Yeshiva University Observer

SCW's First Graduating Class Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

In addition to Commencement, SCW will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its first graduating class on Thursday, May 22.
Scheduled as an all-day event, participants in the reunion will be marching in the Commencement ceremonies and will be cited for their achievements, with special recognition from YU President Richard M. Joel.

Fourth Floor Plans Finalized for 215 Lex

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Expansion on the Beren Campus is continually in progress, as the next phase of construction begins on the fourth floor of the 215 Lexington building, to which the psychology and speech pathology and audiology departments will relocate in time for the fall 2008 semester.

In Final Interview, Dean Reflects on Past Year, with Eye Towards Future

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The Observer's news editor, Yael Wolynetz, sat down with SCW Dean Karen Bacon for the year's final interview.

2008 Commencement to Recognize ADL Director and UMichigan Scholar

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

On May 22, Yeshiva University (YU) will celebrate its 77th annual Commencement. Unlike last year's ceremony, which took place at Radio City Music Hall, this year's graduation will occur in the WaMu Theater in Madison Square Garden.

Syms Dinner Celebrates School Achievements

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

On April 30, Yeshiva University's Sy Syms School of Business (SSSB) honored both alumni and graduating seniors at its annual awards ceremony and gala dinner at Bridgewaters, located at the South Street Seaport.

Survivor and Students Share Stories of Holocaust

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

On May 1, hundreds of Yeshiva University undergraduate students gathered in Weissberg Commons on the Wilf campus in commemoration of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. The turnout was larger than the organizers had anticipated, and facilities brought in an extra 100 chairs to accommodate the crowd.

Straddling Two Worlds, Chabad Students Carve Niche on Beren Campus

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The student body of Stern College for Women (SCW) includes a range of women from many different countries and communities. One of these communities is that of the worldwide Chabad-Lubavitch movement, the Jewish group known for its international outreach efforts and fervent messianic aspirations.

Understanding Halakhic Policy: Rabbinic Authority at SCW

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Determining halakha on the Beren campus is no simple matter. The wide scope of issues raised by students, ranging from more personal inquiries to broader questions of school policy, has prevented any one individual from serving as the college's absolute decisor. As a result, rulings on subjects such as candle-lighting in dormitories and women's megillah reading are the products of a group decision-making process.

Stern Through the Ages

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Based on the events that took place at SCW in the 1970s, it is safe to assume that students at the time believed that academic opportunities should be open to any young woman eager to expand her intellectual horizons. The watershed events of the 1970s fostered a greater commitment to women's scholarship.

Summer Housing Opens Options for Stern Students

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The end of May at Stern College for Women (SCW) means that it is time to pack up a year's worth of books, papers, and clothing in preparation for a summer away from the Midtown campus. However, some women who are pursuing summer plans in the New York City environs have the opportunity to delay their packing for a month, as they have the option of extending their stay in Beren campus housing.

CJF Enlists YU Grad Students in Website for Jewish Teens

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Many Jewish youth organizations have attempted to channel the instant connection available through the internet into sources of education and interaction by developing websites geared specifically to Jewish teenagers.

Here's Looking at You

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Perhaps it is a bit anachronistic to describe The Observer's mission in its final issue, but at the close of the academic year, I feel the need, hopefully justifiably, of breaking from the traditional editorial framework to reflect more personally on the challenges of printing a women's newspaper.

Academia Anxiety

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

As an English Literature major at Stern, I feel in no way ready to embark on the journey into academia that I so desperately wish to take.

The Race Disgrace

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Student Council and TAC elections on April 2 more closely resembled a kindergarten word search game than undergraduate elections at a well-known American university. I, for one, was severely disappointed.

Reforming the Jewish Studies Major

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The Jewish studies major at Stern College for Women is in need of serious improvement.

Students majoring in the subject should be required to take certain prerequisite courses so that they will all share a standard baseline of knowledge. Furthermore, those majoring in Jewish studies should be expected to attain their bachelor's in this field through rigorous textual study, not simply by sitting through frontal lectures and shiurim.

As We Stand in Silence

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Sirens blare all the time on Lexington Avenue. There is rarely a class that passes undisrupted by cars, fire trucks or ambulances racing by on the busy streets below. In a city teeming with over eight million residents, one can imagine that emergencies occur quite often.

To Speak Articulately: Refinement, Reverence, and Respect in Language

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

What does it mean to speak in a respectful and articulate matter? What does this mean, most particularly, with regard to the sacred texts we study, that is, our Tanakh, Gemara and the like?

Honest Politics

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Whenever I discuss the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, I typically enter into the same discussion over and over again from my peers here at Stern.

YU Community Commemorates then Celebrates: Hundreds Gather in Lamport Auditorium for Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

At 7:30 p.m. on May 7, the YU community gathered in the Wilf Campus's Lamport Auditorium to first remember the fallen Israeli soldiers and then to celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut through tefilla chagigit, dancing and falafel.

Students Remember the Fallen at Beren Yom Hazikaron Ceremony

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

On Tuesday evening, May 6, over 250 Yeshiva University students, staff, faculty, and guests gathered in Koch Auditorium for the second annual Yom Hazikaron event, organized by Nina Bursky-Tammam (SCW '08) and Simeon Botwinick (YC '09).

Brandeis Conference Introduces New Center for Israel Studies

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Brandeis University hosted roughly 300 people at a conference entitled "Visions & Visionaries: Imagining Israel at Sixty" on April 6, including Dr. Ruth Bevan and twelve Yeshiva University (YU) students, most of whom are enrolled in Bevan's Israeli Political Thought honors course.

Rutka's Notebook: The Polish Anne Frank

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The launching party for "Rutka's Notebook," a diary written in 1943 Poland by a 14-year-old girl named Rutka Laskier, took place May 1 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park. Published by Time Books in conjunction with Yad Vashem, the 60-page diary was preserved by Rutka's Polish friend for 62 years before being released to the Polish public and most recently, to Hebrew- and English-speaking readers.

Israel Revealed: The Beauty of the Night

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

May 11, 2008 marks the opening of "Celestial Nights: Visions of an Ancient Land" at the YU Museum. "Celestial Nights" features photographs of landscapes in Israel and the Sinai Desert, taken by acclaimed artist Neil Folberg, whose work is breathtaking in scope and focus.

The Secret Scroll Unrolled

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Ronald Cutler's first novel, "The Secret Scroll," suffers from an ailment that appears to afflict many a promising action thriller-it's yet another Dan Brown wannabe, an attempt at "The Da Vinci Code" without being as clever or controversial.

Contraception Constrained: SCW Health Center Explains Rationale for Birth Control Policy

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Campus health centers located at colleges around the country serve various functions for their students, providing routine medical attention, education about safe sex practices, alcohol, and substance abuse, and nutritional guidance. Recent cuts in the discounts offered to women who buy contraceptives at college health centers have caused the cost of birth control to increase. This measure, implemented in 2007, affects students nationwide, as college health centers have typically been an inexpensive source of necessary birth control. However, the women at Stern College for Women (SCW) face a different set of circumstances altogether-the health center at SCW does not offer any kind of contraceptives to its students.

Curriculum Changes Bring Greater Flexibilty, Diversity to Biology Majors

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

At the recent open forum with SCW Dean Karen Bacon, plans were revealed for curriculum changes throughout the college, some of which impact the school's science departments. While several adjustments will be implemented in the coming year, the final modifications will become effective in the fall of 2009.

Ferkauf Program Provides Research Forum for Students

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

On May 15, the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and the Institute of Public Health Sciences will be hosting the fifth annual Yeshiva University Behavioral Science Student Research Conference. While scheduled to be held on the Jack and Pearl Resnick campus of Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM), "Research Day," as the program is commonly called, is open to all undergraduate and graduate students at the university.

Center for Ethics Event, in Conjunction with NYU, Discusses Public Health

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

On the evening of April 30, the Center for Jewish History hosted a lecture by Professor Onora O'neill titled "Broadening Bioethics: Clinical Ethics, Public Health, and Global Health." The talk was attended by graduate students of Yeshiva University, a small showing of undergraduate students from Stern College for Women, and several scholars of bioethics from different universities.

En Vogue Inspiration: Where do you get your dose?

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

When it comes to our personal style, whether consciously or not, we all go through this process. We are inspired by art, music, nature, dance, literature, philosophy, and the list goes on, ad infinitum. We then integrate those ideas and ideals, which specifically speak to us, into our own sartorial personas. We dare to try something new on for size and then gauge our gut reactions.

Industry Insider: SCW Student Studies at New York's Fashion Library

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

This past summer I had an extremely rewarding experience while working at Albright Fashion Library, a high-end designer showroom catering to top stylists who work on magazine spreads, advertising campaigns, editorials, books and more. The showroom staffers are the stylists to the stylists, assisting them with the varied looks and pieces needed to complete their jobs.

Fashion on the Far Side

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

After spending ten-fast paced days in Tokyo, Japan, I realized my trip would not be complete without a visit to the famous Harajuku Street. The surprisingly tiny thoroughfare in the center of the fashion district of Tokyo is rapidly becoming the next major Fashion Capital of the world.
Harajuku is renowned worldwide for its young, urban style and eccentric fashion.