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SINCE 1958 THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF STERN COLLEGE FOR WOMEN, SY SYMS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, AND YESHIVA UNIVERSITY WWW.YUOBSERVER.ORG OCTOBER 2019 CHESHVAN 5780 ‘DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT’ Students, Family, and Colleagues Mourn Professor Bob Tufts AUGUST 2019 NEWS Bob Tufts teaching at Yeshiva University. by his side.” San Francisco Giants and Kansas Miram Schloss, President of the The day before he passed, City Royals and worked on Wall Sy Syms Student Council on the BY YU OBSERVER STAFF his daughter, Abigail Tufts, post- Street. He taught at YU while Beren Campus, corroborated this ed an update on Twitter about fighting cancer and fighting for statement. His counseling extend- On October 4th, Bob Tufts, his condition, which was declin- others suffering from rare medi- ed to his work on the Wilf and Clinical Assistant Professor at ing. The tweet concluded with a cal conditions. His wife, Suzanne Beren campuses, with students YU’s Sy Syms School of Business note to her father, with lines from Israel Tufts, said that not only remembering him as more than a and assistant coach for the YU Dylan Thomas’ poem: “Do not did Professor Tufts co-found the teacher. Schloss said, “Professor baseball team, passed away from go gentle into that good night/ non-profit My Life is Worth It, Tufts was aware of his impact on procedural complications relating Rage, rage against the dying of which advocates for treatments people, and wanted to empow- to his multiple myeloma. Accord- the light.” which would cure diseases, but he er the students in his classroom. ing to his Twitter account, which Before teaching business “personally counseled dozens of He gave pep talks about women has been documenting his 10-year strategy, entrepreneurship, and people battling multiple myelo- in business and shared [the] best journey battling cancer, Professor sports management at YU, Pro- ma… He helped them face their Tufts, at 63 years old, “went peace- fessor Tufts was a Major League deepest fears and obtain the care SEE PROF. TUFTS, PAGE 7 fully…with his wife and daughter Baseball relief pitcher for the best for them and their families.” BEREN CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL SETS PRECE- LGBTQ+ AWARENESS SIGNS TORN DOWN DENT, RULES IN FAVOR OF DEFENDANT AT FIRST ON THE BEREN CAMPUS TRIAL lead plaintiff, brought a claim BY FRUMA LANDA BY YU OBSERVER STAFF against SCWSC in an attempt n September 24th, 2019, to get their approval for her O Sexual Abuse Awareness and On September 15th, a few the Beren Constitutional Coun- hours after LGBTQ+ students and cil ran its first trial, Pollak vs Prevention Club, which they denied on the basis of her hav- allies marched for equality and rep- SCWSC, a few months after resentation at Yeshiva University, signing the newly constructed ing missed the club application deadline. Two plaintiffs filed three anonymous students hung Beren constitution and establish- LGBTQ+ awareness and sensitiv- ing the Constitutional Council ity signs in the bathroom stalls of in May 2019. Neima Pollak, the SEE AFTER THE TRIAL, SEE LGBTQ+ SIGNS, PAGE 5 Stanton Hall (245 Lexington Av- PAGE 4 INSIDE Why ‘YU and Stern Profile: Myra A Call to “Life starts all over Confessions’ is nec- from the Caf. Recycle in the again when it gets crisp essary. Stern Caf. in the fall.” OPINION, FEATURES, SCI-TECH, - F. Scott Fitzgerald page 14 page 19 page 22 CHESHVAN 5780 ~ OCTOBER 2019 EDITORIAL PAGE 2 EDITORIAL NEWS EDITORIAL TEAM 2019-2020 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Molly Meisels MANAGING EDITOR Talya Hyman NEWS EDITORS Rachel Jacobi 1958: First Stern College for Women graduating class and first year of theYU Observer. Fruma Landa OPINIONS EDITORS FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK: Shayna Herszage Based on this report from Spring 2019, 744 of the 4,372 students in YU responded to the campus climate survey. Phillip Nagler THE (POWER IN)(FEAR OF) Elka Wiesenberg FEATURES EDITORS WOMEN’S VOICES Ellie Parker dent body. His comment makes constantly comparing us to what Hadassah Penn BY MOLLY MEISELS it seem like the Observer is not a they considered to be the superi- Mikki Treitel n erev Yom Kippur, true student newspaper -- that we or paper -- the Commentator. O SCI-TECH EDITOR October 7th, an article written are a group of silly girls attempt- This year, the Observer Sarah Brill by a leader of Jewish learning, ing to make our voices heard at has been lucky to have a cour- published in the YU Commen- YU. He is publishing his piece teous and friendly relationship LAYOUT EDITOR tator, suggested that the YU in the Commentator -- which he with the Commentator. The Sara Schatz Observer is illegitimate. The sees as the real student paper of Commentator’s current edito- article, “Why YU Needs a YU. The Commentator even had rial board views the Observer SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Rosh Yeshiva” was written in to include an editor’s note atop editorial board as equals, and Shifra Lindenberg response to the Observer-pub- the piece, clarifying the Observ- it shows. However, the strains lished article, “On Halakha of sexism which emerge at YU and LGBT” by Professor Aar- through the comparison be- The inequality that is placed on our paper has spoken volumes, spe- cifically in the reactions...from...the administration. Founded by the women of er ’s standing as an “independent tween the two papers is beyond on Koller. Yeshiva University’s Stern student newspaper of Yeshiva Commentator control. The YU The author of the re- College in 1958, The Observer University.” The only difference student body, administration, sponse piece chose a route is the independent newspaper between the two papers are our and general Modern Orthodox of slander, instead of respect, of Stern College for Women, names and our histories. community view the Commen- in responding to Professor Sy Syms School of Business, The Observer has, since tator as the student newspaper Koller’s opinions on the hu- and Yeshiva University. manizing of LGBTQ+ Jews its inception, been considered of Yeshiva University. The Ob- the inferior younger sister of the server? We exist in their minds, and the Observer’s decision The Observer is an independent Commentator. Since we are tra- but merely as blips, even though to publish the piece. We were student publication, self-funded ditionally female-led, as we rep- the work we put in, and put out, most taken aback by the arti- and published on a resent Stern College specifically matches that of our Commenta- cle’s delegitimization of our monthly basis throughout and Yeshiva University generally, tor counterparts. publication. The article ex- the academic year. Views while the Commentator represents The inequality that is presses perplexity over the Ob- expressed in The Observer Yeshiva College specifically and placed on our paper has spoken server’s position on campus, are those of the writers and Yeshiva University generally, volumes, specifically in the re- since the author was told that do not necessarily reflect sexism at YU has deemed the Ob- actions our articles receive from “the Observer… [is] not really those of the editorial board server less-than because of our students and the administration. a fully sanctioned YU newspa- or the student body, faculty, female-oriented roots. This year, the Observer has at- per.” By choosing to include and administration of Yeshiva In the past, Commenta- tempted to speak truth to power this seemingly minor view- University. All Observer tor editors have “hypothetically” -- to wrestle on behalf of student point in his article, the author content is copyrighted and asked the Observer to close up groups silenced on campus. This insinuates that the Observer may not be reprinted without shop and consolidate with the has involved questioning the ad- had no right to publish Profes- permission. sor Koller’s “heresy,” since we Commentator, to become one ministration and the way the uni- student paper, erasing our 62- versity is run. have no right to exist to begin Please visit us at www.yuobserver. year history and the power of the The Commentator has with. This was done without org. recognizing that the Observ- female voice at YU. Last year, been doing so for years. This er and Commentator are both Commentator staff writers and year, the Editor in Chief of the equally independent and equal- even YU staff, mocked the Ob- ly representative of the YU stu- server to me openly, questioning SEE FEAR OF WOM- our existence as a newspaper and EN’S VOICES, PAGE 3 PAGE 3 EDITORIAL CHESHVAN 5780 ~ OCTOBER 2019 NEWS 79% OF STUDENTS NEVER TAUGHT HOW TO RESPOND TO SEXUAL ASSAULT ON CAMPUS, SURVEY SHOWS Based on this report from Spring 2019, 744 of the 4,372 students in YU responded to the campus climate survey. sault….” and the way people respond to 51.6% of the respon- BY MOLLY MEISELS The survey, a require- it with shock and appreciation, dents are undergraduate stu- ment by New York State Educa- lauding the school for being so dents, with 59% being female, At the end of the Spring tion Law Article 129-B, Section forward-thinking has frustrated 39% male, and the remaining 2019 semester, Yeshiva Uni- 6445, is part of Governor An- me since I first heard about it.” 2% non-binary/third gender, versity sent a “YU Campus Cli- drew Cuomo’s plan to address Article 129-B requires those who prefer to self-de- mate Survey” to YU undergrad- sexual assault in educational that “[i]nstitutions shall publish scribe, and those who prefer not uate, graduate, and professional environments. The campus as- results of the surveys on their to say.