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Volume 51, Issue 109 | wednesday, march 29, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
Polarizing author lectures on new book Charles Murray reflects on the political climate of America
Students rally to protest invitation of ‘Bell Curve’ author
By SELENA PONIO
By MEGAN VALLEY
Associate News Editor
Assistant Managing Editor
Political scientist, writer and libertarian Charles Murray spoke at McKenna Hall on Tuesday afternoon on the themes in his book “Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010.” The event was sponsored by the undergraduate minor in constitutional studies, and professor of political science Vincent Munoz opened the event by stating the purpose of inviting Murray to Notre Dame. “The University believes in the pursuit of truth and the protection of freedom of speech,” Munoz said. “Please know that the event
Thirty minutes before sociologist Charles Murray was scheduled to speak in McKenna Hall on Tuesday, students began to gather outside the building; some carried signs with slogans protesting Murray, and many were dressed in black. “We’re out here to let students know that not everyone on this campus believes what’s written in Charles Murray’s books and articles,” fifth-year Rachel Wallace said. “ … We want to present an alternative narrative to what he’s proposing.” Murray — best known for
see LECTURE PAGE 4
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
The undergraduate minor in constitutional studies sponsored a lecture by libertarian, political scientist and writer Charles Murray at McKenna Hall on Tuesday, discussing political climates.
Lecture explores voting rights By MARIE FAZIO News Writer
ND Votes hosted this semester’s third installment of Pizza, Pop and Politics, which explored voting rights in the U.S., on Tuesday. The discussion was led by professor Jennifer Mason McAward, an associate professor of law and director of the Center for Civil and Human Rights at Notre Dame, and professor Jason Pierce, an American studies professor who specializes in American history and civil rights. Pierce began the discussion by giving the audience a historical perspective on voting rights, specifically those of African Americans. In 1864, a group of African Americans created a list of demands for the union after the Civil War, including the abolition of slavery, full citizenship rights for all African Americans, voting rights for African American men and land redistribution, he said. “Voting was a political right because it was a preservative of all rights … the court recognized that voting was a political act,” Pierce
scene PAGE 5
said. “Politics is about power, and voting allows power to be exercised. So central to the AfricanAmerican reform effort has been the right to vote — not land reform, not reparations, but the right to vote. It shows how powerful it is, but it shows how contested it is. Voting restrictions allow power to be retained.” They received almost all of their charges through the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments between 1865 and 1870, Pierce said, but in 1898 the Mississippi court upheld that voting restrictions, such as a poll tax and literacy tests, were reasonable. “Americans think that voting is a privilege and a right, but those two things don’t necessarily go together,” he said. “That which is a privilege and that which is a right — not to be politically oxymoronic, a right is not something that you earn, it’s something that you gain because of your standing as a United States citizen. A privilege, it may be an honor to vote, but it’s not a gift.” see VOTING PAGE 3
viewpoint PAGE 6
see PROTEST PAGE 3
Forum discusses labor improvement attempts By LUCAS MASIN-MOYER Associate News Editor
In the early 1990s, amidst growing concerns over sweatshop labor in the developing world, University President Emeritus Fr. Edward Malloy convened a subcommittee to study the factories where Notre Dame licensed gear was produced. The subcommittee eventually settled on freedom of association for workers as the goal all manufacturers would have to follow, banning manufacturing in 11 countries — China included — which did not allow worker organization. Tuesday evening, in the auditorium of the Eck Visitors Center, the Worker Participation Committee, convened by executive vice president John Affleck-Graves, spoke on attempts to reform their manufacturing policy and better address workers’ rights. Affleck-Graves said the recommendation to make changes came from a University partner in protecting labor rights. “What the Fair Labor
viewpoint PAGE 7
Association was pushing me on was to move less to a countrycentric approach and more to a factory approach,” he said. “I guess that was the seed of where this came from — it was pressure from our partner at the Free Labor Association.” In order to resolve this problem, the University set up a test program in Chinese factories with the fair labor group Verite, in order to test how these factories fared on a case-by-case basis. “We asked our licensing companies if they had factories that would want to participate in the survey, and six factories were nominated and Verite did surveys of those factories and sent the results back,” Affleck-Graves said. “Two met our criteria, two were close but needed to do some work and two did not meet our criteria.” After this experience, the committee came up with three options to pursue in terms of their policy towards foreign labor. First, maintain the same policy. Second, continue to work with Varite in a select number of factories. Third,
softball PAGE 12
join with another compliance company, Summera, to join universities together to focus on labor rights. The panel stressed that none of these options had been chosen yet and that they were considering hybrid options. Christine Cervenak, committee member and associate director of the Center for Civil and Human Rights in the Eck School of Law, said one of the biggest challenges in their assessment was applying labor standards across countries. “[Our problem was] distinguishing between what we, first world people in South Bend, might believe to be [our] own standards,” she said. Cervenak said this was most evident in their visitation of Chinese factories. “When our team visited the dormitories of migrant labor factories in China, there was a slight sense of being appalled,” she said. “Our community came to understand that they were really not so bad, and much better than even see LABOR PAGE 3
men’s tennis PAGE 12
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Corrections A story that ran in yesterday’s paper incorrectly stated in its headline that Marc Burdell spoke to the financial burden of Notre Dame tuition. Burdell addressed financial concerns of students related to expenses outside the cost of attendance. The Observer regrets this error.
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
Notre Dame community members gathered at the Grotto on Tuesday night for the semi-annual Vigil for Life sponsored by Notre Dame Right to Life. Participants in the vigil prayed for a greater respect for all human life throughout the world.
The next Five days:
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Wednesday
Thursday
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“Quran Halaqah” Coleman Morse Center 6 p.m. Conversation about verses of the Quran.
Walk for More Tomorrows South Quad 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. Raising suicide awareness.
Migrant Monologues Carey Auditorium 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Reading of works by immigrants, migrants and refugees.
Fiestang South Dining Hall 3 p.m. Celebration of Filipino culture through dance, music and fashion.
2017 Hesburgh Libraries Hackathon Hesburgh Library 5 p.m. Mar. 31 - 3 p.m. Top entries will be awarded.
Mindfulness Meditation Snite Museum of Art 4 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Relax and recharge with meditation.
SNL Comedian Sasheer Zamata Legends Nightclub 9 p.m. SNL cast member’s stand-up show.
ND Glee Club Concert DeBartolo Performing Arts Center 8 p.m. Glee Club’s spring concert.
Edges! Washington Hall 4:30 p.m. Song cycle exploring life’s edges, put on by Student Players.
Monthly Fellowship: Jamii Coleman Morse Center 9 p.m. - 10 p.m. Food wiill be served.
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ndsmcobserver.com | wednesday, march 29, 2017 | The Observer
Protest Continued from page 1
co-writing “The Bell Curve” in 1994 — is a libertarian political scientist. “The Bell Curve” argues that genetics at least partly determines economic and social success; his critics, however, argue the book approaches claiming that race is a genetic factor contributing to IQ differences. The protest was organized by student activist group We Stand For, a group that has organized a number of protests on campus since the election of President Donald Trump. Murray spoke at Middlebury College on March 2, but the event turned violent, leaving one professor injured and forcing Murray to be interviewed via live stream. The demonstration in front of McKenna did not turn violent, even as students began to leave the area designated for them by Notre Dame Security Police (NDSP) in small groups at 12:57 p.m. to approach the door of McKenna Hall, where they were blocked by NDSP officers. Once there, four Ph.D. students read the letter 67 graduate students submitted to The Observer. Protesters then began to chant: “Who is the enemy? White
Supremacy,” “Your message is hatred, we cannot tolerate it” and “We stand for love, we stand for justice and we stand for equality.” At one point, Holy Cross guest student Patrick Guibert approached the protesters and asked them to cite where Murray promoted “white supremacy and eugenics,” to which individual protestors asked him why he was defending “a white supremacist” and “Where are your receipts?” “My concern during today’s event is that more recently, there has been a tendency to mob up against people and mischaracterize people and judge people,” Guibert said in an interview after the protest. “My concern about the protest, I feel, was fear that any mischaracterization or misrepresentation of [Murray] or his arguments would undermine progressive social change, and it would undermine the completely legitimate criticism of his points that we wanted to raise. “ … When I tried to ask what specifically has he said, I got shut down by everyone.” Many of the protesters, including senior Natalie Thomas, president of the Black Students Association, cited Murray’s work on “The Bell Curve” as their reason for joining the protest. “I think the problem comes when a lot of the students feel
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targeted,” Thomas said. “ … That’s why I think it’s problematic that he was invited.” Some protesters, however, were torn about whether or not to join the demonstration. “I was really undecided,” senior Mercy de la Rosa said. “One of the police officers … is my friend and I didn’t want to make it about NDSP. It just felt like a lot when Ann Coulter came my freshman year — and actually it’s a lot of the same people here today — so for me, I wanted to stand for something. It’s really insulting to be Hispanic and work really hard and get into law school, even, and to be told that that’s only because I’m Hispanic.” Second year law student Terrence Way said he “took the liberty to do some independent research” after hearing that Murray had been scheduled to appear on campus. He said “it’s appalling to see that sort of thing here.” “When it comes to discourse, it’s not a problem of having controversial ideas,” Way said. “We’re mature enough people to understand that our point of views are not the end all, be all of the universe — we know that. It’s when you try to engage in discourse with false narratives. It makes no sense and it doesn’t represent who we are as a university.” Notre Dame has an “Open Speaker Policy,” which states students and student groups “may invite and hear any person of their own choosing,” although the sponsorship of guest speakers “does not imply approval or endorsement” of the views by the group or the University. “I hope the University takes a closer look at its speaker policy in the future and sees how the speakers affect the students on our campus and ask if it fits in with our mission and if we want our name on it,” Wallace said. Contact Megan Valley at mvalley@nd.edu
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Voting Continued from page 1
Voting restrictions did not change until the U.S. introduced the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which Pierce said was “flawed as an effective device, but effective as a political device.” Following Pierce, McAward reflected on the role law has played in voting rights. The 15th amendment, which in name prevented racial discrimination in voting, was disregarded for 95 years, she said. “There was a mass campaign of terror in the South, and African Americans were effectively barred from exercising their constitutional right until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which congress passed to ban racial discrimination in voting practices,” McAward said. McAward examined President Trump’s claims of voter fraud — which has gained a national spotlight since the 2016 election — and, though not denying its existence, said voter fraud is rare and most likely did not cause Trump to lose the popular vote, as he claims. “Neither one [of the studies Trump has cited] supports his claims, although they do point to other problems in the system,” she said. The first study, which states that there are 24 million inaccurate
Labor Continued from page 1
the national norms.” Affleck-Graves said the decision to test the waters in China was, in some part, motivated by Under Armor’s desire to consolidate manufacturing in the country. “Under Armour and the other licensees we want to be with — they want to manufacture goods in one place,” he said. “[In these factories] you don’t see Notre Dame hats only, you see every school you can think of in the world … and so
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voter registrations, does not necessarily mean that those people attempted to vote in multiple jurisdictions, McAward said, and a 2014 study, which said six percent of noncitizens voted in the 2008 presidential election, is based on an Internet survey which used methodology that may have skewed the data. “The author said that we have no information that these illegal votes actually impacted the outcome of the election,” she said. “Bottom line, voter fraud exists, and it happens, but it’s infrequent — particularly in-person voter fraud — and when it does happen it’s almost never outcome determinative.” Citing these surveys, McAward said identification requirements for voting aren’t necessary to prevent voting fraud and serve to disenfranchise those without state-issued identification, namely minority, elderly and low-income populations. “The voting rights movement started with bloodshed from the Civil War to Jim Crowe,” she said. “While the bloodshed is behind us, I hope, the struggle continues — just in a new form. For those of you who are interested in political participation, it requires our continued vigilance and commitment.” Contact Marie Fazio at mfazio@nd.edu
they want us to be part of that, so it’s very difficult for them if we say, ‘No, we don’t want to do that.’” Graduate student Chris Iffland, a committee member, described the process all factories would be put through in order to pass Verite tests. “The five general areas covered by the Verite assessment are as follows: workers’ right for freedom of association and collective bargaining, workers’ right to form and operate a union, good faith negotiations between factory management and union or worker representatives, effectiveness of union or worker representative body and worker grievance feedback and participation,” he said. Affleck-Graves cited student participation as key in helping the decision making process. Representing the Student Workers Participation Committee was Junior Niko Porter, who outlined the students’ main concerns. “The SWPC exists as an intermediary organization between the administration and the student body so students are able to have a voice in this conversation about manufacturing abroad,” he said. “Students’ foremost concerns are about the rights of workers, including but not limited to, freedom of association [and] safety in the workplace.” No matter what decision the committee reached, Porter said, dignity ought to be at the center of the decision. “It [must] all be based around the idea of [workers] … being treated like human beings,” he said. Contact Lucas Masin-Moyer at lmasinmo@nd.edu
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NEWS
The observer | wednesday, march 29, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
Lecture Continued from page 1
is meant to further the purposes of the constitutional studies program, [which is] thoughtful dialogue in which people of good will listen to one another.” Within his first seconds of speaking at the podium in McKenna Hall, four people in the audience stood up and walked out together. Murray started his lecture by sharing his ideas on the forces that gave rise to the unexpected victory of Trump. “You have a working class — especially a white working class — that exhibited last year both a great deal of anger and … a great deal of demoralization,” he said. “On the other side, you had in this case a democratic elite.” Regarding the white working class, Murray cited it as something that “seemed to be an unmitigated good.” He said in the 1950s there was a revolution in the way colleges recruited students. “Elite colleges started to reach out to much greater parts of America and draw in students who had not been drawn in before purely on their academic ability,” Murray said. “This is a good thing.” Murray said the new upper class came with the inception of a new “bubble,” a new upper-class culture that was distinct from the rest of “mainstream America.” In an effort to help his readers determine whether or not they existed in this bubble, he created the “Bubble Quiz.” The quiz contained questions related to the demographics of the neighborhood one lived in, if they had ever lived below the poverty line, the types of jobs they held in the past and more. Murray said he collected 140,000 scores, along with the zip codes people lived in now and the zip codes of where they lived when they were 10. He said he found a correlation between participants’ scores on the bubble quiz and the socioeconomic status of their zip code at age 10. Murray said the election was the end of America as a “creedal country.” “Egalitarianism in the sense that Americans were not supposed to get too big for their britches,” he said. “What the election of 2016 revealed … is that those … democrats — after they came over to the right — were not absorbing the ideals of limited governments and the American creed. They had pretty much dropped out of those, too, [and] they were joining the right largely because they were so irritated with the people on the left.” The rich and powerful tend to be clustered in the same areas, Murray said. However, he said, a better way of living would be to “be in the midst of other people who are dealing with the stuff of life.” “To live in touch with people who are engaged with the stuff of life in a very traditional American way and maybe you, too, will love it,” he said. Professor of anthropology Agustin Fuentes delivered the response to Murray, as well as his own critiques on “Coming Apart.” He said while he agrees
with Murray’s points on inequality having increased dramatically and social and spatial differences between classes growing farther and faster, he notes some fallacies in Murray’s book, specifically the flaws in what Murray describes as the “American Project.” “The American Project that Mr. Murray outlines is one where the continuing effort begun with the founding of the U.S. to demonstrate that human beings can be left as individuals and families to live their lives as they see fit,” Fuentes said. “Not everyone from the very founding — and in fact most — were not left free as individuals and families to live their lives.” Fuentes then refuted Murphy’s claim that people grouped by gender, ethnicity, age, social class and sexual preference will produce group differences in outcome due to cognitive, psychological and behavioral genetic differences. “The reductionist determinism, the almost apartheid-esque concept underlying Murray’s positions has no support with biological and
anthropological sciences,” he said. “In fact, it runs counter to the rich and diverse bodies of scholarship, and yet, Murray seems to think — or rather hope — that the differences at the end of the day are deep-rooted in our human natures and reflect cognitive hierarchies rooted in our biology.” After Fuentes’ response, the event concluded with a question and answer session where the audience could send their questions in electronically. Senior Candace Thomas asked Murray about his thoughts on white privilege and whether or not he thought white people were born with advantages in life. “Depends on what white people you are talking about,” he said. “You’d have a hard time going down the road to rural Indiana towns in the south and going there, talking to white folks there and convincing them that they are privileged.” Murray then addressed another question on why the new upper class was overwhelmingly liberal. He said there was an orthodoxy
on campuses and that for most of the 20th century it was tilted left, but that it has recently gotten more pronounced. “What we are in the process of seeing now is the simultaneous strength and increasing adamancy of the orthodoxy of the social sciences at the same time that what is going on in the hard sciences will — in another 10 or 15 years — will have finished off the story in the following sentence,” he said. Murray said that story will not be revolutionary, and that the differences between men, women and ethnic groups will have a genetic component. “In most cases it will be a validation of what most of us look around and see and take for granted and are not particularly bothered by,” he said. “So that I would say by 2025 to 2030 if you are a sociologist and you publish an article trying to explain the probability of being arrested by age 21 on the basis of the standard socioeconomic set of independent variables, that you will not be able to get it published
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anymore unless you’ve also incorporated what’s been going on in the hard sciences. This revolution is coming down the road.” At this point, Fuentes stood up to protest this claim, but Murray addressed him and said he just wanted to finish his sentence, and then he would give the floor to Fuentes. “I will say that when I hear the kinds of things you are saying about the state of knowledge on these fields that you are the one living in Never-Neverland,” Murray said to Fuentes. Fuentes responded by addressing the audience and said there was “an incredible body of data out there.” “Don’t take my word. Don’t take his word. Do the reading,” Fuentes said. “Look at the entire body, sociological, anthropological, population genetic, cognitive science literature. It is there, it is prominent. We have been researching this for over a century and it is clear.” Contact Selena Ponio at sponio@nd.edu
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The The observer observer | wednesday, | WEDNESDAY march 29, 2017 29, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com | ndsmcobserver.com
By MIKE DONOVAN Scene Writer
“Death is real / Someone’s there then they’re not / And it’s not for singing about / It’s not for making into art.” These words, the first on Phil Elverum’s (known for his work on Mount Eerie, The Microphones) recent LP “A Crow Looked at Me,” echo a troubling theory. Art tries to mimic reality — recreating the world through sounds, words, colors and rhythms — but it’s not a substitute. Consequently, when reality crashes down on us, art can’t cure the wounds. Yet, as an artist, Elverum can’t help but wrestle with death. His lengthy discography repeatedly grapples with the topic on tracks from “The Glow, Part 2,” — “I’m not dead / There’s no end / My face is red / My blood flows harshly” — to “Grave Robbers” — “And our ghost stay forever confined / In where we haunt.” Pre-“Crow” Elverum conveys an obsession with death-related erudition. Tragedy, however, reshaped Elverum’s conception of art and death. “I’ve accumulated all these books over the course of my life,” he told Pitchfork in an interview. “But as soon as [my wife] Genevieve got sick and we entered into that world together, it was like a switch was flipped.” Elverum replaced his morbid musings with hospital bills, terminal deadlines, and the needs of his infant child. “Conceptual emptiness was cool to talk
By ADRIAN MARK LORE Associate Scene Editor
Generally, writers abstain from reviewing music which they feel unqualified to discuss. But is there such a thing as being overqualified in this regard? I may be overqualified, as a Colombian, to address cumbia supergroup Ondatropica’s sophomore record. Perhaps this will make me excessively opinionated, but in this case, such strong opinions may be warranted. This is, put simply, because the record flies too close to the sun and leaves the rest of Colombia to bite the dust. Following the ensemble’s massive self-titled debut, “Baile Bucanero” is a more compact — an hour as opposed to 100 minutes — yet more ambitious record. While “Ondatropica” attempted a faithful and polished reinterpretation of Colombian cumbia — looking inwardly, at the national spirit, for inspiration — “Baile Bucanero” looks outward. Recorded in Bogota and on the island of Providencia, the album fuses traditional tropes with plentiful outsourced material. While drawing unreservedly from such styles as reggae and calypso, Ondatropica also injects the record with an unusual dosage of synthetic instrumentation on tracks like “Commotion” and “Estar Contigo.” On paper, “Baile Bucanero” takes the idea of Latin fusion to its logical extreme. Hence its culturally eclectic setting: a remote Colombian island, settled originally by the British, that is now home to the largely English-speaking AfroCaribbean ethnic group known as the Raizal people. Now, let’s get this straight: The record often sounds great, and there is nothing wrong with its attempts at musical innovation. The joyful “De Mar a Mar” is perhaps the group’s all-time best track, uplifting with its seafaring steel guitar and idyllic aural themes; it happens to be among the less musically mish-mashed tracks as well. Many of the more centrally instrumental tracks,
about / Before I knew these hospitals,” Elvirum reflects on “Emptiness, Pt 2.” Genevieve died in 2015, and Elverum never returned to his imaginative explorations. He’d search for inspiration in the mundane — “When I take out the garbage at night / I’m not with you exactly / I’m with the universe” — but he’d inevitably concede hegemony to reality’s merciless progress — “And then I have to go back in and live on.” Elverum’s commentary elicits conflict within the listener. How are we to interpret his insights if art is impotent? Should we disregard it? Should we dismiss it as futile ramblings? Elverum’s work is a plea to reconsider the purpose of art — reframe it as a map instead of a mirror. Elverum gives us concrete landmarks that led him through grief. “I realize that these photographs we have of you / Are slowly replacing the subtle / familiar memory,” he notes on the bluntly titled “Toothbrush / Trash.” when a material body wastes away, certain imperishable objects — toothbrushes, trashcans, and photographs — can assume that person’s identity. Eventually, the intangible nuances of interaction fade from the memory banks, but the physical representations of those memories remain. Death, it seems, is a progression. It starts in the material world with a person’s physical demise. Then, it enters the inner life as the deceased identity establishes residence in the minds of survivors. Finally, it returns
to the physical as the memories recede into the banal items that have come to represent them. Elverum’s art is also preparation. Those who’ve experienced loss have an innate understanding of the incalculable pain to which Elverum alludes, but not everyone has experienced intimate loss. That said, we’re mortal humans who attach ourselves to other mortal humans. We’ll find ourselves in death’s shadow at some point in our lives. We’ll feel the pain that Elverum feels and ask the questions that he asks. When this happens, we can reflect on Elverum’s music for guidance. A friend of mine (who knew some things about death) once told me, “Pain shared with a companion is half the pain.” Art, while it fails as a mirror, excels as a companion.
including “Hummingbird” and “Caldo Parao,” are also memorable and well executed. Even “Bogota” — lush if conceptually flawed — is decently enjoyable. What’s the catch, then? Well, that the record is a problematic mess — often to a comical and cringe-inducing degree. Granted, this awareness comes from my cultural literacy as a native Colombian. As far as the record’s problems are concerned, hardly any uninitiated listener would be able to identify them. But the problem, precisely, is that this is not a problem. There is a reason behind the fact that Ondatropica does not worry about alienating a potential Colombian audience — a notion that underscores its unsavory vision as a musical collective. Simply put, Ondatropica does not perform Colombian music. Instead, what the group has arranged — especially on “Baile Bucanero” — is world music. The line is fine but the difference is polar. This music is not for Colombian consumption but rather marketed to a global audience. (The label charges eight dollars to ship the record from England; it is not sold in Colombian stores.) The result is an album that sounds good but just doesn’t feel right. Like other world music, “Baile Bucanero” is a sanitized reflection of a musical culture — or, in this case, several fused together — rather than an organic product thereof. You need only consider the collective’s leadership: Will Holland, a white man from the United Kingdom, and Mario Galeano, a white man from Bogota. Hopefully it goes without saying that there is something jarring about a British guy producing critically-acclaimed, would-be Colombian cumbia. But Galeano is not off the hook, either. Though known internationally as a skilled cumbia musician, Galeano has decried the fact that his oeuvre isn’t up to Colombian radio snuff. Yet, as someone from Colombia’s Atlantic coast — where the Afro-Colombian population gave birth to cumbia
— it’s obvious to me why a white man from the interior would lack the skill set required to compose cumbia music. Cumbia requires a certain innate groove that we “costenos” know that “cachacos” — or people from Bogota — lack. That’s why the idea of a joyous cumbia track about the gloomy, gridlocked capital is about as laughably paradoxical as a gritty hip-hop mixtape titled “Straight Outta Tulsa.” To be fair, Holland and Galeano are passably good at what they do. But should they be doing it? While artists from around the world should feel encouraged to draw from various musical styles, marketing Ondatropica to a global audience as a Colombian product feels dishonest — especially since the “world music” designation grants their record disproportionate international currency. As it stands, “Baile Bucanero” is closer to cultural appropriation than the product of honest inspiration, tricking its audience as a result. Imagine if “Straight Outta Tulsa” were performed by a troupe of white suburban mothers, yet were marketed globally as the definitive hip-hop mixtape. You would be skeptical. And, as far as Ondatropica is concerned, so am I.
Contact Mike Donovan at mdonov10@nd.edu
“A Crow Looked at Me” Mount Eerie Label: Secretly Canadian If you like: The Microphones, Neutral Milk Hotel, Elliot Smith Tracks: All of them
Contact Adrian Mark Lore at lore.1@nd.edu
“Baile Bucanero” Ondatropica Label: Soundway Records If you like: Carlos Vives, Celia Cruz Tracks: “De Mar a Mar,” “Bogota”
JOSEPH HAN | The Observer
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The observer | wednesday, march 29, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
Inside Column
Do what you love Lauren Hebig Graphic Designer
Some people go into college knowing exactly what they want to do, where they want to work and sometimes even when they want to get married. To those who know exactly what they want to do, I applaud you. And to those who have no idea what they want to do, I applaud you too. Before coming to Notre Dame, I had no idea where to begin. Was I going to be an engineer, a business student, a graphic designer, a neuroscientist? Looking back, I guess I was always destined to be a designer. From going to several art camps as a kid to designing apparel for my lacrosse team in high school, I have always loved solving problems with design. However, this was a talent I wasn’t actually aware of until this past year. In fact, before college, I never really thought of myself as a creative person or as an artistic person; I always thought of myself as a math and science person. My dad was really the one who told me I shouldn’t lose my creativity and who encouraged me to pursue something that would let me foster this creativity. And this is how I ended up today as a graphic designer. At the start of this year, I really wanted to do a double major in graphic design and marketing. However, I quickly learned that marketing was not for me and that I really excelled in my graphic design classes. When I first told people that I was going to drop my business major, everyone kind of whispered as if I was making a horrible decision. And perhaps, maybe I did make the wrong choice. But how does anyone really know if they are doing the right thing? The way I look at life, there are so many paths that one can take and so many destinations awaiting us. I am a firm believer that there is no set path for each individual. We are the ones who have to make that path for ourselves and we can change where we are going at any point. There are people who are going to tell you that you picked the wrong major or that you should do “xyz.” Take to heart what they have to say, but listen to what will make you happy. We have our whole lives ahead of us and college is where we are allowed to try new things and to make mistakes. Go out into the world and make a difference. Go out into the world and pursue what you love. Go out into the world and make mistakes because you never know, you could be the next Ruth Wakefield who accidentally made chocolate chip cookies. Contact Lauren Hebig at lhebig@nd.edu The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Coming together: I am not a part of your bell curve I am disappointed to hear that Dr. Munoz and the Constitutional Studies department did not rescind their inv itation to Charles Murray to speak on campus. In his article, Dr. Munoz mentioned that we can all learn something from Murray and his work. I respectfully disagree. The past 300 years of American histor y has already taught us that one can profit from racism and bigotr y. Therefore, this article w ill not speak on the moral character of Murray and his research, nor on the limitations of free speech. Instead, I w ill argue that Murray should not have been allowed to speak on an academic platform because his research is f lawed and much of his ev idence can be questioned. W hen we begin to use ev idence to support poorly reasoned claims, we open the door for pseudoscience such as conducted by Charles Murray and Richard Herrstein. Their book, “The Bell Cur ve”, is a perfect example of why citing ev idence and explaining reasoning are v ital to forming an effective argument. They do neither, and thus, leave themselves to falsely interpret ev idence and present alternative facts as sound academic research. “The Bell Cur ve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life,” w ritten in 1994, claims there is a new class structure which called the “cognitive elite, itself a result of concentration and self-selection in those social pools well-endowed w ith cognitive abilities.” The book argues that low levels of intelligence is the root of many social problems and that intelligence levels differs among ethnic groups. The most troubling of Murray’s research lies in his conclusion that black people, on average, are less intelligent than white or Eastern Asian peoples. He uses statistical ev idence from intelligence testing which shows that the mean IQ score of black students is consistently one standard dev iation below the average of white students. For the sake of my argument, l w ill only agree that Murray’s statistical “ev idence” appears to indicate the IQ scores of Black indiv iduals tested appeared lower compared to their white and Asian counterparts. In Chapter 13 Murray stated, “accounts of phenomenal success stories in education” are “too good to be true.” He believes that “claims for longterm academic improvement, let alone increases in cognitive functioning, t y pically fade as soon as hard questions begin to be asked.” In an attempt to use the work of Mar va Collins he completely underminded his entire argument. In 1975, Collins left the Chicago public school system and started her ow n school, Westside Preparator y Academy.
She took “unteachable” students and taught them to appreciate the works of great authors such as of Shakespeare, Danté, Chaucer and the list goes on. Her students did extremely well on standardized tests and many matriculated to the best universities in the countr y. In 1979, Collins and her students were featured on CBS News’ “60 Minutes.” Murray argues that Collins’ teaching methods are ineffective — although, he had never spoke w ith her neither researched her methods. Thus in 1995, CBS’ Morley Safer re-inter v iewed the same group of students that were originally featured. The hard ev idence that Charles Murray claimed didn’t ex ist was on the nightly news. A lmost ever y student went on to pursued higher education or a career in their chosen field. W hat was Collins’ secret? Her students were in an env ironment that challenged them, reminded them of their gifts and told them that they had much to offer the world. During that inter v iew, her former students shared that she would often say, “Lift your head honey, you’re brilliant” or “Speak louder honey, you’re brilliant.” They all agreed that hearing those positive words several times a day played an important part in their lives. Mrs. Collins believed in them, which gave them the confidence to believe in themselves. In his new book, “Coming Apart: The State of W hite America, 1960-2010,” Murray still uses questionable ev idence to argue that low IQ and the creation of the cognitive elite are the causes of various social problems among white communities. However, if he didn’t properly use ev idence to support his claims and reasoning in “The Bell Cur ve,” why should we trust any of his work now? Charles Murray’s work should have been carefully re-evaluated before giv ing him an academic platform to proliferate the same poor methodolog y and false assumptions. W hile composing this letter, the words of Civ il Rights Activ ist, Diane Nash, stirred w ithin me as she described feeling as though she was “ … agreeing that [she] was too inferior … ” whenever she obeyed segregation rules. In many ways, being silent regarding Mr. Murray’s v isit and aligning w ith the belief “we can all learn something from Mr. Murray’s work” are in many ways akin to agreeing that I and other students of color are also inferior. We are not, thus we did not silently agree. Candace Thomas senior March 24
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The observer | wednesday, march 29, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
Keep in touch Jack Rooney Irish Eyes
I spent much of last weekend talking with family and friends, which is a normal enough way to spend some free time, except that none of them were actually in the same room as me. Some, like my mom and girlfriend, I hadn’t talked to for a few days. Others, like some friends from school, I hadn’t caught up with in months. Such is the life of a recent graduate living abroad. I’m not complaining about it, though. I chose to move to Ireland after graduation, but the move has made the reality of graduation particularly stark for me. One of the biggest adjustments after graduation is that you no longer live down the hall or across the quad from all of your closest friends. I moved across an ocean. Granted, I work for Notre Dame in Ireland, so I’m still deeply connected to the University, but my physical distance, and more than that, the time difference, makes maintaining treasured relationships challenging. Luckily, I’m a bit of a night owl so I don’t mind staying up late to video chat with friends and relatives back home, but even so, it’s difficult to keep building relationships from so far away. In my graduation column last May, I wrote, in reference to fellow graduating seniors, “Many of us are moving to new places, new homes with new people who we can only hope end up as special to us as the people we found here.” In Ireland, I have made cherished new friends and strengthened bonds with old ones, but sometimes I wonder if that comes at
the expense of my loved ones back home. I know that’s a ludicrous thought, but it creeps in every so often anyway. The more I’ve thought about all of this, though, the more I have come to draw a few key conclusions. First, if a bit cliched, relationships of every sort are hard work. My girlfriend and I will both openly admit how hard a long-distance relationship is, especially with an eight-hour time difference, but we’re making it work. It’s the friendships that become easy to forget about and tough to sustain. There are always “pick up where you left off” friends — the people you can go months without talking to, but never skip a beat with. These friendships are few, far between and exceedingly special, though. Most friendships you either keep or let fade away. That leads be to my second conclusion: you keep the relationships you want to keep. The others drift off into the past. This is something we’re all told when we graduate, but it doesn’t become real until well after that. I’m not far enough removed from college to have completely fallen out of touch with good friends, but relationships do take a hit when you go from seeing someone every day to maybe once every year or two. Yet as I have already learned, you have to make the decision to stay in touch with friends and you have to work to keep them as a part of your life. I made it my new year’s resolution to talk more regularly with friends back in the U.S., and like most new year’s resolutions, it started off well but has since veered off course. In the first few weeks of the new year, I made a real effort to reach out to my
friends from home and Notre Dame and had great conversations with lots of them. But, as often happens, our schedules filled up and it got difficult to make time for each other. Last weekend was my attempt to revive my new year’s resolution, and I was satisfied with my effort, though still wish I could have talked with more people. From what little I have experienced of post-grad life so far, though, I think that’s just sort of how it goes. I’ll always wish I could have talked to more friends, kept in touch with more people, hung on to more friends. I suppose that’s part of growing up. Friendships come and go. And so I arrive at my final conclusion: The friends who come and never go, the ones who remain constant despite life’s constant changes, those are life’s greatest treasures. I’m sure I’ll look back on this column someday years from now and cringe at these cliched conclusions and perhaps even my youthful optimism about the nature of relationships. That’s a problem for future Jack. In the meantime, I’m going to keep in touch with the people who fill my life with love, challenges and unending joy, with a special appreciation for the friends who come and never go. Jack Rooney is a 2016 Notre Dame graduate and The Observer’s former managing editor. He is currently spending a year living and working for the University in Ireland, and writes these columns to keep him busy and satisfy his need for journalism. Follow Jack on Twitter @RooneyReports and/or email him at jrooney1@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Invisible illness: a call for understanding There is an invisible under-culture at Notre Dame. Students in this under-culture are unable to live the stereotypical Notre Dame life characterized by a vibrant social life, numerous extracurriculars and long hours of homework. But for students with autoimmune diseases, like myself, full participation in these areas can be inconsistent at best and impossible at worst. Imagine to everyone else that you look fairly normal. Just like many others, I walk to class with my headphones in and a North Face jacket on. There are not any obvious sign of illness. Most people around me believe that I am fine. However, most days, my day will begin with exhaustion after a consistent eight hours of sleep due to chronic fatigue. Less than eight hours of sleep results in the inability to concentrate on anything. If I do get eight hours of sleep, though, I try to work through my fog of exhaustion with constant breaks and food. By 10 o’clock at night, my energ y is gone and even though I want to do more, I cannot because my body is slowly deteriorating from the day’s work. Chronic fatigue is difficult for a college student to understand because everyone is tired. My
exhaustion goes beyond lack of sleep. This fatigue is debilitating due to headaches, brain fog and pain. Sleep cannot cure it; sleep can only help diminish the symptoms. This article is a call for people to understand and see those who are invisible. Today, approximately 50 million Americans have autoimmune diseases. Many people still do not know or understand them. An autoimmune disease in its simplest form is a disease in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells. W hat this definition does not encompass is the pain, exhaustion and loneliness associated with a disease. Here at Notre Dame we pride ourselves on being a community. Just as we have realized the importance of minority groups to speak out due to recent events, I and others like me have realized now the importance of asking people to practice compassion not pity, empathy rather than judgment. Today, I am calling on each one of you to practice compassion and empathy when you see a student who might not look sick but misses class frequently, asks for extensions or shows signs of exhaustion. Loneliness is one of the most common experiences that all people with
autoimmune diseases experience. Often times I disappear for days because it is easier to deal with my health behind close doors when all I actually want is for people to come over and practice compassion and empathy with us. Today as a Notre Dame community, we need to reach out to those who suffer from these invisible illnesses so that they are finally visible. Thursday, March 30, is Invisible Illness Awareness Day. I encourage each of you to look for students passing out “invisible” bands as well as a panel in which students and faculty like myself will speak about the difficulties living with a chronic condition. In order to be a true community here, it is necessary to understand all people, even those who are invisible. Through this day, I hope that there will be a new culture of understanding: understanding the loneliness, the frustration, the pain and the unknown. Mostly though this day is an aim to see the invisible so that one day this invisible under-culture will be visible.
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Rose Ashley sophomore March 27
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For Wednesday, September 19, 2012
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ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE S O I T I N F O T E F L O H A Y D N Y U P I C A S A D A T O R I C E L I M A C O R B A K I J E T L U S U A L T O R S O S T E I N
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Early nuclear org. Uses as a pattern Withdrawal charge Distress signals Old county of Northern Ireland 101 course, typically Is in hot water? Attend Choate, say Proverb ender? Evidence in paternity suits Hammer-on-thethumb cries “The Simpsons” merchant
For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-8145554. Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS. AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/mobilexword for more information. Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/ crosswords ($39.95 a year). Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay. Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.
JUST ADD WATER | Eric Carlson & John Roddy
Happy Birthday: Put critical thought behind your every move. Don’t wait for someone else to set the pace. Show confidence as you master new skills and head in directions that promise satisfaction and benefits that will make you happy. Love should be handled with loyalty and respect. You will have to earn your good reputation. Don’t allow anyone to push or pressure you. ARIES (March 21-April 19): Go where the action is, but don’t underestimate the extent of a situation, deal or challenge. Live up to your promises and gauge your time and cost responsibly. Good results will come from hands-on work and emotional stability. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Rule with your head, not your heart. Don’t let your emotions lead you astray or cause you to make poor choices. Stay focused on what you want to accomplish and you will avoid being stuck with responsibilities that don’t belong to you.
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Horoscope | Eugenia Last
Your numbers are 6, 13, 22, 27, 35, 41, 44.
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Sudoku | The Mepham Group
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You’ve got more going for you than you realize. Don’t settle for less when a little effort will bring great results. Call in favors and you will discover that you have a number of people on hand to help. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Easy does it. You may offend someone if you are too abrupt or pushy. Step back and view the whole situation and you will find an alternate way to handle whatever you face. Getting along with others will help you reach your goal. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Engage in activities that allow you to show off. Your lively contributions will attract attention and give you the platform you need to promote what you have to offer. Love and romance should be a priority along with self-improvement. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Pump up the volume and get moving. Taking action will let everyone know you mean business. Step away from your normal routine and show your versatility and desire to reach your goals. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Look for a silver lining and you will find it. Having patience and listening to what others have to say will help you respond with compassion and alternative solutions. Working with others will help you get what you want. Love will brighten your day. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Don’t let anyone leave you hanging. Jump into action and make your presence known. Don’t fear change or failure. Your tenacity will drive you to the top. Do things your own way and good fortune will be yours. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Express your thoughts and put your plans into motion. Change will excite you and bring you in contact with people who are as adventurous as you. Don’t deny yourself the right to enjoy life. Romance is encouraged. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Stick close to home. Problems while traveling can be expected if you try to fit too much into your day. Approach whatever you need to do with discipline and the goal to finish what you start. Avoid people who are a bad influence. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Get in touch with old friends or flames. Walking down memory lane will spark new interest in old dreams. An opportunity to get involved in a joint venture looks promising. Contracts, settlements and agreements can be finalized. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): As long as you are disciplined and willing to look at all angles of whatever situation you face, you will avoid making a mistake. Following through with promises will help you gain respect. A reunion will lead to an unexpected proposal. Birthday Baby: You are quick-witted, active and adaptable. You are aggressive and accident-prone.
Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek
Wingin’ It | Bailee Egan & Olivia Wang
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Sports Authority
rowing
Cavaliers should not be content Tobias Hoonhout Associate Sports Editor
After their blowout 103-74 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers responded in a number of different ways. LeBron James called the situation “delicate.” Tyronn Lue laughed at how badly his team had been outplayed. And Kyrie Irving went back out onto the court and started hoisting shots up. But regardless of how you look at it, Cleveland now finds itself half a game back of the Boston Celtics, breaking a streak of 129 consecutive days that the Cavs had been in first. This late in the season, you’d expect that the defending champs would have things sorted out and would be focused on the playoffs. Instead, Cleveland has gone 8-10 since the All Star break, and while the combination of injuries, poor bench play and atrocious defense have all taken their toll, the real question might be where the team’s mental state lies. And with blood in the water, the sharks are circling. Many thought that Cleveland would have no trouble locking up the Eastern Conference championship this season, and for the first half of the year, it looked to be the case, with the only serious competitor manifesting itself in the Toronto Raptors. But in January, both the Celtics and the Washington Wizards went on tears of 10-4 and 12-3, respectively, and suddenly the Cavaliers started to sense trouble. Cleveland added one of the league’s premier sharpshooters in Kyle Korver, and LeBron became outspoken about the team’s need for a second point guard, which resulted in the signing of veteran Deron Williams. Those moves, coupled J.R. Smith and Kevin Love returning from injury, certainly solidified Cleveland’s rotation on paper, but since the All Star break, the Cavs are simply not playing better. A grueling schedule has seen them struggling on the road in losses to the Clippers and Nuggets, at home to the now threatening Wizards and up against a potential Finals opponent in the Spurs, they were
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demolished. Not only are they getting beaten on both ends of the floor, but they are especially poor on defense. Since the break, Cleveland ranks among the bottom third of the league in every major defensive category, and the second unit is struggling to find a rhythm, like on Monday night when it went scoreless in the first half. Sure, every team goes through bad streaks, and the Cavs find themselves in one after a tough season of injuries and rotation adjustments. But at this point of the season, with only nine games to go, the defending champs aren’t focused on the playoffs. They aren’t even focused on what seed they get. “It matters more that we play better basketball than where we’re at,” James said postgame on Monday night. “If that results in the No. 1, 2 or 3 seed, we need to play better basketball. That’s all it comes down to. I’m not worried about anything.” To me, this makes no sense. Not only have the Cavs played worse than they did last year, even after strengthening their roster, but the team seems to have no compass. There clearly remains the goal of defending the title, but there is a vague sense that somehow, someway the team will flip on a switch come playoffs and all will be well. But it won’t. The cakewalk that was the Eastern conference for the Cavs last year is now much more perilous, and Boston, Washington and Toronto all are hungry at a chance to finally upset LeBron and Co. The fact that the Cavs are now not certain to finish first in their conference is certainly a sign of weakness, and last year’s mental toughness and determination of bringing the title to Cleveland, no matter the cost, seems to have vanished. While I have no doubt that LeBron has a method to his madness, the outward manifestations of this apparently relaxed mindset are all pointing to a team that is still trying to find its identity. And at this time of year, it might be too late to discover it. Contact Tobias Hoonhout at thoonhou@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer
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Irish second Varsity Eight takes first in Texas Observer Sports Staff
On Saturday, the Irish took to the water at Walter E. Long Lake in Austin, Texas, competing in the Longhorn Invitational. The field boasted some top competition, headlined by host No. 8 Texas and No. 14 Duke. The field was also made up of Central Florida, Iowa, Oklahoma, Oregon State and San Diego. Notre Dame put forward four boats to race in eight races: the first Varsity Eight,
second Varsity Eight, first Varsity Four and second Varsity Four. The morning session produced two second place finishes for the second Varsity Eight and second Varsity Four and two third places for the first Varsity Eight and first Varsity Four. The second Varsity Eight (6:32.698) fell to a boat from Texas by just shy of 10 seconds, and the second Varsity Four (7:18.275) faced a similar defeat at the hands of the Longhorns.
The afternoon session brought Notre Dame the highlight of its competition, a first place victory by the second Varsity Eight lead by senior coxswain Samantha Hedrick. The Irish boat (6:31.363) defeated an Oklahoma boat by just over a second. Notre Dame also added three more third place finishes in the afternoon. The Irish next travel to Sacramento for the Lake Natoma Invitational, which will take place April 8 and 9.
nba | Hawks 95, suns 91
Atlanta edges Phoenix after late run Associated Press
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks had another tough night from long range. Dennis Schroder just kept shooting anyway. The Hawks point guard hit consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to spark a 17-1 run that carried Atlanta to a 95-91 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night, snapping a seven-game losing streak and giving his team’s playoff hopes a much-needed boost. “I saw an opportunity to shoot it,” Schroder said. “I just had to shoot it with confidence.” Atlanta was able to overcome a 6-of-27 showing beyond the arc. Schroder finished with 27 points, nine assists and six rebounds, offsetting a sloppy night in which he committed eight turnovers. “We weren’t great for 48 minutes, but he played hard and competed hard for 48 minutes,” said coach Mike Budenholzer, whose ailing team had to go again without All-Star forward Paul Millsap and two other key players. The Suns, who were missing Devin Booker, lost their ninth in a row in a matchup of teams with the two longest active losing streaks in the NBA. “Everyone knows we’re undermanned and it’s going to be tough every night,” Suns forward Jared Dudley said. “Schroder hit two good 3s. I thought those two 3s were the
difference in the game. If he missed one of them, they might not win this game.” The Hawks raced to an 18-point lead in the first quarter and held Phoenix to just 12 points on 5-of-26 shooting. But Atlanta sleepwalked through the next two periods and went nearly 4 1/2 minutes in the fourth without scoring. The Suns took advantage of the Hawks’ shooting woes, finally taking their first lead of the night on Alan Williams’ lay-in with 10:37 remaining and stretching the margin to 78-71. After missing his first five 3s, Schroder answered with those back-to-back shots beyond the arc. The Hawks pulled away from there. “You’ve got to keep shooting,” Schroder said. “The coaches say it all the time. When you’re open, let it fly.” Booker, just two games removed from his 70-point performance against Boston , sat out the game after aggravating his injured right ankle. T.J. Warren led the Suns with 24 points. Millsap missed his sixth straight game for Atlanta with an ailing left knee, which is likely to keep him out at least through the weekend. Also sidelined were fellow starter Kent Bazemore (bruised right knee) and top bench player Thabo Sefolosha (strained right groin). Bazemore is expected to play on Wednesday at Philadelphia,
while Sefolosha also appears close to returning.
Playoff race The Hawks improved to 3836 and hold the tiebreaker edge for the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference over the Milwaukee Bucks, who kept pace with a 118-108 victory at Charlotte. Indiana (37-37) dropped a game back with a 115-114 loss to Minnesota, with Miami (36-38) another game back and holding the final playoff spot after a 97-96 victory over Detroit.
Tip-ins Suns: Had their lowest-scoring first quarter of the season, but it wasn’t their worst period. Phoenix managed only 10 points in the fourth of a Nov. 25 game against Minnesota. ... This is the longest losing streak for the Suns since a 13-game skid from Jan. 26-Feb. 25, 2016. ... Phoenix also struggled from 3-point range, hitting just 7 of 31. Hawks: Avoided their longest losing streak since an eightgame slide in February 2014 during Budenholzer’s first season as coach. ... Despite Schroder’s heroics down the stretch, Atlanta has made just 11 of 54 beyond the arc over their last two games. ... Fill-in starters Ersan Ilyasova (18 points, 12 rebounds) and Taurean Prince (15 points, six rebounds) made solid contributions. ... Dwight Howard chipped in with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
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Out of sight, out of mind/Finally leaving you behind/I’m doing the one thing that makes sense/And getting rid of all the evidence
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The observer | wednesday, march 29, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
W Tennis Continued from page 12
doubles courts as well, picking up two w ins early to pick up a 2-0 lead in doubles. Juniors Brooke Broda and A llison Miller rolled to a 6-0 w in, followed shortly after by Closs and Robinson claiming their ow n 6-2 v ictor y. “We all started off w ith really high energ y,” Robinson said of her doubles v ictor y. “Mar y and I played really well together and did great in the sudden-death points. A lso, looking across to my teammates A lly [Miller] and Brooke [Broda] w inning a quick 6-0 match was a really good motivator to get our w in so we could w in those doubles points.” The Irish are now looking ahead to a road contest against Virginia Tech on Friday. The Hokies are riding a six match losing streak, but that does not mean the Irish are going to take them lightly, according to Robinson. “We’re going to be play ing indoors against them, we’ve heard the courts are prett y fast, so we’re preparing mentally,” Robinson said. “Virginia Tech should bring great competition. They’ll be a group of girls looking for a w in against us, especially since we’ve beaten them each of the last three years. They’ll be looking for revenge, so we’re going to need to bring our best fight.” The Irish w ill take on the Hokies on Sunday at Burrows-Burrleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg, Virginia, at 3 p.m. Contact Jack Concannon at jconcan2@nd.edu
M Bball Continued from page 12
he lands; however, he cannot transfer to another ACC school, per conference rules. Ryan’s departure leaves Notre Dame w ith just 10 players under scholarship for next season, nine returning scholarship athletes, plus incoming w ing D.J. Har vey. That figure is three under the scholarship limit, which is 13 players in Div ision I men’s basketball.
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MICHAEL YU | The Observer
Irish senior Monica Robinson prepares to serve the ball during Notre Dame’s 5-2 win over Purdue on Feb. 22 at Eck Tennis Pavilion. Robinson picked up her first win over a top-50 opponent of the season during Notre Dame’s 5-2 win over Miami on Sunday. Paid Advertisement
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Softball Continued from page 12
and two-run home run off Irish senior pitcher Rachel Nasland. However, the Irish would score two runs in both the third and fourth innings and another three in the sixth inning to bring their lead to 9-3. Nasland would do her part the rest of the way, retiring 14 straight before allowing one final run in the seventh inning on her way to a complete game, closing
out Notre Dame’s 9-4 win. “She did a nice job settling in,” Irish head coach Deanna Gumpf said of Nasland. “She went four innings in a row three up, three down. That’s not an easy task, and after that second inning, I think she settled in really nicely. … She’s throwing a very mature ballgame. She’s using her strengths; she made adjustments where they needed to be made and she did a nice job, and her experience really paid off today.” The complete game was
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Nasland’s second of the weekend, as she pitched the Irish to a 6-1 victory in the opening game of Friday’s doubleheader. Irish junior pitcher Katie Beriont also went the distance in the day’s second game, pitching all five innings in Notre Dame’s 9-1, mercy-rule victory over the Hokies. Gumpf said she was very pleased with the duo’s pitching performances over the weekend. “It shows where they’re at when they’re throwing complete games, especially against a team like Virginia Tech, who has such good hitting,” Gumpf said. “It’s not easy to do, and I think that they’ve done a nice job of settling in and knowing their strengths.” But Irish pitching was not the only thing Notre Dame saw settle in over the weekend; Notre Dame’s bats came alive as well, as the team piled up 36 hits over the three wins and en route to its 24 runs. “The one thing that we knew we needed to get going was our bats,” Gumpf said. “ … When you ask our team what our biggest strength is, they’ll say our hitting, and so it was good to see us start relying on that and to make that our game again.” And four of those 36 hits came off the bat of Irish senior outfielder Karley Wester in Friday night’s 9-1 win. The first of those hits — which came in the first inning — carried the most weight, as it was her 285th career base hit at Notre Dame, pushing her atop the program’s all-time leaderboard. “That was great,” Gumpf said. “She’s just been the girl we go to for four years, and it’s no surprise
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ALLISON CULVER | The Observer
Irish senior pitcher Rachel Nasland tosses a pitch during Notre Dame’s exhibition game against Illinois State on Oct. 9.
that she broke the record because she’s on the base all the time, and she’s led the way for us. So I’m so happy for her and I’m so proud of her, and I love her leadership.” The weekend sweep gave the Irish its fourth consecutive victory, a turnaround from its three straight losses to No. 1 Florida State last weekend and two losses in a three-game set with Georgia Tech on March 11 and 12. As the Irish prepare for a midweek game against Eastern Michigan on Wednesday before another road trip to Louisville, Kentucky, Gumpf said she was happy to see
her team bounce back from a difficult spring break trip. “The spring break [trip] was a tough trip for a lot of reasons, and being on the road for 10 days is never easy,” Gumpf said. “You just try to find some consistency somewhere in the game and some confidence, and I think that’s what we found this week.” First pitch between the Irish and Eagles on Wednesday is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Melissa Cook Stadium.
M Tennis
every day. He’s done a great job and he was great for us again on Friday.” Sachire said his players will take time during practice this week to work on their individual games. “We just need to be a little bit cleaner in our execution of basic things,” Sachire said. “The way I see the game is that I think each guy has their two or three things where, when he’s doing them well, everything else falls into place and I felt we fell a little bit out of that rhythm during the last week or so. I think we’ll go back to the fundamentals that each guy needs and it’s a little different for each player. As we talked about during the beginning of the semester, the serve and return of serve are the two most important shots in all of tennis, and we’ll spend a little time practicing that this week. Then I think we’re going to pay attention to the strengths of each guy or the confidence points of each guy’s game and we’ll get a good week of practice and hopefully we’ll feel really good going into Friday. Notre Dame will be back in action Friday as they take on North Carolina State in an ACC home match beginning at 3:30 p.m. at Courtney Tennis Center.
Contact Ben Padanilam at bpadanil@nd.edu
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over the weekend. “Strictly looking at a singles perspective, you have to take our two seniors Josh and Eddy, playing at No. 1 and 2,” Sachire said. “Both of their performances were really strong and I’m really proud of them, and that is what you expect. You expect your senior captains to be the most prepared to play well in that situation and that environment, and they did. They really led us on the court and obviously Matt Gamble, the heart he showed and the fight he showed, he was up in the third set of his match, gave up the lead and it was pretty tenuous there for a few minutes but ultimately he had the courage to pull it out. I’m really proud of him as well. “I think something that has gone a little bit under the radar this year that I think is good to acknowledge is the consistent play of Brendon Kempin in doubles. He’s only a doubles starter for us this year, but he’s done a heck of a job. He’s probably been our most consistent player for his position in our whole doubles lineup, and that’s what you want from a guy who is a doubles only starter. That’s his craft and he takes a lot of pride in it, and he’s really good at that
Contact Michael Ivey at mivey@hcc-nd.edu
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The observer | wednesday, march 29, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
nd softball | ND 6, vt 1; nd 9, vt 1; nd 9, vt 4
men’s tennis | ND 5, virginia tech 3
Irish sweeps Virginia Tech in first ACC series at home
Squad topples Hokies
By BEN PADANILAM
By MICHAEL IVEY
Editor-in-Chief
Sports Writer
Notre Dame found success both on the mound and at the plate over the weekend, sweeping Virginia Tech in its first ACC home series of the season. In order to avoid the forecasted rain for the weekend, the Irish (16-13, 4-5 ACC) and Hokies (13-16, 3-9) played a doubleheader Friday and a third game Saturday to cap their weekends, with the Irish winning all three games by scores of 6-1, 9-1 and 9-4, respectively. The closest game was the series’ last, as Notre Dame and Virginia Tech traded runs throughout the early frames. The Irish jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, but the Hokies stormed back in the top half of the second to take a 3-2 lead following a run-scoring triple
Notre Dame defeated Virginia Tech 4-3 in a conference road match Friday at BurrowsBurrleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. In the singles competition, senior Eddy Covalschi emerged victorious in straight sets 6-1, 7-6 for the Irish (10-6, 2-2 ACC), while senior Josh Hagar also won his match in straight sets 6-0, 6-2. Freshman Matt Gamble won the first set of his match 6-4 before losing the second set 6-4. Gamble bounced back and won the third and deciding set 7-5. Sophomore Grayson Broadus and freshman Guillermo Cabrera came out on the wrong end of their matches by scores of 6-2, 6-4 and 6-2, 6-3, respectively. Sophomore Alex Lebedev won the first set of his match 6-3 before dropping his final two sets 6-4, 6-4. In the doubles competition, the No. 3 pair of junior Brendon Kempin and Broadus took home
see SOFTBALL PAGE 11
ALLISON CULVER | The Observer
Irish senior outfielder Karley Wester throws the ball during Notre Dame’s 11-3 win over Michigan State on March 22.
nd women’s tennis | Nd 5, Miami 2
Sports Writer
The Irish had not beaten Miami in three seasons before their match this weekend. That streak ended Sunday, as the Notre Dame (15-3, 6-2 ACC) took down Miami (4-10, 3-5) 5-2. It was a bounce-back win for the Irish, who were coming off of just their second ACC loss of the season to North Carolina State. Notre Dame’s seniors led the way, with seniors Monica Robinson and Mary Closs turning in both doubles and singles wins. Robinson said the victory was a rewarding one for her, personally, as well as an important one for the team as a whole. “This win was really awesome because this was the first time I’ve beaten [Miami] in my four years,” Robinson said. “I could feel the energy amongst all the girls. We really wanted this win. We knew what to expect; they were a rowdy team and we need to bring our grit.” Robinson brought that grit
see M TENNIS PAGE 11
men’s basketball
ND bounces back over Miami By JACK CONCANNON
a 6-3 win, while the No. 2 pair of Gamble and Lebedev also emerged victorious by a 6-3 decision. Irish head coach Ryan Sachire said the victory over the Hokies (7-9, 2-4) was an important one for his team. “We told the guys after the match that any road win in the ACC is a good win,” Sachire said. “Virginia Tech is a good team, as are all teams in the league, and beating them at their place is not an easy chore. So from a results perspective, we’re obviously happy to get a win. I felt like we could have played better in certain spots, but we’re a young team. We’re learning and growing and we’ll be better the next time we’re in that kind of situation on the road again. I think we’ll play a better match, but certainly with the way our guys competed and fought, we found a way to win.” Sachire said the play of Hagar and Covalschi stood out to him
to the table in her singles match. After dropping the first set 4-6, she stormed back 7-5, 6-2 to claim the victory in three sets over Miami freshman Estela Perez-Somarriba, who is ranked No. 33 in the country. Her win pushed the Irish lead to 4-2 and clinched the victory overall and gave Robinson her first win over a top-50 opponent of the season. “It’s been a matter of finding my belief in myself,” Robinson said of the threeset win. “I’ve had a lot of three set matches, and it’s about endurance. I’m fortunate to be healthy and fit in the middle of the season. When I lose a first set, I don’t panic, because I know that I have the energy to outlast and force third sets.” Closs added a comeback of her own against Hurricanes’ sophomore Ana Madcur. She went down after a 6-4 first set, but took the second one 6-3 and dominated late to win the deciding set 6-0. The Irish dominated the see W TENNIS PAGE 10
Matt Ryan receives release to transfer Observer Sports Staff
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
Irish sophomore forward Matt Ryan drives toward the basket during Notre Dame’s 60-58 win over Princeton on March 16.
Sophomore for ward Matt Ryan has been granted a release to transfer from Notre Dame, the program announced in a statement Tuesday night. “We w ish Matt nothing but the best in his career mov ing for ward,” Irish head coach Mike Brey said in the statement. “He was part of t wo great teams at Notre Dame and we fully support his decision to pursue his career in a different program.” The release means that other schools w ill now be able to contact Ryan, the first step toward him leav ing the Irish program. After averaging 14.5 minutes and 5.1 points per game as a freshman, Ryan averaged just 7.9 minutes and 3.6 points each outing this season. A 3-point specialist — Ryan attempted just 37 2-pointers against 206 3s during his Irish career — Ryan w ill have t wo years left of eligibilit y wherever see M BBALL PAGE 10