Arts Festival

Students Display Artistic Ability

The Second Annual Yeshiva College Arts Festival, arranged by YC Dean Norman Adler and students Harold Willig and Yonaton Kagonoff, took place the last week in February, with a series of events that were open for both faculty and students. According to the administration, the aim of the festival was to stress the importance of students exercising intellectual and artistic talents outside the classroom.

Dean Adler instituted the festival last year in hopes of enlarging the aesthetic scope of Yeshiva College by giving the students a chance to artistically express themselves. He calls the festival a "playground for the mind and spirit." Although the faculty provided the general background, Adler asserted that it was the students who made the this event possible.

Dean Jesionowski feels that the classroom is where intellectual life begins, but forums such as the Arts Festival are where intellectual life is expanded by students deriving pleasure from each others accomplishments. She observed, "Through the festival, I am able to see a completely different side to the students I have been dealing with all semester. I get to know them in a new light and it's truly a tremendous experience."

The festival began Monday February 23 with a poetry reading enabling students to recite their expressive works in an intimate environment. Introductory remarks were delivered by Dr. William Lee, YC Professor of English, and Dean Adler. The evening allowed students to use poetry as an outlet of various feelings and ideas, with many students tackling religious themes in their works.

Dr. Lee thinks that last year's poetry reading was superior to this year's "mainly because poets from Stern as well as Yeshiva College read, and the audience was larger and more enthusiastic." There were about twenty people in attendance this time, which Dr. Lee attributes to the fact that poetry will always have a limited audience and "whatever can be done to expand that audience is well worth doing, whether here or across the country. After all, that's what the Arts Festival is about."

There was a student art display Tuesday night at which works created by Yeshiva University students were viewed. This was followed by a classical music recital with talented students performing famous concert pieces. Daniel Robins, Joseph Zelefsky and Eric Freeman performed Beethoven in a trio sonata form. Violin selections from Mozart and Bartok were played by Eli Pritykin and Yochanon Donath. Jake Solomon and Joseph Zelefky played a sonata for the violin and piano by Brahms. A sonata by Mozart was performed by Ruthi Rosenkranz and Eric Freeman. The concluding performance was by the YU Jazz Ensemble.

On Wednesday a reading of fictional stories was held during lunch time in the writing center. Students had the opportunity to share their fictional works. Dr. Lauren Fitzgerald, director of the writing center and faculty coordinator of this event, said that the Yeshiva Arts Festival "is a wonderful idea that helps brings students and faculty together in new and different ways." The luncheon was attended by sixteen people, with five students reading their works. Benjamin Joffe, a writing center tutor and student coordinator of the fiction reading, was happy with the turnout. He said that "we actually got rid of most of the food. Everyone who read their work delivered great stories and I was proud to put my name on this afternoons event."

Wednesday night brought the festival's concluding event, a student cinema exhibition. YC Sophomores Yoni Leiter and Eric Harbor played short films they made during the summer. Leiter showed a film he directed about a surgical technique used to internally cauterize fetal twins whose arteries are dangerously fused together. This film was previously shown at an international conference of obstetricians and parts were later aired on the Fox Evening News. Eric Harbor showed the students four short films he produced and directed while at University of Southern California studying cinematography using 8 mm cameras. A total of eighteen students were present at the evening's event

With the exception of the music recital, student attendance at the Arts Festival was low. Although signs were posted around the campus, some say that poor advertising was to blame for the lack of student participation. Certain students complained th at they were not aware of any of the events and that none of their professors mentioned it during class. When asked why he did not attend any of the festival events, Jake Weintraub, an SSSB/BMP Sophomore replied "What Arts Festival?" Still others felt that the administration tried their best to make this years festival a success but the students themselves are to blame for not participating. One YC/IBC Sophomore said "It's lame. I looked over the schedule and it's not what I want to see. I don't want to hear some stupid poetry that people wrote."

Many of the students who did attend were outraged by the lack of participation on the part of their fellow colleagues. Eli Gurock, a YC/IBC Sophomore who read a short story at the writing center's lunchtime reading said, "The student body of Yeshiva University is quite apathetic, students just don't care. There's no sense of school spirit or excitement and I am happy that we even got this turnout."

Of the people who did attend, most agreed that the administration did a good job planning the weeks events and that the students gave creative presentations that exemplified their artistic capabilities and talents. All seemed to enjoy the festival des pite the small attendance and many expressed hopes that next year more students will be motivated to take advantage of the opportunity by participating in some way.