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Oscar Wilde

“Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.”

Senior columns

  • College memories without the fluff

    Assistant Managing Editor Emeritus

    When I started to think about putting fingers to keyboard for this column, I tried to think of some big sweeping theme that defined my Notre Dame experience to elaborate upon. Nope, that won’t work.
    There have been so many highs and lows, twists and turns in my time at Notre Dame, that to characterize my experience under the Dome in 600 words or less would be impossible. So I decided to streamline, remove all the fluff. I would like to think that the people who made my experience here what it is know exactly what I’m talking about. So here we go.

  • My journey began with a simple phone call

    Assistant Managing Editor Emeritus

    I can still remember the date and where I was.
    It was May 6, 2009 when I received a phone call from admissions counselor LeShane Saddler. For the previous month, I had badgered him with emails, letters and phone calls of my own expressing my desire to go to Notre Dame after being placed on the waiting list.
    When I picked up the phone, he identified himself and asked if I still wanted to attend Notre Dame.
    I said, “Yes, absolutely.”
    He asked if I would commit right then if a spot were hypothetically offered.
    I said, “Yes, absolutely.”
    Then LeShane told me that Notre Dame would like to offer a spot in its class of 2013 to me.

  • Roam under the dome

    News Editor Emeritus

    When I chose to enroll at Notre Dame four years ago, a major factor in that semi-spontaneous decision was the school’s perfect distance from my home in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Back then, “going” to Notre Dame simply meant hopping on I-294, following its gradual transition into I-80 and ending on this beautiful campus, 121 miles and two hours away from 408 Cherry Creek Lane.
    Throughout my first two years as a Notre Dame student, my conceptualization of this University, its work and its influence barely extended past Douglas Road and Angela Boulevard. In my mind, it simply occupied the physical 1,250 acres of campus space in Notre Dame, Indiana, as the place where I went to class, wrote papers, engaged in discussions, cheered in the student section and interacted with classmates from all over the world.
    By the end of sophomore year, I was an expert at navigating life within the much-maligned Notre Dame bubble and balancing schoolwork with weekly dorm parties in 133 Duncan Hall like it was my job. That life was comfortable, easy.
    2011 was the year that all changed, when Notre Dame became something bigger than its collegiate yellow brick buildings and the iconic Golden Dome.

  • Seniors, we're all still works in progress

    News Editor Emeritus

    Rounding out my four years at Notre Dame, I feel like I’ve seen it all. I’ve learned a lot about myself, other people and the world: both through an academic lens and otherwise. That being said, I’m not going to impart some groundbreaking wisdom. Frankly, I’m still a work in progress.

  • Snapshots of my college experience

    Sports Editor Emeritus

    The assignment to write a senior retrospective column made me realize a shortcoming in myself. I can’t provide any sort of bigger context for the four years the Class of 2013 has spent at Notre Dame. I can’t possibly neatly sum up the 1,367 days between Aug. 21, 2009, when we rolled into campus from every corner of the country and the world, and May 19, 2013, when we will depart with diplomas in hand.
    That sort of big-picture nostalgia is not for me.
    And it’s probably better that way, as words couldn’t do that time justice. Instead, I like to think about snapshots in time. These four years are made up of thousands upon thousands of snapshots in time. These indelible moments are what will stick with us in vivid memory no matter where we go after May 19. We will remember whom we were with. What we did. What we saw. What we achieved. How we felt.
    In the hopes that you too will pore over old memories and reminisce with friends this weekend, and in the future about the snapshots in time that made life at Notre Dame so incredible, I present the snapshots that made my undergraduate career memorable.

  • Leaving our mark on Saint Mary's College

    Saint Mary's Editor Emeritus

    “Well-behaved women seldom make history.”
    The famous words of Laura Thatcher Ulrich, also attributed to Marilyn Monroe and Eleanor Roosevelt, have proved that women across the globe have left their mark in the history books.
    So here I am, four years later, and what have I done to leave my mark at Saint Mary’s College? The answer to that question is still unfolding as graduation festivities begin.
    Have I left any marks?
    This is my final chance to do so in this fine publication we call The Observer, so here it goes.

  • Never be afraid to stray off the beaten path

    Graphics Editor Emeritus

    Anyone who has ever ridden in a car with me knows I am directionally challenged. It is so bad that my parents made me wait until two months after my 16th birthday to get my license. They were concerned one day I would end up in Detroit by accident.
    But despite my less than stellar ability to navigate the streets of Zeeland, Mich., I at least had my life on track the summer before I left for college. I was going to major in design and political science, go to law school and work on copyright and trademark infringement cases as an intellectual property attorney.
    Along the way, though, I strayed from my rigid life plan. And now, as a graduating senior, I am more lost than ever.

  • Thank you. I've been extremely lucky.

    Multimedia Editor Emeritus

    I’ve been putting off writing this column for almost a week and a half now. Anyone who knows me well knows I am not a creative writer. I really dislike it and would prefer to do almost anything else. I’m a computer science major and my job at The Observer dealt strictly with taking photos and making videos — nothing involving a lot of writing talent. I procrastinated as much as humanly possible each time I was required to write a column for The Observer for the sole reason I dreaded having to write it.
     This column is different.
    It’s due in only a couple of hours, but for the first time, the reason I delay writing it isn’t a loathing of writing.
    This time, it’s for something more.
    Writing this column is accepting that my college career at Notre Dame is coming to an end. It’s accepting that in no time at all I will be graduating and will be having to say goodbye to this place.
    It’s a goodbye I’ve been trying to avoid. A goodbye that, honestly, I’m not quite ready for.

  • Notre Dame will always be my home

    Photo Editor Emeritus

    I come from one of “those” Notre Dame families. You know, the kind where at least 16 people have attended, participated in every activity under the sun and lived in nearly every dorm. In many ways, the Notre Dame family is the same thing as my actual family. My parents met here, my older brother lived in the dorm next to mine for two years, countless aunts and uncles and cousins are Notre Dame graduates and I inherited my grandmother’s class ring.
    Some of my earliest memories are of Notre Dame. I remember walking around the lakes to visit the site of my father’s old dorm, finding the windows of the rooms my mother lived in and lighting candles at the Grotto. I remember sitting in the stadium before it was renovated and playing with my Polly Pocket toy instead of paying attention to the football game below me. I remember crying about spilling my apple juice in the stands. Two decades, later, football still makes me cry, but so does the thought of leaving the place that gave me so many opportunities.

Inside Column

  • To the class of 2013

    Inside Column

    On the evening of Aug. 23, 2009, I sat beneath the arches of my new home, Howard Hall. I spoke into my cell phone to my best friend from home. “I already love it here,” I said.

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Featured Columns

  • This is not the end

    Editor-in-Chief Emeritus

    I’ve been dreading writing this column for a long time, because it seems like an impossible task. “How,” I’ve asked myself countless times, “could I ever hope to capture four years of Notre Dame in 500 to 600 words?”
    The answer, of course, is that I can’t — because the last four years have been filled with experiences that simply defy description.

  • Four years of poorly told stories

    Managing Editor Emeritus

    I am a terrible storyteller.
    My friends will vouch for that. They have listened to my ramblings for four years, nodding along with patient interest and sometimes even laughing at the punch line when I finally get there. I actually find $5 at the end of all my stories now without their prompts.
    In the four years that my friends have listened to those long-winded stories, they have also starred in the stories that I will someday tell my coworkers and kids (as we sit around the TV watching the Irish crush some inconsequential team for a national championship and then celebrate my firstborn child’s acceptance into Notre Dame).

Letters to the Editor

  • The rules of existence in Zahm’s kingdom

    Letter to the Editor

    Let’s get something straight here. Last week, several co-presidents of Knott Hall deemed it their right to claim a part of Notre Dame campus as the Knott Quadrangle. While this gesture is cute, it is based on the misguided presumption Knott has any authority on campus. While the story of your origins as Flanner Hall was nice to read, I see none of that coolness in the current Knott Hall. You can’t even decide upon one president, so don’t pretend all of the sudden your poorly elected triumvirate can start making statements that affect the rest of campus.

    8 comments

  • A big thanks to Notre Dame Food Services

    Letter to the Editor

    As our senior year comes to a close, we just wanted to say an enormous thank you to all of the wonderful people that make South and North Dining Halls such havens of tranquility. From the greeters who always offer a pleasant smile and friendly hello to the lady working pasta stir fry in North Dining Hall (we’re going to miss hearing you ask “and anything else?”) to John and his mechanical chicken on wing night and to all the folks working behind the scenes. You have made our time at Notre Dame something special.  

Recent Headlines

  • Stand with all humanity

    Inside Column

    We are all one people. This statement was a key point of a homily I heard a priest give a few weekends back after the Boston bombings. He said we should pray for the families injured in the attacks because even though we do not know them, we are all linked through our humanity.

  • Prayer, not just silence

    Letter to the Editor

    One of my strongest memories in my six years near the Dome was the reaction of our community after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The mass on South Quad that afternoon was a profound spiritual experience, one that moved me then and is something I cherish deeply in my heart to this day.
    When football resumed on September 23, 2001, it was a moving and emotional day, though I remember finding it odd that at the University of Notre Dame, with the attention of many (including the 80,000 in the stands) all together, public prayer was not a part of events at the stadium when remembering those who died so tragically. We did, however, observe a moment of silence together.

    1 comment

  • What happened to helping the 'stranger?'

    Letter to the Editor

    The front page of the April 22 issue of The Observer had a headline that read, “‘Provide welcome to the stranger.’” The attached article highlighted the steps being taken to create a welcoming space for undocumented immigrant students within the University. Ironically, 10 pages later was a feature titled “#thirdworldsolutions to #firstworldproblems.” As an international student who is a different type of immigrant and a different type of stranger, I found this article in its entirety to be offensive. As such, I hope to highlight how features such as “#thirdworldsolutions to #firstworldproblems” fracture and divide our increasingly diverse Notre Dame community.

  • Girls' dorms deserve same atmosphere of respect

    Letter to the Editor

    Thank you for publishing Mark Sonnick’s article about the double standard in men’s and women’s dorms (“Resolve the double standard,” April 24) Though Notre Dame has come a very long way since accepting girls in the 1970s and many positive changes have been made, I think this issue reflects how Notre Dame still has not fully evolved to the point of treating both genders equally.

    2 comments

  • Declaring our University's newest Quandrangle

    Letter to the Editor

    One score and five years ago, our foremothers brought forth on this campus a dormitory unlike any other. Nestled in the shadows of Knott Knoll (the highest landmass on campus), Marion Burk Knott Hall housed the classiest of women, the Knott Hall Angels.  Nearby, the lawless land of Flanner Hall became infamous for having the lowest resident assistant-to-student ratio in the Western Hemisphere. Their “signature event” was a yearly bottle rocket war with the lesser of the two towers, Grace Hall.

    3 comments

  • An apology to our community

    Letter to the Editor

    We would like to apologize.
    We are sorry.
    We have failed. 
    Whenever someone in the Notre Dame community is sexually assaulted, whenever someone is raped or whenever an individual feels unsafe, we have failed as a community. 

    4 comments

  • Resolve the double standard

    Letter to the Editor

    As a graduating senior, I would like to thank Notre Dame for helping me grow immensely as a person these past four years. There is no doubt one of the most special things about this place is its residential life, and I have loved living on campus. Living in a single-sex dorm has given me close, fraternal friendships that will last for the rest of my life. There is only one thing I would change about the residential life on this campus: the double standard in men’s and women’s residence halls.

    6 comments

  • Quarter-life crisis

    Inside Column

    I’m closing in on my senior year of college. This should be an exciting time. I get to register for classes first, I’m a month away from discovering what’s so great about that Club Fever place and I finally know where they hide the tortilla chips in the dining hall (I know, it took me a while.)

  • The importance of transition phases

    The In-Between Time

    College students, especially those at Notre Dame, reap the benefits of multiple perks. They get to focus on simply learning and developing interests rather than stressing about the fickle and competitive work force. They get easy housing with all of their friends and readily available prepared food, not yet having to deal with paying bills, managing finances or even grocery shopping or cooking. They are surrounded by opportunities to engage in exciting programs, research and events, meeting some of their generation’s most interesting people. College students, however, often do not have everything. One thing barely any college students get enough of is sleep.

  • Life is too short to leave words unsaid

    The Bubble

    Take a moment to think of the impact some people have had on your life. Though some may’ve been negative, be grateful you had those experiences to help shape you. As the year winds down to an end and most of my best friends will be graduating, I can’t help but sit back and reflect on the people who have impacted my life during my first two years here at Notre Dame. It was a rough transition, and a lot of tears were shed in my first year. I tried adjusting to life 2,000 miles away from home while being a minority and handling new faces, lost friendships and a boyfriend abroad. I didn’t have the ideal freshman year experience and struggled to find a niche where I could thrive.

  • Qualities of a 'bro'

    Inside Column

    “Hey, ‘bro.’”
    “Yo, ‘bro.’”
    “He’s such a ‘bro.’”
    We’ve all said it, and it seems like an innate definition of a person we can all envision. Our “bro.” Yet what exactly makes a “bro?”

  • Overwhelming the negativity

    Letter to the Editor

    I used to tell people I hate Boston. I’d spent too many Marathon Mondays wet and cold, jogging behind my father to the next lookout so we could shout briefly at my mother as she passed by sweating. My mom has run somewhere between 30 and 40 marathons. My three siblings and father combined come close to 20. I myself am a consummate spectator. Chicago, New York, Hartford, Burlington, Washington D.C., Boston, Boston and Boston.
    This Marathon Monday, I spent two hours desperately tracking down four runners and three spectators and three more hours obsessively watching live updates. I still can’t really connect the Boston on the news with the Boston I know.

  • Let's keep on running

    Letter to the Editor

    The Boston Marathon tragedy has dominated conversation on campus since Monday. The myriad of emotions such a tragedy evokes can infrequently be captured in themes of hope, but I wanted to attempt to convey some positive musings.

  • A Legion of extraordinary gall

    Modest Proposals

    Last week, the Leprechaun Legion, the self-proclaimed “voice of the student body to the athletic department,” announced a new student ticket policy for next season’s football Saturdays. In doing so, they have committed numerous errors. From top to bottom, the policy does not have a leg to stand on, and here I would like to state why.

    7 comments

  • Reflections in a time of tragedy

    Guest Columnist

    We find ourselves in a time of fear and uncertainty. The details are blurry. The news is still ringing in our ears. We stand on unsteady ground. In this time of darkness, we seek an undying flame. To whom can we turn?
    “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
    As the reports rush in and the numbers of dead and wounded climb, there is heaviness in our hearts. We anxiously await contact from our friends and families. We long to know they are safe. Where are we to find solace?
    “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

  • Expanding the Viewpoint discussion

    Letter to the Editor

    Can I please open The Observer and not read about the LGBT community or the debate surrounding it? An article on the front page at least every week? Four practically identical Viewpoint articles on the same day? An Observer writer mentioned in almost every major article? If this topic is actually worth the press it receives, there is likely someone outside your office who is willing to talk about it.

    16 comments

  • A nation united through sport

    Letter to the Editor

    First and foremost, as a Boston native my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone back home. Secondly, in light of recent events, all of my social media pages have exploded with statuses and inspirational photographs praying for and representing the city of Boston. Among the inspirational pictures is one that has become quite popular among my Facebook friends. This picture features a collection of all four Boston mascots drawn to look intimidating and includes the quote, “You messed with the wrong city.”

  • The light in Monday's darkness

    Letter to the Editor

    I woke up on Monday in anticipation of what was supposed to be a great day. Patriots’ Day in Boston, Ma., is always a great spectacle, with the annual early-afternoon Red Sox game and, of course, the world’s oldest marathon.
    This year, my brother and some friends from home were running in it, so my excitement for the event was higher than usual. Right before my afternoon class, I heard he finished in less than three hours. Win. Then I saw the Red Sox had won in walk-off fashion. Double win. I walked into class with absolute joy. Then, the unthinkable happened.

  • Plunge into opportunity

    Inside Column

    “Imagine,” crooned John Lennon, extolling the virtues of an Arcadian society. I wondered if he were being idealistic, until I discovered Rishi Valley, an academy founded by Jiddu Krishnamurthi.
    Rishi Valley is my alma mater, where I spent most of my impressionable years in a drastically unconventional schooling environment. It was not a school but a community where self-discovery was the sole premise. There was no canned learning and preset assumptions. It was a journey where education was taught through observation and application and where text books were unheard of.

  • ‘To be made in God’s image’

    Letter to the Editor

    My uncle was three-tenths of a mile from the finish line when the bombs went off.

  • Hold on to hope

    The Maine Idea

    This isn’t the column I was supposed to write.
    This was supposed to be funny. I was supposed to joke about dorm parties and business kids and sneak in a line about jersey-chasing for good measure. I was counting on some laughs. I was hoping for a spit-take or two at the dining hall. But I’m not really in the mood to write jokes right now.

  • It’s about love

    Letter to the Editor

    Judging from the last week and a half of Viewpoint publications, Notre Dame students have a lot to say about marriage equality. For it, against it, or somewhere in between, Our Lady’s campus holds a diversity of opinions on legalizing marriage equality.

  • The last word

    The Sincere Seeker

    I love when people try to guess my middle name. It’s one of my favorite, introductory, “get-to-know-you” type games. Normally, however, my question is met with blank stares. Unsuspecting (or admirably-willing) companions, however, will begin to list names like “Patrick,” “James” or “William.” But frustration always lurks around the corner, too, as a few harmless names turn into brow-furrowing lists.

  • Freedom for everyone

    For as long as I have cared about politics, I have been a Republican.  But, that doesn’t mean I oppose gay marriage. It’s precisely why I support it.

    4 comments

  • On staying Catholic

    I don’t want a religion that has some truths. I want the fullness of truth.

    18 comments

  • Conversations about mental health

    Letter to the Editor

    We need to create space for genuine dialogue about mental health at Notre Dame.