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Rhetoric dangerous on abortion issue

By The Observer · Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011

Over the past several months, our country has seen a notable deterioration in the level of civility and rationality in public discourse. Reasonable voices advocating practical solutions to our nation's problems have been silenced; drowned out by bitter partisans on both sides of the political spectrum who zealously cling to their own view of the world and reject all others without a second thought. These slaves to ideology would have Americans believe that every single issue is another front in a contentious, ongoing war between good and evil. Nowhere is this divide more evident than in the controversy surrounding this past weekend's 38th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that established a woman's constitutional right to have an abortion.

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The true* home run king

By The Observer · Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011

Forget Roger Maris, Mark McGwire or Barry Bonds. I am the true single-season home run king. Maris swatted a paltry 61 long balls in 1961, McGwire hit an insignificant 70 in 1998 and Bonds tallied a lackluster 73 in 2001. In the summer of 1998, at the age of seven years old, I belted an inspiring 140 big flies.

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The environmentally unconscious one; or, Why I love America

By The Observer · Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011

This past weekend I attended the Notre Dame Film Festival. It proceeded pretty much as you'd expect — couple great ones (big ups to the Westboro Baptist Church documentary), lotta decent ones, a clunker or two. There was one movie about garbage in America that followed a group called "Pick Up America," a bunch of people whose idea of a good time is picking up trash by the side of the road and measuring it. They marshaled some impressively apocalyptic statistics about how there are a trillion kabillion pieces of plastic in the ocean that will be around for hundreds of thousands of years and 100 pounds of trash on the side of any ordinary road.

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Open the tunnels

By The Observer · Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011

I'm assuming you must know this by now, but South Bend winters are harsh. The chilling winds can bite through any article of clothing and the countless inches of snow slow us down no matter where we are headed. Not only do these low temperatures pose a threat to our immune system, but the idea of ice hidden on any path poses a physical threat — a broken bone or a twisted ankle is on no one's agenda this winter.

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Concentration

By The Observer · Monday, Jan. 24, 2011

I used to have extraordinary concentration. The summer after second grade, I sat on my bed and read an entire set of American Girl books in one go, from "Meet Felicity" all the way to "Changes for Felicity." Then I would carry on the story with my Felicity doll for hours afterwards.

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University deserves 'LGBT-unfriendly campus' trophy

By The Observer · Monday, Jan. 24, 2011

Let me begin by stating clearly, I am a heterosexual male who loves Notre Dame as much as anyone on campus and believes ardently in the purpose of the school to promote Catholic values and educate at the highest level. It is precisely due to my love of this University that I am so disturbed that while we pride ourselves in topping lists across academia and athletics, we continue to be public champions for homophobia. The Princeton Review consistently ranks Notre Dame among the worst in accepting the homosexual community. In 2010 we were fourth on their list of "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Unfriendly" campuses. Easy and painless reforms can be made this year to move in a more tolerant direction that do not challenge the Catholic DNA of Our Lady's University.

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Martin Luther King dinner

By The Observer · Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011

Which race is best at math? Which race would you want on your basketball team? Finish this sentence: _______ men can't jump. If you had to think about these responses you are probably in the minority. The bottom line is we all operate under certain assumptions that often don't reflect the whole story. But a one-sided story is an incomplete story, which leads to false pretenses. On the other hand a one-sided story is safe because there is no opposing side to challenge our perceptions. Even still a complete story remains invaluable simply by presenting the opportunity to understand the differences and similarities between the opposing sides. A wise friend of mine and Notre Dame alumnus told me, "The more we express our misunderstandings of each other, the better we come to understand each other in time."

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Condemnation

By The Observer · Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011

I found Friday's front page article on the continuing Lizzy Seeberg saga particularly compelling ("Jenkins: Seeberg investigation had ‘integrity,'" Jan. 21) The accused student's attorney Mr. Power suggests the existence of cell phone records which significantly contradict Seeberg's written account of the events. In light of these claims, there is certainly room to view Lizzy Seeberg negatively for the first time. If Mr. Power is correct (and for the sake of fairness this "if" must be stressed) Seeberg's honesty is called into question and our picture of the events changes drastically. It is distasteful and unproductive to attack the character of a young lady so unfortunately deceased, and I hope no one stoops to that. But I do hope we take this opportunity to realize that not too long ago many of us accused a fellow student of committing a crime so horrible it caused Lizzy Seeberg to kill herself out of shame. We accused Notre Dame of protecting its football program at the expense of Lizzy's life. We didn't know a thing about what happened, did we? Really, we still don't, other than that the reported crime was far more minor than we were initially led to believe. Guys, let's learn to be gentlemen. And all of us, let's not be so quick to condemn.

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Groupon

By The Observer · Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011

There is a popular saying that goes "Secrets, secrets are no fun if you don't tell everyone." I usually bring this phrase up when my friends are trying to withhold information from me, but I feel it is time that I reveal a secret of my own. No, it isn't that I am a superhero. My secret is I am a kleptomaniac.

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My pick for my Commencement speaker

By The Observer · Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011

By now, it should be clear that I love to complain and make fun of a lot of Notre Dame quirks and student behaviors. Heck, if it were not for these numerous things, I would resort to boring you with political columns. This column, though, is dedicated to something that actually makes me quite upset, angry if you will, about Notre Dame — the process of picking a Commencement speaker.

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The rhetoric of political Pygmies

By The Observer · Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011

Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's inauguration as well as the two year mark of President Obama's inaugural ceremonies. While both presidential messages were lofty and uplifting, our political dialogue today remains more petty and filled with personal greed than when Kennedy entered the presidency. As a World War II veteran, Kennedy was strong on defense like Obama. Kennedy, like Obama, believed in a governmental role to solve problems and in tax decreases to spur the economy. However, political communications strategies changed drastically since the days of Camelot.

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Re-evaluating politics in rememberance of Christina Taylor Green

By The Observer · Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011

Christina Taylor Green. Until a few days ago, we didn't know Christina. We weren't aware of this vibrant nine-year-old's budding interest in politics. We remained ignorant of her love for swimming, gymnastics and baseball. We had no idea she delighted in picking blackberries. Now, we will never forget her name. Christina. Taylor. Green.

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Mike Brey a class act

By The Observer · Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011

On Tuesday night, I arrived back at my dorm at about 10:30 from the store. After shuffling for a couple of seconds to find my ID, I heard a voice behind me. "Mind if I follow you in?" I turned around, and behind me stood Coach Mike Brey. I opened the door for him, and he then proceeded to walk throughout the dorm, knock on doors and talk to students to make sure they were coming out in force for the Cincinnati game. He did all of this while he could have been at home with his family on a Tuesday night.

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