The Rampage The Newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School
New York • Volume 66 • Issue 1 • September 2021• Tishre 5781 • the-rampage.org
A New Era For Ramaz
than me about having Rabbi Stochel as a Talmud Sarah Silverman ’24 teacher. I was very much looking forward to having him and it’s a shame I won’t get that experi As usual, a new year arrives along with new ence.” books, new clothes, The former prinand new school supcipal had taught Talmud, plies. This year, due to Tanakh, and Halakhah Rabbi Stochel’s abrupt as a full-time teacher departure from Rabefore serving in other maz, students will also capacities such as Chair be adjusting to a new of the Talmud Departleadership team. ment, Coordinator of the On August 6th, Israel Guidance Office, Ramaz parents reand later as Assistant ceived an email from Dean. Many are sad to Mr. Jonathan Cannon, see him go and will miss Head of School, stathis “Talmidim Yekarim” ing that “Rabbi Shloemail sent out before mo Stochel has shared report cards. with us that he will not “I couldn’t imagbe returning as Head ine receiving a report of Upper School for card without Rabbi Stothe upcoming school chel’s iconic “talmidim year [2021-2022].” yekarim” email at the For many memend of each semester,” bers of the Ramaz says Isaac Silverman ’21, community, this news who graduated this June. came as a shock; before Rabbi Stochel the email was sent out, accomplished many there was no apparent things during his tenure news of his departure. at Ramaz. Rabbi Stochel “He led the school had been an active through the year and a educator and teacher half of managing Covid with Ramaz for nearly protocols and education 30 years. Before his departure, he had served as the during a pandemic,” said Ms. Dana Messinger, Head of the Upper School for the last four years, Dean of College Guidance, and one of the five and the 11th grade Honors Talmud teacher. Many people on the new administrative team assemincoming juniors, including Brayden Kohler ’23, bled due to the Upper school’s principal’s abeagerly anticipated having him as a teacher. sence. “I heard great things from students older “Rabbi Stochel had a profound impact
Follow us on Instagram
@ramazrampage on the school Inside this issue... in many New Junior ways Electives over the p. 2 past three deG.O. cades.” Plans She p. 2 commented on Rabbi Stochel's how impact the school p. 5 is planVaccination ning to Requirements celebrate p. 9 Rabbi Stochel’s legacy, although an event is not yet planned. “We will keep students posted as we know more.” The school has selected five established staff members who have been working at Ramaz to lead the transition team until a new Upper School Principal is found. These team members include Dr. Jon Jucovy, Director of Humanities, Ms. Miriam Krupka, Dean of Faculty, Ms. Dana Messinger, Dean of College Guidance, Rabbi Dov Pianko, Director of Programming and Student Life, and Rabbi Kenny Schiowitz, Director of Judaic Studies and Religious Life. Continued on page 5
Wrap Your Head Around This: Women and Tefillin wrap tefillin, and wear a tallit at Ramaz, 54.2% of students said that they believe female students should be able to practice these religious customs Since Ramaz is a Modern Orthodox ye- and 45.8% said that they did not. shiva, many students assume that it is against school rules for female students and faculty to read from the Torah, wrap tefillin, or wear a tallit. In reality, however, Ramaz has officially permitted female students to practice these religious acts since 2014, when this debate last arose, according to Rabbi Schiowitz, who is the newly appointed Director of Judaic Studies and Religious life. “[The debate did not arise] in response to a student but in response to a news reporter,” he said. “It was a bit controversial at the time.” Despite being permitted by the administration, very few women read from the Torah, wrap tefillin, or wear a tallit Although the majority of students who during school hours— which begs students and voted are supportive of women participating in Ramaz community members alike to question these mitzvot, those who are opposed expressed why this cultural norm exists. A poll answered their opinions more vocally in the poll. When by Ramaz students seems to suggest that one rea- asked why they were opposed to women pracson why women do not outwardly practice is the ticing these mitzvot in school, some stated that school atmosphere. When asked whether they since Ramaz is a Modern Orthodox yeshiva, the believed women should be able to read Torah, administration should therefore respect and enAviva Lehman ’22
force Orthodox traditions. To these anonymous students, allowing female students to participate in mitzvot only required for men would be considered disrespectful to such traditions. On the flip side, some students who agreed with the notion that women should be allowed to practice “controversial” mitzvot argued that traditions should be questioned if there is no clear halachic prohibition on them. Many Orthodox rabbis are against women wearing tefillin and a tallit, including Rav Mordecai Willig, who argued that doing so violates beged ish, the prohibition of women wearing men’s clothing and vise versa. But, surprisingly to some, others, including the Rambam, were in support of women practicing these mitzvot. Since there is no innate halachic prohibition on women reading Torah, wrapping Tefillin, or wearing Tallit, some argue that it should be up to the individual to decide whether they want to take part in these actions. Continued on page 7
News 2
The Rampage
New Administration and the G.O. Andrew Spielfogel ’23 The G.O. is in the process of planning a great assortment of events and activities for the new school year. Will it be more difficult for them to work without a principal? Will the G.O successfully work with the new administration team? Will the G.O. manage covid contingencies now that the entire student body will be present on 78th street five days a week? And finally, will the iconic G.O. distribution of Monday Mincha Muffins return? Since Rabbi Stochel left Ramaz this summer and the leadership team has changed, the G.O.’s relationship with the administration will most likely change. When asked about the effect of the absence of a principal on the work of G.O. members, Junior Vice President Alex Paul ‘23 answered that not much has changed so far. Although the G.O. is not sure how their work will change, G.O. members are certain that they will continue to try to make Ramaz more enjoyable for students, regardless of who constitutes the administration. G.O. members plan to bring ideas to the administration as they have done in the past. JVP Paul ’23 said that “the G.O. won’t make any less of a point to make Ramaz more fun, even with a new administration. We will work very hard the
same way that the G.O. worked with them before. Even with the new situation, we will still be able to make this school year more fun and make being a student at Ramaz an even more enjoyable experience than it already is.” Working with different administrators is an opportunity for the G.O. to experience working with a different type of administrative team. Even without a principal to spearhead all operations, the G.O. can still work as liaisons between the students and administration. Pres-
ident Yona Weinstock ’22 said, “The way we do our jobs will stay the same, but the way we execute things and who we talk to for certain things will be different without the traditional administrative hierarchy.” Without a principal, G.O.
September 2021/Tishre 5781
members will have to develop new relationships with administrators. Although G.O. members change every year, Rabbi Dov Pianko is the one constant in the student activities department. Perhaps Rabbi Dov will help establish a bridge between the G.O. and the administration. Though the G.O. managed to plan school trips and fun activities last year, it is questionable whether this could be pulled off as covid rates increase. As of now, students at Ramaz are required to be three feet apart and wear masks. The G.O. is hopeful that the school will be able to participate in activities and events that they plan, but as the covid situation changes, they will adjust their plans as needed. JVP Paul ’23 said, “No matter what happens with covid, we will not stop planning events and trying to make being a student at Ramaz incredibly enjoyable. Expect exciting things planned for this year even with covid.” The G.O. has already contributed in the planning of grade-wide Shabbatonim and a Central Park trip. As for the rest of the activities planned, the G.O. would like to keep them as a surprise! Although the new administration and covid could impose challenges on the G.O.’s plans, this dedicated group of students aim to improve the lives of the student body just as it has done in the past.
New Junior Electives Rebecca Kalimi ’23 This year, along with many other changes to the curriculum and the schedule, the administration decided to extend Senior electives to the Junior class. Dr. Jucovy and Ms. Krupka developed this idea a few years ago and continually advocated for its progression. They discussed this idea with the administration multiple times, as well as the college advisors and a range of the staff to work out what they decided would be an appropriate range of course selections. Both Dr. Jucovy and Ms. Krupka knew from the beginning that they wanted a range of courses that included business and economics, aware that so many Ramaz students are interested in pursuing business in their future careers. The more teachers who learned about this program, the more suggestions arose for the course range. For example, Ms. Rabhan suggested an art-related course to be able to introduce to Ramaz students ways to pursue art professionally. This was exactly the point of the program in the first place: to allow students to take courses that directly correlate to their tentative future careers.
The program was extended to Juniors, in addition to the Seniors, so they could choose diverse classes with a series of lessons that might actually help enlighten a student to understand different career choices. This will be in line with the elective workload as well. Normally, Ramaz classes are full-year, graded traditional courses, but these electives are a chance for juniors to have a minor course that is specialized to their interest. These classes are not part of a usual high school curriculum and they are aimed to give students new choices to personalize their schedules.
Although Dr. Jucovy was heavily influential in developing this program, he opted not to teach an elective this year. He acknowledged this as an opportunity for other teachers to get more interactive experience with students. He explained that he wanted other teachers to gain more teaching experience in a wider range of classes. Nevertheless, Dr. Jucovy did oversee
the compilation of each course curriculum and continued to stay heavily involved in the entire process of the development of the Junior elective program. Dr. Jucovy emphasized the fact that Ramaz hired many new teachers to teach these electives, highlighting the importance of the program. Specifically, the school asked a Ramaz parent, Jacob Doft, to teach a business course. They also hired a new teacher, Adelina Yankova, for the Social Media and Journalism course, who is equipped with a journalism Ph.D. Additionally, the administration brought back a Ramaz alumni, Ethan Fuld, to teach the Coding elective. One of the new history teachers will be teaching the Literature Books course. Dr. Jucovy also stressed how qualified these teachers are for their positions and how engaging their curriculums already seem to be. Students from both classes of 2021 and 2022 are disappointed that they missed out on the chance to have electives both junior and senior year but are excited to see how it all works out for their classmates. The faculty are feeling positive about the new junior elective program and are eager to watch it expand beyond expectations. Most importantly, Ramaz hopes to keep this new program as an opportunity to continue improving student choices. The administration hopes to ensure that every student has a chance to explore their interests without the pressure of grades and have the autonomy to choose specific courses.
September 2021/Tishre 5781
The Rampage Ramaz Upper School
New York • Volume 66 • Issue 1 • September 2021 • the-rampage.org
The Rampage
20 Years Since 9/11
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Nicole Hirschkorn ’22 Julia Feit ’22 Sydney Eisenstein ’22
Andrew Spielfo- 11th fell on a Saturday this year. It was extremely gel ’23 difficult to spend the majority of the first day of school discussing a tragic event, so it only made The Ramaz Upsense for the students to participate in a few small LAYOUT EDITORS per School attempts projects throughout the day. On that Friday, there Sarah Ginsberg ’22 Rachel Freilich ’22 to involve its stu- were speeches during Tefillah, a video posted dents with current on Schoology where teachers were interviewed BROADCAST EDITORS events— whether about their 9/11 experiences, and a table set up Eric Kalimi ’22 it’s a guest speaker in the lobby on the following Monday morning Ethan Davidovitch ‘22 for MLK day, pro- which had biographies of victims for students to PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR testing Ben and Jer- read. There were also pictures of all the firemen Eitan Goldberg ’22 ry’s, or even clean- who lost their lives in the 9/11 attack who were in CONTRIBUTING WRITERS ing up Puerto Rico the local precinct of Ramaz. Sarah Silverman ‘24 after a hurricane. Mrs. Krupka described the difficulties of Aviva Lehman ‘22 One of the biggest planning a full-school 9/11 assembly this year, Andrew Spielfogel ‘23 Rebecca Kalimi ‘23 incidents in Aviva Schilowitz ‘24 American histoEmily Vayner ‘23 ry is the tragedy Daniel Kalimi ‘23 of September Rebecca Silber ‘23 Rachel Abelson ‘24 11th, and Ramaz Moriel Weitzner ‘24 always spreads David Gitelman ‘22 awareness of Romi Chaovat ‘24 Ashley Behm ‘24 this catastrophe that occurred The Rampage is the student newspa20 years ago. per of the Ramaz Upper School. It is published on a monthly basis. Letters to Though Ramaz the editors may be submitted to did not make a full and noted the reasons why Ramaz chose to inject rampage@ramaz.org. Letters must be signed and may be edited to conform to school assembly small aspects of 9/11 into the students. “I’d like us The Rampage style and format. this year and only to consider doing more class time learning about The opinions expressed in The permitted a handful 9/11. We were in a very tough, tight situation this Rampage are of the author’s alone, and of students to visit year, because there was only one school day bedo not represent the views or opinions of Ramaz, The Rampage, or its editors. the local firefighters fore 9/11 (the first day of school) and barely any on 85th street (due immediately after. The problem was getting evto the circumstanc- eryone oriented to school while also commemes), the awareness orating the day, especially considering that it was spread throughout the school was sufficient. such a momentous anniversary in the 20th year. Many students were expecting the usual We were really trying to come up with things 9/11 assembly and chesed project, but the tim- that would create a feeling in the school, but not ing did not allow for this. It is devastating that 20 necessarily take out of meeting your teacher for years have passed since September 11th, and that the first time in class.” Additionally, the Friday of there are no longer students in the high school September 10th was only the first day of school who were alive in 2001 to witness the attack on for Juniors and Sophomores, and freshmen were the twin towers. Therefore, Generation Z needs still in the two-day orientation process. Because to connect to the day as much as they can so of these issues, there was no functional time to fit that those who passed won’t be forgotten. Ramaz in a full school assembly. managed to discuss 9/11 even on the first day of In addition to the poor timing, a full, school. The Jewish holidays did not allow school in-person school assembly was not possible due to begin until September 9, which was orien- to COVID-19. Ramaz protocols state that stutation. The first real day of school was on Sep- dents must remain 3 feet apart, and there is no tember 10 which was a Friday, and September space in the auditorium-- the biggest room at Ra-
News 3
maz-- to fit enough chairs to meet the distance requirements. Being the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the local fire station asked for very few students to visit as it is a particularly painful year for them. Hence, only a handful of students were offered the opportunity to pay respects to the fireman. As a result of the 20th anniversary, COVID-19, and timing, September 11th was not memorialized in its typical fashion at the Ramaz Upper School. 43 students gave feedback concerning their 9/11 experience in school this year. A two-question survey was sent to the three upper classes. The first question asked the student if they were upset because there was no full-school 9/11 assembly, and 65.1% answered yes. The purpose of the second question was to understand which aspect of 9/11 in school the students connected with. The options included the video, the table in the lobby, speeches at Shacharit minyanim, and if they didn’t connect to anything. 39.5% of the 43 students said that they didn’t connect to anything, 30.2% enjoyed the table in the lobby, 16.3% liked the video the most, and 14% felt appreciated the speeches at davening. Students were then directly asked if they were upset that there was no school assembly. “I think that having a full school assembly is very beneficial because it allows students to hear from someone. Since none of us were alive when 9/11 transpired, it’s very important and special to hear from people who were there and remember it,” said Jenny Davis ’23. Julius Zimbler ’22 said that “I think it’s always nice every year for us to have that 9/11 school assembly because it’s always interesting to listen to the speakers’ stories. The bios of the victims were not equivalent with the usual assembly but close to being on par.” Rabbi Dov Pianko, Student Activity Director, responded to the statistics of this survey: “It was interesting to see the results of this survey. As we move past the 20th anniversary of 9/11/01, it's good to know there is a majority of students who want to spend time together with their peers learning about this important part of our history. I would like for all interested students to know if they have ideas or want to be a part of the process for creating and discussing content for assemblies (for this or in general) to reach out to me.”
Ramaz's Newest Plagiarism Contract Aviva Schilowitz ‘24 Some Ramaz students may not have seen it yet, but there is a new plagiarism contract from the English and History departments that all Upper School students must sign this year. The contract is intended to prevent students from plagiarizing their written work and ensure students do not receive more help than is permitted. As explained in an email to parents last year, the contract is intended to set “standards regarding paper writing, paper assistance, definitions of plagiarism, and consequences for submissions of writing that do not represent the student’s work.” Ms. Litwack, Chair of the English Department says the contract is to ensure academic integrity. Dr. Bernstein, former Chair of the History Department, developed the contract with Ms. Litwack last school year. However, the contract was not presented to students at the time because of the hybrid system in place. Instead it is being rolled out this year. Of interest to many students, this contract requires students to disclose if they have a tutor in
the subjects of English or History. While tutors are not absolutely prohibited, there are strict guidelines about how a tutor can help a student with writing assignments. Parents were also asked to “refrain from contracting tutors to help their children with writing.” Ms. Litwack says there are several reasons for the tutor rules. One reason is fairness. “How can a teacher grade a perfect paper compared to a good paper when the perfect one was written with extra help? It's unfair to students who don't have tutors.” She also feels tutors can hurt the learning process. “Making mistakes in an essay is part of the learning process.” Ms. Litwack added a third reason why students should not use tutors. Ramaz has so many resources already available to help students with their writing that tutors are not necessary. There are two writing clinics per week, one led by Ms. Grossman and one by Ms. Litwack. Peer tutoring is also
available, and students always have the option of setting up meetings with their teachers. Furthermore, Ms. Litwack noted that there are drafts for every English assignment where students get feedback and editing notes from their teacher. With all these resources already available, “Why should parents pay for tutors when they pay so much tuition money?” she said. Ultimately, Ramaz faculty feel that one of the goals of the history and English departments is for Ramaz students to improve students’ writing skills. An important part of that is reviewing and editing your own work. Ms. Litwack says that even her own writing requires this. “There is no formula to English. You can always get better. Even when I write college recommendations, I write drafts and go back to edit them.” If Ms. Litwack herself needs to review and edit her own work, so do all students. However, the only way that will work is if students write it themselves, according to the new policy.
News 4
The Rampage
September 2021/Tishre 5781
What To Expect When You’re Projecting: Ms. Krupka Previews New School Year Aviva Schilowitz ’24 After a few months of complete remote learning followed by a full year of hybrid learning, Ramaz Upper School students are back in school this year with hopes for a return to relative normalcy. According to Ms. Krupka, Ramaz’s Dean of Faculty, fewer Covid restrictions and a mandatory vaccination for all Upper School students may allow for a more normal experience with revamped academics and student activities. Most importantly, Ms. Krupka explained Friday treats will be back. She added, “I can’t promise cookies but there will definitely be a treat!” Ms. Krupka also expects a return to normalcy on more prosaic matters. Classes will return to their normal classrooms, and not in multipurpose rooms like the gym or auditorium. The art room is back to hosting art. Lunch will also return to something approaching normal. If all goes well, she also expects that there will be a retreat in May and grade-specific shabbatons throughout the school year. These will come as welcome developments to many students. Raquel Dahan (’24) expressed excitement and a sense of feeling “safer in the building with [her] friends now that everyone is vaccinated!” Although much will return to the way it was pre-Covid, Ms. Krupka pointed out that there will also be some changes this year. The alternating six day schedule -- the pride and nemesis of generations of new Ramaz
students -- will not be back, apparently gone for good. Instead the schedule will be a simpler five day schedule, similar to last year’s schedule. Ms. Krupka didn’t downplay the significance of the change. “Ramaz’s alternating schedule has been a tradition forever, so it’s a big deal that the schedule will no longer be alternating.” Another Covid innovation that will stick around is test periods. Test periods will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays, listed on each student’s schedule. When asked about her feelings on the new schedule Rebbeca Kalimi ’23 said that “Although I like having a more strict routine and the alternating schedule might have been confusing at times, it was almost fun to have to figure out where I needed to be every day. I think the alternating schedule kind of woke us up every day and reminded us to stay quick on our feet.” Students can also expect some other changes. There’s a new health teacher and many new additions to the faculty. The student activity team has also expanded. Ms. Benus will take charge of senior programming. Additionally, Ms. Deeni Hass will focus on facilitating chesed activities. Ms. Krupka says some of these changes were overdue but held up due to the pandemic. She explained, “Due to Corona, we were not able to do some of the [programmatic] expansions we really wanted to do but now we are able to.” However, Ms. Krupka says the biggest change this year will have nothing to do with programming. “Covid aside, there’s an energy that was missed with only two grades in the building. I miss the students’ noise. This year overall is a year to expand and grow.”
Camps and Summer Programs vs. Covid-19: A Look Into Protocols and Precautions Emily Vayner ’23 As the 2020-2021 school year concluded, Ramaz students departed for their respective summer adventures. Some students chose to return to their beloved sleep-away camps, and others embarked on trips nationally and internationally. Other students partook in in-person pre-college programs or had the opportunity to intern. Both the programs and their respective participants aimed to limit the spread of Covid-19 by establishing and adhering to the appropriate precautions and protocols. Upon return for her sixth year at Camp Yavneh, Emily Schnipper ‘23 received the Pfizer vaccine as her camp strongly urged all those eligible to do so. “85-90 percent of those eligible at camp received the vaccine.” The camp was considered a “bubble,” and campers were required to receive a negative Covid test before arrival. Campers were tested again on the first day of camp and the fifth. Until the camp was guaranteed to be Covid-free, campers were required to wear masks when in contact with people in other bunks. After the camp was Covid-free, campers were required to wear masks if they were unvaccinated and indoors, around unvaccinated younger campers, and if they were singing. “I thought Yavneh’s policies were appropriate and efficient, specifically the repeated testing. Comparing Ramaz’s policies to those of Yavneh would be like comparing apples to oranges because, at camp, we were contained. However, school policies were riskier because once the school-day was over, students could choose to take off their masks and break social-distancing guidelines.”
Before joining Camp Lavi as a counselor, Shira Shasha ‘23 was required to take two PCR tests. Because the camp did not require vaccination, she took several rapid tests throughout her stay. “Although I don’t know what the requirements were for the campers, I would say that the protocols were rather relaxed and rational.” This past summer Eliana Cepelowicz ‘23 flew to Israel as she participated in Mach Hach Ba’aretz-- Bnei Akiva Summer Program. Before and after arrival, campers were required to get Covid tested as well as before departure to the
United States. Antibody testing was also required before and after the flight. Until test results were received, the camp was required to quarantine. Eliana ‘23 said that “there weren’t so many protocols, and masks were only worn in public places that required them.” Rebecca Silber ‘23 also traveled to Israel through a program called Sulam. All campers were required to show a negative PCR test and proof of vaccination upon entry. Once in Israel, campers took another PCR test and an antibody test. When waiting for results, the entire camp was quarantined in their hostel. Rebecca ‘23 thinks that “the main reason why Sulam had more strin-
gent protocols than Ramaz this past school year is because we could not have entered Israel without having fulfilled these requirements.” Simmy Shatzkes ‘24 traveled the United States’ West Coast this past summer on teen-tour NCSY Roadtrip. The camp suggested vaccinations, as everyone was eligible. Before arrival in Colorado, campers were required to receive a negative PCR test. Throughout the trip, campers were rarely required to mask and adhered to Los Angeles’s masking policy when touring in California. Only international campers from Canada and Israel were required to take a PCR test before departing to their countries. Jonah Weisel ‘24 participated in an on-campus Princeton Jewish and Western Culture Program through the Tikva Fund. Protocols differed based on if the participant was vaccinated or not. Unvaccinated students were required to wear a mask until they received a negative test. Once proof of a negative test was shown, students did not face any restrictions. If participants were vaccinated, they did not face any restrictions. These national camps and summer programs differed from the recently established Ramaz protocols in that they did not mandate the vaccination of participants age 12 and older. Although these camps did not require the vaccine, many of them strongly encouraged it. All international travel camps required vaccination, and all camps required various testing. Most participants found their camp’s protocols to be appropriate and thought it made their “experiences as safe as possible.”
September 2021/Tishre 5781
The Rampage
Rabbi Stochel’s Impact on Ramaz
Daniel Kalimi ’23 With Rabbi Stochel’s mysterious and spontaneous leave from the Ramaz Upper School, it is important to acknowledge all the good he left behind. Initially working as a Talmud teacher, Rabbi Stochel climbed the ladder and eventually served as head of the Upper School. In his 29 years at Ramaz, he went from Talmud teacher to Talmud department chair; he then spent some time in Israel guidance until he became assistant principal and eventually principal. During his time at Ramaz, Rabbi Stochel contributed significantly to the infrastructure of the school. For example, he brought Ms. Messinger as head of the college guidance to assist with the college process for juniors and seniors. Additionally, he hired Ms. Webb and three other teachers to help expand the learning center. It is to his credit that the school hired and distributed faculty throughout the departments to
News 5 strengthen and enrich each subject at Ramaz. Most recently, Rabbi Stochel led the school through unprecedented times and made numerous difficult decisions regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. Besides his enormous influence on structuring the school, teachers and students had a great time working with Rabbi Stochel. Ms. Krupka explained, “He was always a wonderful, calm, deliberate personality. He could be strict when things needed to be implemented but he could also be a lot of fun. Everyone enjoyed working with him and are going to miss working with him this year and in the future.” In addition to his coworkers, Rabbi Stochel has clearly left an amazing impression on his students. Eric Kalimi ‘22, a member of Rabbi Stochel’s eleventh grade honors Talmud class last year, said, “He is by far one of the best teachers I’ve had. I could always count on an interesting, stimulating discussion every class.” With such a positive impact on the school, many students and teachers are sad to see Rabbi Stochel go.
Health Class Makes Its Long-Awaited Return to look like.
Q:Who is the new health teacher this year? What did the selection process look like? A: Our health teacher’s name is Ms. Rebecca Dreisinger and we are so excited to welcome her aboard. We had model lessons for 5 different teachers, amidst dozens of resumes, and we are so pleased that Ms. Dreisinger, our first choice, accepted our offer to work at Ramaz.
Rebecca Silber ’23 In the past, Ramaz has offered health class for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, but for the past two years, Ramaz has discontinued this arguably crucial subject. After this gap, many students wonder exactly what the curriculum will be like for this year. Ms. Krupka gives an insight into what this year’s health class is going
mental health in, and after, the past year and a half.
Q: How will the curriculum change to compensate for the past two years? Juniors missed out on two years of health class— are there going to be any changes made to this year’s curriculum to try and make up for that? A: Yes - Juniors, who have missed two years of health class, will have a modified curriculum that will include the most important aspects of the Q: As a general overview, what is this year’s health freshman and sophomore curriculum. curriculum going to look like? A: Much of it will mirror the pre-Covid curric- Q: The Ramaz curriculum dictates that freshmen ulum. For freshmen, time management, anxiety, need three years of health class. If this statement peer pressure, social issues and physical health is true, have the juniors and seniors been shortand exercise. For sophomores, drugs and alco- changed by Ramaz? hol, and continuing themes of anxiety and plan- A: I think ‘shortchanged’ is a tough word. There ning carefully for homework, exams etc. Junior are so many things we all ‘lost’ out on because of curriculum is sex ed, life decison making, and covid restrictions, limitations, zoom classes and continual discussions about social and academic other areas of life that we all had to habitualize to. pressures. We are very excited to have a wonderful Health teacher this year who will speak to many of these Q: Is there going to be Covid-19 related material aspects. We are also instituting a special lecture that will be taught, such as the purpose of masks program for Junior advisory that will bring in and the vaccine? What about mental health, es- speakers, with follow up discussion/advisory pecially after a year of difficulty? groups to address many topics juniors might A: All grades will discuss all aspects of physical need more access to. and mental health, and will particularly focus on
Ramaz 2021-2022
tive roles,” Rabbi Pianko said. “We are looking forward to another excit A new team comes with new roles and ing year where we take the Ramaz education and new responsibilities, and the administration is community to the next level and are back in the When asked what this team will be doing and who building!” exclaimed Ms. Messinger. Many are will be doing what Rabbi Shiowitz replied, “We looking forward to a semi-return to normalcy, are definitely going to provide more detail. We are and even though Rabbi Stochel will be missed by formulating our roles and intend to communicate many, the current administration is committed to them to the students so that they know exactly establishing a bright future. who to go to for what. We feel that this is a priority for the start of the year.” So far, concrete details seem to be a constant work in progress. According to Ms. Krupka, the team was not aware that Rabbi Stochel was leaving at the end of the school year, so this plan was developed over the summer. There is no one “true leader” of the team, aside from Mr. Cannon who is in charge of replacing Rabbi Stochel; rather, each person is in charge of their own area of ex- working to be as transparent as possible. This year pertise. will be a transition year, and although there may “No one is doing anything radically differ- turn out to be some bumps along the road, the adent, everyone is just taking on more administra- ministration members are optimistic. Continued From Page 1
Features 6
The Rampage
September 2021/Tishre 5781
Q&A With Ramaz's Medical Team: Vaccines Emily Vayner ‘23 In the 2021-2022 school year, Ramaz has required the Covid-19 vaccine for “all eligible students and employees in order to return to school.” Masks are still required for all vaccinated individuals. Although parents and students may have varied opinions on the requirement, Ramaz has decided to stand by its decision to mandate the vaccine. To address the main concerns of the Ramaz community, The Rampage interviewed Nurse Judith and Larry Berman, Ramaz’s medical staff. Emily Vayner: What are the top three medical reasons that the Ramaz health team decided to push the vaccine requirement forward? Nurse Judith & Larry Berman: Number one: to help improve the level herd immunity within our student and faculty body. Number two, to protect individuals from becoming very sick and being hospitalized or even dying from this virus. Lastly, to protect those individuals that cannot get this vaccine because of medical reasons or those that don’t build an immunity even with the vaccine. Emily Vayner: Throughout the pandemic, Ramaz has adhered to both state and city guidelines. The vaccination requirement is neither a state requirement nor a city requirement. Why has Ramaz decided to take a step that public schools and other private institutions, such as yeshivas, have not?
Nurse Judith & Larry Berman: Ramaz has always adhered to regulation given to us by the State and City Health Departments and we have never been more lenient, but we have been stricter at times to help protect our community throughout this pandemic. This is a step we took, yes, a stricter step to do just that. We are not the only school in NYC or the surrounding areas that has taken this step. Emily Vayner: Why are students who have antibodies or have had Covid within the past 3 months required to get vaccinated?
quality of immunity is especially important with the delta variant. Emily Vayner: Are there any specific medical issues that yield an exception to the requirement for the vaccine? Nurse Judith & Larry Berman: Each case is looked at individually and reviewed by Ramaz. Emily Vayner: Ramaz mandated the vaccine before it was FDA approved. The vaccine was recently FDA approved for ages 16 and older. This only includes the juniors and seniors, whereas the vaccine is required in Ramaz for students 12 and older. How do you think this new information will impact Ramaz’s decision to mandate the vaccine? Nurse Judith & Larry Berman: As of right now it has not changed our decision on the mandate. Emily Vayner: How do you think the spike in Delta variant cases will affect Ramaz’s mandate for the vaccine if students and teachers can still get Covid even if they are vaccinated? Nurse Judith & Larry Berman: While people can still get COVID even if they are vaccinated, the vaccine Nurse Judith & Larry Berman: Students will limit people from dying or getting very ill. It that have had COVID in the past three months will also help mitigate the hospitals from getting can wait till the end of the three-month period overrun with COVID patients. to get vaccinated. The protection from previous natural infection is not as durable or as broad as that provided by the vaccines. This increased
Eliza Binstock's Experience on Mach Hach Ba'Aretz Rebecca Kalimi ‘23 Compared to last summer, this past summer was full of endless opportunities. With COVID-19 mandates becoming more lenient in Israel due to decreasing cases, summer Israel programs restarted, and Ramaz students jumped at the opportunity to join. Eliza Binstock ‘23 signed up for Mach Hach Ba’Aretz early in December. She knew she wanted to get out of New York City and have a new experience outside of her hometown. She knew specifically that she wanted to explore Israel more than she had in the past, and that she wanted to be able to still have a religious experience. To her, Mach Hach had the perfect integration of religion, social aspects, and activities. Binstock loves to be active and engage in hikes, or water activities and Mach Hach included all kinds of different events she wanted to experience. She also wanted to see meaningful museums and historical monuments to understand Israel on a deeper level, deeper than just sightseeing. Binstock was away for five and a half weeks. The trip had nine buses, each with forty kids and five counselors. Her bus was filled with kids from Los Angeles, New York, and Florida. She traveled all around Israel from the heights of Masada to the lows of the Dead Sea. Her fondest memories of the trip include hiking Masada at
sunrise, water activities in the Red Sea, shopping sides the food, all the Mach Hach students were at Machaneh Yehuda, visiting the Kotel, and of required to be quarantined in Israel for the first course, sneaking out late at night. Not only did part of their trip. Binstock noted that although she had the opportunity to get closer with all her friends, It was still tough to be confined to a space she was so eager to explore. On top of that, throughout the trip, they were periodically required to wear masks in the scorching heat. Binstock says that it was definitely hard to wear masks in that weather, but all in all, it was worth it for the amazing experiences she finally encountered. Besides all the activities and fun events she engaged in, Binstock also mentioned the religious effects that the trips had on her. She felt connected to God throughout the trip, considering she was in the holiest place a Jew could be and was davening three times a day, every day. She felt proud of herself that she stayed connected to her religion. It showed her that she could these activities strengthen her Israeli identity, but have so much fun, and still have a steady relationshe fostered friendships with amazing people on ship with God. Although she didn’t have a huge her trip. Since returning from Israel, she’s already religious epiphany, she credits that to the fact that made an effort to meet up with kids from her bus. she already feels very comfortable in her Jewish Although she had an amazing time over identity. She felt religiously fulfilled on this trip. those five weeks, there were some lowlights to the Overall, Binstock’s trip to Israel via Mach trip. Binstock emphasized how horrible the food Hach was an unforgettable experience, and she situation was. At times, the kids would have to has dubbed it as “the best summer of my life.” use mini stoves and cook their own meals! Be-
September 2021/Tishre 5781
The Rampage
Ian Bernstein's Year on Zoom Rachel Abelson ‘24 Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, last year students were divided between zoom and in-person classes. Ian Bernstein ‘24, who has been a Ramaz student since kindergarten, was one of three students in this year’s rising tenth grade who were virtual last year. The Bernstein family thought it was best to keep Ian and his sister Maya ‘27 at home to help prevent them from getting the virus. When Ian was asked what his least favorite part of virtual learning was, he replied, “the worst part of the being on Zoom the whole year, was how teachers just sometimes kind of forgot that there were kids on Zoom, and they just didn't really teach us as much as they did the rest of the kids. It was slightly better when there were other kids on zoom as well, but not optimal.” Even though Ian did not like zoom very much, he thought the best part of being online was the extra sleep because there was no zoom for tefillah after first period. Ian thought that going back to
sleep during davening was one of the best parts of a zoom day. Ian missed a lot this school year, including lunches with friends, and so much more. Although Ian was online for the year, he still managed to go on the ropes course trip and the trip to Camp Kaylie. “It was a little bit hard not to know people, but also it was kind of fun to say hi to new faces, and say hi to faces that I already knew.” This year, because Ian will be back in school, he will have the opportunity to get to know the “new” kids in his grade that he was not able to interact with last school year. Ian feels that it is safe for him to return to school this year because he was vaccinated earlier this summer. “I'm really excited to be back in school with my friends. At the same time, I am nervous because I haven't been to school in almost two years,” says Ian. When asked how he was preparing for the upcoming school year, Ian replied that he is, “going to start organizing school supplies and going to try to put together a sleep schedule.” Ian explained that the worst part of going back to school
Features 7
is waking up early and maintaining a healthy sleep schedule. One of the main things Ian is excited about is, “seeing people and knowing the teachers by their faces.” Ian thinks that the school’s vaccination policy, “is a very smart decision for the school.” Ian added that, “it is a smart decision that the school decided to keep masks as a requirement. I don't like wearing a mask, but I would rather not contract Covid.” This policy allows Ian to return to school and hang out with people with a decreased worry of getting Covid or giving it to others. When he returns to school, Ian is most looking forward to being with his friends again, and making new friends and memories. While getting to know the school will take some time, Ian is looking forward to in-person classes where he can have direct contact with his teachers on a daily basis. Ian is confident that this school year will be better than his last.
Women in Tefillin Continued From Page 1 Ramaz is not the only Modern Orthodox institution where women wearing a tallit, tefillin, and reading Torah are considered controversial. Conversations like this one have been occurring in many areas of the Orthodox community. In fact, when Ramaz officially allowed female students and faculty to participate in such mitzvot, the decision was made in the context of Rabbi H. Lookstein publicly supporting Rabbi Harcsztark’s choice to permit it in his school, SAR High School, which is Modern Orthodox. The Rampage interviewed some female students at Ramaz who wear tefillin/a tallit and
read from the Torah. The students were asked if they felt comfortable doing so at Ramaz, and all of them answered that they were not. When asked why, one student responded, “I don’t think the Ramaz community would welcome me with open arms and I don’t think I could subject myself to that [backlash].” Even though many well-known Modern Orthodox institutions officially support women taking part in these mitzvot, many women who usually would perform them still feel unwelcome doing so in Orthodox settings. Many students have pointed out that the feelings of unwelcomeness in the Ramaz community are valid, considering that there are students that vehement-
ly express opposition towards women who put on tefillin or read from the Torah. Even though Ramaz officially supports female students’ choices, a number of students and faculty strongly feel otherwise. In particular, there are Rabbis at Ramaz, which represent a source of religious authority, who do not agree that women should put on tefillin or read from the Torah. After attending Ramaz, some would argue that it is not Orthodoxy itself preventing these women from putting on tefillin and reading from the Torah: it is the atmosphere that exists, and that thrives upon the traditionally-minded students and faculty.
Summer Homework - What’s the Point? Sarah Silverman ’24 The end of the school year is a relief to many. No more finals, homeworks, or due dates. No more waking up early, unless for camp or vacation, which are fun activities. It’s a sigh of relief until you wake up a week before school starts and realize you had summer homework. The anxiety is crippling and happens to numerous students each year. Moriel Weitzner (’24) only realized she had Judiac summer homework in Mid- August. “I was talking to a friend who offhand mentioned the Pirkei Avot assignment, and I said what are you talking about? When did they send that email?” The incoming tenth grade’s Judaic summer homework, to read chapters 2-5 of Pirkei Avot, was only formally announced in an email to parents at the end of July. “I remember the teachers briefly mentioning it, but we hadn’t heard anything since. I thought it was a mere suggestion, not that we would be tested on it!” According to Rabbi Shiowitz, chair of the Talmud department, sophomores will have a short assessment on the first day back in school. This grade will be averaged as a quiz for the new semester. “Why are we being tested on things we do over the Summer? Don’t the students deserve a break? Aren’t we supposed to be relaxing?” “Well first of all we don’t want students to forget how to read,” says Ms. Litwack, chair of the English Department. “We want them to continue working on their skills. Two months is a long time to go without picking up a book.” At the end of the
school year the English department distributes books for summer reading. This year the incoming freshmen were assigned Purple Hibiscus, the incoming sophomores were assigned The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the incoming juniors were assigned The Things They Carried. The seniors’ books were dependent on the English course they chose. “For the 12th-grade classes I teach I usually give thick books over the Summer. They simply have more time to read them,” says Ms. Litwack,” It would just be more difficult to expect students to read books with over 400 pages when they have other work piling on.” In a side-by-side comparison, at least in the secular department, Ramaz does not expect a lot from its students over the Summer. At other schools, including Frisch and SAR, students are sometimes asked to read more than one book and even write essays. “When I first came here, I don’t believe Ramaz even gave Summer Homework,” replied Ms. Litwack when asked why we don’t receive more assignments. “Over the years we came up with the Summer curriculum but we never thought of making students write essays, they can do that when they return to school.” For incoming Sopho-
mores and Juniors, the week they return their English classes discuss elements and plot points of the books they have read. Later on, they write a graded in-class essay. The department even allows students to bring their books to class in case they forgot a character's name or the chronological order of something that happened. “This isn’t a test, we just want to make sure kids understand the bigger picture of the novels,” explained Ms. Litwack. The Judaic departments' approach to summer homework is quite different. There is one Judaic Studies assignment every summer for the sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Students entering tenth grade must learn part of Mishna Pirkei Avot over the summer. Generally, the students learn an introduction to Pirkei Avot in the spring of Freshman year before being tasked with this work. Students entering eleventh grade are assigned to read a few essays that serve as an introduction to the junior JLT class. Entering seniors have a Tanakh assignment to learn readings about the Parshiyot Hashavua of the summer. Many students do not take the Judaic homework seriously, and of those students, many do not even attempt the assignments. When asked to comment on the accuracy of this, Rabbi Schiowitz replied that "based on the assesContinued On page 8
Opinions 8
Summer Work Continued from page 7 -ents, it seems that some do and some do not.” The trend to only focus on secular summer homework is indicative of a common approach at Ramaz. “Secular classes are the ones colleges look at after all,” says Ian Bernstein ‘24, “I think colleges care more if we get an A in English than one in Talmud or Tanach.” However, the Talmud department
The Rampage
argues there is a lot of value to these summer learning projects. “The overall learning goal of the Judaic Studies departments is to educate students about the incredible importance of education in general and Torah learning in particular. Learning is a value that should be part of our lives throughout the year, in some form,” says Rabbi Shiowitz. However, to many students who balance Ramaz’s dual curriculum throughout the school year, it feels unnecessary to cause stress
September 2021/Tishre 5781
and agitation during the summer. Summer homework’s job is to educate students and help them remember the things they learned in the past school year. Even though students may dislike it, it comes as a necessary evil to ultimately help students. It may even encourage students to take a break from their vacations and fun and step back into the real world to remember what they are coming back to in September.
Lunch at Ramaz is Back! Romi Chaovat ‘24 Last year, everything at Ramaz was out of the ordinary. Students learned from home, had to wear masks and most notably were in charge of bringing their own lunches. Since Ramaz was not serving lunch as they did in past years, students had to put thought into what to bring for lunch and how they were going to get it. They could either order from specific restaurants through the school or simply make it themselves at home. Thankfully as Ramaz starts to get back to their old, pre-COVID-19 ways this is not a thought on students' minds anymore. Now the kitchen and cafeteria are open again, and school-made lunch is available for every student whether they decide to eat it or not. It seems that the majority of the student body agrees that school lunch is better than bringing lunch themselves. When polled 75.9% said just that. One of the main reasons being the convenience of school lunches. Ari Goralnick ‘24 says, “I don’t have to pack my own lunch or go through the hassle of making it and I don’t have to carry it around with me” Many students agree with him and understand those issues. There is no longer a need to lug around lunch bags from home or plan out and prepare the food for the following day. Many students leave home for school between 6:30 to 7:30. While most of them can not take time at night to make food, taking time in the morning to prepare causes unnecessary stress and disorder. One would think the main benefit of bringing your own food is simply the taste. Peo-
ple know what they like to eat and with this, students have the chance to eat what they enjoy every day at school. While some students do see it that way and find the school lunch unappealing, many disagree.e doesn’t like what is given as a hot meal, they can always make themselves a sand-
wich or a salad”. Students find that even if they do not like the particular meal of the day, they never go hungry or lunchless because of all the other food served in the cafeteria. Ramaz consistently and daily has a salad bar along with fruit and various types of bread and spreads. As those are fairly popular, everyday foods, students usually do not have an issue finding at least one food to eat during that day of lunch. The more common answers around Ramaz as to why students bring their own lunch are variations of “tastes better than cafeteria lunch”, which are statements from a minority of the students. Another, less commonly heard reason is
because of contamination, whether COVID-19 related or food-restriction related. Bringing your own food ensures no cross-contamination between allergens and a student's food. Seen every day in the lunchroom is the peanut butter jar next to the toaster and bread. Because peanuts being the most common allergy, it is very likely for peanut butter to touch other foods and contaminate them. When students bring food from home there is a much lower risk of this happening as the food comes directly from the student's kitchen. Unrelated to the food, another normality was brought back in regards to students’ lunchtime. Throughout the last year, the current cafeteria was a makeshift classroom and not a place for eating. Students would eat in random classrooms, the terrace, and other locations around the building. When asked if students preferred having a centralized cafeteria, a whopping 80% said yes. With mostly everyone eating in one place, students get to see peers they may not see as much throughout the day and talk to them. The cafeteria is not only a place to eat lunch but also a place to socialize with friends. Although many students may not have strong opinions on the matter, this change from last year exemplifies how Ramaz is slowly getting back to how it used to be. Bringing food from home may have been fun while it lasted, most of the student body is happy it is over and all the inconveniences that came with making their own lunch are over along with it.
Zoom: It Should Be Obsolete Rebecca Silber ‘23 Although remote learning may seem ideal for some students—waking up late, showing up to class in pajamas, enjoying home cooked breakfast and lunch—it is not a productive way of learning. Physically going into the classroom and learning face-to-face with teachers alongside other classmates is something vital that cannot be replaced. Given Ramaz’s strict COVID-19 protocols, most importantly requiring everyone to be fully vaccinated, students are in the strongest position to remain safe in-person during this school year. And in order to ensure that this transition to in-person learning goes as efficiently as possible, Zoom can no longer be an option for students. Settling back into the real world requires us to leave many of our virtual-era habits behind. For example, texting and Facetiming our friends became the new normal during COVID-19, but now that we can socialize safely in-person, while following appropriate health protocols, there’s no reason to continue communicating with our
friends solely through technology. Similarly, Zoom was a great substitute for in-person learning during COVID-19, but it was a temporary replacement—not a permanent one. In-person learning is how school has always been, and should continue to be, in the foreseeable future. Not only does it allow students to truly pay attention and grasp the material they are learning, but it provides them with a social life. Decades of research show that interacting with others increases one’s sense of happiness and well-being—seeing fellow classmates and developing connections with teachers is something that cannot be achieved through online learning. Choosing to keep Zoom as a learning option will bring about the worst in students. It will foster an environment of laziness where
many students view going into the building as optional. In the most recent school year, many students took voluntary Zoom days just because they weren’t “in the mood” to come in person. Zooming in for one day instead of going in-person may seem harmless, but when other students hear of this and become jealous, the dominos will fall. In the end, in-person learning is simply a healthier and more efficient environment than remote learning. As long as Ramaz continues to mandate students and teachers to follow the necessary COVID-19 protocols over the course of this semester, the school has no reason to continue allowing students to use Zoom.
September 2021/Tishre 5781
The Rampage
Get Rid of the Mask Requirement David Gitelman ‘22 I do not believe that Ramaz students should be required to wear face masks to school this year. The major political polarization around the issue of masking children in schools is making it hard to have a calm conversation about the data and science. However, I believe that based on the evidence it is unnecessary to mandate masking in Ramaz this year considering the special circumstances of our school. We find ourselves in a highly vaccinated area with declining Delta rates and a completely vaccinated student body. I would absolutely be willing to change my opinion if a more deadly variant begins to proliferate or if revelatory new scientific evidence comes to light, but as it stands currently, I do not think we should have a mask mandate. Any student or teacher who wants to wear a mask should absolutely be free to do so, but owing to the specific circumstances of Ramaz, it doesn’t appear logical to put a blanket mask mandate in effect. There are many scientific reasons we should not be required to mask this year. Children rarely suffer serious illness from COVID-19. The majority of children do not develop symptoms when infected with the virus, or they develop a very mild form of the disease. According to the
CDC, the mortality risk from COVID-19 for kids is lower than that from the flu. This conclusion is also true for the muchworried-over Delta variant. Sunitha Kaiser, a pediatric hospitalist at the University of California, says that “it doesn’t appear to cause more severe disease in children.” Vaccinated teachers also should not worry. Despite increasing alarm over the Delta variant, according to the CDC, as of August 23, 2021 there have been 8,987 Americans hospitalized and 2,063 dead with breakthrough infections out of 171 million people who have been vaccinated. Your likelihood of dying of COVID after having been vaccinated is .001%. Your likelihood of getting ill to the point of hospitalization is only .005. To put those stats in perspective, someone who is vaccinated is seven times more likely to be killed by getting struck by lightning than to die of COVID; you are more likely to be killed by a hornet or wasp sting, a dog attack, a car crash, drowning, sunstroke, or choking on food than you do of dying from COVID-19. Others may worry about the ramifications of “long COVID” even for children who may not die or even become seriously ill from the virus. While concerns about long COVID in kids are real, the mounting data is reassur-
Opinions 9
ing. One large U.K. survey showed that the risk of long COVID in children was much smaller than in adults. According to a Lancet study published Aug. 3, “Children who do develop Covid symptoms are at minimal risk of long Covid… Almost all children had symptom resolution by 8 weeks, providing reassurance about long-term outcomes.” Eight weeks may be a long time, but it is not long enough to merit huge concern. Many believe that despite the fact that children are overwhelmingly safe from COVID, they should wear masks regardless to protect their teachers and prevent spread to other unvaccinated people outside the school. However, Martin Kulldorff, a biostatistician and professor of medicine at Harvard, is against masking children in schools. “They don’t need it for their own protection, and they don’t need it for protecting other people either,” he says. According to the European Center of Disease Prevention and Control, school outbreaks have not been a prominent feature in the COVID-19 pandemic. I understand that many health experts and scientists disagree with my position. However, it is important to note that public policymakers are dealing with a different set of circumstances in many schools than those faced by Ramaz. This means public policy experts are making decisions based on conditions which are not relevant to Ramaz, which may make their policy inapplicable to the lucky situation Ramaz finds itself in. Because of Ramaz’s unique situation, I do not think it necessary to place a mandate on those who have been vaccinated. I hope those in positions of authority at Ramaz will take this into account and end the mask mandate for Upper School students this year at Ramaz.
The Administration Should Require Vaccines Ashley Behm ‘24 At the beginning of August, the Ramaz community received an email from Mr. Jonathan Cannon with the announcement that all eligible students and teachers are required to get the Covid-19 vaccine before returning to school for this coming year. Mr. Cannon also announced that everyone will be back in the building five days a week. Requiring students to get the vaccine is a huge step forward to our return to a normal school year. A vaccine mandate will make being in the building full-time a safe option. The Covid-19 vaccine reduces the risk of getting and transmitting the virus. Additionally, the vaccine protects people from becoming critically sick if they contract the virus. As someone who is fully vaccinated, I am very grateful that I have the ability to protect myself and others. I feel extremely lucky to live in the United States of America where the vaccine is available and easily obtainable. Unfortunately, other countries around the globe are facing debilitating shortages of doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. Contrarily, in America we have plenty of doses and have started bribing hesitant citizens with money and donuts. Merely having a choice to take the vaccine
shows Americans’ immense privilege. Getting vaccinated not only protects ourselves but everyone around us as well. As a rising sophomore, I would like to have a normal high school experience. I missed out on many high school experiences that I am eager to experience this year, and I am thankful that the vaccine has enabled me to be able to have those opportunities this coming year. For example, I have never been in the building every day of the week. I have also never stayed after school for an extracurricular activity or eaten in the lunchroom. Zoom classes are no replacement for in-person classes because it is much more challenging to learn at home with the endless amount of distractions and technology issues. Over the summer, the Delta variant of Covid-19 emerged. The Delta variant is very infectious and has distanced us from a return to “normalcy”. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends wearing masks indoors even for vaccinated people. Many unvaccinated people struggle to see the point of getting
the vaccine if they still have to wear masks and follow safety precautions. Eventually, when more and more people get vaccinated, fewer people will contract the virus which lowers the chances of new variants developing. Masks are still required to be worn in school and the desks are still three feet apart. These are extra precautions to ensure that the school does not have Covid-19 breakouts so that we can remain in the building. I believe that Ramaz is in the right for requiring everyone to get the vaccine. We have a responsibility to protect our community, especially the most vulnerable. There may be families who disagree with Mr. Cannon’s decision; therefore, the school needs to be patient with those who are apprehensive about getting the vaccine. It is the school’s responsibility to show these families the facts and persuade them to get the vaccine. For those who are unable to take the vaccine for personal health reasons, it is very important that they wear masks and get tested for Covid-19 regularly. The school requires its students to be vaccinated against other illnesses, such as measles. Therefore, it is reasonable of them to ask us to be vaccinated against Covid-19 which has taken the lives of many, even within our community. Covid-19 will continue to take more lives if we do not do our utmost to protect ourselves and others. It is a Jewish principle to protect our community and even those who are not part of our community. Receiving the vaccine and continuing to follow safety measures will help us fulfill that principle.
opinions
10
The Rampage
Tutors: Are They Necessary? Sarah Silverman ‘24 This year, the Ramaz administration along with the English and History departments have created a new requirement regarding a controversial and long-debated topic: tutors. Unlike in previous years, students must disclose the names of their tutors to their respective teachers. This policy makes complete sense to me. Students who have help may lean on their tutor's capabilities and strengths more than is allowed. And with the school requiring knowledge of what support a child gets out of school, it may help equal the playing field for those without additional help. There are many reasons why a student may have outside support. Those with learning
disabilities or in need of remedial lessons may need further guidance to fully understand what is going on in class. As a person with dyslexia, I have had my fair share of tutors. They have all been through the Board of Education, and therefore were fully known to the school. Board of Education tutors, and Ramaz support systems, such as learning center aid and clinics, are not what this new policy is targeting. It is highlighting the wellknown but seldom talked about notion that many students, who do not actually require help, pay tutors to do their work for them. This idea becomes especially true in the English and History departments,
Underclassmen on Varsity Sports Romi Chaovat ‘24
Like many other high schools, Ramaz takes part in the practice of having two teams for their more popular sports: a varsity team and a JV, or junior varsity, team. Just as the title suggests, “junior” varsity is perceived as less prestigious or competitive than varsity and more as a place to learn and hone your skills. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a varsity team is defined as “The principal squad representing a university, college, school, or club”. With varsity being the leading team representing our school, one would think it should be composed of the best players in each particular sport, regardless of age or seniority. People argue that freshman and sophomores, hence the underclassmen at Ramaz, should not be allowed on varsity teams based on the fact that they are younger and will have their chance in the future to be on varsity while juniors and seniors have less time to be a part of the team that represents Ramaz on that higher level. I do empathize with the upperclassmen as every student at Ramaz will be a senior one day. Hopefully, none will experience being kicked off a team they have longed to be on since freshman
year, only to hear that a freshman took their spot. When players go to tryouts, coaches view them based solely on their skills. The coaches want the best, most beneficial players to build a successful team. If an underclassman is at the level the coaches are looking for, they should be allowed onto the varsity team. If they have the skill, talent, and desire to play at that more competitive level, they should be permitted to instead of forcing them to play at a lower level for, sometimes half of their high school careers. With this in mind, while building their teams, coaches should look at how seniority, along with the skill and knowledge of the game, determine who should be on their team. In this hypothetical scenario, a freshman
September 2021/Tishre 5781
where students submit graded papers. Most of these are done at home, where a child with a tutor can get additional help to improve their writing. If this help is not truly needed, it can offer an unfair advantage to a student whose skills would be well off without the aid. For this type of student, a tutor can turn their true grade of a B+ into an A. This, in turn, can cause grade inflation and lead a teacher to not know the full capabilities of their student. This may be one of the reasons many teachers have turned to in-class essays as a form of gauging writing abilities. Parents may argue that it is in their full right to hire a tutor for their child. If they say they need help, so be it. This is why the administration has argued that disclosure is necessary. You are allowed to hire a tutor, but we will know about it and judge the student accordingly. This new policy will incentivize students and their parents to only hire an out-of-school tutor if it is necessary. Privacy is important, and even if a child may be embarrassed by their teacher knowing about their outside aid, equalizing the playing field for all is essential.
and a senior try out for the Ramaz Girls Varsity Basketball team. They play at the same skill level, have the same amount of dedication and spirit, and both have good relationships with the other players. How could the coach choose one over the other? In this situation, the coach should take seniority into account and select the senior. As for the current girls' varsity basketball team at Ramaz, there are five underclassmen to 11 upperclassmen which to me, seems like a reasonable ratio. It is a difficult situation to be in. There are so many factors that have to be taken into account, but in the end, skill is the most important one, and in multiple cases, younger students excel in that category. Coaches need to find a balance. Underclassmen should not completely be taken out of the running for varsity, but should also not threaten upperclassmen's ability to be a part of a team during their last year, or two years of high school.
First or Second Period Davening? Emily Vayner ‘23
budged. Almost all other Yeshivot have kept the tradition of first-period davening throughout the As Ramaz students received their 2021- pandemic. Many students have attended Ramaz 2022 class schedules, many were shocked to see their entire lives, and davening has always been Shacharit was scheduled the first thing students for second period indo when they come to stead of first. The origschool. inal implementation of Having davening first second-period davening period separates Rabegan with the 2020maz from other public 2021 school year as a way and non-Jewish instiof limiting the spread of tutions as it sends a Covid-19. As we return message about what to school this year, Racomes first in our day. maz has tried to return Our priority is to talk to the normalcy of a to God before we bepre-Covid life, yet the gin our other daily acplacement of second-period davening has not tivities. Davening is not only a form of praise,
thanks, and conversation with God but also an introduction to our day, a formal “waking up.” When this routine that students are used to and taught from childhood is interrupted, classes begin in a disorderly fashion, and the day can seem out of place. First-period classes are a significant concern for many commuting students. Road traffic and train delays are out of students’ control. Because of this, students walk into their first-period class late and unready to learn, already missing information they are later forced to make up in addition to loads of homework, tests, and extracurriculars. If davening was first period and a student was running late, they had the opportunity to pray at home or makeup whatever they missed.
September 2021/Tishre 5781
The Rampage
Features 11
Meet the Editors! Dear reader, We are thrilled to be your Rampage editors this year! Together with our talented and diligent team, we will work to produce engaging, thought-provoking, and intriguing issues each month. We hope to produce a newspaper which reflects the real opinions and perspectives of our student body. In addition to our fascinating paper newspaper, we have a website in which we will post articles, photos, and broadcasts. Stay tuned for our next issue and check out our website in the meantime! - Julia, Nicole, and Sydney What are you most excited about working on The the North and ending in the South. My favorite Rampage this year? activity was snorkeling in Eilat! It was wonderful to return to Israel after not being there for a while SE: I am most excited about working with our and after our year-and-a-half experience with the team of writers. As an underclassmen who wrote COVID-19 pandemic. I feel very grateful to have for The Rampage, one of my favorite parts was had the opportunity to be on a teen program this learning from upperclassmen, and improving my past summer. writing and journalism skills. Additionally, being involved in The Rampage throughout high school NH: I went to Israel on a BBYO Passport trip for has given me an outlet to express my thoughts three weeks! I traveled all over the country with and I have enjoyed writing for The Rampage very a group of teens and was lucky enough to experimuch. I hope to guide underclassmen toward ence a lot of unique experiences. reaching their goals as writers, interviewers, and journalists, and also toward enjoying the process. JF: This summer I had the amazing opportunity I hope our team will have in-person meetings to of going on an Israel program with my co-editor collaborate with each other and converse about Sydney! We travelled all throughout Israel with interesting topics. our Ramah Seminar friends and visited numerous new and exciting places. I especially enjoyed NH: I’m looking forward to making The Ram- visiting the south - even though it was over 100 page more current, and utilizing The Rampage throughout most of the day! website more often— so keep your eyes peeled! What is your favorite tradition or aspect of RaJF: I am super excited to work with the entire maz? team and edit everyone’s articles this year. I have been on The Rampage throughout all my years in SE: My favorite tradition at Ramaz is Shabbaton. high school, but I’ve always been on the other side During grade-wide Shabbatons, we spend Shabof the process - whether writing articles or laying bat in a hotel with our peers and teachers, and out the paper. I can’t wait for this year’s amazing have the opportunity to enjoy each other’s compublications and for what we have in store. pany without stresses related to school work. I know that my grade always feels more cohesive What did you do over the summer? and bonded after a Shabbaton. SE: I went on an Israel program this summer. On the trip, we traveled throughout Israel, starting in
From Israel to Ramaz...
third floor terrace. Second place: Ramaz chocolate chip cookies/Monday Mincha Muffins/ lunches. I think everyone is happy to have them back this year. JF: School-wide retreat is my favorite part of the Ramaz school year. I love spending time with my friends and teachers outside of the classroom and bonding as a community. I always have the best time go-karting, bungee jumping, boating, and playing sports at Camp Kaylie. Favorite ice cream flavor? SE: My favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate! I like any ice cream flavor with a chocolate base. NH: Definitely vanilla chocolate chip. JF: I’d have to agree with Nicole - I’m more of a vanilla person. I also love rainbow sprinkles! Fun fact about yourself? SE: One fun fact about myself is that I wear one contact lense. I am not sure if that fact is fun but it is the truth. NH: This is embarrassing, but I’m actually really scared of escalators.
JF: If I had to eat one meal for the rest of my life it NH: I love Sukkot at Ramaz— that we all get to would be cereal and milk. celebrate and eat together in the sukkah on the
Features 12
The Rampage
CROSSWORD
September 2021/Tishre 5781
Down: 1. Seniors are jealous of the new junior ___ 3. Course required by law but seemingly not at Ramaz 4. Be ___, or be gone! 6. The Ramaz attempt at Democracy 8. School nurse catch-all cure Put a __ on it (@Ms. Benus & Ms. Senders) 11. Put a ___ on it (@Ms. Benus and Ms. Senders) Across: 2. Post 8-month eligibility 5. Popular summer destination for Ramaz students 7. Biles opted out of all but one event here 9. Ramaz ex-principal 10. Israel’s least favorite ice cream brand
WORD SEARCH Word Box Bernstein Booster Dashiff Distance Gaylord Mask Sanitizer Stochel Vaccine Vovsha Solutions to both puzzles are posted online at www.the-rampage.org Solve the puzzles? Send a photo to rampage@ramaz.org to be featured on our Instagram