THE INDEPENDENT
TO UNCOVER
NEWSPAPER SERVING
THE TRUTH
NOTRE DAME, SAINT MARY’S
AND REPORT
AND HOLY CROSS
IT ACCURATELY
VOLUME 58, ISSUE 47 | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM
Global human rights clinic opens New law school program represents clients for free, teaches students By ISA SHEIKH Notre Dame News Editor
The very month that Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, human rights lawyer Roqia Samim arrived in South Bend for the beginning of her time at Notre Dame. Samim had worked with the United Nations in her homeland of Afghanistan, utilizing the law she studied as an undergraduate at Herat University. Samim, who completed her master of laws (LLM) at Notre Dame in May 2022, is now working with the law school’s new global human rights clinic. The clinic, which launched this semester, seeks to serve both as an international human rights “pro bono firm” while teaching students in the law school and beyond about human rights work.
“The fundamental goal of this clinic is pedagogical. It is really about learning and formation for our students, but what they’re really concretely learning — and this is where this clinic is different from a lot of other law school human rights clinics — is that they’re learning what it takes to really represent a client, especially a global client,” Diane Desierto, the clinic’s director said. Desierto, an international human rights lawyer, came to Notre Dame to establish a human rights faculty, having worked across the globe. Announced last semester, the clinic will take on projects including working with 39 small island states on climate change and human rights issues, Afghan women under Taliban restrictions, see RIGHTS PAGE 3
By NATALIE SMITH News Writer
Courtesy of Peter Ringenberg | The University of Notre Dame
The everlong drama of room picks the trials and tribulations of campus life.
From the Archives Researchers
Dorms’ Room Traditions
At Notre Dame, annual room picks often f lirt w ith the dramatic, teetering bet ween anticipation and dread. For many students, it’s a strategic game of chess, where each move determines their liv ing fate for the coming academic year. This ritual, while mundane on paper, is laden w ith the emotional weight of who one might call neighbor, ally or foe w ithin the intimate confines of dormitor y walls. Here, we delve into this collegiate conundrum, unveiling the satire and sentiment of students past, as they nav igate the turbulent waters of room selection — a true testament to
March 4, 1969 | Observer Staff | April 30, 1976 | Barb Langhenry | April 20, 2012 | Observer Op-Ed | March 28, 2014 | Alex Caton | Researched by Cade Czarnecki Dorm traditions run deep at Notre Dame, play ing a significant role in shaping the culture of each residence hall. Broad-reaching and inf luencing the operations of each dorm, the room-picking process is no exception to localized traditions. Room picks have always been handled on a hall-tohall basis. Dorm traditions have dictated the majorit y of the process w ith the occasional inter vention by a
ROTC BASKETBALL GAME
THE ESSENCE OF A SPOON
ROTC BASKETBALL PAGE 3
Pick
ESSENCE OF A SPOON PAGE 6
On Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the second f loor of the Saint Mar y’s Student Center, students gathered to paint signs for the sustainable farm. The sustainable farm focuses on eco-friendly initiatives on campus and supports the communit y by prov iding fresh food for families in the South Bend area. Volunteers were
Diane Desierto, the director of the new global human rights clinic, speaks to students about her motivation to work around the globe.
DIANE PARK | The Observer
By CADE CZARNECKI, THOMAS DOBBS, and LILYANN GARDNER
Farm adds signs
facult y member in the dorm. Such was the case in 1969 when A lumni Hall Council was mov ing to eliminate the reser vation of certain choice rooms in the dorm for athletes, as had been the norm. Father O’Neill, though, took a stand for the athletes and put an end to the effort. In the follow ing years, each dorm followed the precedent set by that dorm’s earlier classes in its roompicking festiv ities. In the 1970s, room picks processes generally fell into three categories: priorit y by GPA, true lotteries or use of a randomized “computer list” from the Housing Office. Grace and Pangborn played host to the most notable GPA-based traditions. In fact, Pangborn had the GPA system w ritten into its
see FARM PAGE 3
Muller talks Trump By PETER McKENNA News Writer
hall policies. Cavanaugh and St. Edward’s Halls were a few of the many dorms that had a lotter y for room pick priorit y. Specifically, students raved about the social event that the room pick lotter y became in the t wo aforementioned dorms. Other quirk y room picks policies comprised a pointspriorit y system in Howard (points given for semesters at Notre Dame and semesters liv ing in Howard) and a bid-application system to change sections in Stanford. Additionally, dorms like Dillon, Fisher and Flanner allowed for the “freezing” of one’s room from year to year. Most traditions have subsided over the years not at the request of dorm
On Jan. 18, Notre Dame Law professor Derek T. Muller submitted an amicus brief that didn’t support either party in the Trump v. Anderson case. The case, which is being heard in the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, is an appeal from Colorado’s Supreme Court, which found in a 4-3 majority that Donald Trump is ineligible to run for president due to actions related to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Since Colorado declared him ineligible, Trump cannot appear on the Colorado Republican primary on March 5. Through the lens of federal election law, Muller’s brief detailed the legal authority states have in judging presidential candidates’ qualifications and mentioned that states are under no mandate to do so. He provides historical accounts of instances
see ARCHIVES PAGE 4
see TRUMP PAGE 4
PERCY JACKSON PERCY JACKSON PAGE 7
HOCKEY PAGE 12
W BASKETBALL PAGE 12