NOTRE DAME, SAINT MARY’S AND HOLY CROSS TO
Students watch the national championship in South Bend
Campus processes loss Classes continue despite cold, game
By ANNELISE DEMERS, SOPHIE HANAWALT and ISABEL TORRES Associate News Editor, Associate News Editor and News Writer
The College Football Playoff National Championship brought forth a mix of anticipation and heartbreak to the Notre Dame campus on Monday evening.
While some students traveled to Atlanta to experience the game live, many others stayed on campus, where the University hosted a large watch party in Duncan Student Center’s Midfield Commons. The event drew roughly 250 attendees, including students, faculty and members of the South Bend community, who gathered around a large screen to cheer on the Fighting Irish.
The watch party was bolstered by catering from Chipotle and WingStop, along with a spirited game of “Championship Bingo” that added to the festive atmosphere. Students and fans, decked out in Notre Dame colors, hoped for a championship victory, but Ohio State ultimately claimed the title.
By BRIGID IANNELLI News Writer
Though Tuesday’s anticipated subzero temperatures and the national championship football game on Monday night sparked chatter regarding whether or not the University would cancel classes on Tuesday, the Office of Undergraduate Education sent out an email Thursday confirming that students would be expected to attend class.
your syllabi regarding your instructors’ absence policies and plan accordingly.”
In a statement to The Observer, Groody stood by his original message but added that “we urge students to use good judgment in regards to their returning safely to campus.”
Many students questioned the decision and hoped that their professors would still choose to cancel class. Those who did not travel to the game cited the freezing weather as a reason for their concern.
Welsh Family Hall freshman Nora Kulak attended Welsh Family Hall’s watch party, which featured WingStop and
Other students elected to stay in their dorms, many of which held their own watch parties.
see FOOTBALL PAGE 4
“Our first mission at the University is academic, and all our other activities flow from this mission,” vice president and associate provost for undergraduate education, Fr. Daniel Groody wrote.
He acknowledged the many students who traveled to Atlanta to cheer on Notre Dame in their final game of the season and advised them to “please consult
The National Weather Service issued a cold weather advisory at 1:42 p.m. on Tuesday, though residents of the South Bend area had been expecting the low temperatures for days.
“The dangerously cold wind chills as low as 20 below zero
see CLASSES PAGE 4
Department incorporates AI Faculty speak on H-1B visa future
By DAVID MURPHY Staff Writer
With the re-election of President Donald Trump this past November, the H-1B visa program and its effects on American workers has become a renewed topic of discussion. In interviews with The Observer, Notre Dame professors provided insights into this topic.
The H-1B program was introduced in 1990 under the George H. W. Bush administration and allows employers to hire nonimmigrant aliens as skilled workers.
Luis Fraga, a professor in the Department of Political Science who specializes in American politics and immigration at Notre Dame, highlighted the evolving role of H-1B.
“As the program has evolved, it has been a way for companies, universities, hospitals and many other
major institutional employers to access the qualified workforce they need to do their work,” Fraga said. “It tends to be for people of higher education and higher skill.”
Among these institutional employers of H-1B workers is the University of Notre Dame. According to the Notre Dame International Student and Scholar Affairs website, “H-1B employees manage dynamic research, lead powerful conversations in the classroom and bring rich perspectives to a variety of units on campus.”
“Universities are always aware of the H1B visa program, especially as universities have tried to become, as we have here at Notre Dame, more global,” Fraga said.
While employers must generally prove the absence
see VISA PAGE 4
By ISABEL TORRES News Writer
Elena Mangione-Lora, a senior teaching professor of Spanish language and culture, has embraced the use of artificial intelligence in her language courses to enhance linguistic opportunities. While many professors remain wary of AI, concerned about its potential to facilitate cheating and undermine academic integrity, Mangione-Lora sees it as a valuable tool to enrich student learning and engagement.
“The best way to learn communicative language is through authentic input and that is where AI comes in,” Mangione-Lora said.
Communicative language is a teaching method centered around the interactive approach to trial and error in the context of classroom discourse within the study of a language. It is met with the expectation that upper-level courses
will be entirely taught and run in Spanish.
Using this teaching method, Mangione-Lora highlighted that the language department at Notre Dame strives to stimulate language acquisition through implementing an immersive exploration of language.
“Through the communicative method, we aim to only speak Spanish in the classroom,” Mangione-Lora said.
When asked to explain more on the application of AI in the classroom, Mangione-Lora gave insight on the vision of the department. Ultimately, the tool will allow professors to input documents or URLs that are meaningful to the course and then the technological chat-bot would produce conversational stimulants and additional feedback that mirror human dialogue for students.
The Department of Romance Languages and
Literature is one of the first to implement these uses of AI in the classroom.
“Notre Dame in a lot of ways is at the forefront, and we are doing a good job of navigating that landscape,” Mangione-Lora said.
As the faculty begin to embrace the positive attributes associated with the application of AI in the classroom, Mangione-Lora noted that this tool is only helpful when accompanied by proper research on effective study methods.
Drawing on effective teaching strategies from “Make It Stick” by Peter Brown, Henry Roediger and Mark McDaniel, she emphasized that AI is not merely useful as a translator or dictionary, but rather as a tool for enhancing classroom learning by fostering engaging, meaningful conversations that help students apply concepts more effectively.
AI PAGE 4
JONATHAN KARR | The Observer
Students cheer in Midfield Commons Monday night as they watch Notre Dame play Ohio State in the national championship.
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Professors teach Israel-Palestine narratives
By MARIA CLARA LOPES CORONA News Writer
The one-credit course “Israel, Palestine and What We Owe Each Other,” designed by professors Mahan Mirza and Tzvi Novick, seeks to educate students on the complexities of the IsraelPalestine conflict.
Now in its second iteration, the course adopts a narrative approach towards the conflict, shedding light on both Israeli and Palestinian perspectives. The course aims to foster understanding without necessarily advocating for a specific resolution.
“It’s not to change their minds about how they view the conflict. It’s not to water down the terrible things that are happening right now,” Mirza said. ”But it tries to provide that historical perspective, of not just one side, but both sides, in so far as you know, that each side is also internally complicated.”
The course was developed as a part of a broader initiative to address pressing global challenges within the university setting. Amid campus protests and heightened attention to the Israeli-Palestine conflict, provost John McGreevy tasked Mirza and Novick to create a space
for meaningful yet respectful dialogue.
“We want the disagreement between the narratives to be present in our conversation, in our forums, in the classroom, and the best argument from both to be platform, rather than just straw manning one side or the other,” Mirza said.
The course is built around three main components: weekly readings and discussions, dialogues with Israeli and Palestinian students and attendance at public forums and lectures.
At the heart of these elements is a narrative-based approach. Rather than focusing on memorizing historical facts and chronology of history, the course delves into the lived experiences of those directly involved.
When asked about the choice to formulate the course in this way, both Mirza and Novick emphasized the importance of comprehending that, at its core, the conflict is a story of human lives.
Novick, whose primary field of study is Christianity and Judaism in antiquity, advocated for the narrative-based approach.
“It’s not just a matter of personalizing abstract ideas, but for me, it’s also important because it compels you to think of the actors on both sides as people with
real comprehensible motives,” Novick said. ”It forecloses a kind of tendency to demonize or to dehumanize the other side.”
This emphasis on personal narrative is reflected in the course’s choice of literature. Last semester, students read ”Lemon Tree” by Sandy Tolan, an account that intertwines the lives of a Palestinian man and an Israeli woman.
“The course is about the ability to see those two stories and to hold them together, not say it’s one or the other?” Mirza said.
When asked about the course’s intended impact on students, Novick highlighted the course’s goal of bringing about a nuanced understanding of the matter, encouraging students to engage with its complexities while appreciating the human experience present on both sides.
“We’re not trying to change anyone’s minds, but they’re able to see it fuller and bigger than they were able to see before,” Mirza said. “We’re creating a space for literacy, not necessarily for advocacy, although there’s a subtle difference between the two.”
One of the course’s most striking features is the collaboration between Novick, an Orthodox Jew and Zionist, and Mirza, a Muslim scholar and practitioner
of the Islamic faith. Their differing backgrounds and perspectives mirror the complexities and intricacies of the conflict itself.
“Symbolically, it was important to have a Jewish and a Muslim convener for this forum,” Mirza said.
Tess Jacob, a senior majoring in global affairs and minoring in business, also appreciated this balance.
“I really liked how the class was taught from a dual narrative perspective. It’s allowed me to build a more nuanced perspective in the conflict,” Jacob said.
Taylor Thigpen, a freshman studying global affairs, reflected on the broader implications of the course.
“I don’t need to pick a side, that’s what I learned. It’s less about picking a side and more about helping people who are hurting,” Thigpen said.
Max Kitchell, another freshman in the course, echoed this sentiment. Kitchell highlighted the importance of the narrative-based approach in making the conflict approachable and personal.
“Story matters so much to conflict,” he said.
He also reflected on the misconceptions he and other
students entered the course with and how those have since been altered.
“A misconception that I either hear talking to students or that I brought as a student to the class, is that this is a 1,000-year conflict, that is unsolvable, that this is hopeless. Yeah, it’s not,” Kitchell said. “It’s a discrete conflict that started 150 years ago. There’s a lot that went into it, and there’s injustice on both sides. All that’s true, it’s complicated, but I don’t think it’s unsolvable.”
He then emphasized the importance of engaging in courses like this.
“It’s important for academics to be studying and thinking about this. It’s important for us to think about, to dream about,” he said.
For Kitchell, the course’s takeaway is simple but powerful. He asks students to “Just have a mind about it, just think about it.”
This emphasis on thoughtful engagement and understanding underscores the course’s broader mission: to help students grapple with the complexities of the conflict while appreciating its historical foundations.
“History didn’t begin with Oct. 7. It led to Oct. 7,” Mirza said
Contact Maria Clara Lopez Corona mcorona@nd.edu
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could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes. Frostbite and hypothermia will occur if unprotected skin is exposed to these temperatures. Wind chill values can lead to hypothermia with prolonged exposure,” the advisory read.
Students worried that their walks to class, especially to the further buildings on campus such as DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and the Walsh Family Hall of Architecture, could be dangerous.
“I was surprised that class didn’t get canceled because I am a native Floridian who has never experienced negative numbers. I couldn’t fathom a feels-like temperature of -17 degrees,” freshman Stella Xu said.
As an architecture student and
a Lewis Hall resident, she mentioned that her walk to the building where many of her classes are held usually takes her upwards of 17 minutes.
Meanwhile, some students who attended the national championship game did not think that they would make it back in time for their Tuesday classes, as the game started at 7:30 p.m. and ended around 11:00 p.m.
Freshman Arden Maersch, who flew back from the game on Tuesday afternoon, said there were a number of other students in her situation. She said that while she understood the University’s decision not to cancel class for the entire school, traveling to the game should be a valid reason for an excused absence.
“Given that it’s an important and rare opportunity, students shouldn’t be discouraged from
to participate in touchdown pushups whenever Notre Dame scored.
cookies in the dorm’s 24-hour space.
“Only about 20 people came, and even during big moments the energy was still a little low, but it was fun to be on campus and watch from the comfort of my dorm,” Kulak said.
Jazmin Flores-Garcia, another Welsh Family Hall freshman who attended the event, noted, “constant yelling filled the room whether something good or bad was going on.” She explained attendees got out of their seats
Freshman Brandon Heil expressed his disappointment after the game.
“I’m not very happy. We had a lot of opportunities, and we kind of just didn’t capitalize on them. It’s rough,” he said.
Heil, who is from Columbus, Ohio and comes from a family of Ohio State fans, admitted the loss hit hard. However, he also acknowledged the team’s impressive season.
“Obviously, not the end result we wanted, but we still made it to the national championship, and
away from [Americans]. They’re complimentary.”
of available, qualified US workers before utilizing H-1B visas, anxieties surrounding the use of foreign labor through the program persist, Fraga noted.
“Skepticism, in my view, is largely driven by concern that US citizens will be overlooked,” he said. “It’s possible a person wasn’t found in a particular employment cycle … but there might be an American citizen in the subsequent year. But if the [H-1B employee] is given a multi-year contract, then that person would have priority.”
Despite criticism, however, proponents of the program continue to cite its benefits. The current cap for H-1B visas is just 65,000, and Eva Dziadula, a teaching professor in the Department of Economics, points out the need for skilled and talented employees.
“There’s a lot of companies that want talented people from across the world to be able to work for them,” Dziadula said. “And that really is the point of these high-skilled visas. They’re not meant and have never been shown to take jobs
traveling to support the team,” Maersch said.
Freshman Emma Phelan shared the same sentiment.
“I think that classes should have been canceled because it was hard for people to get back, and it’s not every year that we get to a championship,” Phelan said. She noted that around half of the people in her honors seminar were absent and many students were also missing in her moreau first year seminar.
Professors around campus noticed that a good amount of students were missing on Tuesday. Kathleen Cummings, who coteaches Global Catholicism with Fr. Paul Kollman, estimated “that about 25-33 percent [of their students] were absent.” The number was close to what they expected.
Contact Brigid Iannelli at biannell@nd.edu
that’s better than 130-something other teams can say,” Heil said. For many students, the sense of community remained strong despite the outcome.
“In the beginning, it was very enthusiastic because everyone was caring a lot. It’s nice to be at a school that continues to care a lot,” freshman Claire McCann said.
Other fans shared their reactions in the aftermath of the game.
“I thought we had it,” sophomore Theresa Kerker said. “I’m absolutely devastated. I’m about to go to my room and cry.”
Notre Dame alumnus Andrew
Pulling from his experience working with companies like Microsoft and Amazon as an administrator at the University of Washington, Fraga noted their support of the H-1B program.
“Leaders of those companies used to say that they could not do their work were it not for the H-1B visa recipients … we didn’t produce enough computer science engineers to meet their needs and demands,”
Fraga said. “The H-1B visa program was the way that they were able to survive.”
As for the future of H-1B, Fraga expressed uncertainty, but noted tech companies who supported President Trump in his 2024 bid benefit significantly from the H-1B program.
“It is reported in the press that high tech companies … were very supportive of President Trump,” Fraga said. “It’ll be interesting to see how they position themselves here and how the Trump administration positions itself on the H-1B visa program.”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
AI is often brought up in a fearful context regarding the opportunity for students to engage in cheating, however, while discussing the tool in relation to unethical uses, MangioneLora offered a reassuring approach.
“There is nothing that can replace human contact, but [artificial intelligence] is here to stay, and students need to learn to use it responsibly,” Mangione-Lora said.
Mangione-Lora also highlighted the need for both teachers and students to be aware of the technical and applicable limitations of AI.
“We owe it to ourselves, to
Johnson came to campus to watch the game with Kerker, his girlfriend.
“There were a lot of ups and downs. I thought we had it, but if they had to lose, at least I got to watch it with Theresa,” Johnson said.
In nearby South Bend, local bars also became hotspots for fans to catch the game. Fiddler’s Hearth, Rohr’s, CJ’s Pub, Taphouse on the Edge, Legends, Corby’s Irish Pub and The Blarney Stone (Olfs) were among South Bend spots that held watch parties. ESPN featured a shot of The Linebacker’s watch party during the game’s
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our students, to the changing landscape to make it unappealing to cheat,” Mangione-Lora said. Returning ultimately to the intrinsic motivation of Notre Dame students, Professor Mangione-Lora expressed gratitude for the hardworking students that do not wish to rely on AI in order to improve their skills in language acquisition.
“I don’t think students want to cheat themselves, they want to learn and they want to be engaged,” Mangione-Lora said. “The eventual point of studying a language is to have conversation and be cultured in the aspects of other cultures.”
Contact Isabel Torres at itorres@nd.edu
live broadcast.
While Irish fans hoped for a second-half comeback, the loss did not diminish their pride in the team.
“The watch party was super fun. Every time there was a big play, it was super exciting. Everyone was going crazy, and the ‘Let’s Go Irish’ chant was just very loud and entertaining. It was a great experience,” Heil said.
Contact Annelise Demers at ademers@nd.edu, Sophie Hanawalt at shanawal@nd.edu and Isabel Torres at itorres@ nd.edu
A year with dumb phones
Last January, I ditched my dying iPhone and bought a $35 Nokia. Everyone called it a ‘flip phone,’ but it did not even boast a second layer to flip open or slide out, as did many phones from the 2000s. My Nokia was barely larger than a business card and looked more like a mini walkie-talkie than a phone. A small, pixelated display covered the top half, and a number pad and other buttons covered the bottom. It could call and text but did not support group chats and had no camera, no maps, no internet and no social media. (It did have the game Snake, though.)
Dialing a number or calling one of my contacts was easy enough, but writing texts on the number pad took a while. (To type ‘hello,’ I pressed 44-33-555-555-666.) My connection was abysmal, especially on campus, except for a few hotspots I eventually discovered, where I often had to go to make calls and send messages.
On the other hand, my screen time, which was already low, plummeted to effectively zero.
I had no way of distracting myself from a conversation, a book or an assignment, even if I wanted to. I became very comfortable being bored, very used to sitting with my own thoughts while staring into space. I learned to look longer at beautiful things, letting the world sink into me for my memory, rather than capturing an image for my camera roll. I started carrying a small notebook with me so I could jot down dates and times, directions, to-do lists, schedules and plans — all the things that typically crowd a Google calendar — as well as miscellaneous thoughts, notes and sketches.
I traded the conveniences and flash entertainments of my iPhone for the treasures hidden in the world in plain sight, buried in books or waiting to be unearthed in simple conversations with plenty of eye contact. I traded my iPhone’s most powerful tools, which I had used to get or
do what I wanted when I wanted, for peace of mind, a long attention span and a will unburdened by the guilt of wasting my time. Like all trades, I had to give up things and make sacrifices; but, like all good trades, what I gained was worth more to me than what I lost.
A common response I got from people when I showed them my Nokia was, ‘Why would you go out of your way to make your life harder?’ These people saw only the conveniences I had lost and not the treasures I had dug up through the labor of inconvenience.
Another common response was, ‘Wow! Props to you, but I could never.’ I believe these people underestimated themselves. I admit that the world is designed for iPhone users and that many practical tasks seem to absolutely require an iPhone (or some kind of smartphone). But there are still old-fashioned ways of doing most things. If you are willing to make the sacrifices, to jump ‘off the grid,’ you will learn to find a way, because you have to find a way, because you are perhaps smarter, more resilient and more resourceful than your iPhone says you are. Here are some of the ways I dealt with miscellaneous practical tasks:
I looked up directions at home on my laptop and wrote them down in my pocket notebook. I started memorizing routes, and internalizing maps and I learned to pay attention to street signs and to ask for help when lost.
I used the printers on campus or the scanner in the library to scan and submit homework without taking pictures.
I rerouted my methods of two-step verification (e.g., for Otka) from push notifications to sending me a code via text.
I printed out all tickets with QR codes, boarding passes, etc. For my football tickets, I emailed the Ticket Office and picked up printed tickets at the Ticket Resolution Booth (which I did not even know existed). I sent links and photos back and forth via email. I started checking my email only a couple of times every
day. Anything I wanted to look up, I wrote down and waited to look up on my laptop.
To some, this maneuvering may seem pointless (‘That’s what a phone is for!’), but to me, it was a price I was willing to pay for freedom from distractions.
But since October, when I replaced my Nokia with an upgraded dumb phone called the Wisephone (the other popular dumb phone you may have heard of is the Light Phone), I have been in the best of both worlds: freedom from distractions and freedom from inconveniences. The Wisephone has the hardware of a standard Samsung phone, with a nice touchscreen and multiple cameras, but its software is modified to allow only certain functions and certain apps.
I now have a perfectly reliable connection, can text again in group chats on a full keyboard, can take photos, listen to music and navigate with maps. There is still no internet, no social media, and no email. My Wisephone eliminates the inconveniences of my Nokia without adding distractions (no, this is not an ad), but I am not sure whether I would have reaped all the aforementioned benefits (peace of mind and will, comfort in silence and boring, ordinary life, absorption in books or in natural beauty, etc.) if I had gone straight to the Wisephone without the Nokia.
I am not sure whether this account of my experience is more likely to scare you away or convince you to get a dumb phone. In any case, it is the honest experience of someone grappling with how to use — and not be used by — technology in this modern world, and I hope there are things you can glean from it for your own life.
Richard Taylor is a junior from St. Louis living in Keenan Hall. He studies physics and theology. He encourages all readers to send reactions, reflections or refutations to rtaylo23@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
What the right move is for TikTok users
First, it was Vine. Now, it’s TikTok.
Exactly eight years ago, Vine shut down. With it, came its culture: entertaining six-second videos that felt invaluable. Now, TikTok will begin crashing in just two days, marking the end to countless viral videos, catchy sounds and out-ofpocket jokes.
Looking back to January 17, 2017, the internet was stupefied. There wasn’t a clear direction or app for content creation and doomscrolling in a post-Vine world. The same looming experience is true for TikTok users looking for the next greatest app ahead of the ban taking effect on January 19.
The natural transition for the internet would be to make an alternative social media app, the new TikTok, but it seems unlikely that anything will immediately replace TikTok’s grasp on the internet. Rather, the internet will follow the pattern that occurred in 2017.
The pattern is this: internet youth redefine what content is most engaging, users then flood the internet landscape with attention-grabbing posts from a trendy, newly discovered app and piqued curiosities would catalyze the internet’s migration.
I believe that young media will follow the trend when users congregated on Musical.ly/ TikTok: a hot new app offering fresh, and possibly underground, content will catch our attention. However, there will be time before any app emerges as the internet’s playground for humor and culture.
This movement was exemplified when the internet turned from Vine — an app of six-second comedy — to Musical.ly, a music and lip-syncing video platform that later was merged into TikTok. In June 2016, Musical.ly had nearly 90 million users. In May 2017, four months after the Vine ban, there were over 200 million Musical.ly users, according to Billboard. The period in between these jumps in downloads consisted mainly of Musical.ly videos being reuploaded to Snapchat and Instagram. In short, visibility and fresh content drove downloads.
At the time that Twitter shut down Vine, creators and users also pivoted to YouTube, where they could post nearly anything, similar to TikTok’s freedom to post and be seen. Despite this environment, people eventually flocked to a more focused TikTok algorithm. In its first few years, TikTok’s most popular videos were dances. That still didn’t deter YouTube and Vine users. They downloaded TikTok anyways.
According to Business of Apps, an informational and marketing website built to connect businesses, there were 150 million TikTok downloads in 2017, 807 million in 2018 and 1.5 billion in 2019.
Now, moving from TikTok means leaving videos spanning cooking, pop culture, humor, aesthetics, storytimes and dances among other genres. The loss simply feels too great for any existing app to fill (Instagram has the versatility but will always be seen as a photo-first social media app, not video-first).
To be clear, TikTok likely won’t (technically speaking) shut down — or be mysteriously removed from most of our phones — on January 19, according to NPR. It is more likely that the app will have bugs,
glitches and no new posts or updates, based on what government officials and TikTok executives told NPR. In short, it will be slowly phased out.
It is unclear at this time what President-elect Donald Trump would do for the app, if he chose to act.
TikTok users have been accustomed to curated algorithms, although at the expense of threats to data and information. Of course, those reasons among others have motivated officials to uphold the ban.
Naturally, creators have recommended substitute apps in place of TikTok: Lemon8, which has similar content styles and the same owners as TikTok, RedNote, an app described by USA Today as the “Chinese version of Instagram” and Instagram’s pre-existing “Reels” feature.
According to an Axios report, Lemon8 would face the same restrictions as TikTok on January 19 — the apps would lose new content and accessibility in the United States.
But for now, TikTok users, myself included, should take time to revel in its last few glitch-free moments, scroll through a few Reels, potentially explore alternative apps and wait for the new social media app to emerge.
Redmond (Reddy) Bernhold is a junior studying biochemistry and journalism. He originally hails from Minster, Ohio but calls Siegfried Hall his home on campus. When not writing, he explores South Bend coffee shops and thrift stores. You can contact Reddy at rbernho2@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Richard Taylor Just Glad To Be Here
Redmond Bernhold Born Reddy
Liam Price Viewpoint Editor
Fragments of TikTok’s fall
While drinking $2.50 High Lifes at Jack’s in Nashville Saturday night, I received a text from Teagan: “I DIDN’T EVEN GET TO SAY GOODBYE!”
She was damn near crying while waiting for her stuffed cheesy bread at University of Delaware’s Deer Park bar over the loss of our generation’s trusty baedeker, the colossal black hole of our time, TikTok. “HAHAHA,” I replied. “(Evil laugh.)”
But TikTok fiends need not fret much.
“We are fortunate” the app told her at the time, “that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”
So fortunate.
I needed some rest later in the night, so I sat down at a table on the quietest floor of the seven-story Wallens bar, where a male and female country duet sang a song and then asked the small, mostly empty room where we were from and what we wanted to hear.
I asked him to play “Pink Skies.” I’m no country music listener, but I’ve always liked that song.
“What are you, going through a break-up or something?” the saw-picking man asked me. “That song is always a vibe killer.”
For some reason, I said I was — with a guy.
“With God?” He had already judged my party of
three for not having fraternities at Notre Dame.
“With a guy!” Even though I’ve never dated a man before.
The two others in my party stood up to leave, so we walked out. I thought it was embarrassing, maybe a little funny, but my friends assured me that no one there would remember who we were.
Liam Linnen wore his Notre Dame varsity jacket to the bars, and we really felt a ton of love all night with countless “Go Irish!” cheers in our direction, except for one salty Georgia fan and a cocky Ohio State fan.
Of course, we gave both those guys proper and deserved Jersey birds.
At Friends, when we saw some friends, we obnoxiously erupted into a “Let’s go Irish!” chant once the dreamy mustached fiddler concluded his song. The other patrons were visibly upset. We didn’t care. We were too drunk and pumped up to care.
If I were a betting man, my money would not be on Notre Dame for Monday night. But I’m not a betting man. I’m a fan and a student, so instead it is a lifetime of my pride on the line.
As we begin Trump’s second term, I’m reminded of something a friend told me after getting a stent removed from his kidney: “Don’t ever let a woman tell you that it ‘won’t hurt that bad when they take something metal out of your d***.’”
The raids may begin next week. I don’t think your for you page will show you that violence.
I’m about ready to throw my phone in the ocean. In the past couple of months, I’ve deleted Tiktok, Instagram, Youtube, Reddit and X. LinkedIn (which news editor Liam Kelly pointed out has a scrolling feature) may be next.
But who knows. Maybe this is doomed to be just another failed written commitment. I’ve already eaten the fruit Steve the serpent first tempted me with. We’re a generation of scrollers. The disorienting, discomforting fragmentation of modernist literature has not left our world, but we now use our 15-second-or-less series of images to cope, comfort and pass the hours of our fallen world. The only expense is our lives.
It looks like TikTok will return to us shortly, “thanks” to our incoming president. I’m a revivalist: we used to bond over the books we shared. But now we only bond over apps where you share everything except your hyper-algorithmic “feed” which is, of course, for you and only you. Even if TikTok were never to return, replacements would be bound to arise in no time and certainly already exist. Let’s not fool ourselves, though, about how fortunate that is.
I wanted to write something lighthearted and funny today. I wanted to make you laugh again. I wanted to carry the triumphant spirit of our football team onto this page. I’m sorry that I couldn’t.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Why chrysanthemums?
Once, quite a while ago, within the introductory paragraphs of a mathematics textbook, the author found the need to justify herself to me — the uninformed reader. I found this necessity hotly disturbing.
Though theoretical as the mighty tome was, and while it hid in it complex numerical innards, its outward greeting was a meek one. The author, as her first priority, sought to prove that her life’s work was worth my time. She spoke of the importance of the abstract groundwork lurking behind engineering, of the sequential history of linked discoveries and breakthroughs, of the many comforts we may enjoy today thanks to our academic forefathers. She, again and again, reinforced the notion of the meaningfulness of the field solely as a means to an end. For mathematics is important because we attain results from it, she wrote to me.
Yet, what if we did not? What if the lemmas of logicians and exhaustive listings of topologists acted not as the seeds we venerate them for today? Does that make their questions, inquiries and passions — their very beings — worthless? Does the pursuit of knowledge and the development of theory function merely as the process towards product and commodification? Is their intrinsic worth but a concubine from which no worthy descendant will ever sprout?
The tome so continued: highlighting the life of Alan Turing — mathematician, philosopher, father of the theory of computation which enables you to digitally loiter on your cellular device — as one of spectacular value. The author was not alone in this. The very British government issued in 2013 a royal pardon for Turing’s
crime of loving his fellow men — a crime whose punishment of dangerous, experimental chemical castration would lead to his suicide. In the ceremony, the Justice Minister made prominent Turing’s scientific contributions as reasoning for issuing the pardon. It was because he had been so useful, so important, so valuable, that he deserved this honor, he wrote to the world.
Would Turing be remembered so fondly, pardoned and lauded so, had his theories not granted such sweet fruit? Would his crime be any graver; his conviction any less deserving of a royal pardon? Would his life have been any less useful?
What an outrageously insulting principle we embrace. Turing’s life was not “useful” — it was in all of its agonies and miseries quiet, thoughtful and beautiful. It was never meant to be anything else. The man ought not to be venerated for being the predecessor of any technology but for his willingness to explore the unknown, to learn and ponder the future worlds of automata, for being brave enough to think and think true — for being human.
I mean not to disregard the life of those who have eased the suffering of others, for the sacrifices they have committed in the pursuit of progress. Nevertheless, progress is not what made their lives possess worth. Ignorant that we are, we believe achievement to lie in the leaves or trunk of a tree. We seek efforts to consistently reach for the heavens, and every limb a climb and step atop the others. Yet what if our thoughts and words are to remain amidst the underbrush, to build to naught but a flower?
Are flowers useful to you or I?
A chrysanthemum’s colorful petals, in all their wisdom, extend to greet the sun’s rays. Their fragrances dye the world, coalescing to create something irreplaceable.
They dance and sway to the rhythm of the air and stand, so long as time permits, until they are someday to wilt. So what if their existence amounted to nothing but that? So what if they dreamed not outwards, but inwards, being what they were always to be? Is that truly so bad?
Thus I write to you, will your tomb be useful? Will the promises drenched in adoration to your dear ones, the songs you hum to yourself, the unwritten words inked into the fabric of the sky when dawn arrives be?
Why do we need all these things? Why do we have them, to begin with? Would we be better off discarding them? Quite the opposite: we need them all and so much more most profoundly.
They are, ultimately, what separates us from soulless, natural processes. These minuscule, stupid, worthless, pointless things are what make us human. We may lose ourselves in the details — missing the forest for the trees — attempting to justify the meaning of our lives and pursuits in the tangible. Yet we are never to take them with us, not unlike the celeste stars burning above us or the alluring flowers decorating the ground beneath us. And thus, you ask yourself: Why do we need chrysanthemums? The color blue? We just do.
We just do.
Carlos A. Basurto is a junior at Notre Dame studying philosophy, computer science and German. He’s president of the video game club and will convince you to join, regardless of your degree of interest. Now, with the power to channel his least insane ideas, feel free to talk about them further at cbasurto@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Carlos Basurto Eudaemonic Banter
SZA REFUSES TO BUG OUT ‘LANA’ ON
By JAYDEN ESPINOZA
Scene Copyeditor
In the wake of 2022’s “SOS,” SZA’s Grammy-award winning album featuring songs like “Snooze” and “Kill Bill,” fans were eager to receive the next installment in SZA’s catalogue. And even though much of the thematic concerns of “SOS” — social isolation, romance and fears of the future and uncertainty — return in this record, “Lana,” the deluxe of “SOS,” highlights just how much progress the singer has made towards self-actualization.
Right off the bat, the project looks entirely different: with its first snippet (featuring the song now known as “Diamond Boy (DTM)”), SZA bares all for the project and hones in on imagery of forests and fields, entirely unlike the turbulent, Princess Dianainspired visuals that defined the “SOS” era. This is continued through the actual listening experience of the album, beginning with “No More Hiding.” The track’s woodwind sounds feel like an invitation to a clearing in the woods where “Lana” takes place. No longer afraid of the world around her, SZA is desperate to engage with the people whom she attempted to drown out, as shown when she sings, “Don’t care what it costs me / I’ll trade anything to feel now /
Searching for real, trying for real / Failing for real, lost in the real / Hurting for real, chasing for real / Anything real.”
Thematically, the track sets the tone for the rest of what “Lana” succeeds at doing: forcing SZA to be more consistent, as a person and as an artist. Songs like “Scorsese Baby Daddy” find their “SOS” counterpart in songs like “F2F,” but refuse to write off SZA as a neutral party in the relationships in which she finds herself, with Scorsese being a literal reference to the director, who, like herself, has been rewarded and praised for the chaotic and emotionally charged media he’s put out into the world. But some track feel entirely their own and are the most emotionally vulnerable we’ve seen the 35 year old singer, such as “Love Me 4 Me,” which focuses on the legacy she would be leaving if she died and what that would mean for those who she loves most. She reckons with her mistakes in relationships on tracks “Chill Baby” and “Crybaby.” She ultimately actualizes on tracks like “Kitchen,” where SZA really must reckon if she wants to continue to stay in the circular relationship that constantly frustrates her (“You know we got a real history / That’s no reason I can’t choose me”), and “Drive,” where at last SZA has decided it’s time to get in the car and leave—to where, she doesn’t
know—but the cycle must be broken, and she must be reborn, regardless of how difficult the journey is.
However, in a similar vein to the finale of HBO’s “Girls,” the song, which feels like a natural conclusion to the story audiences followed for 13 tracks and some 40 odd minutes, is actually just the penultimate finale, with SZA pulling over on “Another Life” to leave a note to those whom she’s leaving in the past. Unlike her previous “SOS” or “Ctrl” personas, she isn’t here to say you’ve done her wrong. Here, she’s waving goodbye, knowing that in this timeline things may have not worked out. As she sings, she lets them know that “Maybe in another life” things could’ve worked out and wishes them well before disappearing into the unknown, unsure of when she might emerge again.
“Lana,” down to its name, highlights how the St. Louis born artist is in a state of reinvention. The title is a nod to her childhood name and, when side by side with “SOS,” forms her real name, Solana. And regardless of where her journey takes her next, or the struggles she has to face, “Lana” proves that as long as SZA has herself, she has the freedom and control she’s always wanted.
Contact Jayden Espinoza at jespino4@nd.edu
By ANDY OTTONE Scene Writer
One thing that I appreciate about comic books is their potential to be different. I know that if I pick up a chapter of “Spider-Man,” it’ll have some standard superhero tales, and if I’m not in the mood for that, I can look towards “The Nice House on the Lake” or “Ice Cream Man” for something a little darker and more cerebral. Comedy? Archie Comics. Teen drama? Also Archie Comics. It’s not the best example, but my point is that comics contain multitudes of stories and styles.
With HBO Max’s new animated series “Creature Commandos,” writer and creator James Gunn demonstrates that he not only understands how to emphasize these differences in comic book projects, but that he can craft stories under a variety of different tones within one show. Gunn, director of this summer’s “Superman” and co-CEO of the new DC Studios, is no stranger to superheroes. His most popular, and most acclaimed, work is Marvel Studios’ reimagination of “The Guardians of the Galaxy,” and from there he started his stint with the distinguished competition at Warner Brothers’ now-defunct DC Films division, writing the 2020 reboot of “The Suicide Squad” and its spin-off “Peacemaker.”
With each of these projects, Gunn crafted a very unique
product despite the fact that all of them share comic book starting points. Both “Guardians” and “Suicide Squad” are stories of misfit criminal gangs having to serve the greater good, but the ethos behind them vary greatly. While “Guardians” is about outlaws who ultimately have hearts of gold, Gunn’s “Suicide Squad” is a darker tale filled with betrayal and heroes with less-than-clear moral alignments, which he built off of for “Peacemaker.”
The latter is the tone his new animated project leans into — logically, I should add, considering that “Commandos” itself is a continuation of the storyline from “Suicide Squad” and “Peacemaker” — with the characters being motivated by their own twisted drives and desires, even if the end result is “the right thing” by conventional standards.
“Commandos” features an all-star cast (with the actors expected to return as live-action iterations of these characters in future projects). While the conventional protagonist would be Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr., the show’s beating heart is the relationship between the undead Bride (Indira Varma) and Nina Mazursky (Zoe Chao), whose mix of willingness to cross the line for the mission and avoidance of excessive violence is emphasized as this dynamic allows for friendship to grow, not grow tense.
That’s not to say these are the only characters worth paying attention to in the project though. The show dedicates time to each of the titular creatures (and some outside of
the government squad too), demonstrating that beneath each “monster” lies a narrative that twisted them to fit that role. It’s hard to pick a favorite among the three other squad members. The amiable G.I. Robot’s backstory in “Cheers for the Tin Man” gives humanity to the least human of the monsters; “Chasing Squirrels” adds depth to Weasel, a joke character from “Suicide Squad” and turned him into the most undeniably tragic character of the group (both Weasel and Robot are played by Sean Gunn); lastly, “Priyatel Skelet” allows Alan Tudyk to show off his full vocal acting range as the mean, green Dr. Phosphorus and offers us a fun yet brutal glimpse of this universe’s criminal underworld.
All of these characters have their own tragic stories, and Gunn masterfully weaves them throughout the season and the narrative’s ongoing action. While I greatly enjoyed the show, and encourage you to do the same, my biggest complaint about this debut season is that it could have benefitted from one more episode to let its final backstory breathe on its own, unencumbered by the parallel plot. With another season confirmed to be in development, maybe that’ll be different next time. Whatever the case is, “Creature Commandos” is a heartfelt, brutal, often crude but ultimately lovable show, about heartfelt, brutal and often crude but ultimately lovable people.
Contact Andy Ottone at aottone@nd.edu
Five key moments from Notre Dame-Ohio State
By LIAM KELLY Notre Dame News Editor
After a rollercoaster season which saw the Irish bounce back from a 16-14 home loss to Northern Illinois to go on a 13game win streak and make the College Football Playoff national championship game, Notre Dame fell to Ohio State in a 3423 thriller, dashing its hopes of capturing its first national championship since 1988.
The game saw the Irish start off strong before letting up 31 unanswered points to the Buckeyes. Here are the five moments that defined the outcome.
Notre Dame begins with a marathon touchdown drive
After losing the coin toss and receiving the ball to start the game, Notre Dame made the most of the opportunity in the short term by methodically marching down the field and finding the endzone.
Senior quarterback Riley Leonard bore the weight for most of the drive, driving up the middle again and again for short gains. The Irish went for it twice on fourth down and one, successfully converting
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
both times with quarterback keepers by Leonard. The second of these chances set up a firstand-goal opportunity, which Leonard promptly took advantage of, keeping it again and comfortably reaching the end zone.
The drive was the longest scoring drive in College Football Playoff history, spanning 18 plays and clocking in at nine minutes and 45 seconds. Despite the strong offensive start for the Irish, however, the Buckeyes were quick to respond.
Buckeyes establish a dominant lead before halftime
Following Notre Dame’s long touchdown drive, Ohio State quickly equalized with a drive capped by an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith. The Buckeyes defense then forced Notre Dame to punt after three plays, allowing Ohio State to once again drive down the field and score, gaining a 14-7 lead.
The Irish hoped to equalize before half but were stymied again with a three-and-out, placing the ball in Ohio State’s hands with the chance to drive further ahead. The Buckeyes drove down the field again with
a pair of long passes to Smith, placing Ohio State within striking range of the end zone. With 27 seconds left, Quinshon Judkins punched the ball in, putting Ohio State up by 14 before it received the second-half kickoff.
After the Irish let the clock run down to the half after one play, Ohio State fans were jubilant as the teams ran back into the tunnels.
Mitch Jeter doinks field goal
With Ohio State up 31-15 at the beginning of the 4th quarter and the Buckeyes in Irish territory, the Irish were searching for a spark of hope when sophomore linebacker Drayk Bowen forced a fumble, halting the Buckeyes’ advance. Notre Dame then marched down the field, with Leonard finding senior tight end Mitchell Evans and sophomore wide receiver Jayden Greathouse for gains and converting on a key fourth down to get the Irish to the eight-yard line.
After Leonard took a loss of one and then failed to connect on his next two passes, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was then faced with
the decision of whether to go for it and try to get the game within one score or to take the field goal. Freeman decided upon the conservative approach, bringing graduate kicker Mitch Jeter on the field.
Disaster struck, however, when Jeter’s kick hit the left upright, seemingly ending his reversal of previous kicking misfortunes earlier in the season. Ohio State then took over on downs with the Irish still down 16, with nothing to show for the turnover.
The Irish fight back
Despite the missed field goal, the Irish were able to hold Ohio State scoreless on its next drive and got the ball with just over six minutes left. Despite the deficit, Leonard stood confidently in the pocket, finding graduate receiver Beaux Collins for a 12yard reception before hitting Evans for a gain of 44.
The Irish soon found themselves in a third-and-nine situation at the 30-yard line. Leonard, once again showing off his arm, found Greathouse in the endzone, who made a miraculous catch despite being fouled. The Irish then made the two-point conversion on a pass
from sophomore wide receiver Jordan Faison.
Despite being behind dramatically for most of the game, the Irish now found themselves within one score.
Jeremiah Smith reception puts the game out of reach
After the Irish successfully converted their two-point attempt, putting the game within eight points, Ohio State received the ball with 4:10 left to play. After a Howard run for eight and a first down in the first series, the Irish were able to force the Buckeyes to a third-and-11 situation before the two minute warning.
With a chance to put the game away, the Buckeyes took a long shot, with Howard finding Jeremiah Smith on the right side of the field for a 57-yard reception. After three run plays for no gain, Ohio State kicker Jayden Fielding kicked a field goal to put the Buckeyes up by 11 with 29 seconds left. After two Notre Dame pass plays for a short gain and with no timeouts, the clock expired and Ohio State emerged victorious.
Contact Liam Kelly at lkelly8@nd.edu
Observer on the ground: title game weekend
By TYLER REIDY Sports Editor
My journey to the national championship game began with a 5 a.m. Sunday wake-up in frigid Minneapolis. I had been there since Thursday afternoon with Notre Dame hockey, broadcasting its series split against Minnesota — including an overtime win Saturday night.
If I had any second thoughts about returning to bed and sleeping through my 7:35 flight, stepping outside certainly vanquished them. The wind chill was 30 below. As if in a scene straight out of “Fargo,” I waited alone on the LightRail platform, which generated some heat, but certainly not enough. Eventually, after switching trains at U.S. Bank Stadium, I arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Despite waiting through a 35-minute security line at Terminal 2 (seriously, MSP?) I arrived at the game for Southwest sunrise flight down to Austin. Flying Southwest, my preferred airline, with a layover was the only way to keep the plane ticket south of $600. The route to Austin did take us right over my hometown of Omaha, adding some value to the southwestern detour.
I was in and out of Austin quickly, purchasing only a bottle of water and a slice of meaty pizza. Irish and Buckeye fans alike packed the next plane to Austin, leaving me
with perhaps the worst seat onboard — back row, middle seat. Oh well.
After landing in cloudy Atlanta at 3:05 p.m., I made the long trek to MARTA and found a train into downtown waiting on the tracks. As the skyline grew larger, the massive Mercedes-Benz Stadium came into view on the west end of the high-rises, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. I exited at Peachtree Center, met a few friends in student media at the hotel and finally took a moment to breathe after 10 hours of travel.
The next few hours I spent continuing my preparation for broadcasting the game on WVFI Radio. I wisely chose to work in the media hospitality room downstairs, catching a thrilling end to the Rams-Eagles NFL game.
At 7:30, my roommates and I once again gathered and made our way to the other side of the block for the media party. Held at the Southern Exchange Ballrooms, the event had it all. Upon arrival, we heard an extremely talented violinist belting out hits like “Dancing Queen” and “Country Roads.” She was going at it for all three hours we were there!
On the other side of the room, staff members had set up a long ramp on which to slide down pulled pork sandwiches. Hungry media members waited at the bottom of the slide, hoping to catch their first meal of the night.
An adjacent, even larger room,
contained the main portions of the meal, including shrimp and grits, fried chicken skins and whiskey-drizzled donuts. After cleaning off our plates, we found some seats near one of the four television screens displaying the Ravens-Bills game, gasping as Mark Andrews dropped the gametying two-point conversion.
Just after 10, we returned to the hotel and began a marathon of pre-national championship entertainment. We started with the highs, as Ryan Murphy put on the 1988 national championship game and the 1993 Notre DameFlorida State game. Then, J.J. Post and I took over to revisit the lowest lows, including the Marshall and Northern Illinois postgame press conferences.
The clock hit midnight, gameday arrived and to bed we went.
The next morning, I wrapped up my prep work and took a walk around downtown sunny, chilly Atlanta. Through Woodruff Park, past the Georgia State Capitol and to the dream destination: Waffle House. I savored one of my chocolate chip pecan waffles, boxed up the other and headed back to the hotel to make my final preparations for the game.
Walking over to the stadium certainly put us all in an excited
and appreciative frame of mind. Between throngs of Ohio State scarlet and Notre Dame green, we traversed the heart of Centennial Olympic Park with the SkyView Atlanta ferris wheel spinning to our left, the World of Coca-Cola down the way to our right and the College Football Hall of Fame straight ahead. As we cut between the Atlanta Convention Center and State Farm Arena, the $1.6 billion national championship site came into view. Down an outdoor escalator and into the media gate we went.
Once inside, we made our way up to the press box and found our radio booth, which was positioned along the back line of Notre Dame’s end zone and on the Ohio State side of the stands. With about three hours separating us from kickoff, we made our way down to the field for the first time, getting a full view of the massive halo videoboard beneath the pinwheelstyle retractable roof.
From there, I split off on my own to explore the stadium’s 300 level, searching for the most all-encompassing view of the site. While shuffling down a nosebleed row behind the Irish end zone, I ran into Michael Barker, the man behind the College Football Campus Tour account on X, formerly
known as Twitter. For those unfamiliar with Barker’s lifestyle, he uses each college football season as an opportunity to attend as many games as possible, all while showcasing the intricacies of stadiums around the country — most notably their obstructed views.
I chatted with Barker and his two companions for just under 10 minutes, as he was in search of an obstructed view he had seen on social media. As it turns out, that location was actually in the press box. Anyway, the national championship marked Barker’s 104th college football game of the season. He had seen the Irish play four times — including thrice in the College Football Playoff — and Notre Dame held a 4-0 record with him in attendance.
Unfortunately, that zero would change to a one as I returned to the booth and watched Ohio State’s national championship victory play out. After sharing a tearful goodbye to Notre Dame football just after midnight on the WVFI airwaves, we headed back to the hotel disappointed, delirious and thankful, anticipating a short night of sleep ahead of our Tuesday flight back to South Bend.
Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu
Happy Birthday: Stay focused on your goals instead of letting trivial matters distract you. Achieving what you set out to do will impact you and influence those who look up to you. Set high standards and enjoy the outcome. Domestic improvements are favored, but sticking to a budget and refusing to let anyone talk you into something extravagant will determine whether you gain peace of mind or unwanted stress. Your numbers are 2, 8, 19, 25, 32, 38, 44.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): A tight schedule will keep you busy and out of trouble. Too much idle time will lead to a disgruntled attitude and arguments. Putting your skills to good use and participating in something that benefits you and others will eliminate the chance of discord and unfulfilled expectations.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Honoring promises you make to yourself is the best way to avoid frustration. Initiate a change that helps you get back on track; it will push you to devise a plan and act until you satisfy your needs. Leave nothing to chance or undone. Romance is favored.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Taking on too much will tempt you. Consider your priorities and what will benefit you most. It’s essential not to take on someone else’s fight when you have personal battles to win. Show concern and offer suggestions, but don’t lose sight of your needs. Protect your health and well-being.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): You have more going for you than you realize. Don’t hesitate to step up and take over. Express your concerns and the changes you want to implement and put your plans in motion. Stop waiting for someone else to fix things; it’s up to you to make things happen.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Pay more attention to what’s happening around you. Observation will give you an advantage when the time comes to make a move. An emotional situation will escalate if you ignore the signals someone close to you is sending. Refuse to let uncertainty take over when a solution is necessary.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You’ll be eager to please, and someone will be happy to take advantage of you if you can’t say no. Weigh the pros and cons before taking on someone else’s responsibilities. Chasing personal success is a better use of your time. Focus on your performance, productivity, and pleasing yourself.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Stick close to home, take care of your responsibilities, and avoid arguments. Be open to suggestions, learn something new, and explore avenues that help you stretch your skills to accommodate unique applications. Changing how you earn your living or handle cash will help you gain financial stability.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Participation will lead to new possibilities. A lifestyle change will become a learning experience and a chance to test your skills and make improvements that help you stay in the game. Share your thoughts, feelings, and long-term plans with someone who can help you achieve your dreams.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Count your pennies and choose to use your money wisely. A tight budget will help you avoid being taken advantage of by someone eager to sell you something you don’t need. Trust your instincts and protect your health, financial well-being, and reputation. Avoid temptation and excessive behavior.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Stop analyzing and fast-forward your plans. It’s what you do that will influence your status quo. Aim to reach your goal, please yourself, and impress onlookers. Let your ambition rise and your talent carry you to the finish line. It’s your turn to make yourself and your success a priority.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Use your energy to bring about positive change. Who you associate with and what you learn from the experience you gain will set the tone and determine how you adjust to your chosen lifestyle. An innovative idea will boost your confidence and your earning potential. Physical activity is encouraged.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Present what you can offer and turn a skill, pastime, or passion into a second income. Take your show on the road and network. A chance meeting will lead to a long-term commitment with someone who can help you get ahead. Personal gain is apparent, and romance is favored.
Birthday Baby: You are demonstrative, engaging, and committed. You are unique and liberal.
ND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Irish send away SMU 88-64 in Hidalgo’s return
By TYLER REIDY Sports Editor
On Sunday night at Purcell Pavilion, No. 3 Notre Dame women’s basketball advanced to 16-2 on the season and 7-0 in ACC play with an 88-64 takedown of SMU (10-9, 2-5 ACC). The Irish now have won 11 consecutive games and remain a perfect 16-0 in the United States this year.
Notre Dame opened the frigid evening with good news on the Hannah Hidalgo availability front. The sophomore guard would play after a 10-day, two-game absence caused by an ankle injury suffered Jan. 9 against Wake Forest.
The 5-foot-6 phenom seemed just fine on Sunday, leading the Irish in scoring and minutes during a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double. She also added five steals defensively, balancing out an 0-for-6 night from three-point land.
“She’s 100 percent,” Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said of Hidalgo. “... I thought she was very active defensively, and she brings us a spark, so it’s just great to have another dynamic guard back in the rotation.”
SMU gave the Irish some trouble early, taking an 8-5 lead and going into the second quarter down only five points. Jessica Peterson starred out of the gate at center for the Mustangs, posting eight points and seven rebounds in the opening 10 minutes. She would finish the night with a double-double, but so would Notre Dame graduate guard Olivia Miles, who posted seven points and four boards in the opening quarter.
Winning the first-quarter turnover margin by four also helped the Irish take and hold onto the lead, satisfying an area in which Ivey wanted her team to improve from Thursday’s win against Georgia Tech.
Taking care of the ball “was the emphasis today, and I thought that helped with our offense because we made some really good reads,” she said.
Notre Dame would keep building the lead throughout quarters two and three by rolling out a red carpet to the freethrow line. The Irish took 17 of their 25 total foul shots in the middle two quarters alone, widening their advantage to 61-38 after 30 minutes of play.
“It’s really important, and I love getting to the free throw line that many times,” Ivey said. “... We have so many available weapons that can score and so much versatility on this court, so we have a lot of dynamic players that know how to make plays and get to the free throw line.”
Junior guard Cassandre Prosper also made her mark in the third quarter, hauling in all four of her offensive rebounds. She and graduate forward
Maddy Westbeld each hauled down four boards on the offensive night over the course of the game.
“[Prosper’s] been awesome the last couple games — just bringing such great energy,” Ivey said. “She’s a spark. Everything that she’s doing is just fantastic … Her deflections, her activity on the boards — she’s just playing tremendous basketball.”
“Getting offensive rebounds — that’s what I can do to bring to this team. And that’s something that I can control, also,” Prosper explained. “I feel like rebounds — [with] shots, you don’t know if it’s gonna go in — but rebounding, that’s what I can control. Defense, that’s what I can control, so I’m just gonna go out there and go get it.”
Prosper, a key part of Notre Dame’s ability to navigate injuries throughout November, has hit her stride over the past three games. During that stretch, she’s averaging 9.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game on an efficient 11-for-19 shooting clip.
“I tweaked a little bit of my shot alignment, but mostly I think getting reps and getting comfortable in the offense has been a big thing,” Prosper said. “Also, I feel like my teammates trust me. They’re passing the ball to shoot it, so I’m gonna shoot it.”
As Notre Dame closed out the victory in the fourth quarter, four different scorers finished with at least 10 points. Hidalgo and Miles combined for 40 and 20 rebounds, while senior guard Sonia Citron posted 11 points and graduate forward Liatu King tacked on 10. Each Irish player who logged at least five minutes finished the game with a positive plus-minus
rating.
“It just shows the team playing the right way. They all play for each other,” Ivey described. “We’re building chemistry — every game is a different lineup, so we’re still kind of building that chemistry amongst each other. But they’re very unselfish, and they kind of play off each other.”
Zanai Jones led SMU with 20 points, while Nya Robertson tallied 16 and Peterson notched a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double.
The only downside to Notre Dame’s 24-point win was its three-point shooting. Typically one of the nation’s premier teams from distance, the Irish were 2-for-18 from beyond the arc on Sunday.
“I think it’s just more of a mental thing,” Ivey assessed.
“These are great shooters, so the ball’s gonna drop the next game.”
Up next, the Irish will take a three-game road trip that includes visits to Boston College on Jan. 23, Virginia Tech on Jan. 30 and Louisville on Feb. 2.
The Eagles (12-8, 3-4 ACC) are already nearing their overall and conference win totals from last season and most recently blew out Syracuse at home on Sunday. They have struggled badly, however, against four ranked opponents, losing by a combined 26.5 points to Ole Miss, Duke, NC State and North Carolina.
Meanwhile, the Hokies and Cardinals have both
experienced down years after spending all of last season in the national rankings. Despite the struggles, both squads reached the Elite Eight as recently as 2023 and play in challenging ACC atmospheres.
“The league is incredibly tough — you have to show up every night and have that ‘road warrior’ mentality,” Ivey said. “We’ve been in tough environments all season, so we’ll be ready for it, but you just have to come out and make sure that you play your best game on the road.”
Notre Dame will meet Boston College inside Conte Forum at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu
Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer
MARIELLA TADDONIO | The Observer
Graduate guard Olivia Miles makes an airborne move with the basketball during Notre Dame’s 80-70 overtime defeat of Texas at Purcell Pavilion on Dec. 5, 2024. Miles double-doubled in the defeat of SMU.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Greathouse has career night in championship
By HENRY LYTLE Sports Writer
Entering the College Football Playoff, sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse was third in receiving on Notre Dame. The sophomore from Austin, Texas, was behind graduate wideout Beaux Collins and senior tight end Mitchell Evans with only 247 yards and one touchdown over 11 games. However, Greathouse’s shift in play occurred at the right time as it helped the Irish overcome a 10-point deficit against Penn State and battle back against Ohio State. Greathouse was the only single-game 100yard receiver this season for the Irish — he did it twice in the semifinal and final. The sophomore receiver finished with six catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns in the national championship. Greathouse’s efforts were a tremendous part of the late comeback for the Irish that ultimately fell short.
Greathouse’s first target came with 12:42 remaining in the third quarter but fell incomplete as senior quarterback Riley Leonard was under pressure. With 3:03 to go in the third quarter, he hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass for his second reception. Greathouse broke a tackle, then spun free of another defender as he raced into the end zone to cut the lead to 31-15.
“We just started to find a rhythm,” Greathouse said of that point in the game after the loss.
After a forced fumble by sophomore linebacker Drayk Bowen at the start of the fourth quarter, the Irish took over on offense again, and Greathouse picked right back up where he left off in the third. Greathouse caught a 30-yard pass on third and nine that continued the possession. Then, on a critical fourth and five, Greathouse hauled in an 11yard pass on fourth down to extend the drive. The Irish decided to kick a field goal that bounced off the upright, resulting in no points, but Greathouse’s contributions helped spread out the Ohio State defense and open more looks for Leonard, who threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns on the day.
Taking over on their own 20-yard line, the Irish once again began to move the ball on offense. After crossing the 50, Leonard looked for Greathouse again in oneon-one coverage. Fighting through a defender holding one arm that was ruled a pass interference after the play, Greathouse caught the pass
with his left arm and pinned it to his body in the end zone.
The contested catch brought the Irish within eight points after another two-point conversion. Despite the grim prospects for Notre Dame, which trailed by as many as 24 in the third quarter, Greathouse’s efforts were a large part of the late comeback that brought the Irish within one score at 31-23.
“We were in the game the whole time,” he said after the game.
Greathouse would catch one more pass after Ohio State kicked the field goal to put the game out of reach.
Finishing with six catches for a career-high 128 yards and two touchdowns, Greathouse posted his best
game against one of the premier secondaries in the country.
After finishing an injuryriddled 2023 season with a campaign of 18 receptions for 265 yards and five touchdowns, Greathouse was expected to take on a larger role in 2024. He scored two touchdowns in the 2023 season opener against Navy and had 70 yards and a touchdown on Senior Day against Wake Forest but was not a feature for the Irish in the passing game. With Mike Denbrock taking over at offensive coordinator in 2024, Irish fans expected Greathouse to take a larger jump in Denbrock’s high-powered passing offense. However, through 11 regular season games,
Greathouse posted a modest 247 yards and a touchdown. He finished three games with only one reception. With the focus on the running game in the regular season, few thought the passing game would explode in the playoff for the Irish, but it did, and in large part from Greathouse.
Greathouse followed the previous season-high of 105 yards and a touchdown against Penn State in the College Football Playoff semifinal with an even better national championship performance. Greathouse’s timely plays throughout the playoffs included the critical 54-yard touchdown and juke to avoid defenders for the longest passing play of
the Irish season and the two touchdowns to attempt the comeback against Ohio State. Not only did Greathouse find success in the semifinal and final, he found it in big moments to help his team convert critical plays.
With quarterbacks senior Steve Angeli and freshman C.J. Carr potentially taking over next season, a more pass-centric offense is likely to take over in South Bend. Greathouse is in a prime position to have a breakout junior season in 2025 and cement himself as one of the most talented receivers in the country in the years to come.
Contact Henry Lytle at hlytle@nd.edu
MARIELLA TADDONIO | The Observer
Sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse runs with the football during Notre Dame’s 27-24 defeat of Penn State in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Jan. 9, 2025. Greathouse went over 100 receiving yards in both the Orange Bowl and the national championship.
NATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIP
Irish play to the end despite key failures in loss
By ISA SHEIKH Editor-in-Chief
With a 13-game win streak and a historic playoff run, the Irish came to Atlanta with high hopes of securing their first national title since 1988 and defeating rival Ohio State University for the first time in nearly 90 years. Having knocked off three other teams in the playoff — Indiana, Georgia and Penn State — the Irish came into the game as underdogs with a real shot of making history. As the game progressed, however, the Irish failed to play at the caliber that had delivered them to the championship game, with failures from the defense, offense and special teams alike. The team struggled to keep hope alive in the face of a physical Buckeyes team but scrambled to the very end to close in on the Ohio State lead.
“We obviously didn’t play the way we needed to to get the outcome we want, but as I said to the guys in the locker room, there [are] not many words to say when everybody is hurting,” head coach Marcus Freeman said after the game. “There were some things on both sides of the ball that we don’t normally do and some communication mistakes, self-inflicted wounds that we haven’t been doing the past few weeks. You’re always making mistakes, but those type of detrimental mistakes when you play a really, really good football team cost you points.”
Ohio State won the game’s coin toss, thrown by Dr. Bernice King, and deferred possession of the ball to the second half. The Irish showed signs of an aggressive offense, opening the game with its longest scoring drive of the season, and the longest in championship history, with a total of 18 plays, 75 yards and 9:45 off the clock. Senior quarterback Riley Leonard rushed nine times in the drive, climaxing with a 1-yard touchdown in the Irish end zone. Graduate kicker Mitch Jeter continued his playoff streak of successful kicks, bringing the Irish up 7-0.
“That first drive we just came out and played Notre Dame football, took advantage of our matchups when we had to. We just drove the ball down the field. We had to run the ball a little bit. Everything was just clicking,” Leonard said in the press conference.
From Ohio State’s very first drive, the Irish defense showed signs of weakness, despite attempts from graduate safety Xavier Watts, who achieved a 5-yard loss from Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. The Buckeyes ended the first quarter on first and 10 with the ball on the Irish 13-yard line.
At the beginning of the second quarter, after a 5-yard rush from Buckeyes running back Quinshon
Judkins, quarterback Will Howard passed to Smith for a touchdown, tying the game.
Irish possession of the ball ended in less than two minutes of playtime, brought down by successive penalties and a fair catch of graduate student James Rendell’s fourthdown punt.
The Buckeyes offense was on fire, with Howard setting a College Football Playoff record with 13 consecutive completions to start the game. With the Irish defense faltering and failing to make tackles, Judkins scored a 9-yard touchdown, securing a Buckeyes lead at 14-7 after another good kick by Jayden Fielding.
On its third drive, the Irish offense didn’t significantly move the ball, and a punt by Rendell was returned by Ohio State wide receiver Brandon Inniss.
With the ball back in the Buckeyes’ hands, the stadium held its collective breath as Watts closely failed to intercept a pass intended for Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson. Howard took the second down opportunity to rush 11 yards and set Ohio State up for its third touchdown with 27 seconds left in the half. The time was just enough for Leonard to complete a 7-yard pass.
After a halftime performance from the roof of the stadium by rapper Travis Scott, the Buckeyes collected on their deferred possession and used their fourth drive to achieve a fourth touchdown,
accomplished after a 70-yard rush by Judkins, who subsequently made a 1-yard touchdown, followed by a good kick, putting the Buckeyes at a definitive 28-7 advantage over the Irish.
Notre Dame failed to revive its chances on the next drive after a fake punt executed by quarterback Steve Angeli that Faison dropped.
Ohio State continued its domination, using a fourth down after a incomplete throw to the end zone to execute a 46-yard field goal and up the score to 31-7.
Despite the seemingly insurmountable lead and a roaring crowd that was more scarlet than green, the Irish persisted. Even as the camera showed dejected Notre Dame fans across the stadium, the offense refused to go down without a fight.
On the sixth Irish drive, Leonard sought to build momentum, completing passes to get two successive first downs, getting sacked, and then getting another. The drive ended with a short pass to sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse, who ran for a 36-yard touchdown. With a pass to sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love, the Irish made a two-point conversion, finally moving within double digits at 31-15.
Building on the momentum, the Irish defense stepped up at the beginning of the fourth quarter, as sophomore linebacker Drayk Bowen forced a fumble from Ohio State star wide receiver Emeka
Egbuka and fellow Irish freshman linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa caught the ball, returning possession to the Irish.
Leonard initially misstepped and threw an incomplete pass despite openings down the field but rectified the error with a 30-yard pass to Greathouse. The Irish made their way down the field to the 27yard line, where the team — down 16 points and with 9:38 left on the clock — attempted a fourth-down field goal, a questionable decision prompted by the aggressive physicality of Ohio State’s defense. Despite his recent performance, Jeter hit the goalpost, a devastating setback.
“I think it was fourth and 9 or 10, and I just thought instead of being down 16, let’s try to go down 13. I know it’s still a two-score game, but you have a better probability of getting 14 points than you do 16 points,” Freeman said to explain the coaching call.
Forced into a fourth down on their next possesion, Buckeyes punter Joe McGuire punted the ball 51 yards, but the ball was caught and returned 10 yards by Irish graduate corner Max Hurleman.
Leonard stepped up again, capping a five-play drive with a 30-yard pass — despite pass interference — to Greathouse in the end zone for a touchdown, followed by a twopoint conversion, bringing the Irish within eight points of the Buckeyes at 31-23. After two eight-point plays, and just over four minutes left on
the clock, hope was resurrected and the Irish fan section’s roars echoed through the stadium.
The Buckeyes took the ball with just over four minutes left in the game and effectively ran out the clock. With two minutes, left, Howard completed a 56-yard pass to Smith. Ohio State called two timeouts, and Fielding successfully kicked a 33-yard field, bringing the score to 34-23 with 28 seconds left in the game.
Though the Irish had already effectively lost, they played to the very end, with Leonard losing two yards on a pass to Love and then hitting a 17-yard pass to Greathouse. But time had already ended.
The field exploded into red confetti as the Irish sang the final Alma Mater of the season.
“We didn’t get it done, and it hurts. My job is to figure out why, and I will, but I told these guys, they’ve left this program better — I don’t care if you were here for one year or you’ve been here for six years; our program is in a better place because of the examples these two have set, and many other leaders in that locker room,” Freeman said.
“The outlook of Notre Dame football is extremely high. As long as the people in that locker room that come back understand what it takes, the work these guys have put in, there’s a lot of success in our future,” he added.
Contact Isa Sheikh at isheikh@nd.edu
RICHARD TAYLOR | The Observer
From left to right, freshman wide receiver Xavier Southall, graduate tight end Kevin Bauman, graduate offensive lineman Tosh Baker, graduate kicker Mitch Jeter and graduate offensive lineman Rocco Spindler sing the Alma Mater after a win against Miami on Sept. 21, 2024.