Opinion

beND'

Last weekend NDSP notified the student body that they are investigating three reports of sexual assault on Notre Dame's campus. These reports brought to light an issue that occurs more often than one might assume, and that yields tragic results. At Notre Dame, we talk about "the Notre Dame family" and we all enjoy the feeling of home that this campus offers each of us. As members of this community, it lies with us to take care of each other and to foster a responsible community in every way we can so that everyone can have the best experience possible. You, as a part of the Notre Dame community, can be vital in preventing sexual assault.

Stanford and Keenan

In Tuesday's Observer, there was a photo of Stanford Hall after having been decked out in new windows along with its twin, Keenan. In the caption, it read that these two dorms received the window makeover as a part of a renovation that included some rearrangement of rooms and painting. In considering future renovations to dorms, and in particular Stanford and Keenan, I would hope that the University looks to the Vitruvian ideals that are at the heart of our Architecture School: strength, utility and beauty. What we have are a couple of dorms which I believe were meant to be temporary dorms and thus not designed and built to last. They are not sustainable. They are not attractive, do not fit in with the surrounding campus (St. Liams, Zahm, Cavanaugh etc.) and yet they are need of renovation. Let me propose that before the University spends any more money on renovations to campus buildings, it first look to design principles that include both exterior and interior renovation and unity. A dorm should be easily navigable, sturdy and pleasing on the eyes. I take new windows to be a sign that perhaps we are going in the right direction, but what good is putting "new wine" in "old wineskins"? As a sophomore architecture student, I am learning all about composition of a building and design principles (Thanks, Profs. Hoyt, Salden and Buccelato). The composition of a building is the synthesis and ordering of parts to form a unified whole. I hope that we can continue in our path towards this in our campus buildings, even in renovations. I am not advocating that we tear down the dorms (not yet, anyway, knowing how much waste comes out of demolitions), but rather I wish that we solve the problem of making them better dorms since we're spending money on renovating them anyway. I understand that many students have attachments to these dorms, and so I would hope that using the architectural resources that the University has, we could come up with a solution.

Mindless affirmation in pop music

[Author's Note: Due to declining interest in the column, I have added trivia tidbits and "Mad Libs" to entertain our easily distracted readership, who we know are really dying to finish with the Viewpoint so that they can get to the sports section and the comics at the end of The Observer.]

A shining Golden Dome

For the first time in a few years, more than just the Golden Dome was shining on a football Saturday at Notre Dame.

That's so college

A common goal

Notre Dame has tried to improve relations between the University and the South Bend community for quite some time now. As crazy as it may sound, the recent problems with the South Bend police may be an opportunity to do just that. As much as we complain amongst ourselves and in The Observer, Notre Dame can't really do anything to change the way that South Bend police have been targeting Notre Dame students. The South Bend community can. If they knew that their tax dollars were being used to break up college parties instead of protecting them from armed robbery, they would probably have some choice words to say about it. If they knew that their law enforcers were patrolling student apartment complexes to bust 20 year olds instead of their neighborhoods to prevent burglaries, there would likely be an uproar.

Thanks Career Center

Hope everyone has a great time at the Career Fair! Unfortunately FTT and fine arts majors like myself will be on our own in trying to find jobs. Thanks Career Center!

Life lessons

This past summer, I interned at the South Bend Tribune. I did all kinds of fun things for work, including reviewing an REO Speedwagon concert (ticket list price: $70, my "press pass" price: nada) and spending several evenings interviewing women in the South Bend Roller Derby league and desperately wishing I was awesome enough to join.

Dearest SBPD...

Dearest SBPD,

Kirk's firing

Lou Holtz once said, "You don't go to Notre Dame to learn how to do something, you go to learn how to be someone." Over my three years at Notre Dame this sentiment has proved true. For the first 18 years of my life my parents served as the most prominent influence, but as I embarked on my journey to college, I left my parents convinced that at Our Lady's University I would be in good hands. I was right. Here, I have had the pleasure of not only learning from the most brilliant minds in America, but also getting to know these men and women on a more personal level. My involvement in ND Response and Right to Life has given me the opportunity to meet and become friends with the Kirk family.

Dreaming of Dumbledore

For the first time ever in my life, I am reading the Harry Potter series. As a child, my parents were against the books, so I never had the opportunity to read them. Now that I'm back at school, a good friend has loaned me all seven books, and I am working through them one by one.

Planters of Peace

"The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now."

The party patrol

No hypocrisy in expecting safety

"If there was no underage drinking, there would be no underage drinking busts, and the cops would have that much more time to serve and protect against more serious crimes" ... Why in the world should the police prioritize this way? Allow me to rephrase with a little hyperbole (since I have already participated in "hypocrisy of the highest order." "If there were no jaywalking, there would be no jaywalking busts, and the cops would have that much more time to serve and protect against murderers" ... Shouldn't our police protect us against major crimes before protecting against minor crimes? Is it unreasonable to expect to be protected from others before being protected from ourselves? Breaking into a vehicle is a perfect example of a crime that is harmful to the rest of society. Unless drunks are spilling out of a house or there is an unacceptable amount of noise coming from a party, there is no real harm that is being brought to society by throwing a party. Once the police force decides to protect us from external harm, I will stop complying about them misappropriating their resources.

What has changed?

One topic has dominated campus conversation for the past week, and it has nothing to do with the start of fall classes, the Dillon Hall pep rally or Brian Kelly's new spread offense.

That kid in class

So syllabus week is over and now it's time to actually pay attention and get down to business in class. Unfortunately, this also means interacting with our fellow students. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of people that I meet in my classes with whom I end up forming substantial friendships.

Playing judge'

Dear Ryan Kreager,

A different interaction

Starting with the incident on July 17, and certainly picking up following the first full weekend back at school, Notre Dame students' "interactions" with South Bend police has been the talk of campus. Some of the debate has come to focus more on the issue of whether underage drinking is a crime worth pursuing by the police when other crime is rampant in the city. To those who think that certain Notre Dame students say the South Bend police is oppressive just because they want a free pass to drink underage, I offer a story that isn't about to make the front page of The Observer.

Take responsibility

So far there have been multiple articles in The Observer and other news sources about tension between Notre Dame students and the police. The students quoted in The Observer articles have only seemed to express their frustration that the South Bend Police Department is wasting their time on such trivial things like underage drinking. If that were the case that would be frustrating, but in every article I've read the parties in question seemed to already have illegal activity happening. A previous article in the Aug. 27 edition of The Observer discussed a fight breaking out at a party and moving into the street. In addition, the front page story of the Aug. 30 edition cited a party where students were trespassing into a nearby pool.

Share the Alma Mater

I am from the class of 1975. I love the Notre