THE INDEPENDENT
TO UNCOVER
NEWSPAPER SERVING
THE TRUTH
NOTRE DAME, SAINT MARY’S
AND REPORT
AND HOLY CROSS
IT ACCURATELY
VOLUME 58, ISSUE 28 | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM
Students, registrar prepare for spring All grade levels flocked to PATH Class Search Oct. 26 to explore courses offered next semester By KELSEY QUINT News Writer
Students of all grades, colleges and majors flocked to the Notre Dame PATH Class Search website Thursday, Oct. 26 to peruse the thousands of course offerings available for the spring 2024 semester. The following day, students could also view their personal registration time ticket on NOVO (Registration Status and Holds). Conversation soon swept across campus, as students compared registration times and planned their ideal course schedules. But, what exactly goes into
creating a master schedule for almost 9,000 undergraduate students? Rochelle Jones, associate registrar and academic services coordinator at the Office of the Registrar, explained that the process is fairly elaborate and depends on coordination with each academic department. “So it’s kind of a hierarchy in terms of who has the authority to do what,” Jones said. “We in the registrar’s office don’t decide what classes are being taught. But what we do is, we have a tool that we open up to all the different departments on campus.” Each department spends a few
months preparing its offerings for the coming semester, using the previous semester’s schedule as a baseline and amending to account for professor availability, new courses and discontinued courses. “So let’s say the anthropology department, they go into their anthropology schedule, and it starts out by listing what was taught in spring 2023,” Jones said. “They started looking at that like in August. So, August, September and then mid-October is when they’re creating all that.” If a professor or faculty member wants to create a new course, they must first gain the approval of the department dean and go
Oblate discusses four Doctors of the Church By ALLISON BOWMAN News Writer
Saint Mary’s hosted artist and 2023 Marianist Award recipient Br. Mickey McGrath Thursday evening. McGrath is an oblate of St. Francis de Sales and the author and illustrator of 21 books. When he’s not writing, McGrath presents his work across the United States. His work is mostly centered around the “healing power of art” and how practicing faith in one’s daily life draws critical conversations around contemporary religious issues, especially those which relate to women’s experiences in
society and the Church. “A lot of what I share in my talks is difficult in terms of Church history and the complexity of the Church that we’re still feeling the damaging effects of,” McGrath said. “We can’t heal and move forward until it’s acknowledged and then forgiven, and art is a good way to do that.” McGrath said faith is about trust in the face of current Church issues. “The Holy Spirit does not fly backwards,” he said. “We must trust the Holy Spirit is leading us through every period of history and every age, no matter how uncomfortable it might be, sometimes we just trust. That’s what our
News Writer
The Kellogg Institute of International Studies hosted a panel, “Global Democracy at Risk: Why it Matters and What Can be Done,” Thursday in the Hesburgh Center Auditorium. The five speakers included University professors, directors
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of democratic institutions and foreign political figures. The primary topic concerned democratic backsliding, which is the slow decline of democratic values and the rise of authoritarian elements with traditionally staunch democratic institutions across the globe. The talk also addressed the University’s new democracy
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The Office of the Registrar website describes the Course Catalog as “a list of all active courses available to be taught each semester.” Additionally, courses “remain active and part of the Course Catalog unless five years has gone by without a section of the course being offered,” according to the website. Jones estimates that, each year, about 1,000 new courses are added to the Course Catalog. For spring 2024, there are currently 5,624 courses listed on the PATH Class Search website. However, courses continue to be added to accommodate changing student preferences, see CLASSES PAGE 3
Vatican City official lectures
faith is all about.” McGrath described some of his artwork which was inspired by some of the most influential female saints. He then recited some words of wisdom from Pope Francis: “Have the courage to swim against the tide.” That’s what all the women doctors did, McGrath explained. Not only did McGrath discuss the impact of the four women Doctors of the Church, he also displayed the stories of other significant female saints in his artwork, such as Dorothy Day, Thea Bowman, St. Mary Magdalene, see WOMEN PAGE 4
Kellogg panel debates democratic backsliding By GRAY NOCJAR
through the Academic Course Management Tool (ACM) to add the class to the Course Catalog. The Office of the Registrar explains this process further on their website. “If they haven’t been taught before and if it’s a brand new course, it needs to be approved by the college dean. The content has to get approved, and they have to make sure there’s enough academic rigor and it’s something that should be given academic credit at Notre Dame,” Jones said. “Once the course is approved, it’ll sit in the Course Catalog and then they can decide whether they’re going to actually offer a section of it and in what semester.”
initiative and the role the Kellogg Institute played in its development. The event began with an introduction from Aníbal PérezLiñán, Kellogg Institute director. “What is the state of democracy in the world? Why is democracy at risk becoming a problem multiplying across countries, see DEBATE PAGE 4
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Courtesy of Katie Whitcomb
Sister Raffaella Petrini lectured on Wednesday about the managerial model of a “leadership of care” at the McKenna Auditorium. By NOLAN HINES News Writer
Sr. Raffaella Petrini, the highestranking woman in the world’s smallest state, visited Notre Dame on Wednesday to deliver a lecture for the Nanovic Institute. A native of Rome, Petrini holds a political science degree and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, where she taught welfare economics and sociology of economic processes. Since Pope Francis appointed her in 2021, the Franciscan nun has served as Secretary
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General of the Governorate of Vatican City State — a position which makes her the highestranking woman in the Holy See. Following a brief introduction by Nanovic Institute director Clemens Sedmak and Fr. Austin Collins, vice president for mission engagement and church affairs, Petrini outlined the goals of her talk. It would focus on the value of human work under the lens of Catholic social teaching, examine how such a perspective might affect styles of leadership, analyze see VATICAN PAGE 4
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