O'Donoghue/Norton's vision untarnished
Letter to the Editor
This letter is about the character of our friend Brian O'Donoghue. Many of you know him as "Odie." To others, he is just a figure that appears on the cover of The Observer on Thursdays with a summary of the previous night's Student Senate meeting. To those who have had any contact with him, there is no doubt that he is one of a kind. He has the uncanny ability to seem like the most insane person you've ever met, but in the next instant, he can say the perfect thing to lift your spirit in a time of crisis.
If you ask him what he wants to do with his life, without hesitation, he'll respond, "To save the world." And the crazy thing is that he's serious. The first time we heard this we almost laughed, but the look in his eye wouldn't let us dismiss it. Look at what he wants to do as President, and it's clear that he's a dreamer. He has set his sights on enabling the students of Notre Dame to do great things. It has been obvious that Odie has been working for this goal since he set foot on this campus at Freshman Orientation in 1997, even to the extent of passing up time abroad in order to serve the community in the Student Union.
The past few weeks have seen the escalation of Odie's vision. Unfortunately, one wrong step may hamper his chance of achieving this goal. While campaigning officially started Tuesday, candidates were interviewed by campus publications on Saturday. Believing this exception covered all campus media, Brian and running mate Brooke Norton accepted an offer to appear on campus internet radio WVFI with Jabari Holloway.
On Sunday, Odie was casually asked if such interviews were allowed since campaigns started on Tuesday. To be certain, Brian made a more official inquiry, and to his dismay found that his radio appearance was, in fact, prohibited. Brian turned himself in at once, and received a two day suspension of campaign activities, which he in turn appealed to the Senate.
It's become far too commonplace for politicians, and people in general, to cover up their mistakes. However, as soon as he realized he might have committed an infraction, Odie sought to turn himself in. This is honorable trait is one of the qualities that we claim as one of Notre Dame's founding principles. Apparently, Brian's colleagues in the Senate agreed with him as they unanimously agreed that while he had made a mistake, the punishment was too severe. In response to the Senate's decision, Student Activities, an administrative group, determined that the Senate had no right to overturn the penalty.
This letter is not meant as an endorsement of any candidate for Student Body President, but as a sign of support for our senator and friend, Brian O'Donoghue.
Christopher B. Anderson
Christopher D. Clement
Keough Hall Presidents
February 10, 2000
All Viewpoint Stories for Friday, February 11, 2000
