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Volume 52, Issue 120 | wednesday, april 25, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
ND Day scores record high donations Over 880 campus clubs, organizations participate in annual event, which raised $2.1 million By Kelli Smith Associate News Editor
At 18:42 military time Sunday, a live broadcast showcasing Notre Dame students, alumni, faculty and friends through a variety of interviews, performances and events kicked off for 29-straight hours. The broadcast’s start time was symbolic — Notre Dame was founded in the year 1842. And after nearly 176 years of generation after generation making its mark on the University’s history, the fifth-annual Notre Dame Day strived to reconnect the Notre Dame family by sharing campus stories while raising funds for student and alumni groups with a direct impact on students. With its official close Tuesday morning, Notre Dame Day
program director Pablo Martinez, a 2011 graduate, said the event hit record-highs by accumulating over 115,000 views on the broadcast’s website alone and over 31,500 gifts totaling over $2.1 million. “When it was all said and done there were 880 groups that had a stake in Notre Dame Day,” Martinez said. “ … Our goal is to tell the Notre Dame story more broadly [and] get more people to realize yes, you can have an impact with a gift because that really impacts the group.” According to the percentage of votes an organization received over the course of the 29 hours, a $1.1 million University challenge fund was divided to add to the donors’ gifts and encourage see ND DAY PAGE 3
Ann Curtis I The Observer
Students in the Glee Club are interviewed in the Duncan Student Center on Monday as a part of ND Day celebrations. The event, which raises money for student and alumni organizations, kicked off Sunday.
GALA-ND/SMC awards annual scholarships By Mariah Rush News Writer
This year’s annual LGBTQ student scholarships, funded by the Gay and Lesbian Alumni of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s (GALAND/SMC), has been awarded to two sophomores at Notre Dame, Anne Jarrett and Tim Jacklich. Bryan Ricketts, vice chair of
membership in GALA, said the organization looks for LGBTQ students who excel in serving their community through a variety of ways, as well as students who “may not be able to attend” without financial support. “It’s a combination of wanting to encourage and support highperforming LGBT students at Notre Dame, particularly those
with campus and community work,” Ricketts said. “Whether that’s working within established groups like Prism, or working on personal projects that help advance some part of LGBT inclusion, we want to support that.” Jarrett is a resident of Howard Hall majoring in gender studies see GALA PAGE 4
College valedictorian reflects on community By GINA TWARDOSZ News Writer
Editor‘s note: This is the third of a five-part series profiling the valedictorians of Saint Mary‘s class of 2018. Melissa Henry is one of Saint Mary’s five valedictorians this year. Although she worked hard at becoming valedictorian, her focus over the course of her four years was to get involved and
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form relationships with all those in the Saint Mary’s community. Henry, who will pursue a doctorate of audiology at Vanderbilt University after graduating, said she hopes to use hearing technology to work with clients who are in varying stages of life. “I went into audiology because of hearing technology and so I hope to be doing hearing and cochlear implants with a lifespan,” she said. “I’ve worked at the
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convent the past four years with the sisters but I’ve also been in the preschool setting, so I love people of all ages and would like to work with a lifespan of people.” Henry said she first learned about Saint Mary’s from her mother, who had fallen in love with the beauty of the campus. “I did a tour in November and then I ended up coming see VALEDICTORIAN PAGE 4
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SMC hosts sexual harassment discussion By Sara Schlecht News Writer
One of a series of workshops on sexual harassment in the workplace was held in Saint Mary’s student center on Tuesday. Entitled “What is Sexual Harassment: Looking Through Multiple Lenses,” the workshop included interactive case studies and a panel discussion moderated by WNDU anchor Tricia Sloma. Sloma introduced case studies for attendees to review and panelists to discuss. In each of the proposed scenarios, attendees were asked whether they deemed a situation to be sexual harassment. “When you look at the workplace, you have to do the right thing,” Tania Bengtsson, principal and director of marketing and innovation at Gibson Insurance, said. An important part of maintaining a work environment is maintaining and updating policies that make the workplace respectful of employees, Lonnie
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Douglas, executive director of the South Bend Human Rights Commission, said. Kris Urschel, director of human resources at Saint Mary’s, said the College‘s new orientation program would focus on a cultivating a respectful work environment. “Our new focus on our orientation program [for new hires] is going to shift a little bit … and talk about our culture, who we are and what the expectations are from a respectful workplace,” Urschel said. “That really is the right of every employee, faculty, staff or student at Saint Mary’s College.” When a situation of potential harassment is witnessed, there is a responsibility to report it so that the employer is aware of the occurrence, which is necessary for harassment claims to be legally actionable, attorney Elizabeth Klesmith said. Douglas said sexual harassment can also be combatted through the efforts of people who are willing see WORKSHOP PAGE 4
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