Print Edition for The Observer for Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Ukrainian Catholic University Dean visits
Volodymyr
By GRAY NOCJAR Associate News Editor
On Tuesday afternoon, Volodymyr Turchynovskyy, dean of the social sciences faculty at the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) in Lviv, Ukraine, sat down with Nitesh Chawla, founding director of the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Safety, for a fireside chat on Ukrainian resilience and university partnerships in the Hesburgh Center Auditorium.
Turchynovskyy opened with a brief history of UCU, describing the myriad conflicts which the school had endured since its founding as the Lviv Theological Academy in
speaks on challenges of leading university in wartime, resilience and advocacy
1929. The academy had been shut down by the German and Soviet occupations of Ukraine, and its faculty and students suffered deportations or imprisonments in the Gulag. The modern university was founded in 2002.
“War doesn’t give you any safe place,” Turchynovskyy said. “This is interesting because I often physically can feel that being here, that something that’s a different thing.”
He described his first encounter with Notre Dame at a meeting with professor of international affairs James McAdams in 2005.
see UKRAINE PAGE 4
Actress Phylicia Rashad speaks at Saint Mary’s
The award winning actress gave a lecture to students, faculty and community members, who filled the entire O’Laughlin Auditorium to hear her speak on her career, including her time at
By AYNSLEE DELLACCA
Saint
Mary’s News Editor
On Monday evening in the O’Laughlin Auditorium, award-winning actress and stage director Phylicia Rashad visited Saint Mary’s as part of the College’s Margaret Hill Visiting Artist
series. In addition to participating in a Q&A session led by the department chair for theatre, professor Mark Abram-Copenhaver, Rashad led a theater master class for Saint Mary’s students and met privately with various students and faculty throughout the day.
Rashad has been nominated and won various Tony, Primetime Emmy, NAACP Image and People’s Choice awards for her acting on Broadway, television and film. She is most known for her theatrical performances
ND ticket office prepares for CFP
Observer Staff Report
Following a thrilling 49-35 victory over the University of Southern California Trojans, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish now appear set to host a home football playoff game on Dec. 20 or 21. As students write their last essays and prepare for their final exams, they may also look forward to attending the first playoff game ever played at Notre Dame Stadium.
On Nov. 25, Notre Dame Athletics sent an email to students announcing the student section for the game would be “similar” to regular season games, but would be “limited.” Tickets will be available to all Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross College students.
“If demand exceeds supply, a lottery will be conducted,” the email read. “Should this happen, priority will be given to students who had season tickets for the 2024 regular season.”
However, in an email to The Observer, director of
football communications Claire Cunningham explained “the same sections and ticket quantities are available to students as in the regular season.” Cunningham noted the College Football Playoff (CFP) set the price for student tickets at $25 and also had final approval on how many seats were allocated at each price point in the stadium.
In a phone call with The Observer, account specialist for the ticket office Collin Daniels stated there would be between 8,000 and 10,000 tickets available for students. He said he did not foresee a lottery being conducted for the first home playoff game. He noted a lottery system might be necessary, however, for student tickets for a potential second playoff game at a neutral location.
As of Dec. 3, “we are not in a lottery status for student tickets,” Cunningham wrote. Students must request tickets for the playoff game by Dec. 5.
Turchnovskyy
AYNSLEE DELLACCA | The Observer
Harvard University.
GRAY NOCJAR | The Observer
The fireside chat, an extension of Notre Dame’s longstanding partnership with UCU, was in conversation with Nitesh Chawla, director of the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society and held in the Hesburgh Center.
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Saint Mary’s News Desk (574) 631-5323 smcnews@ndsmcobserver.com
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.
Ryese
sophomore Le Mans Hall
“Stuffing.”
Mary McGuire
junior Le
Abby Signore junior Le
Sheila-Marie Manyara junior Regina Hall “Sweet potato pie.” Have
Claire O’Connor
junior Le Mans Hall
“Mashed potatoes.”
Chinaza Ezechikamnayo junior Holy Cross Hall “Ham.”
Saint Mary’s College netball club members Sheila-Marie Manyara, Chinaza Ezechikamnayo, Jo Houin and Diodivine Nso practice with each other. The club met for their final practice of the fall semester in Angela Athletic and Wellness Complex on Tuesday.
Want your event included here? Email news@ndsmcobserver.com
Wednesday
Panel: ‘On the Ground in Israel-Palestine’
Eck Visitors Center
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Diverse voices on current conflict.
The Echoes Winter Concert
Washington Hall
8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Genres including pop, R&B, soul and folk.
Thursday
Women’s Basketball vs. Texas
Purcell Pavilion
7 p.m.
Notre Dame takes on University of Texas.
Film: ‘Beau Travail’ DPAC
9:30 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Film about French sergeant set in Djibouti.
Friday
Christmas Lecture: ‘The Hidden Reality’
Century Center
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Talk on James Webb Space Telescope.
ND Chorale: Handel’s ‘Messiah’ DPAC
8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Chorale and orchestra perform masterpiece.
Saturday
‘Organs and Origins’ Conference
Geddes Hall
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Initial causes of life and the universe.
Men’s Basketball vs. Syracuse Purcell Pavilion
12 p.m.
Notre faces off against Syracuse University.
Sunday
Jazz Band Concert DPAC
7 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Two ensembles and a New Orleans brass band perform.
Catholic Mass in French Sacred Heart Crypt
7 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Celebration of the Eucharist in French.
CHANCELOR GORDON | The Observer
Saint Mary’s launches new safety vehicle ‘Blinkie Too’
Observer Staff Report
On Tuesday evening, the Saint Mary’s campus safety department launched their new replacement vehicle as part of their safety escort services, named “Blinkie Too.” The vehicle was purchased as part of the annual campus security budget.
The Blinkie Van Safety Escort Service runs from nightfall to 2 a.m. on the weekdays and 4 a.m. on the weekends during the academic year, giving students rides to and from the Grotto in addition to various stops around campus. This service is meant to provide “the safest possible environment for our community,” according to Saint Mary’s website.
Director of campus
safety Phil Bambenek said the security department started shopping for a new Blinkie this semester as repairs became necessary and the number of students using the service grew.
The new white Ford Transit 350 can now hold 15 passengers, compared to the 12 seats in the previous Blinkie vehicle, and is already connected to BusWhere, an application for students to track Blinkie’s whereabouts and estimated times of arrival at various stops. Bamenek said it will soon be outfitted for the iconic ‘Blinkie’ wrap labels and the yellow blinking light as well.
“Weighing in at a sleek 9500 lbs, joining happy parents’ Chuck and Melanie in welcoming
the newest member of the Saint Mary’s community to campus,” an announcement in the BusWhere app reads. “Dressed up for the holidays, and featuring updated heating and four wheel drive for those cold winter days ahead, route tracking starts at 7 p.m.”
Chuck McLane and Melanie Deschamphelaere, the alternating drivers for Blinkie, will now drive Blinkie Too each night. Bamenek said Saint Mary’s will use the previous vehicle for other purposes.
“We run a lot of experiential learning programs here, with kids going off campus to things around the community. We’ll probably use it for that, [but] I’m trying to figure out how to do that,” Bambenek said.
in “A Raisin in the Sun” and “Gem in the Ocean” and her role as Clair Huxtable in “The Cosby Show.”
Most recently, Rashad served as a dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University for three years. In an interview with The Observer and the South Bend Tribune, Rashad reflected on her time spent at Howard as a student and dean as a time of great accomplishment and growth.
“Howard University was conceived by people who were not African American with the intention to create a new society in America that was inclusive; I love that,” Rashad said. “The true gift of Howard University, it’s a feeling that you carry with you, knowing that you’re a part of that legacy and that intention lives within you.”
Rashad began her acting career as an understudy for the 1983 Broadway production of “The Wiz,” which is where she found community as a young performer.
“They were serious dancers, and I was in their company,” she said. “It was inspiring. Those challenges, you better be ready, you know, because things happen and you might have to step in.”
that you’re saying. That’s one thing” she said. “But to actually embody another human being’s thoughts, to understand what those motivations are and to engage like that eight times a week, each time as if it were the first. It takes time to move into that and there’s so much joy in it for me.”
Rashad also took the time to reflect on her time working on “The Cosby Show,” noting her favorite memories from the set were working with acting “giants” such as Danny Kaye, Lena Horne, Sônia Braga and Christopher Plummer.
“I couldn’t wait to get to work every day. It was the greatest work environment to be in, that I had been in at that time,” Rashad told The Observer. “I didn’t think so much about the full impact that it was having culturally, not only here but around the world.”
Rashad mentioned her Broadway directing debut will commence in the spring of 2025 with the direction of the play “Purpose,” written by Tony Award-winning playwright Branden JacobsJenkins. While working on the play, Rashad told the audience and Copenhaver it’s been a project she enjoys coming back to work on.
Throughout her presentation, titled “An Evening with Phylicia Rashad,” AbramCopenhaver and Rashad discussed her experiences and growth on Broadway and on film over the past four decades.
“Theater takes time. It does. It’s one thing to learn lines and to be trained technically in a way so that you could say a thing in a certain way and somebody will understand what it is
FORMULA FOR SUCCESS
SPEAKER: Daniel Fitzpatrick
“You hear things, you know, for the first time, even after you’ve worked on a play for months, you’ve gone away from it, you’ve gone into some other work. You come back to it, and then you hear things … and you begin to make connections … connecting that for the actors so that they can carry it,” Rashad said.
Rashad cited one of the most significant moments during her acting career was her realization of her purpose while acting as an understudy for four separate roles in the 1971 production of “Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death.”
“It’s not about how clever you are, about how cute you are, or about how big your voice can be, or how many characters (you play),” she said. “It’s about offering what you do to people and that’s when it becomes service. And that’s when it takes on a totally different color, all the lights go on and there’s this fountain of creativity that just won’t stop because you’ve connected to something very real inside yourself.”
For the final question of the night, Copenhaver asked Rashad for any advice for the young women at Saint Mary’s who want to make a life in the arts.
“Do it,” Rashad said, as the packed auditorium erupted in applause.
Aynslee Dellacca at
AYNSLEE DELLACCA | The Observer
Saint Mary’s campus safety department launched the new van to replace ‘Blinkie,’ a decorated shuttle for students running from SMC to ND from nightfall to 2 a.m. on weekdays and 4 a.m. on the weekends.
Longtime University photographer reflects
By ISABELLA PONCIROLI News Writer
Since he first arrived at Notre Dame as a freshman in 1990, University photographer Matt Cashore has been photographing Notre Dame’s campus. Cashore has been a full-time employee at the University since 2007 and is also a major contributor to Notre Dame Magazine.
“I’ve been around for two re-gildings and two presidential inaugurations (so far),” Cashore noted in an interview with The Observer.
His love of photography began in high school when he had to take a photography class to fulfill his fine arts requirement. As a part of his high school newspaper, Cashore had been fascinated by the dark room in the back of the newspaper office.
“You get the trifecta of checking off the requirement, finding out what that room in the corner of the newspaper office is all about and maybe taking some pictures for the newspaper in addition to writing stories,” Cashore said.
Beginning college, Cashore knew he wanted to study photography and majored in Communications and Theatre (now titled Film, Television and Theatre).
Cashore got his start as a photographer for the yearbook his first year at Notre Dame. His cousin was the editor of the yearbook, and as Cashore puts it, he had already “applied in secret.”
“I arrived as a freshman, and she recruited me right away to be on the yearbook. So, the first thing I shot as my first assignment for publication was my own freshman orientation,” Cashore
said.
Cashore said he mostly stuck to the yearbook, but also contributed to The Observer and Scholastic.
Even though Cashore become involved as a student photographer, he said he never imagined he would stay at Notre Dame as a university photographer.
“Well, oddly enough, it was because I was not good enough to get a job in a newspaper,” Cashore joked.
Bruce Harlan, who had been the University photographer at Notre Dame for more than 40 years, retired when Cashore was a student, so the University was looking to fill the position.
“Being around and having a little bit of skill at a time when they needed a little bit more help was perfect timing. Simply making a picture that was in focus and properly exposed was not terribly easy, so it took some practice and some skill to be able to just make a picture,” Cashore said.
Currently, as a university photographer, Cashore aims to capture all aspects of Notre Dame from spiritual and student life to sporting events and research.
“The great thing about being a university photographer is that you’re a generalist, which means you don’t do only one thing. I do some sports photography, but that is not all. It’s a little bit of everything,” Cashore said.
One of the less glamorous aspects of the job is taking faculty headshots.
“It’s not a very exciting part of the job, but you get to talk to people. You get to meet people and to learn a little about them,” Cashore said.
Other than just taking photos, Cashore has worked to build Notre Dame’s photo archives to make photos easily accessible so they can be useful to others down the road. He described it as the aspect of his job he is the most proud of.
As a part of the job description, Cashore has been
able to travel to photograph Notre Dame’s presence all over the world, including to Jerusalem, Havana, Kolkata and Hong Kong.
“I went out to an aircraft carrier out off the east coast for an overnight on the aircraft carrier for a story for the magazine. That was a bucket list item,” Cashore said.
Some of his favorite projects include the various books he has contributed to, including “The Chapels of Notre Dame” and “Notre Dame’s Happy Returns.”
“Notre Dame’s Happy Returns” depicts the 2012 Notre Dame vs. Navy game in Dublin.
“I look back on this, and I think, ‘yeah, I’m really proud of what we were able to do in a really, really tight time frame.’ And we turned it around right away, too. The game was in early September.
This was ready to be a Christmas gift that same year. Book projects do not get turned
around that fast,” Cashore said.
In 2020, Cashore started another project featuring a photo of the campus each day for 150 days when campus was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cashore said he received many comments from viewers saying that his photos had allowed them to feel connected to campus during a time when they could not physically be there.
“It was so meaningful to know that what I had hoped to do came through,” Cashore said.
In his long career as a photographer, he considers one of his “biggest fails” to be not getting a picture of Taylor Swift.
“Taylor Swift was on campus for a football game. She wasn’t what she is now. Now she would have this entourage. But there she was three feet away from me. It didn’t occur to me to take a picture, because I didn’t particularly know who she was,” he said.
Even though his job has led him to cross paths with famous people, one of his favorite experiences was the 2009 commencement speech. During the speech, he was in the same room as both University President Fr. Theodore Hesburgh and former President Barack Obama.
Reflecting on his long experience as a photographer, Cashore gave his advice to anyone aspiring to be a future photographer.
“An extraordinary picture requires being there at the right time, which is usually some unbelievable time, like dawn or sunset. So, get up early,” Cashore said.
Contact Isabella Ponciroli at iponciro@nd.edu
who knew what Ukrainian Catholic University was or is, and that was Jimmy McAdams and myself,” Turchynovskyy said.
“And now here we are. We’ve built that partnership to an incredible level.”
Turchynovskyy classified his bi-weekly meetings with Notre Dame faculty, which have included conversations with University leadership including President Fr. Robert Dowd, as not only business-minded but as “a real friendship.”
The two universities strengthened this relationship in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
New grants for collaborative efforts between the faculties were introduced and an exchange program was created for UCU students to attend Notre Dame for a semester abroad.
Chawla echoed Turchynovskyy’s insistence on the powerful friendship held by the schools and provided insight on his own trip to Lviv. In a firsthand account of resilience, he described a visceral experience of retreating into a hotel basement after hearing an air raid siren only to observe no reactions from Ukrainians nearby.
“It was funny and ironic at the same time … you learn to be attentive to the kind of an aerial sign
that happens,” Chawla said.
Turchynovskyy emphasized that the war, which originated with the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, had dragged on for so long that some of his children had not yet lived in a time of peace.
“When they look at our students, and they are 20 years old … half of their life is already in that war,” he stressed.
Turchynovskyy talked extensively about the emotional toll on households split by recruitment into the armed forces, appearing to tear up while speaking about the role young people and even he may play in the conflict.
In one story, he explained
how families watch to make sure their SMS text messages are going through by a confirmation plus sign, and “if you don’t see that plus, I can imagine what goes on in your mind, and that should mean something terrible.”
Turchynovskyy ended the chat with a hopeful outlook for the future of the nation, tasking the younger generation and himself for rebuilding Ukraine regardless of how long it takes.
“You realize that you have to move forward because you have people that you care about,” Turchynovskyy said. “Who else is going to do it?” The afternoon
concluded with a ten-minute video on the history and culture of UCU and a brief Q&A from the audience.
Lucy Family Institute staffer Allison Linhart, who asked a question about a war crimes documentary which Russian claimed to be deepfaked, said she was motivated to attend because of her interest in the film and Turchynovskyy’s reaction to it.
“Among all the tragedy and the pain and everything he’s talked about, he still held himself with such composure and hope,” Linhart said.
Contact Gray Nocjar at gnocjar@nd.edu
Courtesy of Matt Cashore
Matt Cashore has been a photographer for the University since he arrived on campus for his freshman year in 1990, taking photos of everything from student life to presidential inaugrations and dome re-gildings.
I am in a complicated relationship with you
I’ve been thinking about you, and us, ever since that Monday meal with Ben. We were talking about Junior Parents Weekend and the possibility of my dad visiting, when he said: “Hannah, this might be a crazy question, but does your dad speak English?”
I remember the sudden flash of anger, but my voice was calm when I replied: “This is a crazy question, but yes, my dad does speak English, and he speaks it well.” I spoke these words firmly, with pride. I thought I was defending my dad, but I was actually defending you, the language of my colonizers.
You and I, we go way back, don’t we? You and I, we are two entwined threads in a tapestry of conquest, battles, bullets and stomping boots. Rebellions, sickles, swords, slogans, a tapestry of shades of white and shades of brown, and of course, bright red blood. But I don’t usually think of all this, I never care to remember the pain that is too far back in the past, a pain that I did not experience.
They brought you to us with grand promises. Once our tongues learnt to curl around unfamiliar words, once we learned how to gaze at the lords and ladies and say with reverence — ‘sir,’ ‘madam’ — we would emerge from the darkness into the light of the civilized world. They forced us to bend, so we bend to them, the masters of our fates, and to you, the language that flowed from their tongues.
Then, after centuries of oppression came Nehru, Gandhi, Ambedkar, the fighters, the revolutionaries, the leaders, the peacemakers and with them came freedom. The colonizers left, but you stayed on. In a country with 22 official languages, you would become the closest thing to a unifier.
But we, the freed people of India, never set you free from your label as the civilizer. We bound ourselves and our worth to you, and you became
the language of the civilized, the cultured and the educated. You became the language that we aspired to conquer.
My relationship with you began when I was four. I learned to curl my tongue around you, to shield myself from the wrath of the kindergarten teachers. Like most kids from middle-class families, I too studied in a school where English was the primary and only medium of communication. I held on to you tightly, practiced your words over and over again, because I was scared to speak Malayalam in school, scared of the sharp words of contempt and the humiliating punishments that would follow.
But I also fell in love with you when my parents began to read to me “Treasure Island,” “Robinson Crusoe” and “Goosebumps.” “Isle” was the first unfamiliar word that I looked up in the dictionary. “Often” was the relatively strange word that I used in my first essay that I wrote in 4th grade. “Often” is perhaps the word that started me on the journey to become an English major and a writer.
But even as I loved you, I rebelled against the bonds that held us fast. Like most Indians, I too bend you to my will. I listened and learnt to role my r’s, to harden my t’s, to straighten out my a’s, to give an extra curl to my l’s. I took this strange language and injected it with the excited, swinging inflections of Malayalam, my mother-tongue. In doing so, I Indianized you, made you uniquely mine.
But I am also the one who shared you with my brothers. I spoke to them in English, taught them to say: “my name is Hanok Simon.”, “I am fine, thank you”, so that their teachers would not find them wanting, so that they wouldn’t feel alone in a room full of children who babbled in English. I am the one who once laughed at my mom because her English was not as good as mine. I am the one who praised her for learning quickly. I am the one who corrected my dad’s pronunciation of “queen” again and again. I am the one who softened my r’s
and my t’s, broadened my a’s, when I moved to the U.S.
And here I am, at Notre Dame, not afraid to share my love for Malayalam songs, yearn for Indian food, religiously watch every new Malayalam movie, even boldly, proudly wear my few Indian clothes. In some ways I am more Indian than I ever was. In some ways, I am decolonized. But in others, I am not. There is a part of me that believes what I was taught, what my people were taught for centuries, that to speak English is to belong to the civilized, the cultured or the educated. There is still a part of me who believes that knowing English well, grants me a special dignity, power or a sense of worth. There is a part of me that rises up in anger when my friend assumes that my dad doesn’t speak English. There is a part of me whose heart wonders with a spasm of rage if my dad’s dignity is being questioned, if he will somehow be seen as less simply because he roles his r’s and stresses his t’s.
On the walk back to my dorm after that Monday meal with Ben, I stared at the threads that bind me to you. For the first time I really saw you, I really saw us and what we are today. I saw in us the tapestry of blood and violence, of resilience and of power and privilege. And this journey from a forced forgetting, to a remembering of the memories that are not mine, and yet belong to me, this recognition and this acknowledgement of my past — our collective past — offered me a glimpse of freedom from the bonds that hold us fast.
Hannah Alice Simon was born and raised in Kerala, India, and moved to the U.S. for college with the dream of thriving in an intellectual environment that celebrates people with disabilities. On campus, you will mostly see her taking the longest routes to classrooms with her loyal cane, Riptide, by her side. She studies psychology and English with minors in musical theatre and theology. You can contact Hannah at hsimon2@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Most dreadful (wonderful) time of the year
For those of us who still care about Thanskgiving and validate it as a holiday worth celebrating, it is now officially Christmas season. Nothing is more indicative of festive celebration than Saturday final exams, precariously icy sidewalks and the permacloud. We Notre Dame students return from Chicago and the depths of our beds in our dorms to the final three weeks of the fall semester, a gauntlet of terrible challenges — both academically and environmentally.
Because of our new holy day of obligation, a potential home football playoff game, we now have a day of final exams on Saturday, Dec. 14. It was a great surprise to me when I saw a 10:30 a.m. Saturday final exam on my schedule, and I suppose it too would be a great surprise to other students who learn about this final exam on Friday, Dec. 13. Whatever the case, I wonder how effective a widespread boycott of Saturday exams would be. Perhaps we students would protest these exams by doing what we normally do to keep holy “our” Sabbath: sleeping. Sleeping, civilly disobediently as it were. Perhaps our professors may sympathize with our religious adherence, offering us to take the final exam at a later day, but what is more likely is that they will all fail us.
On top of that, the nonconsecutive reading days are not a way of helping students balance out their studying time, but rather they are a way spacing out finals such that there are as little “legitimate”
time conflicts as possible. A legitimate time conflict entails more than two finals scheduled in a day or more than three finals in a 24-hour period. In most students’ unfortunate cases, they would be taking an amount of exams that reaches this upper bound without actually crossing it. In my most unfortunate case, I will be spending four hours of my evening on Thursday, Dec. 19, not on a hot date at Rohr’s but rather an ugly date at DeBartolo Hall that concludes at 9:30 p.m. Perhaps, my exaggerations seem off-putting and whiney to you, my reader, and in that case, I strongly encourage you to sit four hours in a musty, cramped DeBart classroom for 4+ hours. Pull a few all-nighters. Drink some of DeBart’s lead-flavored water. Eat at the dining hall. And you’ll soon figure out how fast you go stir-crazy during an exam.
As for the environmental challenge of the next three weeks, I point your attention outside to the sky. Imagine a creative 6-year-old drawing a picture of a landscape, except his Crayola crayon pack did not come with the colors red, yellow, orange or green and he forgot to color in the sky. That’s South Bend weather. When people ask me what it is like living in South Bend, I often point out the fact that the town strikes me as a paradigmatic Midwestern town that somehow feels like it is “stuck-in-time.”
When I say this, I am chiefly referring to the homely houses that have been renovated since they were built in the 40’s. But perhaps I can extend the “stuck-in-time” analogy to the fact that it looks like a black and white movie when I step outside. Moreover, it would genuinely terrify me if I walked into class one day and everybody in the room was a
white man with a Transatlantic accent, donning a trench coat and top hat.
People often remark that it is the people that make the place — these people often do not have original ideas. But I argue that these next three weeks of the semester and by extension Christmas, are characterized by both the dreadful and wonderful things in life. I am a massive supporter and celebrator of Christmas and all things Christmas, but I realize that there is some slogging I have to do before I get there. It would be foolish to say that the Christmas season is magical simply because of the wonderful things that come with the holiday. It would also be foolish to write off Christmas because of all the dreadful things that happen around it.
I prefer to strike the balance, acknowledging that the dreadful things of the next three weeks all can have profound meaning. If I offer up all my time, toils, tribulations and trials of the next three weeks as a sacrifice for the rewards of time spent with family and friends in celebration, then these challenges do not seem so daunting, and much less like challenges. Perhaps these challenges, academic and environmental, are opportunities to persevere so that I can merit rewards from St. Nicholas, among others.
Jonah Tran is a junior at Notre Dame studying finance and classics. He prides himself on sarcasm and never surrendering. You can file complaints to Jonah by email at jtran5@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Hannah Alice Simon Views without Vision
Jonah Tran Amate et Odite Deo
Were we ever supposed to know this much?
Allison Elshoff Asking for a Friend
Green beans, steamed rice with almonds, pork chops. I scroll mindlessly through the dining hall dinner menu, debating the merit of using a meal swipe later (with the reduced meal plan, every swipe counts). It’s 11:49 a.m. I stopped trying to follow my professor’s explanation of the same graph a long time ago. Instead, I switch between tabs on my laptop, wondering if pork chops will sound good seven hours from now.
A week later, I’m home for Thanksgiving. Recovering from my food coma the night before, I go normally about my Friday until around 3:00 p.m., when my grandma asks me to order three lemon-lime hand juicers for her on Amazon.
“For Christmas?,” I clarify, confused why she needs the juicers delivered in two days if she’s not gifting them until Christmas. “They’re on sale today, sweetie,” my grandma gently explains. I realize it’s Black Friday. After ordering the juicers for her, I decide to see if anything I’ve been eyeing lately is on sale. I click on an Abercrombie email that says “OUR BEST SALE OF THE YEAR!!!” and immediately close my laptop.
Like many people, I have a love-hate relationship with the internet.
Some days, I can’t seem to consume enough content — I walk to class motivated by my morning podcast, stumble upon a cool NYT chart about money in college sports and read a creative Substack article that really makes me think. Other days, I’m drained even thinking about unlocking my phone, knowing I’ll probably spend 30 minutes doomscrolling on Instagram reels and purposefully avoiding the mounting pile of unread emails in my inbox.
Educational or mindless, energizing or draining, I am always consuming something when I go on the internet. Being digitally connected means being constantly inundated with information. A list of things I could find out on my phone right now includes:
• How many steps I took in the last hour.
• What the girl I sit next to in class wore to our last home football game.
• The dining hall menu tonight, and any day of the week (again, I get bored!).
• What [insert celebrity] just named their baby.
• The chicest shoe this winter, according to some random micro influencer (mesh flats?).
• Where my latest job interviewer went to high school.
• What the temperature is in Los Angeles right now.
• How many days it would take me to walk from South Bend to Los Angeles.
You get the idea.
My generation grew up with the world at our fingertips. With the internet so deeply embedded in our day-to-day activities, it’s difficult to distinguish between our online and offline selves. I see a pretty sunset, I take a picture. I finish a good book, I log it on Goodreads. I meet someone with a cool job, I connect with them on LinkedIn. The boundary between the material and digital world has never been so blurred.
Don’t get me wrong — the internet is a powerful tool. It’s how we stay informed, connect with friends and family and learn about the world. I would not be where I am today without the privileges technology provides me.
But that’s exactly what it should be: a tool that provides you value, not the other way around. Books and podcasts have already covered this subject at nausea, but it’s easy to forget that technology is supposed to improve the quality of our life, not consume it, when you’re binge watching “Normal People” on Hulu while simultaneously replying to a text on your phone and turning in an assignment on your laptop. There’s a battle for our attention being waged, and the tech companies are winning by a landslide.
Yet, I think there’s been a shift in Generation Z towards limiting our screen time. Despite what our childhood normalized, you eventually realize that constant access to all this information is, in fact, Not Normal. We were never supposed to participate in every new trend, to have active social “connections” with 500 people or to see exactly how many calories we burned on our walk to class. Instant gratification wrecks our attention span. Social media causes us to form flat, profile-picture-sized assumptions about people we don’t know, eroding our innate curiosity in who they actually are. General internet “noise” prevents us from growing and deepening our interior life.
It’s difficult to fathom all the ways we’re affected by consumption, yet swearing off technology is not realistic, either. It’s complicated. I can complain about my phone all day, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love getting my
grandma’s check-in texts or watching SNL in bed. The internet allows our modern world to function, and it would be naive to suggest we revert back to a completely technology-less society.
As with most things in life, it all comes down to moderation. Mindful consumption of the internet, and mindful protection of your (precious) time and attention. It’s not like anyone still needs to be convinced of the benefits of limited screen time, but I know I’m not the only one who struggles to put these intentions into practice. If you’re like me, here are little ways I’ve seen people reduce unnecessary device interactions:
• Walk to class with your phone in your backpack or purse.
• Don’t immediately open Google to answer every question that crosses your mind. Let yourself sit in the unknown sometimes - not knowing the year toothpaste was invented isn’t going to ruin your day.
• Go to a restaurant without looking the menu up beforehand.
• Buy an actual alarm clock and leave your phone outside your room when you go to bed.
• Other options like deleting Instagram/TikTok off your phone, turning your phone on grayscale or using screen time limit apps like Forest or BePresent. I read somewhere that if your average daily screen time is 4-5 hours, continuing at this rate will cost you 15 years of your life. If it’s 6 hours, it can cost you 21 years of your life. I’d like to spend as much of my life offline (in the real world!) as possible, wouldn’t you?
I think the zeitgeist agrees. I’m not suggesting you throw your phone in the ocean (though tempting), but take the time to critically rethink your relationship with technology. No one stands to suffer the consequences of a chronically online lifestyle more than yourself. How we spend our days is how we spend our lives — look up from your phone every once in a while and make it worthwhile.
Allison Elshoff is a junior studying business analytics with minors in the Hesburgh Program of Public Service and impact consulting. Originally from Valencia, California and currently living in Badin Hall, you can find her unsubscribing from email lists or hammocking by the lakes. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Life the American way: first weeks of Trump
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article discussing what Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election meant for the American electorate. However, I failed to entirely give my opinions on it and express the full scope of Trump’s initial plans in office. Trump has begun nominating several people for his cabinet in the past few weeks. Most of these people have shown Trump loyalty in the past, further strengthening Trump’s plan to fill his administration with people who have proven loyal to him.
The most controversial of all the picks was Congressman Matt Gaetz. Trump’s pick of Matt Gaetz for Attorney General was shocking for many reasons, one of which being a former sex trafficking case brought against Gaetz by the Department of Justice. Trump’s pick of Gaetz as Attorney General only reinforced the idea that the only thing Trump cares about is loyalty. Ultimately, Matt Gaetz removed himself from consideration for the position of Attorney General, claiming that he intends to work on improving Florida. Still, the possible investigation into the aforementioned sex trafficking case likely influenced this decision. Even the suggestion that Matt Gaetz could be Attorney General insults the American political system. Americans have grown accustomed to “settling” with corruption and deceit in the modern era. Matt Gaetz reflects the worst of the American political system, and he should not be in any political position, let alone the Attorney General of the United States.
Another recent development in the past few weeks is the final criminal case against Donald Trump, alleging that he illegally held classified documents. The case was dropped, not because Trump was found innocent, but because the Department of Justice is barred from investigating a sitting president. In this way, the presidency also serves as a tool for Donald Trump to hide behind. The cases could be refiled after his second term, but Trump will not face continued court cases for the next four years. This also comes after the recent Supreme Court ruling that Donald Trump could not be investigated for any official acts taken in office. Both of these events reflect another failure of the American justice system in its ability to maintain transparency in government. The Supreme Court no longer works to deliver verdicts based on written law but is now swayed by political leanings and influence. The Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, is not unbiased. It has become a tool for Donald Trump to get away with any act he commits while in office, making him willing and able to bend rules when necessary and not worry about the consequences later on. When there is no accountability in politics, how can order be maintained?
Finally, one of the most important developments of the past few weeks is Trump’s discussion around the Department of Education. Trump has proposed a complete dismantling of the Department of Education to turn over control and regulation of school systems to the states. Alongside this change, Trump has pledged to remove programs promoting school diversity and cut federal funding for schools that fail to abide by the “American Way of Life.”
He has also proposed reallocating public education funds on a student basis, allowing them to be used in private or homeschooling options. The proposed reallocation of public education funds will give students a broader range of schooling choices. Still, it could also create increased competition for private schools, raising the already high prices of private education. I also agree that the Department of Education needs to be rescued, but I don’t believe eliminating the entire department is the correct option. In dismantling the Department of Education and turning control of school systems over to the state, there emerges an increased risk for inequality of school systems between and within states. This could lead to less access to school programs and opportunities in low-income communities. I also do not completely agree with the idea of tax cuts for schools failing to abide by the “American Way of Life.” I believe it leads to a slippery slope of continued government oversight and restriction in national school systems.
Ultimately, these recent developments reflect what is known about the nature of a Trump presidency: controversy, radical change and promises often left unfulfilled. Only time will tell what happens regarding these developments when Trump officially enters the Oval Office in January.
Declan is a surviving biochemistry major at the University of Notre Dame. He is usually trying to figure out how to work the printer. Contact at dburke7@nd.edu. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Declan Burke American DOMEland
By AYDEN KOWALSKI Scene Copyeditor
For those uninitiated into hip-hop culture, rap has a pantheon as exclusive and illustrious as any athletic Hall of Fame, and every asserted “greatest of all time” is contested. Kendrick Lamar has long been a GOAT contender and even the number one rapper ever for many, such as this author. Lamar’s seismic conquest of Drake this spring, ending in the mythical damnation of “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us,” added the greatest head-to-head victory in any rap beef to his resume. And for those who have downplayed his brilliance before, his surprise album “GNX” is an uncharacteristically direct reminder why he is what he proclaims himself to be on the record: “the greatest of all time.”
The album’s production is simultaneously sharp and multilayered, with Lamar’s frequent collaborator Sounwave uniting with pop genius Jack Antonoff to oversee a beautiful and bouncy palette. West Coast icon Mustard also hops behind the boards, which Lamar lets the planet know loudly and memorably during the electrifying second half of highlight “TV Off.” All of this is to complement Lamar’s alwaysstellar poetry, which is notably less somber than usual as he rides over blatant bangers. He efficiently and ruthlessly tears into mostly unnamed opponents over the scintillating beat of “Wacced Out Murals,” and poetically buries
Drake even deeper on “Hey Now,” creating a new alias as he icily asserts, “The Black Noah, I just strangled me a goat.” He dives back into his past and back out to slash at the fake in a single verse on “TV Off,” the raging beat fitting every setting of his lyrics.
Lamar also flexes his conceptual and storytelling muscles, though less so than on previous efforts such as “To Pimp a Butterfly” or the haunting “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.” His directness here is deliberate, as evidenced by his dismissal of double entendres (lines with multiple intentional meanings at once) on the opener, but he still finds time for an epic, extended metaphor in which his pen — his rapping — is incarnated in a childhood sweetheart and life companion on “Gloria.” He pays tribute to 2Pac on the tripartite “Reincarnated,” borrowing from the West Coast hero’s abrasive vocal delivery, but the song’s storytelling takes time to fully enrapture the listener, warming for up for two verses before reaching a great conclusion best experienced without spoilers. On “Man at the Garden,” he allows his material desire and spirituality to simultaneously surface, his ideals growing loftier as the song progresses — before crowning himself the best rapper ever. The song is a gorgeous portrait of his soul, contradictions intact, that leaves the listener with much to analyze and internalize.
Like Lamar’s last album “Mr. Morale,” “GNX” serves as a platform for quite a few relatively unknown artists to make
their case, and many shine. Deyra Barrera beautifully introduces multiple tracks on the album singing in Spanish. Dody6’s intensity burns through the last leg of “Hey Now,” AzChike gets off spectacular one-liners alongside Kendrick’s humor on “Peekaboo” and on the title track, every featured rapper finds the right pocket on the chaotic beat. Lamar’s one-time labelmate, R&B superstar SZA, appears as the album’s sole star feature, and her performances on “Luther” and “Gloria” are highlights of the record. She even paints an entire world in a single line on the former: “Heartache, she only doing what she know.”
“GNX” has continued to bloom for me since its release. Preparing for this review, I dove back to rediscover excellent moments I overlooked or realized the full power of the songs I’ve had in rotation. That’s been my experience with all Lamar’s work throughout the year: my appreciation for his many individual songs has only grown with time, as has my awareness of the lyrical brilliance he’s been putting on display since his incredible beef with Drake erupted. Since the album’s release, he has announced a stadium tour with SZA, to which tickets will be available to the public Friday. And if you haven’t experienced this album or much of his work before now, take time this week to acquaint yourself. By Friday, you’ll likely be rearing to see the greatest of all time.
Contact Ayden Kowalski at akowals2@nd.edu
By LIAM KELLY
Notre Dame News Editor
In the original “Gladiator,” released in 2000 and directed by Ridley Scott, the emperor Marcus Aurelius declares that “There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish.”
“Gladiator II,” also directed by Ridley Scott, treats the first “Gladiator” film with the same legendary status that Marcus Aurelius does the Roman Republic in the first film. Between the stylized opening montage of the main scenes from the original film and the repeated quotes from the first film, “Gladiator II” is shameless in its appeals to nostalgia. However, amidst its veneration of the first film and despite its many flaws, “Gladiator II” emerges as an effective work in its own right, living up to the gravitas and scale of the first film. Replacing Russell Crowe as the lead is Irish actor Paul Mescal, who plays Lucius Verus Aurelius. He is the illegitimate son of Lucilla Aurelius (Connie Nelson), daughter of Marcus Aurelius, and Maximus Decimus Meridius, Crowe’s character from the first film. Although the existence of Maximus’s illegitimate son somewhat undermines his fidelity to his dead wife and son portrayed in the first film, the continuity from the first film is effective in introducing Lucius to the audience as an adult. Mescal delivers a strong performance and possesses the gravitas that made Crowe’s character so likable. While somewhat bland at first, his character comes
into his own by the end of the story and his speech during the film’s final battle is excellent.
Where Mescal’s character falters, however, is in Scott’s insistence on giving him the same character arc as his father. The film begins with Lucius living in Numidia in Africa, where he is shown to have a wife. His idyllic life quickly falls apart, however, when a Roman fleet attacks the city, killing his wife and enslaving him, casting our minds back to the death of Maximus’ wife and child in the first film at the hands of the emperor Commodus.
While Scott appears to be attempting to give Mescal a motive to fight and to be enraged at the Roman Empire, no such motive is needed. Lucius has already been forced to flee Rome as a child due to political turmoil and had his father killed by a Roman emperor — certainly that would serve as motivation enough. Lucius’ wife is hardly mentioned again during the rest of the film and her inclusion feels more like a trope than a meaningful character motivation.
Also struggling to bear the weight of an underdeveloped script is Pedro Pascal’s character General Acacius. Pascal is clearly committed to the character and delivers a strong performance, but his motivation to rebel against the emperors and his relationship with Lucilla both feel underbaked. On the other hand, Denzel Washington’s Macrinus, while certainly not historically accurate, is one of the best parts of the film. Washington steals the scene in every moment of screen time and stands out amidst other comparatively bland characters.
What “Gladiator II” does best, however, apart from the epic
fight scenes and strong performances, is its depiction of an empire in decline. The film portrays the Emperors Caracalla and Geta, brothers played by Fred Hechinger and Joseph Quinn respectively, as incompetent rulers of a once great empire. They lavish themselves in food, drink and bloody entertainment as societal order crumbles around them. All the while, they are easily manipulated by the ambitious Macrinus. Against the political backstabbing and cultural decline stand Lucius and the senators and military leaders loyal to the “dream that was Rome.” In vain, they try to restore the Republic, as their plots are foiled and they are arrested. In the end, Lucius defeats Macrinus, stops an attack between Roman legions in Rome and pledges to restore Marcus Aurelius’ “dream.”
The seemingly optimistic ending, however, cannot be extricated from the historical reality that the Republic was never restored. In the end, we know how Lucius’ efforts will end — in failure and more chaos. Nevertheless, the depiction of his and his allies’ struggle for a better society is valiant. In simply refusing to give into tyranny and decline, they preserve their noble dream.
Such is the case with Scott’s dream for “Gladiator II.” Scott may not achieve a film that is the true equal of its predecessor, but “Gladiator II” is a noble attempt that comes close. Its direction, its performances and its themes are all worthy of the dream that was “Gladiator.”
Contact Liam Kelly at lkelly8@nd.edu
FOOTBALL
Key moments from Notre Dame’s win at USC
By ISA SHEIKH Editor-in-Chief
The Fighting Irish came to Hollywood with cinematic aspirations. Asked earlier this week about whether he had to amp up Notre Dame players in preparation for their last regular season game against the Trojans, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden answered bluntly.
“No,” he told a press conference. “Nope. There’s nothing that needs to be said, you know. If you’re watching Godfather II, and Hyman Roth’s talking to Michael Corleone, you know what’s on in the background, right, is Notre Dame-USC, and that’s all we gotta say,” he added.
Notre Dame’s postseason hopes all came down to this one game, played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the shadow of the Hollywood sign. After 98 years of rivalry, Notre Dame again took the Jeweled Shillelagh on Saturday, securing a place in the first round of the College Football Playoff in three weeks. Notre Dame has won the rivalry game in seven of the last ten matchups with USC. When the teams kicked off on Saturday afternoon, the warm weather was a sharp contrast from temperatures back at Notre Dame Stadium.
HOCKEY
Excitement was high at tailgates across the USC campus, with one tent helming a sign that said “ND LADIES FROM HELL PAY FOR YOUR SINS TOMORROW”
and a flag with two alligators representing Notre Dame and USC playing the violin and accordion respectively — that read “CAJUN FESTIVAL: USC LOVES BRIAN
KELLY NOT NOTRE DAME.”
“I’m glad all 50 Notre Dame fans showed up. We gave them free tequila because they couldn’t afford it,” a Trojans fan posted mockingly on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Coliseum was nonetheless far from full, with fans filing in late, leaving early and the student section almost empty.
For the significant crowd of Irish fans scattered throughout the stadium, the game determined the future of Notre Dame’s playoff bid. The all-or-nothing nature of Notre Dame’s final regular season matchup was heightened by a tie at halftime and a stressfully close third quarter.
In a game where Golden’s defensive team appeared to underperform, there were moments when the confidence seemed misplaced. As clouds moved over the Coliseum, the Irish were
neck-and-neck and struggled to keep their load.
Pick twelve: Gray, Watts make determinative interceptions
As the Coliseum torch was lit for the fourth quarter, the clouds once again shifted over the stadium and the sun beat down on the sea of cardinal bleachers.
The game was defined by a determinative pick-six by cornerback Christian Gray. Before his 99-yard rush all the way across the field, the sophomore had had a mixed game. With two pass interference penalties, Gray ran into some trouble in the third quarter. With an interception in the last four minutes of play, he brought the Irish up to 42 points.
Gray’s coup de grace was followed just minutes later by an endzone interception by graduate student safety Xavier Watts. Watts then made a 100-yard pick-six for the final touchdown of the game.
Head coach Marcus Freeman said he was “selfishly” thinking about the turnover margin during those plays, noting that Notre Dame has lost that metric only once this season.
“They’re resilient, they battle, they’re never out of play, and that’s what you love about it. And they
compete until the clock says zero,” Freeman said about his players.
Kicking struggles continue
In the second quarter with a tied score at 7-7, former quarterback and walk-on wide receiver Tyler Buchner executed a fake punt and passed the ball to senior tight end Mitchell Evans. That play resulted in a first down. The Irish passed down the field for a field goal attempt.
Mitch Jeter, the graduate transfer kicker, attempted and failed to make a 27-yard field goal. Jeter has completed only one of his last five attempts at a field goal, so while Freeman expressed confidence in the kicker earlier in the week, questions are nonetheless raised.
California Love: Hurdling over the Trojans
Securing a playoff game
The weather at Notre Dame Stadium will not be as gentle in three weeks’ time, and the Irish are preparing now for a CFP show off at home, the first playoff game the Irish have played since their 2020 defeat against Alabama at the Rose Bowl.
USC defensive end Kameryn Fountain captured the Trojans’ frustration with their defeat, as he walked off the field signing sneakers for fans.
“Man, f*** these n****s. We’ll be back next year,” he said.
In the post-game press conference, Freeman largely evaded questions about the playoff, choosing instead to focus on the celebration.
“We have to celebrate this thing first, and these guys work way too hard not to take a moment and enjoy,” he said. “So we’re gonna enjoy this today, on this flight home, probably tomorrow, Sunday, as we move forward. But we don’t have an opponent, so we’re gonna enjoy this thing probably for two days, and then Monday, we’ll start moving forward.”
At the end of the first half, Irish running back Jeremiyah Love caught a pass from Riley Leonard, and proceeded to run 20 yards, hurdling over Trojans safety Kamari Ramsey. The play was well received, sparking discussion of a potential Heisman in the 2025 season as the sophomore prepares for his next season at Notre Dame. Love rushed a total of 99 yards before being taken out of the game for a leg injury before the fourth quarter.
Contact Isa Sheikh at isheikh@nd.edu
Irish claim runner-up finish at Friendship Four
By TYLER REIDY Sports Editor
Over the weekend, Notre Dame hockey (6-10-0, 1-7-0 Big Ten) made history as the first Big Ten team to compete in the Friendship Four tournament. Held since 2015 at SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the four-team event has mostly featured programs from Hockey East and the ECAC, linking the sister cities of Boston and Belfast. This year, the Irish joined Boston University and Merrimack of Hockey East and Harvard of the ECAC in the competitive field.
Once the puck dropped on Friday night, the Irish were prepared for a weekend of quality play. Notre Dame snapped a seven-game losing streak in its semifinal against Harvard, downing the Crimson by a 5-2 score. In Saturday’s championship game against BU, the Irish led by multiple goals in the third period but couldn’t hang on in a 4-3 loss to the 13th-ranked Terriers, who captured the Belpot Trophy in their second foray in the Friendship Four.
Flying over to Dublin on Sunday night into Monday morning before driving to Belfast on Tuesday, Notre Dame made a neat cultural experience of the overseas venture afterwards. The team visited historical sites such as the Crumlin Road Gaol and the Titanic Museum in Belfast, made brewery stops at Guinness and Teeling Irish Whiskey in Dublin, appeared at local schools and shared a
Thanksgiving meal with friends and family.
Fast start gets Notre Dame back in the win column
Rocking their slick, Book-ofKells-inspired navy blue uniforms, the Irish didn’t need much time to get their game legs underneath them against Harvard. With sophomore forward Cole Knuble, the team’s leading scorer, back in the lineup, Notre Dame’s offense found twine three times in the opening period.
Goal number one came off the hot stick of graduate forward Blake Biondi, who lit the lamp for the fourth consecutive weekend. Knuble set him up with a low-tohigh pass from the netside, leaving Biondi to slap the puck inside the left post for his fifth goal of the season, a power-play marker at 8:25 of the first period.
Eight minutes later, the lead doubled on an offensive-zone faceoff win by sophomore forward Jayden Davis. Freshman defenseman Jaedon Kerr received the available puck at the left point and rifled a wrist shot underneath the crossbar for his first collegiate goal. Only 32 seconds passed before Notre Dame struck a third time, as sophomore defenseman Paul Fischer’s offensive support in the corner won the puck for junior blue-liner Michael Mastrodomenico in the slot. With plenty of room to fire, Mastrodomenico netted his third goal of the season, forcing Harvard head coach Ted Donato
to pull everyday netminder Aku Koskenvuo at the first intermission.
Playing in front of debuting backup goalie Ben Charette, Harvard’s skaters found new life early in the second period. The Crimson scored two goals, one on a Joe Miller wraparound and another on Cam Johnson’s interception and snipe in the Irish zone, within the frame’s first seven minutes. BU and Merrimack had charted a similar course in the opening semifinal hours earlier, with the Terriers going up 3-0 in the first period before the Warriors drew within a goal early in the third. Likewise, Notre Dame found itself staring down the barrel of a Harvard rally midway through game two.
But junior goaltender Owen Say made sure that the Irish lead would hold up. Coming off his worst statistical games of the season against Michigan State and Minnesota, Say stopped each of the final 16 shots he faced against Harvard — 12 of those coming with Notre Dame ahead only by a single goal.
Late in the third period, the Irish gave their netminder some breathing room, going up 4-2 with another power-play conversion. This time, senior forward Justin Janicke forced in the rebound of sophomore forward Danny Nelson’s initial shot for his fourth goal of the season. Scoring twice in three
chances against Harvard, Notre Dame’s power play ended the night ranked atop the Big Ten and fifth in the nation with a success rate north of 30%.
Down two goals, Harvard yanked Charette for the extra attacker early, moving to 6-on-5 hockey with 3:35 left in regulation. However, the Irish held the Crimson off long enough for Knuble to pot an empty-net goal, his teamhigh seventh of the season, that sealed Notre Dame’s semifinal win with 81 seconds remaining.
Terriers
steal Belpot Trophy with third-period comeback
To start a very even championship game, BU flipped the script on Notre Dame’s terrific power play. Capturing a turnover in neutral ice, the shorthanded Kamil Bednarik went into the Irish zone, dragging the puck around Fischer and sliding a backhander past the left pad of Say for a beauty of a first collegiate goal. The Terriers led 1-0 just under eight minutes in, but the Irish wouldn’t wait long to pull ahead themselves.
Just past the midway point of the first period, Notre Dame scored two goals 15 seconds apart on marvelous passing plays. On the first tally, Mastrodomenico slipped the puck from the neutral-zone boards
to the center of the BU blue line, where Hunter Strand skated onto the puck in behind the defense like a wide receiver running underneath a deep ball. In alone against experienced Terrier goalie Mathieu Caron, Strand stickhandled once and went top-shelf on his forehand for his fourth goal of the season. After the ensuing faceoff, Danny Nelson pulled the puck out of an offensive-zone scrum and went in on a shortened 2-on-1 with Janicke. As the BU defender laid on his stomach to block a cross-crease pass, Nelson unleashed a buttery saucer pass that arced above the defender and landed right on Janicke’s tape. The senior whacked it past Caron for his fifth goal of the year and second in as many nights.
Notre Dame added on four minutes into the second period, as Biondi moved into the BU zone on a solo mission. Dragging the puck as if on a string through the sticks of two Terriers, he reached a shooting position and snapped the biscuit past Caron for a 3-1 Irish lead. After his three-point weekend in Belfast, Biondi has nine points in last five games and is on pace for his most productive offensive season in five years of college hockey.
Unfortunately for Notre Dame, the remainder of Saturday’s see HOCKEY PAGE 10
revisions. Be quick to speak up if you don’t like something, and enforce discipline to ensure you finish things on time and without flaws. Your numbers are 2, 17, 26, 31, 38, 42, 49.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Get up and go. Make plans, participate in events, and learn all you can that will help you make better decisions or clear your mind of nonsense that outside influences are pressuring you to believe, purchase, or support. Trust your ability to seek and find what makes you happy.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Establish how you want to use your skills and experience and target a position that attracts your attention. A change will give you a new lease on life that energizes your actions at home and work. Someone will take advantage of you if you don’t monitor your investments and expenditures.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Note how others receive and respond to you and your gestures. You’ll need to protect yourself from fast talkers and anyone trying to put you in a vulnerable position or take advantage of you. Stick to what and who you know and trust. Self-improvement and personal growth are favored.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Tunnel vision will allow you to explore the possibilities and convert your skills to address current trends. Let your imagination take over and test your theories. Establish what’s important to you and make changes that enhance your confidence. It’s your turn to shine, so unleash your charm and enjoy.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): An energetic attitude and approach to life will guarantee results. Participate, offer suggestions, and sign up for something that makes you feel good about yourself and your achievements. Your contributions will lead to an unexpected opportunity and encounter with someone special. Romance is favored.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): No matter what you encounter, turn a negative into a positive with a smile, a helping hand, and the intent to make a difference. Be the one to start a wave of happiness and clarify the importance of kindness. Set a good example and enjoy the effects that unfold.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Share your opinion, but get your facts straight first. Touting your beliefs will encourage you to meet and solidify a team to help you reach your goal. Refuse to let domestic or health issues deplete your ability to finish what you start. Protect yourself, but don’t quit.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Take pleasure in conversing with people trying to make a difference, and it will verify your thoughts and feelings and clarify the best way to pitch in and help. Attending a conference or acting on behalf of someone unable will be uplifting and opportunistic. Romance is in the stars.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Do yourself a favor and put your mind at ease. Stop procrastinating and start clearing up the debris standing in your way. A conservative change regarding how you earn or handle your money will help you establish what you can afford and what satisfies your soul.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Ponder over your choices, listen to your heart, and do what’s best for your soul. An opportunity is only worthwhile if it satisfies your needs. A change of scenery will offer a unique perspective regarding what’s possible. Socializing will lead to exciting introductions and personal growth.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take control before someone tries to dictate what to do next. Put your energy into projects encouraging positive change, a healthier lifestyle, or a move that will distance you from negativity and poor choices. Be a leader, not a follower, and it will help you achieve your aspirations.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A serious attitude will help ward off someone trying to lead you astray. You’ll need to devise an innovative plan to bring about group change. Take the microphone, paint an honest picture, and see who follows you. Research and experiencing exciting destinations will help you find your bliss.
Birthday Baby: You are unique, determined, and outspoken. You are changeable and proactive.
offensive productivity belonged to BU, as the Terriers scored three goals in the third period to swipe the lead. Gavin McCarthy first made it 3-2 on a high-slot give-and-go with Matt Copponi.
FOOTBALL
Ryan Greene then evened the ledger with 4:42 to play, tapping in Shane Lachance’s precision pass from the corner after an Irish turnover below the goal line. Lachance then put BU ahead 20 seconds later, finding the puck among the feet of Notre Dame skaters near the goal crease and
whipping it past Say before the goaltender could react.
Notre Dame went to 6-on-5 with the net empty inside the final two minutes but struggled to sustain possession in the offensive zone, going down quietly, with BU the Belpot Trophy recipient.
Up next Upon coming home from Belfast, the Irish will take a weekend off to reset the body clock and heal up a bit in South Bend. The following weekend, Notre Dame will head to Columbus on Dec. 13-14 to oppose Ohio State in its final series of 2024. The
Irish won three of four meetings against the Buckeyes last year, but Ohio State has played better to the tune of a 9-4-1 overall record and 2-2-0 start to Big Ten action this season.
Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu
Gray breaks the chains, steps up against USC
By MADELINE LADD Assistant Managing Editor
Sophomore cornerback
Christian Gray has been a contributor to the Irish since he stepped on campus. Coming in as a sought after four star recruit from St. Louis, MO — the highest-ranked Irish cornerback recruit since 2015 at the time — he had expectations to fulfill.
Gray saw 12 games in his freshman campaign, contributing to the defensive effort with 11 tackles, nine of them solo. He had an interception against Pitt and one pass breakup against Oregon State at the Sun Bowl. In this year’s regular season, he has started in all games aside from Louisville with 26 total tackles. He’s had to step up and take over for injured All-American Ben Morrison, with little to no loss of performance.
Gray had seven tackles against USC, six of those solo and one assisted. He also put up one tackle for a loss of three yards and had two pass break ups. Most impressive of all was his 99-yard quarter four pick six that helped solidify an Irish victory. But, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Gray the whole game.
The normally solid Gray had an up and down game. He started as the defensive star on the first series of the game with a pass break up and two tackles for loss. So much so that CBS commentator Brad Nessler even quipped “Nothing Gray about the play of this guy, that’s black and white, that’s form tackling, that’s a stop” after a fourth down tackle.
However, USC’s quarterback Jayden Maiava started picking on Gray in the second quarter. He was targeted on USC’s two touchdown drives, enabled by his two pass interference penalties. In a game where the Trojans gave the Irish their best shot, defensive players like Gray and Leonard Moore were truly tested. However, he hung on and would later redeem himself with critical plays.
After quarters of back and forth play, Gray came onto the scene at the end of quarter three looking for redemption from his past plays with a pass breakup.
Later on, Gray would deliver a stunning, one handed 99-yard pick-six that extended Notre Dame’s lead to 42-28 with under four minutes remaining. The secret to Gray’s turnaround? He cites the ability to reload.
“What Coach Freeman always said, just reload, reload, reload,” Gray said postgame. “What he said to me really stuck to me and I just kept it in my head, like reload, reload, I gotta get back to this.”
Gray’s pick six came at a crucial
time, and allowed the Irish fans to breathe again after dreams of a playoff game appeared to be fading in a game that had been back and forth all day. When asked about if he knew he was going to make a big play the huddle before the drive, Gray knew he had it in him.
“Yeah, definitely,” Gray said. “In my head I said no more holding back, I just got to break through the chains. It’s like, that’s what I said in my head. And I just just screamed it out. Because the best thing to do is just kind of scream it out, and then just go ball.”
Shortly after, graduate student safety Xavier Watts followed suit with a pick-six of his own, this one from the end zone for 100 yards. Gray was seen taking a knee on the field after Watts’ touchdown, something he did to take in the moment of him and his fellow defensemen.
“I’m just happy to see my boy get a pick,” Gray said with a smile.
“Like X, knowing him, that’s my brother and everything. So I’m glad he got the pick-six and everything. I just took a knee just to reel it all in, knowing we just executed and balled out.”
Gray cited Marcus Freeman as an inspiration to him throughout his time with the Irish.
“Just from Coach Freeman, he’s just a great inspiration,” Gray said. “I talk to him almost every day, like, he’s just a great inspiration as a man. He gives us talks about family and everything. Just during this whole entire season, just learning from him has been amazing. And it’s just like, Just trailing in his footsteps, making the good decisions and knowing what’s the bad decisions and having team glory.”
Gray’s play this season, especially against USC, embodies the
relentless determination that has defined him and this Irish team all year. From rebounding after the heartbreaking loss to NIU to overcoming season-ending injuries and battling through rough patches in the secondary, both Gray and the team have shown an unshakable determination. Together, they’ve “broken the chains” and positioned themselves exactly where they envisioned in the preseason — a home game in the College Football Playoff.
Contact Madeline Ladd at mladd2@nd.edu
GRAY NOCJAR | The Observer
Sophomore cornerback Christian Gray reaches his right hand out to defend a pass during Notre Dame’s 49-35 defeat of USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 30, 2024. Gray sealed the Irish victory and College Football Playoff bid with an interception returned for a score.
ND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Irish drop two games at Cayman Islands Classic
By CLAIRE WATSON Sports Writer
During the Thanksgiving break, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team lost its win streak in the Cayman Islands Classic, taking two losses against Texas Christian University (TCU) and the University of Utah.
Game One: TCU 76, Notre Dame 68
The first game that the Irish played was against TCU, where they took the 76-68 loss against the Horned Frogs. Both teams were strong starting out the first quarter. TCU scored first as it put up three points, but graduate guard Olivia Miles countered with three points to tie up the score. Shortly after, graduate forward Liatu King added on two free throws, senior guard Sonia Citron added on a layup and sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo added on two layups to bring the score to 11-3.
The Horned Frogs scored first in the second quarter with two free throws, but the Irish responded as Hidalgo added on a layup and a free throw to bring the score to 24-13. While the Horned Frogs were able to add on two more points for themselves, Hidalgo added on a threepoint shot to make the score 27-15, but TCU responded quickly with a three-pointer to bring the score to 27-18.
Citron added on the next two points for the Irish to make the score 29-18, but the Horned Frogs responded with a layup of their own to bring the score to 29-20. In response to this, King added on a free throw and Hidalgo added on a layup for a 32-20 score, but the Horned Frogs added on nine points of their own to tighten the score to 3229. The Irish scored the final points of the second quarter as Miles put up a three-point shot to make the score 35-29.
While the Horned Frogs were able to add on two points, Notre Dame responded as Hidalgo added on two free throws and sophomore guard Cassandre Prosper added on her first two points of the night to bring the score to 15-5. TCU responded with four points to bring the score to 15-9, but the Irish responded as King added on two more points to make the score 179. After a shooting foul on the Irish, the Horned Frogs were able to add two points for themselves, but the Irish posted the last points of the of the quarter with Hidalgo putting up a jump shot and King adding on a layup to bring the score to 21-11.
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As the Irish held the lead heading into the third quarter, TCU scored the first four points to bring the score to 35-33, but the Irish responded as Hidalgo put up two free throws and Citron added a three-pointer to keep the Irish ahead 40-33. After a shooting foul on the Irish, the Horned Frogs put up two points, but the Irish quickly responded as King added on a free throw, Miles added a layup Hidalgo added on a layup and Citron added on a threepoint shot to widen the score to 48-35.
TCU managed three more points after that, but Notre Dame kept the ball rolling as Prosper put up a free throw and Citron and Miles added on layups to bring the score to 53-39. TCU quickly responded with six more points before committing a shooting foul on Hidalgo, who put in a free throw to bring the score to 54-45. The Irish finished out the third quarter with Miles adding on a jump shot to make the score 56-45.
TCU came straight out of the gate heading into the fourth quarter, scoring the first eight points of the quarter to bring the score to 5653 before Hidalgo responded with a layup of her own. The Horned Frogs then added on two more points before
committing another shooting foul to allow the Irish to put on another point of their own to bring the score to 59-55. While TCU managed to put in another basket, Notre Dame wasted no time in responding as Miles put in a layup to bring the score to 61-57.
After the two teams went back and forth, TCU put in four points, but Miles responded with a layup to restore Notre Dame’s lead at 63-61. Things then took a turn in favor of the Horned Frogs as they put up 10 more points to take the 71-63 lead over the Irish, but a shooting foul drawn by Hidalgo brought the score to 71-64. After a foul committed by the Irish, the Horned Frogs added on two more points, but Citron did not hesitate to put in a layup of her own to make the score 73-66. Two more shooting fouls were called on the Irish, allowing TCU to score two more points before Hidalgo countered with a layup to bring the score to 75-68. The Horned Frogs finished out the fourth quarter with a free throw to make the final score 76-68.
Hidalgo led the Irish with 26 points overall, while King led the team in rebounds with 13.
Game Two: Utah 78, Notre Dame 67
The Irish then played Utah but were again unable to secure a favorable result.
Notre Dame came out of the gate strong as they scored the first five points of the first quarter thanks to a threepoint make from Citron and two free throws from Miles. While Utah tallied a layup to bring the score to 5-2, the Irish responded as King added on a layup and a jump shot to bring the score to 9-2. While Utah added two more points, Citron added on a layup and a jump shot to bring the score to 13-4.
Utah then rattled off eight points to bring the margin within one, but Prosper added on a three-point shot to bring the score to 16-12. Utah then took the 19-16 lead as it added on seven points. Hidalgo scored the final points of the first quarter with a layup to bring the score to 19-18.
Citron started off the second quarter strong for the Irish, adding on a layup to help the Irish regain the 2019 lead, but Utah quickly responded with a layup of its own to restore the 21-20 lead. The Irish did not back down as Hidalgo put up a layup and a three-point shot and Miles added on a jump shot to bring the score to 27-21. While Utah put up two more points, the two teams went back and forth with multiple turnovers
before Citron put up another layup to bring the score to 29-23.
A three-pointer from Utah brought the score within three, but Miles added on a layup and King added on a layup to bring the score to 3326. Utah managed to make a comeback, adding on two more points before Notre Dame answered to keep the lead at 37-28. Utah finished the second quarter with two layups to make the score 37-32.
Utah came out strong after halftime and regained the lead, scoring 11 points before committing a shooting foul and allowing the Irish to score two more points to make the score 43-39. While Utah added on three more points, a shooting foul committed by Utah on Prosper allowed the Irish to gain two more points to make the score 46-41. Another shooting foul on Utah allowed Hidalgo to put two more points on the board for the Irish to bring the score to 46-43.
As Utah put up a threepoint shot, Citron pushed back with a three-pointer of her own to keep the score within three at 49-46. Utah put in another three-point shot, but the Irish did not give up as Hidalgo put in a layup to bring the score to 52-48. At the end of the third quarter, Utah put up the last point to make the score 53-48 after a shooting foul was called on the Irish.
Utah continued to keep it momentum going heading into the fourth quarter, posting the first three points, but Citron added a layup for the Irish to bring the score to 56-50. Utah continued to pull away, scoring eight while Notre Dame could only manage four more, making the score 64-54. The Utes then put up four more points to bring the score to 68-54. For the Irish, King added on a free throw and a layup, and Hidalgo added on a three-point shot and a layup to bring the score to 68-62. Utah quickly responded, adding on seven more points, but Citron and King countered with one layup each and King tacked on Notre Dame’s final two points to bring the score to 75-67. Utah finished the fourth quarter scoring three more points to make the final score 78-67.
Citron scored 22 points while King led the Irish again on the interior with 11 rebounds.
Now 5-2 on the season, Notre Dame prepares to face off against Texas on Dec. 5th at 7 p.m.
FOOTBALL
Irish clinch CFP berth with 49-35 win at USC
By MADELINE LADD Assistant Managing Editor
“Reload, reload reload.” This was a phrase echoed by head coach Marcus Freeman to his players as they moved throughout their final game of the regular season, with the USC Trojans as the last obstacle between the Irish and their first College Football Playoff appearance of the Freeman era. After 95 games in this rivalry, the battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh has been contested for decades. As seen in many rivalry games this weekend, nothing was guaranteed. This matchup was no exception.
On the 50th anniversary of “The Comeback Game,” the Trojans came ready to challenge the Irish at every turn. But with everything on the line, the Irish rose to the occasion and battled through adversity to secure a 4935 victory and punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff. Here’s how it happened.
First half: A tale of two quarters
The Irish opened the game with a steady start, capping their first drive with a late firstquarter touchdown. Star sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love delivered the score, making it his 17th touchdown of the season and etching his name into the Notre Dame record books. Love surpassed Wayne Bullock’s record for consecutive games with a rushing
ND MEN’S BASKETBALL
touchdown (1973-1974), extending his streak to 12 games. A spectacular hurdle later on in the game set the tone for his performance, though his day ended prematurely with 99 yards and a possible knee injury.
Senior quarterback Riley Leonard dodged sack attempts well throughout the first half and was accurate in the pocket, completing 77% of his passes on the day, his longest pass being a mere 23 yards. He passed for 155 yards with two touchdowns while rushing for another score for a total of 50 yards rushing on the day.
“He’s special,” Freeman said of Leonard. “You hear me say all the time, there’s no difference between coaching and quarterback at Notre Dame. He experienced the highs and the lows within the first two weeks of the season, and he continued to battle, he continued to prepare, and I knew from the beginning he was the right quarterback to lead this program.”
The second quarter, however, started off on a different note. Senior wide receiver Jayden Thomas fumbled a pass from Leonard, setting up the Trojans’ first touchdown after a quick three-minute drive. This mistake certainly wasn’t the way the Irish hoped to start the quarter.
The next Irish drive stalled with a three-and-out but gained momentum with a clever fake punt throw by senior wide receiver Tyler Buchner to hit senior
tight end Mitchell Evans for a first down. Despite this Buchner cameo, the Irish failed to find the end zone, and a missed field goal by graduate kicker Mitch Jeter left the game tied at halftime. This miss highlighted ongoing struggles in the kicking game at arguably the worst possible time of the season.
While Notre Dame converted well on third downs in the opening quarter, the Irish faltered in the second, illuminating an inconsistent first-half performance that left them searching for answers at half.
Second half: Irish pull away and close with flair
The third quarter opened with plenty of back-and-forth action. The Irish struck first, with Leonard connecting on a short pass to junior running back Jadarian Price, who broke through a lane and dashed 36 yards for the touchdown. USC quickly responded with a rushing score up the middle by quarterback Jayden Maiava, exposing defensive gaps that Notre Dame appeared to be struggling with all day.
The normally solid Christian Gray had a particularly rough time this quarter, being targeted on USC’s past two touchdown drives enabled by his two pass interference penalties. However, the sophomore cornerback would later redeem himself with critical plays.
Notre Dame punched back, with Leonard plunging two
yards into the end zone to make it 28-21 on the following Irish drive.
But the momentum briefly swung back to USC when Leonard’s deep pass intended for graduate wide receiver Kris Mitchell was intercepted by Anthony Beavers Jr., who returned it to the Notre Dame 45yard line. However, the Trojans failed to capitalize as dropped passes and graduate safety Xavier Watts’ strong defensive presence halted their progress.
Leonard bounced back from his previous interception, finding Price for a 34-yard rush for a crucial first down. Building on that energy, Leonard connected with Mitchell Evans for a touchdown that extended Notre Dame’s lead to 35-21. It marked their largest lead of the game, eliciting the loudest roar of the day from Irish fans.
The Irish defense became more lively at the end of quarter three. Back-and-forth play continued, with the tenacious Christian Gray on the scene making up for his past plays with a pass breakup.
“I just got to break through the chains,” Gray said. “It’s like, that’s what I said in my head. And I just just screamed it out. Because the best thing to do is just kind of scream it out, and they just go ball out.”
USC had some major completions, bringing it into the red zone minutes into the fourth quarter and eventually into the end zone for a 35-28 score.
After a major gain by the Trojans, dueling chants of “Let’s go, Irish” and “Let’s go, Trojans” echoed through the Coliseum. The energy seemed to spark the Irish defense, as Gray delivered a stunning, 99yard pick-six that extended Notre Dame’s lead to 42-28 with under four minutes remaining.
Later, the Irish defense struck again. Watts intercepted a pass and sprinted 100 yards for another pick-six to leave no question of the game. While the Trojans managed a late touchdown, it wasn’t enough to alter the outcome. The Trojans managed a touchdown in the last few seconds, though the final score favored the Irish 49-35 as Notre Dame fans overwhelmed the sea of red that once was. Up next is uncharted territory for the Irish as they await their opponent in the CFP. But, in the meantime, Freeman plans to celebrate the hardfought win.
“Listen, we have to celebrate this thing first, and these guys work way too hard not to take a moment and enjoy the state of this,” Freeman said. “This is what I call teamwork, and it’s where everybody in that locker room knows they have a part of us achieving. That it’s not one person, it’s everybody that it takes getting their job done for us to achieve this great feeling that we have.”
Contact Madeline Ladd at mladd2@nd.edu
Irish drop fifth straight game in loss at Georgia
By BEN HICKS Sports Writer
The Notre Dame men’s basketball team dropped its fifth straight game on Tuesday night, as it fell to the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens by a score of 69-48. The Irish offense struggled mightily once again in the absence of preseason All-ACC First Team selection Markus Burton. Prior to injuring his knee in last Tuesday’s overtime loss to Rutgers, the sophomore guard had averaged over 20 points per game. Princeton graduate transfer guard Matt Allocco had shouldered much of the scoring load in the backcourt, averaging nearly 15 points in the three-game Players Era Festival last week in Last Vegas.
After the Irish ran out to a 6-0 advantage over the first four minutes inside Stegeman Coliseum for the opening battle of the ACC/ SEC Challenge, head coach Mike White’s Georgia defense suffocated Allocco, holding the Irish’s on-court leader to just five points on 2-for-8 shooting in his 38 minutes of action. The Irish managed just 10 points over the succeeding 10 minutes, and behind the efficient play of wings Asa Newell and Dakota Leffew, the Bulldogs opened up a 22-14 lead.
Notre Dame coupled six turnovers with an abysmal 9-for-25 shooting mark from the field in the first half, and Georgia held a 34-22 advantage as the sides headed into the locker room.
Sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry was able to
break out of his shooting slump early in the second half as the Irish’s best perimeter shooter led a 10-0 run to claw within four points. Graduate transfer forward Nikita Konstantynovskyi also scored all five of his points during the surge, and freshman forward Garrett Sundra provided the best minutes of his young career, knocking down a pair of shots and pulling in two rebounds.
The wheels would begin to fall off on both ends of the court for Notre Dame, however, as Leffew converted on his fourth triple of the evening before Newell took over the Bulldog attack, ballooning the Georgia lead to 15 with five minutes to play.
The steady play of graduate transfer point guard Tyrin Lawrence saw the Bulldogs
to the finish line, despite a brief Irish run cutting the lead to 11. Lawrence, a four year starter at Vanderbilt, finished with seven points and sevent assists to complement his +25 plus/minus.
Newell recorded the second double-double of his freshman campaign, tallying 20 points and 11 rebounds. Leffew added 16 points and four rebounds in the winning effort. It was yet another disappointing night for Irish head coach Micah Shrewsberry and company, with the shooting woes continuing to the tune of 4-for-19 from beyond the arc, causing the Irish to score their fewest points since a 65-45 home loss to The Citadel last Dec. 19. Braeden Shrewsberry and junior forward Tae Davis led the way with 14 points
apiece, as no other player scored more than five. Notre Dame also tallied just five assists to Georgia’s 19 while also being outrebounded 40-27 by the Bulldogs.
The Irish return to action this Saturday, when they welcome the Syracuse Orange to Purcell Pavilion for the ACC regular-season opener. Led by secondyear head coach Red Autry, Syracuse will enter the contest at 4-3, directly following a 26-point drubbing at the hands of Tennessee in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Saturday will be the first of four Irish Wear Green games for the 2024-25 season, with tip-off set for noon and The CW holding broadcast rights.
