Shevuon, March 2, 2012

The goal of Gann Acade-my’s Va’ad Hamishphat, according to the charter,

is to “establish for its students a fair and transparent disciplin-ary process,” but some students and faculty claim the process is influenced by politics.

When a student infraction is brought to the school’s atten-tion, Dean of Students Laila G o o d m a n hears ifirst. She can then choose to deal with it within the administra-tion or to send a case to the Va’ad for a hearing. When c o n s i d e r i n g whether or not to send it to the Va’ad, Goodman has “a number of factors [she considers]: The impact on the individual student…the impact on the community…[and] can this case withstand the delay in action,” she explains.

Rabbi Baker states that he feels comfortable with purely administrative rulings for “low-level routine” cases, or those for which there is a clear precedent. When a case is recommended to the Va’ad, the committee can choose not to take it. Rabbi Baker comments, “It’s hard to balance transparency and sen-sitivity to people’s privacy be-cause frankly, [some disciplin-

ary issues are] not everyone’s business.” Nevertheless, he is confident that in the end, “the Va’ad hears the right cases.”

Kelly Grieco, a former Gann history teacher, took issue with Rabbi Baker’s assessment. She alleges, “The school needs to be more honest and forthcoming in explaining its disciplinary

processes, particularly its lack of a clear policy for bring-ing cases before the Va’ad. In all disciplinary cases…it is most important that the process have integrity, with all involved viewing it as fair and unbiased process, regardless of the outcome. As a teacher, I’ve been involved with several…cases both at Gann and at other institutions…my experience at other institutions was of a more thoughtful, careful and trans-parent process. In contrast, my experience at Gann was that of a process largely influenced by politics. Indeed, it is one of my main reasons for leaving Gann

at the end of the year to teach at a preparatory school.”

Some students were also critical of the process. Senior Ethan Fitzgerald calls his Va’ad experience a “whole dog and pony show.” He asserts that he was brought to the Va’ad for his first minor infraction, and also later, when he had committed

a much more serious one. For his sec-ond offense, “they didn’t send me to the Va’ad (much to my b e n e f i t ) , ” he narrates. He is certain that the only reason his first case went to

the Va’ad is because a certain faculty member “has a bone to pick with me.”

Other faculty members sup-port Rabbi Baker’s assertion that the Va’ad is a fair and transparent institution. Math teacher Dr. Francene Sokol testified to Rabbi Baker’s claim. She remarks on the one occa-sion she brought a student to the Va’ad: “The [Va’ad] was timely and had a good process.” His-tory teacher Dr. Adam Marshak agrees, explaining that when he once intended to send a student to the Va’ad, the dean at the time handled the situation without needing

In Here• FirstClass experiences

technical difficulties on Monday night, diverting students from their nor-mal evening routines.

• Gann closes on Thursday for a snow day, despite low levels of snow.

• Students from the Pardes Institute visit on Monday and learn about Gann’s model for Jewish day school education.

• Tickets are sold during lunch for the Shenani-Ganns concert and for this year’s Winter musi-cal, Candide.

Out There• Democrats rejoice when

the Senate voted on Thursday to reject an amendment that would limit access to contracep-tion.

• Tornadoes lead to at least 12 deaths in the midwest.

• Syrians rebelling against President Assad with-drew from the besieged city of Homs after a 26-day battle with the Syrian Army.

• Pop icon Lady Gaga launches her Born This Way Foundation at Harvard University with Oprah Winfrey. Linsanity

Read about NBA star Jeremy Lin in Hebrew.Gann Seniors Vote on TuesdayMany seniors will be voting for the first time in the Massachusetts Republican primary on Super Tuesday.

Shevuon Hat chon שבועון התיכוןFriday, March 2nd, 2012 • ח׳ באדר ,תשע״ב • Shabbat: 5:18 - 6:50 • Volume 14, Issue 25

Page 3 Page 6

The 2011-2012 Va’ad Hamishpat: the disciplinary panel that one will face if the administration chooses to the case to the Va’ad.

Profiles in Power: The Va’adBy Aaron Goodtree, Assistant EditorSpotlight

Credit:Liam Gandelsman

continued on page 6

Shevuon hatichon, Friday, March 2nd, 2012 • ח׳ באדר ,תשע״ב Page 2

Most winters, we expect occasionally to wake up to a landscape cloaked in white and hear the crunch of fresh snow under our feet as we head to school. February break has traditionally been filled with winter wonderland activities: snowball fights, skiing in New England and skating on the pond. However, this year, the lack of snow has made most of those classic activities impossible. Like many others, freshman Jon Rubin says that he “Feel[s] slightly dis-appointed as a skier.” People had to adjust their vacation plans accordingly, but that’s not the only effect this surprising weather has had on Gann students.

With our winter in full force, it’s com-mon to see our fellow classmates suffering from “Winter Blues”. As the days become shorter, and the nights get colder, many of us can feel a little down. “Winter Blues” is characterized by mild depression, lack of motivation or low energy. All of these symptoms can be associated with deterio-rating academic habits and the results that follow. One of the established causes of this condition is a lack of bright light, or low vitamin D levels in the blood. Researchers have found that bright light changes the

chemicals in the brain, making us feel hap-pier. While the exact mechanism remains undetermined, it is clear that these defi-ciencies contribute to catching the “Winter Blues,” also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Without the bright white snow reflecting the winter sunshine, it’s darker than ever. Perhaps one could hypothesize that the lack of snow contributes to “Winter Blues”. Al-though this light theory could mean there is an underlying connection between the lack of snow and more cases of SAD, there is also a more basic relationship to consider, and that is the simple beauty of snow and its usual place in the seasons.

Many people just enjoy the presence of snow and are therefore affected by its ab-sence. Sophomore Ari Salzberg thinks that snow is “beautiful” and explains, “I thought I could live without snow in the winter, but the lack of that feeling that [comes] when you wake up and see the snow outside piled on your street, takes away from the joy of the different seasons.” Additionally, the absence of snow subtracts from the variability of the weather. What used to be either snow, cloud or sun, is now just rain,

cloud or occasional sun. Salzberg continues to claim that the lack of snow “can make [him] gloomy, just because it makes every day seem the same as the other.”

However, some students are taking a different view of the unseasonal weather. Senior Abbey Linsky seems to be enjoying the weird characteristics of this winter, stat-ing, “I definitely miss the snow, but I love that it has been so summery in the middle of February.” It is as though the abnormally warm weather is beneficial to certain stu-dents who enjoy being able to be out of the building. Sophomore Sabrina Fried agrees, “I miss snow days but it’s much more pleasant to be outside.” Although the snow is missed, it has been quickly replaced for many students by the pleasure of being out-doors. As Rubin further explains, “we can go outside during the day, which, I think, really allows people to absorb what they learned [in school].”

So, even though now and then this time of year may seem dark, there is a bright side that we can all enjoy.

In this week’s Parsha, Tetzaveh, G-d gives Aaron an extremely detailed list of rituals to perform in order to enter the Tent of Meeting. These tasks are so specific, in fact, that one would think that there is little to no room left for interpretation. However, despite the apparent concreteness of these rituals, one can still find hundreds upon hundreds of commentaries that are able to interpret the instructions differently. How is it possible to find so many different inter-pretations for what seems to be such a clear set of instructions?

In The Chancellor’s Parashah Commen-tary, Rabbi Joshua Heller cites Ramban’s opinion that there is room for interpretation within rituals: “Interpretation of the golden altar, as a concession to the possible need for human failure, and the need to expiate

for such variances, in and of itself reflects a degree of flexibility within the ritual tradition, a responsiveness to human needs and weaknesses.” At first glance, there ap-pears to be no room left for interpretation in Tetzavveh. Even though the instructions are written out word for word, G-d is not expecting us to be able to follow them pre-cisely, so He leaves room for error, and, in turn, room for interpretation.

Rabbi Heller himself believes that these rituals, primarily the ritual of building the golden incense altar, are meant to be in-terpreted and changed to fit one’s personal standards. Even when one tries one’s best to follow these rituals to the T, one still finds ways to make it one’s own: “There is a place for the golden incense altar, legitimately created to address new needs

and situations. The Meshekh Hokhmah’s understanding of the role of the altar en-courages us to consider the value of the optional, of the additional, alongside the mandated minimums. The lottery of the incense reminds us of the necessity of inclusion, of finding ways to see even the most mundane daily practice through new eyes and of making every time feel like the first time.”

While all of us at Gann go to minyan and pray at least two times a week, we are all given the opportunity to practice how we choose and interpret the rituals we are given to best fit ourselves. We can all agree that it is important to have rituals, but this does not mean that there is only one way to follow them.

Parshat TetzavehBy Hana Machover and Abbey Linsky D’var Torah

A Unique “Winter Blues”By Eden DiamonStudent Lounge


This past Sunday was the 84th an-nual Academy Awards, held at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, California. The Academy Awards honor Hollywood’s best in categories ranging from act-ing, to directing, to costume design and all other aspects of making a movie. This year, the host was co-median Billy Crystal, who hosted for his ninth time. The show had many mixed reviews; however, the ratings were up four percent from last year.

In approaching this show, critics wondered if the Academy Awards would be able to attract a large amount of young viewers, with the 63-year-old comedian hosting, and few blockbuster films nominated. The opening skit poked fun at this idea, it featured Billy Crystal talking to teen sensation Justin

Bieber, when Bieber admits, “I’m here to get you the 18-24 demographic.” Crystal managed to keep the audience laughing throughout the show, and overall the eve-

ning attracted a solid 39.3 million viewers. However, Bieber was unable to give Crys-tal too much help, for adults between the ages of 18-49 there were only a mere 14.9

million viewers. This number transferred over into the

Gann community, with few students spend-ing their evening engaged in the show. This

could be partly because the NBA all-star game was on television Sun-day night at the same time. Many students preferred to watch Lebron James duel Kevin Durant for MVP than see George Clooney battle Jean Dujardin for the Best Actor award. The students who did tune in to watch the Oscars did so for a variety of reasons. A handful of students watched the show to look for advice on which movies are worth watch-

ing in the future. On the other hand, some students managed to see many of the films nominated, and wanted to root for their favorite films and

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ג’רמי ליןמאת: סברינה פריד ואניקה גומפרס

עברית

Credit:oscar.go.com

Gann Students’ Predict the Winners of the 2012 Academy AwardsBy Adam YatesIHOT

continued on page 5

Credit: newsone.com


WallInfoPhotosFriends

March 2nd, 2012 Events:

Saturday, 3/3ShenaniGanns ConcertSunday - Wednesday, 3/4-6AIPAC Policy ConferenceThursday, 3/8Purim - Early Dismissal

Cancer

Try not to miss out when people are talking today - it’s too easy for you to skip over the main point when you’re zoning out or trying to figure out what they might really be feel-ing.

Horoscope

Share: Quote of the Week

Because the time we already spend on Facebook isn’t enough,

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To be featured in gannbook, send your submissions to

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Birthdays:

Teacher Fun Fact

World LanguageEdited by Rahel Nessim

Yoni Boyar 3/5Josh Chartock 3/6

Hana Machover 3/7Yael Scolnick 3/7Jordan Tavan 3/8

Haley Cashman

Joe Sandperl

shine.yahoo.com

Haley Cashman3/3

Alana Windmueller

Maya Sinclair 3/8

by Abraham Kirby-Galen

Un Estudiante: Profe-sor, voy a ser casti-

gado por algo que no hice?

El profesor: No, por supuesto que no.

Un Estudiante: bien, porque no hice mi

tarea.

“No, the wife of a Rabbi is not a Rabbit!”

Answers to Riddle: Brainteasers: Stand up comedy. A habit.

briangle.com

Riddle

Becca Shimshak has a puppy named Lucy who is 17 months old.

Rachel WolfmanBrain Teaser Becca Shimshak and Lucy

Mrs. Klapper

I have one, you have one.If you remove the first letter, a bit remains.If you remove the second, bit still remains.After much trying, you might be able to remove the third one also, but it remains.It dies hard!

Thought Provoking Questions of the WeekWhy can’t we tickle ourselves?Why is it that when you transport something by car, it is called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship, it is called cargo?

What common phrase appears below? DNATS , D

Gann WearAdvertisement Gann Wear will be open on Wednesdays during lunch. Please remember to bring in cash or checks if you would like to purchase clothing.


There is growing worry and speculation that the Israeli Defense Force will launch a preemptive strike on the Iranian nuclear program. Within the past weeks, numerous reports have pointed towards the steady increase of Iran’s nuclear capabili-ties. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog agency recently disclosed that Iran has augmented its uranium enrich-ment. Additionally, in its latest report about the Iranian nuclear potential, the IAEA divulged that the Iranian nuclear program is, at least partially, “directed toward developing nuclear weapons.” There have also been recent IAEA re-ports that there are parts of the Iranian nuclear program that have no non-military applications, not to mention all of the parts of the program which Iran did not disclose to the IAEA. With global citizens fearing the worst, such advances can only heighten apprehensions. Especially in the State of Israel, which could suffer devas-tating consequences from a nuclear attack, there is much clamor regarding a possible preemptive strike on Iran.

Former Mossad official Eliezer Tsafrir commented recently that there is no alter-native other than to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. Although he feels that the United States should play the lead role, he affirmed that if no other country does so, then Israel would be forced to carry out the attacks by herself. According to Tsafrir, because the

“Iranians are determined to obtain nuclear weapons,” there is no alternative besides “a military strike,” not even foreign sanctions. Tsafrir even goes so far as to encourage attacks on Iran’s government facilities to

encourage a change of government in Iran.Considering the severity of Iran’s nu-

clear potential and its implications, many would view any Israeli attacks on Iran as purely defensive. IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz highlighted many of the sources of fear associated with Iran’s ever-growing nuclear abilities: commenting recently at a ceremony commemorating Eitan Belach-san, a major in the IDF killed by Hezbullah in 1999, he said that the “Iranian nuclear development is an existential threat.” From a diplomatic point of view, if Israel does not launch a preemptive strike in the near future, she and her fellow Western democ-racies could face an even more serious “existential threat,” not only from Iran, but

also from Iran’s allies. If Israel does indeed decide to preemp-

tively attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, her foreign diplomatic relationships could be compromised. Russian Prime Minister

Vladimir Putin, for example, com-mented that Russia as a whole is worried about the potential attacks. He declared that if Israel were to strike Iran, the consequences would be a “real catastrophe.” Even the United States is encouraging Israel to refrain from perpetrating a preemp-tive strike. General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reflected, on behalf of the United States, that “the Iranian regime is a rational actor…we think the current

path on Iran is the most prudent path at this point.” Foreign pressure alone might be intense enough to dissuade Israel from proceeding with the attacks.

Heightened with intense controversy, Israel’s choice cannot be simple. Between the Iranian threat, the threat of other terror organizations, foreign pressure, and not to mention moral considerations, even the in-ternal Israeli divergence of opinion is vast. With these many factor’s at play, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz’s words ring true: Iran remains an “existential threat”—to both Israel and to the rest of the world—regard-less of Israel’s ultimate decision regarding a preemptive strike. Quotes and statistics were taken from JPost and INF.

Iranian leader Ahmadinejad inspects a uranium enrichment facility in Iran. Credit:fas.org

Silence or Violence?By Rebecca PritzkerIsrael

Gann Students’ Predict the Winners of the 2012 Academy Awards continued from page 3stars.

On a different note, students’ abilities to predict the winners of each category was not as tremendous as the critics’ was. In a survey sent out prior to the award ceremo-ny, 71 students answered who they think will win in ten major categories. They were correct only a measly 28% of the time. Stu-dents tended to side with familiarity over quality. For example, for the question “who do you think will win Best Supporting Ac-tor?” only nine students correctly guessed Christopher Plummer for his work in “The Beginners”, whereas 27 students chose the well-liked comedian-actor Jonah Hill for “Moneyball”. The age difference between

the two actors is a staggering 54 years. This may have been another contributor to the lack of young viewers: the fact that the nominees and winners were older faces, rather than some of the new, young and exciting celebrities of Hollywood.

A big turn-off about the show is the idea of millionaire stars rewarding themselves with gold trophies for their work in mov-ies. Freshman Jon Rubin is very opposed to this notion, and despite the fact that he watched the awards this year, he felt it was ruined by the fact that they are a “self-indulgent event”. Rubin believes that the Oscars were just for the stars of cinema to feel good about themselves. He blames the

low ratings on the fact that “No one wants to watch a self important award show in a down economy.” Freshman Jonathan Op-penheimer argues that “people deserve to be credited for making great movies, and that the awards are a tribute to the geniuses of the film industry.”

Overall, the Oscars made for a fun and enjoyable night, and the very best of the industry were rightfully rewarded for their work. We can now look forward to what this next year in movies will bring, so tune in to the Academy Awards 2013 to see how the show will improve, and who will take home gold once more.


This upcoming Tuesday is the Mas-sachusetts Republican Presidential Pri-mary election. On what is known as “Super Tuesday,” many Gann seniors will exercise their right to vote for the first time.

Super Tuesday is the day on which more states hold their presidential primaries than on any other day. This year, it falls on March 6th, when Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia will hold either their primary or caucus (in a caucus, rather than just going and casting your vote, supporters of each candidate cam-paign at the polling site before votes are cast). Additionally, Wyoming will begin its caucuses on Super Tuesday, and conclude them on March 10th.

The political tradition of Super Tuesday began in 1988, and has since been used as a way to prevent “retail politics” in a presidential campaign; rather than having the primaries spread out, allow-ing the candidates to win votes by touching on local issues, this collection of primaries and caucuses forces them to focus instead on national issues that might win them the general election.

There are four active, formally declared Republican candidates: former Pennsyl-vania Senator Rick Santorum, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Representative of the Texas 14th District Ron Paul and former Representative and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Six other Republicans have also participated in the debates, but have since withdrawn or suspended their campaigns. There are also four other Republicans currently running who were not invited to the debates.

As for the Democratic Party, the only formally declared candidate is President Barack Obama, although there are four other minor candidates also running. Ad-ditionally, 26 third party or independent candidates are running in the 2012 presi-dential primaries.

Many Gann seniors have recently turned 18, and are therefore able and planning to vote in the upcoming primaries, and later, the presidential elections. When asked if he is planning on voting, senior Aaron Goodtree responded, “Yes, of course,” as-serting, “In an election year in which both the primary and general election promise to be hotly contested, my vote matters.” Har-rison Shecter agrees, saying, “I like that I can vote now…I feel my opinion matters.”

Senior Haley Cashman explains, “I think that if you are 18 and have the right to vote it is important to use it to your advantage and vote…I disagree with the people who don’t use their right to vote.” Classmate Hannah Vaitsblit agrees, saying, “I feel that it is my duty as an 18 year-old American citizen to participate in the elec-

tion of the nation’s next leader. I believe it is my responsibility to take advantage of my right to vote.” Vaitsblit says that she is “ecstatic” about voting this year, calling it “an individual form of political activ-ism.” Likewise, Goodtree says, “I am very excited to take my place as a participating

member of a democratic society.” English teacher Lily Rabinoff-

Goldman, whose 18th birthday was on an election day, recalls, “I was really excited…I really felt as though I was part of an important political process.” Fellow English teacher Abby Shapiro reminisces, “I remember my first time voting for a U.S. president very well, because it was during the Vietnam War…I was very proud to have a voice in the election.”

Rabinoff-Goldman gives advice to Gann seniors who now have that same

opportunity: “Read the newspaper. Lis-ten to the debates. Look at the candidates’ websites and read their platforms…Voting is an opportunity to become more informed about the world in an active way.”

Joshua Neudel, Head of the Science de-partment, who votes in every election, from local to national, has similar suggestions: “Choose to vote and be informed. Don’t just ask people who they are voting for and decide based on what they say–do your research. Read the platforms of the can-didates you are considering before casting your vote.” Neudel continues, “The ability to vote and voice your opinion is a privilege that most people in the world do not have.” Shapiro agrees about the importance of be-ing an informed voter, and adds, “Enjoy the experience of casting your vote!”

A 2012 Republican Primary cartoon depicting presidential candidate Mitt Romney playing Whack-a-Pol with his competitors as the moles. Credit: DH Cartoons

to send the case to trial.While Rabbi Baker refuses to comment

on either Grieco’s specific claims or the cir-cumstances under which she left Gann, he advises that her comments be taken with a grain of salt. Goodman more openly refutes Grieco’s allegations, asserting that, “When we investigated, we did not believe there was enough evidence for a full Va’ad case.”

As Goodman tells the story, Grieco left a student alone in a room on a computer to take a test, and later wanted to have the student prosecuted for cheating. When the case did not go before the Va’ad, Grieco tried to change the charge to plagiarism. In the end, the case never reached the Va’ad. “There were some issues around the circumstances that the teacher reported

that made it impossible to determine the student’s actions while taking the test.” explains Goodman. But the fundamental goal of the Va’ad, as Kadden asserts, is to “have an open system of justice, and that requires a democracy pushing back against us…Ultimately, the Va’ad is about justice and giving everybody their day in court.”

Profiles in Power: The Va’ad continued from page 1

Democracy in ActionBy Annika GompersSpotlight


WritersRachel Brody ‘13, Lily Cohen ‘13, Tyler Crane ‘12, Harrison Dale ‘15, Eden Diamond ‘14, Jordana Gardenswartz ‘13,

Josh Goldstein ‘12, Annika Gompers ‘14, Sloane Grinspoon ‘13, Jake Katz ‘12, Jonah Kriger ‘13, Sarah Newman ‘14, Ellie Pasternack ‘14, Eliana Perlmutter ‘12, Rebecca Pritzker ‘13, Ezra Porter ‘12, Gil Propp ‘13, Abby Schwartz ‘13,

Jackie Teperman ‘13, Hannah Vaitsblit ‘12, Rebecca Wihl ‘14, Matt Zackman ‘13Editor in Chief Jeremy Jick Managing Editor Sarah Kusinitz Layout Editor Emily Dale

Assistant Editors Ellie Deresiewicz, Anna Fasman & Aaron Goodtree Copy Editor Maya Feldman Photography Editors Liam Gandelsman & Maya Warburg Faculty Advisor Shoshanah Zaritt

Hebrew Editor Ilana Rosenbluh Faculty Consultants Deb Carroll, Matt Conti & Jonah Hassenfeld

I was at a Gann Shabbaton a year or two ago and we were all playing an icebreaker. Everyone was running around when some-one brought up Jewish denominations. Another person mentioned that she is Re-constructionist. Many of the people in the circle mumbled that they didn’t know what Reconstructionist Judaism was.

As a pluralistic community, it is a problem that Gann gives its students such a narrow glimpse of the range of Jewish practices, movements and denominations. Students are not well informed about forms of Judaism outside of Reform, Conserva-tive and Orthodox. I wish the school would make more of an effort to inform the students about other, lesser-known expres-sions of Judaism.

I have avoided going to a weekday prayer service through most of my time at Gann. I’ve fulfilled my minyan require-ment with Laila’s minyan or Mr. Conti’s Havura. However, I do enjoy tefilah. Out-side of Gann, I regularly attend and enjoy attending synagogue. In Israel, many of my favorite experiences were at a prayer group known as Raz’s Minyan. Gann needs more prayer options. Right now the options are Mechitza, Traditional Egalitarian, Lib-eral or some form of discussion supposedly weaving in spirituality, each with its own spin. The alternative discussion options are overflowing with people, so much so that a new section was opened for the second semester.

So why do so many Gann students not want to pray in any of the options provided? Personally, I have not connected with any of the Gann prayer services. I love my shul

for its singing, dancing and terrific sense of community. Some existing alternate prayer options include meditation and yoga, but even those could be expanded. We could try bibliodrama, chanting or dance.

The term Reconstructionist is thrown around now and then. In one of my classes during my four years here, I looked at a prayer or two from a Reconstructionist prayer book and that is the extent of my ed-ucation about the Reconstructionist Move-ment. I bet many Gann students would be surprised to learn that other movements exist such as Jewish Renewal and Secular Humanist Judaism. Gann does a great job bringing kids together from different Jew-ish backgrounds, but the school must edu-cate us further on the variety of practices that exist within Judaism. Students cur-rently turned off to prayer may be able to connect with different new services. Senior Abraham Kirby-Galen describes a Jewish Renewal congregation that he attended, saying, “The service is centered around joy and ruach. People are not afraid to dance and sing, like during Kabbalat Shabbat, but even during Shacharit. People came to shul because they wanted to.” I know such an atmosphere appeals to me and I would me more likely to attend a prayer service at Gann if it was more like what Kirby-Galen described.

I was disappointed that the only reference to Jewish Renewal that I have encountered at Gann came in a reading assignment for a Rabbinic Literature class this year. Based on my experiences, the essay we read was a mischaracterization of the movement. I’m happy to read documents with which I dis-

agree but it does not seem right that this one essay was the only information I had about this movement. There were two members of my class, including myself, who had additional experience with the Jewish Re-newal movement and we gave our take on it to the class. Reading such an article was great to provoke this discussion of what Jewish Eenewal consisted, but what would have happened if no one in the class had any experience with Jewish Renewal or did not speak up? Then the class would have a single and biased view of the movement. This could be prevented by providing more information about Judaism outside of the three main denominations.

To teach respect and understanding, Gann cannot be silent about movements besides Reform, Conservative and Ortho-dox Judaism. Not addressing these other movements leaves out a vibrant and grow-ing chunk of our community. A quick on-line search gave me the names of fourteen havurot in the Boston area with different foci such as Jewish meditation, chanting and Jewish humanistic perspective. Ha-vurot are smaller Jewish communities for learning and prayer that are an alternative to denominations and are often egalitarian and participatory. We are geographically situated in an ideal location to have teach-ers come present or lead services at Gann, or for field trips or Shabbatons to visit these other versions of Judaism in our commu-nity. Gann, already an amazing pluralistic community, could make its community, education and tefilah experiences so much richer by exposing its students to this wider variety of Judaism.

A Slice of PluralismBy Eliana PerlmutterOpinion


After what has been a mild winter, the boys of the Gann lacrosse team are yearn-ing to get back on the field and build upon the success they had last season. In his first season as head coach, Jeff Hecht led the team to eight wins, while only losing four games. In fact, one of the team’s most fulfilling accomplishments was beating Waring, a team who Gann had not defeated in many years. This year however, Gann boys’ lacrosse is ready to pick up where it left off, hopefully sweeping Waring and winning the league title.

Hecht will capitalize with a starting lineup consisting of players who were on the team last season. He is known to keep his team highly conditioned and focused on doing its best. There is no doubt that Hecht will put his great coaching technique to work and make the most of his roster.

Seniors Aaron Segal and Reid Grin-spoon as well as junior Ori Ramon are the captains for the coming season and antici-pate winning a league championship. Last season, archrival Waring was the number one team in the league, while Gann placed second. In terms of beating Waring and making a championship run, Ramon notes,

“We showed Waring and ourselves that we were fully capable of beating them last year. This year we will be better than we have ever been and have our eyes set on winning the league.” Ramon also adds that a key part of a successful season will be the

players and their personal desires to win.Senior Sam Maron, junior Bram Dia-

mond and sophomore Alex Goldman will headline the defense. Unfortunately, for the greater part of last season Goldman was out with a broken arm. However, with a healthy defensive unit, Gann looks to lock down all opponents and minimize scoring

opportunities on senior goalie Aaron Segal. Segal, a Boston Globe ‘all scholastic’ last season, is known for his ability to save the majority of shots, manifested by his high save percentage. His experience and fi-nesse in net will undoubtedly keep the team a contender for the championship.

On the other end of the field sophomore Jacob Dannin will be a key distributor to Grinspoon and junior Sam Kann, who will be the main attack men. Both Grinspoon and Kann scored many goals last season and will both be key to keep the score ris-ing. Similar to the rest of the team, Kann, a three-year varsity player, also has his eyes on the prize. Kann’s philosophy is very similar to that of Celtics power forward Kevin Garnett. Kann states, “Our goal is simple this year: put up a banner, we expect nothing less.”

There is no doubt that the coming la-crosse season will be one to follow. With the team placing second last year and only getting better, it is likely that it will keep the Gann faithful on their toes all season long while it does its best to succeed.

Harrison: Chera, being a four-time return-ing player to Gann Lacrosse and seeing so many seasons, are you hopeful about this year?Chera: Yeah, I’m definitely pumped and so excited. There have been a lot of freshman girls I’m really looking forward to playing with, and it’s going to be a very successful season.Harrison: What were the team’s problems last year? How are you planning on getting past them this year?Chera: Defense. Without a doubt, defense. But this year we’re going to be very tight and be able to communicate more. I know that talking more would have helped before, and we need to be social. Just calling out your man or claiming the ball is a huge part

of the game. With us being a closer group, talking will not be an issue, I’m sure! Harrison: What are the team’s strengths?Chera: We’re going to be conditioned. No matter how much running it takes, we’ll get there. A lot of the girls have already started conditioning by themselves, which saves a lot of work during the season when we should be practicing our game. Stick skills are also good, and our new players are al-ready working on them.Harrison: What are your thoughts on the coaches this year? Are you looking forward to working with them?Chera: I’m really excited. We had these same coaches during my sophomore year (2010). At that point, they were assistant and head. This year, they will be coaching

as partners and that should be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to seeing how that works out. If all goes well, it will mean bet-ter practicing and fewer losses! Harrison: How do you feel about working with the other captains?Chera: We all bring different aspects [of leadership] to the team. We have different leadership qualities which will mesh well. At least I think so! Emily [Dale] and Ra-chel [Nieves] are both great players, and we’ll all work well together.Harrison: Do you expect to win it all this year?Chera: Yes! We’re going to bring home a banner.

An Interview With Chera Garlick, Girls’ Lacrosse CaptainBy Harrison Dale

Boys’ Lacrosse Season Begins Next WeekBy Matthew Zackman

MVP of the Week goes to

IGC All Stars Tami Pearlstein & Maddie Rodman

and MBIL All Stars Gary Baker & David Roberts.

Shevuon, March 2, 2012

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