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Reporting by Maggie Eastland. Photos by Ryan Vigilante. TikTok by Alysa Guffey.
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Four years ago, junior Anna Rask traveled to the US-Mexico border as a volunteer for Kino Border Initiative. The conversations she had with immigrants not only astounded her, but also inspired her to become an immigration advocate, she said.
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“I learned why they're here, why they're trying to come to the US and what they faced along the way -- just the horrible things that people have gone through -- and then seeing how politicians treat these people or how the actual border patrol treat people, it was shocking,” she said. “I was like ‘I can't let this stay on, I need to do whatever I can as an individual to help these kinds of people get a better life whenever I can contribute.”
Herself the grand-daughter of a Lebanese immigrant, Rask is now aiming to shed light on this issue as vice president of Notre Dame’s Student Coalition for Immmigration Advocacy (SCIA). Today’s #TriCampusTuesday features this group’s ongoing initiative: Immigration Week.
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Throughout the week, the tri-campus community will have the opportunity to “educate, advocate and celebrate” immigration through different activities. On Monday, participants shared a template highlighting why they stood for immigration on their social media platforms. Today, community members could take part in “Trivia Tuesday.” On Wednesday, SCIA will host a panel about strengthening advocacy on campus at 4 p.m. Thursday will include a collection of drawstring bags that will be donated to migrants leaving detention centers. Finally, Friday will feature a call-in campaign, through which participants will call on their peers to demand immigration advocacy from congressional leaders.
Sophomore Matt Heilman said he was motivated to partake in Monday’s media initiative due to how migrant communities’ struggles are often overlooked.
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“Many times their struggles seem to go unnoticed by the communities that they are a part of, and to me, itis essential that those of us who have the privilege to
Former administrative assistant creates Road House: a platform storage-bed that converts sport utility vehicles (SUVs) into campers.
In the midst of a pandemic that is strangling many businesses, Frank P. Quinn, a former administrative assistant at the IDEA Center’s Innovation Lab and Notre Dame alumnus (‘02), found an opportunity to merge his three passions — camping, innovation and giving back — into a startup company. Today’s #TriCampusTuesday features Road House,a platform storage-bed that converts sport utility vehicles (SUVs) into campers.
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For Quinn, enjoying the outdoors often came with a “crippling” disadvantage: sleepless nights in uncomfortable air mattresses. Motivated to delve into his creativity while the world was in lockdown, he came up with a solution that not only addressed this issue, but also provided a safe way to socialize and give back to the South Bend community.
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“There’s a new way for a safe, social-distance hang that has as much to do with enjoying all the nature our beautiful Midwest has to offer as it is to promote positive mental health by way of the inherent exercise, fresh air and vitamin D associated with getting outdoors,” Quinn said.
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Made from 1/2-inch UV-coated plywood on a KERN category 4 laser, the Road House platform’s dimensions are 67 by 7 by 36 inches, and it weighs 64 pounds. Quinn said the product’s proportions are ideal for mid-sized SUVs but will fit inside larger vehicles as well.
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Quinn offers two different prices that include the product’s assembling and free area delivery: $475 for a Road House platform and $600 for one including a gel memory foam hybrid mattress. The Notre Dame alum said that 3% of the proceeds would be donated to the City of South Bend’s homeless missions.
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Road House founder’s decision to aid local missions comes at a time in which St. Joseph County’s homeless population saw a 25% increase since last year -- from 413 homeless individuals in 2019 to 516 in 2020 according to the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority’s data.
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Quinn said his previous experience as an offsite ho
Zahm House will be closed indefinitely.
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