January 2015

Volume 17, Issue 3

VOiCE

The

The Student Run Newspaper of RKYHS

Day of Chesed: Kushner Students Give Back

Students Spend First Day of Chanuka Helping the Community

inside this issue

College Hunt Woes

page 2

Rabbi Pearlberg

page 2
Kushner Couples
By Aaron Dickstein

This year we had the first ever
Yom Chesed at Kushner. Students
engaged in Chesed projects such as
Habitat for Humanity, Street Torah,
and bowling with Yachad. Mr. Levy,
the organizer of the program, stated
that its purpose was to share our joy
that we have on Chanukah with others in order to make our holidays more
meaningful. He explained, The
most important experiences in life are
the ones we share with others.

The program allowed students to feel connected and to give
to the community. I really enjoyed
it; it felt good knowing I was helping
other people, shared Zack Kaplan
18. Oren Mendelow 16 commented
on his experience with Yom Chesed:
I think its amazing. It helps out a lot
of people who otherwise would be in
serious trouble.

In addition to giving to the
less fortunate, many students felt that
they got something out of the program
in return. I really enjoyed [bowling
with Yachad]. At first people found
it challenging to feel comfortable
with the Yachad participants, but after a little while everyone was having a great time. They brightened up
our day, and I think we brightened
up theirs too, recalled Jacob Mendelson 15. [Bowling with Yachad]
was awesome. It was a chance to do
a great Chesed and have fun. I had a
great time, inputted Jake Ostrove 16.
Many other students who participated
in bowling with Yachad expressed the
same sentiment of fun and enjoyment.
Unlike in some of the other activities,

the students who bowled with Yachad

witnessed the impact they made on
participants firsthand.

One of the main benefits of
Yom Chesed was that it granted the
students the ability to participate
in different types of Chesed such as
Habitat for Humanity, a program in
which students assisted in the construction of homes. It was a great
experience to be introduced to this.
It was especially meaningful to know
that we helped build a house in my
own town, Jacob Stein 15 shared.
Its really important to give back to
the community once in a while, and

and lend a helping hand to those who

need it. This was a great chance to do
Chesed, especially for those who dont
have the chance to do Chesed all the
time, remarked Rebecca Cohn 18.
Other students had similar thoughts:
I felt it was rewarding because I dont
always have a chance to do so much
Chesed, so it felt nice to do something
like this, stated Effie Auman (15).
Almost every student agreed that Student Council should plan more types
of these trips. Students had options
to choose from and found this to be
more interesting than the schools
typical trips. One student worried that

page 3
Detentions Increase

page 3
Security Cameras

page 4
The Interview
for my Chesed specifically, I felt that
helping a less fortunate family have a
home was the best the Chesed I could
have performed, Zach Caplan 15
added.

Another reason students enjoyed the program was that many
of them are not regularly involved
in Chesed. I thought it was a lot of
fun and a great opportunity to go out

it might become repetitive. However,

based on the resounding number of
people who want to go again, I think
we can assume that we will have Yom
Chesed #2 coming up soon!

Generally on Chanukah we
receive gifts from our parents or other
relatives. However, on Yom Chesed,
we gave our own Chanukah gift to
those who really need it.

page 5

News

January 2015
Volume 17, Issue 3

College Concerns
Is Stressing Really Worth It?

By Nina Kahn


As the time of college decisions
rolls around, many students, even underclassmen, find themselves overly stressed
when it comes to this sore subject.

When asked if they were worried
about college, a variety of answers were
collected from students. Rachel Mendelson
17 shared that she is trying not to stress so
much about college now, and to just work
on getting good grades and participating in
extracurricular activities that are of interest to her. In fact, this is exactly what Mrs.
Levine, college counselor, suggests that
students do, especially freshmen and sophomores. In addition, she stresses that staying
informed is one of the best ways to combat
anxiety. By attending any college related
sessions that [RKYHS] offer[s] throughout the year and taking the process step by
step, students are almost guaranteed to be
at least a little more at ease during their junior and senior years. Mrs. Graham stated
that a good way to be more aware of the college process is to start looking into schools
that may match students interests, so that
when they need to apply, they are not completely overwhelmed by what is required of
them.

On this note, another sophomore
anonymously shares that although he is not
yet worried about college, and the school
does a fine job educating students about it,
more can definitely be done. When a number of freshmen were asked about how they
think college guidance assists students, they
responded that college guidance doesnt
even apply to them. Also, freshmen and
sophomores generally find their college
night to be boring and not very helpful.

A valuable asset of RKYHS is
that the faculty has the ability to get to
know and understand each student on an
individual level. The college guidance department takes pride in the ability to have
several meetings with each student starting
junior year. Many underclassmen, including Ilana Hafner 17, shared that they wish
very strongly that they could take advantage
of this opportunity earlier for reasons such

as giving them a better idea of what to expect and receiving tips on how to prepare for
later steps in the college process.

Regarding college guidance, Mrs.
Levine explained that our guidance department focuses heavily on the best fit
for each student. She warns against students feeling pressured by society to get
into what are deemed to be good schools.
Mrs. Levine recognizes that college is constantly discussed in the media as well as in
social gatherings. However, it is important
for every student to aim to be accepted into
what is a good school for him or herself, and
not necessarily for anyone else. Mrs. Graham concurred that in regards to college,
the word good is very subjective.

Maya Benzaken 16 shared that she
is somewhat nervous about college, but more
so about SATs/ACTs. She believes that the
school should be more supportive and try to
relieve stress about these standardized tests
because with the right amount of studying
and assistance, anyone can do well. This
way, she points out, Kushner can have even
better college acceptance rates.

On a different note, students such
as Jacob Mendelson 15, who has recently
been accepted to his first choice school,
wish that they had worried less about college. Jacob agreed that he stressed [himself] out too much without thinking that no
matter where [he] gets in, it will be good.

However, he acknowledges the fact that if

he had cared less about his grades he may
not have gotten into Penn, so he is thankful
for the effort he put in, no matter how hard
school was at certain times.

A prevalent issue with the prominence of college in the lives of high school
students is that sometimes, students will
join clubs, etc. purely to have it written on
their college applications. An anonymous
student finds this frustrating, because
sometimes those who have little interest in
something will take the spot of someone
who really wants and deserves it. Sophomore Zoe Eisenberg shares that she wants
to enjoy high school, rather than it becoming just a path to get into the best college.
Many students admitted that although they
wish it werent true, they take advantage of
programs the school has to offer to bolster
their resumes.

All in all, students are extremely
aware that their performance today and
throughout high school can and will change
their lives, and because of this, many find
themselves to be worried and scared about
college-related activities, decisions, and
even discussions. As Mrs. Levine says, [It
is understandable that] students worry about
college. It is a very big and exciting event
in their lives and the idea of college can be
mysterious.

Kushners veteran Judaics teacher promotes academic rigor in classroom

Tell me about your life before you

came to Kushner.
I grew up in Michigan, and went to
college in New York. I have a Masters of fine arts in creative writing,
and I got Smicha at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. I grew up Modern Orthodox. I went to a school similar
to Kushner, a little bit smaller; my

graduating class was fourteen kids.

teacher?
I taught creative writing and then had
some opportunities to teach Jewish
topics after school to ten year olds,
which I really liked. After teaching
creative writing for a while, I found
that I enjoyed the after school teaching better. I also find that from a
creative writing perspective, I spent
a lot of time thinking about stories
and how peoples personal stories
get interwoven into fictional stories.
Working on my own writing I became more and more interested in
weaving in the Jewish story into my
stories. In fact, that exploration kept
on going the more I continued to
learn any aspect of the Jewish story.

What are some of the works you

What attracted you to creative have put out?
I havent written so much. I have
writing?
I like stories; I have always liked been spending a lot of time writing
to read. I like creating; when I first a novel that hopefully I will finish
started in college I probably also and publish at some point. I publiked the accolades that came with lished really only one or two short
stories before then in various literbeing a writer.
ary magazines.
What influenced you to become a
What is your novel about?

This Month In History:

News

Jonathan Pedoeem, Editor-in-Chief

Eytan Shamsian, Editor-in-Chief
Dalya Dickstein, Editor-in-Chief
Jacob Stein, Media Editor
Joey Kirsch, Page Editor

Editors
Effie Auman, News Editor
Eitan Scher, Opinion & Reviews Editor
Joe Berger, Sports Editor
Josh Degen, Sports Editor
Ben Wagner, Science Editor
Lindsey Blenden, Photography Editor

Humans of Kushner: Rabbi Pearlberg

By Jonathan Pedoeem

The Voice Staff

January 2015
Volume 17, Issue 3

General Staff
Aaron Dickstein
Alyssa Schnipper
Anna Kaplan
Ariella Shua
Avery Bell
Avi Bendory
Becky Weisberg
Daniel Moradi
David Needle
Doni Schanzer
Estee Wagner
Gabriel Zuckerman
Gideon Rubin
Greg Artman
Jacob Nelson
Jonah Bash
Jordan Shanskalil
Koby Stadtmauer
Nina Kahn
Sam Raab
Sam Shersher
Shep Gerszberg
Yoni Kaynan
Yonatan Raskin
Mrs. Bohs, Advisor

My novel is about several generations of a Jewish family whose

grandfather escaped Europe and
thinks that one of his descendents
will be Mashiach.
What was the inspiration for your
different teaching methods?
Coming from a small school I had
a particular rabbi as my teacher
for many years, starting from sixth
grade through twelfth grade, so he
taught me a lot of subjects. One of
the things that he put enormous emphasis on was our developing thinking skills by having us figure things
out on our own. This helped us develop the skills to learn, but also
created a rich learning experience
since we were responsible fo r making sense of what we were learning.
Having learned from him it seemed
the normal way to learn, but I do appreciate how that is not the way everyone teaches or everyone learns.
This approach emphasizes that
see RABBI PEARLBERG page 4

Abraham Lincoln issued

the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, marking
the end of slavery

By Yoni Kaynan

The ball was dropped

for the first time marking the New Year in
Times Square in 1908

The League of Nations,

the predecessor to the
United Nations, was established in 1920

The revolutionary wave

known
as
the
Arab
Spring movement began
in Tunisia in 2011

An Abundance of Detentions

Everyone takes that walk of
shame towards Rabbi Hirscheys office at some point or another during
their RKYHS experience, but are
students walking the plank too often?
Once you are in the Rabbis office
you begin to question yourself and
the situation, wondering, do I belong here? What did I do to deserve
this? Is my teacher just a detention
junkie? The students want answers
to these questions, but feel unable to
receive fair feedback from faculty
members. There seems to be a lack
of a defined line as to what makes
an action warrant detention, which is
noticeable by the students reactions
to their detention punishments.

Julia Morealle 18 has had
four detentions so far and finds the
reasons overbearing. I have gotten detentions mostly because I was
skirted. In one instance, she described, I was sitting in class when
I realized I needed to go to the bathroom. I raised my hand and asked to
go. Without hesitation my teacher

said detention and moved on. This

is an example of a situation in which
the student is left frustrated and confused as to why their action should
bear the punishment of a detention,
which causes tension between students and faculty.

Max Kops 18 explained that
he has received eight detentions be-

cause of things that he does not deem

to deserve detention. Once, he recounted, my friend asked me for a
pencil. I threw him a pencil, which
I admit was a little foolish, but not
detention-worthy. He argued, my
friends in other schools such have to
do things much worse than we do to
get detained. Corey Kops 15 recalls

having a staggering 12 detentions,

seemingly for similar reasons.

A key component of detention is the intended goal of reforming a students behavior. As David
Needle 18 pointed out, if a student
does not understand why he is in detention, the detention is completely
worthless, invaluable, and a waste
of everybodys time. One faculty
member agreed that the question is
not about how many are given out,
but whether or not the number that is
given out is effective in the purpose
of reducing incidents. He maintains
that a student can receive one or one
thousand detentions, but the detention must have a good effect on the
student for the detainment to be a
true success.

As many students do not understand why they are receiving detention and therefore harbor negative
feelings toward the seemingly unreasonable teachers judgment, perhaps
it is time to examine the specific
rules of detention and how detention
is being wielded by different faculty
members.

Yeshiva Students In Love

Does Student Relationships Have a Place in a Mordern Orthodox Yeshiva?

By Carlie Ratzker

Are couples frowned upon in
Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School?
Most would think they are, but there
are many reasons that they would be
encouraged. Problems that may arise
from high school students dating
each other include public displays of
affection, distraction from studies,
and simply being too young and immature for dating. On the other hand,
a benefit would be that the couples
may end up getting married. Statistics show that 25% of people marry
their high school sweethearts; this
can be a good thing in a world of
rampant intermarriage.

We posed this issue to our
principal, Rabbi Rubin. When asked
if he thinks that high school students
should date, he replied, There is a
great value when boys and girls meet
each other during their high school
years and share experiences that
can ultimately shape important future relationships. When we probed
a little deeper and asked if the rate
of intermarriage is a reason to perhaps encourage the students to date
one another, he replied, Looking
at intermarriage seriously, there is a
great benefit for Yeshiva high school

students to create a strong sense of

community so that they have a sense
of belonging when they ultimately
graduate Yeshiva high school. However, Rabbi Rubin did not blatantly
promote dating in the school.

We also asked Mrs. Bohs,
English Chair at RKYHS, her opinion on this topic. She replied, It is
none of my business if high school
students date one another, because
that is the parents jurisdiction. I
dated my husband as a junior in high
school and the rest is history. As far
as public affection is concerned, the
corridors of a Yeshiva are not the
proper place for signs of public af-

fection.
Another concern raised was whether
one specific grade is too
young to have dating couples. When
asked this question, Rabbi Rubin replied, That is a conversation that
is more appropriate for parents and
their children than it is for educators.
Parental guidance is critical when
children are looking to create meaningful relationships. There should
be clarity and principle discussions
between students and parents about
social engagements.

Lastly, the issue of physical
contact between couples is a matter of
concern to the educators in the build-

ing. Rabbi Rubin was asked whether

he would ever speak to a couple if he
thought their actions were inappropriate. I would absolutely talk to a
couple if I thought the behavior was
contrary to Halakhic norms and the
community standards of our school.
Ben Wagner 15 and Alex Silver 15
have been dating for two years. Ben
stated that he feels completely fine
being with his girlfriend in public,
and not judged at all. Alex, on the
other hand, had a different opinion.
She claims that the faculty, at times,
make comments to the two of them
only because theyre dating, while
other people are violating other rules
and are not reprimanded. For example, Alex said, Weve been asked to
put more space between us in the
hallways. When asked if their relationship distracts them from school
work, they both agreed that their dating does not interfere with their studies.

Pursuing an outside perspective, Rachel Mendelson commented
that she feels that;It is important
for students to have close connections and dating is a part of that. If it
doesnt distract them or cause misbehavior, I dont see an issue.

News

January 2015
Volume 17, Issue 3

Favoritism in the Classroom

By Avi Bendory


What? Is that a joke? Thats not
fair! If it were someone else, this would
have been full credit! This is literally so
unfair! Why me? What did I do wrong?

Everyone has had this moment.
You get a test back and are shocked by
some of the incredibly unfair point deductions. If the test had belonged to someone better liked by the teacher, the grade
would have obviously been much higher.
The student is completely right, and what
the teacher is doing is absolutely unjust.
Obviously.

Of course, its entirely possible
that the teacher was more fair than you
think. After all, given that youre the one
receiving the grade, your perspective may
be just a little bit skewed.

But doesnt the exaggeration have
to start somewhere? Sure, the favoritism
may not be as bad as some students think,
but there must be some truth to the matter. While students can certainly make up
a lot of things, like rules about getting free
periods if the teacher comes late, maybe
there is some truth behind it all.

Many students feel very strongly
about favoritism in the classroom. Zach
Kaplan 18 (not 15) feels that a students
first impression creates a theme for his
or her relationship with a teacher. When
asked if he feels there is a significant degree of favoritism in a classroom setting,
he remarked Absolutely. Once you get a
reputation, immediately you are labeled.
An anonymous sophomore girl agreed,
saying Some teachers judge you based

Security Scandal
By Gabe Zuckerman

Most students in RKYHS
rarely notice the security cameras
scattered throughout the hallways.
However, security cameras play
a large role in the school. Among
serving many other purposes, having security cameras enables school
faculty and security guards to locate
students. Post 9/11, security cameras
in general are extremely important in
making sure students and faculty are
safe in the building.

Teachers use security cameras for a number of reasons. An
anonymous teacher admitted that he
sometimes uses the security cameras
for humor. This teacher watches the
security camera to see which students are talking to one another in
the hallways.

An anonymous student responded that if teachers want to
watch us on the cameras, we should
go to their houses and see how they
like being watched. Another student exclaimed that he thinks teachers watching students on the security
cameras is very creepy.

Mr. Brochstein brings another example of what students feel
is inappropriate use of security cameras. After telling the class that he
caught someone who was ditching
by looking at the security cameras,
there was an uproar among the students. Mr. Brochstein contends that
security cameras are helpful in questionable situations where students
are out of class and for security purposes. However, many students feel
that even though security cameras
are not always used to catch students
ditching, it is an invasion of their privacy when cameras are used in such
a way.

Students also worry that the
video feeds might be misinterpreted
by faculty. One scenario this year
epitomizes this problem. Two students, Marc Yarkony and Sam Bernstein, were horsing around in the
hallway. When a teacher was drawn
to the scene, they attempted to explain that they were play fighting and
joking around, but the teacher did
not believe them. They were sent to
Mr. Plotskers office, where they reviewed the security footage. Upon
reviewing the footage it seemed that
they were actually fighting, and they
were suspended for one period. While
it is questionable whether they were
guilty or not, both Sam and Mark believe they were misjudged because
of the security cameras. Sam commented that he does not think that it
was fair that the teachers judged the
situation by what appeared to have
happened on the security cameras.

On the other hand, security
cameras are often beneficial to students. Security cameras have come
in handy in situations where students
lost valuables or believed they had
been stolen. In one case, the security
guards were able to locate an object
that a student had lost in the gym.
Additionally, according to security
guard Mario, the cameras are useful when younger students run away
in school or get lost, as they allow
staff to locate them and make sure
they are all right.

Homeland Security granted
our school, among many others, free
cameras in a program for increased
school safety that was created after
9/11. All in all, the security cameras are used in a variety of ways in
our school, ranging from careful to
creepy.

on your first week in that class, and then

decide if they like you or not. One sophomore boy felt so strongly about the issue
that he saw fit to respond with language
that cannot be printed here.

While some students may feel
that treatment is not equal, others think
such treatment is justified. For instance,
Anonymous 17 said Favoritism is a
tricky issue, sometimes it appears that a
teacher is playing favorites, however look-

ing into it more deeply its possible that

the student has earned that treatment by
his behavior. While some students may
feel that favoritism is completely unjustified, some students may predispose themselves to so-called bad treatment with
bad behavior. Students must also consider
the fact that each of them requires a different approach to learning. It is the teachers task to treat each student in a manner
that will help them achieve their goals
most efficiently and effectively.

Ultimately, favoritism will always be an issue in the classroom because
of human psychology. Every teacher will
naturally like some students more than
others, and will want to give them better treatment. An excellent solution to the
problem is to display animosity towards all
students as one teacher stated I dont like
any of my students. science chair Rabbi
Yaakov Mintz addressed the issue as being more complex. Teachers are human
beings, so there is a natural instinct towards being more comfortable with some
students than others. It is the teachers responsibility not to let their own personal
opinions affect their integrity.

Rabbi Pearlberg (cont.)

through my experience of trying

to understand what the Gemara
is saying I will learn a lot better, I will engage more, than if
someone tells me what the Gemara is saying. The act of learning is how we best learn, not the
act of listening alone, although
that is part of it. I think trying to
understand something is how we
learn to understand, more than
having someone just talk at me.
I certainly try to use that idea
in a lot of ways, though I dont
always. My experience and my
years of teaching have taught me
that nothing works for everyone,
but I have heard, especially as
students move on, that for many
who disliked learning like this
at first, with time, they ended up
having positive experiences.

How did you end up at Kushner?

I actually interviewed with Rabbi Rubin the week he announced
he was leaving his previous position at Ramaz. Subsequently he
offered me a job to work here. I
liked the similarities that Kushner had with my background.
I thought that it would help me
understand where students come
from.
What are some of your hobbies
outside of school?
I dont have time for a lot of hobbies right now, but I like to do
big puzzles; my family just got
me a large lego set of the London Tower bridge, that was fun.
I have young kids, so when my
kids started bringing in arts and
crafts projects that was also appealing. I like to color and draw.
I am not good at it but I like to
do it.

You seem to be very organized.

Any advice for a student?
Find a system that works for you.
I try to be organized because I
am by nature very disorganized,
especially this year when I have
108 students. So if I am not organized there is no way I would be
able to know what each student
needs. I think sometimes if you
are disorganized it can really be
a roadblock for doing what you
are capable of. I experiment with
a lot of things. You will see me
doing a lot of different things because if it is not working I will
try something else.
Why the library?
My classes were too large for
the room that I was in to do anything other than lecture, which is
something, as I said, Im reluctant to do. Some of the times we
went to the Beit Midrash which
worked well for chavruta learning, but sometimes there were
so many other classes in the Beit
Midrash I was not able to conduct class because no one could
hear each other. I needed a space
that would be stable, so classes
would know where to go and not
feel like were moving around all
the time. So far having class in
the library has been decent.
Any fashion advice?
If you are looking to me for fashion advice, you need help.
They say that memory is the
second thing to go as you get
older. So whats the first?
I dont remember.

January 2015
Volume 17, Issue 3

Entertainment

The Interview

By Joey Kirsch

The
Interview:
the movie that had North
Korea up in arms, was reportedly the
cause of Sony getting hacked multiple
times, and was pulled from theaters for
fear of a 9/11 caliber attack by North
Korea. After all that hype, why does the
movie, now that it has finally been released, feel so...underwhelming?

Anyone who has been following
the news knows the plot of this movie.
Its about a TV show host (James Franco)
and his producer (Seth Rogen) who score
the biggest interview of the 21st century,
with the dictator of North Korea, Kim
Jong Un (Randall Park). After announcing this on national television, they are
then honey-potted (seduced into doing
what the person wants) into agreeing to
take out Un by a CIA agent (Lizzy Caplan). The majority of the movie focuses
on the hijinks that occur between the
time they are recruited by the CIA and
the point where they attempt to kill Un.

Everyone knew this movie
would be funny. How could it not be,
it is a Seth Rogen movie? Of course, as
many other Seth Rogen movies are like,
it would be about two guys who smoke
a lot of weed and party hard, and then
some other small plot details would be
thrown in to make it a two hour film.

While there were some really
funny lines or sequences thrown in here
and there, and I did enjoy the movie
overall, it was really just plain stupid.
Funny, but stupid. However, for much of
The Interviews viewing audience, there
were more reasons to have rented or purchased the movie than simply to watch
two guys stumble and laugh their way
into killing an evil dictator.

The first reason was that in
many peoples eyes, by cancelling the
release of the film, Sony and by extent
America were letting themselves be bullied by North Korea. They felt that North
Korea was taking away our constitutional right of freedom of speech and they
wouldnt stand for it. Jonathan Pedoeem
15 (disclaimer, Jonathan is on The Voice
staff) said it best when he commented
although it was not a fantastic film, I
think it is every Americans patriotic responsibility to watch this film to express

their freedom of speech.

Which is a sentiment
shared with much of our
nation.

The second reason that this
movie was bought/rented more than it
probably should have been is probably
because of how easy it was to get it. A
popular sentiment among internet-goers
today is that they want to get rid of cable/
movie theaters and just have everything
available to buy or rent online. Recently,
online platforms have been doing just
that by creating popular shows only
available online, be it Netflix (think
Orange is the New Black and House
of Cards), Hulu (The Awesomes and
Moone Boy), Amazon (Transparent and
Alpha House), and others, with many
more websites stepping up to the plate
with upcoming shows (Yahoo picking
up Community!). After this insurgence
of online shows, people figure why not
movies, too? Why shouldnt they be
able to skip the long lines, expensive
prices, and potential disturbances of a
movie theater and just watch the movie
in the comfort of their own home?

Even those who hated this movie
can not help but admit that it could turn
out to be revolutionary if it sells well. It
could open up a whole new market, a
whole new option, for movie companies.
It could potentially be the start of releasing movies straight to the internet instead of releasing them in theaters first.
Whether or not you agree with that, well
thats your opinion, but no one can argue that this movie could possibly be the
start of a new era in the film industry.
The Good:
Decently funny movie. I cant help but
love Seth Rogen.
The Bad:
Much of the hype was just that - hype.
The movie did not live up to expectations, thereby making it, as I already
said, underwhelming.
The Bottom Line:
Pretty good movie, if you dont want to
watch it for the plot watch it for the statement it makes.

BZRK Apocalypse
Michael Grants captivating amd suspenseful trilogy

By Gabe Zuckerman

Death or madness. These
are the two ways to leave the secret group called BZRK. BZRK
is a secret organization whose
purpose is to combat people who
use nanotechnology for evil purposes such as destroying the world
as we know it. BZRK uses biots,
an extension of oneself that is 100
times smaller than a grain of sand.
The Armstrong Corporation, the
opposition of BZRK, is planning
to use nanotechnology to make
every single person into a docile
and compliant servant. The Armstrong Corporation seems like the
obvious bad guys in this scenario but over the course of BZRK
Apocalypse, the third and final
installment in the BZRK Trilogy
trust throughout BZRK is tainted,
and there seems to be no clear enemy in the struggle for control over
nanotechnology and the world.
The BZRK Trilogy as a whole was
very good. For starters, the premise behind the plot of the series
was original and well planned out.
The first two books were excellent and very realistic which made
them all the more intriguing. This
trilogy is different from Grants
other work, the Gone series. The
Gone Series was more of a dystopia than this series and plot wise
they cant be compared. However,
Grants unique writing style and
original characters are clearly
seen in both series.
I really love the characters in
BZRK, mainly because bad things
can happen to them. The worst

apocalypse and dystopian books

have all the main characters remain unscathed throughout the
story. Grant does a nice job of
making unexpected deaths, which
I love because it adds a level of excitement. Although one may feel a
bit of remorse or annoyance that
a character was just killed in the
big picture, it makes the storyline
much more realistic.
Yet, I really feel that this last book
was a bit rushed. Grant had a great
two books to build on, and then he
just ended it. Too much happened
in too little time in BZRK Apocalypse. I think Grant felt that there
was not enough action in the first
two books and stuffed a ton of
unnecessary action into the third
book. The fact that Lear was Lystra Reid, which the reader finds
out towards the beginning of the
book, makes no sense. Lystra was
crazy and that just does not fit in
with the character of Lear. Overall, definitely read the series, and
the Gone series was also amazing.
The Good:
Great characters and a very original plot.
The Bad:
Some of the major revelations in
the book seemed rushed.
The Bottom Line:
Read
the
series,
author,character, and plot.

great

Entertainment

By Avery Bell

Homeland Season Finale

THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS

The episode starts off with
Carrie, the main character of the hit
show Homeland, sitting on her dead
fathers bed and sorting through his
left over belongings. Carrie finally
has to begin to say goodbye to her
father and now she is left to face all
of her parental problems on her own.
Her father was a leading figure in her
life that taught her how to deal with
many issues and a person to whom
she could always turn. After finding
out Carries father passes, Carries
mom, played by Victoria Clark, decides to come back after disappearing 15 years ago. At first Carrie goes
ballistic and it seems like shes ready
to kill mother. After kicking her
out of the house, Carrie realizes she
actually wants to speak to her and
find out the real reason why she left.
Carrie finds her again and finds out
that her mother has another family,
which sends Carrie into rage again.
When she finally cools down her
mom tells her she left because she
kept on cheating on her husband and
ended up getting pregnant with another man. It seems to satisfy Carrie
and thats the last we see of momma
Matheson.

Throughout the whole season we see drama building up between Quinn and Carrie. Finally
it all comes out when Carrie walks

were ready for. The whole Momma

Matheson issue came out of nowhere
and did not achieve much of anything. It seems that the writers were
just trying to take up some airtime.
There wasnt much closure since this
episode left all of the viewers with
a quenching thirst that can only be
quelled by season five. Thankfully
the show will be back next year so
no need to fear.
The Good:
We found out what Dar Adal was
up to finally. Saul possibly becoming the next CIA director was one of
the best events to happen all season.
Carrie and Quinn finally showing
their emotions for each other was so
heart warming.

Quinn to his car and

they start kissing. Is
this possibly the start
to something new?
Well it doesnt seem
likely, because right after that whole
fiasco Quinn jumps on a jet with his
CIA buddys and flies off to go kill
terrorists in war torn Syria.
Finally we get to see what
Dar Adal was up to. Saul meets up
with Dar Adal and Dar tells Saul all
the devious and mischievous activities hes been up to. Dar tells Saul
that the whole meeting with Haqa-

No Safety In Numbers
Dystopian Novel by Dayna Lorentz: A Good Read

By Yonatan Raskin

January 2015
Volume 17, Issue 3

It was just a short trip to the
mall; it shouldnt have been too dangerous, right? Wrong. The day had
started out like any other in a suburban
mall, with normal people going about
their normal everyday activities. All
of that changed when a strange device
was discovered next to a main air vent
in the maintenance hall of the mall.
Suddenly, the entire mall was blocked
off and nobody was allowed in or out.
At first, it seemed to be a fun adventure for all those affected inside. Free
food and the ability to roam around a
mall? Not too shabby. But as people
began to get sick and die and supplies
start to become scarce, the residents of
the mall began to become suspicious of
what was really going on. Read from
the perspectives of four very different teens in No Safety in Numbers by
Dayna Lorentz

Some might think that the clas-

sic people stuck in an enclosed space

with a deadly disease is overused and
a little too clich. Admittedly, this is a
very common denominator in modern
day dystopian novels. However, I think
No Safety in Numbers is unique in its
ability to become a reality. In other
novels such as this one, the populace
becomes infected via government experiments gone wrong which escape
from their facilities causing disease
to take form. While these could theoretically happen, in this particular
dystopia there was a probable terrorist
attack which is way more likely than
the aforementioned. This has definitely
caused me to shop a little faster every
time I go to the mall. Another great
aspect is the fact that the characters
dont suddenly step up on the second
page and come together to sort everything out. Instead, it takes time for all
of them to even connect which creates
great suspense, and makes the book
a lot more interesting to read as you
wonder how theyll all eventually meet
each other.
The Good:
The way the story is told from different perspectives helps prevent the
reader getting too bored with one storyline, and the way the author makes
the characters in the novel is realistic.
The Bad:
Main plot includes slightly overused
type of dystopia
The Bottom Line:
A good read, with interesting characters and plot development.

nni in Islamabad
was all in order to
secure the video of
Saul and Haqnni.
Dar then tosses Saul
the memory card with video and tells
Saul that he can now come back to
the CIA as director. Saul jumps on
the opportunity almost immediately.
Shortly after, Carries finds out about
Saul taking the opportunity and is
left speechless.

The whole entire episode was
very slow. It was a huge change of
pace that I dont think most viewers

The Bad:
The plot line regarding Carries mo
m was extremely weak and basically
un-needed. The episode was very
slow which lead the season to not go
out with a bang.
The Bottom Line:
The writers didnt really pull through
with this season finale because they
flipped the core of the show on us
last second. Were all used to being
on the edge of our seats and such but
they made the last episode extremely
slow which is ok but it caught the
viewers by surprise. The seasons finale should always in my opinion, go
out with a bang

FIFA 2015

By Jordan Shanskhalil


FIFA has had a record over the
past few years of releasing very similar
games with not much change, aside from
roster updates. Last year, my review of
FIFA was extremely positive and I saw
no faults in the game. After playing FIFA
15 for about a month, I realized how
much the game has been improved since
last year, and how FIFA 14 was not as
good as I thought. FIFA 15 is a game
that anyone can play and enjoy (yes, even
if you are that kid who claims that this
is America and we dont play soccer
here).

First, lets discuss the technical
improvements. Graphics are definitely
better and the menus outside of the pitch
are quick and more fluid. Switching
menus doesnt have as much buffering as
before, which gives comfort to the impatient player. Electronics Arts, the company that makes the game, emphasized
that the players would have emotion;
they said that they would be mad at players that fouled them earlier in the game.
However, these emotional senses of the
players are completely unnoticeable. Additionally, issues with disconnecting still
occur often. I can not begin to count how
many disconnects Ive had, but if its any
consolation, the soundtrack is pretty solid.

Whenever a new FIFA comes
out, everyone says how the physics are
better than last year, and the natural answer is thats rubbish. I can honestly
say that the physics have been improved.
While playing, you feel the motion of the
player at every dribble of the ball. Although the physics while on the ball are
terrific, this is not the case on defense.
Most reviews say that defending in FIFA
15 is harder, but thats only because players will make dumb pokes at the ball or
awkward movements, therefore making
more mistakes; this makes defense seem
harder since more goals are allowed. Be-

cause of this there is an advantage on

offense, and it is more simple to dribble
through defenders. This is probably the
reason the game is so much fun.

In fact, offense, is probably my
favorite part of the game because of the
passing system. Its not like last year
when all anyplayer did was run down the
side, cross, and score. Improvements on
passing lend to ball movement down the
middle, and a sense of achievement once
you string up some passes, get past the
defense, and score. There is now more
stress on how well you pass the ball,
which makes the game feel more real,
and definitely makes the game more exciting.

Goalies have also been changed
for this years FIFA. Goalies seem smarter, and at times make fantastic saves, but
there are also a couple negative aspects
to the added IQ on the goalies. First,
the goalie sometimes makes a overly fantastic save when it is unnecessary. This
is annoying since then the opposing team
gets a corner kick, and a chance to score.
Sometimes its as if they are too smart for
the system, and get lazy. This is noticeable when goalies let in slow dribblers,
for example.

Overall, FIFA 15 shows the
great direction that the game is going
in.The culmination of fixing problems of
recent years games is prominent. FIFA
can only get better from now on, and the
future seems very promising.
The Good:
The game is really fun to play. Good
Soundtrack. Scoring goals are more realistic.
The Bad:
Servers are still unreliable. The new
goalie system is not to great
The Bottom Line:
Definitely worth the buy, even if you
have FIFA 14

Sports

January 2015
Volume 17, Issue 3

Fantasy Football Playoffs

By Doni Schanzer


In recent years, Fantasy Football has become an extremely popular pastime. Almost every group of
teenagers has its own Fantasy Football league. For those who dont
know what Fantasy Football is, it is
an online league in which a group
of people drafts current NFL players to form their own teams. Every
week, each team plays another team
in the league. Based on the stats that
a player puts up in a particular week,
he earns a certain number of fantasy
points for his team. Whichever team
has more points at the end of the
week wins, and the process continues for the duration of the NFL season. Teams are ranked according to
record and points scored, and at the
end of the season, there are playoffs
and championship prizes.

This year there were a variety
of sleepers, or players that were not
expected to perform well that ended
up changing some peoples season.
For instance, Andrew Luck, who was
supposed to have an average year
managed to lead the league in points
scored. Additionally, LeVeon Bell
averaged around 18 fantasy points a
game, making him the best fantasy
running back in the game. Another
sleeper was Odell Beckham junior.
Although he had a very slow start
to the 2014 season, he managed to
step it up and had a spectacular fin-

ish averaging more than 130 yards

in his past four games. DeMarco
Murray was a second or third round
pick in the 2014 fantasy football season. However, Murray proved to be
the second best running back in the
league this season, averaging more
than 100 yards per game.
On the other hand, there were several busts in the 2014 football season. Doug Martin, a solid running
back, was projected to have a decent
season. However, his season did not

go as planed, averaging fewer than

thirty yards per game. Before being put on injured reserve, Brandon
Marshall was also expected to have a
great season. He managed to have a
few good games, but he did not live
up to his expectations as a high end
fantasy wide receiver.

Fantasy football is huge in
our school. Every Monday morning,
it is the topic of countless conversations. There are several leagues,
whether they remain within a par-

ticular grade or cross grade lines.

Usually, the winner of each league
wins a cash prize and the loser of
each league is punished. This years
seniors decided to make the stakes
higher, said Shep Gerszberg 15. In
their League, each person had to pay
twenty - five dollars to join. Whoever
won received a total of about 250 dollars. More notable, however, is the
severity of the punishment for a last
place finish. Over the past two years
these punishments included being
forced to eat a concoction made by
the league and a buzzcut done by the
rest of the league.

It appears that the risks are
extremely high for the senior Fantasy
football league, yet the players just
think, the money and punishment
is the fun of the league, said Shep.
Jamie Rubin 15 came in last place in
the same league as Shep. However,
he was not too mad;everyone going
into the league knows what they are
getting into and so everyone has a
fun time win or lose. Despite knowing he will receive a punishment, he
has no regrets of joining the league,
and has enjoyed himself nonetheless.
In conclusion, the senior Fantasy
Football league is always exciting
and fun. With the stakes as high as
ever, each player struggles to get to
the top and win 250 dollars, knowing
that he can easily fall to the bottom
and obtain a punishment. That is all
part of the fun!.

Humor

January 2015
Volume 17, Issue 3

Operation Tanach

Temperature As Needed: All (bad) Clothing Hated

By Ariella Shua

There are several things
about our school which many students just dont understand. Today
well focus on answering one of
these many questions. Our question is: why is our school so cold?

A comment often heard
when entering a classroom or
walking through the halls is this
room is freezing! It is not unusual to see people wearing their
winter coats inside, and once or
twice I even saw some gloves being worn. Interestingly, it is usually only girls that are spotted
being affected by the temperatures of our school. Boys, even
now, are often still seen in short
sleeves, and when girls exclaim
its so cold! they usually disagree. This is very strange for two
reasons. First, why is our school
so cold all the time? And second,
why are only girls seemingly affected by it?

After painstaking research
done by The Voice staff, the answer to both questions has been
revealed. It was discovered that
over the last year or so (exact dates

are still being determined), several prominent authorities from

our school have been part of the
MODEST organization. MODEST stands for Make Our Daily
Employment Strengthen Tzniut,
and it was formed by several of
the Yeshivas in the Metrowest
area. Exactly which teachers from
Kushner are in MODEST has not
been determined, and since it is a
secret organization, all will deny
knowing about it, so we havent
quite figured out who is in yet.
MODEST has several experimental programs beginning in other
Yeshivas, and Kushner was the
first to adapt the program.

The MODEST program
that began in our school was created to solve the problem of girls
not dressing in what school authorities consider to be proper
attire. In order to fix the problem, Operation Temperature As
Needed: All (bad) Clothing Hated
(Operation TANACH) was created. TANACH involves a change
in temperatures, engineered only
to be affected by females, which
lowers their body heat by 8 degrees, as stated by Rosh MOD-

EST, who shall remain nameless.

How is this done? And why dont
boys feel the change? The Rosh
explained that every month on
Rosh Chodesh, starting with Rosh
Chodesh Cheshvan (around October), the Multipurpose Room,
where most girls go to daven in
the Girls Minyan, has some secret adjustments take place. The
Siddurim that the girls use are
covered with a clear, odorless
gas which, when inhaled, lowers
the body temperature for about 3
weeks. Rosh MODEST explained,
we make sure to put the solution
on the outside of the Siddurim;
that way anyone, even those who
dont open them, will have been
affected. Rosh Chodesh services,
as we all know, are longer than
the typical everyday davening.
This works perfectly for Operation TANACH, since the gas is
most effective when those inhaling it are breathing it for at least
40 minutes, and when sugar is
consumed directly after. Ever
wonder why the school serves us
donuts on Rosh Chodesh? Now
the answer is very clear.

As for whether Operation

TANACH has been a success,

MODEST says they believe it has
been. Just take a look around the
building, Rosh MODEST said.
Students, and girls in particular, are definitely more covered
up. All we wanted was to see longer skirts and sleeves. Instead we
got tights, blankets, scarves and
gloves. But hey, were not complaining, and it seems the girls
arent either. After all, the blankets make for some very interesting and unique selfies.

Clearly, it isnt just a coincidence that the girls in school
are freezing all the time. So boys,
learn to tolerate the constant complaints about it, and teachers,
please dont be offended when
girls wear blankets and Snuggies
to class. It really cant be helped.
And girls: for now, I guess our advice would be to just keep dressing warm, unless youre willing to
go to longer davening or go donutless. And if you ask your teacher
to turn the heat up and they refuse,
pull that skirt down, since, as we
already stated, we dont know everyone on MODEST yet