While most students consider the Notre Dame campus their home away from home, more than half the undergraduate student body during fall 2010, spring 2011 and summer 2011 explored another home through study abroad. The Institute for International Education ranked Notre Dame ninth in percentage of students who study abroad with 59.7 percent of students participating during the periods of time analyzed, according to a University press release. Robert Norton, associate vice president for internationalization and a concurrent German and philosophy professor, said he is proud of Notre Dame’s 40 international programs in 20 countries. “One of the reasons why we think it’s so important to have a lot of students go abroad … is that it’s very important in terms of students getting to know not only other cultures but their own, as well,” Norton said. “You get to see the American language and culture through the eyes of other people, and I think that’s a very important step in learning to have sympathy and tolerance for people of other cultures when you begin to see yourself through the eyes of others.” Norton said Notre Dame has been ranked among the top 10 schools with the highest percentage of students who study abroad for the past 14 years. “Notre Dame is willing to invest in study abroad in ways that other schools aren’t,” he said. “For example Notre Dame has for years paid for the airfare of students who study abroad, which is something no other peer institution has done.” Notre Dame’s interest in study abroad reflects the University’s Catholic identity, Norton said. “The Catholic Church is the universal Church, and I think that people can understand what that means in real terms only when they go out into the world and begin to have the experiences that study abroad uniquely offers,” he said. Norton said he is happy with the percentage of students who study abroad, but he encourages as many students as possible to take advantage of the University’s resources. One especially favorable program is Notre Dame International’s Global Gateways, buildings the University has purchased in cities such as Dublin and Rome to extend the classroom abroad, Norton said. “What we’re doing is we’re turning these Global Gateways not just into centers for study abroad but also places where Notre Dame as an institution resonates into the larger culture context of the place where they’re situated,” he said. Senior Amanda Williams studied in London in spring 2012 through the Notre Dame London Program, and she said the experience opened up new cultural doors for her. “You definitely dove right into everything because you were traveling extremely independently,” Williams said. “Just being in London in the first place is a big cultural immersion, but traveling around Europe was also a cultural immersion, even just as far as getting off the airplane and having to find a bus.” Williams said she enjoyed living in a “global center” and especially appreciated the good accommodations and knowledgeable professors the University provided for her. Most of all, Williams said she was grateful to became a true London resident. “There’s a point when you’re in London when you stop looking like a tourist, and I think when everyone reaches that point, you’re definitely culturally immersed and getting something out of that,” she said. “That was probably the best part – being a Londoner.” Contact Tori Roeck at vroeck@nd.edu
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January 26, 2021January 26, 2021 0 Comment
The contention over the United States fiscal policy has boiled down to a matter of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, economics professor Eric Sims said. Members of the U.S. Congress reached a compromise on December’s fiscal cliff crisis, a decision that was catalyzed by the expiration of the Bush administration’s tax cuts that had been extended in 2010 to alleviate the recession. The deal, made on Jan. 2, did not increase taxes for the majority of the population, but it also did not address the issue of national spending cuts. If Congress had failed to act, taxes increases would have happened immediately along with government spending cuts known as sequestration effected across the board. The frustrating inaction and seemingly endless debate among members of Congress was the result of a tension between the short run and long run needs of the national economy, according to Sims. “To understand where this is coming from, the debt ceiling in the United States is congressionally mandated,” Sims said. “We have [more than] 11 trillion [dollars] in total debt outstanding now, and mandates say the debt can’t exceed X [amount of] dollars, though historically we’ve always increased that. “It’s natural that we would run large annual deficits during a time of recession, because taxes are lower and spending is higher,” Sims said. “In this case, it was exacerbated by the political showdown of 2010 and the recent economic sluggishness from the Great Recession.” In a time of recession, a typical fiscal policy increases spending and decreases taxes to foster economic recovery and growth. However, with the national debt approaching 100 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), economists are worried about the long-term consequences of the gradual increase of the debt ceiling. “Tax increases and spending cuts aren’t good for the short-term economy, but now there is concern that our debt is so big that eventually, other countries and other investors won’t want to take our debt if they doubt the full faith and credit of the U.S. government,” Sims said. “The basic gist of the deal was that taxes won’t go up for most people, just the higher-income brackets, and the spending issue was just punted farther down the line.” In the economic long run, the increased taxes and decreased spending are exactly what the nation needs in order to remedy the national debt issues, according to Sims. The fiscal cliff compromise is intended only to address the short run situation, post-recession. “‘Going off the fiscal cliff’ would have meant no deal, taxes up for a lot of people, and sequestration, which means general spending cuts effective immediately,” Sims said. “In a sense, this is exactly what we needed to do, but the tension is in the fact that the higher taxing would have been bad for the short-term behavior of an economy finally in the beginning stages of recovery.” Economics professor Robert Flood said the issue of the spending cuts, or sequestration, must be addressed soon if any lasting progress is to be made. The threatened cuts, intended to force a compromise in Congress, would have serious immediate implications. “The sequester involves across-the-board cuts of eight to 10 percent in many domestic and military programs,” Flood said. “The yelling and screaming when this comes up will be deafening.” Flood said the current deficit situation has prompted the panic of this particular negotiation. “We are now at about 39 percent of GDP spent by the Feds, which taxes about 27 percent of the GDP-taxes are low by historical standards,” Flood said. “The difference is the deficit. “To get to fiscal balance, the U.S. needs to reduce spending by 35 percent and increase taxes by 35 percent. We need some big adjustments, and the fiscal cliff stuff negotiated at the year’s end solves about five percent of the problem.” Sims said the debt ceiling is projected to be reached in six weeks, which puts pressure on Congress to come up with a new, more comprehensive deal by then to avoid a repeat of this situation. This time, they will not be able to avoid the question of spending and the national debt. “They’ll have to address the spending cuts issue in six weeks, they’ll have to negotiate the higher debt ceiling and come up with cuts that will take place over the next several years,” Sims said. “We need lower taxes and higher expenditures in the long run, but it isn’t clear how we will do that.”
For those who are interested in working abroad, specifically in Asia, look no further than Notre Dame International (NDI).Miranda Ma, the Asia advisor of NDI, said this past summer, NDI introduced an extension to the Summer China Business and Culture program. The program traditionally offered Notre Dame students the opportunity to study the business environment in China and Chinese culture, all while exploring the major cities of China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei. The two courses are led by Notre Dame faculty and grant the participants six academic credits.Unlike past summers, NDI offered a new component to this experience. Five students were able to extend their stay and supplement their experience by participating in a five-week internship program with Caixin Media and AEGON-Industrial Fund Management Company located in Beijing and Shanghai, respectively.Ma said the experience was positive for both the students and the companies they worked for. She said these experiences were only made possible due to the collaboration between NDI’s Beijing Global Gateway and the presidents of Notre Dame clubs in Beijing and Shanghai.According to NDI’s website, the Global Gateways “provide academic and intellectual hubs where scholars, students and leaders from universities, government, business and community gather to discuss, discover and debate issues of topical and enduring relevance.”According to Ma, the number of students who have had the opportunity to work abroad has been historically low due to the challenges and complications of applying for work visas. NDI and the firms were able to overcome this obstacle by offering unpaid internships, while NDI provided the students with funds for housing, meals and other expenses. Ma said this system of support also proved beneficial for the companies since they did not need to deal with the complexity of visas and housing accommodation for their interns, and instead, were able to fully focus on the development of business and technical skills.NDI is currently working to expand the scope of the program by offering internships located in Hong Kong and Taipei to the next class of Summer China Business and Culture students, Ma said.Junior Justin Gallagher along with two other Notre Dame students, interned at AEGON-Industrial Fund Management Company — a mutual fund located in the Pudong District in Shanghai. He said he had no prior experience with the Chinese language, which proved difficult in getting around the city with his peers.“The two other students and I always stuck together while traveling,” Gallagher said. “Sometimes, it was difficult to get a taxi to stop for us, and if they had a question about the address, we could not answer it. We got around by taking a picture of the address and showing it to the driver on our phone. This strategy usually got us where we needed to go.”Despite the difficulties provided by the language barrier, Gallagher said he would definitely recommend this experience to other students.“I learned a ton about both Chinese culture and business, which I think will help me in my own career by giving me a different perspective on business in an increasingly global world,” he said.During the internship, Gallagher used the weekends to take advantage of the opportunity to travel and explore China.“One weekend, the two other interns and I flew to Xi’an in central China where we saw the Terracotta Warriors, rode a tandem bike on the Xi’an City Wall and visited the Small Wild Goose Pagoda,” he said. “… the most valuable part of this experience was being able to experience a totally different culture. Previously, I had never been outside of North America before, and China was a bit of a culture shock. I found all of the Chinese customs and cultural practices very interesting, and I also really enjoyed traveling to see some of China’s vast history.”Ma said NDI helped provide student with internship opportunities outside of China as well. Beijing Global Gateway, with the support of Don McCauley, COO of Oracle Japan and a Notre Dame alumnus, were able to provide three students with internship experiences at Oracle in Tokyo facilitated by Keio University.The extent of NDI’s globalization efforts is not limited to new internship opportunities. This past summer, Notre Dame’s offered its inaugural Chinese summer study abroad program, the China Summer Language Program. Students completed an eight-week program to improve their language skills at the prestigious Peking University campus. According to the program brochure, to fully immerse students in the language, students are required to take a language pledge, a pledge to speak only Chinese during the duration of the program. The program also scheduled excursions and cultural events over the course of the summer.Visit international.nd.edu to learn more about the numerous study abroad programs, research programs and internship opportunities that are available to current students.Tags: China, Internships in China, Notre Dame International
Saint Mary’s students assembled in Noble Family Dining Hall on Wednesday to listen to the platforms of the two student body president and vice president tickets.Presidential candidate McKenzie Johnson said she and her running mate Barbi Prokup, both juniors, hope to generate more enthusiasm for the services the Student Government Association (SGA) provides for the College.“We really want to bring back the hype that student government is,” Johnson said. “We want people to be excited, and we want people to understand what we do and why we do it. I want to bring back a celebration of student involvement.”Johnson said she and Prokup would foster a comfortable environment with open communication.“We really want to open ourselves up as two individuals leading,” Johnson said. “We want you guys to be able to approach us and tell us what problems and concerns you’re having with anything.”Johnson said students seeking advice should feel free to consult Johnson and Prokup, who plan to hold open office hours.“You can come and talk to us and confide in us if you have issues,” Johnson said. “A lot of the time people don’t know who they’re supposed to go to.”Prokup said the ticket would initiate an anti-bullying program to promote awareness and to ensure students feel safe and happy on campus.“We really want Saint Mary’s to be a comfortable zone for each and every one of our students,” Prokup said. “What we want to do is create support groups, where if you are experiencing a bully in your life, and you want to have someone to talk to, we want to be there.”Prokup said she hopes to increase support for student athletes by incorporating them more into SGA. According to Prokup, increasing attendance at games relates to the campaign’s goal of promoting inclusivity on campus, which they would also accomplish through designing a support program with the Belles Against Violence Office (BAVO).“We want to team with BAVO to create a safe space program that serves as a support group for students facing difficulties,” Prokup said. “People can learn how to help people in their time of need. Whatever you’re going through — whether it’s a death in the family or stress at school — that’s what this program is designed to do.”Junior SGA presidential candidate Emma McCarthy said her and fellow junior running mate Mary Joy Dingler’s love for Saint Mary’s inspired them to run in the election.“If you would have asked me three years ago when I came to campus if I ever saw myself in this role, I would have said absolutely not,” McCarthy said. “However, over the past three years, Saint Mary’s has become more than just a school to me. It has become my home. I am inspired everyday by the incredible women who surround me.”McCarthy said she feels prepared to embrace any challenges that would arise if she were elected.“I understand the level of commitment that this position calls for, and I am more than willing to answer that call,” McCarthy said. “Being student body president is a huge responsibility and one that I will not take lightly.”Dingler said she and McCarthy want to inform the Saint Mary’s community of upcoming events by sending out weekly newsletters.“So many emails get lost in the black holes of our inboxes,” Dingler said. “I think it’s important that we all have an itemized list of what’s happening on campus.”Dingler and McCarthy also plan to host a week-long celebration for faculty and staff of the College, Dingler said.“They strive every day to make this campus a better place, and Emma and I believe that often their work goes unnoticed and without recognition,” Dingler said. “In response to that, we really want to plan a thank-you week to show our appreciation.”The pair also hopes to implement a fall formal to promote bonding between upperclassmen and newer students, according to Dingler. Such an emphasis on community events will encourage a welcoming and non-judgmental campus, Dingler said.“A home away from home implies that we all have an inherent respect and acceptance for our sisters,” Dingler said. “Emma and I wholeheartedly believe in a community that fosters a vibrant sisterhood that is unbreakable by prejudice or disdain.”Tags: saint mary’s, sga, SMC, Student Body Election, Student Government Association
Regin Igloria’s “Pending Travel” art showcase has moved to Saint Mary’s College. The showcase reception took place Wednesday night with the visiting artist interacting with students.The exhibit taking place at Saint Mary’s Moreau Art Galleries is composed of mainly three-dimensional pieces made of materials taken from everyday life, including sushi grass, bicycle parts and coffee dispensers. Other pieces included were mixed media sketchbooks.Igloria said his art is about movement of the psychological and physical spaces in life, which he combines to portray the human condition.“All of the work that I’ve done has been about movement of some sort,” Igloria said.Assistant art professor Ian Weaver, a longtime colleague of Igloria, invited him to display his work at the college.“He’s been familiar with my work over the years and we go way back 20-something odd years,” Igloria said.Senior Ally Pudlo thought Coffee Cart — made from wood, casters, milk crates, fabrics and coffee dispensers — was a well-made piece.“I like the coffee cart the most just because I like coffee,” Pudlo said.Sophomore Hannah Spencer said she liked the mixed media sketchbooks.“Those are really interesting to flip through and see how they connect between pages,” Spencer said.Junior Stephanie Stapleton works for the gallery and said she liked Igloria’s book cart containing books he’s bounded.“I really like his book compilation sculpture,” Stapleton said. “It’s large and contains all the books he’s binded during his years.”Stapleton thought the displays were interesting because they made her feel the movement of Igloria’s pieces.“I think it’s a really interesting diversion from regular sculptural installations because it really leads the eye, you kind of have to follow it around the room you can’t just stick with one piece,” Stapleton said. “It has a lot of movement.”While some students found the displays interesting, others were confused by the modern art. Senior Leah Alday was not sure how she felt about the display.“I don’t fully understand it, but that’s how I feel about more modern art pieces,” Alday said.Igloria enjoyed meeting students and introducing them to his artwork.“It’s really just nice to be able to talk to young artists and students,” Igloria said. “And so I’m always just looking forward to expanding the conversation that I have with my work with a different audience.”Stapleton also liked the reception because she could meet with the artist.“I like to come to these things, make connections,” Stapleton said. “Everyone should come to gallery events because they’re always really cool.”Tags: Art Gallery, Igloria, modern art
During the mid-1980s, only two medical professionals would care for patients diagnosed with HIV or AIDS: Dr. Kristen Ries and physician assistant Maggie Snyder. Dr. Ries and Snyder cared for their patients in Salt Lake City’s Holy Cross Hospital, which was founded by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, as well as at a clinic in southern Utah. Four Sisters of the Holy Cross were also involved in the care of these HIV and AIDS patients, two of whom were interviewed for the documentary “Quiet Heroes,” which debuted at Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, from Jan. 18-28. Bernie Mulick, C.S.C., a nun who currently resides at Saint Mary’s, was one of the sisters featured in the film.“It’s part of our mission as Sisters of the Holy Cross to care for those who are poor and sick and needy,” Mulick said in an email. “We have always cared for the forgotten ones, for the underdogs. They were the railroaders and the coal miners in our earliest days in Utah [1875]. During the 1980s and 1990s, individuals with HIV and AIDS were the lepers of the time, and no one else was taking care of them.”Mulick met Ries and Snyder at Holy Cross Jordan Valley Hospital in West Jordan, Utah, prior to her work assisting them with the care of HIV and AIDS patients, she said. “Dr. Ries and I talked about my going back to school to become a physician assistant,” Mulick said. “She was my preceptor, at different times, during my two-year program at the University of Utah School of Medicine.”Linda Bellemore, C.S.C., another sister at Saint Mary‘s, was also interviewed for the film for her involvement with HIV and AIDS patients. She served as a nurse at the hospital, she said in an email. Bellemore said she was encouraged to pursue this work because of the efforts of Olivia Marie Hutcheson, C.S.C. The hospital, she said, offered care to patients with HIV and AIDS because of Hutcheson’s insistence. “I was scheduled to move to Holy Cross Hospital, Salt Lake City, to start a program of home visits to elderly patients after discharge from the hospital to see if they needed any resources…,” Bellemore said. “Just before I arrived, I was asked if I would do these same services but for a different group of people — those with the new dreaded disease of HIV or AIDS. Being a Sister of the Holy Cross as well as a nurse and hospital chaplain, I immediately said yes. Knowing nothing about HIV and AIDS except what I had seen in the media, I decided to ask those living with the disease to teach me about it. This decision led me to the most blessed ministry of my life.”The clear need of support in patients with HIV and AIDS drew Bellemore to this work, she said. “Those were the years of fear about the transmission of this terminal disease resulting in alienation from family, friends and society due to their diagnosis,” Bellemore said. “And this at the time of their lives when they most needed care and support, how could I not help? The need was obvious, and I am committed to serving people as Jesus did, especially the poor and alienated.”Mulick said the relationships her patients had were some of the most rewarding aspects of her work.“I found our clients to be the most patient, peaceful, giving and loving,” Mulick said. “They were so caring about each other. And the love you would see between the partners, the gentleness shown, the compassion and empathy, was very touching.”The documentary covers the work that Dr. Ries and Snyder did in the treatment of HIV and AIDS patients, along with the assistance of the Sisters, Bellemore said. “I am glad that I personally don’t get much attention,” Bellemore said. “It is only because I am a Sister of the Holy Cross that I was privileged to be part of a community of wonderful and delightful persons who were so feared and ostracized. I appreciate that this film recognizes that our congregation and hospital took the risk to care for people with HIV and AIDS when others were too frightened to do so.”Although she did not want the focus to be on herself, Bellemore said she found her role in the documentary to be important if it were to raise awareness of the work done. “I did not want that kind of publicity, but if this film could increase compassion in the heart of even a few people it would be worth it, especially since the focus was on the loving care given by Dr. Ries and Maggie Snyder,” Bellemore said. Tags: AIDS epidemic, CSC, Quiet Heroes, Sisters of the Holy Cross, sundance film festival
The Notre Dame community explored the subject of labor politics Tuesday through a lecture delivered by Elizabeth Tandy Shermer, assistant professor of history at Loyola University Chicago.Tracking the evolution of laws that make mandatory union participation illegal, a continuing theme of Shermer’s discussion was the prevalence of prejudice and discrimination in the movement to enact Right to Work statutes.“Americans’ discomfort with unionism also reflected the presumption of who was in them,” Shermer said. “In the late 19th century through the early Cold War, it was presumed that union members were not ‘all-American’ workers, meaning the workers in those unions were not white and Protestant.”The origin of the term “right to work” is important, Shermer said, as it indicates Americans’ inherent suspicion of labor unions. One of the first known uses of the phrase, she said, comes from a 1902 article written by muckraking journalist Ray Stannard Baker.“He writes [an] … article for a magazine with a middle-class readership about an anthracite strike. And he has these extraordinary descriptions of workers braving crossing the picket line so they can work to feed their families and the violence and intimidation that they face,” Shermer said. “What he’s doing is he’s sort of trying to warn … his middle-class readers that labor … might not have values that we like.”Building upon that idea, Shermer said many people in the early 20th century feared unions were simply a means of importing European radicalism into the United States. However, Shermer argued unions often espoused American values and used perennial socialist presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs, a native of Terre Haute, Indiana, as an example.“I always think it’s amazing to think about Debs, who defined himself as much as an American citizen … thought his radicalism more lived up to the ideals in the Declaration of Independence, but also as a devout Protestant,” she said.Shermer said the term’s meaning has changed over time. For example, she said Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman both used the term to refer to workers’ rights to a good job.“They assumed that it wasn’t just going to be any old job,” Shermer said. “They assumed that because of the rights working people gained during the 1940s that those jobs would be good because they were likely to be unionized.”Shermer said right-to-work laws, which the Supreme Court has ruled may only be passed by states, are much more common in southern and western states. Business groups and other entities supported by business groups propagated the laws as a means of attracting investment, she said, and because the laws were unlikely to pass through normal legislative means, many politicians tried to pass them through ballot initiatives. Nevertheless, Shermer said, the laws were still undemocratic.“We shouldn’t presume that those right-to-work laws represented the will of the people,” she said. “One, because there’s a lot of outside money coming in. And the second, they were passed before the 1965 Voting Rights Act actually provided a real guarantee that someone had the right to vote.”Shermer closed the lecture by discussing current attempts to enact right to work laws. She referenced a case the Supreme Court heard just this week, Janus v. AFSCME, that centers on right-to-work issues. If the court rules against the union, Shermer said, public sector unions stand to lose revenue and influence.Shermer concluded that right-to-work laws are constitutional, but not right. She said she applauds activists who continue to work on behalf of organized labor.“Those questions still have very serious implications for residents and citizens who continue to lead inspiring campaigns to use their federal rights for democratic unionism and improving working conditions to once again have decent — if not good — living standards,” she said.Tags: Loyola University Chicago, Organized labor, Right to work laws, Unions
Courtesy of Clare Strickland Junior Rachel Thomas, who plays Morticia, and the female ensemble of “The Addams Family” rehearse.When asked about the motivation behind producing this musical, director and junior Joseph Larson said that besides it being a great show for Halloween time, he was inspired by two attractions at Disneyland familiar to him since childhood.“There are these two rides, the Haunted Mansion and Snow White’s Scary Adventure, that are so fun and spooky — they’re hooky — and there’s this kind of fairytale aesthetic to them, and I’ve always thought the Addams Family has this great, fantastical, whimsical way of being dark and, like, unusual, but they’re also so much fun,” he said. “And, so, I tried to build that into this world. So we have a lot of moving parts. It kind of feels like a fairytale to me.”“The Addams Family” has been a staple of popular culture since its creation in 1938, a characteristic that executive director of PEMCo and co-technical director for the show, Clare Strickland, said the show’s longevity is helpful. However, she recognized that these established expectations presented a challenge as well, as Larson had to “take these common interpretations and also find a way to make it his own,” Strickland said.Though the characters of the story are widely renowned, PEMCo’s production of “The Addams Family” promises to deliver a version different from what the general public is used to seeing in the popular television series, cartoons and movies.“We see Wednesday, and she’s all grown up and she wants to get married,” Larson said. “So, what’s been so great about the Addams family is that the image that we have of them is family and love and all this great stuff. And so we kind of get to see the Addams family in this next stage of their lives and see what happens when their kids grow up, what happens when they want to move on with their lives, how does that work in the Addams family world.”Though the idea of Wednesday Addams and her “not sunny disposition” falling in love might be shocking, senior Shane Nolan, who plays Gomez — the patriarch of the group — believes that the marital issues between his character and Morticia will certainly surprise the audience as well.“The most shocking difference is that everyone knows Gomez and Morticia as this like very romantic lovey couple,” Nolan said. “And, in this show, they can’t be seen like that the whole time because this is just one of the few instances that we ever see that they’re in a fight, almost … I don’t think you get to see that in the movies and television. Everyone kind of just takes for granted that ‘Oh, this is a couple and they’re so in love and they’re so sensual and into each other,’ and in this one you get to see the darker part of a romantic relationship.”For her part, junior Rachel Thomas, who plays Morticia, believes that the musical aspect of the play will be a bombshell for the audience.“I think that is going to get them [the audience] is the way that we portray them through song,” she said. “So, like Morticia has two really great songs that are, like, funny but also very, very, very Morticia, same with Wednesday, same with Gomez. It’s just put … in a bigger way because music amplifies everything … I don’t think people will be expecting such a big spectacle out of a TV show where there was no singing.”Yet, besides these differences, the show is Addams to the core, a melting pot — or cauldron — where the whimsical, spooky and outlandish harmonize with family values and amity.“It is a new and funny take on an old tale,” Thomas said.Tags: Pasquerilla East Musical Company, PEMCo, The Addams Family Extravagant. Hilarious. Unexpected. Spooky. Heartwarming. Larger than life.These are the words that come to mind when the cast and crew of the Pasquerilla East Musical Company (PEMCo) are asked to describe their newest production.PEMCo is bringing to life America’s kookiest family for its fall 2019 show. A mix between the hysterical, the heartfelt and the macabre, “The Addams Family” will run Oct. 25-26 at 7:00 p.m. and Oct. 27 at 3:30 p.m. in Washington Hall.
With its sports teams, school spirit and long-enduring traditions, Notre Dame has managed to build a fan base that stretches all over the globe.The support for the Irish is not limited to students and professors. It includes people that neither attend nor graduated from Notre Dame, but who share an equally strong sentiment for the University. Such is the case of bartender Joseph Patrick Casey, who now owns an Irish pub in Key West, Florida.“I became a Notre Dame fan [when] I was 6 years old and saw the golden helmets for the first time,” Casey said.Casey said the sight of the helmets left a strong impression, as he has supported the Irish ever since. Casey is a “subway alumnus,” which is what he described as a group of Notre Dame supporters who did not attend the University but travel to watch home football games, and he said he has attended over 120 games in his lifetime.“Notre Dame is very sacred to me,” Casey said. “I go there every September for at least four games.”Through thick or thin, rain or shine, Casey supports the Irish. Casey once flew to North Carolina during a hurricane in order to watch his favorite team play against North Carolina State, he said.One of the reasons behind his great admiration is the deeply rooted lore that characterizes Notre Dame, Casey said. He counts the team’s step-off and prayer as his favorite traditions since they are, in his words, “totally, totally Irish.”“It’s one of the best things anyone can experience in their life,” Casey said. “Notre Dame is about tradition. … When [the Irish] came over in the boat, nobody wanted us here. And the building of Notre Dame just proves how strong the Irish are, and that the Irish Catholics are here and Notre Dame is a symbol of that.”Due to his Irish Catholic pride and love for Notre Dame, Casey said he fulfilled his dream of owning a pub which is “100 percent Irish.” Casey’s pub, Irish Oak Barrel of Key West, has a Notre Dame and Chicago police officer theme. It opened on Sept. 29, 2018, and received a traditional Irish opening, Casey said, including bagpipers playing and walking down the street.Casey said approximately 175 people attended the event, including Notre Dame alumni, members of the Emerald Society and former members of the South Bend Police Department.Though about 1,498 miles separate Key West from South Bend, Casey said on typical game days, over 120 people affiliated with the University attend Irish Oak Barrel to demonstrate their allegiance to the Irish.“We support Notre Dame, that’s what we do,” Casey said.Tags: Irish Oak Barrel, Joseph Patrick Casey, Notre Dame Football Fans
PITTSBURGH – Researchers in Pennsylvania are looking for participants for COVID-19 vaccine trials.Recruitment is set to begin immediately for a vaccine developed by Moderna Inc.“In total we expect over 750 individuals over the age of 18 to participate,” explained Dr. Sharon Riddler with University of Pittsburgh Division of Infectious Diseases. “These participants will be people who are living in the community and who are not severely immuno-compromised.”Doctor Riddler says she hopes groups who have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, like older people, blacks, and latinos take part in the trial. Click here to learn more about the trials and how to sign up. You can also email VTEU@chp.edu or call 412-692-7382. MGN Image Share:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)