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Volume 56, Issue 64 | monday, april 11, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
DIANE PARK | The Observer
The attempted merger of ND and SMC By SPENCER KELLY, LEAH PERILA, LILYANN GARDNER and ADRIANA PEREZ From the Archives Researchers
Historical counterfactuals are always a tricky thing. Even for trained historians, it is tough to tell what would have happened if, say, Lincoln had not been assassinated or if the Allies had lost World War II. However, with regard to the proposed merger between Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s in the early 1970s, one thing is certain: it would have fundamentally reshaped the tri-campus community as we know it today. From the Archives has
previously alluded to this potentially momentousmerger.Ithascomeupina past edition on Notre Dame’s first class of women and our most recent edition on Notre Dame admissions. This week, From the Archives directly tackled the merger, beginning with the official opinions, then the student voices, and finally the reasons why the merger may have failed. Ultimately, beyond its potential as a curious counterfactual, the Notre Dame-Saint Mary’s merger (or lack thereof) is an integral piece in the histories of these two independent yet interconnected institutions.
Alumna speaks on sexual assault By LIAM PRICE Associate News Editor
Editor’s note: This editorial includes discussions of sexual violence. A list of sexual assault reporting options and on-campus resources can be found on the Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross websites. Author and Saint Mar y’s College alumna Janet Kelley v isited the campus Friday as part of the Raise Your Voice Sexual Violence Sy mposium to read from her novel “Taint” and discuss the role of fiction in addressing sexual v iolence. Kelley first touched on the heav y nature of the topic. “Before I begin my prepared remarks, let me remind you that this is a safe place in which I plan to talk about uncomfortable things,” she said. “If at any point you need to step out of the room for a moment … please do so.”
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Kelley said before her v isit to Saint Mar y’s, she gave herself “reading assignments.” Her first reading assignment was Chanel Miller’s memoir, “Know My Name.” Though it was w ritten after her ow n book, she said its intense stor y about sexual assault is partly why she is apprehensive about selling her ow n book. “I understand in a v isceral way that a book about rape, a fiction about sexual assault, may not be possible for ever ybody to digest,” she said. Kelley’s second piece of homework, she said, was Eve Ensler’s work the “Vagina Monologues,” which had a great inf luence on her when she was in college. “W hen I left South Bend, I was able to quote the ‘Vagina Monologues’ by heart instead of the New Testament,” Kelley said. see KELLEY PAGE 3
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School officials react to potential merger Nov. 27, 1967 | Nov. 16, 1970 | March 25, 1971 | Kevin McGill | Researched by Leah Perila Perhaps unsurprisingly, debates over the merger between Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s proved contentious over the years. In 1967, Saint Mary’s abruptly fired its president, Sister Mary Grace, seemingly because she did not support the merger. Sister Grace said that religious superiors had expressed dissatisfaction to her with the progress of the merger, specifically implicating Notre Dame President Fr. Theodore Hesburgh.
“I believe that I was relieved as president because of the wish of the board of religious trustees that a merger with Notre Dame proceed much more rapidly,” Sister Grace said. However, Fr. John J. McGrath, Sister Grace’s replacement, denied these accusations. “There has been no collusion over the abrupt removal of Sr. Mary Grace,” Fr. McGrath said. “I haven’t talked with anyone at Notre Dame and have never met Father Hesburgh.” In its Nov. 16, 1970 edition, The Observer spoke out in support of what they called “a momentous decision” to merge Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s. “Co-education is fast becoming
a reality,” the editorial proclaimed. “Since the day the two schools began co-exchange classes they have embarked upon a path which slowly and inexorably has led them to this end.” The editorial asserted that the creation of a new coeducational institution “would be of illimitable advantage” to Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s. It was also a pragmatic decision given the close proximity and historical cooperation between the two schools. The Observer concluded that the merger “is the right decision, probably the only logical choice that can be see ARCHIVES PAGE 3
NASA physicist discusses risks posed by asteroids
PETER BREEN | The Observer
Physicist Marina Brozovic discussed the risks asteroids pose to human beings in her lecture in the Mendoza College of Business. Brozovic’s lecture is the sixth installment of the “Ten Years Hence” series.
In the sixth installment of this year’s ‘Ten Years Hence’ lecture series, the Mendoza College of Business welcomed NASA physicist Marina Brozovic Friday morning to speak on the risks asteroids pose to human beings and the
opportunities these spinning space rocks may supply our species. Born and raised in Split, Croatia, Brozovic earned her doctoral degree in physics from Duke University and now conducts research in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology as a radar scientist
and orbital dynamicist. Brozovic’s accomplishments include the observation of hundreds of near-Earth asteroids at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, involvement in the discovery of 14 moons of Jupiter and having the asteroid, 7295 Brozovic,
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By PETER BREEN News Writer
see ASTEROIDS PAGE 4