Print Edition for The Observer for Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Mardi Gras traditions invite students to celebrate

Lenten season begins HCC to release five-year plan

By PETER BREEN news writer

a line of students snaked through the south dining hall lobby Tuesday evening for the mardi gras celebration, featuring an ice sculpture, king cake giveaways, a new orleans-style brass band, cajun-style food and invitations to partake more wholly in the spiritual practice of the lenten season.

on ash wednesday at notre dame, one can attend five masses and nine straight hours of confession in the Basilica of the sacred heart alone. and throughout

By LIAM KELLY news writer

president marco clark of holy cross college will reveal a fiveyear strategic plan for the college by march 25, the day of his inauguration. clark announced the plan during a town hall at holy cross Tuesday afternoon. while details of the plan cannot be made public at this point, clark said, it will have four key focuses: enhancing the college’s academic programs, engaging the student community to build a transformative student life experience, elevating the public profile of the college

and expanding the college for sustainable growth.

The college’s Board of Trustees asked clark to create the five-year plan when they hired him last year, he said. The plan has been developed over the past nine months in consultation with faculty, staff, administrators and students.

clark described the plan as “inspirational, aspirational and operational.”

The details of the plan will be publicly revealed once it is approved by the Board of Trustees in march.

Contact Liam Kelly at lkelly8@nd.edu

Student Life Council discusses faith on campus Train derailment raises concerns

By BELLA LAUFENBERG notre d ame news e ditor

o n Tuesday evening, students filed into the c arey a uditorium in h esburgh l ibrary for an event that was 50 years in the making: the resurgence of the s tudent l ife c ouncil ( slc ).

The ‘New’ SLC a passion project of student government executive leaders p atrick l ee, s ofie s titt and n icole Baumann, the resurgence of the slc has been a labor of love over the last year. i n an interview with The o bserver, l ee noted his excitement and goal for the council.

“The primary goal really is to foster communication — to let the students speak with the members of the community who are making decisions and let those decision makers provide the rationale and get constructive comments and feedback from the students,” he said. “[ s ofie and i ] ran under the, perhaps, unexpected but absolutely central belief that students deserve

a voice in the direction of their u niversity.”

There are currently three permanent members of the slc : vice president for student affairs Fr. g erald “ g erry” o linger, student body president p atrick l ee and vice president and associate provost for undergraduate education Fr. d an g roody. e ach time the council meets, one guest member of the panel will be invited that is a pertinent campus leader knowledgeable about the night’s topic.

Tonight’s main topic of engagement was faith and

formation at n otre d ame. The guest speaker was Fr. p ete m c c ormick, assistant vice president for campus ministry.

a fter the forum’s opening remarks — delivered by vice president s titt — m c c ormick delivered the night’s keynote address.

h e spoke about his department’s findings as a result of the many listening sessions they engaged in over the last few years by answering p ope Francis’s call to “engage in a process of

By GABBY BEECHERT news writer

The norfolk southern train derailment that occurred on Feb. 3 has left a lot to the unknown, engineering professor Kyle doudrick told The observer.

The derailment occurred in east palestine, ohio, and has raised many environmental and health concerns in the region. Two days after the train derailed, residents were required to evacuate the area out of fear that some train cars might explode. The risk of explosion was mitigated by the burning of vinyl

chloride during a controlled release of the substance. on Feb. 8, two days after the controlled release, residents living inside the evacuation area were told it was safe to return to their homes, cBs news reported. since returning home, a number of residents in the east palestine area have reported symptoms such as headaches and burning sensations in their eyes and throats caused by a chemical odor. ohio gov. mike dewine requested that medical teams from the us centers for disease control and prevention

see Train PAGE 4

College hosts panel on sex

By KATELYN WALDSCHMIDT a ssociate news e ditor

saint mary’s hosted an interdisciplinary panel monday night called “let’s Talk about sex.” sponsored by the gender and women’s studies department, the event featured professors from the english, nursing science, biology, history and gender and women’s studies departments.

suyun choi, professor of gender and women’s studies, started the talk by welcoming everyone and introducing herself as the moderator for the night’s session. she explained that the purpose of the panel is to talk about sex in different aspects through different disciplines and “get an intellectual understanding and sensibility of see panel PAGE 4

PETER BREEN | The Observer

Campus Ministry and MSPS arranged a celebration for Mardi Gras in South Dining Hall with a New Orleans-style brass band.

see slc PAGE 5

BELLA LAUFENBERG | The Observer

Student body president Patrick Lee and vice president for student affairs Fr. Gerry Olinger hear vice president Sofie Stitt’s remarks.

see lenT PAGE 4

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The DeBartolo Performing Arts Center is a venue where the community comes together to celebrate film, theater and music. The Michael Browning Family Cinema, located in the Debartolo Center, is showing Oscar-nominated

Bookworms Meeting Madaleva Hall 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. Saint Mary’s Book Club. For book lovers.

“Dawn’s Early Light” DPAC

2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Musical about an Italian-American family during WWII.

Lent, campus ministry supplies numerous one-time and recurring events to help students “engage with” their faith.

basilica rector fr. brian ching said that Lent, amidst the hustle and bustle of the academic semester, is all about cultivating the proper mindset for easter.

“especially at a place like notre dame, preparation for us really means thoughtfulness,” ching said. “It’s so easy for us to get caught up in the 600 things you have to do each day… It’s easy for us to jump from one task to the next. And even put faith in that, right. It’s easy to make going to mass one of those tasks and not be as attentive to how God is working in our life.”

Assistant vice president for campus ministry fr. Pete mccormick said the purpose of Lent and fasting is to enhance one’s imitation of christ.

“I think when it comes to Lent, the question that we’re invited to ponder is at the end of this is, ‘how

Traincon TI n U ed from PAGe 1

and the Us department of health come to the area to help assess remaining dangers in the community, according to cnn

vinyl chloride is an environmental contaminant and a known carcinogen. According to the national cancer Institute, vinyl chloride is used to “make polyvinyl chloride (Pvc), a hard plastic resin used to make a variety of plastic products, including pipes, wire and cable coatings and packaging materials.” The institute states Pvc is not a known or suspected carcinogen.

doudrick, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and earth sciences, said that

Panel

con TI n U ed from PAGe 1

how our sexuality is construed and practiced and even regulated in a specific time and space.”

Jamie Wagman, professor of both gender and women’s studies and history, spoke first to give her presentation titled “sex education, visual culture and social constructions of Gender, sexuality and race.”

Wagman explained how she uses “sex education guides from gender history archives to expose students to the ways that different interest groups have understood and made assumptions about race, gender and sexuality through the latter half of the 20th century.”

she said that some of this “propaganda” included things such as bans for sex education textbooks, the idea of birth control as a communist plot and the binary of good and bad sex. Wagman said that different forms of pop culture helped portray the ideal of the white heterosexual family and the consequences of stepping outside this mold.

“Philip Kaufman’s 1978 version

might I be a bit more like Jesus?’” mccormick said. “[Then the next] question is, ‘What do you need for that?’ And so some people might be like, ‘I need to give up chocolate,’ because that would help. okay, do that. but it might be something completely different.”

on top of the regular mass and confession schedule, the basilica provides two additional liturgical prayer offerings during Lent: adoration on mondays and stations of the cross on fridays.

“[The stations of the cross] ultimately help us remember how much God loves us because he was willing to suffer and die for us…,” ching said. “[Adoration gives] people the opportunity to just step out of themselves for a little bit and place themselves very thoughtfully and intentionally in God’s presence so that they can grow in their relationship with him.”

beyond liturgical services, weekly happenings furnished by campus ministry include “do nothing” experiences, Latino and Asian student ministry bible studies, Lenten small groups and emmaus walks.

diana salgado huicochea, the

when experts refer to a carcinogen, they are referring to long-term exposure to a certain toxin that may cause cancer.

“When [vinyl chloride] enters the water, it’s a pretty volatile compound,” doudrick said. “It will actually volatilize, or evaporate, into the air and then once it reaches the air — the atmosphere — it can photodegrade by sunlight. so the sun can break it down, essentially, within minutes to hours.”

even with its short half-life, doudrick said it is important to consider the question of how much substance was burned during the controlled release and how much made its way into the environment. state and federal officials have determined that there are no dangerous levels of chemicals in the air

of ‘bodysnatchers’ uses sexuality as an overt scare tool,” Wagman said before continuing to say that there is a theme “that the nation’s loose sexual mores are the impetus for this visit.”

Julia dauer, english professor, spoke next with her presentation about reading stories of sex and sexuality from 19th-century America. she started by posing two questions. The first was ‘how do we read for queer sex and sexuality in pre-1900 American literature and culture?’ and the second was ‘how can we read stories of queer sexuality that become visible in archives of criminality?’

dauer said the challenges with the first question have to deal with “language, with so-called identity and with methodology.”

“Another big challenge is that reading for something like sex or sexuality requires us to think about and question what we mean by these terms in the first place,” dauer said.

biology professor vanessa Young introduced a scientific angle to the conversation with a presentation entitled “diversity in nature,” focusing on animal sex and reproduction.

assistant director of outreach at campus ministry, said that Lent is a convenient time to kickstart programming and expand visibility for Asian, black and Latino student ministry. The Lenten bible studies, offered due to the broad appeal of scripture among all christian denominations, are open to “anyone and everyone,” salgado huicochea added.

“It’s just a space where people can feel comfortable talking about faith and also their own personal life experience, which sometimes involves a lot of hardship,” salgado huicochea said. “We wanted to offer these spaces where students of color could come in and feel that they don’t have to explain themselves.”

A performance of “The Passion” on south Quad, a mardi Gras celebration in south dining hall, a silent directed retreat and a black ecumenical prayer service are a few of the one-off events on campus ministry’s Lenten schedule.

“[The black ecumenical prayer service] will be a coming together to pray as a community during the Lenten season…,” salgado

or the water, The new York Times reported. nevertheless, many residents of the area expressed their concerns about remaining chemicals. While it is possible that the vinyl chloride degraded before measurements were taken, other people believe officials are not measuring using low enough levels, doudrick said.

“everything is above the detection limit, so nothing was detected. but there could be lower levels there, and they’re not using good enough equipment, what I call cheap equipment,” doudrick said.

many residents are attributing their health concerns to the chemicals released during the derailment despite the reports indicating the area is safe. It is, however, rather difficult to determine whether the

Young first provided an overview of the variety of ways reproduction happens in nature such as sexual forms like hermaphroditism, where a species has both male and female reproductive systems. she also talked about asexual reproduction such as parthenogenesis, “reproduction in which embryos develop without fertilization.”

Young talked about how for some species, particularly types of fish and reptiles, gender “is determined by the environment in which those embryos develop. so in many fish and reptiles, that’s often going to be the temperature of the eggs during development.”

“however in other animals like birds and mammals, offspring sex is determined genetically by a combination of sex chromosomes.”

Young went on to describe the different chromosome setups and not only what that means for gender but also how it varies for different species.

“I’m here to maybe contradict that idea,” Young said about the notion that there is a specific binary in humans caused by chromosomes.

“human embryos actually have no sexual difference until after six weeks of development when that

huicochea said. “We are trying to bring up a pastor from the south bend community, a student will be giving a reflection, we will be doing worship music and doing readings.”

While all prayer opportunities offered to notre dame students are optional, there is one University Lenten practice unavoidable to undergraduates: the absence of meat in the dining halls on Ash Wednesday and the fridays of Lent.

regarding the absence of meat from the dining halls during Lent, mccormick said he probably holds a minority opinion relative to the student body.

“There are certain aspects of who we are as a catholic community, where you’re going to be impacted,” mccormick said. “We don’t really hide the ball that notre dame is a catholic institution. I really do believe that an expression of our catholic character is this discipline around giving up meat on fridays during the season of Lent.”

ching said that the goal of prayer, fasting and almsgiving

reported ailments are caused by the contamination event, doudrick said. There must be a consistency of symptoms among a large group of people, and some people may have pre-existing health concerns.

“When you’re trying to make these connections, you usually need a lot of people that are getting sick with the same effect; a lot of people are getting headaches or a lot of people are getting rashes,” doudrick said. “If it’s just one person getting rashes, and one person is throwing up and then you know what I mean? It’s really hard to make the connection.”

doudrick also said he doesn’t believe the train derailment will lead to a catastrophic environmental disaster. environmental disasters are usually caused by a persistent pollutant that does not break down in

last pair of chromosomes join to form that typical pair,” Young said. “It’s actually possible for individuals to receive more than one copy or even no copies of those X and Y chromosomes from the parents and this can result in a variety of chromosomal combinations.”

Young concluded that she hopes these examples illustrate “that sex really is a continuum much more so than a categorical definition.”

To wrap up the panel, nursing professor cibele Webb spoke about sexuality and person-centered care.

Webb began by reciting the World health organization’s definition of sexuality, quoting that “sexual health is fundamental to overall health and well-being of individuals and to the social and economic development of communities and countries.”

Webb explained that person-centered care “takes into consideration that some individuals distrust the healthcare system and healthcare providers as a result of previous trauma or historical trauma.”

Person-centered care “involves recognizing the patient as the source of control and full partner in providing compassionate and coordinated care, based on respect

during Lent isn’t to make students miserable but to call people — out of the monotony of their lives — to be more attentive about God and self.

“no meat on Ash Wednesday and no meat on Good friday and fridays of Lent — there’s something about that particular aspect of the tradition that even if [one is] not a regular mass goer, it’s something that makes you feel like you’re doing something to grow closer to God, which of course you are,” ching said.

mccormick added that screwing up Lenten obligations happens.

“There was one messiah, and it is not us,” mccormick said. “And there are going to be times where we make mistakes… As someone who has at times completely forgotten that it’s friday and wolfed down a burger… only to realize at the end that it had happened, I’m a big advocate of dusting yourself off and saying my bad and trying again.”

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu

the environment or massive quantities of contaminants in one area that are slowly leaching into the environment, he said.

nevertheless, he said his opinion could change if experts uncover information about the quantity of vinyl chloride released into the environment.

“It’s an unfolding event, and even [for] people that are involved heavily, or people that know a lot about these types of situations, there’s too many unknowns,” doudrick said. “so you can make guesses and those guesses could be wrong. And when I say unfolding, it’s like as new knowledge comes those guesses could morph into something else.”

Contact Gabby Beechert at gbeecher@nd.edu

for the patient’s preferences, values and needs.”

The previous model was the disease-based approach to healthcare that, in regard to sexuality, focused on the negative consequences of sex, “such as developing an hIv infection or acquiring sexually transmitted diseases,” Webb said. Patient-centered care helps reduce stigma and empower patients, as well as “increase their interest in sexual health-related resources,” she added.

“sexual health is an important component of overall health that health care providers should address as part of routine health visits,” Webb said, before going on to talk about what healthcare providers can do to make a more welcoming environment, such as being understanding to any experience, avoiding assumptions and not using polarizing language.

students are encouraged to let the gender and women’s studies department know of any future topics they would like to see in the “Let’s Talk About sex” panel series.

Contact Katelyn Waldschmidt at kwaldschmidt01@saintmarys. edu

Study explores students’ lack of sleep

By MATTHEW BRODER news Writer

Late night studying might be doing students more harm than good, according to a recent study involving the work of n otre d ame researchers.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the n ational Academy of s cience, found an association between average hours of sleep a night and a student’s GPA. For every average hour of nightly sleep lost over the semester, students’ GPAs dropped by 0.07 points.

The study measured the sleeping habits of first-year students at three universities, including n otre d ame, over the course of a semester. Lower average nightly sleep throughout the term predicted lower GPAs by the end of the semester, even when controlling for factors like course load and previous-term GPA.

A Washington Post piece about the study pointed out that “ s leep, especially

undisturbed sleep, helps the brain process and retain information it has learned. And when someone is sleep-deprived, attention span and memory also are impaired.”

s leep has long been known to be an important part of the learning process. b ut this study provides quantifiable data to prove it, especially in the case of young adults.

The n ational s leep Foundation recommends that young adults get seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Yet in this study, first-year college students across all five samples slept, on average, only around six and a half hours per night. Around 20% slept less than six hours, and only around 5% got more than eight hours. The numbers are striking, but they make sense.

“While these patterns of insufficient sleep may be troubling, they have also been found across other collegiate student samples,”

the authors wrote in the study. The exact reasons behind why less sleep would cause someone to have a lower GPA are unclear, but s tephen m attingly, a postdoctoral researcher here at n otre d ame who was involved in the study, offered a few possible explanations.

“Adequate sleep is a really exceptional way for the brain to store new information and to sort it in ways that are useful for future use,” he said. “ s pecifically, during sleep, important parts of memory are replayed and ‘transferred’ into what we already know. In addition, there is global synaptic downscaling, which ‘resets’ the brain and the relative strength of neurons, especially for unremarkable or boring things.”

b ecause of the crucial role sleep plays in memory consolidation, it would make sense that sleep has a direct effect on academic performance. m ore sleep would help integrate concepts learned more efficiently

and make memories that last longer, both of which are helpful on exams and finals.

“ n ot sleeping enough also degrades your ability to learn new information in the first place and serves as a physiological stressor,” m attingly said. “[It] can make it hard to access information you already know, which can be critical for test-taking that underpins much of grade determinations.”

d avid h achen, a fellow researcher here at n otre d ame who was also involved in the study, concurred with m attingly.

“It may be better to think about what people gain when they get more sleep. s leep has a cleansing and rejuvenating effect on our brains,” he said.

The study also gave context to the importance of sleep in college students beyond the potential adverse effects on GPA. c ollege is a major life transition between childhood and

adulthood, and sleep means more than ever.

“First-year college students are making some of their first efforts to establish independent sleep habits, often doing so amidst new competing pressures of work and dorm life activities and a challenging academic course load,” the authors wrote. These habits that first-year students form will stick with them even after college, and sleep debt will continue to build up unless there is some sort of intervention.

m attingly offered advice to students struggling with finding the time for sleep.

“ s leep is a powerful study tool,” he said, “[ s tudents should] consider it on a similar tier to physical exercise and nutrition. Further, sleep is critical to mental, emotional and physical health. s ometimes, sleep can be a way to work smarter rather than working harder.”

Contact Matthew Broder at mbroder@nd.edu

walking alongside and encountering people where they find themselves.”

h e detailed how in the Fall of 2021, c ampus m inistry invited around 2,000 students to participate in the sessions. o f the 500 that responded yes, only about 280 students followed through and attended one of the multiple hour-long events. m c c ormick explained that facilitators simply asked attendees three questions: “how do you tend to your own spiritual needs, where do you find community, what do you want the church to know about you and what do you want n otre d ame to know about you.”

The results of the broad “survey” will be available to the public on Feb. 28 on the c ampus m inistry website and in their electronic newsletter. m c c ormick summarized the findings for the audience, highlighting a sense of marginalization in students who identify as “religiously conservative,” LG b TQ+ students, women and those who do not identify with any faith tradition. m c c ormick said there is a general lack of trust in institutions because of a lack of transparency. h e added, however, that n otre d ame does a great job of promoting places to gather and developing religious structure.

After m c c ormick’s address, each permanent

member of the council gave an update on their action steps to promote faith and formation at the University before entering into the question-and-answer portion of the meeting.

d uring the specific and general question-and-answer sessions, moderated by chief of staff b aumann, students asked a variety of questions both connected to the topic and about the University in general.

r ight to Life club president m erlot Fogarty asked multiple questions, one regarding specific faith formation topics and one about University policies in general. h er first question was regarding dorm masses, referring to dorm-specific traditions as “irreverent” and asking what is being done to preserve the sanctity of the holy sacrament.

m c c ormick responded, saying he agreed with the importance of this issue and wanted to discuss it further after the meeting.

h er second question concerned an “onslaught” of chemical abortion pills being made available by the U. s . government. s he asked, “what steps is the University taking to protect women and their safety on campus?”

While o linger said he encouraged conversations to be had regarding the topic, Lee explained that they wanted to create a culture of listening to advice from trained medical professionals.

“It’s always been about

making sure that students are getting medical advice and medical attention from those who are equipped and trained to give it,” Lee emphasized.

o ther students asked questions regarding how a c atholic University could promote e astern o rthodoxy on campus, about the decisions being made to mandate students into getting “the shot” (i.e., the booster mandate requiring students to receive their fourth dosage of a cov I d vaccine) and inquiring as to how the council could allow an LG b TQ+ mass at the University.

o linger took those opportunities to introduce the idea that two conflicting concepts can exist at the same time: “I often think about our call as a c atholic University to, at the same time, uphold the truth of the c atholic tradition and teaching and to continue to work towards inclusion and helping people feel a sense of belonging… b oth of these things can be true.”

Lee closed the night’s remarks by reminding audience members to lead by example.

“If you’re in this room, you obviously care enough about the community, and you care enough about the faith life in the community. What I would encourage you to do overall is embody your faith — your faith that is authentic, your faith that is true to our r oman c atholic identity at n otre

d ame,” he said.

Historical Importance

b ack during the v ietnam War, Father Theodore h esburgh started the council as a way to connect students and administrators, amidst political turmoil on campus. It was created in s eptember of 1968 from a recommendation by the b oard of Trustees at that time, according to The o bserver archives.

s tudent body vice president s ofie s titt, opening the forum during Tuesday’s meeting, explained h esburgh’s choice saying, “ h e deemed it really necessary to keep students aware of University decisions and to have an open space to hear their voices and address student concerns.”

When it first was created, the s L c was actually a 24-member “legislative council” made up of eight persons within the student body, faculty and administration, respectively. Like other bodies at the University, the council had legislative authority—meaning anything that came from the s L c would go directly to the desk of the president, who would retain veto power. The student body president at the time, r ichard r ossie, criticized the creation of the council, specifically the rule that non-student members held a two-to-one voting majority over the student representatives.

“I am apprehensive about the idea of equal

representation,” he said. “ n evertheless, I have an optimistic approach to the council. s tructure and numbers are important, but they mean just so much. What’s equally important are the type of people you have filling the positions.”

o f note, s t. m ary’s c ollege also started a similar group around the same time, termed their “community government.” Thenpresident of the c ollege, m onsignor John m cGrath acknowledged that there is no plausible reason that students cannot sit on smc ’s board of trustees.

“The new government is structured with the power filtering down from the president of the college at the top to the hall legislatures at the bottom. b etween these is a plethora of committees. c ommittees become councils as they ascend towards the presidency,” The o bserver wrote on s ept. 18, 1968.

d uring the council’s first official meeting, h esburgh proclaimed that the s L c “is one of the most important endeavors in the whole University today.”

While the s L c was an acting University body, the council convened and provided a space for authentic conversations surrounding a myriad of hot topic items including the creation of parietals, drug and alcohol use, sex, women at the University and more.

Contact Bella Laufenberg at ilaufen@nd.edu

300+ stories later, I’m almost out of words

Aidan Thomas sports e ditor

It turned out that a week of sleepless nights in december of 2021, just a few months before I began as sports editor, was just some foreshadowing to a wild year that defined a significant part of my college experience. While the resignation of brian Kelly and ensuing hire of marcus Freeman remained one of the biggest storylines in recent years at notre dame, the major headlines piled up.

notre dame returned to march madness in both men’s and women’s basketball, with the women’s team making it to the sweet 16. A second straight fencing national championship (shout out incoming Assistant managing editor Joche sanchez cordova for patiently explaining the sport to me). The Irish returned to the college World series, a wild postseason run I oversaw remotely while starting an internship in baltimore.

Link Jarrett left for Florida state, and shawn stiffler entered. salima rockwell began the rockwell era for notre dame volleyball. When mike brey announced his pending resignation, I joked with a few of my writers that I might resign myself if another coach unexpectedly left notre dame while I was sports editor. but Tommy rees proved me a liar. I’m still here (you can’t get rid of me quite yet).

eleven months ago, I talked a little about how I got here. I didn’t expect it, and I wasn’t really sure what was to come. my first byline came in the form of a handwritten article covering the Gorhamsanford high school football game when I was ten years old. A new passion, one that took me further than I expected, emerged. since I became sports editor, I wrote about 120 stories and edited countless more. overall at The observer, I’ve written over 300 stories. some were written at a normal time of day, from press boxes, my house, dorm room or duncan student center. others were written in the office, at 2 in the morning, as news broke or space needed to be filled in that day’s paper. one was written from the Linebacker (I’ll shoutout former observer editor-in-chief douglas Farmer for introducing me to the world of filing stories from a bar — if he happens to read this, I appreciate it).

I embraced the opportunity to not only cover the biggest stories in notre dame sports but also to find stories within every sport across the tri-campus community. I hope, across the past year, I served the Irish, belles and saints’ sports communities well and to the best of my ability.

but now, with my time with The observer coming to an end, it’s time to get ready to say goodbye. I don’t know exactly what’s next for me yet (and I continue the amazingly fun and not-at-all-stressful job search process). It may not include bylines, and if my stories at The observer are the last I’ll write, I feel confident I wrote my final published words for an outlet I love about a sports community I’ve been privileged to cover.

so thank you. To the notre dame sIds and coaches, thank you for your continued relationship with The observer and for helping with all the requests I’ve made over the past year. To notre dame beat writers who I learned from just by reading your work. To the other editors at The observer and the writers in the sports department, thank you for all the amazing work and efforts to produce content under tough and frequently unexpected deadlines. To the former sports editor who convinced me to apply for this role in the first place. Thank you to everyone who impacted this past year. Although I’ll appreciate a more regulated sleep schedule, I wouldn’t have changed a minute.

And of course, as I wrote a year ago, thank you to my dad. For being my introduction to the world of sports and deadlines, my first editor and not only the writer, but the man I continue to aspire to be. Thank you for being the biggest reason I’m writing this farewell column in the first place.

300+ stories later, I finally might be out of words (or at least, I need to save a few for the last few stories I’ll write as a washed-up senior sports writer). It’s been a pleasure being your sports editor. Thank you all.

You can contact Aidan at athoma28@nd.edu.

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

Cian Conroy bridgend

Governing beyond the R’s and D’s

I was watching bill maher’s show “real Time” recently when mr. maher mentioned something that caught me by surprise: numerous republican governors in deep blue states have enjoyed indisputable success over the past half decade.

According to morning consult, the three most popular governors in the U.s. last year — measured by approval ratings — were all republicans governing deep blue states. What’s more, the most popular democrat governor in the U.s. hailed from a deep red state: Kentucky. These four examples flout what I’ve come to expect, given the starkly divided nature of American politics. As a fourt-year member of bridgend, I felt obligated to look further into the surprising success of these political leaders.

The republicans working in blue states I alluded to were charlie baker (r-mA), Phil scott (r-v T) and Larry hogan(r-md). According to morning consult, they were the only governors in the U.s with above a 70% approval rating. such high numbers are unusual. According to Gallup Polls, no president has approached ratings like that since George W. bush did in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. What’s more, these republican officials all led states President biden won by over 30%. on the flip side, the most popular democrat governor was Andy beshear (d-KY), with an approval rating of 57% — higher than any other executive in his party. meanwhile, former President Trump won his state by 26% in 2020. To highlight how exceptional these governors are, consider that both biden and Trump have had approval ratings below 45% most of their time in office. Additionally, only 6% of republicans approve of President biden today, and less than 10% of democrats approved of President Trump for most of his presidency, according to reuters.

This struck me because of how politically polarized the U.s. has become. how could these state politicians possibly find success in states with a majority holding very different views from their own?

In news stories, politics, academia and social media, the divide that exists in the U.s. is staggeringly clear. According to Pew research, around one third of registered members in both parties believe that the other party presents a threat to the nation’s well-being. Academic research has made headlines the past few years with findings that congress is more divided by partisan lines than at any time since the civil War.

These divisions even affect our personal lives. According to YouGov polls, almost half of Americans indicate they would not date someone of the opposite party. There is so much antipathy between the two parties, and their associated cultures, I can only wonder how anyone would be able to work around this divide. how could anyone committed to one party, successfully lead a public dedicated to the other?

After some research, it became clear that the first thing all four men did was focus less on national politics and overused talking points, and more on substantive strategies to make the lives of all of their constituents better. According to ky.gov, Governor beshear (d-KY) has prioritized economic investment, managed budget surpluses, secured health and welfare benefits, expanded broadband and updated water systems. All things that large majorities can agree on, regardless of party identification.

According to nbc boston, Governor charlie baker (r-mA) prioritized relationships. When asked what he did well in office, his response was simple: “state and local government relationships. I think the relationship between state and local

governments has never been better. And that has translated into a ton of legislation and program adjustments that have made it easier for all cities and towns in massachusetts to thrive.” Among his proudest accomplishments are the expansion of broadband in rural areas, improvements to public education, running a balanced budget and reforming criminal justice. Ultimately, baker wants to be remembered for his administration’s tone. he told WGbh news, “We try pretty hard to be about the work and not about the noise at a point in time when a lot of public life and politics is more about the noise than it is about the work.”

Larry hogan, nationally recognized republican governor of maryland, found success in governing a deep blue state as well. Among the accomplishments he touted during his farewell address in January, were reopening the post-pandemic economy, building record budget surpluses, cutting taxes by $4.7 billion, advancing “record investments” in education, funding environmental projects, improving transportation and expanding health care coverage for law enforcement officers and first responders.

Phil scott (r-v T) follows a similar formula. his official website lists three priorities that have underlined his governing philosophy: grow the economy, make vermont more affordable and protect the most vulnerable. he has opposed tax increases, supported gun reform, distinguished himself from President Trump and other unpopular figures in his party, appointed democrats he’d defeated in elections to important roles, expanded broadband and focused on housing accessibility.

While I am not from any of the four states I’ve mentioned, and do not pretend to fully understand their unique problems, I do think using these states as case studies for political cooperation is worthwhile. In a nation divided by constant bickering, examining what has enabled success for leaders working across party lines by focusing on actionable issues like economic opportunity and health care, could be valuable for those seeking a better way in American politics. If a republican can popularly govern a democrat state, and vice versa, maybe there’s hope for a more cooperative political way nationally – one driven by human decency, understanding and a common American commitment.

In writing this, I do not mean to argue we should prioritize only those issues where there can be bipartisan agreement, or that there is something inherently better about moderate politics. nor am I ignorant of the real political and cultural differences that exist in the U.s. today. I only mean to point out examples of cooperation, where communities and states have been able to move forward together, despite unending hostility and distrust at the national level.

Cian Conroy is majoring in economics and applied math with minors in philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) and accountancy.

Originally from Davis, California, Cian is a Senior living in Duncan Hall. He currently serves as treasurer for BridgeND. Feel free to contact him by email, cconroy3@nd.edu, with any comments, questions or contentions.

BridgeND is a multi-partisan political club committed to bridging the partisan divide through respectful and productive discourse. It meets bi-weekly on Mondays at 7 p.m. in Duncan Student Center Meeting Room 1, South W106 to learn about and discuss current political issues, and can be reached at bridgend@nd.edu or on Twitter @bridge_ND.

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

Oluwatoni Akintola meditations

“I hate to say it, but if you weren’t black, you probably wouldn’t have gotten into those schools.”

someone at my high school said that to me a few weeks after I got all of my regular decision results back. A black friend of mine at Yale also had a similar experience during this time. Few people were bold enough to broach the subject in front of our faces, but we knew it was the subject of conversation every time we left a room. We knew that to some kids, there was a dark black asterisk next to our letters of admission. All my life I’ve regularly sat in Gifted and Talented (GT) and Advanced Placement (AP) classes of 20 or 30 people as the only black kid and, on my shoulders, I carried the weight of all the ones that weren’t there. representing an entire group of people was a burden, but one I was happy to carry. maybe it was in my head, but I always took it upon myself to be that much more engaged in what was going on and to be that much more eloquent in how I expressed my ideas. but now that I was receiving the blessing of some great college options, it didn’t matter. Kids at my school didn’t see the fact that I spent junior year in a constant state of frenzy, wondering how I would have time to train for my sport, work on service initiatives, maintain perfect grades and perform at my job. They didn’t see how obsessively I prepared for the sAT or the night that I broke down and poured my heart out to my parents about how terrified I was to fail. All they saw was the color of my skin and, by extension, admissions results to selective schools that I couldn’t possibly have merited. That’s when I first started to wonder whether race-conscious admissions do more harm than good.

Whether my friend and I would’ve had the options we did if we were white or Asian, we’ll never know. honestly, the thought doesn’t really cross my mind. I knew we were capable. It’s hard to say anyone “deserves” admission to a school, but I knew that we were at least qualified to get into the places that we did. but, I wasn’t questioning affirmative action because I had to wrestle with my own doubts. I was questioning it

LEttER to thE EDitoR

Black asterisks

because I feared having to constantly refute other people’s. so admittedly, coming to notre dame I wondered whether people would give me the benefit of the doubt or whether they’d just see another black asterisk. but after being here for a few months, and after reflecting on the recent class action lawsuit against harvard and the supreme court’s continual review of the issue, I think I understand the purpose of affirmative action.

The mistake that a lot of people make is believing that raceconscious admissions are meant to level the playing field and make the admissions process more of a meritocracy by correcting for assumed intangible disadvantages people face racially. They argue that it’s an ineffective way to make things “fair” because many people suffer from intangible disadvantages that have (at least seemingly) nothing to do with their race, such as their home life, family income or health. should an upper-class black applicant who went to a well-resourced private high school receive admission over a white applicant who scored a 1350 on the sAT even though their high school only offered two AP classes? Then there’s also the fact that affirmative action has a disproportionately negative effect on qualified Asian applicants. With all this in mind, it’s easy to understand how affirmative action falls short of “rebalancing” the college admissions process. The important thing to understand is that that was never its intention in the first place. hopefully, this next thought experiment elucidates the goal of affirmative action.

Imagine walking down south Quad right now at around 9:20 a.m. It’s a cold, overcast day, but you don’t really notice that because the weather’s always like that. It’s a busy day too. You see people hustling to o’shaughnessy, debartolo and mendoza for their 9:25 and 9:30 classes. In fact, you’re doing the same. As you’re making your way, you say “hi” to some friends and smile at that person you don’t know but always see around this time on this particular day of the week. now stop. of the many faces you imagined seeing on south Quad, how many were racial or ethnic minorities? how many of them were black?

The goal of affirmative action isn’t to give minorities a

needed advantage in the college admissions process. It’s so that the faces you see on south Quad are more representative of all the different threads woven into the cultural tapestry that we call America. It’s cliche but being forced to encounter people who don’t look or think like you on a daily basis is transformative. It’s the first step in the process of eradicating the biases and prejudices we all have. more specifically, in America, the most common path to the middle and upper middle class is still a college education (especially at a top university). The reason why admission to top universities is so coveted in the first place is that they are highways to building generational wealth and familial stability. Part of affirmative action’s purpose is to give minority students the chance to pursue affluence and to become great thinkers and nobel Prize winners in their own right.

Like I touched on earlier though, there are obvious negative consequences to affirmative action. In fact, these consequences are so weighty that opponents of affirmative action may well be justified in advocating its removal from the college process. research seems to suggest that race-conscious admissions discriminate against Asian American applicants and, even though it’s not affirmative action’s goal, we could definitely make the admissions process more meritocratic by adjusting for background and socioeconomic status instead of race.

As you can tell, I’m very conflicted about race-conscious admissions. There’s so much about it that I don’t like, and yet I still fear that if the supreme court terminates it, college communities across America will be worse off as a result. The dark side of it is having to prove to a small (but tangible) number of people that my presence on campus isn’t some form of reparationsbased charity on the part of the admissions office. but the light side is no longer being the only black kid in the classroom.

Oluwatoni (Toni) is a freshman majoring in Business Analytics at the University of Notre Dame. He can be reached at oakintol@nd.edu. her at geppler@nd.edu.

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

The concerning commodification of campus

If you’ve taken a stroll across campus in recent weeks, you’ve no doubt noticed a new resident ambling amongst the various pedestrians, cyclists and scooter-riders inhabiting the sidewalks of notre dame. sleek new starship delivery robots, moving with either extreme confidence or halting uncertainty, are now serving up Grubhub orders for the low delivery fee of $3.50. While I’ll begrudgingly admit that they are a bit cute, in the way a confused toddler might be, I can’t help but see them as the massive red (or should I say blinking orange) flags that they are. Their beeps and boops should serve as a siren warning us of the increasing commodification of campus space — a commodification that has accelerated since the start of the pandemic. communal space serves a purpose far beyond the surface level — it’s where we meet our neighbors, form connections and foster community. These robots represent a serious, potentially irreversible threat to the baseline, unwritten assumptions regarding communal space that have until now governed our campus reality.

notre dame is lucky enough to possess a wonderful commodity that is rapidly dwindling across the country: the third place. Third places are spaces where we go to socialize and form community that are not our homes or places of work. Typical examples include neighborhood cafes, restaurants, bars, libraries, churches, gyms and public parks. While they might include a purchase like a drink or meal, these are fundamentally places to be and to belong — not your space or my space, but our space. While suburbanization, car-dependency, increasing individualization and other cultural trends have killed off many third places, at notre dame we get to enjoy our quads, gyms, dorms, study rooms, restaurants, sidewalks, libraries, lakes, chapels and communal work spaces not just as destinations for consuming goods and services, but as spaces of community and belonging. This fundamental conception is under attack from multiple angles.

Take, for example, the introduction of Grubhub as the gobetween for all meal orders. When it was introduced during

the pandemic, I thought it was a temporary measure to provide contactless food options during unprecedented times. I longed for the days when I could go to a campus restaurant, order a meal from a real person and sit down to enjoy that meal with another real person. In other words, I missed my notre dame third places. When I finally strode back into one of our eateries post-pandemic, I was greeted by a solitary tablet, followed by to-go orders by the dozens. not only was I unable to interact with the people making my food, I saw countless people sprint in and out, grabbing orders and leaving to hole back up in their office, dorm or study space. This experience prioritizes an expedited transaction and obscures the intangible benefits of entering a third place. At best, you get your food a few minutes faster, but the opportunity cost is a chance encounter with a friend, a wave to a professor or a break from the demands of constant productivity. The tablet and to-go counter convey a very different message: consume and get out.

call me hyperbolic if you want. Yes, I know we can still get our meal and eat in the restaurant with others. I know that sometimes a deadline is a deadline, and you just need to grab and go. You might say, “You’re just against these changes because they’re new, plenty of things like this have already happened and you’re just used to them!” All these things can be true, and at the same time, we can reject these changes that signal individual consumption and increased productivity as the end-all-be-all of human existence. I am not against change, but that change should serve the common good and the flourishing of the human person, not the bottom line of some faceless megacorp.

While the Grubhub kiosks and similar “improvements” for the sake of more efficient consumption are worrisome, they’re at least contained within existing systems. much more concerning are the delivery robots. These robots represent an egregious and unprecedented paradigm shift in the way that campus space is utilized. Letting delivery robots trundle

across our walkways is an inappropriate and previously unfathomable privatization of the notre dame campus. our quads and sidewalks are not playthings for further commodification as Grubhub or others attempt to eke out a marginal profit increase. As a friend put it, these devices, as cute as they might be, “tell a lie about the meaning of this campus’s space.” We should not have to dodge these little agents of extractive consumption as we make our way to classes, offices and community spaces. notre dame, of all places, should recognize the importance of bucking these consumeristic trends. This university is willing to swim against the tide of other collegiate norms. We maintain a dorm system that promotes deeper community and familial belonging, even though it might not provide the more convenient and individualized environment common on other campuses. We have fiercely maintained a pedestrian-oriented campus even though it requires us to trek through the rain and snow when we might prefer not to. most importantly, our catholic faith recognizes that we are made for much more than productivity and consumption, and that our communal environments should reflect this. In other words, encountering those things and inhabiting those spaces that help us become more fully human, perhaps, is worth a bit of inconvenience. The slight convenience of a delivery robot or a contactless ordering tablet will never outweigh the benefits of third places, human connection and communal space free from excessive privatization and commercialization. If we want to preserve, and even begin to regain, these spaces across our campus, it’s time to draw the line. The robots are a step too far. If you agree, please join me and hundreds of others in opposing the continued presence of these unnecessary guests in our communal spaces.

Edward Jurkovic bA ‘15,

For the outsiders Robotic ramblings

Kate Casper o utsider Instincts

I remember it clear as day: The grass was yellowing, becoming more straw-like, and the fireflies by the creek were nowhere to be found, probably hibernating or doing whatever fireflies do when summer ends. Practice had just ended and the moms were too busy shepherding groups of girls into heavily bumper-stickered minivans to notice me shuffling around in my soccer cleats, searching for Anna’s bandaid.

Anna had mentioned that her bandaid fell off during practice and I was determined to find it, searching the sparse patches of grass, until I found the blood-crusted bandage. Proudly, I held it up high, and shouted toward the car line, “Anna! I found it!”

To my dismay, I received no praise or fanfare. Instead, the moms flashed looks of horror and disgust and in that moment, I knew I had messed up (badly).

The scene was chilling — Kate c asper, eight years old, frizzy hair tied back, size three soccer ball in one hand, bandaid in the other; Kate c asper, the last girl left in the middle of the soccer field; Kate c asper, the only one not carpooling home, the only one not sitting in a friend’s moms’ minivan, sipping on a c apri sun; Kate c asper, the o utsider.

my dad consoled me the whole way home. he didn’t shame me for picking up someone else’s used bandaid (although that was pretty gross), he just told me that it was a kind gesture and he was sorry. needless to say, I had a tumultuous relationship with soccer growing up — between those glorious parent-provided halftime oranges and end-of-season pizza parties at Fuddruckers was a lot of loneliness and humiliation. I spent water breaks collecting cones instead of socializing with the other girls, chased down teammates’ soccer balls that got booted into the creek in a desperate attempt to become a part of the clique and often got littleto-no say in choosing atrocious teams names like Team c hocolate or Team Fudge. I tried to be liked by the girls, but it seemed the harder I tried, the more “other” I felt.

maybe these memories from my rec soccer days should haunt me, but today, I see them as integral parts of my o utsider origin story. on the soccer field (or more often the sidelines) was where I felt the most alone, the most “outsider,” but also, frankly, the most “me.”

The soccer field was where I learned to love the smell of freshly mown grass and the feeling of slipping off my sweaty shin guards after practice; it was where I learned to be a teammate, an underdog and a competitor all at once.

The truth is, once you catch a case of the “other,” you have it forever (it’s like mono, only less sexy).

once you’ve been the other, you can recognize the others among you.

You can recognize the other in the crowded house party on e ast Washington where everyone looks comfortable and loose and drunk, except for the shy girl in the corner, sipping on a coke. You can recognize the other in south dining hall when you see the boy from your first-year calculus class who always eats alone in the corner with his headphones in. You can recognize the other when your friend tells you they can’t afford the spring break trip or the house on c orby you’re signing a lease for. You can recognize the other when you ask a girl what dorm she’s in and she replies with “oh, I’m a smick.”

There are o utsiders everywhere.

We are the o utsiders.

We are the kids who don’t fit in with the guys in our section. We are the kids who don’t drink. We are the kids who fumble around the notre dame introduction. We are the kids who have no idea what we’re doing after graduation. We are the kids who aren’t white or aren’t straight or aren’t rich.

We are all “other” at some point, so we might as well be “other” together.

That’s why the name of this column is “o utsider Instincts,” because I want these 800 words every two weeks to speak to the o utsiders, to speak to all of us. I want to speak to the first-year girl who eats dinner alone every night on the phone with Libby and JT because she’s struggling to make friends. I want to speak to the girl who picked up Anna’s bandaid.

because I was that girl.

And I’m going to hold onto her so tight because she was trying, and she was beautiful even in her “otherness.”

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

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

Jack Sirianni The notre dame nitty-Gritty

The past couple of weeks have been accompanied by a wave of hysteria, cuteness or capitalism, depending on who you ask. As this modern fleet races across campus at its maximum speed of four miles per hour, students and faculty alike have been even faster to form strong opinions on our new automated friends. The dominant opinions and views of these new gadgets are told through the following perspectives.

Lawful Good

To the type-A, straight-laced notre dame student, who enjoys obeying the rules and always walks on the right side of the sidewalks to class, these robots are a welcome addition to campus. In the day-to-day of their do-gooder life, they always go out of their way to fix a robot that may have fallen or avoid one who is busy on an errand. Just like the hit disney film “Wall-e,” they find the new robots charming and sweet as they follow their command loyalty to a fault. If this sounds like you, in your eyes, the starship robots are the cutest thing to ever grace the paths of this campus and each sighting of one doing anything is like watching an 80-lb plastic puppy with wheels. With each errand they complete, the robots have a silly little trot because of their uneven wheels making them look like a toddler learning to walk. To you, this cuteness extends to the robots’ resting position where groups of them will just sit together huddled for warmth. You may have even gone as far as naming them fun pet names like sparky — or Flash for a robot who gets your food to you quickly.

Chaotic Good

This is the type of person whose moral compass is just a little bit skewed and who is not afraid to interfere slightly with the diligent robots. This type of individual can often be found cutting in the dining hall salad line or eating at the LaFun Taco bell before 11 p.m. on a weekend. While not evil, these actions are certainly chaotic.

If this sounds like something you would do, you are probably also the type of person who enjoys stepping in front of the robots in order to watch them divert their course. You enjoy the harmless fun of watching them panic for a split second and then suddenly brake to avoid you. While you enjoy the robots, you feel like it is your personal duty and pleasure to prank, tease or disorient them.

True Neutral

This group is a truly rare breed among notre dame students, the individual who is truly neutral in robotgate 2023. This person uses the starship robots, but neither pets them nor tries to push them over when using them. In your eyes, these new pearly white automatons are just another figure moving on the sidewalk next to you.

To you, the whole debate over these may even seem pointless and amusing. If this sounds like you, congratulations on avoiding the polarized and partisan nature of our times by rising above it all.

Lawful Evil

This type of notre dame student is the traditionalist who despises the robots for bringing their futuristic lights and cameras to the naturally pristine campus of the University. This

individual can often be found walking around the lake tearing up to the “rudy” soundtrack and at the Grotto right before their accounting exam.

If this sounds like you, the primary concern you have is that the historic campus of notre dame is being polluted with the blinking lights and the confused driving of these clunky robots. While you would never go out of your way to harm or confuse a Grubhub robot, you’re angry that someone who lives in stanford hall would order Flip Kitchen with a robot to avoid the walk.

If you are a traditionalist like this, you may have already let your voice be heard by signing the manifesto contra robota petition on change.org to oppose the robots. This petition with 371 signees as of Feb. 19 states that “the robots represent an inappropriate commercialization and privatization of the notre dame campus.” The supporters of this petition claim that the robots will play into the consumerism of notre dame students and that they could even force “the first step in a slippery slope to AI’s domination over mankind.”

Chaotic Evil

This type of notre dame student is the sworn enemy of the starship robots as they will stop at nothing to see that these loyal helpers do not make it to their destination. notre dame students like this will on occasion let their intrusive thoughts get the best of them. This anarchist is often tempted to tip the robots over and even commit a crime as diabolical as stealing the food inside. If this sounds like you, your opposition to these robots has gone too far. You may be tempted or coerced to help a friend corner one of the robots and laugh as it struggles to escape.

My Opinion

While the opinions of our new friends on campus can vary drastically from person to person, I find myself torn among them. I love the cute little trot of the robots as they crisscross campus and I believe they need googly eyes and names. however, I am frustrated every time their bright lights interrupt my peaceful night walk or they jut out in front of my bike while I am hustling to class late. If this is the way that the future of technology will unfold at notre dame and the world at large, so be it, but for the time being, I find it hysterical that some students are relating these robots to AI world domination. I absolutely could live without the robots and I question if this is where the University could best be spending its time and resources. however, I believe they could be a fun service that quickly becomes a part of the culture on campus. Whether you find yourself getting food delivered from a robot every day or cannot stand the sight of the six-wheeled monstrosities, our new friends seem to be staying at notre dame.

Jack Sirianni is a sophomore studying political science, journalism and public policy. He is a proud Michigander who appreciates jamming to Pete Seeger, scouring eBay for vintage Notre Dame paraphernalia and collecting stickers from everywhere he goes. On campus, Jack can often be seen by the Founder’s Monument or in the line for Southwest Salad. For your favorite tidbits of knowledge or any other musings, his inbox is always open at jsirian2@nd.edu.

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

By ANGELA MATHEW manager of Talent and Inclusion.

Anne c arson, who will be visiting to speak on campus on Wednesday and Thursday this week, is a c anadian poet, translator and professor. h er writing often includes literary allusions, especially from ancient Greek and Latin works. s eeing posters for her “ h istory of s kywriting” talk all around campus, I didn’t think I had ever heard of her before. Without realizing it, however, I had been encountering her work for months — on Twitter.

I don’t use Twitter much, except to lurk. I enjoy following accounts that post pretentious analyses of b ollywood films, errors in The n ew York Times’ word games, or people who have interesting careers in journalism or academia. As I have given the algorithm more knowledge and ability to divine things I would find interesting, the site shows me curated tweets liked by people I follow. This leads me to adjacent interests like American politics tweets I vaguely understand and the pop culture argument du jour.

A genre of accounts that the algorithm swayed me to follow was ‘literary bots’. Unlike their more exciting cousins like artificial intelligence bots, these bots on Twitter are far more rudimentary and are just automated accounts that post quotes from certain authors or books, every few hours. Though I struggle to make time to read for pleasure, this was a way to delude myself into

convincing myself that I can still claim to be ‘a reader’.

o ne of the accounts I stumbled upon was the ‘anne carson bot’ and I was taken by the intriguing simplicity of the quotes though I had no context for which of c arson’s work they were from. I would like these tweets from time to time, a halfhearted attempt to bookmark some of c arson’s phrases. b ut after these glittering milliseconds of inspiration, I would go back to my mindless scrolling, never taking the time to try and understand what she meant.

This embodies why people love and hate social media, I think. We have so much access to other information and portals to other wonderlands, but the abundance means we rarely end up diving into anything deeply.

This past weekend in preparation for c arson’s visit and this piece, I attempted to break out of this. I went to a local bookstore (that I’d been meaning to visit for two years) and picked up a copy of “Glass, Irony and God”. The 1995 collection contains c arson’s “The Glass e ssay”, a 36page poem that follows a woman grieving lost love while contemplating the b ritish author e mily b rontë’s career.

r eading “The Glass e ssay”, I was struck by the similarities between the moor in n orthern c anada where the poem is set and how winter on campus can feel at times — ‘paralyzed with ice’ and like ‘dregs of snow scarred by pine filth. As the woman in the poem goes on reflective walks

and sees ‘ice that has begun to unclench’ and ‘black open water that curdles like anger’ reminds me of how the lakes can seem at once serene and menacing.

c arson uses more subtle winter imagery as well which reflects the poem’s themes of darkness and grief. When recalling the onset of her father’s dementia, the narrator says “it came to me like a slow avalanche that he had no idea who he was talking to.” s he continues, “his voice pressed into the silence and broke off, snow falling on it.”

As I wait for spring in s outh b end, I loved the line “I could dip my hand down into time and scoop up blue and green lozenges of April heat a year ago in another country.” As the narrator feels nostalgic about times with her lost love the year before she says poignantly, “I can feel that day running under this one like an old videotape.”

As I read “The Glass e ssay”, I’ve been trying to just enjoy its lyricism without getting bogged down by the imagery from “Wuthering h eights” that I don’t understand. I’ve also enjoyed reading the interpretations of people like this e nglish professor who re-read “The Glass e ssay” every day for a month to make sense of her life after a breakup. I don’t think I could read anything every day for a month, but I’m sure I’ll find a happy medium. Until then, I’ll stick to the quick literary hits my Twitter bots serve me.

Contact Angela Mathew at amathew3@nd.edu

By JANE MILLER s cene Writer

The second floor of h esburgh library is great and all, but I think it’s safe to say that we can all use some variety in our study spots every now and then. s o, I’ve compiled a list of some of the best spots on campus so that you don’t have to endure the trials of finding a new place to work.

Remick Family Hall

As Lady Gaga once said: “Amazing. s howstopping. s pectacular.” r ight by the dome, this cozy spot is equipped with a free supply of candy and snacks, as well as coffee and tea. The main room on the first floor of the building is a great place to work if you like a quiet environment. There are plenty of tables and comfy chairs to sit in. Imagine reading room vibes but with more natural light and free snacks.

Jordan Hall of Science

While dozens of students come in and out of Jordan every day, few of them visit one of the greatest study spots on campus. h idden at the end of the hallway on the first floor, towards the right, there is a beautiful room with a high, dome-like

ceiling. Tall windows stretching from the floor to the ceiling of each wall make this a great place to study during the day. This is also a great spot if you need peace and quiet to work. h owever, if you’d like to talk, there is a more social room further left from the end of the hall.

Decio Faculty Hall

If you’ve ever been to d ecio c afe for lunch, you’ll know that it’s an awesome spot for lunch wraps and sandwiches. h owever, you may not know that d ecio is also a great spot for studying. The second floor has lots of tables and comfy chairs for working. The spots are usually well-lit with natural light during the day due to lots of windows, but it’s a good spot to work in at night as well.

Geddes Hall

Geddes h all, home to the c enter for s ocial c oncerns, is a great spot to fall back on when the library is overflowing with students. r ight next to the library, Geddes houses a variety of tables and booths, good for both quiet and collaborative work. It also has a decent amount of empty conference rooms that you can book or work in when they’re empty.

Corbett Family Hall

r ight by d uncan s tudent c enter, c orbett is a great spot that you can always count on to have an open seat. The second floor, home to the department of anthropology, has an open living-room-type area with couches and a few small tables for working. It is usually not a very busy spot, so if you come here with a friend you can talk or work quietly. The other floors of c orbett are great as well, with an array of small tables, comfy chairs and couches for working.

Pro tip: o n the second floor, there is usually a bowl of candy outside one of the classrooms.

Fifth Floor of Duncan Student Center

Up the elevator on the fifth floor of d uncan is one of the calmest places to study on campus. s eated in one of the windows overlooking campus, you can catch a glimpse of the golden dome while you work. There is often jazz music playing on a low volume, which in my case was never distracting, however, if you’re worried, bring a pair of noise-canceling headphones. It’s a major upgrade from the buzz of students convening by c hick-Fil-A and the upbeat pop music blaring over the speakers at h agerty.

Contact Jane Miller at jmille95@nd.edu

DESIRE, CAROLINE POLACHEK WANTS TO TURN INTO YOU

CLAIRE LYONS ASSOCIATE SCENE EDITOR

Caroline Polachek’s sophomore solo album, “Desire, I Want to Turn Into You,” has a song for everyone — “White Lotus” season two fans, students studying abroad in Greece and Rome, enjoyers of long drives by the beach and anybody who has looked into somebody else’s eyes and wondered what they were thinking.

It’s the intellectual pop album of the summer. Written at the base of Mount Etna in Sicily, the album’s atmosphere reflects the place of its conception. The scope is both expansive like the glittering Mediterranean Sea and foreboding like a volcanic explosion. It’s the euphoria of love and the shadow of heartbreak. And, I bet it’ll be playing on your car radio approximately five to six months from now.

Polachek is like a siren beckoning you to her summer oasis in the album opener, “Welcome to My Island.” Her crisp and soaring wail as she sings, “Desire / I wanna turn into you,” is punctured by backup vocals that feel like a wave and squawking seagulls. The song feels like running into the arms of your lover on the beach. Then, the scope snaps back to Polachek as her voice goes from lyrical to rhythmic, rapping “Go forget the rules and forget your friends / Just you and your reflection.” Her bel canto operatic training and indie-pop lyricism help her hit soaring notes as she introduces listeners to the expanse of the album: Here’s my island where I am totally in charge, yet totally isolated. Here’s how desire can make you selfish.

From the opening, Polachek grapples with the dynamics of desire and the self. In the last song of the album, “Billions,” she highlights the messiness of selfishly wanting things and selflessly wanting people (if that’s even possible).

Lines like “Hand it over, broker / Give me the closure” and “Cornucopeiac / Yeah, my cup overfloweth” evoke excess (“XS”) and abundance, physical sensuality at its finest. The bass and Polachek’s angelic voice — the only two constants in the beginning — get crowded out by a wild electric guitar and a children’s choir singing, “Oh, I never felt so close to you!” The transition suggests that desire is the driving force behind both greed and charity.

In “Blood and Butter,” she asks how far this “desire as charity” thing can go. It’s selflessness to the most extreme. Polachek wants to abandon her body and become her lover, singing, “Say you want to show me a place / The place is here, the here inside you,” and “Oh I get / Closer than your new tattoo.” It’s body horror posed as the peak of romance. Throughout the song, Polachek’s voice switches from rhythmic and low to lyrical and soaring, reflecting the pain and pleasure that come from letting yourself get swept away by a new relationship. As she sings, “Look at how I forget who I was / Before I was the way I am with you,” I wonder if the pleasure of desire is worth the pain of losing yourself.

Oh, the song also features bagpipes.

“Blood and Butter” is the thesis of the album. It’s about the difficulty of human connection. No matter what we do, we will never know what another person is thinking, even if Polachek can climb into her lover’s skin. “Blood and Butter” is about the delusion of thinking you can get that close to somebody, to know them better than you know yourself.

“Blood and Butter” is desire. No matter how close you are, you can never get close enough; if you do, it comes at a price. As Cat Zhang from Pitchfork Magazine says in her (much more poignant) review of the album, “Being close to is still not the same as being subsumed by, having turned into. So we nudge and nudge and nudge, never quite reaching fulfillment, longing until the end.”

If “Blood and Butter” is desire, “I Believe” pushes past it and becomes something more like love. Written for her late friend Sophie, who passed away in 2021, the song serves as both a celebratory memorial and a joyous assertion that love will persevere. Dramatic synth noises that sound fit for a Wii combat video game make it seem like Polachek is ready to

fight to defend her belief, too. Even her foreboding lyrics like “Violent love, feel my embrace, oh” sound more optimistic: “Fall in love, feel my embrace, oh.” She sings about seeing her friend again despite the circumstances, “I don’t know, but I believe / We’ll get another day together.” Desire, in this case, is perseverance, is grief, is love.

She says it’s a miracle that “You made it home / With silver string unbroken,” referring to the mythological silver chord that connects the higher self and the physical body. She is surprised that her desire hasn’t consumed her completely. She’s still intact. It’s a joyous celebration about staying true to herself and the truest love of her life — her art.

Released on Valentine’s Day, “Desire, I Want To Turn Into You” is a banger of an album that’s been on repeat on my headphones for the last week, and I don’t think I will get tired of it soon. With Polachek’s impressive vocals and precise artistic vision, this release might go down as album of the year and it’s only February.

ALBUM: ”Desire, I want to turn into you”

ARTIST: Caroline Polachek

LABEL: Perpetual Novice

IF YOU LIKE: Rina Sawayama, Sophie SHAMROCKS: 4/5

happy Birthday: Dream on, but don’t lose sight of reality. Truth matters; offering false information will cost you emotionally. let your uniqueness shine through. you’ll find a cost-efficient way to forge ahead. Expand your awareness and spread joy to those you meet along the way. A balance between work and play will help you build strong relationships that influence how things unfold throughout the year. your numbers are 2, 13, 24, 26, 33, 35, 41.

ArIES (March 21-April 19): Assess your situation and subsequent move. Don’t share too much information until you have sorted out the pros, cons and possibility of putting your plans in motion. reevaluate your relationships and consider who is an excellent candidate to work alongside.

TAuruS (April 20-May 20): Stubbornness and hesitation will be your downfalls. verify information and head for the finish line. your vision, hands-on help and openness will win favors and encourage someone with something to contribute to support your effort.

gEMINI (May 21-June 20): Do what you do best, and don’t let jealousy or emotional manipulation point you in the wrong direction. Take a moment to evaluate how you can help others and still reach the goals you set for yourself. keep sensitive issues to yourself.

CANCEr (June 21-July 22): Don’t take on too much, or you’ll miss out on something special. Coordinate your plans to include people and activities offering a different perspective on life, love and happiness. Take the path that promises the lifestyle you desire.

lEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Play to win, be the entertainment and let your charm dazzle someone you want to impress. Be open about your intentions. Offer your skills to help round out a group addressing a concern you share. Personal growth and romance are apparent.

vIrgO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Traveling or attending a conference will encourage you to try something you’ve been afraid to pursue. Don’t let fear of failure hold you back. Embrace challenges with open arms, and focus on changes that deliver personal happiness.

lIBrA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Time spent with colleagues, clients or classmates will lead to fresh insight and intelligent solutions. Start a discussion addressing expectations, and hash out what you are willing to do and how much. Be forthright; you’ll make a lasting impression.

SCOrPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): listen to complaints and find solutions. Compromising and finding unique ways to get along with others will make your life easier. get involved in the creative process that goes along with any plans you want to incorporate into your everyday routine.

SAgITTArIuS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Tell it like it is, or someone will correct you. look on the bright side, but don’t lose sight of your responsibilities. use intelligence to create a financially sound plan to attract support and partners. romance is in the stars.

CAPrICOrN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Consider the past and what you must do to improve your life. A home improvement project or changing your lifestyle or living arrangements will set you on a positive path. Trust and believe in yourself instead of bending to someone’s demand.

AQuArIuS (Jan. 20-feb. 18): Offer hands-on help, but don’t give away money you cannot afford to donate. reach out to someone you lost touch with and pick up where you left off. Doing so will change how you move forward and where or how you live.

PISCES (feb. 19-March 20): Stick to the truth, and ask questions to avoid making mistakes. get the facts, and make safe decisions that won’t jeopardize your position or long-term goals. Adjust your spending to stay within budget.

Birthday Baby: you are expressive, sensitive and bold. you are original and active.

Fu-Dominko bond, doubles partnership fueling Irish tennis

By AIDAN THOMAS sports e ditor

o n Feb. 21, the latest ITA rankings came out, and a pair of Irish players populated the lists. s enior c onnor Fu has been a mainstay in the n otre d ame lineup for a while, but Tuesday represented his first time appearing in the rankings. h e appeared alongside Irish freshman s ebastian d ominko.

“It started with their friendship,” n otre d ame head coach r yan s achire said. “ e ven before they started playing doubles together, they were buddies. In a conversation with me, s ebastian referred to c onnor as his big brother on the team.”

The duo formed a bond early in the season, and that friendship developed into a lethal doubles pairing that earned some recognition from the ITA, coming in at n o. 47 amidst all doubles teams. Fu and d ominko have become crucial lynchpins for the n o. 37 Irish. They play together on the top doubles court, compiling a 9-1 record so far.

The close relationship between the freshman and senior didn’t initially seem to have potential as a pairing.

For his whole collegiate career, Fu played the deuce court (the right side) in doubles, the same as d ominko. Late in the fall, s achire elected to switch Fu to the ad court (left side), and Fu responded with a strong tournament.

“When thinking about our ultimate doubles combinations, now with the door open that c onnor could play the ad court and s ebastian locks down the deuce court, they became a possibility to play together,” s achire commented. “ c ombine that with their skills, their strengths together, and more importantly, the relationship, the bond they have, it seemed like a really good opportunity for us to try it out, and we did in practice and it clicked. They like playing together, and they’ve been good.”

Good might be underselling the duo’s talent and overall potential. This past weekend, Fu and d ominko outclassed their top-25 opponent from Wisconsin in a dominant showing at the top court.

They’ve won seven straight, and will put that streak to the test this weekend. Facing a pair of topfive teams in o hio s tate and

m ichigan, Fu and d ominko will need to step up their game. o hio s tate boasts the second-ranked doubles pairing in the country, and m ichigan’s top pairing ranks seventh.

“We’ve been putting in a lot of work in practice,” Fu said after a early-season win over Western m ichigan. “ s till a pretty new team, but it’s a pretty high potential team. We’re both pretty good athletes and know how to play doubles pretty well.”

h owever, when not playing together, Fu and d ominko remain key pieces for the Irish in singles play. Fu continues to be a staple for the Irish in the middle of their lineup as he is 5-3 this season.

After that win over Western m ichigan, Fu reflected on his role as a senior leader. “I think us as older guys who have seen all these matches before… it’s our job to show the younger kids how it’s done during pressure moments.”

m eanwhile d ominko, who has competed internationally for s lovenia, has jumped into a high-profile role as a freshman. h e slotted in as the 38th-ranked singles player in the latest rankings. d ominko boasts a 6-2 record

as the Irish’s n o. 1 singles player this season. While the Irish have had players climb into the top 20, or even 10 before, s achire can’t remember anyone doing it in their first season.

“I don’t think the stage is too big for him in any way shape or form, as we’re seeing in his results. We’ve passed all the freshman nerves, and it’s just about helping him become the best player he can be and him growing his game and developing. I think he’s got a shot to be one of the best players in college tennis,” s achire said.

Among his ‘high-end experience,’ d ominko has competed in Junior Wimbledon, the Junior U. s o pen and the d avis c up. The latter is the premier international team competition in men’s tennis, in which d ominko competed for s lovenia.

The lanky lefty brings thundering power to his game, but it’s not just his booming serves that have allowed the freshman to dominate early in his career.

What sets Dominko apart?

“It’s the movement that he has on the court to go along with that size and power

that is different. It’s unique. h e can move quite well, especially for his size,” s achire said. “When you combine the weapons that he has with the ability to run well and to play defense and play complete tennis, he has loads of potential to be an unreal, world-class player.”

d ominko and Fu have sparked the Irish to a 7-3 start this season, but the road is about to get a lot tougher.

n o. 3 m ichigan visits the Irish on Thursday, and n otre d ame travels to n o. 4 o hio s tate over the weekend. To start A cc play, the Irish face up against n o. 10 n orth c arolina and n o. 22 d uke. n otre d ame is currently 0-3 against Top-25 teams, but they are 7-0 against everyone else. Their best wins are over n o. 48 Washington and n o. 49 Wisconsin.

s o what’s the ceiling of this team? c an they seriously challenge top level teams?

The answer might be in a veteran playing the best tennis of his career in c onnor Fu and the mammoth lefty swing of freshman s ebastian d ominko.

Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu

Irish men’s tennis expects challenge against Michigan

By LUCIA AGUZZI sports Writer

The n o. 37 n otre d ame men’s tennis team is preparing this week to face the n o. 4 University of m ichigan Wolverines at the e ck Tennis Pavilion Thursday night. The Irish are coming off two winning matches from s aturday against n o. 49 Wisconsin and University of Illinois c hicago, adding to their now 7-3 season record.

The Irish played m ichigan in the fall in a friendly tournament, and head coach r yan s achire knows the value of playing highly ranked teams like them.

“It’ll be a challenge for us, [they] have huge amounts of firepower at every spot in their lineup. It’s gonna be really fun. It’ll be an unbelievable opportunity for us

to test ourselves,” s achire said.

The team as a whole has been doing well this season, but individual players on the team have also been shining on the court. Freshman s ebastian d ominko has been a force to face lately and was ranked 23rd individually.

“I don’t know that any of our guys have done that as freshmen. I don’t even look at him as a freshman anymore, he’s just a really good player,” s achire said about d ominko.

d ominko has been pairing up for doubles with senior c onnor Fu, who s achire notes has become somewhat of a “big brother” to s ebastian on the team. The pair have been unstoppable on the court as of recent, and the same is expected for Thursday’s match.

Against the Wolverines, s achire hopes for a learning opportunity for the team as a whole.

“They bring an eye level of intensity and firepower at every position. We know we’re gonna have to play well to have a chance to win. We know we can play with those teams and have a shot at being successful,” he added.

m ichigan currently boasts a 12-1 record, their only loss s unday against n o. 7 Texas. While the Irish do have an at-home advantage, where they are 4-0 right now, m ichigan is a force to be reckoned with, and their one loss against Texas came in a neutral site. m ichigan also has n o. 10 and 11 singles

players Andrew Fenty and Patrick m aloney, respectively, as well as two more in the top 20.

d espite the Irish’s hot streak, they have been unable to beat any top-20 teams in competition. h owever, the Irish are prepared and ready to face off against m ichigan.

d ominko was named A cc Player of the Week after his dominating victory s aturday. e arlier in the season, d ominko and Fu were named A cc d oubles Team of the Week.

The face-off with m ichigan opens the gate to the upcoming schedule for the Irish, which has a number of noteworthy opponents on the list. As Thursday

approaches, the team has been training specifically not only for the matchup with m ichigan, but also n o. 3 o hio s tate on s aturday.

If n otre d ame hopes to continue their climb in the ranks, they must have a good showing in one of their upcoming ranked games. Their opportunity is now, with a series of four ranked opponents in m ichigan, o hio s tate, n o. 10 U nc and n o. 22 d uke.

The Irish will kick of this series Thursday, when they host m ichigan at the e ck Tennis Pavilion at 6 p.m. es T. Contact

Mike “The Real Big” Guyette of Keough Hall def. Cesar “Showtime”

Sanchez of Baumer Hall

s anchez employed a manifold of punching techniques to keep “The r eal b ig” at bay out of the gate. At the end of the opening round, Guyette did get payback when s anchez lost his footing and fell flat down on the ring.

s anchez pulled out a similar strategy in round two, coming in hot at the start. Guyette was done putting up with s anchez’s style, and he put the junior from b aumer h all repeatedly on the ropes in round three. The Keough h all junior won by unanimous decision.

Harry “Soup” Peluso of Keough Hall def. Aidan “Sigma” Francfort of Morrissey Manor

With his balanced athleticism, the Keough h all sophomore found early success traveling around the ring. Peluso struck early in round two, and Francfort was back on the ropes. The m orrissey m anor sophomore delivered heavy blows, but not enough of them to counter the heavy onslaught of Peluso. Francfort

responded with some resolve in round three, even inducing a brief pause, but chances of a win were slim for the sophomore in blue. b y referee stoppage, Peluso took home the victory from the gold corner.

Jesse “Justice” Salazar of Morrissey Manor, def. Brandon Rose

r ose and s alazar came out swinging, alternately backing each other into a corner.

“Justice” landed several swift and well-placed jabs and uppercuts in the second round, taking a number of hits to the face himself. r ose chased s alazar about the ring as both boxers began to tire in the last round, but “Justice” refused to give in. h is quick footwork and unrelenting combos earned unanimous victory in the battle.

Nolan “Toothless” Lyon of Carroll Hall, def. Sean “Wheezy” McAleer of O’Neill Family Hall

After a series of potent punches — some that hit the mark and plenty that missed — n olan “Toothless” Lyon gained the upper hand over “Wheezy“ in the first round. m cAleer matched Lyon as the second round bell rang but quickly lost steam to the “Toothless” torrent. After two eight-counts in round two,

Lyon was declared the winner by referee stoppage.

Matthew “Two Cup” Turzai of Keenan Hall def. Roberto “El Patron” Rodriguez

In the first few tense seconds, Turzai and r odriguez were both chomping at the bit for an opening, but “Two c up” capitalized more quickly on his opponent’s vulnerabilities. h e continued this pattern as the rounds went on, first disarming “e l Patron” with more basic punches, then closing in with rapid hooks.

Though r odriguez refused to go down without a fight, “Two c up” controlled the ring from the gold corner and took home a unanimous victory.

Andrew “The Red Scare” Cassidy of Keenan Hall def. Elliot “The Lake” Como of Keough Hall c assidy’s calm, collected fighting style initially clashed with c omo’s movement around the ring. “The r ed s care” held his ground though, soon dominating the center of the ring and leaving “The Lake” defenseless on its outskirts. c assidy’s punishing punches led to a decisive victory via a referee-stopped contest in the second round.

b oth boxers exhibited highly-skilled punches, but d eFalco’s jab-plus-righthook power combo had no mercy on c aden “c adenator”

m c d evitt. In round two, “ h itman” kept powering punches through m c d evitt’s gloves and dodging counterattacks. ”c adenator“ held his own through all three rounds against the senior captain’s barrage, but “ h itman” secured unanimous victory in the end.

Charlie “Scro” Fredian of Duncan Hall def. Richie “Mysterious” Mistichelli of Keenan Hall

r ichie “ m ysterious”

m istichelli showcased some lengthy combos in the first round, backing “ s cro” against the ropes and landing nearly ten consecutive punches.

c harlie “ s cro” Fredian bit back with his own well-placed hits and technical headshots.

b oth boxers withstood a good battering and split the judges’ decision, but “ s cro” walked out of the ring victorious.

Ryan “Homie” Quan of Morrissey Manor def.

Connor “The Hound” Hinkes of Zahm House “ h omie” initially exploded from the gold corner with punches that were anything but friendly. c onnor “The

h ound” h inkes answered with his own set of jarring hits, sending “ h omie” to his heels several times in the second round. r yan “ h omie” Quan imposed ownership over the ring in the final round, sending “The h ound” tumbling to the ground and solidifying a unanimous victory.

James “Gimme the Shimmie” Lawrence def. Noah “Rapagão” Gagnon “Gimme the s himmie” and “ r apagão” traded a series of lateral punches in the first few exchanges. Lawrence gradually forced Gagnon into a defensive shell and took the offensive edge at the end of the first round.

Gagnon landed a few hits to the body, but Lawrence’s ability to keep throwing as both boxers tired earned him extra points in the second round. b y round three, both boxers slowed, succumbing to fatigue. Gagnon landed some strong punches in round three, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the first two rounds. “Gimme the s himmie” won by split decision.

Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu, Maggie Eastland at meastlan@nd.edu and Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu

Policing in America

-Black History Month Event-

A Conversation with Political Science Professors

David Cortez & Luis R. Fraga

Join Assistant Professor of Political Science David Cortez in conversation with ILS Director and Professor of Political Science Luis R. Fraga. They will discuss recent policing events in Memphis that led to the death of Tyre Nichols and similar acts regarding police-perpetrated violence. They will also talk about how race is central to any discussion regarding policing in America.

Cortez’s research centers on ethnic and racial identity with particular focus on intersectional and situational identity salience. His research engages questions of belonging, obligation, and liminality to reveal the careful negotiation of cross-cutting social group memberships of Latinx immigration agents caught between two worlds: the police and the policed. Fraga’s research interests are American politics, specializing in Latino politics, voting rights, immigration, and education.

Monday, February 27, 2023

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Hesburgh Center Auditorium

Hesburgh Center for International Studies

Free and open to the public

Free grab and go lunch provided after the event.

For information visit: latinostudies.nd.edu

h ahn to land a few hard hits in the third round and it was enough to give “bird Legz” the win by split decision.

Jackson “The Stallion”

Graham of Stanford Hall def. Andrew “Cowboy”

Foote of Dillon Hall

When “c owboy” came out aggressive at the starting bell, “The stallion” gave it right back and soon the two boxers were entangled in a battle of who could swing the hardest. Graham relied heavily on a one-two punch in the second to gain the advantage in the bout, but Foote didn’t let up and rotated landing on-target punches on the head and torso.

After a final round of coaching, Foote went on the offensive in the third. Graham was yet again ready to hit back and both had moments of energy and assertiveness. Ultimately, Jackson “The stallion” Graham won by split decision in this battle of physical toughness.

Alex “JackPotts” Potts of Duncan Hall def. Graham

“El Toro” McColgan of Sorin College

“JackPotts” set his eye on the prize and swung early before taking a fall that the referee called off. After an eight-count for m c c olgan shortly after, both boxers reset to land some punches before the first bell. The second saw both boxers swinging before an immediate rest.

m c c olgan would swing, but Potts would take steps back dodging the initial hits. In the second half of the set, however, Potts landed multiple hits to the head, forcing m c c olgan into the corner. In the final ten seconds, both boxers were able to land multiple hard hits to end the round. In the final round, m c c olgan came out swinging, surprising his opponent with his fast and hard swings. Potts was fatigued but able to fight back and both boxers did not quit until the final bell. b y split decision, Alex Potts took home the fight.

Generoso “El Oso”

Rullo of Knott Hall def. Giovanni “Santino”

Ghilotti of Stanford Hall

b oth boxers were quick on their feet to start the match, after a swing and dodge from one competitor, the other would do the same. e ventually, Ghilotti would land a few punches on r ullo. In return, r ullo pummeled his opponent with hits, knocking “ s antino” into the ropes with no sign of stopping. r ullo started the second round with a series of hard and quick punches.

Ghilotti was able to dodge out of it but, r ullo would not give up and again was able to send him to the ropes, before pushing him to the corner.

o bviously fatigued, both boxers were giving their all in the final round. r ullo sent his opponent to the ropes before turning around and getting cornered himself. After a break to resolve a bloody nose, both boxers were back at it. And by unanimous decision, r ullo was crowned champion.

Sean “Peg-Leg” Mullen of Morrissey Manor def. Christian “X” Miller of Knott Hall

The match started off fast, with m ullen throwing quick jabs and m iller dodging them. After a series of hits from m ullen, m iller was trapped and “Peg-Leg” continued with punch after punch.

The second match again saw “Peg-Leg” throwing hard and quick hits at his opponent and m iller struggled to evade them. At the start of the final round, m ullen landed a hard punch to the side of m iller’s head. s howing no signs of fatigue, in the last ten seconds m ullen sent m iller to the ropes one last time, and by unanimous decision, s ean m ullen was victorious.

Rob “The Voodoo Ranger” Rucki of Carroll Hall def. Caz “Manian Devil” Kotsen of Alumni

Hall

r ucki was the first out of his corner, but both boxers were able to dodge the other’s swings proficiently. Kotsen tried to push his opponent back but tripped slightly, and r ucki took advantage. r ucki again ran out of his corner to start the match, but Kotsen was prepared and the “ m anian d evil” landed some solid hits. e ventually, r ucki would land some of his own. Within the final seconds, r ucki would send Kotsen to the corner.

Kotsen came out swinging, but r ucki would dodge them. b oth opponents were determined to give their all in the final round, and Kotsen sent r ucki into the ropes. With ten seconds remaining, the obviously fatigued boxers would give their all, and after the bell rang, the boxers embraced. Ultimately by split decision, r ob r ucki won.

Tommy “The Tank Engine” Sylvia of Knott Hall def. Michael “Deagle” Nilsen of O’Neill Family Hall

s ylvia started with two quick throws, which n ilsen was skillfully able to navigate. h owever, s ylvia managed to throw a series of hits sending his opponent into the ropes. A few seconds

later, s ylvia was able to do the same. n ilsen was unable to evade the quick and hard punches s ylvia threw. n ilsen again started off on the defense but was able to land some of his own later in the round.

“The Tank e ngine” however showed no signs of stopping and sent his opponent into the ropes again. In the final ten seconds, s ylvia threw n ilsen into the ropes and pounded him with hits. With heavy and hard swings, both boxers had a new wave of energy in the final round. h owever, this burst did not last long, and s ylvia pushed his opponent into the ropes time and time again. b y unanimous decision, s ylvia was named the victor.

Jack “Ghost” Phillips def. Dylan “Cha Cha” Cha of Dunne Hall

c ha, a freshman, showed great tenacity against the senior and club president Jack Phillips, parrying and evading a series of powerful swings. Philips lost his balance at one point and hit the deck, but avoided defensive slip-ups.

h e controlled the pace, and his offensive barrage led to a few headgear shots that put him in control heading into the third round. e arly in the final minute, “Ghost” rose up for a massive right uppercut that set the tone for the round. The third round belonged to the senior, and Phillips continued his run onto the semifinals with a victory by referee stopped contest.

Phil “Il Capo” Pollice of Baumer Hall def. Nicholas “The Italian Bullet” Biondo of Dunne Hall

b oth boxers embraced a frenetic pace early. The freshman “Il c apo” landed a couple of early left hooks that set the tone, but b iondo rallied after the referee paused. h e drilled Pollice twice before the first bell to garner some momentum. The second round was hotly contested.

“The Italian b ullet” found success with more direct jabs, but when his swings got loose, Pollice exposed his defense with thundering hooks. e ntering round three, it felt like anyone’s bout. Pollice definitely dominated the final minute, however. The strong finish and stronger blows throughout provided decisive. b y unanimous decision, the freshman from b aumer moved on to the semifinals.

Michael “Money” Winchester def. Dylan “The Shadowman” Latham

b oth boxers land solid shots to start the heavyweight quarterfinal.

Winchester pushed the pace, but Latham found success on the counterattack.

“

m oney” broke through late in a second round, landing a direct jab to Latham’s chin.

“The s hadowman” pushed the pace and delivered a few hard shots to start the final round. Winchester adjusted and countered with a right hook. In a hotly-contested finish, both boxers landed a couple of blows but the decision remained in doubt until the final bell. Ultimately, by split decision, Winchester’s slight edge in the early rounds carried him through to a victory.

Kian “The Persian Excursion” Shinaver of Keough Hall def. Michael “Crispy Chicken” Rauch of Siegfried Hall

s hinaver pushed the pace early, sneaking an early jab through his opponent’s gloves. r auch opted for a counterattack-heavy approach, keeping his gloves high and minimizing early damage.

“The Persian e xcursion” landed an early body shot in the second round, but “ c rispy c hicken” continued to find success with strong defense and some counter shots, landing a late headgear blow to keep the bout close. b oth boxers demonstrated impressive stamina in a fast-paced final round. r auch landed more blows but left more defensive gaps, and s hinaver found the holes with frequency in the waning seconds. s hinaver won the hotly contested bout by split decision.

Josh “More of a Lover Than a Fighter” Williams of St. Edwards Hall def. Jack “Scudboat” Taylor of Dillon Hall

Williams started strong, employing a left jab to right hook combination to land several strong blows early. Taylor snuck through a couple of counter hooks, but he remained largely on the defensive. “ s cudboat” found a little more offensive footing in the second round, largely courtesy of a quick left jab that found gaps in Williams’ gloves.

“ m ore of a Lover Than a Fighter” continued to deliver his signature combination, and he countered with frequent success. Taylor found more success with his left jab, but he couldn’t stop Williams’ heavy right hook with enough consistency. Williams, a senior captain, continued his title defense with a victory by unanimous decision.

Ijeh “The Golden Child”

Nwaezeapu of Keough Hall def. Raleigh “Silver”

Bulleit of Dillon Hall

n waezeapu flashed great agility against a much taller

b ulleit and got underneath his opponent’s gloves for a few strong shots early in the first round. b ulleit’s overzealous attack connected on air when the freshman quickly evaded, and the d illon junior lost balance and hit the deck. A contentious second round saw the referee pause the contest briefly to ensure a clean fight ensued. “The Golden c hild” remained quick defensively and controlled the pace, landing a series of combinations.

n waezeapu wrapped up his opponent when needed and landed a few flurries to seal his victory by unanimous decision in the final minute.

Nirajan “One Punch”

Koirala def. Kevin “For The Brand” Stein of O’Neill Family Hall

The penultimate r ing b round saw a pair of offensively-minded, fast-paced boxers clash. b oth landed frequent blows, but Koirala controlled more of the action. b ehind calls from his corner to deliver more fundamental jabs and defense, s tein rebounded in the second round and found holes with jabs.

Koirala’s wild pace earned him several blows but also a warning for slapping. With the result in doubt, both boxers continued to push the pace. “ o ne Punch” delivered a few looping hooks, and “For the b rand” responded with several jabs. b y split decision, Koirala landed just enough shots to earn the victory.

Mattheos “Mattheos”

Mattheos of Siegfried Hall, def. Yanni “Quadzilla” Vu of Siegfried Hall

A pair of s iegfried sophomores finished the r ing b action. m attheos’ longer reach proved an advantage, and he landed a few shots from distance.

v u needed to get closer to score serious blows, and m attheos largely maintained consistent defense. “Quadzilla” came out much stronger in the second round, pushing his opponent into the corner and connecting on a few right hooks. m attheos responded well.

b acked against the ropes later in the round, he parried a looping hook and responded with several jabs to maintain an advantage. m attheos did what he needed in the final round. h e pushed the pace early and then settled into a more controlled, defense-focused effort to bring home the win by unanimous decision.

Contact Alysa Guffey at aguffey@nd.edu, Olivia Schatz at oschatz@nd.edu and Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu

BENgAl BoUtS

Bengal Bouts Quarterfinals: Ring A

By PETER BREEN, MAGGIE EASTLAND and ANDREW McGUINNESS

sports Writer, Assistant managing e ditor and Associate sports e ditor

Justin “Slim Reaper” Darwin of Dillon Hall, def. Charlie “Monk” Alberino of o’Neill Family Hall

The first bout of the night began with some early punches to the head from both sides. darwin had the better of the early action, landing some high blows with strong consistency. one punch was so strong it forced an early eightcount, followed by a second after darwin forced Alberino against the ropes just before the first bell.

The freshman monk showed some impressive resilience as the fight progressed, but was overmatched by the junior darwin, who threw some late haymakers to seal a victory by unanimous decision.

Nicholas “Nick” Buhay of Dunne Hall, def. Chris Myint of Dillon Hall

both boxers had a ton of energy out of the gates, firing wild jab after wild jab in the early going. buhay quickly tired, though, with myint connecting with a handful of rights to both the body and head while also defending himself well. buhay responded well out of the break, connecting with some lefts before an equipment stoppage on the part

of myint. buhay countered with some lefts of his own after the stoppage, with chants of “nick” serenading him from some two dozen fans.

myint was the one looking fatigued for most of the third round, with buhay backing him into the corner and making his fans happy with a unanimous decision win.

luke “Mantequilla” Slahor of Duncan Hall, def. William “Heisenberg” White of Baumer Hall

slahor took command of the match early with some punishing lefts, putting White on the defensive. A sharp left sent White stumbling and forced an eight-count. A rapid one-two to the head forced another stoppage early in round two. slahor continued to pummel White up high, stretching out his dominance through the second round, leading to another eightcount. The third round offered more of the same, as White could not generate any offense. A referee’s decision eventually stopped the fight in round three, with slahor the clear victor.

Bobby “Sweet Bobby Ray”

Fitzpatrick of Alumni Hall, def. Mitch “Mr. Snowman”

McDonald of Baumer Hall dueling chants of “snowman” and “bobby” echoed as the match began. The two juniors had a very

calculated start before mcdonald landed some headshots. Fitzpatrick did not back down, taking some big swings and connecting on some solid jabs. Fitzpatrick got off to a strong start in round two, but mcdonald also proved capable of returning the favor. Late in the round, Fitzpatrick angled mcdonald into the corner, ending the second round strong to thunderous chants of “bobby” despite being treated for a bloody lip during the break. several huge rights from mcdonald gave him some life, but Fitzpatrick did just enough to earn the split-decision win in an electric bout.

Patrick “PSweet” Sweet of Zahm House def. Ayush “the tandoori titan” Sindhwani sindhwani connected with an early right, but it was largely a quiet beginning to the fight. sweet landed some jabs from distance but neither boxer made a strong impression in the opening 90 seconds. sweet came out of the second round firing on all cylinders, showing an impressive vigor both boxers last in the first round. sweet backed sindhwani into the corner and connected on two quick head shots later in the round. sindhwani was ambushed by “Psweet” early in round three, leading to an eightcount early on. sindhwani was able to hold off sweet from overwhelming him further, but “Psweet” still

Chris “the Delco Destroyer” Zack of Baumer Hall def. Creed “Apollo” leathers of Fisher Hall

Leathers was all over Zack in the first round, finding every angle into the baumer hall junior’s body.

After catching his breath, Zack landed some scary punches to lowly, Leather pushed the scale back to even midway through the bout. In the final round, the ecstatic Leathers ran about two steps for every one of Zack’s, and the Fisher all sophomore succeeded in bloodying the face of his opponent. Yet Zack’s heavy hits proved plenty aumer

Charles “Attilio” Martin def. Cole “Buonanotte” Ceravolo

man matchup, the elder in gold, artin, was unafraid to get after artin wouldn’t eravolo had his strong retorts, “Attilio” put the freshman on his heels and into the ropes during the second artin stood up ready to eravolo when it came time to begin round three

— then he had the muscle to back it up. before the final bell could toll, the referee was forced to stop the match, and martin took home the victory.

see rInG A PAgE 13

Bengal Bouts Quarterfinals: Ring B

By ALYSA GUFFEY, OLIVIA SCHATZ and AIDAN THOMAS e ditor-in- c hief, Associate sports e ditor and sports e ditor

The b engal b outs continued with quarterfinal action on monday night.

Ryan “l efty” l ally of Dunne Hall def. Patrick “ t he Farmer” Fitzgerald of Alumni Hall

Fitzgerald’s steady barrage of punches in the first put Lally on the defense early. The round ended in Lally’s favor though with him pushing Fitzgerald into the ropes at the final bell. “Lefty” rode that momentum to take home the second round. The Farmer” gained some ground with a heavy attack early in the third but a late surge by Lally solidified the freshman’s advantage. o ut of the gold corner, “Lefty” won by unanimous decision.

Damien “Sauce of the Month” Sylva of Fisher Hall def. Nathan “Short Stack” Mcl eod of o’Neill Family Hall

s ylva made his quickness known early, landing a steady series of hits on mcLeod. A junior from Fisher h all, s ylva didn’t waste a moment on the defensive. mcLeod was more prepared in the second to block s ylva’s constant attack, but “s auce of the month” wore him down with the accuracy of his hits. After a brief series of punches by “s hort stack” in the final round, “s auce of the month” finished the bout strong to win by unanimous decision.

l oren “Bird l egz” Hahn def. Hector “Bueno” Juarez of Baumer Hall

The shorter of the two boxers, Juarez masterfully dodged h ahn’s punches steadily throughout the first round. After a stare-down to kick off the second round, “b ueno” went on the offensive, leaving “bird Legz” to spend his time fending off the attack. Juarez used the ring to his advantage in the third round, surging at h ahn. A tired Juarez allowed

see rInG b PAgE 15

SOFIA CRIMIVAROLI | The Observer

Irish sophomore Mattheos “Mattheos” Mattheos punches Irish sophomore Yanni “Quadzilla” Vu in the Bengal Bouts Quarterfinals last match in Ring B. Mattheos won the match by unanimous decision.

SOFIA CRIMIVAROLI | The Observer

The Bengal Bouts Ring A quarterfinals, saw eight unanimous decision wins, five by split decision and five by referee stopped contest.