdoor after he went to their office and bandwagonners and they still love the team.”

By AIDEL TOWNSLEY, Staff Writer

BP Photo By Gaby Benelyahu

ALL DAY: Aron Cohen has three sports-related Instagram accounts with 160,000 followers in all.

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Features

9

A real shoe crisis: Reflections on senior visit to Poland BP Photos By Michelle Hirschhorn

By SHIREL Benji, 12th Grade “Mom! I’m having a major shoe crisis!” I yelled, as I shoved mounds of clothes into my suitcase. My mother walked into my room and frowned -- it was one hour till takeoff from LA to Poland, and my suitcase was overflowing, unable to zip. “Yes? she asked, clearly unamused.

“Okay so basically, I want to take my Allstars AND my Adidas, because one is black and one is white, and I like them both, but they don’t both fit, and I don’t know what to do!!”

“You call that a shoe crisis?” she responded.

Forty-eight hours later, I stood in the concentration camp of Majdanek, staring back at a case of thousands of faded, brown shoes – the actual shoes that the Nazis ripped away from the Jews in the Holocaust, 70 years ago. Before arriving at the first camp, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel or react. Would the emotions hit me?

Would I even feel anything at all? The events just felt so distant to me. But the second our tour bus pulled up at the site, my heart dropped.

The camp was beautiful, and very green. It was almost eerie how similar I had imagined it to look based on the movies I had watched, and the books I had read. It was almost like the words of our school textbooks were coming to life around us, making up the notorious scene.

But at almost every sight I observed, I couldn’t stop myself from comparing them to specific aspects of my own life. Seeing the

shoes of all those people who were robbed of everything including their lives made me feel extremely guilty. I had truly been distraught over how many shoes I would be able to bring on my two-week trip, and these people had been robbed of their one and only pair, and for a stay away from home that would be much longer than mine.

I swallowed hard when I saw the small, wooden beds that the Jews were forced to sleep on for months at a time -- partly because I had been saying that I missed my bed! repeatedly since the second I left my house. It just made me so angry, so confused. What had I done to deserve such luck of the draw? And what had these poor Jews done to deserve such a brutal fate?

Our tour guide walked us through the camp, relaying the true story of a girl named Chaya who was ripped away from her mother at the very spot where we were standing. Immediately, my mind darted to the scene of my own mother, dropping me off at the airport two days before.

She kissed me over and over again, making a huge, embarrassing scene in front of all of my friends. But I would surely see her again in just a few days, and I knew it. Chaya didn’t even get to say a proper goodbye to her mother, and she never saw her again. More and more guilt built up in my chest.

It was the same at all the other camps we visited. In Auschwitz, I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the glass showcase that held thousands of

locks of hair; they belonged to all the innocent people who had been murdered there. The Nazis had shoved those people into a gas chamber, and cut off all their hair once they had passed. I held on tightly to my own, long, wavy brown hair, that I have refused to cut all year long. My hair was my security blanket. I could never imagine being stripped of something so personal.

We then walked into a gas chamber, and there are no words to describe the sight. All along the black walls were scratches. These were the marks of people who were trying, with all their might, to get out. Why is it that I was fortunate enough to have the freedom to walk out of the chamber, of my own volition, just after a few minutes?

These are just a few of the events that made me feel this way, although many more occurred over the next few day in Poland. I found myself repeatedly asking, “How could such evil exist in the world? How could people be so cruel?” It just didn’t make sense to me.

But something happened on our last day in Poland that made me realize that my mindset was focused in the wrong direction. We were in the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, walking around the exhibits. It was evident that our tour-guide had a physical disability, and each time we would walk into another room, dozens of eyes would follow her, and people would snicker. One group of girls, unrelated to our program, made me particularly angry. They

MAJDANEK: Clockwise from top, shoes of gassed prisoners in the death camp; a view inside the “showers”; seniors gather outside the building where prisoners were gassed throughout the Holocaust.

were around my age, and they stared intensely at the tour-guide, laughing at her, and openly mimicking her demeanor. My eyes began to well up with tears, and I started to choke up. How could they? How could people be so cruel?

And then a lightbulb went off in my head, and I realized why the situation was affecting me so deeply: there was a common theme.

Intolerance is still extremely prevalent in the world today, and it was also a driving force for the events of the Holocaust. If people are not accepting and sensitive towards others, damage is bound to occur.

I was not going to stand idly by and let these girls continue. Therefore a few of us worked up the courage to approach them, and tell them how terrible they were being, and how they needed to stop. The girls just smirked, and continued to video tape the tour-guide.

I’m not sure I would have reacted this way had I not experienced what I had in the previous days in Poland. The Holocaust is not an event of the past. If we don’t stand up for others, and stop the intolerance that exists everywhere, history can repeat itself.

After that day, I realized that I needed to stop asking the “why” and “how” questions that about what led to the Holocaust, and instead, focus my energy on doing everything I can to ensure that nothing like it will ever happen again.

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Features

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Eitan Schramm sees the world in terms of stories

By Jacob Perelman Staff Writer

Most people who love movies go and see more movies. Eitan Schramm started to make films himself.

He claims his brain works differently than the ordinary person’s because he can see a mundane situation and turn it into a sci-fi universe.

“I see things in terms of stories, and film is the best way to convey these stories,” said Eitan, who plans to make a career out of it and is hoping to enroll in Boston University’s film school in two years.

The Shalhevet community saw this up close last fall, when Eitan’s sci-fi fantasy about time travel love and Amelia Earhart, titled “The Anomaly,” was the hit finale to drama’s one-act festival. It featured a crazy scientist falling in love with a woman who had no idea what

century she was in.

Eitan said it had been edited in a way that calmed it down.

“Originally, it was very weird,” he said.

Although he’s loved movies all his life – his favorite directors are the storytellers JJ Abrams and Steven Spielberg – Eitan didn’t make his first film until he produced a four-and-a-halfminute film titled, “TV Time” for Mrs. Sunshine’s class, for an assignment on how persuasion works.

“I misread the assignment instructions but when I found out that I misread, I still really wanted to do my original idea,” Eitan said in an interview.

Then last summer he attended The School of Creative and Performing Arts in downtown Los Angeles where he fell in love with the filmmaking process and made two short films.

One task there was to make

a movie that doesn’t have any cuts in it and features one continuous video clip.

Eitan produced, wrote and directed a film delving into the life of a mischievous fly whose goal in life is to bother the humans around him.

The second film he produced, “Secret Admirer,” shows the story of a high school boy who leaves notes in his crush’s locker. Things don’t go as planned when the admirer gets rejected a date.

Starting last year, Eitan began submitting films as assignments for his English and AP Psychology classes. The Shalhevet basement actually doubles for a crime-scene set in his latest film, “Nonexistent,” for Ms. Crincoli’s Creative Writ-

ing class.

In Ms. Sunshine’s class, Eitan and

fellow senior Daniel Shoham produced fake commercials that mocked real commercials as a part of a psychology assignment. Ms. Sunshine said they did very well. ”Eitan stands out in my mind for his quirky humor and creativity…,” Ms. Sunshine told the Boiling Point in an email.“I enjoyed the different spin on the assignment,” Ms. Sunshine told the Boiling Point in an email.

After a gap year at Yeshivat Ashreinu in Israel, Eitan plans to enroll in Drexel University in Philadelphia.

But he also has been conditionally accepted to Boston University, which has the film school he hopes to attend, for his sophomore year.

Although it’s a little unusual, Eitan has already shown that he’s one of a kind.

Senior Snap shots

For Yonah Feld, America’s great but Israel is home

By ABBY BLUMOFE, Staff Writer

Although Yonah Feld has lived in America nearly his entire life, he doesn’t consider it his home. His home, he says, is Israel.

“America is exceptional,” Yonah said in an interview. “America has gifted the world with revolutionary ideas, philosophies, and notable figures.

I owe this country a big thank you, and it would be greedy not to show my respect.

“I love it here – but I feel out of place.”

Israel, he said, has an innate tie to every Jew. And though he hasn’t spent much time there yet, he feels it.

“When it comes to having an everlasting emotional tie to the land, or seeing a future for a Jewish life in America, the answer is not really,” Yonah said. “What really makes Israel greater than America is an emotional tie to every place, person, pile of dirt, tree, cup of water, etcetera. That is the one small difference that changes everything.”

Yonah, who is the son of Judaic Studies teacher Mr. Jason Feld, was born in Israel and left with his parents at the age of 1. So despite having visited only twice – most recently on the senior Poland-Israel trip and before that with Ramah Seminar – Yonah says he has “a long relationship” with Israel, and feels a deep bond.

His favorite places are not the tourist draws of the Kotel and Ben Yehuda Street, but rather the Golan, the Negev and Gush Etzion.

“Wherever I can work the land, stub my toe and get a splinter or two I like,” Yonah said.

“I was born in Israel. I would feel almost guilty if I was going to be benefiting without doing my part.”

So that’s what Yonah Feld plans to do. First he’ll study for a year at Yeshivat HaEmek, an all-Hebrew, pre-army leadership program. Then he’ll join the IDF, and then he plans to make aliyah.

Originally, he thought he was legally obligated to join the army since he’d been born there.

“I didn’t realize it wasn’t mandatory for me to attend up until I reached about 10th or 11th grade,” Yonah said.

But the idea had been engrained in his head by parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins and by then he had already partly decided.

“It was a mix of my parents influencing me, middle school, and my Shalhevet education,” Yonah said. “These were all small steps that led to this creating this idea.”

Mr. Jason Feld attempted to serve in the army twice, but both times was sent home by the commanding officer – because each time he was called up, he had a newborn at home, first Yonah’s sister Katie, and then Yonah himself.

He is fully supportive of Yonah’s decision.

“It’s bittersweet, because as a parent I worry, and it’s not easy,” Mr. Feld said in an interview.

“On the other hand I couldn’t be prouder.”

Yonah is interested in Marine biology and volunteers at Santa Monica Pier Aquarium every week. Snapir, an IDF Coast Guard unit that looks out for incoming boats, is an option he’s considering for his IDF service.

He then plans to study the subject in an Israeli university – even though he thinks American schools are better.

“I want to stay in Israel,” he explained.

And he’s very excited about his future.

“When I first begin [army service] I will probably think, ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this,’” he said. “But in the end I will realize how rewarding the experience was.”

He expects to become a very different person than if he attended college in the U.S. “By going to Israel,” Yonah said, “I will grow connections with the land and people, I won’t feel like a tourist anymore.”

From music to forests, Shir Zahavi embraces unusual pathways

By Eva Suissa, Staff Writer Instead of spending her winter break with friends like the average student, Shir Zahavi spent her’s alone in Portland, Oregon. This is one example of what makes her different and more mature than her peers.

In Portland, she spent three hours in Forest Park by herself, and with no one around. According to Shir, the forest was wet “in a really beautiful way,” because it had just rained. The rainwater revealed vividly green trees, had purified the air, and transformed the dirt into mud. Because of this weather, Shir wore her denim-colored rain jacket, yellow hat, and maroon leggings.

“I was just chilling in the forest, hanging out, walking around, taking everything in,” said Shir. At the end of her three hours, she left one of her Clark Boots resting on a rock - she wanted to leave a piece of her in the forest.

Shir has always known that she is different than her fellow students. In 7th grade, while her friends crushed on Justin Bieber, Shir obsessed over Meryl Streep and Oprah Winfrey.

Still as a senior, her favorite band is the Beach

Boys, her favorite genre of music is folk rock, and she gravitates towards elderly people.

“In a world of high school drama and teenage pettiness, Shir has a sense of maturity beyond her years,” said her Judaics studies teacher Rabbi Schwarzberg.

Although it was originally hard for Shir to admire different things than her peers - Meryl

In a world of high school drama and teenage pettiness, Shir has a sense of maturity beyond her years -- Rabbi Schwartzberg

Streep, for example - she has learned to embrace her differences. She’s not afraid to be herself - the person who framed a picture of Oprah Winfrey and put it in on her nightstand. The person who jams out to the Beach Boys and folk rock music.

The person who walked back from a forest with one shoe, because she had to leave a piece of herself there.

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Features

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CLASS OF 2016: UNIVERSITY OF california, berkely Kian Marghzar UNIVERSITY OF california, sANTA bARBARA Shirel Benji CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY Nicole Newman

College Bound Washington universtiy IN ST. LOUIS Mati Davis Mark Miller Henry Wineburgh

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO Michelle Hirschhorn

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Jacob Dauer DREXEL UNIVERSITY Zev Frankel Eitan Schramm

new york university Rose Lipner Laly Chriki Jacob Toczek Asher Sebban

JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF AMERICA Joe Schnitzer Boaz Willis BRANDEIS university Daniel Shoham

University of Chicago UNIVERSITY OF Pennsylvania Jonah Gill Micah Gill

YESHIVA UNIVERSITY Derek Orenshein Jake Benyowitz Barnard College Kayla Ablin COLUMBIA COLLEGE Shir Zahavi

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Daniel Soroudi UNIVERSITY OF california, LOS ANGELES Eric Bazak Elon Glouberman VALLEY COLLEGE Avivah Paskowitz Josh Joffe

Santa monica college Dorelle Nahmany Shirin Natanelli Ariella Cohen Natacha Chowaiki Sariel Elkaim Gabe Silverstein

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK Rachel Sentchuk JJ Helperin Sarah Mankowitz

Rutgers uNIVERSITYnew brunswick Noah Rothman

Good luck GRADUATES!

Scholar-in-residence opens students’ eyes about inequality man Mikey Kahtan. “It’s important to me now.”

In the large Beit Midrash, a hand flies into the air, and On the first day of her visit, Ms. Gerthoughts are shared on police brutality and how it can be main focused her sessions on determinsolved. Disagreements are expressed on the direness of the ing the value of the discussions. issue. A student prompts the frequently asked question of The second day, Ms. Germain fohow to balance being a leader with being a peer. cused on topics of equity such as health These thought-provoking discussions, as well as many care, access to resources, racial discrimothers, were led by scholar-in-residence Thaly Germain, who ination and interactions between police visited Shalhevet April 4 - 6. and communities of color.

“I think the first step is making a difference in your im“These are specific challenges that mediate life,” Ms. Germain said. “You will practice skills of we’re facing as a nation,” Ms. Germain leadership by doing small things -- if you see something hap- said. She told students to ask themselvespening you think is unequal or unfair, standing up for that.” ,“What’s my role in shaping the future of Ms. Germain, who is executive director of the Lynch what happens.”

Leadership Academy in Boston, led hour-long sessions with Ms. Germain has experience shaping each grade during different periods of the school days, dis- her own future. Born in Port-Au-Prince, cussing issues of national inequality – she called it “inequity” Haiti, she moved to Brooklyn, New York -- and the roles of the individual in repairing it. at the age of 10 and credits education In preparation for her sessions, Ms. Germain assigned with her success here. each grade to read different documents relating to the issues “I had the experience of living in another country and that would be discussed. seeing how an oppressive government could impact the outThe freshman, junior and senior classes read Dr. Martin come of a nation,” she said. “When I moved to the States, Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” and the fresh- I was a non-English speaker and lived in a very poor commen also read Bowen McCoy’s “The Parable of the Sadhu.” munity, and what really changed my life trajectory were the The sophomore class was assigned to read “The Ones school leaders and teachers I had.”

Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guinm, She said that a sense of responsibility to create change a story that features a utopian society in which one child were present in her mind from a young age. must be tortured in order for the society to remain in its “My moral compass was all about equity and making the serene state. This led to a discussion world a better place,” Ms. Germain on privilege in society and whether it said. “I’m in the mindset of if I don’t, is the nature of privilege, and wheththen maybe others won’t either.”

Your voice is important, challenging er one group’s happiness demands the This mindset, along with taking people is important sacrifice of others. on leadership opportunities, are two -- Thaly Germain, scholar-in-residence “It made me sad that the moral of things she said teens should pursue in the story was that someone else needs order to contribute to a more equitable to suffer in order for people to have world. a good life,” said sophomore Maia “Your voice is important, challengZelkha. “It made me feel really helpless.” ing people is important,” Ms. Germain said.

The ninth grade watched video clips about racism and According to General Studies Principal Mr. Daniel police brutality and discussed the documents they had read Weslow, Ms. Germaine’s visit was part of the same scholthe previous day. ar-in-residence program that has brought mainly Judaic “I didn’t really know as much about the situation that Studies educators like Rav Judah Mischel to school. was going on around the world with the police,” said fresh“Rabbi Segal and I were looking for ways to incorporate

By Lucy fried, Staff Writer

EQUITY: Ms. Germain told students that each individual has a role in fixing national inequality issues, such as racial discrimination, health care, and access to resources.

a scholar-in-residence that could focus on areas of diversity and social justice, a program that mirrored Rav Judah who comes in on the Judaic staff,” Mr. Weslow said.

In preparation for the visit, an anonymous survey was posted to Schoology during the Town Hall of March 17, assessed students’ views on diversity’s relevance to their lives.

“It provided another data point for her to become more familiar with the school culture and community, and It was important for her to get a sense of the school beyond the website,” Mr. Weslow explained.

The Lynch Leadership Academy is a five-year-old executive leadership program for school principals. Ms. Germain is its executive director.

“I spend a good bit of my time helping people to think about their role when it comes to leadership and when it comes to equity,” Ms. Germain said.

Although not quite knowing what to expect when she arrived, she described her visit as “fantastic.”

“I learned a lot,” she said. “The most powerful aspect of the experience was how willing people were to engage in meaningful conversations and to disagree with each other.”

Ms. Germain thought that her visit accomplished its goals.

“After each session, at least three to five people would come up to me to continue the conversation because they wanted to figure out their role moving forward,” she added.

“That’s really promising.”

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Features

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lost and...

Continued from Page 1 told the Boiling Point in an interview. He said by having both senior and a non-senior candidate to vote for, the electorate could decide for itself.

“Ultimately there will be a public debate on this issue,” he said, referring to the candidates forum which had not yet taken place, “and each candidate will have their opportunity to articulate their vision, and it is ultimately up to the voters of the Just Community to decide who they want representing them next year.”

Everyone knows that Shalhevet has a Constitution, because the Preamble and Article 1 are displayed on the wall outside the principals’ offices. However, accounts of a rule prohibiting non-seniors from running for chair led to one central question: Where is the rest of the document?

According to school founder Dr. Jerry Friedman and others, the constitution was written by students and then-Director of Moral Education Dr. Samuel Gomberg in 2002, and adopted by consensus at that time. Former Agenda Committee adviser Mr. Chris Buckley said it was published in the Student Handbook for many years.

But no one at Shalhevet could find it during election season this year. The Boiling Point finally obtained a copy from Dr. Gomberg, and published it on its website.

The abundance of debate and absence of a clear governing authority led many people to ask how the constitution was lost and why no one knew about it. Mr. Buckley said that as time went by and the school’s original faculty moved on, less emphasis was placed on the importance of the Just Community.

“It was something that the upper classmen knew about more,” said Mr. Buckley in an interview. “What happened was that the faculty members who really knew the Just Community well have all left. A few years ago it wouldn’t have been possible for this consciousness to have been lost.” The constitution provides guidelines for many things that aren’t practiced in Shalhevet today, including a different way of choosing Fairness chairs; two additional committees -- a Constructive Consequences Committee (CCC), Judicial Review Committee; and procedures for the Agenda and Fairness committees.

The CCC is envisioned as a standing committee that is supposed to be composed of a chair, secretary, faculty advisor, and grade representatives. Its purpose is to decide consequences for those who violate the constitution.

The Judicial Review Committee is supposed to review all laws and proposals and deem them constitutional or unconstitutional.

In addition, there is supposed to be a monthly meeting between the administration and the chairs of Agenda and Fairness to discuss current proceedings of the Just Community.

On May 17, the day after it was found, Agenda held a meeting to discuss what to do with it.

Suggestions ranged from changing the Just Community to follow the existing constitution, amending the constitution to reflect the way the community works today, or completely rewriting the constitution next year.

Ultimately Agenda decided to have a school wide discussion about this next fall, when there is more time.

Incoming Agenda chair Bennett Schneier said rewriting the constitution shouldn’t be a goal, but should be an option.

“It’s a matter of redefining what the Shalhevet values are and making new ones,” said Bennett in an interview. “I don’t think we should be rushing to make a new [constitution]. It shouldn’t be something we’re working towards, but once we get there we should do it.”

Dr. Friedman opposes a rewrite.

“I would have a problem with that,” said Dr. Friedman. “It’s saying we’re not happy with the way the school is functioning now. To rewrite the constitution says that what we’ve been doing until now–we’re not ok with it.”

Mr. Feld said that even though nothing is being done about it yet, finding the constitution revealed something that he had known for a long time.

“If there’s one thing I’m proud of, [it] is ripping off the façade that we are faithful to constitution when 70 percent of it has long been ignored by others,” said Mr. Feld.

Maya Golan, who ran for Agenda Chair, said that the fact that people have ignored the Constitution goes against the core values of Shalhevet.

“No one really thought that it was important that it explicitly states it in the constitution that it should be a 12th grader as Agenda chair,” said Maya.

“I think that’s a little appalling, because as a school that founds itself on justice and fairness we should definitely be referring back to the constitution, and that whole aspect of the argument was completely disregarded.”

FOUND Preamble We the students, faculty, administration and staff members of Shalhevet High School, wish to establish a school formed on Jewish values of Torah, Halacha, Menschlechkeit, and Zionism, in order to form a more just and caring community; provide for a mutually respectful learning environment; honor each person’s dignity and worth; promote each individual’s moral reasoning and ethical development; secure democratic values of liberty, equality, and justice; and uphold the principles set forth in this Constitution for our Democratic Just Community.

Purpose and Scope Purpose This Constitution is a body of principles, which establishes and regulates the basic order of the Democratic Just Community. It lays down the organization, function, powers, and limits to power, of the school’s community governance structure and the basic rights and duties of its constituents.

Limits of the Democracy The jurisdiction of the Shalhevet Democratic Just Community does not include the domains of curriculum, halacha, and local, state and federal law.

Relationship between Democracy and school rules The Student Handbook is a collection of rules and procedures, which govern the school. The handbook shall consist of two parts, which may be intermingled for topical purposes. One part of the handbook is produced solely by the administration, while another part consists of those rules and policies that are approved by the community. The democratically adopted portions of the Handbook shall be uniquely noted as such, and constitutes a cumulative body of Law at Shalhevet: these laws shall not be altered without consideration by the community at large.

All proposals approved in Town Hall, shall be written into the Handbook in the appropriate section.

Article I. Legislative Section 1.01: The Proposal Process Proposals to adapt or to add rules, procedures, or policies must be submitted in writing to a member of the Agenda Committee.

Written proposals must include a concise statement of the issue, including its background and/or history, and how it affects different groups within Shalhevet. It must also include a suggested resolution, which must clearly address its benefits to the Shalhevet Community. The resolution should include explicit recommendations for its execution, implementation, and long term monitoring and enforcement.

Upon review of a proposal, the Agenda Committee may exercise one of the following four options: The proposal may be returned to the author(s) for further revision, clarification, or amplification.

The proposal is brought to Community Forums for discussion and clarification in preparation for formal submission to a Town Hall meeting.

If a majority of the Agenda Committee believes that a proposal goes beyond the bounds of democracy, the proposal may be rejected or sent to the Judicial Review Committee.

T h e proposal is brought to a Town Hall meeting for discussion and consideration within the community without editing or revision.

Proposals brought before a Town Hall meeting may be formally or verbally amended by any member of the community. The amendment must be accepted by a majority of the members present to be included as part of the proposal.

Once a proposal is passed according

c d

m o r c J

t

c sponsibilities, the Agend nity representatives and o and proposals for school Agenda Committee meet Town Hall meeting for di Committee collects, draft proposals to be discussed Forums and/or Town Hal and conducts Town Hall The Agenda Committe the senior class, a vice ch a secretary from the seni sentatives from each grad administrative advisor.

The Agenda Committe days and must meet at lea Community Forum meet amongst itself how to co Chair of the Agenda Com and the chairs of the oth affairs. The secretary of t keeping a written record meetings. An outline of th meeting shall be kept in records of each meeting s will be accessible to any m community upon request In order to maintain c munication with the Co Agenda Committee shal announcement board in on which a record of the discussed Town Hall and made during that Town posted. The records must the morning of the first sc the Town Hall. On the sch to any Town Hall, the A mittee shall give a brief a ing its expected proceedin The following are the mittee: The committee shall h weekly Town Hall meetin The committee shall h edit proposals from the c The committee shall h a proposal to the Judicial appropriateness.

The Agenda Committ Specifically, the Chair of t Hall meetings, and the se the secretary of Town Ha

Section 1.03: Town H Proposals for the add and policies shall be pro Town Hall meetings, whi except during weeks wh The leading of Town Hall discretion of the Agenda

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Features

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In May, the community realized its Just Community Constitution was lost, when it was found, it answered many questions.Here it is: to standard voting procedures, it will be considered community law. The accepted proposal and its official vote shall be recorded as an official policy of the Shalhevet Just Community Democracy and added to the permanent record of the community by the secretary of the Agenda Committee.

If, after a proposal is passed, a community member questions the fairness or legitimacy of the new law, he/she may request that the Agenda Committee reconsider it for possible submission to the Judicial Review Committee.

five school days. The Fairness Committee shall decide how to run its meetings. The secretary shall take notes of every meeting. A private record of each case shall be kept in the committee’s locked filing cabinet. Unlike the other committees, these files will not be open to the public under any circumstances.

In order to maintain constant communication with the community, the Fairness Committee can utilize Town Hall/Community Forum meetings, with the discretion of the Agenda Committee, to address the school. The chair of the Fairness Committee shall meet with the chairs of the other major committees and the administration monthly to discuss current affairs.

Any member of the community has the right to bring any other member of the community to the Fairness Committee. The Fairness Section 1.04: Community Forum In addition to Town Hall meetings, smaller groups of students Committee is not required to hear every case. Once a case is heard the Fairness Committee can impose and staff shall convene in Community non-punitive remedies, suggest punSection 1.02: The Agenda Commit- Forums. These Community Forums ishments, or bring notice of a student shall encourage and foster student, tee or teacher’s unfair actions to the adThe Agenda Committee shall be reIn order to affect the democratic pro- teacher, and staff interaction on a smallministration. sponsible for keeping a written recesses regarding rights, privileges and re- er, more personal level than Town Hall. cord of the proceedings of Town Hall, da Committee shall be elected as commu- The Agenda Committee shall decide all approved propoals, and for the officers to represent community concerns when and in what manner Community Article III. Enforcement preservation and propagation of this policies. These proposals are discussed at Forum meetings shall be initiated. record from year to year. tings and then presented at the following Section 3.01: Constructive Con--Section 1:03 Section 1.05: Judicial Review iscussion, and possibly, a vote. The Agenda sequences Committee (CCC) fts, and helps to clarify with the author(s), Committee The purpose of the Constructive If a proposal is deemed constitud during regularly scheduled Community Consequences Committee is to allow a ll meetings, drafts proposals for Town Hall tionally questionable by a majority of group of community representatives to the Agenda Committee, it shall be submitted to the Judicial Review assign just and constructive punishments to members of the comMeetings, with the chair presiding. ee shall be composed of a chairperson from Committee for consideration. The committee shall be comprised of munity who act in violation of the Rights clause of the Constitution. hairperson from the senior or junior class, two students, two faculty members, and the current Head of School.

The CCC shall be composed of one representative from each ior, junior, or sophomore class, two repre- One of the student representatives shall be appointed Chair of the grade, a teacher representative, an appointed secretary from the de, two faculty representatives, and a single committee. Student and Faculty members must have served on The 10th or 11th grade, and a Chairperson from 12th grade. For any Agenda Committee or Fairness Committee for at least one term. office, there will be open nominations. All those nominated will ee shall meet at least once every five school Members of the Committee shall be elected by a community-wide be placed on a ballot. Each grade will elect representatives from its own grade, and teachers will elect fellow teachers. The nominee ast two school days before any Town Hall or ballot.

The Judicial Review Committee is required to meet only as nec- from each grade with the most votes will serve on the committee. ting. The Agenda Committee shall decide The CCC is required to meet at least once every five school days onduct meetings. On a monthly basis, the essary. In its meetings, the committee shall hear debate as to the mmittee will meet with the administration constitutionality of the appealed proposal and rule within a week. and may meet more often if cases require. The CCC shall decide her major committees to discuss current The Chair is responsible for writing a summary of the arguments how to run its meetings. The appointed secretary shall take notes the Agenda Committee is responsible for and decisions that will be presented to the community when a ver- of every meeting. Records of the meetings shall be kept in a locked of all Agenda Committee and Town Hall dict is reached. The Judicial Review Committee has the power to cabinet that is accessible to the public with the discretion of the he proposed discussion for each Town Hall label a proposal/law constitutional, unconstitutional, or in need of committee.

In order to maintain constant communication with the coma file for reference from year to year. The revision. munity, the CCC can utilize Town Hall/community meetings, with shall be kept in a locked filing cabinet that the discretion of the Agenda Committee, to address the school. The member of the Article II. Fairness chair of the Constructive Consequences Committee shall meet with t. constant comSection 2.01: Community Rights: the chairs of the other major committees and the administration All members of the communimonthly to discuss current affairs. At the end of every semester, the The Right to Fairness ommunity, the ty ... have the right to expect All members of the community— CCC shall meet with the administration to discuss its actions in the ll maintain an fairness, the right to be treated administrators, teachers, staff, and stu- past semester. n the hallway respectfully in speech and beBoth the Fairness Committee and the administration can bring dents—have the right to expect fairness most recently havior, and the right to be heard in the school policies and procedures. a case to the CCC to construct an appropriate punishment. The d any decisions and to be taken seriously.

When there is a disagreement as to what CCC must oversee the execution of the consequences it constructs. n Hall will be --Article II is fair, the issue is taken to the Fairness t be posted by Committee for resolution. chool day after Article IV. Amendment Process The Right to Respect hool day prior In order to amend the Constitution, the following steps must All members of the community— be taken: Agenda ComA written proposal must be submitted to the Agenda Commitannouncement to the community describ- administrators, teachers, staff, and students—have the right to be treated respectfully in speech and behavior. Disrespectful language tee. ngs.

The Agenda Committee must approve the proposal by a 2/3 enumerated powers of the Agenda Com- or actions, dishonesty, and deception violate this basic tenet.

The Right to Be Heard written ballot.

The right to be heard and to be taken seriously applies to all One full Town Hall must be devoted to discussing the proposal, have the power to decide the topic for the members of the community equally. “Being heard” is not the same without a vote. ngs.

The community must approve the proposed amendment by a ¾ have the power to ask for, accept, reject, and as agreement. While each member of the community has this right, each member is responsible for allowing others their rights. written ballot. community. have the power, by a majority vote, to send Section 2.02: Fairness committee Review Committee for deliberation on its Article V. Ratification The purpose of the Fairness Committee is to hear and settle disIn order to ratify the Constitution, a Constitutional Convention tee has the power to administer Town Hall. putes in issues of perceived violations of the rights to fairness or re- must be held. The first part of the Convention shall be a public adthe Agenda committee shall conduct Town spect. All outcomes of cases and judgments must be congruent with dress and explanation of the Constitution. For the following weeks, ecretary of the Agenda Committee shall be the Rights Clause of the Constitution. small group meetings will be held to edit the Constitution. After a The Fairness Committee shall be composed of two teacher detailed analysis, the Constitution Committee will siphon all edits all. representatives, and two student representatives from each grade. into a final draft. The new draft will be voted on in Town Hall. The The chair, an elected senior, and the secretary of the committee are Constitution will be ratified by a ¾ vote by the entire community.

Hall dition or adaptation of rules, procedures self-appointed. For any office, there will be open nominations. All ocessed and executed in the school-wide those nominated will be placed on a ballot. Each grade will elect ich are to convene once per calendar week, representatives from its own grade, and teachers will elect fellow here community forums take precedence. teachers. The two nominees from each grade and the two teacher l shall fall primarily under the position and nominees with the most votes will serve on the committee.

The Fairness Committee is required to meet at least once every Committee Chair.

The Agenda Committee Chair or his/her designee shall call each meeting to order. Town Hall meetings shall be structured and governed based upon “Robert’s Rules of Order.” Meetings will begin with an informative introduction, an open debate, and possibly a vote.

The Agenda Committee shall be responsible for keeping a written record of the proceedings of Town Hall, all approved proposals, and for the preservation and propagation of this record from year to year.

The Constructive Consequences Committee shall be responsible for overseeing the enforcement of proposals passed by Town Hall.

Page design by Noa Segal

14

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Outside News

Outside News JUNE 2016

Democratic presidential candidates battle in Los Angeles

By Daniel Lorell, Staff writer Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Southern California June 6 when the word came from the Associated Press that she had clinched the Democratic nomination for president, becoming the first woman to do so in U.S. history.

Shalhevet junior Layla Galeck was there when she celebrated – at a primary-eve rally at Long Beach City College, one of the last scheduled for what has been a bruising primary contest between the former first lady and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Layla described the crowd.

“They were out of control,” Layla said in an interview.

“Screaming, cheering, Hillary could barely finish her sentences without people freaking out -- crazy energy!”

With 475 delegates at stake and Sen. Sanders trailing by 309, California became a state that was fought over this year, and both Clinton and Sanders held rallies that were attended by Shalhevet students.

Layla was near enough to the front that she got to shake Mrs. Clinton’s hand and take a selfie with her.

“It was surreal,” said Layla. “I couldn’t believe that one of the most influential figures in American politics today was so close to me.”

Layla’s grandmother is very close with Eric Bauman, chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and vice chair of the state party, so Layla was on the VIP list and among the first to enter the room where the candidate would speak.

“I told Hillary that I’m very close family friends with Eric Bauman, and she said, ‘No way!”” Layla said. “And then I told her she’s amazing and she said thank you and we took a picture.”

“I was nervous to meet her but she was very nice and sweet when I spoke to her,” she added. “The whole experience didn’t feel like real life.”

At the rally, Clinton used the spotlight to state her positions on the issues, and urge people to vote the next day.

“According to news reports, we’re on the brink of a historic moment here, but we still have work to do,” Mrs. Clinton said.

She called herself “a progressive who gets things done” and touted plans to install 500 million solar panels by 2018 and power all homes with renewable energy by “the end of my second term,” 2024, to fight global warming.

She promised to raise the national minimum wage, decriminalize drug addiction, improve Obamacare and convince companies to manufacture in America, and close the gender wage gap.

She said equal pay for women was the “fastest way to improve incomes for families.”

And she attacked presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump directly.

“I’m tired of him downgrading America,” Mrs. Clinton said.

“I’m tired of him really speaking ill of our country, I’m tired of

ready had it in the bag.” Regarding Clinton’s opponent Bernie Sanders, Galeck said “I don’t even remember her mentioning Bernie so much, like maybe once if that.”

Sen. Sanders held a rally at Santa Monica High School May 23.

“Together, we will not allow that American dream to die,” Sen. Sanders said.

He opened the rally by admonishing Secretary Clinton, who had just announced she would not debate him in the state.

“I was disturbed but not surprised to hear a few hours ago that Secretary Clinton has backed out of the debate,” Sen. Sanders said.

He then addressed issues including immigration and climate change, and said that if his policies were enacted, free college tuition for all would be paid for by new taxes.

“We should impose a tax on Wall Street speculation,” Sen. Sanders said. “That tax alone will pay for tuition at public colleges and universities.

“And by the way, we will also end the current deportation policies.”

The audience, which had been spread thin in lines encircling the campus waiting to gain entry, was readily roused by the senator’s remarks on topics similar to those addressed by Clinton, including pay inequality and the addiction crisis plaguing northeastern states.

He said too many Americans were in prison, and blamed the problem partly on poor education and a lack of good jobs.

“We have in America today more people in jail than in any other country on earth,” Sen. Sanders said. “We can create 13 million jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure, and that’s what I intend to do… We do not want BP Photo By Layla Galeck to see millions of young people hanging out on the street without the education and jobs they need.”

At the Sanders event, members of the crowd could HOLLYWOOD BATTLE: Above, be seen clad in Bernie shirts, stickers and buttons, as Hillary celebrated clinching the well as some more unorthodox symbols, such as the nomination June 7 in Santa Soviet hammer and sickle, and a red fist. The rambuncMonica June 7. Bernie Sanders tious crowd did not let 30 seconds go by without uprallied in Santa Monica May roarious cheering in response to some of Sanders’ pro23, left. posed policies, or thunderous booing at the mention of Secretary Clinton or Donald Trump.

He told the crowd that radical change was needed so success could be shared by the entire population, not BP Photo By Daniel Lorell him talking about just those already rich. how we’re just a third-rate country. I don’t know what country he “A country is remembered by how it treats it’s weakest and most lives in. vulnerable citizens,” Sen. Sanders said. “It’s not good enough to talk “We’ve got work to do but there’s nothing we can’t do if we work the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk.” together to do it,” she added.

“On June 7, let this great state, this progressive state of CaliforAccording to Layla, the Secretary had the attitude that “she al- nia, show the world you’re ready for political revolution.”

At his rally in San Diego, Trump rails against Clinton, media By daniel lorell, Staff Writer

hear that?”

He blamed some problems on political correctness, saying, “We are so politically correct folks, our country is dying from within,” and chided those who have complained about his calling certain women “bimbos,” “dogs” and “fat pigs.”

“Donald Trump is not sexist – who would say that unless you

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump arrived at the San Diego Convention Center May 27 to a crowd of some 10,000 enthusiastic supporters, as well as more than 1,000 equally enthusiastic protesters, according to police and local news media estimates.

A sea of people standing shoulder to shoulder filled the vast, airplane hangar-like hall, clamoring and jostling their way to a better vantage point and holding signs with slogans such as “Veterans for Trump” and “Make America Great Again.” Some hoisted children upon their shoulders.

After being introduced as a “golden wrecking ball” by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Mr. Trump took the stage at 2:35 P.M. to 2 Unlimited’s “Get Ready for This” blaring through large speakers dangling over the crowd.

“People that aren’t doing well, they’re going to be doing very, very well,” Mr. Trump promised, assuming he’d be elected.

“We’re gonna take care of the African Americans who are suffering in this country.

TRUMP: The GOP presidential nominee told a crowd in San “You go to China, bridges everywhere, it makes our bridges Diego May 27 that the U.S. has become a Third World country. look like toys,” he said. “We have become a Third World country folks, and it’s not gonna happen any longer.”

He continued for 50 minutes in an address that promised BP Photo By Daniel Lorell he’d solve the country’s greatest problems, and also made fun of his detractors. He used particularly sharp language against the news had evil thoughts?” the candidate said. “I have women that are media, calling them “bloodsuckers” and “slime.” making just as much as my men.”

He drew laughter when referring to the private e-mail server As has become typical at Trump rallies, a small group of proHillary Clinton used as Secretary of State. testers found their way inside the hall, and made their views “I love emails, they never go away,” he said. “Hillary, do you

known 10 to 15 minutes after he took the stage.

Mr. Trump himself, as well as any crowd member not close enough to hear them, were made aware of their presence by a cacophony of boos and yelling that was swiftly unleashed in their direction. The protesters were escorted out of the rally, but not before Trump thanked them for the publicity.

But perhaps the most tense moments of the rally were brief interactions between Mr. Trump and the news media. He announced his disdain in his first few sentences on stage, urging the camera operators to turn their equipment to face the audience, adding, “You know they never wanna show the crowds we get.”

When the cameras did face the crowds a few minutes later, Mr. Trump was complained, “Look at those cameras, they turned because they found a protester. Look at those cameras, those bloodsuckers.”

He further provoked the media by repeatedly referring to them as “the slime” and “some of the most dishonest people in the universe.”

Just outside and across the street was the hub of the day’s anti-Trump protests. The demonstrators expressed their message of opposition to the businessman on posters stating “Golden State Does Not Hate,” “Can’t Argue With Stupid” and “Deport Trump,” as well as a small effigy of the candidate wearing a sombrero, labelled “Racist” in all capital letters.

The rally concluded at 3:27 P.M., with the candidate promising the American people that when he is president, they’d be winning so much, they’d get sick of it. Mr. Trump then stayed for about 20 minutes signing various merchandise and taking pictures with fans.

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Outside News

15

Two blocks but worlds apart

Table Talk News to Help You Schmooze

White House, Knesset open their doors to familiar faces Shalhevet has a new presence in world politics, with Reb Noam Weissman’s brother, Chanan Weissman, being President Obama’s new Jewish liaison to the Jewish community, and David Keyes, one of the school’s very first students, as Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson for English-language media.

Mr. Weissman, who replaced Matt Nosanchuk, is the first Modern Orthodox Jewish liaison to a Democratic White House, but not the first Orthodox Jew in the Obama administration. Others are Jack Lew, the current Treasury Secretary and formerly White House Chief of Staff, and Norm Eisen, currently Ambassador to the Czech Republic and formerly President Obama’s Special Counsel for Ethics and Government Reform.

In his new post, Mr. Weissman will serve as the administration’s voice to the Jewish community and gather the community’s views on various issues and policies, according to Wikipedia. He has a Master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland.

Mr. Keyes, who replaces former spokesman Mark Regev, is co-founder of cyberdissidents.org and previously served as executive director of Advancing Human Rights. His siblings Jonathan, Sarah and Rachel all attended Shalhevet, with Rachel being part of the class of ‘06 until the family made aliyah to Raanana after her sophomore year.

An alumnus of UCLA with a master’s in diplomacy from Tel Aviv University, Mr. Keyes has been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal.

But he is best known for “punking” Iranian diplomats in Vienna last summer during nuclear negotiations. Approaching them in hotel lobbies and on sidewalks, he asks who their favorite political prisoner is and tries to get them to reduce hangings from one every two hours to one every two-and-a-half.

Shalhevet alumni serving in government include Tzvika Krieger ’02; the State Department’s representative to Silicon Valley and Senior Advisor for Technology and Innovation strategist in the Office of the Secretary of Defense; and Ilan Graff, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

-- Clara Sandler, Staff Writer

US adopts Israel’s knock-on-the-roof’ tactic in bombing ISIS Taking a cue from the IDF, American forces operating against ISIS have adopted a bombing tactic known as “knock-on-roof,” in which a small missile is exploded above the roof of a building to warn civilians to evacuate before a larger missile hits.

The knock-on-roof tactic was first used by Israel during operation Protective Edge, when Israel launched 5,226 air strikes into Gazan territory. After analyzing its effectiveness, the US military decided to adopt it in its fight against ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

During a press briefing on April 26, Major General Peter E. Gersten described a recent instance when the tactic was used, albeit not with complete success. Before launching the missile to destroy a building, which was an ISIS cash storage center, U.S. forces first exploded a missile above the building’s roof.

This preliminary strike caused chaos within the building, he said, and a woman carrying a child was hurt.

“Men that were in the building—multiple men—literally trampled over her to get out of that building,” Gen. Gersten said. “We watched her and observed her leaving the building, and we began to process the strike.”

But to the alarm of the team conducting the strike, the woman went back into the house, and was ultimately killed by the airstrike. “[It was] very difficult for us to watch, and it was within the final seconds of the actual impact,” he said.

Still the general considers the tactic an effective way of saving civilian lives.

In 2014, the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff commended Israel for going to “extraordinary lengths” to minimize civilian casualties, including dropping leaflets, making phone calls, and roof-knocking.

However, the tactic has been criticized by many organizations for not serving its purpose. The United Nations, for example, criticized the tactic for not providing enough time between the warning and the main strike for civilians to leave.

The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, a Gaza-based NGO, said many people fail to register the preliminary strike as a warning, especially in areas where missile strikes are regular occurrences.

Officials said that as of February of this year, there had been only 41 civilian casualties in ISIS-controlled areas since the offensive began in 2014, though others have reported as many as 1,200.

--Mark Miller, Staff Writer

BP Photo By katia Surpin

Fruit vendors share the same work but different lives

By Lucy FrIEd, Staff Writer Two blocks away but worlds apart, different people with the same profession find themselves in opposite circumstances.

Jimmy Clark and Jimena Augusto Marlin both sell fruit in Downtown Los Angeles, but that’s where their similarities lie.

“I don’t know if this is what I like, I work here because I need the money,” Jimena said in Spanish, while artfully slicing a yellow mango to be put into a plastic cup.

Ms. Augusto Marlin immigrated from Guatemala by herself at just 17, leaving behind her parents and seven siblings to search for a better life. Now 19, she has been working six days a week running the fruit cart two blocks away from Grand Central Market for about a year.

She takes the public bus everyday from the apartment that she rents in West Hollywood in order to complete her eight-hour shift.

Very close by, Jimmy Clark is manager at District Market inside the Grand Central Market, and works 10 hours a day six days a week selling organic fruits and vegetables to customers.

He grew up in Alaska and worked as a bartender in Los Angeles before becoming manager at District Market.

Mr. Clark described his satisfaction in his current situation, and his plans to continue in this occupation.

“We opened here on March 8th and I’m planning on doing this for a long time,” he said.

Mr. Clark is happily engaged and plans to wed in July.

“I’m very lucky,” he said, arranging oranges in their case.

When asked about his knowledge of fruit carts such as the one run by Ms. Augusto Marlin, he said he had little knowledge of them and therefore wasn’t sure whether he’s better off financially than someone who runs a fruit cart.

However, the salaries are certainly different. Mr. Clark’s view of business and work ethics contributes to employees at District Market being paid adequately. ”We keep everything as legitimate as possible, and I want quality people so I pay a little more,” he said, “I always pay everyone above minimum wage.”

This is not the case for many, including Ms. Augusto Marlin. She makes

We opened here on March 8th and I’m planning on doing this for a long time.

--Jimmy Clark

$7.30 per hour for her work, $2.50 below the federal minimum wage.

Additionally, Carlos Garcia of Torres Produce, also located within Grand Central Market, makes $8 per hour, and expressed the same amount of disdain as Ms. Augusto Marlin toward his job. ”I work here because I need the money, and I don’t have the studies or preparation to do anything else,” said Mr. Garcia.

Mr. Garcia worked in a body shop in Mexico before immigrating to America at age 25 and has now worked with the hustle and bustle of Torres Produce for four months.

But he wishes he had the time and resources to achieve his true goals.

“I think I might want to stop working here and work in mechanics,” he said. “I don’t have time though. I don’t have time for a girlfriend or anything.”

The Grand Central Market - definitely a step outside the Shalhevet bubble - contains many worlds in a small space, and even those who share it may never cross paths.

I don’t know if this is what I like, I work here because I need the money.

--Jimena Augusto Marlin

I work here because I need the money, and I don’t have the studies of preperation to do anything else.

--Carlos Garcia

The Boiling Point wishes everyone a joyous Shavuot

16

Arts & Culture JUNE 2016

Israeli TV hit explores the black-hatted world of Mea Shearim

By Lucy Fried, Staff Writer

A hand flips through the pages of a Talmud that looks similar to the Lahav Gemara readers used at Shalhevet. As large fingers turn through the book, pencil sketches of a pig and a boy become visible at the bottom corners of the pages.

These drawings, done by a child perhaps 8 years old, in most worlds would draw a chuckle or some praise.

But in Jerusalem’s Haredi community of Mea Shearim, the setting for the Israeli hit television show Shtisel, no praise is given to a young boy for turning his Gemara reader into a flipbook.

“Go to the principal, and tell him why you were drawing on your Gemara!” shouts the stern voice of Rabbi Akiva Shtisel.

The scene shifts, and later that day Rabbi Shtisel stands in a park, himself sketching the wide-eyed lemurs that dart rapidly between the green trees. The focus in his eyes and steadiness in his hands are disrupted as a woman and her son approach him. The son — who we recognize — runs over, curious about what his stern new rabbi is doing watching the lemurs in the park.

Thus unsparingly yet gently, the drama Shtisel sheds light upon rarely talked about conflicts faced by Haredim, including the observance of Shabbat, shidduchim (matchmaking), and the importance of upholding reputation. It does this while still maintaining its relatability to the average non-Haredi, hence its success.

Airing on Saturday nights, the episodes are posted online the next day, or can be rented for $2.99 with English subtitles.

It debuted in the summer of 2013 on the Israeli YES Oh channel and stars such acclaimed Israeli actors as Doval’e Glickman and Ayelet Zurer. Its creators are writer and filmmaker Ori Elon, Shtisel reflects the positivity of a writer on the highly residing in a Charedi community, acclaimed Israeli show which...reflects values quite similar Srugim, and filmmaker to the values at Shalhevet Yehonatan Indursky, best known for his documentary Shtisel.

The show has aired for two seasons so far, beginning in 2013, and has captivated Israelis and non-Israelis alike with its solemn societal critique sprinkled with subtle humor throughout.

Described as “a mouthpiece for the Ultra-Orthodox world” by Times of Israel, Shtisel serves its important purpose by portraying Haredi Jews as more than their customary appearance and stereotypical closed-mindedness. Because despite the fact that most characters in the streets don the same black hats, black suits, multiple inch-long peyot, and reserved faces, the show maintains its focuses on the characters’ personalities and the struggles that they face within this society.

For example, the theme of secrecy is evident throughout the show, with even the slightest display of individuality– an interest in secular television, music, or most things unrelated to Judaic education–being both discouraged and concealed, within the Shtisel family as in the community at large. Ideally, we learn, every person displays himself or herself in the same light, so everyone must lead the same life as everyone else.

However, as in every other society, absolute uniformity is impossible, and instead what are revealed are the sacrifices, however dark, that are made to preserve a flawless exterior. Elisheva (Ayelet Zurer), a 30-year-old widow who has gone on multiple dates with Rabbi Shtisel, hides under her comforter on Friday night, earphones connected to a small cassette player which provides her with exposure to the secular music she craves.

Giti Weiss (Neta Rinski), Akiva’s sister, has been abandoned by her husband and left with their five children, yet chooses to suffer in silence for fear of her family’s reputation being stained in the eyes of the community if anyone should find out about their unstable financial and emotional state.

In addition, Shtisel reflects the positivity of residing in a Haredi community, which, though more highly intense, reflects values quite similar to the values at Shalhevet — Shabbat symbolizing peaceful moments of rest, family remaining a main priority in one’s life, and a constant and everlasting devotion to learning and to Judaism.

Shtisel is a show to be experienced by anyone looking for a unique education on Haredi Judaism, and not just the aspects normally spoken of. With its superb and dynamic acting, the viewer will gain a deeper understanding of the incredible diversity within the tight-knit community which upholds such a specific image of itself.

Those who can experience Shtisel in Hebrew, with or without English subtitles, will also gain insight into the life of that Haredi child who spends hours studying Talmud, obeying the rabbis who instruct him to flip the pages and nothing more — and at the same time, into the life of that very real child we all know, who would much rather turn his or her Gemara into a flip-book of drawings instead.

With twinkling lights and indie music, a first-ever photo show Continued from Page 1 jects, and most used the cameras on their cellphones. Maia, who herself bought a camera, said it didn’t make a difference.

Maia’s photo centered on her younger sister at a slumber party with her friends. The girls played, fought, and slept in a shared room. Daniel took a close up of the moon in the January waning gibbous phase.

Other photos varied from baked chocolate chip cookies to lollipops, from Christian protesters to lakes.

Photos were auctioned by selling raffle tickets that could be selected to win the photo of one’s choice. Each raffle ticket sold for $3, with lower prices the more tickets bought.

Admissions Director Ms. Natalie Weiss won the auction, and chose Tali Schlacht’s shot of the Santa Monica Pier, which is now hanging in her office.

Approximately $250 was raised through auctioning photos and items sold by vendors, and the

money was donated to ELEM, an Israeli organization that helps homeless or minority teens that have been struggling in abusive homes or in foster care.

ELEM’s goal is to help these kids get on their feet, which is why the qualified counselors/mentors go out and find the kids in bars or on the streets and attempt to help them get a fresh start.

“How I see it, these kids are going through the same struggles homeless American kids are, even though they are across the world,” said Maia Zelka.

Instead of renting a photo booth, club members put their photography skills to use by taking guests’ portraits to be edited and emailed to them. Guests were encouraged to post their portrait on social media and tag the club – @shalhevetphotography club on Instagram – to promote the event.

“I know that Maia spent a lot of time in organizing and preparing this,” said sophomore and club member Danielle Mandel, “and I think the gallery really reflected her hard work.”

CLICK: Guests stroll through theWildfire Theater admiring student photography. The new club raised approximately $250 for ELEM, an Israeli organization that aids homeless teens.

BP Photo By Jacob Perelman

BP Photo By Eva Suissa

The Boiling Point wishes everyone a great summer break

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Arts & Culture

17

At neighborhood shops, thrift with a Jewish twist turing bearded rabbis singing and dancing. A miniature Torah protected by a metallic paper box that reads “Genuine Walk into the Council Thrift Shop Eitz Haim.” A set of rusted gold Shabon Fairfax Avenue and you’ll see studded bat candles with shot-glass sized cups to belts, colorful coats and blue jeans. But hold the oil. The list goes on. unlike the average thrift store, you’ll also Salesperson Gloria Gucmin is Chrissee menorahs and dreidels. tian, but feels comfortable working in This is because the Council Thrift this Jewish environment.

Shop is run by a Jewish organization, the “I’m happy to know that there’s a National Council of Jewish Women, and community helping others -- something serves a Jewish neighborhood – ours, to you don’t see in other communities,” be exact. said Ms. Gucmin.

Like other thrift stores in the area Some Shalhevet students shop in sec— including Helping Hand, Jet Rag, ond-hand stores. Sophomores Maia Zeland the Community Thrift Store — its ka and Maya Schechter have been thrift purpose is to help low-income families shopping since the eighth grade. nearby.

Maia Zelka “Inspired by started thrift Jewish values, the shopping beIt was cool knowing I’m helping the local NCJW strives for cause she didn’t Jews in our neighborhood. social justice by have enough of improving the -Maia Zelkha, 10th grade her own money quality of life for to buy clothes at women, children, more expensive and families,” stores. states the group’s website.

Maya Schechter also got into it beThey accomplish this goal in their cause of the affordable prices, but she eight thrift shops by selling donated also “wanted to feel hipster,” she said. clothes and other necessities at low pricBoth girls like “Helping Hand,” also es. At their location on Fairfax, the price on Fairfax, which has a shelf of chuof their clothes ranges from $7 to $30. mashim in the back of the store and closFor everyday customers, the thrift es early on Fridays so the owners, Moji shop’s Jewish affiliation doesn’t seem to and Ben Nik, can observe Shabbat. be a big deal.

“It was cool knowing I’m helping the “For me it’s the same - Jewish, Cath- local Jews in our neighborhood,” said olic, Hindu,” said a customer named Maia.

Francesco May 24. Francesco said he’s She added that there were different been thrift shopping for five years. What kinds of reasons to shop there. matters to him is if he can find what he “I go because I enjoy the experiwants. ence of finding good deals, but they go But it does affect the merchandise. because they don’t have a choice,” said In a corner next to the furniture, Maia. there is a table piled with Jewish items — a diorama the size of a forearm pic-

By EVA SUISSA, Staff Writer

Hand-me-down: Vintage coats and Judaica for sale at the Council Thrift Shop on Fairfax.

The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) operates the shop, along with seven others, and uses proceeds to fund social justice projects.

BP Photo By Eva Suissa

18

Torah

Ma’ale Gilbo’a Ein HaNatziv

JUNE 2016

Tel HaTeumim

Beit Shemesh Yeshivat Lev HaTorah - Established in 2002, located in Ramat Shiloh, is Religious and Zionist.

Zev Frankel JJ Helperin Jake Benyowitz

Ramat Gan

Yeshivat Ashreinu - Started in 2012 with 31 students, focuses on education and charity work in Israel to prepare students for life outside of Yeshiva.

Eitan Schramm

60 percent of seniors will head to Israel, most to yeshiva Continued from Page 1 not realize they wanted to go until the class PolandIsrael trip last month.

Micah Gill, who will be attending Yeshivat Hakotel, has known that he wanted to go to Israel for a year since the fourth grade.

“It’s the only year that I will be given to focus on talmud Torah [Torah study], personal growth, meeting new people, the land of Israel, without the stress and constant reminder of deadlines,” said Micah. “I look at it more as a new chapter than a year on it’s own. It’s a thing that I’ve been excited for for years.”

On the other hand, Jake Benyowitz, who will attend Lev HaTorah, made his decision only about a year ago.

“When I started Shalhevet, I did not want to go to Israel,” said Jake. “I can’t remember [why I decided to go], I just grew spiritually in Judaism.”

Shir Zahavi was not planning to go to Israel next year, but after the Poland-Israel experience, she reconsidered her decision and now has signed up to attend the midrasha Ein Hanatziv.

“Going from Poland to Israel was a really big deal,” said Shir. “It changes the way you view things, your Judaism.”

Girls’ Israel adviser Mrs. Atara Segal thinks students are more inclined to go because they’re hearing about the experience earlier – in particular, hearing about the different yeshivas and seminaries from the time they enter the school.

“The culture of the school is changing,” said Ms. Segal. “We’re talking about it a lot starting in ninth grade.”

At the same time, gap years have become increasingly popular throughout the U.S. Even Malia Obama, the President’s daughter who is graduating from high school this month, plans to take a year off before starting Harvard.

Shalhevet Director of College Counseling Aviva Walls said there are many reasons for this.

“Besides all the spiritual, religious Israel connection reasons, developmentally, there are many studies that prove it’s good for students to take a year between high school and college,” said Ms. Walls.

“They graduate more on time, they graduate with better GPAs, and they’re more likely to find jobs after graduation if they take a year between high school and college.”

But for Shalhevet students, the draw seems to be study or service in Israel.

“It’s the greatest country in the world,” said Reb Weissman. “Our students are dedicated to their people, our students are dedicated to learning. Our students love learning and they love Medinat Yisrael. Why would they not go to Israel?”

Yeshivat Ma’ale Gilboa - Established in 1993 and located at Kibbutz Ma’ale Gilboa in Israel’s Gilboa Mountains, combines two years of study with three years of military service.

Boaz Willis

BAR ILAN - Established in 1955 in the Tel Aviv District and is now the second-largest academic institution in Israel.

Aiden Segal

Midreshet Ein HaNatziv - Offers a nine-and-a-halfmonth program for women in both Hebrew and English along with communal social action.

Shir Zahavi Mechinat Ha’Emek - Located in Tel HaTeumim in Beit Shean Valley, includes a year of service and study.

Sam Bernstein Yonah Feld

Jerusalem Gush Etzion Yeshivat Har Etzion - Commonly known as “Gush,” was established in 1968 and combines Talmud learning with IDF service. is one of the largest yeshivas in the West Bank that combines Talmud learning with IDF service.

Jonah Gill Asher Remer Will Bernstein

MIDRESHET AMIT - Part of the AMIT school system founded in 1925, which now has 110 schools throughout Israel.

Michelle Hirschhorn MIDRESHET HAROVA - Founded in 1993 and is known for its strong push for aliyah. The oversees program is seen as well -ounded for all levels of learning.

Rachel Sentchuk MIDRESHET TORAH V’AVODA - Part of Bnei Akiva, which was founded in 1929 in Mandatory Palestine.

Rose Lipner

MIDRESHET MORIAH - Founded in 1985, is a Zionist-Orthodox Jewish seminary in Jerusalem featuring a one-year program mainly for high school yeshiva graduates.

Sarah Mankowitz Laly Chriki MIDRESHET LINDENBAUM - Founded in 1976, was one of the early leaders in the women’s Talmud study movement. Holds classes in both Hebrew and English.

Kayla Ablin YESHIVAT HAKOTEL - Founded more than 40 years ago by Rabbi Yeshayahu Adari and overlooks the Western Wall.

Micah Gill YESHIVAT AISH HATORAH - Founded in 1974, is located in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem and teaches students to be leaders in the Jewish world.

Asher Sebban YESHIVAT TORAH SHRAGA - Founded in 2001 with 14 students, is located on Yeshiva University Campus in Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem. Focuses on Torah learning and instilling a love for Israel within its students.

Jacob Dauer YESHIVAT ORAYTA - Focuses on Gemara education along with Tanach and philosophical education.

Noah Rothman Jacob Toczek Joe Schnitzer YESHIVAT SHA’AREI MEVASERET ZION - Located in the suburb of Mevaseret Zion, emphasizes traditional Talmud education and other Judaic studies in both English and Hebrew in small classes.

Derek Orenshein AARDVARK ISRAEL - Brings together Jews from across the world and works with MASA, a joint project of the Israeli government and Jewish communities around the world.

Mati Davis

Source: Yeshiva websites Page design by Noa Segal

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Torah

Kiddush clubs: Old tradition is scrutinized in new way

19

Popular among adults, opinions vary as to whether they encourage drinking among teenagers By zev kent, Sports Editor Local synagogues like Young Israel, Beth Jacob and B’nai David-Judea do not officially sanction Kiddush clubs, but like high school parties and kickbacks, they’re popular anyway.

Kiddush clubs are informal gatherings of congregants during or after shul to socialize, eat and drink alchohol. Some take place during the rabbi’s sermon or Haftorah reading, in between Shacharit and Musaf. Some meet in small rooms at the shuls, while others are at congregants’ homes.

A Jewish tradition of long enough standing to be described on Wikipedia – which says Kiddush clubs are “an informal group of Jewish adults who congregate after Shabbat (Sabbath) prayer services to make kiddush over wine or liquor, and socialize” -- they are frequented by members of all three above-mentioned shuls, which together serve a majority of Shalhevet families.

Some congregants enjoy what they consider innocuous social gatherings, while others believe that the clubs promote drinking and send the wrong message to impressionable teenagers.

There’s evidence for both.

“It de-demonized drinking for me,” said junior Bennett Schneier. “I’d see on TV or my friends are telling me [drinking] is the worst thing in the world, but then I realize that it’s not necessarily the worst thing in the world. If you go to a Kiddush club and see a doctor or a lawyer have a l’chaim, it’s like saying you can have both.”

His fellow junior Alex Silberstein sees something else.

“I don’t think it encourages underage drinking, but you know, as an adult you have the right to drink,” said Alex. “I think it promotes drinking in the right way. It certainly doesn’t promote underage drinking.”

Adults are similarly divided. After a Simchat Torah night neartragedy several years ago, community rabbis agreed that something more should be done to discourage youth drinking, and Kiddush clubs were one target.

“One kid almost lost his life from an overdose of alcohol on Simchat Torah night, drinking behind a shul,” said Rabbi Elazar Muskin of Young Israel of Century City (YICC). “So the rabbis got together after Simchat Torah and said enough is enough.”

Each rabbi chose a different approach. B’nai David, for example, banned in-shul drinking on both Simchat Torah and Purim.

Rabbi Muskin decided to ban Kiddush clubs.

“Do we want our kids to see our shuls being a place where, number one, you walk out in the middle of davening [prayer] to drink and to party? “ said Rabbi Muskin. “It’s incongruous to what we believe in.It is a terrible educational lesson for the kids to see this drinking.”

But some say Kiddush clubs can actually foster healthy attitudes toward drinking, and in the long run even prevent problems.

“If Kiddush club is going to be an opportunity to … behave appropriately, then children will see when they’re adults they can do that too,” said Principal Reb Noam Weissman. “I think that’s a fine thing.”

Adult atendees, of course, are over 21 and considered responsible enough to drink appropriately. They have a higher tolerance for alcohol and are less likely to make decisions with impaired judgement, due to their more mature brains.

At one Beverlywood Kiddush club, 30 to 40 community members – most of them YICC members -- gather each week at a different house shortly after shul to make a l’chaim, or toast. Many of the participants, including Shalhevet parent Adam Reich, enjoy the time.

“It is an opportunity after services for everyone to get together to discuss their week, enjoy good banter, good food and the occasional l’chaim,” said Mr. Reich, father of Alex and Ben Reich.

Mr. Reich is confident his children know the difference between teens and adults.

“I believe my children clearly recognize that there is an age at which you can enjoy an alcoholic beverage,” said Mr. Reich. “And I’ve always tried to teach my kids that it can only be enjoyed once you’re at a certain age – the legal age – and thereafter as long as it is enjoyed responsibly.”

Both supporters and opponents of the clubs see them as primarily social. They differ on the side effects.

For Mordechai Fishman, a long-standing member of B’nai David Judea, the problem is leaving shul during prayer.

“Kiddush clubs are an abomination before God,” said Mr. Fishman, who is an uncle of freshman Jonathan Fishman. “One should be able to finish praying -- and then drink, like a normal Jew.” Shalhevet Head of School Rabbi Ari Segal thinks that parents who leave shul early to drink are setting a bad example.

“Kiddush after davening is probably the way to go,” said Rabbi Segal. “When teens see their parents ditching the speech and then muttering under their breath as they walk out, and then drinking three to four drinks and then coming back into davening tipsy, I think that’s probably not a good message to their kids.”

But Rabbi Segal does not see a problem with the Kiddush clubs otherwise.

“I think our teenagers see their parents drinking at Shabbat tables and see their parents drink socially and casually...and if its responsible and it’s done in a healthy way, I think there is nothing wrong with that,” said Rabbi Segal.

Rabbi Muskin, however, believes that the gatherings promote both under-age and excessive drinking. Several years ago YICC hosted a reformed alcoholic who worked at Beit T’Shuvah, a treatment center, who said that his drinking problem began at shul and other Jewish-related events.

“The speaker said, ‘If you don’t think that kids are watching, you’re wrong.’ And many kids learn how to drink at shuls and it’s just wrong,” said Rabbi Muskin.

old and you reach that age and its kind of symbolic.

“It’s never like the adults are passing kids shots and they’re getting hammered,” he continued. “No one gets drunk – meaning kids drink, but no one gets drunk.”

Nonetheless, alcohol is served and teenagers are present. Kehillat Yavneh in Hancock Park hosts two Kiddush clubs, and while teenagers cannot attend, they know alcohol is consumed.

“There’s a second kiddush club that’s also behind closed doors, but there’s a window, a big window, and you can see through it,” said junior Nicole Soussana. “If a kid or teenager passes by they can see what is going on inside there.”

Kiddush clubs are not officially permitted at B’nai David, but members sometimes gather during Haftorah to drink liquor, according to freshman Jonathan Fishman.

“They just go and talk and have a shot -- there’s no big gettogether,” said Jonathan.

Similarly, Beth Jacob does not have an official Kiddush club, but a group of people sometimes leaves shul early for food and drink.

Beth Jacob Rabbi Kalman Topp said he understood the reason for the practice.

“If a group of people are coming on time and they are davening and listening to krias haTorah for the two hours, that’s an ideal, and I would tell them don’t leave shul for an extended time,” said Rabbi Topp in an interview.

“But if a group needed encouragement to come to shul or the extra time with friends makes the Shabbat experience more exciting, one could argue that it’s not a bad thing.”

He added that it’s not just the what, but the how.

“The drinking of any wine or alcohol needs to be done responsibly, minimally without glorifying it,” said Rabbi Topp. “And it’s certainly very important to do all we can to make the teenagers and children to not get the wrong idea about drinking, and I believe the Kiddush club, which has food and cholent and soda, follows these guidelines.”

For many students, Kiddush clubs have become a part of the regular Shabbat routine.

Reb Weissman said he believes children do “It’s Shabbat, that’s what a dad learn from watching their parents, and Kiddush does,” said sophomore Mendy Mentz. clubs can teach good or bad behavior, depending “I would go to shul and it would be Overall it seems like an innocent on the circumstances. totally a part of it.” thing, and I enjoy it.

“I am certain of the fact that every single thing When Bennett Schneier moved that children see their parents do, they absorb,” from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, the -- Alex Silberstein, 11th grade said Reb Weissman. “They can often mimic what Kiddush club became part of his Shabtheir parents do... With regards to drinking, I bos too. think it’s the exact same thing.

“This is what you do to meet peo“I actually think if children see their parents drinking alcohol ple,” said Bennett. “You go to shul and you have a l’chaim after... in a healthy way in a certain context in a certain environment and The conversation is always funny and I like to schmooze with peobehaving a certain way, the impact they can have on their children ple there and I like to hang out, talk to a couple people, catch up.” is a very positive [one].”

Including alcohol is just how it’s always been, according to Mr. B’nai David President Marnin Weinreb agreed.

Reich.

“There’s always concern about people abusing anything or set“Typically, when you attended a kiddush you’re saying kiddush ting the wrong example,” said Mr. Weinreb, father of sophomore over wine and there would be some schnapps and some alcohol,” Avi Weinreb. “However...it’s important to set the right example for said Mr. Reich. “I don’t think it’s necessary, [but] I think it’s always our youth and for everyone about how adults can behave, can have been a part of the tradition.” a drink in an appropriate manner with decorum.”

Alex Silberstein said the alcohol is necessary.

Others say Kiddush clubs are not problematic because the ““Alcohol stimulates fun conversation so I hear it,” said Alec. amount of drinking there is small. Students say they themselves But Rabbi Muskin disagreed. actually drink at Kiddush clubs sometimes.

“When I was a kid it was not prevalent in shul – it wasn’t in my “Kiddush club is a nice opportunity to hang out with your father’s shul,” said Rabbi Muskin. “When I was growing up there friends in the backyard of the host’s house,” said Alex Silberstein. was an expression, a shikur [drunk] is a goy [non-Jew]. Jews don’t “To me, Kiddush club is harmless...Overall, it seems like an inno- get drunk. That’s changed. Now we drink very expensive liquor.” cent thing and I enjoy it.”

“They’re having a little l’chaim with their dad,” said an upperclassman who asked to be anonymous. “It’s almost a ritualistic thing. You get to 17, 18 years

Logo by Gabe Silverstein

KOSHER: A Jewish family shops for Shabbos wine at The Cask, a wine and liquor store on Pico Boulevard.

BP Photo By Gabby Benelyahu

20

Opinion

EDITORIALS

A year in our perfectly imperfect new building

By The Boiling point editorial board

Lunch on the rooftop turf, home games in the state-of the-art gym and white board walls galore are a few of the amazing features we enjoyed this year in Shalhevet’s new building. It seems fitting that with an award-winning debate team, a rigorous dual-curriculum and an influx of new students, Shalhevet has upgraded to a bigger, better and much more beautiful campus.

Although piping may be dysfunctional and student parking is still a dream. no building is ever impeccable in its first year.

There was a lot of pressure for this to be perfect; it wasn’t and that’s ok. The imperfections mirror Shalhevet students – abun-

dant in talent and diversity but aware that they have flaws.

In the building, the slight imperfections probably allowed for a more comfortable transition, because there wasn’t so much pressure to keep it perfect. Rather than tiptoeing around afraid of $1000-lights shattering, it didn’t take long for students to start throwing footballs in the hallway or writing messages to teachers on the white board walls. Needless to say, the building, although brand new, is already home.

Because when we think of our homes there’s always something to complain about. A home can be messy, smelly or

small. But the complaints are never the main thing. What’s most important is rarely said – that a home is comfortable. Our building-- our home— is perfectly imperfect, and can therefore helps us remember Shalhevet’s values – things like talent and uniqueness, rather than materialism and wealth.

And when we think of it this way, we start to appreciate what Shalhevet is rather than what it isn’t, and then there’s not much more to complain about. Except for the stairs. You can always complain about the stairs.

BP Photo By Dana Alkoby

The Boiling Point Editor-in-Chief Eric Bazak

Managing Editor Michelle Hirschhorn

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Rose Lipner

Chief Layout Editor Noa Segal

Community Editor Maayan Waldman

Layout Editors Tara Chriki Abbi Sentchuk

Outside News Editor Michelle Hirschhorn Torah Editor Alec Fields Opinion Editor Michelle Hirschhorn Features Editor Rose Lipner Arts & Culture Editor Hannah Jannol Sports Editor Zev Kent

2015 THE BOILING POINT

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First Place Awards in Jewish Scholastic Journalism 2014 and 2013

Copy Editor Rose Lipner Graphic Design Editor Gabe Silverstein Website Editor-in-Chief Jordan Levine Faculty Adviser Mrs. Joelle Keene

The Boiling Point is the student-produced newspaper of Shalhevet High School and is published 6-8 times yearly. Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the members of the Editorial Board, which consists of the Editor-in-Chief, Deputy Editor-In-Chief, Managing Editor, Web Editor-in-Chief, Opinion Editor, Community Editor and Faculty Adviser.

The Boiling Point welcomes submissions for signed editorials from members of the Shalhevet community, and the final decision about

Make us your homepage.

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publishing them is made by the Editorial Board.

Letters to the Editor are encouraged and may be submitted via e-mail to shalhevetboilingpoint@gmail.com. The Boiling Point may edit letters and opinion submissions and all become the property of The Boiling Point.

Signed editorials and advertisements in The Boiling Point purchased by third-party organizations do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Editorial Board or The Boiling Point as a whole. For information on advertising, please

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write to Advertising Editor Rebecca Sentchuk at b.sentchuk@gmail.com.

The Boiling Point encourages readers to inform the newspaper regarding any possible factual errors found in print or online by emailing us as at shalhevetboilingpoint@gmail.com. When appropriate, we will fix the story immediately online, and correct the error on Page 2 or on this page in the next print edition.

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When we know it, you’ll know it.

The Boiling Point • June 2016 • Opinion

21

TWO BOILING POINTS OF VIEW:

Should Shalhevet write a new constitution?

Yes: Seize the moment to create

No: Original has tools we need now

By Jonah Gill, 12th grade

By Rami Gruman, 10th Grade

I have served on the Fairness Committee for all four years of High School, for the first three years as my grade representative, and in my senior year as committee co-chair. Throughout these four years, I have had countless cases, ranging from the school’s policy on finals to kashrut to underage drinking, which required my consulting the Student Handbook. The handbook is a dense, detail-filled packet that outlines virtually every nuance of student life, particularly as it relates to discipline and consequences, at Shalhevet.

In May of my senior year, for the last case request that I read as a member of the committee, I was required to consult the Just Community Constitution for the first time.

The case regarded a rising junior running for the position of Agenda Chair, an unprecedented move at the school. When this was brought to my attention, I reflexively checked the JCC, and there the problem lay.

Mysteriously, the version of the JCC the school then had, both hanging on the wall and online, only included the preamble and Article I, leaving out a number of unknown Articles, all which presumable contained information and guidelines relevant to the Shalhevet Just Community. Upon this discovery, at first I tried to reach out to former faculty members, and try to find whether these “lost” articles legislated about underclassmen running for chair positions. I did not receive a consensus, making these interviews inappropriate to consider in a Fairness context.

Then, the full constitution was found, and indeed those details and many others were there.

At this point, Shalhevet has two options, and I want to encourage the school, as I depart, to choose the one that I feel is wiser.

Option one is to try to fit our current Just Community, one which has not referred to the old constitution for at least four years, into the procedures and rules enumerated and approved by community consensus in 2002. In my opinion, this would be an unwise avenue for the school to take. Instead, the community should capitalize on this opportunity and use it as

a chance to write new articles ourselves.

To be clear, this would not be an easy task at all. It would probably require an entire committee, perhaps voted on, perhaps nominated, being formed, and embarking on a long, difficult process

of composing a new governing document from the ground up.

It is undeniable that it is easier to adapt the old articles of the Just Community Constitution than to write new ones, and there are also those who will say that we are trying to destroy “old Shalhevet.”

But nothing embodies the spirit of the Just Community more than putting in the long, difficult hours it would take t o write a new Constitution, one that combines the values and ethics of the Just Community with the new challenges and opportunities that 23 years (I think) have broughtto Shalhevet High School.

Shalhevet’s original constitution precisely defines the code by which the Just Community operates. Procedures are described in explicit detail, with contingencies prepared for all possible occurrences.

This clarity is at odds with the confusion now experienced within the Just Community, which has led to the increasing intervention of the administration to solve disputes.

While most recently this problem has manifested itself in the first-ever sophomore candidacy of Rosie Wolkind for Agenda Chair, the problem is neither new, nor specific to that case.

In the case of this year’s elections, new election guidelines were written from scratch by the administration and approved by the Agenda Committee without Town Hall input, even though they disregarded precedent (and previous election rules) to allow a rising junior to run for agenda chair.

This is not to say that Rose should not have been allowed to run — rather

BP Photo By Gaby Benelyahu

that the decision should have been made by the students, not the administration, and the fact that it wasn’t constitutes a failing of

the Just Community.

Last year, similar controversy ensued following the attempt by several students to form a political party, which was originally accepted, then rejected, by the administration and Agenda, all without a single vote being cast by a student.

Then, at the beginning of this year, five student proposals arrived before the Agenda committee as the result of the 10 Just Community reorientation sessions, which had been taking place instead of class. The proposals were to be given a trial run, then voted upon. Such a vote never occurred.

The decision to give the proposals a trial (though it was not eventually followed), was also determined solely by the Agenda committee. Such cases demonstrate the lack of student participation in the Just Community that results from confusion about how it is supposed to operate.

Some say these problems show that a new constitution is needed, because no one bothered to find or consult the other. But that’s like saying you should buy a new car when your old one is lost in a parking lot.

It’s not the car that’s at fault.

Adopting the school’s original constitution would solve, or at least mitigate, the problem of confusion and the administration’s need to intervene. If not every provision is applicable or wise today, it should be amended.

The constitution itself (predictably) includes the procedure for doing this.

Following a public address featuring the explanation of the provisions of the constitution, group meetings will be held to edit it, after which a constitution committee will be established to create a final draft of the constitution.

The final draft is then voted on in Town Hall, then ratified by a three-fourths majority of the community.

This option would be preferable to the creation of a new constitution entirely, as the lack of pre- existing framework could potentially delay ratification by months, during which time the Just Community will be unable to enjoy the aforementioned benefits of operating under a constitution.

Furthermore, while new ideas must be incorporated into the constitution, and some old ones discarded, a complete abandonment of the original ideas Shalhevet was founded upon would be unwise. Instead, a balance of former and current ideals must be struck, a balance that would be made impossible by discarding the old constitution.

studentS SPEAK

An ode to Dr. Yoss, and working hard By tara chriki, Layout Editor Head to the ground, right foot quickly following the left, I make my way into Dr. Yoss’s class where I hear him say, “Late, as usual.” While most people would keep their head down and and allow Dr. Yoss to make them feel badly, I lift my head up and smile knowing that his snarky remarks will only only make me like him more.

With two older sisters, I often heard negative comments about Dr. Yoss’s history class.

“Your grade in his class will stop you from getting into the college of your choice,” they warned. From very early on, it became obvious that Dr. Yoss was perceived to be the hardest teacher at Shalhevet.

Growing up, memorizing facts and numbers always came easy to me, so I thought that Dr. Yoss’s history class wouldn’t be that much of a challenge, I was wrong. From the moment I entered Room 316 and sat in my light blue chair, I have constantly been challenged to take history and learning more seriously.

While at first I struggled, I soon learned to get used to Dr. Yoss’s teaching techniques. Dr. Yoss not only enhanced my knowledge of history, but he also helped me further develop my essay writing and note-taking skills.

Dr. Yoss not only taught us invaluable history and essay writing skills, he taught students how to learn. He gained the admiration and respect of 14 years of students at Shalhevet. Teachers like him are a rare treasure, and he will be missed.

The most presidentially explosive decision of the century

By Shannon Assis and Micha Thau

22

Sports JUNE 2016

For transgender baseball player from New Roads, sports help make him ‘one of the guys’

By Hannah Jannol,

Jake himself was just Jaguar No. 7, which is why he likes A New Roads batter stepped sports so much. up to the plate in the bottom “This team’s been really supof the fifth inning at a Shalheportive, they treat me like one of vet-New Roads game April 13. the guys,” Jake told The Boiling Firehawk pitcher Asher Remer Point in an interview. “We have pitched the ball across the field all the banter together and they to him, and the New Roads batdon’t act any differently around ter swung the metal bat and was me than with any other guys on struck out. He was out, but a the team.” teammate high-fived him as he He said skiing and snowtrotted back to the bench and boarding have been his favorite others hollered a job well done. sports since childhood, because Seemingly an ordinary scene of their gender-concealing gear. in a baseball game, and yet it was “For me, at least with ski and not. The batter, junior Jake Hofsnowboarding no one can tell heimer, is one of the first transyour gender,” Jake said. “So when gender players on a high school I was younger I always wore all sports team. the guys’ stuff so everyone would Born a girl, Jake self-identithink I was a guy on the mounfies as a male and his story had tain,” been profiled by Los Angeles Sports have not been Jake’s Times sports columnist Bill only ally in his transition. HavPlaschke the same week. One ing attended Temple Israel of person who read the profile was SWING: Jake Hofheimer batted against the Firehawks April 13 in Santa Monica.

Hollywood since childhood, Firehawk baseball captain MiJake said Rabbi Jocee Hudson, cah Gill. Micah was moved by one of the first openly lesbian ticle earlier this week,” Micah wrote, “and we the story and wanted to contribute something immediately felt a sense of pride that we are rabbis in Los Angeles, and the Jewish commupositive. able to play a role (however small of a role it nity at TIOH have helped him transition.

“I just immediately thought that if I, on may be) in history.”

During the game, Mrs. Lisa Hofheimer, behalf of Shalhevet school, on behalf of the He also spoke briefly to the team before the Jake’s mom--who watched the game--menbaseball team, could do anything that I could game about how to behave, reminding them to tioned how supportive the New Roads and to make him feel as comfortable as possible, treat Jake as they would any other player and Temple Israel community had been.

I thought that writing a quick e-mail was the to pitch to him as they would pitch to anyone Mrs. Hofheimer added that she had heard least that we could do,” Micah said later. “Be- else. about Shalhevet’s reconciliation with Glendale cause I think that what he’s doing is so impor“I admire that kind of leadership,” said Adventist Academy after anti-semitic gestures tant for not only the LGBT community but sophomore Eli Helfand, “Every team needs a were made at a flag football game, and how for the broader community.” captain to step up and be the leader, and Mi- she admired Shalhevet’s straightforward disOn the morning of the game, General cah came through.” cussion.

Studies Principal Mr. Daniel Weslow forward“If we can engender that sort of open disDespite the uniqueness of the opposing ed Micah’s e-mail to Ryan Hawley and Matt team, the game was nothing out of the blue. course, it creates a space for kids to learn, and Steinhaus, Assistant Head of School and Ath- Though the Firehawks beat New Roads last for them to have conversations with one anletic Director at New Roads respectively. year, this year they lost to the Jaguars 7-2, due other, and to have reconciliation,” Mrs. HofIn the e-mail, Micah applauded New to poor offense, according to team captain Mi- heimer said.

Roads for its support of Jake. cah Gill.

“My teammates and I saw the LA Times arArts and Culture Editor

Sport or not, golf team makes championship round is required to swing and hit the golf ball from a designated place into a hole and then, if they do not make it into the hole, must hit the ball again until they complete the play.

There are students at Shalhevet who argue about golf ’s validity as a It’s usually an individual sport, but Shalhevet plays as a team. The sport on a regular basis, but the Firehawk golf team proved its side of course they play on is half the size of a regular course, with nine holes. the argument by making it to just one stroke away from winning the Charley Wiesel, father of freshman Aaron and junior Alexander league championship.

“Zander” Wiesel, coaches the team, which both his sons play on.

It was the first time in the team’s three years that the golfers had “Charley’s an incredible coach,” said team co-captain Jake Benyowmade it to the championship round. It was close and they lost at their itz, a senior. “He takes his time, especially on a Sunday when we hit the last stroke. range. He sits with each person and does individual things.”

“This is the best overall team we’ve had in Still, the debate about golf being a sport our three years,” said senior co-captain Will at Shalhevet is a strong one, at least among Bernstein. “We knew we could rely on the four the freshmen. guys we put out there.”

“Golf is not a sport,” said freshman Ethan The team was formed two years ago, when Blacher. “It’s more of a recreational activity the current senior captains, Will, Jake Benthat requires little to no physical activity. It’s yowitz and Derek Orenshein, were sopholike ping pong. Ping pong is a recreational mores. When they first started, they were the activity, not a sport.” only members; now the team has grown at Aaron Wiesel disagrees, though he admitleast eight and as many as 12, depending on ted someone might get that impression if all the day. they’d ever seen was a driving range. At a In 2014, Will, Jake, and Derek started range, experienced golfers can practice their the team by announcing it in Town Hall -swing and while inexperienced can swing without talking to administration, they said, for fun.

“It requires physical exertion because they thought that was way you start even though people think that it doesn’t,” a team. After the Town Hall announcement, DRIVE: Freshman Michael Soussana takes a shot at said Aaron. “You have to walk on the golf Athletic Director Eli Schiff worked out the de- the driving range where the golf team practices. course like eight miles, and people who think tails and the team joined the CIF’s Mulholland it’s not a sport have either never played before Golf League. They’ve been in the eight-team or only went to the range.” league ever since.

Freshman Eytan Kent says that while he sometimes says that golf is This year the team went 7-2 overall, 7-1 in the league. The first year not a sport, he doesn’t actually mean it. they were 4-3, and last year they went 6-1.

“I actually do think that golf is a sport -- I just like to [annoy] Wiesel Professionally, golf is played on a course 18 holes long. The golfer by saying it’s not a sport,” said Eytan.

By Clara Sandler, Staff Writer

Injuries, the Achilles Heel of pro sports

By Kian Marghzar, Staff Columnist Let’s admit that the NBA has some problems. Some of them are making the game harder to watch, like hack-a-Shaq loopholes that allow teams to foul opposing players who are poor free-throw shooters instead of playing out each possession. Another is the practice of tanking, where teams are intentionally losing games in order to obtain better draft picks (shoutout to the Philadelphia 76ers).

There is one, though, that nobody benefits from, and that is injuries.

Injuries occur in all of professional sports, and they are one of the biggest fears for athletes.

Many injuries end careers for pro-athletes and get scholarships rescinded for student athletes.

They caused ratings, sales, and entertainment value for the NBA, NFL, and other professional sports leagues all to go down. They are the Achilles heal of sports.

Injuries have been too prevalent in the NBA, and many are wondering why when the answer is so obvious. There are 82 games packed into 7 months. Plus preseason, training, practice, and an excessive amount of travel time (an average of over 44,000 miles at 30,000 feet, the highest of any sport). All this puts a lot of stress on a body, even if that body belongs to a world class athlete. NBA players have been receiving twice as many injuries this decade as they did in the 1980s.

Fear of injuries also discourages teams from dunking in games. Dunking is what makes this game the most exciting! And now the thing that’s stopping a player from delivering a ferocious tomahawk slam isn’t a defender, but the fear that his knee might give out in the 4th quarter.

The NBA needs to do something about this, now. Player safety is more important than teams hacking DeAndre Jordan 20 times a game. It’s more important than the Sixers barely getting a double digit amount of wins this season. I’m just an 18-year-old who watches basketball, so I have no right to tell the NBA League office how to solve this problem, but they at least need to hear about it. The players that they value — Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Marc Gasol, Kobe Bryant, and many other stars — have all had significant injuries in the past two seasons.

If injuries at least decrease by 10 to 15 percent, it would mean we are going in the right direction. Which means the NBA makes more money while the players are happier. That’s a win-win if I’ve ever seen one.

Now, we progress to another brief topic: The 2016 NBA Finals: Warriors vs. Cavaliers. This is definitely the most attractive matchup the basketball gods could have drawn up: the 73-win defending champs versus a revamped LeBron looking for his revenge.

This is the third most combined wins (130) two teams in the finals have had. This is also arguably LeBron’s best finals team. He’s got two All-Stars at full health in Kyrie and Love, with key additions in Channing Frye, JR Smith and Iman Shumpert. That team is playing against the team with the most wins of all time. Talk about a match made in heaven.

My call is the Cavaliers take it in 6 games.

LeBron’s squad is playing the best basketball of the season while the Warriors are vulnerable, giving up a 3-1 series lead to the Thunder (even though they eventually won the series to get to the Finals).

The Boiling Point •June 2016• Sports

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The Boiling Point • June 2016• Sports

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Without a coach, student takes the lead and leads tennis team to its best season yet “Nathan is a great leader, someone who is inspiring to other and himself,” said PrinciThey lost their coach just as the season was pal Reb Noam Weissman. “He is starting and after some negotiation, settled on a also someone who holds himself team member to lead them. But the Firehawk accountable and takes responsitennis team still managed to surpass last year’s five bility.” wins and four losses with a 7-3 game record this Reaction from students was season. not all positive at first. SophoCOACH:Junior Nathan Benyowitz, ranked 100 in tennis among 18-yearBefore the season started, Coach Patrick more Arman Marghzar was olds in California, plays a match as head of the Firehawk tennis team.

Flame was offered another job and stopped at- skeptical,but appreciated Nathan’s coaching by season’s end.

“I felt that he was I really didn’t want to cancel the season, because I too young and inexperienced to coach our team with kids his age,” said Arman. knew how much it meant to the kids.

“But as the season went on and we won -Athletic Director Eli Schiff more games,” Arman said, “I realized that Nathan showed a lot of commitment and leadership to help with the team’s success.”

For Nathan, coaching the Firehawks tending practice. It was two weeks before the first meant finding a way to keep up his regular trainmatch, and junior Nathan Benyowitz was leading ing so he could pursue his dream of playing for a by default.

Division I team in college.

“When Coach wasn’t showing up to practice, Nathan spends four hours a day training, two I was very disappointed and players began to rely hours with his private tennis coach and another on me,” said Nathan mid-season. “I am just go- two in the gym. He said the administration made ing to take the leadership role and keep coaching it work by giving him a special schedule. and progressing until we find someone to coach The Firehawks’ 13 players -- nine starters and the team.” four alternates – started the season 4-0, the team Athletic Director Mr. Eli Schiff had two can- showed its experience and poise after learning NaWINNERS: Sophomore Arman Marghzar is one of 13 didates in mind, but neither could commit to the than would coach them for the rest of the season. players on the Firehawk tennis team. all of the job’s hours and schedule.

Then they lost two straight games. The first Having no coach would mean disbanding the was to Milken, where Nathan lost his first match team. of the “I really didn’t want to cancel the season, be- year to the California Interscholas- less than the minimum. cause I knew how much it meant to the kids,” Mr. Samuel If Shalhevet were in a league it would at least tic Federation (CIF). That’s Schiff said last week.

Feit, Nathan showed a lot of commitment and leaderbecause the school’s regu- guarantee playoffs against the teams within the Nathan, who is ranked No. 100 in tennis t h e ship to help with the team’s success. lar league, the Mulholland league, and then the top two teams would be able among California 18-year-olds, seemed a natural brother League, doesn’t have schools to go to divisional.

-Arman Marghzar, 10th Grade choice. He has an almost undefeated high school of last Mr. Schiff said one possibility was a league that play tennis. record, going 33-0 his freshman year, 30-0 his y e a r ’ s For now, the squad is still headed by Vistamar High School, which includes sophomore year, and 32-1 his junior year. coach. a freelance team, meaning it schools like Wildwood and New Roads that ShalThere were concerns over safety with a teen- The secplays any school with a tennis hevet played in other sports. ager in charge, but eventually school officials said ond was to rival Culver City.

“I am happy with the way the season went,” team and then submits the scores to CIF. Nathan could coach with adult supervision. Seth After that, they only lost once in the next four To join the CIF playoffs without a league, they said team co-captain senior Daniel Soroudi. “I Nayowitz, who had been a candidate for the job, games, falling once more to Culver City. need an 80 percent winning percentage and play looked for a good season where the team imwould be present at home games, while Nathan At season’s end, the Firehawks had just missed at least 12 games. This year, they had a 70 per- proved and the team had fun and both happened, would be in charge for the rest. the qualifications for a non-league team to join cent winning percentage and played two games and that’s all a co-captain can ask for.”

By Benjamin Zhagi, Staff Writer

Youngest NBA player talks about transition from college ball

By JORDAN FIELDS, Staff Writer Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker is the youngest player in the NBA – at 19, he is less than a year older than some Shalhevet graduates.

His rise was fast. At 17, Booker committed to the University of Kentucky, one of the nation’s most prestigious college basketball schools. ESPN ranked him as a five-star recruit, the highest a college player can be. And in his first and only season there, he earned the award of SEC sixth man of the year.

He was then selected as the 13th overall pick by the Suns in the 2015 draft, and promoted to the starting lineup after his predecessor, Brandon Knight, was injured. Booker went on to score 23 points and hit five three-point shots in the Rising Stars Challenge game during All Star Weekend.

After only one season in the NBA, the league’s youngest star is already making a big impact in the NBA. Staff writer Jordan Fields contacted Booker via email.

BP: What’s the biggest difference between college basketball and pro basketball?

Devin Booker: The biggest difference between the college and playing professionally is that everything is basketball-focused. Playing basketball is my job now and I’m able to dedicate all of my time to getting better.

BP: What has surprised you the

most about the NBA? Devin Booker: The adjustment to the pace of the NBA game was the most surprising to me. The shot clock going from 30 seconds in college to 24 seconds in the NBA speeds things up a ton.

BP: Did you have a chance to play against any of your idols this year? If so, who are they, and what was the experience like?

Devin Booker: Playing against Kobe was a surreal experience; to go up against him in his final season means everything, as I grew up idolizing him. Similarly, playing against Dwyane Wade, one of the best two guards of all time, was amazing.

BP: What was it like being the youngest NBA player last season?

Devin Booker: Being the youngest player in the NBA wasn’t something that I focused on too much because I see myself on the vets’ level. The only time it was a factor was when I was working to prove that age is only a number.

BP: What makes you optimistic about the Suns’ chances next season?

Devin Booker: We dealt with a lot of injuries and change this past year, but next year, we will come back with a fresh perspective, hungry and ready to compete.

BP: What do you like most about being a NBA player?

Devin Booker: The thing I like most is playing the game that I love every single day and to call that my job.

BP: What is the hardest part about being a NBA player?

Devin Booker: The travel is the hardest part, not being settled anywhere during the season. You are always on the road and constantly away from friends and family, so that is an adjustment for sure.

BP: Did you have a welcome-to-the-NBA moment, when you realized you were now playing in the NBA, what was that moment?

Devin Booker: It was the first time I got into the game, it was against Dallas, and it was an unreal moment that I will never forget.

BP: You left Kentucky after one year. What do you think of the rule that a player must play one year of college basketball before entering the NBA? Devin Booker: I think that the rule is positive, and that if guys are ready to go to the NBA after one year, then they should make the move to go pro. Going to Kentucky gave me the ability to gauge if I was actually ready to take the next step to the NBA or not.

BP: Last summer Blake Griffin and Seth Curry used our gym to practice before training camp opened. Any interest in coming to Shalhevet to work out?

Devin Booker: Of course, if there is an opportunity and I am able to work out at Shalhevet, I would try and make that happen.