news

University announces additional COVID-19 booster requirement

By Observer News Staff · Monday, Nov. 14, 2022

All Notre Dame students — undergraduate, graduate and professional — are required to receive the COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccine, director of University Health Services (UHS) Edward Junkins announced in an email Monday.

Meet the Notre Dame alum leading efforts to return humans to the moon

By Ryan Peters · Monday, Nov. 14, 2022

When Jon Olansen was a child, he wanted to be an astronaut. This dream doesn’t pan out for most children, but Olansen, a Notre Dame alumnus, has come close to living it out.

Professors research resilient farmlands, housing in coastal areas and cities

By Caroline Collins · Monday, Nov. 14, 2022

The 2015 Paris Agreement set the goal of limiting global warming to below two, but preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

Real estate conference details Church property trends

By Peter Breen · Monday, Nov. 14, 2022

Within the second-floor conference rooms of McKenna Hall, the Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate’s (FIRE) Church Properties Initiative (CPI) hosted its first on-campus conference last week entitled “The Future of Church Property.” Forty-three conference sessions took place, from 15-minute lightning talks to 45-minute panel discussions.

SGA hosts ‘Support A Belle Love A Belle’ week

By Cora Haddad · Monday, Nov. 14, 2022

For the first week of November, Saint Mary’s College Student Government Association (SGA) hosted “Support A Belle Love A Belle” (SABLAB) week.

University announces death of student, military veteran

By Observer News Staff · Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022

Notre Dame student James (Jake) Blaauboer has died, the University informed the student body in an email Saturday morning.

Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey delivers poetry reading on background, identity

By Redmond Bernhold · Friday, Nov. 11, 2022

Natasha Trethewey, two-term 19th U.S. Poet Laureate and winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, gave a poetry reading focused on her identity and inspiration as a poet Wednesday night for the Notre Dame community.

Panelists discuss outcomes of 2022 midterm elections

By Liam Kelly · Friday, Nov. 11, 2022

On Wednesday evening, the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study hosted a panel discussing the implications of the 2022 midterm elections results on democracy, abortion and the 2024 presidential election.

Former Notre Dame captain, Super Bowl champion Rocky Bleier recounts journey from Vietnam to NFL

By Ryan Peters · Friday, Nov. 11, 2022

One day during training camp in 1968, recent Pittsburgh Steelers draft pick Rocky Bleier had what he thought was the happiest day of his life — at least, at that point.

Saint Mary’s french club renewed with ‘Ballet and Beignets’ event

By Katelyn Waldschmidt · Friday, Nov. 11, 2022

Wednesday night, the Saint Mary’s French Club hosted “Ballet and Beignets” to kick off the club’s renewal. After finally getting the club back in action after a couple years of trying, the event was meant to draw members with beginner-level ballet and a delicious treat.

‘Asian Allure’ cultural showcase celebrates finding community

By Claire Reid · Friday, Nov. 11, 2022

Growing up in the Philippines, junior Liyanna Baloca said she never labeled herself as “Asian.”

Rooney Center survey reveals worries about American civil war, partisan divides

By Kathryn Muchnick · Friday, Nov. 11, 2022

According to a new survey released by the University of Notre Dame’s Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy, about half of Democrats and one-third of Republicans believe that the United States is on the brink of a new civil war — numbers that Matthew E.K. Hall called “shockingly high.”

NBC to broadcast ND women’s basketball game live in historic first

By Alysa Guffey · Friday, Nov. 11, 2022

The last time Niele Ivey stepped foot in Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, she won an NCAA championship as part of the 2000-2001 Notre Dame women’s basketball team.

Bishop Robert Barron to speak on campus, CCC presents on club funding

By Maggie Eastland · Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022

During Wednesday evening’s student senate meeting, the director of faith initiatives announced Catholic bishop Robert Barron is coming to speak on campus, and the Club Coordination Council (CCC) president said the clubs it funds could benefit from a greater share of Student Union funding.

First Gen Week brings students ‘back to the basics’ of self-care

By Liam Price · Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022

First Gen Family at Saint Mary’s is supporting first-generation students, a term describing students who are the first in their family to pursue a four-year degree, with “First Gen Week: Back To The Basics.”

Author Clint Smith speaks about history of slavery and writing

By Angela Mathew · Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022

The Atlantic staff writer Clint Smith spoke at the Smith Ballroom at the Morris Inn on Wednesday evening. Smith’s book, “How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America,” was a #1 New York Times Bestseller and a 2021 National Book Critics Circle Award Winner for Nonfiction.

Tech ethics faculty fear focus on banning TikTok is misplaced

By Emma Duffy · Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022

Brendan Carr, a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), said the social media app TikTok should be banned in the U.S. The Council on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) has spent months negotiating with TikTok to determine if it can be divested by its Chinese parent company ByteDance creating bleak outlooks and the possibility of a ban.

Campus sees rise in catalytic converter thefts

By Kate Naessens · Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022

As reports of catalytic converter thefts increase on campus and across the nation, deputy chief of the Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD) Bill Thompson said these crimes are nothing new.

Center for Social Concerns ends SSLPs, introduces NDBridge

By Tess Brennan · Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022

The summer service learning program (SSLP) and its international counterpart (ISSLP) have been phased out by the Center for Social Concerns. NDBridge is the University’s new summer community engagement program, limited to rising sophomores. The previous programs were open to students in each of their three summers.

Glynn Honors opens new lounge in O'Shaughnessy, fosters scholarship

By Peter Breen · Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022

On Oct. 27, the Glynn Family Honors Program celebrated the opening of its new, 1,500 square-foot lounge on the second floor of O’Shaughnessy Hall with apple cider and donuts.