‘Editorial’ Archives
Business – challenged?
From Scholastic’s mock of business majors earlier this fall to the conversation you just had in your seminar, bashing business majors may not rival football, but it’s a popular campus sport. Just thinking of the stereotypes is enough to lift any liberal arts student’s spirits: money grubbing, Natty Light-swilling oafs who enjoy boat shoes, bro tanks, and trips to Banana Republic (and [...]
Deans, drugs, and debauchery
I have a friend with a pretty shaky notion of reality. She took the dean’s words as gospel when he said at opening Mass our freshman year that underage drinking WAS NOT tolerated on campus. He said it with a gleam of severity in his eye that struck awe and obedience into the bones of all in attendance, she thought. So it was with shock that she received her roommate’s invitation to share [...]
Value-neutral journalism?
“Freedom OF religion cannot coexist with freedom FROM religion,” declared Archbishop Charles J. Chaput at the August 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain. His words cut to the heart of what it means to be a Catholic in modern day society, in which religious freedom is compromised by both societal pressures and governmental authority. He highlights the media’s important role, for good [...]
Dialogue between Notre Dame and President Obama on religious freedom?
Should Notre Dame be forced to offer contraception to its students and employees? A September 28 letter by University President Fr. John I. Jenkins, CSC, criticized a new federal mandate that requires this and other violations of Church teaching. An admirable defense of religious liberty, the letter also raises important questions about the Obama administration’s receptivity to his [...]
Trustee’s silent departure points to need for pro-life leadership
Though recent attention has been paid to the departure of Roxanne Martino from the Notre Dame Board of Trustees, only one group has called attention to an arguably much more important departure from the board, that of Dr. Marye Anne Fox, chancellor of the University of California at San Diego and a staunch proponent of embryonic stem cell research. Martino, a successful business executive and [...]
Handling of controversial trustee appointment raises questions about the university’s mission
In the wake of President Obama’s 2009 honorary degree and commencement speech, a flurry of university press releases asserted Notre Dame’s commitment to the pro-life cause. Upon the release of an institutional statement in defense of human life, University President Fr. John I. Jenkins, CSC, said, “The statement articulates what always has been the case: that Notre Dame fully embraces [...]
There is nothing noble in the middle
Earlier this semester, The Observer’s Ryan Williams penned a vitriolic editorial condemning those who take a definitive stance on abortion. Although he titles and begins his piece under the guise of criticizing “dangerous rhetoric” coming from either side of the issue, he soon transitions into a full-blown assault on anyone who has the gall to consider abortion a “black and white, good [...]
An open letter to Fr. Jenkins on the pro-life movement at ND
Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., University President University of Notre Dame Office of the President 400 Main Building Notre Dame, IN 46556 April 13, 2011 Dear Father Jenkins, I write my final editorial for The Irish Rover in gratitude for the support you have shown pro-life initiatives at the university. Thank you especially for your presence at the March for Life over the past two [...]
A grounding in the classics
Anyone enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters is painfully aware that his major is considered to be useless. Popular belief holds that future employers won’t care if applicants can discern the influence of Hesiod in PARADISE LOST, nor if their applicants can recite all 21 ecumenical councils. Despite this, there are degrees in arts and letters that have some virtue. International [...]
Where’s the Proof? Restoring Trust in a Pro-Life University
As I watched the characters of Catherine and Hal interact two weeks ago when the play “Proof” was performed at Notre Dame, I couldn’t help but connect lingering questions from the play to the university community. After surrendering herself to Hal in a passionate one-night stand, Catherine expects Hal to leave her. When he proves her wrong by staying, she shows him a brilliant mathematical [...]
Escaping the clutches of the culture of comfort
We live in a culture of comfort. The way some go on about it, “comfortable” is a state of being that should be strived for, like a plushy nirvana. Anything that helps us achieve this end, whether it is the clothes we wear or the collective experiences and viewpoints to which we confine ourselves, is worthy of praise and distinguished status. We’ve even developed an entire category of [...]
Vocation, identity, and the pursuit of happiness
What is a vocation? In many Catholic circles, the term "vocation" generally refers to a calling to the priesthood or consecrated life. As a chair of this year's upcoming Edith Stein Project, a student-organized conference that will explore the concept of vocation, I would argue that the notion of personal vocation is a richer, more compelling idea than this narrow usage - and ultimately more [...]
Defending the Spirit of Inclusion
With Solidarity Sunday two weeks behind us, we might ask, “As a Catholic university, how can we love the homosexual members of our community with the same love that Christ taught us? Is the Spirit of Inclusion statement enough of a response to homosexuality at Notre Dame?” The Spirit of Inclusion statement is one of welcome; it is a universal invitation to become part of the Notre Dame [...]
Thanksgiving, without the pumpkin pie
In the spirit of Kathleen Kelly, one of the charming characters in You’ve Got Mail, I’d like to begin this reflection on the grateful student as if we were in the middle of conversation. In fact, I am in the midst of conversation with a number of you who are reading this. For some, as with my family, our conversation has been nearly a lifelong exchange, and, for others, it has begun more [...]
Great Books at Notre Dame: How Catholic is PLS?
I chose PLS for its uniquely Catholic label. Though I deeply love PLS for its close-knit community and intellectual life, I have been surprised by the number of times I’ve heard students ask, “Why do we read this Catholic text?” or “Why don’t we read some other great book instead of this Catholic one?” or “Why do we listen to so much Catholic liturgical music in our music [...]