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VOLUME 58, ISSUE 40 | FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM
Snow Patrol shoveled for seven hours amid cold Classes begin and students return to campus, welcomed by sub-zero temps and clear walkways By PETER BREEN Associate News Editor
With three days to go before the start of the spring semester, 21 Building Services staff members who volunteered for the newly created Snow Patrol team got out their shovels. More than six inches of new snow would blanket campus by the end of the day. The air temperature would drop to 9 degrees below zero before the weekend was out. The “expedition” on Saturday lasted seven hours, according to Building Services senior director Christopher Hatfield. “Battling three-foot drifts, the team shoveled their way through an icy ND landscape, ensuring that students and staff returned to clear entryways,” Hatfield wrote
in a statement to The Observer. When Snow Patrol’s mission was complete, Hatfield wrote, more than 600 entrances and exits from almost all buildings on campus had been cleared. As students traveled back to campus after winter break, the temperature in South Bend reached a five-year low, according to the National Weather Service. The last time the city got this cold was in January 2019, when the mercury dropped to minus 20. Campus remained open despite the weather conditions. Tracy Skibins, who as senior director of emergency management is constantly monitoring for severe weather, wrote in an email that the decision to close campus see SNOW PAGE 3
Rockwell leads prayer service
PETER BREEN | The Observer
Ice freezes on the windows of Hesburgh Library on Sunday, the coldest day in South Bend in nearly five years. The 21 volunteers from the Building Services staff department worked for seven hours Saturday.
Billionaire invited to speak By ISA SHEIKH Notre Dame News Editor
Peter Thiel, the billionaire investor and entrepreneur best known for his role in the “PayPal Mafia,” Palantir and Facebook, is coming to campus on Tuesday evening to speak about diversity and the state of American higher education. Notre Dame political scientist Patrick Deneen is hosting Thiel’s lecture as part of his
seminar on “Liberalism and Its Discontents.” He tweeted that the event is open to all tri-campus community members, and others can email him for tickets. Thiel, a towering figure in Silicon Valley, has supported conservative and libertarian causes throughout his career and spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention before ultimately serving on former President Trump’s transition
team. Thiel co-wrote a book called “The Diversity Myth” in 1995 about the “climate on intolerance” on campus at Stanford University. In a speech last year on the book, he ref lected on the idea. “You don’t have diversity when you gather people who look different but talk and think alike. It’s not enough to hire the extras from the space-cantina scene in Star see DIVERSITY PAGE 4
CAROLINE COLLINS | The Observer
Guest panelists speak at Dahnke Wednesday. From left to right: Stephanie Adams, Robert Jones, Slyvia Wilson Thomas and Howard Adams. By CAROLINE COLLINS News Writer
The ninth annual campuswide observance of Walk the Walk Week kicked off on Wednesday night with a candlelight prayer service and a conversation about building a legacy of opportunity held in Duncan Student Center’s Dahnke Ballroom. During the prayer service, Notre Dame volleyball head coach, Salima Rockwell, reflected on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s impact and how his vision of
NEWS PAGE 4
inclusivity can be fostered at the University. “We are here tonight celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. because we all have the desire to continue to carry out his mission of equality, justice and peaceful coexistence of mankind,” she said. The guest speakers at the conservation in Dahnke also touched upon the theme of inclusivity and creating a welcoming community. The conversation was moderated by Howard Adams, the
ND to open psychology clinic in South Bend force for good in t he world, Not re Da me has t he oppor tunit y to develop new models for t he prov ision of menta l hea lt h ser v ices a nd under ta ke g roundbrea k ing resea rch on how to t reat menta l i l lnesses, whi le a lso en ha ncing ser v ices for our students a nd helping
see SERVICE PAGE 3
A g if t of a n a nony mous but “t ra nsformat ive” a mount f rom mu lt iple Veldma n fa mi ly foundat ions is set to sig nif ica nt ly increase access to menta l hea lt h ca re for t he Sout h Bend a rea. The benefactor
foundat ions include t hose of Sha ron a nd Matt Edmonds, Connie a nd Mi ke Joines a nd A nita a nd Tom Veldma n. Their g if t, according to a Not re Da me news release, w i l l be used to establish t he Wi lma a nd Peter Veldma n Fa mi ly Psycholog y Clinic, honoring t he benefactors’ pa rents. “Given our mission to be a
VIEWPOINT PAGE 6
SCENE PAGE 7
WOMENS BASKETBALL PAGE12
HOCKEY PAGE 12
By LIAM PRICE News Writer
see CLINIC PAGE 4
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Students hold a candlelight vigil Wednesday in front of the Main Building for Notre Dame’s annual Walk the Walk Week. The weeklong series of events included panels on civil rights issues, a Black excellence dinner, a social concerns fair and a dance workshop.
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Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
“On James Baldwin” 1030 Jenkins Nanovic Hall 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Guest lecture by Melvin Rogers.
“Oppenheimer” Browning Cinema 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Screenings of the blockbuster all weekend.
Basilica Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart 10 a.m. Join others for morning Mass.
Holocaust Lecture 1030 Jenkins Nanovic Hall 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch provided while supplies last.
Semester Kickoff Science Hall 105 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Relaxing social to ease back into the swing of things.
Public Domain Day 231A Hesburgh Library 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Viewing of “Steamboat Willie” with popcorn and discussion.
ASHE: A Celebration of Voices Leighton Concert Hall 7:30 p.m. Featuring local groups and performers.
Club Gingerbread House Competition Rice Commons 3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. Gingerbread houses provided for clubs.
Art of Dignity Exhibition Opening Reception Geddes Hall 5 p.m. - 6 p.m. Open to all.
Walk the Walk Week: Social Concerns Fair Geddes Hall 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Open to students, faculty and staff.
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Snow CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
involves consultation with internal and external partners, including meteorologists. Skibins wrote that any changes to normal campus operations are shared via ND Alert, email and social media. On the morning of the first day of classes, the Office of the Registrar sent an email to students about issues with classrooms related to the cold. University spokesperson Sue Ryan wrote in a statement that at least three academic spaces were impacted by the weather. “Considering the significant cold weather, the University has experienced minimal effects from broken water pipes this week and is operating under normal conditions,” Ryan wrote. Notre Dame’s campus has 21 miles of roads, 92 acres of parking lots and 45 miles of sidewalks. Timothy Dyczko, a superintendent
in Landscape Services, said in a statement that the University has 12 Bobcat Toolcat brooms to maintain the sidewalks when it snows. Landscape Services has 18 plow trucks of various sizes and a salt truck for the parking lots and roads. Dyczko added that Notre Dame has a special, smaller broom for the areas near the Grotto and additional equipment for tight areas around dumpsters and alleyways. “We also have two staff members that visit 41 specific areas of steps and bus shelters around campus after every snow event,” Dyczko wrote. English professor Romana Huk taught a poetry seminar in DeBartolo Hall at 11 a.m. on the first day of classes. She said it was 54 degrees in the classroom building. “I just apologized to my University seminar because I think that my voice was about an
octave higher on Tuesday in class in the DeBartolo Hall because I was simply undone by the fact that we had no heat,” Huk said. Aaron Dingler, a computer science and engineering professor who also taught a class in DeBartolo Hall Tuesday morning, said he was more fortunate than Huk. “I taught in DeBart 102, which luckily doesn’t have any windows, so it was nice and warm,” he said. Sophomore Caroline Fleming, who took a charter bus back to campus from Philadelphia, said she could see the weather worsening the closer the bus got to the Midwest. Fleming said deciding how to bundle up both for the “brutal” cold and for the possibility that she might get too hot once inside a building has been challenging during the first week of classes. Eric Gordy, a sophomore from the Detroit area who is used to driving in the snow, said the roads
were really bad on his return to campus. Freshman Faith White added that the roads in South Bend aren’t as plowed as they were in her hometown, Indianapolis. Following some time at the beach on the swim team’s trip to Florida during break, graduate student Ellie Jew said she enjoys being back on campus and seeing her friends and classmates. Jew said she has always thought Notre Dame has done a good job of plowing the sidewalks and roads. “Driving on campus and then walking around on campus has been pretty manageable,” Jew said. “It’s just cold.” Peter Assaf, an off-campus senior, said the cold has made him less willing to walk outside to social events during syllabus week. Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu
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January 15–22 Join us for a week of events that invite each of us to consider how we can take an active role in making Notre Dame ever more welcoming and inclusive. walkthewalk.nd.edu
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Service CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
inaugural executive director for the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science. The consortium provides fellowships and internships for underrepresented students to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering and applied science. Class of 1985 alumnus Robert Jones said he hopes that future generations will continue to work to bring people together and Sylvia Wilson Thomas, vice president for research and innovation at the University of South Florida, talked about how she hopes to see young people fostering compassion for humanity. The speakers reflected on their experiences in engineering and credited their motivation to continue with their field of study to the communities and mentors that supported them. Now, as leaders in their fields, they feel they can return this service of mentorship and serve as role models to young people. “Never underestimate the role you play in someone else’s life,” said Stephanie Adams, the dean of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas. Thomas said she is one of the few Black, female vice presidents in the U.S. high education. She said she hopes to be a “beacon of hope” for others and continues to push forward because “the higher I go, the more I can pull (other) people.” Rockwell also mentioned this idea of mentorship and serving others when possible. “We don’t have to serve the entire world by ourselves,” she said. “But by living a well intentioned life and serving those you know you can, your impact is felt through generations.” She explained how King’s vision is evident at Notre Dame individually and collectively as a community. “Serving others, living a life of passion, doing good in the world — these are just a few things that we all have in common here at Notre Dame. It’s what binds us. It’s what brings us together,” Rockwell said. “Notre Dame is a place where change and making change in the world is not only possible, it’s how and why we live our lives. It’s woven in the fabric of everything we do and see.” Walk the Walk Week events continue this week and next. A service project will be held Saturday in Duncan Student Center and the Social Concerns fair has been rescheduled to Jan. 23. The full schedule of events is available at walkthewalk.nd.edu. Contact Caroline Collins at ccolli23@nd.edu
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NEWS
THE OBSERVER | FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM
Clinic CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
to meet t he over whelming dema nd for more menta l hea lt h resources in our loca l communit y,” Universit y President Fr. John Jen k ins sa id in t he release. “We a re deeply g ratef u l to t he Veldma n fa mi ly for t heir suppor t as we seek to bring hope a nd hea ling to t hose st r uggling w it h menta l i l lness a nd bui ld hea lt hier a nd more compassionate communit ies.” Sa ra h Must i l lo, t he dea n of t he Col lege of A r ts a nd Letters at Not re Da me, sa id t he g if t comes at a t ime when menta l hea lt h ca re is impor ta nt nat ionw ide, but it is pa r t icu la rly inaccessible to t hose liv ing in t he Sout h Bend a rea. “Menta l hea lt h issues in t he United States a re in epidemic propor t ions right now … 70 % of A merica ns have better access to menta l hea lt h ca re t ha n we do here
in t his reg ion,” Must i l lo sa id in a v ideo inter v iew. “A nd t here a re t remendous organi zat ions prov iding ca re to people in t his reg ion, but we just ca n’t keep up w it h t he dema nd, so we a re hoping to increase t he supply.” The increase in ca re ava i labi lit y, Must i l lo sa id, w i l l be sig nif ica nt, as new facu lt y members w i l l be endowed by t he Veldma n fa mi ly’s g if t, opening up oppor tunit ies for g raduate students in Not re Da me’s psycholog y depa r t ment to pa r t icipate in clinica l resea rch. “We w i l l be able to prov ide ser v ices to more t ha n 1500 people who don’t current ly have access to ca re right now t hrough our g raduate student clinicia nsin-t ra ining a nd t hen a lso t hrough our facu lt y members,” Must i l lo sa id. The Veldma n Fa mi ly Psycholog y Clinic will combine t he work of Not re Da me’s Wi l lia m J. Shaw
Center for Chi ldren a nd Fa mi lies a nd t he Suicide Prevent ion Init iat ive — Resea rch, Inter vent ion a nd Tra ining (SPIRIT) into one bui lding, including a new substa nce use init iat ive. These init iat ives w i l l move into a new bui lding at t he site of Not re Da me’s ex isting Psycholog ica l Ser v ices Center on Hi l l St reet in Sout h Bend’s East Ba n k neighborhood, about a mi le f rom ca mpus. According to Mustillo, t he combination of different forms of menta l hea lt h care into one building is due to t he overlap bet ween separate menta l hea lt h diagnoses, and it w ill a llow Notre Dame researchers to more effectively combat severa l overlapping menta l hea lt h problems at once. “The old model of care was k ind of treating indiv idua l t y pes of diagnoses, like an x iet y or depression, and now we k now how much co-morbidit y t here
ND admits 15% of REA applicants for class of 2028 By PETER BREEN Associate News Editor
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story was published online on Dec. 22. Notre Dame admitted almost exactly 15% of students who submitted restrictive early action (REA) applications for the undergraduate class of 2028. Applicants learned of the University’s decisions on Dec. 15. Rudy Sandoval of Whiting, Indiana, was one of the 1,724 students who were accepted. Sandoval, who goes by the nickname Rudy because it’s easier than Rodolfo — not because of Notre Dame icon Rudy Ruettiger, said he was nervous before and shocked after receiving his offer of admission. “It took me a little bit to digest that I got into Notre Dame,” Sandoval said.
Class of 2028: The Numbers The REA applicant pool this cycle included 11,498 students from more than 4,600 high schools across all 50 states and 109 countries. Last fall 11,163 students submitted REA applications. Vice president for undergraduate enrollment Micki Kidder said the 3% increase in the size of the REA applicant pool in 2023 is consistent with Notre Dame’s peer institutions. Kidder added that many colleges and universities are pulling in fewer applications this cycle and that the University will understand changes in applicant pool sizes more clearly after the Jan. 1 regular decision (RD)
deadline passes. According to undergraduate admissions’ Instagram, 56% of the REA applicant pool did not submit a standardized test score. Around 37% of students admitted to the class of 2027 last cycle did not provide test scores. Kidder explained that comparing the two percentages is like mixing apples and oranges. She said the University won’t report the percentage of admitted students who forewent submitting standardized test scores until the RD cycle concludes. Notre Dame’s test-optional practice is in its fourth year. This summer, the University announced it was extending the practice through at least the 2024-2025 cycle. Kidder said undergraduate admissions was still analyzing the impact of the practice and might make a final decision in 2025 about whether it stays. A Dec. 18 news release stated that the 2023 REA applicant pool included a record number of applications from international students, and Kidder said first-generation students made up close to 20% of applicants. A June 12 news release stated that 34% of the class of 2027 identified as U.S. students of color. On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that raceconscious admissions policies in higher education were unconstitutional. Kidder said the decision prohibits colleges and universities from considering race as a variable when determining the admissibility of an applicant. In the University’s
comprehensive review of applicants, Kidder explained, race is no longer a factor. “Notre Dame has always and will in the foreseeable future continue with an individualized, comprehensive review of the application,” Kidder said. “That existed preSCOTUS ruling and certainly exists post — to where each incredible applicant and human being deserves and receives a full review of their individual journey and their materials.”
Yielding the Class of 2028 Kidder said Notre Dame will host spring Rallies for admitted students to explore the school’s community, academics, faith and campus on March 24 to 25 and April 14 to 15. “The Rally is the marquee yield event to get these admitted students and their families to campus, and they fall in love with the community — we hope,” Kidder said. Sandoval said Notre Dame was his top choice and that he didn’t have many other schools in mind. He plans to study chemistry, history and maybe minor in psychology. Sandoval explained that he learned about Notre Dame by attending its Summer Scholars program. “I actually lived in a dorm during Summer Scholars, and it is very inclusive,” Sandoval said. “There’s a lot of people who want to get to know you.” Around 70% of REA-admitted students typically enroll at the University. Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu
is, how much t hese t hings overlap. We are bringing toget her trauma, and substance use, and suicide prevention k ind of under one roof to treat t hese t hings toget her,” Mustillo said. “A nd in bringing toget her facult y members t hat study t hese t hings, we are intending to work w it h care prov iders in t he region to rea lly elevate care and partner w it h ot her organizations in t he communit y.” Ellen K irol, t he academic advancement director for t he College of A rts and Letters, said t he location was purposef ully placed w it hin accessible distance of Sout h Bend residents. “We’re building t his clinic off-campus because we wanted it to still be not too far from campus, accessible to students and facult y who do research t here, or if students want to access it, but it’s intentiona lly situated w it hin t he communit y because t hat’s
Diversity CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Wars,” he said. Deneen met Thiel in Washington, D.C., when he was speaking there a few years ago. “I think Thiel is really hard to categorize,” Deneen said in an interv iew. “I think one thing we share in common is a real concern about the kind of trajector y of the modern universit y.” He added that both men share a concern about DEI administrators in universities. “I think we’re both critics of what now passes as the kind of new faith or new faith that is not being sufficiently explored, which is the faith of
t he key focus of t heir efforts,” K irol said. W hile t he amount of t he Veldman family’s gift remains anony mous, K irol said it was “transformative” for what Notre Dame has been hoping to achieve in expanding loca l access to menta l hea lt h care. “Notre Dame feels like we have a great responsibilit y, t hat Sout h Bend should benef it from being in t he back yard of a top research institution,” K irol said. “So we want to ma ke sure t hat we’re ma k ing Sout h Bend better, and increasing t hat level of care by leveraging t he ta lent in our psycholog y department and building upon t hat.” There is current ly no exact timeline for t he project, according to K irol, but she expects t he project to brea k ground in t he summer of t his year. Contact Liam Price at lprice3@nd.edu
diversit y, equit y and inclusion. No administrator w ill define clearly and unambiguously what they mean by diversit y and why it is justified,” Deneen said. Thiel’s lecture coincides w ith an event held on the same day featuring Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, in conversation w ith A lex Stein, a justice of the Israeli Supreme Court. The t wo w ill discuss competing approaches to legal interpretation, according to an email sent to law school students, facult y and staff. Peter Breen contributed to this report. Contact Isa Sheikh at isheikh@nd.edu
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5
Learning to be alone Megumi Tamura Subject to Change
Learning to be alone and enjoy being alone has been one of the most important lessons that I have learned during my time at Notre Dame. I’ve found that much of my time in college has been spent by myself. Even though I enjoy going out with my friends on the weekends and scheduling meals with them a couple of times throughout the week, I’ve still found that in between classes, extracurriculars, exercising, homework, grocery shopping and the other tasks that take up my day-to-day life, I spend the majority of my time alone. This has consistently been a struggle for me, not necessarily because I have a fear of being alone, but perhaps it is a fear of being seen alone. The image of college that I had — and sometimes still have — in my head was one where people are always surrounded by friends, and at a social school like Notre Dame where it seems like most people usually are not alone, but rather moving in pairs or groups, it often felt wrong to be by myself. I remember wondering whether I was doing something wrong or whether people would see me by myself and judge me for being alone. In this way, I kept reinforcing the idea that being alone is the same as being lonely and, since being lonely is inherently negative, then being alone is a bad thing. Thus, untangling the association between being alone and being lonely taught me an important lesson that I’m glad to be learning in college rather than face an avoidable struggle in the real world next year. I’m probably not alone in learning this uncomfortable lesson of young adulthood that many of us
first face in college. Growing up, there wasn’t much time for me to really be alone because I was either with my family at home, at school in many of the same classes as my best friends from childhood or at sports practice with my teammates. So, it wasn’t until college that I really faced myself and my own company for the first time. With the freedom and independence that comes with leaving home behind also comes a void of familiarity and consistent presence that forces us out of our comfort bubbles. Of course, I love my friends here and they’ve enriched and comforted my life in more ways than I can count, but there’s definitely a sense that, at the end of the day, everyone has their own separate lives as we each navigate our academics, early career paths, relationships and more on our own. There’s less overlap in these friendships compared to our relationships with our families and childhood friends, and as a consequence, there’s more likely to be time spent alone. But how does one learn to be comfortable with the often-times inevitable abundance of alone time we’re faced with in our lives? How can we learn to be alone without feeling lonely? The most important step has been to get comfortable with being seen alone. Even though eating at the dining hall by myself instead of with my friends felt weird at first, I noticed that the more I looked around the more people I saw who were eating by themselves — and how normal it is. Same goes for working out at the gym, going on a run around campus or studying at the library. My fear of loneliness and of being seen alone blinded me in a way to the normalcy of being alone, and with this new realization came a sense of peace with my own company. There’s also a sense of freedom in being
comfortable alone. I don’t have to make sure my schedule lines up perfectly with my friends’ schedules each day of the week so I always have someone to go grab a meal with or do a workout with. All of my friends being busy with work doesn’t stop me from doing something fun like going shopping or watching a movie because I’m less afraid to just go by myself. Even staying in alone on a weekend to read a book or watch some TV and drink a glass of wine by myself instead of going out doesn’t feel as daunting and wrong because I know there’ll always be next weekend to go out, and I’m usually not missing out. Of course, like almost everything in life, there has to be a balance. I know, for myself, how important and fulfilling my personal relationships are, so I can sense when I’m becoming too comfortable being alone to the point of isolation. And, at the same time, I can sense when I’m becoming too dependent on the company of others that being alone feels lonely. So, it’s going to be a significant goal of mine this final semester to get better at striking a balance between this spectrum of alone time and committing to my friendships, because these relationships remain central to my life no matter how much more comfortable I’m becoming with being on my own. Much of young adulthood is inevitably spent alone, and this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Meg is a senior majoring in political science and minoring in data science and business economics. Besides writing, she enjoys spending time with the people she loves, riding on public transportation and listening to good music. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
EV adventures Kat Regala The Absurd-ver
Who goes to Canada in January? I meditated on this question as if it were a mantra that, if repeated enough times, would elevate me to a higher state of consciousness, releasing me from the cold sting of nor’easter wind upon my cheeks and the snow ice seeping in through my purportedly waterproof boots. No matter how many times I cycled through this mantra, it wouldn’t change the fact that here I was, trudging through a bank of snow alongside a state route in a small Canadian town. I ended up on this urban hike because my boyfriend Will and I decided to utilize my long winter break before studying abroad to take a road trip from where he lives in Connecticut and go skiing in Vermont. However, a relatively snowless winter closed many of the trails, inspiring us to extend our trip north to Montreal to visit one of Will’s close friends. The challenge to our road trip — beyond the infamous Canadian winter weather — was that Will’s car was one of the one million EVs sold last year. Our over 700-mile journey, combined with the decreased range EV batteries get when it’s cold, would require us to make several charging stops along the way, lengthening our travel time and testing American and Canadian charging infrastructure. I have been on dozens of road trips throughout my life. These long trips have been broken up by stops at gas stations including the mega-sized, cultish Buc-ee’s, meals at fast food restaurants, zany
roadside attractions like the dinosaur-marked Wall Drug in South Dakota and the spray-painted Cadillac Ranch in Texas. These detours were always short stops along long driving days, respite for fuel, snacks or something to look at while stretching your legs. But, with EV technology as it exists now, longrange trips require more frequent and longer stops: it takes 20 minutes to an hour for Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) to charge an EV to 80%, and substantially longer for a Level 1 or Level 2 charger. And while EV technology and infrastructure is bound to drastically improve, the experience of pulling off to charge the car can be frustrating for now. It can be like driving a few miles off the highway to a station only to have another car pull into the last free charger, necessitating either waiting for the cars to finish charging or taking the gamble of driving to another station on your remaining range. The experience can also look like mine, cursing the cold while walking along the road in search of a coffee because the car is charging in a large, empty parking lot built without walkability in mind. Couched in these frustrations is the opportunity for a new type of road trip. While Will and I waited for the car to charge, we walked around the places that we stopped, getting to appreciate the architecture, unique environment and sometimes a meal or coffee in places we probably would have never gone to otherwise. In doing so, we got to see places along our journey beyond the drive-thru of fast food chains, the gas pump or the tourist trap. Despite questioning my decisions as I searched for coffee in that Canadian town, I got out of the
car, walked through the town and interacted with people as they lived their daily lives, letting me fully register that I was in a wholly new place, different from the one that I came from. This simple acknowledgement of our surroundings can be difficult in our speed driven society, where we race from one thing to the next, driven by the destination. The act of charging the car serves as a mindful pause to put my feet on the ground and look around. Many people might feel like my mother, who tried to reason with me that renting a gas car for driving hundred of miles in the heart of winter was not such a bad idea. Others, young and naive like Will and I, might take on the adventure of an EV road trip. Regardless of your perspective, the experience of stopping to charge your car is likely to become more ubiquitous. EV sales could account for 40% of passenger-car sales by 2030. And while EV infrastructure will grow, and charging will become faster, my trip helped me envision the potential for car travel to go beyond quickly getting from point A to point B. Stops along the way transform from short detours to their own legs of the journey. Kat Regala is a junior studying the Program of Liberal Studies with minors in Computing and Digital Technology and Science, Technology and Values. She originally hails from Naples, Florida, but loves traveling. When not reading or writing, you can find her drinking coffee, practicing yoga or binge-watching reality television. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
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THE OBSERVER | FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM
INSIDE COLUMN
I have a lot to say about dogs Liam Price News Writer
I came home from school this December to a house full of animals. There were: three dogs, two cats, two brothers and two parents for me to deal with, so, naturally, I spent a lot of time with the animals, and, naturally, I have a lot to say about them. One thing I notice about dogs is their intense anxiety. Little moments catch my eye: a. My girlfriend’s dog Pepper barks at me because I’m six feet tall, an alien in her world of kind, comfortable leagues under the height of 5’8”. (She probably thinks I’m a freak before getting a good whiff and remembering I’m just Teagan’s boyfriend.) b. My family’s dog Cicci will go ballistic if she sees a little kid, having never socialized with children in her brief life. My cute, cuddly pooch truly becomes an animal in these moments, unleashing bouts of rage at the most innocent-looking four-year-old, who is doing nothing but holding her mom’s hand while walking on the sidewalk. (But really, Cicci is just nervous, having grown up in a house of adults and she’s reacting with her anxiety to the unknown.) c. My other dog Lady shakes in her sleep sometimes, breathing sporadically. When I pet her she calms down. (I don’t know what she’s dreaming about, but I have to admit I spend a lot of time wondering about it.) d. My brother’s two-year-old Black Labrador Hank (a.k.a. Hanky Schwanky) is a jumper, launching himself onto me when I walk in the door, but he’s just excited after worrying all day about where I was. (Wait until he calms down and all he asks for is tummy rubs.) Anxiety isn’t all bad when it comes to dogs. While it’s cruel to purposely increase their worries, their anxiety is part of their biology, even part of their spirit. Dogs are incredibly friendly. Everyone knows that. That’s why they’re so cute. But their anxiety is more of a private matter to us humans. We don’t brag about our dogs’ anxieties to our friends the way we do about how loving they are. The funny thing about dogs, though, is they aren’t embarrassed by private matters. Dogs are embarrassed by jack sh*t. They’re not even embarrassed of sh*t. They would sh*t on camera, even if they knew what it meant to sh*t on camera. My point: You cannot shame a dog. While a dog won’t be socially embarrassed about some form of misbehavior, it does feel pain and is anxious to avoid being in harm’s way. You can only further freak a dog out by punishing it. The other option is that you can care for its needs so that it lives a loving, healthy life. Over winter break, I read a book about dogs called “Dog Is Love” by Clive D.L. Wynne. It was good and fun to read in the company of my pups. The main thing I picked up from it is the long-running relationship between humans and dogs. It’s a relationship thousands of generations older than my dog or I could ever comprehend, formed by a history of companionship, dependence and mistreatment on our species’ part. There is one extremely valid reason a dog has to be anxious, which is what I learned from my book: They are extremely codependent. Even the 200 million dogs throughout the globe who are strays (homeless, if you think about it, those spirited — she’s still kicking! — poor souls) are dependent on human interaction. The book (and a YouTube video I watched on one sleepless night) told me so! Dogs are pack animals at heart, and they’re extremely loyal to their owners, and their loyalty truly is a form of love. But like in any loving relationship, dogs have needs. They need us as a secure method of obtaining food, to let them go outside for walks to stay healthy and for warmth — both in terms of heat and comfort. Seeing Cicci sleeping with my dad’s shoes the other night, I realized something about her: She is comforted by the mere scent of her human companion. Edinburgh loves their stories, and they love their dogs too. In my 48 hours there (how limited!), I saw dogs everywhere. Locals let their dogs run happily
free while I was hiking up to King Arthur’s Seat. The National Gallery of Scotland was filled with art of the dog companions of the artists. And each writer in the Writer’s Museum seemed to have a portrait with their favorite dog. The legendary Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson was known to have an affinity for these furry friends, having once said, “You think those dogs will not be in heaven! I tell you they will be there long before any of us.” A storied city, one of Edinburgh’s most iconic tales is of Greyfriars Bobby. This Skye Terrier pooch in 19thcentury Edinburgh became known for guarding his owner’s grave at Greyfriars Kirkyard. He had lived something like three years with the owner, yet stayed at the grave for 14 years after his owner’s death. Now that’s loyalty! But after hanging out with my dogs, I’ve realized that Bobby was probably just comforted by his owner’s scent at first, and then, because he felt safe by the grave (no one bothered him!) he figured, “Why not spend the rest of my life here?” Everyone admired him, but all he knew was that he was safe and well-fed. What more could a dawg ask for? But as it is with all loving relationships, there’s also a sad side to this interspecies relationship we have with dogs. So many of the dogs in the world are stray, living a life which, as I said, is essentially one of homelessness. It’s not an easy life to live. And for those that aren’t strays, for the privileged that are born in places like the U.S. and Scotland, so many are just homeless in a different way, trapped in shelters, waiting, begging for someone to give them a home, mistreated by the humans who are unable to return the love and the intimacy these dogs so desperately give. My most-clicked story from my news internship last summer was about a dog that shut down two of Philadelphia’s most busy roadways in one weekend: I-95 and State Road. The dog was mistreated, the animal shelter told me, a husky who was 43 pounds underweight and who peed out of fright when the owner walked in the door. The owner wasn’t kind to me on the phone and the editors cut all the “allegations” by the animal shelter from my story, but the simple fact that the same Philadelphia husky pulled off helicopter footage news stories and police chases twice in one weekend shocked hundreds of Philadelphia readers (a big audience for me) into shaming the owner with their oh-sorighteous Facebook posts. In the end, though, because dogs are seen as “property” according to the law, the dog had to be returned to the owner — to the fright of the animal shelter managers. It’s cruel and damaging to your dog to act irresponsibly, neglecting its basic needs and worsening its anxiety. And that is the unfortunate reality of our species’ effect on dogs: The irresponsible husky owner is one of many. It’s a collective failure by our whole species to protect our favorite companions that happens over and over again, unspoken, tucked safely in that world of embarrassing private matters. Yet, my animals — My Lady, Cicci, Pepper and Hanky Schwanky (he loves it when I call him that, judging by the uncontrollable wag of his tail) — give me hope. It’s hard to feel hopeless when a dog is loving you, licking the sweat off your legs after a run, begging you to scratch her bum. (I’m looking at you, Pepper.) They make you feel so warm, and on a good, long walk, they’re just so full of joy. Maybe this isn’t about dogs, after all — perhaps it’s just me writing about myself and how much I love dogs. Liam Price is a junior from Lambertville, New Jersey. He majors in political science and English, currently serving as a New Writer Editor for The Observer. He enjoys playing pick-up basketball at North Dome and listening to “Take a Load Off Your Feet” by The Beach Boys on repeat. The views expressed in this Inside column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Iowa caucus Dane Sherman Saints Among Us
Thick sheets of ice made the crowd look like an anxious group of penguins. They stomped their feet attempting to revive feeling. Made tiny centimeter steps to not lose balance. Pushed up close trying to jam the line through the door. Reporters swarmed like bees around the line and extracted people to hear a glimpse of who the elusive “Iowa voter” was planning to support. The week-long ordeal felt like a tight straddle between an anthropological study and carpetbagging. Of the five major Republican candidates we listened to, all emphasized in their own ways that the 2024 election was about one thing: an existential battle for Truth. However, the more I listened, the more uneasy I felt. The Iowa Caucuses for the past 50 years have been the beginning to the nearly year-long ordeal of presidential elections. It’s small town retail politics at its best. Candidates pop into diners, Pizza Ranch (a chain pizza buffet restaurant), go to the state fair and a circus of events to prove how “normal” of a person they are. This wasn’t an ordinary political event. The coldest caucus in history involved a blizzard and minus 40 degree temperatures in some parts of the state. On the second night, I drove into a snow drift and had to be rescued by an off duty ER nurse and a vigilante tow truck. It was so cold that my iced coffee froze instantly if it lapsed onto the lid. We were bundled up for the last speech that the disgraced former President Donald Trump would be giving before the voting commenced. After we finally made it inside, there was free gear for us to take. I grabbed 15 drink koozies that had emblazoned on the front “Donald Trump Back to Back Iowa Caucus Champs - 2016 and 2020” — a physical manifestation of the empirical Truth relativism of Trump’s Republican Party. During the 2016 primary vote, Ted Cruz (28% of the vote) beat Donald Trump (24% of the vote). Penguin steps soon became horse strides as the room opened up to a podium, rows of reserved seats, a rear stage filled with cameras and reporters and a pig pen of people trying to get as close to the former president as they could. Weaving between people, I attempted to move my way to the front trying to get the best view possible. Soon the f lood of people practically slowly pinned people in their spots. As people’s excitement grew, the energ y in the room began to climb. The first five minutes of the event were devoted to an ad titled ”GOD MADE TRUMP” which told the story of Trump as “a shepherd to mankind” — an ad which received thunderous applause, shouts and fists raised in the air to show respect. Trump was preceded by a litany of congressmen, local officials and right wing pundits all echoing an unqualified endorsement of the former president. W hen the man finally stepped on stage, followed by at least seven secret service agents, the roar of the crowd did not end for minutes. Much brighter orange in real life, the man who dominated the beginning of my political consciousness, began to speak. The nearly two-hour speech was funnier than I wanted it to be. I laughed more than I wanted to. It felt somewhat similar to a religious experience. People raised their hands swaying with the rhythm of his voice, except for cheers there was an ominous quiet that proliferated the hall and the meaning people around me got from his speech was similar to my own experiences with Mass. It provided healing, hope and an answer to the ills of their life. Read the rest of this column online at ndsmcobserver.com.
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THE OBSERVER | FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM
By CLAIRE LYONS Viewpoint Editor
“And I was so young when I behaved twenty-five / Yet now I’ve grown into a tall child” — Mitski in “First Love / Late Spring” If your social media has been oversaturated with bizarre nondescript trailers for “Poor Things,” I want you to know the vagueness is intentional. I hope you go into the movie blind and preferably alone, as I did; otherwise, you are in for an uncomfortable viewing experience. But if you are on the fence about seeing one of the most daring films of 2023, please read on. [Editor’s Note: This review contains spoilers.] “Poor Things” is a bold spin on an old Frankensteinesque concept. In a version of Victorian London enlightened by the (still-existing) Library of Alexandria, surgeon Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) restores the life of a pregnant woman who dies by suicide. Except, he replaces the brain of the grown woman with the brain of the baby. Meet our main character, Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a toddler trapped in a woman’s body. The film and its wild premise have generally been received well-received by critics and audiences with a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 4.3/5 star rating on Letterboxd. Many viewers, however, are polarized. Most negative reviews argue Bella’s infantilization, especially in the context of a film largely concerned with Bella’s exploration of sex and sexuality, creates obvious discomfort and cuts the film’s feminist posturing off by its knees.
By PETER MIKULSKI Scene Writer
W ho cares if “Saltburn” is good — it’s successful. It has grossed $20 million in theaters, despite its limited one-month run. It has pushed singersong w riter Sophie Ellis-Bextor and her single “Murder on the Dance Floor,” which accompanies the final scene, onto the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in her entire career and 23 years since the track’s release. Most staggeringly of all, “Saltburn” content has amassed over four billion v iews on TikTok. “Saltburn” was fated to succeed — not because it’s good, but because it’s postable. The mov ie is laden w ith montages, mostly of Jacob Elordi walking and standing, handsome and silent. These sequences feel less like montages and more like fancams, like they’re designed to be screenrecorded and reposted by fan accounts on TikTok. The final scene, a naked Barr y Keoghan prancing gleefully around an ornate mansion, has the same qualit y: It’s a complete non sequitur, which director Emerald Fennell seems to have intended
In many ways, these critics are right. The film falls into the second-wave feminist camp that supposes sexual liberation is the key to equality. However, sexual liberation, in the context of “Poor Things,” comes without any sexual education. Bella’s naivete means that she enters into adult relationships (and, as she mentally matures, enters into sex work) without any sense of the very real stakes women face in adult relationships: physical and sexual violence, economic and emotional abuse and health risks such as STIs or unplanned pregnancy. In fact, prostitution becomes the key to Bella’s economic liberation from her controlling lover Declan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), and enables her to pay for college — a wildly idealistic look at sex work that lacks nod to potential consequences. But for all of the film’s fascination with sex and anatomy, Bella is not necessarily objectified or oversexualized. Sex is perceived the way Bella sees it: matter-of-factly. She could easily fall into the “born sexy yesterday” trope where “the mind of a naive, yet highly skilled, girl is written into the body of a mature sexualized woman.” Yet, Declan Wedderburn, whose infatuation with Bella stems from her childlike nature, is shown to be a ridiculous and even more childish character himself. Even though “Poor Things” deftly pokes at the “born sexy yesterday” trope itself and critiques the over-sexualization and infantilization of women, the film makes a false equivalence between women’s sexual liberation and women’s empowerment. For whatever strides the film makes, the film itself — written, produced and directed by a majority
male crew — was never intended to be lauded as a feminist masterpiece. “Poor Things,” at its heart, is a bildungsroman about a girl coming to grips with the world around her — and not just in terms of the patriarchy. Yes, Bella navigates a world of men who are increasingly hostile towards her as she becomes more autonomous. And yes, even the “God” she sees as so benevolent seeks to control her. But Bella also navigates a world full of suffering, injustice and economic inequality. She exists in a rich world outside of sex — one full of beauty, intellectual pursuits and worldly conversation. Alone, Bella weeps over the plight of those less fortunate than her. Alone, Bella finds herself entranced by the soothing sounds of the Portuguese guitar, entranced by books and enthralled by her medical school lectures. These are the scenes where I find myself liking Bella most. For all of her misguidedness, I deeply admire her innate curiosity, awe of the world and desire to help others. We should stop asking ourselves whether or not “Poor Things” is a feminist film. Instead, we should focus on the film’s more interesting questions: In what ways do adulthood and its social conventions stifle our innate desires? As millennials and Gen-Z drag their feet toward adulthood in extended adolescence, are we actually finding ways to honor the childlike curiosity and wonder within all of us? Or are we finding excuses to justify the pervasive sense that we have grown into “tall children?”
to be ripped from the mov ie and posted online, or maybe to be turned into a TikTok dance. For a similar reason, the script and acting often prioritize Tw itter-ready GIFable moments and one-liners over genuine emotion, making for characters who come off as artificial and inhumane. W hat the audience is left w ith is a piece of pieces, a work that’s fractured and disjunct. View ing “Saltburn” is less like watching a mov ie and more like scrolling a feed. “Saltburn” is gross, rife with Jacob Elordi’s semen and Alison Oliver’s period blood. Fennell whips up a double helping of Barry Keoghan’s penis and a smorgasbord of disconcerting sex scenes. Usually, I love gross. I love Pier Paolo Pasolini, who does it artfully, and John Waters, who plays it for laughs. Their films are notorious, perpetually spawning discourse about sex and poop on screen. The gross parts of “Saltburn,” though, lack Pasolini’s thoughtfulness and Waters’s sense of humor. Sparking discourse is not an unintended consequence of Fennell’s film, but rather her goal — it’s not a moviemaking decision, it’s a publicity strateg y, a way to generate buzz on TikTok and Twitter.
“Saltburn” feels lab-grow n, cy nically catering to market research. In pop culture, rom-coms and schlock mov ies, that’s a good thing, but because “Saltburn” tries to be arthouse, because it insists on its ow n pretensions, it comes off as confused — disingenuous, even. “Saltburn” still has some good performances and interesting scenes, though. As always, Rosamund Pike’s poised acting left me f loored, and I enjoyed her alongside Richard E. Grant and Carey Mulligan — as her husband and friend, respectively. Sometimes the mov ie is a real sex y and fun romp. Sometimes there are w itt y moments, but other w ise good scenes are often hindered by the clunk y dialogue. The problem mostly lies w ith the younger actors in the cast, but poor dialect-coaching and heav y-handed screenw riting deser ve some of the blame as well. A ll in all, “Saltburn” is what you get when — rather than making a mov ie for rewarding watching — you make one for posting about on TikTok. Spoiler alert, it’s bad !
Contact Claire Lyons at clyons3@nd.edu
Contact Peter Mikulski at pmikulsk@nd.edu ETHAN CHIANG, ANNA FALK | The Observer
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SPORTS
THE OBSERVER | FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM
SPORTS AUTHORITY
Has the script leaked for Super Bowl LVIII? By RYAN EASTLAND Sports Writer
Has the NFL already leaked the script for Super Bowl LV III? The NFL has been jokingly accused of scripting their games, over the past couple of seasons. This trend has gained traction in recent years around social media. Some NFL matchups just seem too good not to be scripted. Take for example last year’s Super Bowl, both Kelce brothers (Jason and Trav is) made the big game. This took place the same year the Kelce brothers podcast, “New Heights,” soared in popularity. W hile this is likely a coincidence, some have speculated that the
NFL wanted this to happen because the heartwarming stor y would surely boost ratings. This year, the Rams met the Lions in the first round of the playoffs, at Ford Field. This game featured Rams QB, Matthew Stafford, versus Lions QB, Jared Goff. However, Goff used to play for the Rams and Stafford for the Lions. Back in Januar y of 2021, Stafford requested a trade out of the Detroit Lions organization. The Lions were forced to deal him to the Rams in exchange for Jared Goff as a replacement for Stafford. The playoff matchup between Stafford and Goff, against their former teams, seemed to be w ritten in the stars.
There are a number of these perfect coincidences that have led many fans to believe the NFL is scripted. The scripting conspiracy has most recently been tied to the Super Bowl logo. In 2021, the NFL decided to add two colors to the Super Bowl logo. The first colorful script, for Super Bowl LV I, featured orange and yellow, while Super Bowl LV II had a red and green script. Coincidentally, the colors of the teams in both Super Bowls matched the colors on the logos. In Super Bowl LV I, the Bengals (orange), met the Rams (yellow). And for Super Bowl LV II, the Eagles (green), met the Chiefs (red). This coincidence
has many speculating that the Super Bowl LV III logo might be the leaked script for this year’s Super Bowl. This year’s logo is purple and red. Could it be that the NFL is setting up a matchup between the purple Ravens and red 49ers? Both teams are legitimate contenders this year, and many analysts think that a Super Bowl between the Ravens and 49ers is more than plausible. However, the NFL likely caught w ind of people conspiring about the purple and red logo, because they released an alternate logo donning red and blue. This is the first time that the NFL has released two logos for the Super Bowl
w ith different colors. This has only made fans speculate more about the alleged scripting. The fact that the NFL went out of their way to make a new logo is ver y suspicious. W hile some think that the NFL is leaking a new script for the Super Bowl, others think the NFL is tr ying to cover up their mistake. W hether or not the NFL is scripted, many are looking for ward to seeing who makes the Super Bowl, as it w ill either confirm or deny their speculations about this year’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas. Contact Ryan Eastland at reastlan@nd.edu. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
FOOTBALL COLUMN
Miller: 2023 Irish football was forgettable By JAKE MILLER Senior Sports Writer
At the Sun Bowl postgame press conference, my colleague, J.J. Post, asked Marcus Freeman what earning a 10th win meant to him. “10 looks better than nine … We just want to continue to improve. And we got to find a way, as you look back at the season, to win those close games that we didn’t end up winning,” Freeman said. Notre Dame did some good this season. Graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman’s fourth-quarter run against Duke was one of the flashiest plays in all of college football. The defense was a formidable, consistent force. Yet, all of Notre Dame’s wins came against teams with deep flaws — many of which were revealed after Notre Dame’s matchup. Perhaps its best win was against North Carolina State, a team that just lost in the Pop-Tarts Bowl to a depleted (and unranked) Kansas State team. Sure, Notre Dame won 10 games, but not even one of those wins justifies the mess of roster decisions endured by fans. Going into next year, Notre Dame’s roster will see significant turnover. Marcus Freeman continually preaches a “next-manup” mentality, wanting to see perennial improvement across the entire roster. This year’s senior-heavy team didn’t accomplish anything of note. They appeased fans. That’s it. Additionally, stars such as Audric Estimé,
Joe Alt and Hartman leave Notre Dame with significant promise and potential. Yet, objectively, they also leave having played on Irish teams that only partially met preseason expectations. Next year’s roster features All-Americans at several positions. I applaud Freeman for his work in the transfer portal, picking up quality players like Riley Leonard, Beaux Collins, Kris Mitchell, Mitch Jeter, RJ Oben, and Jordan Clark. At the same time, the offensive line is a huge question mark. The unit’s play in the Sun Bowl was adequate at best. The Irish will have to hope junior tight end Mitchell Evans recovers quickly. With Holden Staes’ departure, Notre Dame doesn’t have developed, starter-ready tight ends at its disposal. Next year, the Irish have a clear goal: make the College Football Playoff. Unfortunately, Notre Dame did not exhaust all of its potential resources to make this goal a reality. The course to the playoff is a multi-year one. Notre Dame ends this season having both not accomplished much this year while giving too much lateseason time to seniors who couldn’t contribute to the program’s future success. Of course, the defense excelled. Yet it was good last year as well. Senior safety Xavier Watts emerged as an interception machine. But even at the end of 2022, he was playing well, making key tackles at USC and the Gator Bowl. The defense was ready to win — and should
be ready next year as well. Let’s look at the past seven years of Notre Dame football. The Irish have 10 wins or more in seven of those seasons. We shouldn’t be celebrating Freeman’s first as if it’s some major victory. In my opinion, it’s meeting the most basic acceptable standard. Look at another national program, like Ohio State, which has now appeared in 11 straight New Year’s Six Bowl Games. The difference is blatant. However, the buy-in and available funding/resources at both programs are nearly identical. Something must change next year. Logically, it’s time to take a step forward from trivial wins to dominating ones against formidable competition. Don’t get me wrong. I had a blast at the Sun Bowl and the local hosts were outstandingly caring in their reception of a bunch of Midwesterners. Unfortunately, five years down the road, that’s what I’ll remember about this season — not the success (or even failure) of the team. If next year, the Irish find themselves in a similar situation or mid-tier bowl, the program will be treading into forgettable waters. Contact Jake Miller at jmille89@nd.edu. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
SOFIA CRIMIVAROLI | The Observer
Notre Dame finished the 2023 football season with a record of 10-3. The Irish began the year 4-0 but then lost 3 of their next 6 contests.
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DAILY
NDSMCOBSERVER.COM | FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2024 | THE OBSERVER
CROSSWORD | WILL SHORTZ
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HOROSCOPE | EUGENIA LAST Happy Birthday: A positive change is heading in your direction. Trust your instincts and make moves that will position you to achieve what’s meaningful to you. You can secure your home and personal situation if you follow your plans. Don’t let anyone get in your way; take the plunge and do things your way. Don’t stop until you are happy with the results you achieve. It’s your life. Your numbers are 6, 11, 22, 29, 31, 35, 59. ARIES (March 21-April 19): Keep an open mind, but don’t let anyone talk you into something that isn’t feasible. Trust in what’s tangible, not what someone suggests. Protecting your name and reputation will help deter someone from stealing your identity or taking advantage of you. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Set high standards. You can beat the odds and score big if you put everything you’ve got into what you want to achieve. The sky is the limit, and every move you make will get you one step closer to victory. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Take nothing for granted and share only what’s necessary. Someone will use your words against you when you least expect them. Be a good listener, and you’ll gain insight into something that can help you reverse a situation that doesn’t make you happy. CANCER ( June 21-July 22): Give a shout-out to someone you appreciate and respect. What you get in return will change how you move forward. It’s time to stretch your awareness and contemplate using your skills, knowledge and experience to gain recognition and respect. LEO ( July 23-Aug. 22): Spend time honing your skills or making plans with someone you love. Keep a budget in mind, and don’t commit to anything that might put you in debt or tempt you to indulge. Take care of your responsibilities before moving on to fun and games. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Take the lead and do what makes sense. Your practical nature will lead to more significant opportunities that allow you to explore something of interest. Networking functions will give you a broad spectrum of what’s possible. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t give up when you need to give your all. Research, find out what’s going on and deal with anything standing between you and your objective. Anger isn’t the answer, but intelligence can help you navigate confusing situations. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): If you don’t like something, initiate a change. Take control to avoid letting someone else decide for you. Research your options, put your plan in place and don’t stop until you are satisfied with the results. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Keep close tabs on your money. Don’t invite outside interference into your life. Someone will be happy to cause problems for you if you give them the chance. Concentrate on relationships and looking and feeling your best. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Follow your instincts. Make domestic changes that add to your comfort and decrease stress. Stay on top of matters that deal with institutions. Leave nothing to chance or in someone else’s hands. Speak the truth, act succinctly and put the past behind you. AQUARIUS ( Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Think before committing time, skills or money. Understand implications and be aware of hidden costs. You can help, but don’t take on more than you can handle. Concentrate on what’s near and dear to you first before spending elsewhere. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Put your best foot forward and make your dream a reality. You have plenty to gain if you follow your plans and apply your skills. Don’t let anyone deter you from reaching your goal using underhandedness to lower your chance of success. Birthday Baby: You are aggressive, quick-witted and industrious. You are playful and courageous.
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SPORTS
THE OBSERVER | FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM
Nelson CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12
gold at the World Juniors for Team USA in 2021 “It was good to hear from the guys that had been over there and had that experience,” Nelson said. “They were able to guide me a little bit and tell me to go put my best foot forward, tr y my best to make that team and go represent the Irish over there.” Any player who competes at the World Juniors shares the ice with some of the best sub-professional prospects around. Boston University’s Macklin Celebrini, the projected top pick in the 2024 NHL draft, competed for Canada. On the American side, Nelson skated with Jimmy Snuggerud (Minnesota) and Quinn Finley (Wisconsin), two top80 NHL picks. Snuggerud leads the Big Ten in goals, while Finley, like Nelson, is a New York Islanders prospect. The player Nelson found most interesting had already gone headto-head with him as a Boston College forward. He’s also the highest NHL draft pick still playing college hockey. “One of the guys I learned a lot from was Will Smith — just the way he carries himself,” Nelson said. “And then also his play on the ice. I like how smart he is out there and the vision that he has. It was pretty cool to watch.” Of course, Nelson is developing a professional pedigree as well. Last summer, the Islanders selected him 49th overall in the second round of the NHL draft. Anders Lee, the former Irish captain currently in his sixth season wearing the “C” on Long Island, gave him a call on draft night. “Getting to see him at pro camp was fun,” Nelson said of Lee. “Being able to skate and compete against him was pretty cool and pretty special. Hopefully, in the future, he’ll be a role model for me and a guy I can look up to.” Like Lee, Nelson hails from the Twin Cities area. It’s a spot that Jeff Jackson and the Notre Dame coaching staff have recruited well in recent years. Eight current Irish players come from southeast Minnesota, with for wards Trevor and Justin Janicke having also played at Nelson’s high school, Maple Grove. Much like the Janickes or Slaggerts, hockey is a family affair for the Nelsons. Danny’s father played the sport through high school, later pushing Danny’s brother, Henr y, to play. The younger
“I think it just helped brother by four months, Danny followed Henr y’s me see the ice from a diflead and tried out hock- ferent side and see it from ey. Many years later, he back there, which I feel did the same with a com- like helps me playing cenmitment to Notre Dame. ter,” Nelson said. “Just be“I just wanted to go some- ing low in the zone and where to go. where where I felt like I knowing would fit in and a place that And then [it] helps me I’d be comfortable,” Nelson in the o-zone as well said about his decision. when I’m around the net, so “Being able to step in and I know where to go, where feel like I had a chance to those guys are shooting make an impact, that was too — that kind of thing.” Even some of the most one of the biggest things I was looking at when I decorated rookies somewanted to come here.” times struggle to turn into colleW hile Danny typical- preparation ly centers one of Notre giate production. But that Dame’s top two for ward hasn’t been an issue for lines, Henr y — also a fresh- Nelson. He ranks second on man — plays on defense. the Irish with 15 points, Danny also happens to have leading all Notre Dame experience playing on de- for wards with 11 assists. Not fense dating back to his to mention Nelson’s prowess high school days. Because at the faceoff dot, where he of team needs, he spent a ranks 11th nationally with 242 season on the blue line, successful draws, winning learning information he faceoffs at an elite 58.5% clip. still employs at center. “[Danny Nelson’s] a factor
offensively, but he’s also a big factor on faceoffs,” Irish head coach Jeff Jackson said. “He’s our best faceoff guy [and] one of the best in the countr y, and he’s also a factor on special teams because he plays both the penalty kill and the power play.” Nelson’s versatility should continue to add plenty of intrigue to his NHL profile. As will his 6-foot-2, 212-pound frame and puck-protecting skills, which heavily contribute to his comparisons to Brock Nelson of the Islanders and Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers. But for the 18-year-old Nelson, the focus remains on the present. That includes adjusting and thriving with a new pair of linemates, graduate student Trevor Janicke and fellow freshman NHL draft pick Brennan Ali. Nelson already scored an impressive tying goal in his return
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last Friday at Ohio State, and he hopes for continued success on Notre Dame’s heaviest for ward line. “I think we can do a lot, especially create a lot in the o-zone when we have control of the puck,” Nelson said. “I think our cycle game is really good, and when we hunt pucks together I think we can have a lot of success, those guys being two really good power for wards that can hunt the puck really well. And so when those guys hunt the puck, I’m just gonna have to be open and be ready for the puck.” Also ready for a postseason push, Nelson identified consistency as the key to Notre Dame’s success down the stretch. He and the Irish will go after it in this weekend’s series against Penn State. Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu
SPORTS
NDSMCOBSERVER.COM | FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2024 | THE OBSERVER
SMC BASKETBALL
HCC BASKETBALL
Belles fall to Albion By ANNIKA HERKO Associate Sports Editor
A frustrating season for Saint Mary’s continued Wednesday night as the Belles struggled against the Albion Brits (10-7), falling 68-42 in their Mental Health Awareness Game. The Belles kept it tight in the first half, heading into the locker room down only 9 points. However, the Brits kept building their lead in the third quarter and punctuated it in the fourth quarter, outscoring Saint Mary’s 22-12. The Belles were unable to overcome their shooting troubles all night. Starting freshman guard Kate Restovich and senior guard Elle Deardorff had 12 and 10 points, respectively.
ND WBB CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12
of conference play, t hings have gone f rom bad to worse for t he Deacons’ season out look. The tea m rema ins w inless aga inst ACC foes. Three of t heir f ive conference losses have come by ma rg ins of more t ha n 20 points. Elise Wi l lia ms has paced Wa ke Forest of fensively, w it h her 10.3 points per ga me ma k ing her t he on ly Demon Deacon to average double f ig ures in scoring. Ka ia Ha rrison
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Saints beat Governors State for second-straight win
Junior guard Julia Schutz scored 8 but no one else scored more than 4 points. The Belles shot just 23% from the f loor and made just over half of their free throws while their opponents went 13-for-13 from the line. This was their lowest shooting percentage of the season so far. As a team, the Belles went 5-for-25 on three-pointers and only got 10 offensive rebounds compared to Albion’s 21. By the end of the game, Albion outrebounded the Belles 60-33. The Belles dropped to 5-12 and next face Calvin for the second time this season on Jan. 20. The game tips off at 1 p.m.
By ANNIKA HERKO Associate Sports Editor
Contact Annika Herko at aherko@nd.edu
The Holy Cross men’s basketball team won its second game in a row Wednesday night against Governors State. The w in moves the Saints to 7-10 on the season w ith a 2-7 record in conference play. The Saints needed a good game to keep their season headed in the right direction, while the Jaguars are now on a five-game losing streak after the conference matchup. The first half of the game went back and forth repeatedly w ith several lead changes before Holy Cross went on a run to take a 29-22 lead into halftime. The
is close behind in t he scoring depa r t ment, averag ing 9.9 points per ga me. Ex pect Wi l lia ms, who a lso leads Wa ke in assists a nd is t ied for second in rebounds, to draw t he most Irish defensive attent ion. The Demon Deacons have been better in WinstonSa lem, w it h t hree of t heir four w ins coming at home. Perhaps more notably t ha n a ny w in t hough, Wa ke a lso put for t h a ver y solid show ing aga inst a Virg inia Tech tea m t hat ra n ks a mong t he nat ion’s best at LJ V M
Coliseum, fa l ling 82-73. Not re Da me is 1-1 on t he road aga inst conference opponents t his season, including a t ight w in over 6-12 Pitt. A f ter a sha k y sta r t to t heir ACC slate, Not re Da me w i l l come to WinstonSa lem hav ing found t heir g roove. A couple of key returnees (Cit ron f rom a longer-term leg injur y, senior for wa rd Maddy Westbeld f rom a shor t st int in concussion protocol) mea nt last week’s ga me aga inst Boston Col lege ma rked just t he f irst t ime since
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second half was all Holy Cross and the backand-forth nature of the game did not continue as the Saints built up a double-digit lead. The Jaguars shut dow n the Holy Cross offense in the last quarter of the game. However, it was too little too late. Holy Cross won 70-60. Junior guard Nash Hostetler led the Saints in scoring, w ith 17 points on the evening. Freshman for ward Desmond Dav ie followed w ith 14 points. Sophomore guards Phil Robles II and AJ Roseman put up 12 each. Junior guard Justin O’Neal was the only Saints starter
who didn’t score at least 10 points. However, he still contributed w ith a team-high 8 rebounds and 2 assists. The two teams were pretty equal in accuracy from the f loor. But the Saints were far more accurate from the three-point line (30% vs. 15%) and the free throw line (83% vs. 52%), which ultimately made the difference in the game. Had the 10 missed free throws by the Jaguars fallen differently, the game could have seen a different outcome. The Saints host Roosevelt (IL) on Saturday at 3 p.m. for their next game. Contact Annika Herko at aherko@nd.edu
mid-November t he Irish had t heir full opening day sta r t ing lineup on t he f loor aga in. Not re Da me st i l l awa its t he returns of junior g ua rd Oliv ia Mi les a nd f reshma n g ua rd Cassa ndre Prosper. The recover y t imetable for bot h rema ins un k now n. In t he mea nt ime, t he Irish w i l l look to ex tend t heir w inning st rea k w it h a key road showdow n aga inst long t ime riva l No. 9 UConn looming. Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu
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Email Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu
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THE OBSERVER | FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM
ND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Irish take down Cavaliers, look ahead to weekend trip to Wake Forest By J.J. POST Associate Sports Editor
MARY VOTAVA| The Observer
Irish junior forward Maddy Westbeld looks to drive to the hoop. Westbeld put up 14 points in Notre Dame’s 86-76 victory over Virginia on Jan. 18. Only Hannah Hidalgo and Sonia Citron scored more for the Irish.
Not re Da me women’s basketba l l picked up its t hird consecut ive w in Thursday night, dispatching Virg inia 86-76. A physica l, four-qua r ter a f fa ir saw t he t wo tea ms combine for 56 fou ls. Seven players accumulated 4 or more persona l fou ls, a nd t wo Cava lier sta r ters (Ca mr y n Taylor a nd London Cla rkson) fou led out. The Irish attempted 44 fou l shots on t he ga me, including 17 in t he four t h qua r ter. Junior g ua rd Sonia Cit ron, now in her four t h ga me back a f ter a mont hs-long injur y absence, brought t he of fensive f irepower for No. 19 Not re Da me. The junior combo g ua rd notched a ga me-high 28 points, w it h t he Irish now 3-1 fol low ing her return. Freshma n g ua rd Ha nna h
Hida lgo a lso chipped in across t he stat sheet, adding 23 points, 9 assists, 6 stea ls a nd 5 rebounds. Cit ron a nd Hida lgo combined for 20 of t he tea m’s 22 points in t he f ina l qua r ter. Not re Da me w i l l cont inue t heir road sw ing aga inst a Wa ke Forest tea m f ight ing aga inst a n ugly mid-season spira l. The Demon Deacons have st r uggled a l l yea r a nd a re yet to w in consecut ive ga mes in 202324. W hereas ot her lower-t ier ACC tea ms have la rgely steadied t heir season record in non-conference matches aga inst mid-major opponents (Pittsburgh is 0-5 vs. ACC opposit ion a nd 6-7 outside of conference play, Virg inia is 0-5 in conference a nd 8-3 outside), Wa ke Forest entered its ACC slate w it h a 4-8 record. Since t he sta r t see ND WBB PAGE 11
HOCKEY FEATURE
Nelson talks ‘surreal’ World Juniors, freshman season at Notre Dame By TYLER REIDY Associate Sports Editor
On Jan. 5, as Notre Dame hockey prepared for a home series with Wisconsin, one of the team’s own took the ice before almost 1.5 million viewers across the pond. Freshman forward Danny Nelson, alongside his 24 American teammates, battled host nation Sweden in the final game of the World Junior Championships. Hours before the Irish donned their classic gold helmets, Nelson captured an unforgettable gold medal. “I think it was kind of surreal,” he said of the experience. “Any opportunity that I get to put on the USA jersey is pretty special, and I never want to take it for granted, so I was pretty lucky and blessed to be able to wear it over there. And then obviously bringing home the gold made it even more special.”
After attending selection camp in nearby Plymouth, Michigan, Nelson made the 25-player roster and traveled to Gothenburg, Sweden, for the 11-day competition. There, he played in all 7 games, helping Team USA to an unbeaten run for a sixth championship. In a 7-2 quarterfinal win against Latvia, Nelson scored the game-winning goal, def lecting a shot from the University of Michigan’s Seamus Casey. Three days later, Nelson would become the third current Notre Dame player to bring home World Juniors gold. His experience winning it all at the 2023 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship helped him, as did his teammates. Graduate student Patrick Moynihan and senior Landon Slaggert, both of whom shared a line with Nelson for all of November, acquired see NELSON PAGE 8
MEGHAN LANGE| The Observer
Irish freshman forward Danny Nelson takes a faceoff for Notre Dame. Nelson is second on the Irish this season with 15 points. He also scored 2 points while playing for Team USA at the World Juniors in Sweden.