The Rampage

The Rampage Ramaz Upper School

New York • Volume 77 • Issue VI • March 2015 • Adar 5775 • the-rampage.org

Lady Rams Win Championship; Complete 3-Peat!

By Akiva Gold ’16

Esther Douer ’15 nets team-high 20 points

Rachel Aboodi ’15 named MVP Bergen County, NJ- On Thursday night, March 12th, the Ramaz Girls Varsity basketball team traveled to New Jersey to play in the MYHSAL championship game. Aside from being the most important game of this season, the Lady Rams were also trying to win their third straight varsity championship.

The only thing standing in their way was the Bruriah Lightning, the sole team to beat the Rams in their first place, 11-1 season.

The first quarter opened with a quick Ramaz three point shot, by Rachel Aboodi ’15. That basket gave the Rams a lead they would not lose for the rest of the game. Led by strong offensive play by senior point guard Rachel Aboodi ’15, and lights out shooting by senior forward Esther Douer ’15, Ramaz went on an offensive tear. Additionally, powerful defensive play led by Skyler Levine ’15 kept Bruriah off the boards for most of the first quarter.

By the time the quarter ended, Ramaz was winning

11-2, and their lead would only get bigger as the game went on.

In the second quarter the Rams picked up right where they left off. Led by Levine in the post, Douer on the perimeter, and Aboodi running the point, Ramaz absolutely dominated on the offensive side possession after possession.

As the old saying goes, defense led to offense, and seemingly every Bruriah possession ended with a steal or block by Levine and Douer, leading to fast break opportunities for Aboodi and the rest of the offense. The Lady Rams finished the half on a rampage and went into the locker room at halftime with a healthy 20-point lead.

The 3rd quarter began much the same way the other two periods had, with strong defense affording the Rams plenty of offensive chances. The Rams held an almost 30 point

Chief Rabbi of France Visits Ramaz

By Julia Levi ’18 & Andrew Lobel ’15

In light of the terror attacks and anti-Semitic shootings in France, the Chief Rabbi of France, Rabbi Haim Korsia, spoke to students about anti-Semitism in France and Europe.

On Friday, February 20, Mr. Miller made an announcement on the loudspeaker that Rabbi Korsia was in the lobby, and encouraged all French students (and anyone else interested) to proceed to the Beit Midrash on the 2nd floor to hear Rabbi Korsia speak.

Almost all French students, and even some Spanish students, hurried to the second floor. Rabbi Korsia wanted to speak to the students in a more intimate setting so he could better relate to them and deliver a more interactive speech. He spoke only in French, but he sprinkled in enough English phrases and there were enough student translators in the room that everyone understood the message he was trying to convey.

Since Rabbi Korsia spoke on Rosh Chodesh Adar he described how Rosh Chodesh in general is a metaphor for the Jewish people: “Just as the moon wanes and seemingly disappears every month only to grow back slowly but surely until it shines bright and full in the nighttime skies; so too, the Jewish people have been persecuted, have faced anti-Semitism, and have even faced near extinction. However, whenever the Jewish people seem to disappear, they remain resilient and never lose hope. The Jewish people, just like the moon, survive and grow stronger in the face of darkness. They become a light unto nations during periods in history that can only be described as the darkest of nights.”

Rabbi Korsia explained that the current situation

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lead, and it seemed that Bruriah could not make a pass without a Ramaz player getting in the way and stealing the ball. All seemed good for the Rams, and it looked like the rest of the game would be an easy finish.

Nonetheless, Bruriah refused to go down without putting up a fight. Slowly but surely, the Lightening began to chip away at the lead held by Ramaz. Led by star guard Nikki Bick, Bruriah put up a valiant fight. The Lightning cut the Ramaz lead down to 18 points. But their run was too little too late. The Rams quickly put their foot down and continued

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Chamber Choir Goes to California

By Daniel Jaspan ’17

“California Here We Come” was the only thing going through the minds of the Ramaz chorus members on February 10th. In prior years, Ramaz choir trips have been to locations such as New Jersey and Virginia. This year, however, the choir was fortunate enough to go to Los Angeles.

The trip was sponsored partially through the Dr. Noam Shudofsky Choral Music Endowment at Ramaz, and with the help of an anonymous Ramaz family. The emphasis of the trip was on performing at many different venues, including the check-in counters in JFK, and even at the gate as the choir boarded their flight.

Chamber Choir’s first venue in California was the New Jew High School, where it performed for the students there. Chamber Choir also performed at

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The Rampage March 2015/Adar 5775 60 East 78 Street New York, NY 10075

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Features 9

A+E 13

Purim At Ramaz This year, Shushan Purim proved to be just as exciting as Purim was for many Ramaz students. Since Purim was on Thursday and there was no school, Ramaz celebrated Purim on Friday, even though it was Shushan Purim. Some students even joked that it was acceptable to celebrate Shushan Purim because they feel walled in within the building. Many students came dressed to school for the affair.

Some students came as referees, while others came wearing pajamas. One student even created his own Pixar costume. The day was also full of fun and festivities with a carnival set up in the gym that included three different inflatable games and a photo booth. This year the school decided to replace the racing game with a game that is signature of the show Wipeout. Dov Pianko felt that students would enjoy that inflatable game much more, and he was definitely right. While that was going on in the gym, students had the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets in the auditorium. In addition, there were delicacies set up on the sides for students to eat.

The school premade their famous cookies, but they gave students the opportunity to make Hamentaschen for themselves. The school also brought out the Ping-Pong table from the boys locker room, set up the Xbox and the Nintendo, and had the pop-a-shot out for students to play. Many students even played Ping-Pong using their phones as paddles in order to make the game more interesting. At the end of the day, after all grades had the opportunity to enjoy the carnival, everyone came together to hear the raffle winners, enjoy a slide show made by the teachers, see the GO Purim production, and Mr. Miller’s Siyum of Mishnayot in honor of his wife Rochelle Miller O”H.

By DJ Presser ‘16

March 2015/Adar 5775

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New Year, New Changes

A Review of the Changes Made for the ’14-’15 School Year

By Akiva Gold ‘16

New Vending Machines: Students’ Rating: 4 Stars.

Students’ Take: After years of keeping the same vending machines, when students reported for school in September, they were excited to find brand new vending machines, all credit card compatible. Exactly two thirds of the polled students felt that the new vending machines added to the school in September were a good thing. This is because the vending machines were a much needed and welcomed change, and as Estee Halpert ’16 put it, “They offer more snacks and drinks to choose from, and because of the credit card spot, they are easier to use”.

Ties Starting Later: Students’ Rating: 2.5 Stars Students’ Take: This year, as opposed to the normal October 1st starting date for wearing ties, the requirement for male students and faculty members to wear ties did not go into effect until after the holidays. Although most of the students polled felt indifferent to the late start to ties, that low number might be due to the female populace not having feelings on the topic.

So, the second highest rating received for this change was 5 Stars, meaning that many students felt that this change was for the best. This is rather self-explanatory, because as Danielli Gutkind ’16 says, not wearing ties “is easier, and the logic behind [the change] was very sound”.

Updated Emails: Students’ Rating: 4 Stars Students Take: After not having updated the email system since the early 2000s, this past summer, Ramaz finally updated their email system to the new email, Outlook 365. Among the polled students, this change received the most varied views on this topic, with 5 Stars, 4 Stars, and 2.5 receiving an almost equal number of votes. Clearly, opinions are very mixed on this topic. Daniel Cahn ’17 said that he has ”found that this update is one Ramaz had needed to do for a long time, and they exceeded my expectations [with the update].” Cahn attributes the tepid response to the fact that many students “have not been able to fully appreciate all that Ramaz has put at their fingertips.” But, Cahn adds, “As time progresses, students will come to further appreciate that which Ramaz is providing through the new email”.

New Schedule: Students’ Rating: 4 Stars Students Take: Coming into the new school year, a new rotation and schedule debuted, bringing along new constant days, and a “split” Friday. Almost exactly half of the students polled answered that they felt that the new schedule put into place this year is good, although over 30% did feel indifferent to the new schedule. Sarah Cabot ’17 says that she likes the new schedule because having a “Friday with only five periods benefits the student body because it makes Friday’s much easier to handle.” But, Cabot did point out that because the constant day is now a Thursday, and Fridays do not rotate, the schedule has become immensely unbalanced, and would like to see “much more of a balance [in the future between the rotating days].”

Dr. Koplon’s Take: There are a few components to the new schedule. The extra time in the mornings on leining days [Monday and Thursday] makes it possible for us to finish up davening in a relaxed manner, [which is] great. I love the new Fridays, because I can plan a regular lesson and actually get something done… [Also, w]e used to have a four-minute pass time between classes on Friday [which] made the whole day feel so frenetic[, which has now been changed]. [Also,] homeroom on Fridays gives everyone an opportunity to take a break and meet up. I have heard from some teachers that they feel a loss of teaching time since their class meets only every other Friday, [but] I don’t think that is as big of a problem as it might seem. Class may meet every other Friday, but it never gets canceled for a Winter Friday, and it never gets shortened to 29 minutes, [so o]ver the course of the whole year, we probably have more teaching time, [and] certainly more productive periods.

New Mincha Locations: Students’ Rating: 5 Stars Students Take: The only change for the 2014-2015 school year that received a 5 Star rating from the student body is the new, broken up Minchas. Whereas Mincha used to be davened by grade in a set room, now, Mincha is davened in rooms on each floor with an assorted group of students. This change received an overwhelmingly positive review, the most positive of all the changes. This is because, according to Ilana Naim ’15, having broken up Mincha minyans “is more convenient for students because it is easy to get to [and from class before and after Mincha], and students are not late to class as a result.”

Dr. Koplon’s Take: Mincha still needs some work. I noticed that some students do not go to their correct Mincha locations, [and m]any students try to go to the floor where their next class will be, rather than stay close to their ninth period class. The problem with this is that it delays the start of Mincha, creates overcrowding in some rooms, and leaves a void in others where people then have to scramble to get a minyan. As the students get used to the [new] Mincha schedule and they realize how efficient it is to daven right next to, or right in, your 9th period classroom, I hope things will [begin to] go more smoothly.

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March 2015/ Adar 5775

Ramaz Students React to “The Dress”

By Oren Oppenheim ’16

It was a controversy that brought the entire internet to a standstill. After a Tumblr user posted a picture of a dress that appeared to be either black and blue or white and gold to different people, much of the world became obsessed with trying to figure out the dress’ true colors. Various people came up with scientific theories why the picture’s colors varied, including based on its background or how people perceive color, while others used programs such as Photoshop in an attempt to reveal the reality. The dress was eventually confirmed to truly be black and blue, as the company that produced the dress and the original poster of the photo spoke out.

Ramaz students, many of whom are avid users of social media, were swept up in the controversy. Some were highly astonished by the picture. “It scared me because at first I felt like there was something wrong with me for seeing different colors than others,” said Sarah Cabot ’17. Rachel Herschmann ’16 said her reaction was, “What is happening?!” In fact, one post about the dress in the junior grade’s Facebook group received over one hundred comments within a few hours.

What color did Ramaz students think the dress actually was? Their answers were often surprising. “I thought it was blue and gold,” said Adam Schwartzfarb ’18, a combination that puts together both the white/gold possibility and the blue/black possibility.

Erica Newman-Corré ’15 had a bit of a different experience.

“At first, I saw white/ gold, but then blue/ black. It was so annoying. Then I read an explanation of why it did that and I could flip it back and forth by thinking hard.” Daniel Cahn ’17 was adamant about the dress being white and gold, then joked, “The iPhone is coming out in black and blue, you know,” and he showed a picture of the white-and-gold iPhone 5S. Edward Sasson ’16 said, “I thought it was clearly blue; I was very surprised when I heard people

[who] said it was white!”

Others had trouble understanding the whole uproar. “I thought the dress was green and orange because I’m colorblind,” said Jonah Klapholz ’15.

“I couldn’t understand what everyone was arguing about.” Similarly, Isabelle Ascher ’16 said that “at one point I was so confused and thought I was colorblind because I thought the dress was the wrong color.”

Taking a more indifferent view, Matthew Harris ’17 said, “Every time someone asked me about the dress my response was, ‘Who cares about a dress’?”

But even in such a seemingly superficial controversy, some students found profound, significant ideas. “I think that the controversy reflects something essential about human perceptions,” said Moselle Kleiner ’17.

“The blatant lack of uniformity amongst the way people saw the dress speaks to the sometimes forgotten fact that differences are okay and that there doesn’t have to be one true answer.”

Choir Trip to California Continued from the cover

Shalhevet, Milken Academy, and Pressman elementary school. The students at these schools performed for our Chamber Choir as well.

Additionally we learned the Chamber Choir members learned new techniques from other choir directors.

Ben Kohl ‘15 said, “It was great to go to other schools and meet kids who live in California. I met some great people and am still in touch with them.”

Aside from performing at Jewish schools, the Chamber Choir also performed at synagogues in the area.

On Friday night it performed at Bnai David, and on Shabbat afternoon it performed at Beth Jacob. The students were hosted by families living in Beverly Hills for Shabbat, including Ramaz

alumni.

Chamber Choir did, however, have time to relax. It toured many iconic places in California, including the Getty Museum, the Warner Brothers studio, and the Grammy Museum (of course the Grammy museum was of particular interest to the group). But when it visited Grove Mall it held an impromptu performance.

On the final full day of the trip, Chamber Choir enjoyed the amusement park at the Santa Monica Pier and had fun on the beach. Once again Chamber Choir put on an impromptu performance, but this time it passed a hat around and earned enough coins from passers-by to buy two slices of pizza.

Choir participants felt that this memorable trip had a major impact on

the choir family. “The trip to California really solidified the bond that all the choir kids share,” said Victoria Spero ’15. Malka Chu ’16, “Trips like these help added, form the glue that binds us together as a “We choir and makes our explored music come alive.” new -Mr. Henkin music and befriended peers in other choirs.” Mr. Henkin, the choir director, said, “Trips like these help form the glue that binds us together as a choir and makes our music come alive.”

Ramaz Competes At Model U.N.

By Akiva Gold ’16

This past month, Dr. Stone took the Ramaz Model UN team to the Yeshiva University National Model United Nations (YUNMUN) in Stamford, Connecticut. The conference lasted for two days and was a great opportunity to try and solve world problems, as well as to see old friends and meet new ones.

Jewish students from across the country and the world got together to discuss various issues that are currently relevant to the United Nations.

Students were separated into different committees that actually have real functions in the UN. Committees ranged from the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). Each committee receives two issues to be discussed at length in a total of fifteen grueling hours of sessions.

YUNMUN prides itself on its open-mindedness and interesting topics of discussion. Students are encouraged and instructed to argue the actual opinion

of their country, whether it is Saudi Arabia on women’s rights or the arms race in Iran. No matter how provocative the opinion, students are told to ‘stick to their guns’ and keep an open mind as they enter a structured form of debate.

Another important aspect of YUNMUN is that Yeshiva University uses the gathering as a way to recruit students to their school. YU-Stern professor Rabbi Saul Berman spoke, as well as the President of YU, Richard Joel. The two were the face of YU, yet specifically the President stated and elaborated on YU’s care for its students and the advantages of attending the school, all in an attempt to attract interest from the students.

Aside from intense and heated sessions, including an emergency crisis that put everyone on edge, YUNMUN is a great bonding experience. Students at Ramaz look forward to attending YUNMUN next year.

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Rabbi Eric Grossman Announced As New Ramaz Head of School

By Oren Oppenheim ’16

Ever since the announcement at the beginning of this current school year that Paul Shaviv was going to be leaving Ramaz, there was much curiosity and speculation about who Ramaz would appoint as the new head of school. In late February, Jacob Doft, the chairman of the board, sent out an email to the entire Ramaz community—including both to parents and to students—announcing that Ramaz had made a decision. “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Rabbi Eric Grossman as Head of School of Ramaz, effective this coming school year (20152016),” Mr. Doft said in his message.

Rabbi Eric Grossman is currently the head of school at the Frankel Jewish Academy, a school in West Bloomfield, Michigan. According to the email, he spent much time overseeing the school’s different programs, curricula, and publicizing endeavors. He formerly was the head of FJA’s Tanakh department, “where he designed and implemented an innovative Bible curriculum, recruited and trained faculty, and taught Tanakh for all high school grade levels,” Mr. Doft said. He has even been merited to win various awards for his teaching, namely the Claus Nobel Educator of Distinction Award and the Hebrew University Bible Prize. Rabbi Grossman formerly studied at Toronto’s York University and Efrat’s Yeshivat HaMivtar.

Praising Rabbi Grossman’s dedication to his current school and his myriad undertakings, Mr. Doft said that Rabbi Grossman fit the Ramaz mission and Ramaz values best compared to the other candidates who were evaluated for the position.

“Rabbi Grossman has many wonderful attributes, accomplishments, and values. A few that stand out to me are his passion for teaching, his commitment to teachers, and his deep appreciation of our unique mission… Rabbi Grossman understands the need to marry our great academic education with the ideals that our mission statement represent,” Mr. Doft said when asked by Rampage why Rabbi Grossman was chosen.

Mr. Doft made sure to acknowledge the current head of school and what he has done for Ramaz. In his email, he thanked Mr. Shaviv for all of his work, saying that “Mr. Shaviv initiated and implemented many much-needed, far-reaching changes using a “whole school vision” that increased the effectiveness and quality of Ramaz’s management and high quality education we provide our children.” When asked by Rampage if there was anything he wanted to mention to the student body about Rabbi Grossman, Mr. Doft said, “We look forward to introducing Rabbi Grossman to the student body. At the same time, we are deeply appreciative of Mr. Shaviv for his service to the school.”

A New Beginning

Rabbi Grossman, who initially spoke with Rampage via email, said that what appeals to him most about Ramaz is that “what strikes me when I read the Ramaz mission statement is that the school puts menschlichkeit as its first bullet point. I am so impressed that an institution that can proudly proclaim its academic excellence puts the values of character and integrity at the top.” When asked if he had heard of Ramaz beforehand, he said “Everyone has heard of Ramaz!” and complimented the school about its prestige and “outstanding academics.”

He first heard about the head of school position at Ramaz when he received a call from the Yeshiva University School Partnership office. The person who called him had known him from his efforts in Michigan, and the person’s supervisor had actually been a student’s parent at Gran Academy in Boston, where he taught over a decade ago. “Her daughter was one of my first students, and we had a wonderful class together,” Rabbi Grossman said of the connection. “The special relationship a teacher builds with students and their families can have long lasting effects.”

Clearly it had a strong effect, as it seems to have been a factor in causing him to hear about the Ramaz job.

Obviously the transition from FJA to Ramaz is a major one; one is a suburban school in the Midwest while one is an urban school in the northeast. When asked what he’ll miss most from his current school, Rabbi Grossman said, “I will miss the people most—my students, colleagues, parents and lay leaders. My family and I have developed such warm friendships with the FJA families, and we will miss them greatly.” He did say, however, that he already comes to New York annually for a reunion with alumni of FJA who came to the city, which will help ease the transition for him. “I’m a little nervous about moving back to a big city” Said Rabbi Grossman, who once lived and taught in Boston. “But I’m also really excited. I’ve lived in pretty big cities, but New York is, well, New York. There is nothing like it anywhere.”

Many have been wondering what direction Rabbi Grossman plans to pursue when he becomes an administrator at Ramaz. Right now, however, he says he’s more interested in creating relationships with the teachers and students, and especially working with the faculty “on innovative teaching, especially involving technology. FJA developed the first game/app for students to learn Mishna through

gaming, and as an educator I get excited by new tools that can make the classroom more exciting, creative and interactive.” As for what he’ll bring to the table at Ramaz, he said that he hopes “to bring some of my personal quirkiness to the school.

One of the things students remember me for at FJA is that I built a mini park in the hallway outside my classroom (it even had a pond with a waterfall—really). I know with Central Park in your backyard this may not be impressive to New Yorkers, but I thought it was cool.”

Rabbi Grossman had a very interesting (and to many, extremely exciting) answer when asked if there was anything he wanted to tell the student body and faculty before he met them. Most would expect him to simply say that he’s looking forward to meeting them and looking forward to shaping the future of Ramaz and so on. His actual answer was far more distinctive. “Please save the date of Thursday, December 17, 2015 at midnight [the release date and time of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens]. I am a huge Star Wars fan and I have a tradition that I always go with my students to the opening night of a new Star Wars movie (in costume, of course).”

The Man Himself

Rabbi Grossman visited Ramaz in person for the first time in the middle of March, coming in from Wednesday March 19th through Sunday March 22nd. It was his first time here knowing that he would be the new head of school, and he joked that he finally knew for sure that Ramaz truly existed, since now he had seen the buildings themselves, which gave him a “tremendous amount of trust” that Ramaz was actually real.

Rampage arranged a meeting with him at the middle school (where he had been temporarily borrowing an office) in order to get a chance to talk face-to-face, and it was actually one of the first things on his agenda for his stay in New York. In person, Rabbi Grossman is the type of man who exudes warmth, always showcasing a positive attitude and willing to display an acute sense of humor. He was very happy to meet with Rampage, as he places a premium on creating relationships with students and is hoping to get a chance to meet at least some of them during his stay.

His impression of the people at Ramaz was that they were “warm, welcoming and enthusiastic”; he admired how much people loved the school. Having attending a parents council event the night before, he said he felt there was an “unusual number” of faculty in attendance, showing how much they care about the school, and that many parents told him about their affection for Ramaz. As for the physical buildings themselves, Rabbi Grossman said that he felt it was very cool to be in an urban setting. He previously taught in Boston, in a building that was formerly a bank (he taught classes in the vault!), and had a “phenomenal experience,” but did mention the differences between a building in an urban area, which is built vertically (i.e. Ramaz), and a building in a more suburban or rural area, which is built horizontally (i.e. FJA).

When asked about what he planned on changing when he started working for Ramaz, Rabbi Grossman chose to emphasize the first step’s he’ll take as “building relationships” with the students and teachers. The starting point to everything, he said, is creating personal relationships where he speaks to others and they speak to him. While he understood that sounded like a “fluffy answer”, he was adamant that it was true; for instance, he said that successful classes don’t start out with just dry runs through the material but successfully establish a relationship between the student and the teacher and material.

Rabbi Grossman is well aware of Ramaz’s prestigious reputation, but believes and appreciates that the school’s mission takes precedence. He felt that one would think that the school’s reputation would cause it to prioritize turning out top level graduates, but gesturing to the Ramaz mission statement poster, he said it is “striking” that academic success “is NOT the first bullet point. He appreciates how the school cares more about “how you interact with the world than that they can announce “graduates who will matriculate at Ivy League schools”.

As for his personal life, Rabbi Grossman mentioned that he and his family once lived in Israel, for four years. His wife worked in journalism and wrote for the Jerusalem Report, then went into marketing. They have two children, ages nine and eleven, who will be attending Ramaz this fall and will be visiting beforehand in order to see the school.

Overall, Rabbi Grossman expressed excitement at being able to come to Ramaz and work at a school in Manhattan. New York is his “favorite city”, but he “never imagined living there.” He expressed admiration that New Yorkers are so nice, and he was “touched by the reception I got here.”

Fortunately, it is clear that not only is Rabbi Grossman excited to meet the students of Ramaz, but that the students of Ramaz are excited to meet him. A picture of him taken by the author for Humans of Ramaz received over thirty likes, and as he and the author started to leave the building in order to take the picture outside, students from the middle school started to come up to him and introduce themselves. A few girls even invited him to their upcoming hockey game, which he had to decline, but he said he’d love to come to a game in the future, and further joining the Ramaz community.

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March 2015/ Adar 5775

Dr. Jucovy Covers His Own Classes in His Absence

By D.J. Presser ’16

Dr. Jucovy was absent from school for quite some time. However, he worked diligently in order to make sure that his classes were still being taught while he was not in school.

For his junior classes, at the beginning, Dr. Jucovy decided to employ videos in order to teach his classes. “Finding coverage for classes can be difficult,” explained Dr. Jucovy. He continued, “I also saw an opportunity to try out something new and see how it worked out over the first couple of weeks.” Three out of the four videos that he sent to the students were made by Dr. Jucovy himself. The fourth video was a Crash Course video made by John Green. Dr. Jucovy also had his students watch this video last year in order to give them the main idea of the beginning of the Second Semester.

The videos that Dr. Jucovy made were similar to the classroom experience, except they lacked the incredible jokes and interaction that the classroom discussion engenders. “Even though the videos are somewhat different than the classroom, I still feel that I am teaching in a traditional way,” explained Dr. Jucovy.

Dr. Jucovy explained that there are two major downsides to teaching through videos. “There is this

kind of liveliness that I bring to the classroom that is not present in the videos. I can’t make the same jokes or tell the same stories that I would in the classroom because they might end up in the NY Post the next day. Additionally, these videos raise the question of whether teachers are really needed at all anymore. I think that the answer is still yes, because the interaction that exists in the classroom is still missing. There is an extraordinary benefit of communication for both me and my students that simply can not exist within the video.”

While there are some downsides, Dr. Jucovy definitely sees the upsides that exist. “It forces me to go through all the material in a more careful and meticulous manner than I would in a normal classroom. Additionally, the videos allow me to write on a cartoon or document and point certain things out that I would not normally be able to. In the future, I may try to use videos in order to give students some general knowledge about a topic so that we could delve further into documents in the classroom.”

Sy Elyakim `16 explained, “I find this alternative way of learning to be very unique and efficient. I like that I am able to learn on my own time and at my own pace, to some extent.”

For his senior class, Dr. Jucovy decided to make greater use of Google Classroom than he had been.

Instead of teaching, Dr. Jucovy posted documents, cartoons, or other historical documents in order to lead discussions between himself and his students.

“I have actually been tougher on my senior class because I am not in school. Now, instead of a couple of kids dominating the whole class, every single student needs to raise a point. Additionally, students have to be more careful when they are making their points and raising their ideas, because it is easier to see when a point is baseless,” explained Dr. Jucovy.

“I really like the Google Classroom. I think the discussions we have are interesting, and it allows us to do things that we couldn’t necessarily do in a traditional setting (sending each other articles, links, videos, etc.),” explained Alex Leibowitz `15.

Dr. Jucovy also explained that while he likes certain functions of each of the out-of- classroom teaching applications, he has yet to find a single application that will do everything that he wants. “It drives me absolutely crazy that none of these applications can satisfy all the different needs of a teacher.”

France’s Chief Rabbi Visits Ramaz Continued from cover

for Jews in Europe is scary, but remained steadfast in his belief that Jews should not flee Europe out of fear. He stressed that to leave Europe in the face of terrorism is to reward terrorism. That being said, Rabbi Korsia made it clear that he is an avid supporter of making aliyah. He feels that Jews should make aliyah out of love, not out of fear of hatred and violence.

During a question and answer session, Rabbi Korsia said, “The Jewish people have a future both in France and in Europe.” He believes the key to this future is through caring for each other. Rabbi Korsia argued that anti-Semitism doesn’t just affect Jews, it affects Europe as a whole, and that the only way to combat an age of intolerance and violence is to act towards everyone with “kindness and respect”.

While the school was thrilled to host Rabbi Korsia, it nearly never happened.

When the school heard that Rabbi Korsia was going to be in New York to meet with Mayor de Blasio and speak at Park East Synagogue, Ramaz immediately tried to invite him to speak to the student body at the Upper School. The administration felt strongly that, in light of the recent events in France and Denmark, Rabbi Korsia’s visit to Ramaz would provide a great educational opportunity.

After a number of unsuccessful attempts, Ms. Benel was finally able to make

contact with him after finding out through Ariel Attias ’18, that Rabbi Korsia had officiated at his Bar Mitzvah in Paris, and was a friend of the family. Once the school made contact with Rabbi Kosia, he said he was fully booked for the upcoming week. However, as a favor, he was willing to cancel “a boring meeting” and could come to Ramaz, on 15 minutes notice.

Mr. Miller convened a staff meeting to accommodate the Chief Rabbi of France’s last minute visit. Mr. Miller strongly felt that the whole school, both the faculty and student body, ought to be exposed to this educational opportunity “extraordinaire”. However, upon his arrival Rabbi Korsia strongly expressed his interest to visit with our French students at Ramaz in a more intimate setting.

Evidently, Rabbi Korsia’s visit to Ramaz had a powerful impact on the students.

“Being from a French household,” said Noa Attias ‘18, “I was very moved by his words. It really connected me to my French roots and I want to make sure that I don’t give up on any connections I have with France.” Eddie Mattout ’15 echoed Attias and said, “It was a privilege to hear the Chief Rabbi speak to us. In light of all the terrible tragedies we keep reading about in the news, it was inspiring to hear someone with such a hopeful view regarding European Jewry.”

Senior Play: Reviewed

By Jasmine Levine ’17

The senior class recently performed their senior play before a group of seniors, parents and underclassmen. Despite selling over 700 seats to the public, attendance was estimated at 150 people.

This acting, singing, and dancing extravaganza displayed the unique talents, quirks, and the general lack of self-evaluation. While moments of the play were quite impressive, at other times I felt that I was watching a third grade play…. and not a good one.

Despite that, I had a great time.

Class of 2015: the Musical was a compilation of songs, dances, and movie scenes from productions that took place during high school for the class of 2015. This was a creative change from the typical production performed in previous years. Gaby Stemp deserves much of the credit for this interesting and unique approach to the senior play.

Many of the scenes displayed poorly choreographed dance numbers that were out of sync, and others showcased off-key singing. The 21 Jump Street number was awkward at best and inappropriate at worst. Despite that, most of the scenes

were interesting and entertaining.

Jack Tauber’s basketball production was funny, well performed and well received by parents and students alike. His stage presence and confidence made the number work and the background performers added the right touch.

Jeremy David displayed his musical talents in many numbers. His energy, enthusiasm and range was wonderful and was one of the best aspects of the evening. The highlight of the night was the rap number performed by three members of the senior class. Joco was great, Victoria Spero was outstanding, and David Besharim really found his calling. Collectively, they produced the best scene of the night and one of the most enjoyable productions of the year.

While many aspects of the night were weak, the creative work of Gaby Stemp and the spectacular performances by many of the class of 2015 made the night special. In addition, I was touched by the clear bond that the class of 2015 has for each other. The positive interplay between students and the genuine enjoyment each student had for their peers made me envy the bond that they have. I hope my class builds on our relationship over the coming two years in a similar fashion to the Class of 2015.

Columns The Rampage • March 2015

FLA #5Le Petite Shell

By Tess Solomon ’16 and Eliana Doft ’16

Petite Shell is the newest addition to the middle school corner, and this time it’s Kosher.

This hub for young Jewish hipsters and Ramaz elementary students is conveniently located in the Lucida (home to half of the Ramaz population) and a block or two away from all of your SAT tutors. As such, the street outside on your average Saturday night is quiet. Inside the cozy restaurant, however, the laughter of Young Jewish Professionals says, “We decided to come here tonight instead of going to the VIP room. Also we didn’t have a wedding.”

As soon as you step through the doors, an overwhelming smell of nutella surrounds you like a comforting hug. One of the three hipster baristas was friendly, offering one of your food lovers a drink believing she got stood up (the other food lover was on her way). We ordered a mozzarella pesto croissant and a ricotta cheese and avocado croissant, in addition to a coffee and a peppermint tea. The crispiness and flakiness of the croissant complimented the creaminess of the cheeses so much, that it was hard to think about ever returning to regular bread sandwiches. We were surprised: we had thought going to a rugaluch place would be ideal for a bunch of little sweets, but we were satiated and satisfied with our sandwiches as a (second) dinner. In fact, we have since decided to forsake tuna fish on bagels and make this our new Friday lunch tradition. Yea, it was that good. The coffee selection was extensive, with beans from all over the world to choose from. The tea was warm and homey.

Then, of course, it was time to get started on dessert. With an array of rugaluch to choose from, ranging from sweet to savory, it was hard to choose just one. We each bought boxes of a dozen to bring home for the next day’s breakfast.

However, for the night, we selected a chocolate nutella rugaluch and an almond danish. The chocolate nutella rugalach was good, but had an overwhelmingly buttery taste. We had to stop eating it once we felt as though we were chewing on a plain stick of butter. The almond danish, on the other hand, was powder-sugared just right. The dough was soft and gooeyer than that of the croissants. The almond slivers on top were cut to the perfect thinness in order to give it some crunch.

Some of our friends who were in the neighborhood dropped by. That’s the kind of place it is: people you know and don’t know come in to escape the cold and find something delicious to eat and instagram.

Just a gRAM of Sugar: Milk and Cookie Shots

By Louise Sitt ’18 Ingredients: 1/4 cup olive oil or butter 1 cup shortening 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup light-brown sugar 1 large egg yolk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup mini chocolate chips For the cookie shots: 1 cup dark-chocolate candy melts 1 1/2 cups milk 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the molds of a popover pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and brown and granulated sugars. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract, and mix until completely incorporated. Gradually add the flour and salt, and mix until completely incorporated. Add the mini chocolate chips, and mix together until evenly distributed. The dough should be a little crumbly at this point.

3. Form the cookie shots inside the molds, making the walls of the cookie shot about 1/4 inch thick. Chill for 20 to 30 minutes before baking.

4. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cookies just start to brown. Remove from the oven, and let cool completely.

5. Melt chocolate candy melts, and then pour the melted chocolate into the well of each cookie.

Let it sit for a minute, and then pour the excess chocolate back into the pan. Chill cookie shots until the chocolate has set.

6. Mix together milk and vanilla extract, and serve inside each cookie shot. Enjoy!

8 Columns

The Rampage

PhotoMath

by Microblink

What’s App

By Jasmine Levine ’17

This month, I want to present numerous apps that border on the inappropriate. It is the rebel in me that wants to share some valuable apps. I view this as my parting gifts to the seniors as they will be the most likely beneficiaries of this information. Enjoy!

The first app is PhantomAlert. Have you ever wanted to avoid traffic lights with cameras? Have police check stops ever gotten in the way of your fun? Worry no more as PhantomAlert can give you all the information you need to stay safe…and out of jail.

The Stalqer is a very useful app for the creepster amongst us. We know the type, the nosy busy body that has to know where you are all the time. Well this app will make them happy. Stalqer culls data from Facebook and allows you to pinpoint where people are anytime. As long as you are Facebook friends, you can be “stalqed.” Happy stalqing!

The last app my parents put to good use with my little brother. William lost a tooth last week. How do you figure out how much the tooth fairy should leave him? Well, use the Tooth Fairy app to make it happen. It breaks down parents by sex, age, state, level of education and income to determine how much to leave under the pillow. I am happy to report my little brother did well.

Enjoy this information and have an Appy Day!

March 2015/ Adar 5775

By Natanel Kamel ’18

Have you ever needed help solving an algebraic equation?

Have you ever searched for a calculator that can solve for “x”?

The search is OVER! The all-new PhotoMath by microblink reads and solves mathematical expressions by using the camera of your mobile device. It currently supports arithmetic expressions, fractions/decimals, powers and roots, and simple linear equations.

Once the equation is scanned with your camera, the answer for “x” will display and then offer you the opportunity to learn how to solve such expressions through “human like” solving steps. Due to this application being a beta version, there are some features that are still unsupported. The equation/expression must be typed or printed in a textbook in order for the camera to be able to read the equation and solve it. It is currently available for FREE in the Apple App store, Windows store, and soon be available on Google Play. This app can help with homework in Algebra and Algebra 2/ Trigonometry courses. Download it TODAY!

Zionism in Ramaz

By Devil’s Advocate

mention the idea of an Israeli politics class. Beyond a few Senior mini courses and clubs, the students are not prepared to fight anti-Zionism in the real world.

The devil’s advocate: The 12th grade recently had the opportunity to hear the other side of this argument. A speaker addressed the grade explaining that Ramaz’s job is not to give its students bullet points for a debate at a BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) booth on a college campus. The school’s mission is to inspire commitment, love and support of the state of Israel in addition to Torah and mitzvot. Ramaz teaches its students how to learn what they cannot on their own.

Talmud, Tanakh, Halacha and Jewish philosophy need the help of a talented faculty to be truly underIllustration: stood. The time spent on these subjects is not wasted,

by Jill Adler ’15 but rather the focal point of a Jewish education. Many people, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, are politically aware and savvy regarding the issues in Israel. HowevIt is hard to accuse the student population of er, not many have the unique advantage of a religious Ramaz of being politically unaware. With clubs like approach. While everyone can use the advantage of the Ramaz Political Society “Rampo”, AIPAC, the Google, newspapers, magazines, political speeches Human Rights Club, and history classes filled with and books to feed his knowledge of Israeli news and current events, the students are eager and chomping politics, not everyone has the unique opportunity that bit for every opportunity to argue. There are, of learning the intricate skills of Talmud and Torah. however, some Ramaz students who feel that the Ramaz is not meant to be an education with a finite school has not properly fulfilled its duty of providing start and finish. It is supposed to be a beginning to a complete Zionist education. a never-ending process. Learning is not a completed The traditional trope: Ramaz is a Zionist school, action. but beyond unrelenting support for all things Israeli, In light of the recent election in Israel, it is our there is very little political discourse regarding the pressing Israeli issues. The student body is not provid- duty as Zionists to pay attention to what is happening. Whether you supported Leader Isaac “Bougie” ed with anything more than a love of Israel. We don’t learn the statistics, arguments, or logic behind some of Herzog or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the election posed many a question about the future of the biggest questions in the American-Israeli relathe Jewish state. The media was throwing around tionship. Ramaz spends upwards of thirteen periods terms like “broken promises”, “apartheid”, “one-state a rotation teaching Talmud, but does not so much as

solution”, and “racism”. It is not Ramaz’s job to tell us how to respond, but instead to make us want to respond. It is our job to show the world that Israel is not the place that people accuse it of being. It is our job to find a way to express what we know to be true.

As a student, you do not have to believe that Bibi Netanyahu is the ideal prime minister or even that Israel is on the right side of a given issue. The only responsibility is to search out an opinion. When presented with the unnerving challenge of a stranger, we, as Ramaz students, have learned to stand our ground no matter what. In the end, logic and justice always win out.

If you still remain unsure of how you can truly defend Israel, consider the following: One, the faculty comprises teachers, rabbis, and administrators who are on the cutting edge of these political issues. They can offer support, advice and a new perspective. Two, any book, website, or pamphlet that could be deemed useful is stocked in the school library or easily accessible.

Three, if you are unsure whether your own political sentiments line up with the Israel government, do not lose sight of the real subject. When America elects a politician you don’t like, you don’t move out of the country and renounce your patriotism. So too, your commitment to Israel should lie beyond your alignment with one political movement.

Unfortunately, school can only go so far. The present and the future are questions to be solved. There will be moments of fog and confusion, but the idea behind the Ramaz education is that we never lose the foundation of our love of Israel.

Features The Rampage • March 2015

Where are the Girls?

In honors math and science classes nationally, girls are outnumbered by boys by 4 to 1.

By Nicole Aboodi ‘17

In the mathematics and science world, women are ucators in middle and high schools share an unconscious greatly underrepresented. Many theories claim that this bias; college professors and employers discriminate against can be traced back to middle and high school. A recent female scientists and mathematicians as well. Of all the study indicates that the reason some girls fail to push high school students who take the AP exam in computthemselves to their greatest capability is because of their er science, only 18.5% is female and in colleges, female teachers’ unconscious bias. The jobs in computer science students get only 12% of the computer science degrees. and engineering are becoming some of the highest paying Apple, Facebook, Google and other companies admitted and fastest growing jobs, and if educators could fix their that the number of female employees is less than one fifth bias, the amount of women who enter these fields could of their technical employees. increase a great deal.

The study at Tel Aviv UniThis study was versity also revealed how disconducted in Tel couragement from teachers in Aviv University and science and math caused kids’ it involved studying self-confidence to drop, not three groups of Israeli just in those subjects, but also students from sixth in other subjects at school. This grade through stufact only highlights how vital dents in their last year and important it is to encourof high school. Each age all students. student was given two When asked if this bias or tests, one graded by these different expectations teachers who knew effect the students at Ramaz, their names, and the Illustration by Gabrielle Amar-Ouimet Dr. Koplon said, “I believe we other graded by strangers. In the test graded anonymousencourage all students to challenge themselves in all of ly, the girls scored higher than the boys in math. However, their subjects. But, sadly, I see slightly more males than when the teachers who knew the students graded their females in the highest level math and science classes, exams, the boys scored higher than the girls in the math though I think it is changing. I’m not sure why it has section. Although the teachers underestimated all their been that way. It may be a little holdover from the preteen female students’ abilities in subjects like math and science, years, when boys are traditionally more inclined to be their expectations for the girls in subjects such as English “risk takers.” In order to excel in math and science, one and Hebrew, are not. shouldn’t be afraid to take risks. Research scientists have The boys being encouraged more results in succeeding to experiment, and they don’t know in advance whether more in those areas. Although one can say that girls have the outcome of their experiment will be something useful. just as much as an opportunity to thrive in math and The same is true in mathematics. One has to be willing to science, a teacher’s influence and encouragement can go a try new strategies and approaches to problems. That’s how long way. For instance, why would anyone feel confident new ideas are developed, new discoveries are made, and if his or her teacher is paying extra attention to his or new products are invented.” her classmates when he or she is working just as hard or deserves that encouragement and push just as much?

Previous studies have uncovered that not only the ed-

Commuter Profile: The Kornsgolds

By Gabriel Klapholz ’17

that the “long commute has affected [his] social life Ramaz students tend to complain about having to Surprisingly, Yaffa claims that the commute does more than anything.” In the past, it has been “very not affect her ability to participate in extracurriculars wake up too early for school or about getting home “at all, since trains run 24 hours a day.” Yaffa condifficult” for Yona to, for example, “come hang out too late at the end of a long day. But no student has in New York on a Saturday night or Sunday.” Only as difficult and as long a commute as the Kornsgolds, tinued that Ramaz is their best option even though recently, because its senior year, has Yaffa ’17 and Yona ’15, who live in there is a closer school. “We Yona had the time to come to the wouldn’t be able to get there, East Windsor, New Jersey.

“The commute has been both beneficity to meet up with friends. because there are no buses and The Kornsgolds wake up at 5:30 “I spend four hours cial and detrimental our parents have to work so In terms of extracurriculars, Yona A.M. They then must drive to the traveling everyday” to my high school they wouldn’t be able to drive said that the commute “hasn’t affecttrain station at 5:50. The Korns-Yona Kornsgold ‘15 experience.” golds board a train at 6:15 and us either,” she said. Nevered me so much.” He said, “I spend -Yona Kornsgold ‘15 four hours traveling everyday…at take it three stops to Penn Station. theless, according to Yaffa, Ramaz is “absolutely amazing least three and a half more hours…

After disembarking, they walk to the E train and take it five stops to and so worth it.” than my peers who live in the city.”

In the end, Yona said, “I certainly feel that my peers Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street. From there, they Interestingly, Yona said, “The commute has been have had a significant advantage over me” and, judgtake the six train three stops to 77th Street in order both beneficial and detrimental to my high school experience. The long commute forced me to have ing by his commute, he is probably right. to walk the rest of the way to school. All in all, the commute takes over two hours from the time that the good study habits and not procrastinate.” However, Kornsgolds leave their house in the morning until the Yona also shed light on the negative side of living so time that they step through the doors of Ramaz. Not far from school. “It is of course very difficult and I only that but the Kornsgolds must do the reverse on think that I probably would have done slightly better in school if I lived closer,” he said. Yona emphasized the way home.

10 Features

The Rampage

March 2015/ Adar 5775

Ramaz Alumni and Senior Begin New Startup

By Oren Oppenheim ’16

There’s a new startup company in New Jersey that aims to become a one-stop shop for people’s bulk order needs. Scan2Ship was started by Ramaz alumnus Ari Korman ’01, Andy Agus, and current Ramaz senior Brian Agus ’15. The company’s current aim is to ease the online shopping experience by making it extremely easy to order and receive bulk items.

Instead of trekking to the supermarket, deliberating through a thousand different choices, and having to lug tons of bags home, Scan2Ship—through its first endeavor, SodaScan—offers an app that can just scan a QR code and then have the company deliver your order straight to your house. “We want to alleviate the paradox of choice when shopping online through our posters and we want the customer to focus on shopping for those items they enjoy shopping for, like your meat, fish and vegetables,” Korman said.

The company currently services towns in the Bergen Country area in northern New Jersey. Customers open the app, available on iPhone and Android, scan a poster with QR codes or select items through the interface, and then place and order to have their items delivered. The static cling posters, meant to be hung up and taken down with ease, have been included in the local newspaper The Jewish Link or can be requested from the company.

“How can we make it something that people say… it’s a part of my life, my experiences within the community?” Ari Korman said of the company’s guiding philosophy. “If we’re just a tech company, a million

and one tech companies exist today, and they do a million and one different things—a million and one trying to do the same thing.” Korman aims for the company to fill a niche that helps people out in a way that no other company has done in the NJ area so far.

(It’s worth noting that food delivery companies such as FreshDirect and GrubHub are not as commonly used in New Jersey as they are in Manhattan.)

Brian Agus of Ramaz has “been involved since day one,” according to Korman. He has been involved with creating and developing the company’s initial concept, working on a launch strategy, and forming a business plan that will allow SodaScan and Scan2Ship to be successful. “In a market where mobile commerce dominates, SodaScan is changing the way people shop to make it as easy and simple as possible,” said Agus.

It was one of his first experiences in the corporate world. Agus had previously interned for real estate firm Ashkenazy Acquisitions, but this was his first time having a true business experience. “One of the toughest parts of building a company is creating a business model and going through every step of the way over and over again until you’ve perfected it.” During its inception, the company shifted around daily as the three partners worked to perfect their concepts, meeting with “printers, tech guys, developers and of course my partners, Ari Korman and Andy Agus, also my brother.” Everyone had to be kept up-to-date on the myriad aspects of the company, through spreadsheets and other communication, which Agus said he needed to spend a lot of time on.

Agus does feel, however, that being a part of a startup has been a valuable experience. He feels that he’s gained a new perspective on many things that he never gave so much thought to before. “For majority of my life,” Agus said, “I have been using iPhones with numerous applications, enjoying them from a consumer’s point of view. Yet to be able be a part of the back-end of how it all works and how it is put together gave me an appreciation for all of these extremely successful businesses in society today, and is really where I see SodaScan heading as we continue to build and enhance people’s shopping abilities.”

Continue the Unity

By Oren Oppenheim ’16

Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun recently held an event at the Ramaz Upper School in conjunction with OneFamily, an organization that helps Israeli victims of terror. “Continue the Unity” was unique in that it not only was meant to show solidarity with Israel but was also meant to honor the mothers of the three boys kidnapped and murdered in the West Bank this summer. Two of the mothers, Rachelle Fraenkel and Iris Yifrrach, were in attendance.

Rabbi Gideon Black, of NYU, began the event by talking about how he himself was affected by Israeli terror. He was caught in the crossfire during an attack on the famous Ben Yehuda shopping street, and his cousin was killed by a metal bolt on a bus where a terrorist set off an explosive. “Ripped apart with grief over the loss of my best friend and cousin... I was also aware of just how lucky I was to survive,” Rabbi Black said. “Logic would dictate that [my cousin would] be standing here today telling you about me, not me telling you all about him.”

The crowd was also addressed by Ambassador Daniel Ayalon, who represented the state of Israel itself at the event. He called for the US to take the lead in negotiations with Iran and to not “play nice”, and said that “The three boys… were all our boys, and they died on Kiddush Hashem, and did not die in vain. And they are now in the shrines of the Tzadikim… who are guarding us throughout the generations.”

Another speaker was Mark Belzberg, the founder of OneFamily. He spoke about the organizations origins; it was begun by his daughter Michal after her bat mitzvah was ruined by a terrorist attack. She made the choice to help the victims instead of holding a party.

“We all know the words… there is no other nation in the land and the world similar to the Jewish people,” Belzberg said. He believes a key idea of what makes

the people unique is that “We’re the only people in the world that has a sense of obligation and responsibility, one for the other.”

Iris Yifrach herself gave a short speech retelling the story of the horrific events that occurred this summer

and how they caused the whole world to reunite. She said of her son, “His whole life, Eyal always thought of others. He helped everywhere he could, and really loved each and every person with whom he connected. And Am Yisrael loved him in return.” Ending her remarks with a sorrowful message to her she promised him: “we will continue in the way that you began.

They took your body, but they didn’t take your soul.”

Rachelle Fraenkel’s segment of “Continue the Unity” worked differently, in the form of a Q and A session with Rabbi Black. When asked about how she has managed her grief, she told him that “We’re totally not alone… there’s so much support from day one” from her homeland and from outside. She spoke about how she has seen different families handle mourning in a multitude of ways, but her own philosophy is that

“My choice is to feel sadness but not to become my sadness, to feel pain but not to become my pain, and to try to feel the whole spectrum.”

While the event certainly showed massive support for Israel, it wasn’t a rally like most others have been.

“The idea of a rally immediately triggers… noise, of protest, of anger…

Those were none of the elements [at the event]. This was a request from Racheli Fraenkel, Naftali’s mother, to continue the spirit of unity which was so evident when the tragedy occurred, regardless of any political or religious differences,” said Ms. Benel, who attended the event. Alex Agus ’15 a was amazed by “the way that [Rachelle Fraenkel] channeled all of her sorrow and despair into uniting the Jewish nation around her and around the other two parents and around the three boys; it’s amazing to me how she is able to be so strong and not let what should have gotten to her and what would’ve gotten to any other normal person get to her.”

Agus felt that the event, which was attended by Jews from many different places and affiliations, sent a “strong message that denominations of Judaism shouldn’t be something that derails the community; the parents were talking about how, at the event, there were people who were Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform, and they were all there together… they still came to KJ, an Orthodox shul, and the parents were talking about how great that was, that they were all there together.”

Special thanks to Ms. Benel for her help and to OneFamily for posting a recording of the event, which allowed for direct quotes.

The Rampage Ramaz Upper School

Volume 77 • Issue VI • March 2015 • the-rampage.org

Editors-in-Chief: Skyler Levine, Andrew Lobel, Eddie Mattout Online Editors-in-Chief: Alexander Leibowitz, Olivia Hershkowitz Opinions Editor: Will Fried Sports Editor: Avi Goldman News & Arts Editor: Yale Buchwald Photography Editor: Michael Low Faculty Advisor: Dr. Milowitz Illustrators: Gabrielle Amar-Ouimet, Jill Adler Contributing Writers: Nicole Aboodi, Gabrielle Amar-Ouimet, Rebecca Araten, William Besharim, Yale Buchwald, Sarah Cabot, Eliana Doft Olivia Hershkowitz, Jacob Hochheiser, Gabriel Klapholz, Daniel Jaspan, Caroline Jaspan, Alexander Leibowitz, Jasmine Levine, Sklyer Levine, Andrew Lobel, Eddie Mattout, Oren Oppenheim, Jonny Povman D.J. Presser, Josh Sarachek, Elianna Schwartz

OPINION The Rampage • March 2015

Finals Schedules: An Alternative View

By Gabriel Klapholz ’17

This article is a response to Alex Leibowitz’s article ‘Rethinking the Finals Schedule’

The organization of the finals schedules is a very complex issue. However, in his article, Rethinking the Finals Schedules, Alex Leibowitz ’15 made a suggestion to reform the system by removing the privilege from the class presidents to draft the schedules and by carrying out the process via polling the grade. Such a suggestion would be ineffective and implausible for a number of reasons.

Before delving into the issue further, I, currently in my second term as class president, know for a fact that there are those class presidents, such as myself and my president counterparts this year and last year, who do make the schedule by trying to accommodate as many people as possible. Leibowitz said it himself that there is never a case where everyone is happy with the schedule, because students have varying classes of varying difficulties. Speaking for myself and from my own experience, no matter how The Rampage is the student newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School. It is pub“good” or “bad” the schedule is, there are always students lished on a monthly basis. Letters to the who believe that the schedule is either meant to harm them editor may be submitted to rampage@ or is only benefiting the class presidents. Finals are a stressramaz.org. Letters must be signed and may be edited for space and to conform ful time and the truth is that often the class presidents can to Rampage style and format. serve as an outlet for the grade’s anger and anxiety.

Furthermore, for Leibowitz to say that the class presidency is a “flawed institution” is unfair and unfounded. There are class presidents who work very hard to satisfy the most people in their grade as possible. Even if there are class presidents who place their own interests over those of the grade, is it fair to penalize and criticize the entire institution, which many times works for the interests of the grade as a whole?

Additionally, Leibowitz’s suggestion to poll the entire grade has been attempted and proven ineffective. Last year, I tried to receive suggestions from my entire grade and the only thing that they could agree on was that the history final should be first. I was left with 30 suggestions all of which contradicted one another and made the process untenable and self-defeating. Making everyone happy is virtually impossible, whether the administration is making the schedule or the class presidents are.

There is also a greater issue at hand with Leibowitz’s argument. The administration invested the students with the privilege to make their own finals schedules. The class presidents suggest and the students vote. Do we really want to argue to remove power from the student body, handing over the rights that have been given to us back to those who gave them to us in the first place?

The class presidents are democratically elected individuals. So if Obama makes a certain decision that reflects his own beliefs and understanding of an issue, he should be stripped of the right to make that decision in the future? No. The right to make the finals schedule remains with the class presidents. If there is suspicion surrounding a class president’s maneuvering of the schedule to his or her own benefit, which is a case that I don’t deny can happen, that would be an issue to bring up with the administration regarding that specific president – not an issue with the seven other students who share the same title.

Response to the Response

By Alex Leibowitz ’15

Gabriel Klapholz’s attack of my opinion piece, ‘Rethinking the Finals Schedule’ is biased. Klapholz is, as he admits in his second terms as class president. He is not approaching this point with any posturing of objectivity; rather he is simply attempting to maintain his own hegemony over the finals system.

Even ignoring the lack of objectivity within the piece, Klapholz’s argument is still flawed. Klapholz attacks my suggestion to take a student poll because he says that he “tried to receive suggestions from my entire grade and the only thing that they could agree on was that the history final should be first.” Assuming that Klapholz is right and it is impossible to take suggestions from an entire grade on every final, the presidents should set up a survey, on a trusted website (think survey monkey) where students would be able to vote on a limited number of finals. For example, the three most important days during the finals period seem to be the first final, the final after Talmud, and the final after the weekend. Students should be able to vote on which finals they want on those three days as those are the most consequential. As most students have similar priorities, Klapholz admits himself that almost all agree that History should be first, and from anecdotal evidence many would like time off before either English, Science or Math, there should develop a consensus on which finals to place on those days. This system would organize the chaos that Klapholz described while also placing a sense of fairness in the finals schedules. Again this wouldn’t make everyone happy, but it would bring more transparency and fairness to a troublesome system.

The rest of Klapholz’s argument isn’t really in response to my article. Based on a misunderstanding of my argument, Klapholz accuses me of attempting to give back the power to create the schedule to the administrations. I simply proposed to allow the students to vote on the finals schedule, not give the administration the power to create the finals schedule. I agree with him that we should hesitate before taking away any hard fought power, which is why I didn’t propose eliminating the students role in the making the schedule, rather I increased it by giving them more say, through a voting system.

The class presidency has gotten out of hand, and it is time for change to be effected from within. I hope Klapholz can understand the benefits of my solution and partner with me as I try to alter a system that has been hurting students since the beginning. In fact, I would love to help Klapholz design the non-biased survey that would determine the second semester finals schedule for the sophomores.

12 Opinions

The Rampage

Should English and History be Tracked?

By Akiva Gold ’16 One of the first times a grade assembles together is in 8th grade, during the placement tests. Every May, the students who have committed to Ramaz all get together on a Sunday, and take tests in Math, Science, Tanakh, and Hebrew, in order to determine their track for high school. Additionally, Ramaz uses information from the student’s middle school to assign tracks for incoming students in Talmud and Spanish. But, two classes, English and History, remain untracked, rather erroneously.

The usual answer to the question of why English and History are not tracked is that keeping these classes untracked allows for a wide variety of students in those classes and keeps all the classes fresh. Also, by not tracking these classes, students can gain new perspectives by not always being with the same students over and over again. But, perhaps that is an incorrect assumption, and an assumption that needs to be rectified.

The issue with the previously mentioned answer is that in reality, classes do not play out like that. Although the creators of the schedule might hope that English and History classes contain a wide variety of students, in reality that does not happen. This is because classes “travel” together in groups. Each group contains a few classes.

English, Science and Gym might be in a group together, and Math, History and Language might be in a group together. So when you take a hard look at the facts, you see that because you are in the tracked Science with a classmate, chances are high you will be in Gym and English with that student. Or, if you are in Math with a student, there is a high chance you will be in History and Language with that same student. Because classes “travel” in groups together, these classes naturally become very homogeneous. Also, this homogeneity carries over from year to year, (as long as the student stays in the same track), as tracks remain the same from year to year,

keeping the same students together. Clearly, although there might be a persuasive, romantic notion that keeping English and History untracked allows for great diversity, in reality, we see that this is entirely untrue.

Once we can move past the inaccurate notion that untracked English and History lead to greater diversity in these classes, we can look at the positives that would come if English and History were to be tracked.

By tracking these classes, the class can be tailored to the students’ learning needs, and can work at a pace that is good for each student. Similar to how students need to move at different speeds in Math and Science, some students might need to spend more time on essay writing, reading comprehension, or answering document based questions. Some students might need a faster pace in English and History and perhaps wish to learn more nuances and details that other students might not feel comfortable learning. But by not tracking these classes, students are blocked from receiving their education to the fullest extent possible, as they either do not receive the necessary attention, or do not learn to their full capabilities, something rightfully due to them.

If Ramaz were to track English and History classes, students would be able to fulfill their potential and reach new heights, and learn the way they need and deserve to learn. However, because these classes are not currently tracked, students are wrongfully blocked from achieving their potential, and their education becomes potentially stunted because individuals do not get the attention they need and deserve. Clearly, this is an issue that should be further discussed and addressed.

Is Chauvinism Alive and Well at Ramaz?

By Jasmine Levine ’17

As the seconds ticketed down on Thursday night as the Ramaz Girls Varsity Basketball Team was about to win its’ third straight championship, excitement built up in my stomach. Here I was, a sophomore member lucky enough to be part of one championship- I could not imagine what winning three in a row felt like. As the game ended the euphoria only grew as we jumped all over each other and took countless pictures. Everyone went home to celebrate in some way.

As I left the gym with my entourage, I came to the realization that only a small number of administrators and faculty had attended this historic Ramaz moment.

I pushed it out of my mind thinking it was a mere oversight.

The next morning, my friends came over and congratulated me, but the announcements from the school were cursory and obligatory. They congratulated us in each grade’s davening with no more energy than if they were announcing that the menu for lunch had changed. No special treat during home room, no pep rally, not a peep.

At this point I began to think back to this winter’s sports seasons. The boy’s varsity basketball team that did not perform to expectations generated tons of excitement and the feeling of angst when they lost was more

pronounced than the excitement of a three peat.

Here’s my problem. I am not a fool. Boys’ basketball at all levels generates more interest than girls. The NBA dwarfs the WNBA. The men’s college tourney is a HUGE event compared to even undefeated seasons by the Lady Huskies. But those situations are different than a Yeshiva high school. Those environments generate money, TV contracts, and fame. For Yeshiva students it is for the love of the game and teammates. This concept should be embraced by the administration and encouraged by the faculty. Very few girls games were attended by teachers this year (thank you to those who came….we know who you are and we are very much appreciative).

But the burden of support for impressionable girls- successful hard working impressionable girls is on the school to make them feel equal, valuable. Until this happens the label of chauvinist fits.

I look forward to next year when maybe a change of heart and respect comes from our school leaders. It is too late for our seniors but not for me.

March 2015/ Adar 5775

Different Finals for Different History Teachers?

By Nicole Aboodi ’17

Every time midterms season rolls around, there is much controversy over the schedule. However, the one strategy that every Ramaz student has always agreed on is that history should always be first. And yet, the debate over the history midterm is never settled. While the subject is not tracked for grades 9-11, it has been established that some teachers are more difficult than others, which already gives an unfair advantage to the kids who have the easier teacher for the whole semester, but if the finals were different as well, one might think the students with the more demanding teacher would find that as an area for complaint. However, since the teachers don’t only vary in level of difficulty, but also in overall material, it is agreed upon by a majority of students that the history midterm and final should be individual to the teacher.

While all the teachers teach the same topics, they also all focus on different areas of the curriculum, based on their interests and what they find to be most interesting and beneficial for their students. Although the history teachers reassure students every year that whatever material is on the midterm will have been taught to all students, there is always material that only specific teachers taught.

Suruh Issever ’18 said, “Everyone was so paranoid to study both of the teachers’ material. I have Mr. Deutsch, but he and Ms. Newman taught two separate things.

Their teachings were parallel to each other’s maybe five times. It was just unfair.”

Memorizing all of the facts and information for an entire semester is already difficult enough; students should not feel obligated to also learn extra information that they were never taught, just because the other classes might have learned it. Jacob Smigel ’17 agrees with Issever saying, “It doesn’t make sense because all the classes learn different material and at different times! I think it would make much more sense for each class to have a different test. It would be easier for the students, and in the end, the teachers as well.”

Arts&Entertainment The Rampage • March 2015

American Sniper: Reviewed

By Jacob Hochheiser ’17

American Sniper is a riveting war movie that depicts the life of the deadliest sniper in American history, Chris Kyle. However, the film does not only depict Kyle’s experience at war in Iraq, but it also portrays the turbulent marriage, with his wife Taya, that ensues as a result of having a husband who is constantly at war. For example, they fight over Taya’s difficulty raising a family alone, essentially as a single mother, not knowing whether her husband is going to return.

One aspect I appreciated about American Sniper was that it doesn’t let the viewer settle in; rather, it thrusts the viewer right into the action. Kyle is forced to decide whether to shoot an Iraqi child, who seems to be holding a grenade while walking toward US soldiers. This puts the viewer into an extremely tense atmosphere, which the movie will remain in throughout the majority of the film.

This is not a good film for someone who is looking for a light and humorous experience. The movie has a very heavy, tense, and serious feel to it.

While Chris Kyle was a very controversial figure, the film takes a

fairly straightforward approach with his personality. He is depicted as a hero, which might be upsetting to those who don’t view him that way. However, I think he is a hero and admire that Director Clint Eastwood took a stance on Kyle’s personality. We are seeing this film through Clint Eastwood’s eyes.

The most interesting part of the movie is how Chris and Taya’s marriage is forced to coincide with the war. It quickly becomes apparent that Chris is married to both his country and his wife, but he seems to choose his country over his wife, which he justifies by telling himself that he is protecting his wife by going to war in Iraq. Surprisingly, Taya doesn’t seem that supportive of the war, and is constantly hesitant about Chris returning for additional tours in Iraq. I really enjoyed American Sniper and think Bradley Cooper did an outstanding job playing Chris Kyle. This movie is most definitely a must-see.

The Imitation Game

By Gabriel Klapholz ’17

The Imitation Game, starring British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, is an extraordinarily powerful movie that embodies the struggles of a reclusive antisocial British mathematician and a professor who is asked to decode one of the most sophisticated and apparently unbreakable Nazi codes during WWII – Enigma. In an attempt to find a way to decode Enigma, Alan Turing, the main character, builds one of the world’s first computers, or “Turing Machines.” Indeed, Turing ironically resembles the Enigma code that he tries to decrypt in that he is a most difficult character to decipher. Turing, as a homosexual, must face the harsh realities of Britain during the mid-19th century and post-war period. Turing’s fascinating saga was kept top secret for many years, and this movie comes as a way to bring his name back to the surface for his incredible contribution to the war and to modern-day society.

One of the most influential lines in the film is, “sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.” Aside from the fact that the film has a beautiful message, the acting was phenomenal.

Keira Knightly as Joan Clarke, the supporting actress, makes the movie worthwhile as she adds a feminine spin. The movie touches on many moral and social issues, such as homosexuality, women’s rights, and the realities of war, shedding light on Alan Turing’s tragic and incredible story. Still, it was a very heavy and, at certain times, depressing movie, not one for a light and happy outing to the theater.

Keeping that in mind, it successfully characterizes a dramatic story and was most definitely a true pleasure to see.

14 A+E

By Eliana Doft ’16

March 2015/ Adar 5775

Saturday Night Live Turns 40

In a star-studded spectacle, Saturday Night Live celebrated its fortieth anniversary on Sunday, February 15th. Although the NBA All-Star Game was playing just blocks away, the three-and-a-half-hour special was definitely comedy’s all-star event. The evening began with a red carpet pre-show, so viewers could see the plethora of comedic and musical talent that would soon enter Studio 8H. In attendance were Saturday Night Live cast members, hosts, and musical guests from all decades of the show.

The live show itself paid homage to all of the essential elements of Saturday Night Live. Dynamic duo Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon opened the show with a rap containing all of SNL’s classic catchphrases and lines. Many other past hosts such as Miley Cyrus, Paul McCartney, Tom Hanks and Alec Baldwin joined Steve Martin in his monologue. Retrospective montages of the best of SNL’s sketches about politics, sports, New York City, and short films (parody advertisements and digital shorts), definitely contributed to an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. However

By Eliana Doft ’16

The Rampage

the best montage was the reel of audition clips from comedians that may or may not have made it onto the cast. Classic sketches such as Celebrity Jeopardy, the Californians, and Wayne’s World were revived. During Weekend Update, anchored by Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Jane Curtin, celebrities got a chance to pay tribute to their favorite Saturday Night Live characters of the past. Melissa McCarthy nailed Chris Farely’s motivational speaker, and Emma Stone tried on Gilda Radner’s Roseanne Rossanadana wig. Even Stefon made an appearance. Maya Rudolph dressed as Beyonce, and Martin Short led a segment remembering all of SNL’s best comedic musical moments, from King Tut and the Blues Brothers all the way to What’s Up With That? Interspersed with the sketches and retrospectives were musical performances by Miley Cyrus, Paul Simon, Kanye West (in creepy contact lenses), Sia, and Paul McCartney. In more somber moments, cast members honored writers, performers, directors, and crewmembers who passed away or were sick. Of course the evening would not be complete without a

digital short, starring Andy Samberg and Adam Sandler, in addition to clips of every time a cast member broke character and started laughing during a skit.

As Steve Martin put it during his monologue, the evening was like a “high school reunion for a school that is almost all white.” (A poke at the show’s notorious criticism for lack of diversity). Although some elements were awkward, such as Eddie Murphy’s 70 second “return” to the SNL stage, the evening was really all it was hyped up to be. If you did not have the chance to watch the special live, I highly recommend watching highlights on Youtube. While the sentimental and retrospective nature of the show was similar to that of a series finale, a new and much less exciting episode of Saturday Night Live aired two weeks later, on February 28th.

Yes Please: Reviewed When reading Amy Poehler’s retrospective memoir Yes Please, do not expect it to be like those of her female comedian counterparts Tina Fey, Lena Dunham, or Mindy Kaling.

Poehler’s book is a grab bag of stories from her life, pictures, scans of old scripts, and pages filled with bold statements and life advice. On one page, you may be reading about Poehler’s divorce from Will Arnett, and on the next is a picture of Poehler in an eighties DVD workout outfit, wearing a wig and a funny face.

Poehler’s stories about her childhood, her path to becoming a comedian, and her time on Saturday Night Live and Parks and Recreation are heartfelt and candid. However, while the stories about her childhood are interesting, once you reach a piece by her father describing the day she was born, it feels overdone. More stories from her experience as a comedian would be more interesting and appropriate.

Poehler’s confessions about the times that she felt insecure, did drugs, or accidentally offended a disabled person on television offer a new perspective on the not so funny parts of the life of a comedian. Interspersed into these stories are bits of confusing and irrelevant life advice and self-empowerment lessons that could have been left out.

Yes Please would have been a faster and more enjoyable read if Poehler had shortened the 329-page book to a book 150 pages shorter of truly sincere stories, funny anecdotes, and jokes. Otherwise, Amy Poehler is best enjoyed on stage and in front of the camera performing comedy, rather than behind a computer writing it.

Sports

The Rampage • March 2015

Lady Rams Win Third Straight Championship

Continued from front page

their domination of the game. Strong play by Joyce Harary ’15, Jasmine Levine ’17, and Lily Haber ’17 helped Ramaz put the game away once and for all.

Said Aboodi, who was named Most Valuable Player of the game, “winning a championship is always an indescribable feeling, but this season, no one expected it from us, which made [winning] that much better. The only other time we played Bruriah, they crushed us, but, after beating the number one seed in [the] Baltimore [Tournament] finals, we knew that past games didn’t matter and we could

beat Bruriah because we had more heart!” Aboodi joined an elite group of players: she has won a varsity championship three years in a row.

Coach Dulny undoubtedly has built a dynasty at Ramaz, and there’s no telling how many more championships he will win in the coming years.

Box Score Name Jasmine Levine Skyler Levine Ava Adler Esther Douer Emily Sinensky Rachel Aboodi Beckie Cohen Lily Haber Joyce Harary Elizabeth Ritz Anabelle Ritz

Field Goals 1 4 / 7 (2 3-pointers) / 4 (1 3-pointer) / 2 1 / 1

Free Throws Made-Attempted / 1-3 / / / 2-3 / / / / /

Points 2 9 / 16 / 11 / 4 2 / 2

1st Quarter 9

2nd Quarter 16

3rd Quarter 11

4th Quarter

Varsity Hockey Team Falls Short in the Playoffs

By Akiva Gold ’16

After rolling to a 5-1 victory over the North Shore Stars in the first round, the Ramaz Varsity hockey team traveled to play the TABC Storm on February 18th in the quarter finals of the MYHSAL Varsity Hockey Playoffs. Playing the one seed that had already beaten them twice this season, and coming off a tightly contested victory against North Shore the night before, the Rams knew that they would have to give it their all to come out of TABC with a victory.

The first period ended up being a tight one, with strong goaltending and extremely strong defense by both teams. But, after strong offensive play, the Storm put one in the back of the net, putting them up 1-0, and giving them a lead they would never give up.

The score stayed that way the rest of the period, and Ramaz headed into the locker room with facing a onegoal deficit.

The second period picked up right where the first one left off. Goalie Ben Emmerich ’15 made multiple clutch saves, and the Rams defense did not give much space to the strong Storm offense that had averaged four goals a game in the regular season. But, after

Ramaz’s inability to get to the net, two Ramaz players were called for penalties in succession, giving TABC a two-man advantage. Taking almost immediate advantage of their luck, the Storm buried a second goal behind Emmerich to go up by two goals. But, after continued strong play by both teams, the period ended with the Storm up by two goals, in a relatively tight and physical game.

The third period began much the same way the other two periods had, with strong goaltending and superbly strong defense by both teams. But, finally breaking the offensive slump they had been stuck in, the Rams finally began to attack. Jared Feingold ’16 played strongly around the net, continually penetrating the offensive zone, creating much havoc for the TABC goalie. Finally, after playing strong offense, and creating many chances, the Rams finally had their chance to cut the lead in half, but were stopped multiple times by the strong TABC goaltender, culminating in a sprawling save by the TABC goalie to stop a surefire goal by the Rams.

After those few minutes of offensive attacks by

Ramaz, the game settled back down into the defensive game it had been for the first two periods, and the teams traded strong defense. Halfway through the third period, TABC found the back of the net again, giving them the all-important insurance goal, and putting the Rams down by three. That would be it for the Rams, who lost the game 3-0, ending their season with a tough loss to the number one-seeded TABC Storm.

Said Captain Andrew Lobel ’15 about the strong 8-6 season, “Its been a great season and as much as losing to TABC in the playoffs hurts, I know our squad left everything on the court, and I have a lot of faith in the Juniors to bring Ramaz its first [championship] banner in 30 years next year.”