December 5th–President Richard Joel, administrators, faculty, and students gathered in Yagoda Commons for the first Beren Town Hall Meeting of the year.
President Joel opened the meeting by congratulating the student body on its “spectacular comportment” during the tumult wrought by Hurricane Sandy and spotlighted the “extraordinarily heroic actions on the part of YU personnel” throughout the storm.
The President then confirmed the official sale of the Schottenstein Cultural Center, which sold for $15.5 million, to be used towards the University’s significant debt incurred in recent years. The President addressed the concern expressed last year about the University’s continued support for the Stern College Dramatics Society, who lost their stage upon the sale of Schottenstein. He stressed his commitment to working with the Dramatics Society as they prepare for the first production of the year, “The Government Inspector.”
President Joel then opened the floor to questions. Julie Weindruch (‘14) asked about the potential for women’s athletics taking place in the uptown gym. The women’s teams spend an exorbitant amount of money renting gyms in which to practice, as well as wasting time traveling to different gyms in the New York area for practice. If they were to have access to the uptown gym, the women’s athletics teams would not only have more time to practice, YU as a whole would be able to save a significant amount of expenditures. President Joel took the question seriously. He emphasized the problems present in the request: “there is nothing wrong with the request, but there are a lot of complications.” The complications to which he referred were, obviously, certain religious concerns held by some influential figures on campus.
Rachel Benaim (‘13) then took the mic and brought up the two warnings the University received from the Middle States Accreditation Institution (MSA) upon their inspection last spring, a fact not commonly known among the student body. According to the report (released November 15th, but not widely circulated), YU has failed to comply with various standards, thereby placing their accreditation in jeopardy because of insufficient evidence that the institution is currently in compliance with Standard 10, regarding faculty, and Standard 14, regarding assessment of student learning. MSA defines “warning” to mean that the Commission believes that, although the institution is out of compliance, the institution has the capacity to make appropriate improvements within a reasonable period of time.
Addressing non-compliance with Standard 10, which requires “The institution’s instructional, research, and service programs are devised, developed, monitored, and supported by qualified professionals,” President Joel announced the near-completion of the long-awaited faculty handbook, delineating transparent guidelines, policies, expectations, and timelines for faculty for which Yeshiva University has been on the AAUP (American Association of University Professors) list of censured institutions since 1981.
Incidentally, this issue was of especial concern to students last year when English professor, Dr. Kim Evans, was denied tenure without warning or transparent basis. The issue garnered significant attention from the student body, culminating in a petition with over 300 signatures. Despite student action, Dr. Evans was asked to vacate her position at Stern College permanently. While The Observer does not wish to pass judgment on the issue, it is one of many examples of a lack of communication between the administration and faculty- Standard 10.
President Joel promised that the faculty handbook, which has been the drafting process for years, is finally reaching its final stages, hastened by the Middle States warning. The President said he plans on meeting with the board of trustees to present the revised handbook. In response to receiving two warnings in general warning, President Joel said that members of the Middle States team reported the place “transformed” and the warning was merely to indicate that “there are areas they want to see worked on” so that the school can achieve a “higher level of excellence.”
In a post meeting follow-up interview, The Observer asked President Joel if the new faculty handbook would provide any methods of re-evaluating tenured professors. President Joel answered “no,” after which he qualified that if a professor is not being “effective,” it should be brought to the attention of the administration through “student activism.” In such a case, the administration will try to “work with the professor.” “None of the professors are trying to do a bad job,” explained President Joel.
The next question was posed by Chana Brauser, (14’), one of Stern’s few history majors. Her introduction, “Hi I’m Chana, and I’m a history major,” was met by titters and nervous laughter, the audience clearly anticipating Chana’s self-coined “list of grievances” based on similar concerns raised in the past. Chana asked about the “elimination” of the Stern foreign language department, save Spanish or Hebrew, while, on the Wilf campus, men are still able to take Arabic, French, and Latin.
President Joel responded sympathetically, but spoke about the unfortunate reality of “budget cuts,” a response reiterated several times throughout the meeting. He suggested online accommodations for students, and the possibility of taking courses at other universities if the “need arose.” This however, is not as simple as the President made it seem. Regarding Brauser’s follow-up question, “would outside courses be on the students’ dime?” the President directed Brauser to the upcoming Deans Forum. Rachel Weber (‘13) announced the Academic Affairs Committee’s will hold the forum next Wednesday to address more SCW (and Sy Syms School of Business, as Jody Friede (‘13) added) specific questions and concerns. President Joel referred many students to the forum throughout the course of the meeting.
In the follow-up interview, The Observer asked if there would be any chance of students going uptown to take classes with the men in departments, such as the foreign language department, where Stern had to make severe cuts. The President answered an empathic “no.”
Addressing further disparities between the men’s and women’s campuses, Yehudit Goldberg (‘13), Vice President of the TAC, discussed how much she has gained from the Judaic studies department at YU. She framed her question by quoting President Joel stating “the yeshiva is the heart of our institution” at the men’s Town Hall Meeting earlier this year. However, Goldberg continued by expressing her frustration that the Beit Midrash experience at Stern does not match the experience at Wilf, especially due to the limited presence of Sganei Mashgichim and Roshei Yeshiva on the Beren Campus. “We do have Rabbi Blau and the GPATS women,” said Goldberg. “And Rav Kahn,” added the President. Goldberg continued that the energy in the Beit Midrash is just not the same as uptown and it needs to be addressed.
President Joel responded by emphasizing the differences between the Wilf and Stern Beit Midrash programs structurally but urged students who feel that the Hashgacha on the Beit Midrash could be stronger to take proactive steps towards achieving that goal. “I don’t have a great sense of the energy of the Beit Midrash here and I think you should take it on as a cause,” he said to Goldberg. Goldberg, who, incidentally has taken this on as a cause – first as president of the Torah Scholarship Lecture Series which encourages Roshei Yeshiva involvement of Beren Camps and then as Vice President of TAC – smiled at this suggestion. “If you think hashgacha needs strengthening,” said the President, “we should talk about that and see what needs to be done and do so.”
Two further disparities between the men’s campus and the women’s were brought up during The Observer’s follow up interview with President Joel. The first was the lack of a pre-law advisor for the women since the departure of Dr. John Fousek last year. If a pre-law advisor for the women has been appointed, she/he was never officially introduced to the student body. President Joel responded emphatically that the issue “had to be dealt with immediately,” encouraging the question be posed at the upcoming Dean’s Forum. The second disparity regarded women not receiving credit for the participation in SCDS, as opposed to the men who receive two credits for participation in YCDS. President Joel said he “doesn’t know why this is” and once again encouraged the question be raised at the Dean’s Forum.
Naama Plotzker (‘13), speaking on behalf of her sister (‘15), requested that the recently eliminated computer science major be re-introduced. President Joel, explaining that the major had been initially eliminated because of lack of demand, acknowledged that the major’s elimination had been “creating a stir” on both campuses. He stated the intention to “re-imagine” the major, stating intentions to create a committee to work on re-launching the major to have it available to students in the near future. Students on the Beren campus wait hopefully in anticipation.
Chana Weinstock (‘13), president of iGive, voiced concerns with the way student run events are approved. Weinstock is, incidentally, not the only student with this problem. She explained that “there are certain offices in the University that brick wall event requests…How can we get events passed in a more timely fashion?” The problem with event requests is that so many different offices have to sign off on every event—not just the Office of Student Life. This can sometimes take up to 12 business days to approvea single event. This is troubling for people planning events because they need to know when their event will take place, what their budget is, and how to plan accordingly. Weinstock is not alone in her feelings of frustration.
“We’re a small school so [scheduling] is always a challenge” said President Joel. “Having said that,” he continued, “I have to say [that the delay in even approval] is not your problem and it shouldn’t be your problem.” The responsibilities of the other offices are to get these jobs done. If they’re not doing their jobs that needs to be addressed. “I would like Rachel [Ciment from the Office of Student Life] to meet with you and a small group of students and create a report as to what the problems are, and I want that report on my desk in 2 weeks– I’m serious!” The President hopes the report will identify the issues in the bureaucratic system and only then can the administration begin to find a solution.
The plight of the math majors was finally voiced by Ariella Simpson (13’). Simpson bemoaned the lack of courses in the math department and emphasized the binding nature of her requirements. She was required to take 4 mathematics electives for her major, but now none are offered so she is forced to take computer science courses which frankly aren’t even math courses. A sympathetic President Joel referred her to the Provost, Professor Lowengrub. Simpson and the Provost were seen animatedly discussing the fate of the SCW Math Department immediately following the meeting.
Regarding Sandy, someone needed to thank the administration and Talia Lautman (‘13) rose to the occasion. Lautman thanked Rachel Kraut and the student leaders. She praised the communication through Sandy and how the administration handled the entire ordeal.
Rachel Golian (GA) raised a challenge posed by the sale of the Schottenstein Cultural Center: lack of Minyan space on Shabbat. President Joel replied that this is a problem that needs to be solved but one which is not “insoluble.” As he put it, “there wasn’t always a cultural center” and “there are alternatives.”
The constraints of an urban campus were further highlighted by Miriam Seidman’s (‘13) comment about insufficient study and lounge spaces. President Joel relayed that he “was not unmindful” of this and stated that especially pre-exam time, more classrooms can be opened up and converted into study halls. He also encouraged students to work with the faculty to remedy the problem.
While President Joel acknowledged the “challenges” of Stern’s “urban setting,” he stated that he “does not know of a campus with more events than you generate,” qualifying “even on this campus!” He went onto to explain, of his own volition, why significantly more events are held uptown: “400/500 YC students balancing night seder” and “classes that run until later hours.”
Malkie Krieger (‘13) expressed frustration about not being able to take business courses as a Stern student. The only way a SCW student can take business courses (ie Sy Syms courses) is to minor in business. Krieger and many of her liberal arts counterparts would ideally like to enroll in some business classes, but they cannot due to policy constraints. In response, President Joel referred Krieger to next week’s Dean Forum.
Overall, the first Town Hall Meeting proved effective and promising. President Joel was, as always, sympathetic to student concerns, even if responses, more often than not directing students elsewhere or validating complaints, left what to be desired in terms of substance. Students left the meeting feeling heard. Whether or not the important changes discussed will be put into effect remains to be seen.
A special thank you to Shalva Ginsparg for her close correspondence.