e RamPage
Volume XXXI Number 5
The Ramaz Upper School
College Acceptance Rates Plummet; Mr. Rochlin Sued By JOEY AARON -In a surprise move, a group of students and parents have filed court papers initiat ing a class-action suit :igainst Ramaz and several members of the school administration for causing a drop in college acceptances. Among 1hosc named in the suit were Mr. Kenneth Rochlin, Dr. Noam Shudofsky, and Rabbi Jay Goldmintz. According to senior Nina Sassoon, mock trial captain and a spokesman for the plain tiffs. lhe suit was a result of the failed negotiations to . resolve the so-called .break fo..c:t crisis." "\Ve were unable to get the school to change its position on the cancellation of breakfast privileges." Sassoon said resignedly. On February 24. Rochlin had addressed the
student body after mincha in the annual "lhc building has become too dirty" speech, a speech usually given by Rabbi Bakst or Dr. Shudofsky. The break with tradition was due to the fact that Rabbi Bakst and Dr. Shudofsky were on a Princess Lines cruise in Aruba doing research on staff morale on the date that the speech is usually given. In his speech. Rochlin criticized the student Nina Sassoon asserts she will body for leaving the building seek justice for the plaintilTs. as unkempt as it has been, and Rochlin responded, "I want singled out one student who the halls and classrooms to be complained that it was not in as immaculate as Rabbi her job description when Bakst's desk." asked to pick up someone A small group of students else's trash. Rochlin conclud• immediately came to the con• cd by suspending breakfast clusion that without the service until such time as healthy start to the school day cleanliness m the building met that the Cocoa Puffs and lus standards. When pressed about how clean that was, (co11ri11ued 011 page 4)
By LEORA \\'ALTER Due 10 student demand. the administration ha.or;. decided 10 install a special section in the bathrooms for cellular phone users. Since students arc no longer allowed 10 use cell phones in the school building, the bathroom has
Student reaction was pri• now allow evcf)one to use the faciluics because there won't manly positive. "1l1c locker be overcrowding in the stalls." area w111 be less crowded." An open area behind the slall,;; noted Roy Kirsh (12), since will be designated for cell studenls also try to hide Rabbi behind lockers wlulc using phone users. The Goldminlz. planned the layout their cellular phones. and said that having everyone clcarmg of 1hc locker areas together can only lead to a will allow sludents more space to place their books . instead of having 10 figh1 their way through crowds. Ms. Malamy was especially grate• ful for this change. "I won't have students coming to me jusr 10 use my phone. Now they will know !hat 1f they need to use the phone, they can simply bring their own." Ms. Wertheim agreed, but added. The ·•sick" sludents the new cell phone space in will now lie down in the bath room instead or in her office. Ari Korman (11) wel closer and wa.rmcr environ• mcnt. "Couches will be added comed the change. I-le said lhat he would no longc1 "have 10 1hc new restrooms so lhc students will be able to talk to hide from teachers because and recline al lhc same time."
Cell Phone Stations Installed in the Bathrooms
JelTBernstein happily utilizes the fourth Ooor facilities. become the designated place for cell phone use. Mr. Miller wondered why the administra tion never thought of this nddi1ion before. He comment ed, '"This construclion will
Inside This Issue.
3-D glasses enclosed.
(contit1ued 0,1 page 4)
15 Sizzling Centerfolds: Administrators In Enticing Positions -page 613
RamPage Holds Peace Talks with Yearbook -page 91
March 2000/Adar 5760
G.O. Drafts Declaration of Independence By DAVID-BENDER The GO continues to miiruc the American founding fathers in drafting the Ramaz Declaration of Independence. This documcnl is being draft• ed following the recent pro posal of a student's Bill of Rights and the recently adopt ed GO Constitution. GO President Saul Safdieh commented, "the ( 12) Declaration of [ndcpendence is pan of a continuing effort started by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to establish an atmosphere of mutual trusl and respect between teachers and students." When asked to relate exactly from what or whom the students were declaring their independence, Safdieh seemed puuled and declined 10 comment. He referred reponers to Jlhamar Silve, (12). Stud¢ntTtSctitm to the doc• umcnt was mixed. "I like the 1di:a," s:ud Marc Asp1s (11 ). "The students need to declare their independence from tyranny." Daniel Goldman (12) did not share this sentiment. ''What's next? The Ramaz; Doctrine? This is absurd. These documents mean nothing." Initially proposed at a recent SFAC meeting, the declara tion also met some staunch faculty opposition. '"I don't like the wording used," said Rabbi Linzcr. "TI1e tone is quite aggressive and it would seem to me that students may be trying to say that they have rights in the school. a danger ous proposition. if you ask me.'' The administration also rejected the proposal. ··1 just don't like it. Docs this mean that there is going to be a rev• olutionary war?" asked a con cerned Rabbi Goldmintz, who leans towards the Canadian policy of neulrality. "The administration at rhis time is ill prepared to wage war with
the students." Resident war expert Dr. Stone concurred. "Based on the sheer manpow· er advantage in favor of the students, the prospects for the administration arc looking even worse than those for the 49crs." Despite the opposition to the first draft of the dcclara• tion, the GO remains unfazed.
Soul Safdich proudly pre sents the GO Declaration. "In the spirit of our foundmg fathers. we arc prepared to forcefully install this docu• ment. If it means war. so be it," said a passionate Harel Williams (II). I-le added that Washington, "George Abraham Lincoln, and Saul Safdich arc all revolutionaries fighting for the same thing: freedom." The fate of the Rnmaz; of Declaration presently Independence remnins uncertain. Tension continues to build as the GO gears up for a full-scale con flict wilh the administrators on the issue. "No more will the GO be known as an inac• 1ive institution!" bellowed Safdich at a recent tea party. Only lime will lcll what comes of this proposed decl:i• ration.
Mr. Goelz Gets Into An All Out Brawl with Carmine -page Sin 2 X
Pngc 2
The RnmPngr
� SFAC Minutes l\ls, JlC'ncl bccnn lhc meeting wllh n hrlrr D'vnr Toruh. Rnbhl Moskowitz spoke or the joy in his lire. l l arcl Willinms (II) snld 11ml he loves replltaling hbtodcnl docu ments thut b\'gin nith the phrn.se 11GO" bccnusc ii nmkcs him reel wnrm nnd fuzzy inside. Dr. \\'nrshnll wnlkcd Jn "ith n lent her whip and srrcnmcd "Silcneio!11 \\'hl'n shr n.-nlizcd lhnt this was u SFAC rnccting nnd not one of hrr chas�cs she npologiwd nnd wulkcd out mumbling about oranges. \VhL•n Uu.· topic of a simcha cumc up, Rnbbi \Valdm:in rnthm,instknlly dnnccd into the room, singing nbout being happy in Adnr. Unforlunulcly, he h\ irlc-d right into Rnbbi Ua�I. who lrnppcncd lo be protesting ngain�I happinrss for lhe past 20 yenrs. Rabbi Waldman ,1115 shown lo the door but he continued to dance inlo the steel ele,•ators. Rnbbi Baksl Faid "Rnmaz is a school or uclion ,,here studcnls arc taught lo prolesl, lhey will learn lo be hnp1>Y when lhey go on their St:'nior trip to Poland." Soul Sardich (12), GO 1>residenl, proved lltul he was a mnn of action by spending the rest of the mcrting practicing for his Lunch Team mecl. Robbi Goldminlz used the remainder or the meeting lo comb the tip or his hair into n 30· 60• 90 degree triangle, which he claims is also equilatcr• al. Nina Sassoon (12), SFAC Chairperson, asked for mem bers to discuss something which could be written about in the widely read SFAC Minutes. Mr. Miller agreed slating 0this meeting is degenerating into n jettisoned bolus that reminds me of n word ...or a story." Rabbi Linzcr suggest ed that the committee discuss the intriguing nnd multidi• mcnsional lopic of respect. Jonuthnn Miller r<'rnarked "Its so great that I joined the GO since it gi\'Cs me the opportu nity to talk with teachers about the re�pect which they arc unjustly denied." Mr. Rochlin "as offended and said "l am respected, I am the Assistant Administrator, I have a nice office, people bow down to me when I walk by." Rubbi Kobrin smugly reminded him •'Students merely bend onr to pick up garbage when you walk by." The class presidents showed up al the meeting lo plan a night out for !he students. The meeting wos adjourned.
/tfinutes diligently kept by Aaron Krawitz
EDITORS IN CHIEF Aaron Krawitz ♦ Emily Scharfin:rn ♦ Abigail Zausmer
JUNIOR EDITOR
March 2000/Adnr 5760
Letter to the Editors
To The Editors. It ho<; come lo my alien lion thnt orunge-guava-pas MOn-frull juice ha.s been ban bhcd from the lunch room juice machme. However. i1s replacement, 1hc pitiful rasp· berry lemonade. has foiled 10 sa1isry ,ny 1as1c buds' add1c11011 10 intcrc<.ttng drinks. l3y mtcrc"'itmg drm�s. I do not mean "'iOda, iced tea, or John111c Walker. but navorful drink� \Yhose componen1s are a vnne1y or luscious and cxot· ic fruit navors. At fir"'it, I was skcpllcal. Orange guava? What a tacky and sickening combination of 1wo apparently conmc1ing 1as1cs. Yet, as I tried 10 find my lruc self, I found an equal ly quirky dnnk lhat would match it Rejecting the trite orange and apple juices, and
Dear Fellow Students, I do not want to be a hero cuhcr, but I regret 10 infonn the student body of my resig nation. The real reason I resigned from my position was not my unwillmgness 10 be the GO's Superman, but rather my dissatisfaction with lhe--Ramaz. lunch program. Al the end of the day. 1here 1s only :i certain number ol times I. as president, can tolerate fish in one week. I know students support my dcc1S1on such as Bubba Gurock ( 11) who said "we have tuna fish, fried fish, fish fillet, fish and chips, and fish on grilled cheese, enough is enough." Fornier GO treasur er, llhamar Silvcr(l2}. whose
\ Sarah Kukin
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Dov Weinstein
SENIOR STAFF Josh Riegelhaupl ♦ Joseph Sanders
FACULTY ADVISER Mr. Albert Goetz
Students arc disappointed by the removal orthe orange-guava-passion-fruit juke. Corpora1ion
Sincerely, Ethan Leibowitz (and friends)
dominate my
example I have tried to emanate, stated "personally, I don ·1 care, fish or no fish. as long as I have my bowl of Harcl Williams. mush." junior vice president of lhe GO, docs not want to com ment on the issue, although he offered his apologies to all Lhosc involved and offered to wri1c n declaration about your righl" now that the prcs1dcn1 is resigning. The hockey learn has been quick to offer me my former spot on the learn. Team Captain Phil Katz(l2), a good friend of mine. feels "Ya know, we saw this as an opportun11y to raise our 1eam G.P.A.. and ya know he'll help us m the playoffs, ya know." However, the coachmg staff
asked me not to return to rhe ream al the beginning of this year as a rcsull of my violence on the floor during last season. Al the end of the day, arter dealing with members of lhe administration and certain teachers al SFAC, playing hockey will be as easy as passing a students' bill of rights. Being that the Constitution does not dictate who is supposed to assume the presidency in the case of a res ignation, the administration ha.s decided that it is only fair 10 give that pos11ion to Jonothan Miller (10). Sincerely. Saul1e
A Peace Offering to the Yearbook Staff
Etan Epstein
RAMCHOPS EDITOR
the unsculmg soda, l �tumbled 1ongucl Nol I love ornnge guava for 11 has 'iCI my spml UJ}()II this ZClilful drink. 110:. thick texture and free. Anyway. 1111s divine dnnk sweet-sour la51c 1111med1Jtcly overwhelmed me; I had found wa� once removed from lhc my soulrna1c. No longer machine. Since 1hc removal would I be bound by the of Llus drink provoked 1mmc shackles of Trop1cana! No d1a1c outrage. the lunch i,taff longer would 1he Mott reinstated the drink as quickly as posi:tiblc. Now, orange guava has again been dethroned, an<l app�rcntly for ever. 1111s cnme against good taste must end, and orange guava must be returned 10 11s proper throne. The student body must rise 10 this occ:1sion with protest for ii has nothing 10 lose but i1s chains!
/
Murch 2000/Adar 5760
Clubbing Chaos. loc31ed on Washington Avenue. is a great place to grab a coke and dance to the cool music that plays loudly 1hroughout 1hc club. Admission to this trendy spot is $25 on week ends and less in 1hc middle or the week. Be sure to bring your Ramaz student identifi cation card to get the appro priate student discount.
...
Another great spot to hit on
RAMCHOPS
the weekends, ironically. is G Spot. Herc, before noon on Sundays, you can get free drinks (except espressos, which can be purchased for S1.50 a sho1.) This hip and chic cofTcc bar serves incredi ble lattes, moch:1 fraps. and cappucinos. 111c atmosphere is enhanced by 1hc music played by 1he incredible disc jockey. The only drawback is that you need to make sure you don't overdose on the caffeine.
Liquid, especially hip on 1l1ursdays which happen to be Rosh Chodcsh, is the new scene for Jewish teens. lnasense is said to stop by on occasion and play a few tunes. The real party, with mixed drinks (including orange coke and purple diet spri1c), is the main auraction. To date, Liquid is the only club in the city which attracts people worldwide for i1s delectable drinks.
What's Happening
We regret to announce the closing of the GAP on . 76th and Lexing1on. Since GAP could only sell sizes zero and Lwo to Ramaz slu dents, the GAP was forced to close. Other sizes were not selling so the GAP warehouse stock of small sizes quickly sold out. There were a lot of complaints from Ramaz seniors who spent their free time at GAP. Seniors explained that the selection of small sizes was not plentiful. Juniors are also distressed by the closing of GAP. "Where am I going to shop?"cricd Ari Korman ( 11). However, others arc not pcr lurbed. Nicole Zobel (11) commenled. "The GAP is just a cheaper version of Banana Republic." Jn an attempt to calm down stu· denlS, Anna Kreiger (11) said, .. Don't worry. Intermix is having a sale next week."
...
During the past few months, the Ramaz adminis tration was appalled by the sight of a beat-up sky blue beetle parked in Rabbi Bakst's reserved parking space. This 70's style mode of transportation has groovy neon colored flowers decorat ing the window. Usually, this Austin Powers· csquc car is parked across the street, but the mystery driver's usual spot was blocked off due to construction. As soon as Rabbi Bakst discovered the car, he dispatched lhe mainte nance men to move 1hc punch buggy. The driver, wearing u psychedelic Jimi Hendrix tic dyed 1ec-shirl and having an uncanny resemblance to Greg Brady, was infuriated upon discovering a black Acurn occupying his parking spot. Rabbi Bakst was able to paci-
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The RamPage
fy the hippie by inviting him to join Rabbi GoldminlZ and
R•bbi Bakst is disturbed by the car which occupies his traditional spot.
him at the Bob Dylan concert this summer. In the future, a sign will alen strangers that this spot is reserved for Rabbi Bakst.
The Ramaz adminislra• tion recently passed an edict banning the bringing of pil• lows into school. This caused much slrife among the out-of• !owners because bus com• mutes provide time to catch up on valuable sleep. ''This is an outrage," cried Elliot Trencher (11). How can they be so inconsid• crate as to deprive us of our precious sleep?" Freshman Jackie Markowitz disagreed. "I don't really mind because I can't sleep on the bus any way. I am always busy 1alk ing on my cell phone." Protests and demonstra tions urc under way, with leaders Emily Scharfman (12) and Etan Epstein (11 ). "They seem to be getting along well. they make a good team" asserted Julie Veelal. Students will meet on the sixth Ooor nfier dnvening with pillows and sleeping bags. They plnn to sleep through their morning class· cs. break for lunch, nnd then
...
On Tirnrsday nighls, begin ning April 6, there will be a new af1crschool club joining the cslccmcd ranks of the many already existing extracuricular activities in the school. In addition to weekly meclings in room 606, where the projection screen will be used to display karaoke videos. the club's members will take a monthly field trip to a real karaoke club located on 49th Street and Second Avenue. The overwhelming
return to their sleeping bags. . extremely confused by the Jonathan Pulitzer explained, unusual clock readings in "\Ve will sleep until they get every room in the building. the message-- we need our Apparently, every clock read sleeping time on the bd's, or 11:59. While many clever we must have naps in students attribute the time 10 school." the fact that this is a leap year Rabbi Goldmintz and the little men who live explained the reasoning inside the clocks became con behind the administration's fused, others know the real action. •·Toe pillows were reason: the return of Y2K. laking up space in the coat• room that would other:wise. be used for another copying machine." The entire high school The dispute got so oul of was unexpectedly called hand that the seniors, includ• down to the auditorium to ing the city kids. decided that answer a very personal sur on the laSI day of school, they vey on March 2. TI1e stu would wear pajamas. dents were infonned that the questionnaire was being given under the auspices of the University of Ireland. "I Calculator games have can't believe the school circulated around the school, would make me answer lhese everything from drug wars to ques1ions!" exclaimed Mikey Tetris. But more risquc Disicnfcld (11 ). However, a games have been circulating private inVcstigator hired by 1hrough 1hc faculty's calcula the students disclosed that tors. Among them were the administration had really PUSSY, S+M and sum(3). been the sponsor of the sur vey. One member of the administration adrniued, "we needed some means of find· After a fluke accident, the ing out personal infonnation newly established cooking aboul studcnlS that they club took their firsl trip to the would not otherwise dis emrgency room at Lenox Hill close." Another ndministra· Hospital. Apparently, af1cr tor explained that the inva Mark WigIer ( 12) tampered sion of privacy was simply a with the pecan pie, seven way of ..assessing students' members of the cooking club needs in order to help them experienced sharp pain and where they need it most." were gasping for air. Leora GO president Saul Walter (11 ), the unofficial Safdieh is planning a school· ambassador for the cooking wide strike against the admin club and one of the victims stration. "This Is war nt nil said, "I knew I should have costs," he declared, "the been weary of anything Mark adminislration infringed upon put his hands on. I guess this our privacy ond we must take wns n learning experience. " action." This act of revenge will occur on March 8 fol lowing the play. 1l1is time was specifically chosen Rnrnnz students :irrived in because the play is the event school on Tuesday morning. where nll studcnls, especially February 29th nn<l were
positive response to the club is due to the fact that mem bers feel that 1his will give them an unprecenden1ed opportunity 10 express them• selves freely and sing whatcv• er they please. Occasionally, the club will also ,ravel 10 West 4th Street to sec what professional karaoke singers sound like. Note: The mem• hers who have signe,1 up for the club wish to remain anonymous due to conflicts with the hockey team.
seniors, attend. Danny and Co. got a twoweek paid vacation during the last two weeks of February. "We wanted to show the Stu· dent OOdy what a mess it makes," said Mr. Rochlin. "by letting the garbage pile up. Hopefully the SludenlS will get the message," he added· -- _-c _. . ,, - ..,. ,..._ :,:-, After just a few days with· out Willie, Ci10 and the crew, the edifice began to resemble Mr. Rochlin's old office. Garbage was piling up all over the school. Bathrooms were nooded with paper tow els. and leftover food could be found. well, everywhere. With all the new garbage, Dr. Shudofsky was quick to assume his fonncr position of garbagc·pointer-outer. "I just couldn't resist the endless possibilities presented by this new situation," he said. Student reaction was mixed. Breakfast Club's president. Yehudah Potaznik ( 11), said, "I hope students will learn their lesson so lhe Breakfasl Club can start again, and I can keep coming late to first period." The maintenance men had to be re•instated after the Sanitation Department threatened to take away the reserved parking spaces in front of the build ing. A fruslrated Mr. Rochlin stated, "the students got away this time, but don't worry. There are 352 days lefl till I get to do it all over again." Many students were outraged because as one assencd "we don't get paid to clean the school."
I •
Pagc4
Doctor Knows Best
The RamPage
A Day In the Life of Dr. Berkowitz
Mr. Rochlin Is Still Sued; Something Is Plummeting
(continued Jro,11 page I)
Dr. Berkowitz tries to enlighten students and faculty "ith his propogonda, or wisdom. Pick one. By EMILY SCHARFMAN When I :irrived ot school at 7:31 AM Dr. Bcrkowuz was already governing the book room. Doc was m a bad mood because it was only the third month of the year, and the stipend he had been given by the school for parkmg hod already run out. .. You see Emily." he growled. "those (bicep) penalize me because rm poor. Since they know I connot afford parkmg. they crush me lo lhe ground so that I have 10 scroi:nge around hke a beggar for more." During davcning. I repeat edly heard Doc talk about rich pogans who think they ore Jewish but arc actually not. I thought he might have been planning 111s lec1urc for class, bul he would muller such msuhs loudly when the talk mg \\OUld get out of hand. Al 8:33 AM, ancr davcnmg. 1hirty students about approached Doc with com plamis about books. "Out of my way children. can't you sec I have a class 10 teach?" he stated. I med following him m the elevator but J was kicked oul because my cleva• 1or pass. which I had gouen from the new nurse. was no1 lcgi1im:Hc.
March 20oo/Adar 5760
At 9:53 Al\! Doc wos in the middle of leaching his sophomore history class. One s1uden1 asked, ..I don't under• stand tbe part aboul modemi• ty. boundaries. 1he nation• state. Cal\•inism. and the Jew� being responsible for the Rcform.:11ion:· Doc answered gruffiy '"You sec, if tt weren't for Robespierre. terror. and railro:ids 1ransfonning land mto waler, the Jews would never have been successful at bnngmg the world 10 moder• .. nity. The student who asked the question seemed confused by Doc"s rapid hand motions. When I met up with Doc agam he was in lhe lunchroom s1ll1ng with "The Bien." I fol• lowed Doc upstairs 10 watch him te..ich his senior pohucs class. lie chuckled as he Cl.plained ··r ran oul of thmgs 10 tench m October. but I pre• tend to read orr llus yellow notepad. ll1c babies who s11 in the front row try lo read whal 1hc notebook says, he. he. he. but 1t"s really all gib berish. he. he. he:· I took a seat in the back row and watched as the s1uden1s filed in. "I-l ow ya doin • Doc?"' . ··What"s up Doc?" they said as 1hcy moved their fingers rr::1n tically and crossed their eyes.
Doc senled the noisy class the admonition with "'Children, this 1s not daven ing. Slop lalking:· Doc began to drone on for about 3.5 min• utes, and studenls began fallmg asleep. A student who wished to remain anonymous got up to go 10 the bathroom at about 2:22 PM and Doc .. benevolcn1ly exclaimed . hey have a good trip. he. he. he:· I didn't understand wby the class thought that'going on a trip was so funny. When I met up with Doc at 4:42 PM he had already donned has green coat. and black "Monica Lewinsky" cap. I don·, understand "here the epllhCI for the h31 ongmJI· ed. As we walked to lus car. Doc noticed he had gotten a parking uckct for not puumg money m the meter. As he got m his car and drove awa) he le(t me wuh some words of wisdom, "You sec Emily, I am being punished by the fac;c1(JI mayor or New York. Dul real ly, ii 1s the admin1stra11on try ing 10 get me. If they hadn ·, been prejudiced towards me because I om poor. then I would have enough money to park my car 1n a lot. Really 11 is a giant conspiracy agamst me:· With 1ha1. he was ofT.
"h's ridiculous that I g:ivc my (con11nuedfrom page I) I will be allowed 10 uc;e my child a phone so that I can phone whenever J plcose." touch base with him during Simo Friedlander ( 11) dis the day and he was forbidden agreed. "If phones are only 10 use 1L Now 1he school h::is allowed in the balhrooms. set up a proper place for my what am I going 10 do m 1he child to call me during lhe day:· elevator?" M�. Tnub•Weinslcm did Many parents arc m fovor o( the arrangement, bccnusc 1101 l,kc the re triction bccau�e 1hcy fell th::it 11 wa5 fru1.;1ra1ing she wn, told thnt she would 1ha1 1hcy could nor get 1n not be able to tum on her rouch w11h rhcar children dur• phone during clos.sc5. M'i;. mg the �hoof day bccnu\C Mironer echoed th1.s scnllrnenl ccltular phones were 1101 per• :md 01.;ke<l, "what nm I sup ,mucd. One parent wrote. posed 10 t.lo when studen1,
take 1es15?" Mr. Williams did not seem to care because "I can make calls to my mother country whenever I want" All in all. lhere seems 10 be pos111ve fccdbock towards lhc renovation m lhe b:Uh• rooms securing 11n area for cell phone use. TI1ough 1here might be some obs1acles in the cons1ruc11on, the bathrooms ,hould be ready for the new �hool year.
Construction in Bathrooms to Accommodate Cell Phone Users
Frosted Flakes provided. they would not be able to perform optimally and their grade poinl averages would suffer. ··Jf I don·1 get my sugar fix early in the morning. there is no way I can pass a Klotz exam unless it is scheduled after lunch," one junior rea soned. At the hean of the suit is the notion that a poor break• fast translates into lower grades. Ms. Gorfinkle ·s AP Statjstics class was enlisted to find data that supponcd student claims, and Mr. Goetz·s Honor.; Precalculus class perfom1ed regression on the data. Sassoon feels that the case is very strong. as does her co-coun�cl. Goldman. Daniel Goldman·s plan includes calling all three college counselors :.s wi1nesscs 10 explain how just one point on one test can mean the dif• ference between an accep• tancc at Columbia instead of Borough of Manhallan
Community College. ·•Here you are talking about not allowing students to perform as well as they can:· Goldman stated. ··11 is downright un-American. ·• Sassoon indicated that the suit was a last reson. ··we tried to get our elected officials involved. but they were just 100 busy."' Saul Safdich, GO president, con fim1ed her statcmenl. ··n,e aftermatl, of tl1c ski trip and planning for the Purim chagigah have taken up all of the GO executives' time lately."" he whined. Newly appointed treasurer Jonathan Miller. when asked what the student representatives would do about the no• breakfast edict. responded. "How should I know? I was• n·1 elected."" While Sassoon is confident of victory. she will not let herself get emo- tionally involved in the case. ··what do I care? l"m already accepted some where.··
Opinion:
Administration Attempts to be "Hip" By YAEL MERKIN
.:idministration's The mnovauon of new "hip" forn11ure for the classrooms. ,,a� not "'ell rCCel\cd by most stu dents. Room 40 I now has ganshly adorned desks w11h bulky compartrncnls, while room 302 �porb chairs in star• tling shades of eggplant and midnight blue. What hap• pcncd 10 the sense of style 1ha1 Ramaz has always been fomous for? With the appear. ance of the new desks nnd chairs. 11 Is clear th:u any ab1l• ity to match furniture has been thrown out like lasl wcek·s trash. The old beige desks and black chair.; which complc• ment any outfit arc slowly but surely being replaced by black and while desks and brightly colored scats. 111is is cau5ing connict with fashionably con scious s1udcnts who now refuse to wear any ensemble containing red or purple for fear of no1 being coordinated with 1he room furnishings. Granted this should not be 100 much of an issue given the majority of the student body"s tendency to wenr colors of mourning. And yet, fashion is not the only issue al nsk. Old cus toms, habits nnd trnditions nre being threatened by the arrlvul of new furniture. In clnssc� where sluing for 40 mmu1e_, can be somewhat or n chore,
students cra�t11ng 10 the floor after the old black seal backs g:i, e out on lhcm provided a \\elcomc moment of relief from learning. Rabbi Schreiber. a frequent occupJnt of room 302, all"-'IS 10 the loss felt by students and faculty ahkc. "It used to be fun 10 watch the back, of chair.; pop out and send kids 0ymg. 11 added some humor 10 my day. Now with the new chairs. I don·1 get that odded bit of laughter:· The desks arc also the source of many problems. All girls, in adduion to a few boys, complain that it is next to 1mposs1ble to cross one's legs due to an added compan mcnt under the desks. 11,c desks also make cheating easy ns one can store books and notes in the storage area. Often the fruits of hard study and self•d1sciplmc .ire not reaped. Another student who wished to remnin anonymous pointed out thnt It is easy to forget onc·s belongings in the shelf under the desk. "I lea\'e my books in those stupid com partments every single time I have class in 40 I. I enter the room knowing that I am going lo forget at least one lhmg:· New furniture can bnng out lhe worst in Ramaz. Next lhmg we know. there will be polka dot velour couches in the lounges, or n big orange pnin1ing on 1he wull.