Volume 67, Issue 3

On September 11th, The Commentator published an article written by our News Editor, Kevin Cyrulnik, that explored the planning behind Wilf Campus’ 9/11 commemoration and questioned why certain things were done the way they were done. For the purposes of clarification, we juxtapose Yeshiva Student Union President Shai Barnea’s comments on the article with the responses of our News Editor to those comments. As Barnea requested, no changes have been made to his comments. In the end, we leave it up to the reader to decide who is most worthy of a “Lesson in Journalism.”  

A Lesson in Journalism – “Fisking Style”

Shai Barnea

As a way of keeping the student body of YU aware of the actions of its leaders, this op-ed serves as a way for me to highlight what the Student Council or various Student Organizations have accomplished in recent weeks and what they are planning for the near future. It also allows me to discuss issues I feel are a particular concern for the students at YU by explaining the reasoning behind some positions the Student Council advocates and forming the basis for constructive feedback. As a bonus this week, I decided to combine some aspects of these purposes into a lesson in basic journalism for the students of YU.

Exposing Lousy Lessons (or, if you will, an unwed marriage counselor)

Although Professor (which seems to have replaced President) Barnea claims to be proffering a gratuitous lesson in journalism, his commentary stuck us as a complimentary lesson in what not to do.  The glaring grammatical errors, which, at Barnea’s command, were left intact, compelled us to conclude that Barnea is a patently poor journalist – or even perhaps not one at all – and the obscene logical flaws pigeonholed him as an even poorer professor.  While the Commentator spent costly eleventh hour minutes dissecting and responding to a guilty man’s defective, poor excuse for apologia, we’ll leave it to our readers to decide whether Barnea is performing a service to his fellow students here on par with the incompetence pestering the 9/11 event, which failed to draw more than a quarter of the student body, or is simply deceiving his peers – a heinous offense for a Student Union President.  And, as always, we’d love to read your feedback.      

The following op-ed was not a debate as the layout might suggest.  Rather, the News Editor is responding to Barnea point-for-point. 

“Yeshiva Postpones Classes to Commemorate 9/11” 

”Rabbi Lamm Conspicuously Absent from Ceremony”

“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.”

Barnea:  There are a number of ways a journalist does a disservice to the reader of his story and this opening paragraph demonstrates some of them.  This opening gives the impression that the reporter is writing about an event that already took place.  It did in fact happen, but this reporter did not come to the ceremony before writing this piece. In order to make the deadline for the issue, which came out on the afternoon of 9/11, the article was written before the morning ceremony.  Misleading the reader is something journalists avoid at all costs especially when the misimpression clouds the integrity of the reporter covering an event.  I guess faulty ESP can be blamed for the factual mistake here.  When the reporter looked into the future he couldn’t tell that the shofar blast did not end the ceremony but occurred at the heart of the program.  Now perhaps after pointing out gross misimpressions and factual errors I should probably ignore the pesky usage problem where the author incorrectly uses “universities” as the object of the preposition in the opening line instead of supplying a more correct form of usage (i.e Deviating from the “practice or plans…”).  Consider it ignored.

The News Editor:  If we are discussing the purpose of a journalist and his story, we must all concede that reporting the issues is certainly the priority.  The crux of the article consisted of the planning (or lack thereof) for the 9/11 ceremony on the part of the YSU President, which had already happened. The article was not aimed at covering the event. Because we came out with the issue on 9/11 itself, we were forced to report a brief synopsis of the event before it occurred – but that was just to put the article in context.  We had absolutely no reason to question what was planned – after all, Barnea, himself, revealed the schedule to The Commentator.  The fact that the shofar blast came at the heart of the ceremony, and not at the end, is not a pressing issue.  Do we honestly think that any student read The Commentator and thought, "They are dead wrong! Those lying, deceitful journalists."  If that was the only errant fact in the article, we believe that at least the majority of our student body can find it in their hearts to forgive us.   And speaking of grammatical mistakes, you sure love to use pronouns without specifying what they refer to.  In your first paragraph alone, you use the word "this" 3 times without ever referencing it.  "...this opening paragraph demonstrates..." Which paragraph – yours or ours? 

“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.”

Barnea:  Did I really make that assumption or is the reporting assuming the reasoning for me?  He is guilty of the exact crime he accuses others of committing.  He could have just asked me about the reasoning behind my action instead of making an… well everyone knows what happens when you assume.

The News Editor:  The "reporting" is now being accused of making assumptions.  But when did inanimate objects start assuming human characteristics?  We "assume" that Barnea was referring to myself, and we can only respond, "Stop lying!"  When researching the article, I continuously attempted to speak to Barnea about the event but and he continually refused.  He claimed to have absolutely no time for The Commentator.  I countered by asking for 10 measly minutes over the phone and was again stonewalled.  So, I told him that the article had to be written in 24 hours, and guess what happened: he was still too busy over the course of the next day.  I guess accountability isn’t at the top of Barnea’s priority list.  Thereafter, I was forced to write a key story with only a 1-minute interview with the event's organizer.  At that point, Barnea sealed his own fate.

According to Yeshiva administrators who usually work with students on such events, no one actually took the initiative to ensure that Rabbi Lamm would address the Wilf Campus. Yeshiva’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs Peter L. Ferrara relayed that “Barnea, along with the rest of the student leaders, just assumed that [Rabbi Lamm] would be [at the Wilf Campus].” Ferrara did, however, attempt to absolve Barnea somewhat, by conveying that Rabbi Lamm had perused his calendar and observed that he had spoken at Wilf the last six times. He therefore saw it as an imperative to finally speak on the Midtown Campus.

Barnea:  Again, why is everyone saying that I assumed something?  What the article fails to mention is that Dean of Students David Himber spoke with Rabbi Lamm in August and informed him about the event.  Dr. Lamm agreed to speak, and a few weeks later, after looking through his calendar, he changed his mind.  He’s allowed to do that, right?  I guess we should change the term from reporter to “assumer.”

The News Editor:  Are you honestly asking The Commentator staff to speak intelligently about the assumptions that Peter Ferrara made?  Numerous student leaders, including members of Barnea's own executive board, made parallel accusation.  Regardless of the veracity of the accusation, it is evident that Barnea thinks that The Commentator should not be held accountable for relaying student sentiment.  Barnea entitled his column, "A Lesson in Journalism."  Last I checked: it is a journalist’s responsibility to report what student leaders and administrators are saying.  But this just underscores the introductory paragraph’s observations.  

Surprisingly, the problems did not end there. As a result of Rabbi Lamm’s decision, Barnea was forced to find an alternate speaker. Until Monday morning, two days before the event, the keynote address on the program remained unfilled. A number of candidates were named as possibilities but ultimately rejected the offers, due in part to the lateness of the request. “When you ask someone as big as Malcolm Hoenlein to come to Yeshiva to speak on September 11th, you cannot honestly presume that he will accept when asked on September 4th, just one week prior,” observed Sy Syms Junior David Epstein.

Barnea:  No offense to David Epstein, but if he is an expert at procuring big name speakers I could really use his help.  I’m just afraid that his source of information is a poor as Cyrulnik’s or he would know that attempts were made to secure Mr. Hoenlein as speaker throughout the summer, not just September 4th.

The News Editor:  Now Barnea is resorting to attacks on the innocent students that elected him.  Did Epstein ever say that he was an expert in procuring big-name speakers?  He merely pointed out the obvious: Barnea had failed at his job once again.  Barnea’s fruitless summer endeavors notwithstanding, he failed, plain and simple.  Effort, while important isn’t sufficient on its own; we demand results.  Barnea might warrant an A for effort (though his own board and plenty of administrarots have said otherwise), but he definetly wouldn’t score that high in the results categoryt. And, since we are on the subject, get this: Barnea did actually admit that his first real attempt at securing Hoenlein transpired (guess when?) on September 4th.  So Epstein, you were 100% correct.  Back to the recurring grammatical errors, Barnea writes: “he would know that attempts were made...” Shai, you might try reviewing tenses before writing.  The correct wording here should have been (note: not should be) “would have known” – future perfect tense.  If you consider yourself an expert, shouldn’t your grammar testify to that fact ? 

At that point, Ferrara said that he was “forced to step in” and take charge. “My job was originally to simply ensure that morning classes would be postponed, but I now had to assume the role of finding a speaker,” he said. The problem, as he put it, was that the various student leaders all had different agendas and “could not get their efforts coordinated.” On Friday, Erev Rosh Hashanah, his office, in conjunction with the YSU, secured Mazer Yeshiva Program (MYP) Rosh HaYeshiva Rabbi Hershel Schachter. But on Monday morning, the schedule changed once again with MYP Rosh HaYeshiva Rabbi Michael Rosensweig being designated as the main speaker. Ferrara also noted that he was puzzled as to why the Deans’ Office decided to hold a separate event, later that afternoon. Students were invited to join the teachers, faculty, and administrators in First Hall to participate in various readings and recollections on 9/11.

Barnea:  Aha!  Cyrulnik finds his hero but leaves out his sidekick as well as some other facts.  Nowhere does it mention that the University intended to simulcast Dr. Lamm’s speech at Midtown to the Wilf Campus, via satellite, and that for the better part of a week, this was the intended schedule.  After the satellite simulcast plan was scrapped due to excessive cost, Rabbi Lamm asked Rabbi Charlop to take charge in the planning of the 9/11 assembly.

The News Editor:  “Aha!”?! Shouldn't that signify a staggering breakthrough on Barnea's behalf?  Same old claim though: Barnea thinks information was omitted to the article. It’s too bad he could only get how own fact stratight when he decided to write a letter to us.  Next time, try talking to a reporter – it’ll save you time and face. 

Barnea claimed that since this event had been out of his jurisdiction for a while, he was not to be held accountable. “I was told that [Rabbi] Lamm decided to speak at Stern, and that it was a university-run event, as opposed to a student-run event,” said Barnea. He therefore decided to take a back seat to the administration and allow them to secure a speaker. One student leader pointed out, however, that it is precisely this attitude that invariably leads to such issues. “When we don’t follow up on our planned events but allow the university to take over, we run into problems. The job of the student council president – and [that of] the rest of the student leaders for that matter – is to run these events in their own style,” he concluded.

Barnea:  I guess we shouldn’t expect the university to control the schedule of its President.  And of course there were all these “problems” with the event.  Anybody who attended could tell you that it was, well, from what I heard as feedback, a really powerful event in the context of all that happened that day around the city.  Whoops, I forgot this reporter hadn’t actually been there or heard about it when he wrote this.  And we definitely need more “student leaders” who are afraid to express their opinions in public.

The News Editor:  Barnea has, once again, rambled on about something completely unrelated to the italicized paragraph.  Should the University have the right to control its president?  Great question, but how does that touch on what was written?  The fact is that you, Shai, took a back seat.  The final-say might have rested in hands other than your own, but you did nothing to effect change.  Bad move.  As far as the event itself is concerned, our article was not concerned with whether students enjoyed the event, though we hope they did. But, now that you brought it up, how much feedback could you have actually heard? Even if we stipulate that you spoke with every student who attended (a virtual impossibility), that would still only be about one quarter of the students on campus.  We are also puzzled by how Shai heard that students felt this was “a powerful event in the context of all that happened that day around the city.”  Is it really possible that all of the students who attended Yeshiva’s event subsequently participated in citywide events?  Finally, it is indeed unfortunate that “student leaders” – many of whom are members of your own board – feel that they cannot come to you with their grievances.  Apparently they have finally realized that The Commentator is the most effective tool for conveying their views.  Are you attacking them for speaking anonymously?  I think I will take the opportunity to apologize on their behalf for wishing to avoid controversy and fighting between fellow students.  What were you student leaders thinking? 

According to the official Minutes of the Yeshiva College/Sy Syms School of Business Wilf Campus Senate, a similar incident happened last year. As part of a Senate effort, Yeshiva College Dean Dr. Norman Adler had attempted to organize a six-month-anniversary memorial for September 11th on March 11th. Since the student leaders did not follow through with Adler’s request, however, nothing had ever amassed. “Last year’s incident is strikingly similar to what’s going on now,” noted one student leader. “Barnea should have known better than to allow the university to plan our events. It seems as though it was merely an excuse on [Barnea’s] part so that he would not have to exert the extra effort.”

Barnea:  Yep, strikingly similar.  Oh, wait, except for the fact that the event actually happened and those who went found it worthwhile.

The News Editor:  Here's another lesson for you.  Look up the word "similar" in the dictionary before you formulate a response.  I'll do it for you: similar -- related in appearance or nature; alike though not identical.  Did we ever say the two events were the same?  I'll elaborate on the analogy in case anyone else experienced the same problem you had – the inability to comprehend.  In both scenarios, students made assumptions and failed to take the initiative.  Can you tell me that did not happen with the planning of 9/11?  I think that we have already established that it did. 

In addition, Stern College for Women President Sharon Weiss had asked Barnea, sometime in the summer, if he wanted to conduct a joint program of the two campuses, but he immediately declined. “He told me that [the men] are doing our own thing in the morning – on the Wilf Campus,” noted Weiss. Subsequently, she and a few other students resolved to get Rabbi Lamm to speak at Stern, concluding that it would be more apropos since their campus is closer to the site of the tragedy. “It ended up being pretty ironic that Barnea had rejected Weiss’s offer because he thought we had already reserved Lamm – and now Lamm is actually speaking on their campus, not in front of us,” said Yeshiva College Junior Joshua Erez

Barnea:  Finally, a leader unafraid to speak her mind and put it in quotes next to her name.  And we also have at least one fact partially correct.  The men and women were to have two separate ceremonies.  Why?  Because the University did not want to deal with the logistics involved in transporting the student body of one campus to the other at 7:30 am on 9/11.  I didn’t reject any offer but instead, because I was farther along in the planning process, I already knew the University would not agree to dealing with the transportation headaches. Isn’t that ironic Josh?

The News Editor:  Perhaps Sharon Weiss was not afraid to speak her mind because she is not a member of your board; she does not have to deal with your policy on a daily basis.  And there you go again casting blame on everyone else.  The University was at fault here?  This seems strikingly similar (and, yes, this was also the correct usage of the word similar) to the planning of the ceremony.  You will have to learn that you cannot always blame others in your stead.  As far as Erez is concerned – there you go again attacking the students.  Here is a new term for you to look up: non-sequitor.  The irony that Erez astutely observed does hold.  You still rejected Stern's offer and it turned out that Rabbi Lamm spoke over there.  You were "farther along in the planning process?"  How far along could you possibly have been?  We all know that one week before the event you still had absolutely no clue what would go on.  Did you lose your insight somewhere along the way?  Grammar error again: learn the difference between farther and further.

Barnea:  Now that the lesson in journalism is over, I want to inform the student body of what is happening on campus over the next few weeks.  This Tuesday night, we are having our annual World Series party.  Just because the Yankees aren’t in the Series this year, doesn’t mean that we can’t give out free food, right?  The same night we are kicking off a new achdus/campus unity program; It’s a JSS/MYP chavrusa program. We are also going to be having Comedy Night at the Commons – our first intercampus event - on Thursday night, October 24th, 8 PM at Belfer Commons.  Two weeks after that we will be hosting the first ever YU Battle of the Bands, with the winning band opening up the Chanukah Concert on December 5th.  I hope to see everyone at the events, and hopefully the next time you read a review in The Commentator, it’ll be written after the event take place.

The News Editor: We recommend that you work on competent event planning and leave the writing, reporting, and journalism to us.  It hurts us that our Student Union President is incapable of formulating a coherent argument, and it embarrasses us that our journalistic responsibility forces us to include such articles.  Oh, and by the way Shai, before you start propagating lessons in a field you have much to learn about, go out and get some lessons yourself.  

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