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Volume 54, Issue 48 | wednesday, november 13, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com
DACA prayer vigil promotes solidarity Students, campus ministry aim to support those affected by possible changes in immigration policy By CIARA HOPKINSON News Writer
The Student Coalition for Immigration Advocacy, or SCIA, hosted a prayer vigil Tuesday afternoon as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that will decide the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA allows people illegally brought to the United States as children to remain in the country for two years at a time on a renewable basis. The Supreme Court will determine whether or not President Donald Trump’s move to end the
program in 2017 is constitutional. SCIA president María Sierra Cáceres described the vigil as an opportunity for the campus community to show solidarity and for DACA and undocumented students to reflect and see they are supported. After the 2016 election, Sierra Cáceres said, SCIA shifted its focus from education about the issue to promoting dialogue and creating a community of trust on campus. “We needed to switch gears and say, ‘How can we provide events that bridge … such a polarizing issue, how can we get people to come to our events and talk about
this?’ and then just creating safe spaces [for dialogue] as well,” Sierra Cáceres said. The vigil began with a prayer led by SCIA members that emphasized the Christian values inherent in welcoming migrants, from generosity to protecting the vulnerable and recognizing their humanity. The vigil continued with a reading from Malachi that again emphasized the duty of hospitality toward foreigners and the vulnerable. Fr. Steve Newton, a campus minister at Saint Mary’s, spoke of his experience at the Catholic Day of Prayer for children detained at the southern border this summer
College hosts annual Oxfam Hunger Banquet By JULIANNA McKENNA News Writer
Students gathered in the Haggar Parlor on Tuesday evening to participate in the Oxfam Hunger Banquet, an event Saint Mary’s hosted to raise awareness for world hunger. The annual event focuses on the realities of hunger in America and occurs at different institutions across America throughout the month of November. “It’s an experience to humble yourself and be grateful for what you have, but also to acknowledge that hunger is much more common than you might think,” senior and Student Diversity
Board president Jazmin Herrera said. “It might be someone sitting next to you in class or someone that you know. The main purpose of the event is to raise awareness.” The event illustrate the impact of the socioeconomic divide in America as students were each assigned a different economic group and meal. “The 41 students who participated were randomly entered into a drawing and were placed in the lower class, middle class or higher class,” Herrera said. “The majority of people end up in the lower class because that is the real global ratio. Each group experienced the different classes
through the meals that they were fed.” Students felt the occasion was an important opportunity to understand the challenges faced by many people across America. “I decided to attend because I had never heard of an opportunity like this,” freshman Angela Martinez-Camacho said. “It was a chance to see what it’s like for other people.” Martinez-Camacho noted the dread she felt sitting at a nice table while some of her peers had to sit on the floor. “I feel kind of bad because I see BANQUET PAGE 4
Nanovic Institute to hold first Eurocup trivia night By KAYLE LIAO News Writer
The Nanovic Institute for European Studies will host its first-ever Eurocup trivia night on Wednesday night in JenkinsNanovic Halls. “This is the first annual Eurocup competition,” Mark
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Kettler, director of the Eurocup trivia night, said. “This year really represents a huge expansion of the European trivia nights [held previously]. We’re moving from what was a fun night of getting together and asking questions about a common interest to a formalized competition.”
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The event will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The prize is a trophy, which is intended to encourage inter-hall competition and strengthen individual hall spirit, Kettler said. “We thought instead of just sending an open invitation to see TRIVIA PAGE 3
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in Washington, D.C., where he was arrested alongside 69 others for protesting in a congressional office building. “The most exciting thing that happened to me this summer, and the most meaningful, was I got arrested,” Newton said. “It was great.” Soon after being elected to the leadership team of the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, Newton drove to Washington, D.C. to participate in the demonstration. The day began with a prayer service of about 300 people outside the Russell Senate Office Building, 70 of whom then moved into the rotunda of the building.
“Five at a time lay down in the rotunda in the form of a cross,” Newton said. “The idea was that as they were arrested, then five others would take their place, but we never got that far because they arrested us very quickly. The ratio of Capitol police to individual was one-to-one.” Newton and his fellow demonstrators were handcuffed and driven to a holding area, where they received minor misdemeanors on their record. As each person finished the process and left the building, Newton said, the remainder see VIGIL PAGE 4
ROTC students honor veterans throughout day
JACKSON OXLER | The Observer
ROTC students stand guard at the Clarke Memorial Fountian for 24 hours before a ceremony to commemorate Veterans Day. By JACKSON OXLER News Writer
In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower officially changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day, making Nov. 11 a national holiday to celebrate and honor all the men and women who have served in the armed forces of the United States military. That day was celebrated at Notre Dame on Monday as well. The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program at Notre Dame honors America’s veterans each
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year by standing guard at the Clarke Memorial Fountain and by hosting a ceremony to conclude the vigil service. Beginning Monday at 4:30 p.m., ROTC officers began standing guard at the Clarke Memorial Fountain, more commonly known as Stonehenge. Students from each of the three branches took shifts for 30 minutes throughout the night and continuing into Tuesday afternoon. The guard lasted a full 24 hours, and despite the see VETERANS PAGE 3
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