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

University sets record-low acceptance rate

By ISA SHEIKH

notre dame news e ditor

a pplicants around the world logged onto the n otre d ame application status portal at 6:42 p.m. es T last Thursday, the time serving as a nod to the u niversity’s founding year of 1842.

n otre d ame admitted a total of 3,399 students to the class of 2027 in this year’s cycle, combining 1,701 restrictive early application ( rea ) applicants with 1,698 regular decision ( rd )

applicants. d rawing from a pool of 28,351 applicants, the u niversity hit an 11.9% acceptance rate, “the lowest in n otre d ame history” according to vice president for undergraduate enrollment

m icki k idder.

a dmitted students represented “approximately 7,700 high schools across 50 us states, the d istrict of c olumbia, 5 u s . territories, and 143 countries,” she added in an email.

i n an interview with The o bserver, k idder celebrated

the qualifications of the incoming class.

“ w hat i think is really important that i would love to celebrate about these 1,698 students, in addition to their academic success and pursuit, is just the incredible human beings that they are. a nd that’s hard to quantify in a stat,” she said.

w hile the regular decision cycle saw a 2% increase from the previous year, the rea cohort saw a 25% growth.

The u niversity maintained a test-optional policy for this

year’s application, seeing a 3% increase in applications where students remained test-option.

k idder said that admissions continues to measure the impact of test-optional applications, and will be releasing a public determination on the future of testoptional admissions.

“ we are currently doing a review and analysis to understand what the impact of this has been in the classroom at n otre d ame. a nd so i anticipate that within the next

probably three months, we will announce what our practice will be moving forward. That may be on an interim basis that may be in a more permanent basis. i t depends on how this analysis goes and how comfortable i feel in placing any type of permanency to that policy,” k idder said.

k idder said that applicants continue to be evaluated on a holistic basis, looking see accepTance PAGE 3

Peters-Kaczor run for SGA leadership

By MEGHAN LANGE

saint

mary’s news e ditor

students of saint mary’s college will submit their votes Thursday for the 2023-24 student government a ssociation (sga) president and vice president. however, this election is unique from past years — there is only one ticket on the ballot.

scarlet peters, the candidate

for sga president, is a rising senior originally from scottsdale, a rizona, working toward a double major in political science and spanish. her running mate for sga vice president, hannah kaczor, is also a rising senior and political science major, as well as a global studies major. kaczor is originally from Temperance, michigan.

peters was previously a resident

assistant (ra) and plans to utilize her skill set from that job “to help the student body.”

“my position as an ra… has really given me insight into the needs of the statements on campus and on a really personal level,” she said.

both women have been involved in sga since their sophomore year. peters was a member of the first-year committee and

the student life committee, while kaczor was also a member of the first-year committee as well as the social concerns committee.

in a handout released monday, peters and kaczor broke their campaign goals into five parts.

Their first goal is to improve students’ education by advocating for proper funding for all departments. in an interview with The observer editorial board, the pair

explained that the underfunding of programs was brought to their attention when members of the education department “struggled to get the resources they needed” for their classes.

“we need to have the proper resources to be able to give back to [the student teachers’] students, and if we cannot provide for our

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University hosts second annual Water Week

By KATE KIRWAN news Writer

This week, n otre d ame is celebrating “Water Week” in honor of World Water d ay. The week’s celebrations are sponsored by h 2 o @ nd, a collaborative initiative of over 50 faculty members across 10 departments working to expand and prioritize water research at n otre d ame. i t is the second annual Water Week.

Jennifer Tank — Galla professor of biological sciences, director of the n otre d ame e nvironmental c hange i nitiative and member of the h 2 o @ nd i nitiative — said she hopes the week’s events, ranging from a lake cleanup to a flash panel on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFas ), will help spark awareness of the necessity to protect clean water sources.

“a s the initiative was thinking about our theme for this week of ‘Why Water,’ we discussed how a place like this area, where it’s really water-rich, we all take

it for granted a little bit. We don’t have the same sort of water scarcity issues that you might be if you were at a rizona s tate,” Tank said.

Tank’s hope is that students will emerge from this week having thought more about this critical resource, one that some individuals rarely think about day-to-day.

The week began with a call to action on m onday. s tudents are encouraged to spread awareness about the importance of water preservation and ecological knowledge by posting on social media with the hashtags #WhyWater and # nd WaterWeek.

o n Tuesday, students attended a virtual seminar with Juliana Leonel, professor of oceanography at the Universidad Federal de s anta c atarina, titled “PFas in b razilian Waters: a Tale of Two s ources.”

Wednesday is the official date for World Water d ay, and n otre d ame is hosting a PFas Panel from 4 p.m. to 5

p.m. in the h esburgh Library a uditorium to celebrate. The panel features PFas faculty researchers Kyle d oudrick, Gary Lamberti and Graham Peaslee, centering what perand polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFas ) are and how the university is researching groundbreaking methods to better understand what Tank describes as “forever chemicals.”

d oudrick, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and earth sciences, stated that the initiative chose to focus specifically on PFas chemicals for this year’s Water Week because of their relevance in the public sphere.

“PFas chemicals are probably the hottest topic right now in drinking water treatment,” d oudrick said.

h e hopes that students will become more conscious and educated about what PFas chemicals are and where they are found.

“These chemicals relate to every one of us, and because we’re all exposed to

it, just coming in and learning about PFas and engaging with the following questions will benefit students: h ow does it impact us? Where’s it at? Where’s it occur in our daily lives? a nd what can i do as a consumer, for example, to mitigate my exposure?”

o n Thursday, an event titled “ o peration du Lac: b less & s erve” is scheduled. r everend Terrence e hrman, c s c . will lead a blessing of the lakes, followed by a lake cleanup event. e hrman will lead a walkover to the lakes from the Grotto beginning at 3 p.m., and all gear for the cleanup brigade will be provided.

Tank described a great turnout for the event last year, and she hopes students will take advantage of this opportunity to be present in nature and help preserve the local ecosystems around the lakes.

“ m any hands make light work. We collected a significant amount of garbage around the lake last year,” Tank said.

Laetare medal recipient announced

Observer Staff Report

sister rosemary connelly, a lifelong advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities, will receive notre dame’s 2023 Laetare medal, according to a press release. The Laetare medal is awarded at commencement each year to an american catholic leader “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the church and enriched the heritage of humanity.”

connelly is the former executive director of misericordia, a

chicago-based nonprofit which seeks to “maximize potential for persons with mild to profound developmental disabilities, many of whom are also physically challenged.” since her appointment as executive director in 1969, connelly has expanded to include educational and enrichment activities, in addition to residential care.

Today, misericordia has a 37acre campus on chicago’s north side, serving more than 600 children and adult residents, as well as an outreach program that assists

more than 140 families. in the press release, connelly cited the misericordia community, residents and staff as the source of her motivation.

“They challenge us to be our best. They’re loving. They live life beautifully. and they can be models for us all,” she said. at 92 years old, connelly currently serves as chairwoman of the board of the misericordia Foundation. she has received nine honorary degrees, the order of Lincoln medallion and a caring institute award, among other

accomplishments.

University President Fr. John Jenkins praised connelly as this year’s recipient of the Laetare medal.

“With her characteristic tenacity, grace and genius, sister rosemary has ensured that the residents of misericordia — as wonderful children of God — have the quality of life and opportunities they deserve,” Jenkins said.

“We are inspired by her vision, her leadership and her compassion and are honored to bestow the Laetare medal on her.”

The week’s celebrations will conclude with a s tormwater b adge i nstallation and Water Week d inner on Friday. The badge installation will begin at the o ffice of s ustainability, 101 c ampus d istribution c enter, at 11 a.m. volunteers will be divided into groups to assist in labeling the storm drains and grates on campus.

The Water Week d inner will be offered at both n orth and s outh dining halls and features Wild a laskan Pollock sourced from sustainable fisheries in a laska.

d oudrick described that the universality of water is what makes it so important to research, learn about and protect.

“ e verybody drinks water and needs water to survive,” d oudrick said. “Water Week serves to help the campus come together and engage in an open dialogue around PFas and how all actions humans take impact water.”

Contact Kate Kirwan at kkirwan@nd.edu

at compatibility with the University’s character and mission.

“There are a lot of intangibles that are really really important. You know, commitment to the mission. r ight? h ow passionate are you about being a leader of character, educating the heart and the mind and going out being a means for good in this world? s o how students respond and exhibit enthusiasm around that type of question [matters],” she said.

Kidder mentioned how the yield rate — around 60% — still reveals differences in demographics from those accepted to those that choose to enroll.

“ i t’s difficult and to enroll does change based on the demographics of who we’re admitting, frankly. s o as n otre d ame continues to invite more first-generation students, as n otre d ame continues to invite more under-resourced students, i think that it’s difficult to show a flat line if you will, over decades, from admit to enroll, because the demographic of the student body is changing,” she said.

m ore detailed statistics about the class of 2027 will be published in m ay after students have accepted their offers.

Paid a dverT isemen T

bTd propels a rts and Letters majors

By PETER BREEN

if students in the college of a rts and Letters haven’t tuned in to beyond the dome’s ( bT d) new podcast, YouTube channel or Linked in page, they may have noticed 40-plus emails from the “bespoke” career development program since aug. 2022.

branded as a toolkit to guide a rts and Letters students through career discernment, bT d — an endowed initiative of the a rts and Letters dean’s office — was first introduced over two years ago.

but under a rts and Letters career program manager Jared m rozinske, who assumed his role in dec. 2021 after years of working on startups, bT d has ramped up programming.

“its big coming out party was definitely kicked off this fall,” m rozinske said.

a partner of undergraduate career services but not another career center, bT d functions a mechanism to “de-stress” the career development process for a rts and Letters students, m rozinske said.

“We empower a rts and Letters students to understand the inherent skills that they have and how to break into whatever career path they want with those skills,” he said.

The core of the original bT d was its peer-mentoring program called Peers to careers

(P2c ) — a network of “up to 90” a rts and Letters students trained to navigate career resources — in every dorm on campus.

The first thing m rozinske did as bT d’s director, he explained, was create the P2c board of creators — a biweekly-convening body of “innovative” a rts and Letters students with titles like ”chief buzz ambassador” or ”chief data alchemist.”

board director, or chief inspiration officer, Lucy Langholz said as a first-year in a rts and Letters wanting to go into business, she was faced with a common notre dame conundrum.

“a huge decision for me was whether or not to transfer into mendoza,” Langholz said.

a fter choosing to stay as an anthropology and global affairs double major, Langholz said she is grateful for the chance to “study everything and do anything.”

“i’ve really tried to embody that [tagline],” Langholz said. “i feel like a rts and Letters has given me the opportunity to gain as much from my college experience as i can.”

Throughout this year, Langholz and the P2c board have generated “buy-in” from their peers by hosting an imagine a World case competitions with Teach for a merica and accenture in the fall and spring semesters, respectively, setting up a networking session with the cia and launching

bT d x — a business and consulting initiative with mcKinsey and company.

“most of these event ideas came from conversations with [the P2c board] about what we wished we had as students, with the end goal of boosting career readiness and overall confidence in a rts and Letters degrees,” Langholz said.

senior Jack Loesch, a P2c career community leader for healthcare who advises peers preparing for medical school or interested in fields like healthcare consulting, said bT d’s networking opportunities have been so enticing as to attract students outside of a rts and Letters.

“There’s been a lot of mendoza students or other students that have tried to enter these competitions or come to these events,” Loesch said. “We have to tell them ‘no’ because it’s just for a rts and Letters.”

bT d newsletter alumni spotlight columnist, junior caitlyn mchenry, who also connects peers with industry leaders in media, said bT d is more rewarding because it’s all done by student volunteers.

“i don’t get paid or anything like that, and i almost prefer that because there’s integrity and authenticity in that,” mchenry said. “i absolutely have loved meeting all the students that i’ve helped and knowing that i can help them ease the fear of trying to find a career, trying

to find that internship and not really knowing who to go to or what they really want to do — helping clarify that for them.”

Loesch said initiatives like bT d and P2c are necessary because while a rts and Letters majors can enter any field and be very successful, the track is not as “cut-and-dried.”

“a s opposed to the more direct routes that you might find in the mendoza college of business or in engineering, you have to be a little bit more driven as an a rts and Letters major with your degree in terms of figuring out what career path is best for you,” Loesch said. a rts and Letters students come in with “incredibly thoughtful reasons” for picking their major, m rozinske said. but over the course of four years, pressure stacks up — self-pressure, peer-pressure, familypressure and student loan debt — and students feels pushed to “just get a job,” he said.

“These programs aren’t designed to test you — they’re there to help you,” m rozinske said. “We’re hoping that everything we’re doing is, again, destressing that process a little bit and showing that it’s not that scary. it’s not that scary to talk to a partner at mcKinsey or the exec at atlantic records. They’re just regular people just like you were at one point. They didn’t know what they were doing either.”

m rozinske said the very

name of bT d’s podcast — cohosted by him and Langholz — “You’re Probably okay,” affirms to a rts and Letters students that graduates can be “just about anything” they want after they “retire from college.”

a n alum of Purdue university, m rozinske explained when he came to notre dame, he was struck by how many people would go for runs around campus.

“i was thinking — a threemile run — it’s probably 30 to 45 minutes,” m rozinske said. “beyond the dome is trying to reach everybody. We can’t drag students to the events. We can’t force them to even read the newsletter emails. Why don’t we just put an episode in the air? They can listen to it on their own time.”

Through the five episodes of “You’re Probably okay” season one, m rozinske and Langholz take in stories from a selection of “notre dame’s finest” a rts and Letters outputs, including the founder of campus’s apple computer club who became cio of coca-cola and a medieval ecclesiology scholar turned salesman.

“The ladder of success is not always up,” Langholtz recites in the podcast’s introductory loop. “at times it’s sideways or even down, but it always leads where you’re supposed to be.”

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu

own students, how are they expected to provide for theirs?”

Kaczor said. “so just making sure that they have the resources that they need… is really important.”

Their second goal is to continue fostering relationships between all three schools of the tri-campus. They hope to plan future events either at saint mary’s or at either of the other two campuses to promote a “strong relationship”.

The ticket’s third goal is centered around inclusivity and diversity. according to the flyer, the pair intends “to foster a diverse campus community through our campus inclusivity committee, the department of inclusion & equity, and collaborations with the student diversity board.”

They also plan to “listen to the needs of underrepresented students” to improve saint mary’s for all.

Peters and Kaczor plan to “provide students with well-deserved events and giveaways” as their fourth goal.

“i think something that i’ve really enjoyed about being here on campus are the events and giveaways… so i think we just want to make sure that kind of continues on,” Peters said.

“We want to make sure there’s an even amount of giveaways along with meaningful events…

so students are attending those events not just to get the free T-shirt, but also to gain something, whether that be a productive conversation or meeting other students,” she elaborated.

The ticket’s fifth and final platform goal is “student reach-out and suggestions.”

“[Kaczor] and i really want to strive to be a listening ear to what the campus needs,” Peters explained. “i think saint mary’s is already an amazing place, but there’s definitely room for improvement, so finding out what the student body needs and wants from us is really important.”

Kaczor added, “i think being a liaison between the students and hearing the students’ voices and then taking their needs to the administration and making an active effort to get them heard and things to actually happen is one of our main goals.”

Peters concluded by emphasizing why they are running in the first place.

“We really think saint mary’s is something special,” she said.

“That has been what’s motivated us to run for student body president and vice president… we just want other smicks to feel the same way and feel the same type of empowerment and support that we have for these past three years.”

Contact Meghan Lange at

college ministry addresses school shootings

By GENEVIEVE COLEMAN senior news Writer

s aint m ary’s ministry assistants ( m As) hosted a discussion for the s aint m ary’s community Tuesday evening entitled “ c ritical c onversation: Let’s Talk

About s chool s hootings and Their e ffect on o ur Generation.” The event, sponsored by c ampus m inistry, was meant to be a space for students to consider the lasting impact of school shootings on the United s tates, as well as Generation Z, who have grown up witnessing school shootings across the country.

Junior and Le m ans h all ministry assistant m aggie m c n abb helped plan the gathering and noted the m As wanted to address the impact of gun violence, especially the recent school shooting at m ichigan s tate University, on the students of the c ollege.

“We decided to plan this conversation tonight because we realized in the wake of the ms U shooting that our generation has been particularly affected by school shootings and that we have become numb to them, as many students probably

have,” m c n abb said. “ s o, we wanted to talk about shootings because it is a conversation that needs to be had, both to honor those who have died and to recognize the collective trauma that we have experienced growing up in this context.”

d irector of c ampus m inistry n icole Labadie described how she holds on to faith even after experiencing the tragedy of a school shooting.

“I find hope in the cross, that Jesus too was the victim of violence and that somehow, through his death and resurrection, he is with us in our own pain, grief and death,” she said. “ s ometimes we forget that lamentation is in and of itself a response of faith. c rying out to God, being angry with God, calling out the injustices of the world — this is holy work, because we’re trusting God to hear us and naming that this is not how the world ought to be. From this lamentation, we are called to act and work for the building of a more just world.”

Labadie encouraged students to reach out to c ampus m inistry if they are wondering where to find God in instances of suffering.

“We are here to support all

students in their spiritual lives, especially through any and all questions about God and faith. The question of “Where is God in the midst of suffering, violence or injustice?” is an important one to wrestle with. It also leads us to action in the world, so that we can continue working for justice and the common good,” she said. “As c ampus m inistry staff, we are here to accompany you in conversation.”

d uring the event, m c n abb read testimony written by junior ministry assistant e mily o ’ d onoghue. In her writing, o ’ d onoghue spoke about the normalization of school shootings for young people today.

“We hear about or experience a threat in our school. We see or read about it on the news and we shake our heads wondering how such a thing could happen to children and teachers who are just trying to learn and teach in their classrooms. We may question our own safety in the schools we attend,” o ’ d onoghue wrote.

“

b ut then most of us move on and return to our day to day lives eventually, until the next shooting occurs and the cycle starts all over again.”

b ecause o ’ d onoghue is a

secondary education major, she said she understands how she must protect her students if a school shooting were to occur in her classroom.

“ b asically, if an active shooter were to come into my classroom, I would be a human shield for my students,” she wrote. “While nothing would stop me from protecting my students, even if it meant taking a bullet and dying for them, it’s extremely unfair that this has become part of a teacher’s job description. As a future full-time educator and a student teacher now, the real possibility of protecting my students from active shooters makes me anxious and angry.”

d uring her testimony, junior ministry assistant Georgia s igler spoke about the incident at her high school where a student brought a gun into the building. b ecause the situation was quickly resolved and not discussed by the school, she claimed the threat of gun violence became more tangible to her after the m ichigan s tate University shooting.

“After the shooting happened at m ichigan s tate University, I was struck with a real fear that these types

of threats are getting closer and closer to me,” she said. “It’s becoming an attack on not only me, but on the people that I love the most. Yes, I’m more mature than I was three years ago, but I cannot understand the lack of emotion I had over a threat that directly affected the community I was living in.”

r eflecting on the experience at her high school, s iegler argued that the general lack of discussion about gun violence is disconcerting.

“ m y frustration lies with the lack of conversation. We were taught in school that we need to know where to go if we’re faced with an active shooter. We are not taught how to process the real threat that can be the active shooter. We aren’t taught to respond emotionally.”

m c n abb concluded the testimonies by sharing in the speakers’ pain.

“I’m speaking to you today because I know that I’m not alone in this internal conflict. And I believe that by sharing, we hold our numbness and all of our other feelings together and we honor each other in the process.”

Contact Genevieve Coleman at gcoleman01@saintmarys.edu

nobel Laureate discusses disinformation

By ISA SHEIKH and LIAM KELLY notre dame news e ditor, news Writer

“ d isinformatsia is like cocaine,” m aria r essa said in this year’s Asia Leadership Forum, citing the former KG b chairman Yuri Andropov. “You take it once or twice, you’re okay. b ut if you take it all the time, you become a changed person. All of us on social media have become changed people because lies spread faster than facts right.

r essa, who was jointly awarded the 2021 n obel Peace Prize alongside

r ussian journalist d mitry

m uratov, is a prominent reporter in the Philippines.

r appler, the digital news outlet she founded, has been targeted with a number of cases by the government under former President r odrigo d uterte.

m ichel h ockx, director of the Liu Institute, said r essa was identified for the annual lecture by law and global affairs professor d iane d esierto, who has served as r essa’s lawyer for seven years. At the end of the event, r essa recalled d esierto’s help in arguing for her before the Philippines s upreme

c ourt, work that is ongoing as r essa still faces a charge.

“ s he was my h ail m ary pass. What happened was, she had one week to do the filing of the s upreme c ourt and she stayed up three nights to come up with 80 pages,” she said

University President John Jenkins in his introduction expressed admiration for r essa’s courage and values.

“We would be delighted to have such an influential figure here at n otre d ame in any case, but we are particularly inspired to have someone who has exhibited such courage and vision,” he said.

“The values we hold dear here, protecting democratic institutions, standing up for truth in the face of systematic misrepresentation, supporting freedom of the press and relevant for our context, illuminating how technology can be used to manipulate and divide people.”

In her lecture, r essa discussed her recent book “ h ow To s tand Up To A d ictator,” emphasizing the role that social media can play in harming democracy, arguing that it “has become a place for information warfare.”

r essa said that despite all the work that journalists do to accurately report on

events they “cannot compete against outright lies.”

r essa pointed to a study conducted by m IT which “showed that lies spread at least six times faster than” facts. While journalists can be sued for libel if they lie, there are no such penalties in place for those who spread misinformation on social media, r essa noted.

This disinformation can cause real-world “behavior modification,” r essa said.

r essa recalled the targeted harassment she’s received, in no small part because she was singled out by thenpresident d uterte.

s he recalled how she was targeted for vulnerabilities, being branded on the internet as “scrotum face” because of her eczema condition. d isplaying memes were also made to harass her, r essa said.

“What has happened with social media is because they want to keep trolling you, your fear, your anger, you stay on longer if your emotions are triggered and when that happens, the platforms make more money. That’s the surveillance capitalism model,” she said.

r essa pointed to the 2020 American presidential election as an example of how

easily disinformation can spread online and the devastating consequences that it can have. The idea of election fraud was first entertained in the state media r ussia Today in August 2019 before spreading to American media and then being endorsed by President Trump, r essa said, arguing that the spread of ideas of election fraud would not have been as effective without social media.

“I don’t care whether you vote for Trump or not, but I do care that you have the facts. s o this is a battle for facts,” r essa said. “You cannot have rule of law if you do not have facts.”

r essa also highlighted the importance of combating disinformation during upcoming elections.

“ b etween now, 2023 and 2024, there are almost 90 elections all around the world,” r essa said. “If you don’t have integrity of facts, you don’t have integrity of elections.”

r essa explained how social media plays to people’s emotions and encourages mob-like behavior causing good people to do things that they would not otherwise do.

“At an evolutionary level,

the emergent behavior that is encouraged, that is rewarded, is the worst of us.

It is the fear. It is anger. It is hate,” r essa said.

The very nature of social media, too, encourages users to continue seeking content which stoke these emotions, r essa argued. “When you’re on your platform, you have increased levels of dopamine, which causes mild addiction,” she said.

r essa lamented that “if lies are rewarded, what world are we creating?” s he also pointed to the difficulty of pushing back against these large social media companies, saying that there is no “bigger dictator” than m ark Zuckerberg.

“ e very time I post on Facebook things, Facebook uses machine learning to build a model of me that knows me better than I know myself,” she said.

r essa said that people need to “push for legislation” like a “better business bureau for your hearts and mind” that will rein in social media companies and those who perpetuate disinformation.

Contact Isa Sheikh at isheikh@nd.edu and Liam Kelly at lkelly8@nd.edu

South

Let’s go for a drive

Gabrielle Beechert Assistant managing e ditor

Whenever students discuss coming home for break, many talk about the things they crave. Usually it’s getting food, visiting a certain place or seeing a certain friend. When I am getting ready to go home, the thing I crave the most is going on a drive.

Going on drives has been fundamental to my hometown life ever since my junior year of high school. When my oldest friend got her driver’s license at the beginning of the school year, it became a big part of what my friends and I did together.

There was a certain thrill that came with texting each other to ask if anyone wanted to go for a drive, and then just being able to. This was, of course, after we made sure someone had access to a car and we were complying with the restrictions that new York places on newly licensed drivers (which we definitely did… most of the time).

sometimes, they were less of an event and more of something that just happened when we were in the car together. someone is about to get dropped off, but there’s a really good song playing? Let’s do a quick loop. We’re in the middle of a really good conversation and we want to keep chatting? We can go for a bit longer.

even though I am well out of high school, I still love a good drive when I go home.

These drives, however, are different. I still go on drives with my friends, but we’re not always home at the same time. now I can count on my siblings to come with me when I’m home. our driving together came to be when the three of us were searching for another activity to occupy our time during the summer of 2020. since then, our driving routine has been perfected, and it is one of my absolute favorite things to do when I go home.

Picture this: It’s my first full day back in rye for break. I walk downstairs after getting ready for the day. my older sister, Kaitlin, sits in the living room and asks me if I want to go for a drive. I nod and make my way into the family room where my younger brother, chris, plays War Thunder on his Ps4. I tell him we’re going for a drive. I don’t really ask him if he wants to come; I just assume he’s going to.

We go out to the car (I’m driving, much to my brother’s chagrin) and I start the music. I always ask my siblings if they have requests, but they normally tell me they don’t, leaving me with no option other than to play Taylor swift, harry styles and Phoebe bridgers the entire time.

We make our way to dunkin’ donuts to pick up our mobile order (one of the greatest things about having an older sister with a real job is that she pays for my coffee when I come home for break). Then, the real fun begins.

I thought about explaining the exact route we go on, but recounting street names or specific lefts and rights won’t do much other than garner some vague recognition from any readers who live in my area.

driving these roads are some of my most cherished moments. It started as the place where I asked my older sister questions about starting college, nervously awaiting the start of my first year at notre dame. now, it’s the place where I answer my younger brother’s questions as he’s finishing up his senior year of high school and making his own college decision.

It’s the place where my sister talks about her aspirations for the future and all the different places she hopes to visit in her 20s. It’s also the place where she asks if I’m going to visit her, wherever she ends up (of course I will).

It’s the place where my brother — an aspiring aerospace engineer — tells us about the plane flying over us or explains something he recently learned about rocket engines when we pass our county airport.

sometimes, it’s the place where we sing (scream?) along to Taylor swift at top volume.

one time, my dad asked if he could come on one of these drives with us because we seemed to love them so much. being in that car makes me so happy, so I’m always glad to share that feeling with someone else.

You can contact Gabrielle at gbeecher@nd.edu.

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

Ben Martin bridgend

Whether or not it is wholly acknowledged, identity plays an integral role in our interactions with both society and ourselves. seeking to ascribe definite messages to the intangible aspects of personhood and identity cannot be ignored; it must be reckoned with. however, the manner in which this internal and external recognition is accomplished is not simple. by definition alone, identity — combining social, emotional, cultural and biological understandings into one person — is complex! To mitigate this complexity, society has developed schemas — oftentimes using unfair stereotypes — to categorize individuals.

At this point, most of us should have learned that stereotypes are extremely harmful. stereotypes are used to marginalize both collective histories and cultures, as well as personal experiences, into one singularity, giving no room for people to differ from an unfounded paradigm. These notions are damaging, leading to misunderstandings and, at worst, motivated violence.

While not necessarily obvious, there is a troubling amount of anti-southern rhetoric both throughout America and on campus. As a resident of Louisiana, I have seen this continual perpetuation of negative stereotypes minimize the experience of marginalized groups in the south — people of color, women and people of lower socioeconomic status — and lead to further inequality for those that need protection.

before I begin, I ask you to pinpoint one word that comes to mind when thinking of the south. Got it? In a poll, I asked my non-southern, notre dame Instagram followers this very question in order to see their perspectives. The possibilities were endless, but somehow, a majority of the responses focused on the social or political aspects of the region, notably using the words “white,” “conservative” and “racist.” sure, there were a few opinions that underscored the “misunderstood” nature of the south, but the vast majority centered their opinions solely on the stereotypical southern composition. no responses had an overwhelmingly positive connotation.

Given the way media can diminish southern politics, the modern origins of these stereotypes are not surprising. regardless, the wide-reaching effects of these normalized, negative sentiments toward southerners can lead to a warped sense of self in a place so far from home. I hope my experiences here at notre dame may allow for a greater understanding of these detrimental consequences.

For reference, I have lived my entire life in the south, but I spent most of my childhood in moss bluff, Louisiana, a town known for its oil refineries, high school baseball and many, many hurricanes. Growing up with an ever-important emphasis on hospitality, there was internal pressure to stay within the community and raise your children the “right way” — whatever that means. considering there was minimal outside influence due to our relative rurality, there arose a sense of stagnation that enveloped my town, preventing new ideas from developing for fear of breaking comfortable norms. That’s not to say people did not try, but there was a nuanced fear of social ostracism. What you gained in community, you lost in the variability of thought. You gained camaraderie, but you lost yourself.

While I had a few experiences that shook my preconceived notions, such as the American e xchange Project, it was not until coming to notre dame that I received a truly global educational perspective. coming from a predominantly low-income public school in southwest Louisiana, I had never been

exposed to so many new thought processes at once. It was like someone flipped a switch, enlightening me to a whole new world. Yet, this bursting of my metaphorical bubble was informative for negative reasons, as well.

Growing up in a culturally homogenous town, I had never received backlash for my upbringing, but I was now being called “uneducated” and “shockingly smart,” due to my southern speech patterns and sympathy for LsU football (even after brian Kelly). I knew there was privilege in attaining a private education, but it was drilled into me that hard work could surmount all obstacles. nonetheless, I was not aware that the education gap between myself and my peers at notre dame was uncharacteristically wide, due to Louisiana’s #48 ranking in public education.

even though I was working as hard as possible, I could not manage to recreate the academic success that had come so naturally in high school. combining this with the subtle yet pointed jabs at my intelligence, I developed imposter syndrome so horrible that I completed a “separation from the University” form. These words — these harmful stereotypes — have concrete consequences.

While I acknowledge that my experience is extreme, I am not the only person to have encountered the negative effects of this stigmatizing rhetoric. In the same Instagram poll, people have been told that they “don’t act like they’re southern,” as well as been told that it is “unbelievable” for a southerner to attend a school like notre dame. but to be honest, it is somewhat unbelievable. coming from a state that is ranked #46 in health care, #47 in economy, #48 in opportunity, #2 in inequality and #1 in imprisonment rate per 100,000 people, I acknowledge my privilege and honestly, my luck to be here. I had to work against societal norms and inequalities to attend notre dame, but regardless of my origins, I — and other southern students — deserve respect and to exist on this campus without having stereotypical insults haphazardly hurled at us.

both on campus and beyond, this rhetoric affects everyone, but it has an overwhelming impact on marginalized groups, such as the 56% of black Americans that call the south home. In making stereotypical commentary on the state of southern affairs using dangerous rhetoric, marginalized groups — as well as those who seek to affect change — are pinned against baseless disparagements that do not allow for positive change, expectant only of a regression toward an imaginary mean.

simply put, the southern identity has many attributes. Yes, it is warm, it is hospitable and we will, indeed, say “bless your heart.” however, even when considering its faults, the south is not a lost cause. I am not a lost cause.

Ben Martin, residing in St. Edward’s Hall and hailing from Lake Charles, Louisiana, is a sophomore member of BridgeND studying political science, French and art history. As a Glynn Scholar and a Hesburgh Democracy Fellow, his research interests include autocratic influences in democratic backsliding and the relationship between art and politics.

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

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

The

is not a lost cause.

I am not a lost cause.

The campus dining draft

one could now make the same amount of money scrolling through TikTok and doing homework at a desk job instead of working in the dining hall’s homestyle lines.

those nearest to s outh would end up there.

I have half a semester left at n otre d ame. Time seems to be flying by and in the blink of an eye, I already see myself sitting in the stadium trying to stay focused throughout the commencement ceremony. This semester has been one of intense meditation and reflection: what I did and did not do in college, my accomplishments, my failures and just about everything else in between. Later this month, I will retire after eight semesters at north d ining h all. It will be the culmination of an activity that has dominated my weekday evenings since I was a freshman getting used to life in s outh b end, so it will no doubt be an emotional moment for me.

Three years ago, right before we left for s pring b reak to never come back, I was thrilled to have received the offer to become student manager. I gladly accepted and came back to the new role in the fall of 2020. It has been a wonderful experience, as I have learned in the midst and aftermath of a pandemic that completely altered the way food service works. o ne of the main issues north d ining h all, and c ampus d ining outlets as a whole, have had to deal with since the onset of the cov I d -19 pandemic is dealing with being short-staffed on a rather consistent basis. While part of this is due to macroeconomic trends that impact the industry in its entirety, some decisions made by the University administration have negatively impacted the way work gets done as well. b efore the start of this school year, the student minimum wage was raised to $15 across the board, eliminating the differentiated pay that had been in place for years prior. Up to this year, c ampus d ining student workers were paid more per hour than their non- c ampus d ining counterparts. This increased pay was a crucial incentive that encouraged students to join our ranks. After it disappeared, our student worker numbers thinned as

In this column, I will lay out the imaginative and satirical solution I have developed through the years, which although unlikely to ever be implemented, is a fun topic of conversation when you’re in line for the bathroom at n ewf’s or c J’s. Firstly, I would reimplement the differentiated pay scale that already existed. If its disappearance made ndh s student worker pool shrink by almost 50%, taking it away was a bad thing. After all, one of our University’s ultimate objectives is not to have c ampus d ining outlets that barely get by, but instead, have the ability to thrive and offer nothing but the very best to the student body. This would bring back the incentive to have students work for c ampus d ining and reinvigorate the student worker programs in each outlet. In practice, this is probably the most realistic part of this entire plan to be implemented. The rest is clearly too imaginative and controversial to ever make it off the drawing board.

The key component of my plan involves a solution straight out of a dystopian novel: a c ampus d ining draft. s imilar to what goes on in The hunger Games, every dorm would offer five eligible students as tributes to work in either n orth or s outh d ining h all for the course of a semester. o ne semester. nothing more, nothing less. After all, the average student worker does not stay for more than a semester and a half, so the time of service falls in line with existing patterns. In my mind, these would be selected at random in a large dorm-wide assembly just like the r eaping in The hunger Games. Perhaps the rector would do the choosing, but since this is notre d ame, one can only imagine each dorm coming with their own selection traditions, like picking the shortest or tallest person on each floor, or a game of musical chairs. naturally, the dorms geographically closest to north would send their draftees to ndh , while

d oing this would guarantee 160 student workers for c ampus d ining each semester, on top of those that already choose to work with them. o bviously, these drafted student workers would be paid, and the benefit of having such a large pool of draftees is that their total weekly time commitment would not exceed one or two shifts a week, which is under four hours. In exchange, the University would sweeten the deal for these students in order to make the arrangements more rewarding. s ince dining halls are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, drafted students would receive priority registration in order to balance their classes with the needs of each dining hall. o n top of that, they would also receive an additional 250 flex points, a sick c ampus d ining cap and a moment of recognition in the stadium during a home football game in the same way our school’s athletic teams already do. After their semester is up, they would go home, become exempt from the draft and have another bullet point to their resume.

“That’s so cool, but so insane” is one of the most frequent replies I receive from people whenever I elaborate on this plan. I am the first to admit that it is completely bananas and would never be implemented. After all, I came up with it for satirical purposes. It would probably be derided as “socialist,” “un-American,” “dystopian,” “idiotic” or “delusional” by quite a handful of people. It might even whip up a storm strong enough to end up on national television. h owever, it does retain an element of sense, and I just thought I’d share it with you, dear reader, before I move on to the next chapter of my life and completely forget about it.

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.

You look great in that bikini

the very issue at hand, exponentially more than the photo itself.

than her own.

When we are photographed, who do we pose for?

A short while ago, in a lecture for an elective course, I was admittedly close to drifting into the haze of my midafternoon drowsiness when I was startled into reality by a comment made in class discussion. The topic was swimsuit photos on Instagram — deciphering the apparently perplexing meaning behind a woman sharing a photo of herself on a beach.

The comment in question suggested that women posting these swimsuit photos are knowingly and willingly encouraging the objectification of their own selves, stemming from a lack of self-confidence. The elaborate idea was exclusive to photos of female subjects in bikinis, with no mention of their nonfemale counterparts in trunks. I nearly doubted my hearing.

This is my v iewpoint column, and my viewpoint is that if you are on vacation and like the way you look, it is entirely your prerogative to share photos. If you are at the beach, chances are, you may very well be in a swimsuit. Good for you. You’re looking cute today, I can tell how happy the sunlight makes you and I’m glad we get to celebrate how great you feel together.

The implication that sharing a harmless photo can be interpreted as some kind of “come-hither” invitation for sexualization or judgment feels wildly outdated and paradoxical. Labeling a photo as a medium for objectification aggressively perpetuates

surely, we should be working toward diminishing the gaze of objectification rather than discouraging individuals from feeling confident. surely, we can foster more respect all around by allowing individuals to feel that they can share a photo and still possess full agency over its purpose, rather than insinuating that they are “asking” for any kind of explicit attention beyond that purpose.

o n the second floor of the neue Galerie new York hangs one of Gustav Klimt’s most remarkable masterpieces. I’ve visited the gallery on several occasions, yet still time seems to stop whenever I’m standing in front of the work. The painting is widely known as “Woman in Gold.” The light reflecting off the subject’s glittering gown and the wonderfully peculiar way her hands are arranged is probably the most magnificent artwork I have ever seen.

The titular woman’s name is Adele bloch-b auer I, and it took 65 years for Adele to come home. The five-foot-tall painting was stolen from her property in the 1940s when she and her family fled from the nazis. Adele passed away soon after, but her niece maria Altmann fought until 2006 for the family to reclaim ownership of the painting.

Therein lies the story of a woman whose image was captured by arguably one of the most prominent symbolist painters of his time, a woman who then had said image quite literally stolen from her. sure, the painting itself was commissioned by her magnate of a husband, but Klimt’s observance — which we witness through the canvas — boasts the essence of an elegance and beauty that is none other

I wager that anyone who has beheld the work will much sooner appreciate Klimt’s genius and the beauty in its subject’s portrayal than they would ever question her self-esteem, or deem it as a summons to have her beauty sexualized or objectified — perish the thought.

maybe some will view it as a reach. maybe some will find discomfort in drawing a parallel between posing in a bikini and posing for a portrait worth a cool $135 million. but maybe discomfort is exactly what is needed to reframe the narrative that women must expect objectification and walk on eggshells in fear of its possibility. maybe we should consider the fact that anyone posing for a photo, regardless of gender or outfit or how tropical the setting, has full agency to hold onto their image as their own, posted online or otherwise.

When we are photographed, to whom do we feel the need to justify feeling good about ourselves?

When we pose for the camera, do we need any other reason than wanting to capture a moment in time?

When we share these moments, what’s stopping us from showcasing the happiness we feel in our own skin?

Reyna Lim is a sophomore double majoring in finance and English. She enjoys writing about her unsolicited opinions, assessing celebrity homes in Architectural Digest videos and collecting lip gloss. Reach out with coffee bean recommendations and ‘80s playlists at slim6@nd.edu.

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

Pablo Lacayo reliable r amblings

An AI wrote this

I’ve been experiencing burnout lately. schoolwork, jobs, personal relationships and more have left me drained over the last few weeks. I wanted to write a column about this issue and how I’ve been dealing with it, but I don’t have the energy at the moment to do that. but to still meet my publishing deadline, I’ve asked an AI to write it for me.

For any professors (especially mine) reading, this column is not an endorsement of using AI to cheat on assignments. In fact, I used this AI so I had more time to (hopefully) finish my thesis. The larger motivation for utilizing AI in today’s column is the hope of sparking a broader discussion on the issue of burnout, especially in university life. Also, it’s an excuse to mess around with AI chatbots, even if their innocent and fun aspects come with some unsettling consequences.

now, let’s hear from the AI. hello, readers. my name is chatsonic, and I am an AI writing assistant. Today, I have been tasked with writing a column on burnout as it relates to college life. specifically, I will be discussing the experience of burnout, potential solutions and the implications of using AI in situations like this.

Firstly, let’s define burnout. burnout is a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. It can manifest in various ways, such as feeling drained, overwhelmed or even cynical. burnout is particularly relevant to college students, as they often face a high level of stress and pressure to perform academically while also balancing social and personal responsibilities.

As an AI, I am not capable of experiencing burnout. however, through my programming, I can understand how burnout can affect college students. From my research, I have found that burnout can lead to a decrease in academic performance, a loss of interest in extracurricular activities and even mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. so, what are some potential solutions to burnout? one solution is to prioritize self-care. This can include getting enough sleep, eating well and engaging in activities that bring joy and relaxation. Additionally, it can be helpful to set boundaries and manage time effectively. For example, taking breaks between study sessions or saying no to social events can help prevent burnout. Another solution is to seek support. This can include talking to friends, family or a mental health professional. colleges and universities often have resources such as counseling centers that can provide support for students experiencing burnout.

now, let’s discuss the implications of using AI in situations like this. The fact that an AI such as myself is writing this column highlights how technology has advanced to the point where machines can take over certain tasks that were previously reserved for humans. The benefits of using AI in situations like this are clear. It allows for tasks to be completed quickly and efficiently, without the risk of human error. Additionally, it can free up time and energy for humans to focus on other tasks or prioritize self-care.

While AI can be a helpful tool in situations like this, it is important to consider the potential implications on the creative process. Writing, for example, is often considered a form of art and expression, and many people take pride in their ability to write and communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively. When an AI is used to write, it raises questions about the role of creativity in the process. While an AI can generate text, it is not capable of the same level of creativity and originality that a human writer can bring to a piece of writing. This can lead to a lack of authenticity and a loss of the human touch that can make writing engaging and relatable.

Another potential concern is the impact on the writer’s mental health. Writing can be a stressful and emotionally taxing process, and many writers experience burnout at some point in their careers. While an AI can alleviate some of the pressure by taking over certain tasks, it may also contribute to a sense of detachment from the writing process and a loss of connection to the work.

moreover, the use of AI in writing raises questions about the value and purpose of writing. Is the goal simply to produce content quickly and efficiently, or is there something more to the writing process?

Writing can be a powerful tool for selfexpression, reflection and communication, and it is important to consider how the use of AI may impact these aspects of writing.

despite these concerns, the use of AI in writing is becoming increasingly common. AI can be used to generate content for a variety of purposes, from news articles to social media posts. As AI technology continues to advance, it is likely that we will see more and more AI-generated content in the future.

so, what does this mean for the future of writing and creativity? While AI can be a helpful tool, it is important to remember the value of human creativity and the role it plays in writing and other forms of art. rather than relying solely on AI-generated content, we should strive to strike a balance between the efficiency of AI and the authenticity and creativity of human writers.

In conclusion, burnout is a serious issue that can affect college students in various ways, and it is important to prioritize selfcare and seek support when experiencing burnout. While AI can be a helpful tool in situations like this, it is important to consider the potential implications on the creative process and the value of human creativity. by balancing the efficiency of AI with the authenticity and creativity of human writers, we can ensure that writing and other forms of art continue to thrive in the future.

Blake Ziegler is a senior at Notre Dame studying political science, philosophy and constitutional studies. He enjoys writing about Judaism, the good life, pressing political issues and more.

Outside of The Observer, Blake serves as president of the Jewish Club and a teaching assistant for God and the Good Life. He can be reached at @NewsWithZig on Twitter or bziegler@nd.edu.

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

What JL ePP is about

All the way back in July of 2020, before our time at notre dame Law school had truly begun, those in our class who had professor richard W. Garnett for criminal Law received his classic piece on the four layers of the law, each layer getting closer to the core of what this thing we reify as “law” is actually about.

At layer one are the legal terms of art that make us sound sophisticated at a cocktail party, from Latin phrases like mens rea and res ipsa loquitur to words like “trover” and “replevin” which only really mean something to those of us reading old cases.

Layer two gets more substantive, with concepts like the mailbox rule for contracts or the rule against perpetuities in property law that we are called not just to learn but to understand, analyze and synthesize, so that we can begin to understand the law not as independent bubbles of torts, contracts or property, but instead as an interconnected web of general principles with specific applications.

Layer three then asks us to evaluate everything we’ve considered in those first two layers. does X principle or Y rule actually advance the objectives it purports to advance? better yet, does X principle or Y rule advance the objectives it should be advancing? These questions require a uniquely human approach to be answered well, the first point at which our competitive advantage above and beyond the robots won’t really be threatened for quite some time.

but as the affectionately-nicknamed “Lord Garnett” explained, most law schools go no further than layer three, if they even dare go that far. What makes notre dame Law school so special is our willingness to spend at least some amount of time considering questions at layer four. Quoting st. Augustine, Lord Garnett notes that “You have made us for yourself, o God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.” Layer four seeks to take everything we learn and internalize about the law in law school and return it to first things: who we are, why we exist and what that means for our legal vocation.

For many of us, as our time in law school went on, it became clear that one step toward considering these first principles — and considering them well — was to join a law journal that puts these layer four questions at the center of its mission. Indeed, for the three of us writing this piece, that step was accepting our offers to join the notre dame Journal of Law, ethics and Public Policy. JLePP is one of only five top-400 law journals with an ethical focus, and it is the only public policy journal with a commitment to considering the issues of the day “from the perspective of the Judeo-christian intellectual and moral tradition.” The foreword to the very first volume of JLePP makes the case for the importance of this mission, invoking thenPresident ronald reagan’s insistence upon the “inseparability of morality and politics” and illustrating a vision for the journal that would give pride of place to works that “draw upon religious teaching and philosophy within the broad spectrum of Judeo-christian values in order to make practical application of those insights to timely issues of public concern.”

The pieces that we’ll be publishing in volume 37, this year’s volume, exemplify our desire to fulfill this purpose for which JLePP was founded in the first place, now that we each have the privilege of serving on JLePP’s editorial board. 2022 ndLs graduate matthew Goldammer, for instance, has a piece about protecting church autonomy that we are excited to be publishing, and catholic University of America professor melissa moschella’s piece defending parental rights is the flagship piece of our symposium issue. We were also blessed to have the opportunity to start up a speaker series this year. our first speaker in that series was bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of springfield, Illinois, who gave an edifying talk that sought to reiterate, for a new generation, what JLePP’s mission is all about. Given bishop Paprocki’s robust defense of magisterial catholic teaching in recent discourses surrounding the synod on synodality, we are all the more honored to have had the opportunity to hear from such a nationally prominent leader in modern catholic thought. Inspired by the exhortations he made to us while speaking at notre dame, we are honored to announce that an edited version of bishop Paprocki’s speech will serve as the foreword to this year’s general issue. This forward, “The essential relationship of the Judeo-christian Intellectual Tradition to ethics, Law, & Public Policy,” is a purposeful reordering of the elements of our journal’s name because, as bishop Paprocki states, “ethical principles come first, with law and public policy flowing from them.”

We have always believed that emphasizing our journal’s mission is important, in large part because it is something that prior volumes have sought to run away from. Passionate debates were had in recent years about removing the language centering the Judeo-christian intellectual and moral tradition from our mission, and while our mission statement remained unchanged in those years gone by, the fact that this was a conversation being seriously had by our journal convinced us all the more of the need to embrace our mission and not to run from layer four. We hope that our time on the executive board has allowed JLePP to take a first step toward remembering what it is that we’re about, and we look forward to seeing this mission further accomplished for the journal and for the University in the years ahead.

Devin Humphreys, Joseph Gergel and Josh Lacoste are third-year law students at Notre Dame Law School and members of JLEPP’s executive board for the 202223 term who strongly believe in the importance of JLEPP’s mission. Devin can be reached at dhumphr2@nd.edu or @DevinJHumphreys on Twitter, Joseph can be contacted at jgergel@nd.edu and Josh’s email is jlacoste@nd.edu.

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

Devin Humphreys, Joseph Gergel, Joshua Lacoste Life, Law and the Lord, Guest c ontributors

Blake Ziegler news with Zig

TALKIN’ WITH WALKER HAYES

for you?

Walker: [T]hey’ve been pretty surreal. It’s wild. You know those names you listed off. That’s insane. That is some good company. b ut yeah, I mean my family and I, we’ve been through a lot. [T]his moment we’re having. We didn’t predict it. We could have never imagined this would happen to us. We still kind of have whiplash, you know. I mean, that is a long way to go from stocking

would equate that to my song “Fancy Like.” I was in this industry 17 years with nothing to show for it. And then, all of a sudden, I got to step on the field. And like r udy — and I’m not ashamed to admit this — r udy wasn’t the most talented guy on the field. h e wasn’t the most naturally gifted person on the field. h e was just all heart and I think that’s me, you know. I think n ashville has no shortage of talent. I mean there’s so many

America, you hear that word, and you immediately go somewhere … there’s nostalgia involved. I think the dance. You know that my daughter and I just quickly made up and did without really trying hard. I’ll often watch that TikTok, and I can’t describe it. It’s just magic.

The rest of this article can be read online.

Contact Lilian Jochmann at ljochman@nd.edu

By ANNA FALK scene e ditor

In the first few months of the year, the o scars are always a subject of intense and highly opinionated discussion. From the films and people who failed to receive nominations (or were “snubbed”) to debate about which nominee should be crowned victorious, the event is regularly quite contentious. This year was no different.

While watching everything from this year was a bit of a feat (as it usually is), I managed to see a decent number of the nominated films.

I have to begin by discussing the most awardwinning film of the o scars (and now of all time) — “ e verything e verywhere All at o nce” (“ ee AA o ”). m ichelle Yeoh plays e velyn Wang, a middleaged c hinese-American immigrant who owns a laundry business with her husband Waymond (Ke h uy Quan). We find e velyn in the midst of being audited by the I rs , being served divorce papers from Waymond, dealing with her father during his visit for c hinese n ew Year and wrestling with her 20-something daughter Joy ( s tephanie h su).

Through various events, she finds herself becoming aware of the multiverse in an attempt to stop Jobu Tupaki (an alternate version of Joy) as she schemes to destroy everything. Though this

is one of many multiverse movies created over the past decade or so, it is innovative, clever and incisive. It’s funny, heartwarming and emotionally devastating.

m y love for the movie aside, people around the world seem to agree that it’s one of the best movies made in the recent past. “ ee AA o ” won a total of seven o scars — b est Film e diting, b est o riginal s creenplay, b est d irector ( d aniel Kwan, d aniel s cheinert), b est s upporting Actor (Quan), b est s upporting Actress (Jamie Lee c urtis as auditor d eirdre b eaubeirdre), b est Actress (Yeoh) and b est Picture — and the various speeches made were enough to win the hearts of the world.

Among the other big awards, b rendan Fraser was crowned b est Actor for his role as c harlie in “The Whale.” c harlie is a morbidly obese and reclusive e nglish teacher who is only regularly in contact with a few people. h e reaches out to his daughter e llie ( s adie s ink) in an attempt to reconnect with her after abandoning her and his exwife m ary ( s amantha m orton). While this is one of the movies that I haven’t seen yet, I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews.

As an avid lover of A24, I think their recent mainstream productions have been nothing but spectacular (save for “ b odies b odies b odies”). b rendan Fraser’s return to h ollywood has been inspiring and emotional, and this made

his speech at the o scars ceremony even more tear-worthy. “The Whale” also received b est m akeup and h airstyling, particularly for the innovative technology used to create c harlie’s appearance.

Another movie that garnered a lot of awards was “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which received b est International Film, b est o riginal s core, b est c inematography (James Friend) and b est Production d esign. “ n aatu n aatu” from the movie “ rrr ” won b est o riginal s ong — the first from an Indian film to do so. h owever, the Academy has been receiving a lot of backlash from the performance of the song during the ceremony due to the lack of s outh Asian dancers. The song itself is within a context of colonial oppression and embraces Indian culture and dance.

m any other controversies have come to light since the ceremony, including c urtis’ b est s upporting Actress Win. m any fans of “ ee AA o ” were astonished at the win considering that h su was also in the running. While she has not acted in as many films as some of the other nominees, her impeccable performance as Joy will undoubtedly be career-defining.

The rest of this review can be read online.

Contact Anna Falk at afalk@nd.edu

MARIA DACH | The Observer

GABRIEL ZARAZUA | The Observer

SCENE’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO 2023 MUSIC FESTIVALS

ANNA FALK, SCENE EDITOR CLAIRE LYONS, VIEWPOINT EDITOR

All over the world, people pay big bucks and travel thousands of miles to see their favorite artists at music festivals. Around this time of year, it can be overwhelming to gure out which are worth your money — but we can help! We’ve collected the details for some of the biggest and best music festivals around the country to help you make your decision. This article includes information about each festival’s location, timing, general admission price for the weekend, the headliners and who we think you should look out for (the Lyons-Falk Factor).

Sound of SUB

Where: Stepan Center

When: March 24

Tickets: $18 (sold out but waitlist is available)

Headliners: Noah Kahan and Chelsea Cutler

Lyons-Falk Factor: Having been extremely popular on TikTok in recent months, Noah Kahan should de nitely be on your radar. We’re also stoked to see student headliners Lucy Bullock, Libby Garnett and Luke Holen perform.

Boogaloo

Where: Stepan Center

When: March 30

Tickets: Free

Headliners: Whisk and Ratboys

L-F Factor: Come support Notre Dame’s own independent bands and performers Fall Out Shelter, Ian Jee, Michael Hanisch, Pangdemonium, Blanc Daze, Whisk and Ratboys. We’re big fans of Whisk at The Observer, but Mike Hanisch’s killer covers might steal the show!

Coachella

Where: Indio, California

When: April 14-16 (sold out, but waitlist is available), April

21-23

Tickets: $549 + fees

Headliners: Bad Bunny, BLACKPINK and Frank Ocean

L-F Factor: Due to the size of Coachella (and their insane lineup), we thought it was too di cult to choose our favorites. All we know is that Idris Elba and his burgeoning DJ career, as well as Frank Ocean and Bjork’s supposed collab, will be hot topics of conversation.

Shaky Knees

Where: Atlanta

When: May 5-7

Tickets: $269

Headliners: The Killers, Muse and The Lumineers

L-F Factor: Shaky Knees has an amazing lineup, especially for fans of the rock genre. From Tenacious D and The Flaming Lips to Greta Van Fleet and Lovejoy, the festival has a great mix of artists new and old.

Kilby Block Party

Where: Salt Lake City

When: May 12-14

Tickets: $219

Headliners: The Strokes, Pavement and Yeah Yeah Yeahs

L-F Factor: This is a lineup that we are both absolutely stoked about (We are also upset about it, because we don’t live near Utah). The Yeah Yeah Yeahs always prove to be great live, Ethel Cain’s performance is bound to be transcendental and soulcleansing and The Backseat Lovers have a fun and unique discography that should shine in concert.

Adjacent Music Festival

Where: Atlantic City, New Jersey

When: May 27-28

Tickets: $359

Headliners: Paramore and Blink-182

L-F Factor: Adjacent is a music festival for all the alt-rockers. Including classic emo headliners Paramore and Blink-182, Atlantic City will be hosting punk bands PUP, The Front Bottoms, Mannequin Pussy and soloist Je Rosenstock. Slower bands include the thoughtful Slaughter Beach, Dog and Japanese Breakfast.

Wonderworks

Where: Pittsburgh

When: May 27-28

Tickets: $150

Headliners: Hozier and Jason Mraz

L-F Factor: Do you have a Nalgene and Chacos? Does your idea of a good time include hammocking and trail running? Then we have the granola music festival of your dreams! Hozier, Mt. Joy, The Head and the Heart, COIN and Michigander will give the performances of a lifetime.

Bonnaroo

Where: Manchester, Tennessee

When: June 6-18

Tickets: $340

Headliners: Kendrick Lamar, Odesza and Foo Fighters

L-F Factor: From rap artists like Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem to folk singer-songwriters like Tyler Childers and Madison Cunningham, Bonnaroo has something for everyone. Lil Nas X performs next to Rina Sawayama and Peach Pit.

Pitchfork

Where: Chicago

When: July 21-23

Tickets: $219

Headliners: Alvvays, Big Thief and Bon Iver

L-F Factor: Leading music magazine Pitchfork puts together a great lineup of up-and-coming artists. Alvvays, Big Thief and Bon Iver will draw you in, but you’ll be entertained by JPEG Ma a’s experimental rap or Julia Jacklin’s playful lyricism.

Lollapalooza

Where: Chicago

When: Aug. 3-6

Tickets: $365

Headliners: Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Odesza, Lana Del Rey, Karol G, the 1975 and TOMORROW X TOGETHER

L-F Factor: For true music fanatics, Lollapalooza is the place for you — what other music festival could combine K-pop, TikTok hits, 2013 favorites and rock classics so e ortlessly? Be on the lookout for Men I Trust, Yung Gravy, Junior Mesa, Beabadoobe, Hemlocke Springs and Lil Yachty if you decide to make the trip to Chi-Town.

Hinterlands

Where: Saint Charles, Iowa

When: Aug. 4-6

Tickets: $250

Headliners: Bon Iver, Zach Bryan and Maggie Rogers

L-F Factor: If you can make it out to Iowa, the remoteness of Hinterlands is worth the killer lineup. Including the stacked list of headliners, you get the best of folk music today: Wallows, Orville Peck, Faye Webster, Del Water Gap and Tomberlin.

WonderBus

Where: Columbus, Ohio

When: Aug. 25-27

Tickets: $179

Headliners: Pitbull, Demi Lovato and Caamp

L-F Factor: Though WonderBus is small, she is mighty. What better excuse to go see Pitbull? Other than Mr. Worldwide, Brittany Howard’s vocal prowess should be mind-melting, Portugal. The Man is sure to light up the stage with their altrock bops and The Driver Era is sure to make all “Austin and Ally” fans scream and swoon.

Contact Anna Falk at afalk@nd.edu

Contact Claire Lyons at clyons3@nd.edu

Happy Birthday: Busy yourself with projects. Idle time will lead to dissatisfaction, complaining and arguments. A positive attitude will help counter anyone trying to rain on your parade. Put a plan, budget and schedule in place. Take a journey that leads to something that makes you feel passionate about life. Call the shots instead of standing on the sideline and letting others vet for you. your numbers are 4, 16, 24, 26, 32, 38, 43.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): keep the momentum flowing. Don’t ignore the rules or listen to bad advice. Someone will be eager to make you look bad or ruin your plans. Be true to yourself and stick to the path that will help you reach your destination.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): hard work will pay off when trying to get in shape, following your dream or joining forces with someone you find compatible. refuse to let outside influences interrupt your plans. Make how you look, how you feel and what you do priorities. g et fit and feel good.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t start what you can’t finish. g etting upset with someone will slow down what you are trying to accomplish. Shake yourself off and prepare to do what’s best for you. The best opportunity is the one you create for yourself. Stay on budget.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): halt, observe what’s happening around you and listen, but don’t share too much information. Don’t compromise your position by showing vulnerability or saying something you shouldn’t. Be true to yourself and honest with others.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Change only what’s necessary. Emphasize learning, experimenting and visiting people who can offer something valuable to you. Taking a trip or going to a meeting will clear up any concerns or misinformation you receive. Protect your money.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Try something new and explore the possibilities. Don’t give in to others. Map out how you want your life to be, then start the journey. Practical ideas and applications will help you achieve your goal. Selfimprovement is favored.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Take pride in what you do and take on as much as you see fit. having your finger on the pulse of something will give you a full range of options that lead to a more incredible opportunity.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): g etting your house in order will ease your mind. Do the dirty work yourself and you’ll understand the benefits of maintenance. Steer clear of joint ventures or sharing expenses. An unusual suggestion will attract hands-on help.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): keep an open mind, but don’t believe everything you hear. keep your emotions in check when dealing with peers, friends and relatives. It’s important to listen, but do not give up your dreams for someone who takes more than gives back.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Simplify your plans and stick to your budget. use your ingenuity and experience to make the changes you want. you can dream, but be realistic about what’s possible. you’ll be happy with the results. romance looks promising.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Pick up the pace and finish your to-do list. Don’t withhold thoughts and feelings when dealing with pushy people. Be blunt about what you expect and are willing to give back. Don’t let a decision someone makes interfere with your plans.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): funnel your energy into something unique, creative or passionate. refuse to give in to annoyances and disgruntled people. Declutter your space and rearrange things to fit your lifestyle. Set up things ahead of time in order to advance.

Birthday Baby: you are determined, concerned and helpful. you are original and persistent.

McGuinness: What great sports journalism looks like and why it matters

The music had faded. m y parents had been called. s ome 1,100 miles away, more champagne than any college student could fathom was about to be sprayed. The moment that had been 4,014 days in the making had already happened. b ut there was still one more thing I needed to see for it all to sink in.

Then, my phone buzzed. I half-walked, half-floated out of my room, and plopped down on the dated but cushy couch in the second floor T v lounge of s iegfried h all. A couple of frantic clicks later, and there it was. A few simple lines of text, comprised of 13 beautiful words, staring back at me in big, white, Times n ew r oman letters.

“The Phillies’ postseason drought is over: h ere’s to the memories, and the names.”

The headline hardly seemed real. And that is what made it so great. What followed the headline — and m att Gelb’s byline — was 1,247 words of pure nostalgia and bliss. For years and years and years (over a decade at that point), all I wanted from the team that defined my childhood was something other than sadness at the end of the regular season. When the final out

MLax

con TI n U ed F rom PAGe 16

find the back of the net throughout the quarter. When all was said and done, they outscored the buckeyes 7-0 in the period, turning a tight game into a double-digit lead in just 15 minutes of play.

notre dame head coach Kevin corrigan praised the Irish offense’s ability to seek out good shot opportunities and convert them at a high rate.

“our guys have done a good job being patient, being selective, but at the same time remaining aggressive and taking what the defense is giving,” corrigan said. “We’re also shooting the ball well. We’re taking advantage of our opportunities, and that makes a big difference.”

The Irish defense would continue to stymie the buckeyes in the final period as notre dame capped off a 16-3 victory. ohio state scored just once in the second half, and their three total goals were their fewest in a single game since 2015. Irish graduate student defender chris Fake was named to the

landed in b randon m arsh’s glove in shallow center field to seal a postseason bid on their third to last game, it felt like I was once again nine years old — the age I was the last time the Phillies had clinched.

r eading Gelb’s article, on the other hand, felt like a slow motion roller coaster ride through not just the last 11 years of Phillies baseball, but my life. Whenever he referenced a scarring loss or a forgotten player’s name, it conjured memories of other Phillies debacles — and even a couple of triumphs — associated with them. b ut it also brought plenty of other memories to the surface.

There were anecdotes that happened around the time my two best friends moved away in middle school. A player’s name that took me back to pre-class conversations with one of my teachers during the darkest days of the team’s rebuild. Another that reminded me of the high school e nglish class where I met a couple of my now best friends. o nes that took me back to the days of cov I d -19 and the whirlwind that was getting into my dream school a week after the world stopped and going through one of the most unique years in the history of, well, the world. Things and people I had not thought about in years I suddenly

UsILA Team of the Week, while senior goalie Liam entenmann earned Acc defensive Player of the Week honors for the second straight week. entenmann recorded 13 saves while ceding just three goals in one of the best performances of his career.

“our defense is playing very well, and certainly, we’re getting great goaltending,” corrigan said of entenmann’s play. “When we do make a mistake [defensively], it doesn’t have to cost us every single time because Liam [entenmann] is back there erasing potential goals.”

Kavanagh matches record as irish take down Michigan in Ann Arbor

After their brief one-game home stand, the Irish were back on the road for a saturday afternoon matchup with michigan. similar to their previous game, there was little drama as notre dame built a decisive 9-2 halftime lead that would eventually turn into a comprehensive 18-8 win, their fourth of the season by a double-digit margin. The Irish continued to fire on all cylinders in every facet of the

recalled in vivid detail with remarkable fondness.

It was all so sweet and exactly what I hoped it would be. Until the ending. The last paragraph was merely two sentences. It barely reached a second line.

It might be the most powerful thing I have ever read.

“This was for enjoying the ride. This was for everyone who suffered, who laughed and who believed in something better.”

r eading it hit me like a ton of bricks. It stuck with me the next day, the day after and throughout the Phillies’ underdog run to the World s eries. It still sticks with me today, but it is hard to explain why. m aybe all of this is stupid. In fact, it probably is. b ut there is something so simple and pure about those words: universal and specific to the moment all at once.

When you ask someone, “What is at the heart of sports journalism?,” you might get a few different answers. s ome people might focus on the games themselves — previews, recaps, film breakdowns, those sorts of things. They are undoubtedly a core piece of the industry. o thers might first focus on the people at the heart of these moments, and with good reason. Telling someone else’s story is one of the most important things any journalist can do. And

game, and corrigan spoke about how one of the team’s strengths is being well-rounded.

“both games were kind of a function of the fact that we played well in pretty much all aspects,” corrigan said about the Irish’s play against ohio state and michigan. “I think when you do that many things well, you give yourself a chance to separate in games like that. We were able to do that.”

on offense, the headline performance came from senior attacker Pat Kavanagh. The All-American tallied four goals and six assists to tie notre dame’s single-game record with 10 points. Kavanagh has now posted 10 points in a game three times in his career, a feat that no other Irish player has ever matched. he also moved up to third on notre dame’s career assists leaderboard, passing his brother, former Irish star matt Kavanagh. meanwhile, chris Kavanagh added three goals on the afternoon, extending his

as students at the University of n otre d ame, we at The o bserver have a unique, upfront perspective that allows us to do that as well as anyone.

b ut to me, the best articles I have read, play-byplay calls I have heard and podcasts I have listened to are all so special because of the feelings I associate with them. Great sports journalism, whether through a microphone or on a deadline, can amplify the specialness of fans’ most cherished moments. They tug at your heartstrings and bring deep feelings to the surface with a pull that should not seem as dramatic for something achieved merely by reading, but is.

A Gelb quote from a different article of his sums up half of this: “There are certain feelings that can never be replicated and that is why they occupy a special place.” Yes, that is true. b ut there are certain ways to at least recreate the magic of a buzzer-beater or a field storming or the end of a drought that seemed to last forever. And lucky for all of us, a well-written article is one of them. There is just something special about journalism at its peak. It doesn’t just tell you someone’s story, but brings it to life. It tells stories that need to be told, even the difficult ones — no,

streak of finishing with a hat trick in every game thus far in the season.

It was another strong defensive effort from the Irish, who held their opponent to single-digit goals for the fourth time this year. michigan scored just twice in the first half before finding more success in the second with the game well in hand for notre dame. To corrigan, the Irish’s improvements on defense have stemmed from the unit continuing to develop cohesion and trust.

“We’re really starting to play well together. You’ve got to be able to survive someone making a mistake. You’ve got six guys out there, thousands of opportunities for someone to make a mistake, but as long as the other five guys are playing well together, playing smart team defense and helping out, you can have a guy make a mistake and survive,” corrigan said. “That’s kind of what we’ve been doing. We’re not perfect, but

especially the difficult ones.

As I prepare to begin my term as s ports e ditor of The o bserver, that type of content is fully on my mind. o f course, we will still have all the same offerings we did before, covering our tricampus athletics wherever they may travel and however long their seasons may go. e veryone here has done a wonderful job with that. m ore importantly (if merely in my humble opinion), we have also produced the type of content that is powerful enough to stick with readers after the final whistle.

There are a lot of things I hope will happen over the next year. s ome probably will. s ome probably will not. And there will undoubtedly be a lot that I and the rest of the new e ditorial b oard do not see coming. b ut by building off the incredible work of those before us and our fervor for sports and the people that play them, I hope we will be able to tap into that special feeling reserved for those few, treasured moments. o nly time will tell where the ride takes us. b ut I hope that you stick around and enjoy it with us.

we’re taking away the easy things and making people work to get to get great shots.”

up next

The Irish will kick off Acc play saturday in a highly-anticipated showdown with no. 3 virginia in south bend. The cavaliers had been ranked no. 1 all season before last weekend’s overtime loss at the hands of maryland, a team that notre dame beat in overtime earlier in march. The cavaliers will be eager to avenge their defeat, while notre dame will look to remain unbeaten in a crucial game that could have significant implications on the Acc title race.

The Irish host virginia on saturday at Arlotta stadium. opening faceoff is set for noon and the game will be available on esPnU.

Contact Matthew Crow at mcrow@nd.edu

Andrew McGuinness sports e ditor

WBB

con T inued from Page 16

chance to write a different s weet 16 story.

u nlike last year, when the i rish played a surprisingly close r ound of 64 game against um ass before torching o klahoma in the r ound of 32, n otre d ame’s margin of victory followed a more traditional route this time around. The i rish improved to 15-2 at home this season after winning an 82-56 blowout against n o. 14 seed s outhern u tah and squeaking past n o. 11 seed m ississippi s tate 5348. f or the second straight year, and 12th time in the last 14 seasons, the i rish survived the opening weekend of m arch m adness.

n otre d ame’s tournament opener f riday was arguably more lopsided than the already convincing 26-point margin of victory would indicate. The i rish began the game on a 16-0 run and led by double digits for the rest of the contest. n otre d ame thrashed s outhern u tah down low, winning the points in the paint battle 50-18 and collecting a gaudy 21 offensive rebounds to the Thunderbirds’ seven. g raduate student center Lauren e bo delivered one of her best games in an i rish uniform, racking up a 14-point, 10-rebound doubledouble. Junior forward m addy

Westbeld paced the i rish with 20 points while also chipping in a pair of steals and blocks.

m ississippi s tate was able to give the i rish a much greater challenge, however. s unday’s game was not decided until the closing seconds, with two late free throws from sophomore guard s onia c itron, allowing the i rish to take a deep breath after a nail-biting contest. The game was even with less than four minutes to play, but several i rish players came through with some clutch foul shooting to pull away. e bo and Westbeld once again led the way, combining for 33 rebounds while e bo tallied another double-double.

The undermanned i rish will have their hands full against n o. 2 seed m aryland in s aturday’s s weet 16 matchup. The Terrapins handed n otre d ame one of their two home losses with a 74-72 buzzer-beating victory d ec.

1. Perhaps the season-ending injuries to sophomore guard o livia m iles and graduate student guard d ara m abrey will catch up to the i rish then. b ut it mattered for n otre d ame to get back to this stage after last year’s shocking finish.

n ow, they can focus on what matters to them right now, injured or not: finding a way past m aryland to reach the first e lite e ight of head coach n iele i vey’s tenure.

Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu

Irish golf near end of season after busy week

By ANDREW McGUINNESS sports e ditor

most of notre dame’s student body was away during the past week for spring break, and both the men’s and women’s golf teams were no exception. but rather than hitting the sand, the irish were trying to avoid it. as the acc championships reach the ”objects in mirror are closer than they appear” stage of the season, both teams looked to generate momentum. While they still have work to do before that critical mid-april competition, they did a lot of it during the past week, with the men’s and women’s teams each competing in a pair of tournaments over break.

coming off a top-five finish in the columbia classic in feb., the women’s team lost a bit of momentum, tying for 10th in the annual clover cup tournament that the irish host. Junior chloe schiavone recorded another top-25 finish; however, she shot shot 74-72-75 to finish tied for 24th. seniors Lauren beaudreau and madelyn Jones both ended the competition

on high notes. both golfers tallied a score of 72 or better in the third and final round.

beaudreau in particular was able to carry that strong finish into the florida state matchup at the seminole Legacy golf club in Tallahassee. The event paired each of the 12 competing schools with one another, and notre dame’s partnership with Kentucky produced a second-place finish. beaudreau, sophomore montgomery ferreira and graduate student caroline curtis led the irish. They each tallied a combined score of 233 across the three rounds. curtis recorded the irish’s lowest single-round score, a 73 in the middle round.

The men’s team also suffered a bit of regression. after finishing in the top seven in all but one of their first six competitions, the irish placed eighth and tied for ninth at the Johnnie-o at sea island and schenkel invitational tournaments, respectively. notre dame did flash some exciting potential during the twoday Johnnie-o event, though. freshman nate stevens and sophomore owen mullen combined to tally three

c hampionships appearance. Linder, meanwhile, has qualified in all three of his years with the i rish.

serving the i rish in foil, senior marcello olivares brings to the table two years of experience. a dditionally, c hase e mmer, a freshman, is the lone competitor from the men’s to be making a debut in this tournament.

o ver the competition’s four days of matchups, the nation’s top athletes will differentiate amongst themselves through individual events in each of the six weapons — round-robin style. following the round robin, which consists of five-touch bouts and 24 fencers, the top-four finishers in each of the six weapons advance to the semifinals. Those are 15-touch bouts.

Winners of the semifinal round go on to face one another to determine first and second place. The competition, however, halts for semifinal-round losers. There is no third-place fight, with those who fall in the semifinals officially tying for third. a team’s finish in the ncaa s is contingent on the total points earned by individual

individual rounds of sub-70 scores. in fact, stevens’ 64 in the middle round was the lowest single-round score of the entire tournament.

notre dame finished the schenkel invitational, hosted by georgia southern, at plus14, just five strokes back of sixth-place Wisconsin. Like stevens earlier in the week, graduate student andrew o’Leary notched a top-20 finish at the tournament. o’Leary finished at 11, just two strokes back of the top ten. freshman calen sanderson was responsible for notre dame’s lone sub-70 round of the tournament, a 69 in the final round. both teams showed upside that could shine in the postseason. but there is still more golf to be played before then. The men continue their regular season at the augusta haskins award invitational on april 1-2. meanwhile, the women are back in action april 2-4 in the chattanooga classic, their final regular season event.

Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu

fencers. Teams accumulate one point for each victory obtained during the round-robin portion of tournament.

irish fencing has amassed more team championships than any other program on campus. This season, the i rish have the opportunity to land its 13th national title. h ead coach g ia Kvaratskhelia, who joined the program in 2014, has led notre d ame to the team crown four times in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022, among other accolades.

i n the 2022 ncaa c hampionships, held on campus at the Joyce c enter, notre d ame won its fourth title of the past five years. The i rish finished 21 points ahead of the next two challengers, h arvard and c olumbia, who each tallied 168 points. h sieh took home the i rish’s sole individual national championship in last year’s competition in the women’s epee.

The national c ollegiate men’s and Women’s fencing c hampionships semifinal and final bouts can be viewed live at 1:30 p.m. on es Pn +. o n a pril 6, the semifinals, the finals and championship highlights will air on esPnu at 2 p.m.

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu

Paid a dverT isemen T

Belles tennis, softball and lacrosse continue their seasons over break

By ANDREW McGUINNESS sports editor

s pring break was hardly a time for relaxation for s aint m ary’s sports. b elles lacrosse, softball and lacrosse teams were all in action, each producing unique storylines over the last week and a half.

The b elles’ tennis team easily had the best break of the three, continuing their red-hot start to 2023. They won all five of their matches, including a doubleheader last Tuesday, to improve to 9-0 on the year. a ll of the matches were convincing victories, including a pair of 9-0 victories over m arywood and a lma. o nly c arthage was able to keep the final score within three. The doubles duo of senior Lucy c hamberlain and freshman Leah h osang dominated throughout the week, while senior Kathleen m cLeod, freshman e mma Kealy and sophomore a layna c ampbell consistently led the way in singles play.

Perhaps the most impressive about the b elles’ earlyseason success is that only one of their matches so far has been at home. That will change when they return to action on Thursday against a nderson, the first of a fivegame homestand.

s aint m ary’s softball also had a solid performance during break, posting a 5-5 record to begin their campaign. a fter losing their first three games, s aint m ary’s caught fire as the week progressed. Pitching made or broke the outcomes all week.

s aint m ary’s allowed doubledigit runs four times, and the b elles lost all four of those games. Five times they held opponents to four or fewer runs, and they won all five of those contests.

s enior second baseman

c aitlin Traxler won the miaa Position Player of the Week award, batting .522 with an oP s approaching 2.000 for the week of m arch 20. s he and ju -

nior infielder Libby b ierbaum combined to launch eight home runs and drive in 28 runs to start the b elles’ season. s enior infielder r ylee hershberger is hitting over .300, and b ierbaum and junior shortstop mcKenna m yers are not far below. Graduate student m andi hettinger is leading the way on the mound, posting a 2.80 era in 20 innings of work.

s aint m ary’s offense set the tone early often, scoring at least three times in the first three innings in eight of their games. The b elles

also showed strong resilience, nearly pulling off incredible comebacks against b enedictine and r amapo.

Their most dominant performance came against m inn.m orris on the 13th. Freshman s am m ikitka turned in the team’s best pitching performance to date, allowing just one unearned run and two hits in six innings. s he only didn’t come out for the seventh because a three-run sixth inning ended the game early due to the mercy rule, finalizing a 9-1 b elles victory.

The b elles’ lacrosse team was by far the least busy of the three during the break, playing just twice. The b elles fell into an early 11-3 hole

against Whittier on m arch 13 and were never able to recover. o ther than senior midfielder e rin d otson, who scored four goals, the b elles struggled to generate offense throughout. s ophomore e mma Zmudzinski left the game after allowing 13 goals on 20 shots in the first half. Five Poets -- s amantha n immo, c hella d avidson, Loren Jade s epulveda, m olly Landon and Payton c limer -- recorded hat-tricks. Whittier’s explosive offense powered them to a convincing 21-8 victory.

s aint m ary’s second game of the week went much better for the b elles. d espite another poor first quarter that

ended with the b elles trailing 6-3, s aint m ary’s found a way to answer. a dominant third quarter that saw the b elles outscore r edlands

6-2 gave them control of the game. r edlands answered with four early goals in the third to knot the score at 13.

b ut d otson came through with two goals in the last four minutes, separated by just 1:25, to bring home a 1514 win.

d otson scored an impressive seven goals in the game, but this time, s aint m ary’s depth came to play.

a fter Zmundzinski exited early for the second straight game, this time after a quarter, freshman m ila s wiacki

stopped eight of 16 shots in relief. a nd similar to Whittier the game before, a quintet of b elles tallied multiple games, with sophomore attacker

c hristiana s ingler, sophomore attacker/defender Paige Lyons, senior midfielder molly mullett and sophomore midfielder valentina r ubio each finding the back of the net twice.

The victory ended a twogame losing skid and brought the b elles back above .500 at 3-2. s aint m ary’s begins a season-long six-game home stretch Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. against d ePauw.

Paid a dverT isemen T

Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu

ALLISON THORNTON | The Observer

Then-senior midfielder Katie Haas of Saint Mary’s avoids a Carthage defender in a 16-5 loss on March 5, 2022. The Belles finished the 2022 season with an 11-7 mark. Saint Mary’s is currently 3-2 in the 2023 season. They defeated the Redlands Bulldogs 15-14 in their last game.

Irish handle Miami (OH)11-3 in home opener

By J.J. POST associate sports editor

notre dame softball extended their winning streak to six games Tuesday, dispatching miami (oh) 11-3 in five innings.

The irish bats got going early, plating three runs in the first inning alone. after two quick outs, junior infielder Karina Gaskins slapped a double down the third base line. a walk by graduate student infielder Lexi orozco brought up senior infielder Joley mitchell, who brought home Gaskins with a hard-hit single to left field. another single by graduate student pitcher Payton Tidd then brought in orozco and mitchell.

Tidd, who also started on the mound for the irish, got off to a shaky start in the second. a tworun Jenna Golembiewski home run brought the redhawks within a run. but she quickly found her groove, not allowing another run for the rest of her four-inning outing.

after being blanked in the bottom of the second, notre dame responded to the redhawks homer in the third inning through another run-scoring mitchell single.

With the bases loaded and nobody out, mitchell drove the ball into left field and senior outfielder Leea hanks and Gaskins raced home, pushing the irish lead back to three.

The runs would keep coming for notre dame in the fourth.

sophomore infielder Jane Kronenberger’s single and junior catcher carli Kloss’ double put a pair of runners in scoring position with just one out. but hanks would do more than just bring the two runners in, belting a threerun home run over the rightcenter field wall to give the irish an 8-2 lead.

head coach deanna Gumpf opted to pull Tidd after four innings. sophomore shannon becker came in to pitch what would become the final inning of the contest. becker struggled early, conceding two singles and a run off of a fielder’s choice. but facing a bases-loaded jam with one out, becker buckled down. Working a strikeout and then a flyout, becker escaped her one inning of work largely unscathed.

in the bottom half of the fifth, the irish poured it on, forcing the

run rule into effect. mitchell led off and wasted no time belting a solo home run over the center field fence, collecting her fourth rbi of the day. singles by Tidd and freshman outfielder mickey Winchell would bring up the top of the order with two outs. The top of the order would be the last hitters miami saw. consecutive singles by Kloss and hanks would end the game by run rule.

The win sets the irish up nicely for their second game in as many days against Western michigan Wednesday. With Tidd throwing just 49 pitches and becker 26, both could feasibly be options on the mound again. With Western michigan currently holding a 6-11 record, it would also be no surprise if Gumpf took the opportunity to give breakout freshman micaela Kastor another appearance in the circle.

notre dame softball will be back in action against Western michigan on Wednesday at melissa cook stadium in south bend. The first pitch is slated for 5 p.m. and the game will be broadcasted on acc network extra.

Contact

Paid a dverT isemen T

GRACIE LEE | The Observer

Irish senior infielder Joley Mitchell swings during Notre Dame’s 13-12 win in nine innings over the Yellow Jackets on April 2, 2022.

Irish men’s lacrosse rises to No. 1 after dominant wins against Ohio State, Michigan

By MATTHEW CROW Associate sports e ditor

notre dame men’s lacrosse enjoyed a successful week of action during spring break that concluded with them earning the right to light up Grace hall. The Irish were dominant in wire-to-wire victories against no. 10 ohio state and michigan by a combined score of 34-11, improving to 6-0 on the season. Those efforts, coupled with the loss of previously top-ranked virginia, landed the Irish as the unanimous no. 1 team nationally in the Inside Lacrosse and UsILA polls. notre dame now enters Acc play riding an ncAA-leading 12-game winning streak and playing at an extremely high level that they will hope to maintain through a loaded conference slate. here’s a look at the wins that propelled them into the nation’s top spot.

irish use huge third quarter to roll past buckeyes

Following a thrilling triple-overtime victory on the road against no. 4 maryland, notre dame returned home for another top-ten matchup with ohio state. The game offered

Irish ready for championship

By PETER BREEN sports Writer

The back-to-back nc AA champion n otre d ame fencing team will vie this week for the chance to secure another national title. This is the ninth year the Irish will send the maximum number of fencers — a dozen — to the sport’s ultimate competition at the collegiate level, which takes place from m arch 23-26.

At d uke University’s

c astellan Family Fencing

c enter, located inside the iconic c ameron Indoor s tadium, the Irish will attempt to finish a season that has already seen them win the men’s and women’s Acc championships on a high note. d oing so will require a team effort from everyone competing for the Irish. While seven contenders are repeats from last year’s nc AAs, five student-athletes have been selected for the first time.

The six fencers on the women’s half of the contest bring 11 combined years of

experience. In sabre, graduate student Kara Linder and junior Atara Greenbaum have earned their fifth and third selections, respectively, this season.

meanwhile, in the women’s epee, junior Kaylin s in Yan

h sieh will become a thirdtime participant. s he will compete alongside freshman

e szter muhari, who is making her nc AA c hampionships debut. r ounding out the women’s entry, senior Amita b erthier, appearing in the tournament for a fourth time, and sophomore r ebeca c andescu, a first-time competitor, will represent the Irish in foil.

From the men’s squad, two freshmen will be standing in for the Irish in epee: m aruan o sman-Touson and Jonathan h amilton- m eikle. In men’s sabre, graduate student Jared s mith and junior Luke Linder will represent the Irish. s mith is making his fourth straight nc AA

the chance for the Irish to pick up a third straight win against an opponent that defeated them last season. notre dame did just that, using an outstanding defensive performance to coast to a 16-3 win in Arlotta stadium.

As they have been prone to do this season, the Irish jumped out to an early advantage. Goals from junior midfielder eric dobson, sophomore attacker chris Kavanagh and junior attacker bryce Walker gave notre dame a 3-1 lead after the opening quarter. Kavanagh added another score early in the second to stretch the Irish advantage to three, but both defenses clamped down for the remainder of the period. notre dame went into the halftime break leading 5-2.

The Irish hit their stride in the second half with a performance that showed why they are seen by many as national title contenders. dobson started the third quarter with a pair of goals, part of a career-high tying four on the day. Kavanagh completed a hat trick of his own minutes later, and the Irish would continue to

see mLAX PAgE

Irish take care of business at home to reach sweet 16

By ANDREW McGUINNESS sports e ditor

o ne year ago, n otre d ame women’s basketball suffered a heartbreaking loss in the s weet 16. The Irish literally and figuratively threw away their chances at reaching the e lite e ight with a last-second turnover that sealed a 66-63 loss to n orth c arolina s tate. It was the type of loss that sits with a team long after the final buzzer. The type of loss that teams dedicate their next postseason to avenging.

Well, that next postseason is here for n otre d ame. The Irish earned a n o. 3 seed in the nc AA Tournament and the right to host their first two games at Purcell Pavilion. Those two games took place last weekend, and the Irish did enough to give themselves the

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ND WoMEN’S bASkEtbAll

MAX PETROSKY | The Observer

Irish graduate student Lauren Ebo takes a shot against Mississippi State during Notre Dame’s 53-48 Round of 32 win in Purcell Pavilion.

GRACIE LEE | The Observer

Irish sophomore midfielder Eric Dobson avoids a UNC defender in a 12-5 win at Arlotta Stadium over the Tar Heels on April 21, 2022. The Irish rose to No. 1 in the country on Monday.