Author Archives: Yishai Schwartz

The political brouhaha over a government mandate for coverage of contraception continues. On Friday, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops rejected President Obama’s compromise proposal, arguing that pregnancy is not a disease and that those with moral or religious objections to various forms of birth control should not be compelled to sacrifice their principles. »

Yesterday morning, Pierson Master Harvey Goldblatt sent an email to the students of his college explaining his decision to host controversial Harvard Professor Harvey Mansfield for a master’s tea on “Manliness.” Last night, Branford College unveiled a new portrait of its long-serving former master Steven Smith and hosted a reception in his honor. Of course, »

“Social justice” is an increasingly popular yet disturbingly slippery term. The phrase serves as a rallying cry for a diverse collection of groups; soup kitchens, tax reform advocates and everyone in between seem to jump at the label. The diversity of those on the social justice train certainly does not help define the term, but »

A few days ago, I joined a group of Yale students and professors for a visit to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition in Times Square. The exhibit — which I certainly recommend to anyone interested in ancient Judaism and Christianity — is a remarkable mixture of scholarship and entertainment. Somewhat incongruously, the exhibit’s neighbor at »

This past Monday, the Yale College Council released its “Proposal for the Expansion of Gender Neutral Housing.” Unsurprisingly, the YCC continued its strong advocacy for extending mixed-gender suites beyond the senior class and reported strong student support for the effort. And given current social trends, it is safe to assume that if the Yale Corporation »

Although the weather seems determined to ignore the calendar, Christmas is around the corner. The commercially-decreed holiday season began weeks ago, and in the last few days, holiday displays have appeared in our college dining halls. Although the trees, menorahs and Kwanzaa displays certainly add color and character to sometimes bland meals, I find myself »

A group of Harvard students have already drawn criticism for designing and selling Harvard-Yale game pinnies which read “#Occupy Yale” and “WE ARE THE 6%.” The slogan seems utterly distasteful, yet I have had trouble articulating why. Sure, it’s snobbish, elitist and awfully tacky to trumpet your admission rates, but what about the Harvard-Yale game »

Now that the dust has cleared from New Haven’s over-hyped aldermanic races, it is likely that activist energy will subside and political engagement will dissipate. How remarkable might it be if we continued to think about some of the substantive issues that animated the campaign? As with nearly all modern elections, over the course of »

Many readers of this paper probably did not notice when the masthead changed about four weeks ago. The News continues to be published largely as it always has, and the transition has been relatively seamless. I, too, probably wouldn’t have noticed anything — if not for the visible fatigue of my friends on the News’ »

Yesterday, the Israeli government released the names of nearly half the 1,027 Palestinian prisoners — predominantly unrepentant terrorists with blood on their hands — who will be released in the coming week. These prisoners are being released in exchange for a single Israeli sergeant, Gilad Shalit. Hundreds of men and women convicted for responsibility in »

In Thursday’s Washington Post, sports columnist Sally Jenkins challenged the entire structure of athletic programs in American colleges. Her argument is simple: Universities embrace music, dance, theater and art as legitimate academic disciplines. All of these are respectable programs that mix practical experience and technical skill with theoretical and historical study. So, Jenkins asks, why »

Last night, members of Yale Students for Justice and Peace in Palestine (SJPP) slipped “eviction notices” into college residences. The notices were meant to raise awareness of the evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes in the State of Israel and the disputed territories. We take issue with these “eviction notices” for two reasons. First, they »