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Volume 51, Issue 97 | wednesday, march 1, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
DPAC to feature two-person play Celebrated playwright’s ‘I and You’ confronts pressures of adolescence, realities of growing up By SELENA PONIO Associate News Editor
The debut performance of Notre Dame’s film, telev ision and theatre department’s production of “I and You” takes place Wednesday at DeBartolo Performing Arts Center (DPAC). The play by Lauren Gunderson, recently named the “most-produced playw right in America” by American Theatre magazine, follows the adventures of 17-year old Caroline, a young girl confined to her room due to illness, and her unexpected friendship w ith her classmate, Anthony. Senior Mar y Patano, who plays Caroline in the production, said the best part about her role is getting to play a character who is “so authentically herself.”
“Caroline makes up for her physical weakness w ith an overactive use of language, specifically using sarcasm and self-deprecation to make herself feel better,” Patano said. “W hat I like most about Caroline is that she is kind of unlikeable. She’s annoy ing in the way most 17-year-olds are, and can be a little bit of a brat sometimes. But this is ju xtaposed by her passion for photography, Elv is and waff le fries.” Patano said this play in particular is incredibly applicable to the lives of young adults. She said the stor y of Caroline and Anthony demonstrate two people who were war y of each other initially but bonded more strongly w ith each new discover y about the other. see PLAY PAGE 3
Speaker explores dark matter
Photo courtesy of Carys Karesny
Junior Eric Ways, left, and senior Mary Patano rehearse a scene for the premiere of “I and You.” This coming-of-age play delves into the development of an unlikely relationship between two teenagers.
Professors outline details of Trump’s travel ban By JORDAN COCKRUM News Writer
Professors of political science Pat Pierce and Marc Belanger hosted an open forum Tuesday to discuss President Trump’s executive order on immigration that
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
Antonio Delgado, associate professor of physics, examines the presence of dark matter in the universe in a lecture Tuesday. By NATALIE WEBER News Writer
In the most recent installment of the “Our Universe Revealed” lecture series, associate professor of physics A ntonio Delgado discussed dark matter. “Normal matter — which is you, me, Jupiter, Mars,
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whatever — is only 4 percent of what we see in the universe,” Delgado said. “Only 4 percent of what we say [is] the energ y budget of the universe is what you and me are made of. “The other 96 percent is something we have never see MATTER PAGE 3
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banned the entr y into the U.S. of nationals from Iraq, Iran, Sy ria, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya for 90 days. The forum’s goal was not to discuss the executive order in a manner of pros or cons, but rather to prov ide information on it as a whole,
Pierce said. “W hat different sides in the debate have done is ... emphasize part of the picture, but it’s important to put the whole thing together,” Pierce said. see TRAVEL PAGE 3
Week promotes culture of body positivity on campus This week marks the student government health and wellness department’s annual Love Your Body Week, an event aimed at promoting body positiv it y and raising awareness about the impact of eating disorders on Notre Dame’s campus.
One in five college students w ill struggle w ith an eating disorder while at school, and recognizing this problem is particularly important, sophomore Julia Dunbar, health and wellness department director, said. “On our campus, I think there is a lot of stigma around eating disorders,” Dunbar said. “We have made
a lot of progress w ith general mental health stigma, but eating disorders really need our attention. We need to first break dow n stigma regarding eating disorders. “Secondly, I hope to educate and empower our campus. If a friend or roommate starts struggling, I want
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By LUCY Lynch News Writer
see BODY PAGE 3