Print Edition of The Observer for Friday, March 24, 2017
Nd remembers Travis mcElmurry
Peers reflect on life of law student
By COURTNEY BECKER news editor
Travis m c e lmurry wanted to do good in the world with his law degree, first-year law student m ichael b enson said.
“ h e was an older student … and pretty quiet or reserved, and i think because of that, not a lot of students or professors at the law school had the pleasure of getting to know Travis,” he said in an email. “That is a shame because he was really down to e arth and easy
Observer Staff Report
edward vasta, professor emeritus of e nglish at notre dame, died monday at the age of 89, according to a university press release.
to talk to. h e was a dual J d / mba student and wanted to use his law degree and business background to help entrepreneurs succeed. h e loved his dog.”
m c e lmurry was a firstyear law student who was dual-enrolled at the business school. h e died m arch 12 at the age of 30 in his offcampus residence.
First-year law student yaya c hang said m c e lmurry was a laid-back classmate and friend.
London students share experiences of attack
By COURTNEY BECKER news e ditor
students studying abroad in london this semester were put on lockdown in the midst of an attack wednesday near the british houses of parliament and westminster bridge. The university confirmed the safety of all 167 students currently studying in london less than an hour after the incident, including nine students interning at parliament at the time of the attack.
Junior and parliament intern Jim english was at work when the attack occurred and said he had a view of some of the action from his office window.
“outside my window on our
Professor emeritus dies writers discuss Trump’s election
literature, medieval studies, creative writing and the humanities, the press release said.
vasta served in the u s navy from 1946 through 1948, and earned a Fulbright scholarship after graduating from notre dame in 1952 and returned to the university as a faculty member in 1958. he specialized in m iddle e nglish
vasta was the head of the department of e nglish at notre dame from 1972 to 1978 after serving as director of graduate studies from 1966 to 1969.
“vasta had an infectious passion for literature, especially poetry,” Jacqueline vaught brogan, professor emerita of e nglish, said in the press release. “my discussions with
him over the latter remain among the high points of my time at notre dame and influenced my own creativity, for which i am grateful. h is personal attention was an inspiration to many. he is sorely missed.”
according to the release, funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, with visitation one hour prior at the mcgann hay university c hapel. a burial with military honors will follow at cedar grove cemetery.
Student athletes reflect on Saint Mary’s careers
By SYDNEY DOYLE news writer
Four s aint m ary’s senior athletes spoke Thursday about their experiences with sports and their growth at
s aint m ary’s, as part of the “ w hy we p lay” series.
a li m ahoney, a golfer for all four years she has been at s aint m ary’s, said she started playing golf when
she was four years old, but never planned on playing in college.
s till, m ahoney had always wanted to come to s aint m ary’s, she said, and the d ivision iii team seemed like a good fit.
“ i knew i wanted to be part of this tradition,” she said.
“ d ivision iii would allow me to play and allow me to have all the other experiences i wanted.”
m ahoney said she could not imagine not being a student athlete.
“There is nothing i love more than being able to wear a french cross on my hat,” m ahoney said. “ i was able to continue playing a sport i love at an institution i love.”
see aThleTes PaGE 3
By TOM NAATZ news writer
i n a discussion entitled “ w hat does Trump’s election mean?” held Thursday night at the h esburgh c enter for i nternational r elations, n ew york Times columnist r oss d outhat and wall s treet Journal columnist w illiam g alston discussed the reasons behind d onald Trump’s election, as well as its implications.
“The beauty of it is that you can reasonably link it to anything you please,” said d outhat.
d outhat, a self-described “conservative writing at a liberal paper,” said there were three tensions that helped Trump get elected.
“First, there was a tension within the r epublican p arty between ideological conservatism and populism,” he said.
d outhat described how there has always been a battle in the r epublican p arty between ideological
conservatives and “heartland populists.” h e said this election marked the occasion where the latter overtook the former.
“The party wanted to move in a libertarian direction, the heartland wanted a populist, right wing welfare state,” he said. “There was a split between what voters and party elites wanted. l arge swathes of the electorate did not want a conservative.”
d outhat’s second tension was within the d emocratic coalition. h e said there have been two main forces on the a merican left in recent years: cosmopolitanism — or globalization — and egalitarianism.
“There was this idea that liberalism didn’t have to pick,” he said.
d outhat said this approach didn’t work, and many egalitarian voters went for Trump.
Finally, d outhat said, Trump benefited from a tension within western civilization itself — the idea that the
BEN PADANILAM | The Observer
Following an attack near London’s Houses of Parliament leaving five dead, the University confirmed the safety of all ND abroad students.
Policies The observer is the independent, daily newspaper published in print and online by the students of the University of notre dame du Lac and saint mary’s college. editorial content, including advertisements, is not governed by policies of the administration of either institution. The observer reserves the right to refuse advertisements based on content.
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Question of the Day:
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What was your freshman-year roommate’s spirit animal?
Pat Lynch junior Keenan hall “Koala.”
Tracy Cleary graduate student off campus “corgi dog.”
Jade Panlener freshman Pasquerilla West hall “Pug.”
Faisal Shariff senior off campus “hyena.”
Chris Lehman freshman dillon hall “c hinchilla.”
Sydnee Mayers junior Pasquerilla east hall “Gazelle.”
Today’s Staff
Corrections
The observer regards itself as
and
Friday
Last Day for Course Discontinuance Campus-wide Last day for students to drop a class without a withdrawal mark.
Higgins Labor Cafe Geddes Hall
5 p.m. - 6 p.m.
All people are welcome, and all opinions are tolerated.
Saturday
Indoor Cycling — Spring 2017 Freebies
Rockne Memorial
11 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Cycle for speed and take on the hills.
Family FuNDays: Intro to Climbing Clinic
Rockne Memorial
2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Rentals are free.
Want your event included here? Email news@ndsmcobserver.com
Sunday
Misa en Espanol (Spanish Mass) Dillon Hall
1:30 p.m.
All are welcome to come celebrate mass.
Vespers Basilica of the Sacred Heart
7:15 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. Evening prayer is held every Sunday.
Monday
Notre Dame Hijab Day Fieldhouse Mall
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Hosted by the Muslim Student Association.
An Evening With Rosie Rios Isban Auditorium
7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
“The woman behind the new $20 bill.”
Tuesday
RBSC Exhibit: “Preserving the Steadfastness of Your Faith” Hesburgh Library
9 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Snite Salon Series
Snite Museum of Art 5 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.
Guided tour with in-depth discussion of art to follow.
SUB shows award-winning films
By ALEXANDRA MUCK news Writer
Though many students associate room 101 in debartolo hall with large classes such as chemistry or biology, the lecture hall becomes a movie theater on Thursday, Friday and saturday nights with the help of the student Union board’s (sUb) movie committee members.
Junior daniel riley heads the committee, which is comprised of dorm representatives and student sUb members. In total, the ten committee members work with graphic designers and a publicity team to bring 10 movies to campus each semester.
The committee members work on the movie lineups for half a semester at a time, ensuring they will have access to the movies, since release dates often change. To pick the movies, riley said the committee members first peruse the list of available films from two third-party sites that deal directly with movie production companies for the rights to a film, which organizations can then rent. Then the committee members who have seen the films give input about the movies on the list.
student body would like, as well as maybe some of the hidden gems that we think are worth showing that maybe there’s not a huge following for,” riley said.
The committee members also look for movies from a variety of genres, riley said.
“We do search for a little bit of diversity,” he said. “We try to get one family movie in [during a half semester period] … We don’t want it to be all comedy or all drama.”
once the committee members have made their selections, riley emails his contacts at the sites. The committee gets the movies either through a pre-released dvd or downloading and streaming from a router box, and must return the movies when they are finished with them.
“because we are a college campus, we do get a bit of an advanced screening on it,” he said. “For example, ‘La La Land’ — my guess is it won’t be out on dvd for another month or so, at the earliest. … You actually get to see them before you would have the access on pay-per-view, netflix, dvd, things like that.”
because bringing the movies to campus is not free, the committee uses its budget and revenue from people who attend the movie to fund the movie nights. While the committee can cover all costs with some movies, riley said, it takes a loss on others.
one such film, “hunt for the Wilderpeople,” is riley’s favorite film of the ones he has brought to campus. riley called the film a “special gem,” and said while the attendance for the film was small, the people who saw it enjoyed it.
“We don’t make all our money back from the cost of renting a movie like that, but it does make me very happy [to see] how the student body gets excited for it as well,” he said.
error.
“We find out which ones are the popular ones that we think the majority of the
While attendance varies with different movies, riley said a weekend’s showings will typically average between 100 and 300 people, although “moana” attracted over 600 people. riley said most people attend the 8 p.m. showings on Fridays or saturdays.
The rest of this semester’s sUb movie lineup features Academy Award-nominated films “hidden Figures,” “moonlight” and “Fences,” as well as “The Lego batman movie.” The committee will also be showing “The breakfast club” for AnTostal week. students who are interested in following the movies on campus for a given week can email riley at driley2@nd.edu to be added to the movie email list.
Contact Alexandra Muck at amuck@nd.edu
ground floor office, there is a parking lot where a lot of [members of Parliament] park their cars,” he said in an email. “I was just chatting with my supervisor and another colleague when there was shouting out in the lot, and … [a] few seconds later, Prime minister Theresa may was rushed through the parking lot and guided into a car where she was eventually taken away. We then learned that there was a shooting and the policemen were yelling for everyone to stay in their rooms.”
Junior hadyn Pettersen is studying abroad at st. Andrew’s University in scotland this semester, but he was in London for a brief visit with his dad and uncle. Pettersen said in an email that he saw the aftermath of the attack firsthand.
“I was on a tour bus with my dad and uncle, who had flown to st. Andrew’s earlier in the week to visit me,” he said. “… While on Westminster bridge, another passenger pointed across to the sidewalk and gasped. I looked and saw several people on the ground. A few had gruesome injuries. A few were motionless. I first thought a driver had lost control of his car, but looking down the length of the bridge it became obvious to me that the act was intentional.”
Junior James Woodley is interning at a school in London through notre dame and was at the school when he learned about the attack from a friend interning at Parliament.
“I believe the attack happened at [2:40 p.m.] or so, and at [3:05 p.m.] — when class was dismissed — the intercom asked the teachers to not dismiss the students,” he said in an email. “I have a friend who is one of the, I believe, nine interns at Parliament and he texted me explaining what info he had at the time and that he was alright. I stayed put at the school until they released the students, about a half hour later … I have always thought of London as a very safe city, and today was the first day I was worried walking around.”
Junior and Parliament intern caitlin mcAuliffe said she had taken her visiting parents on a tour of the Parliamentary estate the day before the incident, but was not at work at the time of the attack.
“my backpack was stolen at lunchtime from the pub I had eaten at with my parents, so I was in the notre dame building sorting out my stolen laptop, credit cards and phone when my Parliament intern group chat went off with people talking about it and being very upset,” she said. “r ight now, I just feel really lucky that I wasn’t at work [Wednesday] or that I wasn’t showing my parents around the Parliamentary estate.”
Junior Jaclyn daily said students in notre dame London’s residence buildings generally
felt more removed from the “tragic situation.”
“everyone was very calm as we all felt safe and fairly separated from the situation,” she said in an email. “We were on lockdown for 30-60 minutes. notre dame accounted for all students within an hour and was constantly updating us with relevant information via emails.”
Junior and Parliament intern emily Gust said in an email that the quick work of local and Parliament authorities helped her stay calm and feel safe as she waited in lockdown at Parliament.
“I was shocked as I saw it unfold, and when I heard it was a terrorist attack it made me a little nervous about a potential further attack,” she said.“but being in parliament, I felt very safe, because I could see all of the police officers and knew they had the area secured. It was a scary situation, but by remaining calm and trusting the authorities to do what was
best, it felt a lot less frightening. my office really helped calm me down with their relaxed attitude, and I think that helped a lot.”
While he was “shaken up” by his experience, english said he is grateful to those who prevented the situation becoming any worse.
“It’s a bit surreal. I kind of feel like I just walked out of the movie theaters or off of a film set, so I don’t know if it’s completely hit me yet,” he said. “I’m definitely a bit shaken up by it, just considering how close I was to everything that happened. but it could have also been much worse, so I am very grateful and blessed at the same time. I’m thankful to all of the men and women who neutralized the situation [Wednesday] at Parliament and I’m grateful for the care and protection notre dame provides us with, especially in times of crisis.”
Contact Courtney Becker at cbecker3@nd.edu
con TI n U ed from PAGe 1
end of the c old War represented the triumph of liberal democracy and “the end of history” with “natural human discontent and boredom with stagnation.” d outhat
specifically pointed to economic stagnation as a driving factor behind Trump’s win.
“There was a willingness to upset the apple card,” he said.
The conversation then turned to Galston, a self-described “liberal working at a conservative paper.”
“The U. s . was part of a much broader populist trend,” he said. “The result was populist with American characteristics.”
Galston pointed to economics as the driving factor behind Trump’s victory, and noted the American economy has been in a state of
PAI d AdverTIsemen T
recovery since the mid-2009. “ f or middle-class Americans, this is a lost decade,” he said.
Galston also noted that median household incomes haven’t risen since 1999. “ f or middle-class Americans, this has been a lost generation,” he said. “The American d ream is this idea that you live a little better than you started, but your children live much better than you did. n ow, the American d ream is less credible.”
Galston also discussed how America’s global role factored into the election. h e described Trump’s ability to tap into feelings that other countries have taken advantage of the United s tates through trade and alliances.
“There was a sense that Uncle s am has become Uncle s ucker,” he said.
Contact Tom Naatz at tnaatz@nd.edu
A ranking of the ‘Twilight’ movies
I will be the first to admit that I was obsessed with the “Twilight” series in middle school. And by middle school, I also mean throughout high school. I saw them all premiere at midnight and I was a diehard Team edward girl. on my 13th birthday, almost every gift I received had something to do with “Twilight.” And although the sound tracks for the movies were always amazing, my obsession was pretty bad.
even though I have (mostly) grown out of that phase, I still find myself enjoying the movies every now and then; they’re my guiltiest pleasure. here, I have ranked them from worst to best so that if you ever find yourself wanting to watch a trashy movie, you can make the decision wisely.
5. “new moon”
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that “new moon” is easily the worst in the series. edward leaves, so bella sits and stares at a wall for literally months, moping around. Then she becomes a “daredevil” because she can see him whenever she does something stupid because edward is so controlling that she sees him instead of, I don’t know, maybe her parents, when she gets on the back of a motorcycle. edward, on the other hand, decides to expose himself to the world so that the vampire leaders — the volturi — will kill him. And by expose, I mean he walks out in the sun, shirtless, with his spray-painted abs and sparkles. In the end, they get back together. not hollywood’s finest work.
4. “Twilight”
This movie is 90 percent close ups and bella biting her lip. Then they make out in the woods and spew some very romantic lines about being a lion and a lamb. but hey, edward stops a car with his hand to save him, so that’s pretty romantic, right?
3. “Breaking dawn Part 1” of all the movies, I remember this one the least. Although it really makes me want to go to rio to dance in the streets and buy my own private island where I can go swimming whenever I want, nothing really happens. bella gets pregnant and then there’s an hour of the other vampires whispering about what to do and bella drinking blood. The last five minutes, everything goes nuts and edward literally bites the baby out of her and then bam — bella’s a vampire.
2. “eclipse”
The ultimate Team edward versus Team Jacob movie. Taylor Lautner takes his shirt off at least 400 times, if not more. The wolves promise not to harm bella but the vampires are like “dude, no, we can’t trust them, they’re literal dogs.” bella cries a lot because she “loves” both of these supernatural beings. The volturi come to deal with the situation, and dakota Fanning rocks as a vampire. she’s the most important part of this movie.
1.“Breaking dawn Part 2”
This is a true masterpiece. spoiler alert: the fight scene is amazing. There’s no fight scene in the book, and when I saw this in theaters, everyone was screaming when it started. edward and everyone important die and we were freaking out. Turns out, it was just a vision that Alice has and then prevents. doesn’t stray from the book, but gives us all the action. Then they live happily ever after as vampires. sure, Jacob falls in love with an infant, but other than that it’s truly amazing.
Contact Nicole Caratas at ncaratas01@saintmarys.edu
The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
leTTer To The ediTor
The humanity of inclusion
“Undocumented, unafraid, unapologetic.” Former saint mary’s student deyaneira Garcia is proud of her identity as a deferred Action for c hildhood Arrivals ( dAc A) student, which is why she held a sign at notre dame proclaiming these three words. After a picture of Garcia made it onto social media, the threats began to come. In reaction to the image, a fellow saint mary’s student wrote via social media that she would call local law enforcement to deport Garcia. Garcia and her roommates reported the harassment, but because she no longer felt safe on her campus, Garcia transferred out of saint mary’s.
despite efforts by the administrations of both notre dame and saint mary’s to try and address issues of diversity and inclusion, events of racial discrimination still affect members of our student body frequently. We wish, as students who are part of the diversity and Inclusion campaign, to address the underlying causes of such unfortunate events. We need to be proactive about discrimination and hate, educating students about these important issues.
by implementing inclusivity workshops in first year orientation, we can concretely show that our schools care about these issues and the people they affect. Through dialogue and information, we hope to ensure that everyone is represented by our schools regardless of their diverse identities. We aim to nurture love and respect between students, and this means recognizing and embracing differences. As notre dame’s m ission statement claims, “The intellectual interchange essential to a university requires, and is enriched by, the presence and voices of diverse scholars and students.” similarly, saint mary’s college “strives to bring together women of different nations, cultures, and races. It provides a residential environment where women grow in their appreciation of the strengths and needs of others.” We agree, and want to make sure these different voices are both present and heard.
For decades now, many scholars have pointed out that race is not a scientific concept, rather a social one which has implications on the individual’s and community’s access to health care, economy, education, and others. A recent discussion among scholars on Anthropology now points out that the majority of people are misled about the role of race in our genetics. Thus, race is a social concept invented by people, but its implications are real. For instance, the Journal of blacks in h igher education lists on their website that in the last year alone 36 racial incidents occurred at U.s. college campuses. We believe that the prevalence of racial incidents can be avoided when specific educational training is provided.
some may claim that racial identity does not matter because at the end of the day, we are all human. And to that, we would counter, “race should not matter –everyone is human.” but in reality, notions of race do have a very real and substantial impact on our perceptions and interactions with others.
so where do we start in tackling this issue?
orientation weekend. orientation weekend represents the first time that a new class comes together as one community. The weekend is foundational in nature, upon which friendships begin to grow and students begin to understand how they fit into this larger community. Thus, implementing an Inclusivity Workshop in the midst of an orientation dedicated to building community will help set a more inclusive tone at notre dame and saint mary’s from the very beginning. It is important that we address, from the start, how social interactions have the potential to be divisive and create outcast groups. rather than respond to divisive events, we want to prevent them altogether.
As University President Fr. John Jenkins rightly said this year, “This is notre dame. either we walk together in mutual support, or we do not walk at all. e ither we are all notre dame, or none of us are.”
If a member of our notre dame and saint mary’s community feels especially outcast due to the nature of their upbringing or heritage, it is our obligation to assess the issue and tackle it head-on. If we are to take seriously our schools’ goals of equally recognizing the value of each student, then that endeavor must begin on day one: new student orientations across both campuses represent the perfect opportunity to address issues of diversity and inclusion. A concrete training program during orientation weekend would allow us to build the kind of community that we aspire to be from the very start of bringing new members into our family.
If you would like to support us in our diversity and Inclusion campaign, please consider filling out our survey. Your responses will help us show administration how students truly feel on campus, so that we can create a more inclusive environment at notre dame and saint mary’s.
The lack of diversity in our schools’ classrooms prompt us to think of the implications that result – we are committed to addressing these implications in a way that makes our campuses more understanding towards each other.
As the notre dame m ission statement says, “The aim is to create a sense of human solidarity and concern for the common good that will bear fruit as learning becomes service to justice.”
Victoria Lew senior
Adrienne Whisman senior
Genesis Vasquez freshman
Sevda Arslan graduate student march 23
Nicole Caratas s enior news Writer
University ethics center’s near-sighted vision
This week, the U.s. house of representatives wrestled with easily repealing — but woefully replacing — the Affordable care Act, a.k.a., “obamacare.” Their consternation derives from self-inflicted wrist cuttings eight years ago whenever they refused to participate in drafting the legislation. This “all or none” political mindset was born after the GoP congressional takeover in the 1994 election. house speaker newt Gingrich’s four brief years at the helm poisoned the decorum between parties when he governed with the notion that he was correct and the opposition was simply expendable. The previous 40-year democratic Party house control confirmed that the American public approved of sharing legislative content, albeit sometimes at an 80-20 or 55-45 percentage split, depending on how many opposition party votes were needed to pass a bill. but alas, those legislative days without gridlock occurred nearly three decades ago.
Given that congressional gerrymandering arising from the 2010 “obamacare” backlash election has locked the house of representatives in the GoP column until 2022 at the earliest, political gamesmanship today is stuck with short-term vision. In 2009, President barack obama took a long-term view of providing health coverage and walked his democratic Party majority in congress into healthcare quicksand. republicans countered by refusing to participate in hopes of making obama a one-term president. While the GoP attempts to dismantle the act, democrats are now excluded even if they so chose to participate. As a result, the GoP must ironically narrow its twilight zone vision to “outconservative” a conservative draft in order to appease those whose extreme conservative ideology opposes government programs in the first place.
Today’s national political crisis stems from shortsighted, narrow, dogmatic visions espoused by any manner of political interests, including notre dame’s center for ethics
and culture. It is this writer’s belief that a person elected to represent a constituency is not required to impose a personal religious belief upon the office to which elected or the constituency represented — of course, unless that person solely represents the vatican. It is refreshing to finally follow a pope like Francis who approaches life with an outlook centered on one’s heart rather than one akin to obeying strict rules seemingly derived from the Inquisition. Imagine living in a district represented by a fundamentalist muslim or orthodox Jew or buddhist who sought to maintain minimum rules of behavior upon the constituency to eat certain foods, believe in reincarnation or not use modern conveniences on the sabbath. A catholic elected official is not obligated to enforce church teaching when legislating on behalf of non-catholic constituents.
however, too many American catholics sustain an entire political philosophy on one issue — abortion — describing anyone “pro-life” despite an indifference to capital punishment or war deaths. many of those American catholics who publicly advocate against abortion do so while turning a plank-blinded eye away from scrutinizing politicians like notre dame class of ‘76 alumnus and former virginia Governor bob mcdonnell, who passed the anti-abortion test but was given a pass on capital punishment when he refused clemency and allowed a 41-year-old grandmother, Teresa Lewis, with an IQ of 72 to be executed. About 6,000 people signed a petition to mcdonnell, claiming that she found God and that it was unfair for her two accomplices to receive life sentences. It would be interesting to hear if notre dame’s center for ethics and culture found mcdonnell culpable in either ethical or cultural transgressions.
In January, during the march for Life in Washington, I accepted an invitation to the alumni reception at the national Press club (nPc), partly because I am a nPc member, partly to visit with fellow alumni, but most importantly to hear firsthand from my alma mater. I had never seen or heard from o carter snead, director of notre dame’s center for ethics and culture. his exuberance at the impending end of roe v. Wade was a bit over the top for me. I later surmised
that snead has a one-pony act after reading the catholic program director at Faith in Public Life, John Gehring’s column. Gehring is the author of “The Francis effect: A radical Pope’s challenge to the American catholic church.” he attended the recent “Public Policy and our catholic Faith” two-day, $1,250 per person symposium and wrote an account of snead’s participation with other politically active conservative catholics at Trump hotel.
despite snead’s legal theoretically mumbo-jumbo rahrah rhetoric being well received by “catholic disneyland” enthusiasts, his laser focus to end abortion in the United states leaves behind real solutions affecting real people in our real world society. snead advocates defunding Planned Parenthood without offering alternatives to service poor women for other illnesses or screenings. Is catholic charities ready and able to service women’s health needs and support all the children who are born if snead accomplishes his antiabortion goal? certainly a GoP cost-conscious congress has no appetite to nibble at minor cause-and-effect ripples that demand new funds.
At quick glance, snead declaring that the pro-life movement is back at the White house is correct. but to include presidential adviser stephen K. bannon — someone whose temperament and tolerance I, personally, do not trust — is singing to his choir audience. Will bannon courageously help the plight of poor women of color from southwest Washington? I doubt it, but Pope Francis would. To me, that is the divergence between snead’s ethical writings and the church’s cultural goals.
Gary J. Caruso, Notre Dame ‘73 American Studies major, serves in the Department of Homeland Security and was a legislative and public affairs director at the U.S. House of Representatives and in President Clinton’s administration. His column appears every other Friday. Contact him on Twitter: @GaryJCaruso or e-mail: GaryJCaruso@alumni.nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Ethics from post-Earth
conception of the “earth” will go with us, but this miraculous planet will remain.
A system of ethics requires designating some things as “right” and everything else as “wrong.” how we draw this divide depends on our understanding of a higher good, of results that are somehow greater than the immediate effects of our actions. This consideration of consequences, beyond what is best for us, in the here and now results from our ability to comprehend the future, so ethics could actually be said to serve the “later” good. This later good often involves our own admittance to heaven, or some alternative destination for the soul, and the ensured dignity of our fellow humans on earth. recently, however, I have been thinking about the benefits of doing ethics differently. my field of study requires that I see humans as a small piece in the grand puzzle of life. being a human has made this difficult to do, because we naturally perceive ourselves as the center of the universe, but with patient practice I have gotten better at viewing our existence in biological terms: beginning with the origin of our species and ending with our eventual extinction.
This perspective makes political conversations difficult, because while most people prefer policies that help humans right now, I have become more concerned with a policy’s capacity to ensure our existence a hundred years from now. Add to this that my interlocutor and I don’t even agree on what is “right” and “wrong” and the picture becomes pure dialectical disarray.
While they’re doing ethics as a human, from an anthropocentric mindset, I like to imagine that I do ethics as a post-human, from post-earth. I say post-human because I attempt to judge us as another intelligent life form existing after our extinction would. Likewise, I say post-earth because “earth” is just a name that refers to the planet as we know it. When humans disappear, our
To explain how this works, we’ll need a quick “magic school bus” moment. Imagine that we wind forward the clock to a time shortly after humans have gone extinct. All that remains of us are the ways we effected the planet and the other species that inhabit it. on a calm afternoon in what remains of central Park, a sleek silver sliver of a spaceship coasts gently to a stop. Inside is munimohnon, an extraterrestrial student studying “earth” for her doctoral degree in e.T. ethics. her job is to judge humans by how our species treated the planet and considered the companion species that we shared it with.
As she brings her vessel to a halt slightly above the ground, its solar cells begin collecting the energy she’ll need for the long trip home. having already seen the maimed mountain tops created by our mineral-madness, the barren basins of once-blue lakes drained for our irrigation needs and the suburban human-honeycombs made up of geometric hospitals and homes, she gazes bewildered upon the big, decaying apple that was once new York city.
When I do ethics, I use munimohnon’s final report of post-earth as my later good. Instead of asking how a deity would judge our actions, I ask how the choices we make now will affect the post-human planet and its nonhuman life. Put another way, I ask myself whether or not I will be proud of the human species’ single chapter in the multi-volume book of life. Were it to be read by another intelligent life form, I want our justifications for “right” actions to still hold.
This method may at first seem to neglect humans, but it actually prioritizes us. We are a species with the power to permanently alter this planet, an ability that has earned the current geological age the name “Anthropocene.” Thus, to continue existing on earth, we need to ensure that we aren’t harming it and hurting the other species that share this common home. Aside
from keeping us company, they sustain our existence in more ways than we realize, so failing to consider them in our later good is also failing to consider ourselves. In this way, doing what is best for the rest of life on earth is also best for us.
now, I’m not trying to argue that a munimohnonbased ethics system is more accurate or valuable than any alternative ethical orders. To tend solely to the environment at the cost of human life is wrong. equally so, however, is the blind pursuit of what is best for God, nation or corporation, if it means ignoring the earth. Justifying any lone later good by simply discounting the others will always be wrong.
Although we know this, we often forget it. rather than considering multiple ethics in concert, we skip the symphony for a single solo. nations neglect to cut emissions, businesses engage in poor labor practices and people blindly reject human equality. each is justified in its own right, but none can negate the others. no later good alone stands superior to the rest, and all systems of ethics need to be heard in harmony.
That being said, in attempts to comprehensively critique the production put on daily by our lives, we must recognize that some voices are louder than others. Power decides prevalence in the chorus of ethical considerations, and on an earth where humans are seen as separate from nature, the majority of life is currently mute. If we can adopt a post-earth ethic, we can make some serious sound.
Matt is a junior studying anthropology. His favorite animal is a human, his favorite potato is a sweet potato, and his favorite milk is almond milk. Feel free to contact him at mwilli41@nd.edu with any questions or comments about this article and, in the meanwhile, don’t forget to be awesome.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Gary J. Caruso c apital c omments
Matt Williams v iewology: c ritical reflections on life
Happy Birthday: Emotional frustration is best dealt with diplomatically. If you feel passionately about something, offer intelligent suggestions and be willing to follow through with actions. your voice counts and participation will increase your chance to bring about positive changes. Call in favors and rally others to help fight for your rights. Partnerships look promising and romance is encouraged. your numbers are 5, 11, 18, 24, 30, 39, 44.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): getting together with someone from your past will encourage you to re-evaluate what you have accomplished. Take part in a conference, seminar or community event that will encourage you to help others. Don’t share personal information regarding your finances.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Emotional interference will slow you down. Don’t let anger take over at work or at home. If you want to fix an ongoing problem, do something constructive to avoid any response to a situation that might lead to regret.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): l ead the way. you will do best when you take charge and offer others incentives to help you achieve your own goals. A change at work or within your peer group will turn out to be beneficial. romance is highlighted.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Money, legal and health matters are best handled with discipline and caution. g etting angry will not help you negotiate a deal or find a solution to resolve a problem you have with someone you live or work with.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Impulsiveness due to emotional situations that are left to fester will slow you down. Stay focused on finding appropriate solutions and using intelligence and discipline to achieve your goals. Personal improvements will boost your confidence.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Someone will try to persuade you to indulge in something questionable. Don’t overspend, overreact or overdo things and you will avoid being put in a precarious position. focus on improving your skills and your ability to get things done.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Put your best foot forward. you can persuade others to see things your way if you are kind and willing to listen. Changes at home or to your lifestyle will require patience, but will show plenty of benefits in the end.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): you’ll have to navigate your way through whatever situations you face. If you encounter roadblocks, have alternative solutions ready and show your willingness to compromise in order to move forward. Issues concerning taxes or institutions should be handled responsibly.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): you can make a difference if you give your all and focus on what’s most important to you. love, romance and building a strong home base will encourage positive changes and a better future. Seize the moment.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): you’ll have to fight temptation if you want to avoid excessive behavior. Don’t let anyone use pressure or emotional manipulation to push you down a path you aren’t interested in. A personal relationship will turn into a costly affair.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Express your thoughts, desires and feelings. g etting together with old friends or colleagues will bring an unexpected opportunity. follow your heart and explore new possibilities. romance will improve your personal life.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Try not to divulge personal information or get involved in gossip. Stick to the middle of the road socially and don’t meddle if you want to have a clear conscience. focus on self-improvement.
Birthday Baby: you are helpful, innovative and caring. you are adaptable and impulsive.
Jumble | DAvID hOyT AND JEff kNurEk
sudoku | ThE MEPhAM grOuP
South Carolina had home court
Ryan Klaus Sports Writer
As college basketball dives into the second weekend of March Madness, I’m still having an tough time coming to terms with a small, yet undeniably significant, detail regarding the tournament’s first weekend, and specifically South Carolina, the team that pulled off arguably the most astonishing upset so far. While the seventh-seeded Gamecocks certainly deserve credit for subduing a talented Duke team that many had predicted to win both the East Region and the NCAA championship, my mind is still trying to wrap its head around the location of South Carolina’s first two games — Greenville, South Carolina.
Though it might seem petty to continue to fixate on one of the many dubious decisions of the selection committee nearly two weeks after the reveal of this year’s bracket, I find it truly dumbfounding as to how NCAA tournament coverage both on Selection Sunday and after Sunday night’s game has largely avoided the obvious advantage that South Carolina had in playing its games in its own backyard — a privilege typically granted to only a region’s higher seeds. Of the other seven seeds in the tournament, only Dayton was afforded an opportunity comparable to that of South Carolina from a distance perspective, as the Flyers were placed in Indianapolis. However, as anyone who watched their first round game knows, the Flyers semi-convenient location did not compensate for the fact that they were pitted against an outrageously under-seeded Wichita State team.
Of course, South Carolina was not supposed to even be a NCAA tournament site
in the first place. After the NCAA decided to seize host opportunities from North Carolina for its ongoing series of archaic responses to social issues, Greenville was granted the opportunity to host a portion of the tournament’s first two rounds. However, this decision was made in October and doesn’t at all support the selection committee’s logic for giving South Carolina such a favorable draw.
I realize that disparaging the NCAA selection committee is a futile exercise. There is overwhelming evidence suggesting that the committee acts to maximize the excitement of matchups, an approach that some fans have even argued is what the committee should impel themselves to do. Still, the excitement maximization argument does not seem to hold up in this circumstance. While underseeding Wisconsin in the same region initiated a compelling second-round matchup against Villanova, a South Carolina-Duke contest received a meager fraction of the attention from fans and the media before tipoff Sunday.
Obviously, this is to not to say that Duke’s premature exit was unjust, and that the Gamecocks only won because of the location in which the game was played. South Carolina, widely considered the least dangerous of the cohort of seven seeds, earned its victory with its flashy offensive outburst in the second half and turnover-generating defense. It just remains unclear why that victory came on a “neutral” court that was conspicuously closer to the campus of the team with the lower seed.
Contact Ryan Klaus at rklaus1@nd.edu
The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
tr Ack And field
Irish distance runners set for first outdoor test
By JOE EVERETT Sports Writer
Notre Dame will step back on the track this weekend when they compete in the Raleigh Relays on North Carolina State’s Paul Derr Track.
After the sprinters, jumpers and throwers started their outdoor season last week in at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta, Irish head coach Alan Turner said that this weekend is for the distance team to break into outdoor competition.
“Traditionally, the Raleigh Relays has been a very good opening meet for distance runners, especially people running the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m,” Turner said. “The group that we’re taking is a lot of our younger guys and girls who haven’t run a lot, so this is a chance for them to really get their feet wet for the first time.”
The Irish look forward to getting several of their distance athletes off the sidelines, including graduate student Danielle Aragon, who will race in the 800m. Turner looks forward to getting Aragon, a three-time first team AllAmerican, back on the track in her final semester of eligibility.
“Dani [Aragon] only has outdoor eligibility left, and so we
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definitely an emphasis I had at the Combine, to be a guy that turned aggressively at the top of his drop to kind of separate myself, but it then threw me kind of off balance. So to get back to kind of drifting left rather than jerking and turning left is really something I wanted to put emphasis on today.”
Kizer also said he plans on fine tuning his physique during the month leading up to the draft. Under Brian Kelly’s offense, Kizer was often asked to run. But with fewer NFL teams calling quarterback runs, Kizer said he has slimmed down from around 250 pounds at the USC game to 233 currently.
“We put a big emphasis on getting my body right,” Kizer said. “A lot of this process about being drafted has proven that you can be the same guy each year, and in order to do that you have to show you can work hard in the offseason. So that’s something we put a big
didn’t want to waste any time getting her going as soon as possible – we’re looking for her to do well in the 800m,” Turner said. “One the men’s side, a younger person that we’re looking at is Sean Kurdy, who was one of our top recruits but has been hurt since cross country and did very little running indoors – we’re also looking for him to run pretty well this weekend.”
Kurdy will compete alongside fellow freshman Tyler Keslin, sophomore Anthony Williams, and juniors Brent Kennedy and Kevin Pulliam in the 5000m, which comprises the participation of the men’s side at the Relays. Williams in particular looks to build off a strong cross country season, as he led the men’s team at the ACC Cross Country Championships by finishing 28th overall with a personal record of 24:02.1.
In the women’s 1500m race, graduate students Kathleen Darling and Sydni Meunier and senior Lexi Pelletier will run for Notre Dame. Darling, who transferred to Notre Dame from Wake Forest following her senior year, will compete on the track for the first time with the Irish. As a junior, Darling finished fourth overall in the 10,000m race at the ACC Championships.
emphasis on.”
On the defensive side of the ball, lineman Jarron Jones recorded a 5.47 in the 40-yard dash and took part in a number of defensive line drills. For Jones, Pro Day was an important step in the draft process because minor injuries prevented him from completing the full slate of workouts in Indianapolis, and he said he felt good about his showing Thursday.
“I felt like I put on a better impression than at the Combine,” Jones said. “I was able to get through everything, my knee felt a lot better and drills were much smoother. ... It was nerve racking, but once you just got over it all, it was pretty smooth sailing.”
Cornerback Cole Luke, safety Avery Sebastian and linebacker James Onwualu also came back in the hopes of impressing scouts. After the workouts, Onwualu talked with New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia for about 15 minutes. Onwualu said he had hoped to get an invitation to the NFL Combine,
One of the biggest track meets on the East Coast, Turner said that the quality at the meet will be pretty high, but that he looks for the distance team to have a strong showing at a meet that he considers to be additionally important.
“Every meet is like a building block, but it’s especially important in the outdoor season to get off to a good start,” Turner said. “As opposed to indoors, in the outdoor season you have to take advantage every time you get out there. You don’t know if it’s going to be cold, rainy, lightning, if the meets going to get cancelled, ect. So every time you step outdoors, you need to take advantage of it. Getting off to a good start and building confidence – we did it last week at Georgia Tech where the sprinters got off to a very good start –so this is a building block meet that we’re taking seriously. I told the team this morning that this is another opportunity, and once you put on that monogram on your chest, we’re all out and we’re competing hard.”
The two-day Raleigh Relays will start Friday at noon and will be streamed live on ESPN3.
Contact Joe Everett at jeveret4@nd.edu
but was excited to show teams what he could do during Pro Day.
“Obviously I wanted to be in the Combine and compete there,” Onwualu said. “You grow up watching that event and wanted to be there to compete, but I had my opportunity today which I was super excited about. I came in jacked up. I thought I had a pretty good day, I moved well, which is the biggest thing for me.”
Onwualu started his collegiate career as a wide receiver and switched positions to linebacker partway through his time at Notre Dame and Onwualu said his versatility is what sets him apart from other players looking to be drafted.
“Just my versatility, being able to play so many positions well,” he said. “Making an impact on special teams as well as having a role on defense. Being able to learn the defense fast and being able to play a couple positions gives me some flexibility.”
Contact Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@nd.edu
Irish to face off against Orange
By DANIEL O’BOYLE sports Writer
Looking to get back to winning ways after dropping their last three games, no. 16 notre dame faces a difficult task against no. 8 syracuse at the carrier dome.
The irish (8-4, 2-1 acc) won eight consecutive games before spring break, but lost three road games against Princeton, Towson and virginia in the space of a week, including a 15-5 defeat to the cavaliers in the last of those contests, their first conference defeat of the season. The irish will be hoping to avoid a four-game losing streak, something that has not happened to the program since a six-game run of losses to end the 2005 season. head coach christine halfpenny said working on the smaller things should help solve the problems that led to the defeats.
“[We need to work on] the details,” halfpenny said. “We’ve got to get back to the fundamentals of communication, we’ve got to get back to fundamentals of our movement. i think that we got very complacent in our movement patterns, and that’s everybody we want moving at top speed. i think that one thing always correlates to the next thing. if we’re not communicating and reminding each other of the standards that we expect to play at, everybody can kind of ease up a bit, and i think that’s something that we now know.” a road game against syracuse (8-2, 2-0) does not look like an ideal situation for snapping a losing streak, as the only two orange losses this season have been to no. 1 maryland and no. 3 Florida. The orange have also won six of the last seven against the irish, but with the last two games being an overtime
notre dame win in 2015 and a one-goal syracuse victory last year, halfpenny said her team is capable of matching up with the talented orange.
“They’re a great team,” halfpenny said. “our last two regular season meetings have been decided by one goal, and we split those decisions one-and-one. it’s funny, you usually think of home-field advantage, but we got those wins on each other’s turf. so, looking at syracuse right now, they’re just a quality opponent. We know that they’re looking for an acc win just like we are.”
The orange boast perhaps the top draw control specialist in the country in freshman morgan Widner. Widner has recorded 89 draw controls in her opening 10 games, 12 more than the next highest. as a team, the orange have won 149 out of 264 draw controls. syracuse also has eight different players who have scored at least 10 goals this season, led by sophomore attack nicole Levy with 19 goals as well as 12 assists. halfpenny said the orange have strength in a host of different areas.
“They’ve got great speed, they’ve got an aggressive offense and they’ve got great attackers,” halfpenny said. “They’re very, very strong, they handle the ball very, very well. so, again, we’re going to have to obviously have a great week of practice, which we’re looking forward to, and be prepared for battle with an outstanding opponent. so we’re looking forward to that. i know that we’ll be ready.”
The irish and the orange will meet at the carrier dome in syracuse on sunday. opening draw is at noon.
Contact Daniel O’Boyle at doboyle1@nd.edu
in the offensive zone,” Jackson said. “i think the biggest thing for them was the first half they had inconsistency in goal, and i think schierhorn has really taken a big step in the second half, which is all they really needed. They’ve always had good depth on defense and they always had that skill and ability up front.”
While notre dame has made the ncaa tournament field four of the last five years — it had a first round bow out to michigan last season — the irish have not reached the Frozen Four since 2011. but for Jackson and the team, the valuable experiences learned in those struggles will hopefully translate to success this year, starting saturday.
“Well, you hope that the experience they have had helps them — last year playing in cincinnati, we played one of our better games of the year,” Jackson
said. “Unfortunately, we lost in overtime against a very talented michigan team. so, you hope that that experience, the experience in the boston Garden last weekend, you hope each one of those situations helps. You hope that playing in those types of environments, playing in those those types of pressured situations helps them. The more they do it the better they can get at it.
“ ... When you get to this time of year there are a lot of factors involved, and you have to get things to go your way, and that really hasn’t happened for us … it’s a matter of scoring that big goal when you need it like [former irish center] anders Lee did [against merrimack in overtime] in that regional four years ago.”
The puck drops between the irish and the Golden Gophers at 3:30 p.m. saturday at snhU arena in manchester, new hampshire.
