The announcement Thursday that an advocate of legal abortion won’t take a leadership position at Notre Dame pleased pro-life critics of the appointment, though they still have serious concerns about what they see as the university’s drift away from its Catholic identity.
A candlelight student protest planned for Friday night is still going ahead, organizers told the Register, even after the withdrawal of Susan Ostermann, who was to have taken over as director of the university’s Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies starting July 1.
“This is great news, but although we won the battle, the war rages on,” said Luke Woodyard, 20, a sophomore who helped put together the event, which is called “March on the Dome,” a reference to Notre Dame’s iconic, golden-topped main administration building.
“The fact that this pro-abortion professor could ever be appointed signifies a much deeper split between students, deans, and administration,” Woodyard told the Register by text. “The spirit in which we ‘March on the Dome’ was never just Ostermann, it was making sure nothing like this shocking appointment is ever tolerated at Notre Dame.”
Seven weeks ago, on Jan. 8, Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs announced the appointment of
