The independent
To uncover
newspaper serving
the truth
Notre Dame and
and report
Saint Mary’s
it accurately
Volume 51, Issue 31 | Tuesday, October 4, 2016 | ndsmcobserver.com
Students promote ‘Irish State of MiND’ NAMI-ND plans series of events to raise awareness and erase stigma about mental illness By KATIE GALIOTO News Editor
A green light will shine on Touchdown Jesus each night this week, junior Ally Zimmer said. And it’s not for the reason people may think. Zimmer said she heard a rumor the green light was supposed to symbolize sustainability. “I don’t think that even makes sense,” she said with a laugh. “Because instead of using these big green energy-using lights, why wouldn’t you just turn them off to save energy?” Others have speculated that the green light is another showing of support for the Notre Dame football team, Zimmer said. “It’s something that catches everyone’s attention,” she said. But that’s not why the iconic
mural on the side of Hesburgh library is illuminated. This is, in fact, the third year in a row a green light lights up Touchdown Jesus during the first week of October. It’s all for Irish State of MiND: Mental Health Awareness Week. “The main goal of the week is to start conversations about mental illness and to make it something we don’t just ignore and set aside,” Zimmer said. “We want to make it something people can feel comfortable talking about.” Zimmer is the president of Notre Dame’s chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMIND), the organization in charge of planning the week of events designed to spark discussions about mental illness around campus. “This is Mental Illness see NAMI PAGE 5
CHRIS COLLINS | The Observer
Hesburgh Library is lit green, the color of mental illness awareness, in honor of Irish State of MiND week. NAMI-ND will host a series of events highlighting this issue throughout the week.
NDVotes hosts Voter Education Week
Panel kicks off Respect Life Week
By NATALIE WEBER News Writer
With the presidential election almost one month away, NDVotes, a campus club which promotes political engagement and informed voting, is hosting its Voter Education Week to help students reflect on the importance of voting and make educated decisions in their voting. For many, this week is the last chance to register to vote and
NDVotes hopes to help students meet this deadline. “It’s a very strategically placed week because, this being the first week of October, there are a lot of deadlines this week for voter registration for the Nov. 8 election,” junior Sara Tomas Morgan, NDVotes task force leader, said. “This week is really a lot of people’s last chance to register if they want to vote in the Nov. 8 election.” Tomas Morgan said the club
decided to host the week now because of approaching deadlines. “We wanted to do a big push to get out and vote this week and then transition from voter registration to voter education, which is another very crucial part of being a voting citizen,” she said. “We thought of the first week of October as the week for all of these deadlines and transitioning from registration to see NDVOTES PAGE 5
ANNA MASON | The Observer
Jessica Keating speaks on a panel about a holistic pro-life world Monday as part of Notre Dame Right to Life Club’s Respect Life Week. By RACHEL O’GRADY Associate News Editor
As part of Notre Dame Right to Life’s Respect Life Week, panelists participated in a discussion on the value of a holistically pro-life world. Jessica Keating, director of the office of human dignit y and life initiatives, said she went through a journey from a pro-choice to a pro-life feminist.
news PAGE 3
“I have always been a feminist, but I have not always been pro-life,” Keating said. “Pro-life feminism is not really new, even though it sounds new. It’s the radical idea that abortion is not only not liberating for women, but is actually harmful for women.” There are some discrepancies on what it means to be a pro-life feminist, according see PANEL PAGE 4
viewpoint PAGE 7
Alumna researches cancer By GENESIS VASQUEZ News Writer
Saint Mary’s alumna Charlotte Brown ‘13 studied biology, chemistry and math. Now three years after graduation, Brown is working at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, a cancer research center in Detroit, Mich., where she focuses on coordinating clinical trials for
ScenE PAGE 8
the Bone Marrow Transplant department (BMT). Brown said she works with sponsors and physicians to help make sure everything is done within the Good Clinical Practice guidelines —an international ethical and scientific quality standard for trials involving human subjects — and protocols of the organization. “We handle protocols
football PAGE 16
ranging from new chemotherapy drugs, [graft versus host disease] prophylaxis and treatment, to alternative sources for the transplant themselves,” said Brown. According to the Center’s website, the Karmanos Center is one of the 46 cancer centers designed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The see RESEARCH PAGE 3
men’s soccer PAGE 16