2008 Woodie Awards
Two well-known Yeshiva College adjunct faculty members will not be returning next semester, much to their own surprise, The Commentator has learned. Prof. James Vrettos, an adjunct in the Sociology and Statistics departments and Dr. David Ben-Menachem, a full time lecturer in the Hebrew Language department, were both recently informed their contracts will not be renewed.
It has been a little more than two months now since the Israeli Ministry of Education announced that they would stop recognizing Yeshiva University degrees. The decision was based on the fact that up to a year of credit is given for time spent learning in Yeshivas in Israel.
On March 6 and 7, 15 students from Yeshiva University and Stern College journeyed to Washington D.C. on a mission to lobby for Israel. The mission, a project of the Israel Club, Political Science Society, and Social Justice Club, was supported by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Avi Chai Foundation.
Three prominent rabbis within the Yeshiva University hierarchy recently addressed a packed Rubin Shul on the religious aspects of contemporary political issues in the State of Israel. Chancellor Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, Dean of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbi Zevulun Charlop, and Mashgiach Ruchani Rabbi Yosef Blau held a panel discussion on Wednesday, March 2, sponsored by the Yeshiva University Israel Club (YUIC).
Sunday, March 20, dignitaries from far and wide gathered at The Plaza Hotel to celebrate the 75th birthday of Rabbi Arthur Schneier, and the dedication of the Rabbi Arthur Schneier Center for International Affairs at Yeshiva University. More than 450 people, including Senator Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and Israel's New York Consul General Arye Mekel, turned out for the extravagant dinner.
Genocide is not a topic generally greeted with much enthusiasm. However, when Samantha Power addressed the subject on March 1, the auditorium on the Beren Campus was filled to capacity. Employing humor to make the subject palpable, Power discussed genocides past and present, as well as their future prevention.
Following a series of hirings at the University level, President Richard M. Joel recently announced the appointment of much-admired educator Rabbi Mark Gottlieb to the position of Head of School at the Yeshiva University High School for Boys/The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy (YUHSB/TMSTA), an affiliate of Yeshiva, as well as a newly-created role of Advisor to the Vice President for University Life on Educational Continuity.
On Purim evening, March 24th, 300 Yeshiva University students gathered in the Max Stern Athletic Center for singing, food and fun, in honor of the holiday. The Neginah Orchestra played a plethora of Jewish songs for over three hours before taking a break for the Purim Shpiel, the annual skit that playfully mocks University happenings over the past year.
On Purim Morning, March 24th, 150 students from Yeshiva, Stern and other area universities gathered at the Wilf Campus on a holiday mission. Together, they set off to visit the sick and bedridden individuals that were unable to go out and enjoy the holiday themselves.
Over 300 students gathered together for the weekend of Shabbat, March 12, to probe issues involving Israel and anti-Semitism. The Shabbaton, sponsored by the Yeshiva University Israel Club (YUIC), featured notable speakers Dennis Prager, a syndicated radio talk show host, Dr.
On March 20, 32 teams and countless fans gathered together for a night of non-stop basketball. Not for the NCAA tournament, not even for Sarachek. These ninety-six players and their fans were here to celebrate March Madness - YU style. 3-on-3, the quintessence of Jewish basketball, was the game that graced the floor of the Furst gym that fateful night.
In a recent lecture publicized around and beyond the Yeshiva community, Rabbi Nathan Kamenetsky delivered "Of Bans, Earthquakes and Tsunamis," sponsored by the Torah u-Madda Lecture Series, on March 10, 2005, before a packed audience of nearly 300 undergraduate students from both campuses, faculty and members of the general Jewish community, in Furst 501.
Over two hundred students from the Sy Syms School of Business gathered on Wednesday, March 16, for the second annual Dr. William Schwartz Business Plan Competition. The event, held in Belfer Hall, was co-sponsored by the Sy Syms School of Business and the Rennert Entrepreneurial Institute, which is headed by Dr.
The Megillah may be read as early as the 11th of Adar, and in choosing a seasonally appropriate event, the Sophomore class decided that the celebration aspect of Purim could also begin a few days ahead of time. On March 21st they held a "freilichin" event that included music, pizza, and bowling with friends from the Ohel foundation.
On Thursday, March 10, Yeshiva held a memorial for Rabbi Michael Katz, a longtime Rosh HaYeshiva at Yeshiva. Before the memorial even started, the Beit Midrash was packed with people of all ages, including some of Rabbi Katz's foremost students. The aisles were filled with chairs and the walls lined with Yeshiva students eager to hear about the late scholar.