News

This year’s student government elections were a no-nonsense, serious affair. Gone are the days of campaign speech promises that fall by the wayside as soon as you enter office. This year’s nominees vowed to make time for their constituents, listen to what they have to say and work hard on their behalf. Students responded with the highest voter turnout to date. And POTLCMSG* has almost as nice a ring as POTUS**.

Back in the day we had our requisite fire drills and we were prepared. Unfortunately, the world is a scarier place and there have been too many school shootings. To be prepared for any scenario, LCM brought in an NYPD detective who gives active shooter training to educate students for such a scenario. LCM students learned about getting out of sight and out of range, that unlike a fire where you want to be down and out here you want to be up and away, individuals vs. groups, and hiding for a prolonged period of time.  The lecture was interactive and engaging, but this is one lecture we hope will remain purely hypothetical. 

Students at the Lander College for Men (LCM)-Beis Medrash L’Talmud in Queens and the Lander College for Women-The Anna Ruth and Mark Hasten School (LCW) in Manhattan welcomed Rabbi David Lau, Shlita, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, who visited both campuses on Tuesday.

On Thursday we celebrated Rosh Chodesh Iyar with a special visit and shiur from noted sofer Rabbi Yisroel Kohn. The Shulchan Aruch mentions how often one should check mezuzot, but the lack of instructions for tefillin leads to a lot of discussion on how often they need to be checked. Rabbi Kohn delved right into that discussion and stayed throughout the day to check everyone’s tefillin.

On Monday afternoon, under the skilled care of Michael Davidson’s spatula and tongs, Lander students enjoyed a welcome back barbecue before heading off to class. A lot of meat was consumed, frisbees and baseballs flew as a few games got under way, and the new post-pesach guys mingled and met the returning students as everyone got into the rhythm of the Lander campus.

Obamacare and Halacha: The Ramifications of the Affordable Care Act Under Jewish Law was hosted by the Lander College Bioethics Society and sponsored by the Center for Jewish Law and the Professions at the Lander College for Men.

The cold is unrelenting, but we refused to let it put a damper on our Purim celebration.

We got off to a rollicking start, barely waiting for alumnus Melech Berlove to finish reading the Megillah on Motzei Shabbos before breaking into spirited dancing in the Beis. While the cafeteria was being set up for the chagigah, students took to the streets of Kew Gardens Hills, dancing, singing and collecting tzedakah. Over the course of the week we raised a few thousand dollars for members of the community who could use a little help.

By her own admission, Ann E. Shinnar is a tough professor. She even sees it as a “badge of honor,” because in her mind, that means her students are well prepared for a life in science and “understanding how they can take observation and make conclusions.” As a Lander College for Men associate professor of chemistry and deputy chair of the chemistry department, Dr. Shinnar’s main goal is to show those in her lab “what kind of mastery they need to accomplish” to find order amid the universe’s randomness, in the hopes of their doing groundbreaking work. That’s why Dr. Shinnar takes such pride and responsibility in her job. “The mark of a teacher is someone who not only knows the material, but can explain it in detail and convey the important and beauty and excitement of that particular discipline.”

Miami, Memphis, Dallas, Detroit, Toronto, Ramat Beit Shemesh, Baltimore. Lander alumni traveled from far and wide to attend the 5^th Annual LCM Alumni Shabbaton this past President’s Day weekend. The theme was “Scattered Across the Nation” and the shabbaton was truly an ingathering of the masses.