Volume 67, Issue 8

Pressure Looms Large for Yeshiva’s Premeds
Medical Schools Covet “Well Rounded” Students
by Jamie Hirsch and Jeremy Mazurek

With roughly fifty percent of the 34000 applicants getting accepted to medical schools annually, and with an upturn expected in application numbers, the competition is fierce and only getting tougher. Observing the blank stares and questioning faces of Yeshiva’s premedical population, The Commentator decided to meticulously investigate the premedical discipline in order to arrive at an answer to that all important question: what do medical schools want to see in their applicants?

At the Helm of Yeshiva College: Dean Norman Adler
by Zev Nagel

“It’s not easy being green,” says Yeshiva College Dean Dr. Norman Adler, quoting the legendary Muppet Kermit the Frog to describe the challenge of being Dean of Yeshiva College. Over the past eight years, Adler has taken the reins of arguably America’s most distinctive college, guiding it vigorously on the path to greatness and recognition in the academic community.  Nevertheless, the challenge to maintain an image befitting of Yeshiva continues, and Adler is the one who bears the responsibility for the outcome.

Einstein Alumnus Enters Bid for 2004 U.S. Presidency
by Hillel Broder 

Vermont Governor Dr. Howard Dean – an alumnus of Yeshiva’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine – has recently publicized his candidacy for the 2004 United States democratic presidential nomination.  Dean is the first Yeshiva alumnus to initiate an official campaign for the national presidency. After graduating Yale University, three years after President George Bush, Dean drifted into working as a stockbroker.  Following the execution of his brother in Laos, who had been touring but was accused by communists of spying, Dean volunteered in St. Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village. 

Yeshiva Drafts Student Bill of Rights and Responsibility
Completion Expected by End of Semester, Implementation in the Fall
by Zev Nagel

Frequent violation of Yeshiva protocol by both administrators and students has led to the creation of a committee that is working on drafting a Student Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.  Composed mainly of representatives from the Office of Student Services and select student leaders, the committee has been involved in the long process of drafting a Bill of Rights to clarify the consequences and procedures for misdemeanors. Most major universities have some form of a Student Bill of Rights to arbitrate the penalties sentenced to students found guilty of delinquency.  Yeshiva, however, has never had one.

Jewish Teacher’s Corps looks for College Graduates to Teach Around U.S.
by Elad Cnaan

A preponderance of Jewish day schools in America has recently reported that they lack qualified Judaic studies teachers.  In response, Edah and the AVI CHAI Foundation have united together to develop an exciting program to attract potential teachers and train them for educational positions in Jewish communities around America.

Adjuncts or Add-“Junks”?
by Eli Isak

Most students aren’t aware of it, but their professors’ standing in the university’s academic hierarchy has a good deal of significance, beyond wielding influence with the higher-ups.  Specifically, knowledge of a professor’s position can act as an indicator of that professor’s likeliness to return in the upcoming semester, and, unfortunately at Yeshiva, the treatment afforded them.

An Inside Peak at the 2003 SOY Seforim Sale
by Yonatan Miller

As if preparing for the Student Organization of Yeshiva’s annual Seforim Sale were not hectic enough, Ari Erdfarb, the chairman of the sale, recently got engaged.  This is just one small example of the complications and complexities that the sale organizers have been encountering as numerous volunteers wander around the cavernous room in Belfer 502 unpacking boxes and arguing as to the exact placement of the books.

Yeshiva’s Political Science Journal Arrives on Campus
by Benjamin Shlomo

Recently, the free campus Poli-Sci news journal, The Clarion, hit the Yeshiva newsstands.  The glossy, 96-page mammoth document is packed to the brim with black and white photos, interviews, editorials, and 24 articles organized and written by Yeshiva’s undergraduate students and faculty.  The periodical also features a submission written by former Israeli Prime Minister and current Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an interview with New York Times columnist Clyde Haberman.  The Clarion’s 2002 edition represents the latest offering by the prolific J.P. Dunner Political Science Society of Yeshiva University.

Table Tennis Aficionados Now Have a Club All Their Own
by Benjamin Shlomo

Ping-pong enthusiasts, those people who wait for hours in the Rubin lounge on Shabbat for someone who actually remembered to buy a dinky 25-cent ball so they can play, now have a club all their own. In previous years, Yeshiva organized a 32-player Table Tennis Tournament for the students.  Despite the cash prize offered, there were some problems motivating participants to schedule and complete matches. 

Students Evacuate Wilf Campus in Search of Spirituality, Warm Weather
Vacation Hot Spots Include Israel and Florida
by Yoel Preminger

With the completion of the fall semester, Yeshiva students evacuated the Wilf Campus in search of rest and relaxation.  Some traveled to Florida to beat the snow and cold weather of New York, while others chose the more spiritual path to Israel.  Still other students chose to take advantage of the snowy weather and went skiing, while many out-of-towners returned to the comfort of their homes.

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