Print Edition of The Observer for Monday, October 5, 2020 by The Observer

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Volume 55, Issue 20 | MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

Jenkins tests positive for COVID-19 University president contracts the coronavirus after close contact with a colleague who tested positive Observer Staff Report Universit y President Fr. John Jenk ins tested positive for the coronav irus, Paul J. Brow ne, v ice president for public affairs and communications, said in an email Friday. Jenk ins has been self-quarantining since his trip to the W hite House on Saturday for the Supreme Court nomination of Notre Dame law professor Judge A my Coney Barrett where he was seen w ithout a mask. Brow ne said Jenk ins learned earlier this week a colleague whom he regularly associates

w ith tested positive for the v irus. Jenk ins was then tested and received a positive result. As a result, he has entered an extended period of isolation. “My sy mptoms are mild and I w ill continue work from home,” Jenk ins said in the email. “The positive test is a good reminder for me and perhaps for a ll of how v igilant we need to be.” Ba r rett tested negat ive for t he v ir us, W hite House spokesperson Judd Deere sa id Fr iday. “Judge Barrett is tested daily for COVID-19 — she has tested see JENKINS PAGE 4

Student groups meet in person By IVERSON SUN News Writer

A version of this story was published online Oct. 1. Since the start of the fa ll semester, Notre Dame set many new hea lth and safet y guidelines, limiting the capacities and spaces for student meetings. Follow ing these regulations, the Students Activ ities Office (SAO) reworked meeting guidelines and suspended most activ ities that would hold significant risk for transmission of COVID-19 during the t wo-week pause of in-person instructions and activ ities. However, in light of the decrease in positive cases of the coronav irus, SAO has permitted a ll clubs, as it has done ever since the first day of classes, to congregate in person, given that attendance is ta ken at a ll in-person meeting and events to a llow for contact tracing if necessar y. Campus groups are approaching these guidelines differently. Sophomore Dav id Campos, a member of the Notre Dame Cycling Club, said a llow ing members to have organized practices that follow COVID

NEWS PAGE 3

guidelines uplifted the genera l attitude of the club. “By training in closer proximit y, we have increased the training productiv it y and distance that each rider could go during training rides,” Campos said. “By a llow ing more experienced riders to pair up w ith newer members while stay ing socia lly distanced, we could hone technique and fitness early before tentative races in the spring.”

If the Cycling Club has more than 10 members, it cannot congregate at all once. SAO rules only permit a ma x imum of 10 people pods to train together at once while wearing masks. The Triathlon Club has also made adjustments to its in-person practices. First year, member Sam Vanstraten said the club has pods that rotate where they meet to train. “For practices, we have t wo pods that practice at different times for indoor practices,” Vanstraten said. “This has allowed us to space out see MEETINGS PAGE 4

SCENE PAGE 5

Photo courtesy of Notre Dame

University President Fr. John Jenkins tested positive for COVID-19 Friday. Jenkins said he was self-isolating before he received his positive test result, and will remain in quarantine until he is no longer contagious.

Traffic safety voice Sgt. Tim McCarthy dies Observer Staff Report Notre Dame athletics announced in a t weet Friday that Indiana State Police Sgt. Tim McCarthy, a former member of the game day footba ll traffic task force, died this week. “We pray for a ll who loved

Tim & join them in celebrating his life,” the t weet said. McCarthy gave safet y messages — featuring a pun — at the end of the third quarter of ever y Notre Dame home footba ll game for 55 years. He first started the tradition in 1960 and told his

last live pun Sept. 26, 2015. Today, recordings of his messages are still played at home games, which a lways begin w ith his famous catchphrase, “May I have your attention, please? ” McCarthy was awarded an honorar y monogram by the Universit y in 2013.

Professor publishes study on fatherhood insights By ISABELLA LAUFENBERG News Writer

Recently published in Nature Maga zine’s Scientific Reports, Dr. Lee Gettler, an associate professor of anthropolog y at Notre Dame, has completed a new study which links testosterone levels in fathers w ith their broader cultura l settings. Gettler said that he became interested in his research when he met Dr. Adam Boyette, who is now a senior researcher at the Ma x Planck Institute for Evolutionar y

VIEWPOINT PAGE 6

A nthropolog y, at a conference put on by the Jacobs Foundation. “[The Jacobs Foundation] put together a conference that was specifica lly bringing together a rea lly large group of scholars who specifica lly studied fathers from diverse perspectives —psycholog y, sociolog y, neuroscience, anthropolog y — to tr y to get a ll these people in the same room to ta lk about how we can begin to k ind of best understand the way that fathers impact human children,” Gettler said.

ND WOMENS SOCCER PAGE 12

Boyette did his dissertation research in a remote region in northern Republic of the Congo —accessible by a week long journey from the capita l cit y of Bra zzav ille. There he studied the BaYa ka and Bondongo people who live a ver y different lifest yle than one we’re used to. A lthough located in the same v illage, the t wo tribes have their ow n distinct cultures. The BaYa ka people are a more ega litarian societ y, focused on cooperative liv ing, see RESEARCH PAGE 3

ND MENS SOCCER PAGE 12

TODAY

The observer | MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

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If animals could talk, which would be the rudest?

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Lindsey Shank

Abigail Knopps

junior Off campus

junior Le Mans Hall

“Geese! I think they would boss people around if they could talk.”

“Cheetah.”

Kelly Jeffers

Julia Sanchez

sophomore Holy Cross Hall

junior Le Mans Hall

“A stray cat.”

“Polar bears, because of climate change.”

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“Cat.”

“Llama.”

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An unknown Saint Mary’s student created a beach scene with a sea turtle out of rocks on the sidewalk leading up to Le Mans Hall. Students are spending more time outside recently due to COVID-19 campus protocols, and finding creative ways to do so.

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Provost creates committee to alter Title IX Observer Staff Report

A committee w ill adv ise the Office of General Council to permanently adapt the Universit y’s Title IX regulations in order to comply w ith the new federal regulations declared in May 2020 by the U.S. Department of Education, provost Marie Ly nn Miranda announced in an email Wednesday. Vice president and associate provost for facult y affairs Maura Ryan w ill ser ve as chair. Other members of the committee were elected by Academic Council or appointed by Miranda. The Academic Council approved temporar y measures to bring the Universit y into compliance w ith the new regulations on Aug. 10.

Research Continued from page 1

whereas the Bondongo people are fisher-farmers whose societ y is hierarchica l and status-based. Boyette noted that the differences bet ween these t wo communities who live in such close conjunction is rea lly what drew their study to this remote corner of the world. “Our interest was to work w ith both groups and tr y to understand differences and look to see if there were differences in fathering that are related to cultura l differences, including things like variation in the family systems and what fathers do in the communit y,” Boyette said. They hy pothesized that the testosterone levels of the BaYa ka men and Bondongo men were different. Testosterone, a hormone which has been show n to decrease in men when entering fatherhood in some cultura l settings, can be associated w ith physica l strength and aggression. Gettler’s team hy pothesized that since the BaYa ka fathers place more emphasis on communit y and generosit y, their testosterone levels w ill be lower than the Bondongo fathers, who are va lued more for their strength and being a good resource prov ider. W hen the researches had an opportunit y to collaborate v ia funding from the Jacobs Foundation, Boyette said that he and Gettler jumped at the chance. “[The Jacobs Foundation] offered us this opportunit y to apply for funding to work on projects together,” Boyette said. “It was a rea lly fantastic opportunit y and Lee and I right away saw a rea lly good opportunit y to

“The adopted changes removed the regulator y Title IX matters from Article I V/Section 9 of the Academic Articles and placed them w ithin the Procedures for Resolv ing Concerns of Discriminator y Harassment, Sexual Harassment, and Other Sex-Based Misconduct,” Miranda said. According to the meeting minutes, the Universit y required changes in t wo areas to comply w ith the federal regulations. The Universit y needed to use one standard of ev idence across all cases and appeals, “regardless of who the complainant and respondent are.” W hile almost all hearings had used a preponderance of ev idence standard, facult y members may request

a hearing and appeal under a clear and conv incing standard if a v iolation results in a severe sanction. The Universit y was also required to change their regulations to “prov ide both complainants and respondents w ith equivalent appeal opportunities and processes.” In the past, the same appeal procedure was not granted to complainant’s when the respondent was a facult y member. The temporar y measures applied the preponderance of ev idence to all cases, and determined that the severe sanctions appeal process would “no longer apply to sexual harassment cases.” The proposal would only be in place for the 2020 fall semester, and required

more significant changes in the long-term, Miranda said. Without further action by the Academic Council, the temporar y measures w ill revert to the prev ious standards on Nov. 20 2020. The new committee, the Office of General Counsel and the Office of Institutional Equit y w ill rev iew proposed permanent changes to the Title IX policies. Miranda asked the committee to consider a number of questions including how the changes in the ev identiar y standards may effect decisions to report or “participate in investigations of sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations.” Miranda said the committee should address all of the

follow ing questions: “How do our procedures for addressing Title IX and other sex-based misconduct best protect due process across all parties, consistent w ith federal regulations? W hat are the features of an appeal process that is equitable across all parties? How do our policies and procedures ref lect the protections and responsibilities of academic freedom? ” Notre Dame w ill also determine the changes other universities have chosen to help in the decision making. A ll students, facult y and staff may submit comments and questions to t9tskfrc @nd.edu, and the committee w ill hold public presentations in order to prov ide the Universit y communit y w ith updates.

collaborate because we both had different sk ill sets that we recognized would work well together.” Before the t wo could conduct any forma l research, they had to connect w ith the communities and get settled. “The first summer of our grant, [Boyette] went to field site and just basica lly was hanging out to gain trust w ith the communities to ta lk to them about ‘Here’s what we’re interested in, we’re interested in learning about your communities and here’s what we would do,’” Gettler said. “[Boyette was] getting permission from the communities, particularly the elders and the leadership councils in the communit y, to ma ke sure that they were that it was acceptable to them, ethica lly, that we do this work.” Boyette said that the work was cha llenging, and it would not have been possible w ithout the help of others who bla zed the trail for him. A nother cha llenge faced by the team was how to transport their materia ls. Gettler explained that this was an especia lly difficult project because they needed to transport large liquid nitrogen jugs to store sa liva samples containing information about testosterone from the BaYa ka and Bondongo men. “If we look at testosterone in sa liva, it correlates rea lly strongly to what is circulating in the blood in the body, but it’s obv iously much less invasive than collecting blood so that’s the benefit,” Gettler mentioned. “Part of the reason that there are few studies in this k ind of relatively remote setting is because of the cha llenges of dea ling w ith the biologica l markers.” Boyette explained that they had to modif y their travel plans in order to transport the materia ls to the

remote communities because the canisters of liquid nitrogen need to be closely monitored at a ll times to prevent spillage. The researchers a lso struggled w ith the problem of how to quantif y how the different cultures v iewed fatherhood and how to decide who were the “good fathers.” Gettler explained that the team conducted a series of long inter v iews w ith the v illagers to get a sense of the va lues that were sought after in a good father. “[Boyette and his team] spent a lot of time doing semistructured qua litative interv iews—we’d ca ll that data ethnography,” Gettler said. “Our rea l goa l was to tr y to understand how these communities are defining what a good father is and then can we find a way to operationa lize that to get at whether good fathers, based on loca l va lues, have hea lthier k ids.” Once they had sorted out the cultura l ideas of fatherhood, the researchers had each respective father rank each other on the main va lues pointed out by each communit y. The questions that the fathers ranked each other by varied bet ween the BaYa ka and Bondongo groups: The BaYa ka cultura l ranked good fathers based on how they shared resources, how hard they worked, whether they had any spousa l arguments, whether their children were hea lthy and if they contributed to communit y teaching. On the other hand, the Bondongo people ranked good fathers based on fishing/hunting abilities, how big their gardens were, if they traveled to get commercia l goods for the communit y, if they had hea lthy children and if they contributed to socia l education. Boyette said that the different questions actua lly

revea led a lot about the communities. He explained that they found that the Bondongo fathers were actua lly sorted into t wo groups: one of the groups of fathers focused more on the hard, laborious chores of fishing and hunting, and the other group focused on the teaching of children and stay ing closer to the communit y. As Boyette and Gettler expected, the group of Bondongo fathers that focused on the strength intensive tasks had higher levels of testosterone than the group that focused more on the children. With the BaYa ka tribe who are more focused on cooperative communities, the researched noted lower levels of testosterone in men who were ranked as better fathers. The team a lso noted a correlation bet ween testosterone levels and martia l arguments. They found that fathers in both communities who were

rated as hav ing more martia l conf licts had higher testosterone levels. Gettler and Boyette both agree that their study has impacts outside the remote v illage in the Republic of Congo. Boyette said that he believes this study shows us that there is not just one way to be a great father. “There’s not one good way that men should be contributing to their families and we have to recognize that men see themselves as coming from particular different cultura l backgrounds and that these may a lso suit their biolog y better or are promoted by their biolog y in different ways,” Boyette said. “We should be able to welcome various ways of being fathers and different ways of contributing to the child development and supporting. Contact Iverson Sun at csun7@nd.edu

Photo courtesy of Adam Boyette

A father from the BaYaka tribe poses for a photo with his young son in the northern Republic of Congo, where Boyette did his field work.

NEWS

The observer | MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

Saint Mary’s installs new furniture on lawn By MADISON HANSEN News Writer

In order to a llow students to spend more time outside comfortably in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saint Mar y’s student government worked to add new furniture to be placed on the grass bet ween Le Mans Ha ll and Monroe Ha ll. The new furniture is similar to that which is located on Notre Dame’s librar y quad, including wooden law n chairs, bonfire pits and hanging lights. Senior Giavanna Paradiso, SGA president, said her team

Meetings Continued from page 1

when we practice on stationary bikes in the Smith Center or swimming at Rockne. W hen we practice outside, we are able to run in smaller groups that are spaced us as not to put ourselves at risk.” The smaller groups have allowed the team to build community, he said. “The pods have been really great for practice because it has created a smaller, more intimate community that meets often,” Vanstraten said. “I believe that the precautions that are being taken for COVID-19 have really increased the camaraderie within the club.” Many academic clubs are taking different approaches in light of the pandemic.

Jenkins Continued from page 1

negative,” Deere said. “She is follow ing CDC guidance and best practices, including socia l distancing, wearing face coverings and frequently washes hands.” Notre Dame student government released a statement Friday afternoon extending prayers to Jenk ins and a ll other students, staff and facult y who are currently fighting COVID-19. “Let us a ll remind ourselves that we must be v igilant and committed to doing our part in follow ing a ll hea lth and safet y guidelines to ensure the safet y of each other during this time,” the statement said. G. Marcus Cole, dean of Notre Dame Law, sent an email to the law school communit y Friday evening, say ing a ll who were in attendance at the Rose Garden event underwent daily testing before the news of positive cases broke. “With the revelation of positive test results, each of

just wanted to give Saint Mar y’s students a nice space to enjoy company together outside w ith the addition of the furniture. “SGA was ver y excited to be able to help [the] students’ situations better,” she said. Student Activ ities Board (SAB), Resident Ha ll Association (RHA) and Belles Against Violence Office (BAVO) said they w ill team up to use this space for future bonfire events. The space has been nicknamed “Belle’s Corner” by students, and the tables have been decorated w ith sma ll plants and pumpk ins for the

fa ll season. The new additions have brought students out from their residence ha lls to sit under the lights to work or to just socia lize w ith their friends. Senior Sara h Ca ldwell, a member of the SAB, said their organization hopes to bring Saint Mar y’s students together by using the new space. “As Student Activ ities Board, we plan communit y-building events for Saint Mar y’s students,” Ca ldwell said. “We host an annua l bonfire event and were excited that we could utilize the new space to host this year’s event. We look for ward to using the

Sophomore Hanjing Zhu, the project leader for the Microsoft Corporation at the Student Business International Council (SIBC) said her group is following a hybrid model. “W hile some project groups are meeting in person for their weekly meetings, I have conducted most of them on Zoom due to accessibility and safety,” Zhu said. “However, I intend to go in-person after travel-team selections conclude the following week.” W hile some clubs are aware of the option to meet in person, a few clubs like The Juggler, are either not sure or hesitant to continue with inperson events. “I’m actually not sure where SAO stands, which is why I’ve just been meeting on Zoom for the Juggler,” said senior William LaMarra, the head of

the Juggler, the University’s literary magazine. W hile COVID-19 changes have made this year different, many like sophomore Jerome Gan, are cautiously optimistic. “We just had our first Asian American Association (AAA) meeting two weeks ago at Bond Quad. Everyone stayed socially distant, and these meetings seem to be working more effectively than Zoom,” Gan said. “I hope that we continue this and stay safe until the end of the semester.”

us were asked to submit to more extensive testing today,” Cole said in the email.

“Please be assured that we ta ke your safet y ver y seriously. I k now that you have each

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article stated SAO recently changed its guidelines to allow some student groups to begin meeting in person. These guidelines were only different during the University’s two-week period of remote instruction; otherwise, the SAO guidelines have not

space in the future.” A lthough they have not yet planned an event using the space, Ca ldwell said she feels confident that these events w ill be enjoyable for a ll Saint Mar y’s students. A lthough the semester w ill come to an end in a little over a month, the weather is expected to get colder soon, and students are encouraged to use the bonfires, before 5 p.m., as the temperatures continue to drop. Senior Morgan Burnett said she is excited for the cold weather this year. “I think the bonfire events are fun and [w ill] ma ke the

cold weather on campus more bearable,” Burnett said. W hile the fire pits w ill a lso double as tables and help prov ide warmth to students as they get their work done, senior LeeA nn Beat y a lso said she is excited to use this area for the w inter months w ith a few modifications. “Hopefully, we w ill be able to place some of those ta ll, standing heaters so that we’re able to use this awesome area as the weather gets cooler,” Beat y said. a new tool in their toolbox.” Contact Madison Hansen at mhansen01@saintmarys.edu

Photo courtesy of Dylan Leupi

With SAO approval, some student groups, including the Asian American Association, have been hostin-person meetings and events.

changed. The Observer regrets this error.

Contact Isabella Laufenberg at ilaufenb@nd.edu

made extraordinar y efforts to comply w ith the Universit y’s Hea lth and Safet y protocols,

and we w ill do what is necessar y to honor your sacrifice and commitment.”

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By SARAH KIKEL Scene Writer

Breen-Phillips (1939): Best dressed After the 1940s, Notre Dame’s dorm architecture began an unfortunate descent into a style combining the worst aspects of lego pieces and a slab of concrete. However, BP was fortunately built before that, featuring dormers and protruding bay windows despite being built in a record-breaking 165 days at the end of the Great Depression.

Farley (1947): Most irresistible Farley is the finest. You pass her on the way to North Dining Hall. She’s got angel wings, and her captivating halo lured even Fr. Jenkins himself — probably the descendant of the Sirens. In 1965, she was also one of the first “stay halls,” in which freshmen were set to remain in the same dorm as upperclassmen. Irresistible.

Fisher (1952): Most likely to be chosen for “Queer Eye” Whoever calls Fisher “The Cadillac” is lying to themselves. His hallways look like the passageways of a cramped navy ship, and I’ll stop the commentary there. As a result, he has received many nominations from his concerned sister and brother dorms to receive a makeover from the Fab Five.

By SOPHIA MICHETTI Scene Writer

I am a firm believer in not listening to Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving. The Christmas season is the most special time of the year and celebrating early just ruins the excitement of the season coming near. So, when Carrie Underwood released a Christmas album on Sept. 25, three months before the holiday, it was worth investigating. Many songs on “My Gift” feature acoustic guitar, and there was less piano than I personally would have liked for a Christmas album. Many songs such as “Sweet Baby Jesus,” “Away in a Manger” and “Mary, Did You Know?” contain religious lyrics that focus on the birth of Jesus more so than the giving and loving nature of the season. Underwood has a few features on this album, including the always amazing John Legend. Most of the songs on the album are quite slow, but there were definitely a few bops are worth adding to your playlist. My favorite song on “My Gift” is “Let There Be Peace.” This track is the most soulful on the album, as a choir is featured in the background, the piano takes center stage and there’s even a clapping beat at one point. On first listen, I sang along at the end, and I think anyone else listening to it would as well. The uplifting lyrics of “Let There Be Peace” talk about

Pangborn (1955): Most ready to move on

candlelit nighttime prayer, on Sundays. Enough said.

Originally intended as a temporary dorm to house G.I. Bill veterans, Pangborn has an interesting history of only being able to keep her residents for one year. After that, her inhabitants leave to occupy bigger and better places. Maybe the lions that flank her entrance scare people away?

Pasquerilla East (1981): Most likely to rise to greatness

Keenan (1957): Class clown

Pasquerilla West (1981): Biggest flirt

Keenan’s got an unmatched sense of humor, cracking jokes at unexpected moments, especially in the cold days of February when his classmates are beginning to succumb to wintery despair. He’s hip to current events and is always ready to make a fool of himself by shedding (more than) a few layers of clothing in a dance.

PW thinks she’s some hot stuff. She’s always trying to get with the boys and weasel her way into the limelight. She crowns a queen every year and elevates herself by putting down her twin PE. Proceed with caution, because she’s a femme fatale.

Stanford (1957): Most laid back Located near the end of North Quad, Stanford just strolls up to the dining hall and walks straight back. Not a complicated path, and not a complicated guy. He sometimes pops up with a weird cry that supposedly sounds like a griffin, but he’s generally pretty chill.

Lewis (1965): Most likely to become a nun Lewis was originally constructed to house graduate student Sisters. With colors that resemble Our Lady’s gleaming gold and blue, she proclaims her devotion to Mary 55 years later. She also hosts Lucernarium,

having a compassionate heart toward each other, as Underwood sings, “I wanna love my neighbor.” With its soulful tone, “Let There Be Peace” is different from the popular Christmas music we hear on the radio every year, so I definitely encourage all of you to check this one out if you only listen to one song on the album. The most adorable song on the album would have to be “Little Drummer Boy.” When I first began to listen to this song, there wasn’t anything particularly special about it. A simple drum beat occupies the background as Underwood sings the lyrics we all know. It’s a nice song, but I did not expect it to be on my favorites list. That all changed when Underwood’s five-year-old son, Isaiah Fisher, sang the second set of verses. My heart melted when I heard the toddler singing along to the drumbeat, and the crescendo that came from the instrumental toward the end tied the whole song together, making it a track worthy of more than one listen. “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” is one of the songs on which Underwood’s country roots can really be heard. The acoustic guitar is what puts this song in the country genre, but it also sounds as classic as ever. Underwood’s rendition brings out the romantic nature of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” especially in the instrumental break. Her strong voice paired with the soft melody blended beautifully together, and it’s easy to picture a scene where the snow

PE is an unassuming character, but she’s bound to one day rise as high as her floor eight. Her residents also call themselves the Pyros, and as we know, heat rises.

Siegfried (1988): Most athletic Somehow home to what seems like the entire hockey team, Siegfried dominates not only varsity but interhall sports as well. His residents sport the name “Ramblers,” which, preceding the “Fighting Irish,” was the name of Notre Dame’s varsity athletic teams.

Knott (1988): Most studious We don’t know a lot about Knott because he keeps to himself. Located significantly close to the library, he spends many late nights escaping his prison-like building on the 10th floor, with a large portrait of his namesake nearby to keep him company.. Contact Sarah Kikel at skikel@nd.edu

is falling outside while the fire is roaring in the living room as you listen to the song. “My Gift” is a mixtape of Christmas songs from soulful, country and classic angles. Most of the songs on the album are ones the common car radio listener would know word for word, although Underwood tends to use the guitar as the lead instrument more often than the commonly used piano. While I love a good Christmas album, and “My Gift” should not be considered bad by any means, I do not think it’s worth breaking the “No Christmas before Thanksgiving” rule. Save it for Nov. 27, kids. Contact Sophia Michetti at smichett@nd.edu

“My Gift” Carrie Underwood Label: Capitol Records Nashville Favorite tracks: “Let There Be Peace,” “Little Drummer Boy,” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” If you like: Christmas music, John Legend, Brett Eldredge

LIYA BLITZER | The Observer

The observer | Monday, october 5, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

We deserve better

Inside Column

The single life

Gabriel Niforatos The Road Less Traveled

Ellis Riojas Graphic Designer

First-Year: Quad Sophomore: Quad Junior: Six-Man At this point, all the simple models I’ve learned in my forecasting class would predict that I would somehow find a way to have more than five roommates my senior year, but sadly that’s not the case. As an resident assistant in Baumer Hall, living in a singleoccupancy room was the only option, and although I am quite happy to have my own space, this isn’t the best year for me to live in a single. As a first-year who didn’t click with his roommates, I found friendship and household with my friends Ben and Daniel down the hall, and spent more time in their room than my own. Their companionship was my experience of residential life, and we roomed together with other friends for the next two years. Living together was the foundation of our friendship: Working side by side at our desks as classical music whispered through Ben’s radio, eating granola with peanut butter as we got ready for bed and talking about things that matter and things that don’t late into the night. Even if the day was lonely, there was always a familial space to return to — a household where I could let my guard down and share life with others. But now my household is just me, and I don’t have the same agency I did my first year to increase its size. Baumer Hall is proving to be an amazing community. The common spaces are always full of life (even if that life is hours of late 2000’s reruns of Deal or No Deal), laughter and conversation frequent our hallways and there’s always a good crowd that gathers to pray each night at mass with Fr. Pete and Deacon Robert. But no matter how wonderful our communities, we all — especially in the exhausting world we find ourselves in — need a space of retreat: somewhere to take our masks off, somewhere where nothing is happening, somewhere where we can simply be. I didn’t lose that “somewhere,” but I did lose the people I shared it with. It wouldn’t be any less safe for me to have a designated household than for someone living in a quad to have three roommates, but as the rules stand, it doesn’t look like I’ll get that household experience this year. And not just me, but the hundreds of others who live in singles too. Was expecting us to go months without close contact with anyone the plan? None of us chose our single-occupancy rooms with knowledge of what precautions and policies would be in place, and now, following those policies to a T is often counterproductive for our wellbeing. I hope that by the spring semester the University can rise to this challenge the same way it did to designating closed pods for football games — returning to us single-dwellers the opportunity to have a household where we can let our guard down, a safe, closed pod of friends, a space of communal retreat. Contact Ellis at eriojas@nd.edu The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

It is an understatement to say that last week has been a hectic and chaotic one on ever y level, from the first presidential debate of the 2020 election on Tuesday night, to the news of President Trump and Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins testing positive for COV ID-19. It is, unfortunately, impossible to cover the whirlw ind of column-worthy happenings at the moment, so I w ill spin the globe and pick the item that my index finger lands on. As a political science major, I feel that it is important to discuss the first presidential “debate” that took place Sept. 29, if it may be called that. I tr y to portray an unbiased political angle as much as possible in my columns to foster dialogue across the aisle (something which is admittedly exceedingly difficult w ith the power vacuum in office). Therefore, this column w ill not be an analysis of who won the debate and why. Rather, it is a plea for some semblance of civ ilit y and an indictment of the mocker y of decency that was put on display at the debate. I do not w ish to overstate the importance of presidential debates in elections. It may be argued that presidential debates are only so valuable, particularly in today’s era of politics where polarizing candidates w ill maintain their most fer vent supporters despite outside developments. However, this does not mean that debates ser ve no purpose. On the most basic level, a presidential debate is another wheel in the locomotive of American democracy; they are an opportunit y to present the st yle of leadership that a candidate w ill bring to the presidency, and an opportunit y to display the advantages of that display over the opposition’s. There have been mudslinging debates in the past, for certain, but for the most part decorum and decency are maintained. I do not need to tell you that this decency was completely abandoned during the course of the first debate. It is not necessarily a matter of who won the debate, but rather that the American people lost it, as CNN’s Jake Tapper framed it in the postdebate coverage. I continually stress the need for dialogue and conversation in my columns, and this plea is even more significant in light of the ongoing civ il and public unrest that came to the forefront during this past summer. For President Trump, the debate was an opportunit y to w iden his base of supporters and bolster a campaign that currently has him losing to Biden across various polls. Instead, we were treated to 90 minutes

of Trump repeatedly interrupting Biden and moderator Chris Wallace, v icious personal attacks on Biden’s family and mocker y of Biden for abiding by the COV ID-19 guidelines (it should be noted that Biden tested negative for coronav irus follow ing the debate). On the f lip side, Biden called Trump a clow n and a fool on numerous occasions. Even through the lens of entertainment, this was horrendous telev ision. Even soap operas have a certain set of rules and precedents that they abide by, a comforting air of predictabilit y that makes up for other features lacking. The first presidential debate sliced through all semblance of the predictabilit y of debates and has even led to some calling for the moderator to be able to cut out the candidates’ microphones if things get out of hand to this extent again. A column in the Washington Post highlighted that the debate was beneficial precisely because it did away w ith this predictabilit y, cutting through the rhetoric and political niceties and show ing who the candidates truly are. For President Trump it was business as usual, bully ing all sense of decency and normalit y and repeatedly interrupting Joe Biden and moderator Chris Wallace. A lthough some of his answers were lack luster, Biden showed that he could weather the onslaught and disregard for decency on his opponent’s side. W hile it is true that this debate showed us the candidates’ “true colors” in a sense, a presidential debate should not be a therapy session. It is an essential part of the democratic process, and natural process and shift of power, that t wo candidates can come together and civ illy disagree w ith one another. I am not advocating for pomp and circumstance, and it is certainly true that presidential debates are a t y pe of performance where the candidates are engaged in a dance of dodging difficult questions, but the point is that it is a performance. A dance cannot be disregarded because one or t wo of the performers are critical of the choreography. I do not advocate politicians advancing the same, frustrating rhetoric that often characterizes presidential debates. But what I can say is this: We deser ve better. Gabriel Niforatos is a senior majoring in political science with minors in the Hesburgh Program in Public Service and theology. He is passionate about giving a voice to the disenfranchised and writing is the muse he is persistently chasing. He can be found at gniforat@nd.edu or @g_niforatos on Twitter. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

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The observer | monday, october 5, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

The only thing fear has to fear Eva Analitis On Second Thought

I am excited for the future. I am hopeful for the future. Yes, you read that right. No, that wasn’t sarcasm. “In the middle of this pandemic? In this job market? After that debate?” you might ask. I know everyone is telling us that we’re doomed right now — personally, nationally and globally. After all, it is *sigh* 2020, the worst year ever. It feels as though everything we could have imagined and even things we never imagined have gone wrong recently — so, we should hang our heads in despair and collapse to the ground, overtaken by doom. I reject this outlook. The good thing about being in a bad position is that there is a lot of room for improvement. It’s like when you bomb a test but get a burst of motivation to redeem yourself on the next one. The test is finished, the bad grade set in stone. All you can do now is set your sights on a better showing next time. You hit the books and review your mistakes in office hours, and having done so poorly the first time, you’ll almost surely do better the next time around. With the comfort that you can’t fall back much farther, you go forward confidently. When you feel things can’t get much worse, remember that they can get better. When everything around you seems wrong and bad, it creates space to celebrate what’s right and good and to be aware of improving circumstances. Right now, we’re keenly conscious of all kinds of problems in our world, from the planet Earth itself to our individual households. Yet this awareness also allows us to recognize our triumphs, no matter how small, as we confront these troubles. I urge you to look beyond the gloom that surrounds us today and imagine better days ahead. Will them into existence. The problems we are facing will not be solved overnight. There won’t be a specific day in the future when all is magically right in the world — when

COVID-19 is eliminated, climate change halted, racism eradicated and our country is flourishing. These things will take time. Even when we defeat the difficulties that weigh so heavily on us now, I’m sure other challenges await us. Still, I urge you to think about how good it will feel when we get to crowd the stands of our favorite sporting events and concerts and have huge family gatherings at our dining room tables again. Think about how satisfied we will be when everyone feels respected and safe in America, when our environment is healthy and when we are proud of our leaders. Many of us are voting in our first presidential election this year and are — to put it kindly — underwhelmed by our two choices. Throughout the country, though many have a preference, most people seem to be disappointed by the prospect of either candidate. Some people see this election as our last defense against the deterioration of our nation: a fight for the soul of America, for the salvation of our democracy and for the preservation of our lives. Others say the deterioration is already underway and that our country is doomed no matter which candidate prevails. I have struggled to make sense of what this election will mean for us, but one thing I have concluded is that whoever tried to convince us that our lives and fates lie in the hands of two seventy-something-year-old men is wrong. Government and politics aren’t everything. As a student of political science and as someone aware that politics touches every aspect of our lives, I have spent the past few years proclaiming precisely the opposite. Politics is immensely important, and the government has great power to either help or harm people — both of which it has done throughout history. But we are not defined by our government. We are people beyond it, above the fray. Our country is not just our president, our Congress or our Court. It is all of us. And even when the government fails us or disappoints us, we are still people, and we will live the best lives we can. To the person who asks how we can possibly carry

on after this year full of political turmoil, I answer that we will go on because we are bigger than our government. We have thoughts, joys, relationships and ideas that do not depend on who sits in the Oval Office, and we will continue to have these things regardless of who our leaders are. Yes, they are supposed to represent us. But if they do not, we are still ourselves. In his book “Man’s Search for Meaning,” a memoir of his experience at Auschwitz, Viktor Frankl writes, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” I encourage you to choose an attitude of hope in an environment that is promoting despair. Nowadays, everyone asks us if we are registered to vote or what our fears and concerns are for the future. But no one asks us what our dreams, aspirations and joys are — so I will. What inspires you today? What are your dreams for tomorrow? For next year? A decade from now? What excites you? What do you look forward to? What is something you want to learn how to do? People constantly convince us that we should be full of fear right now. Don’t get me wrong — there are many things we should indeed fear at this moment. But more than fear, I dare you to be full of the only thing fear has to fear: hope. When you feel surrounded by darkness, look for spots of brightness around you, and you will see them like stars in the night sky. You might even begin to notice constellations, showing you that the bright spots are not isolated, but part of a bigger picture. And eventually, when the night passes, you will see the morning sun. Eva Analitis is a junior in Lyons Hall majoring in political science and pre-health. If you see her around campus, don’t be afraid to whisk her off for an impromptu philosophical discussion. Otherwise, you can reach her at eanaliti@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

letter to the editor

Let’s be honest, practicing Catholics As Catholic Christians, we understand full well the importance of good works, which we know to be integral to our salvation. In fact, we stand apart from many of our fellow Christians in this regard, the majority of whom maintain that faith alone is adequate justification for God’s pardon. Frequently, such works are associated with Catholic social teaching (CST). Those particular undertakings, however, do not alone make one Catholic. Recognizing the inherent dignity of every human person, from conception to natural death; opposing the evils of racism; welcoming the migrant; defending those who are persecuted for their faith; ending the abhorrent practices of human trafficking and modern-day slavery; educating the whole person; treating LGBT persons with respect; securing economic justice; holding civil leaders accountable; preserving our common home; working toward peace in our time. These, while perfectly consistent with CST, are not sufficient to describe the Catholic believer. Attending Mass on a weekly basis and sharing fully in the sacramental life of the Church; giving thanks, making time for reflection and praying daily; continuously discerning, and responding to, the will of God in our lives; growing closer to Our Lady, the pinnacle of Christian devotion; grappling with scripture, theological works and the teachings of the Magisterium, even when challenging to our individual understandings; giving praise and glory to God — the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These, together with the charitable works they inspire, fully express one’s Catholic identity. Obviously, this letter is geared toward my fellow Catholics, and so it might not resonate with all of The Observer’s readers. However, as the principal newspaper of our predominantly Catholic tri-campus

community, it is not uncommon to see personal invocations of Catholicism in the columns (and digital pages) of this publication. Often accusatory and critical in their tone, almost never do these contributions convey an authentic belief in Christ’s Church. Instead, they brazenly merge individual preferences with elements of Church teaching, affirming a conception that is detached from reality. To associate works with one’s Catholic faith, they must, by definition, stem from an authentic belief in God and his Church. A key facet of Catholicism is a belief in the existence of objective truth. Consequently, works that clearly violate the Church’s express teachings cannot accurately be described as inspired by one’s Catholicism. And similarly, opinions that contradict established Church teaching, juxtaposed with definitive truths, cannot genuinely be described as consistent with Catholicism. Rather, the honest Catholic seeks to maintain an open, authentic and holistic relationship with the Church. This is not to say that one ceases to be Catholic when he or she expresses support for abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, ethnocentrism or blind partisan allegiances. Such a sentiment is easily negated by virtue of our baptism, the mark of which is irreversible. However, to intermingle such support with general principles of Catholic teaching in an attempt to supplant the reality of the Church is, at best, disingenuous and, at worst, willfully ignorant. No matter our vocation — priest, woman religious, lay, married, single, professor, judge — each one of us is called by Christ to live a radical life. Ironically, in our present time, what was formerly conventional has, in some ways, become radical. For this reason, it is not without expectation that the views expressed in this letter might be interpreted by some as the

ramblings of a zealot, one who shrugs at the ugliness of this world in pursuit of religious piety and dogmatic purity. Admittedly, I am no theologian, and I certainly do not consider myself a likely candidate for sainthood. On the contrary, I cherish the term used to describe those who identify wholeheartedly as Catholic, in both belief and deed: “practicing.” This simple word describes one’s ongoing response to God’s call, and it is an acknowledgement that perfection is yet to be achieved. For Catholics, this need to practice can never be overcome. And for this reason, it is easier for many to focus — even exclusively — on the charitable dimensions of our faith. Fortunately, Jesus himself has told us where to begin our practice: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment” (Matthew 22:37–38). What follows (“You shall love your neighbor as yourself”) seems to garner much more favor in today’s popular discourse, but we cannot truly love our neighbor, as Catholics, without first knowing and loving the God who lives within them. Presently, we find ourselves very much engaged in a time fraught with confrontation; neither the Church nor its individual members are immune from this. There is much about which we might disagree. Eventually, such disagreement can injure our spirits and undermine our universal call to love one another — that is, if we fail to recall and practice what it is that unites us together in the first place: love of God through his Church. David P. Spicer J.D. ‘20 Sept. 29

DAILY

The observer | MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

Crossword | WILl shortz

Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Put an end to any problems you face at home, or make adjustments that encourage better relationships with the people who live with you. Sort out money matters and shared expenses. Revamping the way things have been will help bring new life to your domestic situation. Better times are just around the corner. The right moves will enhance your life. Your numbers are 8, 11, 25, 29, 32, 41, 44. ARIES (March 21-April 19): Spend more time on personal gains and less time worrying about what others are doing. Gather information, and consider what you want to do with the rest of your life. Pick up skills and whatever else it takes to encourage positive results. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You can pick and choose what you want if you go about your business and finish what you start. Positive results will transpire if you share your feelings with someone special. You can make plans. A quiet celebration will enhance your relationship. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t share your secrets or personal information about others. Interfering in someone’s life will jeopardize your relationship. Make changes that will encourage you to take better care of your health and well-being. Tidy up unfinished business. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Personal improvements will fetch compliments and lead to greater interest in what you have planned for the future. Join forces with someone who shares your beliefs and opinions, and together you will make a difference. Romance is on the rise. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Say less and do more. Concentrate on new ways to bring in more cash. A practical approach to life, love and happiness will bring the best results. Too much of anything will be costly financially, emotionally and physically. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Make personal changes that encourage you to live healthily, grow emotionally and intellectually, and love unconditionally. Strive for new beginnings; opportunities and stability will follow. Don’t let what others do annoy you. Choose love over discord. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Home improvements will help bring you closer to the ones you love. Refuse to get angry if someone tries to coerce you into a debate. Be smart; keep the peace. A change to the way you handle money will pay off. 3 stars SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A change looks auspicious. Discuss what you want to do with someone you love. The input you receive will help you put together an ambitious plan that will be satisfying and change the dynamics of your relationship with someone special. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Keep an open mind, but don’t let anyone lure you into something questionable. Look inward, focus on what you can do to improve your look, health, well-being and personal life. Romance will enhance your relationship with someone special. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You’ll develop some good ideas that will gain respect and support if shared with loved ones. A change of plans will turn out to be better than anticipated. A move will bring you peace of mind. Romance is favored. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Reflect, and you will recognize what’s best for you now. Don’t feel you have to get involved in someone else’s venture. Make your health and financial plans priorities. Focus on saving and investing in your ideas, not someone else’s. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Take the initiative to make things happen. Explore what interests you, and make changes to what’s no longer benefiting you. Personal improvements will lead to opportunities that will put more money in your hands. Romance is in the stars. Birthday Baby: You are enthusiastic, creative and secretive. You are diligent and loyal.

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Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek

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Sports Authority

Heat deserve spot in bubble NBA finals

The curse of the Hammbino David Kramer Sports Writer

Among our nation’s great state stereotypes, perhaps “Minnesota Nice” proves the most questionable. The torrential weather that sweeps over the fields of the North Star State forces publicly kind Minnesotans to endure abysmal temperatures in belligerent privacy. Outsiders never see the passive aggression and mass hysteria that pervades the state in five months of bone-chilling winter. They never hear the endless complaints and curses from the secluded comfort of the plains. They never feel the unadulterated regret that leads loyal Minnesotans to fend for themselves in social withdrawal. Throughout the annual bombardment of piercing winds reaching 60 degrees below zero, the Land of 10,000 Lakes releases a collective outcry of all that is unkind. And in gratitude, it embraces the mediocre-at-best summer month of July with such positivity that outsiders label the hermits and hibernators of Minnesota as the kindest of them all. Timing is everything. But before this seriously twisted bullying at the hands of Jack Frost even kicks into high gear, one event stands alone as the truest test of Minnesota’s resilience: the start (and abrupt end) of playoff baseball in October. The Minnesota Twins’ recent misfortunes in the MLB playoffs have undoubtedly reached laughing stock status. Over the last 16 years, the Twins organization has assumed the longest consecutive playoff losing streak in the history of North American sports. In just two short days last week, the “Bomba Squad” of the Twin Cities surpassed the 1975-1979 Chicago Blackhawks with 18 playoff losses in a row, a number that looks as dreadful on paper as their level of play looks on the field. The Minnesota Twins have mixed an effective cocktail in coping with a drastically disadvantageous annual payroll: low-budget veteran starting pitching, high-powered hitting, and a moderate accumulation of underpriced free agents in the offseason. General Manager Thad Levine and President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey delicately balance their embrace of established baseball strategy with analytically driven innovation. But even these unequivocal geniuses can’t halt the “Curse

of the Hammbino” (named after Minnesota’s own Hamm’s beer). Last season brought the Twins’ first 100-win season since 1965, one that ended with the first Division Series sweep of a 100-win team in MLB history. To make matters worse, the 2020 Houston Astros became the first team with a losing regular season record to win a playoff series, all against a Twins squad that was on pace to win 97 games if given a full-length season. Joining the ranks of the similarly disappointing Timberwolves, Wild and Vikings, the Twins perpetuate the longest active playoff championship drought in men’s American sports. Minnesotans look to the wrinkled, musty 1991 World Series championship banner swaying aimlessly at Target Field as the last glimpse of sports jubilation in the Twin Cities. Most people deem this wildly unlikely phenomenon a matter of mere chance. But c’mon, what fun is that? As a diehard Twins fan, I find the curse much easier to swallow if I can shift some blame to MLB teams of vast success that treat the Twins like a depleted punching bag in the back corner of an empty gym. The Yankees, an organization so assuredly despised by the less lucrative, have crushed the Twins’ playoff hopes without fail since Game 2 of the 2004 ALCS. After scoring two runs off of Mariano Rivera in the eighth inning, the Twins sent elite closer Joe Nathan to battle the Yankees into the middle of the 12th inning. Manager Ron Gardenhire replaced Nathan with J.C. Romero, who served up a devastating walk off line drive to Hideki Matsui to the roar of 57,000 Yankees fans. Thirteen consecutive losses to the pinstripes, the longest playoff losing streak to a single team in MLB history, separates that fateful night from the dread of Twins playoff baseball today. Speaking for my home state, we don’t want your pity or your consolation. We deserve the ridicule, the criticism and the social media roasts (which, honestly, seem to get funnier every year). We welcome your taunts and your jokes because, really, we’ve heard them all. But for the sake of our Minnesota niceness, feel free to give us a win next time around. Contact David Kramer at dkramer2@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Thomas A. Zwiller Sports Writer

As the Miami Heat trail 2-0 to the Los Angeles Lakers, people are doubting if the Heat should have been here at all. This is an absolutely patently absurd antiquated take; the Heat without question belong in the NBA Finals, and here’s why I think so.

1. The bubble argument One argument that I’ve been seeing online is that the Heat run wouldn’t have happened had these playoffs not been in the bubble, that they benefited from not having to play on the road during these playoffs, which I don’t think is true.

Heat vs. Pacers The first team the Heat played was the fourth-seeded Pacers, a good team this year albeit one that exceeded expectations. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Pacers (1505 Elo) entered this year with an 82% chance of making the playoffs and would most likely do so as the fifth seed with a record of 43-39 just over .500. The Heat (1518 Elo) also exceeded expectations; they were given a 74% chance of making the playoffs at the No. 7 seed, and a record of 41-41. That being said, by the time the playoffs rolled around, FiveThirtyEight had changed its forecast, and with good reason. The Heat went 3-1 against the Pacers (including going 1-1 on the road), winning by a combined 37 points in their victories. This regular season split says to me that the Heat could’ve easily won in the playoffs, both on the road and at home. Finally, they didn’t have a close game at all in the playoffs, as they swept the Pacers out of the playoffs by a combined 42 points.

Heat vs. Bucks Then, the next team they faced were the Milwaukee Bucks, boasting MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Giannis Antetokounmpo. FiveThirtyEight predicted the Bucks (1643 Elo) would go 55-27 with a 99% chance of making the playoffs as well as 16% chance of winning the Finals. Not a lot had changed once the playoffs arrived, the Bucks Elo had risen to 1739 and they had a 21% chance of winning the Finals. That being said, this wasn’t a slam dunk for the Bucks to win, and seven of 18 ESPN analysts had picked the Heat to win, and it was with good reason. The Heat won the regular-season series, going 2-1

winning by 21 points, and split the series 1-1 at the Bucks home court. Not only did the Heat have a good series against them, but they had good personnel to go with it. Bam Adebayo is 6’9” and 255 lbs and a solid defensive player, comparable to Giannis, who is 6’11” and 242lbs. Bam was a key in shutting down Giannis; in the regular season, he held him to 42 points on 18-39 of shots in the two Miami wins. All this without mentioning Andre Iguodala, who has been an NBA All-Defensive Team member and a Finals MVP. The Heat were ready to shut down Giannis, and once they did so, that limited the Bucks offense and the Heat were able to gentleman’s-sweep them right out of the playoffs. I don’t even think that that was an unrealistic result, albeit outside of a bubble, maybe the series goes 4-2 but still Heat.

Heat vs. Celtics The Celtics were the Conference Finals matchup for the Heat, and this series was a close one. Before the season, FiveThirtyEight gave the Celtics a 1568 Elo rating, a 46-36 record, and a 90% chance of making the playoffs at the fourth seed. I think Boston has the best argument for beating Miami outside of a neutral court: Boston won the regular-season series 2-1 by a total of 27 points. It was a tight series, with the offensive ratings being 114.4 Miami and 114.5 Boston, and the point differential being 112.3 Miami, and 112.5 Boston. It’s a tight score series based on points, but I think the main difference was the turnover rate, Boston had a turnover rate of 12.6, while Miami was only 10.1. These turnovers were the key difference in the series, largely thanks to Miami’s key use of a zone defense. Shooting was also pretty much a wash, with Miami’s Effective Field Goal Percentage being .526 and Boston at .535. While I think that Boston had the best chance of beating Miami, I think that outside the bubble the series goes 4-3 Miami.

2. The reseeding argument On ESPN, most notably Mike Greenberg and Jalen Rose have been making the argument of reseeding the NBA Playoffs as well as getting rid of the conferences and simply seeding teams 1-16. It seems to make sense at first: the West is a lot better than the East, this would allow for the two best teams to truly get

to the Finals, instead of meeting in the Conference Finals. The WNBA does reseeding and got rid of Conferences, in the hopes of finding the best champion. The reason ESPN personalities now believe that this is a compelling argument is that the Heat have now been blown out in two games. Had the NBA done this it would’ve looked like this: Bucks vs. Magic, Raptors vs. Nets, Lakers vs. Trail Blazers, Clippers vs. Mavericks Celtics vs. 76ers, Nuggets vs. Pacers, Rockets vs. Jazz, Heat vs. Thunder. Assuming the Heat beat out the Thunder, which I think is fairly reasonable, the next stage of the bracket would be: Bucks vs. Heat, Clippers vs. Celtics, Lakers vs. Rockets, and Nuggets vs. Raptors. The Heat, we know, beat the Bucks, so that game would be a lock to me, as would the Lakers beating the Rockets. The other games might have been a bit dicier, but I’ll assume for the sake of this argument the teams that advanced in real life would also advance in this reseeded scenario, resulting in Celtics and Nuggets. We know in real life who wins Celtics vs. Heat — it’s the Heat, resulting in them getting to the finals. Lakers-Nuggets were also played in real life, so the Lakers also make it back to the finals, and we get Heat at Lakers for Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

If the Heat belong here, why are they getting blown out by the Lakers? The simple answer is injury. Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo were both injured in Game 1 and had to leave, with neither playing in Game 2. Jimmy Butler also sprained an ankle in Game 1, limiting his play somewhat in Games 1 and 2. These three players were the leading scorers for the Heat in the three series they won, and now they’re gone. Without Adebayo, the Heat simply don’t have the depth to guard Anthony Davis (who in my opinion should get the Finals MVP thus far) who will beat them with his height on key rebounds and posing a problem when shooting. If the Heat had their full cast, they’d be able to make this a series. Without them, Lakers in five. Contact Thomas A. Zwiller at tzwiller@hcc-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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M Soccer Continued from page 12

tie the match 1-1. The game stayed level for the remainder of the first half, but the Cardinals took advantage of another Irish mistake early in the second half to regain the lead. Freshman defender Paddy Burns dragged down Louisville forward Pedro Fonseca in the box in the 51st minute, and Fonseca converted from the penalty spot to put the Cardinals up 2-1. After falling behind once again, the Irish dialed up the pressure and pressed Louisville up the field in order to secure the game-tying goal. Lynn had a great opportunity in the 66th minute to get his second goal of the game, but his header from the edge of the

six-yard box sailed wide left. Three minutes later, the Irish had another golden chance to tie things up, as sophomore midfielder Michael Pellegrino hit a half volley near the penalty spot off a cross from Burns that appeared destined for the upper corner. However, Pellegrino’s shot soared over the top of the net and kept the Irish behind. The Irish continued to threaten the Cardinals for the rest of the game, outshooting them 8-0 in the final 25 minutes with numerous chances coming inside Louisville’s penalty area. Notre Dame was unable to put away any of these opportunities though, resulting in a 2-1 win for the Cardinals at home. Although the outcome was not what the Irish hoped for, Riley is confident the team can fight back from its 0-1 start

to ACC play, especially with strong leadership all over the field. “Our leadership was excellent, and we showed a lot of mental strength in our response to their two moments that led to goals,” he said, “Our leaders did an excellent job today.” Riley praised his team for keeping their heads up after their defensive errors and a questionable penalty call, and he thinks that mental toughness will be vital going forward in their remaining ACC games. Notre Dame’s next matchup will be at 1 p.m. next Sunday, Oct. 11, as the Irish return to Alumni Stadium for their first home ACC game of the season against Syracuse. Contact Matt Smith at msmith88@nd.edu

erin fennessy | The Observer

Irish junior midfielder Luisa Delgado looks to pass during a 3-0 Notre Dame win over Syracuse on Oct. 4, 2019 at Alumni Stadium.

W Soccer Continued from page 12

It was sophomore forward Kiki Van Zanten, who subbed in for freshman Eva Gaetino in the 29th minute, to make the difference for Notre Dame. Tallying her fifth and sixth goals in the first four games to start the season, Van Zanten slotted home a layoff from junior midfielder Brooke VanDyck in the 43rd minute to open the scoring. The first half ended with Notre Dame outshooting the visitors 11-1, with the only Syracuse shot coming from outside the box. After the half, Irish forwards continued to fluster the Orange defense with shots on net from junior Luisa Delgado and sophomore Maddie Mercado in the 47th and 66th, minutes respectively. Eva Hurm sent one ringing off the crossbar and out in the 84th minute, but yet again it was sophomore Kiki Van Zanten to beat the keeper in the final second of the 89th minute to propel the Irish to a 2-0 win. Van Zanten leads Notre Dame in scoring with six goals on the young season, with a hat trick against Miami and one against Boston College in addition to today’s pair. She also has not started a game this year, scoring all of her goals once coming in off the bench. Senior midfielder Sammi Fisher (3) and junior forward Olivia Wingate (1) are the only other Irish players to find the back of the net. The Irish defense similarly dominated the Orange, and held the opposing attack to a single shot on goal from senior defender Shannon Aviza late in

the second half. Syracuse has yet to score a goal this season, while giving up seven in their three games so far. This is Notre Dame’s third straight shutout since falling to the Seminoles of Florida State in the opening match of the season, with junior Irish keeper Mattie Interian recording one save to put her at 10 on the season. Now halfway through their shortened 8-game ACC season, the Irish look to continue their win streak against Wake Forest (1-3-1), who visits Thursday Oct. 15, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. from Alumni Stadium.

junya kanemitsu | The Observer

Irish sophomore midfielder Michael Pellegrino winds up for a kick during Notre Dame’s 4-2 victory over Seattle on Sept. 6, 2019, at home. Pellegrino tallied two shots, one on goal, during Saturday’s loss. Paid Advertisement

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football. Granted, Notre Dame has faced the likes of Duke and South Florida in their first two games, but they’ve handled them as they should. The Irish gave up just 75 rushing yards to the Blue Devils, and while they allowed 259 through the air, it only translated to 13 points. Also, bow down to the man for the way he coaches his players to make plays on the ball. I’m not just talking about defensive backs avoiding pass interferences. I’m talking about senior linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and graduate student defensive end Ade Ogundeji forcing turnovers at key moments against Duke. Kentucky can’t force a turnover right now, but that’s commonplace for a Notre Dame team that finished third in the FBS in turnover margin last season. That’ll keep you in any game when teams have to at least keep that in the back of their minds. So yeah, gratitude to Lea.

2. Build a smaller statue for Jon Doerer

Photo courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics

Irish junior running back C’Bo Flemister tries to break a tackle during Notre Dame’s 52-0 win over South Florida on Sept. 19 at Notre Dame Stadium. Flemister is the team’s second-leading rusher, with 127 yards. Paid Advertisement

Did you see the end of that Kentucky game? If you were fortunate enough not to, here’s the biggie: their kicker missed a point after touchdown (PAT) attempt in overtime, so all Ole Miss had to do was make their PAT after scoring a touchdown, which they did. It’s an unbelievable shift from a time when Kentucky could always count on special team production, and now they might as well go for two after every score because it’s so unreliable. Meanwhile, up in South Bend, senior Jonathan Doerer took over for the school’s alltime leading scorer in Justin Yoon — after there were talks of a preferred walk-on nearly beating him out — and he’s become a revelation. Doerer was perfect on PATs last season, and take it from me, that should never be taken for granted from a college kicker. You’d think Kentucky could find some Joe Shmoe in the regular student body, throw some pads and cleats on him and he’d at least be able to make a chippie from the threeyard line. But I digress.

3. Notre Dame’s schedule is… meh Let’s shift away from Kentucky for once, shall we? Instead, here’s a look at how ND’s opponents fared this past weekend. Florida State was trailing FCS opponent Jacksonville State 21-14 at home at halftime before pulling out a 41-24 win. Pittsburgh just shot themselves in the foot Kentucky-level with an open drop on a two-point conversion attempt as they lost the game by one on the

ensuing drive. Boston College beat Duke handily in their opener, but then squeaked by Texas State by three points the next week. UNC barely scraped by that same Boston College team this weekend thanks to an intercepted two-point conversion returned for two in a 26-22 win. Right now, outside of Clemson and Notre Dame, Miami is looking like the best team in the ACC, and the Irish don’t play them. Pitt might be in that discussion, but their offense continues to be meandering at best, their defensive backs keep getting pass interference penalties and their O-line was getting about as much push against the Wolfpack as Notre Dame’s got against Georgia last year. And that NC State team that beat them got trounced by Virginia Tech 45-24. Up to this point I’ve been taking a very glass-half-full approach to Notre Dame. But I point out this scheduling info a) partly to show the “Notre Dame should join a conference” people that the Irish don’t really have anything to prove against anyone except Clemson, but b) mainly to say that there should still be high expectations. If the Irish lose to anyone in the regular season except for the Tigers — unless UNC starts looking a lot better than they have against Syracuse and Boston College — it should be viewed as extremely disappointing. Louisville’s defense is nonexistent, Wake Forest is run of the mill and Georgia Tech and Syracuse are Georgia Tech and Syracuse, respectively.

4. I should have been at Lambeau Field covering Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin on Saturday This is more of a personal disappointment — but then isn’t most of this? Yes, not only was it Mean Girls Day Saturday, but Oct. 3 was the day Notre Dame was supposed to face Wisconsin in their annual Shamrock Series game, slated for the Green Bay Packers’ venue this season. That didn’t happen because of various pandemic related things that I won’t get into, but it is disappointing to think it’s been two straight weeks without Irish football when I could have been soaking in the juices from an NFL press box as they duked it out with the Badgers. *Heavy sigh* Hopefully with Notre Dame football returning I’ll have something to distract me from Kentucky. Then I can spare all you lovely people from these in vain attempts at catharsis. Wake me up when that day comes. Contact Hayden Adams at hadams3@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

The observer | MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

nd men’s soccer | louisville 2, nd 1

Irish fall to Cardinals in ACC opening match By MATT SMITH Sports Writer

Despite constant offensive pressure throughout the afternoon, Notre Dame was unable to come away with a favorable result Saturday, losing 2-1 to Louisville at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium. The loss puts the Irish (1-2, 0-1 ACC) behind in their hunt for a spot in the ACC Tournament at the end of the season. However, Notre Dame head coach Chad Riley believes that the team will be able to recover and build off of its encouraging performance. “I am very disappointed in the result but very proud of the team,” he said. “I thought we played excellent tonight and were unfortunate not to get a better result. This was a big step forward for us from a performance side, and unfortunately we just ran out of time.” The match started with little offensive activity, as Notre Dame maintained the majority of possession but could not create opportunities going forward. An Irish turnover deep in their own half quickly changed

the game though, as Louisville (1-2, 1-0 ACC) capitalized off the mistake with senior midfielder Elijah Amo knocking in a cross near the back post to take a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute. Following the goal, Notre Dame worked to turn things around with three substitutions in the 25th minute. Junior midfielder Ben Giacobello immediately got involved for the Irish, heading a powerful shot on goal off a cross from senior midfielder Townsend Meyer, but Cardinals redshirt senior keeper Jake Gelnovatch was able to make the save. The Irish were finally able to break through with a goal from another one of their substitutes, junior Jack Lynn, in the 35th minute. After a free kick from junior Patrick Coleman bounced around the penalty area, junior defender Philip Quinton flicked the ball over his head towards the endline. Senior midfielder Aiden McFadden then chased down the loose ball and sent a cross towards an unmarked Lynn for a thundering header to see M SOCCER PAGE 10

junya kanemitsu | The Observer

Irish senior midfielder Aiden McFadden vies for the ball during Notre Dame’s 4-2 loss to Clemson on Sept. 13, 2019, at Alumni Stadium. McFadden had two shots and an assist during Saturday’s loss at Louisville.

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nd women’s soccer | nd 2, syracuse 0

Notre Dame beats Syracuse Takeaways for ND following bye for 3rd straight shutout Observer Staff Report

On drizzly Sunday afternoon, Notre Dame women’s soccer topped ACC opponent Syracuse with a final score of 2-0 at Alumni Stadium. The win pushed the Irish (3-1, 3-1 ACC) to 16-0-1 all-time against the Orange (0-3, 0-3 ACC), including 9-0 at home with no goals from Syracuse. The Irish dominated in the offensive third from early in the first half, with senior forward Eva Hurm and senior midfielder Sammi Fisher sending shots into the box within the first 10 minutes of play. Just a few minutes later, junior forward Olivia Wingate evaded Orange defenders in the final third, though her shot was saved by Syracuse senior goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx. Proulx was forced to make nine saves, one off of her career high of 10 (achieved against fellow ACC opponent Pitt); just last year, she had led the ACC in saves with 96. see W SOCCER PAGE 10

Hayden Adams Sports Editor

I’m not even going to explain why I am writing this at this point. You probably already know. If not, all you need to know is Kentucky football lost yet another heartbreaker this weekend because they shot themselves in the foot over and over again. With Notre Dame taking yet another week off of college football, I think there a few more things to take away with regard to the Irish football program and their fans. So let’s get to it.

1. Build Clark Lea a statue

ryan vigilante | The Observer

Irish sophomore forward Kiki Van Zanten pursues the ball during a 3-2 Notre Dame loss to Iowa on Sept. 15, 2019, at Alumni Stadium.

Kentucky has had an outstanding defense in the two years before this one. Having the No. 7 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft in Josh Allen helped, and the defensive line has maintained decently high levels of play into this year. The linebackers were consistently good, and although they lack depth, they are still solid

this season. However, to paraphrase Shakespeare: the fault, dear Observer readers, is not in our stars, but in Kentucky’s secondary. Kentucky media and fans, myself included, were so blindsided by the outstanding run game and consistent rise in the football program that the amount of poor-weather games last season was overlooked. Wet conditions against the likes of Missouri, Georgia and others, as well as a lack of quality quarterbacks, made the lives of defensive backs far easier. Compound that with an abbreviated offseason and consequent lack of practice tackling because of COVID-19, and you’ve got a unit that’s been torched back-to-back games. Meanwhile, up in South Bend, defensive coordinator Clark Lea is showing just how ridiculous it was that he was not one of 41 assistant coaches nominated for the 2019 Broyles Award, given annually to the best assistant coach in college see ADAMS PAGE 11