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Volume 51, Issue 102 | thursday, march 9, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
Miss Cavanaugh crowned Miss ND 2017 Students from each female dorm compete in mock pageant as part of O’Neill Hall signature event By TOM NAATZ News Writer
Senior Brittany Dymm of Cavanaugh Hall was crowned Miss ND 2017 at O’Neill Hall’s signature event Wednesday. Throughout the event, one representative from every female dorm on campus showcased a talent, and three finalists participated in a question and answer session in front of a panel of four judges and other members of the Notre Dame community in Washington Hall. Sophomore Nick Martinez, the event’s organizer, said all of the contests were selected on a volunteer basis by the hall governments of each respective female dorm.
“I’m really grateful for everyone in O’Neill and all of the participants,” he said. “We’re super excited, because this year we did pre-sale tickets in LaFun, which we didn’t do last year. The pre-sale tickets [surpassed] all of last year’s ticket sales.” According to Martinez, the judges for the event were also selected on a volunteer basis, but event organizers tried to get “campus celebrities” as judges. The final panel was made up of South Hall Dining monitor Pam Hardy Jobin, Miss South Bend 2016 — and a member of the class of 2014 — Gina Klingel, sophomore O’Neill resident and defensive lineman Jerry Tillery see MISS ND PAGE 3
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
Senior Brittany Dymm replaces her Miss Cavanaugh sash with a Miss ND sash after she was crowned Miss ND 2017 on Wednesday. A panel of judges declared Dymm the winner after two rounds of competition.
Undocumented immigrant College starts ‘Like addresses diversity a Belle’ campaign Jose Antonio Vargas spoke at Saint Mary’s on Wednesday about his experiences as an undocumented immigrant and the work he has done as a journalist and with his organization, Define American, to discuss immigration and diversity. His presentation was the final part of the Diverse Students Leadership Conference presented by the Student Diversity Club at Saint Mary’s. Vargas said he was brought to the United States when he was 12 years old to live with his grandparents, leaving behind his immediate family. He said that he didn’t know he was undocumented until he was 16, and at that time he saw it as a burden and as a form of isolation he had to overcome. “I internalized being on the outside — my existence was a problem to be solved,” Vargas said. “I tried to face everything that I am.” Vargas said he wanted to become a journalist because — although he didn’t have legal citizenship papers — his name could be printed in the
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CEO, Define American
News Writer
newspaper, next to the stories he wrote. He said he has consistently gone against the advice he has been given about being so public regarding his undocumented status. “Twenty seven lawyers gave me a choice: ‘Do you want to selfdeport? Or do you want to wait be deported?’ I went against the advice of 27 lawyers,” he said. Vargas said a huge issue surrounding the topic of immigration is rooted in the language people use to refer to undocu-
Jose Antonio Vargas
By SYDNEY DOYLE
mented immigrants. “I am a person — I am not illegal. I, as a person, can’t be illegal,” he said. He said another issue arises from the assumption that all undocumented immigrants come from a single place, while, in reality, they come from all around the world.
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“Forty percent of the undocumented people here have overstayed their visas,” he said. “That’s almost half who didn’t come from the border of Mexico.” Another issue stems from the citizens of the United States implicitly approving of undocumented immigrants when it is economically convenient for themselves. “We are country addicted to cheap labor,” Vargas said. “So long as we have what we need, it’s a border, it’s a wall.” One way Vargas has tried to combat the stigma surrounding undocumented immigrants is through his effort of questioning everyone, regardless of ethnicity or race, what their heritage is. Vargas said he wants everyone to understand that their ancestors moved to America for a better life and that this same reason drives immigration today, as well. “Why do people move? Do you know your own history? When Europeans or Americans move and expand, it’s courageous, it’s necessary. When Latinos move, it’s illegal — it’s a crime,” he said. Vargas has been told at various see VARGAS PAGE 3
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By GABY JANSEN News Writer
In an effort to combat bullying, Saint Mary’s Justice Student Advisory Committee has introduced the hashtag #LikeaBelle to be used on social media in order to promote inclusivity on campus. Students discussed the social media campaign during a panel on bullying on campus that was held during the second day of the College’s Diverse Student Leadership Conference. Junior Morgan Matthews said the movement started as a response to incidences of bullying that occurred within the freshman class before the school year had even begun. “There was a lot of just bullying, whether it be from person to person, or lying or from text, and it really started progressing into [other] classes,” Matthews said. “So we really wanted to fight this from the inside out — we wanted to promote diversity among the Belles.” The campaign is aimed at demonstrating that there is no one way to be a Belle, Matthews said. “What our #LikeaBelle
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campaign is really trying to promote is how a Saint Mary’s Belle isn’t a one kind of person,” she said. “It has the whole spectrum of who you are as an individual.” Senior Caylin McCallick said the hashtag was made for everyday use for students on social media. “My vision for this was someone posting a status like, ‘On my way to a meeting, just took an exam, going to study later #LikeaBelle,’” she said. The group is making threeminute videos — that are posted to their Facebook page — of interviews with students about what they like about the College, Matthews said. The videos are published every two weeks, she said. “What we want to gain from this is inclusivity,” Matthews said. Matthews said the group has seven videos made with students with different aspects of the college. “They showcase different groups of Belles,” Matthews said. McCallick said they would see CAMPAIGN PAGE 3
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