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Thursday, April 2, 2026
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Why so serious?

By The Observer · Thursday, April 26, 2012

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I love to tell jokes. And since I'm all about giving, I think I'll start off this column by sharing with you of one of my all time, absolute favorite jokes/puns.

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A call to the Notre Dame family

By The Observer · Thursday, April 26, 2012

I love Notre Dame deeply and for many reasons. Notre Dame aspires to create a sense of family among all those associated with Notre Dame. This is particularly fitting when one considers that our alma mater begins with the words, "Notre Dame, Our Mother."

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What lack of compassion?

By The Observer · Thursday, April 26, 2012

Having read excellent columns by Alex Coccia in the past, I was disappointed by his treatment of the Vatican's investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious ("Catholic compassion, not condemnation," April 25). Mr. Coccia's notion of compassion rightly emphasizes social justice and the promotion of equality, but he overlooks the possibility of a corrective compassion, a "tough-love" compassion which seeks the betterment of the other through the cultivation of truth and the correction of error.

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Graduating seniors: keep your head up

By The Observer · Thursday, April 26, 2012

Like generations before, and many who will follow in generations to come, this year's seniors face both excitement and uncertainty as graduation nears. Their secure campus routines are about to forever change. An eccentric, uncertain world looms dead ahead - one slowly rebounding from a great economic recession while anemically expanding job opportunities. For my soon-to-be graduated and future neighbors, let me offer some advice to relieve your pain and ease your transition.

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Jenky should issue formal apology

By The Observer · Thursday, April 26, 2012

On April 14, Bishop Daniel Jenky of the Diocese of Peoria, Ill., delivered a homily that touched on the healthcare reform of President Barack Obama's administration. In his remarks, Jenky compared the challenges the Catholic Church is facing today to others it has faced in the past - including the regimes of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.

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Notre Dame and the LGBTQ community

By The Observer · Wednesday, April 25, 2012

On Wednesday, the Notre Dame News (ND Newswire) page featured an article stating that "Notre Dame enhances support for gay and lesbian students." While the changes are a nice gesture of support for the LGBTQ community and their straight allies, they are not an adequate response to the problem. In the article, Fr. Tom Doyle is quoted, saying, "The University has made significant progress over the past 15 years in its support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and questioning students, but we've always emphasized the desire to continuously improve and to be responsive to student concerns. The conversations between students and the administration both recently and over the past several years have been very important." If student concerns are so important to the administration, then the administration would seriously examine the reasons and understand the need for the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the official non-discrimination clause and the approval of an official gay-straight alliance. These are the things the students are asking for. The administration needs to listen to them before they claim that student concerns are so important.

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A fond farewell

By The Observer · Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Today is a celebration because today marks my final column in this great newspaper. For many campus liberals, this day has not come soon enough. Over the past four years, this column has been a bastion of conservative thought in these pages, and I appreciate all my fans and detractors that have silently agreed with and publicly dissented on my viewpoints. Through the ups and downs of the election cycle, the pressing issues of the day and even the occasional life commentaries, I have written many opinions that I hope you found engaging and provocative.

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To all the draftniks

By The Observer · Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Today is the day that many have been awaiting for the past two months - or more for some. The NFL Draft is here. Sure, it is overhyped and most so-called "draftniks" are downright crazy.

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We the people

By The Observer · Wednesday, April 25, 2012

One never-ending argument in the realm of American politics is over the weight politicians should give public opinion. Should legislators follow public opinion? Or should they work to influence it? This debate is central to our democracy but usually receives far too little attention.

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Draft frenzy out of control

By The Observer · Tuesday, April 24, 2012

We are one day away from the return of Mel Kiper Jr. and his tub of hair gel, or, in other words, the annual television spectacle known as the NFL Draft.

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Catholic compassion, not condemnation

By The Observer · Monday, April 23, 2012

The Doctrinal Assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), while devoting one sentence to acknowledging "the great contribution of Women Religious to the Church in the United States," condemned LCWR for having, "a prevalence of certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith in some of the programs and presentations sponsored by the LCWR ... Moreover, some commentaries on 'patriarchy' distort the way in which Jesus has structured sacramental life in the Church." The statement came as a great surprise to the sisters involved in and with LCWR. In addition to surprise, many religious and laypersons in the U.S. are outraged by the Vatican's unexpected and unreasonable appointment of Cardinal Sartain to oversee the group.

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What Jenky actually said

By The Observer · Monday, April 23, 2012

I have no difficulty recognizing the fact that history books and newspapers show us that a great number of foolish and even evil men have held the office of Catholic bishop. And following St. Paul's example, when these men speak foolishly or evilly, they should be opposed because of the condemnation their words deserve (see Galatians 2:11).

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The Regatta's history

By The Observer · Monday, April 23, 2012

During that fateful winter of 1842, when a group of Holy Cross missionaries arrived at the land upon which they would found a university that fostered Catholic tradition and academic excellence, Fr. Sorin looked out across the frozen tundra that is now St. Mary's Lake and said to himself, "Man, this would be a great spot for a regatta."

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Off-campus logistics

By The Observer · Sunday, April 22, 2012

In a matter of weeks, I will no longer be living in Lewis Hall, my home away from home for the last three years. When I come back for my senior year in August, I will be living off-campus with two of my closest friends.

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These are my people

By The Observer · Sunday, April 22, 2012

The other day, I realized I am really lucky. Not because my baseball team is playing great (they aren't) or because I figured out what I want to do with my life (I haven't). I'm lucky because I have some seriously amazing friends.

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Take back the night

By The Observer · Sunday, April 22, 2012

This column concerns an unfortunate situation I witnessed last Thursday night. I am an avid supporter of the annual ND/SMC-sponsored "Take Back the Night" event. "Take Back the Night" events are held nationwide, with three separate marches happening in South Bend alone. The organization gives its reasoning for why these marches are organized:

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