Feminist Club Takes Action

Daniela Woldenberg ’23 and Lila Ellman ’23

Countless times, students at Ramaz have asked for a tampon in school or given one to someone in need. Other times, they’ve needed to trek to the nurse’s office a few flights down to fetch one. So, last year, when, Jordan Kalker ’25, a member of Feminist Club mentioned August Advocates, a company that produces menstrual hygiene products, the club decided to look into it. After doing some research, they knew they wanted to bring the company’s products into the school. It would help solve a familiar problem, and, as part of a partnership, August Advocates would, in turn, donate products to an underfunded school. The club was also excited to discover that the company is devoted to eliminating the stigma around menstruation and that their products are biodegradable.

The Feminist Club with the help of their faculty advisor, Ms. Davis, proceeded to meet with Ms. Krupka to pitch the idea and reached out to Chesley Chan, they then Chief of Staff of August Advocates, for information. The leaders presented estimates for pricing, volume, and shipment frequency and, through perseverance and responsiveness to questions and concerns, persuaded Ramaz to support and fund the initiative.

These attacks are strikingly similar to each other. Each faced a similar assault: the perpetrators threw rocks or bricks at the glass windows and doors. Further, they all occurred on or near the day on which we commemorate Kristallnacht worldwide.

Kristallnacht, otherwise known as The Night of Broken Glass, was a series of pogroms in Germany and Austria in 1938. In the span of two days—November 9th and 10th—hundreds of synagogues, Jewish businesses and homes were destroyed by rioters. Jewish cemeteries were also desecrated. Hundreds of Jewish people were killed, and 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and subsequently transported to concentration camps. Eighty four years later, the vandalism that took place last week resembles this terrible event in Jewish history, as windows and doors of Jewish buildings were shattered in the same manner.

It is important to reflect on these incidents.

When we say “Never Again,” we commit to never allowing a genocide such as the Holocaust to occur in the future. Further, we commit to not letting history repeat itself and to eradicate antisemitism. It is disheartening to our school and our places at the mercy of antisemitic violence. As a Jewish community, we have the responsibility to call out antisemitism, in all of its forms, whenever we see it. This should be a lesson to all: we must speak out and denounce hate wherever it appears.

While some challenges arose throughout the process, with a change in leadership in the company and struggle in finalizing the part