Observer the
The Independent Newspaper Serving Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s Volume 44 : Issue 129
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2010
ndsmcobserver.com
First four fall pep rallies planned Brian Kelly Soler, Bell seek new venues; guest speakers targeted to boost energy, create excitement By CAITLYN KALSCHEUR News Writer
Student body president Catherine Soler said student government is working with the University to make football pep rallies “shorter but more exciting” due to some student dissatisfaction with last year’s rallies. Student body vice president Andrew Bell said student government worked with Game Day Operations, the Athletic Department, football team representatives and Hall Presidents’ Council co-chairs Alexa Doyle and Mike Oliver. “Our discussion focused on the fact that while all alumni, prospective students and members of the Notre Dame community are welcome to the pep rallies, the students and the football team should be the heart of every rally,” Bell said. Soler added: “We hope everyone is excited for pep rally season. It’s a collaborative process, so while the students and the players are the focus, everyone can have a good time.” Soler said first-year Irish football coach Brian Kelly told her he is also excited about improving the pep rallies. She said Kelly want students more involved in creating successful pep rallies. “We hope that students will see that the pep rally format is
to build on community By MOLLY MADDEN News Writer
standing tradition,” Bell said, “Last year’s reception and atmosphere were great, but there are ways that it can improve.” Bell said improvements for the Dillon pep rally would include better visibility, sound quality and a shorter length.
Irish head football coach Brian Kelly told students that the football team needs to “get back to a collegiate sense of community” at a meeting with student government Tuesday. Speaking to members of the Hall Presidents’ Council (HPC) and the Council of Representatives (COR) at the Guglielmino Athletics Kelly Complex, Kelly described the overhaul the football team recently underwent — and he wasn’t talking in terms of offense and defense. Instead, Kelly said he was expecting the football team to get rid of the attitude of “us” and “them” and become a part of the student body. “My job is to reconnect some of the things that I believe haven’t been emphasized in the proper manner,” Kelly said to the students. “This is not a relationship
see RALLIES/page 4
see KELLY/page 4
COURTNEY ECKERLE/The Observer
Leprechaun Dan Collins rides a Trojan horse and fires up the student body with cheers during the Southern Cal football pep rally on Oct. 17, 2009. different,” Bell said. “Some people were disappointed with pep rallies last year but we hope that they will come to the rallies next year and feel engaged and want to be involved.” “The biggest changes Soler and Bell are introducing are new venues and new traditions to enhance the energy and overall experience of pep rallies.
“This is the first time that Notre Dame is actively seeking guest speakers for pep rallies,” Soler said. “We want big, exciting people to come and be a part of the experience.” The first pep rally will be the Dillon Hall pep rally on South Quad. “We’re very excited to be back at Dillon, upholding the long-
Graduate students Volcano disrupts students abroad seek policy change By TONY RIVERA News Writer
By MEGAN DOYLE News Writer
Graduate student families are suffering from a lack of adequate health care and need the University to rethink its policies to better encourage community around women who are considering or engaged in family life, graduate theology student Ricky Klee said. Graduate students, their spouses, and many of their young children gathered around the Main Building Monday to demonstrate and petition the University to create for familyfriendly policies for the graduate student community. “We are not where we want to be in our support of graduate students,” Graduate School dean Greg Sterling said. “But we are working to get there.” The petition states: “With sub-
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TODAY’S PAPER
stantial resources and a commitment as a Catholic university to recognize and support the inherent dignity of all human life Notre Dame must provide a comparable degree of support for student families.” According to Klee, the health care plan offered to students is unaffordable with the stipend provided. Graduate theology student Kevin Haley said that while his plan as a student is reasonable and affordable, his wife Danielle has gone uninsured because of the shortcomings in the state health care plan that his family has chosen for her and their children in lieu of paying for the University’s option. “For a University that so values Catholic ideology, it is a problem for families, for spouses and for children that we are
see POLICY/page 6
Notre Dame students on campus may not have felt the effects of the volcanic eruption in Iceland over the past week, but the same cannot be said for those abroad. “Frustrating, confusing, spontaneous,” junior Claire Brosnihan said when asked to describe her time in Europe since the eruption. “This is my spring break, so I was planning on going from Munich to Istanbul, then Athens, then Santorini, then Paris.” Ye t w i t h t h e e r u p t i o n o f Eyjafjallajökull those plans never worked out. Currently studying in Notre D a m e ’s A n g e r s P r o g r a m , Brosnihan is one of many Notre Dame students abroad who have found difficulty traveling over the past week due to the volcano. “I’ve been stuck in Munich for three days,” Brosnihan
AP
Passengers wait at the Finnair counter in JFK International Airport after being stranded by Iceland’s volcanic eruption. said. After all flights in Munich Airport were cancelled, Brosnihan said she was unable to get a refund for two of her flights and spent
hours trying to find a way to make it to Istanbul without flying, though she realized it would be impossible. Now
see VOLCANO/page 6
SMC teams place in global math contest page 3 ◆ Bald and beautiful page 12 ◆ Players to shave heads for charity 24 ◆ Viewpoint page 10