Journalist Maria Ressa speaks on democracy, AI
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate discussed the challenges of protecting democracy, free speechBy CLAIRE LYONS Viewpoint Editor Emeritus
“They called me scrotum face,” Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Filipina journalist Maria Ressa said.
On full display on the Morris Inn’s Smith Ballroom projector was a picture of Ressa’s face photoshopped onto a ballsack, along with other crude memes making fun of her skin condition or depicting her as a Neanderthal. At one point in her career, Ressa received 90+ hate messages like this every hour.
Ressa has worked nearly two decades as a reporter on Southeast Asian issues for
CNN, covering everything from natural disasters to war. She founded Filipino online news organization Rappler to combat disinformation and challenge authoritarianism. But in doing so, she has made herself a target for online harassment and political and judicial persecution from the former government of Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte.
Considering her circumstances, one would expect Ressa to be a cynic, University President Fr. Jenkins said when introducing her to the audience.
“But when I met Maria,
SMC students back pay raise
By ELIZABETH BURT News Writer
In collaboration with students at Saint Mary’s College, the Katharine Terry Dooley Fellowship launched a petition on Feb. 15 to raise the student worker pay from $9 an hour to $15.
The College adopted the $9 an hour rate in 2022. According to Raise the Pay flyers found around Saint Mary’s campus, this rate was a $1.75 increase from the prior rate.
Andrew Pierce, adviser of the Dooley Fellowship, noted that the program trains Saint Mary’s
students in social justice leadership, so students have the tools to carry out a social justice campaign on campus or in the community.
“Many SMC students must work multiple jobs to make up for the lack of sustainable pay,” senior and Dooley Fellow Grace Enright said. “The more jobs and hours students work to make up for comparatively low pay, the less time they have for academic work, thus decreasing the quality of students‘ college experience and performance.”
Senate urges University to divest from fossil fuels
By LIAM KELLY Notre Dame News EditorOn Wednesday afternoon, the Notre Dame student senate passed a resolution urging the University to divest from all fossil fuel investments within the next five years.
The resolution, SS 232412, was put forward by director of sustainability Lizzie Stifel, alongside 14 senators. Stifel argued the resolution was necessary in order for the University to reflect Catholic morality through its investment. Stifel pointed to statements by Pope Francis and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops urging Catholics to combat climate change and consider divesting from companies not working to limit their emissions.
“There’s no reason to wait to divest from
something that morally contradicts our values,” she said.
Stifel said the sustainability committee met with the Office of Sustainability and Campus Ministry to discuss the resolution. The committee was unable to meet with the investment office this year despite having met with them the year before.
Based on these conversations, Stifel said the University invests approximately 4% of their portfolio in fossil fuels, although further details on the investment portfolio are private.
While some senators expressed concerns the resolution would do little to actually change University policy, Stifel argued the resolution was important in order to show student support and put pressure on the University to change their policy.
Stifel and other
sponsors of the resolution argued divesting from fossil fuels would not seriously harm the University’s endowment although other senators questioned whether enough research had been done to support that claim.
Alumni Hall senator Louis Cornett spoke out against the resolution, even threatening to resign if it was passed.
“This resolution completely disregards how the endowment and the future of Notre Dame financials will be impacted by a shift away from fossil fuels,” he said. “Because of my passion for this issue, and what I believe is my duty to the University of Notre Dame as an elected official, I believe I will have no alternative but to resign as senator of
Abby
Kevin Kelley
Meghan
Jennixa De La Cruz junior Lewis Hall
Notre
KELLY | The Observer
The student senate meets Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. in Mendoza 161.
Next week will be the final meeting in the
Senate
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Alumni Hall if the resolution passes.”
In the end, the resolution was passed with a substantial majority. Cornett and another senator left the room after the resolution was passed.
Also passed in Wednesday’s meeting was resolution SS 2324-11 which calls for the North Dining Hall wall to be updated to add Johnson Family Hall, the Undergraduate Community in Fischer and the new men’s residence hall which will open in August.
A previous version of this resolution had been narrowly passed earlier in March. That version called for the removal of Zahm Hall from the wall, but student body president Daniel Jung decided not to sign the resolution in order to allow for more discussion. Because it had not been initially signed, it now requires a two-thirds majority in order to be passed.
In response to Jung’s decision not to sign the resolution and concerns raised by the members of the student senate about removing the Zahm name, resolution co-author and sponsor senator Sam Godinez of Dillon Hall added an addendum to the resolution explaining that he would be willing to amend the resolution in order to keep Zahm on the wall, at least
for now.
“[I] have agreed to maintain the signature of a residence hall already discontinued in the NDH wall, provided that they operate as a swing dorm and presently house undergraduate students,” Godinez wrote.
Accordingly, when the resolution was raised in general orders during this meeting, Godinez immediately added a friendly amendment to allow Zahm to remain on the wall as long as it serves as a swing dorm, which was approved by the other sponsors of the resolution.
Following this, the senate voted to forgo questioning and debate in order to vote on the bill. It passed unanimously.
After these two resolutions passed, the senate then considered the nomination of two assistant student union treasurers. Grace Zaucha, a freshman accounting and romance languages double major, and Kelsey Casella, a sophomore accounting major were nominated for the positions.
Both nominations were approved unanimously without debate.
Finally, the senate unanimously approved an order from Sorin Hall senator Andrew Ryan to add a period to a sentence in the constitution without punctuation.
Contact Liam Kelly at lkelly8@nd.edu
The Driver Era to perform in SUB concert in April
By CLAIRE LYONS Viewpoint Editor EmeritusOn Tuesday morning at 9 a.m., over 2,000 undergraduate students opened their laptops to buy tickets from the Notre Dame Student Shop. Within five minutes, the site was lagging. Within fifteen minutes, the site crashed.
The cause of demand was an upcoming concert sponsored by the Student Union Board (SUB) featuring The Driver Era.
The Driver Era is an indie rock duo consisting of brothers Ross and Rocky Lynch, formerly members of the defunct family band R5. R5 and The Driver Era are both predominantly known for their famous frontman Ross Lynch, who starred in the Disney Channel show “Austin & Ally,” and the film series “Teen Beach Movie.”
Last year, Sound of SUB featured up-and-coming folk artist Noah Kahan — just as he was gaining online popularity — in Notre Dame’s Stepan Center.
Previous performers include pop-punk rapper KennyHoopla and indie band COIN in the 2021-2022 school year.
In 2017-2018, American rapper GoldLink and singer-songwriter Quinn XCII performed on campus.
In 2020, SUB took a brief break from live performances. SUB was going to host Young the Giant in the spring, but the performance was canceled due to COVID-19. In the fall, however, they hosted a socially distanced concert in the Notre Dame stadium with a live-streamed performance from Lewis the Child.
After the pandemic, the concert series was rebranded to “The Sound of SUB.” SUB director of programming Juliana Ramirez said the rebrand was intended to let students know where all the labor was coming from, especially since other organizations have started to host concerts.
SUB also hosts a variety of comedians, bringing out popular internet celebrities like Noel Miller and Brittany Broski.
SUB concert committee
chair Mary Laird has been working to put together this event since June, saying she frequently called different booking agents on the way home from her summer internship.
“We, as a committee and as an organization, have been working really hard,” she said. “We’re excited to put on this event for everyone and hope it is a memorable night for you.”
Laird and Ramirez gave The Observer a look into their selection process, and how they ended up planning and choosing The Driver Era.
General process
The SUB concert committee meets weekly throughout the year and provides potential dates, venues and performers.
First, the committee picks a date, which narrows down their options. Then, the students work with different booking agencies — many of which they’ve formed working relationships with — to see what kind of talent they can get.
“We typically pick from a packet of three to four pages of artists which includes a range of quotes and price points,” Ramirez said. “Our job as students is to be creative and innovative in picking a set that appeals to college students. We try to vary the genre from year to year — and consider the content of their discography.”
Then the SUB executive director Lily Condodina and advisor Antwann Harper work together to figure out contracting issues and any technical and legal questions the committee might have.
Why The Driver Era?
At one point in the process, the concert committee was seriously considering Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour opener Sabrina Carpenter, but she was outside of their price point.
“We try to limit outside discussions about our artists until our release date because things change all the time,” Ramirez said. “It’s a fun tradition and it’s exciting to build that suspense.”
Ultimately, the concert committee is still very happy with their decision, Laird asserted.
“The Driver Era has a fun upbeat vibe and is good with college crowds,” Laird said. As a Disney fan, she
said she grew up with a lot of fond memories of frontman Ross Lynch in “Austin & Ally.”
Budget
Laird and Ramirez assert SUB’s concert budget has stayed relatively stable over the past four years.
“I’m not sure if I can talk specific numbers, but I would say about half of [SUB’s] budget is spent on the annual concert,” Ramirez said. “You have to consider, in addition to who we’re booking, the production costs. We need to pay for the stage and speakers, the barricades, security like the police and ushers, food trucks, etc. to make sure this is a fun and safe event for everyone.”
According to Celebrity Talent International, booking The Driver Era ranges anywhere from $75,000-$149,999.
After Legends remodeled, SUB has shifted to using Stepan Center as its main venue for the Sound of SUB concerts because it is more cost-effective and the production equipment has been removed.
Ticket distribution
Historically, the Notre Dame Student Shop has been overwhelmed by high demand. As a result, Ramirez said the site shutdown “didn’t catch us off guard.”
The team pivoted by emailing out a Google Form for tickets. The first couple thousand students to fill out the form were emailed a secret link to purchase tickets from the Student Shop.
Ramirez said the committee “floated the idea” of a Keenan Revue style in-person line to elevate the hype for the event, but the team ultimately decided against it.
“Despite the slow connection, we still think the Student Shop is our best option,” Ramirez said. “We think it’s preferable to the Keenan Revue style because it interrupts your whole day standing in line.”
Within the first 20-30 minutes with the open form, there were over 1,000 requests for tickets. The event sold out before it could open sales to Saint Mary’s College and Holy Cross College, and there is now a waitlist for tickets.
Contact Claire Lyons at clyons3@nd.eduI found not a cynic, but a person infused with compassion, joy and hope,” he said. “The most pernicious effect of dictators is that they can steal not just our freedom, but our joy. Maria has not succumbed.”
“[She] is a great inspiration to us,” event moderator and associate economics professor Andrés Mejía Acosta said. “The pioneering and courageous work [she does] directly aligns with our school’s commitment to advancing integral human development.”
Ressa was invited to speak Wednesday at the fifth and final event of the 2023-2024 Notre Dame Forum on “The Future of Democracy,” but she is no stranger to the University. She was recently appointed as a distinguished policy fellow at the Keough School of Global Affairs and spoke at last year’s Asia Leadership Forum.
The 2023-2024 Notre Dame Forum on “The Future of Democracy” is intended to create campuswide conversations about threats to global democracy and how to combat them. Past keynote speakers include Justice Elena Kagan, senators Chris Coons and Todd Young, Steven Levitsky and Robert Putnam.
Ressa spoke on challenges democracy faces today — particularly in regard to the dissemination of accurate news and information in a digital age.
With her years of experience in the industry, she emphasized the changing role of journalism. Previously, journalists were the gatekeepers of information and had to live up to certain ethical standards before releasing information into the public sphere. In today’s digital age, however, the power of information distribution is in the hands of large tech conglomerates and person-to-person organizations — and these aren’t necessarily regulated.
Further, tech conglomerates and authoritarian governments have an incentive to make citizens distrust the news, according to Ressa. She said she has seen these disinformation campaigns in the Philippines under President Duterte, in Russia under President Vladimir Putin and in the United States under President Donald Trump.
“The goal isn’t to make you believe one [fake] thing,” she said. “It’s to make you distrust everything, and when you do,
civil society dies.”
In particular, she pointed to attacks against female journalists — such as ”scrotum face” — as a fear tactic. Ressa cited a UNESCO survey that found 73% of female journalist respondents experienced online abuse. Nearly a quarter of them received threats of physical violence.
Additionally, the personalized design of online technological information dissemination — much of which is determined by AI algorithms created by Meta and TikTok — atomizes us, Ressa said. Plus, it’s addictive.
“We tear apart the public sphere to create our own realities,” she said. “Social media turns us into inmates in our own insane asylums.”
Ressa argued people need more agency in how they consume information. She stressed the failure of
technological policy in the United States. The speed at which large language learning models and AI are developing is rapidly outpacing legislation.
“Rule of law has been thrown out. There are no laws in the virtual world, and that has changed our physical world,” she said. “Good God! We need to move faster.”
But Ressa said she was confident the University will hold a special place in shaping future technological policy.
“You are unique because you have values. You live the faith,” she said. “Draw the line between right and wrong. Then, hold the line. You don’t really know who you are until you’re forced to fight and defend it.”
Contact Claire Lyons at clyons3@nd.eduThe movement began with flyers posted across the campus and then spread to social media. The movement’s Instagram account (@raisethepaysmc) has 145 followers, and their petition has “exceeded its allocated quota” on Jotform.
“We recognize that higherpaying jobs are sometimes available off campus, but those who have access to cars have more access to these better-paying jobs. Those without this resource are left to the lower-paying SMC jobs, often when they are the ones most in need,” Enright said. “This reflects the widening gap between the privileged and the underprivileged, which brings about a question of whether SMC is supporting equity.”
In 2022, Notre Dame students ran the Raising the Standard Campaign. Since Notre Dame offers a higher student wage than Saint Mary’s, senior and Dooley
Fellow Jeanett Ochoa noted that Saint Mary’s must increase their pay to retain student employees on campus.
“We are hoping student voices and concerns will be heard from administrators whilst creating a chance of dialogue between the two different worlds,” Ochoa said. “Our goal is to raise student payment to $15 an hour because, today with inflation, students are finding it difficult to pay for stuff.”
According to Pierce, the movement’s organizers aim to raise wages in light of equity between the two campuses.
“Saint Mary’s is an institution with justice at the core of its mission, dedicated to ‘preparing women for roles of leadership and action,’ and the Dooley Fellowship program strives to make good on that promise,” Pierce said. “[I am] proud that these student leaders have chosen to hold the institution to its professed values.”
Contact Elizabeth Burt at eburt01@saintmarys.eduAsking for a Friend
Who’s on aux at Hagerty?
As a general rule, I try to save my flex points for three things: Pure Leaf teas from the Huddle, chipotle turkey and avocado sandwiches from Au Bon Pain and strawberry banana smoothies from Hagerty Family Cafe. Call me a creature of habit, but when I have tried to pace my spending over the course of a semester, I have found it best to have priorities.
When it comes to which item I purchase most often, it is hands down the Hagerty Family Cafe smoothies. Who can blame me? I was embarrassingly excited when I discovered they changed their recipe from last year. Now the smoothies are so thick you need a big, fun and colorful straw to drink them — it’s the little things.
As such, I find myself at Hagerty a lot. There are worse places to be. Half the fun is awkwardly standing by the coffee stirrers and peering over to see who’s sitting at the tables as you wait for your order. If I’m feeling lucky, I’ll even try to scope out a spot and park myself there for a while to do some work.
But in those rare instances when I do find a table, it seems as though I never learn my lesson: I’m incapable of being productive at Hagerty. Every time I sit down, ready to flesh out an essay or work on a problem set, I have to face the music — literally.
Morning or night, weekday or weekend, Hagerty seems to be playing the most chaotic playlist possible. Without fail. It’s 8 a.m. on a Tuesday? Sounds like “Last Friday Night” by Katy Perry is in order. Meeting with a TA to talk about an essay revision? Enjoy an intense
instrumental version of “Demons” by Imagine Dragons as a backdrop for your conversation. Nervous to go on a coffee date? Don’t worry, you can count on some nice house music to calm your nerves. All of your activities are seemingly at the mercy of Hagerty’s shuffle button.
And this comes from someone who is regularly exposed – or subjected – to a vast array of musical tastes.
My roommate-recently-turned-SoundCloud-DJ has hosted two “listening parties” for her mixes this year. Much to my dismay during car rides, my older brother has recently been on an Ancient Roman music kick. And my dad’s favorite activity is to sit me down and make me listen to the lyrics of the Lyle Lovett song he’s currently worshiping. So, I get it. Everyone’s into their own thing.
The thing about Hagerty is that it’s so consistently chaotic. It can’t really seem to pick its “thing.” It begs the question: “Who’s on aux?” Who’s constantly keeping us smoothie lovers on our toes?
In order to answer this seemingly simple question, I conducted some brief research. My first victim was one of the Hagerty baristas, who disconfirmed my assumption that it was an employee’s playlist on shuffle. Shrugging, she waved her hands in the air to indicate some omniscient restaurant person was in charge. Fair enough.
I redirected my efforts to someone higher up and emailed Kristina Aalfs, the restaurant manager of Hagerty. However, this also led to a dead end. As it turns out, the restaurants have no control over the music. It’s “provided” for them. Again, I was redirected elsewhere and told to try contacting someone at Duncan Student Center.
Aware that I should be doing homework but too
Confronting loss
Everyone grieves differently. Some people spend a lot of time in solitude. Some hold onto photos, letters, clothes and other memorable items to feel that someone who has passed is still with them. Some seek professional help and others post about their grandmother’s death on their public Snapchat story.
Although people express grief in different ways, certain expressions do not sit right with me. Through conversations I have had about certain uncanny displays of grief, I have found that other people feel the same way about the subject.
I am a transfer from Chapman University, and last November, a friend from Chapman passed away. Though I was not in his closest innercircle, the conversations that we had made me consider him a friend who I knew I could be vulnerable around, and I knew he would support me if I ever needed him.
I was deeply saddened by his passing. I am an emotional person, but I understood that even though I was greatly affected in the following days, I should not act in a way that took away from the tragedy itself or from the effect that it had on his family and closest friends.
Some people did not understand this. I reposted a photo of him explaining the situation and commented on one of the posts breaking the news to the larger community. I do not have an issue with public displays of grief.
I do have an issue with people who put themselves into tragedy and use somebody’s death to receive online attention and virtual condolences. I saw posts from people who did not have any connection to my friend. I also saw people who were just acquainted with him posting more about it than his closest friends were.
Many people reposted about it and spoke
about it. Many people attended the vigil. Although I was across the country and could not make it out, one of my best friends who is still at Chapman went to the funeral service. He said that the funeral attendance was disappointing.
People have their reasons for not attending a funeral. Although I understand that people may find them too emotionally difficult to attend, I was disappointed to find out that only around 5 of the 80 members in his fraternity made it out to the service which was held on a Saturday.
This is just one example of people claiming grief that I have personally witnessed. A close friend told me about her experience in high school having a close relative pass away. She explained how a student at the school who had no relations with her relative was telling everyone about how affected she was by the loss.
Grief is tricky. It is a slippery subject to write about, but I feel that it is worth calling out people who claim grief on the internet or wear it around seeking pity who, in reality, were not close with the person who is gone at all.
The only thing that the attention-seeking behavior does is make people who are actually grieving feel worse about the situation. It also takes attention away from whoever passed and deserves remembrance.
When confronting loss, it is important to know your place relative to the person who passed and others who were impacted the most by the death. That way, you can give people the proper space to grieve and recognize the impact that someone who passed had on those around them.
Matt Baird, proud native of Danville, California, is a sophomore majoring in English and finance. He enjoys walking, listening to music and humming. You can contact Matt at mbaird2@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
invested to turn back, I found myself emailing duncansc@nd.edu. Unsurprisingly, this final and desperate attempt led to a dead end. Who knew that my very specific and silly question would go unanswered by a building’s extremely non-descript email address?
We may never know what omniscient presence is controlling the soundtrack of our Hagerty experience. In all fairness, it’s a cafe in an extremely busy student center, and Hagerty is by no means expected to embody serene productivity. Its choice of music holds no serious weight and is probably not worth 800 words.
Except, maybe it is. Things like this are just one of Notre Dame’s many enigmas – other content for this newspaper have explored different niche campus lore like the elusive drunk tank or the best dining hall meals. What we write down is what we remember.
And while I don’t need to memorialize myself writing an essay about Shakespeare while “Party Rock Anthem” is playing in the background, I do want to remember the little things about college that made up my experience – no matter how insignificant or overlooked. Pay attention, stay curious, and be present.
One day we’ll have to face the music of real life, and we’ll be wishing we could be where we are right now.
Allison Elshoff is a sophomore studying business analytics with minors in impact consulting and the Hesburgh Program of Public Service. Originally from Valencia, California and currently living in Badin Hall, you can find her unsubscribing from email lists or hammocking by the lakes. You can contact Allison at aelshoff@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Racing raindrops
Moira Quinn Working TitleI come from a family that, except for rare one-off occasions, refuses to fly.
Whether the destination is across the street or across the country, the default answer is to commute via car. This has always been something I’ve felt partial to, half because I don’t know any difference and half because when I do get on airplanes I cannot relax for the life of me.
I spent a little bit of time abroad last year. Though the flights were long, I did not get one wink of sleep. Someone once mentioned to me that it’s a Midwestern thing to drive everywhere and anywhere, and while that may be true, road trips are an extremely integral part of American culture and are beyond valuable despite the mundanity.
My favorite movie of all time is “La La Land.” The opening scene takes place on a Los Angeles highway packed with cars in bumper to bumper traffic. As the camera pans from left to right we are shown different people inside their vehicles, each doing something completely different. They are all listening to various songs, radio talk shows, conversing with people on the phone or with the person riding shotgun. When I
think about road trips, or just driving in general, I am reminded of this movie and how it perfectly encapsulates the reality that everyone on Earth is living in their own little world experiencing life, separately, but together all at once.
In my opinion, I find driving to be one of, if not the best way for people to connect with each other, no matter if they are your best friend or a total stranger. For instance, my friends and I took an Uber to the Chicago Blackhawks game a few months ago and wound up in a 30 minute conversation with the driver. Despite knowing for a fact that we will never see him ever again, we were able to find common ground and chat.
I also think road trips provide the opportunity to lean into boredom. I get motion sickness and can’t spend all those hours reading a book or doing something productive. Simply looking at billboards, counting how many state license plates you see, or watching raindrops race down the window is my preferred way of passing the time.
Read the full version of Moira’s column at ndsmcobserver.com.
Moira Quinn is a junior at Saint Mary’s College studying communication. When she isn’t writing for The Observer, she can be found with friends, watching a good romantic comedy or missing her basset hound.
On having six friends for five months
Kathryn Muchnick Managing EditorThe Puebla study abroad program is small, to say the least. We are a group of seven students, and at the risk of sounding boring, I spend every single day with them.
That is not to say we don’t have friends at our host university.
Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP) has a club called Global Crew that plans events for the exchange students, and our social obligations are now delightfully international. (“Are the Korean students joining?” “No, but I think the Russian girls are there.”) We all have host families and friends from extracurriculars and hours-long facetimes to our roommates at Notre Dame.
But most of my social interaction is with these six people — a sudden and unexpected narrowing of my network. It’s kind of like spending an entire semester with a randomly assigned group from summer camp. We felt that inexplicable urgency to get to know each other — countless stories were swapped at a bonfire on night two. We scrambled to form a group identity, debating the group chat name and insisting that we are the Notre Dame coordinators’ favorites. (Which, by the way, we are.) Laila and I had our first argument and made up within 12 hours. I could name Declan’s top five artists in order by week three, and he could probably do the same for me. We are speedrunning friendship, except we didn’t say goodbye after a week or two of “camp.”
I love this group of people dearly. They are funny, adventurous and opinionated. We almost never run out of something to talk about. At times, though, we exist in a weird pressure cooker. Spending so much time with the same people magnifies the demands of community and togetherness. It feels like I am witnessing a case study in friendship groups, assigned by scientists (Notre Dame International) and placed in an unfamiliar environment (¡México!). And the end of the experiment (mid-May, when we return to the States) hangs over us.
Recently, an economics class about migration from Notre Dame came to Puebla for a week to meet with migrants and volunteer at shelters across central Mexico. We split our time between education and tourism, showing the students our favorite churrería and taking them to lucha libre. Talking to the students was a welcome reminder of South Bend — the rhythm of endless Notre Dame introductions and updates on campus gossip. But my group of seven still felt slightly separate from the other students, even though many of us were friends with those visitors before our
semester in Puebla began.
I joked to Laila at one point that eating dinner with the economics class felt like introducing my family to my college friends. I was presenting these people who I knew intimately to a wider group of acquaintances, hoping that 1) they all liked each other and 2) the visitors were impressed by our familiarity with each other. It was a weird thought to have, admittedly; three months of constant exposure pales in comparison to the 18 years of fights and jokes I have with my actual family. But I think it’s a testament to the power of forced proximity.
I would not have been friends with most of the Puebla group if it weren’t for this bizarre “long-term vacation.” We run in different circles at Notre Dame, and no matter how well we get along now, that fact will confront us when we return in the fall. Nevertheless, our time together has created a common language — of jokes and shared obsessions, of planned fruit sticker tattoos and oversharing.
During the first few weeks of freshman year, I remember this constant terror that I would just miss meeting my best friend. I felt compelled to introduce myself to everyone — in class, at those unbearable freshman mixers and in orchestra. What if the person at Notre Dame who I am meant to share everything with — in that desperate, confessional way of girlhood — is just beyond my reach? My God and the Good Life dialogue had this conversation once, about whether our freshman selves would have found the same group of friends if we were assigned to a different dorm. Despite my best efforts, I wouldn’t have. But similar personalities are a far less potent distillation of close friendship than shared experiences. The same thing is true here. I love the Puebla group as people, but I especially love them as people with whom I went rafting in Xico or saw “Dune Part Two” or flew to Guatemala.
This experiment is awkward at times: I often feel like I’ve said too much or overstepped. Just like at summer camp, you’re never really sure how well a short-term friendship is going to stick, regardless of how much you wish it would. But while we’re abroad for a few more months, I don’t think that really matters. We remain available to each other now, despite the friction and the impending deadline of return. What is friendship other than sincere presence? And this ashy Thursday at volcano Popocatépetl, I am here with them, sharing one last manzana enchilada before break.
You can contact Kathryn at kmuchnic@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
An unconventional study abroad experience
Many Notre Dame students have been living out their European escapades: walking along the Seine, allongé and Rousseau in hand, contemplating dying third spaces or newfound leisure time over pints of Guinness, rushing to order a cornetto and heart-adorned cappuccino before an early morning train bound towards an Italian coastal city. Their experiences read like scripts for a blue-tinted indie film or a university advertisement for study abroad.
My experience in Chile has also been surreal, but not like that.
It began the first day of the pre-program. I was one of the last ones to join the group for our welcome lunch, located in the basement of a hotel in the middle of Santiago. Our first meal in Chile was at a “Venetian” restaurant, decorated with New York memorabilia (think Mets, Sinatra, American traffic signs and the Flatiron Building) with vaguely Chilean food that was somehow neither fresh nor flavorful.
The next day, 21 of us, the pre-program coordinator, two chefs, the driver, our yoga instructor and all of our luggage piled into a bus bound for the countryside. The drive was beautiful, passing through agricultural lands framed by the distant Andes, but it was challenging to enjoy as we grew anxious for restrooms and food. After several hours, a 4 p.m. lunch and a stop at a tiny grocery store in the middle of nowhere, we finally arrived at our humble abode for 10 days: an old monastery in the mountains of Vilches, far away from civilization and phone service.
Let me paint you a picture of my room in Vilches.
Imagine a small, dusty room with a tiny window that a monk inhabited forty years ago. However, this is not just any old room. It comes with many friends, including scorpions, moths, some brown bugs that I still haven’t identified, arañas de rincón (tiny corner spiders that are in fact lethal), and arañas pollito (tarantulas which are very big but can’t kill you).
I had a big scare when we tried to shoo a tarantula off my door and right when we thought we got it, it climbed into a hole in the wall.
Each night was a mental practice of meditation, trying to not think about my roommates and the possibility of my impending death.
The average day in Vilches went a little like this: at 8 a.m., someone would ring the bell, summoning us to a breakfast of bread and tea. We would rotate through four classes: PE, Spanish, culture and history. This looked like doing workout circuits, analyzing the lyrics of what is
essentially the Chilean version of “WAP,” singing songs, doing dances and forgoing class for an hour of “chisme” (translated as “gossip”) with our history professor, all in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of gringo kids who are speaking to each other in Spanish.
After a traditional Chilean lunch, we had free time, which pretty much always meant making the trek to the río for some sunbathing, chisme and maybe jumping into the cold water. We would then reconvene around five for an activity such as a poetry reading, an acting presentation or a treasure hunt. It was all very much reminiscent of sleep-away summer camp activities.
We would then have dinner, participate in another activity and have the rest of the night free. The group is very musically inclined, so many nights we had a little jam session, using guitar tabs people had downloaded while at the río. One night, we went into the central courtyard with our professors and, aided by the dark sky in the mountains, they pointed out the UFOs — a much funnier word in Spanish — which coincidentally look a lot like passing planes and satellites.
At the end of ten days, dirty and anxious for civilization, we once again piled our stuff back onto the bus and made our way to Curepto, a small farming town near the beach, for the rest of the pre-immersion. I traded in my monk’s quarters for a shared room with a host family, with the idea that we would learn about how rural Chilean families live.
During our time in Curepto, we mostly spent our days hanging out with our host families, going on field trips, playing soccer with some of the local Chileans and drinking wine at one of the vineyards. Practically every night, everyone in town would go to the cultural fair that was happening that week for music, drinks and empanadas. Curepto was the perfect way to transition from the complete isolation of Vilches to the bustling hub of Santiago.
Now that I’m settled into Santiago, my study abroad experience has become more metropolitan, better resembling the experiences of my European counterparts. While I sleep a little better, no longer having to worry about spiders killing me in my bed, I’ll always be thankful for my “campesina” experience.
Kat Regala is a junior studying in the program of liberal studies with minors in computing and digital technology and science, technology and values. She originally hails from Naples, Florida, but loves traveling. When not reading or writing, you can find her drinking coffee, practicing yoga or binge-watching reality television. You can contact Kat at kregala@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
By MARGUERITE C. J. MARLEY Scene Writer
“Megamind vs. the Doom Syndicate” takes everything great about the original film, puts it through a blender and then force-feeds it down your throat. It attempts to cash in on the IP of the first film but falls flat on its face.
The first film follows the titular Megamind, played by the excellent Will Ferrell, on his road to redemption after finally defeating his archnemesis, Metro Man. When a new villain, Titian, who thinks he’s a hero, comes to town, Megamind must defeat him.
One of the things that made the original film so unique is its villain, Titian, played by comedian Jonah Hill. Megamind gives him powers so he has someone to fight. Still, Titian is only interested in getting a girl and doesn’t seem to realize constantly flirting with his co-worker, and our Lois Lane stand-in Roxanne Ritchi, played by Mean Girls creator Tina Fey, might not be the best way to win her heart. This was one of the first anti-nice guy narratives, and it never spoke down to its audience about the nature of relationships and how they work.
‘MEGAMIND VS. THE DOOM SYNDICATE’: A
The first “Megamind” film is a masterpiece of cinema. It’s a perfect movie with a charming story and a star-studded voice cast. It was unappreciated in its time because it was released only a few short months before “Despicable Me,” another movie about a villain becoming a hero. It’s gained somewhat of a cult following over the last fourteen years — so much so that a common reaction meme to people wanting something to happen in a story is “I’m so sick of people being like, ‘I wish there were a story where [insert something that already happened in Megamind].’”
Peacock recently released a sequel, “Megamind vs. the Doom Syndicate,” which asks the critical question: How can we strip the complexity out of the story?
While the film’s plot — Megamind’s former league of villains coming back to town and not realizing that he’s not a hero anymore — could be interesting, this plot is wasted on this film.
Featuring none of the original voice cast and none of the charm, “Megamind vs. the Doom Syndicate” is first and foremost a backdoor pilot for the television series “Megamind Rules!” which is also streaming on Peacock. The target audience of this film and this television series
skews far younger than the original, creating an obvious disconnect between both films. The sequel also talks down to its audience, often repeating lines several times as if the audience is too dumb to understand anything.
Though most of the cast does a serviceable job of sounding like the original voice actors, Lauren Post deserves considerable praise for her impression of Tina Fey, the new Megamind actor falls flat compared to Will Ferrell’s lyrical performance, which is the main pull of the original film.
In short, “Megamind vs. the Doom Syndicate” is not a film that anyone should ever be forced to sit through. To people looking for a Megamind sequel, I would suggest reading some fanfiction — at least that’s written by people who actually care about the film. For people looking for a movie to sit their kids in front of for 90 minutes, just show them the original. At least that way they’ll know that there is no tooth fairy, there is no easter bunny and there is no queen of England.
Contact Marguerite C. J. Marley at mmarley01@saintmarys.edu.
By ANDY OTTONE Scene Writer
There are countless works of art inspired by the Bible. From paintings to operas to statues and books and films, the Bible has influenced many artists to create new pieces, with some of these being considered the greatest works of art in human history. Sometimes, it feels like this phenomenon was limited to the Renaissance or a pre-modern era. But, even in contemporary media, television shows such as “The Chosen” and films like “Journey to Bethlehem” are still created, demonstrating that many creatives still draw upon holy texts when crafting new works. Creatives don’t even have to be of any denomination of Christianity to create a piece inspired by the Bible; case in point, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
The concept album
In 1967, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice collaborated on a “pop-oratorio” telling the story of the 12 tribes of Israel, as narrated in the Book of Genesis. This later became their second stage musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” after the future triumph of “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Riding off of their success, the duo wrote a song to be entered into the Eurovision Song Contest, titled “Try it and See.” It was not selected.
With rewritten lyrics, this song became “King Herod’s Song” in a concept album called “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Released in 1970, the album was both a proof-of-concept and a test drive for the stage rock opera that would debut
the following year. One of the most interesting aspects of the album is that Webber identifies as agnostic, with his desire to make the show come from a respect for Christianity and a fascination with history. The album was a major success, charting above Carole King’s iconic album “Tapestry” in the United States when both dropped in 1971.
The stage musical
There is not a lot differentiating the stage show from the concept album, other than the physical performers acting it out. However, without the stage show, we would not have the other works based off of the original “Jesus Christ Superstar” album, as this was the visual template all future pieces would be based on. A cast album was released in 1972, from the professional Australian production that was running. Oftentimes the album is credited as the first ever “rock opera.” This is a tricky matter, but it is definitely the first rock opera put on stage. “Tommy” by The Who was released in 1969, a full year before “Jesus Christ Superstar.” The stage version, however, retitled “The Who’s Tommy,” wouldn’t be produced until the 1990s at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego.
The musical was a hit, and very successful. Debuting across the pond from its creators on Broadway in 1971, a West End production followed the next year. While both did well, critically and financially (though the BBC did regard the show and album as sacrilege), the show was not an awards favorite, though original Broadway’s Jesus, Ben Vereen, was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical for the production.
Like most popular musicals, the show has received
multiple revivals. My favorite is the 2012 British Arena Tour.
The film adaptation
This is where stuff gets weird. The plot of the film adaptation of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” with the same name as the musical and the album the musical was based on, is that a bunch of artists go out into the desert and perform their version of the Passion narrative. The album and musical become the performance, but the film’s start and end feature these actors and musicians on a bus in modern wear before they become their characters and after. Through this framing device, the implication of the film becomes clear: at the end of the story, the actors committed to their performance so hard that they killed the actor playing Jesus, or the performer has simply disappeared by other means, as he does not get on the bus with them — a fact that is pointed out. Either way, the end of the film has some troubling, if not hilarious, implications.
The present situation
The world has not forgotten “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Currently, Britain has an ongoing tour of the musical, and Notre Dame’s own DeBartolo Performing Arts Center will host its sixth annual sing-along to the 1973 film on Thursday, March 28.
This piece is abridged; read the full version online at ndsmcobserver.com.
Contact Andy Ottone at aottone@nd.edu
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now likely lean into their zone more than ever to effectively mitigate Watson’s absence this weekend.
Notre Dame has two traditional post players on their roster, neither of whom have shouldered as heavy of a load as they’ll now have to bear in the NCAA tournament. Both have substantially less experience in the defensive situations that Watson was often relied upon in over the course of the regular season. Ivey’s zone, particularly when Westbeld is positioned as close as possible to the basket, should offer some reprieve on the stamina of junior forward Natalija Marshall and senior forward Becky Obinma, tasking them with guarding a finite area and not a specific player.
If Notre Dame advances to the Round of 32, what is the team’s ceiling at that point?
Miller : Without a true center, Notre Dame is going to eventually struggle when teams have players line up in the lane and play iso-ball. The Irish can trap, but even then, if the officials allow for a physical game, there’s only so much that Westbeld and Marshall can do. In my opinion, Notre Dame won’t be leaving South Bend again this year.
Post : In terms of ceiling, even without Watson (or any of the other three contributors the Irish currently have sidelined due to injury), Notre Dame has the pure offensive firepower to compete with just about any team in the country.
Unfortunately, the No. 1 seed the Irish drew to presumably face in the Elite Eight is an exception to that rule. South Carolina is 33-0 and already beat Notre Dame by 29 points in the season’s opening game.
Make no mistake, the Irish squad that got stomped by the Gamecocks is not the same one that enters the NCAA tournament. But with the team operating with a rotation that goes seven players deep (and often looks more like six), it’s difficult to see Notre Dame closing such a wide opening day gap against a team as consistent as South Carolina have been. Until that matchup though, while contending in the post without Watson will be a struggle, the trio of Hidalgo, Citron and Westbeld have the ability to ensure the Irish have, at minimum, a reasonable chance in every game they play.
Contact Jake Miller and J.J. Post at jmille89@nd.edu and jpost2@nd.edu
Notre Dame gears up for another likely slugfest against Miami
By ANDREW McGUINNESS Senior Sports WriterThis season has been a dizzying one for Notre Dame baseball. Seemingly every game has been a back-and-forth scoring bonanza. Four of the team’s first 20 games have featured over 20 combined runs, including a wild 16-11 victory on Tuesday over Western Michigan in which the Irish erased deficits of 4-0 and 105. Four straight multi-run innings gave the Irish a much-needed bounce back after being swept last weekend by Florida State.
Much to the dismay of head coach Shawn Stiffler’s heart rate, it wouldn’t be a shock if offense continues to be the name of the game this weekend. While Notre Dame sits 13th out of 14 ACC teams with a 6.80 team ERA, Miami is only slightly higher in 10th despite posting a mark that’s a full run better than the Irish.
The Hurricanes have had an even higher rate of 20-run games, with six of their 20 contests meeting that threshold. Miami holds the same 12-8 record as its opponents but are 4-2 in ACC play, while the Irish are still in search of their first conference win of 2024.
Miami enters Frank Eck Stadium on decent footing, taking two of three in each of its first two ACC series, including last weekend against North Carolina. Its pitching staff had as two-sided of a series as possible, allowing just two runs in the first two games of the series before being
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hammered on Sunday, yielding a season-high 18 runs. That was more comparable to the Hurricanes’ opening ACC series when they allowed 31 runs in three games to Virginia, including a 1612 win and 14-11 loss.
Five Hurricanes with at least 35 at-bats have an OPS over 1.000, a staggering statistic that shows the depth of their offense. For reference, the Irish have three of these standards. Jason Torres and Daniel Cuvet are as dangerous of a one-two punch as any in college baseball. Both are hitting over .400, with Torres well over at .457 with 17 of the team’s 42 home runs. Blake Cyr has seven long balls himself while hitting at a .306 clip.
The Hurricanes’ offense isn’t
perfect. It strikes out a decent amount, with 65 strikeouts, the fifth most in the ACC, and their eight stolen bases tied for the fewest in the conference, with no player having more than two. But make no mistake -- if you give the Hurricanes a pitch to hit, they will pummel it.
Miami’s weekend starting rotation is alright. Rafe Schlesinger, Herick Hernandez and Gage Ziehl have all made five starts with ERAs between 3.81 and 5.04. But, among all the Miami pitchers with multiple appearances, only Nick Robert (2.25) has an ERA below five. The team has let leads in the last three innings slip away on three occasions already this season.
Notre Dame’s pitching staff
has had the opposite problem. Of the five Irish pitchers to make multiple starts this year, three -sophomore Caden Spivey, senior Jackson Dennies and graduate student Tobey McDonough -- have ERAs above 10. Graduate student Bennett Flynn and freshman Jack Radel have emerged as trusted relievers, and freshmen DJ Helwig and Keenan Mork have done well in limited appearances.
The Irish will look to find pitching stability and keep their bats hot this weekend against the Hurricanes. They play Friday at 3:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu
Irish prepare to face NC State
By CLAIRE WATSON Sports WriterComing off a 4-2 win over Michigan State, the Notre Dame softball team -- now 17-10 overall this season and 2-4 in the ACC -- are preparing to play three games against NC State. The Wolfpack come in with three wins and one loss from the Garnet & Black Invitational.
Last year, the Irish fared well against NC State, winning two out of the three games. They lost the first game 11-3, won the second game 10-2 and won the third game 7-1.
Last year, in the first game against the Wolfpack, the Irish fell 11-3. The Irish pulled ahead strong at the start, with two runs in the first inning and one run in the second. NC State was quick to respond, scoring two runs in the second inning and then seven runs in the third, making the score 9-3. Neither team scored in the fourth or fifth inning, but eventually, the Wolfpack ended the game in the sixth inning by
scoring two more runs, making the final score 11-3.
The second and third games ended in favor of the Irish. They wasted no time jumping ahead in the first inning, putting two runs on the board and adding four more in the second. Senior first baseman Karina Gaskins drove in two more runs after a home run to center, then graduate student and infielder Lexi Orozco hit a triple and scored off a single from third baseman Joley Mitchell in the second inning to help the Irish gain the 6-0 lead over the Wolfpack.
Gaskins lit up the field in the sixth inning, leading off with a home run, and with two runners on, second baseman Brooke Marquez doubled to center field to bring the score up to 10-2 against the Wolfpack.
Micaela Kastor started the second game in the circle for the Irish
last year, pitching her first full complete game as a freshman. Kastor pitched all six innings, allowing six hits and striking out three to earn the win for the Irish. The Irish kept the momentum going into the third game, not wasting any time on offense. Gaskins, Mitchell and Orozco all had hits, and by the middle of the fourth inning, the Irish were up 3-0. NC State responded in the bottom of the fourth with a homer of their own, now making the score 3-1, but the Irish did not let that rattle them. Orozco and Mitchell added more points to the board, extending the lead to 5-1 for the Irish in the sixth inning. Finally, in the seventh inning, Gaskins and outfielder Leea Hanks put up two more points to finish out the game with a 7-1 victory over the Wolfpack.
Payton Tidd started the game in the circle for the Irish. Tidd
allowed only one hit on the day and finished the game with seven strikeouts, tying her season high.
Looking ahead, NC State is coming off three wins and one loss from the Garnet & Black Invitational. They won 1-0 against Northwestern, 3-1 against Michigan State and 4-0 against South Carolina, but lost 14-4 against Minnesota.
Some of the team’s best hitters include Michele Tarpey, with a batting average of .410, and Taylor Ensley, who has a batting average of .348, good for second-best on the team. On the mound, Aisha Weixlmann leads the team with a total of six wins on the season and a total of 50 strikeouts.
The Irish will kick off their weekend series against NC State at 4 p.m. this Friday.
Contact Claire Watson at cwatson01@saintmarys.edu
Happy Birthday: Put your power in place and make things happen. Confidence and courage will help you convince others to help you complete your missions this year. Speak up and share your thoughts and plans, and you’ll gain the support and suggestions you need to close obsolete plans and redirect your energy into something that offers concrete results. Explore and extend your options to meet your needs. Your numbers are 3, 9, 18, 23, 30, 41, 49.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Refuse to let what others do stop you in your tracks. Assess situations and proceed in the direction closest to your end goal. Strengthen your position by motorizing your efforts into undeniable results. Follow your appeal with actions, and others will take notice.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Check out who and what’s available. Use your charm to gain ground. Being stubborn will lead to rejection, which sets you back and disrupts a meaningful connection. Take on only what you can handle. Falling short will hinder your chance to advance.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Cross your fingers, hope for the best, and verify information before you make references that can affect your reputation. Stick close to home and make room for the plans you want to pursue. Avoid overspending by doing for yourself. An offer will have a hidden agenda.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Take pride in your work, and you’ll get the rewards you deserve. Lean into whatever you pursue with determination and the resolve to finish what you start, and the recognition and support you want will be yours, along with an unexpected opportunity to learn.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Don’t mix emotions and money. A change of plans will conflict with responsibilities. Your experience will help you devise a means to overcome any setback. Put your energy where it counts, and you’ll discover unusual opportunities. Don’t wait for things to come to you.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Keep everything the same. Focus on what’s already moving and motivating you, and direct your energy into expanding and exploring what you’ve already begun. An opportunity to discover what you can do will come from someone you admire and respect. Live and learn.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Share your feelings and intentions with someone you want to spend more time with, and you’ll create a synergy enabling you to proceed and monitor contracts and expenses carefully. Maintaining balance will determine the outcome of a partnership.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Consider what you can accomplish physically and get started. Make changes that will eliminate controversy. Clear up old vendettas before you proceed. Deal with your emotions before you do something to jeopardize something you long for. Keep the peace and offer genuine solutions.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Use your energy before it backfires and takes you on a rampage that disrupts your life. Take better care of your physical and emotional self and refuse to let anyone goad you into a fight. Use intelligence, not brawn, when a challenge or competitive offer develops.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Let the past dictate how you handle upcoming changes that can influence or affect your lifestyle or home environment. Change can be favorable but will require a fixed budget and discipline if you want to avoid debt. Your goal is financial independence and positioning.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Let observation and detail be your forte. If you are too open, someone will swoop in and take over. Choose your path for the right reason, not to appeal to someone else’s needs. Keep your emotions out of your playbook when trying to get ahead.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Getting along with whoever you deal with today will be difficult if you let your emotions filter into your conversations. A solid, direct approach will help you maintain leverage and encourage a positive response. Be true to yourself and stand by your word.
Birthday Baby: You are disciplined, creative, and passionate. You are charitable and assertive.
Supplied with momentum, fifth-ranked Irish finish road trip against Clemson and Mercer
By TYLER REIDY Sports EditorAfter a second consecutive home loss to Virginia on March 9, Notre Dame women’s lacrosse departed for a four-game road swing needing results. At that point, the Irish had lost two of three and had slid down to the No. 8 ranking in the country.
With no shortage of drama, the first half of the East Coast trip went exactly as planned. Notre Dame pulled out an air-tight, 16-15 win at No. 23 Brown, holding on despite surrendering a 1411 lead. The Irish then went to Boston College, a place where they hadn’t won in 21 years, and emerged victorious in crunch time. The 15-14 win in Chestnut Hill marked Notre Dame’s second over a team ranked in the nation’s top two this season.
Following six days off, the Irish (7-2, 2-2 ACC) now stare down the second half of their lengthy expedition. Notre Dame will visit Clemson, a second-year ACC opponent, on Saturday before playing at neighboring Mercer in a nonconference tilt Sunday. Both Irish opponents enter the weekend without a ranking.
No denying Doherty
Notre Dame’s hero in the Brown and Boston College games hauled in plenty of hardware this week. Senior midfielder Mary Kelly
Doherty scored seven combined goals between the previous two road games,
SMC LACROSSEincluding game-winning tallies inside the final 40 seconds of both contests.
In response, USA
Lacrosse named Doherty its Division I Player of the Week. The Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association then tabbed her as its Offensive Player of the Week. Finally, Doherty received recognition as the ACC Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts during Spring Break.
Not only did Doherty contribute a hat trick against Brown and a career-high four goals at Boston College, but she also factored in away from the cage. Doherty controlled 14 total draws, including one that iced the Boston College game in the final 15 seconds. She notched two ground balls as well, helping Notre Dame earn extra possessions in a pair of tight contests.
On the season, Doherty now ranks fourth on the Irish roster with 18 goals. Only the team’s graduate big three — attacker Jackie Wolak, attacker Madison Ahern and midfielder Kasey Choma — rank ahead of her in that category. Doherty also positions in a tie for third in points, as her 28 match Ahern’s season total. In the draw control department, she ranks second among the Irish with 37 wins on the year.
Clemson shooting for highest-ranked win in program history
Clemson hasn’t been
around for long as a women’s lacrosse program, opening play in 2023. However, the Tigers have wasted little time learning how to win under Allison Kwolek. They went 12-6 a season ago, playing within a 12-9 score of Notre Dame in South Bend.
This year, Clemson holds an overall record of 6-3 with a 1-3 mark in ACC play. Like Notre Dame, the Tigers sped out to a 4-0 start, winning its ACC opener by a 20-11 score at Duke on Feb. 24. As a result, they ranked 18th in the nation by the end of the lacrosse season’s first month.
But the remainder of conference action has not been kind to the Tigers, handing them three losses in the last five games overall. Clemson entered March with top-15 losses to Virginia and North Carolina at home, most recently falling by a goal at Louisville last Saturday.
Given their transition abilities, the Tigers will demand offensive efficiency from the Irish. Clemson ranks third in the nation for clearing percentage and successfully cleared all 12 of its attempts last week in Louisville. Also leading the ACC in ground balls per game, Clemson won’t be afraid to play a scrappy brand of lacrosse against Notre Dame. Offensively, the Tigers also own top-10 national rankings in shots on goal per game and free position percentage.
Kwolek’s strong initial recruiting, culminating in a fourth-ranked freshman
class this season, has quickly translated to on-field success. First-year Regan Byrne has 17 goals on the year, leading all ACC freshmen in goals per game. Natalie Shurtleff, the second-ranked freshman in the 2024 class, has filled up the stat sheet from every angle. Along with her 11 assists — which rank fourth nationally among first-year players — Shurtleff owns 11 goals, 11 ground balls, 20 draw controls and six caused turnovers. Finally, Kayla Macleod leads the conference in free position percentage and freshman goals (18).
On the other end of the spectrum, UMBC graduate transfer Claire Bockstie leads the Tigers with 28 goals and 40 points. She enters the weekend needing just nine goals to reach 200 for her impressive career.
ACC-seasoned Mercer presents NCAA Tournament rematch
Despite having membership in the Big South Confernece, Mercer (3-4) has already seen its share of the ACC. The Bears opened their year with a 21-8 loss to Virginia Tech, winning two games thereafter before falling 22-10 to Clemson on March 5.
Last week, Mercer dipped into the American Athletic Conference for its third and fourth losses of the season. A 13-9 loss at Vanderbilt preceded a 20-7 defeat at No. 13 Florida, pitting the Bears below .500 for the first time in
over three weeks.
But before any of that happened, Mercer met Notre Dame for the first time in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Irish rolled at the Gainesville neutral site, winning 21-6 behind a 10-point showing from Choma.
The top draw-controlling team in the ACC, Notre Dame will look to exploit a potential Mercer weakness that emerged last Saturday at Florida. The Bears earned only 10 controls to Florida’s 20, bringing their season draw control percentage to 44.6. That figure compares unfavorably to the 60.7 mark of Notre Dame, who will target extra possessions early in the game. However, if Mercer’s Kayla Soltys plays to her Big South-best 5.86 draw controls per game, that task won’t be as easy.
Though Mercer didn’t see the ball much in Gainesville, it still found lanes to the cage at a high rate. With 19 of their 22 shots going on goal, the Bears posted a season-high 86.4 shot percentage.
Overall, Mercer’s offense stands as the most prolific in the Big South. Led by Gabby DiVirgilio and her 30 points, the Bears pace the conference in scoring and shooting, averaging 14.3 goals and 29.3 shots per game.
Notre Dame will face Clemson at 7 p.m. on Saturday before moving on to Mercer for a noon start on Sunday.
Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu
Draw control, loose ball woes against Wooster send Belles to third consecutive loss
By TYLER REIDY Sports EditorSaint Mary’s lacrosse dropped its third consecutive game Wednesday evening at home. The Wooster Fighting Scots came into South Bend and controlled the match from start to finish, winning 20-6.
Wooster owned a 22-6 advantage in the draw control while posting a 23-10 margin on ground balls. Those factors kept the ball away from Saint Mary’s all day long, leading to a lopsided 33-9 shot count.
Coming out hot with a trio of goals in three minutes, the Fighting Scots built a 3-0 lead by the first quarter’s midway point. Saint Mary’s
then broke through with a goal from Reese Bauer, the team’s lone bright spot on the day. The senior attacker scored a season-high three goals, adding a draw control as well.
Wooster, on the other hand, had four players post hat tricks. Two of them, senior attacker Kenzie Smith and sophomore attacker Brynne Snaguski, scored to follow Bauer’s goal and carry the visitors to a 5-1 lead. Bauer would then deliver a second goal during a playerup chance with 2:50 remaining in the first half.
Over the next 17 minutes, however, Wooster would completely run away with the game. The Fighting Scots scored 10 consecutive
goals, building a 15-3 lead at halftime. In each of the first two quarters, Wooster peppered junior goalie Emma Zmudzinski and the Belles with 10 shots. Saint Mary’s could counter with only three in the opening 30 minutes.
Wooster extended its momentum to start the second half, scoring three straight goals in the first four minutes after the break. Senior attacker Julia Gorski pulled one back for the Belles with 8:53 remaining in the third quarter, bringing the score to 18-4. After that, both offenses went silent, leaving the score untouched through the end of the quarter.
With the game firmly in hand, Saint Mary’s would
equal Wooster with two goals in the final quarter.
Freshman attacker Rachel Speckhard found her first career goal two minutes in, and Bauer completed her hat trick two minutes later.
Wooster scored once more for good measure late in the fourth, closing out a 20-6 win. With the result, Saint Mary’s sank to 1-5, mired in a slump with less than seven
goals scored in three straight games. The Belles are off to their worst six-game start to a season since 2014, their inaugural campaign as a women’s lacrosse program.
Saint Mary’s will return to the field and host Lake Forest this coming Saturday at 2 p.m.
Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu
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Three questions facing Notre Dame women’s basketball ahead of NCAA Tournament
By JAKE MILLER AND J.J. POST Senior Sports WritersNotre Dame women’s basketball will face 15th-seeded Kent State in the Round of 64 at Purcell Pavilion this Saturday. Ahead of Saturday’s 2:15 p.m. tip-off, Senior Sports Writers Jake Miller and J.J. Post answer three key questions about the team.
Wait. The Irish team that had its worst home loss in 20 years won the ACC?
How did that happen?
Miller : Just like no one reason caused the Irish to get clobbered earlier this season, no one reason propelled them to victory. However, I would be lying to ignore Notre Dame’s luck in Greensboro.
While the Irish played three ranked teams, each of their opponents found themselves in difficult scenarios.
Louisville was picking up every foul imaginable, ending with 21 on the day. They also had 20 turnovers, many which were self-inflicted.
The next day, Notre Dame beat a Virginia Tech team
missing Elizabeth Kitley — a revolutionary player. Notre Dame capped the weekend by beating a NC State team that shot 35% from the field and only made three 3-pointers. Sure, Notre Dame played nice zone defense and caused bad looks, but ultimately, consider it a blessing that all three opponents faced omens with major impacts.
Enough with the bad, though. Notre Dame found its way in the zone. With senior center Kylee Watson out, Notre Dame used its mobility to its advantage, dashing all the way around the court to try to force teams to shoot tough shots like jumpers and inefficient threes. On the offensive side, the Irish got outstanding production from every player on the court. Teams let senior forward Maddy Westbeld shoot the ball, and she gave them every reason not to on the following possession. When she goes off from deep — like she did against NC State (3 of 7) — there’s not much an opposing defense can do.
Post : A combination of factors have played a role
in Notre Dame’s late surge. Junior guard Sonia Citron has been perhaps the most underrated X-factor. Citron re-entered the lineup after a lower-body injury in January, but that return appeared to be more out of necessity than her being 100% ready. The usually hyper-reliable junior struggled to meet her lofty standards of efficiency and seemed a step behind her top speed in the first games she played after injury.
But Citron looks to be back to full health now, and it’s been a boon for the Irish. Over her last 10 games, the combo guard is averaging 17 points per game and has often been responsible for guarding opposing team’s best scorers when Notre Dame plays man-to-man defense. The Irish’s record over the course of this 10 game stretch where Citron has thrived? 9-1.
Notre Dame’s team defense has also buckled down over the closing stretch of the season. Since a double-overtime track meet saw the Irish and Florida State combine for 192 points in Tallahassee,
Notre Dame has held teams to 60 points or fewer in seven of their last nine games. That’s a trend that will play in March. As Jake mentioned, zone looks have been key in the past several weeks for the Irish. Initially more of a unique wrinkle Ivey would occasionally deploy to throw opponents off their game, Notre Dame’s zone has slowly evolved into a fundamental game plan staple.
How can the Irish sustain their success in Saturday’s matchup with Kent State?
Miller : Notre Dame is a more athletic team that should take advantage of its speed and ball-handling. Watch for Citron and freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo to take advantage of their wheels to move the ball down the court, simply beating defenders that can’t keep up with them.
On defense, Kent State plays a variety of messy zones that often (unintentionally) become a man. Notre Dame knows how to break a zone, though. Watch for graduate
guard Anna DeWolfe to play a big role in the kick out game. I assume that Notre Dame will be able to drive and score, but if not, they can still drive to draw defenders away from the corners. Then, the Irish should use outlet passes (to someone like DeWolfe or Citron) to try a secondary or tertiary look from three.
Funny enough, Kent State will play a similar offense on their side of the court, but they are much slower and don’t shoot as well from deep (31.8% vs 35% for Notre Dame). If any Kent player is hot, watch for Hidalgo to get tasked to spy and guard them close, limiting exterior opportunities.
Post : Unfortunately for the Irish, the team’s aforementioned zone lost a key staple in Watson. Watson’s fluidity and shot-blocking ability made her an anchor down low for a Notre Dame defensive scheme that requires constant lateral movement, and her presence will be missed dearly.
Ironically, the Irish will