the Observer The Independent Newspaper Serving Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s Volume 44 : Issue 96 thursday, february 18, 2010 ndsmcobserver.com SMC Stars New site help make to aid in ‘ w i s h e s ’ housing come true search By ALICIA SMITH By LIZ O’DONNELL News Writer News Writer After being inspired by some Students looking to move off family members involved with campus now have a University- the Make-A-Wish Foundation, sponsored Web site to utilize Saint Mary’s College senior while conducting their search Stephanie Dolik decided to for housing. start the SMC Stars — a club With the launch of the new designed to grant wishes for Web site, rent.nd.edu, Notre children with life-threatening Dame students have access to medical conditions. listings of local houses and Joined by seniors Sara Casey apartments for rent. and Lindsay Morrin as well as Joey Rich, one of the devel- sophomore Anne Bolitho, opers of the Web site, said the Dolik, who serves as the club’s site aims to put different off- president, founded the SMC campus housing options Stars in November 2009. online. GRACE KENESEY/The Observer The club has two advisors — The Keenan Revue, known for its raunchy skits, like the one shown above from the 2010 “The basic idea we’re trying Professor Joyce Hicks of Saint show, will not return to Saint Mary’s next year after the College did not renew its contract. to do is put all the different Mary’s College and Bobbie housing options into an easy to O’Conner, a representative use Web interface,” he said. from the Make-A-Wish “That way students can use Foundation of Indiana. Keenan Revue loses venue one Web site instead of using The club’s first “Wish kid” different housing providers.” visited campus in November. The effort was coordinated Jacob Krauss, dreamed of SMC: Variety show’s content ‘incongruent’ with mission of College in part with student govern- doing one thing in South Bend: ment. Student body president playing with the Notre Dame ment and therefore their annual shaped their decision to discon- Grant Schmidt said the idea for Marching Band. By KATIE PERALTA contract will not be renewed. tinue the contract. the Web site came up over a The SMC Stars planned an Assistant News Editor “To host it is counterproductive “They stressed that it was not a year ago from two different additional event to make [for the College],” senior Tim particular year, skit or joke that sources. Krauss’ weekend special. The annual and controversial Treat, director of this year’s was the straw that broke the “Northwestern University “We got to meet [Krauss] crowd favorite, the Keenan Revue said. “They stressed that camel’s back,” Treat said. “They already had the concept,” he and we kind of contributed to Revue, originally presented in the decision was made before this mentioned the disparaging said. “It also came up in the his weekend a little bit by Washington Hall and most year’s Revue and it’s a decision remarks about women and sexu- campaign from one of the throwing him a bowling event recently in Saint Mary’s the cabinet talks about every ality in the show.” other tickets, so [student body because his favorite sport is O’Laughlin Auditorium, will once year.” In a recently released state- vice president Cynthia Weber] bowling,” Dolik said. “That again have to find a new venue. Treat said in a meeting with ment, Shari Rodriguez, vice presi- and I acknowledged it and was our first experience inter- Saint Mary’s administrators Keenan representatives and hall dent of College relations, articu- decided to implement it.” acting with a Wish kid and we have announced the content of rector Fr. Dan Nolan, College offi- lated the deviation from the Rich said he spoke with had a really good turn out and the variety show is not congruent cials said the general content of Weber and Schmidt about the I think people are getting real- with the College’s mission state- the Revue from year to year see REVUE/page 6 project last year and began ly excited about future work on the Web site. He said events.” this year the project seemed According to Bolitho, anoth- even more important so he er event the Stars worked on STUDENT SENATE began to work on it as part of was selling ornaments for a a class assignment. Wish tree before Winter “This year we decided it was Break. The club appeared in valuable to students and I the Noble Family Dining Hall Group passes amnesty resolution decided working on it as part to display their Wish tree and of a database complexes spread the word about the class,” he said. “After the class club. By SCOTT ENGLERT was over, I continued working Dolik said the club hopes to News Writer on it, adding new features and “grant as many wishes as pos- getting the domain name set sible” as their long term goal. The Student Senate up.” Though the Stars were cre- resumed debate and voted on One of the advantages of the ated in November, their first a resolution concerning med- new Web site is that it allows meeting took place after ical amnesty and discussed students to compare prices in Winter Break. The club has 20 the logistics of a new off- one location. members. campus housing Web site at “By putting prices and other “It’s a little challenging Wednesday’s meeting. features in one location it because the other Make-A- The intended resolution, encourages competition among Wish clubs at other schools we proposed by Nick Ruof, the different housing complexes looked at are from much larg- chair of the Committee on whereas previously students er universities so we have to Residence Life, seeks “that would have to call regular compare it to what we can do [Office of Residence Life and housing complexes,” Rich said. here,” Morrin said. Housing] and residence hall Another new feature allows Currently, the group has not staff adopt a medical students who create accounts TOM LA/The Observer Student body president Grant Schmidt, left, and vice president see STARS/page 9 see SENATE/page 9 Cynthia Weber participate in Wednesday’s meeting. see WEB SITE/page 9 INSIDE TODAY ’S PAPER SGA approves classes reform page 3 N Florence + the Machine review page 12 N Loss at Louisville page 24 N Viewpoint page 10 page 2 The Observer N PAGE 2 Thursday, February 18, 2010 INSIDE COLUMN QUESTION OF THE DAY: WHAT 80S TREND DO YOU WISH WOULD MAKE A COMEBACK? Caring about real news Forget Haiti, and forget health- care. By the looks of my news feed, Johanna Kirsch Jordan Matulis Ryan Lion Sarah Spieler Stephen Santay people have moved on to worrying about something they really care senior sophomore freshman sophomore junior about: the new McGlinn Howard Sorin P. W. Alumni Facebook profile layout. Apparently, it’s “Power Ballads. “Aerobics wear. “Mullets and “Jellies. “I miss the the most radical I love a Let’s get rat tails.” Whoever said party in the change in, well, good power physical.” that Crocs were back ...” anything since … the last time ballad ...” the new Jellies Facebook changed was seriously its layout. And disturbed.” before that, prob- Allan Joseph ably the American Revolution. Sports Come on, peo- Production ple. This really Editor Have an idea for Question of the Day? E-mail [email protected] isn’t that big of a deal. Let’s be hon- est. Within a couple weeks, we’ll all get used to the new, more promi- IN BRIEF nent search bar, the fact that we can now see friends we often chat A lecture titled “Business on right on the home page, the new the Frontlines: Reports from notification area and the extra click the Field” will be held in C- it takes to log out. Okay, that last 103 Hesburgh Center for one is actually really annoying, but International Studies today at other than that, the changes are 12:30 p.m. pretty useful. We’ll all join a couple “GET YOUR OLD FACEBOOK LAY- The Second Annual Student OUT BACK” groups, invite all our Health Fair “How the Health friends in a futile attempt to get are You?” will be held today said layout back, and when it does- at 3:30 p.m. in Rolfs Sports n’t come back, move on with our and Recreation Center. Facebook lives. I mean, we did it the first time. And however many “Blockading the Border and other times it changed. Human Rights” will be held at Remember when the Wall was 4 p.m. today. The lecture will first integrated with the (gasp!) be held in rooms 210 to 214 News Feed? And (oh, no!) we first McKenna Hall. got a different tab for information and photos? We all made a huge The film “Sin Nombre” will deal about the “new” layout then, be shown at 6:30 p.m. and and now we want to go back to it. In 9:30 p.m. today in the fact, I’m sure Facebook will change Browning Cinema in the something again before the football DeBartolo Performing Arts team’s 2011 bowl game (crossing TOM LA/The Observer Center. To purchase tickets my fingers it’s in 2011), and we’ll Sophomores Nick Burley, left, and Grayson Duren playfully hunt a possum on call 574-631-2800. all complain about it again. A few North Quad Wednesday night. Although they seem to be closing in, the possum weeks from now, we’ll become escaped unharmed.