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Alma Mater fail

By The Observer · Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011

Being an alumnus of both Maryland and Notre Dame, as well as a resident of the D.C. area, Saturday's game had been circled on the family calendar for over a year. As a Maryland alumnus, I was disappointed that the Terps were not able to be more competitive and suggested to my wife and daughter, both Notre Dame alums, that we leave a bit early to avoid the notorious FedEx field traffic. Both told me that we could not leave before the Notre Dame crowd and team sang the Alma Mater.

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Immigration and misunderstandings

By The Observer · Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011

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.

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Christie isn't helping

By The Observer · Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011

I noticed an ad in The Observer on Nov. 11 for Gov. Chris Christie's keynote on "Educational Innovation and the Law." The ad states that the governor of New Jersey is "advancing an ambitious campaign to ensure that every child in the state has a chance to succeed." Nothing could be further from the truth. As a New Jerseyan who went through the (excellent) public school system and who has a mother who teaches in it, I have watched incredulously as Chris Christie has chipped away at the education system.

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Thanks and giving

By The Observer · Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011

It finally happened … the first South Bend snow of the season, and with the snow came the Christmas music, holiday signs and layaway banners.

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A cautionary tale

By The Observer · Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011

Tonight my most meaningful class, a discernment seminar, ended, so I feel I should write something about my chosen path so far. This is not simply a self-indulgent piece about the beautiful journey (or marathon/box of chocolates/insert cliché here) of life. This is a cautionary tale.

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Have a little faith

By The Observer · Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011

It seems now-a-days, everywhere we turn we see or hear of suffering and evil. I am filled with disgust and anger as I read the grand jury's report of the Penn State scandal. I am confused and hurt when my friends and family face hardships that seem unfair.

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Feeding 7 billion: trick or treat?

By The Observer · Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011

Oct. 31, 2011, was a scary day, and not just because Frankenstein and Big Foot were running around on campus. 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. So just how fast is the world population growing? In 1900, the world had 1.6 billion people, and 99 years later, that number had grown to 6.1 billion. It is projected that by 2025, when current Notre Dame students are 32-36 years old, the world population will hit 8 billion, and that is a lot of mouths to feed.

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Honoring my dad, an American vet

By The Observer · Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011

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. Those eyes betrayed a fun-loving soul, later scorched by the war demons for more than 500 consecutive days at such crucial battles as the Anzio Beachhead and Monte Cassino in Italy. Luckily for history's sake, my dad's fellow infantrymen, James B. Moss, chronicled their Fifth Army experiences in a diary currently Internet accessible through the Virginia Military Institute Archives.

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Satisfying the masses

By The Observer · Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011

Joe Paterno's firing is a move meant to satisfy the supposed masses of outraged citizens instead of actually curing the problems causing the outrage. In this case, he's a figurehead, a scapegoat meant to take the fall so the institution of college sports can move on without actually doing anything about its many problems.

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Ryanair

By The Observer · Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011

For those of you who have studied abroad in Europe, or those headed there in the future, the following is a plug for Ryanair, the Ireland-based airline that is famous for it's low fares (15 Euro flights from Dublin to London?) that are perfect for the college student studying abroad. As a seasoned customer, with eight Ryanair flights taken during my junior semester studying in Rome, I have compiled a list of the best attributes of the airline:

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HDDeficit

By The Observer · Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011

Floodwaters occupy Thailand. Beyond the evident and tragic cost of human life, the effects of the flooding are far-reaching for tech companies.

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A grip that was never tight

By The Observer · Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011

I feel, as a woman on campus, that the "Bro Code" does in fact linger through the musky halls of our brother dorms. While the boy you "talk" to may have a girlfriend, it is the responsibility of his "bros" to not say a word. And while most girls see this as a problem, I honestly don't see it as anything serious ... any more.

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Stay alert: for the Kingdom of God is at hand

By The Observer · Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011

As the Liturgical year comes to a close, the Gospels are becoming increasingly apocalyptic in tone: questions to Jesus about the end of the world; parables from Jesus about the last days. One of the first came this past Sunday: the Parable of the Ten Virgins — five of whom are prepared with lamps full of oil to greet the Bridegroom, and five of whom are not. While the five unprepared virgins are away buying oil, the bridegroom arrives, enters the wedding feast with the five prepared virgins, and the door is locked. "So stay awake," concludes Jesus, "for you know neither the day nor the hour." End of parable. The door is locked. The end of the world. It is not in our hands, so be prepared.

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