Sun Rise, Sun Set

It's warm outside, baseball is on the TV, and the local flowers are in full bloom. I sit in Time Out and look at the many people that come and go, the whole spectrum of YU. I become nostalgic thinking about the passage of time that is so blatantly evident at the end of a school year. One suddenly realizes that old friends are leaving to start the next phase of their lives and new faces will soon arrive to take their place. Though summer is my favorite season, I recognize within it the element of sadness - for summer's arrival laments the end of a year, and within summer's very renewal is the inevitability of its demise. In short, I would like to thank all the outgoing seniors and recognize their accomplishments. I will remember many of them as people who have touched me deeply. When you leave, may you have fond memories of this place, and may G-d bless you with the means to one day give back to the school that gave so much to you.

That being said, we who are staying here must now look to the future and see how we can improve our fine institution for next year and for generations to come. So the following are some "fool proof", "heavy duty," "better tasting yet less filling" ideas that will make this century seem like the ice-age.

Do you know what "S1K" is? I didn't, until I went down to NYU for Shabbat. They were holding a "Shabbat For A Thousand" (hence S1K) for people from all over the tri-state area. So it got me thinking, what if we could have one great Shabbat where we reach out to the extended Jewish community and bring in Jews from all walks of life to share in our Shabbat experience? We could dance and sing and have a real impact on them, and at the same time, we could shed the shockingly insular attitude that we display in regards to our fellow Jews.

Internally, YU should have a Beit Midrash Day where everybody in the school, teachers, administrators, religious guys, non-religious guys, Sefardim, Ashkenazim, black-hats, sruggis, Russians and Lubavitchers, all come together for a day of learning in the name of Jewish unity. A day in which the Beit Midrash opens it arms to everybody in our little community is easy to do. However, its impact will be felt and its precedent remembered.

While on the topic of Beit Midrash, here is some advice to the rabbis of this school: don't forget to have close relationships with your talmidim. Though it is important to discuss the gemara, debate Halacha, and rail against a social injustice with your students, don't forget that it is equally important to talk with them personally about issues in their own lives. Give them guidance and an open ear for questions. Your job is not only to pass forth the blue-print of Judaism to the next generation, but to also pass on the heart and soul of what it is to be a Jew.

Dr. Bevan had a great idea. Students need some place to hang out outside of school. A place where ideas can be exchanged and conversations had in a fun atmosphere. A franchise like a kosher Starbucks in place of the now-defunct and YU owned Yum-Yum store could easily serve that purpose. We could have a stage in the back where open-microphone nights and poetry readings would be a regular occurrence. People would chat over a Moccachino or something, and plan the next revolution. It would brighten up the campus a bit and make it more fun. Ha! Who needs Columbia, we can have a Starbucks, too!

Honors College is here! What it needs now is some student imput that will let the administration know what we want to learn. Here is some of my student input: 1)An interdisciplinary Holocaust class, taught by a team of Rabbis and professors that will deal with the theological and philosophical implications of what actually happened. 2) An interdisciplinary class about sex that will discuss the issue through the lenses of science, literature, history, sociology, and Torah. 3) A think tank class that will give students credit to debate and research issues of their choice, be it public policy, YU politics, or foreign affairs. The Honors College will only prosper from creative thinking at its onset.

Since I have last written about the park which exists behind Rubin and Morg not much has happened. So let me reiterate: YU should try to annex and rescue this area to create a lush riverside haven for the whole community. Next semester, student council should sponsor a barbecue and other events in the park in order to spread awareness to the students and put pressure on the administrators to do something about this beautiful natural resource. (If we ever get a park then we should start a Frisbee team! I've got a name for it already: "THE YUFO'S - The Yeshiva University Frisbee Organization." Not to be confused with the Star Trek Club)

Behazlocha in the summer and thank all of you for a great year.