Volume 8 Issue 4, February 2010 - The Heschel School

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Page 2 Helios Volume 8 Issue 4 February 2010 The Pluralistic Paradox: Coming Out in Heschel High School By Emma Goldberg Emmy Tauber, a sophomore at Heschel High School, came out in her freshman year. At first she enjoyed support from close friends when she disclosed her homosexuality, but as the news spread, reactions began to vary. Tauber is the first Heschel student to come out as gay while still attending the high school. When she first came out in the winter of last year, she told her two closest friends and family, but the news soon spread. Tauber felt that many in the community, while not openly hostile, were not very accepting. “People have felt uncomfortable when I talk about anything related to homosexuality at Heschel,” Tauber explained. The fact that the reception she received was so mixed may be a reflection of a paradox within the Heschel community. Although the Heschel community prides itself on pluralism, its acceptance of homosexual students is ambivalent, according to Tauber. When asked what behavior caused her to feel so excluded as an openly gay student, Tauber cited the fact that many Heschel students are not sensitive to the impact of language. Phrases like “that’s so gay” and “no homo” are often tossed casually around the Heschel hallways, justified with responses such as, “well, I obviously didn’t mean it that way.” Many students confess that they often casually use the phrase, “that’s so gay”, and that they hear it used often as well. “I hear it all the time in completely random contexts,” said a sophomore who asked to remain anonymous. “When I hear people respond to a song or movie with the comment, ‘that’s so gay’ I always call them out on it and say, ‘Wait, so you think gay means stupid?’” Another approach offered by a student was the response, “How would you feel if someone said, ‘that’s so Jewish’?” Tauber stated that phrases such as “no homo” make her feel uncomfortable because, even if they are not intended to be hurtful, their connotations suggest homophobia and exclusion. “Ask any sophomore, I am the chief policewoman at Heschel on homophobic language,” she said. Tauber stated that on average she hears between two and five homophobic remarks a day in the Heschel hallways. “Many times I try to stop them [other students using insensitive language] but they never listen. They either completely ignore me or tell me… it’s not important.” Two years ago, the Heschel Shabbaton theme was, “words that hurt and words that heal.” It focused on inspiring students to speak more sensitively, bearing in mind that their choice of language affects everyone surrounding them. Students explored phrases such as “that’s so gay,” which target homosexuals, as well as words such as “retard,” which offend those who are mentally challenged. Seniors and juniors who experienced the Shabbaton called it highly effective. Several said it inspired them to speak more sensitively and to be aware that their language could hurt those around them even if it was not intended to be derogatory. In Tauber’s view, Heschel is due for another “words that hurt” session. Tauber added that outside of the Heschel community phrases such as “no homo” are widely interpreted as homophobic—in other words, that, “I obviously didn’t mean it!” doesn’t stand as an adequate excuse. In fact, just as words often translate into action, homophobic phrases have translated into violence across the nation—even towards gay teenagers. Carl Walker, an 11- year-old from Massachusetts, hanged himself in response to comments from classmates who saw him as flamboyant and feminine. Lawrence King, a 15-year-old homosexual student from California, shot and killed in 2008, has become an icon of the movement against homophobic violence towards youth. Tauber explained that violence towards homosexual teens is common across the nation, citing studies she has read. “That gives us, communities like Heschel that stand for pluralism, the obligation to really take a stand.” And yet, even within the small Heschel community, students are not always accepting of differences, especially where sexuality is concerned. According to a poll by NBC, 5% of American high school students identify as gay and 72% of high school students have friends or relatives who are gay. And yet Tauber is Heschel’s first openly gay student. Could this be due in part to an atmosphere of closed-mindedness and insensitivity that deters others from coming out? “Heschel is tolerant of homosexual students, but it’s not accepting.” said the sophomore quoted above. “There’s a huge difference.” Limudei Qodesh teacher Ruth Satinover Fagen said that several students who graduated from Heschel High School over the past few years came out after leaving the Heschel community. Heschel is not unique in its struggle to retain pluralistic values where homosexuality is concerned, especially among Jewish institutions. Idit Klein, the executive director of an organization called Keshet that advocates for the rights of homosexual Jews across the United States, explained that, “It is common for people to immediately picture the Christian Right when discussing homophobia, to picture really egregious actions, but what is more common, especially in the Jewish community, is subtle homophobia—it’s easy for the Jewish community to let itself off the hook.” Jewish denominations struggle with a concept introduced in Leviticus, which is commonly translated as, “"[A man] shall not lie with another man as [he would] with a woman, it is an abomination.” (Leviticus 18:22). Klein, like many Jewish gay rights advocates, believes that there are “ways to work with a text and interpret it in ways that do not condemn gay rights.” Many disagree, however. The Orthodox Movement, upholding the strictest interpretation of Jewish law, does not permit the ordination of openly homosexual rabbis; the Conservative movement abandoned this policy only four years ago. “It’s a very difficult issue to reconcile,” said Moshe Goodman, a Limudei Qodesh teacher at Heschel. “I know that people are born with their sexual orientation and the idea of being celibate for life is an unrealistic idea for most people. Therefore this law becomes, for many people, literally impossible to keep...For a homosexual to read in the Torah that something so essential to their life is a sin is extremely painful and I do wonder how it's possible that God could have possibly made such a cruel law.” According to a study done in 2008, 98% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) students report being harassed, verbally or physically, because of their sexual orientation. According to the same study, 15% of high school students who dropped out of high school did so because of this harassment. Many students say that they know of this harassment but are uncertain how to react and be supportive of homosexual rights within the Heschel community. According to Tauber, some students have already begun to react in a supportive way. “My friends especially those closest to me have expressed immense support for my efforts to advocate for gay rights at Heschel and it has made me feel that with a little coaxing the whole school can reform their ways and come to support all LGBT students for years to come.” Tauber said that after speaking to several sophomore advisories about her experiences with homophobia at Heschel, several student senators offered to dedicate a town meeting to this issue. Other students declared their willingness to cut the words “that’s so gay” from their vocabularies, and willingness to support Tauber in any way possible. The recent establishment of a Gay Straight Alliance at the high school has added to this support as well. Heschel’s GSA began to meet weekly as of January 21st and its blurb, sent out through student conferences, explained that it will be, “creating a comfortable environment for students to congregate and converse.” Esther Lenchner, co-leader of the GSA, stated that in creating the club they hope to “spread awareness about gay-straight issues and reduce homophobia.” When asked what a student can do to support fairness for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students, Tauber provided several alternatives. She stressed that it is imperative that students cut homophobic language from their vocabularies—as Klein put it, “As long as a word you are using represents a social identity, you can’t empty it of that meaning.” In addition to paying closer attention to language, students willing to take the next step can generally raise awareness by wearing pins to support LGBT causes and participating in rallies. One freshman stated that she observes the Day of Silence each year, an annual day in May when students refrain from speaking for the entire day to symbolize the silence and exclusion of the international community where homosexuality is concerned. Klein recalled how 20 years ago, when she was in high school, she and a friend were the only two in the school who supported a bill to allow same-sex couples to adopt children. “That was in 1989, which in some ways feels like a long time ago, but, in social change years, is actually not so long,” said Klein. Her organization has worked with many Jewish high schools, training faculty to be sensitive to issues of homosexuality, and producing and screening a documentary called Hineni that tells the story of a 16-year-old girl who established a GSA in a progressive Jewish high school much like Heschel. Klein stated that, though attitudes towards homosexuality have changed over the past few decades, it has been a slow process and it is the duty of students to speak up and take action. Tauber shared her personal credo. “Ignorance is not bliss,” she declared. “Ignorance leads to hate, and hate leads to violence.” Illustration by Anna Rothstein Helios Staff 2009-2010 Editors: Jessica Appelbaum Aliza Rosenfeld Gabriel Fisher Emma Goldberg Art and Layout Editors: Hannah Weintraub Hannah Kober Talia Niederman Sports Editor: Brandon Bell Contributing Writers: Jessica Appelbaum Brandon Bell Rebecca Cooper Jenna Doctoroff Rachel Fell Gabriel Fisher Aaron Freedman Emma Goldberg Ari Kramer Talia Kula Aaron Ladds Esther Lenchner Elizabeth Rauner Aliza Rosenfeld Mani Schlisser Luis Serota Zachary Stecker Andrew Udell Victor Weberman Rachel Zeuner Contributing Artists: Hannah Kober Rebecca Leeman Julie Maschler Talia Niederman Sigal Palley Andrew Udell Faculty and Staff: Lisa Cohen Gabe Godin Audrey Sieger Dena Schutzer We would like to formally thank Samuel Freedman. His dedication has helped us move Helios to the next level. Printing courtesy of Tri-Star Offset & Barry Goodman Send your comments to HS Newspaper on First Class.
February 2010 Helios Volume 8 Issue 4 Page 3 Opinion:A Risk Worth Taking By Talia Kula The Israeli–Palestinian conflict began in the 1900s when Zionists began immigrating to Palestine in organized groups. From 1917 through 1948, Palestine was under the British Mandate, and all its residents were under British rule. In 1948 Palestine was declared a Jewish State and renamed Israel. In 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israel expanded its borders to include the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. Since 1967, outside countries and organizations have made many efforts to help bring about peace. Israel’s failure to commit to and follow through with promises made in agreements such as the 1993 Oslo Accords regarding settlement freeze and disengagement in the West Bank has been a significant contributor to the constant turmoil in Israel. Palestinian reluctance to use all means to eliminate and delegitimize terrorism, as well as the ongoing promotion of anti-Israel rhetoric and ideology in school textbooks and media have equally contributed to the situation. The arguments of both sides have varied very little over the past two decades. Palestinians maintain that the Israeli government is not taking initiative in ending settlement construction. They believe that the Israeli army does not try to stop the theft of Arab land. Israelis continue to argue that West Bank settlement must be maintained and enlarged in order to show Palestinians that Israel will not back down. They believe it is important for Palestinians to understand that peace cannot be achieved by destroying Israel; instead, they A Debate on High School Newspaper Censorship By Aliza Rosenfeld Heschel students are encouraged to voice diverse opinions in and out of the classroom. Students make their opinions heard by debating with teachers and shouting in the halls. Because Heschel is a private school, however, the student newspaper does not legally have First Amendment rights. Edmund Sullivan, Executive Director at the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, explained that private schools are “not required by the U.S. Constitution, the New York State Constitution or local laws to provide freedom of expression for student journalists or editors.” This does not mean that private school students are not allowed freedom of expression, but it does give each school the power to make its own rules regarding its student newspaper. Some schools have strict policies; others have administrative review of all material before it is published. Some schools are very liberal and give students free rein to represent any issues of their choosing in their newspaper. To date, Head of High School Ahuva Halberstam has read over every Helios article before it has been published. Sometimes she makes grammatical corrections, but in general she checks to see if the reporter accurately portrayed the topic. According to Helios faculty advisor Lisa Cohen, “she is very attuned to the tone of our articles. She wants to ensure that no inappropriate sarcasm, mockery, etc. appears…” “I'd like to differentiate between censorship and additional oversight. I've never felt that Helios has been censored,” said Lisa. Ahuva emphasized that if someone else wanted to take over the job of providing an additional level of editing, she would gladly give it up. “It’s not about censorship,” she explained. For a Jewish school, Heschel allows students to report on a liberal variety of topics— some of which can be quite controversial. In the past few years Helios has run articles on drinking, abortion, and homosexuality. Editorials have criticized some of the practices of both the students and the administration. Additionally, the school has not tried to hide the fact that students are not all observant and has not stopped Helios from publishing articles acknowledging that many students do their homework on Shabbat. One topic that Ahuva will not allow in the paper is reviews of non-kosher restaurants. This year one reported wanted to write about the new Subway restaurant that opened across the street. Heschel students who are allowed to go out for lunch have been frequent customers at the sandwich chain. Some of the editorial staff felt that this was the wrong decision, that the administration was hiding certain truths about Heschel students. “Our job is to report on what is happening in school, and the opening of Subway was definitely a hot topic. Hiding it did not make the issue go away,” said editor Gabe Fisher, a sophomore. “It’s not like Subway offends anyone by being a non-kosher restaurant. It’s perfectly easy to just get vegetarian food there,” explained Helios co-editor-in-chief Jessica Appelbaum. “And the newspaper is supposed to reflect the reality of our school.” At the same time, the newspaper has to represent the values of the school. While students differ in Jewish observance outside of school, all food brought into the Heschel building is supposed to be kosher. Instead of a review of a non-kosher restaurant, “I would encourage an open debate of the existing policy at school,” said Ahuva. Additionally, R-rated movies are never reviewed in the paper since most of the student body is not allowed to see them. According to Frank LoMonte, Executive Director at the Student Press Law Center, “It is just too tempting for an administrator to abuse prior review authority to try to protect his image or the image of the school... Because the SPLC’s experience is that administrators cannot resist the temptation to censor if they are given prior-review authority, we advise against giving administrators mandatory prior-review authority.” “Administrators should keep a hands-off policy when it comes to editorial content decisions. It is clear that students learn more, and take more pride in their product, when they make the ultimate decisions,” said LoMonte. In the 1988 Supreme Court case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, parents of editors from a St. Louis public high school newspaper sued the school for censoring articles about teen pregnancy and the effect divorce has on teenagers. The decision in this case was that schools may censor articles that are not in public forums, with reasonable cause. “Unfortunately, we still see legitimate student stories on important subjects being censored because of administrative concerns,” said David Hudson from the First Amendment Center. In one case Helios journalists have felt limited. During the 2008-2009 school year, then-juniors Talia Kula and Jenna Doctoroff wrote an article about the effect of the economic crisis on Heschel. They interviewed Head of School Roanna Shorofsky and Head of Development Carol Weintraub. According to Kula, the two reporters wrote down what they heard “word for word.” After they wrote the article, they sent it to Carol to check over at her request and she changed some of the quotes. In professional journalism, writers do not allow interviewees to review articles before they are published, and an interviewee cannot retract his or her statements. Talia also felt that the administration’s concerns were with “the image of the school and what parents would think, rather than whether or not the article was true.” In the end, Talia and Jenna changed some of the quotes and used some of the original ones. “Protecting the image of the school is never, under any circumstances, a legitimate reason for a school to alter or remove content from a student publication. If something at the school is embarrassing to its administrators, chances are it is something that the students and parents need to know about,” explained LoMonte. Yet, while the school newspaper’s function is to give students a means of expression, it is also meant to represent the school and the views of its administration. Students cannot necessarily override the school’s concerns. “When I read an article, I don’t really think about what parents who want to send their kids to Heschel would think,” says Ahuva. “I want them to know what the school is really about.” must make peace with Israel. The peace process seems to be at a stand still. What has become clear is that one side will have to take the risk of fulfilling its obligations first. There is no such thing as perfect simultaneity, and if each side waits for the other side to fulfill its obligations before fulfilling its own, no progress will be made. In my opinion, Israel, as the more powerful of the two parties, must take this chance. Currently, each side makes promises but waits for the other side to fulfill its obligations precisely to their liking. This dynamic must be broken. This method of negotiation does not work because neither side can keep its promise in a way that satisfies the other. The conflict itself has become the method of interpreting everything that happens. Rather than looking for By Luis Serota As everyone is aware, a devastating earthquake struck Haiti on Tuesday, January 12. With over 200,000 deaths confirmed, it is estimated that the death toll will be still higher by the time the search for bodies is over. Disease, death, homelessness, and starvation are quickly spreading, and many Haitians seek an escape from their country, which has become an abyss of anguish and suffering. With the help of many countries, including Israel, the United States, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and China, the situation in Haiti seems to be improving. But even with the help of these superpowers, homes will not re-grow themselves and disease will not cease to exist overnight. The public has clearly heard the facts, but they have not yet taken them to heart. I would like to share some thoughts about Haiti that have stuck with me. The day after the earthquake, I listened to NPR on the way home from school. The announcer was giving local traffic information when suddenly an unpleasant wail broke out from the speakers. The noise came from a woman who sounded as if she were being slowly and painfully tortured to death. The broadcast of this scream lasted for a long minute as the newscaster’s voice faded. I learned that the woman screamed, not because she was dying, but in anguish as she unveiled the blanket under which her where promises are kept, each side sees only the promises that are not being fulfilled. Neither side will see what the other side does right. Sometimes a conflict becomes so ingrained in a culture that it is no longer the participants that cause the conflict. Rather, the conflict creates the participants. Each side’s identity is connected, in an unconscious way, to the discord. If the tension were resolved, the participants might no longer know who they are. They have been shaped by the ongoing trauma. Right now, the psychology of both sides is so distrustful that it is impossible to move forward. This attitude must be shifted. In order to do so, Israel must, independent of what the Palestinians do, take a risk and fulfill its promises first. Illustration by Talia Niederman True compassion for Haitians Needed lifeless husband lay. The announcer stated that the woman fell to the floor and would not rise. When I heard this scream, the first thoughts that came to mind were, “What if I had been this man’s son?” Imagine coming home from an ordinary day of school and finding out that you must drop out of high school in order to support your family. This is that situation that thousands of children in Haiti now face. Imagine if one of your siblings were lost, and you and your family had been worried sick about them for days, unsure whether he or she were alive. Frantically you join millions of others searching through piles of corpses around the city. Additionally, most Haitians do not have life insurance, and will be forced to live on the streets along with thousands of others if the source of their family’s income died in the earthquake. One could argue that the people who remain alive in Haiti are the unfortunate ones, as those who passed do not have to suffer what millions are suffering at this very moment. Please continue to donate at every opportunity you possibly can, as every little donation adds up to one large donation. Remember that you are contributing to a shattered country that remains desperately in need of your assistance.
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Volume 8 Issue 4, February 2010 - The Heschel School

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