Print Edition for The Observer for Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Notre Dame honors Potawatomi land

By ANGELA MATHEW manager of Talent & i nclusion

nov. 26 marked 180 years since Fr. s orin’s arrival in 1842 on the land now known as s outh b end and as home to the tri-campus community. This land is the ancestral home of the pokégnek b odéwadmik, which are the pokagon b and of potawatomi, an indigenous nation.

The potawatomi migrated from north of l ake huron and l ake superior to pres ent-day w isconsin, southern m ichigan, northern i ndiana and northern i llinois. Their

first contact with european settlers was when they came upon the French in the 1600s.

i n the mid-17th century, the potawatomi entered the fur trade with the French. c atholic French priests, like the Jesuit missionary c laude a llouez, were even invited by the potawatomi in the late 1670s.

i n 1754, the potawatomi were brought into the French and i ndian war, a war between the british colonies and the French in north a merica where dif ferent native a merican tribes

Community laments loss of popular Quarter Dogs

By RYAN PETERS notre dame news e ditor

march 2020 marked the be ginning of a two-month hiatus away from campus for notre dame students. it also marked the beginning of an indefinite, and potentially permanent, hiatus of a campus culinary staple: Quarter dogs.

Quarter dogs were hot dogs sold for 25 cents after mid night in huddle mart housed in l aFortune student center. students would file into the huddle, load up a paper tray with as many buns as they

wanted, grab the franks from a heated tray, apply their desired toppings, pay for the subsi dized late-night meal with flex points and then loiter in the 69year old student center while enjoying their meals.

“There was a culture about it,” pasquerilla west resident assistant (ra) Jade Fung said. campus dining director luigi a lberganti said in an email it is unlikely that Quarter dogs will return at a similar pricing model due to today’s “inflationary environment and increased labor costs.”

stanford hall assistant

rector John hale would make the short trek to l aFortune student center about three times a week as an under graduate. Though the low price helped draw customers, hale said the value lay outside the affordability.

“They were a huge part of my notre dame experience,” he said.

a fter a late night of study ing, hanging out in l aFortune and eating quarter dogs was a great way to initiate “crosscampus dialogue,” hale said.

smc to add third physics professor with new grant

Observer Staff Report

in a press release monday, saint mary’s announced that the henry luce Foundation award ed the college a 5–year, $498,000 grant to create the clare boothe luce assistant professorship in physics.

“The grant will be used to hire an early-career female assistant

professor in physics, adding a tenure track line that builds on the growing strength of sTem education at saint mary’s,” the press release said.

president katie conboy said in the press release that the grant parallels the college’s efforts over the past decade to provide a high quality education to stu dents in fields of science, math

and engineering. additionally, in the past five years since the physics program began, conboy said saint mary’s has awarded 31 physics degrees to students.

“This grant from the henry luce Foundation allows us to build on our reputation as one of the best institutions in the u s

Chomsky speaks on activism

By CLAIRE LYONS news writer

Editor’s Note: A previous ver sion of this story appeared online Nov. 21.

o n n ov. 18, the p rogram of l iberal s tudies ( pls ) hosted a discussion with prominent and influential academic d r. n oam c homsky.

c homsky is most wide ly known as the “father of modern linguistics” and for his work as a cognitive sci entist and political activ ist. a ccording to the event’s hosts, he is also one of the foremost critics of a merican imperialism and state

capitalism.

“ h e has inspired count less activists around the world,” said sophomore s olidarity nd treasurer a ndrew k im. “[ h e’s] an invaluable voice for the voiceless, calling out and condemning injustices, and tirelessly advocating for hu man rights and basic human decency.”

This event was planned months in advance by k im after he cold-emailed c homsky in s eptember. i n fact, it was entirely planned and conceived by under graduate students at the

CLAIRE LYONS | The Observer

Members of SolidarityND gathered in Bond Hall for a discussion with Dr. Noam Chomsky who spoke to students over a Zoom call.

Courtesy of Zada Ballew

Members of the Native American Alumni Association of Notre Dame pose for a photo. The association aims to develop, maintain and celebrate Native American heritage in the Notre Dame community.

180 years after Fr. Sorin’s arrival, University discusses its relationship with the Potawatomi

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architecture Dunne Hall

“Sledding and drinking cocoa.”

Ethan Morgan sophomore Morrissey Hall

“Making a snow fort.”

Today’s Staff

Wednesday

Open House McKenna Library

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.

3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Browse the expanding “Advancing Racial Equity” collection.

Global Studies Student Mixer Spes Unica 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. Get to know faculty in the major over pizza.

Thursday

Lunch & Learn

160 Mendoza College of Business 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Intro to credit with Brad Couri.

Notre Dame Humor Artists performance Stapleton Lounge 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Free improv comedy and meet new peope.

Friday

Volunteer at Our Lady of the Road Student Center Atrium 7 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Serve breakfast at a day shelter.

Holy Cross Lecture Pfeil Center 11 a.m. A discourse on great political and economic movements.

Saturday

“Handel’s Messiah” Leighton Concert Hall 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Student soloists are accompied by a festive Baroque orchestra.

Madrigal Dinner Rice Commons 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. Renaissance dinner theater for the Christmas season.

Sunday

University Band Concert Leighton Concert Hall 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. Marches and concert band pieces.

Brooklyn Rider Concert LaBar Recital Hall 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. String quartet performance.

News

Bella Laufenberg Caroline Collins Peter Breen Graphics

Maria Gorecki

Photo Ryan Vigilante

Sports Aidan Thomas

Sarah Ryan Scene

Claire Lyons Viewpoint

Hannah Hebda

SOFIA CRIMIVAROLI | The Observer

Notre Dame architecture students work late nights in their studio as project deadlines approach. Weeks of planning and drawing

The student center is located near the center of campus and draws students from all parts of campus, he added.

“my kind of philosophical take on [quarter dogs] is that human beings need companionship, we need tradition,” hale said. “i think that if you eliminate wholesome traditions, i think they will be replaced with less wholesome things. so i think quarter dogs are a super inno cent, fun, good way to promote culture within the dorms.”

in a lumni hall, resident

dawgs often avoid eating hot dogs.

“You don’t eat dogs in a lumni. You eat sausage. You eat brats,” rector Jay verzosa said.

There was one dorm-spon sored exception to this rule: a sunday night tradition called Grotto dawgs. each sunday night after mass, a lumni resi dents traveled to the Grotto to pray as a community and then hike over to LaFortune to feast on Quarter dogs.

The tradition began in sept. 2014 and lasted until the sus pension of Quarter dogs in 2020.

Quarter dogs never appealed to nathaniel burke, a senior ra in a lumni.

“i always say to people, what ever money they’re saving [by eating quarter dogs], they’re go ing to have to pay back in pay ing for colon cancer treatment or something like that,” burke joked.

Though the processed meat involved doesn’t appeal to burke, he said a lumni residents loved the tradition.

“There’s a lot of attraction to it just because it’s kind of a hilari ous idea,” he said. “i know there are dudes that enjoyed the con cept and did eat them.”

a lberganti estimated about a thousand quarter dogs were sold each week. The dogs were subsidized in an attempt to

keep students on campus. during her freshman year, Fung initially found Quarter dogs gross.

“in the beginning, i was like, ‘that sounds nasty,’” she said.

one day in the second semes ter, she tried a Quarter dog at the urging of her friends and was surprised to find she en joyed the experience.

Fung said the elimination of Quarter dogs reflects a change in the campus culture following the pandemic.

“i think there’s a lot of things that happened before covid that are just gone on campus and the culture of campus has just changed,” she said. “i

feel like being on campus was definitely way more fun and engaging and random [before covid ].”

it’s unclear whether Quarter dogs will ever return in any ca pacity, but if they do, hale said it is crucial that they are called Quarter dogs, regardless of the price. he said he would pay up to $2 a piece for a “Quarter dog.”

“even with inflation and ev erything, if they became 50 cent dogs i don’t care,” he said. “i just know, no matter what they cost, they should always be called Quarter dogs.”

Contact Ryan Peters at rpeters5@nd.edu

u niversity and not as an ini tiative from the u niversity faculty or administration.

“ i t began as a series of con versations between members of our d emocratic s ocialist student group at n otre d ame, s olidarity nd,” junior and s olidarity nd president Tianle Zhang explained.

The discussion stemmed from student questions about two of c homsky’s es says: “The r esponsibility of i ntellectuals” (1967) and “ i n d efense of the s tudent m ovement” (1971).

s pecifically, students fo cused on how lessons from activists in the 1960s and 1970s can be translated to the issues of today.

Zhang questioned if uni versities are still a place for free discourse amongst stu dents given barriers like the rapidly increasing cost of college, the restructuring of academic faculty and the rise of university administrative positions.

These developments are a part of a broader reaction ary neoliberal wave to un dermine the activism of the 1960s, c homsky said.

“There was too much ac tivism,” he said. “Too many people young people depart ed from their normal stance of passivity and obedience, tried to enter the political arena to press their demands — women, young people, la borers, farmers, basically the whole population.”

The u niversity, in fact, played a prominent role in

moderating student protests in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Former u niversity President Fr. Theodore h esburgh’s “tough 15-min ute rule” was published in the n ew York Times and cel ebrated by President n ixon. The rule states “anyone or any group that substitutes force for rational persuasion, be it violent or non-violent, will be given fifteen minutes of meditation to cease and desist.”

i f students demonstrated any longer, they would be suspended or expelled. The “tough 15-minute rule” was enforced only once, after 10 students were either sus pended or expelled for dem onstrating against a napalm manufacturer and the cia in the m ain b uilding.

c homsky warned students

against taking action with out evaluating potential con sequences. i n the 1960s, a lot of students destroyed them selves protesting, but they also harmed the movement, he said.

“Your feelings are not enough,” he said. “[ a ctivism] requires sensitive attention to the likely consequences of the actions you undertake.”

h e proposed students take non-violent action by building solidarity amongst themselves and their communities.

“The goal [of restructur ing universities] is to im prove the indoctrination of the young and to keep people like [students] where [they] belong,” c homsky said. “ i n your seats, not interfering in the affairs of the world, not demonstrating about cli mate change, nuclear war or whatever happens to concern you.”

b ut the indoctrination of higher education is not nec essarily liberal or conserva tive, Kim later explained.

“ i t’s indoctrination to the state,” he said. “ u niversities help with the creation of gov ernment bureaucrats, the pursuit of a merican inter ests and the reinforcement of capitalism.”

i nstead, c homsky urged against the politicization of universities. o ne of the big gest existential threats today is the collapse of an arena for rational discussion and de bate, he said.

“[Free discourse] is the only hope for dealing appro priately with major crises,” c homsky continued.

i n fact, s olidarity nd had some issues getting the event off the ground. s ince its a student group, they are subject to the requirements imposed by the s tudent a ctivities o rganization ( sao ). i n this instance, sao needed c homsky to sign a speaker contract that would be reviewed by the administration, Zhang said.

“This process normal ly takes two weeks, so we submitted the event three weeks in advance,” Zhang explained in an email. “ b ut sao not getting back to us for a week meant that

in terms of timing, we just wouldn’t have been able to advertise or host the event at all.”

i nstead, the group decided to get sponsorship and de partmental approval through PL s advisor d r. e ric b ugyis.

d espite institutional issues sometimes posed by univer sities, college campuses are the best places for facilitat ing free speech, Zhang said.

“ m ake use of that free dom to organize, to try and achieve the kind of educa tional programs you think are appropriate,” he said. “Foster the kind of activism that will be committed to dealing with the crises of the world.”

c lark Power, professor of psychology in PL s and the department of psychology, said he was inspired by the talk.

“ i ’m encouraged by the work s olidarity nd is doing in questioning our responsi bility as members of an aca demic community,” he said. “ o ne of the student organi zations that are most effec tive at activism is the r aising the s tandard c ampaign, which has raised the mini mum wage on campus.”

s tudents also appreciated the talk.

“ i ’m excited such a promi nent intellectual was will ing to take the time to speak with us,” sophomore c laire e arly said. “ i ’m grate ful for s olidarity nd, PL s and n otre d ame for allowing these discussions to take place.

Zhang said he was inspired, too.

“The way we maneuvered the problems we encoun tered while planning this event was a testament to what c homsky had to say,” he said. “ i ’m glad how many people showed up, and it gives me a lot of hope for n otre d ame’s future.”

a t the end of his speech, c homsky left students with a call to action.

“You’re in a position where you can freely inquire and investigate [injustices], not just accept what you’re told,” c homsky said. “ d o it.”

Contact Claire Lyons at clyons3@nd.edu

Paid a dverT isemen T

startup sells commemorative watches

By KELSEY QUINT news Writer

max martin, notre dame mbA graduate ’22, is launching a uni versity-inspired wrist watch design through his start-up company, Legacy LLc.

The company was founded by martin in sept. 2020, after com pleting his undergraduate studies in 2019 at st. John’s University in minnesota. The original intention behind the company was to provide an alternative to “traditional class rings,” martin said.

“I was looking for another more functional piece of memorabilia for graduation,” martin said. “I wanted to make something that was really going to fulfill my vision of what I thought of when I thought of st. John’s University.”

In order to achieve his spirit-en compassing vision, martin said he first evaluated what exactly “made” st. John’s the community he loved.

“[There is] a locally famous church called the Abbey church, which is known for their hexa gons across the church and it’s a really beautiful piece of archi tecture,” martin said. “With that story, st. John’s always talked about

Potawatomi

supported different sides. After the british won the war in 1763, they focused on prof its rather than the more mu tually beneficial relationship the potawatomi had with the French.

brian c ollier is a facul ty member and fellow for e ducation, s chooling and s ociety at the University, a historian and the senior ad visor to the American Indian c atholic s chools network (AIcsn ). Talking about this time of upheaval, c ollier said, “different native people sided with the French and some with the british– they were just try ing to find the best deal for their families in a time of war and chaos.”

This continued period of changing politics forced the potawatomi to take sides.

In an article in notre dame magazine, c ollier writes, “there were potawatomi who sided with the british dur ing the American revolution and the War of 1812, both of which led to citizens of the new United states calling for the removal of the potawatomi from their ancestral home lands throughout the g reat Lakes region.”

The b attle of Fort d earborn in August 1812 also contrib uted to the new American citi zens having ill-will towards the potawatomi people.

c ollier said, that “when the potawatomi burned down Fort d earborn — which is located

transparency and work, as they are a catholic institution. so, when the Abbey was made, they always talk ed about all the materials that were used and there were no secrets as to what was going on.”

From there, martin constructed a design that incorporated these community symbols and values.

“on the face of the watch are a bunch of hexagons to resemble the Abbey church. but also if you look on the back of the watch, you can see all the gears and movements moving in the background,” martin said. “And that’s to show that trans parency in work. You can see all the materials that are inside of the watch and so that’s kind of how its legacy was created through st. John’s.”

martin noted that he incorpo rated his university’s values not only in the watch design, but also in Legacy’s business structure.

“I’ve taken a charitable aspect to the company. so, 10% of all of my profits from each watch sold goes directly back to the university or organization that I’m working with, to support their student scholarship fund or other cause they’re passion ate about,” martin said.

In this way, Legacy LLc, allows

where c hicago’s ‘m iracle m ile’ is today— the newspapers made a big deal of the incident and portrayed the pokagon band as dangerous.”

The Indian removal Act was signed in 1830 by thenp resident Andrew Jackson. Leopold pokagon, a tribe lead er within the st. Joseph r iver valley potawatomi, asked Fr. g abriel r ichard in d etroit to send them a priest that year.

Leopold pokagon knew that showing the American gov ernment that the potawatomi could integrate into American culture through c hristianity would give the nation a greater chance of keeping their land.

o n Leopold’s request, r ichard sent Fr. stephen b adin to minister to the potawatomi along with two other c atholic missionaries — Fr. b enjamin petit and Fr. Louis d eseille. petit was eventually martyred on the Trail of d eath as he ad ministered to the potawatomi during their forced removal.

Though the pokagon potawatomi’s connection to c atholicism aided in them get ting to keep their land, it was also the coincidence of ge ography that led to this fact. c ollier explained that another potawatomi tribe that lived in what is present-day rochester, Indiana, was forced to vacate their ancestral homelands.

“At the time, what is pres ent-day s outh b end and m ishawaka was officially part of m ichigan territory which had a lot of French and c atholic influence, which was why Leopold pokagon was able to make the argument to keep

buyers to not only carry their alma mater with them, but only give back to the school in the process.

While martin got his inspiration from his time at st. John’s, he was grateful to take advantage of the re sources offered by notre dame dur ing his graduate study. during his time on campus, martin was a part of the IdeA center, as well as the mccloskey competition.With these resources, martin set out to create a notre dame watch design.

“The licensing team at notre dame was incredibly helpful throughout the process… Licensing took quite a bit of time. but through that time, I was able to have some help with the graphic design and got to interview some students,” martin said. “so I created the notre dame high-end male watch.”

martin expresses gratitude for those that helped him along the way, as well as notre dame as a whole.

“The notre dame community just completely took me under its wing, even just for being there a year, so I was super thankful for that,” martin said.

In terms of what the watch will look like, martin said he quickly picked up on one prevalent aspect

the land,” c ollier said.

c ollier explained that the other potawatomi tribe was re siding in what was considered to be Indiana territory at the time, which was being influ enced by the Ku Klux Klan and p rotestant-nation building forces rather than a c atholic one.

In the early 1830s, b adin bought the land that would become the University, and then in 1835, b adin donated that property to the d iocese of v incennes who ended up giving it to Fr. e dward s orin, on the condition that he es tablish an educational insti tution there. When s orin first arrived, the potawatomi were the ones who welcomed him in the winter.

Talking about the current relationship between the pokagon potawatomi and the University, c ollier said that the University engages in the annual tradition of send ing potawatomi families food baskets during the holiday season.

o n the occasion of Indigenous people’s day, cel ebrated o ct. 9, until the week end of the stanford game on o ct. 15, the University flew the flag of the pokagon potawatomi above the football stadium.

“The p rovost office has been giving out pokagon flag mag nets which have been going like hot cakes among profes sors,” c ollier added.

c ollier also said that Jason ruiz, associate professor of American studies, received a grant to acquire more flags in a collaboration with pokagon

of the nd community: the alma mater.

“The design highlights a cover that is transparent, so you can see the gears moving directly on the face of the watch and then it has the alma mater laser engraved on the outside of the watch as well,” martin said. “each watch has your name and class year engraved on the back. And all of these watches are hand assembled and handmade and painted by my manufacturer.”

martin says that the notre dame watch launch will hopefully be within the next two weeks — right in the heart of the holiday shopping season.

martin concluded by reflecting on his journey with Legacy LLc and offering advice to any student entrepreneur about the value of “stick-to-it-tiveness.”

“Allocating enough time each day to your company and not giving up when you see the first roadblock is the biggest challenge,” martin said.

“It’s impossible to do alone. notre dame did a really, really good job of helping me, so I’m excited for their watch to launch.”

Contact Kelsey Quint at kquint@nd.edu

potawatomi artist Jason Wesaw.

Andrew c rowe ’06, a mem ber of the board of the native American Alumni Association of notre dame ( n AA of nd ), weighed in on how the lack of acknowledgement of the University’s connection to indigenous people can im pact the experience of native students.

“[There is] little to no ac knowledgement of c hief Leopold pokagon’s work to en sure that the potawatomi land that included what would be come notre dame was already a c atholic stronghold before the University was found ed. he remains a forgotten ‘founding father’ of o ur Lady’s University,” c rowe said in an email.

he encouraged students to research and gain awareness about the “historical role of the c atholic c hurch in the cre ation and running of residen tial and boarding schools.”

Zada b allew ‘19, director of student relations in n AA of nd, posed some questions that students can consider as they learn about the history of the land that the tri-campus inhabits.

e xamples she gave over email included, “Why are there carvings of Indigenous peoples on s outh d ining hall and ‘the rock’?” and “Why are potawatomi people buried in [mass graves] in the campus cemetery?”

b allew said she appreciates the University leadership’s ef forts to “acknowledge failures of the past and recommit to

for undergraduate women to study physics,” conboy said in the press release.

According to Ian bentley, an associate professor of physics at saint mary’s and project director for the grant, the new professorship will become the third full time professor dedicated to teach ing physics at the college. With another professor, the college will be able to offer “new research and course work opportunities,” the re lease said.

bentley also said the phys ics program aims to address the existing gender gap in sTem fields, and it has been successful so far at garnering interest among students.

“The physics program at saint mary’s college is vital for actively confronting the gender gap in physics and engineering,” bentley said in the release. “our phys ics major began 5 years ago and we have substantially higher than expected inter est in the program, particu larly because of how well it pairs with the college’s dual degree in engineering pro gram with the University of notre dame.”

the work of the future.” she points to increasing efforts to recruit native and Indigenous students, increasing the num ber of native and Indigenous staff, faculty and course offer ings, even a major or minor, as a way to “raise awareness of overlooked, but no less sig nificant, aspects of our shared history.”

c ollier also suggested the re vival of the tutoring program notre dame students used to run with potawatami children in d owagiac, m ichigan, a few years ago.

“s ome of those potawatomi kids actually grew up and at tended notre dame, so that kind of interaction and en gagement really makes a dif ference,” c ollier said.

c ollier also proposed mak ing the moreau First-Year course curriculum more inclu sive of native history.

“We could have elders in res idence come and share their story with first-year students,” he said.

The native American Alumni Association of notre dame has set up ‘The native American Alumni Fund,’ a scholarship intended to provide much needed fi nancial support to cur rent native and Indigenous students. The scholarship is solely funded through donations and private giving. c rowe encouraged all readers, including alumni, staff and friends, to consider donating to the Fund on nd day.

Contact Angela Mathew at amathew3@nd.edu

swifties react to Ticketmaster site fiasco

By PETER BREEN news Writer

“a surge in activity on any iT ser vice can cause it to be unavailable to some or all of the people trying to access it,” Tracy Weber, office of information technologies (oiT) assistant vice president, told the observer.

Taylor swift fans across the tri-campus helped generate the 3.5 billion system requests on Ticketmaster’s website on Tuesday, nov. 15, causing hours-long delays for swifites jockeying to purchase presale tickets for swift’s sixth headlining concert tour, “The eras Tour.”

swift hasn’t gone on tour in five years because of the covid-19 pandemic. since her 2018 “reputation stadium Tour,” the singer-songwriter has released four studio albums including “midnights” which came out in october 2022. swift was supposed to go on tour for her album “Lover”

but cancelled due to the pandemic.

notre dame junior Jillian brunner, a self-described “uber fan” with two Ticketmaster ac counts, spent seven hours waiting to secure tickets on that midnovember Tuesday. sales com menced by venue time zone at 10 a.m. for verified fans.

“i went to the library. i had one Ticketmaster account on a macbook and one on the desktop computer, and my friend had his, one on his macbook and one on the desktop,” brunner said. “i was skip ping all my classes, but i had to go Ta at [2 p.m.], so i left my computer with [my friend]. he ended up get ting one date when i was gone.”

after hours of site glitching, brunner managed to pick off tick ets for the two concerts in mile high stadium in denver on July 14 and 15, doling out almost $500 in the process. brunner expressed her frustration with Live nation entertainment’s Ticketmaster.

“Ticketmaster has a monopoly

on everything. so they suck,” she said. “They take advantage of people, and their fees are almost as expensive as their tickets — it’s so stupid. something needs to change.”

brunner added that the “same thing” happened when concert tickets came out for harry styles’ ongoing tour, “Love on Tour.”

“When harry styles tickets went on sale, it was the same issue. it’s the same problem every time,” she said. “The demand is so high for some artists that Ticketmaster can’t handle it, but i don’t know who could handle it. it seems impossible.”

notre dame junior Jessica Wysocki, a Taylor swift “Twitter stan,” bought a “midnights” vinyl to guarantee a presale ticket line boost.

“That’s my big Taylor swift col lection — i have all of her vinyl,” Wysocki said. “i had the line boost which made it more likely that i would get verified. i signed up for

the verification a long time ago. and i got it, but none of my friends got it. We all signed up, including my parents [and] none of them got it. so, i’m pretty sure the line boost is why i got a presale verification code.”

Wysocki was prepared for a hec tic day on the morning of nov. 15, but she said the fiasco exceeded her “expectations of bad.”

“i went to my first class, plugged my computer into the outlet and i just sat there. We had a review for an exam, but i didn’t care… imme diately when [10 a.m. struck], i hit the button to be in the queue [and] there must have been thousands of people ahead of me,” she said. “We put a hotspot on someone’s phone and moved my computer across campus, so that i didn’t lose my spot in the line. about six hours later, i got in.”

Though happy to get a seat, Wysocki said it was disappoint ing to learn about so many die hard fans missing out on ticket

opportunities.

“i have a lot of friends on Twitter … that couldn’t even get tickets for their young daughters, and it was unfortunate,” Wysocki said. “i would say Ticketmaster had an up per hand in this.”

Weber, drawing from notre dame’s own experience respond ing to spikes in network traffic, e.g., during class registration and football saturdays, said a “welldesigned iT service” will anticipate peaks and have the ability to scale up to meet the demand.

“There’s complexity to this be cause all aspects of the service need to be able to scale. it can also be ex pensive to build in all this flexibil ity to iT service components like servers, software and networks,” she said. “even with autoscaling, supporting [millions of] requests in such a short time is very difficult to handle.”

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu

Professor discusses c hristian salvation

By LIAM PRICE a ssociate news e ditor

c reighton University the ology professor Julia Feder spoke Tuesday night in c arroll a uditorium about using a c hristian worldview to deal with human suffer ing, especially with regards to sexual violence.

i n her lecture, which was the final part of the c enter for s pirituality’s “ d eveloping a s pirituality of r esilience” se ries, Feder sought to distinguish between the theological notions of God being goodness and God be ing “all powerful,” arguing that the former is stronger.

“ i t’s only a God of love, and one who never desires human suffering, that can provide a foundation for a proper c hristian spiritual ity of resilience,” Feder said.

“The God of love opposes human suffering and em powers humanity to resist dehumanizing violence by sharpening our powers of perception of evil and feel ings of indignation.

Feder, author of the forthcoming book “ s aving Grace: s exual Trauma in c hristian s alvation,” also distinguished between forms of stress which “are good for us,” using a weightlifter’s improvements as an example and other

forms “which are not good for us in any quantity at all.” s exual violence, Feder said, does no good and doesn’t have a role to play in God’s plan for humanity.

“ r ape is an authentic breaking-apart of the hu man person and is never willed by God. r ape is sense less suffering,” Feder said.

Feder used the story of Jesus suffering on the cross in order to illustrate God’s role in dealing with human suffering. The brutal, pain ful suffering was inflicted on Jesus by sinful humans, not by God, she said.

The power of resurrection, she argued, does not derive from Jesus having suffered

on purpose, but rather by how Jesus overcame that suffering.

“a t the last supper, Jesus places his confidence in God as one who champions hu manity and places his trust in this God in the face of death,” Feder said. “ d espite his torture and death, Jesus trusted, somehow, some way, that his life’s work would not amount to nothing.”

a pplying this to the inter pretation of sexual violence, Feder said survivors could be better equipped against the propensity of self-blame.

“ o ur history of sexual vio lence can be a part of our story of being saved by God only insofar as it marks the

evil that is committed by human beings that God is overcoming, not which God has given to us as a test,” she said.

Feder said responses of pain, anger and disap pointment of traumatized survivors are caused by a “negative contrast” with God’s goodness and reflect “what God does not want for us.”

“ s alvation is not just this spiritual and personal pro cess, promising some other worldly reward, but instead is a restoration of the whole human person as she was created to be,” Feder said. “ s alvation concerns the whole human person and all her created dimensions, physical, material, interper sonal, social, political and spiritual.”

Feder used this idea of sal vation to recommend steps for c hristian communities to take on the issue of sexual violence. s he also acknowl edged that the measures she recommended wouldn’t solve the issue once and for all, but at least would con stitute good work with real influence.

“ i would say c hristian salvation must then in clude community denun ciation of sexual violence. i t must include clear report ing guidelines… and free psychological resources for survivors,” she said. “The sum of these measures doesn’t cause doesn’t consti tute the fullness of c hristian salvation, but salva tion is at least in these measures.”

Paid a dverT isemen T

Farewell to Trader Joe’s Takis

Willoughby Thom s cene e ditor

Why are Trader Joe’s r olled c orn Torilla c hips (aka Takis) so good? This is a legitimate question. There is no other snack on the market that I get genu inely disappointed when there are not in stock. I am not a big fan of traditional Takis, but, for some reason, the Trader Joe’s chips are gold.

This is a very different inside col umn than I usually write, but as I was doing my grocery shopping the other day, I stumbled upon a fully stocked shelf of this magical snack in our local Trader Joe’s and felt this needed to be addressed.

Last year, I was looking for a new study snack and my friend suggested I tried Trader Joe’s version of Takis. s o, as a fre quent patron of Trader Joe’s, I picked up a bag and headed home, unaware of their popularity. The spicy and tangy snack was unlike anything I’ve had before, so I made sure to put it on my grocery list for the following week.

s avoring every chip, I returned a week later and there were none. h ow could this be? Unbeknownst to me, this was one of their most popular snacks and stores have been struggling to maintain enough inventory, but that isn’t all...

Turns out, earlier this fall, m r. Trader Joe decided to temporarily pull the beloved snack from the shelves. m any stores are doing their best to stockpile the savory snack to compensate for the demand, but bags are still flying off the shelves. b ut, even before the official de cision to discontinue the spicy treat was announced, their popularity contributed to their scarcity, and their impending termination is rubbing chili and lime in the wound.

n evertheless, it’s the perfect snack for any occasion: studying, hanging out with friends, or going to the beach. e ach chip has the perfect crunch, they’re not too crispy, and the chili lime flavor comes through without being overly spicy. The flavor profile is evenly bal anced, which is great for every spice preference, and even though you’re left with red dust on your fingers, it’s a small price to pay for an enjoyable snacking experience. Also, a bag of chips is only $2.50, a fair price for deliciousness.

To some, there may be no difference between traditional Takis and Trader Joe’s version, but every chip feels like it was made with love, and their lim ited availability makes it all the more exciting.

s o, Trader Joe’s, please don’t get rid of everyone’s favorite snack. Please and thank you.

You can contact Willoughby at wthom@nd.edu.

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

Moody bridgend

The forgotten cities

As h omeless encampments continue to grow, thousands of Americans are left in the dust. We need to do more.

I will never forget the first time I drove through “The Zone,” a massive homeless encampment in the heart of downtown Phoenix. Far from my hometown of c incinnati, I had arrived in Phoenix, Arizona the night before to spend the summer working at Andre h ouse of h ospitality, a soup kitchen and daytime service center for people experiencing homelessness. d riving slowly to avoid hitting people in the street, I saw block af ter block lined with tents and tarps, hundreds of people living on the streets in the sweltering Arizona summer. The tents surrounded Phoenix’s h uman s ervices c ampus, s t. v incent d ePaul and Andre h ouse, organizations where people expe riencing homelessness could access shelter beds, meals, showers and other necessities. h owever, in Phoenix, the needs of vulnerable unhoused people extend far beyond available resources.

Last reported, m aricopa c ounty had about 1,800 shelter beds but approximately 7,500 people expe riencing homelessness. o ver half of these people are unsheltered.

This phenomenon isn’t unique to Phoenix. From s eattle, to o regon, to Los Angeles’ infamous “ s kid r ow,” communities of people living on the streets have emerged in many major American cities.

In 2019, the n inth c ircuit c ourt (Jurisdiction: Alaska, Arizona, c alifornia, h awaii, Idaho, m ontana, n evada, o regon and Washington) ruled that, if there are not enough beds avail able to shelter a city’s homeless population, it is unconstitutional to criminalize people for sleep ing in public spaces. Thus, alongside increased rates of homelessness due to the pandemic, the amount of people living on the streets has grown rapidly while cities struggle to meet the need for shelter beds. Although the decriminalization of homelessness is critical, it is not enough for cit ies to just turn a blind eye to people living on the streets. Instead, there must be actual investments made to ensure that people are moved off the streets into temporary shelters and eventually, permanent, stable housing.

h omelessness is an extremely complicated is sue. Addiction and mental health both play a massive role — approximately 20% of homeless Americans suffer from severe mental illness and a substantial portion of the homeless population suffers from addiction. Furthermore, incarcera tion and homelessness are strongly correlated, a lack of effective rehabilitation programs creating a “revolving door” between the streets and the system. The most notable cause of homelessness, however, is a lack of affordable housing, and for good reason. In Phoenix, rent rose by an average of 30% in 2021 and continues to rise. It is shown that in communities where rent prices exceed 32% of average annual income, there are sharp

increases in homelessness. Therefore, as long as rent continues to rise at a quicker rate than wages, it is likely that we will continue to witness the growth of tent cities. While all Americans feel the effects of inflation, low income populations are especially vulnerable, and rising rents could force thousands of already struggling Americans into homelessness.

Andre h ouse is a presence-based ministry, and throughout the summer I had the privilege of hearing the stories of many of our guests. e very story was different, and it caused me to real ize how nuanced the issue of homelessness is. I met people who had been on the streets for a few days, and people who had been on the streets for years. I befriended girls my age whose parents had kicked them out and watched while elderly, disabled people struggled to navigate life on the streets. I saw firsthand how debilitating addiction could be, and I realized how prevalent untreated mental illness is among the homeless popula tion. Above all else, however, I learned what an immense barrier homelessness is to full human expression. I met so many incredible individu als who were living on the streets of Phoenix, yet their conditions allowed them to do little more than just survive.

In places like Phoenix, homeless people die pre ventable deaths every day due to treacherous cli mates, experience extremely high rates of sexual assault and have a mortality rate that is three times greater than the general population. It is clear that something must be done. The solution does not lie in criminalizing homelessness, and it does not lie in simply allowing people to live on the streets unbothered. Instead, politicians from both sides of the aisle must work together to cre ate more temporary shelters, put protections in place against skyrocketing rents and address the need for better rehabilitation programs. For me, growing up in a middle class suburb and now the ”“ n otre d ame b ubble,” it can be easy to ignore the complexity of the issue and place the blame on people for their situations. h owever, at its core, homelessness is not a political issue, but a matter of human dignity. As a society, it should be our goal to give all people the resources they need to participate fully; thus, it is imperative that some thing is done to get people off the streets, and eventually, into permanent housing.

Leah Moody is a sophomore living in Flaherty Hall studying economics and philosophy. She is the Director of Events for BridgeND, an organization that seeks to pro mote bipartisan discussion on campus. She spent the past summer working at Andre House in Phoenix, AZ through the Notre Dame Summer Service Learning Program.

BridgeND is a multi-partisan political club committed to bridging the partisan 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 au thor and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Leah

A fate like the railways?

Pablo Lacayo reliable r amblings

I have always had a deep infatuation with n icaragua’s history, and throughout my life I have consistently made a point of learning as much of it as is humanly possible. I have spent countless hours reading my country’s history books, clicking through Wikipedia pages and watching archive footage found in rather obscure corners of the internet. The only reason why I still make a point of checking Facebook frequent ly is to peruse through the many n icaraguan history pages I follow, taking pictures I find in teresting and sending them to my friends and relatives every now and then. As winter break ap proaches, I will have the opportunity to go home for the first time since January, and I am ecstatic to once again set foot in the lands that saw me grow up. In my mind, nothing beats learning about history in the flesh and being able to once again tour n icaragua’s landmarks. The oppor tunity to explore places I have not seen in ages for the first time in a while has me giddy with excitement.

o ne of my favorite places to visit while in n icaragua is Granada, a colonial city that boasts itself among the oldest continually inhabited e uropean settlements in n orth America. The city’s historic center is riddled with colonial buildings that are several hundred years old, and the city’s character is an indubitable manifesta tion of authentic n icaraguan identity. Among the city’s landmarks is the old railway station, my first stop on every visit to Granada, on the out skirts of its colonial core. e ver since I was young, I have been fascinated with the fact n icaragua once had a railroad and forever heartbroken at the fact it was decommissioned in the mid-1990s, a few years before I was born. o ver the years I have visited the train stations that are still lucky enough to remain standing and gathered

anecdotes from elder relatives about what it was to ride the n icaraguan Pacific r ailroad of days gone by.

n icaragua’s railways ran for just over a century, having entered operations in the mid-1880s and shut down for good on d ecember 31, 1993. When it first entered service, it was the magnum opus of n icaraguan engineering. At the time, the roads that connected the country’s cities on the Pacific c oast were nothing more than dirt trails, and the railroad was the only mode of transporta tion that offered safe, reliable and quick travel from one point to another. d uring its golden era, the railway connected the port city of c orinto in the westernmost region of the Pacific c oast all the way to the port of s an Juan del s ur near the border with c osta r ica. It brought together im portant cities like c hinandega, Leon, m anagua, m asaya, Jinotepe and r ivas, and its branch lines helped extract valuable exports like cotton, cof fee and cattle. It was a valuable component of the nation’s fabric and contributed to the country’s growth and development throughout the better part of the 20th century. b y the time the railway was finally shut down, however, it was far past its prime. In 1982, Tropical s torm Aletta destroyed the line between c orinto and Leon, arguably the most profitable segment of the railroad. That part was never rebuilt, and an overall lack of investment and maintenance led to its steady decline. When the government finally made the decision to shut it down for good, it argued it was unprofitable, obsolete beyond salvaging and sim ply not a fiscal priority. To this day, the decision provokes strong emotions in many n icaraguan households, and “she sold off the train” is always mentioned when judging then President v ioleta c hamorro’s administration.

The fate of n icaragua’s railways was sealed by a variety of factors: administrative ineptitude, a lack of proper upkeep, natural disasters, and the rise of the automobile. h owever, almost 30 years later, many people still can’t help but ask whether

its closure was truly unavoidable. It is easy to argue that there was no other viable alternative but closure at the time the railway ceased opera tions. n onetheless, it took over 40 years for it to get to that point. m istakes, miscalculations and tragedies helped bring about its demise.

o ne of n icaragua’s railroad legacies is the last ing impression it left on the country’s collective memory. The train brought the country together and stands as an icon that defined an important part of life in the 20th century. As I have begun looking forward to my return to my homeland, I can’t help but reflect on how the railroad’s sto ried history can serve as a lesson for us all in other regards. People’s paths to success or failure are not an overnight development. Those who succeed have behind them long lists of small ac complishments that have helped consolidate their achievements into larger ones. o n the other side of the same coin, those who have succumbed to failure can also count a collection of continu ous mistakes that eventually made them buckle under their burdensome weight.

When looking at life, and the path forward, I find guidance from a story like my country’s railway system. Its failure may have been inevi table at the very end, but only because it could no longer carry on with the gross accumulation of mistakes that threatened its continued existence. What you become in 10 years is not an exclusive product of what you’ll be doing nine years and 11 months from now. It is the product of every step along the way. Therefore, one must be diligent in distinguishing the good from the bad choices in order to avoid a fate like my country’s railway.

Pablo Lacayo is a senior at Notre Dame, majoring in finance while minoring in Chinese. He enjoys discussing current affairs, giving out bowl plates at the dining hall, walking around the lakes and karaoke. You can reach him at placayo@nd.edu.

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

Nutrigrain bars and my era of absurdity

Kate Casper o utsider Instincts

If I could sum up november 2022 in one word, it would be absurd. From getting kicked out of the nd r edheads Group me to strutting around north Quad at 4 a.m. singing “b ejeweled” by Taylor s wift to staying in on a Friday night to work out in the bP gym, I would argue my month has been anything but stable … and I think, in many ways, that’s a very good thing.

Among many of my hot takes on doing life (and doing it well) is my sincere disdain for structure and routine. now, don’t get me wrong, I know hav ing routines can be a good thing — for example, I have a workout routine and specific times I tend to eat lunch every day — but as a general rule, rou tines suck. o ver time, they become limiting and depressing…seeing the same faces on the walk to class because you always take the same route to and from d e b art in the morning, eating dinner at the same time every day of the week with the same group, only ever going to the gym in the morning… d oesn’t it all get a little boring?

I’ve found the times when my life has been the most structured have also been the times I was most dissatisfied and bored. I think back to this time a year ago, a period I affectionately refer to as “The e ra of b ad Feelings.” Although I can now reflect on this time fondly, thinking of the two helpings of French fries I ate every day or the friendships I fostered in s outh d ining h all well after closing, I also think about how dull my daily

life became.

A year ago, every day looked the same: I’d wake up ten minutes before class, roll out of bed, and walk to the v incent b uilding wearing sweats and my oversized yellow b irkenstocks (a shock ingly weak ensemble that made me look like a bummy frat boy or maybe a duck). I’d spend my lunch breaks reading and supplementing meals with nutrigrain bars alone in my dorm room and wouldn’t get ready till 1 p.m. (I usually had more people to impress in my afternoon classes). I’d eat a quick meal after class, which only ever consisted of crinkle-cut fries and cranberry juice from the be loved s iggy d ining h all, and my weeknights were spent eating a late dinner with friends and study ing in LaFun and the north d ining h all lobby until 3 or 4 a.m.

e very day was just like this for weeks…until november 9, 2021.

I’ll never forget this day — it was the day I ran out of nutrigrain bars. m y stomach was rumbling, so I willed myself to finally show face in the din ing hall. I made that walk of shame in my infamous yellow shoes, and, for the first time in a long time, ate something other than French fries. This was a moment of absurdity. It felt weird, almost unset tling, to be eating lunch in the dining hall, and it felt wildly unreasonable to not be eating my typical French fries with a side of ketchup and mayo. Yet there I was, eating macaroni salad and loving it.

As the weeks went on, I found the more absurd my life got, the happier I became. The more I strayed from the structure my stale routine offered, the more I opened myself up to the opportunity

of making new friends and finding new ways to have fun. I started eating cucumbers instead of fries, stargazing during study breaks, doing work in hesburgh Library or the atrium when I needed a change of scenery and working out at the Pfeil c enter late at night with all the gym bros. I started breaking out of my life of limitation and stepping into myself again, and it was magical.

o kay, so maybe my beef isn’t with routine as a general concept, but maybe it’s with crappy rou tines or routines that don’t afford any room for freedom, any room for spontaneity. e ven still, I’ve decided structure isn’t always the answer. o ften, embracing the absurd is the answer.

The absurd is strolling around campus in a tshirt during the first snowfall because “why not?” or treating your friend’s broomball tournament like the o lympics. It’s taking the long way to class just to change things up or approaching the boy from your freshman moreau class at the bar. It’s even begging every ginger you know to vouch for you in the r edheads Group me because even though you’re brunette, you’re the biggest ginger ally on campus!

All jokes aside, this new era means living more when given the option. It’s ditching the nutrigrain bars and all the limitations and living fully, living absurdly.

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.

I am with you always

Sveda c hurch amd state

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (matthew 28:20 esv ). These last words of Jesus’ Great commission have long been cherished by christians. Why is this? What does this verse mean?

Let us first look at the words themselves. The original audience, the “you,” is “the eleven disciples” (28:16), but the promise here extends beyond the apostles for “the end of the age” refers to the second coming of christ (matthew 13:39-40, 49; 24:3). This, then, cannot be a statement for “the eleven” only but is for the entire church throughout all of history.

What does it mean that Jesus will be “with” us? It does not mean that he is physically on earth, for he has ascended and is now seated at the right hand of the Father (1 Peter 3:22), nor does it refer to a bare omnipresence. Instead, it re fers to the loving and active protection and care for his church, which he builds (matthew 16:18) and the grace, blessing and strength he gives to believers to glorify God, grow in him, enjoy him and make his name known. moreover, christ (with the Father) sends the holy spirit (Luke 24:49, John 14:16), who indwells the believer (1 corinthians 3:16), “is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire posses sion of it” (ephesians 1:14), works new life in us (Galatians 5:22, 2 corinthians 3:18) and gives us wisdom, power, strength and courage to live for God and serve him (John 14:16-26, Acts 1:8, 2 Timothy 1:6). Although hard to understand, christ is said to be in us by the indwelling of the holy spirit (see romans 8:9-11). his title “God with us” (matthew 1:23) did not pause at his ascension. he is truly with us even now.

This often remains superficial to us; we happily proclaim this truth when we are feeling good but disbelieve it when we’re hurting. but he is “always” with us, not just in the good times but also in difficulty, weakness, sorrow and the mun dane. This is a teaching not merely to assent to but one to grab on to, to fight for and to let shape our hearts. Jesus believed the disciples needed to hear these words, and he knew we would too.

Jesus’ words here, first of all, deeply encourage and comfort us in ministry and relationships. The Lord sent his disciples out to preach the gospel to and build the church in “all nations” (matthew 28:19), but not even one person can be converted apart from God’s drawing (John 6:44). What man can cause a child of the devil (1 John 3:10), dead in sin (ephesians 2:1) and hating God (romans 1:30, John 3:19-20), to be born again — to be a child of God who loves him, desires to serve and please him, and would even die for him? none. only God can do this. only God can make such dry bones live (ezekiel 37:1-14). Apart from God, our wisest words and most eloquent prose are futile. The smallest (in size) of ministries —leading a bible study, raising children or mentoring a younger believer — highlight our weakness and utter dependence on the Lord. how desperate is our need for God, and how wonderful his promises that he will be with us always! That doesn’t mean God will convert everyone we talk to, but it does mean that his Word will go forth in power and will accomplish his purposes (Isaiah 55:11). If we are faithful to him, our min istry will not be in vain. even if it is small or unsuccessful by the world’s standards, we may rest assured that he is working through it, is with us and is glorified in even our small and fickle service.christ’s words also serve to comfort us in persecutions and afflictions. Jesus told his disciples they would be flogged, imprisoned, hated by all and many would even be killed (matthew 10:16-25, 24:9; John 16:2, 21:1819). such continual and painful persecutions would certainly tempt them to give up, for one naturally concludes that they incur such sufferings because God does not care for them or is even against them. but christ foretold their persecutions and sufferings “that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you” (John 16:4). recalling this ensures we are not surprised by persecutions (1 Peter 4:12) and know that God’s disposition towards us has not changed. It was he who went to the cross for us, who promised that we would suffer for his name. he loves us still and always. Far from meaning God no longer cares for us or dislikes us, our sufferings are part of God’s plan all along and are for his glory (1 Peter 4:13; John 21:19) and our good (2 corinthians 4:17; romans 5:3-5, 8:28), however crazy that may seem to us. In our sufferings and persecutions, we can rest knowing that the sovereign Lord of the universe cares for us always (matthew 11:29-31).

Finally, Jesus’ words remind us that nothing can separate us from him and his love (romans 8:35-39). The Apostle John lived for another 65-70 years after matthew 28:20 was spoken, and some of us may live that much longer. how can we rest assured we will finish the race amidst so many snares, so many sufferings, so many trials? one reason: christ promises to be with us. If we ran the race on our own strength, we would’ve fallen away a long time ago. but we run the race by christ’s power, looking to him (hebrews 12:2) who bought us with his blood, loves us and “will sustain [us] to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus christ” (1 corinthians 1:8). What great confidence and comfort we have in knowing that christ goes with us always and will sustain us to the end. We will see him face to face. christ is with us always in this life, and then we shall be with him in glory forevermore! Who can conceive such amazing grace?

Andrew Sveda is a senior at Notre Dame from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, majoring in political science and theology. In his free time, he enjoys writing (obviously), reading and playing the piano. He can be reached at asveda@nd.edu or @SvedaAndrew on Twitter.

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

‘red flag’ literature: on not judging a book by its cover

nd

“catcher in the rye.” “The Prince.” “norwegian Wood.” These are all some of the books that are commonly cited as “red flags” when a person indicates them as one of their favorites. There is something unset tling about nominating these texts, amongst others, as “one of the greats.”

A lot of these books concern controversial topics and feature authoritarian leaders or morally gray, coming-of-age figures. They sometimes struggle with mental health, acceptance in society and may depict others in an unfavorable light. however, there is a sense of awareness in the controversy towards liking this kind of literature. one Twitter user tweeted in 2021 “the one red flag about me is that murakami is one of my favorite authors.” I can recall the reluctancy of one of my friends telling me that they loved reading machiavelli. The admiration of these titles is followed by apologetic tones by the selfaware and met with a tsk tsk towards the unknowing.

however, the appreciation of these kinds of books doesn’t necessarily need to glo rify these thematic ideas. complicity in a fractured system is not the result of reading literature that depicts its rawness. many books that make these “red flag” lists are enjoyed by a manifold of people who do not condone the acts or thoughts of the char acters. In fact, many books that commonly make these lists, such as this viral buzzfeed article, are often prescribed in reading lists for middle schools and high schools. While general popularity of something is by no means an indication that is acceptable and good, the heuristic wariness towards these novels is not entirely substantive. how can we pardon the grievances and mistakes of these classic characters and narrators, but simultaneously look down upon those that sympathize and grapple with the complexities of these texts? Why are we attempting to deter people from reading and judging their reading prefer ences based on some arbitrary standard?

Psychologically, people are drawn to antiheros and flawed characters. In an interview published by Psychology Today, researcher dara Greenwood shared that people exhibited high affinity for characters that are defined as such, particularly if they share any traits, such as machiavellianism. These characters are seen as more dynamic, and relatable as they are exhibit some of the unfavorable traits that many people are afraid to show.

There is nothing inherently wrong about reading and appreciating these texts, par ticularly because experiencing various backgrounds and perspectives develops critical thinking and analysis. In addition, these texts aren’t monolithic, but rather, can be interpreted a myriad of ways. on face value, while some of these texts may evoke strong reactions and contain negative connotations, the real harm comes from connecting such associations to the reader themself. suddenly, someone who is

holding a murakami novel, perhaps wishing to expand their translated fiction reading selection, is judged against the discourse surrounding the author’s depiction of women in literature. The reader then begins to take responsibility for the word choice and thematic imagery of the author and as sumes a nonreciprocal, martyr-like role. reading is supposed to be a place where one can assume many identities and experi ence multiple lifetimes. There is no need to be stratified or placed into a box based on reading preferences that are ultimately meant to expand discourse towards new ideas and concepts. A reader’s engagement with a text should not automatically be as sumed as an apology towards an author’s claims.

When we talk about judging a book by its cover, it is typically used to mean that the aesthetic appearance of a text shouldn’t be the substance of our opinion of the book. It requires us to expand upon our initial biases and disregard any facade to glean its “true meaning.” however, this judgment isn’t isolated to the physical appearance of the book but can extend to its ownership. This is an unnecessary and unfair judg ment, placing personal perceptions and interpretations upon a separated individual.

It’s easy to stereotype these texts, and subsequently people who outwardly admire them, but doing so with no discourse or further discussion just enables unfair biases in the literary world. There may be books that are downright disagreeable, but in most cases, one is able to access a new view point through this kind of literature, even if one doesn’t completely sympathize with the plights of these characters.

While this may not seem like an explicit, pervasive issue, it connects to the degra dation of other book genres, and othering of forms of literature that are deemed as less thought-provoking and intellectual.

“Airport books” are deemed as subservient, and thus, met with quick presuppositions. The problem festers when such judgments are correlated to the attitudes of the authors themselves, and their loyal readers. A book doesn’t need to be covered in accolade seals or venerated by one’s friends to be valuable. If a work of art has the power to move, it has value. refraining from conflating this value to the individuals who interact with the work is the true definition of abstaining from unwarranted judgment in the literary world.

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 lit erature under a contemporary lens. When she isn’t writing, she loves playing the vio lin, hiking in the PNW, going to concerts with friends and offering unsolicited book recommendations. Elizabeth always ap preciates hearing from readers, so feel free to reach out 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.

Andrew

Elizabeth Prater spark

By ANGELA MATHEW manager of Talent & Inclusion

When I told my friend about “The r abbit hutch” winning the national b ook Award, she naturally asked me what the book is about.

I grasped around for words but instead, vivid scenes flashed before my eyes. voodoo dolls drop ping from the ceiling, a white-haired girl obsessing over h ildegard von b ingen, a c atholic mystic and a son of a celebrity breaking into the homes of his enemies covered in nothing but glow-stick fluid. I finally said something like “It’s about four foster kids in a dying m idwestern town.”

b ut that description and even the more elegant one author Tess Gunty provides in various inter views — “a novel that follows a group of characters in a post-industrial city called vacca vale as their lives violently collide one summer night” — can’t begin to condense the expansive eccentricity of this novel.

vacca vale, the fictional town in Indiana where the novel is set, draws inspiration from r ust b elt towns like s outh b end, where Gunty grew up. vacca vale was once home to Zorn, a large automobile company not unlike s tudebaker, and the town left behind in its wake is riddled with unemployment and un-walkability. The novel follows the lives of different residents of r abbit hutch, an affordable housing complex.

b landine, an eighteen-year-old who just aged out of the foster care system, is the novel’s most inter esting character. s he contemplates using ‘amaran thine’ in a sentence and going down the rabbit hole of fiduciary law as she tweezes her leg hair. When she confronts her abuser, she gives him a m arxist reading of the power imbalance in their relation ship, even as the interaction leaves her shaking and distraught. s he is “so tired of contorting her emotions to fit her principles” and the fact that b landine’s angst, sensitivity and intellectualism are not at odds with each other makes her feel ut terly real.

Though b landine is at the heart of the novel, the true protagonist is the town itself: vacca vale. The polyphonic form allows us to inhabit the lives of different residents of the town like the lonely wom an who moderates an obituary website and a for mer Zorn technician and his wife who constantly snipe at each other. All of these stories, though they may not have much significance to the plot, add to a rich depiction of the emotional terrain of the postindustrial m idwest — and it’s definitely not flat.

Gunty’s metaphors capture these subtle but pal pable emotions. To describe a character getting defensive when posed with incriminating informa tion she writes, “she can see his body turning off the lights, drawing the curtains, locking itself up.” o thers are jigsaw puzzle pieces of language like “the booze and weed deconstructed Todd’s room,

rebuilt it into some kind of boat. I swayed.” They click together satisfyingly when you understand them.

In general, the novel is more like a collection of scenes that reveal the soul of a multifaceted town than a story with a definitive resolution. Particularly with b landine’s arc, there is a tanta lizing cliffhanger that I was wondering about for nearly half of the book that was ultimately left up to interpretation. To quote b landine (in a very dif ferent context), “my brain is addicted to the un resolved,” and I am still trying to figure out the motives of certain characters.

h owever, to read “The r abbit hutch” is not to in terrogate the relevance of each chapter but to savor its poetic prose and marinate in Gunty’s intrigu ing ideas about c atholicism, effective altruism, or phanhood and the extraction economy.

Contact Angela Mathew at amathew3@nd.edu

“The Rabbit Hutch”

Author: Tess Gunty

Publisher: Penguin Random House

If you liked: “All This Could Be Different” by Sarah Mathews, “NW” by Zadie Smith

By GABRIEL ZARAZUA s cene Writer

With the holiday season coming, what better way to spark up c hristmas cheer than to talk about a beach movie!

I only remember bits and pieces of “ s urf’s Up” from when I was kid, specifically a chicken and a killer soundtrack. b ut I can say that rewatching it as a 21-year-old, I ended the movie with more laughter and good life lessons than I remember.

In a mockumentary, 17-year-old penguin c ody m averick from Antarctica has dreams of being a professional surfer and winning the famed “ b ig Z m emorial” surfing contest on Pen-Gu Island. h is dreams started when he met the late “ b ig Z,” the most famous penguin surfer, before his death 10 years prior to the start of the film. c ody struggles with his dream due to the lack of support from his family and his penguin clan in Antarctica, only to struggle more amongst the crowds of surfers on Pen-Gu Island. h owever, c ody finds a mentor in Geek and friendships with Lani and c hicken Joe, who help him train for the contest throughout the rest of the film.

b esides the animation, “ s urf’s Up” is also unique since it’s framed as a documentary about the life of b ig Z. The team’s efforts to motion-capture camera

operator movements just make it more authentic. The whole film looks surprisingly beautiful for a c GI film made in 2007, with the best indicator be ing the ocean and every scene where the characters surf.

All the characters all stand out from one another in their own ways. c hicken Joe, while dim-witted, is always relaxed and could care less about the com petition. Instead, he lets the waves take over and goes with the flow of life. Geek is a clam-loving in trovert but wants to open up with the help of c ody. And, he eventually learns to love surfing again for reasons explained in the film.

o f course, the star of this film is c ody m averick, the penguin from s hiverpool, Antarctica who has ambitious dreams to be the best surfer out there. s urprisingly, I, and I’m sure many others in high school or college, can relate to c ody throughout the film. We had or still do have dreams that we all want to achieve in life. h owever, not everyone will agree or support your dream, instead putting you down and telling you to focus on other things.

o ne quote from the film stood out to me: “I don’t understand why everybody have to be so judgmen tal…Think it’s also partially ‘cause, everyone else is lookin’ at her like, ‘ h ey, c ody’s just a bum. c ody’s this. c ody’s that…’ c ody’s me, bro. Let me be me. When is that going to start?”

We all want to do what we love, to be ourselves and no one else. s o why is it so hard to do that nowadays?

Another surprise stand-out from this film is the soundtrack, featuring songs like “ s tand Tall” by d irty h eads, “ d rive” by Incubus and “You Get What You Give” by n ew r adicals. The whole soundtrack is a feel-good time, and I highly recommend checking it out on s potify.

Aside from all this, I believe the biggest lesson to take from this film is that you have to learn to enjoy life. While c ody’s dream is to win the contest, he learns that it is not the only goal in life. Instead, he learns to enjoy the sport he’s so passionate about and how to share that love with others. Life is too short to not enjoy it. Go do what you love this holi day season.

Contact Gabriel Zarazua at gzarazua@nd.edu

“Surf’s Up”

Starring: Shia LeBouf, Jeff Bridges

Directors: Chris Buck, Ash Brannon

Streaming: Hulu

Winter Scene Selectjons

THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS IN FULL SWING! HERE ARE SOME OF SCENE’S REFLECTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS TO BEGIN THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.

“HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK” ROSE ANDROWICH, SCENE WRITER

I’ve always loved the movie “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York”. Every season brings the essential films and TV episodes that you have to watch. Eventually I wore down my Mom and my 4 siblings with watching that movie every year. Last year my roommate Ari’s parents went out of town. Since she lives thirty minutes away we decided to have a sleepover at Ari’s house. Everyone got to pick a movie and it’s no surprise which one I picked. I loved the feeling of getting to share one of my favorite holiday traditions with my current roommates and my best friend Kayla. Bringing your traditions to college is pretty great and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” is the best “Home Alone” movie.

MORAL UTILITARIANISM AND DISNEY’S THE SANTA CLAUSE ANDY OTTONE, SCENE WRITER

You kill Santa, you become Santa. This simple rule was established in Disney’s The Santa Clause. But, murder is wrong. This simple rule was established by society, and logic. However, in comes moral utilitarianism: morality is defined by how much good and positivity your actions bring into the world. I’ve never studied ethics. What does this have to do with Santa? Killing is bad. Killing Santa? Even worse. That’s depriving people of joy and happiness and Christmas magic. From a utilitarian standpoint, that’s an incredibly bad action. However since you replace Santa Claus you are keeping an equal amount of good in the world as you are now tasked with his duties. Therefore not only do your actions cancel out, you yourself are bringing more joy into the world, creating a net moral positive in your individual case. This is why, if given the opportunity, you should kill Santa Claus.

HOT CHOCOLATE SOPHIA MICHETTI, SCENE WRITER

As we come into the full swing of the festive season, it’s time to break out the quintessential holiday drink: hot choc olate. Hot chocolate is the perfect accessory for your gloved hands in all settings, creating the perfect mood and keep ing you warm as you look in awe at the Christmas lights set against the permacloud sky. Everyone’s favorite winter drink is also the perfect way to get that much-needed sugar rush as you prepare for finals in the library. If you’re feeling extra spirited, you can even start listening to Tom Hanks’ classic bop “Hot Chocolate” from “The Polar Express” to maximize the joy hot chocolate brings. Although South Bend’s unpredictable weather may not give us a white Christmas this year, we can always rely on 20-minute GrubHub lines to provide us with those warm, chocolatey feels.

POP CHRISTMAS MUSIC

BY ALYSA GUFFEY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

It’s finally after Thanksgiving, which means it’s acceptable to blast Christmas music from early in the morning to late at night. Let’s all agree – holiday classics like “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside always hit. But, what about when you want something a little fresh, a little different to jam to? Enter the ultimate short list of modern Christmas pop songs:

“Like It’s Christmas” by the Jonas Brothers

“Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande

“Officially Christmas” by Dan + Shay

“Christmas Time” by Bryan Adams

“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Michael Buble

“Christmas Isn’t Canceled (Just You) by Kelly Clarkson

GABRIEL

Happy Birthday: A positive and open attitude will help you navigate the ups and downs this year. Don’t let being too trusting be your downfall. Be resourceful. r esearch and verify every bit of information you receive from outside sources. focus on your goals, not the people trying to get you to change or be a follower. your numbers are 7, 18, 22, 26, 31, 37, 44.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Pay attention to what’s happening around you and pitch in and help. your input will influence the outcome and position you for unexpected opportunities. Business trips or meetings will enlighten and encourage you to acquire additional knowledge and skills.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): you’ll be confused by what you want to do. g et an early start and eliminate the problem of running out of time. Put your muscle where it counts and your energy into success, not disagreement. Change only what’s necessary.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Build momentum and show everyone what you’ve got to offer. Put your best foot forward, and don’t trust anyone to handle matters for you. Shape your future with innovative ideas and handson methods that allow you to maintain control. r omance is favored.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Build momentum and show everyone what you’ve got to offer. Put your best foot forward, and don’t trust anyone to handle matters for you. Shape your future with innovative ideas and handson methods that allow you to maintain control. r omance is favored.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Build momentum and show everyone what you’ve got to offer. Put your best foot forward, and don’t trust anyone to handle matters for you. Shape your future with innovative ideas and hands-on methods that allow you to maintain control. r omance is favored.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Change begins with you, so don’t let anyone else decide your next move. Mull over your options and study the ramifications. Compensate to ensure everything you want to do runs smoothly. Protect your home and family from risky situations.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Size up your situation and use your attributes to get ahead. A good idea executed with finesse and enthusiasm will draw positive attention and help you make a positive difference. Physical fitness and a healthy diet will help you look your best.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Take care of responsibilities before someone asks you to get moving. Build a stellar reputation by going above and beyond the call of duty. Set the standard instead of lowering the bar. Deal with sensitive issues carefully. keep the peace.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Do for yourself and avoid disappointment. you’ll be prodded to do things that don’t suit you. Set high standards, and don’t stop until you are happy with the results. Express your feelings and follow your heart.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A proposal that sounds smashingly good will have hidden drawbacks. Play it safe and back away from any dubious or costly situations. If you want a change, make your surroundings comfortable. Explore the best way to update your qualifications.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don’t hide your feelings. Speak up, share your intentions and find out where you stand. your drive, insight and desire to get ahead will have a lasting impression on someone who can help you advance. Self-improvement and personal growth are encouraged.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Be careful what you wish for and who you share with today. Someone will intentionally misinterpret you if given a chance. Choose your words wisely, and promise only what you want and know you can fulfill. Arguing will lead to an unnecessary feud.

Birthday Baby: you are demonstrative, optimistic and inventive. you are changeable and dynamic.

Jumble | DAvID hOyT AND JEff kNurEk

sudoku | ThE MEPhAM grOuP

‘self inflicted wounds’: Irish fall 38-27 at Usc

By MANNION McGINLEY Assistant managing e ditor

Los AnGeLes — on a night when they faced college football’s heisman favorite, notre dame football needed perfection and didn’t quite attain it, falling to Usc 38-27 at the coliseum. head coach marcus Freeman said he was dis appointed in the loss, feeling the Irish didn’t play at their best and could have fared better if they did.

“You want to see how you com pare against a team like that when you’re playing at your best,” Freeman said. “We didn’t play at our best. A couple self-inflicted wounds, we turned the ball over twice, the turn over on downs in the first half and defensively we didn’t stop the run.”

Without those pieces, the Irish couldn’t keep up with Usc quar terback caleb Williams and his offensive line that gave him seem ingly infinite time. Usc opened the game from their own 25 but didn’t stay there long. Two reverse plays and a convincing faked handoff later, the Trojans broke into the end zone before five minutes passed. receiver Tahj Washington caught an 11-yard pass from Williams, div ing just inside the pylon to score. The Trojan pace set the tone for the night on both sides of the ball.

It took the Irish a few drives to work up to that speed though. From their own eight, the Irish opened with quite the opposite energy. diggs refused to go down twice, bringing the Irish to third and 2, but on his third carry, the Trojans read it right away and forced a punt from notre dame’s own 12, leaving Usc a short field to answer, starting at their own 49.

And answer they did. despite repeated pressure from senior linebacker Jd bertrand, Williams found Austin Jones to bring the Trojans to the Irish two-yard line. After a few penalties shook out to hurt the Trojans, denis Lynch bur ied a field goal to put Usc up 10-0. on this drive, the Irish were inch es from snagging a fumble recov ery. Wide receiver Jordan Addison fumbled after a 23-yard gain, but he scooped it back to his chest and was ruled down, milliseconds be fore the Irish punched it out again. on the previous drive, senior safety brandon Joseph ripped the ball out

Pyne

were just trying to control what we control.”

Ultimately what the Irish of fense could feasibly even have controlled was barely enough to match the Trojans blow for blow. Thus, the game script demanded virtual offensive perfection. And in a regular season full of twists, turns and imperfection, Pyne and the offense were close to perfec tion. but a performance demon strating vast improvement from the offense’s early and midseason form came up two snaps shy of

of Usc running back Austin Jones’ hands. Jones was ruled down. It’s been part of the Irish storyline all year. Penalties negated two turn overs against cal earlier this year, and the Irish failed to recover two forced fumbles in the loss to stanford.

Irish find a groove

To start their second drive, the Irish faced a quick third and 2 again. diggs carried and this time converted. on second and 6, ju nior quarterback drew Pyne hit Audric estime through the air and the sophomore running back took off for 30 yards. As time ran out though, the Irish marked a fifth scoreless first quarter.

Yet another third and 2 sat in front of the Irish as the second quarter started. drew Pyne scram bled avoiding several tackles but ultimately couldn’t get the first. on a fourth down attempt, “mitch-apalooza” failed for the first time.

With tight end mitchell evans inches short of the first, the Irish remained scoreless and turned it over on downs. before this, evans’ play under center was perfect.

“We felt really confident trying it again on a fourth and one situa tion. That was the plan,” Freeman said. “To do it on a fourth and one, in plus territory and we didn’t get it. We’ll have to go back and see what they did to stop it but we just didn’t get the surge we needed.”

With 13:52 left in the half, the Trojans took the ball back at their own 26. After a Jones carry, fresh man corner benjamin morrison deflected Williams’ pass to brenden rice, forcing a third down. The Trojans were able to convert again though as Williams hit michael Jackson III. several quarterback hurries and a Jayson Ademilola sack later though, Williams received the snap, this time to punt rather than throw. The Irish forced the Trojans off the field in 2 minutes and 45 seconds.

on a fourth attempt at third and 2, the Irish converted behind diggs again with 9:50 to go in the half. Two plays later, Pyne found sopho more wide receiver deion colzie 30 yards downfield to convert on a third and 10. chris Tyree brought the Irish just outside the red zone which was enough for Pyne to find michael mayer in the end zone on

accomplishing a daunting task.

one fourth-down stop, one brutal, avoidable and self-inflicted mistake. one 11-point loss.

That’s the margin of error in games between great opponents, and Pyne and a young Irish of fense saw that firsthand in the coliseum.

There will be expectations that the Irish build on that growth in 2023, and saturday night was a big first step. but before that, notre dame gets one more shot in 2022, and it comes with an opportu nity to display sustained offensive improvement against a strong opponent.

“We have a lot to play for, still.

the next snap. The junior tight end caught a 22-yard pass for six points. Graduate student kicker blake Grupe kicked the extra point to a chorus of “Let’s Go Irish” cheers from the visiting Irish fans. notre dame officially made it on the board with 6:14 left in the half. Trojans 10, Irish 7.

USC offense, opportunis tic defense strike

Usc marched downfield again, milking clock despite the Irish pressuring Williams. Forced to scramble, he found Addison on the Irish 25. Then, Jones rushed for an other first down to the Irish 13 and, after a defensive holding call, the Trojans snapped from the Irish 5. Junior lineman riley mills became the next Irish defender to bite on the fake handoff and Williams kept it for a score. The heisman favorite broke out the trophy’s pose in cel ebration and with 0:34 left in the half, extended the Trojan lead back to 1o points, 17-7. Pyne scrambled to pass to Lorenzo styles for an Irish first down at the notre dame 27. The next play though, Pyne took a sack and ended the first half with a whimper.

The offense came out in the sec ond half with a bang. Pyne found mayer through the air twice be hind definitive pass protection for two chunk plays to bring the Irish to the Trojan 39. behind three runs, the Irish earned another first down. Just when it looked like the Irish would turn the tide and score, Pyne lost control of the ball while looking to complete a quick pass on a run-pass option play. Trojan line backer ralen Goforth jumped on it.

“The fumble at the very first se ries [of the half] in their territory, obviously that killed us,” Freeman said. “Those can’t happen. They can’t happen. They do something spectacular and they create a take away, good for them but for us to give the ball away on a self-inflicted wound, those are inexcusable.”

Pyne’s fumble ultimately changed the Irish tune. As quickly as notre dame marched, Usc did faster. behind a pass to mario Williams and two runs from Austin Jones, the Trojans were suddenly inside the Irish 5 again. Another disguised run lost the Irish defense inside the five and raleek brown waltzed in for a touchdown, 24-7.

We’re gonna be in a bowl game, and I want to send these seniors out the right way…I’m gonna pre pare for that, to finish the season out on a positive note,” Pyne said.

“I’m proud of how we fought to day, I’m proud of how we fought all season. I’m really proud of our team. In a month, when the game comes up, we’re going to finish it in the right way.”

Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu

From then, rather than bouncing between 10 and three points, the score would swing between a 10 and 17-point Irish deficit.

Caleb Williams too much, Irish can’t keep pace

With 8:21 left in the third, the Irish start at their own 25 before estime runs twice, all the way to the Usc 46. Another pass to styles converses a 16-yard first down. The Irish found themselves back where Pyne dropped the ball but this time, the quarterback found colzie in the back corner of the end zone for a score. The Irish lead cut back to 10 again, 24-14. With the Trojans back on the field, Freeman said the Irish needed a stop to give the offense a chance. The stop never came through.

“It’s difficult to play catch up to any team but when you’re not able to stop their offense it’s extremely difficult and we weren’t able to do that at critical points of the game today,” Freeman said.

After several first downs, most of the yards on the ground behind Austin Jones who ultimately ran 25 times for 154 yards, Williams performed what had become a well-known magic trick. Again, despite intense pressure from the Irish defense, Williams success fully scrambled away from several tackles and brought the Trojans to the Irish 20.

“he has the ability to extend plays and keep the play alive even though it really should be a dead play,” bertrand said of Williams. “but he can escape the pocket and still just keep it going.”

Another run from Jones brought the Trojans to the Irish nine. Williams found Lake mcree — his eighth different receiver of the night — for six yards to end the third quarter. Williams would take it himself to get back in the end zone for the fourth Trojan touchdown of the night. Again, Williams went untouched to bring the Trojan total to 31 points. notre dame struggled to tackle caleb Williams all night, as the heisman favorite ran for 54 yards and three touchdowns.

Late interception seals Irish fate

The Irish had 14:53 left in the game to make something hap pen. Pyne found mayer twice

Dual threats

will find new success as recruits come into a well-established system. Assuming Golden and Freeman make extended stays, there is a lot of room for the Irish to grow. And, this defense has found success in the last two years; that is obvious. often the Irish are making more than enough stops, and plenty of late-game ones that matter. but

for a first down before underthrowing styles. That was Pyne’s first incompletion of the night. he ultimately went 23 for 26 on the night while throwing for 318 yards. on second down, he found sophomore receiver Jayden Thomas for 16 and then graduate receiver braden Lenzy for 25 to bring the Irish to the Trojan 21. A holding call on the Trojans brought the Irish to the Usc 11. There, Tyree and diggs carried once each, with diggs finding the end zone. Ultimately, the drive took seven plays for 75 yards and the Irish took 3:24 off the clock.

off another touchback, the Trojans started again from their 25. Austin Jones led off for the Trojan attack again before caleb Williams found brenden rice on third down. rice broke the tackle attempt of freshman cornerback Jaden mickey, and the 25-yard catch became 40 as mickey was charged with a facemask penalty. A delay of game and two holding penalties stalled the drive. The Trojans took the field at the notre dame 36, 15 yards short of the line to gain on fourth down. Again, Williams kicked a short punt.

From the 10, the Irish attempt ed to begin an unlikely come back, fighting the clock. Two imperfect passes from Pyne led to a messy incompletion on an at tempt to mayer and then an inter ception at the Usc 25. entirely on the ground, the Trojans found the end zone again on Williams’ third rushing touchdown.

In a last-ditch effort, styles took off on the kick return for 37 yards. After a holding penalty, Pyne re gained composure to throw three successful passes to bring the Irish to midfield. Following that, Pyne found colzie and mayer again for over 20 yards each. First, colzie snagged a ball in the middle of the field for 22 yards. Then, Pyne found mayer in the end zone from 24 yards out. At 27 points, the Irish couldn’t convert on the two-point attempt.

To close a night of tough swings for the Irish, Usc recovered the onside kick and knelt to cap the night off, 38-27.

Contact Mannion McGinley at mccginl3@nd.edu

so far, a defense under Freeman doesn’t seem to have an answer to the dual-threat quarterback with a trusty running back at his side. The more evidence that piles up, the sooner other teams will figure that out, and there doesn’t seem to be a clear path forward for the locker room to address this concern.

Contact Mannion McGinley at mmcginl3@nd.edu.

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

The Observer accepts classifieds every business day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Notre Dame office, 024 South Dining Hall. Deadline for next-day classifieds is 3 p.m. All classifieds must be prepaid. The charge is 5 cents per character per day, including all spaces. The Observer reserves the right to edit all classifieds for content without issuing refunds.

Irish look to bounce back against No. 20 Michigan State

By MATTHEW CROW sports Writer

on Wednesday night, notre dame men’s basketball faces its toughest test to date as they host no. 20 michigan state. on the heels of their first loss of the season, the Irish will look to get back in the winning column with a marquee victory against a battle-tested spartan team. The game comes as part of the final iteration of the Acc big Ten challenge, as it was announced earlier in the week that the event will be replaced by the Acc sec challenge next season.

The Irish (5-1) enter the matchup having split their pre vious two games. Last Tuesday, notre dame led bowling Green by just one point with under eight minutes to play but con tinued the habit of playing their best basketball during crunch time. The Irish used a decisive 17-0 run to coast to an 82-66 win that was much closer than the score would indicate.

on Friday afternoon, notre dame saw their undefeated start slip away in their first trip away from Purcell Pavilion. Facing st. bonaventure in a neutral site matchup, the Irish struggled to find their footing offensively in a 63-51 defeat. notre dame converted on just 2 of 17 threepoint attempts, uncharacteristic for a team that had previously averaged nearly 80 points per game behind strong perim eter shooting. on monday, Irish head coach mike brey spoke about how the bonnies took his team out of their comfort zone offensively.

“I think there’s no question that the ball pressure bothered

ND WOMEN’S BASkEtBAll

us, the athletic ability pushed us out a little bit. You get off to a horrible start and you’re kind of uptight,” brey said. “We’re strug gling to find that rhythm.”

The Irish will need to find it fast as they prepare for michigan state (5-2), who has been among the nation’s most im pressive teams this season. The spartans, unranked in the pre season, have ascended the polls after holding their own against an unforgiving early schedule. michigan state has picked up wins against no. 19 Kentucky, v illanova and oregon, while their losses have come in tight contests against no. 14 Gonzaga and no. 11 Alabama. After con secutive wins to close out the Phil Knight Invitational last week, the spartans will look to keep rolling in what will be their first true road game of the season.

Wednesday’s game pits notre dame against their first ranked opponent as well as their first from a major conference. brey made no attempt to downplay the game’s significance but did not want the Irish to be mentally bogged down by the high stakes at hand.

“These are your power games now, you have a great opportu nity here,” brey said, speaking on the michigan state game and the Irish’s upcoming Acc opener against syracuse. “It’s a fine line of [paying] attention to detail but being loose and going for it. Playing but not playing with the weight of the world. I think that’s kind of the balance point that you try to strike with these guys.”

Luckily, the Irish roster is loaded with players that have experience in finding that

balance. Graduate students nate Laszewski, dane Goodwin, Trey Wertz and cormac ryan all played key roles in the team’s run to the second round of last year’s nc AA Tournament. After strong starts to the season offensively, particularly from Laszewski and Goodwin, the quartet struggled to put the ball in the basket against st. bonaventure, com bining to shoot under 30% from the floor. brey is confident that the veteran core will shake off the tough night and return to the high level of play that they exhib ited to start the season.

“This is why they came back, for these kinds of games,” brey said. “I trust them because the four of them have been in big games and great atmospheres here.”

ryan described his excitement for a primetime game in front of notre dame’s home crowd.

“I think Wednesday will be fun,” ryan said. “We love play ing in [Purcell]. our students are amazing and our fanbase has been really strong for as long as I can remember.”

While the veterans will need to be at their best against michigan state, notre dame has gotten a boost by the play of its fresh men in the last week. Against bowling Green, JJ starling erupt ed for a career-high 23 points while missing just one field goal attempt. starling added six re bounds, three assists and three steals in the best all-around performance of his young ca reer. he, along with the rest of the Irish, struggled to find his shot on Friday, but appears more comfortable by the day as he es tablishes himself as one of the Acc’s best rookies.

Freshman forward ven-Allen Lubin was arguably notre dame’s top performer against st. bonaventure. coming off the bench, he secured his first career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. The Irish cur rently rank last in the Acc (and no. 343 nationally) in rebound ing. Lubin’s status as the team’s only true interior player makes his play critical against michigan state, especially on the glass. Lubin spoke about his blossom ing confidence in his first season with the Irish.

“I feel like my role here is really important to this team,” Lubin said. “If I continue to produce the way that I did last game, I feel like I can make an impact here.” ryan reinforced the im portance of Lubin’s game as a change of pace for notre dame’s perimeter-oriented roster.

“ven’s been amazing,” ryan said. “I think he brings physical ity and athleticism to our group. We need him playing with con fidence just like everybody else.” on monday, brey said that notre dame’s shooting woes against st. bonaventure can be partly attributed to exhaustion, as just six players have absorbed nearly all of the team’s minutes. They are unlikely to find any relief on Wednesday, as brey in dicated that graduate student guard marcus hammond, who has yet to play this season as he recovers from an mcL sprain, is a “longshot” to take the floor against the spartans. hammond has practiced this week and is on track to return saturday against syracuse.

battling that fatigue will be just as important on the de fensive end, where the Irish

will look to slow down a highpowered spartan attack. senior guard Tyson Walker (15.6 ppg, 4.6 apg) does much of the dam age for michigan state. senior forward Joey hauser (13.9 ppg, 47.2 3P%) is one of the nation’s premier shooters. Limiting hauser’s long-range opportu nities will be key for the Irish, whose “bend, but don’t break” defense has focused on pre venting threes at the expense of allowing easy two-point oppor tunities. After struggling defen sively to start the season, notre dame has held its last three op ponents under 70 points. A sim ilar effort, coupled with a return to form in terms of shooting, will put the Irish in position to take down the spartans.

Wednesday night’s game pres ents many opportunities for notre dame. The Irish have the chance to get back in the win ning column after their first de feat, to earn their first marquee win and to begin the seasonlong task of building an nc AA Tournament-worthy resume. ryan is confident that the team will be at their best.

“That’s why you play the game. You want to play big games, big-time opponents, especially when you have a team as good as we do. You want to go up and see what you’re made of, go up and battle against great teams,” ryan said. “We obviously know what we’re capable of and we’re ready for it.”

notre dame faces michigan state on Wednesday night at Purcell Pavilion. Tip-off is sched uled for 9:15 p.m. on esPn2.

Contact Matthew Crow at mcrow@nd.edu

Irish take on first battle of season against no. 14 maryland

By OLIVIA SCHATZ Associate sports e ditor

With an undefeated start to their season, the no. 7 notre dame women’s basketball team advances to face no. 20 maryland on Thursday in the Acc /b1G c hallenge.

The Terrapins are coming off of a two-game win streak against Towson (81-70) and Pitt (87-63) and have a solid 6-2 record on the season so far. And while maryland did lose to d ePaul, their only other loss came to no. 1 s outh c arolina.

This will be notre dame’s first ranked opponent and it will serve as a litmus test for the remainder of the season.

The Irish are also coming

off a series of impressive wins, their most recent being a dominating 85-65 win against Arizona state. The leader in points was graduate trans fer center Lauren e bo with 20 points, followed by sophomore guard s onia c itron with 15 and freshman guard KK bransford with 14. Junior forward maddy Westbeld and sophomore guard olivia m iles tied with 6 assists on the night. This is all with Westbeld not playing as much time as usual for the forward.

o n the season, notre dame’s closest game was against c al, with a 11-point difference. every other victory has been by 20+ points. The Irish have been winning their game by an

average of 25 points per game. And while the Terrapins are their first ranked opponent, the Irish talent is certainly deep enough to persevere. nine players average at least nine minutes per game over the first six games. And, as they look to play their first ranked op ponent, they must use all that depth to secure another win. however, maryland is a wor thy contender. d iamond m iller is their leading scorer with an average of 17.6 points a game. c omparatively, m iles leads the Irish with 16 points, and both teams’ second scorer – c itron for nd and Abby meyers for maryland – has an average of 15.3 points per game.

b oth teams are coming off

wins at neutral-site games.

The Terrapins and the Irish both have a daunting sched ule ahead and, with talent on both sides of the court, both teams expect to make it far in the season. m aryland is currently on a run, making it to the e lite e ight in 2021 and s weet s ixteen again last year. however, the Irish are still rebuilding their roster with head coach n iele Ivey. e ven so, after missing the nc AA Tournament in 2021, the Irish made it to the s weet s ixteen last year.

With a win, notre dame es tablishes themselves as a dom inant figure in the nc AA and keeps their hot streak going, ahead of a top-10 battle with

Uc onn on sunday.

After maryland, Ivey’s squad will face no. 3 c onnecticut at home. The huskies also have a daunting 5-0 record on the season, and are expected to make it far through the year.

b oth teams are both off to a solid start to their season. Although this game will not determine either team’s nc AA tournament rankings, both teams are looking to establish themselves for future games.

The notre dame women’s basketball team will face off against the maryland Terrapins on Thursday, d ec. 1, at Purcell Pavillion.

Contact Olivia Schatz at oschatz@nd.edu

dual threats frustrate Irish

Mannion McGinley Assistant managing e ditor

notre dame football has been a defense-oriented program for most of its history. From the miami pass breakup in 1988 and the goal line stand in 2012, to this year’s bYU fourth down stop and the clemson routing that featured both a pick-six and a blocked punt; there have been games won by the Irish defense, sometimes in spite of the offense. This weekend, however, the of fense almost won the game in spite of the defense. now it wasn’t for lack of trying. The Irish hurried Williams all day and were able to force two punts from the heisman favorite and his stellar offense. but, when it came down to it, the inability to manage the dual threat and tackle the ball carrier quickly cost the Irish the game. caleb Williams threw for 232 yards while picking up 35 yards with his feet (more if you consider how many circles he ran in). beside him, Austin Jones picked apart the Irish, averaging six yards a carry for 154 total.

The issues with the dual-threat quarterback and a star running back were not new, only amplified from earlier in the season. henry colombi and Khalan Laborn quite literally gave the Irish a run for their money in game two of the season. While colombi didn’t get as much yardage on the ground as Williams did, he scrambled long enough for players to get open and to threaten the Irish that he may turn upfield. Laborn took advantage of that and brought home 163 yards, including a touchdown.

When cal came to visit notre dame stadium, Jack Plummer did more of the work himself racking up 184 yards through the air and 34 on the ground. coupled with a substantial performance from decarlos brooks, the defense let up 17 points by the end of the third, and it took the Irish offense until late in the game to turn the tide.

In several of my picks this season, I was worried the Irish wouldn’t be able to prepare for a quarterback they didn’t know as well (as the back half of the season saw sev eral capable backup quarterbacks).

This only seemed an issue against navy, when third-string Qb maasai maynor introduced a real passing option into the existing triple op tion mix. The junior could turn to daba Fofana who had 133 yards on the day but also completed 51 yards through the air in the fourth quarter alone, helping the midshipmen to put up 19 unanswered points. had the Irish offense not controlled the clock, notre dame would’ve been in more trouble than a 35-32 final.

Zooming out even further, the issue is not contained to 2022 but occurred in 2021 as well. since it became a Freeman-led defense, the Irish have had trouble with dualthreat quarterbacks. The main ag gressors last year were sam howell and the Tarheels, desmond ridder and the bearcats and spencer

sanders and the cowboys.

Well, it was them — and their starting running backs.

Against howell, the Irish offense stepped out first with early scoring, up 17-13 at the half. The then-draft prospect put up 341 yards though and ran for 101. When he didn’t have the ball, Ty chandler took it for 83 yards, keeping the Tarheels in the conversation. but, early Irish of fense pulled through.

ridder and sanders found a way to control the game and the score. ridder caused the first home loss for every student on campus. The cincinnati star was unstoppable throwing for 297 yards and running for 26 and a touchdown but scram bling for more. he was boosted by Jerome Ford who used 17 carries to steal 71 yards from the Irish. The day never turned positive for the Irish as notre dame found itself shut out at the half and down 17. The offense pulled through to cut that to 11, but cincinnati controlled the clock and the Irish defense couldn’t stop time — or ridder.

The most obvious of these issues (besides this weekend) showed up in last year’s bowl game. At half, spencer sanders figured out this flaw in the Irish game and the quar terback was able to light up the scoreboard behind 496 all-purpose yards, 371 passing and 125 rushing. When forced out of the pocket, the Irish couldn’t find a way to bring him down, stuck between the op tions. one of those options was Jaylen Warren, yet another suc cessful running back behind a dual threat. Warren took 82 yards from the Irish over the game, 57 of which came in the second half, compli mentary of sanders.

The Irish have been plagued by this inability since the start of the 2021 season. It begs the question of whether this is an issue with the current personnel or with the style of coaching. Freeman discusses consistently that execution needs to start with him. but, even when he has a plan to execute, does that mean the roster he has is ready to deliver? Is it just because both of the last two years have been transi tional for the defense? do Irish fans need to wait for Freeman-style re cruits to come in? or, can the young Irish make the changes now?

saturday’s performance show cased a split answer to the last one. Xavier Watts looked confident with nine tackles, but young star ben morrison didn’t look as good as usu al and Jaden mickey — who had to step in and start for an injured cam hart — spent most of the evening well off his receiver, so he did not lose him deep. In the process though, he was giving up short first downs left and right as he missed several tack les and only made two. Additionally, the Irish boast an experienced front seven. With that experience comes the potential to leave. What does that mean for the Irish as they try to replace that talent?

maybe, in that regard, the Irish

Pyne flips script, shows capability to dominate

By AIDAN THOMAS sports e ditor

All year, notre dame junior quarterback drew Pyne has been judged by virtually everything but the final result. After taking over as the starter, Pyne won eight of his first nine games. he did this without gaudy numbers. Pyne never threw for 300 yards in those nine games. during a three-game winning streak, Pyne completed just 32 of 64 total pass attempts for four touchdowns and two interceptions.

on five occasions, the former four-star didn’t eclipse 156 yards passing. he had a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage in ev ery game, and he missed open receivers with underthrows. Yet, with one exception, the Irish kept winning. Pyne seemed to find the clutch gene when he needed it.

There was the clemson game when the Irish really didn’t or chestrate any offense all half, leading 7-0 on a special teams touchdown late in the second quarter. Then Pyne notched the final 26 yards of a 78-yard drive, running twice for 15 and com pleting an 11-yard pass. Then, up 28-7, Pyne drove the dagger into clemson’s back with a scoring strike to junior tight end michael mayer in the fourth. or against syracuse, when Pyne completed three straight passes for 51 yards and a touchdown in a critical end-of-half drive to seize control against the then-no. 16 orange. Throwing it back to his first career start, Pyne led the Irish to just seven first-half points. on three straight scoring drives to start the second half, the junior completed eight of nine passes for 85 yards, leading notre dame to 17 points and a 24-17 win.

All season long, Pyne showed flashes, putting it together in big moments and slowly pulling the Irish season back on track. on saturday, however, it was almost the opposite. For almost all of four quarters, Pyne dazzled. he com pleted his first 15 passes. on the day, he finished 23 of 26 for 318 yards. criticized for his downfield passing, Pyne completed eight passes that were aired out at least 18 yards past the line of scrim mage. Throw in a short pass to Audric estime for 30 yards, and Pyne completed nine passes, in cluding three touchdowns, for 18 or more yards.

“Yeah, we went empty [back field] a lot. We kind of knew what [Usc’s] check was to empty,” Pyne said of the downfield pass ing success. “We worked that all week, coach rees had great plays against it and we were just able to execute.”

From a box score standpoint, the Irish piled up impressive numbers. They were outgained by just 33 yards, earned one less first down and punted one less time. even on the ground, the Irish

generated a couple of big plays. Audric estime broke off a 24-yard run and a key nine-yard rush on third down. chris Tyree set up the Irish’s first touchdown with an 18-yard run. For large portions of its time on offense, notre dame moved the ball at will.

Pyne demonstrated trust in more than just mayer, finding sophomores Lorenzo styles and deion colzie for chunk gains on several occasions. colzie notched three catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. he converted a 3rd and 10, a 2nd and 20 and also scored a touchdown on his three catches. Pyne targeted styles five times, completing four passes to the sophomore, often short pass es at or behind the line of scrim mage. styles responded to the trust by racking up 36 yards after the catch.

“I think it’s credit to them. They’re two young guys who just work their tails off nonstop. We work in practice, after practice. I worked that with deion during the week, throwing a high ball up to him in the red zone,” Pyne noted. “Those guys come to work every single day with a positive attitude...They’re some of my best friends. That chemistry of being close with them...translates on the field and in all the work we put in during the week.”

however, when it comes down to it, this game will be remem bered for two fatal offensive mistakes. rather than stretches of frustration with moments of brilliance, it was long stretches of brilliance with two moments of frustration. on the second drive of the game, Pyne couldn’t evade pressure enough to convert a 3rd and 2, falling a yard short of the first down. notre dame opted to go for it rather than try a 44-yard field goal and failed. That kept the deficit at 10 points. From there, the Irish offense did get going, but they had limited opportunities, getting just one more full drive in the half. They converted that one for seven points over nine plays and 80 yards. but Usc responded and kept a double-digit lead at halftime. coming out in the sec ond half, the overwhelming sense was that notre dame needed to score after receiving the kickoff. Usc was controlling the clock and marching at will. The Irish needed to minimize the number of stops required of their defense. And Pyne and co. obliged for the first seven plays of the drive. backto-back completions to mayer ac counted for 35 yards, and the Irish quickly marched down to the red zone. There, Pyne kept the ball on a read-pass-option and looked to distribute it quickly to a running back in the flat. Instead, he never fully gripped the ball, dropping it for an easy Usc fumble recov ery. The Trojans subsequently mashed the Irish defense for 74 yards on seven plays and a touch down. notre dame never again

came closer than 10 points.

“I think Usc is a great team. That was a really good team we played out there. They’re going to go on and do great things the rest of the season,” Pyne said. “caleb Williams is a great player, their defense is good. They are a great team, but so are we and they got the best of us tonight.”

Pyne’s answer was in response to a question about whether it was fair to boil the game down to just two or three key moments. Pyne’s assessment of two great teams battling it out signaled a seem ingly tacit agreement with the statement. Usc wasn’t necessar ily the better team. If notre dame executes on two more plays in this game, it’s an entirely different storyline.

If the Irish take the points rather than go for it on fourth down, or just convert the fourth down, the game may have been 10-3. Given the lethal nature of notre dame’s second-half offense, a touch down had the ill-fated fumble not occurred seems likely. That’s a 10-point swing. All of which goes to say that for all of caleb Williams’ heisman brilliance, the Irish were two snaps away from having the ball with six minutes left in a 31-31 game. or, if you want to be picky, maybe Usc operates a little differently on its lone sec ond-half punt if the score is tied and the Trojans score. still a onepossession game.

but with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, down 10, it felt lost. Usc had only one nongame-ending possession last under three minutes, meaning if that held, notre dame would have needed to score twice in just over three minutes of game time. cramped for time, Pyne forced a throw while scrambling, firing the game-sealing interception.

Pyne’s season? Inconsistent and frustrating but shored up by an ability to generally deliver when absolutely needed. Against Usc? Pyne and the Irish offense deliv ered all game only to beat them selves in two critical moments.

It demonstrates growth — notre dame’s oft-critiqued of fense was extremely close to going punch-for-punch with a heisman candidate and one of the best of fenses in the country.

The same offense and the same quarterback that earlier this year frequently looked punch less against the likes of cal and stanford. It’s hard to score 38 points in 24 minutes and 37 sec onds with an average starting field position that is 16 yards worse than your opponent. defensively, the Irish looked outclassed by an opposing offense for the whole game, the first time that’s hap pened all year.

“We were just trying to focus on execution,” Pyne said of playing from behind the whole game. “We

The Christmas Lecture

Unwrap the Magic of Science: A Gift to the Community from the College of Science

The first 50 guests will receive a free Notre Dame Science T-shirt!

MATHEMATICAL STORYTELLING FEATURING JORDAN ELLENBERG

Friday, December 2, 2022 | 105 Jordan Hall of Science

5:30 pm Book Sales Begin in the Jordan Galleria 6 pm The Christmas Lecture Presentation: Mathematical Storytelling with Jordan Ellenberg 7 pm Reception & Book Signing

Free and open to the public Parking available in the Joyce and Stadium lots after 5 pm

How can you stop a pandemic from sweeping the world? Can ancient Greek proportions predict the stock market? And why is learning to play chess so much easier for computers than learning to read a sentence? Math, according to Ellenberg, helps every kind of thinker think better—it hones our intuition, sharpens our judgment, tames uncertainty, and lets us see the deeper structure and logic of our world.

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Jordan Ellenberg, the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and New York Times best selling author says, “Math is the science of not being wrong. It touches everything we do.”

MAGGIE