Volume 46, Issue 3 (November 2012) - The Rampage

The Rampage

Volume XXXXVI Number 3

The Ramaz Upper School

November 2012/Kislev 5773

An Evolving Sephardic Minyan Jonathan Koptyev ’13 Throughout its history in Ramaz, the Sephardic Minyan has gone through many major changes. Supposedly, the minyan started with only 20 sephardim, a minority in the school’s student body.

Although a small group, these 20 devoted young men ran the prayer services independently, without a faculty leader to guide them or, more pertinently, to quiet them when they were talking.

Nowadays, the minyan’s supervisor is Rabbi Meyer Laniado, a young rabbi of Syrian descent, who received smicha at YU. About two years ago he replaced the beloved Mr. Azure Zalta, the reputable and well-respected Syrian cantor, who resigned after several years with the group.

Where does the minyan stand now? It appears that the dynamic has shifted since Mr. Azure’s period as leader. Mr. Azure carried out a very disciplined and controlling role as head, whereas Rabbi Laniado is more passive, believing that connection to G-d comes from within and cannot be forced upon anyone. Rather, Rabbi Laniado believes that the only way students will voluntarily participate is if they are encouraged to do so. Therefore,

Rabbi Laniado tries to have as many chazzinim involved as possible, using their own unique cultural scales and tunes.

“No one ever became

tion to become acquainted with his or her cultural roots in order to truly understand the value of prayer in unison, especially because it is a privilege that many of the stu-

religious by being shushed in minyan… We hope that engagement will lead to a minyan where the students themselves take ownership of the minyan,” claimed Rabbi Laniado.

The two leaders differ in how they approach the minyan spiritually as well. Mr. Azure constantly emphasized the Sephardic Jew’s obliga-

dents’ Sephardic ancestors did not have. Mr. Azure would always talk about different Sephardic cultures, connecting the circumstances of the specific region to the eventual results of varying customs.

Rabbi Laniado directs his speeches more towards mussar, telling students to reflect upon themselves as a means of realizing their connection

with G-d.

“Some of the students would like to learn how to read better, others struggle with God and his role in this world, and others don’t understand why they have to sit in their chair for 40 minutes having me ask them to open their siddur and recite shema along with the chazzan,” stated Rabbi Laniado. “This is why the goal is to create a positive attitude towards Judaism and tefilah.”

However, some students do not really identify with Rabbi Laniado’s speeches. “I understand what Rabbi Laniado is trying to do by telling us we need to focus more on our prayers, but I feel like people just need to realize that by

themselves, not because he is telling us to,” voiced Solomon Michailow ’13.

Steven Bentolila ’13 raised a contrary opinion, suggesting, “I like Rabbi Meyer’s speeches because they motivate us to better ourselves…

He’s giving us a chance to do teshuvah, something so many kids don’t realize.”

The minyan is often difficult to control when people begin to talk and tune out of what is going on. “Sephardic minyan is organized, but people do not participate as much as they should,” noted David Dellal ’13. “It’s just a little sad that there is a special minyan for Sephardic kids and they don’t put effort in it.”

Still, the minyan seeks to maximize involvement by singing certain prayers in unison, in familiar Sephardic tunes. It seems to allow the kids to appreciate tunes of many different cultures, being that the Sephardic minyan is so ethnically diverse within itself. “I come across some beautiful tunes I never heard before,” mentioned Eddie Mattout ’15. “It’s nice to see common tunes bringing all the different cultures together.”

Student-Teacher Conferences Squeezed In Alex Weinberg ’14 On Friday, November 16, students bustled around the Upper School, bouncing from teacher to teacher in order to review their performances from the previous quarter.

Student-Teacher conferences had been originally scheduled for two days earlier, but they were rescheduled to the Friday after Hurricane Sandy.

The administration rescheduled to provide more classroom time to replace some of the time lost due to the superstorm. “We [the administration] decided to move the Student-Teacher conferences to Friday because we wanted to get in as much class time as possible before the end of the quarter.

Placing the conferences on a Winter Friday was the best way we could find to salvage class time while still having Student-Teacher conferences before Parent-Teacher confer-

ences,” said Mr. Miller.

Student reaction was mixed about rescheduling the conferences. Some thought the structure of the day was not great because it separated seniors from the rest of the school. Others thought that the decision sent a bad message, for it seemed to encourage a more test-oriented atmosphere, and not one which values interpersonal relationships between faculty members and students. “A whole bunch of kids just didn’t have time to see all their teachers,” said Russell Oppenheim ’14.

Other students were content with having Student-Teacher conferences on Friday. “It was fine having Student-Teacher conferences moved because I still finished early, like I always do, and this way we were able to regain some test time lost due to Sandy. The test schedule would have been

too crazy if not for moving the conferences,” said Edward Tuckman ’14.

Under the rescheduled date, seniors had conferences with their teachers during their free periods. “I thought it was a great idea to move the seniors’ conferences to other days.

This way, seniors who were doing well in class could get their conferences out of the way quickly and students who might have needed more time got it,” said Amram Altzman ’13. Others thought it was unfair to the seniors forcing them to meet with their teachers on their own time when usually they have a specially scheduled day to meet with teachers. “It was not a great idea to move the seniors’ conferences. Most seniors did not need more time and now there is more burden placed on the seniors and teachers,” said Jacob Eisenstein ’14. Mr.

Miller was optimistic about separating seniors from the underclassmen’s StudentTeacher conferences. “I think we may have stumbled upon something here; the conferences are still underway and we need to finish our research into whether or not seniors actually had conferences, but I am optimistic,” he said.

Many students called for reforming the way Ramaz does Student-Teacher conferences. “Why aren’t StudentTeacher conferences run the same way that Parent-Teacher conferences are?” said Yehuda Bloom ’14. “It is just so much more logical to have scheduled appointments; we wouldn’t have to spend pointless amounts of time in line and it would save the student body from worrying about line cutting and intimidation.”

Others such as Sivan Aharon ’14 think that having set aside

times for each grade would be beneficial. “If during StudentTeacher conferences juniors had their own time and seniors had their own block of time and so on, we could make the whole day so much more efficient,” said Aharon.

The reason that Ramaz does unscheduled Student-Teacher conferences is so that every student is able to meet with each of their teachers. “Mathematically it is simply impossible to have each of the 431 students meet with each of their teachers if we do Student-Teacher conferences like we do the parent ones,” said Mr. Miller. “Because students are supposed to be in school on the day of conferences, there is a greater necessity for them to see each of their teachers.”

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The RamPage News

November 2012/Kislev 5773

Was Veterans Day Overlooked?

Sydney Sarachek ’14 Every Yom Hazikaron, Ramaz students, faculty, and administrators gather in the auditorium for an assembly commemorating those who have fallen while fighting for Israel. On Monday, November 12, America commemorated Veterans Day throughout the country. Public schools were closed nationwide. Ramaz was open and ran a normal day of school. Does Ramaz, as a school, value its Jewish identity before its American identity, some asked?

Back in August, when everybody was enjoying the last days of the summer, the administration sat down and discussed how to commemorate Veterans Day and Kristalnacht (Friday, November 9).

The decision was made that one of the two events would be commemorated with an AM assembly, and the other would be recognized with a short speech after davening during a Rosh Chodesh

schedule. However, because a week of school was lost due to Hurricane Sandy, these plans were canceled. Instead, Mr. Shaviv spoke on Friday morning, November 9, after davening about both events.

Mr. Miller does not remember Ramaz having Veterans Day assemblies in the past few years. In the past years, there have been Rosh Chodesh schedules on Veterans Day, and after davening, there was a speaker who spoke shortly about the day.

Mr. Miller said, "The truth is we should have Veterans Day assembly programming as well. At the same time Yom Hazikaron is right before Yom Haatzmaut and as a Jewish school in the United States, we try to mark Yom Haazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut the way they do in Israel." Mr. Miller agrees that in theory, we should have a Veterans Day assembly, but in practice, November is a busy month

and it is hard to orchestrate. Mr. Miller said that the decision of having Yom Hazikaron assemblies and not Veterans Day assemblies "shouldn't be interpreted that we have more allegiance to Israel than America; we had a big election day assembly at the end of October which showed our American patriotism."

While we didn't have a Veterans Day assembly, Ms. Benel shared that we had packages going out to American soldiers who are currently fighting. Ms. Benel commented on the having of a Yom Hazikaron assembly and not a Veterans Day assembly by saying, "We should care about all our fighting men and women. We cannot really compare the two days; they are two separate events."

Many students were upset about Ramaz's failure to pay tribute to United States veterans. Matthew Gross

'14 shared that, "American veterans should equally be acknowledged with Israeli veterans, and as a Jewish school in America, we should not mark one of these days and not the other." Margo Oshry '13 also said "We live in the United States so there is no excuse not to commemorate American holidays." As a school in New York, some students and faculty found it upsetting that we didn't recognize our own country's holiday for our veterans.

Mr. Deutsch, who served in the US army, shared how he felt about the lack of the Veterans Day assembly: "On one level, I'm not that bothered--it's really not that well understood or observed

by Americans in general, and from a teaching perspective, I'm glad not to lose any more teaching time. But on another level, inculcating respect for American tradition and society is part of our school

mission, and considering all the things that the school does make time for, it does perhaps send an unfortunate message to the students." Samantha Adler '14 said, “We had a pep rally that took 40 minutes the week before Veterans Day, but we didn't have an assembly for the soldiers who risk their lives defending the country in which we live."

Mr. Deutsch also shared that one of his students complained to him that there was no 9/11 assembly, and in his opinion the lack of these two very important American assemblies is regrettable. He thinks that "There are times when, as Jews, we need to be distinct, but I also think there are times when the Modern Orthodox community needs to identify not as Jews, or even as Jewish Americans, but simply as Americans. Veterans Day would definitely be one of those times."

Students Support Alumni Serving in IDF Sydney Sarachek ’14 After eight long days of intense bombardment and 1,500 rockets fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip, Israel and Palestine reached a cease-fire. As the school davened in Ramaz for peace and security in the state of Israel during a serious national security threat, three graduates from the 2012 Ramaz class were risking their lives for the wellbeing of Israel.

While some of the members of the class of 2012 are already settled in college, others learning in yeshivas or seminaries, David Cohen, David Aharon and Gabrielle Kolhagen decided to spend their gap year in an army service program. They are volunteering as soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces and plan to spend 18 months in Israel. Going into the program, how could any one of them have predicted that a few months later, they would be experiencing what it is like to be in the army during a time of crisis.

David Cohen '12 was in the middle of his test to finish tironut, the first four months of training, when he was told to go back to his plugah (barracks) immediately to check all of his plugah's gear, and to oil and clean his gun.

Cohen and his fellow combat-

ants were informed that Israel killed the head of Hamas's military wing and their plugah was being sent to the West Bank to switch places with an elite unit called egoz. Cohen stayed in Gaza for a week until the ceasefire was reached where he mainly had to deal with stone throwing and riot-

through Facebook, Twitter, emails and messages. Adam Kahn '12 said, "I was sitting in my dorm in Jerusalem on my computer while two of my best friends [Cohen and Aharon] were preparing for a potential all-out war.

I consider them heroes for volunteering to risk their lives

ing in Arab villages. When asked if he was nervous, he responded: "I wasn't scared per se because we were ready for this and eager to do something we normally wouldn't do until we finished training."

During the week of Operation Pillar Fire, Cohen felt comforted to receive the support of his former classmates and the entire Ramaz community

for the safety and security of the State of Israel, and I'm so proud of them." Cohen responded to the admiration he received by saying, "The support I got from all my friends and classmates in Israel and back home and from everyone at Ramaz really strengthened me."

David Aharon spent the week of the operation mov-

ing around from base to base, mainly situated in Beer Sheva, but also guarding the Soem border. Sivan Aharon '14 shared that during the long eight days, her family was not really able to get in touch with David. She continued to say that "having him in the Golani Unit is very hard because it is a very dangerous unit, as they are one of the main combat units for the army. During times like the recent operation, it was very hard not knowing where he was or what he was doing because it made everything a lot scarier." Elinor Aharon '13 shared in her sister’s worry, "I love my brother to death and I am always worried about my brother’s safety. I was extremely nervous the day I found out about the conflict in Israel. I prayed for him everyday and I knew that Israel was going to pull through and David was going to be safe."

While the Aharon girls were both scared about everything that was going on and the fact

that they were unable to reach their brother, they also shared the same feeling of optimism.

Sivan Aharon added, "I always remind myself to stay positive and to keep in mind that David knows what he's doing. No matter what happens, David is doing something really amazing."

When asked about her sister, Dalia Kohlhagen ’13 said, “I was nervous because I didn’t really know what was going on and where she would be placed. But she kept reassuring me that everything was going to be okay and that she was going to be fine, so that made me feel a little better.”

Kohlagen, Cohen and Aharon are heroes in the eyes of many Ramaz students.

Aaron Cohen '12 is particularly inspired by his brother's courage. "I'm very proud of him serving Israel, I hope he stays safe and I truly admire him for volunteering for the land of Israel. I aspire to do the good things he's doing one day."

November 2012/Kislev 5773

The RamPage Profiles

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Paul Shaviv: A Profile of the New Head of School Avi Gold ’16 When asked to participate in an interview for the Rampage, new Head of School Mr. Paul Shaviv put down his Mac laptop and heartily agreed. A new face in the Ramaz offices and hallways, Mr. Shaviv is a witty, yet hardworking man.

Taking over for longtime head of School Ms. Judith Fagin, Mr. Shaviv brings with him many fresh ideas for the school.

Born and educated in the United Kingdom, Mr. Shaviv received his Bachelors and Masters Degrees in architecture from the University of Cambridge. He also received a Masters of Philosophy in Medieval and Modern Jewish Study from Oxford University. Mr. Shaviv intends to focus his talents on what he calls his “first love:” education.

Before coming to Ramaz, Mr. Shaviv worked in the U.K and Montreal. He also lived in Israel for quite a few years. More recently, for last 14 years, Mr. Shaviv has served as the head of school at Tanenbaum CHAT, “a large Jewish high school in Toron-

to, Canada.”

When asked why he had come to Ramaz, Mr. Shaviv said that he felt he “had achieved all that [he] wanted to do [at CHAT].” So, Mr. Shaviv was ready for a new challenge, being the head

scenes, as well as in more apparent areas.

Leading Ramaz into the future is not such an easy task.

One of Mr. Shaviv’s main priorities is to ensure that Ramaz runs on maximum efficiency and does not lag behind on

of the Ramaz school Mr Shaviv has said that he feels that Ramaz is very similar to CHAT. His goal in Ramaz is to continue to improve the school, both behind the

any measure. In order to do so, Mr. Saviv must institute a few changes to Ramaz that will ensure its future success.

In addition to the changes that have already been made,

Mr. Shaviv has highlighted three key items he is on route to change. Two of these changes apply directly to Ramaz students’ everyday lives, while one is broader in scale. Mr. Shaviv plans on increasing the fundraising in the school, an area that is very important to Ramaz.

Mr. Shaviv’s second key change involves the Ramaz website.

As many students know, the Ramaz website is a beautiful but also rather old in style. Mr. Shaviv plans to create a new, more efficient, website. The current school website is clearly lacking.

This change modernizes one of the most important tools of

Ramaz.

Mr. Shaviv also has his eyes on the computer itself.

Ramaz’s new head of school feels that alterative learning methods are valuable and deserve to be given the proper attention. Many other schools have adopted online learning into their curriculums, and Mr. Shaviv considers this area something that “we have to see if at any point it’s something we can use.”

Although he feels that this type of learning will not be integrated into the curriculum school-wide, Mr. Shaviv says that it is an option to be considered for seniors during their elective period. If a senior would prefer to take a rather obscure class that Ramaz does not offer, he or she would be offered the chance to take this course online. Mr. Shaviv knows that Ramaz will not employ online learning full time, but still recognizes that there may be an opportunity for online learning for the older students.

Max Teplitz: The School-Renowned Newbie Daniel Gutkind ’16 Daniel Gutkind: Where are you originally from?

Max Teplitz: Maryland. I lived in the suburbs before I moved to the city.

DG: Did you know anyone at Ramaz before you came here?

MT: I only knew a few kids from Camp Modin, but now I know a bunch more people.

DG: What do you think of Ramaz kids?

MT: They are not too shabby at all.

My favorite is a swagtastic fellow by the name of A. William Louis Rein.

DG: What do you think inspired Teplitz Mania?

MT: I think my part in the pep rally video (I starred as “The Chosen One”/The Tepdaddy) and the fluffiness of my cheeks helped. Ask Froh; he

would know.

DG: What are your nicknames?

MT: My nicknames are Tep,

TepDaddy, and Josh Frohlinger.

DG: Which clubs have you chosen to grace with your presence?

MT: Greek Mythology club. I basically just chill with Froh and Becky Shams. I also

went to Philosophy Club with Rabbi Shimmel once and had a lot of fun learning about British people who were born a long time ago. They’re so

DG: What is your favorite subject, and why?

MT: My favorite subject would probably be Gemara.

I very much like having open debates in class and Rabbi

interesting!

DG: What is your favorite movie?

MT: Top Gun. DG: Favorite Actor?

MT: Tina Fey. I just find her really funny.

DG: Favorite Band?

MT: Obviously, Aaron Kohl.

Stechler is an extremely funny guy. I love all my classes though.

DG: If you were on a deserted island and could only bring one person from Ramaz with you, who would it be?

MT: I think I would be stuck with either Alex Rein, Josh

Frohlinger, or Nathan Shams (any Nathan Shams).

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The RamPage News

November 2012/Kislev 5773

A Morning of Learning Layla Malamut ’14 On Tuesday, November 6, the junior grade gathered for the annual interdisciplinary program. The program brings together subjects students come across in General Studies and Judaic Studies classes, and seeks to illustrate the inherant and undeniable connection between the two areas. Rabbi Sklarin, the director of the interdisciplinary programs, said, “I like when things are interesting. I organize this program with the aim to teach students about things they don’t necessarily learn about in the classroom.”

The topic of the program was “We the People: Understanding the relationship between United States Law and Judaism.” Before the program even began, Dan Korff-Korn ’14 relayed his expectations: “I already pretty much know all of the basic history of the US. Either this program is go-

Alex Ratzker ’14 The annual school pep rally took place following classes on the afternoon of November 9. Organized by the GO, the pep rally was an effort to boost school spirit and encourage students to support Ramaz’s many teams.

Noam Tobin-Hess ’14 said, “On the day of the pep rally, I wore a yellow shirt and blue pants in order to show my dedication to the school. It was nice to see so many students dressed in their teams’ apparel or simply wearing Ramaz’s colors.”

The pep rally began with Jeremy David ’15 leading the school in the singing of the American and Israeli National Anthems. “I actually got the

ing to preach things I already knew before, give me some new insight, or simply bore me until I can no longer sit still.”

The first speaker, Professor Samuel J. Rascoff, spoke about his opinions on law and Election Day. Prof. Rascoff is known as one of the most accomplished Ramaz alumna, a graduate of Harvard, Oxford, and Yale Law School; Rascoff now teaches at NYU Law School. During his speech, he critically emphasized his very “promiscuous” message – that we are some of the most privileged people in the world, and it is our responsibility to take full advantage of it for the greater benefit of society.

Many students responded positively to his message. Cyril Putzer ’14 noted, “It’s always nice when someone comes in to bring a bit of reality to our life at Ramaz. A lot of people

talking about ‘When Religion Makes You Feel Like an Outsider,’ his natural charisma and interaction with the students shone through, and the students responded positively by actually participating and answering questions. Jeremy Wilson ’14 stated that: “He was very interesting to listen to, both because he made amusing jokes, and because his ideas were presented in a way we could all fully grasp.

I could directly relate with his views on religion in American society, as even I can sometimes feel like an outsider during the Christmas holidays, or sometimes might cause others to feel like outsiders during Jewish holidays.” Students commented on the opportunity the assembly provided.

“We have school for almost nine hours every day, five days a week” said Zach Klein ’14. “I think we deserved an

opportunity to learn in a more relaxing, but equally beneficial way.” Melissa Kaplan ‘14 voiced a stronger opinion on the assembly in general: “I think the school should have more programs like these, not just for each grade separately, but even during school-wide assemblies or Friday davenings. Instead of being completely separated from the speaker, zoning out and thinking about what class you have next – an interactive presentation or lecture that engages the audience would reach out even to that kid snoozing off in the back.”

Get Pumped: Pep Rally Fires up School chills listening to Jeremy sing,” said Dani Lefkowitz ’14.

Mr. Elisha and the percussion ensemble then took the stage for a performance. Percussion ensemble president, Cory Shoshany ’14 remarked, “Getting up before the entire school was an exhilarating experience. However, the best part was simply watching Mr. Elisha as he led our group.

His passion and movement on stage entertained those of us on stage as well as the audience members.”

Many students were in agreement that their favorite part of the pep rally was the GO video, featuring a battle of the school’s teams. “I

laughed really hard during the ‘Gangnam Style’ scene,” said Eytan Abergel ’15.

Following the video, GO treasurer, Jake Rimberg ’13 headed to the stage to call up the captains of Ramaz’s athletic teams. Rimberg got great reviews from the student body. Hannah Rico ’16 said that Jake “was a great MC because he seemed to be motivating all of the students.”

Leora Katzman ’14 stated, “I think that the pep rally was very inclusive of the entire school and that everyone was genuinely excited for the upcoming seasons.” However, Dan Korff-Korn ’14 disagreed, saying, “While I think it’s important to generate

support for Ramaz’s athletic teams, some of my friends and I felt excluded since the student body spent a lot of time applauding the captains and we [the entire student body] do not participate in the school’s sports life.”

“I thought that this year’s pep rally was a lot better than last year’s because of the level of organization and the degree to which the crowd seemed to be engaged,” said Ariella Schochet ’14. Layla Malamut ’14 continued, “The fact that it was shorter and we didn’t just sit there and watch a student-teacher basketball game as in previous years also contributed to its success.”

Girls’ varsity basketball

captain, Nina Leibowitz ’13 said, “Props to GO Vice President James Goldberg ’13 on the music selection.

When Skrillex’s ‘Bangarang’ came on, I started to get really pumped for my game that night. I think that creating that type of enthusiasm was the reason for having the pep rally in the first place.”

Newcomer and star of the video, Max ‘Tepdaddy’ Teplitz ’16 summed up the entire scene saying, “The pep rally was great. It seemed like everyone was getting real funky.”

and gave everything they had to see it fulfilled.

Shoshana Edelman '14, a cast member, agreed with Ms. Goldberg that it was necessary to push the show off in order to ensure a better performance. Edelman shared that the cast "underestimated

how much time it would take

very stressed and pressed for time."

It was therefore in the cast's best interest to postpone the performance.

needs to work with Ms. Golberg in scheduling a more realistic time because shows take a lot longer to produce than a month and a half."

Isabelle Dicker '13, a veteran in her fourth Ramaz musical, agrees with Edelman and said, "The date gets changed pretty much every year, at one point the school hopefully will know to just set the original date for later."

Look out for a review of the play in the next issue.

Play Delayed

Sydney Sarachek ’14 This semester's musical is "A Chorus Line," an extremely complex show with a lot of singing and several large dancing scores. Caroll Goldberg, director of the theatre, explained that in order to do the show justice, the cast felt they needed to make up the lost time and the school agreed to postpone the fall musical until December 5th.

The fall musical is being performed in memory of its writer, Marvin Hamlisch. The show is essentially one large, once-in-a-lifetime audition in which Broadway dancers tell their personal stories.

This is a show for everybody who has ever had a dream

don’t realize it, but we are at the top percentile of society.”

Matthew Gross ’14 pointed out a different reaction to the lecture, “I didn’t really get his message so much. He said ‘promiscuous’ so many times I almost forgot what the point he was even trying to make was.”

After the grade broke up into a variety of sessions, each on a different topic, everyone regrouped to hear Professor Michael Helfand, a graduate of Yeshiva University, Yale Law School, and a current professor at Pepperdine University. “This is the third year we have brought Professor Helfand to speak in the interdisciplinary program,” said Rabbi Sklarin. “He is extremely engaging, always asking the audience insightful questions relevant to life, and ending on an important message.” As Prof. Helfand began

to go through every part of the show, and they were getting

Often in recent years the show has been delayed. Edelman said, “The administration

November 2012/Kislev 5773

Freshman Shabbaton in Stamford Daniel Alexander ’16 On the Shabbat of November 9th and 10th, the freshmen of Ramaz had their Shabbaton. The first stop of the Shabbaton was to the Food Pantry of Lower Fairfield.

Then, the freshman class proceeded to the Twin Rinks for some ice skating. After that it was off to the Stamford Plaza for Shabbat. Over the course of Shabbat, the freshmen participated in many activities such as playing games, learning in group sessions, and singing songs.

In the food pantry, the freshmen put stamps and addresses on envelopes with letters to people in need.

Akiva Gold ’16 said, "I enjoyed the food pantry activity a lot because it not only added a personal touch to the Shabbaton, (that we were taking time out to help people) but it added a sense of reality to the efforts being made by regular people to try to help people in need." The freshmen were also asked to bring food packages to be given to these needy people. While perhaps some did not enjoy this task, others, such as Gold, thought it was a very rewarding experience.

Those who were tired of standing in place at the food pantry were most happy to move around when the freshmen got to the skating rink.

Quickly putting on their ice skates, the freshmen were soon zooming around the rink.

When the underclassmen first got to the hotel, they set their bags down then went to eat some school snacks. After showering, getting ready for Shabbos, and davening Ma’ariv, the freshmen went to a “wedding to Shabbas.”

After the wedding, the freshmen attended dinner, followed by singing and games, such as “Who is the pair of twins who know each other the best?”. Oren Oppenheim ’16 said, “The games were really fun." Oppenheim and the rest of his class were then split up into groups for a learning session.

The Shabbaton, according to many, was a success. Freshman Rebecca Feder ’16 and Elizabeth Ritz ’16 thought the Shabbaton was successful on a social level. "We enjoyed bonding together. We had a lot of fun."

Feder said. Ritz added “The rooms were cool.”

Freshman Max Teplitz ’16 talked about the spiritual aspect of the Shabbaton, saying “I felt more comfortable davening in the presence of Chasidim. I felt it really added to our experience.”

Teplitz was referring to the Chasidim that davened with the freshman class over Shabbat. The freshman Shabbaton was a hit, on both social and religious levels.

The RamPage News

Page 5

Students and Teachers Opposing Political Opinions Daniel Gutkind ’16 The presidential election polarized the country, pitting state against state, neighbor against neighbor, and brother against brother.

No stone was left unturned as the candidates debated topic after topic until finally, after a campaign that split the nation, Barack Obama was reelected to another term in the White House. Yet here at the Ramaz Upper School, it was most

of Shams but added, “Many Ramaz students have formed their political opinions based on how their parents vote, or what their parents believe.”

Concurring with these statements, Mr. Rapp, a liberal who voted for Obama, said that the students in Ramaz are “Generally conservative; this is not surprising due to the Orthodox communities most of them come from and the

ers tend towards the right.”

However, given that politics generally come up more often in the general studies classes than those of Jewish studies, it would make sense that most students would only be aware of the political leanings of their general studies teachers.

Mr. Rapp commented that in the same way that he was not surprised that the students in the school favor conservatism, so too it was expected that the teachers would be more liberal.

One teacher even an-

often the teachers and students who exemplified this partisan divide with their political disagreements (conducted, of course, in a respectful manner). In two admittedly unscientific polls the Ramaz Political Society conducted of the students, the RomneyObama vote was was a landslide, with roughly 70% for the Republican challenger and the remaining 30% “voting” for the President. When asked his thoughts on the disparity, Nathan Joseph Shams ’16, a Republican himself, commented, “The general consensus among the student body seems to be a Republican one.

Ramaz students are very politically active and devoted to their cause.” Dan Korff-Korn ‘14, a Democrat with the leanings of a fiscal conservative, agreed with the conclusions

fact that the Upper East Side, where many of them live, is a ‘red enclave.’”

On the other side of the political spectrum lie many of the teachers. Among most of the people spoken to, the majority of the teachers were considered to have a rather liberal ideology, with the liberal arts departments considered especially so. When asked about what he thought of the teachers’ political views, Danny Alexander ’16 remarked that he “noticed that the teachers in this school are for the most part liberal.” This was a view shared by Mr. Deutsch, who describes himself as “lefty, but not terribly dogmatic” and wrote in an email that he thinks “General Studies teachers tend towards the left, and the Jewish studies teach-

swered his own rhetorical question of why the teachers are more liberal with “because they’ve learned more!”

Despite the partisan fights that often break out in his class, Mr. Deutsch summed up the benefits of this contrast between the different parts of the school best: “My students and I have some fairly heated discussions, but I think given the way that Americans demonize their political opponents, it’s good for students to be in a situation where they can see that someone can have different opinions, but still care as much about Israel and America as they do.”

The Clocks Fall Back Noah David ’14 On Sunday, November 4th, Daylight Savings Time ended, marking the beginning of Daylight Standard Time. However, for many suburbs kids such as myself, only one thought crossed my mind when the time on my phone go from 1:59 A.M. to 1 A.M; when I would wake up for school every day at half passed 6, I would be doing so in complete darkness. Also, when I got home, it would

already be pitch black outside, as opposed to the later sunsets of the summer. Commuters felt most affected by the change.

Brandon Cohen ’14 said, “Waking up and getting ready for the long day while it’s still dark outside is really tough.”

On the other hand, Natan Tauber ’14 said, “The darkness makes it easier to sleep on the bus to school, so I enjoy it.”

In this regard, while you have

to awaken while its still black outside, some appreciate the extra hour of sleep time.

Students are also bothered that it becomes dark outside while classes are still in session. This aspect is just as irking to city kids. Vanessa Shnay ’13 said, “It’s so depressing to be in school towards the end of the day, and notice that the lounges and classrooms are gradually becoming more and more

dark by the minute.” Debbie Rosenfeld ’13, a Westchester native, stated “By the time the bus drops me off at home, I’m exhausted and want to sleep because it’s dark. However the reality is, it’s early and I have work ahead of me.”

This issue relates to many people, both metropolitan and suburban, in both the morning and afternoon. Many dislike Daylight Standard Time, yet the hard part to come to terms

with is that there’s no solution to it. On the other hand, some are fond of the concept of waking up and returning home in pure darkness. Either way, luckily for the majority of the suburban kids, in a few short months we will “spring ahead” and have Daylight Savings Time once again, allowing us see the sun during the week.

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The RamPage Storm Watch

November 2012/Kislev 5773

Ramaz Braves the Storm Alex Ratzker ’14 and Kelly Sterman ’15 When news of Hurricane “The administration Sandy spread across the New thought that the students York area, Mayor Bloomwould be better off having berg closed public schools school than sitting at home anticipation of the storm. The listening to more catastrophic Ramaz administration anstories about Sandy. We wantnounced that Ramaz would ed everyone to be together reopen when public schools during a time of extreme did. School was closed from duress,” said Mr. Miller. He October 29-31, but when explained that he was aware Mayor Bloomberg announced of the “larger commuter poputhat public schools would be lation” and contacted the bus closed for a fourth consecucompanies, who believed that tive day, Ramaz decided to they would be able to transresume sessions. When the port students to school. “We decision arrived at 3 PM on also knew that some students Wednesday, contrary to the would not be able to come original statement that Ramaz into the city and we urged would reopen along with New them to stay home rather York Public Schools, students than risk a difficult commute. were outraged. Subway takers Students who could not make south of 39th street stressed it to school on that Thursday about how they would get to should not have been held school due to the closure of responsible for work that they most trains, while Manhattan missed and if some were, they natives whined for a late start. should come and speak to Elliot Beretz ’15 commented me,” he said.

“It was a little bit unfair to Despite the administramake people like me who had tion’s intentions, the reopenno power and would have an ing of Ramaz became quite even longer commute come a controversial topic and to school.” Will Fried’15 said, sparked a heated Facebook “The decision was inconsider- discussion amongst the stuate to commuting students. dent body. Reuben Hedaya Dangerous conditions such ’14 posted, “I live in the city as roads blocked by trees and and I don’t even have a way non-functioning traffic lights to get to school because the impeded commuters from be- trains are down and there is ing able to make it.” Students so much traffic, so I can’t helplessly wondered how they even imagine how difficult it could retaliate, some jokingly will be for the commuters.” declaring a ditch day while Rachel Kastner ’14 continued, others suggested an Occupy “If we have school, the teach78th Street Movement. ers definitely can’t give any

Zimi Sloyer ’14 On Sunday, November 18, 12 Ramaz students loaded a bus and headed to Long Beach to volunteer for NECHAMA, a nonprofit organization that provides a Jewish response to disasters nationwide. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, NECHAMA set up relief work sites throughout New York and New Jersey.

When they arrived in Long Beach, the students were welcomed by Starbuck, the project manager. He told them that this day would be just as much about listening to people’s stories than it would be about clearing out houses.

Students split up and performed various tasks throughout the day. The tasks included shoveling sand, sweeping sand, moving debris, and taking everything with water damage out of people’s homes.

The volunteers who were working inside the house had to wear masks and gloves.

work: kids are going home to DARK houses without water!”

When GO president Nina Rohr ’13 saw the reactions from the student body online, she decided to personally get in touch with Mr. Miller. “I contacted Mr. Miller because I thought that he should be aware of the students’ concerns and the impact that this decision had on them,” Rohr said. “I asked him if there was anything he would like me to do and he called me back and told me to let everyone know not to worry because Thursday would not be a normal day of classes.”

Consequently, the GO posted the following message on Facebook on the night of October 31: “We’ve spoken with the administration and they assured us that no one will be responsible for material missed tomorrow. No one should sacrifice inconvenience or of course safety to make it in. The rationale for opening school tomorrow is so everyone can come together and enjoy each other’s company after being home for three days. The administration understands what everyone is experiencing right now and therefore tomorrow won’t be a “regular” school day. We really encourage those who can make it to come and enjoy the day together.”

“As per the GO’s message,

on Thursday I came to school and most of my teachers didn’t continue with the regular curriculum,” said Rachel Aboodi ’15. However, others thought that promises were not fulfilled. “Contrary to what the GO said, I had a full day of classes and learning.

This was really unfair to those who were unable to make it to school because they now have to learn the material that was taught on Thursday,” said Dani Wilner ’14.

Many commuters were stuck home because of power outages, lack of transportation, fallen trees, and closed highways. Those who came to school had long and difficult commutes. Students’ trips to school were doubled in length, and some students even were forced to return home en route. Many confronted the GO with questions about the regular day of classes on Thursday. Speaking on behalf of the GO, Rohr said, “We really expected that there wouldn’t be any classes.

We realize that students rely on the GO for information and the fact that our post was viewed by some as being inaccurate.” Mr. Miller explained that there was a lack of communication that disrupted in a misunderstanding. “In addition to the crisis produced by the Hurricane, the Ramaz email and phone lines were down; most of the

communication was on cell phones, but even that was limited. Everyone meant well, but it was a time of difficulty, I myself was in the middle of evacuating a flooded area and communication between the GO, the administration, and the teachers suffered,” Mr. Miller explained.

“Thursday was meant to be a ‘glad to see everyone day’ more than it was a ‘chill day’,” Remarked Mr. Shaviv.

“I do not regret reopening school.”

On Thursday afternoon Mr. Miller made an announcement to the Upper School that the following day, November 2, would be an optional service day during which students could come in to do chessed for victims of Hurricane Sandy. Mr. Miller stated, “We realized on Thursday that the decision to reopen school led to a lot of resentment amongst the students because of stress and anxiety. At that point, the following day was made optional—devoted to chessed for victims of Hurricane Sandy. We also decided to cancel all tests from Monday through Wednesday of the following week because some students were still displaced or without essential services, and we wanted to accommodate their needs.”

Hope After the Hurricane They carried big items out to the curb and filled garbage bags with every little thing from the house. Rachel Kastner ’14 was one of the few students who spent the entire day working in the house. “It was really hard physical labor

and it was really disgusting inside,” Kastner said. “But at the same time I had to realize that it was someone’s home.

It was really tough to go through all their personal stuff and just throw it away. I kept asking if they might want to keep something, but everything had to be thrown out. It was all ruined.”

While some students were working in the house, others volunteered shoveling sand out of driveways. One driveway had about three feet of sand, and working together, the volunteers were able to clear the entire thing.

Another driveway had five feet of sand, and it was blocking the door to the basement. The old man who lived in the house came out to talk to the students. He told them how he needed a path to the door so an electrician could get in there and turn on his heat – which he still did not have. He talked to the students for a while. It was obvious to many that he was still very shaken from the storm. Noah Marlowe ’14 said, “ The man was so appreciative. He was baffled

that teens would spend their Sunday helping him even though he was a complete stranger.”

All of the people whom the students helped were so appreciative of the work. Many of them had been working on their homes for the past three weeks, and they still needed all the help they could get.

Throughout the day, residents were coming out of their houses and offering the volunteers coffee. Some drove by and offered to go buy the group food. “They were so nice to us!” Dani Wilner ’14 said. “It was clear that they appreciated us, and it was great to feel like we were making a difference.”

One man even invited the volunteers into his home to show them pictures from the storm. He showed them pictures of the huge sand dune that got washed away, the tides getting higher, the streets filling with water, and then all the damage that came after.

Elisheva Blas 14’ said, “ It was so powerful to see how much progress the residents had made since the storm.

Even though the town was in really bad shape when we got there, it was much worse in the pictures from three weeks earlier.”

The relief work was a physically exhausting and an emotionally draining experience for the volunteers, but it was also very rewarding. As sad as it was for the volunteers to see the devastation in Long Beach, it was also refreshing for them to see the hope in the people who have been working so hard to rebuild.

“At the end of the day we all felt so accomplished,” Talia Menche ’14 said. “Even though it felt like we were doing so much, we really were only able to work on a few homes. It was a really fulfilling day, but there is still so much to be done.”

November 2012/Kislev 5773

The RamPage Storm Watch

Page 7

Hope After the Hurricane

Ariella Schochet ’14 Hurricane Sandy affected all of us, whether it was loss of power for suburbs kids or simply a ruined test schedule for Upper East Siders. I, and some others Ramaz students, were less fortunate. My experience with the hurricane lasted quite a while and was a bit scary. I was removed from the drama a bit, but that didn’t make it any easier. I think some of the other displaced refugees can relate to my story.

On Sunday, October 28th, I attended the Open House, and as most students I was excited when they announced that school would be closed the following day. There was an important test scheduled for Wednesday and I realized the extra study day would be useful. Also, who doesn’t love a day off? A friend gave me a call, insisting that I stay the night at her house in Englewood, instead of going home to the Five Towns. She gave compelling reasons too: her house never loses power, I would be bored alone, and we could study. I convinced my parents to let me go, with a warning from my dad that I may be stuck there a few

Sandy and Me days. Of course I did not take him seriously.

We enjoyed the rest of Sunday and Monday. As it started raining, I thought the hurricane was overrated. But then at around 11 PM Monday night I got a call from my mom. My family was being evacuated from our house and taken to a shelter. It was all suddenly real. Hurricane Sandy was not a joke. It was affecting people very seriously, not just by taking power for a day. I had trouble sleeping that night, worrying about my siblings back home.

I called and asked my mom what was going on. My parents had sent the kids to sleep in the basement, thinking the biggest danger would be fallen trees. But then suddenly water started rushing into the basement and was rising fast.

My entire block turned into a river in a matter of minutes.

The National Guard came to evacuate the block. They were all sent to the firehouse, which was a makeshift shelter at the time.

Now, while all this was going on, I was curled up on the couch in my wonderful friend’s basement, with the

lights on, watching a movie.

As she promised, we never lost power. The biggest inconvenience we suffered was the loss of the internet for a day.

We enjoyed a trip to the mall, which was the entire state of New Jersey using one outlet and a myriad of extension cords to charge their phones.

It was a very comfortable and relaxing vacation. If you saw us, you would never know that there had been a hurricane.

I stayed in Englewood until school resumed again.

That had always been the plan from the start. But now there was another issue of where I would go. I couldn’t go home because the power was out, my basement was flooded, and there was no heating.

There was also a sinkhole on the side of the house and we were worried about the foundation. My family had left the shelter and was staying by friends for the night until they could get gas to drive to relatives in New Jersey. So on Thursday I went to school with about half the student body. I did some more house shuffling that weekend, staying by an old friend in Man-

hattan while my family stayed with a family whose house had a generator.

I finally met up with them again after an entire week apart. I joined them at my uncle’s house for a few days, but soon realized that the commute and craziness of our refugee life was hurting my schoolwork. I returned to the city for the remainder of the week so as not to fall behind.

My parents were very busy; all week they were calling inspectors and insurance agents, ordering heaters and washing machines. My younger siblings only attended two days of school that week. This wasn’t such a big issue since HALB lost its building to Sandy as well.

Two weeks after Sandy hit, I am still not home. We tried to go back on Sunday, November 11th, but the fuse blew and the house still smelled too bad. Thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as it first appeared, but it is still taking time. We should be back in our house two and a half weeks after Hurricane Sandy swept through, though there will still be a lot to accomplish before our house is back

to normal. However, as I write this, we are still displaced.

I was removed a bit from what my family went through.

I can’t possibly imagine the trauma my five year old brother has gone through. He was asleep in the basement when the water started pouring in. My five year old angel was carried during the night

by National Guardsmen in scuba gear into a humvee and sent to a shelter, where he returned to sleep in a Red Cross blanket. How can I really say this is what happened to me?

What I am experiencing is similar to many other students in our school. “I don’t have power or heat; I don’t want to go home.” But we have to remember that we, even my family, were only minorly damaged by Hurricane Sandy. It did so much worse.

I’m sure most people have seen Mordechai Ben David’s Seagate video. Thank God we still have our homes and our relatives. Hopefully the recovery from the storm will speed up, and stop at three weeks later, so everyone can return home.

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Rachel Kahtan ’13 Friday, November 10, brought joy and happiness to the little boys and girls of 78th Street. Throughout September and October, we await the first Winter Friday dismissal; come spring, we mourn the loss of the shortest day of Ramaz’s schedule rotation. However, that Friday, our first Winter Friday of the year, brought with it a reminder of an issue that frequented the pages of Rampages past: cookies.

Upperclassmen might remember the anarchy that ensued every Friday during homeroom after the cookies were wheeled into the lounges, alongside little cups of frozen juice. Of course, the powers that be were displeased by the perceived lack of menschlikiet, and they put a stop the free-for-all, cookieinduced brawls. No amount

The RamPage Opinions

November 2012/Kislev 5773

No Dash for Cookies of Friday morning speeches could placate the majority of the student body, indignant at losing their cookies. A compromise was made; the mid-morning snack would, thenceforth, be distributed to individual classrooms in order to avoid the chaos that accompanies the mix of sugarhungry teenagers. This was the method of cookie distribution on the day of November the tenth.

When, in a very calm and orderly fashion, the cookies arrived at our classroom door, not one person made a move toward the brown paper bag.

We all knew there were cookies in the room, but no one particularly seemed to care.

The apathy displayed was a complete reversal of last year’s attitude. Why did we stop caring about the cookies?

Clearly, the fact that cook-

ies are cookies, and cookies are good, wasn’t the cause of the mayhem of the Winter Friday Homerooms of yore.

It’s not like the cookies themselves changed since those days – so taste preference can’t be the cause of their lackluster reception.

Without pretending I have some sort of depth, wisdom, and insight into the human condition – which I clearly don’t – I’d like to put forward two theories as to why no one raced toward the cookies that day.

The first explanation I can think of is based on a principle of perceived exclusivity; if others want something, we are led to believe that it is worth wanting. We then end up wanting whatever that thing is more strongly than we would have without that influence. When we see

everyone racing to the cookies in the lounge, fighting over the platter and grabbing handfuls, we want the cookies just as much as others seem to want them. The desire is driven by competition. When there is no battle, and everyone gets equal cookie access, the pastries must face reality; they are no longer the fantasy snack that drives students to physical blows in order to assert their cookie-gathering superiority. The Friday morning cookies become, quite simply, just cookies, momentary pleasures gone in a few quick bites.

The other reason I came up with was simpler: when people grab cookies, the cookies are then gone. We feel the need to rush to the cookies because we know they hold a

particularly untenable position – food of any sort, especially that of the sweet variety, tends to have a short life when around teenagers. Students know they won’t be able to get cookies later, so they feel anxious, and run to the lounges to grab them quickly.

When the risk of cookie disappearance itself disappears, the anxiety level goes down, and students no longer attack each other in their quest for a sugar rush.

Whatever the reason, the nature of Ramaz’s Friday cookie tradition has undergone a major change over the past year. What used to be a mad dash for cookies is now a calm indifference. Is this change for the better, or for the worse?

Calm Down, Already!

Esti Flamenbaum ’14 With the presidential election, this school year has been especially political. Both before and after Election Day, many students were quite vocal about their political opinions. I know this, because I was one of them.

It’s great to have so many high school students politically active. Soon we will be voting, and it is important for us to be informed. However, while there are some Ramaz students who are well informed about the issues, a good deal of the Ramaz student population isn’t.

“Many Ramaz students,” Dan Korff-Korn ’14 said, “have latched on to their parents' political views, failing to devise their own opinions.

I also feel that many Ramaz students limit their support of either political party about how that party feels and seeks to handle Israel.”

While true, this is a troubling assessment. We are close to being adults; we need to learn how to form our own opinions, and how to tell the difference between fact and fiction. I have spoken with a variety of students about politics, running the gamut from “I don’t care”, to extremely knowledgeable, to “Obama is a Muslim socialist and was born in Kenya.”

It is quite sad that so many students are not only misinformed, but also intolerant of others’ opinions. “Opinions should not be scorned,” said Maya Locker ’15, “but discussed in a civilized man-

ner. In my opinion, making generalizations about people who believe certain things is very immature.”

She is not the only student to feel this way. “I feel that Ramaz students who are overwhelmingly Republicans often do not wish to hear what their liberal peers have to say, especially about Israel,” continued Korff-Korn.

This is a large problem.

No matter what your political beliefs are, you should have the ability to listen to what your peers have to say. We are high school students, not toddlers! We should have enough self-awareness to know that we are not always right, and enough self-control to let others explain their opinions.

Now that the elections are over, it is likely that the political arguments in school will die down. For next time, however, or if the debates continue, we as a student body should keep several things in mind: one, listen to each other! We don’t know everything, even if we think we do. Two, don’t be mean or derisive to others for their political beliefs. We are all entitled to an opinion. Lastly, learn to separate fact from fiction. It is one thing to have a loud debate over one policy or another, but that is only tolerable when actual facts are being used. Hopefully, we can learn from this election season. It just won’t do for us to go out into the world as ignorant citizens.

Double Standard Skyler Levine ’15 I just don’t get it. If you have a keen interest in joining as many academic extra curricular activities as you can, the school says: “kol hakavod.” There are no rules preventing a student from joining competitive academic clubs including Mock Trial, Debate, Model Congress, and Model UN -- all in the same season. Yet if you are an avid athlete or at the very least have a great desire to join as many sports teams as you can, our school says, “no.”

Ramaz students cannot be on more than one sports team per season. Each student is allowed to be on one winter sports team and on one spring sports team. How can this be, and what is the school’s motivation?

One of the explanations I’ve been given for why students can’t participate on more than one sports team per semester is that the school wants to give everybody a chance to be included in a team. I get it. In the spirit of

Yeshiva Day School education, I even support this concept. Students who may not be the best all-around athlete but love playing sports should be able to have the opportunity to join a team; kudos to Ramaz for encouraging this.

The same rules, however, should apply to academic teams as well. It is not fair for an eager academic to occupy a spot on Mock Trial, Debate, Model Congress, and Model UN when a less talented student is denied the right to participate in all four of these clubs.

Another reason I have heard explaining the rule that restricts each student to one sports team per season is that participating in multiple sports at the same time of year may create conflicts in one’s schedule. I hear that, and yet, it is still not satisfying. A school like Ramaz with an X, Y, A, B, C, and D schedule, four tracked levels of Science, Math, Foreign Language, Gemara, Tanach, and Hebrew,

and separate sex gym classes can’t find a way to coordinate the schedule so that one can participate on both the volleyball and basketball teams?

The Yeshiva League even has a commissioner that we could work with! You still can be on four academic clubs, and no one interferes and says that this cannot be coordinated.

Again, what’s the difference?

The world at large generally favors athletes. College super athletes are able to cut corners in the classroom as long as they can score touchdowns or put the ball in the hoop. Here at Ramaz it is the reverse. Students of different athletic abilities can play sports but unless you are a top tier intellect, you are not going to make the academic club cut. Many students arrive in High School eager to participate on a challenging academic team but are unable as only a select group is admitted to all. Equality is needed for academic and sports team admission policies alike.

November 2012/Kislev 5773

The RamPage Arts

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#Hashtagging: A Trend Gone Too Far? Noah David ’14 It is hard to look at social media in the past few years and not notice a monumental change that has gradually occurred. There has been an exponential increase in the daily use of the “hashtag.”

Whether you decide to call it a number-sign, pound symbol, or octothorpe (for those avid Snapple drinkers,) the hashtag is a tool whose main purpose is to sum up a brief, or sometimes not so brief, thought or opinion. Some people feel that the trend, first used on Twitter and then on Facebook and Instagram, has gone too far. In fact, many have even started using the actual word in everyday speech. For example, students are often heard in the halls saying things along the lines of: “That test was so hard! Hashtag hard, hashtag I probably failed.” People have mixed opinions regarding the trend which has changed social media.

It isn’t surprising that people who are not in tune with social media, and others

Author Visit Esti Flamenbaum ’14 On Monday, November 19, author Leora Tanenbaum ’87 came to speak to students after school in the library.

Ms. Tanenbaum, spoke about her book Bad Shoes and the Women Who Love Them.

Her book is a quick, easy read on shoes that cause permanent damage to one’s feet, and the history of these “bad shoes.”

The author, who has a son currently attending Ramaz Middle School, has published three other books, which can be found in the school library.

Her previous books cover topics such as American women in religion and harmful gender stereotypes.

Both Ms. Scudera and Mrs. Weisman attended the event, as well as Dr. Honig and this reporter. Other students were in the library during the event, but most students asked to join said they were busy, pleading sports games and homework, among other things.

who simply dislike hearing the word spoken and overused, are against the drastic transformation of the hashtag.

David Tahari ’14, who doesn’t have an Instagram or a Twitter, was confused by the concept of hashtagging. He said “These hashtag things came out of nowhere, and I saw it for the first time on Facebook.

I still don’t know why they’re used, when they’re used, or how they’re used.” As someone who can’t stand the word itself, Zoe Katz ’13 said, “If I hear another freshman say the word ‘hashtag,’ I don’t even know what I’m going to do.”

Brian Agus ’15 offered an alternative negative approach against the hashtag: “People who overuse the hashtag are doing so as a sad trick to get likes on their posts and pictures,” he said. Agus is referring to when people hashtag popular words, which when searched, lead people to that specific picture. For example, if someone took a picture of their backyard, they could

Skyler Levine ’15 Taken 2 is the sequel to the 2008 action thriller Taken. In Taken, Brian Mills, played by Liam Neeson, saves his daughter after she is kidnapped by Albanian sex traffickers. Taken 2 occurs a few years later when Murad Krasniqi, played by Rade Serbedzija, the father of one of the sex traffickers that Brian killed, seeks revenge for the death of his son. He plans this revenge as he hears that Brian is taking his daughter, Kim, and his ex-wife, Lenore, to Istanbul on vacation. The plot of Taken 2 is very similar to the original; however, in Taken 2 both Brian and his wife are being held.

Generally, sequels do not measure up to original films.

However, while elements of the film were predictable, Taken 2 contained a feeling of fiery revenge that the first movie did not have. Despite lacking a surprise factor, Taken 2 was still very compelling and suspenseful. While there were a lot of shooting scenes throughout the movie, it ended with an intense GrecoRoman wrestling scene which was a breath of fresh air.

Even though Liam Neeson is getting older, he is still energetic and thrilling to watch.

He did a wonderful job in this movie and I feel that he took a marginal plot and made it better with his acting expertise.

Brian’s daughter, Kim, played

hashtag the obvious “grass” and “tree.” People who don’t follow them could then search these keywords, and they would get to see the picture and like it.

On the other hand, many have signed on to this trend, and appreciate where the word has gone and what it has come to mean. It is now almost the norm to check Instagram, and have one or more hashtags under every single photo. Some have even taken this obsession to a whole new level, copying and pasting a long list of hashtags sometimes exceeding thirty, which in response leads to receiving many “random likes.” Examples of these mass tags are “instagood” or “picoftheday,” which are some of the most frequently searched terms.

Samantha Bryk ’14 said, “I hashtag all the time in order to appeal to my 500K Twitter followers and stay with the times.” Albert Nissim ’14 held a similar view, “Hashtagging is an easy and effective

way for getting the point across, but mass hashtagging is definitely bringing Instagram to a bad place.”

Some people have even used hashtagging as a way to express funny thoughts and not to get likes. Samuel Strauss ’13 and Joshua Frohlinger ’13 utilized hashtags on their Hurricane Sandy photomemoir on Instagram. After every picture, they hashtagged “#hurricanesandy,” followed by “#imeanyousandraperl,” humorously referring to junior Sandra Perl. James Weiss ’14 said, “If I’m going to take my time to make a long hashtag, it’s going to make people laugh. I’m not in it just to see a certain amount of likes or re-tweets.” A funny hashtag is something that even those uninvolved with social media can understand and relate to.

What used to be a simple way for archiving the same places, things, and ideas, is now more and more headed in the direction of saying

whatever one wants and placing a number-sign before it.

Furthermore, a split has also started to form between those who hashtag frequently and those who don’t. Those who fall into the second category may not be considered to be “legitimate” or “good” social media contributors anymore.

There are strong opinions on both sides of the spectrum regarding whether or not hashtags have overstayed their welcome in social media. One thing that cannot be argued, however, is that the hashtag has made an important name for itself, and is currently a big part of socializing through technology. Still, a big question remains as to whether the hashtag will remain and become a permanent thing, or if it will just be another short-lived fad. From what can be seen, the trend is becoming more common by the day, which may indicate that hashtagging is only getting started. #Iamdonewritingnow.

Taken by Taken 2

by Maggie Grace, had a much expanded role in this movie and was captivating and an integral part of saving her father and mother. As Brian killed almost all of the thugs in this Albanian group, there is a lot of revenge yet to come and could form a third Taken movie.

The RamPage Editorial Staff Editors-in-Chief Jon Herman Jeremy Hoffman Rachel Huebner Associate Editor Darien Kauvar ONLINE Editor Raffi Snow Copy Editor Nina Rohr News Editor Jonathan Koptyev

Opinions Editor Rachel Kahtan Arts Editor Celia Eydeland Photography Editors Sarah Myers Gil Refael Faculty Advisor Dr. Steven Milowitz

Page 10

The RamPage Arts

November 2012/Kislev 5773

The End of a Saga Layla Malamut ’13 At the conclusion of a franchise, vampire- and wolflovers alike came together for the fifth and final installment of the Twilight Saga film series, Breaking Dawn Part 2.

Indeed, the final movie ended with a bang and some serious plot twisting and audience thrilling moments. Although many, including me, may have found various parts to be cliché, it was a generally fun movie to watch and an appropriate ending to the vampire saga.

The movie picks up where the previous one left off – right when Bella Cullen (Kristen Stewart) opens her eyes, now blood-red as a vampire’s.

After being brought back from the near-death experience of childbirth by Edward (Robert Pattinson), Bella be-

gins her new life as a vampire and mother to her daughter, Renesmee, who is growing at an accelerated rate. Jacob (Taylor Lautner) reveals to Bella that he has imprinted on Renesmee.

Later on, when Jacob, finds out that Renesmee is to be separated from him, he runs to Charlie to try and explain the vampire and wolf phenomenon so that the Cullens won’t have to leave.

Jacob begins taking most of his clothing off in order to show Charlie his ability to transform into a wolf, at which point, of course, the entire theater audience whistled and clapped in amusement.

Trouble soon arises when Irina, a member of the Denali

coven, mistakenly reports to the Volturi that Renesmee is an immortal child, who has been bitten and transformed

into a vampire. The Volturi set out to battle and destroy the Cullens for breaking vampire law. To prove Renesmee is not an immortal child, the Cullens

Argo: Favorite for Best Picture?

Alex Ratzker ’14 Directed by Ben Affleck, the film Argo is based on the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis during which fifty-two Americans were held captive for a total of 444 days. The movie focuses on the six embassy staffers who manage to flee the American consulate in Teheran as Islamic students and militants take over the diplomatic office during the course of the Iranian Revolution.

For three months, Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor, played by actor Victor Garber, and his wife hide this group of Americans in their home.

During this time, Iranian militants search countless homes looking for them and killing anyone suspected of harboring the fugitives. The CIA realizes that although they are safe now, the Americans will most likely be found and publicly executed.

Top CIA exfiltration expert, Tony Mendez, played by director Affleck, comes up with an outrageous idea that he hopes will get the Americans out of Iran and on a plane to safety.

Mendez will pose as a fake Hollywood producer looking to shoot a sci-fi movie called Argo in Iran. The six Americans will have to pretend to be members of his film crew in order to get across the border.

In an effort to make Argo look like a legitimate film, Mendez receives assistance from Hollywood makeup artist John Chambers, played

by John Goodman, and film producer Lester Seigel, played

by Alan Arkin. They host casting calls, create posters, and invite the media to a production launch for a movie that simply does not exist.

The last third of the movie is when the suspense really builds as Mendez flies

to Teheran and meets the six American embassy workers, whose lives he is responsible for. He initially has difficulty convincing them to agree to his plan because it seems outlandish, but since the situation is grave and this is “the best bad plan” the CIA could come up with, they ultimately decide to move forward with it.

After Mendez has been in Iran for two days, he receives a call from CIA boss, Jack O’Donnell, played by Bryan

Cranston, that the White House has decided to terminate his mission because it is simply too dangerous and the risks are too high. Realizing that this might be the only chance these Americans have at survival, Mendez ignores O’Donnell’s message and rushes the fugitives to the airport the next morning.

They are nearly stopped by revolutionaries as they board the plane, but in the end, the Americans are smuggled out of the country.

Affleck’s performance in the movie was absolutely incredible and with his combination of cynicism and humor, Arkin played the perfect producer. Some film critics have gone so far as to say that Argo is now the frontrunner for Oscar nominations.

The Argo operation remained top secret until President Clinton declassified it in 1997. This publicized an important event in American history, since it was a joint CIACanadian initiative to get the six fugitive diplomats out of Iran. Recognizing this, Zach Greenblatt ’14 said, “I asked my history teacher, Dr. Stone if I could write my research paper on the Iranian Hostage Crisis, but he told me that too many kids had already requested this topic after seeing Argo.”

gather foreign vampire clans to stand as their witnesses to the Volturi. With their vampire allies and the Quileute wolf pack, the Cullens confront the Volturi, who soon discover that they have been misinformed

by Irina. However, they remain undecided on whether Renesmee should be viewed as a threat to vampires' secret existence or not. Alice and Jasper show up in time to present their "proof" that Renesmee poses no danger, but Aro is determined to destroy the Cullens. A massive battle is initiated between the Cullens and the Volturi, during which numerous beloved characters are killed. To the audience’s complete and utter

bafflement, the scene is then brought back to the moment when Alice "shows" Aro her proof, revealing that the entire battle scene was just a vision of the predicted future. It was both a moment of confusion and relief – everyone was, of course, waiting for the expected happy ending.

The movie concludes with Bella and Edward in the meadow. Bella removes her shield to give Edward access to her thoughts for the first time, and they profess their eternal love for each other.

Indeed, the audience does get their happy ending. The balance between the love story and vampire fiction allowed for an enjoyable experience and a movie worth seeing.

No Easy Day Reviewed

Yale Buchwald ’15 No Easy Day, by Mark Owen, is the story and firsthand account of the raid by members of Navy Seal Team Six to kill Osama bin Laden in May 2011. The author, who goes by the pseudonym “Mark Owen” to protect his security, is a former Navy Seal and was on the mission that killed Osama bin Laden.

Mark Owen not only describes the raid that killed bin Laden in full detail, but also illustrates the extreme and intense training one has to do to become a member of Seal Team Six, one of the most elite unit of soldiers in the United States Armed Forces.

The book also displays the drastic measures our soldiers go through to protect the safety of our country, something one can appreciate even more after reading this book.

The first portion of the book describes the extraordinary amount of preparation Owen had to go through to become a member of Seal Team Six. Once chosen to be a member of the elite team, Owen, along with other candidates, has to go through a nine-month process of training known as Green Team.

The training in Green Team was extremely physically and mentally taxing. This training is not only meant to build individuals into being very combative, it’s also meant to prepare the individuals into becoming a team that consists of undivided brotherhood.

The book continues to go into detail of how Owen and the other Seals prepared for the raid on Osama bin Laden.

Owen additionally describes the raid and his experience on it in a very precise way, and also talks about the raid’s aftermath.

There are distinct differences between No Easy Day and the many other books about Navy Seals. The first difference is that No Easy Day describes the killing of Osama bin Laden, one of the most sought out and dangerous terrorists ever. This raid is a very important part of American history, and most of the other books about Navy Seals do not talk about an event as crucial to our country’s history as No Easy Day does.

Another distinction is that Mark Owen briefly expresses his political views and even criticizes President Obama for taking credit for the raid on bin Laden, something that the authors of the other Navy Seal books tend to not do.

No Easy Day is an excellent book that really lets the reader look into the lives’ of soldiers that sacrifice so much for our country’s safety. It also describes one of the most important and famous missions in our country’s history.

No Easy Day is an exciting, detailed, and insightful book and a highly recommended read.

November 2012/Kislev 5773

Priority Status: Who Determines Practice Schedules Sydney Saracheck ’14 Every Sunday morning, Duvi Wildes '13, along with the rest of the boys’ varsity hockey team, wakes up at 8 A.M. so he can make it in time for practice at 9 A.M. Jamie Cappell '14, however, has never had this problem.

The boys’ varsity basketball team practices after school, and occasionally early on Friday mornings before school. Mr. Dulny controls the scheduling of practices for all of the sports teams.

Mr. Dulny shared, "The teams with the most games have the most practices," and given the boys’ varsity basketball team has the most games, it seems fair that they get practice timing preferences. Also, Mr. Dulny suggested that his teams get practice preference time because he is at school all day, five days a week, and unless the boys or girls have a big game, he should not have to come in to school on Sundays.

The boys’ varsity basketball team practices twice a week, a total of three hours a week. Hockey practices once a week on Sundays from 9-12, thus both teams have equal durations of weekly practice.

Daniel Schub '14, a varsity hockey player, says he feels it is unfair that "Varsity basketball practices more than once during the week but there's no time for varsity hockey except to make us come in on weekends." The boys’ varsity basketball team has the biggest crowds at games compared to any other school sports team, and many students find them the most important to the school. Nathalie Kahn '13 says, "The basketball team is definitely seen as the most competitive in the school, and it is the team with the most people attending their games."

Given this rationalization, it doesn't seem unreasonable that Mr. Dulny gives them a good practice slot, even though this is not Mr. Dulny's reasoning. If the students want their most important team to beat Frisch and other competitive yeshiva league teams, then they need to put in a lot of effort, and it is fair that they have a favorable practice slot. Dan Korff-Korn, '12 says, "The varsity boys are always shooting around in the gym during lunch and free periods, so it's not like they just bank on their practice time, it

makes sense that they have a good time because they really do work very hard during their season."

However, besides the varsity boys’ hockey team, there are other teams that are upset with the practice scheduling.

Girls JV and varsity basketball have from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM on Tuesday nights to split for their practices. Last year, girls’ volleyball had from 5 PM to 6:45 P.M. on Tuesdays. This year however, girls’ junior varsity basketball took their spot, which they split, and now they have from 6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. to share. The girls’ volleyball team spends Tuesday nights late in the gym, which is especially difficult for commuters, who don't get home until very late. "I live in Queens and at 8:30 at night it is very dangerous to take the subway home, so my mom has to come all the way to the city to pick me up and I don't get home until after 9," shares Samantha Bryk '12. Bryk ‘12, along with other commuters from Englewood and Westchester are very upset about their practice time being switched.

Bryk ‘12 added, "I love volleyball, and I understand that being on a sports team means that you have to stay late for practices, but finishing at 8:30 P.M. weekly is very late, especially considering our much earlier practice time last year."

The RamPage Sports

Page 11

New School, New City, New Sports

Raena Hordish ’13

Coming back to live in NY after 10 years was extremely nerve-wracking and overbearing. I was afraid of starting a new school with new people in my senior year, a year in high school when one is actually supposed to be most comfortable socially. However, I was still anxious to start.

As I got more familiar with the school, though, I realized how it compared to the other schools I attended. Whether I was in a small city in Florida, or in an even smaller one in Texas, the daily life and sports culture in both places were drastically different than that which I am experiencing now, in the big city of New York, at Ramaz.

Growing up as the only girl amongst four brothers, I was naturally interested in sports. Basketball, football, and baseball were the sports with which I grew up. With nonstop weekends of playing, I got used to the idea of having sports as a huge part of my life. I enjoyed sports for as long as I can remember, whether I was playing on the court or field, going to a game, or just watching from the couch.

My first experience of being a part of a team started at Beren Academy in Houston, Texas.

Houston is a fairly small community with an interesting involvement in sports. I joined the girl’s basketball team in seventh grade and stayed until I left in freshman year. Being a part of a team and a part of a school was something that was always important to me.

School spirit was a huge part of Beren and the fact that I was able to participate in it by playing for the school was an amazing experience. Houston was the first time I saw sports as an interest and, with the tournaments and exciting programs, I was able to branch out and be connected to sports.

When my family moved to Boca, I started out in a ye-

shiva and I felt it just wasn’t the right place for me. If you have been in a private school your whole life, like I had been, you wouldn’t be able to imagine what it would be like going to a public school.

Well, this is exactly how I felt. I really had no idea what to expect. I knew it would be difficult, like any other new school, and I knew there would be a huge difference.

And there certainly was. I was always the type of person to branch out and join clubs, sports, and be a part of the school in some way; however, I distanced myself from all those things in public school because I was afraid. The school was so big. Imagine thousands of kids who do not know who you are, and teachers who don’t acknowledge your existence. I was simply lost in a crowd of so many people.

However, after some time, I realized public school wasn’t as scary as I thought.

I enjoyed being able to pick classes that were not offered in Yeshiva, and found a real talent in Art class, something I never knew I had, or enjoyed. I also made some good friends, and I definitely did not mind finishing my day at 2:30 in the afternoon.

Surprisingly, I found myself not involved with the sports teams there. The public school I went to offered many sports teams that someone might not see at a private school and my friends thought it was silly of me not to take that advantage. However, I found that my interest in sports was

more about staying at home with my family than involving myself with the sports life in school. Because of the huge and overbearing involvement the school had with sports, I drifted away from sports and found other interests. Someone might think that a school so involved with sports would be a great thing. This was not the case because the public school environment was completely different, making me lose my connection to sports. One of my teachers always used to say, “From every experience comes a new interest,” and that is something that happened to me. From deciding to attend public school and distancing myself from sports, I began to enjoy a variety of other activities that I never would have thought interested me, like art or music.

And now, here I am, feeling very lucky to have joined Ramaz for my last year of high school.

I feel like everything I ever wanted is here: nice kids, caring faculty, interesting classes, New York City and all that is out there on the streets of the city to enjoy.

Last, but not least, Ramaz has a vibrant sports atmosphere that I could dive into once again and feel a part of. Being a part of this year’s first pep rally and the first home game of the season wasn’t just exciting, but also an experience that I hadn’t had for so many years. Also, playing a role the varsity girls’ basketball team allows me to have that lost connection from sports while still balancing everything else. Back on the court, being a part of a team, in a great school in New York City, I am eager to make the best of my last year of high school at Ramaz.

Page 12

The RamPage Sports

Frisch Cougers Overtake Boys Varsity Basketball Team in Thriller

Raena Hordish ’13

On Saturday night, November 3, the boys’ varsity basketball team took on the Frisch Cougars in their home opener. The team was cheered on by students, teachers, parents, and faculty alike.

The gym was packed; the area behind the basket was standing room only.

One factor contributing to the sizeable crowd was the presence of the entire freshman grade, which attended the game as the night activity of their Shabbaton. Eager to be a part of the school spirit, Arik Rosenstein ’16 was thrilled to be a part of the experience. “Yes, I think having fans at the game to cheer them on made them want to play harder; it was great how much [the school] got us involved with the game,” he said.

“Even though we were required to attend, I think that everyone wanted to be there,” Rosenstein added. The energy and excitement the fans brought enhanced the hustle and drive that Ramaz had during the game. “The fans were great.

We love playing before our great home crowd,” said Coach Dulny.

The event also served as

a GO fundraiser for Hurricane Sandy relief. The GO held a raffle and sold Ramaz garments to raise money, and they managed to raise over two-hundred dollars.

The prize, New York Knicks tickets, was won by Joe Rodriguez.

At the end of the first quarter, Ramaz was up by nearly 15 points. However, as the cause of careless shooting, Fris ch caught up and took the lead going into halftime.

Intensity rose as the game came to a tight close, tied

48-48 with a 1:18 left. The game ended in a crushing defeat after Frisch knocked down a baseline jumper with less than 20 seconds on the clock to take the lead, 51-50.

“We should have had a little more patience at the end,” said Coach Dulny, “we have to play better defense, and

have to have much better shot selection.”

With a record of 4-1, the Rams have worked their hardest to defeat each opposing team. When asked about the loss of their first home game, Captain Josh Frohlinger said, “It was tough because of our lead in the first quarter, but it made us think about how much we have to tighten up on defense and to stop forcing bad shots.” The team is optimistic though. “We got a strong team with a lot of strong juniors. Ben Charles and Hamo are playing great, and now we got our shooter, Jamie Cappel back from an injury, who we didn’t have in the beginning so we will only improve Andrew Bergman ’13 from here,” Frohlinger continued. The season is just beginning and the excitement will only continue to build. Even though the Rams lost their first home game, they acknowledge their mistakes and only hope to defeat opposing teams in the future.

November 2012/Kislev 5773

Captain Charles Coaches Varsity Basketball Game

Alex Ratzker ’14 On November 6, the boys’ varsity basketball team played a game against Kushner High School. Because of the damage created by Hurricane Sandy and the fact that it was Election Day, there was a lot of traffic that night. As a result, the team’s coach, Mr. Dulny, was unable to make it to the game on time. He called Captain Ben Charles ’13 in order to tell him that he would have to step in as coach and to let him know which players should start, but Mr. Dulny left the rest of the decision-making up to Charles.

Charles said, “It was easy for me to sacrifice my playing time for the purpose of coaching because I know that if Mr. Dulny needs me to do something, I have to do it.

Basketball is a team game and no player can be thinking only about himself. As for the actual coaching, it went pretty well and we got the win, but when you have so much talent on a single team, it’s difficult

to get everyone in the game.”

Natan Tauber ’14 said, “By the time Mr. Dulny and the assistant coach [Zach Berg ’05] arrived at the game, it was nearly over. Berg walked in first at the end of the third quarter and Mr. Dulny entered the gym shortly after, in the middle of the fourth. So for the majority of the game, Ben took it upon himself to act like a captain and really step up in the clutch.” “He coached us to a big victory, in which we defeated Kushner 42 to 25,” continued Justin Haber ’14.

“This was my first time playing in a game since I recovered from an injury and I thought Ben did a really good job coaching,” said Jamie Cappel ’14. “We weren’t playing a great team so he was able to make a lot of substitutions and really give everyone some playing time.”

Speaking about the game, Mr. Dulny remarked, “Ben did a better job that night than I have ever done in my life.”

What’s in a Name Andrew Lobel ’15 At the first practice of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team, Coach Herb Brooks asked his players who they played for. All the guys answered with the name of their college teams. Brooks, however, would not even let them near the ice until each came back with the answer “Team USA.” For Brooks, the key to success was unifying individual players into one cohesive team. The only name that mattered was the Team name on the front of their jerseys.

Ramaz athletes may never play in the Olympics, but they face a similar philosophic issue. In an effort to foster team spirit, should the Ramaz team jersey just have the Ramaz name and player number on it? Or, like all professional sports leagues (with the exception of Major League

Baseball), should individual player names appear on the backs of jerseys? Those who play or follow Ramaz sports have probably noticed that each team handles the question differently. The Varsity Hockey team and both JV and Varsity Basketball teams (girls and boys) wear jerseys with just player numbers on them, but no names. Players on JV hockey do have their surnames on their jerseys.

Why the difference?

The idea behind having just the player’s number on the team jersey is to stress the team approach with less focus on the individual. Proponents of this practice believe that athletes who wear nameless jerseys are psychologically geared to play for their team and not just themselves.

Coach Dulny absolutely agrees with this approach and

Ramaz basketball teams have never had individual names on their jerseys. According to Dulny, “I never wanted them.

I want a team to be proud of what’s on the front of their uniform, the school they represent. My teams play better when they are playing for the school.” In fact, Coach Dulny is “trying to move all the teams in that direction with no names on any uniforms.”

Jack Tauber ’15 plays JV basketball and agrees with the practice: “I think not having names on our jerseys displays Ramaz’s class. We play as team and not having names shows we are a unit, not individuals.” Varsity basketball player Josh Frohlinger ‘13 pointed out, “Even if we had names on our backs, we still would get called for fouls by our number. Anyway, we don’t play for ourselves we

play for a team.” At this point in Ramaz history, basketball team jerseys without names are a well-worn tradition!

But putting names on jerseys is part of American sports and Ramaz JV hockey culture. After all, if a player earns a spot on the team then he or she has earned the right to be recognized. And it is certainly easier for spectators to identify players and cheer them on if their names on their uniforms. Jamie Lassner, Coach of boys’ JV Hockey understands that just having the team name on a jersey “represents a uniting message.” But Coach Lassner pointed out that as a coach, having player names on the jerseys “makes it easier to call out instructions to an individual player in a timely fashion, especially when with hockey helmets it is hard to differenti-

ate between players.” And, a personalized team jersey “is a great souvenir to give to one’s own kids when they get older.” For Coach Lassner, the bottom line is “having or not having one’s name on the back of the uniform should not affect the play of an individual who in turns bring pride to the school that the logo on front represents.”

Cameron Villinsky ’15, a JV hockey player has no problems with the JV custom. As he said, “It is good for the crowd to be able to identify you and the jersey is a great memory of the team.”

When it comes to clothing, Ramaz students are known to take their choices seriously.

Ramaz athletes and coaches are definitely following suit!