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Volume 49, Issue 14 | thursday, september 10, 2015 | ndsmcobserver.com
Sexual assault activists to speak at ND, SMC Visitors provide insight on campus sexual assaults
Students continue to respond to ‘The Hunting Ground’ By HALEIGH EHMSEN
By CATHERINE OWERS
Saint Mary’s Editor
Associate News Editor
After screening “The Hunting Ground,” a documentary that highlights sexual assault on college campuses across the country, at both Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s last spring, conversations about sexual assault have continued and sparked action. Kirby Dick, director of the documentary, said he has been impressed with the way both schools have responded to the film. “I have been very impressed with the way Saint Mary’s and President [Carol Ann] Mooney have had multiple screens of the film and invited the film’s
Annie Clark and Andrea Pino, co-founders of the national organization End Rape on Campus, are coming to Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Indiana University South Bend (IUSB) for a series of appearances and discussions on sexual assault and activism on college campuses. Clark and Pino filed a federal complaint with the Department of Education against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for violations of Title IX and the Clery Act while they were students there and were
see FILM PAGE 5
LUCY DU | The Observer
Real Life Project promotes balanced lives By JORDAN COCKRUM News Writer
On Wednesday, the Saint Mary’s Center for Spirituality’s Real Life Project held its first meeting for the 2015-2016 academic school year. Michelle Egan, associate director of the Center for Spirituality, said the Real Life Project began as a Student Independent Study and Research (SISTAR) project in 2007 and now takes place once a year, usually during the fall semester. “The Center for Spirituality subsidized the Real Life Project in 2008-2009 as a pilot, and [it] was met with such positive evaluations that it was incorporated into the Center’s regular programming,” Egan said. The Real Life Project provides “students and faculty the chance to talk together about how to connect all the parts of [their] lives in a meaningful way,”
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according to the Saint Mary’s website. Egan said participants must attend all four meetings, which occur over dinner with a small group of faculty facilitators. At these meetings, the faculty aids students in discovering how to balance their daily lives with fulfilling their calling. “The central focus of Real Life is to explore the notion of vocation on many levels, deepening students’ understandings of both vocation, or life calling, and the discernment process,” she said. According to the Saint Mary’s website, students complete readings and reflections to help prepare themselves for the discussions to come. “All participants share the experience of making major life decisions, plus they discuss the challenges of integrating all see PROJECT PAGE 3
VIEWPOINT PAGE 6
see ACTIVISTS PAGE 4
Panel explores interfaith peace building efforts
CAITLYN JORDAN | The Observer
A visiting nun from the Sant’Egidio community speaks about the group’s role in peacebuilding across different faiths at a panel sponsored by the Kroc Institute Wednesday night. By GABRIELA MALESPIN News Writer
A group of international peacemakers convened in McKenna Hall Wednesday night to share their experiences and reflect on the reality of peace building during a
SCENE PAGE 9
panel discussion sponsored by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. The panel, titled “Peace is Always Possible: Reflections from Proven Peacemakers,” brought together four panelists to discuss their experiences and insights in
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peacemaking as part of the fifth annual American Meeting of Sant’Egidio Prayer for Peace. A recurring theme throughout the panel was the importance of peacemaking and see PEACE PAGE 3
SMC SOCCER PAGE 16