Issues

Turn in Your Scantron, if You Want To

Author: Daphne Saloomey

As the admissions process seems to grow more selective, it has evoked a national dialogue about the utility of evaluating candidates based on a singular day’s performance, especially when it might be impacted by factors that not all students have equitable access to, such as test prep courses or specialized tutors.

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Vaccine Efforts On and Around Campus

Author: Leah Capuano

For most, the past year has consisted of masks, hand sanitizer, six feet of separation and endless references to these “unprecedented times.” But many health officials seem to think that the end may be in sight.

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Undercover at the Squash Club

Author: Nick Pesce

One student, who I’ll call Jack, opened my eyes to an underground squash ring that flew in the face of university pandemic policies. He also consented to me using his quotes in this article under the condition of anonymity.

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The Rector Behind DJ DuLac

Author: Emma Ferdinandi

Nhat Nguyen, the rector of Duncan Hall, is far from your typical Notre Dame rector. For starters, he is famously known as DJ DuLac, the iconic DJ who provides the soundtracks for various events, including SYRs and — most importantly — Domerfest.

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A COVID-Safe South Bend Bucket List

Author: Lauren Kesic

As a senior, I have many regrets. One of the biggest ones is not having explored more of South Bend when I had the chance. Now that I’m about to graduate, there’s nothing I love more than getting out of the classroom, off of Zoom and away from campus with my friends. I’ve compiled a list of all things worth doing and checking out around town that comply with CDC and school standards. So take a beat from burying your nose in the books and peel your eyeballs away from that screen for an afternoon or night on the town. 

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The Meet, Greet, and Eat Initiative

Author: Emma Koster

You grab your boxed dinner from North Dining Hall and tote it back to the dorm. You forgot to bring a bag again so your bare fingers are stiff and numb around the container by the time you enter your room. You shut the door behind you and go to your desk where you’ll sit facing a wall, eating another meal alone. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You could jump onto a Zoom call instead to share stimulating conversation and make new friends — all from the comfort of your own room.

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Supporting South Bend Restaurants During the Pandemic

Author: Emma Koster

Dreams for a bigger kitchen and redecorated interior dining space still exist but have been put on the back burner. People comment on the work the restaurant needs, and Dont’e Shaw simply takes it in stride. He’s aware of the necessary renovations, he even had them planned out, but when you open your restaurant in the middle of a global pandemic, most plans have to be changed. Pandemic living has made so many things impossible and other things so anxiety-ridden that other alternatives have to be sought out instead.

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Was the Mini-Break Really a Break?

Author: Emma Koster

When campus isn’t filled with students over winter and summer break sessions, the library echoes with a unique quiet and has an eerily empty feel, like an airport at 2:00 a.m. or the grocery store late at night. Chairs sit uninhabited and a sense of restfulness hums in the air. It’s no surprise Hesburgh Library didn’t look or feel quite that empty Tuesday, March 2. Amidst the advice to slow down and take a moment for yourself, Notre Dame students still populated this well-loved study spot. At 8:50 p.m. in the evening, the library seemed just as full as it always is on the university’s scheduled “mini-break” day.

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Trying to Stay GreeND

Author: Lauren Kesic

It’s no secret that one year ago campus looked a lot different. You could recognize your friends and passers-by since no one was wearing masks. There weren’t as many hand sanitizer stations let alone any “HERE” signs or posters indicating the full force of the pandemic we now find ourselves in. The only texts you’d get from Notre Dame were Weather and Emergency Alerts.

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Freshmen Highs and Lows: Excerpts from Freshman Across Campus

Author: Lauren Kesic

My freshman year experience looked a lot different than what freshmen are experiencing today. Everyone in the Class of 2021 arrived to campus the same weekend. We were always allowed in each other’s rooms and in other dorms. Classes were held in person. The dining halls were a place for friends to sit, dine and catch up for hours on end. Brother and sister dorms often commingled. And we weren’t trying to navigate our first year at Notre Dame in the midst of a pandemic. 

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‘WandaVision’ is Engaging and Mysterious

Author: Oscar Noem

While it’s difficult to make a horror TV show that genuinely scares the audience, it has always been more difficult to make a show that truly unnerves the viewer. Somehow, the new Disney+ original “WandaVision” manages to perfectly nail the atmosphere of “something’s not quite right.”

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Return to ND has Students Flushing About

Author: Juliet Hare

Upon returning to campus after a two-month sabbatical, the worry of contracting COVID-19 has been replaced by an even more pressing threat to physical health: Notre Dame students have lost their investment in the university’s toilet tissue issue. Not only is the excitement of returning to campus disrupted by the gaping holes between stalls which permit the awkward locking of eyes with fellow Domers, students are also forced to endure ultra-rough and not-so-quilted TP across campus.

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Saliva Kingpin Taken Down

Author: Bridget Kelley

After watching the award-winning documentary “Icarus” on Netflix over winter break, Nick Salivatti had an idea. Inspired by the elaborate blood swapping scheme that allowed Russian athletes to test negative for use of performance-enhancing drugs, Salivatti realized he could run a similar racket based on campus’s hottest commodity: COVID-free spit.

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(South) Lodge a Complaint

Author: Nick Pesce

Controversy erupted on South Quad this past weekend as a ragtag group of extreme outdoorsmen showed up to newly established South Lodge expecting to find an actual hiking lodge.

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