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Politics

Mark Easley

Mark Easley

Biography

Mark Easley is a senior computer science major living in Keenan Hall. He originally hails from Raleigh, NC. Easley contributes to the Observer to sharpen his writing skills and keep abreast on the latest current topics and campus pulse. His usual column is titled "Elephant in the Room" and it deals with politics and current events from a strong conservative perspective. Easley's columns are notorious for stirring up debate and controversy and attracts many critics and fans.  

A case for the flat tax

Occupy D.C. and pass a flat tax. We are the 100 percent.

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Gun culture

Gun culture is a strange thing to most folks here in the United States, which is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because in day-to-day life many of us don't need to use them to defend ourselves, and it can be argued that the ignorance can lead to an overall safer society. However, it is a curse because in America, citizens with good track records have the right to own a firearm, yet many of us do not.

‘20-12’ in 2012

‘9-9-9' sounds good, but what about ‘20-12' in 2012. ‘20-12' will stand for 20 percent corporate tax, 12 percent personal income tax and 0 percent national sales tax. This would lower the corporate tax from 35 percent to 20 percent, making America a much more competitive place to do business.

Changing the drinking age?

Alcohol has developed quite the legend amongst the human race as a social lubricant, an amnesia prescription, an aphrodisiac, a vomit inducer, a bravery potion, an anger enhancer and many other unique traits that brings smiles to people's faces, aches to their heads or sick feelings to their stomachs.

Flat over fair

I hate taking issue with my fellow conservatives. With so much damage being caused by our liberal counterparts, it is dumb to spend time bickering amongst ourselves about details. However, it is important we put up a united front when it comes to solving our nation's problems. 1 comment

War weary America

Elephant in the Room

Love me or hate me, but don't call me a liar. One of my critics recently attacked the truthfulness of my last piece. I do believe in and practice journalistic integrity even though I am not a journalist. I am an editorialist, and in my opinion columns I don't have enough space to stick in a source. 2 comments

Gary Caruso

Gary Caruso

Biography

Gary J. Caruso graduated from Notre Dame in 1973 with a bachelors degree in American Studies and then earned a masters degree in Presidential Rhetoric at the University of Pittsburgh. After receiving his masters, he volunteered to work in a Pennsylvania congressional campaign and subsequently worked for the newly-elected congressman in Washington, D.C. For nearly 17 years he served as a press secretary, senior communications and legislative director in both personal member and committee offices at the U.S. House of Representatives, working on a total of seven congressional races in Texas, Pennsylvania and Michigan. As a Clinton Administration presidential appointee, Caruso directed the congressional and public affairs efforts at the General Services Administration National Capital Region and served Vice President Al Gore at the White House on the Southwest Border Initiative and White House Community Empowerment Board. He currently serves in a career position within the Department of Homeland Security. Caruso is a longtime softball enthusiast, pitching his junior year for the Notre Dame Inter-mural Lyons Hall campus runners-up team and founding the championship tournament for the Congressional Softball League. He assists the bipartisan team of women senators and representatives in preparing for their Annual Congressional Women's Softball Game benefiting breast cancer survivors each summer. He also assists the Democratic congressmen prepare for their Annual Roll Call Baseball Game against Republican congressmen played each summer at the Washington Nationals Park benefiting the Literacy Foundation and local Boys and Girls Clubs.

"Knucklehead-of-the-year" awards

Now is the final time in the whole of history that anyone can honor a prior year's most egregious knuckleheads neatly categorized under Notre Dame, Country and God.

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Catholic “mandate” already exists

A nonpartisan February tracking poll shows that a majority (55 percent) of Americans agree "employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception and birth control at no cost." Nearly 60 percent of Catholic respondents support the birth control rule.

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Honoring my dad, an American vet

Gaze into the eyes of any 22-year-old senior on a college campus today, and you see my father's eyes 68 years ago just before his combat deployment overseas in World War II.

Obama to GOP: ‘Show me YOUR jobs’

The actual start of the presidential election season begins today — exactly one year from now countdowns to the weekend before the 2012 election. While GOP presidential hopefuls have campaigned for months to replace President Obama, the president just recently shifted from governing mode into campaign mode while promoting his new jobs initiatives. 4 comments

The government's not-so-insensible "conscience clause"

This week, Notre Dame president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., publicly commented on the Obama administration's proposed health regulations governing women's preventive services. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius — "the daughter of a distinguished Notre Dame alumnus and faculty member," as Jenkins noted to strengthen his case — Jenkins referred to President Obama's 2009 commencement address at Notre Dame. 10 comments

Three, two, one: your college days are done

A universal axiom contends that students leave college with an equal amount of wisdom in proportion to the efforts they exerted while on campus. Consequently, it would follow that a collegiate weekend beer binge-drinker will at best become a managerial dirty martini guzzler while the geeky, library-loving homework nerd at worst will cure cancer.

William Miller

Immigration and misunderstandings

Guest Columnist

Immigration is without a doubt the most misunderstood and overlooked (with the exception of education, about which I have also written) issue in the current election cycle. Mitt Romeny claims that Rick Perry was lax on immigrants; Rick Perry claims that Mitt Romney hired illegals to cut his yard; Herman Cain wants to electrify the fence; Michelle Bachmann is just generally scared of minorities.

Trading places: Engineering vs. Arts and Letters, part 2

Letter to the Editor

I'm a political science/Arabic double-major, and my classes are interesting, the workload is manageable and I have time to do things outside of the classroom. As I visited my friend's classes over the last week, I found that this is not the case for most engineers.

The real points for the protesters

Guest Columnist

The Occupy Wall Street protests started out as a small movement, but have since grown into an international phenomenon. This has been fueled by public anger over slow economic growth in developed countries, a highly disproportional distribution of wealth and continued frustration with the role that money plays in determining politics. 2 comments

What's next for Libya?

Guest Columnist

Libya's civil war has now reached its last and most difficult phase. With Colonel Qaddafi gone, Libya is now free to begin transitioning from war mode to recovery mode. This entails an entirely new set of challenges. Under Qaddafi, freedom of the press was virtually non-existent, elections were anything but fair and government agencies functioned as his personal bureaucracy rather than as a competent administration.

Europe's double conundrum

Guest Columnist

There seems to be a lot of good news coming out of Europe in the past couple of days. First, Greece recently passed a new string of austerity measures, most notably a new property tax, aimed at closing its budget deficit. This will likely satisfy the troika, composed of the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Union, which administers the bailouts given to Greece. 1 comment

Where are we now?

Ten years ago the United States went through a transformative moment. When the Twin Towers fell, the Pentagon was struck and a plane crashed in Pennsylvania, we all knew that the world would never be the same. However, it was hard to imagine then what would happen next.

True significance of bin Laden’s death

Guest Columnist

Late Sunday night President Obama appeared before the nation and announced Osama bin Laden's death. This announcement sparked exuberant celebration across campus and the entire country. Students ran cheering through LaFortune and crowds gathered in Times Square.

Arnav Dutt

Arnav Dutt

Biography

Arnav "Lou" Dutt (born January 6, 1937) is a retired American football coach, and active sportscaster, author, and motivational speaker. He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the University of Arkansas (1977–1983), the University of Minnesota (1984–1985), the University of Notre Dame (1986–1996), and the University of South Carolina (1999–2004), compiling a career record of 249–132–7. Dutt's 1988 Notre Dame team went 12–0 with a victory in the Fiesta Bowl and was the consensus national champion. Dutt is the only college football coach to lead six different programs to bowl games and the only coach to guide four different programs to the final top 20 rankings. Dutt also coached the New York Jets of the NFL during the 1976 season.

Over the years, the slender, bespectacled Dutt has become known for his quick wit and ability to inspire players. In 2005, Dutt joined ESPN as a college football analyst.

Taking the fifth

Guest Columnist

The way I see it, barring divine inspiration or outright plagiarism, you can't write anything good if your heart isn't in it. And as the posters the College of Arts and Letters puts up in O'Shaugnessy Hall suggest, the College would like undergrads to summon up as much heart (or pray for as much inspiration) as they need to produce exceptional senior theses. 1 comment

Gabrielle Giffords, you will be missed

Guest Columnist

This week, Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona will announce one of the most unfortunate special elections in the history of American politics. The winner will fill the soon-to-be-vacant seat that currently belongs to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who announced her imminent resignation on Sunday.

John Sandberg

John Sandberg

Biography

John is a sophomore from Littleton, Colorado and a graduate of J.K. Mullen High School. Before transferring to Notre Dame, John spent his freshman year at the University of San Diego, where he was the baseball beat writer for the Toreros' student newspaper, The Vista. Switching from sports to the viewpoint arena, this year John has written columns on national and international affairs, aiming to articulate a down-to-earth perspective in a world full of "expert opinions." Two of his more widely read pieces this year have been "Virtue as an obligation, not a choice," and "Politics and evolution: who cares?" A third generation Domer, John is an avid baseball fan as well as a participant in Notre Dame's Bengal Bouts. He can be reached at jsandbe1@nd.edu.   

Ron Paul’s undesired candidacy

The GOP field currently features three presidential candidates who appear willing to do anything short of making a deal with the devil simply to be addressed as ‘Mr. President' come 2013. But the fourth candidate seems fine with keeping the title ‘Dr. Paul.'

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Things I learned on the train

Last week, en route from crisp Colorado to the practically balmy South Bend, I took on Chicago's L and the South Shore Line. I was in need of some fun after all, and the never-ending escapade that is the Coach USA airport shuttle ain't no Chuck E. Cheese. And I'm proud to say that I arrived here safely, without one hiccup, scar, broken handlebar or tear shed. Not only did I execute my mission flawlessly, but I observed some fascinating things along the way.

 

Eight political stories to follow in 2012

For good and bad, American politics may be "the greatest show" on Earth, and 2012 will most likely be a year to help prove why. Below are eight political stories to follow in 2012.

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Politics and evolution: who cares?

Guest Columnist

Dear GOP presidential hopefuls and political pundits: I would like to respectfully ask you to discontinue your talks on evolution as a political discussion and shift the debate to issues that, well … matter. It's not that the issue doesn't make for entertaining debate so much as I (and presumably most people) would prefer to listen to the next President of the United States talk about things that might have some meaningful effect on my life. 3 comments

Virtue as an obligation, not a choice

Over the past 10 days there has been fighting, not over the urgent business and weighty content of a political speech and debate, but rather the scheduling of said speech and debate. Football fans followed the story of a running back threatening not to work (that is, take the ball and run) because the millions he previously earned for playing the game (er, doing his job) was insufficient. 1 comment

Al-Awlaki killing had to be done

Guest Columnist

Last Friday, Sept. 30, U.S.-born terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in an American counterterrorism operation in Yemen. Al-Awlaki, who maintained U.S. citizenship, was a key player in al-Qaeda's effort against the United States and, according to U. 3 comments

Economy and Technology

Grace Concelman

Grace Concelman

Biography

Grace Concelman is a senior from Pittsburgh majoring in finance and philosophy. Her column, Options and Futures, covers current events in finance and economics and seeks to make financial terminology more accessible to the Notre Dame community. She looks forward to pursuing a career on Wall Street in sales and trading where she will spend hours of her life staring at computer screens trying to make sense of flashing market data.

Eight political stories to follow in 2012

For good and bad, American politics may be "the greatest show" on Earth, and 2012 will most likely be a year to help prove why. Below are eight political stories to follow in 2012.

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How the Gipper stole Christmas

Every Domer in South Bend liked Christmas a lot, But the Gipper, whose ghost wandered campus, did not. The Gipp hated Christmas! He had a good reason! I've some idea why — the end of football season. But that wasn't all that made old Gipp cross, Nor was it merely the great perma-frost.

Arrested Development, Euro edition

The current situation in the Eurozone is a story about how a little misrepresentation and a lot of charade can escalate into a full-blown drama. While we wait for several Eurozone countries to shift around their governments this week, here's an analogy comparing a dysfunctional continent with everyone's favorite dysfunctional television family: the Bluths from Arrested Development.

Greece is the word

What do you get when you lock the leaders of the EU into a conference room and tell them they can't come out until they have a comprehensive plan to save the continent from impending financial doom? A haircut. Wait — a haircut? Did the eurozone leaders propose a mass trip to barbershops across the continent as a way to stimulate their economies? No, this is a different kind of haircut, but it's just as slick as John Travolta's hair in Grease.

Midterms and mark-to-market

Midterms. That week directly preceding fall break when everyone has 12 exams, four papers, two presentations and a problem set due. No one likes midterms.

You know what else no one likes? Accounting.

The unplugged challenge

Do you remember what boredom used to feel like? I don't mean the kind of bored you are when you're sitting around on a Friday night complaining that there's nothing to do in South Bend. I mean a laptop-less, TV-less, cell phone-less kind of bored. The kind of bored you experienced as a kid on late summer evenings when entertainment consisted of a bucket of sidewalk chalk and a large cardboard box. 1 comment

The dreaded double-dip

A double dip seems like such a good thing. The first thing I think of when I hear "double dip" is ice cream. Two scoops of ice cream is always better than one. Growing up, the ice cream store near my house used to give free second scoops if it was raining or snowing.

Trade idea: Buy Quarter Dog futures

A futures desk at a Wall Street bank sounds like some sort of covert fortune-telling operation. It sounds like the desk where traders can swing by in the morning to read the tea leaves and see what stocks are going to be hot that day. It almost doesn't seem like it should be legal.

Blake J. Graham

The micro-star

Erudite Techno-Lust

8,886 tweets — over 250 pages of text produced — in one second, because Beyonce announced her pregnancy. In just 60 seconds, there were enough words to fill the pages of 30 Stephen King novels. And that's just one service, in one minute.

In a world where there are over 7 billion people on the planet, 800 million are on Facebook, 250 million use iOS devices and 100 million are active on Twitter. Were

all of the experts of the social web to gather and secede from the world's nations, they would form the third most populous country in the world, with the most intelligent and literate population.

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Daisy, daisy

While Artificial Intelligence may not be entirely here yet, an iota of sophisticated machine intelligence is. Now that a droplet of the technology exists in the consumer market, its ripples will quickly proliferate. 

Fare thee well, PC

On June 6, Steve Jobs made his last public appearance as Apple Computer's CEO to demonstrate new features that would empower and "redefine" iOS devices (iPhone, iPod touch and iPad).

Marc Anthony Rosa

Marc Anthony Rosa

Biography

Marc Anthony Rosa is currently a senior Management Entrepreneurship major. As his column title "Router? I hardly know her" may suggest, he's a tech and start-up junkie who loves being part of the digital renaissance. When he's not wondering why he abandoned his sunny home in Florida for the frigid northern Indiana weather, he spends every available waking hour writing about his experiences with technology. He has some pretty cool experiences working with start-up companies all over the country, and loves to share what he's learned and what he's noticing in the technology community in his column and on his personal blog, www.marcanthonyrosa.com. Besides writing, he's passionate about comedy, string cheese, and most of the alphabet.

College: The biggest scam we'll ever buy

We may have been fooled by one of our generation's biggest scams. In fact, not only do we blindly accept it, but most of us will be working our way out of debt for a decade because of it. It's a system that penalizes creativity, scatters our focus thinly between unrelated errands and unashamedly conditions us to believe that a few people can tell us how smart we are. 10 comments

#TwitterDoesn'tMakeYouStupid

One sleepless night a few weeks ago, I found myself checking my iPhone every 20 minutes, searching for articles on Twitter that could captivate me while I waited for my brain to turn off. As I thumbed through Twitter, I stumbled across an "Economist" article that pissed me off and made me laugh at the same time.

Groupon - the financial crisis reincarnated

Welcome to the Groupon Economy. We've entered a new age where coupon-clipping grandmas of the world live in harmony with 20-something-year-olds. Labeled by "Forbes Magazine" as the fastest growing company ever, Groupon merges internet retail with brick-and-mortar stores, providing cost-conscious customers staggering discounts for everyday products and services. 1 comment

Steve Jobs: The story we're afraid to write

Each and every one of us is given a pen, a very long notebook and one enduring mission: to write the story of our lives. Each of us is given a genuinely unbiased opportunity to ink the direction of the main character. We take this process for granted, that we can wait a few chapters before beginning to write the story that we wanted for ourselves since the beginning — a story about powerful journeys, bold choices or a path all alone save for you.

Adam Newman

A few good men

As America faces many pressing issues, it deserves the best candidates that each party can provide.

Thoughts amidst the failure of the 'Super Committee'

"Failure." This word accurately and succinctly sums up the efforts of the so-called "Super Committee." This committee, composed of six Republicans and six Democrats, was charged with finding between $1.2-1.5 trillion in deficit reductions by the end of the year. 3 comments

The real 99 percent

If there was ever a group that could be labeled "the 99 percent," it is the Americans who belong to the Silent Majority.

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DNB solutions to grow the economy

Scientia Potentia Est

During the summer, I drafted an op-ed about an economic agenda that President Obama could propose to help the American economy. The agenda was not simply Republican tax cuts or Democratic spending ideas, but more nuanced solutions that reflect the two major challenges President Obama faces in passing any legislation: (1) an unsustainable national debt that has made additional deficit spending politically toxic and (2) an ultra-conservative Republican Party unwilling to compromise. 1 comment

Debt ceiling blues

Scientia Potentia Est

This past summer offered no shortage of entertainment — the NBA Championship, the Casey Anthony Trial, a new season of "The Jersey Shore" and the final Harry Potter movie. Alongside these, less entertaining, but still critical negotiations over America's debt ceiling took place. 2 comments

Philosophy and Religion

Alex Coccia

Alex Coccia

Biography

I am pursuing Africana Studies and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. I have been fencing for nine years and am on the Notre Dame varsity team. In the summer before sophomore year, I taught fencing and Social Studies in the Ugandan village of Kkindu. On campus I am co-president of Progressive Student Alliance, and attempt to promote healthy dialogue about gender related issues as a Gender Relations Center FIRE Starter. I am a very passionate person but attempt to allow reason to dominate the conversation. I always enjoy having long and in-depth discussions with friends about a variety of topics, including campus issues, national politics, religion, and foreign policy, and I typically write on these subjects. I write with the thought that "we may not see eye to eye, but we can always speak heart to heart" (Colman McCarthy).

Faithpoint

Fr. Lou DelFra

Biography

Rev. Louis A. DelFra, C.S.C., is a Holy Cross priest, ordained in 2004. He is Director of Pastoral Life, and Chaplain, for the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE). He has also worked in Campus Ministry, and as Associate Pastor and Religion teacher at Holy Redeemer Parish and School in Portland, OR. Fr. Lou previously served as a middle school and high school teacher at Malvern Preparatory School in Philadelphia. He has received his undergraduate and Master's degrees from the University of Notre Dame, and currently publishes in the fields of religion, literature, teacher education, and spirituality. Fr. Lou resides in Dillon Hall.

Echoes of yesterday, today and tomorrow

Faithpoint

Welcome back! It's time to take a deep breath and start again: a new semester, a new year, perhaps a new major or a new roommate for some of you. And yet, aren't you grateful for what's not new — friends, professors, rectors, well-worn paths to classes, the Rock and South Dining Hall?

This is tough love

Faithpoint

Sometimes I do feel as if Jesus is saying to us patiently, but emphatically, "Pay. Attention. To. Me." I believe that this week, between two Sundays of very straightforward gospel readings, is one of those times. Last Sunday he told us, "Make the most of the gifts God has given you, or you — useless and lazy — will be thrown out into the darkness.

You’re a saint … or you sure could be!

Faithpoint

Certainly you can remember times when you've heard people say of someone heroic, or who has endured great suffering with patience and grace, "She's a saint!" or, "He's a saint!" Perhaps you've even heard it said of one of your own parents (though surely not because raising you caused them to endure great suffering).

Channeling St. Paul

This is better than Red Bull. Better than "Crazy Train."

What can fall break do for you?

Perhaps you, dear Notre Dame student, have had the same debate with your parents that I seem to have regularly with one of my sons whenever he has some free time. Perhaps because you're closer in age to my son than to your parents or me, you will take his side. 1 comment

In the sight of the angels

Do you believe in angels? Do you think they really exist or do they only live in movie characters like Clarence, the big-hearted angel-in-training from "It's a Wonderful Life"? Or are they just handy for solving philosophical puzzles — say, about the number of angels dancing on the head of a pin? When you Google "angels" (and get past the Angels of Anaheim fan sites), you can find sites that offer proof — proof!! photos!! — of the existence of ghosts and angels .

If Christ was our teacher

Jesus' teaching method in the Gospels is to begin with what is most apparent, with what first strikes us, what is right before our eyes, and to look at it closely with eyes of faith until its deeper meaning is yielded up to us. In his relentless search for what many conceived as a remote and faraway Kingdom of God, Jesus is never afraid to begin his search with the stuff right before his eyes — the seed that his countrymen scattered each season, the sheep that dotted the Galilean hillsides, the loaves and fishes that they ate each evening or the birds of the air and the lilies of the field.

It doesn't seem fair, but it is perfect justice

Raise your hand if on either of the last two Saturdays you thought to yourself, "Oh, how nice for Skip Holtz to come back to his alma mater and take home a win!" or, "Good for Michigan! What a great feeling to stage such a big comeback!" Before you turn the page in disgust, I can assure you that I most certainly did not think either of those things, or anything even remotely close to them.

These strangers are the friends you haven't met yet

"From Christ the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." (Ephesians 4:15-16) All of us here have known the common, uncomfortable experience of arriving here on campus as a stranger: Those first days of moving in, traveling with a pack of other rookies to one planned activity after another, surreptitiously glancing at a campus map to make sure that DeBartolo is, in fact, "over that way.

Dee Tian

Dee Tian

Biography

Dee is a Senior Marketing Major, with minors in Philosophy and Anthropology, who has a passion for spicy food and Disney movies. She loves fast-paced, hectic days so she's been involved in many activities including BP Hall Council as Dance and Spirit Commissioner, Campus Tour Guide, GRC Firestarter, VP of Marketing Club, TA for Professor Moore, and Notre Dame Encounter Board. After graduation, she will be working for Verizon as an HR Analyst in their enterprise wide Leadership Development Program. As an Observer columnist, Dee hopes to explore and question the many dilemmas college students may face in their spirituality and encourage students to grow in their faith. 

Spiritual coasting

Confessions of a Christian Party Girl

We have all experienced spiritual highs, times when we feel so close to God and are confident in his love and plan for us, and spiritual lows, when we experience doubt, frustration and even anger when we don't understand God's ways.

What’s the point?

Confessions of a Christian Party Girl

Happy Halloween everyone!

After returning home from a terrible midterms week and a relaxing Fall Break (I'm jealous of all you Vegas vacationers), I was ready to put schoolwork on hold and have a good time.

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The Seven Deadly Sins

Confessions of a Christian Party Girl

There's nothing better than watching reruns of America's Next Top Model and eating Chinese food when you're hung over. I love the photo shoot with the Seven Deadly Sins. This got me thinking, where did this list come from and why are they so evil? I did some research: Pope Gregory the Great edited Charles Panati's list of wicked human passions and ranked them from worst (the most offensive to love) to least.

Dan Sportiello

Dan Sportiello

Biography

Dan Sportiello is in his fourth year of graduate study in philosophy at the University of Notre Dame--the institution from which he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in the same subject. While his interests are broad, he is soon to take his oral exam in the history of ethics. He is especially interested in the relationship between theoretical and practical reason--and in the relationship of both to the historical circumstances in which they are taught and exercised. His column, Bound Variables, is a biweekly philosophical meditation upon those aspects of our lives here at Notre Dame that go otherwise unnoticed.

History

Democratic capitalism beat the only challengers around; there is nowhere else for history to go. Or so said Fukuyama in 1989.

Memory

In death — as in life — Nixon finds his way into everything. When I was a boy, my father showed me Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country — a film in which Kirk and Spock see the Klingon Empire, their historical enemy, collapse under the weight of its economic ineptitude.

From scavengers to sovereigns

Roughly 300 years before the birth of Christ, in a Corinthian alley, two very different interpretations of the legacy of Socrates came face to face. "I am Alexander, King of Macedon," said one of them. He had, until four years earlier, been the pupil of Aristotle, who had been the pupil of Plato, who had been the pupil of Socrates.

Motherhood

I am not certain that what follows is orthodox, but … well, it may be. In the beginning, we were animals like any others — taller and swifter than many, true, but animals nonetheless — living like the others according to first impressions, moving like the others according to desire and fear.

Knowledge

There is a price to be paid for reflection. Consider two very different conceptions of knowledge. According to the first, to know that some action is right in some situation is to respond to that situation, whenever it occurs, by performing that action.

Manipulation

I had served as a teaching assistant in philosophy for some time before it occurred to me to wonder what it was, exactly, that I was teaching. The answer, when I finally found it, was rather more sinister than I had expected. Alasdair MacIntyre, in his After Virtue, reminds us that "some of the college-educated public are haunted by vague cartoon-like memories of Philosophy 100" — and, for this, we teachers are surely to blame: full of a drunken glee, we frighten our students with brains in vats and exhort them to embrace their inner Cartesian demons — without bothering to teach them the context that would make these fantasies more than intermittently unsettling.

Manifesto

I spent last spring as a teaching assistant in Morality and Modernity. I was responsible for leading two discussion sections every Friday. My students taught me a great deal — though not what I expected. After our discussions, I worried that, in teaching my students the history of modern ethics — in challenging, indeed, the very foundations of those ethics — I had drawn them in so many directions, had tried to tie together so many different things, that they had missed the forest for the trees — that they had mastered, that is, the subtleties of Kant and Nietzsche and MacIntyre and yet had missed, in the end, the point that I was trying to make.

Murder and medical ethics

I spent last fall as a teaching assistant in Medical Ethics. I was responsible for leading two discussion sections every Friday. My students taught me a great deal — though not what I expected. After our discussions, I worried that, in teaching my students certain moral debates — in presenting without evaluation, for example, the very best pro-life and pro-choice arguments — I had corrupted my students, had injected enough uncertainty into their principles such that, at a critical moment, they would do precisely the wrong thing; whereas, if I had just left them to their naïveté, the wrong thing would have struck them as unthinkable. 5 comments

Campus Issues

The GreenMan

The GreenMan

Biography

Email your predicaments to The GreenMan at askthegreenman@gmail.com and let him answer you with a sustainable twist. The GreenMan will be here every other week to provide you with insights you never knew you were missing out on until now.

Old electronics contribute to city toxicity

Ask the GreenMan

Welcome back! Another semester means it's time for the GreenMan to "spring" some new sustainability issues and initiatives into light.

Old electronics contribute to city toxicity

Ask the GreenMan

Welcome back! Another semester means it's time for the GreenMan to "spring" some new sustainability issues and initiatives into light.

‘Tis the season

Since most of you are already wearing green this season, why not go green as well?

Feeding 7 billion: trick or treat?

This Halloween, the world population hit 7 billion people, a milestone that has generated increasing concern about how our world can provide the basic necessities of food, clothing, shelter and energy for more and more people.

Ghosts, goblins and the GreenMan

With the tailgating season wrapping up, you're probably wondering — how can I go green now?

Greengate like a champion today

As we all anxiously await another home game Saturday, when the Irish will clearly reign victorious over the Falcons, I wanted to offer you all a few tips to get you a bit more eco-conscious. I know what you are thinking, "I will not let you touch my game day.

Go green, earn green

Anna Gorman

At last night's career fair, did you find that perfect match — an exciting and inspiring company that will launch your career? While I hope many of you did, I'm also sure there is a large group of you wondering, "What do I do now?" Maybe the companies sounded dull, maybe you didn't make a great connection with the representative or maybe you just felt like something was missing.

Dr. D @ the GRC

Underneath Halloween costumes

Dr. D @ the GRC

The purpose of this column is to help create an atmosphere where critically engaging our culture becomes the norm. When we are intentional about this, we are able to clearly delineate those behaviors that fit us and those which do not. This then leads to our community being able to discuss relationship-based topics thoughtfully, honestly and courageously.

The Bro Code

Dr. D @ the GRC

One of the goals of this column is to help create an environment where authentic, healthy relationships can flourish. As we continue on this journey, it is necessary for us to examine the unique forces that influence, prescribe and direct our thoughts and actions, both overtly and covertly.

One such force is the Bro Code.

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Hip-hop night education

If you ask a relationship expert what comprises a healthy sexuality, s/he will most likely talk about the qualities of respect, trust, mutual benefit, etc. If you ask someone in the general public this same question, research indicates that s/he would either 1) have no clue or 2) believe that it means the absence of STD's. 3 comments

What not to do to make a lasting relationship

As many of you know, when it comes to gender relations on campus, the phenomenon called "the hook-up" reigns supreme. A hook-up has a wide definition, from kissing to sex, and everything in between. Back in the day when I was an undergrad, the hook-up meant that my friend, who worked at a fast food restaurant, threw an extra hamburger or French fries in my bag free of charge. 6 comments

Carolyn Green

Carolyn Green

Biography

Carolyn Green is the student director of the 2012 Holy Half Marathon. A seasoned half-marathoner (she's working her way up to a full), Carolyn hails from Portland, Oregon--home to Nike, Hayward Field, and the elite team of distance runners known as the Oregon Track Club. Of course, Portland is equally famous for Voodoo Donuts, so it evens out. Through the Holy Half column, Carolyn will share her passion for the sport of running and provide exclusive Holy Half updates, inspiration, training tips, and motivation. 

Holy Half Marathon

Guest Columnist

March 24, 2012 marks the eighth annual running of the Holy Half Marathon, an experience that has become one of the greatest traditions at the University of Notre Dame. One of the largest student-organized events on campus, the Holy Half Marathon is completely unique in its ability to unite students, faculty, alumni, members of the South Bend community, and people from across the country in an atmosphere of fun, athleticism and short-shorts.

Asiatic Gaze

Notre Dame loves diversity

Asiatic Gaze

No one can, or would, say that diversity is a horrible thing, nor can anyone say that our university does not have diversity. Our campus is abundant with diversity! Cultural clubs abound, continually putting on fascinating cultural shows — even our dining halls join in with attempts at Mexican, Indian, Greek and Vietnamese cuisines. 1 comment

Racism: what can we do about it?

Asiatic Gaze

I'm going to call myself a racist, in a loose sense. I'm confessing that I think, say and act upon my ethnic prejudices, which directly hurts myself and others, and indirectly reinforces the continuation of such unjust, social inequalities. I'm going to call you a racist by the same definition, regardless of your ethnic background, while asking for the maturity to be conscious of such prejudices. 7 comments

Eurocentrism: it affects you, too

Asiatic Gaze

"In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. In fourteen hundred and ninety-three, Columbus stole all that he could see." In fourteen hundred and ninety-four, Columbus oppressed Natives all the more. In fourteen hundred and ninety-five, Columbus brutally enslaved these "stupid," "cruel" and "warlike" peoples as another chapter of his blood-thirsty quest, not for exploration and trade, but for conquest and exploitation. 3 comments

Hello, our name is Asiatic Gaze

These are stories that we of Asiatic Gaze have experienced at a university that is "committed to diversity ... because it is a moral and intellectual necessity." ­— It was a night like any other night, until my thoughts were suddenly and rudely interrupted by the cacophonous sounds of a poorly-mocked Asian language. 6 comments