Print Edition for The Observer for Friday, March 24, 2023

ND admits and enrolls male majority

University has enrolled an average of 52.5% men and 47.5% women in the past 20 years

By MAGGIE EASTLAND editor-in-c hief

For the last two decades, notre d ame has enrolled 5% more men than women. r eflecting that disparity, the university admitted a 3.7% male majority. r esidential life housing ratios match that difference.

The university has enrolled an average of 52.5% men and 47.5% women since 2002, according to c ommon d ata s et ( cds ) reports. a t the same time, notre d ame admitted an average of 51.95% men and 48.1% women. The admission rate for women applying to notre d ame has been 1.4% lower on average over the

last 20 years, meaning when women apply, they are less likely to be admitted than men. average retention rates show that women are slightly less likely to accept an offer than men.

l ast cycle, the admissions rate for men was 16.1% while it hovered at 14.1% for women. s imilarly, the class of 2026 is composed of 51.2% men and 48.8% women.

i n four different cycles

— 2008-9, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2021-22 — more women applied to notre d ame than men. yet in each of those years, the university admitted and enrolled more men than women. i n each case, the pool of

applicants exhibited a slight female majority but the firstyear class exhibited a slight male majority. m irroring the nationwide trend, more women applied than men, but more men were admitted.

The 5%: Male students consistently outnumber female students e very class of students for the past 20 years has stagnated near these 52.5-47.5% values. women have never outnumbered men in the history of notre d ame enrollment or admissions. e xcept for 2003, women were admitted at a lower rate than men

see admissions PAGE 5

university announces solar array project sub presents music festival

By KATHRYN MUCHNICK a ssociate news editor

TikTok folk-favorite noah

k ahan and rising indie electronic-pop star c helsea

c utler will play to a sold-out

s tepan c enter this Friday for s tudent union b oard’s ( sub ) music festival.

sub , notre d ame’s student programming organization, typically hosts two concerts

By JOE RUDOLPH

writer

news

e arlier this week, n otre d ame announced its plan to install 46,000 feet of solar panels on the west side of campus as part of its mission to pursue net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The project will begin this summer and will be completed in one to two years. o nce operational, the solar array will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 600 to 700 tons and provide about 1%

of the electricity used on campus.

p aul k empf, assistant vice president for utilities and maintenance, said the project won’t be a huge site, but he hopes that it will demonstrate the u niversity’s commitment.

“The project is meant to be a visible sign of our commitment to green energy,” k empf said.

i n addition to the solar panel project, n otre d ame has been working extensively to fulfill its goal of emitting zero carbon

emissions by 2050.

“ l ast fiscal year, we were down in the 140,000-ton range. For us, that’s almost a 50% reduction [since 2005],” k empf said.

c urrently, about 20% of the energy consumed by campus comes from renewable sources. This includes investments in the joint solar project with i ndianam ichigan power, a hydroelectric facility on the s t. Joseph r iver and three geothermal systems for

a year — one in the fall and one in the spring. This year, though, the concert committee consolidated into one s ound of sub music festival, featuring two headliners and four openers, as well as food trucks and games.

s enior n icole c ampbell, chair of the concerts committee within sub , said that the

see sub PAGE 4

Researchers talk quantum tech

By SPENCER KELLY news writer

The advent of the computer in the 20th century brought an explosion of innovation, productivity and economic development. b ut so-called “classical computers” are limited by their physical properties, and have seen a relative deceleration in technological progress in recent years. h owever, a new

generation of computers leveraging phenomena from quantum physics promises exponentially greater power that, at least in certain areas, can enable a new era of transformative innovation. i n this edition of From the Future, three n otre d ame researchers give their perspectives on the powers and applications of quantum

see solar PAGE 3 see QuanTum PAGE 3

PAUL E. CASSIDY | The Observer

Courtesy of Unversity of Notre Dame

Notre Dame is implementing renewable energy sources including solar panels with the goal of reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050. The University announced plans to intall 46,000 feet of panels.

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Today’s Staff

A performer at Thursday night’s Acousticafe

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Professors debate the merits of capitalism.

Glee Club Concert

The club presents songs from its European tour.

President Clark’s Inauguration

Time for community, prayer and reflection.

“Loyal Daughters and Sons” Jordan Auditorium

Panel Discussion Oak Room, South Dining Hall

p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Discussing Jordi Pujol’s new book. Virtual Book Talk: “Life in Pixels” online via Zoom

computers, describe the cutting-edge research they are conducting and consider the future of quantum computing here on campus.

Quantum programming for computers and humans

Zhiding Liang, Ph d student in computer science and engineering, did his undergraduate studies in electrical engineering and is trained in the world of classical devices and circuits.

however, in pursuing graduate education, Liang decided to take a leap into quantum computing, a field he thinks has “great potential.”

Liang explained that the potential of quantum computing lies in the basic processing unit for these systems: the quantum bit, or the “qubit.” c lassical binary computer transistors can only be in one of two states, zero or one, representing “off” or “on” switches for electrical signals.

Leveraging quantum properties, qubits can represent zero or one, or any proportion of zero and one at the same time — a phenomenon called “superposition.”

superposition enables quantum computers to wield immense computational power since the amount of information a system can process grows exponentially with each additional qubit.

however, quantum computers have limitations. In terms of hardware, qubits are incredibly fragile devices. To maintain a state of superposition, qubits require particular environmental conditions (temperature, noise, etc.). If such conditions are not maintained, qubits could experience “decoherence,” or losing their power of superposition, and, in effect, devolving into classical binary bits.

Liang focuses on solving problems on the software side of things. h is research looks at ways to optimize quantum computer architecture to improve the performance of algorithms. The difficulty of maintaining superposition and avoiding decoherence often limits the time in which quantum computation is possible. s o, decreasing the latency of these systems (the time it takes to send data) is

important for making quantum computers usable.

When he isn’t programming quantum computers, Liang works on a different kind of programming: educational lectures about quantum computing for fellow students.

As an electrical engineer, Liang came to quantum computing without background knowledge in physics, which is necessary even for software-focused researchers like himself.

Liang said that his first semester as a Ph d student involved extensive studies outside of class to get up to speed on fundamental physics concepts. This was frustrating due to the lack of resources online and even from other universities.

Liang was inspired to create the Quantum c omputer s ystem Lecture s eries to make the transition to quantum computing easier for students like himself who do not have a physics background.

“I think there’s not enough open source resources online,” Liang said. “I hope to offer a platform to let students who are interested in quantum computing have a pathway to get in touch with this area.”

The lecture series has featured 33 talks from quantum computing students and researchers from around the world. Topics range from introductions to basic quantum concepts to state-of-the art research outcomes.

Liang hopes that his lecture series will spark interest in quantum computing at notre dame. he recognizes that this field can be intimidating due to the high knowledge bar and uncertainty about when this technology will arrive. b ut he is optimistic about quantum computers and the opportunities for notre dame and its students.

“I want to contribute to building a quantum computing community at notre dame,” Liang said. “Quantum computing is still a really young area. There’s lots of things you can do … there’s a lot of opportunities.”

Getting “quantum ready” in Silicon Valley

While the quantum community in s outh b end is still in its infancy, members of the notre dame community are forming connections with some of the world’s premier hubs for

quantum computing research.

d r. mariya v yushkova is a quantum computing research specialist with the notre dame c enter for research c omputing, but she is currently a visiting scientist at I bm research in s an Jose, c alifornia studying applications for quantum computing.

v yushkova’s research focuses on the possibilities of using quantum computers for simulations in spin chemistry, a field at the intersection of chemistry and physics that deals with magnetic and spin effects in chemical reactions.

spin chemistry is closely connected to the development of quantum computers. o ne type of qubit (called the “spin qubit”) uses spin chemistry phenomena to create quantum properties like superposition and enable powerful computation.

however, spin chemistry simulations have other practical applications, like studying the manipulation of reactions in biological systems, solar energy technology or organic semiconductors. o verall, v yushkova said many experts believe that chemistry is the field where quantum computing has the most promising applications and will make the most immediate impact.

In discussing future applications for quantum computing, v yushkova made a point to clarify a common misconception that quantum computers will replace classical computers.

This is not the case. e ven when quantum computers reach their full potential, they will only have an advantage over classical computers for certain applications. And at the moment, for reasons of unreliability and fragility discussed above, quantum computers “are no match” for classical computers.

however, v yushkova said that we still need to be “quantum ready:” i.e., prepared for the day when quantum computers become reliable enough to be used for their unique advantages.

“We cannot just sit here and wait for 10 years for the engineers to build an ideal quantum computer,” v yushkova said. “We need to learn to use those devices right now.”

v yushkova compared the current state of quantum computers to that of classical computers in the mid-20th century. At that time, computers were

huge, slow, noisy, expensive and generally impractical machines. however, early computer scientists were still able to develop techniques and applications so that when the technology became cheaper, faster and more viable, we as a society could leverage computers to the fullest.

“It’s possible quantum computers would provide a similar advantage [as classical computers have],” v yushkova said. “They will never replace classical computers, but in certain fields they are capable of potentially solving problems which are exponentially harder, just unimaginable.”

v yushkova noted that countries like c hina and russia are investing significant resources into quantum computing with the belief that this technology will give them a strategic advantage in the future. In this sense, the relatively lower investment into quantum computing in the United states could have serious consequences.

“We are at the very beginning; this field is still in its infancy,” v yushkova said. “If you miss this opportunity, then you won’t be competitive in the future.”

Building a center for quantum innovation

b ack on notre dame’s campus, a new research center aims to provide the physical hardware needed to facilitate the opportunities and applications discussed above.

Located on the fourth floor of the nieuwland hall of s cience, the stavropoulos c enter for c omplex Quantum matter was established in 2019 as a home for research on new materials for next-generation technologies like quantum computing.

d r. Laszlo Forro came to notre dame from s witzerland in July 2021 to serve as a professor of physics and director of the stavropoulos c enter, bringing a mindset of doing research that leads to practical applications … at least eventually.

“In this branch of condensed matter physics, the goal is always to do something useful,” Forro said. “but I believe that every serious research, sooner or later, will be applied. It’s just a question of different timescales — could be applied in two years, five years or 50.”

Quantum computing is one key area of research for the stavropoulos c enter.

According to Forro, an important unaddressed issue with quantum computers is longevity: being able to sustain quantum states (i.e., avoid decoherence) long enough to operate the computer and process information.

new quantum materials can help solve this issue. researchers at the stavropoulos c enter are experimenting with different atomic structures and creating pure materials that can extend the lifetime of quantum states, and therefore improve the usability of quantum. computers.

As noted, quantum computers can’t do everything better or faster than a classical computer. however, once quantum materials are improved, Forro sees a multitude of applications for quantum technology. Potential uses include cryptography in banking or data transferring, drug discovery and AI or machine learning research.

Forro also thinks that quantum computing could be a commercially available technology. he suggested that, in the future, we could have Usb stick devices that plug into classical computers and enable quantum computation. however, Forro said that these applications are far off, and there is significant uncertainty about timelines for viable quantum computers. For now, Forró’s immediate goals are to expand his team, grow the stavropoulos center and produce research.

“We have hired high-level scientists, and I hope that, based on our performance, we can ask the school to give us a few more positions to extend our research profile and to be more productive,” Forro said.

Forro believes that notre dame has his back in this effort to build the stavropoulos c enter into a world-class quantum research facility.

“If it runs well, I have no doubt that the school will support us to extend the number of [project leaders],” Forro said.

“I have a strategic plan and vision for the center, which is supported by the college of science dean [ s antiago s chnell] and also by the Provost [John mcGreevy] today. This is a very nice feeling for me as a director — that I will have the full support of the school.”

Contact Spencer Kelly at skelly25@nd.edu

heating and cooling.

“We’re doing a fair amount of work on geothermal,” Kempf said. “We have a big project on geothermal started right now, and we’ve completed three fairly significant geothermal projects already.”

Geothermal energy

captures heat energy below the earth’s surface. This sustainable and renewable energy source is able to heat homes and buildings in an eco-friendly manner.

“ d unne, Flaherty, Johnson Family, m c c ourtney and the s chool of Architecture were all built and are all on geothermal currently,” Kempf said. “Any new building on campus is designed to work on low

temperature hot water. We take steam to the building, and we convert steam to hot water.”

Although geothermal power is eco-friendly, it is incapable of meeting the current heading needs of buildings on campus. n otre d ame’s residence and academic halls require a certain amount of heat, much more than geothermal power can provide.

“[Geothermal] works for part of the time, but not all the time,” Kempf said. “We might be able to use geothermal for half of the load of the year. The other half has to come off the steam system,” Kempf said.

c urrently, n otre d ame’s steam system is fueled by natural gas, a major greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

Kempf said that for geothermal power to be effective for the entirety of the year, buildings have to be structured so that they require less heat. o therwise, the University will continue to have to rely on nonrenewable resources to provide heat to campus buildings.

Contact Joe Rudolph at jrudolp3@nd.edu

High school students ‘Shadow for a Day’

By EMMA DUFFY social media editor

o n m arch 23, T rio hosted “shadow for a d ay.” h igh school students from the s outh b end area were assigned a host student from notre dame to experience a day in the life of a college student.

T rio’s two programs on campus are Upward b ound and Talent s earch. Upward b ound is a college preparatory program that helps students excel in high school and look towards higher education. Talent s earch, the program responsible for organizing the “shadow for a d ay” event, helps advise students from seventh grade to senior year.

The event is not entirely new to notre dame’s campus. b efore covid -19, the University hosted the “shadow for a d ay” event annually. This year marked the first time the event has been held since the

pandemic, and T rio has recognized student’s eagerness to jump back in. ninety students signed up to be a host, and the final assignments matched 50 notre dame hosts with 50 shadow students.

“We’ve had great outcomes of notre d ame students that wanted to be hosts,” Talent s earch a dvisor, a sma musleh said.

notre d ame students recognize the importance of this event for younger students.

s enior d avid Webster, one of the hosts for the day, said he wished he had this opportunity when he was younger.

“i had always pushed education. b ut for me, i really didn’t know what college students did, so i thought it’s an opportunity to show a high schooler,” he said.

The hosts were responsible for showing the high school students a realistic experience of what it’s like to be a notre dame student. The shadow

and we were, as a committee, super, super excited to have him,” campbell said.

students attended classes, got lunch and did whatever their specific host would do on an average Thursday.

“This is kind of like them testing out the waters and seeing how it feels to be on a college campus,” musleh said. “how it feels to sit in a college classroom, eat in the dining hall, ask questions about the dorms, just how it feels to rush from one class to another. a ll of these different things that we may overlook, they get to try it out and see how it feels.”

This experience caters to the students’ schedules, so T rio was deliberate when matching students with hosts. shadow students were matched with notre dame students that have similar interests, both academically and beyond.

“i think they did a good job of trying to get you to have certain things in common with [your] student,” Webster said. “For example, the student i was paired with had

a strong interest in math, which aligned with mine. he was also interested in sports, which is an interest of mine. s o we were able to make connections on those kinds of premises.”

musleh feels that this is one of the benefits of the event. i n the past, they have seen that by connecting students who share similar interests, long term mentorships form. students can refer to their hosts to ask questions throughout the college process.

The idea is that by showing high school students the college experience, they will want that for themselves.

“o ur overall goal is to give the students exposure to college and prompt them so that they can be successful graduating from high school, but [also] entering college and graduating from college,” roxanne Gregg, the e xecutive d irector of T rio programs,

said. “This is one of those experiences that will help them and assist them on that path.”

Webster said his shadow student was grateful that this experience allowed him to discern the differences between high school and college.

“he seemed to like the experience of seeing firsthand that it’s not just going to school and sitting down and then going home and doing nothing,” he said. “it’s kind of like you have to be finding things to do between classes, and he seemed to like that.”

Those involved with shadow for a day thought that the event was meaningful and important to get involved with.

“my big reason would be thinking about how by giving up a couple hours of your day, what kind of impact you could have on a student,” Webster said.

Contact Emma Duffy at eduffy5@nd.edu

idea for a music festival arose to appeal to a wider group of students.

“even if a student didn’t recognize [the artist] you’re bringing, there’s a really cool event because there’s a festival — there’s games, there’s food, there’s a bunch of different artists to see,” campbell said. “it was going to be something that would draw in a lot of students even if the names might not have been … super mega famous artists.”

noah Kahan, a singer-songwriter from vermont, writes about new england on his most recent album, “stick season.” he was thrown into stardom after the album’s lead single went viral, garnering him 121 million streams of the single on spotify. currently on tour, Kahan has played at multiple universities the past few weeks, including illinois state University, indiana University and Purdue University.

chelsea cutler began making music in her a mherst dorm room in 2017, before releasing her debut album, “how to be human” in 2020. That year, cutler also released a version of her song “crazier Things” featuring Kahan.

cutler and Kahan will be joined by briscoe, the austinbased project of Truett heintzelman and Philip Lupton. campbell has been looking for headliners since april of last year, and sUb submitted an official inquiry request in June. sUb works with several music agencies with a history of working with universities, who propose a list of artists that the concert committee narrows down.

“The overwhelming favorite was noah Kahan on that list,

a fter realizing the potential for two headliners, the concert committee looked into bringing chelsea cutler.

“sUb has not been able to bring a female headlining artist in a really long time,” campbell said. “i remember the reaction of one of my committee members [when cutler’s name came up], just like ‘oh my gosh, i love her. That’s so exciting.’ a nd i was like: ‘cool. That’s the reaction i want the entire student body to have when they see these names.’”

sUb cannot announce the concert headliners until after their contracts are finalized, a process which involves a lot of back-and-forth between sUb

and the artist’s representatives. senior milena Fava-Pastilha, co-director of programming who oversees the concert committee, said that the graphics sUb uses to publicize the concert must also be approved by the artist’s agency.

“The artists have to approve the way that we use their name and image and all that,” she added. sound of sUb will feature 3 student openers — Lucy bullock, Libby Garnett and Luke holen. a ll three are acousticafe veterans, which is sUb’s weekly performance opportunity for notre dame students.

“having performed at acousticafe, we knew that they were comfortable on stage and in that setting,” Fava-Pastilha said. “We didn’t want it to be

overwhelming to somebody who maybe we knew had music, but we hadn’t seen on stage.”

Tickets went on sale on march 6 through the student shop, and many students had to wait as the website crashed due to high demand.

“i joked that the two hours it took for us to sell out the stepan center aged me by probably about 20 years,” campbell said.

The stepan center’s capacity is 2000, but after factoring in production, 80+ volunteers and guests of the artists, sUb was able to sell about 1,800 tickets for $18 each. For students who did not get tickets, a waitlist form was made available.

in addition to the musical acts, entrance to sound of sUb will grant students access to two food trucks — Junbuggies and

Wiener shack — as well as face painting, a photo booth and a raffle for free merchandise from the artists. campbell even received her woodshop certification to build a Plinko board for the activities.

campbell said that the festival format of sound of sUb fulfills sUb’s mission of programming for all notre dame students, even if they’re not familiar with the musical acts.

“We do have really amazing artists coming in. We’re super excited about them,” campbell said. “but then we also have the rest of this [festival] to build something really special and to hopefully bring the community together.”

Paid a dverT isemen T

Contact Kathryn Muchnick at kmuchnic@nd.edu

every year for the past two decades.

m icki Kidder, vice president for undergraduate enrollment, denied a quota for male or female students and underscored the importance of a holistic review of each applicant.

“If you dig in annually, you’ll see fluctuations in every single one of those years,” she said.

According to The observer’s data analysis, the difference in average between men and women admitted at notre d ame is statistically significant with 99.99999999999999% confidence, meaning that the 3.7% more men admitted over the past two decades is not a matter of fluctuation.

The results of the analysis mean that the difference between men and women admitted is statistically extremely unlikely to occur due to random chance.

Kidder’s predecessor, d on bishop, took a different stance in an interview with The observer last spring.

“We don’t have preference by race. What we do have to have is a certain gender balance because of the housing, so we’re supposed to be 47.5% female and 52.5% male,” bishop said. “That’s the only number that we have to hit a very-specific based on something defined in your application: whether you’re male or female.”

When asked about the difference in admission rate between male and female students, Kidder said she was “very familiar” with the data.

“I’m just going to keep going back to the importance of this holistic review, and that is a very genuine answer,” Kidder said. “It’s what makes the science and the art of this industry so important.”

The ratio that emerges from the cds — 52.5% men and 47.5% women — is matched within dorm housing, not including the new men‘s dorm under construction. According to estimates from the residential Life website, 52.3% of on-campus beds are earmarked for men while only 47.7% are designated for women.

University expands housing, builds men’s dorm

c ompounding this effect, the University announced the construction of a new men’s residence hall in June 2022. now staggering just outside the perimeter of Johnson Family hall, construction is underway for the new dorm.

For some students who watch the still-unnamed dorm grow taller each day, the gender designation is disheartening. m arliece b arrios, a senior and r A in Walsh h all, said she is glad the University is paving the way to house more students, but

the news arrives with a tinge of disappointment.

“I think it’s a good thing that notre dame is expanding,” b arrios said. “I think it’s really important that anyone who transfers has a home, but it kind of sucks that it’s a men’s dorm.”

b arrios also mentioned the buzz surrounding the 50th anniversary of women at notre dame and a perceived contradiction between the University’s words and actions.

“There was so much messaging about it,” she said. “Why aren’t you backing that up?”

b arrios posed the same question many notre dame women find themselves asking: “If you have space for a new residential hall, why isn’t it for women?”

Associate vice president for residential life heather r akoczy russell’s answer to that question is algorithms and historical overcrowding in men’s halls.

“What I would want our women to hear as they walk past that new men‘s hall is that we‘re trying to learn from our past mistakes and not repeat it and have enough space for everybody, not just heads and beds, but a welcoming and inclusive and integrated community,” russell said. “And based on all of that, the numbers tell us that this next hall should be a men‘s hall.”

she also said that residential hall space availability does not affect admission.

“We’re able to … do projections based on what we know from the past and what we’re projecting in the future,” russell said. “but the number of beds available doesn’t drive the admissions process. It’s the other way around … the right people are admitted, and then we determine what we need as a result of that.”

When asked if the current men’s residence hall under construction reflects a projected need for more men’s residential space, dan rohmiller, director of residential life housing operations, said, “I suppose it could potentially, but I don’t think that’s necessarily true,” adding that other factors, such as study abroad fluctuations, the number of seniors moving off-campus and the University’s long term residential life plan affect the model.

“The amount of men already enrolled, as you‘ve noted, is different than the amount of women, and so meeting that demand I think, is what we‘re trying to do,” rohmiller said.

While residential Life held that their projections have no bearing on admissions, Kidder said that admissions works with a variety of partners across campus, including s aint mary’s c ollege and notre dame’s on-campus residence halls.

“There’s not a quota as it relates to the notre dame student body. And that‘s really

important to me that we know that and are cognizant of that, but we do consider a variety of different components,” Kidder said. “c ertainly, s aint mary‘s, and the wonderful women in that tri-campus community, certainly our residence halls here on this campus. s o, we consider a number of things. We consider a number of students studying abroad at any point in time. s o there‘s a whole number of variables that we are going to be cognizant of as we are shaping a class that is first and foremost led by the strengths and talents of each individual applicant.”

russell also said the new men’s residence hall is a solution to historical overcrowding in men’s halls and marks one of the final initiatives of the University’s 10-year residential master plan that ends in 2024. she and Kidder emphasized the gender balance on e ast Quad.

“This new men’s residence hall will cap off that e ast Quad, so it’ll be two men and two women’s halls, so a balance of gender on the new e ast Quad,” russell said.

b aumer hall, a men’s residence on West Quad, was also part of the residential master

plan that is now tapering to a close.

Progress over 50 years

Though the two most recent decades have maintained classes composed of about 5% more men than women, Kidder pointed out that the University has enrolled increasing numbers of women when measuring from the start of coeducation.

“b y decade you can see a continual growth in the percentage of women, quite dramatically, obviously, as we just celebrated the 50th year of coeducation here, and we’ll continue to celebrate a very equitable environment on our campus,” she said.

david b ailey, vice president for strategic planning and institutional research, said the proportion of men and women continue to approach each other.

“The proportions of men and women have been converging since 1989, a little more leveling off in 1995, but continuing to approach equal proportions through this year,” b ailey wrote in an email.

b ailey also added that he observed lower admissions rates for women.

“since 2014, women’s

admissions rates have been ~1-2% lower than those of men,” he wrote, attributing his statement to data published nationally in the Integrated Postsecondary e ducation data s ystem (IPeds ).

When asked whether notre dame admissions plans on admitting or enrolling an equal number of men and women in the future, Kidder said the University has a master plan that “will definitely be moving closer toward that 50-50 goal.” she noted that every decade has been “more equitable” than the last.

“We’re so close,” she said. What about the year you applied? A footnote on accessing the data

If you want to see the stats broken down by gender for any year from 2002 to 2022, The observer dataset can be found in the online version of this story.

Contact Maggie Eastland at meastlan@nd.edu

Alysa Guffey, Editor-inChief Emeritus, Ryan Peters, Managing Editor and Paul E. Cassidy, Data Visualization Consultant contributed to this report.

PAUL E. CASSIDY | The Observer

The above chart tracks the percentage of the total Notre Dame student body composed of male and female students. Enrollment data begins in fall of the 1989-1990 academic year and ends 33 years later in 2022.

PAEUL E. CASSIDY | The Observer

This chart displays the spread between male and female admit rates, calculated by subtracting the rate of female applicants from that of male applicants. Negative values mean female admit rates exceed male.

Spend it wisely

José Sánchez Córdova Assistant managing editorww

m oney comes back.

Those are the words a good friend said to me during our first week in Paris. Probably not great long-term financial advice, but he’s an econ major, so I’ve been living by those three words since.

First, I realize this attitude comes from a place of privilege. I’m lucky to study at n otre d ame. I’m lucky I had the opportunity to go abroad. I’m lucky that I got a scholarship from nd International. I’m lucky that I have enough so I can save and not have to worry about money as much this semester. b ut I’ve worked my tail off, too. I studied hard to get into this university and to get the grades to go to Paris. I worked four jobs last semester to save up for the spring. I sacrificed so that now, every time I find myself doubting whether I should do something, “cost” isn’t the first factor I’m considering.

I don’t mean this to say you should be irresponsible with your money. In fact, I have a color-coded excel sheet where I track my expenses from abroad. I keep all my receipts in a desk drawer and organize them regularly. I just mean that it’s okay to spend money when you know what you want. m oney isn’t worth much if it’s sitting in a savings account. That’s what my friend was getting at: money is only worth what you get out of it.

Two months into my time in Paris and I can safely say it’s been worth it. e very single minute I spent shooting a game for nd s tudios or making a sandwich at Au b on Pain or putting together the classified section for this wonderful paper was worth it. All those hours turned into planes to other countries, trains to other cities and hostel stays with friends and strangers. As I wrote in an email right after spring break: “I haven’t checked my bank statement yet but I feel like whatever money I spent was more than repaid in memories I will never forget.”

That’s what I think my money is worth. It is whatever memories it can buy. I’ve been in seven different countries, with two more booked before the end of the month. I’ve seen inimitable art in the Louvre and the Uffizi. I’ve swam in the frigid c openhagen canals and the warm waters of the baths in b udapest. I’ve seen Lionel m essi and Kylian m bappé play in a c hampions League game at the Parc des Princes. I’ve also made some new friends from all over that I will not soon forget.

I know it’s cliche, but these have been some of the best months of my life. b efore I got on that plane across the Atlantic, I heard it over and over from everyone who had done it. It scared me back then. All I could think was “what if it isn’t for me?” n ow I know they were all right. s o, spend that money, but spend it wisely because it could turn into the time of your life.

You can contact José Sánchez Córdova at jsanch24@nd.edu.

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

In one of my first counseling sessions with dr. mermelstein, he asked me, “Joey, what makes you tick?” Although I lacked an answer at the time, that question sparked an ember in my heart, prompting me to search for meaning and purpose. Thus, I pose this question to you today. What fuels your fire? no matter where you are on your discernment journey, this kind of value-based reflection can be an informative and edifying exercise, since “when we experience a deep connection to our work and a consistent flow between our life’s energies and our daily tasks, we are the most alive, at peace and whole” (https://heartsdesire.nd.edu/course/).

In this essay, I provide a concrete method for finding the fuel of your heart’s fire. First, think about it; engage in serious reflection. next, talk through it; discuss with others. Finally, try it out; gain some experience in the field of interest. continuously reflect on these new experiences and carry on with this method in a progressive process of reflection and action until the fruits of this labor, confidence and clarity, are ripe for harvest.

Think about it.

reflection is a way to understand the longings of our hearts. This can take many forms. The Ignatian examen, for instance, is a meditative practice that offers a spiritual framework for discernment. After quieting the mind, one reflects on experiences throughout the day, noticing what comes to mind, paying special attention to the parts of the day when one felt close to God.

Another practice of reflection is journaling. If you have a few minutes, I want you to try this today. The purpose of this particular exercise is to identify your calling. In a notebook or on a blank piece of paper, title the page, “What fuels my fire?” Then, draw a large venn diagram with one side titled “my deep gladness” and the other “world’s deepest hunger,” as Frederick buechner wrote that “the place God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

start on the deep gladness side. set a timer for five minutes and jot down any interests, passions or joys that come to mind. All ideas are valid. consider the question, “Where and when do I feel most alive?”

In my case, I am passionate about education, I am interested in philosophy and I enjoy learning about wisdom and pondering tough questions.

next, move to the deep hunger side. restart the timer and write what you think are the world’s greatest needs. This could be something that impacts you, your community or everybody. consider the question, “What would make the world a better place?”

I think there are many things that would make the world a better place. Peace, food security, greater access to health care and education, freedom from all forms of oppression and persecution and the list goes on. In the United states I see room for improvement in the education, health care and justice systems as well as in basic legislative structures. obviously one person cannot solve all the world’s

problems, nor are we called to do so. rather, we take steps to improve our respective spheres of influence. We treat others with compassion and respect. We do what we can to educate ourselves and address systemic injustices. We discover how we are uniquely called in this lifetime to serve the cause of justice.

After you have filled your venn diagram, consider possible points of intersection between your great gladness and the world’s deep hunger.

Talk through it.

At this point, you have spent at least a moment in personal reflection. Take some time, now, to have intentional conversations with others. Talk to people you trust and who know you well like family members, friends and mentors. Talk to people who are experts in the field such as professors and alumni. now would be a great time to go somewhere like the career center or campus ministry. Those people are here specifically to help students thrive. Talking with others provides a different perspective on our situation and it often comes with encouragement and validation.

Try it out.

now that you have reflected on your calling and talked about it with others, go do that thing! explore avenues for experiential learning such as volunteering, shadowing and internships. Join a club. Apply for a position in a research lab. Write a thesis. The opportunities are limitless. seek and you will find.

Reflect again.

After you explore the hands-on work related to the intersection of your deep joys and the world’s deep needs, evaluate your experiences. did you like it? Would you want to do it again? did you feel fully alive in that position?

In this ongoing process of action and reflection, we arrive at greater understanding of who God is calling us to be and what he is calling us to do. Ultimately, God calls each of us to love as he loves, to see as he sees, to do as he does. Yet we are called to manifest this mission in our own unique way. We are not in competition with God. on the contrary, we are most fully alive when we become active co-creators in the salvation of this world, when we abide in him who sustains our being.

With pen and paper, reflect on your calling. Then, speak with others. Finally, take action. It can be a slow process, and it may be frustrating not knowing exactly what you want, but I promise it is worth it. If you want to, you will find yourself, and in doing so, you will find God.

Joey Jegier is a senior at Notre Dame studying philosophy, ESS and German. He enjoys coffee, conversation and taking time to be still (when possible). Areas of interests include mysticism, education and discernment. Joey loves the city of South Bend and regularly visits the farmers market, his only source of milk and eggs. He would love to chat about anything and can be reached at jjegier2@nd.edu.

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

Joey Jegier discerning Your best self

Is anybody paying attention?

o ver the past three weeks, I have traveled across the country like a madman.

I have pulled off my best impression of George c looney’s character in ”Up in the Air” while navigating the T s A, overpriced airport coffees and travel delays. my extensive travel was for both personal and professional reasons alike, but job interviews and spring breaks don’t just happen on their own. I flew and drove all around the country — from s outh b end to s an Francisco to c hicago to new York c ity to Los Angeles and back again.

As someone who isn’t very fond of flying in the first place, it is safe to say that flying can be irritating. but with that being said, traveling back and forth between the coasts has a way of putting life into perspective. I interacted with dozens of intelligent folks in my travels which assured me of America’s standing as a country of great diversity and opportunity. While many of these interactions triumphed in our successes, conversations with new and old friends alike all pointed to the same conclusion. America, and Americans in general, are focused on the wrong things. And we are so |far behind in the race that we actually think we are winning. Let me explain.

A culture war can be defined as a conflict between social groups and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs and practices. It commonly refers to topics that generate social disagreement and polarization. o ur current culture war has pitted cultural liberalism versus cultural socialism in the conflict of our time.

cov I d -19. Trump. russia. biden. o ur southern border. Abortion. 2024. Kanye West. e lon musk. Twitter. black Lives matter. Inflation. The s outh c hina s ea. All topics that have ripped America apart at its seams. All topics that have pitted conservatives against liberals and secularists against traditionalists. They mark rally cries and screams of retreat as our political landscape continues to be dynamically transformed.

While several of these topics certainly

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

d ear n otre d ame,

demand our utmost attention and need for civil discourse, the backbone of our current culture war has been mostly predicated on nonsense. This ooze of buzzwords, self-professed gurus and pseudo-science has caused many Americans to miss the point.

As a society, we are losing and our inability to solve varying social issues has been disguised by the cries of “I want a four-day work and here’s why!”

You really need to look to see where the true faults lie, but once you do, it’s terrifying.

d uring my time in new York, several of my interactions took center stage as I explored and connected with people during my first time in the city. d uring my five-day stay in m idtown, a sense of urgency hung in the air like the smell of freshly coated paint. Around manhattan and its surrounding boroughs, blue and white-collar workers alike rushed about with this air of urgency, not thinking twice while jaywalking or rushing to catch the subway. There is a truth that exists in new York c ity’s atmosphere of opportunity, because well, there is opportunity. Thanks to the world of high finance, the service industry, tourism, the port of new York and everything else in between, millions of jobs exist around new York’s bustling metropolis that can certainly offer benefits for many.

but I have a question: In thirty years, who is going to work these jobs?

A projected decline in our American workforce can certainly be attributed to our perpetually declining birth rate. numbers don’t lie, and the numbers that surround our birth rate should make a culture war in any rational society irrelevant.

In 2020, our American birth rate was 1.64 births per woman. For context, the global rate currently sits at 2.30 births per woman, placing America’s rate firmly behind the curve. Additionally, in the 15 years since the Great recession, our birth rate has declined by 20 percent.

While other world superpowers have faced similar challenges, this is an issue we have simply refused to address in political discourse.

And yes, I am aware that high levels of student debt and the high cost of raising children make raising children in 2023 a complicated endeavor. b ut do you want to know what will be more complicated? A sharp decrease in our workforce participation and

an even sharper decrease in our economic productivity. If the birth rate in new e ngland doesn’t rise by about 0.9 percent, how do we expect to find the people to work jobs needed that will contribute to our society? o f course, this is a complicated argument. but since major players in our culture war continue to discuss Andrew Tate, the o scars and every other immaterial topic, the future of our country goes unspoken.

d uring my time in c alifornia, I visited two cities struggling with a different issue: homelessness. Like other sunny cities, s an Francisco and Los Angeles have struggled with helping the homeless for decades. Unlike other cities, their inability to help the homeless has come to define these cities.

While enjoying my vanilla sweet cream cold brew in the sun last week in Los Angeles, I struck up a conversation with a dog walker who was passionate about this issue. she explained that the money has always been there to help, but any such resources have been squandered by political corruption or misuse.

It doesn’t help that c alifornia is energy and water insecure, she added. c alifornia’s agriculture industry produces delicacies such as almonds and walnuts. 80 percent of the world’s almond crop is farmed in c alifornia, and the strain on the state’s water supply is ludicrous. 6,000 almond farmers in c alifornia use more water than the entire city of s acramento which has a population of 500,000. While this industry and droughts have decimated the water supply, no one really seems to be talking about it.

s o while culture wars have always been geared towards winning the hearts and minds of the populace, reality shows that we are a country of complex issues that are in dire need of fixing. but for the time being, as TikTok takes the center stage in reporting and rhetoric, we must ask ourselves: Who will have the guts to address and attack these issues?

Stephen Viz is a one-year MBA candidate and graduate of Holy Cross College. Hailing from Orland Park, Illinois, his columns are all trains of thought, and he can be found at either Decio Cafe or in Mendoza. He can be reached at sviz@nd.edu or on Twitter at @ StephenViz.

Please fix Stanford Hall’s washers

I live in stanford hall. As you may know, our dorm holds approximately 220 students, most of whom wear clothes every day. Usually, when someone wears clothes, they become dirty. What do dirty clothes require? Well, they need to be washed, of course! It is too bad that such a task is impossible in stanford hall. since the beginning of this semester, stanford hall has had two consistently working washing machines. Three are perpetually broken or malfunctioning. After performing some division, an administrator with particular competence in arithmetic would realize that

such a situation leaves one washer per 110 students. our dutiful and diligent rector has filed multiple work orders to fix said washers, but after multiple rounds of maintenance, the washers remain in their unusable state.

This dilemma, seemingly unnoticed by our administrators, has left the men of stanford hall with three choices.

1. Wait for hours to find an open and functioning washer.

2. soak your clothes in washers 4 and 5 and spend hours trying to dry them.

3. don’t wash your clothes.

now I have not outlined our seemingly insoluble predicament merely to complain. rather, after much contemplation, brainstorming, collaboration and research, I think I have arrived at a solution worth taking a chance on. It may be a shot in the dark, overly ambitious or perhaps even downright unattainable, but hear me out …

Please either fix our washers or buy us new ones. Thank you!

Brendan McMahon junior

Stephen Viz

Poor stephen’s scrapbook

InsIDe ColuMn

An A- is an A

Ryan Peters managing editor

notre dame students are uptight. sure, they like to have fun Thursday through saturday. but when it comes to schoolwork, they are tightly wound. Like, really tight.

Yes, I understand I am a notre dame student. but for the purposes of this column I’m going to primarily refer to notre dame students in the third person because I have found myself to be in a small minority when it comes to my perception of grades on this campus.

That perception? An A- is an “A,” and a b is a good grade. now before I get into the weeds of this argument, let me make a disclaimer for those planning on attending graduate school: Your grades do matter a little bit. Although, if your entire future depends on whether or not you get into harvard Law or medical school then I recommend you touch grass.

To lay out my argument, it’s simple. An A- has an “A” in it; therefore, it is an A. If you have all A minuses, then you have straight A’s.

An A letter grade represents “excellence,” while a b is good. It’s often the average if not above. And a c is a passing grade, which is all you need.

before you can even say it, I hate participation trophies more than the next guy. An A- is not a mickey mouse A. most of the time you can’t just show up and get an A-.

If I had a nickel for every time someone at this school got mad at me for calling a 91% an “A” or I heard someone say they need to study more because they’re close to getting an “A” in a class when their current grade is an A-, I’d be able to buy at least one item at the dollar Tree on south bend Ave.

There are arguments to be made regarding grade inflation, career utility and conformity for why A’s are actually a bad sign, but those are for a different column.

What does stressing about the difference between an “A” and “A-” accomplish? maybe it gets you a better investment banking internship. have fun with that.

do 0.333 GPA points really matter that much? As long as you don’t get objectively bad grades, you will probably be fine as a notre dame graduate. Yeah, I know this probably sounds entitled. but the alumni network is pretty great and hopefully that factored into our decisions to come here.

At notre dame, we’re in a bubble of dedicated, Type A personalities. This is a good thing. Working hard is one of the most important traits an individual can have. but pick your battles.

do you really feel fulfillment in getting a 93% on your economics test instead of a 92%? If you don’t forget about that test within 48 hours, pick up a hobby or something.

studying and working hard are valuable traits, don’t get me wrong. but roughly the next 40 years of our life will probably consist of a lot of hard work. Whether it’s a professional career or raising a family, it’s a good idea to work hard at those things. however, we’re young and college should be fun. We don’t have that much time left to live in a community that consists almost exclusively of people our age with relatively few responsibilities. have fun.

We should channel our stress and focus on things that bring us fulfillment. hopefully your major brings you that fulfillment. but take pride in the content, not the grade. There is no way some paper brings you so much joy that you should spend hours, if not days fretting on how you can get an “A” instead of an A-. “I wrote a cool paper arguing yada yada yada…” sounds a lot less conceited than “I wrote a paper that got me an A!”

If you get a 92% on your chemistry test instead of a 94% I guarantee you will turn out alright. I guarantee it. And if your life falls apart because of it, then write me an angry email. It’s below.

Again, grades are somewhat important — if they’re very bad — I’ll concede that. It’s not a good idea to fail your classes. but if you do mess up, overcoming adversity is an incredibly useful skill in every single facet of life.

Take a deep breath and go on a run or read a good book or go bowling or something. Just have fun, for the love of God. enjoy the ride.

You can contact Ryan Peters at rpeters5@nd.edu. The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Spring Break looks different for everyone

little for the next few days. The time flew by in a flurry of internship applications, essays and an obscene amount of Walmart brand hummus.

s pring has always been my favorite season with the renewal of life outside, the smells of the loamy earth and the song of the black-capped chickadee. These little signs have always let me know that spring is in the air.

This year, when the s outh b end permacloud parted like the r ed s ea and spring finally came to n otre d ame, the campus was abuzz with the rumblings of spring break — the long-awaited time to get away from campus.

h owever, before the campus was emptied by the homeward migration, the last s aturday before the break was highlighted by a plethora of s t. Patrick’s d ay celebrations. The highlight of the weekend came during the Irish revelry that transpired at the Legacy v illage apartments. The r unning of the Gingers, while a staple of many college campuses across the United s tates, could only be done justice by a school with such a legendary Irish heritage.

As a quasi-redhead (not even a member of the n otre d ame r edheads group chat), I found myself swamped with homework and committed to attending the b ig Ten Tournament hockey game with my visiting family members. I gave no more thought to such a silly event until I got home from the tough loss of the hockey game, in which the Fightin’ Irish had taken a walloping from my mom’s beloved s partans of m ichigan s tate. When I opened my phone back in my dorm room, many of my friends had posted pictures celebrating. The videos of the r unning of the Gingers kept coming as I kept clicking. d espite the fact that the students were criminally wronged by spring break being set the same week as s t. Patrick’s d ay, the group was clad in green and having a jolly time.

The fear of missing out, more commonly referred to as F omo, came rushing in as I repeatedly saw the clips of genuine wantto-be redheads running through the road of Legacy v illage. ”F omo ” is defined as the feeling that others are having fun that you are missing out on and is marked by a desire to stay informed about what others are doing — especially through social media. I knew I could have been there. All of my friends and classmates were having fun without me, celebrating the greatest of all n otre d ame holidays.

The ending of classes and hectic midterms welcomed spring break and I was headed home with a full slate of assignments to keep me busy. Although it was due to my own procrastination that many of these assignments remained incomplete, I shuddered as I walked out of Fisher h all and realized how heavy my backpack was.

When I reached my underrated spring break destination of c aro, m I, I began to receive a swarm of texts from family friends asking if I had participated in n otre d ame’s iteration of the r unning of the Gingers. It pained me to admit to these people that I had missed the event that went viral on nearly every social media platform just to do my homework.

At home, I set up camp at the end of my family’s dining room table and moved very

The feelings of F omo were only exacerbated by the continual bombardment of my friends’ excursions littering my social media feed. s ome went to Florida. s ome went to c abo. m y Instagram timeline was like a worldwide geographical bingo board. o thers went to visit people they knew in Paris, while some made the week a whole e uropean tour.

All the while, I felt my to-do list get longer and the time spent with my family got shorter. The days felt like a cycle of waking up and typing out as much as I could before I inevitably fell into a TikTok rabbit hole or began to live vicariously through my friends’ social media escapades. m y spring break was a cycle of the same songs on s potify, the same begrudging b e r eal post and working at the same table every day. I felt like I had spent more time than ever staring at my laptop and could swear that my eyes were starting to blur. What felt like paranoia was confirmed later in the week when I went to a routine eye appointment and was informed that my eyes were strained. I needed a new prescription.

m y spring break F omo that started from missing the s t. Patrick’s d ay r unning of the Gingers left me feeling like my spring break was incomplete and subpar in comparison to my friends’ vacations. h owever, from my time at home, I did come away with some observations and lessons, even if they were learned the hard way.

Although I wanted to be at the front of the r unning of the Gingers or race away to spring break at an exotic location, that was not the type of spring break I needed this year. After a stressful first half of the semester and with an even more eventful second half to come, I am glad that I was able to recharge at home.

I question if I even wanted to travel for spring break or if I just wanted to because I felt as if everyone else did. I see now that a lot of my jealousy came from the fact that I want to travel to all of these places someday — just not today. I spent this spring break sleeping in and catching up on work, but after experiencing it I am glad that I did.

I share this story of mine because I have a strong suspicion that I was not the only one who felt this way on campus. h owever, if you did travel for spring break that is something to celebrate. I hope you had a wonderful experience. h owever, I feel that it is important to remember that the people who went home for the break were not posting about it on social media; the majority of n otre d ame students did just.

You are not alone in feeling that you missed the boat to some faraway tropical island or alpine ski chateau.

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

Jack Sirianni

The notre dame nitty-Gritty

By GABI WOODWARD scene Writer

hbo ’s “The Last of Us” has always remained in the back of my mind, ever since it was announced that one of my favorite video games would be adapted into a T v show in n ovember 2020. The excitement that it created festered and grew, taking over my brain leading into this Jan., when the first episode was released. And all I can say is … wow. c reators c raig m azin and n eil d ruckmann (the latter of whom co-created the game and co-wrote its story) went above and beyond in crafting a narrative filled with love, passion, horror and grief.

Just as in the original game, “The Last of Us” follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and e llie ( b ella r amsey) as they navigate the post-apocalyptic world of 2023, 20 years after a global pandemic breaks out. While this may seem frighteningly close to reality, instead of a flu-like virus threatening humanity, an incurable parasitic fungus is running rampant. The fungus turns its human hosts to zombified Infected, who continue to spread the fungus. n ow, the last couple of years don’t seem quite as bad.

The acting and character-building in the show

is top-notch. While Pedro Pascal might have gone viral on TikTok for merely being incredibly goodlooking (and who are we to deny that), his acting in “The Last of Us” is just another addition to his incredible filmography. h e plays the brooding lead, still dealing with the loss and grief of 20 years before — one who has truly been through hell and back. Yet it is Pascal’s ability to balance Joel’s cynicism and intensity with his loyalty and love that make his performance utterly captivating.

b ella r amsey, the other star of the series, stole the show for me. They are beyond talented and are able to bring a likability to the character of e llie that is captivating for the audience. While initially, one may believe e llie to be a little bit on the bratty side, her fiery spirit quickly draws us into her journey. I found myself looking forward to each new episode just to see what e llie might do.

While many may wonder, “Why would I ever subject myself to watching zombies?” I’m here to let you know that you must. While zombies appear to be the main conflict, the internal struggles of the characters and their fragile relationships are

the heart of the show. The zombies are the catalyst for the human story. The first episode is a thrilling rollercoaster ride, but it aims to establish the stakes, so that the pace can slow down with the roadmap and the looming danger set. b ut the most amazing part is that we are rooting for Joel and e llie even from the beginning. Without spoiling anything, hbo ’s “The Last of Us” is as entertaining as it is heart-wrenching, with an incredibly moving story and stellar characters. And if you don’t believe me, I have pictures of me crying during almost every episode to prove it.

Contact Gabi Woodward at gwoodwa2@nd.edu

“The Last of Us”

Starring: Pedro Pascal

Favorite episodes: “Long, Long Time,” “Left Behind”

If you like: “The Walking Dead,” “Game of Thrones”

Where to watch: HBO Max

By ANDY OTTONE scene Writer

Picture this: an idyllic, young, married couple inherit a beautiful house in the new York countryside and plan to open a bed and breakfast. We follow the trials and tribulations the two of them face in establishing their business, such as nosy neighbors, home renovations and establishing themselves as a reputable establishment. There is one more problem for them, though: their house is haunted. After a near-death experience, new homeowner samantha (rose mcIver) finds herself face to face with spirits of the mansion’s past, ranging from an ancient viking to a business executive from the 1990’s.

“Ghosts,” based on a british comedy of the same name, debuted in oct. 2021 on cbs, where it has continued to run for two seasons. Alongside mcIver, the show features her character’s loving husband Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar), who, unlike his wife, cannot see ghosts, leading to many comedic misunderstandings. The show’s strength lies in its stellar ensemble cast of the titular Ghosts. Personally, my favorites are Thorfinn (devan chandler Long), a nordic viking and the first ghost to haunt the property, Flower (sheila carrasco), a hippie and cult member from the 1960’s who is perpetually high and captain Isaac higgintoot (brandon scott Jones), a closeted revolutionary war soldier who died of dysentery. With the show’s focus being the dearly (not-quite) departed, the humor can become morbid at times, but the show

maintains a charm and sweetness throughout that keeps it from getting too dark while keeping its slight edge. season one of the show was preoccupied with establishing the show’s groundwork: the first few episodes each focused on a specific ghost, how they died and the legacy they left behind, and the episodes that followed established the show’s supporting cast, featuring both living and deceased relatives of the characters. now that audiences are familiar with the characters more intimately, the show has taken opportunities to establish new dynamics and return to plot lines from the first season. characters introduced in the show’s first year return for the sophomore season, such as Jay’s sister bela, who dated the deceased business executive Trevor online, or samantha’s ancestor elias Woodstone (matt Walsh), the husband of fellow ghost henrietta.

The show’s cast easily carries the show, not just with likable characters, but rather with the connections formed between characters as the show progresses, elevating the already amusing writing to a higher level. my favorite relationship on the show is the friendship that forms between Jay and the deceased Pete, a scouts Troop Leader from 1985, with samantha as their intermediary. The show also features romantic arcs, with a notable one being between the ghosts captain Isaac and nigel chessum, two were revolutionary war soldiers who were on opposing sides of the conflict in their lifetimes.

Isaac (albeit accidentally) killed nigel, and the two formed a romantic relationship in their afterlife, moving beyond their differences. A classic sitcom trope is the “odd couple” pairing,

which forms between the ultra-relaxed Flower and the overly-aggressive Thorfinn, with their romantic courtship being a focus of multiple episodes in the second season.

Through a combination of witty writing and stellar performances, “Ghosts” is one of the most enjoyable network comedies in years, and I believe will usher in a new era of network comedies alongside other shows such as Abc’s “Abbott elementary” and nbc’s “Grand crew.” streaming services and cable channels have had a deadlock on comedies lately, with “White Lotus,” “Ted Lasso” and “Girls5eva,” just to name a few. “Ghosts,” however, gives me hope that the classic network sitcom isn’t dead yet.

Contact Andy Ottone at aottone@nd.edu

“Ghosts”

Starring: Rose McIver, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Brandon Scott Jones

Favorite episodes so far: “The Perfect Assistant,” “The Christmas Spirit, Part One,” “The Christmas Spirit, Part Two”

If you like: “The Good Place,” “Ghosts” (U.K. version), “Miracle Workers”

Where to watch: CBS, Paramount+

By NATALIE ALLTON scene Writer

The national tour of “Legally blonde: The musical” made a stop last weekend at south bend’s morris Performing Arts center. having been a fan of the musical since high school — it’s hard to shake off theater kid roots — I was able to score a ticket for the sunday matinee.

The show is an underrated gem of contemporary musical theater, but is also notorious for its bad performances (see “Illegally blonde” on YouTube, which rocketed the coveted role of “sales clerk #2” into legendary status). The plot is largely the same as the 2002 movie of the same name starring reese Witherspoon as elle Woods, whose long-term boyfriend Warner dumps her in pursuit of a more serious, lawyerly type at harvard Law school. To win him back, elle follows him to harvard Law but finds academia more challenging than she first anticipated. despite the movie and the musical being 22 and 16 years old, respectively, elle Woods’s story is perennial, as she struggles with the other students at harvard learning to take her seriously while maintaining her own integrity.

The musical, originally written in 2007, holds up in many ways, but it, unfortunately, has not aged well in others. The national tour cut many of the worst offenders, including an uncomfortable Jamaican accent during “What You Want” and one character derogatorily called a lesbian in “blood in

the Water.” That being said, “Legally blonde” as a show is unapologetic and risqué, and I was glad to see the spirit of each line and joke maintained despite the cuts.

The musical originally takes place in the mid-2000s, including references to technology and pop culture phenomena which have, in the past several years, have fallen out of popular fashion. These have been updated for the 2023 national tour. The costumes were modernized and updated to reflect current fashion, especially the delta nu sorority sisters who wore outfits that I myself have seen at dorm parties on Friday nights. In wake of 2018’s “me Too” movement, the signs in the parade at the end of the show featured messages about consent and the abuse of power. every character had a phone in-hand consistently, and though not originally written into the show, phones were cleverly used at different points throughout the performance. The set, using screens alongside physical furniture, displayed both backdrops and digital complements to the action on stage, such as text messages and Instagram posts. Perhaps the most notable modern update to the musical was the change of brooke Wyndham from Jane Fonda-esque workout tape star to TikTok fitness influencer, with the first part of “Whipped Into shape” played in pre-recorded videos on the screens before transitioning to brooke in prison (and sparing the actress about three minutes of onstage jump roping). These changes never felt cringey or out of place, and they in many ways aided and

guided the action onstage.

The 2023 national tour was both a masterclass in how to modernize musical theater and a phenomenal experience. The entire cast was incredible, including the ensemble actors who more than once stole the show. Particular standouts from the cast include James oblak as Warner, whose boy band-style vocals and incredible physical comedy during “serious” made the audience laugh out-loud several times; Ashley morton as Paulette, who portrayed the comedy of the character perfectly; and of course, hannah bonnett as elle Woods, who provided a fresh take on elle’s bubbly personality while also making her seem like a real person with believable motivations and decisions. “Legally blonde” is a standing monument in 21st-century media and the recent national tour only proves that the story is more relevant than ever.

Contact Natalie Allton at nallton@nd.edu

“Legally Blonde: The Musical”

Where: Morris Performing Arts Center

Starring: Hannah Bonnett, Aathaven Tharmarajah, James Oblak

Director: Jeffrey B. Moss

CLAIRE KIRNER | The Observer

MARIA GORECKI | The Observer

Happy Birthday: Take the lead and be the one to start something new and exciting. An active lifestyle will keep you out of trouble and encourage you to focus on making headway. A passionate drive will make it impossible for anyone to stop you from setting new boundaries and exceeding your expectations. Make decisions based on emotions, intuition and what you stand to gain. your numbers are 7, 13, 23, 29, 33, 36, 48.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Step outside your comfort zone if it will help you get what you want. refuse to let anyone interfere with your plans. Set your sights on your endgame and keep your dreams a secret. Maintain control and leave nothing to chance.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): find your audience and make your voice heard. Showing enthusiasm, dedication and passion for something that matters to you will be contagious. reach out and connect to people who share your sentiments.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Show your true colors and chase your dreams. Be upfront about your thoughts, feelings and intentions, and you will gain trust and respect. An emotional issue will resolve if you are willing to compromise.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Pay more attention to the changes you want to make to yourself instead of trying to change others. Arguments will not help you mend what’s broken, but heartfelt talks, honesty and solutions that address the happiness of everyone involved will make a difference.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): lighten up. you have more going for you than you realize. Once you put your skills, knowledge and effort into what matters to you, everything will fall into place. Speak from the heart, bare your soul and find your zen.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Open your mind and heart and something good will transpire. Connect with people offering insight into your next move. live, learn and turn your life into something that excites you and helps you make your mark. romance will enhance your life.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Sort through any money issues with someone with whom you share expenses, debt or investments. It will put your mind at ease. Pick up momentum, get your house in order and pave the way to better relationships and a stress-free life.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Pull everyone together with suggestions that offer creative solutions and practical applications. Set high standards and live by the rules, and you’ll make a lasting impression on those you influence. love is heading your way, and a romantic gesture will improve your life.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Take a rain check if someone offers something that makes you feel uncomfortable. It would help if you focused on what matters, not what others want you to do or think. Make your actions count, and be true to yourself.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take a moment to reevaluate what’s unfolding around you. Clear your schedule and make personal changes that will improve your state of mind and allow you to see your options. refuse to jump on someone’s bandwagon; create your own.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): you have the drive required to reach your goal. refuse to let anyone get in your way or lead you astray. Protect your heart, health and financial well-being. An opportunity and financial gain look promising if you play your cards right.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Address your routine and choose a healthier lifestyle. Consider spending more time doing physical activities you enjoy and eating nourishing foods that will help you gain strength and boost your ego. It’s a new day and a new you.

Birthday Baby: you are engaging, playful and spontaneous. you are competitive and strategic.

Irish begin ACC play at home

By ANDREW McGUINNESS sports editor

over notre dame softball’s last four regular seasons, there have been two constants. First, the Irish have largely handled business against their Acc foes. even though the conference is usually regarded as one of the sport’s best, the Irish have an impressive 59-28 mark in conference play since 2019. The only thing more consistent than their success in Acc play is their domination at home. since 2019, the Irish are a near-perfect 43-3 at melissa cook stadium. Their lone loss in the last two seasons, during which they’ve gone 30-1, required an improbable fourrun ninth-inning by Georgia Tech. The Irish will combine these two dominant factors once again this weekend for the first time in 2023. notre dame has not been its typical self so far in conference play, going just 3-3 out of the gate. but notre dame’s home debut went according to plan, as the Irish offense dominated en route to a fiveinning, 11-3 victory over miami (ohio). After Wednesday’s game against Western michigan was postponed, the Irish will get ready to defend their home field for the second time in 2023 this weekend. notre dame can also look to last year for reasons to be confident. The Irish played their lone two games against syracuse on the road in 2022. Yet they still won both by a combined 14-2 margin. Junior infielder Karina Gaskins went deep in the first contest as graduate student Payton Tidd and sophomore shannon becker combined to allow just one earned run and five hits, striking out seven. And that was not even notre dame’s most dominant performance. The Irish won the second game 9-0 in just five innings, with senior infielder miranda Johnson launching a long ball as well.

The short game Tuesday and the unexpected off-day Wednesday leave notre dame’s pitching in

excellent shape. Against miami, Tidd threw just 49 pitches and becker only 26. both are looking to get back on track after spectacular 2022 campaigns. Those two, combined with emerging freshman ace micaela Kastor, have the potential to be one of the sport’s deadliest pitching trios. All three will be critical in getting the Irish past the first round of the ncAA Tournament for the first time under head coach deanna Gumpf.

As for their chances this weekend, it also helps that syracuse is struggling so far in 2023. After a respectable 26-21 2022 campaign, albeit with a poor 7-15 record in conference play, the orange have limped to a 9-14 start in 2023. They have lost all six Acc games they have played, scoring a meager total of two runs. Three of those games have ended via mercy rule after just five innings.

however, the orange do enter this weekend on the heels of a doubleheader sweep over canisius. That included a sevenrun outburst in the second game, their highest total in just over a month. There have not been a lot of positives to take away on a team level so far for syracuse. In fact, the orange are dead last in the Acc in batting average and slugging percentage. They also hold the conference’s second-worst er A. Freshmen madelyn Lopez and madison Knight are off to strong starts at the plate. And Knight has the team’s second-best er A as well. both look like strong players for years to come and should give the Irish a tough test this weekend. notre dame and syracuse will take the field at melissa cook stadium this Friday, saturday and sunday. The games begin at 4:30 p.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. Friday and saturday’s games are on Acc network extra, while sunday’s is on the Acc network.

Contact Andrew Mcguinness at amcguinn@nd.edu

Vaughan: Previewing the American League Central

With spring Training games underway and the World b aseball c lassic just finishing, the 2023 m ajor League b aseball ( m L b ) season is quickly approaching, with opening day set to occur in about a week. With players ramping up, it’s time to look ahead to the upcoming season and the expectations for each club. o ver the next few weeks, I’ll dive into previews for all 30 teams, division by division, helping get fans ready for the 154th season of professional baseball. Up this week, the American League (AL) c entral.

d ivision o verview: o ver the past decade, the AL c entral has seen the rise and fall of its members, with all five teams winning the division at least once while also finishing at best fourth in another season. In 2022, the c leveland Guardians recaptured the AL c entral crown, winning the division for the first time since taking home three consecutive titles from 2016 to 2018.

Chicago White Sox (2022: 81-81,

.500)

After winning their first division title since 2008 in 2021, the c hicago White s ox failed to live up to expectations in 2022, finishing a mediocre 81-81, a distant second to the c leveland Guardians.

The outfield is loaded with options, featuring the return of young stars e loy Jiménez and Luis robert Jr. not to mention a key free agent pickup in All-star Andrew b enintendi and o scar c olas, the 85th-ranked prospect in baseball. The infield, too, is full of hitters capable of doing damage, even with the loss of José Abreu in free agency.

Tim Anderson and Yoán moncada both return to short and third. Andrew vaughn will shift from the outfield back to his familiar position of first base. b ehind the dish, Yasmani Grandal looks to regain his All-star form. meanwhile, the starting rotation looks strong as well, led by c y Young Finalist d ylan c ease. b ehind him, Lance Lynn looks to continue his success from last season while Lucas Giolito looks to bounce back.

The bullpen should receive a boost with the return of

lefty Garrett c rochet to go along with reynaldo López and Kendall Graveman. Though the uncertain status of dominant closer Liam hendriks (currently dealing with non-hodgkins lymphoma) will play a huge role throughout the season.

d espite that, though, the White s ox remain a team filled with young talent on both sides of the ball, fully capable of not only reaching o ctober, but making a run deep into the playoffs as well.

Cleveland Guardians (2022: 92-70, .568)

After missing out on the postseason in 2021, the c leveland Guardians got back to o ctober in 2022, winning the division despite fielding the youngest roster in baseball with an average age around 26. heading into 2023, the Guardians hope their youthful exuberance can shine through again.

c leveland looks to be led by a pitching staff that was dominant in 2022, finishing top five in er A, W h IP and walks allowed. The rotation will be anchored by the one-two punch of shane bieber and Triston mcKenzie. meanwhile, bullpen features lockdown closer e mmanuel c lase and some quality setup men behind him.

o n the other side of the ball, c leveland is led by perennial mv P candidate in third basemen José r amírez. he is joined by a loaded cast featuring silver slugger Josh b ell at first, Gold Glover Andrés Giménez at second and the much-improved Amed rosario at short. Free agent m ike Zunino will start the season behind the dish for the Guardians. but highly touted prospect b o naylor is knocking on the door.

The outfield is headlined by Gold Glovers myles straw and steven Kwan, with the third spot up for grabs. And, yes, just like every other position group mentioned thus far, c leveland has another top 100 prospect in the mix in George valera. slugger Josh naylor looks to provide some power out of the dh spot, helping lengthen the Guardian lineup. After making the postseason as the youngest team in baseball, the c leveland Guardians look not just to reach the postseason but progress further into o ctober.

Detroit Tigers (2022: 6696, .407)

Another year, another quiet o ctober for the d etroit Tigers, who extended their postseason drought to eight seasons, tied with the LA Angels for the longest active streak in m L b. With no major offseason additions, the organization is banking on internal improvements to help the Tigers break through.

o ne of those players d etroit has big expectations for is former first-overall pick, spencer Torkelson. Joining him with a lackluster 2022 campaign was big free agent signing shortstop Javier b áez, who finished with an oP s under .700 while earning $20 million. The rest of the infield consists of veterans and unproven youngsters.

b ehind the dish, e ric h aase appears to be the frontrunner, although there are other options. The outfield will be anchored by the highly touted r iley Greene and former All-star Austin meadows. Former Irish star m att v ierling should play a role as well. Future h all of Famer m iguel c abrera returns to the Tigers in what will be the final year of a legendary career. At 39 years old, the aging slugger will be confined to a dh role, hoping for an Albert Pujols-esque finale. o n the pitching side, veterans e duardo rodriguez and m atthew b oyd look to help stabilize a young rotation. The Tigers bullpen will feature some new faces to go along with workhorses Tyler Alexander, Jason Foley and Alex Lange. This year looks to be another rebuilding season, full of opportunity for growth and development as d etroit hopes to contend in the years ahead.

Kansas City Royals (2022: 65-97, .401)

since winning the World s eries in 2015, the Kansas c ity royals have yet to come close to sniffing the playoffs, finishing no better than third in the division over that time.

Though nobody projects this club as a playoff team in 2023, the royals feature many intriguing young talents to watch. star shortstop b obby Witt Jr. showed flashes of brilliance all over the diamond in his rookie season. Around him, m ichael m assey and nicky Lopez look

Joey Vaughan sports Writer

Notre Dame faces Virginia on the road in top-15 matchup

By OLIVIA SCHATZ senior sports Writer

The n o. 11 n otre d ame women’s lacrosse team is back in action s aturday against the n o. 12 v irginia c avaliers. The Irish have had mixed results against ranked opponents this season. n otre d ame won handily against n o. 18 d uke 14-6, but lost to n o. 1 s yracuse and n o 2. n orthwestern 15-7 and 18-14, respectively.

The A cc is the toughest conference in nc AA d ivision I lacrosse, but the Irish have made their presence known. h owever, v irginia is right on n otre d ame’s tail. The c avaliers will look to overpass the Irish this weekend in both the A cc and national rankings. b oth teams have a deadly roster and will look to use this game to prove that they deserve their respective rankings.

o n the offensive, n otre d ame is led by senior midfielder Kasey c homa and senior attackers m adison Ahern and Jackie Wolak. c homa, who was recently named A cc o ffensive Player of the Week, leads the team with 29 goals on the season. Ahern follows her with 23 goals on the year. Wolak is third with 19 goals so far and sits at the top by far in assists (22). Wolak accounts for 38% of the team’s assists,

with Ahern accounting for the second most with only nine.

This attacking trio is proving to be difficult to stop. In addition, junior midfielder Kelly d enes continues to control draws, ensuring the Irish get the ball. The Irish are not just killers on offense but are a defensive force as well. In their 14-1 win against v irginia Tech, the Irish held the h okies to tying their lowest goal total in program history.

The Irish must be prepared to play a full 60 minutes if they hope to come on top on s aturday. The c avaliers have four players who have scored over 20 goals for the season.

To stop the c avaliers, the Irish must lock down Ashlyn m cGovern, who has a whopping 40 goals on the season. h owever, she only marks one assist. If she gets the ball, she is going to goal. If the Irish can block the ball from her stick, they will have a leg up on the game.

Unlike n otre d ame, the c avaliers are much more independent. While n otre d ame has Wolak, a threat both to the goal as well as in assists, the c avaliers have players who are either heavy scorers or heavy with assists. v irginia’s m organ s chwab has 26 assists, but only 10 goals on the season. In comparison, the Irish

are much more diverse with both their assists and their goal-scorers.

This matchup will be a litmus test for these Acc teams moving forward. notre dame and v irginia are tied for third in the Acc , behind only syracuse and north c arolina. s o far, v irginia has lost to no. 3 U nc (17-12)

and beat no. 17 Princeton (2011) in ranked contests.

A top-15 matchup is always tough for both sides, but notre dame versus v irginia will prove to be even more difficult. With both teams even in the standings, this will surely be a heated game. v irginia will look to defend its home turf while

notre dame will look to prove its higher ranking. c atch the matchup on s aturday in c harlottesville, v irginia. The game will start at noon and will be available on the Acc network.

Contact Olivia Schatz at oschatz@nd.edu

Irish continue ACC play at home against NC State, Wake Forest

By MATTHEW CROW

Associate sports editor

n early a month after their last home match, n otre d ame women’s tennis will return to s outh b end this weekend for a pair of A cc matchups with n o. 8 nc s tate and n o. 25 Wake Forest. The n o. 27 Irish (11-6, 1-4 A cc ) will look to improve their conference record as they continue navigating a challenging stretch of their schedule.

n otre d ame enters the weekend on the heels of back-to-back A cc road series that they completed with a 1-3 record. The Irish traveled south in the first week of m arch and were defeated by top 10 teams d uke and n orth c arolina. They were more successful last weekend when they hit the road again and split matches

against n o. 9 v irginia and n o. 64 v irginia Tech.

The Irish put up an impressive effort against a strong c avaliers team. In doubles, the n o. 29 duo of junior Julia Andreach and sophomore c arrie b eckman earned a 7-5 win on court

n o. 2. n otre d ame claimed the doubles point and a 1-0 advantage when freshman

r ylie h anford and junior Yashna Yellayi followed with a 6-2 victory on court n o. 3.

In singles, Irish senior Page Freeman was dominant in a 6-1, 6-0 win on court n o. 1 and n otre d ame led 3-1 after freshman b ojana Pozder emerged victorious on court

n o. 5 (6-3, 6-3). b ut v irginia battled back with three consecutive singles wins and ultimately did just enough to pick up a 4-3 victory.

Armed with confidence

after evenly playing a highly-ranked opponent, the Irish made the short trek to b lacksburg two days later to try to get back in the winning column. n otre d ame’s doubles play was decisive again. The two pairs that won against the c avaliers did the same against v irginia Tech, and Freeman and sophomore m aria o livia c astedo added a court n o. 1 victory to complete an Irish sweep in doubles. Freeman started singles play with another straight-set win on court n o. 1 (6-2, 6-4). With singles wins in both matches, Freeman improved to 9-5 on the year and rose to n o. 59 nationally ahead of n otre d ame’s matches this weekend.

Andreach’s 6-1, 6-2 win on court n o. 3 was bookended by a pair of v irginia Tech

victories to push the score to 3-2 in the Irish’s favor. Just one win away from snapping its three-match losing streak, n otre d ame got more than enough. Pozder (7-5, 6-3) and freshman Akari m atsuno (7-5, 1-6, 6-4) won on courts n o. 4 and 6, respectively, to cap off a 5-2 Irish victory.

n otre d ame will look to build on its strong play in both matches in its return to e ck Tennis Pavilion. The A cc standings are tightly bunched and n otre d ame’s matches this week provide a key opportunity to get back in the mix with the conference’s top tier. To do so, they will have to find success against top 25 opponents, something that has eluded them thus far in the season.

After falling to v irginia, the Irish are 0-6 against

teams currently ranked in the top 25 and 11-0 in all other matches. h owever, n otre d ame has beaten talented teams like n o. 38 U sc , n o. 34 Illinois and n o. 33 c lemson. The Irish hope that continued improvement will help them close the gap with the A cc ’s and the nation’s best teams.

nc s tate (12-2, 4-1 A cc ) enters the match playing at a very high level. The Wolfpack is 10-1 in its last 11 outings, holding opponents without multiple points in eight of those wins. nc s tate has not yet faced the A cc ’s highest-ranked teams ( n orth c arolina, v irginia and d uke) but has coasted through most of its conference matches and will represent a challenge for the

gracie lee | The Observer

Senior midfielder Reilly Gray shields the ball from a defensive midfielder in last year’s 12-5 victory against UNC. The Irish look to extend their flawless 6-0 record with a home field win against UVA on March 25.

ND WoMEN’s TENNIs

set to man second and third, respectively. First base is a log jam with lots of potential. b ehind the dish, the royals will employ the talented duo of s alvador Perez and m J melendez.

i n the outfield, Kansas city has a variety of options such Kyle isbel, edward olivares and former braves farmhand drew Waters. a s for the rotation, the royals are led by 26-year-old brady singer, who enjoyed his best season in the majors last year, going 10-5 with a 3.23 era behind him, 39-year-old Zack Greinke returns for his 20th m L b season.

The bullpen is hoping scott barlow and d ylan coleman hoping to repeat after the lockdown 2022 seasons. 2023 looks to be another year in this royal rebuild, but with it comes the chance for young stars to shine as Kansas city hopes to establish its next winning core.

Minnesota Twins (2022: 78-84, .481)

despite entering 2022 with a talented roster, the m innesota Twins were unable to reach the playoffs, finishing third in a mediocre central division. however, the Twins were busy this offseason. one of the biggest of those aquations m innesota made was in the re-signing of shortstop carlos correa to a six-year, $200 million deal after deals with both the Giants and mets fell through due to failed physicals. he is surrounded by ample infield depth. versatile a lex Kirilloff looks to man first, while a mix of Jorge Polanco, donovan solano, Kyle Farmer and Jose m iranda fill a crowded infield. Top royce Lewis should return mid-season once he recovers from an acL tear.

The outfield is led by a llstar byron buxton, who is a top player in the game when healthy. Plenty of depth, including young talents in Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach, are competing for playing time as well. behind the dish, free agent signing c hristian vázquez aims to bring a calming presence behind the dish while providing power when at the plate. i n terms of pitching, the Twins possess a solid rotation led by veteran sonny Gray and newly acquired Pablo López, who was dealt from the marlins in a deal involving m L b’s batting average leader, Luis a rráez.

The bullpen is led by the electric arm of Jhoan d uran, who deployed the first 100 mph off-speed pitch last season. Joining him to help lockdown games will be righties e milio Pagán and Griffin Jax, as well as southpaw c aleb Thielbar. a fter a subpar 2022, the Twins look to rebound this year, hoping to make some noise this october.

Contact Joey Vaughan at jvaugha2@nd.edu

i rish. Five Wolfpack players sit in the national top 125 in singles, led by a lana s mith ( n o. 9) and d iana s hnaider ( n o. 19). They also have two doubles teams ranked in the top

K AsToR FeATuRe

20 that n otre d ame will look to match up well against after seemingly hitting its stride in doubles wins against v irginia and v irginia Tech.

Wake Forest’s (11-7, 2-3 acc ) season has been similar to n otre d ame’s up to this point. Like the i rish, the d emon d eacons

have played well for much of the year but have struggled against the acc ’s elite and find themselves in the middle of the conference standings.

b oth teams could be grappling for acc tournament seedings down the stretch and will look to take advantage of the

chance to get ahead this weekend. Wake’s c asie Wooten ( n o. 41) and a nna b rylin ( n o. 52) are among the nation’s best singles players. The i rish will need Freeman and a ndreach to be at their best if they hope to come away with a team win.

n otre d ame will

host nc s tate on Friday at 3:30 p.m. and Wake Forest on s unday at 11 a.m. b oth matches will be in e ck Tennis Pavilion and will be live-streamed on the n otre d ame a thletics website.

Contact Matthew Crow at mcrow@nd.edu

Irish find their key in Micaela Kastor’s breakout freshman season

By J.J. POST

a ssociate sports editor

h eading into the 2023 season, n otre d ame softball had a glaring need in the pitching circle.

The i rish returned just two pitchers from their 2023 campaign — graduate student Payton Tidd and sophomore s hannon b ecker. a nd while Tidd and b ecker both enjoyed strong 2022 seasons, having two pitchers simply isn’t enough in a sport that places an emphasis on three game weekend serieses.

n otre d ame needed a breakout freshman to be an immediate contributor to the staff. They got one, and more, in freshman m icaela Kastor.

Through 25 games, Kastor hasn’t just been n otre d ame’s breakout pitcher, she’s arguably been their best one outright. s he has a spotless 4-0 record and a 0.88 era , a mark good for second best in the acc . 50% of her starts have been complete games. s he leads the i rish in saves as well, the

most notable of which came in a crucial road matchup with d uke.

Part of what has made Kastor such an asset for n otre d ame is her versatility. h ead c oach d eanna Gumpf has utilized the freshman in just about every situation imaginable over the first few months of the season.

Kastor closed out the team’s season opening win over a rizona s tate. s he started in a loss to n orthwestern at the b ig Ten/ acc challenge tournament. i n m adeira b each against Florida i nternational, she served as a stretch reliever.

Kastor attributes her ability to succeed in a variety of situations to a consistency in her approach:

“ m y style never really changes depending on whether i ’m used as a starting pitcher, a relief pitcher, closing pitcher, anything like that,” Kastor said. “ i just try to maintain the same elements of confidence, going in with the same mentality. e ven if i ’m starting a game, i like to take the mindset

that it’s the bottom of the seventh, and we’re down by one. You just have to find outs, and be confident throughout. i don’t really think my mindset changes too much, that perspective of just always wanting to dominate, and just control my batters with my confidence on the mound.”

Kastor has also has the benefit of having the perfect mentor to aid her rapid transition to college ball in veteran ace Tidd. Tidd, who’s now in her fifth season at n otre d ame, has plenty of firsthand knowledge of making an impact as a rookie. i n her first season, 2018, the current graduate student made over 41 appearances for the i rish.

a s someone that’s seen just about everything the acc and college softball has to offer, Tidd has been an asset to helping Kastor develop her abilities both on and off the field:

“ c oming into the season [Tidd] was initially such a huge role model and inspiration,” Kastor said. “ i absolutely admire her veteran

ideals… just her confidence that she’s been able to establish throughout her years here. s o it’s just been a great opportunity, being able to learn underneath her. a nd there’s been many times that i ’ve gone to her with questions regarding not only the physical aspects of the game, but also the mental aspects.”

a s impressive as Kastor’s early stats have been, things will likely only get more difficult from here for the freshman. Teams have only begun to gather film on Kastor. r ight now, she enjoys the benefits of hitters having never seen what she has to offer on tape. a s the season progresses, opponents will begin to better scout out her pitches and tendencies.

b ut for Kastor, such changes won’t alter much in her approach. s he remains focused on herself, not her opponent: “ m y game doesn’t change knowing that other teams are going to start gathering

see Kastor PAGe 15

Paid a dverT isemen T

the 26-point loss to the c ardinals the next day, scoring just eight points on seven field goal attempts. Through the first two rounds of the national tournament, she hasn’t lit the world on fire with her offense, but she turned in back-to-back 14-point performances. In s unday’s second-round victory over m ississippi s tate, she turned in a defensive masterclass, coming away with four steals, while supplementing a poor shooting night from the field with 14 free throw attempts.

If n otre d ame is to have any hope of upsetting second-seeded m aryland on s aturday in Greenville — and, if they win that one, a likely e lite e ight matchup with s outh c arolina, one of the best teams college basketball has seen in years

— c itron, like the rest of the team, will have to be at her best.

s aturday’s matchup with the Terrapins comes against a familiar opponent. The Irish lost a heartbreaker at the buzzer to m aryland on d ec. 1, but c itron had what was arguably her best performance of the year in that game. s he scored a teamhigh 24 points on 8-14 from the field, while also grabbing 10 rebounds.

A repeat offensive performance would go a long way toward helping n otre d ame secure the upset. h owever, her defensive prowess may be even more important. s tar m aryland guard d iamond m iller torched the Irish in that first matchup to the tune of 31 points, including the game-winning jumper as time expired. r ecently named a second-team AllAmerican, m iller has been brilliant all season for the Terrapins, averaging 19.7

is preaching patience.

points per game. s hutting her down will be key to n otre d ame’s chances, and c itron will likely be her primary defender.

“ s he’s phenomenal,” Ivey said of m iller. “I’ve got A, b and c , I always have backup plans of trying to defend her … you’re never going to hold her scoreless. You just have to make sure you contest her enough that you’re making every shot a contested shot.” s ince she arrived in s outh b end, c itron has always existed at least somewhat in m iles’ shadow, although she certainly seems not to mind. In many other programs, she would be the unquestioned number one option, but not many teams have o livia m iles. From her flashy shots to no-look passes, she commands the bulk of the attention from fans and opposing defenses alike. e ven a year ago, c itron was named Acc r ookie of the Year, and that was likely due to the fact that

her classmate was ruled ineligible, having played six games the year prior as an early enrollee.

s till, the backcourt mates share a special bond, and m iles has helped lead even from the bench. “Liv is really close with s onia,” Ivey said. “It’s great that out of a timeout, if I’m telling her what I need her to do, Liv backs me up and speaks their language, and kind of calms her which is great.”

now, it’s largely the c itron show for Ivey and notre d ame. While she’s not as flashy of a player as m iles, she certainly commands the same respect level from opposing defenses. Without m iles and m abrey to draw attention away from her, it has been an adjustment. Yet few expected notre d ame to make it this far, which means that the Irish, and c itron, can play without a sense of pressure that they would otherwise feel.

“We’re definitely playing

with a chip on our shoulder. We have no pressure on us,” Ivey said. “no one was looking for us to be where we are right now, and that’s fine.”

c itron has quickly stepped into a leadership role for the Irish, and while vocal leadership is “not really in s onia’s character,” according to Ivey, she has found other ways to lead on and off the court, typically leading the on-court huddles amongst the starters.

The Irish no doubt face an uphill battle this weekend — first seeking revenge against m iller and the Terrapins, and then, should they prevail, a likely matchup with s outh c arolina and reigning naismith Player of the Year Aliyah b oston. b ut no one thought the Irish would make it this far. With another big performance from c itron, the Irish could shock the world again.

Contact Liam Coolican at lcoolica@nd.edu

allowing two hits for two earned runs. h e recorded a singular strikeout.

The Irish hope to utilize the momentum from the valparaiso game and the experiences they have had against strong conference teams such as n o. 2 Wake Forest and Georgia Tech. Thus far, they have struggled to put up consistent performances in A cc play and outside it. c oach s tiffler

WBB

in their tournament opener, then kept Arizona at arm’s length in the r ound of 32, winning 77-64. They too are looking for s weet 16 revenge after falling at this stage to n o. 1-seeded s tanford last year by just six points.

m aryland’s offense is its hallmark, with the team’s 79.4 points per game ranked ninth in the country. m iller is the anchor, averaging just under 20 points a night while also leading the team with 6.5 rebounds per contest.

Abby m eyers and s hyanne s ellers are not far behind, both averaging doublefigure points, while s ellers leads the team in assists. m eyers, b rinae Alexander and Lavender b riggs all shoot threes at 37% or better. And all seven members of m aryland’s rotation are

“Playing the teams we do — it leads to toughness to get a streak going,” he emphasized. “I’m hoping that the fact that we’ve been pitching a little bit better and that we’ve been at home will lead us to perhaps getting a little bit more rhythm in the season.“

s tiffler also hopes that pitching similar to the dazzling performance sophomore left-hander Jack Findlay put up in the Irish win against Wake Forest

at least 72% from the line. That could be crucial if the game is hanging in the balance in the closing minutes.

The Irish have changed a lot over the last few months as well. n ot all of those differences are optimal.

s ophomore guard o livia m iles and graduate student guard d ara m abrey combined for 21 points and nine assists the first time these two teams met. They will combine for zero points, assists and anything else in s aturday’s rematch, with both having ended their seasons prematurely due to injuries. Their losses are substantial ones. b ut the Irish have proved capable of overcoming them through the opening weekend of m arch m adness.

A reliance on defense and play in the paint has been at the forefront of n otre d ame’s m arch success. The

can carry them to victories against tough A cc teams, including Louisville this weekend. s tiffler wants his team to think about the margins — the little things that could decide the fate of a close match — as they enter a series against the sixthranked team in the nation. After a weekend where seven of the 19 runs the Irish conceded were unearned, s tiffler is preaching not giving teams extra opportunities or second chances

former set the tone by shutting out s outhern Utah for nearly half of the first quarter on Friday. That allowed the Irish to build up a 16-0 lead that was never cut down to even single digits. They held a m ississippi s tate team averaging over 71 points a game to just 48, its second-lowest output of the season. The return of graduate student center Lauren e bo has come at the right time, with e bo helping the Irish to an 80-36 edge in points in the paint last weekend. s he also accounted for two of n otre d ame’s four individual double-digit rebound showings.

Freshman guard c assandre Prosper and junior forward m addy Westbeld were responsible for the others.

Look for sophomore guard s onia c itron to play a pivotal role as well. c itron is quickly establishing herself

by making uncharacteristic mistakes. e rrors against Wake such as failing to catch the baseball, errors that are not characteristic of such a strong defensive team, may lose the Irish these games in the gauntlet of A cc play.

The Irish have proven they have the talent to defeat top teams and will look to prove that point when they finally get to play a series at home against Louisville.

c oach s tiffler and his players will certainly have a chip on their shoulders

as a player who thrives in big games, tallying 14 or more points in three of her five career nc AA Tournament games, including both this year. s he led the Irish with 14 points against m ississippi s tate. h er basketball intelligence was on full display against the b ulldogs, with c itron also notching four steals and drawing a gamehigh nine fouls. o h, and she also led the Irish in both points (24) and rebounds (10) in their d ecember clash with m aryland.

It will take a full team effort for the Irish to prevail s aturday, however. n otre d ame looked outclassed in its lone game against a team still alive in m arch m adness (Louisville) since losing m iles. m aryland has won nine of its last 10, with a five-point loss in the b ig Ten Tournament to championship contender Iowa

as the c ardinals head up to frigid s outh b end in a heavyweight A cc series. If the Irish are serious about repeating their tournament success last year, the campaign needs to begin now. Friday’s and s aturday’s games will be at 3 p.m., and s unday’s at 1 p.m. The first will be streamable on the A cc n etwork, followed by the final two on A cc n etwork e xtra.

Contact Adam Akan at aakan@nd.edu

their lone blemish. d espite all of the adversity they have faced, this is a moment the Irish have been preparing for since last m arch. s unday will be the one-year anniversary of their heartbreaking 66-63 seasonending loss to n c s tate in last year’s tournament. The Irish will know by then whether or not everything they did to improve on that result was enough to get the job done this time.

The Irish and Terrapins will tip off s aturday morning at 11:30 a.m. in Greenville, s outh c arolina. The game will be available to watch on es P n . The victor will face the winner of the region’s n o. 1 and n o. 4 seeds, s outh c arolina and U c LA, respectively.

Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu

information about me over time,” Kastor said. “At the end of the day it comes down

to the other team’s ability to know those things and still have success off of our pitching staff. Knowing how we throw, and knowing our styles. I don’t think it changes any of

our games… it’s still just going to what works best for us and playing our best game.”

With the brunt of the season coming into frame for notre dame, the Irish’s pitching depth

will be tested. notre dame will be playing 4 plus times a week for the next month and a half. And if the Irish want to keep up their winning ways and make their first superregional in

program history. Kastor will almost certainly need to be playing her best game.

Contact J.J. Post jpost2@nd.edu

Citron steps into leadership role as Irish make tournament run

By LIAM COOLICAN senior sports Writer

When All-American guard o livia m iles went down with a knee injury Feb. 26, many thought n otre d ame’s dreams of a deep tournament run were all but over. The Irish were already missing sharpshooting graduate guard d ara m abrey, who suffered a torn A c L in Jan., and it was clear in their blowout loss to Louisville in the A cc Tournament semifinals that they desperately missed m iles’ unmatched creativity and scoring ability.

If the Irish hoped to make good on lofty preseason expectations, they needed a new leader to step up on the court. n aturally, that void was filled by sophomore guard s onia c itron. The 6-foot-1 guard has served as m iles’ co-star for much of the last two seasons. s he leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game, and is the team’s best defender.

Already doing so much for

ND bAsebAll

Irish baseball get back on track against Louisville

By ADAM AKAN sports Writer

n otre d ame baseball is heading into a weekend of heated A cc play at home against n o. 6 Louisville. The Irish enter the game with a respectable 10-8 overall record, but a lessthan-stellar 2-4 conference mark. The c ardinals will come to s outh b end with a dominating 18-2 season record, starting 2-1 in the A cc . For a team with high expectations after last year’s c ollege World s eries run, this weekend has definitely been circled in the Irish clubhouse for some time.

The Irish started off their season entirely on the road as they combatted the gloomy s outh b end weather. This series will represent their first in Frank e ck s tadium, though the Irish played their home opener earlier this week against valparaiso in a one-off match. n otre d ame

defeated the b eacons 8-4, dropping them to 7-7.

valparaiso struck initially in the first and third innings, going up 2-0 while the Irish remained without a hit. Graduate infielder Zack Prajzner answered in the bottom of the third, launching a moonshot to deep left field for both his first long ball of the year and the first of the season at Frank e ck s tadium. In the fourth, with runners in scoring position, graduate outfielder Jack Zyska homered to left and gave the Irish a 4-2 advantage. h ead coach s hawn s tiffler noted that the sequence was what the Irish were looking for, with multiple quality at-bats setting up an Irish homer.

“ o ur identity is going to be stringing those at-bats together,” he described. “It’s going to be more on [having] good at-bat after good at-bat.”

The b eacon bats went silent after tying it up 4-4 in

the seventh. In the bottom of that inning, Zack Prajzner came home on graduate infielder c arter Putz’s single. Putz and sophomore infielder Jack Penney scored later in the inning on a bases-loaded single from graduate catcher-outfielder n ick Juaire. Zyska stole home on a designed play later in the inning, stretching the lead to 8-4. The b eacons went scoreless in the final two innings, giving the Irish an emphatic win.

Irish freshman d avid Lally Jr. made the start, pitching 2.1 innings and giving up a respectable five hits and two earned runs across 10 at-bats. Graduate transfer c arter b osch followed, pitching 3.2 dazzling innings in the middle of the game. h e allowed only two hits, one walk, no runs and dealing six strikeouts. Junior s ammy c ooper closed out the game with three innings pitched,

the team, head coach n iele Ivey has asked c itron to step into an even bigger role, and she has embraced the challenge.

“I credit s onia. I knew s onia was going to come in and do whatever I needed her to do,” Ivey said Thursday. “ s he gets the team’s best defender, and she’s sometimes guarding the opponent’s best player, and I’m asking her to run the point and score. It’s a lot to carry for her, but she’s great. s he’s embraced it all.”

c itron showcased her immense potential as the offensive leader for the Irish in their A cc quarterfinal victory over n c s tate. h ardly stepping off the floor, she scored 28 points, while adding nine rebounds and five assists. s he used her size and strength to go to the free throw line 15 times, while also making an impact on the defensive end of the floor.

Yet she cooled off in

ND woMeN’s

bAsketbAll Irish prepare for Maryland

By ANDREW McGUINNESS sports editor

Triumph was in the air s unday afternoon after the final buzzer sounded. n otre d ame had not only just knocked off m ississippi s tate in a 53-48 nail-biter to reach their second straight s weet 16, but also chalked up yet another victory at Purcell Pavilion. Winning in s outh b end has almost felt like a guarantee ever since the n iele Ivey era fully established itself last season. The Irish have played 31 home games over the last two seasons, winning 28 of them. They have beaten some of the country’s best programs like n c s tate and U c onn on their home floor during that span. They have been, for the most part, completely dominant.

That level of excellence makes the feelings surrounding those other three home games stand out even more. And it just so happens that one of the teams

responsible for those defeats is the one that moved into a matchup with n otre d ame just hours after the Irish beat the b ulldogs. That team would be m aryland, the n o. 2 seed in the Greenville 1 r egion. The Terrapins were the n o. 20 team in the country back on d ec. 1 when they upset the Irish, 74-72, on a buzzer-beating jumper by second-team All-American d iamond m iller.

b oth teams are different from what they were 113 days ago. The Terrapins used that victory over n otre d ame to vault from very good to elite status. Their n o. 2 seed is proof of that. Just 10 days after beating the Irish, m aryland took down U c onn, one of five wins against top 25 teams they have notched since leaving s outh b end. m aryland notched convincing victories in each of its two games of the nc AA Tournament. The Terrapins thrashed h oly c ross 93-61

Max petrosky | the observer

In the Irish’s second round 53-48 victory against Mississippi State, sophomore guard Sonia Citron led the Irish in points with 14. On Mar. 25, Citron and the Irish will face Maryland in the Sweet Sixteen. see citron PAGe 15

CItRoN FeAtuRe