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Volume 51, Issue 64 | wednesday, december 7, 2016 | ndsmcobserver.com
University denies NDSP records requests Notre Dame claims police department not subject to Indiana public access law By MARGARET HYNDS Editor-in-Chief
Notre Dame Security Police (NDSP) has the same powers that a public police force does. Within its jurisdiction, NDSP officers can carry weapons, investigate crimes and make arrests that can lead to criminal charges. But when somebody gets arrested by the South Bend Police Department (SBPD), files a complaint with the agency or is the victim of a crime to which it responds, that information becomes a public record under Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act (APRA). For NDSP, it’s a little more complicated. The distinction between a police force like SBPD and one like NDSP hinges on the legal
distinction between private and public agencies. Under APRA, “public agencies” — like local police departments — are required to release certain records by law. However, private university police departments like NDSP have long been considered private agencies under state law, and therefore not subject to APRA. The legal status of NDSP has been the subject of intense legal scrutiny in the past two years. ESPN filed a lawsuit against the University in January 2015, after Notre Dame refused to release incident reports related to student athletes on two separate occasions. Last month, the Indiana Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision, ruling in favor of Notre Dame that NDSP is not a
public agency under the law. While the ESPN case made its way through the legal system last year, the Indiana State Legislature passed HB 1022, which would have required private university police departments to disclose records only in situations where someone was arrested or incarcerated, shielding them specifically from the rest of APRA. It was vetoed by then-Governor Mike Pence in March. The state legislature, which passed HB 1022 with overwhelming support, will have the opportunity to override the veto when the new legislative session begins in January. But, just one day after the final ruling in the ESPN lawsuit, the South Bend Tribune reported see RECORDS PAGE 2
Snite to debut three new exhibitions this spring By COURTNEY BECKER News Writer
One of the advantages of having a top university museum on Notre Dame’s campus is the exposure to a wide range of artwork. Each semester, the Snite Museum of Art features new exhibitions for community members and visitors to explore. Snite Museum public affairs representative Gina Costa said two of the three new exhibitions scheduled for the spring semester will focus on sculptures. “We’re going to have … one that’s a ceramics show,” Costa said. “It’ll feature work by the ceramics department here at Notre Dame that were fired in an anagama kiln. … That deals with sort of contemporary issues in the discourse on ceramics. And then we’re also doing a continuum show of sculpture.” The exhibition Costa is most excited for the Notre Dame community to see, though, is a photography exhibition from Jan. 15 to March 5. “For the spring semester we’ve got … a photography show on
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pictorialism,” she said. “It’s going to be a beautiful show of images drawn from the Snite’s permanent collection. … These are just beautiful photographs that I think everyone will really enjoy [and] be moved by. I can see the campus just adoring this.” Although the Snite Museum has a sizable collection of photographs, Costa said it is not able to display many for long periods of time, making this exhibition a fleeting opportunity for visitors to the museum. “The Snite has an amazing photography collection,” she said. “We have over 10,000 photographs. Unfortunately … we can’t put them out all the time. Photographs are ephemeral so we can only put them out for a maximum six weeks at a time. Then they have to rest for three years. So we have all these beautiful photographs, and if we had more space we could just get more of them out.” The Snite is able to open varying kinds of photograph exhibits regularly because of the sheer size of its photograph
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collection, Costa said. “It’s a very different kind of exhibition in terms of content,” she said. “We just closed the Paulette Tavormina show that featured contemporary photographs, but based on Dutch 17th century still lives that all had layered meanings. The pictorialism show talks about a different time and place, but the images are as reflective and as indicative of time and what a photographs communicates or what seeing — what looking — means.” Costa said these events, as well as the artwork itself, contribute to the overall environment of one’s experience at the museum. “A museum experience is so integral to everybody’s growth and to their educational and just emotional growth,” she said. “A museum is a place where you can go to reflect, to have quiet time, to grow yourself. Looking at art helps you think about larger issues, about yourself, about your society, about the see SNITE PAGE 3
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LINDSEY MEYERS | The Observer
ND ranked fourth in study abroad report Notre Dame was ranked fourth among doctorategranting universities for undergraduate participation in study abroad programs by the Institute for International Education (IIE), according to a University press release. IIE publishes an Open Doors report each year, which provides information on key facts and trends about students studying abroad around the world — both in the U.S. and foreign countries. According to the most recent ranking, which looked at the 2014-2015 academic school year, 64.2 percent of Notre Dame students studied abroad. According to the report, 1,302 Notre Dame students studied abroad last year and 2,028 received undergraduate degrees. The report considers students taking courses abroad and those participating in noncredit educational experiences
— such as volunteering and service learning — in the count, according to the IIE website. Pepperdine University, American University and the University of Denver were ranked ahead of Notre Dame this year. Last year, the University ranked 10th. The Notre Dame International office manages more than 50 semester-long study abroad programs in 26 different countries, according to the University press release. “More important than the numbers is what this data represent: That more than six in 10 students are studying abroad at some point in their undergraduate career at Notre Dame,” Michael Pippenger, vice president and associate provost for internationalization, said in the release. “Study abroad experiences contribute to students becoming global citizens, enhancing their intellectual work and enriching our community when they return to campus.”
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Observer Staff Report