The n otre d ame a lumni a ssociation and its young nd board announced the re cipients of the 2022 d omer d ozen award Thursday. a ccording to the a lumni a ssociation, the d omer d ozen honors 12 n otre d ame graduates each year, age 32 or younger, ”for excellence in their contri butions in faith, service, learning or work — the core pillars of the association’s mission.”Thisyear’s d omer d ozen honorees were chosen by a selection committee that in cluded u niversity officials, a lumni a ssociation staff and the young nd board, which represents the a lumni a ssociation’s young alumni affinity group.
Lecture discusses history of white power movement
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By EMMA DUFFY news writer o n June 24, 2022, Dobbs v. Jackson overturned the prec edent set in Roe v. Wade . i n the original Roe v. Wade decision, the u s supreme c ourt established that women have the right to privacy with their doctor, and therefore states could not interfere with a woman’s choice to get an abortion. Dobbs v. Jackson ruled that the right to privacy is not ex plicit within the c onstitution, meaning it will now be up to the states to decide if abortions are allowed.
Students react to reversal of Roe v. Wade Jackson
see anTi racism PAGE 4see 3
The decision has already had profound impacts across the country, but on a c atholic cam pus with a number of progres sive students, the controversy is even more pronounced. c ampus groups against abortion have signaled their approval of overturning Roe o ne club that has actively spoken about its positive opin ion on the decision is notre dame r ight To l ife. Their for mal statement on Dobbs can be read on their website. merlot fogarty, president of r ight To l ife, said she feels the supreme c ourt has now made the right decision. “i definitely think that Roe was wrongly decided at the very beginning. i f you do read the Dobbs decision, the right to privacy really isn’t men tioned,” fogarty said. she said the reversal was important as an admission of mistakes made by past courts.
“i think this decision defi nitely opened people up to the awareness that there can be wrongly-decided cases, and there can be mistakes made by the supreme c ourt,” fogarty said.fogarty was in i ndianapolis when a new abortion bill for the state of i ndiana was debat ed. it will soon become i ndiana law that women cannot get abortions with few exceptions, such as rape, incest, health of the mother and fatal fetal ab normalities, according to re porting by the i ndianapolis star.fogarty said she was glad i ndiana called a special ses sion to pass this bill. she only wishes the bill were stricter. for instance, fogarty said she feels that rape is “not the fault of the baby” and that abortion punishes the fetus for its father’s crime. “ we’re able to work on get ting rid of these exceptions and valuing life, regardless of the circumstances of the con ception,” fogarty said. but there is also a side to the debate unhappy with the decision. i rish 4 reproductive health, a leading group in support of reproductive health access, declined The observer’s request to speak in an interview. “given the work that we do as an organization and the con tentious nature of the political landscape on these issues right now, we would rather not have our positions beyond that up for interpretation,” the group said in an email.
By JENNA ABU-LUGHOD newsKickingwriter
The University hosted associate professor Dr. Kathleen Belew for the opening “Building an Anti-Racist Vocabulary” lecture of the year. In her presentation, Belew spoke on the white power movement. see aborTion PAGE 3
Katie werner, communi cations director of c ollege Observer Staff Report
Jenna Abu-Lughod | The Observer
off year four of the “ b uilding an a nti-r acist vocabulary” lecture series on s ept. 2 was d r. Kathleen b elew, an associate professor in the department of history at n orthwestern university. i n her lecture, which took place via Zoom, b elew dis cussed the “white power movement,” which is the fo cus of much of her research as well as her book, “ b ring the war h ome: The w hite p ower m ovement.” b elew began her lecture by introducing modern in stances in which the white power movement was evi dent, specifically focusing on the Jan. 6 insurrection at the u s c apitol. s he emphasized that the attack was carried out by several groups of people, one of which was a small but highly-organized group of white power activists who seem to be part of a more complex movement than previously thought. “ w hat we thought about for a very long time as sim ply the Ku Klux Klan, an anti-b lack movement, or the neo-nazis, an anti-Jewish movement, or skinheads, who seemed to be attacking all kinds of people of color in the 1980s, actually appear to be part of the same thing,” b elew said. s he went on to highlight
Campus groups discuss the Dobbs v.
The selection committee considered 134 nominees in the selection process this summer and evaluated them “based on a weighted ranking system and their contributions in their respective fields.” a ccording to the a lumni a ssociation, the alumni honored in this year’s d omer d ozen are: d eJorie m onroe, class of 2016, for “ p romoting inter cultural understanding and global human development;” Kiley a dams, class of 2017, for “ e nsuring equitable ac cess to outdoor spaces and medical care for people with disabilities;”anaKent,class of 2013, for “ i mplementing psychologi cal expertise to solve eco nomic inequality;” c onnor Toohill, class of 2014, for “ p roviding men tal health and well-being resources through social entrepreneurship;”meehanlenzen, class of 2011, for “ e mpowering young women in s T em through community-based service;”ashley m urphy, class of 2016, for “ p ursuing so cial justice through public
Supreme Court decision 2022 DozenDomercohortannounced
The independen T newspaper serving n o T re d ame, s ain T m ary’s and holy cross To uncover T he T ru T h and repor T i T accura T ely volume 57, issue 6 | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com news PAGE 3 viewpoin T PAGE 6scene PAGE 5 nd volleyball PAGE 11 fooT ball PAGE 12
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1030 Jenkins Nanovic 11Hallsa.m. - 1 p.m. On entrepreneurship. Lecture: “Trans Sans Frontières” 1050 Jenkins Nanovic 4Hallsp.m. - 5:15 p.m. By Howard Chiang.
AfghanistanTuesday Panel Discussion 10onlinea.m. - 11 a.m. Several experts weigh in on the situation.
1050 Jenkins Nanovic 3:30Halls pm - 5:00 pm Free refreshments. Fellows Spotlight Hesburgh Auditorium,CenterGreat Hall 4: 00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Meet visiting fellows and PhD candidates.
Lecture:Friday Injustice”“Systemic 12:30online pm - 1:30 pm Hosted by the Klau Institute. MVP Fridays Stinson-Remick Hall of Engineering Atrium 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Hosted by the Center for Social Concerns.
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Notre Dame fans showed up in droves to Ohio State as the No. 5 Irish took on the No. 2 Buckeyes. Unfortunately, Notre Dame came short of victory after leading at halftime. The Fighting Irish will next take on the Marshall Thundering Herd this Saturday, Sept. 10.
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Ian Shuman “Italy.”offseniorcampus Sam Kaczor “Taiwan.”dsophomoreillonhall
2 TODAYThe observer | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
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Latin PolicingAmericanLecture Hesburgh Center, Room C103 12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m. By Yanilda Gonzalez.
a question you want answered?
AAHD ExhibitionGallery 214 Riley Hall 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Democracy and the Mueller report.
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LaborMondayDay all Administrativeday offices are closed for the national holiday, but classes are in session.
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Contact Emma Duffy at eduffy5@nd.edu Abortion con TI n U ed F rom PAGe 1
Observer Staff Report notre dame Law school has ended binding early applica tions, the school’s office of ad missions announced in a press release Wednesday. The release cited unfair wealth advantages and anxiety as main reasons for the elimination. “early decision programs tend to advantage wealthier students and create anxiety for many students when choosing an application program,” the release said. The early decision applica tion program bound students to notre dame Law school before they could weigh financial aid options, sparking the concerns that led to this decision. Instead of the early decision program, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, ac cording to the press release. “Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning in sept. and initial admissions de cisions will be released in late nov. or early dec. While the ap plication will close on march 15, prospective students are encouraged to submit applica tions early in the admissions cycle,” the law school wrote. The law school her alded increasing diversi ty and first-generation law students in its last two classes, and said this latest step would promote further “diversity, equity and inclusion.” “our success at enrolling di verse students who have dem onstrated excellence will be amplified by this modification of our admissions procedure,” G. marcus cole, dean of the law school, said in the statement. e xperts told reuters, a news agency, that the move was ex pected, and that other law schools may follow. They cite “ongoing uncertainty about the national applicant pool and concerns about access and equity.”Thepress release also said that students are encouraged to show commitment to the program in their “Why notre dame?” application essay.
Law school scraps binding early decision application
Editor’s note: Werner is a former news writer for The Observer. having lived in the southern United states for the past six years, Werner said the Dobbs decision will lead to a harsh reality for her and her friends back“I’mhome.very concerned, be cause I think that the near est abortion clinic, like even Planned Parenthood for cheaper healthcare, is like six to eight hours away,” she said. beyond concerns for her fe male friends, Werner said the decision in the Dobbs case has religious implications. she is involved in her Jewish faith and said she follows certain expectations that her religious texts place on her that do not follow the Dobbs decision. “The reformed Jewish sect is pro-choice,” Werner said. now that the supreme c ourt has ruled that there is no mention of privacy in the c onstitution, Werner worries it will af fect L bGTQ+ rights, contraceptive rights and more. “It’s super dangerous be cause they’re gonna start taking so many progressive rights,” she said.
And Kristin Andrejko, class of 2019, for “ c ollaborating to eradi cate disease through scholarship and community service.”The2022 d omer d ozen cohort will return to cam pus s ept. 9 and 10 for a special recognition weekend and an awards dinner with the Young nd board and Alumni Association staff members. They will also be rec ognized that weekend at the football game against m arshall University and will give short talks about their life and experiences since graduation in the LaFortune b allroom on Friday, s ept. 9 at 2 p.m. The talks, titled “ b eyond the d ome: Inspiration from the 2022 d omer d ozen,” are free and open to the public.
Werner said she and many of her friends share the same view on the situation but are unsure how to move forward because the campus atmosphere are making it hard for people with her views to take a stand.
con TI n U ed F rom PAGe 1
healthAdamresearch;”rené P. r osenbaum, class of 2016, for “Putting faith into action on behalf of the poor and marginalized;”Johnbrahier, class of 2014, for “Innovating to educate both the minds and hearts of students;” c apt. John d ean, class of 2017, for “ s aving lives and protecting the nation in hostile environments;” d aara Jalili, class of 2017 and m e d. class of 2019, for “ c ommitting to servantleadership in the commu nity and classroom;” r ev. d avid s mith, c s c ., class of 2014 and m d iv. class of 2020, for “ s erving the community through religious vocation;”
Domer democrats and vice president of Jewish c lub, spoke for the opposing side. she said she is not representing the clubs she is a member of in this interview.
News3 ndsmcobserver.com | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2022 | The observe r
“I’m kind of at a loss, and there’s a lot of silence, which is awful. It’s only coming from pro-choicers, obviously, so it’s just so unfair,” Werner said.
Anti-racism con TI n U ed F rom pAge 1
The senate quickly voted to approve the minutes from the prior meeting before stu dent body president p atrick Lee delivered a state of the student union. s tudent body vice presi dent s ofie s titt speaks during the first senate meeting of the year in the m ontgomery Auditorium in LaFortune s tudent c enter. Lee communicated a cat egorically positive expecta tion for this academic year in his speech. “I think we’re in a good spot. We have brilliant peo ple here and plenty of good ideas, and knock on wood, but cov I d seems to be in the past,” Lee said. The chief student govern ment executive encouraged the many branches of the student union to continue to work hard in order to positively impact the n otre d ame community. “If you think that wages are too low, you can raise them,” Lee said. “If you think that residential life or any group on campus has issues, we in this room can really do a lot to sort it out.”
4 NEWSThe observer | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com the o klahoma c ity bombing, which she explained is of ten thought of as the work of “only a few bad apples.” “The o klahoma c ity bomb ing was actually the work of a social movement. It was perpetrated by not just one or a few people, but by a broad network of people who had set their sights on the same building in 1983 — so more than a decade before the bombing — and had worked together to bring about this major act of domestic terror ism,” b elew said. In considering these groups’ cause for unity, b elew cited the v ietnam War.“The white power move ment comes together im mediately on the aftermath of the v ietnam War,” b elew said.she added that 1983 and 1984 were two extremely relevant years for the white power movement. Firstly, the movement adopted a strat egy she called “leaderless resistance.”“Leaderless resistance is what we now understand as simply cell-style terrorism,” b elew said. The leaderless resistance strategy, b elew said, was im plemented during the c ivil r ights e ra to prevent federal informants, such as the ATF and F b I, from infiltrating the movements’ groups. This led to difficulty in linking vari ous related events with one another.“Forinstance, we might get a story about the Tree of Life shooting or about the c hristchurch shooting as isolated events, instead of stories about those events as all being perpetrated by the same movement,” b elew explained.belewwent on to state that the b uffalo shooting mani festo was nearly identical to that of the c hristchurch shooting, indicating an inter connectedness between the two.“The other major event that happened in the years 1983 and 1984 was the in troduction of networked computers,” b elew said. For example, The o rder, a white supremacist group, stole millions of dollars to buy computers that could be networked together in order to allow various other groups to communicate without be ing seen by law enforcement and the F b I, b elew said. “These groups were ear ly adopters and were using social network activism to network and create the in frastructure for violent ac tion all the way back in 1984,” b elewWithsaid.their new technology, b elew said the movement grew larger over the next few years. h owever, in 1987 and 1988, the U. s d epartment of Justice attempted a seditious conspiracy trial, meaning it tried to prove that the various activists conspired in a group in an attempt to violently overthrow the government. “ h owever, for many rea sons, this trial did not go as the d epartment of Justice had hoped,” b elew said. “The movement was acquitted. And what happened after ward is that it shifted directly into the militia movement.” b elew continued by stress ing the importance of us ing correct and accurate terminology and language when addressing the militia movement.“It’stricky, because ‘mi litia’ is embedded in our shared historical knowledge in a really different way, be cause we go back and think about men with the tricorn hats instead of about para military guys holding the big guns and wearing the scary masks,” she said. b elew said that militias were integral to the found ing of the United s tates and are even mentioned in the c onstitution. h owever, she explained they have since been reorganized into other military structures as part of the d ick Act. “In fact, militias are now il legal in all 50 states,” b elew said.however, militias still exist and have been seen at events such as the c harlottesville “Unite the r ight” rally. These militias, b elew said, are not regulated by anyone except themselves.“so,following the legal scholar m ary m c c ord, I have begun to think of them not as malicious but as an unregu lated private army,” b elew said.she concluded the lecture by reiterating that building an anti-racist vocabulary is an excellent way for peo ple to help limit the power and capacity of white power violence.shealso moved away from the 20th century and gave a final take on the modern mi litia“We’removement.nowliving in an age where members of these un regulated private armies are running for office,” she said. “That means that we have to worry not only about masscasualty violence, but we also have to worry about threats to the rule of free elections, to the idea that America should be ruled by and for the people and to the idea that democra cy is going to be our system of governance.”
Student body president addresses Senate
Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu
The president’s speech ended with a call for student unity.“Ithink really what I want to tell you guys today is whether or not we as a stu dent union succeed is not dependent on administrator response. It’s about our own effort to follow through and our ability to work together,” LeeThesaid. next time Lee will address the student senate is in six weeks during the assembly before fall break. s titt concluded the execu tive announcements portion of the meeting by urging senators to make themselves visible to first-years and ask ing the representatives to fill out a survey to help improve dorm gyms. n ext on the agenda was the nomination of se nior m eghan s wantkowski as president of The s hirt p roject. The senate moved quickly from questioning to debate before confirming s wantkowski as president of theTheclub.senate then approved in a block vote three nomi nations to the committee on the“Theconstitution.committee on the constitution is a senate committee that essential ly reviews constitutional amendments before they are presented to senate and also evaluates and debates potential chang es to the student union,” s chlachet said. m ore contested than the three committee on the con stitution nominations were the nominations of one male and one female senator to the c ampus Life c ouncil . “The council is a group of student leaders, rectors, faculty members, and rep resentatives from the office of Fr. g erry [ o linger] in the d ivision of s tudent Affairs,” LeeAfterexplained.30-second speeches by the both nominated senators and their support ers, sophomore c onnor m c c loskey from Keenan h all and sophomore Trista b rantley from b reen- p hillips h all were elected to the council in a closed vote. The senate then consid ered order so 2223-06 to amend the 2022-2023 stu dent senate bylaws to clarify section five, which outlines the process for approving the student union budget for the new term. The order passed without debate. b efore wrapping up the meeting, the senate lis tened to a resolution calling for self-scheduling at University h ealth s ervices. Finally, senators heard announcements from their fellow represen tatives. o f note, first-year class council elections will be held s ept. 15.
Contact Jenna Abu-Lughod at jabulugh@nd.edu
TheWritern otre d ame stu dent senate received a state of the student union ad dress, amended the 20222023 senate bylaws and nominated members to the c ampus Life c ouncil and committee on the constitu tion during its first meeting of the semester Wednesday evening.student body vice presi dent s ofie s titt took over the reins from there, pre siding over the meeting alongside senate parliamen tarian Jared s chlachet. s titt explained that as chairper son of the senate, her job is to lead the meetings while s chlachet ensures that the procedure outlined in the constitution is followed.
By PETER BREEN news
The documentary, however, does not delve too deep ly into the science. As a history major, I was satisfied with the narrator’s calm explanation of plate tecton ics and the beautiful visuals that went along with it. but “Fire of Love” is a romance through and through. simultaneously, it captures maurice and Katia’s love for each other and their mutual love for the earth. Possibly disappointing the scientists, though, volcanology meth ods remain a mystery to me even after two watches.
“Fire of Love”
Starring: Maurice and Katia Krafft Director: Sara Dosa If you like: “The Alpinist” “Moonrise Kingdom”
CHRISTINA SAYUT | The Observer
5The observer | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com5
The star of Panah Panahi’s “ h it the r oad” is the family’s young son, played by r ayan s arlak. h is annoying antics and entertaining quips keep this slow, meditative story about a family’s separation movingAlthoughforward.alot of the details of the situation in this Iranian film are kept intentionally vague, it fol lows a family: an endearingly grouchy father with a broken leg, the practical, sarcastic mother, their adult son Farid, their younger son around 7 years old and their aging dog on a road trip through Iran. This is not a family vacation, however — they’re on this journey to get Farid to the Iran-Turkey bor der where he will cross over and start a new life. The film alludes to the fact that Farid is fleeing the ten uous authoritarian regime of Iran and that the fam ily has sold their house in order to fund the son’s passage.Theparents are worried about leaving their older son and the uncertainty of not knowing when they’ll be able to see him next, but they express it through sarcasm. not just because they can’t face the sep aration, but because they need to keep the truth about Farid’s escape hidden from their younger son so he doesn’t give them away. The younger son is blissfully unaware of the nature of this road trip, whining about having to leave his cell phone be hind and confused by his family’s constant suspi cion that someone is following them as they drive.
As of July 2022, Panahi — along with m ohammad r asoulof, another Iranian director — has been ar rested for calling the Iranian government out for cracking down on citizens protesting corruption. “ h it the r oad” is Panah Panahi’s debut, and the film artfully reflects this political atmosphere in the country while maintaining a sense of humor. It also gives you the sense that this is a reflection of Panahi’s own family — where his father’s film making would have left them in a constant but undefined state of stress about the regime.
“Hit the Road”
Starring: Rayan Sarlak, Pantea Panahiha Director : Panah Panahi If you like: “Argo,” “A Hero,” ”There Is No Evil”
The film reminds us that families everywhere, even ones struggling under undemocratic re gimes, are funny, complex and ultimately the same. s arlak’s portrayal of the annoying child on a road trip is hilarious. h e draws on the car’s window in red permanent marker out of boredom, he pokes his head out of the sun roof and dances to old-timey Farsi music, he says hello to cyclists on the road and the family has to give one a lift when he falls off his bike from the distraction. The most beautiful scene of the film is when Farid is finally getting on a motorbike to cover the last stretch to the border. Panahi films it from far away so the family appears tiny in this lush, green valley in the countryside. You can hear the mother fussing over Farid, but you can’t see the anguish on her face. To their right, the father hob bles around and ties their younger son to a tree as he screams and throws a tantrum, not knowing that could be the last time he’ll see his brother for a while. d irector Panah Panahi is the son of Jafar Panahi, an award-winning auteur who has claimed priz es at film festivals ranging from venice to b erlin for satirical films like “Taxi” and “ o ffside.” As of 2013, Jafar had been placed under house arrest and is forbidden from making any films by the government. This hasn’t deterred him, though, and “This Is n ot a Film,” shot on a cell phone in his house, was actually smuggled to the c annes Film Festival on a U sb drive hidden inside a cake.
And when the Kraffts are not there to capture an erup tion, director sara dosa does an even better job of dem onstrating volcanic scale. Katia and maurice are stuck in France when mt. st. helens erupts in 1980, so they could provide no footage, but dosa compiles a beauti ful and horrifying collage: a journalist abandons their camera in a nearby village as ash hurls towards it; a hiker 50 kilometers away photographs an ash cloud that obscures their entire field of vision; and a villager hun dreds of kilometers further witnesses the mushroom cloud that ensues mere minutes after eruption. Witnessing those images in turn, I couldn’t help but gape. In all honesty, the images are beautiful, but I felt almost guilty experiencing awe at such a destructive event. dosa soon brought me back to reality. For how awe-inspiring the documentary is, it is not naively romantic. Katia and maurice are not religious, nor are they fond of humanity as a natural force. If it were possible to eat rocks, they may never come down from the volcano back into society.“Wehave but this one short life before we return to the ground,” they say. but Katia and maurice are not nihilistic nor egoistic. When nevado del ruiz erupts in columbia and kills 25,000 people, they spring into action, creating films and action plans to inspire evacuation efforts in other volcano zones. This time, governments listen to the volcanologists, saving thousands of future lives. of course, Katia and maurice know that their short life will come to an end, and it soon does. In the 1991 Japanese mt. Unzen eruption, the lovers return to the ground next to each other, buried under a flow of lava, forever enshrined in the flames that created them. however cliché it may seem, I stepped out of dPAc feeling more grounded, more willing to search. Contact Mark Valenzuela at mvalenz3@nd.edu
By MARK VALENZUELA s ceneWhenWriterthe unnatural destruction of France during World War II subsided, Katia and maurice Krafft stepped out of the flames. Although they would not meet for another two de cades, the couple experienced a mutual childhood ignition — the love of volcanoes sparked that within them. brilliantly juxtaposing the unnatural flames of human war with grandiose lava flows and bubbling cauldrons of hot mud, “Fire of Love,” national Geographic’s most com plete exploration of the human condition, intersperses gorgeous graphic explanations of geological phenomena with films made by the Kraffts during their adventures. my mouth gaped in awe for 90 minutes straight. The film’s stars are also its creators: maurice and Katia were worldrenowned volcanologists and humble yet incredible filmmakers.oftenstepping too close to the lava and constant ly dreaming about riding his canoe down a lava flow, maurice, alongside his film camera, is the visionary, cap turing dreams for the world to see. between the more seri ous topics covered in sara dosa’s documentary, maurice’s “dad jokes” add a comedic lightness that made the viewing experience less overwhelmingly intense and much more fun.Katia, less than half maurice’s size, is the true genius, cap turing precise stills of the red, yellow and gray mountains that draw the couple ever closer. Although maurice jokes that the couple often “erupts” at each other, their love is evident. even as they both note that television appearances, books and films are nothing but the easiest way to pay the bills when they would rather be near the fire, the Kraffts’ film making truly blurs the line between art and science. Utilizing a Wes Anderson-esque God’s eye perspective, maurice and Katia zoom out to show geologic scale and zoom in to show their volcanologist instruments at work.
Contact Angela Mathew at amathew3@nd.edu
By ANGELA MATHEW manager of Talent & Inclusion
Ayden Kowalski scene Writer Caitlin Brannigan Pop culutre Apologist
This past summer, I embarked on the adventure of creating an album. While artistic work is typically idealized as the real ization of an unadulterated vision, I found the creative process to be a balancing act between the impulses of the audience and the various inclinations within the artist. If art imitates life, then the creative process is a microcosm of the human balancing act of living — that endless quest for unachievable equilibrium.Theforemost lesson I gained from this process is that au thenticity in self-expression is paramount. Whether in the sphere of fashion or filmmaking, poetry or producing beats, one must embrace the styles and subjects that genuinely reso nate with them, as there is nothing more powerful than true passion. There are parts of us and our self-expression that are essential and not negotiable, and while it takes good effort to discern these pieces of ours, once we find them, they will be the bedrock of ourselves in society. s tarting with and loving our authentic attributes gives us pride in how we connect with others and peace when others misunderstand or dismiss us. In art, this process does not always lead to autobiography but rather something truly representative of sentiments and inter ests deep within the creator. r edefining stories about ourselves to be emblematic of ourselves encourages our imaginations to produce new types of stories and the imaginations of the audi ence members to find what these works mean to them.
The focused work on this single project also allowed me to refine my relationship with work. The two extremes of labor are laziness and perfectionism, and while the former is almost universally condemned, perfectionism is perpetually upheld despite how destructive it truly is. n othing is perfect, and in art the best ideas usually arrive on their own in a way for which a creator can take limited credit. The idea that enough work can yield success is obviously tantalizing as a promise that all our dreams can come true, but as my dancing abilities can testify, this is not the human experience. n othing can ever be perfect, but it can be good and finished, which means that we must set a limit with our work, especially because endless time working means neglecting relationships, which sustain and nurture us more than any labor could. Fighting against my perfectionism meant campaigning for a project people could hear and for the space to prioritize the people around me.
The observer | Monday, Septe Mber 5, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com6 InSIde ColuMn Art, the balancinggreatact
A v irginia court case brought against b arnes & n oble attempted to restrict the sale of m aia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer” and s arah m aas’ “A c ourt of m ist and Fury.” Local legislators argued based on a poorly-worded v irginia law that the books would be “obscene” for readers under the age of 18. The case was recently dismissed. This comes at a time of much political discussion cen tered around which books are appropri ate to read in the classroom. e qually disturbing is the removal of m argaret Atwood’s “The h andmaid’s Tale,” a novel famous for highlighting oppression and injustice, from a few Texas and Kansas public schools for “review.” “The h andmaid’s Tale” is an influential work that is extremely wellwritten. It’s relevant today and will con tinue to be. r emoving this book is an affront to a proper education. The book is so well-known and influential that it is hard to believe school officials are unaware of its content. What is there to review that they wouldn’t already know of?r estricting access to books is an ob stacle to a well-informed public. h aving healthy debates and access to informa tion are crucial aspects of any democ racy. r eading books about difficult subjects, like racism, leads to discus sion of those subjects, especially in the classroom.onthis,the author Laurie h alse Anderson said: “‘ b y attacking these books, by attacking the authors, by at tacking the subject matter, what they are doing is removing the possibility for conversation. You are laying the groundwork for increasing bullying, disrespect, violence and attacks.’” h istorically, many books of great lit erary merit have been challenged in the United s tates, including J. d s alinger’s “The c atcher in the r ye” and James Joyce’s “Ulysses.” “Ulysses” was burned in serialized form in the United s tates. The road to getting it published in the U. s . was long and arduous due to its “obscene” content. In e ngland, the book was mass burned before it was legally banned. Yet, it is also regarded as a literary masterpiece. “The c atcher in the r ye” was challenged and banned in multiple U s classrooms, mostly for pro fanity, despite its status as one of the greatest works in the American literary canon. It’s difficult to argue nowadays with the sheer amount of praise and lit erary analysis both works have received that access to them should be restricted or banned, as people have tried in the past.Intrying to ban books like “Gender Queer” for its “obscene” content, a similar mistake is made. b ooks of great literary merit, which are a joy to read and foster intellectual discussion, could be wholly removed from the classroom. This decreases the quality of literary education. Going further by restrict ing access to books at booksellers like b arnes & n oble is devastating and begs the question: What is worth more, quality education or censoring books
For example, “Gender Queer,” a memoir of Kobabe’s life, explores sexu ality and gender identity. “ b eloved,” another book that has historically been challenged, highlights the pain and devastation of slavery. These books can educate readers about serious ma terial. Trying to censor these books, through removing them from class rooms or otherwise, does not erase the books’ subjects from reality. s tudents will eventually have to confront these topics.specifically in classrooms, there ex ists an argument that certain material isn’t age-appropriate for students. There are certainly books that would not be appropriate for elementary school stu dents and as such aren’t taught to them; the issue is trying to remove books from high school curriculums. For ex ample, in a campaign ad for governor of v irginia Glenn Youngkin, a mother declares that she would like “ b eloved” to be optional instead of part of her son’s required high school curriculum, as a result of its “explicit content.” s ome content in “ b eloved” is difficult for very young children to read, but this book is widely recommended for the high school-age reader and for good reason. c ensoring this book does not mean that its historical content disappears — the issues the novel confronts must be ad dressed eventually. Teachers can help students understand the difficult topics in these books and productively learn from them. s tudents will become more informed and better equipped to dis cuss difficult issues, an important life skill.Toban a book from a school, a library or a bookseller is to cut off the public’s access to information and quality literature. b ooks are important for the development of the mind. c ensoring books is not okay. We cannot ignore real world problems by trying to silence books that discuss them.
Caitlin Brannigan is a sophomore from New Jersey studying psychology and English. She will forever defend her favorite young adult novels and is overjoyed to have a plat form to rant. She can be reached for comment at cbrannig@nd.edu or @CaitlinBrannig on Twitter.Theviews expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
on the banning of books
o nly the divine can accomplish anything alone, and in the case of this album, I needed the opinions of others to ensure my creation was the best it could be. We are not omniscient, which means we make mistakes, including in the creative process.
Art is communication, and sometimes our messages don’t work. An audience has enough distance from the creation of a work to discern whether it is successful without the positive creator’s bias, and while making this album, my best friends had the respect and love for me to let me know when a piece didn’t ac complish what I hoped it would. There were certain elements of the project, however, on which I wouldn’t compromise — those aforementioned authentic parts — and my listeners were all moved by those aspects of the work. There are times to accept criticism and times to hold true, and it is only through continu ous discernment and then presentation of one’s conclusions that one strengthens that muscle of judgment. I believe the questions art demands of its creators, the same queries we all face, are impossible to answer definitively. r econciling personal manifestation with social constructions and the pursuit of a product’s success with the search for ful filling relationships between oneself and others is the labor of at least more than a lifetime. b ut I think that keeping an open mind throughout my process has brought me closer to that un reachable answer, in the same way a mathematical function approaches but never hits its limit. I am proud of what I have learned in this field experiment of being human and am re solved to stay receptive for the next lesson I get, from wherever it may come.
Contact Ayden at akowals2@nd.edu The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
certain readers may find “obscene?” d eborah c aldwell s tone, the American Library Association’s director of office for intellectual freedom, sums it up perfectly: “If you focus on five passages, you’ve got obscenity. If you broaden your view and read the work as a whole, you’ve got Toni m orrison’s ‘ bIt’seloved.’”soimportant to have a diverse selection of books to read because the real world is just as diverse. r egardless of whether a book is set in a fantasy world or is pure nonfiction, there are many life lessons to be gained from books. They are a resource for people of all ages to learn more about the world, oftentimes from the point of view of characters they can relate to rather than simply learning information from a textbook. This connection draws the reader into what they’re learning about.
since it’s the beginning of the school year, I’m sure all of you noticed that the gym is packed and it’s a pain waiting for just about every machine. I’m sure you also know in about three weeks this won’t be a problem anymore.It’salso pretty obvious why it is the case. There’s al most no work for the first couple of weeks, so everyone has extra time. Also, it’s a new Year’s resolution. For people that didn’t exercise consistently the prior school year, they want to dedicate themselves to it this year, so they try to start off the semester strong. Then more work comes in and motivation fades, which lowers the num ber of people in the gym and restores the balance. While these are the obvious reasons, there is one that goes under the radar: insufficient planning. Going from doing nothing to working out everyday is unsustainable. Instead of just going to the gym over and over as long as your motivation lasts, a better solution is to plan out a weekly schedule that is repeatable for the entire year. Know what your goals are, then determine a sustain able way to achieve them. While dedicating yourself fully to your goals sounds great on paper, easing into the process and creating a long-term path to success create better odds of success in my opinion.
The long-term approach applies to most goals you strive towards. sustained success in areas like diet, sports or investing often requires a long-term outlook. Greg doucette, a former bodybuilder and YouTube fit ness coach, preaches choosing a diet that keeps you in shape but is also repeatable. This means eating foods you like that still get the job done. As a world record powerlifter and bodybuilder, diet literally makes or breaks his ability to perform well in his profession. even then, besides the necessary cuts right before a competi tion, doucette would not attempt crazy diet changes in-season or during the offseason. Instead, he would eat a similar volume with foods he liked with slower pro gressions to the heights he was working towards. This also allowed him to avoid the typical cycles of eating for bodybuilders with uncomfortably large amounts of food or so little food that it becomes difficult to get out of sbed.ports like football and cross country have perfect examples of how taking a longer outlook is the best way to have consistent results over the years. Tom brady has used pliability to stay at the top of the nFL up until 45. despite being the least athletic player on the field in every game he has ever played, his commitment to stay ing flexible and eating the right foods has allowed him to achieve unmatched longevity. In cross country, longevity is more about performance during a race rather than the individual’s health. At the beginning of races, a few kids would come out with a jolt of adrenaline and sprint to take a huge lead. Those kids would never win. They were running at a pace they could not sustain and the runners behind them would take the lead with more left in the tank for the final stretch.Ininvesting, it works the same way. Going after meme stocks may yield a big gain out of luck, but pick ing an index with solid returns and low risk over time will give you the best chance at making money over time. Famous investors like Warren buffett and charlie munger apply this approach to their work and life for sustained success and happiness.
Mikey Colgan is a sophomore from Boston majoring in Finance and ACMS. He can be reached @mcolgan2@nd.edu.Theviewsexpressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
In short, while neither TFA s nor cPsc were any where close to how I thought my 2L summer would look, both experiences were exactly where the holy spirit was moving me at this stage in my life. The unexpected directions he led me this summer have filled me with nothing but gratitude, and now in Peter I not only have a mentor and a resource as I start more broadly researching and writing on consumer prod uct safety issues, but a principled man for whom I am blessed and honored to have worked. In these weeks to come, as we make decisions about what summer internships to go after, or even what we aim to do after graduation (if there are any federal judges reading this column, I’m still on the clerkship market!), may we give God some room to lead us in similarly unexpected directions.
The observer | Monday, Septe Mber 5, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com 7
Play the long game
Devin Humphreys is a 3L at Notre Dame Law School. When he isn’t serving as the sacristan at the Law School Chapel or competing at a quiz bowl tournament, he’s sharing his thoughts on the legal developments of the day with anyone who will listen. For advice on law school, hot takes on Mass music and free scholarly pub lication ideas, reach out to Devin at Thedhumphr2@nd.edu.viewsexpressedin this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Devin Humphreys Life, Law Mikey Colgan day at Time
The unexpected directions of the Holy Spirit
a
and the Lord
In a prior column, I wrote about times in my spiri tual journey where the voice of our heavenly Father has been clear (mostly in telling me I need to read the Psalms more frequently). And while it’s true that there are times where God speaks with what st. Ignatius would call a “clarity beyond doubt,” those are the ex ceptions that prove the cloudy rule: It’s hard to discern the voice of God as we strive to have a handle on the day to day. sometimes, the holy spirit instead opts to speak through circumstances so otherwise implau sible that if they were the basis for a claim in federal court, the judge would 12(b)(6) that claim so fast you couldn’t even say “Twiqbal.” This summer is an example. on the good word of a friend who had participated in the program the sum mer before, I applied and was accepted to a summer fellowship run by The Fund for American studies, or TFA s for short. This alone was a curveball; I was not even vaguely familiar with TFA s before my friend participated in the program, so if you had asked me in undergrad or even during 1L how I was going to be spending my post-2L summer, this program would not have even been on my radar. nonetheless, it became clear as the summer pro gressed that TFA s had three main things to offer its fellows: professional development, a seminar on origi nalism through George mason University’s Antonin scalia Law school and internship matching. TFA s had a rockstar professional development schedule, with federal judges from all across the country speaking on all sorts of topics, a recruiter from the doJ encour aging applications to the doJ honors program and meet-ups with assigned mentors who were alumni of the TFA s fellowship. The originalism seminar with Prof. Jeremy rabkin was likewise a solid opportunity to evaluate the judicial philosophy by which a major ity of justices of the U.s supreme court interpret the constitution.butitwasTFA s’ internship-matching program that turned one curveball into two. one alumnus of TFA s is Peter Feldman, a commissioner at the U.s. consumer Product safety commission (yes, that consumer Product safety commission with the somewhat edgy Twitter account). he told the internship coordinator at TFA s that he would be interested in bringing a fel low on for the summer. And my coordinator, working through the group of 20 or so of us that were fellow for the summer, decided that I would be a good fit, recommended I apply and flagged my application to commissioner Feldman. Keep in mind: While I’d taken torts in 1L and knew a thing or two about prod ucts liability, I hadn’t even the beginnings of an un derstanding about what the federal government had to do with any of it. nonetheless, after an interview with commissioner Feldman and his staff, I was offered a position as commissioner Feldman’s legal intern for the summer, working in bethesda, md I learned so much while at the commission. For instance, now I know that section 15(b) of the consumer Product safety Act gives every company in the United states who sells consumer products (that aren’t otherwise regulated by, for instance, the Food and drug Administration or the national highway Traffic safety Administration for cars) an affirmative duty to report manufacturing or design defects to the commission once the company knows about them, so the commission can work with the company to either recall the product or take other corrective action. companies that fail to report defects in a timely manner are slapped with civil (and sometimes even criminal) penalties. one of my main responsibili ties while working for commissioner Feldman was helping him articulate a coherent philosophy sur rounding when (and how much) companies should be penalized for failing to report defects (or even selling recalled products). but conversely, because giving the commission all this information about company products is a major trade secret risk, the commission is barred from releasing any company-specific infor mation to the general public, unless they give enough notice to the company that it can exercise its due pro cess rights should it wish to do so. All of this might give you a better understanding of how the consumer Product safety commission works, but how does that relate to what I promised with this column’s title and introduction — the more subtle ways the holy spirit works in our lives? Great question, and to answer, let me say a few words about my boss this summer, Peter Feldman. Peter is the kind of individual who can go from drafting a press statement on why the cPsc’s recent civil penalties make no sense to giving a keynote to the undergraduate division of TFA s on how Tocqueville’s insights on free associations underpin much of the work he does on the commission, all before lunch. Peter (and his counsel, doug dziak and Thomas Fuller) taught me too much about the workings of fed eral bureaucracy to encapsulate in a thousand-word piece like this one, but far more importantly, I learned this summer how principled collegiality works in practice. Too often, those committed to principles are willing to defend those principles to the point of being caustic towards colleagues who don’t share those prin ciples, while others are willing to sell their principles in the name of building relationships. Peter showed me how to avoid falling into both traps while at the commission, by boldly and consistently speaking out against policy decisions he disagreed with while maintaining exceptionally collegial relationships with the other four members of the commission.
While shooting for the fastest path to goals may seem like a high level of dedication, it often leaves people tired of the process and short of their intended goal over and over again. motivation comes and goes, so creating a process with reasonable expectations that still leads to success over time is the safest way to accomplish goals. With that said, for school, health, fitness or whatever you are doing, I suggest you try a long-term approach and watch yourself progress slowly over time.
pAGE 11
The tournament will now include the six highest ranked conference champions (pre sumably all five of the Power 5 with one Group of 5) and then the six highest at large teams. now the four highest-ranked conference champions will be the top four seeds and receive a bye for the tournament’s first round.Teams 5-12 will faceoff, with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds at their home stadium.Alittle confused? That’s fine; this idea will take a little getting used to. The best way to explain it is to demonstrate it using last year’s pre-college Football Playoff rankings poll. The first requirement is the six highest ranked conference champions. so that group is (1) Alabama, (2) m ichigan, (4) cincinnati, (7) baylor, (11) Utah, and (12) Pittsburgh.
Zwiller: Three Winners of CFP Expansion
Tom Zwiller sports Writer
The st. Louis cardinals are a good baseball team this year. As I write this, they lead the nL central by 6.5 games over the milwaukee brewers. They’re led by two national League mvP candidates in Paul Goldschmidt and nolan Arenado who are in the prime of their careers. They’ve also got young talent all over the roster with players like brendan donovan, nolan Gorman and Andre Pallante who’ve come up from the minors and contributed at the big-league level.but that’s not why I’m writing about them. I’m writing about the cardinals because I want to talk about the old guys, specifically the oldest guy: Albert Pujols. Pujols is 42 and he’s in the mid dle of a hunt for baseball history. sitting at 695 home runs, he needs just two more home runs to pass Alex rodriguez for fourth all-time. he’s also just five long balls from the 700 club. baseball has been played professionally for over 150 years and only three players have ever reached that mark: babe ruth, hank Aaron and barry bonds. And Albert Pujols fits in perfectly on that list of all-time great power hitters.Ifyou are someone who prefers other sports, you can think about as the equivalent of averaging 30 PPG for your career in the nbA (only mJ and Wilt) or having 80,000 passing yards in an nFL career (only brady and brees). That’s the kind of history we’re talking about here. It is an almost unfathomable level of consistent greatness. If you break it down, to reach 700 career home runs you’d have to hit 35 home runs a year for 20 years. only 19 players in mLb hit 35 home runs or more in the 2021 season. Those 19 players were the top 4.8% of the 400 or so position players in mLb at any given time. That means that to hit 700 home runs you’d have to be in the top 5% of power hitters for two straight decades, at which point you’d be at 700 on the dot. Pujols is now just five home runs away from having completed that incredible feat. As such, I think it’s time to look back at how he got here. It all started on April 2, 2001 (over a year before I was born, by the way) when he made his debut at coors Field against the rockies. batting sixth in the lineup, Pujols notched his first career hit in the 7th inning, a single up the middle against mike hampton. his first career home run came just four days later against the diamondbacks when he hit a nodoubt 2-run home run to left field. The announcer’s call on mLb’s of the homer proved prophetic: “First career big-league home run and after watching this kid in batting practice and that swing right there, it will not be nearly the last.” At the time, Pujols was the #42 prospect in baseball and the youngest player in mLb by the end of the year, he was the cleanup hit ter for the cardinals. In his rookie year, he led his team in batting average, hits, doubles, home runs and rbI. he was an All-star, won the nL rookie of the Year Award and finished fourth in nL mvP voting.That was pretty much the story of his first stint with the cardinals: absolute domination at the plate. For the next 11 years in st. Louis, Albert racked up historically great offensive numbers. over that peri od, he had a .328 bA, 1.037 oPs and hit 445 home runs and had over 2,000 hits. maybe the most impres sive fact about this period is that he had 10 straight seasons where he walked more than he struck out, an astounding achievement that speaks to how hard it was to get him out when he was in st. Louis. he even earned the nickname “The machine” for his disciplined and methodical approach to the game of baseball. early on, his greatness was over shadowed by barry bonds who from 2001-2004 put together the best four-year stretch of baseball anyone has in the history of the sport. however, with bonds hurt in 2005, Pujols firmly took hold of the title of best player in baseball. he also started racking up accolades, winning 3 nL mvPs from 20052009 and finishing as the runner up in 2006 and 2010. he also won two World series with the cardinals, putting togeth er some legendary postseason per formances along the way. maybe the most iconic of all was his tower ing home run off Astros closer brad Lidge in Game 5 of the 2005 nLcs With the Astros one out away from moving on to the World series, Pujols hit a game-winning home run to the train tracks at minute maid Park to extend the series and keep the cardinals alive. For his career, he has a 1.007 oPs with 19 home runs in the postseason. Following their 2011 World series championship, Pujols entered free agency and signed a 10-year, $254 million contract with the Los
Contact Thomas Zwiller at tzwiller@hcc-nd.eduTheviewsexpressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Jose Sanchez Cordova sports Writer see PUJoLs
SportS Authority
b ut now, nd has increased its margin for error dramati cally. Last year nd went 11-1, and in both versions of the c FP that I ran, nd wound up hosting a home game in the firstLookinground. historically, if this 12-team gauntlet had been in place for the last five years, nd would have earned a playoff spot in 2021, 2020 (a year they already did), a first-team out in 2019, a spot in 2018 (again, they already did), a first team out in 2017 and 2016 is the only time the Irish are not at least in the conversation.Goingback even further would add some playoff berths to nd’s resume; in 2015, the 10-2 Irish finished in the eighth spot, though nothing in 2014. b ut imagine the recruiting advantage this now gives nd nd can keep its independent status, which gives it tremen dous influence over college football, but now it has a le gitimate argument for being in the playoffs every year. e ven in this year, a year in which the loss to o hio state feels like a season-ending result, notre d ame would likely still be a heavy favorite to make the playoffs. Group of 5 A lot of the same things that benefit nd benefit the Group of 5 c onferences (AAc , c -Us A, m Ac , m W, sbc ). While the Group of 5 does not have the prestige of nd, they still get the bonus of be ing able to say they have a legitimate chance of making the playoffs, even if they do not make it to the title. And this spot would not just get dominated by the same team; all of the G5 c onferences (except for c Us A) would have been rep resented at least once. s o instead of Uc F declaring themselves national champi ons in 2017, they could have made the playoffs if we got to see the expansion, which would have been fantastic. t he SEC The creation of the c FP was to create parity, but did it?Going back to the bcs era and calculating how many teams made the title game, I found that the sec made 11 games or just above 1/3 of the total berths. next was the Acc at 7, the b12 at 6, and the b10 at four, with the Pac12 rounding out the P5 at 3. And on top of that, the sec had nine championships, or 56% of the total titles during the bcs run. now looking at the c FP era, sure, the sec has seen its appearances-share go down from 33% to 31%, but its share of championships (5) is over 60% of the titles given away, meaning that by putting more teams in play the sec just got better odds of claiming a title. And to cite the bill c onely article again, once this ex pansion takes place, histori cally, half of the field would either be sec or b10 teams, meaning that the sec prob ably got better odds of winning a title again. but of course, how could we forget? money talks. And mon ey wins. more than any team, conference, or group of confer ences, the ultimate winners are the schools and broadcast ing partners who are going to make money hand over first.
Since Notre Dame football couldn’t seal the deal this weekend, I hope a shoutout in your favorite newspaper is a decent birthday gift. Thanks for all of the support. Love you. Go news, beat sports, Alysa.
In case you missed it over the weekend, the college Football Playoffs board of managers voted to expand the cFP, in creasing the number of teams from four to 12. The change is anticipated to begin in 2026 though there are reports that the change could be implemented as soon as 2024.The change not only increas es the field of participants but changes the seedings mechan ics for the tournament as well. how it works
AppreciateSanchez:Pujols
The next order of business is to figure out the six at-large bid recipients. First would be (3) Georiga, then (5) notre dame, (6) ohio state, (8) ole m iss, (9) oklahoma state, and finally (10) m ichigan state. We have our 12 teams now for the seeding. Seeding the field so, the first rule is that the top four conference champi onship teams would automati cally receive a bye in this year’s version: Alabama, m ichigan, cincinnati, and baylor. Given that only the topfour squads get a bye, I would assume that the lower two champions essentially enter the pool with the at-large to earn their spot, though I could be wrong about that. Assuming that Utah and Pittsburgh enter the pool with the at-larges, the seed ing would follow this order: #5 Georgia vs. #12 Pittsburgh, #6 notre dame vs. #11 Utah, #7 ohio state vs. #10 m ichigan state, and #8 ole m iss vs. #9 oklahoma state. now that does seem unfair to the conference champions, so I think that the way the cFP committee might lean is hav ing five and six be the lower two conference champions. In that case, the matchups would look like this #5 Utah vs. #12 m ichigan state, #6 Pittsburgh vs. #11 oklahoma state, #7 Georgia vs. #10 ole m iss, and #8 notre dame vs. #9 ohio state (funny how that one workedGranted,out). those rankings, either way you slice it, are not perfect; in both instances, there are matchups featuring two teams from the same con ference, something I would imagine the committee would want to avoid. but you get a general idea of how it should work. now that you have a rudimentary un derstanding of what the new change should look like, it’s worth looking at the winners of this new playoff system. Notre Dame currently, I can hear read ers across the campus say ing, “Wow, an observer writer picked notre dame as a win ner,Andshocking.”aspredictable as it might be that the first place, I would go would be nd, I do legitimately think nd is one of the biggest winners of this announcement.Thinkaboutit, the standard for nd to make the cFP has been go 12-0, or it’s a no. And that was pretty much it for the Irish; it was 12-0 or joining the Acc to try and become a con ference champion.
8 SportS Authority The observer | MoNDAy, SE pt EMBE r 5, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com SportS
HAPPY BIRTHDAY D AD !
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LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Put things in order, let go of the past, stop worrying about the future and start living in the moment. Take care of unfinished business and enjoy what life has to offer. Personal improvements and romance will enhance your day.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Put your effort where it counts and where it brings you the most joy. fixing up your place or entertaining people you find mentally stimulating will change how you do things moving forward. A commitment will help stabilize your life. romance is encouraged.
cAddressnameity
Happy Birthday: Pay attention to how your surroundings affect your physical, emotional and mental well-being. It’s up to you to make your life better. strive to do the right thing and rely on your intelligence to help you monitor what’s possible. recognize the best way to use your skills to come out on top. strategy, discipline and goodwill are favored. your numbers are 7, 10, 24, 29, 30, 36, 49.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): you’ll attract interest if you are open and honest about your long-term plans. A lifestyle change that encourages learning, honing skills and enforcing a healthy, vibrant routine will make you appealing to someone who is into self-improvement. romance is favored.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): follow the path that helps reveal the truth. don’t lose sight of your goal or the best way to reach your destination. An innovative idea will develop if you bring about change. don’t sit still when you should be moving.
CROSSwORD | WIll shorTZ HOROSCOPE | eugenIA lAsT
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A reserved attitude will buy you time. listen, evaluate and plan your attack. leave no room for error, and watch your enemies closely. verify information and ensure you have taken care of issues that can slow you down if left undone.
Birthday Baby: you are playful, generous and helpful. you are direct and insistent.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): A precise assessment will relieve an emotional scene. be clear about what you expect from others and what you are willing to offer. An update will cause uncertainty regarding your work and your relationships with your peers. Avoid lengthy discussions.
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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): keep the conversation going; you’ll be the recipient of valuable information. What you learn will open a window of opportunity if you follow instructions carefully. When in doubt, be direct and you will get the help you require. love is favored.
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VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Put more thought into making and using your money. Time isn’t wasted when you live up to your promises. strength and desire to achieve your goal will boost your confidence and put you in a position to succeed. enjoy the moment.
JuMBlE hoyT And Jeff knurekSuDOku The mePhAm grouP Work Are A
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): you’ve got what it takes to make things happen. Jump into action, and start projects that will make your space more inviting. you have plenty to gain if you are direct regarding your intentions and follow through with your plans.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): be careful handling situations and people. honesty must prevail if you want to avoid trouble. embellishing a story or being faced with rumors that aren’t true will cost you. be careful while traveling, and don’t start something you cannot finish.
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ARIES (March 21-April 19): don’t trust others with sensitive information. Avoid over-the-top people and plans that can jeopardize you emotionally, financially or legally. choose to spend time making personal improvements instead of criticizing others. A positive response or attitude is in your best interest.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A change will give you a different perspective on life and what’s best for you. Participate and make a difference, and you will encourage others to join in and make the world a better place. Innovative thinking leads to better decisions.
Contact Nate Moller at nmoller2@nd.edu
Ground con TI nued
The parking lots were full of o hio s tate fans throwing tailgates, and the number of tailgates and parties was truly staggering. I returned to the stadium, got situated at my seat and then headed down to the field to check out the s hoe from field level. It was exhilarating be ing on the field before the game, and I saw plenty of famous reporters and
Contact Nate Moller at nmoller2@nd.edu
When we walked in, it was busy but not overcrowded and it seemed like a good vibe with an outdoor patio and large indoor bar area. There was a group of about 20 n otre d ame students that I went with, and we stuck to gether and hung out on the outdoor patio. The size of s tandard h all was a change of pace from the bars of s outh b end, and it was a cool experience to see a popular o hio s tate bar. As the night went on, I re ceived some mild heckling from o hio s tate students because of my n otre d ame polo, but the b uckeyes’ stu dents seemed welcoming for the most part and there wasn’t any animosity to wards n otre d ame that I noticed.There was also a strong Irish presence at s tandard h all on Friday night, and I saw lots of n otre d ame friends throughout the night. It felt as though the Irish had taken over a pop ular bar deep inside enemy lines.Wegot back to our hotel at a somewhat reasonable hour and tried to get some sleep before a long day ahead. We woke up just after 8 a.m. and decided we needed some food to kickstart the day.We returned to h igh s treet and stopped by a Waffle h ouse, a personal favorite fast-food chain of mine that I try to eat at when I have the chance. After enjoying our hefty meal, we headed to campus to check out espn c ollege g ame d ay. I was very impressed and surprised by how nice o hio s tate’s campus was. The brick architecture of the buildings was impres sive, and the campus was littered with trees and other plants.Wewalked through a beau tiful park with a fountain and outdoor music stage and then made our way down to o hio s tadium for g ame d ay. When we arrived at g ame d ay, we were disap pointed to find out that the crew was inside because of the rain, but we decided to wait it out and see what happened.Aboutfifteen minutes lat er, the rain cleared, the crew came back out, and we end ed up with a spot close to the cast. We were definitely in the minority as n otre d ame fans, but it was fun to boo d esmond h oward with the b uckeyes’ fans and take in the sights of another c ollege g ame d ay. Jack h arlow was the guest picker on the day, and we saw him do a small perfor mance of his song “First c lass,” which was a neat ex perience as well. After leaving g ame d ay, I picked up my o bserver coworkers and the three of us sat down and had some ta cos for Therelunch.wascollege football on at the restaurant, and we watched the end of Iowa’s enthralling 7-3 win over s outh d akota s tate. We walked around h igh s treet and the surround ing area, and it was appar ent that the excitement was building with kickoff being just over four hours away. e very bar at h igh s treet was packed with fans from both teams eager to see their team in the season opener. An hour or so later, we de cided to get our credentials and drop our stuff off at the press box. I was impressed by the size of o hio s tadium the moment that I walked in. The s hoe made n otre d ame s tadium feel little, which is something I didn’t expect. We headed up to the press box, which was very nice as well, and dropped our stuff off.There were still over two hours until kickoff at this point, so I decided to check out the tailgating scene a little bit more.
s ome of my friends were tailgating near a bar called The o Line, so I walked over there and met up with about twenty friends. The tailgating was crazy and full of people who had been tailgating since the earlyTheremorning.wassome live music playing, and so much back ground noise that it was dif ficult to talk to anyone at times. I hung out for 45 min utes or so and then walked back to the stadium.
As o hio s tate ran out the clock and n otre d ame walked off the field, the b uckeyes’ fans jeered at m arcus Freeman and the IrishTheteam.pain and anger in the eyes of the Irish players was apparent as the sound of b uckeye fans singing “ c armen o hio” resounded through the stadium. After sitting through a press conference with de jected Irish players and coaches, we returned to the press box, wrote our stories, and headed back to the hotel All in all, s aturday’s game in c olumbus was an awe some experience and one I’ll remember forever.
F rom pAge 12
“ h e’s one of our best re ceivers and he made a huge play,” b uchner said. “And I was thankful that he came down with it.” The Irish continued to move the ball after s alerno’s catch with b uchner, finding junior tight Kevin b auman on the ensuing play to set the Irish up at the b uckeyes’ 12-yard line. After two run plays, the Irish converted another big third down on a pass to junior tight end m ichael m ayer to set up a first and goal from the one-yard line. After an o hio s tate time out, e stime leaped over the pile to score the first touch down of the season for n otre d ame and give the Irish a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.Aftera few empty posses sions for both teams, o hio s tate wasted no time mov ing the ball down the field on their final drive of the first half. c .J. s troud got the drive going, completing pass after pass to get the b uckeyes into Irish territory. r unning back Treveyon h enderson had an impres sive 16-yard run as well to set the b uckeyes up at the Irish 25-yard line. The b uckeyes’ drive stalled a few plays later, however, and a missed 39yard field goal allowed the Irish to take a 10-7 lead into the locker room. o hio s tate’s frustration on offense continued to build at the start of the second half after the b uckeyes went three and out on their open ing drive. They also failed to score on their second drive of the half, as well. The Irish offense couldn’t capitalize on their first two possessions, though, al lowing the b uckeyes to stay within three. h ead coach m arcus Freeman acknowl edged that his team’s strate gy was to limit the b uckeyes’ possessions and milk the clock as much as possible offensively.“Wewanted to control the clock, limit their offensive possessions, and run the football,” Freeman said. “It was a 10-7 game until sec onds left in the third quar ter, so we knew we weren’t going to try to outscore them.”buta turning point came late in the third quarter when the b uckeyes marched down the field for a 70-yard touchdown drive. s troud started the drive off by showing off his playmaking abilities on the opening play. h e eluded multiple pass rushers and then found e meka e gbuka for a 16-yard completion on the run. After a false start penalty, s troud then found wide re ceiver m arvin h arrison Jr. on the following play for an other 11 yards. s et up at the Irish 48-yard line, the b uckeyes continued to move deeper into Irish territory. A personal foul call backed the b uckeyes up into a second and long situa tion. h owever, the b uckeyes overcame the penalty. s troud found wide receiver Xavier Johnson down the middle for a go-ahead 24yard touchdown pass. The Irish desperately needed an answer on the ensuing drive, and it looked like they were off to a good start.buchner found gradu ate student wide receiver b raden Lenzy for a 32-yard play to open the drive. o n the following play, ju nior running back c hris Tyree ran for 14 yards to set the Irish up at the o hio s tate 41-yard line. b ut a crucial offen sive pass interference call against s alerno backed the Irish up, eventually forcing n otre d ame to punt. After getting the ball back, the b uckeyes put the Irish away for good, courtesy of a 95-yard touchdown drive powered by the run game. r unning back m iyan Williams carried the ball on the final five plays of the drive.his two-yard rushing touchdown with just under five minutes to play in the game all but solidified an o hio s tate victory. “They had four rushing big plays in the fourth quar ter,” Freeman said. “That is a heartbreaker for a de fense when you are giving up big plays to an offense that is running the ball. We have to be able to finish and execute.”AnIrish three and out on their next possession fur ther cemented that reality. The Irish punted, and o hio s tate ran the clock out to se cure the season opening vic tory over n otre d ame. While the Irish fought hard, Freeman was ulti mately disappointed in his team’s execution and inabil ity to respond offensively late in the game. “We didn’t finish the game. We didn’t execute,” Freeman said. “I think we learned that we have a good football team, but we have to learn how to finish. We battled for two and a half quarters, but then they scored 17 sec onds before the end of the third quarter and we don’t respond. And then they go and score again in the fourth quarter, and that’s theThegame.”Irish will return to action in the home opener next week against m arshall, and Freeman is excited to get back to work and get the first win of the season next week.“We have a lot to learn from this game,” Freeman said. “The beauty of this thing is we don’t have to wait 245 days. We have seven days for another opportunity, so we have to get back to work.”
u ltimately, however, it truly doesn’t compare to a game day at n otre d ame.
Opener con TI nued F rom pAge 12
The observer | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com10 SportS their opening drive, the Irish got the ball back at their own five-yard line. They got backed up even more, though, after a twoyard loss from sophomore running back Audric e stime and a false start penalty. s ophomore quarterback Tyler b uchner managed to give the Irish some breath ing room on second down, but the Irish failed to con vert on the third and were forced to punt. o n the ensuing drive, a pass interference penalty for senior cornerback c am h art set the b uckeyes up at the Irish 35-yard line. A few plays later, b uckeyes’ quarterback c .J. s troud found wide receiver e meka e gbuka on a pass to the flat, who eluded the Irish defense to score the game’s firstThistouchdown.gavethe b uckeyes a 7-3 lead with just over five minutes to play in the first quarter.Afew possessions later, the Irish put together their most impressive drive of the game.Acircus catch from gradu ate student wide receiver m att s alerno on a third and short kickstarted the drive and set the Irish up in b uckeye territory. The terrific catch put the Irish in great shape and earned b uchner’s praise af ter the game.
commentators. It was fun to watch the Irish go through their warm-ups as well. I returned to the press box about a half hour before the game, got some food, and I was ready to go. As the game winded down and an o hio s tate victory seemed inevitable, we head ed back down to the field for the final two minutes.
Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu level of which, you know, the standard at which we hold our selves to.” in terms of execution, buchner being a first-time quarterback was cause for con cern, as he enters this new role in a highly anticipated match up against one of the top teams in the country. however, Freeman noted that his adaptability and con fidence prevented the mo ment from overwhelming him and instead, he rose to the challenge.“That’swhy we named him the starter,” Freeman said. he demonstrated these qual ities from the opening drive of the game, which ended in a field goal attempt that put the irish on the board first. his rocket pass to sopho more receiver Lorenzo styles Jr. set the tone for what could be under buchner’s leadership. This confidence, buchner said, is bolstered by his team mates. a fter having gone eight for eight at the start of the game, he noted how the of fense was starting to gel based on their trust in each other and their“Luckily,abilities.i’ve got a great sup port staff around me. awesome teammates,” buchner said. “They played really well. a nd so you know, having the confi dence that, you know, the guys around me are going to execute and do their job well certainly helped.”buchner also acknowledged his equal responsibility in this system. When asked about the offensive line, buchner said that it is his job to be in the correct protection, too. This rapport buchner has with his offense gives Freeman high hopes for the quarterback’s fu ture at notre dame. “he’s going to be a really great football player and a great lead er for us,” Freeman said. Contact Emily DeFazio at edefazio@nd.edu
8, 2022 | 7:00 pm LaFun Ballroom free and open to the public book signing to follow alexandra desanctis '16 National Review
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By AIDAN THOMAS s ports e ditor a fter picking up her first collegiate head coaching win last weekend, s alima r ockwell must wait an other weekend to find her second. The n otre d ame volleyball squad trav eled west but dropped a pair of games, losing to b oise s tate and Long b each s tate in successive nights. The b oise s tate clash was a four-setter, while the latter was a straight sets loss.against b oise s tate, the i rish split the first two sets with the b roncos. a fter dropping the opener 2518, the i rish dominated the second set by a 25-13 scoreline. Graduate stu dents Kaylyn Winkler and m addie Waumans each de livered three kills in the early going of the second set to get the i rish back on even footing.Thethird set was a con tested battle, with the mar gin rarely growing larger than a point or two through most of it. h owever, trail ing 17-15, n otre d ame sur rendered four straight points. That gave b oise s tate breathing room, and the b roncos closed the third set out with relative ease. a slow start saw r ockwell’s squad fighting from behind throughout set four. d espite closing an initial 8-3 deficit to 9-8, n otre d ame couldn’t maintain that momentum. b oise s tate closed out the match with a 25-18 victory. n otre d ame’s fresh man duo of avery r oss and Lucy Trump continued their strong rookie cam paigns, delivering 12 and 13 kills, respectively. Junior libero h attie m onson re corded 16 digs. The i rish actually boasted a better hitting percentage than the b roncos (.268 compared to .258). h owever, they also struggled with service, racking up 18 service errors, which became a decisive separator.inthe second clash of the weekend, n otre d ame dropped a straight sets de cision that was far closer than the 3-0 scoreline in dicated. e ach set was ex tremely tight, and the final score finished at 21-25, 2325, 23-25. b oth teams played ex tremely well defen sively, with n otre d ame posting a .071 hitting percentage, largely cre ated by Long b each s tate’s stellar .984 receiving per centage. The b each only slightly bettered the i rish’s hitting percentage, with a .152 mark. The i rish never led in the first set. a fter bat tling to an 8-8 tie, the b each strung together a quartet of points to gain some separa tion. n otre d ame charged hard but could never even the score, drawing as close as 22-20. i n the second set, n otre d ame had to battle from behind again, trail ing 6-1 and 12-6. Finally, the i rish ripped off four straight points to close their deficit to 15-13, and then chipped the deficit down to 21-20. They came with in a single point one more time, at 24-23, but Long b each s tate delivered the clinching blow to take a 2-0 setmlead.oreslow starts doomed the i rish in their final set of the weekend. The b each steadily pulled away early, garnering a 14-8 advan tage. n otre d ame closed to two at 15-13. They again brought the score to 2423, but once more, they couldn’t extend the set. The b each closed out the straight sets victory. n otre d ame never led in the contest, but kept each set competitive. Trump again led the away, punctu ating a strong weekend with 12 kills. r oss added seven. m onson’s 22 digs led the i rish.notre d ame stays on the road next weekend, play ing three games in the 2022 Quest for the c rown. They’ll play e ast c arolina and o ld d ominion in a Friday doubleheader. They’ll wrap up their week end in n orfolk, v irginia by clashing with the n avy m idshipmen on s aturday.
A Napa Forum Lecture
Buchner con T inued F rom PaGe 12 i rish drop pair of games in fruitless West coast road trip ND VOLLEYBALL
angeles angels. unfortunately, his time in anaheim wasn’t even close to his first stint in st. Louis. his de cline began almost immediately and by 2017 he was a below-league average hitter, posting an 80 oPs+ (100 oPs+ is league-average). his time with the angels end ed unspectacularly when the team released him in may 2021 in the final year of his contract. altogether, he did have some solid seasons with the angels, including three 30-homer seasons, includ ing 40 dingers in 2015 to make his only all-star team with the angels. on may 4, 2018, he picked up his 3,000th hit against the mariners becoming just the fourth player ever with 3,000 hits and 600 home runs. during his time in anaheim, the angels only made the postsea son once while he was there, get ting swept out of the 2014 aLds by the eventual pennant-winning royals.Lastyear, he was picked up by the dodgers as he moved across town to a World series contender. he put up good numbers for the dodgers, finding a lot of success as a bat off the bench against lefthanded pitchers. Their season ended in the nLcs with a loss to the eventual World champion atlanta braves. nced 2022 would be his last year and signed a 1-year, $2.5 million deal with the st. Louis cardinals, returning to the place where it all began. To wear once again the cap he’ll have on his cooperstown plaque.entering the year, he was at 679 home runs, making 700 very unlikely. by the all-star break, he had only hit 6 home runs this year. Then albert got hot. in 30 games since the break, Pujols has hit 10 home runs and has an oPs just under 1.200. simply put, he has been one of the best hitters in baseball during the second half. The stretch has reignited the chase for 700 and with 29 games to go, he’s got a real opportunity to make history. albert Pujols is 42 years old and he’s still contributing to the st. Louis cardinals and lately he has been reminding everyone just how incredible he was in his prime. Yes, he’s not the perennial mvP candidate he used to be, but he’s a legend of the game. one day you’ll enter busch stadium and see his number 5 next to musial’s 6 and Gibson’s 45. so, appreciate albert Pujols while he’s here be cause there’s not long to go now. Contact Jose Sanchez Cordova at jsanch24@nd.eduTheviewsexpressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
by notre
Pujols con T inued F rom PaGe 8
Thursday, September
ndsmcobserver.com | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2022 | The observer Sport11 S How Abortion Harms Our Politics & Disadvantages Women TEARINGAPARTUS
Presented dame
By NATE MOLLER s enior s ports Writer
buchner exhibited both his run and pass game against the buckeyes; he racked up 177 passing yards and a net 18 yards in rushing, nearly as much as sophomore running back — and sole touchdown scorer — Audric estime’s 21 yards. he did so without a turnover, as head coach marcus Freemen noted in his post-game press conference, which cannot be said for coan’s or book’s first games as starters for the Irish.
| The Observer
By NATE MOLLER s enior s ports Writer We left s outh b end at about 2 p.m. on Friday and made the four and a half hour trek down to c olumbus. The route was anything but sce nic; we saw plenty of corn fields and ended up on some backcountry roads through the middle of nowhere o hio. The mass migration from s outh b end to c olumbus was noticeable, and we saw multiple n otre d ame friends drive by us on the way down. After stopping at the ho tel, we drove down to h igh s treet, a popular area near o hio s tate full of restau rants and night life. After struggling to park in a park ing garage that was far too narrow for two-way traffic, we set out to find a place to eat.The anticipation and ex citement of c olumbus for s aturday night was appar ent the moment we set foot in the h igh s treet area. The area was bustling with peo ple going out for dinner on Friday night, and we saw plenty of Irish fans walking around as well. We found a small m editerranean place, and although the workers were hesitant to serve us because of our n otre d ame attire, we enjoyed our meal and went on our way. We decided to go back to the hotel after dinner to re group before heading back to the h igh s treet area to check out the nightlife. When we returned to h igh s treet just a couple of hours later, it was an entirely dif ferent feel. The area was now bustling with college students and the alumni and adults that filled the streets during dinner hour were no where to be seen. After debating which bar to go to, we ended up at a place called s tandard h all. observer on the ground: osU Irish fail to execute late, fall to Buckeyes
Sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner attempts a pass in his first career start during the Irish’s 21-10 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes.
12 The observer | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
FOOTBALL see GroUnd PAGE 10
The fifth-ranked Irish battled hard in the season opener against the secondranked o hio s tate b uckeyes, but n otre d ame failed to score in the second half and o hio s tate battled back to secure a 21-10 victory on s aturday night in c olumbus The Irish started off the night in a big way with a 54-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Lorenzo s tyles down the sideline. An o hio s tate penalty set the Irish up at the b uckeyes’ 16-yard line, but the Irish drive faltered after three straight running plays. The Irish managed to get on the board, though, with graduate student kick er b lake Grupe nailing a 33yard field goal to give the Irish an early lead. After stopping the b uckeyes at midfield onMAX PETROSKY | The Observer Irish junior tight end Michael Mayer carries the football in Notre Dame’s season-opening 21-10 loss to Ohio State at the Horseshoe. see buchner ushers in new era against the buckeyes in season opener
see bUchner PAGE 11
When he was first signed at notre dame, quarterback Tyler buchner’s talent was lauded as the saving grace that would re place the stability that Ian book brought to the Irish football pro gram during his time in the po sition. When the former Qb1 had played out his eligibility after having been the starter for three years, questions immediately arose about who would — and could — fill that position. enter buchner, a fellow californian, four-star recruit that seemed ready to step into the role. That was until graduate transfer Jack coan entered the mix, unleashing the quarter back battle that ensued dur ing the 2021-2022 season. With the position shifting between buchner, coan and junior drew Pyne, the once straight path for the sophomore blurred slightly. but despite any uncertainty and doubt, it seems buchner has won out and has become the sole man for the job.
oPener PAGE 10 PLAYER FEATURE FOOTBALL WRAP
That same uncertainty and doubt, however, followed buchner into this season open er. After a year of experiencing several different quarterback combinations — often multi ple in a single game — having a starter preestablished in fall camp was a shocking reality for Irish fans. especially when it was one who did not play in the spring blue and Gold game due to injury. Yet in the season opener, in his first game fully at the helm, buchner has proven that although he may not yet be perfect in the position, he has great capacity to be.
By EMILY DEFAZIO Associate sports editor
“I’m pleased with him,” Freeman said. “but the biggest thing I’m pleased with is zero turnovers.”Asidefrom starting out on an even better foot than his pre decessors, buchner also had to adapt to the changing land scape on the field, shifting from the original idea to run both the ball and the clock, as Freeman said was their game plan head ing into saturday night. When his passing game was instead called upon, buchner was able to capitalize on several op portunities for yardage gain, despite throwing some incom plete passes. In response to these mis takes, buchner emphasized that it is the small facets of the game that eventually add up to how well a player or team performs.“Atthe end of the day, it sort of comes down to execu tion and, you know, the little things,” buchner said. “We didn’t do little things at the MAX PETROSKY
