PDF Edition of The Observer for Thursday, December 8, 2011

The Independent Newspaper Serving Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s Volume 45: Issue 67 X

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Ndsmcobserver.com

Student faces charges after attempted stabbing Female sophomore charged with attempted battery, reports victim sexually assaulted her in Nov. By SARAH MERVOSH Managing Editor

The Notre Dame student who attempted to stab another student in a dorm room earlier this week was charged Wednesday by the county prosecutor. Sophomore Vanessa Cabello was charged with attempted battery, according to the affidavit posted on WNDU’s website. The offense is a class C

felony, which is punishable by a maximum sentence of six to eight years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Cabello attempted to stab a male student acquaintance in a Siegfried Hall dorm room Sunday. After a short struggle, the male student was able to take control of the knife and locked Cabello in the room until Notre Dame Security Police (NDSP) arrived, the affidavit stated.

Cabello told police the male student had sexually assaulted her in her dorm room on Nov. 20, but she had not reported the incident to authorities or sought medical treatment. She also declined medical treatment following the incident on Sunday. The male student said the sex was consensual. The Observer is not naming the male student because he is the alleged victim of a crime, and has not been

charged with a crime related to Cabello’s allegations of sexual assault. University Spokesman Dennis Brown released a statement on behalf of the University on Wednesday evening. “Notre Dame is deeply troubled by these events and continues to take all appropriate action to ensure the safety of everyone involved and hold accountable those who have violated the law

and/or University policy,” the statement said. “Whenever the University is made aware of a sexual assault allegation, we take the report seriously and conduct a prompt and thorough investigation.” Cabello told police she went to the male’s room Sunday to discuss frustration she had felt toward him since the alleged sex

see CHARGES/page 6

Sexual assault policy encourages reporting Professor says stats can deceive

By MEGAN DOYLE News Editor

In the eyes of Associate Vice President for Residential Life Heather Russell, more reports of sexual assault can be good news. This is because for Russell, more reports mean less silence. “When we’re doing this right … the number of people reporting is going to go way up,” Russell said. “I don’t think that’s because there is anything new under the sun. I believe it’s because we are actually creating a system that people think works and a culture of reporting, and some people who have been silent in the past will come forward.” Russell serves as the University’s Deputy Title IX coordinator, which means that she

By AMANDA GRAY News Writer

be as imaginative as possible in forging a meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities that currently confront at risk schools and schoolchildren,” Garnett said. “We still have a whole semester to go, but I’ve been extremely gratified by what we’ve seen so far.” The Forum kicked off on Sept. 26 with an address from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. “I think his keynote was the perfect way to launch the Forum,” Garnett said. “He’s established a legacy for aggressively pushing some fairly radical reforms despite significant opposition … It was just the right way to begin a year of ‘reimagining’ education.”

Several Notre Dame economics professors said the latest unemployment numbers, released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics last week, should be taken with a grain of salt. The numbers show a .4 percent decrease in unemployment, going from 9 percent to 8.6 percent from the end of October to the end of November, according to the Bureau. Economics professor Eric Sims said that the reason this number has fallen may not be a good one. “The numbers mask some stuff,” he said. “The unemployment percentage is the ratio of people actively seeking work and not working to the number of people in the work force, which is all the people wanting jobs.” While the number of jobs did increase by around 120,000, what changed the number most was around 315,000 people leaving the work force — meaning they are no longer working and no longer actively seeking employment, according to Sims. “Most of what drove the numbers was people dropping out of the work force, not new job creation,” he said. “We have a term for these people —‘discouraged worker.’ These are people who have been looking for work and are going to quit looking.” However, Sims said there are also other reasons why people drop out, such as women who become mothers and decide to stay home with their child. Assistant economics professor Abigail Wozniak said the number

see FORUM/page 5

see JOBS/page 5

ELISA DECASTRO | The Observer

is the first point of contact for all reports of sexual assault on campus. Russell’s position is a new one not only at Notre Dame,

but at most college campuses across the United States. The job is a product of the “Dear Colleague” letter issued in April by the Office of Civil

Rights (OCR) in the Department of Education. The letter called for all col

see ASSAULT/page 6

Forum organizers reflect, plan spring events By EMILY SCHR ANK News Writer

JAMES DOAN/The Observer

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush delivered a Forum address on Sept. 26 advocating radical education reforms.

Inside today’s paper

As the first semester comes to a close, organizers of this year’s Notre Dame Forum are pleased with the events that have taken place and are preparing for a full agenda next semester, said Nicole Stelle Garnett, Forum committee co-chair and law professor at Notre Dame. This year’s Forum topic, “Reimagining School,” has already brought several prominent figures to campus, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. “From the very beginning, we’ve believed that the primary purpose of this year’s Forum should be to provide a space for Notre Dame as a university community … to

Team discovers forum page 3 u Viewpoint page 8 u Movies to see over break page 10 u Women’s basketball wins Big East opener page 20