Print Edition for The Observer for Monday, February 13, 2023

Coursicle co-founder issues explanation

Joe Puccio, responsible for deluge of notifications, discusses struggles and mental health empathy

By ISA SHEIKH

a ssociate news e ditor

students across campus received the puzzling push notifications in early 2022, which ranged from soliciting nude pictures of Zendaya to raging against big Tech figures like mark Zuckerberg.

The notifications were sent through the class scheduling app coursicle, which helps students keep track of their schedules and set up notifications about closed and waitlisted classes. The app underwent outages during the period.

according to coursicle cofounder Joe puccio, over 60% of notre dame students use the app. This is the second campus where coursicle was introduced.

Though he doesn’t shy away from being an eccentric, puccio

says there was far more at play in the notifications and outage.

puccio released an essay called “an explanation” on his personal website Thursday, which marked the one-year anniversary of the meltdown. he paints a more complicated picture of the circumstances around last February, describing his experiences of a manic episode.

“one year ago today i was admitted to the hospital for disorganized thinking, unbounded elation and highly risky behavior. i was sending crude, lewd, and bizarre push notifications to hundreds of thousands of college students,” he writes in his explanation. “i was sleeping two hours a night while writing essays. and i nearly bankrupted my company when i tried to spend $1.2 million dollars on an ad attacking mark

Zuckerberg. news coverage only motivated me to continue.”

puccio co-founded coursicle as an undergraduate at the university of north carolina (unc), where he graduated in 2016.

“when i was an incoming freshman at unc, i spent like seven hours planning my class schedule, and when i went to register for my classes, i only got into one of the five i needed to take,” puccio told The observer, speaking from an office in new york city. “and so that night, i wrote a program that would notify me when a class i wanted had an open seat. and then my friends suggested opening up to other students.” slowly but surely, the program spread from campus to campus. puccio said much of the brunt work was around publicity and

Chinese department hosts Lunar New Year event

By KELSEY QUINT news writer

students and faculty gathered in the coleman morse lounge on saturday to celebrate lunar new year with performances, food and cheerful company. The event was organized by the chinese language program and department of east asian languages and cultures.

The celebration’s 12 performances were put on by students studying chinese, and the acts included singing, dancing, piano, violin and a traditional lion dance. cheyenne huddleston, one of the vocal soloists, reflected on the show’s preparation process.

“For that dance we took like 15 minutes at the end of each class and just kind of got together and fumbled around a bit, but we got there eventually,” huddleston said.

The participating students agreed on their love for the chinese department. Kathryn sherman, one of the event’s hosts, echoed feelings of gratitude for the dedicated professors and engaging classes.

“i love the chinese department — they’re amazing. The class sizes are super small, especially

when you get to the upper levels. so there’s a lot of opportunity for one-on-one practice and the professors are so willing to help you outside of class,” sherman said.

“i’ve never had a professor that has as much time to dedicate to me as the chinese professors do.”

sherman also explained the background for the lunar new year celebration.

“chinese new year is based on the lunar calendar, so it’s about 15 days long. and there’s a story that goes along with it of nian, which was this beast that was coming and attacking chinese villages,” sherman said. “a lot of the traditions that come from chinese new year are connected to how they drove that monster away. so like lighting off the fireworks and the color red were all things that were said to scare him away. That’s kind of where the holiday originated.”

yongping Zhu, professor of east asian languages and cultures, helped coordinate the event. he explained that the lunar new year celebration is just one example of how the department has been striving to integrate cultural learning in addition to language acquisition.

“you know, language and culture are inseparable — they must be combined together. if you know the language, you must know the culture,” Zhu said. “at the end of class, we take about five or 10 minutes to sing a song, and the chinese students love it.”

From a global standpoint, Zhu hopes that the department’s efforts to foster cultural understanding will help students act as forces for collaboration between the two largest economies in the world.

“china is the second biggest unit for business in the world. america, of course, is first. we hope these countries can work together and work well. at this moment, we just hope our students are awake and trying to understand these challenges,” Zhu said.

in an effort to continue these goals, students and faculty have been working to establish a new chinese language and culture club. Kathryn sherman will serve as club president and treasury once the group has received official recognition from the university. sherman said the main goals of the club are to develop a community for

marketing.

The project had been co-founded with his then-girlfriend, and after graduation, they moved to san

Francisco. in his essay, puccio describes how his anxiety became a see coursicle PAGE 4

ND to build affordable houses

By LIAM PRICE a ssociate news e ditor

notre dame is collaborating with habitat for humanity to prioritize housing affordability and build seven new homes in south bend over the course of five years.

habitat for humanity is in charge of the building process while notre dame donated four vacant lots located six blocks south of campus, $50,000 per year in financial support for the project and free design services from students in the school of a rchitecture.

mike hastings, the director of notre dame’s Treasury services in the finance division, said that the collaboration with habitat for humanity is somewhat of “a first phase” project for its goals to increase housing affordability near notre dame’s campus.

collaboration, hastings estimated that their work will “hopefully help 12 to 14 households have access to more affordable housing opportunities close to campus.”

“every family counts, and every opportunity can make a huge impact,” hastings said. hastings added that notre dame is providing the financial support by using funding from a benefactor who prefers to remain anonymous. The money, he said, will help habitat for humanity provide a mortgage subsidy for residents once the homes are constructed.

“This was just a perfect timing and perfect fit for the university to pass on this commitment to habitat,” hastings said.

professor in the school of a rchitecture John mellor said the project’s use of student-designed homes benefits his students, who typically create designs which won’t come to fruition during their time in school.

“The hardest thing about teaching architecture is the abstract-ness of it … we ask them to do think about real things in real

see new year PAGE 3 see habiTaT

notre dame is also working with the northeast neighborhood revitalization organization and south bend heritage to develop the potential for slightly higher housing density near campus. a longside their habitat for humanity

Courtesy of Notre Dame California Coursicle co-founder Joe Puccio speaks to Notre Dame Silicon Valley Semester students in February 2020, two years before notifications scandal.

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Professor reflects on career in lunar geology

By ANNIE BROWN news Writer

deep in the labyrinthine corridors of cushing hall, among engineering labs and dusty lockers, one can find the office of professor clive r neal. instead of the typical plain, weathered oak of the nearby doors, neal’s is covered in “doctor Who” posters and crayon-drawn pictures torn from coloring books.

Given the chance to look, visitors would notice science puns and graduation photos, license plates and a tiny Union Jack. not many visitors are offered that chance, however, because neal’s rescued english springer spaniel, harry, comes bounding and barking at the first scent of company. his eager yelps beckon guests into the warm lamplight of room 106d, where every available space of wall, desk, table, floor and filing cabinet is covered in books, samples and models.

“i used to have three filing cabinets in here,” neal said, gesturing to a small piece of open floor space. “my wife converted all of them into PdFs.”

neal, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and earth sciences, says his office in cushing hall is a far cry from where his geology passions began on the east coast of england, where instead of stacks of books and samples from apollo missions, a young neal was surrounded by vast fields, wide horizons and, of course, fossils.

“i knew i wanted to be a geologist when i was five years old. We didn’t have video games, so i was outside a lot,” he explained.

“i used to spend hours just walking across the fields, finding rocks. i’d find all sorts of fossils there; it’s in the right area, and the right geologic time period. i was just fascinated, trying to think how the landscape changed so much.”

eventually receiving his b s in geology from the University of Leicester in 1982, neal decided to complete his Phd at the University of Leeds, which sent him to the solomon islands off the coast of australia.

For his postdoctoral work, neal spent four years with the University of Tennessee, a job that he “never applied for,” arriving in the U.s. by

experience a new language and also learn a little bit about the culture.”

chance. he never left.

“i came over to this country with two suitcases of clothes and a trunk full of books, all of which are still here,” neal said, indicating a handful of volumes among the hundreds on his shelves — testaments to a long career in geological research.

This career was furthered in 1990 with neal’s first position at notre dame. now, in addition to teaching the undergraduate course “Living and Working on the moon,” neal conducts research and helps devise policy involving various geological phenomena, among which the moon is paramount.

“i have two lives,” neal said. “First, i look at super-volcanoes and scientific ocean drilling. my other life is exploring the moon, either robotically or with humans. i’ve gotten more involved with nasa and now the national science Foundation, with more policy things than anything else. You have to pay attention to the big picture.”

The “big picture” is something that occupies neal’s mind often, since his work with lunar geology

forces him to grapple with time periods greater than the average human life span.

“i’m going to live until 70, 80, 90, hopefully 100, who knows? but it’s nothing when you look at the big picture. nothing,” he said.

“The rocks i’m looking at from the moon are anywhere between three and 4.3 billion years old. The bible is right: we are a mist. a very poisonous mist sometimes.”

neal said that to understand humanity’s impact on issues like climate change and space exploration, we must first understand how vast the timescale of the universe is. With growing concerns of climate change, the topic of manned missions to space has become more relevant, and with it a growing number of private companies interested in space exploration.

Just last month, the University of notre dame partnered with sierra space, a space research and exploration company. in his tenure leading nasa’s Lunar exploration analysis Group (LeaG), neal saw this growth firsthand.

“There’s so many companies

devoted to space and so many companies for the moon,” he said.

“We started off with about seven or eight companies in 2017; it’s over 40 now.”

neal eventually left the LeaG in favor of returning to teaching and researching full-time. When asked about retirement, he maintained that there is still work to be done.

“When i do my research, i do what excites me,” neal explained. “Why would i stop having fun? When i start working — when this becomes work — i’ll quit.” indeed, there seem to be no signs neal is slowing down. he has recently added “The ancient sun” to his bookshelves — which are already full. as harry noses through the models and samples within his reach, neal reflects on the career that has brought him to room 106d “i’m enjoying my journey,” he said. “it was all just serendipity, and it’s been fun. i’ve been lucky. very lucky.”

Contact Annie Brown at abrown38@nd.edu

students of all chinese-speaking capabilities.

“We want it to just be a safe space for students who are interested in learning chinese and those who are currently learning chinese to kind of practice their abilities and get some exposure to conversational skills. so, it will be all peer led and we’re going to be doing biweekly language dinners where people can practice their chinese or if you don’t know any chinese, then we’ll teach you some words,” sherman said. “it’s just for fun and to

sherman said that prospective members can expect a variety of cultural activities, including celebrations for the chinese holidays, kung fu lessons and a chinese spelling bee.

sherman encouraged anyone who is interested to get involved with the chinese department, whether it be through class, the club or attending an open event like the Lunar new Year celebration.

Contact Kelsey Quint at kquint@nd.edu

places, with the understanding that we’re not actually ever going to build them,” mellor said. “What they’re doing through this course is they’re making a very strong connection between the graphics that they produce and the built reality of the lines that they put on paper, and so it becomes more meaningful for them.”

mellor said his class consists of individual design projects for the first half of the semester. a fter spring break, students work together in three

or four groups to combine their ideas. each group presents a polished design using feedback from a panel of professional architects, from which habitat for humanity chose the design they will use when constructing the houses.

in the first year of the agreement, habitat for humanity prioritized accessibility, choosing a two-bedroom house which had all living, dining, laundry, bathing and sleeping accommodations on one floor.

Last year, however, they chose a two-story design that, while not considered “fully accessible,” lended itself to “visitability.” a

visitor who is in a wheelchair, mellor said, might not be able to climb the stairs but would still be able to enjoy a visit and even potentially stay in the house temporarily.

“i’ve had six completely designed houses,” mellor said about his classes. “They could all be built anywhere in south bend. They’re all good work. habitat, unfortunately, only can build one a year, so they have a hard choice to make.”

as the collaboration aims at providing affordable housing, mellor said the designs must “try and control the things that we can control, that we know will have a positive effect on affordability.” most notably, this entails working to be as efficient as possible with the size of each house, keeping them as small as they can be while providing everything that is needed in a welldesigned but neighborly home.

“at the end of the day, what habitat is looking for from us is to be able to build houses that don’t look like low income affordability houses,” mellor said. “They don’t want you to be able to drive by and pick out, ‘that’s the habitat house on the block.’ They want it to blend in seamlessly with the rest of the surroundings so that any stigma that might be attached to somebody who lives in an affordable-rate house is eliminated, because you won’t be able to identify just by looking. a nd what we’re doing with them is we’re trying to help them identify those things that will help their houses blend in with the rest of the fabric.”

Contact Liam Price at lprice3@nd.edu

problem in their relationship and ultimately led to their breakup after 10 years together.

“but there was still one more thing tying us together: coursicle. in order to get the most money for her stock, she removed me from the board and took full control of the company. after months of deliberation, enormous stress and tens of thousands in legal fees, the coursicle lawyers convinced her to restore my position and negotiated a price for her equity. Finally, i was free,” Puccio writes.

he writes that this legal battle, instability regarding a potential eviction and antidepressants that did not address his bipolar disorder all came together in a mental health episode that would bring him “delusions of grandeur” and apocalyptic thinking about the imminence of artificial general intelligence (aGi).

Puccio called the White house to warn them about aGi and became deeply paranoid over a trackpad malfunction on his computer, thinking that apple and Google were “battling over control” of his computer.

and he began sending out millions of push notifications on the app.

“i certainly do have some memory loss from that time because that happens when you have a manic episode to some extent, but from what i remember, a lot of it was it was mostly stream-of-consciousness stuff, any little thing that popped in my head. i was having conversations with hundreds of people online and any little thing we were talking about or some little joke someone thought was funny, i would send a notification out,” Puccio said.

at the time, the hints about his manic state were not hard to find. in a Feb. 10, 2022 note on his website, he wrote that “for those too f***ing daft to understand why i’m talking about Zendaya nudes. it’s because i’m in pain and i want to draw attention to my cause as fast as possible so the pain will end and the best way to do that is to be provocative.”

regardless, the coursicle notifications became something of a meme across social media and dining hall tables. The response to his erratic behaviors came in a wide spectrum. his alma mater blocked access to the coursicle app, while he received pieces of encouragement for some of his ideas from steve Wozniak, noam chomsky and the cTo of reddit.

“There was some lewd, provocative stuff in there,” Puccio said. but there were also some things he’s happy resonated with his audience.

“i think that some people, they picked out the good and these are sentiments that i absolutely have. i mean there is obviously—i think we can all agree—a massive wealth disparity that’s worsening. and tech companies are consolidating an enormous amount of power,” Puccio said.

he received many messages and communications, and looking

back, he recalled just how confusing the public response was.

“To the people who resonated with some of the stuff that i said, that’s good. sometimes you’ve got to take the bad with the good. and i’m glad that i was able to connect with some people,” he added. “That’s the one thing that i struggle with—i have no sense of what portion of people liked that messaging or part of it, versus just found all of it despicable.”

a year after his episode and hospitalization, Puccio said that he’s “eager to explain what happened” for a number of reasons.

mental health destigmatization is core to his effort.

“if i’m going to write about something i have to go all the way.

i am an incredibly candid person,” Puccio said. “This was something that was very defining. all of my mental health struggles have defined me in a lot of ways.”

he said that he hopes this explanation promotes what he deemed as “mental health empathy,”

leading people to view irrational behaviors in a more compassionate light.

“i think that it helps people realize hopefully, the scope of what was going on because a lot of people i would imagine, they just see this guy as kind of an a**hole, he’s just sending notifications, some that are inappropriate, blah, blah. but to give them a sense for how irregular my thought was at the time, potentially contextualizing those messages and understanding them and empathizing with them more,” Puccio said.

Puccio also said he hopes that his episode will help others recognize something similar.

Puccio added society is moving in the right direction towards destigmatization as well as larger “acceptance of eccentricities,” but there is more progress to be made.

“hopefully, people realize that it’s not that someone is damaged or wrong or just completely irrational or whatever, it’s that they’re suffering from a disease. i certainly

don’t think that we should view any mental health problems any differently than any physical disease, and i think that society has a long way to come for that. There’s still absolutely a stigma towards mental health problems,” he said.

The notifications were a temporary phenomenon that were ultimately swiped off from user’s lock screens, but there were other notes and essays that Puccio wrote in the throes of his manic episode. he’s decided not to delete them.

“another thing that i thought about a decent amount is i decided not to take down anything that i wrote at the time. and i think part of it is because for one, it was a combination of my unusual brain and the illness that produced that, and i’m not ashamed of that stuff. i hope that it would be enlightening to people to see what it is. i don’t like a lot of what i wrote and i certainly don’t agree with a lot of it now, but i still don’t

think that it’s right to you know, completely shy away or hide,” he said.

Puccio’s essay invites people to talk with him.

“one thing i discovered in the psych ward was how gratifying it is to help someone who feels alone with their disorder. if you’d ever like to chat, you can text or email me,” he wrote.

he concludes his essay with an appeal to look deeper.

“my hope is that sharing my story will encourage others to share theirs and that anyone who is ashamed of their affliction will feel a little less so. i believe empathy is built from exposure, and if we explain to others whatwe feel, when we feel it, and, if we’re fortunate enough to know: why we feel it. Then maybe they’ll understand. maybe they’ll see beyond our symptoms,” he writes. “maybe they’ll see us.”

Contact Isa Sheikh at isheikh@nd.edu

Paid a dverT isemen T

Paid a dverT isemen T

By WILLOUGHBY THOM scene e ditor

Where: The s chubas Tavern, c hicago, Illinois.

When: s aturday, Feb. 12, 2023.

What: The scene has reunited.

It has been almost two years since Felix r abito/ s aint d ismas, The Trenchies and The m eeks, pivotal members of n otre d ame’s music scene, have played a show together. o f course, life has scattered the members across the country post-graduation, so their triplebill reunion show was something that couldn’t have been missed.

The m eeks (the band formerly known as The s hifties) radiated sonic energy throughout the s chubas Tavern. s porting his iconic blue jumpsuit, m ichael “ d onny” d onovan (‘20), former s cene e ditor and W v FI s tation m anager, graced the stage with his natural wit and charming charisma. n ow based in b rooklyn, The m eeks have taken shape with the band consisting of John King wiggling the strings, Ava m ullen on the kit and Liam m c c arthy on the bass. c oining himself the b rooklyn-based yodeler, d onovan has

perfected his sound, allowing him to articulate feelings of love, loss and yearning perfectly. The m eeks’ premiere album “ h ouseplants” is a dynamic debut, featuring songs for every occasion: from crying into your soup to avoiding overthinking. The setlist was perfectly balanced with toe-tapping songs to not-too-melancholic ballads, energizing your spirit with each note. d onovan and his crew were the perfect start to an evening filled with good friends and even better music. The m eeks are the next big thing.

Up next were The Trenchies, an up-andcoming c hicago-based quartet featuring c laire King (‘21) on the bass, Thomas Weiss (‘20) on the drums, Andrew Pridemore shredding lead guitar and Logan Ludwig as the frontman. d uring her time at n otre d ame, King was a part of the b asement b oxers, a staple of the house show circuit, and it was exciting to see her partake in her new musical endeavor. The Trenchies have a distinct sound, perfecting intricate instrumental arrangements with vocals reminiscent of the Talking h eads. Their set was electric from start to finish, featuring their

first single “Life Preserver,” hinting at more to come. Keep your eye out for more music because it will be epic.

The headlining performance of the evening was by Felix r abito (‘20) and s aint d ismas which consist of Weiss (from the Trenchies), Josh m orgenlander (‘20) and Teddy Tietze. r abito and the boys always put on an incredible show full of passion and joy. r emembering the days when he’d be looking to borrow someone’s ukulele and recruiting friends to play the trumpet, it was heartwarming to see him on stage with his band and ripping the electric ukulele. Playing hits like “ b read” and “Kombucha b lues,” it was amazing to feel the energy in the room rise as everyone started to sing along. b etween r abito’s organic stage presence and undeniable talent, there is no question that he has become a star. The s chubas show was a way to not only play music but also bring together the community which has made his musical career a reality.

It was a night to remember, and an evening that brought the s cene back together.

Contact Willoughby at wthom@nd.edu

By ROSE ANDROWICH scene Writer

s omething recently occurred to me: I’ve never written about music before. I would’ve, could’ve, should’ve written about Taylor s wift’s rerelease of “ r ed.” When this realization dawned on me, I asked why. m aybe it’s because I have a strange taste in music (which has resulted in less-than-great conversations about my s potify playlists). b ut when I heard about W v FI’s free concert, I figured it was time for me to tackle a music review. b ut as I soaked up some sweet tunes on s aturday night, this assignment became more for me than just an article.

When the opener — Flo s tate — took the stage, the energy in the room was magnetic. The smooth vocals and the upbeat instruments caused some fans to crowd in front of the stage. Listening to their entire set was like being transported into another world, one where you hear things in a heightened sense. Their opening set the stage for m otel b reakfast to take the stage. Flo s tate on the stage was electric and their music is reminiscent of s urf Punk and FI d LA r . The band s urf Punk is best

known for being hilarious and writing amusing songs. o ne of s urf Punk’s songs is even titled “ c an’t Get a Tan.” The energy of the crowd during their set further reflected the ties to s urf Punk. FI d LA r is in the punk genre of music. Flo s tate made their first Instagram post in 2021, and their debut single “Waiting” was released in o ctober 2021. After less than a day on the platform, “Waiting” had 349 streams.

m otel b reakfast’s set proved to be a surprise. At first, hearing their sound seemed like country music and, given the previous genre it was initially surprising. Then, their sound changed to an upbeat tune. m any audience members jumped out of their seats to dance to the more upbeat music.

Watching m otel b reakfast, there were several things that caught my attention. First, I think the range of instruments they used furthered their set. o nce again, the vocals grabbed my attention, especially considering the variety of singers the band used throughout. There was a balance between focus on the vocals and the instrumentals. s ome instruments had solos which was an excellent way to highlight their range. m otel b reakfast also explained several stories behind the songs. o ne of them

was inspired by a band member, Jim, and his encounter with his ex-girlfriend of two years. This highlighted the storytelling component that the band used in writing their music.

In addition to some of their discography from recent years, they also debuted a new song and encouraged the audience to help them come up with a name. The song hadn’t been recorded by the band yet. A song titled “ s ee you soon, m eet you there” had softer tones. m otel b reakfast showcased a good range of their musical discography. This made the show enjoyable because it showed how the band was willing to try out different sounds. m otel b reakfast started in 2017. Interestingly enough, m otel b reakfast on their Twitter account referenced Paramore.

b oth of the bands represented the power of music. When those musicians took the stage, it was like living in another world, one where you follow to beat, and you notice things you didn’t before. At the end of the night, I found myself drawn to not only their lyricism and their words. Instead, their sound and the intentionality behind what they were doing made this show so enjoyable to listen to.

Contact Rose at randrowich01@saintmarys.edu

The Puritans of country c lub catholicism

“The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire: he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into fire” - Jonathan e dwards, 1741, “ s inners in the h ands of an Angry God.”

The beginning formation of recorded American intellectual life began in the early 1600s with fierce debates about salvation and grace between Protestant preachers.

John Winthrop, John c otton, c harles c hauncy, c otton m ather, Jonathan e dwards and many others created a spiritual and intellectual structure that still lives deep within the bones of American life today. r eligious fascists declared truth and demanded obedience to doctrine and rituals with no dissent. Those who failed to follow along were banished, killed or persecuted from the colony like Anne h utchinson or r oger Williams. r ecently, c atholicism at large — and especially at n otre d ame — has been struggling with our own Puritans. Puritans who seek a strain of c atholicism so exclusive and tyrannical that it rips at the threads that tie us all together, that interlink us as a family. A country club of the faith, where those who pray, identify, look or act differently than the majority are described as erosive or harmful to our c atholic mission. Instead of being an extension and continuation of that faith. We have never been a school solely of c atholics students, we’ve been a school driven by an adherence to the c atholic faith. We’ve always attempted to create spaces where those who follow other traditions have the space and guidance to do so because we recognize the importance of faith in our lives and seek to provide those same spaces to others.

Puritan c atholicism emerged in a recent Irish r over article, arguing n otre d ame’s interfaith work threatens the University’s c atholic identity. s upposedly, the promotion of other faiths is “for diversity’s sake alone,” not to animate and foster the “ c atholic intellectual life” articulated in the University’s mission statement. We disagree with this stance. r eligious diversity is central to our University’s c atholic character, which “presupposes that no genuine search for the truth in the human or the cosmic order is alien to the life of faith.” All religions involve that genuine search for truth, and recognition of that fact enables us to “pursue the religious dimensions of all human learning” not found at other universities. Interfaith work is critical to n otre d ame’s status as c atholic and a university. o ur c atholic identity embodies “a spirit of inclusion and welcoming of people from all faith traditions, or no faith tradition.” This religious diversity is “an essential precursor to mutual learning and understanding.” The University views c atholicism as the conclusion of that education, but it doesn’t mean we preclude the contributions of other faiths on the journey. m oreover, n otre d ame’s commitment to religious diversity reflects the c atholic c hurch’s teachings. n ostra Aetate, the declaration on the c hurch’s stance with non- c hristian religions, explains that the c hurch “rejects nothing that is true and holy” in other faiths. It calls upon c atholics to engage in dialogue with all faiths to “recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among” these faiths. n otre d ame is especially obligated for this duty, as a later c hurch document commits c atholic educational institutions with the work set out in n ostra Aetate.

The central question of the r over article is whether the University “can, in good faith, celebrate other faith traditions.” The author answers in the negation, arguing that the celebration of other faiths by n otre d ame reduces “the c atholic position of the school to mean support for meaningful questions rather than the truth of the c atholic faith.” b ut celebration of other faiths isn’t a denial of c atholicism; it’s the recognition that other religions exist. o ne doesn’t have to deny one’s faith to support the celebration of another’s religion. The support and celebration of other faiths aligns with the c hurch’s stance, as we’ve demonstrated above.

m oreover, one should consider the implications of the Puritan c atholic’s view. The celebrations in question are Jewish and m uslim students hosting events. If the Puritan c atholics are correct, then it seems these events can’t be held; otherwise, the University would be celebrating through their approval of the events. These groups are s A o -approved, which implies the University’s consent. It would also appear, then, that these non- c atholic religious groups can’t exist at all. Puritan c atholics would have a n otre d ame where no faith, other than c atholicism, can be celebrated nor recognized. The result is that the University never achieves its c atholic mission that’s reliant on religious diversity.

The Puritan’s intellectual life is complicated, much like the c ountry c lub Puritans of n otre d ame. h aving a strong preference for truth and agreement among the masses, in many ways, offers an easier path to organize a society built for the common good. The strong values of communitarianism, the “city upon a hill” of puritan lawyer John Winthrop provides a strong case for being guided by moral values. Preacher Jonathan e dwards envisioned a civic life more supernatural and guided by emotions. There are really good elements.

To a certain extent, we are far too harsh on the Puritans; there are good things that come from their theology and way of being. o ur own Puritan c atholics provide opportunities to more deeply delve into tradition, to think more critically about the faith and to create a more cohesive community experience. h owever, the homogeneity their theology hinges on is wrong-headed and harmful, leading us astray in attempting to clamp down on “tradition.”

To create a campus less puritanical and more welcoming of all faiths there are a couple of things each of us can do today. Professors can add interfaith holiday clauses on to their syllabi, like many in American s tudies do. All it requires is copying and pasting it on your syllabi and you make sure students of all faiths know they have the space to practice their faith. Just as c atholics would not want to be prevented from going to our high holy days because of class conflicts, offering this provides individuals of other faiths to be able to not sacrifice their academic or religious life for the other. s tudents, faculty, staff, alumni, and anyone else related to n otre d ame can sign the Irish 4 Inclusion petition, which calls on the University to add religious affiliation to the University’s n on- d iscrimination c lause, protections all of our h oly c ross and most of our c atholic peer institutions also have protected.

Finally, we can take away an understanding that interfaith dialogue isn’t “wokeness taking over,” or the erasure of n otre d ame’s c atholic identity, but a fulfillment of our c atholic mission.

o bviously, the r over’s language isn’t as provocative as that of Jonathan e dwards, but it insidiously holds much of the same exclusive philosophy undergirding it. For those who disagree, we end on the following prompt: It seems that proponents of a limited form of interfaith dialogue forget that our University’s s avior was himself not c hristian. Would Jesus and his Apostles have been allowed to host the Last s upper, which was likely a celebration of the Jewish holiday Passover, at n otre d ame if Puritan c atholics had their way?

Dane Sherman is a junior at Notre Dame studying American Studies, peace studies, philosophy and gender studies. Dane enjoys good company, good books, good food and talking about faith in public life. Outside of The Observer, Dane can be found exploring Erasmus books with friends, researching philosophy, with folks from Prism, reading NYTs op-eds from David Brooks/Ezra Klein/Michelle Goldberg or at the Purple Porch getting some food. Dane ALWAYS wants to chat and can be reached at @danesherm on twitter or lsherma2@nd.edu.

Blake Ziegler is a senior at Notre Dame studying political science, philosophy and constitutional studies. He enjoys writing about Judaism, the good life, pressing political issues and more. Outside of The Observer, Blake serves as president of the Jewish Club and a teaching assistant for God and the Good Life. He can be reached at @ NewsWithZig on Twitter or bziegler@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Dane Sherman and Blake Ziegler v iewpoint c olumnists

The newf’s phenomenon: a guide

me when I say you do not want to walk into this bar sober. You have to be armed with a bit of alcohol-induced confidence to handle the sheer amount of craziness it encompasses.

n ewf’s: If you know, you know. And if you don’t know, you’re about to find out.

b efore we get into it, I should preface this by saying I do not condone underage drinking, and I am 21 years old! (feeling #elderly over here)

Finnie’s n ext d oor—affectionately nicknamed n ew Finnies or n ewf’s for short as compared to “ o ld” Finnies ( o lf’s) down the street — is a bar in downtown s outh b end popular with students on the tri-campus and beyond. It features a miniature Golden d ome complete with a statue of m ary on top in the center of the establishment.

I don’t really know how to start this guide other than saying n ewf’s is an experience. I might be biased, but I believe it is a central part of n otre d ame nightlife. When you say you went to n ewf’s last night, most people will laugh (at you or with you depending on what state you are in) knowingly.

The first step to taking on n ewf’s is the pregame. This doesn’t have to be elaborate but trust

When you walk into the bar, after surviving the bouncers and $5 cover charge (bring cash!), you’ll be met with (possibly) hundreds of your classmates. I promise you are all but guaranteed to see the guy who is always rushing into d ebart at 10:55 a.m., your Tinder matches, the person you had one conversation with during Welcome Weekend, your friend’s old hookup and that one person you “need to catch up” with (here’s your reminder to text them).

After running into approximately 15 people you somewhat know, you will want a drink. s o, head into the three-person-deep line around the circular bar and wait your turn while chatting with the random middle-aged man standing next to you (why is he here?). m aybe he’ll buy your round, but regardless, when you get up to the bar, order fast. If you take even five seconds to think, someone else will steal your bartender and you’ll be back to square one.

When you’ve finally received a drink, you

have to decide what to do next. d o you go onto the extremely crowded dance floor and rage with vaguely familiar strangers (the most likely choice) or head upstairs to play pool with townies? n o matter where you end up, you have to kiss at least one person — I don’t make the rules, I just explain them!

At some point, you or your friend will most likely need to use the bathroom. I can only attest to the girl’s bathroom, but it’s a magical place. Girls supporting girls, complimenting girls, befriending girls. And probably someone throwing up.

The absolutely best advice I can offer you is to stick close to your group and your drink. Use the buddy system and be c A re FUL. This is not an “every man for himself” situation. h ave fun, go crazy but be sure have your wits about you at all times (or be with someone who does).

You can contact Bella at Laufenberg at ilaufenb@ nd.edu.

The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

The LGbTQ+ community and the catholic c hurch

It is common knowledge that homosexuality is viewed as a sin by the c atholic c hurch. The influence of c atholicism has spread all across the world creating a sense of universal values among individuals who practice the religion. While there is a wide diversity of beliefs among c atholics, a common one for conservative c atholics is the belief that homosexuality is a sin and a crime. o n the contrary, Pope Francis made a public statement exclaiming how criminalizing homosexuality is unjust.

As explained in a report by n Pr , c atholic teaching holds that homosexual acts are a sin, but being homosexual is not a crime. The key detail in Pope Francis’s public statement is deciphering the difference between sin and crime.

In the c atholic church, there are two types of sin: mortal and venial. In the traditional belief, committing a mortal sin cuts off your relationship with God while venial sin damages your relationship with God. In other words, there is more at stake when a mortal sin is acted upon compared to a venial sin. While being a member of the LG b TQ community is not a sin in itself, the person is viewed as “intrinsically disordered.” In terms of homosexuality, it is the act of pursuing homosexual urges that is considered a mortal sin if acted upon with full knowledge and consent. Ironically, homosexuality is more criminalized and discriminated against than engaging in premarital sex, which can be equated to the mortal sin of homosexuality. nonetheless, in the c atholic c hurch all sins can be forgiven. Furthermore, criminalizing sin is not only hypocritical but morally unjust.

In an article by Forbes, Pope Francis explains how he still holds the traditional c atholic belief that acting on homosexual urges is a sin, but that does not make it okay to criminalize it. d espite Pope Francis’ progressive statement, the c hurch doctrine on gay marriage has not changed as

vatican refuses to bless same-sex marriage and maintains that acting on homosexual urges is a sin. r egardless, Pope Francis affirmed that God and Jesus still love gay c atholics for “God loves them as they are.” he further detailed how gay people have always existed throughout human history, for this and other reasons parents of gay children should not condemn them, and c atholics should welcome LG b TQ+ members to the c hurch. As Pope Francis said soon after becoming the Pope in July 2013, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?”

Pope Francis has not only advocated for more inclusion of LG b TQ individuals in the church, but also for the c atholic church to work on putting an end to laws in countries that criminalize homosexuality. According to an article that with data collected by the Federal b ureau of Investigation in 2019, hate crimes based on sexual orientation represent 16.7% of all hate crimes. Another article by the new York Times explains how people who study hate crimes suggest that there has been an increase in “L.G. b .T.” hate crimes might have to do with a more accepting attitude towards the LG b TQ+ community in recent decades. b ecause the majority of society has become more tolerant of queer people, opponents of this rhetoric to become more radical. As stated by a psychology professor at the University of c alifornia, Gregory m herek explains how “They may feel that the way they see the world is threatened, which motivates them to strike out in some way, and for some people, that way could be in violent attacks.” These statistics and analysis do not suggest that all anti-LG b TQ+ offenders are c atholic, however, it does show how deeply rooted homophobia is both a systemic and institutional issue.

As defined by Planned Parenthood, homophobia is the fear, hatred, discomfort with or mistrust of people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual. homophobia can take many forms, it is often based in irrational fear and misunderstanding. s ome LG b TQ+ people experience discrimination based

on their sexual orientation or gender identity from religious institutions, companies or the government. Institutional discrimination further perpetuates and validates the spread of homophobic rhetoric.

As our society starts to become more accepting of the LG b TQ+ community, it is important for the c atholic church to uphold its social teachings and welcome individuals of all identities into the c hurch. While homosexuality is viewed as a sin by the church, Pope Francis stated that it should not be criminalized. The national LG b TQ task force shared a quote from Pope Francis that further advocates for his stance to be inclusive to LG b TQ+ people: “Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person? We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.” In order to promote peace and justice, the c atholic church must live up to the morals they preach. Jesus’ instruction to “love thy neighbor as yourself” ( m ark 12:31) should not be taken lightly. Justice is at the core of c atholic tradition, every person should treat others fairly, as they would like to be treated. As highlighted by Pope Francis, everyone is equal in the eyes of God, c atholics should not discriminate against others on the basis of identity. As a society, we must continue to accept all individuals regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation to promote and uphold the dignity of all human beings.

Grace Sullivan is a first-year at Notre Dame studying global affairs with a minor in gender studies. In her column I.M.P.A.C.T (Intersectionality Makes Political Activist Change Transpire), she is passionate about looking at global social justice issues through an intersectional feminist lens. Outside of The Observer, she enjoys hiking, painting and being a plant mom. She can be reached at @gsulli22@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Grace Sullivan I.m.P.A.c .T.

INsIDE COlUMN

Bella Laufenberg notre dame news e ditor

Irish open with decisive win

Olivia Schatz Associate sports e ditor

The notre dame women’s lacrosse team crushed the san diego state Aztecs in their season opener 18-2. notre dame’s hot start came courtesy of goals from 10 different players, five of whom were substitutes.

The Irish are known for their electric starts to seasons, with a 22-4 all-time record in openers. While they had a bit of a slow start, junior midfielder mary Kelly doherty would begin the scoring for the Irish. After doherty scored, Irish goals flooded in. Under four minutes later, notre dame went up 5-0, with unassisted goals from senior midfielder Kasey choma and senior attack madison Ahern, with another tally from senior attack Jane mcAvoy, assisted by senior attacker Jackie Wolak. Junior attacker Alexandra mchugh also scored on a free-position shot. While the Aztecs were able to score once in the first quarter, the Irish shut down any hopes of catching up. They closed out the frame with three more notre dame goals from three different goal scorers, two of which were assisted on.

The Irish’s dominance was in part a result of their outstanding performance on the draw. headed by junior midfielder Kelly denes, the Irish had an 8-1 edge draw controls in the first and 19-4 overall. denes collected 11 herself.

The second quarter started off in similar fashion, this time with a goal from junior attacker

tennis

“As far as technique is concerned, [we’re focused on] efficiency with our footwork, that consistent contact point and consistent preparation,” silverio said. “We just want to continue to do the basics better.”

Up next, the notre dame welcomes big Ten foes Penn state and Wisconsin to the eck Tennis Pavilion this upcoming weekend on Friday and sunday, respectively. conference play for the Irish commences Feb. 24, where silverio and company play

Abby maichin, assisted by sophomore attacker marleigh sanders. Although the Irish offense was not as prominent in the second, they did not take their foot off the gas. Ahern would score twice within a minute to collect a hat trick. Wolak would then score with seven minutes remaining off of a free position shot.

The Irish entered the half up 12-1 and again added fuel to the fire. choma was the first to score, assisted by mcAvoy. And while the Aztecs would be able to score once more with a little over three minutes in the quarter, the Irish were too far ahead. notre dame found the back of the net four more times in the fourth to seal an 18-2 victory to begin their 2023 campaign. Ahern led the way with four goals on the night while Wolak paced the Irish with two assists. The Irish did not only excel at scoring, however. In her first career start, junior goaltender Lilly callahan came through with nine saves.

The Irish will look to use this momentum as they prepare to travel for a difficult test against no. 4 northwestern. The Wildcats just recently lost against no. 5 syracuse 16-15, which means northwestern will be looking for revenge against the no. 16 Irish. The game is on Feb. 16 and begins at 7 pm eT.

Contact Olivia Schatz at oschatz@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

host to Georgia Tech. back on the men’s side, a 7-5 doubles victory by freshman sebastian dominko and senior connor Fu was the lone highlight of the Irish’s trip into Illinois. In singles, four of six notre dame men were taken down in straight sets. saturday’s loss drops the Irish to 5-3 on the season. This weekend, notre dame heads back to the Prairie state for a chance at redemption, competing in the ITA national Indoor championships in chicago.

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu

Something special about Super Bowl Sunday

Olivia Schatz Associate sports e ditor

Growing up, if you asked me what my favorite day of the year was, I would always say the s uper b owl. d on’t get me wrong — I loved waking up c hristmas morning to dozens of presents. I would always be the first to wake up for the yearly e aster egg hunt. b ut as much as I absolutely love spending time with my extended family, there was something special about the s uper b owl.

m y parents are still friends with their friends from high school, and as they had children, they all happened to move to the same school district, where their kids would also become friends. While we didn’t spend holidays together, we grew up going on vacations together and having numerous backyard barbeques. The s uper b owl, for us, was a time that everyone would get together. We would have candy bets for the younglings, and an array of different desserts throughout the house. o n the morning of the game, I would pester my parents, asking how long until we could see everyone.

m ost of the time, I wouldn’t even watch the

w BB

maintained her usual impact on other facets of the game, adding seven rebounds as well as seven assists.

It was dyaisha Fair who carried the bulk of the syracuse scoring load, notching a gamehigh 22 points. Georgia Woolley and dariauna Lewis also both pitched in with 17 and 14 points, respectively.

It was notre dame’s fourth quarter defense that determined the final result of sunday’s game for the Irish. After a third quarter, in which the orange shot over 70% from the floor and 100% from deep, niele Ivey’s squad buckled down in the final frame.

syracuse was held to just 10 points in the fourth quarter, a closeout that included a stretch of over seven minutes without a successful orange shot

game. I and a group of kids would gather and just play air hockey or watch the puppy bowl. We would then all rush into the living room and gather on the floor for whatever the halftime show was. h igh on sugar, it was a night we could all stay up late on a school night, forcing our parents to drag us out of bed the next morning.

n ow, almost all of those kids are in college or moved out. We still get together for barbecues over the summer. And the adults still gather for s uper b owl s unday. b ut the kids are scattered throughout the country.

I never watched football growing up, yet the s uper b owl was my favorite event of the year. m y experience is not unique. With over 100 million people tuning in, there are countless families and friends who gather together to watch the biggest game of the year.

I don’t remember the last time we all had a s uper b owl together. And I don’t know if we ever will again. b ut every s uper b owl s unday, I text those friends to tell them I miss them and I’m thinking of them.

With over $16 billion bet on s uper b owl s unday, over 1.45 billion chicken

from the field. notre dame’s performance seemed reflective of duke’s exactly one week prior at Purcell, when the blue devils limited the Irish to just six fourth quarter points in a victory.

Ivey said after the game the team’s fourth quarter defense, which hasn’t allowed an opponent more than 20 points in the final frame since a Jan. 8 loss to north carolina, has been a major point of emphasis for her team this season.

“I’m always preaching the fourth quarter, finishing the final ten minutes,” Ivey said. “having that mindset defensively to lock in and focus in the fourth quarter is something that we’ve been focusing on all year. It’s been extremely important the last several weeks. They understand, when its the fourth quarter, that’s when you have to turn it up defensively and I thought

wings consumed and close to 100 “ s uper b owl commercials” being aired, there are tons of other things to be thinking about than the memories being made. b ut, not to be cliche, you don’t know it’s over until it’s over. o ne day in the future, that friend will be too busy to make the journey for the game. Your brother or sister will move two states away. When you are reading this, your team has either won or lost (or not made the s uper b owl at all — Go Jags!). Philly might be on fire. You might have lost hundreds of dollars in betting. b ut, you also had spent a night filled with laughter, and sometimes rage, that you will never get back.

s o yes, I don’t know anything about football. d espite going to notre d ame football games on a consistent basis the last four years and working as an Associate s ports e ditor at The o bserver, I still have to ask my dad what is going on several times a game. b ut, there is undeniably something special about s uper b owl s unday.

Contact Olivia Schatz at oschatz@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

they did that today.”

notre dame will now look ahead to a mid-week matchup against Louisville, in which the Irish will close out a four game home-stand. Though the cardinals do not present the same top-ten level test they did when they dominated notre dame whistle to whistle at Purcell last season, they still sit at fourth in the Acc standings after some early struggles.

Louisville will enter on a hot streak, having won their last four games. If notre dame wins, they’ll provide an important boost to their hopes of a top seed in both the Acc and nc AA tournaments.

The Irish face off against the cardinals at 7 p.m. esT at Purcell Pavillon on Feb. 16. The game will be available on esPn

Happy Birthday: your emotions will interfere with what’s real. distance yourself from emotional matters to get a clear-cut picture of what’s happening. look for unique alternatives and you’ll stimulate interest in your plans. Put more thought into your surroundings, and make your space compatible with your goals. Plan to update your skills, knowledge and experience; you’ll gain better options. your numbers are 8, 13, 18, 22, 31, 36, 46.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): An opportunity is apparent. contact someone you enjoy working with; the information you receive will help you advance your objective. experience will help you handle money matters more efficiently and your relationships with finesse. An emotional incident will surprise you.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): don’t give up or give in to the people or situations you face. look for an out that will buy you time and offer insight into what’s possible. don’t get involved with a change of plans someone makes at the last minute.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): use your energy wisely. It will be easy to become disengaged in what you are doing if someone upsets you. Put up a barrier that will help you disengage from troublemakers and focus on your goal.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): you’ll come up with a plan that you should turn into a reality. use your imagination, and you’ll find a way to incorporate something you enjoy into a lucrative pastime. romance is on the rise, and a celebration will reinforce a bond.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): leave nothing unsaid or on the table. Address issues straight up, and you will turn your plans into something concrete. draw from people who can enhance your dreams and offer input and skills to encourage success. Avoid injury or taking a health risk.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): embrace what’s important to you and solidify your plans with someone special. A romantic gesture will be well received and lead to new possibilities that can save money and make life easier.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A unique approach will get you back in the game of life. use your intellect and discipline to turn your place into a haven. A stress-free environment will make navigating your way through uncontrollable situations outside your jurisdiction easier.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): don’t give up when you are just getting started. g et out and have some fun. Plan something romantic or personally gratifying. A makeover will lift your spirits and take your mind off your worries. don’t overextend yourself financially or overdo it physically.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): ease into whatever you decide to do next. Time is on your side, and ensuring you have everything in place will impact how things turn out. don’t let upset lead to problems at home.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A challenge will give you an upbeat mentality that will help you hold court in the winner’s circle.

The impact you have on others will ensure you get help turning an idea into a profitable business model.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): keep your distance and strive to finish what you start. The less interference you endure, the easier it will be to put everything in its place. Avoid unnecessary changes or people using manipulation. Protect your money, reputation and secrets.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): frustration will cost you if you give others too much leverage or information regarding your plans. Take a position of power, make decisions and do what’s best for you before someone intervenes and ruins your plans. A financial move will enrich your life.

Birthday Baby: you are courageous, kind and sensitive. you are outgoing and secretive.

Notre Dame women’s tennis trounces

Northwestern,

men fall to Illinois

By PETER BREEN sports Writer

While notre dame men’s tennis traveled to champaign, Illinois on saturday to take on the university of Illinois urbanachampaign Fighting Illini, notre dame women’s tennis hosted the northwestern university Wildcats in south bend.

At the eck Tennis Pavilion, the notre dame women cruised past northwestern 6-1. conversely, at the Atkins Tennis center, the notre dame men were swept 7-0 by Illinois.

In women’s doubles, Irish senior Page Freeman and sophomore maria olivia castedo defeated the top Wildcat pair 6-2. After junior Julia Andreach and sophomore carrie beckman fell in a 6-1 match, junior Yashna Yellayi and freshman rylie hanford

Hokies

than him.”

Laszewski showcased his prowess as a multilevel scorer throughout the contest. he knocked down six of his nine attempts from beyond the arc, and consistently found mismatches down low against smaller defenders. he broke his career high — which was set just three weeks earlier against boston college — by grabbing an offensive rebound and converting the second-chance opportunity early in the second half.

brey opted for the dual-forward lineup for the second consecutive contest, starting Laszewski and freshman venAllen Lubin. Freshman phenom JJ starling came off the bench once again after registering just two points in Wednesday’s heartbreaking loss to Georgia Tech while dealing with an illness.

starling showed flashes of brilliance saturday, converting several layups in the second half which ignited the home crowd, but he finished with just nine points on 4-10 shooting.

“our mood has been pretty consistent because we’ve taken a lot of punches,” brey said of the locker room after the game.

As has been the case all season, it was notre dame’s defense that was the culprit. The Irish, who allow the most points of any team in the Acc , turned in yet another miserable performance on that end of the floor as the hokies shot better than 57% from the field and went to the line 25 times in the 93-87 victory.

“can they score or what?”

brey said of the hokies offense. “ They’re just so old and they

have a tempo, and quite frankly, I hope they miss a few.”

v irginia Tech forward Grant basile, who came in averaging 15.6 points per game, picked up two early fouls and played just five minutes in the first half. Yet he was nearly unguardable in the final 20 minutes. he scored 28 second half points on 11-15, shooting on his way to a 33-point performance to match Laszewski.

Prior to the season, brey was heavily recruiting the transfer portal in hopes of finding a replacement for big man Paul Atkinson Jr., who shined for the Irish last year as a graduate transfer from Yale. basile, who starred for four years at Wright state before committing to v irginia Tech this offseason, was one of brey’s top targets. The Irish even hosted him for an official visit in April.

“You see why I tried to get basile, I did a great job on that recruiting” brey said after the game.

equally difficult for the Irish to defend was hokies forward Justyn mutts, who nearly had a triple-double, racking up 19 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists.

“mutts is such a facilitator,” brey said. “he’s a point-forward who is just really hard to deal with.”

The road doesn’t get any easier for the Irish. They travel to durham, north carolina, on Tuesday night to take on duke, before heading to c harlottesville, north carolina, next weekend for a matchup with no. 8 v irginia. Preseason no. 1 north carolina comes to south bend the following week.

Contact Liam Coolican at lcoolica@nd.edu

Hockey

con TI nued F rom PAGe 12 who had not fully rotated over. ultimately, notre dame held on to win the game 2-1, taking the first game of the two-game series. saturday’s contest was quite possibly the most emotional game of the season for the notre dame Fighting Irish hockey team. The Irish battled from two goals for a 2-2 tie. notre dame prevailed after an epic nine rounds in the ensuing shootout to earn the extra b10 standings point, moving them into a three-way tie for third place in the big Ten.

Playing their last regular season game before a sold-out crowd at cFIA, the notre dame graduate students and seniors made the difference.

“It was senior night, and it matters to these kids,” Irish head coach Jeff Jackson said postgame. “I told them before the game, I don’t want to watch them down there singing the alma mater after a loss.”

The importance of the game for the notre dame senior class was visible following the national anthem, when solag bakich led the team in the pre-game huddle. The four-year senior has deep roots with the Irish — his parents both attended the university.

It was graduate student ben brinkman who got notre dame physically engaged in the contest, leveling some heavy checks early in the game. There was little flow to the opening frame, as the teams combined for 36 penalty minutes. each team had three power-plays, and ohio state struck for first on their third when mason Lohrei finished off a crosscrease feed from michael Gildon at 13:49. That did not stop the sloppiness, as notre dame’s graduate student forward chayse Primeau and ohio state’s Treloar were both

secured the doubles point for the Irish with a 6-3 victory.

In singles, notre dame, led by Freeman’s and Andreach’s straight-set wins, went on to prevail in five of six matches to finish out the afternoon. The weekend triumph lifts the Irish to 5-0 on the year at home and 7-1 overall, the program’s best start to a season in six years.

head coach Alison silverio, who is in her fifth season at the helm of notre dame women’s tennis, said she has been cultivating a certain mindset amongst her squad all season.

“our mentality and what we’ve been focusing on this entire season has been: relentless competitors,” silverio said.

silverio reiterated the team’s stoic attitude — controlling the controllable and not worrying about the rest.

whistled for 10-minute misconducts late in the frame.

“The first period was so chaotic,” captain Leivermann said after the game. “Frankly, they were just trying to get under our skin, and it worked a little bit, because they were playing really well.”

notre dame was in need of some refocusing in the locker room. This time, it was senior Janicke who did the talking.

“We did it actually twice, the first time it was Trevor,” Leivermann said. The message? “Just dial back in, everyone take a breath.”

despite this, the Irish fell behind 2-0 early in the second period. dalton messina leaked a wrist shot through bischel from the far faceoff circle, causing the ohio state bench to erupt. It was the senior forward’s first career goal for the buckeyes.

The goal came as a result of extended pressure by ohio state in the notre dame zone to start the period. ohio state continued to string together shifts of offensive zone possession, forcing notre dame to kill off a penalty.

Then notre dame called their timeout — a savvy veteran move by Jackson. sure enough, graduate student forward Jack Adams parked in front of the goal and deflected junior defenseman Jake boltmann’s shot past buckeye netminder dobes to get the Irish on the board less 29 seconds later. compton roared as Adams skated toward the bench pumping up the crowd, left arm raised triumphantly.

Less than four minutes following, notre dame tied the score on Leivermann’s power-play goal. In a major penalty-killing error by the buckeyes, Leivermann was left entirely alone in the right faceoff circle while the puck was on the left half-wall. slaggert

“We are focused on all the areas that we have control over and doing those to the best of our abilities from preparation to competing to studying,” silverio said.

Ahead of saturday’s meeting, silverio admitted wariness about the Wildcats’ capabilities in doubles play. Fortunately, doubles has been the Irish’s strong suit this season as well.

“For [northwestern] a strength has always been their doubles,” silverio said. “We know coming out of the gates [on saturday], we have to be ready … but doubles has also been a strength of ours this season.”

Though silverio does stress the mental aspect of the game, she prioritizes taking care of the fundamentals when it comes to the physical side of things.

made a precise saucer pass right into Leivermann’s wheelhouse, and the captain rifled home the equalizer.

despite being outshot 18-8 in the second period, the Irish had managed to tie the game. The third period was more of the same. The buckeyes threw 20 more shots on net in the third, many of which came from highquality scoring areas. Yet bischel was up to the task on all of them, plus five more in overtime. “We were hanging on for dear life tonight,” Jackson said. “our goalie played great.”

When the final siren sounded on overtime, the scoreboard read a hard-fought 2-2 tie. It also read 52 ohio state shots. It was bischel’s sixth 40-plus save and second 50-plus save performance this season.

There was still more to come in the shootout, which did not lack for drama in its own right. After Leivermann scored on the very first shot for notre dame, Jake Wise scored to keep his team alive in the third round.

The stalemate continued into round nine, when graduate student chase blackmun niftily snuck a shot by the glove of dobes to put the Irish out in front. Thiesing needed to score to keep the buckeye hopes alive. slowing as he drifted to the slot, he released a snapshot at bischel.

As he had 45 times in regulation, five times in overtime and six times in the shootout, bischel made the save to cap a thrilling weekend and give the Irish a ton of momentum heading into their final series of the regular season next weekend at no. 5 m ichigan.

KATE NAESSENS | The Observer Irish senior Paige Freeman fights for every shot during close match against FSU in April 2022. The Irish will face Penn State next at home.

Contact Thomas Zwiller and Ryan Murphy at tzwiller@hcc-nd.edu and rmurph22@nd.edu

Irish seniors and graduate students lift Irish over no. 7 ohio state

By THOMAS ZWILLER and RYAN MURPHY sports Writers

The notre dame men’s hockey team returned to compton Family Ice Arena (cFIA) this weekend when they hosted the no. 7 ohio state buckeyes. The series was the last home stand of the regular season for the Fighting Irish and could be the final home game for several Irish upperclassmen.

Friday night was fan appreciation night and the fans showed out for it, creating the 90th sellout ever at cFIA. notre dame came into the weekend searching for a muchneeded sweep, just four points back of the buckeyes. A sweep could get the Irish into third place and see them return to ncAA playoff eligibility.

The Irish got a chance to start the series off on the right foot. After a dangerous but unsuccessful early power-play, notre dame struck first in the waning minutes of the first period. sophomore forward

Justin Janicke brought the puck down the far side of the ice along the boards before heading toward the net. Janicke beat a buckeye defender before flicking the puck toward the waiting junior forward Landon slaggert, who was stationed perfectly in the slot.

slaggert beat ohio state goaltender Jakub dobes with a one-timer underneath his blocker to give the Irish a 1-0 lead. shortly after the slaggert goal, ohio state was called for a high-sticking penalty. The power play was short-lived for the Irish, however, as graduate student defensemen chase blackmun was called for hooking shortly thereafter.

shortly after a successful Irish penalty kill, senior goaltender ryan bischel collected an ohio state dump-in and left it for graduate student nick Leivermann. As it happened, sophomore drew bavaro, who had dropped his stick, sprinted toward the bench. Upon his arrival, slaggert hopped out of the bench completely wide open

and caught a pass and scored to put the Irish up two.

The game’s chippiness rose throughout the night. With 11 seconds remaining in the period, ohio state’s cam Thiesing and notre dame’s sophomore Tyler carpenter got tangled up after the whistle. both were sent to the box for roughing, putting the teams back at four-on-four.

After a good offensive possession for the Irish to start the third, junior defenseman Zach Plucinski was called for tripping, though the crowd disagreed with the call. With 10 minutes left in the third, bavaro was also called for tripping, and ohio state quickly capitalized. The buckeyes won the face-off and worked the puck to the far side but quickly cut it back, working the points. sitting back at the face-off dot, stephen halliday caught the pass and sent it to Travis Treloar. Treloar saw an open Jake Wise, who caught the puck and beat bichsel,

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Irish fall to hokies despite Laszewski’s career-high 33

By LIAM COOLICAN Associate sports editor

Just before halftime, graduate student forward nate Laszewski drilled his fourth three-pointer of the half to tie the game at 40 for notre dame. Yet virginia Tech’s sean Pedulla raced down the court and beat the buzzer with a deep triple of his own, and the hokies entered the break with the lead.

The final 10 seconds of the opening half would prove indicative of the game at large for the Irish saturday afternoon. They never truly felt out of the contest, yet each time they made any sort of run, virginia Tech would respond in kind.

Laszewski did everything he could to will the Irish to victory, but his career-high 33 points weren’t enough, as the Irish slumped to yet another disappointing Acc loss.

“I will tell him to not dwell on the loss and keep playing his backside off. he’s now playing for some salary and some money, and being scouted and all that stuff,” Irish head coach mike brey said after the game. “no one’s more disappointed in not winning

Irish hold under pressure

By J.J. POST sports Writer on

sunday afternoon, notre dame women’s basketball dispatched syracuse 73-64 at Purcell Pavillon.

The Irish handled scoring by committee in their best offensive showing since Jan. 22 against virginia. Four different players reached double digits in the points category. All seven players that registered 10 or more minutes scored at least seven points.

Junior forward Kylee Watson had her best game of the season for the Irish on her birthday, finishing with a team-high 15 points. Watson also tied for the team lead with seven rebounds, a pair of which came at critical junctures on the offensive end.

Without graduate center Lauren ebo on the floor due to injury, notre dame has needed Watson to take on a much bigger role over the last several games. sunday was her best showing yet in such an expanded role.

Junior forward maddy Westbeld also continued her

strong run of play on sunday, adding 14 points and seven rebounds of her own. The most important of those points came early on in the fourth quarter, when Westbeld drained an open-three pointer to both put the Irish back in front after trailing by two as well as snapping a cold streak of Irish failure from deep that had spanned the previous two quarters.

much like Watson, the absence of notre dame’s usual rebound machine in ebo has forced Westbeld to take up a much bigger role in the team’s efforts in the paint and on the glass. The junior has responded well to that role-change, showing a tenacious willingness to fight for boards that mirrors the relentless energy lost with ebo’s injury.

Though sophomore guard olivia miles took longer than usual to get into gear, the Irish floor general eventually found her scoring form to the tune of 13 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter. miles also

MEGHAN LANGE | The Observer

Irish senior goaltender Ryan Bischel remained vigilant against Ohio State during tense home game as the Irish celebrated senior night.

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ARIANNA DENNING | The Observer

Irish graduate student forward Nate Laszewski maneuvers past defenders during home game against Wake Forest on Feb. 4.

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