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Volume 52, Issue 41 | thursday, november 2, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
Humor Artists to host ‘anniversary’ show Although group’s foundation date is unclear, performance will honor long-standing campus presence By SOFIA MADDEN News Writer
Photo courtesy of Sawyer Williams
The Humor Artists of Notre Dame perform an improv show. The group plans to host their “100th Anniversary Show” on Friday in Washington Hall, incorporating both alumni and current members.
The Humor Artists of Notre Dame will host their “100th Anniversary Show” Friday in Washington Hall. Humor Artist alumni will perform in the show, which will be the first of its kind in the group’s history. “No one has been able to discover the exact year an improvisation group began on Notre Dame’s campus, so we like to assume that the Humor Artists have been a Notre Dame club since the school was first formed,” the group’s copresident Sawyer Williams said. Given the group’s uncertain establishment date, a 100th Anniversary show seemed like a
“logical timeframe” for the group, co-president Henry Long said. “We know that some of the oldest club members performed at Notre Dame before we were born, and many alumni have continued to perform professionally ever since,” Williams said. Long said that the oldest known alum graduated in 1996, and the oldest alumni performing on Friday graduated in 2000. “Through Facebook, we were able to find many Humor Artist alumni, and discovered that several past members of the troupe still carry close relationships with one another,” Long said. On the group’s Facebook page, see HUMOR PAGE 5
Students advocate to keep Saint Mary’s club fundraises for Title IX standards African mission
By COURTNEY BECKER News Editor
Two Notre Dame students are starting a campaign asking University President Fr. John Jenkins to uphold previous Title IX standards in spite of recent policy changes made by Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. Sophomore Elizabeth Boyle, co-creator of the “StaND 4 IX” campaign, said the campaign is in response to DeVos’s September decision to rescind the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) and 2014 Q&A Guidance for Sexual Assault. According to the StaND 4 IX website, the DCL “provided an interpretation of Title IX, presenting clear guidance to colleges and universities about their obligations in sexual misconduct cases,” and “clearly stated survivors’ rights.” DeVos’s decision to rescind these directives came after the University’s administration made changes to Notre Dame’s Title IX policy, something Boyle said makes her “very nervous” about how the University will handle sexual assault cases in the future. “Secretary DeVos is giving schools the option to choose things such as their evidence
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standard [and] to follow the 60day timeline or not, so we have this unique opportunity as this wonderful institution to take that moral high ground,” Boyle said. “ … I think that ability to choose our next steps was what inspired us to take this on and to ensure that we are this incredible university steeped in Catholic moral values, as we put out there.” Sophomore Isabel Rooper, co-creator of StaND 4 IX, said the University has progressed in handling Title IX cases in the past several years, and the campaign hopes to sustain that progress. “Part of what we care about is making sure that the University continues moving forward,” she said. “And so that’s what we’re striving to get a commitment for with this letter, is to make sure that the University continues moving forward and making good on that promise to support and protect survivors of sexual violence, and have a fair and reasonable process.” Boyle said one of her biggest concerns about the rescinding of the DCL is the removal of the Preponderance of Evidence standard — which requires complainants to prove an incident of sexual assault is “more likely than not” to
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have occurred — and the removal of a 60-day timeline for investigating and concluding Title IX cases. 60 days is the typical timeframe identified in the DCL for how long a Title IX case should take to resolve. While the timeline was not strongly enforced before DeVos rescinded the DCL, Boyle said the only thing that could hold the University to that standard is community members speaking up on behalf of survivors. “Now I think the biggest push is going to come from student activists,” she said. “[It will come] from saying, ‘Hey, if you’re having a case that’s over 100 days long, you’re re-traumatizing the victims of assault, you’re putting them through this process again.’ So the difference is going to be in saying … that Notre Dame has this choice, and we pride ourselves on making the right choice, the choice that has the higher morality and protects people.” Some Notre Dame investigations have lasted longer than 60 days while the DCL was in place, such as a case that resulted in an ongoing lawsuit from a former student. Rooper said the campaign asks the University to recommit see TITLE IX PAGE 3
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By MARIA LEONTARAS News Writer
When senior Anna McClowry’s went abroad, she said she was inspired to create the Belles For Africa club at Saint Mary’s. Last summer, McClowry and seven other Saint Mary’s students traveled to Kyarusozi, Uganda, to teach and work in a clinic sponsored by the sisters of the Holy Cross.
“When we came back to campus this year, we became the leaders for the Belles for Africa club,” McClowry said in an email. “Our group raises awareness about the Sisters’ mission in Kyarusozi, Uganda. Our main goal is to raise funds for the health clinic and primary school there. Additionally we want to increase social awareness and foster a see AFRICA PAGE 5
Cultural center celebrates holiday By KELLI SMITH News Writer
The Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture (NDCAC) will be hosting a celebratory event for El Dia de Los Muertos on Thursday starting at 5:30 p.m. in the NDCAC building in South Bend. El Dia de Los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead, is a Mexican
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holiday held to remember and honor deceased loved ones, taking place during the first few days of November. “The celebration is a great way to celebrate being part of the larger South Bend community and for many to learn about Dia de los Muertos,” Alex Schaufele, the art see HOLIDAY PAGE 5
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