Friday, October 03, 2008

The Observer: Issue 2!

So what does this issue of The Observer have in store for you?

First, with a bow to Jewish Atheist, I present an article entitled "To Understand is Not To Condone," a phrase learned from him. After that, we cover the issue of transsexuality within the Orthodox Jewish community from all angles, including the halakhic angle. We have an exclusive interview with Dr. Ladin, a look into the international community scene, focusing on Bogota, Colombia, and different professors' views on hashkafa, including some hilarious commentary from Rav Carmy.

Then there is Obama Day at Stern, which sparked lots of controversy, and the fact that Einstein-Ferkauf have come up with a merged program to create the Institute of Public Health, where people recently ventured into India to create programs.

Then we have a diverse array of opinions from our very politically-minded student body. We have an entertaining column entitled "Experience Not Necessary" in that regard, alongside various other pieces, and another amusing lament about the fact that uninvited men (security guards) appear in the dormrooms sometimes.

Then make sure to take note of our summation of Ahmadinejad's visit, an interview with Nonie Darwish, a Cairo-born Moslem who supports Israel, and a note on that twilight series every teenager seems to wish was actually their life. Gossip Girl fans will enjoy XOXO, Stern Girl and perhaps some science-minded folks will be proud to hear that Dr. Santos is going to Korea!

There's much, much more. Enjoy!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

The issue is going to be quite a read over shabbos.The articles seem interesting. I bet you spent a ton of time researching in order to write the entire series on the transsexuals. I must make a statement here: you really follow your heart and write about issues that many others would be afraid to touch upon let alone to write about.
Kudos!
More later.
Have a good shabbos!

Anonymous said...

"To understand is not to condone" is a powerful piece. Chana,you really say it as it is. I'm extremely impressed with your entire series about the transsexuals. Your series can join "Trembling before God" for you did a superb job:honest,well-researched and truthful.
FANTASTIC!

Jewish Atheist said...

Thanks for the hat tip, and it's a beautiful article.

I understand your respect for halakha, but I don't condone it. ;-)

JA

Jewish Atheist said...

Full response here.

? said...

Thanks for the links. Ill follow and read these.

Anonymous said...

"I see it as a serious problem on the university level but the university doesn't consult the Roshei Yeshiva about anything"


Did you request a response from the administration on this quote? If yes, what was the response? If not, why?

What was your take away from the whole series?, how does it differ from the homosexual issue?

to understand is not to condone, but what practical halachik/action differences would you expect to see based on the series?

GCT
Joel Rich

Anonymous said...

Was the series about transexuals approved by the administration of Stern? You seem to be applauded for "following your heart"; however The Observer is not Chana's personal blog- following her heart has no place in a college sponsored newspaper. Love to hear from those who do not believe this was an appropriate piece.

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:08 am said:" however The Observer is not Chana's personal blog- following her heart has no place in a college sponsored newspaper."

Anon,did you read the disclaimer printed in The Observer? It clearly states that it doesn't represent the opinions of the administration . The Observer is the students newspaper. Since when does the content of the paper have to be approved by the administration anyhow? Whatever happened to the FREEDOM of SPEECH? As an Editor in Chief Chana reserves the right to choose and pick topics to write about. She did a great job describing the issues of transsexuality from halakhic ,student and transsexual perspectives. We {students} are VERY GRATEFUL that Chana and her staff covered transsexuality so carefully and with such skill and sensitivity. Very many of us learned so much from reading just this one issue.
Your comment is reflective of the intimidation techniques used rather unsuccessfully in the former Tzarist Russia/former USSR. Are you a member of the so called administration?

Anonymous said...

Wow; disagree with you; believe that perhaps this doesn't belong in a Yeshiva University publication and now I am a member of the Tzarist Russian regime. My understanding is that many of the staff of the Observer were uneasy about this piece. I guess they too are Russian tyrants. And no I have no affilation whatsoever with YU.

Anonymous said...

Just so you know, Nonie Darwish does not consider herself Muslim anymore.

But what a fascinating issue of the Observer!

Izgad said...

"a note on that twilight series every teenager seems to wish was actually their life."

I happen to be a big fan of Twilight myself and have done quite a number of posts on the topic. I assume from your comment that the books have become very popular at Stern. I agree with the author of the article that Meyer struck out with Breaking Dawn.
Curious Jew, have you read any of the books? I would be curious as to your take on them.

Mindy 2 said...

Wow! Is it all available online?