Your silence thunders What’s in a fear?

o n any given day, I walk into one of the big d e b artolo h all ( d e b art) classrooms for a lecture and my mind is briefly consumed with fear that I will accidentally tumble down the stairs in front of everyone in a series of flailing somersaults. With how clumsy I am, it feels like an eventual inevitability.

Fear plays such a vital role in understanding ourselves. Fear doesn’t just tell us where our limits lay or let us know when we are in danger, it can also be a hint that we are embarking on something we really care about.

I’m not talking about the kind of fear you experience when you think you’re being followed. This fear, rather, is that slight tingle in your chest you feel when you’re stepping just outside of your comfort zone.

Fear can be like a low-grade form of paralysis. m aybe if I play dead, my to-do list can’t hurt me. If I don’t start something, then I can’t fail at it miserably.

We all have those things we are scared to admit we care deeply about. It stings to get confirmation from others that we aren’t good at something we love or to be told that something we care about is a bit silly to be invested in. m aybe you’ve even caught yourself making a self-deprecating joke about that very thing, just to make sure no one can beat you to it.

r ecently, I got to thinking about what those fears are for me. I realized that I honestly used to be afraid of just talking about the things I’m passionate about. I would shy away from mentioning projects that I was excited about, or avoid telling people — even my mom — that I did well on something out of fear that I would sound like I was bragging.

There’s a specific flavor of fear that has a slight hint of excitement in it. This fear, I think, is what happens when the fear for the future mixes with hope for the future. I’m trying to learn to tune into the fears like this that I have.

When in the times that I’ve been able to identify those fears and summon enough courage to throw myself into overcoming them, I’ve unearthed a side of myself that I didn’t know was there. very few feelings rival that of newfound bravery.

Fear keeps us safe from harm, sure, but it can also keep us from exploring pieces of ourselves. I challenge you to consider what these fears are for you. What’s holding you back from going for it? What could change if you didn’t hide your passion?

h ere’s to hoping I don’t fall down the stairs in d e b art anytime soon.

You can contact Maggie at mklaers@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Tyre n ichols was 29. o n January 7, five police officers literally beat the life out of him. o ne of the most trending Google searches recently is: “Tyre n ichols criminal record.” I can tell you that that search leads nowhere. I can tell you that n ichols was a lawabiding citizen and a pillar of his family. b ut would it matter? At n otre d ame, we advocate for the preservation of all life. We value it equally in every form, every community and every stage. r ight? I could be wrong, but if there have been conversations about the death of Tyre n ichols (or others killed by the police since I’ve been at n otre d ame), I haven’t heard them. o ur silence thunders in the halls where men like b ayard r ustin once walked.

Part of our university’s mission statement is providing a forum of free inquiry and open discussion. We’re all busy people and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with what’s going on in the world, but it’s high time that issues of social justice made their way to the forefront of at least some of our conversations. o ur bond as students is deeper than just living on the same campus. It’s more than being from the same dorm or eating at the same dining hall. We’re the continuation of the legacy of men like Fr. Ted h esburgh and r ev. John I. Jenkins (who helped integrate n otre d ame in 1944). We’ve been brought together because we have the potential to transform the world. That begins with an increased level of consciousness about social justice issues.

And of all American social justice issues, policing seems to be one of the most delicate. s tray too far one way and you’re advocating for a fantasy world where we don’t have anyone effectively enforcing our laws. b ut go too far the other way, and you utterly fail to hold men like d erek c hauvin and d aniel Pantaleo (the killers of George Floyd and e ric Garner) accountable for their actions.

Whatever your stance is on the solution to the problem, it’s undeniable that the American police force needs some reform. All the numbers scream that police brutality is a real problem in our country. And while African Americans are disproportionately affected by it, it’s not only an issue of race. m any unarmed people of other races have been unjustifiably murdered by police as well. In August of 2016, a 32 year old white man called the police to ask for help, as he was off the medication that he usually took for anxiety and schizophrenia. b ut when the police arrived, they handcuffed him, zip-tied his feet and kneeled on his back as he begged for his life. e leven minutes later, the man was dead. h is name was Tony Timpa. Another name in a list of thousands who have been killed inexplicably by police. s hot. Tased. c rushed. b rutalized.

m ore people are killed by police in America than anywhere else in the developed world. Police departments in our country do not have outside oversight, which means that they’re not being held accountable by anybody when they misapply deadly force. In most states, the department has the final say on whether an officer’s level of force was warranted or not, and this is an obvious conflict of interest. It’s why the officers that killed Tony Timpa felt bold enough to kneel on him for 11 minutes. It’s why the ones that killed Tyre n ichols didn’t care that their body cams were recording the whole thing. n ot only do our police require more independent oversight, they need more training as well. Policing is hard, so naturally we have a lot of respect for the people who’ve committed themselves to the job. b ut we don’t effectively train our police to do one of the most stressful and high-tension professions that we have in our society. According to the b ureau of Justice, the average length of time required to complete police academy training is 21 weeks, or 840 hours. c ontrast that with police training in Germany, which takes two and a half years, or even with Finland whose police training lasts a full three years. 9 out of 10 police calls are for nonviolent encounters, and yet U. s . police academies spend more of their time on firearms training than on deescalating the situations that constitute 90% of their job. And the solution here isn’t defunding the police, because when budget cuts have happened in police departments historically, training divisions are usually the first things scaled back.

To stop more people from becoming victims of extrajudicial police violence, the truth is that we need to hold our police departments more accountable. The officers responsible for Tyre n ichols murder were swiftly dealt with, but when it comes to this issue, we need to be proactive, not reactive. Legislation mandating that independent third parties investigate incidents of alleged excessive police violence would go a long way toward preventing many unnecessary deaths and life altering injuries. As would more training in de-escalation, and better care for the mental health needs of the people protecting and serving us.

And on the n otre d ame campus, we need more discussion and more activism surrounding this issue. Last month, there were posters in every dorm promoting the m arch for Life in Washington, dc b ut how many times since June of 2020 have we as a community acknowledged the lives that continue to be taken as a result of police brutality? h ow many people know the names Tony Timpa or Philando c astille?

We can’t live up to our calling as n otre d ame students until a desire to see justice done is burned on our conscience. Until we are heartbroken by the pain and injustice in our world. And until that broken heart compels us to action. b ut the first step is just having the courage to dialogue with each other on subjects like this one.

The university has spoken out against police brutality in the past, but I believe it can do more. The nd P d ’s e quity in Policing initiative is a great step, but we also need the university to put its weight behind legislation that will hold police nationwide accountable for applications of unjustified extreme force. I’m not saying that it’s up to the university or its students to fix our nation’s policing problem. b ut if we say nothing, then that says everything.

Tyre n ichols was 29. Another black man killed unjustly by the police. Another American dream snuffed out long before it had a chance to be realized. I think that’s something worth talking about.

Oluwatoni (Toni) is a freshman majoring in Business Analytics at the University of Notre Dame. He can be reached at oakintol@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Andrew Sveda c hurch and state

“Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. by what kind of law? by a law of works? no, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (romans 3:27-28 esv). These words boldly attack man’s achievements, unveil the scandal of the gospel of grace and exalt Jesus as the perfect, complete and sufficient savior.

Let us first look at the context. These verses proceed from a discussion of the utter depravity of every single person (3:920) and the free gift of redemption in Jesus’ atoning death (3:21-26). It is not merely the case that people aren’t perfect. man is naturally evil and opposed to God and his law (John 8:44, romans 8:7). so deep is our wickedness that “no one does good, not even one” (romans 3:12). All of our deeds, even our best ones, are stained by sin, for they proceed from an impure heart. no resumé of service hours or good deeds, no ritual, no amount of tears, no mystical experience can save you. not even impeccable observance of bible reading and prayer can put you in right relationship with God. Without Jesus, you are dead in sin and will be subject to God’s just and eternal wrath (ephesians 2:1, John 3:36, 2 Thessalonians 1:9).

It is in this light that christ is presented to us. We “are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (romans 3:24-25). because christ “bore our sins” (1 Peter 2:24) and suffered God’s wrath in our place (Isaiah 53:4-6), God’s justice is satisfied (romans 3:26) and we are reconciled to the Father and have peace with him (romans 5:1,11). We are cleansed from every sin (1 John 1:7), are forever under the loving gaze, care and protection of God (romans 8:28-39, Luke 12:32) and will enter heaven’s gates (John 14:2-3).