For the first time in the 17 year history of Yeshiva University's Annual Red Sarachek Basketball Tournament, a high school affiliated with the Conservative movement will compete. Chicagoland Jewish High School, an affiliate of the Solomon Schechter Day School Association, the flagship educational system of the Conservative movement, is slated as the fifteenth seed in the 18-team tournament, the University announced on its MacsLive website.
On Sunday March 24, Yeshiva University in conjunction with the OU will be a hosting its first ever Tanach Yom Iyun in Furst Hall. The program was initiated by two students, Simcha Gross and Yehuda Bernstein, who felt there was a need for a program of this sort.
On Thursday, March 6 two busses full of YU students traveled to the Young Israel of Monsey to pay their final respects to their friend, Ely Steinberger. Ely, an alumnus of Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh and Yeshiva College, succumbed to a severe muscular condition at the age of 24.
In Spring 2009, Dr. Peter Achinstein, Dr. Richard Richards, and Linda Brown will assume positions and begin teaching classes in the Yeshiva College philosophy department. The appointments are headlined by Achinstein. Having been at Johns Hopkins for many years, Achinstein will begin teaching at YC in January 2009.
Last Thursday, March 13, in conjunction with the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, Yeshiva University held a memorial service in the Schottenstein Cultural Center for the eight students who were massacred last Thursday by a Palestinian terrorist in Yeshivat Mercaz Harav.
Whether walking through the cafeteria, the library, or any other place where YU students traditionally gather, it is not uncommon to hear students griping about YU's general curriculum, complaining about what they feel is the unnecessary nature of many of the courses they are forced to take because of YC's general education requirements.
Since Fall 2006, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Joanne Jacobson has headed the Yeshiva College curriculum review, an initiative designed to create an exciting academic experience for the students of YC. One of Dean Jacobson's major contributions to the review, aside from initiating faculty discussions and focus groups, was establishing intellectually stimulating seminars for first year students.
Yeshiva College Department of Jewish Studies has instituted a new program designed to pair up Jewish Studies majors with faculty mentors to assist the student in choosing courses for his major. The mentor will discuss course selections, as well as career or graduate school options that the student may be interested in.