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The Observer

Plenty of blame to go around

By The Observer · Monday, Jan. 18, 2010

The Jan. 13 cartoon, "The Mobile Party," virtually advocated violence against gays (all in a light-hearted, satirical way, you understand). As a lifelong journalist, I naturally have an affinity for freedom of speech, and here on campus I've been an advocate for The Observer. It generally performs an important service for this community. But last Wednesday's paper represented a monumental lapse of judgment by the editors. (I appreciate their prominent apology on Friday.)

The Observer

Plenty of blame to go around

By The Observer · Monday, Jan. 18, 2010

The Jan. 13 cartoon, "The Mobile Party," virtually advocated violence against gays (all in a light-hearted, satirical way, you understand). As a lifelong journalist, I naturally have an affinity for freedom of speech, and here on campus I've been an advocate for The Observer. It generally performs an important service for this community. But last Wednesday's paper represented a monumental lapse of judgment by the editors. (I appreciate their prominent apology on Friday.)

The Observer

How we know our University has failed

By The Observer · Friday, Jan. 15, 2010

I'm not a big fan of mission statements. They usually either just state something that everyone already knew or are so meandering and vague they couldn't possibly guide anything. But a good one can actually tell us something about our aspirations for the outcomes of our work. In the case of this university, one of the most important outputs is the character of our students — and our mission statement says so: "The University seeks to cultivate in its students not only an appreciation for the great achievements of human beings, but also a disciplined sensibility to the poverty, injustice, and oppression that burden the lives of so many. The aim is to create a sense of human solidarity and concern for the common good that will bear fruit as learning becomes service to justice." Note especially the phrases "a disciplined sensibility to the poverty, injustice and oppression" and "a sense of human solidarity and concern for the common good." If students walk away from Notre Dame without these, we have failed. Those failures should both sadden us and strengthen our resolve to work toward a better outcome, especially when confronted blatant evidence of our failures. Case in point: Tuesday's comic "The Mobile Party." In case you missed it, the comic poses the question "What is the easiest way to turn a fruit into a vegetable?" And answers, "A baseball bat." The strip can be viewed on the strip's blog as well (themobileparty.blogspot.com). Can the authors (students here at our beloved university) explain how this comic is an expression of a disciplined sensibility to injustice and oppression, or reflecting human solidarity, or concern for the common good? What's worse is that the blog also posts a version that was apparently rejected The Observer in which the response isn't "a baseball bat," but "AIDS." Again, solidarity? Concern for the common good? The post also includes a gmail chat in which the Observer staffer rejects the AIDS version because they "prefer not to make light of a fatal disease." They don't mind, however, making light of beating another human being with a baseball bat until that person becomes a "vegetable." This is no isolated incident on our campus. Last year, for example, during the bookstore basketball tournament, there were two teams whose names referenced Chris Brown/Rihanna ("Unlike Rihanna, we get our hands up on defense" and "Chris Brown's Greatest Hits"). It's no surprise that these kinds of cultural references come up in team names, but it is appalling. Even worse, the organizers chose these names as members of their "Top 10 Team Names" list and presented them at the Captains meeting as if they were exemplary — ones we should think are funny, or appreciate, or, God forbid, emulate! Is this really funny: "The Los Angeles County court affidavit alleges that Mr. Brown, 19, repeatedly punched ‘Robyn F.' [Robyn Rihanna Fenty] — in the face and arms, bit her, held her so tightly in a headlock that she almost lost consciousness and threatened to kill her..."? On this campus many students, faculty and staff work hard to combat violence. Getting a cheap laugh at the expense of the abused, bashed, disabled and even murdered not only belittles these horrific experiences but encourages more violence. Instead, our student leaders — elected leaders, organizers of campus activities and the editors, writers and cartoonists in our main public forum — ought to also be leaders in supporting our mission. If we can't even get these people on board with our core values, then we truly have failed.

The Observer

The Mobile Party apology

By The Observer · Friday, Jan. 15, 2010

We want to apologize for the offensive, distasteful and completely humorless joke that was made and acknowledge the grave error in its production. We cannot begin to express how apologetic we are for everyone who has been hurt by our comic and its implied message. We do, however, believe that something positive can come from this ugly mistake and hope that we, as members of the Notre Dame community, can take this as an opportunity to readdress the complex issues surrounding homosexuality and its treatment on our campus. Intolerance of homosexuality is a major problem on Notre Dame's campus. We tried to address it in our comics — using the tool characters to emphasize a mindset that we simply find ridiculous. In our last comic, we had the human character, our voice of reason, not understand the joke because of its absurd nature. Reasons, however, are not excuses. We consistently try to write comics that rely on shock value and now that we have gone too far, we realize that we have abused the privilege and responsibility of contributing to the Observer, and therefore, the Notre Dame community as a whole. This is not a joke that should have been made either in private or public. Poking fun at someone's identity in such a discriminatory manner is not funny. We wholeheartedly apologize for our comic and are aware of and truly sorry for the hurt that it has caused.

The Observer

Responsibility for offensive comic

By The Observer · Friday, Jan. 15, 2010

The editors of The Observer would like to publicly apologize for the publication of "The Mobile Party" in the Jan. 13 edition. The burden of responsibility ultimately lies on us for allowing it to go to print. There is no excuse that can be given and nothing that can be said to reverse the damage that has already been done by this egregious error in judgment. The Observer, though an independent newspaper, is representative of the community of the University of Notre Dame and the values it so cherishes: family, understanding, service, respect and love. Allowing this cruel and hateful comic a place on our pages disgraced those values and severely hurt members of our Notre Dame family — our classmates, our friends. For this, we sincerely apologize. Unfortunately, the language of hate is an everyday reality in our society. Earlier this week, surprising comments made by Sen. Harry Reid about President Barack Obama's accent and skin color were made public and caused uproar. Now, at Notre Dame, a comic strip including hurtful language was printed in this publication, also causing — and rightly so — serious concern. It becomes clear that hurtful language is still present among some circles, and, too often, it's not until comments like these become public that their true hatred is acknowledged. The truth is, these comments should not be made at all, and we will not allow our pages to be a forum for such hatred. Publishing commentary that seems to encourage or support hate against fellow human beings is inexcusable. We must, however more forward, and look to promote instead a culture of acceptance and support for all. The Office of Student Affairs and the Gender Relations Center, as well as student groups like the Core Council for Gay and Lesbian Students, have worked tirelessly to foster an educated community and an environment of acceptance and love. We would ask that those currently working toward ending discourses of hate on campus continue to do so. We greatly thank you for your tireless effort. On our part, we must practice more responsible journalism and editing. That this comic was published reveals holes in our editing practices, which are currently being addressed. In reevaluating our policies, we hope to ensure The Observer will be able to recover from this low point in its almost 50-year history and once again be able to serve the Notre Dame and Saint Mary's community with the dignity it deserves. We would like to thank all of those who have called, e-mailed, written and visited our offices this week in outrage. The content of "The Mobile Party" is in no way representative of the views and opinions of The Observer or the Editorial Board. We hope that as we work together to address this serious issue, we will be able to regain your trust. We vow to continue to represent the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College in a way that is respectful and accepting of each member of our community.  

The Observer

The Mobile Party apology

By The Observer · Friday, Jan. 15, 2010

We want to apologize for the offensive, distasteful and completely humorless joke that was made and acknowledge the grave error in its production. We cannot begin to express how apologetic we are for everyone who has been hurt by our comic and its implied message. We do, however, believe that something positive can come from this ugly mistake and hope that we, as members of the Notre Dame community, can take this as an opportunity to readdress the complex issues surrounding homosexuality and its treatment on our campus. Intolerance of homosexuality is a major problem on Notre Dame's campus. We tried to address it in our comics — using the tool characters to emphasize a mindset that we simply find ridiculous. In our last comic, we had the human character, our voice of reason, not understand the joke because of its absurd nature. Reasons, however, are not excuses. We consistently try to write comics that rely on shock value and now that we have gone too far, we realize that we have abused the privilege and responsibility of contributing to the Observer, and therefore, the Notre Dame community as a whole. This is not a joke that should have been made either in private or public. Poking fun at someone's identity in such a discriminatory manner is not funny. We wholeheartedly apologize for our comic and are aware of and truly sorry for the hurt that it has caused.

The Observer

Responsibility for offensive comic

By The Observer · Friday, Jan. 15, 2010

The editors of The Observer would like to publicly apologize for the publication of "The Mobile Party" in the Jan. 13 edition. The burden of responsibility ultimately lies on us for allowing it to go to print. There is no excuse that can be given and nothing that can be said to reverse the damage that has already been done by this egregious error in judgment. The Observer, though an independent newspaper, is representative of the community of the University of Notre Dame and the values it so cherishes: family, understanding, service, respect and love. Allowing this cruel and hateful comic a place on our pages disgraced those values and severely hurt members of our Notre Dame family — our classmates, our friends. For this, we sincerely apologize. Unfortunately, the language of hate is an everyday reality in our society. Earlier this week, surprising comments made by Sen. Harry Reid about President Barack Obama's accent and skin color were made public and caused uproar. Now, at Notre Dame, a comic strip including hurtful language was printed in this publication, also causing — and rightly so — serious concern. It becomes clear that hurtful language is still present among some circles, and, too often, it's not until comments like these become public that their true hatred is acknowledged. The truth is, these comments should not be made at all, and we will not allow our pages to be a forum for such hatred. Publishing commentary that seems to encourage or support hate against fellow human beings is inexcusable. We must, however more forward, and look to promote instead a culture of acceptance and support for all. The Office of Student Affairs and the Gender Relations Center, as well as student groups like the Core Council for Gay and Lesbian Students, have worked tirelessly to foster an educated community and an environment of acceptance and love. We would ask that those currently working toward ending discourses of hate on campus continue to do so. We greatly thank you for your tireless effort. On our part, we must practice more responsible journalism and editing. That this comic was published reveals holes in our editing practices, which are currently being addressed. In reevaluating our policies, we hope to ensure The Observer will be able to recover from this low point in its almost 50-year history and once again be able to serve the Notre Dame and Saint Mary's community with the dignity it deserves. We would like to thank all of those who have called, e-mailed, written and visited our offices this week in outrage. The content of "The Mobile Party" is in no way representative of the views and opinions of The Observer or the Editorial Board. We hope that as we work together to address this serious issue, we will be able to regain your trust. We vow to continue to represent the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College in a way that is respectful and accepting of each member of our community.  

The Observer

Finding the good in finals

By The Observer · Friday, Jan. 15, 2010

Oh, syllabus week. It's an indisputable fact that syllabus week, the first week of classes, is the best week of each semester. Labs are canceled, no one really learns anything, the idea of homework is laughable and teachers mostly just hand out course packets explaining what you are going to do when you actually, you know, start learning. It's such a stark contrast from the last memories I have of Notre Dame coming back from break, which were obviously from finals week. Everyone is stressed out, burned out and frustrated during finals week. People worry about their grades, their projects and wonder why they didn't even attempt to learn during the previous 14 weeks. I, however, have a different view of finals week. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I like it, but I certainly don't loathe finals week as the bane of my existence the way that seemingly everyone else does (I know, I'm weird like that). Personally, I was way more stressed out the last week of class, mostly due to the unending list of projects that were due that week (ask any other junior CE major). However, even if I could coast during the last week of class, there are a number of opportunities that finals week affords that makes it different from all other weeks of the semester. Finals week is the easiest conversation starter in the world. You can go up to any person, stranger or not and just huff, "Ugh, I hate finals" to which the other person will, no doubt, agree enthusiastically and then proceed to bombard you with their remaining schedule for the rest of the week and a countdown until they are done. Seriously, try it sometime. And, like a lot of other people, I allow myself to eat whatever makes me feel good during finals, which is typically a steady diet of Chipotle, Recker's pizza and care package chocolate. When it comes to wardrobe, the entire world of style comes to a screeching halt. Nobody judges what you wear. If it were up to me, I would love to walk around in sweatpants or flannel pants, a t-shirt and moccasins every single day. Normally, though, I make an attempt to look presentable, at the very least, sometimes even classy. But finals week is not one of those times. I walk all over campus looking like I just rolled out of bed and nobody so much as even looks twice and that's because they don't look any different. Finals week is the most comfortable week of the year, if nothing else. More than anything, though, finals week provides me and every single other college student in America the opportunity to find new and creative ways to procrastinate. With the rise of Internet video sharing, it is possible to watch essentially any television show that you want, whenever you want. And when I want to watch TV the most is when I should be studying. The worst part of this year was that I actually ran out of episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" to watch to distract myself from doing actual work. Between fall break and finals week, I somehow managed to watch almost 100 episodes, a fact of which I am not sure whether to be proud or disgusted (maybe a little of both). And while TV is great, the best way to procrastinate is to Sporcle. Constantly. What's Sporcle? Simply put, it is the best Website on the internet and certainly the most addicting. Sporcle is simply a collection of quizzes, set to a timer. Each quiz is a list of blanks and a clue is given to the player to fill in each item on the list, which all follow a common theme, before time runs out. It is an incredibly simple idea that has unlimited potential for creativity and entertainment. Some of them have to do with television shows, some have to do with movies, some have to do with sports and some can't be classified into any one particular category (like words that begin and end with the letter T). There is something for, literally, everyone to do. The reason I like Sporcle so much is that I actually feel like I am doing something productive with my brain while I am procrastinating, rather than letting it rot by watching YouTube videos. If you like reminiscing about old movies, songs or TV shows, Sporcle is full of quizzes that will test your memory and will keep you hooked for hours at a time. And, most importantly, playing involves typing on your computer, so it looks like you are typing a paper to anyone who cares to look or judge you. So when you go back and brag about how you spent eight straight hours at the library, you have on your conscience that you were doing work the whole time. Kind of. Andy Ziccarelli is a junior majoring in Civil Engineering. He can be reached at aziccare@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer. 

The Observer

Finding the good in finals

By The Observer · Friday, Jan. 15, 2010

Oh, syllabus week. It's an indisputable fact that syllabus week, the first week of classes, is the best week of each semester. Labs are canceled, no one really learns anything, the idea of homework is laughable and teachers mostly just hand out course packets explaining what you are going to do when you actually, you know, start learning. It's such a stark contrast from the last memories I have of Notre Dame coming back from break, which were obviously from finals week. Everyone is stressed out, burned out and frustrated during finals week. People worry about their grades, their projects and wonder why they didn't even attempt to learn during the previous 14 weeks. I, however, have a different view of finals week. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I like it, but I certainly don't loathe finals week as the bane of my existence the way that seemingly everyone else does (I know, I'm weird like that). Personally, I was way more stressed out the last week of class, mostly due to the unending list of projects that were due that week (ask any other junior CE major). However, even if I could coast during the last week of class, there are a number of opportunities that finals week affords that makes it different from all other weeks of the semester. Finals week is the easiest conversation starter in the world. You can go up to any person, stranger or not and just huff, "Ugh, I hate finals" to which the other person will, no doubt, agree enthusiastically and then proceed to bombard you with their remaining schedule for the rest of the week and a countdown until they are done. Seriously, try it sometime. And, like a lot of other people, I allow myself to eat whatever makes me feel good during finals, which is typically a steady diet of Chipotle, Recker's pizza and care package chocolate. When it comes to wardrobe, the entire world of style comes to a screeching halt. Nobody judges what you wear. If it were up to me, I would love to walk around in sweatpants or flannel pants, a t-shirt and moccasins every single day. Normally, though, I make an attempt to look presentable, at the very least, sometimes even classy. But finals week is not one of those times. I walk all over campus looking like I just rolled out of bed and nobody so much as even looks twice and that's because they don't look any different. Finals week is the most comfortable week of the year, if nothing else. More than anything, though, finals week provides me and every single other college student in America the opportunity to find new and creative ways to procrastinate. With the rise of Internet video sharing, it is possible to watch essentially any television show that you want, whenever you want. And when I want to watch TV the most is when I should be studying. The worst part of this year was that I actually ran out of episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" to watch to distract myself from doing actual work. Between fall break and finals week, I somehow managed to watch almost 100 episodes, a fact of which I am not sure whether to be proud or disgusted (maybe a little of both). And while TV is great, the best way to procrastinate is to Sporcle. Constantly. What's Sporcle? Simply put, it is the best Website on the internet and certainly the most addicting. Sporcle is simply a collection of quizzes, set to a timer. Each quiz is a list of blanks and a clue is given to the player to fill in each item on the list, which all follow a common theme, before time runs out. It is an incredibly simple idea that has unlimited potential for creativity and entertainment. Some of them have to do with television shows, some have to do with movies, some have to do with sports and some can't be classified into any one particular category (like words that begin and end with the letter T). There is something for, literally, everyone to do. The reason I like Sporcle so much is that I actually feel like I am doing something productive with my brain while I am procrastinating, rather than letting it rot by watching YouTube videos. If you like reminiscing about old movies, songs or TV shows, Sporcle is full of quizzes that will test your memory and will keep you hooked for hours at a time. And, most importantly, playing involves typing on your computer, so it looks like you are typing a paper to anyone who cares to look or judge you. So when you go back and brag about how you spent eight straight hours at the library, you have on your conscience that you were doing work the whole time. Kind of. Andy Ziccarelli is a junior majoring in Civil Engineering. He can be reached at aziccare@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer. 

The Observer

Saint Mary's Straight and Gay Alliance

By The Observer · Friday, Jan. 15, 2010

To Colin Hofman, Jay Wade, Lauren Rosemeyer and Jenn Metz, Editor-in-Chief: I am writing on behalf of the Saint Mary's Straight and Gay Alliance and all students standing for human dignity. Your comic strip from Wednesday, January 13 was offensive for two very serious reasons. It encourages violence against fellow Notre Dame and Saint Mary's family members and it shows a complete lack of knowledge or understanding of Catholic teaching on the issue of homosexuality. Whether or not you realize it, when you write such a comic, or in the case of the editor, allow it to be printed, you are responsible for the message it carries and what it implies. On October 7, 1998, a young man outside of Laramie, Wyoming was found bloodied, tortured and beaten into a coma. The two young men who committed this crime did so because Matthew Shepherd was a gay man. A few days later, he died from the injuries he sustained to his head from being beaten with the butt of a pistol. You may not like it but Notre Dame and Saint Mary's is a home to lesbian, gay and bisexual students. Your call as both a Christian and as a human being is to respect them. Making light of the very real threat of homophobic motivated hate crimes is a poor excuse for humor and a despicable action. I completely support and defend a person's freedom of belief, expression and speech. However, when expressing that belief takes the form of language which encourages violence against a group of people, you have crossed a professional and ethical line. As journalists, you are expected to maintain a certain level of integrity. As Christians, you are called to truth. This brings me to my most important point; that this comic opposes what the Catholic Church teaches surrounding the issue of homosexuality; Notre Dame is a Catholic school and therefore respects the dignity of all humans as the crown of God's creation. According to the document from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in its pastoral letter Always Our Children, the Catholic Church teaches that, "Nothing in the Bible or in Catholic teaching can be used to justify prejudicial or discriminatory attitudes or behaviors ... We call on all Christians and citizens of good will to confront their own fears about homosexuality and to curb the humor and discrimination that offend homosexual persons" (emphasis my own). Further, Jesus preached a gospel of tolerance and acceptance. Our Christian faith can be summarized in a single word- love. Regardless of your personal stance regarding homosexuality, you are called to love your gay and lesbian brothers and sisters as children of God. Calling something a "comic" when it suggests beating a homosexual into a permanent vegetative state with a baseball bat is a far cry from Jesus' radical call to love. It may be a joke to you, but to members of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community, it is a constant reality that there are people out there who would harm us for who and what we are. Something like this would never be allowed to be published if it was directed at a religious, ethnic, racial or cultural minority. What makes this any different? Advocating violence toward a group of people and passing it off as a joke demeans the inherent dignity of all people created in the Divine loving image of God.

The Observer

Saint Mary's Straight and Gay Alliance

By The Observer · Friday, Jan. 15, 2010

To Colin Hofman, Jay Wade, Lauren Rosemeyer and Jenn Metz, Editor-in-Chief: I am writing on behalf of the Saint Mary's Straight and Gay Alliance and all students standing for human dignity. Your comic strip from Wednesday, January 13 was offensive for two very serious reasons. It encourages violence against fellow Notre Dame and Saint Mary's family members and it shows a complete lack of knowledge or understanding of Catholic teaching on the issue of homosexuality. Whether or not you realize it, when you write such a comic, or in the case of the editor, allow it to be printed, you are responsible for the message it carries and what it implies. On October 7, 1998, a young man outside of Laramie, Wyoming was found bloodied, tortured and beaten into a coma. The two young men who committed this crime did so because Matthew Shepherd was a gay man. A few days later, he died from the injuries he sustained to his head from being beaten with the butt of a pistol. You may not like it but Notre Dame and Saint Mary's is a home to lesbian, gay and bisexual students. Your call as both a Christian and as a human being is to respect them. Making light of the very real threat of homophobic motivated hate crimes is a poor excuse for humor and a despicable action. I completely support and defend a person's freedom of belief, expression and speech. However, when expressing that belief takes the form of language which encourages violence against a group of people, you have crossed a professional and ethical line. As journalists, you are expected to maintain a certain level of integrity. As Christians, you are called to truth. This brings me to my most important point; that this comic opposes what the Catholic Church teaches surrounding the issue of homosexuality; Notre Dame is a Catholic school and therefore respects the dignity of all humans as the crown of God's creation. According to the document from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in its pastoral letter Always Our Children, the Catholic Church teaches that, "Nothing in the Bible or in Catholic teaching can be used to justify prejudicial or discriminatory attitudes or behaviors ... We call on all Christians and citizens of good will to confront their own fears about homosexuality and to curb the humor and discrimination that offend homosexual persons" (emphasis my own). Further, Jesus preached a gospel of tolerance and acceptance. Our Christian faith can be summarized in a single word- love. Regardless of your personal stance regarding homosexuality, you are called to love your gay and lesbian brothers and sisters as children of God. Calling something a "comic" when it suggests beating a homosexual into a permanent vegetative state with a baseball bat is a far cry from Jesus' radical call to love. It may be a joke to you, but to members of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community, it is a constant reality that there are people out there who would harm us for who and what we are. Something like this would never be allowed to be published if it was directed at a religious, ethnic, racial or cultural minority. What makes this any different? Advocating violence toward a group of people and passing it off as a joke demeans the inherent dignity of all people created in the Divine loving image of God.

The Observer

How we know our University has failed

By The Observer · Friday, Jan. 15, 2010

I'm not a big fan of mission statements. They usually either just state something that everyone already knew or are so meandering and vague they couldn't possibly guide anything. But a good one can actually tell us something about our aspirations for the outcomes of our work. In the case of this university, one of the most important outputs is the character of our students — and our mission statement says so: "The University seeks to cultivate in its students not only an appreciation for the great achievements of human beings, but also a disciplined sensibility to the poverty, injustice, and oppression that burden the lives of so many. The aim is to create a sense of human solidarity and concern for the common good that will bear fruit as learning becomes service to justice." Note especially the phrases "a disciplined sensibility to the poverty, injustice and oppression" and "a sense of human solidarity and concern for the common good." If students walk away from Notre Dame without these, we have failed. Those failures should both sadden us and strengthen our resolve to work toward a better outcome, especially when confronted blatant evidence of our failures. Case in point: Tuesday's comic "The Mobile Party." In case you missed it, the comic poses the question "What is the easiest way to turn a fruit into a vegetable?" And answers, "A baseball bat." The strip can be viewed on the strip's blog as well (themobileparty.blogspot.com). Can the authors (students here at our beloved university) explain how this comic is an expression of a disciplined sensibility to injustice and oppression, or reflecting human solidarity, or concern for the common good? What's worse is that the blog also posts a version that was apparently rejected The Observer in which the response isn't "a baseball bat," but "AIDS." Again, solidarity? Concern for the common good? The post also includes a gmail chat in which the Observer staffer rejects the AIDS version because they "prefer not to make light of a fatal disease." They don't mind, however, making light of beating another human being with a baseball bat until that person becomes a "vegetable." This is no isolated incident on our campus. Last year, for example, during the bookstore basketball tournament, there were two teams whose names referenced Chris Brown/Rihanna ("Unlike Rihanna, we get our hands up on defense" and "Chris Brown's Greatest Hits"). It's no surprise that these kinds of cultural references come up in team names, but it is appalling. Even worse, the organizers chose these names as members of their "Top 10 Team Names" list and presented them at the Captains meeting as if they were exemplary — ones we should think are funny, or appreciate, or, God forbid, emulate! Is this really funny: "The Los Angeles County court affidavit alleges that Mr. Brown, 19, repeatedly punched ‘Robyn F.' [Robyn Rihanna Fenty] — in the face and arms, bit her, held her so tightly in a headlock that she almost lost consciousness and threatened to kill her..."? On this campus many students, faculty and staff work hard to combat violence. Getting a cheap laugh at the expense of the abused, bashed, disabled and even murdered not only belittles these horrific experiences but encourages more violence. Instead, our student leaders — elected leaders, organizers of campus activities and the editors, writers and cartoonists in our main public forum — ought to also be leaders in supporting our mission. If we can't even get these people on board with our core values, then we truly have failed.

The Observer

Party smarter, not harder

By The Observer · Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010

 It's a new decade! A completely arbitrary marker on a calendar which will nevertheless cause you to resolve to become a better person, which resolution you will halfheartedly keep for the first three weeks of January. In this spirit of semi-enthusiastic self-improvement, I have drawn on my considerable and hard-earned experience with social gatherings to bring you an exhaustive breakdown of how much to drink at parties. Each of the three cases below describes a party type and its corresponding, tried-and-true drinking strategy. Sláinte! 

The Observer

The greatest fraternity

By The Observer · Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010

 My father and mother were graduates of the Notre Dame/Saint Mary's classes of 1917, respectively, and totally dedicated to both schools throughout their life times. I grew up with a constant stream of clergy and former classmates for dinner, picnics (the nuns didn't come in the house in those days), assorted class activities and post football reunions. Whenever we traveled, there were alums to be visited and in times of need to be called upon for help. We were, it seemed, part of a giant fraternity-sorority that proceeded, I surmised later, from the friendships formed and the love expressed on these residential campuses. Friendships characterized by an extraordinary inclusiveness, which continue through life as most graduates who have traveled widely can attest.

The Observer

Manhattan Declaration

By The Observer · Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010

 One hundred fifty-two Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical leaders recently issued the Manhattan Declaration (MD) in defense of "the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage as a union of husband and wife, and the freedom of conscience and religion." MD was drafted by Princeton Professor Robert George, Dean Timothy George of Samford University and Chuck Colson, founder of the Center for Christian Worldview. Online signers of MD exceed 400,000.

The Observer

Marching Band's popular debut

By The Observer · Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010

 For anyone that might think that the term "marching band" cannot possibly be mentioned in the same sentence as "cool," the Marching Band of the Fighting Irish certainly have disproved that notion by being featured in the recently-released music video by the [insert appropriate hipster adjective here] band OK Go. Sweet.

The Observer

Party smarter, not harder

By The Observer · Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010

 It's a new decade! A completely arbitrary marker on a calendar which will nevertheless cause you to resolve to become a better person, which resolution you will halfheartedly keep for the first three weeks of January. In this spirit of semi-enthusiastic self-improvement, I have drawn on my considerable and hard-earned experience with social gatherings to bring you an exhaustive breakdown of how much to drink at parties. Each of the three cases below describes a party type and its corresponding, tried-and-true drinking strategy. Sláinte! 

The Observer

Marching Band's popular debut

By The Observer · Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010

 For anyone that might think that the term "marching band" cannot possibly be mentioned in the same sentence as "cool," the Marching Band of the Fighting Irish certainly have disproved that notion by being featured in the recently-released music video by the [insert appropriate hipster adjective here] band OK Go. Sweet.

The Observer

The greatest fraternity

By The Observer · Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010

 My father and mother were graduates of the Notre Dame/Saint Mary's classes of 1917, respectively, and totally dedicated to both schools throughout their life times. I grew up with a constant stream of clergy and former classmates for dinner, picnics (the nuns didn't come in the house in those days), assorted class activities and post football reunions. Whenever we traveled, there were alums to be visited and in times of need to be called upon for help. We were, it seemed, part of a giant fraternity-sorority that proceeded, I surmised later, from the friendships formed and the love expressed on these residential campuses. Friendships characterized by an extraordinary inclusiveness, which continue through life as most graduates who have traveled widely can attest.

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