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All I want for Christmas: The Silent Night Silent Auction

By The Observer · Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010

Need some help getting into the Christmas spirit? Not to fear, Silent Night Silent Auction (SNSA) has lots of holiday cheer! This Thursday Dec. 2 from 6 to 9 p.m., Pasquerilla East (not to be confused with Physical Education … sorry "The Week") will be hosting its annual signature event, the Silent Night Silent Auction in the LaFortune Ballroom. SNSA is a charity event auctioning off Christmas baskets full of goodies that make perfect gifts for family and friends, as well as provide you with great bargains on the items in the baskets.

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Ask the GreenMan

By The Observer · Monday, Nov. 29, 2010

Editor's Note: This column is the first of a regular biweekly advice series about environmental issues from the Office of Sustainability. If you would like to submit a question for the GreenMan to answer in the Viewpoint section, please email askgreenman@gmail.com

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I am thankful for Hannah and Friends

By The Observer · Monday, Nov. 29, 2010

Hannah and Friends is hosting its annual Thanksgiving potluck for family, parents, residents, young adults and children who are enrolled in the many programs. My son, now a resident there, went on his weekly shopping trip with his housemates, with the support from Mosaic staff. My son decided to buy a ham with his food stamps to contribute to this festive occasion. Being able to make this decision independently made him feel quite proud. He wants to give back to his neighbors and friends. I am thankful that I can still learn valuable lessons from my special son as he continues to grow and learn at this very beautiful place. These fine people with different abilities, teach valuable lessons, if only society would hunger to learn from them.

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Satirical misfires

By The Observer · Monday, Nov. 22, 2010

I was greatly disappointed with Ryan Williams's latest piece, "The evil lurking in Harry Potter." (Nov. 18) I tried to read it in light of the generally high standard of his writing; I can only conclude that it was a satirical misfire. (Even the Letter to the Editor regarding this piece on Friday all in all had higher irony content!) One of the first rules of satire is to seriously engage with the arguments of those one lampoons. Is Benedict quoted saying anything like, "The books unabashedly advocate witchcraft and Satanism while openly blaspheming our Lord Jesus Christ?" Not one of his other interlocutors is quoted saying anything about Harry Potter mocking the Bible. Of course, behind this façade of moderation hides anti-intellectual bigotry, but one still would have hoped for better from Williams. It is a signal departure from his previous excellent satirical pieces.

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TSA aggression

By The Observer · Monday, Nov. 22, 2010

Anyone who wishes to fly in the United States must now be prepared to consent to either a virtual strip search or a pat-down in which TSA screeners touch a person's genitals. Both types of searches are utterly intolerable and do nothing to actually increase security. Even more alarming is the general public's willingness to uncritically surrender its dignity to the government's latest form of security theater at airports.

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Thanks for that

By The Observer · Monday, Nov. 22, 2010

Writing for Scene and Sports gives me the welcome opportunity to explore my many passions for The Observer on a regular basis. With Thanksgiving only days away, I wish to use this space to give thanks for my many sports and pop culture blessings of the last several months, for which I am incredibly thankful.

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Why MIMs can help move America forward

By The Observer · Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010

It's hard to believe how anyone could've ever predicted President Obama's term in office as a "post partisan" era. If anything, President Obama's term seems to be the beginning of an era in American politics with exceptionally high levels of partisanship. This new partisanship has perpetuated an old Washington problem: disinterest in comprehensive reforms. This has hurt America's ability as a country to move forward, because solutions to issues such as rising healthcare costs, climate change, a broken immigration and education system and an increasing national debt are almost never implemented or even legislated. It seems like America has lost its ability to solve its most pressing problems.

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The battle to DART

By The Observer · Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010

Nov. 22. 8:40 a.m. In the minutes leading up to this moment I will sit poised at my laptop, armed with a list of numbers and ready for battle. I prepare not for the epic fields of ancient myths but for the late fall semester battle of Notre Dame students — DART.

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Satire alive and well

By The Observer · Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010

It's been a long time since I've read a good bit of satire in a newspaper editorial, so I was quite surprised, not to mention impressed, when I stumbled upon Ryan Williams' creed about "Evil lurking in Harry Potter" (Nov. 18). In it, Mr. Williams goes on at length about the moral and existential threats present in the famous J.K. Rowling series and accuses the myriad Potter fans on campus of betraying the University's Christian principles.

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Give me a break ...

By The Observer · Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010

Much like any other Notre Dame student, I am excited for Thanksgiving. The prospect of spending time with my family and eating great food has been what has motivated me for the week or two leading up to the break. I said to myself, "Just make it past this week; then you get to go home and be lazy for a while." However, as I am presently writing this in my confined dorm room and not my living room at home, I realize that there is a problem. Surely, many will agree with me and rally to my call for a week-long Thanksgiving break. However, I am not going take the traditional argument that has certainly been raised in dining halls and dorms rooms — citing other schools, the uselessness of these two days, or the fact that many pack up and leave early anyways if they don't have classes that take attendance seriously.

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Utah a special game

By The Observer · Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010

As I stood with the rain dripping off the hood of my poncho and looked out across the packed stadium now lit up by lights at the people clapping to the famous Fight Song being played by the band, I felt something in the air I couldn't describe. Something that took your breath away, brought a tear to your eye and a lump in your throat. Then I realized it was the magic of Notre Dame waking up the echoes, shaking the thunder from the sky and welling up pride in everyone in that stadium. We were winning a game that no one thought we had a chance of winning. We were beating a rated team when we had already lost five games. We were kicking "unbelief" — a word coined by "Rocket" Ismail — out of our house. Our guys were playing their hearts out and it showed.

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Braving the Winter Wonderland

By The Observer · Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010

The coldness has finally arrived and with it, the dynamics on the hallowed campus of Notre Dame will begin to change. Different attitudes and different fashions will set in as a clear sign that winter is here. Unfortunately, these are not the most positive attitudes and fashions. But that can all change this year! We can come together as one and begin to lay to rest the winter plagues on campus.

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Giving thanks for my bus stop characters

By The Observer · Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010

Typically, the third week of November uneventfully passes as Americans adjust to the dark days inherent to standard time zones and prepare for Thanksgiving gatherings or the predawn chaos of Black Friday's Christmas shopping season kickoff. We contemplate our reasons for giving thanks, but oftentimes mull through our daily routines without much of a reflection on our personal blessings until Thanksgiving Day abruptly arrives. In days long past, many at Notre Dame anticipated the match-up with those evil Trojans of Southern California or the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys traditional Thursday gridiron clashes. Giving thanks had its place among our other events and festivities.

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Magic that unites us

By The Observer · Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010

As an Arts and Letters major, I often get "interesting" ideas in my head which I usually attribute to my sporadic sanity. For instance, I was thoroughly convinced Fr. Hesburgh had an apartment on the 13th floor of the library (which apparently isn't true). I am also afraid when I am swimming backstroke in a pool that a great white shark will come up from underneath and eat me. Crazy, I know.

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Fighting the wrong (magical) battle

By The Observer · Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010

Although Catholics should admire the faith of Ryan Williams, his condemnation of Harry Potter ("The evil lurking in Harry Potter," Nov. 18) preaches the kind of ignorant fear that enables people of an otherwise good will to malign the Church as a whole. Were J.K. Rowling's best-selling fantasy series better understood by those who fear it, it would hardly appear to be dangerous or blasphemous. Many of the real textual examples that Mr. Williams could have cited would have painted a much less malevolent picture of the entertainment franchise.

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Yankee Stadium face off

By The Observer · Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010

When Notre Dame takes on Army this Saturday night, it's safe to say the game will be about more than just the action on the field. The matchup will be Notre Dame's second off-site home game, an event the athletic department hopes to make an annual occurrence.

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