Volume 52, Issue 6 (January/February 2019) - The Rampage

The Rampage

The Newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School

New York • Volume 52 • Issue 2 • January-February 2019• Shevat-Adar I 5779 • the-rampage.org

The 81st Annual Dinner: Celebrating Menschlichkeit Rachel Freilich ’22

Ramaz Cancels the 2020 Extended President’s Break Sophia Kremer ’20

Over the past few years, various controversies have polarized the Ramaz community, though none are as debated as the number of days given off in February. It affects each division and family directly. Students complain that the number of vacation days from school are sparse; parents complain that they are too numerous. February break, an eight day long vacation in the week leading up to Presidents Day, was introduced two years ago and has been the subject of disagreement among both parents and administration ever since. The vacation breaks up the long stretch from Winter vacation in December to Pesach in April. The Ramaz community has recently received news that this newly instituted break will be discontinued as of February 2020. The announcement specified that this alteration was made “with the goal to ensure minimal disruption of learning.”

“The break was introduced two years ago as a two year trial,” according to Head of School, Mr. Jonathan Cannon. The decision to revert to a five-day break was made for a few reasons, he said. The first reason was “to maximize the number of instructional days (days when students are in school).” The second was “to ensure time for teacher Professional Development as with many educational innovations taking place, it is only fair to our teachers to help them feel prepared.” The third is that the school “recognizes that many of our families have two parents working outside of the home and it is very difficult for them to take off time from work or find alternative child care and activities.”

For the Upper School more specifically, the break was problematic. Following midterms, students would have a one-day long intersession and then only two weeks of class for the second semester.

It felt strange to just start again and then be slammed with a break.

Dean of Faculty, Ms. Miriam Krupka, said regarding the break, “From an administrative teacher perspective, I felt that educationally it was not a responsible vacation, but personally I really enjoyed it.”

Out of all three divisions, high school students are the most impacted by the shortened February break. To many, the elongated week served as a time for rejuvenation after a rigorous midterm examination period. In the Early Childhood Center, Lower School, and Middle School divisions, Martin Luther King weekend has evolved into a four day weekend with Monday off as a National holiday and Friday instiContinued on page 2

Menschlichkeit was the theme of the 82nd annual Ramaz dinner, which was held on January 13th at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel. While the temperature outside was well below freezing, the Ramaz dinner proved to be warm and inviting. With over one thousand people watching, the students from the Lower, Middle and Upper school ensembles truly showcased what Ramaz has to offer.

Sherry and Neil Cohen—parents of Becky ’16— were this year’s honorees. Both are strong advocates of the importance of a Jewish education and have been active participants in the Ramaz community. Attendees watched an informative video describing Sherry’s role as a Ramaz teacher and parent. She explained that her goal as a teacher was to teach each individual child and show them how they could succeed. Even after Mrs. Cohen stopped teaching, she still returned to her true passion and read to numerous Early Childhood classes.

In the same video, Mr. Cohen spoke about his commitment to Teach NYS and the goal of making Jewish education more affordable so that anyone who wants a Jewish day school education can receive one. Most importantly, the Cohens lauded the education and opportunities that Ramaz provided for their child.

Michael Reidler ‘09 was also honored at this year’ dinner with the Alumni Menschlichkeit Award for his chesed work and for founding the Kol HaNearim program, which organizes summer camps and year long programming for children at risk in Israel. He spoke about the way that his Ramaz education emphasized the importance of Chesed and the significance of being a socially responsible individual. Since its inception, Kol HaNearim has expanded to provide programming for 1,600 children Continued on page 2

Recap: Midterm Schedules Personalized for Each Grade

After the always-too-short week of winter break, students come back to Ramaz greeted by a dark cloud hanging over their head – they know that January Finals are upcoming. This year, from January 17 to January 24, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors combatted their five finals head on: history, a science, a math, Talmud, and Biblical Studies.

Around a month before finals week, class presidents craft two options for the finals schedule, and the students vote on one of these two. Sometimes the two options vary greatly, while with others, there is a simply a swap between history on Monday or Tuesday. “I like that we, the students, get a say in the order of our tests,” said Daniella Norman ’21. Other students, like Elan Agus ’21, want more freedom over their tests. “I wish we had more than two choices for the order,” he said.

Last year, the administration implemented

a new policy surrounding the issue that students had been frequently leaving in the middle of a final.

It was decided that during a 75-minute final, no student could leave the room for any reason. Twohour finals were divided into a 90-minute section and a 45-minute section; the only bathroom break allowed was between the two sections. If a student forwent his or her bathroom privileges, however, the student could keep both sections, but could not leave the testing room until handing in both parts.

This policy was agreed upon by administrators and students at SFAC meetings. Many students found the constant entering and exiting of the exam room to be distracting. Others wanted to help prevent cheating. According to Ms. Miriam Krupka, Dean of Faculty, this new policy was because “there are two issues with students leaving during a test: One, it opens up cheating to much

Rebecca Massel ’21

more of a degree. But also, we felt that in training [students] to be adults in the world, [it is necessary] that if you are sitting in something very important, that you are taking seriously, getting up to go to the bathroom is not something you do. We wanted to come up with a situation that allowed [students] to access the seriousness of what is going on here.”

The new bathroom policy surprised many students last year. Some agreed with the decision.

However, many upperclassmen complained about the new system. They wanted to be allowed to leave the room and use the bathroom multiple times during the finals. It may not even be the

This year, the policy was accepted as a rule, not a debate. After taking two sets of finals with the policy last year (January and June final exams), students have become accustomed

Inside this Issue…

You Have Mail! . . . Ramaz issues another statement on juuling and student drug use

The Clock is Ticking . . . An examination of the role of extra-time testing in school life today The Position of Women in STEM . . . Is there a difference between boys and girls in STEM at Ramaz?

Rabbi Stochel’s Reflections. . . A catch-up with Rabbi Shlomo Stochel on his goals as head of the US The Usual Crossword . . . Friendly to those who have trouble finishing NYT crosswords

Page 5 Page 9 Page 10 Page 14 Page 20

2 News, Cont.

The-Rampage.org

Ramaz Students Triumph at the 81st Annual Dinner

Cont. from cover in eight homes throughout Israel and one in the Ukraine.

The students from all divisions had been preparing for their performances for months, with lengthy rehearsals and brainstorming sessions. The Ramaz Development department has also been preparing for this evening since soon after last year’s dinner. Erica Tannenbaum, Director of Development says, “The Institutional Advancement team begins planning for the dinner as early as the summer before the next school year. While most of the school is on break, our team is hard at work planning for the launch of our Annual Campaign for once school begins in September. The An-

Waking up early on Sunday morning was tiring, especially with having finals that week, but it was all worth it because the show was truly amazing! nual Dinner is the highlight event of this campaign. Beginning as early as June we meet to talk about the theme and honorees for the dinner.”

On the evening of the dinner, the guests arrived at 5PM to a sumptuous dinner buffet. A floor plan and guide was provided so that guests would be able to navigate the numerous carving stations, sushi stands, and refreshments. The student participants, Ramaz faculty members, security, and staff had been hard at work from the early hours of the morning. Tali Sitruk ‘22 said, “Waking up early on Sunday morning was tiring, especially with having finals that week, but it was all worth it because the show was truly amazing!”

A band played during the dinner buffet and guests were invited to simcha dance with the honorees. After dining, the guests were seated in the ballroom and treated to student performances by the Upper, Middle and Lower School Choirs, the Upper School Bands, the Middle School String Ensemble, the Guitar Ensemble and the Dance Ensemble. Mr. Henkin dressed as the ringmaster in top hat and tails and the students arrived on stage and walked down the aisles to music from “The Greatest Showman.” In addition to songs in Hebrew and English sung by the choirs, a duet by Talia Leifer ’23 and her father Ethan ’97 of Birchas Habonim was enjoyed by all. One of the highlights of this year’s dinner was a short clip called “Mensch Moment,” featuring Sophie Dahan ’19 and a few younger Ramaz students, in which the group went out into the community searching for the true definition of a “mensch.” Building on last year’s theme of Hineni, this year’s dinner showed all that the Ramaz community values education, chessed,

Jan-Feb 2018/Shevat-Adar I 5779

No More Long President’s Vacation

Cont. from cover tuted as a “development day.” Many families leverage the long weekend for quick getaways or simply just to relax. For Upper School students, the midJanuary break arrives right before midterms and is used by students accordingly to prepare for the forthcoming test period. In the previous years, an intersession consisting of two or three schools days off was subsequently given to Upper School students as a break following exams. This year, Upper School students received only one day off following exams–a Friday–as an intersession. The second-semester sessions resumed on the following Monday. The elongated President’s break, which evolved from a five-day weekend to Friday through Tuesday, grew into an eight day break from Monday through the following Monday, adding three additional vacation days. The extra three days off in February were presumably added as a backlash against unofficial student-run trips over the then four-day January intersession, which were looked down upon both for their cost and lack of supervision.

Now, students and families are left questioning: better or worse?

Some families feel relieved of the pressure to occupy their children for a full week off in February, while yet others appreciated the chance to take a longer family break over an off-peak holiday week. Others that have siblings in other schools and parents that can not take off from work find this break very conflicting because of its timing. Mr. Jay Klotz, a teacher in the science department, feels that “although it is nice to have off, I always thought that this break was useless for families with students that do not all attend Ramaz because other schools do not have off in the week before presidents weekend.”

For the Upper School students around whom the controversy stems, there is seemingly no upside with President’s break cut short and intersession remaining as a one-day break from school. “I had to push myself through the two weeks after midterms leading up to President’s break because I did not have anytime to rest before second semester started,” said Gabi Potter ’20. Many students are already anxious over the change and speculating as to whether the administration will add on an additional day to the January intersession. Potter specified, “I hope they will give us a longer intersession in exchange.” First time midterm taker Caroline Schwartz ’22 “enjoyed [her] first intersession.” She added that she “was not worried about not getting enough time to sleep because [she] knew there would be enough time on February break to rest.”

Unless the calendar is amended in 2020, students will need to wait until early April for an elongated break.

Examining the Midterm Formats Cont. from cover

to staying in the room for the entire test. Many now appreciate the new policy. “I like being able to concentrate during a test,” said Michal Seinfeld ’21. Daniella Norman ’21 commented, “I like knowing that when if I have to go to the bathroom [between the two sections], I won’t have to be worried that I might be over-hearing answers on the test.” Rabbi Eli Slomnicki, the Dean of Students, said, “[The policy and its execution is] amazing. Last year, there were so many questions about it. This year, there were no murmurings about it. Students understood this was the procedure and they followed it.” Ms. Krupka agreed saying, “I think it has been enormously successful.”

One of the new, most impactful changes made this year to the finals schedule is this year’s lack of an English final. Instead of eight finals, one per class, last year, there were only six (Foreign Language and Hebrew finals were dropped). This year, the number of finals reduced to five. “We wanted to focus more on learning as a day-to-day activity, with quizzes to substitute for the midterm,” said Dr. Milowitz. However, he still acknowledged the need for a final assessment on writing in class, in the moment: “We are going to have a test at the end of each year for each grade,

and that test will have a writing component.”

Rabbi Slomnicki explained, “We want to increase learning time for students and studies are showing that assessments are not as valuable as once thought.”

While the administration expected students to be cheering about the lack of a English final, the student body’s reaction was split. Zach Buller ’20 said, “I believe that it allowed us to focus more on each of the finals that we had, rather than stretching out our time to studying six, seven, or even eight finals.” Other students were not as satisfied with the change. “I wish we had an English final,” said Jordan Mittler ’22.

“It would help my English grade and I will have more time to study for other finals which are harder for me.”

Students at Ramaz come in knowing that the middle of January will be finals week, but whether or not the school should have these mid-year assessments is a big question among the students, faculty, and administration. Rabbi Slomnicki said, “We want to increase learning time for students and studies are showing that assessments are not as valuable as once thought. We are balancing that with the fact that we know that assessments motivate students and give faculty a sense of how students are progressing.” Both

SAR and Frisch do not have finals after first semester; students only have finals at the end of the year. Ms. Krupka explained the benefit of finals: “We want to increase learning time for students. We are balancing that with the fact that we know that assessments motivate students and give faculty a sense of how students are progressing, so we are trying to find our way in terms of what we think a sweet spot is for these mid-year exams.”

Although January assessments are still being administered for all four grades of high school, seniors do not have June Finals. Many seniors want to get rid of their January finals as well. Alex Doppelt ’19 explained her reasoning, “There is no point because there are other ways to prove mastery of subjects We have taken finals for so many years and there are other ways to test us than to stress us out.” Elizabeth Aufzien ’19 recommended giving “an in-class assignment or personal exploration essay” than January Finals.

Overall, the debate around finals and the changes which are made to these mid-year assessments is ever going.

Jan-Feb 2019/Shevat-Adar I 5779

The-Rampage.org

News

3

A Responsibility for All Jews: February Break Mission to Moldova Rebecca Massel ’21 and Samantha Sinensky ’21

Trekking through the mud to a dilapidated house without running water or a bathroom, the five students on the Ramaz Mission to Moldova were expecting to find its resident, 18-year old Alexander, hopeless and ashamed. Instead, they met an upbeat, spirited teenager, who described his life as “happy.”

The trip to Moldova this past President’s Day break was coordinated by the Jewish Distribution Committee (JDC), a humanitarian organization providing resources such as food and medicine to suffering Jews throughout the world.

"[The goal] was to expose students to both the incredible work that the JDC does around the world."

JDC Development and Executive Officer Elisheva Massel worked in collaboration with Rabbi Yigal Sklarin to arrange the trip and later led the Ramaz group on their mission.

As Ramaz students helped Rabbi Sklarin pack bags of American gifts, they expected a mission to revive Judaism in Moldova or to raise the spirits of isolated Jews.

However, Rabbi Skarin explained that Ramaz’s goal was to “expose students to both the incredible work that the JDC does around the world and to the Jewish experience in different and diverse places.”

Post Shabbat, on February 9, Talia Halaas ’21, Keren Kubersky ’21, Rebecca Massel ’21, Sophia Rein ’21 and Samantha Sinensky ’21, convened with Ms. Tammie Senders (their teacher) and Ms. Elisheva Massel at JFK International Airport. After a layover in Istanbul, Ramaz arrived in Kishinev, Moldova.

Moldova is part of the former Soviet Union and is sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania. It is also the poorest country in Europe. According to Rabbi Sklarin, the school hoped “students would get to see the dire circumstances and abject poverty that many Jews face in one of the poorest countries in the world.”

Ramaz students were welcomed at the Kishinev International Airport by Hebrew singing, colorful handmade posters, and balloons.

Although it was 10pm on a Sunday night, Moldovan Jewish teenagers and JDC activity coordinators—Violetta and Veoralia—accompanied the Ramaz group to their hotel.

The first morning began with a tour of the Kishinev Jacobs Jewish Campus (KJJC), a community center that hosts the Hesed Day Center and Haverim Programs. The Hesed Day Center supports families and elders by engaging them in group activities, such as the elderly sewing club that the students visited. There, the elderly gave the Ramaz students beautiful handmade floral aprons.

Next, Ramaz visited Hesed member Nora and the elderly women she hosts throughout each week.

Each student showed a group of elders pictures of their family back in America. The Moldovan wom-

“They experienced a real kinship with us and a recognition that we are their collective continuity.” en also showed tattered and faded photographs taken before the war during the era of the Soviet Union. It was clear that most— or even all—of the family members shown in the photographs were

no longer alive or living in Moldova. As the students were leaving, Nora gifted them with hand-painted bells. “Whenever you want to remember us, ring these bells,” said Nora. Ms. Senders shared that “they experienced a real kinship with us and a recognition that we are their collective continuity.”

Ramaz went to the basement of the KJJC to see the modest synagogue from the time of the So-

"I think it helped the Ramaz students see how alike they and their Moldovan counterparts are.” viet Union. While hiding from the KGB, Jews would come to pray and learn. The synagogue’s brick walls were recently restored so the room could be used for prayer once again.

Surrounded by the renovated synagogue, Ramaz students heard from Rabbi Shimshon D. Izakson, chief rabbi of Moldova. He discussed his own religious background—he was raised by non-affiliated Jews in Belarus—and how he became religious, committed to serving the 20,000 Moldovan Jews.

The Ramaz students toured Jewish Kishinev. Like most countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, Jewish-Moldovan history is dark. In 1903 and 1905, Moldovan Jews endured a series of brutal pogroms. General anti-Semitic attitudes in the country have persisted to this day.

There, the students walked through the Jewish Kishinev Cemetery, which was recently turned into a museum. There were tombstones ripped from the ground, with dirt and grime covering the engravings.

The students moved along the wall surrounding the cemetery, which

was built using old tombstones. Recently, the cemetery was vandalized, and Rabbi Izakson and the community are in the process of cleaning up the demolished resting place.

At the Jewish Center in Kishinev, Ramaz celebrated with Moldovan locals by dancing together to live Klezmer, Yiddish folk music. The community was celebrating a birthday party for a Moldovan, and the Ramaz studently eagerly joined in. “I was excited to join in the dancing,” said Talia Halaas ’21.

Meeting the teenagers of Kishinev at their Haverim youth club was the highlight of many students’ experience. To break the ice between the students from opposite sides of the world, pre-prepared quizzes about each country were played by each country’s respective teenagers. “I think it helped the Ramaz students see how alike they and their Moldovan coun-

"At first it was a little awkward, but after discussing social media, our favorite subjects in school, and hobbies, it really made me realize how similar we are to the teens.” terparts are,” said Ms. Senders.

The teenagers danced together in a flash mob because dancing is a language understood around the world. Keren Kubersky ’21 said, “At first it was a little awkward, but after discussing social media, our favorite subjects in school, and hobbies, it really made me realize how similar we are to the teens.”

4

News

The-Rampage.org

Jan-Feb 2019/Shevat-Adar I 5779

February Break Mission to Moldova Continued from page 3

Throughout dinner, the Moldovans and Americans laughed and shared stories. All food during the trip was provided by the Hay Synagogue, the only source of kosher food in all of Moldova. It is nearly impossible to keep kosher in the country, so out of the twenty thousand Jews, only ten families observe these mitzvot.

The next day began with a sweet start. The Ramaz students met with Moldovan teenagers to decorate donuts which would be

"A highlight for me was watching teens from Ramaz and [from Moldova] realize that they have so much in common and so much to mutually learn from one another.”

given to elders in the community.

“A highlight for me was watching teens from Ramaz and [from Moldova] realize that they have so much in common and so much to mutually learn from one another,” said Elisheva. The Americans really enjoyed conversing with the foreign students, and many were surprised to see how much they had in common with them despite their wildly different backgrounds.

The Ramaz mission then split up into two groups to visit the homebound elderly. Two students spent the hour with Iraida Gotgelf, a 95-year-old Siberia survivor. Iraida was sent to Siberia at 14-years-old, where she met her husband, a painter, and had Alexander, her son, who was born with disabilities. Iraida dedicated her life to caring for Alexander, and after being liberated from Siberia in 1961, she crafted and sold paper flowers to raise money for her struggling family. Iraida now lives alone, but before the start of every Shabbat, she lights candles with her caregiver and JDC volunteers.

The students saw firsthand the apartments that the Soviet Union gave to impoverished families. Despite her son’s disabilities, in 1961, Iraida was placed in a third-floor apartment with one bedroom, one bathroom, and a cramped kitchen. Iraida left the students with a message of resil-

ience: people do not choose their challenges, she noted, but everyone is capable of overcoming what fate throws at them with a smile.

At the same time, the other three students visited Iosif Toporovskiy. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Iosif’s family was separated during World War II. As the war raged on, Iosif, his mother, and his brother were sent to the Novosibirsk region while his father fought in the army.

After the war, the family reunited and moved to Kishinev, where Iosif became a mechanical engineer. Iosif had a son with his first wife, and, after her passing, remarried. His second wife recently passed away.

Iosif’s house was supposed to be demolished and the family was supposed to be given a new home, but instead only his son’s apartment was demolished. Iosif’s son moved out and now, at eightyone years old, Iosif lives alone in a house that is half-rubble without properly functioning utilities.

Iosif expressed his gratitude for the students’ visit. He was upbeat and excited to see them, and he grew even more exciting after one of the Ramaz students discovered a potential family connection between herself and Iosif. Iosif said he would not forget Ramaz’s visit anytime soon.

As much as the students connected to the teenagers, the most conspicuous difference between the Americans and the

"When you have health, you must be grateful, for with health you can achieve anything."

Moldovans was financial security.

Surprisingly, this was not a taboo subject, and the Moldovans gave the students an idea of the financial struggles that locals deal with on a daily basis. For example, elderlies receive a monthly pension of $85, compared to $1,412 in America.

On the final day, Ramaz left the more commercial and urban Kishinev and went to Beltsy. Even poorer and more remote, Beltsy’s Jewish community is smaller than that of Kishinev. Despite this, there is still a vibrant Jewish presence, which is centered at the Hesed Yakov Day Center. There, Ramaz students sat in on a group activity for elderlies, who were learning how to prevent themselves from falling, remain mo-

bile, and preserve their memories.

Together, they sang Hebrew songs.

Perhaps the hardest thing to witness was the living conditions of Alexander and Tatiana Dunaeva, 18 and 16-year-old siblings who have been living on their own for five years. When their father passed away, their mother moved to Moscow to earn more money. As a restaurant cook, she sends most of her meager salary to her children.

Without running water, the siblings have a well outside their house and recently built an outhouse for themselves. Their one bedroom house is very cold, and they cook meals for themselves on a coal stove. “It was really heartbreaking to hear Alexander’s story,” said Keren Kubersky ’21.

Perhaps the hardest thing to witness was the living conditions of Alexander and Tatiana Dunaeva, 18 and 16-year-old siblings who have been living on their own for five years.

Despite living in these beyond horrible conditions, Alexander is nonetheless a happy man and hopes to one day earn a living that would allow him and Tatiana to live a better.

The second Beltsy resident they visited was Chaka Katz, a Holocaust survivor. At eighty-eight, Chaka lives alone in a home much like Alexander’s. Her water comes from the local well and there is no plumbing in her house. Chaka told the students, “When you have health, you must be grateful, for with health you can achieve anything.” She encouraged them to reflect on their blessings in life and appreciate them.

Chaka, or any of the oth-

“It was really heartbreaking to hear Alexander’s story."

er people Ramaz visited at home, would not survive without the help of the JDC. The Jewish Distribution Committee provides them with food, medicine, winter relief, and fi-

nancial aid. Not only does the JDC provide resources meant to sustain these populations, they also enable programs like Haverim and Hesed

“It was very meaningful for me to meet teenagers who are so isolated and have so little, yet they were able to find some happiness."

to join Jews together in a community.

Another youth club supported by the JDC is PikaJew, located in Beltsy. PikaJew allows teenagers to come together to dance, sing, and play games. “It was very meaningful for me to meet teenagers who are so isolated and have so little, yet they were able to find some happiness,” said Sophia Rein ’21.The Ramaz students had the opportunity to join the excitement. They learned the American-style dances and were, once again, amazed at how easy it is to communicate through dance.

Throughout the mission, the Ramaz students as well as the Moldovans did their best to communicate. Violetta and Veoralia aided by translating during the home visits with elderly people. Most of the Moldovan teenagers learn English at school, and the American teenagers were impressed by their communication abilities. When needed, Google Translate also helped bridge the language barrier. According to Talia ’21, despite the language barrier, “The people were so welcoming. Their excitement to see us will continue to inspire me to keep a positive attitude.”

Observing such lively Jewish comunities in Moldova, it was clear to the Ramaz delegation that their mission was not to support a withering Jewish community, but to understand how Judaism is observed in a different part of the world. If anything, the Ramaz group was strengthened when they saw people who lived incredibly happy and warm lives regardless of their limited possessions. The students learned that at the end of the day, all Jews are responsible for one another. The delegation returned to America with an understanding that it is each of their responsibilities to relay these insights and share them with the entire Ramaz community.

Jan-Feb 2019/Shevat-Adar I 5779

The-Rampage.org

Ramaz Responds to the Nationwide Juuling Epidemic

News

5

Tammy Palagi ’21 and Maya Chaovat ’21

Millions of teenagers in America have become swept up in the new culture of Juuling.

A Juul is a type of E-cigarette that was created in 2015 with the intention of helping adult smokers quit cigarettes. But what started as a means of helping adults quit cigarettes quickly turned into an independent smoking aid used by ex-smokers and smokers alike. For instance, teenagers across the country have begun using Juuls en masse. Juuling has become such a widespread issue that it has begun to grasp the attention of several high school administrators, all of whom are deeply concerned for the well beings of their students.

Nowadays, one could argue that every high school student knows at least one fellow student who owns a Juul. And what’s worse is that many teens do not believe “Juuling” is harmful to their bodies. It has become a popular belief in schools that the harmful, long term effects of Juuling are negligible as long as it is done in moderation. And since there is not sufficient scientific evidence regarding the short and long term effects of Juuling, many children simply disre-

...every high school student knows at least one fellow student who owns a Juul.

gard the (high) possibility that Juul can be detrimental to one’s health. One anonymous student stated that he or she is not deterred because no concrete evidence exists against its usage. The student said, “We know there are negative effects, but until we actually see people dying it’s not as concerning as cigarettes.”

There is a common misconception that Juuling should be condoned because a Juul is safer than other illicit substances like alcohol or marijuana.

This, however, is far from the truth. Juul is not safe by any metric. In fact, one Juul pod contains about the same amount of nicotine as a whole pack of cigarettes. The inhalation of nicotine, although less toxic in a Juul than in a cigarette, is highly addictive and is proven to be harmful to brain development in teens.

Juul has also been proven to be an effective “gateway drug.” According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 31% of E-cigarette users will start smoking combustible smoking products like cigarettes and cigars within six months of smoking their first E-cigarette. What’s even more concerning is the fact that E-cigarettes often contain harmful additive chemicals. The NIDA stated that 66% of teens wrongfully believe their E-cigarettes only contain “flavoring.” Teens are ignorant of the fact that their E-cigarettes also contain nicotine, aldehydes, and toxic metals. Indeed, teens are hardly aware of what they are putting into their bodies, and their ignorance will almost certainly have dire consequences in the future.

Why is it then that so many teenagers choose to Juul? One major appeal of the Juul lies in its size. Juuls can be easily hidden due to their small size. It is also very difficult to detect when a Juul has been used because the device does not leave behind a scent or trace. All of these factors make it incredibly easy for a student to leave class, go to the bathroom, and Juul without anyone knowing. One anonymous student stated, “Juuling has become a big interference in my school work. It demands that I leave in the middle of class instead of focusing on my work.”

Many teenagers are also drawn to Juul because of peer pressure. High schoolers are eager to fit in with their peers. Students are prone to chase the thrill that one typically receives after doing something illegal or in violation of their school’s rules.. Rabbi Albo explained, “[Juul] is one of those things where kids are drawn to it because it is illegal and makes them feel more like an adult, like they’re someone older. Unfortunately, kids don’t always have the ability to recognize the value of the different stages of their lives at the right time.”

This outburst of the “‘Juuling epidemic’ can be attributed to many different factors. Many students feel that Juul has gotten so much attention because of social media. One anonymous student said, “People posted about Juul on social media, so it became a “trend,” just like anything else. Just like social media can destroy a person’s self esteem it can also encourage a person to feel that he or she must begin vaping in order to fit into the culture.”

Another student explained that Juul’s success can be attributed to the quality of the product itself. The student said, “You can hide it easily and the flavors are appealing.” One upperclassman noted that Juul has become much more present in his or her life as he or she has progressed through high school.

The student said, “As I progress through high school, more kids have begun vaping. As a senior, I’ve been exposed to this culture more and more.”

Students have expressed mixed feelings about the rise in Juuling amongst teens. One student remarked, “Juul is bad for your body, but then again it makes your body feel good. It’s difficult to say whether it’s really only good or bad.” Another student stated, “I have found myself on multiple occasions being pressured by my friends to abandon my beliefs and give in to peer pressure by Juuling.” Indeed, as Juuling becomes more common, many parents have begun to fear for their children’s safety. Ramaz gym teacher Ms. Cohen said, “As a parent of two teenagers, it really scares me because kids think [Juul] is ‘safer.’It is even more accessible than traditional cigarettes - kids can hide it in so many places that we can’t even catch them. Kids think it’s cool, but it’s not.”

In cooperation with other yeshivot, Ramaz has begun to tackle the Juuling epidemic in a more effective way under the bannister of a new alliance.

The Yeshiva League Substance Use Initiative was created by a multitude of yeshivot with the goal of preventing substance use and abuse. On January 30th, Head of the Upper School Rabbi Stochel and Director of Guidance Dr. Zeitchik sent out an email to all Upper School parents explaining the trajectory of this new initiative. The YLSUI’s first step is to gather anonymous data via a comprehensive survey that will begin at the end of February.

As the email explained, “The survey will be completely anonymous in order to gather accurate information about the scope of substance use and to develop a data-based community profile.” The YLSUI then plans to use a public health model to alter teenager’s fixation on harmful and illicit behavior. A public health model relies on classroom education and deterrence strategies, focusing primarily on identifying risk factors and developing

The creation of the YLSUI shows that Ramaz and the larger Jewish tri-state area have begun to recognize the fact that many students are affected by Juul, alcohol, and drugs. preventive strategies to shift the subject’s behaviors.

The creation of the YLSUI shows that Ramaz and the larger Jewish tri-state area have begun to recognize the fact that many students are affected by Juul, alcohol, and drugs. Now it is up to our community as a whole to solve the problem.

A solution will require everyone’s cooperation, especially students. High school students must be willing to learn from their mistakes, and parents and faculty must to be prepared to inform the students of their wrongdoings. Together as a community, hopefully we can continue to prevent Juuling from becoming a bigger epidemic than it already is.

Israel Through A Different Lens

Josephine Schizer '20

In January, LaMaMa Theater on East 4th street housed a weeklong run of Grey Rock, a play about a Palestinian man building a rocket to send to the moon. The play focuses on the relationships between the five characters as well as the idealism behind the dream of reaching the moon. Grey Rock is written by a Palestinian playwright with a cast composed of five Palestinian actors.

Ms. Barak’s junior honors Hebrew class went to see the play, after which they had the opportunity to have a discussion with the playwright and director, Amir Nizar Zuabi. The show generated many interesting conversations among the students, who had strong and varied opinions of the play. Grey Rock was written to be a human story, not one about politics, but it does include scattered negative references to the Israeli army and checkpoints. Some students found this portrayal upsetting, but others thought it was eye-opening and important.

“I think that it was incredibly important for us to see a play written by a Palestinian playwright,” said Gail Hafif ‘20, “Typically our views of Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict come from our parents or the media. The media is so polarized, and as modern orthodox Jews, we support Israel. Thus, I believe it was refreshing and eye-opening to see the conflict through the lens of a regular Palestinian man.”

“The thing about Grey Rock is that it was interesting and eye-opening and I’m glad that we went because it’s always good to expose yourself to new and different opinions and see another perspective,” said Elizabeth Newman Corré ‘20.

Ms. Krupka, who attended to the play with Ms. Barak’s class, agreed, saying that “I think as committed Zionists, it’s really interesting to gain the perspective of others and then to be able to talk about that perspective with each other in a way that doesn’t subvert my Zionism, but contributes to my Zionism.”

Later in the week, Gabe Low ’15 spoke to Ms. Barak’s class about his experience serving in Tzahal, an interesting juxtaposition to the attitude toward Israeli soldiers in the play. In Grey Rock, checkpoints are referenced from the Palestinian perspective as an obstruction to everyday life. Low described his own experience from the Israeli perspective guarding the Chevron checkpoint, often considered the most dangerous one. He described the difficulty in ensuring that Israel remains safe while also minimizing the burden to those passing through the checkpoint.

Overall, students agree that the play and Low’s speech provided valuable insights into both sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Grey Rock was written to be a human story, not one about politics, but it does include scattered negative references to the Israeli army and checkpoints.

6

News

The-Rampage.org

Jan-Feb 2019/Shevat-Adar I 5779

Ramaz Attends Yeshiva University National Model United Nations Gabrielle Ostad '21

Unlike a majority of Ramaz students, whose break began after the final bell rang on Friday, February 8, vacation would not begin until Tuesday afternoon for the Ramaz Model UN Team, which was busy attending the YU National Model UN conference.

On Sunday, February 10, eight of the team members met at the Crowne Plaza in Stamford, Connecticut. The purpose of this meeting was to mimic the United Nations and try to handle the current problems facing the world through a Model UN.

For the past 29 years, Yeshiva University has held a Model UN for Jewish schools across the world. This year there were 40 schools from across the world, including South Africa, Brazil, Miami, Maryland, New York and Los Angeles to name a few. There were 50 advisers, 70 YU staff, and a total of 420 students, making this conference a unique gathering of the world’s young Jewish population. Ethan Morali ’20 said, “I really appreciate that there were yeshiva kids not only from the tristate area, but also kids from Brazil and South Africa. It was cool that no matter where you came from, we all had ideas but were working with the same goal of wanting to manage world problems.”

Each attending school is assigned a country or two (depending on the size of the delegation). Within each team, each member is assigned to a specific committee in the UN, such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Criminal Court (ICC), and Human Rights Campaign (HRC) to name a few. A rep-

resentative from each committee is responsible for writing two position papers regarding issues that are making headlines in their specific committee. Each committee member is then tasked with discussing these pressing matters with other representatives from different countries.

This year the Ramaz Upper School took charge of Greece. With its centrally located spot on the water, Greece was instrumental in further advancing the goal of ending maritime problems.

At the conference, Greece also played an instrumental role in putting an end to animal trafficking. Each committee needed to draft a resolution with their allies and form connections with other

want to meet high schoolers and provide them with the same experience,” said Fine. “It is also nice to have a checkpoint every year where you can spend time to focus on important issues.”

Following this ceremony, the delegates went with their respective committees to meet other representatives from different countries in hopes of having their resolution passed. Delegates focused on their first position paper for majority of the conference, leaving only two of the six sessions for the second topic. During each session, delegates participated in ice breakers and also participated in an information session about Yeshiva University.

The conference helped students develop their public speaking skills (which they worked on while presenting their country’s stance on a topic) and social skills (which they worked on while collaborating with others delegates). Fine added that he hopes all delegates walk away from the conference with two lessons: “I hope the students leave understanding (i) the seriousness of acknowledging what we are dealing with and (ii) have inspiration. Our goal at YUNMUN is to help others develop skills not only needcountries to help put an end to specific problems. ed in high schools, but through the rest of life.”

The event began with dinner followed by By the end of the conference, many attendan opening ceremony. Azi Fine, Secretary Gen- ees felt that they had formed a genuine connection eral of YUNMUN LIII, stated that he chose to the country they were representing. The Ramaz to re-involve himself in YUNMUN after being delegation truly enjoyed their time at YUNMUN a high school attendee because of his experience and were proud of their work. They look forward attending YUNMUN during high school. “I to coming back as an even stronger team next year. appreciated the relationships I developed with the chairs. Coming back as as college student, I

"Our goal at YUNMUN is to help others develop skills not only needed in high schools, but through the rest of life.”

Rampage Journalists Attend JSPA Conference Josephine Schizer ’20

During the first weekend of February, four Rampage writers and Dr. Milowitz attended the Jewish Scholastic Press Association Conference in Los Angeles. The conference was co-sponsored

by Shalhevet High School and took place at the Beth Jacob shul in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles.

The conference, which ran from Thursday morning through Shabbat lunch, included various sessions about journalism and gave students the opportunity to meet high school reporters from other Jewish day schools.

Four schools were represented at the conference: Shalhevet, Milken, Atlanta Jewish Academy, and Ramaz, with a total of about 35 students present.

“I was so impressed by talented, enthusiastic and dedicated writers in my peer group nationwide,” said Samantha Sinensky ’21 “This exposure was both intimidating and exhilarating. It definitely made me want to become a better writer.”

The conference began on Thursday morning with sessions about Torah and journalism, how to run a high school news website, and video news stories. Additionally, students from each school had the opportunity to meet with Kathleen Neumeyer, a journalist and journalism teacher at Harvard-Westlake, to get advice on how to improve the layout of their paper.

“I found the overall conference productive,” said Rebecca Mas-

sel ’21, “Comparing our paper to other Jewish high school newspapers gave me the opportunity to learn from my contemporaries. I also learned about the ethical issues surrounding publishing in papers, including the issues of copyright and considering the positive outcome of an article. I found the layout meeting particularly useful.”

At dinner on Thursday night, Ramaz students enjoyed getting to know students from the other schools represented at the conference. Additionally, after dinner, Kathleen Neumeyer and Susan Freudenheim, two professional journalists, awarded the annual Jewish Scholastic Journalism Awards.

Rebecca Massel ’21 won third place in the News and Feature category for her article “Speaking for Those Who Can’t: KJ Yom Hashoah Program,” and Josephine Schizer ’20 (the author) won an honorable mention in the first-person opinion category for her article “Would You Like to Carry the Torah?”

On Friday morning, participants attended sessions covering copyright laws in journalism, how to write an effective news story, representation of Israel in college newspapers, getting started as a professional journalist, and what makes something a news story as opposed to a feature or opinion article.

“My favorite part of the conference was Mrs. Fax’s session ‘Covering Your Own Community,’” said Zach Buller

‘20. “I learned about the dangers of covering controversial stories in one’s own community and having to face readers that might believe that the article should not have been published at all as it defamed the institution.”

After the morning sessions, there was a break in the conference for students to eat lunch at one of the numerous kosher restaurants on Pico. To conclude the conference portion of the weekend, there was a final session about freedom of the press in high school journalism, after which the conference adjourned for Shabbat.

The Shabbaton portion of the conference included davening at Beth Jacob and meals at the shul where Ramaz students spent more time with the students from other schools. At Shabbat dinner, keynote speaker Andrew Sillow-Carrol, Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, shared life-lessons he learned from journalism.

Shabbat lunch included a philosophical discussion about whether or not it is ethical to publish certain news stories.

Students were given Shabbat afternoon off to relax and spend time with other students from the conference.

During breaks in the conference throughout the weekend, Ramaz students toured LA and enjoyed the warm weather at Santa Monica Pier, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Sunset Boulevard before taking a red-eye home on Saturday night.

“I

think the trip was great for the students,” said Dr. Milowitz. “They were able to get an opportunity to discuss various journalistic issues, both practical and philosophical. I think the conference offered a great many applicable ideas that we can use going forward in order to make the Rampage more topical, more relevant, and more interesting. Beyond that, I think the kids had a great time simply meeting other high school journalists, listening to experts in the field, and being in warm weather and getting a chance to explore California a little.”

Jan-Feb 2019/Shevat-Adar I 5779

The-Rampage.org

News

7

Superbowl LIII: A Retrospective Caitlin Levine ’21

The New England Patriots have won the Super Bowl once again. While the game was boring and the halftime show not much better, the significance of this win cannot be understated. The New England Patriots tied the Pittsburgh Steelers for the greatest number of Super Bowl wins, Tom Brady became the first player to win six Super Bowls, and Bill Belichick garnered his eigth championship ring. It is ironic, in a sense, that the Patriots were facing the Rams, the same team they beat to earn their first title in 2002.

The surprising part of this game, in terms of the sport itself, was that it was mostly won on the defensive side. While the Patriots have been known for their overpowering offense over the last two decades, it was their defense that showed up on Super Bowl Sunday and outlasted the Los Angeles Rams. Los Angeles attained only fourteen first downs and two-hundred and sixty net yards, only completing three of their thirteen third-downs. In addition, the Rams quarterback, Jared Goff, was kept off balance after having been hurried the entire game and sacked four times.

The Rams’ defense also had a strong performance, but Brady and company had enough punch to win the game. Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman played a spectacular game, catching ten passes for one-hundred and forty-one yards. Of note, Edelman— one of the greatest playoff receivers of all time—has a Jewish father. Edelman has visited Israel and has recently embraced his heritage by supporting those injured and killed during the Pittsburgh massacre. In addition to Edelman’s incredible performance in the Super Bowl, Rob Gronkowski also played one of his

most impressive games yet. Gronk had an outstanding grab near the end zone, setting up rookie running back Sony Michel’s game winning touchdown.

One of the other story lines of the game was the coaching matchup of sixty-six year old Bill Belichick facing off against thirty-three year old wonderkid Sean McVay. On this Sunday, however, McVay was outmatched, outclassed, and outcoached by the GOAT of NFL coaches.

It seemed that fans had a hard time figuring out who they wanted to lose. No one other than those from New England wanted to see another Patriot Super Bowl win. At the same time, the Rams hardly deserved to be in the Super Bowl, considering that they only made it because of one of the historically worst non-calls by the referees in the NFC. Nevertheless, it seems that the biggest losers of this year’s Super Bowl were the fans. Fans had the opportunity to watch a mostly boring game that was won by a team that most people nowadays don’t even like.

But the boredom did not stem from the game alone. In the weeks leading up to the game, controversy surrounding the halftime show began to make headlines. Many artists refused to play in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, a former NFL player whose career came to a swift end after he began to kneel during the national anthem. One of the more vocal artists who refused to perform was Cardi B. (Ironically, she was very willing to participate in a lucrative Pepsi commercial that aired during the Superbowl.) The headlining performers were Adam Levine and Maroon 5.

Levine and his band were bland. During his performance, Levine inexplicably took off his shirt, showing off his athletic, but aging, body. He was joined

on stage by rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi. The ensemble seemed to have no chemistry, making the halftime show into an unexciting and forgettable concert.

The commercials were undoubtedly the highlight of the game. While most commercials were not great, there were some memorable ones. Steve Carell, Lil Jon, and Cardi B did an awesome Pepsi commercial that caught everyone’s attention. For New Yorkers, it was fun to see Alex Rodriguez reaching for his kale chips and instead grabbing a bag of Planter’s Peanuts that had performed a slow motion dive into his living room. The NFL, commemorating its 100th season, had forty-four past and present players fighting for a football in a highly entertaining ad. One of my favorite commercials was for the Pepsi-owned seltzer brand Bubly. This ad featured singer Michael Bublé changing the “y” in “Bubly” to an “é.”

This Super Bowl Sunday, 1.38 billion chicken wings were eaten, 325 million gallons of beer was guzzled, and 105 million pounds of avocado were chopped into dips. Friends and family came together for what was expected to be an entertaining and spectacular sporting event. The game was boring, the halftime show fell flat, and the commercials were good but not great, but most reported having a fun time nonetheless. Everyone will likely tune in next year and hope for an even a better game in 2020 - everyone except for Patriot fans, that is.

Ramaz Winter Sports Update

Caitlin Levine ’21

This year Ramaz had nine teams compete in winter sports, including girls and boys JV and Varsity basketball, girls JV and Varsity volleyball, boys JV and Varsity floor hockey, and an ice hockey team.

Girls JV basketball had a rough season, winning only two of their 10 games. The team’s biggest rivals have historically included SAR and Frisch. Unfortunately, the JV team lost by over twenty points against both teams. While the team did not make the playoffs, they did have some exciting games during the season.

Their most intense game was against Bruriah, a match which went back-and-forth until the girls ended up losing the nail-biter by a few points. The team’s captains were sophomores Michal Seinfeld, Caitlin Levine, Gabby Sakhai, and Sophia Ratzker. These four captains led the team to their two victories, but overall, the JV girls’ basketball team had a disappointing season.

The girls’ varsity basketball team—led by seniors Becky Tauber, Elizabeth Aufzien, Natalie Kahn, and Shireen Sakhai—has had a better season and currently stands at 9-3. The team’s leading scorers are Becky Tauber ’19 and Sophia Kremer ’20, and its biggest competition this year has been Central. In that vein, the team’s toughest loss was to Central on the road in a night where it seemed that no one stepped up.

The team avenged this loss by beating Central on their home court by only four points, and Ramaz ultimately placed second in its division. The team won their first playoff game against Mayaanot and is currently preparing for their semifinal game against rival SAR and still holds hope of bringing home a banner to our gym.

Boys’ JV basketball has had a very average season so far and currently stand at 5-5, their biggest rival being TABC. Despite the .500 record, excitingly, the team made it to the playoffs and has their first game soon. The team’s most intense game and toughest lost was against Heschel as the game went into overtime. The team’s leading scorers are sophomores Jake Slochowsky (the team captain and point guard)

and Alex Zemmol. Unfortunately, the team lost its quarter-final playoff game 39-63 against TABC.

Boys’ varsity basketball had an up-and-down season and ended 4-9. Sadly, the team did not make it to the playoffs. Just like the JV team, varsity had a really intense game against Heschel. The game went into overtime and the Ramaz team lost with an insane buzzer beater shot by the other team. The team’s captains were Aaron Shapira ’19 and Ryan Leibowitz ’20. Sophomore Spencer Rubenstein was the lead scorer and had a solid season. Expectations will by high going into next year as the Varsity team returns many of its great players and will have the additions from the JV team to supplement the current roster.

After having a winning final record for several years, girls’ JV volleyball went 2-5 and did not make the playoffs. Their biggest rival was Frisch. Their most notable game was against SAR, as the match went back and forth, seemingly for eternity. The team’s four sophomore captains were Daniella Norman, Maya Chavot, Esther Cabot, and Vicki Sopher. Its worst loss was against Frisch, where the game lasted all of ten minutes.

Following its three-peat championship, the girls’ varsity volleyball team is quite strong and currently sit at 7-3. Not surprisingly, the team is going to the playoffs. While many feel that their biggest rival is Frisch, their most intense game this year was against an undefeated Maayanot. It was tight until the end, but ultimately, Ramaz came out with the victory.

The team’s captains are Sarah Genachowski ’19 (also lead scorer) and Laura Lancman ’19. The hardest loss of the season was their rematch against Maayanot, whom the team ultimately lost to 3-0 in the playoffs.

When it comes to floor hockey, it is hard to tell if the parents or the players are more serious about the game. As exciting as it is to watch Yeshiva League floor hockey, many fans come to watch the parents, who can become extremely worked up during an intense game such as at the Alan T. Brown tournament

in January. The boys JV floor hockey team ended the season at 7-4. Its biggest rival was TABC. Oddly, the team doesn’t have captains, although Eitan Linhart ’21 is its leading scorer. One match against SAR was particularly dramatic, as it was high scoring and Ramaz had a lot of rowdy supporters. The team’s toughest regular season game was against Frisch, because it lost 3-2 in a game they could have won. The team made it to playoffs but unfortunately lost to DRS.

Boys’ varsity hockey also had a solid season and were 8-4-1-0. Its biggest rival was SAR, and not surprisingly, they played an intense tie game against them filled with with fighting. The team’s captains are Matthew Gurewitsch ’19, Jack Ottensoser ’19, Michael Perl ’19, and Eddie Catton ’20 (leading scorer). The team made the playoffs, but its run did not last long. The team’s toughest loss was in the playoffs against HAFTR, where the Ramaz team played really hard and came up short.

The newest addition to the winter sports season is ice hockey. The team is 3-0-0-1, only suffering an overtime loss. Their biggest rival on the ice is SAR. The SAR game was extreme, with both teams evenly matched. Matthew Gurewitsch ’19 is the team’s captain and leading scorer. The team hopes to go far in the playoffs.

While many teams experienced positive seasons, only four teams still hold out hope for bringing home a banner. We hope that by the next edition we will be reporting success from the remaining four playoff teams: Girls Varsity Basketball, Boys JV Basketball, Girls Varsity Volleyball, and the Ice Hockey team. Go Ramaz!

8

Features

The-Rampage.org

Jan-Feb 2019/Shevat-Adar I 5779

FEATURES

Is Extra Time Extra?

Natalie Kahn ’19

With the emphasis on standardized testing in today’s college process, extra time has moved to the forefront of academic controversies. The well-intended idea behind extra time is to level the playing field for all students. A student who is quite intelligent but who may have a disability that could hinder academic performance might never reach his or her maximum potential, and extra time tries to prevent this from happening.

The Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990, prohibits marginalizing anyone based on a physical limitation. According to adata.org, Title III of the Act focuses on public accommodations and mandates a certain amount of compliance to make public facilities accessible to people even with disabilities. This even includes private businesses, directing them to make “reasonable modifications” to their practices to help serve the disabled. The College Board and other standardized testing agencies are included under this act, and thus extended-time accommodations are a way of catering to students with any kind of disability.

According to Ms. Deborah Biegen, Director of Ramaz’s Learning Center, it was indeed the ADA that set a precedent for providing extra time. Prior to the passage of the ADA, learning disabilities “weren’t something people necessarily talked about.” Awareness has been growing ever since then, which may be one of the reasons why the number of students receiving extended time seems to be increasing every year.

Ms. Biegen claims that Ramaz’s rate of extended-time testing is right on par with the national level, which is currently at about 20-25%. A recent survey of the Ramaz student body indicates a slightly higher percentage. Out of 100 responses, 32 people wrote that they do have extra time, which is 32%. The percentage of extra time recipients likely peaks in high school because that is when testing begins to “count” in a more formalized manner, and students and parents may become more aware of academic difficulties or disabilities. This is why extra time is sometimes given informally in middle school, often with a less rigorous vetting process than in high school. Extra time also can continue into college, though presumably with a testing update.

Ramaz, as a private school, has more control over which requests for extra time it approves.

According to Ms. Biegen, the process is as follows: parents first submit a psychoeducational evaluation to the learning center, the learning center reads the evaluations and gets references and data from the student’s teachers, and then the learning center either accepts or rejects the request. Students applying for extra time usually have a learning, physical, or psychological issue. Items under the learning category include but are not limited to ADHD, dyslexia, and processing issues. Physical issues often result in stopand-start testing – for example, if a student has diabetes, he or she may need to stop and refill insulin or have a snack in the middle of a test, or if a student has arthritis, the student may need to give his or her hands a rest. Personal crises that may prove a distraction and testing anxiety (although extra time for this is rarer) fall under the category of psychological issues. Some students will receive extra time on longer tests, such as final exams and SATs or ACTs. These students, notes Ms. Biegen, need the accommodation because the test is lengthier. They might be able to concentrate for a short forty-minute period, but sitting for two or more hours, as students may have to during final exams at Ramaz and during standardized tests, can prove to be more of a challenge to their focusing skills.

Regardless of the reason for the accommodation, testing updates are required every three to four years in order for a student to continue receiving extra time.

When asked why they receive extra time, many students wrote that the reason they need it is that they are

very slow test takers. Several students listed ADHD or a non-academic medical condition. “I’m diabetic, so if my blood sugar goes high or low, I need to stop,” answered an anonymous student. “The amount of time I stop I get back.” A second student said, “I’m a slow writer and reader, and sometimes when there are very long answers required my hand begins to hurt and I need to take like a 30-second break.”

Other students’ reasons revolved more around time challenges. “I was doing terribly on tests without extra time, because I was not finishing them and pages of the test were left completely blank,” said one student. Another said, “I seriously could not finish sections in time, because I was so anxious about the clock. I never finished a math or science section in even double time.” A third student added, “Thinking about my answer and outlining it in my head first takes me a lot of time. Sometimes it also takes a while for me to recall information.”

Some people in and out of Ramaz speculate that extra time is a money-oriented phenomenon, as testing for extra time is quite costly. There is tremendous pressure on doctors, who are paid a hefty sum, to approve all requests no matter how valid they may or may not be. Ms. Biegen refutes that assertion, saying, “Private testers do cost [a lot of] money, but there

One solution to the extra time conundrum is making sure that tests are less time dependent and more about knowing and analyzing the material. Unfortunately, at Ramaz, sometimes tests can be about how quickly a student can spit back everything he or she knows.

are clinics where a graduate student will do it for a much cheaper fee. The Board of Education will also test.” As one counter-example to Ms. Biegen’s statement, though, an anonymous student wrote, “I really need it [extra time] because of my extreme emotional and anxiety issues, such as manic depression and other disorders, but it is far too expensive to get tested for. And I find that I would do much better with it.”

A possible solution posed by Ms. Miriam Krupka, Dean Faculty, is having one psychologist and agency in contract with the school. Anyone who requests extra time would be required to get a doctor’s note and go through the whole testing process through that particular doctor and agency so that families would not gravitate towards certain professionals who are more likely to provide the results parents and students want.

Aside from potential abuse of the policy, there remains a more fundamental criticism of extra time. Supposedly, the goal high school and college is not only to educate but also to prepare students to be professionals. Is it not better to help students cope with their academic issues, whether they be time or anxiety related or not, rather than giving them extra time? A doctor in an operating room doesn’t get extra time to help someone who has just suffered a heart attack and whose life is on the line.

The truth is that whether test-taking struggles actually translate to a professional environment or are just unique to test taking itself is still to be determined.

Ms. Biegen emphasized that the ultimate goal is to eventually phase out of extra time, and some students find they no longer need it once they reach college, while others continue to use it in their higher education. However, Ms. Biegen mentioned that this idea of not having extra time later on in life as doctors, lawyers, teachers et cetera is something hotly debated by learning specialists at academic conferences to this day.

To combat those who claim extra time is unfair, Ms. Biegen talked about the experiences of her own children. “One of my daughters tried taking the ACT [reading] with time and a half and actually did

worse…the point is, it won’t really help you if you don’t need it,” she said. “We do our best to make sure everyone who does need it is [accommodated].” More generally, extra time would not help a student who does not know the material, because no matter how much time the student has, he or she will not be able to figure out the answer.

One solution to the extra time conundrum is making sure that tests are less time dependent and more about knowing and analyzing the material. Unfortunately, at Ramaz, sometimes tests can be about how quickly a student can spit back everything he or she knows. “Without it [extra time], I’m always rushing, and on finals especially teachers try to cram in all the material at the end, so there is a ton on the tests, and they [teachers] don’t account for time,” wrote one student. Hadley Kauvar ’19 said, “I’ve had some math teachers who would just have you spit back the material, and I’ve had some who make you actually analyze [what] you’re learning.”

Some teachers of today, both at high-school and university levels, have taken strides to ensure that no student is disadvantaged who does or doesn’t have extra time. History tends to be one of those subjects that calls for scribbling down everything you know about a particular topic on a page, with students often filling up multiple blue books for history exams.

As history department chair, Dr. Jucovy has moved away in the past few years from tests that depend heavily on rote memorization and more towards tests that require analytic thinking and application of knowledge. “The problem in testing in a different kind of way is how you still make sure that students have a sufficient amount of knowledge and analytical skills. There has to be a balance,” he said. Dr. Jucovy nonetheless operates under the assumption that if two students are taking an exam and one has forty minutes while the other is granted sixty, the second student needs that time. He defers to education specialists to determine whether or not that is the case.

“Before the extra time era, it was taken for granted that you had to be fast to do well in a quantitative subject. Tests were long, so you were really graded on how quickly you could do your work,” said a Columbia professor. “We [teachers] are more aware that that’s not necessarily a good way to grade students. We’re more conscious of not making tests too long so that points are taken off for actually getting things wrong and not just not finishing the test.”

Professor James Kahn (father of the author), department chair of economics at Yeshiva University, said, “For my tests, extra time isn’t much of a factor, because the tests don’t depend so much on speed. Either you know the material, or you don’t.”

Inside Ramaz and out, even in the college sphere, extra time has raised important educational questions. Hopefully, in the long run, it can be used as a tool that will not only make sure everyone has an equal opportunity on tests – ensuring that everyone who has extra time needs it and everyone who needs it has it – but will also allow educators to rethink their testing styles in a way that would be more beneficial to all students, whether they get extra time or not.

Percentage of Ramaz Students Who Have Extra Time

Jan-Feb 2019 / Shevat-Adar I 5779

The-Rampage.org

Features

9

Hidden Figures?

Girls in Honors STEM at Ramaz

The STEM honors courses at Ramaz are notoriously competitive, and therefore the type of student who tends to take them is usually highly motivated. Typically, these honors STEM students spend hours preparing for tests in those subjects. In today’s society, proficiency in science and math are stressed above all as the “careers of the future.” As robotization and AI take over more jobs, today’s teenagers recognize that they will need to seek employment inside an increasingly tight labor market, one which favors the technologically savvy. This has created a pressure to succeed in STEM from an early age. The hyper-competitive atmosphere around the honors courses, exacerbated in science and math, has created a challenging environment for female students.

At Ramaz, girls are underrepresented in the honors STEM classes, often in stark numbers. Only three out of the 18 Honors STEM classes are majority female. While these percentages could be misinterpreted for the majority-male freshman class, only 25% of the total girls in that grade are in honors geometry, whereas 41% of the boys are in that class.

The only all-female STEM class in Ramaz is AP Psychology.

Yet, curiously, many of the people I spoke to over the course of piecing together this article had not even observed the gender disparity until they saw the facts before them. Ms. Brachot teaches Chemistry at the honors level, but had not noticed the consistent majority of boys in her classes before checking her gradebooks going back several years. “It’s not something I’ve really noticed, yet when you look at the data, it’s true,” she said. “I’m not thinking about boys and girls when I teach; I’m thinking about the class as a whole. I feel like I’m blind when it comes to if there are girls or boys in the class.”

This lack of proportional representation creates a phenomenon in which the female voice is often not heard, hidden under the louder and more numerous voices of male students.

In class, when the teacher throws out a question, it’s often a boy (or several) who jump to answer it at once. Girls won’t

raise their hand nearly as often. Mr. Klotz, who teaches honors physics as well as advanced-level mathematics, found this to be true in some of his classes. “I think it depends. On average, more boys than girls will raise their hand, will call out, volunteer information. The way my class works, it’s very Socratic: I’ll ask a question, or what comes next in this equation, or what’s the next line, and yes, more often it’ll be boys who call out than girls,” he said. Gabi Potter ‘19, who is in this year’s honors physics class, agreed. “My class is very active in general, but I do know there are a lot of girls- and of that large group there should be more talking for how many there are.”

Consistently, people I spoke to over the course of writing this article noticed a gender dynamic within the classroom. Though many did not want to be quoted directly, this consensus was evident. When most boys answer questions, they toss out answers with confidence. They’re also more likely to ask questions in class than girls, who often don’t share insights they have for fear that they might be wrong or that they would be ridiculed.. Female students are more likely, however, to take this into account when deciding whether or not to ask a teacher for clarification.

Being in the classroom minority does create a bond between the girls in the class, but instead of sisterly camaraderie, it seems that the girls band together because they have to, in self-defense. The competitive atmosphere in the honors STEM classes leads most of its students to treat every round of testing like an Olympic marathon, a race to see who can do the best. “I think in classes like physics and chemistry there is an assumption that boys know better, but girls work harder. After biology, the gender dynamic in science classes really shifts,” said Elizabeth Newman-Corre ’20.

“If there’s a girl who is a little less qualified people jump on it, but nothing for boys.” In the class group chat, boys will consistently deem the material “easy” and share unsolicited accounts of their minimalistic study habits. When a test gets

10

Features

The-Rampage.org

Jan-Feb 2019/Shevat-Adar I 5779

Examining the Concept of Women in STEM in Ramaz handed back, boy’s show little compuction about publicly announcing grades. “In these classes, people treat an 100 like an A+, and a 99 like an A-, when in reality it can demonstrate a similar amount of knowledge,” said Elizabeth Aufzien ’19, who has been an honors science and super-honors math student through her four years of high school.

If a girl is missing notes or isn’t getting a practice question right, she is more likely to text a female friend than ask in the class group chat.

She is also less likely to answer other students’ questions in a group chat, even when she has read the texts and has the answers in front of her. All of these behavioral mannerisms are indicative of a larger societal pressure not to make a mistake, and an inherent-self doubt when it comes to one’s own ability. Many girls, when asked, say they would feel that they were at the bottom of the class or truly struggling with the subject, whereas boys are more likely to have confidence in their knowledge. Thus, girls are more likely to seek help from their teachers, something observed by Mr. Klotz in his classes. “Both [boys and girls ask], but given the percentage in the honors, for example, I think a disproportionate number of girls seek me out. In the lower levels, it’s probably more even.” However, when he examined last year’s honors physics class, both genders scored at nearly the same level: boys averaged a 94.6%, and girls 94.4%.

Almost without exception, every teacher I spoke to detailed their attempts to mitigate this issue in their classrooms. “I make sure that everyone is paying attention and participating, so it’s not like I’m letting the girls be quiet,” said Ms. Brachot; “I don’t think I treat girls differently than boys-- in fact, usually I make a conscious effort not to. I try to obviate the [gender] difference by calling on girls at least as much as boys, if not more,” Mr. Klotz added; Rabbi Stern said “I try very hard to make everyone participate.” Yet, despite their efforts, the issue persists in many of the honors STEM classrooms, affecting dozens of students every year.

The problem here does not belong to Ramaz, of course. It’s a larger societal attitude which has not yet accepted the fact that women can operate on an equal academic scale to men, particularly in STEM. Thus, they often encounter roadblocks in their path to success. Elizabeth Aufzien ’19 said that “For me, personally, I’ve seen the difference between how me and my brother were treated when we expressed interest in engineering.

Nobody ever questioned him or his ability, but even recently one of my family members told me that he hadn’t thought I had it in me to do well in math and science.” Ms. Lattin shared that as a woman in seeking a career in math, she, too, encountered roadblocks. “At the time that I was looking, jobs were in math and science. When it came down to supporting myself, because I was good at those, I knew that’s what I should do. But it’s hard, because mostly it’s dominated by men,” she said, and proceeded to share several stories about gender discrimination which she had faced, such as being

Cont. from page 9

discounted at an interview at the FAA (where the only woman in the office was the secretary) and being largely ignored in an architecture firm where she worked. My own mother faced similar discrimination as one of four women in her class of roughly 100 in Cooper Union’s school of engineering back in 1990. When I asked her about her foray into being a woman in STEM- she now has a career in business- she told me that “The men in our class never respected us: we were ‘cute’ instead of ‘capable,’ ‘likeable’ instead of ‘lab-partners.’ Whoever I was paired with on class projects would condescend, telling me to sit back while they did the work. Teachers would ignore us; we weren’t supposed to be able to go anywhere in engineering anyway, so what did it matter?” While nowadays Cooper Union, along with most of the country, has improved its attitude towards female students and its numbers- it now has a 80/20 male/female split in its engineering school- what my mother experienced is still a reality that women must face on a daily basis.

Dr. Gaylord, as an English teacher, has noticed the same societal split between men and women. “Our culture in such that, in general, girls grow up with more self-doubt and boys grow up with more self-confidence.

Unearned self-confidence, unearned self-doubt. Male privilege, of course, is an aspect of this: for many men, you go through the world thinking that obviously you’re going to be okay, and that naturally you’re better than others in some ways,” he said. “You see less of it in English, maybe, than in other subjects, because it almost goes in the other direction: English is traditionally considered a girls’ subject in the same way science is considered a boys’ subject.”

When I told a fellow (male) Ramaz student that I was writing this article, his immediate reaction was “Oh no, not another piece about women in STEM. I’m sick of that.” This is, unfortunately, a viewpoint shared by many of the students I’ve spoken to. Some girls I spoke to over the course of writing this article didn’t want to be quoted, even when they agreed with all the ideas I said, for fear that they be “judged.” Yes, women in STEM has become a cliche, but that’s because it’s a problem that has gone yet unsolved.

Jan-Feb 2019 / Shevat-Adar I 5779

The-Rampage.org

Merch Drops by the GO

Features

11

Sophia Kremer ’20

This year, Ramaz’s student government has upped its merchandise game by creating well designed, trendy sweatshirts that all community members can enjoy. Thanks to the new selection of apparel, tens of Ramaz students can be seen wearing chic sweatshirts and tasteful crewnecks, with many upper schoolers abandoning their usual Adidas and Champion apparel in favor of an all RAM wardrobe. Aside from being comfortable and affordable, these sweatshirts also create a sense of community and school spirit that Ramaz has lacked in the past. The school has abandoned their average zip-up sweatshirts in favor of some far more trendy and affordable designs, imitating popular logos such as the Kith box logo, the Michigan stamp, and a prep school styled logo. The diversity of these designs has increased the demand for school merchandise.

Inspired by Supreme, Kith and other “hype” clothing brands, the G.O. uses a “limited production drop” marketing strategy to stir demand for its products. By producing small quantities of each piece and continuously generating new designs, the G.O. has increased student demand for apparel tenfold and aggregated a larger customer base.

Olivia Bourkouf ’19, who spearheaded the initiative to reinvent the school’s merchandise, stated that her goal was to “rebrand” Ramaz’s apparel line.

“We wanted to transition the production of school merchandise from being less about inspiring school spirit and more about designing a brand,” said Bourkouf.

“This year, I believe we have accomplished that goal.”

In the days leading up to each apparel release, the G.O. uses social media to publicize sneak-peaks of the new merchandise. The anticipation and excitement builds as students come down to the lobby during their lunch periods to purchase these sweatshirts, which range in price from twenty to thirty dollars. It is the G.O.’s mission to keep the apparel affordable for all students. G.O. Vice President Avery Sholes ’20 stated that the G.O. is “determined to make all apparel affordable even if it means taking money from funds meant for other G.O. related activities to do so.”

On February 5, all divisions of the Ramaz School participated in swag day, a day during which students showed their school pride by wearing Ramaz apparel. Overall, the student body was eager to come dressed in one of the five sweatshirts created by the G.O. this year. Students who came dressed in G.O. apparel were entered into a raffle to win even more apparel. Freshman Izzie Ottensoser ’22 said that the raffle “brought an exciting, and yet surprisingly competitive, atmosphere to the school.” She continued by stating that she “hope[s] the G.O. will continue to plan activities like this one.”

Although many students represented Ramaz by wearing themed apparel on swag day, it is thankfully not the only day during which students are permitted to show off their favorite Ramaz merchandise. Sophomore Yola Ashkenazi ’20 said, “The merchandise this year has really been in tune with what the students want, such as the quarter zip. That was great and everyone loved it”. Daniel Levy ’19 continued by explaining that he even “wears the merch outside of school!”

The G.O. is looking forward to creating more merchandise that all students will want to own — and maybe someday even resell.

12

Features

The-Rampage.org

Jan-Feb 2019/Shevat-Adar I 5779

The Rampage Faculty Rorschach Test

Esti Beck ’19 The Rorschach Test, rather unsurprisingly named after its creator, Hermann Rorschach, records subjects’ perceptions of an inkblot and then examines what that reflects about the way they think. What each person sees first when looking at the card and what that person associates with those elements reveals their thought process and how their mind perceives patterns. The Rampage asked each member of the faculty to look at “Card 1” of the Rorschach Test and report what he or she saw. Typically, the subjects and administrators would go through the cards one by one and discuss, in detail, what they see, but in the interest of time, each faculty member sent in an abbreviated response.

Psychologists who have administered the test found that the most popular responses to the image given to the faculty were bat and butterfly, representing around 53% of the general population, according to studies by Samuel Beck (no known relation to author).

About one third of the faculty responded to The Rampage, for a sample size of 22 respondents and an overall margin of error of ±15%. As most polling is conducted utilizing only fractions of the overall group being measured, it is still possible to draw fairly concrete conclusions about the nature of the faculty’s thought processes.

Among the members of the Ramaz faculty that offered their responses, 9 answered either bat or butterfly.

Conventional psychology interprets that as meaning that around 60% of the faculty thinks unconventionally, an increase of about 10% from a typical sample size.

While it is difficult to examine the results by

department because of the small sample size, the results do reveal something about the way each specialty operates. The most “conventional” departments were History and Tanakh, with 100% and 66% bat or butterfly responses respectively. On the flip side of the coin, you have the math department, with 0 mainstream answers. Other departments that trended quite low were Talmud (20%), English (25%), and Science (33%).

The inter-departmental divide here is quite clear: subjects more closely associated with out-of-the-box thinking had out-of the box answers, and subjects based in more rigid interpretation of well-established events did not. History and Tanakh are essentially each other’s subject equivalents in the general and Judaic studies departments, respectively. Each tends to ask for less creativity out of its scholars than a specialty such as English, which relies on one’s ability to come up with

new subject matter rather than interpret existing ones.

There are three major zones on the image: the concave area on the top, the wing-like symmetrical features, and the central figure in between them.

The “wings,” or zone two, lead to the perception of an animal, such as the bug, eagle, fox, or bird mentioned repeatedly. Fixating on zone three, the inside of the picture, creates the image of the uterus, demon, and mask several faculty members saw. Only a few saw a bug (three total), a figure most visible from the pincers in the first zone. The order in which one notices the various features helps to sort out how that person observes the world around them. Most people, as indicated in the image, tended to notice the gaping hole on the top (Zone 1). Only 18% first notice the periphery and look inwards, as the majority work from the up-down or the inside-out. Out of the Ramaz faculty, about 55% noticed zone two (the wing-like outside) first.

Of course, more specific answers provide a deeper understanding of a person’s thought process when they look at an image. However, only several teachers gave us such responses, and make a more advanced picture difficult, if not impossible. None of the conclusions the Rampage drew from these tests are 100% certain, as this was more of a Rorschach test-lite than an official psychological test. That being said, the exercise provided an interesting insight into the minds of the Ramaz faculty and how they think.

To Test, or Not To Test?

Hannah Doft ’20

SATs

Junior year’s reputation as the most challenging academic year definitely rings true. Why? Even though the workload is only slightly heavier, students have to balance a rigorous curriculum with studying for either the SAT or ACT. “I knew it would be challenging having to do schoolwork and study for the ACT, so my goal was to finish the ACT as soon as I could,” said Ben Silverman ’20.

The SAT and ACT are both standardized tests that act as a way for colleges to compare students based on the same or a similar test. It’s hard for colleges to always assess the level of rigor of each applicant’s school – a 3.9 GPA at one school might be one of the highest in the class, while a 4.2 GPA at another might be easy to have, and standardized tests enable admissions committees to make sure all their accepted students are on comparable enough academic levels.

But standardized testing can make life junior year miserable. “I think the only reason this year is harder than previous years is the extra load of studying for the standardized tests,” said Natalie Trump ’20. Trump continued, “It’s also frustrating because I don’t see how one test can measure my academic abilities.”

An anonymous student agreed with Trump and said, “I have only just barely started to finish taking practice tests with the time given after months of students and it seems unfair that I don’t have as much time as kids with extra time and my score is seen the exact same way when the whole point is that it is a timed test.”

More and more schools are trying to deemphasize standardized testing. Two examples of schools who have made this switch are Brandeis and the University of Chicago. Instead of submitting a test score, an applicant can submit a creative work or a collection of essays as a replacement. Students were surprised upon hearing this but still were not completely convinced that they could go without taking any standardized test at all, even if just as a backup. While it’s true that schools are trying to accommodate kids who are not necessarily good testers, or have realized that the SAT and ACT may not be such an accurate assessment of someone’s intelligence, some students speculate that this test-optional application is more for students whose families don’t have the means for tutoring or practice books or lack the information about the importance of testing.

“Without the pressure of studying for my ACT, I think I would do better in school, but I feel like I still have to take the test. I need to keep my options open going into senior year and not testing narrows those options down extremely,” said Gabi Potter ’20. Aliza Freilich ’20 agreed with Potter and said, “Everyone tells me I have to take the test just to keep my options open.”

Some students however think that standardized tests are a good way of improving their applications going into the college process. “I didn’t have the best GPA applying to schools, but having a great ACT score definitely helped balance that out,” said an anonymous senior.

Not taking standardized tests doesn’t even seem like a possibility even to those in younger grades because so few schools have adapted to a new method. “I already started taking diagnostics in order to think about which test is right for me,” said William Kremer ’21. It would be difficult to have a complete college list without at least one school that demands an SAT or ACT score. In the future, however, the number of schools that become test optional may decrease, and the weight of standardized tests on applications may decrease or eventually become non-existent.

Jan-Feb 2019 / Shevat-Adar I 5779

The-Rampage.org

Features 13

Should Ramaz teach a Foreign Language?

Charles Spielfogel ’21

Ramaz currently offers French and Spanish as foreign language options, even though other schools offer not only a wider variety of languages (i.e., Arabic and Mandarin being two common ones), but also an opt-out option. Technically speaking, Hebrew serves as our “second language.” Today, there are many Yeshivot, such as Frisch, that offer electives in place of a “third” language. Oth-

Why not allow those students to pursue a third language while giving students with other interests the opportunity to pursue an alternative path? er Yeshivot require underclassmen to take a language, but allow their students to select other electives by their junior year. This begs the question: should Ramaz maintain the current foreign-language curriculum, or should they move towards an elective system?

Essentially, there are two sides to this debate. Firstly, Ramaz is a modern day Yeshiva that grants students not only an advanced education in Judaic studies, but also in the arts and sciences. Ramaz offers its students a complete liberal arts education, which includes learning another language besides Hebrew. By learning a third language, Ramaz students become more well rounded

people. Furthermore, there are many students who love taking a language and even pursue that track to the AP level. This, however, begs the question: why not allow those students to pursue a third language while giving students with other interests the opportunity to pursue an alternative path?

This, essentially, leads us to the second

exists, and we should have the right to choose how we want to spend our time.

There are many subjects outside our liberal arts curriculum that, in today’s day and age, might be of more interest and relevance to students. For example, wouldn’t it be great if one could pursue an interest in coding, literature, or history to a greater extent? What about courses such as entrepreneurship or

By adding a larger variety of courses to the curriculum, perhaps the school’s student body would become more well rounded... side of the argument. Ramaz students already have a very packed, dual curriculum schedule. Although it is nice to learn other languages, do students really have the time (or energy) to do so for four years? There are many other courses that could interest those students who aren’t necessarily committed to learning a third language. For example, at Frisch, a student can choose between an engineering, art, or music course in place of a third language. This enables students to follow their interests as opposed to being forced to learn something that may not interest them. In an ideal world, we would have enough time to learn everything. The reality is, however, that time constraints

economics? How about real estate or architecture? By adding a larger variety of courses to the curriculum, perhaps the school’s student body would become more well rounded and passionate about academics.

Although many students enjoy learning French or Spanish, it would definitely be nice to have other options. Perhaps a good compromise would be requiring the third language in ninth and tenth grade. By eleventh grade, perhaps student should be allowed to pursue other interests through an elective curriculum.

Ramaz WiFi has a Worse Attendance Record Than the Students Jonah Scherl ’19

No matter where you are in the ing—especially in those places where are more than five people (which is where)—the Wi-Fi simply does not

buildthere everywork.

There are two days before your paper is due. After giving your teacher six potential meeting times to go over your hopefully not-toorough draft, the period has finally come. You set yourself up at one of the many round tables in the library, carefully lay out your notes, place your backpack down, and open your laptop.

Now comes the most intimidating part of the whole experience: knocking on the teacher’s lounge door.

One minute later: Congratulations! You did it. Everything from here and on is easy.

You walk through the book stacks towards your gleaming “work space” and carefully take your seat. “I just need to pull the essay up on my Google Docs…this will just take one second,” you say as the teacher waits patiently. There’s one problem: the Wifi just won’t cooperate. You repeatedly press and repress the “Turn Wifi Off” button, but the Wifi icon will not fill up with color.

Finally, the “USSTUDENTS” network appears, and you click on it quickly, lest it disappear before you have the chance to do so. But now the Wifi hopelessly tries to actually join the network. As the bars gradually highlight and erase themselves, you begin to realize that this isn’t going to end well.

Through the corner of your eye you can see the teacher tapping his or her feet on the floor, and you know that their patience is thinning. That’s when a message finally pops into the center of your screen: “UNABLE

TO JOIN NETWORK.” You ask yourself, “Ugh... Is this a joke?”

But no, it’s not.

For too many of us, this situation is all too familiar. Whether it’s trying to take notes in a classroom on the 6th floor or send a text from the gym, the Wifi in Ramaz is entirely unreliable, inconveniently weak, and often plain useless. No matter where you are in the building—especially in those places where there are more than five people (which is everywhere)—the Wi-Fi simply does not work.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the technology behind Wifi, let me explain it in simple terms: Step 1: Plug in the router.

Step 2: Make sure the router is working.

Am I the only one wondering why I can get better Wifi in Starbucks—for free—than my own school library, where I’m meant to do work? At this point, if I need to buy a $4 coffee each day at Ramaz I will do it if it means getting a working Wifi signal.

While for students this frustration stems from their inability to use their phones, many faculty members have complained about the technical difficulties too. Recently, after calling IT specialist Mr. Chuc into her classroom to fix the Airplay, Ms. Lowry was told that the Wifi may be weak in her room “due to the windows.” Unfortunately, the struggle does not end in the classroom for Ms. Lowry. When she, along with her SC officemates, want to send or receive emails, they are often forced to stand in the lobby to receive any remnants of a strong Wifi signal.

As many of you know from my previous Op-Eds, I like this school. However, our school’s technology is way past its expiration date. Yes, we can mask up the flaws with elaborate new Smartboards and computers, but without basic upgrades, everything is useless.

14

Features

The-Rampage.org

Jan-Feb 2019/Shevat-Adar I 5779

A Catch-up with Head of School Rabbi Shlomo Stochel Zach Buller ’20

Rabbi Stochel has had an illustrious career at the Ramaz Upper School, having held several positions with increasing responsibilities, culminating in his current role as Head of the Upper School.

Over two decades ago, Rabbi Stochel began at Ramaz as a Judaic studies teacher, followed by serving as Talmud Department Chair, Israel Adviser, Coordinator of the Israel Guidance Department, Assistant Dean of the Upper School, Associate Dean of the Upper School, and now as Head of the Upper School. This February marks the halfway-point in Rabbi Stochel’s second year in this leadership position, so I interviewed him to catch up, review his accomplishments thus far, and discuss his goals for the future as Head of the Upper School.

Rabbi Stochel explained that as he assumed his new position as Head of the Upper School, he had two main goals, which he referred to as the “Two A’s: Advocacy and Accountability.”

Specifically, Rabbi Stochel wanted to “advocate for faculty and students to make their experience at Ramaz pleasant, productive and fulfilling, while at the same time, hold ourselves accountable – make expectations clear as to how we adhere to the mission of Ramaz in order to enable all of us in this remarkable school community to flourish and thrive.”

He recalled that as he entered administration about fifteen years ago, he learned more about the challenges of leadership in a high school setting composed of teachers and students, two different age groups pursuing learning together.

“I found that half of my job was clarifying to a student a teacher’s perspective on an issue, whether it was academic or behavioral, and the other half of my job was clarifying to a teachers a student’s perspective on that same issue. I learned that the values of active listening, empathy, humility, self-awareness and appreciating multiple, nuanced perceptions were essential qualities for maintaining a robust and aspirational school such as Ramaz.”

Rabbi Stochel hopes that in his two years serving as Head of the Upper School, he has applied some of these lessons he has learned to the benefit of Ramaz. Rabbi Stochel explained that a positive surprise for him in his new job has been discovering how much he enjoys the work. “I have the privilege of working with the most passionate and professional educators and the most intellectually inquisitive, academically driven and spiritually seeking students,” he said.

In his early years at Ramaz serving as a Talmud, Tanakh, and JLT faculty member or chair, Rabbi Stochel was not involved in the supervision of general studies departments. Now in his newer role, Rabbi Stochel has the opportunity to work directly with the general studies teachers and department chairs, which he finds especially stimulating and broadening. Specifically, he has worked on hiring the best teachers who are not only experts in their field but will motivate and nurture students to achieve to the best of their abilities, on aligning the standards and expectations across all subjects in the school, and on making transparent to students, and to their parents, how they are educated and assessed. These pursuits, according to Rabbi Stochel, “have been a main source of growth for me as a professional.”

Of all his new experiences at the Upper School, Rabbi Stochel noted that his favorite part is his new way of interacting with faculty, students, and parents. As the Head of the Upper School, Rabbi Stochel has a bird’s eye view on everything that’s happening. His new role enables him to be involved in all aspects of the school and coordinate with many different people on a plethora of goals. Along with his fellow administrators, Ms. Krupka and Rabbi Slomnicki, Rabbi Stochel prepares students for the Open House student Q&A panel, collaborated with the science and math departments in founding the new RamTEC department, consults with Parent Council representatives to plan parent liaison meetings to inform parents of initiatives and innovations at school, works with admissions to recruit new students and with communications to publicize the multifaceted achievements of Ramaz students.

In the interview, Rabbi Stochel also discussed his least favorite part of the job: dealing with the weather. Along with his counterparts in the other divisions of Ramaz, he must balance student and faculty safety with the regular routine and essential goals of school: learning. “It is quite a challenge to make the right decision, especially with the recent lack of reliability of weather forecasting.”

In addition, no longer acting as a full-time or even part-time teacher, he misses getting to know students via classroom instruction. Rabbi Stochel does make a point to learn the name of every student in the building, something that he begins to do at every Freshman Shabbaton, and Rabbi Stochel is proud to say that he is able to identify any student who walks down the hallway by name, “with just an occasional lapse here and there.” But to be-

Rabbi Stochel does make a point to learn the name of every student in the building... and Rabbi Stochel is proud to say that he is able to identify any student who walks down the hallway by name. come acquainted with students as learners, Rabbi Stochel hopes to visit classes more often to get to know more students by observing them learning in a classroom setting; after all, working with students is why he became a teacher at the outset.

When Rabbi Stochel assumed his role as Head of the Upper School, he lamented that he “needed to take a hiatus from teaching in order to make sure that my administrative responsibilities were not compromised.” The last regular class that Rabbi Stochel had taught for a number of years was Freshman Honors Talmud, but he stopped teaching that class two years ago. Rabbi Stochel explained that he “really missed teaching a lot and missed interacting with and developing relationships with students in the classroom.”

This year, Rabbi Stochel felt fully confident in his administrative colleagues and his ability to manage his schedule that he was able to return to teaching. He now teaches the Junior Honors Talmud Seminar class, and he is loving it. The class is the “highlight” of his day. Six months into his return to the classroom, Rabbi Stochel is thrilled that he made this decision and enjoys his time learning with motivated students.

Rabbi Stochel’s new position has enabled him to become more involved in broader educational projects beyond Ramaz. Upon becoming Head of the Upper School, Rabbi Stochel joined the National Yeshiva High School Head of School Council, a grassroots group of Modern Orthodox school leaders from over twenty yeshiva high schools throughout North America. This group, which

meets several times a year, addresses topics of concern that affect the member Modern Orthodox high schools in America and Canada. For starters, the group implemented the “Phone Fast” earlier in the year during Aseret Yemei Teshuva, when students

We are much more proactive in recruiting students who will be the best fit for us... We proudly introduce prospective families to our outstanding teachers and students to showcase the superior education and individualized attention that we offer were encouraged to disconnect in order to connect with those around them. The group has conducted a survey of sophomores and seniors this month about substance use, developed a consistent substance use approach for member schools, and sent a joint statement on student safety that was sent to all parents before Simchat Torah. Rabbi Stochel was committed to addressing the culture of student substance use and, in concert with Dr. Zeitchik and Ms. Bernfeld, updated the policy that was shared with Ramaz families at the beginning of the year.

Rabbi Stochel has also become dedicated to thinking creatively about admissions since his promotion. The admissions department is committed to “Recruitment and Retention,” seeking the best qualified candidates to apply to the Upper School and easing the transition of Ramaz Middle School students to the Upper School. Along with his colleagues in administration and in admissions, he aims to define the distinctive features of the Ramaz educational experience and identify the type of student who will thrive at Ramaz. “We are much more proactive in recruiting students who will be the best fit for us,” explained Rabbi Stochel. “We don’t just wait for applications to come through, process them and then send out acceptances. We contact families regularly, get to know the applicants better, invite them not just for interviews and to visit classes, but to meet with us so that we can address their questions and concerns. We proudly introduce prospective families to our outstanding teachers and students to showcase the superior education and individualized attention that we offer.”

To reinforce the individualized valuing of students at Ramaz, just before letters of acceptance were sent out recently, Rabbi Stochel wrote by hand a personalized letter on his stationery praising the accepted applicant for his or her academic, spiritual, and co-curricular qualities, explaining how and why that student would be a great fit for Ramaz.

Another related innovation, implemented with the urging of his guidance team, that brings Rabbi Stochel pride is the restructuring of the freshman advisory system to increase individual attention to the student experience at Ramaz. Unlike the former arrangement under which a teacher was assigned to a group of freshmen Cont. on page 15

Jan-Feb 2019 / Shevat-Adar I 5779

and would continue to supervise that group until late in the junior year, now each freshman is assigned to one of seven “senior” faculty members, including Rabbi Stochel himself. This gives the incoming students and their parents access to the most experienced and influential educators at Ramaz who know the school best and can advocate meaningfully for their new advisees. The new system also gives these senior educators at Ramaz an early opportunity to become acquainted with the youngest students from the time they arrive.

Rabbi Stochel has also become more informed about the process of college guidance at Ramaz. He meets with the college guidance office on a regular basis and follows applications and developments very carefully. However, Rabbi Stochel does not directly advise students. In his own words, “I don’t get involved in the day to day operations, as is true with other departments as well. I stay informed and try to be as supportive as possible of the advisers, the students and their parents.” Rabbi Stochel’s role in college guidance is not so much advising students as it is providing for the overall needs and direction of the college office.

“Students and parents are welcome to meet with me any time,” explained Rabbi Stochel, “but the college advisers are the ones who work directly with the students.”

For now, Rabbi Stochel, along with the entire administrative team at Ramaz, has had a tremendously positive impact on the school. The future will likely bring more advances and initiatives that will make the school a better place.

When asked what the students and faculty should be looking forward to next, Rabbi Stochel responded that he couldn’t divulge too much, but that the student body and faculty members alike should be excited for what is to come. Recent changes include the development of RamTEC, the standardization of the English department, the redesigned Judaic studies suite in the former SAC, the repurposed library space to allow for both quiet and group work, the waiting

The-Rampage.org

Features 15

area in the 6th floor office, and much more. Rabbi Stochel hinted that he will be looking at the other departments at Ramaz more closely, in addition to exploring every aspect of Ramaz and asking himself: “How can this be made better?”

As for faculty development, Rabbi Stochel, along with Dean of Faculty Ms. Krupka, relayed that there will be a focus on furthering the professional development program, specifically by encouraging faculty and administrative members to continue to “visit other schools, enroll in seminars and attend conferences to enhance their already superb teaching and leading, and to come back to Ramaz and tell us what they have discovered. We are all devoted to the noble pursuit of learning – it is a privilege that educators need to expand their vistas of study because their profession requires it.”

Overall, Rabbi Stochel, as well as Dean of Students Rabbi Slomnicki, hope to enrich student life and culture at Ramaz by warming up the school climate. Rabbi Stochel reports that there is still a lot to accomplish in his new role, but that he will not succeed without the good will, imaginative vision, and meaningful feedback of the students, faculty, and parents. “As much as there are challenges to serving as a division head, I have never felt more professionally fulfilled and supported as I do now,” said Rabbi Stochel. “The caring collegiality, faculty fellowship, teacher-student congeniality, student camaraderie and the sheer creative energy at Ramaz makes this school an invigorating place to be - where everyone loves learning and growing together, and where everyone encourages each other toward achieving communal and individual goals - this is what we like to call in a single word - RamPride.”

Our Community atDavid Work: Gerber ’21

Hypothetically speaking, imagine a universe in which over half of Ramaz attended the Business Investment Club (BIC) every week. The snacks, the enthusiasm, the discussions - imagine if each of these trademark elements of BIC was maximized to the highest degree. Well, as it just so happens, the year Jacob Doft ’87 became president of the famed club, this was the reality. “It was really a party,” said Doft, referring to the time he served as BIC’s president. Indeed, due to the club’s enormous membership, Doft organized for the annual 1985 club picture to be taken in the gym!

From a young age, Mr. Doft knew he wanted to pursue a career in finance. His tenure as BIC’s president reflect his passion for the trade and highlight his dedication to becoming a successful businessman.

After graduating Ramaz in 1987, Doft attended The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, Doft nurtured his passion for business. He soon discovered Wharton’s illustrious investment club and eventually went on to become its president. After graduating from Wharton, Doft worked as an investment banking analyst for two years. It didn’t take long for Doft to realize that he did not want to pursue investment banking, so instead he decided to reinvest in his education by enrolling in Harvard Business School. The morning after his last final exam at HBS, Doft started Highline Capital at just 25 years old. Mr. Doft still manages Highline to this day.

Since its inception, Highline has only grown in size and stature, with its assets now totaling over four billion dollars. Doft is constantly conducting research on both well known and lesser known companies in an effort to make increasingly intelligent investments.

Doft stresses the importance of reading “everything and anything,” especially the news. He maintains that reading allows a person to better understand what’s going on in the world at all times and in all places.

During our meeting, Mr. Doft shared his person secret for becoming a successful investor. He stated, “My favorite way to find new companies to invest in is to think about how the world is changing, and how companies and industries are evolving, and then to go and learn as much as I can about those companies. [I then] try and figure out what is going to become more valuable, or more profitable, due to these changes in the world.”

Doft doesn’t just read about a company - he often travels overseas to get a feel for a particular company before he invests. This is where Doft differs from other hedge fund managers. He truly believes being

upfront and personal with a potential company is crucial, which is why he dedicates much of his time to travelling from Silicon Valley to Germany to Hong Kong. In Doft’s opinion, written research and performance reports should not be viewed as sufficient evidence for a truly intelligent investment.

Doft is committed to giving back whenever possible, especially to Ramaz. Asides from serving as President of Ramaz’s board, Doft has also hired several Ramaz students for senior work study positions and summer internships. These positions are highly coveted, and Ramaz alumni have reported that working for Doft is genuinely fun. According to Doft, there is no better way to learn about the business of investing than by gaining real life experience. “If you’re interested in doing any sort of investing, you have to be ready to start out working around the clock, getting as much experience in the field as you can,” said Doft. A lot of work goes into managing a hedge fund - countless hours of research, travelling, strong intuition, and patience. But regardless of all the hard work, Doft can’t see himself doing anything else. He loves coming to work everyday with a smile on his face.

Doft is a parent and uncle of several Ramaz students. The Doft family has had a huge presence at Ramaz for many years. He truly loves to give back and mentor students from his alma mater. He frequently speaks at BIC, where he loves to share the excitement and inspire kids who are interested in the investing world. What I found most remarkable about Doft is that he is truly a member of the Ramaz community. Not too long ago, he was sitting in the same desk that you are sitting in today. He is a true Ramaz success story, and he lives life in accordance with a very valuable lesson: never forget the place you’ve come from.

16

Features

The-Rampage.org

Jan-Feb 2019/Shevat-Adar I 5779

OPINIONS Test Swindlers William Kremer ’21

What's worse: an attendance strike or a failed test? To a growing number of Ramaz students, it’s a failed test. More than ever, freshman, sophomores, juniors, and even seniors have taken up the practice of arriving to school late on days when they have AM tests. Although Preludes clearly forbids tapping in late on a test day, these sneaky students use the morning to prepare for their exams and then slip into school just in time to take them.

While teachers are letting it go, their classmates are noticing. Or even worse than coming late, they don’t show up at all, and then take the test days later as a makeup—using the extra time to study.

Some of these test-dodgers will go so far as miss all their classes for a few days just to give themselves extra time to study.

Every Ramaz student knows at least one kid who fits this description; they exist in every grade and every track. The irony is that many of them are the kids in the class who need the additional study time the least.

Even more sly than the

test-dodgers are the test-hagglers.

These are the students who pre-negotiate a later test date with teachers beforehand, often citing play practices, family events, or current sickness,

even though they somehow make it to school on the test date. As a Ramaz student, one finds it difficult to keep track of the outrageous test-dodging scams one’s classmates concoct.

This begs a modified form of

the original question. What’s worse: a bad grade, or having everyone jealous of you (in a negative sense) for cheating the test system? The test-dodgers can be unpopular, disliked and the butt of jokes because of their actions.

When, exactly, are these makeups taking place? They are supposed to happen after school a couple of days following the scheduled test, when students and teachers come to a mutually convenient date. However, in some outrageous cases, students do not take their makeups until as much as a month after the initial exam date. This affects not only them but their classmates as as well. Teachers do not give back the exam to the rest of the class until the dodger has gotten around to squeezing the test makeup into their busy schedule of post-doctor-checkups, post-bar mitzvah bar mitzvah events, and Sheva Brachot after the weddings.

There needs to be a solution to this situations which creates an even playing field for all Ramaz students, lest the students with real health issues be-

come the victims of these endless ploys.

This is the Ramaz version of the boy who

cried wolf, except this time, it’s the student who cried, “I’m so busy, can I please have a couple more days to prepare!?”

Rethinking the Way Finals Schedules Are Made Gabrielle Ostad ’21

Students at Ramaz are all too familiar with the anxiety that one feels after receiving a Schoology notification from a grade dean asking to choose a finals schedule. Like all of you, I was only given two schedule options. What I found frustrating was that the only difference between the two schedules was that the date for chemistry and history had been switched. In my opinion, these two schedules should have been significantly more differ-

ent from one another. Indeed, if the two schedules had been more varied, then the vote itself would have been more meaningful and worthwhile.

There is an unspoken understanding in Ramaz that class presidents have unquestionable power to

represent the individual opinions of each of their constituents, even if their assessment of those “individual opin-

ions” is incorrect. While I believe all of Ramaz’s class presidents tend to be wonderful leaders, ultimately, I do not believe they do a good job of choosing the finals schedules. Many members of my grade expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of their finals schedule, arguing that the schedule wasn’t convenient in the slightest. The poor way in which the finals schedules are chosen reflect an error on the class president’s part to accurately represent the individual needs of their constituents.

Due to the “tracked” nature of classes at Ramaz, it is impossible to find a schedule that all members of a grade will agree upon. However,

there are more efficient ways to satisfy a larger number of students. After talking with my peers, I discovered that each had certain strengths and weaknesses and therefore excelled or struggled in a particular class. I believe it is unfair to place all the responsibility of making the finals schedule into the hands of two class presidents.

Therefore, I am proposing a different system through which finals schedules should be created. I propose that a poll be sent out asking each student in the

school to rank each of his or her eight classes from 1 to 8, with a 1 signifying that that student would like to take that final first and a 8 signifying that that student would like to take that final last. Based on the cumulative results, the class presidents will have an adequate under-

standing of each individual’s preference.

Thus, the subject with the most “first” votes will be given as the first final exam, and the subject with the most “eighth” votes will be given as the last final exam.

I find that this system would be way more effective and pleasing to the student body because it would allow for the maximum number of students to feel like their voices are being heard and valued.

And while this system wouldn’t be 100%

perfect, it would eliminate the student body’s ability to complain because, under this system, each student would be directly involved in crafting the schedule.

Jan-Feb 2019 / Shevat-Adar I 5779

The-Rampage.org

Features 17

Being Happy With What I Have: My Experience on the Mission to Moldova Rebecca Massel ’21

Warmth and chills; smiles and tears; laughing and crying; giving and receiving; support and emptiness.

These words are the only way to describe my experience on the Ramaz February Break Mission to Moldova.

The Jews of Moldova are among the poorest in the world. Without the support of the Jewish Distribution Committee (JDC), they would not survive.

I went on this mission with the hope to bring chizuk – strength – to the Moldovan Jews. Led by Ramaz Tanakh teacher Ms. Tammie Senders, my friends and I rolled suitcases full of American gifts through JFK with the expectation of meeting depressed, poor people, totally disconnected from their Judaism, planning to reconnect them with God. However, I could not have been more wrong. From their smiles, one could never guess the hardships and pain they each endure. Throughout our seventy-two hours in Moldova, we spent a lot of time with the elders; some moments were heartbreaking, some full of joy, but most of them were a mixture of emotions.

On the first day, I was shocked when we walked through the Kishinev Jewish Cemetery. I anticipated that the Jewish cemetery would resemble the ones I have seen in Long Island, mostly freshly cut grass and clean tombs arranged in neat rows. Instead, the cemetery was littered with broken, smashed, and chipped tombstones, some of which dated back to the Kishinev pogroms or the Holocaust. Some of the tombstones were encircled with metal gates for protection, but to me, they felt more like cages. We also saw the grave of Torahs from the Kishinev Pogrom of 1903. Under a large tomb with luchot engraved in it, there was an area where the holy scrolls were buried. Vandals had desecrated the cemetery. It did not look tranquil or peaceful; instead, the cemetery looked harsh, and not a place in which I would ever want to bury a loved one.

It was the embodiment of the pain of Moldovan Jewry.

According to Elisheva Massel, a member of the JDC with whom we traveled, the organization has been restoring the cemetery, clearing away the trees and making the engravings on the tombstones legible again. The truth is that the cemetery currently looks miserable, but the fact that Jews today are coming back to restore it is incredible. The hope that Moldavian grandparents, parents, and children will be buried in a more tranquil environment while staying among their ancestors from centuries ago is a gift, one which I will never experience in America.

We visited the homes and apartments of several residents. Each one taught a different life lesson. Iraida Gotgelf, the 95-year old survivor of

Siberia, who lost her husband and son, and is now being cared for by the JDC, explained that destiny gives everyone different challenges, but you have to fight against them with a smile. That is the only way to survive. Chaka Katz, an 88-year old Holocaust survivor who lives in a home with no running water explained that with her health, she feels like she can do anything. Although physically frail, Chaka’s smile was robust and her love filled the entire room.

On a visit to a group of elderly women who participated in the JDC programming in Kishinev, we saw tattered and faded pre-war pictures of the womens’ families. One pointed to a picture of her mother. I could hardly tell it was a photograph, the lines which made up her mother were so faint.

Most of all, this trip taught me the truth behind a quote from Pirkei Avot, “Who is rich? One who is happy with what they have.”

I could never imagine not being able to see my mother’s smiling face again, even in a photograph.

These women gave us gifts of decorated ceramic bells, carefully embellished with tiny dots making up flowers. Clearly, they had invested so much effort into making those gifts. Nora, the host of the group, told us to ring the bells in New York and know the Moldovan elders are with us. They also gave us bracelets with hearts and butterflies.

“You are always in our hearts,” said Nora. These modest gifts were among the nicest I have ever received; they were created with such care and thought.

The elders could hardly leave their houses, yet they worked hard to make beautiful creations to give to us.

In Kishinev, we attended a Klezmer Concert. Similarly, in Beltsy, we sang Hebrew songs like “Havah Nagilah,” with the elderly. Some of the Jewish tunes we recognized; others were new to us.

The music was lively and spirited. We all jumped up to join in the Moldovan dances. The spirit in the room was contagious. Hand in hand with the Moldovans, a smile spread across my face. Reflecting, I realized that these dancers, from teens to the elderly, each encountered hardships that I could never imagine; regardless, they all danced and celebrated life.

Going into the trip, I expected to hear painful stories from the elders. I could never have imagined, however, the horrible stories I would hear about the lives of teenagers. We trudged through the mud to a two-room wood and plaster house in Beltsy which had an outhouse and a well in the back. There we met Alexander Dunaeva, 18, who lives with his sister Tatiana, 16. Their father died, and their mother works in Moscow to make money to support them, while the two siblings have been on their own here for five years. Alexander was just like me — he worked hard in school, planned for his future, loved his sister, hung out with friends, and even shared the same name as my brother, but our lives were so different. In spite of his hardships, Alexander smiled and told us he is “happy.”

He showed us pictures of his family. Alexander appreciates all that has, from the fresh water to the love and support he receives from the JDC. To me, Alexander embodied the true definition of appreciation.

We visited the Jewish youth club of Beltsy, PikaJew, and danced with the teenagers there.

Even though it was freezing outside, the warmth and excitement they expressed while teaching us the American-style dances enveloped the room. “We come here almost every night,” said one girl. Without her saying more, I knew exactly why – most of these teenagers live in houses like Alexander’s, rundown structures with no running water. This is their sanctuary, where they come to feel love and community.

The Mission to Moldova taught me so much. I learned only the beginning of what I have to appreciate in life – my family, my community, my house, my food, my Judaism. I learned about the relationship between all the Jews in the world. Although communicating was not easy, we shared songs and dances and felt like family. The Jewish community is so much larger than my friends at Ramaz or the families I know. This trip taught me that we are part of a larger Jewish community centered around God. We are burdened with the responsibility of one another.

Most of all, this trip taught me the truth behind a quote from Pirkei Avot, “Who is rich? One who is happy with what they have.” Alexander has so little. His home is in ruins, he does not have running water or a bathroom, yet he is happy. You can be the richest person in America or exceptionally poor in Moldova, have a huge family or a few close friends, and daven three times a day or barely know anything about your Judaism, but none of these defines happiness. In the end, you must decide for yourself: Do I want to be satisfied – to be happy?

No Rest for the Weary Sophia Kremer ’20

After two weeks of camping out in my apartment, studying for hours on end for finals, the last place I want to spend my intersession is at home. During finals’ weeks (yes, plural because it is more than a week) I spend my days, and occasionally even part of my nights, at my main base camp — our dining table— where I have the space to spread out stacks of textbooks, notebooks, notecards, handouts, empty water bottles, calculators, pencils, and even an extra table lamp to help me stay awake. Outside of meal breaks, sleeping, and the couple of hours spent each day at school taking the actual exams, I can be found inside my dining room. Based on a loose calculation, over the course of nine days, for a total of approximately two hundred hours, I am homebound with little else than numbers, formulas, and facts permeating my thoughts.

A break is no doubt needed after this nine day marathon. And we finally reached the finish line, we were greeted with a single day off from school followed by the weekend. This minimal recovery period was not enough to rejuvenate from such a challenging fortnight.

During these few days of reprieve, I desperately need to be out of my house and have a change in scenery since I had been locked up for such a long period of time.

Going away for intersession is a rainbow after the storm and clearly a treat that most students do not indulge in. Thoughts of an undiscovered des-

tination or a shared experience, is something to look forward to as you push your way through your exams.

Everyone has just been in the same situation for two

weeks,focusing only on schoolwork and sidelining all the rest. Changing one’s surroundings, even just for a couple of nights, provides excitement and can help avoid the post-finals hole of suddenly having no work and spending the 48+ hour break period on Netflix.

An alternative could be to offer a winter retreat for students to a local ski area complete with numerous outdoor options. This would allow students a chance to escape their study caves and be together in a relaxed setting without the added costs of air travel.

Whether spent at home or enjoying time away with friends, a twenty-four recovery period is not enough to give students a chance to both indulge in activities together from movies and restaurants or excursions, and also to catch up on sleep.

Especially now that the extended President’s Break has been cut for next year, which was the reason the second day of inter-session was originally taken away last year, another day off could help ensure time for the best possible break between semesters.

18 Opinion

The-Rampage.org

Jan-Feb 2019/Shevat-Adar I 5779

The Rampage • January & Febrauary 2019

Ramaz Upper School

The Rampage

Arts & Entertainment

Volume 52 • Issue VI • January & February 2019 • the-rampage.org

Editors-in-Chief: Natalie Kahn* Harry Shams* Esti Beck* Online Editors: Becky Tauber Suzi Dweck Faculty Advisor: Dr. Milowitz Contributing Writers: Samantha Sinensky Zachary Buller Rachel Freilich Josephine Schizer Maya Chaovat David Gerber Jonah Scherl Caitlin Levine Rebecca Massel Sophia Kremer Hannah Doft Hadley Kauvar Tammy Palagi Charles Spielfogel William Kremer Gabrielle Ostad

Reviewed: Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

Haldey Kauvar ’19

The second installment in the movie series about everyone’s favorite toy has arrived. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part was released in theaters this month, giving toddlers, bored parents and nostalgic adults a chance to enjoy a movie in what has been a rather dry month in terms of films. The movie does not bring anything to the table that its predecessor did not, but makes for an enjoyable experience regardless. A few catchy songs and some self-referential and witty jokes in the form of plastic, Danish toys running around on screen remains entertaining, especially if one is well supplied with snacks.

The only thing that really sets this movie apart is that its message is one of the necessity of harmony and bonding between siblings, rather than a father and a son.

The movie, which was teased in the final scene of the Lego Movie, begins five years after the events of the first film.

The Lego utopia of Bricksburg has been turned into a post-apocalyptic wasteland by the Duplo (the larger, clunkier, less fun version of normal Legos) invaders, who represents the sister of Finn (Jadon Sand), Bianca (Brooklynn Prince). After repeated devestations, the inhabitants of Apocalypseburg have become hardened veterans, living in a desolate landscape worthy of a Mad Max movie.

Emmet (Chris Pratt), remains his usual upbeat self however, and continues working on a dream home to live in with Lucy (Elizabeth Banks). Unlike Emmet, Lucy is more affected by the alien Duplo invasions and dreams of an impending armageddon. Trouble interrupts life in the

The Rampage is the student newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School. It is published on a monthly basis. Letters to the editors may be submitted to rampage@ramaz.org.

Letters must be signed and may be edited for space and to conform to Rampage style and format.

The opinions expressed in the Rampage are of the author’s alone, and do not represent the views or opinions of Ramaz, the Rampage, or its Editors.

Denotes member of the Rampage Editorial Board. *

wasteland when General Sweet Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz), leader of the ominous sounding Star System Army, arrives and kidnaps most of the characters from the previous film, such as MetalBeard (Nick Offerman), Batman (Will Arnett), Benny the spaceman (Charlie Day) and the ever terrifying Unikitty (Alison Brie).

Emmet, determined to rescue his friends, converts his dream house into spaceship and sets off after them. During the

long, music filled journey to rescue his friends, Emmet meets Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Pratt), an amusing parody of every half-tough character Chris Pratt has ever played on screen (think Jurassic World meets Magnificent Seven meets Guardians of the Galaxy). Much like the previous film’s Lego plot represented the Father (Will Ferrell) and his son struggling to share their vast and jealousy inducing Lego collection, here, the struggle is between Finn and Bianca vying for control. Having been raised in a home with a sizable Lego collection, I can say with firsthand experience

that the struggle between siblings over Lego is real. However in my case, the struggle mostly stemmed from the fact that after my oldest brother went to college, I moved all my Lego onto his desk.

The film also addresses the very real issue of one’s mother trying to take away her child’s Lego and put it into storage. As someone who’s been successfully fighting this battle since the age of three, I can say it is an uphill, but nonetheless worthy struggle. Toys being put in storage is equated with the foreseen armageddon, which is oddly relatable as I look back on my childhood. The message of siblings bonding in the face of adversity and peaceful cooperation between them prevails, leading to a predictable, but still somewhat sweet ending.

The Lego Movie 2 is no great masterpiece of cinema, and obviously that is not its intended purpose. It succeeds at doing everything the first film did great and here that’s perfectly fine. It doesn’t need to try anything new. The creative team, led by producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and director Mike Mitchell clearly know what they’re good at. They don’t overreach and try to be profound, they made a relatable movie about plastic toys and that’s more than enough. The movie is like a comfort food, satisfying in its simplicity. It provides the opportunity to go out, see some interesting animation, laugh at a few amusing jokes, eat some popcorn and enjoy 107 minutes of your time.

Reviewed: The Ted Bundy Tapes

Netflix recently released Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. This four part documentary details the killing spree of one of the most notorious American serial killers, Ted Bundy. The series features a large amount of tapes recorded by Bundy himself shortly before his execution on January 24, 1989.

These tapes had never been released to the public until now, and combined with the countless news recordings and interviews, they allow the audience a look into the twisted and evil mind of Ted Bundy.

The documentary tells Bundy’s story using the tapes he recorded with journalists while attempting to prove his innocence, intercut with archival footage of news reports and interviews in the present day with the journalists who interviewed him in prison, Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth. From a childhood fraught with disturbing implications, countless murders, two successful jailbreaks and ending finally with death row and the electric chair, Bundy’s

life is explored in explicit detail. His modus operandi, the profiles of his victims, but most interesting of all is the studies of his psyche. Hearing the different ways he murdered young White girls gets tiring and repetitive af- ter a time, especially when thirty homicides are officially attributed to him, and the true number

is believed to be far higher. The documentary really gets interesting when the viewer gets to see just how deluded Bundy really was. When you see him defend himself at his trial, you get the feeling that he truly believes in his own innocence.

The documentary also conveys the near supernatural ability Bundy

Hadley Kauvar ’19

had to change his appearance. A man with generic facial features, altering his dress and facial hair slightly seemingly gave him a completely different appearance. This contributed to law enforcement’s difficulty in capturing him. An utter chameleon, Bundy also seemed to figure out a way to ingratiate himself with everyone (besides his murder victims of course) and weasel his way out of most troublesome situations he found himself in until his luck finally ran out.

The Ted Bundy Tapes in some ways fall short. The most interesting thing about them are the tapes that Bundy himself recorded. But those are sometimes overshadowed by the series’ relishing in every single murder he confessed to committing. While sometimes morbidly interesting, it gets tiresome listening to someone basically read from a Wikipedia page about murders. The eponymous tapes were what grounded the series and gave it a sense of focus, everything else felt extra.

Jan-Feb 2019 / Shevat-Adar I 5779

The-Rampage.org

A&E 19

Reviewed: Isn't It Romantic Tammy Palagi ‘21

Isn’t It Romantic, directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson, is a satirical romantic comedy. Subsequently, the purpose of this movie is to mock your traditional “romcom,” and to spread a message that all people can have a happy ending no matter what they look like or where they come from. Rebel Wilson, the lead actress, stars as a New York City architect named Natalie. Natalie is seldom taken seriously at her workplace and is extremely unhappy with her life. Additionally, she resents romantic comedies because, from an early age, she felt she would never be the girl that got the guy and her dreams. One day, however, Natalie gets hit on the head and wakes up in an altered universe.

Ironically, she is transported into a romantic comedy film. In order to return to her normal life, she must fall in love and live through the happily-ever-after she never believed she could achieve.

Natalie goes back home and walks into a completely transformed apartment. Everything is bigger and better and her closet is filled with every article of clothing and pair of shoes she could ever imagine. The next day she goes to work, and just like everything else, it is completely unrecognizable.

All the men in her office suddenly start looking at her like a real person, and she doesn’t feel worthless for the first time in her life. In every romantic comedy, the leading woman must fall in love and

live happily ever after. Natalie thinks that in order to get back to the real world, she must fall in love with a successful businessman at her firm named Blake, played by Liam Hemsworth.

Blake asks her out and they have a wonderful night on his yacht and then go

back to her apartment. The next morning Blake tells her he loves her and Natalie expects to be brought back to her normal life, but that does not happen.

Natalie now believes that she must fall in love with her best friend, Josh, played by Adam Devine. There’s only one problem: Josh is set to marry a yoga instructor named Isabella, played

by Priyanka Chopra. Natalie runs into the chapel in which Josh and Isabella are getting married, determined to stop the wedding. All of a sudden, however, she realizes that the only person she had to love was herself. She never needed a man in her life. She only needed to be become secure and self-satisfied.

After leaving the chapel, Natalie gets into her car and starts driving. She crashes her car and falls into her air bag. Upon awakening, Natalie realizes that she has returned to her normal life, except now her attitude towards life has completely changed.

She begins to demand the respect she deserves and starts living with confidence. Natalie becomes much happier and creates a better life for herself by beginning to love herself.

Although this movie may seem like a pointless romantic com-

edy, I think it teaches us all a very important message: it is vital that every person love themselves. People will treat you in accordance with how you act and feel about yourself. Your life is in your own hands and you don’t need anyone else to complete you. Every person can fulfill his or her own dreams.

Sausage Party: The Brat Factory is a Carnivore’s Paradise William Kremer '21

New York City’s latest and greatest Brat is anything but spoiled. Located on Amsterdam Avenue and 106th street, the Brat Factory is a new kosher restaurant that is luring diners to West Harlem with its enticing array of tricked out meat dishes. Specializing in sausages and meat products, the menu includes far-out dishes like beer-battered onion rings and fried pickles. The Brat Factory also stocks basic dishes such as bratwurst and steak sandwiches.

The meats are not only delicious, they are

also homemade. During a recent visit to the eatery, I indulged in an order of loaded fries (i.e., french fries topped with pulled brisket) and a chorizo sausage with onions and peppers, both of which tasted outstanding. Although the restaurant is similar to the Mocha Burger, with both restaurants serving burgers and various meat sandwiches, the environment is more relaxed and casual. It is a perfect place to eat with friends and enjoy a quick bite — and all for a fair price. For example, a steak sandwich costs $19 at Mocha Burger and $17 at the Brat Factory, plus the Brat’s steak sandwich is noticeably bigger and loaded with significantly more meat. Another pro of the Brat Factory is that the menu has a variety of unusual items including corn dogs and their signature loaded fries, which I had the opportunity to try and will definitely head back west to indulge in again soon.

The only downside of the Brat Factory is that unlike Mocha Burger, which is centrally located on the Upper East Side, getting there is a fifteen to twenty minute drive from Ramaz, depending

on the traffic. Nonetheless, Ramaz students seem to enjoy the Brat Factory even more than Mocha Burger. Sophomore Class President Aaron Sokol ’21, “The Brat Factor serves a lot more unusual food than the standard deli menus. - the Jalapeno Dog and Pulled Brisket Spring rolls were unreal.” The Brat Factory is a perfect place for Ramaz students to enjoy some quality food and company. Try it out!

20

Crossword

The-Rampage.org

Jan-Feb 2019/Shevat-Adar I 5779

Crossword

Harry Shams ’19

ACROSS 1. 4D Cube 5. Scarlet Letter Author 6. Famous Picasso Painting 7. Har Etzion Rosh Yeshiva 9. Australian Open Winner 10. Bohemian Singer 11. Harvey Milk Actor 13. Fastest Car 14. Rabbi Stochel’s Alma Mater 15. Aldan Bell 17. Athletic President 18. Cogito Ergo _____

DOWN 2. Chris Mccandless’ Alias 3. “Tiny” Synonym 4. Rhenium 8. Hypebeast Brand 12. Yesh Atid Leader 16. “Upper Campus” Head