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Alcohol and personal responsibility

By The Observer · Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011

According to the Sept. 15 issue of The Scholastic, there were two reported sexual assaults on campus in 2009. That is two assaults too many. In a press release regarding changes to the University's sexual assault policy, Vice President for Student Affairs Fr. Tom Doyle said, "Sexual misconduct can have no place at Notre Dame, and we are committed to continuing to protect the safety and human dignity of every student." To ensure that sexual assault really doesn't have a place at Notre Dame, the University and the student body need to make an enormous change in attitude regarding alcohol. The changes to Notre Dame's sexual assault policy, although excellent, address the symptoms and not the causes of sexual assault. According to Officer Keri Kei Shibata of NDSP, "nearly all reported sexual assaults on campus involve alcohol. The percentage is near 100 percent when the assault is committed by someone who is known to the victim (a friend, acquaintance, friend of a friend, classmate, person met at a party or bar, etc.). The vast majority of sexual assaults reported on our campus (just like all other campuses) are perpetrated by acquaintances or people known to the victim."

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The life of a true fan

By The Observer · Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011

As of this writing, the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays are tied atop the American League Wild Card standings and, with two games to play, the outlook is bleak for a Red Sox fan. At the beginning of September, the Sox held a seemingly insurmountable eight-game lead. Calling to mind the collapse of the 2007 New York Mets, Boston has gone 6-19 in the final month of the season. At this point, only the most ardent Boston optimist would hope that the team can outplay Tampa in the season's final two games.

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Irony in the paper

By The Observer · Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011

In flipping through yesterday's paper, I happened to discover that the question poll of the day was rather selective. The question, "What is your favorite Pokemon and why?" was asked mostly to people of a certain ethnicity: Asian. As a multiracial individual, I find it somewhat amusing, but I feel that some folks do not. So keep that in mind next time, Observer staff — especially if you're going to run a viewpoint titled Asiatic Gaze in the same paper.

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Prank or vandalism?

By The Observer · Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011

It is undoubtedly good fun to hide a friend's iPhone and enjoy the next few minutes watching him frantically overturn his couch cushions and empty his backpack looking for it. It would not be so amusing, however, if you took that same friend's iPhone and threw it against the wall, smashing it and rendering it useless.

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A walk in their shoes

By The Observer · Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011

One week ago today the U.S. government killed a man named Troy Davis. Now in the scheme of things, the U.S. was likely involved in the deaths of many other people that same day and thousands of other unnamed individuals died by hunger or disease within the same 24 hours.

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Hey Leonardo: A love affair

By The Observer · Monday, Sept. 26, 2011

Leonardo DiCaprio is haunting me. And by haunting, I mean gracing me with his presence on an almost daily basis through some of my favorite forms of media.

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Syria and Libya won't be the same

By The Observer · Monday, Sept. 26, 2011

The case of Syria initially seems to have many parallels with Libya — an autocratic regime, in power for decades, teetering on the brink. As in Libya, the Assad regime is known for brutality, as it has demonstrated in recent crackdowns against the Syrian people. Assad's approach mirrors that taken by Colonel Qaddafi, who preferred violent repression to any sort of reform. In addition, the Syrian regime is heavily dependent on oil revenues, which will be cut off in December when a regime of international sanctions goes into effect. This was also the case in Libya, where the lack of oil revenues ultimately undermined Qaddafi's ability to finance his repression.

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Notre Dame bucket list

By The Observer · Monday, Sept. 26, 2011

As you know, time at Notre Dame passes with unwelcome speed. After four years it feels like it's time to move on, but you've grown so much you don't want to let go. Now that I'm an old man of 23, I recall my most lasting memories, but don't include common items like exploring the bell tower or the tunnels, or climbing into potentially off-limits spaces (all of which I did).

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Racism: what can we do about it?

By The Observer · Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011

I'm going to call myself a racist, in a loose sense. I'm confessing that I think, say and act upon my ethnic prejudices, which directly hurts myself and others, and indirectly reinforces the continuation of such unjust, social inequalities.

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Where to study ... or procrastinate

By The Observer · Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011

I'm a procrastinator — and a night owl. So naturally, I'm awake at 4:30 a.m. the night before most tests, smashing books against my head, hoping for some sort of informational osmosis to occur.

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Tradition and you

By The Observer · Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011

It's my senior year as a Domer and I've been extremely fortunate to submerge myself in as many Notre Dame things as I can. And from my experiences, I can certainly tell you that I've learned a lot.

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Flat over fair

By The Observer · Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011

I hate taking issue with my fellow conservatives. With so much damage being caused by our liberal counterparts, it is dumb to spend time bickering amongst ourselves about details. However, it is important we put up a united front when it comes to solving our nation's problems.

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Do good

By The Observer · Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011

When you're finished reading this editorial, take a walk.

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Capital punishment

By The Observer · Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011

Troy Davis' execution on Wednesday, Sept. 21, brought the debate on capital punishment back to the forefront of legal issues, as people around the world protested against the execution of a man they believed to be innocent.

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Reasons why you should return my bike

By The Observer · Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011

On Wednesday, Sept. 21, my bike was stolen. While true that I didn't lock it properly, that still gives nobody a right to steal it. I'm hoping it was more "borrowed without permission" by a student late for class, and I can sympathize as anyone who knows me can assure you. And I will be totally nice about it if you return it, because I understand needing to get across our gorgeous campus quickly.

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If Christ was our teacher

By The Observer · Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011

Jesus' teaching method in the Gospels is to begin with what is most apparent, with what first strikes us, what is right before our eyes, and to look at it closely with eyes of faith until its deeper meaning is yielded up to us.

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Bills will triumph

By The Observer · Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011

After two weeks of the NFL season, there are seven teams that hold 2-0 records. While it is probably too early in the season to deem squads as either surprises or disappointments, I will go against the grain and declare the Buffalo Bills a resounding early season surprise. Most football pundits predicted Buffalo would finish in last place this season. However, the Bills currently sit in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC East with the unbeaten powerhouses the New England Patriots and the New York Jets.

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Navigating the single stream

By The Observer · Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011

I am ashamed to say that when I arrived at Notre Dame three years ago, I had basically no experience recycling since neither the township that I lived in nor the high school that I graduated from provided recycling services. My new home under the Dome, however, practiced single stream recycling and I confess that I had no idea what this phrase meant. So, I did some digging around and got the 4-1-1 on single stream recycling and what happens when you put your Starbucks cup, Gatorade bottle or old edition of The Observer in that blue bin.

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A true Victory March

By The Observer · Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011

In response to "Rally All of Notre Dame" (Sept. 19) I could not agree more with Ms. Wargel and Mr. Gaffney about the necessity to change the lyrics of the Notre Dame Victory March in order to keep with the Catholic values and mission of this University. However, I would take the modifications several steps further.

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