Volume 51, Issue 9 (May 2018) - The Rampage

The Rampage The Newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School

New York • Volume 51 • Issue 9 • May 2018 • Sivan 5778

The New G.O.

Zach Buller '20

Every spring, the Ramaz student body engages in what is the most democratic aspect of Ramaz student life: the GO elections.

The stakes are high as candidates who are generally rising upperclassmen put their

campaigning abilities to the test and fight for five positions in the Ramaz student government. These five students will play a major role in leading the Upper School students, as in addition to planning and coordinating events, the GO serves as a liaison with the faculty and

the student body. According to Rabbi Slomnicki, the ultimate goal of the GO is to “uplift the school environment. [The GO members] are here to be uplifting individuals, make kids feel better about school, and to make

school better for them.”

Each position on the GO serves a very different role in managing the Ramaz Upper School. The Associate Vice President (AVP) of Operations manages the non-board members of the GO, including the people holding the po-

sitions of Film Chair, Ritual Chair, Photography Chair, Aesthetics and Decor Chair, and Food Chair. The AVP of Communications mobilizes the students and updates them, particularly through social media and School-

ogy. AVP of Student Life manages the vast number of extracurricular activities and enhances student life in general. Vice President of the GO leads the class Presidents while assisting the president. Finally, GO President oversees all of the GO members and plays the most

Continued "G.O. Elections" page 2

Josephine Schizer '20

Standardizing English

Natalie Kahn '19

The Upper School English department has announced a new effort to standardize the Ramaz English experience for all students. The English department has five members— Dr. Milowitz, Dr. Gaylord, Dr. Honig, Ms. Cohen, and Ms. Litwack—each of whom has unique styles and standards when it comes to teaching literature.

“This standardization is the result of a longtime discussion about how much the experience of English class is im-

each English teacher has his or her own style, and we can’t make every class identical,” he continues. “We’re trying to standardize as much as possible without taking away from the individuality of each teacher.”

Since the project is new for this year, the department is starting small. Now, teachers teach books entirely in their own order, but next year, every member of the department will teach books in at least the same semester so that

"This standardization is the result of a longtime discussion about how much the experience of English class is impacted by the particular teacher you have." -Dr. Milowitz, Chair of the English Department

pacted by the particular teacher you have,” says Dr. Milowitz, “both when it comes to grading and to reading the literature.”

“We recognize that

students can have conversations with each other about the literature. At least teaching the same books at similar times may alleviate some of the feeling of real

Continued "English Department Standardization" page 2

Rethinking the Friday Schedule: 35 Minute Classes

Each year, as the beginning of March nears and the time change approaches, students begin to dread the return of the regular Friday schedule with its 50 minute classes. “Fifty minutes is just too long!!!” said Cameryn Guetta ’19. “Both students and teachers hate it—it’s hard to concentrate on one topic for that long. It’s physically and mentally draining, and it doesn’t help that it’s after a long week.”

However, in the 2018-2019 school year, students will no longer need to dread the return of regular Fridays. A new schedule has been devised to replace the current schedule, which is comprised of five 50-minute periods, with the new schedule consisting of six 35-minute periods. According to Ms. Krupka, there are

several reasons for this change. Firstly, next year, Ramaz will be adding a technology class, so adding an extra period to the schedule will be useful in adding that class without detracting from other classes. Additionally, Ms. Krupka recognizes the difficulty that students have in concentrating for fifty-minute periods. Furthermore, some students think of Fridays as a joke day, so adding another class to the schedule would counteract that. As of yet, it’s unclear how this would affect the division between winter Fridays and regular Fridays.

A survey was distributed to students to hear their feedback on the change. 87 students responded to the survey, consisting of 34 freshmen, 31 sophomores, and 22 juniors. Of those 87 students, six

of them, or 6.9% of the sample, indicated that they would prefer to have five 50-minute classes on Fridays, and the other 81, or 93.1% of the sample, preferred six 35-minute classes. Clearly, the majority of students will be extremely pleased with this schedule change.

“No one pays attention in 50 minute periods,” said Michal Rahabi ’20, “I myself start to lose focus during these long periods. Even teachers find themselves unable to control the class or lose track of what we’re learning due to these long periods. On Fridays, people are already awaiting the weekend, and short periods would help tired faculty and students and keep us motivated [throughout] the day.”

Other students suggested following the winter Continued "Shorter Friday Classes" page 3

Inside this issue...

RamTEC...Ramaz engineering and coding class beginning in 2018-2019 school year page 5 Retreat...The Upper School heads to Lavi for two days of fun page 6 Summer Advice...Summer essentials, from apps to activities page 7 Dress Code...Views on the upcoming changes in girls' dress code page 9

News 2

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May 2018/Sivan 5778

English Department Standardization continued from cover differences between the various English classes.

The department is focusing on norming the more objective aspects of the English experience. This means that every teacher will be expected to give the same number of vocabulary quizzes, reading quizzes, and essays. While every teacher usually gives about five vocabulary quizzes each semester, some teachers also give reading quizzes, while other teachers do not.

When it comes to tests and essays, just like with quizzes, teachers are now expected to give the same types of assignments and approximately the same number each semester. Some teachers never used to give quarter tests, but for the first time this semester were instructed to give quarter tests to make studying more equal for all students. (Some opted to give an in-class essay rather than a typical test.)

“We’re moving away from straight-out testing and focusing more on writing,” says Dr. Milowitz, who is willing to spend more time on analytical, expository, and creative writing, with more opportunity for revision, even if that means reading fewer books each year.

Norming the actual grading standards is much more complicated and therefore still a work in progress. Dr. Jucovy, current head of the history department, has been working vigorously to standardize the grading process for the history teachers. Next year, he will take over as head of humanities and will help Dr. Milowitz with a more detailed standardization.

continued from cover direct role in leading the student body and communicating with the faculty.

While each GO position comes with a formal task, each student holding his or her respective position on the GO utilizes it in a unique way, trying to bring positive change to the school in a way that he or she finds meaningful. This year’s GO is comprised of President Becky Tauber ’19, Vice President Avery Sholes ’20, AVP of Student Life Sophia Kremer ’20, AVP of Communications Paola Mattout ’19, and AVP of Operations Ayelet Monas ’19. Each member of the GO pledges to try his or her hardest to make Ramaz the best school for its students.

Elected AVP of Operations Ayelet Monas ’19 spoke about how she wished to improve the student experience by “making a Ramaz tea room.” By this she meant that she wanted a room to be filled with food during the day, in order to ensure that students would never lose focus during their classes due to growling stomachs. Additionally, Monas pledged to make sure that all of

“Our job next year is to integrate the history and English curriculum,” says Dr. Milowitz when discussing his partnership with Dr. Jucovy. This involves matching up subject matter and ideas of books with the time periods and topics students will be learning about in history classes.

Most of the department is on board with standardization, but teachers differ as to what extent standardization should go. “It’s a good idea to standardize certain aspects, especially with regards to the amount of work students do and the

"...we should be, as every department should be, focused on making sure the level of learning and the workload is equitable across classes." -Dr. Gaylord amount of writing…Teachers are always different, but no teacher should be perceived as ‘the easy teacher’ or ‘the hard teacher,’” says Ms. Litwack.

“I don't think everyone in the department needs to give exactly the same assignments or even read the same books—but we should be, as every department should be, focused on making sure the level of learning and the workload is equitable across classes,” says Dr. Gaylord.

“I don’t know what standardization will bring—does it mean everyone is following the lowest common denominator?” asks Dr. Honig. The answer is uncertain, but what is clear is that every

nior students who want to learn literature with others who are passionate about and willing to put in the work for English. Dr. Milowitz has announced that standardization will not affect the literary seminar, which will continue next year for sophomores and juniors, taught by Dr. Gaylord and Ms. Litwack respectively. Dr. Honig will teach the senior honors English class again, as she has for the past two years.

The goal of standardization is not to limit any teacher or student; its goals are to even the playing field when it comes to grades and to maximize writing and analytical progress over four years of high school.

Whether it will achieve this goal remains to be seen.

G.O. Elections ers to sign up for Ramaz events. In her speech at the election assembly, Mattout pledged to find more efficient ways to keep students updated, without sending clutter emails and messages. “As AVP of Communications I plan to build a stronger connection between students and faculty/administrators,” said Mattout. “I hope to get every important message across to every student in the school and that students feel comfortable coming to me with ideas and messages that they would like to share. One thing I stand by is the idea of togetherness. In school we are all constantly together, so what I want most is for the GO to serve as every student’s friend. Together, the impact the GO will leave will be amazing.”

In charge of student life at Ramaz next year will be AVP of Student Life Sophia Kremer ’20. In this position, she will oversee extracurricular activities and ensure the B4 free period experience is consistently excellent. While campaigning, Kremer promised that, if elected, she would always be available

"In school we are all constantly together, so what I want most is for the GO to serve as every student’s friend. Together, the impact the GO will leave will be amazing."

-Paola Mattout '19, AVP of Communications the changes that the GO will make “do not go unnoticed.” She wants to have a GO whose impact is noticed and appreciated by the students and the faculty.

AVP of Communications Paola Mattout ’19 will be tasked with bridging the communications gap between the students and faculty. By sending out emails, Schoology messages, and social media posts, Mattout shares everything the students need to know, including the times for sports games, schedule updates, and remind-

teacher will have to make some concessions. Teachers will be more restricted in the types of writing assignments they give, and the department as a whole will have to decide on whether or not there will be extra credit. Either each teacher will have to allow a certain uniform amount of extra credit per semester, or alternatively, there will be no extra credit at all.

As chair, Dr. Milowitz’s first major project when he took over the English department was to institute literary seminar, an honors-esque, primarily self-selected class for sophomore and ju-

to hear the concerns of the students and would make it her top priority to follow through with her promised actions.

One specific change that Kremer plans on implementing is an increase in the comfort of the lounges. She intends to do this by installing bean bags and massage chairs, which will allow students to relax during a stressful day. “I’m so honored to be representing the student body of Ramaz!” said Kremer. “I can’t wait to make changes for the better and improve student life as much as I can.”

Wo rk i n g along with the other members of the GO, as well as with the class presidents, will be Vice President Avery Sholes ’20. His primary responsibilities will be to manage the class presidents of each grade and to assist the president.

In his speech, Sholes said, “I look forward to improving the students’ daily lives to the best of my ability and make school a greater experience for all.

Specifically, I would like to better regulate the balance between extracurricular activities and homework, reducing stress on nights when we have a school event until 8 PM.” Sholes further stated that as vice president, he will make it his priority to manage each of the class presidents very carefully, in order to ensure that every desire coming from each grade is heard and appreciated.

Presiding over all of the previously mentioned cabinet members will be GO President Becky Tauber ’19.

Tauber will play the most important role on the GO, overseeing all of the GO members and leading the entire student body. She will work directly with the administration to coordinate events and plan trips, as well as to serve as a connection between the students and the administration. Tauber understands that “the role of president means being a leader and giving the job everything that you’ve got.” She said that she will make sure that every student feels represented and is able to voice his or her opinions and concerns to the faculty and administration. “I couldn’t be more excited that the student body has entrusted me to be its

president for the next year,” said Tauber. “With my one year of experience on the GO, I know what is possible to get done and what isn’t. With that in mind, I hope to do nothing but accomplish great things with Avery, Paola, Sophia, and Ayelet. My plan is to get more people involved in order to plan and organize big things as well as small things. Whether that means more trips, more activities within the building, or more food, I am looking forward to hearing what the students want and seeing those ideas foster a new reality.”

The fourth principle of Ramaz’s mission statement proclaims that “Ramaz strives to educate toward” the goal of “loyalty and gratitude to the United States of America, and the democratic traditions and values of our country.” The GO is the perfect embodiment of this goal: its elected representatives serve to advance the needs and desires of its constituents.

In the words of Rabbi Slomnicki, “the GO speaks to the democratic traditions which are core values in both this country and the Ramaz community.”

May 2018/Sivan 5778

The Rampage

News 3

From Dream to Reality: The Opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem Rebecca Massel ’21

Monday, May 14, was a day never to be forgotten in the timeline of Israeli history. It was a day of unity, a day of acceptance. It was the day that the bond between Israel and America was publicly made clear to the world. It was the day that the US moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, signifying its approval of Israel as a country.

For fifty-one years, since capturing Jerusalem in the Six Day War, Israel has declared the city as its capital. However, many other countries felt that this was not a decision that Israel could make. To show this, all other nations built their embassies in Tel Aviv, Israel’s “international capital.” The US was included in this number until President Donald J. Trump got involved in this matter. On December 6, 2017, President Trump announced that he would be moving the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Finally, on May 14, after decades of waiting, the embassy officially made its home in Jerusalem.

Following a quick breakfast, the high schoolers watched a screening of the beginning of the dedication ceremony in Jerusalem. They listened to the speeches of both Israeli and American representatives: US Ambassador to Israel David Friedm a n , D r .

Robert Jeffress of the First Baptist Church o f Dallas, Rabbi Zalman Wallach from Chabad, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, and President Donald J. Trump. Thirty-two countries attended this opening ceremony.

Ambassador Friedman began by announcing that “we extend to tence of the Jewish state. Rabbi Slom- Israel the same right we extend to evnicki said that he feels it is important to ery other nation—the right to desigcommemorate this event together as a nate his capital city.” He spoke of the school, because “there is a difference between learning about history and living history. On Monday we lived history.” held a schoolwide davening on Monday morning, and toward the end of tefillah, Rabbi Stochel spoke about the significance of this event. He said that the day of the embassy move holds special meaning to American Jews, and he told the students that May 14 is the secular Israel Independence Day. This opening ceremony was planned for none other than the day on which, seventy years ago, the Israeli Declaration of Independence was made and David Ben Gurion (the soon-to-be prime minister) broadcasted the exis-

“There is a difference between learning about history and living history. On Monday we lived history." -Rabbi Slomnicki

To commemorate this incredible event, the Ramaz Upper School joined together and watched the opening ceremony of the new US embassy.

This assembly took much planning by Ramaz faculty members. The faculty

Shorter Friday Classes continued from cover Friday schedule all year round.

“It’s really hard for people who commute to help their families with cooking and setting up for Shabbat and studying and printing out materials before Shabbat when we get home later,” said Ariel Alboher ’20, “There is also much more traffic on regular Friday time, so even though we only end school an hour later, it’s much longer for those of us who don’t live in the city.”

However, other students disagreed. “Logistically, it makes sense to have half of our classes on one friday and the other half on the next,” said Natalie Kahn ’19, “Besides, 50 minutes really isn’t that long. College courses and job meetings in the future will be much longer.”

Another issue with changing the Friday schedule

would be the test calendar.

With shorter Friday periods, teachers wouldn’t give tests, leading to more tests the rest of the week. “No tests on Friday is kind of disappointing,” said Esti Beck ’19, “it might end up jamming the rest of our week even more. We can probably still have Friday quizzes though to take the burden off the rest of the week.” David Adler ’19 disagrees, saying that, “There will definitely still be tests on Friday. Teachers always give tests on Rosh Chodesh and assembly schedule days which are also 35 minutes.” Other students see the lack of Friday tests as an added benefit.

“Not having tests on Fridays makes Thursday nights chill so that you have one day you don’t have to stress the whole night,” said Rina Marlowe ’20.

3,000-year-old history of Jerusalem being the capital city, going back to King David’s capture of it. Jerusalem has been cherished by Americans too.

After the Civil War, President Lincoln told his wife that he desired to visit Jerusalem, the holy city. Many say these were his last words before being shot.

Following the ambassador,

two religious leaders spoke, Dr. Jeffress and Rabbi Wallach. Dr. Jeffress spoke of God’s promise to Abraham and thanked God for fulfilling his promise and giving Israel to his people exactly seventy years ago. He said that President Trump “boldly stands on the right side of history.” Rabbi Wallach said, “While empires, ideologies, and philosophies rise and fall, the Jewish people’s attachment to this holy city has never waned or faltered. It is truth.” He spoke about how Jews have always loved and prayed for the beautiful city of Jerusalem. Rabbi Wallach added that there is no truth without peace, and so he prays that there will be no more fighting. As written on the Isaiah Wall, across from the UN, “One nation shall not take up its sword against nation.” Maya Chaovat ’21 reflected on the interfaith aspect of the event, saying, “I think it was very important to have leaders from different religions, because it shows that the moving of the embassy was a big decision acknowledged by others.”

Although President Trump was unable to make the trip Israel, he made an appearance at the ceremony via video message. President Trump said that the US, led by President Harry Truman, was the first country to recognize Israel’s statehood. He congratulated Israel on the move: “It’s been a long time coming,” he declared.

He is hoping for peace for Israel and said, “We extend a hand in friendship to Israel, to Palestinians and to all of their neighbors.”

Many students and faculty of Ramaz found that this opening ceremony symbolized much more than a mere location shift.

According to Ms. Benel, “The move of the embassy has made public a brotherhood. America and Israel share in their values and passion for democracy. Now you can be accepted as both a dedicated American and supporter of Israel, without your allegiance being questioned.”

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May 2018/Sivan 5778

The Rebecca Play

Maya Chaovat ’ 21

On Lag Baomer, the Freshmen took a trip on the subway to the 14th street Y where they got the opportunity to watch The Rebecca Play. The Rebecca Play is the second of five plays in a project called “The In[heir]itance Project.” Jon Adam Ross and Darian Dauchan are the two actors in the play. Jon, a playwright and Chantal Pavageaux, a director founded this special project. The team went to different towns and cities to gather information and discuss issues important to each place.

biblical storyline to parts mirroring the story of Charleston. Some of the scenes alluded to biblical scenes. Rabbi Sklarin organized the trip to the Y, and said, “By seeing scenes from the Bible acted out a new level of midrash and interpretation that we can't see through the text is added, I now have a greater appreciation of the story.” He was surprised at his reaction, “I felt uncomfortable when the scenes were switched because I couldn't separate the racial issue between the two characters. My perception of each

They met with political, religious, and education figures with a goal to connect biblical stories to current issues in America. The Rebecca Play is connected to the city of Charleston, South Carolina, with a focus on racism. This was accomplished using the characters of Yaakov and Esav as Black and White.

The Rebecca Play is a play about Rivkah and her two sons Esav and Yaakov. Although it is called The Rebecca Play, Rebecca is not a physical character in the play. Using the biblical story the play explores themes such as favoritism, racism, and the power of perception. The play is written in episodes, jumping from one place to the next, like the torah often does. The scenes switched from the

scene changed depending on the race of the character.” Although it is a two man play there are many different characters being portrayed.

The switching of the characters of Esav and Yaakov and the dual narration show the different thoughts and feelings of each person. Yaakov, the brother usually seen as the good guy was called Sly, and Esav, the brother thought to the villain in Judaism, was called Shaggy, a more lovable name in order to show us a new perspective. Samantha Sinensky ’21, said “I really enjoyed viewing the story from a non-Orthodox perspective that shed light on different situations, in ways I wouldn't have thought of. For example, in the cooking scene the brother mirroring Esav made it seem

Suzi Dweck ’19

On Monday, April 30, Ramaz held its annual College Night. Representatives from over 40 universities and colleges were present to meet with juniors and their parents to inform them about their colleges as well as the application process. The night began at 7:15 with greetings in the auditorium and an opening speech by Mr. Blumenthal, who explained the order of events for the evening. Then, at 7:30, students and parents split up into their advisories for panel discussions. Each panel consisted of representatives from different colleges who answered questions posed by the Ramaz college advisors. The panel gave students and parents the opportunity to hear answers to common questions and see what types of questions to ask later in the night during their sessions.

The panel discussions revolved around topics concerning the application process, the importance of the interview and personal essay, and what effect applying early decision has on admission.

Following the panel, which

like his parents didn't approve of his lifestyle yet he was more successful in the real world.”

After the play was over, the Freshmen had an open conversation with Jon, Darian, Chantal, and Shula. Shula Strassfeld is a dancer, choreog-

Harry Shams ’19

them to visit our school and speak to other students and they were kind enough to accept.”

Nevo and his family began their visit by meeting with three junior Hebrew classes and a freshman art class. Various members of the Afek family, namely Nevo’s grandmother, spoke on behalf of the artist. They communicated Nevo’s belief that one must not hide or become deterred by disability. They emphasized the importance of self-expression and following one’s dreams. After the assembly, students were given custom-made Nevo Chocolates, which had small reprints of the artist’s paintings for rappers.

Nevo’s story resonated with those students who had the chance to hear him and his family speak. Tom Shemia ’19 stated, “Nevo’s story was very inspiring.

It’s incredible that a blind person can paint such beautiful work. I also really appreciated how caring his family was—they followed him on this journey and supported him the entire way. Also

lasted for an hour, students and parents visited with representatives from up to eight schools during 20-minute mini-sessions. Parents and students chose their sessions in advance through an online form. During each mini-session, admissions officers and alumni representatives of that college briefly described their school’s program and presented information about their college, and then opened the floor to questions from the students and their parents.

College night was an excellent opportunity for families to obtain more knowledge and information about many of the schools in which students are interested. Danys Jacobs ’19 said, “Despite having already visited multiple colleges and gone on tours, college night taught me so much new information which I had previously not known. It gave me the chance to ask many questions within a small and intimate group of people and got me even more excited than I previously was about the college process!”

rapher, and teacher. She went to different towns with the “In[heir]itence project” team as an

"By seeing scenes from the Bible acted out a new level of midrash and interpretation that we can't see through the text is added, I now have a greater appreciation of the story." -Rabbi Sklarin

Viewing Nevo Afek's Art

On May 1st, students had the privilege of meeting Nevo Afek, an Israeli artist with severe visual impairment and high functioning autism. Despite numerous difficulties, Nevo made a name for himself as an up-andcoming artist, with several of his paintings selling for thousands of dollars at auction. On April 25th, Nevo was invited to the United Nations to display his work at the Israeli Mission to the UN. Nevo turns every obstacle into an opportunity and his paintings reflect a beautiful celebration of life.

Ramaz first got the idea to host Nevo after his exhibition at the UN. Three juniors attended Nevo’s exhibition, which was hosted by Ambassador Danny Danon, and were so overwhelmed by the event that they requested that Nevo and his family visit Ramaz. Sophie Dahan ’19, one of the juniors in attendance, stated, “The gallery was very inspirational. We got a chance to meet Nevo and his family and were shocked by his story. We asked

College Night

the chocolates were amazing!”

Following the assembly, Ms. Rabhan welcomed the Afek family to the 7th floor studio where they were given the opportunity to work with art students. Nevo’s grandmother spoke to the students about the power of imagery in art. She mentioned that much of Nevo’s work is dedicated to exploring the triumph of the human spirit and encouraged students to explore similar themes in their own work. During his visit to the art room, Nevo was also introduced to virtual reality. Within minutes of his visit, Nevo was wearing the studio’s headset and drawing life-size, virtual brush strokes.

Nevo Afek is a source of inspiration. Despite numerous impediments, Nevo was able to find success as an artist. His paintings celebrate life, exploring both the positive and negative aspects of the human experience. Ramaz students should learn from Nevo’s story by following their dreams even in the face of adversity.

educator and has been a mediator at post-performance discussions. Shula introduced us to the method of the Critical Response Process. This method lets people

give feedback and receive responses to questions they have.

When I asked what she realized after the play Rebecca Massel ’21 said, “I learn torah everyday and can relate to it easily so as someone who doesn't experience racial issues personally, comparing it to a biblical story makes it more understandable. Interweaving the biblical story with issue of racism makes the message of the play more powerful.”

May 2018/Sivan 5778

The Rampage

News 5

Giving the Gift of Life Suzi Dweck ’19

Gift of Life Marrow Registry is a bone marrow registry that cures blood cancer and multiple inherited immune disorders through bone marrow and stem cell transplants. Unfortunately, blood cancer can strike anyone at any time; approximately 360 people a day are diagnosed with a type of blood cancer. Luckily, for many,

Josephine Schizer ’20

Next year, a new class will be added to the Ramaz curriculum. Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will be learning about engineering and coding in a class called RamTEC, named by Dr. Rotenberg and organized

by Ms. Brachot and a team of faculty members. The class will be meeting twice a rotation, including one period that has been previously allocated to foreign language classes.

Ms. Brachot first had the idea for this course five years ago, when she met with a program that sets up classes like this at other high schools. “The biggest challenge that we had was scheduling,” said Ms. Brachot, who had originally hoped for a class that met four times a rotation, “Every year we came up with a different idea, and it didn’t work out.” Finally, after years of trying to work out the logistics, the school is ready to introduce the class for the 2018-2019 school year.

The class is purposely called RamTEC instead of STEM because it’s not going to be combined with science and math, but will remain a separate course teaching coding and engineering skills. The exact curriculum is still being developed.

A new teacher has been hired to teach half the class-

there is hope of a cure through a bone marrow or blood stem cell transplant. The Gift of Life registry helps find healthy stem cell donors who offer hope to patients suffering from these possibly deadly diseases. Today’s advances in transplantation have made the procedure so much easier and have given so many people hope of survival.

At Gift of Life, every person battling blood cancer deserves another chance at life and they are determined to make that happen. Gift of Life is passionate about engaging the public to get everyone involved in helping cure blood cancer. All it takes is one person, one life-changing swab, and one match to save a life.

On April 24 Ramaz was fortunate enough to have their own Gift of Life Cheek swabbing drive.

The Juniors and Seniors of Ramaz Upper School heard a Ramaz alumni Alex Leibowitz’s ’15 story. Alex described how he got swabbed while a senior at Ramaz during a similar Gift of Life drive. During his fresh-

man year at Dartmouth, he was called upon to donate his stem cells. Last month, after having donated his stem cells, Alex met his recipient in Los Angeles for the first time. Following Alex, the Juniors and Seniors got to hear Alex’s recipient tell his story and express his gratefulness for Alex and for Gift of Life.

The program culminated with a representative from Gift of Life discussing the process of getting swabbed and what happens if you are called upon to donate Bone Marrow, followed by a Cheek Swabbing Drive.

“The process of swabbing was so simple and easy that it seemed crazy not to do it!” said Becky Tauber ’19. This drive gave the students the ability to be put onto the National Bone Marrow registry and have the opportunity to possibly save a life.

RamTEC es, and current faculty will teach the rest. Dr. Rotenberg will teach freshman classes, Dr. Nironi will teach sophomores,

and Mr. Vovsha will teach juniors. The classes will be divided based on foreign language classes, so at this point, it isn’t clear whether the class will be tracked. Ms. Brachot hopes to arrange the class so that students who have experience with coding and engineering from summer programs or learning on their own will be able to start from a higher level, but it depends on how the foreign language classes are divided.

There will also be more computer science electives for seniors next year. The new teacher will teach a computer science course, and Mr. Vovsha will teach two coding classes: HSS Computer Science as well as a non-honors coding class.

Ramaz students have been hoping to learn more engineering and coding in school, so many students are excited to experience RamTEC. “I think it is extremely important that the school brings in these STEM programs,” said Sophia Kremer ’20, “Computer science is becoming such a crucial part of our society and every day lives. Here at Ramaz we should be given the opportunity to experience working with these technologies.”

Battle of the Crews' Fight for Existence

Becky Tauber ’19

For many consecutive years, members of the Ramaz dance team have competed in Battle of the Crews, a friendly competition between dance groups from various Yeshiva High Schools from the New Jersey and New York area. Every year, the event takes place at the JCC in Tenafly, and anyone is able to purchase a ticket to watch the competition. All of the money raised through ticket sales goes to a charitable organization. This year’s Battle of the Crews, which took place on Saturday, May 5, raised money for Save a Child’s Heart. SACH was founded in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1996, and is still based there today. The goal of the organization is to improve the quality of pediatric cardiac care for children suffering from heart disease in countries across the world.

Since this competition started around ten years ago, students from multiple Yeshiva High Schools come out to participate in this event for Tzedakah. Battle of the Crews used to attract several teams from Frisch, and at least one from Ramaz, SAR, and Northshore. However, this year, the event was the smallest it has ever been, with only one team from Frisch, Kushner, and Ramaz.

The competition has three rounds. In the first two rounds, the teams perform a prepared and practiced dance, where the judges critique based on creativity, choreography, togetherness, and execution. In the third round, the finals teams are to select one member to freestyle for about thirty seconds, where the selected dancer must make up a dance with no preparation to a randomly selected song. In the past years,

with many teams participating, a team or two were eliminated with each round until a winner was crowned. This year, with only three teams participating, all three crews competed in each round, and after the freestyle round the winner was announced.

What used to bring in a respectable amount of money each year for Tzedakah has become smaller and smaller within the previous few years. It has gotten to the point where it is questionable if the competition will continue to take place in the upcoming years. In the most recent Battle of the Crews, 80% of the participants were juniors, which means that unless more lower classman get involved, there will be very limited people interested in keeping the event going. Besides for the dancers involved, it used to be that many people knew about and took interest in the event, even if they were just going to be a part of the audience. Most people from the participating schools were familiar with Battle of the Crews, but sadly this is not the case anymore— If you ask a random student at Ramaz or SAR, they probably have never even heard of this event.

The low turnout this year could have been due to a couple of factors: perhaps the fact the Shabbat ended extremely late, and the SAT and SAT subject tests took place the next day. For most years, Battle of the Crews took place on the last Saturday night of March, however because of Pesach, the event had to be pushed off until May.

Despite these circumstantial obstacles, this is not the first year that people have lost interest in Battle of the Crews.

Even though it is a fun event for charity, dancers have stopped taking the competition seriously. This year, teams from SAR and North Shore that were planning on participating decided that because they did not finish their dances in time, they needed to drop out.

Additionally, dancers have felt that if there is no chance of winning, there is no reason to participate. Ever since the creation of Battle of the Crews, a Frisch team has always been claimed the winner. This fact, though could be mere coincidence, has deterred other schools from participating. Therefore, the legitimacy of the competition has been brought down. The result of fewer teams means fewer people in the audience, which ultimately means less money being raised for a good cause.

In order for this competition to continue to exist, something must be done about the lack of teams, as well as the last of audience. When more teams would participate, the room would be packed with people. This year, only half of the room was set up with chairs, and not even all of them were filled. People from the various participating schools must work hard for next year if they want to attract a larger audience for the competition. Unless the event turns around and the students running it get younger people

involved, it would not be surprising if the event ceases to exist in the next few years.

Considering how many years it has been going on, it would be a shame for this great

event, that has raised a lot of money for various charities over the years, to come to an end in this way. Hopefully, by this time next year, the people planning it will have figured out how to revive Battle of the Crews so that money will continue to be raised, and students from the Yeshiva High Schools can continue to come together for a good cause.

News 6

The Rampage

May 2018/Sivan 5778

Dead Poets Society Yasmine Sokol ’19

The Ramaz Drama Club performed The Dead Poets Society, originally a 1989 American film, on Thursday, May 17th. The Dead Poets Society is about an English teacher, John Keating (Michael Kishon ’18), who begins teaching at a preparatory school known for its rigorous curriculum and extremely high standards.

With Keating’s guidance, students Neil Perry (Hadley Kauvar ’19), and Charlie Dalton (James Auerbach ’20) learn how to pursue their dreams, become more comfortable in the classroom, and ‘Carpe Diem’ (seize the day).

After Perry kills himself, Keating is let go by the school because they believe that the suicide was due to his influence. But teachers like Keating who teach beyond the assigned curriculum and take a real interest in the student’s lives outside of the classroom are worth keeping.

The audience was engaged for the duration of the play and laughed along with the characters— there

were even some tear-jerker moments when Perry died.

Most important was the deeper message this play conveyed. Especially for teens like us, struggling to even stay awake while walking in the hallways, it was important to witness the characters, our friends, learning about seizing the day as well as embracing poetry. Aliza Freilich ’20 said, “I now feel motivated to get out of bed, come to school, and seize the day! After witnessing Neil’s tragic death, I realized that it is all about seizing each and every day we are given and making the most out of it because we sadly don’t get that many.”

This beautiful coming of age drama was easily relatable for many of our students struggling with high school, work, social lives, and family. The timing of the play was even more appropriate as the school year comes to a close and we will all be going our separate ways over the summer. The play taught students the

importance of seizing every opportunity and making the most of the lessons that are taught to us each day.

RAMtreat: a Taste of Vacation Sophia Kremer ’20

In the middle of a stressful week of studies and tests, what could be better than a two-day break? The Ramaz students were treated to this respite at Camp Lavi, a summer camp in Lakewood, Pennsylvania.

Over the 32 hours that the students were there, they enjoyed the scenic views, the vitamin D, and the activities that the faculty and the GO planned for them.

The highlights of the trip included boating on the lake, driving the camp’s fleet of dune buggies on must trails, and playing sports like beach volleyball, tennis, and basketball on the open courts. In the evening, students participated in an interactive grade-versus-grade game show, about which sophomore Sam Deutsch ’20 said, “I thought it was really fun because we were

winning.” Later that night, the students enjoyed a barbecue and bonfire, where they munched on chicken poppers and made s’mores. Jack Fisher ’20 said, “ Roasting marshmallows was the highlight of my trip. I got to show off to everyone how perfectly golden I could get mine.” “Snuggling by the fire in my Ramaz blanket that was given out by the G.O. was so relaxing and gave me such campy vibes,” added Loren Lepor ’21.

That night there was also a midnight balloon palooza, in which students played a game involving balloons and received prizes such as Burt’s Bees gift boxes, bath bombs, and jumbo cards. Students even had a lenient 12:45 curfew.

The students were assigned to a bunk with a mix of grades in order to form relationships with people with whom

they might never have connected otherwise. “I became so close with my bunk mates that night!” said Rebecca Douer ’19.

“We all pushed beds and shared snacks. We became so close that we even made a WhatsApp group chat when the trip ended.”

Newly-elected GO President Becky Tauber ’19 said, “There are a lot of things that go into retreat, and it required a lot of long-term and short-term preparation. I think that everything went very well. It looked like everyone was enjoying themselves, and it was really nice to see that everything worked out.”

For some students who had spent summers at Camp Lavi, the trip was more than a hiatus: it was a homecoming. As former Lavi camper Alyssa Hackel ’20 exclaimed, “It was the best

day of my entire life. I cried tears of joy when I arrived and tears of sadness when I left. It felt so good to be home.” She later remarked that that day might have even been “better than my wedding day!”

Chai Katz ’21, who spent six summers at Camp Lavi, said, “I had even more fun on the dune buggies on the trip than I ever had in all six years of camp. I loved showing off my driving skills, and I was happy that it had rained earlier in the week so that I would splash my amateur friends.”

The Ramaz students enjoyed the unity and friendship that the retreat encouraged, and they were grateful to Camp Lavi for hosting them. “I thought it was a great time to be with friends and really get to have a nice relaxing few days away from all of the stress we have in school,” said Oliva Sakhai ’20. “There were so many fun activities planned, but it was also nice to just do things on our own and bond with everyone.”

Features

The Rampage • May 2018

Sophia Kremer '20

Places You Can't Miss This Summer

The finish line is near and in just a few weeks time, Ramaz students will find themselves with renewed freedom and endless hours to explore the NYC destinations that have been popping up on social media all semester long.

Dream Machine: 93 N. 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11249 Dream Machine is an interactive experience designed to bring your dreams to life. This summer, Dream Machine invites guests to cool off indoors as they allow their imaginations to run wild while exploring a surreal-powered playground.

The Egg House: 195 Chrystie St, New York, NY, 10002 The world’s beloved breakfast food found a new home in New York City! The creators of The Egg House believe in the familiarity and universality that eggs bring to people; they therefore created a place to which people can momentarily escape to share their love of eggs. The Egg House uses secret rooms, candy pools, swings and oversized

Caitlin Levine '21

object art to tell the story of Ellis the egg, a fictional character that moves to New York City, inside an interactive museum.

Paprika: 56 East 34th Street, New York, NY, 10018 This new Kosher restaurant offers a blend of traditional Mediterranean and Jewish food, and is already a hit with Yeshiva University students, whose campus is nearby, as well as many New Yorkers who welcome Israel specialties like Shakshuka and Harissa Spiced Chicken.

Billboard Hot 100 Festival: 895 Bay Pkwy, Wantagh, NY 11793 The hottest music festival of the summer, Billboard Hot 100 Festival, will take place in Jones Beach Theater on

August 18 and 19. The lineup contains 40 artists including Shawn Mendes, DJ Snake, Future and French Montana.

The US Open: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadow - Corona Park, Flushing, NY 11368 The US Open is held annually, starting on the last Monday in August, and lasting for two weeks into September. Some Pros also open their practice sessions for public view, which can be almost as exciting as sitting in Ashe Stadium.

VR WORLD NYC: 4 E 34th St, New York, NY, 10016 With over 50 virtual reality experiences spanning multiple genres from

entertainment to social impact, music, art, sports, gaming, science and more, VR World is the biggest and most popular virtual reality destination in NYC. Visits are timed and pricey.

Sony Wonder Tech Lab: 25 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10022 Explore exciting interactive exhibits in a dynamic, state-of-the-art facility that brings technology and creativity together to make learning experiential, entertaining and fun. Located in midtown Manhattan, this free technology and entertainment museum inspires creativity in a high-quality, engaging and family-friendly learning environment.

The Best Apps This Summer

It is hard to believe that the school year is almost over and summer vacation is coming up! With that in mind, I would love to recommend some summer apps that will make your summer bigger and better, greater and safer. Many of these apps you can start using now, but most will be even more useful as the summer begins.

Wolfram Sun Exposure Reference App: The sun is clearly stronger in the summer, and protecting yourself is important. With the ozone layer depletion there is an increased risk of skin cancers with sun exposure, not to mention that a sunburn really hurts. With that in mind, I recommend downloading the Wolfram Sun Exposure Reference App ($.99, iOs). This great app helps calculate exactly how long you can be in the sun without sustaining a burn. It assesses your location, time of day, SPF of the sunscreen you are using and your complexion to help determine this, and even provides a UV forecast for your area.

SkyGuide: Haven’t we all spent a summer night at some point staring at the sky wondering which stars make up a particular constellation? Well, wonder no more! Sky Guide ($1.99, iOs) is a great app that enables you to identify constellations, planets, and even satellites simply by pointing your phone towards the sky.

Even if the night is cloudy, the app will work its magic and clear those clouds.

PackPoint: Have you ever needed help with your packing but did not know who to turn to? With the app PackPoint (Android and iOs, free) you can put in the details of an upcoming trip and

what you plan to do (formal dinner, kayaking, hiking, etc) and the app will create a customized packing list for your trip.

Field Trip: If you are looking for an inexpensive tour guide no matter where you are heading this summer, then look no farther than Field Trip (free, Android and iOs). This app will give you tours of places of interest on a wide range of topics. If you want it verbally transmitted to you then use your bluetooth and the app will speak the information out loud or into your earphones. No need to bring along bulky tour books anymore… the book can be found in your phone!

MyFitnessPal: Lastly, summer would not be fun without a fitness app, and I personally like MyFitnessPal. With this app one can easily count steps and calories; documenting calories has never been easier with over 5 million foods in the app’s catalog with a barcode scanner for better accuracy.

With these apps one can stay safer, look smarter and be healthier.

Have a great summer; I know I will!

Features 8

The Rampage

Hannah Doft '20

May 2018/Sivan 5778

Welcoming Our New G.O.

Becky Tauber '19: President Why did you decide to run for G.O.?

“I decided to run for GO because I truly care about what goes on around the school. I believe that I am capable of leading the rest of the students in finding ways to enhance the student experience so that Ramaz isn't just a place that we come to every day, but somewhere we want to go to every day.”

What are your plans for this upcoming school year?

“For the next year, I hope to find things both big and small to incorporate, and listen to

what the students think about different initiatives. If there is one thing I want by the end of my term, it is for students to feel an even greater sense of pride for being a part of the Ramaz family.”

What is one thing students should be looking forward to?

“I think students should look forward to a great upcoming school year where I will work really hard to continue the great things that this year's GO accomplished, but also add new and exciting things that have never been done.”

Avery Sholes '20: Vice President

Why did you decide to run for GO? “I decided to run for GO because I felt like I could actually make a difference, as cliché as it sounds, in order to make your life at ramaz more enjoyable and manageable.”

What are your plans for this upcoming school year?

“This coming year, I am planning to manage students schedules so that you can

better balance extra curriculars with the loads of school work.”

What is one thing students should be looking forward to?

“I will put all my effort in to get the students what they want and deserve, and that is what I hope they should look forward to for the year to come from our GO.”

Paola Mattout '19: AVP Communications Sophia Kremer '20: AVP Student Life Ayelet Monas '19: AVP Opperations Why did you decide to run for GO? “I decided to run for GO because I genuinely want to make Ramaz a better place.”

What are your plans for this upcoming school year?

“My goal for this upcoming school year is to work with the rest of the GO and the administrators to make changes in students daily experiences at Ramaz. The key aspect for me is for the student body to notice change.”

What is one thing students should be looking forward to?

“Students should look forward to a great, exciting year with (hopefully) a snack room that's always open to students and faculty.”

Why did you decide to run for GO? “I have looked up to the students in the GO since I was in middle school. I decided to run for GO because I have so many ideas and visions for the future of the school. I want to represent the students of Ramaz and integrate their voices and ideas into the nature of the school.”

What are your plans for this upcoming school year?

“I plan to work on hyping up the co-curricular activities like spirit night and holiday celebrations.”

What is one thing students should be looking forward to?

“The students should look forward to a massage chair next year.”

Why did you decide to run for GO? “I decided to run for GO because I feel that it is important for there to be a strong voice between the students and administration. I believe I have the qualities and characteristics that represent a student leader. As AVP of Communications my goal is to break to barrier between students and faculty. There should be a certain connection students feel with the GO as well as with the administration and I think as a whole the GO is there to do that.”

What are your plans for this upcoming school year?

“This upcoming year I hope to create an organized and efficient way of communication for the whole school.”

What is one thing students should be looking forward to?

“I think students should look forward for the big events GO prepared for such as Purim, the chagigahs, the Central Park trip and much more. However I also hope students looks forward to the connections they can make with GO members because we are one of them and we understand exactly what they want and need.”

Opinion

The Rampage

Ramaz Upper School

New York | Volume 51 | Issue IX | May 2018 / Iyar-Sivan 5778

Editors-in-Chief: Rebecca Araten Abigail Huebner Julia Levi Faculty Advisor: Dr. Milowitz Contributing Writers: Esti Beck Zach Buller Maya Chaovat Hannah Doft Suzi Dweck Natalie Kahn Sophia Kremer Caitlin Levine Daniel Levy Rebecca Massel Paola Mattout Gabrielle Ostad Gabi Potter Josephine Schizer Harry Shams Samantha Sinensky Hannah Slager Yasmine Sokol Becky Tauber

The Rampage is the student newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School. It is published on a monthly basis. Letters to the editor 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.

Natalie Kahn '19

The Rampage • May 2018

Evaluating the Dresscode

There are rumors that next year there will indeed be stricter dress code enforcement, and not just when it comes to sweaters/ties and skirt length.

The dress code may also become more formal—banning sweatshirts for girls, for example— though the exact details are still being worked out. While this may make many students unhappy, it’s a necessary change for this new administration.

Over the years, Ramaz dress code has become more relaxed. Even sneakers were once prohibited for both boys and girls. Allowing sneakers isn’t just smart because it’s annoying to have to schlep sneakers to school every time you have gym; sneakers are also just easier and safer. First, students often have to take the stairs in between classes, and going up and down in dress shoes can be very uncomfortable. Second, many students like to use the gym during home-

room, lunch, and free periods, and dress shoes hinder athletic ability and are more likely to cause injuries like falls and twisted ankles.

Where this more lax dress code has gone awry, however, is when it comes to sweaters and skirt length. For obvious reasons, I’m pretty indifferent to the mandatory tie from October to May that seems to irk Ramaz boys to no end. Honestly, the tie/sweater rule doesn’t make sense to have for only part of the year—either have it all year or not at all, and the boys definitely want the latter.

At this point, it’s so abused that boys come to school in hoodies or just in regular shirts. So getting rid of it would make sense, especially since even if the goal is to make the dress code more formal, one can still be perfectly formal without a sweater or a tie.

Skirt length, however, is a different story. It’s no secret that Ramaz girls are notorious for their

short skirts, but these skirt lengths seem to decrease by two inches or so each year.

There’s short and there’s short. Even only two years ago, girls with especially short skirts would be “skirted”: a teacher would send them to the office, and they would have to wear maxi-skirts for the rest of the day. But this “skirting” phenomenon seems to have completely disappeared from the building, so girls can now wear very short skirts with impunity. Say what you want about cultural norms today when it comes to skirts and dresses, Ramaz is a religious institution, and such short skirts run contrary to the school’s values of modesty and propriety. Besides, a slightly longer, not even kneelength skirt never hurt anyone.

The question remains: Do longer skirt lengths and no more sweaters/ties mean I support requiring

fancier school attire? The answer is no. As long as students adhere to the dress code when it comes to modesty, there’s no need for a more formal dress code. The formality policy, particularly for boys, is actually stricter at Ramaz than at SAR and Frisch. At college, students don’t have to dress in fancy clothes; they can basically wear whatever they want. And it’s not like Ramaz students don’t know how to get dressed up if they try.

So keep the dressiness at the level it is now, but when it comes to sweaters and skirts, the school should either enforce the policies or get rid of them completely.

Finals Schedule: Should There be More Than One? Esti Beck '19

Every semester, I dread the announcement of the finals schedule. Not because of the finals themselves— there’s nothing I can do to get rid of them— but because of the uncertainty that comes with the order of my exams. To me, a science final is somewhat akin to death and taxes: an inevitable, somewhat frightening truth of the human existence. For that matter, none of them age well either; the longer you sit around worrying about them, the worse it gets. So the worst possible thing for me is to have a physics final on any day besides for the first one.

I understand that, to a certain degree, the finals schedules have to depend on teacher availability and which exams the other grades elect to take on any given day. I also

understand that not everyone shares my extreme fear of the maths and sciences.

That, to me, is the only explanation for the fact that last finals cycle, my grade voted to take science in the second week instead of on the first day. I cannot adequately describe the dread I felt during each of the four tests leading up to chemistry; the most I can do now is apologize to those teachers for the half-baked quality of my exams. It was impossible for me to spend the time studying for history or English when I knew there were more chemistry questions to be done and another ten Khan Academy thermodynamics videos to be watched at x1.5 speed. Frankly speaking, it’s not really fair for a student to have to go through what I went through last year. I’m not keen

for it to happen again.

Some students are the most scared of the history final. Others think that math is the hardest.

No two students are exactly the same, so no matter what, there’s no “perfect” finals schedule. At the end of the day, there are two best-choices: history first, or science first. I think the student body is pretty fairly divided on which is better for them. Students whose science test is more than 100 multiple choice questions crammed into two hours, or whose teachers have no qualms about removing an exorbitant amount of points for trivial things like missing units, tend to value their science final above all.

To them, it requires the most preparation. Others, whose science classes allow for a little more leni-

...about half of the grade would follow one schedule, and the other half would take the opposing one. Everyone would get to take exams in the order they prefer, without having to worry about being subjected to the will of the majority.

ency, will see history, an untracked class, as the hardest exam they’ll take.

Currently, Ramaz’s plan to deal with this conundrum is to have the entire student body vote on which premade schedule they prefer, and the odds are roughly even as to which one wins. In most cases, the rules of a referendum postulate that one side will simply have to accept the will of the majority; the loser needs to accept that they played in the game of democracy and drew the short stick.

In the case of finals schedules, however, I think it’s fairer to spare these “losing” students the torment they’ll inevitably feel—I mean, there’s a reason they voted against the winning

finals schedule in the first place—by allowing students to choose to take one of the two calendars. Thus, about half of the grade would follow one schedule, and the other half would take the opposing one. Everyone would get to take exams in the order they prefer, without having to worry about being subjected to the will of the majority. The logistics for the administration and the teachers would definitely get more difficult, but from a student’s perspective, it’s worth asking. The current model only causes undue stress on the students already struggling with an extremely difficult process.

Opinion 10

The Rampage

Lag BaOmer at Ramaz Yasmine Sokol '19

Throughout my 14 years at Ramaz, Lag Baomer has always been a day to look forward to. It is usually a day off from our busy school schedules, spent celebrating the 33rd day of the Omer with celebrations, trips outdoors, and time with friends. This year, we celebrated the day by sitting in class, learning, and going home. We received no park excursion, and no early dismissal. The day was marked only by a few snacks served during homeroom. In the Junior minyan, when Rabbi Slomnicki was asked what the school’s plans were for Lag

Baomer, he replied, “We will not be saying tachanun.” Although this may have been a funny response, it reflected a sad truth: not saying tachanun was the only change made to our day for Lag Baomer.

I can reasonably assume that majority of the students did not even know that it was Lag Baomer due to the lack of scheduled activities.

Given that we lost many days of school this year due to snowstorms, I was not surprised that the school decided not to give us another day off from classes. Although their reasoning may have been logical, it was still very unfortunate that we had to treat

May 2018/Sivan 5778

Schoology: The New Lost and Found

Gabi Potter '20 the day as if it was a regular day.

Olivia Bourkoff ’19 agreed, saying “It was very unfair that nothing was planned. Usually on Lag Baomer we at least get to spend some of the day outside enjoying the nice weather. However, this year there was no park, no color war, and no other fun events planned.

It ruined what is intended to be such a celebratory and fun day.”

Lag Baomer has always been a fun day on the school calendar, and the fact that the school always had activities planned made the day special. Without activities,

it was easy for students to forget the significance of the day. I think that having activities planned is not only a fun idea, but it serves as a reminder that this day is not just any ordinary day, but is an important day in Jewish history.

I hope that in the years to come the school once again plans events for us just like they always have in the past, and that this year’s lapse in planning does not become the new Ramaz Lag Baomer tradition.

As our society continues to move towards total social media domination, it is interesting to keep watch on how apps that keep us connected affect Ramaz students. More specifically, the Schoology app, which is designed to allow direct communication between students and teachers for assignments, has recently found a new use: serving as a forum for the school’s lost and found.

Although at times annoying, this new use of Schoology has proven highly effective in returning lost items to their owners. Many different items such as sweatshirts, hats, airpods, phone cases,

missing items know where to go and what to do. They also give people more of an incentive to give lost items to the office, because they know someone will take the time to post on Schoology and spread the word, rather than leave it in a box hoping someone finds it there.” The sentiment she expressed is what makes the virtual system superior to the physical one: it encourages the owner of the object to play an active role in looking for the lost item, as opposed to just hoping it will show up, while also encouraging people who find missing objects to return them to the owners, rather than leaving them passively in a desig-

Since everybody on Schoology knows who the owner is and what object he or she is looking for, there is no extra effort needed to track him or her down, and there is no doubt that perhaps the owner intended to leave the belonging. and even phones have made it to this list of posted lost possessions. The benefits of these posts is that they reach all students and faculty in the school and are saved on Schoology, thus allowing students the chance to revisit posts if they have found or lost an item. This new virtual lost and found is therefore a far more efficient system than the physical lost and found system in the school, whose scarcely known location and disorganization have made it an unviable way of really helping students track lost items. As Hannah Doft ’20 put it, “The Schoology posts benefits all students equally, and really spread the word around enough that people who find

nated area. Since everybody on Schoology knows who the owner is and what object he or she is looking for, there is no extra effort needed to track him or her down, and there is no doubt that perhaps the owner intended to leave the belonging.

Due to this new system’s effectiveness in getting the job done, I believe that a new lost and found group on Schoology, where people exclusively send in messages related to items they’ve found or lost, should be the next step in officializing Schoology’s role in this process. With an official Schoology group made for this matter, locating missing possessions will soon become a sure prospect for all students.

Too Many Assemblies?

Esti Beck '19

I don’t know if I’m simply not remembering my first two years at Ramaz correctly, but it seems that this year I’ve had more assemblies and speakers than ever before. Gift of Life, the Talmud honesty series, a genetics talk, college office events, concerts—and that’s only flipping back a month on my Schoology calendar. There’s a lot going on, and it’s understandable that the school is trying to break the endless series of classes that make up a typical school day. However, when we’ve reached the point that I can’t remember the last time I had a B-4 free, it’s probably a good idea to scale back on just how much excitement the school tries to pump into our routines.

Students are pressed for time during the day. No matter what, there are only twenty-four hours to achieve everything you need to get done; in the early labor movements, the cry was “eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, and eight hours for what we will.” Students don’t have this luxury. Nine hours a day are spent inside the so-called “silver box,” commutes can take up to another four hours for some of the more distant students, and then there are only eleven hours left to eat, sleep, shower, study, and attempt to maintain a healthy amount of recreational activity. A free period is, at this point, no less than a godsend—even if there’s no test that day, a rare occurrence, it’s

It’s understandable that the school is trying to break the endless series of classes that make up a typical school day. However, when we’ve reached the point that I can’t remember the last time I had a B-4 free, it’s probably a good idea to scale back on just how much excitement the school tries to pump into our routines. still a forty-minute window to regroup and get your affairs in order. To have those valuable minutes spent on an assembly can be, to say the least, frustrating.

That’s not to say the assemblies aren’t impactful. The two most recent, a Gift of Life drive and a talk about genetics, were each fascinating and meaningful in their own ways. To be quite frank,

however, the Gift of Life drive could have been achieved with a Schoology post, link to the organization’s website, and a booth with the swabs in the lobby. Same goes for some of the speakers: it’s nice to hear what they have to say, but sometimes it’s not quite as interesting or relevant to us as students. Occasionally, these speakers will be scheduled

during class periods instead of B4, once even interfering with a planned review class before a major test. I can imagine that the administration was driven to create these assemblies in the students’ interest, but I also think they need to be more mindful of how much we value any free time they’re willing to give us.

Arts & Entertainment Natalie Kahn '19

Frozen on Broadway, the Album: Reviewed

After its much anticipated opening on March 22, the musical adaptation of the highest-grossing Disney film to date finally released its original cast album onto iTunes and Spotify on May 11. Featuring Caissie Levy as Elsa and Patti Murin as Anna, the musical still contains the classic Frozen hits, but half of the tracks are brand new. While the show opened to mixed reviews, the cast album presents a vocal powerhouse and several noteworthy new songs.

Patti Murin is adorable as Anna.

Although her voice has a certain nasal quality, especially in “For the First Time in Forever,” it fits the naïve Anna perfectly. She also showcases Anna’s more

mature, emotional side later on in her solo song “True Love,” in which she realizes that true love is much more complex than stories describe it as being.

Caissie Levy is a superlative Elsa.

She steals the song in “For the First Time in Forever” with her gorgeously melancholy hopes that she will be able to conceal her powers from all the guests coming to her coronation. She reiterates these sentiments during my favorite new track, “Dangerous to Dream,” where we get a better look at Elsa’s suffering and her perspective on her distant relationship with her sister. Her vocal fireworks display in “Let It Go” portrays more exhilaration about her newfound sense of freedom than Idina Menzel’s vocals do in the movie, which is more about Elsa conquering her anxieties and fears. In a later, more adult-oriented track “Monster,” Levy’s Elsa shows her darker side and (subtly) contemplates

suicide, feeling that she can only be a danger to those around her. Though Levy sings beautifully, her “Monster,” which has the potential to be so heartbreaking, is more technical and less emotional.

As Kristoff, Jelani Aladdin does a great job in terms of the singing, but his more authoritative baritone doesn’t necessarily match the character, who is usually regarded as sweet, clumsy, and innocent.

His duet with Anna, “What Do You Know About Love?” is catchy but kind of clichéd. In his “Lullaby,” lasting less than two minutes, he reflects on how much his relationship with Anna has changed him, but aside from finding his first love, Kristoff really doesn’t develop much as a character throughout the musical.

I was disappointed that Kristoff’s so-called rival, Hans, sung by John Riddle, is rather overlooked. Although Riddle sings nicely, he doesn’t have his own song, which

might have provided some insight into the story’s antagonist and made him less one-dimensional and more interesting.

Greg Hildreth is comedic as Olaf but is scarcely in the show, only appearing in two tracks. “Hygge,” an inserted song for Oaken (the man in the movie who says, “Big summer blowout”) feels unnecessary. Young Anna, another minor character, stands out with Mattea Conforti’s portrayal, even though she only appears in the first ten minutes of the musical.

While the new Frozen album has some great new songs and will definitely be appreciated by Frozen fans, kids and adults alike, I can’t imagine that it would garner the same type appreciation from those who aren’t huge fans of the film. Still, it’s definitely worth a listen, and even if you only have three minutes, it’s definitely worth it to listen to Caissie Levy’s amazing rendition of “Let It Go.”

Flock to the New Exhibit: Feathers, Fashion and the Flight from Extinction!

Samanths Sinensky '21

Many designers take inspiration from nature including living creatures, such as birds. A new exhibit at the New York Historical Society, Feathers: Fashion and the Fight for Wildlife, explains how early environmental activists, mostly women, sought to put a stop to the mass hunting of birds used for hat and clothing production.

During the nineteenth century, clothing was embellished with plumage from various bird species. Birds in the wild were hunted, killed, shipped and sewn onto elaborate hats and dresses.

Even men included feathers in their military uniforms of hats and swords. Over time, the constant use of bird parts was endangering species and driving them towards extinction. In response, environmental activists began

Harry Shams '19

to take action and petitioned the US Congress to eventually pass the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918. This was a compilation of laws that protected birds in the wild from the high demand of feathers used in clothing. The laws prohibited the capturing or hunting of migratory birds and over time included the protection of bird species in the wild.

The exhibit displayed many elaborate fancy feather-embellished hats that were worn by trendy women. Influence from popular fashion magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar considered feathered hand held fans essential to complete the evening ensemble on a night out to the opera or theater. Fold-

ing fans made from Eagle feathers and Marabou feathers are displayed at the exhibit, as well as an elaborate bustle dress trimmed with swan feathers from 1885.

Working with feather adorned hats was, obviously, not only bad for the birds, but also detrimental to the lives of the workers handling the feathers

and their by-products. Feather working was strenuous, and these mostly immigrant women and their children worked in overheated, and overcrowded factories, breathing in feathers and dust particles. Photos of these feather workshops are part of the exhibit.

New York was the center of the feather trading business where traders, producers, and retailers worked with feathers imported from South America, Africa, Louisiana and Texas.

Only after many campaigns from environmental organizations such as Audubon, companies started to offer featherless hats and fans that remained stylish, without any genuine plume.

These animal friendly hats, were termed “Audubon millinery.”

Crafters substituted colorful ribbons, flowers, and fabric to mimic the style of feathers. Ceasing the usage of plumes was the goal of environmentalists, and this birdless style was a step forward in the positive direction and soon became very fashionable too.

Encompassing animal rights, environmental awareness, fashion and design, this exhibit can appeal to all Ramaz animal rights activists, environmentalists, and fashionistas. The lesson is to encourage others to draw inspiration from nature without destroying the things we find so beautiful, while leaving future generations to be equally inspired.

Avengers Infinity War: Reviewed

Avengers Infinity War is the culmination of ten years of hype, eighteen stand-alone movies, and four billion dollars. Viewers had high expectations for Marvel to deliver on this particular film, and many doubted that they’d be able to bring together all the heroes of a sprawling superhero universe under one cohesive narrative. Going into the movie, I too had my doubts. My prime concern was originality—what could Marvel possibly do this time that they haven’t done before? The answer to that question is a major spoiler, but let's just say directors Anthony and Joe Russo offer plenty of surprises in this brashly entertaining epic.

The movie’s cast is probably the most star-studded of all time. Robert Downey Jr. returns as Iron Man, offering one of his best performances as the suave hero. Other leads include Chadwick

Boseman as the Black Panther and Chris Hemsworth as Thor, both of whom do a solid job. The movie’s best performance, however, goes to Josh Brolin for his role as Thanos, the evil overlord on a mission to capture six all-powerful Infinity Stones and destroy half the universe’s population. Although Brolin only voices the comput-

er-generated Thanos, he brings a lot of depth to the character and actually manages to humanize him to a degree. Oddly enough, some critics have claimed that Thanos is in fact the true hero of the movie (I wouldn’t go that far, though).

As per all Marvel movies, Infinity War is both hilarious and action packed. Scriptwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus do a great job of combining Marvel’s signature levity with Thanos’ characteristic seriousness. The movie is funny when it needs to be, but

very serious at other points. As for action, the breadth of this movie’s fight-sequences is extremely impressive. The film showcases the fighting abilities of each superhero with flair and excitement.

Avengers Infinity War is every superhero fan’s greatest dream. The film surpasses expectations and manages to bring together an ensemble of stand-alone characters in an organized way. Even if you haven’t seen any other Marvel movie, see this one – at the very least, you’ll be entertained by the humor and action.

To those familiar with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, Infinity War is most commendable for its bold and experimental ending. Without spoiling anything, let's just say the movie’s ending makes a ticket worth every penny.

Sports Varsity Tennis at Ramaz

Daniel Levy '19

Ramaz Tennis is back to dominating the Yeshiva League.

With several championship titles in our past, Ramaz Tennis has traditionally been a titan in Yeshiva League tennis, a name that instills fear into opponents.

For the past three years, the Girls Varsity team has consistently made it to either the semifinals or the finals. The 2018 season has seen Ramaz Tennis once again find its winning streak.

The Girls Varsity Team stands at the top of the league with a perfect record of 4-0. They represented Ramaz supremacy well against worthy opponents such as Frisch, Hillel, Kushner and Mayanot, never dropping more than one game in each. In the two remaining games of the regular season, they face SAR and Heschel, the only two obstacles left between them and that first seed. With the prospects of a deep playoff run for Girls Varsity, Coach Derek Fein shares the team’s optimism, saying that “it’s ours to lose at this point”.

The Boys Varsity Team’s past few seasons has been a bit more in-

consistent than that of the girls.

Two years ago, the Boys Varsity Tennis team cruised its way to the championship where we went up against the formidable SAR and brought home the title. I was a freshman that year, and it was certainly an exciting

sity lost to Hillel, a humbling and disappointing start to the season. However, through sheer intensity and determination, in a comeback season for the ages, we have fought to win four straight games. In fact, in the past three games, against Frisch, TABC

Derek Fein proudly says that “in all my years of coaching Ramaz Tennis, this is our strongest boys team yet”. Josh Berman ’18, one of the team’s senior captains, and the only player still undefeated, confidently says that “we will certainly be off to the playoffs

start to my time on the team.

However, last year, in a disappointing season riddled with injuries, we failed to even reach the playoffs. In the first game of the 2018 season, Boys Var-

and Kushner, we have not even dropped a game yet. In our latest meet with SAR, they forfeited out of pure fear! Now with a 5-1 record, the prospects of a deep playoff run are real. Coach

where we will win”, adding that “our team just likes to win, win, win, and that is exactly what is going to happen, and I’d be willing to bet money on it with anyone reading this”. Fellow se-

nior captain Matthew Harnick ’18 shares Berman’s conviction, saying that “if we don’t make it to the championship, let alone win the whole thing, I would be very surprised”. With Heschel ahead of us as our last regular season game, the playoffs are on the line, and it is very likely that it might be a must-win if we want to make the playoffs.

Between the Boys and the Girls, Ramaz Tennis is continuing its legacy of greatness. Although Ramaz Tennis is rarely spoken of, it is underratedly one of our school’s most successful teams.

The success may be attributed to the team’s closeness, as it is truly just a group of good friends playing tennis, and dominating, together. Noa Attias ‘18, senior captain of Girls Varsity, considers the tennis team to be “one of my most memorable experiences at Ramaz”. The team’s coach believes that “it’s looking to be a promising year”; 2018 has the legitimate potential for us bringing home two more banners.

Ramaz Varsity Soccer Gabrielle Ostad '21

Throughout the years, Ramaz soccer has had its ups and downs; but fortunately, things have been going well for both the girls and the boys varsity soccer team this year. The teams, made up of players from all four grades, both began practicing well before the season began— and the hard work seems to be paying off.

The Boys Varsity Soccer Team, led by Coach Adam Lasner and captains Jordan Beloosesky ’18 and Avi Solomons ’18, has had a very successful season and track record, doing much better than they did last year. They started off strong by beating Flatbush 15-8, and their winning streak then continued for the next six games. They mercied out their competitors in those first six games, even mercying SAR for the first time in many years. The games are consistently high-scoring, and the team has won by at least seven goals in most. Josh Rubinchick ’21, a freshman on the team, said that “It is fun, I get to hang out and become close friends with all the older kids.” Noe Horowitz ’19 explained that this year’s team is different than previous years because “the coaches, we now have alumnis. Compared to last year we’ve had a much better team spirit and our coaches have implemented new and helpful tactics.” The boys soccer team clinched a second spot playoff seed and are ready for the playoffs.

The girls soccer team has shown improvement from the past few years,

winning more than half of their regular season games this year. They had some striking wins such as an 8-1 win against Westchester. The team was at first nervous to unexpectedly get a new coach once the season had begun, but the season has proven to be a successful one

nonetheless. Rebecca Rothschild, coaching the team as a first time high school soccer coach, reflected that “this team has a lot of heart and fight in them and knows how to come together and support each other on and off the court.”

The team is led by captains Elana Shalo-

moff ’18 and Gail Lancman ’18. “Starting off as a freshman was scary because I didn’t know anyone and it was a team of girls from all four grade, making it intimidating. But as the years have gone on, I have felt that all of the players have become friends and worked really well together. Collaboration is key in soccer, as in every sport, and that is something that our team has done, does and continues to do every year I have been on the team,” said Lancman. “Being co-captain has definitely changed my position by giving me more responsibility to make sure everyone is motivated, focused and feels comfortable on the team with all the other players. Also having a new coach has been a great change for the team; she teaches us properly and wants us to learn in the process. I feel like over the years my love for this team has grown and I find myself just waiting for the season to start.” The girls team made it into the playoffs and are hoping to continue to advance to the championships.

Although soccer is generally not the most followed or discussed school sport, this year’s teams may be the ones to change that. The hope is that both teams will continue to advance in the playoffs, win the championships and bring home new banners to add to the Ramaz collection!