The Rampage The Newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School
New York • Volume 65 • Issue 8 • May 2021 • Sivan/Tammuz 5781• the-rampage.org
Former VP of Ramaz Finally Elected President of Something (Israel)
Aviva Schilowitz ’24 Is it easier to become the President of Israel than President of the Ramaz Upper School? Maybe. On June 2, Isaac “Bougie” Herzog ‘78, former Vice President of the Ramaz Upper School student government, was elected as Israel’s eleventh President. He will formally assume his new
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role on July 9, 2021. His election came by the largest margin in Israel’s history. Historically, the role of President has been viewed as largely ceremonial, but it has taken on greater importance as recent elections have failed to yield a stable ruling coalition. It is the President’s job to select who gets to try to form a government after an election. Herzog attended Ramaz for three years when his father, Chaim Herzog, was ambassador to the United Nations. Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, former Principal of Ramaz and current Rabbi Emeritus of KJ, remembers Herzog from his time as a student and still talks to him. Rabbi Lookstein recalls that his own father, Rabbi Joseph Lookstein, knew the elder Herzog and encouraged him to send his son to Ramaz. As a student at Ramaz, Isaac did not disappoint. “He davened at KJ every morning. He was always charming and sweet. He was a popular student, a people person.” Rabbi Lookstein says the President-elect is proud of his Ramaz background and mentions it in his speeches often. In recorded remarks from the 2015 Ramaz dinner, circulated to Ramaz families by Mr. Jonathan Cannon, Ramaz’s Head of School, shortly after Herzog’s election, President Herzog expressed his love for Ramaz. “I think it’s an incredible institution. It has left a mark on my life and my family’s
life.” He emphasized Ramaz’s “unique mixture of learning Judaism in a modern way, together with the skills needed to become an independent young person in the modern world as the great success of Ramaz.” Mr. Cannon feels that Herzog’s mission is in complete alignment with Ramaz’s own mission in that Herzog “represents unity and diversity of the Jewish people,” a core aspect of Ramaz’s own mission. Moreover, for Herzog, “Ramaz represents Jews outside of Israel” and his appointment is a “tremendous honor for the Ramaz community.” Rabbi Shlomo Stochel, Ramaz’s Head of Upper School, points out that Ramaz has always sought to cultivate leadership in all its students through, among other things, co-curricular activities, a rigorous education and an active G.O. “The opportunities are vast. We empower students to provide feedback on their experience at school through SFAC, we encourage class presidents to represent their cl assmates, and we urge students to Continued on Page 6
for buildings that are exempt. This rating is calculated by the Energy Star Portfolio Manager, created by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Environmental Protection Agency is targeting buildings because buildings generate roughly 80% of New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions. Buildings over 50,000 square feet are planning to reduce their energy and water consumption by 2024 so as to not be charged a “carbon penalty.” This fine increases every five years, and it is dependent on the size of a building and how much energy and water it uses. For example, if the Ramaz Upper School does not reduce the amount of electricity and water it uses by 50% by 2024, it will be fined $37,030 each year until 2029. From 2030 to 2035, Ramaz will be fined $91,171 a year until 2035. Ramaz will then owe $117,848 from 2035 and on; this last number is a rough estimate and will probably change since 2035 is a long time away. If Ramaz does manage to reduce their energy and water consumption rates by 50% and possibly even more, then not only will they not have to pay a fine every year for the first five year cycle, but their utility cost will also go down. This can be seen as inducement for buildings to be more efficient with their energy and water usage, since their expenses will also reduce. The Ramaz Upper School’s score is significantly lower than additional Upper East Side private schools and other Jewish day schools. While
Ramaz’s energy rating is the lowest score achievable, the Yeshiva University High School for Girls of Central Queens has a score of A99. Even though the Heschel School has to pay a fine beginning in 2024 like Ramaz, their fine is only for $4,095, which is still much less than Ramaz’s penalty from 2024-2029. In comparison to Ramaz’s neighboring private schools, there is still a great gap in the amount of “carbon fines” these institutions will pay. Regis High School, Dalton, and Trevor have a high enough energy efficiency score as to not be penalized with a “carbon fine” every year for the first five year cycle from 2024-2029. The square footage of a building makes it more difficult to lower its energy and water consumption rates, and yet, these
Ramaz’s Lowest Grade: The Energy Rating Eric Kalimi ’22 and Andrew Spielfogel ’23
The New York City Benchmarking Law requires buildings over 50,000 square feet to display their energy and water production rates by its entrance. Though the purpose of this law is to reduce the number of New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions, Ramaz has a benchmarking score of D1, the lowest score possible-- other then for buildings that don’t submit their score, and buildings that are exempt. The Energy Efficiency score is based on a scale of A to F, with A being the highest. A represents a score of 85 and higher, B is between 70 and 84, C is between 55 and 69, D is any score lower than 54, an F is for buildings that don’t submit their score, and an N i s
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Inside this issue...
Celebration of the Arts p. 2
LGBTQ+ at Ramaz p.7
Meet Your New GO! p.
8
2EN1OR Memories p.10