Leaders Challenge Policy with Signs Thieves
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PARTLY Spell out clear tailgating rules Wednesday CLOUDY Following student confusion. over th~ tailg~ting P?licy last fa.ll, T~e Observer praises the proposed reVIsed policy while calling for clanficatwn on issues not addressed in Father Poorman's e-mail. MARCH20, HIGH 48° Viewpoint+ page 10 2002 LOW29° THE The Independent Newspaper Serving Notre Dame and Saint Mary's VOL XXXV NO. 107 HTTP:/ /OBSERVER.N D.E Leaders challenge policy with signs Thieves dence halls, the end of in-hall depending on the dorm and the dances and the enforcement of individual. take cash the rule that only students 21- "The SYR is a major part of years-old or older may host tail Notre Dame tradition and it's a gaters in a designated lot. huge part of the residential "We're asking all the students community that we try to foster from to put them in their windows here at Notre Dame," said and in their doors," said Moscona. Student Body Vice President Junior Amy O'Connor, the SMC choir Brian Moscona. executive cabinet's Club Members of the executive Coordination Council athletic cabinet said they were disap division representative, said she By SHEILA EGTS pointed that the administration and others were shocked about Saint Mary's Editor did not seek more of their input the soon-to-end SYR tradition. before making the new alcohol According to O'Connor, there A total of $2,335 dollars policy. had been many rumors about was stolen on March 11 from "The real frustration of exec banning hard alcohol. and addi the purses of about 30 Saint utive cabinet was about stu tional changes to the tailgating Mary's students while they dents having a voice in these policy, but many were com were on tour with the College Hall presidents distributed these signs to students in resi decisions," said senior class pletely unaware of the plans to choir in Redmond, Wa., dence halls and encouraged students to hang the signs up in president Peter Rossman. "It move all dances out of the resi according to a King County response to the new alcohol policy. could be any big decision, not dence halls. police report. just alcohol." "The SYRs had seemed to just The Saint Mary's choir Tuesday night as a protest of Moscona, who will be a resi come out of the blue," said By HELENA PAYNE just one of the several regula toured the Pacific Northwest, dent assistant in Stanford Hall O'Connor. "To think when my giving performances at area News Editor t i o n s next year, said the end of SYR brother comes here, he's not churches as part of their announced See Also dances will be detrimental to going to get to go to an SYR in in the spring break tour. The money Student government's execu "Students voice the Notre Dame residence hall his dorm, is something I can't was stolen during the first tive cabinet sponsored the pub University's life. The SYR, which stands for believe." new alcohol opposition to new half of their concert at lication of thousands of signs "Screw Your Roommate," is a O'Connor said she was sym Washington Cathedral, challenging the Notre Dame policy by alcohol policy" casual to semi-formal dance in pathetic of the administration's vice presi between 7 and 7:45p.m. administration's decision to end the dorm, usually with themes concern regarding alcohol use The thieves stole cash only in-hall dances, better known as dent for pageS like O'Neill Hall's Mardi Gras or on campus, but she disagreed Student from the women's purses, "SYRs." Lyons Hall's Luau. The original with the way it made the deci which were unattended in an The signs, which read, "We Affairs concept of the SYR was that sions. Father Mark Poorman Tuesday. upper room of the church. need a voice," and "Save the students would get dates for "I believe that there is a pos- Nancy Menk, chair of the SYR," were distributed to the The major changes included the their roommates, hence the ban of all hard alcohol in resi- Saint Mary's Department of Hall President's Council expression, but now it varies see ALCOHOL/page 6 Music noticed the money was missing when the choir went back to the dressing room at intermission. Karen Webb Wasserman, an Lehrer blasts entertain01ent news influence '88 Saint Mary's alumna, was present at the performance ment, not information," said By KATE NAGENGAST and happened to overhear Lehrer. "Using an entertaining Menk give news of the theft to News Writer way to inform is fine, but the two choir members while she purpose of news is to inform .... was purchasing a CD. Jim Lehrer, executive editor If you want to be entertained, "There was a short delay, and anchor of "NewsHour with go to the circus." but just a few minutes later Jim Lehrer," admonished mod At a time of when many inde the choir ushered back in and ern media for the increasing pendent news organizations retook the stage, several of influence of cable news net are joining conglomerations, them wiping away their tears works and sensationalism dur Lehrer stressed the importance as they walked," said ing his speech Tuesday at this of "independent news judge Wasserman. "Without a word year's Red Smith Lecture in ments ... for a fully functioning about the incident, they began Journalism in the Hesburgh free press." the second half of their reper Library Auditorium. Lehrer highlighted signs of toire. The audience gave them Although cable news net hope in the industry as well, a standing ovation for their works such as CNN, MSNBC mostly credited to the after superb performance." and Fox News have relatively math of Sept. 11. A church leader asked that small audiences compared to "There is and has been a a special collection be taken Lehrer's NewsHour on PBS, the serious world out there that up after the performance to news networks' pervasive pres deserves to be covered serious help reimburse the loss. The ence in newsrooms influences ly," said Lehrer. "You cannot collection amounted to more journalists, he said tell American people that the than the stolen money. "People engaged in the prac world is getting smaller and "I was able to reimburse tice of journalism are watching then not tell them what's going each student for her loss the cable news channels and this on in the rest of the world." following morning, and the will have an enormous, but not To demonstrate how drasti rest of the tour continued necessarily a bad or an evil sig cally things have changed in without any problems," said nificance," said Lehrer. ''I'm the last six months, Lehrer Menk. "We made sure our waving a yellow flag of caution revealed that during his early SARAH FUCHS/The Observer belongings were locked up because cable news networks years in journalism his col Lehrer, a correspondent at PBS for the last 30 years, criti while we were singing, how have air time to fill and excite leagues coined the term cized sensationalism in the media during a speech at this ever. ment to generate - issues that "Afghanistanism" to describe year's Red Smith Lecture in Journalism. According to Menk, the are not always related to news stories considered irrelevant to choir plans to return the tick relevance." the American public. "But how he handled the 2000 years worked with Robert et sale proceeds to the Lehrer cautioned that this nothing is irrelevant anymore," Presidential debates personally MacNeil on "The Washington Cathedral to put quest to engage viewers is he said. and whether or not PBS con- MacNeiVLehrer Report" and toward their mission intriguing, but can also blur Lehrer responded to ques cerns itself with ratings in the "The MacNeil/Lehrer Guatemala. the line between entertainment tions from the standing-room same way commercial net- NewsHour" for 20 years before and information. only audience on a variety of works might. he became the show's sole "There is an increasing ten topics including how he decides Lehrer, a correspondent and Contact Sheila Egts at dency to see news as entertain- what to discuss on his show, anchor at PBS for the last 30 see LEHRER/page 8 [email protected]. -- --------------------------. page 2 The Observer+ INSIDE Wednesday, March 20, 2002 INSIDE COLUMN QUOTES OF THE WEEK Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Are you called? + Town Hall meeting: + Lecture: "Philosophy + Theatre: "Learned + Musical Review: Student government - and the Common Good," Ladies," by Moliere. "Reading Rainbow," sponsored discussion Ralph Hancock, Debartolo Stapleton Lounge, LeMans O'Laughlin Auditorium, As the end of the school year approaches and graduation looms overhead, those of us who about proposed alcohol Hall room, 214, 4:30p.m. Hall, Saint Mary's College. Saint Mary's College. For are seniors have to look at where we stand and where we will be in the next couple months. policy, Stonehenge, 5 Tickets available at SMC tickets call SMC box office This is a time that will get us ready for the rest p.m. box office or at door, 8 at (57 4) 284-4626. of our lives. It is during this time that we get ready to p.m. leave our haven at Notre Dame and prepare to take on the world. In this time of decisions, we must be willing to look at every option, explore BEYOND CAMPUS Compiled from U-Wire reports every opportunity, and jump at every chance we have to make sure that we Angela Campos Virginia student's death raises depression issues don't accidentally miss something really important.