Print Edition for The Observer for Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Tickets run in Holy Cross student election

szotko-stokes mcdonald-duran

By LIAM KELLY news writer

Juniors a shley m c d onald and Jennifer d uran are one of two tickets for student body president and vice president at h oly c ross c ollege, respectively. The pair focused their campaign on uniting the disparate parts of the h oly c ross community.

m c d onald served as a commuter senator when she was a first-year and is now the chief of staff of the s tudent g overnment a ssociation

( sga ), while d uran currently serves as a commuter senator and is on the board of First g eneration c lub.

“ o ne thing that i ’ve noticed is that we have all these separate entities that we want to make more connected,” m c d onald said during an election town hall on m onday.

m c d onald and d uran said that they aim to run sga in a way that can bring together commuter

see mcdonald PAGE 3

By LIAM KELLY news writer

s ophomores b radley s zotko and Joseph s tokes are running for student body president and vice president at h oly c ross c ollege with promises to get the student body more involved in its s tudent g overnment a ssociation ( sga ).

s zotko and s tokes both currently serve as sophomore class senators at h oly c ross. s zotko is a business major and political science minor, while s tokes is a political science

and public service major.

d uring the election town hall on m onday, s tokes stressed that he and s zotko want to be type of leaders for which “everybody knows who [we] are, everybody is able to approach [us], talk to [us], and say [our] thoughts.” The pair said that they want to hear all ideas, “even if something isn’t realistic and can’t always be done.”

The ticket’s emphasis on making student government more available

see sZoTko PAGE 3

Saint Mary’s celebrates Black literature

By KATELYN WALDSCHMIDT a ssociate news editor

on Feb. 22, saint mary’s college continued its celebration of black h istory month with a “celebration of black l iterature.”

The reading was hosted by the student diversity board and black student a ssociation ( bsa), as

well as the education and e nglish departments. w hile eating treats from nothing bundt cakes, the audience listened to guest speaker dionne bremyer talk about her book “The islands.”

p resident of student diversity board ( sdb) crystal ramirez said that this event was part of the board’s mission

to “advocate, celebrate and educate.”

“This was the perfect way of doing all three. we got to educate, celebrate and advocate in this month of black history with a black author,” she said.

bremyer used to be a professor at saint mary’s and now works as an associate professor

of e nglish at notre dame. ramirez said that bremyer’s return to saint mary’s to speak shows the community that is fostered at the college.

{ editor’s note: crystal ramirez is a former associate news editor for The observer.}

“she no longer teaches here, but she still keeps in touch not

only with faculty and staff who are currently here, but with students who were here,” she explained.

ramirez said breymer’s connection to saint mary’s made it “surprisingly easy” to get her to speak on campus.

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“Raspberries are a member of the rose family.”

to students stems from personal experience, s tokes said during the town hall.

“o ne of the things that always kept me from getting more involved is that [student government] felt like a club or something that you have to be invited to, to participate,” s tokes noted. “it never seemed like something like that could actually provide me with a way to talk about some of the things that felt i had to change on campus.”

i n order to combat this feeling, the s zotko- s tokes ticket plans on improving communication between student government and the student body.

s zotko said he “would like to set up some kind of electronic communication system,” that would let students contact him directly. This plan would also allow students to share ideas while being off campus, he said.

a lso key to their effort is restructuring the way that student government office hours work. s zotko noted that the office can also be too busy

previous administrations.

at times, which dissuades students from sharing their ideas.

“a lot of times we will have three, four or five different senators doing office hours in there. a s a student walking by you’re going to think they’re in a meeting,” he said. s zotko said the pair plans on instituting a better scheduling system that will make meetings more accessible and frequent.

s zotko and s tokes also said that they hope to better communicate what s G a does to incoming first years during welcome weekend. This

is part of a larger attempt to make student government more visible on campus, the pair said.

When it comes to planning events, s zotko made it clear that he will rely heavily on student input.

s zotko admitted that he would not consider himself “a super outgoing guy generally,” and that he aims to get most of his event ideas by listening to the community. he also said he hopes to add another mental health counselor on holy c ross’ campus, as there is currently only one, and he added that this should

“be a female counselor.”

“i want us to act with purpose to actually get these things done,” s zotko said.

s peaking on his role as vice president, s tokes said that he envisions himself working in a “boots on the ground” way by personally reaching out to community members to see what is a priority. voting for student body president will take place Thursday in the lounge by ave b rew c afe from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Contact Liam Kelly at lkelly8@nd.edu

students, athletes, Gateway students and more.

d uran added that she hopes to bring her experience as a board member in First Generation c lub to help in this effort.

“ i ’ve worked with disadvantaged students and students who don’t get as much attention,” she said.

b oth m c d onald and d uran have lived off campus during their time at h oly c ross, which they argue will help them serve that part of the community better than

“People talk about wanting to include commuter students, but there’s never been, to my knowledge, anyone reaching out to them and actually finding out what they want,” d uran said.

r eaching out to students for input is also central to the m c d onald and d uran’s campaign, they said. i n order for this communication to happen, m c d onald argued, students need to know that they can speak to student government about their ideas.

“a lot of people don’t know what the s G a offices

are for. They walk past this room to get some kind of office that they can’t go into.”

m c d onald said, “ i t’s actually there for students to be able to come in and talk to us and share their ideas and their concerns.”

o ne of the biggest concerns for m c d onald and d uran is getting people to come to events. The pair noted that attendance at student government events has been low recently.

“This is the year of students that lived with covid throughout high school, so they have a harder time being social and meeting people,” d uran said of the

first-year class.

d uran stressed that she and m c d onald “want to know what events are not appealing” and proposed creating different events that will cater to more students.

a nother priority for the ticket is improving mental health services on campus.

h oly c ross c ollege currently only has one mental health counselor available for students.

“We have 400-500 students, for one counselor that’s stretching him thin,” m c d onald argued.

m c d onald also emphasized the need for a female

counselor in order for female students to feel more comfortable using mental health services.

b oth m c d onald and d uran emphasized that their administration would be a productive collaboration between each other. “ i t’s not about the fact that a shley’s higher than me, or i ’m lower. We’re equal,” d uran said. voting for student body president and vice president will take place from 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. Thursday in the lounge by a ve b rew c afe.

Contact Liam Kelly at lkelly8@nd.edu

Paid a dverT isemen T

Lindsey Vonn speaks at Women’s Summit

By KELSEY QUINT news Writer

n otre d ame’s i nstitute for Global i nvesting hosted the fifth annual Women’s i nvesting s ummit (W is ) Thursday and Friday. Friday’s events kickstarted with an opening keynote speech from former o lympian alpine skier, Lindsey vonn.

vonn is considered one of the greatest alpine skiers of all time, with 82 world cup wins and three o lympic medals. First hitting the slopes at the age of only 2, vonn spent most of her life skiing — retiring in 2019 due to injury. i n her speech at W is , vonn also discussed her experience in the sport and her recent transition into business and philanthropy.

a mong many jokes and anecdotes, vonn’s talk delivered messages about overcoming adversity, the importance of preparation, the art of being a teammate, staying true to one’s self and finally, how to move forward.

Overcoming adversity, physically and mentally

Looking back on her career, vonn determined there was no singular “defining moment.”

“ i don’t think it’s possible to encapsulate my career in, you know, a brief sentence. i ’ve overcome a lot, i think, and you know, maybe above the wins, people remember me for the fact that i just kept coming back,” vonn said. “ i ’ve been knocked down far too many times. b ut i think my passion for the sport was always very apparent. i always put my heart on my sleeve.”

vonn’s friend and moderator of the talk, s cott d ahnke, described vonn’s injuries as something that “would have sidelined virtually any other competitor for their entire career.”

Yet, vonn came back. a lthough she admits that her career was a “roller coaster of adversity,” it is also a well-known comeback story. What the audience should take away from this was a message of persistence in all facets of life, vonn said.

h owever, vonn also discussed the universal obstacle of gender challenges in a male-dominated field, particularly unequal pay.

“When i got to a certain point of success, i kept thinking i should be getting paid a little bit more … Thankfully, i had good men around me on the men’s team. a nd i went through asking how much do you

make? a nd then, i went back to the company and said, ‘ i want this much.’ They said, ‘Well, no. You’re a woman,’” vonn explained.

i n response to this, vonn apparently argued that her ratings, followers and accolades were all better than her male counterparts. “a nd they said ‘Well, you know, women just don’t get these types of contracts.’”

vonn explained that she had to persevere through this treatment.

“ i said, ‘Well, i ’m going to,’ and i put my foot down, i got the contract that i wanted and i kept doing that my whole career,” vonn said.

“a nd i will say, i thank the men for telling me how much they made because had i not known that, i would never have pushed for more. b ut it’s also asking the question, which no woman had ever done.”

Through her numerous injuries and her fight for fair pay, vonn recalled her most difficult career hurdle: mental health.

“ i struggled a lot with depression, being on the road. You go from winning World c ups, and you know, there are so many people and you’re in front of all the cameras, but it’s actually very isolating at the same time. You get back to the hotel and you’re alone. a nd it’s a very extreme set of emotions,” vonn said. “ i t’s hard to balance everything — to stay positive and to not let those isolated moments really drag you down.”

vonn turned to journaling and eventually opened up about her struggles in 2012. a lthough vonn said “just talking about it was really therapeutic,” she also admitted that the subject of mental health was not widely discussed at the time.

“People would still ask me, ‘are you still struggling with depression? Like, are you taking medicine?’ That’s not how it works. i t’s not like a Tylenol that you take when, you know, you feel sad,” vonn said. “ b ut i think we’ve come a long way in the last 10 years, talking about mental health, how we approach it and how we take care of each other.”

vonn offered advice to those facing similar challenges, positing that there is no one way of coping.

“ i think we all have to find our own way through it. Whether that’s journaling, whether that’s talking to friends or family, just finding your own way through, and it’s obviously very difficult. b ut i think at the end of the day, skiing was something that brought me a lot of joy, and something

that really kept me going. Finding that joy in something can be incredibly beneficial,” vonn said. “a nd also dogs … i would recommend three but, you know, one is solid.”

Trusting preparation for success

vonn dedicated her life to skiing. From the age of nine, she had already set her sights on becoming an o lympic athlete. Thanks in part to her supportive family, vonn said her dreams were able to become a reality.

h owever, vonn tried in her speech on Friday to define her moments of success not by the achievements themselves, but by the culmination of hard work that led her to those moments. i n this way, she said she appreciates the journey, not just its peak.

“ i n all walks of life, you see the outcome and you forget about how much work it takes to get there. a nd everyone wants a shortcut — there are no shortcuts. i f you want something longterm, you have to stick with it, and you have to build it,” vonn said. “a nd that’s the difference between a lot of successful people i see and people that want to be successful, but they aren’t really putting in the work and time.”

h owever, vonn said that, when the moment to shine one’s talents comes around, it is important trust all preparation because, “if you don’t believe in yourself, who else will.”

“There’s no second chances. s o you either go out on top, or you go out trying,” vonn said. “ i kind of liked those situations where the only option is to succeed. You know, because that leaves little room for doubt or second guessing yourself. You literally just have to throw yourself down a mountain and hope that all of your training, your entire life, has amounted to enough.”

Being a good teammate vonn recalled one of the greatest lessons learned at the o lympics as the power of a team.

“What i learned over the course of my career is that being a part of a team and working together is a lot more efficient for everyone than trying to do things as an individual,” vonn said. “When i was first on the team, i felt the need to prove myself. i didn’t feel like i was really accepted because i was so young and the veterans were definitely not excited that i was there all the time. i was fighting so hard

to prove myself that i forgot to be a teammate.”

d espite this rough start, vonn said she eventually realized that they “could do a lot more together.”

“We started to lean on each other. We gave each other course reports and we talked about our tactics and how we’re gonna approach the course and the more we talked, the better we all got,” vonn said. “That was some of our best years as a team as a whole … i think every single person on the team, 11 of us, had been in the top five that season, which is pretty crazy.”

vonn summed it down to simply “elevating each other” and finding support.

“You’re always going to be competing against yourself, but if you have the team to support you it makes such a big difference. i wish i had learned that earlier in my career,” she said.

Moving forward outside of sport

a fter a lifetime as a professional athlete, vonn discussed how she has attempted to move forward and find a new fuel.

“ m y life has always revolved around skiing, and one morning i woke up and that was gone. a nd it was really hard to readjust my life,” vonn said. “ i had businesses, i had speaking engagements, i had all of these things that i have around me that i ’m very thankful for … but without skiing, i lacked a single goal.”

vonn said that the adjustment was a process, a sort of switching to “a different calibration in life.”

s he recognized that skiing

was and always will be irreplaceable in her life, but indeed there was room for new endeavors.

“ i tried to find a new passion,” vonn said. “ i ’m always looking for a new challenge because i need to keep those challenges coming, because that’s what fulfills me. s o, i have a lot of things that i ’m juggling, but i like juggling. i t’s not skiing, but it’ll do.”

a ccording to vonn, some of her most rewarding work has been with the children of the Lindsey vonn Foundation.

“ o ur mission is to empower underserved girls with scholarships and programs,” vonn said. “ s o, i do camps and i try to teach them how to reframe [the] negative to positive. i try to help them think about body positivity, social media, all those things that can drag kids down, and i try to empower them to be the best people that they can be. b ecause a lot of times, people tell them that they can’t, and i want to tell them that they can.”

When asked about her legacy, how she wants to be remembered, vonn remarked that it really isn’t up to her.

“ i t’s not really my place to tell people what my legacy is. i ’m supposed to do the best job that i can and leave the best impact that i can, and then everyone else will talk about me as they will,” vonn said. “ i just hope that what i ’ve done is not just on the mountain, but well off of it.”

Contact Kelsey Quint at kquint@nd.edu

“Getting speakers is hard and takes time and a lot of money and effort. her being not only so willing to come but so excited made us even more excited,” r amirez said.

breyona Gray, president of s aint mary’s bsa , talked about bremyer being a great guest to celebrate black literature.

“o ftentimes, black literature may be focused more on trauma, but she offers a different perspective that it doesn’t always have to necessarily be about trauma,” Gray said. “black literature is so essential to have because of so many different perspectives and experiences that it offers.”

bremyer started her presentation with reading an excerpt from her 2022 book “The i slands,” published under her pen name d ionne i rving. “The i slands” is a series of short stories of Jamaican women trying to escape the colonization of the island. d uring the talk, bremyer read an excerpt about a woman who feels pressured into helping with i nternational day at her child’s school.

a fter her reading, bremyer hosted a question and answer session where she talked on various subjects. o ne such

question was about her writing process.

“i wish there was a process,” she joked. “it’s so chaotic and erratic.”

bremyer responded by giving listeners insights into how she works.

“Writing by hand is helpful,” bremyer said. “i have about ten notebooks with various crazy scenes and diagrams.”

bremyer also spoke about her ways of helping with writer’s block, saying, “eavesdrop on people, that’s my number one writing tip.” she gave advice to listeners to be curious about the world.

bremyer continued about the importance of celebrating black literature. While she didn’t name a favorite story, she said she is excited to read more books by black female authors. she explained how she didn’t want to go to college, but it was in school that she was able to expand her love of reading, especially black stories.

Gray noted that audience members seemed to enjoy bremyer’s reading and discussion.

“it was just nice hearing her and being able to engage with her. her energy and her love for writing and reading was just contagious,” Gray said.

r amirez also commented

on bremyer’s attitude when speaking with students.

“it was really nice and heartwarming getting to see how excited she was to come back and to talk to students from s aint mary’s,” r amirez said.

a s black h istory month comes to an end, r amirez said the sdb is encouraging students to keep celebrating black history.

“c elebrate black history not

Global Catholicism: The Past, Present, and Future of the Church

just in this month, but everyday through small things, through reading black Literature, by supporting black owned businesses,” r amirez said.

Gray talked about concrete plans to continue celebrating black history.

“We used to do something like every week where we come together and just have fun, we’ve done that a couple of times this semester. We

also do some educational components,” Gray noted about future bsa events. “We are planning on doing an event centered around microaggressions and how we can all work together to acknowledge them and kind of stop them from happening. everyone’s welcome to join.”

Contact Katelyn Waldschmidt at kwaldschmidt01@saintmarys.edu

Monday, March 6 12:30–1:45 p.m. 215/216 McKenna Hall

Lunch available beginning at noon

A conversation on Provost John T. McGreevy’s Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis, featuring reflections on the Church in the Global South

Featuring:

Jeremy Adelman, Princeton University

Stan Chu Ilo, DePaul University

Anna Moreland, Villanova University

With a response by John T. McGreevy, Charles and Jill Fischer Provost, University of Notre Dame de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture Nanovic Institute for European Studies

ethicscenter.nd.edu/globalcatholicsm

KATELYN WALDSCHMIDT | The Observer

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, Saint Mary’s students gathered to listen to guest speaker and Notre Dame associate professor Dionne Bremyer read, “The Islands,” in an event called “Celebrating Black Literature.”

I will continue to be me Death and taxes: Memento mori

the $39,000 that hadn’t yet been paid back to me.

I don’t know what to call this. I guess it’s a short story. e ither way, I was struggling on if I wanted this to be my final Inside Column, if I wanted to be this personal. However, I think if I can open myself up and tell this story, perhaps it will reach someone, at least one person who needed to hear this as well — to know they’re not alone. That would make this all worthwhile. With that being said:

There are times of exhaustion.

There are times of self-hatred.

There are times of loneliness.

There are times of regret.

There are times of quit.

For the longest time, I was afraid of what others thought of me. If I was too weird, ugly, overweight, unathletic, stupid.

I still struggle with these thoughts to this day.

It consumed me inside, making me afraid of connecting with others due to not being confident in myself. e ven in times when I was strong enough to put myself out there, I felt that I was always in the background, nothing more than extra cargo that if it wasn’t there wouldn’t be noticeable or make a difference.

It made me afraid of failure, to the point where I hated failing more than I loved succeeding… yes, there is a difference.

I went silent.

However, even with all these feelings of self-hatred and the urge to quit… I keep trying. I want to see what’s in front of me, to remove the X’s I put on other people’s faces.

I want to love myself.

I want to believe I am not alone.

I want to break the walls that I built around me for so long.

Knowing that failure is still awaiting me like an old friend, I will no longer ignore it, but greet it. not as an enemy, but someone I sometimes run into on the streets from time to time.

Knowing how scary the world is around me, I will no longer keep this dead weight on my head. I will remove it and choose to look ahead with courage.

Though I’m sure my worst days are far from over, I will continue to be grateful to still be able to experience another day on this e arth.

My heart may be tight from everything trying to consume me some days, but I’ll still listen to its beat because it is alive.

While the struggles out of bed may still linger, I will continue to get up on my own two feet, ready to take on whatever life throws at me.

I want to be happy.

I want to be courageous.

I want to be vulnerable yet strong.

While the path to healing never takes just a moment, I will continue to take one small step at a time.

When that day eventually comes, my eyes will be overwhelmed with tears, without the fear of being vulnerable and letting my emotions finally run free.

These feelings I struggle with may not vanish today or tomorrow.

But that’s completely okay.

I will wake up, stand on my own two feet and continue to move forward.

I will still be standing, with a smile on my face.

I will continue to be… me.

You can contact Gabriel at gzarazua@nd.edu. The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Back in undergrad, I was one of the founding members of Michigan State University’s Knights of Columbus chapter. While the ceremonials for being inducted into the first three degrees of the Knights were a closely guarded secret at the time of my initiation, they were declassified during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I am now able to acknowledge that the motto of the Knights, a motto explained to us in our first degree induction ceremony, is tempus fugit; memento mori — “time flies; remember death.” The point of that motto is to urge every Knight to be vigilant about the fact that none of the time we are given is our own, and so we should be prepared for our Heavenly Father to call us back to himself at any time, embracing each moment in between as the blessing it is.

One of the things we have been discussing these past couple of weeks in my Federal Income Tax class has left me with a significant quantity of food for thought. The first big question that Prof. Michael Kirsch has walked us through in Fed Tax is really a question of definition: “What is income?” The intricacies of answering that question are outside the scope of this column, but suffice it to say there are complex rules whose purpose is to try to treat similar accessions to wealth similarly. For instance, all the convolutions about the “basis” people have in a particular property are meant to ensure that people only get taxed on the amount of money above and beyond what they put into it. So if I buy a $100,000 house, but then sell it for $150,000, the extra $50,000 I got from the sale probably counts as gross income, but not the $100,000 I had already put into the property (the “basis”).

So when we got to how annuities are treated by the tax code, it was no surprise that there was a similar rule. For tax purposes, all annuity payments get split into two parts: the part that pays me back what I put in, and the part that puts extra money on top. For fixed-term annuities, this is easy enough to understand. Say I pay $4,000 for an annuity that will pay me back $1,000 a year for five years. So each year on this annuity I’d get $800 back tax-free, but would need to pay taxes on the extra $200. But what about annuities whose term is not fixed, like an annuity that pays you a certain amount of money per year as long as you live? My gut instinct was perhaps the payments would only count as gross income once all of the initial investment had been paid back, but once again the tax code has a special rule to cover this situation: a life expectancy table. So say I spent $39,000 on an annuity that pays out $1,000 a year for the rest of my life. $750 of that each year would be tax-free, while the remaining $250 would count as income. Why? Because I’m 23 years old, and the IRS estimates that I have another 52 years to live. Should I live longer than the 75 years the IRS projects I’ll live, then I’d have to pay taxes on the full annuity payment, and if my life were to be cut short, my estate would get a tax deduction for the part of

The fascinating thing about this life expectancy table is that there never comes a point in time at which the government’s life expectancy for someone is zero. Sure, the federal government thinks I’m going to live to 75 now, but those who are already 75 have another 11 years to live on average. It is, perhaps, the most curious acknowledgement that while the feds can make their best guess, we do not know the day or the hour at which our Heavenly Father will call us back to Himself. And yet, that acknowledgement comes with a gut check for the rest of us, going about our lives having settled into the day-to-day — the clock is ticking. The feds’ life expectancy number will almost always be wrong for any one of us, but it points to the reality that each of our time in this life is finite.

I had the blessing last week of distributing ashes on Ash Wednesday for the very first time. As the sacristan of the Law School Chapel, Fr. Bill Dailey asked me to assist him with the imposition of ashes at the special 9:30 a.m. Mass we held for the occasion. While I did my best to put a true cross on the foreheads of my fellow students, professors and other guests of the Chapel (sorry to those of you who received “blobs” from me), the whole experience gave me an opportunity to meditate on the phrase, “remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return.” There’s a sort of symmetry, I think, between the two purple liturgical seasons: Advent, with the readings for Christ the King and the First Sunday of Advent, and Lent, with the Ash Wednesday observance, both emphasize the last things: death, judgment, heaven and hell. But both Advent and Lent move from that inward focus to an outward observance of Christ’s Paschal Mystery, from his birth at Christmas to his Passion, death and Resurrection during Holy Week.

So between the beginning of this year’s Lenten observance and this last week of Federal Income Tax, I have been duly reminded that time flies and admonished to remember death, just as I was when I first became a Knight of Columbus almost four years ago. But remembering death is not the end of the story; to quote Brooks & Dunn, “this can’t be all there is!” So for the rest of this Lent, may we each keep in mind that our possibly-secret personal penances, whatever they may be, and the inward focus with which our Lent starts is meant, just like in Advent, to point back to Christ and His Paschal Mystery by the time Holy Week comes knocking at our door!

Devin Humphreys is a 3L at Notre Dame Law School. When he isn’t serving as the sacristan at the Law School Chapel, singing with the Liturgical Choir or Chorale or competing at a quiz bowl tournament, he’s sharing his thoughts on the legal developments of the day with anyone who will listen. For advice on law school, hot takes on Mass music and free scholarly publication ideas, reach out to Devin at dhumphr2@nd.edu or @DevinJHumphreys on Twitter.

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

Gabriel Zarazua Graphic Designer

Devin Humphreys Law, Life and the Lord

We need to talk about Canada

Foreign meddling in democratic elections in north America sounds like a familiar story. This time, however, we do not need to rehash the particulars of the mueller report and allegations of russian interference in the 2016 U.s presidential elections. no, this saga is playing out north of the border in canada, and almost nobody in the U.s. seems to have noticed.

on Feb. 17, The Globe and mail, canada’s “paper of record,” reported that leaked documents from the canadian security Intelligence service (csIs) uncovered a massive campaign by beijing to sway the outcome of the 2021 canadian federal parliamentary election. The csIs leaks revealed that Xi Jinping’s regime wanted any result except a conservative Party government. In fact, when canadians voted, according to The Globe, communist china got just what it wanted: a minority Liberal Party government under Prime minister Justin Trudeau. one should not leap to the conclusion that his majesty’s Government in ottawa is but a marionette for the Xi dictatorship. The fact remains, however, that beijing can — and did — exercise significant influence over the results of several constituencies against hawkish anti-china conservatives, such as Kenny chiu in steveston-richmond east, british columbia.

That same article from The Globe outlined how the Xi regime targeted chinese immigrants in Toronto and vancouver with disinformation against the conservatives. csIs quotes one unnamed chinese diplomat as saying it is “easy to influence chinese immigrants to agree with the Prc’s [People’s republic of china] stance.”

Former conservative leader erin o’Toole maintains that communist china’s scheming cost his party as many as nine seats in the house of commons, including in the crucial battleground of Toronto. csIs, nevertheless, previously told a parliamentary investigative committee that chinese interference did not undermine the overall integrity of the

election. That point seems justified since even if o’Toole is right, nine seats would not have put him in office, but that is almost beside the point. beijing did not undermine the entire democratic will of the canadian people, but Xi Jinping’s cronies certainly had their thumbs on the scale.

The csIs documents do not suggest that beijing wanted to turn canada into some form of 21st-century vichy France dancing to the tune of the chinese communist Party. Per The Globe, another unnamed chinese consular official spelled out the regime’s reasoning behind the subterfuge campaign: “[The ccP] likes it when the parties in Parliament are fighting with each other, whereas if there is a majority, the party in power can easily implement policies that do not favour (sic.) the Prc.” chaos, not conquest, was Xi’s objective.

As such, beijing’s minions set about trying to ensure such parliamentary discordance. The csIs leaks reveal that Xi’s diplomats pressured chinese communities in canada to support the Liberals (or at least anyone other than the conservatives), compelled chinese students to volunteer for Liberal campaigns and funneled dark money into the coffers of approved candidates. While canadians elected a minority Liberal government, communist china did not manage to create all the in-fighting it sought. mr. Trudeau’s coalition agreement with the left-wing new democratic Party all but guarantees stability in ottawa until the next federal election in 2025. even if beijing was not entirely successful, the csIs documents ought to cause enormous concern not only in canada but across the democratic West.

It should be noted that the csIs leaks did not take the entire world by surprise. canadian Intelligence shared the information in question with the U.s., the United Kingdom, Australia and new Zealand through the “Five eyes” alliance, as well as with France and Germany. still, I am certain that by now some readers have reached for YouTube tutorials on

canadian politics, while others are probably asking themselves “so what?” After all, what goes on up there is purely a canadian affair, right? no.

canada is of enormous importance to American interests, and there is perhaps no country upon whom the U.s depends more in international affairs. The royal canadian Air Force and the U.s. Air Force work in close conjunction through the north American Aerospace defense command (norAd) to defend north America’s airspace – a relationship underscored by the recent balloon fiasco. As climate change opens Arctic sea lanes, the royal canadian navy supports American efforts to check russian and chinese adventurism in that region. In both imports and exports, canada is America’s largest trading partner. canada plays a vital role in upholding the rules-based international order through organizations like nATo, as evidenced by the country’s steadfast support for Ukraine. no matter what, canada is by America’s side, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

At a time when so much within the U.s. seems to warrant immediate American attention, we must not forget to look north of the border. chinese interference in canada’s elections should unnerve Americans too. Xi Jinping’s efforts to extend his grasp to ottawa are not only an assault on canadian democracy but also on north American security. The csIs leaks demonstrate the extent to which communist china will go to undermine freedom and American faith in our friends. In an ever-changing and uncertain world, the U.s. cannot afford to ignore such a flagrant assault on democracy in its backyard. It is in America’s interest to see canada remain what it always has been: “the True north, strong and free.” As such, we need to talk about canada.

Eoghan Fay senior Feb. 20

The value of the mass line

one of my favorite classes this semester has been Politics of china, a solid political science course dedicated to the history of chinese politics since the establishment of the People’s republic of china in the fall of 1949. I have been able to learn a great deal about china’s journey from near anarchy in the turbulent decades following the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1912 to its transformation into east Asia’s first socialist experiment. despite being considered the United states’ greatest rival in the 21st century, china remains an enigma to most people. beyond the elements of chinese culture and identity that have managed to permeate into the mainstream within the United states and around the world — like its cuisine, celebrations like the lunar new year, the zodiac and its “communist” government — the intricate details of chinese history easily remain mysterious and hidden to many.

one of the first lessons in chinese politics this semester was about the elements that define maoism, communist china’s foundational ideology, and how they played crucial roles in overhauling chinese society during mao Zedong’s quest to radically transform what he considered a feudal and retrograde society into a shining, socialist utopia. The key components that distinguish maoism from other flavors of marxist doctrine include a focus on the peasantry, egalitarianism, anti-intellectualism, a push for struggle and voluntarism. In order to build legitimacy and convince the millions of disengaged citizens scattered across the newly established People’s republic, mao relied on a series of strategies and public relations coups cleverly designed to grant the communist Party and its objectives total hegemony within china.

china’s socialist experiment has been a journey over 70 years in the making and has not been an easy task. Its

mistakes and failures cost tens of millions of lives. Its iron grip on power and information has resulted in thousands of jailed or exiled dissidents and created an alternate reality that only state media happens to dwell in. nonetheless, it has also managed to transform china into an emerging superpower ready to challenge anyone and anything that comes in the way of its interests and objectives.

one of the concepts that has left a lasting impression on me throughout this semester has been that of the “mass line”. It was an indispensable component of orthodox maoism and remains one of the key tenets chinese politicians try to abide by. The mass line is a political, organizational and leadership method that can be attributed exclusively to mao Zedong, relying on a highly pragmatic approach when it comes to developing policy and moving the government forward. mass line relies on perpetually receiving feedback from the general public in order to grasp whether or not policy is working. In theory, adhering to the mass line would allow the chinese communist Party to stay in touch with the people and remain knowledgeable of real world conditions and whatever is happening on the ground. Whenever implementing a new policy idea, chinese leaders were meant to consult the populace regarding their opinions and make any modifications to their original plans based on the lessons learnt by interacting with the people they ought to serve. It is a self-purification ritual, meant to keep those in the upper echelons of power humble and in touch with their communities.

Why should I write a column extolling the virtue of a key policy of one of the United states’ greatest adversaries? In my mind, a concept like the mass line is not something inherently communist or authoritarian. Instead, it is something that can be used as a valuable tool to improve the society we live in. A government keeping in touch with the people it serves makes it more effective and responsive to the population’s needs. more often than not, those in positions of power and authority are able to

bask in privileges that move them from the everyman’s reality into comfortable ivory towers far from the troubles they are meant to resolve. This creates a stark disconnect between the masses and the elite. The larger the gap, the more ineffective governance becomes. When looking at many of the world’s violent revolutions, most of them were a direct result of gaps like these. had regimes like Tsarist russia, Imperial china or bourbon France been in close contact with their populace, they probably would not have succumbed to violence the way they did.

Following the mass line — and being in permanent contact with the people — is not something that hinders governance, but instead steadily transforms it into something more transparent and adequate. When the mass line starts to counter a government’s plans, those ought to be pretty clear indications that things require some tweaking in order to attain better results.

The mass line is not something exclusively related to politics. If leaders everywhere walked a mile in the shoes of those they lead or serve, things would turn around in many places. The value of the mass line resides in eliminating becoming out of touch. Understanding the realities of others and being able to view the world from the perspective of those around us enriches our experience and ability to get things done.

huge distances between the different strata of society weakens the social fabric that keeps it together. Understanding and listening to those above, next to and below us is the key to attaining a more respectful, supportive and engaged community.

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

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

Pablo Lacayo reliable ramblings

A stick(er)y situation

and hold fast to the dystopian gunmetal gray of most laptops?

Looking across the classroom, I see them all abound with my classmates behind them, pattering and pecking away. Without saying a word, I can tell their life stories — or at least, some fairly amusing guesses about dramatized lives of intrigue they may lead. From his sticker, I can tell he is a frequenter of the restaurant chain In-N-Out, and from her Rosie the Riveter scientist, I can tell she is a woman in STEM. As I gaze throughout the room and study the stickers that adorn the surfaces of my classmates’ laptops, I find myself acquainting myself with people I have never even spoken to.

While this may seem like a hobby to pass the time in less than riveting lectures, it is rather that these seemingly insignificant items that we display on our devices have so much to tell about the individual behind the keyboard.

When it comes to stickers, I am a connoisseur. In my opinion, they belong on laptops, water bottles, bumpers, ski helmets and refrigerators, and they even make the perfect illicit nighttime graffiti, but I did not tell you that. I have been this way since the day my former idol, Lightening McQueen, raced into my four-year-old life with his signature coating of sponsorship stickers.

I would implore anyone debating or without stickers on their laptops to decorate and cave to the creative opportunity that can come with it. Personally, it has been a meaningful chance at self-expression that has the possibility to brighten up my day and that of those around me.

The stickers on my laptop have saved me from the vividly painful flashbacks to DomerFest of strangers asking me, “Where are you from?” or “What’s your major?” Instead of putting my brain on autopilot with the Notre Dame introduction, my laptop stickers have been a unique way to connect with new people.

For me, it was one sticker at a time. This situation was a slow descent into madness as I started to collect and plan the layout of the front and eventually the bottom of my laptop. The first sticker can be a slippery slope, and very suddenly I was out of room on my entire device and had to make cuts. I originally planned to avoid the overlapping of even the edges of the stickers, whereas now the surface of my laptop is a multilayered patchwork quilt of assorted stickers.

Some may see a laptop like this, think it is unprofessional for a college student and shudder a corporate shiver. However, why be bland

Some of my favorite stickers I have seen include a Notre Damethemed Kris Kardashian, a Hufflepuff house crest and the romanticized city skyline of Cleveland. Some stickers I took note of — of the more meaningful variety — were a British Cider label, a pandemic HERE sticker and a cardinal to represent a deceased grandmother.

While it may be no shock to you, I will admit it: the sight of a stickered laptop is a cause for excitement in my daily life. It is as if these tiny stickers are a visual biography of the laptop’s user waiting for me to read it. When I see a laptop covered with stickers, I am instantly reminded of a minivan littered with bumper stickers obtained from a cross-country voyage. While most laptop stickers may not advertise that you made it to the world’s largest ball of twine or Mount Rushmore, many represent the journey of our daily lives.

I find the decoration of your laptop so compelling because it is a celebration of the journey of life and the dynamic ways we change along the way. My state of Michigan stickers represent the place that made me, and my travel stickers (from Washington D.C., Albuquerque and Nashville) speak to the experiences that have shaped me. For the observant viewer, my Rudy and Oozma Kappa stickers reveal my love of the underdog and belief in the impossible. Some may deem it cheesy, but I want the tool that I use the most to be a reflection of who I am and the road that has brought me here.

Laptop stickers also serve as a comforting reminder of who you are and an expression of that to those around you. This personalization of the mundane routine of answering emails, completing homework or even writing articles about laptop stickers is what makes them so special.

The next time you find yourself looking at laptop stickers, think about what they say about the person behind the keyboard and whether you should get some yourself. Engage in this celebration of the journey of life and cover your laptop in stickers to express who you are.

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

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

Jack Sirianni

The Notre Dame Nitty-Gritty

By ERIN FARMER scene Writer

When m ike s chmiedeler, ‘94 graduate in FTT and m arketing, finished his first feature-length independent documentary film “ d on’t Turn Your b ack on Friday n ight” about musician Ike r eilly, he knew he wanted his first audience to be at n otre d ame. In his introduction to the screening, m ike credited n otre d ame and the job he got after graduation at W nd U for “teaching me everything I know.” s chmiedeler explained how the film follows the musician Ike r eilly and his life, detailing how “struggling with booze, a love/hate relationship with his hometown he never left, his deeply rooted c atholic faith and the face of foreclosure on the dream house he raised his family in, Ike finds redemption in music, art and family as his 3 sons begin performing with his band”. The documentary not only features interviews with members of the band and family and Ike’s wide variety of collaborators over the years but also contains a truly astounding amount of archival footage, from decades of performances to personal family videos.

The film itself is not your typical documentary. r ather than trying to construct a traditional

three-act structure, the film examines and reveals Ike’s life through his songs. r eilly’s records are the window into his soul and his truly remarkable life. The film begins by introducing the audience to Ike through his community including the likes of Tom m orello ( r age Against The m achine); d avid Pasquesi (“ veep”, ”The b ook o f b oba Fett”); Johnny h ickman ( c racker); d avid Lowery ( c racker); Tony Fitzpatrick (“Patriot”); m ars Williams (Psychedelic Furs); and his three sons, who themselves joined the band. The film reveals Ike’s life in a non-linear fashion through the stories embedded in his songs, which draw from real experiences in his life, including a range from the birth of one of his sons to the death of a friend, and getting stiffed as a doorman by d onald Trump.

o ne truly remarkable fact about Ike that s chmiedeler hopes audiences take away from the film is how r eilly somehow manages to succeed, not only as a musician but also as a family man. s o often, musicians are forced to choose whether to prioritize one or the other, but Ike managed both. When I asked s chmiedeler what it was about r eilly that made him the choice for his first independent documentary, he said it was simple. Ike was “just that good.” And s chmiedeler

is not the only one who thinks so. The n ew York Times described his band as “one of the best live bands in America.” With this documentary, s chmiedeler hopes that more people can come to that same conclusion.The screening on s unday also privileged the audience with a performance by Ike r eilly and his three sons s hane, m ickey and Kevin. They performed three songs, “Living in the Wrong Time,” “Trick of the Light” and “Put a Little Love in It.” They also did a short Q&A session, where r eilly said the documentary was “humbling and humiliating at the same time” and expressed his gratitude for the community showcased in the film who made the band and his life what it is today. There was no perceivable difference between the life in the documentary and the man answering questions for an audience. h e spoke honestly — albeit sarcastically and often self-effacing — concerning his life, his mistakes and his hopes for the future. The band and the filmmaker are certainly ones you’ll want to keep an eye on. For more information about the film and the band, you may visit the documentary’s website.

Contact Erin Farmer at efarmer@nd.edu

By CLAIRE McKENNA scene Writer

“Formula 1: d rive to survive” is back for its fifth season and ready to give viewers a behind-thescenes look at all the drama that unfolds in Formula 1. With a large amount of unrestricted access to the Formula 1 paddock, “d rive to survive” once again gives viewers spectacular insights into some of the major events of the 2022 Formula 1 season.

For those unfamiliar with “d rive to survive”, here is a quick summary: aided by exclusive interviews of the Formula 1 driver and team principles, the show provides a recap of the previous year’s season of Formula 1. b ut because the show cannot cover everything that happened throughout the year, it creates episodes around some of the most notable events. This time around, the producers of the show highlight events such as Ferrari’s strategy woes and red b ull’s breach of the Formula 1 cost cap.

And truly, those behind “d rive to survive” once again demonstrate how to masterfully build a single-episode story arc from footage filmed throughout the course of a year. There are drawbacks to the episodes not being in complete chronological order, to be sure, but the single-episode arcs are amazing at getting viewers emotionally invested in the

singular event that is being followed in the episode. The noteworthy incidents of the Formula 1 season can be complicated by technical explanations, but “d rive to survive” shines because it explains those incidents through the lens of the people who lived them.

For me, however, there was a bit of a letdown in what was not shown. multiple notable absences include moments of tension between the drivers and the Federation Internationale d’Automobile, or FIA (the governing body for Formula 1). o ne example is the uproar that resulted from the FIA deploying a recovery vehicle in wet conditions where the drivers could barely see. since “d rive to survive” focused on driver safety multiple times this season, the show definitely would have benefited from the inclusion of this incident.

Longtime fans of the show might also know that the show creates some controversy with the way that it dramatizes some of the stories it tells. And while the extra drama does create some entertaining fanedited videos, it also creates an element of distrust. o ne example of this extra dramatization is when the show misuses quotes from the drivers. While I was watching the show, there was a constant niggling in the back of my brain asking whether the situation presented to me is accurate. h aving to constantly

think about the accuracy of the show did a lot to bring down my enjoyment of watching it. Ultimately, “d rive to survive” does what it is meant to do, but it does not do much more than that. For a Formula 1 fan like me, there was a benefit from the recap of what happened in the sport last year before this week’s race. o n the other hand, anyone who wants to learn more about Formula 1 will also have a pretty good introductory resource. If you are watching “d rive to survive” for either of those reasons then you will be satisfied. b ut if you are looking for a show that you will want to come back to and rewatch again, then this show is probably not the place for you.

Contact Claire McKenna at cmckenn4@nd.edu

“Formula 1: Drive to Survive”

Starring: All the principles and drivers in Formula 1

Favorite episodes: “Pardon My French” purely for Sergio Perez’s reaction to Sebastian Vettel’s retirement

If you like: Formula 1, motorsports

Where to watch: Netflix

By CLAIRE LYONS

Editor’s note: This review contains spoilers for “Babylon.” damien chazelle, the director and genius behind “Whiplash” and “La La Land,” recently released a box office bomb: “babylon.”

maybe you’ve seen the exuberant trailers of margot robbie and brad Pit at the party of the century, but you probably haven’t seen the actual movie in theaters. Lucky for you, if you have three hours to spare and a Paramount+ subscription, “babylon” is yours for the taking. It was just released for streaming services on Feb. 10.

“babylon” chronicles hollywood’s transition from silent to sound films through a stacked ensemble cast. nellie Laroy (margot robbie) is a low-class girl from Jersey who already has the ego of a superstar and is hungry to prove that she is one. manuel Torres (diego calva) is a struggling assistant who gradually works his way up the ladder to become a studio executive. Jack conrad (brad Pitt) is a box office-breaking heartthrob (of course, he’s played by brad Pitt.) All of them are silent-era has-beens. but if the cast isn’t appealing enough to you, the visual effects might be. I knew I was in for a wild ride from the beginning. Within the first fifteen minutes, an elephant poops on the camera, an up-and-coming actress pees (consensually) on a naked studio executive and nellie Laroy and manuel Torres do lines of cocaine from the apparently free and unlimited supply of drugs in a hollywood big-wig’s house. It only gets wilder from there. nellie drunkenly fights a

snake in a fit of rage and vomits an ungodly amount of food onto citizen Kane (William randolph hearst). There’s a weird underground freak show bit toward the end where Tobey maguire plays a creepy, sunken-eyed casino king and a bodybuilder eats a rat alive. (I recommend skipping it, actually.)

“babylon” certainly doesn’t shy away from spectacle, but it does sometimes distract from the point chazelle tries to make. From breakout hit “Whiplash” to oscar-winning “La La Land,” chazelle’s big question in his creative work is: “Is it worth it?”

In “Whiplash,” is becoming a great drummer worth being psychologically tormented by a terrifying jazz instructor? Yes. In “La La Land,” is leaving your potential soulmate worth achieving your creative dream? maybe. In “babylon,” is your passion for movie-making worth the soul-sucking efforts it takes to survive the industry? no, at least according to chazelle.

nellie Laroy and Jack conrad do not survive the transition from silent to sound. After only getting offers for typecast roles, Jack shoots himself. his dreams of achieving artistic greatness never come to fruition. nellie’s boisterous and wild personality that once thrived in the chaotic silent film show-biz never adapts to the meticulous attention and rehearsal required for sound films — and the increasingly chaste hollywood society. she overdoses. hollywood keeps churning out movies. The show must go on.

only those who are ostracized by hollywood make it out alive. Lady Fay Zhu (Li Jun Li), an Asian-American lesbian singer, is fired as the movie industry becomes less libertine.

she eventually moves to europe to continue her career in film production. sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo), an AfricanAmerican jazz trumpet player, is forced to do blackface for a performance. he subsequently leaves the production company and has a successful career as a trumpet player anyway. both characters leave with their artistic integrity intact. still, the show must go on.

even manuel, who had major control over the industry, is forced to leave town after a bad deal with an evil Tobey maguire. he goes back to see what remains of his production company almost 20 years later. he sees a sound film presumably for the first time. his voice – chazelle’s words — play over a montage of footage spanning from the French 1902 film “A Trip to the moon” to modern hits like James cameron’s “Avatar.” The entire history of film is before him. “I just want to be part of something bigger,” he says. “To be part of something important, something that lasts, that means something.”

chazelle knows the show must go on with or without him, but that won’t stop him from saying thank you.

Contact Claire Lyons at clyons3@nd.edu

“Babylon”

Directed by: Damian Chazelle

Starring: Diego Calva, Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt

If you like: “Whiplash,” “La La Land”

By PETER BREEN scene Writer

Editor’s note: This review contains spoilers for “Cocaine Bear.”

could I have enjoyed more than 95 minutes of watching a bear high on cocaine devour members of my own species?

Absolutely.

marketed in the horror-comedy genre, the movie is a well-crafted product of overexaggerated whimsy. As each new person is introduced, it’s a pleasure speculating about how much time that character will be alive before becoming the bear’s next snack. To my initial dismay, the picture’s most lovable protagonists — a couple of middle school troublemakers — escape being mauled to death like most everybody else. I was on the edge of my reclining chair wondering when the film would take this dark turn, yet it never did. If you can handle a little blood, the choice to portray a pair of truant 13-year-olds ingesting a bit of yayo is about as messed up as this elizabeth banks film gets.

The 500-pound cGI bear — some 325 pounds larger than the real “Pablo eskobear” who died after ripping into two million dollars of the titular drug — could

appropriately be called the Lebron James of American black bears. hollywood’s cocaine bear, whose drug-fueled rampage includes eating people out of trees, chasing down an ambulance and taking a few bullets to the chest, somehow manages to avoid a lethal overdose this time around. Through the absurdity of it all, banks spins the story of an aggressive carnivore foraging for duffle-bag-size loads of narcotics in the wilderness into a surprisingly stark rendering of substance abuse.

Furnishing the drugged-up animal with plenty of meal options, screenwriter Jimmy Warden inserted a smattering of subplots, adding to the breadth — but probably not the depth — of the film’s appeal. I’ll appreciate seeing o’shea Jackson Jr. beat up a trio of punks with a switchblade no matter the context. The performance of “Field of dreams”

and “Goodfellas” star ray Liotta, who passed away in the spring of 2022, as the unhappy drug kingpin syd White weighs heavy on the heart. The Universal Pictures film was dedicated to Liotta’s memory upon release. A couple of disposable hikers, park rangers and cops — whose survival percentage lingers under fifty percent — are dispatched to tie up loose plot threads.

While I advise getting to the theater within about the

next week and a half to see the movie before its shelf life as a hot conversation topic around class or work runs down, I’d recommend anyone go check out “cocaine bear” for years to come. The film opens with the infamous anti-narcotics “This Is Your brain on drugs” clip of eggs in a frying pan, inviting questions about the relationship between drugs and creativity. “cocaine bear” encourages the exploration of dumb ideas not for the sake of critical acclaim — don’t expect an Academy Award for best visual effects — but something maybe just as sweet: millions and millions of dollars. maybe the movie ought to make us non-hard-drug-using individuals ponder what we are most addicted to of all: wit.

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu

“Cocaine Bear”

Directed by: Elizabeth Banks

Starring: Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr.

If you like: “Snakes on a Plane”

Associate scene editor

Happy Birthday: Take pride in what you do for others, and you will be offered the same courtesy in return. Step outside your comfort zone if it will help you bring about positive change. Charm and hands-on help will result in a successful transition to what you want to do next. Emotional confusion is likely; ask questions and avoid drama. Your numbers are 9, 15, 22, 28, 32, 37, 45.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Play to win. The more beguiling you are, the more interest you’ll receive. A chance to up your game or meet someone who can help you get ahead is in the stars. Set up meetings and attend reunions, and something extraordinary will unfold.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t make promises until you understand what you will have to deliver and that it’s in your power to do so. Letting what someone says intimidate you will weaken your position. Being observant, direct and knowledgeable will help you gain trust and respect.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Put your plans in motion. Think matters through, precisely execute what you want to achieve and pull in experts to ensure things get done right the first time. Reconnect with someone you miss. A romantic gesture will help you decide what’s next.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Someone will try to charm you into something you probably shouldn’t consider. When in doubt, ask an expert in order to avoid a mistake or loss. Pay attention to the changes others make, and counter anything that might jeopardize your goal.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Get together with someone you enjoy working alongside. You’ll find it easy to pick up where you left off and drum up interest regarding something you want to pursue. With the right people, success will follow. Lead the way and reap the rewards.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Change begins with you. Do not wait or depend on others when you want things done a certain way. Take care of what’s important to you before anyone can interfere. Working alone will allow you to be a perfectionist.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Get out, explore what life can offer and discover something that excites you. Gather information and follow your heart. Finding the path that brings you joy and pays for your desired lifestyle is crucial to achieving peace of mind.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Offering embellished information will put you in a precarious position when it comes time to deliver. Make sure you can live up to your promises or debt before you pledge. Handle your finances carefully and find ways to cut corners.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Someone colorful and charming will take advantage of you if you are naive or too trusting. Do your homework, ask pertinent questions and verify facts before you say yes to someone or something that can squander your time, money or freedom.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Have fun with your peers. By mixing business with pleasure, you’ll win over someone who is strategically beneficial when you need a favor. Keep your money safe, and prepare to declutter and sell what you no longer need.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Spend more time at home, and you’ll accomplish more than anticipated. Work diligently to get your house in order and lower your overhead. Once you feel comfortable with your surroundings and financial situation, everything else will fall into place.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Don’t share secrets or gossip. Focus on improvements and applying your skills to something that makes you feel good. Don’t fold under pressure or let someone take advantage of you. Dump what drags you down and replace it with what brings you joy.

Birthday Baby: You are creative, fashionable and resourceful. You are flexible and responsible.

Irish earn top seed, await update on Miles’ injury

By JJ POST sports Writer

The Acc women’s basketball tournament will start in Greensboro, north carolina Wednesday afternoon. Fresh off of a conference-title win over Louisville on sunday, notre dame will enter the tournament holding the top overall seed. rounding out the upper echelon of the bracket is no. 2-seed duke, no. 3-seed virginia Tech and aforementioned no. 4-seed Louisville. duke had a chance to clinch the top seed in the final round of regular season games, but their loss to north carolina paired with the Irish’s win bumped them to the second slot. elsewhere in the tournament, notre dame will face one of either north carolina state or syracuse in the first round. The Wolfpack in particular represent

see Wbb PAGE 14

Meet Lexi Orozco, Irish softball’s newest star

By TYLER REIDY s ports Writer

As notre d ame softball prepares to begin Acc play, head coach d eanna Gumpf is stressing one big theme: belief. For graduate infielder Lexi o rozco, belief has carved out a special career. b y joining the Irish after a four-year stint at Utah s tate, o rozco sought out a special type of challenge. In her teammates, coaches and the overall environment of nd softball, she has found exactly what she was looking for.

Growing up in s an m arcos, c alifornia, o rozco’s support system set her up for success. her mother, Angela, also played softball in her youth and encouraged Lexi and her four siblings to be active. At the same time, she showed them the meaning of empathy, forming a lasting image of leadership in o rozco’s mind.

“ s he has always taught me to understand those around you, and understand the person that sits in the jersey rather than the jersey itself,” o rozco said. “At the end of

BASEBALL Irish take two of three vs. UNCG

By TYLER REIDY sports Writer

Though it was far from pretty, n otre d ame baseball took its first series over the weekend. Playing at n orth c arolina-Greensboro, the Irish were outscored by seven runs overall, but survived close games Friday and s unday. With the result, n otre d ame now sits at 3-3 as February draws to a close.

Friday: Notre Dame 6, UNCG 5

After hitting .110 in the Lipscomb series, the Irish offense came out swinging. e ach of n otre d ame’s first six hitters reached in the top of the first with the help of two s partan errors. b y the inning’s end, four runs had crossed home plate. Irish sophomore starting pitcher r adek b irkholz nearly sold the early lead, but he escaped a bases-loaded jam with nobody out in the bottom of the first.

recorded more errors (five) than hits (three), walking seven s partans and plunking four more.

m eanwhile, U nc G freshman starter Jay m iller tossed a gem, working a shutout over seven innings. The s partan offense rewarded him with a field day at the plate, highlighted by backto-back bombs from sophomore infielder r owan Watt and c allahan in the third. Junior Jackson d ennies suffered the loss, surrendering three runs in two innings to start the game.

Sunday: Notre Dame 7, UNCG 4

the day, we’re people, and performance doesn’t dictate the person that stands in that jersey.”

o rozco also quickly befriended current Irish graduate pitcher Payton Tidd, a fellow s an m arcos native. Tidd’s family became an important link as o rozco navigated the recruiting process. Long before the two ever led s an m arcos h igh s chool to a state title, their college offers began rolling in. At age thirteen, o rozco had narrowed her search to Utah and Utah s tate, ultimately committing to the latter.

“I think what led me to Utah s tate as a 13-year-old, and I tell this story to everyone, is that it came down to the decision of wearing n ike or Under Armour, and I told my dad I wanted to wear n ike,” she said. “From an early age, I knew that Utah s tate was right for me because it checked everything off with my 13-year-old brain.”

Though o rozco may now sheepishly look back on the decision, it turned out to be a good one. As a freshman, she logged 46 starts. b y the end of

her four years in Logan, she had played 169 games as the Aggies’ primary shortstop.

“There were a lot of older girls in front of me, and the only thing I knew that I could rely on was to compete and compete respectfully,” o rozco said. “I think that’s what landed me where I was for my whole career. I never looked back once I kept moving forward through all the ups and downs.”

In o rozco’s case, the ups were numerous. d uring her illustrious career, she set or tied Aggie records for rbI (138), slugging percentage (.631) and home runs (39).

o rozco earned a First-Team All-mountain West selection in 2019, following it up with an nc FA d ivision I Third Team All-r egion honor in 2022. With four magnificent seasons behind her, o rozco knew she could thrive anywhere heading into her graduate season.

That “anywhere” was originally supposed to be a lot closer to the s an d iego area. e ven as coach Gumpf welcomed her for a visit,

see oroZco PAGE 14

b irkholz finished the day with three scoreless innings. h owever, his offense failed to add on, and n otre d ame soon paid for it. With graduate student Aidan Tyrell on the mound, U nc G loaded the bags without recording a hit. After a run-scoring sacrifice fly, senior catcher d allas c allahan crushed a threerun homer to right-center, tying the game at four.

The next two innings passed without a score, as sophomore reliever Jack Findlay settled things down for the Irish. n otre d ame needed a big hit, and it came in the top of the ninth. Graduate infielder c arter Putz opened with a single, drawing junior catcher d anny n eri to the dish with one out. Though he entered the game with just two career home runs, n eri got a hold of one. When the ball landed over the right field fence, he had given n otre d ame a 6-4 lead. Findlay surrendered a run and made matters interesting before stranding two s partans in scoring position to end the game.

Saturday: Notre Dame 0, UNCG 12

Game two proved to be a forgettable one for the Irish. Allowing a run in seven of eight innings pitched, n otre d ame suffered its most lopsided regular season loss in over four years. The Irish

d espite the shutout, n otre d ame’s bats were no worse for the wear on s unday. Graduate outfielder b rooks c oetzee wasted no time, starting the action with a first-inning rb I single. In the fifth, the Irish lead ballooned to five on n eri’s second key hit of the series, a two-run single with two outs. U nc G then promptly minimized the deficit to 5-3 on a threerun blast from junior infielder d osi Jonas, which forced Irish graduate transfer starter b lake h ely from the game.

While the Irish hitters rebuilt the lead to four, junior pitcher m att b edford carved up the s partans in the middle innings. h e worked three scoreless frames, striking out four in the process. h ead coach s hawn s tiffler removed him entering the ninth, and things got dicey again. U nc G again drew a run back, requiring graduate c arter b osch to earn the final out with the tying run up to bat. h e wrapped it up on a called third strike, securing n otre d ame’s first series win of 2023.

With graduate outfielder Jack Zyska still healing from an injury in the field, n otre d ame’s veterans stepped up. Zack Prajzner, c oetzee, and Putz combined to go 11for-30 at the dish. The three mainstays from the c ollege World s eries lineup also scored seven of the 13 Irish runs.

In their final tune-up before Acc play begins, n otre d ame will visit UA b from m arch 3-5. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 3 p.m. es T.

Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu

MARY VOTAVA | The Observer

Irish sophomore guard Olivia Miles drives to the basket during Notre Dame’s 78-76 home overtime victory over Louisville on Feb. 16, 2023. ND

an intriguing potential matchup for the irish, as Wes moore’s squad was one of just three acc opponents to deal notre dame a loss in conference play. north carolina state also dumped the irish out of the ncaa tournament last year, with notre dame’s upset bid over the top-seeded Wolfpack falling just short in the final seconds of the sweet 16.

head coach niele ivey — named acc coach of the year Tuesday afternoon — was unsurprisingly full of praise for the Wolfpack in her media availability before the irish left for Greensboro.

“They’ve got great size. They’ve got an incredible point guard in diamond Johnson. They have depth, they play multiple players off the bench and they really bothered us with their pressure,” she said. “i thought they were physical … we have to be prepared to contain the ball, to try and get an inside presence against their bigs. They have so many weapons.”

ivey also made sure to give plaudits to potential foe syracuse. Though notre dame twice pulled away late to deal the orange a pair of defeats in conference play this season, Felisha Legette-Jack gave ivey all she could handle.

With syracuse currently fighting for a spot on the ncaa tournament bubble, ivey remarked on being ready to play against a team with a serious hunger for victory.

“They’re playing desperate and playing really well,” ivey said. “[Legette-Jack] has done a phenomenal job turning that program around. They’re more of a matchup team, so we’ll expect them to sit in that matchup zone for 40 minutes. They like to extend their pressure and press full court … playing them two times, we know what to expect and what to do playing against their zone. They’re very athletic, we have to do a great job of containing their guards.”

regardless of the opponent, the irish’s story will almost certainly be the availability of sophomore point guard olivia miles. miles, an all-acc selection who just missed winning conference player of the year, is notre dame’s current leader in points, rebounds and assists.

against Louisville sunday, miles left the game with what was later reported to be a knee injury and was unable to return. however, ivey was non-committal about what her status might be with regards to a return window. she stressed that more tests needed to be done before notre dame could determine the severity of miles’ injury and what her timetable to re-enter the irish rotation might look like.

notre dame’s acc tournament run will tip off on Friday at 2 p.m. in Greensboro, north carolina. The irish will play either north carolina state or syracuse, and the contest will be broadcast on the acc network.

Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu

it is also s enior n ight for one of the most prolific classes in notre d ame history. The i rish will honor six graduate students Wednesday night. Guard d ane Goodwin and forward nate Laszewki, in particular, have become stalwarts in the i rish lineup since their arrival in 2018.

r obby c armody came in as part of the same class but was never able to live up to his lofty expectations due to what seemed like one injury after another over the past five years. c armody played three minutes off the bench against Wake Forest last weekend in only the third conference game of his career.

“i n the midst of everything, that was really cool to see him against Wake Forest in an acc game,” b rey said.

c armody’s trajectory — through no fault of his own — mirrors that of notre d ame as a program over the last five years. a fter qualifying for the ncaa Tournament for three straight, including two e lite e ight appearances from 2015 to 2017, expectations were high for the i rish’s 2018 recruiting class. The class was ranked 15th in the nation according to 247 s ports.

While some members of that class, notably Goodwin, Laszewski and Prentiss hubb, who graduated a year ago, found unquestioned individual success in s outh b end, as a whole, the group fell well short of what was expected of them. The i rish qualified for just one ncaa Tournament in five years, when they advanced to the r ound of 32 as an 11-seed a year ago.

With the three remaining members of that class graduating Wednesday represents the end of an era

in s outh b end in more ways than one. not only will notre d ame have a new coach next year, but the roster will be completely overhauled.

The i rish will honor three other seniors who transferred into the program. Guard c ormac r yan and guard Trey Wertz, who transferred from s tanford and s anta c lara, respectively, have each been key team members of the program for the past three seasons. m arcus h ammond joined the team more recently as a graduate transfer from n iagara this offseason.

“i ’d start six if i could,” b rey said of the squad.

a win Wednesday night would go a long way towards giving b rey and the seniors a proper send-off for all they’ve accomplished in s outh b end, particularly in a year in which victories have been nearly impossible for the i rish to come by over the past two months.

b ut standing in the way of that goal is a formidable opponent. Pittsburgh broke into the a P Poll for the first time in seven years this week, following a torrid stretch that has seen them rise to the top of the conference standings. The Panthers have won eight of their last nine games and are currently in sole possession of first place in the acc

To make matters worse for notre d ame, b rey said Tuesday that star freshman guard JJ s tarling will be unavailable for the second straight contest with a bruised knee, making an already thin i rish rotation even thinner.

b ut win or lose, b rey will be soaking up every moment of his last game at Purcell Pavilion. “i ’ve got no regrets,” he said. “i ’ve been honored to be the guy here.”

Contact Liam Coolican at lcoolica@nd.edu

o rozco had doubts about nearly tripling her distance from home. h owever, while reflecting on her trip to s outh b end, o rozco drew two powerful conclusions.

“ i realized that a year of my life is worth challenging myself to the fullest of extents,” she remembered. “ o nce i decided that i was going to step onto n otre d ame’s campus, i knew i ’d be happy here if i wasn’t playing.”

With that, o rozco was off to n otre d ame, a program on a 23-year ncaa tournament appearance streak. h er transition has been marked by overwhelming support from her head coach, her lifelong friend and everyone in between.

o rozco has also felt much more at ease within the i rish batting order. While she often had to play hero ball at u tah s tate, the slugger now sits within an offense that led the acc in batting average a year ago. “ i knew that i was going to have to compete hard because this program has talent across the board, and it excites me,” o rozco said. “ i t’s so amazing to have the opportunity to sit in the middle of that lineup because i know that three girls in front of me or one girl behind me will get the job done no matter what.”

o rozco has used that peace of mind to contribute early and often at the plate. Three weeks into the season, she leads the i rish with three homers and 12 rbi a mong her many tools, timely hitting has perhaps been her strongest to start the campaign. o n February 17,

o rozco helped n otre d ame win its b ig Ten and acc c hallenge opener by launching a go-ahead, three-run blast in the fourth inning. Then, on Friday, she completed a six-run comeback with a three-run, game-tying shot against u T m artin. h er talent has stood out, but her leadership also hasn’t gone without notice.

“ s he’s just a great person and she fit so well right away,” c oach Gumpf remarked. “ s he just jumped on board and truly understands what this place is all about. i ’m super, super proud of her.”

o f course, coming to n otre d ame means playing in the acc , one of the strongest leagues in the sport. a s she prepares to visit d uke for her first conference series this weekend, o rozco is focused on taking in all the little things.

“ b eing able to go see the university, smell the fresh air in an acc stadium, and put on my jersey and step into a conference game for the first time is just something that really excites me,” she said.

With a firm belief in n otre d ame’s potential, o rozco is all-in for her teammates. s he strives to repay their support by sharing each and every moment with them.

“ i just never ever want to disappoint any person that i ’m in the presence of,” she said. “These girls have welcomed me with open arms, and i hope that i can walk away never disappointing them with my leadership, with my abilities performance-wise and as a friend.”

Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu

Paid a dverT isemen T

effective striking from Pollice. While Lally kept the bout close in the beginning stages, “Il c apo” pulled away in a unanimous decision victory.

“The Real Big” Mike Guyette of Keough Hall def. Harry “Soup” Peluso of Keough Hall

With both fighters coming out on the offensive, m ike Guyette and harry Peluso traded a string of jabs in the first. The highlight moment came when “s oup” connected a headshot, with the sound of his strike reverberating all over dahnke. e ven after a hard-fought first round, neither fighter seemed to have lost a step in the second with “The real big” m ike Guyette landing a few hits that seemed to stagger Peluso. With the fight close on the scoresheet, the third round continued to show excellence from both fighters who held their ground against the opposing onslaught of punches. In the end, “The real big” m ike Guyette was able to seal a unanimous decision victory against his fellow Keough boxer after three strong rounds.

Rob “The Voodoo Ranger”

Rucki of Carroll Hall def. Loren “Bird Legz” Hahn (Off-Campus)

dancing around the ring, rucki appeared to be on the front foot during the first round. “The voodoo r anger” avoided any significant blows while striking his opponent numerous times. however, Loren hahn did not let his opponent guide his movement in the second, with strong hooks from the graduate turning the tide of the fight. In another close bout, it seemed that the final decision was dependent on the outcome of the third round. While “bird Legz” attempted to push his opponent against the ropes, rucki remained aggressive, not allowing himself to get cornered. “The voodoo r anger” earned the unanimous decision win after continued pressure throughout the bout kept him ahead in the scoresheet.

Nicholas “Nick” Buhay of Dunne Hall def. Alex ”Jack” Potts of Duncan Hall

e arly in the first, “Jack” Potts seemed to take the lead with a strong series of strikes. however, chants of “nick buhay” seemed to ignite “nick” who brought the round back in his favor guiding his opponent against the ropes. buhay continued this momentum into the second round with alternating body and head shots tiring his opponent who could not seem to return his energy. d etermined to change the outcome, strong right hooks from Potts helped to close the gap in strikes landed between

the boxers. While a strong finish from “Jack” Potts brought the match within range, nick buhay exited the ring with a split-decision victory after a strong performance in each round.

Jackson “The Stallion”

Graham of Stanford Hall def. Greg “The Hitman”

DeFalco of Alumni Hall

“The h itman” initiated first contact through the matchup’s opening seconds, but the sophomore from stanford hall made the more memorable introduction – brushing off d eFalco’s hits and shoveling the senior from Alumni into the ropes. In round two, Graham genuinely embraced the offensive and deposited d eFalco into a 10-second count – not once but twice – before the second frame was over. d eFalco maintained his mental resolve in the final round, but he kept his feet active to stay out the way of Graham’s forays. Again in round three, the referee held “The h itman” back in a couple of full 10-second counts. Graham, a sophomore from houston, TX, won by unanimous decision.

“Average” Joe Rozgonyi of Baumer Hall def. Nirajan “One Punch” Koirala (Grad Student)

To the sound of “Let’s go Joe” chants, rozgonyi buzzed around the nepalis graduate student, landing some bonafide haymakers in round one. Koirala would go on to make some headway in the second frame, never dropping anything too grave upon his opponent but beginning to take back control of the contest. “Average” Joe and “o ne Punch” both had a backlog of evidence left to prove in the final round. neither exposed himself to a dramatic amount of harm, but neither could cash in any significant hits. In the final quarter of a minute, “o ne Punch” inflicted far more than a single shot on the mask of rozgonyi. but Koirala’s last-second burst wasn’t quite enough, and rozgonyi took home the victory by split decision.

Tommy “The Tank Engine” Sylvia of Knott Hall def. Josh “More of a Lover than a Fighter” Williams of St. Edward’s Hall

A fury of punches filled the opening seconds of this 178-pound semifinal competition — primarily a consequence of s ylvia’s antagonization. At the close of round one, “The Tank e ngine” ignited the crowd of presumably Knott hall residents with a jeer. In order to keep pace with the junior from manhasset, n Y, Williams’ shoulder axis operated on a swivel to kick off round two. but s ylvia was soon able to swing the momentum back in his favor, pressuring the senior from sparta, n J into a 10-second count to close out

the second frame. d espite a stoppage for an untied shoelace in the final round, “The Tank e ngine” made closing arguments as if he had been schooled by Amy c oney b arrett in the e ck hall of Law. s ylvia defeated Williams by unanimous decision.

Patrick “PSweet” Sweet of Zahm House def. Jack “Ghost” Phillips of Knott Hall

The stakes were at an alltime high in this contest between this Zahm house senior from c leveland and the b engal b outs club president. Whatever his background, “Ghost” really started to chip away at “P s weet” at the end of 90 seconds and then into round two. nonetheless, drawing off the strength of his tumultuous and numerous backers in the stands, s weet was looking just as relaxed as anyone in the dahnke b allroom with just 90 seconds to go. “Ghost” slipped up early in round three — tripping his fellow senior to the condemnation of the referee. To the very last second, the c levelander’s blows were delivered and received with force. o ut of the blue corner “P s weet” took down Phillips by split decision.

Charles “Attilio” Martin of Zahm House def. Isaac “Ice” Culp of Fisher Hall

With the repeated technique of punch after punch after punch, martin evaporated the confidence of “Ice” during the opening 90 seconds. b etween rounds, off-duty referees concerningly conferred about the abundance of hits on c ulp. Less than a dozen seconds into the second round, the freshman from marshall, m I was forced into a 10-second count. b efore round two concluded, the referee stopped the match for well over a minute so that c ulp’s nose could be patched up. In the next round, “Attilio” landed one too many headshots once again, and the fighting was paused for another extended period of time to replace c ulp’s bandages. martin prevailed by unanimous decision.

Nolan “Toothless” Lyon of Carroll Hall def. Sean “Peg Leg” Mullen of Morrissey Manor

The first round saw Lyon and mullen repeatedly wrapped up in a tight bout. The c arroll hall supporters couldn’t care less as their boxer established an early edge. mullens, anchored by a steady right foot, sent “Toothless” into a couple of 10-counts over the second frame. The morrissey manor manorites in the crowd engaged with their foes from across the lake before round three — and the Phoenix, AZ native backed them up as best he could in the final 90 seconds. Though mullen did deal a few foreboding face shots in round three, they proved to be not quite enough. Lyon would

take home his split decision victory back around s aint mary’s Lake.

Chris “Delco Destroyer”

Zack of Baumer Hall

def. Kian “The Persian Excursion” Shinaver of Keough Hall

e arly in the competition, Zack fell to one knee, but the “d elco d estroyer” got right back up — encouraging “The Persian e xcursion” to opt for a couple of clinches by the time 90 seconds had passed. To the chants of “c Z,” the junior from newtown s quare, PA gained some hard-fought ground against the senior shinaver during round two. Looking to the crowd for support before the final frame, Zack was left a little unprepared when shinaver tried to make a name for himself during the first 10 seconds of the third round. Withstanding his foe’s dangerous desperation, the “d elco d estroyer” finished out strong all the way through the matchup’s close. o ut of the blue corner, Zack took home the split decision.

Justin “My Name Is”

Darwin of Dillon Hall def. Ijeh “The Golden Child” Nwaezeapu of Keough Hall

b oth boxers bounced around the ring to kick off this matchup. darwin got nwaezeapu on the defensive quickly, forcing the latter to dodge rather than take swings. nwaezeapu slowly but surely got his footing though and the freshman continued to escape darwin’s rapid hits. “The Golden c hild” shined at the end of the first round, but fell back on his heels at the start of the second, forcing a count and a setback. but yet again, nwaezeapu gained the upper hand with darwin pushed into the corner. This true backand-forth battle came to a climax in the third with both of the agile boxers standing their ground to solidify their case. Ultimately, Justin “my name Is” darwin took the bout home by split decision.

Generoso “El Oso” Rullo of Knott Hall def. Michael “Money” Winchester rullo was ready to swing to start this bout, but Winchester’s steady stance made it hard for the former to make many impactful hits. “e l o so” landed some late in the round, but “money” was ready to pounce each time. A few hits to Winchester’s headgear gave rullo his first break of the bout. “money” didn’t slow down his swings in the second but the freshman out of Knott, rullo was more prepared to avoid the barrage. still worn down from the second, Winchester never regained the momentum he had in the first round. After a final push, Generoso “e l o so” rullo will head to the finals after winning by split decision.

Charlie “Scro” Fredian of Duncan Hall def. Damien “Sauce of the Month” Sylva of Fisher Hall

In a battle of mental strength, neither boxer took the offensive in the first round, opting instead for some maneuvering with the use of their feet. The second round began much more aggressively after “s auce of the month” dipped into his bag to deliver jab after jab. “s cro” was able to stay with him, though, and took landed several to s ylva’s chest. With both boxers bleeding from the beginning of the third round to the end, s ylva had the stamina to wear Fredian down until the latter boxer couldn’t reset to swing between hits. o ut of the gold corner, c harlie “s cro” Fredian was able to take his early momentum to win the bout by split decision.

Andrew “The Red Scare” Cassidy of Keenan Hall def. Bobby “Sweet Bobby Ray” Fitzpatrick of Alumni Hall c assidy pushed Fitzpatrick into a corner physically, but Fitzpatrick never stopped swinging. After a brief stoppage, c assidy continued his assault. With lightning-fast flurries of punches, “The red s care” frightened “s weet b obby r ay” into the ropes several times in the second round. Fitzpatrick had a moment to take control of the tide of the bout, but the sudden burst ended before he could capitalize much. c assidy continued to land hits on Fitzpatrick until the final bell. With a decisive victory by unanimous decision, Andrew “The red s care” c assidy will fight in the final bouts s aturday.

Matthew “Two Cup” Turzai of Keenan Hall def. Ryan “Homie” Quan of Morrissey Manor Turzai couldn’t be stopped as the sophomore came out to win with strong punches and a deafening crowd of Keenan Knights behind him. Quan’s series of hits couldn’t seem to make solid contact at any point in the first round. A maddening rush by Turzai backfired as Quan pushed him off of him and onto the ground. Another series of swings by “Two c up” though solidified the win. b y referee-stop contest, matthew “Two c up” Turzai won the final semifinal bout of the evening.

Jesse “Justice” Salazar of Morrissey Manor def. James “Gimme the Shimmie” Lawrence d ue to injury, Jesse “Justice” s alazar wins this bout by walkover to earn a spot in the finals.

The b engal b outs finals will take place s aturday night at 7 p.m. in Purcell Pavilion.

Contact Nicolas Morles at nmorles@nd.edu, Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu and Alysa Guffey at aguffey@nd.edu

bENgAl boutS

Bengal Bouts semifinals: Boxers compete to earn spot in finals

By NICOLAS MORLES, PETER BREEN and ALYSA GUFFEY sports Writers and e ditor-in- c hief

o n monday evening, in dahnke ballroom, notre dame boxers competed in the b engal b outs semifinals. Winners advanced to s aturday night’s championship bouts.

luke “Mantequilla”

Slahor of Duncan Hall def. Mattheos “Mattheos”

Mattheos of Siegfried Hall

In the first bout of this semifinals, the fighters did not disappoint, putting on a show early in the first round. both fighters traded cross hooks that connected well, but slahor was able to gain the advantage after pushing his opponent against the ropes twice in the beginning of the contest. “mantequilla” was smooth like butter, slipping many punches thrown his way. however, mattheos was able to force a few clinches from the d uncan boxer during the second. In a deciding final

round, both fighters landed a few significant strikes, but “mantequilla” was able to edge out a close split-decision victory due to his consistent effort and early lead.

Phil “Il Capo” Pollice of baumer Hall def. Ryan “l efty” l ally of Dunne Hall

o ff to a quick start, r yan Lally and Phil Pollice showed off their quick footwork and movement throughout the first round. While the first round was characterized by a variety of slips, both fighters came into the second with new energy. c hants of ”Il, Il, Il, Il” rang out in dahnke as the baumer freshman landed some strong hits on his opponent. “Lefty” was able to minimize the power of his opponent in the second by keeping him at a distance and slipping his hooks, but the third round was all “Il c apo”. Two stoppages from the ref underlined a string of

ND MEN’S bASkEtbAll

Brey, grad students ready for last home game

By LIAM COOLICAN Associate s ports e ditor

23 seasons. 401 games at Purcell Pavilion. c ountless memories. b ut is m ike brey emotional as he prepares to coach his last home game in s outh b end.

“not at all,” brey said Tuesday prior to practice. “I’ve mentally prepared myself for it, so I am going to embrace it as best possible and hopefully we play well against a really good team.”

brey said 30 of his former players will be in attendance alongside players from previous eras of notre d ame basketball. brey’s friends and family will also be in attendance as the Irish take on no. 25 Pittsburgh on Wednesday night to close out brey’s legendary tenure with notre d ame.

“I do think I’ve helped a lot of young people become men because they’ve told me that and their [parents] have told me that in the last month,” brey said. “The emails and the texts that I’ve gotten from the heart from your former guys,

that’s going to get emotional.”

There is still more basketball to be played, the Irish take on c lemson on the road this weekend before continuing on to Greensboro for the Acc Tournament. b ut with virtually no postseason prospects, this game feels like it is the end of an era.

And what an era it has been. From the more recent of knocking off Kentucky a year ago and watching the students storm the court to the five-overtime victory over Louisville in 2013, Purcell Pavilion’s court has been the site of untold moments and memories of brey’s 23-year tenure.

o nce he sings his final alma mater on the court, and thanks as many of the regular fans as he can, brey joked with the media that he would head over to the nearby Linebacker Lounge, which he has never been to in his time in s outh b end. “There ain’t no curfew tomorrow,” he said.

Perhaps lost in the shuffle of brey’s final home game is that

see benGAL PAgE

RYAN VIGILANTE | The Observer

“The Real Big” Mike Guyette and Harry “Soup” Peluso duke it out during the semifinals of the 93rd annual Bengal Bouts tournament in Dahnke Ballroom on Monday. Guyette won the bout by unanimous decision.

MAX PETROSKY | The Observer

Notre Dame men’s basketball head coach Mike Brey points at the court during Notre Dame’s 76-62 win over Louisville at Purcell Pavilion on Jan. 28, 2023. Brey will coach his final game at Purcell on Wednesday.