Ambassador Yehuda Avner to Speak at May 24 Commencement; Honorees Include Alan Willner, Eleazer Hirmes and Ethel Orlian Former Israeli diplomat, Ambassador Yehuda Avner, will deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary doctorate at Yeshiva University’s 81st Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 24, at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ. [caption id="attachment_10367" align="alignleft" width="138" caption="Ambassador Yehuda Avner"][/caption] Avner, an author of two books, served as speechwriter and secretary to Israeli Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir, and as an adviser to Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin and Shimon Peres. Visit the commencement page for dates, locations, directions and information on ceremonies for all Yeshiva University schools and affiliates. President Richard M. Joel will also confer an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters upon Dr. Alan Willner and Eleazer Hirmes. Willner, a 1982 graduate of Yeshiva College, is a highly decorated physicist, who has published more than 950 papers on his research in optical technologies. Currently a chaired professor of engineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California, he holds 24 patents. His research has been supported by institutions such as Cisco, the Department of Defense, Google, Hewlett Packard, Intel, the National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency. [caption id="attachment_10373" align="alignright" width="143" caption="Dr. Alan Willner"][/caption] Hirmes’ family relationship with Yeshiva University dates back to the early years of the 20th century, when his father, Rabbi Abraham P. Hirmes, left the Slabodka Yeshiva in Lithuania to pursue his rabbinical ordination at YU-affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Eleazer attended YU High School and graduated from Yeshiva College in 1944. He received an MBA from New York University and spent 60 years practicing as a CPA, becoming a noted philanthropist in the Five Towns of New York. Hirmes and his wife Greta have set up a scholarship fund in honor of his parents. [caption id="attachment_10375" align="alignleft" width="135" caption="Eleazer Hirmes"][/caption] Ethel Orlian, the associate dean of Stern College for Women, will be awarded the Presidential Medallion. Orlian has spent more than 50 years as a student, teacher and administrator at Yeshiva University. A graduate of YU High School and Stern College, she began her YU career as a researcher, but left to live in Israel before returning to Stern in 1979 as the assistant to Karen Bacon, dean of Stern College for Women. Known to generations of Stern College women, she has remained at the college since—serving as assistant dean and academic counselor and teaching chemistry prior to her appointment as associate dean. [caption id="attachment_10378" align="alignright" width="140" caption="Ethel Orlian"][/caption] “Each of our honorees embodies a different piece of the principles of Yeshiva University, their commitment to the Jewish people, the State of Israel, their hometowns and to the University itself,” said President Joel. “We hope they inspire our graduates to leave our school for success now, but know they always have a home at YU.” In all, more than 1,400 undergraduate students from Yeshiva College, Stern College for Women and Syms School of Business, as well as graduate students in the fields of law, medicine, social work, education, Jewish studies and psychology, will be awarded degrees from YU during its commencement season. Learn more about the honorees here. none

Harvard Economist Details the Positive Impact of Cities at Annual Brody Lecture A sizable crowd filled the seats in Weissberg Commons on the evening of May 2 to hear Harvard Economics Professor Dr. Edward Glaeser discuss the importance of cities at the annual Alexander Brody Memorial Lecture. [caption id="attachment_10443" align="alignleft" width="347" caption="Citing economic and historical data, Prof. Edward Glaeser makes the case for the expansion of cities."][/caption] Delivering a fact-filled and fast-paced address accompanied by detailed slides of graphs and pictures, Glaeser’s lecture, titled “Triumph of the City: Why Cities Are Our Best Hope for the Future,” offered selections of his research as found in his recently published and similarly titled book Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, ­Greener, Healthier, and Happier (2011, The Penguin Press). Using a host of economic data along with historical and personal anecdotes, Glaeser delved deeply into an explanation of how cities help move humanity forward in beneficial ways. He began by showcasing how at the turn of the 21st century, more than half of humanity lived in cities. Additionally, countries that have large cities are far more prosperous. Commenting on this, he mentioned how he sees no reason to be saddened by the demise of diminishing country life. “Some people will mourn a bucolic lost world,” he said. “But they have never been to rural India with its unending cycles of poverty and disease.” The reason for success following the growth of cities might at first seem puzzling since urban centers originally sprung up to serve a very specific need of easing transportation concerns. This is why cities like New York and Boston grew around rivers and ocean harbors, because transporting goods by water proved significantly easier than doing so over land, he explained. “Nowadays, cities are a paradox because the Internet has made proximity obsolete,” said Glaeser. “So why don’t we all just live in rural Montana and leave the congestion of cities behind?” To answer this question, he offered the examples of Detroit and Seattle in the 1970s. Both northern cities suffered massive job losses in that decade because of factories moving to warmer climates or out of the country, and both suffered large population declines. Yet Seattle has bounced back while Detroit still suffers. The reason for this is because Seattle had a more educated workforce with many more bachelor degrees while Detroit’s workforce was less so. So Seattle fostered an entrepreneurial atmosphere from which came Starbucks, Microsoft and Costco, reviving the city, according to Glaeser. To further illustrate this example, he discussed how artistic innovation was nourished in the area around Florence during the Renaissance and how the development of the first skyscrapers in Chicago in the late 19th century was a truly collaborative effort. Through his study, Glaeser has concluded that for cities to truly flourish, “human capital is more important than physical capital”—meaning creating an educated and inquisitive population is more important to the success of a city than tall buildings and cutting-edge transportation infrastructure. He closed by describing how the future of the planet depends on the proper growth of cities across the world, saying if China and India—with their increased urbanization—do not build cities vertically with proper public transportation, then the resulting rise in gas prices and carbon emissions could be calamitous for the planet. In essence, the future of our world depends on the proper growth of cities. “The lecture was very informative,” said Yoni Bardash, an economics major at Yeshiva College. “It gave a very detailed description of the role of the city in relationship to the development of the country and the world economy.” The Alexander Brody Memorial Lecture is held in memory of YU’s first economics professor, who was well-respected for his scholarship in both secular and biblical studies. none

Ambassador Yehuda Avner to Speak at May 24 Commencement; Honorees Include Alan Willner, Eleazer Hirmes and Ethel Orlian Former Israeli diplomat, Ambassador Yehuda Avner, will deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary doctorate at Yeshiva University’s 81st Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 24, at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ. [caption id="attachment_10367" align="alignleft" width="138" caption="Ambassador Yehuda Avner"][/caption] Avner, an author of two books, served as speechwriter and secretary to Israeli Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir, and as an adviser to Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin and Shimon Peres. Visit the commencement page for dates, locations, directions and information on ceremonies for all Yeshiva University schools and affiliates. President Richard M. Joel will also confer an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters upon Dr. Alan Willner and Eleazer Hirmes. Willner, a 1982 graduate of Yeshiva College, is a highly decorated physicist, who has published more than 950 papers on his research in optical technologies. Currently a chaired professor of engineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California, he holds 24 patents. His research has been supported by institutions such as Cisco, the Department of Defense, Google, Hewlett Packard, Intel, the National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency. [caption id="attachment_10373" align="alignright" width="143" caption="Dr. Alan Willner"][/caption] Hirmes’ family relationship with Yeshiva University dates back to the early years of the 20th century, when his father, Rabbi Abraham P. Hirmes, left the Slobatka Yeshiva in Lithuania to pursue his rabbinical ordination at YU-affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Eleazer attended YU High School and graduated from Yeshiva College in 1944. He received an MBA from New York University and spent 60 years practicing as a CPA, becoming a noted philanthropist in the Five Towns of New York. Hirmes and his wife Greta have set up a scholarship fund in honor of his parents. [caption id="attachment_10375" align="alignleft" width="135" caption="Eleazer Hirmes"][/caption] Ethel Orlian, the associate dean of Stern College for Women, will be awarded the Presidential Medallion. Orlian has spent more than 50 years as a student, teacher and administrator at Yeshiva University. A graduate of YU High School and Stern College, she began her YU career as a researcher, but left to live in Israel before returning to Stern in 1979 as the assistant to Karen Bacon, dean of Stern College for Women. Known to generations of Stern College women, she has remained at the college since—serving as assistant dean and academic counselor and teaching chemistry prior to her appointment as associate dean. [caption id="attachment_10378" align="alignright" width="140" caption="Ethel Orlian"][/caption] “Each of our honorees embodies a different piece of the principles of Yeshiva University, their commitment to the Jewish people, the State of Israel, their hometowns and to the University itself,” said President Joel. “We hope they inspire our graduates to leave our school for success now, but know they always have a home at YU.” In all, more than 1,400 undergraduate students from Yeshiva College, Stern College for Women and Syms School of Business, as well as graduate students in the fields of law, medicine, social work, education, Jewish studies and psychology, will be awarded degrees from YU during its commencement season. Learn more about the honorees here. none

From Caracas to Cologne, Childhood Friends Reunite to Pursue Business Dreams at Yeshiva Daniel Simkin and Leon Franco have come a long way together. As children in Caracas, Venezuela, they attended the same grade school.  In March, as students at Yeshiva University, they attended the 15th World Business Dialogue in Cologne, Germany—winning two of only 300 coveted slots available to students across the globe in a rigorous selection process. [caption id="attachment_10317" align="alignleft" width="355" caption="Childhood friends in Venezuela, Daniel Simkin and Leon Franco have reunited at Yeshiva University. "][/caption] The conference is the world’s largest student-run business convention. Featuring 60 high-profile personalities and executives from top companies such as British Petroleum, General Electric Europe and North Asia, and Ford of Europe, it engaged students and speakers in conversation about topics that will have economic and social impact on the future. “We met students from all around the world who want to do something in life, change something,” said Simkin, a sophomore majoring in mathematics at Yeshiva College. “They run profit or nonprofit organizations around the world. We all had this ambition and desire to share ideas and concerns.” Simkin and Franco have always been ambitious. In Venezuela and over his time at YU, Simkin has tried his hand at a variety of industries—“entertainment, manufacturing, social media, iTunes and politics,” he says, to name a few—and Franco, a junior majoring in marketing and finance at Syms School of Business, has interned for New York Senator Charles Schumer and UBS Wealth Management.  The two applied to the World Business Dialogue because they were convinced it could give them valuable insight and connections to further their careers. “I want to create or participate in a multinational company and to do that, I have to understand people and different economies,” said Simkin. “I’m hoping to apply what I learned about general business practice at the conference in the future.” At the conference, Franco and Simkin had the opportunity to hear from industry leaders about everything from business strategies to ethical dilemmas and future forecasts. They also benefited from the juxtaposition of opposing worldviews in conversation. “The CEO of British Petroleum Europe was advocating a slower introduction of eco-friendly alternatives to oil consumption, while the German Transport Authority explained that it is developing strategic ways to be more efficient with their use on a day-to-day basis,” said Franco. The conference helped crystallize his feelings about sustainability. [caption id="attachment_10321" align="alignright" width="426" caption="Franco (left) and Simkin (right) networked with students from around the world and heard from captains of industry at the World Business Dialogue in Germany."][/caption] “Individuals have to change their consumption habits, but someone has to educate them,” said Franco. “Whether I make a green company or just a company with green aspects, I understand that anything I do is going to have a social component. There has to be more than just profit-generation—you have to be giving back because that’s the only way we’re going to maintain a healthy world.” Though Franco and Simkin knew each other as children, they only recently reunited. Franco, who had moved to the United States with his family in search of greater religious freedom in 2000, had already begun his studies at YU when he encountered Simkin at a dinner with mutual friends in New York City. Simkin was shocked. He had come to the U.S. for a summer course in English between semesters at the Universidad Metropolitana of Caracas. There, things had been rough: a hostile atmosphere toward Jews on campus led him to downplay his religious identity and as more and more of his friends left the country for Israel or the U.S., he found his own grasp on Judaism slipping. When Franco told him about YU, Simkin had to see it for himself. The two headed back uptown together and Simkin was amazed by what he found. “I saw a small campus where everyone has a Jewish environment,” he said. “People walking around in the streets with kippas on and tzitzit out, eating kosher food, inviting each other for Shabbat. It was exactly what I lacked in Venezuela, and I thought, ‘This is where I need to be.’ ” The road wasn’t easy. Simkin spoke very little English. But three courses and six sittings for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) later, he arrived at YU. “I’m pursuing my university education as a businessman while studying who I am in the morning,” Simkin said. “Everyone knows Hebrew, so I use it more than I did in Venezuela. And when my kids ask me in the future, ‘How do you make Kiddush?’ I’ll know because I learned about it with a rabbi in class.” For Franco, the school held a similar appeal. “Here, we are always surrounded by people who share our values, respect us, lead morally correct lives and have a vision for the future,” he said. “I have friends here from Spain, France and Thailand and everywhere around the world that there is a Jewish community. Somehow, we all ended up here and we’re all united, and I think that’s amazing.” YU’s New York City location is also critical for Franco as he develops his professional career. “Every business has a headquarters in New York,” he said. “The fact that we’re here and able to connect with potential employers and an international community of Jews while receiving a good education and exploring our religious identities as individuals is important.” “We have a great group of international students here at YU and I have the fortune in my role as the entrepreneur-in-residence to meet them on a one-to-one basis and discuss with them everything from how to start a business and how to raise money to what career they should pursue if and when they plan to go back to their home country,” said Michael Strauss, associate dean at Syms. When Franco and Simkin were accepted to the World Business Dialogue, Strauss worked with the students to find a way for them to attend despite the cost of airfare, which they couldn’t afford. “I have spent 40 years in business and we’re no longer in a cocoon,” said Strauss. “Any day that a businessman is involved in business, he is exposed to the international world via importing, exporting, sales, purchasing, supplies—it’s an international global environment.” He added: “Having exposure to that environment, which the conference gave them, is extremely invaluable and therefore I felt that it was critical that they, as YU students, were able to attend.” Simkin and Franco are especially appreciative of their professors at Syms and Yeshiva College, including Strauss, Professor Steven Nissenfeld in management and Professor Brian Maruffi in entrepreneurship, whose mentorship and guidance have helped them flesh out big plans for their futures. For Simkin, Professor Norma Silbermintz’s English as a Second Language course had particularly meaningful results. “At the World Business Dialogue, Leon [Franco] looked at me and said, ‘Six months ago, all you knew how to say in English was ‘Hi, my name is Daniel,’ ” Simkin recalled, laughing. “ ‘Now you’re speaking in front of 300 international students as a delegate from YU!’ ” none

Nationally Syndicated Talk Show Host Michael Medved Discusses the Race for the White House As the 2012 presidential race kicks into high gear, nationally-acclaimed conservative talk show host, film critic and political commentator Michael Medved shared his insights and predictions about election outcomes with Yeshiva University students on April 18. [caption id="attachment_10298" align="alignleft" width="344" caption="Michael Medved speaks to YU students at a Republican Club event on April 18."][/caption] Medved, a Sabbath-observant host of the nationally syndicated The Michael Medved Show, speculated about Governor Mitt Romney’s campaign strategy and a potentially unprecedented outcome of the election. Medved also discussed factors he felt affected the Jewish vote and reflected on his first experiences in politics, as a student working for Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign during his junior year at Yale University. “Every election, without exception, we’re told this is the most important and critical election of your lifetime,” said Medved. “They say that to get you to vote. But this election truly is exciting and unpredictable.” According to Medved, Romney could potentially win the Electoral College, but there is a chance for a crushing win of the popular vote by incumbent President Barack Obama—a situation Medved said had not arisen in American politics since the 1876 presidential race between Samuel J. Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes. He outlined as well the strategy he felt could regain the White House for Republicans: conservative substance, moderate tone. “Most people, when they vote, don’t vote for someone who inspires them, but against something they fear,” Medved said. “The Republicans need Romney to inspire and incite conservatives without scaring away moderates and people in the middle.” The talk was hosted by the YU Republican Club and also featured a question-and-answer session, during which students and members of the public sought Medved’s take on everything from Romney’s best pick as running mate (“Senator Rob Portman is likely, but dull and safe. I like New Mexico Governor Suzanne Martinez for the job.”) to the possibility of a third party splitting the vote. “Because Mr. Medved is both an observant Jew with a personal connection to the YU community and an influential political commentator, we felt he has an interesting perspective on the upcoming presidential election,” said Eitan Polster ’13YC, vice president of YU Republican Club. “His incredible success on the radio makes him a highly sought-after speaker and we were honored to host him to speak to us.  We felt that his ability to relate to millions of listeners on a daily basis gives him the unique ability to engage and captivate a diverse YU audience from all sections of the political spectrum.” That was certainly true for Holly Hampton, a junior majoring in history at Stern College for Women, who described herself as a longtime Medved listener who first heard him on The Dennis Prager Show. “I really learned a lot about the upcoming election and it was interesting to hear his view of the Republican candidate and party,” she said. For Medved, whose daughter Sarah is a graduate of Stern College and YU’s Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, the opportunity to speak at YU also offered a chance to connect with students who were passionate about and invested in their future as American citizens and Orthodox Jews. “I’ve always been impressed by the bright and refined young people I’ve met here,” said Medved. “YU is a resource of talent within the Jewish community.” Learn more about the 2012 presidential election from leading political experts at the Dr. Marcia Robbins-Wilf Scholar-in-Residence program on April 30. none

New Communications Offerings and Ongoing 'Re-imagining' of Undergraduate Education The process of re-imagining undergraduate education as well as of planning the budgeting that is necessary for YU to remain competitive and meet its core mission continues as quickly and responsibly as possible. Changes are coming, and members of the University community have questions and concerns. A perfect example is the Speech department at Yeshiva College. As it goes the way of its counterparts at many major universities, lots of attention is being paid to the fate of speech courses at YC. Here's the fact: preparing our students with business and personal communications skills that they'll need to succeed remains a priority and, with that goal in mind, a new business communications curriculum is being introduced, developed jointly by the Syms School of Business and the Yeshiva College English department. Other changes that are in the final stages of preparation include unveiling the innovative and sweeping update to the curriculum that has been years in the making. Tough choices do remain, including offering fewer sections of some courses, as well as reductions in Studio Arts and Physical Education (YC) as well as in some languages (YC and Stern). Other options are under consideration as well, but the Office of the Provost is taking the time necessary to ensure that the best decisions are made for our present and future students. Yeshiva College Dean Barry Eichler has communicated information to the student body through an interview with the Commentator student newspaper about this ongoing process. A broader update on the status of the re-imagining project, including details about the new curriculum, is being prepared for release. none

Yeshiva College Writing Faculty Publish Books, Plays Several professors who teach writing courses in Yeshiva College’s English department are also award-winning authors, playwrights and poets whose works have been published on a national scale or soon will be. [caption id="attachment_10151" align="alignleft" width="160" caption="Hugh Sheehy"][/caption] Hugh Sheehy, a second-year faculty member at Yeshiva College, recently won the Flannery O'Connor Prize, a prestigious annual competition that grants aspiring writers the opportunity to have their work published. Sheehy’s “The Invisibles” is a collection of short fictional stories that includes “literary mysteries, thrillers, coming-of-age stories, recognition narratives and other kinds of genre stories intended to be page-turners,” according to Sheehy. The book—Sheehy’s first—will be published by the University of Georgia Press and will be coming out in October 2012. Sheehy’s fiction has already been published in several literary journals, including Crazyhorse, Glimmer Train, The Kenyon Review, The Antioch Review, The Saint Ann’s Review, The New Orleans Review, Southwest Review, Redivider and in the anthology The Best American Mystery Stories 2008. He is now working on a second novel. Barbara Blatner, who has been teaching at Yeshiva College for close to a decade, is an established poet. At the end of March, a book of her poetry called “Living With You” was published. The book is a collection of lyrical, abstract poems centering on her marriage to her husband of over 20 years. In September 2010, her first book of poetry, “The Still Position,” came out, a memoir written in verse about the last five days of her mother’s life. [caption id="attachment_10153" align="alignright" width="175" caption="Barbara Blatner"][/caption] Blatner is also an accomplished playwright. Her short play, “Guernica 2003,” will be performed at the American Globe Theater in Manhattan on April 25. She described it as “a surreal play about Colin Powell making his speech at the United Nations about going to war in Iraq, and Picasso painting Guernica and undermining Powell’s confidence because Guernica is an anti-war masterpiece.” Next winter, another one of Blatner’s plays, “Years of Sky,” is slated to be produced by the Scripts Up company and performed off Broadway at the 59E59 Theater. Blatner wrote a version of the play in the 1990s, when it was performed in Boston, and later did a reading of it several years ago for YU students and faculty. “It’s about a bi-racial couple who witnessed John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 and then they meet again in 1968 after Robert Kennedy’s assassination and once again in Dallas in 1992 to try to figure out what happened in their relationship,” said Blatner. Several of her other works were aired on National Public Radio, performed in workshops and theaters in Boston and New York and published in various acclaimed literary journals and anthologies. Blatner’s talents extend beyond the literary realm. In addition to teaching English composition, poetry and script-writing courses, she is a musician, having worked as a cocktail pianist, performing in lounges and bands early in her career. At YU, she has been involved in several productions of the Yeshiva College Dramatics Society (YCDS)—writing songs, playing piano and acting as the musical director for “1776,” which was performed this past fall and for the 2007 production of “Newsies,” among others YCDS plays. Johanna Lane, who's been teaching full-time at Yeshiva College for the past five years, was recently awarded a contract with Little Brown for international rights to her novel. Though she and her editors have not yet settled on a title for the book, it is a work of literary fiction set in the late 1990s in Ireland—Lane’s native country. “The novel is about a family who has had an ancestral home for hundreds and hundreds of years and can’t afford to take care of it anymore, and so it gets turned into a tourist attraction and the family has to cope with all these tourists coming through their space,” said Lane. The novel—Lane’s first—is based on her thesis project from Columbia University, where she earned a master’s degree in fiction writing. “I’ve always wanted to be a writer and I never actually thought it would happen, so this is a dream,” she said. After the final rounds of editing are complete, her book will be published in fall 2013, in English-speaking countries around the world. She hopes to continue writing, in addition to teaching at Yeshiva College, where she enjoys the “nice, very supportive English department that lets me pursue interesting courses in creative writing,” said Lane. none

Yeshiva College Musicians Perform at Master Class with Renowned Pianist Blair McMillen Three Yeshiva College student pianists had the opportunity to participate in a master class with accomplished professional pianist Blair McMillen on March 22 at the Schottenstein Center on the Wilf Campus. The event, which drew an audience of more than 30, was jointly sponsored by the Yeshiva University Classical Music Society (YUCMS) and the Yeshiva College Music Department. [caption id="attachment_10058" align="alignleft" width="348" caption="Aaron Yevick performs a Rachmaninoff piece."][/caption] The structure of the master class was as follows: each student performed one piece, after which McMillen, a Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard-educated musician, gave encouraging, incisive feedback on anything from volume to tempo to finger placement. Sometimes he even demonstrated a few bars of the music himself. The student then reassumed his place at the piano and implemented McMillen’s suggestions—often successfully. Elia Rackovsky ’13YC, co-president of YUCMS, coordinated the event. “I’m very proud to be part of this event and of how the YUCMS is instrumental in putting on events that… expose the YU student body to classical music,” said Rackovsky. Rackovsky was also one of the three students selected to play at the event by Professor Noyes Bartholomew, co-chair of the Yeshiva College Department of Fine Arts and Music. Rackovsky performed Johann Sebastian Bach’s French Suite no. 5, while Moshe Shulman ’15YC, played Beethoven’s Piano Sonata op. 31 no. 2 and Aaron Yevick ’12YC, Elegie, op. 3 no 1 by Sergei Rachmaninoff. [caption id="attachment_10060" align="alignright" width="348" caption="Blair McMillen, right, offers Yevick some instruction and feedback."][/caption] McMillen, who has performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Moscow Conservatory and serves on the faculty of Bard College, noted the challenges of interpreting the works of different musicians. Earlier composers, like Bach, seldom marked their sheet music with indicators of desired loudness or tone. Beethoven, on the other hand, was incredibly specific. “Can we inject our own musical inspiration and personality into a piece that’s so loved and is considered holy writ?” mused McMillen about Beethoven’s works. “Yes. I think so.” McMillen described one particular strategy he employs when determining how to play a given piece. “I very often think of vocal music or of different instruments,” he said, emphasizing the usefulness of this approach with regard to volume. [caption id="attachment_10063" align="alignleft" width="348" caption="Elia Rackovsky, coordinator of the Master Class event, performs Bach’s French Suite no. 5 for McMillen."][/caption] Teaching master classes, said McMillen, enriches his own musicianship. “Teaching in front of people affords me the opportunity to think about what I do subconsciously on my own… I learn more about myself as an artist and musician and pianist by showing people how I think things should sound than in a three- or four-hour practice session on my own… I’ll probably be all the better for it when I go back to practicing tomorrow morning after this master class.” After answering some questions, McMillen treated the audience to a short, electrifying performance of “What the West Wind Saw,” a piece he described as “a wild-raging storm.” The student musicians relished their experience. “It’s very important to get new perspectives on things you normally take for granted, like how to play a melody, how to touch the keys,” said Yevick, whose Rachmaninoff rendition garnered extra admiration from McMillen after Yevick confessed that he only started learning piano two years ago. Rackovsky agreed: “There is pressure being in the hot seat, but it’s worth it to come away with a better musical understanding.” httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEeGRbGYTQI none

Renowned Psychiatrist Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski Discusses Addiction with Neuroethics Honors Class The Yeshiva College’s Honors Neuroethics course had the privilege to hear from the eminent Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski on the topic of addiction, specifically as it relates to the Orthodox community. As a board certified psychiatrist and Jewish community leader, Twerski has spent many years engaging with many of the dark realities that exist in the Orthodox world. [caption id="attachment_9969" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Rabbi Dr. Twerski addresses Yeshiva College's Neuroethics course on the dark realities of addiction."][/caption] In his pre-Purim lecture, Twerski provided enlightening insights into the mind of an addict, using common day examples to stress the crippling force of habit. He discussed a variety of addictions, ranging from alcohol and prescription drugs, to the less discussed though equally destructive food and sex addictions. Each addiction was unfolded for its particular nuances to provide a comprehensive picture of the whole gamut of potential addictions. Twerski stressed the primacy of the primitive psychological defense mechanisms in the irrational decision-making process of the addict, which include rationalization, denial and blaming. He also noted that the classical psychoanalytic approach to addiction—which attempts to treat current problems by unearthing past experiences buried deep in the subconscious—is relatively ineffectual in treating addiction. Furthermore, attempts by friends or family to “help” addicts by bailing them out frequently results in anger, disappointment and continuation of the problem. According to the Twerski, the addict must hit “rock bottom” before serious change becomes a possibility. Only when an individual reaches this point can he realize the depth of his problem and push himself into a recovery program. [caption id="attachment_9971" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Dr. Alexander Kushnir, professor of the neuroethics course."][/caption] As far as treatment is concerned, Twerski believes that without a highly structured program and a robust social support network, attempts to lose an addiction are invariably doomed to fail. He recommended that anyone going into psychiatry, the rabbinate or psychological counseling attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting to experience the power of a social support network. The Honors Neuroethics course, part of the Yeshiva College Jay and Jeanne Schottenstein Honors Program, is designed to introduce students to the moral and ethical challenges of rapid advances in neuroscience. "Addiction science is a core topic in the curriculum", said Dr. Alexander Kushnir, professor of the course. "Thanks to Rabbi Dr. Twerski, the students had the opportunity to witness the synthesis of academic scholarship and research with clinical reality." The author, Nathan Agi, is a sophomore studying psychology and biology at Yeshiva College. none

Yeshiva University Student and Comic Finds the Humor in Life Meet Eitan Levine. At 22, the Yeshiva College senior has already performed at a host of comedy clubs throughout the tristate area, including Caroline’s, the Stress Factory and the People’s Improv Theater. He’s opened for Daryl Hammond of "Saturday Night Live" and has performed with comedic super-stars Louis CK, Judah Friedlander and Jim Gaffigan. He hosts “Prolaffs!” on WYUR and is a staff writer for The Quipster. A comic book enthusiast, Levine serves as head announcer of the International Quidditch Association and is a noted Yeshiva University roller hockey intramurals commissioner. Oh, and he plays the ukulele. Levine, a native of Springfield, NJ, discovered his passion for comedy at an early age—but not how you’d expect. At 10, Levine was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma of the tibia, an illness that landed him in and out of hospitals as a child. “I had a journal that just ended up becoming a joke book,” said Levine. “I was kidding around with a doctor one day and he was like, ‘You should go into this.’ And for the first time I thought to myself, ‘Hey, maybe I can be good at comedy.’ ” Thus a career was born. At 15, with an arsenal of written jokes at his disposal, Levine took part in his first open mike at the Stress Factory in New Brunswick, NJ. “My dad was worried I’d embarrass the family,” he laughed. “I was on crutches at the time and I was so nervous.” His first joke bombed. His second joke did pretty well. His third joke set him on a roll that would culminate in a standing ovation as he left the stage. Levine was hooked. [caption id="attachment_9874" align="alignright" width="362" caption="Levine with comedian and actor Judah Friedlander"][/caption] As he finished high school, Levine hit more and more open mikes across New Jersey, working himself into the comedic milieu and honing his jokes. He went on to attend Yeshivat Yesodei HaTorah in Israel, where he also competed in, and won, the Israel Last Comic Standing contest. But Levine wanted to expand his range. While pursuing a marketing major and film minor at Yeshiva College, he enrolled in improv studies at the Upright Citizens’ Brigade and the People’s Improv Theater (PIT), where he currently hosts his own regular show. “It’s like a funny Jeopardy-esque trivia show,” said Levine. He also performs every other week with DeWolf Hopper, an improv team. “It's been great having Eitan around the PIT,” said Chris Griggs, an improv instructor at the theater. “He truly loves improvisation and comedy. He immediately seemed to bond with everyone and now is really a part of the theater's fabric.” At YU, Levine has found a unique home base for his comedic career. “There are a lot of big advantages to being a comedian here,” said Levine. “You get the benefits of living in a Jewish community, where if I want a mincha, I can get a mincha without walking halfway across campus to the Hillel. But you’re also in New York… This is where comedy is really happening and I’ve been able to perform on a fairly regular basis as a student here.” httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKSn0AbWRCk&list=UUuzvwA-URlLuOewpBK11Deg&index=17&feature=plcp Levine is proud of his identity as a religious comic and is especially careful with the way he presents himself to audiences. “People look at me as an Orthodox Jew and I don’t want them to think that I’m only religious when it’s convenient,” he said. “I do this because I believe it’s the right thing. The comedians I work with understand and respect that about me and they are very accommodating.” Still, Levine felt, “religious comics can be few and far between.” He noticed a lack of humor that felt relatable to young Orthodox audiences. Last year, he organized the Kosher College Comedy Tour, a traveling band of Jewish comics that has performed at more than a dozen Northeastern universities. The intent: to create a unique synthesis of young, religious humor that would speak directly to the Jewish college crowd. “For years, getting a stand-up comic for a college Hillel or Chabad was tough because all the clean comics were these ‘My wife! Take her!’ types who were better suited to entertain at a nursing home than comedy night at the University of Maryland Hillel House,” Levine said. “It was really fun to go to the Hillel houses of different colleges and see the diverse Jewish crowds.” Levine’s shows have also raised money for several charities, including the Hebrew Academy for Special Children, Camp Simcha and the YU QUEST comedy fundraiser. Charities are important to him, because as child, humor gave him the tools to fight through tough times during his own illness. He sees a basic life lesson in comedy. “I think a lot of our problems as a society could be solved if people lightened up a little bit, took a step back from whatever situation they’re in, and laughed… People need to calm down and get that minute to laugh.” Levine has made it a point to give people that minute at YU. As a staff writer at The Quipster, a satirical online news site produced by YU students, his articles gently mock current events and trends in the YU world. “We’re there to keep everybody grounded,” said Levine. The radio show he co-hosts with Moshe Press, a senior at Yeshiva College, is similar in tone. While a good portion of the show is devoted to comic books (“We’re huge comic book guys”), Levine and Press are not afraid to tackle heavier items on the news circuit. “We do satire and comedy,” said Levine. “When something serious comes up, we switch our hats and our jokes become more geared toward what’s going on and what our opinion about it is.” Currently Levine is applying to the NBC Universal Page program, a 12-month, post-graduation program that places participants in the news, entertainment and production world. Levine also hopes to study screenwriting next year and eventually become a sitcom writer. He’s working on a spec script to show potential employers—a project he is getting some help with from Erik Mintz, adjunct instructor in English at Stern College for Women and a former sitcom writer for "The Nanny" and "Mad About You," among others. “My professors here have been incredibly supportive and have always taken the time to watch my work and offer feedback,” said Levine. “Eitan is a highly creative force at Yeshiva College and someone about whom I expect to hear a great deal of good stuff in the months and years to come,” said Dr. Eric Goldman, adjunct associate professor of cinema at YU, who has worked with Levine in several film studies courses. “He has that gift where he can simply look at the camera and make you laugh. It’s quite special.” one