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It is an unspoken understanding on campus that from the months of October through December, everyone is sick. Maybe it’s the stress, all the sleepless nights piling on top of one another, or maybe it’s the shifting weather, but, whatever the cause, everyone is feeling the weight of the semester. We still have quite a few more weeks to go and more than half a football season to cheer for, so pull out your sweatshirts and jackets, try to take an actual break during fall break and in the interim, please enjoy another issue of Scholastic.

One of the biggest stories for the October issue investigates why a former player and another former player’s wife are suing the university. Their claim is that Notre Dame has shown a disregard for player safety and consequently they have suffered from the long term damage of multiple concussions throughout their lives.

We have also covered Notre Dame’s “Rebuild My Church” forum, arising out of the university’s desire to combat the sexual abuse crisis in the church. We’ve profiled Link Jarrett’s appointment to the position of head baseball coach and written about some former Notre Dame football players currently playing in the NFL. If you’re looking for something more lighthearted, please read all about Pole Ryeann’s approach to teaching.

And then we have our cover story. Gun violence is an issue that has gripped headlines over the past several years. Beginning with the tragedy at Columbine High School in 1999, the news has reported strings of mass shootings, like those at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, at the Orlando nightclub Pulse in 2016 and at Stonewall Douglas High School in 2018.

Not only are mass shootings made possible by lax gun laws and flimsy background checks, but so is the victimization of individual communities. Shootings are a common occurrence in many South Bend neighborhoods. When tragic cases like the police shooting of Eric Logan this past July shed a national light on this city, it becomes vital to learn about how the community is coping and responding. Gun violence is a problem in South Bend, but the amount of solidarity in the prevention of that violence is remarkable.

It is our responsibility to understand the community that surrounds us, to recognize its strength and its resiliency, and, as always, to vote.

Happy reading!

Sincerely,

Ellie Buerk