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Volume 56, Issue 35 | Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
Notre Dame admits 1,657 early applicants Students accepted in the restrictive early action pool set records in number and diversity By ISABELLA LAUFENBERG Staff Writer
Notre Dame early restrictive action decisions came out Dec. 16. At an acceptance rate of 17.3%, 1,675 applications were accepted into the class of 2026 out of a total of 9,687 students who applied — a marked increase from 7,744 applications received the previous year. Restrictive early action (REA) students cannot apply early binding decision to other schools, but it is not mandatory that they enroll after being accepted to the University, said Don Bishop, the associate vice president for
MAGGIE EASTLAND | The Observer
Over 17% of a record-setting number of early action applicants were accepted to the University in the first round of this admissions cycle.
University sued for alleged financial aid collusion Observer Staff Report
Notre Dame is among 16 elite American universities being sued for alleged violations of antitrust laws and colluding with other schools to limit students’ financial aid, the Wall Street Journal reported. The federal lawsuit, filed Sunday in the state of Illinois, states the universities engaged in alleged price fixing and “ artificially inflated the net price of attendance for students receiving financial aid.” The suit was filed by several law
firms representing five students filing on behalf of thousands of students affected by the alleged accusations. The plaintiffs argue that nine of the universities do not qualify under Section 568 of the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 — which protects universities in collaborating on a set of common standards to determine a student’s financial aid package, given that the admissions process is need-blind. “Far from following this practice, at least nine Defendants for many years have favored wealthy
applicants in the admissions process,” the plaintiffs write. “These nine Defendants have thus made admissions decisions with regard to the financial circumstances of students and their families, thereby disfavoring students who need financial aid.” Notre Dame is one of the nine universities accused, with the plaintiffs alleging these universities favor children of wealthy past and present donors. The suit alleges over 170,000 students have been overcharged see LAWSUIT PAGE 3
undergraduate enrollment. Typically, Bishop said, the REA applicant pool represents the “highest-caliber students” because potential applicants are instructed to only apply REA if they are certain that their application is the strongest it can be. Although the overall number of REA acceptances has stayed relatively stable, Bishop reported that the University is up 10% for both first-generation, low-income students and students of color among REA admissions. Notre Dame has made it a priority to seek out marginalized highachieving students, Bishop said.
“One of the real conversations that’s been going on in America over the last 10 years is how can universities claim to be these vibrant places of learning if they exclude large percentages of the American population in that enterprise and we, the top colleges, realized that we needed to do a better job of making our schools more accessible,” Bishop said. “It is a competitive issue as well as, I think, a compassion issue, and nobody should out-compassion Notre Dame.” Bishop said he believes it is see ADMISSIONS PAGE 5
College updates COVID protocols Observer Staff Report
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story was published online on Jan. 5. In a Wednesday email from interim v ice president for student affairs Gloria Roldan Jenkins and COVID-19 response team chair Mona Bowe, Saint Mar y’s updated its COVID protocols for the spring semester using guidance from the St. Joseph Count y Health Department. The updates include a
campus-w ide indoors mask requirement until Jan. 30 and a masking requirement in classrooms until Feb. 11. “This extended period of time w ill allow us to assess the current situation of the pandemic after the holidays and after the return of our ow n communit y, and make a determination for the continued use of masks after Februar y 11,” the email said. Masking requirement see SMC PAGE 5
Notre Dame provost resigns University adjusts COVID policies
Observer Staff Report
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story was published online on Dec. 9.
Marie Lynn Miranda announced her intention to step aside as provost effective Dec. 31, according to a Thursday press release. The release cited a letter from Miranda to the campus community, where she said she has reflected on how she wants to engage with building
News PAGE 3
a post-pandemic world. “I find myself compelled to work more directly on the issues about which I am most passionate,” Miranda said in the letter. In her time at Notre Dame, Miranda prioritized the University’s goals in diversity and inclusion, led adjustments in educational teaching during the pandemic and hired new academic leaders, among other achievements. Miranda took over the provost position at the end of the
VIEWPOINT PAGE 6
2019-2020 academic year, after Thomas Burish stepped down. Miranda will remain a tenured faculty member at the University, the release said. University President Fr. John Jenkins expressed his gratitude to Miranda for her strong leadership. “As chief academic officer, she provided stability and strong, calm guidance for our faculty, staff and students during this unprecedented
see PROVOST PAGE 3
SCENE PAGE 10
Observer Staff Report
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story was published online on Dec. 31. According to a Friday email from the Office of the President, the University will update certain COVID-19 protocols until Feb. 4 or until at least 90% of the campus community is effectively fully immunized after receiving the
M SOcCER PAGE 16
COVID vaccine booster. Protocol updates include an indoor masking requirement and new guidelines for gatherings and events. The University has also modified quarantine and isolation procedures according to updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “With a January 21 deadline for see ND POLICIES PAGE 5
FOOTBALL PAGE 16
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TODAY
The observer | Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
Question of the Day: ndsmcobserver.com
Have a question you want answered? Email photo@ndsmcobserver.com
What is your favorite winter activity?
P.O. Box 779, Notre Dame, IN 46556 024 South Dining Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556
Erin Dotson
Sarah Bub
junior Le Mans Hall
senior Le Mans Hall
“Snowboarding.”
“Watching Christmas movies.”
Isabella Thompson-Davoli
Claudia Stiglitz
senior Opus Hall
senior Opus Hall
“I’m from Florida.”
“Swimming.”
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Kathleen Soller
Campbell Washers
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senior Opus Hall
senior Le Mans Hall
“Skiing.”
“Sledding but make it Olympic.”
Editor-in-Chief Adriana Perez Managing Editor Evan McKenna
Asst. Managing Editor: Isabella Volmert Asst. Managing Editor: Colin Capece Asst. Managing Editor: Nelisha Silva
Notre Dame News Editor: Saint Mary’s News Editor: Viewpoint Editor: Sports Editor: Scene Editor: Photo Editor: Graphics Editor: Social Media Editor: Advertising Manager: Ad Design Manager: Systems Administrator: Talent & Inclusion Manager:
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Office Manager & General Info
Ph: (574) 631-7471 Fax: (574) 631-6927 Advertising
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webmaster@ndsmcobserver.com Policies The Observer is the independent, daily newspaper published in print and online by the students of the University of Notre Dame du Lac, Saint Mary’s College and Holy Cross College. Editorial content, including advertisements, is not governed by policies of the administration of any institution. The Observer reserves the right to refuse advertisements based on content. The news is reported as accurately and objectively as possible. Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the majority of the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Assistant Managing Editors and department editors. Commentaries, letters and columns present the views of the authors and not necessarily those of The Observer. Viewpoint space is available to all readers. The free expression of all opinions through letters is encouraged. Letters to the Editor must be signed and must include contact information. Questions regarding Observer policies should be directed to Editor-in-Chief Adriana Perez. Post Office Information The Observer (USPS 599 2-4000) is published Monday through Friday except during exam and vacation periods. A subscription to The Observer is $130 for one academic year; $75 for one semester. The Observer is published at: 024 South Dining Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556-0779 Periodical postage paid at Notre Dame and additional mailing offices POSTMASTER Send address corrections to: The Observer P.O. Box 779 024 South Dining hall Notre Dame, IN 46556-077
Today’s Staff News
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Maggie Eastland Isa Sheikh Isabella Laufenberg
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Photo
ALLISON THORNTON | The Observer
University of Notre Dame seniors from Keough Hall pose for a picture in the front row of the student section at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1 wearing Taco Bell sponosored scarves. The Notre Dame football team faced off against Oklahoma State in Arizona.
The next Five days:
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Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Information Session Geddes Hall 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. Come and learn about the Spring Social Concern Seminars.
“New Faces” AAHD Gallery, 214 Riley Hall 8 a.m. - 4 :30 p.m. An exhibition of work from MFA students.
Discernment Coffee Coleman-Morse Center 10 a.m. All are welcome to join in discussion.
Daily Rosary Grotto of Our Lady 10 a.m. Year-round daily rosary that is open to all who want to attend.
Basilica Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart 10 a.m. & noon All are welcome to attend.
Men’s Basketball vs. Clemson Joyce Center 7 p.m. Students can sign up for tickets online.
Late Night Bingo LaFortune Ballroom 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. Come and join SAO f or a chance to win some prizes.
Salsa Night Legends 8 p.m. - midnight All students are welcome to put on their dancing shoes!
Laser Tag Dahnke Ballroom 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. Come and join other students for a night of Ultimate Laser Tag.
Becoming Catholic Coleman-Morse Center 2:30 p.m. All are welcome to the information session.
News
ndsmcobserver.com | Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | The Observer
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BUSINESS
Alumni make Forbes ‘30 under 30’ for energy By MAGGIE EASTLAND AssociateNews Editor
From self-proclaimed environmental science nerds chatting over coffee to Forbes 30 under 30 Energy awardees, two Notre Dame alumni turned their passion for environmental algorithms into a promising startup. Each year, Forbes magazine highlights 30 top entrepreneurs under 30 years of age in several industries. Thomas Sherman ‘19 and Daniel Vassallo ‘20 made the energy-themed list this year for their startup CRCL. Sherman and Vassallo met while earning their doctoral degrees in environmental f luid dynamics at Notre Dame and quickly formed a business partnership. CRCL, pronounced “circle”, generates wind energy output predictions sold to energy traders who make profits by accurately predicting energy prices. “Right now what we provide is a data service. We predict how much energy will be produced at each wind farm in Texas,” Sherman said. “Customers in the renewable energy industry pay for that data to make decisions.” Energy traders decide whether to buy or sell energyrelated shares based on how they believe energy prices will change in the future. If traders think prices are going up, they buy shares and hope to sell them at a higher price in the coming days. If they think prices are trending downward, they aim to sell off shares and buy them back later at a lower price, a high-risk strategy called
Lawsuit Continued from page 1
for tuition as a result of the allegation. The students would also be eligible to join the suit as plaintiffs. University spokesperson Dennis Brown said the University has no comment at this time regarding the pending litigation.
Provost Continued from page 1
pandemic, all while advancing the academic mission of the University,” Jenkins said in the release. Per the Academic Articles, Jenkins will form and chair a search committee for the next provost that will include faculty and student representatives and include input from the campus community. Chris Maziar, vice president and senior associate provost, will serve as interim provost.
short selling. “If they bet the price is going the right way, then they make money,” Sherman said. “That’s who we’re providing our data to right now.” Historically, renewable energy output predictions and even more basic wind speed predictions have been unreliable. “One of the problems in the renewable energy industry is poor weather forecasting,” Sherman said. “Basically when the wind speed is off, you can’t predict wind production accurately.” CRCL is working to change that with their environmental algorithms, starting with wind energy output predictions across the state of Texas. While the objective seems simple now, Sherman and Vassallo spent more than three years refining their business model. CRCL began to take shape over post-lab coffee chats with their peers and advisor Diogo Bolster, who now heads the University’s department of civil and environmental engineering. “We were all real good friends and talked constantly about science, but basically everything, and we would get coffee every day. I feel like that was really helpful, just to have that group environment and discuss ideas,” Sherman said. Sherman and Vassallo first talked about creating an app for tracking New Year’s goals or a sports betting platform. “We both knew we were going to make a company, but we had no idea what that was or what that meant,” Sherman said.
Leveraging their environmental engineering expertise to make this dream a reality, Sherman and Vassallo founded CRCL in 2019 during Sherman’s final year of graduate school. The energy industry took a while to get to know, so Sherman and Vassallo went out of their way to network and understand the biggest problems facing current renewable energy markets. “Me and Daniel are both introverted science [and] engineer types, and we’ve kind of forced ourselves into talking to everyone possible,” Sherman said. “It became apparent that there’s a problem in energy forecasting, and part of that is stemming from poor weather forecasting.” After Vassallo graduated in 2020, Sherman quit his job at a consulting firm and jumped into full time work for CRCL. Soon after, the company received grant funding from the National Science Foundation to research and improve their algorithms and joined the Austin Technology Incubator. Sherman said the support of these two organizations made the 30 under 30 award possible. He also said the Texas winter storms last February brought energy production concerns to the forefront of the community and showed the relevance of energy predictions. “There was a lot of need for, ‘OK, how do we make this market more efficient? How do we prepare for future events?’” Sherman said. Looking to the future, CRCL hopes to expand wind energy output predictions
Courtesy of THOMAS SHERMAN
Daniel Vassallo of Louisville, Kentucky, attended Notre Dame for both undergraduate and graduate studies.
Courtesy of THOMAS SHERMAN
Thomas Sherman of Fairfax, Virginia, graduated from the University of Virginia before attending graduate school at Notre Dame.
to states across the country and develop additional algorithms to predict solar output. Sherman said CRCL plans to provide this forecasting data to wind or solar
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farms and utility companies in addition to traders in the future, Sherman said. Contact Maggie Eastland at meastlan@nd.edu
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News
Admissions
ndsmcobserver.com | Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | The Observer
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Out of the 9,687 REA applications, 1,599 students, or 16.5% of the application pool, were deferred — meaning their applications will undergo another round of review alongside the other regular decision applications. Christy Pratt, director of undergraduate admissions, said that the decision to defer students comes about organically, not stemming from any quotas. “We’re very responsible with the number of students that we are nominating to put on that deferred waiting list because we know that being on the deferred list is hard,” Pratt explained. “To some schools, that defer list is almost like a courtesy, but for us, we’re putting a student on a deferred decision because that means there’s something there.”
Notre Dame was one of many schools that went test-optional during the admissions cycle for the class of 2025. The University is now in year two of a three-year pilot program of being test optional, Bishop said. In this year’s REA application pool, 50% of applicants went test-optional, an increase compared to 31% in last year’s REA pool. The test-optional students accounted for 30% of accepted applications. Pratt said that even before COVID-19, Notre Dame had been considering going test optional because the admissions counselors found that test scores weren’t making much of an impact due to the holistic review process that applications undergo. The pilot program will allow the University to “do our due
diligence and do the evaluation of how did that play out, not only within our admissions process, but then also how are the students performing at the University,” Pratt said. Notre Dame admissions is now entering a period of consideration for the regular decision applications. Bishop said they received a record number of 26,500 applications, up 12% from last year’s 23,642 applicants. Bishop said he feels that increase may have had something to do with Notre Dame’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think in part [the increase in applications], is because of Notre Dame’s reputation that got developed over the last two years, for being more of a community that meets and spends
time together. And that’s an attractive identity for today,” he said. “Honestly, it’s the identity we’ve always had.” Along with the total number of applicants, the number of diverse applications is on the rise. Bishop reported that the University received a 21% increase in first-generation student applications, a 16% increase in U.S. student of color a pplications and a 32% increase in international student applications. Bishop estimates that about 13% of the regular decision applications will ultimately be accepted into Notre Dame — a rate constricted by a 2,050-student cap on the incoming class.
Wellness Complex until their test results are available.
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for the duration of the semester. Visitors are also asked to continue wearing masks indoors.
Starting Jan. 2 through Jan. 30, everyone on campus will be required to wear a mask indoors, including elevators and stairwells in residence halls due to past surges in COVID cases after breaks, according to the email. From Jan. 31 through Feb. 11, all students regardless of vaccination status and unvaccinated faculty will be required to wear masks in classrooms. Vaccinated faculty can continue to unmask at their discretion if they decide it is best for the learning experience and if they can physically distance themselves from others in the classroom. In the email, the College recommended students use KN95 or surgical masks during the month of January because they “have been found to be more effective than cloth masks in slowing the spread of the virus.” Nonetheless, the email said students can also choose to wear a disposable mask under a double-layered cloth mask for additional protection. Those who are unvaccinated, not yet fully vaccinated or who have not yet received a booster are required to wear masks indoors
Re-entry testing The College strongly recommends students take an at-home COVID test the morning before moving back to campus or attending their first class, whichever comes first. Students only need to report positive results by email to the Health and Counseling Center at HCCenter@saintmarys.edu if their test is positive, according to the email. In case of a positive test result, students are advised not return to campus. In addition, students who have received an exemption from the COVID vaccine or who are not fully vaccinated will be required to receive a test at the Health and Counseling Center Jan. 10 between 7 a.m. and noon before their first class at Saint Mary’s. Students must make an appointment online ahead of time. The email said the Health and Counseling Center will use their discretion to decide whether students need antigen or PCR test. Antigen tests will cost $5 and PCR tests will cost $40, which will be charged to the student’s account. Students may be asked to remain in the Angela Athletic and
continue to wear masks indoors until they receive their booster. Employees also have to provide proof of receiving the COVID vaccine booster, and should upload the necessary documentation through an online form. Employees who are not eligible to receive a booster before the required deadline must contact Human Resources at HR@saintmarys.edu to determine their deadline.
miles of campus will need to make arrangements to return home to complete their quarantine or isolation period, according to the email. The Health and Counseling Center will follow current CDC recommendations for the duration requirements for quarantine and isolation, the email said.
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important for Notre Dame to continue making strides to show the values it upholds and the way it deals with the changing world. “Notre Dame, over the next 10 to 20 years, will get to make a lot of choices and exercise its success, but we need to exercise our success to demonstrate our character,” he said. In keeping with this commitment to diversity, Notre Dame participates in QuestBridge, a matching system between highachieving, low-income students and the nation’s top universities. Bishop said that 86 QuestBridge scholars were matched with Notre Dame this admissions cycle and will receive a full scholarship to the University
SMC
ND Policies Continued from page 1
booster verification, we can expect the indoor masking requirement to extend two weeks beyond that date, to February 4,” the email said. “If our campus community is able to reach the goal of 90 percent booster verification before January 21, we can consider lifting the indoor masking requirement sooner, depending on conditions on campus and locally.” Masking requirement Until 90% of the community achieves the full protection of an approved booster, all students, faculty and staff will be expected to wear masks indoors on campus, according to the email. This requirement does not apply when alone in private offices, or for students in residence
halls. Consistent with past policy, all visitors will also be required to wear a mask indoors. When the indoor masking requirement is lifted, professors may continue to require mask-wearing in classrooms, laboratories and studios, the email said. The email asked anyone who has cold or flu-like symptoms to wear their masks indoors while symptoms persist to avoid the spread of disease, and it emphasized whoever feels more comfortable masking to continue to do so without feeling the need to offer an explanation. Gatherings and events Until the mask requirement is lifted, University-sponsored gatherings taking place either on or off campus may not include food or drink. Venues must also be appropriately sized for the gathering. More information on gatherings
Screening testing Screening testing for students who have received a vaccine exemption or who are not fully vaccinated will begin the week of Jan. 17. Unvaccinated students and employees are required to be tested weekly, per the email. Screening testing will cost $5 weekly and will be charged to the student’s account. Fully vaccinated students and employees will not be included in screening testing, unless guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) changes, the email said. Athletes will follow NCAA and MIAA testing protocols for vaccinated and unvaccinated athletes. Vaccine booster Students must provide proof of their COVID vaccine booster by Jan. 21 by uploading an image of their vaccination card to Medicat, the College’s medical records system. Students who are not eligible to receive a booster before Jan. 21 must contact the Health and Counseling Center via email to determine their deadline and
and events can be found in the University’s COVID information website. Quarantine and isolation updates The University also offered update protocols given the CDC’s recent updates to quarantine criteria. Fully vaccinated individuals who test positive for COVID will be required to isolate for five days instead of 10 days. Close contacts who are fully vaccinated will not be required to quarantine, but will have to mask for five days, monitor themselves for symptoms and get tested on the fifth day. Members of the community who are not fully vaccinated and are deemed close contacts will have to quarantine for five days and will need to test negative before they return to normal activities, per the email. More information on
Eating and drinking
Through the month of January, College events or meetings may not offer food, per the email. Community members may only be unmasked if they are actively drinking. The email also asked students to continue wearing masks in the dining hall and other food outlets until they are sitting down to eat. Plexiglass, however, will not be reinstalled in the Noble Family Dining Hall. Quarantine and isolation
The Mother Angela Center in Regina Hall South will be reopened to residential students who have to quarantine or isolate. However, students whose primary residence is within 300
quarantine and isolation procedures for unvaccinated individuals can be found in the University’s COVID information website. Booster deadline verification The deadline for booster verification was recently moved to Jan. 21. The University will offer booster clinics for students on Jan. 11-14 and for faculty and staff Jan. 21 in the Joyce Center. Nonetheless, the email encouraged members of the Notre Dame community to receive the booster as soon as possible before classes for the spring semester start Jan. 10, since it takes 10-14 days for the booster to take full effect. To be considered fully vaccinated, students and faculty must have received two shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or a single shot of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, plus a
Contact Isabella Laufenberg at ilaufenb@nd.edu
Residence hall guests Tri-campus community members will continue to have access to residence hall common areas and rooms, following visitation guidelines, the email stated. Masking requirements will apply in both common areas and rooms. Guests outside the tri-campus community will only be allowed in residence halls during move-in and must be masked, regardless of vaccination status, according to the email. The email concluded by asking for patience from the College as the pandemic continues. “We are all aware that the new variants are aggressive and contagious, and experts expect to see a surge in January due to the high volume of holiday travel,” the email said. “We ask for your patience and cooperation as we continue to navigate the expected and unexpected.”
Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna booster, since the CDC has determined these vaccines to be the most effective against the Omicron variant. Furthermore, to advance the 90% goal, the email encouraged community members to upload verification of their booster as soon as possible. More information on how to do so can be found in the University’s COVID information website. “We realize that many of us are weary of following COVID protocols. Thank you for your continued patience, resilience and fortitude,” the email concluded. “Given the great progress in the fight against COVID over the past 22 months, we hope that the measures we’ve outlined will be temporary in nature. In the meantime, let’s continue to be generous with one another and do our best to embody the faith, love and kindness that have always characterized our community.”
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The observer | wednesday, january 12, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
Inside Column
Make it a warm girl winter Evan McKenna Managing Editor
I’m a country bumpkin. You might not guess it from looking at me, talking to me or interacting with me in any way, but I hail from Morristown, Tennessee, a small town nestled in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. Yeehaw. And I think I had a pretty authentic southern experience. There’s a cow field about a half-mile from my house, I have a soft spot for bluegrass music, I love sweet tea (the kind where you don’t have to stir in the sugar yourself) and although I don’t have an accent, I was surrounded by twang growing up. You should hear my sister; she sounds like Larry the Cable Guy. Don’t even get me started on the weather down there. It’s glorious. During the winter months, Morristown sits pretty in the 30s and 40s. I’ll wear Chacos in January. Snow is a rarity, but when it does come, the town descends into chaos. We don’t put salt on our roads; we’re too busy putting it on our food. So you can imagine my surprise when I experienced my first winter in South Bend, Indiana. I was shocked. I was appalled. I was inconsolable. I was cold as hell. I had never really owned a pair of winter boots, and I didn’t have a real winter coat — one of those long ones everyone seems to inexplicably own once you cross above the MasonDixon Line. Let me paint a picture for you. It’s my freshman year, and I’m walking across campus. It’s January, and I can probably count the temperature on two hands. Perception still clouded by my temperate Tennessee naivete, I’m wearing jeans and a sweater — a thin sweater — and shoes with the slip resistance of ice skates. I’m a laughingstock. I’m an idiot. I’m a country bumpkin in the midst of a blizzard. And as I’m walking, I come to the Law School archway. Just as I start passing under, a fierce icy gale blows through the air, and the Notre Dame Law School archway becomes a wind tunnel of deadly proportions. The cold air assaults me. Snowflakes the size of cornflakes blind me. Shards of ice pierce my skin and my sweater. I’m the coldest I’ve ever been in my entire life. But I make it out alive. I skate across the slick sidewalks to the toasty safety of South Dining Hall. Once my fingers thaw out, I text my mom, in true dramatic fashion: “I think that was the coldest I’ve ever been in my entire life.” But things got colder. I lived through the rest of that South Bend winter, and then two more. I even survived 2019’s polar vortex, when the tri-campus community closed due to double-digit negative temperatures. So yes, I can brave the Midwest winters — but I’ve never really conquered them. I survive, but never with much dignity left. As spring starts, I’m always left in a state of shock: numb, defeated, still shivering a bit. And I’ve always used my southern roots as an excuse for my ill-preparedness. “I’m just not built for this weather,” I’ll say, in a terrible fake southern accent. “I’m just a poor old country bumpkin.” But there’s no more time for excuses. I’m tired of submitting to the cruelty of South Bend winters. This time around, we’re taking matters into our own hands. You heard it here first, folks: It’s warm girl winter. “But Evan,” you say, shivering. “What is warm girl winter?” I’m glad you asked. Warm girl winter is the latest installment in the adjective-nounseason phenomenon, beginning with rapper Megan Thee Stallion’s hot girl summer. Since then, we’ve had our hot girl semester. We witnessed the Christian girl autumn renaissance. And who can forget outdoorsy girl semester? So you know the drill. This winter, we’re not letting the cold conquer us; we’re conquering the cold. Grab your mittens. Lace up your boots. Zip up your coat. I don’t care if it ruins your outfit — zip it up. All the way. And put on some earmuffs while you’re at it. No longer will we walk into class damp and disheveled, hair frozen and shoes still squeaky. We’ll stride in with confidence, with a cute scarf tied expertly around our necks, mittened hands holding a warm tea, cheeks just the right amount of rosy red. We’ll be the envy of all our cold classmates. Oh, you slipped on the ice? You wiped out on the sidewalk? Right in front of LaFun, at peak lunchtime rush hour? And the entire campus saw you? Too bad. Get back up. Pull yourself together. You’re embarrassing us all. It’s warm girl winter, and warm girls never slip. And most importantly, remember the golden rule of warm girl winter: Never, ever complain about the weather. The second you utter those two ill-fated words — “I’m cold” — you’re letting the winter win. You’re letting the warm girls down. You’re not cold. Warm girls are never cold. What is cold? I don’t know her. It’s a mind game, really. Heat is a social construct. You’re not cold until you think you’re cold. I’m a psych major; do not challenge me on this. So this warm girl winter, think warm thoughts. Layer like you’ve never layered before. Strut your stuff down the icy sidewalks, and look good doing it. And never — I repeat, never — let the winter win. You can contact Evan at emckenn2@nd.edu The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Make your life worse to make it better Mikey Colgan Collegiate Crossroads
My parents just sold our childhood home and leased an apartment in Boston, so I have spent the last ten days moving stuff out of my old house. What’s stood out most to me about this process is that it has been elongated by avoiding responsibilities in the present. Far too many items were shoved in a closet to worry about later because that was the easy decision at the time. Well, unfortunately, the issue with “later” is that it comes eventually. And guess who will have to deal with the consequences of cleaning out the cluttered closet? The idiot you see in the mirror every morning. You wanna know which idiot faces this harsh reality most of all? This guy. Throughout my life, I’ve been known to overindulge in wasteful activities. TV shows are my biggest weakness. I once watched How I Met Your Mother (nine seasons, twentyfour episodes per season) in thirteen days during the summer. What’s most pathetic about it is not just the six-hour per day average. It’s that I think the show is pretty average, and I still watched it that quickly. I have also watched Friday Night Lights, The Office and Parks and Rec at least four times apiece. My struggles extended beyond TV shows as well. In the spring of my junior year, I was determined to train for my senior basketball season. However, I stumbled upon my now old friend: Fortnite. Days I was supposed to spend lifting and practicing my ball handling and shooting were traded for all-day affairs landing in Tilted Towers while control-alt-deleting a pint of ice cream and a family-sized bag of chips. I was out of shape by summer and the time I lost in the spring cost me months later during the season. If you’re still reading up to this point, you may be asking yourself: why would I listen to this bozo about using my time wisely when he seemingly has the self-control of a dog at a Golden Corral. Well, that’s a fair question. However, I have a response that may suffice. After years of wasting precious time, I know better than anyone the consequences of said waste. I eventually came to the realization that my future self was being placed in much worse situations time and time again. In order to achieve my goals and put myself in less crappy places, I decided I had to start prioritizing the activities that make my life better down the road instead of
doing what made me feel best in the moment. This transition was not easy for me, but I feel I’ve made improvements by following some simple steps. First, ask yourself what tasks you are absolutely dreading at the moment. After picking out those tasks, do them immediately. Second, ask yourself what future goals you have. Regardless of what they may be, identify the goals and then think of steps to reach those goals. If it’s better physical fitness, maybe go to the gym three or four times a week. If it’s a better GPA, start studying for your exams earlier. Third, ask yourself which activities are drawing you away from your goals, then start to limit those activities. With these three simple questions and subsequent actions, you can start to create a more successful and less frustrating future for yourself. As simple as it all sounds, it is a great way to give intent to your actions and form a better person dayby-day. I can say with confidence I’ve found success using this strategy. I’m by no means perfect, but progress is progress. I have started completing assignments I hate and following steps to get into my desired field of work while prioritizing my friendships and physical health. While I still binge a show here and there, I no longer spend entire days glued to a screen. I traded TV for listening to music because it is a safer habit for me. Television absorbs your full attention, but I can focus on homework and workout while listening to background music. While I now put myself through brutal assignments and hard workouts instead of enjoying TV marathons and ice cream pints, I am actually more fulfilled than before because I am on my desired future trajectory. As the title reads, make your life worse to make it better. While I am happy to share more of the changes I have made with you, I will stop here because you don’t care about my changes, nor should you. With that said, I firmly believe that following my three-step process will help you out if you give it a shot, so please do. Mikey Colgan is a sophomore from Boston, Massachusetts, studying finance and ACMS. He is an avid college basketball fan and resides in Morrissey Hall. He can be reached at mcolgan2@nd.edu or @Mikeycolgs15 on twitter. The views expressed in this column are those of the authors and not necessarily those of The Observer.
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The observer | wednesday, january 12, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
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There’s a person on the other end of that tweet: Stop bullying athletes online Julianna Conley In My Own Words
A quick text fired off to four current or former student-athletes: “Do you think your relationship with social media has changed since playing college sports? ” From each of them, an immediate response: “Yes.” Online trolls are nothing new, with more than 30% of young adults experiencing cyberbullying before the age of 18. Angry sports fans aren’t revolutionary either, but in the last decade, social media has created an opportunity for virtual bullying that hits differently than the hate mail of years’ past: this venom can actually reach athletes. After any sports game, fans are quick to jump on Twitter or comment on Instagram, criticizing athletes’ performances and even making personal attacks on their character or lifestyle. And while I find this disparaging type of discourse abhorrent when directed at any person — athlete or civilian, professional or amateur, old or young — I am especially appalled by the rancor spewed at students. Student-athletes occupy a unique role in the realm of public figures. On one hand, they seem like celebrities. They grace our television screens, they offer interviews, and now, with the NCA A’s new policy regarding the monetization of athletes’ name, image and likeness, they may even sign brand deals. With fewer than 2% of NCA A athletes going on to play professional sports though, most student-athletes are first and foremost exactly what their name suggests: students. These young athletes don’t have social media training. They don’t have PR teams managing their accounts. The mass majority aren’t making money and none are professionals. These athletes are kids going to school to get an education. Some may dream of going pro eventually, but for now, they’re still sleeping in dorms, eating in dining halls and making mistakes like all the other eighteen-year-olds living away from home for the first time. Because social media is so all-encompassing in the digital age, for young athletes, avoiding online criticism borders on impossible. Junior Notre Dame men’s lacrosse player Reilly Gray explains, “Our team does a good job of not looking too much into or replying to trolls, but in order to actually stop seeing stuff after a game,
you’d proactively have to swear off all social media. Most guys on the team naturally follow lacrosse accounts, so stuff about players and the team is automatically in our feeds, and we’re often tagged too, even getting alerts.” For other student-athletes, the hurtful words slung on social media can feel harder to shake off. W hile speaking as a guest on the Sixth Seat, Katie Cole, a former Notre Dame women’s basketball player who walked on to the team her sophomore year, explained she found it an especially hard adjustment being thrust into a spotlight where there is a critic waiting in every shadow. Describing herself and the rest of her team as “just regular people, like the rest of college students, here to go to school,” Cole admitted. “One thing that gets to us is the fan comments online, when people think they can yell at us for something we did wrong. We’re humans. We make mistakes. It’s hard to see some of my teammates read some of those comments, because they’re hurtful. We have homework. We have practice. We’re not professionals. We’re not paid for what we do. It can be hard to keep a positive mindset, especially during the winter months, when we have two games a week. It’s a lot to keep up with.” Cole explained that even her own personal account isn’t safe from trolls, describing how, “Even when I post there are people under the comments who will be like ‘You shouldn’t be posting now. You should be practicing.’ So I just kind of block them and delete them.” Cole’s experience is not unusual. A 2019 study of Australian Facebook posts found that female athletes were subject to more than three times as much online negativity than were male athletes. Current senior and Notre Dame women’s basketball player Katlyn Gilbert echoes this sentiment, commenting, “Surprisingly enough, I have not dealt with as many trolls as other athletes. The only encounters I’ve come across are men who constantly put down or degrade women sports. So yeah, that’s fun …” By bullying student-athletes on social media, we create a culture where learning curves are forgone and perfection is demanded. But how many people can say they’ve never messed up something despite trying their best? How many people completed their first internship without making an error? Executed their first job f lawlessly? Last summer, an HBO Max intern accidentally sent a blank email with the subject line “Integration Test Email #1” to subscribers.
Instead of firing the employee on the spot, HBO Max turned to Twitter, admitting that “Yes, it was the intern. And we’re helping them through it.” In turn, thousands across the social network shared stories of their own internship blunders under the hashtag #DearIntern. HBO was applauded for responding with compassion rather than punishment. W hy don’t we offer that same sense of compassion to our favorite student-athletes when they mess up? W hy isn’t our first instinct, there, to recognize how lousy they must be feeling and use our platform to build them up? In what world, would the productive solution be to pile on more angst and cruelty? Athletes know when they make mistakes. They’re hearing plenty of feedback from paid, experienced coaches. I’m almost certain my observation that a wide receiver “should have caught that ball” will not be the critical point that makes him decide to practice running his routes. At best, my comment will never be seen by the err-er in question. At worst, I’ll make an already hurting person feel worse. Part of the reason I find the trolling so repulsive is that it insinuates these young adults owe us something. It communicates a message that, beyond their coaches and families and loved ones, they also answer to a population of strangers, simply because those strangers follow the sports team of their school. In truth, though, these student-athletes didn’t make a deal with the devil, signing away their souls. They signed a letter of intent that said they could learn and grow and, yes, play sports at a college. Though many Twitter trolls may be shocked to hear, throwing a ball does not, in fact, waive away a person’s human dignity. Student-athletes are still people. And therein lies the biggest reason the digital decorum must change: this culture of cruelty is no way to treat people. W hen typing at a profile rather than a person, it’s easy to believe that one comment won’t affect them or one Tweet won’t reach them. But on the other end of every “@” there’s a face behind the screen. And just because that face appears on a jumbotron doesn’t make it any less worthy of respect. Julianna Conley is a senior studying sociology and pre-health studies with a minor Journalism, Ethics and Democracy. Though she is forever loyal to Pasquerilla East B-team athletics, Julianna now lives off campus. She can be reached for comment at jconley4@nd.edu or @JuliannaLConley on Twitter.
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The observer | Wednesday, january 12, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
Hide it under a bushel? No! Devin Humphreys Law, Life and the Lord
Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m sure many of us have heard, or even participated in, the post-Milkshake Mass traditions of slapping those Newman Hymnals closed, declaring “Yay God!” and waiting for one of the wonderful Dillon Hall piano accompanists — Noah Bongiovanni and Wil Zinkan — to play those pickup notes on the piano letting everyone know that we’re gonna sing a couple verses of “Let It Shine” to close out the night. It doesn’t always happen, but sometimes we even make it to a third verse that I have often found very entertaining: “Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine! Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine! Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine! Let it shine! Let it shine! Let it shine!” But can we commit to not hiding our lights under bushels? Let me share a couple of anecdotes that exemplify both the difficulty with, and the importance of, letting our light shine, with some tidbits of advice I’m certainly unqualified to give sprinkled in along the way. “I sometimes feel like I have to downplay ACE because my friends might get upset.” A dear friend of mine was recently selected to participate in the ACE program after graduation. This was a long time coming for her — she had known she wanted to apply for ACE for years, and her acceptance was the culmination of uncountable steps towards that goal. It was a real privilege to be able to affirm her efforts and their fruit when we found out she had been accepted to the program, but a couple weeks later, she noted that she’s found herself at times needing to subdue her joy out of concern for two things: first, sensitivity to those who were also part of that application process, who had also exerted significant effort to that end, but who weren’t selected, and second, a more general awareness that people grow tired of someone talking about their excitement for an upcoming endeavor in which they do not share. Either way, that subdued joy is a loss for all involved, and we, as friends, should be intentional about letting others share the joys of their lives with us without fear that too much joy — sharing will lead to alienation. If
our joys are truly shared, rather than lorded, the end outcome in such situations can only be a positive one. “I don’t want to be that girl, you know, the one who talks about her boyfriend too much.” But scholastic and career achievements are not the only lights we might be inclined to hide under bushels. Sometimes, it’s the joys of a new romantic relationship. At the end of last semester, another dear friend and I were discussing the complications of entering a new romantic relationship. She noted a dichotomy between two different sorts of friends and what they want to hear about such developments: the ones that want to share your joy and hear everything about a new relationship, and the ones who find such discussions objectionable. The result, for her, was that she defaulted to refraining from sharing those joys with others unless and until she became aware that a particular individual was in the former group, because she didn’t want to sour a friendship by being considered “the girl who talks too much about her boyfriend.” After all, some friends are single and looking to enter into a relationship, and one might become resentful if his or her friends are always talking about their significant others. Some friends might even be looking to enter a relationship with the one doing the talking, leading to only more resent. Regardless, though, this fear of resentment from those who would poorly receive the joys of a new romantic relationship from a friend can, indeed, cripple friendships if one is not careful about it. And while this advice is perhaps a tad controversial even among my own rather solid group of friends, I feel compelled to provide it anyway: a true friend receives the joys of a friend’s newfound relationship and shares in them, rather than allowing personal resentment to interfere with what should strengthen a friendship rather than weaken it. Allow me to bolster this particular point by respecting my byline and finding recourse in law, more specifically the laws of the Catholic Church. I had the privilege, last semester, to take two classes with the esteemed Fr. John Paul Kimes: Catholic Legal Tradition, which was about the history of the Catholic Church and its role in the development of various bodies of law, and Canon Law, which surveyed the 1983 edition of the Code of Canon Law. One point which we focused on in that class was the set of
canons about the sacrament of Holy Matrimony. While canon 1055 of the Code notes that “the matrimonial covenant … is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring,” the Code also demands of priests that they provide proper pastoral care not only to married people but to everyone else in the Church about the purposes of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, and in particular the fact that spouses “share in the mystery of the unity and fruitful love between Christ and the Church.” In short, marriage does not have the exclusive purpose of edifying the individuals who take part in it, but rather the even wider purpose of edifying the whole Church. If this is true, then shouldn’t we as the Christian faithful act like it in how we prepare people to enter into that sacrament? Shouldn’t we allow ourselves to be edified by the joys of the relationships that people around us have entered into? Maybe our hesitance to be vulnerable in sharing these joys with others — and our hesitance to be willing to receive those joys without resentment or jealousy — are both grounded in something deeper than just being annoyed at our friends and how much they talk about the people they’re into at any given point in time. Perhaps instead the issue is that we’re really hiding our very selves under bushels. It is all too easy, when interacting with other people, to refrain from sharing the parts of ourselves that we fear are harder to love. As we begin a new semester, may we be intentional about seeking out and then practicing an agapic, Christly sort of love to crush these doubts and fears, be more open with each other about the things that we’ve been hiding under bushels, and truly allow our little lights to shine. Devin is a member of Notre Dame Law School’s class of 2023. Originally from Farwell, Michigan, he is a 2020 graduate of Michigan State University’s James Madison College. In his free time, he sings with the Notre Dame Folk Choir. Inquiries into his surplus of law journal article and note ideas can be directed to dhumphr2@nd.edu, or @DevinJHumphreys on Twitter. The views expressed in this column are those of the authors and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Make networking a habit Krista Akiki Embracing Discomfort
Editors Note: This column was published online on Dec. 7, 2021. If you’re a student in Mendoza, chances are you’ve heard over and over again how crucial networking is. Our professors are not wrong: networking has proven time and time again to be the number one rule of success in business. As crucial as networking is, research has highlighted a pattern we see often: networking is harder for women than men. Unfortunately, there are fewer women in positions of power, making it difficult for women to get introductions, receive referrals and find sponsors or mentors. In “Why strategic networking is harder for women” for the World Economic Forum, Herminia Ibarra writes, “There is a bit of a chicken and egg problem to surmounting these networking hurdles, as they stem not from women’s personal styles but from the scant numbers of the women in power positions, and those numbers are only changing at glacial speed.” For starters, it takes longer for women to find common ground while networking, making this cultivation of relationships feel less spontaneous. Functional and hierarchical differences are now joined by gender differences thus making the challenge threefold. “My problem,” said Anna to the World Economic Forum, “is getting to know the guys two levels above, my bosses’ boss and his peers. We just don’t have many occasions to meet and when we do, we just focus on the task at hand. I’m not really getting to know him, and he certainly isn’t getting to know me. But, to break through to the next level, I have the sense that they have to know and like me.” Another interesting finding that Ibarria shares is the fact
that women’s work and social networks tend to overlap less than men’s. As part of her research, Ibarria asked people to list the contacts they turn to for important work matters and then to list those with whom they hang out outside of work. This exercise revealed that men often have some of the same people on both lists – they’ll play golf, watch a sporting event or go for dinner with some of those work contacts. However, women are more likely to have two separate lists. Participating in conversations about important work matters outside formal meetings creates camaraderie and increases trust. This is why I’ve compiled a list of the best advice I found online to transform networking from a tedious challenge to a regular habit you enjoy. 1. Stop saying networking. Networking seems like a rigid chore one has to complete. However, if you reconfigure what you think of when you hear the word “networking,” you’ll realize that “networking” really means meeting new people who most probably work in the same industry. In normal parlance, this is called “making friends.” Already sounds better, right? 2. Start internally. Look around you in class, at club meetings, at networking events, at your internships … You are surrounded by talented people who can not only help you grow your network in size but also in depth and richness. Sometimes even your classmates’ parents can be a great starting point to connect with people in your intended field. Sometimes the people you reach out to internally may not be able to provide advice about how you can improve in your specific role, but they likely have skills and contacts that you could benefit from. 3. Introduce yourself to your heroes. This doesn’t mean that Michelle Obama and Elon Musk are going to return your calls or respond to your messages/ emails (okay maybe if you’re just insanely lucky, they might),
but a professor at Notre Dame whose career path inspires you or a manager with an exciting background at the company you interned for. He or she will most likely write back and will provide some valuable insight and mentorship. 4. Develop a networking ritual. Networking is a lot like working out. At first, it’s hard to get started. It can even feel very intimidating. But if you intentionally create a ritual to cultivate this new habit, it will eventually feel more natural and the chances of you sticking to this new habit also increases.The same applies to networking. You could start by reaching out to new contacts first thing when you walk into the office or sending emails on Monday to five contacts asking if they can join you for lunch or coffee this week. Push yourself outside your comfort zone to not only build a ritual that broadens your network but also one to hold yourself accountable. Remember, strengthening your network doesn’t happen overnight. But you can make choices today to build relationships that have value for the long term. Think of how to embed networking into daily work, such as volunteering for a new project, scheduling one-on-one meetings, asking connections for introductions or mentorships. Invite others into your realm, even if just making time for a brief conversation before or after a meeting. Socializing outside of work, having lunch with people not in your “inner circle” and referring a person to someone else — being a connector — are all great habits to start building. With that I say, happy networking! Krista Akiki is a junior living in McGlinn Hall, majoring in business analytics and minoring in computing and digital technologies. She can be reached at kakiki@nd.edu or @kristalourdesakiki via Twitter. The views expressed in this column are those of the authors and not necessarily those of The Observer.
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The observer | Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
By CLAIRE LYONS Interim Scene Editor
Literary legend Joan Didion passed away shortly before last Christmas at the age of 87. As a prolific writer and one of the pioneers of the New Journalism literary movement, she was dubbed “one of the most original voices in modern American literature.” She leaves behind a large canon of work varying from genre-bending fiction and nonfiction to original screenplays. Throughout her career, Didion aimed to write history as it was happening. Her extensive work as a journalist led her to document the American experience, from 1970s hippie counterculture to the corruption of justice. As she gained more experience as a writer, she found the courage to report on the events of her own life, mainly regarding bouts of illness and grief over family members. The unwavering first-person subjectivity in her work — her clear perspective — unites both the public and personal aspects of her literature. The legacy Didion leaves behind is arguably her most popular and profitable work: “The Year of Magical Thinking”. Its appeal to a mass-market audience was due to its subject matter: grief. Didion’s remarkable ability to write from a detached perspective made her personal
By ANNA FALK Scene Writer
2021 was a long and tumultuous year for many. After 365 days of hardship and turmoil, many received the new year with open arms. However, there is one important person who missed out on this opportunity. On Dec. 31, Betty White died of natural causes at the age of 99 — only two and a half weeks away from her 100th birthday. While her death has undoubtedly saddened countless people around the world, her legacy lives on. Betty Marion White, born on Jan. 17, 1922 in Oak Park, Ill., did not initially aspire to be an actress. In her early life, White aspired to be a park ranger, a dream cultivated by family vacations to the Sierra Nevada. However, women were not allowed to become forest rangers at that time, and so she had to look elsewhere. She had a passion for writing, and she discovered a talent for performing after writing and starring in a play for her high school. After graduating, she spent her time singing, modeling and looking for acting work. She volunteered with the American Women’s Voluntary Services during World War II and afterwards found success on the radio. Her radio time led her to television success on
experiences applicable to the public and made common, public experiences applicable to her own. This unique blend of memoir and investigative journalism helped the book to win the National Book Award for Nonfiction, as well as consideration for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. “Magical Thinking” is considered one of the best books on grief, but it happens to be one of the only novels to document the loss of a spouse rather than a parent. Didion herself describes this significant difference in “Magical Thinking”: Losing her parents was “distanced, at a remove from the ongoing dailiness of my life,” but losing her husband, John Dunne, “had no distance … [It] comes in waves, paroxysms, such apprehensions that weaken the knees.” In describing her loss of Dunne, one gets the impression of a phantom limb — something that was once a part of her and is now startlingly absent. Didion was unknowingly gearing up her whole career to write “Magical Thinking.” Only an experienced author could delicately walk the line between the novel’s cool and detached writing style and its raw, intimate emotions. Even then, it’s something only Didion pulls off successfully. The repressed prose counterintuitively amplifies the emotional undercurrent of the piece. While Didion’s techniques are relentless with emotional intensity, they only serve to clarify her message.
Her refrains and cadences amplify the waves of grief she experiences. Her fragmentary paragraphing shows how grief fragments her thoughts and splits her brain. Her haunting rhetorical questions — questions addressed to Dunne, questions he can no longer hear, questions he will no longer answer — make Didion’s loss tangibly felt. Readers of “Magical Thinking” are supposed to feel what Didion feels. It documents grief in all its cruelty. After Dunne’s death, Didion found solace in an old manners handbook. She writes: “Mrs. Post would have understood that. She wrote in a world in which mourning was still recognized, allowed, not hidden from view.” In writing, Didion created a world that mourns — recognizably, permissibly and publicly. She removes the shroud surrounding death, even though it may be hard to stomach. Didion writes about how lonely and isolating grief is. In doing so, she creates a chance for connection and solidarity. Undoubtedly, Didion will be remembered for her keen insights into common experiences. What keeps her legacy alive is her love. In immortalizing her husband and daughter through literature, Didion succeeds in immortalizing herself. In works of grief, she finds life.
shows like “Hollywood on Television” and “Life with Elizabeth.” She eventually hosted three different shows with the same name — “The Betty White Show” — over the course of three time periods in the 1950s and 1970s. Through most of her television career, she helped to produce the shows she starred in and — when given the chance — made it a point to hire female directors. Perhaps her most well-know n roles on telev ision were as a frequent game show guest for programs like “Password,” “W hat’s My Line? ” and “Py ramid,” as well as her portrayals of characters like Sue Ann Nivens on CBS’ “The Mar y Tyler Moore Show” and Rose Nylund on NBC’s “The Golden Girls.” Follow ing these roles, she continued working in film and telev ision even into her old age. W hite has been lauded for her work throughout her career, receiv ing 57 award nominations and 27 w ins, including eight Emmys, a Grammy, three SAG Awards and even a Teen Choice Award for her role in the 2009 film, “The Proposal.” A long w ith her work in the media, she also was a prominent advocate for animal and civ il rights. In 1954 on “The Bett y W hite Show,” she regularly featured Black tap dancer Arthur Duncan. W hite was threatened that the show would be taken off
the air if she didn’t fire Duncan, but W hite responded, “I’m sorr y, but he stays … Live w ith it!” She has also been a know n proponent of LGBTQ+ rights, starring in shows discussing LGBTQ+ issues and working alongside gay and lesbian actors. Bett y W hite was truly one of a kind. I’ve know n of her presence in the media since I was little, and I’ve always been fond of her. She’s starred in a w ide range of telev ision series and mov ies, cementing her in Holly wood histor y. It’s never even been a question of whether or not Bett y W hite was important — it’s always been a universal truth. W hite did ever y thing: She w rote books, sang songs, hosted radio shows, produced and starred in telev ision shows, worked on mov ie sets, ser ved as the Zoo Commissioner of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association and so much more. Even still, after all of her hardships and the copious amount of work she put herself through, she remained a kind and lov ing woman who people across the globe looked up to. Her work in film and telev ision and her advocacy for civ il rights both on and off the screen w ill forever be remembered.
Contact Claire Lyons at clyons3@nd.edu
Contact Anna Falk at afalk@nd.edu EMMA KIRNER | The Observer
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The observer | Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
By JP SPOONMORE Scene Writer
After two years of waiting through COVID-19 delays and an almost career-ending leg injury suffered by its star, Netflix’s “The Witcher” released its second season. Unlike the decades-long story threads characteristic of the show's the previous season, though, the new plot is as temporally straightforward as possible, spanning maybe a month. Though many of the story shifts are improvements, the scale is unfortunately lost. Henry Cavill still shines as the lead, even when sharing the spotlight with the rest of the cast. Even so, his character, Geralt of Rivia, has little to do in the story besides being a father figure, so most of the big moments in this season happen without him. The resulting lack of character growth for Geralt makes this season feel like a build-up to the next one rather than its own experience. What makes the premise of “The Witcher” unique is the combative dynamic between its titular character and the world in which he exists. How the simple monster hunter finds himself trapped in the warring kingdoms emphasizes how absurd fantasy politics usually are. The problem with Netflix’s version of this dynamic is the way that the audience is forced to sit through the politics without their protagonist, thereby robbing the schemes of the only unique angle they had. Another issue with season two: every time an episode cuts away to scenes centered around mages or elves, the
By MEG SLUZAS Scene Writer
If you’re looking for an escape, don’t look up “Don’t Look Up” on Netflix. Directed by Adam McKay — whose previous releases include “The Anchorman” and “Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” — the film initially had a good premise for comedy gold: a comet is definitely going to hit earth, so how will humanity react? It features an allstar cast including, but not limited to, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill and everyone’s favorite Victorian-era looking moody brunette, Timothée Chalamet. But despite this incredible potential, the film somehow manages to crash and burn. The jokes and some of the character development come off as predictable and/or cringeworthy. Moreover, the satire feels a little too real. I did not leave the movie feeling inspired to do something about issues facing our world, like the COVID-19 pandemic or climate change (which is what the movie satirizes). Instead, I felt more fatigued than ever as I watched two scientists warn a world of people too focused on themselves to see the bigger picture. The opening of the film promised a refreshing style of direction with close ups of Lawrence’s character, Kate Dibiasky, finding the comet and Dicaprio’s Dr. Mindy realizing what the math of the comet’s trajectory means — in front of his celebrating students, no less! However, as they go to tell others about the discovery, the style begins to lose the power of the close up. As a result, the impact of the characters’ emotions is minimized, and audience members are left feeling distant from the scientists as
energy plummets. Even intrigue related to genocide and espionage was not enough to make me care about those characters. Most of the time, the elves and mages stand in a room and whisper about the show’s other (more interesting) characters. In awkwardly trying to interlace the branching stories, the show only further isolates the weaker plotlines. I know that the showrunners intend to build a massive world — one containing an army of characters, each with their own stories — like the rest of the high fantasy shows from competing streaming channels. However, such an attempt has rendered the overall too generic to feel special. New cast member Kim Bodnia, who plays Vesemir, stands apart from the noise of the clashing subplots. Bodnia’s performance veers off from a direct adaptation of the original books or games, but he does a good job giving the show its own identity. At first, it was weird to see Vesemir with a trucker mustache, but I ended up liking his subplot the most. When the showrunners pair Vesemir and Geralt onscreen, they are able to flesh out personal backstories for both characters, rather than simply having the characters plan future schemes. The few times the show slows down to sit with a character, it tends to be Vesemir, which I enjoyed, as the character’s struggle to act as a responsible member brings out a fresh inner-conflict the show needs. The character of Vesemir is proof that the show has all the necessary pieces; now, it just needs the time to put them together. If you are on the fence about starting this show, I
recommend you begin with the first episode of season two, as it provides a perfect example of the show’s potential. Presented as a tragic retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” wherein awful people are caught in a forbidden love, the episode constitutes such a strong opener that the rest of the season struggles to match its quality. I trust this show to continue improving in the long run, but until then, this singular episode is just a brief moment of clarity within a muddled story. The second season of Netflix’s “The Witcher” takes a step in the right direction, but a small one. The biggest upgrade was the monster design, which was always my favorite part of the games, but it still isn’t enough to save the show. If Netflix continues to invest in the series, I see it becoming a must-watch after season 4; anything before is going to involve both course correction and backpedaling.
the President of the United States and media outlets try and skew the comet to their benefit. If this was a directing choice to reflect the warping of the human emotion concerning the comet, it worked. That being said, the movie had one too many montages for me, each feeling more tiresome than the last. Admittedly, they did contain some nuggets of humor, such as when Dr. Mindy yells “we’re all going to die!” while on a show meant for children. However, most of the funny quips in the movie fell short. A line delivered by Kate’s mother — “your dad and I are for the jobs the comet will provide” — hit too close to home. Honestly, I groaned when I heard it. The actors in the film also felt like caricatures, even though character development was attempted. DiCaprio’s Dr. Mindy is a prime example of this. His character offered promise at the beginning of the film as a midwest professor who is happiest in the lab and confident with numbers. However, his arc became predictable when he was accepted by the media more than his colleague, Kate, thereby becoming the ‘Dr. Fauci’ of the comet crisis. While DiCaprio definitely has the chops to bring depth to this nerdy character, his arc places him back into a character that I would consider “safe” for him. We get it: under that beard, Leo is still Leo. Still, is the punchline of his character seriously “Astronomer I’d Like to F**k?” Timothée Chalamet’s character, Yule, also allowed him to remain within his comfort zone. While his anarchist character did provide some moments of surprise for the audience — such as his surprise practice of Evangelical Christianity — I feel like the overall predictability of his character represents a larger lack of inventiveness. Jennifer Lawrence’s Kate, too, is hilarious at times, but she
plays a Katniss-like character: an activist who is a thorn in the establishment’s side. The star power in this film is enormous (I mean, hello, they got Meryl Streep to play an egocentric president). However, each star remains within their comfort zone, and therefore fails to push any boundaries with their character. “Don’t Look Up” forces its audience to imagine an apocalyptic event more outlandish than the events of 2020 and 2021. As much as we can relate to the characters as they face the end of the world, the satire ultimately falls flat because the world created through the movie’s script cannot compare to the exhausting (and real) trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic. One final note: I think the film’s slew of social media montages should have featured Bo Burnham in some sort of cameo. Just listen to “How the World Works” and “Bezos I” from that special, and you’ll get the point of this movie in five minutes rather than having to sit through the full two hours and 25 minutes.
Contact JP Spoonmore at jspoonmo@nd.edu
“The Witcher” Director: Lauren Schmidt Starring: Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, Kim Bodnia If you liked: “Game of Thrones,” “Lord of the Rings”
Contact Meg Sluzas at msluzas@nd.edu
“Don’t Look Up” Director: Adam McKay Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep If you liked: “INSIDE,” “The Anchorman,” “The Big Short”
MAKAYLA HERNANDEZ | The Observer
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ndsmcobserver.com | Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | The Observer
Crossword | Will Shortz
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Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Embrace change, and turn your ideas into opportunities. Take the plunge, and live up to your expectations. Step outside your comfort zone. Trust yourself, not someone else. Make this year memorable, and you’ll gain insight into who you are and what you can do. Let your imagination lead the way and your intuition keep you on track. Your numbers are 9, 17, 20, 26, 31, 39, 45. ARIES (March 21-April 19): Monitor the changes going on around you. Don’t make a move until you feel completely comfortable with the situation. Choose intelligence and practicality over being first. Focus on getting things right the first time. Take better care of your health and wellbeing. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’ll have trouble making up your mind. Don’t expect others to agree with you or offer help without getting something in return. Put more effort into the way you look and present what you have to offer. Romance is featured. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You’ll have the right idea, but getting others on board won’t be so easy. Don’t waste time trying to convince others to see things your way. Instead, take a different path. Move forward alone, and let your achievements speak for you to all the others who doubted you. CANCER ( June 21-July 22): Partner with someone who has as much to contribute. The changes you bring about will encourage you to expand your knowledge and skills to keep up with trends. Time spent with someone you love will enhance your relationship. LEO ( July 23-Aug. 22): Concentrate on what you want to achieve. Physical action will be rewarding and ensure that you get things done to your specification. Refuse to let someone take over or disrupt your plans. Reap the rewards by doing your own thing. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Go where the action is, then listen and observe. The information you receive will help you decide on your next move. Don’t let someone disrupt your plans. Go about your business, and let others do as they please. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Resolve financial and domestic matters. Think outside the box, and you’ll come up with a plan that will save you money and encourage a positive change. Do what’s best for you, regardless of what others say and do. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Do what you need to do. If you are wishywashy, you’ll confuse others, making it more difficult to finish what you start. Be open to suggestions, and do the legwork necessary to make beneficial adjustments. Romance is favored. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t mess around when it comes to the facts. Spell out precisely what you want to say, and when someone gives you a hazy response, ask direct questions. Find out where you stand, and make decisions based on facts. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Consider your options and do your homework. Have a goal in mind. Carving out a path that will make your every move count will ease stress and build confidence. Verify and process information before you act on it or pass it along. AQUARIUS ( Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Sit tight and listen carefully. Don’t pass along information if you can’t verify the facts. Consider what you can do to make a difference. Volunteer for a cause you believe in or reach out to someone who needs help. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Less talk and more action will help you gain momentum. The way you handle others will display your nerve to be a leader. Stop worrying about what others think about you and your actions; do what you know is the right thing to do.
Sudoku | The Mepham Group
Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek
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The observer | Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
FOOTBALL COLUMN
Capece: ‘The honeymoon stage is over’ By COLIN CAPECE Assitant Managing Editor
Marcus Freeman is who I said he was. But maybe he’s not who I t hought he could be just yet. I said Freeman would bring t he k ind of energ y and menta lit y t hat would have Notre Dame ready to play in t hese big bowl games t hat have been t heir nemesis since 1993. The Fiesta Bowl was dubbed by prett y much ever yone, including myself, to be t he Freeman game. A defensive coordinator who ascended to t he top job under unbelievable circumstances to become t he youngest Notre Dame head coach in 67 years competing in his f irst game was bound to draw nationa l attention. That stor yline has generated t he most excitement around t his program since a 2013 BCS Nationa l Championship Game appearance. For a couple of weeks, t his program had an identit y, an undeniable swagger t hat had been lack ing under Brian Kelly. Instead of reiterating t he narrative t his team would again embarrass itself on t he big stage, I claimed t he new coach would instill t he conf idence to compete at t he highest level. The Irish looked far from a deer in headlights Saturday. They came out and punched Ok la homa State in t he mout h w it h a f ive-play, 75yard touchdow n drive on t he opening possession t hat made one of t he best defenses in t he countr y look outmatched. The Notre Dame defense followed w it h a drive where interim defensive coordinator Mike Elston brought t he house on ever y play. Senior defensive end Isaia h Foskey punctuated it w it h a sack on t hird dow n. In t he f irst ha lf, on bot h sides of t he ba ll, t he Irish showed t he k ind of f ire t hey were missing in New Year’s Si x games under Kelly. We didn’t see Ian Book running for his life against a head-hunting Clemson pass rush. Nor did we see Nick McCloud getting hurdled and stiff-armed at t he same time by Najee Harris. Instead, we saw aggressive play-ca lling from an unfettered Tommy Rees, a llow ing Jack Coan to let it rip like he was Patrick Ma homes. Notre Dame averaged 295 passing yards a game during t he reg ular season. In Glenda le, t he graduate student from Say v ille, New York aired it out for 342 yards in t he f irst ha lf a lone. Elston continued
to release t he hounds on Cowboy quarterback Spencer Sanders, putting pressure in his face to prevent him from f inding his rhy t hm. For t he f irst time I can remember in Januar y, t hat f irst ha lf felt like Notre Dame was play ing Nav y on a fa ll Saturday. Freeman’s promotion was more t han just a changing of t he g uard. He brought a k iller menta lit y t hat Notre Dame did not have before. The expectations for a head coach in his f irst contest were understandably and justif iably ot her worldly. Irish nation is chomping at t he bit to end a nearly 30-year New Year’s Si x bowl drought. I sure t hought t his would f ina lly be t he time to brea k t hrough. Freeman himself said of t he fan base after t he game t hat “They deser ve a team t hat ever y week goes out t here and w ins. It’s our job to ma ke sure we prepare and do ever y t hing necessar y to give t his team, t he fan base, t he Universit y, and ever ybody else t hat deser ves it a rea lly, rea lly good product out on t hat f ield.” More so t han Kelly did, Freeman connects w it h t he fans on a persona l level. He understands we want our team to w in as much as t he coaching staf f and t he players do. But it was reck lessly overzea lous of me to put t he cart before t he horse. I failed to rea lly grasp t he fact t hat Freeman was coaching in his f irst game. That Tommy Rees was ca lling plays unfettered for t he f irst time in his young career. That Elston is not a defensive coordinator. That t he rest of t his Fiesta Bowl coaching staf f was built at light speed. A nd, t hat it was a ll done while attempting to keep a 2022 recruiting class intact (which Freeman for t he most part did, a testament to his poise and abilit y as a recruiter). A nd t hese players have yet to be in a position to w in one of t hese big games on t he f ield. At t he end of t he day, t he v ibes Freeman’s promotion created and t hen maintained t hrough his four weeks on t he job could only carr y t he Irish so far. Understandably and justif iably, t he Irish were outcoached and outplayed in t he second ha lf. The sign of a truly great coaching staf f is if it can anticipate t he adjustments an opponent w ill ma ke at ha lftime and ma ke t he proper counter-adjustments. It
ta kes time to learn how to slow t he game dow n and focus on t he sma ll details t hat ultimately w in footba ll games. In my estimation, Kelly did not ma ke a single ha lftime adjustment in his 12 years at Notre Dame. W hile Notre Dame failed at t his on bot h sides of t he ba ll Saturday, t here’s still hope for t his current staff. I’d bet t he cost of my degree on t he fact t hat Mike Gundy went into t he locker room at ha lftime and told his quarterback to t hrow t he ba ll to his best offensive weapon, Tay Martin. I’d bet it especia lly after he snagged a quick-strike touchdow n to end t he f irst ha lf. Gundy probably looked at t he box score and saw t hat t he t wo catches his superstar made, including t he touchdow n, came against sophomore cornerback Clarence Lew is. If you watched t he game, you saw Martin torch Lew is in t he second ha lf. He grabbed eight catches, for 92 yards and t wo more touchdow ns. If you t hrow in a pass interference pena lt y t he w ide receiver drew when he cooked past t he defensive back t hat put t he Cowboys in f ield goa l range, t he MartinLew is matchup accounted for 24 of Ok la homa State’s 37 points. I’m not blaming Lew is. He just wasn’t put in a position to succeed. Instead, t he coaching staff should have moved senior cornerback TaRiq Bracy onto Martin after he caught back-to-back touchdow ns on Lew is. Bracy forced Martin into t wo drops when he covered him in t he f irst ha lf, but seldom shadowed him in t he second ha lf. Freeman stood by Lew is after t he game as he should, but he let his reputation as a players’ coach get t he best of him. He failed to adjust defensively to Gundy’s offensive adjustment, and it cost t he Irish t he v ictor y. I’d bet t he cost of my younger brot her’s degree (who w ill be a freshman in t he class of 2026) t hat Gundy a lso went into ha lftime and told his defense to stop bringing pressure and drop ever yone into coverage. A fter Coan lit t hem up and
was masterf ul against t he blit z, t hey rea lly don’t have a choice. So, t hat’s exact ly what t he Cowboys did. Coan’s fourt hquarter interception came at t he hands of A ll-A merican linebacker Ma lcolm Rodrig uez, who dropped back to double Kev in Austin instead of rushing t he quarterback. Don’t get me w rong, I absolutely loved t he g unslinger menta lit y Tommy Rees brought to t his game. But, he completely abandoned t he run in t he second ha lf, handing t he ba ll of f just seven times. Against a defense t hat is expecting t he pass, ma k ing t hem stop t he run is t he only way you can pass. Wit h a t wo-touchdow n lead, Rees failed to recognize t hat he could chew some clock w it h linebackers and safeties leav ing running lanes open. Wit h ever yone covered, Coan forced tight t hrows on f irst and second dow n instead of hitting his check dow ns. This put t he Notre Dame of fense into unfavorable t hird and longs. Wit hout any semblance of a run game, t he Irish were of f t he f ield in a hurr y. This put even more strain on a defense tired from containing Ok la homa State’s up-tempo attack. Rees failed to adjust to Gundy’s adjustment and t he of fense sta lled, costing t he Irish a v ictor y. Wit h Ok la homa State ra lly ing in t he second ha lf, t he Notre Dame players looked uncertain. They played like t hey didn’t quite expect to have a t wo-touchdow n lead. Dropped passes on early dow ns could have changed t he outcome of drives. Missed tack les led to huge chunk plays for Sanders and Cowboy’s running back Jaylen Warren. Bad t hrows on t hird dow n sent t he Notre Dame of fense jogging to t he sideline and put more gas in t he tank for t he Ok la homa State fait hf uls who made t he trip to Glenda le. A nd, a missed f ield goa l forced t he Irish to attempt an onside k ick. A ll of t hese sma ll mista kes compounded in t he second ha lf, costing t he Irish t he v ictor y. W hat’s t he overarching
t heme we can ta ke away from t he Fiesta Bowl? Notre Dame now k nows how to compete on t he big stage, but t hey don’t yet k now how to w in on it. You can expect t his same k ind of menta lit y when t he Irish open t he 2022 season at t he Horseshoe against Ohio State. Wit h Freeman around, t his team won’t be intimidated by a road game against one of t he nation’s best teams. The true test of Freeman as a head coach w ill be whet her or not he can do t he litt le t hings right to bring Notre Dame back to t he promised land. Can t hese players and t his coaching staf f be laser-focused when it matters most? W hen you’re a team looking to brea k t he nearly impenetrable wa ll built by t he likes of A labama, Georgia, Clemson and Ohio State, you can’t af ford to ma ke t he k ind of mista kes t he Irish made on Saturday. Let’s not forget t hat Freeman has coached one game in what w ill likely be a ver y long career. He still has some grow ing to do. Let’s a lso not forget t hat t his team has a lmost a ll of t he pieces in place to return to t he College Footba ll Playof f. The Irish need reinforcements in t he secondar y which t hey should f ind in top recruiting classes, ’22 and ’23. A nd, t hey need a quarterback to ma ke plays w it h bot h his legs and his arm. For t hat, t hey should be able to turn to Tyler Buchner. This young head coach has been handed t he keys to a nationa l championship-ca liber program. Now he and his team must prove t hey can w in when it matters most. As Freeman said af ter t he game, “The honey moon stage is over.” Damn right it is. The Ok la homa State Cowboys certainly made sure of t hat. Will t he Irish respond in t he right way? It’s your move coach. Contact Colin Capece at ccapece@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
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ndsmcobserver.com | Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | The Observer
M Soccer Continued from page 16
ALLISON THORNTON | The Observer
Irish senior forward Jack Lynn dribbles towards the goal during Notre Dame’s College Cup semifinals appearance. Lynn was the 18th pick of the first round in the MLS SuperDraft, scooped up by Orlando City.
He seemed especially unstoppable on corner kicks and free kicks into the box. Quinton’s consistency and dominating nature in indiv idual defensive battles stood out to the Columbus Crew. The team traded up to the 25th pick to take him. Realistically speaking, know ing the histor y of the MLS SuperDraft it’s unlikely that any of Ly nn, Omar, or Quinton immediately find themselves in starting roles for their respective clubs. They might be loaned out to USL clubs where they can find more minutes and gain experience. But it is possible by year t wo or three any of the aforementioned three could break into starting lineups. The timeline for an MLS draft pick finding success at the professional level is inconsistent. Dar yl Dike proved a consistent goalscorer in his first season. He was
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taken out of Virginia by Jack Ly nn’s new club Orlando Cit y. Brian W hite, drafted by the New York Red Bulls in 2018, spent a year play ing USL ball before he eventually became a trusted MLS starter. Aaron Long was drafted by Portland in 2014 and became a full-time starter in 2017. Notre Dame’s draftees could find themselves on any of these paths once they join their teams for preseason. Or, they may forge new ones. Regardless, they have done the program proud for helping the Irish make their secondever College Cup appearance. They’ve also put themselves immediately into a ver y select group in Irish men’s soccer histor y. Ly nn, Omar and Quinton now make up a quarter of all Notre Dame first-round selections since the start of the MLS College Draft in 1996. Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu
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Sports
The observer | Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
Football Continued from page 16
both, Drew W hite represented the team to the media. When he talked about the games, he did so with an awareness that fit a Notre Dame captain. In both the home loss against Cincinnati and this weekend’s Fiesta Bowl, W hite said the defense knew what needed to be done and had the skills to do it. For him, it was just as much a credit to the opposing offense as it was any thing the defense was missing. Ultimately, he said the Irish “just didn’t execute.” “On the 50-50 balls, you’ve got to make a play. They’ve got to be ours. On the tack ling, by the first level and second level, you’ve got to tack le the quarterback, you’ve got to tack le the running back,” W hite said. “I want to give credit to those athletes, too. Sometimes when the offense makes big plays, ever yone is quick to say the defense made a mistake. But I’ve got to give my hats off and praise to the Ok lahoma State offense for hav ing play makers and really making good plays, making explosive plays when they had to.” Despite the Notre Dame offensive stall in the second half, W hite didn’t let up. He ultimately had six tack les in the game. He helped force a fumble and recovered another, all while he and fellow inside linebacker JD Bertrand maintained the communication between the line and the secondar y, reading the play as best they could against such a fast-paced offense. “Any fast-tempo offense, and especially Ok lahoma State who runs a hightempo offense, it challenges you,” W hite said. “It challenges you in communication. It challenges you to get the call, get lined up. But at the same time, I feel like our preparation was great. We practiced that all bowl prep. We practiced the conditioning, practiced communication, practiced getting lined up. There might have been a couple of times where we felt short of getting the communication and getting lined up, but overall, I really don’t think that was the problem on defense.”
Seemingly handing over the keys The abilit y to continue leading despite the score is something the Irish w ill miss whenever W hite departs. But that’s not to say he hasn’t prepared those he’d leave behind. Bertrand discussed what it was like to have W hite guiding
him throughout the season and particularly throughout this tougher game. “Drew has been awesome to me.” Bertrand said.” Even in the locker room today throughout the whole game, he’s there, he’s talking to me. And he’s just been a good person to be able to lean on. I’ve been able to lean on him a lot. He’s been able to pick me up, teach me things, just the little details of the game that you don’t necessarily pick up from just watching film and things like that.” W hile W hite may be leav ing, his support isn’t going any where. On Saturday he t weeted “Forever Irish” and left the linebacker room, as well as the rest of the team, w ith a mentalit y to better use this game outcome. “We all want the w in, don’t get me w rong. But to have that fire under you, to push you in the offseason. This is going to leave a bad taste in the mouths of ever yone for months and going into spring ball,” W hite said. “I was telling the younger linebackers, too, to take it as ever y thing happens for a reason. This is a blessing. It’s not the outcome we wanted; and it’s hard, it’s bitter. But it’s going to continue to move forward for the next season. A nd I’m excited to watch Notre Dame football in 2022.” And the message most certainly did not go unheard. W hile Bertrand wanted to send the seniors off on a high note, he summed up how one senior in particular had been so beneficial to him and to the team: “I’m so thankful that I played along w ith Drew W hite.” Contact Mannion McGinley at mmcginl3@nd.edu
MEN’s Soccer
Irish smash records in Fiesta Bowl appearance By MANNION McGINLEY Sports Editor
This weekend the Irish took the field against Ok lahoma State for the Playstation Fiesta Bowl. Despite a 37-35 loss, the Irish came away from the game w ith a mound of records. The Irish set t wo school records, four Fiesta Bowl records and combined w ith the Cowboys to set seven more.
Michael Mayer breaks even more records The Irish matched their first record just before the half as sophomore tight end Michael Mayer caught a pass from graduate student Jack Coan in the red zone. Mayer would run about four yards after the catch and dive for the pylon to score his first touchdow n of the game. This touchdow n met former Irish tight end Cole Kmet’s single-season touchdow n reception record for a tight end. Kmet set the bar at six touchdow ns in 2019. Mayer wanted more though as he went on to grab another six points at the end of the second quarter. With seven touchdow ns on the season, Mayer claimed the record for himself. Additionally, he racked up 72 receiv ing yards on the night. This brought
his season total to 840 yards, another tight end record at Notre Dame. Mayer grabbed these t wo records after breaking the single-season number of receptions by an ND tight end and t ying the single-game tight end receptions against Stanford where the Irish won 45-14.
Coan and the offense take over the Fiesta Bowl books As for t he Fiesta Bowl records t he Irish cla imed, t hey wou ldn’t have snagged a ny of t hem w it hout Jack Coa n. The sig na l-ca l ler took t he most pass attempts in Fiesta Bowl histor y w it h 68. He ea rned 509 passing ya rds for t he Irish. This beca me a not her Fiesta Bowl record over t he ex ist ing 451 f rom Brow ning Nagle in 1991. A nd, his indiv idua l tota l ya rdage eclipsed bot h t he prev ious record of 431 — belong ing to Nagle — a nd Sa nders’s tota l on t he day, 496. Coa n had 505. Sa nders a nd Coa n wou ld combine t hough to achieve 880 net passing ya rds, a n overa l l ga me record in itself. This ca me f rom 119 pass attempts a nd resu lted in 9 tota l touchdow ns, a lso bot h records for t he Bowl.
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In a l l of t hat ya rdage, Coa n a lso tossed f ive touchdow n passes. This t ied a record f rom 1990 set by Florida State’s Peter Tom Wi l lis. The Not re Da me players Coa n connected w it h were Mayer for t wo, sophomore r unning back Chris Ty ree, senior receiver Kev in Aust in Jr. a nd f reshma n receiver Loren zo St yles. That sa me squad combined w it h senior receiver Braden Len z y a nd f reshma n r unning back Loga n Diggs to achieve t he most f irst dow ns t hrough t he a ir in Fiesta Bowl histor y. The Irish of fense outra n ked t he 2009 Texas Longhorns, ma k ing 24 passing f irst dow ns over t he Longhorns’ 23. Here too, t he Irish a nd t he Cowboys set t he combined ga me record w it h 43 passing f irst dow ns. This a lso cont ributed to t he tea ms sett ing t he tota l f irst dow ns record at 61. The Irish lef t success ma rkers t hroughout t he match-up w it h t he Cowboys, despite t he close loss. As t he Irish step into t he Freema n era, it’s not a quest ion of if more success w i l l fol low, but rat her a quest ion of when. Contact Mannion McGinley at mmcginl3@nd.edu
sports
ndsmcobserver.com | Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | The Observer
15
Football
Despite brutal Fiesta Bowl loss, Irish youth shine bright, look to future
ALLISON THORNTON | The Observer
Irish senior Braden Lenzy pulls away from a tackle during Notre Dame’s 37-35 loss on Jan. 1 to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. By AIDAN THOMAS Associate Sports Editor
While the 2021 Fiesta Bowl didn’t end the way Notre Dame wanted, there were positives to take away from the volatile performance. The Irish receiving corps has received much scrutiny, and the depth is a major question mark. But on Saturday, the Irish did show that maybe the demise of the receiver room was exaggerated. Every single player who caught a pass against
Oklahoma State is eligible to return in 2022, and with the potential of nine returning starters on offense, the Irish aren’t going anywhere. The offense boasts so much young talent everywhere. On Saturday, the Irish had three freshman starters on the offense and two sophomores. Freshman running back Logan Diggs and receiver Deion Colzie also appeared in the game. Second on the depth chart, Diggs notched 13 touches against the Cowboys.
The Irish distributed 41 offensive touches to their freshman and sophomore playmakers. That’s just under 70% of all touches given to guaranteed returners next year. Throw in Braden Lenzy and Kevin Austin’s combined 14 touches, and you have 93% of the offensive touches by players who could return next year. Editor’s Note: Since the writing of this article, senior wide receiver Kevin Austin has declared for the NFL draft. He announced his decision last Sunday evening. The keys to the receiving room success next season sit primarily in the hands of Lenzy and Austin. Both could potentially leave after this season but are eligible to head back to South Bend. In the first game without Brian Kelly, both receivers saw an increased role, with Lenzy’s target total standing out. Austin was the No. 1 receiver all year, but in the regular season, Lenzy never caught more than four passes. On Saturday, graduate student quarterback Jack Coan targeted Lenzy 15 times. The senior brought in seven of those passes for 60 yards, coming inches away from a couple of big contested catches. He led the Irish in targets. Austin tied for second with 13 targets, and he notched six catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. If both seniors return, the Irish will have two playmakers who showed an increasing ability to be a No. 1 receiver and handle a significant workload. Beyond Lenzy and Austin,
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the Irish have plenty more returning, and that shone through on Saturday. What about sophomore tight end Michael Mayer? He continues to be an absolute monster, collecting seven receptions for 72 yards and two touchdowns. The two touchdowns bumped his season total to seven, which is a single-season tight end record at Notre Dame. After the Stanford game, Mayer noted that he didn’t believe there was a single player in the country that could cover him one-on-one. Against a top10 defense with a month to prepare, that remained true. Oklahoma State only found relative success when doubleteaming the sophomore, and they still couldn’t contain him in the red zone. Mayer will be back, and he may be ready to firmly cement himself as the best ever in the vaunted litany of Irish tight ends. And then there was sophomore running back Chris Tyree, who flashed his incredible speed en route to 115 yards and five catches. Tyree has not always had a huge role over his first two seasons behind Kyren Williams. The Irish running back had two career 100-yard games — both last season — in his career. However, his 133 all-purpose yards set a career high and displayed his potent ability in the open field. In the first quarter, he blistered 53 yards on a short catch-and-run for a touchdown reception. He returns as one of three primary running backs who will
be a key factor in the offensive game plan. “That was one of the reasons that I came here. Coach [Tommy] Rees and Coach [Lance] Taylor made it pretty clear that I was going to be used to the best of my abilities,” Tyree said. And last but most certainly not least, there’s freshman receiver Lorenzo Styles. Styles featured plenty of talent and promise throughout the year. The reality was, though, that there never was a legitimate breakout game. Four receptions marked his career high, and 74 yards remained his best effort of the season. For the year, Styles notched 16 catches for 208 yards. But as the season progressed, Styles saw an increased role in the offense. Against the Cowboys, Styles cranked up the heat. The freshman hauled in eight of his ten targets for 136 yards and a touchdown, remaining the most consistent threat in the passing game throughout the contest. Even if Austin and Lenzy choose not to return to the Irish, Notre Dame can be confident that they’ve got two more years of Lorenzo Styles. In a receiving corps that has lacked a true No. 1 receiver since Chase Claypool left, Styles is the heir apparent. “He’s a special player. I’ve known him from day one,” Coan said of Styles. “He’s an extremely hard worker, an exceptional athlete.” Quite honestly, the team’s record of 509 passing yards will not be remembered. The Irish weren’t here to set some individual records. And the loss takes away the fact that no offense scored more than three touchdowns against Oklahoma State this season. But every single one of those 509 passing yards may have been caught by a player suiting up for the blue and gold again next season. So don’t get it twisted: Despite the disappointing result, Notre Dame showed they have the playmakers to score 30+ on an elite defense — and they did so with a near shutout in the second half. Give this program a few months to catch their breath after the recent events. And if ever yone’s back in 2022? Well, Coan said it best: “That’s prett y scar y for other teams.” Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
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The observer | Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
MEN’s Soccer
Three Notre Dame players taken in first round of MLS SuperDraft By J.J. POST Sports Writer
Courtesy of ND Athletics
Irish senior centerback Philip Quinton dribbles during Notre Dame’s College Cup semifinals shoot out fall to Clemson. Quinton was just drafted to the Columbus Crew in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft.
Yesterday the 2022 MLS SuperDraft saw three Notre Dame players selected, all in round one. This is the highest number of Fighting Irish ever taken in the first round. First off the board was forward Jack Ly nn, who was selected by Orlando Cit y w ith the 18th pick. Ly nn saw the field all four years at Notre Dame and led the Irish in goals and points over the last three years. Leading the line in South Bend, the St. Louis native was the principal offensive threat at Head Coach Chad Riley’s disposal during the team’s 2021 College Cup run. He finished second on the team in assists and first in goals. Ly nn was incredibly reliable from the spot as well in 2021. He stepped up for penalt y kicks on four different occasions and scored all
four. The next Irish player taken was Mohamed Omar, who the Colorado Rapids used the 23rd overall pick on. Omar ser ved as a centerpiece for Coach Riley, principally deployed as a defensive midfielder throughout his time in South Bend. With his passing range, one-on-one defensive abilities, and size, the Rapids may tr y Omar out as both a center back and conventional number six in his first days in Denver. The final Notre Dame player taken in the first round was center-back Phillip Quinton. He was also the final Notre Dame player taken through the rest of the draft. A powerful presence in the Irish back line, Quinton (who stands six foot six) proved often unstoppable for opposing teams. see M SOCCER PAGE 13
Football
Drew White embodies Irish captainship, discusses passing torch after Fiesta Bowl By MANNION McGINLEY Sports Editor
Know n for his extensive physical talent and abilit y to play allW hile Drew W hite has not yet made a decision in terms of his future w ith the Irish, he played in Saturday’s game as though it was his last appearance in the blue and gold. A lthough the Irish fell to the Ok lahoma State Cowboys, 37-35, W hite played a role in most of the defensive successes on the day. Indiv idually, the game capped off W hite’s third straight statistically impressive season. The graduate student linebacker (w ith one year of eligibilit y remaining) arrived in South Bend in 2017 and rose from a 3-star recruit to one of seven 2021 captains.
Establishing a reputation of reliability The Boca Raton, FL native
came to Notre Dame as the No. 977 player in the countr y and ranked No. 41 at inside linebacker. W hen he joined the roster, the Irish were not at their strongest. “Coming off a 4-8 season in 2016,” W hite said. “I came in and we’ve had doubledigit [w in] seasons ever y year I’ve been here. I’ve seen the culture change. I’ve seen this program continuing to climb.” W hite has climbed as well. After a freshman year on the scout team —where most of his recruiting class also spent the year— W hite took the field four times in his sophomore year. In his junior year he found another gear in what was statistically his best season. W hite started 12 of 13 games and led the team w ith 80 tackles (48 solo, 32 assisted and eight of them for loss). He had a single-game tack le career-high at 11 against Michigan, and he recorded
a fumble recover y in t wo straight games against Nav y and Boston College. As a senior in 2020, W hite posted another banner year w ith 56 total tack les, 29 of them solo. Additionally, he started to take on a leadership role which ultimately led to his captainship in 2021. As a captain, W hite made seven tack les in the season opener against Florida State. He logged one less tack le (55) but grabbed 30 on his ow n, and as he became even more vocal on the field, he started to have more explosive plays. He grabbed his first interception against Wisconsin, returning it for 45 yards and six points. He also had t wo fumble recoveries this year.
Growth shines through in Fiesta Bowl The Irish had t wo losses this season, and after see FOOTBALL PAGE 14
ALLISON THORNTON | The Observer
Irish senior linebacker Drew White jumps to defelectt a pass during Notre Dame’s 37-35 fall to the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Jan 1.