Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Observer
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Support The Observer
Observer Store Subscribe
The Observer

Opinion

The Observer

Fr. Lou DelFra

By The Observer · Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012

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.

The Observer

Dee Tian

By The Observer · Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012

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, GRCFirestarter, 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. 

The Observer

Grace Concelman

By The Observer · Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012

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.

The Observer

Alex Coccia

By The Observer · Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012

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).

The Observer

Marc Anthony Rosa

By The Observer · Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012

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.

The Observer

Mark Easley

By The Observer · Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012

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.  

The Observer

Arnav Dutt

By The Observer · Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012

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.

The Observer

Leave Santa alone

By The Observer · Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011

Here's a Christmas surprise: some parents have argued that Santa — with his round belly and universal appeal — might be contributing to the rise in childhood obesity.

The Observer

Protecting our rights

By The Observer · Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011

In late October a former Taliban activist who had renounced his militant affiliation and applied for political asylum in the state of New York was seized from his home by U.S. Marshals. The man, whose asylum case we studied as part of a course on the Anthropology of Human Rights (with Professor Cynthia Mahmood), had suddenly disappeared.

The Observer

Santo's year

By The Observer · Monday, Dec. 5, 2011

1990 was an auspicious year for many reasons. Among them was the birth of a soon-to-be strapping young lad at approximately 1:11 in the morning on April 1. Around the same time, all-time Chicago Cubs great Ron Santo began his career broadcasting home games for his former team.

The Observer

Behind Anonymous

By The Observer · Monday, Dec. 5, 2011

Anonymous is the inciter. Anonymous is the underground poet, the published author. Anonymous is the coward, the bigot and the bully. Anonymous is the well-wisher, the tipster and the answer. Anonymous is conviction. Anonymous is safety. Anonymous is the masked, intentionally and unintentionally done. Anonymous is the fear of repercussion. Anonymous is the advantage of the eloquent. Anonymous is the good and the bad of human opinion. Anonymous is nameless, faceless, and lost.

The Observer

Santo legacy

By The Observer · Monday, Dec. 5, 2011

News broke Monday afternoon that the Baseball Hall-of-Fame's Golden Era Committee had elected legendary Chicago Cubs third-baseman Ron Santo for induction, as he garnered 93.8 percent of the vote. While I am a diehard Chicago White Sox fan, I was still very happy with the news. Santo, who died at age 70 on Dec. 3, 2010, from complications due to bladder cancer and pneumonia, always meant a lot to my father, my brother and I as baseball fans.

The Observer

College: The biggest scam we'll ever buy

By The Observer · Monday, Dec. 5, 2011

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.

The Observer

When I grow up: A lobsterman

By The Observer · Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011

When I was younger, I wanted to be a lobsterman when I grew up. And by younger, I mean until I was about 10. And no, I didn't want to be a lobsterwoman, I wanted to be a lobsterman — I didn't really understand the concept of making my job title politically correct.

The Observer

Thoughts amidst the failure of the 'Super Committee'

By The Observer · Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011

"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. If this group was unable to come up with any savings, $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts, half to defense and half to social programs, would go into effect in 2013. Many hoped that these highly concentrated cuts to social programs and defense would incentivize the Super Committee to create a more balanced plan that included reforms to entitlements and new tax revenues.

The Observer

Flat tax just won't work

By The Observer · Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011

Nearly every week I read articles in The Observer with columnists claiming a flat tax is the answer, and nearly every week I shake my head with disdain.

Trending