Print Edition for The Observer for Wednesday, September 27, 2023

SCOTUS Justice Kagan speaks at ND

Justice Elena Kagan shared her thoughts on constitutional interpretation in her recent conversation

By PETER BREEN Interim Notre Dame News Editor

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan called for the court to adopt a code of conduct in a conversation Friday with Notre Dame Law School Dean G. Marcus Cole.

In response to a question from Cole about the recent scrutiny of justices’ relationships with outside parties and law schools, Kagan said adopting a code would be a “good thing” for the court to do.

“[A code] would help in our own compliance with the rules, and it would, I think, go far in persuading other people that we were adhering

to the highest standard of conduct,” Kagan said.

Cole prompted Kagan with questions about academia, constitutional interpretation, religion, ethics and writing during the roughly 65-minute chat in DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

The associate justice’s visit was part of this year’s Notre Dame Forum, which focuses on “the future of democracy.”

Kagan, the fourth woman to become a member of the court and, prior to that, Harvard Law School’s first female dean, said her career in academia and experience teaching affects the way she

SMC club plans rebrand, service Kay v. Irish Rover hearing slated for Wednesday

By GABRIELLE BEECHERT Assistant Managing Editor

This Wednesday, global affairs and sociology professor Tamara Kay will meet the Irish Rover in St. Joseph County Superior Court 4 in a hearing regarding the alleged defamation and punitive damages claims Kay is bringing against the student newspaper.

The hearing, though initially

scheduled to hear the Rover’s motion to dismiss the case, will now determine if legal proceedings will pause to allow for discovery, which is the formal process of exchanging information between parties about the witnesses and evidence they will present at trial. There is also a chance that the case could be dismissed, the Rover’s legal team said. In order for the case to be

dismissed, the Rover needs to prove that Kay’s complaint fails to state a claim. If the case is not dismissed and moves to trial, the burden of proof will fall to the prosecuting party. Kay will have to prove that the Rover’s reporting was defamatory, meaning it included a false statement made with a defamatory

see HEARING PAGE 4

ND-OSU game draws in record ratings for NBC

By KATELYN WALDSCHMIDT

Associate News Editor

On Monday night, the McAllen Immersion Trip had its first meeting of the year. Despite its small turn out, the club introduced some big ideas for this year, including a name change and plans to partner with South Bend organizations as part of their outreach

efforts. The meeting kicked off with a brief presentation by the board, explaining the mission and history of the McAllen Immersion Trip. The organization was founded Leonard Sanchez, chair of the Saint Mary’s social work department who currently serves as one of the club’s two advisors.

see SERVICE PAGE 3

Observer Staff Report

Notre Dame’s 17-14 loss to Ohio State on Saturday was NBC Sports’ most watched regular season college football game since the 1993 “Game of the Century” between thenNo. 2 Notre Dame and No. 1 Florida State.

The game averaged 10.5

million viewers across NBC, Peacock and NBC Sports Digital, according to the network. As the Buckeyes drove for the game-winning score from 10:30 p.m. to 10:45 p.m., viewership peaked at 14.2 million.

Saturday’s contest was one of the most-watched primetime regular

season college football games on any network since 2018. Notre DameOhio State edged out Oregon-Colorado’s Nielsen rating of 10.03 million viewers on ABC on Saturday afternoon, according to Sports Media Watch.

see RATINGS PAGE 4

Courtesy of Belles Unite Borders

Advisors Kathryn Lyndes (back, center) and Leonard Sanchez (front, right) took SMC students to McAllen, Texas to assist asylum seekers.

Meghan Lange | The Observer

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan spoke with Notre Dame Law School dean Marcus Cole on academia, religion, constitutional ethics and writing in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on Sept. 22. see KAGAN PAGE 3

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Mission Center celebrates anniversary

By ALLISON SRP

News Writer

On Monday night at McKenna Hall, the Congregation of Holy Cross hosted a celebration of the centennial of the Holy Cross Mission Center. Br. Paul Bednarczyk, the superior general of the Congregation of Holy Cross, delivered a keynote address at the event.

Bednarczyk was introduced by Fr. Tom Eckert, the director of the Holy Cross Mission Center. Eckert highlighted Bednarczyk as the first brother to serve in the role of superior general and described him as “a man of faith, hope, charity and a

servant leader.”

Bednarczyk began his talk by thanking the Holy Cross Mission Center for its service to the order and the people it serves and gave a brief history of the missionary work of the Congregation.

Bednarczyk noted that mission work has been a priority of the Congregation since its founding by Blessed Basil Moreau, who wanted to be a missionary himself.

Bednarczyk said the order now operates in “eighteen countries around the globe” with “approximately twenty different nationalities in the Congregation.”

Bednarczyk highlighted the Congregation’s

we can go down to a similar town in the future,” Raciti said.

recent improvement in ethnic diversity.

“It is estimated by 2035, although I believe it will be sooner, there will be more Asian, meaning Bengali and Indian, confrères in the Congregation, than there will be Americans, Canadians, Peruvians, Chileans, Brazilians, French and Hatians combined,” he said.

Bednarczyk also noted the development of a new “reverse mission” in Holy Cross. Because the Congregation of the Holy Cross is thriving in other parts the world, while the Church in general is declining in the West, he said, many Holy Cross members

the trip to McAllen.

from other countries have come to serve in North America.

Bednarczyk stressed the importance of the order being a global and intercultural institution. He said intercultural means moving “beyond tolerances of differences to the acceptance of something new when people are generally enriched by each other and their cultural perspective.”

Bednarczyk also spoke about the “prophetic dimension of the consecrated life,” pointing to a quote from Pope Francis that said prophets “know God,” are able to “discern and denounce the evil of sin” and “tend to be

on the side of the poor and powerless.”

A new Holy Cross mission will be set up in Papua New Guinea, Bednarczyk said. He hopes the mission, consisting of six priests and brothers, will start within the next year.

Bednarczyk closed with a final exhortation for Holy Cross to “keep pressing forward” and reminded the audience “we are only asked to be faithful to who we are, to love the Lord and his people and to emulate the many men and women of Holy Cross who preceded us.”

Contact Allison Srp at asrp@nd.edu

“A sister reached out to a friend of mine, asking about having a social work intern in McAllen, Texas,” Sanchez said. “And I reached back to them and asked if I could make it more extensive and bring more students on a spring break trip.”

During the presentation, vice president Ana Raciti talked further about the trip to McAllen in early 2020. Five students and both advisors went for a week to help asylum seekers by providing support, food and aid wherever they could, she said. But due to the pandemic, the club has not been able to go a similar trip in the past three years.

“This year, we’re really trying to get awareness generated and get people to know about the club so hopefully

Kagan

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

writes opinions.

“I try hard to figure out how it is that I’m going to explain things to people because law is complicated and law is often arcane. Especially when I started at the court and I was a junior justice, I got all these really super arcane, technical opinions to write. That’s the thing that junior justices tend to do [and] tend to get,” Kagan said. “But I wanted ordinary people to understand them.”

Kagan added that she didn’t want to dumb down opinions so that absolutely everybody could understand them at the expensive of legal precision.

“But I wanted to figure out a way to present ideas in a way that they were comprehensible to people because, in the end, this is a democracy and people in a

Because the club has not been able to return to McAllen, a name change was in order. This year, Raciti said the board spent two hours deciding what to rename the club, hoping the new name would create greater awareness and be as inclusive as possible.

“So we came up with the name Belles Unite Borders, otherwise known as BUBs, to kind of show that we are an all encompassing club that is really dedicated and passionate about serving people from all over, not just individuals who are trying to cross the Mexican border near McAllen, Texas,” Raciti said.

The club feels that the new name reflects their desire to help this multitude of people in various ways other than

democracy should be able to understand how our institutions of government work, including the courts,” she said.

Cole asked Kagan about a theory of constitutional interpretation called originalism. Kagan said the originalist position looks at what constitutional phrases meant at the time they were written, using the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to describe the theory.

“In the late 1860s, we look at what people thought it meant to have equal protection of the laws or to have due process of law,” Kagan said. “Those set of applications, if you will, are the application that we should continue and nothing else [according to the originalist position].”

Kagan explained that one problem with originalism is that it will inevitably involve picking and choosing

“This club is mostly to spur not only awareness but help towards the community of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers,” club president Diana Neri said.

Despite not being able to take large trips due to COVID-19, the club has not let that stop them from making plans to help people. During the meeting, they reviewed several ideas for how to help people as the semester continues.

”When we’re not going on these big trips, our club is really focused on just lending a helping hand to people both in the local area and also on the national scale, specifically immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers,” Raciti said.

Sanchez said there are a number of places in Chicago the club wants to reach out to. They also hope to take

from the historical record.

“History is hard, and that kind of constitutional history — trying to figure out what words meant to people, what the words apply to and what the words didn’t — ... is a pretty impossible task,” Kagan said. “One person’s history has a historical argument saying ‘A,’ and another person has a historical argument saying not ‘A.’”

After talking through several Supreme Court decisions from the past few years concerning affirmative action, voting rights, the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan and gerrymandering, Cole asked Kagan why only cases in which the justices are split down ideological lines receive most of the coverage in the press.

“To be completely honest, it has to be said that some of the more important cases do fall along pretty predictable

a roadtrip there as well, he said.

“We’ve also been recently talking about the La Casa de Amistad, which is another location here in South Bend that does similar work to us, but they do it on a better scope because they’ve been more founded than we have,” Raciti said.

Neri said that as president, her goal for the year is to increase club involvement. Only two board members are returning members, and Neri said a lot of the board members heard about the club because she’s been recruiting for the club since arriving at Saint Mary’s.

“Since my freshman year, I’ve been advocating for this club because not many people know about it. So one goal personally is to get people actually committed and wanting to do the work,” she

lines,” Kagan said.

Kagan pointed out that many recent Supreme Court decisions have to do with national political issues.

“You had the right to abortion overturned. You had a very important case about climate change and the ability of the government to combat climate change,” she said. “When all of these are falling 6-3, it doesn’t strike me as surprising that people would talk about that.”

In response to a question from Cole about role of faith in her life, Kagan, a practicing Jew, said she tries not to make being Jewish important to her as a judge.

“When you think about what religions are and what they do, they are systems of morality. They are codes of morality. Certainly, the Jewish religion is full of moral and ethical precepts,” Kagan said. “But those precepts of morality — just

said.

With all the fundraising and awareness that they are hoping to gain this year, Sanchez said there are some hopes of going to McAllen in a year, but it is gong to take a bit of time and effort. All the board is rallying for this, despite all being seniors because no current club members went on the McAllen trip, he said.

“They’re taking on a vision that initially they weren’t a part of but they’re keeping it alive,” he said. “They can always go on the trips as alums. I would love for alums to come in and be with our current students on such an adventure going back to McAllen. It wasn’t meant for just one year, COVID-19 just kind of derailed it for a bit.”

Contact Katelyn Waldschmidt at kwaldschmidt01@saintmarys.edu

like any others — that’s personal morality. It would be improper for me to substitute my personal morality for the legal rules that I’m supposed to enforce [and] for the provisions of law that I’m supposed to interpret.”

Cole called Kagan one of the court’s best writers and asked if she had any tips for young lawyers or law students about writing better.

“The first rule is edit, edit, edit … first drafts were meant to be succeeded by second drafts, which were meant to be succeeded by third drafts, and eventually things come into shape,” Kagan said. “So edit yourself [and] find good people to edit you. My clerks form a very important part of my writing process by editing my drafts.”

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

imputation, actual malice and that the alleged defamation caused damages.

The civil suit comes in response to two articles published by the Rover in October 2022 and March 2023. The first article said Kay was offering abortion access to students, and the second article quoted Kay speaking on a Notre Dame College Democrats panel. Kay claims both articles contained defamatory information. The initial summons against the Rover was filed in May, and the Rover responded by filing a motion to dismiss the case in July.

Kay’s claims of defamation

The first article mentioned in Kay’s complaint of defamation was a story from October 2022 called “Keough School Professor Offers Abortion Access to Students.”

The article by W. Joseph DeReuil, editor-in-chief emeritus and current opinion editor of the Rover, reported on signage hanging outside Kay’s office door. The sign read that “this is a SAFE SPACE to get help and information on ALL healthcare issues and access — confidentially and with care [and] compassion.” The sign also contained a capital letter “J” with a circle around it, as well as a non-Notre Dame email related to the topic of reproductive health.

The letter “J” on office doors “denotes Notre Dame professors who are willing to help students access abortion,” DeReuil wrote.

In a statement released to her website over the summer, Kay claimed the “J” on her door was about sexual assault, not abortion.

The second article mentioned in Kay’s complaint was a March 2023 article titled “Tamara Kay Explains Herself to Notre Dame Democrats.” The article,

Ratings

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The game was NBC’s second-most watched regular season game of all time, behind the 22 million viewers who tuned in to watch Notre Dame’s 3124 win over Florida State in 1993.

The four top metered markets for the meeting of the two Midwestern football powerhouses were Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Indianapolis, according to data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.

Additionally, the live stream of the game via Peacock and NBC Sports Digital platforms was NBC Sports’ most-streamed college football simulcast ever, according to the news release.

referencing the October article, repeated the allegation that Kay was “posting offers to procure abortion pills on her office door.”

This statement, according to the complaint, is one of the multiple allegedly defamatory statements made in the article.

The Rover reported that Kay answered an audience question about how she ended up at Notre Dame as someone who supports abortion. However, Kay’s complaint states the specific interaction described in the article never occurred and that an audio recording proves the exchange didn’t happen.

Kay’s legal team said in the complaint she was falsely quoted as saying “if you have academic freedom, you should use it.”

The Rover article also said “[Kay] acknowledges that not all the students in the crowd could be as forward in their pro-abortion activities as she is: ‘I can’t impose that on you … but I’m doing me, and you should do you.’” The complaint claims Kay never made this statement.

As a result of this reporting, Kay’s legal team says she has been harassed, threatened, experienced damage to her residential property and suffered mentally and emotionally.

In January, fellow global affairs professor Susan St. Ville began a GoFundMe page to raise funds for Kay’s legal expenses. As of Sept. 26, the page has raised just over $14,000.

“We are seeking funds to offset the additional costs of Prof Kay’s lawsuit against the Irish Rover, and for costs to ensure her safety and security as she continues to try to ensure that academic freedom and safety are prioritized not only for herself but for all Notre Dame faculty, staff and students,” the page says.

The page also states Kay is not suing the students of the Rover, but rather, the Notre

Dame faculty who are the legal agents of the paper.

According to an editorial written by the Rover in defense of their reporting, Kay wrote the Rover a letter of intent to sue and asked for both a redaction and an apology in April 2023. The Rover did not issue a redaction.

Indiana’s anti-SLAPP and defamation laws

In response to Kay’s claims, the Rover filed for a motion to dismiss the case under Indiana’s anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) law, arguing its coverage of Kay’s public statements and actions about abortion are at least at least substantially true and qualify under the law’s public interest and free speech criteria.

In order to have the case dismissed under Indiana anti-SLAPP law, the court must determine if the action was in furtherance of the defendant’s right to free speech or petition and if the action relates to a public issue. If these two criteria are met, the court must then determine if the action was taken in good faith and with a reasonable basis in law and fact.

If Kay’s complaint does not meet the anti-SLAPP criteria for defamation, the Rover’s statements will be considered lawful.

The Rover’s Defense

The Irish Rover and their legal team believe the reporting within the two articles meet all three criteria needed to be dismissed under Indiana’s antiSLAPP laws.

“She can’t prove any damages. I mean, did she get fired? No. I mean, she’s proud of her abortion advocacy, and Irish Rover was reporting on her abortion advocacy,” Jim Bopp, attorney for the Irish Rover said. “And so, she’s not trying to win this case. She’s trying to punish students.”

The Rover’s legal defense said the case is an example of the furtherance of free speech rights and meets the criteria to be dismissed.

“A university-focused newspaper’s publication of articles about the public statements and actions of a professor at that university, when those statements and actions are about the highly political, public concern of abortion, is a classic example of an action in furtherance of free speech rights afforded [by] these strong constitutional protections,” the memorandum stated, arguing the Rover meets the first criteria of anti-SLAPP laws.

Additionally, Kay’s claims were made in reference to the abortion rights debate which is a highly public issue, the document said, thus meeting the second criteria of anti-SLAPP law.

The Rover also argues their reporting was lawful under Indiana’s defamatory laws despite Kay’s claims that she was falsely quoted and her actions were misrepresented.

The Rover claims that both their reporting and their headline in October were true. The memorandum states DeReuil’s reporting should be interpreted in the context of some of Kay’s tweets from the day that Indiana’s abortion ban went into place. Some tweets directly reference abortion, such as how to acquire “Plan C” pills and getting stickers that reference becoming “un-pregnant.”

“Dr. Kay’s twitter account indicated the ‘J’ symbolized those people willing ‘to help [women] access healthcare’ — healthcare in this context clearly referenced abortion-related services, not strep tests,” according to a statement released by The Bopp Law Firm.

Kay has argued that there was no direct mention of abortion when she told her students to “look for the J.” According to The Cut, Kay does not

remember “[DeReuil] asking [her] about the sign on her door, either.”

The memorandum also argues the headline is not defamatory because a rational reader would assume that “offering help — not directly offering abortions — is implicit in any common sense reading of the headline.” The Rover defense argues that even if the headline is not literally true, it is at least substantially true.

Because both the headline and the story are at least substantially true, according to the memorandum, Kay cannot produce evidence that the claims were written with actual malice, it said. They also claim they made no defamatory imputations.

Although Kay argues specific claims and interactions made in the March article as false or did not occur, the Rover also argues that the March article contains no defamatory information. The paper argues all of the quotes attributed to Kay were at least substantially true. Bopp said there is nothing false or defamatory about using a statement as “long as it conveys the same meaning.”

The Rover claims both articles are true or at least substantially true, that they did not report with malice, nor did they publish any defamatory imputations.

Kay’s legal team did not respond to requests for a comment.

The most recent filing

On Sept. 21, Judge Cristal C. Brisco filed an order so that the Sept. 27 hearing will now focus on Kay’s motion to stay and the Rover’s opposition to their request. The hearing will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the St. Joseph Superior Court 4. Contact Gabrielle Beechert at gbeecher@nd.edu

SMC BAVO hosts safety training

By AMELIA BOSTETTER News Writer

Saint Mary’s students met on the lacrosse field Monday afternoon to try out seven different types of portable personal safety alarms.

The event was hosted by Saint Mary’s Residence Life and the Belles Against Violence Office (BAVO), an organization devoted to advocating for students affected by sexual assault, stalking and partner or relationship violence. Event organizers said a donor is considering purchasing these alarms for incoming freshmen at Saint Mary’s. The event was used to gauge which personal safety alarms were preferred by current students.

Portable personal safety alarms, also commonly referred to as rape alarms or attack

alarms, are a self-defense tool used to call attention to an unsafe situation, signal for help or to scare an attacker or potential attacker away from the device’s user. The small devices can typically be put on a keychain with either a small button or pulling mechanism which triggers an extremely loud and ear piercing alarm.

At Monday’s event, attendees had the chance to handle and test out each of the seven alarms available. Students were able to set the alarms off to see how loud they were, see the flashing lights triggered when the alarms go off and get a feel for how to use each device in a dangerous situation. Afterwards, each attendee filled out a form indicating which of the seven was the easiest to use, most aesthetically pleasing, most likely to be used in an emergency by the attendees and which they

preferred overall.

Freshman Emma Busk said the event had practical applications for Saint Mary’s students.

“I think it’s super informative and a good way to learn about safety, especially being on an allgirls campus and having that walk over from Notre Dame, it can get kind of scary,” she said. “I think it’s good to educate everyone on ways that we can protect ourselves.”

Busk said she’s grateful that Saint Mary’s is informing students of the alarms.

“It’s really comforting that they have these events and are able to tell us about what we can do and our options,” Busk said.

She said it could be useful for Saint Mary’s to collaborate with Notre Dame on safety events in the future and that the event inspired her to consider purchasing

a personal safety alarm of her own.

Second-year graduate student Sydney Mullin said she was proud of how seriously Saint Mary’s takes safety.

“I pride our campus on being extremely safe. I went to undergrad here and never once was afraid of the outside surroundings of South Bend,” she said.

Ava Kennedy, also a second-year graduate student, said she’s glad Saint Mary’s is prioritizing safety.

“I think they have lots of things in place that keep students safe. I think they’re doing a good job,” she said.

There will be another event testing personal safety alarms in early October for those who were unable to attend on Monday.

Contact Amelia Bostetter at abostetter01@saintmarys.edu

By COZETTE BROWN

Scene Writer

Adam Sandler is trending. Maybe it’s because of his touching tribute to recently deceased Bob Barker. Maybe it’s because, as InStyle put it, he’s the internet’s “antithesis to the Hot Girl Summer look.” Maybe it’s because he’s added one more film to the “nepo baby” debate. Enter: “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.”

In “Bat Mitzvah,” Adam Sandler plays the father of a young girl preparing to have the best bat mitzvah ever. Yet, he’s not even a major character. What makes Sandler’s new film interesting is that his real-life daughters — Sadie and Sunny Sandler — play his on-screen daughters. The leading role of Stacy Friedman goes to Sunny, while Sadie plays a supporting role as Stacy’s older sister. The majority of critics enjoyed Sunny’s leading performance, with one saying she “has a knack for comedy just like her old man.”

This, of course, raises the hot topic question of “nepo babies.” Is “Bat Mitzvah” Sunny Sandler’s success, or can it only be attributed as another one of her father’s?

To answer this question, it’s worth noting that “Bat Mitzvah” was produced by Happy Madison Productions, Sandler’s own production company. Happy Madison doesn’t have a great history with critics. The company’s films have an average rating of only 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. But “Bat Mitzvah” smashes Happy Madison’s track record, having a 92% critical rating as of this

article’s publication. The critics love it.

Audiences, on the other hand, are less impressed. As of publication, “Bat Mitzvah” has a 62% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, a 6/10 on IMDb, and a 3.0 star rating on Google Reviews. One Google reviewer called it a “gross misrepresentation of Jewish life and culture,” and another called it a comedy that “is as lame as it gets.”

Personally, I didn’t like it. “Bat Mitzvah” delivers some pretty cringe humor, exaggerates the lifestyles of teen girls, and makes a questionable attempt at resolving some of lead character Stacy’s most insufferable adolescent qualities. Yet, despite being completely unrelatable in some respects, Stacy’s experience resonated with my own coming of age.

In one scene from the movie, Stacy follows her best friend Lydia to a popular girl’s home in hopes of seeing her crush there. The get-together does not go well for Stacy, who feels like an outsider among the cool girls, until someone dares her to jump off a high ledge into the water below. Stacy agrees, despite Lydia telling her not to. The feat impresses everyone, but soon their cheers turn to taunting when Stacy’s bloody pad floats up to the surface beside her. Perhaps this is just a vignette trying to portray the awkwardness of adolescence, or maybe it’s a metaphor — a reminder that trying to be “cool” for others usually backfires more than just being yourself.

Apparently, Stacy doesn’t get the message. When Lydia ends up dating her crush, Stacy tries to sabotage Lydia in response. It’s an annoying, but unfortunately truthful,

portrayal of the middle school experience.

Of course, Stacy eventually makes up for it. She realizes that Lydia is more important to her than any boy, and that a bat mitzvah is more than a fancy party. Rather, it’s a rite of passage that marks her maturation and acceptance of adult responsibility.

In the end, “Bat Mitzvah” is a predictable family movie that clearly caters to angsty teen girls. While meant to be a sweet coming of age film, it has its faults.

For instance, some viewers called the portrayal of side character DJ Schmuley a racist depiction of Israeli people. Others said the movie makes a mockery of the Jewish faith. Some lines are just bad — in one scene that takes place at Hebrew school, Rabbi Rebecca gets a room of teenagers to chant “God is random” in response to some big questions, like “If God is real, then why is there war?” and “Why can’t straight people get on gay TikTok?”

Still, “Bat Mitzvah” continues to hold up in the critical eye. It’s a win for Adam Sandler, who can count this film as a success for Happy Madison and the entire Sandler family. It’s hard to accuse them of nepotism when, throughout the entire film, Stacy and her family live in extravagant California luxury, a premise so close to reality that you might call “Bat Mitzvah” a thinly veiled portrayal of the real-life Sandler family experience. In any case, it appears that Adam Sandler (and his acting troupe of a family) won’t lose relevance anytime soon.

Contact Cozette Brown at cbrown64@nd.edu

Take a (specific) seat

By ALLISON ELSHOFF

Scene Writer

The start of the school year came with some new additions to the South Dining Hall experience. Between “late lunch,” the mini to-go coffee cups and the new ice cream topping dispensers, it’s honestly hard to keep up. Luckily, there are certain things within the sacred walls of SDH that never change. Here is a guide for freshmen, visiting families and sad souls traveling from North Quad of some of the best practices to navigate the unique culture of SDH.

Give ‘em a hand

A thunderous applause erupts in a corner of the room, spreading like wildfire until the whole dining hall is clapping. Did Sam Hartman announce a miracle seventh year of eligibility? Did the University put an end to parietals? To many students’ dismay — no.

Instead, someone dropped a cup or plate, prompting an excessive — but affectionate — round of applause from bystanders. It’s best practice to join in this clapping, regardless of whether you heard the fatal clattering or not. It’s our way of saying “Nice going, dude,” but in a community (and character) building way — you know?

Visiting parents or prospective students may not realize this, but there’s an unofficial assigned seating chart for the dining hall. South Quad dorms consistently congregate around the same tables and assert their dominance. I considered drawing out a map, but in the spirit of not getting political, here’s an incomplete overview:

On the left side of the dining room, one can find the men of Pangborn and Morrissey staking their claim, along with a spattering of other groups thrown in. Assigned seating gets a little more specific on the right side. Nearest to the tray tables sit the men of Fisher, Carroll (easily identifiable by their freshmen’s bleached hair) and Alumni Hall (a new addition now that they’re back on South Quad this year). Moving to the middle tables, Duncan, O’Neill and Sorin occupy a large swath of prime real estate. Finally, Badin Hall can be found at the long table against the far wall. However, this is all assuming we’re operating in the west room of the dining hall. Want to throw this whole system for a loop? Check the seating arrangements when dining gets moved to the east room. Disaster.

Fill up

A hallmark of the SDH experience is the Vitamin Water dispensers. Do these dispense Vitamin Water as marked?

Of course not. It’s actually a place to fill up on normal water. What makes it so funny, despite the confusing markings, is the very limited space to use said dispensers. Best practice is to use either the furthest left or right dispenser and — this is key — make room for someone else to use the other. That way, we’re maximizing efficiency here when it’s a Sunday night and lines are long. The kicker is the ridiculously weird (and slow) flow rate of these dispensers, forcing you to stand for an uncomfortably intimate amount of time next to the other person filling up. I have yet to witness small talk attempted, but props to you if you try.

With all of this said, if it’s your first time visiting South Dining Hall — don’t worry. Trial by fire is usually the way to go. The best part of it all is the fact that I could even write this long of an article about one of my school’s dining halls. I couldn’t fit it in, but I easily could’ve gone on about how they go all out for game day weekends on decor and food (truly tricking the alumni), how lovely it is to see the same workers everyday, the sticky tables … you get the idea. South Dining Hall is a prime example of Notre Dame’s essence — and no, I’m not getting paid to say this. It takes a bunch of kids and makes a community out of them — a beautiful mission accomplished.

Contact Allison Elshoff at aelshoff@nd.edu

You guys messed it up Plasma donations must take center stage

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Pantheon

Pl. du Pantheon, 75005 Paris, France

Sept. 26, 2023

Ms. Keylla Victor and Mr. Gilberto Victor

Edificio Supreme

Rua Afonso serafim 21

Taubate, SP, 12041-018

Dear Mr. and Ms. Victor,

From my brief observations of Lara’s ill education, I have noticed various mistakes of great importance. Among them are its similarity to a male-appropriate education, myopic pursuit of the arts and sciences instead of more feminine roles and duties and constant defiance of her feminine responsibilities. As one must know, three of my most famous works discussed the topics of education, religion, society and the arts and sciences. Given that the causes of this case of your daughter’s poor education are founded in these topics, I hope that, from this letter and the advice given here, the harm will be undone and she shall become a well-educated young woman who fulfills her role in society.

To understand what an adequate feminine education is, we must first understand the difference between men and women, and what a woman’s purpose in life is. Both men and women have the same needs, organs and faculties. However, they differ on the matter of sex. In this lies the difficulty in comparing them, given our inability to decide in either case, that of man and that of woman, what is a matter of sex, and what is not. Because of that, some fail to understand that this core difference leads to one in their moral relations, and we must recognize its importance. As I say in the fifth chapter of the “Emile,” “The man should be strong and active; the woman should be weak and passive.” With that principle in mind, one can understand that a woman is specially made for man’s delight and that her education should be planned in relation to men from a very young age.

Now that I have addressed those differences, I shall define the ideal education for a woman. From the beginning, her tutoring should foment her instincts of caregiving, pleasing, seduction and motherhood. Your obligation as parents is to follow these instincts and train them. Unfortunately, both of you went against this, clearly marked bent throughout her life. Instead of stimulating her feminine inclinations through dolls, playthings and dressing-up mirrors, you have prompted her to engage in manly matters such as taekwondo, which she has now mastered. Moreover, you have continuously stimulated her to pursue traditional 21st-century schooling to the detriment of improving her abilities in the areas of motherhood and caregiving to the point that she is ultimately incapable of sewing and cooking, and, therefore, incapable of fulfilling her future responsibilities as a wife and mother.

Sadly, the causes of Lara’s poor education are not only based on matters of sex but also on matters of general education, such as attending Notre Dame and being a part of the Glynn Family Honors program. Furthermore, being a student and residing at the most prominent Catholic university in America constantly exposes her to institutionalized religion and the Catholic Church, which has only taken away virtue from our society. With that principle in mind, how can one adequately learn religion? In the fourth chapter of the “Emile,” the priest advocates for learning faith through natural methods, given that all inquiries about nature and its perfection will inevitably lead to the existence of God, His unknowable force and benevolence.

Finally, educating a woman on the frames of a man, as both of you have done with Lara, ultimately leads to a woman who does not understand and is incapable of fulfilling her natural roles of making herself pleasing in the man’s eyes, not provoking him to anger and taking care of her family. Therefore, to correct the grotesque mistakes made in her education, she must quit university and focus on making up for the time lost by completely dedicating herself to stimulating her feminine inclinations. She must learn skills that will aid her in adequately fulfilling her role of being a mother and wife such as sewing and cooking. Furthermore, it is of extreme importance that she adopts a more passive personality, given that she is currently characterized by many as “feisty” and “too opinionated.” Along with that, she must let her hair grow, so that she can become more pleasing in the eyes of men. I hope that, with the information and advice disclosed here, the harm is undone and she can successfully perform her role in society.

Warm regards,

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

You can read the rest of this story at ndsmcobserver.com

Lara is a member of the class of 2026 from Taubaté, Brazil with majors in economics and Chinese. When she is not complaining about the weather, you can find her studying in a random room of O’Shaughnessy with her friends or spending all her flex points in Garbanzo. You can contact Lara by email at lvictor@nd.edu.

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

When my older brother, Sam, came home from college, he was interested in making some extra spending money. My mother is a registered nurse and suggested Sam consider donating his plasma because her unit is always talking about the need to make this critical blood component more readily available. She went on to say he could even get paid for the effort. Sam did not need much convincing. Within a week, he was $65 richer for about two hours worth of “work.” While his original intention was just to make a few extra bucks, he soon learned that his donation would be instrumental in saving or improving lives.

There needs to be more awareness placed on plasma donation in the United States. Donations are needed in the U.S. to help address a wide array of medical issues, to replenish and sustain the global supply of plasma and to offer a beneficial financial incentive to those who donate. It is imperative that the U.S. focuses more on this industry in order to bring it to the forefront of society.

So what really is plasma? Plasma is a clear, yellow liquid that makes up the majority of blood. Plasma transports antibodies, waste and nutrients throughout the body. Some of its functions include helping the body maintain adequate blood pressure and volume, securing a healthy pH balance, supplying proteins for blood clotting and immunity and carrying electrolytes to the muscles. It is safe to say that plasma plays an integral role in the functioning of the body.

And how does plasma donation work?

Plasma is obtained through a process called plasmapheresis. Essentially, plasma is extracted from whole blood, and the remaining blood components are returned to the donor with a saline solution. The body then begins the short process of replacing the plasma that was just extracted. Plasma donations are frozen to be used for patient transfusions or manufactured into pharmaceuticals.

Plasma therapies are life-saving for many.

Patients with rare diseases, cardiopulmonary issues, pediatric HIV, liver cancer, autoimmune diseases and bleeding disorders, as well as burn, shock and trauma victims all benefit from plasma donations. Additionally, plasma is used in treatment against Rh sensitization — a condition that affects 15% of pregnant women. In this instance, the plasma proteins prevent conditions like jaundice and anemia at birth.

A great deal of plasma is certainly needed to treat all of these people. Approximately 10,000 units of plasma are needed every day in the U.S. alone. It is also important to note that plasma cannot be manufactured, so the sole source of plasma used to treat patients are donations. These donations have an immense effect on the quality of life for so many people. For example, 1,200 donations will treat someone with hemophilia (a bleeding disorder) for one year.

The U.S. plays a major role in the global plasma industry, supplying 70% of the world’s plasma. In countries like Australia and France, only public and not-for-profit sectors are permitted to collect plasma, and they do not compensate donors. In contrast, the U.S. permits public, not-for-profit and

commercial private plasma collection centers to operate. These commercial centers offer a financial incentive to donors which allows the U.S. to support the rest of the world with their plasma supply.

The role of the U.S. in the global plasma industry was accentuated during the coronavirus pandemic. Donations decreased by 20% in 2020 because people did not want to risk exposure by visiting donation centers. This had a global impact on the plasma supply during a time when its need actually increased. Interestingly, some COVID-19 treatments explored transfusing the plasma and antibodies of patients who recovered from COVID-19 to those currently suffering from the virus. The pandemic affected millions of people worldwide, so the impacts of the U.S. plasma shortage were felt even more drastically in other countries that rely so heavily on the U.S. for imports.

Finally, not only can donors be instrumental in plasma treatments, but they also receive the added bonus of some financial compensation, which is why the U.S. is a leader in plasma collection. A major plasma collection center in the U.S., Octapharma Plasma, offers up to $75 for referring a friend to donate. Donors receive between $35 and $65, depending on the center. Donations typically take a little more than an hour, and this stipend is certainly more than one can earn for an hour of a minimum wage job. Plasma donations provide some immediate relief for those struggling financially. While this highlights other flaws in our society, it does further emphasize how the plasma donation industry is helpful to many in the U.S. — those who receive donations and those who donate.

Critics are quick to point out the ethical concerns of the plasma industry. These centers are often saturated in low-income communities because that is where the financial incentive is most attractive. Many of these are located on the Mexican border, targeting potential immigrants. Ten percent of all plasma that is extracted in the U.S. comes from Mexicans crossing the border. Critics have a valid concern here; the U.S. should not be placing so much of the responsibility for plasma donations on low-income communities. The U.S. is on a slippery slope when they attach a monetary incentive to plasma donations, but without this incentive, the industry would suffer. Two steps to improve the industry are to disperse donation centers across the country and to promote the benefits of giving plasma to all audiences. If donation centers were spread throughout the country, the responsibility wouldn’t fall so drastically on low-income communities. Additionally, the benefits of plasma donation should be promoted to highlight the impact it has on patients’ lives. It is estimated that 6.8 million people donate blood each year.

You can read the rest of this story at ndsmcobserver.com

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

Lara Novaes Victor

Diary of an International Student

Jessica Robinson BridgeND

How to get a job offer: The Dome’s 5-step plan

me, the recruiter will know you are the one.

4. Secure an unpaid internship

1. Take courses in your area of interest

Hone your skills and acquire knowledge in your academic area of expertise by taking foundation courses that will have marginally marginal relevance to your future career. Many foundation courses are also infamous “weeder classes,” which are vicious gatekeepers to your dream career. If you successfully navigate through these classes, you are rewarded with the opportunity to indulge in more specialized elective courses that will have marginal relevance to your future career. You can also write a senior thesis if you would like to pad your resume more than SIBC did. I will also mention study abroad opportunities since what other way is more effective in broadening your academic pursuits with a global perspective than drinking Guinness and posting about it on Instagram?

2. Spruce up your LinkedIn

Immerse yourself in the marketplace of professionals and professional bot accounts. Engage with people of interest by sliding into their DMs under the guise of a nifty “connect” button. Curate an immaculate digital image of yourself by catfishing the internet with posts about how excited you are to join (consulting firm of your choice). Feign interest in the budding careers of your acquaintances by tossing over the business professional equivalent of “slayyy”: “Wow, great work, Jonah. Well deserved!” Is LinkedIn materially different from Tinder, or any dating app for that matter? I don’t know; I would have to pay a consultant to get to the bottom of this!

3. Go to the career fair to network with recruiters

Throw on your three-piece high school prom suit (the dress code is business casual). Flock to the Duncan Student Center en masse with resumes and notebooks in hand. Stand in line for Deloitte. It is that simple! You may feel nervous, unprepared and inexperienced among the hundreds of other students itching to work for a Big Four Firm, but trust

After the successful networking, you are afforded the opportunity to work a full-time internship, preferably unpaid to demonstrate your utmost piety to the company. An internship is a fantastic way to get hands-on insight into how exciting or miserable your future will be. Fear not. Upon completing an internship with which you were not entirely satisfied, you can repeat steps one through three, with a higher probability of success. However, if you outperformed yourself and had enough coffee chats with your supervisor, you might, just might, receive a post-grad job offer.

5. Work in a cubicle for the remainder of your human existence

Steps one through four must be completed successfully before one can consider step five. Numbers may dictate your work on the Excel document. A number may determine how much resources you have to budget for yourself and your family. But the two numbers nine to five will be the ultimatum that governs the remainder of your days in the workforce. You could invest in a retirement plan so that you can finally begin to enjoy your life while on your deathbed. You will spend limited time with your children and will inevitably persuade them to take the same course of action that you did years ago. This may seem like a grim “life,” but at least you get happy hours with the team and 11 days of Paid Time Off.

The Dome’s Career Fair was last week. I imagine your email inbox was flooded with enticements to attend the Career Fair. You may have actually gone there to test your luck with the recruiters. Perhaps you enjoyed your time, and the experience was fruitful. Or maybe you thought it was a waste of time; I am not here to judge.

I am here to assess how the Dome treats career development and discernment. As for the former, the Dome offers resources via the Center for Career Development, where one can learn about, you guessed it, careers. There are links and documents to detail all parts of the job process. Everything

is centralized on the online website or on the fifth floor of Duncan. I commend the volume and quality of information offered to students. As for the efficacy of the interview preparation exercises or resume proofreading, I cannot speak.

As for the latter, there are comparatively fewer resources. I can scarcely call a week of Moreau class dedicated to career discernment legitimate career discernment. The Center for Career Development offers a measly tab filled with links to random pages: outsourced surveys, a form to sign up for a meeting with a counselor or a request for your social security number, to name a few. The disparity in resources and attention allocated for career development and discernment tells you where the Dome places her priorities.

Career discernment must take precedence over career development. Why should you develop something that you do not really care about? Consider the following: Mentorship is a powerful tool one can leverage to reflect on themselves with incredible honesty. Intentional personal reflection via journaling can also help in one’s self-assessment. You ought to understand yourself before you endeavor to understand the ins and outs of some company. Take a step back to analyze your situation from a bird’s eye view. Avoid following along with the crowd out of complacency or cowardice. Be a consultant because you firmly believe that your calling is there.

I remind you that there is a human behind every job and that human is you. Take care that you are attentive to your humanity at all moments along your professional journey. To think that you need to have everything or a majority of things figured out is ridiculous. What matters is momentum. You do not have to be pinpoint accurate in every career decision, but as long as you maintain momentum, you can reexamine your choice and pivot. Don’t get fooled or discouraged by all the noise. You should move at your own pace.

Jonah Tran is a sophomore at Notre Dame double majoring in finance and classics with a minor in constitutional studies. He prides himself on sarcasm and his home — the free state of Florida. You can contact Jonah by email at jtran5@nd.edu.

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

In defense of the library

Hesburgh Library, the crown jewel of Notre Dame’s modernist phase, is turning 60 this week. As a library regular with zero experience in architectural or aesthetic criticism, I’d like to share my thoughts.

Hesburgh Library looks like an upside-down cardboard refrigerator box, complete with a picture on the side. It would benefit from about five hundred more windows on its three unadorned sides. The one place with both windows and a view, the famous Penthouse, is closed off to students, who are left to choose which windowless study space they like best. The library is one of the most recognizable buildings on campus because it is massive, but also because it is one of the ugliest. I firmly believe that if it weren’t such a massive financial investment, the University would tear it down and build something more artful instead.

This being said, I intend with this article to defend our cardboard box and the era in which it was built. Hesburgh Library is, in many respects, a masterpiece, not because I find it pleasing to the eye but because I respect the attitude of the students and staff who supported the project. To understand what I mean, let’s do a quick refresher on the architectural history of Notre Dame.

The first buildings at Notre Dame, such as the Main Building and Sorin Hall, were built using yellow bricks made from the clay found in St. Mary’s Lake. These buildings were constructed under the leadership of Fr. Edward Sorin in a style reminiscent of European Gothic churches and schools, which was likely the style he had been exposed to growing up. When the brick business shut down, Notre Dame architects used beige bricks and concrete to mimic the color of the original bricks. Buildings from this period, such as Farley Hall and South Dining Hall, continued the traditional Gothic style.

Then, about halfway through the twentieth century, something interesting happened. Campus got modernized — meaning the ornamentation and vaulted ceilings of old were scrapped for right angles and geometric shapes. Under the leadership of Fr. Hesburgh, Notre Dame infamously flirted with brutalism and other modernist styles for some thirty years, constructing all the buildings on campus that I consider to be the ugliest. We have the ‘60s and ‘70s to thank for the awkward tallness of Flanner and Grace halls, the glum plainness of North Dining hall and the impressively unpleasant Radiation Laboratory.

Here’s a fun fact about this era of Notre Dame architecture: they were planning to tear down the Main Building and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Grace and Flanner Halls were meant to be the first of eleven identical dorms surrounding a new, space-age chapel. The plan was to usher in a new age of design that would be free of stained glass and the European nostalgia with which Notre Dame was originally built.

Eventually, Notre Dame’s architects turned on their plans. Grace and Flanner turned out to be an eyesore and a disciplinary nightmare, the Space Basilica got scrapped and the old plans for Mod Quad have been the laughingstock of Notre Dame ever since. All the new buildings built after the eighties have been constructed in the Gothic style.

This story may strike the reader as laughable, or as a blight on Notre Dame’s architectural heritage, but it is important to examine the environment in which the Space Basilica was conceived. This is where my defense comes in.

At this tie in Notre Dame’s history, a futuristic campus wasn’t even close to the wildest idea being thrown around on campus. Fr. Hesburgh became president, and everything was changing, for better or for worse. Notre Dame was in the process of becoming one of the world’s premier research universities, exponentially increasing its endowment and expanding the student body. Campus was transitioning from a predominantly white, all-male environment to one

that included black students and women. Fr. Hesburgh was marching hand-in-hand with Martin Luther King, Jr., a decision which at the time was revolutionary and controversial. A new architectural aesthetic paired well with the new ideas being thrown around, and a new library was the perfect leader for the project.

The leaders at Notre Dame during the ‘60s and ‘70s were not concerned about the way they would be received by future generations or by the rest of the world. Out of sheer audacity, they built a giant convention center that looks like Disney’s Epcot and invited Martin Luther King, Jr. to speak in it. It was an absurd idea but also a courageous one. That kind of courage is something that I see missing in the Notre Dame of today.

Future generations will not laugh or scoff at the architecture of our generation. They will barely notice it. Each new building, although technically unique in shape and size, does its very best to look exactly like the ones surrounding it. The interiors of the buildings reflect this too: take a stroll through Baumer Hall or Eck Hall of Law and you will find nothing but beige: beige ceilings, beige walls, beige carpets and desks and chairs. To me, this obsession with beige and vaguely gothic uniformity is representative of our failure to envision ourselves as a university of the future. Notre Dame clings to its heritage in an unhealthy way; we look at previous generations of students and administrations and try to emulate them as best we can.

You can read the rest of this story at ndsmcobserver.com

Rose is a senior from Buffalo, NY with majors in economics and the Program of Liberal Studies. Her writing interests include ethics, campus culture and the intersection of economics, politics and philosophy. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading on the 10th floor of the library, losing intramural basketball games or working at the Law School. You can contact Rose by email at rquiniaz@nd.edu.

Rose Quinlan A Contrarian’s Contribution

Jonah Tran Saturae et Sapientia

Follow us on Twitter. @ObserverSports

Holtz doubles down on Ohio State, Day comments

By Observer Sports Staff

Former Notre Dame head football coach Lou Holtz said he doesn’t “feel bad” about his comments that led to Ohio State head coach Ryan Day calling him out in a postgame interview following Ohio State’s 17-14 win over Notre Dame.

Holtz appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” live from campus Friday and questioned Ohio State’s physicality.

“You look at Coach Day, and I coached at Ohio State under Woody Hayes, we won the national championship when I was there and I’m proud of that. However, he has lost to Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Michigan twice, and everybody that beats them does so because they’re more physical than Ohio State, and I think that Notre Dame will take that same approach,”

said Holtz.

“You tell [Ohio State] they better bring their lunch because it’s going to be a full damn day’s work,” he said.

In the on-field postgame interview, Day called out the 86-year-old coach and asserted his team’s toughness.

“I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is now. What he said about our team, what he said about our team, I cannot believe. This is a tough team right here. We’re proud to be from Ohio, and it’s always been Ohio against the world, and it’ll continue to be Ohio against the world,” Day said.

Holtz appeared on a podcast with Dan Dakich on Outkick on Tuesday and said he called head coach Marcus Freeman to apologize, not knowing how far his comments would spread.

“I wanted him to know that I felt bad. Any time you put a team at a disadvantage and you can’t control the outcome

of the game, that’s wrong. I hadn’t done TV for a few years, I had no it would be that widely received… I had no idea Mr. McAfee’s show was so widely watched. But I made it and that’s it, and you can’t do anything about it,” Holtz said.

While Holtz apologized to Freeman, he said he stood by his comments.

“I don’t feel bad about saying it because I believe it. And Notre Dame was the better football team,” he said. “Three times Ohio State had 4th and 1, ran the ball and couldn’t make it. Other than the one long run they averaged less than two yards a carry.”

He went on to call Day a “great coach” but doubled down on his assessment of the Buckeyes.

“Ohio State’s a good football team but I don’t think they’re a great football team,” Holtz said. “He can go after me all he wants.”

Saints struggle to score in weekend games

By ANDREW McGUINNESS

Associate Sports Editor

Notre Dame football wasn’t the only sports team on the tri-campus who struggled to score on Saturday. Both the Holy Cross men’s and women’s soccer teams hit the road over the weekend to take on Roosevelt. Neither match went the Saints’ way, as the men’s team fell 2-0 while the women lost by a 1-0 score.

Despite being outshot, the Saints men’s team managed to take the game into halftime tied scoreless. A couple of huge saves by junior goalkeeper Armin Mahmutovic extended the clean sheet into the 72nd minute. Junior forward Isaac Filippo had nearly given Holy Cross the lead 14 minutes earlier, beating Lakers keeper Erik Carvajal with a header — but

not the post.

Roosevelt’s Alan Rubio ultimately proved to be the hero in the contest. Entering the game with one goal on the year, Rubio broke the deadlock with two tallies in 11 minutes. The first came on the rebound of a shot off the woodwork by Valerio Joos, while Oskar Schuster earned the assist on the second. The Saints finished the game with just one shot on goal, failing to test Carvajal after falling behind. They dropped to 3-6-1 on the year and 1-2 in conference play.

It took less time for points to go on the board in the women’s match, although that also did not go in the Saints’ favor.

An unassisted goal by Daisy Hernandez-Loya in the 28th minute held up as the only one of the match. Junior goalkeeper

court and off the court, and she is just like a ray of sunshine.”

“[Sydney’s] such a key player to our team, and she is such a kind soul that I’m very grateful for,” Drewnick said. “It’s amazing to have a relationship like that on the court and off the court.”

Like Drewnick, Palazzolo has built her volleyball career around relationships. She fell in love with the sport by watching her older cousins play collegiately. Palazzolo knew what she wanted, but she never could have imagined it taking shape like this. At Notre Dame, she plays within four hours of her Michigan hometown, Shelby Township. Family members now attend her matches regularly. And they appeared in droves when the Irish visited Toledo two Sundays ago.

“Going through it, I always had my eyes set on playing volleyball in college,” Palazzolo said. “Now that we’re here in the ACC, my dreams are coming true, and it’s so surreal to come into the arena every day and appreciate where I’m at. I try to always remember that it’s a privilege to be here, and I try to give my best effort every day because of that reason.”

Dame the chance to prove itself in the landscape of college volleyball.

“We have every opportunity to go out there and compete and be the best team,” Drewnick said. “There’s nothing stopping us, but that has to start with our training in the weight room. It has to start in practices. It has t o start with how we’re communicating with each other on and off the court. So being very open about that from the start - if we want these things which we’re capable of getting, it’s got to start now.”

For the Irish, the now is embodied by the fifth-ranked Louisville Cardinals. After sweeping Notre Dame twice last season, the Cards head to South Bend with an 11-1 record. Perennially among the sport’s elite under Dani Busboom Kelly, Louisville has captured the ACC crown in each of the past three seasons, clinching last year’s title at Notre Dame. That achievement would lead to a second consecutive NCAA Final Four appearance last season. And this year’s squad certainly has the makings of achieving more success.

Taylor Primack did her best to keep Holy Cross in the game, making three saves. But the Saints were never able to take control of the game. The Lakers outshot them 17-8 and held a 9-6 advantage on corners. The defeat drops Holy Cross to 3-5-1 overall and 1-1-1 in CCAC action.

Both squads will be together on the road again this week as they make the intra-state trip to Indiana Northwest. They will each have a fairly late kickoff, with the men’s team playing Tuesday and the women’s team on Wednesday starting at 9:00 p.m.

Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu

During her two years at High Point, Palazzolo received all the accolades she could rack up. Big South Freshman of the Year, Player of the Year and All-Tournament MVP highlight the list. And in South Bend, Palazzolo has already made waves. A career-high-tying 25 kills helped the Irish to a dramatic victory over Oklahoma on Sep. 9. Her 172 kills put her on pace to best her remarkable 443 kills from a season ago. But even as the numbers pile up, Palazzolo keeps herself grounded with a simple approach.

“[It’s] the positivity I try to bring to the court because volleyball is just a game and it’s only here for so much of our life,” Palazzolo said. “So I just try to take every point with a grain of salt and keep it consistent.”

Leading the charge against Louisville

As conference play heightens, the middle third of the season offers Notre

Despite losing last season’s ACC Player of the Year (Claire Chaussee), Setter of the Year (Raquel Lazaro) and Defensive Player of the Year (Amaya Tillman), Louisville has recycled talent seamlessly. Cara Cresse boasts the conference’s top hitting percentage (.481), while Anna DeBeer ranks third with 3.76 kills per set. And atop the service ace leaderboard sits Brigitta Petrenko, who averages 0.67 per set. It’s a lot to plan for, but the Irish know they can compete.

“The start of non-conference has been crazy because our team will sit and watch all these upsets happen,” Palazzolo said. “And I think that’s given us so much inspiration that any team can do anything if they put their minds to it. No matter the opportunity on the other side of the court, we’re always gonna be giving it our best.”

Notre Dame’s next chance to provide inspiration begins Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Purcell Pavilion. The ACC Network will carry the meeting between the Cardinals and Irish, their 47th in series history.

Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu

RYAN DAY-LOU HOLTZ

HCC SOCCER

Happy Birthday: Don’t hesitate; get the ball rolling and finish what you start. Keep life simple and doable. Refuse to be led by those pushing lies. It’s up to you to think for yourself and make decisions you can live with moving forward. Put your energy where it counts. Personal growth will be gratifying and point you in a positive direction. Your numbers are 6, 19, 22, 25, 34, 39, 48.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Pay attention and act fast. Monitor what’s happening and refuse to let situations get blown out of proportion. It’s up to you to change what isn’t working for you and to gravitate toward what soothes your soul. Take a deep breath and do what’s necessary.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t skirt issues. Be honest with yourself and others, do what’s best for you and have no regrets. Discipline will pay off, and intelligence will help you choose where you want to go. Seize the moment and promote yourself.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): If you aren’t cognizant of what’s happening, someone will blindside you. Keep an open mind but a closed wallet. Protect your emotions and your reputation from those trying to outdo you. Network, stay current and honor your promises. Actions speak louder than words.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Put your energy into whatever offers the highest returns. Getting upset won’t solve anything, but discussing matters in depth will help you put things in perspective and find common ground. An opportunity will come with change; don’t miss out for fear of trying something new.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Speed up and make things happen. Be the one to make a difference and lift the morale of those around you. A couple of changes at home will be conducive to new beginnings and better relationships with those you love.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Be the one to open doors instead of waiting for others to go first. A change will influence how you think and what you can accomplish. Put some muscle behind your thoughts, and you’ll change the dynamics of your relationships and direction.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Be aware and monitor what’s happening. Don’t take sides; staying neutral will allow you to see both sides and conduct what’s necessary to keep the peace. Be the mentor, not the one who stirs the pot.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Don’t let a change of plans disrupt your day. Use your resources to reconstruct a path that works for you and keep moving forward. Refuse to let emotional issues affect your work or your reputation. Maintaining composure will lead to an unusual opportunity.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Concentrate on what brings you joy. Travel, educational pursuits and time spent with supportive people will keep you grounded. Activities that require physical action will boost your morale and initiate more time spent doing things conducive to health and fitness. Romance is favored.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Redefine what’s important to you and adjust your schedule to suit your needs. A change of attitude will help deter anyone from putting pressure on you to do things that don’t interest you. Make your position clear and be vocal about your plans.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Pay attention to where your money goes. Manage paperwork to ensure you get what you want and be sure to take advantage of a good deal. Refuse to follow someone tempting you with pie-in-the-sky ideas. Choose common sense over being polite.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Drift in a direction that offers more freedom to do what brings you joy. Consider matters thoroughly and contact those you trust, and an opportunity to put positive changes in place will come your way. Be reasonable, but protect your interests. Curb expensive habits.

Birthday Baby: You are passionate, creative and dramatic. You are kind and friendly.

Defense

for a loss and a pass breakup. He had some help, too, and not from who you’d expect.

Graduate student Jack Kiser had a disappointing game, though he did combine with Jean-Baptiste to stop Emeka

Egbuka’s jet-sweep run on fourth and one in the final five minutes. Classmate Marist Liufau, meanwhile, was essentially a no-show, failing to make the stat sheet while also missing some tackles.

Sophomore Jaylen Sneed delivered a game-changing pass breakup, though, getting his hand on McCord’s toss to the end zone on fourth and goal from the one in the second quarter.

The big missed opportunity for this group came on third down. Whether it was an ability to get to McCord in time or hold up in coverage, the Buckeyes were simply too effective on third and medium Saturday. Those are the moments where you’re counting on your linebackers the most, and the Irish just couldn’t make enough plays to get the job done.

Weekly Grade: B-;

Season Grade: B-

Secondary

Of course, the secondary also shoulders some blame for those failures, third and 19 chief among them. If Egbuka had caught that pass at the four-yard line instead of the one, the Irish tackle him and the clock almost certainly runs out. But alas.

Sophomore cornerback

Benjamin Morrison once again led the way for the Irish. Morrison matched up incredibly well with consensus All-American wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., limiting him to just three catches for 32 yards. Egbuka and tight end Cade Stover haunted the Irish, though, with both catching seven passes for a

Matchup

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

and the Irish improved to 7-2 on the season.

2020: Notre Dame 27, Duke 13

At the start of the COVID-19 year, what stood out was the emergence of lead tailback Kyren Williams. Williams entered his sophomore campaign noticeably faster and ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns in the game. He wasn’t the only future NFL tailback in the game, though. Current Indianapolis Colts running back Deon Jackson rushed for 52 yards on 15 carries for the Blue Devils. Tight end Michael Mayer also launched his Notre

combined 148 yards. Xavier Johnson also snagged an inexcusable 40-yard grab on 3rd and five late in the game.

There were a couple of busts in coverage, namely the Johnson catch and an 18-yard Egbuka reception that set up Ohio State’s second-quarter field goal. The Irish secondary has undoubtedly become a strength of the team. In a game where the Irish shied away from substitutions more than any this season, the secondary depth chart went fairly deep. But the inability to take advantage of a couple of questionable throws by McCord, who finished 21-37 for 240 yards, and one fateful mistake are hard to ignore.

Weekly Grade: C+; Season Grade: B

Special Teams

The kick return game continues to largely be a nonfactor on both sides, although Johnson did have one fairly long kick return to the Ohio State 35-yard line. Sophomore punter Bryce McFerson did a nice job as per usual.

There was essentially only one noteworthy play for this group, but oh, did it ever prove to be costly. Coming up empty on one long drive was concerning. Repeating that trend on the very next drive ultimately proved debilitating. But that’s what happened when graduate student Spencer Shrader’s 47-yard field goal sailed wide left. It would take over 20 minutes before Notre Dame finally got on the board.

Shrader may have a big leg, but it’s fair to wonder how much trust the Irish will have in him going forward. He’s made just three of his seven kicks and is just 1-3 from within 50 yards. Like the rest of Notre Dame, Shrader needs to regain some trust this weekend.

Weekly Grade:

D; Season Grade: B

OFFENSE GRADES

Week 5 football grades: Offense can’t hit big plays

By TYLER REIDY Associate Sports Editor

Irish fans, it’s time to rip the Band-Aid off. The wound of Notre Dame football’s walk-off loss to Ohio State may still be fresh for some of you, but the time has come to evaluate. In examining Notre Dame’s offense, which scored 14 points and left up to 17 on the board, plenty of good and bad emerges. Junior tight end Mitchell Evans and freshman running back Jeremiyah Love enjoyed career-best performances. But a disastrous lack of execution in game-defining moments combined with the absence of shot plays ultimately spelled doom for the Irish.

Quarterbacks

Once again, graduate student signal-caller Sam Hartman passed with efficiency. Going 17-for-25, he hooked up with seven different pass-catchers for 175 yards. Hartman stood in the pocket well and delivered the ball effectively, avoiding a sack for the fourth time in five weeks. He made a few great throws, such as a third-and-10 touch pass to Evans for 25 yards in the fourth quarter. But he also botched a few key moments that ultimately left the door open for Ohio State.

As a result, Hartman’s yards per attempt dipped to seven, and his performance didn’t move the needle.

Weekly Grade: C; Season Grade: ARunning Backs

Two glaring issues plagued the running back room Saturday. First, junior bell cow Audric Estime started much too slow. His first four carries went for just three yards, forcing Notre Dame to unsuccessfully turn away from him in short-yardage situations early on. Second, Irish backs caught just two passes for six yards. For reference, Notre Dame running backs averaged four catches for almost 50 yards through the season’s first four games. This lack of explosive check-downs helped Ohio State to sit back defensively and limit deep shots.

Dame receivers did well to run their routes to the sticks, find a pocket and present themselves to Hartman. What they didn’t do was generate a single passing play longer than 30 yards, which has to happen at least once per game with Hartman running the show.

Weekly Grade: B-; Season Grade: B+

Tight Ends

Could this have been the true Mitchell Evans breakout game? Irish fans hoped it was last season’s TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, but the junior opened 2023 without a catch in Dublin. They then wondered if Evans’ 61-yard game against Tennessee State would do the trick. But he totaled only two yards the next week at NC State. Against the Buckeyes, Evans set career highs in catches (seven), yards (75) and longest reception (25 yards). And for the first time in his career, he served as the true focal point of Notre Dame’s passing game.

Contact

Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu

Dame career against the Blue Devils and caught three balls for 38 yards in his debut. On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and safety Kyle Hamilton stood out as the Irish started their journey to an eventual playoff appearance.

While Duke hasn’t dominated on the gridiron in the same way they have on the basketball court, Mike Elko will have Riley Leonard and the rest of the team prepared for this top-20 matchup. Marcus Freeman and the Irish must have a short memory to avoid risking elimination from playoff contention.

Contact Jack Horton at jhorton6@nd.edu

First, Hartman failed twice to pick up a yard with his legs on fourth down. At the end of Notre Dame’s first drive, he ran outside off play-action, breaking away from a tackler in the backfield. Though the first down appeared a certainty as Hartman approached the sideline, he never switched the football to his inside arm. Because he couldn’t reach the ball forward, video replay ruled him a half-yard shy. In the second quarter, he attempted a quarterback sneak. But as he bounced his plunge to the outside, he hit a wall of Buckeyes and again fell short.

Then there was Notre Dame’s final offensive drive. After picking up two first downs, one on an excellent running throw, the Irish potentially needed one more pickup to ice the game. But on the ensuing play, Hartman kept the ball on a blown-up read option and lost five yards. Next, he committed the deadly sin of throwing an incompletion (and near interception) on a screen pass. Not only did the Irish fall behind the sticks, but they also gave Ohio State 40 extra seconds for a game-winning drive that used all remaining time.

Finally, Hartman only threw three deep balls, garnering one pass interference penalty and two incompletions. Though the game plan and wide receiver separation certainly played a role, Notre Dame could not find the big hitters it thrived on against NC State and Central Michigan.

But the running backs showed encouraging signs as well. As always, Estime improved as the game progressed, breaking off runs of 22 and 16 yards after his rough start. The top back finished with a respectable 70 yards on 14 attempts. Better yet, Notre Dame flashed its depth against a toptier opponent. Love showed a tremendous burst in his eight-carry, 57-yard performance. Sophomore Jadarian Price saw only three touches but turned one into an 18-yard pickup. And sophomore Gi’Bran Payne churned out extra yardage all night, scoring his first collegiate rushing touchdown to put the Irish on the board.

It wasn’t a traditional, “punch you in the mouth” kind of game for the Irish, a la last year’s Clemson game. However, Notre Dame did outgain Ohio State 176 to 126 on the ground, earning a positive mark.

Weekly Grade: B; Season Grade: A-

Wide Receivers

Though the future of Notre Dame’s receiving corps flashed, there wasn’t much else to write home about. Freshmen Jaden Greathouse and Rico Flores Jr. combined for 60 yards on five catches, with the latter scoring a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. On the other hand, the top three receivers on the Irish depth chart each caught one pass. Senior Chris Tyree racked 25 yards on his lone grab, but neither junior Jayden Thomas nor sophomore Tobias Merriweather exceeded singledigit yardage.`

Seven of Notre Dame’s first eight third-down situations required three to six yards. In most of those cases, Ohio State played zone defense, leaving a few soft spots over the middle which Irish receivers frequently found. And though the completions weren’t always there, Notre

Evans made a handful of key snags throughout the night. His work began with three catches for 26 yards on the opening Irish drive. That sequence featured two third-down conversion snares, including a ridiculous, one-handed pluck. Perhaps even prettier was Evans’ 25-yard pickup on a third-and-10 in the fourth quarter. With the Irish down three, Evans ran up the right seam and Hartman feathered a touch pass between Ohio State’s linebackers and secondary. High-pointing the football, Evans allowed a soon-to-be go-ahead touchdown drive to persist.

Unfortunately, sophomore Holden States went without a catch after hauling in a touchdown in three consecutive games prior. But Evans more than covered for his lack of production. This unit’s true grade will live and die on whether Evans (or Staes) can produce on a consistent basis.

Weekly Grade: B+; Season Grade: B+

Offensive Line

Notre Dame’s big men up front dominated in standard passing phases but scuffled on run plays. For the fourth time in five games, the opposing defense failed to sack Hartman. However, Ohio State infiltrated the Irish rushing backfield far too often, particularly when Estime toted the rock. Additionally, the line struggled to contain Buckeye edge rushers on screen passes, resulting in two nearinterceptions. The offensive line gets a solid grade, but nothing too special.

Weekly Grade: B; Season Grade: AContact Tyler

History of the matchup: Notre Dame vs. Duke

By JACK HORTON Sports Writer

College Gameday just can’t seem to get enough of the Irish. Lee Corso and company follow Notre Dame to Durham, North Carolina, on Saturday to watch the Irish battle the frisky No. 17 Duke Blue Devils led by quarterback Riley Leonard. Since Notre Dame started playing five ACC games per year in 2014, they have faced Duke just three times.

Notre Dame leads the alltime series 5-2 and enters this game on a two-game win streak against Duke. Before looking ahead to Saturday night’s primetime showdown, let’s check out the past performances between these two teams.

1958: Notre Dame 9, Duke 7

Way back in 1958, the year that Arnold Palmer won his first Masters and “Hula Hoops” became a national craze, the Irish and Blue Devils faced off on the

gridiron for the first time. Head coach Terry Brennan and the Irish fought off the Blue Devils for a narrow mid-October victory en route to a 6-4 year and No. 17 finish in the AP Poll. Led by head coach Bill Murray, the Blue Devils dropped to 2-3 and eventually finished 5-5 on the season.

1961: Duke 37, Notre Dame 13

This game marked the final episode in a mediocre season of Irish football. The Blue Devils triumphantly defeated the Irish and improved to 7-3 on the year. Duke built on its success in 1961 and went 8-2 the following year. However, Notre Dame remained at .500 in 1962 and went on to replace head coach Joe Kuharich with Hugh Devore. Ara Parseghian did not arrive in South Bend until 1964.

1966: Notre Dame 64, Duke 0

It’s safe to say that 1966 was a good year to be a Notre Dame fan. Following this

contest, the Irish improved to 8-0 on the season while the Blue Devils fell to 4-5. Head Coach Ara Parseighan led his team to a national championship and a 9-0-1 record on the year. Notre Dame also had two players, senior running back Nick Eddy and sophomore quarterback Terry Hanratty, finish third and eighth respectively in Heisman voting in the 1966 season. This game against Duke wasn’t the only shutout on the year for the national champions. In fact, the Irish posted six shutouts on the year, including a 51-0 smackdown of USC.

2007: Notre Dame 28, Duke 7

The 2007 game was one of the few wins on the year for the Irish in a dismal season. The Irish improved to 2-9 after the game while Duke fell to 1-10. Notre Dame’s star quarterback Jimmy Clausen went 16-32 with three touchdown passes against the Blue Devils. Despite the poor previous

performances from the two teams in 2007, the Notre Dame faithful still turned out for the game and Notre Dame Stadium reached full attendance.

2016: Duke 38, Notre Dame 35

The 2016 matchup against Duke went down as another pathetic performance in the dreaded 4-8 season. Junior quarterback DeShone Kizer finished the game 22-37 for 381 yards, two touchdown passes and one interception. The Irish struggled mightily in 2016 despite a roster featuring future pro talents running back Josh Adams, wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, linebacker Drue Tranquill and cornerback Julian Love. The Irish went up seven points with 7:46 left in the fourth quarter off a 12-yard pass from Kizer to St. Brown. However, Daniel Jones quickly led Duke back down the field. The Blue Devils scored in 59 seconds and knotted the game up at 35. On the next drive, Dylan

Singleton picked off Kizer at the Notre Dame 45yard line and Duke proceeded to drain the clock before kicking the go-ahead field goal.

After the rough 2016 season, the Irish went out and hired Mike Elko as defensive coordinator. Elko now leads the 4-0 Duke squad against the Irish on Saturday night.

2019: Notre Dame 38, Duke 7

After narrowly escaping from Virginia Tech the previous week on an Ian Book scamper into the end zone, the Irish made easy work of the Blue Devils in this contest. Book was stellar in this game, carving up the Duke secondary and tossing four touchdown passes. However, what most Irish fans would remember about this game is the re-emergence of Chris Finke, who had been battling injuries all season. Finke caught two touchdowns in the game

see MATCHUP PAGE 10

DEFENSE GRADES

Week 5 Notre Dame football grades: Defense so close, yet so far

By ANDREW McGUINNESS Sports Editor

Let’s just say it’s a good thing we haven’t been including coaching grades in this article. If you had told Notre Dame fans the Irish would allow just 17 points to Ohio State, you probably wouldn’t have been able to finish your sentence before they started blasting the fight song. Yet three plays on the Buckeyes’ final drive — the fourth & 17 and third & 19 conversions, plus the infamous 10 men on the field touchdown that left a bitter taste in the mouths of everyone wearing green Saturday — rendered so much of what came before it moot. The Irish defense wasn’t perfect in the first 58 minutes, but they certainly did their job. This week’s grades article attempts to weigh those two co-existing yet maddening realities.

Defensive line

In a normal year where Notre Dame didn’t bring in one of the

ND VOLLEYBALL

country’s most experienced quarterbacks, Javontae JeanBaptiste would easily be the team’s best graduate transfer. The former Buckeye was a man among boys on several occasions, finishing tied for the team lead with eight tackles and a quarterback hurry, though it feels like he could’ve been credited for more of the latter. Graduate student Howard Cross, senior Rylie Mills and (when he was on the field) senior Jordan Botelho all made plays as well. In fact, it was Botelho who forced the intentional grounding penalty on McCord that looked like it would put Ohio State in a hole too big to dig out of.

Notre Dame’s pass rush made a bit more of an impact in previous weeks, coming up with a pair of timely tips on Kyle McCord passes — one of which still resulted in an insane third-down conversion that, in hindsight, was an eerie sign of things to come. The unit largely limited Ohio State’s ground game. Everyone

will expect a failing grade here because the D-line is where the Irish were short on the last two plays of the game. But that’s more on the coaching staff than the players. However, the players are responsible for TreVeyon Henderson’s 61-yard scoring rush on the Buckeyes’ opening play from the second half. That play eliminated any chance the Irish had of building a breathable lead and ultimately set up their self-inflicted demise.

Weekly Grade: C+; Season Grade: B

Linebackers

Like with the defensive line, there was one clear standout in the linebacking core — graduate student JD Bertrand. He too was an animal, running all over the field to finish tied with Jean-Baptiste at eight tackles and even with three other Irish players at four solo stops. Bertrand also recorded one of Notre Dame’s two tackles

see DEFENSE PAGE 10

Drewnick, Palazzolo helping Irish play inspiring volleyball in 2023

By TYLER REIDY Associate Sports Editor

Last year was a difficult one for Notre Dame volleyball. Upon moving on from Mike Johnson and bringing in Salima Rockwell as head coach, the Irish achieved 10 wins or less for just the fifth time in their 43-year history. So Rockwell went to work, bringing in two transfers to accelerate the program’s rebuild. Those players, graduate student setter Nicole Drewnick and junior outside hitter Sydney Palazzolo, have helped 8-2 Notre Dame find something different in 2023. What is it?

“Overall, it’s love. We want people to see the love we have for each other and for that to inspire them,” Drewnick said. “We want to shock the world with what we’re doing.”

Drewnick has brought

valuable experience from her four years at high-level programs in Nebraska and Georgia Tech. In the three seasons Drewnick contributed, her teams went a combined 75-19, reaching the NCAA Elite Eight twice.

That experience, meshed with the care of her new coaching staff and teammates, has helped Drewnick thrive at Notre Dame. Through 10 games, her 10.38 assists per set rank third in the ACC. More importantly, she serves as an Irish co-captain, acting as the team’s glue in the eyes of Rockwell. Just last weekend, as she posted a season-high 50 assists against Toledo, Drewnick fully realized her gratitude for her journey. That Sunday, she posted a heartfelt Instagram video expressing it.

“I was driving over to the match and listening to some music trying to get my mind right for the

game,” Drewnick recalled. “And I just got a little bit emotional because I was looking back on [how] I’ve been doing this for the past five years of my life. I feel like I’m finally at a point now, [that] this is what 16-year-old Nicole dreamed of.”

That 16-year-old Nicole faced a litany of challenges. As a Brazilian dual-citizen, she spent time training abroad, even competing for Brazil’s U20 National Team in 2018. But those opportunities moved her high school experience largely online. At one point, she made the final decision to combine her final two years into a short period so she could graduate early and join her first collegiate team, the Cornhuskers, in Asia.

“Those few months were just a lot of time locked away in my room studying. And if I wasn’t studying, I was in the gym,” Drewnick

said. “That taught me a lot about priorities. But also, [that] it’s important to have time with family and friends.”

Even as Drewnick grinds through the demanding life of a student-athlete, she has taken time for personal connection. Over the past few years, she has coached at her parents’ Instinct Volleyball Club back home in Dallas, a place where she grew up around other volleyball players. Now, Drewnick wants to help the next generation of studentathletes grow and learn, just as she continues to grow and learn at Notre Dame.

“I think the biggest thing is trusting the process and controlling what you can control,” Drewnick said. “Also, understanding that focusing on yourself isn’t necessarily a selfish thing. It allows you to put your best self out there for others.”

Time and time again this season, Drewnick’s best self has allowed Palazzolo to succeed since arriving from High Point. Whether it’s using her sets to accumulate an ACC-best 4.3 kills per set or feeding off her leadership, Palazzolo has found magic in her time with Drewnick. During Nicole’s official visit -- the first time the two interacted with one another -- Rockwell couldn’t help but notice their similarities. When Sydney stayed at an apartment with Nicole for a few days during move-in, the two built a close friendship.

“The more I’ve gotten to know [Drewnick], the more I’ve gotten to love her because she is the most kindhearted person and she always has something positive to say,” Palazzolo remarked. “She keeps us all accountable as well on the

MARY VOTAVA | The Observer

The Notre Dame defense puts pressure on Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord during the Irish’s 17-14 defeat to the Buckeyes on Sept. 23.