GALLERY OF GRADS
MAY 30, 2019
ColumbusJewishNews.com | COLUMBUS JEWISH NEWS | 21
Gallery of Grads2019 A Columbus Jewish News Special Section
David and Irene Cole Essay contest winners
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he winners of the David and Irene Cole Essay contest, an annual local contest aimed at challenging high school seniors to consider their future college experiences, were announced at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus’ Teen Awards Night May 14. The scholarship contest was established by Stuart and Marilyn Cole in honor of Stuart’s parents, who had strong beliefs about Jewish education, according to a news release. The essay prompt asked, “How will I perpetuate my Jewish knowledge and practice as a college freshman, and why?”
FIRST PLACE ESSAY Avigayil Rosenberg Senior, Columbus Torah Academy “Continuing a Legacy” Every summer growing up, my family would take a flight down to Sarasota, Fla. to spend a week with my grandparents. My mom, my brother and me all went together. It was always the best week of the year. A week spent swimming, making sand castles on the Siesta Key beach and visiting the aquarium. Several years ago, the yearly tradition ensued. As the vacation went on, I noticed something out of the ordinary. My mom was cooking our food in a separate oven than my grandparents and not only that, she was using a whole different set of utensils and the table was set with disposable plates and cups. Ever since I was old enough to understand, I knew that my mom was a convert. I knew that my grandparents practiced a different religion than me, but I never realized until then how different our lives truly were. My mom had converted before my brother and I were born but she carried the impact of that with her throughout her life. We would go to family gatherings like Christmas weekends, birthdays, Thanksgiving dinners, baby showers, but we would bring food in coolers and containers and eat at separate tables. At times I resented the fact that I was living a completely different life than my own family. I couldn’t even get a taste of my great-grandmother’s famous cooking at Thanksgiving. And then sometimes I couldn’t have been more proud of my uniqueness, proud of the fact that I was different in faith but the same in blood and flesh. Thankfully I was blessed to have a family that was accepting and welcoming to my mom’s conversion, but there was still a lot that they didn’t understand. My family is constantly educating our relatives about our circumstances. It can be very difficult and frustrating at times, but they always genuinely listen and take our instructions to heart. I have never taken for granted the support that my mom’s extended family has given my family. And I am also not naive to the fact that the world is not so embracing. As I close this chapter of my life and embark on
experiences outside the safe walls of a Jewish day school and beyond the security of an accepting family, I will be faced with barriers that will challenge my Judaism and my connection to G-d. It’s hard to imagine this foreign concept, because for the past 18 years of my life, I have been enclosed on all sides with Orthodox Judaism, for good or for bad. I have been blessed with a Jewish education for my entire life but I have also yet to see what the “real world” will be like for me. For me, going out into the world and practicing my Judaism is no average feat. I am continuing a legacy that my mom fought so hard to create. College campuses continue to be a target for many forums of anti-Semitism and the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, creating a very unappealing atmosphere for practicing Jews. Many Jews who have stepped foot on a secular campus have left their Jewish identity at the door because of the burden of that Jewish label. While it is understandable, I hope to break the status quo. I don’t want to drop my identity at the door, the identity that my mom worked and expended so much for. I am proud to represent the Jewish people whether it be at a secular or Jewish university. Going to Jewish day school has provided me with tools that I can utilize when I am put into situations such as this. Over the past four years of high school I have grown a fond connection to morning prayer. Morning prayer, or Shacharit, has not only become a part of my daily routine, but it has evolved into a vital time for my soul and mind to meditate and reflect on my life every morning. For 35 minutes, I get to focus and talk to G-d uninterrupted and without distractions. I know transitioning to a different setting will be an adjustment for my daily routine, but what I’ve learned about prayer is that prayer is a part of your soul that you have the ability to access no matter where you are on the map. My mornings will continue to begin with that essential conversation with my Creator. Prayer will keep my soul in check. Being on a secular campus creates other challenges and issues such as keeping Shabbat and kosher. But growing up in the way that I did has prepared me for this challenge. I will mimic what my mom did at our family gatherings and on vacations with my grandparents and I will prepare my own meals. I will continue to be proud of my hard-fought identity and practice being an observant Jew, not because of what I was taught but because of what my mom and role model has proven to me. Some things in life can be compromised, but my Judaism isn’t
one of them. Experiencing the exposure of coexisting with the secular world within my family has taught me to be proud of who I am and where I come from. My passion and consistency will continue through my routine prayer and connection to my Jewish values. My mom laid the foundation for a family to start a bright Jewish future and I cannot and will not let go of that foundation. I will grow upon my roots and carry my Judaism with me whether I am in secular college in the middle of Ohio, in the Jewish community of Washington Heights, N.Y., or on a kibbutz in Israel, because I am proud of my Jewish identity.
Avigayil Rosenberg will go to Israel for a gap year.
SECOND PLACE ESSAY Orli Hartstein Senior, Columbus Torah Academy “My Promise for the Promised Land” My entire life has been lived in the same small school building, the same small classes, surrounded by the same teachers that continuously like to remind me, even in high school, that they have known me since I was in diapers. When I was younger, I used to look at that negatively, like I was frozen in time, doing the same thing year after year. But recently, my perspective began to morph into another image. The new image is of a close family enriched with heritage, friendships that will last me a lifetime and the strongest Jewish community I have ever seen, always there to open their doors to help others. While the small yet strong Jewish community has inspired me to always open my doors for the needy, my parents are the ones who ignited the eternal thirst for Judaism and a love for Israel inside me. While they were growing up, my parents weren’t religious. They did go to temple with their parents on the Sabbath, but they would drive. They did keep kosher inside the house, but went to McDonald’s after school. Then, they both took a chance and turned their lives
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MAY 30, 2019
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Congratulations
to our High School Graduates Emma Beckman Miranda Gutter Gabby Jonas Tyler Schlonsky Matthew Shapiro Avery Weisman
around forever. They both went on a summer program for young adults, building houses in Israel. Not only did they fall in love with each other there, but also with the land they were helping build up. They came back to America with someone to call their own and a religion and homeland to also call their own. They were truly inspired and decided to become more religious. My parents were able to pass down the passion for Judaism they found in Israel to their children. Many years later, I still see the inspiration they find in being Jewish and it fuels me. Although I was born into Orthodoxy and never had to fight to find religion like they did, their fire is instilled in my soul and will carry on with me once I leave them for college. Their passion not just for Judaism is within me, but their undying love for the land of Israel is also so deeply rooted within me, so much so, that I plan on making aliyah in August 2019. Just to write these words makes my heart soar and every time I think about being surrounded by my people, I break down in tears. I plan on going to seminary, then proudly serving my country in the Israel Defense Forces before going to university. Every day I thank G-d for sending my parents on that fateful summer program. Although it still seems like a dream that I will be able to live in Israel, it’s crucial to remember that life there isn’t a fantasy. While I may not deal with the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement on my campus, there is always a constant fear that at any moment a rocket could hit my school. But I can’t let that stop me. I will be able to share my experience with my foreign classmates as a Jew from a small community, and they will share how they have always been surrounded by Jews.
GALLERY OF GRADS
Not only do I want to go to university to perpetuate my Jewish knowledge, but I also want to serve my country in the army. Although service isn’t technically mandatory for me, I feel like it’s mandatory for me to protect my Jewish homeland. The first settlers in Israel were young kids trying to make a land of their own, and they passed on the yearning to help keep their country safe to me and so many other brave soldiers. I want to be able to protect a country that has already given me so much love even though I don’t even live there yet. Going to a private Jewish school, Columbus Torah Academy, I did have the opportunity to learn Hebrew, but unfortunately, I never took it as seriously as I should have. When I go to Israel, though, I plan on taking many university classes in order to learn the language of my people, not just so I can order all the yummy food, but to share a bond of language passed down from generation to generation. One of the most amazing concepts of Judaism comes from our wise forefather, Abraham. He would sit by his tent and invite anyone and everyone in. Nowadays, most people don’t live in tents, but the love for hospitality has perpetuated, so much so there are even websites where one can find a house for a meal in Israel. My oldest sister has lived in Israel for five years and has also inspired me to move there, but for a very different reason than my parents. Whenever we talk on Sundays, she always shares with me what new house she went to for the Sabbath. She tells me about their culture and the different kinds of meals she’s had, such as having dinner looking over the Western Wall with 20 people in the heart of Jerusalem, sharing with excitement as if she’s been to a new country every weekend. When I go to university, I too plan on experiencing these amazing glimpses into all the cultures that make Israel great. I don’t want to stay in my dorm every weekend, when two hours away I could be having dinner in a Bedouin tent in the desert like Abraham and two hours in the opposite direction I could be having dinner on a lush mountain overlooking Jordan. No matter the amount of religiousness the family that one can go to, there is the common love passed from Abraham to always invite others in. I hope that when I have my own house and start my family, I will help perpetuate my Jewish knowledge and always keep my door open for anyone that needs it.
Orli Hartstein will go to Israel for a gap year.
THIRD PLACE ESSAY Jami Garfinkel Senior, Bexley High School “Dear Jami” Dear Jami, Five years ago, you were walking down the main street in Boulder, looking for somewhere to eat when a hand-painted “closed” sign caught your eye. As you looked closer you read under the bold red letters, “for the Sabbath,” and when you read even further it said, “You are welcome to come to our home and eat with us!” followed by a map of how to get to the restaurant owner’s house. Knowing there were other Jewish people in Boulder and you would always have somewhere to
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GALLERY OF GRADS
MAY 30, 2019
ColumbusJewishNews.com | COLUMBUS JEWISH NEWS | 23
Congratulations to our graduates!
Congratulations to our graduates! Columbus Academy’s 98-member Class of 2019 will matriculate to 62 colleges University of Akron Allegheny College The University of Arizona Bates College Boston College (2) Brown University (2) Bucknell University Butler University (2) University of California, Los Angeles University of California, Santa Cruz Carnegie Mellon University (2) Case Western Reserve University (2) University of Cincinnati (2) Claremont McKenna College Colorado College University of Colorado at Boulder (2) Denison University Duke University Elon University Emory University (2) Fordham University
Furman University Georgetown University (2) Grinnell College Harvard University Indiana University at Bloomington (2) University of Kentucky Kent State University (2) Loyola University Chicago (2) Miami University, Oxford (11) University of Michigan (2) New Jersey Institute of Technology The New School – Parsons School of Design Northwestern University University of Notre Dame Ohio University Ohio Northern University The Ohio State University (9) University of Pennsylvania Pepperdine University Princeton University Purdue University (2)
University of Redlands Reed College Rice University University of Richmond Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology University of Southern California (2) Stanford University (2) University of St Andrews, Scotland St. Lawrence University Syracuse University University of Texas at Austin Tulane University (2) Villanova University (2) University of Virginia Virginia Tech Washington University in St. Louis Williams College University of Wisconsin, Madison The College of Wooster Wright State University
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MAY 30, 2019
and activities within the Columbus Jewish community. On March of the Living and your other trips to Israel, you discovered your love for Israel and passion for advocating for Jewish rights. Once you got confirmed, you knew you had to step up and form your own Jewish identity. College was the perfect place for you to do so. You knew that sign was meant to be there. It was just the beginning of your path to finding your Jewish identity in college. Not only did you attend Shabbat at that restaurant owner’s house many times during your undergraduate experience, but the restaurant owner taught you his family’s matzo ball soup recipe. You also brought some of your friends from Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi, the Jewish sorority you joined, to his house for Shabbat. While your sorority was the only Jewish
go for Shabbat dinner made you feel at home. This was the same day that you officially decided that The University of Colorado Boulder was going to be your home for the following four years. Considering all the Jewish activities that you participated in during high school, you knew that Judaism was going to be an important factor in your college experience. You learned important values from each high school activity. Through BBYO, you learned how to be a leader in the Jewish community and that it is important to surround yourself with Jewish peers. In Wexner Service Corps, you learned how important community service is not only to you, but also in Judaism. In Columbus Jewish Youth Foundation, you learned the behind the scenes of funding programs
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GALLERY OF GRADS
sorority on campus and you were not immediately sure of your decision, within days you had no regrets. In the sorority, you created real sister-like bonds, which felt a lot like your days as a BBG back in high school. You enjoyed surrounding yourself with other Jewish girls and mixing with the Jewish fraternity because you got to meet people with whom you shared similar values and experiences. From there, your interest and involvement in Judaism only expanded. Along with Shabbat dinners at the restaurant owner’s home, you spent most Shabbats and other holidays at the Hillel. At the Hillel, you found there were other students on campus with whom to discuss and learn about Judaism. After making meaningful relationships at the Hillel and planning some events, you ran for a leadership position and won (I won’t tell you which one, I don’t want to spoil it). You were able to use those leadership skills that you learned in BBYO. You learned a lot at Hillel, but the most meaningful experience you had was when they had a Holocaust survivor speak. It especially resonated with you after March of the Living, because you learned that there won’t be many more opportunities to meet survivors. You decided to attend more classes to learn about the Holocaust, and the best ways to combat antiSemitism and Holocaust denial. During high school, Wexner Service Corps was an extremely meaningful experience for you, so you got involved in a similar group on campus. You did community service throughout Colorado, while learning about how each volunteer experience connects to Judaism. You will never forget about the meaningful lessons the group leader taught and the stories that she told. She opened your eyes to many injustices in the world and taught you that mitzvot are the essence of Judaism. Your passion for helping others is something that will probably stick with you for the rest of your life. You can never learn too much about tikkun olam. The summer after your freshman year, you went on Birthright and were selected for Onward, returning to Israel for the fourth time. After attending March of the Living back in high school, you knew you wanted to return to Israel as soon as possible. During Birthright and Onward, you fell in love with the beautiful country all over again. You were grateful that you had taken a Hebrew class at CU Boulder, making your travel in Israel even more meaningful. You may even make aliyah someday and deepen your linguistic skills. While on the trip, you learned a lot about the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement on college campuses. After returning to Boulder, you became even more engaged in the Jewish groups you were in, began advocating for Israel and stayed active in these Jewish groups for the remaining three years of college. Among all of the amazing Jewish people you met and groups you got involved in as an undergraduate at CU Boulder, you grew into a young Jewish adult. You learned which path is best for you to take in order to embrace your Jewish identity and support the Jewish people. You now know that no matter where you go in life, you have the Jewish community to support you. You know that there is always more to learn about our amazing religion. You seized every opportunity you could while in college. You made it count and it shaped the rest of your life. Yours truly, Jami
Jami Garfinkel will attend The University of Colorado Boulder.
GALLERY OF GRADS
Isabelle Keren and Aaron Meyer
MAY 30, 2019
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Daniel Griffaton and Tali Bertman
JCC honors teens at awards night
The Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus recognized Jewish teens at the 2019 Columbus Teen Awards Night May 14. In addition to presenting the David and Irene Cole Essay contest winners (winning essays on Pages 21-24), the Don Erkis/Lou Berliner High School Jewish Scholar Athlete Award was given to high school athletes: New Albany High School senior Isabelle Keren and Bexley High School senior Aaron Meyer. The award includes a $1,000 scholarship for collegiate pursuits and a JCC membership. Additionally, the Janet W. and David Goldsmith Kavod-Gadol Teen Leadership Award was presented to Pickerington High School North senior Daniel Griffaton and Bexley High School senior Tali Bertman. It is given annually to local high school students for social action and community service.
CTA holds graduation, end of year events
Columbus Torah Academy will hold three events to commemorate graduation and the end of the school year. First, at 7:30 p.m. May 30, it will hold its Class of 2023 Freshman Speech. Members of the incoming freshman class will each address the community for the first time as high school students, followed by a dessert reception. Next, at 1 p.m. June 2, the school will holds its graduation, also with a dessert reception to follow. The class of 2019 is the 25th graduating class in the school’s history. Then, at 7 p.m. June 5, the 15th Annual CTA Upper School Awards Ceremony will take place. Academic awards will be presented to students in grades 7-12. The free events are at CTA, 181 Noe Bixby Road in Columbus. To RSVP or for questions, email info@torahacademy.org.
Rho Pi Phi 2019 scholarship winner announced
The Columbus alumni of Rho Pi Phi, a non-denominational fraternity at The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy, announced its 2019 scholarship winner, Akhilesh Sivakumar. Sivakumar received the award at this year’s doctor of pharmacy class of 2019 hooding ceremony May 4. Sivakumar earned an undergraduate degree at Ohio State in pharmaceutical sciences and stayed on for pharmacy school. He was involved with many projects and groups while in school, according to a news release. The Rho Pi Phi award is given yearly in memory of alumnus Joe Nichol.
Holocaust presentation at Big Walnut school
For years, local Holocaust survivor Murray Ebner traveled to Big Walnut Middle School in Sunbury to share his personal experiences from several Nazi death camps during World War II. His daughters, Lisa Rosen and Franklin County Municipal Judge Cynthia Ebner, have continued the tradition since his death in 2015, most recently meeting with 350 Big Walnut students and their teachers to share memories of their father and his concentration camp experiences. Language arts teacher Lori Hayhurst, from left, Ebner, Rosen and language arts teacher Mike McGann. | Submitted photo
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Wolf selected to Mortar Board honor society
Josh Wolf, a rising senior at Otterbein University in Westerville, was selected for membership to the Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society. Wolf is a graduate of the Columbus Jewish Day School in New Albany and Columbus Torah Academy in Columbus. At Otterbein, he is majoring in history and political science. Mortar Board is a national honor society recognizing college seniors for exemplary scholarship, leadership and service. More than 250,000 members have been initiated at 232 chapters nationwide since its 1918 founding, according to its website. Notable members include Challenger astronaut and the late Akron native Judith Resnik (Carnegie Mellon University, 1971) and politician and educator Condoleezza Rice (University of Denver, 1974).
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GALLERY OF GRADS
MAY 30, 2019
Stress, emotional disorders common in graduate school BECKY RASPE | CONTRIBUTOR @BeckyRaspeCJN braspe@cjn.org |
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he workload associated with graduate programs, especially MBAs, can cause stress in students. According to Jim Bennett, executive director, Daniel Horne, clinical director, and Laura Scarnecchia, director of admissions, all at Hopewell Therapeutic Community in Middlefield, Ohio; and Scott MacDonald, director of the University of Dayton’s MBA program in Dayton, students in these intensive programs tend to experience stress more than their undergraduate counterparts. “We find there are usually three main reasons MBA students experience more stress than their undergraduate counterparts – time management, reentering school and performance anxiety,” MacDonald said. “Most of our students are working full-time and trying to balance work, school and family. They also have not been in school for a few years, so reacclimating to an academic environment is difficult. Things like writing in graduate school versus (as) an undergraduate or in the workplace is very different.” MacDonald noted students face added pressure on the financial end of things, especially since many companies will reimburse students for classes on a sliding grade scale.
Bennett
Horne
Bennett added, “The pressure for success is very high because of (a few) factors – graduate school represents a career choice. You have decided where you want to be and this could influence your whole life. Also, it takes a lot of money so the stakes are high. Also, in graduate schools, you spend a lot of time in an interactive classroom and in teams. The pressure to perform in front of your peers is very considerable.” When a student is struggling with stress, there are a few warning signs that can point to serious mental illness. “(You start by) looking at the difference between normal functional stress and acute stress,” Scarnecchia said. “This is noticing when pressures such as deadlines and upcoming presentations give you physical stress. Be aware of these manifestations of stress and aware of when they get to the point where they aren’t really manageable.” MacDonald added, “Stress affects
MacDonald
Scarnecchia
individuals differently, so it’s important students understand how and when stress affects them. Some people have physical reactions. Sometimes stress is low but constant for things like homework, but high and short-lived for exams or projects. Students need to listen to their bodies and to others around them. Students need to take these signs seriously and understand the root cause.” As a student deals with stress, it’s important to use healthy coping mechanisms. “Reach out, talk to others and don’t suffer alone, which is a very natural tendency,” Bennett said. “Make a particular effort to talk with others, with friends and classmates with whom it is natural and to share how you’re feeling. Getting isolated is the single worst thing to happen.” Horne said, “One of the things we look for a lot is encouraging a healthy balance. When people are in a graduate program, there becomes a singular focus.
So, maintaining healthy social balance, friends, athletics, spiritual religious involvement – it’s the things they came to the program with and not losing that.” MacDonald added since stress is unavoidable in graduate programs, students should learn healthy habits like getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, eating healthy and finding time to relax. It’s important for universities to offer support for students struggling with stress. “Some of the ways the University of Dayton helps students alleviate stress include helping students balance their course load or types of classes,” MacDonald said. “For example, we advise them to alternate quantitative and qualitative classes. Or if a student struggles with one type of class more than the other, we will suggest taking that type of course by itself. We also encourage students to build strong relationships with other students. Often talking about your stress, knowing others feel the same way, or sharing coping mechanisms helps.” It’s important to remember everyone experiences stress, Scarnecchia added. “Last year, in 2018, we had 972 inquiries of people calling or sending email inquiries asking questions,” she said. “We’re a real point of contact to help people learn more about their options for care. It is important to emphasize that stress is an important and normal part of the graduate school experience – and can be managed.”
MAZAL TOV TO THE CJDS GRADUATES! CLASS OF 2019/5779 Please join us Thursday, May 30, 2019 7:00 p.m. Ceremony Followed by a Festive Dessert Reception
Columbus Jewish Day School
150 East Granville Road New Albany, Ohio 43054
Gabriel Zeigler Misha Kruglov Jack Weiss Sam Feldstein Raiden Gipson
GALLERY OF GRADS
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MAY 30, 2019
Gallery of Grads Listings HIGH SCHOOL NATHANIEL BERGER Gahanna Lincoln High School University of Pittsburgh RUTH BUERGENTHAL Upper Arlington High School The University of California, Los Angeles SOPHIE GREFF Shaker Heights High School (Cleveland) Mitmo, Israel DANIEL GRIFFATON Pickerington High School North University of Evansville SIMON KELLER Bexley High School Charleston College ELIAS LUBOW Pickerington High School North Ohio University
JENNA LUBOW Pickerington High School North University of Cincinnati MARA SANDEROW Olentangy Orange The Ohio State University
COLLEGE ADAM BECK Case Western Reserve University Bachelor of Science in Computer Science BRIAN GELLER Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Bachelor of Science, Magna Cum Laude ROSTON SHORE Case Western Reserve University Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy Free listings submitted by families of graduates
NYU president condemns pro-BDS graduation speaker JNS
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ew York University President Andrew Hamilton slammed a graduation speech praising the school’s student government for passing a boycott, divestment and sanctions resolution, after Hamilton was seen on video applauding guest speaker Steven Thrasher’s speech. In a statement May 23, Hamilton labeled the address by journalist and former “Saturday Night Live” alum May 20 as “objectionable.” BDS is a movement to financially hinder Israel by boycotting companies with connections to Israel. Thrasher, according to Hamilton, did not include the remarks on BDS in the version of the speech he submitted before the ceremony. “We are sorry that the audience had to experience these inappropriate remarks,” Hamilton said. “A graduation should be a shared, inclusive event; the speaker’s words – one-sided and tendentious – indefensibly made some in the audience feel unwelcome and excluded.” In his address, Thrasher praised the BDS resolution passed in December. “I am so proud, so proud, of NYU’s chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace
for supporting the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against the apartheid state government in Israel because this is what we are called to do,” he said. “This is our NYU legacy – that we are connected in radical love, and we have a duty and a privilege in this position to protect not the most popular amongst us, but the most vulnerable amongst us on every campus where we serve in every community where we live, in every place that we work. “This is our duty, and we must stand together to vanquish racism and Islamophobia and anti-Semitism and injustice and attacks on women and attacks on abortion rights in Tel Aviv, in Shanghai, in Abu Dhabi, in New York City, in Atlanta, in Washington, in Los Angeles, in San Francisco and everywhere in the world.” A letter with nearly 150 signatures from NYU alumni and faculty members, including those affiliated with the Langone School of Medicine, urges Hamilton to fight a “climate of antiSemitism at NYU that creates a hostile environment for Jewish students, prevents honest discourse and limits academic freedom on our campus,” and that “anti-Semitism has been normalized on our campus.”
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GALLERY OF GRADS
Chicago high schools pull yearbooks over alleged white power messages YVETTE ALT MILLER | JTA CHICAGO – High school administrators in two Chicago suburbs are halting distribution of yearbooks after students were alleged to include anti-Semitic, Nazi and white supremacist elements. Highland Park High School, located 15 miles north of Chicago, is a leafy suburb with a sizable Jewish population. Students were to graduate May 29, but without their yearbooks after two offensive quotes were reported by students to school administrators, who halted the yearbook distribution. Each graduating senior was asked to select a quote. One that raised eyebrows among fellow students was attributed by the student to “Anonymous” but is widely attributed to Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany’s minister of propaganda: “If you tell a big enough lie, and you tell it often enough, it will be believed.” The other has not been released publicly but has been described as anti-Semitic in nature. “Senior quotations are reviewed and approved by a team, and we take full responsibility for having missed the quotations that should have never been
published in the yearbook,” Township High School District 113, which includes Highland Park High, said in a statement. Highland Park Principal Deborah Finn explained the decision to halt the yearbook’s distribution. “These quotations do not align with our mission and values and have no place in our learning community,” she said. “We actively work to eliminate hate speech and anti-Semitism in all of our learning spaces.” Earlier, school officials in nearby Oak Park and River Forest High School had to halt their yearbook distribution after it emerged that 18 photos featured students making a hand gesture commonly associated with white supremacists. Superintendent Joylynn Pruitt-Adams sent an email to students and parents on May 17 explaining that the hand symbol – an upside down “OK” sign – “has different meanings,” but that it “has more recently become associated with white nationalism.” Pruitt-Adams said she had no option but to halt the yearbooks’ distribution. “Regardless of intent, the potential negative impact of this gesture has led us to decide that we cannot distribute the yearbook as it is,” she said.
The school eventually decided to reprint the yearbooks without the handsymbol photographs at a cost of $53,000. Both incidents echo a similar controversy last year at Andover High School in Andover, Mass., when a student included the same quote attributed to Goebbels. In Andover, school officials stopped selling the yearbooks after concerns about the quote were raised and apologized for its inclusion. Earlier this year, an Alabama Republican congressman referred to the Nazis’ conception of the “big lie” during a speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. In that
case, Mo Brooks was not endorsing the concept; he was unfavorably comparing Democrats and the media to Nazis who used propaganda to distort public perception. A Chicago Tribune columnist was critical of the students who included the quotes, but said he was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. “Passing off inside jokes in the yearbook is a long tradition among high school seniors just trying to be funny,” Randy Blaser wrote. “It might be dumb, but not meant to signal a secret hatred or racist attacks.”
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it is puzzling that the letter’s authors believe these incidents to be more of an indicator of campus sentiment than their unequivocal rejection by campus leadership and so many other members of the NYU community.” Hamilton, who has condemned BDS, and was not in attendance when the administration presented an award to Students for Justice in Palestine in April.
“Students for Justice in Palestine, an organization that has become a symbol for anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hatred, was awarded the highest honor of any organization at NYU, the President’s Service Award,” stated the letter. NYU spokesperson John Beckman told The Algemeiner the anti-Israel vibe on campus doesn’t “reflect the center of gravity of opinion on our campus, and
Mazel tov, Confirmands & Graduates Congratulations to the 2019 confirmands and graduates
Shavuot, which this year begins after Shabbat on June 8, is the holiday that celebrates the revelation of the Torah to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai. Most Conservative and Reform synagogues hold confirmation ceremonies on this holiday.
Confirmands Congregation Beth Tikvah Jackie Forshaw Zane Graver Nate Karr Tyler Mandelkorn Max Movshin Cydney Platt Jordan Sowards Nicholas Stern
Temple Beth Shalom Jonathan Bates Jakob Bering Jacob Cohen Emma Cronheim-Strasser
Emily Dubin Ella DuBro Melody Green Olivia Herman Grace Malinger Elsa Mendel Sophia Shai Nathaniel Shnider Scout Stone Dani Wartel Taylor Weiss Max Westrick Benjamin Williams
Temple Israel Lee Hillman Samantha Margolies Tal Mars Veronica Ross Cooper Solomon
Graduates Congregation Tifereth Israel Samuel M. Melton Religious School – Hebrew High School Benjamin Davis
Congregation Beth Tikvah Bentley Adkins Evan Barnett Carl Buford Morgan Dolchin Leah Fogel Joshua Gimple
Aaron Haywood Zachary Leder Hannah O’Connell Audrey Rosenstein Mara Sanderow Max Shafran Noah Spaulding-Schecter
Temple Beth Shalom Shaina Belford Zachary Boyce Daniel Griffaton Leah Dobres Mason Dorrian Julia Gurevitz Tess Hoch Isabelle Keren Caroline Klodell Jeremy Lefton Jenna Mason
Anna Mears Corinna Mendel Sarah Naiman Joshua Ryan Max Rycus
Temple Israel Mindy Agranoff Rachel Becker Talia Bertman Ever Ainsley Croffoot-Suede Samuel Friedman Austin Benjamin Gaines Jami Rose Garfinkel Sam Glick Samantha Kass Thomas Lee Jessica Arlyn Levitt Eli Lubow Jenna Lubow
Annie Politi Cole Raiken Emily Remer Anthony Rutsky Averill Smith Jayden Solomon Noah Benjamin Strassels Maddie Tuckerman Eli Weinstock Jonathan Weisbach
Confirmands and graduates were provided to the CJN by synagogues.