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-Patrick McKelvey | Monday, March 4, 2019
Since President Jenkins announced plans to cover the infamous Columbus murals in the Main Building, a number of statements against his decision have appeared on campus and in The Observer. Until very recently, I always thought the murals should be covered as well — and none of the typical arguments had swayed me. I don’t
Patrick McKelvey | Tuesday, February 19, 2019
On Thursday, Amazon announced it would no longer be building its planned “HQ2” in New York. After months of courtship and discussion, the company had decided to place one half of its new headquarters in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York. Amazon would have earned the city approximately $27 billion in tax
Patrick McKelvey | Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Every few years, when the low pressure system that surrounds the Arctic weakens, pockets of polar air can make their way farther south than they normally would. This is what happened last week, when a ‘polar vortex’ brought frigid temperatures to the midwestern United States. Not just frigid, actually—some states recorded temperatures colder than those
Patrick McKelvey | Tuesday, January 22, 2019
We all know who George Wallace is. The four-term governor of Alabama is one of the most infamous figures in 20th-century American politics. He is the face of the anti-civil rights movement, shouting in his inaugural address “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” In June of 1963, he organized the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door. The
Patrick McKelvey | Friday, January 18, 2019
If you pay close attention to the slate of movies released every year, you’ll notice a seasonal pattern emerges. This pattern is constant, unwavering. It almost never changes. It’s hard to mess with the calendar of a multi-billion dollar industry. January and February are the “dump months,” when production studios release the absolute worst movies
Patrick McKelvey | Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Every year, on the day after Thanksgiving, my family drives up from the shore to a Christmas tree farm somewhere in north Jersey. It’s a different tree every year, but the image remains the same: a picturesque, family-owned farmstead, a red cottage with a green door selling wreaths and serving hot chocolate, a dirt path
Patrick McKelvey | Tuesday, November 6, 2018
You should vote today. Today is Election Day. Finally. I don’t know about you, but I was getting a little tired of Senator Joe Donnelly’s wood chopping ad that airs every 20 minutes. I didn’t want to see another second of some negative ad campaign about candidates who hate guns or want to cut your
Patrick McKelvey | Tuesday, October 23, 2018
On Sept. 20, Michael Adamek, a custodian at the University of Notre Dame, died in the Hesburgh Library parking lot. I didn’t know about his death, however, until more than two weeks later. Outside of a website press release, the University made no mention of Adamek and his longtime service to Notre Dame. It took
Patrick McKelvey | Tuesday, October 2, 2018
On Friday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh. During the hearing, both Ford and Kavanaugh provided testimony surrounding the incident, and both were questioned by senators on the committee. At one point, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham became irate. “I cannot imagine
Patrick McKelvey | Tuesday, September 18, 2018
On Sept. 11, Bob Woodward released his 12th book, “Fear: Trump in the White House.” The nonfiction work chronicles President Trump’s time in office, telling stories of his conduct and incompetence through the eyes of office aides. It sold more than 750,000 copies in its first day on shelves. Unsurprisingly, the President has denounced Woodward