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The observer | WEDNESDAY, March 29, 2023 | ndsmcobserver.com
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Inside Column
Life is short. Here’s my bucket list. Hannah Hebda Assistant Managing Editor
A couple of weeks ago on the drive to Midway before spring brea k, a friend asked me where I would go if I had to choose one place in t he world to travel to. Of course, w ith how indecisive I am, I couldn’t pick just one destination. There are so many places I would love to v isit and adventures I am eager to experience in my life. In fact, I have a rat her leng t hy bucket list I would like to accomplish in my lifetime. So, in t he spirit of t his question, here is a condensed version:
1. Finish this column on time Self explanator y. It’s a lready late … sorr y Claire.
2. Sunrise and sunset on ever y continent So simple. So ambitious.
3. Skydiving, preferably in Hawaii Sorr y, mom. I ta lk about this a ll t he time and it drives her insane. The Hawaii part is great. The jumping out of a plane and parachuting (to my possible death) part … not so great.
4. Backpack through Europe My best friend’s mom has ta lked to me, extensively, about how she took a few mont hs after college and did t his by herself. My friend and I want to do it together. We’ll see if t hat actua lly happens.
5. Northern Lights I rea lly, ver y badly, want to ta ke a trip, stay in a glass igloo and watch t he Northern lights. How cool would t hat be?
6. Learn how to play the piano This one seems prett y achievable, but t hen again, I am quite possibly t he least musica lly inclined person ever. Just ask my old piano teacher. Sister Gera ldine was a sister at a loca l congregation, Sisters of t he Div ine Redeemer, and she was sorely disappointed by the capabilities of my brot hers and I. I’m determined to learn for bot h her and my second-grade self.
7. Eg ypt One word: P y ramids. I want to see t hem. A lso, t he
Nile River and t he Sphin x. A ll must-do’s in Eg y pt, or so I’ve heard. I mean, we spent a ll of t hat time in middle school learning about t he Eg y ptians, so why wouldn’t I want to go see ever y t hing in person?
8. Visit ever y U.S. National Park with my brothers A couple of years ago my brot hers, my dad and I went on a trip to Las Vegas, Uta h and A rizona. We hiked in Zion and v isited t he Grand Canyon. The follow ing year, we did a Ca lifornia road trip and explored Deat h Va lley, Joshua Tree, K ing’s Canyon, Sequoia and Yosemite Nationa l Parks. A long w it h a few ot hers, I t hink we’re up to 10(ish) parks, and I want to ma ke it to a ll of t hem.
9. Antarctica I’m not rea lly sure how I’m getting to t his one. I’ve done t he research; I just need to acquire t he f unds. W hen t hat (hopef ully) happens, I’ll do t he polar plunge and see some peng uins.
10. Kilimanjaro This is anot her ambitious one. I’ve a lways wanted to go to A frica, for plent y of reasons (A frican safari, mission trip, etc.), but for some reason, I want to hike K ilimanjaro. Just t hink about t he v iew from t he top.
11. Honorable mention: Run a marathon The Holy Ha lf counts. Stay posted. I have about 100 more bucket list items that I would love to cross off, including more sentimenta l ones that pertain to family and friends, but I don’t want to be too sappy here. I’m not sure if I’m being naive or just too ambitious, but I’ll keep dreaming and, hopefully, I w ill ma ke it through a ll of them. I just want to have a life well-lived. Of course, I’m open to hearing any, and a ll, thoughts, suggestions, edits or additions you wonderful readers have for my list — my email is below. You can contact Hannah Hebda at hhebda@nd.edu. The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Save the Office for the Common Good To t he Sa int Ma r y’s ad m in ist rat ion, Boa rd of Tr ustees a nd com mu n it y: On Ma rch 8, Sa int Ma r y’s v ice president of m ission Ju lia n ne Wa l lace ema i led Sa int Ma r y’s st udents, sta f f a nd facu lt y deta i ling cha nges to t he Div ision of Mission. A s w r itten in t he ema i l, t he Center for t he St udy for Spir it ua lit y a nd t he Center for Fa it h, Act ion a nd Min ist r y w i l l act as bra nches for t he Mission Div ision. One of t he major cha nges a nnou nced is t he ex pu ngement of t he Of f ice for t he Com mon Good (OCG). A s t he st udent leaders in t h is of f ice, we u na n imously ra ise ou r voices in opposit ion to t h is cha nge a nd its implicat ions on t he f ut u re of com mu n it y out reach at Sa int Ma r y’s. The Ma rch 8 ema i l was t he f irst for m of com mu n icat ion we received rega rding t he reorga n i zat ion of t he Div ision of Mission. It was not u nt i l Ma rch 24 — over t wo week s later — t hat we had a n in-person ex pla nat ion f rom t he ad m in ist rat ion about t he deta i ls of t h is t ra nsit ion. We have been told t hat t hese decisions were “st udent-d r iven,” yet we were not asked for input du r ing t he decision-ma k ing process. At Sa int Ma r y’s Col lege, t he OCG ser ves as a br idge bet ween Sa int Ma r y’s st udents, sta f f, facu lt y a nd t he broader Sout h Bend a nd Mich ia na a reas. It was prev iously k now n as t he Of f ice for Civ ic a nd Socia l Engagement. Ou r prog ra ms include Beyond t he Bel le, a day t ime teachers‘ a ide a nd a n a f ter-school t utor ing prog ra m; Food Waste Fig hters, a food recover y a nd compost ing prog ra m out of Noble Fa m i ly Din ing Ha l l; t he Susta inable Fa r m, a f u nct ion ing fa r m on Sa int Ma r y’s proper t y t hat promotes ecolog ica l just ice a nd g rows its ow n produce a nd SMC Votes, a nonpa r t isa n ca mpa ig n to increase voter reg ist rat ion, pa r t icipat ion a nd civ ic engagement on ou r ca mpus. We a lso orga n i ze a nd lead Ser v ice Sat u rdays a nd E x plore t he Bend prog ra m m ing wh ich a l low t he Sa int Ma r y’s com mu n it y to get involved in a nd enjoy t he broader Sout h Bend com mu n it y. Th is is just a g limpse as to a l l t he prog ra ms a nd oppor t u n it ies t he OCG of fers Sa int Ma r y’s st udents, sta f f a nd facu lt y. The ema i l we received on Ma rch 8 f rom Ju lia n ne Wa l lace w r ites t hat t he “reorga n i zat ion w i l l br ing a l l of ou r prog ra ms in line w it h best pract ices a nd u n if y t he work of ou r st udent-facing of f ices.” Th is u n if icat ion wou ld br ing toget her prog ra ms f rom t he OCG a nd Susta inable Fa r m w it h Ca mpus Min ist r y. A s it cu rrent ly ex ists, t he OCG ser ves a n importa nt role in prov id ing a l l SMC st udents w it h ser v ice a nd out reach oppor t u n it ies rega rd less of t heir fa it h a f f i liat ions. T he OCG does not focus solely on fa it h-based work, wh ich has a l lowed us to create a space for st udents who a re not rel ig ious to ser ve t he com mu n it y. Ou r prog ra ms a re non-exclusive. To associate a l l commu n it y prog ra m m ing a nd volu nteer oppor t u n it ies w it h fa it h has t he potent ia l to a lienate t he 38 % of Sa int Ma r y’s st udents who do not ident if y as Cat hol ic. In d irect a lig n ment w it h t he m ission of
Sa int Ma r y’s Col lege, t he OCG welcomes st udents f rom a l l wa l k s of l ife. A lt houg h we, as st udent leaders for t he OCG, were h ired t h roug h federa l workst udy to work for specif ic prog ra ms, ou r of f ice operates w it h a st rong sense of col laborat ion. None of us have worked solely for t he prog ra ms we were h ired to do. Ou r wel l-rou nded ex per iences, broad u ndersta nd ing of com mu n it y ser v ice a nd tea mwork sk i l ls ca n be att r ibuted to t he com mu n it y we have bu i lt w it h in t he OCG. We a re better st udents, better cit i zens a nd better people because of ou r involvement in t he OCG, a nd, in pa r t icula r, w it h t he mentorsh ip of ou r d irectors Rebeka h Go a nd Ma r ia Gon za lez-Dia z. T he Sa int Ma r y’s com mu n it y t h r ives in la rge pa r t due to ou r close-k n it commu n it y. Ma ny may not k now t he na me of ou r of f ice but a re fa m i l ia r w it h t he faces w it h in it. Rebeka h Go, d irector of t he OCG, a nd Ma r ia Gon za lez-Dia z, assista nt d irector of t he OCG, a re a n integ ra l pa r t of t he success of ou r prog ra ms. Under t h is new orga n i zat ion, bot h w i l l be demoted w it h decreases in sa la r y a nd a h ig her nu mber of ex pected hou rs worked. We bel ieve t h is to be a sl ig ht to t he ha rd work a nd ded icat ion bot h Rebeka h a nd Ma r ia have done for t he Sa int Ma r y’s com mu n it y. T hese cha nges a re based neit her in just ice nor mer itocrac y. OCG prog ra m m ing does not owe its success to its h iera rch ica l leadersh ip. Ma ny st udents who have pa r t icipated in ou r prog ra ms a re u nawa re of ou r off icia l t it les, desig nated roles or even off ice na me. Ou r of f ice is k now n for its resou rcef u l ness a nd, as Ju l ia n ne Wa l lace pra ised in ou r Ma rch 24 meet ing, “rad ica l hospita l it y.” A s st udent leaders, we simply fol lowed Rebeka h’s a nd Ma r ia’s exa mples. It has been ou r focus on bu i lding inter persona l relat ionsh ips t hat d irect ly cont r ibute to t he success of ou r prog ra m m ing. A s st udents at Sa int Ma r y’s Col lege, each of us is receiv ing a n educat ion a nd socia l ex per ience t hat emphasi zes Cat hol ic socia l teach ing a nd t he Col lege’s va lues of inclusiv it y a nd ser v ice. We have developed into cit i zens who w i l l spea k out aga inst injust ices a nd sta nd for what is r ig ht. We sta nd w it h t he OCG a nd ask t hat ad m in ist rat ion honor t he ded icat ion Rebeka h a nd Ma r ia have proven to t he Sa int Ma r y’s com mu n it y. A l l 12 st udent leaders employed by t he Of f ice have sig ned a nd cont r ibuted to t h is statement.
Libbey Detcher, senior Jeanett Ochoa, junior Emily Rusch, senior Yajali Rodriguez, senior Valentina Rubio, sophomore Catherine Reynoso, sophomore Suzanne Rivas, senior Delia Lopez, senior Anahy Torres-Vega, senior Jacquelyn A Junco, senior Galilea Falcon, senior Dakota Freel, junior March 27