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THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF STERN COLLEGE FOR WOMEN AND SY SYMS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS The Yeshiva University OBSERVER WWW.YUOBSERVER.ORG VOLUME LXII ISSUE V JANUARY 2017/ TEVET 5777 Forgetting Decency at Yeshiva University Mindy Schwartz Managing Editor Ben Shapiro ended his widely attended speech at Yeshiva illness,” a view that was met with robust applause and cheers admittedly hostile actions towards him on CNN Headline news University on Monday night, December 5th, with a bold from the audience. constituted “deeply unladylike behavior?” More troubling still, statement: “I preach decency... If you act like a mentsch you where was this decency when many of the students in Lamport should be treated like a mentsch.” Shapiro’s claim of “mental illness” directly contradicts the laughed and clapped in response to his boast and his clever positions of the American Medical Association, the American witticism? Sitting in the audience, I felt utterly dumbfounded. Psychological Association, the American Medical Student Association, the American Public Health Association, the Kira Paley rightly pointed out Shapiro’s hypocrisy during the Decency? American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American ‘Q&A’ portion of the event. She asked, “At the end of the Academy of Pediatrics, all of whom believe that at least some speech you talked about how you preach decency...but you Ben Shapiro preaches a lot of things, but my big takeaway transgender people do possess a medical need for hormonal were clearly making jokes at the expense of transgender people. from his sermon: hypocrisy, both in his philosophy and—more and or surgical treatment. But put the general consensus So...where do you draw the line between being a metsch and disturbingly—-in my own community. of medical professionals aside. While we can, and certainly clearly offending people?” should, discuss the science, I am simply addressing our Ben Shapiro claims to preach menschlichkeit and decency; behavior bein adam lechavrio, between man and his fellow. Unfortunately, Shapiro deftly dodged the question by clarifying Yeshiva University is an Orthodox institution that also lays Ben Shapiro claims to champion decency between men; “If you that he only “made fun of one person, who grabbed me by the claim to the imperatives of upright, moral behavior. But act like a mentsch you should be treated like a mentsch.” Our back of the neck and threatened me with violence,” and so “to Shapiro’s cruel jokes at the expense of transgender people on university similarly preaches the importance of behaving with be fair” he has “the right to make fun.” Perhaps this is true Monday night and the steady, enthusiastic laughter and claps decency, of showing kindness to our fellow man. about Zoey Tur, although I am not sure that disregarding the that these jokes garnered from the audience of YU students run principle of rising above really falls under his alleged banner of counter to both of these claims. So where was this decency when Ben Shapiro mocked decency? Even so, Shapiro fails to hold up to his own standard transgender women like Zoey Tur and Caitlyn Jenner? Where for who he will or will not mock. This same rule cannot justify Forget for a moment—if you can—Shapiro’s view that was this decency when he bragged that he called Zoey “Sir” to the numerous jokes made at the expense of Caitlyn Jenner “transgender people are unfortunately suffering from a her face on national television? Where was this decency when throughout Shapiro’s talk. As far as I know, Jenner has never significant mental illness...and when you lie to people by he quipped that Tur’s voice was “at least an octave below” threatened Shapiro or grabbed him “by the back of the neck.” humoring their delusion you are actually exacerbating mental his own? Where was this decency when he joked that Tur’s But that didn’t stop Shapiro from mocking the praise of Jenner cont’d p13 Commuters Distressed Over What Ben Shapiro Got New Dorm Policy Wrong About Abortion Tzippy Baitch Keren Neugroschl Staff Writer Features Editor Commuters at Stern are growing use it at my leisure. Then, one day they put In many ways Ben Shapiro’s speech on involved with this halakha, but I am concerned over recently implemented up the scanners and mine wasn’t working. Monday night was not surprising. It was knowledgeable enough to know that this security measures that prohibit them from Suddenly, I felt like an outsider in my own not surprising that in a speech covering issue in Torah Judaism is certainly not as entering the dorms without being signed school. I think that the issue here is that the an array of controversial political topics, black and white as Shapiro claimed. in. The new policy, which was not officially dorm life is just as much a part of the Stern he chose to tackle the hot-button issue announced, was brought to light when experience as the school buildings. And of abortion. It was not surprising that as Shapiro’s overarching assertion was based Stern student Ruchie Gross posted about it therefore, as much as I don’t have a room a proud conservative, Shapiro identifies on a quotation from Rav Soloveitchik, on the schoolwide Facebook group “Stern in the dorm, I always felt like the dorms himself as pro-life. It was also not made just two years after Roe v. Wade was College: In the Know.” Gross, who is not a were there for me as well. When I saw surprising that he devoted some time to decided by the Supreme Court, making commuter herself, posted on behalf of her that they were discussing it on Facebook I convincing the student body in attendance abortion legal in the United States. “If you commuting friend, who wasn’t able to enter right away said ‘Hey, I have this issue: how that they too should be against the practice kill a fetus, a time will come when even the dorm after being stopped by security. can I advocate?’ because I do feel like it is of abortion in this country. What was infants will be killed,” Shapiro quoted something that needs to be advocated for.” surprising though, was what Shapiro chose the Rav as saying. “The mother will get The thread exploded with over forty to say when advocating his position on this frightened after the baby will be born and comments and thirty-three angry-faced Many students, both commuters and issue. the doctor will say that her life depends emojis from incensed commuters. those who dorm, have expressed similar upon the murder of the baby.” Currently, Stern has a total of 166 students sentiments. “I understand why they have “Torah Judaism does not support not living in the dorms, who make the a policy for some kind of safety issue,” abortion,” Shapiro stated, beginning the I cannot overemphasize the fact that I am daily commute to school. Due to the large said commuter Sarah Weisz, “but I think discussion on the topic with a dubious not trying to contradict the Rav as I am number, the new policy has become a hot- that people who commute feel excluded claim. While it is certainly true that Torah nowhere near learned enough to do so, button issue that has sparked discussions enough from the Stern community. I think Judaism acknowledges the sanctity of life but it is worth noting that there are serious and debate as to whether commuters have they should have full access to the dorms so and therefore does not permit aborting a problems with basing one’s halakhic a right to access the dorms. they could be a part of student life.” pregnancy for any given reason, there are opposition of abortion on this statement circumstances where abortion is allowed. alone. It is in the very nature of the Commuter Rebecca Labovitch remarked: Before scanners were installed in all of I am not a rabbi or halakhic authority halakhic process to have many conflicting “I always used to walk into the dorm and the dorms last year, security was unable equipped to delve into the complexities opinions about any given topic—abortion cont’d p 3 cont’d p16 Editorial January 2017/ Tevet 5777 • Page 2 The Yeshiva University UN Resolution Against Israeli Settlements Observer Masha Shollar Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief On December 23rd, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Ki-moon agrees, and said earlier this month, “Decades of political Masha Shollar passed a resolution condemning the construction of Israeli settlements, maneuvering have created a disproportionate number of resolutions, the first resolution to do so in thirty-six years. Resolutions against reports, and committees against Israel. In many cases, instead of helping Managing Editor Israel sometimes seem to be a dime a dozen, but this one touched off the Palestinian issue, this reality has foiled the ability of the UN to fulfill Mindy Schwartz furious debate. For the first time during his administration—and in a its role effectively.” For context, only twelve resolutions have been clear departure from the political status quo in regards to America’s passed against North Korea during his tenure as Secretary General. Layout relationship with Israel—President Obama chose to abstain from the vote, Chana Budnitz choosing not to veto the resolution. The other fourteen members of the The UN Humans Rights Council has issued forty-five different Security Council voted in the affirmative, with Ambassador Samantha resolutions condemning Israel. Meanwhile, in October of this year, the Power abstaining on behalf of the president. The move has drawn UNSC proposed two resolutions calling for humanitarian aid to Aleppo Web & Social Media Editor criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.

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