The independent
To uncover
newspaper serving
the truth
Notre Dame and
and report
Saint Mary’s
it accurately
Volume 52, Issue 12 | tuesday, september 5, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
Student center serves to build community Campus Crossroads project provides state-of-the-art facilities to students and student-run groups By COURTNEY BECKER News Editor
Editor’s note: This is the second story in a three-part series featuring the completed Campus Crossroads project. Today’s story focuses on the enhancements to student life resulting from the creation of the Duncan Student Center.
CHRIS COLLINS | The Observer
Duncan Student Center, set to open in January 2018, features new restaurants, a new recreation center and a ballroom to be used for student events, but also available to the public for booking.
Students raise funds to alleviate Harvey damage By MARIE FAZIO News Writer
Hurricane Harvey swept through Texas and parts of Louisiana on Aug. 28, leaving flooding and devastation in its wake that displaced thousands, including many members of the Notre Dame family. As has been the custom with most natural disasters affecting
University students, Notre Dame student government responded with support for those affected. Friday, student government hosted a Grotto prayer service. Continuing their efforts, on September 1st they launched a ten-day fundraising campaign to raise money for a donation to Catholic Relief see HARVEY PAGE 4
In addition to upgrades to Notre Dame Stadium, the Campus Crossroads project will affect dayto-day student life — particularly with the complete opening of the Duncan Student Center, a new center of student recreational activity on campus, in January 2018. This aspect of the project, which vice president for student affairs Erin Hoffmann Harding said was
20 years in the making for the University, will house several services that are being relocated to the new building, such as the career center and office of residential life. Among the hospitality space located within Duncan Student Center is the Dahnke Ballroom, which will serve to improve student life outside of football season, vice president for facilities design and operations Doug Marsh said. “ … [There is] the Dahnke Family Ballroom on the seventh level that will host up to 600 people at a banquet function — but more importantly for student life, our residence halls’ great traditions and their twice-a-year semiformals that they host in and see CROSSROADS PAGE 4
Author Margaret Atwood to lecture at Saint Mary’s Observer Staff Report
Bestselling author Margaret At wood w ill deliver this year’s Christian Culture Lecture — an annual speaking event at the College that explores various dimensions of the humanities — in O’Laughlin Auditorium on Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m., according to a College press release. Tickets can be retrieved from the O’Laughlin Box Office beginning today.
As t he aut hor of over 40 books of f iction, poetr y and critica l essays, At wood w ill bring vast experience and insight to her ta lk, tit led “The Handmaid’s Ta le: The Sources,” according to t he release. Her 1985 novel “The Handmaid’s Ta le” was recent ly adapted into a Hulu series, and one episode features a cameo by At wood herself, t he release states. Chair of the department of humanistic studies
— which coordinates the annual lecture — Laura Williamson Ambrose said in the release At wood has w isdom to impart on the Saint Mar y’s communit y. “The campus is abuzz w ith excitement over Margaret At wood’s v isit,” she said in the release. “Her novels and other works have been mainstays in our classrooms for decades, and it is thrilling to have an opportunit y to hear from her in person.”
Freshman becomes first tri-campus student Freshman Elisabeth Lasecki said she wanted to continue to take ballet classes when she began college, so she signed up for a ballet course at Saint Mary’s. This choice made her the first student to take classes at all three Holy Cross-affiliated colleges simultaneously in
South Bend — Holy Cross, Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s — Adam DeBeck, director of alumni, parents and community relations at Holy Cross, told her. Lasecki said as a student in the Gateway Program, she registered for classes at both Holy Cross and Notre Dame. She said the opportunity to also take a ballet class at Saint
Mary’s allowed her to continue pursuing one of her passions and was “a nice load off [her] shoulders.” “I started dancing when I was three, so I’ve been dancing for almost 15 years,” she said. “I had an opportunity to dance in a more professional setting and I turned it down because I knew I wanted to focus on my academics so I don’t regret that
either because that’s why I’m here.” On Mondays and Wednesdays, Lasecki has four classes, which requires her to visit all three campuses. “I’m never at one campus back to back so I’m at Holy Cross, then Notre Dame, then Holy Cross, then Saint Mary’s,” she said of her schedule on Mondays and Wednesdays.
“Those days I generally wake up pretty early around 8 [a.m.], then I have a 9:30 [a.m.] class and then I don’t end up finishing classes on Mondays and Wednesdays until about 7:15 [p.m.] or 7:30.” Lasecki said prioritizing has been key to balancing her schoolwork and traveling
NEWS PAGE 3
Scene PAGE 5
viewpoint PAGE 7
Volleyball PAGE 12
cross country PAGE 12
By NATALIE WEBER Associate News Editor
see TRI-CAMPUS PAGE 3