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The Observer

Sleep easy

By The Observer · Friday, May 14, 2010

It's gotten to the point where I hate going to sleep. That's what this college does to you. It takes something you cherish and turns it to dust. But that's why you love it. Sleep is the elusive nirvana that college students strive towards, the tonic that cures all ills. Countless times I've been working for this paper, or up all night working on a newspaper, or in class during a busy week begging for an hour between the sheets. Come senior year that changes. Now my bed represents the death sentence of another day with the people I love, one day closer to the point where I have to leave behind everything I hold dear and join the real world. This place is so wonderful, it's transformed sleep from a goal to a dread. My buddy Rob says I don't appreciate the value of a good nap. This is why. The sacrifice of sleep allowed me to experience the memories that will stay with me. That's both for big events, like waking up at 4 a.m. to bus down to the Kentucky Derby, and small, like staying up until 4 a.m. arguing with my roommates about whether a pretzel is classified as a cracker or a pastry. (It's both. It's also a German guild symbol and a Christian Lenten staple, and the biggest pretzel ever weighed 40 pounds and was five feet wide. And to think I almost went through life without these crucial nuggets of information.) But what does Notre Dame have to do with this, other than its proximity to Louisville? It brings together the people that make these memories possible. You take a massive group of wonderful people and then break it down into subsets: class, dorm, section, etc. Whatever dorm you're in automatically becomes the best one on campus (unless you're in Fisher, which is the best dorm on campus) and you grow as close with your section members as with your family. Speaking of family, and Google Apps, which we know all Notre Dame students love, some of my friends have an e-mail label called "ND family," a section in which they put all chain e-mails regarding the things we do together. How many other schools breed that kind of unity? I'll remember not sleeping on account of class work that I had allowed to pile up, nights spent in Reckers until morning. Worth it? Sort of. My GPA survived (it's a 4.12, Dad, in case you were wondering) and I learned a lot in some great classes with wonderful professors. Another thing this university attracts is a fantastic faculty who care about the students and what they learn. That's not the case everywhere and shouldn't be taken for granted. Now's the time for me to tell you about how scared I was freshman year, how much I've changed, how great this place is, and maybe sprinkle in a cliché to illustrate the Class of 2010's fleeting time at Notre Dame like "We will always have Paris." I won't do that, but that does remind me of the time my roommate and I stayed up all night, finals the next morning be damned, discussing the top 10 most quotable movies. Now, can I tell you who the Secretary of State was in the Kennedy administration, since I was studying for U.S. history that night? Sure. But now I also know that when someone asks me "Did I catch a ‘niner' in there?" and wonders if I called from a walkie-talkie, I need to respond with "No, it was cordless." "Never memorize something that you can look up," Albert Einstein said, since we're on the subject of quotes. Dean Rusk is a simple Google search away. But the time I spent with my friends here cannot be replicated in any form and needs to be cherished. I'm sure the rest of you are just as sad about graduating and leaving this wonderful place and these wonderful people behind. You've been blessed with the chance to spend time here, and I hope for all our sakes we can remember it fondly as well as let it shape as we enter the real world. My friends, rectors and professors have had a profound effect on who I am, and that's a good thing. I hope that's the case for you as well. So now it's night time of our college career, and we'll go to sleep here one final time before we wake up to a world absent the things that have made our lives great for four years. It won't be happy. But it's a necessary part of this experience. In 15 years, when you slide under the covers (probably at 9:30, because the kids need breakfast by 6:15 to make the bus and you have a meeting at 8:30 you need to prepare for) you'll think back to the time when those concerns were a distant possibility and sleep represented the ticking clock on the best time of your life. And you'll smile and be thankful that you got to be a part of it. Sweet dreams, Class of 2010. It's been real.

The Observer

Beyond the classroom

By The Observer · Friday, May 14, 2010

Leaving Notre Dame is a mixed bag for a senior getting ready to go out and face the world, but the healthiest way to look at it would be to focus in on the good things that are in our futures. It hardly does any good to look back with sadness and nostalgia, so one must consider the past with an eye on how we have become prepared for everything that is to come, right? We should be proud of our accomplishments, whether it be maintaining a high GPA or landing the big job that we had always dreamed of getting coming out of college, and many of us truly are and deserve to be. That being said, who cares? As I sit here I listen to my roommates going through the list of Latin honors for this year's class, comparing their grades and looking at who received magna and summa cum laudes and I wonder if that is the healthiest way to evaluate what we really got out of our time here. Another friend of mine told me about how she had calculated the exact grade she needed to get on a final exam to end with the GPA she wanted, and how she felt like she was a failure when she did not reach that expectation. I am very proud of my accomplishments as a student here as well, as I believe I put in some of the hardest work of my life trying to be the best student I could be, but that is not what I will be taking away from this great college experiment that we shared with one another. What matters in the end is none of these things, but the relationships we built along the way and the way we changed as human beings. I remember coming into Notre Dame as quite the conceited person, believing that I knew everything and that college was just a necessary stepping stone to taking one's rightful place in the world. Little did I know the humbling process that would take place, introducing me to the wealth of knowledge that is out there and my truly small place in comparison to the richness of experience that everyone else brings to the table. I was not prepared for this change and was truly rocked by it, but it occurred and I would not have it any other way. Who knew that so many different kinds of people were out there and the wealth of different ways to look at how we are able to exist together and form the substantial organizing principles of civilization? Making a trip to Rome for a semester of studying abroad opened me up to so many different ways of doing things, inspiring a love of good cooking, good friend and good wine. I would like to think that some of my best memories will come from the classrooms and things that I learned there, but as I look back and evaluate, I realize that I have no interest in those things. What I am going to care about and remember are the times I spent with friends, the PLS lunches that we had in between classes, and the times that I had the opportunity to make a fool of myself in front of everybody. I learned my most important life lessons not from reading Plato or Kant or whatever author or theory of life you chose to subscribe to or study, but instead from my interactions with all those people and classmates around me. The point of college was not to prepare us for a certain career or to allow us a perfect forum for comparing ourselves to one another, but instead to find our identity in life and to find our niche within the society around us. When I meet people in the years to come, I am not going to evaluate them by taking their college GPA or current salary and comparing it against other people's to determine who was successful at life and who was not. What I am going to try and determine is how many people that individual cared for and how many people cared about him. That is the true measure of a man, how a person makes someone else's life better, and a jerk is a jerk no matter what titles and honors you dress him up with. So do not lose heart fellow sailors on the voyage of life, if you have lived your life to the fullest so far, then you can only expect things to continue going well. I am looking forward to what is to come, not because I now carry a college degree, but because I have changed into the kind of man I want to be for the rest of my life. God save us all.

The Observer

Keep your fork'

By The Observer · Friday, May 14, 2010

When I finished up my last day at work a couple of weeks ago, I thought I had successfully avoided writing a single article here — apparently not. I would have much rather submitted a graphic detailing my favorite campus eateries (Greenfield's, Reckers, Decio Commons, and Café de Grásta, in that order) instead of writing a senior column, but that wasn't an option. I will begin by wishing my fellow classmates a happy graduation. I won't actually be there. During Commencement Weekend I will be rowing with my teammates in Oakridge, Tenn., competing for a top finish at Regionals. I happen to be one of those seniors absolutely dreading graduation, so it really helps that I don't have to go. (Don't worry, I will be graduating the next day.) I guess I should be thankful that approaching graduation is so painful — it means that my time here was well spent. I can thank my best friends for that: the girls in Pasquerilla West and my teammates. Our experiences together have shaped me throughout these four years. I finally realized though that when you ask your best friends to help you decide between studying and driving out to Ritters, they will always choose the less productive option. But go ahead and ask them anyway. A priest once told me that he knew an old lady who wanted to be buried with a fork. Her reason: to remind her family and friends that after you finish your meal you need to hang on to your fork so you can be ready for when that fantastic dessert comes. Though it would be extreme to equate leaving Notre Dame to death, that woman understood that even when you can't see past the end, you have to think that the next course will be even better. So the lesson here is: keep your fork, the best is yet to come. (You might want to keep your spoon too, because North Dining Hall is known to hide them from time-to-time.) We will never be allowed to relive our college experience, but soon we will be able to join the ranks of the thousands of alums who get to enjoy Notre Dame in a different way. I'm still nervous for graduation, though. Especially because some of the amenities I enjoy here, I've been told, don't exist in the "real world." Flex points, for example. Unfortunately, when you start making money they expect you to use it to buy things, too. Also you may have to walk farther than 10 steps to get to a chapel for Sunday Mass. When you live on your own, no one will go around around ringing keys to tell you it's 2 a.m.; you may have to use a clock. Take full advantage of these things now. I've been trying to look on the bright side, though. Some of our favorite Notre Dame features do exist outside of the bubble, like buses that will pick you up right outside of bars, conveniently located Starbucks' and, most importantly, other Notre Dame fans. Thank goodness for Facebook albums; they will help me recall some of college's greatest moments. I'm going to miss this place. But I am definitely hanging onto my fork — because if the best is still yet to come, then boy is it going to be sa-weet.

The Observer

Can we top this?

By The Observer · Friday, May 14, 2010

Fears about post-college life hit me hard Monday driving back from Wrigley Field after hanging around Chicago all day. I mentioned to a friend of mine that, in one week, we'll be sitting at home and won't be students anymore. In that particular moment, having just spent the day with friends bumming around downtown, going to the ballpark, getting tipsy and having generally just a great time, I thought to myself: how will I ever top the last four years? In the last four years at Notre Dame, I, like the rest of you, have had experiences I never imagined and made friends that will last a lifetime. We could talk for hours about that time freshman year our first TC party got busted, the summer we snuck into the tunnels, how much we loved tap with McKenna, the St. Patrick's day we drank in class, how we lived through the circus over Obama's visit last year, and on and on and on. But what happens now, when that's all over? This worry hasn't been helped by the dozens of people who say you should "enjoy college while you can" because "they're the best years of your life." It's probably good advice while you're starting out, but it makes me sick to think about today. But what now? Will I just turn into a wannabe-student alum — the alums who come back for all the football games, get wasted at tailgates and hit on undergrads at the Backer?I hope not. I want a life after college other than trying to re-live my college days. What it boils down to is that I still want some adventure after college. And, in retrospect, having an adventure is something I've learned how to do fairly well in the last few years. The best friendships, the best memories were usually about taking a risk, stepping out of my comfort zone, doing something spontaneous. I would have never had such a great career at Notre Dame had I been a risk-averse hobbit. It was diving into something new, something unexpected, or something adventurous that provided me with an unforeseen opportunity or a new friendship. Like the time we decided to go to Cairo while studying abroad in Innsbruck, got on the plane without a plan, got lost and ended up riding the camels to the pyramids. That was stepping out of our comfort zone. Or the time we did the Hesburgh Challenge at the end of this semester and were nearly caught on the 13th floor by a janitor. That was risky. Or, even something like trying out for the marching band freshman year on a whim, and later going to the Sugar Bowl with some of my new best friends. That was an adventure. College and the freedom it provides young adults like us is the ideal time to find adventure and have fun. But who says the adventure has to end with graduation? So that's my goal for the next few years. Though, living in Chicago a mere two hours from campus I'll be at a high risk of becoming one of those wannabe-undergrad alums, I'll be making a point of seeking out adventure after college. Even if we don't think we can "top" the Notre Dame experience, we'll have the memories and friendships to carry with us, along with a sense of adventure and spontaneity to make more great memories down the road, even as our college years come to a close.

The Observer

See you later'

By The Observer · Friday, May 14, 2010

It's still surreal to me that this weekend I'll graduate from Notre Dame. Even applying as a senior in high school, I never knew if coming here would actually happen. I didn't know if my grades were good enough, if my family would be able to pay the way-too-much tuition or if I could move 600 miles away from Atlanta where I hardly knew anyone. Four years later it's still hard to believe sometimes. There's days I still walk around campus and just try and take everything in, and those days have become more common this year and especially in the last few weeks. Before I came here everyone told me Notre Dame was a special place. They talked about the campus, professors, football games, the Grotto and Touchdown Jesus. But it's not really those things that make this week bittersweet, and the big stuff isn't what I'll miss. I'll miss a lot of the little dumb things, like throwing the football around the quad before dinner and playing Mario Party on Saturday afternoons. I'll miss going to Burger King some 30 times this year and only ever getting things off the dollar menu (and after 2 a.m.). I'll miss Christmas parties and playing (and mostly losing) club sports games. I'll miss going to Outback for birthdays, one on one games of beer pong, Flashforward and having seen every Scrubs episode at least four times. I'll miss getting up at 10 a.m. to tailgate, going to Finnies and "Ridin Solo" and "Rocket Man". Even thinking about my time abroad, I enjoyed hanging out with everyone in my tiny room before going out and getting fish and chips at the harbor for lunch, just as much as the skydiving and crazy nights in Singapore. The thing in common with all these little things I'll miss is the people, and that's what makes this place what it is. Notre Dame is about them, not the classes, the football team, the Dome and definitely not South Bend. That's why I don't really want to walk across the stage and graduate — Notre Dame has become my second home and my friends my second family. But it's our time now, and thankfully the best parts of college will still be a huge part of my life — they'll just be spread all over the country. So thank you to all of you for being part of the best four years of my life, especially the six-man, McGlinn girls, Freo kids and upstairs neighbors. In the movie "John Q," Denzel Washington's character says goodbye to his son after dropping him off at school, and the kid says, "No goodbye, you know I don't like goodbyes. See you later." I agree. So until next time, see you guys later.

The Observer

Notre Dame as an institution and a family

By The Observer · Friday, May 14, 2010

Everyone has that moment when they question their decision to attend Notre Dame. Not everyone is lucky enough to be reassured that they made the right choice. At least, not as an undergraduate. I think most people don't begin to fully appreciate how lucky they were to be here until after they leave, and I am only just starting to realize how this University affected me. I would not be who I am now without Notre Dame. I was allowed to find myself, surrounded by the strongest peers, most dedicated mentors and best friends I could have asked for. The people I've interacted with here have changed me. Professors taught me both in and out of the classroom how to be who I want to be. They shared both knowledge and experience, always exceeding my increasingly heightened expectations. Peers and colleagues provided an environment, more commonly called the Notre Dame Bubble, where I felt safe trying new things without worrying too much about failure. I made mistakes. But I had friends who let me make them and laughed with me at the consequences that ensued or commiserated over the lost opportunities. I cannot possibly say how much my friends here have meant or thank them for always being there and knowing how to react to my sometimes difficult-to-read moods. I am leaving with more hilarious memories and ridiculous stories than I can count, and I know I'll never forget all I learned from my friends here. Rooms aren't necessary when you can party in the hallways and sleep is vastly overrated when you have time to waste. Looking back over four years here, it's hard for me to separate my undergraduate career from my Observer one. Given how things turned out, most people would probably think that's a bad thing. It would be easy for me to agree, but I don't want what ended up being my last week as an Observer employee to define my entire tenure, just as I wouldn't sum up my college experience based on a test I didn't do particularly well on. Actually, I don't think grades are in any way an accurate reflection of my time here. My college experience would not have been the same without the paper: It changed me more than any other activity, class or individual in my four years here. I am not the same person who walked into the office freshman year to copy edit Viewpoint, or who hesitantly applied for Viewpoint Editor (and, contrary to certain ICPA speeches, had the ‘privilege' of counting and reading the hundreds of letters concerning Obama's visit to campus in my last few weeks on the job). I'm definitely not the same person who cockily assumed I'd be given the AME position after a year on Ed Board and allowed that overconfidence to affect the quality of my work. Every day I was challenged by the paper, and it was through undertaking these challenges that I was able to grow into who I am now. Ultimately, The Observer allowed to me to show who I have become here at Notre Dame. It granted me the opportunity to prove that all the hype and rankings around the business school and its ethics curriculum are an actuality not lost on the students. While resigning was the hardest thing I had to do here, in a way it was a final lesson that I had to learn before my introduction to the real world. Actions have consequences regardless of intention, and those consequences are much easier to accept while still sheltered inside the Notre Dame Bubble. I have no regrets in how I reacted after the situation arose, and would much prefer that to the alternative. I'm still pretending I don't have to leave the bubble yet. But I know that after I receive my diploma and finally let go, I will be more than prepared for whatever awaits, partially because of Notre Dame, the institution, but much more so because of Notre Dame, the family. And especially because of those annoying nights spent laboring away in the basement of South Dining Hall, hoping to leave before breakfast.

The Observer

Bon voyage senior class

By The Observer · Monday, May 3, 2010

With classes winding down and examinations looming, only one performance-based essay question really remains as the final hurdle for seniors to pass before graduating from the university's cocoon and venturing into the realm of the real world. The topic may not rival that quintessential question that asks for the meaning of life, but it can steer each graduate to a happy and healthy lifetime. It simply asks, "Who are you?" Drawing on personal experiences, each of us evolves as days fall from our calendars. For me, as a Notre Dame freshman forty years ago today, I faced the possibility of dying in Vietnam before I reached my twenty-third birthday. Many of my classmates at the time knew another Notre Dame student who had fallen in the jungles abroad. We were most pointedly reminded by the hundreds of white crosses planted on the South Quad bearing the names of our lost friends. Those events and that atmosphere converted me from a flag-waving "kill the Commies" war supporter my first day on campus to an anti- war protester on the last day of April in 1970. Today is the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon's announcement that American forces had expanded operations by crossing into Cambodia. It was also the birth of the Notre Dame student strike that halted most classes while nearly 5,000 students gathered at Stepan Center for discourse and demonstrations. In response, University President Theodore Hesburgh devised a method for each student to follow his (it was an all-male student body at the time) conscience. Students could choose to freeze their grades, elect a pass/fail grade, continue to attend classes, or in rare cases drop a course. By selecting several pass/fail options, my personal GPA rose substantially that semester. Only one final faded remnant of that day still exists on campus. The top of a spray- painted "S" of the word "Strike" barely shows on the west facing wall on the Huddle's south door wing. The mark begins on the 25th row up from the ground, three full bricks in from the northwest corner and curves down to the 20th row. Invisible while standing directly in front of the wall, it is only displays from a 45 degree angle away from the surface. While my turbulent days of 40 years ago on campus or my father's deadly days nearly 70 years ago while fighting in World War II may never touch the souls of this year's senior class, time and experience will nonetheless remold their outlooks on life. Most will learn that usually events and circumstances are not as bad, nor as good as they originally may seem. It behooves us to calmly evaluate our circumstances before blindly reacting to them. Those who do are those who graciously survive life's adjustments. Publicly, this nation's successful presidents have been those who are optimistic and inspire a majority of support regardless of policy differences. Privately, our local heroes are those unselfish souls who give the best from their hearts regardless of their modest means or difficult surroundings. How many grandmothers, teachers, religious, volunteers or social workers exist in near poverty but shower others with generosity deserving of royalty? My grandmother was certainly the type who could give away as much homemade baked Italian bread to drifters — complete strangers who randomly knocked on her door — during the Great Depression as she did to her neighbors and family decades later during robust economic times. Her pleasant personality, even while suffering from complications of diabetes that crippled and blinded her, brought cheer to those whom she encountered. Today in our anonymous digital age, any knucklehead can hide behind obscurity while meanly slandering or outright lying online. Time and again bloggers write "get a life" to discredit an opinion and trivialize an opposing idea. While this writer always personally answers all e-mail responses to this column, honest and intellectual volleys of ideas or opinions is on the wane. That is the pitfall facing each graduating senior's future. Digital cowards innately prefer to avoid a true debate by masking their identities. They cower behind login names that ridicule others so that they can nastily disparage those who hold opposing views. For example, two weeks ago in the comments section of this newspaper, one cowardly reader belittled this column's vocabulary as elitist. As a result, how can this columnist explain learning words like, "abhorrent, plethora and enigma" in 1994 while watching Ryan Seacrest host the children's show, Gladiator 2000? Each graduating senior will eventually recognize the life lesson of honestly knowing thyself. My best advice on how to walk that path is to offer a smile or humorous comment to strangers you encounter. Lately, I routinely blame "that damn groundhog" when with others in bad weather. Such antidotes can solicit a remark or just a laugh that may brighten what for others may be an unusually miserable day. Four decades ago, I only knew how to react rather than cope. Like many of my classmates, I did not seek to know myself. Since then, death, despair and disappointments forced me to change my outlook. I doubt that I could have arrived any earlier without consciously seeking such an understanding. The best train for graduating seniors to ride may differ with each individual, but traveling with humor in your suitcase will make the trek worth while. Best wishes and safe journeys.

The Observer

Looking ahead to next year

By The Observer · Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Today is the last day of class and, for most people, it is time to get sentimental about the past year. We've already had columns by the senior writers reminiscing about the last four years and what they are going to miss about Notre Dame. Well, fortunately for me, I'm only a junior, so I have one more year to spend in college. Rather than getting all teary-eyed by recounting my favorite memories of this year, I am going to be more uplifting. Instead, I am going to talk about everything that I can't wait for next year.

The Observer

Queering Spanish culture

By The Observer · Wednesday, April 28, 2010

After the fascist regime of General Franco (1939-1975), democratic Spain has reacted to the oppressive recent past with a vengeance. Contact with mainstream Europe after Franco's death contributed to expose Spanish society to ideas previously censored. Although the Catholic Church continues to voice its opposition to any form of non-marital and non-procreative sex, the prestige and influence it had under the Franco years have been seriously diminished, partly because Spaniards seem to have learned how easy it is to make do without an institution that has traditionally legitimized sexual repression, among other things. In consequence, modern Spain enjoys some of the most egalitarian legislation in Europe with regard to sexual orientation. It has become one of the seven countries in the world that allows same-sex marriage and permits adoption by same-sex couples. Gay men and lesbian women can serve openly in the army, act as judges within its judiciary system and be part of the police corps. The visibility of the gay culture in main urban centers like Madrid and Barcelona can be compared to that of San Francisco or Amsterdam. What is interesting to note is that, in spite of the openness, visibility and relative tolerance homosexuality has gained in modern Spain, members of the opposite sex continue to attract each other, to get married and what is equally important, to procreate. If the birthrate in contemporary Spain has dropped to critical levels, it has not been due to the permissiveness and visibility of the gay culture but rather because of the economic constrains parenting represents for the great majority of its urban population.

The Observer

Academia lost

By The Observer · Wednesday, April 28, 2010

 We are writing this letter to The Observer on behalf of two of the most impressive, caring, and genuine professors that we have ever had the privilege to work with during our time at Notre Dame.

The Observer

Three principles of family friendliness

By The Observer · Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Correction: In the original column published April 27, the author was incorrectly identified as a Notre Dame staff member. Richard Klee is a graduate student. The Observer regrets this error.

The Observer

Finishing next to the 50

By The Observer · Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Before the race started I thought, "Wow I'll run out of the tunnel just like the football players and cheerleaders onto the field and sprint all the way to the 50 yard line." Of course there wouldn't be the 80,000 person crowd cheering me on, but I would have the satisfaction of actually having been on the field sometime during my time here at Notre Dame.

The Observer

The slippery path to a police state

By The Observer · Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The issue of illegal immigration reform had taken a backseat for the Obama administration and Congress since 2008, with health care and financial reform deemed as more important priorities to resolve first. But now the issue appears to be moving back into the limelight after the state of Arizona signed into law an extremely controversial immigration law last Friday.

The Observer

Waiting on a family not un-Catholic

By The Observer · Monday, April 26, 2010

I wish to thank Joseph Nawrocki ("Misrepresentations," April 22) and Peter Campbell ("Clarifications," April 23) for providing me the opportunity to clarify my position as presented in my April 21 Letter to the Editor ("Not so friendly"). Nawrocki accuses me of misrepresenting the positions of the "Family-Friendly" petitioners. He says that I "infer" that Campbell believes that the University should encourage students to "live compassionate and moral lives only within the confines of marriage." I infer no such thing. I infer, rather, that Campbell believes that the University's encouragement for moral and compassionate living in the context of marriage should take financial form (increased health benefits), and that he has not considered fully the ramification of this request: that is, if the University should fund family life because it is endorsed by Catholic teaching, then the University will be called upon to fund many other lifestyles and activities endorsed by Catholic doctrine, as well. If I choose to personally provide long-term meals and shelter for a homeless family, can I charge that to the University?

The Observer

Congratulations to Women's water polo

By The Observer · Monday, April 26, 2010

Congratulations to the Notre Dame Women's water polo team now competing at the National Tournament in Arizona. The team just set the NCAA record for most consecutive National qualifiers in the sport — 12. These women are focused, fun and they commit hours to their team. They compete at a high level in a sport that requires intense physical conditioning. Congrats to the coaches and especially the seniors.

The Observer

Inspirational teacher to be missed

By The Observer · Monday, April 26, 2010

Upon reflection of our early school days, the most potent memories are often associated with one particular figure. More often than not, we can pick out one person who made our education light up. We identify one person who had the power to inspire, to spark our curiosity. Someone who demanded our best effort, yet never had to ask because we wanted to exceed his expectations. We all have these figures in our memory, and for me, his name is David Thurston.

The Observer

Green should be more than a trend

By The Observer · Monday, April 26, 2010

After our Earth Day celebration on April 22, it has become apparent that this University needs to change its technique in being "green." On this campus, becoming green has become a fashion, a trend, a competition — not a chance for us to save our planet.

The Observer

Happy Birthday

By The Observer · Friday, April 23, 2010

Today is my birthday, and it couldn't have fallen on a better Friday (or weekend, for that matter) of the year: I get to turn Pigtostal, the Blue-Gold Game and Muddy Sunday into additional reasons to celebrate my 19th year of being. 

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