To uncover the truth and report it accurately
Volume 51, Issue 63 | tuesday, december 6, 2016 | ndsmcobserver.com
Students stand with Standing Rock After traveling to the Sioux reservation, students react to the halting of the Dakota Access Pipeline By MEGAN VALLEY Associate News Editor
Over Thanksgiv ing break, a group of Notre Dame and Saint Mar y’s students went to the Standing Rock Siou x reser vation in North Dakota to join the “water protectors” — many of which are Native Americans who have been there since August — in their fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline being built near their land. On Nov. 29, senior Jenn Cha — one of the Notre Dame allies who went to the reser vation, along w ith four native students — started a Facebook page, Humans of Standing Rock, to share the stories of the indigenous people she met who are
leading the movement. Sunday, the Department of the Army announced that it would not allow the Dakota Access pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe, the area in question. “It is a huge v ictor y and it is a testament to the power of protest — this never would have happened w ithout the protest — and especially those first four to five months before the media outburst, there was basically no media coverage,” Cha said. Cha said she is “cautiously optimistic.” Many of the leaders at Standing Rock have said they still have no plans to leave, despite being see PIPELINE PAGE 4
Courtesy of Jenn Cha
Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s students traveled to North Dakota to stand in solidarity with the “water protectors” who were protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline near their land.
Professor researches truth regarding Bethlehem star By ANDREW CAMERON News Writer
The stor y of the birth of Jesus is among the most well-know n stories in the Bible, and details, such as the star over Bethlehem that led the Magi to Christ’s manger, are familiar to nearly ever yone w ith some knowledge of Christianit y. However, these details,
such as whether the star of Bethlehem was even a star at all, may not be fully understood. Grant Mathews, professor of physics, believes the sign that the Magi followed was actually and extremely rare planetar y alignment and that the “star” was, in fact, Jupiter. Since 2005, Mathews has been interested in finding a possible
scientific explanation for the legendar y biblical occurrence. “We looked at a bunch of things — whether there was a comet or an asteroid or a supernova or a nova,” Mathews said. “Historically, it’s possible, but you have to look at what the Magi would have actually been see STAR PAGE 4
Program promotes business By JORDAN COCKRUM News Writer
This year marks the fifth year of the SPARK program, which is put on by the Saint Mary’s College Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative (WEI) through the Center for Women’s Intercultural Leadership. The SPARK program is a training program in entrepreneurship for female entrepreneurs in the South
news PAGE 3
Bend area with high potential but without the resources to start up their own business. “Deciding to take on your dream and create a business from your own vision is takes a lot of courage and can can be terrifying without the right support,” senior Emerald Blankenship said. “SPARK is the first step in this process for a class of inspiring women each year.” As an intern, Blankenship
ScenE PAGE 5
said she has a variety of responsibilities. “Since I study marketing as one of my concentrations, I get to help with media plans, market research and just answering general questions about the business process,” she said. “I also facilitate one or two classes depending on where there is a need.” Last year, Blankenship see SPARK PAGE 4
viewpoint PAGE 6
SMC professors study stress relief methods By GINA TWARDOSZ News Writer
With finals and the end of the semester right around the corner, student stress levels are on the rise. Two Saint Mar y’s professors — Jennifer Bauer, assistant professor of nursing, and Catherine Pittman, associate professor of psycholog y — have both studied stress and its effect on students. Bauer said she conducted a stress study on sophomore nursing majors who were vocal about being stressed when she worked at the Universit y of Indiana-South Bend. “Ever y day before class, I would have ever yone close their eyes,” Bauer said. “I did too, and we would practice deep breathing. Later I introduced guided imager y.” According to Bauer, guided imager y is a meditation technique that has the
men’s basketball PAGE 12
participant evoke mental images that stimulate the body and all five senses in order to elicit a rela x ing response. “At the end of the eight weeks, almost all of my students said they would continue using the techniques to de-stress in ever yday situations, like waiting in a long line at a store or at the post office,” Bauer said. Bauer said that it is better to introduce these techniques to younger students. “I found that it was more beneficial to teach these rela xation techniques to younger students so that they can utilize them throughout their academic careers,” Bauer said. Pittman, a psychologist, also studied stress and w rote a book titled “Rew ire Your An x ious Brain.” Pittman said see STRESS PAGE 3
track and field PAGE 12