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Volume 52, Issue 61 | thursday, december 7, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
Professor discusses Latino education Luis Ricardo Fraga delivers Hesburgh Lecture regarding demographics of American Catholic schools By MEGAN VALLEY Assistant Managing Editor
Latinos now comprise 35 percent of all Catholics living in the United States; for practicing Catholics under 30, Latinos comprise 52 percent. Yet, only 15–17 percent of all students enrolled in Catholic schools are Latino. Luis Ricardo Fraga, director of the Institute for Latino Studies, addressed this low enrollment of Latino students in Catholic schools and explained the importance of the Latino and Catholic communities for predicting American demographic trends in his Wednesday night lecture, part of the 2017 Hesburgh Lecture series. “Those of us in positions of responsibility and in positions
of influence — voters, all of us who are Catholic, who are citizens of the country, who are residents of this country — we have a chance to decide what kind of legacy we want to leave subsequent generations,” Fraga said. Fraga said the Latino community in America is not just growing, but also dispersing throughout the country into less-concentrated areas. “What we see is a dispersion across the entire country [of Latinos],” he said. “Fifty-two percent of students in [Goshen, Indiana] are Latino. … This changing demographic is not just a growth in population, but a geographical dispersion.” Nationwide, Fraga said the percentage of the population see LECTURE PAGE 3
College to host annual holiday fundraiser By GINA TWARDOSZ Associate Saint Mary’s Editor
Every December, the Lillie O’Grady Center at Saint Mary’s hosts the Sisters of the Holy Cross Christmas Bazaar, a holiday marketplace which sells handmade gifts. The proceeds of the bazaar benefit the Sisters of the Holy Cross. The 2017 Christmas bazaar will take place Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Thursday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sr. Rose Goodrow, director of development, said in an email that “the bazaar has a long history for the Sisters,” as there is even a record of the bazaar occurring in the early 1950s. She said the proceeds from the Bazaar are “split in half,” with the money divided evenly to support the Ministry with the Poor and the other half lending support to the Sisters Retirement Fund. Sr. Jeanette Fettig, Goodrow’s
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predecessor as the director of development, said the Christmas bazaar is popular with community members and students. “Always, in the first two hours, we have mobs of people — everyone is respectful of one another, however,” she said. “We have a lot of people from the community, some from South Bend, Holy Cross Village and a lot of Notre Dame students. The students love the cards and campus photos.” Fettig said the bazaar is well received because it is reminiscent of a traditional Christmas bazaar that many of the visitors are familiar with. “I had a man come up to me and say, ‘You know, this is a real old-fashioned Christmas bazaar,’” she said. Because the bazaar benefits the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Fettig said those who patronize see BAZAAR PAGE 3
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CHRIS COLLINS | The Observer
Director of Institute for Latino Studies Luis Fraga speaks at Eck Center Auditorium on Wednesday. Fraga explored the reasons Latino students are underrepresented in Catholic educational institutions.
Saint Mary’s staff offers study advice for finals By MAEVE FILBIN News Writer
With finals week fast approaching, students are preparing for a barrage of long nights, last minute cram sessions, impulsive snacking and accidental fasting. Anxiety will settle over campus like a thick fog, turning even the most prepared students into stressinduced zombies. Even though finals season is stressful, Diane Fox, the director of the Office for Student Success at Saint Mary’s, and Heather Abbott, a counselor from the Saint Mary’s Health and Counseling Center, said there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Abbott said stress is not only an appropriate response to finals week, but a fact of life. She said that stress — when managed correctly — can be channeled into something healthy and useful. “To deal effectively with stress, we need to develop an array of coping skills. Coping depends on a balance between
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acceptance and action, of letting go and taking control,” Abbott said in an email. “There are also a variety of daily choice techniques which one can employ in order to engage more effectively with stressors.” Such methods, Abbott described, include time management and planning, deep breathing, self-talk, visualization of success, self-care and affirmations, a healthy balance of distraction and focus, reframing, catharsis and social support from friends and family. “Sometimes, a good cry or a good laugh can be a simple answer to stress,” Abbott said. Fox acknowledged the end of the semester warrants some celebration, but advised against partying on the Thursday and Friday night before finals week. “I like to equate final exams to the Super Bowl — you don’t want to blow it at the end, get arrested and not be able to participate in the Super Bowl,” Fox said. “This is when you want to be at your utmost mental, physical and spiritual best.”
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In order to reach peak condition, Fox said, students need to reach a comfortable level of confidence before entering their final exams. “Confidence is uppermost in importance,” Fox said. “In order to be confident, you first have to take a step backwards and believe in your preparation, and this requires time management. You don’t want to cram.” In order to make the most of the remaining days before finals, Fox suggested students alternate study spots while preparing for each subject — a trick that narrows down the mental-recall process. She also reminded students to start each study session with a specific, reasonable goal in mind and to include some sort of practice testing within that objective. “You will have the satisfaction of knowing your work is done, and you will have a form of feedback. I want students to know what they know before they see FINALS PAGE 3
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