see law

By CRYSTAL RAMIRES

associate news editor

This semester, the office for the common Good (ocG) is back with community-based and civically engaging campus initiatives, but with a new name. The office, formally known as the office for social and civic engagement, is a unique resource center, which exists for the saint mary’s college community, including students faculty and staff. ocG works specifically on service and advocacy both on campus and within the south bend community. The office has led annual initiatives such as smc votes, which aims at increasing voter turnout and engaging young americans. ocG director rebekah Go said this is not the first time the office has seen a name change. This is the fourth time the office has “rebranded,” she said.

The office was founded in 1991, and it was officially started as a student organization, with no professional staffing at all. Go noted that it was not until later that the office became staffed and officially made the office for social and civic engagement. now, 20 years later, the office is facing another change. rebekah spoke to the purpose and meaning behind the name change in addition to what she hopes this rebranding will bring to the office.

“one of the major contributing ideas to sort of why we are rebranding, is because of the lack of clarity of what our office does to both students and other campus partners, like faculty and staff and as well to the community,” Go said.

Go elaborated more on the lack of clarity between the office and those it serves in addition to the process of rebranding.

“People weren’t clear about what we did, and so Kris [assistant director of the office for the common Good] and myself met with our interim vP molly Gower starting in February of the spring 2021 to talk about clarifying our mission and vision,” Go said.

“and as a result of those conversations, we decided to rebrand the whole office. a lot of what we decided wasn’t changing actually the programming aspects of what we do, not a lot from the student [side] of things will change. it is just a name change, but it does help us to know where our primary focus is versus what other offices on campus are doing… through that clarification,” she said. in further discussion of the name change, Go discussed the language behind the common good — how it is specifically catholic but also how it is understood by people who are not catholic.

“Know that what we do is [that] we are working towards promoting things that benefit all people… so it is kind of this idea of all ships rising, but that means that we are always working on things that will benefit all people… so we aren’t just doing it for some but it is because we believe what is good in this world should be enjoyed by all in this world,” Go said.

The office rebranding has been in effect since the start of the fall semester, and Go said she has found the rebranding to be received well and has served the purpose she hoped it would.

While the office is undergoing a name change, their initiatives have not changed much, with a couple of new programs and initiatives kicking off this fall, one of which is the Faith in the vaccine movement.

“We have lots of stuff going on,… Faith in the vaccine is a specific initiative [within] the community with faith leaders to promote vaccine access and encourage people who may be vaccine-hesitant to get the vaccine,” Go said.

“it actually started in the summer. We received a grant to run the program and we really quickly had to hire eight vaccine ambassadors. so we were really fortunate to get a lot of applications for the ambassador positions… and we ended up being able to sort of narrow it down to saint mary’s students and one recent grad,” Go said.

The office is working on many more initiatives this semester. Go said the ocG is hopeful this rebranding helps students better understand the mission of the office and engage with other office initiatives, programs, and opportunities.

Contact Crystal Ramires at cramires01@saintmarys.edu

Law

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of california voter approval but wasn’t implemented due to an unconstitutional ruling.

Jacobson pinpoints Proposition 187 as “a turning point in racial politics” because it became a “code for a certain racialized form of anti-immigrant lawmaking.” Jacobson’s interviews with supporters of Proposition 187 show that nativists “easily move back and forth between ‘undocumented immigrants’, ‘Latino’, and ‘mexican’.

“They’re interchangeable terms,” she said. “[They] can’t possibly know a person’s documentation status. all they see is brown skin and hear spanish.”

This aspect, Jacobson argues, is what makes Proposition 187 and other anti-immigration laws racialized issues. as immigration has become an increasingly polarized issue, the use of racialized language has become more aggressive. Jacobson discusses “dog whistles” which she uses to describe “implicit racial appeals - ones that could be made with plausible deniability to talking about race.”

This covert “color-blind conservatism” has now shifted into overt racism. durham mentions a woman’s comment from Jacobson’s book, which discussed the implications of racism.

“she said in response to her own defense of Proposition 187, ‘if this makes me a racist, fine. i don’t care. i’m here to defend my country,’” the book said.

Jacobson attributes this shift from covert to overt racism — from the dog whistle to the whistle — to the intensifying political polarization in the United states and the work of activists and scholars in “naming implicit racism.” students pointed out that during covid-19, they perceived “a shift in the way that we talk about and think about immigrants.” durham says students “felt this was a moment in which there was still anti-immigrant sentiment and it was pretty explicit, but that we found new groups to be angry with and new groups to target with bias.”

Jacobson claims that “the racial dynamics are pretty similar,” between nativists and their targets, regardless of if they are Latino or asian. This changing target of anti-immigration sentiment towards asian americans and asian immigrants may suggest that that anti-immigration is more of a racial issue than a documentation issue. if students, faculty, alumni or notre dame fans are interested in hearing more from upcoming speakers at the “building an anti-racist vocabulary” lecture series, they can register online at https://klau.nd.edu/initiatives/ building-an-anti-racist-vocabulary/.

Paid adverTisemenT

Contact Claire Lyons at clyons3@nd.edu

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progress of the nation.

“There are many more of us that, i think, feel that america is not so broken, as it is adrift at sea,” he said.

While Thomas was speaking, two audience members protested by standing up in the auditorium with signs that said, “i stand with anita hill.” hill was a former employee of Thomas who accused him of sexual harassment during his 1991 confirmation hearing.

The protestors were removed from the room shortly after standing up with their signs for half of the lecture. after the protestors were escorted out, Thomas took audience questions during a moderated Q&a. one student asked if there were times Thomas has had conflicting interests between his catholic faith and the legal cases he was required to resolve, which Thomas said was difficult to navigate.

“There are some things that conflicted very strongly with my personal opinion, my policy preference, and that was very, very hard, particularly early on,” he said. “i don’t think a single person will ever tell you that [the supreme court does] anything other than our job.” another student asked whether Thomas believed more “regular” americans should read court opinions. Thomas explained the primary audience is his “fellow citizens,” and clerks work to make the opinions more readable. he recalled one instance that touched him when a man ran up to him and asked him to sign one of Thomas’ court opinions.

Throughout the lecture, Thomas emphasized the importance of always seeing the best of people and being careful with assumptions.

“We just seem like we keep dividing stuff into subcategories of differences and emphasizing those differences. so, i think you look for the good in the people around you, even if others around you don’t do things properly, you still try to do it,” Thomas said.

To close off the lecture, Thomas shared words of wisdom for any student interested in the legal world.

“do not lose sight of what’s good and good people,” Thomas said. “We’ve gotten to a point in society where we’re really good at finding something that separates us from others.”

The observer | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | ndsmcobserver.com

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By ROSE ANDROWICH

scene Writer

“We will never again take for granted the opportunity to perform in front of a crowd,” said daniel stowe, director of the notre dame Glee club (ndGc). on sept. 17, the ndGc performed at the much anticipated Triennial reunion concert, which took place at dPAc. The event brought 170 to 200 notre dame alumni back to perform with the current student members. The Glee club concert occurred as the ndGc celebrates its 106th anniversary, but some things — like the community — will stay the same. According to Pat ostrander, class of ’84, the Glee club is still the same fellowship it has always been. The community of the Glee club, members suggest, is the type that keeps you coming back, and the friends you make are the ones who will be in your wedding.

The moment that best highlighted that shared sense of community was the Ave maria. The Ave maria had the alumni in the audience standing up and singing from the balcony. In addition to being a beautiful song, it was the favorite performance of ostrander — who found the club’s rendition both incredible and moving — and matthew Pond, a junior at notre dame. In addition to the “Ave maria,” Glee club classics of “Passing by,” “The halls of Ivy” and “The Long day closes” were performed as well.

The event concluded with the notre dame “victory march,” also known as the best fight song in America! Although we’ve all seen the YouTube videos of the Glee club performing the Fight song, being there elevates the feeling somehow; this feeling of community is something that epitomizes the notre dame we love, as well as the school’s rich history. According to ostrander, even though the musicians of today are better, the community remains the same. And at the triannual reunions, ostrander is reminded of what he felt as both a Glee club member and as the club’s eventual president. ostrander recalls his experience running for president, saying that “[he] wanted to give something back, kind of a ‘pay it forward.’” The concept of “paying it forward” came from the upperclassmen in the Glee club. According to Pond, the Glee club upperclassmen are people you learn to trust and rely on, especially given the way the club operates. before each Glee club performance, there is practice almost every day, but in the Glee club, you learn as you go, meaning that underclassmen often turn to seniors for help. “The learning curve is tough,” Pond said, but “once you get it, you get it.” Part of what contributes to this learning curve is the way that the Glee club tends to sight reads their pieces, forcing members to “figure it out” as they go. but being a part of the Glee club is worth it. When Pond found out he had been accepted, it felt very special to him, and he considered it a valuable opportunity to build community as a Gateway student. Pond wanted a way to ensure he had a good group of people to hang out with once he got to notre dame, and joining the Glee club carried the added bonus of validating his abilities. Although the members of the Glee club all love music and the community, the group has a diverse amount of majors, most of which aren’t actually related to music. For those who don’t get any music education in class, the Glee club provides the opportunity to have a relationship with the art form. The bottom line? Whether students like listening to music or performing it, the notre dame Glee club has something for everyone to enjoy.

Contact Rose at randrowich01@saintmarys.edu

By MEG SLUZAS

scene Writer

I’ll be the first to admit that, despite being on the campus dining plan, I am a specialty grocery store junkie. Typically, when I would feel homesick here, all I had to do for a taste of snacks from home was take a car ride with my roommate to the local Fresh Thyme or Whole Foods to stock up on produce. That being said, Trader Joe’s was never a store I frequented, as I always believed it was overpriced and overrated. I cannot, however, drag my busy roommate out in the car every week, so when a new Trader Joe’s opened within walking distance of campus, I decided that I would take a walk, open my mind and see if my prejudices were wrong. sure enough, Trader Joe’s does offer a pleasant walkable location for unique novelty snacks and prepared meals, including gluten and dairy-free options. however, their produce section left me disappointed.

The first things about the new Trader Joe’s that I noticed when walking through the doors were the store’s impressive natural light and extremely airy atmosphere. When I go to a specialty store, I expect an experience that doesn’t include overbearing fluorescent light and white linoleum floor — in that regard, at least, Trader Joe’s understood the assignment. With mint-colored walls and cute check-out stations, Trader Joe’s makes shoppers’s experiences relaxing. Additionally, walking to the store from campus, while a bit of a hike, is an extremely pleasant stroll down eddy street. It’s also an easy drive if you have a car and want to take one, but I prefer to get some fresh air and take advantage of the time before the permacloud. before my trip, I had long been skeptical of Trader Joe’s novelty foods. store items contain some interesting flavor combinations — pumpkin tortilla chips, for instance — that definitely raise an eyebrow. I chose to pick up some pickles, turkey summer sausage and tamari brown rice crackers with the intention of putting together a classic “college charcuterie.” As it turned out, I was impressed with all of the snacks I bought. The crackers rocked my world, and are almost impossible to ration. Whoever thought of tamari sauce on a rice cracker should get a raise. The kosher pickles beat out anything that I can get at Target, and the summer sausage was delicious.

While I did not want to completely obliterate my wallet, I also viewed the frozen foods and prepared goods. If you are a student and want to treat yourself to food that is not from the dining hall, I would say look no further than Trader Joe’s prepared foods. There are refrigerated soups, cold chicken breasts marinated in lemon sauce, and frozen meals that would add a fun burst of flavor to a dull study session. In terms of gluten and dairy-free food, Trader Joe’s does have options, but shoppers have to hunt for them among the regular items, as there is no specific section for dietary restrictions. I also noticed that other stores, such as Whole Foods and Fresh Thyme, have a greater selection of dairy-free yogurts, as well as chocolates and frozen desserts without allergens.

While Trader Joe’s excels in prepped meals and snacks, I find the store’s produce section to be lacking. I am a fruit junkie, and with the limited amount of fresh fruit on campus, I have to get my necessary supply of berries elsewhere. I was thrilled to see that Trader Joe’s had around five different sizes of blueberry bins, but when I tasted the blueberries at home, they tasted soapy; this is odd, considering they were organic. The grapes I purchased were also okay, but the produce I find at Fresh Thyme in mishawaka is much tastier. While their veggies, such as broccoli slaw and coleslaw, are delicious, their subpar fruit quality unfortunately keeps me from recommending Trader Joe’s as a “one-stop shop” for grocery goods.

Trader Joe’s is good, not great. I would have to try more of their prepared foods to make a better-informed decision on how much it lives up to the hype, but for now I say: Go for the novelties, but don’t stay for the fruit.

Contact Meg Sluzas at msluzas@nd.edu

Trader Joe’s

Location: 1140 E. Howard St. South Bend Style: Grocery store

Favorite food: Rice crackers, multiseed with tamari sauce (gluten and dairy-free)