Opinion

Taking the fifth

By The Observer · Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012

The way I see it, barring divine inspiration or outright plagiarism, you can't write anything good if your heart isn't in it. And as the posters the College of Arts and Letters puts up in O'Shaugnessy Hall suggest, the College would like undergrads to summon up as much heart (or pray for as much inspiration) as they need to produce exceptional senior theses. So do institutions like the Kellog and Nanovic Institutes, which provide funding to undergrad thesis writers, or the Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE), which helps undergrad researchers find funding.

Changing lives with Teach for America

By The Observer · Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012

On my first day as a teacher at Audubon Middle School in Los Angeles, I realized that my career trajectory had forever been altered. The career in law I had imagined as an undergrad at Notre Dame was capsized by Xavier, one of my 190 seventh-grade English students who single-handedly changed my understanding of a meaningful career.

From actress to inspiration

By The Observer · Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012

While lounging around my friends' house the other night, we decided to check Netflix's Instant Queue out of pure boredom. We had just watched "A Clockwork Orange" and needed something slightly less vexing or cerebral as an endnote to a lazy movie night.

Government must respect University's autonomy

By The Observer · Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012

I read with interest the letter published on Feb. 2 by sophomore Evan Graham ("Protecting the right to choose") regarding the University's desire to not provide coverage for contraception in its health plans. Evan, yours is a well-constructed and well-thought-out defense of contraception. Only two problems with it: It entirely leaves God out of the equation and it leaves the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church out of it. You see, the University's employees and students already have "freedom of choice" — they can choose not to work for Notre Dame and they can choose not to attend Notre Dame. But you are advocating taking away any freedom of choice on the part of the University. You, sir, would prefer that the University be forced by the heavy hand of government to fund an act which the Church teaches is gravely sinful. Would you support a law that forced Islamic or Jewish institutions to serve pork? I think not. This is no different. Our government must respect the autonomy of religious and affiliated institutions to make these decisions in the light of faith and conscience.

Why runners are more funner

By The Observer · Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012

As anyone who has seen the "Race for Rabies" episode of "The Office" can attest, runners are a funny bunch. Through SSLP, I spent my last summer living in Utah, an active community of ski bums, mountain bikers, white-water rafters and yes, runners. At one point during the summer, I recall seeing an entire family — mother, father, son and daughter — all in running clothes and all in matching FiveFinger shoes. Granted, I was in a Wal-Mart at the time, but still — in no other sport do people willingly wear shoes that make them appear to have gorilla feet.