Print Edition for The Observer for Wednesday, November 2, 2022

MAGGIE KLAERS

Seniors hope to leave legacy as Baraka Bouts approach

By ADAM AKAN Sports Writer

With the 20th year of Baraka Bouts at the University of Notre Dame fast approaching, senior captains Sabrina Curran and Piper Shine are ready to carry out their last tournament in their time at the university. The pair have helped the largest women’s boxing club across any campus in the country weather the storm of the Cov ID-19 pandemic, develop its mentorship opportunities and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity.

The pair originally joined Baraka Bouts for the thrill of competition, and to try something new. Curran had been a prolific athlete all her life, adoring contact sports but running track and playing tennis in high school. Curran came to Notre Dame looking for the same sense of “camaraderie, team spirit and belonging to something bigger than [herself].” She found it in Baraka Bouts.

Curran was surprised to see the vast number of girls wearing boxing T-shirts, saying “I did a double take. ‘Those girls are in boxing?’” Curran became interested, and would join in her sophomore year, finding a number of ex-athletes and athletic leaders such as herself. She says it was “inspiring to [her] to use [her] body for good to raise money for the less fortunate.”

Curran also loved the culmination of all her previous activities boxing allowed for, as it contained contact like basketball or soccer on top of the mental calculation of tennis.

Comparatively, Shine joined her freshman year, excited by the prospect of trying something completely new to her. She said she immediately knew she wanted to get involved, and was overjoyed at how open and accessible the club was to members with any level of experience.

“To learn how to do a sport like boxing...there’s no opportunity like that anywhere else,” Shine said.

As these two club leaders have carried on their Baraka Bouts journeys, they have made the transition from wide-eyed freshmen mentees to admired captains and emotional and logistical leaders of the team. They take their new roles as mentors very seriously, just as the captains who were mentors to them did before. And, they bring their same energy and spirit to each Baraka Bouts event.

Curran said her main objective is to “empower each girl from within.”

“Girls come in thinking they can’t do it and it’s too tough for them, and then finish the season with this crazy confidence,” Curran said. “It’s so inspiring to see them find the strength in themselves, especially when it manifests in the tournament.”

Shine put the same emphasis on personal progress and self-belief Curran did.

“The biggest treat is to see them grow. Keeping their hands up or throwing more combos. They’ve worked so hard and they come in and stay late with us,” Shine said. “They totally deserve to be under the lights in that ring.”

Shine also wants to see the girls “push each other” and learn to love the club.

Baraka Bouts has emerged from these challenges as popular and successful as ever. The primary mission of Baraka Bouts, of course, is its commitment to fundraising for holy Cross missions in Africa. This year, the fundraising efforts and girls behind them have been as diligent as ever. The club has set a goal of $75,000 to collect for holy Cross schools in Uganda, including a $10,000 in 10 days initiative. The club will divide into eleven teams, each headed up by a captain, and aim to raise 10 thousand dollars in 10 days, or about $85 collected per boxer.

These sorts of fundraising subcommittees are just one of the many methods of charity the club uses. Curran noted that the club seeks to employ “realistic and close relationships with those people in the missions.”

She also emphasized mission mondays where the captains highlight the stories of those they aim to aid in Africa.

Curran said that it “makes it real for our boxers, builds a stronger, tighter connection to what we actually do and shows fundraisers are for a greater purpose.”

The club also adopted a number of improvised methods of fundraising retained during the Cov ID-19 pandemic. They became more creative in their fundraising techniques, such as smaller fundraising teams.

Shine also noted the importance of service in the clubs mission, saying that the club seeks to emulate the missions of the

University and aim for a greater meaning.

“There’s more behind it, if I can do eight burpees maybe I can do ten. It’s about asking ourselves to be better for others,” Shine said.

Shine also noted how the fundraising comes from a “place of humility,” and that all the girls in the club are willing and eager to make sacrifices for the mission. They hope to be able to collect enough funds to raise up two dormitories for a Ugandan school, and allow the school population to jump from 88 to 500.

Both women look to leave a positive legacy on the club they have grown to love so dearly. Curran said she hopes to leave a lasting impression of the importance of mentorship in the club and to continue to see girls grow. She hopes that the work she has done for the past three years can create a tight-knit community for the participating boxers.

“[I want to] leave it better than how I found it,” Shine said. “With a legacy of knowing our tradition but also so many ways to grow too.”

Shine hopes her efforts in instruction will allow technique to be taught “better and better” in the future. She also said her leadership is a reminder of the fact that the club “is an emphasis on people and place and not so much just winning a tournament.”

This year, Shine said, you can expect the same level of excellence that always comes from the women of Baraka Bouts.

“There will be beautiful boxing, it’s going to be gorgeous, it’s going to be awesome,” Shine said. “We

have some amazing boxers and the energy is going to be unreal.”

Shine has never been able to compete, but prides herself on her diligent instructions of the girls to success.

“[I’m] kind of living vicariously through them,” Shine said.

Curran enters the tournament as the defending champion, winning all three rounds of competition last year and even beating one of last year’s captains in the finals. While she does feel some pressure, Curran is excited.

“[I am] so energized by this sport unlike any other...I have the nerves like anybody else but it’s coupled with excitement,” Curran said, adding, “after the first round I’m completely on fire..boxing lights me up like no other sport has.”

on top of “being a role model and having a fun time,” Curran urges us all to watch out for her dancing rhythm, new moves she has developed, dynamic energy, some aggression and a massive smile.

Through the trials the club has undergone these past four years, both Curran and Shine have played integral roles in continuing to work for the goals, mission and competition of Baraka Bouts. Between their all time highs (seeing her friends win last year for Shine and hyping up her corner coaches after her first bout last year for Curran) and the lows the pair has been there through it all. They both said hope to end their last Baraka Bouts with a bang.

Contact Adam Akan at aakan@nd.edu

F

Before joining, most boxers, in cluding Salamone, don’t have previous experience competing in the sport. And while the club has official coaches, this is where captains step up and teach younger boxers the skills they’ve learned over the years.

even though not everyone par ticipates in the bouts, Salamone says it’s rewarding as a leader to see members improve their strength and skillset over the season.

“I think so many of the girls have seen that difference where you just keep showing up and every day you get 1% better,” she said.

While it’s a club sport, the women of Baraka Bouts do more than just box. each year, they fundraise for the holy Cross Lake view Secondary School in Jinja, Uganda, and Saint Joseph’s hill Secondary School in Kyarusozi, Uganda. The goal this year, Salamone says, is to raise $75,000 to build new student dormitories at St. Joseph’s hill, where some students currently do not have private rooms.

Salamone explained that the fundraising mission of the club only enhances the reason to train and compete.

“Sure, it’s this huge athletic club, but there’s also this kind of fundraising and supporting human development and educa tion and things like that around the world where it’s not just about you even though you’re working so much on yourself too,” Salamone said.

Looking ahead to after the end of her time in Baraka Bouts, Salamone says she’s already looked into boxing clubs in the city she’s living in after gradua tion. But for now, the upcoming tournament might be her last competition.

“I don’t think it would be something where I would want to keep sparring,” she said. “I think this is a good kind of end of the road in terms of sparring and competing.”

The Baraka Bouts quarterfi nals will begin monday night in Dahnke Ballroom at 7 p.m., with the semifinals and finals tak ing place on Nov. 10 and Nov. 16, respectively.

Contact Alysa Guffey at aguffey@nd.edu

Giarman CoNTINU e D F rom PAGe 4

dormitories, which is why some students wouldn’t be able to attend school.

This mission is of personal im portance to Giarman. Charity, specifically in Uganda, has al ways been a big part of her edu cational experience.

“In my elementary school, we also did fundraising for [a] Ugandan elementary school, so for me it’s kind of full circle that I’ve been able to feel connected to that part of the world since I was in Kindergarten.”

For the ‘Ginja Ninja’ (her nick name is a reference to Giarman’s red hair), the dedication to this cause and team has had really positive effects in all areas of her life, and is a constant reminder to always be grateful for the posi tion she is in and the opportuni ties in front of her.

“I think it really puts in per spective how even on the worst days maybe I’m feeling down because of you know physically I’m sore or I got a test score that I thought I should have done bet ter on or, you know, just general stress to have in college. It really

puts in perspective how lucky I am that I get to force myself into that struggle. I have the choice to push myself and I have the choice to, you know, be sore and be stressed about certain things that some people don’t have the opportunity to,” Giarman said. “Putting myself through that mental, physical and emotional challenge is a privilege in and of itself and honestly just makes you want to work so much harder. I think it’s transferred itself to my studies and to the way I approach my relationships with friends just remembering that there’s a lot to be thankful for. If I can be a part of spreading the word about a goal of fundraising that can help change people’s lives and posi tively impact others, regardless of where they are or who they are, [I will be thankful].”

Going into the tournament next week, Giarman would like to remind the entire campus to come out and support their class mates in the ring. The men’s box ing team has always been very supportive of the women (they each volunteer at the other’s tournaments), but Notre Dame community members don’t al ways show up to support Baraka Bouts as they do for Bengal Bouts.

This is something that Giarman hopes to see change in the future. She already sees prog ress. Long time supporters of Bengal Bouts have started to come to the women’s tourna ment, and some alumni have even commented that they enjoy watching how much the female boxers listen and take advice from their cor ners. Additionally, the num ber of women in the club has continued to grow, even after the pandemic, showing how much excitement Notre Dame has for Baraka Bouts.

As she enters her final tour nament, Giarman is ready to show what she has learned during her time with the team.

“Ultimately, [Baraka and this team is] really about that self-empowerment that you find by intentionally challenging yourself, inten tionally putting yourself in situations that you aren’t nec essarily confident in and then finding that confidence in simply participating regard less of how it turns out.”

Contact Annika Herko at aherko@nd.edu

By COLLEEN FARRELL news writer

Two n otre d ame students, under the banner of i rish for i nclusion, are leading an initiative to change the university’s non-discrimina tion clause. p ablo o ropeza, a sophomore and vice president of s tanford h all, and d ane s herman, a junior in s iegfried h all, have been working to gether to add categories to the university’s notice of non-discrimination.

{Editor’s note: Dane Sherman is a Viewpoint col umnist for The Observer.}

“o ur movement is cen tered around the chang ing of the university’s

non-discriminatory clause to add sexual orientation, gen der identity and religious af filiation,” o ropeza said.

The current notice in ‘du l ac: a g uide to s tudent l ife’ says that n otre d ame does not “discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or age in the administra tion of any of its educational programs, admissions poli cies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other school-administered pro grams, or in employment.”

s herman says the pair felt as though the exclusion of

By CAROLINE COLLINS news writer

on nov. 1 and 2, the streets of mexico will brim with celebrations of dia de los muertos — literally meaning “day of the dead” — with colorful papel picado decorations, giant parade floats, face painting, mariachi bands and traditional dancing.

dia de los muertos originated in mexico, although it is widely cel ebrated in the mexican diaspora globally to commemorate loved ones who have passed away. nov. 1 honors children who have passed away, while nov. 2 commemorates

adults. The holiday is a joyous cele bration rather than one of mourn ing, according to a talk by institute for latino studies (ils) faculty fel low Jenny padilla.

“The centerpiece of dia de los muertos is remembering your loved ones who have passed, re membering the life they lived and sharing your stories with other family members,” denise brenes, assistant director of multicultural student programs and services (msps) said.

emily meneses, vice president of the spanish language choir coro primavera, said that during this time, many believe the dead come

closer to the living. it is a day to honor friends and family who have passed away, she said.

The ils hosted a community gathering Tuesday to celebrate dia de los muertos. The event featured traditional mexican food and a display of altars created by student groups. padilla spoke at the event about the origins of the holiday and traditions associated with dia de los muertos.

she discussed how families cre ate and decorate altars to honor their loved ones who have passed. The altars are set up in homes

By LIAM PRICE a ssociate news e ditor

nicole labadie, who became the new director of campus ministry at saint mary’s in october, hopes to find new ways to evangelize and accompany students on their faith journeys during their time at saint mary’s college she said the job com bines her passions: the charisma of the congregation of the holy cross, the focus of an all women’s school

irish football alum dies

Observer Staff Report

Former n otre d ame a ll- a merican defensive tackle m ike Fanning died s unday at the age of 69, according to the n ew york p ost. h is cause of death was not revealed.

Fanning was a member of the

Students push for policy change campus groups celebrate día de los muertos smc hires campus ministry director

and the work of campus ministry. labadie, originally from new braunfels, Texas, studied social work and religious studies at st. edward’s university in Texas before earning a master of divinity at notre dame. she first became involved in campus ministry at st. edward’s, where she said she appreciated the mentorship she received on pro found questions regarding her faith.

Santos discusses climate, peace

By AIDAN O’MALLEY managing e ditor

Former c olombian presi dent and n obel p eace p rize laureate Juan m anuel s antos headlined a panel on en vironmental protection and peacebuilding at the Keough s chool of g lobal a ffairs’ w ashington, d c office Tuesday. h e and other panelists discussed the re lationship between climate

change and international conflict, advocating for ac tion on environmental risks to foster peace in climatevulnerable countries.

i n s eptember, s antos, a distinguished policy fellow with the Keough s chool, de livered the annual h esburgh l ecture in e thics and p ublic p olicy as a distin guished policy fellow in the

Petition calls for an amendment to the University’s non-discrimination clause

Courtesy of Mary Vovata

Stanford Hall vice president Pablo Oropeza addresses Keenan’s hall council while seeking support for the Irish for Inclusion campaign.

CAROLINE COLLINS | The Observer

Altars created and decorated by student groups are displayed in the Institute for Latino Studies lounge in Bond Hall. The altars are decorated with colorful papel picado photographs, flowers and food.

Today’s Staff

Question of

“Not that

Anna Haigh senior Howard Hall

“I can say the alphabet backwards.”

Corrections

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

Wednesday National I Stand with Immigrants Panel

Rice Commons noon - 1 p.m.

Join La Fuerza for a panel on DACA.

Notre Dame Midterm Debate

Midfield Commons 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.

An evening of political discourse.

Thursday Pamoja Initiative B101 Jenkins Nanovic Halls noon - 1 p.m. Student networking event and lunch.

Theology on Tap Ave Brew 9 p.m. - 10 p.m. Community discussion of faith over food and drinks.

Friday “Great Turning Points in History” Pfeil Board Room 11 a.m. Community lecture and dialogue.

Department of Music Concert LaBar Recital Hall noon - 1 p.m. Featuring students and open to the public.

Saturday “Saints of Our Lady’s University”

Andrews Auditorium 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Football gameday lecutre series.

Game Day Alternative Belles Backyard 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. S’mores & Smicks with OSIA.

Sunday Catholic Mass in Arabic

Siegfried Hall Chapel 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Officiated by Fr. Aaron Michka.

U.S. Army Field Band & Soldiers’ Chorus DeBartolo Performing Arts Center 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Free but ticketed.

News Isa Sheikh Caroline Collins Peter Breen

Graphics Maria Gorecki

Photo Sofia CrimiVaroli

Sports Olivia Schatz Ben Rihn Scene Claire Lyons Viewpoint Hannah Hebda

SOFIA CRIMIVAROLI | The Observer

Notre Dame’s Main Administartion Building, the Golden Dome, is pictured here surrounded by fall foliage. Designed by architect Willoughby J. Edbrooke, the building was completed before the fall semester of 1879 after the second main building burnt down.

news@ndsmcobserver.com

you have any hidden talents?

Isabella Henriquez sophomore Ryan Hall

“I can make a four-leaf clover with my tongue.”

George Roby junior Fisher Hall

“Not really.”

Ana Lopez sophomore Ryan Hall “No.”

Anthony Schmidt junior Sorin College

“I can play the pipe organ.”

Jeremy Hopsicker first-year Fisher Hall

Paid a dvertisement

Kroc alum discusses environmental threats

By LIAM KELLY News Writer

The “environment is a threat multiplier, wheth er it’s climate change, the loss of biodiversity or pol lution,” said valerie Hickey, the Kroc Institute’s 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, in her lecture at the Hesburgh Center for International Studies on Tuesday afternoon.

Hickey, who received her Master of Arts from Notre Dame in 2000, is the global director for environment, natural resources and the blue economy at the World Bank. In her lecture, Hickey detailed the ways in which climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution — what she calls the “triple threat” — ex acerbate conflict and poverty

Climate

Keough School, highlight ing peacebuilding. He was joined in the panel, entitled “The Interconnectedness of Peace and Nature Conservation,” by Daniela Raik, executive vice president of field operations at the sci ence and policy nonprofit Conservation International, and Michael Keating, ex ecutive director of the European Institute for Peace.

“The acute environ mental crisis and the growing security and com fort threats we face are interconnected,” Santos said. “Every day of inaction on the environmental crisis intensifies tomorrow’s secu rity risks.”

He offered two examples of how the climate crisis seeds political conflict.

“Transboundary water

throughout the world.

“We know that from 1946 to 2010, 40% of interstate con flict was made worse by — or paid for by — environmental crime and the loss of biodi versity,” Hickey said. “A quar ter of conflicts between 2014 and 2018 were fights over nat ural resources.”

Hickey warned that as cli mate change has a more pro nounced impact on the world, these conflicts over natural resources will only increase.

“For every one-degreeCelsius increase in global temperature, we’re going to see domestic violence rise by 2.42% and intergroup vio lence rise by 11.3%,” she said.

Hickey detailed that by 2050, in places such as Mali, GDP could decrease by 6.5% every year as a result of the environmental triple threat.

disputes are among the big gest climate security risks,” Santos said. “Climateinduced displacement and migration exacerbates ten sions and conflict if met with inflammatory politics, and we’re seeing this all around the world.”

He called on wealthy coun tries to invest in “environ mental integrity” rather than war.

“The USA spends over $100 billion per year on defense, but less than $6 billion dol lars on international cli mate finance,” Santos said. “Governments must stop spending trillions of dollars per year that stoke insecurity and conflict.”

In 2016, Santos was the sole recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in shap ing the Colombian Peace Accord, an agreement that ended the country’s 52-year armed conflict — the lon gest armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere. Santos

In Nigeria, a 53% loss and in Ghana, a 60% loss in fish ing stock is expected as a re sult of climate change and a lack of biodiversity, she said. Currently, 70 million people earn their living from the fishing industry in West Africa.

While recognizing the se verity of the problems caused by climate change, a lack of biodiversity and pollution, Hickey also acknowledged that there is no easy solution to these problems. Perhaps the most immediately press ing obstacle is a lack of capital.

“In 2020, there was $632 billion spent on climate fi nance,” Hickey stated, “That’s a lot less than the $4 trillion that was needed.”

Hickey said that a big part of this problem stems from

said this experience, as well as Colombia’s Indigenous population, drove his interest in environmental issues.

“‘Make peace with the FARC,’” Santos said Indigenous leaders told him, referring to the guer rilla army with whom the Colombian government entered the Peace Accord. “‘But also, make peace with nature.’”

Calls for environmental ac tion in Colombia track with the country’s unique cli mate. According to the World Wildlife Fund, Colombia is the second-most biodiverse country in the world and the most biodiverse per square kilometer.

Daniela Raik also em phasized the critical role of Indigenous voices in bridg ing grassroot efforts to gov ernment policy.

“There is a network of Indigenous organizations that is pan-Amazonian,”

the fact that many in Western nations are — perhaps right fully so — hesitant to commit their tax dollars to help other countries deal with the ef fects of climate change.

“Eleven percent of Americans and 39 million people live below the pov erty line in this country,” Hickey noted. “Are we going to ask the families in Flint, Michigan who can’t get clean water out of their pipes to pay for climate emissions in China? There’s not such an easy answer.”

In addition to the lack of investment into solutions to climate change, Hickey said there is also a dispute over how the money that is spent ought to be allocated.

“If we’re spending 93% per cent of climate finance on mitigation, we’re sacrificing

she said. “And they’re com ing together and they’re working with Conservation International and oth ers as a vehicle for really bridging that gap between local action and the policy sphere.”

Michael Keating praised Colombia’s Peace Accord for its implementation and ac knowledgment of climate change.

“Climate change is not typically thought of as a formal part of peace agree ments,” he said. “I have to say Colombia is the standout example of a com prehensive peace agree ment. It sets the bar both in terms of the detail of the peace agreement, but also the mechanism that has been put in place to hold parties to account and to ensure its implementation.”

That mechanism is the Peace Accords Matrix, an ini tiative by Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International

Inclusion

as though the exclusion of re ligion, sexual orientation and gender identity from the nondiscrimination clause needed to be changed, so they devel oped a strategy to change the existing clause.

“It’s a fundamental ques tion of who is considered a Notre Dame student and who is welcomed here. I think it’s not only who is welcomed, but who feels like this is their home,” Sherman said.

The pair have been visiting hall councils and club meet ings, collecting signatures for their petition. o ropeza says the aim is to have a ref erendum on their proposed amendment.

“We are trying to initiate

what’s called a student body initiative. o nce you gain 15 percent of the student body’s signatures, then that goes to a student body vote. And so our goal is to basically get that to vote, get it ratified and have it sent to the administration for the decisions,” he said.

In an email, University spokesman Dennis Brown said that the current clause is sufficient.

“o ur non-discrimination clause complies with the law, and our policies make clear that the University does not tolerate discrimination or ha rassment of any kind on any basis,” he wrote.

Sherman said that the pro posed change in the clause would help show institutional support for the groups added to the clause.

“I think the biggest thing is

institutional backing. I think currently we do a lot of lip ser vice to communities, but we don’t fundamentally support them in policy apparatuses, in representation, in funda mentally making people part of the student body,” Sherman said.

o ropeza explained why he believes this change is im portant for all Notre Dame students.

“Everyone has a stake in this change. And so I try to drive home that even if you’re not affected by it, people you love, people you care about, people who you want to be welcome here are affected by it. And I think that is what makes peo ple sign a petition. It ultimate ly means that they’re there for the support for the initiative,” o ropeza said.

He said that their efforts

have been received largely positively.

“The response by the stu dent body has been widely supportive,” o ropeza said.

The pair is currently work ing on social media posts on the project’s Instagram ac count, expanding their team and collecting more signa tures, according to o ropeza.

“We are currently working on getting dozens of co-sig natory clubs and faculty and so it’s a wide sweeping coali tion that spans [all sorts of clubs]. We’re trying to bring together a whole bunch of dif ferent groups on this because this is an issue that affects the entire student body and how we exist as a student body,” Sherman said.

Contact Colleen Farrell at cfarre23@nd.edu

current generations who don’t have the coping strat egies to deal with climate change today, for the inter ests of future generations,” she said. “That’s not climate justice either.”

While much of Hickey’s lecture centered on the dev astating effects of climate change and the barriers to solutions, she highlighted the fact that these issues are be ing addressed — even if prog ress is slow.

“We’re also finally see ing the emergence of leader ship that is much stronger than we’ve seen in a while and people standing up for what’s right and for good, even though they have to sac rifice,” Hickey said.

Contact Liam Kelly at lkelly8@nd.edu

Peace Studies that monitors and verifies the implementa tion of the 2016 Peace Accord.

According to the University, this marks the first time a collegiate research center has played such a large role in implementing a peace agreement.

Still, Keating was skeptical of current conflict preven tion and resolution.

“It isn’t happening. It sim ply isn’t happening enough,” he said. “It’s as if the rhetoric is increasing, but the reality is not really changing that much.”

Santos related these political conflicts to environmental issues in sim ple terms.

“I think we need to ap proach the problem of the environment as we approach the problem of human rights,” he said. “Nature, also, has rights.”

Contact Aidan O’Malley at aomalle2@nd.edu

Fanning

championship-winning 1973 Notre Dame foot ball team and went on to play 10 seasons in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks.

In 1974, Fanning was se lected in the first round of the NFL draft by the Rams after he was named a sec ond-team All-American. During the 1975 season he was named to the AllRookie team.

Fanning had worked in the athletic department at the University of Tulsa since 2009. He is sur vived by his son and two daughters, according to the Post.

When she came to Notre Dame, Labadie was an assistant rector in Pasquerilla East Hall and she worked on liturgical and spiritual programming in the dorm.

“I really loved journeying and walking with women, so, I think in a lot of ways it’s cool that I’m back at Saint Mary’s now,” Labadie said.

Labadie entered her eighth year of campus ministry work when she took the job at Saint Mary’s.

Previously, she was the director of campus ministry at University of St. Thomas in Texas and was a cam pus minister at the Rice University Catholic Student Center.

She is also married to a Notre Dame graduate and has two sons, who are three years and three months old. Labadie said the job at Saint Mary’s was attractive partly because South Bend was where they wanted to raise their family.

Labadie, who began her term Oct. 17, described adjusting to her new job as “a little bit like trying to drink water from a fire hose,”

pan de muerto, hot chocolate and tamales.

but has enjoyed getting to know students and learning about their needs since they arrived back on campus from fall break.

“Saint Mary’s has been so wel coming so far,” she said. “I’ve heard a variety of things from the stu dents, like building on the strong community of Saint Mary’s and continuing on the legacy of the sis ters, especially since religious com munities are declining in numbers and the pandemic really affected the ability for students to be able to connect with the sisters of Holy Cross.”

an Aztec tradition celebrated dur ing the summer harvest season.

As director of campus ministry at Saint Mary’s, Labadie hopes to fos ter productive dialogue on campus for students to grow in their faith.

The dialogue, she said, could take shape in the form of small group communities, something which she said students have expressed to her over the past week.

“We know that God is a mystery, and any way that we want to put limits on that, God is ultimately be yond those,” Labadie said. “It’s one of my great joys in campus ministry is to get to walk with students and accompany them as they sort of ask

those big questions.”

Her purpose as the new direc tor of campus ministry, she said, is centered around providing stu dents hope surrounding faith and she is intent on listening to students to find out how best to do that.

“It’d be my desire that ev ery student at Saint Mary’s knows how deeply they are loved by God,” Labadie said. “So whatever we can do to help bring that about, I’m open to hearing.”

Contact Liam Price at lprice3@nd.edu

and cemeteries and contain pho tographs, flowers and ofrendas, or offerings.

“The altars are decorated with of ferings that are meant to represent the four elements: fire, water, wind and earth,” Padilla said.

She explained how the different elements are incorporated into the altars. Fire is represented by candles that light the way for the spirits to return to their families. Pitchers of water are placed on the altars to quench the spirits’ thirst. The wind is represented by papel picado — intricately cut papers that help the souls pass through. Earth is rep resented by traditional foods, like

Padilla explained that marigolds are the holiday’s iconic flower. The altars are decorated with bright or ange and yellow flowers because the fragrance is said to help guide the spirits from their burial place.

La Catrina, the elegant skull, is another symbol associated with the holiday and it is seen in costumes, face paintings and candy skulls. It originated as a satirical lithograph in the 1910s by Mexican illustrator Jose Guadalupe Posada.

The two-day celebration of Dia de los Muertos aligns with All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2, days of prayer and re membrance observed by Christian denominations.

Dia de los Muertos was originally

“The origins of Dia de los Muertos date back to the indigenous people of Mexico and Central America and the idea is that death and the dead are to be celebrated and honored rather than mourned,” Padilla said.

It wasn’t until the 16th century, during the Spanish colonization of Mexico, that the dates of the holi day changed. Brenes explained that after colonization, holidays involv ing pagan traditions or rituals were incorporated into Catholic celebra tions, so today’s celebration of Dia de los Muertos contains an amalga mation of pre-Hispanic traditions and Christian religion.

Meneses discussed the intersec tion between the two traditions.“We celebrate Dia de los Muertos

because we honor the saints, and so from a religious perspective, they can intercede for us and bring us closer to the deceased,” she said.

A holiday that is mistaken as having ties to Dia de los Muertos is Halloween. Padilla clarified that although Halloween and Dia de los Muertos “occur in tandem and [though they] share similar cus toms like candy, face painting and community gatherings, the two are not related.”

To mark the second day of Dia de los Muertos on Wednesday, Campus Ministry is holding a procession at 7 p.m. from the Cedar Grove Cemetery culminating in a prayer service at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Following the service, there will be a reception in the ColemanMorse lounge where student clubs

including Ballet Folklorico Azul y Oro (BFAYO), RitmoND, Coro Primavera and Mariachi ND will be performing.

Arianna Kelley, a member of BFAYO, said the group will be per forming typical Mexican folkloric dances and painting their faces like skulls. Coro Primavera and Mariachi ND will be leading songs that will be sung during the pro cession from the cemetery to the Basilica. Coro Primavera will be singing “Un pueblo que camina” — which translates to “a town that walks.” “It’s a really great song to show how a community can move itself and spiritually uplift each oth er,” Meneses said.

Contact Caroline Collins at ccolli23@nd.edu

Xavier Navarro Aquino

red flag reading

Emma Duffy newsletter manager

social media is full of comments on what books are ac ceptable to read. There are warnings plastered all across online platforms declaring that it is a red flag if someone likes “The catcher in the rye” by J.d salinger or “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn, maybe even “The stranger” by Albert camus. At the same time, romance novels such as the ones by colleen hoover can not be recommended enough. I must confess, I would much rather engage in the “red flag reading” than force myself to read a sappy love story.

I am aware romance is by far the most popular reading genre, however, I could never find myself enjoying it. To me, these romance novels are boring and unrealistic. of course, I am sure there are some realistic love stories in literature, but it would still not be my preferred pick. most of these novels have characters that are stuck in a trope to appease a certain kind of reader. They are predictable and sometimes even nauseating. For a vast majority of these novels, the reader is only left to wonder whether or not the couple will end up together and in most cases I simply do not care enough. This question alone is not enough to keep me entertained.

This does not mean I am against all romance within literature. c learly, my claim excludes the subplot of love stories within the “Percy Jackson” series, the “hunger Games” series and “The book Thief.” When it comes to the main characters involved in these romantic subplots, I do not mind the scenes in which they enter. most of them are wholesome and interesting enough that it is worth the read.

To clarify my point, not all romance in literature is bad. despite the fact that two of my examples have to do with Greek mythology and a dystopian universe, I feel as though these are more realistic. romance should be a subplot of all life and that should be reflected in literature. I do not think that love should be the sole center of any one’s life, which means I do not want to read a story where that seems to be the case.

The reason I prefer books that are considered to be “red flags” is because they often include more complexity. The characters are not people who someone can easily adore and I think that brings some realism to literature. In life, personalities may not be as exaggerated as in these char acters, however, they will have their own hidden secrets that you will not know until you foster a relationship. This idea of an imperfect character is interesting to me, it is fully up to the reader to decide what is forgivable or not. It is intriguing to see what other flaws readers will be able to look past, assuming there is no excuse for racism, sexism, abuse or anything within that sort of ideology. It is clear that many characters within this genre should not be idol ized, making it a “red flag” when they are, however, they can be used to think critically about psychology and point of view.

The plots are also able to fall further away from set tropes. There can still be some sort of a category such as “Good for her” novels, but it is not as predictable as when one hears of an enemies-to-lovers story. In my own personal reading, these novels have had more twists and turns to keep me more engaged than I have been when trying to read romance novels.

All of that being said, people should read what they want! If romance is what makes you happy, then I am hap py as well and I would love to hear recommendations for romance novels that do not fall into the same categories I said I dislike. This reflection is just based on the books I have read so far in my life. I highly suggest pushing away the perceived notion and giving “red flag reading” a try.

You can contact Emma at eduffy5@nd.edu.

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

The remains of the workday: Conflation of occupation and identity

Elizabeth Prater spark nd

The fall of junior year brings a certain air of anx iousness to campus, particularly with students attempting to break into industry-specific work. color-coded spreadsheets fill the screens of eager students, and computers are full of bookmarked pages of top firms and Fortune 500 lists.

handshake no longer refers to an interpersonal, physical connection, but rather, an online platform that gives access to “exclusive opportunities.” Just submit your life’s work in a few clicks, and you may or may not receive a response back. Whispers of return offers, life-long relationships and network ing opportunities echo across hallways.

I think the most noticeable part of the “applica tion frenzy” I’ve witnessed is that it’s all encom passing. There is a lack of distinction between personal, class and application time. Instead, they all start to agglomerate. Friends fill out cover let ters during lectures, and emails are checked during dinner for scheduling interviews.

I only began to fully comprehend this troubling phenomenon when I recently read “The remains of the day” by Kazuo Ishiguro. The novel follows an e nglish butler, stevens, who reminisces about his experiences with his former employer. he reflects on his past decisions as he visits m iss Kenton on a road trip, as she also served at his estate of employ ment. stevens claims the objective of the trip is to reemploy her to help run darlington hall, but it becomes revealed that perhaps there were some regrets in not preventing her from leaving in the first place.

When stevens is asked what dignity is about by a superior, he responds, “I suspect it comes down to not removing one’s clothing in public.” While this may seem like a humorous response to a rather se rious question, steven’s response gets to the heart of his life philosophy. h is clothes represent his oc cupation, and even when he is outside of working hours, he fails to remove this designation from his personhood. Instead, being a butler is what defines steven’s identity. It isn’t merely a facet or aspect of himself.

While stevens attributes his stoicism and unwav ering commitment to his occupation as “dignity” and, ultimately “greatness,” it is also the very thing that separates him from higher desires. he is un able to express his affection for m iss Kenton, and she grows frustrated at his inability to detach him self from his professionalism. At one climatic part of the novel, the tension rises between m iss Kenton and stevens, and she exclaims to him, “Why m r. stevens, why, why, why do you always have to pretend?”

Instead of following his own path, and forging personal beliefs, stevens assumes that his value comes from his duty and the alignment of his val ues with that of his employer’s. Throughout the novel, stevens doesn’t engage in moral reason ing, but rather, blindly follows the thoughts and actions of his employer — even when the actions themselves are corrupt and endangering. When reflecting on the shortcomings of his boss, stevens laments that even though his employer made mis takes and chose misguided paths, he at least chose it for himself. “As for myself, I cannot even claim that,” stevens says. “All those years I served him, I trusted I was doing something worthwhile. I can’t even say I made my own mistakes. really — one has to ask oneself — what dignity is there in that?”

stevens’ trip alters the way he defines dignity. he

recognizes the dignity that comes with agency and acting upon one’s own reasoning and emotions.

At the end of the novel, stevens sits on a bench by the beach to wait for the pier lights to turn on and watches a group of strangers bonding over the future light display. While stevens initially views skills such as “bantering” as trivial and extraneous to his duties, he reflects that “it is not such a foolish thing to indulge in — particularly if it is the case that in bantering lies the key to human warmth.”

This human connection is ultimately what stevens was missing in his daily life. Through his conflation of work and identity, he was unable to form this “human warmth.” h is mask of profes sionalism and lack of personal conviction posed a true occupational hazard. It is only in moments of downtime, during “the remains of the day,” in which he can finally make these revelations and prioritize the significance of human connection.

As I consider the application season, I see similar patterns of correlating one’s work with personal identity. not only do rejections correlate with feel ings of unworthiness, but days can become over saturated with the application obligations. While this phenomenon has been addressed in terms of workplace productivity through ideology such as the “4-hour work week,” I think the implications of such normalized attitudes can be even more detri mental for budding professionals.

Instead of finding companies whose values and objectives truly align with our goals, accolades can become distracting. confirmation bias can play a large role in the way we view our own sets of core values and beliefs. In lieu of looking for the best fit in potential positions, many students may find themselves bending to fit the molds of what the “big names” are looking for. but to what extent does this altering permanently change our own atti tudes and our capacities for intrinsic reasoning?

Ishiguro writes that we should “at least try to make our small contribution count for something true and worthy.” Whether that’s deciding on a summer internship, or determining how to budget one’s time, the decisions we make shape us in sig nificant ways. Ultimately, if there’s anything I’ve learned from Ishiguro, it’s that the things we do lead to the people we become. While that may be a daunting thought for a 20-something to consider, it’s also sort of exciting in a way. submitting ap plications can be a difficult process, but the act of vetting potential roles and positions demonstrates the self-direction and autonomy we possess.

but even more than that, I think Ishiguro is call ing for an intrinsic sense of dignity that isn’t pol luted by external authority, such as our workplace roles. even though it’s easy to inflate the signifi cance of these positions, it’s a helpful reminder that this is not all there is. It’s only when we begin to look toward the others also waiting on the pier, bonding over anticipation and repose during the remains of the day, that we can find something “true and worthy.”

Elizabeth Prater is a junior at Notre Dame double majoring in marketing and the Program of Liberal Studies (great books). She is interested in the cultural implications of analyzing classics and literature under a contemporary lens. When she isn’t writing, she loves playing the violin, hiking in the PNW, go ing to concerts with friends and offering unsolicited book recommendations. Elizabeth always appreci ates hearing from readers, so feel free to reach out to eprater@nd.edu or @elizabethlianap on Twitter. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

The grass is greener where I am now

Kate Casper o utsider Instincts

Today, I want to be anywhere but here. s pecifically, I want to be in Annapolis, m aryland, rolling around with friends on some grassy hill outside of the s tate house, discussing John Locke’s social compact over ice cream. The grass is soft and lush, and the sun is tucked behind a few trees, cast ing spiky shadows over our bodies.

We browse the used book selection at o ld Fox b ooks & c offeehouse where I buy a memoir and a lemonade. When my friends and I part ways, we chirp, “love you,” with the utmost sincerity.

I return to a beautiful balcony that overlooks the c hesapeake b ay, and it’s just me and the bay alone together. I’m mesmerized by the figures below, and the complexity of their lives I might never fully un derstand. The preppy boys on boats on their way to Thomas Point to fish, the couple chatting on the balcony a few floors below me, the children chasing birds on the marina, the most free they’ll ever be.

And I listen to a street performer sing e lvis Presley’s “c an’t help Falling in Love.” And I write lousy poetry in a black moleskin that I’ll eventually lose. And I watch the sky fade from pink to orange to a rich navy, as night sweeps over the city.

This memory is part fact, part fiction, but I want so badly for it to be real. In actuality, I’m sitting in my dorm room in b reen-Phillips h all thinking about all the places I’d rather be. And while I love the ambiance of our bulb lights, the pitter-patter of the rain in the background and the foliage from our window, among other things, I long for that balcony in Annapolis. And I long for a lot of things.

o ften, I long for my hometown, Alexandria, v irginia. I’m whipping around the high school

LeTTer To THe edITor

parking lot with friends, blasting music and remi niscing about former teachers and classmates. We go to Uptowner c afe in o ld Town, and I order my egg-and-cheese on a bagel and a chai tea latte, and we sit in comfy vintage chairs, the blenders and coffee machines harmonizing with the classical music in the background. We leave and say our goodbyes to the owner, then wander down to the waterfront to gaze out at the glimmering expanse.

I swear, that city is mine. From the bottom of King street, you can see the entire world — the c apitol in the distance, the glittering Woodrow Wilson bridge and the Ferris wheel. And I turn around and look back at the centerpiece of our town, the m asonic Temple, the place we all took homecoming pictures and watched sunrises and talked with friends for hours in the middle of the night.

And as we leave o ld Town and drive back west, I stick my hand out the window, feeling the crisp, cool air strike my palm. And I think of all the wish es of my youth, all the things I wanted so badly, but now have.

s ometimes, I long for Georgetown, after a 9:30 a.m. m ass. I’m buying soda and candy at Wisemiller’s, dumping change in the tip jar, hear ing the jingle of bells above the door as I leave. I stroll, floating past ex-politicians and socialites and children scampering off to ccd in their s unday best.

As I walk along the jagged brick, I admire painted townhouses and dorms where my parents lived when they were in college. I walk past the buildings where my mom taught night classes and the bar where college boys bought me s hirley Temples. And I walk past the hospital where I was born. I’m con vinced my entire story could be told in this place.

I go to the church garden and find the brick

engraved with my papa’s name, and I sit, wondering if God is even real, but really really hoping so. I’m grinning, thinking about silly church crushes and the priest who knew my Uncle John.

m y Uncle John loved notre d ame.

I admit, sometimes, I don’t feel I belong here. s ometimes, I fantasize about what my life would’ve looked like if I had chosen something different, but sometimes, I am so certain this place was always meant for me.

I think I know, deep down, my entire life led me here. I think I know that all the places that feel like home didn’t always feel like home. Learning to love Annapolis and Alexandria and Georgetown took time too.

I know I’m not alone when I say that it can be hard to love notre d ame sometimes, but I really do believe the grass is greener here, where I am right now. The grass is greener here because I am here, in this present moment.

s omeday, I know I will bottle my moments over the next two years and carry them with me, just like I do with my other special places. s omeday, I will call upon the times I smiled at a stranger on a walk to d eb art or made friends with a girl in the s outhwest s alad line. s omeday, I will call upon the time I danced in front of the Golden d ome in the rain listening to Grizzly b ear or went sledding in narnia behind holy c ross with my friends.

s omeday, I will indulge in the moment I’m living right now.

Kate Casper (aka Casper, Underdog or Jasmine) is from Northern Virginia, currently residing in BreenPhillips Hall. She strives to be the best waste of your time. You can contact her at kcasper@nd.edu.

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

You don’t look like you

Editor’s Note: This story includes mention of eating disorders.

do you ever have something you need to do, and then something you don’t really have to do, but some how you feel like you have to do that thing you don’t really have to do more than the thing you really have to do? Let me explain.

r ight now, I have to study for my Accounting II exam next Tuesday. I’m a few chapters behind in even reading the material, let alone applying it, and I don’t anticipate spending halloween locked in hes finally figuring it all out. r ight now, I don’t have to write a letter to the editor of The observer exploring the complex relationship between my socioeconomic status, eating disorder and sense of belonging on campus, yet here we are. e mpirical evidence from the past hour suggests my textbook will remain un opened on my desk until I manage to get this melo dramatic introspection off my chest.

To anyone walking past me on the first floor of d uncan, I don’t look like I’m writing a particularly vulnerable letter for the student newspaper to publish for the entire student body to read. I probably look like I’m writing an essay or an email. As a matter of fact, no one is really looking at all. students are grab bing coffee with friends or studying for their own very important exams, and everyone and everything else becomes a fixture in the background, including me and my existential crisis. Usually, that’s exactly how I like it to be.

recently, however, I’ve had a problem with how I “look,” not only to the people passing by or in the reflection I see in the mirror. The people closest to me were surprised this year when they found out I was a Quest bridge scholar because I don’t “look” like a low-income student. As someone who was desperate freshman year not to “look” like I was on a scholar ship (one that my high school self worked tirelessly to obtain, might I add), I expected to feel relieved that my ruse had worked so perfectly for two years. In reality, I was left feeling utterly misunderstood, alone and unknown.

I learned early on to dress, talk and act a certain way: to show people who I wanted to be instead of letting them make up their own mind about me. I wasn’t ashamed of my background, but there was a fear when I first arrived in s outh bend that I would be solely defined by it. The greater fear, however, was that I wouldn’t be understood even if I shared it. In a school where less than 1% of students come from a poor family, what was the point of being open if seemingly nobody could relate?

Keeping quiet about growing up in poverty meant I also kept quiet about the traumatic effects that few realize are associated with such an upbringing. specifically, my anxiety led to the development of an eating disorder that thrived in the isolation and secrecy that had become normal to me. I didn’t look sick; I didn’t look like I needed help. on social media, I appeared to be happier than ever. o nce again, I was a victim of the image I had created for myself. my

physical and mental health relied on parting ways with the persona that only I cared so deeply about maintaining. my friends wanted me to be happy and healthy — not just to look like I was.

Isn’t it about time I want that for myself too?

The question about why it’s so hard for me to be who I am is probably better left to my wonderful therapist to figure out. I have good friends. I am ac tively involved on campus, and most people I meet are kind and open and probably really don’t care that much about knowing anything about me. but I can’t shake this feeling that if I feel so pressured to change my own narrative and pretend to be someone I’m not, maybe other people do too. maybe the girls whose Instagrams I look at and think they have the most perfect, put-together lives look at mine and think the very same thing. maybe it doesn’t have to be this hard to be honest about who we are and where we come from. maybe you don’t have an eating disorder or didn’t grow up poor — but maybe you feel this unspo ken pressure to fit into an unspecified mold and look “normal” too. maybe this letter is nothing more than a therapeutic release for me, but maybe, just maybe, one other person can read it and feel a little less alone. maybe I should get back to studying and every one will keep passing through d uncan while I have this life-changing realization, but maybe I needed to say this more than I thought I did.

Ashley Cammiso

Restorative justice practices in America

Libby Eggemeier bridgend

I never thought I could feel sorry for a murderer. but, sitting across from Anthony, I did not see a convicted killer. Instead, I looked into the haunted eyes of a forgotten kid trapped in a perpetual cycle of abuse, drugs and violence. I saw regret across the face of a young man who, as a scared 16-year-old, had made a colossal mistake. molested as a child and brought up in a family of drug dealers and gangs, the world had done Anthony no favors. When he was found guilty of manslaughter in an accidental car shoot-out, Anthony began to serve his sentence at san Quentin, which is a maximum-security prison and one of california’s old est and best-known correctional institutions. during my sophomore year of high school, I visited this prison. The experience fundamentally transformed my per ception of incarceration and highlighted the perilous cracks in the justice system. I realized that we ostracize and stigmatize prisoners to such an extent that we no longer see them as human beings worthy of dignity or respect. consequently, I be gan to see the ramifications of Americans’ misguided and preconceived notions of “scary” populations. I saw these “hopeless” populations as men in dire need of rehabilitation, rather than purposeless punishment.

The most obvious sign of our broken criminal justice system is the United states’ dangerously high recidivism, or re-arrest, rate: “76.6% of prisoners are rear rested within five years” (harvard Political review). evidently, our systems are acutely ineffective if the vast majority of prisoners are back in jail within five years. on the contrary, when an inmate leaves prison in norway, they are extremely unlikely to return. norway has an impressively low re-arrest rate at 20% (harvard Political review). but, the norwegian prison system more closely resembled ours until the 1990s when the country abandoned punitive measures and adopted restorative justice. norway’s recidivism rate dropped from a staggering 60-70% to the incredibly impressive 20% (borgen Project). With these blatant statistics highlighting the incontrovertible failures of our systems, I could not fathom why American attitudes frequently trend toward implementing more and more disci plinary measures. An overemphasis on “law and order” politics cloaks the simple facts of recidivism rates in our country. so, what accounts for the vast difference in recidivism between the U.s. and a place like norway? It’s the rehabilitation practices of restorative justice that encourage reintegration. restorative justice is “an approach to justice that seeks to repair harm by providing an opportunity for those harmed and those who take responsibility for the harm to communicate about and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime” (department of Justice, canada).

during my junior and senior years of high school, I interned with the california reentry Institute (“crI”). crI uses cognitive-behavioral therapy and restorative justice to help inmates at san Quentin Prison become safe contributing mem bers of society. I learned about the power of intensive trauma-informed empathy workshops, and how understanding why you committed a crime is an essential component of legitimate accountability. Formerly incarcerated men who went through this restorative justice experience attest to its success, stating that “un derstanding anger, abandonment and anger management, I now understand how to cope, control and release my anger in manners that don’t harm or hurt others” (california reentry Institute). Anthony, the first inmate I ever spoke to, has spent his time in prison reforming himself and through restorative justice, he had the opportunity to apologize to his victim’s family. Through restorative justice, the victim and/or their family share with the offender how their lives have been impacted, and can ask the offender any questions. restorative justice helped Anthony understand his childhood hurt, and transformed his pain into a journey of healing. While it might seem that restorative justice is too soft on crime, it creates quite the opposite effect. during interviews with incarcerated men, “a common theme was how their focus when they entered prison was on survival, not reflecting on the actions that had brought them here” (The new York Times). If we want to stop offenders from committing the same crimes over and over again, they have to understand why they are in prison, who they hurt and how they can move forward.

restorative justice is the conduit through which we can reform the prison sys tem. most modern criminal justice systems focus rather narrowly on a crime, a lawbreaker and a punishment. but, the idea of restorative justice strives for recon ciliation from all those harmed and concerned: the community, offender and vic tim. everyone participates, and everyone is heard. Ultimately, if we want to reduce our disturbingly high recidivism rate, restorative justice is our clear path forward.

Libby Eggemeier, a sophomore living in McGlinn Hall, studies history and Romance languages. She currently serves as Director of Marketing for BridgeND.

BridgeND is a multi-partisan political club committed to bridging the par tisan divide through respectful and productive discourse. It meets on Tuesdays at 5 p.m. in Duncan Student Center W246 to learn about and discuss current political issues and can be reached at bridgend@nd.edu or on Twitter @bridge_ND.

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

Twenty-something

Is it pink? Is it something I can wear? What is it?

Frantically racking my prepubescent brain for what my 11th birthday gift could be, I curl up next to my mother. she is just as adamant in her commitment to keeping it a secret. happy 21st birthday. I’m so proud of you. her voice on the other end of the phone feels like home as I head down to my dorm’s front door, greeted by her delivery order of baby pink cupcakes and mini tequila shooters.

Ten years ago, my 11th birthday gift was not pink, not something I could wear, but my first phone. I was ecstatic, downloading ev ery obscure and unavailing app imaginable, staying up well past my bedtime to text my friends for the sheer enjoyment of the sound of the blackberry’s keyboard.

A decade is meant to be a comprehensible measure of time. We’re always referencing decades to categorize music, trends in fash ion, books, major news headlines. Yet some where between the euphoric excitement of unwrapping that phone, now a relic, and the mortifyingly off-tune singing of my friends’ recent performance of “happy birthday” at south dining hall, time became unquantifi able. A decade snuck by, and any attempt at computing an intelligible perception of the years leaves me disoriented.

The first time I wished time would slow down, I must have been 17. Going into my final year of high school, the once-distant idea of graduation began to manifest itself in concrete reminders of the end of our time in familiarity — emails about caps and gowns, sign-ups for the alumni network, writing university acceptances on to the celebra tory post-its on the wall by the counselors’ offices. The nights I spent wide awake, sud denly alarmingly aware of the way I could physically feel time moving. The easy April afternoons when we basked in our last few picnics, social-distancing appropriate and decisively nostalgic.

In my vivid recollection of one such af ternoon, we’re in the park, dozing off on the grass after a day of online classes and Zoom breakout sessions, with an assortment of snacks and drinks we emptied out from our respective pantries. one of our friends brings up an Ider song she says she just can’t stop listening to lately. she reaches for the speak er, and the band’s voices fill up our little nook under the tree, enwrapping the rustling leaves and chatter of sunbathers.

They keep telling me:

“You’ve got your whole life ahead of you, baby – don’t worry, don’t stress, do your best.”

What if that doesn’t save me?

We sit in silence as we take the lyrics in. In the next few months, we would each be mov ing away, further from each other than we could have ever fathomed. The picnics would eventually turn into pre-scheduled FaceTime calls and sporadic, elaborately-planned visits. This song feels special, emblematic. It gives this afternoon a tinge of melancholy, and even while I lay my head in my friend’s lap with my book facedown on my chest, it already feels like a memory.

how did you do it? how did it turn out alright?

I swear it’s always easier back then, or is it just hindsight?

In cities that are oceans away, we are still alongside each other throughout all our

biggest doubts and uncertainties. Ider cap tures it perfectly — when the blind faith with which I pursue my aspirations falters for the odd, brief moment, I am bewildered at how my twenties could unfold, how it could pos sibly “turn out alright.”

We’ve all heard it before: “college is the best four years of your life.” “someday these will be the good old days.”

Personally, it is my fervent hope that the former isn’t true. While I owe indelible memories and undeniable growth to my adolescent years and my time so far at notre dame, I look to my post-graduate life in an ticipation of grander times that will, conceiv ably, prevail over my years spent sleeping in a lofted bed and eating a rotation of dining hall foods.

With an unsettlingly minimal approxima tion of what my future may look like, I will eagerly dispute the idea that these will be the best years of our lives, at least by certain met rics. I hope to be on a constant upward slope. I hope to be celebrating my 61st birthday one day, look back on the past year, and say, “60 was the best year of my life.”

revisiting the song last week, its first lines evoked a relatability in a newfound light.

I’m in my twenties, so I panic in every way. I’m so scared of the future, I keep missing today.

What a succinct and consolatory expres sion to articulate my seemingly perpetual learning curve of blunder and diffidence. how familiar we all are with what Ider means, the direct segue we mentally forge between navigating our twenties and the panic that finds us, in the smallest waves and the most daunting collisions.

The night I turn twenty-one, I watch the digital clock strike midnight in the library. I’m sitting under the fluorescent lighting for what feels like the millionth hour, a perk of having a birthday in the eye of the hurricane known as midterms week. This is twentyone. I feel older, I guess, I tell my friend wryly when she nudges me across the desk, asking for a birthday speech.

Twenty-one feels like that wooden desk at the library’s window seat, etched with years’ worth of students’ doodles and puzzlingly profound quotes — a little fraught, a little weary. Twenty-one feels like an outdated travel book, with incoherent maps to des tinations that nobody is even sure exists. It feels like the big break, the move to the city I so adore, dropping bags and boxes on the floors of the apartment I have not yet seen, breakfast in the cafe I have not yet discovered.

At 60, I may very well look back at my pres ent day with humorous dismay. And yet I can be certain that the 11 year-old girl with her brand new blackberry would have envi sioned her twenties in the most impressive, most romantic shade of pink.

Through the ambivalence and hesitation we encountered in the song, that day in the park, we clutched on to the one defining lyric that we so earnestly try to believe and live by — you’ve got your whole life ahead of you.

Reyna Lim is a sophomore double ma joring in finance and English. She enjoys writing about her unsolicited opinions, assessing celebrity homes in Architectural Digest videos and collecting lip gloss. Reach out with coffee bean recommendations and ‘80s playlists at slim6@nd.edu.

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

Reyna Lim

o vershare

By CAITLIN BRANNIGAN s cene Writer

“Throne of Glass” is a young adult high fan tasy novel about a teenage assassin, c elaena, who has been given a life sentence in prison and tries to win her freedom via a combat tourna ment. Although I enjoyed the novel, I wanted more from it.

The two best parts of the book were c elaena and her best friend n ehemia. c elaena is an intelligent, strong and witty young woman. The novel’s third-person omniscient narration, mostly through c elaena’s point of view, was a great choice. I was excited to learn more about her backstory and the clever ways in which she plotted against her opponents. n ehemia, the rebel princess from another kingdom that c elaena befriends through out the novel, is mysterious and powerful. s he’s incredibly intelligent, so seeing the way she navigates spying on her enemies is also very intriguing. I was very invested in these two and they kept me interested in the novel.

Another strong point is the plot. It’s fastpaced and engaging. c elaena is constantly coming into conflict with the people around her, whether it’s other competitors or members

of the aristocracy. s he occasionally unveils the kingdom’s secrets and learns more about her past. I felt very absorbed in these events.

I found the world building somewhat engag ing but slightly disappointing. The book lays the groundwork for the entire series, but it can’t stand on its own. There’s rich potential that isn’t explored in-depth, and there are too many loose ends.

The novel paints a picture of a medieval fantasy kingdom that was once shaped by magic. n on-human fantasy races, like faer ies, used to live alongside humans; however, magic has disappeared entirely from the land as a result of the tyrannical king’s decree. The mechanics of this disappearance aren’t really explored. There are several oth er kingdoms that the evil king has con quered, but most are not explored in-depth. There’s some form of religion involving high priestesses and different Gods which feels reminiscent of r oman mythology, but this isn’t expanded upon by the author. Ancient pseudo-magical marks called “wyrdmarks” play a major role in the book’s story. They keep appearing at the scene of serial mur ders of different competitors in the tourna ment. c elaena tries to learn more about the Wyrdmarks to prevent her own death at the

hands of the mystery killer, but their ori gin and how they work still feels unclear by the end of the novel. The book’s setting is largely confined to the two castles in which the tournament takes place, and as a result, mainly explores aristocratic side characters. The world of “Throne of Glass” is interesting at face value but feels too much like it’s setting up its sequel.

I found it hard to care about the romance sub plot. n either love interests felt like they had chemistry with c elaena. d ue to their ulterior motives and confusion about their feelings to ward her, neither of them seemed like trustwor thy or legitimate suitors. This subplot also felt like it was setting up a sequel, even though the book spent a lot of time on it.

I enjoyed reading “Throne of Glass” and I will definitely read the sequel. It’s a great book to read for fun, even if it has its faults.

Contact Caitlin Brannigan cbrannig@nd.edu

“Throne of Glass”

Author: Sarah J. Mass Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing

By ANDY OTTONE s cene Writer

b efore we start, I know what you’re thinking: a h alloween article in n ovember? o ne may think I’m getting to this late, but I prefer to say I’m get ting a head start on next year’s celebrations.

Like death, taxes and tax evasion, the s impsons’ h alloween special is an inevitability. e very year since the show’s second season, the cartoon has presented short stories themed around the holi day. While the collection is known as “Treehouse of h orror,” this was not the official name of the special until the 20th entry. e very title card be fore the special was simply referred to as “The s impsons h alloween s pecial.”

I watched all of them.

Let’s break down the structure of these spe cials. Typically, there is an introduction to the episode, sometimes setting up a framing device that shows the sketches as stories told by charac ters. This framing structure was abandoned ear ly on in the history of the specials. Then, we get to the stories which are often parodies of horror movies. The s impsons’ 34-seasons run is famous for its commentary on a variety of films, televi sion shows, real-life events and classic horror lit erature such as e dgar Allan Poe’s “The r aven” or Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Plus, the h alloween specials

are famous for their alien running gag. They were in the first, and now we’re stuck with them, whether they contribute to the plot or not. It’s mostly the latter.

There is a lot of gore in the earlier specials that seems shocking by modern standards.

Through the years, it’s become much less in tense. While watching the specials, I ran into one themed around Thanksgiving. s omehow, this Thanksgiving special was the most gruesome and terrifying in years, with lots of blood and gore fea tured in the episode. Ironic, considering it wasn’t even an official h alloween special.

This year’s special was preceded by anoth er spooky parody: “ n ot IT,” a spoof on s tephen King’s “IT,” featuring s pringfield’s resident clown Krusty as Pennywise. “Treehouse of h orror XXXIII” itself is a traditional special, parodying d eath n ote, Westworld and the b abadook. b ut I didn’t just watch the most recent h alloween spe cial, I watched all of them and have some thoughts on the collection.

m y favorite parody is “The s hinning” in “Treehouse of h orror v,” based on s tephen King’s “The s hining” and Kubrick’s movie adaptation. The parody is successful in ways that others fail: While some of the homages retell the story in a funny way without regard to how the s impsons characters would act, this particular parody felt

m y favorite non-parody was “Life’s a Glitch, Then You d ie,” from “Treehouse of h orrors X” fo cusing on the Y2K crisis. While it certainly dates the sketch, it can serve as a time capsule of sorts, reminding older viewers of what the late 90s were like and making younger audiences curious about the time period.

m y favorite alien story was “ h ungry Are The d amned,” from the first h alloween special. s adly, I feel this was the peak for alien characters Kang and Kodos. It’s the only episode where the aliens feel like real characters rather than shoe-horned in spoofs or simple stand-ins for generic non-hu man creatures.

Was it easy to watch all of these specials? Yes, obviously. It’s watching T v. Would I recommend it, though? n ot necessarily. The episodes become predictable at some point. c ertain sketches stand out, but overall they’re rooted in the time they were made.

m y advice is to watch them as they air, and if you rewatch the old ones, just have Google ready for some of the jokes.

You can bet I’ll tune in next year and every year after that.

Contact Andy Ottone at aottone@nd.edu

accurate to both its inspiration and The s impsons characters.

SHOULD VISIT MORE MUSEUMSWHY

By MARCELLE COUTO s cene Writer

To me, a museum is an incomparable location and it eludes precise description: it is a conflu ence of beauty, culture and history. o ne of my favorite activities is going to museums, and I im mediately look for one whenever I am somewhere new. As such, I decided to argue this hobby should be actively cultivated.

The term museum comes from the ancient Greek words “mousa” and “mouseion,” meaning muse and temple (of the nine muses), respective ly. The muses were linked to different branches of the arts and sciences, daughters of Zeus and m nemosyne, the deity of memory. They were also known for being the source of inspiration for great artists and intellectuals. Therefore, mu seums were sacred places, reserved for contem plation and study. The first museums contained libraries, gardens, observatories, reading rooms and other environments.

For a long time, they were restricted to the elite, and only those with invitations to ex hibitions could access museum works. Years later, they evolved into what we know today; that is, open to the general public and with out distinction, a free space of an educa tional nature whose mission is to recover, preserve and disseminate collective memory through artifacts.

The museum has a role in informing and edu cating us about our shared human culture and experience through permanent exhibitions, rec reational activities, multimedia, theater, video

riosity, stimulate reflection and debate, promote socialization, the principles of citizenship and collaboration for the sustainability of societal transformation.

m useums are much more than places where objects are displayed and preserved. In addition to being a means of protecting our material and immaterial heritage, illustrating cultural and natural diversity and promoting and generating opportunities for research, museums play a very important role in stimulating a creative local and regional economy which act as platforms for discussion.

Preserving human history and consigning ac complishments to collective memory has always been a great challenge. m useums are relevant within this context. m any think that they are just a path towards the past, when in fact they con nect the past, present and future. Learning from the past can inspire us with the great deeds of old; it also allows us to know what has been done in order to improve mechanisms that influence the present, as well as reserve knowledge and skills for the future.

We know that culture is a broad and complex term that may be defined from different per spectives. Under the anthropological lens, cul ture is the set of customs, traditions, habits and manifestations of a population, which builds its identity and its way of life and is transmit ted generationally. m useums provide a way of encountering one’s own culture or experienc ing someone else’s. They are filled with incred ible pieces, regardless of the topic addressed,

and revisiting these cultural demarcations can thus be an enriching and pleasurable endeavor.

Further, going to a museum can be a relax ing and meditative experience. It is generally a quiet space, and the exhibitions invite you to take time and care with each piece, demand ing slowness of pace and presence of mind.

In an art museum, the aesthetic quality of the paintings may contribute to this restorative ef fect, evoking awe and wonder. It is also an in teresting opportunity to contemplate the hands that have made the artwork, and how it has tra versed time and space, maybe even centuries, to arrive at its final destination. You may even observe the brushstrokes and feel a certain sense of connection to another human being across time.

m useums are not lacking in diversity either. They may be historical, artistic, scientific, inter active, ethnographic, technological, military or thematic. In all variations, it disseminates valu able knowledge. They provide a form of tangible, observational learning that is not possible within the classroom.

I hope to have in some way inspired you to visit a museum sometime soon. o pportunities abound within our vicinity, such as the s nite and the soon-to-be-inaugurated r aclin m urphy m useum of Art. Perhaps you may even choose to partake in Art180, a semester-long challenge invite to spend 180 minutes with a single painting. In any case, I hope to have at least accentuated their great functional significance.

Contact Marcelle Couto at mcouto@nd.edu

Happy Birthday: Details and truth matter and will influence how well you get along with friends, relatives and peers. Don’t invite trouble by trying to force your opinion on others or letting others drag you in a direction that isn’t in your best interest. Stay in your lane and do what’s best for you. If you want to make a difference, participate. your numbers are 4, 11, 22, 28, 35, 44, 47.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): you’ll be a welcome addition to any group or organization you join. your ability to get things done, regardless of temptation or opposition, will put you in a critical position. Do what you do best, and the rest will fall into place.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Be secretive regarding your plans until you have everything in place. Someone will be eager to steal your thunder or take advantage of you. Put your energy, intelligence and physical attributes to work for you, and a positive change will be yours.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Do what you do best. Ignore what others are doing and concentrate on what you are trying to establish. refuse to let someone throw you off course or play games with you. A steady pace and solid plan will help you succeed.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Choose to live the dream and do what makes you happy. A creative outlet or getting involved in something that concerns you will bring out your passion for making a difference. Change begins with you. Personal gain is within reach.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): A responsible attitude will pay off and give you the fortitude and freedom to reach your goal. Don’t let what others do or say get in the way. finish what you start, live up to your promises and protect your reputation.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): reach out to friends, relatives and peers, and you’ll receive plenty of interesting thoughts to help you move forward. A partnership will face some discord, but it will be easy to achieve success once you establish who does what.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): getting out and about will lift your spirits and encourage you to engage in activities that are creative or family-oriented. A change of scenery will be enlightening, and educational pursuits will present new opportunities.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Problems with electronics and equipment are apparent. look for alternative ways to compensate for any setback or inconvenience you face. A backup plan will help you stay on track and give you the edge in a competitive situation.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Stay focused. Don’t take no for an answer or give up on your dreams. Call on all your resources for information that will give you the edge you need when dealing with slippery characters. refuse to let hype enthrall you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t be too eager to implement change. Study situations thoroughly before you act. look for a path that offers something unique or sparks your imagination. A change at home will provide relief and help you find work-related options to eliminate debt.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Watch what’s happening around you. Don’t let the changes others implement make you scramble to keep up. Time is on your side, and taking a wait-and-see attitude will spare you from loss. Concentrate on health, fitness and keeping the peace.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Don’t let anger take over. look over your investments, money management and contracts to confirm everything is updated. go the extra mile to avoid complaints. An unexpected change will favor you. love and romance are in the stars.

Birthday Baby: you are original, unpredictable and forceful. you are sensitive and intuitive.

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college Football: Top five games

Joesphy Tunney sports Writer

5. Air Force @ Army, 11:30 a.m., CBS, (Air Force -7)

Air Force and Army square off for the 56th time in an ear ly start with the commanderIn-chief’s Trophy on the line. This trophy is given to the winner of a round robin be tween Army, navy and Air Force. since Air Force beat navy 13-10 this year, they have a chance to win the trophy outright with a win saturday. If the Falcons lose and Army beats navy in their end of the season clash, Army would win the trophy. And, if Army beats Air Force but loses to navy, the trophy will be shared. both teams have a unique offensive style. due to restrictions on the height and weight of those in the ser vice academies, the offensive lines of each school are some of the smallest in college foot ball. however, both schools are elite academically and prepare students to become future officers in the armed forces. This makes running the triple option (an offense based on discipline, quick ness and deception) perfect for the service academies. Air Force carries a 5-3 record, led by workhorse running back brad roberts and dynamic quarterback haaziq daniels. Army is 3-4, but with 2 straight wins and a reputation for playing tough defense under head coach Jeff monken.

4. texas @ No. 15 Kansas State, 7 FS1, ( texas -2.5)

Another week, another key big 12 battle. This week sees the Texas Longhorns head up to bill snyder Family stadium in manhattan, Kansas to face Kansas state in a battle for sec ond in the big 12. Texas is 5-3, falling victim in close losses to Texas Tech, oklahoma state and Alabama by a com bined 11 points over the three games. The Longhorns are coming off of their bye week, which was needed in order to correct some issues af ter their loss to oklahoma state. Texas squandered a 31-17 lead and didn’t take care of the ball; three Quinn ewers interceptions (two in the fourth quarter) was what did them in. Kansas state is coming off of their best win in years, a 48-0 win over the very same oklahoma state team. even though dynamic starting quarterback Adrian martinez was out, backup Will howard threw for 296 yards and four touchdowns. deuce vaughn had 158 yards

on the ground and another score. The defense also had a stellar performance, holding oklahoma state to just 217 yards. oklahoma state head coach mike Gundy stated his team’s performance bluntly, saying they “got their butts kicked.” The transitive prop erty would seem to give the edge to Kansas state, but that rarely works in the tumultu ous world of college football.

3. No. 6 Alabama @ No. 15 LSu, 7 p.m., ESpN, (Alabama -13)

The Tide and the Tigers square off in a key battle be tween two teams with one loss in sec play. Although LsU lost their opener in heartbreaking fashion to Florida state, the brian Kellyled Tigers have rebounded well. Their only other loss is a 40-13 drubbing by Tennessee, who is currently second in the nation. The Tigers have been led by their dual-threat quar terback Jayden daniels. If the LsU receivers are covered downfield, daniels is always a threat to scramble for a large gain. daniels has also taken care of the football, throwing 12 touchdown passes to just one interception. In LsU’s last game, they roared back from a 17-3 deficit to dispatch ole miss 45-20. This team can put points on the board, and if they beat Alabama they would shockingly be in the drivers’ seat of the sec West. The Tide have other plans. After their 49-52 loss to Tennessee, they rebounded with a dominat ing 30-6 win over mississippi state. Quarterback bryce Young continues to wow nFL franchises looking for a fran chise centerpiece in the up coming draft. Will Anderson continues to wreck teams’ gameplans from the defen sive side of the ball. head coach nick saban is still the best in the business, and he is 6-1 with the Tide in Tiger stadium, a venue seen as one of the toughest to play in.

2. No. 5 Clemson @ Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m., NBC, (Clemson -3.5)

If notre dame wants to re deem their season and give first year head coach marcus Freeman some real momen tum, this is the game to win. If clemson wants to continue their ascent to the college Football playoff, they have to get a tough win in the cathe dral of college football. It all shapes up for an epic show down. The Irish have won 5 of their last 6, highlighted

Zarazua: The game that could have changed it all

Gabriel Zarazua sports Writer

I have the weirdest hobbies sometimes; one of them is look ing at past events for sports teams. Particularly where simple plays become pivotal moments in a team’s future, years beyond the game’s end. A lot of them are reaches for sure, but it’s always interest ing to think about what would have happened if things went another way for another team. The one that I always think about though, as a notre dame football fan, through all the numerous quarterbacks, heart breaking losses and coaching changes, was that fateful night on saturday, oct. 18, 2014. This is when no. 5 ranked notre dame traveled to Tallahassee to face defending national champions no. 2 ranked Florida state.

I do not think people remem ber well-enough how talented the 2014 Fighting Irish were. on the defensive side of the ball the Irish had Isaac rochell, drue Tranquill, Jaylon smith and, of course, captain Joe schmidt. on the offensive side quarter back everett Golson was having an amazing comeback sea son, with weapons like corey robinson and Will Fuller, all while being protected by nick martin, mike mcGlinchey and Quenton nelson.

Yes, that’s a lot of players, but that’s barely scratching the sur face of this talented Irish squad. everything was clicking for them going into the 7th game of the season including the de molishing of michigan 31-0 and the game winning Td caught by ben Koyack at home against stanford. They were talented, clutch and, most importantly, a team. I truly felt that this team could beat anybody, and felt they were truly up for the chal lenge against Jameis Winston and Florida state, which we came to find out they were. showing remnants of the classic 1994 matchup, notre dame and Florida state were battling and dealing blows left and right. If one team gave a gut punch, the other gave one back. no matter what, it seemed that the game would come down to one final play… and it did.

With 7:39 left in the game, down 31-27, notre dame drove the whole length of the field with a chance to dethrone Florida state on the road. It came down to 17 seconds left, 4th and goal from the 2-yard line. The ball was snapped,

Golson threw a pass to a wide open corey robinson and… touchdown; the Irish had the lead and most likely the game. I remember hugging my grand pa, an avid notre dame fan as well, and we were celebrating such an amazing win in an amazing game. Then, sudden ly, my dad had to break the sad news to us: There was a flag.

my stomach literally dropped, “Pass interference, of fense no. 7.” First off, Will Fuller never set the pick, it was sadly no. 20 c.J Prosise. I remem bered trying my best to defend him, but of course, looking at it now, it was the most obvious pick I had ever seen, in a foot ball game no less. now, its 4th and 18, they did it earlier in the drive, they have to have the luck of the Irish on their side right? nope, pressured, Golson had to let it fly early, with the ball seeming to have no clear target: game over, Irish lost. While the outcome was gut wrenching, I have to admit that was one of my favorite games to ever watch. I saw all the future nFL talent on both teams, but it still sucks knowing that a sim ple screen cost notre dame a chance to beat the no. 2 team in the country. I was still optimis tic about the season though, 6-1, playoff hopes were clearly still alive and they beat navy in a nail biter the next week, but they’ll be fine. The Irish win next week against Arizona state and win out the rest of the sea son…right? dead wrong.

The Irish completely col lapsed, and seeing it every step of the way was heartbreaking and a little embarrassing to watch. They completely melted down against Arizona state. I saw it the most in Golson, who was once an amazing quarter back, who made plays left and right, now looking like a shad ow of his former self in a span of two weeks. They continued to lose close games to Louisville and northwestern at home, with the icing on the cake get ting embarrassed by Usc 49-14 to end the season. I remember vividly brian Kelly screaming at his squad at halftime, delaying the band’s halftime show in the process.

Going from a no. 5 team with national championship aspi rations, to a 7-5 team playing the music city bowl, the Irish thankfully landed on some what of a good note. This time winning in a nail biter against Les miles and LsU. however, against this team Golson was nowhere to be found. rather,

the Irish went with malik Zaire, the lefty sophomore back up quarterback. Another sour note to end the season, Golson would eventually leave for Florida state, funny how life works, huh? malik is the leader now, a promising young man, he’ll lead us to the promised land, right?

nope, malik, after a impres sive debut against Texas, has a season ending injury against virginia, leading the way for deshone Kizer to take the lead. he played extremely well, lead ing the Irish to a 10-2 season, only to get demolished by ohio state in the Fiesta bowl. now, there is the problem of who will start next season, Kizer or Zaire? Well, looking back on it now, did it really matter? I don’t have to go into the details of that dread ed 4-8 season, but of course we know that Kizer eventually left early for the nFL. And, Zaire left for Florida, paving the way for brandon Wimbush, who had a decent career with the Irish as well, only to, again, leave on a sour note, leaving for UcF af ter he was benched numerous times. For who, do you ask: the all time winningest quarter back in notre dame history, Ian book. Ian was amazing as we all know, but sadly, even he couldn’t get us over that final hump. After he left, Jack coan took over, a decent year, only to choke again in the Fiesta bowl after brian Kelly left too. now we are here, 2022. marcus Freeman is our head coach and Tyler buchner was supposed to lead the team, only to get hurt and have drew Pyne take over…sounds like we’ve witnessed this one too many times, huh? With playoff hopes seemingly dead for this year, we again have to wait another year to finally win it all for the first time since 1988. still though, it makes you wonder how differ ent things could’ve been if that one simple play went our way. What if the penalty was never called? Would notre dame win out? Would Golson be consid ered the greatest quarterback in notre dame history? Would we win again if Golson didn’t transfer? Would brian Kelly still be here? Well, I definitely don’t know but it’s funny how the butterfly effect works though, isn’t it?

Contact Gabriel Zarazua at gzarazua@nd.edu

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

by their 41-24 domination of sixteenth ranked syracuse. They’ve done it under a pun ishing run game, led by run ning backs Logan diggs and audric estime. Further, the irish hold a 26 game regu lar season winning streak against acc opponents. The irish have largely played up and down to their level of competition this year, which gives them a punching chance against dabo swinney’s clemson team. clemson’s offense is built around run ning back Will shipley. if they are able to run the ball with success against the irish, quarterback dJ Uiagalelei will have a much easier time connecting with his wide re ceivers. it remains to be seen how much time Uiagalelei will have under center. in their last game, a 27-21 win over syracuse, Uiagalelei was benched for freshman cade Klubnik. Klubnik then suc cessfully led a comeback at tempt to preserve the win.

1. No. 2 Tennessee @ No. 1 Georgia, 3:30 p.m., CBS, (Georgia -9) one versus two is a rar ity in college football, even more so in the regular sea son. Georgia has put together a convincing title defense in their first 8 games, high lighted by a season-open ing drubbing of an oregon team that hasn’t lost since. Last week, the bulldogs took care of Florida after a brief scare. Florida scored 17 un answered points after fall ing behind 28-3 to make it a one score game. Georgia re sponded with 2 touchdowns to ice the game. Tight end brock bowers is extremely athletic, and he just had 154 yards in his best game of the season. Quarterback stetson bennett iv is not the game-changing player that other top teams have at the position, but he knows how to win. The bulldogs have much less margin for error against a Tennessee team that is hav ing their best season since their national champion ship in 1998. The volunteers haven’t let up since their win against a labama. Last week, they demolished a ranked Kentucky team 446. Wide receiver Jalin hyatt broke the school record for touchdown catches in a sea son in just eight games. The volunteers intercepted n FL prospect Will Levis three times en route to the easy win. Tennessee seems to be playing their best football, but a win over Georgia would be unparalleled.

Contact Joseph Tunney at jtunney@nd.edu

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

belles take sixth at miaa final

By MATTHEW CROW sports Writer

saint mary’s cross country be gan their postseason on saturday morning as they made the trek to shepherd, michigan for the miaa conference championship. The belles came ready to compete, as each of saint mary’s top ten run ners posted personal best times in what was easily the team’s best performance of the season to date.

The effort was enough to earn sixth place among a field that featured several nationally-ranked teams at the division iii level.

The belles went into saturday’s race with a strong sense of familiar ity regarding their opponents, hav ing faced many of them throughout the regular season. all nine miaa teams raced at the diii Preview meet earlier in the october, and saint mary’s battled several confer ence foes at its most recent meet, the oberlin inter-regional rumble.

With a conference title on the line, the belles relied on a veteranheavy lineup to guide the team, as each of their five scoring positions were comprised of upperclassmen. Junior haley Greene led the way for the belles, finishing in 36th place with a time of 23:36 in the 6k race. amanda Tracy, also a junior, was just behind, taking 38th place in 23:40.2.

needing three more strong per formances to complete the team’s scoring, a trio of seniors, racing in their final miaa championship, answered the call. angela bannan finished in 52nd place with a time of 24:13.5. soon after, anna demars established a huge new personal re cord, topping her previous best by more than 45 seconds, finishing in 24:45.5. demars claimed 65th place

for the belles. alexa Zeese was the fifth saint mary’s finisher, and her time of 24:49.3 earned 67th place. The race highlighted the belles’ impressive depth, as several more saint mary’s runners finished near the team’s top five. sophomore susanna bernovich, freshman isabelle auch, and freshman carly davis were close behind Zeese while finishing in 69th, 71st, and 73rd, respectively.

no. 24 hope ultimately won the miaa championship with a score of 39 points. no. 20 calvin and no. 35 Trine were hot on their heels with 50 and 52, and these teams estab lished themselves as the clear class of the conference. saint mary’s fin ished in sixth place with 172 points. The belles’ performance was a true team effort; each of the five teams that placed ahead of them had a runner in the top eight, while saint mary’s top finisher came in 36th.

The belles’ ability to remain com petitive with these teams showed the strength of their team from top to bottom.

Following breakout perfor mances from most of its roster, saint mary’s will look to carry its momentum into the final stages of the season. next up for the belles is the ncaa Great Lakes regional on nov. 12 in holland, michigan. The regional meet will feature ev ery miaa team as well as a host of other programs from around the midwest, and the belles will be aiming to improve upon last year’s 22nd place finish. after saturday’s race, it appears that saint mary’s is peaking at the right time and is well-prepared to continue its post season push.

Contact Matthew Crow at mcrow@nd.edu

i rish fall to blue devils

By Observer Sports Staff

The notre dame volleyball team dropped its fourth match in a row sunday afternoon at Purcell Pavillion. despite hold ing a commanding 2-0 lead after the first two sets, the irish dropped a tightly-contested, five set match to duke.

The irish were led by strong performances by freshman outside hitter Lucy Trump, who tallied 18 kills and three ser vice aces, and sophomore setter Phyona schrader who collected 40 assists.

notre dame did not trail throughout the first set. it was back and forth early on, but the irish quickly built a 15-11 lead and did not look back, eventual ly winning the set 25-19. Trump paced the team with five kills, and schrader added 11 assists.

The second set was more of the same for the irish, who jumped out to a 9-5 lead cour tesy of a kill from sophomore outside hitter Paris Thompson. The blue devils battled back to tie the set at 11, but notre dame pulled away, ultimately prevail ing 25-17. The irish capped off the victory with back-to-back aces by Trump and a Thompson kill for the final point.

Duke storms back it appeared as though the irish would run away with the contest, but the blue devils came storming back in the third set of the afternoon. The set was tied early on at 10, but duke scored eight of the sub sequent 11 points, proving to be too much for notre dame to overcome.

it still looked as though notre dame had the match in hand with a 2-1 lead, but duke had swung the momentum of the match. The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair, with nei ther team building a solid lead until late in the set. The irish led 13-11 and looked poised to put the match away, but duke scored the next seven points and took the set, 25-16.

The fifth and final set was all duke. The blue devils jumped out to a 6-1 lead and never looked back. notre dame battled late but ended up dropping the set 15-8.

The loss drops the irish to 9-13, with a 4-8 record in con ference play. They’ll have a chance to bounce back when they host north carolina on Friday night, before taking on north carolina state on sunday afternoon.

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L E C T U R E AT N O T R E D A M E

3:30 pm | Thursday, November 3, 2022

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october showdown came when Korbin a lbert dispossessed a seminole defender in their own half and raced down the field to score. That goal, and the press that created it, helped set the tone for the rest of the match.

on the note of a lbert, getting her involved will be another major key for the i rish if they want to advance to the acc championship. The star soph omore has five goals in notre dame’s last four games, as well as an assist. often rotating be tween a free-roaming role in at tacking midfield and forward, head coach nate norman will likely try and use a lbert in a va riety of different ways to keep Florida state honest.

a n interesting note for the s eminoles will be who gets the nod in goal. o ne unique as pect of their season has been the utilization of two goalies rotating in the starting slot, each so far playing every other game no matter the opponent. b ased on their last few games, it would seem m ia Justus is in line to earn the starting nod for the acc semifinals. b ut given Justus was in net for notre d ame’s impressive 4-0 victory a month ago, it’s pos sible that Florida s tate opts to go with c ristina roque to give

the i rish a different look.

Jenna nighswonger will likely pull the strings in attack for the seminoles. The senior midfield er leads the acc in assists with 13 — three more than the next highest total. nighswonger will enter in fine form, with six as sists in Florida state’s last four matches, including an impres sive three-assist performance in a 5-1 romp over current no. 8 duke.

Playing ahead of nighswonger will likely be onyi echegini, who leads the team with nine goals. opposite echegini will be Jody brown, who has posted an even six goals and six assists as a winger in Florida state’s 4-3-3 (or as echegini’s striking partner in the 4-2-1-2 variation they used against notre dame).

i f notre dame is able to get past the seminoles in their semifinal showdown they’ll be slated for a championship match against the winner of the duke-north carolina rivalry game occurring on the other side of the bracket. The i rish tied duke in their final game of the regular season 2-2 and have yet to play north carolina this season.

The semifinal will air in prime time at 8 p.m. Thursday and will be broadcasted on the acc network.

Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu

this season. h e leads the team with 2 game-win ning goals, including one just 10 days ago against v irginia Tech.

Wednesday’s game is undoubtedly more im portant for n otre d ame than for c lemson. s itting at 48^th in r P i , the i rish likely need to win the acc tourna ment — or at least have a strong showing — to se cure a bid to the 48-team national championship bracket. c lemson should be in as an at-large seed regardless, sitting at 13^th in r P i

i f n otre d ame man ages to beat c lemson on Wednesday, they would move on to face the un defeated n o. 3 d uke b lue d evils on s unday in d urham. d uke is the top seed in the acc tourna ment after a phenomenal 11-0-4 regular season, including a 2-0 win over n otre d ame on o ct. 14.

Wednesday’s game will air at 8 p.m. on the acc n etwork.

Contact Jose Sanchez Cordova at jsanch24@nd.edu

seemed interested in spearhead ing such a pace, eagerly rushing up the court to either finish at the rim or dish the ball out wide for an assist. between miles, mabrey, citron and bransford, ivey should have no shortage of ball handlers to push the pace of a game with.

3. Lauren Ebo looked domi nant down low

While the caveat of division ii opposition is important to note, ebo looked like a force in the paint. With the departure of maya dodson to the Wnba, notre dame’s biggest need was at the center position. Though Watson got the start for the irish, it was ebo who looked the most impressive in her share of minutes on the floor. Posting 14 points and six rebounds, ebo was assertive around the rim and provided a physical presence on defense as well. if Truman state is the only factor in ivey’s opening night lineup decisions, it would be hard to see the Texas transfer not getting the starting nod.

4. Sonia Citron could be in line for an all-ACC breakout year sonia citron hasn’t gener ated as much buzz as her fel low sophomore standout olivia

miles, likely due to her having a much smaller sample size of play (only starting for the sec ond half of the 2021 campaign). but ivey has raved about citron, and the sophomore looked like a standout against Truman state. Leading the way with 17 points for the irish, citron also posted 14 rebounds and looked like an im pact player, both in the paint and handling the ball. a dynamic and flexible talent, citron could turn a lot of heads this year at the heart of the irish lineup.

5. Olivia Miles is still Olivia Miles

m iles’ greatness is more or less assumed to be a given at this point. a nd that’s per haps just as well; many of m iles’ trademark jaw-drop ping passes came across as casual against Truman state, consistently slicing defenses apart at unthinkable angles. m iles also looked at ease getting to the hoop in tran sition, gliding by defenders after grabbing a rebound or an outlet pass and finish ing with the one-handed ex tension layups she loved to utilize last season. The soph omore finished 2021 a firstteam all-acc honoree. she’ll be gunning for all-a merican honors this year.

Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu

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Irish prepare for ACC semifinals vs. FSU

By J.J. POST sports Writer

This Thursday notre dame women’s soccer will take on Florida state in the Acc semi finals at Wakemed soccer Park in cary, north carolina.

The game will be a rematch of an earlier contest between the two foes, during which notre dame triumphed 4-0 in south bend.

but the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story. While notre dame was efficient with their chances, the performance was far from the dominant rout the four-goal difference would indicate. The Irish took just four more shots than Florida state, and instat determined that notre dame’s total xG (expected goals, which mea sures the likelihood of a goal occurring on a given shot) was just 1.38, lower than the seminole’s total of 1.99.

critical for the Irish will be putting pressure on the Florida state backline. notre dame’s opener in the early

Five takeaways from Irish win

By J.J. POST sports Writer

monday night notre dame women’s basketball played their first full game open to the public this season, matching up with division II Truman state in an exhibition. While the difference in overall team quality, and small sample size, limit the amount of takeaways one can have from the lopsided victory, here were five observations that stood out from the 92-47 Irish win:

1. Ivey’s preferred rotation is far from set

A defining characteristic of the exhibition monday night was a good deal of tinkering by head coach niele Ivey with her lineup. Though just eight players saw more than ten minutes of ac tion, Ivey got plenty creative in how those eight players rotated. sometimes, it was junior trans fer forward Kylee Watson down low, other times it was graduate student transfer center Lauren

ebo, and sometimes it was both. Junior forward maddy Westbeld was utilized in a variety of ways depending on the personnel around her. And, while neither guards, freshman KK bransford or graduate student Jenna brown, had standout nights. It was clear Ivey sees them factoring into the guard conversation in some way. With sophomore guard sonia citron being the only player to play more than 27 minutes as the lineup continually shifted, it is obvious that notre dame’s rota tions are plenty malleable until one combination gels right.

2. Notre Dame is going to play as fast as possible one of the common themes in last year’s notre dame team was their commitment to flying down the court at every opportu nity. heading into 2022, it doesn’t seem like much has changed on that front. sophomore point guard olivia miles especially

MEN’S SOccER

Irish open playoffs against clemson

By JOSE SANCHEZ CORDOVA sports Writer

n otre d ame men’s soccer opens A cc tournament play on Wednesday with a road game against the c lemson Tigers. The postseason opener is a rematch of last year’s c ollege c up matchup where the Tigers beat the Irish on penalty kicks to ad vance to the national title game where they eventu ally beat the Washington h uskies to win the national championship.

This season has been a wildly different story for both programs. The Tigers enter Wednesday’s match up as the 8-seed in the A cc tournament and have a 105-1 record and including a losing record (3-4-1) in A cc play. n otre d ame is the 9 seed and has fared even worse this season with an 8-6-2 record overall and 3-41 in the A cc

Leading the line for c lemson is junior midfielder o usmane s ylla, a secondteam all-A cc player a year

ago. This year, he has taken on an even bigger role for the Tigers, leading the team in goals (5), points (16), shots on goal (18), and game-win ning goals (2). Freshman goalkeeper Joseph Andema has been outstanding as well, allowing 0.64 goals per game and keeping six clean sheets in 11 starts this year.

Last time out for n otre d ame, junior forward d aniel r usso scored against the Pitt Panthers on the road. h e leads the team in goals (6) and points (16) includ ing four goals in the last two games. Three of those came in a comeback rivalry win over m ichigan in n otre d ame’s final home game of the year.

The Irish will also need ju nior defender Paddy b urns to come up big for them on Wednesday. The left-back has been a leader on the back line for n otre d ame while also providing an at tacking boost down the left flank scoring five goals

HCC men’s basketball wins first game of season

By SARAH RYAN sports Writer

The holy cross men’s bas ketball team took the court monday night against east-West University for their first game of the season. even though the matchup was not a conference game, the team was aggressive in securing the win with a final score of 78-58.

mcKenna Arena was filled with holy cross students and parents. Fans cheered for the players while dressed as construction workers, minions and hotdogs in celebration of halloween.

The team ended last season with a 8-14 conference record. With nine freshmen players join ing the team, head coach mike mcbride said that “the new guys have really given us a spark.”

The saints gained the first pos session and converted on a jump shot, but after east-West scored during their first possession as well, both teams struggled for the upper hand. The contest

featured four early lead changes. but five minutes into the first half, holy cross gained the lead and refused to lose it the rest of the game.

In the first half, the saints scored 45 points, putting them ahead by 12. The second half only increased the saints lead, finishing with a 20-point margin of victory.

The saints leading scorer and freshman forward Tommy snyder brought in 31 points and 13 rebounds, setting a high ex pectation for his performance this season. Freshman guard Phil robles II brought in 19 points be hind snyder. robles also scored three of the saints four 3-point ers tonight. sophomore guard Justin o’neal  led the team with five assists, and senior guard beau Ludwick led the way defensively with two steals.

east-West had three main scorers tonight: de’Quaniis Jackson, Thomas Teklegergis and elgin bowen, who scored 14, 13, and 12 points, respectively.

The team scored 11 three-point ers throughout the game and had nine assists.

In the second half, a quick steal left William Perry open for a shot. Perry attempted to dunk the ball, but failed. The missed shot brought the holy cross fans to their feet in cheers.

The saints ended the game with a 49.1% field goal percent age compared to east-West with 37.3%. holy cross also outper formed in free throw percent ages, 69% to 30%.

east-West is, “on the perim eter, very similar to a lot [of] the teams in our league,” mcbride said. With a “pretty high level [of] intensity and intent” coming from the saints tonight, mcbride expressed optimism that the team can perform well this up coming season.

next up, holy cross plays bethel University on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

MAX PETROSKY | The Observer

Irish senior defender Waniya Hudson kicks the ball during Notre Dame’s 4-0 victory against the Florida State Seminoles on Oct. 9.

Junior captains

By NATE MOLLER senior sports Writer

Ahead of the b araka b outs tournament next week, there is plenty of excitement among this year’s group of junior captains, who are eager to serve as leaders for their first time as a part of the club.

Frankie m asciopinto, who is majoring in peace studies and political science and currently resides in m cGlinn h all, emphasized the great community that b araka b outs has.

“I think the club fosters a great community and a really great group of girls,” m asciopinto said.

n icole Lies, who majors in chemical engineering and lives in Welsh Family h all, also praised the b araka b outs community.

“It’s very much a supportive community,” Lies said. “We are competing at the end of the day, but we all just want each other to get better and work out and have fun as a team.”

b araka b outs seeks to raise money for h oly c ross missions in e ast Africa. This year, the goal is to raise money for new dorms at s aint Joseph’s h ill s econdary s chool in Kyarusozi, Uganda.

c urrently, the school has more kids than they can house, which has led to some kids not having dorm rooms and having to sleep in common spaces instead.

e mily n owak, who is majoring in A cms and lives in m cGlinn, serves as one of the leaders for the missions. n owak described some of the problems that s aint Joseph’s currently has and what the mission seeks to do.

“ c urrently, they have kids right now that are sleeping in rec rooms and hallways and very makeshift spaces. All of those kids that aren’t in regular dorm spaces will have a room plus there will be room for expansion,” n owak said. “The mission is important to all of us.”

s arah n owak, a physics major living in Welsh Family h all, explained how the importance of dorm life at n otre d ame has made this year’s mission that much more meaningful.

“I think as a n otre d ame student, for all of us, I know that dorm life is a huge part of our life here. That’s something that’s kind of unique to n otre d ame,” n owak said. “I think it’s really special that we can give that back, specifically

since we’re so big into dorm life here at nd . I think it’s really special that specifically, that is what we’re working towards this year.”

JJ Jorgensen, who resides in Lewis h all and is majoring in management consulting, acknowledged that some new members are afraid to get into the ring initially but raising money for charity and the lessons learned from it make it all worth it.

“I think a lot of people realize through it that you test yourself, you meet a lot of cool people and you also get beat up for charity. I don’t think there’s any better way to raise money than to get out there and give it your all,” Jorgensen said.

e llie h ammerschmitt, a science business major in Pasquerilla e ast h all, echoed Jorgensen’s response and stressed the importance of the mission statement to each of the members of the club.

“We’re beating each other up and getting black eyes along the way, but it’s for a good cause at the end of the day, so it kind of makes it more worthwhile,” h ammerschmitt said.

m asciopinto said that one of the club’s biggest selling points is the mission statement because it allows students to make an impact on someone other than themselves.

“The most holistically n otre d ame thing you can do is to be a part of this club. b ecause not only are we participating in a unique sport and empowering each other, but we’re also doing something for the greater good, not just for ourselves,” m asciopinto said.

The club hopes to raise $75,000 for the mission by the time the tournament ends, and as of s unday, they have already raised $46,000.

Lies is pleased with the amount the club has fundraised so far, and she hopes that donations continue to come in during the week leading up to the tournament.

“Fundraising has been coming in super fast because everyone’s getting excited for the tournament and kind of remembering what the missions are all about,” Lies said.

This is the first year in a leadership position for the junior captains, and Jorgensen explained that it has been fun having younger athletes ask her for advice on technique.

“ h aving people come up to me and ask to spar me specifically, so I can help them out with their technique, it’s not only an honor, but it’s a great chance to step up as a leader in the club,” Jorgensen said.

Lily Whitman, who majors in neuroscience and resides in Lyons h all, has enjoyed seeing her teammates improve throughout the season and gain more confidence both inside and outside of the ring.

“ o ne of the most fulfilling parts of leadership is seeing how the boxers that we’re teaching have developed throughout the season, whether they’re novices or they’re returning veterans. It’s been amazing to see not only a growth in their own technique but also their confidence both inside and outside the ring,” Whitman said.

As the tournament approaches, boxers have had to decide who they want to have in their corner to give advice and cheer them on throughout the fight. As a captain, m asciopinto has enjoyed being asked to corner younger athletes.

“We’re getting to the point where boxers choose who they’re going to have in their corner for the tournament. s omething that’s very fulfilling is to have someone say they’ve put you down as a corner option,” m asciopinto said. “To have someone ask us for help or ask us to support them while they do the hardest part of this club is awesome.”

Jorgensen added that she thinks the junior captains are a great group because each one of them has a very different leadership style in the captain role.

“I think what’s great about our group of junior girls is all of us are really different. I think we all have different teaching and leadership styles. There’s a leader for everyone in the club that everyone can relate to. I think we just have a great mix of people,” Jorgensen said.

e ach captain shared their favorite memory during their time with b araka b outs.

Lies said that her favorite memory was the Power Twelve h our fundraiser from last year, in which the club stood outside of the bookstore for twelve straight hours doing different workouts and drills to try to raise money for the missions.

“I had so much fun at that fundraiser, but it really

showed me everything that our club embodies and encompasses between the workouts, the training, the fundraising and the team bonding that was happening while having fun outside the bookstore,” Lies said. “That’s what really helped me fall in love with the club and fall in love with all the different parts of what it is.”

s arah n owak said her favorite aspect of the club has been its emphasis on body positivity and female empowerment.

“ o ur main mission is fundraising and helping those schools in Uganda. b ut we also really stress body positivity and female empowerment,” n owak said. “The fact that our weights are so public and weight classes are such a big part of the sport, it’s been nice to see how everybody’s getting more comfortable with it. You evaluate your body based on what it can do and how it can perform, not how it looks or anything else. s o that’s been really rewarding.”

According to n owak, the first night of the bouts last season became her favorite memory with the club, especially since there hadn’t been a tournament during her freshman year because of the pandemic.

“ m y bout that night I lost terribly, but the environment and seeing the way the club comes together and the way the n otre d ame community comes together and how excited people get about it was really cool,” n owak said. “I was not prepared at all for the energy in d ahnke, [ b allroom] and I was really blown away by just how fun and special that night was.”

Whitman echoed n owak and said that the tournament last season was her favorite memory after not realizing the full scope of the club her freshman year.

“ s parring and preparing for the tournament was really exciting, but I was really nervous to step up in front of everyone,” Whitman said. “And d ahnke [ b allroom] was really intimidating. b ut going out and doing that on the first night and being in the ring no matter the outcome and just showing how hard I was working throughout the semester on something that I loved was really empowering.”

h ammerschmitt said that her favorite memory became fun run Fridays when the club runs around on gameday Fridays and does

workouts across campus while raising money for the mission.

“It’s fun to be a part of something where we’re going around and we’re not just doing it to get ourselves noticed, but we’re getting money for the cause and for the mission,” h ammerschmitt said. “And when people hear that there’s a group of 100 girls running around raising money with stupid pink buckets, it’s funny because people actually get excited back.”

m asciopinto shared that her favorite memory occurred last year when she stayed after practice for the first time to spar and learn from an older captain.

“ s he was super encouraging. It was definitely very difficult at first because I had never done it. b ut it made me realize that a huge chunk of this club is learning from people that are basically your age and are amateurs of the sport too,” m asciopinto said. “You’re all just kind of figuring out something together. The leadership that she showed made me want to be more invested and keep going with that and actually compete.”

Jorgensen shared that her favorite memory was in the second round of last year’s tournament when she got beaten pretty badly by her opponent. Initially, Jorgensen said she was frustrated and embarrassed by the loss, but her opponent was very nice to her at the end of the fight and it ended up highlighting to Jorgensen what the true purpose of b araka b outs is.

“The way she carried herself after beating me, made me understand that it’s all about learning. It’s all about getting better. It’s all about making each other better. It’s not about going in there and beating each other up. It’s about fundraising and working towards something bigger than yourself,” Jorgensen said. “It’s okay to go in the ring and lose or not do well, but as long as you learn something and get something out of it, then that’s the whole point of this. I think it really changed my whole perspective on what it means to get into the ring and spar [with] other people. I think that is something I’ll always walk away with as being really valuable.”

‘It’s all about making each other better’: Junior captains ready to lead club ahead of tournament

President Rachel Salamone leads club in commitment and discipline

By ALYSA GUFFEY editor-in-chief

senior rachel salamone re members when she was one of the last few people to finish workouts during her freshman year of baraka bouts.

“I didn’t think I had a great grasp on the workouts them selves and that it was a do-it-asfast-as-you-can type of thing for some of them,” she says.

one of the captains took salamone under her wing and would finish the workouts along side her. eventually, salamone stuck around long enough to be come president of the club for the 2022-23 year.

“I just kept coming and kept coming, and it was really fun to learn a new skill.”

originally from hebron, conn., salamone lives in cavanaugh hall and studies political science with minors in data science and cybersecurity. she says she origi nally heard of baraka bouts from a former high school classmate and then signed up for the club at the annual activities fair.

“I went to the Activities Fair

and I saw them throwing mitts and I was like, ‘that is just the ab solute coolest thing that I’ve seen in my life,’” she says.

This year’s bouts will be just salamone’s second time com peting in the ring. bronchitis kept her out freshman year, and the pandemic disrupted her sec ond year. Just earlier this season, salamone suffered a concus sion in sparring practice, but has been cleared to fight in the tournament.

“I’ve felt like I’m further back than I was when I got [the con cussion],” she said. “but I’m excited.”

In the ring though, she is known as rachel “same hat” salamone, a reference dating back to her freshman year in the club.

“There is this little comic strip about these two guys wearing the same hat,” she said. “They just kind of point at each other. When I was a freshman, I met a senior who had very short hair and I also had at the time had re ally short hair. so I was like, oh, ‘same hat.’” reflecting on her first time

fighting last season, salamone says there’s nothing that can pre pare you for the feeling of step ping in the ring the first time, saying it’s like a “dream.”

“You can’t not be nervous,” she added.

As president, salamone holds a largely administrative role for the largest women’s club on campus — comprised of about 250 students — and ensures ev erything runs smoothly from 6 a.m. practices to the annual tournament.

Given that she was a junior captain last year, salamone knew almost certainly she would be in a leadership role for the club this year. but, there are some elements that were hard to anticipate, including logistical elements of setting up rings and organizing announcers.

The club holds its new boxer orientation in August, with prac tices starting the first week of september, salamone says. From there, members have about two months to learn combinations and prepare for the tournament.

Giarman reflects on time with notre dame boxing club

By ANNIKA HERKO sports Writer

baraka bouts began competi tion at notre dame 20 years ago, as a women’s version of bengal bouts. The women who have competed have shown that their boxing tour nament is just as important as their counterparts’, and now the current leaders are looking to build on these strides even more.

cece Giarman is a senior double major in marketing and American studies. she is also the vice president of the notre dame’s Women’s boxing club. After joining the club four years ago as a freshman, Giarman said she is excited for her final year in the ring, and her final opportunity to make an impact on a program that has been so influential on her life.

Arriving on campus, Giarman knew that she had to get involved in some athletic club and a senior fami ly friend pointed her towards boxing.

“I’ve always been a part of a team, so coming to notre dame without that idea of you know playing a sport with something I was hesitant about just going to college and I was really lucky to find [it] in baraka,” she said.

Like most members of the club, Giarman had never boxed before,

but soon grew to love the layers of challenge that practicing with the team provided.

“I’ve always been really into fitness and sports, but the reason I stayed was more than just that physical challenge. It really [is] this trifecta I would say of that physical challenge that comes with boxing, that comes with training for a new sport that I’ve never engaged with, but then going with that mental challenge that’s totally unique to boxing,” Giarman said. “boxing is very disciplined in a unique way compared to other sports, it’s really about a mix of con fidence, but also humility that I had never seen before.”

Although she chose not to com pete during her freshman year, it just made her more excited to en ter baraka bouts as a sophomore. Unfortunately, that tournament was, of course, canceled because of the ongoing effects of the pandemic.

Last year, she was named one of the junior captains, the first captain in baraka bouts history who had not previously sparred or competed in the tournament. she recalls the training and preparation she did in the years before her first round in the ring and remembers always being challenged, but never being put in

a position where she or anyone else would get hurt. This trust that was built between her and the coaches, and with herself, gave her confidence during the tournament last year, where she won all three rounds.

“There was a lot of pressure in the sense that my junior year was help ing freshmen girls, sophomore girls, whoever, go through their first spar, and I hadn’t even been in the ring yet and I felt like this impostor. Like wow, I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t know if I can lead this club when I feel like I don’t actually know that much,” Giarman said. “but you know [more than you think and ] I think that’s something we really tried to make sure every boxer feels because we never will put anyone in a position that they’re not ready for.”

This year, the team has a goal of $75,000 that will go towards build ing student dormitories for holy cross Lake view secondary and st. Joseph hill schools in Uganda. Last year, the money raised went towards faculty housing to help re tain teachers in an area that is not always safe or easy to travel and as an additional incentive to stay. This year, the funds raised will help build

Courtesy of Margi Antonio

After missing out on previous tournaments, senior president Rachel Salamone looks to dominate this year’s Baraka Bouts competiton.

vice President

Courtesy of Margi Antonio

Senior vice president Cece Giarman has been training to compete for her second time in the 20th annual Baraka Bouts boxing tournament.