The Ramaz Faculty:
Teacher Turnover Overload by Michael Geszel In Ramaz, as In all schools teachers come and go ever; year. The startling fact about Ramaz Is thal so many are com1 n g and going. Statistically, over the last three years 25% to 35% of the teachers were not here the year before. And the percentage of teachers who did not return from year to year spanned 30% to 37%. The primary problem caused by this high turnover rate Is low morale due to the lack of contin uity In the faculty, It also cre ates a strain on the administra tion because It Is forced to look for a larger number of able tea chers at t h e end of the school year. In speaking to veteran faculty members everyone said the
continual turnover disrupts the morale of the core of stable faculty. Because of teachers leaving and arriving, the faculty cannot achieve a sense of unity. One faculty member llkened the situation to entering the ninth grade every year. Mr. Olson feels that part of the difficulty In adjusting Is due to a lack of "socializing by the faculty, partly because of the long hours." One teacher add ed that some of the new faculty members do not feel llke part of the Ramaz system because they are unsure of their future here. According to Mr. MIiier, the Impact of the lack of teacher continuity Is most felt in that "you do not have a sense of tradition following your facul ty." One result Is that students
cannot look forward to having a partlcular teacher about whom they have heard. Another result Is that the educational system must be learned by all of the new teachers; all elements of the school must be clearly ex plained, creating a period of adjustment every year. Mrs. Rltterband believes we must "redefine the role of trad ditlon In Ramaz.'' Many people are Interested In pursuing a di versity of careers and are not prone to stay In the teaching profession for a long period of time. Therefore, perhaps It Is necessary to de-emphasize the Importance of teachers' career longevlty and turn to school val ues and Ideals for a sense of "tradition." Are we, the students, suffer-
ihe �am P
Ing because of the high rate of turnover? J Mrs. Rlllerband thinks not, explain Ing that "Ramaz tries hard to replace teachers wlth lndlvlduals who have the cre dentlals and the self-confidence of the people who have lelt. Certainly in areas where some one has not been given a new contract for the following year, we're trying to make sure that we do Increase the quality of teaching." The reasons for this high turnover rate are numerous: some teachers leave the school to make Aliyah; still others lea ve for personal growth or to pursue graduate study; some leave to enter other jobs or pro f esslons (many of them did not
Volume XVII Number 4
(Corrrmut,I o,r pa,:r 6!
April 1985/ Nls'san 5745
POSITIVELY FOURTH STREET
by Elizabeth Wurtzel People llke Tower Records. Or so It seems. Whlle the par ent company. MTS Inc., will not disclose the exact figures, the store In West Sixty-Sixth Street easily tne most popular such enterprise in the United States. Garnering another large unre vealed sum of money since I ts November deb'u t, the newer store on West Sixty-sixth Street is said to be running a close second. As a whole, the 36 Tow er records in the United States and the three In Japan earned an estimated 143 mllllon dollars last year. You can blame this massive success on yuppies, those spoil ed and dllllgent young profess ionals haunting our cities, who approach all facets of sensuous existefice like metlculous mav ens. After all, with the emer gence of gourmet supermarkets and designer flower shops, why not a record store to satisfy the tympanic sense of a connois seur? Enter Tower Records. In the blazing hot summer of 1983, this newly opened 35,000-squ are toot record store was the talk of the town. I remember being in Israel that summer and getting letters from friends ex pounding the virtues of this ver itable miracle in Fourth Street. I was still suffering from jet laQ the first time I canvassed the downtown facllty par ex cellence. On that Initial visit, I did not buy a thing but was
thoroughly Impressed by the New Yorkers are accustomed store's state-of-the-art orches to (or at least they do not think trat Ion: categorized sections twice about) downtown record with voluminous stock of almost stores llke Bleecker Bob's that any artist, multlple disc jockeys cater to fans of more esoteric programming music appropri music. But the Idea of a record ate to each of the various de store for unique tastes as a lar partments, and a muslcally ge-scale operation was a new cognlzant staff always avallable concept. In addition, the store to help. Compared to the gard· Is stocked for a variely of tastes en variety record store, Tower under just one roof: high-brow Records was In a class by itself. music lovers that I know have Not long after the store's op raved about the store's classical ening, I discovered it was not music anne:A.; jazz buffs can find the one-of-the-kind place it ap a copious selectlon, and popular peared to be, but, surprisingly, the first East Coast branch of a popular West Coast chain. Tow er Records ls, In effecl, the Sam Goody of California. The chain Is the brainchild of Russ Solomon, a flftyish San Francisco hippie, who is also a somewhat legendary marketing wizard. The heir to a chain of Tower Drug Stores ,. Solomon starled selling records when they were sold usually within a department of five-and-dime and drug stores. Mr. Solomon expanded the record depart ment of his family drug stores as rock n' roll gained massive popularity In the Late Fifties. When the music matured into a complete lifestyle in the Sixties, Solomon recognized a need for record slores as separate enll ties. When he opened the first Tower Records in San Francis co, he effectively invented the first respectable music marl for rock n' rollers. Lights aglow. the new Tower
if one Is seeking a musical trea sure, It Is more appropriate to search in a store catering to the individual music genre. Some thing about Tower Records As much as 1 would like to does not /eef right. (I mean, you complain (and I certainly sea could buy a haut couture dress rched for petty faults), there is at Bloomlngdale's, but why not no question that the store Is the go right to the designer's bou Ideal composite of a collection of tique?) smaller speclalty record stores But this Is mind over matter, around the city . Of course, for there sl much to be said for some people may find the large bigness. For one thing, the sto Impersonality of this music eri re publlshes a monthly music porium a bit repellent. After all, (ccmtmuul paxr J)
music fans of alI persuasions could not be more pleased. But Is Tower Records truly as wonderful as It is popular?
Records Is lhe first major record store on the Upper Wesl Side.
page2 '
EDITORIALS The Breakfast Club All right. Let's admit It. The schedule change has not ruined our lives. An extra ten minutes at either end of the day has not "propelled computer students deep In to the heart of the rush hour" (as Katherine Klelnhaus exclaimed), nor has It made any of us lose more than 20 minutes of sleep. But alas, evidently there remain rebellious factions In our midst. If people were not at least silently pro• testing, why would there be such an egregious morn Ing lateness problem? On any given day (and I mean any day), one can witness a late-note llne that strel• ches at least the length (and sometimes twice the length) of the lobby . In fact, the line Is so long that students waiting for a yellow slip are frequently twenty minutes later to class than they would be II they just went there directly. Such a camaraderie has developed among the late line regulars that they have talked about bringing In coffee and croissants to make the wait more pleasant. Of all Ramaz policies, the late pass policy Is surely the sllllest. An alternative plan: Let the tardy good-for-nothings go up to class where the teacher will record lateness. The late list can then be submitted to Mr. MIiier so that he can record and send letters home to parents for ex cessive lateness. This Is much more efficient than hav• Ing everyone deluge Mr. Fierman at 8:06 AM. Sound simple enough? Of course. If It were com• plicated. ii would already be school policy.
OLUNTEERING There Is a great deal of truth to the Idea that a rich person's money Is not nearly so valuable as any per son's time, energy and effort. While It Is truly commendable that Remaz students recently raised some $-4,000 for the Ethiopian Jews and that the zedakah cup always runneth over, perhaps It would be useful to Implement a volunteer work pro• gram II part of the curriculum. By ''volunteer work" I do not mean something of the nature of the work-study program we all anticipate at the end of the senior year. What I do mean Is communi ty service or charity work. Carta Inly the sporadic forays on behalf of Project Ezra or worn-out synangogues are Hry nice, but they do not Involve a continual commit• ment to, or a long term relationship with a group of people or specific cause. I belleve that such a volunteering experience would broaden most Ramaz students' horizons and foster a more honest, humanistic value system. While many students may gripe that they have enough work to do without an additional obllgatlon to do volunteer work, they should be aware that to graduate from Yeshiva of Flatbush, one must complete 160 hours of community service. Perhaps Ramez, like Flatbush, could move dismissal up a couple of hours one day a week (rather than give so many free periods) to allow time for such a worthwhile venture. The benefits of such a program are quite numerous. Beyond donating man power to a worthy cause, the •f• feels on the volunteers' outlook cannot be overatated. Perhaps If we were forced to deal with unfortunate peo• pie and situations, the coveted and overvalued admls• alon to Harvard or sweater from Benneton will seem lass significant; and perhaps, simultaneously, we can present our predominantly upper middle-class selves to others II kind, compassionate people who can care and ln1plre.
April, 1985
THE RAMPAGE
LETTERS Early Action Reaction
To the Editors:
We would like to respond lo your editorial entitled "Early Reaction .." In lhe December Issue The editorial called for the school ad'Tllnlstrat,on to
take note ol the fact that the number or Ramaz seniors apply•
Ing early Is "steadily burgeon ing,' and proposed a ban on senior 1esllng during the two week period before early ac tlonldecl slon deadllnes in November The edilorlal also staled lhat "lhe school encourages early appllca1lon for those who qualify" The operative phrase Is "those who qualify" Ramaz. and the colleges which sub• scribe lo early act Ion/decision plans lee1s that these plans ex• 1st only for the most hlghly qualllled students, studenls who have done all or almost all of their college planning, inter viewing, appllcation work. and certainly ATP testing be/ore lhe last week In October. Needless to say, these students should
be able to handle the pressures of the midterm exam week, despite added college burdens The number of early can didates this year roflecl s nol an Inordinate number of high caliber students but rather a group of students who sought to "get a leg up" on others In
the April applicant pool, lhal ,s, a large proporllon ol sludents
applied early fully expcc11ng lo be deleired and hoping to gain a
sllm edge when decsions are made In the spring This IS a misuse of the early programs, and reflects a mistaken notion of the effect applying early wHI have on the decision In Aprll And even so, 28, the largest number ol early applicants ever, Is s1111 less than one lhlrd ol the
class Changing school policy
to accomodate this minority, albelt a largo one, would only give more lmporiance to the already overblown college ap• pllcatlon process
Alber Goelz Rabbi Jay Goldmlntz
·�,TREES ARE PEOPLE TOO
To the Editors: I have been the object of cea•
setess tormenting since the be ginning of the year, but, before
I give you lhe delalls of my or deal, let me tell you a bit about mysell to put the situation Into Its proper context.
When I was but a sapllng, my
nursery was Invaded by a se• vere, bearded man who went by a name that sounded to my un
trained ear like "'Dr. No Shud• ofsky." He said he was looking
lor "'a shrubDery, something
cheap" and when the owner of my nursery suggested me, I re
coiled In horror, thinking ol the
character In the James Bond movie of the same name. My owner reassured me 1hat I was
to be given a place In the sun on the lashlonable Upper East Side, brightening the lives ol
nice Jewish boy.1 and girls. So, with tears In my eyes, I was
carried 35 blocks by the doctor
-rhe �am Paqe Published by lhe stud"''' of the R.amu Upper Sel'iool 60 East 78th St ... N.Y., N,Y. 10021 427-1000
Steven Olson
Faculy Advisor StaU Illustrators
Yuval Marcus David Markenson
Sharon Becker Alan Gersch
Rall Musher
Laurent Adler Anal Bergner
Daniel Bursky Ted Curtis Enka Hen,k
Stall Writers: Jellrey Kass Karine Kleinhaus
Jellrey Kobrin
Haviva Krasner Michael Lellman
I feel that there are many problems with the school dav• emng and not all are easy to fix, however, the lollowlng problem Is slmple and easily rectified
I find that many of lhe pray• ers are not easy to understand, especially when written in a for
eign language. Al 8·05 AM It Is
easy to drop off as one stares at an Incomprehensible pag e. I see no reason why we. the stud• ents of Aamaz, should not be given Hebrew-English slddur• ,m during davening. According to Jewish law the prayers can be said in any language, so why should we not have the oppor tunity to say them In the lan guage most familiar to us? I know that I would no lonqer feel I hat I was being forced to say prayers that I do not under• stand If I were given the oppor tunity to truly understand lhem While I realize this Is only a minor alteration that's ramiffca• tlons may be even slighter, at least It Is a step In the right dlree11on Haviva Krasner
(to save cabfare) to my new home.
I had barely managed to
"take root" in my new environ• ment, however when my worst fears began to be reallzed. Bas king In the sunshine early one
morning, I was approached by a small group of older students.
One, seemingly the ringleader, said lo the others, "'Lookl a
new plant! now we won't be bored during our free periods!" Following this was enacted a scene of horror and degrada tion, which has been repeated many times since that fateful
day . With horrible grins on their faces, the small band pro ceeded to brutally rip oll sever
al of my lower branches, and
then, crackling with glee, pro
ceeded to toss them Into a near As the school year prcgress
Elizabeth Barokette Editorial Assistant
Photography Stall: Michael Haber
To The Editors:
by garbage can.
ELIZABETH WURTZEL Edltor-fn.Chlel ,,, David Samuels Executive Editor
Breaking the Language Barrier
Amos Meron
Alan Rabinowit z Jon Sad1noll Kenny Sadlnoll
ed, this merciless group carried
my tortures to undreamed of
heights of br utalfty . They would, for example, wait lor me to grow a new shoot to replace a branch, and then exclaim, "Look, the plant ts getting fresh," and rip It off, Or, oven worse, they would casually walk by and rip oll a branch without even giving It a second thoughll As I write this I have only 5 branches left, all too high lor these vlllans to reach. I appeal
to lhe Ramaz community to save me, even though I am somewhat ignorant of Jewish rltual, and don't know how to
brush my teeth (like many ol you, I'm afraid). The Sixth Floor Plant
April, 1985
THE RAMPAGE
page 3
FOCUS: The Man Behind The Music "Salsberg? Oh, sure I know him, he's the DJ." Most Ramaz studenls who know only the
name or the lace of senior Dav
Id Salsberg associate It with parties, music and good times, because of his work for his bro ther Steven's Salsberg Enter• talnment Company. But, wllh the exception of those who know David well, most are not aware that his pursuits outside
of school have taken on a more
meaningful purpose lhan pro fessional party-throwing. For the past two summers, David has worked with emo tionally, mentally, and physic ally disabled children and ad ults at New Jersey camps Roundlake and Rosemont, which are specifically designed to handle the needs of their handicapped campers. "I got Involved almost by ac cident," says David. "Steven and I had based the operation at Roundlake, and planned to do
Tower Records (('Qntin11rd from pol'!, IJ
magazine, Pulse!, which (sur prise!) is more than Just an ad vertisemenl for the store's mer
chanchse. And another-nicety,
In an effort to appeal to Insom niacs, night workers and mid night Joggers, the store is open 24 hours a day. But the greatest symptom of the sfore's size Is that each ar tist, great and small, has his own record bin. In other words, in most record stores popular artists have their ,cords sec-
parties for many of the camps In the area. Though they told me that Roundlake was a camp for the learning-disabled kids, I had no Idea how handicapped, physically and mentally, the campers were untll they arrlv• ed." As the summer progressed, David enjoyed the parties he ran at Roundlake more than those at regular summer camps. He says the gratitude of the disabled campers played a large part In this. "At Round lake, when we gave out T shirts, the kids almost cried with Joy. Al places like Seneca, the kids Just demanded sweat shirts Instead."
Part of David's duties at both camps was to work with the
campers for a few hours a week.
As he spent more time with them, however, David realized that he enjoyed the work, and began spending much more time with the campers. Al·
tloned off, while obscure acls are thrown Into a single bin alphabetically (e.g. "G" for Gang Green): at Tower records, buying oll-beal records Is an irresis1able pursuit since white tabs bearing names of groups like Suicide and Shot of Life are ubiquitously peeking out of shelves, demanding serious at tention In fact, rather than having luat lhe m•1of"---nk• of famous groups, Tower caries the less renowned earlier al bums as well. The store's finest selling poi nt would seem to be Its unique buyer-frlendly record classiflca tlon system. Most downtown rarlfied record havens seem to be too busy amassing records to get organized. Sure Bleecker
HERBICIDE VICTIM SPEAKS OUT
though at times David fell his work frustrating, as when he was Informed that one of the campers with whom he worked closely had a brain tumor, Dav Id was always drawn back to the campers and his work with them. Alter his first summer of working with mentally disorder
I
t.
ed campers at Round lake, Dav
Id found his work so rewarding that he applied for. and recelv• ed a position at Camp Rose mont, where the campers are more severely emotionally dis turbed. He Is currently arrang ing to continue working with the emotionally disturbed and mentally disabled as his work· study project. Though a career In therapy of this kind seems Impractical to David al this point, he does hope to devote part of his free time to this work throughout his fife.
-J.E.B.
Bob's, replete with vintage no no wave posters and sawdust floors, Is the Ideal punk dun geon, delighting "serious" col• lectors with Its crudity. But so what? Who needs "atmo phere" when It takes •alntly patience to find anything. Since such great emphasis has been placed on the down own..�c:Lstu)p-Scene (be sides Bleecker Bob's, there are Venus Aecords 1 Rocks In Your Head, and Vlnylmanla, among others), Tower Records poses an additional merit - a new branch on Sixty-sixth Street and Broadway, uptown. In Its red and yellow best, the new store, like Its downtown progenitor, Is large (9,000 square feet), multi· leveled and categorized with video screens and several disc Jockeys spinning records. Al• though the slore Is slightly less spacious than Its Fourth Street predecessor, few people will complain thal they mlss schlep· ping downtown on the glamor ous IRT. One complalnl I can voice Is that within the new branch there Is some eroslon·of the store's Intrinsic character and nicest qualities. For one thing, at the downtown store, the staff was hand-picked to be super knowledgeable about the music In their respective depart• ments. Apparenlly, good help Is hard 10 come by I hesc days because the new Tower Records has hit a new nadir In that re spect. I cannot Judge If the dow ntown stall ls In Its perfect pris tine state, but the uptown em ployees might as well be work mg at the A&P. No one knows where anything Is or why It is not where II Is supposed to be: and if they do know, they are 100 busy to give more than a curt beluddled response. Per haps part of the problem Is that 1he managers did not anticipate the store's Immense popularity, and are thoroughly understaff ed. In fact, It 1s nol superfluous to keep the store open 24 hours a day since It Is conllnuousty 1>,a.cked even at 4·00 AM.
And speaking of customers, I think thal most would agree that the store achieves Its true rs/son d'etre In ending the egre gious lack of a major record store on the Upper West Side. II Is likely that many neighbor hood residents would be as ple ased (well, almost as pleased) to have a Sam Goody or any other large record store. In add I on, while It ma be eo that Tower Records Is Ideal for any serious music lover, from all appearances most of its Walk man-toting patrons are people only graduating from Duran Duran and eager to move on to bigger and better lhlngs (such as , say, Frankie Goes to Holly wood). So much for catering to esotenca. So why did they bother with all the features? For one thing, It Is the store's modus operandi decided by corporate headquar ters, so the features are stand ard format for all Tower Re cords. For ano1her thing, much like the downtown store, It Is assumed that the customers travel from near and far to shop at the store, often In search of a particular Item. Finally, be• cause of the management's phi losophy, which Is at least latent• ly Idealistic (the trendy term for this is "radical capitalism"), they sincerely hope that people who come In to buy a Madonna tape will amble out with, say, a Wall of Voodoo tape to boot.
ALMA MATER
Whal follows ,s no fanclful ln- v•ntfon of the editors, nor Is it a bitln{I, witty, clev•rly disguised ntllenflo eltN ma,.,
school, lo which full ,.SptlCI should be paid. Hats off, arms
/Inked, and sing/
Sto,led walls and hallowed halls Re-echo Joys untold. In praise we lift our voices And hall thee, Blue and Gold. Thy noble creeds bear fruit in deeds And b l e s s l n ga m a n l fold. Ever we are grateful. We thank thee, Blue and Gold Loyally we lum lo thee, And seeks lhy holy light Like a beacon guiding ships Throughout the stormy night.
While working toward mass With hand to haart, In faith we pledge marketing the avsnte garde Is hardly a crusade at Tower Re Tradlltons to uphold cords, It Is certainly no minor On Ramaz, f01everl Issue. II Is no coincidence that We hall thee Blue and Gold on the West Coast, where there have alWays been Tower Re On Ramaz forever! cords the taste In music is more We hall thee, Blue and Gold. rlsque. Even more conventional Calllorn la types (these are relative terms) have always liked '------ ------� the Pllmsouls and lhe Flesh tones, groups that have never caught on here. But If Russ Solomon has his way, that will be true no longer. Once Tower records saturates the East Coast market ••.I guess we will have to wait and see.
April, 1985
A RAMAZ BESTIARY:
THIS SCHOOL IS A JUNGLE by David Samuels Several months ago, zoogoers at Miam,·s Metrozoo were titillated by a new exhibit set among the zoo's standard colectlon of primates. Albert Vidal, a Spanish mime hired by the zoo, took up residence In the zoo as the common mammal "Urban Man," engaging in such practices as brushing his teeth and consuming food, while zoogoers applauded. Reading about this In the New York Times I could not help being struck by the applicability of Vidal's act to life at Ramaz. However, instead of a single amlnal, Ramaz students seem to be diverse enough for an entire bestiary. Here are Just a few of our standard exhibits, with a handy list of distinctive sounds for easy Identification: The Male J.A.P. Legion In the halls of Ramaz, the natural habitat of this species is the Upper East Side. Distinguishable from other species by Its predetlctlon for Polo clothing In unnatural Iridescent colors, the male J.A.P. exhibits a pronounced "herd mentality," refusing to associate
The West Sider Posited by some scientists to be distant descen• dants of '60's youth, this species has been slowly fading as its natural habitats are gentrified. Showing a pronounced preference for peasant dress, and feeding at select watering holes on Columbus Avenue, the West Sider (note for J.A.P. 's: this Is not a new shoe) Is unique In the natural Ramaz world, being without a male counterpart.
Distinctive Sounds: "What do you mean 'what is the Velvet Underground?!" "I think Columbus Avenue has become just too much. Everybody knows about it. It's the whole B & T (bridge and tunnel)•Long Island scene now. Even peo ple from the Other (Easl) Side come here, and lhey act like they own the place."
with non-J.A.P.'s (except the might before exams). Distinctive Sounds:
"Who'd wanna live In Queens?!" "It's 0.K., my Dad will pay for it."
fov.,. '/� a,-r ,;,nc.e. '"J'oh,, o1;,J,
bv.f -:I. s ,.., II
�,_/ -f/4,
I .. .,. r::
.a
gi !c
The Female J.A.P.
Roaming and feeding In small packs called "cliques" and distinguishable from their poor cousins In Queens by their Benneton attire, the female J.A.P. Is a worthy counterpart to the male equivalent. Ex• hlbltlng a suspicious nature worthy of a hardened C.I.A. agent, female J.A.P.'s communicate Is a shrtll chatter impregnable to outsiders. Distinctive Sounds:
"Isn't he gorgeous!" "Let's go to Saks after school and, like, buy every· thing in the store!" "Did you get tickets to Duran Duran?"
The Israeli
While other species can be classified on the basis of what they do: the Israeli Is chiefly differentiable on the basis of what It doesn't do: namely, observe the dress code, study, or possess a speaking (as opposed to reading or writing) knowledge of the English language. Distinctive Sounds:
"eh , ben-zonah I" "charah! "
April, 1985
THE RAMPAGE
The Grind God m ust tru l y love the Grind, for he has made so
many of them
The Grind , s unique amon g Ramaz . orogmated It's own religion, know as species, having
the C u lt of the Rising Sun Devoted to worship of the re d a nd or a nge emblem on the Barron's books, the reli g ious Gri n d repeats a special mantra, known as
"S.A.T word s " da il y beginning at the age of 12 While , , . an t hropolog is ts d iffer on the or igin s of this term, the
acce p ted exp lanation Is that It refers to the sitt ing l
position In which the mantra is us ual Distinctive Sounds: "abaftabloneabaseeabashabattolor'
y repeated
"Om i godl there's a Goetz te st In two weeks and I haven't star ted studying yet !"
The Frummy
Residing In Queens, wearing thei older siblings ' r hand-me-downs and glasses, the Frummy Is on the rise a Ramaz Worshiping Ronald Reag an "because he t . stands up to Jes se Jackson" and actively bewildered by all the big buildings I n Manhattan the Frummy Is , nontheless the species to watch In 1985 . Distinctive Sounds: You shoulda been a 2 Saturda J y nig h t It was rea " , l t . ly swinging " . t " go the greates paor o tzitzl yesterday!" t t f I
pages The Administrator Thwarted by that f ickle goddess fate In their lifetime
amb tion to become President of a large totalitarian i state. the Admlnstrators m igrated to Ramaz as a last
resort. Here, set among the tranquil trees and sliver
facade of Ramez, the Admin i strator fills Its lonely days with spy cameras, walkie tal kies, and listening In on
unsuspecting classes via 2-way PA. systems. Unlike r tor does not have a fife other species, the Administ a outs de of the Ramaz habitat, p rowling the corr dors of i i the edlf Ice till the wee hours of dawn. Distinctive Sounds: "Uh, will you pick up that piece of paper... now p lease " ! "This ,s not appropriate behavior In a yeshiva"
While I have managed to detail the majo r species In our bestia ry, there are some that, while not numerous enough to to deserve a cute little drawing . are worthy o mention. For Instance, there Is the Walkman, a f species that while not offlclally sanctioned, has managed to grow considerably. and which can be observed wherever students may be found, earphones genetica lly grafted to ,ts ears leakmg the Rolling , Stones drumbea t to the grea t annoyance o f the Grinds on thei r 8 AM study shift. There is also a species r known as the Jock, which afte severa years of living l underground due to embarassment ove r their team's lates 84-23 loss . Is beginning to show Its head above t ground once again On the subjecto subterranean liv f . ing there Is the Yearbook Slime , a relative o the Grind , f , r which has nothing bette to do with Its time than "do t layou " and engage In the species· habitua l worship o f a mos unlikely deity known as "Mr Goetz ." The list t . can go on and on,bu one thing Is certain:Alber Vida t t l stil has many possiblllt1es to explore. l
THE NEW BREED
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rne wit h t us. Do,,,,· orne horne oli us ... go h • oro. ··· C 't .,,e h rv/fhn ornp a.Ap {\G1- go horne '1 •orn 11.1£ r, \lf\l�'" D . 'go horne • on ,t go w, -•out orne ho wit h t us. Don,t rn e w,;. ·rne w ou us. Do 't go h n g rne wit itho t o o ho... i ne Lt,:., li us. n_
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Th e R a muHockey T11mmarching out to•proud 5-2ch1mplon1hlpvlctory over MTA et tho Froncl 1 Lane School I n Outen, .
page6
April, 1985
THE RAMPAGE
FAME:
Teacher Turnover (rontmurd from putr IJ
have lhe lntenllon to stay In the leaching profession In the first place); lastly, some teachers do not have their contracts renew ed by the administration. Over the last couple of years Ramaz has made a conscious effort to acquire more experi enced teachers such as Or. Ab elow and Mr. Gross. Mr. Olson believes that "the major means that the administration is using Is money, and they have Impro ved their salary scale. It is new very auractlve to teach at Ram az, as compared to other yeshl vot. '' Mrs Rltterband concedes Ramaz Is not an easy place In which to teach. The compound ed dlfflcultles Include long hours, Inadequate space and students who are frequently more Interested In grades than learning. Considering the In herent problems, Is Ramaz making II easier for good veter an and new teachers to remain at the school?
terband speclflcally mentioned the Insertion of department chairpersons and personal mes- tings she holds with new tea chers as steps tho administra tion takes to ease the adjust menl. Nevertheless, tho con sensus of the teachers I spoke to Is that there remains room lor Improvement. Does tne administration need a new atttltude when hiring tea• chers> Ought H make a greater effort to seek teachers more amenable 10 the Ramaz "sty• le?" Mrs. Ritterband thinks that Ramaz Is doing enough by hir ing young teachers right out of college and graduate school and developing them. She cited Ms. Peterfreund, Ms Lltwack and Mr. Gellens as examples. How• ever Rabbi Beller thinks the ad mlnistrat Ion should hire yet more young educators - and develop them, Instead of bring Ing in teachers who look at Ramaz as Just one stop on their career Journey.
The Real Thing by Anal Bergner Debbie Gewlrtz Is not a typi cal Jewish teenager. After graduating from Y .C 0., Deb bio did not continue with a Jew• ish education. Instead she went on to major In dance at the LaGuardla High School of Mus ic and the Performing Arts. The setting In school Is very different from most schools, and diametrically different from a school like Ramaz. But now, coming In every morning 10 the big school building on West Slxly-fiflh street and punching her ID card Into lhe little com• puters, which are In tact taking attendance, Is a natural routine for her.
Being able to do this, that Is getting Into tho school, was not very easy. According lo Ms. Pollard, the Coordinator of Cur riculum at the school, 12,000 applicants audition each year and only 650 -700 are accpetad.
Debbie goes to math and then history where the sopho mores learn about the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and more. Aller a French class, at the end of the day Debbie has English with a tea The school day begins at cher who's enthusiasm over 8.10 . Debbie begins the busy Mac8eth is overwhelming. day with biology. When the bell During classes the halls are ve rings 45 minutes later everyone ry quiet and empty. One can runs across the large stairways hear only the security guards and halls, passing the big art walking around and the voices rooms with various machines of singing students In their for graphics and sculpture; music classes. The five academic courses passing the music roomJ with pianos, to their next c:1ass. The- English, math, history, science and foreign language - are not se halls are filled with bulletin boards dlsplayfng ads for Kap the only ones that are graded. lan's, Princeton Review, essay Each student has one major contests and student govern from the art curriculum. which fC011t11111,d 011 fNJI' 1J ment posters.
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Mrs. Rllterbend: FHls the school Is doing enough. Based on his three years o f experience at Ramaz, Rabbi Polakoff feels the prospects are rather bleak. He thinks Ramaz could Improve In ··areas such as teacher recognition, recogniz• Ing those teachers that are very good and encou/aglng those teachers to stay here by what ever measures of recognition that are effective, be they finan cial or other." Some teachers feel that there 1s a lack of counseling for new teachers. However, Mrs. A1t-
Clearly there Is a discrepancy between the faculty and admin istration precepllons on the high turnover rate. Since It Is the faculty, not the administra tion, that Is blighted by this situation, lhe teachers tended to take the problem more seri ously. More Importantly, most teachers questioned thought that If the admln1strat1on did nol make a greater attempt to stem the excessive turnover, the problem will ultimately hurt the students.
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Bennington College Bennington Vermont Harvard University C.mbf'ldgo, Mas9� Syracuse Untverslty Syracuse, New York Rice University Houston Texas SUNY Binghamton, New York Georgetown University Washington, D.C. CUNY New York, New York University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan Pepperdlne University Malibu, California Stanford University Palo Alto California Smith College Northampton, Mass. Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona University of Pennsylvania Phlladelphla, Pennsylvania Duke University Durham North Carolina University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado University ofCatlfo rnla Be1keley, California Unl•erslly of Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii Wesleyan University Middletown. Conn. Lake Forest College Lake Forest llhnols Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana Amherst College Amherst Mass. Reed College Portland, Oregan Emory University Atlanta, Georgia U.S. MIiitary Academy West Point, New York
Cosr 1983,84
C ost• 1982-3:
$15,5-40
$t4,410
S15.250
$14,200
Slt,695
St0,835
01.of In• crease: 7.8%
...7�o/.- ....
7.9%
SS,775 S8.925 S5,445 plus$ t,850 S◄,500 plus S700 out-of-state tee out-of-state fee $13,500 $2,085 plus SSoO out-of-state fee $6,446 plus$4, t28 oul•o f- slalc loo
1.1•1. 21o/• ••
$12,800 8.1•1, $1341 plus $700 out-of-state fee 55o/,·· $5,766 plus $3,772 11.8¼ out -of-slale fee
$12,685
S12,051
$15,051
$14 039
5.3'/, 7¾
St3,660 511,750 16% S5,270 plus$2,750 S4,350 plus $2,665 out-of-state fee out-of-state fee 21% $15,100
S13,820
9.2'/,
$12,170 S5,t52 plus S3,780 out-of-state fee S5,842 plus$3,665 out-of •statP-l ea $4,120 plus $2,200 out-of-state lee
$11,126 S5. 160 plus $3,509 out-of-state fee S5,243 plus S3t50 out-of-stale fee $4,491 plus $1,440 out-of-state fee
9.4•;.
$14,563
$14,075
• 15 1/, • decrease
11.4%
8.3'/,
decrease
3.4o/,
1•1. Slt,560 St0,800 S5,107 plus $2,706 $4,765 PIUS $2,415 out-of-state fee 7.2'1', out-of-state fee $13,609
12,810
6.2%
$12,400
$10,870
14'/,
$10,900 $11,760 $500 book deposit: S500 book deposit; cadots (students) cadets (students) earn $6,500 a year earn $5,700 a year 'Cost Includes tuition, room, board, books and expenses. • "Cost Increase (or decrease) for state schools, does nol Include the out-of-state fee
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7.9¾ 31.6¾ In, creese In salary
-E.L.W. Accepting ■ppUcants lrom Yale: The new recruit.
Aprll, 1985
THE RAMPAGE
page 7
RAM PAGE CROSSWORRD PUZZLE No. 2 by Erika Henlk
ACROSS DOWN
1. "Ola!" or "Ahal" s. More, In Scotland e. Bon• I. Sue Ellen, from 25A t. Neckwea r 11 John , J. R. 's son. on 25A 12 Sue Ellen , to J.R, on 25A 15.Ruponse (1bbr. ) 16 SH I 17.Part of "and othe,s ' ' (lelln Abbr.) 19."0ulet1" 20 Smtll Islands 23.Crue 25.Evenlng Soap topic of this puult 27 .Solo 21.Nothlng 29 Fatigued 31.0pposlle o f "-or" (u granlot') 32.To run 33,Plclure Puzzle
1 . Bins 2. Concealed 3. Hlslorlca l periods 4. Automatons 5. J.R 'smother , on 25A 7 . Ewing home, on 25A I. Mr. Chaney 10.Chemlc■I Sullll,; 11.0ulck 1 3Valley . In Italy 14.Ro t
11.Bank wortiec-
21.Jose or Clemente 22.Whtre A r g . and Brn . are 24.Prallx tor "Ont" or "where" 21.Deck Mop 27.lndochlnese province 30.Fllghtless bi rd
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consists of dance, drama, visua l arl, Instrumental and vocal music. Each student receives grades In these courses which appear on the permanent re cord. In between the c asses there l Is a ten minute homeroom which everyone must attend and lhere Is lunch as well. Un like many sludenls, who happ en to sit In a relax.ed, calm, quiet manner wHhoul singing or dancing on lhe tables in lhe lunch room. Many dancers, in• eluding Debbie, eal lhelr lunch In Iha dancer's locker room. Then 11 Is off lo lhe dance SIU· dlo. The number of periods, of a eer1aln major, a student takes depends on his/ her major and grade level. Music majors for example take fewer classes a day lhan do drama majors in Iha same grade. To make up lhe loss, the music majors take an elective. In addIlion, lhe sopho mores of one parllcular major have less periods of 11 a day then do Juniors and seniors of 1hal same major. They also lake an elective lo make up the loss. When class begins, lhe dan cers stretch, bend, and even dance. This I s nol very easy. The 1eachers are professionals who 1rain the studenls for a professional career. And lhls, as you can Imagine, requires hard, strenuous work, persist ence and a good allllude, which lhe 1eachers demand Again, lhls Is nol as easy as 11 mlghl seem lo be As Debbie puts 11, ·'Nervous breakCowns are very common. There comes a time in
every student's llfe when the sludenl feels lhal he o r she Is not good enough and wants to quit Fortunately, there are a l ways you r peers who under stand and sympathize w th you. i They know whal you are go ing lhrough because lhey are going lhrough lhe same lhlng." The dancers take 1wo dlffe r enl types of dance. Debbie takes ballet and modern dance. Nexl 1erm, she will be laking four periods of dance a day In• s1ead of lhree. Sha la going 10 drop one of her academic class• es and will make 11 up In her senior year. The dancers take drama twice a week. In their senior year they wlll have to take voice too. Every year anolher requl remenl Is added to each student In the school. While lhls re quires a greal deal ol Slamlna, 11 helps Iha sludents prepare for potential careers on the stage.
side schoo l as well! Some stud enls even perform outside school. Bui, according 10 Ms. Pallard, lhe few peop l e who do perform outside, such as In commercials or films, are re quested not to attend school white they are working.
And that Is where the danc• Ing, singing and all lhe rest end. In the classroom and even oulslde school dancing and singing are a llowed. But, once In lhe halls of lhe building, lhe students a re not permitted lo do anylhlng of Iha sorl which might d sturb 01her classes. i Walkmen and stereos are pro hlbiled and If found are con flscaled. There Is no competition am ong lhe freshmen and sopho-
mo r es, since they do not per • lorm. School policy, Ms. Poll ard says, Is to prepare the stud• enls for performance first Unlll they are juniors, students are not ready to perform. The Jun ior and senior grades , which do perform, put on two produc llons a year from every depart• menl, to which famous casting directors come and often recruit poten1lal stars. Among the fam ous graduates are Bon Vereen, Helen Slaler, Blfly Dee Will• lams and more. 8ul unlll they reach the performing age , Iha students have to work hard on bolh 1hetr 1a1en1s and acedero lcs. In contrast to lhe show Fame, Iha SludenlS do Sludy 8 IOI.
"Dancing Is nol such a reliable career that one can always rely on his or her talent for success. Neither are all the other arls careers You need something to fall back on In the show, It's all a dream" Debb ie says . "Gra des aren't Important, on y good l limes and laughs." In reall ly, Iha school Is des ig nated as a place for learning bolh Iha academics and lhe arts and helping lhe sludenls pu r sue potentlal careers In a seri ous manner . The students, ac cording 10 Ms. Pallard are also deyoled 10 lhelr Sludles and majors because of the traveling lhey have 10 do every day. Many Sludenls come each day from very far places, some even from Brookline.
As to a career in dancing, Debbie Is nol sure whll she w,11 do ·•Dancing Is a very unstable career,'' she says. College Is very Important 10 her as well as to olhers. In lacl, according 10 Ms. Pallard, 92% of lhe Slud enls a11end college There are lhose sludenu whose Ille revolves around their dancing, singing, ac1lng or whalever They are obviously very serious about tholr majors. Bui, according to Ms. Pallard, only 30o/oof lhem do eslablish a career In the arlS Many dancers, Including Debbie, do not leave lholr danc ing shoes when school lets out. They go to dancing classes out•
The newty-bulll odlfece, edjecent 10 Lincoln Cenlor, merged Performing Arll wllh Music end Art.
page 8
Aprll, 1985
THE RAMPAGE
ENDLESS CLUBS
Are you making the most of your extracurricular time? Do you participate in activites to benefit yourself or your transcript? Here's some final words on the subject by Michael Lelfman One does not have to know much about Ramaz before hear• Ing about the competitive nature of Its students. Luckily though, the race for the better transcript has not yet Infected the nature of our extracurrlcular activities. In direct contradiction to some vicious rumors clrculatlng around school, students do not join clubs and activities merely to benefit their records. Perish the thought. In reallly, the clubs and activities serve to further enhance and enrich student education by providing students with an opportunity to ex• perience things with which they otherwise would not come Into and they teach contact; stuents about certain careers. For Instance, the Service Squad learns all the Ins and oufr. of door opening. It will not sur prise me one bit if half of them become successful doormen.
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They all seem bright enough. If by chance they should choose another career path In which they are not so skilled, they would stlll be able to advance Ja m e s under because Schwalbe's tutelage they have all become very proficient In T.L-lng. While we are dealing with clubs that serve the school, let us now examine our A.V. squad. Being on the squad myself, I can testify that we actually do things. Some of us are asked to run the stage lights. Others set up microphones. In fact, I recall various Instances when I have been given such lengthy and dll· flcult assignments as plugging In a projector and operating It. Many laugh at us. saying lhat anyone can operate a projector, Well, Ramaz Is not exactly poverty stricken and supplies us with much sophisticated, high-technology equipment as is evident from the quality of the
ENDPAGE
picture and sound produced by our projectors. It takes a trained hand to turn that switch. There are also many Jokes cir• culating our about cheerleaders. These jokes are quite u n c a l l e d for. Our cheerleaders strain themselves for our entertainment, such as kicking In a line while at the same time screaming out Inven tive cheers such as "ram It up." One of the cruelest remarks about our cheerleaders Is that there Is a maximum IQ require ment of 20. This Is rude and ob• vlously untrue - the maximum 10 required Is 99. I do have one complaint our about cheerleaders though. A respectable yeshiva should not have Its cheerleaders In such revealing outfits. To remedy this sltua• lion I propose 1hat they all wear sheitles.. I Intend to take this mauer up with the G.O. I am sure, based on the GO's stellar performance this year, that they
will do all they can to help my proposal get recognized; the people In our student govern ment already exhibit many qualities of real politicians. I think thal another thing lhat the GO should be working on Is the formulation of new clubs. Many Ramazers plan to be lawyers, and we have a mock trial team. But what about the large portion of Ramazers that plan lo be doctors? Why do we nol Institute a mock surgery club, where students can per form operations on one another. If some studenls feel that their soclal llves are restricted because of school hours, why not Incorporate their social lives Into the school by having societies - clubs which cater to certain types of people. • Ramaz Is a very open school, and a few more cliques might do it some good. A Jewish friend of mine who attends
Stuyvesant joined the Stuyve• s a n t Korean Club simply because they have the most par• ties. Therefore, I propose that Ramaz start a Korean Club for people who need more parties. On the other side of the spec trum, some students complain about not being able to concen trate while doing homework because they hate to turn the radio off. These students should join the Radio Club which, last I heard of It, was stlll providing expert guidance In the usage of 1he on/off switch. If the readers of this article come up with any new Ideas for clubs, I am sure everybody would benefit If the Ideas are proposed to ·the GO or the ad• ministr ation. I trust that everybody will have the good sense not to propose trivial, valueless clubs that wllf merely serve as fillers for transcripts. That would destroy the school's image.
Outrageous opinions a�d everyday rebellio�-; �
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Reprinted without permission from Rolling Stone magazine.