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VOLUME 51, ISSUE 22 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM
Students attend annual safety summit Local law enforcement panel weighs in on issues that affect students on and off campus By ANDREA VALE News Writer
The annual student safety summit took place Monday night in the LaFortune ballroom. During the summit, members of the Notre Dame Security Police (NDSP) and other nearby police forces formed a panel with the goal of teaching students how to be safer on campus and how to maintain a good relationship with nearby police officers and neighbors. Student body president Corey Robinson and Off-Campus Council president Michelle Lacouture opened the summit by introducing the panel. “I hope we take this time to learn how we can be better members of the South Bend community,” Lacouture said. Assistant police chief for the uniform division of the
Mishawaka Police Department Jason Stefaniak said the police department and the student body are partners. “We are your friends, we are your partners, we are here to serve you,” he said. “Just be patient with us, I know you watch the news and don’t always get the most positive image of us. … We’re on your side — be on our side.” St. Joseph County sheriff Michael Grzegorek said his goal is not to ruin the college experience, but to enhance it. NDSP chief Keri Kei Shibata said students should always have a plan, even though Notre Dame’s campus is particularly safe and physical harm is uncommon. “You all have such a big role to look out for each other, whether
PETER ST. JOHN | The Observer
see SAFETY PAGE 4
Notre Dame Security Police officers, joined by local police officers, offered advice to students Monday night at LaFortune Student Center. The officers discussed many topics, including active shooter situations.
SMC to host comedy troupe By SYDNEY DOYLE News Writer
Saint Mary’s will host the Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC) for a performance of “The Complete History of America (Abridged)” in O’Laughlin Auditorium on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Richard Baxter, director of campus and community events, said the show is a funny, abridged look at American
history, written and performed by the company, but more than anything, it is a comedy show. “It’s a nonacademic, irreverent, silly play about the topic.” Baxter said. “They’re just very bright skilled, creative performers.” Baxter said this is the perfect show to bring to campus at this time because it is a great way to help the Saint Mary’s community forget about all the stressful things going on in their lives
— like the 2016 presidential election. “It is a 75-minute piece that will help everyone check out of election season mode,” Baxter said. “I need something that helps me get away from that and engages my mind a little bit, but mostly engages my sense of humor.” The show does not rely on flashy pyrotechnics, music or see COMEDY PAGE 4
Notre Dame places 15th in national ranking In this year’s U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges Rankings released last week, Notre Dame jumped from No. 18 to No. 15 in the national universities category, landing at a tie with Cornell University, Rice University and Vanderbilt University. The rankings are assigned based upon quantitative measures
— such as graduation rates, student selectivity and test performance — and is based on U.S. News’ “view of what matters in education,” according to its website. Notre Dame reported an undergraduate enrollment of 8,462 and a 20 percent acceptance rate in 2015, according to the rankings. It scored an 85 on the system’s 100-point scale. The University was ranked
against other national universities that offer a full range of undergraduate degrees, master’s programs, doctoral programs and faculty research. Princeton University topped the list and was followed by Harvard University and the University of Chicago. Saint Mary’s received a ranking of No. 95 on U.S. News & World report’s Best National Liberal Arts Colleges list.
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Observer Staff Report
Health director discusses common cold By EMILY McCONVILLE Associate News Editor
For University Health Services, outbreaks of the common cold — like the one happening now — are like clockwork. “We can tell when the common cold season hits,” University Health Services (UHS) director Sharon McMullen said. “Our medical director walked by me … and said, yep, we know it’s the middle of September, because students are getting sick.” While UHS does not have a definite number of students visiting Saint Liam Hall with colds, McMullen said UHS has seen an uptick in students coming in over the past couple of weeks with coughs and runny noses. Upper respiratory viruses are one of the main reasons students go to the doctor at this point in the year, she said.
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The culprit is proximity, “the biggest factor for cold transmission on any college campus,” McMullen said. Thousands of students descending on campus gives the several strains of rhinovirus — the primary cause of the common cold — the perfect opportunity to move from host to host. That proximity is compounded by other factors that lower the immune system’s ability to fight off the cold, like a student’s sleep schedule. “Everyone’s been in school for a month,” McMullen said. “They’re starting to get sleep deprived.” McMullen said the best preventative methods are those students may have heard growing up — and make for better health overall — such as sleeping and eating well, getting exercise and enjoying time with friends. see COLD PAGE 4
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