Page 8A : Wednesday, May 18, 2005 : The Sun F

A Jewish school succumbed

as lobbyist’s empire crumbled
[School, from Page 1A] Promise unfulfilled shiva, promising him a bright future
It began with promise. Short for with college and career connections.
face accusations of corruption. Ish Eshkolot, a Hebrew term for “He said, ‘Don’t worry. Come to
As federal investigators examine “well-rounded man,” the junior-se- my school, you’ll be a superstar,’ ”
Abramoff ’s involvement in arrang- nior high school was Abramoff ’s vi- she said. Though she was offered
ing perks for lawmakers, including sion of an ideal school — an all-boys half-price tuition, she complains
House Republican leader Tom De- academy offering religious instruc- that her son, now attending Penn-
Lay of Texas, they are also looking tion, general education and more sylvania State University, never got
into the finances of a charity that sports than the typical yeshiva. any special connections from Esk-
Abramoff created — a nonprofit that Abramoff, an Orthodox Jew, set a hol. In fact, she said, he never got a
helped fund Eshkol and also is al- confident tone, sending his two sons diploma.
leged to have paid for an expensive to Eshkol. “We are not rich, and when you
overseas golf trip for an Ohio con- “It was a really nice school,” said have a person who has money and is
gressman. former teacher Judy Stern. “It was willing to do everything for you,
like a family.” you’re going to trust him to take
‘Like a Greek tragedy’ But problems brewed beneath the care of you,” she said. “My son put
The controversy over Abramoff is surface. Abramoff couldn’t find his hope with Mr. Abramoff, and this
playing out in the national news, but property and had to locate it on the is what happened.”
the price has already been paid grounds of a Christian community By early spring of 2004, enroll-
closer to home by Eshkol, where the center in northern Montgomery ment had fallen from 100 to 70 and
sudden closing left students without County, after a deal to place it at a Abramoff ’s legal troubles were
a school, teachers claiming missed former psychiatric hospital in Rock- mounting; he had resigned from a
paychecks and staff members ville collapsed. Washington law firm amid reports
sounding burned. Thirteen former Shortly after school opened in fall that he received tens of millions of
Eshkol employees, many of whom 2002, the first principal left without dollars in fees from casino-owning
depict the school as a misguided ex- explanation. Finances became a Indian tribes. At Eshkol, graffiti be-
periment in education, have sued headache: Administrators com- gan to cover the walls as order
Abramoff and his wife, Pamela, for plained of 11th-hour scrambles to eroded, former staff and students
$140,226 in back pay. obtain money from Abramoff ’s Cap- said.
“The school was totally unable to ital Athletic Foundation to pay the “It was more like a camp than a
function as an educational institu- bills. One teacher said he was so school,” said Yadin Klein, 17, a for-
tion,” said Samuel Whitehill, a for- frustrated that he spent $400 to buy mer Eshkol student now finishing
mer Hebrew teacher at Eshkol. “It books for his students and submit- high school in Baltimore. “I mean,
was like a Greek tragedy.” ted the bill. the kids were all just kind of having
Former staffers say Abramoff ’s Problems arose on other fronts, fun.” NANINE HARTZENBUSCH : SUN STAFF
plans for the school were flawed. even in the sports program, the gem Since it was a private school, its Roderick Weldon Woodruff and his wife, Connie, co-founded a Columbia-based
They say he approved the purchase that was supposed to set Eshkol curriculum was not overseen by advocacy group that lobbies for positive minority figures in video games.
of two Zamboni machines to sup- apart from other yeshivas. The ice Maryland education officials. Eshkol
port an Eshkol ice hockey team even
though the academy lacked a rink
and that he lured Israeli students
hockey team was getting launched
when some Orthodox parents, in-
sistent on separation of the sexes,
registered with the state, but state
officials say that because it was a re-
ligious school, it was not required to
Video games are targeted
in push for more diversity
for the school basketball team even worried that Eshkol would face receive a state certificate.
though league rules bar athletic re- teams with female players. Despite
cruitment. the school’s $105,234 in ice hockey- Heartbreaking loss
“Jack was a very grandiose guy; he related purchases, according to Esh-
Not all parents hold Abramoff
was in some sense infantile and suf- kol’s 2002 tax returns, students said
personally responsible for the mess.
fering from delusions of grandeur,” they never played a full season. [Games, from Page 1A] Woodruff said, referring to a gang war-
When some saw him at parent-
said Joe Sweeney, one of the Eshkol fare game often criticized for using ra-
‘Falling apart’ teacher nights and other occasions,
teachers suing Abramoff. “Even a ing to create the school. cial stereotypes and epithets. “I don’t
they thought his intentions were
number of children became quite Eshkol’s second year turned into Scheduled to start next month at want them to get desensitized to the N-
good.
cynical about the school. They’d say, its last. Again, it began with a mad Digital Harbor High School in South word.”
“My boys liked it — they learned
‘Eshkol’s a joke.’ ” dash for a building. With the first Baltimore, the five-week program — Gamers recognize that their industry
quite a bit,” said Tova NessAiver, a
day of school looming, the academy promoted as the first of its kind — will lags behind film and other entertain-
In Abramoff’s defense Baltimore mother whose two sons
finally settled on an office park in teach the fundamentals of game design ment forms in terms of racial aware-
Abramoff and his lawyer, Abbe Columbia, off Broken Land Park- attended the school. “People started to about 50 high school students, many ness. But with the exception of com-
Lowell, refused requests for com- way. But once again, its principal with high expectations and high de- of them minorities. Similar pilot pro- puter games such as “Ethnic Cleans-
ment for this article. A spokesman left as classes started. sires. I think it was a lot more work grams are starting in Washington and ing,” which are produced by white su-
for Abramoff ’s lawyer said that Esh- “When the second year came and a lot harder than anyone ex- Atlanta. premacist groups, the games are rarely
kol and the Capital Athletic Founda- around, everything started falling pected it to be. But I don’t think This week in Los Angeles, several created with malicious intent, design-
tion, a nonprofit group started by apart,” said Rick Drury, a school bus anything was done intentionally. I academy representatives are attending ers say.
Abramoff that helped fund the driver who ferried Baltimore stu- think Abramoff just ran out of the Electronic Entertainment Expo Rather, “they are a medium of ex-
school, were properly run charitable dents to Eshkol. Some boys, he said, money because of what was happen- (E3), the industry’s major trade show, pression,” said Jason della Rocca, exec-
institutions. slept on top of the buses during ing in his life, and that’s something to promote the fledgling school and utive director of the International
“Mr. Abramoff is active in his com- class time. “I asked one kid, ‘How no one can count on.” trawl for lecturers and sponsors. Game Developers Association, a non-
munity and has been very support- are you going to get an education if School administrators tried to profit group that advises game devel-
ive of a number of ef- you never go to class?’ rally the students by promising bet- ‘All-out networking’ opers. “They include the views and bi-
forts, including being a He just smiled and ter times ahead. “It’s all-out networking,” said Mario ases of the creator.”
primary donor of funds said, ‘They’re going to “I know the new building fell short Armstrong, an academy organizer who Even more than the film industry,
used to sustain the pass me anyhow.’ ” of your expectations at first,” Patti took several days off from his job as the creators in this field are almost ex-
E s h k o l A c a d e m y,” The boys, wearing Lemere, the general studies princi- Mayor Martin O’Malley’s technology clusively “nerdy white males,” della
spokesman Andrew white or blue shirts, pal, wrote in her 2004 yearbook mes- advocate to attend E3. “We’re getting Rocca said. That’s because gaming
Blum said in a state- khaki pants and yar- sage to students. “But the fitness the word out that Baltimore is on the took off in the 1970s among computer
ment. “It is unfortu- mulkes, arrived at 7:30 room materialized and (as of this cutting edge and can offer solutions programmers, another historically
nate that Eshkol a.m. and spent the writing) the music room has a sign that can aid the industry, as well as our white group.
School could not con- m o r n i n g i n Ju d a i c on the door.” students.” Racial awareness wasn’t an issue in
tinue, but the teachers studies. At midday, the Even though she later joined the The academy has generated interest the early days. Game characters ini-
who got most of their school brought in food lawsuit seeking unpaid wages, for- from potential sponsors at E3, Arm- tially didn’t even resemble people, said
salaries have no basis — sometimes a catered mer teacher Stern said the Eshkol strong said, including Microsoft Corp. Rusel DeMaria, co-author of High
to sue the Abramoffs, lunch from Stacks, a education was solid. The Silver Baltimore isn’t helping to sponsor Score!: The Illustrated History of
who did nothing but ASSOCIATED PRESS kosher restaurant in Spring resident sent her son to the the first session — which is being sup- Electronic Games. “There wasn’t such
support that school for Powerful lobbyist Jack Washington that be- academy, where he took accelerated ported by partners including the Uni- a thing as really realistic characters,”
as long as they could.” Abramoff faces allega- came another failed math and studied subjects such as versity of Baltimore — but Armstrong DeMaria said. “There were things like
Polly Haynes, Esh- tions of corruption and Abramoff venture — oceanography. hopes the city will help start other local Pac-Man and even more simple than
kol’s accountant, said ethics violations. and then continued “The teachers were very dedi- academies next summer. The design that.”
she was shocked to with general studies cated,” she said. “The promise was programs will cultivate computer and In the 1980s, ethnic characters
learn from The Washington Post until about 5 p.m. to make students excellent in Judaic math skills even in children not consid- emerged. They were “on the level of
last year that tribal money funded But in this quiet business com- and secular studies, and to make ering gaming careers, he said. South Park, where a black person is a
the school. Tribal dollars went into plex, the school’s routines were not them good people with good mor- The realization that racial stereotyp- white person colored in,” he said,
the Capital Athletic Foundation, always welcome. Next door, Elec- als.” ing is a problem in video games is just pointing to games such as “Street
and much of its $4 million was used tronics Development Co. com- When Eshkol closed, staff mem- dawning on the industry, said Doug Fighter” and “Double Dragon” as early
to pay for Eshkol. plained that lunch scraps left in the bers called it a personal loss. Lowenstein, president of the Entertain- examples.
Abramoff “didn’t tell me anything parking lot would attract vermin. “It was kind of heartbreaking,” ment Software Association, which or- As game characters began to reflect
about the Capital Athletic Founda- The firm’s staff criticized the make- said Haynes, the school’s account- ganizes E3. a rainbow of ethnicities, the creators
tion; I thought it was one of his busi- shift facilities, with children running ant, recalling how a staffer lost her Although awareness is growing, remained monochromatic, De Maria
nesses,” Haynes said. “I called a per- laps around the office park for exer- job before Passover last year. “We all Lowenstein said, gamers aren’t ap- said, adding that the industry is still
son, gave her how much the bills cise or playing inside the building. had hoped this would be a success.” proaching the problem in “a coordi- closely aligned with white perspectives.
were, and she transferred the funds, “They apparently used an area as nated and significant way.” For in-
enough to cover the checks. Nothing a gymnasium and they were very ‘Generous benefactors’ stance, this year’s E3 marks the launch Financial incentive
ever struck me as weird.” loud, bouncing balls against the Abramoff ’s lawyers say the school, of “50 Cent: Bulletproof,” a game about The industry might have a financial
walls,” said Sandra Williams, the not the Abramoffs, is liable for the the life of a gunslinging rapper that incentive to change. Games made by
Lingering questions company’s chief financial officer, unpaid salaries. A legal brief filed by seems unlikely to debunk stereotypes. minorities might appeal more to mi-
But there are questions about the who said kids eventually punched Abramoff ’s lawyers contends that he Changes have long been called for norities, della Rocca said.
foundation’s finances. A Senate through a wall into the firm, which and his wife were “generous benefac- from outside the industry. In 2001, a re- “The industry has realized that there
committee reportedly is investigat- does classified work for the govern- tors of the school” and calls the law- port by Children Now, a Los Angeles- are only so many nerdy white males to
ing whether the Capital Athletic ment. “We need a secure facility. We suit an “ungrateful” act by teachers based child advocacy group that stud- sell games to, and so, from a business
Foundation, which advertised itself can’t have holes in the walls.” seeking money from the wrong peo- ies the media, found that among 70 standpoint, you also need diversifica-
as a sports charity for underprivi- ple. top-selling video games, 87 percent of tion,” he said.
leged youth, paid for a golf trip to ‘A big mistake’ “The school would not have ever the heroes were white and the vast ma- Lately, studies of the video game
Scotland in 2002 by Rep. Bob Ney, Eshkol was not cheap. Tuition existed without the Abramoffs, and jority of nonwhite characters appeared market have identified minorities as
the Ohio Republican who heads the reached $15,000 a year, though par- they almost single-handedly kept it only in sports games. No Hispanic prime consumers. A survey of media
House Administration Committee, ents say Abramoff offered many going as long as they had resources women appeared. consumption among 8- to 18-year-olds
and others. scholarships. The school advertised to do it,” Abramoff ’s spokesman The study also tracked racial pat- released in March by the Kaiser Family
And Eshkol itself is under scru- by word of mouth in Orthodox com- Blum said in a statement. “The terns of violence. Black females were Foundation found that white youths
tiny. According to Senate investiga- munities, and students came from teachers who have sued have mis- far more likely than any other group to play video games about one hour a day
tors, Abramoff tried to persuade the Baltimore, Washington, Atlanta, placed their anger against the peo- be victims of violence, and when black and that blacks and Latinos play an
Tigua Indian tribe of Texas to take Boston and Montreal. ple they should be thanking.” males were victimized, they were the average of up to 23 minutes longer.
out life insurance on its elders and The out-of-town boys offered the In Columbia, the Eshkol Academy least likely to show pain or other signs An April analysis by Nielsen Enter-
make Eshkol the sole beneficiary. school some cachet, but also created is bare. Teachers have scattered to of physical harm such as bleeding. tainment also identified blacks and
The tribe rejected the idea. another headache, as a proposed other jobs, students to other Such themes are dangerous because Hispanics as an emerging market.
Now a top staff member from Esh- dorm for them was never built. schools. The business park is back children learn about the world through In recent years, various organiza-
kol is under fire. Rabbi David Lapin, Teachers say some boys lived with to its usual traffic of express mail interactive games, along with other en- tions have started support networks for
a friend of Abramoff ’s who served Abramoff ’s family. According to le- delivery trucks and weekday com- tertainment media, said Eileen Espejo, women, minorities, gay men and lesbi-
briefly as a top Eshkol administra- gal filings, Abramoff created a com- muters. The only sign of Abramoff ’s a senior program associate at Children ans in the video game industry, encour-
tor, is being targeted by the Com- pany that purchased another house grand plans are two school buses, Now. aging them to explore their experiences
monwealth of the Northern Mariana on his street in an exclusive Silver locked and empty in the school’s old Youths of various ethnicities “do through new games, della Rocca said.
Islands, which cannot determine Spring community. Parents say stu- parking lot. want to see themselves in the media,” But a truly diverse future depends on
whether Lapin performed any work dents also stayed in that home, a The last time Eshkol teachers saw she said. “It tells them they’re of value recruitment, he said.
in return for a $1.2 million contract Tudor with miniature replicas of it- Abramoff, he described himself as a in the world. But if all you see is Afri- It remains to be seen whether the
to promote ethics in government, self decorating the driveway. Even- man under siege. That spring day can-Americans getting shoved and students at the Urban Video Game
according to The New York Times. tually, the students left and were last year, Abramoff said he could no kicked, it comments on what African- Academy will pursue game concepts
That is one of several contracts the housed by other Orthodox families longer afford to keep the academy Americans are.” that are racially sensitive, at least in
U.S. territory awarded to Abramoff nearby. open. Similar images, as well as racial the traditional sense. Woodruff is hop-
and his associates. Olna Ben-Samuel, whose son was “He painted a portrait of himself slurs, in video games moved Woodruff, ing that the games might feature Zulu
That a small Jewish school in a a student at Eshkol for a year, was as a guy under attack for no other an information and technology man- warriors instead of dueling street gangs
Columbia office park comes up in a outraged that her child was moved reason than some people said he ager and consultant, and his wife, and heroes such as the Rev. Martin Lu-
news article examining a million- around several times as a sleep- charged too much for his services; Connie, a novelist, to found AAGamer ther King Jr. instead of Snoop Dogg,
dollar contract in the Marianas is away student from Ardmore, Pa. he said this was all politically moti- in 2003. but young designers, many of whom
testament to Abramoff ’s diverse and “It’s a terrible school,” she said. “It vated,” recalled Sweeney, one of the Along with supporting the Urban grew up on gang games, might also fo-
intersecting interests. Abramoff, 46, was a big mistake, sending him Eshkol teachers. “When he pre- Video Game Academy, the group lob- cus on the vicissitudes of urban life.
built his profile through lobbying there.” sented his case to us, it was more bies game designers to include positive Such visions would at least be more
but also has owned restaurants and Ben-Samuel said that before Esh- about him being concerned about minority figures in games. accurate than their slickly packaged
once dabbled as a Hollywood pro- kol opened, Abramoff recruited her his own plight than about pulling “I’m the father of an African-Ameri- precursors, Armstrong said.
ducer. Eshkol was his first school. son Gadi at a Washington-area ye- the plug on the school.” can child who attends a mostly white “We just need to provide an outlet so
school, whose friends probably play that kids in those environments can
‘Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,’ ” tell the story,” he said.