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Walking away

By The Observer · Thursday, May 19, 2011

On Sunday I will walk with the Class of 2011 and become a Notre Dame graduate.

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The graduation speech I never got to give

By The Observer · Thursday, May 19, 2011

I haven't told anyone this since Frosh-O, but I was salutatorian of my high school class. There were two valedictorians and then there was me, representing all those kids smart enough to get A's but too lazy to take honors physics.

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Notre Dame in 555 words or less

By The Observer · Thursday, May 19, 2011

Welcome to the land of snow excess. McGlinn Hall, home of the Shamrocks and the "hut dance." Disneyland as a pregame for beating USC. Trying and failing to trifecta Finny's. Night of Mayhem on campus. Walking home from Domerfest with trumpet players. Going to Domerfest as a junior for free Dip-n-Dots. The bench breaking at a hockey game. Remember that website Juicy Campus? Yeah, me neither.

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A day of mourning

By The Observer · Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Following the news about the death of Osama bin Laden, I found myself deeply unsettled by the reactions I observed both in the American public at large, and particularly within the Notre Dame community. After hearing the shouts and chants of the crowd on God Quad from my room on Sunday night, I ventured outside to get a closer look and was greeted with a raucous and joyous celebration not unlike the celebrations we witness after a big football win. It bears considering, however, whether this is the appropriate reaction to the undeniably momentous news of bin Laden's death.

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Call to holiness

By The Observer · Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Last week, I willingly gave up a night of sleep to watch a European event happen on live television. And no, it was not the Royal Wedding. Instead, very early on Sunday morning, I saw Pope Benedict XVI beatify his predecessor, the now Blessed Pope John Paul II. It was a beautiful and moving ceremony. St. Peter's Square and the surrounding streets of Rome were filled with people there to rejoice with the Church and witness this step of the formal declaration of John Paul II's holiness. Many of those people had probably seen John Paul sometime while he was alive, too. I myself once saw the back of his head as he drove down the street in his Popemobile during a 1999 visit to St. Louis.

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Honor the sacrifice

By The Observer · Tuesday, May 3, 2011

When I heard that bin Laden had been killed, I took to my friend's vuvuzela and I am not ashamed. While I myself did not lose any friends or family on 9/11, my father lost 343 brothers at the World Trade Center. As an assistant chief at my hometown fire department, my father trained in New York City and had many friends who lost their lives that day. It seemed as if he was driving to the city in his class A uniform every week to attend the funeral of a fallen brother. To this day, FDNY is being affected by the events of Ground Zero. A close family friend was forced into retirement because he developed asthma from all the dust at the scene. Every department has memorials outside their doors in honor of those who gave their lives to save others.

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A sigh of relief

By The Observer · Tuesday, May 3, 2011

On September 11, 2001 and the time following, our nation had never been so unified. Together we mourned the deaths of hundreds of innocent people and embraced those who were directly affected by this terrible event. We watched in horror and disbelief as people half a world away burned our flag and celebrated the death of our citizens. How could such evil exist in this world?

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True significance of bin Laden's death

By The Observer · Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Late Sunday night President Obama appeared before the nation and announced Osama bin Laden's death. This announcement sparked exuberant celebration across campus and the entire country. Students ran cheering through LaFortune and crowds gathered in Times Square. There is nothing wrong with celebrating this moment. One of America's greatest enemies has been brought to the end he so justly deserved.

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Celebrate America

By The Observer · Tuesday, May 3, 2011

On Sunday night, most of the student body reacted positively to the successful assassination attempt of Osama Bin Laden. Many rallied, celebrating the demise of America's greatest enemy. Hundreds sang patriotic songs well after midnight and fireworks decorated the sky on Stepan Fields.

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For the sake of life

By The Observer · Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Many people have written, both here in The Observer and in other publications around the world, about how the killing of Osama bin Laden is not a cause for celebration. They say that it is never right to rejoice at the death of another human being, no matter how heinous his crimes. They make further accusations against the government that orchestrated bin Laden's death and the people who celebrated it that our policies of war and retaliation only increase the hatred directed against us. Some within the Notre Dame community have also said that those Catholics who celebrated bin Laden's death are pro-life only with respect to abortion and have failed to observe Christ's commandment to love one's enemies and forgive those who have done injury.

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All who take the sword will perish by the sword

By The Observer · Monday, May 2, 2011

This past Sunday was Divine Mercy Sunday. It was a day to reflect and give thanks for God?s mercy. It was a day in which we remember how Christ, while nailed to the cross, did not curse his oppressors. On the contrary, Our Lord cried out, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Until his last breath, Jesus forgave; he showed mercy. It is for this reason that I was saddened to see Notre Dame students celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden in such an immature manner.

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Here we are

By The Observer · Monday, May 2, 2011

Full disclaimer: this is one of those sappy, oh-my-god-I-can't-believe-I'm graduating columns. Feel free to stop reading now if you're not into that.

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Reaction to Osama bin Laden's death justified?

By The Observer · Monday, May 2, 2011

The purpose of my first Letter to the Editor ever as a senior here at Notre Dame pertains to the news broadcasted around the world of Osama bin Laden's death by assassination carried out by the United States, in particular the reaction of the Notre Dame student body and a lot of Americans. Watching the news on Sunday night felt like eons as the presidential address to the entire world was delayed numerous times. I first felt scared for the news, apparently about national security, to come until Wolf Blitzer described the address could in fact be good news. There was then a sense of ease put into my mind of the coming news.

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Celebrate death?

By The Observer · Monday, May 2, 2011

While the death of Osama bin Laden is truly a notable event in the history of our country, I do not believe that it is a moment for celebration. Most of us here are U.S. citizens, but we are all citizens of the human race and that obligates us to uphold basic human rights for everyone, especially those that we hate. We as human beings should never celebrate the death of another human being — doing so reduces us to barbarians. Instead, the death of Osama bin Laden should be an opportunity to demonstrate how we are different from the terrorists, in that we do not exult in the deaths of our enemies. The images of us celebrating in the street strongly remind me of the images of the terrorists exulting in the deaths of our armed men and women. When we view these images, we typically reason that these terrorists are inhuman, insomuch as they are celebrating a death. It appears that we are no different from them. The celebration, taunting and Facebook-posting, do nothing more than relegate us to the moral ground that we usually reserve for the terrorists. As the creator of the cartoon "Pogo," Walt Kelly, said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

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My wonder cure

By The Observer · Monday, May 2, 2011

We all have weird tips and tricks that we wholeheartedly believe have healing powers. My mom prescribes Motrin, a hot bath and an early bedtime for everything from a cold to a broken bone. My dad loves to tell me to "walk it off," even if "it" is a sprained ankle. And on occasion, these solutions do work.

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God, Country, Notre Dame

By The Observer · Monday, May 2, 2011

Last night, the world discovered Osama bin Laden was finally hunted down and killed. Notre Dame's campus exploded in revelry and the campus was the most patriotic that I have seen it. Amongst all the celebration and renditions of "Courtesy of the Red White and Blue" and Team America's theme song, it is important to see how this event has affected some of our peers. If you haven't had the honor of meeting my roommate let me introduce you to him.

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On our hands

By The Observer · Monday, May 2, 2011

I read the news this morning that Osama bin Laden was killed yesterday. Am I supposed to be happy? Am I supposed to be thrilled or relieved? As a Christian, how should I feel? Killing is prohibited in the 10 Commandments, and it is something Jesus wasn't a big fan of. Should we have crucified bin Laden instead so that he would feel our pain? Yes, his death might lead to a better chance at world peace, but what would Jesus do? What does Jesus think about this?

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