Observer the
The Independent Newspaper Serving Notre Dame and Saint Maryâs Volume 44 : Issue 77
Friday, January 22, 2010
ndsmcobserver.com
Jenkins, students head to D.C. for march Festival Notre Dame Right to Life Club sends students to capital to support pro-life cause By MADELINE BUCKLEY News Editor
Almost 400 students will p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h i s y e a r âs national March for Life Friday in Washington, D.C. â doubling last yearâs participation. The Notre Dame Right to Life Club sends students to t h e n a t i o n âs c a p i t a l e v e r y year to march in the annual pro-life rally, the groupâs covice president Mary Daly, a senior, said. But this year, for the first time, University President Fr. John Jenkins will join the marchers. Jenkins created a pro-life task force in September to âbroaden and deepen the
pro-life cultureâ at Notre Dame to help âstrengthen the Notre Dame communityâs witness to Catholic teaching on life.â One of the task forceâs first recommendations was to suggest the University president join Notre Dame students in Fridayâs March for Life. The task forceâs creation was in part in response to the work of a group of students who condemned Jenkinsâ decision to invite President Barack Obama to deliver the 2009 Commencement address and award him an honorary degree. Daly, a leader within the student group that protested
Observer File Photo
see PETITION/page 4
Members of the Campaign for Human Dignity presented the Office of the President with a petition on March 19, 2009.
see FILM/page 4
see MARCH/page 4
Petition starts in response to comic Students call for âsexual orientationâ to be added to the Universityâs non-discrimination clause
Notre Dame seniors Patrick Bears and Meaghan Jennings knew they had to do something to try to get the University to act after the Jan. 13 publication of an offensive comic about violence towards the gay community in The Observer. The two, both involved in the Gender Relations Center and the Core Council â a University group that works to support the GLBTQ community at Notre Dame â said there was âshock and outrageâ after the offensive comic was printed last week.
News Writer
âBy no means [do I] think that anyone saw it and thought, âOh, but Notre Dame is so accepting of homosexuals,ââ Jennings said. On the contrary, the comic and the national response it generated contributed to a perception of the University as not being accepting of the GLBTQ community, she said. âI feel like our image has very much been tarnished by this,â she said. So the pair decided to start a petition to have âsexual orientationâ added to the Universityâs non-discrimination clause â itâs currently not listed alongside
AP
News Writer
By MEGAN HEMLER Notre Dameâs film production program is often described as one of the top âhidden gems,â around the country, said Ted Mandell, film and television faculty member and o r g a n i z e r o f See Also the Film and â21st annual Te l e v i s i o n Notre Dame Departmentâs a n n u a l Film Festival Student Film previewâ Festival. Now in its page 12 21st year, the festival began Thursday night at the Browning Cinema in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. The festival continues Friday and Saturday night, with screenings at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. The first film festival was held in 1990 in a variety of venues, until 2004 when the D PA C w a s b u i l t a n d i t h a s been held there ever since. All films are between three and fifteen minutes in length, from a variety of genres, but all made by students during introductory, intermediate or advanced film production classes. Mandell said there are several factors the movies are judged on. âThere are a lot of elements,
State Rep. Bill Hinkle encourages a crowd of pro-life supporters, Jan. 19 while speaking at the steps of the Legislative Building in Washington.
By AARON STEINER
showcases student film productions
Police ask for more Keenan Revue pushes envelope information on assault By JOHN CAMERON News Writer Observer Staff Report
Investigations are underway regarding the three students who were assaulted while attempting to board the Transpo bus route 7A during the early morning hours of Jan. 17, police said earlier this week. Police asked witnesses to share any type of information they have. âEven if people think it might not be significant, it may be the break that we need,â Assistant Director for Notre Dame Security Police Dave Chapman said. Chapman said any information
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about the attackers and their car or license plate number could be helpful in identifying the person responsible for the assault. âAnything they saw, anything they heard, anything at all,â he said. âIf we get two or three people, we can put their stories together.â The assault occurred at around 2 a.m. Sunday on the corner of Notre Dame Ave. and Miner St., Chapman said. Witnesses should call Sergeant Al Deroo at 574-235-9263 or South Bend Crime Stoppers at 574-288-STOP with information.
Between Notre Dame âbros,â Facebook creepers, Twilight and Tiger Woods, few Notre Dame or pop culture topics escaped the spotlight at the 2010 Keenan Revue, presented Thursday night in OâLaughlin Auditorium at Saint Maryâs College. Traditionally, the men of Keenan Hall have been known to push the envelope, and this year is no exception. Judging from some of the skit titles, like âFlip and Tuck,â and
GRACE KENESEY/The Observer
see KEENAN/page 4
Keenan men line up and dance during their performance in OâLaughlin Auditorium at Saint Maryâs on Thursday night.
Beauty conference being held page 3 â Womenâs basketball preview page 24 â Top ten films of the decade page 12 â Viewpoint page 10