Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Observer
Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025
Support The Observer
Observer Store Subscribe
The Observer

Opinion

The Observer

The fate of the unipolar world

By Pablo Lacayo · Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022

When my friends and I welcomed the new decade alongside the intermittent crashing of waves on the delectable shores of Nicaragua’s Pacific coast, we took a moment to predict what the 2020s would herald for our own lives and the potential events that might shape up the world in the years immediately ahead. Besides a few very predictable hits along the lines of “graduating” and “running it back the following New Year’s Eve,” most of our predictions fell flat and are probably resoundingly laughable at this point in time. Surprisingly enough, the only major one we managed to hit on the nail was the high possibility that we’d finish college in the midst of a recession, or at the very least teetering close to one. 

The Observer

Prioritize and execute

By Mikey Colgan · Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022

In my last article, I covered the overarching topic of Jocko Willink and Leif Babin’s Extreme Ownership, and I wanted to follow up with another important leadership principle covered in the book. During an operation in Ramadi, Platoon Commander Leif Babin and his men commandeered a building right in the enemy’s backyard. Their goal was to disrupt the insurgents’ safe haven and weaken their force. Upon entering the building, the platoon faced immediate fire from the enemy. Fortunately, these men had the advantage of high ground, which allowed them to fight back against large numbers and assert their position. While this building had clear advantages, it also presented one glaring issue: the stairs to exit the building from the top floor were located outside the building. This meant they could not move up or down when facing fire from the enemy. It also reminded them of a frightening recent event in the area. Another marine sniper team faced similar building conditions. As they were inside the building, the enemy placed an IED on the stairs, and it detonated as they exited. Now the team had to be sure the stairway was clear before returning to base at night. After hours of fighting, darkness swept over the area and the team prepared to leave.

1675358132-cfcd208495d565e

Spotting the natural law

By Devin Humphreys · Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022

Often when I was an undergraduate at Michigan State, and occasionally nowadays here at Notre Dame, friends of mine and I have gathered around a table, and someone has suggested that we play a round of the card game known as Chairman Mao. I won’t spoil the game for those who have never played (half the “fun” is in introducing new players to the game), but essentially Chairman Mao is a game for those who love rules. More accurately, Chairman Mao is a game for those who love to make up rules… and not tell anyone what they are… and penalize those who break them. Indeed, the aim of Chairman Mao is to learn what gets you penalized to avoid penalties and obtain victory. To say any more than that would earn me a penalty in my next game of Chairman Mao.

The Observer

Iran: Analyzing gendered oppression through an intersectional lens 

By Grace Sullivan · Monday, Oct. 3, 2022

On Sept. 16, protests in Iran broke out after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Amini was arrested and brutally beaten on the head by the so-called “morality police” — authorities that enforce religious based laws — for wearing her hijab too loosely: an illegal offense in Iran. Amini later died after being in police custody for three days. While the government is attempting to frame her cause of death on preexisting health conditions, her family contradicts this claim. Soon after her death, protests broke out across the country. Human rights advocates and Iranian activists have been engaging in demonstrations to protest the murder of Mahsa Amini and the compulsory enforcement of hijabs. The demonstrations include publicly cutting hair, burning hijabs and chanting phrases such as “death to the dictator” as a way to call out and resist the oppressive governmental system. In response, the “morality police” have been attempting to shut down protests through the use of brute force resulting in injured and in some instances dead citizens. In addition to this, the government is attempting to shut down the internet in order to control the spread of information both nationally and internationally. As this movement continues to grow, everyone must pay attention to the threat this poses toward human rights.

The Observer

The Watcher House

By Caroline Collins · Monday, Oct. 3, 2022

I grew up in a quaint, suburban neighborhood in New Jersey, exit 135 for those familiar with the Garden State Parkway. Picture newly built homes with attached garages, families with big dogs, soccer games on Sundays and a picturesque downtown with all the essentials — the bagel shop, the local diner and the penny candy drugstore.  

The Observer

Greatest ally, cause of your anguish

By Carlos Basurto · Monday, Oct. 3, 2022

Our brains are but wonderful machines. This term is no exaggeration by any extent of the imagination, for they have been fine-tuned through millions of years of evolution into the survival powerhouses we know and love so dearly. They are, through constant innovation, quite literally the line between life and death and as such have allowed us to become the (self-declared) rulers of this world. 

The Observer

The freshmen flu: A story of sniffles

By Jonah Tran · Monday, Oct. 3, 2022

The temperature is dropping. The leaves are changing colors. The flannel and gray sweatpants combo have arrived. It is sweater weather if you will. As of Sept. 22, at 9:04 p.m. EDT, fall has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere and at Notre Dame too. You might be tempted to think that the most important development of late is that you can wear cute “autumn-themed” clothes or that it is finally socially acceptable to indulge in pumpkin-spice beverages. But I draw your attention to the elephant in the room, an elephant which we room-dwellers neglect to acknowledge. With the arrival of sweaters and lattes comes the notorious “freshmen flu,” a ubiquitous ailment of varying severity that targets especially first-years but has been observed to affect others.

The Observer

All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray

By Isa Sheikh · Friday, Sept. 30, 2022

“Had I been blessed with even limited access to my own mind, there would have been no reason to write,” the writer Joan Didion said in a speech discussing the reasons and methods behind her writing. “I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means.” 

The Observer

I wish grandpas never died

By Stephen Viz · Friday, Sept. 30, 2022

“And I wish even cars had truck beds And every road was named Copperhead And coolers never run out of cold Bud Light And I wish high school home teams never lost And back road drinkin' kids never got caught And I wish the price of gas was low and cotton was high I wish honky tonks didn't have no closing time And I wish grandpas never died.”

The Observer

Observer Editorial: Students deserve more than just group counseling

By The Observer Editorial Board · Friday, Sept. 30, 2022

As the first full month of the semester comes to a close and midterms are on the horizon, it is essential that mental well-being is a priority. The tri-campus community boasts a multitude of resources for student mental health, but it’s time to ask: are they enough? In a winter 2021 survey sent to students by the McDonald Center for Student Well-Being, 90% of students surveyed expressed “some level of concern” about their emotional well-being. With this amount of demand, the tri-campus community must invest more time, money and resources into caring for the mental health of its students. 

The Observer

An opinion on pharmaceutical patents

By Alexa Schlaerth · Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022

The recent global COVID-19 pandemic has prompted us to look inward to reflect. One aspect subject to this reflection is none other than our healthcare system. More specifically, Covid has presented an opportunity to investigate the shortcomings and advantages of our current healthcare system, especially as it operates within the market/mixed economy ecosystem in modern American life. In this examination, a key ethical issue emerges: pharmaceutical abuse of patents. 

The Observer

The things that don’t spark joy

By Reyna Lim · Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022

We’ve all seen Marie Kondo and her organization wizardry on Netflix, preaching her secret key to not being a hot mess: if the object doesn’t “spark joy,” throw it away. I am a hot (arguable) mess, and I hold onto things that spark sadness, frustration, nostalgia and humiliation. 

The Observer

The helping paradox

By Carlos Basurto · Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022

We, as human beings, have had the fortune (or misfortune, for some) to interact with one another in matters of the mind and the heart since the beginning of time. As social creatures, we must rely on one another to share this spinning ball of flaming rock and cooperate to a certain degree to survive. However, not all cooperation is created equal, and I would like to propose rethinking the manner in which one cooperates. At times, helping is not helpful. Not simply because of the possible ineffectiveness of the action, but because the very concept of helping is not helpful. Even those with the best intentions can and do commit the repeated mistake of falling victim to the Helping Paradox.

The Observer

Buckle your seatbelts, it’s time to study abroad

By Sophia Michetti · Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022

I had a lot of expectations about how my study abroad was going to go, and none of them came to fruition the way I thought they would. Now, this isn’t to say I didn’t have the best time of my life — I definitely did. That being said, my study abroad experience taught me one of the most important lessons I’ve gotten out of my time at Notre Dame: Just go with it.

The Observer

Fall is here, but I swear, summer is forever

By Kate Casper · Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022

Perhaps the start of fall isn’t marked by last Thursday’s Autumnal Equinox at 9:04 p.m. Eastern Time — maybe it’s the August 30 return of the Pumpkin Spiced Latte to Starbucks, or the day the box fans start to disappear from dorm room windows. Maybe it’s the first chill of fall you feel on an overcast day on campus or the slow, painful retirement of your flip-flops. However you define this shift, it’s happening, and everyone’s feeling it. 

The Observer

Dilemma: Internship or retail?

By Gabriel Ibarra · Monday, Sept. 26, 2022

Dear reader, welcome back to the chaos. Since the last time you’ve read a word written by me, the temperature has dropped to cardigan and corduroy weather. Not only that, but we’ve begun our approach to midterm season. It can be daunting to head into midterms every year, even though we somehow manage it every year. I’m feeling a bit confident in my midterms this year, but the surrounding context is troubling me, and I might want some advice.

The Observer

Autistic amplification

By Jack Griffiths · Monday, Sept. 26, 2022

Your six-year-old self timidly clings to your mother’s hand as your eyes are bombarded with harsh rays descending in deluges making you feel like a sweaty performer for the world’s worst stage show as your reddening ears start to swell with the cacophony of babies crying, scanners beeping, suitcases rolling and intercom blaring as you look up to the towering ceiling but regret doing so because now you feel like a powerless pawn in your black tennis shoes from school that are starting to dig and nip at the toes on your feet that aren’t used to walking for this long until you arrive at the giant steel capsule in which you try to stay still for the next two endless hours.

Trending