By Zev Kent, Staff Writer

After the Agenda Committee decided not to let the Ma’aseh party run as a slate, Dean of Students Mr. Jason Feld took General Studies Principal Mr. Roy Danovitch to the Fairness Committee on the grounds that Mr. Danovitch, who is adviser to Agenda, had “overstepped his boundaries.”

Fairness hearings are usually private, but since Mr. Feld requested a public hearing, the time and place were announced on Schoology. It was held May 11 in Founders, and attended by about nine students plus members of the committee.  

They heard the two administrators — who are also good friends — charge each other with damaging the Just Community and compare the matter to an important decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. Following normal Fairness procedure, the men appeared one at a time.

“What he did was in essence damage the way the Just Community ought to function,” said Mr. Feld of Mr. Danovitch during the hearing. “He ignored the basic logic behind the rules of fairness. I am afraid if you don’t take this issue seriously it has potential to damage the Just Community for many years to come.”

Mr. Feld then compared it to the 1803 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison, which set the precedent for what the Supreme Court would be allowed to do in the future, saying the case would set a precedent for the Fairness Committee.

“Certain members of the Just Community wanted to run in an election, went through a fair process, and were disenfranchised,” Mr. Feld said. “Not only were those students dismissed, but so were a huge percentage of the students, who voted to play this out.

“It isn’t fair. It goes against Just Community and explicitly goes against purpose of why Shalhevet was founded.”

Mr. Danovitch, in turn, accused Mr. Feld of being part of the Ma’aseh party, partly because party organizer Yonah Feld is his son.

“Mr. Feld is, as we all know, working in concert with certain members of the Ma’aseh party, and has done significant damage to the Just Community generally and the election process specifically,” said Mr. Danovitch in his statement.

“Mr. Feld is the one who blithely ignores and repudiates the will of The Just Community,” he continued. “Mr. Feld continues to advise Ma’aseh in secret, without openly admitting his role in their coalition, and his influence on their political platform – a platform which only became public after he pressured Ma’aseh following a Town Hall discussion about the topic.”

Mr. Danovitch said Mr. Feld also tried to rush the Fairness Committee into acting quickly to capitalize on Ma’aseh’s momentum, noting that the dean had criticized Fairness leaders on Schoology for not responding to his hearing request between 9 pm and 9 am the next day.

“Mr. Feld is the one who rebukes The Fairness Committee in public,” Mr. Danovitch said, “for not responding to his request in a manner that satisfies his hasty desire for a hearing that produces a result that “adopts [Ma’aseh’s] proposal, ‘as is’ and without delay” and “extends the campaign season to make up for the lost days due to unneeded deliberation.””

In the end, the Fairness Committee decided in favor of Mr. Danovitch and the Agenda Committee, on the grounds that Ma’aseh had never made a specific request about the ballot.

“Because a formal proposal was never given to the Agenda Committee, this issue is now null and void,” wrote Fairness Co-chairs Goldie Fields and Daniel Steinberg in a Schoology announcement. They encouraged anyone in favor of a coalition to write a formal proposal for next year.

He said Mr. Feld also tried to rush the Fairness Committee into acting quickly to capitalize on Ma’aseh’s momentum, noting that he had criticized Fairness leaders on Schoology for not responding to his hearing request between 9 pm and 9 am the next day.

“Mr. Feld is the one who rebukes The Fairness Committee in public,” Mr. Danovitch said, “for not responding to his request in a manner that satisfies his hasty desire for a hearing that produces a result that “adopts [Ma’aseh’s] proposal, ‘as is’ and without delay” and “extends the campaign season to make up for the lost days due to unneeded deliberation.””

In the end, the Fairness Committee decided in favor of Mr. Danovitch and the Agenda Committee, on the grounds that Ma’aseh had never made a specific request about the ballot.

“Because a formal proposal was never given to the Agenda Committee, this issue is now null and void,” wrote Fairness co-chairs Goldie Fields and Daniel Steinberg in a Schoology announcement.

They encouraged anyone in favor of a coalition to write a formal proposal for next year.

Note: An earlier version of this story misstated the timing of  Mr. Feld filing his Fairness case. It was before Fairness’s ruling on how Ma’aseh could run its slate in the election, not after. 

Related: Micah Gill wins as Agenda Chair amid multiple controversies over election procedures