Print Edition for The Observer for Wednesday, February 7, 2024

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VOLUME 58, ISSUE 48 | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

IN FOCUS

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NOTRE DAME

STUDENT GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTINA SAYUT

BairdToth

BehnBowden

KiserMiller

By GABRIELLE BEECHERT

By MAGGIE EASTLAND

By JOSE SANCHEZ CORDOVA

Assistant Managing Editor

Editor-in-Chief

Assistant Managing Editor

Ju n ior s A n na h Ma r ie Beh n a nd Corey Bowden — w ho a re r u n n i ng for st udent body president a nd v ice president, respec t ively — have created a plat for m t hat t hey hope br idges t he gap bet ween st udent gover n ment a nd t he st udent body w it h foc u ses on d i n i ng ha l l i n it iat ives, ment a l hea lt h a nd st udent engagement .

Beh n i s a n elec t r ic a l eng i neer i ng major w it h a m i nor i n cor porate prac t ice. She f i r st bec a me i nvolved i n st udent gover n ment du r i ng her f resh ma n yea r a s a member of F U EL ( Fi r st Underg raduate E x per ience i n L eader sh ip), w here she met Bowden. Du r i ng her sophomore yea r, she ser ved a s a co-d i rec tor of F U EL , a s wel l a s worked w it h Ac t ive M i nd s, Societ y of Black E ng i neer s a nd professiona l development.

Bowden, a pol it ic a l science major w it h m inor s i n rea l est ate a nd d ig it a l ma rket i ng , ha s

Despite t hei r i nvolvement on c a mpu s, st udent body president ia l c a nd idate Ja mes Ba i rd a nd v ice president ia l c a nd idate A bbie Tot h never ex pec ted to end up at Not re Da me.

Rega rd less, a love for t he Un iver sit y snuck up on t hem a nd mor phed i nto a sha red mot iv at ion to become st udent body president a nd v ice president .

“I had no fa m i ly w ho went here. I ac t ua l ly g rew up w it h k i nd of a nt i-Not re Da me t ies,” Tot h sa id, ex pla i n i ng t hat her fat her i s a USC fa n a nd her si ster a g raduate of Boston Col lege.

Ba i rd, once a publ ic h ig h school st udent f rom F lor ida, d id not see t he Un iver sit y ’s c a mpu s u nt i l move-i n day.

“We love Not re Da me,” he sa id. “It ’s k i nd of i ron ic bec au se I k new not h i ng about t h i s place before I got i n here.”

L ack of fa m i l ia r it y d id not stop Ba i rd

I If you ask ju n ior Dawson K iser a nd sophomore Maeve Mi l ler why t hey a re r u n n i ng for st udent body president a nd v ice-president, respect ively, t hei r a nswer is si mple.

T hey love Not re Da me a nd t hey wa nt to g ive back to t he com mu n it y t he best way t hey k now how.

Or ig i na l ly f rom Ta mpa, Flor ida, K iser is major i ng i n ma nagement consu lt i ng w it h m i nors i n t heolog y a nd ent repreneu rsh ip. Mi l ler, a lso f rom t he Ta mpa a rea, is st udy i ng sociolog y a nd Spa n ish w it h a m i nor i n accou nta nc y.

Bot h br i ng ex tensive st udent gover n ment exper ience to t he fore.

K iser was Di l lon Ha l l president du r i ng 202223 a nd now ser ves as v ice president for t he jun ior class. He touts br i ng i ng back t he Di l lon pep ra l ly as h is g reatest ach ievement i n st udent gover n ment.

Mi l ler is cu r rent ly ser v i ng as McGl i n n Ha l l

see BEHN PAGE 2

see BAIRD PAGE 2

see KISER PAGE 3

2

INSIDER

THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

Behn CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

a l so spent h i s col lege c areer a s a n ac t ive member of st udent gover n ment .

A f ter h i s t i me i n F U EL h i s f resh ma n yea r, Bowden bec a me Deput y Di rec tor for Diver sit y a nd I nclu sion Race a nd Et h n icit y du ri ng h i s sophomore yea r.

He a l so sa id h i s i nterest i n pol it ic s w a s rea f f i r med a fter spend i ng t he Fa l l 2023 semester i n Wa sh i ng ton, D.C .

W hen w r it i ng t hei r platfor m for t hei r c a mpa ig n, Beh n a nd Bowden created a col laborat ive G oog le Doc u ment t hat a l lowed st udent s w ho read t he platfor m to leave com ment s on a spec t s of t he plat for m t hey l i ke a nd d i sl i ke.

“We’l l never k now w hat problem s a re plag u i ng t he Un iver sit y, if nobody ’s say i ng a ny t h i ng ,” Bowden sa id. “So I t h i n k w hen it comes to how we w i l l add ress problem s, t he f i r st t h i ng i s ra i si ng t he i ssue.

A nd I t h i n k t hat bec au se of ou r plat for m a nd how it ’s st r uc t u red, I t h i n k t hat we’l l be able to do t hat .”

T he t icket ’s w r it ten foreword st ates t hat t he goa l s out l i ned i n t he doc ument a re “bot h goa l s we i mag i ne we cou ld ach ieve w it h i n a yea r a nd w it h

Baird CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

or Tot h f rom t a k i ng on leader sh ip roles i n t hei r residence ha l l s a nd i n ac adem ic set t i ngs.

Ba i rd, a ju n ior st udy i ng h i stor y a nd pol it ic a l sc ience w it h a m i nor i n const it ut iona l st ud ies, ser ves a s president of A lu m n i Ha l l a nd i s a for mer senator for t he dor m. He colead s a St udent Pol ic y Net work projec t t hat work s tow a rd sa nc t ion i ng t hose i nvolved i n hu ma n r ig ht s abu ses. He i s a l so a developi ng resea rcher t h roug h t he Kel log g I n st it ute for I nter nat iona l St ud ies, w here h i s resea rch i nterest s i nclude U.S. pol it ic a l h i stor y, democ r at ic backsl id i ng a nd i nter nat iona l law.

Tot h, a l so a ju n ior, i s f rom Pa sadena, Ca l i for n ia, major i ng i n f i na nce a nd econom ic s w it h a m inor i n rea l est ate. She w a s t he v ice president of Pa squer i l la Ea st Ha l l a nd ha s led t wo nonprofit con su lt i ng projec t s for t he St udent I nter nat iona l Bu si ness Cou nc i l ( SI BC ).

Atop nu merou s con su lt i ng projec t s, Tot h i s a l so a tou r g u ide for t he Un iver sit y.

Ba i rd a nd Tot h say t he y have fou nd t hei r “home u nder t he Dome.” Now, t he y say t he y w a nt to help

t he cont i nuat ion of c u rrent St udent G over n ment work .”

“W hen t he ad m i n i st rat ion i s t u r ned over, a nd t hen it ’s a new yea r, a nd people say, ‘Wel l, people prom i se cha nge, a nd it d id n’t happen so I don’t have t r u st i n st udent gover n ment,’” Beh n sa id. “T here’s a m i su nder st a nd i ng t here a nd so I t h i n k com mu n ic at i ng t hat i s i mpor t a nt .”

In Tuesday even i ng ’s debate, Beh n sa id t he t icket ’s g reatest pr iorit y wou ld be h i r i ng more f u l l-t i me cou n selor s at t he Un iver sit y Cou n sel i ng Center a nd a l loc at i ng more resou rces tow a rd s st udent ment a l hea lt h.

I n her prev iou s work w it h Ac t ive M i nd s, Beh n she sa id ha s a sked t he UCC to sha re t hei r budget bec au se t he UCC ha s told her t hey do not have t he f u nd i ng to h i re more f u l l-t i me cou nselor s. Her request ha s been den ied, but bot h Beh n a nd Bowden hope to work t h roug h t h i s setback .

“I t h i n k t he big gest w ay we c a n pu sh aga i n st t hat i s rea l ly t r y i ng ou r ha rdest to f i nd out w hat t hat money a l loc ated i s, a nd i f t hey won’t tel l u s ju st go ou r ow n route : bench ma rk aga i n st ot her u n iver sit ies a s t he hea lt h a nd wel l ness depa r t ment ha s done i n t he

pa st,” Beh n sa id.

I n a n i nter v iew w it h T he Obser ver, Beh n sa id she a l so w a nted to pr ior it i z e ma k i ng cha nges to t he d i ni ng ha l l s. T he Beh n-Bowden t icket proposes t hat t he Un iver sit y s w itches food vendor s f rom G ordon Food Ser v ices to P ia z z a P roduce w h ich of fer s a “w ide a r ray of f resh veget ables, f r u it, a nd protei n s,” accord i ng to t he plat for m.

Bowden, on t he ot her ha nd, sa id i n t he i nter v iew t hat h i s ma i n pr ior it y i s i mplement i ng a homecomi ng week i n t he week leadi ng up to t he f i r st footba l l ga me of t he semester. T he plat for m proposes t hat t he St udent Ac t iv it ies Of f ice tea m s up w it h a nu mber of ot her c a mpu s orga n i z at ion s to spon sor d i f ferent event s, per for ma nces a nd vendor s t hat a l l st udent s c a n t a ke pa r t i n. Bowden sa id t h i s homecom i ng week i s pa r t of h i s desi re to i ncrea se st udent engagement in c a mpu s-w ide event s bec au se he bel ieves ma ny st udent s feel a s i f t here i s not h i ng to do on c a mpu s.

“I don’t rea l ly u se Fi z z a lot, but w hen I’m on Fi z z , T hu r sday t h roug h Su nday : ‘W here t he pa r t ies at? ’” Bowden sa id. He ack now ledged t hat d i f ferent dor m s a nd st udent g roups do hold t hei r ow n event s on c a mpu s

t h roug hout t he yea r, but he sa id he w a nt s t here to be more event s i nvolv i ng t he ent i re st udent body.

T he t icket a l so h ig h l ig hted ot her goa l s i n t hei r platfor m, i nclud i ng a nu mber of d iver sit y a nd i nclu sion i n it iat ives. T hese i nclude celebrat ion s of d i f ferent m i nor it y g roups on c a mpu s, prov id i ng resou rces to f i r st generat ion, low-i ncome st udent s a nd d i sabi lit y advoc ac y. T he t icket a l so out l i ned L GBTQ + i n it iat ives a nd hopes to prov ide st udent s w it h access to t he com mon dat a set a nd t he new Tit le I X reg u lat ion s once t hey a re f i na l i z ed.

“We do w a nt to pu sh [t he Un iver sit y] to be more t ra n spa rent, a nd obv iou sly a ny i n st it ut ion i s not goi ng to w a nt to pa rade t hei r dow n fa l l s a rou nd,” Beh n sa id. “T here’s a few avenues I cou ld see t h i s goi ng , I cou ld see t h i s t a k i ng a st udent per spec t ive, l i ke i f t he ad m i n i st rat ion won’t do it, t hen we w i l l f i nd a w ay to get t h i s i n for mat ion out t here to pu sh it more.”

Beh n a nd Bowden a l so hope to con sol idate Un iver sit y resou rces i nto one cent ra l i z ed onl i ne loc at ion a nd promote t ra n spa renc y bet ween st udent s a nd ad m i n i st rat ion. Bu i ld i ng of f of t he L ee-St it t ad m i n i st rat ion’s

rei mplement at ion of t he St udent L i fe Cou nci l ( SL C ), Beh n a nd Bowden hope to create a n i n for ma l env i ron ment si m i la r to SL C meet i ngs w here st udent s, ad m i n i st rator s a nd a represent at ive f rom st udent gover n ment c a n chat about st udent concer n s.

W it h a l l of t hese goa l s out l i ned, Beh r a nd Bowden sa id t hey bel ieve t hey st a nd out f rom t he ot her t icket s bec au se of t hei r pa st ex per ience a nd t hei r cohesive plat for m.

“W hen we were bu i ld i ng t h i s, we were t a l k i ng about t he d i men sion s of wel lness t hat k i nd of spa n f rom emot iona l to phy sic a l, to f i na ncia l, to a l l of t hese a spec t s, a nd I t h i n k ever yt h i ng i n here f it s i n one of t hose bucket s one w ay or a not her,” Beh n sa id.

“T he st udent s c a n see t hat t here i s cha nge t hat need s to be made,” Bowden sa id. “So a s long a s t he st udent s st ay beh i nd u s, a nd a s long a s we cont i nue to put on d i splay t hat we a re t he tea m t hat need s to be i n of f ice to ma ke t h i s cha nge, I t h i n k t hat t hat ’s goi ng to ma ke u s t he w i n n i ng t icket a nd t hat ’s w hat i s probably goi ng to sepa rate u s f rom t he ot her t icket s.”

ot her st udent s f i nd t hat too, espec ia l ly t hose w ho m ig ht not feel a sen se of welcome.

“We w a nt t he school to be a place t hat i s t r u ly home for ever yone,” Tot h sa id.

A not her sha red mot iv at ion for t he t icket i s a desi re to plea se st udent s.

“It ma kes u s happy to t r y a nd ma ke ot her people happy,” Ba i rd sa id. “T hat ’s k i nd of t he goa l i n my l i fe.”

T he duo have d r aw n up a 15-page plat for m to accompl i sh t hat goa l. It s object ives r a nge f rom i nc rea si ng f lex poi nt s a nd d r a i n i ng sidew a l k s to br i ng i ng t he P resident of t he Un ited St ates to spea k for t he 2025 Com mencement a nd c a ncel i ng cla sses i n honor of L abor Day. One of t hei r most a mbit iou s goa l s i s to place a st udent on t he Boa rd of Tr u stees. T he st udent t r u stee w i l l be responsible for repor t i ng back to t he st udent body about t he conver sat ion s a nd dec ision s made by t he Boa rd.

“I’l l ad m it, it ’s goi ng to be a ver y d i f f ic u lt t h i ng to do,” Ba i rd sa id. He t hen quoted for mer P resident Joh n F. Ken nedy, say i ng “We don’t do t h i ngs ‘bec au se t he y a re ea s y,’ r ig ht? ‘We do t hem bec au se t he y ’re ha rd.’”

Ba i rd sa id ot her u n iversit ies, i nclud i ng St a n ford, Du ke, I nd ia na, F lor ida a nd

P u rdue, have made progress tow a rd plac i ng a st udent voice on t he boa rd. He added t hat he ha s a l ready spoken w it h v ice president for st udent a f fa i r s Fr. G er r y Ol i nger about t he pol ic y idea .

“I f we were to w i n, we wou ld be able to ma ke a conv i nc i ng a rg u ment,” Ba i rd sa id. “Not on ly do we have a nu mber of peer i nst it ut ion s, but it wou ld be benef ic ia l to t he Boa rd of Tr u stees a nd t he Un iver sit y it sel f.”

W it h pla n s for big cha nges, Ba i rd a nd Tot h ack now ledge t he d i f f ic u lt ies of get t i ng t h i ngs done a nd ident i f y a problem of apat hy tow a rd st udent gover n ment .

“A lot of people m ig ht not c a re about st udent gover nment,” Ba i rd sa id. “T here’s a lot of c y n ic i sm. We w a nt to show people, aga i n, t hat st udent gover n ment c a n be a force for good.”

To help move t he need le on c y n ic i sm, Ba i rd w a nt s to i nc rea se com mu n ic at ion by rev iv i ng reg ula r I n st ag r a m v ideos a nd Spot i f y podc a st s. He ment ioned br i ng i ng for mer st udent gover n ment leader s back to c a mpu s to f i l m a v ideo about t hei r accompl i sh ment s. T he Ba i rd-Tot h plat for m a l so empha si z es t he i mpor t a nce of hosti ng v a r iou s tow n ha l l s

a nd St udent L i fe Cou nc i l event s i n w h ich st udent s c a n spea k d i rec t ly to ad m i n i st r ator s.

Ba i rd-Tot h a l so have idea s for i mprov i ng c a mpu s d i n i ng : nu mber i ng t he t ables to help st udent s f i nd t hei r f r iend s, br i ngi ng back t r ay s, i nv it i ng Sout h Bend rest au r a nt s to ser ve t hei r food at t he d i ni ng ha l l s a nd i mplementi ng t a ke-out cont a i ner s for sa le, a pr ac t ice a l ready i n place at Sa i nt Ma r y ’s Col lege. T he y a l so w a nt to c reate t he “Hesbu rger,” a new sig nat u re d i sh a nd br i ng back t he t r ad it ion of “Ci rc u s Lu nch.”

T he pa i r a l so w a nt to i mprove t r a n spa renc y a nd accessibi l it y by c reat i ng st udent su r ve y s a nd publ i sh i ng mont h ly ex pend it u re repor t s.

Ot her goa l s relate to st udent hea lt h a nd wel l ness, spi r it ua l l i fe, su st a i nabi lit y, r ace a nd et h n ic it y recom mendat ion s, i mprov i ng st udent sa fet y — i nclud i ng on I nd ia na St ate Road 933 bet ween Not re Da me a nd Sa i nt Ma r y ’s — tech nolog ic a l i mprovement s l i ke Ven mo i n dor m s a nd Mobi le I Ds, c iv ic engagement effor t s, accessibi l it y on c a mpu s, st udent ex plor at ion of Sout h Bend a nd equ it y for st udent s f rom a l l w a l k s of l i fe. Ba i rd-Tot h a l so det a i led goa l s to i mprove t he

l ives of st udent s f rom f i r stgener at ion, low-i ncome back g rou nd s, L GBTQ + st udent s a nd i nter nat iona l st udent s.

Given such a w ide r a nge of idea s, Ba i rd ha s a lready t houg ht about how he a nd Tot h w i l l accompl i sh t he leng t hy l i st, even i f Un iver sit y ad m i n i st r ator s a re not i n it ia l ly on boa rd. I n h i s t i me a s president of A lu m n i Ha l l, Ba i rd say s he ha s lea r ned how to move pa st a “no” by comi ng up w it h more w ay s to per suade.

“W hat I’ve fou nd i s ju st t he a r t of goi ng back aga i n a nd aga i n a nd aga i n,” he sa id.

St udent s w i l l have t h ree choices for t h i s yea r’s st udent body elec t ion.

Ba i rd a nd Tot h hope to w i n t he vote by cha si ng a fter a mbit iou s but fea sible goa l s t hat c ater to ever y st udent .

“We feel l i ke we c a n reach a la rge aud ience of c a mpu s i n a w ay t hat ’s relat able a nd rea sonable,” Tot h sa id. “We’re say i ng let ’s do t hese i n it iat ives t hat a re fea sible, rea l.

May be t he y ’re d i f f ic u lt, but we bel ieve t hat t he y c a n be done a nd ac t ua l ly have a good i mpac t on t he st udent body.”

Contact Gabrielle Beechert at gbeecher@nd.edu

Contact Maggie Eastland at meastlan@nd.edu

THE INDEPENDENT

TO UNCOVER

NEWSPAPER SERVING

THE TRUTH

NOTRE DAME, SAINT MARY’S

AND REPORT

AND HOLY CROSS

IT ACCURATELY

VOLUME 58, ISSUE 48 | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

Eagles’ nest draws conservationists Notre Dame facility, ND-LEEF, home to nesting pair of eagles as conservation struggles continue too controlled; they don’t offer the realism that we want in our experiments. And field experiments, you know, are at the whim of nature.”

Much of the research conducted at the facility tests how different substances move in water.

A paper published in 2017 by a group of scientists features a set of experiments run at ND-LEEF which tracked the movement of environmental DNA (eDNA) from fish downstream in the facility’s ecosystems.

At ND-LEEF, Peters said, the study had the unique ability to control the experiment’s water supply, allowing it to more

By LIAM PRICE New Writer Editor

A 10-minute drive from campus, the Notre Dame Linked Experimental Ecosystem Facility (ND-LEEF) is a researcher’s playground.

Considered “globally unique,” the facility consists of 32 acres containing a reservoir with four separate artificial watershed systems, flowing ground-pumped and aerated water from the facility’s reservoir into artificial stream, pond and wetland ecosystems.

“We always kind of say it’s bridging the gap between the lab and the field,” ND-LEEF assistant director Brett Peters said. “A lot of times lab experiments are a little

Courtesy of Brett Peters

A parent eagle feeds eaglets in front of the ND-LEEF live-streaming camera, which has provided a unique insight for researchers into the diet of eagles. The camera, located above the nest, was installed in 2018.

Sexual assault reported at SMC Observer Staff Report

Students at Saint Mary’s were notified Monday afternoon of a sexual assault report regarding an incident on the College’s campus during the early morning Sunday.

The Saint Mary’s Title IX office and St. Joseph County Police Department are investigating the report, Campus Safety Department director Phil Bambenek wrote in an email.

“The survivor of the assault reported that she met a male at a local student bar and believes that her drink may have been tampered with,” Bambenek wrote.

see ND-LEEF PAGE 2

Society of Women engineers welcome back alumna

“The male brought her back to campus and the assault took place in a residence hall room.”

The survivor was able to identify the assailant. Authorities don’t believe he is a member of the tricampus community, Bambenek added.

Bambenek asked people with information about the incident to contact the St. Joseph County Police Department’s Special Victims Unit.

Drink spiking incidents were also reported last fall. Three of those incidents, reported to Notre Dame’s Title IX office, occurred at Finnies Next Door in downtown South Bend.

NATALIE SMITH I The Observer

SWE members gathered in the Saint Mary’s College Science Hall to hear alumna Megan Garcia Shepherd present her experience with KPMG International Limited, one of the “Big Four” accounting firms.

By NATALIE SMITH News Writer

The Observer File

Students received the email from Campus Safety Department director Phil Bambenek notifying them of the incident late Monday afternoon.

NEWS PAGE 2

VIEWPOINT PAGE 4

On Monday night in Saint Mary’s Science Hall, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) hosted alumna Megan Garcia Shepherd to speak about her experience in consulting for KPMG. Shepherd was part of the Saint Mary’s College and Notre Dame engineering program and has worked for KPMG for seven years.

SCENE PAGE 5

SWE president Molly Pooler explained Shepherd’s motivations for speaking to current stduents.

“She’s a Saint Mary’s and Notre Dame engineering alum and she reached out because she’s doing a recruiting event for KPMG at Notre Dame and she wanted to come talk to Saint Mary’s students and give advice,” Pooler said.

Alumni who went through the same process that Saint

Mary’s engineering students go through often come back to visit and share their own experiences, as well as give advice to students.

“The engineering program is when you finish college in five years. In four years you graduate from Saint Mary’s with a Bachelor’s in science, and in five years you graduate from Notre Dame with a

W BASKETBALL PAGE 6

W LACROSSE PAGE 8

see ENGINEERS PAGE 3

THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

ND professor does more than teach ndsmcobserver.com P.O. Box 779, Notre Dame, IN 46556 024 South Dining Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 Editor-in-Chief Maggie Eastland Managing Editor Ryan Peters Asst. Managing Editor: Gabrielle Beechert Asst. Managing Editor: Hannah Hebda Asst. Managing Editor: José Sánchez Córdova Notre Dame News Editor: Saint Mary’s News Editor: Viewpoint Editor: Sports Editor: Scene Editor: Photo Editor: Graphics Editor: Social Media Editor: Advertising Manager: Ad Design Manager: Systems Administrator:

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By REDMOND BERNHOLD News Writer

Nimble hands, a metal lock and a key fill the camera’s lens. A hair y hand t w ists the key to crack open the lock. The camera snaps. An orangutan mother opens the door, grabs her child and f lees the dark cage, yet again.

Richard Sheehan, Notre Dame professor emeritus and independent photographer, captured this moment years ago in the Los Angeles Zoo. According to him, it was a common occurrence.

Before becoming a Notre Dame finance professor and capturing w ildlife pictures, Sheehan worked at the Federal Reser ve as an economist. During his time at the Federal Reser ve, he recorded the macroeconomy, monetar y policies and their grow th over time.

He said sports-related data piqued his interest

in pursuing a career as a macroeconomics professor and researcher.

“It led me to think of the question: suppose you could split off football programs from colleges … and then you can sell that.

How much would that be worth?,” he said.

Sheehan was the first who “asked that question.” It commenced his research, teaching and career at Notre Dame.

This idea, along w ith others, prompted him to release his book, “Keeping Score: the Economics of Big-time Sports.” In his book, Sheehan addresses the value of professional and collegiate teams. He also answers questions about “pay ing [college] athletes” and “competitive balance.”

Throughout his time as a finance professor, Sheehan also pursued photography as a hobby.

He accredits his interest in photography due to the

revolution of the digital camera.

A digital camera was his present to himself after defending his Ph.D. dissertation. It was barely used, but his first family African safari was “a real breakthrough” for t wo reasons.

One reason was because Sheehan did not have to rely on developers and “was in control all the way through.” Another reason was the instant feedback allowed him to learn more throughout the safari than prev iously.

Over his 40 trips to Africa, he has taken digital pictures of nearly ever y w ild animal.

“If you can think of a w ild animal, I have probably photographed it from lions to leopards to tigers to cheetahs … ” he said.

Sheehan said that one of his friends has a histor y of leopard and tiger conser vation, which prompted Sheehan’s hobby of

w ildlife photography. In his most recent trip to the Orange Free State, South Africa, Sheehan photographed these tigers and their cubs outside of their den.

Sheehan said one of his favorite animals to photograph is the African w ild dog, a critically endangered species whose hunting patterns are distinct from the common cat predators.

He said the monochromatic aesthetic of zebras are “always graphic.” He also said intelligent animals, like the orangutan and elephant, are his favorite to capture, pointing to the common orangutan outbreak in the Los Angeles Zoo. After his recent trip to South Africa, Sheehan returned to Notre Dame to temporarily teach macroeconomics this semester.

They hired a local tree company with a tall “lift bucket” and a tree climber specialist who was able to set up the camera facing the nest with a cable running down the tree for internet connection.

Since starting the stream, the ND-LEEF nest has gained its own community of followers online. Followers have watched moments such as the parents fighting off a juvenile eagle, the nesting pair laying eggs and even the dramatic escape of a turtle.

The nest and its livestream has also offered ND-LEEF unique opportunities for its own research, Peters said.

One undergraduate study, published in 2021 to a peerreviewed journal used over 26,000 images from the NDLEEF nest camera to find a detailed account of a healthy eagle’s diet.

“We found that 73% of the prey items that were brought in were fish, with 13 unique species that got brought in.

And then there was also 13% of it was birds, 10% mammals and 4% reptiles,” Peters said.

Peters explained, however, that the eagle’s nest on the facility has caused the Notre Dame team some stress.

In 2020, an eaglet in the nest passed away. In 2021, the wired connection to the camera collapsed, not to be replaced in 2022, when in the summer perhaps the most dramatic event occurred: the nest collapsed.

With a little help from the Fish and Wildlife Service, who helped rescue the smallest of that year’s eaglets, which had been injured by the nest’s collapse, the nest collapse led to no damage for the eagles.

And by early 2023, the eagles had already rebuilt their nest in the same location. With the camera set up in that location, the Notre Dame team was grateful.

“Everyone was asking, ‘Are they going to build in the same spot?’ I was like, ‘Hopefully!’

You know, if there is a spot, it’s going to be that spot, because they’re creatures of habit,” Peters said. “They’re going to naturally want to come back to the spot that’s been successful.”

No eggs were laid in 2023 due to the disappearance of the nest’s female. However, a new one appeared later in the season and ND-LEEF is expecting the new nesting pair to lay eggs either in late February or early March.

“This is a new female, so we can’t really be sure what the schedule’s going to be this year, but we’re hopeful,” Peters said.

of the challenges that remain.

According to a Facebook post from the Indiana Humane Society Facebook page, a “subadult” bald eagle from Potato Creek State Park had been transferred to the organization’s facilities on Jan. 29 after it had been found in poor condition by a local birder.

After the Humane Society provided stabilizing care, the eagle passed away overnight from acute lead poisoning.

“A lead fragment the size of a grain of rice is lethal to a mature bald eagle, meaning that a standard 150 grain lead bullet can poison 10 eagles,” the Humane Society wrote in their post. “The deadly metal accumulates in an eagle’s system over the course of their lives, meaning that there is no safe amount of lead exposure. For this reason, lead is often called ‘the silent killer.’”

Acute lead poisoning is a result of lead ammunition and fishing tackle being left unintentionally by hunters and fishers in the field and in local waters. In their post, the Humane Society advocated for a transition to non-lead ammunition and tackle.

“Because these exposures are accidental, such as when a fish breaks the line or when a gut pile is left behind, the best way to decrease the risk of lead exposure is to transition to non-lead ammunition and tackle,” the society wrote. “Education around this issue is imperative not just for the health of bald eagles but also humans.”

Contact Redmond Bernhold at rbernho2@nd.edu

Sports Desk

(574) 631-4543 sports@ndsmcobserver.com Scene Desk Photo Desk

ND-LEEF

(574) 631-8767 photo@ndsmcobserver.com

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

(574) 631-4540 scene@ndsmcobserver.com

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accurately track the flow of eDNA through its systems.

“With that kind of information managers in the real world can better understand what a positive or a negative result in the field means because they can have a better idea of how far that DNA could have come from and how long ago it was shed,” Peters said.

An unexpected arrival The facility held its first research season in 2013, and just two years later the staff were surprised at the arrival of a pair of bald eagles, who kicked a red-tailed hawk out of its nest, located right next to the ponds on the facility’s west end.

“One of the goals at the onset of building this facility was to be as green as possible,” Peters said. “I think it speaks to that, because the eagles chose to come live there.”

The eagles showed up as Notre Dame was building the Morrison Family Education and Outreach Pavilion on the facility’s site, which was luckily just outside the 350-feet radius of the eagle’s nest recommended by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to avoid disturbing the nest.

“It means that the pavilion that we built for education and outreach is the perfect place for people to come get a view of an eagle, so that’s really cool,” Peters said.

In 2018, the Notre Dame team embarked on a project to install a live-streaming camera above the eagle’s nest.

A story of success, but a sober reminder Eagle populations have emerged triumphantly across the country following a long stint on the Endangered Species List.

According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, there were over 350 eagle nesting territories in 2020. The figure is a testament to the success of the state’s Bald Eagle Reintroduction Project, which had begun in 1985 after bald eagle populations in the state had been “extirpated” for over a century.

Despite these successes, however, the South Bend birdwatching community was soberly reminded just last week

Contact Liam Price at lprice3@nd.edu

NEWS

Engineers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

corresponding engineering degree to your Saint Mary’s degree,” Pooler said. “There’s not many girls who do the program relative to the number of students who graduate from the engineering program so it’s a very tight-knit community.”

Students use these meetings to build more connections and find different internship experiences. Shepherd talked about a Women’s Advisory Summit, a three-day internship that would offer classes and be a way to build connections in the summer. A big portion of it is to emphasize more women in male-dominated fields.

“I like going to the professional development workshops because I’m only a sophomore so I still want to build up more of those skills. I really want to hone in on getting my network and making those connections and continuing to talk to those people and continuing the conversations as I continue my education,” SWE member Ryleigh Alles said.

SWE members who might not know the full scope of potential jobs that they can use with their degree attended the meeting.

Shepherd focused on the work that she’s done like visiting different sites and communicating

NDSMCOBSERVER.COM | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 | THE OBSERVER

with companies like Facebook, Google and IBM. These presentations are ways for Saint Mary’s students to understand what their degree and unique experiences can offer them in professional spaces.

“I really like engineering and I want to pursue it. My thing is I don’t want to sit and work a desk job and just code for hours on it. I never heard of the consulting side of it, which I thought would be very interesting because I like people work and talking to people.

I wanted to know what the experience was like being a consultant but also being an engineer,” said Alles.

Pooler explained why Shepherd’s visit was not only informative for students, but how it also served as an important opportunity for students to connect with a professional in a career field they may be interested in pursuing.

“It’s important to hear from a professional in the industry and then further narrow down what they want to do,“ Pooler said. “I think they can offer good professional advice in terms of networking, how to communicate, especially in male-dominated fields.”

Contact Natalie Smith at nsmith03@saintmarys.edu

3

Change in mandate leads to rise in flu cases

By LIAM PRICE New Writer Editor

For junior Thad Lipinski, it began with the sensation of feeling very overheated on a Sunday night in January, a night which he kept waking up with “weird dreams and sweats.”

“I woke up the next morning sick as a dog, I had a fever, I was coughing pretty bad, and I was like, I don’t think I’m going to go to class today,” Lipinski said. “I hoped Tuesday I would feel a little better, but it was the same deal.”

Lipinski went to urgent care that Wednesday and tested positive for the f lu.

“If you’re congested, feverish and coughing, chances are you might have the f lu, and you should go get it checked out. And at the very least, you shouldn’t go to class. There’s no shame in taking off a couple days to feel better,” Lipinski said.

University physician Kathryn Cox Cohoon explained that the inf luenza virus which causes the infection varies from season to season. It can PAID ADVERTISEMENT

lead to headaches, achiness, a sore throat, coughing, nasal congestion, a runny nose, fatigue and, for some patients, a fever.

According to Cohoon, the impact of the f lu and ongoing COVID infections has been “around as expected.” But a decrease in the number of students who received the f lu shot has likely increased “the ease with which the illness is spread … as well as the severity of symptoms that patients are experiencing,” she said.

The f lu shot was not mandatory for students on campus this year, and numbers are ref lecting this. Cohoon reported that, as of Tuesday, the campus has had 216 positive tests for inf luenza, with 188 positive cases occurring in the spring semester alone.

That figure is up from only 67 positive tests in the 2022-2023 school year.

“Yearly f lu shots are 40-60% effective in preventing the f lu as they are made based on predictions about what the coming f lu season viruses will be, however … persons who do become infected and have had

a f lu shot will most likely have a much less severe course of their illness,” Cohoon said.

Notre Dame’s University Health Services has combined inf luenza and COVID tests available, and students who are infected can take Tamif lu, Cohoon said, but the best defense against the f lu is to have the f lu shot annually.

In young and healthy individuals, the f lu is a “selflimited illness” which should be treated “symptomatically with Tylenol and ibuprofen, decongestants and cough suppressants as needed, rest and plenty of f luids,” Cohoon said.

Cohoon expalined how the f lu can be contagious from one day prior, to a week after the onset of f lu symptoms. The most contagious days are typically three to four days after the person’s symptoms develop.

She recommends that infected students self-isolate, wear masks, cover their coughs and sneezes, avoid touching their face and wash their hands regularly.

Contact Liam Price at lprice3@nd.edu

4

THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

INSIDE COLUMN

Going out in style

Are you bowling alone?

Sofia CrimiVaroli Erin Drumm

Photo Editor

Drummer’s Circle

There exist props that can make or break a movie. These props can range from the one ring to rule them all to Norman Bates’ House. These are symbols of the movie, reminiscent of the plots and settings of the best and worst movies in existence. One interesting subset of this category is the ever-important movie vehicle. A character’s chosen form of transportation says a lot about them – it ref lects their style, occupation and dedication to the small pleasures of life. These vehicles are tried and tested, never failing to save their captains, pilots and riders from whatever mishaps a movie throws their way.

5. The Orca I’m starting off strong with Quint’s reliable fishing boat, the Orca, from “Jaws.” The Orca is your classic run down, cruddy, ramshackle boat — a real man’s vessel. When all the tourists and hot-heads f lood into Amity Bay to catch Jaws with their done-up, expensive, but ultimately useless boats, they don’t stand a chance. Like its captain, the Orca proves that sometimes you need the rugged, hardened option if you want to catch a man-eating shark. So, no, you don’t “need a bigger boat.” The Orca has you covered.

4. Aston Martin DB5 There are few more instantly recognizable cars out there than the Aston Martin DB5, as is befitting James Bond’s most iconic vehicle. James Bond, gentleman spy, has been the pinnacle of suave and style for generations. Both him and his dapper antagonists drive state-of-the-art cars, boats, planes and even submarines, but no other is as closely associated with the character as his beloved Aston Martin DB5, which has appeared with him in 7 movies (so far). And thanks to Q, it is also accompanied by gadgets, which could always come in handy, some of which include revolving number plates, tire slashers, a smoke screen, oil slick, front-wing machine guns and (of course) an ejector seat.

3. Batmobile Whether you grew up with the classic Adam West Batmobile, the sleek Michael Keaton Batmobile or the robust Christian Bale Batmobile, it doesn’t matter because they are all legendary. I would wager that no child in history has seen the Batmobile and hasn’t wanted to drive it. Depending on the iteration you prefer, it comes equipped with even more gadgets than Bond’s cars, some of which include a traveling crime lab, sonic range finder, the ever-important grappling hook, whirly-bats, a smoke screen, nitromethane afterburner, armor plating, electroshock defense hydraulic gyroscopic wheels and so much more. In some versions it even morphs into a plane, submarine or motorcycle. It is difficult (and maybe impossible) to think of a superhero that has a more handy, all-purpose, adaptable vehicle than Batman.

2. DeLorean There are cool cars and then there are awesome plot-driving time-traveling cars.

There might be nothing more iconic than Doc Brown stealing plutonium from Libyan terrorists, making an experimental f lux capacitor and then retrofitting it all into a DeLorean, a famously unreliable car. It is something that probably shouldn’t have worked, but it couldn’t have gone more right. There are so many incredible things about “Back to the Future,” but none stand out to me more than the pivotal vehicle.

Rarely is a protagonist’s car the most important prop in a movie, but here it is: the most crucial item in one of the most original movies of all time. It’s stylish, it’s memorable, it travels through time, it runs on nuclear power and it saves both Marty McFly and Doc Brown. What more could you ask for?

1. Millenium Falcon What vehicle can be more phenomenal than Han Solo and Chewbacca’s smuggling ship, savior of the “Star Wars” series time and time again: the one and only Millenium Falcon. This Corellian light freighter is equipped with smuggling compartments, boosted shields and guns and a slightly spotty hyperspeed. There’s a reason Solo boasts his ship as the “fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.” This ship was so iconic in the original trilogy that they brought it back for the sequels and a prequel, bringing it to a total of seven movies that it’s starred in. Without the Millennium Falcon striking the Death Star II’s main reactor, the Rebels would never have destroyed the planetkiller and won numerous battles against the Galactic Empire.

Honorable Mentions: The Transformers, Pizza Planet Car, The Black Pearl, Bike from E.T., Danny’s Big Wheel You can contact Sofia at scrimiva@nd.edu.

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

Recent ly I went bowling.

Don’t worr y, I didn’t bowl a lone.

I’m a patriot, after a ll.

My friends and I went over to Strikes and Spares. A mong a ll of the litt le k ids celebrating birthdays, we celebrated our friend’s ha lf birthday.

Twent y-one and a ha lf is just as f un as 21!

Her summer birthday is often sk ipped over because we’re not on campus, so we a ll decided to go bowling together.

I ta lk a lot about bowling a lone and why you should never do it. Freshman year of college, I read excerpts of Robert D. Putnam’s “Bowling A lone: The Collapse and Rev iva l of A merican Communit y” and have thought about it a lot since, both as a punch line and as a serious way of think ing about A merican democracy and communit y-building.

Recent ly, my friend told me she was reading “Bowling A lone” for one of her classes and I simply cannot wait to hear her thoughts. You can f ind a sy nopsis of “Bowling A lone” online or the text itself on the Hesburgh Librar y website. In the spirit of f ull discord, I myself have not read the book in f ull, only the excerpts required for class.

“Bowling A lone” suggests that the socia l capita l of the United States has declined since World War II. W hile being aware of the rose-colored glasses “the greatest generation” can often be v iewed w ith, we can a lso ack nowledge Putnam’s emphasis on the importance of trust in civ ic and socia l affairs.

Putnam a lso arg ues that nosta lgia is not a lways a “roseyeyed remembrance” but a lso “an attempt to recapture a time when public-spiritedness rea lly did carr y more va lue and when communities rea lly did ‘work.’”

Today, nosta lgia has a constant presence on socia l media, especia lly in terms of music and fashion. I don’t believe this nosta lgia suggests a socia l ma laise and lack of socia l connection, considering trends depend on a large number of people to adopt them to be successf ul.

For example, the shoulder bags and platform shoes of the 2000s have made a f ull comeback v isible on our ow n campus.

These trends might suggest a lack of connection bet ween producer and consumer,

rather than that of the public, or consumers, to one another, as people increasingly buy trending clothing from large corporations.

Nosta lgia for the pandemic lockdow n a lso circulates on the internet, w ith people sharing their longing for the trends and music of March 2020.

Putnam emphasizes the importance of trust and participation in civ ic and politica l affairs. Socia l voluntar y groups are important to democracy because while connections w ith other people don’t g uarantee that a person w ill empathize or understand others: “Socia l isolation v irtua lly g uarantees that [they] w ill not.”

A fter Putnam’s essay on which he based his book, rose to popularit y in 1995, some suggested that Putnam’s theor y wasn’t correct at a ll and that A mericans continued to participate in socia l activ ities at the same or a similar rate as their generationa l predecessors.

But, I never bowl a lone. If not for the fact that I would be tota lly embarrassed to bowl a lone, for the fact that bowling is only rea lly f un when you play w ith other people. This, of course, is not what the book is about at a ll. Bowling a lone acts as a metaphor for a w ider A merican movement away from socia l and civ ic groups to a more indiv idua listic, less communit y-based v iew of life.

On a campus w ith a great dea l of socia l clubs and events, it can be hard to imagine the decline of A merican civ ic and socia l participation. But, depending on whether you buy Putnam’s arg ument or not, the Notre Dame bubble may prov ide a fa lse sense of A merican participation and socia l connectedness when compared w ith larger A merican happenings or a microcosm of a f lourishing democratic societ y.

Erin Drumm is a senior at Notre Dame studying American studies, journalism and history. She is from Philadelphia and spends her summers (and every weekend possible) at the shore in Cape May County, New Jersey. Outside of The Observer, Erin can be found cheering on the Fighting Irish and the Phillies, reading and talking about pop culture and history. She can be reached at edrumm@nd.edu.

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

Submit a Letter to the Editor: viewpoint@ndsmcobserver.com

5

THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

ELMO’S ADVENTURES IN THERAPY-LAND

By ANDY OTTONE Scene Writer

Elmo is possibly the oldest three-and-a-half yearold out there. Debuting in 1980 unofficially, and in a full capacity five years later, Elmo is not just a staple of television but the American cultural zeitgeist. For decades, Elmo has guided young children into slightly older childhood, teaching them colors, letters and important life lessons. As a figure, Elmo represents all of us: a curious, playful and loving child. Elmo cares about all of us, and more than anything, Elmo is a friend to everyone. And like any good friend, sometimes Elmo checks on our mental wellbeing on social media.

If this was an episode of “Sesame Street,” the words of the day would be “trauma dumping.” Jan. 29, 2024, 10:46 a.m. EST — Elmo’s official social media account posted on X: “Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?”

It was an innocent-enough comment, but the masses forgot they were responding to the social media account of a children’s show mascot, who is a child.

Ranging from personal issues to wider existential dread, the responses overall carried a notion of despair. Once again, I wish to remind you that this was

By MARGUERITE C. J. MARLEY Scene Writer

Due to the rise of streaming services, many sitcoms have found new audiences and lives. Though shorter seasons and television becoming more cinematic have led to fewer and fewer sitcoms being produced, older or less popular sitcoms have reached a wider audience.

“Arrested Development” follows Michael Bluth (played by Jason Bateman) as he tries to save his family’s failing real estate company after his father is arrested on charges of defrauding investors, though his incompetent and immature relatives constantly foil him. It received critical acclaim during its original run on Fox, but it was ultimately canceled after three seasons due to low ratings. “Arrested Development” never quite found its audience on television due to many gags in the show rewarding long-time viewership. It was shot like a reality television show (minus the talking heads) instead of the more conventional multi-camera sitcom format. But thanks to Netflix, it was picked up for another two seasons.

Similarly, “Community” started as just your average sitcom about a community college study group but quickly became a parody of nearly every sitcom

directed at Elmo, from the (formerly) PBS television series “Sesame Street.”

The post — due to the responses it generated more than anything else — went viral. Particularly, the response, “Elmo I’m gonna be real I am at my f*cking limit,” caught the attention of social media users and was re-shared on multiple compilation accounts. Because we live in an unserious world, ElmO was asked to take time off from his rigorous schedule of counting, spelling and feeding his goldfish Dorothy to make an appearance on the morning program “Today.” Of course, the show would not ask an unaccompanied minor Muppet to be on the show without a guardian, so Elmo’s dad Louie also joined the show. This is where things take a turn for the even weirder.

“Seinfeld” is a popular 1990s sitcom cocreated by comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David. Larry David followed up on the success of “Seinfeld” with his own show, “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which will debut its final season soon. Due to his ongoing publicity tour for the show, David was on the set of “Today” at the same time as Elmo. As the kind-hearted Muppet spoke on concerns such as mental health and wellbeing, David literally and figuratively “saw red.” Without warning,

David snuck up behind the couch Elmo was seated on and assaulted the Muppet.

There is no history of animosity between David and Elmo. There is no reason to believe this attack was premeditated and therefore could possibly be classified as a crime of passion. It is also fully possible that this was a pre-planned publicity stunt as “Sesame Street” and “Curb” are both owned and produced by parent company HBO. Regardless of intent or planning, this is one of the only (if not first) live broadcasts of an assault of a Muppet.

“Today” hosts Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Craig Melvin (alongside guest Al Roker) implored David to apologize to Elmo, which David did. Then he laughed immediately after. The authenticity of the gesture is up for debate, considering that during an appearance on “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” David claimed he did not regret it and he “would do it again.” I believe Elmo has no malice in his heart, but it is also important to note that he has never been provoked in such a way. Whether he will retaliate will be seen, but I feel Elmo’s options are limited due to him being a Muppet and three-and-a-half years old.

troupe, action movie and show. The season two episode “Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking” makes fun of the then-popular mockumentary sitcom style. Though much of the racial humor holds up very poorly (even leading to one of the episodes getting pulled from Netflix), the show is still more intelligent than many shows airing today. For example, throughout several seasons, the phrase Beetlejuice is uttered thrice, resulting in the character appearing in the background on his third mention. Throughout season three, the character of Abed helps a pregnant couple give birth, which is only briefly acknowledged in the show’s canon.

“Community” also had a troubled production history, with the writers allowing both the third and fourth seasons’ finales to act as series finales. After it was finally canceled on network television, it moved to now defunct Yahoo streaming service “Yahoo!

Screen” for a sixth season. Though a movie was promised in the sixth season finale, fans didn’t have high hopes it would ever happen. In 2021, showrunner Dan Harmon announced they had finally started film production. What changed in 10 years? In early 2020, the show was moved to Netflix.

What these shows have in common is that they found a second life in internet memes. The phrase

“Dead Dove: Don’t Eat” has become shorthand for tagging a work containing content that someone might upset people. But the “Arrested Development” family matriarch, Lucille Bluth (played by the late great Jessica Walter), takes the cake for the most memes featuring her. My friends and I quote “I mean, it’s one banana, Michael. How much could it cost, ten dollars?” at each other all the time, and the reaction photo of Lucille saying “Good for her” has become a staple reaction meme.

On the other hand, “Community” has launched several memes, such as Ken Jeong yelling gay or the Dean saying “This better not awaken anything in me.” But the most famous meme comes from the episode “Remedial Chaos Theory,” where Donald Glover enters a room only to find the whole room on fire.

Both of these shows have found new audiences, who either didn’t catch them on cable or weren’t old enough to watch them the first time and can now appreciate them. These audiences have the bonus of being able to recognize where their favorite meme is from, which has turned into a revival of these shows.

Hopefully, we can see more shows get the love they so desperately deserve.

Contact Andy Ottone at aottone@nd.edu

Contact Marguerite at mmarley01@saintmarys.edu CHRISTINA SAYUT, MARIA TOBIAS | The Observer

6

SPORTS

THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

ND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Maddy Westbeld’s veteran influence continues to boost Notre Dame women’s basketball

By J.J. POST Associate Sports Editor

E nt e r i n g t h e 2 02 3 -2 4 s e a s on , Not r e D a m e h a d j u s t on e p l a y e r on t h e r o st e r w it h m or e t h a n on e f u l l s e a s on of s t a r t i n g e x p e r ie n c e i n a n I r i s h u n i f or m .

S e n ior f or w a r d M a d d y We s t b e ld .

We s t b e ld i s s om e t h i n g of a n a n om a l y i n Not r e D a m e’s usua l sta r t ing l i n e u p t h i s s e a s on . Poi nt g u a r d H a n n a h H id a l g o i s a f r e s h m a n . G r a d u a t e s t ud e nt g u a r d A n n a D eWol f e a nd s e n ior f or w a r d Ky le e Wa t s on a r e t r a n s f e r s f r om For d h a m a nd O r e g on .

C om b o g u a r d S on i a C it r on i s a j u n ior n o w i n h e r s e cond s e a s on a s a f u l l-t i m e s t a r t e r.

T he pie c e t hat t ie s t hat f i rst f ive toget her i s We s t b e ld , w h o r e c e ntl y s u r p a s s e d 10 0 c a r e e r g a m e s f or Not r e D a m e .

T h e s e n ior f or w a r d h a s s e e n a l it t le bit of e v e r yt h i n g i n h e r t i m e w it h t h e I r i s h , on e of j u s t t w o p l a y e r s ( a lon g w it h f e l lo w s e n ior f or w a r d Na t a l ij a Ma rsha l l) to have been w it h Not r e D a m e f r om g a m e on e of t h e N ie le Iv e y era.

A s a f r e s h m a n , We s t b e ld

m a d e a n i m m e d i a t e i mp a c t , a v e r a g i n g o v e r 15 p oi nt s p e r g a m e a s t h e I r i s h b a t t le d t h r ou g h a n u p -a nd- d o w n , C OV I D a f f e c t e d s e a s on . A s c onf e r e n c e r o ok ie of t h e y e a r a nd a n A l l-AC C F i r s t Te a m h on or e e , We s t b e ld s e e m e d pr i m e d f or a n e v e n g r e a te r s t a t i s t ic a l out p ou r i n g a s s h e e nt e r e d h e r s oph o m or e s e a s on .

That d id n’t h a pp e n .

I n s t e a d , Not r e D a m e i mpr ov e d a s a t e a m , w i n n i n g 14 m or e g a m e s a nd r e a c hi n g t h e S w e e t 16 i n 2 02 2 .

I n 2 02 3, t h e I r i s h r e a c h e d 2 7 w i n s a nd c a pt u r e d t h e AC C r e g u l a r s e a s on t it le .

A s Not r e D a m e w on m or e a nd m or e , We s t b e ld’s p e rg a m e a v e r a g e s i n p oi nt s , r e b ou nd s a nd a s s i s t s a l l d r opp e d f r om h e r r o ok ie ca mpa ig n.

B ut t h i s w a s n’t f or a l a c k of d e v e lopm e nt . We s t b e ld was st i l l g row i ng as a p l a y e r, but h e r r ole h a d c h a n g e d . S h e w a s n o longer a player t he Ir ish had t o f or c e f e e d t h e b a l l t o f or of f e n s e . S h e w a s n o w a pie c e i n a h i g h l y e f f e c t i v e system. In her f i rst ca reer g a m e , We s t b e ld w a s on e of s e v e n Not r e D a m e p l a y e r s t o t a k e t h e f lo or i n a lo s s t o M AC f o e O h io. I n h e r

s op h om or e s e a s on d e bu t , We s t b e ld w a s on e of 12 p l a y e r s t o p l a y f or t h e I r i s h i n a 3 6 -p oi nt w i n o v e r t h a t s a m e O h io s q u a d .

No w a s e n ior, t he K e t t e r i n g , O h io, n a t i v e h a s s t r u c k a s t r on g b a l a n c e b e t w e e n i nd i v id u a l s t a t i s t ic a l pr o d u c t ion a nd b e i n g p a r t of a g r e a t e r w h ole .

He r p oi nt s on a p e r- g a m e b a s i s h a v e t ic k e d u p f r om 11. 2 i n 2 02 3 t o 13. 9 t h i s w i nt e r, w it h h e r s h o ot i n g e f f ic ie n c y u p a c r o s s t h e b o a r d a s w e l l . S h e’s a v e ra g i n g a c a r e e r-h i g h i n r e b ou nd s w it h 9. 2 p e r g a m e , le a d i n g t h e Not r e D a m e r o s t e r.

We s t b e ld’s i ncrea sed i m p a c t on t h e b o a r d s h a s b e e n t h e r e s u lt of i mpr ov e d f it n e s s a nd a s u b s e q u e nt a bi l it y t o b a t t le f or a n e nt i r e c ont e s t . “ [ It ’s ] m y a g g r e s s i v e n e s s ,” We s t b e ld s a id w h e n a s k e d a b out h e r 14 r e b ou nd s i n Not r e D a m e’s w i n ov e r P it t s bu r g h . “I’m i n a r e a l l y g o o d s p ot a s f a r a s m y s h a p e , j u s t s t a yi n g t i p -t op of m y d ie t a nd m y a c t i v it y le v e l w h e n I p l a y. I’v e r e a l l y s e e n [ t h a t le v e l ] i n c r e a s e a nd h a v e b e e n a b le t o c om p e t e f or 4 0 m i nut e s . Ju s t d oi n g t h e l it t le t h i n g s .”

E nt e r i n g t h e b a c k h a l f of t h e t e a m’s c on f e r e n c e s l a t e , a s t r e t c h of g a m e s i n w h ic h t h e I r i s h w i l l p l a y f ou r g a m e s a g a i n s t r a n k e d opp on e nt s a nd s i x a g a i n s t t e a m s w it h w i n n i n g c onference r e c or d s , Not r e D a m e w i l l n e e d We s t b e ld at her best.

S h e m a y n ot b e t h e f l a s hie s t s c or e r on t h e c ou r t , but s h e a d d s a v e t e r a n le a d-b y- e x a m p le pr e s e n c e to t he Ir ish l i neup t hat is i m m e a s u r a b le i n v a l u e . I n Iv e y ’s e y e s , We s t b e ld h a s “ b lo s s om e d” a s a le a d e r w it h e a c h y e a r s h e’s b e e n i n S ou t h B e nd .

“Us c om i n g a t t h e s a m e t i m e , s h e’s b e e n a n i m p a c t p l a y e r f r om t h e b e g i nn i n g ,” Iv e y s a id . “S om e on e I le a n e d on r i g ht f r om t h e b e g i n n i n g . I pu t h e r t o t h e f i r e a s a f r e s h m a n a nd s h e’s j u s t g ot t e n b e t t e r e v e r y s e a s on … S h e’s k i nd of c r e a t e d h e r o w n w a y of le a d i n g . E v e r y on e’s d i ff e r e nt , t h e w a y t h a t t h e y le a d . It ’s b e e n i n c r e d i b le t o w a t c h h e r g r o w t h .”

T h e pr o of of c on c e pt f or We s t b e ld b e i n g t h e k e y f or Not r e D a m e t o t o u n lo c k t op -t ie r opp o s it ion i s a l r e a d y t h e r e . T h e Ir ish have played t wo ga mes aga inst tea ms

c u r r e nt l y r a n k e d i n A P ’s Top 15 . I n t h e s e a s on’s op e n e r aga inst S ou t h C a r ol i n a , We s t b e ld s c or e d 12 p oi nt s i n 31 m i nu t e s of g a m e a c t ion . Not r e D a m e lo s t b y 2 9. O n t h e r o a d a g a i n s t UC on n i n Ja nu a r y, h o w e v e r, We s t b e ld p l a y e d all 40 m i nu t e s a nd d r opp e d 2 3 p oi nt s – a nd t h e I r i s h w on b y 15 , t h e i r f i r s t w i n i n St or r s i n t e n yea rs.

T h e s e a s on h a s r e a c h e d a p oi nt w h e r e it ’s k n o w n w h a t Not r e D a m e w ome n’s b a s k e t b a l l i s a nd i s n’t . T h e y ’r e a n e x c it i n g a nd w e l l-b a l a n c e d s q u a d , on e c a p a b le of w i n n i n g w it h u p -t e m p o of f e n s e or g r it t y t e a m d e f e n s e . W h a t t h e y a r e n ot , h o w e v e r, i s a n e s p e c i a l l y e x p e r ie n c e d s q u a d . Ju s t t w o p l a y e r s i n t h e u s u a l I r i s h g a m e r ot at ion h a v e a m a s s e d m or e t h a n 70 c ol le g i a t e s t a r t s .

A g a i n s t old e r s q u a d s , We s t b e ld w i l l n e e d t o p l a y a n ou t s i z e d r ole , b ot h i n t e r m s of le a d e r s h i p a nd pr o d u c t ion . W it h n e a r l y f ou r y e a r s of r e p s u nd e r h e r b e lt , t h e r e’s l it t le r e as on t o e x p e c t s h e w on’t b e ready to a nswer t he ca l l.

C ont a c t J.J. Po s t a t jp o s t @ nd .e du

ND WOMEN’S TENNIS

Irish tennis sweeps Sunday matchups with Ball State and Chicago State

By J.J. POST Associate Sports Editor

N o t r e D a m e w o m e n’s ten n i s enjoyed a dom ina nt weekend, not d roppi ng a si ng le poi nt i n a pa i r of w i ns over Ba l l State a nd Ch icago State i n Sout h Bend.

T he Ir ish sta r ted of f hot on Su nday mor n i ng , breez i ng by t he Ca rd i na ls a t E c k Te n n i s P a v i l l i o n .

T he ta ndems of sen iors Ju l i a A nd reach a nd Ya s h n a Ye l l a y i a nd sophomore A k a r i Mat su no a nd ju n ior Nibi Ghosh e a c h c r u i s e d t o 6 -1 v i c tor ies i n t hei r matchups to secu re t he doubles

poi nt for Not re Da me.

T he ea rly moment u m cont i nued i nto si ng les p l a y. A l l s i x I r i s h p l a y e r s notched v ic tor ies i n t hei r i nd iv idua l matchups.

Ju n i o r C a r r i e B e c k m a n l e d t h e w a y, e a r n i n g t h e honors of bei ng t he f i rst compet itor of f t he cou r t s w it h a 6 -1, 6-0 win.

Sophomore Boja na Pozder a nd g raduate st udent Page Freema n fol lowed soon a f ter w it h w i ns of t hei r ow n, secu r i ng t he requ isite fou r poi nt s for a Not re Da me w i n.

Despite t he resu lt of contest a lready being con f i r med, t he t hree

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matches i n prog ress when F r e e m a n’s v i c t o r y l o c k e d in a n Irish w in were pl a y e d to c onc lu sion . Not r e Da me cont i nued t hei r st rong out i ng on t he rema ining cou r t s, w it h M a t s u n o, Ghosh a nd Ye l l a y i a l l l e a v i n g t h e i r respective match-ups w i n ners.

T h e I r i s h d i d n’t h a v e much t i me to rest before ret u r n i ng to Eck Pav i l l ion for t hei r second contest of t he day aga i nst t he Couga rs.

T houg h t he match opponent wa s n e w, t h e p a r a l l e l s t o t h e f i rst showdow n of t he day w e r e a p l e n t y.

Not re Da me once aga i n ea r ned t he si ng les poi nt i n r e l a t i v e l y s h o r t o rd e r, w i t h t h e p a i r i n g s

o f A n d r e a c h a n d Ye l l a y i ( 6 -2 ) a n d M a t s u n o a n d Ghosh (6-0) aga i n bei ng t h e d e c i s i v e f a c t o r.

Once si ng les play began t he Irish once aga i n qu ick ly bega n to rack up v ictor ies, w it h Matsu no t h is t i me bei ng t he f i rst of f t he cou r t a f t e r s e c u r i n g t h e h o s t s’ second poi nt. A t r io of matches wou ld conclude shor t ly t h e r e a fter w it h Ghosh, Pozder a nd A nd reach all notch i ng t he w i n s requ i red to g ive t he Ir ish f ive tea m poi nt s a nd put t he contest out of reach.

Un l i k e B a l l S t a t e , t w o i nd iv idua l matches st i l l i n prog ress when t he resu lt was finalized were not played to

c o n c l u s i o n . Ju n i o r s K a t e Bel l ia a nd Beck ma n bot h were a head on t hei r respective cou r t s, but bot h matchups were suspended.

Not re Da me w i l l now head on t he road for t hei r nex t contest, a t i lt i n M a d i s o n a g a i n s t N o.

25 W isconsi n. T he Ir ish have played one ot her ra n ked contest t h is seas on, a 4 - 0 lo s s to t hen-no. 13 Oh io State.

Not re Da me is u n d e f e a ted ot her w ise in 2024, a nd w i l l r ide a t h ree-ga me w inning s t r e a k a n d a 5 -1 o v e r a l l record i nto t hei r cla sh w it h t he Badgers.

C o nt a c t J . J . P o s t a t jpost @ nd.edu

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DAILY DAILY

NDSMCOBSERVER.COM | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 | THE OBSERVER

CROSSWORD | WILL SHORTZ

7

HOROSCOPE | EUGENIA LAST Happy Birthday: Discipline will help you achieve things, but don’t let it stifle your creativity. Emotions will brew, and although keeping your secrets safe and sound is favored, sharing essential information with those close to you is necessary. Keep the conversation flowing. Having a willingness to adopt change that keeps you updated is vital to your success. Stick to the truth and complete your mission. Your numbers are 9, 17, 26, 32, 38, 44, 49.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Emotional matters will cost you if you lack realism.

Sidestep joint ventures and proceed alone to maintain control. Being able to do things your way will give you limitless energy and enthusiasm to outmaneuver anyone who tries to get in your way.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’ll gravitate toward serious people pursuing a similar mission. Don’t get consumed in someone else’s dream; work alongside people who empower you to do your own thing. Be open about what you want and turn your plans into something tangible.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Go about your business, and don’t stop until you are satisfied with the results. A personal challenge will help you hone your skills and push you to reach your potential. Personal growth requires time, energy and imagination.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Participate and see what happens. Someone you meet will spark your imagination and encourage you to believe in yourself. A partnership looks promising but will require input if you want to maintain equality. Make changes based on your needs and reap the rewards.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Contain your enthusiasm to jump in and take over. You’ll bite off more than you can chew if you are too eager to show off. Gauge your time and test the waters before you plunge into something that causes emotional or physical setbacks.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Make your move. Stop procrastinating or waiting for the perfect moment. Start heading in a direction that suits your needs and lifestyle.

Change can be frightening, but regret will haunt you. Life lessons lead to wisdom, success and personal satisfaction.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Poor judgment will cost you. Don’t get involved with someone for the wrong reason. Focus on self-improvement, sustainability and security. You can help others, but not at the expense of stifling your progress. Put your energy where it brings the highest return.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Keep the momentum flowing. Conversations will lead to concrete results and positive change. Look for a unique way to present what you want to pursue, and the interest in your plan will mount. A personal change will lead to an unexpected opportunity.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Pay attention to your health. Overindulgence will induce problems that you least expect. Be honest with yourself and others, and honor any promises you make. Protect your secrets from someone eager to hurt your reputation. Hard work will pay off and ward off trouble.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You are in a better position than you realize. Stay focused on what you are trying to achieve, and put everything into getting the results that will increase your profile. Refuse to let personal matters disrupt your concentration. Finish what you start.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Poor behavior will make you vulnerable. Protect yourself from those luring you into something you shouldn’t pursue. Build your strength and improve your image in order to stifle negative outside influences. Make romance a priority.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Put the brakes on any far-fetched or overpriced suggestion. Stick to what’s realistic and fits your budget and lifestyle. Surround yourself with solid people who aren’t afraid to tell you the truth. Make decisions based on facts.

Birthday Baby: You are intuitive, compassionate and demonstrative. You are entertaining and ambitious.

SUDOKU | THE MEPHAM GROUP

JUMBLE | DAVID HOYT AND JEFF KNUREK

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THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

ND WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Loaded with experience, Notre Dame women’s lacrosse ready for 2024 campaign

By J.J. POST Associate Sports Editor

Not r e D a m e w om e n’s l ac r o s s e w i l l b e g i n it ’s 2 02 4 s e a s on on F r id a y n i g ht w it h a “n o w- or-n e v e r ” v i b e a r ou nd t h e pr o g r a m .

T h i s i s p ot e nt i a l l y t h e m o s t t a le nt e d r o s t e r t h e Irish have a s s e m b le d o v e r t h e l a s t t w o -a nda-h a l f d e c a d e s of t e a m h i s t or y. C om i n g of f it s s e c ond NC A A Tou r n a m e nt qua r ter f ina ls a pp e a ra nce i n t he la st t h ree yea rs — t he f i rst t i me t he Ir ish have enjoyed s u c h a s t r e t c h of t ou r n am e nt s u c c e s s — t h i s y e a r feels l i ke t he best cha nce head coach Ch r ist i ne Ha l f pen ny w i l l get to have a br e a k t h r ou g h c a m p a i g n L e a d i n g t h e w a y on a n e x p e r ie n c e d r o s t e r i s a p le t h or a of r e t u r n i n g a tt a c k opt ion s . Not r e D a m e’s

t op s i x le a d e r s i n p oi nt s f r om 2 02 3 a r e a l l b a c k f or a n ot h e r y e a r. A l l s i x w i l l r e t u r n a s e it h e r s e n ior s or g raduate s t u d e nt s .

T h e bi g g e s t n a m e s i n t h a t b e v y of t a le nt t h ou g h i s t h e g r a d u a t e s t u d e nt t r io of Ja c k ie Wol a k , K a s e y C h om a a nd M a d i s on A h e r n . T h o s e t h r e e c ombi n e d t o s c or e 18 9 of Not r e D a m e’s 32 4 t ot a l g o a l s l a s t s pr i n g . E a c h h a v e s e e n t h e i r y e a r l y p oi nt out put u pt ic k on a y e a r l y b a s i s , p a r t ic u l a r l y ov e r t h e l a s t t h r e e y e a r s . It ’s h a r d t o t op 2 7 7 c om bi n e d p oi nt s , but d o a n y of Wol a k , C h om a a nd A h e r n h a v e on e l a s t pr o d u c t ion le a p i n t h e m ? R e g a r d le s s , e xp e c t t h a t t r io t o b e a t t h e c e nt e r of w h a t s h ou ld b e a s t r on g I r i s h of f e n s e .

A m on g ot h e r n ot a b le ret u r nees a re Ma r y Kel ly D oh e r t y a nd K e l l y D e n e s ,

b ot h of w h om w i l l a d d e v e n m or e e x p e r ie n c e t o Not r e D a m e’s m id f ie ld .

B ot h s e r v e d a s d r a w s p e c i a l i s t s i n 2 02 3, w it h o v e r 10 0 d r a w c ont r ol s a pie c e l a s t s pr i n g , but t hei r i mpact i n a la rger r ole c om e 2 02 4 s h ou ld n’t be u nd e r e s t i m a t e d .

D oh e r t y c a n i m p a c t t h e g a m e on b ot h t h e of f e ns i v e a nd d e f e n s i v e e nd , a nd D e n e s w a s t a bb e d b y US A L a c r o s s e f or a h on ora b le m e nt ion i n t h e i r pr e s e a s on a l l-A m e r ic a n l i s t .

T h e s t or y l i n e f or t h e I r i s h i s n’t a l l r e t u r ni n g t a le nt , t h ou g h . Not r e D a m e lo ok e d t o t h e p or t a l t o b ol s t e r t h e i r h op e s t h i s s pr i n g , a d d i n g t w o i m p a c t t r a n s f e r s i n O l i v i a D o ole y a nd A r d e n T ie r n e y. B ot h a re g raduate s t u d e nt s h a i l i n g f r om L on g I s l a nd , a nd e a c h e nt e r w it h c ons id e r a b le a c c l a i m . D o ole y,

a f or m e r P a c-12 D e f e nd e r of t h e Ye a r w i n n e r, s h ou ld pr ov id e a n a l r e a d y s t ou t I r i s h d e f e n s e w it h a n i mm e d i a t e b o o s t . T ie r n e y t ot a le d 9 4 p oi nt s w it h R ic h m ond l a s t s pr i n g a nd f i g u r e s t o f a c t or i n d r a w s it u a t ion s f r om t h e g e tg o, w it h m or e t h a n 4 0 0 c ar e e r c ont r ol s t o h e r n a m e .

In net, t he nod w i l l go t o y e t a n ot h e r s e n ior i n L i l l y C a l l a h a n . 2 02 3 w a s C a l l a h a n’s f i r s t y e a r a s a g a m e -i n , g a m e - ou t s t a r t e r a nd s h e pu t f or t h a n i mpr e s s i v e c a m p a i g n . S h e p o s t e d a .45 0 s a v e p e rc e nt a g e , s e r v i n g a s t h e b a c k s t op f or a n I r i s h d e f e n s e t h a t f i n i s h e d f ou r t h i n t h e AC C i n g o a l s a g a i n s t a v e r a g e . C a l l a h a n a l lo w e d m or e t h a n 15 g o a l s i n a ga me just t h ree t i mes a l l s e a s on , a nd a l lo w e d f e w e r t h a n 10 g o a l s i n s i x of Not r e D a m e’s f i n a l n i n e g a m e s .

T h e I r i s h h a v e t a le nt , e x p e r ie n c e a nd d e pt h .

B u t t h e t r u e X-f a c t or of a p ot e nt i a l M a y r u n w i l l b e t h e t e a m’s m e nt a l it y.

S e v e nt e e n of t h e 4 0 p l a ye r s on t h e 2 02 4 r o s t e r a r e e it h e r s e n ior s or g r a d u a t e s t u d e nt s . T h e r e’s a r e a l c h a n c e t h e I r i s h’s op e ni n g l i n e u p a g a i n s t D e t r oit Me r c y c on s i s t s e nt i r e l y of s u c h p l a y e r s . T h e r e’s l it t le d ou bt H a l f p e n n y ’s squad is awa re t hat t h is i s a c h i p s -i n y e a r f or a t e a m t h a t ’s k n o c k e d on t h e d o or of t h e NC A A s e m i f i n a l s mu lt i p le t i m e s i n h e r t e nu r e . I f Not r e Da me ca n m i x t hat sense of u r g e n c y w it h a n a bu nd a n c e of r e t u r n i n g pr o d u c t ion , t h e I r i s h c ou ld b e i n l i n e t o m a k e s om e s e r iou s n oi s e i n t h e AC C .

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

ND MEN’S BASKETBALL

Notre Dame Irish to face Duke Blue Devils for the second time this season

By ANDREW McGUINNESS Sports Editor

To b e t h e b e s t , y o u h a v e to beat t he best. T he D u k e B l u e D e v i l s a r e n’t qu ite at t he top of t he m e n’s c o l l e g e b a s k e t b a l l world, but t h e y ’r e c l o s e a t No. 9 i n t h e A P Pol l. Beat i ng t hem w o u l d n’t automat ic a ll y t u r n a r o u n d No t r e D a m e’s m e n’s b a s k e tb a l l s e a s o n . A t 2- 9 i n t h e AC C , t h e g r o w i n g pa i ns ex pected for t he Ir ish t h is sea son have cer ta i n ly been preva lent.

But a v ictor y aga i nst Du ke, on t he road in f ront of a raucous Ca meron Indoor Stad iu m crowd, wou ld just about ma ke head coach Mica h S h r e w s b e r r y ’ s f irst year as head coach a success a l l on it s ow n.

It w o u l d a l s o r e s t o r e t he good v ibes s u rrou nd i ng t he prog ra m at

t he sta r t of 2024, when t he I r ish hu ng close w it h t wo of t he top fou r t e a m s i n t h e AC C ( i n clud i ng Du ke) before a road w i n aga i nst G eorg ia Te c h o n Ja n . 9. S i n c e t hen, t houg h, No t r e Da me has lost si x st ra ig ht, w it h t h ree of t he la st fou r defeat s c o m i n g b y a t l e a s t 10 poi nt s.

T he ga me before t hat w i n w a s N o t r e D a m e ’s f irst meet ing t h is yea r w it h t he Blue Dev i ls.

T he Irish defense wa s on poi nt, hold i ng Du ke to just 67 poi nt s a nd a 35.6 % f ield goa l rate, bot h sea sonlow s for Du ke at t hat poi nt in t he sea son.

Only one Blue Dev il — potent ia l 2024 N BA 1s t rou nd pick Ma rk Mitchel l — who at tempted more t ha n t wo s h o t s h a d a f i e l d g o a l p e rcentage over 50 % . T he tea ms were even in ma ny categor ies, but t he Ir ish

let t he ga me sl ip away a t t h e f r e e -t h r o w l i n e , goi ng 8 -16 in an e i g h t-p o i n t loss.

T houg h bot h tea m s comm it ted a si m i la r nu mber of t u r novers, t he Blue Dev ils capita l i zed for 18 p o i n t s o f f t a k e a w a y s w h i le Not re Da me on ly ma naged f ive.

St i l l, t he I r ish hu ng a rou nd, a s t he I r ish got w it h i n 4 poi nt s s e vera l t i mes i n t he f inal five m i nutes but c o u l d n’t n a r r o w t h e g a p to one score. O vera l l, it wa s a n encou rag i ng per for ma nce f rom t he you ng Ir ish, who proved t hey ca n ha ng a rou nd w it h a top-end tea m.

Doi ng so aga i n wou ld be huge i n helpi ng t he tea m rega i n con f idence.

SInce beat ing t he I r i s h , D u k e h a s g o n e 6 -2 .

Bot h tea m s w i l l enter C a mer on I ndo or w it h a c h ip on t hei r shou lder — Not re Da me f rom it s losi ng st rea k, Du ke f rom

su f fer i ng a toug h loss to i t s b i g g e s t r i v a l , N o. 3 N o r t h C a r o l i n a . T h e Ta r He e l s h u n g 9 3 p o i n t s o n t hei r r iva ls at home i n Chapel Hi l l to secure a sig nature v i c t o r y.

T he Blue Dev i ls were a lso upset by P it t at home on Ja n . 2 0 a n d s u r v i v e d a si m i la r bid f rom Clemson on Ja n .

2 7, w inning by just a poi nt.

St i l l, t he Blue Dev i ls a re a few spot s h ig her i n t he A P Pol l t ha n t hey were t he f i rst t i me t hey faced N o t r e D a m e . H i s t o r i c a l l y, Duke has dom i nated Not re Da me, espec ia lly at home, losi ng just t w ice at Ca meron to t he Ir ish (one of t hose ga mes o c c u r r e d i n 2 0 21 w h e n f a n s w e r e n’t a l l o w e d t o a t t e n d d u e t o C OV I D -19 ) .

Five members of t he tea m a v e r a g e a t l e a s t 10 p o i n t s per ga me — Ky le Fi l ipow sk i, Je r e m y Roach, Ja r e d McCa i n, Mitchel l a nd Ty r e s e P r o c t o r. A l l e x c e p t Roach a re u ndercla ssmen,

a s t he Blue Dev i ls a re once aga i n blessed w it h a n abu nda nce of you ng, potent ia l N B A- l e v e l ta lent.

D u k e ’s b a l a n c e d a t t a c k h a s d r i v e n t h e t e a m’s success t h is sea son. T he Blue Dev i ls a re second i n t h e AC C i n s c o r i n g a n d fou r t h i n defen se. For t he Ir ish to w i n, t hey must ta ke adva ntage of whatever edges t hey can f i nd.

One of t hose is rebou nd i ng, where t he Ir ish sit at si xt h in t he c o n f e rence w it h 36.5 boa rds per ga me, nea rly a f u l l rebou nd more t ha n n i nt hplace Du ke.

T he Irish a nd Blue Dev i ls t ip-of f f rom one o f c o l l e g e b a s k e t b a l l ’s mo s t ic on ic v enue s at 9 p.m . o n We d n e s d a y. T h e g a m e is ava i lable to watch on t h e AC C N e t w o r k .

Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu

INSIDER

Kiser CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

senator, ser v i ng t he la rgest women’s dor m on ca mpus. She a lso work s i n t he Of f ice of St udent A f fa i rs as a tea m lead for t he Beyond Welcome Weekend i n it iat ive.

K iser a nd Mi l ler broug ht a l l t hat ex per ience to put toget her a n ex tensive 15page plat for m t hat touches on ever y t h i ng f rom a r t i f icia l i ntel l igence to ca mpus d i n i ng.

Student life K iser a nd Mi l ler say t hei r t icket’s sig nat u re pol ic y is t hei r proposa l for a Not re Da me A r t i f icia l Intel l igence (ND A I) prog ra m.

K iser a nd Mi l ler bot h h ig h l ig hted a w idespread ig nora nce of a wea lt h of resou rces t hat a l ready exist for st udents on ca mpus. T hey a lso poi nted to a ba r r ier to access when rely i ng on st udents to f i nd somet i mes-h idden webpages a nd resou rces t hat t he Un iversit y has on l i ne.

To a l lev iate t h is, t hey propose work i ng w it h t he Of f ice of In for mat ion Tech nolog y (OIT ) to create a n A I prog ra m for st udents a nd t he w ider Un iversit y com mu n it y. T hey say it’s a rea l ist ic proposa l a nd t hey bel ieve t he ad m i n ist rat ion

NDSMCOBSERVER.COM | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 | THE OBSERVER

ag rees.

T hei r plat for m puts it succi nct ly : “A st udent wou ld be able to ask ND A I, ‘How do I schedu le an appoi ntment at t he Un iversit y Cou nsel i ng Center? ’ a nd ND A I wou ld generate steps on schedu l i ng a n appoi ntment a nd prov ide a l i n k to t he UCC website.”

OIT cu r rent ly has a 13-member A I automat ion work i ng g roup t hat is explor i ng t he possibi l it y of somet h i ng si m i la r to what t he K iser-Mi l ler ca mpa ig n is proposi ng.

T he ca mpa ig n has a bev y of ot her ca mpus l i fe proposa ls. Notably, t hey proposed a water qua l it y i n it iat ive to i mprove t he d r i n k i ng water i n ca mpus bu i ld i ngs l i ke DeBa r tolo Ha l l, cit i ng com mon compla i nts about t he qua l it y of “DeBa r t water.”

W hen it comes to fa it h, K iser a nd Mi l ler emphasi zed i ncreasi ng accessibi l it y a nd engagement w it h rel ig ious ser v ices bot h on a nd of f ca mpus. T hey sa id t h is way t hey cou ld cater bot h to Cat hol ic a nd non-Cat hol ic st udents w it h equa l v igor. T h is ra nges f rom i n it iat ives l i ke Mass response ca rds i n residence ha l l chapels a nd t he Basi l ica to subsid i zi ng r ides for of fca mpus rel ig ious events.

Ca mpus improvements T he K iser-Mi l ler ca mpa ig n a lso cha mpions a nu mber of proposa ls to concretely i mprove ca mpus ser v ices a nd faci l it ies.

K iser h ig h l ig hted residence ha l l lau nd r y faci l it ies as one of t he ca mpa ig n’s most pressi ng concer ns. He sa id t he t icket received extensive feedback poi nt i ng to d issat isfact ion w it h t hose faci l it ies i n pa r t icu la r.

To add ress t h is, t he ca mpa ig n pledges to work w it h t he Of f ice of Resident ia l L i fe to i mprove t he washer/d r yer-to-st udent rat io, wh ich t he ca mpa ig n says va r ies substa nt ia l ly f rom one residence ha l l to t he nex t.

T he ca mpa ig n’s plat for m a lso feat u res a n ex tensive l ist of d i n i ng ha l l i mprovement i n it iat ives. A mong t hese a re i mproved d i n i ng ha l l mea ls for people w it h d ieta r y rest r ict ions, l i ke a llerg ies, as wel l as reva mped Grab-n-Go opt ions.

T hey a lso wa nt to i mplement what t hey ca l l “commu n it y tables.” T he idea beh i nd t hese is to create a desig nated space i n d i ni ng ha l ls where st udents ca n sig na l t hei r w i l l i ngness to meet someone new a nd ma ke new f r iends on ca mpus.

Fu r t her ca mpus i mprovements i nclude updated

at h let ic equ ipment for t he Rock ne Memor ia l Gy m a nd new susta i nabi l it y i n it iat ives.

T he plat for m a lso proposes a nu mber of pol icies a i med at i ncreasi ng Not re Da me’s con nect ion to Sout h Bend, most notably t h roug h ser v ice projects i n t he com mu n it y.

Diversit y representat ion

a nd

T he K iser-Mi l ler ca mpa ig n proposed a va r iet y of pol icies on issues of race, Tit le I X, d isabi l it y advocac y a nd more.

Mi l ler pa r t icu la rly h ig hl ig hted t he ca mpa ig n’s pledge to i mprove i ncident repor t i ng for st udents of color. T he plat for m i ncludes a proposa l to use a nony mous feedback collected t h roug h resident assista nts to of fer st udents a more i n for ma l repor t i ng mecha n ism t ha n t he act ive Spea k Up repor t i ng process.

T he plat for m a lso places a n emphasis on ex pa nd i ng Tit le I X ef for ts wh i le i mprov i ng awa reness of cu rrent resou rces l i ke Ca l l isto.

Notably, t hey propose t he i nteg rat ion of a sex ua l assau lt prevent ion prog ra m i nto Welcome Weekend for f resh men a nd i nto residence ha l ls a nd beyond.

A not her sig nat u re

3

d iversit y proposa l is t he “Bu i ld i ng A l l ies” prog ra m a i med at ser v i ng Not re Da me’s LGBTQ + com mun it y. T h is proposa l, a long w it h t he ex pa nsion of Pr idefest i nto a week-long event, for ms t he core of t he ca mpa ig n’s LGBTQ + pol icies. Mi l ler sa id it was a l l done w it h t he goa l of i ncreasi ng u ndersta nd i ng bet ween members of t he com mu n it y a nd t he Not re Da me st udent body at la rge.

T h roug hout t he ca mpa ig n, K iser a nd Mi l ler have emphasi zed t hei r ca re for t he st udent body a nd t hei r d r ive to i mprove t he l ives of t hei r fel low st udents, no mat ter t he hu rd les.

“We ca re about Not re Da me st udents a nd wa nt to ser ve t hem to t he best of ou r abi l it y,” K iser sa id. “If [a pa r t icu la r pol ic y] goes out t he w i ndow, we’re just goi ng to come back even ha rder … we have t he exper ience to k now how to get t hese t h i ngs done a nd k now how to ma ke cha nge.

T hat’s what we’ve done i n ou r t i me at Not re Da me so fa r, a nd I have no doubt i n my m i nd t hat we’re goi ng to cont i nue to do t hat.”

Contact José Sánchez Córdova at jsanch24@nd.edu

Student body tickets debate prior to election

By CAROLINE COLLINS Associate News Editor

Ahead of Wednesday’s student body election, the three tickets for student body president and vice president debated at Midfield Commons in Duncan Student Center on Monday night. The debate questions were submitted by students ahead of time and the debate was moderated

by Judicial Council president Koryn Isa and vice president Ryn Weiss.

Each ticket was allotted four minutes for opening and closing statements. During the debate portion, the contenders had two minutes to respond to eight general questions, one president-specific question and one vice president-specific question.

Student body president candidate James Baird and his vice president running mate Abbie Toth started off the debate by sharing their motivations to run for office.

“We’re running to build a brighter home under the dome. We want to use Student Government to bring positive change, real positive, tangible change to this campus,” Baird said.

Toth expanded on the pair’s platform by explaining how

they hope to be a force for good in the community, and what this looks like during the upcoming election year.

“We’re hoping to bring positive political discourse to our campus by partnering with political organizations on campus and getting people to be informed voters,” she said.

Next, in their opening statement, AnnahMarie Behn and Corey Bowden talked about how they met during their first year on campus in First Undergraduate Experience in Leadership and explained why they feel they work well as a team.

Behn ended her opening statement by challenging the audience to take all three tickets and everything they say and ref lect on how this would impact them as a student and their friends and peers.

“We are a community together and we really emphasize collaboration so we want you to take that and challenge yourselves as well tonight,” she said.

Dawson Kiser and his running mate Maeve Miller were the last of the candidates to address the audience. Miller emphasized how they hope to lead through service and give back to a community they love, while Kiser also

acknowledged they want everyone to find their place in the community at Notre Dame.

Kiser said, “But we also know that the Notre Dame experience is not incredible for every single student and that’s a big reason for why we’re here is because we want to make sure that the learning experience is the best it can possibly be for every single student.”

In the first general question of the evening, the candidates were asked what their highest priority would be if elected to office. Behn, who is involved in mental health advocacy on campus through Active Minds, said her focus would be getting more full-time counselors at the University Counseling Center and allocating more resources to support students’ mental health. Kiser focused on their platform’s ND AI initiative which would centralize campus resources in one machine-learning tool for students to access, while Baird emphasized working to institute a student representative on the Notre Dame Board of Trustees.

Later in the questioning, the tickets were asked how they would make campus more inclusive for students of all sexual orientations and gender

identities. Miller spoke for her ticket and said they would focus on expanding and improving current PrideFest efforts and offer a meet-and-greet for students.

Behn expanded on this idea and said in addition to contributing to current initiatives like PrideFest, they would also work to add core class attributes to gender studies and queer history courses and start a Safe Zone Project that trains people in how to be effective allies.

“What this would look like would be [that] professors can be trained in useful language, and how to educate their students and facilitate a very safe and comforting environment that is inclusive for all,” Behn said.

Baird also discussed LGBTQ+ initiatives in relation to academics. He said he plans to partner with different academic departments to “educate the campus community on the state of LGBTQ+ rights around the world.”

For the final question of the night before closing statements, the candidates were asked what the best thing about Notre Dame is and how they will ensure all students have a great Notre Dame experience. Behn spoke about

the power of the Notre Dame community, and the other tickets echoed this sentiment.

Kiser highlighted the culture behind the community on campus and how people are always lifting one another up, and Baird said he wants to do something each day to try to make people in the community even just a little bit happier.

The debate concluded as each ticket had an opportunity to summarize its main platform points and goals. Kiser said as student body president and vice president, they would want student government to operate for students and through students, while Baird discussed how they hope to balance the line between feasible ideas and putting students’ needs first. Behn closed out the debate by speaking about the transparency of their campaign and how their platform has been continuously evolving with comments and feedback from students since its first iteration.

Election day is Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. An email from Judicial Council at 8 a.m.

Wednesday will contain a link to NDCentral where students can log in to vote.

Contact Caroline Collins at ccolli23@nd.edu

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THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

Let’s take a look at Student Government Traditionally, The Observer Editorial Board writes an editorial endorsing a ticket for the Notre Dame Student Body President and Vice President elections.

This year, we decided not to.

For nearly 20 years, we’ve endorsed a candidate. In that time, we’ve seen few policy efforts come to fruition. And when they do, as in the case of the Student Life Council of the Lee-Stitt administration, they often do not last.

To be fair, there are some exceptions in recent memory.

The decision to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a school holiday was engineered in part by Student Government.

Accessibility issues have also been improved by StuGov as well, with efforts to help students who aren’t able to walk get to class when sidewalks are icy or covered in snow. Last year, some dorm gyms welcomed new equipment or squat racks. There have also been recent ongoing initiatives to clarify new Title IX policies and to incorporate digital ID cards.

Student government certainly has a role on campus, but election platforms do nearly nothing to guarantee what will get done in office.

In reality, student government is the intermediary between Notre Dame administrators who always have the final say and students who have lots of grand ideas and limited funding during a relatively short term.

Compounding the problem, the organization of student government attracts both dedicated leaders and “resume sharks” — as one candidate in the 2024 race called them.

Discerning the difference is anyone’s guess.

The Observer is left trying to endorse a candidate based on policy items that have no immediate impact or based on some subjective measure of authenticity. It is difficult to choose a candidate based on objective criteria for an election that often boils down to a popularity contest.

Despite slight variations in goals, material differences are few. All the candidates express a similar motivation to improve Notre Dame, build community and serve as the voice of students. They have similar ideas about diversity and inclusion, civic engagement, faith life on campus, dining hall improvements and plenty of other dimensions.

One candidate described StuGov as the “invisible hand” that works behind the scenes in this mediation role. But when the work of student government is often invisible, how can voters make an informed choice?

Candidates proposed their various solutions and communications channels, but as the situation stands, editors at The Observer — people who chase after, write and edit daily stories about this campus — have a hard time pinning down exactly what student government does and where we would be as a campus without it.

We asked candidates about this exact issue.

Synthesizing their answers, we sought to understand what student government is and what powers it holds.

Here’s what we found: At times, the student body president and vice president bring student concerns to the attention of administrators. At other times, administrators and University leaders turn to these elected officials seeking a benchmark of the student population. Student leaders are both a representation of student voices and a resource for

administrators to tap.

Keep that in mind when voting for candidates. Their power to effect change rests almost entirely on their power to persuade. When Notre Dame wants a student representative, they will turn first to these leaders.

In our interviews with candidates, they each expressed a desire to break away from student government’s reputation as an unimpactful organization. In our own conversations on campus, we hear the same sentiment: Student government leaders come and go, and students are left wondering what has changed. We sincerely hope that whoever wins the election can break that cycle. History tells us it will be difficult.

The 2023-24 administration of Daniel Jung and Aidan Rezner hoped to bring in mobile IDs, fresh fruit Fridays at the dining hall, a Stand Up Speaker Series “for thoughtprovoking and fruitful discussions at least once a month to appreciate and promote visibility of different racial and ethnic groups” and expand protections surrounding Title IX policy for those filing non-legally binding issues like stalking. We have no doubt they worked diligently on these goals, yet none of these pillars of their platform have come to pass, at least not visibly. Another example, the grab-n-go also looks nearly the same as it did a year ago.

A cursory look at the administration’s Progress Tracker shows many initiatives still marked “In Progress.”

This issue isn’t limited to the current term. As mentioned above, the previous administration of Patrick Lee and Sofie Stitt did bring back the Student Life Council, but its revival has not been sustained, highlighting the issues of the one-year terms. Even though they proposed lowering the cost of Rec Sports classes, the cost remains about $13 per week. While the Rachel Ingal-Sarah Galbenski ticket did succeed in creating a partnership between the University and Callisto in February 2022, that was an effort five years — and therefore five administrations — in the making. But their goal to improve day-to-day life by creating “Nap Pods” went unfulfilled. In 2021, future leaders Allan Njomo and Matty Bisner said they would push the University to halt investments in fossil fuels, transition University computers to the Ecosia browser and pressure the University to add sexual orientation and gender identity to its non-discrimination clause. These are laudable ideas, but they remain unaccomplished.

Part of the reason these changes have never come to pass is because the student government structure is muddled. Many students have heard terms like Student Union Board or Judicial Council thrown around but have no idea who is in charge of what and how these branches function together. And when you look at the official Student Union organization chart, it’s easy to see why.

Is the below chart the best way — both in terms of achieving results and individual student development — to accomplish this? Do we really need to push students into an environment where they think they’re a politician, especially when many student union roles are unelected?

Students in student government are obviously capable of accomplishing amazing things on this campus.

But the bloated system of student government encourages them to emulate the air of title-hungry politicians

and cater to administrators rather than students. Notre Dame prides itself on preparing students to be a “force for good.” This means cultivating students who are ready to use real, human emotions and morals to make a positive impact. It does not mean channeling the superficial qualities inside each of us that politicians use to rise to the top of bureaucracies.

Endorsing a candidate under the current structure would validate that sentiment. We respect all those who are campaigning and wish success for whoever wins. But in the current StuGov environment and election, there just isn’t enough to separate the platforms from one another or a legitimate reason to believe the meaningful changes promised will be carried out when they haven’t for so long.

In 2023, Pew reported that just 16% of Americans trusted the United States government to do the right thing “just about always” or “most of the time.” Americans don’t have faith in an institution plagued by bureaucracy that cultivates superficial character traits. So why should Notre Dame allow its student union to grow into a winding, endless administrative state whose own leaders acknowledge a disconnect from the students they serve?

In the 1962 Port Huron Statement, then-student activist Tom Hayden wrote: “The accompanying ‘let’s pretend’ theory of student extracurricular affairs validates student government as a training center for those who want to spend their lives in political pretense, and discourages initiative from more articulate, honest, and sensitive students.”

Students in student government are obviously capable of accomplishing amazing things on this campus. But the current state of the system encourages them to emulate the air of politicians with big promises and obscure results. The Observer won’t be part of the problem.

Don’t just take our word for it. Two of the tickets we profiled mentioned that many students are cynical about student government or don’t even know what role it serves.

Perhaps we are simply missing the grand accomplishments and fulfillment of promises made. But we are actively looking, as are everyday students, with little success. Even in asking the question directly, candidate answers pinpoint only a handful of changes.

Student government certainly is capable of effecting change on campus. But the current structure encourages students to live in a make-believe political world where they’re focused on building some sort of political legacy or resume within the bounds of what Notre Dame will allow. Platform promises do not frequently align with the work accomplished once in office.

What’s our recommendation? Size up the candidates, who are profiled in the pages of The Observer. Vote for the ticket you think will be best. But don’t be fooled into thinking this ticket will evoke major change at the University, at least not during one term. At the end of the day, Notre Dame — and not its student government — is the one calling the shots. The results of this election will be a huge win for the candidates, and probably won’t affect the rest of us. But to whoever wins: We’d love to be proved wrong.

Courtesy of Judicial Council