The Way It Iz

Yeshiva University has been recently embroiled in a controversy surrounding the existence of an LGBTQ club. For a while, all clubs had been suspended, and students had to resort to mundane things like going to class, studying for exams, and writing papers. This whole experience got me thinking about how colleges as a whole can learn from this experience. And no, it’s not about what clubs should be allowed to exist.

As fewer and fewer households have live television options these days, and as news is available to us instantly in our hands, one area of life that seems to be on the way out is the late local news. The best part of the late local news was always that puff piece that came on after the weather and the sports that usually put a smile on your face as you wrapped up your day - stories like “community comes together to support person facing a struggle” or “kid donates birthday money to fight cancer.” Those stories tended to be a nice balance to the probably terrible news from the beginning of the broadcast.

The United States is a Christian country. We may not have an official religion, but come on – it’s not like we shut down the nation on Rosh HaShanah or Eid al-Fitr. The only religious holidays nationally recognized are Christmas and Easter. So, it’s not surprising when other areas of life and law are based on Christian understanding. The most prominent of these laws today are the cases surrounding abortion. Many pro-life advocates are pushing for stronger prohibitions on abortion than even Jewish law would allow. Currently, however, no state has laws on the books that would not make an exception for saving the life of the mother. And few, if any, have laws that prohibit in vitro fertilization. At most, there is some ambiguity that needs to be cleared up.

Ever since the death of George Floyd, major cities around the country have done everything in their power to strip police of their ability to keep the streets safe. Some removed qualified immunity, others chose to reallocate funding from the police force to social services, and still others just decided that people who were arrested need not stay in prison, by instituting the Orwellian-named “bail-reform.” Over the last two-plus years, we have seen a rapid decay in major cities, as homelessness and crime run roughshod over their streets, while district attorneys pat themselves on the back for being the driving force behind the transformations made under their watch. 

The last few weeks have seen the Miami Boys Choir go from a niche musical group known only by Orthodox Jews to international TikTok sensations. The choir, led by Yerachmiel Begun, released their first album 45 years ago, and little did they know that The Day Will Come when they would release their first TikTok video, which happened only 4.5 months ago. But it was the release of a clip in August that garnered them the attention Around the World not seen by a Jewish musical group since the Maccabeats released “Candlelight.” 

There’s nothing like a recession to bring everyone back down to earth.