Volume XXVI Number 2
The Ramez Upper School
Scptember1993/Elul 5753- Tishrei 5754
Gaza-Jericho Peace at Last?
Structures of two religions exist side by side, can their adherents?
Musical Chairs, Sort of
Structural changes lead to new teachers' offices
by Danldlt Druck The summer is a time to make new friends, learn new things. see new places. but mostlmportantly it is a time to grow and expand. The edifice of Ramaz did that too. Despite a lack of space and in order to implementa new programs and accom modate a growing number of students, the building un derwent renovations over the summer. The changes were discussed for the first time last November. and took about nine months to plan and institute.
Students who venture up to the art room will most probably do double-takes when they enter because a new Leaming Center has been built in the back. The Leaming Center has a new director this year. Mrs. Judy Fagin. Under her direction, the Learning Center will now offer a "deeper pro gram" which requires more space and better facilities than what was offered in the previous location on SC. The art room has been redesigned to accommodate this new Leaming Center.
There is an entrance to the Center through Ms. Rosen's office, but other than that there is no overlapping space between the two facilities. The art history class will now be held in a nearby classroom. Ms. Rosen acknowledges that "space was lost in the whole process" and that "it won't be as easy, but it had to be done." She is happy though. that "at least the art Room got new storage cabinets." (contin•,d on pagt 4)
by Ben L,bwohl The news of the Israeli government's agreement with Palestinian repre sentatives to allow inde pendent Palestinian rule in Gaza and Jericho sent shockwaves across the globe, and forced people to realize that the doctrine of "Land for Peace" is becom ing a reality. The quickly developing news has raised a broad spectrum of emo tions in American Jews: Hope and aspirations for peace, as well as anxiety and anger over the cessions. The process sped up towards the end of the sum mer, when Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres met secretly with an official from the PLO to discuss the "Gaza-Jericho First Plan." The plan allows Palestinian self-rule in those two regions within six months, and as the peace process continues, Israel will proceed to grant Palestinian autonomy in other parts of the West Bank. Coinciding with the initial Israeli con cessions, the PLO and the Israeli government will recognize each other's right
to exist, a definite step towards peace between the two groups. The PLO, in r�cognizing Israel, will have to change its charter which calls for the complete destruction of the state of Is rael. A Palestinian council will rule Gaza and Jericho for an interim period of five years, and Israel will determine the status of the territories after this period. As a token of peace towards Syria, the Js rae Ii government, after Secretary of State Warren Christopher's visit to both countries, stated that it is willing to give up a sig nificant part of the Golan. The particulars of Israel's
recent statements arc being
ironed out and made formal at the present round of talks held in Washington. The news happened so fast that it was overwhelm ing for many people, who have trouble deciding how they feel about the whole situation. In Ramaz alone, one can see the many dif ferent opinions slowly sur facing. Rabbi Bakst (contin•,d on pagt 3)
Big Blue Transforms School into Ad Studio ov1e
School Chosen for "Post-Modern" Look by Rtb<c:a Zau.smtr Last Wednesday, Septem ber 8, Ramaz was host to one of America's largest cor porations, IBM. The third floor of the Upper School was transformed from an "educational center" to a mini Hollywood. Class rooms were replaced by sets and instead of junior high students, the halls were bus tling with actors, photog raphers and wardrobe crew members. Ramaz was used to shoot a commercial that is part of a newsmagazine advertising campaign for Thinkpad, an IBM notebook personal computer with "new and
surprising capabilities." The advertisement shows Thinkpad being used in several different situations. The scene photographed at Ramaz was intended to portray a business meeting where the Thinkpad is used as part of a presentation to a large group. Location manager Paul Zulkowitz explained why the commercial was shot at Ramaz. He said he was looking for a classroom to shoot the meeting scene and chose Ramaz because it had a "post-modem look." He discovered Ramaz through the American Institute of Ar-
chitecture Guide, which describes the architectural styles of buildings in New York City. Mr. Zulkawitz said that he enjoyed working at Ramaz because "all the people were delightful and the building as well was very beautiful to the eye." The advertisement was designed by Lintas Adver tising and photographed by Albert Watson. It will run in Fortune magazine and USA Today later this month. With orientation not yet begun, the building was vir tually deserted. This enabled the crew to com mandeer the entire third
floor. Room 30I was used as a "lunch room," 302 served as a wardrobe room, and the actual "shoot" was done in rooms 303-304. There were approximately 40 people involved in the production of the commer cial, and the crew welcomed visitors. Many of the faculty and staff stopped by 303 to talk to the models or the crew. One teacher com mented on his way out that he hoped the commercial was successful because he owned stock in IBM.
Pagel
September 1993/ Elul 5753-Tishrei 5754
TheRamPage
OPINION
Editorial
This Land is My Land ...
The ultimate goal of the current negotiations is lasting peace and stability in the region, but the Gaza-Jericho plan cannot work. Jericho was the first city conquered by Joshua and it is rightfully part of our heritage. The Arab population there today is not part of those original tribes, for they arc no longer in existence. Gaza histori cally cannot be considered ours. It was not part of the mandated territory, nor was it part of the land belonging to twelve tribes. It was inhabited by the Philistines. However, there arc very serious security questions re lated to Gaza. If Gaza and Jericho arc given up, how are they going to be administered? Maybe they should be connected with a road going right through the center of Jerusalem. Rabin was wrong for linking Gaza to Jericho because there is no way to safely allow them to be governed as one autonomous uniL It is useless making concessions to the PLO for very real security reasons. The PLO is not the wealthy or ganization it once was, and it certainly does not have the power it held back in October, 1974 when the Arab League recognized the PLO as the government of the Palestinians in Palestine. In mid-August, The Jerusalem fl!st, ran a front-page article detailing the financial troubles of the PLO. Funds that the PLO were accus tomed to receiving were no longer to be had; it lost those allocations from the other Arab countries when it sided with Iraq during the Gulf War. An oil glut has also weakened the Arab economies, so the PLO has been affected by budget cuts. The fllll stated that the PLO ''soldiers'' Ii ving in Judea and Samaria, as well as in Gaza, have not been paid in over six months. A number of their foreign bases have also been closed. The PLO is losing popularity among the Palestinians. According to a recent BBC report, 45% of the Pales tinians support Hamas. Among the teenagers, the next generation of leaders, the support is even higher. A member of Hamas said that if the PLO signed anything with Israel, even a recognition treaty, the guns that are now pointed at Israel and at "collaborators'' will also be pointed towards the PLO. lo the long run, the land that is given up to the PLO will ultimately be controlled by Hamas, leaving Israel with no way to enter Gaza or Jericho to stop any terrorist attacks before they occur. Therefore, giving up these two areas will ultimately lead to even more bloodshed. Retaining Gaza and Jericho will enable Israel to be more secure against terrorism than if they give it up, albeit Indirectly, to Barnas, which will stop at nothing lo bring about the destruction of the State of Israel.
Can you spot the •cap-type· Tee? Don't worry, your administrators couldn't either.
Column:
The Language Gap by Ariel Adesnlk
Glancing at lhe newest issue of Preludes, one finds a number of changes in lhe dress code designed to bring it into line with lhe prin ciples of tzniut, halachah, and clarity. No longer are "jeans of any color" prohibited, only bluejeans. No longer do female stu• dents have to wear socks. Collar depths and skirt lengths arc defined in con crete terms. However, pants must be "neat and present able," not exactly an objec tive standard. Needless lo say, the difference between Hanes and Gap T-Shirts will probably not draw much at tention from any faculty or adminisirators, who probab ly cannot tell the difference, anyway. However, most of the minor surgery per formed on the dress code has nolhing to do wilh any of lhc code's driving principles. It is doubtful that rabbis who wore sandals would have had much to say about bare ankled female students (ex cept possibly that females should not be studying Not all lfUmlxn of 1/,e editorial board 111ne wiJh the pnsenJed halachah in the first-place.) opl1riot1 Most of lhe changes arc fluc tuations in Ramaz's obser vance of lhc stricter prep school dress codes, a sland ard often mentioned in � Rabbi Goldmintz's and Mr. Dani Bead • All6Kw Jakabo-tb Miller's speeches, yet ab sent from Preludes. U>fi"ORJAL EDITORS
Why. after discussions about principles that in cluded everyone from parents to principais. has nothing changed in relation to lhose principles? Probab ly because principles were not really the reason for the discussions. The changes made mostly had to do wi1h rules that were only en forced after lhc school hired a lhird administrator. After an entire year of seeing at least 30 underclassmen a day wearing jeans despite numerous war nings, the .. no-rivets" rule was dtopped because it was not feasible and, of course, be cause mostly invisible bits of bronze on boys pants do not have anylhing to do wilh halachah or tzniut and do not make them any less present able. Similar logic was most probably applied to lhc issue of socks. One issue lhat probably should have been dealt with is the issue of tzitzit As al ways, the first rule in the dress code is the mandatory wearing of tzitzit for boys at all times. Of all rules, it is leniently enforced, yet it is the most closely related to halachah. Not once last year was I personally asked if I were wearing them. Not a single person was sent home or forced to change because they were not wearing tzit zit, and lhere was definitely
no lack of dress code infrac tions concerning tzitzit. If anything, this is an issue lhat is pertinent to the education Ramaz intends to give its students. By ignoring the issue, lhc adminisiration is debasing the same code of ethics it intends to promote. The clarification and en forcement of the neckline and skirtlcngth regulations, one of the few relevant chan ges in lhe new dress code, docs not bring the code into line with the principles, cilher. Is the problem that female students wear halachically inappropriate clothing in school, or that female students purchase such clothing and feel a need to wear it? If Ramaz op poses such behavior why does it do nothing to change those students' allitudes? Obviously, if it doesn't op pose such behavior that would be hypocritical. The more that necklines arc raised in school, the more they will plunge at parties. If all Ramaz can do is repress behavior, than they arc simply babysitting, not educating. Even the usual typo graphical errors were left in the code. No one has yet figured out how to wear a turtleneck sweater on top of a dtess shirt with a tradition al collar.
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Ramshackles
September 1993 / Elul 5753- T lshrel 5754
TheRamPagc
OPINION/ NEWS Column:
Peace Talks and the PLO
by Yonl Slonlm killed nine soldiers recemly. The peace talks are finally How would Israel's future getting down to business. differ from its past in regard After numerous meetings to bloodshed and te ars? and conferences, something Netanyahu's reasoning just is actually coming out on the leads to stagnation, as if positive side. To some, we things would fix themselves. have finally started down the Of course the process won't right road. To others, this is be simple, and there will be the beginning of the end, and many problems to be they will try vehemently to worked out, some quickly stop it. I wish to address the and some not so quickly. latter group. What is it ex However, at least this is a Rabin and Arafat are sitting down together at the act!y that you are opposed step in the right direction. If to? Benjamin Netanyahu, people oppose talking to the peace talks. Is this for the best? the Likud leader, said "there PLO, then to whom do they is one asset that you must not suppose we talk? The next trade in, and that is the group would be the militant homeland itself." Let me Hamas which is by far a pose a question: What is it worse choice. that you suppose would hap All that most Israelis want pen if Israel continued down is a chance to lead normal the path that Netanya!iu sug lives and not to live under gests? More people would the constant threat of attack. (<ontinw,d from pag, I) be killed as a result of at The way to think about it is remarked, "I fully rely on because there is no mitzvah tacks like the ambush that the wisdom of the Israeli of conquering the land in lumn: g overnment, which is a that case. "'The question is, coalition of various political is it real peace [now]? I parties whose ultimate goal think it isn'L" is 10 expedite the process of Few students who were bringing peace. l know full question ei<pressed concern Israeli newspapers teach lesson we\\ that there arc reserva- over a possible security risk. by DMlel BtMI tions on the left and right. Junior Aaron Tugendhaft in a tm"Orist attack in the I waJlced into the Super- north. I picked up The commented, "Israel, in al ol on Keren HaYisod street Jerusalem Post, the only lowing autonomy in these thing territories, uone Jerusalem. I was sup- English paper, and scanned is not endanger 10 meet an old friend for details. The story told of that is certain ing itself. Ir relieves streSS f mine from camp. I each boy's life as well as his on the Israeli army, and it is that Israel gives the Palestinians a ntcred the small vestibule commander's. It explained as we know it chance to prove their ability tween the iMer and outer how a remote control bomb to manage themselves as a oors in order to escape the was used to kill them and will be dif- self-functioning nation to lazing heat. The Israeli how the Israeli air force aily newspapers were retaliated in a bombing raid. the world. Because of the ferent... " strong American presence in pread out on shelves. I As I walked down King ied the cover of Ma'ariv George Street in Jerusalem I Each has its own criticisms, these proceedings, Israel's d I noticed that there were could truly sense the somber and, as such, I have my own neighbors will not try to pull f�ling in the dry Jerusalem apprehensions. But on the any tricks." tried to air. No matter how much I could see people whole, as one who personal U e S S hOW the crouched around their radios !)' saw the establishment of speculation there is regard to Kol Yisrael for the state, and who followed ing the mid-east peace York listening the latest on the Israeli with pain the endless wars, I process, no one will know WO U Id retaliation. People canceled am delighted to see these how safe or effective a plan serious steps taken towards is until it is executed. One !es and lowered flags, s in- part over thi for m such a small country thing that is cenain is that peace." everyone seems to know ident. One aspect that disturbs Israel as we know ii will be someone who knows a rela many about giving up ter different; topographically, pictures of soldiers on live or a friend of one of the ritory is the Biblical claim the term "Israel" will not in that the Jewish people have clude Jericho and Gaza. But he cover. I checked Yidiyot boys who was lc.illed. That chronot and the same afternoon my friend and I on the land. "Jericho was more importantly, Jews in the first city that Joshua cap Israel and Jews thousands of hotos were printed. These tried to guess how The New ictures were also on the YorkTimcs would cover this tured and I don't know if we miles away from Israel all ver of Ha'aretz. and 'The incident. Would it make should give that up," ex realize that their repre sentatives, right or wrong, erusalem Post. As I looked front page? Maybe, but just plained Shalom Holtz. loser and s t udied the the lower comer. Would Halachically speaking, are giving away something ebrew headlines, I under- there be a picture? Maybe, according to Rabbi Weiser, of theirs in the hopes of for real peace it would be achieving that which all fac ood that these wen: photos but just a small ooe. What (.soldiers who were killed would the spin be? Probabacceptable to give up Jericho tions want: peace.
Ramaz Community Responds to 'Gaza-Jericho first'
not that Israel is sacrificing by giving up land, because it is not a sacrifice. "If a mother buys food for her hungry child, rather than a hat for herself, it is not a sacrifice; she values the child more than the hat (Ayn Rand)" So 100, should Israel value peace more than the land it would trade. This is because Israel is not giving up land. If it was, it would get nothing in return. Therefore the crux of the matter is what the land is really worth not only now but in the long run for the future of the people of Israel. Both Israel and the Pales tinian faction have the op ponunity now to achieve a lasting peace. Both they and the United States should not let it slip away.
Eye on The Media
·
ly, something like "lsrae Retaliates for Alleged Thr roris t A t t ack." W h e American Jews picked The New Yodt Times Iha day, and noticed that the ar ticle about the attack was the third page and i on the Israeli retaliation, di it bother their collective co science? Or, did they feel that this was just more proo for their side of the give back\hold onto land argu ment? ("See what happens when y o u d o n't make peace." or "How can you deal with these animals.") But that's not the point. point is not that this iru:iden should be used by American Jews to say "I told you so! We can't sit here and wa through the fishbowl of Atlantic Ocean and just The New Yor.lc Tunes chalk up points for our per sonal beliefs. In Israel people from the right and left of the political spec mourn together; they don' use tragedy to mark ano point on their p olitical scorecards.
TheRamPage
Page4
September 1993 / Elul S7S3- Tlshrel S754
NEWS/ FEATURES
Building Bonanza Relocates Faculty (continuedfrom page I I
Another adjustment in the building has been the re-dis tribution of offices due to the arrival of Ms. Gribetz. The new Headmistress will now occupy the office on the fifth floor that was previously held by four department chairmen. The "Chairpersons' " Study," which is now being oc cupied by four chairpersons and one ·•senior teacher" has moved 10 SC, where the learning center was last year. The Students Activities Center (SAC) has also un dc rg one some changes recently, adding to the whole musical chairs-like atmos phere of the school. Mr Rochlin has been moved from the outer room of the SAC to the inner office pre vious t y h e l d by Rabbi Weiser and Mr. Gross. Mr. Rochlin is happy to have a "real" office with a door that closes. "Although my door has always been open to stu dents," h e explains, "a closed door offers more privacy and less interup tions." The middle room of the SAc will serve as as a G.O. center and as a con ference room for group meetings. As in the past, the outer room will serve as Ms. Goldberg's office, but also as the new Arts Center and as a Student Activity Com puter Center. Mr. Rochlin emphasized that the com puters are for student ac tivities, not games. Ms.
Benel will retain her office, and the Weiser-Gross duo will move to the fourth floor office previously occupied by Rabbi Rubin and Mrs. Barak, whose office is in the Chairpersons• Study. Cabinets were installed in the back of the Computer Room last year, and the renovation process con tinued over the summer when the front of the room was also outlined with new furniture. According to Mr. Miller, the "technology was also upgraded with up - lo date equipment and new software." Other cosmetic changes arc not all as noticeable as a new room being built on seven. Dr. Shudofsky tells of how the windows were repaired, two thirds of the building was painted, and the marble in the lobby was sealed because of"how dirty and oily it got from students constantly touching it." He explains that "although it cost the school money, it saves money in the future on cleaning and repairs." In the auditorium, the stage has been completely re-outlined with flats and backdrop cur tains, and the floor was sanded. The front of the building was cleaned 10 preserve it from "corrosion due 10 air pollution." Ac cording 10 Dr. Shudofsky, if one of the pieces on the out side got ruined, "it would be impossible lo replace ii without redoing the entire
Art room was In shambles as It underwent construction to add the learning center. outside surface of the build ing, because the pieces fit together like a hand in a glove." Although all of these repairs and additions seem unusually large steps to take over one summer, Dr. Shudofsky says that the work done this year was no greater than in the past, be cause the complete main tenance of the building is an "ongoing process." He stresses that the building must accommodate the needs of students, faculty a n d special programs. Though some feet that all of the office switching is con fusing, most agree that the structu ral and cosmetic changes in the building arc for the best.
Wher� Ar.e They Now? A, Gulde tor Perplexld Students
SC (Chairpersons'Study): � Barak Rabbi Gordon Dr.Jucovy ?,1s. lt. Taub-Weiosteha Ma. R. w.-��--IMI 4th Floor Office (by 401): Mr. Gross Rabbi Weiser Back oftbeSAC:
Mr. Rochlin
Back of the Art Room:
Learning Center
5th Floor Office :
Ms. Gribetz
G.O. Update To the students, Welcome back! We hope you had a great summer. We want to take this opportunity to tell you about our plans and goals for the upcoming year. We are working on improving all aspects of student life within school. This year we wilt reorganize the G.O. comminccs so that they arc more efficient. We hope to see more student participation in the commit tees which include Tzedakah. Chcsed, Social Action, Assemblies. Sports, and Jewish Affairs. Co-op will continue to feed you during homeroom, only this year tJ1ey will offer a wider variety of food as well as other items. The tutoring will be organized more efficiently so that
everyone can rccicve the help they want. SFAC is another major concern of ours. SFAC is a vital link between the students, the faculty, and the ad ministration. We hope to improve the efficiency of SFAC by creating more focused agendas which repre sent your needs. In addition, we would like 10 open up some SFAC meeting so that you can sec the pro cedures for yourselves. Minutes will be released immediately after wards so that everyone can know exactly what was discussed. We will continue this column in � Ram Page so that you arc constantly informed of the G.O. 's doings and plans.
We will work on arranging more class trips so that classtime is a liule bit more interesting. It is important that students not only take notes during class but also learn about their subjects through experience. We are also working on obtaining student discounts in many of the stores and restaurants around us (after all, Gristedes would be noth ing without us). During the year each grade will have their own nights out to go to shows, games. and other events. There will also be many schoolwide events for bigger occasions. Of course, we will continue our Chanukah and Purim Chagigas which we hope to make belier than ever. Hopefully, these events and
many more will make life after school a liulc bit more fun. Lastly, but most importantly, we want you all 10 know that our job is 10 listen and take care of you. So please come and talk to us, or leave a message in the G.O. box which will be in the SAC, about any problems, questions, or suggestions you have at any time. We will work on whatever it is you want immedi ately. We wish you much success in the upcoming year! We remain sincerely yours, The G.O.
September 1993/Elul 5753-Tishrei 5754
Pages
TheRamPage
Features
Jurassic Park: Crichton Vs. Spielberg
The biggest movie of the summer may have lost somethin'g in the translation by Ben 1..cbwohl
No matter how swift, how evasive, and how clever people were, no one was able to escape this summer's massive dinosaur attack. Pictures of these creatures adorned toys. clothing. and food products delighting children everywhere:. Flee ing to Israel was no escape; kippahs with dinosaur draw ings were commonplace, and bookstores were flow ing with Hebrew dinosaur pop-up books. Suddenly. everyone had to reckon with the undeniable dinosaur syndrome. Parents even started to pay more allention to Barney, the purple PBS dinosaur of our imagination. The trigger of this invasion is obvio us: Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Parle." Released in late June, "Jurassic Park" quickly be- came the most popular choice at the movies, and it is still popular months later. The movie, abo\lt an amuse
ment park with genetically engineered dinosaurs who eventually overrun the place, is seen and resccn by many due to its dazzling spe cial effects in portraying the various dinosaurs. The media bli tz, involving everything from a Mc Donalds tie-in to a com memorative card set, started before the movie opened, and is following through successfully. The news of impressive Book Vs. Movie special effects, however, was not the only factor that put "Jurassic" in the papers before it opened. The movie is based on a bestseller by
Michael Crichton. and was expected to follow the plot and the message without too many changes. The book, published in 1990, is more than just an adventure story; it carries anti-science over tones throughout the plot. While the group of sur veyors tours the dinosaur isan eccentric 1 and, mathematician, Ian Mal
this book and a movie based In the weeks preceding on it. the opening of the movie, small opinion pieces ap Anti-science message peared in papers across the country explaining that the toned down While Crichton uses offensive story is not ap Malcolm's character to propriate for the substance voice his own criticism of of a family movie. Under science, the book contains standably, many people passages apart from Mal claimed that the movie colm that blatantly rebuke would give scientists a bad the mentality of today's name. However. when the
group of the imminent failure of the parlc, and he often applies his branch of mathematics to prove that man cannot create life and then attempt to control it. While endlessly trying to convince the group that Jurassic Park will fail, he would sometimes rant about the amorality of science, and how science is not fitting the world's needs at the present. He predicts a revolution in which people will realize that science can lead to evil and danger; the amusement parlc is a prime example. One can see why scientists would be upset at
tively demonizes the park's head scientist, John Ham mond. Hammond starts off seeming to be a dinosaur en thusiast excited about his project, but his persistence in opening the park despite obvious safety hazards turns him into a money - crazed madman with no sense of responsibility. At one in stance, while conferring with one of his genetic en gineers, he talks about his, and all scientists, motive: money. He truly frightens the the reader when he says, "Personally, I would never help mankind."
colm, constantly warns the
scientists.
Crichton effec
movie pfcmicred, most wor
ries went away. When Spielberg adapted the story to the screen, he dropped al most all of Crichton's bitter message. For starts, Ham mond is toned down im mensly; he never comments on his desire for money, and his enthusiasm, while some times visible, is kept in check. Hammond learns his lesson in the movie, while in the book he is adamantly foolish to the very end. Ian Malcolm, played brilliantly by Jeff Goldblum, is the force against the park, but he is not as cynical in the movie, and his remarks arc usually accentuated with humor, so his beliefs arc not
taken as seriously as in the book. Since the movie mainly concentrates on the fantastic storyline of the book. the supposed anti-scienc e theme is twisted upside down. Al one point in the movie. the paleobotanist ex plains that the park has the dinosa urs roam among po isonous plants, and another point shows how security is not tight enough. This was how Spielberg ex plains the problem with the park: the carelessness and the lack of foresight. In the book, the problem is much deeper: the attempt for humans to control life through science. the latter problem can be symbolic of the problem of science in general. The fonner prob lem, however, simply shows how sometimes scientists do not plan carefully. The movie's illustration of the park's failure is that the planners were not rational enough. The book would say that cold, rational think ing is precisely the problem with the island. Since the movie docs not delve into the idea of science being self destructive, f e w c o m plained. "Jurassic Park" the book is worth reading if one wants to experience Crichton's cynical outlook. "Jurassic Park" the movie is worth seeing if one wants t o scream at huge, s c a r y dinosaurs. Expecting a deep social comment from the movie will bring disappoint ment; see it to have fun.
Construction Continues .to Block 78th Street by David Damast
The ongoing construction project at 78th Street between Fifth and Park Avenues, which began last April on the water mains in front of school has still not been completely 'inished. The block between Madison and Park finally opened last Thursday afternoon, in time to allow freshman parents to park in front of school while waiting for tl1e busses from orientation to arrive.
According to Eli Buchin of the New York City Department of Capi tal Improvements the excavation and construction on 78th Street and Madison Avenue is for the installa tion of water main distribution lines. The work is being performed by J. P. Picone Construction Company as part of the Water Tunnel No.3 project begun by New York City in the l 970s to replace the existing an-
tiquated water tunnels, which arc over 100 years old. The construction should be completed in several months at which time traffic willreturn to 78th Street. The Water Tunnel project, which is nearing completion with the in stallation of distribution lines con necting the new tunnel with existing water mains, wns one of lhe largest public works construction projects
undertaken during the past several decades. When construction and the connection of tl1e Water Tunnel project is completed New York City will no longer have to rely upon the Ccntrnl Park reservoir as a watet source, thus freeing up thousands ol ucres for recreational uses. The new Water Tunnel was designed to pro vide for New York City's wntei needs through the next century.
a Pge6
TheRamPage
September 1993/ Elul 5753-Tlshrel 5754
NEWS
New Courses Join Upperclass Curriculum
New courses mean new teachers. New teachers were given an introduction to Ramez by Mr. Miller. by Andrew Jakabovlcs
Once despised by stu dents for taking away gym classes, health education has come of age as a full fledged minor with grades that will on appear student transcripts. Health, which originally was taught as a full class only to the junior high, is now a scheduled class for freshmen, sophomores and juniors.
Health was placed in the schedule in the " HELM" band, as Mr. Miller refers 10 the history, English, lan guage, and math tracks. Mr. Miller explained that one purpose of the schedule change in l 99 I was to add more history, English and math classes to the schedule by making every day 11 periods, up from ten periods
on rotation days. To accom modate the new health cur riculum, Freshman English will meet five out of six days and Sophomore History will cede a period. Juniors, how ever, have the most unfor tunate change of all. Health has been placed in the gym/art band. Until this year, gym met three times a week and art met twice. The third art slot was a free, but this will continue no longer. That free has been filled by health. The new curriculum will incorporate age-appropriate and grade-specific classes dealing with stress manage ment, nutrition, body aware ness, substance abuse, and sexual education. Worried sophomores can rciax; health ed only supplements Rabbi Lookstein's "Jewish Family Ethics," not replaces it.
Another major change in the curriculum is the expan sion of the learning center to offer full services to Forms I, II, and Ill, and it will pay added attention to the up perclassmen as well. Under the direction of Judith Fagin, the center will work with students in the mainstream classes. Three staff mcmers will be working with Mrs. Fagin. Students requiring assistance will not be removed from their regular ly scheduled classes. All juniors will take physics this year. This comes as a result of the elimination of general science in their freshman year. In addition, Ramaz is implementing a new policy requiring students to take three laboratory sciences before graduation. How ever, because the math curiculum has not changed, some juniors will be taking
trigonometry this year, which will not fully prepare them for physics until lhe middle of the year. For these students, General Physics or "Physics for Poets" as it is affectionately called, will now be offered. Physics B has now been renamed General Physics, but the cur riculum which is geared toward the Regents, has remained unchanged. Physics A is now called Honors Physics. In the History depart ment, a number of textbook changes have been made. Additionally, World Jewish History (WJH) is to be finished by the end of sophomore year to allow for more history electives in the senior year. As it stands, WJH is a mandatory senior Right now, course. American Studies is the only history elective, not count ing AP courses, which have
School Otters Study Skills Series
Upcoming Events
to stay organized. The second and third workshops will try to help students take good notes, organize them and study from them. The fourth week, the goal will be sorting out information from textbooks, and the fifth will focus on reading material quic;kly and effectively. The next week's workshop will
eptember 15th-17th- Rosh HaShanah
by Evan K Farber
Ramaz has decided to help srudcnts more actively with their study habits. During the first semester this year, weekly Study Skill Workshops will be held after school. There will be one held for junior high students and freshmen on Mondays after school, and one for sophomores and juniors on Thursday afternoons. The program will be run by ncw commcr Ms. Elissa Stein, who will teach srudy skills to all who arc interested. The goal of the series of courses is to help students become better organized and more time efficient. One reason for the course, explained Ms. Stein, is because "[one] finds students who get to junior year who don't know basic, solid srudy skills. Each week's workshop will have a different focus, and sometimes two weeks will be devoted to a topic. The first week's session will deal with the common prob lem of having too much to do in too little time. Stu dents will learn how to find and use extra time and how
. " . . . [.Juniors 1
don't who basic, know study solid skills." deal with improving con centration and memory, and the week after that will focus on srudying effectively. Be cause by that point in lhc year teachers will cgin to give exams, during the eighth week, the topic will be test taking strategics for essays and objective tests (multiple choice, matching, and the like). For two weeks after that, advance prepara tion for finals and manage ment of stress will be the
topic. Week eleven's ses sion will deal with critical analysis and reaction papers, and twelve and thirteen will hope to help students with research papers. One week-the second to last is devoted to math. The final workshop will summarize the whole series, and specifically, how students have learned to take control. The series of courses will commence after all the holidays and will probably run through the middle of March. Anyone who is in terested in the program should speak to Ms. Stein in the Leaming Center.
eptember 22nd- School begins 8:45 eptember 24th- Yorn Kippur eptember 29th- October 1st-Sukkot October 4th - Ties required for boys ctober 5th - High School Simchat Beit aShoe'vah ctober 6th-8th- Shemini Atzeretl imchat Torah ctober 12th - PSAT for Form V ctober 20th - Israel Programs N ight, ormVI ctober 23rd - Form I Shabbaton ctober 28th - Election Day Assembly