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Supreme Court's health care decision too big to fail

By The Observer · Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Each generation witnesses at least one iconic event that twists our national fate - often for the betterment of society, other times setting back our way of life. Throughout the last 75 years, American history has been dotted with both tragedy and achievement through external or internal forces. We have endured dramatic attacks upon our nation and assassinations of our government leaders. We have persisted through political intrigue and legislative accomplishments while occasionally adjusting to judicial disappointment. The Supreme Court's consideration this week of the constitutionality of President Obama's signature landmark legislation, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), will provide another historical twist when we learn in June whether the high court upholds or strikes down portions or all of the law.

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Question of the day: better dining hall?

By The Observer · Wednesday, March 28, 2012

I would like to state some concerns I had with yesterday's "Question of the Day," which was "which dining hall is better, North or South?" The fact that the most intelligent response was "I like turtles" is saddening. I would like to go through each response and address the issues with each one.

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Commencement speaker an appropriate choice

By The Observer · Wednesday, March 28, 2012

After a long wait, the Notre Dame class of 2012 has its commencement speaker: Haley Scott DeMaria, a Notre Dame 1995 graduate and a survivor of the 1992 bus crash that killed two members of the Irish women's swimming team.

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Anthony Davis is the 99 percent

By The Observer · Wednesday, March 28, 2012

There is a striking resemblance between what sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards calls "the Civil Rights Movement for our times" and the Occupy Wall Street movement that has been taking place since October of last year. The 99 percent are college athletes. The exploitation of their services without any pay is ludicrous, seeing that college athletics has turned into a huge money machine. Some big-name college athletes need to muster up the courage to do something about these injustices. And what better stage than March Madness?

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Dwindling talent, swelling attitude

By The Observer · Tuesday, March 27, 2012

In case you have not heard, Tiger Woods is back - or so the "experts" say. They also said he was "back" after he took the lead in the final round of last year's Masters (and then proceeded to choke it away.) He was also "back" after he won the Chevron Challenge in December with a whopping 17 other players in the field.

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South America, anyone?

By The Observer · Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The end of the year is approaching, and I am willing to bet there is at least one other senior out there who doesn't have definite plans for after graduation. Well fear not fellow nomad, I'm here to propose a solution for you. I am looking for someone to accompany me as I backpack through South America. I plan on leaving the first week of October and will tentatively travel for about a year. I am not looking for someone to travel the whole time, just long enough to assuage my parents' worries. If you don't already have plans, this is an excellent opportunity to do some volunteer work, experience new cultures, improve your Spanish and cross some things off the ol' bucket list. Equipped with a backpack and a tent, the opportunities are endless. I'm searching for someone who is adventurous, so I'll leave my proposal short and sweet - which should be more than adequate for the true adventure enthusiast.

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The Syrian crisis

By The Observer · Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Chaos once again reigns in the Middle East as Syria is engulfed in rebellion against the feared Assad regime. For years, Bashur al-Assad and his family have oppressed the Syrian people and have fomented violence in the region to maintain power. Now in the wake of the Arab Spring, public revolt has boiled over and violence has erupted as the people try to rid themselves of Assad. More than 9,000 people have died since the uprising started a year ago.

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Monologues to dialogue

By The Observer · Tuesday, March 27, 2012

I acted in "Show Some Skin: The Race Monologues," and I had the privilege to embody an anonymous submission from the Notre Dame community in front of over 750 students, faculty, family and friends. On behalf of everyone involved with "Show Some Skin," I offer my sincerest gratitude to you who came out on Friday and Saturday - many of you sitting on the Carey Auditorium steps and filling the aisles - to support us and learn about our cause. We also thank the faculty who wrote the "Reactions to 'Race'" letter to the editor in Tuesday's edition of The Observer.

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The wrong side of history

By The Observer · Tuesday, March 27, 2012

"A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members". This quote by Mohandas Gandhi reflects a belief held by most Americans that markets cannot always effectively allocate resources towards those who hold little market power, such as the sick, elderly and poor. Beginning with the Progressive Era in the early 1900s, American policy became more directed towards both protecting and assisting these Americans. The most significant steps came with the creation of Social Security (old age retirement insurance) in 1935, Medicare (health insurance for the elderly) in 1965 and Medicaid (health insurance for the poor and long term care insurance for the elderly) in 1965.

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Crunch time in the dining halls

By The Observer · Monday, March 26, 2012

The most important campus election of the year was held a week ago today, but hardly anyone I've asked had any idea it happened. I am referring to Notre Dame Food Services' Annual Serious Cereal Survey, which determined which cereals are to fill Our Lady's granaries next year. We are certainly fortunate to go to a school that allows us to democratically elect our breakfast cereal options, particularly when we are not free to choose our student leadership (slightly more irony than a bowl of Kellogg Product 19, no?). Though I understand that these elections are a privilege and not a right, I feel the urge to bite the hand that feeds. What good do these elections do, anyway, if they aren't done right?

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The short skirt and the hoodie

By The Observer · Monday, March 26, 2012

I actually remember when I learned what "rape" meant. I was in grade school and a city bus passed by when I was in the car with my mother. The big advertisement on the side of the bus showed a woman, obviously distressed, with a black background and big red words: "It's not your fault. It's rape." After what must have been a conversation that my mom was not expecting at that moment, I understood. Of course it was not the woman's fault! It was the fault of the rapist!

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Blessed Nets fan

By The Observer · Monday, March 26, 2012

For most of my life, I believed the sports gods, those mythical beings who determine the fate of professional sports teams, would always be generous to me. As a New York Yankees and New York Giants fan, I have witnessed my professional sports teams win seven championships in my lifetime.

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Reactions to "Race"

By The Observer · Sunday, March 25, 2012

After attending "Show Some Skin: The Race Monologues" this weekend in the Hesburgh Library auditorium, we shared two reactions. First, we agreed that the talent and effort of the writers and speakers/actors made for a compelling and unique performance that captivated an overflowing crowd. Second, while heartened by the response of those present, we wished that the entire Notre Dame community - students, faculty, administrators and staff - had been able to attend, for the real-life stories of a diverse array of Notre Dame students were always revealing, often disheartening and sometimes heartbreaking. The Notre Dame family, it became evident, can learn to be more welcoming to all.

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Thank you

By The Observer · Sunday, March 25, 2012

Standing on Irish Green on Saturday, I watched graduate students who had been training for months, fathers completing their first half-marathons with their daughters and alumni running next to fellow classmates they hadn't seen in years, all cross the finish line of the Holy Half Marathon. Seeing their shared expressions of relief, joy and accomplishment, I could hardly believe that just a few months ago, the Holy Half almost didn't happen.

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Backstory behind Kony

By The Observer · Sunday, March 25, 2012

Although we appreciate the fact that the Kony 2012 video has alerted about 80 million people to a conflict to which they had previously been oblivious, we find the campaign itself to be slightly flawed. As such, we would like to offer an appendix to the video.

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Between faith and reason

By The Observer · Saturday, March 24, 2012

Pope John Paul II called faith and reason the "two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth" in his encyclical "Fides et Ratio." The Pope believes human beings come to know truth through a combination of faith and reason. The absence of either one will impair our ability to know ourselves, the world and God. The two, in fact, exist harmoniously.

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