The Independent Newspaper Serving Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s Volume 45: Issue 119
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Ndsmcobserver.com
Theologian Professor discusses education Professor of English ex plores dies at 74 rel ig ion By CHRISTIAN MYERS
Observer Staff Report
News Writer
The interplay between faith and reason is frequently the subject of discussion in theology classes at Notre Dame. However, Tuesday night in the Geddes Hall Coffee House the matter was discussed over pizza by practical theologian Claire Noonan in the talk “Can You Be Faithful Without Being Religious?” Noonan said there are three reasons she doesn’t believe she can have faith without religion: Scripture, sacraments, and saints. She said each is a reason why religion is needed to maintain faith. “I need Scripture to know the living God, sacraments to communicate with God and saints to struggle alongside,” Noonan said. Noonan said to Scripture is not just traditional canon, but any text inspired by a transformational encounter with God. “I want to include the cumulative written experience of Christians as Scripture,” Noonan said. Noonan said the importance of Scripture is it helps people to properly direct their faith toward God. Faith in God relies on Scripture. “Everyone has faith. Everyone has to believe in some things they can’t empirically prove for themselves. All faith means is what ultimately you are concerned about,” Noonan said. “What I’m trying to be faithful to is God, and without Scripture, I would not know who God is.” An important aspect of Scripture properly directing faith is it counteracts other worldly inf luences, Noonan said. “The loudest voices in our culture try to point us in a direction very different from Jesus,” she said. “Christianity at its deepest, most fundamental level is different from convention. I wouldn’t have found it on my own.” As with Scripture, Noonan said she maintains an expanded interpretation of sacraments. “By sacraments I don’t just mean the seven sacraments
see FAITH/page 6
Inside today’s paper
GRANT TOBIN/The Observer
Diane Ravitch, professor of education at New York University, speaks about education system reform during her lecture, “Is There a Crisis in Public Education?” on Tuesday. By NICOLE MICHELS News Writer
The United States needs to create stronger public and private education systems, and can do so through decreasing the reliance on standardized testing, according to Diane Ravitch,
professor of education at New York University. Her lecture, “Is There a Crisis in Public Education?” was the latest event in Notre Dame’s year-long Forum, “Reimagining School: to Nurture the Soul of a Nation.” Ravitch spoke Tuesday
night in the Eck Hall of Law, saying our nation must foster a system capable of caring for the needs of all its students. “Our schools are a ref lection of our society,” she said. “They are indeed beset by
see FORUM/page 6
Alum launches soccer foundation By NICOLE TOCZAUER News Writer
2011 Notre Dame graduate Jeb Brovsky plays soccer for a living in Major League Soccer. Rather than only play for his own paycheck, however, Brovsky hopes to use the sport to create change the world over. To do so, he founded Peace Pandemic, a foundation to promote cross-cultural understanding through soccer camps. Brovsky said the group was in India last December to host a soccer clinic for children. The foundation not only affected the children, its work affected several others as well, he said. “One day towards the end of the trip, [Manoj, the group’s taxi driver] approached me with a soccer ball wrapped in a plastic bag and tears in his eyes,” Brovsky said. “My translator told me Manoj was so inspired … that he saved up 250 rupees to buy his son his first soccer ball. He saw the influence of this sport and wanted his son to feel what these kids [in the clinic] felt.” This weekend, Peace Pandemic will host a two-day 3-on-3 co-ed soccer tournament at Reihle Field next to the Stepan Center to raise
see SOCCER/page 6
Photo Courtesy of Jeb Brovsky
2011 Notre Dame graduate Jeb Brovsky teaches children soccer at a clinic in India run through his foundation, Peace Pandemic.
Ja me s Wa lt on , profe s s or emer it u s of E ng l i sh at t he Un i ver s it y of Not re Da me, d ie d Sat u rd ay a ft er a br ief illness. He w a s 74 yea r s old. A 1959 N o t r e D a m e a l u m nu s, t he Blue I sl a nd, I l l.bre d Wa lWalton t on also e a r n e d m a s t er’s a nd do c t ora l deg re e s i n E ng l i sh f rom Nor t hwe s t er n U n i ve r s i t y i n 19 6 0 a n d 19 63, r e s p e c t i vel y, a c c o r d i n g t o a U n i ve r s i t y p r e s s r ele a s e. Wa l t o n jo i n e d t h e Not r e D a me f a c u l t y i n 19 63 a n d t au g ht p opu l a r c ou r s e s o n t h e E n g l i s h n ovel a n d 18t h- c e nt u r y l i t e r at u r e u nt i l h e r et i r e d i n 2 0 03. T h r ou g h ou t h i s c a r e e r a n d a f t e r h i s r et i r e me nt , Wa l t o n w a s a p r ol i f ic w r i t er o f f ic t io n a n d l i te r a r y c r i t ic i s m . He a l s o e a r n e d t h e r e s p e c t o f g e n e r at io n s o f c ol le a g u e s a n d s t u de nt s du r i ng his t enu r e at Not r e D a me. “F r o m his e a rl ie s t d ay s o n t h e E n g l i s h f a c u l t y, Jay h a d m a r velou s r a n g e,” D o n a l d Sn ie g o w s k i , p r o fe s s o r e mer i t u s o f E n g l i s h , s a i d . “ H i s m a jo r pu b l ic at io n s i n c l u de d a n e d i t io n of e i g ht e ent hc e nt u r y c o r r e s p o n de n c e, a n ovel , ’ M a r g a r et ’s St o r y,’ a n d a c r i t ic a l s t u d y o f J. S. L e Fa nu . He e d i t e d a w o n de r f u l a nt h olo g y o f p o et r y b y Not r e D a me p o et s a n d pu b l i s h e d nu me r ou s s c h o l a rl y a r t ic le s. W i t h c h a r a c t e r i s t ic w i t a n d s el f- dep r e c at io n , h e t r ie d t o h i de h i s l i g ht u n de r a bu s h el , bu t q u i t e a fe w o f u s k n e w d i f fe r e nt l y.” Wa l t o n’s le g a c y l a s t s t o t h e p r e s e nt- d ay dep a r me nt . “Jay ’s c o nt r i bu t io n s t o t h i s dep a r t me nt a r e le ge n d a r y, bu t t h e c h ief o n e w a s, a n d r e m a i n s, h i s f r iend sh ip,” Va ler ie Say
see PROFESSOR/page 3
One Day Without Shoes page 3 u Viewpoint page 10 u BFA and MFA theses on display at Snite page 12 u Men’s lacrosse page 24