Stern College for Women - Kochaviah Yearbook (New York, NY)

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This simple yearbook dedication is by no means adequate, these two pages cannot do justice to this Eshet Chayil, this Woman of Valor. Therefore, we the graduating class of 1979, attempt to personalize this dedication by choosing Golda Meir as our role model. In seeking to establish ourselves in this world, we turn to Mrs. Meir as a source of great inspiration. Her inner strength and character are qualities we wish to emulate in shaping our own lives. Our four years at Stern College cannot be summed up by mere grade averages. We are a synthesis of many varied experiences and inspirations; therefore, our poten- tial, as was Golda Meir ' s, is unlimited. 11

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Kochaviah ' 79 is dedicated in memory of Golda Meir, mother of the modern state of Israel, and perhaps the greatest stateswoman of our people. Women leaders are prominent in our history; Miriam was a prophetess, Devorah a judge, and Golda Meir a Prime Minister. An American citizen like the majority of our senior class, Golda Meir was above all an idealist. Confident in her beliefs, Mrs. Meir left her adopted country to pursue an uncertain future on a kibbutz in Palestine. A witness to statehood and active in politics, as a grandmother, Golda Meir was called upon to unify the country. Under her leadership, Israel grew and developed into the modern state we know today. 10

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REMEMBERING DR. REMES And so life goes on. An expression I ' ve heard innumerable times, it is sometimes an attempt to console and reconcile, sometimes to dismiss with a shrug. In a sense, a gross oversimplification. Now, , it has become an immediate reality for me. Suddenly, I find myself in a situation of living without . I have lost my professor Dr. Nathaniel Remes, A H. A friend of mind aptly described Dr. Remes as my chemistry rebbe. Not, that is, to the exclusion of others: I have had several fine teachers, who have given to me from their knowledge and from themselves, and to whom I feel strongly attached. Yet the title is especially appropriate for Dr. Remes because he was the head of the depart- ment, and because I spent so much time working with him on my independent study project last year. It took me a long time to get used to Dr. Remes. For a couple of years I felt uncomfortable and nervous in his presence. He often came on harshly, and there were times when I truly dis- liked him. But one gets used to people, begins to discover new aspects of them and to see them differently. Much of that discovery was made within the past year, when I spent many hours working with Dr. Remes: in the lab, planning my project, reviewing for the GRE ' s, or talking - about chemistry, Torah, parents and children, the ups and downs of Y.U. I remember being part of more than one discussion in the lab following meetings that had left Dr. Remes angry or upset. And one afternoon last year, he asked me w hy I used to be afraid of him. I could only laugh and say I did not know. Of course I knew, but my nervousness had faded and its reasons had been refuted. Dr. Remes once joked. Come on, you know I don ' t bite you. I only yell at you. True, Dr. Remes made me feel my mistakes sharply. But he also encouraged me with remarks like You see, you do know something, Miss! My chemistry rebbe — no profanation of the term. I take Torah U ' madah seriously (A reaction flask contains five hundred milliliters of maasei HaShem), and Dr. Remes encouraged that belief in both his teaching and his personality. He somehow helped me feel that there was a place for me in chemistry. My chemistry rebbe. Chazel advise, Haamidu taimidim harbei . I once heard this explained as teach them to stand on their own feet . I think Dr. Remes gave me some of that in many ways. And so life goes on — hesitantly, with a gap left in it. But that ongoing need not be a process of shrugging and going about our business. If we want to — and if we are sincere in our desire — that ongoing can be a credit to the man we must live without, because Dr. Remes in some ways taught us how to stand on our feet. L. Rosenstroch 12