The Observer

Are You Stomping on Jews? The Truth Behind the Jewish Stars on Vans' soles. B2

THE

Friday, February 25, 2011

“Audemus jura nostra defendere”

O BSERVER

Voice of the Students

“Yallah”

School Explains Last Year’s - A quick look inside Mysterious - Junior Bathroom Sophie Navarro Closures

dominates

By MICAH FENNER the court Toward the end of last year, for the many students noticed the bathWolves. room located adjacent to the [C2] Math and Science Office was

- Preview of first season of girls’ soccer as a varsity team. [C1] - Ariel Applbaum explores Sunday Mass at a church in Fillmore that focuses on Jazz Music.

[B3] - Ari Goldberg-Safir gives the rundown of the top five albums of 2010 that you never heard.

[B3]

suddenly locked with a sign on the door designating it as a faculty only restroom. At the same time that this happened, the door to the small room in which the library bathroom is located suddenly disappeared. These changes were very sudden and

Daniella Kesel/The Observer

A sign on the door of a JCHS bathroom declaring “No Student access.” The school closed the bathroom in Spring 2010.

Also, read came with no explanation. an interFacilities Manager Jeremy view with one Cole explained the closure of the bathroom to students. “The of the artists. [B1]

short answer is that we didn’t have a faculty restroom, and that particular one is both out of the way and the least-used INDEX restroom in the building,” he Arts & Style................................B1 said. “The sad truth is that some students aren’t as tidy as othSports..........................................C1 ers, and some faculty members Opinion.......................................D1 wanted a restroom they didn’t have to scrub before using.”

Mr. Cole said that the fact Calendar.....................................D3 that the removal of the door to the room where the library School News bathroom is located occurred at the same time was purely a coin1 Model UN Started at cidence. The removal was mostJCHS ly due to the fact that many of the older patrons of the library JCHS has started a new were confused by the placeModel United Nations club.

The club will be a space to dis- ment of the door so its removal cuss current events on a weekly was meant as a convenience.

Some students found these basis, and hopes to attend Modchanges annoying rather than el UN conferences throughout convenient, and were confused the nation in the future.

If you are interested in join- by the changes. Senior Ami Wulf summarized the general ing and for more information, email JCHSMUN@gmail.com. sentiment well: “The closure of the bathrooms caused students a fair amount of annoy2 New Water Cooler in ance, especially because the Vending Machine Room reasoning behind the closure was never explicitly stated.

The water cooler in the All in all, I would describe the room with the vending masituation as very ‘un-dude.’” chines in the Commons has Most students have adjusted been replaced with a new their bathroom habits to cope machine. with the change, regardless of Facilities Manager Jeremy the missed communication.

Cole said the reason for this Sophomore Jordan Dong said, was that the school leased the “I don’t care, I was just conprevious machine and had now fused [as to] why they closed it.” purchased a machine outright.

Volume 2 Issue 5

Levin Developed, Grew Admissions During Tenure

By ARNO ROSENFELD Several weeks ago, Head of School Rabbi Howard Ruben sent out an email to the JCHS community announcing the Director of Admissions, Marcia Levin, would be leaving the school after the current admissions cycle was completed.

Ms. Levin came to the school in the spring of 2006 and has worked diligently to develop the Admissions Department into what it is today.

Ms. Levin came from a background that would appear to have little to do with Jewish high school admissions, working as the Sales and Marketing Director for two different luxury hotel groups on the West Coast, but she was able to use her prior experience to work wonders for JCHS. She said in an interview that she came to the school because she loved the idea of blending

JCHS

The Admissions Team: Ellis Raskin, Nora Smith, and Marcia Levin.

Jewish Studies into a college preparatory program, and she viewed the goal of raising enrollment as an exciting challenge.

Over her tenure at the school, the Admissions Department has grown significantly, and in her last year at the school, JCHS has received more applications than ever before.

Ms. Levin decided that the

best way to increase applicants was word of mouth.

She expanded JCHS’s Facebook presence, increased newsletters and brochures, and hosted more special programs for prospective students, all with an eye on getting more peo-

ple talking about the school. She also pioneered the JCHS Student Ambassador Club to send students to high school fairs and on visits to various middle schools as well as to work at open houses held on campus.

Outreach to younger middle school students has also been Continued on A2

HEBREW

Language Labs Outdated, School Has Eyes on New Technology

NOTES

Daniella Kesel/The Observer

Evan Fenner (’14) and Jenny Klonoff (’12) in their Hebrew NETA 4 class. A Language Lab unit is mounted to the wall in the background. The units have mostly fallen into disrepair and disuse.

By ELIJAH JATOVSKY Crushed headphones dangling from small white boxes with orange buttons are a common sight in the Hebrew rooms at JCHS. They’re part of the 44 Onic SD-110 units that comprise the school’s three Language Labs, which have come under criticism by students.

The labs enable students to re-

cord and playback their voices, or send the recordings to the teacher. They also act as audio players for students to listen to conversations in Hebrew between native speakers as part of in-class lessons.

The first units were purchased from ASC Direct Inc. in 2006 to coincide with the Hebrew program’s adoption of the NETA curriculum. Dean

of Jewish Studies and Hebrew Dr. Peg Sandel explained that the NETA program emphasizes listening and speaking, skills which the language labs are intended to support President of the JCHS Board of Directors at the time of the original purchase, Brian Kaye, said the labs were installed beContinued on A4

THE OBSERVER

Friday, February 25, 2011

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Levin to Leave a Legacy of Community Involvement in the Admissions Department Continued from A1 a goal for Ms. Levin. She organized a “High School Preview,” held in early spring, for 7th graders to visit JCHS, doing science experiments with Mr. Kossover and art with Ms. Sturgill.

Ms. Levin took charge of the school’s image. “When I arrived at JCHS, the lobby kind of looked like a doctor’s office— like the podiatry school it once was.” She took action and trophy cases, a television monitor, and recently, new decals on the window showing off the JCHS logo installed. “It’s finally re-

CLUBS & VA’ADS

flecting all the vibrancy of the community,” says Ms. Levin.

Wolfwear, the JCHS apparel designed by students and JCHS parent Dean MacDonald, with the assistance of JCHS photography teacher Mr. John Chiara, is another example of Ms. Levin’s work to develop the school’s brand.

She characterized the apparel as “The best we’ve ever had.”

She credits the many other people who have helped Admissions become what it is today. She said Marketing Manager Maura Feingold sends out beautiful mailings to 8th grade families to promote the school

and invite them to special events. And the succession of Admissions Associates, starting with Roni Ben-David, then Gadiel Rachelson, and now Nora Smith, have all been essential to the development of the department. Additionally, Ellis Raskin, a JCHS alum, works as a part-time Admissions Assistant.

Said Nora Smith: “One thing that Marcia has done this year that really influenced admissions in a positive way was the introduction and use of Parent Ambassadors,” who work in similar ways to Student Ambassadors to promote the school and help out at events.

Levin renovated the lobby and created Student Ambassadors After her departure, Ms. Levin is confident that “JCHS will continue with a topflight admissions and marketing program… It will be an exciting time as the school keeps growing and maturing into one of the best independent high schools in the city.”

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

SAFI Looks to Make Freshmen Generally New Name For Self Pleased With New

Outreach Days Upperclassmen lead groups of freshmen to different sites, unlike previous years

By EVAN FENNER Everyone does “9th Grade Community Outreach Days” their freshman year, but these days are met with varied reactions by different people.

Some find it annoying to be unable to pick their own community service, while others find it nice to be able to have the community service and logistics taken care of for them.

There are five 9th Grade Community Outreach Days this year, and every freshman is required to attend all of them or make up any missed ones with additional community service work. Four out of Daniella Kesel/The Observer the five Community Outreach SAFI’s new bulletin board can be found in the lobby next to Days have already passed; the television. some of the available options have included: making sock In the past, The Student But this year, SAFI has puppets with children at a Alliance for Israel Va’ad has fo- undergone an extreme makecused on educating the student over. SAFI’s goal is not only to homeless shelter, visiting the Delancey Street Foundation, body about Israel and current educate the student body, but events. SAFI has brought in to bring Israeli culture into the a clean up of Ocean Beach, making a Chanukah display different speakers, notified school. A bulletin board has at the Boys & Girls Clubhouse students about rallies, and of been put up in the lobby with of the Mission and working at course planned Israeli Indeinteresting facts about Israel, the Free Farm community garpendence Day celebrations. a whiteboard reminding us of den. The options for the final SAFI, in the past, has been a the days Israeli soldier Gilad day have not yet been decided. va’ad with few members and Shalit has been held captive, So why have structured comfew meetings. and many other “fun facts” and munity service freshman year, pictures. SAFI is the new hip club to be in, and is always ac- but unstructured for the other Alouf is the Quad-Head of the three? According to Roni BenStudent Alliance for Israel along cepting members and input.

David, head of the Community with Sonya Karchemskiy, Noah - Adi Alouf Goldstein, and Yonah Tor.

Outreach program, “The idea is that doing service work is really essential to the school, getting used to contributing to the community and giving to those in need. Coming into JCHS, the idea is to give you a soft landing to help you flow into the habit of doing it on your own.

In particular my goal is to give you a menu, so every community outreach day I pick four very different kinds of work so that over the course of your 9th grade year you’ve experienced very different kinds of service and you can decide in 10th grade what you want to do.”

A new development this year was that upperclassmen helped to lead the days instead of the events being exclusively staff led. “I was looking at what people had done in the past, and it struck me that there were some students at JCHS that go well beyond their required hours and show a real commitment to a particular cause,” Ben-David said, “and I thought, they’re basically experts at what they’ve been doing, so instead of me being the only one who has interactions with the 9th grade, why not have them share their expertise and bring their energy and enthusiasm for that cause to the outing.”

JCHS Internet Speed Upgraded Upgrade may appease complaining students

By MICAH FENNER On Monday, January 31, many students assumed they were experiencing a normal internet outage at school. In reality, IT Director Tony Gruen and Technology Associate Josh Goffstein were at work upgrading the school’s internet speed. The internet now operates at speeds of up to ten times faster than the old connection, according to testing conducted by The Observer.

Students have been complaining about the slow speed of the school’s internet connection since the start of the school year. With a single T1 line handling all of the school’s traffic coupled with the newly initiated laptop program, internet speeds at the school would dip as low as .2 megabits per second.

T1 lines are known to run at speeds as high as 1.5 megabits per second, which is about 60 times as fast as a home internet connection. However, with many students streaming video and music, and also downloading files, the internet speed rapidly deteriorates.

Interestingly, in Finland, where broadband internet is legally considered to be a human right, speeds as low as .2 megabits per second would be treated as a human rights violation. “We considered the role of the internet in Finns everyday life. Internet services are no longer just for entertainment,” Finland’s Communication Minister Suvi Linden told the BBC in July. Finnish law mandates all citizens have access to at least 1 megabit per second.

T1 lines can cost upwards of $100. A T3 line, which runs at 43 megabits per second, can cost upwards of $10,000.

With students and teachers alike complaining about the internet and the inability to do things like watch YouTube videos in class, the school decided to take action. The new network enables the potential for much more advanced multimedia experiences in classes. No longer will students watching Netflix during study hall prevent other students from watching educational online videos, or doing research on the internet in class. Teachers will also be able to have students watch clips on YouTube collectively, whereas in the past the heavy usage of streaming video in one classroom would make the internet too slow to function.

THE OBSERVER

Friday, February 25, 2011

PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

A LOOK INSIDE NEGOTIATIONS

By ARNO ROSENFELD

can’t be negotiated because of “problems with the coalition, Shas, Lieberman … I know how this works,” referring specifically to the Ultra-Orthodox and very conservative Shas party, and to Avigdor Lieberman, an outspoken cabinet member.

The purportedly unreciprocated sacrifices on the part of the Palestinians were a common theme with Erakat during the meeting. Describing the perceived difficulty of negotiating with Israel, Erekat explains what he sees as Israel’s negotiation policy: “BN [says] Jerusalem [is] the eternal undivided capital of Israel, [you can have a] demilitarized state without control over borders or airspace, no refugees [may return]. Once you agree to this we can negotiate a piece of paper and an anthem.” Erekat continues, “We have invested time and effort and even killed our own people to maintain order and the rule of law...we are the only ones in the Arab world who control the sermons in the mosques. We are getting our act together…You know I tried to have meetings with the Israelis…They adamantly rejected.”

The meeting ends on a cold note with Hale telling Erekat that, “We cannot force [the Israeli government to negotiate on a] sovereign government [for the Palestinians].”

“Of course you could if you wanted. How do you think this will reflect on the credibility of the US, if you can’t get this done?” Erekat asks.

“We make the call on our own credibility…” Hale says before asking for a oneon-one meeting with Erakat and ending the meeting.

In a meeting with Senator George Mitchell, the US envoy to Israel, Erekat told Mitchell that, “You don’t know what is like to live 24 hours a day under occupation. I flew from Tel Aviv.

I was humiliated at the entrance, outside the airport.” Mitchell, ever the diplomat replies, “I understand the frustrations.”

Near the end of the meeting, Mitchell asks him, despite the “the burden of history… [to not] let this opportunity slip by.”

Erekat ended another meeting by telling the American negotiator that he had been doing this for 16 years and that this was “the last shot.”

Erekat resigned last Saturday.

“How do you think this will reflect on the credibility of the US, if you can’t get this done?”

- Saeb Erekat, chief PLO negotiator

“We make the call on our own credibility.”

- David Hale, American Diplomat

Georgetown

From January 23-26 of this year, Al Jazeera, the Qatarbased Arab news network, released a collection of over 1,600 classified documents related to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. These documents included memos, emails, minutes of meetings between high-level negotiators, maps and strategy papers from the Palestinian Authority, Israeli government, American government, British government and others.

The release of the documents has offered an unprecedented look at the secret negotiations between the two sides in the conflict. The documents showed a willingness on the part of the Palestinian negotiators to compromise beyond what had previously been known.

The documents also offer an intimate look at the details of what an agreement might look like. In a meeting with a group of Israeli negotiators led by powerful Israeli politician Tzipi Livni, Palestinian negotiator Ahmad Qre’ (Abu Ala’) said, regarding security issues, “We do not want to see one Israeli soldier [in the West Bank or Gaza] for the first ten years after the agreement,” according to minutes from a March 31 meeting in 2008, “but we welcome [Israeli] civilians.”

The two parties spent a large portion of the meeting discussing the different possibilities for a military force in Palestine to serve as security. In speaking about the option of using a neutral international force, Livni, referencing a previous conversation with a different negotiator said, “He said we call a blond [sic] blue-eyed man from the international forces, and I said who would guarantee that he would not be busy with something else when I call him[?]” Replied Ala’, “A strong Palestinian police force.”

Ala’ and other negotiators for the Palestinians repeatedly pushed for the right to control their own security forces, something Israel is wary of.

A five page document addressed to Dr. Saed Erekat, the lead negotiator for the Palestinian government, addresses the issue of refugees and essentially lays all of the Palestinian government’s cards on the table.

The document is presented in a question/answer

form, with the answers being those of the Palestinian Negotiation Support Unit.

One crucial question in the document was, “What is the PLO [sic] ultimate position of the return to Israel option?”

The answer from the NSU is that the “right to return” must be recognized on principle and goes on to say that according to an internal demographic study, a “substantial” number of Palestinians could return to Israel without “undermining the Jewish majority in Israel.”

The Palestinian negotiators effectively gave up the “right of return,” the controversial idea of allowing Palestinians and the decedents of Palestinians (now numbering around 5 million) who lived within the borders of Israel pre-1948 to return. If those refugees were to return, Israel would quickly cease being a Jewish state, and thus the issue has been a major sticking point in previous negotiations. The lead Palestinian negotiator agreed to allow only a token 10,000 Palestinians to return to Israel.

In a meeting in September of 2009 between American and Palestinian negotiating teams led by American diplomat David Hale and Erekat, respectively, Erekat expressed clear frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We have had to kill Palestinians to establish one authority one gun and the rule of law,” vented Erekat, according to minutes from the meeting. “We continue to perform our obligations… Our country remains divided…BN [Netanyahu] begins the process of destroying… [our] institutions. We are back to 1996 – 1999 again,” Erekat said, referring to previous failed negotiations. He continued, “If the US government now tailors its policy to BN, not just the Palestinians … the whole region will go down.”

Hale tells Erekat that the proposed package includes “no new confiscation [of land],” to which the Palestinian negotiator replied, “I’m not coming from Mars! Forty percent of the West Bank is already confiscated. They can keep building [settlements] for years without any new [land].”

In reference to the complex politics of Netanyahu’s governing coalition, Erekat said that he understands some things

A3

Future of Mid-East Uncertain, All Eyes on Egypt

By ARNO ROSENFELD FILED [2/11 12:43pm PST]: Egypt, along with the rest of the Arab world, has been shaken in current weeks by massive protests.

In Egypt, these protesters are demanding a regime change.

President Hosni Mubarak has run a police state for the past thirty years and as the economy stagnates, a restless middle class tired of lack of opportunity and democracy has taken to the streets to demand the ousting of Mubarak.

With a population of 80 million, Egypt is a major player in the Middle East and is a major American ally. America had consistently stood behind Mubarak, due to his being a stabilizing force in the region and his cooperation in fighting terrorism. However, he also presides over a country that has one of the most abusive security services in the world, with its police consistently abusing and harassing citizens.

Protests in Egypt began following an uprising in Tunisia, another Arab country in Africa.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters occupied Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt’s capital, and burned down the headquarters of the National Democratic Party which governs the country.

Police retreated from the major cities as Mubarak faced increasing international pressure and a lack of support from the military, which operates independently of the government and is viewed as friendly to the people, in putting down the protests.

Mubarak resigned on Febru-

Wikipedia

A baby held above the crowd of protesters waves an Egyptian flag.

ary 11, and handed power over to the military after 18 days of protests. Mubarak had been hedging for weeks, firing members of his government and promising reforms, but it became clear that the protesters would not be appeased until he resigned.

Vice president Omar Suleiman, a former general with ties to the military, was appointed by Mubarak before his resignation. Incidentally, Suleiman has been a consistent advocate for the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held in captivity by Hamas.

Suleiman will may be put in charge of the country by the military, though nothing is yet certain. It is not known whether the military will fulfill all of the protesters’ demands for democratic reform, though they have pledged to make constitutional changes. The protesters reacted ecstatically to the resignation of Mubarak.

What happens in Egypt will have a massive impact on fighting terrorism, on Israel’s foreign policy and defense, and on the future of the Arab world as whole. A triumph for democracy could snowball throughout the Middle East.

Jordan Not Spared From Protests Sweeping Region

By DAVID EDELMAN Although overshadowed by the protests in Egypt and Tunisia, Jordan, one of the few countries in the Arab World that Israel has made peace with, is also experiencing its own internal unrest. The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political group, is urging people to take to the streets to protest against Prime Minister Samir Rifai’s economic policies and the political culture

of the country.

Jordan’s economy is in heavy debt, over 2 billion USD, and according to Al-Jazzera, inflation is up 6.1 percent.

Wikipedia King AbdulKing lah II, the figAbdullah II ure with final of Jordan decision making power in Jordan, was put in a

tough position. If he ignored the protests he would risk instability that could threaten his government. The protests were targeted against the Prime Minister, since speaking poorly of the King is illegal in Jordan. In response, Abdullah fired his entire cabinet.

On February 1, Abdullah appointed former General Marouf al-Bakhit to form a new cabinet.

The King told al-Bakhit to “undertake quick and tangible steps for real political reforms, which

reflect our vision for comprehensive modernization and development in Jordan…and a comprehensive assessment...to correct the mistakes of the past,” according to the Associated Press.

Al-Bakhit has been encouraging some Islamist opposition groups to join the new government in order to ensure the happiness of the people, however the Islamic Action Front rejected the offer. “The prime minister asked if we wished or

had an interest to join the government and we said we don’t have any such intention at this stage,” said Hamzah Mansour, Secretary General of the IAF. Although there are demonstrations in the streets, the Jordanian protests differ from the protests in Egypt and Tunisia in that the protests are not spontaneous public uprisings but rather protests organized by established political parties.

THE OBSERVER

Friday, February 25, 2011

A DAY IN THE LIFE/NOAH GOLDSTEIN

CONFLICT IN SUDAN

Inside the Techscapades of JCHS’ Own Noah Goldstein 5:15am – Wake up. Turn on iPad and read through emails about various crises having to do with the day’s events. Start reading the news.

3:20pm – Scarf down snack while readying the theater for rehearsal.

3:30pm – Play rehearsal begins.

6:30am – Eat breakfast.

Respond to emails using one 8:00pm – Leave school. hand while eating a bowl of cereal with the other. Continue 9:00pm – Arrive home. Eat reading the news. quick dinner. Do homework until tired.

7:05am – Leave for school.

If taking yellow school bus do 9:45pm – Get in bed. Rehomework (and maybe watch member all the things I forgot The Simpsons) during the ride. to do today.

8:05am – Arrive at school.

Print out homework.

10:00am – B-Block study hall, otherwise known as getready-for-Hakhel-time. Run around the building trying to get everything together in time for Hakhel.

11:23am – Start preshow music. Follow with videos, powerpoints, etc.

12:00pm – While everyone is getting lunch, clean up from Hakhel.

12:10pm – Get lunch. Arrive late to meeting. Try to eat and talk at the same time…

12:44pm – Arrive at class just before the teacher.

Stage Managing “Dealing with dangerous tools, organizing papers and instructing students—these are just a few of the things I get to do as Stage Manager. People frequently ask me what constitutes my job as SM. To be honest, I, myself, am not really sure… I guess you could say I help make sure the theater operates. One of the big parts of my job is organization.

On an average day I might run around the building 4 different times looking for various people/things needed for the day’s assembly/rehearsal.

People who have been on crew know how fond I am of Google Forms (the Google version of Survey Monkey). In addition to power saws, one of my

A4

favorite pieces of theater equipment is the iPad, which allows us to control both the lighting and sound systems wirelessly!

My ability to focus under pressure is crucial as Stage Manager. Everything you can imagine (plus more) has gone wrong during shows I have worked on. I can’t forget The Sound of Music. Throughout rehearsals, the body microphones operated flawlessly.

Then, during the first song on opening night, several microphones started giving off feedback at the same time.

When I am about to resume any show after intermission, there is always the inevitable missing actor problem. Until I have accounted for every single cast and crew member, I have to hold the show.

There is a saying that if the tech crew does their job correctly, the audience won’t notice them. This is one of my guiding principles as Stage Manager. Even if it is something as simple as putting a chair in a given place, I make sure the crew practices it over and over so that on the night of the show everything goes as planned. In the end, I really end up doing a little bit of everything. However, that’s what makes my job fun. Join crew and see for yourself!” - N.G.

Walk Against Genocide

By BEN FEINER “I should be dead probably, two or three times. I got very lucky,” said Cal basketball forward Bak Bak. As an immigrant to the US from Southern Sudan, Bak Bak faced many of the problems growing up in the war torn country of Sudan that young children there still face today. Against all odds, he escaped to South Africa, and later to Tikkun the United States where he attended high school, and now plays basketball for Cal. For years, he did not even know if his family was alive. He was lucky.

A similar story was told during Community Block on February 3. Ben Ajiet Makit lived in Sudan until his village was raided, his mother killed, and his family dispersed. He fled, not knowing where he was going or whether any of his relatives were still alive. On his journey, Makit encountered death, destruction, and sheer terror. Once, while crossing a river, he witnessed thousands of escapees drowning because they could not swim. Makit was able to leave the country and come to America in a group with more than 3,800 displaced “Lost Boys.” He, too, was lucky.

The Sudanese Civil War has lasted for more than four decades. In those years, more than two million southern Sudanese citizens have been killed by their own government,

and millions more displaced.

In 2005, both sides signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, promising an end to the bloodshed. Still, though, the killing continued Most recently, South Sudan has held a referendum over whether to secede from Sudan and form their own country. Ac-

Facebook

Bak Bak escaped persecution in Sudan and now plays basketball for Cal. cording to some reports, more than 99 percent of the people voted for independence. South Sudan could soon become the world’s newest country.

On April 10, there will be a Walk Against Genocide in Lake Merritt, Oakland co-sponsored

by JCHS. By walking, you can show local, national and world leaders that the people of the Bay Area will not ignore away in past, current and future genocides and mass atrocities.” I urge everyone who can, to come.

HEBREW

Once Promising Labs Have Fallen Into Disrepair Continued from A1 cause teachers “felt that the labs would be a valuable educational tool in teaching languages.” Hebrew teacher Ms. Merav Rozenblum believes the labs are important in helping students read and pronounce words correctly and become more confident and fluent.

Hebrew teachers are currently not required to use the labs because many of them do not work due to sustained damages. Dr. Sandel explained that it would be impossible to ask the Hebrew teachers to incorporate the labs into their current curriculums because in large classes there are usually more students than functioning units. Despite this, some Hebrew teachers, including Ms. Rozenblum, still use and say they benefit from them.

Many of the students interviewed for this article that had used the labs before expressed apathy and disdain. Junior Sophie Marinoff said, “I have only used the language labs twice and they weren’t helpful to my learning.” Sophomore

Photographs by Daniella Kesel/The Observer

Freshmen Aden Rubinson and Aviv Delgadillo, above, and Onic SD-110 units lining the walls of a Hebrew classroom, right.

Eli Goodman said, “It wasn’t helpful for me in any way but I could understand how it would be helpful for the teacher.”

Dr. Sandel said the labs are out of date and considered to be in their final years at JCHS. The fact that the labs are on the tail end of their life could explain why many JCHS students are currently unhappy with them.

However, Dr. Sandel believes the theoretical abilities of the labs when fully functional, are

helpful in learning Hebrew.

Some students agreed. Junior Jenny Klonoff said, “The language labs really helped me learn Hebrew. Hearing actual conversations between native Hebrew speakers ma[de] it easier to understand the pronunciations and uses of the words.”

However, some students believed the general idea of the labs isn’t helpful in improving their Hebrew skills. Senior Mark Lipkin said the labs, “gave me

an opportunity to mumble Hebrew into a microphone, which was usually broken and smelled pretty gross… I figured out that if I mumble and talked very quietly I would get a passing grade since the teacher can’t fail me if she can’t understand me.”

Since the labs have dwindled in usability over the years, the school feels it needs to switch technologies. Dr. Sandel said the school is in search of new software that is a simi-

lar idea to the labs, but is more up-to-date and able to be installed on students’ laptops.

Dr. Sandel said the school would not invest in any future technology it finds unhelpful, but she believed the idea of listening and speaking is a valuable tool in learning Hebrew and the school “will take advantage of a technology that is more forward-looking…”

Arts+Style Friday, February 25, 2011

The Observer

BOOK REVIEW

Documentary Sparks Thought and Discussion

Reading ‘Tiger Mother’ a Roller Coaster

By AVIVA HERR-WELBER On most late evenings at JCHS, the school’s auditorium is silent and locked. But on Thursday, January 27, the room was filled with the chatter of students, parents, and teachers who had arrived to view Race to Nowhere.

The documentary, conceived by local director and producer Vicki Abeles, explores the American school system and the pressures it exerts on students, educators, and families.

In the film, interviews with teachers, psychologists, and students of various ages and socioeconomic backgrounds suggested that hours of homework assignments, a focus in schools on testing rather than long-term knowledge, and the way that families deal with school stress might be having a more serious effect on students than appears at first glance.

“The movie brought to my attention some things in my life that I realize are really unhealthy and that are actually problems I didn’t realize I had,” said one student wishing to remain anonymous.

To many who watched it, the movie appeared to be sensationalized and said some examples seemed extreme. However, the general response to the film was one that expressed frustration with the current situation in our schools and the need for change, not only in how we’re taught, but also in the type of knowledge that is valued.

When the movie was over, viewers got the chance to discuss both informally and in small, structured groups. Junior Yonah Tor said she found the discussions to be very informative, and said that in her discussion she compared the American and Israeli education systems.

“When I first came here in ninth grade, one of the first questions people asked me was, ‘where are you going to go to college?’ I was in shock… it wasn’t on my mind at all because in Israel you don’t have that kind of pressure,” said Tor. “I was exposed to

Continued on B2

Ariel Applbaum Explores Sunday Services at a Unique Church in the Fillmore.

B3

Section B

MOVIES

Perhaps in your travels around the Internet, you’ve come across outraged responses to an article entitled, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior.” This article, an excerpt from a memoir, appeared in Rosenberg the Wall Street Journal and contained so many inflammatory assertions that that I asked the editors of The Observer to run an editorial derailing the article and pointing out what utter nonsense it contained.

As an example, “Chinese mothers can say to their daughters, ‘Hey fatty—lose some weight.’ Western parents…[talk] in terms of ‘health’ …and their kids still end up in therapy for eating disorders...”

Instead, the editors told me to read the book itself and write a full review. What I read was shocking, for too many reasons to count.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, written by Amy Chua, a Yale University professor, is like reading a roller coaster.

While not a page turner, I went from thinking the author was completely justified, to hopelessly misguided, to an outright monster, at least six times.

The story is simple: a mother recounting how she raised her children. There is no sentimentality or nostalgia in this book, though.

Inside:

Jake

Books

Wikipedia

Yale Law Professor and author Amy Chua wrote a controversial new book about parenting

This book is one part justification, two parts parable and three parts horror story.

The family dynamic is one die hard Chinese mother, one seemingly spineless white Jewish father, one older, piano playing daughter who obeys her mother’s every command and one violin playing rebel.

Each daughter is forced to practice at least six hours every day after school on the instrument their mother chose for them at birth. They are not allowed to attend sleepovers, participate in extracurricular activities, play sports, try out for plays, or, to put it bluntly, have a life.

What makes the book so easy to love to hate is how Chua plays on cultural sensational-

Q&A with Josh Raskin Your mash-up album Shit Computer is available for download for a pay-what-you-want price. Why?

ism. She believes there are two categories of parents: “westerners” and “Chinese mothers.” Throughout the book, she constantly tries to slip in jibes at us westerners.

“There are all kinds of psychological disorders that exist in the west that don’t exist in Asia…Western parents are concerned about their children’s psyches. Chinese parents aren’t. They assume strength, not fragility…”

There are numerous episodes where Chua displays this “strength,” such as when her six-year-old daughter refuses to practice piano and she locks her out of the house until the daughter gets hypothermia.

The reason this book is difficult for me to have singular feelings about is because it gives a very accurate insight into a different culture that I will never be able to understand. I will never understand what it is like to be raised by first generation immigrant parents, or what it is like to raise kids according to my parents’ immigrant values. I won’t understand the culture or the way she puts her children through hell, but I will understand the ending, which came as an utter surprise.

The book ends with Chua realizing that maybe she

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua. Penguin Group (USA). 2011. $25.95

wasn’t always right, and letting her kids live, if only just a little bit. At every turn, I felt my entire body shake with emotion, whether it was unadulterated rage or sheer misery.

The writing isn’t superb, the story is all right, but the message is unequivocally human.

Shit Computer includes samples from Eminem, the Beatles, and others. Did legal repercussions ever worry you?

“I don’t think anyone minds unless you’re making millions of “Everything can be downloaded for free, if someone dollars off it... If that ever happens, I’ll be too busy replacing spends money on a record, it’s because they want to.” body parts with diamonds to worry about lawsuits.”

How would you describe a Kids & Explosions live show?

“Like watching an insane person punch a table for an hour. My friend Justin does visual. He’s like a drunk wizard

What is the future of sampling?

“Record labels will definitely seek out artists that use stolen stuff… Ultimately, labels will end up treating songs as commercials for concerts, the same as music videos.”

How do you know when a mash-up is a good combination?

“When you feel like crying and getting things pregnant at the same time.” with an overhead projector.”

Plans for a sophomore album?

Read the review of Josh Raskin’s album, along with four others, on B2.

THE OBSERVER

Friday, February 25, 2011

B2

Are Vans Anti-Semitic?

By JENNA ZIMMERMAN Vans shoes are mainly associated with California’s skate scene. However, it seems a certain six-sided figure on the bottom of many of the brand’s products have caused concern; not so “California cool.” The shape renders semblance of The Star of David, a highly meaningful and important Jewish symbol.

Many opinions have circulated the internet and Jewish communities about the controversial design. The contentious pattern of stars resides on the outsole, or bottom of the shoe under the ball and middle of the foot. Because of its placement, some believe that as you walk in Vans you “step on” Judaism in some form.

Online rumors accuse Vans owners of symbolically “walking on Jews” and others even speculate that Vans’ founders may have been neo-Nazis.

The Anti-Defamation League, the preeminent Jewish civil rights organization, has also addressed the issue. A posting on their website states, “While ADL understands that the use of the Star of David pattern in this context may be offensive to some, there is no factual basis to believe that the maker of Vans shoes incorporated the six-pointed star design in an attempt to insult Jews.”

Furthermore, Snopes.com, a website that investigates urban legends, declared the ru-

Are the Jewish Stars on the bottom of Vans shoes an intentional attack on Jews?

Above: Vans Advertisement, believed to be from the latter part of the 1970s, promotes the shoes’ features, including “The long wearing, pure crepe, super grip Van’s exclusive.” mor to be untrue. “Those who worked on the sole’s design didn’t even recognize the Star of David in what they were fashioning—that this honeycomb or hexagon pattern has come to be regarded as bearing an anti-Semitic message caught them, well, flat-footed.”

Nevertheless, when it was brought to my attention as an unsuspecting Vans lover, I was shocked and soon stopped wearing them. My older brother thought I was ridiculous for giving it the amount of thought that I had and dared me to contact the company. In

2010, I got the email address of a Vans representative and wrote them, explaining that I was a student trying to get to the bottom of the rumors. The email I received in response attempted to reassure me that the markings were in no way an act of anti-Semitism. The email also had a link attached that sent me to a web page explaining the skateboard-friendly geometric logic of the design.

Justification of the design through its functionality wasn’t something I’d previously considered, nor would I have expected confirmation of any of the radical accusations on the part of the company, even if they were true. In the end I decided that Vans weren’t for me. I didn’t come to that conclusion because I think the makers of Vans are necessarily evil doers, but because I see the Star of David on the soles of their shoes, and, as a member

Daniella Kesel/The Observer

Vans are seen worn all over JCHS, including on the basketball court by Maor Dorzia (’14). of the Jewish community, I feel uncomfortable wearing them.

Junior Ariel Applbaum, after being made aware of the design though he says he doesn’t wear the brand’s shoes, says he wouldn’t buy them. Applbaum said, “Even if they didn’t purposefully try to make it look like Jewish stars, why would they keep it that way once they realized? People would still buy the shoes and they would avoid any anti-Semitism.”

I challenge you to pick up your shoe (or your friend’s shoe), take a look, and do some sole searching of your own.

Pedantically Demagogical: Sarah Palin’s Newest Book Perhaps Sarah Palin’s second book should be considered an anthology with commenRosenfeld tary. It seems that not a page goes by without her taking lengthy excerpts from myriad sources: The New York Times, Laura Ingalls Wilder, economist Luigi Zingales.

While this may be the

Arno

Books

by-product of a rushed and ghostwritten book, the excerpts may be the most worthwhile part of the book to read.

The book is organized into chapters, but beyond that, little attention seems to have been paid to overall cohesion, so I’ll just jump right in with my favorite moments from the book.

Palin includes a poem at the end of one chapter, lamenting the death of Christian soldiers.

Of course, there is no men- clear that the writer should tion of Jews, Muslims, or any have included women as well. other non-Christian soldiers The world view of Sarah who may have died. Ah, but it Palin includes her describing wasn’t her poem; the United States America By Heart, as a “50-state she probably would have included oth- Sarah Palin. Harpercolony of DC,” ers had it been Collins (USA). 2010. which makes her words, right? $25.99 complete sense Wrong. In a prebecause colovious excerpt referencing the nized nations always demobrave “men” of the armed cratically elect their leaders. forces, she made sure to make Another piece that inspires

confidence in the woman who got eerily close to being our Vice-President, comes when she writes, “From what I’ve read, family life at the time of the founding [1776] is a lot like family life today…”

So I suppose it’s not fair to judge Palin’s book too harshly, because given what she’s “been reading,” one should not go into a book of hers with any expectations.

Documentary Stirs Discussion of Role of Homework at JCHS Continued from B1 the kind of pressure that students put themselves through from ninth grade: calculating their GPA and knowing the names of all these colleges. Jonathan Gergen Rules. Now I’m used to it, but it came up in the discussion after the movie and a lot of parents [in my discussion] wished that it was more like Israel.”

The evening clearly had an impact on all involved and the documentary raised questions about JCHS’s own educational approach that goes beyond a single night’s discussion.

Student body president Nathan Wexler says that he found some parallels between schools featured in the movie and JCHS,

but “I feel that JCHS does a great job in the way we’re asked to be independent and original critical thinkers. That’s a great thing, and I think we outshine a lot of other schools in that respect,” he said. “At the same time, I worry that we’re stressing more and more as time goes on: ‘Let’s prepare for the test.’ We’re switching out of that other mode that encourages critical thinking and learning skill building, and we’re adding on a whole other kind of learning, which is also important: memorization and learning of facts. But I worry that together both are pushing so hard that students are losing interest in either.” Wexler added that making changes will be a long process, but that the most impor-

encouraging students to discuss how they think JCHS should respond to these pressures.

Wexler said he wished “that students feel that they have the right and the ability and the responsibility to speak up about how they feel JCHS is addressing their concerns and educational wants. We owe it to ourselves to get the best high school education we can create, and as members of a community, we must all take part in these types of discussions.”

Assistant Head of School Mallory Rome also discussed some areas where she thought JCHS A promotional poster for could continue improving, inRace to Nowhere. cluding “continuing the convertant part is maintaining the diasation we’ve already been having logue spurred by the movie and with the faculty about home-

work, what its role is, what kinds of homework are important, and how much time it should take.”

Ms. Rome has had conversations with several students regarding the film and says that, “If all the film does is offer us a chance to hear more from students and have more of a conversation about the pressures they’re facing and the kinds of things that are challenging or rewarding for them, then I think that will be fantastic. I think there’s a possibility to really build on that.”

Students, parents, and teachers alike say that seeing Race to Nowhere was more than worthwhile and will be a big help in discussing the educational future of our school.

THE OBSERVER

Friday, February 25, 2011

B3

Worshipping St. Coltrane: African Orthodox Prayer in the Fillmore As we arrived at the St. John Will-I-Am Coltrane Church, I had no idea what to expect. There was a kind of family environment about the Fillmore Street storefront it was held in. Kids were running around playing with instruments and some were pretending to be opera singers.

The church, known for its musical services, is an African Orthodox Christian Church and has deified John Coltrane, the famous jazz musician.

I went in thinking that the church was a place where people who wanted to feel like they were good Christians, but didn’t want to sit through the potentially boring regular church experience, would go.

At first I felt my prediction coming true. Twenty-five minutes after services were supposed to start, the church seemed unorganized with no sign of a pastor or anyone that could possibly guide the small crowd that had gathered.

Finally, about 45 minutes after start time, a woman came out and in addition to introducing the basic structure of the service and passing out instruments, made clear that the service was not intended to entertain any of us, and that we were strictly there to praise God. She then asked anyone vis-

Daniella Kesel/The Observer

The John Will-I-Am Coltrane Church is located in the West Bay Community Center located on the corner of Fillmore street and Ellis street. iting from out of the country to raise their hand and all but three people raised their hand, for a total of seven foreigners.

She had each person say where they were from: The United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany, Tunisia and more.

I was prepared to leave early depending on how things went, but I became more optimistic considering people from all around the world were in

the audience.

Then the pastor came out, along with the rest of the “band.”

The music started; it was melodic and beautiful and just what one would expect from a professional jazz group.

Then the slow hymn of psalms broke out. Everyone in the

Ariel Applbaum

audience enthusiastically, even spiritually, clapped their hands or shook their tambourines and praised Jesus.

At that point I realized the true power of this church. It wasn’t a gimmick or a way to get out of going to a traditional church. It was a place where people who had a love for John Coltrane could use his music as an outlet to praise the god they loved.

Coltrane wasn’t himself God in these people’s minds, but through his music they found a way to praise God and to establish a personal relationship with their religion like I had never seen before.

It should be noted that though I found the church perfectly welcoming, at one point during the sermon the priest praised Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan, a vicious anti-Semite.

Although I will admit that this sect of Christianity wasn’t for me, and for that matter, Christianity in general isn’t for me, it taught me that religion isn’t a cookie cutter experience.

Whatever way that spirituality reaches you is the way that you should praise God, no matter what others might think.

MUSIC REVIEW

Top Four Albums of 2010 That You Never Heard

By ARI GOLDBERG-SAFIR Here I assembled cream of the independent music crop. While chart toppers Goldberg-Safir like Ke$sa and Justin Bieber get most of the spotlight, the following artists deserve just as much attention, if not more.

Ari

Music

figure in the mash-up genre, he is often compared to the mashup mad scientist Girl Talk. On his new album Shit Computer, Mr. Raskin uses the plethora of mainstream pop, rap, and rock of the last 50 years as his instrument to create something that has never been heard before.

gest. James Murphy sings of his social troubles over looped light percussion until the earth shaking beat drops on the three minute mark. At this point Mr. Murphy purges himself of said troubles (dances his self clean).

Audiences benefit from listening to the whole album through without interruption.

STAND OUT TRACK: “Use Your Words” The album is, in essence, sophisticated dance music. With thoughtful lyrics, busy synths, and a danceable beat This Is Happening is dance music without the guilt.

STAND OUT TRACK:

“Home”

is a mix of dubstep, electronica, ambient physcodelics, and more. Mr. Blake combines nonsensical vocal samples with ominous synths, pianos, and extremely unique percussion. Another factor at play in this EP is Mr. Blake’s use of silence within his songs. In the track “I Only Know (What I Know Now),” a delayed piano is followed by a moment of negative space, adding to the songs atmosphere of cautious ambiguity. Unlike most of the chart toppers these days Klavierwerke has a subtleness to it that most cotemporary music has lost. Repeated listens to the EP reveal layers of emotion and sound that was not discernable at first listen.

STAND OUT TRACK: “I Only Know (What I Know Now)”

Shit Computer – Kids & Explosions Kids & Explosions is the name of the solo project that is Josh Raskin. After directing the Oscar nominated short film I Met the Walrus, Mr. Raskin pursued his interest in music.

More specifically, he takes two or more familiar, commercial songs and creates a collage-like sonic realm Although Kids & Explosions is a new and unique

This is HapeningLCD Soundsystem James Murphy is co-founder and frontman of indie’s favorite dance-rock band: LCD Soundsystem. Since 2002, LCD has been churning out albums and EPs containing electronic anthems with heart. LCD’s This Is Happening released in April, 2010, may very well be their best album yet. The opening track, “Dance Yrslf Clean,” plays just as the title would sug-

Klavierweke James Blake James Blake is the best in his genre. What is his genre? The James Blake genre

GOOD FRIDAYS - Kanye West Every Friday since this last August 20, Kanye West has released a new track via his website. Though not an officially released album, this collection of songs, entitled GOOD FRIDAYS, deserves to be on this list. Best of all, all 14 tracks are free. The first GOOD FRIDAYS track released was the “Power (Remix),” produced

by Swizz Beatz and featuring Jay-Z. “Power (Remix)” not only put new life into the quickly aging “Power” single, but foreshadowed the quality and variety of guests that would be featured in future tracks.

West picks unique beats that either he or his fellow producers made and raps verses of fame, fortune, and women (the three rap pillars). For example, on “Lord Lord Lord,” Kanye West, Mos Def, Swizz Beatz, and Raekwon all spit excellent verses bragging about their lyrical and sexual ability over a laid back Brian Bennet loop. On GOOD FRIDAYS, one can tell West made the tracks in a rage of creativity over the span of a few days and put it up on his website the following Friday.

Which makes them so good.

STAND OUT TRACK: “The Joy”

Here’s to Hoping Harbaugh Can Fix the Niners After eight years without a winning season for the 49ers, last season looked promising. The new players and a 4-0 pre-season looked like a new beginning for this once dominant franchise.

A previous downfall in the 49ers organization had been the lack of stability in the quar-

terback position. Trying to solve this problem, the 49ers picked quarterback Alex Smith as the first overall draft pick for the 2005 season, over Aaron Rogers who recently led the Green Bay Packers to the Super Bowl Championship. Smith started off with a losing season and never really improved.

Sports Friday, February 25, 2011

Girls Varsity Soccer Preview

This sad but true fact was caused by a number of factors.

Smith had a different offensive coordinator every year of his 49er career and consequently had to learn a new playbook at the beginning of each season. This past year was supposed to be different. The 2010 draft brought new hope

The Observer

Renee

in the form of a sturdy new offensive line and running back Anthony Torchio-MacDonald Dixon, who shined in the pre-season with four touchdowns and three hundred yards rushing. the end of the 8-8 2009 seaMike Singletary had a son to make 2010 a winning somewhat successful season Continued on B2 under his belt and vowed at

Section C

Boys Forced to Step Up Following Injury to Gottlieb

After a successful year as a club team, JCHS welcomes a girls varsity team

By SOPHIE NAVARRO The spring of 2011 brings changes and new opportunity for the JCHS sports teams. This year, coinciding with boys’ varsity baseball, is JCHS’ first ever girls’ varsity soccer. The team is headed by Coach Lee Carter, who also coaches Boys Varsity Soccer during the fall, and Coach Gretchen Keisel, who coaches volleyball and basketball.

Widely expected to be captain of the team, senior Zoe Frankel, along with other dedicated teammates, have waited since freshman year for the transition from girls club soccer to varsity. The change to varsity means regular practices and regular games as part of an organized league.

Frankel said, “A lot has been accomplished these past four years. My freshman year we had four girls come out and play soccer, which was an incredible bonding experience, but we all craved the competitive aspect of the game. I am more than excited to say that the JCHS girls will now have a varsity soccer team. I am very proud of the work of not only the coaches but also the determination of the girls to make this into more than just a club sport.”

There are no expectations for this new team, but players’ hopes are high. Sophomore Jordan Dong said she was “super thrilled that we are now an official varsity soccer team…

Now that we have multiple games, we really need to step it up by getting in shape and becoming united as a team.”

She added that, “We also have sick uniforms: so watch out!”

When asked about the ap-

Continued on B2

Tony Gruen/JCHS

Ariel Gottlieb (’11), center, suffered an ACL tear, benching him for the season. Gottlieb had been a premiere player for the Wolves prior to his injury.

By BORIS SHKURKO In the process of losing to East Palo Alto on December 16, the Wolves lost one of their best players, starting point guard Ariel Gottlieb (’11) to an ACL tear.

JCHS basketball has been dominated by Gottlieb for the past two years. He was named to the All-Jewish Hoops American third team, recognizing him as one of the top Jewish players in the nation.

With their leading scorer out, the Wolves needed someone to step up and pick up the slack. Over the course of the last month, junior Grant Fineman has filled that position, leading the team as their starting point guard. Fineman has led the team with his timely shooting, accurate passes, and positive attitude on and off the court. He has averaged 7 points per game (PPG), 7 rebounds per game (RPG), and 5 assists per game (APG) ever since Gottlieb went down.

An ACL tear is a tear of one of the major ligaments in the knee. Treatment involves

surgery, and the recovery lasts from three to six months. Gottlieb was planning on playing basketball in college but this injury may hold him back.

Sophomore Michael Kostukovsky has also stepped up as shooting guard to help make up for Gottlieb’s points.

Senior Benny Sosnick and Captain Jonathan Gergen (’11) have both continued to be an unstoppable 4-5 pair on the post this year. Together they average 25 PPG and 17 RPG, the most of any duo in the league.

Even though Gottlieb can’t play, he still has a big impact on the team. He’s always there during games and practices to provide advice to the JV players and to struggling Varsity players.

“Ariel has been extremely supportive of me and has helped me with my transition to point guard. He’s always giving me tips from the sideline, and shows me how I can improve. Even though Ariel isn’t on the court with us he is still playing a major role on our team,” said Grant Fineman.

Reflecting on how the team

Jonathan Gergen

Gottlieb and Coach Tim Kjar on Seniors’ Night. stepped up after Ariel’s injury, captain Jonathan Gergen said, “This is the greatest chemistry of any JCHS basketball team I’ve been on in my three years as a player and I think it’s due to everybody banding together in support of Ariel and the team.”

Tzvi Miller

Baseball Can Expect a Solid Roster If one were to walk through the halls of JCHS, they would see random baseball paraphernalia scattered through the halls and the commons; signs of the approaching season.

With basketball season still winding down, the athletic department is beginning to switch gears. Opening day for the JCHS Wolves 2011 season was February 22, as the coaching staff has decided to begin practicing two weeks earlier than last year. This is a great change, as it gives players more time to warm up their arms and get loose without having to worry about playing in games just yet.

Last year the team had only two practices before their first game, and many people felt unprepared heading into the season. The coaching staff itself has also undergone several changes. Coach Tim Kjar, also the JCHS Athletic Director, is returning, but Coach Ellis Raskin, who works in the Admissions Department and also coaches girls’ basketball, and Coach John Hagen, a math teacher, together have filled the vacated position of former coach Gadiel Rachelson, who is no longer at the school.

Hopefully, the team will be able to take advantage of these changes and improve upon last year’s 8-6 record.

Optimism of improving this season runs high, as nearly all of our players have returned better, faster, and stronger.

Despite losing two of our best hitters last year, third basemen Andy Glickfeld and catcher Gabe Zurita-Haber, Captain Benny “Soz” Sosnick (’11) is not worried. “I guarantee this will be our strongest

Continued on B2

THE OBSERVER

Friday, February 25, 2011

Baseball Continued from B1 season. We have more experience and potential than ever,” Sosnick, who slugged .676 last year and had just over 12.5 strikeouts for every nine innings pitched, said. He will be captain of the team for the second straight year.

Other returning seniors include Golden Gloveworthy centerfielder Mark “Feldy” Feldman and speedster Avrumy “Crazy Legs” Reissberg, both entering the final year of their four-year contract with the Wolves, and star first baseman Jonathan “Scotch Broom” Gergen.

Smooth handed shortstop Elijah “EJ” Jatovsky, second baseman David “DEdel” Edelman, outfielder Ariel “Babybaum” Applbaum, myself: Tzvi “Stevie Wonder” Miller, and Daniel “Danny” Robinow round out the junior class All-Stars.

Matthew “Big Matt” Levin is the only returning sophomore, but the team looks forward to the slew of fresh talent from the sophomore and freshman grades. With opening day set for March 1st, in a non-league game against San Francisco’s Drew School, JCHS should get psyched for another great baseball season.

First Girls Varsity Soccer Season Fast Approaching Continued from B1 proach to practices as compared to boys varsity soccer, Coach Carter explained, “I enjoy working with both teams yet the buy-in by the ladies is easier to gain. Therefore, when I ask them to try something new, the ladies are more willing to try new ways to play the game,” but he qualified that by saying, “The soccer knowledge of the ladies is a bit below that of the boys’ team so we will be building some very basic understandings of how to play the game and how to shape their bodies to get the best results. ” Boys varsity soccer Captain Mark Lipkin gave his blessing to the team. “I think its going to be a great season since the girls beasted last year, and this year they get to be in a real league… if the girls practice hard and have good chemistry as a team, they’ll be able to do something impressive.”

Rumors have been heard of possible pre-season training including intense workouts aimed toward strengthening players’ endurance, though only time will tell what actually occurs.

Athletic Director Tim Kjar explained that because the Pri-

Daniella Kesel/The Observer

The new girls varsity soccer team practices at Kimball field across the street from JCHS. vate School Athletic League did not have an organized girls varsity soccer league, the Wolves would be participating in a series of scheduled games as part of an independent league.

So far the teams that the Wolves are slated to play against include Gateway, Chinese Christian, Waldorf SF, Emery East Bay, and Leadership SF. The Wolves defeated Leadership last year as a club team.

The team will be practic-

Can a New Coach Breathe New Life Into Desperate 49ers?

Continued from B1 team. The stage was set, the characters in place, and the curtain ready to be lifted. The season started with a division rival, the Seattle Seahawks. We overlooked this game, assuming it would be an easy win and looked ahead toward the next game. In retrospect, this probably wasn’t a very good idea.

The Seahawks came with their “A” game, beating us 31-6.

The 49ers got a reality check and showed improvement the following week with a very close game against the defending Super Bowl Champions the New Orleans Saints. With such strong play, but a heartbreaking loss under their belts, the season started to look promising.

Unfortunately they still couldn’t pull off a win for another four games, which resulted in an 0-5 start, their worst since 1979. A win finally came around when the 49ers defeated their rival, the Oakland Raiders. After this came another loss to the worst team in the league, the Carolina Panthers.

But then they beat the Seahawks and there was, shockingly, still hope for the 49ers to make a playoff appearance due to the awful records of the other teams in their division; all they had to do was win out the regular season.

However they were beat-

C2

Wikipedia

Jim Harbaugh, the newly hired Head Coach of the 49ers, in a 2007 photograph as coach of the Stanford Cardinal football team.

en by the St. Louis Rams and their playoff dreams were crushed. They finished 6 – 10.

There are many different factors that played into the 49ers dreadful season. For one, Alex Smith has been on the team for six years and this year was his opportunity to prove himself. He fell short, to say the least. It took Singletary much too long to pull Smith from the starting position, and when he did he didn’t replace him with a solid substitute.

What he should have done was replace Smith with Nate David, who Singletary demoted

to the practice squad before the season even started. Maybe Smith wasn’t trusted enough, but for some reason the 49ers gave the ball to Frank Gore way too many times. Gore always went straight up the middle into a wall of defenders. I guess Singletary didn’t appreciate the use of all of his best players from the pre-season. Maybe he had forgotten that the preseason was when the 49ers played their best.

Hopefully, now that the 49ers have fired Singletary and picked up Jim Harbaugh, the coach responsible for transforming the Stanford football team, we have some hope of a winning season next year.

Of course that’s what I said at the beginning of last season.

Agree?

Disagree?

Have your own opinion?

Send letters to Observer.JCHS@ Gmail.com

ing at Kimball field across the street from JCHS and will play home games at Crocker Amazon and the Polo Fields, which has recently been renovated. The practices will be from 3:30-5:00 pm, Monday through Thursday, with occasional Sunday practices.

Coach Kjar added that the welcoming of the first ever girls varsity soccer team is a great way to celebrate the school’s ten-year anniversary.

Zoe Frankel concluded that, “we have an extremely solid and put together team and I can say with confidence that we will succeed this season. I am so proud to be a part of this growing experience and I can only hope it will grow even more.

As my last season of soccer at JCHS approaches, I am not worried because I know that my wonderful teammates will carry on this new era of girls soccer.

Come out and watch us play!”

A Shooting Star: Navarro Shines for JCHS

By HALEY GOLDLIST Who is that running at a speed of what seems like 100 mph down the shiny hardwood court? Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No, it’s 5’6 bullet Sophie Navarro, a two-year starter for the JCHS girls varsity basketball team. With her incredible speed, natural athleticism, skill, and high basketball IQ, it is no surprise that Navarro is averaging 8.8 points per game with a combined total of 158 points throughout the season as the team’s highest scorer.

Teammate and Senior CoCaptain Danielle Diamond asserts, “Sophie is like a leopard; her speed and stealth have been vital for the team.”

But shooting alone doesn’t show the full picture of Navarro’s play; her all-around skill is made evident by her 21 assists, 1.2 per game, her 12 blocked shots, and most impressively, her 162 total rebounds for a monstrous average of 9 rebounds per game.

On top of that, Navarro averages 3.1 steals per game, for a total of 55 steals during the regular season.

It is no surprise that Navarro was named the Central Coast Section Player of the Month after receiving the tournament MVP award at the Drew Winter Tournament, where she led the championship winning team.

The girls basketball program at JCHS has been grow-

Tony Gruen/JCHS

Junior Sophie Navarro has average close to a doubledouble this season. ing for the past four years, with the excellent coaching of Head Coach Leo Stern for all four years, the two year assistant coaching of Gretchen Keisel, and the first-time assistant coaching of alumni and former JCHS boys’ basketball player, Ellis Raskin. The coaches, players, and many frequent spectators of the team speculate that this is the season the team will have the most success, and that the team is now at its peak ability. The team went 9-2 in league play during the regular season. The record was good enough to capture the first seed in the PSAL playoffs, where they lost in the championship to Mountain View.

THE OBSERVER

Friday, February 25, 2011

C2b

SUPER BOWL: PACKERS 31, STEELERS 25

Packers Win Super Bowl in Underwhelming Form

By RENEE TORCHIO-MACDONALD The Packers scored first and didn’t look back, holding the lead for the remainder of the game. All in all, it was a well played game on both sides but the Packers had that extra something to push them over the top.

While Green Bay receivers at times failed to pull in passes from Aaron Rodgers, the defense managed to grab some fumbled

balls and even intercepted a pass from Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and run it back for a touchdown. The final score was 31-25, with a Packers victory.

This super bowl wasn’t extremely exciting. The game didn’t have the memorable plays of years past. No catch like that of David Tyree of the New York Giants to keep the final drive alive and win Super Bowl XLII, or the epic corner end zone catch for a Steelers comeback win against

the Cardinals in Super Bowl 43. While the game had its ups and downs, it lacked the standout plays that define the game.

Some said that that Green Bay Packers, led by quarterback and former Cal Bear, Aaron Rodgers, were the underdogs. As a team, they’ve appeared in the playoffs 26 times, resulting in one Super Bowl win and they went 10-6 this season, getting into the playoffs as a lowly sixth seed.

The Packers were pitted

against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have also appeared in the playoffs 26 times, but have won the big game six times, the most in the NFL, and once more than the 49ers. The Steelers went a respectable 12-4 and entered the playoffs as a second seed.

This year’s Super Bowl, held at the state of the art Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, a Dallas suburb. Next year’s game will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Opinion Friday, February 25, 2011

The Observer

Section D

The ‘Boehn’ of My Existence

Facebook’s Attacking Your Privacy... Again

one is to change your Facebook privacy settings regarding the sharing of phone numbers and addresses. The best option is to simply remove, or never post, phone numbers and addresses on Facebook. Such private inOnce again, Facebook is acformation should not be placed tively working to reduce its us- in a highly vulnerable place. If ers’ privacy. This time Facebook friends want to call or visit each has announced plans to share other, they can ask in a private phone numbers and addresses message, Facebook chat, avoid with advertisers by default; Facebook altogether and use users must “opt-out” to protect email, or simply meet in person. their Those informawho have tion, as taken opposed these to an steps but “opt-in” still feel system, vulnerawhere ble might users consider would changing have to affirmatively choose to their name and profile picture have their information shared. on Facebook in order to conceal This is only the latest of a their identity from stalkers. If series of incursions into privacy even that does not seem like Speaker of the House John Andrew Boehner is the quintessential inthat Facebook has made. In enough to keep your privacy, bed-with-K-street crackpot whose moral compass is as shattered as the the past, these have included the best option would be to declimate he so adamantly denies is changing (last year he called the idea mandating the public discloactivate your Facebook account that carbon dioxide is harmful to the environment “almost comical”). But sure of one’s username, profile what differentiates him from all the other scumbags in government today, picture, sex, and networks, and altogether.

Despite the many benefits and why should we be worried about him? auto-sharing info with search to having a Facebook account, engines like Google. this latest breach of privacy This latest set of rollbacks might jolt people into realizhe had informed Republican Boehner stumbled into Sachs, and R.J. Reynolds. His on privacy should not come as ing the many detriments that leadership when he found out. favor for these corporations office in 1991 after defeating a surprise to anyone who has come with it. However, FaceBoehner was caught bribthe incumbent, who had been is blatantly obvious in his been paying attention to Facebook still retains any user data ing congressmen on the House legislative agenda. As House found guilty of paying a sixbook’s actions in the past. for months, if not indefinitely, teen-year-old to have sex with floor with checks from Big democrats were preparing for Unfortunately, most people after a user gets rid of his or Tobacco preceding a House him. Boehner campaigned a vote on the financial regula- will do nothing to protect their her account, so there is no way vote on whether to end federal tory bill, Boehner met with a under a slogan of reforming privacy. Such an approach to safeguard any information opens people up to targeting by already posted on Facebook. subsidies to these industries morals in Congress. So began group of over 100 corporate telemarketers and scam artists. his flip-flopping, greed-driven in 1995. When called on his lobbyists in a closed-door Don’t open yourself up to Fortunately, there are sevjourney that has led him to the behavior, Boehner said, “It’s a meeting, where they discussed a lifetime of pain—keep vital eral approaches that people can information off of Facebook! bad practice. We’ve gotta stop strategies to butcher the bill third most powerful position take to combat Facebook’s in- David Conneran (’11) it.” in the United States. to protect their interests. In cursions on privacy. The easiest But figuratively speaking, In 2006, apparently forJuly 2010, Boehner called his he hasn’t stopped handing out proposed moratorium of new getting what had gotten him checks. Boehner is responsible federal regulatory policies, “a elected in the first place, he for countless earmarked-forbecame caught up in a sex wonderful signal to the private Have an opinion? Want it in the paper? corporate-interest bills that scandal of his own. When sector that they’re going to have been up for vote over the news broke that a fellow have some breathing room.” So “Voice of the Students” is more than a motto, get your voice on the Opinion page. the years. He developed close Republican congressman had it eludes me what could have ties with corporate lobbyists been sending sexually sugbeen going through Boehner’s Send submissions of Op-Ed pieces to Observer. in the 1990s when he started gestive emails to a sixteenmind when he applauded JCHS@gmail.com. meeting with “The Thursday year-old page, it turned out Obama’s vow in his State of Group,” a crowd with modBoehner had known about the Union address to veto any Keep it under 300 words, shorter pieces have a higher likelihood of est interests, including those it for months. But Boehner being published.

Continued on D2 came out unscathed, claiming of Citigroup, UPS, Goldman

The social media giant is compiling a database of its users private information to sell to advertisers

THE OBSERVER

Friday, February 25, 2011

D2

How Far We’ve Come From being a lowly freshman to a second semester senior, I have seen my own personal journey of growth parallel that of JCHS. I remember my first day of freshman year as being both completely overwhelming and utterly exhausting. I walked through the halls with a look that must have been a combination of petrified fear and total discomfort.

When I was a freshman, the seniors were untouchable, the juniors were too cool, and the sophomores were just out of reach. I had little, if any, interaction with upper classmen as a freshman at JCHS. I remember sitting in the hallway a couple of months into my freshman year working on some homework when I looked up to see

the one and only Joel Klonoff.

As a freshman, I of course knew who he was, but he of course did not know who I was. He gave me a quizzical glance and asked me if I went to JCHS. I said yes, to which he asked, for how long and wondered why he had never seen me around before. Needless to say, it was a bit of an awkward situation.

Today, things are a bit different. Walk down the halls of JCHS and you will not only see a senior saying hi to a freshman, but sophomores and juniors hanging out. Throughout my four years at JCHS, I have seen the typical grade divisions one might expect in high school blur into the all-inclusive, welcoming community that JCHS has become famous for.

This strengthened community has sparked other changes throughout the school. Never before had I seen such student participation and leadership when the club fair rolled along.

Seeing so many students eager and willing to take a hand in making JCHS a more interesting place was quite a sight to behold. Just last year I remember the yearbook staff being worried about whether or not they would get new members as the majority of the staff was going to graduate in a year. To everyone’s delight, the yearbook staff was infused with many new members, a majority of them coming from the freshman and sophomore classes.

Active student participation has definitely grown throughout

my time at JCHS. As JCHS enters its tenth year and I my last, I look back on how JCHS has grown into the place so many people love to attend. I see how JCHS has become known throughout the community as a great place to learn. I see how JCHS has become one of the most unique

and dynamic high schools in the city. And I see how JCHS will continue to grow and flourish long after I leave. But just remember, while all students at JCHS get along regardless of grade, senior priority still stands.

Sarina Kernberg

The Corrupt Speaker Continued from D1 earmarked bills that cross his desk. Maybe he was just spacing out as he was for the majority of the speech?

What does Boehner get in response for being so friendly with K-Street? Money, golf, and private jets. In his most recent re-election campaign for Congress, Boehner brought in $2.4 million for his own campaign (a brobdingnagian amount for a congressman) and an estimated $44 million for other campaigns, much of the money from the companies he had protected in Congress. Over the past two years he has spent $67,000 at the Ritz-Carlton golf resort in

Naples, FL, $20,000 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, VA, and $29,000 at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, OH. This past decade he has flown on corporatesponsored jets 45 times and gone on 41 trips paid for by his CEO pals.

It should be remembered that these are only a few among the many shameful actions Boehner can put on his resume.

But what compels Boehner to be, in the words of Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone, “…the hairy blue mold on the American congressional sandwich”? He

Illustration by The Observer

grew up as one of twelve children in a middle-class family, and as he often tries to recount, while fighting back tears, began working at his family’s bar at the age of eight. What prompted a man of such humble origins to become a man of serve-the-rich greed? The power got to his head.

So why should you be worried? While it is true a Democratic Senate will probably prevent Boehner from leading the passing of too many egregious laws, the title “Speaker of the House” will give him significant clout in many circles of American vot-

Life, the Universe, and Everything/Talia Beck

ers and help him convince the American people that his corrupt agenda is in their best interest. Also we must not forget his uncanny fundraising abilities. Money has a strong fist in exerting influence on American policy makers, and while Boehner probably won’t go back to bribing congressmen on the floor of the House, I am willing to bet there will be a lot of back-room deals struck between our Speaker and the myriad malleable government officials.

For all the golf Boehner plays, he is not up to par in my book of ethics.

- Elijah Jatovsky, Co-Editor in Chief

THE OBSERVER

Friday, February 25, 2011

D3

Arno Rosenfeld (’12) Co-Editor in chief

THE OBSERVER

Ellijah Jatovsky (’12) Co-Editor in chief

est. April 2010 Jewish Community High School of the Bay

Karie Rubin Faculty Adviser

David Edelman (’12) Business

Maura Feingold Printing

Maddy Zacks (’11) Copy editor

Staff: Sophie Navarro, Evan Fenner, Haley Goldlist, Adi Alouf, Aviva Herr-Welber, Ariel Applbaum, Tzvi Miller, Ben Feiner, Renee TorchioMacDonald, Ari Goldberg-Safir, David Conneran, Jake Rosenberg, Boris Shkurko Micah Fenner

BackPage Girls Soccer Photo Essay

Waffles on From left: Elana Fogel (’14), Shoshana Feld (’13), and Captain Zoe Frankel (’11), Emma Orbach (’11) and Jordan Dong (’13)

Photographs by Daniella Kesel/The Observer

The Observer written by students, for students

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Editor’s Note:

The Observer is a student run newspaper, intended to cover topics from the perspective of students, and that are of interest to students. Thoughts and opinions expressed in The Observer are not necessarily those of the Jewish Community High School of the Bay. The Observer runs stories and covers topics of its choosing. Reporters and photographers are not given instructions by the school prior to writing or photographing. However, the final published product has undergone prior review by members of the professional community of JCHS operating under the instructions of the administration. While The Observer puts a very high value on the integrity of what they publish, stories you read may have been altered or censored to meet the standards required by the JCHS administration in order to allow publication of the paper. When deciding whether to publish altered or censored stories, The Observer weighs the impact of the alteration or censorship against the overall value of the story. If it is deemed that the alterations and/or censorship does not diminish the story to such an extent that it is no longer of substantial value to the student body of JCHS, those alterations will be accepted.

Tuesdays?

You Bet!

for sale in the commons every tuesday [proceeds benefit the class of 2012]

Letters A Gentleman’s Club?

While the Barbeque Club has no formal statement on gender exclusion, and many members deny that any exists, some female students feel left out.

If a group of same-sex individuals feels that convening together provides a space for a unique connecLetter policy: The Observer welcomes letters from all readers. Letters should be emailed to Observer.

JCHS@gmail.com. Anonymous, libelous, and inappropriate letters will not be published.

tion that cannot be realized in a co-ed situation, it may have merit.

However, BBQ Club is an interest-based club and should be open to anyone that holds said interest. If a girl wants to barbeque she should feel welcomed to do so—warm acceptance towards females not being something I have observed in the current BBQ Club culture.

If BBQ Club is in favor

of female members, they should make this clear. If Barbeque Club is not in favor of a regular female presence, I suggest they change both their mission and their name and simply be a Gentleman’s Club that hosts the occasional barbeque.

- Sincerely, Ms. Wright Registrar and Academic Affairs Assistant

Advertising: For information on advertising in The Observer, please email Observer.JCHS@gmail.com, subject line: Advertising. The Observer welcomes ads of interest to JCHS students that fit our decency standards. Rates vary.