The Dining Hall Digest
By Elizabeth Boyle & Nick Ottone
The Dining Hall DigestFeb 22, 2021
Nick and Elizabeth Found in New York
Indigeneity, Identity, and Decoloniality (ft. Shannon Pōmaikaʻi Hennessey)
We are back, and maybe we're better than ever, you won't know until you listen! But we definitely have an incredible guest, Shannon Pōmaikaʻi Hennessey, joining us to talk about her research on Native Hawaiian identity and indigenous ways of knowing. We talk about decolonization in academia, how art can express what words cannot, and how activism and scholarship prove essential to each other. It's a great conversation about important topics, and maybe we'll talk about some of what's making us happy too.
Check us out @DHDcast on Instagram and Twitter for links to recommendations and further reading connected to this episode.
Mailbag! Holidays, Post-Grad Life, and More
We're doing another mailbag! We answer some questions from friends and listeners about how to safely celebrate the holidays, what to do in COVID times, and what we're thankful for. Also, introducing a new segment: Do We Love to See it?
Voting Rights and Civil Discourse (ft. Steven Higgins)
Are we living through a crisis in American democracy, or simply an incredibly scary time for American democracy? This episode, we're joined by Steven Higgins, a Notre Dame graduate and 1L at UVA Law known among his friends as "the voting guy." We talk about the current state of American voting rights, why people need to vote, and how to keep politicians accountable after Election Day. We also discuss the substance behind the buzzword "civil discourse," why it's important for colleges to support it, and how to navigate conversations on fundamental issues of human rights.
Organizing for Black Lives (ft. Erica Browne)
What's the most effective way to make change: through elections and voting or through demonstrations and protest? This episode, we're joined by Erica Browne, a student at Notre Dame who helped organize a Black Lives Matter rally in Oklahoma City over the summer. We talk activism at Notre Dame, how her pre-med classes don't reflect necessary skills for doctors, and Boiling Point Organization, an organization she co-founded with her fellow organizers. We also talk her work with the Kendra Horn campaign in Oklahoma's Fifth District, why she became a notary public, and what Netflix series she's binged recently.
Mailbag! Cancel Culture, Modern Love and More
We're doing a mailbag! Elizabeth and Nick take questions and topics from listeners on cancel culture, movies, and social media.
Reproductive Justice in Religious Spaces (ft. Natasha Reifenberg)
Mental Health and Well-being (ft. MacKenzie Isaac)
Even before COVID-19 lockdowns, we were facing a mental health crisis among young people in America. This episode, we welcome our friend MacKenzie Isaac to the podcast to discuss mental health, how to talk about it, and how stigma often prevents us from seeking out care. We also talk about how communities of color, especially Black communities, experience stigma and mental health concerns among police brutality and systemic injustice.
Content Warning: This episode contains references to suicide, self-harm, police brutality, and domestic violence.
Discussed this episode:
Am I Depressed? The Coronavirus Mental-Health Crisis
How Can We Break Mental Health Barriers in Communities of Color?
Depression and anxiety spiked among black Americans after George Floyd’s death
The Quiet Trauma of Watching Police Brutality on a Screen
Opinion | Dear white friends: Thanks for checking in, but no, I'm not OK
Asian in America (ft. Lauren Jhin, Mita Ramani, and Shawn Wu)
May was Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and we got some friends together to talk about what Asian American identity means to them. In light of nationwide protests, we also talk about what Asian and White allyship for Black lives might look like, how faith plays into solidarity, and what policy changes Notre Dame could enact to align with their stance against racism.
Commencement (ft. Isabel Rooper)
Love? (ft. Samuel Jackson)
How does pop culture, our environments, and our identities affect how we understand love and romance, and how do we think about them today? Former/forever Leprechaun, playwright, and recent ND graduate Samuel Jackson joins us as we talk about High School Musical, theoretical versus applied love, and heartbreak in our early college years.