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Volume 47, Issue 86 | tuesday, february 11, 2014 | ndsmcobserver.com
Judicial Council withholds election results Both LaMagna-Andresen, Vidal-Devine accused of campaign violations By L ESL E Y STE V ENSON a nd A N N M A R IE JA K UBOWSK I Ne w s Wr iter a nd Ne w s Ed itor
Ca mpa ig n v iolat ions a nd sa nct ions aga i nst t he L a Mag na-A nd resen t icket for st udent body president a nd v ice president prevented t he Jud icia l Cou nci l f rom relea si ng elect ion resu lts a s schedu led 12 a.m. Tuesday, accord i ng to t he Jud icia l Cou nci l. In a press relea se issued late Monday n ig ht, t he Cou nci l sa id it sa nct ioned ju n ior Ol iv ia L a Mag na a nd sophomore Roha n A nd resen for “i nsu lt i ng t he opposi ng t icket i n a Facebook post by a suppor ter.” T he Cou nci l a sked L a Mag na a nd A nd resen to remove t he post f rom
Facebook. A nd resen told T he Obser ver t he i ncident wa s “a m iscom mu n icat ion a nd a m isu ndersta nd i ng of one of ou r suppor ters who d id not mea n to of fend a nyone i n a ny way.” L a Mag na sa id she wa s g ratef u l for t he ded icat ion her a nd A nd resen’s suppor ters had show n du r i ng t he ca mpa ig n process. “T here wa s absolutely no ha r m or of fense i ntended, nor d id we perceive t hat a ny t h i ng t hat a ny of ou r suppor ters have done over t he cou rse of t h is cou ld be i n a ny way, shape or for m of fensive,” L a Mag na sa id. “We don’t wa nt t h is to dow nplay a l l of t he
ZACH LLORENS | The Observer
see ELECTION PAGE 3
Candidates Olivia LaMagna and Rohan Andresen speak in the debates for student body president and vice president. The Judicial Council sanctioned the ticket Monday evening.
ND graduate Ahearn Researchers publish cross-disciplinary emphasizes development of biological study whole person, moral compass By HENRY GENS News Writer
In a cross-disciplinary effort, Notre Dame biology and mathematics professors have published a study on stathmin, a key protein in the cytoskeleton, demonstrating the success of mathematical computer modeling and lab work in photographing of stathmin. Notre Dame associate professor of biochemistry Holly Goodson recently published the study in conjunction with professor of applied mathematics Mark Alber. “Mark Alber’s lab specializes in doing biological modeling and they had already approached us about the possibility of trying to put something together with this,” Goodson said. “We’ve actually been working on this for quite a long time. The models had to start very simply and we’ve built complexity over time.” In developing the
NEws PAGE 3
mathematical model, Goodson said the goal was to create a system that was not overly complex. “The first thing we’re looking for is just general behavior,” she said. “Then you can add extra levels of details to make it more precise. One of the main things you can get out of something like this is to figure out what really matters.” Using computational models in a systems biology approach indirectly tests and observes conceptual models of the dynamic subcellular system, Goodson said. Although electron microscopes can capture images nanometers in size, such pictures are often incomplete, she said. “It’s like trying to understand a football game: if you’re trying to figure out football from a hundred random
By E MILY McCON V IL L E Ne w s Wr iter
Ret i red U.S. A i r Force genera l, eng i neer i ng con su lt a nt a nd Not re Da me g raduate Joseph A . “Bud” A hea r n spoke to eng i neer i ng st udent s a nd fac u lt y Monday n ig ht i n DeBa r tolo Ha l l on t he i mpor t a nce of socia l a nd mora l con sciou sness i n eng i neer i ng. T he 90 -m i nute t a l k, t it led “E njoy i ng t he leader sh ip jou r ney f rom good to excel lent to ex t raord i na r y — perfor m i ng i n t he f low,” foc u sed on t he development of t he w hole person a nd a mora l compa ss a nd t he appl ic at ion s of t hose qua l it ies to c areer s i n eng i neer i ng. A hea r n spent severa l dec ades i n t he A i r
see BIOLOGY PAGE 3
see LECTURE PAGE 4
viewpoint PAGE 6
scene PAGE 8
ANNETTE SAYRE | The Observer
Retired U.S. Air Force general and Notre Dame gradute Joseph Ahearn discusses the role of morality in engineering.
men’s basketball PAGE 16
fencing PAGE 16