Volume 67, Issue 2

Presidential Search Down to Two Candidates

 Commentator sources confirmed late last week that the search for the next Yeshiva President is now down to two candidates: Drs. David Schnall and David Shatz. This revelation follows the resignation of long-time Presidential candidate Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, who "finally acknowledged," according to a top Yeshiva administrator, that it would be impossible to lead the university from 6000 miles away in Efrat, Israel...

Bomb Scare at Zysman Hall Forces Campus Evacuation
by Avi Robinson

An unidentified green suitcase left outside Zysman Hall early Friday morning, August 30th, set off a bomb scare that displaced hundreds of students while the NYPD Emergency Services Unit (ESU) and SWAT team ascertained the bag’s contents.  Immediately after the bag was deemed safe, Richard Sieger, a beggar who has frequented the Wilf Campus over the years, claimed the suitcase, which he had forgotten upon leaving campus earlier that night. The episode, the most expansive evacuation at Yeshiva in recent history, provided students and the Office of Safety and Security with their first experience of safety protocol during a real emergency...

Yeshiva Postpones Classes to Commemorate 9/11
Rabbi Lamm Conspicuously Absent from Ceremony
by Kevin Cyrulnik

Deviating from the majority of universities countrywide, Yeshiva postponed morning classes for a memorial service commemorating September 11th.   The ceremony included prayer, Tehillim, speakers, and a moment of silence, which concluded with a blast of the Shofar.  Notably absent from the Wilf Campus, however, was Yeshiva University President Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, who spoke on the Midtown Campus instead. Students throughout the campus were perplexed as to the whereabouts of the Yeshiva President.   “Rabbi Lamm delivered a tremendous, invigorating speech last year on September 11th, and [the students] naturally assumed that he would be there for us this year again,” said Sy Syms junior Jonah Sobin.  Apparently, Yeshiva Student Union (YSU) President Shai Barnea had made a similar assumption.  Because the YSU did not reserve Rabbi Lamm as the key speaker on the Wilf Campus, it was decided that he would not assume his usual role of addressing the men but would instead speak at Stern...

Guide Delayed by Production Issues
Expected Release Soon
by Alan Goldsmith

 This year’s Guide to the Perplexed, the familiar directory compiled to help familiarize Wilf Campus and Midtown students alike with the myriad events and venues Manhattan offers, was set to predate Orientation.  However, in line with a trend that has set-in in recent years financial concerns and printing problems have forestalled the annual publications release once more...

Katzenstein's Termination Leaves Everyone Wondering
by Kevin Cyrulnik

The termination of Assistant Director of Financial Aid Susan Katzenstein as of this past May 30th sent shockwaves throughout the Yeshiva community.  The 64-year-old Katzenstein, who had spent nearly 24 years of her life at Yeshiva, was especially incensed that she was not supplied with a justification for the dismissal.  Interestingly enough, however, Commentator sources have revealed that Katzenstein is being strongly considered for a position a mere three stories above her former office...

Printing Quota Instituted By MIS
by Ariel Brandwein

In order to curb the cost of printing paper, which has risen rapidly in recent years, Management Information Systems (MIS) has introduced a new printing quota for students on the Wilf Campus.  The new threshold, initiated at the beginning of the fall term, limits the number of pages that a student may print per month from any printer on the campus to a total of 500 copies...

Local Restaurants Plan to Sell
by Alan Goldsmith

 Two of Yeshiva’s most popular on-campus dairy restaurants, recent addition Kaffeine and mainstay Time Out Pizza and Israeli Food, are currently both amidst negotiations for changes in ownership...

Bright Lights and a Big City Welcome Yeshiva Students
by Alan Goldsmith

 Yeshiva University students received a rare treat on Thursday, August 29th: They were offered the opportunity to see a Broadway play for less than the cost of a cafeteria dinner.  For a mere $5, students were afforded the opportunity to see the musical “42nd Street,” and many students jumped at the chance to purchase tickets.  Indeed, the event was in such great demand that tickets sold out on the first day of orientation.

Baseball Game Kicks Off Academic Year on a Good Note
by Alan Goldsmith

 On Tuesday, September 3rd, students from both the Wilf and Midtown Campus paid a mere $5 to see the New York Yankees take on the Boston Red Sox at historic Yankee Stadium in the nearby Bronx.

Charity Begins at Home, but Yeshiva Students Do One Better
by Alan Goldsmith

 As the conclusion of orientation approached, students breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Friday was their first day off and Shabbos was just around the corner. But the anticipation of long-awaited sleep and the exhaustion of a busy week did not deter some of Yeshiva’s finer students.  At 9:00 AM on Friday, dozens of students on the Wilf Campus went downtown to participate in the annual Orientation Chesed project, commonly referred to as “Helping the Homeless.”

Students Cruise and Get Oriented with Manhattan
by Alan Goldsmith

 On Tuesday evening, August 27, new and returning Yeshiva students on both undergraduate campuses were afforded the opportunity to see Manhattan from a different vantage point than they are normally accustomed to.  For a prepaid $5 fee, they boarded a Circle Line Cruise ship for a three-hour tour of the Big Apple.

Scavenger Hunt Draws Some Attendance
by Alan Goldsmith

 Although it may sometimes appear as if New York City, Long Island, and Teaneck comprise the breadth of Yeshiva’s geographic population distribution, students really hail from a plethora of locales, including most states in the US and almost every continent in the world.  On Monday, August 26, an Orientation scavenger hunt allowed newcomers to familiarize themselves with Midtown Manhattan by following prepared clues leading them to locations they might find valuable during and after their tenure at Yeshiva.

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