Volume 35 Issue 4

LT

The Lion’s Tale

the lion’s tale

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Volume 35 Issue 4

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January 31, 2018

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CESJDS

hungry for a Healthy Diet local jewish eaters, cooks embrace green nutrition trends, PG. 08 - 09

Students discuss Trump's performance, pg. 03

Senior columns, pg. 05-07

"The Post" shines, pg. 11

news 02

the lion’s tale

News Briefs Feb. 1 Senior Prom Members of the Class of 2018 will celebrate the completion of their high school careers at a formal dance.

Historic change to curriculum History department adds mandatory class for seniors, to be implemented first for class of 2020

Feb. 7 Deadline for course changes Students wishing to make changes to their second semester schedules must fill out an add-drop form by Feb. 7.

Feb. 9, 11 Senior Siyum, Graduation The Class of 2018 will have a weekend of commencement festivities, beginning on Friday with the more intimate, prayerbased Siyum and culminating with a formal graduation on Sunday.

Feb. 16-19 Presidents Day Weekend School will be closed on Friday, Feb. 16 and Monday, Feb. 19 for Presidents Day Weekend.

March 1 Purim Purim begins at sundown on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Students will be dismissed from school at 12:18 on Thursday, March 1, following a day of Purim festivites. compiled by amelia davidson and sara sporkin

Follow The Lion’s Tale on Instagram @jdslionstale for exclusive content

aliza rabinovitz contributing editor Starting in the 2019-2020 school year, the CESJDS history department will require seniors to enroll in a new course, 21st Century American Identity, rather than allow them to choose from elective options as they do now.

21st Century American Identity will first be introduced as an elective for the history distribution half-credit in the 2018-2019 school year. The administration initially indicated that the course would be required for current juniors in their senior year. A later email on Jan. 11 to the parents of the class of 2019 stated that after receiving feedback, it would still offer the class but delay its requirement for a year.

The course is structured thematically rather than chronologically. It starts with contemporary global issues, and it traces their roots back through the history so students can learn how historical trends have led to current conversations.

History Department Chair Mark Buckley said that teachers will choose broad themes such as global changes in foreign policy or race relations in the United States. The class will be student-centered and project-based. While discussions may vary between different classes, there will be a standard general curriculum and skill-set addressed between all classes. Buckley said the new class will build off of the skills students have already developed throughout the first three years of high school.

“We want this to be a class where we put a lot of it on the students to sort of formulate the discussions and the way the course is going to be structured and look,” Buckley said.

Due to some overlap with the current Contemporary Issues class, that course will no longer be offered

starting next year. Although the ap- research as applied to projects like proach of the class and some topics the ISearch, further the school's edwill remain, Buckley said that 21st ucation of current issues.

Century American Identity will not The previous form of sebe exactly the same as Contempo- nior-year history, in which students rary Issues. chose which class they wanted to “We’re going to do a little more fulfill their distribution requirehistory to develop that context so ment, dates back to many years ago. that students kind of get a sense of According to Goldstein, there used to it and try and balance a little bit be- only be a three-credit requirement tween the current and the histori- for history, so there were only eleccal,” Buckley said. tives offered senior year, one on VietAccording to Academic Dean nam and one on art history. When Aileen Goldstein, the introduction of the credit requirement changed to the class at JDS has been a long pro- 3.5, more options were considered. cess. She said that one of the major motivations for its cre“We want this to be a class where ation was that, we put a lot of it on the students to while the cursort of formulate the discussions and rent required history classes the way the course is going to be offered by the structured and look.” school edu- history teacher and cate students well, they do department chair mark buckley not necessarily connect to modern history and to today’s society.

“The options that have grown, Goldstein said that the school’s have grown very organically out of core values include graduating citi- who’s in the department, as well as zens of the world who are not only [out of] a look at what we want stusteeped in Jewish tradition but who dents to walk out with, but it’s sort of also understand the democracy in both of those simultaneously,” Goldwhich they live. The school wanted stein said. to help students better interact with According to Buckley, while the world around them, and this new these options were interesting and class is oriented toward giving stu- offered unique historical perspecdents the skills necessary for those tives, they were a specialized view of interactions. history and their content was more According to Goldstein, many that of an elective class. Each course other classes in the school have a was also often tied to a certain similar approach to meeting this teacher. This resulted in a wide arspecific school value. These courses ray of courses which lacked a “final include classes in the Jewish history experience” that would be unified, curriculum and in particular classes as a history requirement would give, like Contemporary American Jewish Buckley said.

Society as well as Jewish text classes Next year, in addition to the new like Theology. Skills learned in the course, American Women’s History, general studies curriculum, such as War and Civilization and Art History critical thinking and student-driven will still be offered to students, but

all three options may not run depending on how many students register for each course.

Senior Lois Richman was enrolled in both Women’s History and War and Civilization. Richman liked that she was able to choose her history courses this year, which will be lost if students cannot fit a history elective as well as their required history course into their schedules.

Being able to choose what courses she wanted to take made Richman's schedule more interesting, but she also appreciates the value of discussing current issues in history classes.

“I think that [Women’s History] is super current and I’m already being able to engage in conversations that I probably wouldn’t have been able to engage in before, so I definitely think it prepares you a lot,” Richman said. “War and Civ is a little bit different because it’s not like I’m really talking about a lot of these battles or wars on a day-to-day basis, but that can also help too.”

The opportunity to learn about different historical perspectives is one that the school hopes to maintain, Goldstein said. The current history elective classes will also be offered to future juniors as well as seniors, which Goldstein said may lead to an uptick in how many juniors double in history.

“Right now there are a lot of options to go deep in science, but science isn’t for everybody and so this is a great opportunity for students that are interested in the humanities to go deeper in the humanities,” Goldstein said. “They can do it right now in science, they can do it right now in the Judaics, so we are now expanding that in the humanities beyond just the Creative Writing option.”

news the lion’s tale

Pulse of the School

compiled by kate sosland

Students reflect on the first year of the trump presidency "I think a lot of the stuff with immigration bans, I’m not going to say it’s the most right thing to do but I think in terms of safety, he is definitely following through in making sure we have proper bans and making sure our country is safe as a whole, [which] is a good thing to do."

Sophomore Ava Fradlin

Junior Tamar Eisen

“I do find it slightly concerning that he has been accused of abuse and sexual assault by so many women, and in spite of so many changes that have been happening right now, every accusation that has been put up against him has completely failed to take hold.”

"I wasn’t initially [a Trump supporter] before the inauguration but after this year I would consider myself a Trump supporter."

"He has made it very clear through the travel ban [and] big efforts to build a wall that he has a lot of prejudices and racist premises."

Sophomore Reilly Lowell

"It’s been a quite eventful and interesting year. I think that the controversy that has been sparked has been really important for our country to see that people really do think so differently and there is such a divide in belief in principle among the people in our country."

"I think Trump has been too quick to destroy everything that Obama did without thinking about what he’s actually getting rid of. Like Obamacare, he just got rid of everything without thinking maybe there are some good things. Maybe not everything is good, but there are good things about Obamacare."

Junior Ethan Swagel

Junior Talia Shemony

Senior Ayelette Halbfinger

03

opinion 04

the lion’s tale

the

lion’s tale editors-in-chief ari feuer, rina torchinsky managing editor, copy isaac silber design editor caroline weinstein copy editor addie bard news editors amelia davidson, sara sporkin opinion editor gabe krantz in-depth editor aliza rabinovitz features editors emily cohen, kate sosland sports editors devira friedman, jessie lehman style editors ilan cohen, shira godin multimedia editor lily daroff editorial cartoonists beyla bass, ben shrock reporters sabrina bramson, ethan chanin, josh diewald, jesse edberg, izzy friedland, danny ingber, daphne kaplan, ilana kaplan, ethan kulp, alex landy, izzy may, oren minsk, nate miller, sophia miller, ben robinson, sally rogal, matthew rabinowitz, lily rosenberg, ben savarick, josh siegel, irit skulnick, rebecca weiss, corinne zlotnitsky staff adviser jessica nassau adviser emerita susan zuckerman Editorial and Ethics Policy

Staff editorial

It’s time for a change to our snow policy

This winter, CESJDS has had two school closures, one two-hour delay and one early dismissal due to winter weather. Currently, JDS follows Montgomery County Public Schools’ decision on the first day of a storm and then makes its own decision on subsequent days.

Because JDS maintains only two campuses, as opposed to the county’s 204, has fewer students who walk to school and is made up of a geographically diverse student body, following MCPS is not the best bet. Instead, JDS should make its own decision in order to tailor specifically to its own community.

JDS has no relationship to MCPS other than its shared location in Montgomery County. Other local private schools, like the Berman Hebrew Academy, make independent decisions about emergency weather closures and we should follow suit. MCPS builds in two snow days, while JDS builds in four days, so MCPS might be more hesitant to close once they have surpassed

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The Lion’s Tale prints 600 copies of every issue, which are distributed to students and staff at the Upper Campus. PDFs of the paper are available at issuu.com/lionstale. The Lion’s Tale website is lionstale.org. All contents copyright of The Lions’ Tale. All rights reserved.

stops, JDS has much fewer bus stops and they are in different locations than those of MCPS. The parking lots of MCPS schools likewise have no bearing on JDS or the condition of our staff and student lots.

While snow days and delays are exciting, we should not just blindly follow MCPS when they close solely for reasons that do not affect us whatsoever.

The opposite is true too; there may be times in which JDS should close or delay due to conditions in areas surrounding Montgomery County where a large number of JDS students live.

We believe that the current policy’s dependence on MCPS is not

cartoon by beyla bass

prudent, and therefore, JDS should always make its own decisions in regards to weather closings and delays.

-The Lion’s Tale

Uncomfortable as a Jewish atheist at a pluralistic school

As the student newspaper of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, The Lion’s Tale is a public forum for student opinion and expression. All content is determined by students. Its purpose is to inform the CESJDS community and to express the views of its staff and readers. The staff has made every effort to ensure the accuracy and objectivity of its news.

Signed columns reflect the opinion of the writer; staff editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of The Lion’s Tale editorial board.

The staff of The Lion's Tale welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns, all of which must be signed. The staff reserves the right to refuse any material and may edit letters or columns for length, clarity, libel, obscenity and/ or disruptiveness. Submissions may be emailed to jdslionstale@gmail.com or mailed to The Lion’s Tale at 11710 Hunters Lane, Rockville, Md., 20852.

their limit.

While MCPS students commute only from within county lines, JDS students and teachers come from all over the D.C. area and beyond, including Baltimore and Northern Virginia. When we follow MCPS’ decision on the first day, we disregard the conditions in the areas outside the county. MCPS obviously does not factor in the road and neighborhood conditions of surrounding areas when making their decisions.

MCPS often cites sidewalk and parking lot conditions as the prime reason for closing their schools on a particular day. In these cases, certain MCPS parking lots and nearby sidewalks have not been plowed or treated. For MCPS, this is a problem because a significant portion of MCPS students walk to school due to their close proximity and thus, if the sidewalks are not safe, MCPS might decide to close school.

Few JDS students and teachers walk to school. While a number of students do have to walk to bus

nate miller reporter CESJDS claims to be the poster child for Jewish pluralism.

The student body represents many denominations of Judaism: Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist and non-practicing. However, JDS can be an uncomfortable place for Jewish atheists.

A Jewish atheist is someone who ethnically or culturally Jewish but does not believe in God. I consider myself a Jewish atheist, and I want to see more acceptance of Jewish atheism at our school. According to the

Huffington Post, 10-15 percent of Jews consider themselves to be atheists, and a much larger percentage have doubts about the existence of a god. Some of them practice Judaism out of habit or because they enjoy the traditions, while others do not practice at all. There have been many well known Jewish atheists throughout history, including Baruch Spinoza, Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud. These brilliant thinkers helped change our understanding of the world, but if they had been students at JDS, they would have been made uncomfortable or even shamed.

The teachers at JDS are usually open to hearing a variety of opinions and have embraced the value of pluralism very well. In particular, my Jewish Text teachers have told me on multiple occasions that they appreciated my arguments and thoughts.

That cannot be said for many students, however. In my Biblical Commentary class, my religious views are often met with anger

and disapproval from people who interpret the Bible as an accurate history of the Jewish people, written by a man in the sky.

Although the purpose of this class is discussion, some of my opinions clearly make other students uncomfortable. For example, it seems at times that at JDS, one is socially expected to believe that Noah rounded up approximately eleven million animals onto one boat because he heard a voice from a man in the sky. I find this odd because even some biblical scholars who believe there is a god understand that the Bible cannot be interpreted literally.

One area in which the school could be more accommodating toward atheists and agnostics is with respect to prayer. Derekh Tefilah, the most flexible Zman Kodesh option for freshmen, involves praying and reading Torah. Options like Drisha that do not involve praying are not made available to freshmen.

Every time I utter these prayers, however, I feel hypocrit-

ical. I find my mind wandering to the Bible and how it contradicts scientific understanding and history, and I become very frustrated that I am the product of a religion that is based on a fundamental principle which I do not accept.

Students are also required to stand for many of the prayers, regardless of their beliefs. On one occasion, I wanted to sit for a prayer and was told by a teacher that I could “find another school.”

Other students have quietly approached me and said they have similar feelings of discomfort about being expected to pray. Since atheism is not socially acceptable at JDS, very few students want to admit publicly that they do not believe in God. There are a whole array of ways to approach the Bible and the question of God. I just wish that everyone could understand that pluralism means accepting all views, not just those that are perceived to be in the mainstream.

opinion . the lion’s tale

05

Pro/con: Require arts classes Keep arts classes optional

Make arts classes mandatory

sophia miller reporter Although many people may think that Apple founder Steve Jobs only cared about technology, they are wrong. Jobs said, “Technology alone is not enough. It’s technology married with the liberal arts, married to the humanities, that yields us the results that make our hearts sing.”

Taking music and art classes allows students to express themselves. Despite the fact that many students are not particularly interested in music and art, these classes can still teach many valuable lessons like dealing with mistakes. Students learn values that they can later apply to their academic and social lives, such as cooperation and problem-solving. All students should have a well-rounded education, which includes art and music.

In a 2002 report by the Arts Education

Partnership that was reproven in 2010, students who are exposed to arts are found to be more proficient in different school subjects. Researchers found that students who took an art or music class typically scored higher on standardized tests. This conclusion was reached by looking at many different studies done throughout the country.

In addition to enhancing academic performance, arts and music also help students learn accountability in a friendly environment. Students learn to be confident and to take credit for their work which, in turn, helps them take responsibility for their mistakes in school as well as in their everyday lives.

Another benefit of taking a class in the arts is the emphasis on collaboration. The Rand Corporation found that art and music classes help community cohesion. Students can help their community through art as the classes give them an outlet to create beautiful pieces as a way to express themselves or their communities.

Arts and music are very important for people to be taking because they don’t just teach you how to draw or play an instrument. They teach you important life skills in a friendly environment. They prepare you for the outside world as well as giving you skills that you can apply in the rest of your classes.

sally rogal reporter I love art and music education, but requiring students to study the arts may result in the loss of valuable time to pursue their interests and acquire more marketable career skills. Especially with the increasingly high demand for STEM jobs, schools should focus on teaching core classes rather than require students to take art and music courses.

Although art and music classes are a great way to show students creativity, they won’t help students get jobs in today’s world.

STEM-related classes allow students to use their creativity to fix problems that at first seemed unfixable, which teaches them in more practical ways than in music or art class.

For example, during a 3-D printing class, students are able to use their creativity to design an object of their choosing.

In the results from the 2015 Program for

International Student Assessment, the United States placed 40th in math and just above the PISA average in reading and science for the 72 countries that were assessed. The United States lowered its performance for math by 11 points and maintained the same results in reading and science from the past year.

The United States, as one of the most powerful countries in the world, should not be placing around average. Our poor performance shows that the United States must emphasize math, reading and science education much more than we do now. If we require arts education, it will take time away from teaching core classes which will not allow the United States to move up in the rankings.

Schools recognize that art and music education is not as valuable as core classes and make their budget choices accordingly. In 2009, Detroit Public Schools was forced to cut their budget which caused them to eliminate arts education in many of their schools. When other school districts around the country were faced with the same issue, they looked to arts education as the first thing to go as well.

Art and music classes should not be mandatory in high school and schools should ensure that students are able to focus on their core classes in order to better prepare them for their futures.

Some advice for my younger self

isaac silber outgoing managing editor, copy As I sat down with only a couple days left of high school, a few more hours in the place I’ve called home for the last six years, I had some trouble trying to make sense of the fact that my time at CESJDS was coming to an end. In thinking back on my time here, the one thing that I can say for sure is that I have had a truly transformative high

school experience.

In the past few years, I have taken chances with courses and opportunities, yet there are still some choices that I made in high school that I regret. But in assessing my high school experience as a whole, I thought back to freshman year. I remembered not knowing what high school would bring and wishing so deeply for some advice. So now as I prepare to leave this amazing place, I want to give you all some advice, for how to make the most of your high school experience.

1. Take a class with Ms. Bergstein One of the most special things about the JDS curriculum is the diverse array of Jewish studies options in the older grades. My favorite Jewish history classes, American Jewish History through Film and Literature and Contempo-

rary American Jewish Society, have all been taught by Jewish history teacher Rachel Bergstein. Though her courses are challenging, her energy in teaching and depth of knowledge are unmatched, and her classes perfectly weave Jewish history into the context of the present. Instead of taking the easy 'A' in some other Judaics offerings, take advantage of one of the best teachers and challenge yourself to improve your writing and thinking with Ms. Bergstein.

2. Take the Arab-Israeli Conflict course I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but this is a musttake class, and frankly, it should be required by the school. This class offers such vital information about the conflict that is so important to understanding Jewish and Israe-

li history, in addition to current politics both here in the U.S. and in Israel. Additionally, it is the one class that will start to prepare you for the anti-Israel dialogue that is present on virtually every college campus. Last, don’t be scared of the final project. There’s no one better suited to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict than you yourself.

3. Take an Arts Class One of my biggest regrets is that I never took an arts class in high school. At JDS, there is so much pressure to take the most rigorous schedule, but as I look back, I wish I had taken one fewer academic class in exchange for an arts class. From talking to friends, viewing the artwork that hangs all around the school and attending the various concerts, I know what great opportunities await in the arts

department and I think that every student, no matter their artistic abilities should partake. Art in whatever form can and should be a much-needed break from the rigors of a JDS high school education.

4. Join a Sports Team Sports have been a constant for me at JDS. From my time in seventh grade on the middle school “rotation squad” up to the past few years of varsity sports, I have loved every minute of being part of the sports program here. I have made and maintained my closest friends on the playing field and the court, and the rivalries have driven my competitive spirit. I get through every grueling school day knowing that every night I will have a chance to put the lion on my chest and play sports for the school that I love.

opinion 06

the lion’s tale

Change: Not always a good thing

ari feuer outgoing editor-in-chief “Turn and face the strange chch- changes” doubles as a brilliant David Bowie lyric and CESJDS’ motto over my time at the school.

Everywhere I turn as I walk through these halls which I first sauntered through six years ago, I see changes.

I see new people come and go as grades enter and graduate and as

students figure out if the school is the right place for them.

I see the art on the walls switch from high school play headshots to middle school ceramics classes to graphic design from all grades.

I see new teachers find their way through the school, develop relationships with their students and take on new challenges.

All of these changes are truly wonderful. They demonstrate the strength and creativity of our student body and faculty, the ones who really make the school a great place to come each morning and learn.

But not all change is good.

Take the schedule changes. Last year’s schedule for high school was a mistake. It caused student-athletes to miss the same classes over and over, and painfully caused my chemistry class to always be last every Friday. The countless Zman Kodesh

time changes, namely changing it to the beginning of the day even though it was considerably better attended after first period, made limited sense without an extensive explanation.

Take the new middle school, for example. The relationships I formed with teachers (shoutout to chemistry teacher Daniela Munteanu and Spanish teacher Silvia Kurlat Ares) in eighth grade were kept and strengthened through high school.

The opportunity to start learning just as I would in high school from a younger age gave me the experience I needed to jump right in and start to learn with no adjustment in freshman year. The current middle school students will not have these incredible opportunities.

The new middle school shows the change that most worries me: JDS’ mission. My brother left JDS

before this year because he and my family saw the school more of a place for “making mensches” than teaching children. While there is certainly virtue in the creation of the best Jew possible, the school should not decide what it means to be a “good Jew.” The whole point of Judaism, to me at least, is that it instills a set of values that every member of the tribe uses to set their own path. When I was in middle school and certainly throughout high school, JDS was about instilling values and giving us the incredible education needed for our futures.

It was not about forcing us to talk about feelings or pushing us to be part of certain Jewish institutions, as many middle school students think it is now. I hope the high school does not gain this mentality.

I worry that changing the middle school, building the iLab,

and more are symptoms of the issue that an institution must change in order to keep donors. Who wants to donate to something that works?

There is a reason why big donors to universities build a new building or start a new program. Change keeps places moving. But change is not always good.

So let me talk to the Board and our administrators. Stop fixing things that are not broken. You can find as much research as you want that promotes “progressive educators” and the like, but the school and the teachers are incredible.

Stop tinkering. Just give people the great education I had and they will keep coming back — I know that no change gives me a lot more motivation to send my children here than a lot of it.

Running has given me a more motivated mentality that urges me to accomplish more, whether that be in school, for The Lion’s Tale or in my personal life. I have learned how important this mindset is and that I am truly in control of my own destiny; thus, it is all a matter of how much effort I put into things.

The Lion’s Tale and the debate team are other activities I initially was wary to join, but that have both played a huge part in making my high school career as amazing as it has been. From these activities, I have learned how to better communicate and developed a real interest in politics, something I will bring

with me into my college studies and adult life.

Change, as we all know, is a scary thing, but bringing things we already know and love with us gives us a sense of comfort. I am fortunate to have been able to participate in these activities and plan to carry them with me for the rest of my life.

So, when your friend begs you to join the chess club, the swim team or anything else that sounds unbearable to you, give it a shot anyway. It might just turn out to change your life.

I kept my life on track through track

emily cohen outgoing features editor Some of the most important experiences in my life have come from trying things I initially thought

I wouldn’t like. I know, lots of people say they try new things and turn out to love them, but I was adamantly against pursuing almost all of my current extracurricular activities at the start of my freshman year. Now, four years later, I could not imagine my life without these activities.

I would say the most glaring example that comes to mind is running. I knew right off the bat that I would not be taking P.E. as a high schooler, so I had to participate in a CESJDS team sport. I had played soccer since first grade and was on the middle school team with all of my friends, so I always assumed that I would play it in high school as well.

One friend, however, surprised me before the start of freshman year by telling me she wouldn’t be playing soccer, but rather would run on the cross-country team. I spent hours trying to convince her to play soccer with me and told her how hellish I found the idea of running, but she somehow convinced me to join the cross-country team with her.

It was the best decision I have ever made. The cross-country and track community at JDS is my family.

Even though running is technically an individual sport, I had never felt so much a part of a community that works together as I have on our running teams.

I’m graduating and I still don’t understand late passes

gabe krantz outgoing opinion editor

It’s safe to say that I have learned a thing or two throughout my 13 years at CESJDS (shocking, I know). I have become so comfortable and familiar with almost every aspect of the school and building where I have spent a large portion of my life. Whether it be staying at school until 10 p.m. or just building great relationships, school has always been my second home.

Despite how much I’ve come to love this school, there has been one thing about JDS that still baffles me to this day. I do not, in the slightest, understand those pink late passes and the purpose they serve. To give

some context, I am not what most would call “a morning person." I am guilty of often saying to myself, while laying in bed after pressing the snooze button for the fourth time, “Eh, it is not the end of the world if I’m five (read as 25) minutes late.”

If you are late to a class without a late pass, you are marked as late.

If you arrive on time to a class but have a late pass, you are on time. For those like myself, who have come a “minute or two” late to school “once or twice," you probably are familiar with the snaking, five-minute long line you have to stand on in order

to pick up your late pass. This is despite the fact that you are going to be marked late regardless and now are just five minutes later upon signing in and taking a pass.

Through the years, I feel like I’ve asked probably everyone why we need these seemingly pointless passes and never have been given an answer that makes sense.

Despite needing a late pass when late, I will always hold on to and very much miss JDS, specifically the relationships I’ve made with peers and teachers. While everyone has their little things they disagree with and/or dislike during the

school day (such as late passes), in the grand scheme of things, they mean nothing compared to everything I’ve learned and will take away.

It is a common sentiment of the senior class to say “I’m so done with high school and cannot wait to get to college and never have to come back here.” I could not disagree with this more and, while I’m excited about what is to come, I will miss being in what I’ve called my second home for so long, surrounded by people I have called my second family for as long as I can remember.

opinion . the lion’s tale

07

More than just a newspaper

rina torchinsky outgoing editor-in-chief “Journalism is dying,” they tell me —all the time. In fact, I expect to hear it every time someone asks me about my plans for the future. It echoes in my head as I brainstorm story ideas for the next edition of

The Lion’s Tale. I wish I could stop it, but I cannot. Instead, I wonder, ‘What if journalism is dying?’

When I drive through my neighborhood, I see disheveled yellowing plastic bags lying in driveways getting rolled over by Toyota minivans. What if this is the final step of the journalistic process? The one that I did not review in Journalism I: interview, outline, write, edit, edit, edit, watch it get run over by a car, eventually scrape it off the driveway and toss it.

I see the same thing in school.

I have found The Lion’s Tale, into which we poured countless hours, sitting just below a tray of half-eaten mac and cheese and fish sticks in the cafeteria trash can. It is hard

to maintain hope in the future of journalism.

For me, print media is much more than headlines, small words and a classic Old English style font.

It is a remnant of the past, but it is also a snapshot of the present. Paging through a newspaper, I retreat from the onslaught of text message dings and focus on a deeper analysis than what can be understood from the running banner of Breaking News.

I am sequestered from the world, even while reading about it.

Clenching the gritty paper under my thumb, I think in a way that would be impossible with a bright touch screen or a shiny keyboard.

I recently read an article about

The plague of conformity

cartoon by ben shrock

a group of high school journalists in Kansas who investigated the qualifications of their incoming principal and found that she had claimed false degrees. After the students printed a front-page story in their school paper, the principal resigned. Their school paper, printed in ink on a wide sheet of newsprint, was not relegated to the driveway. In fact, the newspaper made the news: its headline made headlines, as other papers wrote about the high school journalists. Journalism was very much alive.

Even as journalism becomes a multi-platform endeavor and many publications work primarily online, I believe there is great value in continuing the tradition of

print journalism. While I am always truly excited to tackle video, online stories and the latest interactive graphics, there is a reason we still distribute the print edition of The Lion’s Tale.

Print journalism champions the inclusion of multiple perspectives, relevant background information and thorough analysis of a story, all of which have a tendency to get lost in the fast-paced world of online journalism. We do not let that happen at The Lion’s Tale, print or web. If we are to keep journalism not only alive but flourishing, I hope to find a way to incorporate these traditions into whatever form reporting takes in the future.

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Hungry for a healthy diet local jewish eaters, chefs embrace green nutrition trends

ari feuer and rina torchinsky editors-in-chief Washington, D.C. restaurateur Sara Polon walks into her Takoma Park restaurant Soupergirl and starts preparing her colorful soups. Polon and her staff wake up the stove and mix together their all-natural, vegan ingredients into one of the most popular soups in the D.C. area.

Polon, who graduated CESJDS in 1995, taps into growing trends for Americans: vegetarianism and veganism. According to a 2016 national Pew study, 12 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 say that they are vegetarian. This number is more than double the number of people over 65 who are vegetarians.

With a large young population, D.C. is at the forefront of this movement; many websites rank the city in the top ten best areas for vegans and vegetarians. Those who eat vegan and vegetarian have many reasons for their diets.

Senior Segev Elazar-Mittelman has been a vegetarian his entire life.

He said that he “just can’t stand to eat something that was previously alive and sentient.” He also said that it is healthier for the environment to be vegetarian, as heavy meat con-

sumption increases the number of cows necessary to make food. These cows emit methane, which helps increase global warming.

Polon’s restaurant furthers the vegetarian ideals about which Elazar-Mittelman spoke. One particular point of pride for Polon is that she sources her ingredients as locally as possible. This selection of ingredients helps both the local economy and the environment. The quality of the food also helps Polon feel confident in her product.

“Everything is made by hand from scratch: no chemicals or preservatives,” Polon said. "They’re very low in salt and they feature ingredients from local farms all over the Mid-Atlantic and they make people feel good.”

When she started her restaurant, Polon kept it just vegan. But she soon realized that she could not bring her soups home because she keeps kosher at her house. To solve this problem, Polon purchased a new kitchen for her business and Soupergirl became the kosher vegan restaurant it is today.

While prominent kosher restaurants such as Char Bar and Ben Yehuda Pizza cater to a specif-

ically Jewish audience, Polon sees many non-Jewish customers who come for the fresh ingredients and the soups. Kashrut does present an obstacle to Polon’s business, though.

She cannot open the restaurant on Saturdays, usually a very busy day for dining establishments.

“It’s hard on my staff and it’s hard for production,” Polon said. “I

healthy Jewish cooking, as her publisher pushed her to expand her culinary horizons.

Shoyer’s newest book is “The Healthy Jewish Kitchen,” which seeks to make traditional Jewish dishes healthier.

Shoyer said that kosher cooking often uses the same ingredients that were used over a hundred years ago in traditional Jewish food. Ingredients traditionally include "Our choices in this interconnected a lot of butter, world don’t just impact us anymore. fat, puff pastry They impact everything and the and other ingredients that are planet is suffering because of that." unhealthy.

In her book, Shoyer - soupergirl owner goes through the sara polon same traditional recipes and finds alternative ways to cook them. wanted to provide it as a service to While Shoyer’s cookbook is the community. I didn’t think that not vegetarian, it does follow the there were enough kosher options.” same philosophy as Polon, one that Unlike Polon, cookbook author espouses the importance of healthy Paula Shoyer targets a Jewish au- food. The Pew survey found that 54 dience with her work. Shoyer, the percent of American adults pay more mother of three former JDS students attention to eating healthy foods and one current senior, started her than they did 20 years ago. career with “The Kosher Baker,” “My philosophy is people are ala book that channeled her love of ways dieting, watching their weight, baking. Shoyer now writes about and somebody would say, ‘Well you

can never have challah, you can never have stuffed cabbage, you can never have rugelach,’" Shoyer said. "So what I did was I took all of those recipes and found a way to make them healthier."

Shoyer travels around the world to spread her ideas and work. She has visited Israel for research and book tours and has gone as far as South Africa to learn about different ingredients and dishes. She also often travels within the United States, going to New York twice within the past month along with holding many events in the D.C. area.

“I do events from Reform shuls to Lubavitch synagogues,” Shoyer said. “I do events for federations.

Some events I just talk and other events I’ll do a demonstration, so now that I have food recipes, I typically do a meal.”

The general kosher population has joined Shoyer in the trend toward a more healthy approach to food in terms of not only nutrition but also the way food establishments treat their ingredients and employees.

In 2006, the kosher meat company Aaron’s Best came under heavy government scrutiny when its owner, Sholom Rubashkin, was arrested for fraud. Rubashkin’s plant in Iowa, called Agriprocessors, employed

in-depth the lion’s tale

and exploited many undocumented immigrants and cruelly treated animals. Rubashkin received a 25-year sentence that was recently commuted by President Donald Trump. Since the scandal, many kosher meat manufacturers have popped up advertising their green and humane bona fides.

While corporations like Empire Kosher still control most of the kosher meat market, small, mainly online-based companies such as Kol Foods and Glatt Organics have started to gain popularity. These groups send a large amount of meat to customers’ houses or to a single meeting spot where different consumers will take home parts of the animal.

There are also organizations within Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Judaism that certify kosher restaurants based on the way they treat employees. These groups hope to avoid a repeat of Agriprocessors.

Polon said that Jews have an

obligation to go beyond the law and to make the world a better place through their eating habits.

“As Jews, we are held to higher standards," Polon said. "Everything you do, you’re supposed to say a prayer. Our choices in this interconnected world don’t just impact us anymore. They impact everything and the planet is suffering because of that.”

Both Shoyer and Polon said that healthy habits start young. Shoyer encouraged students to learn how to cook a few dishes before they go away from home so they do not just eat ramen every day.

“The most important things kids going off to college need to learn is a couple of survival things,” Shoyer said. “You need to know how to make breakfast foods; know how to make eggs, how to make pancakes, an omelet. If you can cook food from scratch, it’s so much better for you than any food you can buy.”

Senior Ezra Loeb’s family keeps kosher and his mother is vegan, so finding meals outside the house proves difficult much of the time.

Loeb said that he plans meals on the weekend, goes grocery shopping for the ingredients, then cooks them each night.

Loeb said that he has found both vegan restaurants and kosher restaurants to be somewhat lackluster. He believes that kosher restaurants “have pretty bad food” because they cater to a small market and have minimal competition, “so they don’t need to have high-quality food.”

Loeb also said that he sees a natural connection between healthy eating and kashrut from the halacha itself.

“In terms of healthfulness, I think kashrut, the rules about separating meat and milk, result in eating less meat which I think is healthier for you,” Loeb said.

Elazar-Mittelman said that

photo courtesy of paula shoyer

Paula Shoyer readies for a photo that will adorn her cookbook, website and event flyers.

photo courtesy of paula shoyer

Shoyer's chocolate quinoa cake shows how she makes traditionally unhealthy foods, like a rich chocolate cake, with healthier ingredients.

kashrut not only can lead to healthy eating but also vegetarianism.

“There are laws about meat in Judaism, which kind of makes you think maybe you shouldn’t eat meat because it is so complicated,” Elazar-Mittelman said. “It is also a big benefit for the kosher thing. People ask me if I eat kosher, I don’t.

But I totally do because I don’t eat meat, which sort of sidesteps everything. Anything that has meat in it I just avoid, and that’s generally the non-kosher stuff.”

Polon also said that vegetarianism works well with Jewish values. It helps the environment and also avoids any chance of cruelty to animals. At Soupergirl, she works to uphold these ideals, and she finds that work fulfilling.

“I’m proud of the product that we put out,” Polon said. “I’m proud

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that we’ve helped a lot of people; thousands of people eat healthier, make their lives a little bit better. I know that we have helped a lot of people make healthier choices and I think that’s important that we’ve made people’s lives better.”

photo by jessie lehman

Soupergirl soups stacked. The vegan soups are not only sold in the restaurants but also in stores.

photo courtesy of sara polon

Sara Polon stands with her mother, and fellow soup enthusiast, Marilyn.

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Environmental club pushes students to

Think hard before they sabrina bramson reporter The small, blue bins in every classroom have one purpose: to be used for recycling. When junior Dora Mendelson looks inside most of the recycling bins, however, she often finds recyclables mixed with food products and other non-recyclable items.

According to Director of Facilities Israel Moskowitz, the recycling system at JDS started in 2000 when Montgomery County passed a law requiring schools to recycle. The legislation, however, does not define a fixed system for how to carry out the recycling initiative.

Montgomery County’s requirement is that there is one centralized bin where all of the recycling should be placed for pick up. JDS took this “a [step] further,” according to Moskowitz, and put blue bins and boxes throughout the school to make the system easily accessible.

Moskowitz said that whenever something other than recyclables is placed in the recycling bins, none of the paper can be collected by the county to recycle. When food touches the paper in the bins, it immediately contaminates the paper and everything in the bin must be thrown

out instead of being recycled.

To resolve this issue, Moskowitz believes that school should educate the students about recycling.

Montgomery County provides educators that can come to the school in efforts to increase recycling, but JDS has not utilized this opportunity.

The Upper School used to have a green team made up of students who were in charge of educating the school about recycling, according to

do more recycling.”

Mendelson agrees with Moskowitz that this problem is mainly a student body issue and she is trying to help handle it. Mendelson is a leader of the Environmental Protection Club along with junior Addie Bard. The club is trying to take on the responsibilities of the green team, but they have a new name with new members.

Currently, the Environmental Protection Club is working on spreading awareness on “The problem’s not in the system, how to be green.

While they have the problem is in adhering to the communicated with system.“ the administration - director of facilities about their goals, the administration israel moskowitz has neglected to provide resources and any new ideas.

Moskowitz. However, there has not The club has only three membeen an organized team in a num- bers, excluding Mendelson and Bard. ber of years. Without the education, She said that the lack of numbers is Moskowitz thinks that it is hard for causing some obstacles for the club’s students to recycle. goals.

“The problem’s not in the sys“Going into second semester tem, the problem is in adhering to we’re trying to appeal to all differthe system,” Moskowitz said. “If we ent types of people so that the club want to up the numbers, we have to grows and we can actually facilitate do a program in the school to edu- change in the school with recycling cate the kids, to get them involved to and being more green,” Mendelson

Trash Bin THROW AWAY: Food Used trays and napkins Non-recyclable plastics

Disc rd

Blue Bin RECYCLE: Tin cans Plastic bottles Glass containers

said. “But we really can’t do that unless we have a substantial group of people.”

At the Lower School, there is a composting system located in a science classroom. The Upper School has discussed doing something similar, but they have not yet created a plan.

According to High School Principal and Associate Head of School Marc Lindner, there have been talks of adding composting to the Upper School in a similar fashion to the system at the Lower School. This attempt, however, has not been very successful because there is no location where the compost can be placed.

Although attempting to add something green to the school did not work out, according to Lindner, the faculty has been encouraged to carry reusable water bottles with them instead of using disposable ones.

Additionally, Mendelson said that the Environmental Protection Club is working on posters to put around the school explaining what goes in both the trash cans and the recycling bins.

While Mendelson and her club work to teach the school about the recycling system, the lack of current

education in the school is noticeable to freshman Tal Arber. Arber said that his friends “ignore” the recycling system at the school and he has even witnessed a friend throwing a plastic water bottle into a trash can instead of a recycling bin. Arber told his friend during this event that he should not have thrown the bottle away, but he noticed that his friend did not listen to him.

Arber knows the positive effects of recycling and uses them to motivate him to do so, but this knowledge did not come from JDS. He learned about recycling at Camp Ramah in New England, a sleepaway camp in Palmer, Mass.

“Actually, one year at camp they had a guy come and talk to us about the effects of recycling and how it’s good for the environment and so from then on I just realized, ‘Oh, I should just start recycling especially since it’s not really hard,’” Arber said.

There are some students, like Arber, correctly using the recycling system at JDS, but both Mendelson and Moskowitz agree that the system in place can work, as long as the students know how to use it. “[The problem]’s not in the system, it’s in the education,” Moskowitz said.

Green Bin RECYCLE: Paper Cardboard

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photos by ari feuer and rina torchinsky Seniors Daniel Weiss, Shira Graubart and Aaron Liss celebrate their acceptances to Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and Columbia University in New York City. All three were accepted with over a month left in the school year. Graubart was accepted to Edinburgh in November, while Weiss and Liss got into their schools in mid-December through early decision.

Senior acceptances to college generate jubilation, senioritis amelia davidson reporter As CESJDS seniors count down their final days of high school, the number who have been accepted into colleges steadily goes up. With future plans intact, it can become more challenging for seniors to remain focused on academics.

Seniors began to be accepted into college as early as September.

Many have been accepted through binding early applications, which means that they are already committed to attending a certain school.

Senior Shira Graubart was accepted to her first-choice school, the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, in early November. That particular school does not consider senior year grades for international students, so Graubart has found that she had little motivation to keep her grades up.

“I’m someone who is very ambitious, and I’m normally very focused on school, and it’s really important to me not just because I want to have good grades but because I genuinely enjoy a lot of my classes,” Graubart said. “But what I’m finding now is

that I put in the minimum amount of effort required.”

According to Director of College Guidance Sue Rexford, Graubart’s case is unique. Most seniors are not committed to certain universities before they graduate in February, so they still need to maintain their grades.

Even acceptance is not permission to slack off. The majority of colleges make it clear that acceptance depends on “successful completion of your senior year,” with the universities defining what they view as “successful completion,” Rexford said. For that reason, schools can retract acceptances if a student's senior year grades are slipping dramatically.

Senior Brooke Cohen, who got into her top choice school, Washington University in St. Louis, in mid-December, thinks that the threat of the university retracting its offer because of grades has ensured that she continued to try hard in her classes.

“The colleges see your final transcript so I still try in school, but if I’m really stuck I’m like, ‘whatever

it doesn’t really matter that much as long as I’m still doing my work and trying,’” Cohen said.

Before working at JDS, Rexford saw multiple instances of students whose admission was revoked over the summer because of their poor performance during senior year. For this reason, the JDS college counseling team stresses to seniors the importance of their grades.

“We try to talk to the student about this, we want them to finish strong,” Rexford said. “I think the fact that they have some finals to take helps some, and the classroom teachers are working hard to keep them motivated.”

English teacher Thomas Worden teaches advanced English classes for seniors. He says that he definitely sees a dip in students’ motivation both when they get into college or when they receive bad news from colleges.

In both circumstances, Worden feels that he cannot necessarily employ a class-wide strategy to increase motivation because everyone reacts to news from colleges differently. He thinks that it is beneficial to

have “independent, very brief checkins” with students, and specifically with the ones who got accepted to let them know that his class is what they make it and it is up to them to decide what type of learning experience they want to get out of his class.

“Sometimes it’s hard to intervene," Worden said. "You have to gauge those moments very carefully and remain tactful because at the end of the day, it’s their educational experience and they need to work through this on their own to a certain extent."

In addition to the efforts in the classroom, Rexford believes that the Israel trip helps ensure that students do not lose too much motivation. In previous jobs, Rexford has seen that it is often very difficult for teachers and counselors to keep second-semester seniors motivated; therefore, she is grateful that the Israel trip makes it so that seniors only need to get through one semester.

Rexford also stresses that though students may struggle with lack of motivation, overall, acceptance into college can have positive effects on a student’s mental health.

According to Rexford, there is clear relief when students get into college and she can see that they become more relaxed and overall less tense.

Graubart has also found that her early acceptance had some benefits for her academic career. Though she recognizes that it is not ideal that she cared less about school after she was accepted, she also thinks that it helped her discover her interests.

“I put in effort and I focus more on the topics I really enjoy," Graubart said. "It’s interesting because it’s really showing me what I’m inherently fascinated by and what I genuinely want to do, not just what I’m forced to do."

Cohen also found that already being accepted into college before she graduated helped her learn how to stay self-motivated. Overall, she feels that this helped her to more relaxed about school work.

“People know me as like very stressed out about school, but knowing that I’m going to college obviously has taken some of the weight off.

But I still try,” Cohen said.

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Cafeteria, revised:

Students adjust to new lunch program izzy may reporter The moment the bell rings, hungry students rush to the cafeteria lunch line to choose from the buffet style food court and pay for their items. The 175-student storm trying to get their lunch at the same time can make the wait take almost half of a ravenous student’s lunch period. Despite the delay, many students opt for hot lunch because of the new payment system.

Over 70 percent of CESJDS students purchased hot lunch first semester, about a 10 percent increase from last year. Food Services Manager Erick Gilbert credits the increase in purchases to the new cafeteria system, put in place this past August.

The administration has spent multiple years trying to design a new cafeteria system. Chief Financial Officer Julie Hoover worked alongside Gilbert to create the current system.

“It took us some time to research that and see what [system] would be the best to use,” Hoover said.

The “pay a you go method” was implemented after the administration had conducted community sur-

veys and food court trial weeks. The trial weeks allowed the administration to assess the flow of traffic and the logistics of food production .

Using the “pay as you go” method, students pay for parts of their lunch separately each day instead of paying for a whole semester of hot lunch. Parents can load money on their child’s online account so that when their child purchases a lunch, they draw from their loaded account.

Sophomore Josie Levine believes that having students only have to pay for what they want to eat, rather than paying for a full meal, is one of the main benefits of the new lunch program.

“Parents aren’t necessarily paying for stuff that you don’t eat, so it can end up being less expensive in that way,” Levine said.

Aside from the change in payment method, the second part of the new system is the change in food choices. The new system was intended to be designed like a food court and consists of different food options in three separate lines.

Originally, Gilbert wanted each line to offer a different cuisine: one Italian, one flatbread and one Hispanic. As the year went on, Gilbert

decided to tweak the system. Each week, there are three dairy and three meat options, with all dairy days having the same options and all meat days having the same. There is a few-week rotation of food sets.

“Pizza and pasta were so popular that we sort of split that into two

food every week, so [the food] is not as good this year, since I’m so used to having it every day,” Goldberg said.

Though the repetition of carbheavy options in the menu could be seen as a downside to the new system, one of the benefits is the decline in cost for each meal.

The new lunch program is less expensive for students on average; lunches “Lunch lines are an incredible are now about $6.50 math equation. How do you per meal, whereas move 175 people through a line last year they cost $8.50. in 17 minutes?”

Because stu-food services manager dents pay for items separately, students erick gilbert are more conscious of their meal choices, only selecting things lines,” Gilbert said. that they know they will eat. The a Currently, there are two Italian la carte pricing has resulted in a delines on dairy days that serve pizza cline in waste production. Since JDS and pasta and one flatbread line that pays for trash by the pound, the deserves quesadillas, grilled cheese or cline in garbage has saved the school other dishes depending on the week. money.

Some students, like freshman Yet, the increase in students Eilah Goldberg, do not see an appeal buying lunch has also lengthened in the rotation of the same items cafeteria lines. On average, students served each week. have to wait between 11 and 17 min“I get bored of having the same utes each day to get their food, Gil-

bert said.

“If you don’t get there early, [the lines] can take really long,” eighth-grader Talia Jacobsohn said.

Gilbert is considering pre-packaging the food so that lunch lines will move quicker. While the pre-packaged meals would quicken the line, they come with complications. They would negate meal choice and raise the price of the meals because of the packaging cost. Gilbert is always Gilbert is always trying to come up with a better solution to reduce the amount of time spent in the lunch line.

“Lunch lines are an incredible math equation.” Gilbert said, “How do you move 175 people through a line in 17 minutes?”

According to Hoover, the current lunch system will likely continue next year. Goldberg also said that he will most likely continue to buy lunch next year, just because it is easier than packing a lunch the night before.

“I think the new cafeteria system was a good idea, except it wasn’t executed as well as it maybe could have,” Goldberg said.

photos by jessie lehman Sophomore Davida Goldman speaks with High School Principal Marc Lindner while waiting to choose her lunch.

Sophomore Brianna Loshin enters her code to be charged for her lunch. The checkout station is part of the new PayPams system.

Students gaze at the menu as they wait in line for pasta. Kitchen staff distribute lunch to students from three different stations each day.

sports the lion’s tale

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photos by jessie lehman Eighth-grader Yoni Liebstein is put in a headlock by an opponent from Georgetown Day School. Liebstein broke free and later won the match.

Sophomore Adiv Liebstein puts an opponent from Georgetown Day School in a headlock during a home match.

Sophomore Adam Gaskill looks to pin an opponent from Georgetown Day School. This is Gaskill's fifth year on the team.

Pin it to Win it: varsity team wrestles its way to 1-1-2 record becca weiss reporter Devastated by a loss at his first wrestling match, sophomore Joey Katz resolved to beat his Georgetown Day School opponent in a rematch. He trained for extra hours, clocking in sweat-drenched sessions on weekends.

At the Nov. 29, 2017 meet at GDS, Katz approached the mat and looked nervously at the wrestler who had taken him down earlier that month, beating Katz by just one point. The referee grunted, "Go!" It took three punishing, 2-minute rounds for Katz to find satisfaction, pinning his opponent and winning the match.

“I redeemed myself because I worked hard," Katz said.

For the CESJDS wrestling team, wrestling is not just a means of exercise; it is a way to learn valuable life lessons. The team, a group of 10 boys, practices from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, at the Lower School. During their train-

ing sessions, team members do conditioning exercises and refine wrestling techniques.

The wrestling team is not limited to high schoolers. Middle school students are also eligible, as long as they are committed to the sport.

The combination of middle and high school students creates opportunities for collaboration and competition throughout the Upper School.

Eighth-grader Jason Vinokur originally joined the wrestling team to build strength and "get jacked.”

He ended up gaining more than just muscle mass.

“I have made new friends on the team," Vinokur said. "I get to meet high schoolers who I wouldn’t have met."

Vinokur added that when a teammate sat on his shoulders for three sets of 25 squats, it cemented a life-long friendship.

Sophomore Adam Gaskill, a five-year veteran of the team, appreciates the dynamic between high school and middle school wrestlers, and said he discovered another valu-

able life lesson: what goes around, comes around.

“I have the opportunity to try to be a mentor and teach middle schoolers,” he said.

Before matches, Gaskill often approaches middle schoolers and offer them insider tricks about how

vising them the way older students advised him.

High school students like Gaskill are motivated to help middle school wrestlers because in the “intense" sport of wrestling, the competition exists on two levels, according to Director of Athletics Mike Riley.

“It’s an individual sport that keeps a team record, and then, at the same time, indi“No one can bring you down, viduals are out there but no one can bring you up. You wrestling on their have to prove you can do it on own,” Riley said.

Sophomore Adiv your own.”

Liebstein added that - sophomore adiv liebstein each wrestler has to be well-rounded, unlike many other sports.

Players cannot have to calm nerves and act decisive- weaknesses because teammates are ly and quickly. Gaskill remembers not on the mats to compensate, he what it felt like to be a young middle said. schooler on the team; his stomach “No one can bring you down, filled with butterflies. He tells mid- but no one can bring you up,” Liebdle-schoolers to breathe, visualize stein said. “You have to prove you their success and go in with a plan of can do it on your own.” their first three moves. He likes adFor Liebestein, every meet is a

learning experience. The best lessons, he said, come from a lost match.

“The most important thing from a loss is to learn what you did wrong, so you don't do it again,” Liebstein said.

He said this is a lesson that will help him not only in wrestling but also outside of the sport in his everyday life.

Time management is another skill Gaskill has honed from wrestling. Due to the time commitment, Gaskill has learned to get his work done at school and work efficiently at home.

At the end of the day, varsity wrestling coach Chuck Woolery said that wrestling is a metaphor for all of our struggles in life.

“We wrestle with what we want our life to be about," Woolery said.

"We wrestle with who we want to date. We wrestle with what job we want. We are always wrestling with ideas. To me, it's about fundamental principles, about what it takes to come up on top -- to try to dominate your challenge.”

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Sports Schedule Girls Varsity Basketball Jan. 31 - Away game at 4:30 p.m. against McLean School Feb. 7 - Home game against The Field School Feb. 13 - Away game at Washington Christian Academy Boys Varsity Basketball Jan. 31 - Home game at 6:15 p.m. against St. Anslem's Abbey School Feb. 5 - Home game at 4:30 p.m. against Washington Christian Academy Feb. 7 - Away game at 5:30 against The Field School Varsity Wrestling Feb. 14 - Away match at 4:30 p.m. against Georgetown Day School Co-ed Varsity Swim Jan. 31 - 3:30 p.m. meet at the Lab School

New boys varsity basketball players shake up roster ben robinson reporter The 2017-2018 CESJDS varsity boys basketball team is vastly different from last year’s team that won the PVAC championship. Last year’s team, widely regarded as one of the most dominant in JDS’ history, finished first place in the conference with a 24-3 record and brought home their first PVAC championship since 2010. It was anchored by an experienced core of nine then-seniors, led by varsity veterans Bryan Knapp (‘17) and Nadav Kalender (‘17).

One year after receiving their championship banner, the varsity team has undergone a radical makeover. The nine seniors who graduated in 2017 were replaced by nine new players, seven of whom were on the junior varsity team. Only three players from last year’s varsity team returned this year — senior Isaac Silber and juniors Max Stravitz and Zev Katz — and Stravitz is the only returning starter.

This year’s team holds a 6-6 conference record as of Jan. 28, and among the six losses is the first to JDS’ rival Berman Hebrew Academy in six years. It is ranked fifth in the PVAC, far from its first place finish last year.

According to Katz, this year’s team is “not as athletic or as talent-

ed” as they were last year, especial- the tough varsity competition. This ly on offense. Coach David McCloud could be a reason for the team’s slow said that last year’s team “had shoot- start, according to junior Dani Offer ers on all sides of the floor,” including who started on the JV team last year.

Knapp, Kalender and then-seniors “JV helps get you ready for varJoel Vardon (‘17) and Zev Stravitz sity to an extent, but it doesn’t totally (‘17). This year’s team, though, does prepare you because the opponents not have “a lot of guys that can make on varsity are much harder,” Offer a lot of shots” like they had last year.

Despite their of"It’s like last year’s team could fensive struggles, both score whenever we wanted. This Katz and McCloud said that this year’s varsity year we’re more defensively team is better on desound but we have more trouble fense than it was last year. This year’s team on offense."

- junior zev katz “loves playing defense and is committed to playing hard,” according to McCloud, and this effort has translated into stifling said. “I think there’s somewhat of a defense. learning curve for new varsity play“It’s like last year’s team could ers, and we had to overcome that.” score whenever we wanted," Katz McCloud understands this said. This year we’re more defen- learning curve, so he toughened his sively sound but we have more trou- coaching style this year to help acble on offense." climate his players to varsity comMost players on last year’s var- petition and accelerate their develsity team had been on the team the opment. The coach says that he is “a year before, meaning that going into little hard on this group” because it the season they had already estab- is their first time coming together on lished team chemistry and adjusted varsity. to playing at the intense varsity lev“They have to understand, varel. This year’s team, however, had to sity level is a lot faster than JV and rebuild its lost chemistry while the it’s a lot more physical," McCloud nine new players were adjusting to said. "So I do give them consequenc-

es a little more for messing up – you can call it ‘tough love.'”

McCloud has also adjusted his team’s offensive approach to make the most of his players’ abilities. According to McCloud, last year’s team could often score by “running a quick [offensive] set, one rotation, and getting an open shot.” There were also many players who could consistently score one-on-one, a luxury that this year’s team mostly lacks.

The team has returned to the same offensive strategy that McCloud employed when he first started coaching at JDS seven years ago, which involves running longer, more disciplined offensive sets. The goal of this, according to McCloud, is to “tire the defense out and get better looks, possibly get layups.”

Although the team is experiencing growing pains and not doing as well as it has in years past, McCloud believes that the team will be able to make a “good run" as the players continue to improve and Stravitz returns from a six-week absence due to a back injury. Both McCloud and Katz believe that the team can rebound from their early struggles and win this year’s PVAC championship.

“I think we’re the deadliest team in the conference, McCloud said. "You don’t want to play us in the playoffs."

2017-2018 Overall Record: 6-6 (as of Jan. 28) Number of Seniors: Four Captains: Juniors Zev Katz, Dani Offer

Feb. 13 - 4 p.m. meet at Oakcrest School

Co-ed Varsity Indoor Track

and Max Stravitz

Jan. 30 - 4 p.m. meet at Georgetown Prep Feb. 6 - 4 p.m. meet at Georgetown Prep Feb. 13 - 4:20 p.m. meet at Hebrew Academy

photo by jessie lehman The 2016-2017 boys varsity basketball team poses with the PVAC championship banner after their victory against Sandy Springs Friends School.

2016-2017 Overall Record: 24-3 Number of Seniors: Nine Captains: Josh Abramowitz ('17), Nadav Kalender ('17) and Bryan Knapp ('17)

photo courtesy of talia shemony Senior Liron Bitton, in his first season on the varsity basketball team, contests a shot from an opponent at Berman Hebrew Academy.

style the lion’s tale

15

Clinton tells all in “What Happened” daphne kaplan reporter After losing the 2016 presidential election, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton experienced a tough few months but wasted no time to prove that her presence and voice were still essential in Trump’s America. She decided to share her experiences from the election in a memoir titled “What Happened.” The book came out on Sept. 12, 2017, and quickly sold out, leading to a second printing.

In her memoir, Clinton focuses on her thoughts during the campaign and examines some of the controversies with an eye towards preventing similar predicaments in the future.

Clinton takes the reader through events starting with the inauguration, then moving back in time to her initial decision to campaign and eventually to Election Day itself. She discusses why the election ended as it did throughout the book and ends with a chapter called “Why,” where she

explores the reasons in more detail.

One topic Clinton specifically mentions is Russian President Vladimir Putin's relationship with President Donald Trump. She writes that Putin directly ordered a Russian campaign to meddle in the 2016 presidential election to boost the Trump campaign.

Clinton includes letters from her fans in her memoir throughout the entire book, which is a creative way to convey individual experiences.

The authors of the letters share how Clinton impacted them and how she taught them to persevere in Trump’s America. The letters stand in contrast to much of the book, which is geared to blaming herself for losing, apologizing for her “dumb” email management and for saying she would put coal miners “out of business.”

The former first lady also writes how sexism was a huge downfall in her campaign by thwarting her ability to reach out to voters substantially.

She writes, “The moment a woman steps forward and says, 'I'm running

for office,' it begins: the analysis of her face, her body, her voice … It can be unbelievably cruel.”

The attacks stay within the Democratic Party as well. Clinton blames Bernie Sanders and blames him for a lot of her loss. "I finally challenged Bernie during a debate … Nonetheless, his attacks caused lasting damage, making it harder to unify progressives in the general election and paving the way for Trump’s ‘Crooked Hillary’ campaign," Clinton writes.

After the election, Clinton struggled with what the future would hold for all Americans, specifically for women, members of the LGBTQ community and immigrants that she spent her campaign tirelessly fighting for.

Now, there are different movements such as Women’s and Science Marches that are experiencing monumental accomplishments despite the hatred they receive. Clinton remarked in her concession speech and in her book that, “we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling,

but someday someone will -- and hopefully sooner than we might think right now.” Clinton’s optimism gives readers a sense of hope for the future despite the setback of the election.

As someone who has never been that politically savvy, I think Clinton provides an excellent explanation of the specific difficulties she experienced, including the investigation of her emails, Putin’s alleged meddling and the spread of fake news. Despite living in the greater Washington, D.C. area, an environment that revolves around politics, I now feel more knowledgeable on political issues than I did prior to reading her memoir.

Even if one disagrees with her policies, I highly recommend reading “What Happened,” to learn about Clinton's remarkable journey.

“What Happened” is sold at local bookstores for $14.99 and is available in eBook form.

photo by daphne kaplan “What Happened” offers an insightful view into the 2016 election in a more candid fashion than other memoirs.

“The Post”: Democracy thrives on screen irit skulnick reporter

photo courtesy of niko tavernise 20th Century Fox As she rises above the sexism directed toward her, Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) is a powerful and influential figure in “The Post."

In a fast-paced 115 minutes, “The Post” captivates its audience with a thrilling story of brave journalists overcoming President Richard Nixon and his administration. The film leaves moviegoers with a strong sense of freedom and power of the press as it teaches them to stand up for their beliefs.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, “The Post” tells the 1971 story of Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) and the owner of the paper Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) going against the government to publish the infamous Pentagon Papers. The documents contain controversial information about the United State’s ability to win the Vietnam war.

Throughout the film, Graham must choose whether or not to publish the papers and risk losing her company.

After the case reached the

Supreme Court, Graham decided to publish the Pentagon Papers. Despite the Nixon Administration’s attempt to stop the documents from being published, the court ruled in favor of the Post, allowing the Pentagon Papers to be fully exposed to the public.

The movie had an incredible cast, anchored by Streep and Hanks.

Throughout the entire film, I felt as if I was right by them and experiencing the roller coaster of events they encountered. Streep’s portrayal of her character made me feel like I knew Graham personally. Streep perfectly played a strong woman and showcased her character’s raw human traits. Watching both of their inspiring performances was truly an unforgettable experience.

“The Post” highlights that journalism is about more than just good writing, it is also about the underlying grit and passion for the stories. After watching the film, I, as a young journalist, was very inspired by Bradlee

and Graham’s decision to publish the Pentagon Papers. They were willing to risk their livelihoods and safety to get the truth out to the public. The film taught me that to be a successful reporter, I must be devoted to my beliefs even if it comes with consequences.

The film is not only inspiring for journalists, but for women as well.

Graham inherits the Washington Post after her late husband’s death. Despite owning the company, editors and reporters alike tend not to show respect towards her due to her gender.

In meetings, her ideas are often left unheard and the men also tend to ask other people to make decisions rather than her. Later in the movie, Graham stands up to her male coworkers concerning whether or not to publish the Pentagon Papers, showing them that she is a force to be reckoned with and will not stand to be treated as an insignificant figure.

In addition to female and press empowerment, “The Post” shows the

American people that journalists are often the true heroes. Today, there is a lot of hate towards the press and many news sources due to the spread of “fake news”. Americans need to know that journalism is important because it teaches us essential lessons like speaking our minds and the importance of understanding what occurs in the world around us. This is why it is so crucial that Americans see the film and take in the powerful messages it conveys.

I highly recommend “The Post” to anyone and everyone who enjoys a feel-good, happy-ending classic movie. I would, however, suggest the film for an older audience as the plot and dialogue get fairly complicated throughout the movie. Overall, it was one of the best films I have seen so far this year and I would even go see it again.

style 16

the lion’s tale

photos courtesy of aliza rabinovitz, shira finke, benji kruger and jessie lehman

Self-expression sticks to laptops josie stein guest writer

photo by jessie lehman Senior Romi Nachman works behind her friend's computer. The stickers on the computer were purchased mostly from Redbubble, but also from various stores across the United States.

Do you have stickers on your laptop? *survey of 130 students

70

Percent of girls say yes

45

Percent of boys say yes

On any given school day, study hall teacher Abbe Luther sits among a class of focused high schoolers whose faces are positioned behind laptop screens, most of which are decorated with stickers.

Over the past few years, laptop stickers have emerged as one of the most popular trends among CESJDS Upper School students. Though the stickers are small, a considerable amount of thought goes into a student’s choice of stickers or whether to buy them at all.

Senior Jaimin Kammerman-Fletcher purchased his own stickers after seeing many peers with them, but he then felt judged for his choices.

“I mean that’s the whole reason I got my stickers, because it’s a trend,” Kammerman-Fletcher said.

“You want to be like everyone else, and everyone else has laptop stickers, and if you don’t, you’re a ‘loser.’

I’ve been judged for my NFTY sticker, because it’s a reform youth group, and that’s not the majority at school.”

According to Luther, “adolescence can be a very judgemental time in someone’s life, and people can be quite insecure of how they fit in, which elevates the importance of trends.”

Kammerman-Fletcher has seen stickers that promote slogans such as ‘I’m With Her,’ and ‘Proud to be a Republican,’ and feels like this avenue of expression should be allowed, but regulated to prevent any lines getting crossed.

Luther disagrees, saying that

regulation is not necessary but there should be a “standard of respect.”

One of the most appealing aspects of laptop stickers is the number of available designs for customers to choose. The most common place to purchase laptop stickers is Redbubble, an online database where anyone can submit their designs and graphics and sell them for a profit.

Freshman Tess Mendelson has designed and sold stickers on Redbubble for over a year. In a time where students are constantly on the lookout for a way to make a quick buck, Mendelson thinks Redbubble is an option more teens should get involved in.

“It’s an easy way to make money, and it doesn’t take a lot of time or effort. A person like me on Redbubble will probably make around fifty dollars a month,” Mendelson said.

But to Mendelson, creating content on Redbubble is about more than bringing in cash.

“The cool thing about Redbubble is that you think you aren’t making an impact, but you’re actually making a very big one,” Mendelson said. “If I make a feminist sticker and I see someone who bought it, it’s not just about me making money, it’s them standing up for what they believe in.”

Regardless of the implications of potentially “controversial” stickers, the trend remains popular.

Whether stickers are seen on laptops for two years or twenty years to come, the way they’ve prompted students to express themselves will definitely stick at JDS.