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Volume 51, Issue 125 | wednesday, april 26, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
Notre Dame Day raises over $2 million Record participation, new social media strategy help increase funds for campus organizations By MARIE FAZIO News Writer
Around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, after the conclusion of the fourth annual Notre Dame Day — a 29 hour and 26 minute live broadcast that was watched by three million people — Pablo Martinez, class of 2011 graduate and program director for Notre Dame Day, and his team left the LaFortune Student Center. The event was a huge success, Martinez said. Notre Dame fans around the world contributed over 25,000 gifts, totaling $2,175,436 as of 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. This year, of the over 850 groups who participated, the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Fund — a non-profit organization that funds medical research
projects that strive to find a cure for Niemann Pick Type-C Disease — received the most votes from donors. Martinez attributed the organizations he was involved in during his time as a student at Notre Dame as part of the reason he is now involved in Notre Dame Day. “When I was approached to lead Notre Dame Day, I said definitely because [of my experiences as an] undergrad,” he said.“ … I know that formed me and I am very grateful for that.” According to Martinez, Notre Dame Day is often misconceived as simply a fundraising event, when it is much more. Donors are able to have a direct and substantial impact on Notre Dame
Photo courtesy of Diego Arias
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Students participate in the Fighting Irish 40-Yard Dash, a contest against Notre Dame football team members. The event was a part of the Notre Dame Day broadcast aiming to increase student participation.
College forum discusses immigration policy By MARTHA REILLY Saint Mary’s Editor
Members of the Saint Mary’s community gathered in Reinbeaux Lounge on Wednesday to participate in an open forum about immigration policy and the College’s decision not to declare itself a sanctuary campus for the time being. College President Jan Cervelli said Saint Mary’s strives to serve as a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for everyone, regardless of status. “We don’t differentiate, we don’t
distinguish and we don’t discriminate,” she said. “What needs our students have, we meet.” According to Cervelli, classifying Saint Mary’s as a sanctuary campus could draw unwanted attention, so the College has refrained from doing so. “In the interest of protecting students without putting up a red flag and declaring us a sanctuary campus — which would put a spotlight on us immediately — we have decided not to do that,” Cervelli said. “Our judgment is [that] to make a symbolic gesture puts our students more at risk.”
Senior Miranda Reed, who helped plan the forum, said Saint Mary’s students should expose themselves to new viewpoints and engage in dialogue about pertinent societal issues. “The best way to learn is from people you don’t necessarily agree with,” Reed said. “I’ll start thinking that I fundamentally disagree with somebody and that our thoughts are miles apart, and then the more we talk — especially speaking with patience, with facts — it turns out that how see FORUM PAGE 3
New IDs to use chip technology By NATALIE WEBER News Writer
This summer, when Notre Dame students, faculty and staff begin to use new ID cards, they will find a notable component of the old ID cards missing — the barcode. Though the new cards will still feature magnetic strip technology — which uses the black line found on the back of current ID cards — they will also feature chip technology, according to Irish1Card program director, Daniel Tormey.
The ultimate goal of the project is to transition out of magnetic strip technology and move into chip technology, which is more secure, Tormey said. “Mag[netic] strip technology has been in place for many many decades and it’s fairly inexpensive and fairly reliable,” he said. “But also, it’s not very secure.” Tormey said current magnetic strip technology makes it easy to produce duplicates of see CARDS PAGE 4
SMC students organize Denim Day event Denim Day, a national movement to show solidarity for survivors of sexual assault is held on April 26. This year, Saint Mary’s is participating in the day and promoting awareness of sexual assault by hanging jean pockets with student signatures throughout
campus. Junior Carmela LaGambinaLockwitz said Denim Day began because of an overturned rape conviction, where the court decided the victim’s jeans were so tight, she would have had to help the rapist remove them, therefore implying consent. “Denim Day began because there was a sexual assault case that
had gone to court in which the perpetrator did not get charged,” she said. “The reasoning behind this was because the victim was wearing jeans that were too tight, and this was giving off the wrong vibe, like she wanted to be sexually assaulted. The court believed she was dressing promiscuously and that this is what geared her assaulter into attacking her.”
The movement, LaGambinaLockwitz said, is important because in today’s society, girls are often reprimanded because others see their outfits as giving off the wrong kind of message. “I believe this is really important because, nowadays, we see something like that so often, even with just a dress code,” she said. “Girls get dress code violations just for
wearing a skirt that’s too distracting to boys. That says what [girls] wear gives off a certain kind of message, even if girls are just wearing something because they think it looks nice.” Even though Saint Mary’s has only recently started participating in Denim Day, support has grown
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By GINA TWARDOSZ Associate Saint Mary’s Editor
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