Print Edition for The Observer for Wednesday, January 18, 2023

South Bend partners celebrate MLK Day with breakfast

Community honors MLK Rhoads named VP of research

By PETER BREEN news writer

m ore than 800 attendees filed into the s outh Bend c entury c enter exhibit hall to commence the city’s 37th annual day of celebration for d r. m artin l uther King Jr. d ay m onday.

The 7:30 a.m. c ommunity s ervice r ecognition Breakfast, complete with vocal performances, award presentations and a keynote speaker, was the mere opening act in a lineup of events honoring King’s legacy locally this year.

“ i n s outh Bend, we have a good tradition of celebrating d r. King’s birthday with a day on and not a day off,” s outh Bend m ayor James

Notre Dame Walk the Walk Week commences

By BELLA LAUFENBERG i nterim notre dame news editor

o n July 21, 1964, political peacemaker and then- u niversity president Fr. Theodore h esburgh joined hands with m artin l uther King, Jr. after an impromptu address to crowds at a civil rights rally in c hicago.

h esburgh and King, standing side-by-side and hand-in-hand, sang “ w e shall overcome,” originally a gospel song that had since been adopted as an anthem for the civil rights movement.

This moment, memorialized in a photograph, has long defined the tradition of social justice at the u niversity of n otre d ame.

To continue this history and foster the culture of a socially-conscious campus community, the president’s oversight committee on diversity and inclusion announced the creation of w alk the w alk w eek

( w T ww ) in n ovember of 2015. The first observance of the week was held Jan. 18-22, 2016 and featured events like a celebration luncheon, a lecture from the co-founders of the Black l ives m atter movement and film screenings of “ s elma” and “Boycott,” among others.

This year marked only the second campus-wide observance of m artin l uther King, Jr. d ay, a

federal holiday. a s such, w T ww will be celebrated from Thursday, Jan. 19 to Friday, Jan. 27.

The president’s office is responsible for organizing the keynote events each year. This week’s keynote address will be delivered by n atasha Trethewey, a p ulitzer p rize-winner and the p oet l aureate of the u s . from 2012 to 2014.

Observer Staff Report

i n a Tuesday news release, the u niversity announced that mechanical engineering researcher Jeffrey “Jeff” r hoads has been appointed vice president for research at the university.

r hoads, who will take over the role effective July 1, currently serves at p urdue u niversity as a professor of mechanical engineering and the executive director of the p urdue i nstitute for n ational s ecurity. a ccording to the release, r hoads has “attracted more than $75 million in sponsored research funding across his various academic roles.”

r hoads will succeed r obert Bernhard in the role, who has served as vice president for research since 2007. i n his new position, r hoads will be responsible for overseeing n otre d ame’s research infrastructure “of more than 30 core facilities” and supporting programs for all academic disciplines within the university.

n otre d ame provost John m c g reevy, who recommended r hoads for the role, said in the release that r hoads is a “visionary and a problem-solver” who “has successfully led research programs in academia and the public sector, developing

Breen-Phillips rector takes leave

Observer Staff Report

i n an email to Breenp hillips h all (B p ) residents, director of residential life for rector recruitment, hiring and retention Breyan Tornifolio informed students that dorm rector a ngie h ollar is taking a temporary leave from her role.

“ we expect her back by mid- a pril and will miss her while she is gone,” Tornifolio

wrote in the email.

h ollar’s leave of absence follows two hall staff departures within the last two months, after the rectors of w alsh and Badin h all stepped down late in the fall 2022 semester.

Tornifolio also announced that Judy h utchinson, director of student engagement for notre d ame i nternational

Walker Hayes to perform in April

Observer Staff Report

w alker h ayes, a popular country music star, will come to n otre d ame during idea w eek in a pril, e xperience nd announced in an email Thursday.

h ayes will perform at the p urcell p avilion in the Joyce c enter on

s aturday, a pril 15. h e will be joined by special guests i ngrid a ndress and B reland h is performance will kick off idea w eek, a n otre d ame-hosted “innovation festival” open to the public, according to its website.

m ueller told The o bserver. Breakfast organizers included the Foundation of

s t. Joseph c ounty, p roject

PETER BREEN | The Observer

Mayor James Mueller of South Bend speaks at the 37th annual day of celebration honoring the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Courtesy of the University of Notre Dame

Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry (left) and Natasha Tretheway (right) to lead the keynote events during the eighth annual Walk the Walk.

Holly Bill sophomore Cavanaugh Hall “Harrisonburg, Va.”

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Becca Kubick junior Farley Hall “Stow, Ohio.”

Juliana Ramirez junior Breen-Phillips Hall

“Prague, Vienna, Zurich, Lucerne, Montreux, Milan.”

Campus was once again flooded with students when move-in started this weekend. Students eat at North Dining Hall after their first day of class; Classes began on Tuesday,

Corrections

The Observer regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times. We do, however, recognize that we will make mistakes. If we have made a mistake, please contact us at editor@ndsmcobserver.com so we can correct our error.

Wednesday

Need to Talk?

113 ColemanMorse Center

5 p.m. - 7 p.m. No appointment needed, just drop in.

SMC Women’s Basketball away 6 p.m.

Cheer on Saint Mary’s against Hope College.

Thursday

“Why I Write” 215/216 McKenna Hall 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. Former Poet Laureate Natasha Tretheway to speak for WTWW.

Moreau - King Dinner Noble Dining Hall 6 p.m. A brief program will precede dinner. All are welcome to join.

Friday

March for Life 2023 Washington, D.C. all-day ND Right to Life club will join the national March for Life.

Harlem Globetrotters Purcell Pavilion, Joycce Center 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Buy tickets ahead of time on their website.

Saturday

WTWW Service Project Duncan Student Center 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Sign up to volunteer.

SMC Women’s Basketball Angela Athletic and Wellness Complex 3 p.m. Versus Calvin.

Sunday

WTWW Prayer Service

Basilica of the Sacred Heart 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. All are welcome.

Men’s and Women’s Ministry Pulte Lounges 9 p.m. - 10 p.m. Come join in prayer at Holy Cross College.

SOFIA CRIMIVAROLI | The Observer

AJ Peterson junior Alumni Hall

and Jacksonville, Fla. for the bowl game.”

Melanie Agsam junior Lewis Hall “Aurora, Colo.”

Sarah Helper junior Farley Hall “Nashville, Tenn.”

Legends reopens after three years BP Rector

Observer Staff Report

Legends, the restaurant located just south of n otre d ame s tadium, reopened on m onday, the first day of the spring semester, according to a University e nterprises and e vents (U ee ) press release put out over break.

Legends closed during the pandemic, offering only some takeout options, and has only been open for the Legends Tailgate of c hampions, a home football game event.

“We are thrilled to reopen Legends. With its fantastic location right outside of n otre d ame s tadium,

Legends is the perfect spot for guests coming to campus every day, or just visiting for a quick trip,” vice president of U ee Anne Griffith said in the release.

The restaurant will feature a new menu and a “refreshed” tavern, according to the release. It will be open for lunch and dinner Tuesdays through s aturdays.

“Guests can expect a new menu and refreshed tavern with a wide variety of shareables, burgers, salads and sandwiches,” the press release said. “The refreshed space continues to celebrate the history, legend and lore of n otre d ame.”

Lee expressed his enthusiasm about the programming.

con TI n U ed from

( ndI), will step in as interim rector for bp

“Judy will move into bp on sunday, Jan. 22 and will live in the bp rector apartment,” Tornifolio said in the email.

Additionally, Tornifolio gave a biography of hutchinson to allow residents to learn more about their new rector, including that hutchinson has previously served as a rector for a total of 10 years —both on campus and abroad.

In her current role with ndI, hutchinson’s responsibilities include coordinating study abroad programs, supporting ndI’s Gateway network and overseeing pastoral and formative care for study abroad students.

c oncluding her email, Tornifolio encouraged bp

residents to remain optimistic and confident during the hall’s transition period and wished them well in their spring semester.

“I know that change can be hard, but I’m confident

we have a good plan to get us through this period of time,” Tornifolio wrote. “m any blessings on you as you move back into bp and know of my prayers for the upcoming semester.”

Trethewey, currently serving as an Artist in residence at the notre dame Institute on r ace and resilience, will deliver her speech, “Why I Write,” at 5 p.m. on Thursday in 215/216 mcKenna hall. following Trethewey’s address, WTWW’s annual service project and prayer service will occur over the weekend.

The WTWW service project this year aims to “address the immediate needs of people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity in the greater s outh bend area,” according to the website. The project will collect, organize and distribute necessary supplies, such as toiletries, to those in need. Items will be collected until s aturday, Jan. 21, at which point collections will be sorted, packaged and given to local organizations.

o n sunday at 6:30 p.m., the annual prayer service will be given by the episcopal c hurch’s presiding bishop and primate, the most rev. m ichael curry. curry received international attention in 2018 for his viral sermon at the wedding of p rince harry and meghan markle. he will lead the campus community in reflecting on d r. King’s legacy and praying for the end of injustice and inequality. After the address, participants will be welco med to take part in a candlelight march and reception in the main building rotunda.

While these three keynote events kick off the week, there are many more events to follow.

notre dame student government is one of the groups co-sponsoring events to come later on in WTWW. s enior and student body president patrick

“student government is excited to be a part of WTWW’s events that highlight all of our University’s strength and diversity,” he said. “It’s our privilege to work with the president’s office and our cultural clubs, and it’s our hope that all our events promote a healthier, stronger community for the notre dame of the future.”

Leading the organizing from student government is e liza smith, director of diversity and inclusion — race and ethnicity. smith expressed her personal connection to martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy on campus.

“for me personally, this week means a lot to me. I was the [student] senator to write the resolution requesting a fullday observance for m LK day, two years ago,” she said. “[The njomo-bisner administration and I] created the m LK coalition and we got that fully passed through all the necessary channels for the full observance. s o now, I’m working on WTWW, which just feels like a continuation of the groundwork we laid down.”

smith specifically addressed how honored she feels that student government and student opinions are being included and “sought out” for WTWW events and other decisions. she said she worked closely with heather Asiala, program director for strategic initiatives, and and hannah heinzekehr, program director for strategic communication, to advise the president’s office on how to communicate effectively to students.

smith also emphasized how King’s legacy is tied into the entire week of events.

“WTWW is a series of programming centered

around d r. martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, his legacy of providing equality for every person, providing service and helping out your fellow neighbor no matter how they identify,” she explained. “[ my team and the University] provide programming spanning from educational events to celebrating events to recognition to everything under that umbrella, to really just highlight different aspects of his mission and his legacy.”

While working with Asiala and heinzekehr to streamline the WTWW website and other marketing channels, smith and her department are also cosponsoring three WTWW events: a panel on the schoolto-prison pipeline, a black@ nd live podcast recording on black excellence and a dinner celebrating black excellence, the latter of which includes an address from derek Johnson, the ceo and president of the national Association for the Advancement of c olored people ( n AAcp).

smith noted how grateful she was for student government executive leadership in their efforts to build a collaborative relationship with the president’s office that led to her involvement in WTWW.

“patrick, s ophie and nicole have been exceptional. To have this new relationship with the president’s office really opens the doors for future admins to continue that relationship and collaborative efforts, so that we can see more events and programming that are with student input and that are highlighted and exciting in the community,” she said.

The president’s office, smith said, has encouraged the campus community to think about the future by using the phrase, “What’s your next step?” in this year’s marketing materials.

“being able to appreciate and acknowledge the work that has been done and appreciate the workers and the people who have

gotten us here,” she said. “but also looking forward zto what you as a person can do, I think, is incredibly impactful.”

When WTWW concludes, smith said her team’s next steps are focused on effective programming for black h istory month in february and Women’s h istory month in march.

“[ my department is] already working incredibly hard on black h istory month and Women’s h istory month —finding ways to highlight those events, elevate black organizations and multicultural clubs, because they have been so helpful in this process,” she explained. “We’re excited to provide support and assistance in any way possible that they need, so that we can continue this trend of supporting each other and keep the ball rolling on those kinds of initiatives.”

Contact Bella Laufenberg at ilaufenb@nd.edu

Observer Staff Photo

Breen-Phillips Hall, from which the rector announced her temporary leave of absence. She is expected to return to her position in mid-April.

Courtesy of Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame Emorja Roberson addressed the 2022 annual MLK candlelight prayer service in the Main Building Rotunda. A candlelight march and reception in the Main Building will follow Rev. Curry’s prayer on Sunday.

Impact, South Bend Heritage and the Civil Rights Heritage Center at Indiana University South Bend. The University of Notre Dame was a gold-level sponsor, while Holy Cross College contributed at the bronze sponsorship level. Proceeds from the celebration go toward the MLK Foundation of St. Joseph County scholarship fund.

Rev. Ray E. Owens of Macedonia Church served as master of ceremonies, welcoming patrons on behalf of the State of Indiana MLK Holiday Commission.

“I get to see all kinds of Martin Luther King celebrations all across the state. I say it every year. It’s true. I don’t get paid for saying it. It’s just true. The best celebration I have ever seen is always at St. Joseph County,” Owens said.

Showing off the talents of two hometown vocalists, Janet Norris and Makeda Grier, was next on the agenda — Grier followed Norris’ “America the Beautiful” rendition with a performance of “Lift Every Voice.”

MLK Holiday Celebration 2023 Planning Committee

Chair Gladys Muhammad, accompanied by Mueller, then took the stage to present the first awards of the morning. Muhammad, who has been on the planning committee for the MLK Day celebration since its inception, thanked her fellow volunteers and reflected on the day’s meaning.

“The Martin Luther King foundation was established in 1986. We were established to bring our community together in a cooperative fashion — both Mishawaka and South Bend, Notre Dame and all of our banks and all the entities that you see here today — to bring them together to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin

Luther King and all the things that he stood for to promote brotherly love and justice for all,” Muhammad said.

Standing beside Muhammad, Mueller read a proclamation acknowledging Notre Dame professor of the practice Michael Morris for his role in fostering entrepreneurship empowerment to those in the South Bend area operating under conditions of economic hardship.

Before a break in the program to eat breakfast, Mueller recognized Karrah Herring with a key to the City of South Bend. In 2020, Herring, a graduate of the South Bend Community School Corporation, was appointed to Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb’s cabinet as the state’s inaugural Chief Equity Inclusion and Opportunity Officer.

Subsequent to the meal, and after a recitation of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the rostrum was passed over to keynote speaker Girard Jenkins.

As vice president of operations for the Midwest and West at McKissack & McKissack, Jenkins leads ongoing and new projects for the construction management company in territories like Indiana and Illinois.

Founded in 1905, McKissack & McKissack is the oldest minority-owned architecture and construction firm in the United States. The company, which is directed today by twin daughters from the McKissack family, has engineered projects such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D. C.

Jenkins addressed the challenges of growing up in his grandfather’s Alabama household and the enduring racism in the construction and architecture industry. Above all, Jenkins underscored the

importance of family and the community involvement that accords parenthood.

“I have prided myself in always being able to be involved in the community,” Jenkins said. “If my kids were involved in anything, guess what? I was going to be right there.”

Following the keynote address, South Bend Mayor Mueller took back the stage alongside City of Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood — time for the pair to allocate their annual Drum Major Awards for community service.

Mayor Mueller recognized a triad of African American city leaders: Lynn Coleman of Let’s Turn It Around, Kimberly Green-Reeves of Beacon Health Systems and Jessie Whitaker of Project Impact. Coleman, a longtime South Bend police officer who is now a community trauma liaison at Memorial Hospital, ran against Mayor Mueller in the 2019 South Bend mayoral Democratic primary.

Mayor Wood shared his three drum major awards among four recipients, two from Electronics, Inc. and two from Vietnam Veterans of America. All four men were honored for their commitment serving the needs of local veterans.

“What an awesome crowd.

It’s great to be back with so many friends, honoring and celebrating this great American. We do that by honoring people right here in our community who live to the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King,” Wood said.

The final of the morning’s laurels to go out was the Roland Kelly Award, named in memory of the departed South Bend public servant and citizen.

For the first time in the award’s 15-year history, two recipients were honored. Indiana State Senator David Niezgodski received the first plaque. In an unprogrammed move, presenters Coleman and Randy Kelly, the son of Roland, then bestowed a second plaque, which was hidden in the podium, to Muhammad for her abiding commitment to the MLK Foundation of St. Joseph County.

Two additional musical performances closed out the ceremony. Grier sang an encore, “Stand Up, Take My People with Me,” and legendary tenor George Shirley performed “Oh Freedom.” Shirley was the first African American tenor to perform in a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The Indianapolis native received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama in 2015.

Sam Centellas, executive director of CDFI Friendly South Bend, an organization that supports minority women in small business, loves coming to “cross-sector” events like the Community Service Recognition Breakfast, which assemble the likes of bankers, social workers and teachers.

“[Breakfast attendees] are doing impactful work, primarily African American focused, but also community-engaged work in general, and [the celebration] is a really cool recognition of that,” Centellas said. “I think talking about collaboration is a key part about how everybody has to have a role. You can’t leave it to certain people to fix the problem. You have to be involved.”

Mueller added that community partners spend all year preparing the MLK celebration to showcase local initiatives and look ahead to the future.

“This is great to get all the community leaders together, or as many as we can fit the Century Center, to make sure that we’re on the same page and are supporting each other,” Mueller said.

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu

Rhoads

crucial partnerships along the way, and he is perfectly suited to guide this next phase of the University’s research enterprise.”

In the release, University president Fr. John Jenkins also expressed admiration for the new vice president.

“The research of our faculty has been a point of emphasis and an area of remarkable growth at Notre Dame, and we are delighted to welcome Jeff Rhoads to help lead us in the next stage,” Jenkins said. “Jeff is an accomplished researcher

and administrator and wellsuited to continue the exciting trajectory of Notre Dame research.”

According to the news release, Notre Dame “is one of the fastestgrowing research institutions in the nation,” having been granted $244 million in research award funding in the 2022 fiscal year.

Rhoads expressed excitement to continue Notre Dame’s growth in the vice president position.

“The growth of Notre Dame’s research portfolio, both in scale and, more importantly, global impact, over the past decade has been tremendous,”

he said in the release. “I am truly excited, and frankly humbled, by the opportunity to work with this strong internal team, as well as our government, corporate, academic and nonprofit partners, to build upon this firm foundation.”

Rhoads is an extremely accomplished scholar and carries five highly esteemed awards, including Purdue’s highest honor for undergraduate teaching, the Charles B. Murphy. He holds an undergradate degree, masters degree and a doctorate — all from Michigan State University. Rhoads will also receive a

professorship in the department of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University.

In the release, it was noted that Rhoads will lead a team of more than 30 core facilities along with providing support for other academic endeavors at the University. His role as vice president of research, he said in the release, will hope to dream big.

“We will think big, not shy away from global challenges, and work together, across the entire breadth of the University, to make a tangible and positive difference in society,” Rhoads said.

Tickets to the concert will be available on presale to the Notre Dame community prior to general admission. The presale will run from Jan. 14 at 10 a.m. to Jan. 26 at 10 p.m. with a limit of two tickets per person. The general sale will start Jan. 27 at 10 a.m. and will be held on Ticketmaster’s website.

The email said more information, including a link to purchase tickets, will be released soon.

PETER BREEN | The Observer

The Century Center Great Hall at 7:15 a.m. while venders were setting up their tables before the breakfast began. Attendees witnessed events such as award presentations, performances and a keynote speaker.

OBSERVER SPOTIFY WRAPPED 2022: IN OUR TAYLOR ERA

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, KIDS OF ALL AGES, WE’RE BACK WITH THE OBSERVER SPOTIFY (AND OTHER MUSIC PLATFORMS) WRAPPED. OUR TEAM OF STUDENT JOURNALISTS, FREQUENTLY FOUND AT MAJOR CAMPUS EVENTS OR HUNKERED IN OUR OFFICE IN THE BASEMENT OF SOUTH DINING HALL, LISTEN TO A LOT OF MUSIC. MAYBE EVEN MORE MUSIC THAN THE AVERAGE LISTENER, AS WE BLAST IT AWAY DURING LATE NIGHT PRODUCTION SHIFTS, WHILE TRAVELING TO COVER IRISH ATHLETICS OR WHILE WRITING A STORY.

ALL THAT MEANS THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF SPOTIFY WRAPPED DATA AMONG US. OR, IF YOU’RE OUR ESTEEMED MANAGING EDITOR AIDAN O’MALLEY … WE HAVE THE BREAKDOWN OF OUR YOUTUBE MUSIC LISTENING HABITS. EITHER WAY, WE’RE BACK WITH THE SAME PROJECT AS LAST YEAR. WE WILL CURATE A PLAYLIST FOR EACH DEPARTMENT AT THE OBSERVER AND DENOTE, AS AN ORGANIZATION, OUR TOP ARTISTS, SONGS AND A BONUS AWARD — THE TOP ALBUM.

By Aidan Thomas, Sports Editor

GRAPHICS, PHOTO AND SOCIAL MEDIA

TOP FIVE ARTISTS: TAYLOR SWIFT, HARRY STYLES, NOAH KAHAN, BILLY JOEL, ZARA LARSSON

We combined these departments due to their smaller nature and created their playlist as such. Over half the respondents from this group featured Taylor as their top artist, a trend that will be seen frequently throughout this article. A variety of Swift albums made their presence known in every department, but it was “Fearless” that dominated the Graphics/Photo/Social Media department playlist. Four songs from the album cracked the 25-song playlist, headlined by “The Other Side of the Door.”

A clear second was Harry Styles, who frequently made appearances but played second ddle to Swift in these rankings. His single “As It Was” and album “Harry’s House” featured prominently, with “As It Was” being one of the top songs throughout The Observer. Rounding out the top ve, Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” earned him a spot in this ranking, and a few of his songs appear throughout other playlists as well. There was a signi cant drop o into the nal two rankings, but Billy Joel and Zara Larsson each notched a topartist ranking in the department to claim a spot on the top ve.

The overall playlist includes six Taylor Swift songs and no other artist repeats.

NEWS TOP 5 ARTISTS: TAYLOR SWIFT, HARRY STYLES, PHOEBE BRIDGERS, DYLAN, KENDRICK LAMAR

Taylor was yet again a clear winner in News, as the top two artists from 2021 came through again this year. Swift was the top artist for 47% of respondents in the News Department, and Styles earned 18% of the remaining top-artist slots. That was easily enough to claim the top two spots in the artist rankings. Three songs from “Red (Taylor’s Version)” made the playlist, highlighted by the 10-minute version of “All Too Well.” “Late Night Talking” and “Grapejuice” from Styles’ “Harry’s House” led the way for the runner-up.

Outside of the top two artists, Phoebe Bridgers, the Observer’s overall No. 3 artist from 2021, makes her rst appearance. Three of her songs make an appearance in the playlist, with a pair from her album “Punisher” making the cut. Dylan and Kendrick Lamar round out the list, although you won’t nd any of the latter on the playlist, as none of his individual songs cracked the rankings.

With 14 of the songs belonging to the top three artists (and 16 to the top four), there’s less diversity in the News playlist, but the vibes stay immaculate.

SCENE

TOP 5 ARTISTS: TAYLOR SWIFT, SUFJAN STEVENS, KENDRICK LAMAR, FLORENCE & THE MACHINE, HARRY STYLES

The Scene department is able to dethrone Styles from his regular No. 2 slot, although Taylor remains atop the list. For the second-straight year, Su an Stevens claims the No. 2 spot among all Scene artists. His song “Back to Oz” is the headliner on the playlist. Swift was actually considerably less dominant among Scene respondents, but no other artist was able to clearly seize control, allowing Taylor to claim the top spot for the third-straight department. Two songs from her “folklore” album boosted her numbers on this playlist.

Outside the top two, we get another appearance from Kendrick Lamar, but again, the artist has no songs featured in the top 25. Florence & The Machine is another new name, buoyed into the rankings by their song “King,” and Styles rounds out the list. “Late Night Talking” was again a hit, keeping Styles just barely in the top ve.

The Scene department had a couple of the most noticeable quirks. One respondent produced a top ve songs all by Oingo Boingo, so a couple are present on this playlist. Additionally, cracking the list as the 25th and nal song was “Hedwig’s Theme.” Maybe it was music used to fall asleep, or maybe it hyped them up, but either way the Harry Potter music found its way onto the list.

SPORTS

TOP 5 ARTISTS: TAYLOR SWIFT, MORGAN WALLEN, FLORIDA

GEORGIA LINE, MACHINE GUN KELLY, ZACH BRYAN Florida Georgia Line and Machine Gun Kelly return as headliners on the Sports playlist. Taylor avenges herself after slipping behind OneRepublic in 2021 on the Sports rankings. This year, she rose back up to No. 1, putting herself one department away from a clean sweep. Country artists Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan round out the group.

“All Too Well,” the ten-minute version (of course), headlined this playlist as well, but it was the only Taylor song to make the list. By far, the Sports department boasted the most varied playlist, with no single artist being the primary artist for more than one song. Morgan Wallen featured in a second song, alongside his hit “Sand in My Boots,” but he was the only artist to appear twice.

In general, the Sports department playlist brings to mind some summer vibes with the heavy country presence, as well as some expected pre-game hype. The inclusion of the song “A-OK” is notable as it’s important to mention that Associate Sports Editor Andrew McGuinness listened to the song over 1,000 times, with the tune being the backdrop of the Philadelphia Phillies’ playo run.

VIEWPOINT

TOP 5 ARTISTS: TAYLOR SWIFT, HARRY STYLES, HOZIER, CONAN GRAY, LORDE

The sweep is complete. With three rst-place nods in the smallest set of respondents, Taylor Swift easily claimed the top-artist spot in Viewpoint, making it all ve departments. Seven of her songs cracked the top 25. Styles interestingly showcased some of his variety of music by claiming the No. 2 overall spot despite not having one of his signature songs crack the playlist. Rather, Hozier, coming in at the No. 3 spot, featured ve songs on the playlist. That included a trio from his playlist “Wasteland, Baby!” and two additional songs. The nal two artists on the list each earned a song apiece on the playlist. Lorde makes her return to Viewpoints’ top ve after checking in at No. 3 last year.

OBSERVER’S TOP FIVE SONGS

“All Too Well (10 minute version),” Taylor Swift

“As It Was,” Harry Styles

“Late Night Talking,” Harry Styles

“Stick Season,” Noah Kahan

“Movement,” Hozier

OBSERVER’S TOP 5 ARTISTS

NO. 5 - MORGAN WALLEN

NO. 4 - SUFJAN STEVENS

NO. 3 - KENDRICK LAMAR

NO. 2 - HARRY STYLES

NO. 1 - TAYLOR SWIFT

So while times have changed since I last wrote this article, some things may never change. And Taylor being played in the wee morning hours as we put the nishing touches on that day’s paper is one of those things that I don’t believe will change for a long time.

Contact Aidan at athoma28@nd.edu

I requested my Notre Dame admissions file

O’Malley managing editor

Title; it was disappointing. but we’ll get to that part later.

Your first question may be: how? my thanks to the Family educational rights and Privacy Act, or FerPA. remember that box you checked on the common App when you submitted your letters of rec? You were waiving your FerPA right to “inspect” those letters — then or later. so, mine were not included with this request.

Additionally, FerPA doesn’t let you see it all. While an observer alum who previously requested her admissions file was able to review a few vague, cryptic comments from the admissions staff, she also had to view her documents in-person and could only take notes with pen and paper. While it’s unclear if the pandemic (or the fact that I requested my file when we were on break) resulted in mine simply getting emailed, my documents were nonetheless clear of any trace of my reviewer. so if you’re reading this as a prospective student, itching to find out how you can game the system… I’m afraid this column is not for you. or is it?

Your second question may be: Why? I had my reasons. For one, I seem to like cringing at myself, and the comedic potential of what I wrote as an entitled, ambitious, 17-year-old “burnt-out gifted kid” was too good. (sidenote: If you unironically call yourself a “burnt-out gifted kid” in my presence, you will soon become a deceased one.)

I also thought there was a kind of, I don’t know, poetry, to requesting it now. As I hunker down this week for the start of my last semester in south bend, I am suddenly faced with a host of other “lasts.” someday soon, I will take my last final. someday soon, I will eat my last southwest salad. someday soon, I will drink my last Guinness at the backer… as a student. And today, I am writing my last inside column as managing editor of The observer — in truth, my last inside column, ever. so let’s do like the cha-cha slide and “reverse, reverse!” to before I even knew that I would (or could) get into notre dame.

The biggest file I received is a transcript of my common Application. most of it is pretty standard stuff: details about my parents, details about me. I forgot there was a “future plans” section, which I marked with “writer or journalist.” Aw.

The first part I cringe at, though, are my high school activities. For one, the activities in and of themselves are cringe (my top performer was the speech team at an appalling 33 hours per week for 22 weeks per year). but I also cringe because of just how obviously I’m selling myself. LinkedInese has always made me want to crawl out of my skin and straight into the ocean, and my verbs here sound like they’re trying to prove themselves. For example, in describing my high school’s chapter of the national honor society, I wrote I was “inducted for academic achievement and extracurricular leadership,” which like, isn’t wrong. but my induction class also included the requisite soundcloud rapper of my grade, so take the prestige I afforded this activity with a Grammy-sized grain of salt.

There are also some questions specific to notre dame. I was asked about my local parish, which is hilarious, because even though I gladly provided it, I don’t think I’d been to mass since I was pubescent. I was asked if any siblings or relatives attended notre dame; at the time, this question confused me, and today I’m still confused, only for a different reason. my intended major was english — also hilarious, since I can count on literally one hand every book I read in its entirety in four years of high school (if for some reason any former english teachers of mine are reading this: it’s not your fault). I was also asked about any activities I’d like to join if I went to notre dame, to which I checked “student newspaper.” Aw again. but then, there were my essays. Jesus, take the wheel. my general common App essay, all things considered, wasn’t that bad. In fact, I used it as the blueprint for a speech I gave at my graduation later that year. but notre dame’s supplemental essays were different.

one of the prompts that year was, “What is one thing you will definitely bring to college with you?” I said… a blanket. boi, what the hell, boi. Who do you think you are? I then proceeded to sleep all of first semester with no blanket on my bed. but another prompt simply said, “You have 150 words. Take a risk.” I told notre dame, in short, that I didn’t care if I was rejected. “I know just as well I don’t need you,” I wrote. “I’ll be happy wherever I go, because where you go is not who you are.”

Four years later, I’m struck by the candor of my 17-year-old self. In retrospect, I’m not sure I actually believed what I wrote, or if I only wrote it to persuade myself. It is also a well-documented fact that I did not expect to get in, afford or attend notre dame, so I guess the stakes of “taking a risk” were lower for me.

but for any prospective student reading this — no, I haven’t forgotten about you — I hope you take those words to heart, even if I didn’t when I wrote them. Like many elite American universities, notre dame’s acceptance rate is pretentiously low; early applicants to the class of 2027 faced a 15 percent acceptance rate this december, and the overall acceptance rate for the class of 2026 couldn’t even crack 13 percent. Those are institutional lows, and I know if I were faced with applying again, I would not have gotten in. I probably wouldn’t try. so take it from someone in your shoes just four years ago — who’s now nearly four years through with their college degree, staring down grad school in the not-so-distant future. I’ve loved my time here, but I would have loved it anywhere. And you, too, can love where you go, and not because of anything you wrote in your “why x” essay or anything a school can promise you in a promotional pamphlet. You’ll love where you go, because you go there. You Where you go is not who you are, but you’ll love where you go because of who you are.

You can contact Aidan at aomalle2@nd.edu.

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

The myth of the struggler

order to exclusively have those that succeed be entirely the result of their unique characteristics.

It is of our inevitable interest, particularly within a society like ours, to associate ourselves with the story of The struggler. The struggler is the person who has faced hardship after hardship, at times even failing, yet that through each obstacle they have acquired the knowledge, experience and ability to ultimately succeed in their endeavors. It is a story of hope, perseverance and determination. It is also merely that – a story.

The reason the story of The struggler is so compelling is rooted in the belief that that which The struggler achieves is deeply deserved. After all, they endured through every challenge they encountered to in order to reach their objective. It is not simply justified that they attain it: it is expected. It is only fair, no?

That begs the question whether suffering is the sole prerequisite to deserve something. other proposals then begin to emerge to determine whether they were worthy of their success relate to the capability or morality of The struggler. Were they smart enough, hardworking enough, loyal enough, diligent enough? Were they good enough?

These questions are asked because we have attributed virtue to achievement. he who is successful must be virtuous, for the greatest struggler shall be the greatest achiever and they will be the one who unequivocally deserves it the most. It is only logical that the degree of success is directly proportional to the time, care and effort one has invested into accomplishing greatness. This is the idea of a meritocracy, where the greatest strugglers are recompensed the most. It is a story of justice, fairness and order. It, too, is also merely a story — one that is certainly nice to believe but that does not reflect reality properly.

Though many understand and accept the idea that life is inherently unfair, this concept remains in the abstract beyond particularly catastrophic moments. nevertheless, said unfairness is present from the moment one is born and never departs. one never selects who to have as parents, in which nation to be conceived or what color of the skin to bear. since the second the infinite die is rolled and the lottery of life handpicks its winners, for some their future may have been decided. Irregardless of how smart, hardworking, loyal or diligent one is, when the hands of fate conspire against someone there are certain paths that are forever sealed. This is not to say that one’s entire existence is determined from their very first moment, but to pretend that one’s birth does not play a significant role in the possibilities a person has at hand would be irrational. most importantly, when life spins its wheel and decides that a certain person will grow in a certain place, it does not inquire on the goodness of a person. This fact cannot coexist with a truly meritocratic system, for such a place would ensure that every single human being has the exact same opportunities in

Yet this simply does not happen. The struggler is not a myth because there are no successful people who struggled, but rather, because to struggle is not a guarantee for success, it is not an equivalent exchange. This is not to discredit those who have struggled and succeeded, but we cannot blind ourselves into the belief that there are no other factors at play. I was indeed accepted into the University of notre dame as a result of my individual efforts, talents and skills, but would I have been able to even come close to that level of academic proficiency had my parents been unable to offer me a proper education? Would I have been able to come here had I been required to work full-time in order to ensure there would be food on the table, preventing me from focusing on my studies? Would I have had as much financial leeway if I did not count with a slip of paper that happens to say I was born in a specific region on this planet? I cannot know, but I cannot help but wonder how many better qualified people out there were never given the slightest chance. Is it fair for me to be where I am? should I have struggled more? Am I good enough to deserve it?

Worst of all, followers of the myth of meritocracy have begun not only to venerate those that succeed but also to despise those that fail. This is due to the fact that its logic can be applied inversely: he who is not successful must, then, not be virtuous. The greatest failures are only product of their lack of effort. If you do not thrive, it is simply because you don’t try hard enough, no? The homeless and poor are lazy, the wonders of meritocracy would benefit them if they just tried! surely, they do not, otherwise how would they be in that position? What could possibly explain it?

As a society, it would perhaps be fruitful to reconsider what it truly means to succeed or fail. neither are a necessary mark of innate ingenuity, masterful adaptability or moral supremacy. We must face the discomfort that may arise from this realization by approaching the world with a nonjudgmental frame of mind. For in the end, do we not all struggle in our very own unique way? Why must success be the determining factor as to whether our suffering was justified?

Carlos A. Basurto is a first-year at Notre Dame ready to delve into his philosophy major with the hopes of adding the burden of a computer science major on top of that. When not busy, you can find him consuming yet another 3+ hour-long analysis video of a show he has yet to watch or masochistically completing every achievement from a variety of video games. Now with the power to channel his least insane ideas, feel free to talk about them via email at cbasurto@nd.edu (he is, tragically, very fond of speaking further about anything at all).

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

Aidan

Carlos Basurto eudaemonic banter

New year, same me

Jonah Tran de re Publica

I like the idea of new Year’s resolutions. no, in fact, I love them. I think new Year’s resolutions are a fantastic, nearly foolproof way to commit yourself to new goals. They improve productivity, promote ambition and summarily eliminate procrastination. here are my top three favorite resolutions of all time!

number 1. Go to the gym. The goal of consistently hitting the gym is a common goal to say the very least. I mean, every year everyone puts it on their list with a 100% success rate of following through. everyone thinks they can be thinner, look better, so they immediately take up the discounted startup fee at their local commercial gym and begin the grind. I advise to start with social media, find your favorite fitfluencer’s “Get abs in 22 days” workout regimen, and plank to lose weight. begin on Tuesday January 2, never January 1. That is a monday. Are you crazy? Avoid lifting too heavy because it might make you too bulky. And in 22 days, you will have the summer body and be ready to hit the beach four months in advance. It is that easy!

number 2. Eat healthier eat more salad because salad is healthy, right? Green is good. reduce weekly dining hall cookie consumption from 14 to eight and opt for drinking an extra cup of water each day. do note that calories consumed from Trader Joe’s snacks and starbucks are negligible. Turn all your body’s fat into muscle by making these changes. It is that easy!

number 3. Spend less time on the phone. Instead of mindlessly browsing TikTok for hours on end, browse Instagram for equal or slightly less duration. make sure not to look at your phone immediately after waking up. Just wait until you are getting ready for the day, which is approximately ten minutes after. during the day, you ought to check your phone immediately only when your top three friends text you, as for everyone else, wait five

minutes. If you make these small changes, you will reduce daily screen time from six hours to five hours. It is that easy!

Who wants to struggle to achieve their goals? Would it not be better for everything to be easy? It is easy as pie, and I love pie! Therefore, I love easy. And this is precisely the problem.

Let me clarify my actual perspective on the “new year, new me” mentality: I do not hate it, just strongly dislike it, a lot. It is ridiculous to think that the changing of a year has any impact whatsoever on one’s obligations. And then to attach “resolutions” often accompanied by feigned determination and half-hearted conviction makes the situation even more ridiculous. despite these strong words, I still think there is something redeemable about resolutions in general, so I offer a few revisions to the subject. be precise in your words. What is it specifically that you aim to do? If you want to improve your physical health, which many resolutions commonly cover, do not get lost in the realm of vague language. Going to the gym suggests a myriad of possibilities that may or may not pertain to working out: socializing with your workout partner, sitting on the hydromassage recovery machine, sipping on a celsius while waiting for a bench, or getting a haircut (my hometown gym offers a barber). I advise you to be incredibly specific about your goal. Which exercises are you going to do on which days? how many minutes of cardio do you plan to do? Will my workout partner motivate and encourage me? having these systems in place ensures your words have conviction.

reject procrastination. If you are reading this article right now wondering how to stop procrastinating, stop reading this immediately, get up and do something — anything. The world is not made for procrastinators. It is reserved for people of action. doers. Procrastination is the failure of one to control his or her mind, allowing one’s feelings or, in this circumstance, the changing of the year, to dictate actions. If you cannot control your own mind,

then you are just a feather floating aimlessly through the world waiting to be carried from good times to bad times. do what you are supposed to do, not what you feel. I am purposely severe about the subject of procrastination since people tend to justify or outright deny their culpability. It must be said. Get it done.

become an everyday resolutioner rather than a new Year’s resolutioner. creating resolutions is a uniquely human phenomenon whereby dissatisfaction compels one to pursue something more. It speaks to the ubiquitous longing to succeed in every endeavor. by organizing your resolutions on a short-term scale, anywhere from daily to monthly, one can better confront a significant ambition such as weight loss. Given the shortened timeframe, you are nearly forced into being precise in naming out your goal. You cannot lose a great deal of weight in one day, but you can count your daily calories. routinely practicing discipline with these short-term resolutions breaks the vicious cycle of repeating the same long-term resolutions each new year. I believe in you, my fellow resolutioner. I believe that legitimate change is possible for you and me if we truly desire it. I believe that this message, thus far, was harshly worded, obnoxiously sarcastic but still bears undeniable truth. I have done all of this on purpose because 2023 is, in fact, our year. see what I did there. I will leave you with overused cliches that, nevertheless, have striking pertinence to the discussion of new year’s resolutions. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. You can do anything as long as you put your mind to it. Never give up. New year, new me.

Jonah Tran is a first-year at Notre Dame double majoring in finance and economics and minoring in classics. Although fully embracing the notorious title of a “Menbroza,” he prides himself on being an Educated Young Southern Gentleman. You can contact Jonah by email at jtran5@nd.edu.

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

The 2023 year of language

Devin Humphreys Life, Law and the Lord

This beginning of a new semester at notre dame coincides with the beginning of the calendar year. While my friends know (perhaps more than they’d like) of my opinions about how we don’t emphasize Advent enough in the church liturgical calendar, the secular new Year provides just as solid an opportunity for introspection, reflection and resolution.

but how slippery human resolve can be! As anyone who has given up on dry January or cancelled a new gym subscription can tell you, intentions established on Jan. 1 do not necessarily lead to actions taken on Jan. 2, 3 or 4. It was with this problem in mind that cGP Grey put out a YouTube video to address the pitfalls of making new Year’s resolutions. For those who don’t know, cGP Grey is an educational YouTube channel that goes in depth on the most random assortment of things — everything from politicking at the supreme court (which has obvious appeal to a law student like myself) to the superiority of the hexagon (which though not at all related to the law nonetheless is oddly appealing as well). I generally enjoy his videos, and I highly recommend them to the intellectually curious. About this time two years ago, Grey put out another in his eclectic collection titled “Your Theme.” Its premise was simple enough: instead of developing a new Year’s resolution that is oriented toward a goal, such that failure to meet that goal is taken as an understanding that the resolution itself failed, we should instead develop new Year’s resolutions surrounding a particular theme. one example he gives is that instead of shooting for X pounds of weight loss in Y years, one could instead dub 2023 the “Year of health.”

I, however, take the view that Grey’s suspicion of goaloriented resolutions is only partially warranted. sure, new Year’s resolutions that are metrically measurable can lead one to conclude that he or she has “failed” for not having met the metric, but by the same token, the very same metric can show me that I am “succeeding” at my new Year’s resolution

if my relevant metric is being met. There are pros and cons to Grey’s central point here. however, a different point issue Grey pins down in that YouTube video is one I hope to adapt to my own life circumstances: themes can and should be broad. For Grey, this is because a broad theme gives one flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances without having missed a metric and thus “failed” a resolution. I think there’s a simpler case to be made: broad themes give us a wider capacity to brainstorm ways to do things that are on theme.

I’ll use an example to explain what I mean: I’ve chosen “Year of Language” as my 2023 theme. right now, I have three things in mind that I mean to be doing to stay on theme. The first is that I hope each day of 2023 to make some forward progress on the goal of learning French. I was blessed with the opportunity to join the notre dame Liturgical choir towards the end of last semester, and while it is only a possibility that I may accompany Team Lc on tour to Paris this spring break, I have had other additional reasons to want to learn French for a long time. While I was at michigan state University for undergraduate, I was involved with their canadian studies center, gaining a unique perspective on canadian politics from many of the top movers and shakers. As edifying as those experiences were, some of them were held back by the fact that I lacked even a rudimentary knowledge of French. This, then, is something that I hope to rectify in 2023, at least in some small part. but the wonderful thing about a broad theme is that “Year of Language” does not boil down to French. I’ve written previously about my shortwave radio listening hobby, and one of the things I’ve often thought about doing is learning more about radio transmission and telegraphy. Knowing morse code would be exceptionally helpful for the task, so in this themed 2023 Year of Language, I intend to “use morse code for things,” which of course implies learning morse code in the first place as a prerequisite. As a staunch Android partialist, an app called morse mania has been a godsend as I embark on that endeavor, and one way that I’ve been able to put this newfound knowledge to practical use is by installing a different app called buzzKill that I’ve been able

to program to have people’s texts buzz my phone in morse code so I know who’s trying to contact me without having to look at my phone. If I keep this up, here too the 2023 Year of Language will be a true success.

Lastly, Year of Language encompasses not just what we say to other people (or how we say it for that matter) but also what we say to God and how we listen to him in turn. one of the reasons I felt drawn to Year of Language as my 2023 theme was that it gave me the opportunity to really hone in and reflect on my prayer life. This year, I look forward to opportunities to expand my prayer horizons by engaging with devotions that have only ever been in my periphery. As to things like adoration and the divine office that I know exist but do not tend to utilize in my prayer life? I think this year may be the time to try some of those and see what sticks. If exploration of different avenues of prayer leads me to a new way of prayer or two that I really enjoy, then the 2023 Year of Language will be three for three.

so whether it’s a foreign tongue like French, a different means of communicating information like morse code or a different conduit for building a relationship with our heavenly Father, I think “Language” is capacious enough to contain them all and whatever other such similar opportunities I haven’t even thought about yet. I truly look forward to seeing just what the 2023 Year of Language will bring! I hope this column might inspire you to make a late themed resolution of your own. If you take me up on this, I’d love to hear about it; my email is in my byline!

Devin Humphreys is a 3L at Notre Dame Law School. When he isn’t serving as the sacristan at the Law School Chapel, singing with the Liturgical Choir or Chorale or competing at a quiz bowl tournament, he’s sharing his thoughts on the legal developments of the day with anyone who will listen. For advice on law school, hot takes on Mass music and free scholarly publication ideas, reach out to Devin at dhumphr2@nd.edu or @DevinJHumphreys on Twitter.

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

A multidimensional activist

I.m.P.A.c .T.

monday marked the 37th year the legacy of dr. martin Luther King Jr. has been celebrated as a national holiday. dr. King’s commitment to overarching equality initiated a monumental fight towards racial justice that will never be forgotten. As an activist that fought to end all forms of oppression, mLK’s work has extended far beyond the civil rights movement and continues to serve as a reminder that change is possible. When reflecting on the important work of mLK, it is important to remember all the important activists that were involved in this historic movement. one of the most notable activists whose work is often overlooked is coretta scott King: the wife of martin Luther King Jr. however, coretta scott King was far more than the wife of mLK, she was a pillar of the civil rights movement who expanded dr. King’s legacy after his death and continuously campaigned for global social justice. on this holiday, it is essential that we remember both the important work of martin Luther King Jr. along with the profound leadership role coretta scott King played in working toward equality in the civil rights movement and beyond.

As detailed in an article in The Atlantic, coretta scott King’s activism began far before the civil rights movement. she was more involved in politics than dr. King when they first met, her activism started with her involvement in the nAAcP and other race-based organizations at Antioch college in ohio. Fifteen months after their marriage they moved to montgomery, Alabama. scott King played an essential role in the montgomery bus boycotts and continued her important work even when the King’s house was bombed eight weeks into the 381 day boycott.

however, coretta scott King was not the only woman who played an influential role in the boycott. As scott King said, “women have been the backbone of the whole civil rights movement.” The Women’s Political council initiated the boycott after rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white man on a bus, groups of black women conducted food sales to raise money for the carpools that allowed the protests to carry on and another group of women signed plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit that prompted the supreme court’s decision to desegregate city buses. These women made their aspirations to create radical change a reality. While coretta scott King is known by many as the supportive wife to dr. King, in reality, her activism not only influenced King’s work but aimed to end all oppression.

After King received the nobel Peace Prize, coretta scott King emphasized the important role they must play in pursuing world peace, starting with publicly opposing U.s. involvement in vietnam — an action that King was hesitant to take at first as he feared criticism. evidently, when King was asked if he had educated his wife about antiwar issues, King said, “she educated me.” even after King’s death, scott King’s activism did not slow down. she addressed 50,000 people at the Lincoln memorial about racism, poverty and the vietnam War. Additionally, she expanded her work towards advocating for welfare programs, abolishing apartheid in south Africa and fighting for gay rights and same sex marriage. Until her death, coretta scott King fought against a wide variety of injustices by addressing the multiple inequities built into society.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (dr. King). coretta scott King’s activism authentically embodied this influential quote. While dr. King’s crucial work towards racial justice created radical change, coretta scott King initiated, motivated and expanded King’s message to combat injustices on a global scale. dr. King’s work would not have been possible without coretta scott King; she and many other women were at the core of the success of the civil rights movement and beyond. The erasure of coretta scott King’s contribution to combating social inequalities is evident to the racism and sexism that continue to permeate our society. While there are many intersecting factors that continue to marginalize specific identity groups from society, it is crucial that we all remember the work of both martin Luther King and coretta scott King that brought attention to these critical issues.

As described in an article detailing the impact of mLK’s work, we must remember that achieving true equality means extending this value farther than our own communities in order to work towards global justice. As shown in the diversity of issues coretta scott King worked to combat, there are a multitude of ways to make impactful change. mLK day is about more than the individual legacy of martin Luther King Jr.; it is about the collective struggle of achieving equality for all. The work of many activists continues to go unnoticed due to the invisible barriers that silence the voices of marginalized identities. dr. King was a voice for many, he was the cutting image of an oppressed individual that was finally being heard by the public at large. his perseverance, strength, wisdom and intelligence should be celebrated with pride, but the essential figures that made the movement possible should never be forgotten. While coretta scott King is one of the most notable, she is hardly the only one. As we celebrate the legacy of mLK this January, let’s remember the people whose activism advanced the civil rights movement and expanded mLK’s powerful messages in order to work towards achieving overarching social justice.

Grace Sullivan is a first-year at Notre Dame studying global affairs with a minor in gender studies. In her column I.M.P.A.C.T. (Intersectionality Makes Political Activist Change Transpire), she is passionate about looking at global social justice issues through an intersectional feminist lens. Outside of The Observer, she enjoys hiking, painting and being a plant mom. She can be reached at gsulli22@nd.edu.

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

my noisy neighbor

I am almost 60 years old and a “non-matriculating learner” back on notre dame’s campus. I am not quite a student and I am not faculty or staff. I don’t fit neatly into notre dame’s classification structure and my status varies depending on the need or request. I am a Fellow in the 202223 cohort of the Inspired Leadership Initiative (ILI). my colleagues and I have all embarked on this encore education experience to discover, discern and design the next phase of our lives, after spending 20+ years in rewarding and successful careers. When I arrived in south bend in August 2022, I was full of energy and excitement about what I would learn and discover about myself over the next year. This quickly dissolved to exhaustion and weariness and many emotions in between.

I moved into my apartment at The Foundry a couple weeks before the start of fall semester. I wanted to live at The Foundry because of the close proximity to be able to walk to and from my apartment to campus and back every day. I am on the third floor, even though I specifically requested to be on a top floor and was told I would be. When I arrived, I found out I was instead on the third floor and there were zero vacancies. The first week in my apartment was very quiet, save for the loud music from a tenant arriving in the parking lot every morning between 6:30 – 6:45 a.m. I surmised this to be someone who works nights and comes home from their shift and blasts their terrible music with no regard for neighbors who may be still sleeping. This intrusion serves as my unwanted wake-up call. The terrible music I can live with, as it lasts from three to seven minutes. Yes, I’ve timed it. What I’ve struggled to live with is the daily, constant stomping, slamming, bamming, scraping, rolling and dragging noises above me. This cacophony of noise started about the third week I was in my apartment. The first week or so, I chalked it up to the sounds of moving in. Lots of what sounded like dragging — perhaps moving of furniture, slamming cabinets, throwing down heavy objects onto the floor, stomping across the floor and sounds of rolling, lots of rolling! After about a month and this noise did not cease and being awaken by what sounded like weights being slammed onto the floor, ala a work-out, I got out of my bed and went up to the fourth floor apartment above me. I knocked and knocked and finally a shirtless and sweaty young man opened the door. I introduced myself as his downstairs neighbor and asked if he was lifting weights. As he replies, “no, it’s not me, I’m not doing anything,” I’m peeping through the crack of his door into his apartment and seeing a mess all over the floors. barely any room to walk. I swear I saw a hand weight. I did not confront him about it, but asked nicely if he would please be cognizant of the noise and keep it down. he did not. over the next several months the noise persisted. every. day. day and night. I was incredulous. I contacted The Foundry management, but that was a waste of time and a “whole nother story.”

I struggled with how to deal with this disturbance of my peace. I was not expecting to live in total silence, but at the same time did not know I would have to pray for moments of quiet. As I look back on this past semester, I can vividly recall my journey through the whole ‘cycle of change’ that I have taught and coached leaders throughout my career.

Phase I: Loss and doubt. The hallmark of this phase is loss of control. I had zero control over when my home would be bombarded with all manner of noise. I heard him slamming the toilet up. I heard him peeing. I heard him slamming the toilet down. many, many times during

the day and night. I heard him rolling in what sounded like a desk chair, from the office area to the kitchen. I angrily imagined him greedily getting a snack from the cabinet then slamming it and happily rolling back to his desk. I heard him stomping around every square foot of that apartment, which became so much louder during the colder months, when he seemed to be wearing heavy boots. I heard him moving furniture around every day. Who moves furniture around every day? I doubted my decision to come to notre dame for the ILI program. I contemplated dropping out. I then became very angry, the primary feeling in Phase I. I wished he would flunk out and have to go home. I resented him and could not believe he was being so inconsiderate to a fellow human being. As my mom would say, “does he have no home training?”

Phase II: discomfort and discovery. This phase was rife with my anxiety, the primary feeling at this stage, and trying to figure out how to mitigate the noise. I tried to be away from my apartment as much as possible, which was not ideal for me, as I am essentially a home body. When home, I amped up my own noise levels in an effort to cover up the noise from above, constantly running the fan in the bathroom and the fan on the stove. “Alexa, play spa music” was my immediate command as soon as I walked in the door to my apartment every day. I wore ear plugs all the time, even when I slept. I felt terrible about the noise I was surely causing for my downstairs neighbor, but I also hoped they would call the apartment management to report me because then maybe something would be done about my noisy upstairs neighbor. nope.

Phase III: Understanding and Integration. As I began to deal with a health issue of my own, I started to think about my upstairs neighbor and wonder what he might be dealing with as well. I wondered why he was always in his apartment. he seemed to never leave to go to class or work. maybe he’s a home body too, but a noisy one. he never had anyone over, that I could hear. I would anticipate home football game weekends and think surely he will go out with friends and to the game and I’ll have a quiet break. he never did. I started to wonder why would a 20-something stay in his apartment all the time, moving around, even pacing about… all the time. my thoughts about him became less blaming and more toward trying to understand. I allowed myself to feel some empathy for him. I started to pray for him. I wondered if he suffers from anxiety or some other mental health issues. I have talked with enough students on campus to understand it is certainly a debilitating issue for many in this generation. one of my ILI colleagues was also dealing with noise issues with a neighbor and after similarly complaining to the office with no satisfaction, brought some cookies to them. right before the christmas break, I tried to do the same with my neighbor, but he did not answer the door. I’m pretty certain he was in his apartment because I had just heard him stomping around before I went up there with the peace offering. maybe he looked out of his peephole and saw me and just couldn’t deal. I get it. directing behavior toward more generosity is the goal of this final phase to accepting change. I do have more empathy now. I still don’t like the noise and wish it was not a constant in my life for the next five months, but I will live with it and wish the best for my noisy neighbor.

Timi Griffin ILI Fellow 2022-23 mbA ‘01

LeTTer TO THe edITOr

Grace Sullivan

Irish swimming and diving sweep Navy, split with Princeton

By AIDAN THOMAS sports e ditor

s parked by 15 individual wins, the n otre d ame swimming and diving program recorded three wins versus n avy and Princeton this past weekend. The men’s team went 2-0, improving to 4-1, overall. m eanwhile, the women’s team split with a 1-1 record, moving their record to 3-2.

Men’s team sweeps Midshipmen, Tigers

The men’s team started off strong, garnering a victory in their first event, the 200 Freestyle r elay. s ophomore c hris Guiliano blazed through the opening leg in 19.8 seconds, earning a half-second edge on the field. That proved critical, as the Irish ended up winning by just .08 seconds over Princeton and 0.4 seconds over the m idshipmen. Guiliano added an individual win in the 50 freestyle.

In individual events, senior Jack h oagland produced the first n otre d ame victory, dominating the 400 individual medley by over three seconds. Trailing after the butterfly leg to open the event, h oagland dominated the backstroke section to open up an advantage that he maintained throughout the event. h oagland went on to win the 1650 freestyle as well.

Later in the day, the Irish posted a strong 1-2 finish in the 100 backstroke.

Freshman Tommy Janton won by over a second (46.5 seconds), and junior Kaden s mesko took second place.

To end the first day of competition, the Irish men’s team dominated the diving event, a weakness for the program in past years. Two freshmen, d aniel Knapp and b en n guyen, finished first and second, respectively. Knapp won the event by almost 50 points.

o n s aturday, the Irish started off with a victory in the 200-medley relay. s enior c ason Wilburn provided the spark in the third leg. h e flew through the butterfly in 20.69 seconds to help the Irish surge into the lead. Guiliano anchored the relay to secure the victory. Wilburn and Guiliano both went on to win individual events. Wilburn edged n avy’s Jonah h arm in the 100 butterfly, while Guiliano cruised to a win in the 100 freestyle.

Again, the Irish dominated the backstroke on s aturday. They claimed four of the top five spots in the 200 backstroke, led by Janton’s first-place effort.

Freshman m arcus Gentry took second, senior Jack Fitzpatrick finished fourth and s mesko added a fifthplace performance.

h oagland claimed his

third individual victory of the weekend in the 500 freestyle, taking the win by over eight seconds. h e later featured in the second leg of the 400 freestyle relay. h e and Guiliano swam the first two legs, giving n otre d ame a solid advantage after 200 yards. The Irish ultimately edged Princeton by 0.14 seconds.

Again, Knapp and n guyen dominated the diving performance, claiming the top two finishes. Knapp won by 37.55 points. That put the wraps on a dominating overall effort from the Irish. They beat Princeton, 234-145, and n avy, 208-119. It was a strong win for n otre d ame who is ranked 23rd in the polls, while Princeton is second in the receiving votes section. The Irish’s only loss this season is to n o. 18 Louisville.

Women’s team goes 1-1

The Irish women’s team took home three individual wins plus a relay victory to start their weekend off. Prior to obtaining their first individual win, the Irish swarmed the podium in the 100 backstrokes, claiming the second, third and fourth place finishes. s ophomore m adelyn c hristman finished in 54.19 seconds, just .04 seconds off the winning pace.

In the next event, senior c oleen Gillilan edged out classmate e llie Jew in the

100 breaststroke, as the Irish claimed the top two finishes in the event. c oleen’s younger sister, freshman r enee Gillilan contributed to another top-two sweep for the Irish in the 200 butterfly. Junior m egan d euel dominated the event, winning by 1.2 seconds. Junior e mma Gleason and sophomore m adeline m enkhaus added top-five finishes in the race.

A few events later, the Irish showcased their prowess in distance swimming, claiming the top three times in the 1650 freestyle. s ophomore m aggie Graves won the event with ease, clearing the next-best time by 21 seconds. s ophomores m ary c ate Pruitt and s ophia Karras rounded out the top three.

In the relays, Jew and Gillilan combined to provide a dominant middle two legs of the 400 medley. Jew gave the Irish the lead over Princeton with a 1:00.01 leg in the breaststroke, well over a second faster than any other participant.

Gillilan extended the advantage to over two seconds with a blazing 51.57-second butterfly leg.

To round out the day, the Irish claimed second, third and fourth place in the onemeter diving, led by graduate student Allie Klein.

Jew and Gillilan again sparked the middle legs of a relay to open s aturday’s

racing, as the Irish won the 200 individual medley. Gillilan gave n otre d ame a lead over Princeton, and freshman Grace b renneman anchored the squad to bring home the win.

Pruitt produced n otre d ame’s first individual win of the day in the 500 freestyle. Graves and junior Allison Kopac added third and fourth-place finishes, respectively. That event sparked a run of four individual events to end the day in which n otre d ame placed a swimmer in the top two. c olleen Gillilan added a win in the 100 butterfly, and r enee Gillilan earned a second-place finish in the 200 individual medley.

In diving, freshman Grace c ourtney finished second in the three-meter competition, putting the wraps on a strong weekend for the women.

n otre d ame thrashed n avy, 279-74, but they fell in a tight battle with Princeton, 188-165. The Tigers earned victories in the final three events to secure the win.

The Irish take this upcoming weekend off, and then they will host the Tim Welsh c lassic on Jan. 27 to 28. b oth teams will look to improve on their times with the postseason looming in just a month.

Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu

Cason Wilburn, a then-senior from Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, competed in a butterfly event during the 2020-2021 swim and dive season. In this race, Wilburn swam the third leg of the 200-medley relay, resulting in a victory. After last year’s meet was cancelled, the Irish’s performance against Navy and Princeton signals a promising start to the 2023 season.

The Gopher ultimately killed off their penalty, though the Irish still had momentum. That went away when a hit by sophomore forward hunter strand from behind resulted in a five-minute major and a game misconduct, ending strand’s night.

much like the Irish, minnesota struggled to control the puck in their attacking zone for the first few minutes of their power play. The Irish would kill off the major, but disaster struck later in the frame.

First, minnesota’s ryan Johnson lit the lamp at five-on-five with 2:15 left in the first. Then, in the final minute of the first period, the Irish took not one, but two penalties. one was for a cross-checking call on junior defenseman drew bavaro. The other was a roughing call on senior forward solag bakich, both of which carried into the second.

The Golden Gophers began the second by taking possession of the puck and playing an aggressive attack. Their efforts were rewarded when Logan cooley broke into the Irish zone off a nice feed by snuggerud. not seeing a pass, cooley brought the puck down into the near faceoff circle, moved to the slot, pivoted and beat bischel glove side.

Though they were down 2-0, the Irish continued to play hard. They were even gifted a chance to get back into the game when minnesota’s bryce brodzinski committed a slashing penalty. however, the Irish were unable

to do anything on their powerplay. In fact, the Irish did less than nothing, as matthew Knies scored a short-handed goal to make it a 3-0 lead. All the maple Leafs prospect did was split three Irish defenders to get to the net, redirecting the puck it into the net after briefly losing control right through bischel’s five-hole.

Though there were no goals in the third period, the final twenty minutes did not lack physicality. bavaro picked up his second penalty of the night for a holding call early in the frame. but the real fireworks began with less than a minute to play. First, minnesota’s connor Kurth was ejected from the game for contact to the head. during the stoppage, while minnesota head coach bob motzko challenged the call, notre dame was assessed a two-minute bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. Though the Irish produced a few good attempts, they ultimately fell 3-0.

The loss drops notre dame to 10-11-3 on the season, with a record of 5-7-2-1-1-0 in the big 10. The split with minnesota allows them to remain in fifth in the conference. They are seven points behind Penn state, michigan state, and ohio state, and two points ahead of michigan.

The Irish will continue big Ten play as they go on the road to face the Penn state nittany Lions. The two teams have already met and split the series.

Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu and Tom Zwiller at tzwiller@hcc-nd.edu

Lenzy tied the game up for the first time since the first quarter.

momentum swing.

Grade: F

Drive 10: Eight plays, 31 yards, punt

Best Play: 12-yard pass on third down

Worst Play: Incomplete pass on 2nd & 7

buchner offered a solid response to his second interception, moving the Irish into south carolina territory before a punt. After the offense gained 13 yards in three plays, buchner turfed a second-down pass under heavy pressure.

It was a harmless incompletion that kept the drive alive. With the third-down opportunity, buchner delivered a strike on a slant to Lenzy, good for 12 yards and a first down.

Two plays later, however, the Irish faced another third down and the Gamecocks blitzed. buchner faced instant pressure and did well to not take a sack, but he could only find Thomas for one yard, leading to a punt.

Grade: B+

Drive 11: One play, 44 yards, touchdown

Best Play: 44-yard touchdown pass

Another candidate for one of buchner’s best throws of the evening, this 44-yard bomb to

sophomore tight end m itchell evans picked up a blitz, but buchner still threw under duress. he managed to hit Lenzy in stride on a deep crossing route for the score.

Grade: A+

Drive 12: Seven plays*, 73 yards, touchdown

Best play: 8-yard run on 2nd down

Worst play: Incomplete pass on third down

This drive was seven plays, with the asterisk denoting a fake punt that extended the drive while buchner wasn’t on the field.

Prior to the punt, buchner underthrew a deep post route into tight coverage. It was an interesting play call on 3rd and 4, and buchner threw to his first read. A perfect throw might have been completed, but it was a small margin for error.

After the fake, buchner threw incomplete on a broken play but ran for eight yards to set up a short third down.

From there, diggs did the work with a 39-yard touchdown run to give notre dame a 38-31 lead. buchner did quite little on this drive, but he also didn’t do a ton wrong.

And ultimately, notre dame scored, with the help of a little trickery.

Grade: C

Drive 13: Six plays, 53 yards, pick-six

Best play: 17-yard run on first down

Worst play: Pick-six

It was almost a masterclass. A fantastic, game-sealing drive to give the Irish a 45-31 lead and basically clinch a Gator bowl victory. And then it turned to disaster.

buchner started the drive with a 17-yard run, putting the south carolina defense on its heels. A few plays later, buchner called his own number on a three-yard quarterback sneak to convert a first down.

but, after a 26-yard run by e stime, buchner erased the offensive progress. The play call was for a first-down slant pass over the middle for evans.

buchner pump-faked a screen to get one linebacker to clear the throwing lane. The throw may have been open for a split second, but buchner took an extra drop step before releasing. It allowed the weakside linebacker to diagnose the play, and he dropped back to make the interception, returning it for a game-tying touchdown.

Grade: F

Drive 14: 12 plays, 80 yards, touchdown

Best play: 16-yard touchdown pass

Worst play: 1-yard run buchner displayed

impressive resilience in a strong response after his second picksix. In 12 plays, buchner passed three times for 30 yards and ran once for four yards. beyond that, he was happy to let his running backs do the work, and that they did. however, the drive included a 3rd and 1 conversion as buchner read a quarterback sneak well and brought it around the right tackle for a four-yard gain.

A few plays later, sitting on the edge of field goal range, buchner calmly completed a pitch-and-catch third-down conversion to junior running back c hris Tyree, who motioned out of the backfield.

That allowed the Irish to drain some more clock, which they gladly did on a pair of runs of one and two yards.

That left a 3rd and seven from the 16-yard line, and many assumed the Irish would run the ball and force south carolina to take a timeout before attempting a field goal.

The Irish lined up in their preferred run concept, duo, but the call was a play-action pass. After faking the handoff, buchner kept his eyes to the right, towards a streaking Thomas. suddenly, he pivoted back left and found evans wide open. The play call worked well, and buchner executed it to perfection on his final snap of the day.

Final Grades

o ver 14 drives, buchner displayed the highs and lows that come with raw talent and very little experience. o ffensive coordinator Tommy rees gave his sophomore quarterback a chance to both sling it and use his legs. In those 14 drives, buchner earned 4 ‘A’ grades and 3 ‘F’s. It was truly a wild performance from start to finish.

In 2022, the Irish had a quarterback who generally played safe, but his ceiling limited the Irish in a few critical moments. There’s no doubt, after he accounted for five touchdowns in the Gator bowl, that buchner raises that ceiling, but the floor, for now, appears to be much lower. o r it looked as much in Friday’s three-interception effort.

That’s a lot of risk to carry into a 2023 season with a lot of returning talent and Playoff aspirations. If buchner was looking to deliver a performance that proved the Irish don’t need to consider the transfer portal, he failed to do so. but he did deliver the Irish their first bowl win over a ranked opponent since 2017, and he showcased a talent level that, once polished, could be the best the Irish have had at the position in years.

Final Grade: B

Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu

MAX PETROSKY | The Observer

Notre Dame goaltender Ryan Bischel (30) attempts a save during the game between Notre Dame and Penn State at the Compton Family Ice Arena on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022. The Irish flater ell to Minnesota, 3-0.

Happy Birthday: If you help without asking for something in return, the rewards will surpass your expectations. A change of heart will occur if you appreciate the little things in life that put a smile on your face. Put your energy into personal growth, fitness and health, and you’ll accumulate momentum that will carry you throughout the year and beyond. Live life your way. Your numbers are 4, 11, 17, 24, 31, 35, 42.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Your creative drive will push you above and beyond your dreams, but before you sprint toward the finish line, consider the logistics behind your plans. Recognize your skills and where best to apply them before you accept a challenge. Avoid emotional spending.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): An unexpected change will limit your achievement. Look for an alternative route, and reach out to those who owe you a favor. Keeping up will require skill, precision and a unique way of approaching your goal.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You’ve got your mojo in high gear and are on the road to victory. Concentrate on what’s most important to you to avoid taking on too much and falling short. Call in experts to handle what you can’t do yourself. Learn from experience.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Don’t make a faux pas because you are underprepared and overly confident. Pay attention to detail, and strive to put your imprint on whatever you pursue. You may not like change, but it’s necessary to come out on top.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Rewards are apparent. Plan to do things you enjoy. Attend a function that allows you to mix business with pleasure or to expand your circle of friends. You’ll make an impression on someone important if you follow through with your promises.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Don’t mix emotions with responsibilities. It’s best to clear your calendar before you take on a new project. An unusual conversation will offer insight that reconstructs how you think and proceed. Validate what you hear before passing it along.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Show off what you have to offer. Don’t limit what you can do because you are scared or intimidated by someone unpredictable. Consider what and who moves you, then head in that direction. Today it’s necessary to give up something in order to grow.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Expect to face opposition at home and when dealing with partners. Refuse to let your emotions jump in and take over. Giving someone the upper hand will make your journey difficult. Be direct, make your intentions clear and proceed. Protect your health.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Question your motives before you make a move. Your heart must be in the right place to get the best results. An improvement at home will give you the space you need to take on a new project that can raise your income.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Observe, listen and be reasonable. Overreacting will put you in a precarious position. Keep life simple, make positive changes at home and set up a plan to help you save for something important. Take better care of your health and loved ones.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take a moment to collect your thoughts and consider how best to respond to what’s happening around you. Don’t be afraid to take the road less traveled. Be secretive regarding your plans until you have everything in place. Walk away from toxic relationships.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Let your creativity lead the way. Presenting who you are and what you can do will attract attention. An opportunity to travel and meet with someone who recognizes your talents and values your input will change how you work and play.

Birthday Baby: You are conscientious, adaptable and caring. You are innovative and assertive.

Jumble | DAvID hOyT AND JEff kNurEk

sudoku | ThE MEPhAM grOuP

Gator Bowl drive grades: Buchner delivers rollercoaster effort amidst transfer rumors

By AIDAN THOMAS Sports Editor

Tyler Buchner entered the 2022 season with a lot of hype. With the offensive line and run game struggling, Buchner’s inexperience as a passer shone through in a rough, 0-2 start to the season. In the second loss, Buchner suffered an injury that sidelined him until Friday’s bowl game.

The sophomore took the field for his third career start amidst raging rumors that Notre Dame is trying to land Wake Forest graduate transfer quarterback Sam Hartman.

That would put Buchner into another quarterback battle in 2023.

With a lot of pressure to showcase the talent that earned him the QB1 spot to start the year, Buchner delivered a wildly upand-down performance in Notre Dame’s 45-38 win.

He accounted for 335 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Here’s a drive-bydrive look at Buchner’s Gator Bowl effort.

Drive 1: Three plays, two yards, punt

Best play: Incomplete pass on first down

Worst play: Incomplete pass on third down

Buchner didn’t exactly start hot, delivering two off-target throws on his first two attempts. The first was certainly catchable, but it was a bit of a rocket from just yards away towards a crossing Lorenzo Styles.

It went in the box score as a Styles drop. It was, but it was also off-target. The third-down throw was far worse. On third and eight, Buchner had sophomore receiver Jayden Thomas open for the first down, but he just led his target too far across the field, ending the drive with a three-and-out.

Grade: D

Drive 2: 10 plays, 50 yards, TD

Best Play: 15-yard touchdown run

Worst Play: Incomplete pass to Holden Staes

In a grind-it-out touchdown drive, Buchner was inconsistent, but he made plays where it counted. On 2nd and 15, he threw a bullet pass to freshman tight end Holden Staes. It went slightly high. Similar to the incompletion to Styles, it was catchable, but it was an off-target effort.

However, Buchner responded with a third-down completion to sophomore tight end Mitchell Evans for 18 yards to keep the drive alive.

Four plays later, Buchner appeared to call an audible on third and nine from the 15-yard

line, and he danced through the middle and into the end zone on a quarterback draw. It was a reminder of the dual-threat ability that Buchner brings to the table, which becomes more lethal in the red zone, particularly with the Irish’s strong run game.

Grade: B+

Drive 3: Five plays, 19 yards, pick-six

Best Play: Shovel pass to Braden Lenzy, 13 yards

Worst Play: Pick-six

This was a disaster of a drive, as Buchner did very little besides shoveling a second-down pass to graduate student receiver Braden Lenzy. After a pair of runs, Buchner looked to dump it to sophomore running back Logan Diggs, but the pass was deflected at the line.

It popped in the air and was returned for a touchdown. There was some miscommunication with Diggs’ motion; he collided with offensive guard Josh Lugg, who also allowed his blocking assignment to get elevated and deflect the pass. Out of three interceptions, this one was the least on Buchner, but it still was a massive mistake in the moment, putting the Irish down 21-7.

Grade: F

Drive 4: 11 plays, 56 yards, field goal

Best play: 14-yard pass on 3rd and 12 to Jayden Thomas

Worst play: 12-yard sack on 3rd and goal

Buchner rebounded well from the pick-six, completing two of three passes for 28 yards on the ensuing drive for the Irish. He added a 21-yard rush that got them into field goal range. His most impressive play was easily on a 3rd and 12 conversion from the South Carolina 44. Buchner rolled right and got drilled as he unleashed a throw to Thomas. The pass hit the sophomore receiver in stride where only he could catch it, allowing Thomas to convert the first down. From a difficulty standpoint, it was arguably Buchner’s most impressive throw all day.

A few plays later, Buchner nearly undid all his work by scrambling around on a third and goal. He dropped back and scrambled right and eventually took a massive 12-yard sack.

By not getting rid of the ball, Buchner turned a 24-yard field goal attempt into a 36-yarder.

Graduate student kicker Blake Grupe drilled the kick anyways, but Buchner nearly made a disaster of a solid drive by trying to play the hero.

Grade: B-

Drive 5: One play, 75 yards, touchdown

Best Play: 75-yard

It is hard to fault Buchner for anything on this drive, but it is also hard to give him a ton of credit. Most of the work on this one-play drive came from Diggs. The running back motioned out of the backfield, and Buchner hit him in the chest and in stride. Diggs, with a little blocking help, did the rest of the work.

Grade: A

Drive 6: Three plays, -8 yards, punt

Best Play: 8-yard screen pass to Audric Estime

Worst Play: 9-yard sack on third down

This was an absolute disaster of a drive, although it wasn’t really on Buchner. It started with a shovel pass that was absolutely blown up for a seven-yard loss. After that, Buchner completed the second-down play call as well as he could have, dishing off a screen pass that gained seven yards and made it a manageable third down.

On third down, Buchner faced basically immediate pressure as All-American left tackle Joe Alt got beaten off the snap. Buchner evaded an immediate sack but got drilled soon after by an unblocked blitzing linebacker. Maybe Buchner could have just gotten rid of the ball after the first sack attempt. It wouldn’t have changed much, except where

the Irish punted from.

Grade: C+

Drive 7: Three plays, one yard, punt

Best Play: Incomplete deep pass on third down

Worst Play: Incomplete slant on second down

After a one-yard run to start the second half, Buchner looked to pass twice, both times firing toward freshman receiver Tobias Merriweather.

The second-down pass was a low slant, falling in the ‘catchable but off-target’ department. Merriweather ran a slant near the sticks, but he had to fall to reach Buchner’s low throw and couldn’t collect the pass. That led to a third and nine, and Buchner targeted Merriweather once more, this time on a deep post. It was a well-placed ball, just out in front of the freshman.

However, Buchner’s target seemed to lose the ball in the lights and never attempted to make a play on the ball. It ended up as a ‘what could have happened’ moment.

Grade: C

Drive 8: Five plays, 68 yards, touchdown

Best play: 25-yard pass to Jayden Thomas

Worst play: 1-yard run on first down

This was a case study in how valuable Tyler Buchner can be for this Notre Dame offense. First down called for a designed

run which went for one yard. But after that, it was all smooth sailing. Estime’s 19-yard run set up one of Buchner’s best throws of the evening.

He found Jayden Thomas on a deep out route by the left sideline, dropping the ball in a bucket for his classmate.

It was a 25-yard gain that put the Irish at the South Carolina 23. Then, Estime ran for 12, and Buchner kept for 11 yards to finish off a blistering five-play, 68yard touchdown drive.

Grade: A

Drive

9: Three plays, six yards, interception

Best play: 6-yard run

Worst play: Interception

Buchner showed why he could be so dangerous, and then he demonstrated the inexperience and recklessness that has the Irish exploring the transfer portal. After two runs for six yards, the Irish faced third down. Buchner scrambled to avoid pressure. Although he was virtually out of any options to convert the first down, Buchner tried to make some magic happen.

He flipped the ball toward Jayden Thomas, but the ball was behind the receiver. It popped up in the air and into South Carolina hands for an interception. Down 31-24 already, Notre Dame faced a potentially devastating

touchdown pass to Logan Diggs

The Observer accepts classifieds every business day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Notre Dame office,

South Dining Hall.

RYAN VIGILANTE | The Observer

Irish junior running back Chris Tyree avoiding a tackle during the win against South Carolina in the Gator Bowl on Dec. 30. The final score of the bowl game was 45-38, closing the season with a win.

By MANNION McGINLEY Assistant m anaging e ditor

As 2022 became 2023 over the c ollege’s winter break, the s aint m ary’s basketball team went 2-4 — 2-2 in conference play.

At the start of the break, the b elles traveled to m ichigan to take on the Alma c ollege s cots.

To open the game, the b elles led 6-3.

s enior guard m addie r zepka found freshman guard n icole c onnolly to hit a layup.

r zepka then hit one of her own to take a 12-10 lead. This back-and-forth continued well into the second quarter.

The b elles couldn’t maintain this lead, though, and the s cots ran away with the momentum.

b y halftime, the s cots led 38-27. d espite a fight from the b elles, they pushed their lead to 13 within the third quarter.

Late in the third, sophomore guard Jasmyne Townsend made it a

hcc mEN’S bASkEtbAll

Belles split conference play 2-2 over winter break

six-point game. b ut the s cots scored again to bring it to 56-47 heading into the fourth.

d espite an ultimate 46-43 rebound advantage from s aint m ary’s, including a 14-9 edge in offensive rebounds, the s cots defeated the b elles, 82-75.

The next matchup was against Franklin.

Although the b elles lost again, the margin was much closer.

After the first, the b elles were only four points short, losing 20-16.

They maintained close scoring the rest of the game behind r zepka, junior forward Athena s amson and sophomore forward Julia s chutz, who scored 16, 15 and 21 points, respectively.

s till, the b elles fell to the Grizzlies, 79-73.

s aint m ary’s last game of 2022 was in n ashville, Tennessee against b erry.

Although they lost by eight, the b elles led for the first half of the game.

b ehind s chutz — who had 23 points, accompanied by s amson and senior guard n ikki m urphy with seven points each — the b elles took an 11-point lead to the locker room.

b erry ran away with the game in the second half, though, all but refusing to let the b elles score in the fourth. Again, the b elles fell just short of a win, losing 61-53.

b ut the new year brought new luck for the b elles; s aint m ary’s went 2-1 over the January portion of the break.

To open the year, the b elles won by 30 over the Kalamazoo h ornets at home.

s aint m ary’s made a 10-0 run early in the second quarter to distance themselves from Kalamazoo; then, they led by no less than 14 points for the rest of the game.

Four b elles scored more than ten points: s chutz had 13, r zepka had 16, s amson had 12 and senior

guard c hristina s hadid came off the bench to snag 14.

January also brought a new challenge, as the b elles were forced to take on n o. 13/19 Trine within the first week of the year.

o n Jan. 7, s aint m ary’s fell 88-52 to Trine, who improved to 5-0 in conference play.

s chutz put up more than ten points for her fifth game in a row with 14, but it wasn’t enough.

The b elles found a bit of scoring momentum in the third, holding the Thunder to 16 and scoring 16 of their own.

b ut after a first half that only saw them score 23 points to Trine’s 49, the b elles couldn’t threaten to make up the difference.

The break rounded out on an upswing for the b elles.

In their fourth conference matchup of winter break — and the third of 2023 — s aint m ary’s took on o livet at home and

hcc gets hot, wins six of last seven games

c ardinal s tritch.

By TOM ZWILLER sports Writer

For h oly c ross students, final exams ended on Friday, d ec. 16.

The campus closed the following day at 10:00 a.m. as the student body returned home for their much-anticipated winter break.

The h oly c ross men’s basketball team, however, returned to work.

Without b asil, their trusted mascot, and stands full of their supportive families and classmates, the h oly c ross c ollege m en’s b asketball team practiced and performed their best throughout the long winter break.

From d ec. 10 to d ec. 17, the squad had a brief reprieve from its grueling conference schedule for exams.

b ut on d ec. 17, the team piled into the team bus and made the journey to Fox Point, Wisconsin,. There, they faced

This game was arguably one of the most critical of the season. The s aints had just a 1-5 conference record, with a 4-8 record overall.

The s tritch r ed Wolves were 0-13 on the season, making this a must-win for the s aints.

h oly c ross delivered a 74-58 win, catalyzing the team to salvage what, to this point, had been a disappointing season.

h oly c ross returned to s outh b end to face the IU sb Trojans and lost a hard-fought game 68-87 to fall to 5-9. s ince that game, however, h oly c ross has been undefeated, winning their last five games, four of which were conference matchups.

Their first win was a nonconference game against c oncordia University on d ec. 30th.

The s aints nabbed a 7872 road win, with freshman guard Phil r obles

II knocking down three clutch free throws to ice the game.

The s aints then pulled off a major road upset of s aint Xavier University. At the time, the c ougars were in first place in the conference, boasting a 14-3 record overall. The game was a backand-forth affair, with the s aints matching the c ougars shot for shot down the stretch.

Ultimately, senior guard s torm c ook’s jump shot would give the s aints the lead with just six seconds remaining, and the s aints survived a last-second three-point shot attempt by Xavier.

According to head coach m ike m c b ride, that win did a lot for the s aints’ mentality going forward.

“That was probably the first game all year that was a back-and-forth affair. That game was a heavyweight back and forth, and we showed a lot of resiliency and toughness,”

m c b ride said.

m c b ride also thinks that the game gave the s aints the confidence to play with anyone in the conference.

“I think our guys have a lot more belief in themselves now, which is needed to win.

b ut belief sometimes isn’t enough until you see the fruits of your labor; you see the results.

n ow we got that result, and the challenge is to keep going with it and keep improving,” he said.

The s aints then returned home, defeating Trinity c hristian c ollege 81-57 and completing a season sweep of c ardinal s tritch 64-52.

The most recent win against s tritch gave the s aints a 10-9 overall record and a 6-6 record in the cc A c

Their 6-6 record is good enough for eighth in the conference.

If the season ended today, the s aints would

won, 72-62.

In under four minutes, s aint m ary’s took a 9-2 lead. From there, the b elles led until the second period, where the c omets went on a 7-0 run to make it 16-15.

The two teams exchanged the lead a few more times throughout the second quarter and well into the third before s chutz made a layup and started a 12-0 run for the b elles.

The c omets wouldn’t go quietly, though. At the end of the third, s aint m ary’s led o livet by seven, 52-45.

The b elles doubled that lead to 14 twice in the fourth quarter and led 69-59 with a minute.

d espite some late fire from the c omets, the b elles held on, winning 72-62.

The b elles look forward to their upcoming game on Jan. 18.

Contact Mannion McGinley at mmcginl3@nd.edu

make the postseason conference tournament, where they would face the n o. 1 seed r oosevelt University Lakers. c oach m c b ride says the turnaround is due to several reasons.

“We have had a number of things that have happened that have helped us.

o ur new guys are continuing to get better and improve and play at a higher level,” m c b ride said.

“ o ur two sophomores, [guards] n ash h ostetler and Justin o ’ n eal have become a lot more consistent.[ s enior guard] b eau Ludwick has continued to show outstanding leadership.”

The s aints will look to continue their winning ways Wednesday when they face c alumet.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Contact Tom Zwiller at tzwiller@hcc-nd.edu

Notre Dame drops to 1-7 in ACC with loss to Florida State

By LIAM COOLICAN Associate sports e ditor

It was a Tuesday night must-win game for notre d ame men’s basketball. b ut as has become a recurring theme this season, the Irish failed to deliver. After falling to 1-6 in conference play following a deflating road loss to s yracuse, the Irish needed to turn things around against a struggling Florida s tate team in front of a packed student section back from winter break.

Yet despite some electrifying moments that only served to underscore how much potential this team has, Florida s tate came away with the win behind red-hot starts to both halves. The s eminoles led by as many as 24 on two separate occasions and weathered multiple Irish runs, winning 84-71.

Florida s tate immediately jumped out to a 13-0 lead behind hot shooting and a stingy defensive effort. The game opened with an impressive baseline cut for a layup and ferocious transition dunk.

Irish head coach m ike b rey said that set the tone for the contest.

“Those first two possessions, now they’re confident as hell,” he said after the game.

A mock cheer went up from the student section as graduate student forward nate

HCC WOmEN’S bASkEtbAll

Laszewski knocked down a free throw to put the Irish on the board for the first time more than four minutes into the contest. b ut that didn’t stem the tide.

“I told [the team], I really misread you. I thought from practice we’d be really digging in, and hungry, and a little more fight to us,” b rey said.

however, he also admitted that as the head coach, he must take full responsibility. Yet whoever is to blame — b rey, the veteran group of players, or a combination of both, time is running out to salvage the season.

Florida s tate extended its lead to 24 points just nine minutes into the contest. It seemed that all life had been sucked out of Purcell Pavilion.

“You try not to think about it like that, but when you put yourself in such a deep hole like that, especially in the first half, so early, it’s really tough,” graduate student guard m arcus h ammond said after the game.

b ut the Irish wouldn’t roll over that easily. With a tenacity that has been lacking most of the season, the Irish rattled off a 21-3 run to pull within six points late in the first half. h ammond provided a muchneeded spark off the bench for the Irish with 10 firsthalf points. he finished with a season-high 19 to lead the team in scoring.

d espite going into the locker room trailing by double digits, there was reason to expect notre d ame would stay in the contest. b ut the beginning of the second half was very similar to that of the first. Florida s tate once again quickly opened up a 20-point lead.

They knocked down eight of their first nine from the field after the break. Also like the first half, the Irish strung together a run which made the game slightly more interesting. The contest appeared to be all but over with nine minutes to play when Florida s tate opened up another 24–point lead. The Irish went on another double-digit scoring run to cut the lead to single digits. b ut the outcome was never truly in doubt.

notre d ame already had serious questions to answer after such a slow start in conference play. And they will only intensify after a doubledigit loss to a team near the bottom of the Acc standings.

“This is a group that’s played a lot of basketball, they’re thoroughly disappointed where they’re at,” b rey said. “We all are.”

The next chance to right the ship for the Irish comes s aturday when b oston c ollege visits s outh b end. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.

Contact Liam Coolican at lcoolica@nd.edu

Knocking off opponents, knocking down wins

By TOM ZWILLER sports Writer

Inside the holy c ross c ollege basketball locker room, on the far-right whiteboard, sits a lone number four, boxed off and written in erasable marker.

This solitary four seems somewhat out of place on a whiteboard primarily dedicated to scheming up plays. however, that four is linked to a promise head coach Tom robbins made at the beginning of the season: to have the best season in program history.

“We started this coming out of c hristmas break, with IU Kokomo being the first one. If we win eight of our last thirteen, we will accomplish that goal. We put an eight up on the

board, and we said we are going to knock this down every time we get a win”.

b efore the s aints began counting wins, they soundly beat c ardinal stritch 9167. The team then returned home, losing 93-73 to the IUsb ( rv ) Trojans before bouncing back with back-to-back home wins against IU Kokomo and Judson University. d own went wins eight and seven.

The team then hit the road, losing to s aint Xavier University 73-84 despite a 4326 deficit going into halftime.

Though the girls lost to Xavier, they rallied during their last two home games of the break, beating Trinity c hristian c ollege 72-44 and then c ardinal stritch again, 70-55.

Thanks to their back-to-back

home wins, the s aints are now 11-9 overall, with a 6-6 record in cc Ac play.

six and five are in the books. now, onto the next four.

According to robbins, the key to the s aints’ turnaround was a return to the defensive fundamentals.

“We have been scoring enough points, even previously, to win games,” robbins said.

“b ut we have given up too many points. s o, we put a lot of time into our defense and really improved our defense. We really put a lot of focus on that, and then we started seeing it in games, and when we saw it in games, we started getting wins.”

The work speaks for itself; in the s aints’ last three wins, they have allowed, on average,

just under 47 points while scoring almost 73 themselves.

And while the defensive turnaround has been a team effort, robbins thought of two players who helped lead the charge.

“[Junior guard] Lauren morris comes to mind; she has become just a tremendous on-ball defender. Another one that comes to mind-she has always been one of our best defenders is [sophomore forward] Grace Adams.

b ut I noticed that over break that she started communicating with the rest of the team about the importance of what we were doing,” robbins.

The s aints currently sit in seventh in the conference standings, just four and a half games behind first-place IUsb . The s aints are 1.5 games

ahead of Trinity c hristian and roosevelt, who are tied for seventh/eighth.

If the season ended today, the s aints would play Indiana northwest.

The s aints have limited time in their schedule to achieve their goal of fifteen wins.

With just eight games remaining in the schedule — including games against some of the conference’s best — they will need to make every opportunity count.

The girls will look to keep knocking down numbers when they face c alumet c ollege of st. Joseph on the road Wednesday.

Tipoff is currently scheduled for 6 p.m. es T. Contact Tom Zwiller at tzwiller@hcc-nd.edu

MICHAEL LI | The Observer

Irish graduate student and guard Trey Wertz shoots a basket in Purcell Pavilion in Tuesday’s losing game against the Seminoles on Jan. 17.

Irish dominate jumps, take two wins at Michigan Invitational

By AIDAN THOMAS sports e ditor

The n otre d ame track and field squad competed for the first time in 2023 at the m ichigan Invitational. o n Friday, the Irish competed against a host of schools, including m ichigan, m ichigan s tate, e astern m ichigan, m adonna and Toledo. n otre d ame claimed a pair of first-place finishes in women’s high jump and long jump. Those performances sparked a strong team effort featuring 16 top-five finishes.

s ophomores m adison s chmidt (high jump) and Kendall b urgess (long jump) took home victories for n otre d ame.

s enior sprinter s hae d ouglas started the Irish

off strong by qualifying for the finals in the 60m sprint. s he ran a 7.74 in the finals to secure a third-place finish. d ouglas later earned another podium finish in the 200m, delivering a personal best of 24.94 seconds to claim third place.

s ophomore hurdler Alaina b rady represented one of two Irish sprinters in the 60m hurdle finals, and she brought home a secondplace finish, finishing in 8.61 seconds. b rady later added a third-place finish in the long jump.

Freshmen r eese s anders and r emy Finn added topfive finishes for the Irish in the 600m and 400m, respectively.

That set the stage for the Irish to dominate in the jumps. b urgess won the

long jump with a leap of 5.71 meters. b rady and Finn followed with top-six efforts. s chmidt led a quartet of Irish jumpers to sweep the top four in the high jump. s chmidt’s winning jump of 1.71m edged sophomore Jadin o ’ b rien, senior Arianna m artinez and junior s arah Flight.

o ’ b rien struggled early in the day, disqualifying herself from the finals in two sprints.

s he ended her meet strong with the high jump effort, as well as a third-place finish in the shot put.

o n the men’s side, the Irish only competed in the 400m. Three sprinters participated, led by sophomore Joey d obrydney’s fourthplace effort.

h e finished with a 49.87,

while senior sprinter Luke Phillips took eighth with a personal best of 50.49 seconds.

The m ichigan Invitational marked the beginning of the real indoor season for the Irish.

They had previously competed in a pair of Invitationals at the beginning of d ecember. h owever, they’ll compete in six straight weekends leading into the A cc c hampionships at the end of February.

n otre d ame continues that stretch by hosting the n otre d ame Invitational next s aturday. It’s one of three events the Irish will host this season.

Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu

v irginia Tech on d ec. 18. s ophomore guard o livia m iles posted a remarkable 16 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and five steal stat line in the win.

Junior forward m addy Westbeld then tallied 23 points on an 85-57 dismantling of Western m ichigan at home.

After c hristmas, the Irish squeaked out a 66-63 triumph at m iami (Florida). b oth Westbeld and graduate student center Lauren e bo notched double-doubles.

Freshman guard KK b ransford’s 17 points off the bench keyed an 85-48 clobbering of b oston c ollege on n ew Year’s d ay.

n otre d ame then lost just its second game of the year at n o. 22 n orth c arolina, as e bo’s 19 rebounds were not enough in a 60-50 defeat.

The Irish returned to form with an 86-47 demolition of Wake Forest, as Westbeld dropped 25 points.

m ost recently, m iles’ 23 points pushed the women’s team to a 72-56 road win at s yracuse.

c arrying a 14-2 overall record and 5-1 conference mark, the Irish will visit c lemson on Thursday.

Hockey

n otre d ame hockey, now sitting just outside the U scho ’s d ivision I top 20, played three series after c hristmas.

They first split with Alaska-Fairbanks over n ew Year’s weekend, falling 3-2 in game one but opening 2023 with a 2-0 win.

s enior goaltender r yan b ischel picked up a 25-save shutout, his fourth shutout of the season.

The Irish then traveled to m adison for two games with b ig Ten foe Wisconsin. n otre d ame dropped game one 2-0 but started fast the next night for a 6-4 win.

s enior forward Trevor Janicke and junior defenseman d rew b avaro each scored twice in the win.

Finally, the Irish welcomed n o. 2 m innesota to s outh b end this past weekend.

Junior forward r yder r olston’s shootout goal helped n otre d ame to a tie and shootout win on Friday. b ut the Golden Gophers answered back on s aturday.

d espite the Irish putting 38 shots on net, m innesota held them down for a 3-0 win. n otre d ame is now 10-11-3 overall with a 5-7-2 record in conference play, good for 5th place in the b ig Ten.

The team will visit n o. 6 Penn s tate this weekend.

Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu

An Irish track and field runner competes in a race during the 2021-2022 season. The eam projects success after recent wins at the Michigan Invitational this year, led by victories from sophomores Madisan Schmidt and Kendall Burgess in the high jump and low jump, respectively.

ND hockEY

Men’s basketball struggles, women’s basketball surges, hockey stagnates

By TYLER REIDY sports Writer

b etween the conclusion of Finals Week on d ec. 16 and yesterday’s resumption of the school year, n otre d ame’s hockey team and two basketball teams combined to play 21 games. The three amassed a total record of 10-10-1, with women’s basketball making the most holiday magic at 6-1. h ere’s a breakdown of how each team fared over the past month.

Men’s basketball

The men’s basketball team endured a difficult stretch, playing to a 2-6 overall record with five losses in A cc play.

n otre d ame opened the break in Atlanta for the h oliday h oopsgiving event, where Georgia pulled away late for a 77-62 win.

The Irish went 11-for-23 from three-point range, but the b ulldogs made 14 more free throws.

Florida s tate then overcame freshman guard JJ s tarling’s 20 points to take a tight 73-72 victory. n otre d ame had a chance to win on the final possession but turned the ball over at mid-court.

Graduate student guard m arcus h ammond scored 15 to lead the Irish to their final non-conference win against Jacksonville, but another tough stretch followed. Then- n o. 14 m iami (Florida) escaped a tight game to win 76-65 and extended n otre d ame’s recent struggles in close contests.

The n ew Year ushered in another tough pill to swallow, as the Irish coughed up a 44-34 lead in a 70-63 loss at b oston c ollege.

Freshman forward venAllen Lubin suffered an injury in c hestnut h ill and would miss two games thereafter.

n otre d ame’s reduced interior presence hurt it severely at n orth c arolina in an 81-64 loss last s aturday.

o n the shoulders of two outstanding individual efforts, the Irish returned to the win column against Georgia Tech.

Graduate student guard d ane Goodwin exploded for a double-double, while s tarling offered 16 bench points to yield a must-have overtime win.

h owever, despite a double-double from graduate student forward n ate Laszewski, n otre d ame couldn’t keep up with s yracuse in s aturday’s 78-73 loss.

After losing to Florida s tate Tuesday, the Irish will welcome b oston c ollege on s aturday before traveling to nc s tate next Tuesday.

Women’s basketball Irish women’s hoops played seven games over the break and now sit at n o. 7 in the AP Top 25.

They began with a 6352 victory over then- n o. 6

Notre Dame splits close series against No. 2 Minnesota Golden Gophers

By TYLER REIDY and TOM ZWILLER sports Writers

A day before the Irish took the ice for their series opener against the no. 2 m innesota Golden Gophers, football head coach marcus Freeman got them ready.

“o ne shift, one life — that was the spiel he gave us,” senior forward and assistant captain Trevor Janicke said of Freeman’s Thursday meeting with the team. “Go out there and do your best, and afterwards there’s nothing you can do, so just reset every shift. every shift’s a new shift.”

even without captain and senior defenseman nick Leivermann, the Irish were prepared to compete. notre dame went to the power play late in the first period and made the most of it. In the waning seconds of the man advantage, junior forward Landon slaggert and graduate student forward c hayse Primeau delivered

crisp passes from below the goal line and across the net mouth, setting up sophomore forward Justin Janicke for a one-timer to put the Irish ahead 1-0.

m innesota was quick to answer thanks to some puck luck. e xactly one minute after Janicke’s marker, senior goaltender r yan bischel rejected a shot from the blue line. The puck fluttered straight up in the air and out of sight. When it came down on the crease, mason nevers jammed it home to tie the game.

notre dame found a new gear early in the second, and Trevor Janicke paid it off. Janicke took a bump from m innesota’s Jimmy snuggerud coming out of the corner that caused the latter to lose his stick. That allowed Janicke to break toward the net, where he roofed his team-leading seventh goal on m innesota goaltender Justen c lose.

The Gophers couldn’t capitalize on a power play

to open the third, and they remained quiet throughout the period. They finally emptied the net with 1:05 to play and broke through on bischel after 43 fruitless minutes. With 24.6 seconds left, Jackson Lac ombe hammered a one-timer through traffic to even the score.

Though the Golden Gophers might have a talent edge, sporting several players taken in the nh L draft, the Irish found a way to hang around.

“They’re first-round draft picks, but we can compete with them,” Trevor Janicke said. “We’re just trying to get in front of pucks and block some shots, and unfortunately one of them slipped through.”

As overtime began, the players reminded one another of c oach Freeman’s message. notre dame hardly touched the puck in the 3-on-3 period. but the Irish forced a shootout as snuggerud’s clanked a last-ditch shot off the bottom of the crossbar. After

the Gophers’ top line torched notre dame in november, the Irish held them without a point in 65 minutes of play.

“It was a combination of different lines playing against them,” head coach Jeff Jackson said. “The key thing is that it’s a dynamic line and you can’t just focus on one guy. I thought our guys defended pretty well for the most part.”

In the shootout, m innesota kept its top three forwards on the bench, and its first two shooters missed.

“I think I did a good job of holding my feet,” bischel said. “That’s something I’ve worked on with c oach Jackson a lot since I’ve been here — being more patient and not dropping early.”

meanwhile, junior forward r yder rolston found the back of the net as notre dame’s second contestant.

After Trevor Janicke missed, the fight for the extra point came down to bishcel and r hett Pitlick, a relative of two

nh Lers. Pitlick missed, giving the Irish the extra point in a 2-2 tie and shootout win.

“It was a pretty crazy game. It was a lot of fun,” Janicke remarked. “Wish we would’ve found a way to get it in regulation, but I’m pretty happy with the resiliency and the way we bounced back.”

s aturday’s pre-game ceremonial puck drop featured Anthony c lark, a member of the notre dame Police department, and his K9 partner skete in honor of first responders. The first key event of the game itself was a m innesota penalty when r yan c hesley committed a five-minute major for contact to the head, giving the Irish a power play.

Initially the Irish were unable to settle into the Golden Gophers’ zone. o ne notre dame did settle in however, they were able to generate two good scoring chances from rolston and Primeau.

MARY VOTAVA | The Observer

Irish freshman guard KK Bransford, from Cinncinati, Ohio, in possession of the ball during a 2022 game in Purcell Pavilion.