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Volume 54, Issue 64 | monday, january 20, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com
Statue honors civil rights movement University President Emeritus, Martin Luther King Jr. join hands in iconic pose depicted downtown By MARIA PAUL News Writer
Two men joining hands stand firmly at Leighton Plaza. At times, people visiting the area pose next to them taking pictures. A historic snapshot, the statue featuring Martin Luther King Jr. and University President Emeritus Fr. Theodore Hesburgh permanently preserves an aspect of the civil rights movement in downtown South Bend. Created by local artist, Tuck Langland, the bronze statue depicts the iconic photograph of Hesburgh and King at the 1964 Soldier Field
rally in Chicago, when both men came together to sing “We Shall Overcome.” The photograph became a permanent part of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Galler y in 2007, and a copy of it was gifted to former President Barack Obama when he gave the Commencement speech in 2009. “President Obama knew of Fr. Hesburgh’s involvement in civ il rights and actually said to him, ‘I wouldn’t be here today if it had not been for you,’” Tim Sexton, associate v ice president for public affairs, said. “So when we
KELLI SMITH | The Observer
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A bronze statue in South Bend’s Leighton Plaza depicts Fr. Theodore Hesburgh and Martin Luther King Jr. holding hands in solidarity. The statue represents a photograph taken of the two men at a civil rights rally.
College enhances student spaces
Knott priest-in-residence embraces new placement By CIARA HOPKINSON News Writer
W hen Fr. Dennis Strach found out he would be moving into Knott Hall at the beginning of last semester, he did not know what to expect. The last time he lived in a dorm, Strach was a student himself, and he wasn’t sure how he would approach
MAEVE FILBIN | The Observer
Changes include the newly renovated and expanded student 24-hour space in Cushwa-Leighton Library, available to Saint Mary’s students. By MARY MANSFIELD News Writer
Over w inter break, 17 renovation projects were completed across Saint Mar y’s campus in order to improve student life, and a few more operations are slated to occur over the coming semester, Benjamin Bow man, director of facilities, said. “In the librar y we
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renovated and expanded the student 24-hour space which included new paint, f looring, lighting and furniture,” Bow man said in an email. “We dedicated package rooms for our residential buildings to secure student packages. New hydration and bottle fill stations have been installed in multiple locations and the pews and see SPACES PAGE 3
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ser v ing as both a resource and a friend to his students. However, Strach feels the men of Knott quick ly and readily accepted him into their communit y. “It’s been short but it seems like in many ways I’ve know n them for a while or the welcome has been such that I’ve been moved by their openness and their
w illingness to let me accompany them in their time at Notre Dame and in their faith journeys especially,” Strach said. W hen Strach asked what Knott’s “thing” is, the rector, Pat Kincaid, said the communit y is rather spiritual. Though he was see PRIEST PAGE 4
Lawsuit moves forward against Notre Dame Observer Staff Report
Independent reproductive rights group Irish 4 Reproductive Health (I4RH) announced in a Friday email the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana will allow the organization’s lawsuit against Notre Dame and the Trump administration to proceed. The lawsuit was filed on
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the group’s behalf by the National Women’s Law Center — which released its own statement — Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and law firms Fried Frank and Macey Swanson. Filed June 26, 2018, the lawsuit claims the Trump administration and Notre Dame reached an unlawful
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agreement which exempts the University from covering certain types of birth control on its insurance plans. “In February 2018, Notre Dame entered into a secretive deal with the TrumpPence administration to impose unnecessary and burdensome costs on us and see LAWSUIT PAGE 3
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