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Volume 52, Issue 108 | monday, april 9, 2016 | ndsmcobserver.com
Dance Marathon achieves goal Proceeds of the annual SMC Dance Marathon go to Riley Hospital for Children By SARA SCHLECHT News Writer
Members of the tri-campus community gathered at the Pfeil Center at Holy Cross College on Saturday for this year’s Saint Mary’s Dance Marathon. This was the 13th year the fundraising club has hosted the event for the Saint Mary’s community, and its theme was “Get Wild for the Life of a Child,” according to junior Madeleine Corcoran, coexecutive of operations for the club. Dance Marathon members begin fundraising at the beginning of each academic year to support the Riley Hospital for Children, senior and operations co-executive Theresa McSorley said. In the past, Saint Mary’s Dance Marathon has had several high
schools who fundraised to help reach the group’s goal, but this year was different due to having just one high school participate, senior and Dance Marathon president Meg Brownley said in an email. McSorley said this decrease affected fundraising for the event. “We lost a lot of high schools that bring in major parts of fundraising for Dance Marathon this year,” she said. Despite this setback, members of the club knew they wanted to have an exceptionally good year because Saint Mary’s was set to have raised a total of $1 millionduring its years participating in Dance Marathon. “We are the fifth Dance Marathon in the state of Indiana see DANCE PAGE 5
Observer Staff Report
Photo Courtesy of Theresa McSorley
The 13th annual Saint Mary’s Dance Marathon hit its fundraising target of a cumulative total of over $1 million Saturday.
Observer departments win yearly ICPA awards Observer Staff Report
The Observer won 28 awards at the 2018 Indiana Collegiate Press Association (ICPA) awards in Indianapolis on Saturday, including second place in the Division I Newspaper of the Year category and second place in the Best Overall Website category.
The News department won third place in the Best In-Depth story category for current Editorin-Chief and former News Editor Courtney Becker’s feature on the Save the Village movement. Becker, along with Assistant Managing Editor and former Associate News Editor Lucas Masin-Moyer, also
received second place in the Best Continuous Coverage of a Single Story category for coverage of Vice President Mike Pence as the 2017 Commencement Speaker. The department took second and third place in the Best News or Feature Series for its see AWARDS PAGE 5
Notre Dame ushers share game experiences By CLAIRE KRAMER News Writer
“This is a counterfeit ticket,” Notre Dame usher super v isor Mack Smigielski deadpanned to a fan entering the Notre Dame baseball game. A look of confusion f litted across the fan’s face until Smigielski burst into laughter and handed her the ticket w ith an “enjoy the game.”
NEWS PAGE 4
Clad in nav y jackets w ith bright gold caps, the Notre Dame usher force, 850 strong, is a staple at countless universit y events from dorm dances to move-in weekend to sporting events. They’re tasked w ith crowd control, enforcing policy and prov iding a welcoming presence to v isitors, students and fans, according to Jim Smith, program manager of crowd control in the
VIEWPOINT PAGE 7
ND to build facility
Athletic department. Smith, director of the usher program, said potential ushers often hear about the positions by word of mouth, and the most important criteria is a distinct disposition. “A heart for ser v ice is the big thing,” he said. “On a day-to-day basis, our job is to help you guys get across see USHERS PAGE 4
SCENE PAGE 9
An athletics center will be built to broaden the indoor space of three varsity athletics programs, the University announced in a press release Friday. The facility will be 111,400 square feet and is scheduled to be completed in July 2019, according to the release. Funded by gifts from multiple benefactors, the building will be constructed on the western-most field of the football team’s LaBar Practice Complex and will open practice space for the football, men and women’s soccer programs, the see FACILITY PAGE 3
Annual “Holy Half” raises funds for charity By ALEXANDRA MUCK News Writer
Over 1600 runners participated in this year’s Holy Half Marathon and 10k races, which were held Saturday. Senior Anna Lyons, the president of the Holy Half club and one of the race directors, said 300 people participated in the 10k and 1300 runners participated in the half marathon. Lyons said an additional 500 runners were on this year’s wait list. “It’s such a great tradition,” she said. “People get so excited about it. We have alumni come in, families come in to watch their kids run or run with them. The students train really hard for it. … All the money goes to charity, so it’s for a really great cause.” This year, the proceeds from the registration fees are going to Direct Relief, which is helping those affected by recent natural disasters.
SOFTBALL PAGE 12
“This year, in light of all the natural disasters that have been in Houston, Puerto Rico, Florida — we decided to give back to a natural disaster relief charity,” Lyons said. Lyons said the Holy Half started 14 years ago to raise money for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. “This year we thought it would be cool to go back to the roots of the race,” she said. One of the best parts of the race is the mix of people who run, Lyons said. “We definitely have people who are really serious about running and running it for time and that’s so great to see to give them a place to do that, but then we also have so many first-time runners,” she said. “ … The community element is really great.” see RUN PAGE 4
HOCKEY PAGE 16