Print Edition for The Observer for Friday, Feb. 10, 2023

One of three tickets, the pair narrowly avoided a runoff Jung-rezner wins office

Observer Staff Report

w ith 1,254 votes, making up 50.22% of the total votes, d aniel Jung and a idan r ezner have been elected the next student body president and vice president, respectively, as announced by the Judicial c ouncil at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening. The ticket was elected in a 30% turnout vote, down from the previous year’s turnout of 57.82%. Jung and r ezner are both sophomore students and currently serve as subdirectors of the communications department in student government. The pair campaigned on a platform that categorizes its policies into

three key areas: student life which includes health and enrichment, enhancement of both the campus as well as community and issues concerning diversity and inclusion.

“The number one word in our slogan is listen,” r ezner said in an interview with The o bserver e ditorial b oard.

The results of the election were delayed due to allegations filed to the Judicial c ouncil late wednesday evening. The council has released that two of the allegations filed were against d erick w illiams and h unter b rooke for distributing an unsanctioned link to

vsa to host ‘notre dame by night’

potential voters. The allegations resulted in an official apology by w illiams and b rooke on their campaign i nstagram and removal of 20 votes from their election total, 10 for each incorrect link.

w illiams- b rooke ended up with 685 votes making up 27.43% of the total, and o ropeza- m c a ndrews received 535 votes and 21.43% of the total.

The ticket just barely passed the 50% margin, which is necessary for winning the election. n ot reaching that margin would have resulted in a run-off election between the top two candidates.

By ANGELA MATHEW manager of Talent and i nclusion

“in vietnamese the word ‘oi’ is so simple of a word that it only needs two letters ‘o’ and ‘i’ to evoke the deepest feeling and tenderness … the closest way to describe ‘oi’ is the feeling of being held,” sophomore Kat le said during rehearsals for ‘notre dame by night’.

The university’s vietnamese student association (vsa) is putting on their annual cultural showcase ‘notre dame by night’ at 7 p.m. on Friday in washington hall.

This year’s theme is ‘Tune in 4 love’ and the show features traditional vietnamese performances like the hat dance and the fan dance

along with contemporary v-pop songs and dances. Food catered from local asian restaurants like ‘creasian’ will be provided after the show and is included in the ticket price. senior Thanh nguyen who is one of the directors of the show said this show’s performances are grouped under four themes – patriotism, kinship, romance and companionship.

“This year is essentially about love and the universality of love,” she said. “we wanted to demonstrate that through four themes. i know there’s definitely more types of love, but we wanted to show those types of love through vietnamese cultural songs and performances.”

see vsa PaGE 4

Former g eorgian president discusses politics smc highlights discovery

By KATELYN WALDSCHMIDT news writer

Thursday afternoon, s aint m ary’s d ivision of m ission hosted the second installment of a talk series called “ l andscapes of the s pirit: p rofiles in m ission”. These talks feature different faculty members speaking on their experiences of different topics pertaining

By KATE KIRWAN news writer

w ednesday, the n anovic

i nstitute for e uropean

s tudies hosted g iorgi

m argvelashvili, the former president of the r epublic of g eorgia, to deliver the annual Forum l ecture titled “ r ussian a ggression in u kraine and e astern e urope: p ost- s oviet b loc p olitics and c onsequences” in the h esburgh c enter a uditorium.

Fr. r obert d owd,

vice president and associate provost for interdisciplinary initiatives at n otre d ame, introduced m argvelashvili, prefacing that “there is no introduction that will do justice to his life and accomplishments.”

m argvelashvili served as the fourth president of g eorgia from n ov. 2013 to d ec. 2018. b orn in Tbilisi in 1969, he attended Tbilisi s tate u niversity in 1998 and earned a doctorate in philosophy.

d uring his term, he was

active in grassroots youth initiatives and supported the protection and expansion of minority and lgb TQ+ rights, d owd said.

m argvelashvili opened the lecture with his appreciation of the peaceful, open-hearted nature of his country.

g eorgia is one of the most tolerant nations and a “place of freedom for all regardless of religious, ideological or other differences,” he said.

to the s aint m ary’s mission.

Thursday’s talk featured philosophy professor p atti s ayre and associate director of student equity c hristin Kloski who spoke on s tories of d iscovery.

v ice president of mission Julianne w allace opened the lunch with a prayer based on reflections from

see smc PaGE 3

Editor-in-Chief announces staff

Observer Staff Report

Juniors r yan p eters,

g abrielle b eechert, h annah

h ebda and José s ánchez

c órdova will help oversee

The o bserver’s e ditorial

b oard next term, incom -

ing e ditor-in- c hief m aggie

e astland announced Feb. 9.

p eters will become the

m anaging e ditor, while

b eechert, h ebda and

as a ssistant m anaging e ditors. The four students will begin their new roles m arch 19.

r yan p eters is a junior majoring in business analytics with a minor in constitutional studies. h e previously served as n otre d ame n ews e ditor and has written for the news department since his

3 see FuTure PaGE 4

s ánchez c órdova will serve

see nanovic PaGE

Photo courtesy of Matt Cashore I University of Notre Dame

On Wednesday Feb. 8, the University’s Nanovic Institute Forum had the oppurtunity to meet with Giorgi Margvelashvili, who served as the president of the Republic of Georgia from 2013 until 2018.

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Pope Francis, before introducing the two speakers.

Kloski spoke first, opening her speech with a quote from Pablo n eruda. “ s omeday, somewhere –anywhere, unfailingly, you’ll find yourself, and that, and only that, can be the happiest or bitterest hour of your life.” s he then went on to talk about how she wants to look at discovery as ongoing, rather than “something found or completed.”

s he then recounted her memories of her time as a s aint m ary’s student and in the s outh b end community through three categories: discovery of herself, the universe and her place in it.

Kloski began her recount by laying out her situation when she first came to s aint m ary’s as a first year. s he was a first generation student from a low income salary.

“What I didn’t know was even when you are away from home, you can never separate your college experience from your family,” she said.

s he commented that her first memory of discovery came from receiving letters from student affairs and campus ministries after her grandfather passed away during her first semester.

“The discovery that I wasn’t just another student in the system, I was a person. A person who was seen and supported without any hesitation.”

In addition, Kloski

volunteered for what is now known as the o ffice for the c ommon Good.

“In my first year, I volunteered in the college academy of tutoring program, though now known as the o ffice for the c ommon Good.”

Kloski discussed the program that gave her another moment of discovery and ignited her passion for giving back to her native s outh b end community.

“I was reminded of my love for education, but also reminded how often we do not allow for communities to find and explore this love,” Kloski said.

Kloski spoke about how she thought that she had to go somewhere else to effectively help communities, but when a professor offered her an internship locally, she stayed. s he began working at the c enter for the h omeless.

“ b efore I knew it, I discovered another ‘aha’ moment; that even if I hadn’t left my hometown, I didn’t have to leave my community to find some where else and to serve somewhere else,” she said. “When I think about my slice of the universe, I think about my local community.”

Kloski talked about how she was questioned as to why she wanted to stay in s outh b end.

“Instead of engaging in talks about moving or ideas to leave the city, I’d often bring up ideas that our city were starting,” she continued by saying, “It took me a while to celebrate my own hometown,” Kloski said.

Kloski stayed in s outh b end and continued working on community projects. s he talked about having hope for change when meeting with other community members with similar interests and ideas for improvements.

“I finally opened myself up to the idea that I could continue to call this place home,” she said. “For decades the west side has been seen as a bad neighborhood and was overlooked by those who even bothered to see it.”

Kloski then discussed her involvement in community outreach, especially focusing on the west side with West s ide Lunches, a program dedicated to highlighting what the west side has to offer. In 2016, the first West s ide Festival was hosted, which is now an annual event that continues to grow.

“In my discovery on the universe, I truly learned how to embrace my hometown and how to commit my livelihood to its betterment,” she said.

Kloski commented on how this led her to know that she is in the right place in life with her role in s aint m ary’s c ollege, helping students as she wanted help when she attended college.

“I understand some of their experiences. I understand that the weight from family pressures and academic stress is heavy to take on alone,” Kloski said.

Kloski then asked that as everyone walked away today, to think about their place in s aint m ary’s and

the universe.

s ayre followed with a slightly different approach to the idea of discovery. s he started by talking about how most philosophers agree that there is no logic of discovery.

“There is no algorithm to discovery, there is no rubric or list of boxes that you can check off and if you check them all off properly and move through the sequence of things to do will guarantee you discovery,” she said.

“It’s sort of magical.” s ayre remarked. s he then joked that she would probably disagree with s ister m adeleva’s famous quote “I promise you discovery”, as discovery can not be promised or guaranteed to happen.

“ m adeleva is a poet so that means we probably shouldn’t read her all that literally,” s ayer commented.

s ayre says that it is probably closer to the idea of promising the spirit of discovery and space for it to be honored.

s he then went on to discuss how she doesn’t understand why learning outcomes are so heavily focused upon in our curriculum as they guarantee learning things but also give boxes to check off which eliminate discovery.

“ d espite the talk of learning outcomes, I think there is plenty of room here at s aint m ary’s still for the spirit of discovery,” she said. “I’ve noticed a change that it is harder for students to do creative, out of the

box work.”

s ayre discussed how students are now able to move through rubrics well, but have done so for so long that they are dependent on learning outcomes to guide them in their thinking, instead of creative free thinking.

s ayre reflected on how she still sees students have discoveries in introductory courses through senior theses. s he told stories of different classes that she had at all levels that all discovered something different, sometimes even discovering different things about the same text.

s ayre’s son is a ballet dancer and she compared the look of ballet dancers leaping and seemingly floating in the air to the same feeling of discovery. b ut just like ballet dancers spend hours training, academics spend hours thinking, discussing, writing “and you hope one day you fly,” she said.

The event wrapped up with a question and answer session, along with some small group discussions to have the audience reflect on the speaker’s stories and other opinions of discovery.

The next installment of the Landscapes of the s pirit series is m arch 29 and will focus on s tories of Women. s peakers will include director of athletics Julie s chroder- b iek and maintenance coordinator and assistant cross country coach Jess b iek.

Contact Katelyn Waldschmidt at kwaldschmidt01@saintmarys.edu

Following these remarks, he set the scene for his discussion on post- s oviet bloc conflict by comparing the political aftermath of World War II and the aftermath of the c old War.

h e describes that Japan and Germany arose from World War II as two of the most democratic countries with effective protection of human rights, while r ussia emerged from the c old War as a totalitarian regime with an aggressive nuclear arsenal.

r egarding the aftermath of the c old War, m argvelashvili asked the audience to consider the critical question: “What went wrong?”

In his eyes, there is no clear answer. h e believes one consistent barrier to decreasing r ussian aggression is the unknown actions Putin would take in the event of losing power.

m argvelashvili describes that in 2008, 2014 and

2022, there was little to no international response to r ussian aggression. h e said that Zelenskyy, the current President of u kraine, is leading the fight to change that narrative.

“This comes from just an individual who decided that he’s going to fight and die for his nation, an individual who didn’t experience the kind of international support we are witnessing right now. h e united his efforts for the nation,” m argvelashvili said.

Western countries and free nations are demonstrating an unprecedented amount of support against r ussian aggression because of the courage of Zelenskyy, m argvelashvili said. h e stated that countries worldwide understand the severity of r ussian violence in u kraine and that u kraine needs to win this fight — but still fear the unknown consequences of u kraine winning.

“ e veryone agrees that u kraine has to win, but no one knows how r ussia

can lose because the same questions about the process have been there since the c old War. What will happen with all the nuclear resources as soon as u kraine wins?”

m argvelashvili said.

m argvelashvili emphasized that the global political sphere faces the same conflicts right now as it did at the end of the c old War.

“There was, and currently is, no clear vision from the u nited s tates or Western countries of how the s oviet u nion or r ussia should be reformed,” m argvelashvili said.

According to

m argvelashivuli, there is no simple next step to take toward a more peaceful, democratic world in e astern e urope with the influence of Putin’s totalitarian regime.

h owever, m argvelashivuli states he has not lost hope in the democratization of r ussia, pointing to a historical example of the fight for democracy in r ussia. After the dissolution of the s oviet u nion in 1991,

m argvelashvili recalled how a coup attempt to rebuild the s oviet u nion was unsuccessful because of the efforts of m oscow citizens in protest.

“ m oscow citizens felt that it was a democratic country and that they had the right to fight for their democracy,” he said.

These efforts to fight for democracy leave a glimmer of hope in m argvelashvili in the ability for power to be returned to the people. h e also called on the international community to continue engaging in bold efforts to support u kraine.

d uring a conversation over coffee the following day, m argvelashvili told The o bserver, “In these kinds of efforts, you need international participation.”

h e emphasized that participation from the international community, specifically youth participation in politics, will be critical to building a more just and peaceful world.

“I love to motivate young

people to go into politics in any kind of form,” he said. “And I believe this is necessary for their own security.”

Contact Kate Kirwan at kkirwan@nd.edu

ND StuGov launches FGLI podcast

By EMMA DUFFY news Writer

d uring the fall semester, the n otre d ame s tudent Government d epartment of d iversity and Inclusion, First Generation Low Income Initiative launched a new podcast. The new podcast, named ‘Golden Generation: First Under the d ome’, aims to assist first generation students throughout their college experience.

The First Generation Low Income Initiative is a relatively new addition to the n otre d ame s tudent Government d epartment of d iversity and Inclusion. This is their first year as a sub-division under this department. Tavin m artin, director of the sub-division, said the goal of this initiative is to embrace the identity of first generation students on campus.

When discerning the best ways to make an impact, they decided upon the idea of a podcast.

“We wanted a way to connect like, I guess, directly with the community but also in a way that’s timeless,” s ammi s cheiderman, deputy director of the subdivision, explained.

The podcast is joined by the efforts of multiple students. As director of the

sub-division, m artin overlooks the entirety of the podcast. Adam Toland is the manager of the podcast, taking on the responsibility for organizing the logistics. s cheiderman is in charge of the editing of the podcast, along with designing the logo and other features. When all of the details are set in place, the podcast is then hosted by e rik Finch- s oto.

The episodes are designed to help students at all different points in their college career. s o far, they have discussed topics such as how to get an internship, how to navigate the add/ drop process and how to balance academic and social aspects of campus.

They bring on a variety of people depending on the topic discussed. s ometimes it will be a faculty member that is an expert on a subject, other times it will be students sharing their experiences.

“I really love working on the podcast,” s cheiderman said. “It’s super fun and everyone we bring in is so interesting and so friendly to and everyone’s so excited to be on it.”

The members on the podcast expressed that there is something for everyone to learn from the podcasts. They inform people about

the experiences of first generation students, but they also give advice that could be beneficial to all students.

The members feel that there is always more, that the information brought to the podcast can aid all students on their college journey. e ven those working on the podcast feel that this is helping them learn more.

“All of the conversations are really interesting, and I’ve actually learned quite a few things from myself, because I’m first generation as well,” s cheiderman said.

o thers have already come forward to express their gratitude for this podcast.

“I’ve only heard good things about the podcast overall,” m artin said. “It is usually students saying this was helpful, I didn’t know this resource existed, or I didn’t know the process was this easy.”

m artin explains that the University is only beginning to address the presence of first generation students on campus. This initiative is acknowledging a side of campus that has long been ignored by n otre d ame. b y opening up this topic of discussion, students feel that they can take part in a shifting dynamic on campus.

VS a

“There’s something students can now say like, ‘oh, I’m a part of the golden generation’, like when they go back home to their families. And that’s something really empowering to say and like to be a part of,” she said.

s chiederman also explains the positive change coming from this new initiative on campus.

“We are trying to make it more of something to be proud of rather than something to be shameful of,” she said. “People don’t really talk about being first gen and so we’ve wanted to make it very visible — something that you wear on your sleeve very proudly rather than something that’s just like an aspect of you that you don’t really bring up with people.”

‘Golden Generation’ posts episodes every month, trying to bring light to a new aspect of campus each time. Although the podcast has the central goal of helping first generation students navigate college, the members feel that there is something for all students.

“There hasn’t really been a podcast like ours at n otre d ame,” s chiederman said.

Contact Emma Duffy at eduffy5@nd.edu

freshman year. Peters has covered events on campus ranging from supreme court justice visits to the death of Quarter d ogs. A former Knott h all resident, Peters is from Lake Forest, Illinois, and is currently seeking his degree for the spring semester at John c abot University in r ome, Italy.

“I’m excited to help The o bserver continue to inform the tri-campus,” Peters said.

b eechert, a junior at n otre d ame from r ye, n ew York, is a neuroscience and behavior major with a minor in Journalism, e thics and d emocracy. A resident of Pasquerilla e ast h all, she currently serves as one of two n ew Writer

e ditors in the news department. s ince joining The o bserver at the beginning of her sophomore year, she has covered a variety of campus events, including those at the n otre d ame’s London Global Gateway program during her Fall 2022 semester abroad.

“When I walked into my first meeting my sophomore year, I had no idea The o bserver would come to mean so much to me,” b eechert said. “I have so much love for the people, the organization and the work that we do. As Assistant m anaging e ditor, I hope to honor them all.”

h ebda, a junior at n otre d ame, hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but calls b reen-Phillips her home on campus. s tudying economics, with minors in real estate and

c atholic s ocial Tradition, h ebda joined The o bserver her sophomore year. s he currently serves as the v iewpoint e ditor while also cheering on the Fighting Irish as a v arsity c heerleader.

“ b ecoming a part of The o bserver has been such a special, and unexpected, experience here at n otre d ame,” h ebda said. “The opportunity to help lead this publication alongside such motivated and passionate student journalists is an incredible privilege, and I am honored to help further its legacy this upcoming term.”

s ánchez c órdova is a junior majoring in political science with minors in Journalism, e thics and d emocracy and French and Francophone s tudies. h e is currently a sportswriter

The show will also open with a performance by vanessa vo, a composer who blends vietnamese and Western music genres in her work. vo won an emmy award for composing the soundtrack of “bolinao 52” (2008), a documentary and has worked on the score for the oscar nominated documentary, “daughter from danang” (2002).

Junior viet dang is president of vsA and is one of the directors of the show commented on the importance of inviting vo to notre dame.

“This year, we’re inviting an outside artist, vanessa vo, to campus … this our first year doing that and we really want to show vietnamese excellence,” she said.

Forsophomorerosenguyen,another director of the show, cultural events like ‘notre dame by night’ have been a way to make sure she doesn’t lose her vietnamese culture while at college.

“I’m from oklahoma city … which has a big vietnamese population specifically … because the catholic church in oklahoma was taking in refugees during the vietnam War … so I was always surrounded by my vietnamese community growing up, though I would say that I’m pretty … Westernized,” she said.

nguyen said she joined clubs like vsA and the Asian American Association (AAA) her first year of college, in order to appease her father’s fears that she would not make any vietnamese friends on campus.

and has written for the department since his sophomore year, covering mostly fencing, baseball and soccer. h e also worked as the fall intern at n otre d ame m agazine, covering campus events like m ilkshake m ass and the Thom b rowne shoot last o ctober. A former Knott h all resident, s ánchez c órdova was born and raised in Guaynabo, Puerto r ico and is currently studying abroad at s ciences Po in Paris.

“The o bserver has taught me so much in so little time,” s ánchez c órdova said. “I am unbelievably grateful for the opportunity to keep learning and growing with this newspaper as an Assistant m anaging e ditor. I can’t wait to return and get back to work.”

“one day that year, my grandma who lives with us [at home] called me and normally I’m fluent in vietnamese, but since I only speak the language with my grandma, the fact that I’d been so far away from her, meant I was struggling to speak. I think that something in me changed then … not being able to communicate made me think ‘oh my gosh, I can’t lose my culture’,” nguyen said.

nguyen also talked about how cultural shows like ‘notre dame by night’ can help students understand different regions of the world more deeply.

“For example, the significance behind our cultural dances is that we traditionally use hats while rice farming and these hats are what protects people from … Uv rays. Going beyond that though, the show’s theme, ‘Tune in 4 Love’, touches on how people here in America and the Western world perceive love differently than in more eastern cultures,” nguyen said.

The show’s name ‘notre dame by night’ is a pun on the longrunning vietnamese reality music show ‘Paris by night’, according to nguyen.

“… It’s an iconic vietnamese show and they do skits, they do singing. I grew up with my parents having it on dvd … and the fact that our show is called ‘notre dame by night’, like only we would understand but it’s so funny and it rings so well.”

Contact Angela Mathew at amathew3@nd.edu

From the Future: Unexpected AI applications

By SPENCER KELLY news Writer

In our inaugural edition, From the Future looked at AI research at n otre d ame related to broad philosophical, political and practical issues. This week, we profile three n otre d ame researchers using AI for unusual or unexpected applications in fields as diverse as peace studies, science and the humanities. These projects demonstrate how AI disruption will be truly ubiquitous, but also how n otre d ame is a leader in conjuring creative ways to use AI to advance scholarship in a multidisciplinary fashion.

r eading into the past with ai vision

Walter s cheirer, d ennis o d oughty c ollegiate Associate Professor, c omputer s cience and e ngineering

As far back as his undergraduate years, Walter s cheirer, d ennis o d oughty c ollegiate associate professor of computer science and engineering, envisioned novel applications for AI. h is vision, as it were, was that computers themselves would be able to see.

“I thought [computer vision] was interesting, because it’s a really broad capability,” s cheirer said. “ m y background is pretty diverse, so I was interested in social science questions and humanistic questions … I wanted to develop increasingly sophisticated algorithms that could help on problems that I thought were really hard and interesting in the world of digital humanities.”

Years later in 2017, a group from r oma Tre University contacted s cheirer about a project that was right up his alley of computer vision in the humanities. The group had been working on transcribing Latin manuscripts at the Abbey Library of s t. Gall in s witzerland and was hoping to leverage technology to improve this process.

s cheirer joined forces with classicists and medievalists from around n otre d ame and got to work on an AI program that could transcribe the ancient documents into text form. The AI was trained using supervised learning, where computer scientists would feed examples of already transcribed texts into their AI so it could learn to “read” Latin.

s cheirer noted that training the AI involved interdisciplinary collaboration. c omputer scientists had

to do the technical programming, but humanities scholars had to help explain the basics of medieval texts and provide the input data (the sample transcriptions) required for machine learning.

“There was a lot of generosity and sharing [of] information on both sides,” s cheirer said. “We didn’t know basically anything about manuscript studies when we started this project, but on the other side, the humanists didn’t know anything about AI … s o we needed each other.”

After seeing positive results with Latin, s cheirer has applied similar computer vision programs to transcribing or translating materials in other languages. Projects have revolved around more mainstream languages like French or forms of e nglish, but also obscure dialects like Ge’ez, an ancient e thiopian script.

b ut s cheirer has even more ambitious ideas for how AI vision can help the humanities. s cheirer mentioned the concept of “distant reading,” where researchers could have AI analyze thousands of works to discern broad patterns or connections between these texts and the knowledge within them.

“You can’t read all the books, but what if you could summarize information in many thousands of books?” s cheirer said. “ c an you see trends over time? What ideas come into fashion? What ideas are around for a little while and go out of fashion? [It’s] like the historical progression of knowledge, right? You can use textual analysis algorithms to do that.”

As interest increases in the emerging field of digital humanities, s cheirer sees AI as a tool that will expand the possibilities of humanities scholarship.

“It opens up new modes of inquiry,” s cheirer said. “We’re able to pose questions that we couldn’t pose before and start to tackle them using these computational tools.”

Putting the “science” in computer science

Jian-xun Wang, Assistant Professor, Aerospace and m echanical e ngineering

That AI would have a multitude of applications in the sciences is perhaps not unexpected. c omputer science is, after all, a science itself with a close relationship to other formal and natural fields.

Indeed, Jian-xun Wang,

assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, finds that in his research revolving around AI in scientific applications, it can be difficult to discern whether one is a computer scientist, another kind of scientist or all of the above.

“In scientific [machine learning], it is hard to define computer scientists and domain scientists,” Wang wrote in an email. “ m ost of the time, we are both, since you need to understand the physics behind the problem and also machine learning techniques to create new scientific AI models.

b ut we also closely collaborate with pure domain/ computer scientists to have deep expertise in each field. We view ourselves as the bridge.”

Wang’s “ c omputational m echanics & s cientific Artificial Intelligence” ( c o ms AIL) Lab at n otre d ame works on a range of projects at the intersection of AI and scientific research.

A significant portion of Wang’s research has, dating back to his Ph d days, involved using AI to model complex physical phenomena like fluids. In these cases, AI models are advancing research related to physics, but physics is also advancing the development of AI by providing knowledge and principles upon which AI models can be improved. In this sense, there is a reciprocity to the research — computer science and natural science are mutually advanced.

Physics-informed AI programs have numerous applications in their own right. The c o ms AIL Lab has used AI to model fluids in engineering applications, turbulent water flows related to ships in maritime or naval contexts, and blood flows in cardiovascular systems.

While direct scientific applications are helpful, Wang indicated that AI’s most disruptive impact on science may come in a different, perhaps unexpected way. b y using AI not for “doing” science per se but for reading papers and conducting literature reviews, scientists could — in a manner analogous to the “distant reading” mentioned above — drastically enhance their ability to extract knowledge, make connections and advance research in a transformative fashion.

“AI has the potential to revolutionize the way scientific research is conducted, from streamlining data collection and analysis to

generating new scientific hypotheses,” Wang wrote.

“AI algorithms can help researchers process and analyze large data sets, identify patterns and relationships that would be difficult for humans to detect and make predictions that can guide future experiments.”

While the use of AI for textual research can help any scientific field, Wang mentioned genomics, drug development and climate forecasting as areas that may especially benefit from AI readers combing over massive amounts of data and recognizing patterns.

h owever, Wang noted that AI disruption is not inevitable. r esearchers will need to make an active effort to ensure AI systems are functionally safe and responsibly applied.

“There will need to be continued investment in the development and application of AI technologies in scientific research to ensure that their full potential is realized,” Wang wrote.

Using ai to track online violence

Tim Weninger, Frank m . Freimann Associate Professor of e ngineering, c omputer s cience and e ngineering

When Tim Weninger, Frank m . Freimann associate professor of engineering, first visited U s AI d (U. s Agency for International d evelopment), he said he felt a bit out of his element.

“I was the only computer scientist within ten miles of that place,” Weninger said. “ c omputer scientists are more interested in making the latest startup than going and engaging with the s tate d epartment or with U s AI d s o I was a fish out of water.”

r ather than going the stereotypical startup route, Weninger wanted to apply his knowledge of computer science and AI to solve problems related to peace and violence.

n ow, Weninger and colleagues from across campus work on a U s AI d -funded project that tracks indicators of violence on social media.

The project originated in the Indo-Pacific region where Weninger explained that “Facebook is the internet” — the primary source for communicating with others, for consuming media and for accessing information. In this region, as in many parts of the world, Facebook has proven to be a platform for propagating misinformation via altered images and videos,

sometimes with violent connotations.

That’s where AI comes in. Weninger and his team created a program to comb social media for doctored content that promotes violence or hatred. Their AI can sift through millions of images per day, a task impossible for humans, and identify warning signs of violence.

“We can learn a lot about a country and a culture and a people and what they’re afraid of by looking and watching how they manipulate images,” Weninger said. “With AI tools, I can discover that and tell us the story that is kind of emerging.”

After success in Indonesia with their AI, Weninger and his team are expanding into other countries, most recently Ukraine and France. This initial project with U s AI d has also led to more AI-driven collaborations planned for the future.

d espite being a computer scientist, Weninger’s roster of postdocs includes people from diverse backgrounds, like peace studies. While Weninger believes in AI’s power to solve social scientific or political problems, he also recognizes that computer scientists need to collaborate to achieve impact in these spaces.

“ c omputer scientists pretend that we can solve the world’s problems through technology, but we can’t.” Weninger said. “We can bring technology to bear on problems but we need subject matter experts who can guide us in these problems. That’s why I have hired folks from [the Kroc Institute] or from [the Pulte Institute] — because they’re experts.”

m oving forward, Weninger thinks AI will have a disruptive role in the social sciences. And he sees n otre d ame as a leader in advancing new AI applications that focus on helping people in the way that his work has done.

“We have a different tact here at n otre d ame,” Weninger said. “It’s about the ‘why’ of [AI], the ‘what are we going to use [AI] to solve.’ And the problems or needs we are going to solve are not necessarily the next Uber, but the next way of helping people better the environment or better how they communicate or better the democratic principles of their local community. That’s the distinctively n otre d ame part of this.”

Contact Spencer Kelly at skelly25@nd.edu

insidE ColUmn

The worst best list in television history

Olivia Schatz Associate sports e ditor

I would like to preface this article by saying that I am in no way a television critic. I have no history in film, television or art for that matter. h owever, I watch an absurd amount of T v. That is the only qualification I have for writing this article, and I think that is good enough. If you disagree with me, then you can go enjoy the r olling s tone list that I am standing against in the following few hundred words.

In s eptember, the r olling s tone released an article “ b est T v s hows of All Time,” which was an updated version of their 2016 “best” list. While I do believe that this is an impossible task to create the perfect list, I do believe there is much improvement than what the r olling s tone put out.

To figure out how to fix their list, we must first look at their problems. I believe a majority of their issues can be identified by how they curated the list. The r olling s tone contacted a group of around 50 individuals in the industry to rank their 50 “best” T v shows of all time. b ut there was not much more instructions than that. The list of voters ranged from b en s tiller — the executive producer of “ s everance” as they defined him — to podcasters and T v critics.

The Problems

The Demographics of the Voters

The age of the voters are all pretty close together. The youngest voter I could find was 32, and she was the youngest by a lot. A majority of the voters were in their 50s, and it is obvious by the list. Trust me, I am a sucker for nostalgia. h owever nostalgia is different for everyone. Anyone under the age of 40 does not have a major connection to “ c heers” growing up, and many people under that age haven’t seen “ n YP d b lue”. While these shows are both influential by their own rights, I do not believe that many people in the younger audience would put either of these shows on their list. That is to not say they are not good, just to prove how the voters affected the results.

There are plenty of younger critics and workers in the industry that I am sure would have loved to participate in this list making, and would have brought a more diverse outlook on the list system.

Talking about younger workers in the industry, that is my other issue with the demographics of the voters. Although I love all my FTT friends, I find that many people in the industry can have

some pretentious picks. r ather than choosing what they really think is the “best” show, they chose what they think should be the best show, despite their actual opinions.

m y favorite example of this is in the movie sphere. I simply can not believe that everyone’s favorite movie is “ c itizen Kane”. To fight against this, my mom came up with her own way of ranking everyone’s best flix. For a movie to be in your top five, you must turn on to watch it if you see it as you flick through channels (this isn’t as applicable with streaming services now), you must be able to quote the movie and you must actually enjoy watching it. When you ask for favorites in this way, even the most critical movie watchers change around their order.

s ometimes I think those in the industry need to take a step back from what they think is the best and see if they actually believe it. Plus, television was created for the everyday person, not just for those in the industry to consume.

Some shows should not be on this list at all, and others are ranked excessively high

I personally believe that if a T v show is not finished, it should not be ranked. I am the biggest fan of “The West Wing” and I think it is top tier T v. If you ranked the West Wing during seasons one through four, it would be top 15 T v, no debate. s adly, Aaron s orkin’s unfortunate coke habits forced the show to change writers after season four, and anyone who watched the show could see the drastic quality shift.

I do believe there are some shows that get a pass on this rule: “The s impsons”, “Jeopardy!”, “ sn L” and “ s esame s treet” (as well as others that

I am missing) have been on T v for long enough for people to include them in their rankings. In saying this, “ s uccession” being ranked at 11 is too much for me. Yes, “ s uccession” is a really good show that will probably have a cultural impact. h owever, it is not finished yet! I do not think a show that is not near to ending deserves a top 11 spot on the best T v shows of all time.

There are also other shows that I was shocked to receive such high bids for. m y first issue being “Watchmen” at 23. “Watchmen” had one season, which ended on a cliffhanger, and the show writer and hbo ultimately decided not to move forward with it. In a similar vein, “Freaks and Geeks” at 24 is absurd to me. The show had a very cult following, and was not popular at the time. After one season, it was canceled. I can not see a world where a show that had mediocre cultural influence, and was canceled due to unpopularity,

deserves a spot in the top 25 best shows of all time. Yes, this show gave us the start to some very influential actors. b ut that does not do enough for me to give it top 25 status.

Inconsistent Rankings

This is probably my biggest issue with the rankings. The rankings seem completely random. m ost of that has to do with forcing a subjective list to be objective. The word “best” – for T v shows anyways – is subjective. n ostalgia and other facts play a huge role in each person’s individual best. And as we have spoken about with the age of the voters, this has a major influence on the final outcome.

“ s quid Games” got a nod, but “ s tranger Things” and “ e uphoria”, both shows with major followings and influence over the past few years did not. d ifferent talk shows throughout the ages were peppered in throughout the list without any real reason. s ome voters appeared to take influence as a higher standard than entertainment, other voters did the opposite. r ather than creating a cohesive ranking, r olling s tone created a modge podge of T v shows that many times just influenced early television.

How would I fix it?

I don’t think you can make a solid “best” list. I think the r olling s tones should have defined best for their voters: is it the most influential or the most enjoyable? o r, do you have your voters pick the top 25 most influential and then another 25 of most entertaining and average it out. While there are definitely shows that are both, other more influential shows have not stood the test of time. For me I don’t find “ m *A* s * h ” to be enjoyable to watch, but I can not deny the insane influence it has had on television and culture. There are other shows that I find to be so entertaining, but has had little influence on media and culture (ie. “Justified”).

I think the biggest argument for why this list should not exist is the fight I had with my friends about 30 minutes ago as I was writing this article. With all five of us intaking vastly different media, we were fighting about the semantics of this list, and altering it to our own individual taste. r olling s tone, a magazine that prides itself on creativity, simply dulled down decades of television history into a mediocre list at best.

You can conatct Olivia at oschatz@nd.edu. The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Obserever.

Extra! Extra!

Stephen Viz Poor stephen’s scrapbook

I really hope no one reads this title and agrees with my sarcasm.

A year ago this month, the world came to a halt as russian tanks roared across the Ukrainian border. After eight years of political standstill and insurgency encounters, the full might of Putin’s army finally made good on the promise to reclaim parts of russia now held by the Ukraine. The world looked to Twitter and major news to get our updates, and it has been a long year of rhetoric, debate, and ordinary heroism.

but so much has changed since February of 2022, and honestly, the future is somewhat terrifying. As American and United nation aid ramps up in favor of Ukrainian support, one can only wonder what the world will look like in six, 12 or even 18 months. It is a brave new world, and big and small business alike just might come to shape the future as we know it. And boy, they could it for the better if they did anything but the bare minimum. Let me explain.

I grew up on ‘90s action thrillers that owned the stereotype of russian villains in a post-soviet world. classics like “crimson Tide” and “Air Force one” made these dynamics both highly entertaining and thought-provoking. These movies featured russian nationalists only steps away from restoring “mother russia” to its former glory, which even for fictional worlds that had seen the horrors of communism, seemed like a potential reality. but in the movies ,drinking the pro-democratic Kool-Aid always prevails, and even today I can hear harrison Ford’s President marshall snarl “Get off my plane!” And yes, I am glad that these movies were perpetually on cinemax in 2012, because they sparked an interest in geopolitics that no 300-level lecture ever could.

And through my career as a varsity Wikipedia reader, I have come to see that business, my chosen field in this life, intersects with geopolitics more than any other factor on the planet. Whether we like it or not, business interests are second to none in the geopolitical pecking order. If there is money to be made, business will make it work. And because of this, scenarios as seen in my favorite movies never came to fruition. After the fall of the berlin Wall, billions in international and domestic investment flocked into eastern europe. In russia especially, exports of oil and gas, agriculture, textiles, manufacturing and professional services all exploded. being a country with a strong labor force and abundant natural resources, russia was poised to continue from the emerging stage to the developing stage as an economy. And then, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine got in the way.

This takes us to last march. After russian boots were on the ground in the Ukraine, the international community was quick to condemn Putin’s actions. This coupled with harsh economic sanctions forcefully placed a squeeze on the russian war effort. mcdonald’s, coca-cola, UPs, visa, YUm brands, Ford, General motors, KPmG and dozens of other companies suspended or permanently terminated operations in russia. These moves were very significant, as these businesses earned substantial profits in russia’s population of 150 million people. but guess what? even after all these crippling economic sanctions have toppled the global supply chain and energy markets, the russian war effort has kept on churning. even after hundreds of foreign corporations packed up shop, the war effort has kept on churning. economic sanctions are a slow burn, and there is no end in sight to the war at hand.

Understanding power distance can be helpful in this analysis. Power distance is a metric in international management that understands the extent to which the less-powerful members of institutions

and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed equally. Want to know what russia scored? A 93 on a 100-point scale (for context power distance in the United states is a 40). so, for those of you who might argue that russians should’ve overthrown Putin when they had the chance, you really don’t have a clue. russian oligarchs are synonymous with being bond villains for a reason, as dozens of these billionaires hold most of the controlling interest in the russian economy. If that doesn’t speak to the factsthat large swathes of the russian populous stand against this war, then I don’t know what does. because of this power distance, russia has replaced trading partners in the West for reliable (and emerging) trading partners in India and china. And yes, while sanctions have cost russia billions due to the deflated price of crude oil and municipal bonds have been downgraded to “junk,” Putin will find a way. do you really think Putin cares that his state has entered a recession? Yeah, let me think. no. he will find a way to continue financing his war.

Futile gestures of solidarity that have arisen amongst decision makers in business since last march have acted as nothing more than a slap on the wrist. For all the alcohol wholesalers and liquor stores who removed russian vodka from your inventory, good for you. That’ll show Putin. This is like if bernie madoff received a 15-minute timeout after defrauding billions from investors. but I digress, and level with this.

While the business world has acted passively, this war has reeked more havoc than any of us will ever know. Just one year later, thousands of soldiers and civilians are dead. millions of Ukrainians are displaced. billions in infrastructure and development has been destroyed. A global food crisis has affected “the breadbasket” in these countries, as wheat shortages have accelerated the hunger crises in Yemen, Afghanistan and east Africa. rising energy prices due to this war have raised the price of agriculture globally, contributing to increased food prices. The ripple effect is real, and while companies such as disney, netflix and Apple all regroup to replace revenue lost in the russian markets, millions of people are suffering in real time. but there is some good news. When business leaders decide to critically think and respond actively, the bulk of the world’s problems become inconsequential to such efficiency and clear intentions. And yes, while war profiteering and shareholder interest come into discussion regarding the motives behind corporate actions, is it too much to ask companies to think outside the box? This is not business as usual, and as showed in the American mobilization for World War II, big business can be all the difference in changing the tides of war.

To me, companies in the international business community are not doing enough. Too many times since last march has leaving the russian business landscape become the new norm. What about reverting those utilized assets into the aid of Ukrainian defense and refugees? What about utilizing logistics to ease the global supply chain? What about coordinated efforts from big tech to disrupt hostile communications? What about efforts of aid for food insecure populations? For aspiring business leaders, let it be known that this passive lack of inaction is a cancer, and history will separate the well-intended from the just. You would think saving customer lives would act as a noble business pursuit, but at this point, the world will have to wait and see. do better big business and use some of those earnings-per-share numbers to bless our Ukrainian brothers and sisters.

Stephen Viz is an MBA candidate and graduate of Holy Cross College. He can be reached at sviz@nd.edu or on Twitter at @StephenViz.

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

What is discernment?

Joey Jegier discerning Your best self

In my previous column, I told the story of my discernment journey. some of you may have wondered, “What does it mean to discern?”

In general, discernment refers to an intentional decision-making process. For undergraduate students, like many of us, that could involve deciding a course of study, choosing a career path or selecting extracurricular activities.

some decisions may be simple. You have a clear and distinct gut feeling, and you know what to do. other decisions may be more complicated. You feel torn between two or more options, and you have no idea what to do. either way, take the time to reflect and properly decide, so that you can look back and say, “I did my best to make a good choice with the information I had.” how, then, should we go about making these crucial, life-altering decisions? When we face a fork in the road, how do we choose which path to take?

The way I see it, the first step toward making a good decision is acknowledging the fear. We cannot hide it, nor should we suppress it. We cannot ignore uncertainty. Instead, accept it. Acknowledge the doubt. Walk through, not around, the cloud of confusion that shrouds the future.

even though this unknowingness will be uncomfortable (especially for those of us who wish to know everything and have a steady life plan), if we can learn to face this discomfort of uncertainty, then we open ourselves up to genuine personal growth. only when we admit that we do not know can we learn something truly valuable.

Let me explain further what the discernment process looks like. As I said, a first essential step is acknowledging uncertainty, because the future is often distant and unknown. There are so many possibilities, and we can only choose one. We cannot study all the disciplines. nor can we work in all the fields. We are faced with, therefore, both the fear of unknowing and the pressure of making a good choice!

In the face of uncertainty and pressure, we explore. externally we explore what the world has in store for us, and internally we explore the dimensions of our own personalities. external exploration may involve going to a career fair, trying new courses or attending extracurricular activities. As we do this, we pay attention to the inner stirrings of our souls, evaluating our responses to new experiences. did I enjoy that intro course? did I feel a sense of joy while working that summer internship? If so, carry on. If not, maybe try something else.

While we explore and evaluate the outer and the inner world, we seek to identify our deepest desires and locate where they intersect with humanity’s greatest needs.

After some time, we arrive at a decision with a certain degree of clarity. We may never feel fully confident, but we can rest assured that we took the time to properly decide.

once we make a decision and commit to that choice, we allow ourselves to grow and develop in that new environment. That is, until we reach the next fork in the road. And so the process continues, exploring and deciding, confusion and clarity, a continuous cycle of reflection and action.

When we arrive at the next inflection point, however, we are no longer the same persons as we were before. We have grown. We have come to recognize our desires and our callings.

moreover, we have refined the skill of discernment. We have learned how to make wise decisions in accordance with our values.

In this process we discover a calling, a guiding principle to lead us down the path of life. This light pierces through clouds of darkness and guides us toward the greatest good. discernment, therefore, is a dynamic, continuous and progressive process of exploring, deciding and becoming, through which one develops the skills necessary to make decisions in greater harmony with principles of goodness, beauty and justice.

In theory, that may sound great. In reality, however, the discernment process may not feel so smooth. There may be times of confusion. As I write, I am in one of those times. It is hard, and I pray for vision and clarity.

Then there will be times when a decision results in peace, joy, and consolation. We feel free. That’s the goal, after all.

Let me now offer two pieces of advice. Again, I am still discerning. I do not have it all figured out. still, these are two things I have found to be helpful.

First, take it day by day. do not allow worries of the future to tarnish the present moment. Pay attention. reflect. contemplate on your bed at night.

second, talk it out. Talk with friends, parents, professors, rectors, advisors, mentors — anyone and everyone. Allow these conversations to speak to you.

so, when you are in the process of discerning, you may experience fear of the unknown and pressure of choosing correctly. have no fear! do not worry! Live dayto-day, paying attention to the stirrings of your soul as you experience new things. And talk it out, reflecting on your options with valued mentors. Then you can say, “I did a good job.”

Joey Jegier is a senior at Notre Dame studying philosophy, ESS and German. He can be reached at jjegier2@nd.edu.

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

Fr. Benjamin Petit: Notre Dame’s hidden spiritual cornerstone

o n the evening of this Feb. 10, at 7:00 p.m., a special m ass will be celebrated at the Log c hapel by Father Paul d oyle, c s c . to honor Fr. b enjamin Petit, the great missionary to the Potawatomi, who died on this date in 1839. h e died of illness and exhaustion after accompanying his Indian parishioners on their forced removal march to Kansas. For the last two years on Feb. 10, a small group of friends have gathered at the Log c hapel, where he is buried, to remember his remarkable life and his early death. This year, we are welcoming anyone from the n otre d ame community who wishes to join us.

Father b enjamin m arie Petit was a young man, a former lawyer, a Frenchman, a missionary to America, a c atholic priest and martyr of charity who gave his life in service to the Potawatomi Indians of northern Indiana. I write this short article to make his remarkable story more known among the n otre d ame family.

Three good sources for the life of Fr. Petit that I have consulted are: “Potawatomi Trail of d eath: 1838 r emoval from Indiana to Kansas,” by s hirley Willard and s usan c ampbell (2003), “Walking the Trail of d eath,” by Keith d rury (2007) and a historical novel, “The Last b lackrobe of Indiana and The Potawatomi Trail of d eath,” by John William m c m ullen (2010).

In 1835, while studying at the s eminary of s t. s ulpice in Paris, b enjamin Petit was recruited by b ishop b rute of v incennes, Indiana to come to America, finish his priestly training and then serve as a missionary priest in the diocese of v incennes, which comprised all of Indiana and part of northern Illinois at the time.

In 1837, the c atholic Potawatomi people of northern Indiana, facing the threat of imminent forced removal to Kansas, desperately needed a new priest. b ishop b rute cut short Petit’s studies and ordained him to the priesthood early, assigning him to the Potawatomi mission. h e ministered at Twin Lakes near Plymouth, Indiana, and at s t. m ary of the Lake, outside of s outh b end (the future site of the University of n otre d ame). When the removal order came in s eptember of 1838 for the forced march to Kansas, Father Petit obtained the b ishop’s permission to accompany the Potawatomi on their long, sad march. After accompanying the survivors to their new home in Kansas, he started his journey back to Indiana in January of 1839. b eing very ill by that time, he stopped in s t. Louis, where he stayed at the Jesuit college. h e

said his last m ass there on Feb. 2, and died on Feb. 10; he was not quite 28 years old. In 1856, Father s orin brought his body back to n otre d ame. First buried in s acred h eart b asilica, his remains were later transferred in the 1970s to a grave in the Log c hapel, alongside fellow missionaries Father s tephen b adin and Father Louis d e s eille.

Fr. Petit was a man with wisdom, who made an incredible journey of faith which ended on Feb. 10 in 1839. h e is fittingly buried under the Log c hapel at n otre d ame because this saint, this martyr of charity, is truly n otre d ame’s spiritual cornerstone!

h e demonstrated his willingness to lay down his life by traveling the Trail of d eath simply because he loved his Potawatomi parishioners. h is sacrifice provides us with a rich example of a c hristian life well lived.

Fr. Petit endured the depredations of the government of the s tate of Indiana and the federal government as well. h e also endured the disease-ridden conditions caused by the forced journey of 660 miles cross country in drought and extreme heat and exposure to extreme cold on his way home to Indiana. h e eventually succumbed to an early death caused by this trauma.

Fr. Petit was trained as a lawyer in France before he became a priest, and from his correspondence, one can see both his legal abilities as well as his practical wisdom. For example, he was very adept at managing money. At the beginning of his work with the Potawatomi, he made very serious efforts to appeal to the Federal authorities on their behalf, so they could stay on their ancestral lands in Indiana. b ut all legal efforts were useless, and he had to accept that his parishioners would be removed.

h e clearly gave himself very wholeheartedly to his mission to the Potawatomi. h e was able to master all three languages he needed to use — his native tongue, French, the e nglish spoken by the Americans and the language of the Potawatomi. With his characteristic mercy, zeal and compassion — he was able to “pass over” (as n otre d ame’s late theologian Father John d unne put it) from the different cultural standpoints represented by these three languages and return to his own standpoint of faith enriched by the encounter.

Fr. Petit worked tirelessly throughout his time on the trail to help the Potawatomi. Years later, in loving remembrance of the sufferings endured

by the Potawatomi and Fr. Petit, a group of people made up of historians, Potawatomi, boy scouts, girl scouts and c atholics came together from 1976 till 2003, and placed 80 markers on the “Trail of d eath.” It was now possible to travel this whole trail and to remember this tragic journey. In 2006, a theologian from Wesleyan University in m arion, Indiana, Keith d rury, walked the entire 660 miles and wrote the compelling book mentioned above.

“ b lessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

The Trail of d eath is a trail of grief and loss, however marked by hope. The hope of the emergence of a gathering of the people of God, a “young c hristendom” as Fr. Petit called it.

m ay I make a suggestion here about the vocation of the University of n otre d ame as it relates to this journey of Fr. Petit and his companions? It seems to me we are caught in a crisis of wisdom, where we might well cry out with the title of one of the philosopher Alasdair m acIntyre’s books, “Whose Justice, Which r ationality?”

In the midst of the sharp divisions and political, social and ideological polarization of our society today, Fr. Petit provides a strong example of how to actually embody the love and service of the Gospel. In these present conditions, I see fear playing a greater role in our lives than I could have ever imagined, driven by narratives that are often only half true. In the face of this, Fr. Petit stands out to us for the manner in which he poured out his life for those in his care. And that love — the love of God, issued in the desire to serve God’s glory and the salvation of all people. h is desire then bore fruit in practical deeds done for others.

Fr. Petit was willing to take the injustice done to others without going into either rash violence or paralyzing despair. h e was willing to patiently wait out the weaknesses of others to whose policies he was radically opposed, not simply to conduct, or to win, a debate. r ather, he acted as he did so he could more effectively serve the common good — beginning with his Potawatomi parishioners.

We are grateful for his example as he faced his trials and endured to become truly n otre d ame’s hidden spiritual cornerstone. Fr. b enjamin Petit pray for us.

Gus Zuehlke ‘80 Jan. 25

By SOPHIA MICHETTI scene Writer

Trends have a tendency to repeat themselves. c law clips, flared jeans and (hopefully) a national championship-winning football team — all of these exemplify how things that become popular usually find their way back to fame down the road. This pop-culture phenomenon manifests itself in no one better than Jennifer c oolidge. When you hear the name Jennifer c oolidge, you have to be thinking, “Wait, that sounds familiar.” It should, especially if early2000s teen movies were an integral part of your childhood.

Jennifer c oolidge first graced our screens with her charm and humor when she played one of Jerry s einfeld’s girlfriends on the 90s sitcom “ s einfeld.” While she hoped landing a role would provide some momentum with booking more acting jobs, she wasn’t able to find another notable guest role until 1999 when she became a recurring character on “American Pie.” While she was never able to take on a lead role, “American Pie” became her lifeline, with c oolidge taking guest appearances on the show up until 2012. s till, with few breakthroughs in the industry, Jennifer c oolidge became an icon for our generation when she landed the roles of e lle

Woods’ ( r eese Witherspoon) manicurist in the 2001 film “Legally b londe” and as s am’s ( h illary d uff) evil stepmother in the 2004 film “A c inderella s tory.” These two films are quintessential to the range of iconic teen movies from the early-2000s because of their memorable phrases and iconic scenes. m aintaining her trend as a supporting actress, c oolidge first etched herself into our memories by popularizing the “bend-and-snap” in “Legally b londe,” which she later recreated in Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next” music video. It was only three years later before she reminded us the importance of thinking of others after climbing out of her pink tanning booth in “A c inderella s tory.” While I will always think of these movies as essential to the formation of my own self-confidence, c oolidge’s career seemed to plateau from there. That is, until “The White Lotus” came about.

c reated, written and directed by m ike White, “The White Lotus” is an hbo m ax satire show that follows a group of employees and guests at a hotel set in an idyllic location. While the first season was set in h awaii, the second finds itself in s icily at a new hotel with a new cast of employees and guests, except for Jennifer c oolidge’s character, of course.

Jennifer c oolidge plays Tanya m cQuoid- h unt, a woman seeking inner peace after her mother

died, and she’s one of only two characters to reprise their role for season two of the show. c oolidge’s performance in “The White Lotus” sparked her rising status in pop-culture today, as she has won e mmys, Golden Globes and more for White’s show. h er acceptance speech for the 2023 Golden Globe for b est s upporting Actress — Limited or Anthology s eries or Television Film, specifically, is when I realized just how much we were missing out on c oolidge. After turning on the award show with no expectations of actually being entertained, Jennifer c oolidge’s chaotic acceptance made me laugh and brought me to tears within its four-minute time frame. In her speech, she details how hard it was to persevere in a career that didn’t seem to be going anywhere and how important m ike White was to giving her a chance to become popular enough to where her neighbors finally invite her to parties.

s o, to return to where I started, things that are popular always seem to find their way back to the limelight, and we especially love it when beloved actresses from our childhood finally stand in the spotlight. Growing up, Jennifer c oolidge made us laugh and smile, and 20 years later, we’re lucky enough to see her achieve the acclaim she’s always deserved.

Contact Sophia Michetti at smichett@nd.edu

By CLAIRE McKENNA scene Writer

n etflix, in a startling move, recently released their new strict account sharing rules on its help center page, just to retract them and state that the whole thing was an accident. b ut don’t stop holding your breath just yet! n etflix’s plan is still to start enforcing these new rules in the United s tates sometime in the first quarter of this year. b ut the question remains: how in the world do the powers that be at n etflix think that this is a good idea?

Let us recap the rules themselves. Going forward, n etflix’s account-sharing will be only for members of the same household, and it considers someone a part of a household if they are connected to the home Wi-Fi. If you can’t access the home Wi-Fi once every 31 days, then you are not a part of the household. s o, sorry college kids, but that will be an additional $2.99 for your ability to watch. And for travel? You can get an

access code for seven days of unblocked access, but after that, no dice.

This is a bold money-grabbing move from n etflix that I’m sure will be quickly adopted by other streaming services if it proves successful. b ut I do not think that n etflix is the best platform to be unveiling unpopular rules that test the loyalty of its subscribers. n etflix’s power to keep its subscribers comes from the quality of shows that it releases. b ut, off the top of my head, the only big shows from n etflix that I can name are “ s tranger Things” and “Wednesday.” And with “ s tranger Things” ending soon, I cannot imagine that “Wednesday” has enough power to keep people from canceling their subscription. This is not to mention the shows n etflix has lost to its competitors (think “Friends” and literally anything d isney), or the popular shows that it decided to cancel for no known reason (think “ s ense8”).

o nce the new rules go into place, it does not

make economic sense to me to keep that n etflix subscription when you can get more out of a subscription to one of its competitors. You can watch anything on d isney+ and h ulu for just $9.99. That is only one cent more than n etflix’s most basic plan ($6.99) with one additional screen (which is $2.99 based off of the price in c osta r ica). It’s just math, and the math is not on n etflix’s side.

o stensibly, the crackdown will help n etflix get more money for its production of T v shows and movies. That rationale, though, seems hollow, when one remembers that each episode of season four of “ s tranger Things” had a $30 million budget. At the end of the day, nothing about n etflix’s plan seems smart. It reeks of a cash grab from people who only care about getting as much money as possible for their own gain, and I, for one, am not planning to let them use my money to line their pockets.

Contact Claire McKenna at cmckenn4@nd.edu

Happy Birthday: Clear up unfinished business, declutter your life and dedicate your time to the people, activities and things that bring you joy. reevaluate your lifestyle, how and where you live, and what you can do to make your surroundings more conducive to living your dream. Positive energy will help you generate the spirit required to persuade others to help you reach your desired goal. your numbers are 4, 15, 18, 27, 36, 43, 45.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Choose your words wisely; a slip of the tongue will display your feelings and curb your chance of getting positive results. Strive to maintain a simple life and be peaceful. keep your thoughts a secret until you decide your next move. Opportunity begins with you.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): An aggressive move on your part will also cause friction with someone who doesn’t see things your way. Slow down, hear what others say and make decisions based on what’s best for everyone. Intelligence will win in the end.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t let anyone lead you astray with pretenses. Build opportunities that don’t require you to depend on others. Stay in control, do things your way and take credit for your accomplishments. Set high standards and live by them.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Do what feels right, and stop worrying about what others do or think. Trust in your instincts and refuse to let emotional meddling come between you and what you are trying to achieve. leave nothing to chance; be sure to reach your deadlines.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Travel, excitement and entertainment will lead to exciting connections and opportunities. Open doors, make plans and head in a direction that makes you want to shout with pride and make a difference to something that matters to you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): listen up; you’re receiving several signals to help you pick and choose what to do next. As harsh as someone may sound, don’t let anger set in, or you will miss the lesson. A change will work in your favor.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Take advantage of any opportunity to try something new. your unique spin will draw attention and give you the money to pick and choose people with something to contribute to your side. Added discipline and the desire to win will pay off.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Step back, and you’ll get a different perspective on a situation at home. use your keen awareness and unique way of handling people to turn lemons into lemonade. A romantic gesture will encourage someone to be open with you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): listen cautiously and interpret what you find out. When in doubt, ask questions to avoid letting someone take advantage of you or blame you for something. focus on your home and clearing a space you can call your own. Say no to manipulative people.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Stifle your emotions and gather facts. Don’t start something you can’t finish. Do something to lift your spirits and make you feel good about who you are and how you can make a difference. have faith in what you have to offer.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): If you look, you’ll find a unique way to turn something into a moneymaker. Sell items you no longer need or make an item that helps ease your stress and is novel enough to market. Deals look promising, and gifts and windfalls are apparent.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): keep an open mind. Size up situations, then you’ll know when to make a move. Someone’s motives will be questionable. Don’t be afraid to do your own thing if it keeps the peace and gives you wiggle room. Birthday Baby: you are lucky, convincing and intuitive. you are cooperative and organized.

Vaughan: Previewing the National League Central for the 2023 season

By JOEY VAUGHAN sports Writer

The 2023 major League baseball season keeps approaching, getting closer and closer by the day. In fact, pitchers and catchers are slated to report as early as Feb. 13, so it’s time to look ahead to the upcoming season and the expectations for each club. o ver the next few weeks, I’ll dive into previews for all 30 teams, division by division, helping get fans ready for the 154th season of professional baseball. Already, I’ve previewed the national League West, and up this week, the national League central.

division Overview

o ver the past decade, the nL central has shown much parity, with three teams winning the division, and each having done so multiple times. In 2022, two of those three teams, the milwaukee brewers and st. Louis cardinals, battled throughout the season for the division crown, with the cardinals ultimately advancing to october (where they would promptly be eliminated, getting swept by the Philadelphia Phillies in the n L Wild card round). As for the chicago cubs, cincinnati reds, and Pittsburgh Pirates, they all suffered through tough years, with the reds and Pirates losing 100 games each. The division looks to feature an interesting race in 2023, with multiple teams potentially reaching october.

in All-star shortstop dansby swanson on a seven-year, $177 million deal, while All-star catcher Willson contreras left to sign with the archrival cardinals. The outfield, highlighted by Gold-Glover Ian happ and no. 92 overall prospect brennen davis, gained a big name as well, with cody bellinger looking to return to his mv P form this year for the north siders. Aside from swanson at short, the infield projects to be filled with versatile young players like nick madrigal and nico hoerner, with free agent signings eric hosmer and Trey mancini providing options at first base. catcher Tucker barnhart should provide stability in the absence of contreras, though there will be a noticeable drop-off.

Though money can’t solve all problems, the cubs sure hope it can get them back to the playoffs after committing close to $400 million to free agents this winter with the objective of speeding up their timeline to october.

Cincinnati reds (2022: 62100, .383)

After a 100-loss campaign in 2022, the 2023 season doesn’t project to be much brighter for the cincinnati reds as they continue their rebuild. With a projected payroll in the bottomfive of mL b at just over $70 million (of which $25 million is owed to Joey votto alone), the reds understand this. They are preparing for the future, rather than trying to spend themselves into immediate contention.

Former rookie of the Year Jonathan India and veteran Joey votto look to rebound from down seasons, while many of the other reds could be trade candidates with strong seasons, helping the organization in the future.

Milwaukee Brewers (2022: 86-76, .531)

A year removed from winning the nL central title, the milwaukee brewers missed out on the playoffs entirely, finishing second in the division. however, with much of the roster returning, the brew crew looks to recapture the n L central crown. The strength of this club remains its pitching, specifically the starters. Led by former c y Young award winner corbin burnes, along with eric Laurer (each of whom logged at least 27 starts with er As under 4.00), the brewers have one of the best rotations in baseball. The bullpen, too, though sans Josh hader after a midsummer trade last year, features many quality arms with All-star devin Williams closing and relievers brent suter and hoby milner helping lock down games.

Pirates don’t appear poised to break through this year either, despite their active offseason. In fact, even with the signings of catchers roberto Perez and Austin hedges, first baseman carlos santana, and former face of the franchise Andrew mccutchen, among others, for around $30 million in 2023, the Pirates are slated for a payroll of just over $56 million, the third-lowest in mL b. The trade market didn’t yield much for the team either. Their biggest addition came in the form of Jiman choi, while multiple offers involving the bucko’s star centerfielder bryan reynolds were turned down. on the bright side, this season should be full of opportunities for a team full of young players (as of writing this, around half of the players on the Pirates active roster are age 25 or younger). In particular, the left side of the infield should be fun to watch on both sides of the ball. contact-oriented Gold Glove finalist Ke’bryan hayes and powerful 6’7’’ oneil cruz are expected to man third base and shortstop, respectively.

brendan donovan, young power threat nolan Gorman, and solid quick shortstop Tommy edman. however, this cardinals infield got even better over the winter, as the team inked All-star backstop Willson contreras to a five-year, $87.5 million deal to replace the retired Yadier molina.

Chicago

Cubs (2022: 74-88, .457)

After making four consecutive trips to the postseason from 2015 through 2018, the chicago cubs have failed to reach october in three of the past four seasons, including in 2022. however, after a busy offseason, the cubs have put themselves in position to contend again, potentially as early as this season.

After a year in which five of their six starters recorded er As under 4.00, the rotation -- led by veterans marcus stroman and Kyle hendricks (who missed a good portion of the year due to injuries) – got even better with the addition of ex-Yankee Jameson Taillon on a four-year, $68 million pact. The bullpen, too, was aided by free agency, with brad boxberger coming over from the in-division brewers to fill a gaping void in the bullpen, particularly with many chicago relivers being traded away last summer.

In terms of position players, the cubs saw their fair share of star movement. They brought

Their offseason reflected this truth, with their largest acquisition coming in the form of a one-year, $7.5 million deal for Wil myers, who, in all likelihood, the reds will hope to trade by the deadline this summer. Although the reds do possess what many consider to be a top-five farm system that features four top-100 prospects, only one, infielder elly de La cruz, is projected to reach the majors this season.

The current roster does have some bright spots, though.

After a solid rookie season last year, starting pitcher hunter Greene looks to take the next step, continuing to improve his arsenal around his blazing fastball. Graham Ashcraft and nick Lodolo look to provide some young help in the rotation. Alexis diaz (brother of edwin) was lock-down in the bullpen last year, pitching to an er A of 1.84 in 59 games. In terms of the lineup, Tyler stephenson showed promise behind the dish as the potential backstop of the future for cincinnati.

In terms of the lineup, this squad has dangerous bats. Acquired in a three-team deal this offseason, All-star catcher William contreras should provide a huge offensive boost from the catcher’s spot, more than filling the void left by free agent omar narvaez. The infield features high-upside players in slugger rowdy Tellez, athletic shortstop Willy Adames, young utilityman Luis Urias and former first-round pick Keston hiura. solid role players like mike brosseau and o wen miller provide additional depth.

The outfield, led by former mv P christian Yelich and UcLA standout Garrett mitchell, looks to get back to its production level of a few years ago, when Lorenzo cain won a Gold Glove and Yelich was a top-five player in the game. reinforcements are on the way, too, with trade acquisition Jesse Winker looking for a bounce-back year and top-100 prospects sal Frelick (30th) and Joey Wiemer (90th) set to reach the majors this year. The club is solid throughout and looks to contend with st. Louis again this year.

Pittsburgh Pirates (2022: 62-100, .383)

Following a seventh consecutive season without reaching the postseason, the Pittsburgh

The outfield is full of unknowns. The aforementioned mccutchen and reynolds are the only two players with over 600 career mL b at-bats. The rotation will be led by mitch Keller, who, in 29 starts last season, pitched to an er A of 3.91 and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.3. out of the pen, closer david bednar earned All star honors last season and looks to provide stability at the end of games.

In terms of potential prosects who could impact the club this season, utilityman endy rodriguez (the 55th overall prospect in baseball) and pitcher Quinn Priester (60th) have mL b eTAs for this season, giving them big-league experience for the future. In what appears to be another rebuilding year, the Pirates hope their young bucs can take advantage of playing time and develop into the cornerstones of tomorrow.

St. Louis Cardinals (2022: 93-69, .574)

The cardinals made it back to october in 2022, winning the nL central before being swept by the eventual nL champion Philadelphia Phillies in the n L Wild card round. however, this team returns loaded with talent, namely Paul Goldschmidt (2022 nL mv P and silver slugger) and nolan Arenado (2022 Gold Glove and silver slugger).

The infield will also feature the likes of utility Gold-Glover

The outfield features many strong options as well, with two-time Gold Glove winner Tyler o’neill joined by young risers Lars nootbaar, Juan Yepez, d ylan carlson and Alec burleson (the 91st overall prospect in baseball). even with these good options, though, the cardinals best outfielder may not even be on the roster yet, with Jordan Walker (the fourthrated prospect in baseball) waiting in the wings to debut. on the pitching side, st. Louis returns many of the arms that helped them finish 10th in er A and third in shutouts last season. All-star miles mikolas leads the way, followed by Adam Wainwright and Jordan montgomery (both of whom finished with er As under 4.00 last season with the cardinals). Former ace Jack Flaherty looks to get back on track after an injury-riddled campaign. dominant closer ryan helsley is the backbone of the st. Louis pen, though Giovanny Gallegos and Andre Pallante provide reliable relief as well, not to mention Jordan hicks, one of the hardest throwers in mL b After falling short last postseason, the red birds appear poised to contend once again, this time looking to play deep into october.

Closing Thoughts and Other News

The nL central appears set for a season similar to that of 2022, with the cardinals and brewers battling for the division, while the reds and Pirates look to avoid another 100-loss campaign. The cubs, a true wildcard after a massive offseason spending spree, could end up close to either end of the extreme, depending on how those signings work out. either way, the division should be tightly contested, leading to an exciting pennant race throughout september and into october. Look out for next week’s edition, as I continue these previews with the nL east.

Contact Joey Vaughn at jvaugha2@nd.edu. The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Irish hockey hosts no. 7 ohio state in critical series

By RYAN MURPHY sports Writer

With just four games remaining in the regular season, it is crunch time for notre dame hockey.

Playing in front of their home crowd for the final time in the 2022-23 regular season this weekend, the Fighting Irish welcome the no. 7 ohio state buckeyes to compton Family Ice Arena. It’s yet another late-season series that will carry postseason implications and a playoff energy.

“The last couple weeks, the last month here, has been like playoff hockey to begin with, and it’s not going to change,” said notre dame head coach Jeff Jackson.

Jackson’s Fighting Irish (13-14-3, 8-10-2) come into this weekend’s series on the outside of the ncAA Tournament picture after getting swept last weekend at no. 15 michigan state. notre dame currently sits at a precarious 19th in the PairWise rankings and are sixth in the seven-team big Ten.

The visiting buckeyes (17-101, 10-8-0) have split each of their last three series. Last weekend in columbus, ohio state dropped a Friday matchup to no. 8 Penn state 4-3, before countering with a 4-2 win on saturday to avoid being swept.

After being the first team out of the ncAA Tournament last season, the buckeyes are in a strong position to make the tournament this year. ohio state is ranked 8th in the PairWise and is in a fourway tie for second place in the big Ten.

“The biggest challenge you always face against them is trying to hold a lead, because they do have offensive potential to score on four lines, and that’s what makes them such a challenging team,” Jackson said about ohio state. “They may not have all the first-rounders of minnesota or michigan, but they certainly have scoring depth on every line which makes them a dangerous team.”

The teams have already met twice this season, both in november. In the first game of the series, ohio state topped notre dame 5-2. In that game, notre dame held a 2-1 lead early in the second period and had a chance to increase their advantage on the power play, but a Tate singleton short-handed goal tied the score. The buckeyes then rattled off three third-period goals to put the game away.

In the second contest, notre dame responded with a 1-0 win despite getting outshot 37-18. Graduate student forward Jack Adams scored the only goal 2:37 into the contest. senior netminder ryan bischel was perfect between the pipes.

As the series shifts to south bend, it is important to note that the Irish have found success at home this season. notre dame is

9-4-2 at home this year and 4-10-1 away from compton.

This weekend, Friday night’s game begins at 7:30 p.m. The puck drops saturday at 6 p.m. students are encouraged to stay after saturday’s game to watch the team’s senior night celebrations, which will take place on the ice in front of the student section.

irish looking for offense notre dame has struggled with scoring over the course of the season. That struggle was apparent again last weekend in east Lansing. on Friday night, the Irish were shutout for the fifth time this season, 3-0. notre dame comes into the game averaging 2.37 goals per game, and only 2.15 goals per game in conference play.

“The biggest thing, just responding from last weekend, is just [to] keep working on things to generate 5-on-5 scoring chances,” Jackson said. “That’s the thing that’s haunted us pretty much all season long, the inability to finish, whether it be at 5-on-5 or even on the power play at times.”

The Irish offense took a big hit two weeks ago when then-leading scorer ryder rolston suffered an upper-body injury. According to the team, he is out for the shortterm future.

ohio state has not had the same trouble scoring this year, averaging 3.50 goals per game coming into the weekend. Freshman stephen halliday, a fourth-round pick of the ottawa senators, is producing at a point-per-game rate with seven goals and 23 assists this year. With five assists last weekend, halliday was named the big Ten’s third star of the week. Another freshman, the undrafted davis burnside, leads the team in goals with 13.

ohio state special teams strong

ohio state’s special teams have been an important part of their success this season. They rank 22nd in the country on the power play with a 21.2% clip.

more importantly, the buckeyes also boast the best penalty kill in the nation. ohio state has an 89.1% success rate on the penalty kill, which just tops michigan Tech’s 88.9% for best in the country. The buckeyes also lead the nation in short-handed goals with nine. ohio state has scored almost as many goals short-handed as they’ve allowed. When down a man, ohio state has incredibly allowed just 12 goals and scored nine.

notre dame understands the importance of strong special teams.

The Irish were in ohio state’s position last year, when they sported the nation’s best penalty kill themselves. The penalty kill has been less strong for the Irish

this season, though at times it has shown signs of brilliance. The numbers don’t reflect as much. At 75.5%, notre dame ranks 55th of 62 teams nationally on the kill, and the penalty kill unit allowed two critical goals in last saturday’s 3-2 loss to michigan state.

NC aa and Big ten tournaments loom

The number of games remaining in the regular season can now be counted on one hand for the Fighting Irish.

Unlike in the recent past — when the Irish were often in a comfortable position to secure an at-large bid for the ncAA Tournament and home ice in the first round of the big Ten Tournament by this point in the season — notre dame’s path to the postseason is less certain. but that is not necessarily foreboding.

despite the fact that the Irish are sixth in the big Ten standings, notre dame is only four points out of second. As the most competitive conference in the nation this year, the big Ten standings are logjammed, with a four-way tie for second place.

Two of those teams, ohio state and michigan, are notre dame’s final opponents of the regular season. The simplest way to move up the standings table is to take points away from the buckeyes and Wolverines. The teams in second, third and fourth places in the big Ten standings take home ice in the first round of the conference tournament, while the top team receives a bye.

minnesota is the runaway conference leader, and the Golden Gophers can clinch the big Ten regular-season title with a sweep of last place Wisconsin this weekend. This would give minnesota the first-round bye, and leave the remaining five teams (sans Wisconsin) squabbling for home ice.

In terms of the national picture, the Irish are 19th in the PairWise rankings, which factor into determining who makes the ncAA Tournament. The six conference champions are all given auto-bids to the tournament. The next-10 best teams in the PairWise make the tournament as at-large teams. Typically, teams want to be near the top-12 in the PairWise to feel comfortable that they can get in.

All regular season and conference tournament games are factored into the PairWise. It is conceivable that notre dame will play only teams ranked higher than them through the end of their big Ten Tournament run. This leaves plenty of opportunity for the Irish to sneak up the rankings, as they seek their eighth ncAA Tournament appearance in the last 10 years...

Contact Ryan Murphy at rmurph22@nd.edu

HCC BaskEtBall

saints swept by st. Francis

By ADAM AKAN sports Writer

both the women’s and men’s holy cross saints basketball teams took the floor against the University of st. Francis Fighting saints last night. The 14-11 women and 11-13 men traveled to Joliet, Illinois, for a conference game. Their conference records sat at 9-8 and 7-10, respectively, entering the matchup.

The men’s team saw a back and forth game, with holy cross trading buckets with st. Francis early. The Fighting saints would go on a blazing run as the half ended, extending their lead to 36-28 at halftime. Freshman forward Tommy snyder led the first-half scoring for the saints with 11 efficient points.

The saints offense lit the floor on fire in the second half, shooting 77% from the field and an unbelievable 75% from three point range. A 15-0 mid-half run by the red-hot saints saw the game tied at 54-54.

The game remained knotted up at 65-65 with two minutes left in the match, but the saints’ poor defense would again come back to haunt them. The Fighting saints went a 9-2 run to seal the game, overpowering the offensively impressive saints. Tommy snyder led the scoring with 25 points, with sophomore guard nash hostetler adding ten points as well. senior forward mick sullivan also had 10 points to go along with eight rebounds.

The holy cross women’s team

was in a fistfight in the first quarter, emerging with a 16-15 deficit after shooting 47% from the field. The saints began to be overwhelmed in the second quarter. They placed poor defense on the perimeter, allowing st. Francis to drain seven threes. The saints trailed 42-28 at halftime.

The third quarter proved no better for holy cross. The saints struggled offensively, only putting up 10 points while the Fighting saints managed 17. They entered the fourth down 59-38. despite an offensive explosion that saw them post 26 points in the final quarter, the deficit was too large to overcome as st. Francis continued scoring. The saints fell 83-64.

sophomore forward Grace Adams posted a double-double with 16 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Lauren morris contributed 12 points of her own, with senior guard Jayda miller adding 11.

With these games, the men’s team drops to 11-14 on the season and 7-11 in the ccAc. The women now sit at 14-12 on the year and 9-9 in ccAc play. The women will return to action for their final home game of the season this saturday against saint Ambrose at 1 p.m. The men will play the same opponent at home at 3 p.m..

Contact Adam Akan at aakan@nd.edu

MEGHAN LANGE | The Observer Irish graduate forward Chayse Primeau fights for the puck versus Wisconsin, aiding Notre Dame in thier 2-0 victory on Jan. 6, 2023.

Perhaps the most important contribution the Irish got on Thursday, at least in Ivey’s eyes, may not have come from a starter. Junior forward n atalija m arshall has rarely eclipsed more than 10 minutes on the floor in any given game this year. s he played 16 minutes against the Panthers, including a crucial seven in the fourth quarter.

After junior forward Kylee Watson picked up her fourth foul heading into the final frame, Ivey opted to give an extended run to m arshall instead of risking Watson fouling out. And even though m arshall’s statline may not pop out on a box score (posting three rebounds and one assist), she repaid her coaches’ faith.

With the Irish trying to protect a one-score lead early in the fourth quarter, Pitt tried to pick on the rotational forward by attacking the rim. b ut m arshall stood tall, drawing an important charge to put the Irish once again on the attack. o n the next Pitt possession, m arshall would bring down her second board of the game. That led to a Westbeld layup that put the Irish in

control with a two-score advantage.

Ivey complimented m arshall’s work off the bench after the game.

“The play of the game was her charge,” said Ivey. “I thought she was just really solid defensively. s he has a great motor. h er size, her athleticism, it really helps us. o n the boards, she got a couple 50/50 balls. s he did a lot of the little things we needed. I thought her energy was great, we fed off it. In particular that charge, she saved that play, which could have really changed the game.”

n otre d ame will continue a four-game homestand on s unday, with s yracuse coming to s outh b end. The o range sit in the middle of the pack in the A cc standings, with a perfectly even 7-7 record. Though the two teams’ first meeting in January ended in a comfortable Irish victory, s yracuse trailed by just five heading into the fourth quarter. n otre d ame’s 16-point cushion at the final whistle was their largest lead of the game. s unday’s rematch will tip-off at 4 p.m. and will be broadcasted on the A cc n etwork.”

Irish vs. vA Tech Preview

By MATTHEW CROW Associate sports e ditor

on Wednesday night, notre dame men’s basketball had perhaps their most disappointing game of the season.

Playing against Georgia Tech in Atlanta, the Irish had a chance to knock off the Yellow Jackets for the second time this season and win their first road game of the year.

The game went back and forth all night. And with the score knotted at 68-68 in the final seconds, it appeared destined for overtime, just like the first meeting between the two teams. but Yellow Jackets guard Lance Terry was the first to react to a missed last-second shot attempt, flying through the air to convert the game-winning putback as the buzzer sounded. With the defeat, the Irish dropped to 1014 (2-11 Acc). once again, mike brey’s team faced the frustration of losing a very winnable game.

Fortunately or not, notre dame won’t have to wait long to get back on the floor and wash the bad taste out of their mouths. The Irish return to Purcell Pavilion on saturday afternoon for another conference matchup. What helps their odds is that their opponent, virginia Tech, travels to south bend on the heels of an equally demoralizing result.

The hokies (14-10, 4-9 Acc) entered this week with positive energy on their side. virginia Tech jumped out to an 11-1 start on the year. but the hokies followed it up with a dismal stretch that saw them lose seven straight conference games. After a 3-1 run that saw them pick up big wins against duke, syracuse and no. 6 virginia, it felt like they had a late-season push in them. That momentum came to a crashing halt on Wednesday. Just days after upsetting their in-state rival, boston college upset them in blacksburg on saturday.

The hokies entered the game as heavy favorites. but they fell into a double-digit halftime hole that was too steep to climb out of. Just like notre dame, they’ll be eager for an opportunity to get back on track with a conference win. Wednesday’s duel with Georgia

Tech had many of the makings of an Irish victory. It started on the defensive end, where notre dame put together one of their strongest efforts of the season.

After ceding 38 first-half points, they buckled down in the second period, allowing only 32. That has not typically been enough for opponents to outscore the Irish’s high-powered offense. but Georgia Tech was able to make it work. offensively, the Irish turned in a balanced effort, with all five notre dame starters scoring in double figures. however, the team struggled from long-range for the second straight game, converting just eight of 24 three-point attempts. The Irish have had difficulties all year in winning games when shots aren’t falling at their usual clip.

Wednesday was no different.

notre dame’s starting group was an unusual one, with their trio of freshmen all at varying levels of availability. Guard JJ starling came off the bench for just the second time all season and was limited to 12 minutes of action while dealing with the stomach flu.

In his place, forward ven-Allen Lubin earned his first career start after returning from an ankle injury that had kept him out of the Irish’s previous game against Wake Forest. Lubin was expected to be a mainstay in notre dame’s starting five before suffering eye and nose injuries in the preseason. he took full advantage of his opportunity on Wednesday, posting a careerhigh 13 points along with seven rebounds.

recovering from an inflamed Achilles injury, forward dom campbell did not play against Georgia Tech and is expected to remain out against virginia Tech. starling and Lubin should both be at full strength against the hokies, which will provide some muchneeded depth for a thin notre dame lineup.

on paper, virginia Tech’s style of play closely mirrors that of the Irish. both teams shoot well from distance, avoid turnovers and do not rebound at a high level. Like notre dame, the hokies have made

a habit of losing close games. none of their losses have come by more than 10 points, and six were decided by five points or fewer. They feature a trio of high-volume threepoint shooters in sean Pedulla, Grant basile and hunter cattoor.

Talented forward Justyn mutts offers plenty of support as well. basile exploded for a season-high 33 points against boston college and will require significant attention from notre dame’s defense.

saturday is a key opportunity for the Irish to earn a win before entering an extremely difficult final stretch of the season. After virginia Tech, notre dame’s final six opponents all have winning records in Acc play. Those six games include matchups with virginia, clemson and Pitt, who are currently tied atop the Acc conference standings. There haven’t been many easy wins for notre dame this season, and there certainly won’t be during the coming weeks. That’s why it’s crucial for the Irish to take care of business against the hokies at home.

To do so, they will need continued strong offensive play from graduate student forward nate Laszewski, who has scored at least 16 points in three consecutive games. The Irish will also need another big performance from graduate student guard dane Goodwin, who responded from a brief shooting slump with a 14-point, sevenrebound effort in Atlanta. Finally, notre dame will need bounceback games from graduate student guards cormac ryan and Trey Wertz, who have shot the ball well all year but were a combined 3-15 against Georgia Tech. The winning formula remains the same for notre dame, even after another close loss. They’ll have to be at their best to flip that result around on saturday. notre dame hosts virginia Tech at Purcell Pavilion on saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be available on regional sports networks and the notre dame radio networks in earlier games this season.

Contact Matthew Crow at mcrow@nd.edu

Mary votava | the observer

Irish junior forward Maddy Westbeld attempts a shot versus the Pittsburgh Panters, contributing to their 69-63 win on Feb. 9, 2023.

arianna denning | the observer

Irish freshman guard J.J. Starling attempts to get the ball moving in weekend battle versus Wake Forest. The Irish fell 81-64 to the Demon Deacons at home in Purcell Pavilion on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2023.

Hockey

state and their hopes of returning to the ncaa Tournament. asked what a potential tournament berth would mean for his team, bakich was all business.

“it means everything. i think

stiffler understands that it would be naive to immediately place omaha expectations upon this adjusting team, but sees the talent apparent in his squad. and those players are ready to take the field for their new manager. as stifler says, “Guys want to play so much, they’ve been focused throughout the year, focused and prepared everyday”.

The core message of the irish baseball team this year, the same message stiffler used while back at vcu, is a simple one for his team to remember: how will you respond?

“The pitch or play after an error is made wins or loses a game ... it’s about how you respond to mistakes,” stiffler said.

he hopes to see a constantly focused team—one with “consistent messaging” — that prioritizes that same consistency over sexiness.

“The program is in the hands of

everybody says, ‘leave it all on the ice’, but you’re going to have to scrape us off the ice,” bakich said.

“We’re going to do everything we possibly can to win.”

only four games remain in the regular season for the irish. after taking on the buckeyes, notre dame will have a bye weekend

my players … they will decide how we respond to mistakes, weather, or whatever else,” stiffler said.

stiffler’s vision of steady, mature play from his squad will be aided by an older roster that, despite enduring losses from last year’s cWs team, oozes with talent. When asked about his key contributors, stiffler said, “pick the best word. That is how i’d describe them”. Whether it be graduate student first baseman carter Putz, graduate student shortstop Zack Prajzner or graduate student outfielder Jack Zyska, the depth of the lineup and weapons in the field cannot be disputed.

stiffler will also be looking to those aforementioned players, as well as graduate student left-handed pitchers aidan Tyrell and Will mercer, to be the key leaders for his team.

“if you were a young person coming into college baseball, you would want to learn from these guys. They are as good of leaders as i have ever been around,” stiffler

before traveling to ann arbor to face no. 5 michigan in their final two games of the season.

“We’re in the position to control our own destiny,” blackmun said.

“We realize that if we win these big games against ohio state and then michigan, we can kind of change the course of our season right now.”

said.

Two other players stiffler urges fans to keep an eye on this season are junior right-handed pitcher matt bedford and a defensive stalwart, sophomore infielder Jack Penney.

one player who caught the hearts of the irish nation last year for his heroics out of the bullpen in the postseason, and another star on this team, is sophomore left-handed pitcher Jack Findlay. despite a short stint in the transfer portal during notre dame’s coaching transition, Findlay is back in south bend and “fully committed to try to replicate omaha and win it all this year”. Findlay has been working this offseason to “build on a good year”, adding more pitches to his arsenal, including a slider and change-up.

“i want to become a more wellrounded pitcher who can use new weapons to face hitters,” he said. Findlay sees the same potential in this squad as his manager. he says the team is in “a good spot to

a season-defining weekend — and a career-culminating moment — is just around the corner for notre dame’s senior class.

The puck drops on Friday night at 7:30 p.m, and saturday at 6 p.m. after saturday’s game, the senior night festivities will take place. all 10 seniors will be recognized, as

go back to omaha, a good spot with leadership ... we have all accepted coach stiffler pretty well and are looking up to him”. Findlay also possesses a level of patience similar to his coach. he emphasizes that this version of notre dame baseball is not merely trying to replicate the success of last year’s legendary squad.

even if placing cWs expectations on this team in February is a bit much (it is), what is undeniable is that the irish will win a great deal of games this year. They will do so by employing the same defensive excellence and clutch hitting that has carried them through acc play and postseason tournaments the past few years.

stiffler sees a team of “athleticism around the field with interchangeable parts … a team that can go 11-12 deep on the defensive end”. in stiffler’s eyes, the run-saving plays that players such as Putz or Penney can make are equivalent to a three-run homer. There is no confusion about identity for this

will senior hockey managers mae irvine and meghan alexander. students are encouraged to remain following the alma mater to watch the celebrations, which will take place in front of the student section.

Contact Ryan Murphy at rmurph22@nd.edu

irish team.

as irish baseball continues this newfound era of excellence, you can feel the energy in this year’s team. There is energy in the clubhouse. There is energy with the players. There is energy with stiffler and his staff. The irish open their season in just over a week with a series against Lipscomb. conference play begins in march with a series in atlanta against Georgia Tech. notre dame’s home opener will come on mar. 21 against valparaiso.

This team is not last year’s team. Then again, they’re not trying to be. The 2023 notre dame baseball team is its own thing: a team filled with experience, discipline and an eagerness to maintain their position among the great programs of college baseball.

“We want the irish nation out here,” said stiffler. “We expect a great year.”

Contact Adam Akan at aakan@ nd.edu

saint mary’s basketball falls to olivet comets

By LUCIA AGUZZI sports Writer

The saint mary’s basketball team faced olivet college for their third-to-last game of the season on Wednesday night. The belles made the trip to michigan to play on the comets’ home court, where a series of missed shots set them back and cost them the match. olivet

ultimately earned a 81-48 win over the belles.

The first quarter started off with both teams scoring quickly on each other. The belles got ahead on the scoreboard with a 7-3 lead. Junior forward athena samson scored two layups for four of the points, and senior guard maddie rzepka made a three-point jump shot less than a minute into the game.

The next few minutes, however, saw less scoring from the belles and a quick comeback from olivet. Two comet free throws and a layup helped them match saint mary’s at 7-7.

From there, both teams continuously fought for possession. The score changed with a few points from the comets, but remained at 11-7 for over a minute until senior

guard christina shadid made a jump shot. That was immediately followed by another layup from olivet. Junior forward anne Goralczyk made a jump shot late in the quarter, but from there the score remained untouched for nearly two minutes, until olivet scored two more points. The first quarter closed with olivet leading 15-11. The comets started the second

quarter with four quick points in the first minute. it wasn’t until a minute later that rzepka made her second three-point shot of the night. sophomore guard Lauren Gumma followed up with another threepointer. senior guard nikki murphy made yet another three-point shot and scored another two points to close the gap and give the belles a 22-21 advantage. The comets, however, came back strong and regained a 30-23 lead fairly quickly. The quarter closed out with a score of 34-25 after another shot from Goralczyk.

olivet kicked it into high gear in the second half. They widened the gap and set the score to 46-29 by the middle of the third quarter. after a number of subs entered the game during the first half of the quarter, a three-point shot from Gumma and another two points from samson brought up the belles’ score. it was still not enough to catch up to the comets, who continued to score. The comets led 50-36 going into the fourth quarter.

due to a number of fouls committed by saint mary’s, the comets had several free throw opportunities during the final quarter. This helped them score a whopping 31 points in the final quarter.

The belles have two more games left in their season, against albion and Trine. They have played both opponents in earlier games this season.

Contact Lucia Aguzzi at laguzzi@ nd.edu

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Notre Dame 2023 preview: Redefining the attitude around Irish baseball

By ADAM AKAN sports Writer

When one thinks of notre dame athletics, they are likely to conjure up images of a kickoff at notre dame stadium, a packed Purcell Pavilion erupting after another notre dame three-pointer or the gold helmets skating about compton Ice Arena. They may even note Irish fencing’s dynasty or notre dame soccer’s recent runs in the ncAA Tournament.

There was once a time when no faithful Irish fan, much less a casual sports observer, gave much thought to Irish baseball. springs at notre dame are about the blueGold Game, march madness or Acc lacrosse play.

Yet, in recent years, this attitude has drastically changed. Under former manager Link Jarrett, notre dame baseball saw a revival and ascension to national relevance that it had never achieved before. The apex of that climb to the upper echelons of college baseball was seen last year, with the Irish

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advancing to the college World series in omaha and knocking off the supposed “greatest college baseball team of all time”, the Tennessee volunteers, with shocking ease.

many of the key contributors from the past two years of excellence may have moved on from the University, along with Jarrett, who took the manager position at his alma mater, Florida state. however, the winning attitude and standards that recent Irish baseball teams have instilled in the program remain as present as ever under new manager shawn stiffler and his unbelievably talented team. stiffler hopes to achieve “sustainable consistency” with this group of players.

“I want us to be consistently in the top 25, consistently in talks of hosting, and consistently regarded as one of the best,” stiffler said. “I want to go to omaha and have an opportunity to compete for a national championship.”

see

Irish women take down Panthers

By J.J. POST s ports Writer

After a shaky opening three quarters, n otre d ame women’s basketball found their stride in the final frame to down Pittsburgh 69-63 at Purcell Pavillion on Thursday night.

d ouble-doubles by o livia m iles and m addy Westbeld helped lead the way for the Irish. Westbeld had 17 points, and more importantly for the Irish, added 10 rebounds. The junior forward has flourished in a versatile role as n otre d ame continues to try to find post presence by committee in the absence of graduate student center Lauren e bo.

And while m iles added 11 points of her own, her impact was most notable as a creator. n otching 13 assists, the sophomore guard saved her best play for the fourth quarter. With the Irish looking to put the Panthers away for good, m iles dished out seven assists to help n otre d ame score 22 fourth-quarter

Irish hockey seniors talk Senior Night, OSU series

points.

After the game, m iles, who played all forty minutes for the Irish, highlighted the difference between her fullgame performance Thursday and her stop-and-start minutes against d uke the game prior.

“ s taying in the game just helps me stay in the flow with my team, [helping] push us into runs and whatnot,” m iles said. “Foul trouble has been tough for me this year. I need to get better before m arch especially, but I was pretty smart on defense [today] for sure.”

n otre d ame also got 20 points from s onia c itron, who continued her strong run of play in an expanded offensive role. With Irish head coach n iele Ivey utilizing her unique blend of size, speed and shooting touch all over the court, the sophomore guard was able to cash in on a couple of threepointers as well as some easier buckets in the paint.

By RYAN MURPHY sports Writer

Amidst a heated race for postseason positioning, a milestone will take place on saturday for notre dame hockey: senior night.

After notre dame dons the striking ‘Irish Green’ jerseys to skate in their final regular-season home game against no. 7 ohio state, the team will honor its 10 seniors and graduate students in a ceremony on the ice.

“For me, it’s more about the people than it is the hockey players,” Irish head coach Jeff Jackson said of his senior class. “They’ve been good players for us, but they’ve also been good people.”

The group of 10 come from all different hockey experiences. Four players are four-year members of the team: forward solag bakich, goaltender ryan bischel, forward Trevor Janicke and forward Jesse Lansdell. captain nick Leivermann is in his fifth year with the Irish. meanwhile, the Irish senior class also includes a number of transfers. defenseman chase blackmun and forward Jack Adams are in their second year

at notre dame. defenseman ben brinkman, forward Jackson Pierson and forward chayse Primeau are all one-year graduate student transfers.

The common denominator for all of them is how meaningful the experience of playing at notre dame has been.

“Wearing the notre dame crest, it really hits you that [this is] bigger than ourselves, it’s bigger than even the team as a whole. It’s [about] this community, the school, everything,” said blackmun, who transferred from Umass Lowell before last season.

“To be part of that is really, really special. I get goosebumps thinking about it.”

chayse Primeau agrees. After a four-year career at nebraskaomaha, Primeau was recruited to notre dame for his fifth and final year of eligibility.

“When I got the call from notre dame, I got butterflies,” said Primeau. “I had the opportunity to come on and visit and I just fell in love with this place. I think I committed the day after. You can tell right when you get on campus, it’s a special feeling.”

For dallas, Texas native solag

bakich, the experience has another level of meaning. A four-year member of the Irish team, bakich’s roots run deep at notre dame. his father, huntley, was a linebacker for the Fighting Irish football team under head coach Lou holtz, and his mother and uncle both attended the university. bakich was even baptized in the log chapel.

“It was always notre dame first. I always wanted to go to notre dame,” said bakich. “once I started going the hockey route, my dream was always to play college hockey for the Irish. There wasn’t really a plan b.”

bakich will play games 102 and 103 in an Irish sweater this weekend. each game has been a dream come true and a lesson in perseverance.

“my dream my entire life has been to play at notre dame, and to be able to play here for four years and to accomplish my goal has shown me that I’m capable of anything I set my mind to,” bakich said.

right now, the Irish hockey seniors all have their minds set on a big weekend series against ohio

RYAN VIGILANTE | The Observer

Irish sophomore (then freshman) pitcher Jack Findlay winds up for the pitch to aid in an overall 41-17 2021-2022 season for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish hope to produce a similarly successful 2023 season.

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