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Volume 51, Issue 106 | friday, march 24, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
ND remembers Travis McElmurry Peers reflect on life of law student By COURTNEY BECKER News Editor
Travis McElmurry wanted to do good in the world with his law degree, first-year law student Michael Benson said. “He 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 Earth and easy
to talk to. He was a dual JD/ MBA student and wanted to use his law degree and business background to help entrepreneurs succeed. He loved his dog.” McElmurry was a firstyear law student who was dual-enrolled at the business school. He died March 12 at the age of 30 in his offcampus residence. First-year law student Yaya Chang said McElmurry was a laid-back classmate and friend. see MCELMURRY PAGE 3
London students share experiences of attack By COURTNEY BECKER News Editor
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 see LONDON PAGE 4
Professor emeritus dies Observer Staff Report
Edward Vasta, professor emeritus of English at Notre Dame, died Monday at the age of 89, according to a University press release. 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 Middle English
literature, medieval studies, creative writing and the humanities, the press release said. Vasta was the head of the department of English 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 English, 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. His 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 Chapel. 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 Saint Mary’s senior athletes spoke Thursday about their experiences with sports and their growth at Saint Mary’s, as part of the “W hy We Play” series. Ali Mahoney, a golfer for all four years she has been at Saint Mary’s, said she started playing golf when
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she was four years old, but never planned on playing in college. Still, Mahoney had always wanted to come to Saint Mary’s, she said, and the Division III team seemed like a good fit. “I knew I wanted to be part of this tradition,” she said. “Division III would allow me to play and allow me to have all the other experiences I
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wanted.” Mahoney 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,” Mahoney said. “I was able to continue playing a sport I love at an institution I love.” see ATHLETES PAGE 3
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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.
Writers discuss Trump’s election By TOM NAATZ News Writer
In a discussion entitled “What does Trump’s election mean?” held Thursday night at the Hesburgh Center for International Relations, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat and Wall Street Journal columnist William Galston discussed the reasons behind Donald Trump’s election, as well as its implications. “The beauty of it is that you can reasonably link it to anything you please,” said Douthat. Douthat, 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 Republican Party between ideological conservatism and populism,” he said. Douthat described how there has always been a battle in the Republican Party between ideological
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conservatives and “heartland populists.” He 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. Large swathes of the electorate did not want a conservative.” Douthat’s second tension was within the Democratic coalition. He said there have been two main forces on the American left in recent years: cosmopolitanism — or globalization — and egalitarianism. “There was this idea that liberalism didn’t have to pick,” he said. Douthat said this approach didn’t work, and many egalitarian voters went for Trump. Finally, Douthat said, Trump benefited from a tension within western civilization itself — the idea that the see TRUMP PAGE 4
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