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Volume 51, Issue 112 | tuesday, april 4, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
Faculty host language week Professors collaborate to create inaugural Romance Languages Week By NATALIE WEBER News Writer
On Sunday, the department of Romance languages and literatures kicked off its inaugural Romance Languages International Week with JeoparNDy, dance lessons and desserts from around the world. The week will sponsor a number of language events to help students get a taste of other cultures from around the world. Last year, the Italian department hosted an Italian concert for students. The Romance Languages International Week was born from this idea, Italian professor Lesley Marcantonio said. “Alessia Blad and I were sitting in her office talking about the next concert and she just see LANGUAGE PAGE 4
Observer Staff Report
Photo courtesy of Marcio Bahia
Faculty pose in t-shirts commemorating the first-ever Romance Language Week, which is designed to promote the study of French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese through a variety of different events.
Novelist to explore ethics Observer Staff Report
Indian novelist Amitav Ghosh will deliver the 23rd annual Hesburgh Lecture in Ethics and Public Policy, the University announced in a press release Monday. The Hesburgh Lecture, which the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies established in honor
of University President Emeritus Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, is devoted to examining “an issue related to ethics and public policy in the context of peace and justice,” according to the press release. Ghosh — who has received the Arthur C. Clarke award, the Crossword Book Prize and a Man Booker Prize shortlisting — will explore the topic of climate
change and address the current discussion of the topic, which “has skewed the discourse in certain directions with predominantly economic characterizations of problems and technological solutions,” the press release said. “The Kroc Institute is delighted to partner with the Department see HESBURGH PAGE 3
Students, alumni named Yenching Scholars Three Notre Dame students and alumni have been named Yenching Scholars and will be given the opportunity to pursue Master’s degrees at Yenching Academy of Peking University in Beijing, China, according to a University press release. The three students receiving the scholarship are Teresa Kennedy, class of 2016, an anthropology
and peace studies major from Wilbraham, Massachusetts; senior Jenny Ng, a political science major from Sai Kung, Hong Kong; and Dominic Romeo, class of 2014, a political science and Chinese major from Turlock, California, according to the release. “I hope that this program will allow me to gain a more nuanced understanding of Chinese domestic politics, as well as my current area of study — China-Latin America
relations,” Ng said in the release. “More importantly however, I’m most excited for the opportunity to build China connections for Education Bridge — an education project in South Sudan that I have been working on with Notre Dame classmates and professors.” The current group of Yenching Scholars comprises of 125 students attending 80 universities from 40 countries, according to the release.
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Observer staff report
Former student dies Former University undergraduate student Edward Lim died Friday at his home in Cincinnati, according to an email sent to all students Monday night. Although he was not enrolled at the University during the 20162017 academic year, Lim was a program of liberal studies major living in Morrissey Hall during his freshman and sophomore years at the University, and he sang in the Notre Dame Chorale, according to the email. “As always, the University Counseling Center and Campus Ministry are available to offer their support to students,” Vice President for Student Affairs Erin see LIM PAGE 4
SMC president promotes sustainability By SYDNEY DOYLE News Writer
Saint Mary’s President Jan Cervelli spoke Monday about the importance and necessity of sustainability in the world today. Cervelli spoke on Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato si’ and said the Pope did a great job explaining the complexity of environmental issues. “I think Francis hits on the head that many of the problems we see today around sustainability are not simple, they are multi-dimensional,” Cervelli said. Cervelli said the issue of environmental conservation is much more than just the environment and that it affects so many other aspects of our lives.
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“The first part about environmental, economic and social ecology is how they’re all interconnected. We can’t look at them separately,” Cervelli said. Cervelli said colleges like Saint Mary’s can take steps towards dealing with sustainability issues by thinking of academics as integrated learning spaces and looking at the issues as issues of social justice. “I have some hopes and dreams for the college and for all of you, and to think about academic programs that take this approach solving problems,” Cervelli said. “It’s not just the environment, it’s dealing with the social justice dimensions as well that we’re so passionate about at Saint see CERVELLI PAGE 4
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