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Volume 51, Issue 121 | thursday, april 20, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
Schools partner to ‘Take Back the Night’ Gender Relations Center plans speak out at Grotto
Belles Against Violence Office co-hosts event
By SELENA PONIO
By KATHRYN MARSHALL
Associate News Editor
News Writer
The Notre Dame community will come together Thursday evening to attempt to start a dialogue on sexual assault and hear stories from survivors. “Take Back the Night” (TBTN) is an annual event that has been a collaborative effort between Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s for over a decade. This year, Holy Cross College will participate and the event will be sponsored by the Gender Relations Center (GRC) at Notre Dame and the Belles
Observer file photo
Students, faculty and staff from Saint Mary’s College, University of Notre Dame and Holy Cross College will break the silence surrounding sexual assault during the annual Take Back the Night event. “The goal of Take Back the Night is to re-establish that our campuses are safe places to be and that we don’t tolerate sexual assault on our campuses,” Abigail Spica, a junior student advisory committee member for the Belles Against Violence Office
see GRC PAGE 3
Participants in last year’s Take Back the Night event march on Notre Dame’s campus to raise awareness for issues of sexual assault before ending the night with a prayer vigil at the Grotto.
see BAVO PAGE 3
PEMCo hosts Revue ‘Nothing Without You’ By ANDREW CAMERON News Writer
The Pasquerilla East Musical Company (PEMCo) will present “Nothing Without You: A PEMCo Revue,” featuring 20 students performing numbers from a wide variety of musicals. Sophomore Emily Okawara, the director of this year’s show, described the revue as
an annual PEMCo tradition in which students perform a compilation of songs from different musicals, each connected by a common theme that changes each year. “This year’s theme is ‘Nothing Without You,’ and it’s all about human connection, and how, living on this earth, we are all connected in little, tiny ways in our daily lives, but also on a
bigger scale,” she said. “All of the proceeds go to charity. This year they’re going to a program I’ve worked with all year, called ‘Engaging Youth, Engaging Neighborhoods.’” “Engaging Youth, Engaging Neighborhoods” is collaborative project between the University and the Neighborhood Resources see PEMCO PAGE 4
ROTC honors seniors in formal ceremony By CIARA HOPKINSON News Writer
Notre Dame’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), held its annual Pass in Review Ceremony on Wednesday on a rain-shrouded South Quad. ROTC honored its members for a year
SENATE PAGE 3
of excellence in academics, leadership and service. “The military Pass in Review is a formal ceremony rooted in the tradition of a commanding officer inspecting the men and women serving beneath him for their appearance, technique, precision and battle readiness,”
SCENE PAGE 5
junior Chris Ruflin said. Notre Dame’s full Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine units, in dress uniform, lined up in formation for the inspection of University President Fr. John Jenkins and Colonel James E. Bowen see ROTC PAGE 4
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College Student Activities Board organizes Tostal By GABY JANSEN News Writer
The Saint Mary’s Student Activities Board is on the road to success with their United States travel themed Tostal celebration Friday. Student Activities Board (SAB) President Emma English said the theme comes in part from inviting The Mowgli’s to play at the event. “We were kind of thinking about all the states [The Mowgli’s] had [traveled] to get here,” English said. “A lot of our theme has to do with the fact that Saint Mary’s is our home and the Avenue brings you home.” Junior SAB Vice President Lily Freund said the event will kick off early in the afternoon with lots of activities. “This year we will have a pre-fest starting at 4 [p.m.] on Alumni Green, and we’ll have
FOOTBALL PAGE 12
a giant slide, tons of food,” she said. The event will feature a wide variety of foods English said. “Our food will be themed around the country,” she said. “So we have Chicago hotdogs, Philly pretzels, Hawaiian ice … and we have Wafflehouse waffles.” English said other activities at the pre-fest will include crafts, a DJ and a photo booth that students can pick the image of the background. “We are gonna have these really cool crafts, were we have the state of Indiana carved out in wood and people can paint on them, maybe draw a heart or a French cross over the city of South Bend.” English said. “We have a really cool photo booth that you can pick the background and be like ‘I’m in Paris with my friends.’” see TOSTAL PAGE 4
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