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Tuesday, March 31, 2026
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The Observer

Observer Editorial: We mourn together

By The Observer Editorial Board · Friday, Oct. 30, 2020

Our community has experienced an unbelievable loss in the deaths of first year students Valeria Espinel and Olivia Laura Rojas, two young women who had just begun their time at Notre Dame. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Espinel and Rojas families, as well as the Badin Hall and Cavanaugh Hall communities. We also send wishes of a swift and full recovery to sophomore Eduardo Jose Elias Calderon.

The Observer

Need for guaranteed civil representation

By Justice Mory · Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020

In the U.S., a citizen's ability to secure favorable legal outcomes largely depends on the proficiency of legal representation. In the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright, the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee a right to legal counsel for all accused of a crime. This ensures a fair trial and due process for the accused person standing against his or her accusers. It is established then that the right to a fair trial can only be protected if a person has access to adequate legal representation, regardless of his or her financial status.

The Observer

Why we feel helpless

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020

We read nutritional labels looking for the two or three values that make a food “healthy.” We often assess learning in neat categories with established titles and well-defined precedents. We admire bold acts and risk-taking as aspirational models. Many times, we express surges of emotion with grand acts that feel commensurate with their intensity … And when we cannot, we are thrown out of our comfort zone and we feel helpless, trapped and desperate.

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