Opinion

Section 32

I was sitting comfortably in the press box this Saturday, taking in another great matchup between Notre Dame and Michigan. In the press box, you can't raise your voice, express any emotions or do pushups with the folks over at ESPN.

Deepening our commitments

This Tuesday, Fr. Dick Warner, CSC, Director of Campus Ministry for the past 21 years, departed for Rome to become the newly-elected Superior General of the Congregation of Holy Cross worldwide. The Notre Dame community — both the people who live here, and the institutions that thrive here — have been blessed by his wisdom and holiness.

Where's the protest?

On Monday, former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich will be on campus showcasing his new documentary, "Nine Days Which Changed the World," which recounts the nine-day visit Pope John Paul II made to his native Poland in June of 1979, a visit that emboldened opposition to Soviet communism in Eastern Europe.

An unexpected news

Three years ago one of my daughters who is in her 30s announced that she was expecting a baby although she wasn't married. My wife and I were stunned. We have eight children and Rebekah is number four and nothing quite as dramatic had ever happened to the others. We immediately asked and was assured that she would proceed with the pregnancy to term. We explored the options, adoption or keeping the baby but decided that it was too early to make a decision. Fortunately, her boyfriend was very supportive even asking Rebekah to marry him. She wasn't ready yet, one thing at a time.

That girl from math class

Notre Dame football is that girl. You know, the one who sits next to you in math class. Seemingly perfect in every way, you never thought you stood a chance with her. But you were okay with that. Then she starts batting her eye-lashes at you and laughing at your jokes. Could this be the one? Jumping out of your skin with excitement, you ask her out. But wait, she already has a boyfriend at Michigan (or USC or Purdue). You're heartbroken. You see, it wouldn't have been so bad if she hadn't given you hope. What a tease.

The price of knowledge

While discussing wasteful spending during the 2008 presidential campaign, Sarah Palin remarked that, "sometimes these projects have little or nothing to do with the public good, things like fruit fly research in Paris." To some, this may indeed seem like government largesse at its worst. However, while it may have scored a few political points, it reflects a sad misunderstanding of the underlying science. Palin doesn't reflect upon the fact that flies have much of the same genetic makeup as humans, acknowledge the increasingly multinational nature of science, or point out that society is fortunate that we harvest and study mutant flies rather than human children. However, her point tangentially touches upon a more nuanced issue: what kind of research should the public fund?

Pure intimidation

I'm very disappointed after reading all the negative responses to Matthew Keenan's obviously well thought out and intimidating idea. Matthew's is quite possibly the best idea I've ever heard, except in the fact that he didn't go far enough with it.

Solution to Chant problem

Problem: Celtic Chant is not loud.

Purposelessness

Ethics was born in the struggle against the moral relativism of the Greek sophists — in the struggle to discern right from wrong in a time when such concepts had come to be seen as the impositions of arbitrary will; ethics therefore assumed, all along, that there is a fact of the matter to discern — that there is, in other words, an objective normative order, a purposiveness in things — and in men — independent of what use one would make of them. "For we are debating no trivial question," Plato reminds us, "but the manner in which a man ought to live." Each thing, he declares, is fulfilled by a particular good — one determined by its nature. And this is true of men no less than of things: regardless of what one happens to desire, there is some right way for one to live, some proper form of life at which one ought to aim.

Chant needs to stay

Tell me why...

Notre Dame Student Section,

Yell during Chant

Matthew Keenan is bothered that no students make noise during the Celtic Chant. Whose fault is that? Celtic Chant is a wall of noise and the arm swings are not stopping the non-band students from screaming while it is played. Everyone: YELL DURING CELTIC CHANT! If we all do our part to make noise, Notre Dame will be a tougher place for teams to play.

Addictions

Like any good college student, I have my share of near-compulsive behavior. Now that I'm a senior and real world responsibilities are fast approaching, I've decided to indulge myself while I still can. I confess that this semester, I haven't done much of anything but coddle my various addictions.

Clearing up confusion

Wearing Kelly green

Great letter to the editor by David Zimmer ("Game weekend support," Sept. 8) Only two additional suggestions:

Opportunities available

Dear Editor,

Making ND stadium intimidating

As Rocket Ismael said at last year's USC pep rally, THIS IS NOT A GAME. As students, we do not watch Notre Dame football games dispassionately. We are there not only to observe football but to affect the outcome of the game. It is this mindset that differentiates diehard fans from mere spectators. Unfortunately, the typical Notre Dame fan is known as observant and quite. This makes it vitally important for us students to get loud if we want to give our team the home field advantage that they deserve. I think that there are two important ways in which we can improve our performance.

Too open?

Besides "ethics, ethics, ethics," there is probably nothing discussed within the Mendoza College of Business (MCOB) than the fact that "we are No. 1." Naturally, people outside of the university who see BusinessWeek's ranking probably imagine that the college is especially rigorous and exclusive and that business students are the cream of the crop at the already prestigious University of Notre Dame.

Navigating the dining hall

In my quest to inform the Notre Dame community/bubble about their own senseless behavior, I have arrived at a topic that is of epic proportions. While the things that freshmen do to embarrass themselves (see last column) do plague our campus, the inability of most South Dining Hall goers to actually navigate the area effectively is a problem of epic proportions. So I write to you this time to enlighten you about the atrocities you have probably both experienced and have knowingly or unknowingly committed. Note that because North Dining Hall does not offer sliced apples, of which I can then put cinnamon sugar on top, I will not refer to it as a real dining hall.

The Cinderblock Palace of Love'

In his Sept. 7 letter ("Stanford and Keenan"), Mr. Gotcher advocates the demolition of Stanford Hall because it lacks the "strength, utility and beauty" embodied by the other dorms on campus that are "navigable, sturdy and pleasing on the eyes".