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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.”

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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Faithful in the darkness

By Andrew Sveda · Monday, Sept. 26, 2022

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” (Psalm 42:5 ESV). This deep spiritual darkness is no doubt the state of many Christians, perhaps you, today. A hard-to-explain gloom casts its shadow, and the joy you once had in the Lord feels like a vague memory. Though you continue to read your Bible and pray, God feels far off. 

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Duolingo-ing through life

By Andrew Marciano · Monday, Sept. 26, 2022

This past summer, when I studied abroad in Paris, I went with very limited knowledge of French and an intermediate amount of Spanish (which is definitely not as useful). Before you say, “what a stereotypical study abroad student only talking about his time in Europe,” hear me out — I got an understanding out of it I didn’t really anticipate. In our program, we had the unique opportunity to live in home-stays for six weeks and be completely immersed in the French culture. Our homestay families would cook us dinner three times a week, question us about our day, introduce us to their traditions, tell stories about their lives and show us the best places to see around Paris. 

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Spooky Season for Cinephiles

By Olivia Schatz · Friday, Sept. 23, 2022

Today is the first day of fall and spooky season is upon us! What better way to get into the mood than to put on a good halloween movie. From Hocus Pocus to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, halloween classics range a variety of genres. And while these classics are mentioned on every list, I thought I would create my own. This time, of the more forgotten Spooky Season films. 

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Observer Editorial: Let's create a safer campus

By The Observer Editorial Board · Friday, Sept. 23, 2022

Being back on campus means getting back into the swing of things. Whether that means getting used to school work routines, friend groups or even drinking and going out, it’s not always easy. In addition to a list of resources from our rolodex last week, we want to not forget general reminders that can go a long way in keeping you and your friends safe.

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Religion is for Democrats too, not just Republicans

By Blake Ziegler · Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022

You wouldn’t be alone in associating religion with the Republican Party and secularism with the Democratic Party. Over the last several decades, the rise of the Religious Right has cemented the fact that the Republican Party is dominated by white evangelicals inserting religious views into the party platform. Today, that sentiment is only reinforced as Republican candidates infuse Christianity into their campaign strategy. At Republican rallies this year, we’ve witnessed praise music, prayer, and other practices typically associated with religious worship. These religious practices at campaign events aren’t superfluous either, as Republican candidates call to end the separation between church and state and declare the United States a Christian nation. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, has struggled with religion due to the diverse religious and non-religious portions of its membership. In an effort to not alienate voters, Democrats have avoided religious rhetoric, often joined by criticism that they aren’t doing enough outreach to religious voters. 

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Business is not a game

By Krista Lourdes Akiki · Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022

“In recent years, we have grown accustomed to the use of games as models for understanding institutional behavior,” observes Peter French, Director of the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics at Arizona State University. The business as a game metaphor has undeniably become ubiquitous in the language and culture of business. Even though this linguistic device can be useful in clarifying multiple business concepts like competition, hierarchical structures and goal achievement, the business as a game metaphor is not always morally neutral and can be quite ethically problematic. In fact, I largely believe that this metaphor also sets up a flagrant fallacy. 

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Try a little tenderness

By Kylie Henry · Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022

I first allowed myself to consider the fact that I was asexual in the winter of 2020, with the assistance of a friend. They asked about my sexuality — I told them I identified as queer, but I hadn’t fully defined what queer was for me. We then proceeded to discard one sexuality after another until we landed on asexuality. The following definition of asexuality, which I resonate with most, was published in “The Asexual Manifesto” by Lisa Orlando in 1972

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