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Empty silverware holders, no late-night quesadillas: Notre Dame feels effects of nationwide labor shortage

Maggie Eastland and Maxwell Feldmann | Wednesday, November 17, 2021

A worker shortage is rippling across the country, and the Notre Dame campus is also feeling its impact. Whiteboards encouraging workers to join the Campus Dining staff and shortened Taco Bell hours highlight the underlying labor shortage on campus. The problem is exacerbated by both nationwide labor shortages and lower levels of student employment. “As

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Student budgets were already tight. Inflation is only making it worse.

Caitlin Gormley | Tuesday, November 16, 2021

This semester could be one of the most expensive yet. From toilet paper to coffee, costs of student staples are rising. The consumer price index, which measures changes in how much Americans pay for certain goods and services, rose 0.4% in Sept., the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the past 12 months, prices in

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Notre Dame community explains turmoil facing Congress

Bella Laufenberg | Friday, October 1, 2021

When President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump in November’s general election, he did so in part by swaying the votes of the more radical Democrats. Although he is still considered a moderate, one of the promises of his campaign that may have helped convince those voters was his plans for a robust social

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Ice cream economics

Maggie Eastland | Thursday, May 6, 2021

Picture this: vanilla ice cream, covered in melt-in-your mouth chocolate, then a sweet, gooey caramel, all enclosed by another layer of chocolate. Ladies and gentlemen: I give you the Magnum Double Caramel Ice Cream Bar. If you’ve never experienced this culinary masterpiece, I urge you to walk to The Huddle right now and spend your

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Subverting reality

Show Some Skin | Friday, April 23, 2021

Not too long ago, I was dreaming up ideas for a potential thesis topic, and the notion of “subverting reality” came to mind. I initially thought of the phrase in the context of existing uncomfortably within systems that we cannot immediately change. We subvert reality when we resist the systemic forces that tempt and pressure

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New Women in Economics club seeks to build community, reduce gender gap in the field

Annemarie Foy | Friday, March 12, 2021

Newly approved by Student Activities Office (SAO) this semester, Notre Dame’s Women in Economics club aims to empower women to pursue economics in their academic and professional careers. The idea for the club took root two years ago after co-founders and co-presidents Kelly Mitchell and Ella Saenger, realized how few women were in their economics

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The argument for a $15 minimum wage

Justice Mory | Wednesday, March 10, 2021

On Friday, March 5, eight Democrats and all 50 Republican senators voted against Senator Bernie Sanders’s proposal to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Following this, Sanders said, “If any Senator believes this is the last time they will cast a vote on whether or not to give a raise to 32 million

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Professors discuss possible minimum wage increases

Maggie Eastland | Monday, February 15, 2021

The Raise the Wage Act, recently proposed in the House of Representatives, promises an annual increase in the minimum wage until it reaches $15 an hour by 2025, as well as an index to continue raising the minimum wage at the same rate as median hourly wages. Two Notre Dame professors proficient in economic policy,

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Former Speaker of the House lectures on economics in public policy

Bella Laufenberg | Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan gave a lecture to Notre Dame economics students and faculty on the intersection of economics and public policy Tuesday night. Ryan, who hails from Wisconsin, served as a member of the House of Representatives for 20 years. During his time as a representative, he served as the Speaker

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In response to Brian Evans, CFO of GEO Group

Letter to the Editor | Monday, September 14, 2020

In a recent letter to The Observer, Notre Dame alumnus and GEO Group CFO Brian Evans offers unsolicited advice on how students should focus their political energies. Mr. Evans is no stranger to political action. As treasurer of the GEO Group Inc. Political Action Committee (the GEO Group PAC), Mr. Evans is a key player

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