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Let's be fair

By The Observer · Wednesday, March 2, 2011

In a conversation with his girlfriend in "The Social Network," Mark Zuckerberg sums up the opinion held by many Notre Dame students: "You don't have to study because you go to BU" (substitute Saint Mary's here for Boston University). Notre Dame-Saint Mary's relations have seemingly always been strained, and mostly because of condescending remarks and attitudes like these from Notre Dame students. The recently addressed stereotype of the "MRS degree" does not help Saint Mary's students feel less slighted, and neither does the assumption that Saint Mary's girls are not challenged academically. It's called higher learning for a reason, and it is unfair for us to believe that substandard scholarship exists across the street.

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MRS degree is alive and well

By The Observer · Wednesday, March 2, 2011

As someone with friends coming from a long line of women who earned, and were awarded, the prestigious MRS degree from the University of Notre Dame, I am offended by the comments made in the Viewpoint "Anti-MRS Degree" by a woman of Saint Mary's. I respectfully disagree that there is no longer a MRS degree. In fact, the top reason for my choosing to attend Notre Dame was the 54/46 percent ratio (according to US News and World Report) of men to women, and definitely not that I would receive superior education and develop a comprehensive business network upon graduation. I applied because the ratio increases the chances of earning an MRS degree. Now, as a woman of Notre Dame accepted on my own merit, I am indignant to the statement that no MRS degree exists. Without an MRS degree available, I, and many of my female peers, would not continue to subject ourselves to the grueling coursework, and hurtful comments about Notre Dame girls being ugly and prude if there were not some other benefit. The only reason I go to class, or even shave my legs in the winter, is to find a nice, smart Notre Dame man to make me his wife. There is such a thing as an MRS degree. If you go to Saint Mary's, you are clearly going about earning it the wrong way –– Notre Dame obviously accepts men and women. So, I beg of you, why would I want a job when I can find a man to take care of me? What kind of job can you even get as a woman with a major in IT Management, like the one I am pursuing? Men make more money than women in the same job position anyway, so why try? You know this is true; it is also the reason I never leave my room without make-up or in sweats. You know what, Notre Dame men? Give me an MRS degree. I'll make you a sandwich, and I'll make it happily.

The Observer

Revive the organ

By The Observer · Wednesday, March 2, 2011

I would like to sincerely thank Suzanna Pratt for her photo essay on the organs housed in the Debartolo Performing Arts Center ("Keying In: The Reyes Organ and Choral Hall," March 1). The organs, especially the Fritts organ, are absolutely magnificent instruments that are so easily overlooked. Being an organist myself, I know firsthand how much the art of the organ is dying out. Churches all over the country and the world are tearing out their organs because of financial issues (they are very expensive to maintain), wanting more contemporary music, or simply that their organists are literally dying out. Ask anyone on the street (or in our case, quad) to describe an organist and they will most likely tell you that they think of a little, old, blue-haired lady hunched over the bench plunking out each hymn. There are so few young organists, which to me is a horrible shame. Notre Dame only has a small number of undergrad organists, let alone organ majors. So I ask all of you to go at least once in your career here at Notre Dame and attend an organ concert at DPAC. Sitting and looking at the magnificent woodwork while listening to the shear power of the sound that is produced from the Fritts organ is sure to give anyone a new appreciation for a dying art. And to all of my fellow organists, I ask you to keep up the good work and thank you for your dedication. I especially want to extend a thank you to Prof. Cramer for his enthusiasm, dedication, and direction to all of us who have had the honor of studying with him.

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Could you give it away?

By The Observer · Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Guess what is extra-late this year, but will be here in six days? No, not Spring, silly; that's still more than two weeks away … if we're lucky. Mar, 9, Ash Wednesday, begins one of my favorite (call me crazy) times of the year: Lent. I think I enjoy Lent each year because of its stripped-down, no-nonsense, focus-on-the-basics sensibilities. It feels to me like a season that knows its own purpose, that refuses to be sidetracked by unnecessary diversions from the reason for its existence: the opportunity to prepare us all for Easter, for celebrating the reason for our existence.

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Thank you, anonymous boy

By The Observer · Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Tuesday evening, I experienced a random act of kindness. Trying to join a friend to eat at the North Dining Hall, I accidentally brought an expired CoEx meal ticket. Preparing to sadly part ways with my friend, a guy who was leaving the dining hall overheard my dilemma and kindly gave up one of his meal swipes for me. In shock, I did not even think to thank this stranger for his unnecessary act until he was walking away. I'm embarrassed that I didn't react sooner and give him the thanks he deserves. I haven't been able to stop thinking about the incident since. It reminded me how much one random act of kindness can shed some light and change one's perspective. You never know when someone is in need of a sign of compassion to make it through the day. Especially with the upcoming Facebook event of "A Day of Peace," we all need a little reminder to pay it forward and spread some hope. So thank you again, anonymous boy, for your thoughtfulness that made my day. Pass it on.

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The Duke of Baseball

By The Observer · Wednesday, March 2, 2011

After my first column two months ago, a hero of mine and former sports editor of the Los Angeles Times complimented me for my effort.

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Notre Dame, Hike, Hike, Hike

By The Observer · Wednesday, March 2, 2011

I don't know if you read the paper the other day, but once again tuition rates at our fine school have gone up 3.8 percent, or more simply it is now $2,180 more expensive to get the same education you bought last year. This is a downward trend from a 5.9 percent increase in 2008-09, and 4.4 percent increase in 2009-10. In fact, the price of my senior year is going to be 13.1 percent more expensive than the price of my freshman year, a net increase totaling $6,125. If I were to pay the freshman year rate, my total tuition with on-campus living would be $186,720. With the increases over time, I actually pay $199,085, a total increase of $12,365 over four years. Taking into account an annual inflation rate of 1 to 2 percent in recent years, this is a vast overcharge for what is supposed to be a non-profit institution.

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Don't assume

By The Observer · Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Holden ("Non-athlete shirts," Mar. 1) and Alex ("Prejudice runs deeper," Mar. 2),

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America's need for unions

By The Observer · Tuesday, March 1, 2011

When discussing the events revolving around the protests occurring in many state capitols such as Wisconsin and Indiana, there is a need for clarification: Unions in their entirety only represent less than one-fourth of the entire United States workforce. What does this mean? It is false when union workers claim that the bills being discussed in State Capitols, which are restricting or even annihilating bargaining rights, are an assault on the rights of workers. It's in fact a hyperbole! Doing nothing with respect to the "rights" of the few whose salary increases every year without an end in sight despite what is going on in the rest of the economy is an actual assault on the true workforce of our great nation — small businesses, the backbone of America! If people begin to forget this simple fact and put forward instead the agendas of power hungry unions, then our land of opportunism has converted into the land of crybabies clamoring for what they think is rightfully theirs to keep, or as Friedrich von Hayek coins it, the road to serfdom.

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All aboard the bandwagon

By The Observer · Tuesday, March 1, 2011

It's that time of year. With the NHL and NBA trade deadlines passed, the playoff races are in full swing. That means one thing: bandwagon season.

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The future of books

By The Observer · Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Books have been a remarkably constant artistic creation for thousands of years. We flip through the pages of Homer's epic poetry of 2,700 years ago in much the same way as we might Stephen King's epic Dark Tower Series. So too with the musings of Marcus Aurelius and the autobiography of Bill Clinton. The characters of Euripides jump from written words to our mind just as Jonathan Franzen's. This durability is all the more impressive against the backdrop of changes in other art forms — compare the Athenian acropolis to the New York City skyline; Greek vase paintings to da Vinci's Mona Lisa to Norman Rockwell; the plays of Shakespeare to Avatar or Inception. Surely this timelessness is part of the book's appeal. Reading a great story is no small emotional investment. It is an intimate endeavor that asks from us just as much as it provides. But can books survive in the modern world? Some commentators have castigated modernity as too fragmented and fast-paced for the novel to remain relevant, what with Twitter, blogging and the 24-hour news cycle.

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The real kings of the Oscar

By The Observer · Tuesday, March 1, 2011

With "The King's Speech" winning three out of the four major awards at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards this past Sunday, the real winners were Harvey and Bob Weinstein, the co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company and founders of now defunct Miramax. Although I wanted "The Social Network" to win Best Picture and David Fincher to win Best Director, I do recognize that ‘The King's Speech' was a very well made movie that was headed by its strong cast. However, the Weinstein brothers once again showed why they are the masters at maneuvering through the politics of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in order to deliver Oscar nominations and wins.

The Observer

A pandemic

By The Observer · Monday, Feb. 28, 2011

As I sat in CoMo last week, trying in vain to think of something significant to say about Voltaire, my writer's block was the least of my concerns. Much more bothersome was the aural assault I was enduring.

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What are the odds?

By The Observer · Monday, Feb. 28, 2011

I love numbers. How could anyone not? Numbers are so much more precise than their linguistic counterparts, words. Whereas a word could mean any number of things based on context and tone, numbers will always mean the exact same thing. You can take them at face value.

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Changing the game

By The Observer · Monday, Feb. 28, 2011

On Feb. 8, 2011, my father, Peter Grant, met a tragic end by taking his own life, just a week and two days before Dave Duerson's suicide. Our family donated my father's brain and spinal cord to the Boston University study of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), the same study to which Duerson bequeathed his brain. My father, a 1983 graduate of Notre Dame, not only was a classmate of Duerson, but also lived in Grace Hall and personally knew him. These are not their only similarities. My father was not a Notre Dame football player, but he was an enthusiastic high school and interhall football and hockey player. During his high school sports career, my father sustained seven "major" concussions, with at least two extended hospital stays.

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Gingers have friends

By The Observer · Monday, Feb. 28, 2011

In Monday's Ice Breaker, Tierney Roche declared that Harry Potter was unrealistic because she does not believe a ginger can have two friends. As a ginger I take great offense to this.  We gingers have battled with the sun for centuries.  We survived the Potato Famine. Throughout history, we've been subjected to discrimination and fearful prejudice. We have been declared soulless. But today, I will take no more. I along with the ginger community would like to dispel myths about the ginger being.

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The Anti-M.R.S.

By The Observer · Monday, Feb. 28, 2011

When I saw a YouTube video featuring a 5-year-old girl insisting she must have a job before she gets married on a friend's Facebook wall, I commented, "She's so Saint Mary's." As a senior at Saint Mary's, I meant this very sincerely. I have watched my friends over the last semester be accepted into Ivy League graduate programs, accept incredible job offers, get published in journals, and, generally speaking, achieve great things. When an acquaintance of mine saw my comment, he said "No, that girl is not Saint Mary's." He claimed that stereotypically, Saint Mary's women are not on a mission to find a job, they "are trying to find Notre Dame husbands; in pursuit of their M.R.S. degree." In making this claim, a claim that would no doubt infuriate the 1,600-plus women of Saint Mary's College as it infuriated me, he diminished us to nothing but girls who twiddle their thumbs by day and man-hunt by night. Not only is it appalling that this idea pervades the Notre Dame campus, but the idea that any 21st century woman goes to college simply to meet a man is both archaic and demeaning. Newsflash: The M.R.S. degree does not exist, and if it did, attending an all-women's college to get it is an idea that's a little more progressive than I would expect anyone from Notre Dame to be.  Domer boys, we're working just as hard as you. We can be executives, lawyers and dentists, too.

The Observer

Non-athlete shirts a reminder

By The Observer · Monday, Feb. 28, 2011

Most of you have seen the "Irish Non-Athlete" shirts around campus, and I'm glad that they have stirred up discussion. I'm fed up with everyone assuming I'm an athlete. Just because I'm a black student at Notre Dame doesn't mean I play sports. I hope the shirt will serve as a reminder to everyone to think before they assume.

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