/ ^ V THE bserver OThe Independent Newspaper Serving Notre Dame and Saint Marys O L U M E 39: ISSUE 38 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2004 NDSMCOBSERVER.COM C A M P A IG N 2 0 0 4 Church and state: Keeping them both seperate O'Brien Steinfels Kerry, Bush grapple questions role of w ith religion, election religion in politics By KATIE PERRY News Writer By MICHAEL BUSK News Writer Many Americans would claim that while it is clear the United A former editor of the States makes a conscientious C a th o lic m a g a z in e attempt to distinguish church Commonweal described the from state, it is not so clear precarious, strange position there exists a similar distinc­ of Catholic voters as “political tion between religion and poli­ homelessness” at Saint Mary’s tics. Wednesday, and advised the At the forefront of modern- audience to vote based on day American tradition, this issues that would have a real relationship between religion effect over the next four and politics is increasingly years. nuanced as it involves promi­ Margaret O’Brien Steinfels, nent individuals and their editor of Commonweal respective beliefs. between 1988 and 2002, pre­ Legislative actions taken by sented a lecture titled “Faith Democratic presidential candi­ and Political Responsibility: date John Kerry regarding Voting for the Common Good” abortion and other issues have at the Stapleton Lounge in provoked some Catholic leaders I.eMans Hall. to impose their ideologies on “IThis| is an election year the political world. when a born-again Methodist In the winter of 2004, St. from Texas is considered the Louis Archbishop Raymond Catholic candidate and a Burke said he would refuse Catholic from Massachusetts Kerry communion if he attend­ is treated as an apostate,” ed Mass in the archdiocese. Steinfels said. “If you go to Beyond St. Louis, some of Mass every Sunday, you fit Catholicism’s most prominent the Republican profile ... if leaders have voiced similar you don’t make Mass every opinions. Cardinal Francis KELLY HIGGINS/The Observer Margaret O’Brien Steinfels speaks to a crowded Stapleton Lounge Wednesday. Steinfels spoke sec STEINFELS/page 4 about issues regarding citizens voting based on their religious beliefs. see POLITICS/page 6 Kingston speaks wordsS enate of peace at Saint Mary's Group discusses course evals By AMANDA MICHAELS Chinese-American shares tale of living, w riting Associate News Editor influences, however, were not The Student Senate voted By MEGAN O’NEIL so tranquil, Kingston said. Wednesday to endorse the News Writer “The first stories that ever Teacher Course Evaluation came to me were war stories,” (TCE) proposal discussed Keeping with the College’s Kingston said. “My mom had last week, and received a yearlong theme of peace, femi­ been in the bombings in report from student body nist author and activist Maxine Canton just nine months president Adam Istvan Hong Kingston spoke about before I was born in Stockton, regarding last week’s her efforts to build peace California.” Board of Trustees meeting. through writing and read Later, when the author was During the last meeting, excerpts of searching for a strong female Alumni senator and aca­ h e r b oo ks role model she chose the demic affairs committee Wednesday at Chinese heroine Fa Mook Lan chair Vijay Ramanan, for­ Saint M ary’s. and began w riting “Woman mer student body president Kingston, a W a rrio r.” Jeremy Lao and student first-genera­ “When I wrote the Fa Mook delegate to the Academic tion Chinese- Lan story I did it in the first Council Jeremy Staley pre­ MICHELLE OTTO/The Observer American and person,” Kingston said. sented the idea for a new Dave Baron, left, Adam Istvan, middle and Karla Bell talk creative w rit­ “ M aybe i f I spoke as i f I was system that would make about the SafeBus at the Senate meeting Wednesday. ing professor the women warriors maybe I course evaluations avail­ able to students without at Berkley, Kingston could be as strong as she followed in w as.” violating the administra­ description and syllabus. port when we take it to the footsteps of her writer- The story of a Chinese tion and faculty sensitivity Some senators said they Academic Council and the scholar father and began com­ woman who disguises herself surrounding the current feared their endorsement Faculty Senate,” Ramanan posing poetry orally as a child. as a man and becomes a cele­ TCEs. would be purposeless said. Using a mix of Chinese and brated military general, The proposal calls for the because a letter detailing Istvan expressed concern English, Kingston recounted to “Woman Warrior” was, inclusion of an independ­ the idea was already sent that the letter was sent to the audience memories of her according to Kingston, her ent questionnaire during to the Provost. Ramanan the Provost on Office of the mother leaning her out of the “youthful” view of war. She the normal TCE process. clarified that the office is Student Body President let­ window and encouraging her later learned the book was These answers would be aware the proposal is sub­ terhead without Istvan to recite poems to her grand­ being taught at the United posted on a Web site along­ ject to change, and that himself first seeing it. He fathers as they passed below States Air Force Academy and side professor-provided Senate backing is essential. suggested that a new ver- on their way to work. information for each spe­ “A Senate endorsement Many of earliest literary see PEACE/page 4 cific course, including a will lend this a lot of sup­ see SENATE/page 6 page 2 The Observer ♦ PAGE 2 Thursday, October 14, 2004 I n s id e C o l u m n Question of the Day: H o w a r e m id t e r m s g o in g ? Hit the road, Jack Every year over fall break, I do the same exact thing. I make the four-hour drive home, work two jobs all week V and spend every Elisha Acosta Darryl Barton Lisa Wohl Mike Gigante Lindsay Peterson Heidi Storer single spare Nicole Zook sophom ore se n io r se n io r ju n io r ju n io r fresh m an minute possible _______________ B a d in O ff cam pus Lew is S ta n fo rd Welsh Family P.W. sffsarS'- be no different t d it o r “I feel like I ’m “Two midterms, “Two exams in “It’s midterm "Well, I dropped “More Istuff] Saturday, when I’ll dying. ” two papers, but the same week?” a class this than I can kick off a week of baseball watching and assistant accounting for the third they are almost subject in the week. ” possibly straight year. done. same day. It describe. ” Only this time, when I climb into the Hallelujah!” was brutal. ” driver’s seat, 1 might not want to go back to Central Illinois. 1 might just keep on going, south and west to the warmest weather in the country. For the first time in my college career and even my life, I’ve got travel fever. It began earlier this year, with a badly-conceived plan to drive from South Bend to Los Angeles to see a friend gel commissioned into the I n B r ie f Marine Corps. It was a must-see event, so I plotted with my cousin and two then-seniors to start the summer by Linda Malkas, professor of making the 2,000-mile journey. Flying medicine at Indiana University was far too expensive, so that left us School of Medicine, Indianapolis, with one option: road trip. will give the lecture “Revealing We had no money, no map — just Cancer’s Secrets,” tonight at motivation. We didn’t know exactly 6:30 p.m. in the Joyce Center how we were going to get there, or Concourse. Irish women’s bas­ w here we were going to stay along the ketball coach Muffet McGraw way. We just packed, got in the car, w ill be the event emcee. and set off for California. It. Was. Amazing. The films “ Ex Voto ” and Being completely broke made us the “Endgames” will be shown most innovative girls on the road, stop­ tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. in the ping at crazy family diners and the auditorium of Hesburgh Center. shadiest $20-a-night motels you could Filmmaker Luis Camara will ever imagine. We managed to get make a presentaion. parking for free, housing with friends and cheap tacky souvenirs. We lived The film “Art of Amalia” will off chilidogs, water and bananas with be shown to nig ht at 7 and 10 peanut butter. p.m. in the Browning Cinema Being relatively mapless forced us to in the DeBartolo Center for the find our own way. Sure, we had gener­ Performing Arts. al direction — west. But we wove our way through the country like it was Fall break will run from our job, taking shortcuts, longcuts and MICHELLE OTTO/The Observer Saturday through Oct. 24. From left to right, sophomore Matt Cahill, sophomore Elizabeth Clifton, junior Tim certainly the road less traveled. We Florta and Professor Susan Ohmer led a panel discussion Wednesday before the went miles out of our way to see things The Notre Dame women’s final presidential debate began. The panel focused on issues of domestic policies like Shamrock, Texas — the most Irish soccer team will face off as well as the war In Iraq.