The independent
To uncover
newspaper serving
the truth
Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s
and report
and holy cross
it accurately
Volume 56, Issue 30 | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15 | ndsmcobserver.com
Students gather to celebrate LGBTQ+ joy In wake of Irish Rover piece, tri-campus LGBTQ+ community discusses activism, belonging By EVAN MCKENNA Managing Editor
Editor’s Note: A full version of this story is available online. The ground was wet, the sky was gray and the temperature was nearly below freezing — but still, Library Lawn emanated joy. Students held colorful signs with loving messages, socializing with old friends and making new ones. A nearby speaker played upbeat pop songs. Under scarves and heavy coats, each face was red and smiling. These students gathered on Library Lawn as part of a celebration of LGBTQ+ joy, held at 3 p.m. on Friday. Featuring an art installation, music and a number of student speakers, the event invited all
LGBTQ+ tri-campus students and allies to gather to celebrate identity, visibility and “queer joy” on the University’s campus. ‘This is really not about the Irish Rover’: How the movement found its roots in joy
Despite its joyful culmination, the movement began in a moment of hurt. Following the Irish Rover’s Oct. 13 publication of “No Man Can Serve Two Masters” — in which Irish Rover editor-inchief Mary Frances Myler condemns the University’s “erosive” initiatives of LGBTQ+ inclusion — many in the tri-campus LGBTQ+ community spoke out against the piece’s rhetoric. Ashton Weber, a senior at the University and the event’s primary organizer, said her initial reaction was a “sinking
gut feeling.” “Unfortunately, it was not shocking, because this is not the first homophobic publication in the Irish Rover or anywhere on campus that I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” she said. “… but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t hurt.” Weber said she believes strongly in the power of protest, and this belief is evident in her history of campus activism. Following Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court last October, Weber facilitated the organization of the student protest against her nomination. And after University President Fr. John Jenkins failed to uphold the University’s health and safety protocols at Barrett’s nomination
ALLISON THORNTON | The Observer
see JOY PAGE 3
Students meet on Library Lawn in cold, wet weather Friday afternoon to celebrate identity, inclusion and “queer joy” on the tri-campus.
Woman ND promotes peace in South Sudan killed near campus By ADRIANA PEREZ Editor-in-Chief
Observer Staff Report
According to reporting from local NBC affiliate WNDU, an unidentified South Bend woman in her 60s was killed by an oncoming pick-up truck while attempting to cross State Road 933, just south of the intersection that connects the Saint Mary’s College and University of Notre Dame campuses on Saturday evening. A police commander at the scene said that a pick-up driver had the green light and right of way to go north on SR 933. The pick-up then reportedly struck the woman, who was crossing the street without using the crosswalk. Officials from multiple agencies responded to the crash at around 6 p.m. Saturday, the commander stated. The report said the pick-up driver stayed on the scene and the investigation is ongoing.
News PAGE 3
In October 2010, Sudanese bishops visited Notre Dame 100 days before a referendum vote in which citizens of southern Sudan would be able to decide whether they wanted to secede from the north. The delegation of the Sudan Conference of Catholic Bishops sought to reach out to the Catholic community in the U.S. to ensure a peaceful resolution after more than half a century of conflict. “Notre Dame became a part of the story of the formation of South Sudan,” said former student body president and Master of Global Affairs (MGA) student Elizabeth Boyle ’20. Two months later, the Notre Dame student government and the Fighting Irish men’s basketball and men’s lacrosse teams organized “Playing for Peace,” a 3-on-3 basketball tournament followed by a rally for peace in Sudan. University President Emeritus Fr. Hesburgh attended both, and then accompanied student leaders on a visit to Washington, D.C., in January 2011. There, they met with policymakers and
Scene PAGE 5
advocated for peace. South Sudan was founded six months after that, in July 2011. Over a decade later, on Thursday, Boyle joined a virtual and in-person discussion with Andrea Bartoli, president of the Sant’Egidio Foundation for Peace and Dialogue. The talk focused on the organization’s role in the peace process in South Sudan, which has endured civil war since 2013. Catholic Peacekeeping Network coordinator and Kroc Institute professor Gerry Powers (left) introduced and moderated a talk by Sant’Egidio president Andrea Bartoli (right) on Sant’Egidio’s role in facilitating the peace process in South Sudan. Sant’Egidio is an affiliate of the Catholic Peacekeeping Network (CPN), which is housed in the Kroc Institute and the Keough School and seeks to strengthen the study and practice of Catholic peacebuilding. Their faith-based approach to peace, evident in their work in Mozambique and Algeria, has earned Sant’Egidio recognition as a leader in Track 2 diplomacy. Now, Sant’Egidio is bringing South Sudanese groups who did not sign the 2018 regional
Viewpoint PAGE 7
peace agreement into the current peace process — “striving [for] a system where everybody is included,” Bartoli said. “So, it’s a very technical piece, a very tiny piece,” he added. “But it’s important because it sends a signal that the political process is still alive, that peace is still possible, that it is possible to imagine a South Sudan where the South Sudanese themselves are actually in charge of their own peace — excluding nobody.” And this capacity for inclusiveness lies in people’s hearts, Bartoli said. On the cross, for example, the Good Thief asked Jesus to remember him when he went into his kingdom. “He demonstrates that friendship, the human space where the Spirit speaks, is always possible,” he said. Boyle joined the talk over Zoom from Rome, where she is serving as Sant’Egidio’s South Sudan project director for her field immersion experience in the MGA peace studies concentration. “The Rome initiative, up until this point, has really been focused on the high-level political dialogues that most definitely need to happen to bring these
non-signatory groups to the table,” Boyle said during a question and answer session at the end of the talk. Echoing Bartoli’s sentiments, Boyle said peace in South Sudan will not come “until it is owned by and driven completely by the people of South Sudan.” Sant’Egidio’s work is thus key in moving this process forward in an inclusive, sustainable way. For instance, Sant’Egidio recently facilitated workshops and dialogues in tandem with and at the South Sudan Council of Churches in Juba, which included Christian and Muslim religious leaders, civil society leaders and women leaders, Boyle said.
Football PAGE 12
on the ground PAGE 12
‘Everyone can be a little bit more of a peacemaker’
The Observer interviewed Bartoli and Boyle about the role lay people and students can play in keeping, making and building peace, particularly through their faith. “If there is anything that I hope this first encounter will do is to strengthen the discipline of self-reflection. Ask yourself: Are
see PEACE PAGE 4