Message From Our President
Dear Students, Faculty, Staff and Friends,
I am pleased to present to you this Guide to our plans for the upcoming fall semester and reopening of our campuses. In form and in content, this coming semester will be like no other. We will live differently, work differently and learn differently. But in its very difference rests its enormous power.
The mission of Yeshiva University is to enrich the moral, intellectual and spiritual development of each of our students, empowering them with the knowledge and abilities to become people of impact and leaders of tomorrow. Next year’s studies will be especially instrumental in shaping the course of our students’ lives. Character is formed and developed in times of deep adversity. This is the kind of teachable moment that Yeshiva University was made for. As such, we have developed an educational plan for next year that features a high-quality student experience and prioritizes personal growth during this Coronavirus era. Our students will be able to work through the difficulties, issues and opportunities posed by our COVID-19 era with our stellar rabbis and faculty, as well as their close friends and peers at Yeshiva.
To develop our plans for the fall, we have convened a Scenario Planning Task Force made up of representatives across the major areas of our campus. Their planning has been guided by the latest medical information, government directives, direct input from our rabbis, faculty and students, and best practices from industry and university leaders across the country. I am deeply thankful to our task force members and all who supported them for their tireless work in addressing the myriad details involved in bringing students back to campus and restarting our educational enterprise.
In concert with the recommendations from our task force, I am announcing today that our fall semester will reflect a hybrid model. It will allow many students to return in a careful way by incorporating online and virtual learning with on-campus classroom instruction. It also enables students who prefer to not be on campus to have a rich student experience by continuing their studies online and benefitting from a full range of online student services and extracurricular programs.
In bringing our students back to campus, safety is our first priority. Many aspects of campus life will change for this coming semester. Gatherings will be limited, larger courses will move completely online. Throughout campus everyone will need to adhere to our medical guidelines, including social distancing, wearing facemasks, and our testing and contact tracing policies. Due to our focus on minimizing risk, our undergraduate students will begin the first few weeks of the fall semester online and move onto the campus after the Jewish holidays. This schedule will limit the amount of back and forth travel for our students by concentrating the on-campus component of the fall semester to one consecutive segment.
Throughout our planning, we have used the analogy of a dimmer switch. Reopening our campuses will not be a simple binary, like an on/off light switch, but more like a dimmer in which we have the flexibility to scale backwards and forwards to properly respond as the health situation evolves. It is very possible that some plans could change, depending upon the progression of the virus and/or applicable state and local government guidance.
Before our semester begins, we will provide more updates reflecting our most current guidance. Please check our website, yu.edu/fall2020 for regular updates. We understand that even after reading through this guide, you might have many additional questions, so we will be posting an extensive FAQ section online as well. Additionally, we will also be holding community calls for faculty, students, staff and parents over the next couple of months.
Planning for the future during this moment has certainly been humbling. This Coronavirus has reminded us time and time again of the lessons from our Jewish tradition that we are not in full control of our circumstances. But our tradition also teaches us that we are in control of our response to our circumstances. Next semester will present significant challenges and changes. There will be some compromises and minor inconveniences--not every issue has a perfect solution. But faith and fortitude, mutual cooperation and resilience are essential life lessons that are accentuated during this period. And if we all commit to respond with graciousness, kindness, and love, we can transform new campus realities into profound life lessons for our future.
Deeply rooted in our Jewish values and forward focused in preparing for the careers and competencies of the future, we journey together with you, our Yeshiva University community, through these uncharted waters. Next year will be a formative year in the lives of our students, and together we will rise to the moment so that our students will emerge stronger and better prepared to be leaders of the world of tomorrow.
Best Wishes,
Ari Berman
For my senior project, I created a series of five compositions inspired by an image of my great-grandmother, Mama Helen.
Using photography and graphic design, I recreated this image that was taken in front of the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt in the 1930s.
The additional four compositions depict some of her descendants. I photographed my family members, and placed them digitally in front of a widely recognized location, landmark or city. These designs are inspired by Mid-Century Modern postcards or travel posters.
When the original photo was taken, my great-grandmother was far away from home and her family. Similarly, these days it is nearly impossible for my entire family to gather together because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The location/landmark for each design also has a personal connection; for example, my sister is placed in front of Macchu Picchu in Peru because that is one of her favorite places she has visited, and my brother is placed at the Western Wall because that’s the only place outside of America that he has ever traveled to.
Each piece includes texture, vector graphics and small pieces of a handwritten letter that my great-grandmother wrote for my mother. Through the combination of photography and design, I am bringing out some of the similarities of my great-grandmother then and the world we live in today.
My senior project is titled “Women Without Men.” I was inspired by historical photographs featuring women. The common tie among the pictures is that the subjects’ eyes seem to cry “listen to me, I have a story to share.”
Women’s narratives are sorely lacking in the annals of history, and I would like to rectify that, to give these forgotten women a voice, even if only hypothetical. I want to illustrate that a woman doesn’t need a man to have a purpose, to have feelings and opinions worthy of being heard. I find that women often feel stifled by the presence of men, hiding their true selves behind socially appropriate behavior. I want the women in my compositions to feel free and uninhibited.
Each of my illustrations was inspired by a vintage found photograph and is accompanied by a short story or written snapshot imagining the lives and emotions of the women depicted.
The illustrations were drawn in either colored pencil or charcoal, or painted with acrylics, depending on what I felt the image required.
I want these women to feel real to the viewer, to take a black and white photograph and paint a technicolor picture of the lives they might have led.
My older brother’s attention to detail and innovative thinking taught me many things in life and led me to establish the philosophy for the collection that I will be sharing today.
Max’s love for fashion and innovation trickled down into the most basic items hanging in his closet. A specific blue graphic T-shirt had always stuck out to me because of the story it held. He viewed the main graphic on the tee as more captivating when worn inside-out. He would often receive comments informing him of the fact, but his response was instinctive: “It’s inside out on purpose because it looks cooler this way.”
When the shirt was eventually passed down to me, I honored the history and continued to wear it as so. When I began receiving the comments just as he did, I did not think twice before responding, “It looks cooler this way.” The instinctive and unapologetic reaction sparked the idea for a streetwear brand that revolves around garments intentionally produced to be worn inside-out.
The inspiration continues under Louis XV’s reign in 18th-century Europe when fascination with all things Asian reached its peak. With the lack of firsthand experience, the ways of the Eastern world were mysteriously intriguing. The mystique led the British and French population to embrace and, in many ways, appropriate Asian motifs in art, fashion and home furnishings.
The juxtaposition between decorative chinoiserie and explosive French fashion of the Rococo era create a detailed union, mirrored in the patterns used below. Studying the history of art at all levels aided in conducting successful primary and contemporary research in preparation for my collection.
The entirety of my fine arts education has opened my eyes to understanding the world through color theory and obscure attention to detail. The joint program between Yeshiva University and The Fashion Institute of Technology provided me with the tools to proficiently utilize the Adobe Creative Suite while simultaneously understanding the functionality of garments.
In designing and producing the It Looks Cooler this Way line, these skills allowed me to create the original hand-drawn logos, digital fashion mockups, fashion sketches, and mixed media collages. Further, I completed an independent study in ’zine-making over the past year that inspired me to incorporate an electronic catalogue of collage art as the main branding avenue for the collection.
Computer design and fashion design are both heavily founded upon precision and perception. There is a reason Max believed that wearing his shirt this way was “cooler.” It is, on a technical level, more attractive to the eye because of the subtle details it encapsulates, similar to traditional chinoiserie.
To intentionally replicate an inside-out shirt, one must study the shift in detail. When dealing with the inside-out garment, the manipulation of color presents itself as faded and lightened. To replicate this effect, I’ve applied the soft light filter to the logo at 100%-70% opacity. Further, the seams on all the garments in the collection will present as inside out, and the tags will be sewn on the outer neck. With this project, I hope to convince you that art is intelligent, just as it is a science of perception and precision.
It Looks Cooler This way, or ILCTW, is not only a brand but an ideology. It encapsulates living unapologetically through detailed function. We, as humans, must not fear the reaction we may get when attempting authenticity but thrive off of it. Make the active decision every day to think differently because it’s cooler this way.
