Print Edition for The Observer for Monday, December 9, 2024

Carroll Christmas fosters cheer, joy

ND entrepreneurs named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list

By ANNELISE DEMERS Associate News Editor

Notre Dame seniors Liam Redmond and Zachary Brown have earned a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, being recognized for their innovative company, YELO, billed aa a first-of-its-kind social ride network connecting college students for safe and affordable transportation.

By DOMINIC SEMENTILLI News Writer

On Saturday, Carroll Hall hosted its annual Christmas celebration, Carroll Christmas. The event took place from 3-6 p.m. and offered attendees from the tri-campus community the opportunity to partake in new activities and Carroll traditions to celebrate the season.

According to junior Carroll Hall president Will Calder, the event would not have been possible without the effort of the Carroll community. On top of typical friendly karaoke competitions and steaming mugs of hot chocolate, the event

featured notable changes.

“Our typical horse and buggy vendor went out of business, so we replaced the beloved sleigh ride with our own version of Santa’s sleigh, a Ford F-150 wrapped with wrapping paper and lights all around the car,” Calder said.

Before the event’s iconic tree lighting ceremony, attendees were invited to gather around a fire to roast s’mores with a view of the dome and lake. Attendees could also listen to live music as Carroll residents sophomore Tom Yevoli, sophomore Andrew Lorente

Lectures combine science, philosopy

By SOPHIA TRAN Staff Writer

The question of whether “nothingness” is “somethingness” launched the beginning of a conversation over human existence in this year’s Organs and Origins Conference Series. Last Friday and Saturday, the McGrath Institute for Church Life hosted a twoday conference that invited scientists, philosophers and theologians to discuss the universe and meaning of existence. Notably, the lecture was meant to provide a foundation for discussions over the interconnectedness

between modern science and theology.

The event featured a series of lectures from six professors specializing in the sciences and theology from Notre Dame and other academic institutions. In addition to the main lectures, John Cavadini, the institute’s director, and Santiago Schnell, dean of the College of Science, provided complementary remarks.

Emeritus professor of physics at the University of Delaware and president of the Society of Catholic Scientists, Stephen Barr,

The duo, listed in the “Youngest” and “Transportation & Mobility” categories, is among the youngest selection of honorees on the annual list, which highlights trailblazers under age 30 across 20 industries.

YELO’s journey began in an unlikely setting—the South Dining Hall stir-fry line. Frustrated with the high cost and safety concerns of traditional rideshares, Redmond and Brown envisioned a peer-to-peer solution tailored to students. Combining Redmond’s entrepreneurial vision and Brown’s computer science skills, they launched an initial version of the app, then named Desi. The company later changed its name to YELO.

The platform quickly evolved beyond transportation. Students began using it to track social events and hotspots, a feature that became central to its appeal.

“We were sick of unpredictable surge pricing and safety concerns,” Redmond said. “From a simple idea, we saw use cases we never predicted. Our obsession with user feedback revealed insights that transformed our business model.”

YELO’s success has been swift. During the 2023-24 school year, over 40% of Notre Dame students used the platform, and drivers

Kate the Chemist fills new science professorship

By HENRY JAGODZINSKI Staff Writer

Dr. Kate Biberdorf, known as ‘Kate the Chemist,’ has significant plans as the University’s professor for the public understanding of science. The chemist and selfdescribed science entertainer is the first person to fill the newly created position.

The professorship comes with multiple goals, including making science more accessible to wider audiences, amplifying research done at Notre Dame, connecting with the South Bend Community and raising the profile of Notre Dame within the scientific community.

Biberdorf, a prominent figure before her appointment, appears regularly in popular media, hosts a podcast with NPR affiliate KCUR Studios and has written

eight books. Creating the professorship has been on College of Science dean Santiago Schnell’s mind for years. He completed his doctoral studies

at the University of Oxford, which, in 1995, became the first university to appoint a professor for the

DOMINIC SEMENTILLI | The Observer

Students crowd Carroll Hall to celebrate the Christmas season. The dorm was decked out with lights and wrapping paper for the event.

Courtesy of Liam Redmond

Seniors Liam Redmond and Zachary Brown were recognized by the Forbes 30 Under 30. They were among the youngest given the honor.

Courtesy of Matt Cashore and the College of Science

Dr. Kate Biberdorf presents at the College of Science’s 2023 Christmas lecture. She has amassed more than 287,200 TikTok followers.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY:

How many

Bella Zapata sophomore Howard Hall

“Seven

Jaqueline Morales freshman Flaherty Hall

“Two

Annmarie Wallis junior Lewis Hall

“Two

Lucy Salata freshman Ryan Hall

“Three

Jessica Toohig freshman Howard Hall

“Three exams and three papers.”

Marissa Morici freshman Badin Hall

“Two exams and three papers.”

The St. Joseph County 4-H Fair set up Dasher’s Drive Thru, a drive-in light show. Houses, tractors and trailers were decorated with lights and the opening scene to “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was displayed. The show will resume Dec. 22-23 from 6-9 p.m.

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Peter Mikulski Viewpoint Liam Price

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.

Monday

Book Club Christmas CandyGram Sale

LaFortune Lobby

4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Candygrams can be sent across campus.

Unchained Melodies’ Christmas Concert Hagerty Cafe Stage

7 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Unchained Melodies annual winter concert.

Tuesday

Annual Art Sale

AAHD Gallery, 216 Riley Hall

9 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Art created by students and falculty.

Isha Prayer LaFortune Champions of Diversity Room

8 p.m. - 8:15 p.m.

Prayer with Muslim Student Association

Wednesday

Collegium Musician Concert

Reyes Organ and Choral Hall

7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Motets of J.S. Bach

Notre Dame vs. Dartmouth Purcell Pavilion

7 p.m.

Irish men’s basketball takes on Dartmouth.

Thursday

Notre Dame vs. Connecticut Purcell Pavilion 7 p.m.

Women’s basketball faces Huskies.

Film: “Fargo” DeBartolo Performing Arts Center

6:30 p.m. - 8:10 a.m. DeBartolo hosts showing of “Fargo.”

Furry Friends

CFAM plans environmental Spes experience

By BERHAN HAGEZOM News Writer

The Center for Faith, Action and Ministry (CFAM) will offer a “Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor” immersion experience from March 9-15. During this Spes experience, students will travel to New York to “learn about care for our common home, environmental justice, advocacy for sustainable systems and eco-spirituality,” as mentioned in a school-wide email to Saint Mary’s students.

Assistant director for justice and solidarity Sarah Neitz spoke on the inspiration behind the title of the immersion experience and how it connects to the need to care for the planet.

“‘Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor’ comes from Pope Francis’s letter called ‘Laudato Si.’ It’s a letter that is addressed to all people, not just to Catholics, and it brings care for creation squarely into Catholic social teaching and calls for all people to care for the earth,” Neitz said.

Additionally, CFAM will collaborate with the Center at Mariandale in New York, a spiritual retreat center that focuses on love for the Earth, to further their efforts of sustainability and environmental justice.

“Sometimes, it can be tough to find good sustainability centered

emergence, so it was really cool to talk with the Center at Mariandale and hear that this is something that they do, and we’re excited to partner with them,” Neitz said.

According to Neitz, student leaders are a huge part of facilitating students’ learning experience through group settings and conversations that encourage reflections and open conversations.

“Service student leaders really take over during the immersion part of the trip. There’s three parts of a Spes experience: preparation, immersion and integration, and our student leaders prepare and lead reflections during the immersion experience. There’s usually very full days on these experiences, and every night, the whole group comes together to be able to reflect on the experience,” Neitz explained.

This provides experience attendees a chance to not only understand their experience throughout the day but also, as Neitz said, “What does this mean for me in the context of a trusted group?” According to Neitz, student leaders also take part in risk assessment and management throughout the trip, considering how to reduce it as well.

As a student a part of a previous “Racial Justice Journey” Spes experience, senior Thalia Mora described what the preparation and

integration meetings were like prior to her trip to Saint Louis.

“We had more than five meetings beforehand, prepping for Saint Louis. We would read a lot about different social activists, articles and readings from people of color and activists who are working towards racial justice and their experience advocating for that, especially in Saint Louis. We talked about the different things we’re going to go do and our role in the immersion experience,” Mora said.

During the preparation period prior to the trip, students will also explore the meaning of Spes values: community, simplicity, spirituality, solidarity and justice, through resources to read and challenges.

“We begin talking about the values during preparation, which gives everyone a chance to be able to kind of explore what this means for them before they ever go on the immersion trip. We do that pretty intentionally,” Neitz said.

Junior Caitlin Price, a Spes service leader for “Seeking Justice in Chicago,” described her role as a leader to be a facilitator that guides students through tough conversations.

“One of the biggest things that I’ll be expected to do as a leader is to lead our group reflections. And that typically happens at night,

after we’ve spent the day talking with multiple people and seeing different kinds of situations. What the facilitator does is just ask questions and make the group feel comfortable in answering those questions. Obviously, the subject matter that we’re dealing with can be a bit uncomfortable, and it’s hard to talk about, but those uncomfortable conversations are how we grow as people,” Price said.

Another Spes leader for the “Seeking Justice in Chicago” experience, senior Evelyn Weaver, shared how she is looking forward to hearing students reflect on their day-to-day experience with social justice issues.

“Through this experience, I wanted to see what people’s reflections are as they go through this process and see what people’s observations are as they’re looking at populations and seeing what those around them are struggling with,” Weaver said.

During the “Racial Justice Journey” Spes experience in Saint Louis, one of Mora’s favorite experiences was hearing underrepresented populations talk about their experiences in connection with racial justice.

“We went to Saint Louis University and met with some Black student leaders to talk about their experience, which I think was probably my favorite part to

hear about their experience as students of color in a Catholic institution. Along with seeing how their experience is further shaping the racial justice journey within Saint Louis and how it reflects a lot of people of color’s and students of color’s journey through higher education was really cool and really empowering,” Mora said.

Neitz hopes, through this “Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor” Spes experience, everyone will have a chance to develop their own ability in identifying climate crises and environmental challenges, along with being able to find hope throughout the journey.

“We call these Spes experiences because Spes means hope, and it’s a big part of the Holy Cross tradition to grow people of hope, and that in the face of justice and environmental degradation, our students are people who find hope in action,” Neitz said.

Student leaders also believe Spes experiences offer worthwhile exposure to specific topics.

“I think it’s great for people to put themselves in different situations. I feel like a lot of times we get comfortable with our little Saint Mary’s bubble, and it’s good to pop that, to step outside and see what’s around the corner,” Weaver said.

Contact Berhan Hagezom at bhagezom01@saintmarys.edu

Figueredo and freshman Joshua Haug performed Christmas songs on the guitar and saxophone.

In addition to new activities, the event retained several beloved traditions. Students could purchase Carroll Christmas sweatshirts outside South Dining Hall prior to and during the event. Santa, Mrs. Claus and the elves were able to set aside time in their busy schedule to take photos with students in Carroll Hall

and hopefully grant their wishes with final exam season approaching. Additionally, the event hosted an escape room activity, themed escaping the “Evil College Football Playoff Committee.”

When considering the evening’s success, Calder emphasized how many people came together to bring the event to life.

“I was not the sole organizer of the event. Carroll Christmas is a huge Carroll event,” Calder said. “Every member of Carroll helped decorate, advertise and plan the event.

While I was the one making calls and planning some of the more logistical aspects of the event, it was really the Carroll community that organized the event.”

Calder highlighted how crucial collaboration was to the event. Students from all years were involved in decorating the dorm, working together to hang lights, set up rooms and create a winter wonderland atmosphere.

Contact Dominic Sementilli at dsementi@nd.edu

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earned $35 an hour by keeping 100% of their fares, the team reports. The app has attracted investment from PivotNorth Capital and Teamworthy Ventures, known for backing companies like Chime and Toast.

Throughout the day you’ll...

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• hear from Graduate Admission, the Office of Financial Aid, and graduate faculty.

• take a tour of campus to see our labs and facilities.

• learn more about your program of interest. Our graduate programs are open to women and men.

EXPLORE OUR GRADUATE PROGRAMS saintmarys.edu/graduate-studies

YELO is set to roll out to three additional campuses in early 2025, with further expansions planned. The app’s updated version, launching this winter, promises enhanced features based on student feedback.

Running a startup while finishing their senior year has come with sacrifices, the founders admitted.

“Our initial reaction to being named to Forbes 30 Under 30 was surprise, quickly followed by validation,” Redmond said. “It’s fuel for us to keep innovating.”

“It’s a tall task,” Redmond said. “Friendships, extracurriculars and grades have taken a backseat. But this level of dedication is required to build a generational company.”

Despite the challenges, the Notre Dame community has been instrumental in YELO’s growth. According to the two, the University’s IDEA Center provided early grants and invaluable mentorship.

“We owe so much to the IDEA Center and the Notre Dame network,” Redmond said. “They opened doors and provided resources that made this possible.”

With plans to expand and refine their platform, the founders remain focused on their vision: creating a social mobility network that redefines how students navigate and connect with their campuses.

“We’re not just about rides,” Redmond said. “We’re about connection, community and creating a safer, more affordable way for students to experience college life.”

Contact Annelise Demers at ademers@nd.edu

public understanding of science.

“It was done primarily because science has become so technical, so complicated, that you need to have a spokesman on behalf of the University who can explain science to the general public,” Schnell said.

The University Strategic Framework, published in August 2023, recommended the establishment of the faculty position at Notre Dame.

The position was offered to Biberdorf after she delivered the College of Science’s annual Christmas lecture last year. At the time, she was an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Biberdorf said shortly after returning to her hotel room from the lecture, she received an email asking if she would be available to meet with Schnell the next morning.

“I thought, ‘How am I in trouble? Like, what did I do?’ I couldn’t believe it, but then he offered me the job like the next morning,” Biberdorf said.

Unbeknownst to her, the Christmas lecture was actually a mini audition of sorts for the position.

“The Christmas lecture was my way to invite people who were exceptional public speakers, who were at the same time scientists, to see if they could come to Notre Dame,” Schnell explained. “Then if one of these speakers was exceptional, then we [would] try to recruit them aggressively.”

Schnell said he could tell Biberdorf was the right fit for the role.

“When Kate came in … it was incredibly obvious,” he said. “She had the right personality and the energy that was required to take the position.”

Schnell explained he was looking for someone to fill the role who already had a public profile and had achieved recognition. He believes Biberdorf will be able to serve as a public figure affiliated with the University.

“We don’t have a public intellectual in science at Notre Dame, and when Kate came in, it was obvious

Science

began the conference with a talk on the origin of matter. His talk introduced fundamental theories that underlie the universe to the audience; particle interactions and matter-antimatter asymmetry were among topics discussed.

At the conclusion of his talk, Barr discussed the deep unsolved problems that still exist in fundamental physics while discussing concepts such as dark energy. During the Q&A session, a number of audience members expressed a sense of ineffability and mystery in regard to complex topics such as dark matter. Barr responded to their questions with his own interpretation of science and human existence.

“I think matter is a lot simpler than a human being, which is why the hard sciences are actually

that she could be that representative,” Schnell said.

He said his first goal is combatting a perception that Catholicism is at odds with science.

“People think … that a Catholic institution is not an institution where science can be promoted,” Schnell said. “The first thing is that [Dr. Biberdorf] has to be somebody who is using the name of a Catholic institution and say: ‘We are not afraid of talking science.’”

Three months into her new role, Biberdorf hopes to build public trust in science while boosting Notre Dame’s visibility through a series of initiatives on campus, in the South Bend community, nationally and globally.

At Notre Dame, Biberdorf is currently working on two projects.

The first is the creation of a new studio-makerspace she will use for science demonstrations. It will be equipped as a wet-lab, but it will also include audio-visual technology for her to produce content for television or Instagram, a platform on which she has over 125,000 followers. Additionally, Biberdorf has over 287,200 followers on TikTok.

Biberdorf hopes to feature other Notre Dame scientists in her studio and amplify their research.

“I really want to get [Notre Dame researchers] comfortable on camera,” she said.

Additionally, Biberdorf is working to create a science communication minor, with two distinct tracks: a writing track and a multimedia/video track. She said she is currently working with both the College of Science and the College of Arts and Letters on the new program, which she expects will be ready to launch in the fall of 2025.

“She has to train the new generation of individuals who are going to be helping to engage with the general public on science or any other discipline,” Schnell said.

Training in scientific communication allows researchers to publish better papers, become more engaged with the academic community and write stronger grant proposals, Schnell explained.

“You can be an exceptional scientist in the laboratory, but if you are not an exceptional communicator, you don’t get very far,”

relatively easy,” Barr said. “You can write down equations, and the matter just goes along and follows the equation.”

“The physical world is relatively simple. As I said, the real mysteries have to do with the divine soul, love, goodness and evil. Physics is a simple subject for simple souls,” Barr continued.

With this beginning lecture on existence as explained through physics, the conference continued the next day with a series of other topics diving deeper into the subject of science and humanity. Luc Jaeger, chemistry and biochemistry professor at the University of California Santa Barbara, Kieran McNulty, ecology, evolution and behavior professor at the University of Minnesota and Mariusz Tabaczek, theology professor at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, delivered the next three talks focused more

Schnell said. “Only the best communicators are the ones who advance in science, and they end up winning the biggest awards.”

Beyond campus, Biberdorf hopes to bring the Pint of Science Festival to South Bend. The festival, which occurs annually in May, encourages scientists to share their research in an accessible manner in locations such as bars or pubs. Pint of Science has over 500 participating cities globally. However, there are currently only 5 U.S. cities listed as hosting an event in 2025, with no locations in the Midwest or Great Lakes regions.

“I want to bring it here to South Bend and have it be one benchmark for all of the northern United States,” Biberdorf said.

Additionally, Biberdorf is planning a traveling science show that would journey across the United States alongside the Notre Dame football team throughout their season. She is currently working on acquiring an RV that could serve as a traveling lab. She hopes to first take it to local South Bend schools and get feedback from students.

“Then, once it’s optimized, we will take this out, and it’s going to go to every away football game,” Biberdorf explained. “Next year, we’re going to Arkansas. We’ve never been to Arkansas before, so why don’t we just kick the door down and just announce it in the name of science?”

She also hopes to host community engagements the day after the games with citizen science projects.

Her plans don’t stop at national borders, though. She’ll be traveling to the annual conference of The Network for the Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) in Aberdeen, Scotland in May 2025. At the conference, Notre Dame will be bidding to be the host of the PCST 2029 conference. If successful, it would be the first time the event would be hosted in the United States.

“[The PCST conference organizers] really want to bring this to the U.S. Science communication is hopping over in Europe. Everybody’s doing it there,” Biberdorf said. “We’re like 30 years behind.”

specifically on the origin of the human species and life.

After a series of talks with breaks in between, the final talk was delivered by program director of the science & religion initiative Christopher Baglow. For the final talk, Baglow elaborated on the Holy Trinity’s connection to creation and the “hiddenness” of God. Baglow explained how physics can be interpreted as a veil that hides creation; he further discussed God in the context of physics.

“God is love, not in the oneness of a single person, but in the Trinity of one substance,” Baglow explained. “He does not live in splendid solitude but rather is an inexhaustible source of life that is ceaselessly given and communicated to a certain extent.”

“We can perceive this by observing both the macro universe, our Earth, the planets, the stars, the galaxies and the micro universe. The

Biberdorf’s new role comes at a politically fraught moment. Trust in the scientific community has fallen significantly in recent years, which Schnell acknowledged.

“I think the two parties are responsible for the division. One is not communicating effectively to the other, and maybe, in some occasions, they call them idiots,” Schnell said. “The other person, maybe, what he needs is more help, and we haven’t provided the right help.”

He also argues scientists should be careful to maintain political neutrality.

“It hasn’t helped that the scientists, some scientists, have adopted political positions that make [some people] suspicious,” Schnell said.

He emphasizes the importance of “building bridges,” a common refrain of University President Fr. Bob Dowd.

“Building bridges for communicating more effectively … part of [Dr. Biberdorf’s] mission is just doing that,” Schnell said.

Biberdorf is also worried about Americans’ decline of trust in scientists. She said she sees it as part of her responsibility to advocate for science in the public square.

“I will speak up for things that are truly backed in science. I will use my platform to talk about it as much as I can, in a way where I’m hopefully not polarizing anyone on the other side.”

Yet, she admitted, there are issues on which she is deeply passionate about and feels compelled to speak up about.

“I will fight you until I die on climate change. Vaccines, I will fight you for that,” Biberdorf added.

Biberdorf will have plenty of opportunities to advocate and educate over the next few months. She said she has media appearances scheduled every four to eight weeks and currently has dates booked for both Today and NBC Nightly News

Known for her theatrical demonstrations, often featuring explosions and pyrotechnics, Biberdorf said her first goal is to create a memorable experience for viewers and then start to incorporate scientific communication afterward.

“I will light my hand on fire,

name of the Blessed Trinity is, in a certain sense, imprinted upon all things … In this way, we catch a glimpse of God as a relationship and ultimately creator love,” Baglow continued.

Following Baglow’s lecture, audience members posed questions in response to the talk’s focus on God and physical existence. One speaker in particular asked about the mystery of existence and the necessity of God’s existence. In addition to Baglow, a series of other audience members spoke up to respond to this existential question.

“One way of approaching it is to say that if one believes that all things are intelligible, then one can argue that there must be some act of understanding,” an audience member said. “The complete intelligibility of reality is somewhat argued that there must exist an act of understanding, and that act of understanding

and then after I’m fine and not screaming, now the students want to know how that works, right? That’s when I can teach them about the specific heat capacity of water. That’s when I can teach them about thermodynamics components,” Biberdorf said. She prefers not to lead with combating misinformation, though she acknowledges the importance of that work. Instead, she said she tries to build trust through engagement.

“I like the flashy piece. I don’t say, ‘Here’s our science lesson, and we’re going to learn about moles,’” Biberdorf said. “My entire strategy is to be as sneaky as possible and hope people like the science.”

She hopes other scientists at Notre Dame will adopt her methods.

“I’m hoping that I can use my brand to kind of push that out on all other scientists, starting here at the Notre Dame community,” Biberdorf said. “We can just work on the science communication skills of each scientist, one at a time. I hope that I can then create an army of science communicators that will then go out nationally, internationally, and talk about science in a positive way.”

She believes her methods could help to boost the prestige of the University.

“Hopefully, honestly, with [this strategy], our international ranking for Notre Dame should go way up. We should be way higher than we currently are,” Biberdorf said.

Schnell said Biberdorf’s style may be outside the comfort zone of some researchers at Notre Dame.

“We have really exceptional scientists at Notre Dame who are geeks and nerds like I am. We prefer to be writing our own papers,” he said.

Yet, he too hopes they can learn from Biberdorf by observing her methods and replicating them.

This is an abbreviated version of the story. You can read the complete version online at ndsmcobserver.com

Contact Henry Jagodzinski at hjagodzi@nd.edu

would necessarily be infinite. [God] is the unrestricted act of understanding.”

Other questions delved deeper into more philosophical discussions over topics such as nothingness, Genesis 1 and Saint Aquinas’ own definition of Creation. At the conclusion of this final lecture talk, Baglow further emphasized the interconnectedness between human existence, creation and theology.

“Christ gifted Himself on the cross; that’s the heart of the meaning of the existence, of all things from a Christian perspective,” Baglow said. “It is the very same mercy intensely expressed in His agony and death that we see in the fact that each and every one of us exists and has our being which we did not give ourselves.”

Contact Sophia Tran at stran2@nd.edu

Jackson Lang Letters from The Wanderer

A letter to the unconceived

To the unconceived, whoever you aren’t, Do you mind if I tell you what it feels like to be alive? I’ll start from the very beginning.

I was born on a day without color. Or warmth. Most people dislike these kinds of days, but I feel at home. When all vibrancy has been drained from the world, life reveals its truest colors. The budding greens of spring and the fiery reds of autumn are pleasing to the eye, but it is the soulless gray of winter that touches the depths of my soul.

When you’re young, as I once was, everything has meaning. Pushing a shopping cart down the aisle like a race-car (did you know that race-car spelled backwards is rac-ecar?); feeling sorry for the driedup earthworms after a rainstorm; falling asleep to a rising pitter-patter while in the backseat of your mother’s car — these mundanities, they all have

INSIDE COLUMNS

unfathomable significance, so long as they remained unquestioned. And the childish mind, in all its wisdom, questions nothing.

When you’re young, adults will pretend to be smarter than you. You might believe them. Don’t. They are foolish, because they demand to know the meaning of everything. They construct ideologies to prove themselves right, and others wrong. They cry out to a God who they know does not exist. But you do none of this. You simply live. And there is no action wiser than living for the sake of … well, for the sake of life itself.

“Every man has two lives, and the second starts when he realizes he has just one.”

I was seven years old when I first knew I was going to die. I forgot my fate for a while, but then, on an arbitrary and colorless Monday (or was it Sunday?), I turned twenty. Nobody talks about turning twenty — eighteen and twenty-one are the de-facto landmark birthdays, but it was on my twentieth birthday that I woke up to life. When I

Forgetting is overrated

If I am being completely honest, I forgot I was supposed to be writing this — whatever this turns out to be. And I guess I’m not really surprised. It is that time of the semester where everyone has about a billion and one things to do. A billion of which they probably don’t want to do and something is bound to be forgotten.

This act of forgetting has got me thinking about life and college and the human tendency to forget. Growing up, I would find myself looking for things to do to pass the time of being a little kid with nothing but time and space to fill. It was hard pressed for my mom to find enough activities to keep me busy.

And then I went to school. Days became waking up early, going to school to pass the time and space and coming home to pass the time and space before doing it all over again the next day. Schooling eventually became slightly more involved in middle school and high school. Homework became a thing and sports became more than just a hobby.

Before I knew it, I was looking for time and space as there was so much to do. Too much to do. And years later, in college, I can’t help but feel like this most weeks. Between class, work, preparing for class and trying to have a social life on top of it all, the lack of space can feel suffocating. Especially at the end of the semester.

College is a great opportunity to learn and grow, experience all the things and make all the choices about how you spend your time — minus those often tedious requirements that are not remotely related to your major.

We have all this time and space to fill with what we want. So we fill it with what we want (and sometimes with what we

don’t want). So much so to the point that we sometimes find ourselves searching for extra time and space. So much so that it can be easy to forget the things we want to do — like writing this column you’re reading right now.

If we aren’t doing the things we want to do, then what are we doing? Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. It is so easy to get lost in identical days and neverending busy schedules that there is no telling just how much is forgotten — how much is lost.

And to me that seems kind of sad. It is one thing to forget the things we never wanted to remember in the first place, but what do we have when we can’t remember the things we want to remember? What use is this sound mind and time and space.

There is nothing wrong with being busy, and these seasons do not last forever. Thank goodness. But when we are done with the exams, the essays and all the things we do not want to do, I hope you have all the time and space to do as you please. And try not to turn the things you like into the things you don’t want to do simply because you are so busy you can’t remember that you like them.

Okay, I am tired and still have an essay to write before the night is done. I wish you all the best in finishing out the semester. It is okay if you procrastinate and it is okay if you don’t do as good as you would like and it is okay if you are sick of school and the cold — just don’t forget anything you want to remember. Forgetting is overrated.

You can contact Chancelor at cgordon01@saintmarys.edu

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

was a toddler — even a teenager — twenty felt a lifetime away. To be twenty years old was to have read the universe’s classified instruction manual cover-to-cover. But then I turned twenty, and this all-encompassing handbook was yet to turn up. Not only that, but two decades had slipped through my fingers, and I hadn’t even noticed it happening.

This letter will remain incomplete for the time being.

T.W.

Jackson is an aspiring philosopher and nomadic freespirit. He is currently wandering through an alpine meadow somewhere in Kashmir, pondering the meaning of life. If you would like to contact him, please send a carrier pigeon with a hand-written note, addressed to “The Abyss.” He won’t respond (Editor’s Note: you can contact Jackson at jlang2@nd.edu)

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

Gameday’s unsung heroes

Madeline Ladd Assistant Managing Editor

Every Saturday in the fall, rain or shine, thousands of fans flock to Notre Dame Stadium to cheer on the Irish. But long before we even set foot inside the house that Rockne built (and long after we leave), there’s an essential group of people already standing on the front lines — the ushers.

Whether you’re an Irish fan or supporting the opposing team, to the ushers, everyone is a guest. They greet us with a warm “welcome to Notre Dame,” guide us to our seats, manage traffic in the stands and ensure that every aspect of the game day experience runs smoothly.

As a sports media and culture minor, I’ve dedicated my capstone project this semester to exploring and illuminating the football usher experience at Notre Dame. To culminate the semester, I’ll be releasing a seven-episode podcast series featuring interviews and stories that provide a deeper look into their role. I have had the privilege of speaking with several ushers from diverse backgrounds, each offering unique insights into their experiences at Notre Dame and beyond. Through these conversations, I’ve come to understand a side of gameday that fans rarely see.

I have spoken with people like Cappy, retired director of stadium ushers, whose wealth of knowledge and leadership transformed the program into what it is today. I’ve also talked with Mike, an usher captain who treats each game like the first, and Neil, who has countless stories to share through his decades in the role.

I met people like Adam, a lifelong Notre Dame fan who turned his passion into a job, and Chad, who serves Notre Dame in a variety of roles in addition to ushering. I’ve met Annemarie, a trailblazer who represents women in the usher role, traveling hundreds of miles each weekend for the games.

Despite their different backgrounds and positions, each usher shared a deep sense of pride in their role as an ambassador for Notre Dame.

So, as we gear up for the big playoff game in two weeks and campus comes alive again after finals, take a moment to appreciate the ushers who travel from near and far to make the fan experience unforgettable. As students, it’s hard to appreciate this sometimes as we become caught up in the rush to our seats or lost in the energy of the buzzing crowd. Whether it’s offering a simple thank you, showing patience when the line to the bleachers stretches across the concourse or just being on your best behavior, every small gesture counts. These men and women are not just facilitating a gameday, they’re creating lasting memories for all of us.

Our ushers as a vital part of the Notre Dame community, with their unwavering dedication and the countless stories they carry, so it’s time they receive the thanks they deserve. And as we wrap up, make sure to check out my podcast later this semester!

You can contact Madeline at mladd2@nd.edu

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

Chancelor Gordon Scene Copyeditor

Christmas Physics

Richard Taylor The Soapbox

As many of you dread your Physics 1 or Physics 2 exam, I do not intend to haunt even your holidays with force diagrams and right-hand rules. Rather, I’d like to point out some everyday festive scenarios for which a little knowledge of physics can help you see behind the hood of this universe.

1. If your family is old-fashioned enough to buy a real Christmas tree, you will have to plant the uprooted evergreen in a stand and drive screws into the trunk to secure the tree. You will want to make sure the tree is not crooked when you drive the screws. If two people with two different angles both agree that the tree looks perfectly upright, then it is guaranteed to look perfectly upright at every other angle. It is easiest to detect and correct crookedness from two perpendicular lines of sight, but that is not required.

2. When you place the heavier ornaments on the shorter branches of the tree, you minimize the torque on the branch. Though your knowledge of rotational kinematics will not take you much further, because the branch is not rigid but bendy. The more you think about the physics of everyday objects, the more you discover that the textbook equations and concepts often serve only as approximations that can only take you so far.

3. If one bulb on a strand of lights goes out but the rest stay lit, you have parallel circuits to thank. If

the lights were wired in series, the death of one bulb would spell the demise of the entire strand.

4. Ice is slippery. Why? You might think it’s because there is a layer of water on the surface. If you are really sharp, you will argue that when you increase the pressure on the ice by walking on it, you decrease its melting point, causing the layer of water to form on the surface. You would be correct, but this effect does not make ice slippery. In most cases, the increased pressure does not reduce the melting point enough to form the layer of water. Ice is actually most slippery when there is no water present — at about twenty degrees. The real reason is that the surface of ice (by nature, by its chemical properties) has a thin layer of freely moving molecules, giving ice a fluid, waterlike surface. So, the original intuition was not far off, but the effects of pressure and melting point are irrelevant.

5. Do not try too hard to open gifts at the exact same time as your siblings. Einstein informed us that the “same time” for your mom standing still taking a picture is not the “same time” for your dad walking back from the kitchen with his coffee. Though, admittedly, this effect (dubbed the “relativity of simultaneity”) is negligible unless your dad approaches you at a speed faster than around sixty-seven million miles per hour (in which case you might want to check what’s in his coffee).

6. If your mom, asking you to set the table while she makes dinner, says, “I can’t be in two places at once!”, you can reply, “Mom, if I close my eyes then

your quantum wavefunction exists in a superposition of states, so actually you can be in two places at once.” Your mom, though, will have the last word: “Well, because I’m doing all this work, my wavefunction has become entangled with my surroundings and has thereby become decoherent. Thus, quantum effects, such as superposition, no longer apply, so I indeed cannot be in two places at once. Please set the table.”

7. Look for the constellation Orion (one of the few constellations which actually looks like its namesake) in the southeast with the three bright stars of his belt sloping up and to the right.

8. On the winter solstice (December 21), all twenty-three and a half degrees of the earth’s tilt will be directed away from the sun (in the northern hemisphere). On this shortest day of the year, the sun will be up for only seven to nine hours, depending on your latitude. From then on, the days will start getting longer again. According to one theory, Jesus was born on the winter solstice (Dec. 25 to the Romans) and John the Baptist on the summer solstice, which is fitting because John prepares the way of the Lord Jesus, whose light only grows brighter after His birth.

Richard Taylor is a junior from St. Louis living in Keenan Hall. He studies physics and theology. He encourages all readers to send reactions, reflections or refutations to rtaylo23@nd.edu.

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

A good enough “good enough”

We are capable of understanding when things are good and when things are bad. Whatever our criteria for deeming such to be the case, regardless of how askew our perceptions or ridiculous our boundaries may be, there is such a thing as a graspable sense of when things are okay and when things are not.

The issue at hand comes not from this perceptive ability — we cannot quite rid ourselves of it no matter how hard we attempt to philosophically intoxicate ourselves — but from how we feel about it.

A chilling realization crawls through our mortal coils at some point in our youth where we realize that we are, in fact, not infallible. We are not perfect, never have been and never will be. The search for perfection is rewarded in our society, inculcated with every reward and punishment into the very fundamental fabric of our neural synapses, but deep down we know it is not truly feasible. One will never excel at every skill, nail every test, seduce their every acquaintance. One will never always speak the right words at the right turn, and make the most accurate decision. Yes, there are certain amounts of luck or lack of information involved in such failures, but simply put, even with perfect capacities of both, we will err. And err harshly we will.

Everyone is cognizant of this fact of our existence, our perpetual imperfection, and as such we recognize that expecting perfection from ourselves or others is outright ridiculous (even though we do not necessarily act on this). Yet, by the same token, we are certain that we can succeed to some degree. Certainly, we are not foolproof, but we do not fail at every single activity we pursue. As it is impossible for us never to fail, it is equally unfeasible to always fail.

In the end, we lie in a spectrum, betwixt perfection and absolute deficiency.

And one is left adrift, aimlessly asking oneself one key

question.

When are we good enough?

Demanding too much from oneself is unhealthy. It is a recurring trend amongst the aspiring, as they have been whispered the folklore of entrepreneurial, nigh cult-like, achievement. After all, we do on occasion observe that it is not all luck: some of the things we attain in our life are indeed the direct effect of our actions. Sometimes if we do try hard enough, we will get that which we desire. So we commit the inductive fallacy, choosing to believe the sweet lie, the childlike belief in the idea that absolutely everything is possible if one craves it enough. Yet that is not how the world works, is it? To punish myself for not attaining the power of flight is a laughable idea, but one that is not too far off from the impossibilities those around us demand from us again and again. And so, we hurt, asphyxiating fish aimlessly flopping atop the land, attempting to breathe oxygen that was never meant for us. We shriek and sob at the misery of not being able to do that which we never could.

Yet not demanding anything of oneself is equally unhealthy. If we cannot bear the thought of forcing ourselves to commit to the most basic of necessities, we will lead quite the harrowing life. Procrastination is a debt, one that accrues interest and swallows you deeper within itself with every passing moment. Once you miss one thing, missing the next becomes so much easier, and by the third there is no point at all in even trying, becoming apathetic to the most essential of needs. Why sleep? Why eat well? Why exercise? Why care? Why not ignore all and become numb? This is a dangerous, ever-worsening path to take. Clearly, we require a degree of anxiety and hurt to push us out of not doing anything at all — the right type of suffering may very well play the role of a positive force, pushing us away from bad habits.

And thus, to be good enough becomes an entirely subjective matter. It is easy to ridicule the extremes, we understand that our answer does not reside in them, but where is it? How much exactly should we really expect from each other? What

truly separates a reasonable requirement from inhuman orders? How do we measure this spectrum, how do we pinpoint the location where we maximize our satisfaction? What does it mean to be “good enough”? Is it a matter of effort, of attention, of care, of struggle, of luck, of skill? Who ought we to compare ourselves with? What should we desire?

When is “good enough,” good enough?

The reason satisfaction is the curse of awareness is that we can intuitively sense that there must exist a point in which “good enough” is truly good enough. Somewhere in the spectrum, most surely, there must be a proper answer … correct?

Perhaps, no.

Perhaps, as with many other human matters, a good enough “good enough” does not exist at all. Perhaps what is to be expected from us cannot be measured at all, and the search for it is a pursuit without end. Certainly, some may acquire some benefit from such an approach, from pretending there exists a reachable goal, but such farces ought not to motivate us. To lie to ourselves rather than embracing a comprehension that it is all ultimately arbitrary may very well set us up for disappointment. I do not believe that subjectivity or arbitrariness diminishes the value of the act at all. Quite the opposite, it permits an unprecedented degree of freedom.

Indeed, once we come to terms with the fact that we have the maximal authority to set our contentment benchmark in whichever location on the spectrum where we desire other than the extremes, we may finally realize that we have always been good enough.

Carlos Basurto is junior at Notre Dame studying philosophy, computer science and German. He’s president of the video game club and will convince you to join, regardless of your degree of interest. Now, with the power to channel his least insane ideas, feel free to talk about them further at cbasurto@nd.edu.

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

Carlos Basurto

Eudaemonic Banter

By PETER MIKULSKI Scene Editor

The Browning Cinema at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center is screening the Coen Brothers’ “Fargo” (1996) this Thursday, Dec. 12 at 8:00 p.m., and if you’re a Sun-Belter — i.e., if this semester marked your first brush with snow — you really should take a break from studying for finals to see it.

Being Midwestern is about snow, of course, but it’s also about parking lots, grain silos, supper clubs, hockey teams and long underwear. It’s about seething resentment and simple pleasures. In “Fargo,” the Coen Brothers manage to distill all of that, the entire Upper Midwestern ethos, into a 100-minute thriller.

Set in Minnesota in the late ‘80s, Frances McDormand plays an incredibly pregnant homicide detective. It’s my favorite of her roles, and it won her the first of her three Academy Awards for Best Actress. I definitely prefer the lighter McDormand we get in “Fargo” compared to the stodgier, actor-y performances she gave in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “Nomadland.”

Steve Buscemi (a dad at the end of his rope) and William H. Macy (a skittish professional criminal) both make great leading men in their own peculiar ways, and Harve Presnell (Buscemi’s unfeeling father-in-law) is able to disquiet me in the same subtle way that John Huston does in “Chinatown” as the wicked Noah Cross. Because it’s a Coen Brothers’ movie, all of the supporting cast — Macy’s wife and son, McDormand’s romantic admirer, Buscemi’s partner in crime, every witness and bystander — are well acted and smartly directed character actors. I’m not a movie-crier, but the chat McDormand has with her husband at the end of the movie gets me every time. So does the “There’s more to life than a little money, you know” monologue — it’s the way she insists, “It’s a beautiful day!” while looking out of her windshield at the long, straight Midwestern highway stained white by road salt and black by dirty slush. Whenever I’m driving down an empty, snowy Midwestern street, I hear the “Fargo” score. If you’ve already seen “Fargo,” you should watch the Coen Brothers’ “A Serious Man” too. It’s good for pretty much the same reasons (charming actors, smart direction, an enchanted picture of the Midwest, etc.), but unlike

“Fargo” — which is about the Lutheran sort of Minnesotan — “A Serious Man” focuses on Midwestern Jewry.

Every once in a while, especially when “A Serious Man” comes up, critics slap the Coen Brothers with the label “misanthropic.” This is one of my least favorite stock comments in film criticism, and it always gets leveled against my favorite directors (e.g., Lars von Trier for “Dogville”).

Yes, “A Serious Man” is about bad things befalling imperfect people. But the real misanthropy isn’t that — i.e, it’s not on the part of the Coen Brothers. Rather, the real misanthropes are the critics who — while sticking the appellation on the Coen Brothers — willingly ignore the undeniable charm of their paradoxically charmless characters. It’s they who are cruel to the characters, not the Coen Brothers.

“Fargo” is about learning to love a world that sucks. “A Serious Man” is about learning to love a life that bones. When you watch them, you end up loving characters who might not deserve it. The Coen Brothers get it — sometimes, that’s how Midwestern life feels.

Contact Peter Mikulski at pmikulsk@nd.edu

By HARRY PENNE Scene Writer

What constitutes a Christmas movie? This is a surprisingly divisive question. Some movies are undoubtedly Christmas classics: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Elf”; however, there are those that are debated: “Gremlins,” “Batman Returns” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” However, there is one film that I am always shocked to see left out of this conversation: the James Bond film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” which I believe to be a Christmas movie that rivals “Die Hard” for high-energy holiday thrills.

“Majesty’s” holds an interesting place in the Bond franchise, being the first film not to star Sean Connery as 007 and instead featuring George Lazenby in his first and only time donning the tuxedo. The film was directed by Peter Hunt, adapted from Ian Fleming’s novel and co-stars Telly Savalas as Bond’s nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld and Diana Rigg as Tracy Bond. It premiered on Dec. 18, 1969, coinciding with the holiday season.

Why is it a Christmas movie? To begin, a good portion of the film occurs over the Christmas holiday, and the seasonal vibes are heavy. Once Bond arrives at Piz Gloria (Blofeld’s lair) about a third into the run time, the scenery switches to snowy mountains, ski resorts and Christmas markets. Christmas is surprisingly prominent plot-wise. Blofeld’s scheme, without major spoilers, involves giving Christmas presents to his “angels of death.” While undercover, one of Bond’s blunders that blows his cover is his suggestion to go

to the archives over Christmas, when they would be closed. The film features many chase sequences, with two occurring on Christmas Eve. One of these entails Bond escaping from Piz Gloria using skis, bobsleds and ice skates. In a very tense scene, Bond inadvertently gets trapped at a holiday party where Christmas music is heard, fireworks are fired and holiday decorations adorn the set. One of the most memorable scenes in the movie is when Blofeld finally uncovers Bond’s identity, when, after being knocked out, the first thing Bond sees after regaining consciousness is Blofeld decorating a Christmas tree. What does the notorious villain say to Bond? “Merry Christmas, 007”. Even the villain can postpone his schemes to decorate his lair for the holidays. What are some common themes across holiday movies? I argue that family is one of the most abundant. In “Home Alone,” Kevin learns the value of family after wishing them away. In “Elf,” one of Buddy’s primary motivations for leaving the North Pole for New York City is to meet his father. Notably, “Majesty’s” is the film where 007 gets married, a surprising development for the character. Throughout the film, we watch as he falls for Tracy Draco. In a memorable scene, the song “We Have All the Time in the World” scores a beautiful montage of their growing relationship. Bond reunites with Tracy on Christmas Eve, and together, they escape Blofeld’s henchmen by finding solace in a barn with animals and hay … sound familiar? 007 marries Tracy towards the end of the film, and audiences watch the newlyweds drive away as they discuss plans for children and raising a family; Bond has finally found the love of his life.

Furthermore, an original Christmas song, “Do You Know

How Christmas Trees are Grown?” was written and sung for the film. The track is featured on the soundtrack album and has its place on many Bond fans’ Christmas playlists. The song concerns many Christmas topics: Santa Claus, snowflakes, reindeer and Christmas cards to name a few. It is played twice in the movie — first when Bond’s train arrives in Switzerland and the second when he finds Tracy in the village on Christmas Eve. Additionally, the song is interwoven as an instrumental version throughout the score.

A major argument against “Majesty’s” is that the whole picture is not set during the holidays. I respond that a significant enough portion of the movie does, Christmas movies don’t only have to be set in December. Consider “It’s a Wonderful Life”: there is no question that it is a Christmas movie, but the festive part isn’t until the end. A good amount of the film takes place throughout the whole year. In “Christmas Vacation,” the story ends on Christmas Eve, but we never join the Griswold family on the big day. This illustrates that a movie can be a “Christmas movie” without spending a lot of time on the day itself.

Regardless of your thoughts of “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” as a Christmas movie, the snowy vibes, festive music and exciting plot warrant an entertaining holiday watch. Personally, it is mandatory December viewing that I’ve played while decorating my Christmas tree for the past two years. If you want an exciting action movie this holiday season and are tired of “Die Hard,” I recommend this classic Bond flick.

Contact Harry Penne at hpenne@nd.edu

Irish snap skid, open ACC play with home win

By BEN HICKS Sports Writer

Notre Dame men’s basketball opened up ACC play on Saturday by welcoming the Syracuse Orange to South Bend. It was the Irish’s first home game back inside Purcell Pavilion since the Nov. 22 loss to Elon, which commenced their five-game losing streak.

Following a promising 4-0 start in head coach Micah Shrewsberry’s second season at the helm, Notre Dame had suffered consecutive losses to Elon, Rutgers, No. 6 Houston, No. 21 Creighton and Georgia. The Irish’s struggles have come largely in the absence of sophomore guard Markus Burton, who suffered a knee injury early in the loss to Rutgers, which still leaves him sidelined on a week-to-week basis. Prior to the injury, the preseason All-ACC First-Team selection from Mishawaka had been averaging over 22 points, five assists and five rebounds to lead the Irish attack.

On the opposing bench, the Orange were also guided by a second-year head coach, as former player and longtime assistant Red Autry took over the storied program from Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim to begin last season. Syracuse, who sat at 4-3 following a blowout loss to Tennessee earlier in the week, was also without the services of its best player, as junior guard J.J. Starling missed his second straight game following a hand injury suffered last week against Cornell. Starling, who transferred from Notre Dame following former head coach Mike Brey’s departure, was averaging 20 points nightly for the Orange.

“We are both going through the same things, trying to figure out our teams without our best players,” Shrewsberry said postgame.

Saturday was also the first of four “Irish Wear Green” games on tap for the 202425 campaign, with the student section decked out with green pompoms and the team donning the alternate kelly green threads.

Without Burton, Shrewsberry has been forced to deploy greater depth, shifting the team’s focus from a frantic offensive pace to more of the defensive stalwart fans grew accustomed to a year ago. On the court, a slow shooting start from both sides was ended by nine straight points from senior guard and South Bend native J.R. Konieczny, who gave the Irish a five-point

advantage 15 minutes into the contest.

The offensive struggles would continue throughout the remainder of the opening frame, as the two sides shot a combined 10 for 22 from the charity stripe and 4 for 17 from beyond the arc. Led by Konieczny’s 13 points, junior forward Tae Davis’s nine and two big triples from sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry, the Irish entered the locker room with a 30-26 lead.

The Orange came out of the intermission hot, as a 12-3 run spanning the final two minutes of the first half and the opening three minutes of the second half gave Syracuse its first lead of the day, before Shrewsberry answered right back with his third trey to give the Irish the 36-34 edge at the under-16 media timeout.

Another Shrewsberry triple and three consecutive makes from Davis extended the Irish lead, before Syracuse freshman forward Donnie Freeman got going on the interior. A Freeman drive with 12 minutes left led to a controversial fourth foul call on Davis, sending the Irish’s leading scorer to the bench for an extended period with the score knotted at 45.

“I’m proud of how different guys stepped into different positions and still got stops. With Tae out with foul trouble, our defensive effort in the second half gave me a lot of confidence going forward,” Shrewsberry said.

Braeden Shrewsberry and Freeman continued to lead the way for their respective teams, with the Irish holding a slim 60-58 lead with four minutes to play.

Shrewsberry then connected on another pair of triples, but two missed layups from the Irish kept the Orange alive into the final half minute. Syracuse’s perimeter woes would doom them however, as their eighth and ninth missed threes of the game led to Kebba Njie sealing the deal at the foul line, and Notre Dame escaped with a muchneeded, 69-64 victory.

Speaking with the media postgame, Autry blamed unforced errors for the loss, saying, “We talk about not having blown opportunities, but we missed eight free throws, had 13 turnovers and had some key defensive breakdowns late that cost us the game.”

Freeman and senior forward Jyáre Davis led the way for Syracuse, scoring 20 points apiece, but the Orange failed to convert a three for the first time in

over a decade, dating back to a win over Holy Cross on Nov. 28, 2014.

Konieczny said, “We knew they had some shooters, but our game plan was to run them off the line and not allow them to get rhythm threes.”

Njie agreed, citing this effort as a defensive springboard for the team moving forward, saying, “It’s important for us to play at that defensive level every night, and that will translate to more wins.”

Autry certainly noticed the Irish’s perimeter defense, but he says he hasn’t lost confidence in his team’s ability to knock down shots.

“We tried getting some flare actions for Chris [Bell], but they ran us off of that,” he said. “We need to have enough of a presence inside to open up the perimeter game.”

Konieczny continued to say, “We lost three close games in Vegas, but we knew we had the talent to win games like this.”

Once again, the two

upperclassmen were in sync — especially during Njie’s enthusiastic recreation of Konieczny’s first-half dunk — with Njie adding, “We know we are a tournament team despite those losses, and the energy started with Coach. It feels great to start 1-0 in the ACC.”

The Irish were able to collect their first triumph over the Orange since Feb. 23, 2022, despite only four Irish players making a field goal.

Shrewsberry led the charge with 25 points on 6-for-11 shooting from deep, while Davis and Konieczny each added 15, which was a season high for the latter. Njie also added nine points and nine rebounds.

Speaking about his son’s breakout performance, Shrewsberry complimented the whole roster, saying, “Braeden had a great performance, but the credit goes to the guys setting the screens and the walk-ons who really challenged him defensively in practice the last two days.”

Konieczny also credited

the coaching staff for helping him escape his recent slump, attesting, “I give credit to [associate head] coach [Kyle] Getter. I hadn’t been playing well, but he got my confidence and body language right and ready to play.”

“I didn’t even have to talk to J.R. His energy yesterday in practice was unmatched. You don’t play if you don’t practice well, but he was very prepared and I knew he was going to have a big impact for us today,” Shrewsberry said.

Now sitting at 5-5, the Irish play just once over the next two weeks days, as the Dartmouth Big Green of the Ivy League travel to South Bend on Wednesday, Dec. 11. Dartmouth will come to Purcell Pavilion with a 4-3 record, after already collecting a marquee win at Boston College back on the 29th of November. Wednesday’s game will tip off at 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ACCNX.

Contact Ben Hicks at bhicks2@nd.edu

MARIELLA TADDONIO | The Observer

Senior guard J.R. Konieczny looks to turn the corner on a defender during Notre Dame’s 69-64 defeat of Syracuse at Purcell Pavilion on Dec. 7, 2024. Konieczny finished the game with a season-high 15 points.

Happy Birthday: Reiterate what you want and create a schedule and budget to substantiate your plans. Refuse to let outsiders interfere. To clear your to-do list, it’s best to be organized, stay focused, and do it yourself. Your level of intelligence is high, but so is your lack of confidence, making you vulnerable enough to think that someone knows what’s best for you. Trust and believe in you this year, and live your dream. Your numbers are 4, 9, 16, 24, 31, 38, 45.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Participate in festive events, socialize with friends, or volunteer for a cause. Your input will be well received, but someone will likely use and take credit if you aren’t careful. Go directly to the top and draw up your plans to avoid being put on the sideline by someone undeserving.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Visiting a place you’ve never been before or one that brings you comfort will help clear your head and offer a unique perspective regarding what you want and enjoy doing most. Don’t argue over something you cannot change. Walk away from discord and surround yourself with positive reinforcement.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You’ll appear gullible if too accommodating. Refuse to let anyone force you into a vulnerable position. Work alone, initiate your plan and take credit for your achievements. What you do will have a more substantial influence than what you say. A reunion or change of location will promote new friendships.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You’ll devise a unique plan to help you advance if you diversify your skills and use your experience and knowledge to outmaneuver any competition. Stay on track and keep your plans a secret until you are ready to promote and present. Trust your instincts and follow your heart.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take a fresh look at an old idea, and you’ll find a new use that makes sense and can help you make a difference in the outcome of a situation you or someone close to you is facing. Love is looming, and sharing your feelings will help you fortify your proposal.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Get out and mingle. The people you encounter will offer input that can help or mislead you. Decipher your objective and implement a positive change. Raise the stakes and boost your qualifications to allow you to apply for a better position. A long-term plan will turn your life around.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Time spent with family and friends will be informative. Observe, listen, and offer sound suggestions; you’ll discover you have a greater connection to someone than you realize. It’s time to establish what’s important to you and how to turn your desires into something concrete. Home improvement is favored.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Take precautions while traveling, visiting, or investing your time in helping others. You’ll get the best results from sticking close to home, organizing your space, or preparing your surroundings for the festive season. Don’t overspend on others; you can’t buy love, but you can invest in self-improvement.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Talk through any misunderstanding or pending plan with whoever stands in your way. Having the required support when making changes that affect others is essential. Use your intelligence, not force, along with incentives to get your message out and the blessings of loved ones.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take the worry out of the equation regarding finances and how much you spend on what. Refuse to let anyone goad you into thinking you can buy love or that they deserve something you cannot afford. A change of perspective will improve your domestic situation.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Set goals and prepare to live up to your expectations and promises. Put on your long johns and put whatever job you take on behind you. Refuse to let anyone slow you down or redirect your focus. It’s up to you to stay on track and keep the momentum flowing.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Falling short will leave you reeling. Avoid gossip, and take precautions before something runs amuck. Discipline, resourcefulness, and innovation will help you stay on track and surpass your expectations. Say no to indulgent suggestions and behavior and yes to positive change and personal growth.

Birthday Baby: You are changeable, emotional, and challenging. You are thoughtful and creative.

JUMBLE

ND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Hidalgo records 1,000th point in Syracuse win

By TYLER REIDY Sports Editor

Two weeks ago, Notre Dame women’s basketball didn’t follow up its road win at No. 3 USC very well, losing two games to lesser opponents at the Cayman Islands Classic.

The 10th-ranked Irish faced a similar proposition on Sunday afternoon in upstate New York. Coming off Thursday’s overtime triumph against No. 4 Texas, Notre Dame would either backtrack against a Syracuse team that swept it last year or build against a weakened 2024-25 Orange squad.

Head coach Niele Ivey made sure the Irish chose the latter, leading to a 9362 Notre Dame win to begin ACC play.

“I talked about just making sure that we were prepared and ready,” Ivey said. “We didn’t get a chance to have that many days to prepare, but they knew the focus … I think we’ve learned a lot this season. I’ve learned what this group needs, and so I try to make sure our practice and our preparation is preparing us for short turnarounds like today.”

You wouldn’t know it from the lopsided final score, but Notre Dame took a while to find its game at the JMA Wireless Dome. Guilty of nine turnovers in the first quarter alone, the Irish kept the Orange very much in the game early. On a threepointer by returning sophomore guard Emma Risch and a combined 14 points from the Irish backcourt duo of sophomore Hannah Hidalgo and graduate student Olivia Miles, the Irish led 21-20 through 10 minutes.

“I just didn’t think we started the way I would’ve liked,” Ivey said. “[It] could’ve been mental fatigue, but at the end of the day, my expectation is for us to have positive assistto-turnover ratios and play the right way … They know how to play. They know spacing [and] things that we’ve been working on, so we just have to make the right reads.”

Notre Dame cleaned up the turnover problem in the second quarter but still struggled to pull away as both teams went cold on offense. At halftime, the Irish led by seven points at 36-29. They would outscore the Orange by a 57-33 margin from that point forward.

“[The players] came back ready in the second half. They were focused – I think we started the second half really focused on our defense, focused on our pace,” Ivey recalled. “We thought that Syracuse might have shown a little bit of zone, so I thought

that we did a really better job of shot selection, got to the rim, made big threes and got some stops and got out in transition. I thought that really changed the pace.”

Just over a minute into the second half, senior guard Sonia Citron sparked the Irish with a three-pointer set up by Hidalgo’s steal. Moments later, Hidalgo made program history with a leftwing three-ball in front of the Irish bench. The trifecta made her the fastest player in Notre Dame women’s basketball history to reach 1,000 career points.

By a lot.

The previous record-holder, Beth Morgan-Cunningham ‘97, made it to four digits in 60 games. Hidalgo arrived there in just 44.

“It’s truly a blessing to be able to reach that goal, considering all of the guards — Arike [Ogunbowale], Skylar [Diggins-Smith], Jewell [Loyd] — all of these top guards that have come through this program,” Hidalgo said. “I’m truly blessed and honored to be able to have this accolade.”

Notre Dame would keep

rolling from there, ending the third quarter on a 22-7 run to lead 65-42 through 30 minutes of play. The Irish shot at a 64.7% clip from the floor in quarter three alone, rattling off 29 points to leave Syracuse out of reach.

The fourth quarter brought on more of the same, with Notre Dame tallying 28 points to end an ACC road game with at least 90 regulation points for the first time in Ivey’s head coaching tenure. To her point, Notre Dame’s transition game played a major role, with the Irish outsourcing Syracuse 25-4 on the fastbreak after halftime.

Sunday’s game also afforded a chance for all five Irish starters to contribute heading into another huge test against UConn. Notre Dame’s three guards all finished with double-doubles. Citron went for a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds on four three-pointers. Hidalgo added 24 points and 10 rebounds. Miles nearly tripledoubled with 20 points, 10 boards and eight assists.

The frontcourt of graduate student Liatu King and

freshman Kate Koval also factored in, as both players took part in their first ACC game with Notre Dame.

King hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds, also contributing five points and six steals. Koval overcame her early turnover woes to finish with 12 points, her highest total in three weeks.

With both forwards active in different ways, Notre Dame’s offense opened up, the scoreboard reflecting that.

“When you have a presence like Kate and you have versatility with [King], it really helps offset our guards because it gives us a target, but it also gives us a lot of flexibility within our offense,” Ivey described.

“Kate’s a freshman — she plays like she’s not a freshman. And Liatu — she’s what, six-foot? She plays bigger than that,” Hidalgo added.

Keira Scott (16 points), Sophie Burrows (13) and Georgia Woolley (10) each scored in double-figures for Syracuse.

“[I’m] very excited about this win … our first ACC win,” Ivey said. “Statement win in the ACC. This is a really tough place to play, so I’m really excited about this win.”

Now at 7-2 on the season, Notre Dame will host UConn at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the Shamrock Classic. Ranked second in the nation as of Sunday, the Huskies have raced out to an 8-0 start and destroyed No. 22 Louisville on Saturday in Brooklyn for their third ranked win of the season. Last January, the Irish defeated UConn on the road, 82-67, as Hidalgo exploded for 34 points and 10 rebounds to outduel superstar classmate Paige Bueckers.

Beyond Hidalgo’s milestone, Notre Dame accomplished a few rare feats on the stat sheets. For the first time since the 2022 NCAA Tournament, three Irish players scored 20 points or more. Three Notre Dame players double-doubled for the first time since the 2019 Final Four. Three went for double-digit rebounds for the first time since 2017.

Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu

MARIELLA TADDONIO | The Observer

Graduate guard Olivia Miles rises up for a contested shot during Notre Dame’s 80-70 defeat of Texas at Purcell Pavilion on Dec. 5, 2024. Miles

finished Sunday’s win at Syracuse as one of three Irish players with 20-plus points and a double-double, totaling 20 points and 10 rebounds.

HCC MEN’S BASKETBALL

Saints hold on, pick up fourth win of the season

By CLAIRE WATSON Sports Writer

The Holy Cross men’s basketball team took the 74-69 win over St. Ambrose Fighting Bees this past Saturday. Now 2-1 in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play this season, the Saints returned to the win column after their canceled game against Great Lakes Christian College.

The Saints scored first in the first half thanks to senior guard Phil Robles II, but the Fighting Bees were quick to respond as they added on a layup of their own. Despite this, a jump shot and a layup from sophomore forward Aris Duni, a three-point shot and a jump shot from Robles and a three-point shot from sophomore guard Joey Garwood brought the score to 14-2 Holy Cross.

After a shooting foul on the Saints, St. Ambrose put two more points on the board,

HCC

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

but the Saints responded as senior guard Justin O’Neal added on a layup and a free throw and junior guard AJ Roseman put in two free throws to bring the score to 19-4. After a seven-point run from the Fighting Bees to bring the score to 1911, the Saints answered as Garwood put in a jump shot to bring the score to 21-11.

Saint Ambrose added five more points before committing a shooting foul, allowing the Saints to add on two points for themselves to bring the score to 23-16. After going back and forth, St. Ambrose added on two points, but the Saints quickly responded by putting up three points thanks to senior guard Nash Hostetetler to make the score 26-18.

St. Ambrose closed the gap to 26-24 after scoring six points, but a layup from Roseman and a three-point shot from Robles brought the score to 31-24.

The Fighting Bees added on five more points before

the Saints responded with two free throws made by Robles to bring the score to 33-29. After a shooting foul committed by the Saints, the Fighting Bees tacked on another point, but Holy Cross rounded out the first half as Robles put in a jump shot to bring the score to 3530 at halftime.

The Saints started out the second half strong with Garwood adding on a layup to bring the score to 37-30. St. Ambrose responded with a jump shot of its own, but Holy Cross wasted no time to respond as Hostetler added on a layup to bring the score to 39-32. It became a threepoint game as St. Ambrose added on four more points, but a three-point shot from Garwood kept the Saints ahead 42-36.

The Fighting Bees added three more points for themselves before a shooting foul allowed O’Neal to put in two free throws for the Saints and bring the score to 4439. After another two points

from the Fighting Bees, Garwood added two layups, O’Neal added on a jump shot and a free throw and Robles added on a jump shot to bring the score to 53-41. St. Ambrose added a layup, but Garwood responded with one of his own. St. Ambrose then went on to put in two free throws and a jump shot, but after committing a shooting foul, freshman forward Davide Brembilla added a free throw and Garwood made a jump shot to make the score 58-47.

St. Ambrose went on another seven-point run to bring the score to 58-54, but Hostetler responded quickly as he put in a threepoint shot for the Saints to bring the score to 61-54. The Fighting Bees responded with a layup of their own before Roseman put in a layup quickly followed by another St. Ambrose layup to bring the score to 63-59. Another layup by St. Ambrose was quickly followed by a layup from O’Neal, but a shooting

foul on the Saints allowed the Fighting Bees to add two more points and make the score 67-63 in favor of Holy Cross.

Garwood added on another jumpshot for the Saints to bring the score to 69-63, but St. Ambrose quickly followed with a free throw. Robles put in a three-point shot to make the score 72-64, but St. Ambrose came back with one of its own. After a shooting foul, Roseman added two free throws to make the score 74-67. While the Fighting Bees made the final layup of the game, the Saints finished with a 74-69 win.

Garwood led on the court for the Saints as he finished with 20 points, and Robles followed closely as he finished with 19. The Saints improved to 4-5 on the season and now prepare to host Taylor on Dec. 11, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Contact Claire Watson at cwatson01@saintmarys.edu

Adams, Caldwell lead Saints to 18-point win

By CLAIRE WATSON Sports Writer

The Holy Cross men’s basketball team took the 74-69 win over St. Ambrose Fighting Bees this past Saturday. With the victory, the Saints improved to 5-4 and captured their first victory in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play ahead of a four-game homestand that will wrap up the 2024 calendar year.

The Saints scored first in the first half thanks to senior guard Phil Robles II, but the Fighting Bees were quick to respond as they added on a layup of their own. Despite this, a jump shot and a layup from sophomore forward Aris Duni, a three-point shot and a jump shot from Robles and a three-point shot from sophomore guard Joey Garwood brought the score to 14-2 Holy Cross.

After a shooting foul on the Saints, St. Ambrose put two more points on the board, but the Saints responded as senior guard Justin O’Neal added on a layup and a free throw and junior guard AJ Roseman put in two free throws to bring the score to 19-4. After a seven-point run from the Fighting Bees to bring the score to 19-11, the Saints answered as Garwood put in a jump shot to bring the

score to 21-11.

Saint Ambrose added five more points before committing a shooting foul, allowing the Saints to add on two points for themselves to bring the score to 23-16. After going back and forth, St. Ambrose added on two points, but the Saints quickly responded by putting up three points thanks to senior guard Nash Hostetler to make the score 26-18. St. Ambrose closed the gap to 26-24 after scoring six points, but a layup from Roseman and a three-point shot from Robles brought the score to 31-24.

The Fighting Bees added on five more points before the Saints responded with two free throws made by Robles to bring the score to 33-29. After a shooting foul committed by the Saints, the Fighting Bees tacked on another point, but Holy Cross rounded out the first half as Robles put in a jump shot to bring the score to 3530 at halftime.

The Saints started out the second half strong with Garwood adding on a layup to bring the score to 37-30. St. Ambrose responded with a jump shot of its own, but Holy Cross wasted no time to respond as Hostetler added on a layup to bring the score to 39-32. It became a threepoint game as St. Ambrose added on four more points, but a three-point shot from

Garwood kept the Saints ahead 42-36.

The Fighting Bees added three more points for themselves before a shooting foul allowed O’Neal to put in two free throws for the Saints and bring the score to 4439. After another two points from the Fighting Bees, Garwood added two layups, O’Neal added on a jump shot and a free throw and Robles added on a jump shot to bring the score to 53-41. St. Ambrose added a layup, but Garwood responded with one of his own. St. Ambrose then went on to put in two free throws and a jump shot, but after committing a shooting foul, freshman forward Davide Brembilla added a free throw and Garwood made a jump shot

to make the score 58-47.

St. Ambrose went on another seven-point run to bring the score to 58-54, but Hostetler responded quickly as he put in a threepoint shot for the Saints to bring the score to 61-54. The Fighting Bees responded with a layup of their own before Roseman answered, only for St. Ambrose to strike again for two to bring the score to 63-59. Another layup by St. Ambrose was quickly followed by one from O’Neal, but a shooting foul on the Saints allowed the Fighting Bees to add two more points and make the score 67-63 in favor of Holy Cross.

Garwood added on another jumpshot for the Saints to bring the score to 69-63,

but St. Ambrose quickly followed with a free throw. Robles put in a three-point shot to make the score 72-64, but St. Ambrose came back with one of its own. After a shooting foul, Roseman added two free throws to make the score 74-67. While the Fighting Bees made the final layup of the game, the Saints finished with a 74-69 win.

Garwood led on the court for the Saints as he finished with 20 points, and Robles followed closely as he finished with 19. The Saints improved to 4-5 on the season and now prepare to host Taylor on Dec. 11, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Contact Claire Watson at cwatson01@saintmarys.edu

FOOTBALL

Irish to host Indiana in opening CFP round

By Observer Sports Staff

On Sunday afternoon, the first 12-team College Football Playoff went public. Conference champions Oregon, Georgia, Arizona State and Boise State respectively secured the top four seeds and the accompanying first-round byes. Notre Dame, ranked fifth in the CFP rankings, landed on the No. 7 seed and will host No. 10 Indiana to start the first round at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 20.

The in-state matchup will pit a pair of 11-1,

non-conference championship participants against one another inside Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish rattled off 10 consecutive wins to end the regular season after taking their only loss to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7. Meanwhile, Indiana started the season with 10 straight victories before losing big at Ohio State on Nov. 23.

The Hoosiers have made an eight-win improvement in their first season under head coach Curt Cignetti, qualifying for their first College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame and Indiana

have squared off 29 times previously, with the Irish holding a 23-5-1 record against the Hoosiers. The last meeting took place in 1991, when Notre Dame claimed a 49-27 victory in South Bend.

Like Indiana, Notre Dame will seek its first College Football Playoff victory two Fridays from now. The Irish reached the CFP in its fourteam format in 2018 and 2020, losing to Clemson and Alabama, respectively, in the semifinals.

The remainder of the firstround matchups will follow Notre Dame-Indiana on

Saturday, Dec. 21. Big Ten runner-up and No. 6 seed Penn State will host 11thseeded ACC runner-up SMU at noon, with both teams making their first College Football Playoff appearance. No. 12 Clemson, the ACC champion, will visit Big 12 runner-up and No. 5 Texas at 4 p.m. Clemson has two national championships in the CFP era, while Texas makes its second consecutive trip to the playoff. The 8 p.m. nightcap will have No. 9 Tennessee travel to No. 8 Ohio State in a battle of atlarge qualifiers. Ohio State

makes its fourth CFP venture in six years, while Tennessee qualifies for the first time overall.

The winner of the Notre Dame-Indiana game will advance to the quarterfinal round to take on No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day. The Cotton Bowl in Dallas awaits the winner of that contest on Friday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where the Irish defeated Georgia Tech on Oct. 19, will host the national championship game on Monday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

GRAY NOCJAR | The Observer

Sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love hurdles a Trojan defender during Notre Dame’s 49-35 defeat of USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 30, 2024. After ending the regular season as Notre Dame’s leading rusher with 949 yards and 17 total touchdowns, Love will face an Indiana defense ranking second nationally in yards per carry allowed.