The Independent Newspaper Serving Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s Volume 45: Issue 23
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Ndsmcobserver.com
FYC renamed to ref lect content By NICOLE MICHELS News Writer
The First Year Composition (FYC) class, a requirement for most Notre Dame freshmen, has a new name — Writing and Rhetoric. University Writing Program Director John Duffy said the new name is intended to more accurately reflect the content taught in the classroom. “The FYC program was much more centered on writing literary appreciation, while this is much more centered on argument,” Duffy said. “In fact, ar-
gument is the primary focus of the course.” Notre Dame freshmen enrolled in Writing and Rhetoric courses will learn the skills necessary to communicate effectively in both an academic setting and in larger world, Duffy said. “We believe that argument is the foundation of a university education,” he said. “All academic disciplines, in one sense or another, are in the business of making arguments in the service of discovering truth.
see WRITING/page 5
ALEX PARTAK/The Observer
Professor Patrick Clauss teaches a Writing and Rhetoric class called “Acts of Arguing.” This class will teach students skills necessary to communicate effectively in academic settings.
Idea s C h a l lenge promotes competition By TONY RIVERA News Writer
KEVIN SONG/The Observer
Sophomore Nicole Gantz pitches her business venture idea to other students as a part of the Ideas Challenge in the Mendoza College of Business on Wednesday.
From Craigslist for college students to cell phone cases that double as cordless chargers, the ideas were flying freely in the Mendoza College of Business basement Wednesday. As part of the Ideas Challenge Competition, sponsored by the Gigot Center for Entrepreneurship Studies, students had no
more than 60 seconds to stand in front of their peers and pitch their new business ventures. The Ideas Challenge is “a fun, spontaneous and energetic celebration of entrepreneurship,” Assistant Director of the Gigot Center, Karen Slaggert, said. “Tonight encourages students to think innovatively, and the ideas presented tonight were
see IDEAS/page 4
University redesigns UND.com Professor examines By ADAM LLORENS News Writer
In an effort to make information more accessible and user friendly for the students, alumni and fans of the Irish, the Notre Dame Athletic Department launched a new UND.com webpage September 15. Dan Skendzel, the Director of Digital Media for Notre Dame athletics, played an integral role in the redesign of the site. “We wanted to improve the viewer experience,” Skendzel said. “We felt the previous site was too busy and difficult to navigate, so, by redesigning UND.com, we wanted clean up the site, make it more visually appealing, and make it easier than ever before to find news, videos and stats.” Among the major changes
Inside today’s paper
to the site is the deletion of the video thumbnail that appeared at the right hand side of the screen. Now, a video channel allows the viewer to easily select a specific video and watch it on a larger format than before. Skendzel collaborated with Tim O’Connor, Digital Communications Specialist for the athletic department, in redesigning the website. “The new site promotes a clearer presentation of what we feel is the most important content,” O’Connor said. Feedback for the website has been positive, O’Connor said. “The old site had been around since 2007 and people had gotten used to it,” O’Connor said. “When the current site went live, it had a breath of fresh air feel to it.” The cleanliness of the con-
tent and the easier readability of articles have been the two most important changes, Skendzel said. When looking to redesign its athletic website, a university will often turn to an opposing school to garner ideas. Notre Dame went through the same process, O’Connor said. “I did a graphic review of basically every BCS school and most of the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB team websites,” O’Connor said. “While we really did not use a lot from any of them, I was most impressed with UCLA’s athletic website uclabruins.com, as their layout and the way in which they presented content was fantastic.” Instead of a specific school or team, O’Connor turned to
see WEBSITE/page 5
emerging adulthood By ABI HOVERMAN News Writer
The problems facing today’s emerging adults ref lect larger issues, according to sociology professor Christian S m i t h’s research published this month. These problems include a lack Smith of moral reasoning and over-intoxication. “The problems that these 18-23 year olds have … come from the larger adult world,”
Smith said. “[They] should shine a light on all of society.” “Lost in Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood” describes emerging adulthood, the 18-29-year-old life phase that has become increasingly distinct in recent decades. Smith describes the common mentality among emerging adults as “I’ll grow up when I’m 30,” and “What happens in my 20’s stays in my 20’s.” Smith and his team have surveyed a group of 18-23-yearolds, who all represent the first half of the emerging adult life period. The book describes trends found in 230
see BOOK/page 5
Senate discusses The Shirt page 3 u Viewpoint page 6 u Comedian Brian Regan page 9 u Women’s soccer plays South Florida page 16