Volume 35, Issue 2 (September 2004) - The Rampage

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4,

GI Jane: Enduring boot

Sun•Mng Junior

camp

Friday

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Dtsstrt Debate

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Book Review:

David Sedaris

e RamPage

Volume XXXV Number 2

Page JO

Page II

The Ramaz Upper School

School Disciplines Cheaters

New Science Labs Co11stn1cted; Flood Repairs Cost $25011io11sa11d

Several Sh1de11ts Barred From Graduatio11

By Gabriel Oppenheim 05 0

Mr. Rochlin hired Pung Sung Contracting to perfomt the renovations. but he snid the Ramaz maintenance slaff deserved the .. cxtra-crcdif' for getting things running on time. ..No one really knows JUSt how much work our guys have done this summer­ both day and mgh1."

The majority of that work went to redesigning the fifth noor. Plans called for three new classrooms. a sci­ ence department office con­ l3tmng cubicles for science 0

faculty,

an

independent

research lab. and three stu­ dent labs (one each for biolo­ gy. chemistry, and physics) to be built m prcVJously occu­ pied space on that noor. according to a June aniclc in The RamPage. The ..science floor," as Mr. Rochlin put 11, cost S2.4 million, some of which was financed throug_h outside donations.

Student reaction lo the makeover was mL,cd. Rebecca Schlangel ·05 wandered around the noor for IO minutes upon returning to school in (co11 tm utd 011 pagt 4)

PaK(" 12

September 2004/Elul 5764

Ramaz Spends $2.6 Million To Renovate Building

Ramaz �nt over $2.6 million rcnol'ating, rcfur• bishing. and upgadmg the Upper School buildmg­ officially called The Moms and Ida Newman Education3I Center-this summer, according to Mr. Rochlin. The changes to the building include completely revamped science labs, soundproofing in room 702. new computer software and hardware, new six SmartBoards. a new air man­ agement system. and new fire alarms.

Mr. Rochlin s:tid all con­ struction would be completed by the stan of classes on SepL 9, a feat wluch he dccmcd ·· amazing :·

Maccabl Games 2004

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Larry King broadcasts from th, Rtpublican Nalional ConvtnUon. htJd In N,w York Cily from Aug. 30 to Sept l. Stt pa&c 7.

NYSAIS Reaccredits Ramaz

By Nicole Dtmby l06

The New York State Association of Independent Schools n:acered1tcd Ramaz in Jw,e for a fil'C year period.

Earlier tlus year, NYSAIS evaluated the entire Ramaz Early mslltution--the Childhood Center. and the Lower, Middle and Upper SclK10?s-and sent its ful<.IU'lp m a 42 page report to Rabbi Lookstem. The conclusion of the report. which sums up the Visiting Conumttcc's analysis of the school, is replete \\1th glowmg rem.irks about the school's m1ss1on o.nd the d1rcc­ t1on in which the school 1s headed.

"From the opening words of the princ,pal 10 the final meeting w1th administrators,

faculty and staff. we witnessed a school livrng its mission pas,. sionately. exuberantly, and pur­ posefully." one passage stated.

The report also includes the committee's recommenda­

hons on how the school can improve. These include dcvcl­ oplllg a financial plan "for the

near fucun:" a.nd continuing the

process of extensive self-study.

The report also commends the schpol for its decision to separ.,te the posts of Ramaz prmc1p:1l and Rabbi of Kch,lath Jcshurun.

Rabb, Rublll said he was plcasc-d with the report.

"We felt grabfied that the Committee rccogmzcd our stmigths. Wc'n: looking at the rccommmdahons scnously.'"

By Dtnj:1.min n,rnsttin 'OS and Lah:1.v Harkov ·os The school has 1akcn several disciplin:uy actions in response to the cheating scandals that were wide­ spread throughout Ramaz at the end of last year. Over the summer Rabbi Lookstein sent a letter to all Ramaz par­ ents outlining these acuons.

Rabbi Lookstcin's letter cxplamed that the investiga­ tions "made it quite clear" that these were not isolated incidents of cheating. "but rather pan of a paucm of behavior that may have involved a significant num­ ber of students." The admin­ istration has disciplined a number o( srodmr.1, in what they deem as "an appropriate manner." Several students have received an "F" in one or more subjects. and will have to make up that grade_ However. the highest mark they will be able to achieve will be a "D." A number of seniors were not pcm1ittcd to participate in graduation exercises or receive dtplo(rontmurd on pag� 4)

Juniors to Face New SAT, Uncertain Requirements

By Danie! Marans 'OS ln addition to the ordi­ nary challenges Ramaz Jun­ iors face, this year promises yet another hurdle for pupils to deal with in their studies: the prospect of a newly des,gncd SAT I exam.

The SAT I exam. tradi­ t,onally taken by high school students in the sprang of their junior year. w,11 be undergo­ ing major changes in fonnat and content which will first appear in the fall 2005 PSAT and the March 2005 SAT exams. Up until that time the lest will rcuun its current makeup.

The most radically dif­ T ferent aspect of the new SA I will be the addition of a 60 mmute writing section which will include JS mmute! of muluplc-cho1cc questions and a 25 mmutc wr11tcn essay. Similar to the multi•

pie-choice questions current­ ly featured in the SAT m Wnting Subject Test. the new SAT I multiple-<:hoice ques­ tions will, as explained by the College Board website, test one's "ability to recognize enors and improve sentences and paragraphs."

The studcnt-wnucn essay will ask test-takers to "take a position on an issue and use ex.amplcs 10 support" the opinion, the site said. The highest achievable score on the essay will be 6. based on a rubnc scoring sys1cm 1hat will evaluate the essays' clar­ ity, grnmnut1cal correctness and effeclive argument of one's pomt The section presently known a.s the Verbal sccllon will also bt modified and will be renamed the Critical Read i ng section. Analogies

,,-�c.�

2004 SAT tt&fstntlon booklelS

line the Colltge OffiC"e C"ounltn.

were removed from the new exam, but in their place arc questions on short para­ graphs. which are designed to cv3Juate critical reading skills. The 70 minute long sccllon will contain 25 min­ utes of reading c:omprehcn­ s1on, 25 minutes of sentence complcuon.s ;rnd a 20 minute section containing p11ra­ graph-length critical reading.

Last but not least, the m:1them11.t1cs section will include more matern1I cov­ ered in high school m3the­ mallcs classes. In add111on quant1l:1t1ve comparison

questions were removed from the test, and only mulli• ple-cho1cc and student-pro• duced response questions remain. The section is 70 minutes long, consisting of two 25-minute sections and one 20 minute section.

The maximum possible score for each of the three sections is 800, bringing the new total to 2400. Because of the addition of the Wntmg section the College Board will be abohshing the SAT II: Wriung Subject Test.

Incoming Ramaz juniors expressed apprehensions about the new test.

"I'm just a hnle nervous about being m the first class lo take the new SATs," L1viya Kraemer '06 said. "I feel hke we're the guinea pigs."

Yoni Gol '06, expressed d1s1aste with the changes and

said he plans to take the SAT I in its current stale this wm­ ter. "Basically, I'm more of.a Yoni person," math explained. "And math goes from being half the test to being a third of the test.

Besides, I hear tl,c Writing SAT II IS not so bad."

Ms. Jennifer Simons. the new college adviser. s:.ys col­ leges will require students to take the new exam whether they have t•ken the old one or not. rAt this point." Ms. Simons continued, "we a.re not sure whether all colleges will look nt the higher scon:s, old versus new, or not, but initial rccdback indicates that at least some will. But every­ one will hove to take the new exam."

P•ge 2

The Raml'•gc

S,pt,mbor 2004/ Elul 5764

Editorial

Re-exami1:1ing t_he Voting Age The 26th Amendment stoles thnt citizens 18ycors or age and older may vote, but g1Ycs suites the nght 10 dc:ctdc their minimum vot­ ing age, It 1s about time New York t.Jkcs 11dvantagc of tlmt nght by lowcnng HS voting osc to 16, at least for local elections.

Such a change would grant Ramaz SIU• dents hard-earned rcprcscnt:lllon where they h�l\'c previously only been' subjects of tax.a· tion. Yes, teens do pny taxes--S9.7 b1lhon ,n sales uuc alone, according to the National Youth Rights Assoc,ouon (NYRA)-ond ,t 15 only f:ur that they receive commensurate rcp­ rcscnuu1on . as the Founders would have orgucd.

Yet another double standard 1s at work here thot makes New York's current votmg age th.1: 1 much more ins1d1ous. Sixtccn-yur­ olds (and somcumcs even younger teens) charged with cnmes con be ond occas,onnlly on: tned os adults. But proponents of the st•· lus quo soy thot "ch,ldn:n" under 18 ore not, for lhc most p3rt, m:iturc- or responsible: enough to make a sound ckctoral dcc1s1on. So b:1s1c:illy. Ammca's youth 1s m3turc enough

when It comes 10 spending hfc in pnson, but not when 11 comes to choosing I city council• man or punching out a chad.

Actuolly, chad-punching i1sclf proved too difficult for hundreds in Florida who foiled to rcmO\'C the paper circles fully. invalidating their crucial (in retrospect) bollols in the 2000 election. And then there were the senior citi• zcns who failed to read instructions properly and voted for Pot Buchonan instead of Al Gore. Somehow their age and experience did­ n't stop them from helping to botch the closest ctccuon m Umtcd States history.

Critics of lowering the age say that young voters "on't tum out and point to the pi1iful 18-24 ycor-old voting figures as proof.

I lowevcr. lowering the voting age will cause parcnu to discuss politics with their childrcn1 •nd os • n:sul� 600 thousand odults ore mon: hkcly to vote, occordmg to the NYRA. So lobby your rc:prcscnra1ivcs to push for critical agc-lo\\ cring lcgislnlion. Teens are old enough lo be held accountable for murder ond too young to vote. The hypocrisy has to end.

�eRamPage

EDITORS�N-C:HIEF Benjamin Bernstein Miriam Krulo Gabrlol Oppenheim ASSOCIATE EDITORS lahav Hal"kov Samuol Siogol JUNIOR EDITOR Nicole Demby CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Emoty Better PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Gab<let Slamovits

RAMCHOPS EDITORS Adina Goodman Sophia Merlun COPY EDITOI\ Mariam Krawitz WEB EDITORS

Jonathan Berken Zachary LiobmaM

It's Getting Too Drafty R:am:iz seniors will soon tum 18. the ear­ ltcst 3ge 31 "h1ch they could be legally con­ scnptcd were the drafi reinstated-a somc­ wh:u likely possibility m light of recent events. The Pentagon has cxtcndt..-d thous.ands of soldtcrs' tours of duty 3nd Congress 1s movmg lo expand the Anny and Manne corpJ. Mc:rnwh,le, Reprcscntahvc Charles. B.

Rangel or New York and Senator Ernest F. Hollings of South Carolina have authorro leg1sl:mon, currently pending in thctr rcspc-cuvc houses, \\h1ch \\Ould remsututc the drafi in some format.

The draft should not be remst1tutcd.

Sc,rnty percent of those: sun,cycd m a June New York limes/CBS News poll were against 1t. wtth that an11-drafi m:lJOnly compnscd almost equally of Democrats. Rcpubl ,cans ond ind<pcn dcnts. If a large percentage of Amcncans is 3b-amst the draft. then 1t would be countcrproducuvc to reinstitute 11.

Remember Vietnam: people who don't want to fighl don't make good lighters.

Logisucally, a drafl would not work in the war on 1crror, as it currently takes about nmc months to train a soldier for counter-insur­ gency operations, ond draflces would likely

only ser\'c two years. a July 3 Chicago Sun­ Times :iniclc sa.1d. 1 hot means drafted sol­ diers would only be available for actual com• b3t for 15 months. The m1lit3ry could not suc­ cessfully plain long-tcnn operations if soldiers \\ere only available on a rotating, IS-month basis and recent AmCT1can conn1c1s have all been .,long tc.rm "-thmk Bo'"nia, Ko50vo, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Its proponcnls soy the drafl would breok down soc1occonom1c and r.1c1al <l1v1des by forcmg the entire country-neh and poor-lo sacnftcc for v.�r. Given that, according to the Sun-Times article. volunleer soldiers gcncr.il­ ly serve fhe years. 1t seems tmplaus1ble that a draft cnta1hng such :1 rotating mnwr. of con­ scnpts would ..bnng umty to our r3ptdly scp­ orallng pons," as Noel Koch so,d m • July I Washington Post ed11onal.

The United States needs more troops and perhaps paying volunlccr soldiers more and mcreasmg college aid 1s the answer. At this pomt. the govcmmcn1 doesn't have surplus money to spare-far from iL Regurdlcss, it's better for our nation to pay tn greenbacks th3J\ m its unwilling youth.

The Letter of Preludes The 2004-2005 ed,tioo of Preludes states m the twclf\h scctioo of"Na'osch V'mshmoh" that "students must n:port to the lunchroom to cat withm 1hc first twenty-five minutes ofthc1r lunch period. Students amvmg ofler this inter­ val cannot be served."

To force students to ancnd IW1ch at a cer­ tain time is simply unfair. If a student's sched­ ule ollotS him 40 minutes for lunch, he should be allowed to utiliz,e that period any way he chooses.

Many students schedule meetings with tcochers at the beginnmg of their lunch periods ond they should not be have· to skip lunch becouse of them.

Yes, students could schedule their meet­ ings at the end of lunch instead of the begin­ ning, but Preludes should not compel them to.

TI1c instant Preludes dictates how students

manage their free lime during lunch is lhe 1nsbnt 1t ceases to be their free lime.

If the administrntion is going to en fore the lcucr oflhi.s law. then it should beg.in to cnforc some: others, as well.

For instance, Preludes notes that ..students arc not pmnittcd to use elevators aficr (davcn­ ing] until oflcr �lC bell morking the beginning of the next teaching pcnod."

Teachers consislcntly eject students from elevators folio\\ing tcfilah even if the bell for the "next teaching period" has aln:ody rung.

Tite administration must ensure th:>.t faculty members follow the rules as well as students.

Similarly, Preludes limits evaluative expe­ riences (which include lcsts, quizzes, and long lcnn assignments) to four per quarter and stip­ ulates that quizzes cover only three days of material. This rule, too, must be enforced.

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Joshua lshal FACULTY ADVISER Mr. Albert Goetz

RamshacRles

Se ptember 2004/ Elul 5764

.Page 3

The !um.Page

Opinion

Whatever Happened to J ust Chil l i ng O ut?

By Nicol• Dt_mby '06

As always. summer s«nu lo have humed by. We once agm1 n find our selves back at the lumu Uppn­ The summer, School. whether spent at camp, trn,•­ chng, w or kmg or c,· cn just hang in g out has always pro­ vided an 03Jis from the n gors o..nd stress of the ac;idcmic y ea r. In fact. tn the po.sl l '\·c spent those � o prec ious months sys1cm111cally for­ gcmng C\ crythmg I lcamcd the prcv ,ous year Thu summer. the- surn­ m« pr«ccdmg my 1 umor year 1n high school. was J ust as much fun as any pr C \ious • swnmcr. but 11 was tmfo n u-

na1cly m>rr<d by the :utUc1P3t1on for w hat 1s umnrs:illy lmown ;is lhc most drrn:ind­ tng year of high school. T h,s anucipallon m am fcstc:d usclf in numerous w ays. In a slcc�3wuy camp th:u l huvc allendcd for s,x years, g1rls th:u I h:id never seen r end o.nythmg other than Seven teen �-bgazmc were suddenly learning w ords such as ·cmoll1all• :md •cas­ tigate* from nuhcard.s befo r e bed. We even hod nwncrou.s spc::;tkrrs come to bile 10 us about coll ege tsSUCS. My own mother man­ aged to sncal: a PSAT book IDIO one of my duffel, as I

wu pack mg for camp. T hese arc only • few of the blalllnl examples. I cannot count the n umber of times th:u our doily d,scuss,ons m 1hc bunk wandered tnlo the l<mlory of grades and colleges. The upeom,ng school year and our ponno11 w,th regard 10 the college proccu was cl ear• ly on all of our m mds

whether we WCTC wlllmg lo admit it or not. The om1nou.s cloud of junior year was looming over head and \\C all recognized 1L Early last year, a fnend of mine al school who will be a senior this year told me that he hOled Ram:,z for what 11 had done 10 his fncnds. lie said he had seen his fnends simply unable lo have run onymorc because they fell o tremen dous amount of ac.a• dem1c pressure.

Simply put: R2mu SIU· dents need to clu II ouL h 1s tmpou,blc 10 behcvc that grades arc tnS1gni fie:ut1 and 11 would be unfair IO s,y that

"'hat college >ou anend is im:lc,•anl but we could all use reminding that these things :ire not the mos1 importonl l!tmgs in life. TI1cy should be secondary 10 rela­ tionships with friends. I don't w ant 10 look around in the middle of this year 111d dcclorc that I 100 hate lumaz bec ause of what it has done 10 my classmates.

We all need 10 remember l!t11 although times may be uying and oo.iac k:s may be placed before us. life goes on.

Just think "happ) thoughts" and you will all be succcssrul 1n your own way.

American Pride (or Lack Thereof) .

By Sophi• Mui.Jo '06

I gro w incrcasmgly fr us­ trated by Amcncan,. We h v c 1n a fa nwuc coun try. :ind arc conslllntly surrounded by oppor1um ucs and freedoms offered only 10 us. 1 lowcver, t seem to be among a se lect few who hold t h,s op1n1on.

Each morning of my mo nth sp e nt ,n Sw 11ur land I walked 10 the comer • nd bought a llmld lhbunc. only 10 reo<I such discouraging hC3d l ines denouncing the U n 11ed Su, 1cs 3.! · u . s. IS s«n losmg Its

and authon ty,* moral • Agency that got lr.iq the least wrong. • Yet what tS JUSI as dishcart c-mng as these hcad hncs ,s the fact that o mlJOnty of them wuc wnt­ lcn by Amc n cans. W hy arc we agam&t ourselves?

In my immcn.sc frus1ra11on. I recal led the days ond weeks following the a ttacks <>f �pkmbc, I I and lhe fierce patr iotism that ensued.

One cou ld not purcha.sc an Amcn c:ut Oog because they

Opp - Ed

tr/1

I rffla..e t.ha.t '" pol1t 1cs people arc bound 10 di'"grce on issues hkc the war in lnq, b ut JU'1 because \\C d1JOgrtt Slood a re" feel awoy from me, on the com er of B roadway, stormg II the top of the bu1 ldmg Mlh sco ffo ld­ ,ng Somet hmg had happened Mca n\\ h1lc, at least a hund red more people had gathered a round the tape:.

Se veral other photogn,phers snapped away. Out I wended my way through the crowd un 11 I I had • p n mc spot dll'cctly :,c ross the st rcel from the cher ry picker. lltrcc fire• fighte rs stood in fron1 of me. spotting the ir' mates in the che rry picker. One of them shouted al the guys on the cherry ptckcr and moved to h,s nghl • few steps. r W11h the man OUI o the way, I ghmpscd the wh 11c sheet bi llowing m the warm brc-cu. The sheet was mellc• ulously sln: tchcd out o,·cr a seve n by two fool a ra of S1dcW> lk beneath the sca f• foldtng. h W>ut � mc11culou. mough, though. 10 cover the pole hand pak,ng out from f the Jen s,dc o the ,1tcc1. I took pictu re ,ncr picture 1ns11nc11vely. h didn 't rea lly occur lo me that I wH photo­ gniph ing another human betng. The hand wam 't mov­ , ng, 1Rer all.

1nc whole 1pcctac lc w11.s

=

By Gabriel Oppenheim '05

W hen Journalism and Real Life Meet

I saw :i dead man on the street the oi hcr day. lie rested on 56 st reet near B roadway, past 1hc Ilootr rs restau rant wuh the • u no fficial ma rq uee Conventi o n J lc:1dqu1r1crs• and the Rcdcyc G n l l. "llomc of the O:i nc mg Shnmp. • The body Just lay there, st=,.11 out over the s1dcw1 1Jk hmply hkc dough on a bo k­ '"i sheet Except that lh,s waut 'I dough. h wa, a man­ lad been • m>n -1' ho wu 11,o,k1ng on sc1 ffoldmg 36 noo n 1bove ground when the sc1 ffold1ng gave woy. 11 had been a min whose h fc had htc n lly been 1.1kcn out from benc•th him, who smashed h,s sku ll on the g round.

I had been walk mg lo my d1d 11 Sc"cnlh Avenue of fice

were sold out everyw here.

Lo ok at UJ now. At a rc«nt Ooston Red Sox- New York Yon kcc gomc the fans, though b111cr nvals. were able 10 ,o,n 1og<1hcr 10 boo our Vi ce Pr esident, Di ck Cheney. Is 11 only when we :ire under a ttack that we can show p ndc in our great coun-

fro m R:1 mn whe n a fire t ruck raced p3SI me. Cu nous, I followed. Soon I encoun­ te red four or five mo re trucks. hund red, of cops. and a big raped off area. S1 rc,ns bl:u-cd. Peop le were luted up og31 n,1 the lope uymg 10 catch a gh mpsc or what WH gomg on 1ns1Clc. I saw some lirc lightcrs chmb 1n10 a cha­ ry pt cker, and wtth a Jouma l­ ut 's msunct, took out my d1g­ Hal camaa to capture the momcnL I wasn 't really 1urc what I was looking 11: 111 I knew was !hot the p1c1u rcs would make for • good photo ess:iy ,n The Rl mPogc.

T he firc fighlen were fo1.• ing s co ffold1ng. •• I soon fig­ u red out Nothing too exc1 l• mg. Maybe 11 wouldn 't be such a great photo essay.

Nea rly twenty po licemen

on some to pics docs not mean that we cannot agree on anything . II 1s an elcctton year, meamng that Amcncans arc feeling more bi-partt�n than ever. but I believe that this should encourage us to have fonh m Amcnc11.

Unli ke other cou ntnc s, we arc pcmutted to have any view we want. Sllll, my drnm {or ■ paniun Amttica, one in which we all have fa11h ond pndc, m•y be JUSI 1ha1, • dream. I hope 11 1s not cxc umg. I h3d nc \·cr b«n to a cnmc scene before, and I fch hkc I had a real scoop. I was gomg 10 gel the dcfint 11\e p1ctW't's of this homfic death ond show the "orld So I walked • round the 13pe to lhe other side of the strttt to get a closa view of the sheet I pbn1cd myself ,n fronl of my dad's omcc pork­ ,ng garage, about th irty feel from where lite body landed.

I knell on one knee and zoomed m With the camera.

Jusl then, an exnm mcr and dc 1cc11 v c h ftcd the sheet 10 take their own pictu re s.

Wlut I saw didn 't shock me. lnSlcad. the t magc gruel ing ly, r cxacnngl y scared 1tscl tnlo my memory. Evc,y dcra,1 rendered p rcc ,scly u 11 •ppcarcd. I knew I wou ld ha,·c nightmares soon.

Bui I kept on shootmg. r Partly out o • faSC1nauon w,th th,s ibom,nohon, partly because ii fell so swm,I !hot I thought I was lilmmg a hor­ ror mov,c, and partly because I did n't know what else to do.

I pulled the earner., from my face to c,u1rmne the 111.st picture. As I did so, I e>ughl the med ical examiner's gaze out of my periphcr•I vision. I looked up. lie was S!J nng ol f me with a. look o lota rcvu ll

� I hope 1h01 i1 will not take :1nothcr terrori st attack for us to learn to ap prcci1ue our country. We arc 11n incrcdi• bly bk:&Md n.don, ■nd we must learn to •PPrt'C i:a tc 1ha1. .

sion on h,, race. lie didn� scream, nor did he tell the cops. The loot. JOid 11 •II: I ""' ,-ploiling the dn lh of an innocent man for personal giun. I \\H :a panlSlllC JOUr• nolist Yes, the loot. to ld me all I needed 10 t.no": that if I cou ld kneel do"'11 nonc ha­ lantly and photograph this contort ion of a human, I wns sick. TI1c look told me 10 lc:avr forcvcr••to s1:ar1 run• ning away 1111d never look, back. My s10111ach gnarled into ill own ddomtcd shape.

I sudden ly fell nauseated . I turned around and hurried 10 my dod's omcc. Upon cnltt• ing the bu ildin g 's lobby, I de leted the 40 pictures in my camc:n.

Wu I rea lly th31 sic,? I thought about how frag ile and prccariou5 our live.s arc: I could dcl ilc a man 's life even 1ftcr he had brought it 10 1n end. Which, as I found out today in a poliec bulleti n, is how the man died.

He Jumped off the bu1ld1ng h1mf 5e J and shancrcd the sc,f. folding on his w1y dow n.

That made me feel slightly bcucr about the pictures.

S1ill, I saw a dead mnn on 1hc st reet the other day. I wish I hadn 't

P•gc4

Stpltmbu 2004/ Elul 5764

The Raml'•g•

News

Ramaz �enovates Building ,,.s, (ronl111urd from I) Sq,c,mb..T for oncn1a11on.

"Where os room 501?" she asked. ..Where 1s lhc

stiurcasc out or here? Where

did 11 •II go?"

Jon31han Rosen '05 called the new lobs "awe­ some," but odded that he sull missed h,s old locker, which

was removed to make way

for a new lab.

Dunng the fifth noor transformatton. two floods-­ c•used by •n explodmg nushometcr (• device th•t rrgu13tcs w2.tcr.flow 1n plumbing) on the third Ooor-<lcstr0yed ports of the

cc1hngs and floors on levels

3, 2, I, •nd C. Smet the third Ooor is below the labs. the Ooods d1dn 't mterrupl the rcnovauon. according to Mr.

Rochlin, but they did ncccss1tate seven! other upgn,dcs 10 the bu1ld1ng.

New plumbmg was installed on the third Ooor, new

wood

Ulmg

was

mrulled ,n the h:ilf of the aud1tonum which had been sooked, the College Office ond 8e1t Knesset (room 202) cc1hngs were replaced, and the Student Acuv1ty Center

was refurbished with new

do.sets and a.helving.

Althoogh the Oood., were obviously beyond hlS control, Mr. Rochlin seemed con•

ccrned th31 students would

d1S3pprovc of the rcstonl'lons

they demanded.

"The new half of the aud1tonum Ooor tiling does­ n't match the old," he said.

"But tell students not to worry-th3t artcr stepping on ,t for awhile, II will look exactly the same."

Ile •ddcd th.i Ramaz

also hired a professional art1st1c painter to dttor.llc the new Dell Knesset cc1hng,

which he ..,d "would bnght­ en up the room as whole."

In tol31, Ramu spent $250 thousand rcpamng Oood damage, three thousand of which went to the art1st1c

poinlcr, Mr. Rochlin sa,d. All

nood expenses were covered

by Ramaz's property insur30ct.

Add111on1lly, Mr. Rochlin and other adm1ms­ tratora decided that after n<arly 25 year, of running 1ts onginal sysicn,s, the Upper School building nccded new fin: alarms and a new air con­

trol system.The latter device,

already instolled, IS a Com­ puter th3t monuors and rcgu­ lotcs the building's m-Oow clcctron,cally. '*Ifs 1ncrcd1blc that our

old systems lasted as long as

they did," Mr. Rochlin said, "but after 25 years, we really

had no choice."

EITcct,vely, Mr. Rochlin

may have had httle choice m dcc1dmg to mstall another

new high-tech apparatus: the pynm1dal cc,ling over the stairc&sc on the fifth floor.

For years. teachers h3\'C

complained about noise from the fourth noor lounge m1cr­ rup11ng their classc-s. and that

prompted the school to install the pynm1dal-sh:ipcd ceiling, which "picks up and absorbs" noise from the

lounge, Mr. Rochlin said.

Another ICOUShC change was made m room 702

(where most mUJic classes

arc held), which was sound-

proofed wuh foam

'I he

Ramaz Parent Council p;ud

for the S12 thousand sound­ proofmg.

Room 702 was also among the six classrooms 10 rccc,vc SMARTDoards and new computers over the sum­ mer. New desktops were

installed in lhc library, facul­ ty lounge, College Office, and Office, Israel Publicauons Room as well.

Mr. Campagna pmsed the new SMARTBoards, one of which was ins1allcd in h,s mam classroom, 303.

"I'm Just thnlled aboul u," he said aflcr demonstrat­

""-"'GollnolO,,-,­ WorktrS lnsttlltd • makHlllfl noor ovtr th• fourth noor 1t1lr• cul' whlll' rl'modr.Unc 1hr. Ofth noor'1 """' pyramJdal ulllnc, Abon: 1 vltl'' or tht con.itrucllon rrom lhl' Orth noor.

Btlow: a vltw rrom lht rourth floor.

ing the system's capab,hty to transfer a graph from his cal­ culator to the SMARTBoard screen... It's really gomg to revolu11on1zc my 1nstruc­

hon."

For Mr. Wan, he•d of Pung Sung Contracnng, lhe revolutionary

renovauon

took ,ts toll.

"That deadline was really

t1gh1," he s:ud. "Somcumcs we stayed al night m the building working until I

A.M." Indeed, dunng August, Pung Sung"s carpenters wotkod on tho building night ond day, ripping out pipe>,

dnlhng. sawmg. sandmg, moving furniture, and con­ structing new ceilings. But by the lime student oncnta­ ttons commenced on Sept. 7, there was barely a sign m the

building of the previous

month's maelstrom.

"Besides the fifth noor, I can't really sec anythmg dif­ ferent here," Rosen ..1d.

,,_..,c--o,,.,,,,r,.­ All plumbla1 on the third noor bt.d to be nmovt.d and �placed dltr t. nusbomtttr broke t.ad the Ooor Ooodt.d.

School Takes Actions Against Cheaters, Looks Ahead (amliHu<d from pagt I) mas. In addition, several upperclaumen arc not

returning to Ramaz. The let­ ter specified that their dcpar­ tun: is not port of the "disci­ plinlll)' tctions" the adm1ni.­ tntion has taken, but hap­ pened because "lumaz was not the nght place for them."

Additionally, lhe admin­ istnbon has put together a few progn,ms lo lry and pre­ vent

further

cheating

in

Ramaz. A list of rules and regulations was printed and read aloud to all students before fina!J, and proctors were more

vigilant

than

before. Ramaz has sub­ scnbcd to a service called

Tumitin.com,

a

website

where all sophomores, jun-

iors and scmors will have to submit their papen so that 1cochcra can check for plagia­ rism quickly. Additionally, the school plans on using stu­ dent leaders and faculty advisers lo tducatc and di.­ cuss the immorality of cheat­ ing and the importance of having good ethics.

Bcstdcs these measures, Mr. Miller believes that, "the main goal should be to start the school year off on a posi­ tive note." He acknowledges 1h31 the school was plunged into a crisis oriented stage last year but that the events must be used to go forward in a constructive way.

When asked about future acls of cheating, Mr. Miller emph:isizcd that, 'any stu­ dent cought cheating or

"The vast majority of students who don't cheat need to be strengthened.

They need to feel good about doing the right thing." involved m a cheatmg net­ work wtll face actions taken

by the school."

Rabbi Lookstein elaborated, "there have to be clear ond very severe consequences to being

caught cheating. Those con­ sequences for lhe firat inci-

dent mclude receiving llll 'F'

for the course, requiring a

moke-up with the possibility of chonging it to no higher !hon • 'D.'" For the second

incident the punishment would be •expulsion.• The consensus among

students IS that the adminis­ trotion dealt appropriately with the situation, and there is a positive outlook for this

school year.

Talia Hurwich '05 said that the issut hos been treated "very responsibly. The admin­ istration did not wont to publi­ cize the issue too much, because the people who chcot­ cd arc our peers,• she explained. "We don� need to know who cheated. What we need to know is that the issue is being 1akcn care of."

Yehoshua Cirlin '06 was,

"upset last year when the adminis'tntion was being very vague. However, the sessions the administrators

led during finals were very helpful and much appreciat­ ed."

Furthcnnorc, Cirlin

hopes that, "the r,:putation of my grade and all of lhc grades involved arc not per­ manently tarnished."

Going forward Rabbi Lookstein feels that, "the vast majority of students who don't cheat need to be stm1gthencd. They need to feel good about doing lhe right thing. However, the rel­ atively small minority of stu­

dents who don't follow an honoroblc path have to feel a sense of shame."

September 2004/ Elul 5764

The RamPage

Page 5

Summer Journal

The Beach is Fun, But So Is Saving Lives

Dy Miriam Kral\lt-Z '06 Strtlchmg out lazily on a beach, b1kmg l�isurely ,long the coas.l. shopping at bou­ ttqucs. rocking out at con­ certs, and sleeping unttl noon were not part of my summer plans I spent my �ummcr rcscarchmg cancc1.

Pnor to w,lkmi; into lhc: l'ed,atnc I lcrnatology'Oncology L:,b. I felt o ""'" of sclf.Joubt Would one ofb101og) and one )= of cmmstry mal.c me an a., I to tlus bb? \\'ould I CYCl l'OITlp"Ct-.:nd the tnlnClCICS of the :id\'3n«:d n::.e=h bc:tng condueled"! hoold I ha\'e been spcndmg my summer k3y,Jang on<l lalang O brc:ik from 3c:idcm­ lC lnstltuboos'I Shoold I ha,"t Ix-en <nJ0)'lllg fresh Otr and natun: rather than bc:tng cooped up 01 an au-anlmmcd. \\'Ul­ dow-lcss. htgh-ose butldmg?

I was burdrncd by the SICTC'.'Olyp1cal tr.lits of 3 researcher c1chcd m my mmd: socially a" k\,ard. hunched o,cr :i m1croscopc. th,ck-nmmed glasses. dC"ad­ p:m. and nerdy JIO\\ would I get along with thi:sc hcmuts'' Would they c"pect me t o knO\\ c, crythmg o n m y own "'lthout any cxplanat1ons?

To my surpnsc. on thc­ first day, wann am1lblc faces greeted me, as the researchers mtroduccd them-

>=

sch•es All my fc,rs d1ss1pat­ ed ancr metting my co­ workers. Everyone m 1h1s lab was the complete oppo­ s11c of what I had C.\;;pc ctcd.

The people were soc1al, and fun. chan,;;rnattc, cxtrcmdy 111tcll1gen1.

My mentor was no nccptlon . he h:td n tremen­ dous sense or humor and was \ cry fncndly. constantly seeking "'ays to m\.nhc me m her \\ ork and pa1tcn1)y :me;;"cnng all my questions lier ofTab1l11y, though. w3s c,.cccdcd by her devo­ uon 10 the research. Mamcd \.'Ith two children. she would am,·c at the lab a, 6.00 A.M. ond wor� unit! 7.0 0 PM. 11,en she would race home. tuc\. ha children mto bed. and r<tum to the lab 10 put 111 3 few more hours of work before hc;idmg back home to steep at m1dn1ght She sh:mcrcd my prccon­ cc1vcd nouon that no one was truly happy Ill his or her pro­ fe-ss1on l kr Ion for cancer rese:irch "lS contagious (no pun intended) Soon enough, I loved commg to work-to the pomt when 1 ;ictually dreaded weckrnds--lnd. con­ sequcntly. I extended my work hours al the l:ib. I never wonted to leave.

One highlight of the

While.my peers sunbathed, I researched cancer. But as it turns out, research is thrilling. summer "os cnlcrmg the OJKrallng room "hilt sur­ geons pam�takmgly remo,..cd a m3hgnan1 1umor from a paucn1 ,, 11h lung cancer \V::itchmg. I was O\Cr­ whclmcd by the rcal12.1uon that w,th every cut of their scalpels, the doctors were gcttmg closer 10 sa, mg a hrc.

In some ways, I w;1s w1u,ess­ mg a reb1nh. Dressed m scrubs, I observed the open chest ca\lty of the elderly man and waited to rccc1"c a section or the cxtr.1ctcd tumor to deliver 10 my col­ leagues for testing and analySIS. During July and August, I contnbutcd to the research by mJcctJng tumors mto mice. monuonng their dis­ ease. and then d1ssectmg them I spent countless hours sechonmg and tmbcddmg hssucs. ""htch were eventU!l.1ly made into shdcs stained with eosin, a pink dye.

OOc:n, the culmmallon of the

process was affixing a cam­ era to the microscope to pho­ tograph my slides.

Although there was a grcal deal I did not know and h3d to be tought, there were numerous limes throughout the summer when I thought of Ms lon1m's freshman biology class. The mform:i­ llon I acqu1Tro m that class earned 0\. er mto my work at the l3b Applying my text­ book knowledge to concrete eumples fascinated me I "as not 1he only tccn;iger 31 the lab, two other lugh school students were also voluntccnng. \Ve spent a lot of time toge1hcr jokmg about the 1d1oc;;yncras1es or our respcc11vc schools and ammJtedly dcb;iting c-,ery 1ma�mablc topic· poht1cs, music. m1crob1ology, cc-lcbn11es, college. and anything else t.lut was on our mmds.

Tiu:sc peers taug.ht me a great deal about their reli­ gions. cultures. poliuc:il views. Jnd goals. In return. I taught them about kCt"pmg koshtr and the laws of Shobbat The d11Tcrcnccs bctw«n us did not foment scp;i.r:111on but engendered fnendilup.

As the summer pro­ gressed, I develoJKd a new side of myself. I did not

Y+Orl.. d1ltgcntly because I . wanted an .A" in a class: I worked bccnuse I believed in '"ha! I w3s doing. I wanted to help this lab discover ad \anccment5 in the arC3 of hematology or oncology in any Y+ay that I could Kno\\ing thnt my efforts Y+erc makmg an impact and improving other pcople·s lives cnuscd me 10 invcsl myself fully. My hcan raced at the prospect of making an e,.h,laralmg break.through.

As I re"ind and look back at tJ1e past l'-\O months, I know tJ1al playing Frisbee in the lush green grass, napping on a sailb03t, or unning in the hot sun could not have surpa� my thnlhng sum­ mer experience researching cancer.

At the Nexus of Architecture and Sculpture, No One Speaks English

By Sophia l\ltrlJn ·06

I h;i"e ne,crbccn ascul� turc or arc:hllccturc buff. Pnor to this summer. the only :1Ich11cc1 I had c,cr heard of w3S Fran, Lloyd Wngh� ond I didn't cHn appreciate scul p­ ture. However. for the second summer in 3 row I was givcn the opportunity to sp,.-nd a month 'Aorkmg in a museum in Ba"-CI. Sw1VJ:rland The museum \.\J'i prepanng an c.allcd ed11h1t1on It '"as Arch1Skulptur dc,,igncd 10 ponra) Ll1c lmk between thcc.e tv.o art fonru and \how their s1m1lanl!es 1 spent "1) fir.t t\\O \\Cels there in The fonJauon 8cyclcr Mu;cum ·, library. rescorchmg 1hc m.my \\Orls of an. rrph­ cat1ons. and photographs which would be fc-aturcd in the upcoming sho\\ I wrnt back ond forth numerous 11mc.s from my table to the copy room. canymg lc-\1oons and catalogues cducallng me obout Mies Von dcr Rohe, onslantin Orancus,. Jean l'lou,cl, I rank Gehry, Bruce

I didn't understand the language, or know much about the research. Not that that stopped me from having fun. ,..,,.__.,._�......._..

The moun1al11, or Daul, s,,11,crland, home or lht 1-ond:ulon Ot) eler l\1 U\tum.

Nauman. Sol f cWm. Antonio enough IO understand much Gaud1 [Ind many 01hcrs II nl(lre th."ln a ,;,cn1cnce of\\hat \\ilS In front or me l le.1mcd "" my J<>b 10 find the dates, sizes and other m formation to ptcl out the "onis I knc"" pcnammg to the p1n:-c 1hat ond look for the numbers "h1ch I alway understood. »c,c to be d1Splaycd This Job often pmH:J lo be ,.hO,cuh. as e"rn m the Japanese books Q\ er the remaining the maJonty of booJ..s m the mu.scum's library wen: writ­ course of my stay, I \\orkcd m ten m Gennan. ·n1c museum the b:i�ncnt or the rntL,;;cum. ts locatc-J rn a Gcnnan-spcak­ nlphabetlllng slides, helping couriers p,ck up loaned an­ mg canton of Switzerland While my German comprc• work und updntmg 1he muse­ hen.s1on w:is slowly progress­ um•, dotobasc. AOcr Ll10sc pro1ects were completed I ing. 11 was sllll not !iliong

rctumrd to the adm1mstrouon bu1ldmg lo \\Olk m the pr�s office ·n-ic-rc I spcnl the ma1onl) ol my time among paper,, stoplcr,, folders. ond ,;;ucker, putting together pro, do,4i1cr� on the present ,ho", Calder- tiro, and orgamzmg press TC\ 1ews :iboul the pre,1ous e'<.h1b111on on rranc1! Ila.con I d1V1dc:d lhc.)(' ort,cles by nat,onaluy. language. date. title and length. all mto nme scparale piles While Lhc focus of my tnp \\llS my Job, I also able to

W3'

tour Europe I spent a day in the small French town of Colmar, running 1hrough foun1:11ns \\ 1th m) sister and a friend. I spent a fantastic "edcnd m London, and nnother "cckend m lhe tourist town or Grmdclwald, n�tled high m the Jungfrau region of the ,, 1s!i Alps. There I jumped orr a mountain with a parachute strapped to my bad. It "11 the r�pcnencc of :i hfcumc �1y summer \\ as no1 per­ feel M� Job "as occasionally tcd1ou�. and it was frustral1ng not bcmg nble 10 com·crsc "ith ony of the locals. l lo\\e,cr, tins summer was c,en more educational th an la.st summer I learned so much about architecture, sculpture. nnd ,qss and f rcnch cullurc When I returned home 10 America, ond \\Olk<d through the cus­ loms counter 01 JFK lntcmalional 1\frpor1. I felt both content :rnd fulrillcd.

1101,efully, I "ill hn\'c nnothcr oppor1unity 10 return to the Fondot1on llcyder.

Join The RamPage: Thursdays in Roo1n 604

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Page6

Srplrmber 2004/ Elul 5764

The RamPage

Summer Journal

Trekking Eastern Europe, Rabbi Weiser is Detained

By Gabrftl Opp<nbclru '05

The 1r:1in Slopped.

8elarus1:m border guards enlcred 10 check posscngcrs' documents. '"You have visa?" a gu:ird osked Rabbi Weiser.

He did nol. "Get off lram!"

1he guard scrcomcd, forcing Rabb, Weiser and his two travel companions off the train :md into an outdoor fenced.in holding area. They sal on • half-rolled log sup­ poncd by 1wo Slones. Rabbi We.lnr stands In rront or lht' Vlln1 Caon's houu.

Bcl:irus' border palrol could• Minsk, Belarus, bul 1h01 plan • J·OO A.M. lrum bock 10 the n'I afford • bench. Robb, was now m shambles.

Ukrnme. lltal should have Weiser rcohzcd.

II "ould hove helped. been 1hc end of 1hc Slory, bul It was e3rly on the mom• Rabbt \\'c1scr later s,11d, 1f the a< R�bb1 Weiser s:11d, "It's mg of Aug. 4, 1he founh d,y 13clarusa:m patrolmen h:id never that simple." of Robb, We,scr's five d,y spoken English Or ,f h,s cell 1'hc thrc-e men now need• e.xpcd1t1on through Eastern phone had been working Or td new \'IU.S to re-enter 1hc Europe. For 1hc posl three 1[ he hod 1he proper ,,,sa, 10 Ukr:une, a.s the documents summers. Rabbi Weise..,.- h-:is begm wllh. Bui there wos they used to enter that coun­ led two fnrnds on a tour of nolhmg he could do 10 lry m111ally h•d expired Eastern Europe's Jewish chongc any of 1ha1. so Robb, alreody. ltmdm!lrks, co.nva.ssmg five Weiser did what he could do "lmagme what our broth­ different countnes in five Ile rcc11ed Tch1lhm and ers :ind sisters felt w:utmg to cloys. Th,s ycor's plan called waved his phone every which be taken somewhere, unsure for the tno to explore way m an attempt to get of what was gomg on and llungory. Roman,o. Ukraine. rcccpllon. Whether the for­ where they were heading," Dcl:irus. :md L1thu:ima m that mer or l:mcr action 1s to crcd• Rabbi Wt"1Stt said, reflecting order. Rabbi Weiser had 11. Rabbi Weiser isn't sure, on the cxpcncncc of being arr.mgcd everything with a but a few mmutcs later his Slranded. "Jusl for a small lr.l\'CI agent before embark­ phone picked up • sib'TIOI. 10S1c of 1ha1 feeling alone. lhc mg for BudopeSI. mclud1ng "ll's 1hc link things hke entire night was worth 11. It obt.:unmg the necessary pass­ phone reception that we don't was hkc bemg m 'The port .ind vis;J documents. or really appreciate until we Tcmunal.' octually."' so he 1hough1.

Though he said he can't desperalcly need lhcm. "'Arc you sure I won't lfappmcss JS about small figure oul how they did i, need a VIS3 for 8el3rus·r pleasures hkc that," he said. R:tbb1 Weiser and his two Rabb, Weiser sa,d he oskcd sining not on a log, but on :i fnends began commun1cat­ the agent before leaving. rcchnmg ch:ur m the lsracl mg with the border gu:irds­ "One-hundred percent sure." Office 3f\cr rctummg from who didn'l speak Enghsh­ the ogcnl =•crcd. and explained to them thcu the tnp.

Bui !hey did n�d visos, Rabb, We,scr used lhe snuauon. The guards prom­ ond so the lhrec men found newly acquired phone rcccp­ ised 10 relolc Rabb, Wc,sc(s thc�lvcs WJ1tmg under 3 uon to call his travel :sgcnt 1n talc to the attendants on the puch black sl-y m Homel. New York, and cvenlually, ):00 A.M. train, which would They hod m1endcd 10 lake 1he 1hc Homel border polrol cn:1blc lhe Lno to re-enter the train from Kiev, U1crame to arranged for his group to take Ukraine without visas.

He had it all planned out: tour five countries in five days. But, as Rabbi Weiser teamed, there are some things you donY plan on.

"Thank God for 1hose guys." Robb, Wc,ser said.

"We actu:1lly understood them and !hey were really nice. We even offered them gum.• Rabb, Weiser ond h,s friends boarded 1he lr.un, and when II reached the Ukram,an border. 1hcy were ordered off the tnm once agam for not tuvmg VJS3S. The tr.Un 3ttcnd3tlt cxpla1nro the s11ua11on 10 the border guards. Rabb, Weiser •••d. "but they didn't seem 10 c:irc aboul who1 she had 10 say."

They did c:irc, though. about what a particular Bclorusian girl hod 10 say.

She was a passenger on lhc same train as Rabbi \Vc1.scr. who. os an English speaker. offered her help 10 lhc Rabbi's group.

"Whal a malach!" Rabb, Weiser so,d. "This girl sold these Ukr.un1an guards on our visa story. You know, I thmk they hSlcned lo her because she was, well, much better looking than me."

Regardless of the rcoson.

1he guords-oficr holding up the tram for nearly two hours because Rabbi \Vc1sa and several other p:isscngcrs

lacked visos-lc1 1he train go.

Robbi Weiser anangcd to 1ravcl from K icv lO Lithuania, . ending the tnp in V,lnous (V,lna).

For his pan, Rabbi Weiser said he isn'I as much upset about the visa incident os he is dismayed. "ll's very sad 10 1hink these Eas1ern European countries are still wasting their time on this n:irishkci� • he said. "If they would open their borders, maybe 1hey would hove more economic development." The United States requires most. but not all foreign lrnvclers to present vis.as upon entering the country. Rabbi Weiser soid he unders1ands "hY the United States needs its visa policy ancr Sq,1. 11. bul Can• not comprehend \\ hy Eastern European guards feel the need to cause tra,clcrs to "1remblc."

S1ill. he d1dn'1 let such thoughu overshodow the lrip. lie cited his visits to the gr.,vcs of 1hc Ba'ol Shem Tov, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdi1chev, ond Rabbi Nachman of Brcslcv as some highlighu of the "journey.• Ye� his enjoymenl of each of these "amazing "' sites was 1empcrcd by the realiruion that thousands of Jews \A.'CfC murdered nearby. Rabbi We1.scrS31d.

"II was 111 hol and cold­ old yeshivas here. mass grncs here. I mel good peo­ ple "ho were nice to us. n.nd anti-Semites.. too. But that's Europe."

In the Army Now: Enduring a Week of IDF Bo_ot Camp

Dy Adlnt Goodman '06

I repressed 3 nerve• mduccd laugh :1ttack as I robo11c3lly shou1ed a greel• mg at the sergeant facing me.

It was my third day in the onny As 3 pon of Mach llach Amly, a Bne1 Ak1va summer progr:,.m, I endured a week or s1mul:itcd basic trainmg in lhc: Israel Defense Forces.

There ""ere times throughout the week when I s,mply won· dcred whol I wos doing there.

My commander would loud• ly remind my friends and me e\•eryday that we were "not m summer camp,"' a state­ ment which always seemed a bu funny 10 me. Yes, I am in summer camp. I thought. But the army tned to convince me otherwise, mainly through mandatory pushups and run­ ning exercises. All m all, 1t was pretty rough, but I view

�,....Go...,_

Btd«kl'd In paint. Adina·• army croup pos« for a photo. the week as a construCh\'e Yes, we3ring one unileammg experience. form \\'3.5 actually essrnua1 to My fncnds and I found lhe program. ll's amazing out we"' ere capable or fonn- how cliques crumble when mg our bodies 1010 the everyone 1s wearing green Hebrew letter "chet"' m under fatigues and following the ten seconds. We realized th:u same orders. And though It was actually possible to some of our orderl seemed pom1lcss 01 firs,. 1hcy all uh,wosh 100 bowls m one hour.

Most 1mport.:1ntly, we learned malcly taught my unll how to how lo suck m our pride ond ,n1eroct os JUSI lhOl··Onc wear the. same uniform five cohesive umt. We painted walls that we knew would be days in a row!

repamlcd by 01hcrs 1hc fol• lowing day. :ind spcnl SC\'Cf'3l minutes Jltcmatmg between two different smndmg posi­ tions at the st:in of each day.

II o II helped us mesh 1oge1her as :i group.

Of course:, a true unit's members 1.1kc responsib1hty for one :mother. and there• fore. cJch day's activiucs would not commence until e:ich and every last �heh H:1ch-cr was in attendance.

If someone did come lo1e, 1hc cnurc group would pay for the t:udmcss in the form of 40 mandalory pushups.

Ahhough my friend, and I occos10nolly misbehoved to hghlen 1he boot camp olmos• pherc. ii wos lhrough follow• ins the rulcs••Whelher 1hcy seemed sensible or not-that we really learned oboul who we arc and what ii means to be an Israeli soldier.

Mach Hach BaAretz

is a 5 112 week s11m111er l11rogra111 for lentlr grade !grad11atcs run by Bnei Akiva. According to tire Bnei Akiva Website, Mach Hach "offers a 1111iq11e way of exploring and visiting Israel.

Tlrro11gh seminars, vis­ iting historical sites, 1Jcibb11tzim, and meeting wit/1 Bnei Akiva mem­ bers ;,, Israel, Mach Hach Ba'Aretz partici­ lvants experience Israel first hand and develop a deeper 11ndersta11ding and connection to Eretz Yisrael."

September 2004/ Elul 5764

TheRamPage

Campaign 2004

Soum-S-Sorgfl'OS

Below: Upon arival at Madison Square Garden the crowd was frisked and had to pass through metal detectors.

Far Below: Larry King broadcasts live from the convention.

Page 7

Republicans Cbnvenein Big Apple G.O.P.-ers stampeded into New York recently for the Republican National Convention, which commenced Aug. 30 in Madison Square Garden. The convention lasted four days and featured addresses from many prominent politicians, including California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and Arizona Senator John McCain.

The quadrennial bash concluded on Sept. 2 with President Bush accepting the party's nomination to run for re-election. In order to ensure that everything ran smoothly, the city stationed police officers, security guards, and metal detectors around 34th Street and other protester-saturated areas. In fact, many delegates said the Garden was the safest place to be during the convention, which was not due to the hundreds of anar­ chists' lack of effort. Indeed, cumulatively, hundreds of thousands of protesters marched outside M.S.G. (from anti-A IDs nudists to filmmaker Michael Moore), some of them aggressive in rhetoric, others in action. Inside the arena, though, there was nothing but love for the President.

Abm,e: Up close and personal with Fahrenheit 911 Director Michael Moore

Page 8

The RamPage

Orientation 2004

September 2004/ El ul 5764

All phob by C-rl ()pr..,,._ C&

Below: Ariel Chetrit '09 battles a tyke at the Ancient

Playground in a lightsaber duel.

Far Below: Avi Daman '05 hops on one foot through Central Park.

'1'

A

nother year begins, another freshmen class enters Ramaz. On Sept. 7, the ninth graders participated in Freshmen Orientation.

The program began after davening, with the freshmen being escorted on a scavenger hunt by their senior advisers. After that, the group went to the Ancient Playground for meetings with their faculty advisers (though some freshmen managed to sneak in a few rounds of fencing while they were there). Everyone ate lunch in Central Park and then partook in team-building activities with ETA, Education Through Adventure. Upon returning to school, the class of 2008 ate dinner, watched clips from the movie "Miracle," and discussed them with their senior advisers.

Above: Advisers Yitzy Rubin and Alex Meirowitz 'OS chat with their freshman counterp,uts.

summer.

September 2004/ Ehli 5764

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TheRamPage

Features

By Andrew Mehl '07 It is always hard to make the leap from middle school to high school. The most imponant thing for you to remember 1s that you arc not alone.

No matter· what school you coming from.

116 other students arc mak­ ing the some adJustments. In addition, there :1rc three more grades of students ready to meet yo·u , none of whom arc planning to shove you m a locker any time soon. In fact. the seniors will try to make you feel more comfort.able, staning with oncntation and continuing on through semi• nar.

Of course it is expected that as the new kid you will feel lost, and although punc­ tuality is important, do not

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worry, by the end of the first month you will brcome acclimated to the system.

Contrary to any of the rumors you might have heard, your teachers will not assign essays due the next day, they have gone through this process many times and will case you in slowly. Keep m mind, while they will be easy on you in the begiMing, do not abuse their kindness.

Over time. 1cachcrs will become stnctcr and will begm to expect more of you.

With the newfound freedoms of high school come more rcsponsib1l1t1cs.

One of Ramaz's most daunting tasks is understand­ ing the rotating schedule, but 1f you got in I am sure you

can figure 1t out. If you do not get u now do not worry, you will soon, and just in ease the letter of the day is always poslcd on the door of the sixth floor office.

Now that I have con­ vinced you that Ramaz is not as scary as it sounds, I w:int to warn you of one thing, WORK! The real problem that plagues freshman is learning how to keep up with all the work. I cannot stress enough the importance of not procrastinating. Work has a tendency of creeping up on you, making managing your time essential to your mental well-being.

To all you commuters, sleeping on the bus is a must.

Besides havmg to deal with a

Connery, in "Indiana Jones."

This may seem inconsequen­ tial to lhc few among you who have no respect for las! century's film classics, but rm quite confident that the vast majority 1s w,th me on this one.

Wilh regard to the label "junior,' it should also be pointed out thal its synonyms include words like "novice," "beginner," "trainee," and "subordinate." These tcnns may be discouraging initially, but soon you W1II find, as I did, that despite lhc lille, jun­ iors arc treated with infinitely more rcspccl than arc lower­ classmcn. I remember feel­ ing so much more truslcd and adult-like as a Junior, and I was truly slruck by the degree lo which sludcnl­ teachcr rclalionships were altered this past year.

Teachers don't bother with petty homework assign­ ments anymore. No longer babies, you will be responsi­ ble for more long-lcrm ossignmcnl• ond test!, and less childish homework sheets. TI1is will probobly come as good news 10 those

Paramount to familiarity with the gazillion variaties of java and espresso, though, is an ability to keep things in perspective

The most important thing for you to remember is that you are not alone (and that sleeping on the bus is a must!). lack of sleep, many com­ muters feel that they caMot join after school clubs because they end too late.

Ramaz has so many clubs and teams to Join that there is something for everyone, and 1t would be stupid to miss out. Do not make the mlSlakc

of passing on these great opportunities, one of the most prestigious, of course, being your very own RamPage. Aside from giving you something fun and inter­ esting to do, extra curriculars are a great way to meet new people from your grade and others.

Before I finish. I want to remind you that aside from all the worries, concerns and pressures of Ramaz. there are also many cxciling and enter­ taining things for everyone to enjoy.

Remember not to work too hard, relax and enjoy--thcsc arc the best years of your life!

Surviving Junior Year: ��:6°"

By Malka Fleischmann 'OS

With lhc SATs looming and an increased eleventh grade workload all but inevitable, every student can benefit from developing an efficient roulinc !hat allots time for schoolwork, friends, and sleep. As lhc monlhs melt away, you will gain a better understanding of how quickly you can complete certain assignmcnls, and, consequcnlly, you will refine your routine accordingly.

Being open lo change is key. ln fact, change is the very lhing that makes the addi­ tional work of junior year endurable. For one thmg, your lillc changes from "sophomore" to "junior: For !hose of you who have for­ gotten, "Junior" 1s the name given 10 Harrison Ford by his

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of you who were never organized enough 10 keep !rack of nighlly busywork, bul be prepared lo put cfTort inlo your other assignments.

Get ready lo bum the mid­ nighl oil on occasion and become well acquainlcd wilh cofTcc. Paramount to a familiari­ ty with the gazillion vana­ lions of java and espresso, though, is an obilily to keep things in perspeclivc. If you get a failing grndc on a quiz or lest, other than questioning what went ,vrong, planning for lhc ncxl lest, and doing extra crcdil, !here is no way to remedy who! happened.

There is no sense in losing sleep over a poor test mark since this will only further diminish future :icadcmic performance. Gaining per­ spective on life is difficul� but leammg to deal with dis­ appointment in high school will be helpful for college and Ii fc beyond ocadcmia.

Anyone can deal with suc­ cess, but how we focc our failures really dc1ermincs who we arc.

For me, one of lhe mos! rewarding features of junior year was intcracung with my grade. ln the summer after sophomore year, many stu­ dents travel lo Israel and other exotic locales with var­ ious programs, and return with more developed person­ alities. When junior year began, my peers were more open, and I befriended class­ males with' whom I had pre­ viously never spoken.

As I did, you'll also prob­ ably grow closer to your best friends because, well, there is something unifying aboul working on an overly annoy­ ing physics lab al 2:00 A.M. Thal being soid, don'!

expect groups of friends to solidify to the point of clique­ incss (well, maybe a little bit). Indeed, on Junior Retreat, when remote cam(>­ grounds replace the pressure­ cooker Ramaz setting. your grade will coalesce in ways you've never expected. On our Rctrca� the grade's most colorful personalities. who, incidentally, happen to be the quictesl s1uden1s during school, emerged. Instead of placing people by names or categories, I began to associ­ ate my classmates with their faces, humor, and unique characteristics.

There is a lo! lo look for­ ward lo in junior yeM, dcspile what you may hear to the conlrary. Every little endeav­ or can be a learning experi­ ence, whether it ends well or not (and be prepared 10 lough 11 the latter scenario). If nothing else, look forward lo the thrill of finishing junior year-which, in the blink of nn eye, is cxaclly whal you'll find yourself doing.

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The RamPage

September 2004/ Elul 5764

Features

Which FLIK Dessert Takes the Cake?

Apple Stuff

Chocolate Chip Cookies

By J\hlb F1,ischm1nn 'OS

On Fridays, before so much as reaching for a plate and cutlery, c,·ery Ramaz student glances at the posted lunch menu "ith high hopes of a good dessert. While chocolate chip cookies arc a poss1b1hty, 1t is really the gooey wonder that we call apple stuff for which all stu­ dents pine. \Vhcn eating apple stuff, one savors the taste of three separate components: apple chunks, crumbly, caramchzoo sugar topping and the gclotmous apple liq­ uid that is the backbone of this gourmet treat.

If Just relying on taste buds to put this contest to rest 1s not enough, one can look to the facts. One medi um two and a half inch apple, fresh, raw and y,11h 1ts slan has a calonc content of c1ghty•onc. It 3ISO conl.3.ms ,•1tamms A and C ond. one of my J)CfSOMl favontes. iron. Clearly, 1I hos the mokmg of a true

nutntional hero.

Another thmg to bear m mmd 1.s that wh ile one must hold a cookie while eating i� causing one's fingers to get greasy, apple stuff, on the other hand, ts eaten with a fork, alloy,ing for a mess-fr« lunch11mc. A0cr all. we at Ramu dress to impress, 1t 1s import:mt not to soil pnzcd clothing wnh crumbs and remnants from mC3ls.

While many people may sull be heSttant to say no to the chocolate chip cookies which, for so long. have been glonficd by our school, l am here to tell you not to ignore those fttlmgs. for you arc not alone. The NACL (Nauonal An11-Cookic League) has been among the most prcs11g1ous food lcogues m Amcnco Since 1997. Furthermore, wh ile both the cookie ond apple have national d.lys procla1mcd in the i r names. only the apple has a national museum. localed m Bigkrv11le Pennsylvania.

If l sllll have not convincoo you of the supcnor quality of apple stuff, the pl:11n sta11sucs should do the tnck. I have noticed that when I come late to lunch on cookie Fndays, there arc always a surplus of uneaten cookies, while on apple stuff days, the supply quickly depletes. Obviously, Ramoz students have an inS3Uablc appetite for apple goo. no matter how much publicity cook.Jes receive. Morrovc:r, I've noticed the faces of the Fhk staff members as they shake the,r heads, telling me that the apple stulT 1s all gone. They arc afraid to mecr my g.:izc, afra id to be rhc ones \Vho have co break the news gently; once, J thin Ir.. that I almost brought Adalizia to tears. On the other hand, "hen I walk past the ki tchen on cookie days, I'm pressured mto takmg a couple by the plcod­ mg faces of the cooks, who pracucally shove cookies m my dirccuon, hoping 10 get nd of them. O,·cr the years, I have lcamoo that 11 ts the apple for which there 1s understandably greater demand. After a spoonful of opplc stuff anyone else would hkely come to the same conclusi on.

By Ta,·lor Bernheim '06

Ramaz 1s famous for many things: 1ts rigorous academics, 1lS college guid­ ance, but most importantly for its delicious chocolate chip cookies. Forget Famous Amos. Move over Mrs. Fields. Goodbye Mr. Chips. The smell of those li11lc bits of heaven that are FLIK's chocolotc chip cookies diffuses throughout the building every other Friday, putting all, faculty and students alike, in a most exultant mood.

Rowdy, overnowing cro"ds of students who cannot wait for their designated lunch periods rush the lunchroom to get their share of cookies .

O0cn, teachers arc fon:cd to use their linc--cutting privileges, much more than they would on •pple-cnsp days. !low docs FLIK do it? Just "hat is their sccrcl rcc:ipc? Each cookie is comprised of precise amounts of chocolate and dough mixed to perfection. with a crusty circumference and soft center. The consistency is alY.aysjust rig.ht, not too crunchy and not 100 mushy. The proper placement of seven chocolate chips evenly spaced throughout the cookie ensures that �ch bi te will have the appro-­ pnatc amount of cookie and chocolate.

Apple crisp, on the other hand, consist.s of soggy canned fruit still in its jelly. Even if one happens to be so lucky as to get a piece of crisp. it docs not suffice, :ind cannot satisfy that sweet-tooth eraving that a cookie can.

Cookies are also always given out in pairs� and I\\O is the perfect amount.

The first one whets your appetite, galvanizes your taste buds, and leaves you with a whole other cookie to enjoy. When both cookies a.re calcn, the consumer 1s fully satisfied and sauoucd.

There is no othCT snack better complemented by the milk served every Friday. Everyone loves the traditional milk and cookies. Whether skim. 2%, or chocolate, all types of milk arc excellent for dipping. What Friday drink can you dip applc-cnsp m?

Clearly, the chocolate chip cook ies arc the better dessert. no contesl

Sophomore Year Is a Good lime To Stop the Clock

Oy Jonathan Berken ·06

about being a sophomore ,s ll Jlav1ng weathered the means you arc no longer at workload of mnth grade, you the bottom of the Ramaz arc now re3dy to funct ion without sleep and do your totem pole. You arc no longer the "low man" and arc now homework w11h your eyes closed. You know the A's, clcva1ed to the pos111on of "advice giver" rather than B's ond C's of the weekday "advice getter." You know schedule (not to men11on the the "ms" and "outs" of the D's, X's and Y's), and have ninth grildc cumculum and learned how to bal:incc your know which classes arc hard coursework wi th a slew of s:u1sfymg extracurricular and whi ch arc cven harder, and you feel a sense of sat1s­ act1V1t1es You h3Vc made fact1on m being able to offer more fncnds than you could your opinions to mcomrng ever have thought possible.

Those of you who commute freshmen. After all, you've "been there, done that."

10 school by tram •nd subway Sophomore year bnngs have more than memonzcd with 11 the obhga11on. albeit a the most current schedule of Metro North, and know to the most rewarding oqe, of get• m1l11sccond how long 11 tmg involved m a chcscd pro;ccl. Do not leave thtS t.ake1, depending upon the proicct for the last minute. If 11mc you leave �chool, to walk to the subway, lake 11 to you do, not only w,11 Ms. Denel get on your case, but Grand Central, grab a bollle of water, and make your · you wi ll lose out on the 1ruc benefits of chcsed- the tram A0er a lmng week of chance to help others And to clas5C1 and homework. you gel outside or your own con­ have learned to love Shabbal cern, for a change. There arc more 1han ever. endless ways to become One of the best thmg.s

You are no longer the "low man" and are now elevated to the position of "advice giver" rather than "advice getter."

involved m community out­ rcoeh, and you arc bound to find several that arc fulfill­ mg Before you get your new books from the book room, some advice 1s in order.

Keep maktng fncnds and expanding your social group. lncrc will be classmates who were previously not m any of your classes who arc now suddenly s1111ng nght next to you. You will be surprised how many new fncnds you W1ll make 1h1s year. Keep exploring cxtracumcular pursu1t.s. 111crc arc always

new and mtcrcstmg ways to spend your ti me ancr school.

In add111on lo their cduca­ uon.il and rccrcallonal value, clubs arc good venues for making fncnds. Most of all, have some fun. 'lbe unccr-

taintics of freshman )Car a.re over and the angst of junior year is yet to come. Ma.kc the most of your l i me as a sopho­ more. It's a good place to stop the clock.

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September 2004/ Elul 5764

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TheRamPage

RampArts

With Touching Absurdity, Sedaris Strikes a "Cord" Hysterically f111111y, yet warm and poignant, David Sedaris' latest book of essays rnbs readers all tire rig/rt ways

Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim

By Jessica Spiegelman •os David Scdaris has amazed readers yet again w1lh "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim."

His fifth book of essays about his hfc bores through the surface of supposed normahty to rcv(.,-al the ridiculousness that dwells w11hm. The result 1s 1:1.lts that dazzle, making the reader laugh, cry. and. well, laugh. Laugh so hard that whatever you may be eat­ ing at the time will not ma.kc ll to your stonuch. So hard that you C3I\ 't rcmcmbtt a umc when you wacn't laughing.

Sedans 1s pnmanly a humonst. one whom rnl1cs compare lo Marl( Twain and Woody Allen. But once )'OU� able 10 stop laughing long enough to breathe, you reahzc that h,lanty 1s Just one a.spcxl of the ull1• matcly complex stones.

Ostensibly, the Sedans family lives a fairly rou• tmc lift. They make fun of their neighbors. consid­ er buymg a summer home. sleep over wnh fncnds (the kids. at lea<t), and \\Ork after-school Jobs (again. JUSI the kids) When the children gro" up. they :mend college. get rC'.31 Jobs. and v1su each other on hohdays.

But this 1s not ,, h31 the rt"ader secs. 1ne re:i.der secs 3nd hears only D3vid"s ,oice. pomtmg out the absurdity undcrlyrng 11 all. I hs fanuly may appear

a uid quirky to the outside observer: Ihv1d's p3r• cnts lovingly insult their children, for instance. Yet m no way would a neighbor consider them "the cr.izy Sedanses." On balance, they're JUSl a r.ither sundard bunch.

Yet. the farmhal quirks arc rrogruficd to the point of farce m Dav1d's dcsc-npuons. S1multancously, Sedans comments on and accentuates his personal

For Braff, Jersey Is A State of Mind

By Jessica Spltgtlman ·OS As a m1t1\'C of New Jersey, I w'as unmcduatcly intrigued \\ hen I learned of "Garden State,•· Scrubs star Zach Brafrs directorial debut about a man "ho. long­ estranged from his family in 1hal slale, returns for his mother's funeral. As 11 lums out. the movie as not actually about the Garden State Itself. but "hat New Jersey repre­ sents: home.

Braff also stars as Andrew Largcm3Jl, m a role as absurd a.s It 1s touching.

"Large" takes dozens upon dozens of mcd1ca11ons and calls himself an ac1or, despite workmg as a waiter Bl a restaurant where patrons abuse him endlessly. He hvcs an a St3lc of lethargy in ha home 1.n California; he dnfts from day to day m a haze, not really fechng any­ thing.

But then his par.1pleg1c molher dies, and he returns to the home he 1cn ten years before. lie meets Sam (Natalie Portman)-an over­ ly outgoing patholog1cal har with a severe case of cp1kp­ sy-and slowly foils m love with her. lie reunites with fncnclJ he hun ·1 seen smec he "'" 16 and resolves h,s

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Portman plays the type of hauntingly authentic character to whom anyone can relate.

issues wllh his father.

As the mo, 1c progresses. smoothly alternating between h1lanty and gloom, questions arc ans\\crcd: specifically, why Large left home, ond why he 1s takmg M> many med1cauons (ll involves his mother's handicap). The answers both shock and move the audience. Indeed, one wants only lo g1\'e Urge a hug and make 1l all better.

But he must do It for himself.

Eventually, wtlh the help of Sam and best fnend Mark, Large learris that what IS truly 1mpor1ant m hfc 1s being sure of oneself. Though shgh1ly sappy, this moral is strength­ ened by BrafT's skilled oe11ng and sccmmgly genuine emo11on on screen.

Maybe more mov111g than BrafT"s chanctcr 1s Sam, whose family has killed a few too many pct, and who must wear a protective hel-

met to \\ ark because or her seizures. Portman pcrfonns with a srnccnty th3t tran• s«nds her role. Despite her ludicrous trappings. Sam 1s the type of hauntingly authenuc character to whom anyone can relatc--cp1lcpt1c or not. If you need one reason to sec this mo,·1c, sec 11 for Ponman.

"Garden State' IS • fabu­ lous portrayal of a lost man and the d1flicully he encoun­ ters finding his way back to wherever he needs to be. The moV1c 1s not so' much about New Jersey, but about how the home you hate can s;ave you.

Braff, a nauvc Jcrsey-1te, seizes upon 3I1 ordinary thought to make this mov,e inspiringly extr:lordmary: namely, that thm is something magical about the place m wluch you grew up. Of course, you knew that to b<-gin ",th, but then a1,"2in, Large probably J1d at some point, 100.

Garden State

Directed and wntten by Zach Braff; With. Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Ian Hold, Method Man, Jean Smart, Peter Sarsgaard, Ron Leibman; Distributed by Fox Searchlight; running time: 109 minutes.

Who, What, and Whore: A Gu1dt lo 1/11J Mo,ilh m Cnttrtoi,1mt11I 1l!4ll 11/lltlO.llJ 'J/1.b 912..1 'ThoMo,..,cydr U'¥1l ::::.?>"'"' "IV��";'"' ll�I, rdc!.a.."1 al llllt"Al lhc WhllY•')' ,1 St.uland R!� �:...

NY, NY 11l.-rs natn'IW1Cle Sqn.•v\Ut, NJ •11_-n Nlir,w,wide

David Sedaris ISBN: 0316143464 Format: Hardcover, 272pp Pub. Date: June 2004 Publisher. litUe, Brown & Company neuroses. of which, of course, there arc many. It's a delightful combination that lends Sedans an obses­ sive-compulsive narrative voice-albeit one that compels rt"adm to giggle: from cover to cover.

Pcrliaps. though. whnt makes Sednris such an engaging read is the wannth that subtly pcnncates the hilarity. In mocking his kin and contemporaries.

Scdaris displays his own odd form of affection for them· anc:r all, he is one of them. lfo parents. brother and sisters may be slightly odd. but it is David, the homosexual wi1h OCD who dropped out of college twice and prefers being on drugs to any• thing else, who unquestionably is the strangest of the bunch. More than anything. this fact comforts the reader. sending the message that no matter how big a disappointment you arc, you can nlwnys bounce back. disco, er your inner talent. and write five best-selling books. And, this, loo, makes us laugh.

But one cavc;at'. Do not read this book in pub­ lic. Your parox) smal laughing may cause those nearest )OU to deem you Cra.l) Then again. if you •re reading David Sedans, you know by now there's nothmg wrong wuh that.

Clapton is God (Almost) Sarah Sabshon '05 Enc Clapton hu once again proven himscff to be one of history's greatest gu11ans1. perfonn mg this sum• mer in Madison Square Garden m celebration of the release of his new album.

"Mc and Mr. Johnson." • tribute to legendary blues gu1tanst Robert Johnson.

Although the new album consists entirely of blues songs, Clapton's concert \\3S filled with classics from h,s 2002 hve album "One More Car. One �·tore Rider.• Tak ing the stage at 8 PM, after the Robert Randolph Family Band's opening act, Clopton began with, "Let It Ratn," one of his older hlls, S<lhng the pace for the rest of the concert, a rehashing of Clapton fan favorites. He contmued with lruc classics like "Hoochic Cooch1e Man." S\Vondcrful Tomght, • "Layla," and "Cocaine."

While crowd pleascrs, these songs arc nothmg hke those on Clapton1s newest CD. The few songs performed from his new album were mscrtcd m the middle of the concert, creating a kind of m1m-con­ ccrt.

In the fi"t pcrfonnanec of has thrcc-mght stmt at the Garden, Clapton's cnthus1• osm was evident and soa.nng.

While lyp1cally known for his complc� ond lcchrucally ud\•nnccd MU1tor nffs, Clapton seemed to be ploy-

Eric Oa�btrt RllndolDh Ma:mi�Gader\ NYC .>.re 21hll. 2004 ing from a script. In every solo, Clapton "ould start off rod.ing back with his guitar. nhng the cro"d with 3 prom­ ising beginning of thrill• filled 1mpro, isation. but would then re\'crt to pre• arranged notes.

Doyle Bmmhall II. ihc band's other guitarist, improvised with more spunk than Chlpton but never reached the distinct and polished sound that the band's leadcr achieved.

Clapton played with such skill and gusto that no one could dispute his technique.

The middle-aged crowd rev­ eled in Clapton's older songs. cheering, dancing. singing. and playing air�guit:u 1hroughout the stadium. llaving played guitar for over 40 years, in bands li�e The Yardbirds. the Blucsbrcakcrs. and Blind Faith with Steve Winwood. to this day. Clapton is best when performing solo.

After two hours of Clapton's hypnotizing melodics. high, wailing notc111 ond catchy rhythms the audi­ ence was trc3tcd to an encon: collaboro.tion with Robert Randolph Everyone was lcn begging for more, leaving the stadium humming and ram• msc1ng over mcmoncs from another cm.

Page 12

Sams Sports

By Samuel Siegel '05

After Years of Olyn1pic Woe, Israel Basks in First Gold The h1slof)' 1s all t o o rccrnt, thC' mc-mory all 100 fresh. The ) C'ar wi1s 1972.

The Olympic Gumcs hod :im,·cd in Munich. Germany.

Along \l+tth them came the lsr.1ch t�m. :uhlctcs and C03.chcs togtthc:r.

Commg to Gamany. the country "hose 'lli rcg1mc h3d anmh1lated S1"t m1lhon kws, was rmotmn:illy diffi­ cult for the Israeli athletes But the mood would be d1f•

th3I JUSI concluded m Athens, the antt-lsmch actions con­ tmuc-d. ArJsh lircsmac1h, the gold medal fovontc: from lrln m the men's 66-kg-:rnd­ undcr JUdo compcuuo11, foi­ foucd (by reportedly weigh• mg m at 68 kg) his mntch ag:11nst Israeli Ehud V:iks to show sohd:mty with the PJkstm13J\s. lr.umm President Johammad Khatanu pr:mcd Miresmac1h. .. The move now,---------fcrcnt by the lraman they thought; As "Hatikvah " world Judo the G:imc:s pion '" would be filied blared over the cham '-'llh the pro1est to the arena's massacre of Olympic sp1nt Pal eS l l n i a n of brotherhood loudspeaker.' Gal people by the sports· and Fridm an showed Zionist regime m.:msh1p. l lowe,,cr, w,11 be recordthe world cd in lhc histoon September 5. 1972, 11 everything the ry of Iranian Jsr.aeli athletes • glories." he and coaches Qly mptCS are said. according were taken supposed to be to the Islamic Repu b II c hostage by about. ews Agency.

P,lcstm1an ICT· ronsl.J. The An Iranian German gov----------- N :J 1 1 o n o I cmmcnt spearheaded :J resOlympic Committee officrnl cue attempt All 0T1he lsraeh s:ud that M1rcsmae1h was athletes and coaches were directed not to fight bccauo;e murdered. The surviving ter- of government guideline,; ronsts were cap1urcd, but bamng compcu11on "against freed a short while later. The ::a1hlctcs of the Zionist Jnternauonal Olympic regime: The IOC failed 10 sanction Iran nnd 11.5 chief, Comm111ec (IOC) has, to 1h1s day, never offic1ally rccogJacques Rogge, dodged lhc n,zcd this ternble massacre. issue tn several mterv1C\\S, They h.Jvc not held any comOut good news came out mcmorative service m honor bf Athens. too. Gal Fndm:rn of those at hletes. nor have (whose first name means they ob�rvcd :J moment of "wave" m I lcbrcw) won the gold mt<lal m wmdsurfi ng. silence dunng any of the It wu lsrncl's first Olympic Games.

But Israel's hardships ,n gold medal ever. mtemallonal sporting comAl the medal ceremony. "lbt1kva" resounded from pcl11Jon didn't end m J9TI. 1hc speakers as an arena In 2003, before the Spc:cu1I Olympics in Ireland. both filled with JUb1lnnt Israelis snng along. \Vhen Fndmnn.

Saud, Arabia nnd Algeria announced th:11 they would now n nnttonnl celebrity 111 not permit any of their nthIsrael, wns asked what he lc1cs 10 compete ngams t would do when he come home, he answered, "I w1II lsr.u::h athletes. Libya has go 10 the memonal place for dropped out of the running 10 ho<t the 2010 Soccer World (the athletes killed in 19721 Cup because II cannot assure o.nd show them the gold FIFA that It w1II mv1tc lsrnel medal." In this b111crswcct 10 pan1c1patc. Not surpns- moment. Fridman showed mgly. no mtemat1onnl sport- the world--from M1rcsmnc1h mg body C\'Cr issued ::i sane- to Rogge--evcrythmg !he 1ion ag11mst Libya, t1ud1 Olympics arc supposed to be Arab111 or Algeria. abouL In the 28th Olymprnd

The RamPage

September 2004/ Elul 5764

Sports Jewish Athletes Gather at Maccabi Uy Nlcolr Demby ' 06 ll1c sp1nt of the Olympic G::,,mes m:ide its way from A thens, Greece to Jewish Commumty Centers across the country for lhc JCC Mnceabi Gnrncs. Every sum­ mer since the games started m 1982, Jewish lecns from nil over the world compete 111 Mncenbi games all over North Amencn. llic games bst n week and teens comJ)C'te 1n either an mdt\ 1du:il or n tenm sport at several host Siles. Add111onally, lhe :.llh• lctcs C0J0Y evening ac11v111es where they have the oppor1u­ m1y to socialize w11h each other and part:ike in acts of chescd on the Day of Cnnng and Sharing. This ycar the four host dclcgallons were Austin. Columbus, Greater \Vashmgton and Bos ton.

Each sue hosts their gnmcs on a d1ITcrc:nt week m the month of August. Dunng the

week of the games out of town participants ·stay with host fam,Jics. While oil oflhc compclitors arc drawn to the games because of athletics, it 1s the soc1:1l aspect of the games that many cnJoy. "For me, it's more a social thing than a. sports thmg. I get a chance to meet people from all over the world," said Aaron Gordon '06 who played basket ball in Doston. Gordon·s team won the silver medal, the firs t medal of Gordon's three-year long �•laccabt career.

"It was a really fun and amazing C;lpcnence. It was kids from all over the world competing and then soci:thz• mg at nights," �1d Andie Shimko '07. who played ten• n1s at the Maccab1 games.

Shimko. who went on to wrn a bronze medal m the doublcs compe11t1on, wa.s the only tennis player from her

delegation, the 92nd Street Y, so she was lcfl wi1hout a coach. "It was OK. I got sup­ port from parents and other coaches."

Other Ramaz athletes such ns varsity basketball player Zachary Rosenberg '06 and Amanda Dclshad '07, who played soccer. compc1cd in the JCC Maccabi games 1h1s summer.

While the 2004 JCC Maccabi games may only h::i.ve lasted a week, the ath­ lelcs who participated have memories to last a lifetime.

"It was amazing. It's an enjoyable experience.

I meshed with my tc:im really \\CII." Gordon says. Shimko and Gordon both say that they made friends at the games that they plan on lecping in touch with O\'er the year.

Leading Cheers Across The Pond

By Miriam Krult '05 Wollang through the halls these next few weeks one is bound to run into a new face or two. One of Rnmaz·s newest faces is not a freshman bu1 a scmor. Dayna Edelman 'OS. After growmg up on the Uppl'f East Side. m 2000 Edelman·s family 1110\'ctl to the London suburb of llnfstead Gardi..-n when: her father's business had 1ransfcm.,� him.

For the next four years Edelman cnrolh...'1 in the Amcncan School of London, an m�111u11011 allcnJcJ by Siu­ dents from over 58 eountncs who were also living m London tcmpor:mly. llccausc of 1hc .school's diversity evcry­ one wns rclauvcly accq>hng of m. ·w cultures. 1' ncrc were so many people with d1ITcrent views and no one wanted to step on anyone else's toes."' sud D;1ynn Sull. there were a lot of sccunty issues outside the school. rnngmg from 1\nthrax scan:s follO\\'lllS the e\'cnts of 9/11 to vandalism m synagogues. but because of t!-<: school's sccunty Edelman fell very safe. "My school deal! wllh all the issues m o very appropriate and 11mcly manner.

Dunng u.: Anthr.L, scare oil mail wns opened outside of school. In adchuon. m order to enter tl-<: school one had lo h:,,·c a photo ID. " Even though Edelman 's commumty '-''1\S not d1rtttly affected by a.ny acts of ,'3.rlc.bhsm her family wns sull very careful.

"My mom wouldn '1 let my brother leave u.: house wcanng • lapale" Al thoogh Edelman fell completely SJ.fc, 11 was stJII

really hard for hcr to be obscr· vant. Her lcachers never understood why she was unable to find enough lime to complete her homework 0\'er the "cckcnd or why shC" nm,scd so much school.

"En.,:y year when It "3mc to SuU..ot they \\ oul<l ,, ondcr "hy I w:i.s ulmg so nuny days

�.1.1.,... ,........

lh.)'na Edelman ·os, former ,·:anlty chct'rludt'r for 1hr

Amcrlc:a n School In London.

off. and every year I would cxplam to them thnt it wns a Jewish hohday." When ll came to the SAT's, while most of us arc stressed out about words, Edclnun had to r,b'Ul'C out o way to take them. ln order 10 test on Sunday she had to request special pcnmssmn and find someone willing to super­ vise. and ended up taking lhen1 with only one other girl m the room.

Perhaps the most difficult part of the move was adJustmg to the suburbs where: lhcrc was no public transportatloo.

"After yc,rs of buses and cabs, I became too dependent on my

parents to drh c me places. I couldn ·1 even dri, e myself bc-cnusc m) p:ircnts didn"t wruit me lcnming how to drive on the \\ rong side of t.he stm:c" Also. because the stu­ dent bod) ":is constantly dunging. 1t w:is \eT) diffi uh to esu.bhsh any long-term rela­ tionships. "Th< school usclf was great the hbr.uy was beau• tiful nnd hod amaz.ing resources, but it was \'Cl)' diffi­ cuh not to have nny rc.:tl friends," \\'hnt made up for the constant change "as the eh:mcc to chl-cr nfier school. ''llu: coolest lhing was thnt I got 10 be n \'llNity chccrlc:vJcr. in the Stales there was no wny I could do someth ing like that·· After four ye�u-s of living in London. Dayna's family dL 'Cidcd it was time to co1l1c back to the states.

While Dayna e1tjoycd her time spent chccrlcnding nnd in tl-<: daikroom worlang on pho­ tography, she is \'Cry excited to be b.1ck. "ll1cy hod nm:uing facilities at the Amc-ricM School and I know I got a great education, but I cannot wnit lo be OOck in a Jewish environ­ ment. I've been cbming back to the St.ates during the summer to attend Camp Hillel and work at Camp Mocd and I am excit­ ed to sec my friends evciydoy.

I feel like a very different per• son because of my c.xpcrienccs and nm gra1cful for them. I understand now that life, as u Jew, is not always th::u easy. I know \\hat it's like to work for it a.nd cnn stand up and be proud that I'm Jewish."