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Friday, Sept. 20, 2024
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Underlined passages

By Reyna Lim · Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022

On the R train from Union Square to Prince Street, I sit across from a girl who seems to radiate the very signification of “cool”. Her red curls fall into place like puzzle pieces, a beguiling smile in her eyes underneath her mask. A seemingly careless outfit, yet its nonchalance manifests itself through all the right pieces: perfectly tattered boots, a vintage-looking leather bag, the rings on her fingers that surely were collected from a plethora of farmers’ markets and local jewelers. But it’s her shirt that catches my eye — a purple long-sleeve with graphics promoting a band I have never heard of. 

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Money talks

By BridgeND · Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022

On June 30, the Supreme Court’s majority opinion on West Virginia v. EPA (2022) delivered a blow to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate the production practices and carbon emissions of large corporations. On Aug. 8, the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, marking the single largest legislative commitment to combat climate change in American history. The bill intends to make a $370 billion investment in clean energy to decrease U.S. carbon emissions 40% by 2030 and place the country on track to reach President Joe Biden’s goal of cutting current U.S. carbon emissions in half by 2030. “Today, Senate Democrats sided with American families over special interests, voting to lower the cost of prescription drugs, health insurance, and everyday energy costs and reduce the deficit, while making the wealthiest corporations finally pay their fair share,” Biden said. 

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Yellow journalism, read all over

By Elizabeth Prater · Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022

I made a pact with myself this year to read actively and more widely about the news. This may be surprising for someone who has both written and worked for The Observer since my freshman year at Notre Dame. However, I found myself barely being able to keep up with my seminar readings, rooted in the classical world, and failed to acquaint myself with contemporary and global issues.

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The funk is necessary

By Kate Casper · Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022

I knew I was in a funk when I took myself on a lake walk last Saturday. While the cause was unclear at the time, I knew for sure my funk was triggered by something. Specifically, I knew it was triggered by my self-imposed “Snapchat Detox”: I would allow myself only 15 minutes of Snapchat per day and see how it made me feel. 

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A love letter to my family

By Christina Sayut · Monday, Oct. 10, 2022

Something I always hear from my friends is that their parents want them to call home more — that could never be me. I call my parents before I even know what I want to talk about. In October, I called my mom and dad a total of 24 times, but if I had it my way it would be more like 48. My mom genuinely is my best friend — she just gets me in a way that nobody else does. I’d classify my July as a “Hannah Montana Summer”, because all I did was relax and hang out with my family. If you snapchatted me in July, I probably responded while watching The Price is Right with my mom, doing random work with my dad, bird-watching and gardening with my grandparents, or chasing around my baby cousins with their awesome mom, Maddie.

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Our dependence on God

By Andrew Sveda · Monday, Oct. 10, 2022

Man is wholly dependent on God.  This is not merely pious rhetoric but thoroughly biblical. We have been created (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 139:13) and are sustained by God (Hebrews 1:3). We cannot live one hour (Luke 12:25-26) or even take a single step (Acts 17:28) apart from His power and foreordination.  

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Lunchtime

By Peter Breen · Friday, Oct. 7, 2022

I remember my first day of first grade. I was at a new school and my relationships with the other eight kids in my homeroom were all about the same. All eight had already gone to either Montessori or kindergarten together. I was the new kid.

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The forgotten women

By Jack Griffiths · Friday, Oct. 7, 2022

In my columns, I’ve primarily focused on my own experiences to provide insight into neurodivergence. However, while I’ve enjoyed sharing my thoughts and personal history, there are obvious limitations to this approach. Neurodivergence can manifest itself differently from person to person, and one’s other identity factors can also contribute to unique experiences. Hence, this week I’d like to focus on how neurodivergent women encounter their own specific challenges, challenges formed by the toxic intersection of misogyny and anti-neurodivergent discrimination.

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Why I 'worship' Taylor Swift

By Isabelle Kause · Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022

When Taylor Swift first rose to fame, her flocks of fans, passionately known as Swifties, formed shortly thereafter. As a proud member of this group, I can attest to the personal benefit it brought to my own life.

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A guide to sin and forgiveness in Judaism for non-Jews

By Blake Ziegler · Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022

Since last week, I and other Jews across the world have begun celebrating the High Holy Days, a period of serious moral reflection for ourselves and our community. We assess our behavior in the last year in hopes of doing better this year by contemplating topics like forgiveness, redemption, freedom, joy, more through prayer and celebration. The most important period during this time is the High Holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The former, celebrated last week, marked the Jewish New Year and the 10 Days of Repentance when we seek forgiveness from others for our wrongdoings in the last year. Only those who forego sin are inscribed in the Book of Life, the metaphorical concept meant to encourage Jews to become better people in the new year. 

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Country club Christianity

By Dane Sherman · Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022

We stand on the shoulders of underdogs. Notre Dame began as a school for the poor, Irish, Catholic immigrants that were not welcome anywhere else. At every turn, we have been counted out for being “too Catholic,” in the middle of nowhere, or as “just a football school.”

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Don’t talk to me before I’ve had my morning coffee

By Aidan Thomas · Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022

The basis of this Inside column started about 10 months ago. As I walked to the back of our lovely office and fired up the Keurig once more at about 4 a.m. This was of course, during the insanity of the Brian Kelly exit and ensuing chaos, which led to…more than one all-nighter. That particular Thursday night/Friday morning, we were working on a final timeline of everything that had happened in the past week, and with that monster project due, plus an actual academic project due at 11 a.m., it was a big night for coffee.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.  

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