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Volume 53, Issue 33 | wednesday, october 3, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
Speakers discuss impact of faith on life BridgeND sponsors event to encourage discourse focused on various aspects of human development By LUCY LYNCH News Writer
SHANNON VALLEY | The Observer
Fr. Joe Corpora speaks at the “Faith and Human Development” discussion Tuesday night. Corpora recognized a need for education reform and advocated for tax credit and vouchers to assist the lower class.
Center for Social Concerns to host postgraduate fair By MAX LANDER News Writer
The Postgraduate Service and Social Impact Fair will be taking place in the Joyce Center on Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. The fair, which is hosted by the Center for Social Concerns, is an opportunity for any student with an interest in potentially pursuing a service job after graduation to meet, get to know and network with service organizations in a wide variety of fields. 70 different organization are attending the fair, 18 of which are international. Attending organizations include the Peace Corps, Teach for America and the Catholic Volunteer Network. At the fair, students with an interest in service will be able to talk to representatives for different service groups and organizations to learn more about what postgraduate
news PAGE 2
service looks like, and opportunities to participate in the field of social service. Karen Manier, who helped plan the event and is the Center for Social Concerns lead coordinator for postgraduate discernment, said that event is open to students of all ages and from all fields. “Probably a majority of the people there will be seniors and juniors trying to identify opportunities for after graduation, but obviously the sooner the better, because when you start to get a sense for the range of organizations that are out there it gives you time to really fully engage in the discernment process,” she said. “So if you’re a first-year student or a sophomore and you think you might want to do service after school, then it would be great to just come by and talk to some of the groups with no pressure attached.” see FAIR PAGE 3
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BridgeND hosted a discussion titled “Faith and Human Development” in the Hospitality Room of South Dining Hall on Tuesday night. The speakers included Michael Gerson, a Washington Post columnist and former aide to President George W. Bush, Fr. Joe Corpora, C.S.C. and Andie Tong, senior and officer in ND’s Right to Life. Tong focused her discussion on human development, specifically her pro-life beliefs and her experiences in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in her hometown of Houston, Texas. “For me, Catholic social teaching — an inherently prolife lens — offers a framework
that calls us and our country to action,” Tong said. Tong, the daughter of immigrants, stressed the importance of grassroots change in showing compassion for refugees and migrants. She also spoke about the impact of climate change. Corpora, director of university-school partnerships in the Alliance for Catholic Education, spoke about the need to reform education. Calling it “the civil rights issue for today,” Corpora said there needs to be a level playing field. “What zip code you are born into today will pretty much determine the rest of your life,” Corpora said. Corpora described how the poor see FAITH PAGE 4
GRC hopes to raise awareness with events By NATALIE WEBER News Editor
Throughout the month of October, students will have the opportunity to collect free rainbow toothbrushes, stuffed unicorns, t-shirts and a variety of free food across campus. The reason? The Gender Relations Center is hosting a series of events to
commemorate LGBTQ History Month and Relationship Violence Awareness Month (RVAM) this October. Sara Agostinelli, assistant director for LGBTQ student initiatives, said this is the first year the GRC is hosting events throughout LGBTQ History Month. “[We’re asking] how can we share information and knowledge about the history of
LGBTQ people with campus, but also, how can we bring people together and just use it as an opportunity for people to engage with each other?” she said. “… As much as we’re giving away free things, we’re giving away information, and I think helping dispel things people might not know or misconceptions people might see GRC PAGE 5
Saint Mary’s introduces criminology concentration By MARIROSE OSBORNE News Writer
Criminals are all too often depicted as thugs and thieves in popular culture. In reality, they come in all shapes and sizes. Saint Mary’s new criminology concentration in sociology aims to show the varied nature of criminals, victims of crime and the factors that lead
scene PAGE 8
to illegal activity. There are currently several courses available that fall under criminology within the sociology major. They are taught by professor Kelly Faust, who helped to start the program. “We hope to speak to students interested in entering criminology and help them understand criminal behavior while squashing the many
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myths surrounding the field,” Faust said. These myths involve the various controversies of the justice system. In many cases, competing ideologies can overwhelm courts. Society is often faced with the question of how due process can impact crime control and the arguments between see CRIMINOLOGY PAGE 5
football PAGE 16
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Talk: “The Impostor Syndrome” Jordan Auditorium 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. A lecture by Valerie Ashby.
“Mechthild of Magdeburg’s Mystical Voice” Eck Visitors Center Auditorium 5 p.m. - 6 p.m.
New Venture Launch Weekend IDEA Center 4:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. Pitch your startup ideas.
2018 Domer Run Irish Green 9 a.m. Support the Gyna Girls of the RiverBend Cancer Services.
Women’s Soccer vs. Virginia Alumni Stadium noon The Irish take on the Cavaliers.
Information Session: 2019 Urban Plunge Geddes Hall 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. Learn about this service opportunity.
Feast of St. Francis Mass and Celebration Basilica of the Sacred Heart 5:15 p.m. - 6 :15 p.m. Open to the public.
Volleyball vs. Wake Forest Joyce Center 7 p.m. The Irish take on the Demon Deacons.
SUB Movie: “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” DeBartolo Hall 101 7:30 p.m. Also at 10:30 p.m.
Rosary for Life Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes 1 p.m. Hosted by the McGrath Institute.
Lecture explores health, altruism By MARIA LEONTARAS Associate Saint Mary’s Editor
The externa l benefits of volunteering can be obv ious, but what about the interna l? Rebeka h DeLine, the director of the Office for Civ ic and Socia l Engagement at Saint Mar y’s College, explored this idea during her lecture Tuesday afternoon ca lled “Hea lth and A ltruism: the Benefits of Volunteering.” Before DeLine spoke of the sometimes unseen benefits of ser v ice opportunities, she said her goa l is not to guilt people into volunteering. “My goa l here is not to ma ke you feel bad about yourself — like you should be doing more, and you should ser ve, and you should ma ke time for it,” she said. “You’re a student, and I get that, and I respect that. We have different seasons in life, and t here might be a semester where you’ve got a prett y light load, and this is great, or you could be a student-athlete and maybe no semester is rea lly great. But we want to meet you where you are.”
She said that the goa l of the Off ice for Civ ic and Socia l Engagement is to “promote a life of socia l responsibilit y and to help people respond to the complex needs of the contemporar y world,” and this is done through students engaging w ith the communit y and the communit y spea k ing on how it can be helped. “Our first goa l in our off ice is actua lly not to ser ve, ser ve, ser ve, or volunteer, volunteer, volunteer, but it’s to engage the students, engage the communit y and connect the t wo,” DeLine said. “From that relationship, hopef ully, w ill come the opportunit y to ser ve or the opportunit y to accompany or advocate for those in need. That’s sort of where we come from. I think it’s ver y a ligned w ith t he mission of the college as well as the Sisters of the Holy Cross, who are more interested in justice than ser v ice. More interested in wa lk ing w ith and helping.” It is through this engagement w ith the communit y, DeLine said, that students can grow and promote their ow n well-being. “It is work ing w ith others,
focusing on ser v ing them, in and of itself promotes inner hea lth, because you’re not necessarily focused on your problems and your worries, which can be ver y cha llenging,” she said. “You are giving yourself a brea k from worr y ing about yourself and ta k ing time to learn about others’ hopes and needs.” DeLine said volunteering a lso prov ides an opportunit y for students to learn sk ills that cannot be taught in a lecture ha ll. “A lot of students w ill use volunteering, and not in a negative way, to build their resume. It is def initely sk ill building,” she said. “There is a difference bet ween learning what you learn in a classroom and applying that in rea l life. W hen I was at the Red Cross, one of our inter v iew questions was a lways about f lex ibilit y. You don’t learn about f lex ibilit y in a classroom. You learn f lex ibilit y by hav ing to dea l w ith complicated situations and responding.” Contact Maria Leontaras at mleontaras01@saintmarys.edu
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Archbishop calls for faith revival in Europe By MARY STEURER News Writer
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the secretary for relations with states for the Holy See, called for the Church to reinstate its moral presence in European politics in a lecture titled “The Catholic Church in the European Project” on Tuesday night in the Eck Visitors Center. The talk was presented as part of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies’ annual Keely Lecture, which invites representatives from the Vatican to speak about the Church’s Catholic mission. Gallagher opened the lecture by discussing the importance of looking to history to understand Europe’s present crises, referencing Pope
Fair Continued from page 1
Manier said that in the last couple years, around seven percent of Notre Dame’s graduating classes have entered into service or social impact work, which she said is a great
Francis’ address to European heads of state and government. “As the Holy Father expressed, we cannot understand our times apart from the past,” he said. “ ... Without such an awareness, humanity loses a sense of the meaning of its activity and its progress towards the future.” Gallagher said many new cultural and political developments have caused Europe to stray from its Christian roots. “There is a loss of Europe’s Christian memory and heritage, accompanied by a kind of practical agnosticism and religious indifference,” he said. Gallagher said this mentality poses a danger to all aspects of European life. “If it does not recognize its
roots, then Europe deceives itself into thinking it possesses a vitality,” he said. “Thus reducing its immense human, artistic, technical, social, political, economic and religious heritage into a mere museum piece of the past, rather than the lifeblood of the present.” In recent years, the European Union has begun to reinforce this trend by exaggerating individual-centric rights in place of those that promote unity and solidarity, he added. “Today there is a tendency to claim ever-broader individual rights,” Gallagher said. “ ... Underlying this is a conception of the human person as detached from all social and anthropological constructs.” Gallagher said this ideology has caused an “existential
fragmentation” marked by “loneliness and individualism” to embed itself in European society. This phenomenon has manifested itself in Europe’s declining birth rate as well as its struggling job market, he added. Gallagher said this growing individualism has caused a widespread skepticism towards the European Union and, consequently, the reemergence of nationalism within its nations. “When solidarity is absent, it becomes difficult to work to build the common good in society,” he added. The importance of seeing the humanity behind the crises Europe faces today is crucial in combating this mentality, Gallagher said.
“Perhaps the greatest contribution that Christians can make to today’s Europe is to remind her that she is not a mass of statistics or institutions but is made up of people,” he said. “ ...The main task for the Church in contemporary Europe is to place the human person in the center.” To do so, he added, the Church ought to regain its guiding role in European politics and encourage its nations to promote an attitude of solidarity within one another. The Church must “be to the world what the soul is to the body,” he said. “... A moral voice, to revive its memory and to indicate an ideal horizon for life.”
way for a person to discern what they would like to pursue in life. “Postgraduate service is a great sort of stepping-stone to a job, career path or grad school because it gives you a chance to try something out and see if you like that kind of work,” Manier said.
In keeping with the idea of service as a method of discernment, the fair has invited service organizations from a wide variety of fields in order to give as many students as possible to opportunity to pursue or try areas they are interested in, while still serving the world and making a difference.
Service in areas such as immigration, refugee relocation, restorative justice and education are common, but service opportunities also exist in areas like ministry, healthcare, administration and communications, social services and various forms of international service.
“I’ve never seen doing a year of service or two work against someone in terms of their marketability,” Mainer said. “It’s a great way to explore your interests as well as make a difference for others.”
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NEWS
The observer | wednesday, october 3, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
New ROTC scholarship to cover room, board By KELLI SMITH Associate News Editor
The Office of Military and Veteran Affairs (OMVA) established a scholarship this year that will help cover the cost of room and board for Notre Dame ROTC students. Titled the Theodore M. Hesburgh ROTC Endowment of Excellence scholarship, the first award will likely be gifted in the next two or three years, Regan Jones, director of the OMVA, said. “This is one of the many pieces to the overall comprehensive military veteran strategy at the University,” Jones said. “[The OMVA has] been in business a year but we’re making great progress and really excited about the opportunities to support these students and to grow these populations on campus.”
Faith Continued from page 1
are unable to have a choice in where their children attend schools, which means their children often have less preferable public schools as the only option. He advocated for tax credit and vouchers as options to help the lower class. “Parents need and have a right
Jones said the scholarship, which was created with the help of a number of benefactors, represents an investment in ROTC students and ensures Notre Dame is attracting the nation’s top ROTC talent. “It’s not large enough to cover the cost of room and board for all ROTC students, so that’s the goal,” Jones said. “But it was an intermediate and an initial and an important first step to rally support from our alumni, families, students and friends to also give in support of this particular endowment to ensure the future of our ROTC program and students.” The scholarship will be awarded to ROTC participants who demonstrate exceptional performance in academics, financial need, character and leadership qualities, Jones said. “There may be incremental
steps that include getting scholarships out to a small number of students initially based on the criteria I listed [or] it may include giving a percentage of the room and board cost to all students,” Jones said. “Eventually, absolutely it’d be our goal to have room and board covered for [all of] our ROTC students.” The federal government allots a number of ROTC scholarships to Notre Dame annually, but those only cover the cost of tuition and fees and not all of the allotted scholarships are utilized, Jones said. “What we’ve seen happen in recent years is that we’re not as a University maximizing the number of ROTC scholarships at Notre Dame,” Jones said. “And so as a result of that, we work closely with a number of campus partners and we’ve had great success with University donors that are rallying
to support a scholarship for room and board for our ROTC students.” At Notre Dame, room and board costs an average of $15,410 per year, according to the Office of Financial Aid website. Junior Sammie Escamilla, an operations assistant at the OMVA, said the goal of the scholarship is to ease the financial burden of many ROTC students. “The cost of room and board here at Notre Dame is over $14,000 dollars which is not a little amount at all,” Escamilla said. “So if we’re able to help even one person who wants to come to Notre Dame to fulfill their Notre Dame education with this scholarship while they’re doing ROTC, I think it’s great because we’re setting up the service members ... with a great future,” Escamilla said. The Notre Dame Trident Naval Society (TNS) was one of the
donors that made the endowment possible, Escamilla said, by donating over $3,000. Junior and president of TNS Michael Terranova said in an email that $2,000 of the $3,430 donated from TNS came from the organization’s funds, while the rest came from Notre Dame Day proceeds. “This is extremely important to many members of ROTC, because even though some of us are on scholarship from our respective military branches, room and board still presents a sizable financial burden,” he said. “As the endowment grows over the next couple of years, the scholarship will have a very positive impact on many cadets and midshipmen as it will lift some of this burden.”
to choose where their children can go to school,” Corpora said. “A good education can make the biggest difference in the life of a child and a family.” Gerson concentrated on the topic of faith in global development. As chief speechwriter and senior policy advisor for President George W. Bush, Gerson was greatly involved in human development policy in the early 2000s — his
favorite experience coming from Pres. Bush’s emergency passing of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR. “Thirty to 40 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa were HIV positive while I was working for the President, all of whom were going to die,” Gerson said. Gerson visited many of these African towns during this time period and still travels there through
his work as a policy fellow with the ONE Campaign, an organization that fights preventable disease and poverty in Africa. In terms of human development, policy is “not only the result of faith, but it is often the result of faith,” said Gerson. He also spoke of the many ways in which faith can be a guiding principle in this field. Specifically, the anecdotes of his
journeys in Africa and the people he met reinforced his beliefs about faith and the necessity for its involvement in human development. “You go to these places and you think that you are going to serve them, but you find such admirable people that they end up instructing you,” Gerson said.
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GRC Continued from page 1
have.” Assistant director for outreach, student leadership and assessment John Johnstin is leading Relationship Violence Awareness Month efforts. He said the month’s biggest events include the Time to Heal Dinner, Kintsugi and a presentation on the effects of porn on relationships. “The biggest goal would be to raise awareness about the topic of relationship violence, discuss healing and provide resources,” Johnstin said in an email. Throughout the month, the GRC hopes to raise awareness around overlooked topics and issues on campus, Agostinelli said. “People might not know October is LGBTQ history month and I think it also allows us to engage with people and help bring that awareness,” she said. “As we move into November with Stand Against Hate Week — which is really about intersectionality and how you address that — I think it helps provides some nice foundational information that allows us to continue that work of why it’s important to all of campus.” For Johnstin, the most rewarding part of planning this month’s events has been “seeing how important this topic is to so many students.” “It is a topic that impacts so many people in so many ways but is not frequently discussed,” he said. Similarly, Agostinelli said many students may not have a
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broad knowledge of the LGBTQ community’s history. On Oct. 22 and Oct. 25, the GRC is hosting a trivia night to help educate students about LGBTQ history, she said. “I think it’s a fun way to invite people in who might not normally come to an LGBTQ event,” she said. “They’re going to have some prizes, so I think [we’re] kind of inviting people in to learn about that history, that maybe isn’t something they’ve learned whether in middle school, high school, their history classes now.” Planning for both RVAM and LGBTQ History Month began in August, Agostinelli said, and she and Johnstin have been working throughout the past few months to coordinate events. “I think our work is very intersectional,” she said. “And so we wanted to find some ways to tie the two months together … so kind of trying to mix it between educational events, social events, faith events. That way we can engage different students in different ways.” Overall, Agostinelli said she hopes the GRC’s events are able to engage a wide variety of students. “I think the hope is to engage different students at different times and spaces and in what calls to them,” she said. “For some students, a faith group is really what’s going to call to them and for others, it’s playing trivia for a rainbow toothbrush.” Contact Natalie Weber at nweber@nd.edu
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Criminology Continued from page 1
protecting human rights versus getting criminals off the streets, Faust said. Faust said popular conceptions of criminals can also play a huge role in policy decision. “Crime shows, true crime podcasts and movies all play a huge role in popular conceptions of crime,” Faust said. “Fear of certain crimes can even lead to new government policy.” This means the most violent criminals’ actions may determine what happens to all criminals. In order to prevent that kind of stereotyping, the criminology concentration aims to aid students in understanding the economic, social and cultural environments behind the choices criminals make, Faust said. In doing so, it humanizes individuals within the system. The concentration will also provide new information about the victims of crime and their circumstances, sociology department chair Mary Ann Kanieski said. “While most people believe crime is rising, it is actually falling,” Kanieski said. “For example, most Amber Alerts tend to be miscommunications between either the child and their parents or the two parents. However, this is never reported to the public,
which means the real problems may be overlooked.” A few of the criminology courses will address these issues. It allows students who take the courses to look at the ties between society and the criminal justice system. The hope is students will not just learn about the laws, but about those affected by them. “We’re trying to look at the factors that determine who is most likely to be arrested, and who is at the greatest risk of being a victim,” Kanieski said. “Most often it is tied to gender, race and ethnicity. We want to help students understand how these relationships impact society as a whole.” Although criminology is currently only available at Saint Mary’s within the sociology major, students going into pre-law, social work, government or law enforcement can benefit from taking criminology, Faust and Kanieski said. The courses cover everything from police policy to how race or conceptions of masculinity can influence the criminal mindset. Both Faust and Kanieski said that there are more courses that the department hopes to add over time, and there is a possibility that criminology will eventually be expanded into a minor, but for now, it is available as a concentration within the sociology major. Contact Marirose Osborne at mosborne01@saintmarys.edu
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The observer | wednesday, october 3, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
Inside Column
Do it for the jokes
Ranking the sentences of the ‘Dear males’ column reading.
Davis Gonsalves Highest-Ranking Column According to Me
Colleen Fischer News Writer
“For Narnia!” Peter screamed this as he attacked the White Witch in Narnia. These are the sort of moments that create battle cries. Cries that motivate armies and encourage sacrifice. Moments of great adversary, and great bravery. Moments of battlefields and fairytales. My moment was far from this. I worked at an overnight summer camp over the summer, and though facing 20 to 30 middle schoolers daily was tiring and occasionally terrifying; it was nothing like advancing a magical army as a teenager. The moment that my personal battle cry began, I was sitting next to my coworker — who had adopted the name of Duckie for the summer — on a makeshift bench after an hourlong dance party. It was midnight, and we were exhausted. Before the dance party, we had led a four-hour cookout for 34 girls. Duckie and I were sitting at the fire pit, desperately holding on to our last bit of authority over the girls. When Duckie noticed that the embers were still burning, it had in fact been four hours since we had so obviously failed to put out the fire. Though we knew we had failed, we were successfully ignoring the fact that we could have started a forest fire. This is when I said, “I have a weird desire to kick it.” “It” obviously being the red-hot embers from a fire that had cooked 38 meals and lasted for over three hours. To which Duck said, “Do it.” To which I responded, “Nah” — like a sane person. To which she said, “Do it for the jokes.” Now in this moment, something stirred inside me. Like an awaking of my soul. A feeling that I have returned to time and time again in reflection. I am now both equally shamed and proud to admit that I did indeed kick the log. I did not melt my shoe, or burn my foot. Everything went spectacularly well, and the entire camp had gained its own battle cry: “Do it for the jokes.” This phrase prompted temporary bachelorette tattoos to be tramp-stamped, sandbags to be stolen and returned a block over, jumps into the lake, the consumption of strange food combinations and one improvised performance of Cinderella at dinner time. This phrase gave birth to some of the best inside jokes and memories of my life. Now, I have carried this battle cry into college. It stopped being about inciting specific actions, and more about not taking myself or my minute struggles too seriously. Even this last week, it allowed me to change an awkward accidental text to a high school crush into a moment of laughter, by making my failure to click the correct name a joke. And though I am not leading Aslan’s armies like Peter the Magnificent, I am happier. I know. I used that metaphor ad nauseam and it never quite worked, but I continued to use it for — you guessed it — the (very bad, not funny to anybody but me) joke. Contact Colleen Fischer at cfischer01@saintmarys.edu The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
In the fall of my freshman year, a columnist for The Observer wrote a column titled “Dear males,” and it explained why men at Notre Dame should not fear asking women out on dates. I agreed with the concept of the article. I think men at Notre Dame do need to take more risks when it comes to asking out those they potentially like, but the way the author went about making this point did not sit well with the general student body. I did feel they attacked this author a little maliciously, but the prose itself has great ranking potential, so I want to rank the sentences of this column for some of the absurdity but without necessarily attacking the general message. Yes, Notre Dame men should ask more women out, and yes, the way this author explained this point may not have been the best to capture the student audience. Hopefully the rankings explain why:
10. “Dear males, Where are you?” This is how the column starts, with a question. I understand the intended dramatic effect, but when a column is ambiguous to start and then I am asked about my location, I am more confused than moved. The next sentence mentions how there are tons of great women, but we are not seeking after them. I still feel a little jarred after wondering where in the world am I.
9. “Maybe you are hiding behind the chin-up machine in Rolfs. Pause the lifting and try some living.” Maybe this is where all the men are? I take offense because 1) maybe I do not need the machine, I may do actual pull-ups, and 2) I don’t actually do pull-ups. It also becomes a little bold to make your point by insinuating men don’t ask women out because they are too busy lifting. It’s like me saying, “Women, maybe get away from baking to actually ask a man out.” It’s not a great look assuming stereotypes either way.
8. “Young whippersnappers of this university: are you lazy?” This poetic shift from a peer trying to convince fellow students to a crotchety old man chastising them appears only once, but it made a profound impact on my reading. It seems out of place being called a “whippersnapper,” but I guess you have to do whatever it takes to make someone ask another out on a date.
7. “I can name at least 20 that are not being pursued by guys, at least to their knowledge, and those are just the ones on campus whom I have met.” This quote reeks of Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” comment. It’s of people she has met — not necessarily is friends with. I’m sure I have met 20 women not pursued by guys too out of a campus of 13,000. The argument here on numbers is not a great one overall.
6. “Thanks, males. I knew you could do it.” It’s the concluding sentence, and I kind of like it. It assumes that the column has persuaded me enough to already go out and ask a woman out, and I admire the confidence. No one has ever accomplished anything by hoping someone will do something, you have to presuppose it has already been done by the time I finish
5. “It [being single] gives them free time to join clubs and devote themselves to their studies.” 4. “They like dancing to Beyonce, but they want boyfriends, husbands and children at some point.” These are both in regard to what it’s like to be single as compared to in a relationship, and I find them funny for the assumed mutual exclusiveness of activities. Beyonce’s music, i.e. that of a married woman, is enjoyed best by single women, and we can only give ourselves fully to clubs and activities when we aren’t tied down with a woman. Some hot takes from the author, but you don’t get by in this world with cold ones.
3. “You can calculate torque, market to a target audience and conjugate irregular verbs, but do you have the courage, maturity or even the desire to pursue a meaningful romantic relationship?” Oh boy, what to do with this one. I think we can all agree conjugating verbs (regular or not) is much easier than pursuing a meaningful relationship. In fact, pursuing a relationship is somewhat difficult, although important, and I don’t think equating my ability to find torque is going to convince me otherwise. Someone who can perform academic skills does not equate to social ones, an experience we can all relate to.
2. “Pull out your ear-buds. Take a shower. Say hello.” The only three rules I live by in my life. If I had known this is what it would take to woo a lady, I don’t think I would have been single for this amount of my life. The rule of three is powerful, powerful enough to find love, apparently.
1. “Young men of Morrissey, of Knott, of Fisher: take heed. Hide no longer behind your bro tank and SAO shades.” First of all, not the dorms you want to find love with. I would rather be single. But the SAO shades give this sentence the top spot. Why would I ever hide behind SAO shades or the bro tank? Me doing either would most definitely draw more attention, but maybe that was the look years ago, who knows? Also, why hate on SAO shades? They are perfect for parties, since you don’t worry if they break or get lost since there are approximately a million of them in circulation. Maybe this is the reason why people were mad? Again, I think the message is a good one, but the aggressive tone was not welcomed with open arms. I think she is quite brave for writing the column, knowing people would criticize and we should respect that. Instead of hating the message, we can laugh at the sentences. Hopefully together in solidarity. Davis loves to rank people, places, things, ideas and sometimes even verbs. His current senior year places fourth among years, his neuroscience major places seventh, and his theology major ranks third among all majors. Contact him at dgonsalv@nd.edu to be placed first in his heart. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Join the conversation. Submit a Letter to the Editor: Email viewpoint@ndsmcobserver.com
The observer | wednesday, october 3, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
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Truth hurts; lies kill Ray Ramirez The Crooked Path
“I’m going to go out on a limb here and take a position that might put me at odds with a number of mainstream Americans: sins are bad. You remember sins, don’t you? Those are the things we are “heartily sorry” for, whether they were sins of commission — “what I have done” — or omission — “what I have failed to do.” Christianity, as practiced by Christ himself, seems to emphasize forgiving sins of commission (e.g., the good thief, Mary Magdalen) and excoriating the people who simply avoid acknowledging a problem or a person in need (e.g., pretty much everyone in the good Samaritan parable). One more thing about this Christ fellow — he was a big champion of truth. He declared he was the “the way, the truth and the light,” and even took time while before Pilate to point out “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Like any good political hack, Pilate answered with the question, “What is truth?” Pilate declares a number of times throughout the Gospels that Jesus has done nothing wrong, pretending the matter is up for debate in order to allow the mob to get its way. Pilate’s sin of omission, when faced with the truth of Christ’s innocence, was to wash his hands of the matter and let an innocent man die. Unfortunately, modern examples of deadly sins of omission are increasingly common. In 2012, the state of North Carolina received a report from the state’s Coastal Resources Commission that included a forecast that sea levels along the Carolina coast could rise by as much as 39 inches over the next century, due to climate change. These ominous predictions worried coastal developers and their political allies, who said they did not believe the rise in sea level would be as bad as predicted and supposed such projections could needlessly hurt property values and drive up the cost of insurance. North Carolina’s official response, to mollify the developers, was to mandate predictions based solely on historical data on sea level rise. Another study, dictated
by the 2012 law, was completed in 2015. That study looked only 30 years ahead and, as expected, predicted a smaller sea level rise. Fortunately, some people realized that ignoring or obfuscating the truth does not change reality, and a new administration under Governor Roy Cooper, who took office last year, has committed North Carolina to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the goals of the Paris climate accord in an effort to reduce sea level rise attributable to climate change. But scientists acknowledge that North Carolina has failed to take the steps that Virginia and New Jersey have taken to get ready for rising sea levels. A recent editorial noted that “Currently the unspoken plan is to wait until the situation is catastrophic and then respond.” Hurricane Florence crashed into the Carolinas soon after, driving home the threat of rising seas. As North Carolina works through the ongoing disaster presented by Florence’s aftermath, it at least can make more realistic plans based on the truth of environmental challenges. When the impact of a natural disaster is exacerbated by human folly, it can be especially hard for some individuals to admit to the uncomfortable truth of their part in contributing to the catastrophe. Recently, President Trump falsely accused Democrats of inflating the death toll from Hurricane Maria that devastated Puerto Rico last year, rejecting that government’s assessment that the storm had claimed nearly 3,000 lives. Trump stated that the toll was only six to 18 dead after his visit following the storm and said Democrats padded the total by including, for example, persons who died of old age “in order to make me look as bad as possible.” While as citizens, we have come to expect and find comfort in elected officials displaying leadership and strength in response to natural disasters, it is especially disappointing — but unfortunately not surprising — that Trump turned the sobering death statistics into “fake news” about himself. Trump also took time to repeat his assessment that his team got high marks for the responses to hurricanes in 2017 (characterizing his effort as “an incredible, unsung success”) and called the
mayor of San Juan, who has been critical of Mr. Trump, “totally incompetent.” In reality, Trump was criticized for a slow and ineffective response to Puerto Rico, where the distribution of supplies, gas and food lagged and power outages lasted for months, with full power restored only last month. Trump’s latest response was to declare that Puerto Rico should be denied statehood until his political critics there are no longer in office. Not surprisingly, other executive agencies have taken their cue from Trump: a recently released federal report on planning for biological disasters, such as epidemics, failed to mention the role of climate change, even though scientists cite climate change as a major factor for potential deadly outbreaks. Government cannot change weather patterns, but it can help communities prepare for disasters and rebuild in their aftermath. Truthful, accurate forecasts, using the latest scientific consensus on the causes of environmental changes, are critical in the planning needed to avert or mitigate the impact of natural disasters, such as hurricanes or epidemics. Similarly, an intensive, effective response, proportionate to the scale of the disaster, is mandatory to protect all citizens impacted by calamities. When an administration ignores or simply refutes the truth of a disaster, that negligence is not just incompetence, it is deadly; the sinful disdain for life it demonstrates should be noted and evoked when elected officials are held accountable. This is one way to give life to the truth. Postscript: While I had hoped this would be a historical note by now, a year ago I provided a link to a great organization helping Puerto Ricans recover from Hurricane Maria. They still need your help: https:// www.hispanicfederationunidos.org/ Ray Ramirez is an attorney practicing, yet never perfecting, law in Texas while waiting patiently for a MacArthur Genius Grant. You may contact him at patrayram@sbcglobal.net The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Adventures in the student section It started because my friend wore shorts to the Stanford game. Well, actually, it probably started at a tailgate an hour or two earlier, but I entered the narrative when my shorts-wearing friend turned to me and asked, “Is someone … pouring something out? Behind us?” Unfortunately, there was no one pouring something behind us. The sprinkle of liquid that my friend must have felt on the back of his legs was instead the result of someone peeing. In the stands. Of the student section. I won’t write out what I screamed at the kid (a sentiment that a number of the students around us echoed), but you should know that it was loud and appropriately disgusted. However, whether because he was too drunk or because he was just really proud of himself, this did not deter the kid relieving himself in public, and instead he continued to do so with the rest of us screaming at him from a distance until the usher came to guide him out. And let me tell you, in the meantime, everything was hanging out there. I did not ask to see that. Honestly, he might have kept going as the usher pulled him out, but by this point I had looked away. Now, I want to fully justify my utter disgust and confusion at this. I am 21. I, like many people at this school, have been drunk before, and I mean very drunk. This is okay. Drinking is not inherently evil or bad or disgusting. I have done many things while drunk, such as karaoke, midnight walks through the snow in the middle of November and just constantly telling anyone in a given room how much I love them. A few of these things were unsafe, most were probably a little stupid and all of them have been embarrassing. However, despite all of this, drunk or
not, I have never once in my life felt the need to pee in public. If the initial urination wasn’t enough to ruin my night (even though it definitely was), I also had the added benefit of not only having to stand on pee-covered benches surrounded by pee-covered ground, but also of having to do so surrounded by the urinator’s buddies. This involved putting up with a lot of cursing, being fallen on and one incident in which one kid tried to get even more urine onto my friend. However, it really became a problem when, before the end of the first half, another kid began falling onto my friend to the left. She turned around and told him to stop. He did not. She told him less nicely to stop. He did not. His hands were all over all of my friends, and, intentional or not, his hands were in extremely inappropriate places. Finally, she pushed him off of her and he immediately fell back onto the seat with a glassy look in his eyes. By that point, I had been harassed and shoved by this group of boys and literally peed upon, so I had every right to feel nothing but anger at this kid, but he truly looked messed up enough that I was mostly just scared he was going to pass out in front of me. I was worried for his safety. Now honestly, there are a lot of directions I could take this piece. I could argue against tailgating or unsafe drinking. I could talk about the stupid things people get up to when they’re drunk, and I undoubtedly could draw connections to recent happenings in our country. I could even turn this around on the ushers or the stadium, demanding my money back for a night ruined by kids who should never have made it into the student section.
But I don’t want to do any of that. I like the ushers, and I know they do their best. I think that, when done responsibly, drinking can be fun, and I don’t want to make some broad statement about it and come across like a hypocrite. What I really want to do is ask why. Seriously, can someone please explain to me what part of getting so drunk that you repeatedly fall on strangers or literally go to the bathroom in public makes game days fun? Why do you enjoy getting so drunk that you don’t remember the game that you paid to see? Is getting escorted out by the ushers, or watching your friends get escorted out, that enjoyable of an experience? I also think I want to end this with a plea. I would love nothing more than for everyone to enjoy their game day. Go to tailgates! Have fun! But I can’t have fun if there are people peeing or falling on me. Of course I could have moved, and ultimately I did leave. But I have the right to enjoy the game without worrying about this happening, and not just as a paying customer of the stadium, but as a person trying to watch football with my friends. I have the right to go out in public and not have to worry about some drunk guy touching my butt or — and I cannot emphasize this enough — literally peeing on me. I shouldn’t even have to ask this. But please, please, please, next time you drink in any situation, think of me. Think of this story. Think, “if I drink this next beer, will I be drunk enough to be a disturbance to the people around me?” And please, be responsible. Abby Gervase senior Sept. 30
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The observer | wednesday, october 3, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
By DANNY LIGGIO Scene Writer
There is no more of that budding excitement in Lil Wayne. The last time he made an appearance in popular culture was with his feature on DJ Khaled’s chart-topping single, “I’m the One.” In a slurred and mumbled verse, Wayne chops out “I’m the best yet, and yet, my best is yet to come.” He was drowning in the white double cup he held in the song’s music video. On “Tha Carter V,” Lil Wayne seems to escape from his vices as if they never held him back. In the song “Dope New Gospel,” he confronts his addiction: “You always see me with the white cup / Some people say that is a bad look / But take a good look at what you are looking at / You never know when it’s your last look.” The Lil Wayne that’s been incubating since “Tha Carter V’s” announcement in 2012 and its release now recognizes his worth, however great or small that may be. The first half of the album is feature-heav y, with the late X X Xtentacion, Nicki Minaj, and Kendrick Lamar providing strong performances. On “Don’t Cry,” X pops off the album with a strained plea: “Don’t cry, don’t go.” Nicki sings her way through “Dark Side of the Moon” in a Y MCMB infused
By AHLERING JACKOBOICE Scene Writer
Like many other college students around the country this time of the semester, I found myself procrastinating on the pile of work I had to do. Instead of reading my Theology assignment or finishing my math homework, I pulled up the familiar comfort of Netf lix on my computer and bundled up in a blanket on my bed. Scrolling through Netf lix in search of something interesting and entertaining to watch, I stumbled upon a new Netf lix original “Insatiable,” and my curiosity forced me to press play. This led to five episodes watched over the period of a week, before I gave in and accepted that the show is frankly terrible and almost painful to watch. “Insatiable” explores the life of a young girl, Patty Bladell (Debby Ryan), who was once obese but has now lost “the weight,” due to an altercation with a homeless man. Patty is now hungry for revenge on her bullies, no matter what it takes. Though its creators claim the series is a satire, it is entirely riddled with issues ranging from poorly portrayed stereotypes to negative coverage of relevant social issues. For starters, the depiction of extremely negative RUBY LE | The Observer
synchronicity with Tunechi. Bordering on a breakdown, Kendrick finds the multiple voices he knows so well on “Mona Lisa,” which is undoubtedly the centerpiece of the album. “Mona Lisa” tells the story of the women who work with Lil Wayne to rob unsuspecting men from under their noses. It plays in a narrative: Wayne demonstrating his mastery and ruthlessness over all those who lack his skill and tenacity. Kendrick plays another victim of Lil Wayne, losing first his girl to Tune’s least efforts, then his mind. From this highpoint, the tracks continue as typical Tunechi; “Dope N-----” and “Hittas” are both high energ y brags. Of all the arcs this ninetyminute album rides, this middle bit is the least inspired, but easy listening nonetheless. To finish, Lil Wayne stacks eight tracks that feel like they could fill their own EP. “Took His Time” features a lo-fi piano melody. “Mess” contains an acoustic guitar instrumental suited to a meadow frolic. Here, he’s sharing the condensed findings of a years-long study by himself on himself. The final track, “Let It All Work Out,” caps what became a powerful album on the truth of Lil Wayne’s person. Sampha sings backup vocals, with his characteristic rich ability. Lil Wayne reveals the truth here about a gunshot wound he suffered
when he was twelve: “I aimed where my heart was poundin’.” But here Dwayne is — still breathing as Sampha implores us to “let it all work out.” Between when “Tha Carter V” was announced and its release — a six year difference — Lil Wayne did little worth remembering. He may have lost his touch, or he may have been saving it for something significant. “Tha Carter V” is what was promised; it is a real, telling look inside the mind of a beloved artist, delivered with impeccable skill. Although his best is likely behind him, Lil Wayne’s best is better than a whole lot else.
body-imaging throughout the series hits home for many young women today. The portrayal of Patty Bladell as angry, negative and having an extreme hatred for her body only helps nourish the negative mindset surrounding young women’s bodies in today’s society. It fosters the idea that if you aren’t model-thin, your life can’t be happy and full. Though it is unfortunately true that the overweight youth of today often face bullying and torment from classmates, it is not true to say that larger or curvier women cannot love their bodies or live happy lives. Furthermore, instead of allowing the newly skinny Bladell to simply be happy and, for lack of better words, to kill her bullies with kindness, the creators decided to make her intent on revenge. Often her revenge attempts are violent and deeply twisted, including an attempt to set a sleeping man on fire. The series also tackles increasingly relevant topics, such as sexual assault and homophobia. Much like the damaging attempt at satirizing fat shaming, the creators entirely missed the mark on these two topics. Instead of creating satire, the writers seem to have created a narrative bashing every topic of controversy and relevance in today’s society, making a complete mockery of the victims of these issues by misplacing these topics in humorous situations. The show is, simply put, a disgrace and a
tragic attempt at satire writing. Satire is an extremely difficult type of writing to master and can come across very wrong when done poorly, as evidenced by “Insatiable.” The writers of this show should have taken a second look at the script before pushing it to production. The presentation of such controversial and difficult topics comes across more as a tragic attempt at a comedic representation than a true satire, and it seems as though I’m not the only one that feels this way. The show received a measly 11 percent and one star on Rotten Tomatoes, along with a mass of seething reviews. Even the original trailer received much controversial feedback, and many thought the show’s release would be canceled. Ultimately, “Insatiable” is a terrible satirization of topics which should be handled with extreme care, as well as a failure to show the true importance of issues such as homophobia, sexual assault and fat-shaming. Despite the unfavorable reactions to the first season of the series, a second season has been announced and is in the process of production. Unfortunately, I can’t say I’ll be making it through the rest of season one, much less an additional season of such an unsuccessful satire.
Contact Danny Liggio at dliggio@nd.edu
“Tha Carter V” Lil Wayne Label: Young Money, Republic Records, Universal Music Group Tracks: “Took His Time” If you like: Meek Mill, Jeezy
Contact Ahlering Jackoboice at ajackobo@nd.edu
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The observer | wednesday, october 3, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
By CAMERON SUMNER Scene Writer
“Was that supposed to be a comedy? ” my friend Molly mused as we walked out of the movie theater last week. We had just seen “A Simple Favor,” the new movie directed by Paul Feig. The film, starring Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, and Harry Golding (recent star of “Crazy Rich Asians”), left us somewhat perplexed. With young sons in the same class, Lively and Kendrick’s characters befriend each other, and drama ensues. The movie’s genre, unnamable. Its characters, complex. Yet, although my friends and I were quite confused by what we watched, we definitely agreed we liked it, once we ref lected on the film’s storyline and setting. To begin, the storyline is both enthralling and loaded. By this, I mean that while the storyline was extremely interesting and exciting, certain details or subplots might leave audiences wondering why they I was also left wondering why they were included. The two main characters, Stephanie (Kendrick) and Emily (Lively), have such loaded,
By NIA SYLVA Scene Writer
Do me a favor. W hether or not you’ve heard of Greta Van Fleet, a bluesy rock band comprised of four Michigan kids who look and sound like they’ve been brought here from the ‘70s in a time machine, humor me in completing a simple exercise. Look them up online. Search “Greta Van Fleet,” and, when you do, click on a few articles. W hat you’ll see is some praise, a little skepticism (mostly in comments sections) and, more than anything, comparisons to Led Zeppelin. In fact, almost every single piece written on these hard-rocking upand-comers contains at least one reference to Zep. Sometimes, these nods appear as comparisons of the band’s frontman, Josh Kiszka, to the legendary Robert Plant. In other articles, reviewers and journalists simply recognize the undeniable similarities between the bands’ sounds. Indeed, critics have not seemed to dispute the inf luence Zeppelin has had over Kiszka and co., with articles from Rolling Stone, Uprox x and the Wall Street Journal, among others, noting this apparent fact (even the iTunes Review of the band’s EP, “From the Fires,” mentions Zeppelin). Such comparisons are certainly merited. “Highway Tune,” the first single off of “From the Fires,” sounds almost as if it could be a cover of a Zeppelin hit.
heav y pasts and viewers learned, possibly, more than we needed to. This is also applies to Emily’s husband in the movie, Sean (Golding). However, an interesting part of these characters and their questionable pasts is that we aren’t allowed to fully pick sides when things go downhill. The three have dark parts to them, yet they also have redeeming qualities. Viewers are invited to pity them yet recognize the wrongs they have done. Really, the complexity of the characters mimics the complicated quality of the plot itself. Another point on the storyline is that it is way more than just a drama about a disappearance, which the trailer might lead you to believe. The film also dealt with similar conf licts of murder, fraud and betrayal. Throughout the film humor is quite abundant, especially with reactive remarks by Kendrick’s Stephanie. In a way, all of these angles were overwhelming to me as a viewer. They’re probably part of the reason, too, why my friends and I wondered whether we could deem the film a comedy. By the end, the drama was so absurd, and so many twists and turns had been made. W hen
the “bad guy’s” fate is finally sealed in a humorous way, it finishes the film in a lighter manner than expected. The setting, though never truly named, was said to be outside of “the city,” which grants the movie an air of suburbia. The generic, vanilla life of Stephanie, who runs a cooking vlog website, contrasts fabulously with the mystery of Emily’s life. Grouping costuming with setting, too, the preppy, childlike clothing worn by Stephanie is vastly different than the menswear-inspired, attentioncalling suits of Emily’s. Furthermore, on one hand, Stephanie lives in a modest, homey Cape Cod while, on the other, Emily’s crib is sleek, modern, enviable. These juxtapositions also add to the absurd and comic nature of the film while showing how unlikely a pair Stephanie and Emily are. All in all, I enjoyed the film. I caution readers, though, who think this is a classic chick f lick. That, it is not. However, if you’re up for a bit of a mind game, then “A Simple Favor” is for you.
Kiszka’s howling of the words “oh, Mama” sounds reminiscent — if not derivative — of Plant’s signature wail. Jake Kiszka’s nimble, rhythmic guitar work reminds one of a young Jimmy Page. Daniel Wagner’s drums crash with a power like Bonham’s. These similarities are not limited to “Highway Tune,” either. In fact, almost every song on the band’s EP seems to openly emulate Zeppelin’s bluesy stylings. Powerful drums are a constant, as is deft, shredding guitar, and Josh Kiszka’s voice never ceases to conjure up images of Plant. Greta Van Fleet, it seems, has crossed the line from casual emulation to outright derivation. But that’s not necessarily a problem. W hen “From the Fires” was released, GV F can — and should — be considered little more than a glorified cover band. Their sound was not merely inf luenced by Page and Plant; it was taken, largely unadapted. Even so, that doesn’t mean the Michigan boys should be boycotted and forgotten. Instead, listeners should be patient with these young musicians. Their sound, too, is young; given time, they probably will — and already have, judging from the stylistic evolution evident in the singles released off their new EP, “Anthem of the Peaceful Army” — develop more of a unique voice. After all, even the great Led Zeppelin took songs and sounds from other artists (“Traveling Riverside Blues,” for instance). Music, especially
rock, has always been about mutual inf luence and the sharing of ideas, which is what GV F seems to be attempting. Moreover, the very fact that a 21st-century band composed of millennials has taken such inspiration from older artists is cause for celebration. Great musicianship necessitates both respect for tradition and creative risk-taking, and GV F stands to follow this pattern and build on their inf luences, if only they continue to push themselves artistically. But even if Greta Van Fleet never does develop a sound of their own, and even if the more subdued verses of “Watching Over,” a single off “Anthem of the Peaceful Army,” are nothing more than a f luke, fans of rock can still listen to Greta Van Fleet without betraying Led Zeppelin. This consumption of GV F’s brand simply comes with a catch. Knowledgeable listeners should not forget the source of GV F’s sound, instead recognizing the group as a derivation of a band that was both original and groundbreaking. Here’s the bottom line: For every Greta Van Fleet song you hear, you should listen to two Zeppelin tunes, at least until the two no longer sound quite so similar. Greta Van Fleet’s new EP, “Anthem of the Peaceful Army,” has an expected release date of Oct. 19th, 2018.
Contact Cameron Sumner at csumner@nd.edu
Contact Nia Sylva at asylva@nd.edu RUBY LE | The Observer
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daily
The observer | wednesday, october 3, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
Crossword | Will Shortz
Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Work through your emotions this year. If you let things fester, they will deter you from reaching your potential. Don’t sweat the little things; deal with them and keep moving forward. It will show strength of character and the willingness to become the spokesperson when your beliefs are challenged. Stand up and be counted. Actions speak louder than words. Your numbers are 3, 10, 18, 21, 26, 32, 45. ARIES (March 21-April 19): An emotional situation will hinder your ability to be productive if you don’t face the challenges you encounter head-on. Heated discussions may not be fun, but they will get matters out into the open and help you find out where you stand. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A last-minute change of plans will be beneficial, so don’t make a fuss over nothing. Look on the bright side, and turn a negative into a positive. Your ability to adapt and move on will lead to an unexpected opportunity. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Be helpful. Offer unique suggestions, but don’t take on the physical stress of doing all the work. There is a fine line between taking over and being taken advantage of. Know and set limitations and boundaries that are reasonable. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Emotions will surface and must be directed properly if you want to avoid upset. Offer love, affection, understanding and patience instead of criticism and complaints and you’ll get far more accomplished. Personal improvements can and should be made. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Start a dialogue with someone you feel can help you improve your position or lifestyle. Keep it simple, honest and listen to the suggestions made. The information you receive will be a game changer when it comes to making your next move. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You can improve your relationship with others if you are open about the way you feel, what you want and what your intentions are. Once you establish ground rules, you will be able to move forward rapidly. Romance is encouraged. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t wait until someone is upset with you. Take care of your responsibilities sooner rather than later. Making changes at home that will improve your comfort or lower your overhead will also help change the dynamics of an important relationship. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Bend a little and you will get the cooperation you need to get things done. Anger isn’t the way to win favors or friendships. Use your ingenuity and you’ll come up with innovative ideas that others will respond to favorably. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Focus on what you can accomplish, not what you cannot. Strive to reach your deadlines and to be more innovative in the way you handle professional challenges. Don’t fall for a financial scheme that is risky or has emotional implications attached. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You’ll come up against opposition if you are too open about your plans. Perfect what you have in mind, and do not present until you are sure you have covered every angle that may be questioned. Change begins within. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Look over your personal finances and expenses. Make changes that will help you manage your money more efficiently. Overspending or indulging in pastimes that are expensive and unhealthy should be banned. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Creative accounting will help you get back on track. A change in the way you handle your money, the past and those who have cost you or not been honest will set the stage for a brighter and more prosperous future. Birthday Baby: You are energetic, quick-witted and classy. You are unbiased and popular.
WINGin’ it | OLIVIA WANG & BAILEE EGAN
Sudoku | The Mepham Group
Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek
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AL playoffs set for A’s to open wild-card game with Hendriks wild excitement Joe Everett Sports Editor
Following my colleague Tobias Hoonhout’s analysis of the 2018 National League Playoff picture yesterday, let’s take a look at the American League and some fantastic postseason baseball that awaits us there.
Wild-Card Game The New York Yankees (10062) host the Oakland Athletics (97-65) for the right to face the record-setting Boston Red Sox (108-54) in the divisional round. Should be a great game with runs coming at a premium. Luis Severino will take the bump for the Yankees, while reliever Liam Hendricks will start for the Athletics, but expect both teams to pull their starters at the first sign of trouble and rely on their standout bullpens. Let’s run through each potential ALDS scenario should either team win.
Oakland vs. Boston The Athletics are a sneaky good team who hit for power and have a great bullpen, giving them a puncher’s chance in the friendly confines of Fenway Park. Designated hitter Khris Davis has walloped 48 home runs this year, while third basemen Matt Chapman led the majors in runs saved at any position with 29. The A’s have a leaky starting rotation, however, so expect quick hooks from manager Bob Melvin to get to their lights-out bullpen anchored by closer Blake Treinen, who recorded 38 saves and an 0.78 ERA in the regular season. The Red Sox won the most games in franchise history thanks in large part to a highpowered offense led by MVP candidates Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez. The Sox put up a dominant 57-24 record at home, and hit .282 with an .829 OPS at Fenway. However, their pitching has question marks. Chris Sale is coming back from injury and his velocity was severely diminished his last start. David Price is 2-8 with a 5.03 ERA in the postseason. In the bullpen, closer Craig Kimbrel blew five saves during the year, and top setup man Matt Barnes recently suffered a sore hip. The talent is top-tier, but it’s vulnerable. Regardless, it’s championship-or-bust for the Red Sox.
than to knock the other out of the playoffs. The season series was very tight, with Boston holding a slim 10-9 advantage. The Yankee offense, which hammered 267 home runs — a MLB single-season record — can keep pace with Boston’s, and the Yankees have a better and deeper bullpen. Everything depends on who’s starting pitching shows up. J.A. Happ went 7-0 with a 2.69 ERA in 11 starts for the Yanks after being traded from Toronto, and twice stymied the Red Sox offense in the regular season. Whether the Yankees can get the same production from Masahiro Tanaka and Severino remains to be seen, but they’ll have a short leash with a stacked bullpen that includes Chad Green, David Robertson, Dellin Betances, Zach Britton and Aroldis Chapman. The bullpen could carry this team far.
Cleveland vs. Houston This has the makings of an epic series, and it’s fair to argue that these two teams are actually the best in the American League, or at least the two with the most postseason experience. Cleveland (91-71) sauntered into the playoffs after wrapping up their first-place finish in the worst division in baseball. MVP-candidates Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez powered the offense by each topping 35 home runs, and the starting rotation posted the second-lowest ERA in the AL. They’re tough to strike out, they hit for power, they’re experienced and Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer can pitch with the best of them. Mike Clevinger is also a great fourth option. The Indians could make some noise. In many ways, the Astros (103-59) are a similar team to the Indians — but I believe they’re a more talented and complete team. They have a great rotation, a scary lineup, a deep rotation that led the majors in ERA and oh yeah: they’re the defending World Series Champions. Houston will trot out Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Dallas Keuchel in the ALDS, with Charlie Morton as a viable fourth option. Add a lights-out bullpen and an offense led by Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer and Alex Bregman, and I see the Astros as the favorites to make it out of the American League and return to the Fall Classic.
New York vs. Boston Sorry Oakland, but this is the matchup we all want to see. The historic rivals haven’t met in the playoffs since the infamous 2004 ACLS, and both teams would love nothing more
Contact Joe Everett at jeveret4@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Fittingly, Liam Hendriks wore his cap backward. A reliever is going to start a team’s postseason opener. A pitcher with no wins in the regular season. A pitcher cut from the 40man roster in June who spent two months toiling in the minor leagues. “Instead of the starter going six and handing it over to the bullpen or going five and handing it over to the bullpen, now we’re just reversing it,” Oakland’s Australian righthander said Tuesday, a day ahead of the Athletics’ AL wild card game against the New York Yankees. Oakland manager Bob Melvin has been scrambling because of injuries to starting pitchers Jharel Cotton, Kendall Graveman, Sean Manaea, Paul Blackburn, Andrew Triggs and Daniel Gossett . Yet, the A’s finished second in the AL West at 97-65, their best record in 16 years, and their relievers went 45-16, the second-most bullpen wins in big league history
behind Tampa Bay’s 54 this year. Hendriks, a 29-year-old in his third season with Oakland, started for Minnesota (201114) and Kansas City (2014) before Toronto converted him to the bullpen in 2015. He had a 7.36 ERA in 13 relief appearances this season when he was designated for assignment on June 25 to clear a roster spot for Edwin Jackson. Then 40-38, the A’s won their next six games and 11 of 13. “Apparently I’m a pariah,” Hendriks said jokingly. After 21 appearances with Triple-A Nashville, he was brought back on Sept. 1 when active rosters expanded to 40. As Hendriks was checking into a hotel in Oakland that day, he received a telephone call from pitching coach Scott Emerson. “‘By the way, you’re going to start today,’” Hendriks recalled Emerson telling him. “I got to the field about an hour later, and it was kind of, ‘Yep, we’re going to try this opening thing, see how it goes.’” Hendriks was removed with the score 0-0 after 30
pitches and five outs, and Danny Coulombe allowed Ben Gamel’s two-run double. The A’s tied a club record by using nine pitchers in an 8-7 loss to Seattle. After that, Hendriks pitched seven shutout innings in his last seven starts, allowing four hits. His fastball velocity was 97 mph in September, up 3-4 mph from earlier this season. “I think it was a big wake-up call for him, because he hadn’t been in that position for quite a while,” Melvin said of the demotion. “Maybe a little bit more focused in what he’s doing now.” Hendriks received a text from Melvin at 10:58 a.m. informing him of the decision. The pitcher calls himself an “opener,” not a starter, and it’s unclear who will follow . The only starter expected to be on Oakland’s roster Wednesday is Edwin Jackson. What is clear is Hendriks will be only the fourth pitcher to commence a postseason game after a regular season of no wins, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
MLB
Severino gets second opportunity at wild-card Associated Press
NEW YORK — Luis Severino gets a wild-card do-over. After getting just one out for the New York Yankees against Minnesota last year, Severino starts this year’s winner-take-all matchup against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night . “I just want to win,” Severino said Tuesday. “If I can go four good innings and then the bullpen comes, that would be great.” Severino was chosen over J.A. Happ and Masahiro Tanaka despite a second-half slump. Rookie manager Aaron Boone said he made the decision after a staff meeting Saturday, slept on it and finalized it the next day . “I think he’s equipped in so many ways to handle this, and perhaps most importantly, he’s equipped with amazing stuff and the ability to dominate big league hitters because he’s such a talented pitcher,” Boone said.
Severino left last year’s wildcard game trailing 3-0 after allowing four hits and a walk. Chad Green, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle and Aroldis Chapman combined for fivehit relief as New York rallied for an 8-4 victory. “I was too excited,” Severino said. “It was a good experience. Now I’ll take that tomorrow and try to treat that game like a regular game.” A 24-year-old right-hander, Severino was 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA and 220 strikeouts. He was 14-2 with a 2.31 ERA at the All-Star break but lost six of his next nine decisions before beating Boston and Tampa Bay in his last two outings. He lost 8-2 at Oakland on Sept. 5, allowing six runs — five earned — and six hits in 2 2/3 innings. He threw two wild pitches and Gary Sanchez had two of his major league-high 18 passed balls . “I think it was a miscommunication between us,” Severino said. “I think we didn’t set the right signs.”
The wild-card winner advances to a Division Series against Boston starting Friday. Boone is including Happ, Tanaka and Lance Lynn as part of a nine-man bullpen Wednesday. Severino rebounded last year to beat Cleveland in Game 4 of the Division Series, getting a 5-0 lead and allowing three runs and four hits in seven innings. He lasted four innings in Game 2 of the Championship Series against Houston, a game the Yankees lost 2-1, then gave up three runs over 4 2/3 innings in the 7-1 loss in Game 6. Locating his 98 mph fastball is key. New York went 100-62, its best record since winning the 2009 World Series, and became the 10th big league team that won 100 games and failed to finish first. The Yankees set big league records with 267 homers and 12 players with doubledigit home runs, becoming the first team to get 20 or more homers from all nine slots in the batting order.
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Fr. Thesing Continued from page 16
“My thought at that time was I’m here anyway, it’s the mass and then it’s the game, and that’s that,” he said. Having served solo from 2013 through last season, Thesing was appointed Assistant Provincial and Steward of the Congregation of the Holy Cross’s U.S. Provincial Council, making him unavailable for certain away game weekends, depending on the meeting schedule. After talking to Fr. Pete McCormick and other people involved, Thesing said they reached out to Fr. Nate Wills, a faculty member of the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, to work alongside Thesing and serve the football program in four games this season. “This year, there was only one game that conflicted with my schedule,” Thesing said. “I said ‘It doesn’t do you any good or the team any good for you to just show up once in a while, you kind of need to be seen.” Thesing said due to the size of the football program, he and Wills’ relationship with the team is very different from that of McCormick and the men’s basketball team. “We don’t have as much interaction with the players as some might think,” he said. “ … most of the time when we’re around the team, they’re focused on something else … I’m welcome to attend a lot of different things with the football team … If I go over to practice, their attention is on the coaches, and the drills that they’re running … and the schemes and the plays … When football travels there are four or five buses and everyone is assigned to their specific bus.” At the same time, Thesing is still aware of and appreciates the players he serves as chaplain, and recalled individuals that have especially stood out to him during is time at chaplain. “[Former offensive lineman] Chris Stewart, partly because I was rector of Keenan at the time,” Thesing said. “I always admired him because of his dedication not only to football but to academics. There aren’t too many NCAA football players who are in law school. He went on for a year of grad school at Mendoza. Finished that and went on to law school with his final year of eligibility, while still playing on the team. “ … [Former linebacker Joe Schmidt] just had enthusiasm and ended up being a leader on the team … he always was looking for ways to be engaged and to get other people engaged.” Thesing was quick to also point out the benefits that come with working within such a large team.
“They have a lot more staff dedicated,” he said. “… There are people specifically involved with player development. They are organizing their community service activities.” Thesing said in his ten seasons with the team, both under Charlie Weiss and Brian Kelly, he’s figured out the times when he can be most useful. “[A] tradition that we continue is the saint medal,” Thesing said. “It’s now my responsibility to chose and order those medals. when we were getting ready to go to the BCS championships in 2012, a member of the football program called … and said ‘you got to get Saint Sebastian, that was the saint we had in the 1973 game when we beat Alabama and won the national championship.’ You’re talking nearly 40 years. “ … There are also other
times when it becomes crucial to be part of what’s going on and to be available. When somebody gets sad news about the death of a family member, when somebody gets diagnosed … with a significant illness. Those are important times to be present … and to be a comfort.” Additionally, after the struggles of the 2016 season, Brian Kelly and the football program started to introduce a more spiritual routine to help the team overcome their personal and communal struggles. “Coach Brian Kelly … took that experience of ‘I can never let that happen again and what can we do,’” Thesing said. “There were some changes made, one of those changes was he brought somebody in and she and I meet every week before the mass with the team and we talk about what they’re
going through, and we look for scripture readings that we can use in the mass to emphasize and help them and support them on their struggles for what’s going on.” In addition to being an emotional and spiritual support system during tough times, Thesing said he is also there to celebrate the success of the team. He’s even found himself a distinguishing quality to win over the entire program — card tricks. “On home games, the team marches over to the stadium from the Gug,” he said. I go with them, a part of the team, primarily defense, and go out on the field — this is before the stadium’s even opened — to say a prayer. I join them with that. It’s a player-led prayer. Following that, I go over to the student managers and do a card trick for them. They all
kind of wait … some actually take their phones out and record it.” At the end of the day, Thesing’s greatest impact is his ministry to the team — an effort that he believes often bears fruit down the line. “I always look at ministry, especially with youth, as planting seeds,” Thesing said. “My hope is that there’s something that I say, something they observe, something they participate in that makes a difference to them. Not today or tomorrow, but maybe two years, or four years or 10 years. It’s amazing how that happens, not just as chaplain … they’re getting so much support, not just from the chaplain but other resources in supporting their faith.” Contact Charlotte Edmonds at cedmond3@nd.edu
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Fr. Mark Thesing, left, celebrates a play during Notre Dame’s 38-27 victory over Stanford on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. Paid Advertisement
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Irish senior defender Sean Dedrick winds up for a kick during Notre Dame’s 1-0 loss to North Carolina on Sept. 21 at Alumni Stadium.
M Soccer Continued from page 16
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Irish senior midfielder Sean MacLeod tries to juke his opponent during Notre Dame’s 1-0 loss against North Carolina at Alumni Stadium on Sept. 21. MacLeod scored his first career goal in Tuesday’s win. Paid Advertisement
halftime break, the Irish finally managed to take their first shot on goal in the 48th minute off a shot from senior forward Thomas Ueland inside the box. Ueland’s attempt, however, was saved by Northwestern goalkeeper Miha Miskovic. Nine minutes later, yet another shot was saved by Miskovic, as the sophomore Wildcat goalkeeper stopped a shot from the right side of the box by Irish sophomore midfielder Aiden McFadden. After several more missed chances — a shot wide of the post by Irish junior midfielder Jack Casey in the 64th minute and a shot over the bar by fifthyear midfielder Blake Townes in the 71st minute — Notre Dame finally got the ball to the back of the net in the 74th minute. Ueland chipped the ball to sophomore forward Paul Rothrock, who headed it in for his first career goal. Five minutes later, Notre Dame would celebrate its second goal of the night off a skillful volley from inside the box by senior forward Ian Aschieris — his second goal of the season. In the 90th minute, senior forward Sean MacLeod ensured he wouldn’t leave the pitch without being on the scoresheet by scoring his first career goal and ending the hopes of Wildcats fans for taking a point home. Riley noted that the second half insertion of Ueland and the team’s commitment to pursuing effective offense propelled the Irish to break the game wide open in the latter half of the game. “Thomas Ueland came in to start the second half and gave us a good lift,” Riley said. “And we just saw some of the things that might be successful
offensively and started taking advantage of those a bit more [in the second half].” The road victory gives the Irish their third-straight win, a stretch during which they’ve outscored their opponents by a combined score of 8-1. Riley gave his players a lot of credit for providing good performances every game this season, while adding that the team remains focused and is eyeing its next game against No. 6 Louisville. “Winning is always better, it helps you feel better, but I think winning when you’re performing well — that’s what we’ve been doing,” he said. “I give the guys a lot of credit. Even in losses I haven’t felt that our performances have been low. It shows that we’re improving while getting positive results — which is the goal that we want. … We’re feeling good, and we also know there’s still another level to push to. There’s a good hunger within the team, and we have a big game to look forward to on Saturday.” Notre Dame will play four of its last six games this month on the road, with three of those opponents currently ranked in the top-25. Riley said he is confident his team will respond well to the challenges coming up in October. “I think [the team is ready to play in tough environments], has done a really good job of getting ready for games on the road and playing in different fields, different conditions,” he said. “One thing our schedule will do [for] us is toughen us up overall, and I think the team has responded to those challenges well.” Next up for the Irish is a marquee matchup against No. 6 Louisville on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Alumni Stadium. Contact Charlie OrtegaGuifarro at cortegag@nd.edu
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Football Continued from page 16
usually very good football.”
Virginia Tech Kelly said he was impressed by the way the Hokies (3-1) bounced back against Duke after their stunning 49-35 loss to Old Dominion, and mentioned how the Irish are expecting Virginia Tech’s best inside a raucous atmosphere at Lane Stadium. “Excellent win this past weekend against a really good Duke team,” Kelly said. “Well coached. And very good defense … For them to bounce back after what I’m sure was considered a disappointing loss from their perspective, to go on the road and play as well as they did, tells you a little bit about how their coaches, Coach Fuente and certainly what Bud Foster was able to do defensively, to get that unit to play at such a high level after giving up more points than they normally do, to come back and shut down a really good Duke offense. “… Our job is to handle the environment and go in and play really good football. If we do that and handle the environment, handle ourselves and our preparation, we’ll be in pretty good shape. If we can’t handle the environment, we can’t prepare the right way this week because we’re distracted, because everybody’s telling us how great we are, then we’ll be in big trouble. But this team’s shown an ability to prepare the right way, a maturity to stay away from the distractions.”
good position to get after it today in an aggressive manner on a Tuesday. So better than had been forecasted.” “… So with Tony and Dexter, [sophomore] Avery [Davis], and then we’ll call up some reserves with [freshmen] C’Bo [Flemister] and Jamir [Smith]. So we’ll have a good stable of backs [against Virginia Tech].
Dexter Williams Speaking of the running backs, senior Dexter Williams returned to the field against Stanford after his unannounced four-game suspension and rushed 21 times for a career-high 161 yards. Kelly said the Irish used Williams more often then they planned to, but said the senior is now ready to carry a full workload and commented on Williams’ personal journey back to the football field. “I wasn’t certain what we could do with him — I was counting on if we could get eight, ten max we’d be in great shape,” Kelly said. “But to his credit, he really worked hard to be in the best possible condition to go in there and impact. So I don’t think there’s any restrictions in terms of what he could do for us moving forward now.” “ …[Dexter’s mom is] very strong and inspirational to Dexter. His fight to get back to where he is certainly personal. But family had something to do with it as well. Dexter’s always had that personality. But he’s now, I think, just in a better place, a much more mature person that is now able to bring that on a consistent basis day in, day out.”
Kelly spoke about the defensive lineman’s journey to be great. “This year, certainly there’s the one story of the development of him as a football player much more now that he’s completed his degree,” Kelly said. “And, in particular, somebody that’s moved positions to three technique and within that, his pass rush. So this is much more of a football piece to the story than it has been at any other time. But his impact as a leader in our football program has probably elevated itself because his work ethic is so much better than it’s ever been.”
Ian Book Finally, Kelly touched on Notre Dame’s new starting quarterback, junior Ian Book
— who has accounted for nine touchdowns over his two starts this season — and what he brings to the offense and as well as what he needs to keep doing and improve on. “I like that he wins,” Kelly said. “The more in-depth [answer] would be he has certainly created a confidence level amongst the entire unit. And whether it’s escapability, where he can sense the rush, and that builds a confidence level with your offensive line that they know that even if they maybe don’t sustain a block, that they’re going to be okay. So I don’t have to grab or hold. Wide receivers knowing that they’re going to get the football in a position where they can run after the catch. I could go on and on
and on. But he’s won football games. “ … What can he do better? I think every single day it’s continue to prepare for the next opponent, because it’s a clean slate. So that preparation part for a quarterback is really big. And he hasn’t been at it very long. So the ability to come in each week and really lock in on that next opponent and then take what he’s learned and bring that with him. That’s work in progress. So I don’t know that there’s one specific thing that we’ll be working on with him as much as making sure that he stays on track to continue to grow each day.” Contact Joe Everett at jeveret4@nd.edu
Alex Bars On the injury front, Kelly confirmed that graduate student guard and captain Alex Bars will undergo ACL/MCL surgery next week and will be lost for the season after sustaining the injury against Stanford. “He’ll have surgery next week. And obviously, the prognosis is such that we’re not expecting anything that is outside the normal ACL/MCL surgery procedure,” Kelly said. “We had a captain’s meeting, which I always have at 6 p.m. on Mondays. He was part of it. He’ll continue — he won’t be able to travel with us this weekend, but he’ll travel with us. He’ll be with our football team. He’s an important part of what we do. So he will stay connected, absolutely.”
Tony Jones Jr. Another injury suffered during the Stanford game was that of Tony Jones Jr, who suffered a high ankle sprain. However, Kelly is optimistic the junior running back will be back on the field shortly. “The treatment’s gone well. I think he’s probably better than we at first indicated or thought,” Kelly said. “We’ll see how he goes today. But I think that after talking to our trainers and Tony, I think he’s in a really
Jerry Tillery Another Irish player that also seems to be back on the right track is graduate student Jerry Tillery, who earned the game ball against Stanford thanks to his four-sack performance.
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Irish junior quarterback Ian Book scrambles while looking to pass during Notre Dame’s 38-27 victory over Stanford on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. Book is responsible for nine touchdowns in his two starts. Paid Advertisement
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ndsmcobserver.com | tuesday, september 18, 2018 | The Observer
Observer File Photo
Irish junior guard and new captain T.J. Gibbs looks to pass in Notre Dame’s 96-85 win over Boston College on Feb. 6 at Purcell Pavilion.
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Irish senior guard Rex Pflueger drives against his defender during Notre Dame’s 96-85 win against Boston College at Purcell Pavilion on Feb. 6. Pflueger was named one of the team’s three captains this season.
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M Bball Continued from page 16
1,348 minutes played last season, the third-most in school history and 10th-most in the NCAA for 2017-18. Additionally, his 704 minutes played in ACC games is the second-most in school history. Burns is entering his fourth year with the Irish, but it will be his third active year after recovering from a surgery performed before his freshman campaign, which forced him to sit out the 2015-16 season. Developing behind front-court graduated stand-outs Colson and Martinas Geben, Burns is ready to become another veteran in a long line of players who have blossomed when turned to during their third and fourth years in Brey’s system after working hard behind the scenes during their early years. With a largely unproven frontcourt this season, the Irish will need Burns to be both a major leader and contributor during the 2018-19 campaign. Notre Dame began practice for the 2018-19 season Monday at Purcell Pavilion. The first opportunity to see the Irish in action will be Thursday, Nov. 1, when they face Central State University in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. in Purcell Pavilion. The 2018-19 regular season begins Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. against UIC in the first game of the 2018 Gotham Classic.
Write Sports. Email Joe Everett at jeveret4@nd.edu
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The observer | thursday, september 20, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
god, country, notre dame | football
nd men’s soccer | nd 3, northwestern 0
Fr. Thesing reflects Trio of late goals lifts Irish to victory over Wildcats on chaplain role By CHARLOTTE EDMONDS Associate Sports Editor
As Fr. Mark Thesing prepared to start up a movie for the Notre Dame football team in 1977, he likely never would have predicted the way his life would come full circle. Then a freshman at Moreau seminary, Fr. Thesing was in charge of playing movies for the team, who made their way over to the seminary after attending the pep rally in the Stepan center. Now, 41 years later, Fr. Thesing has become an integral part of the team’s growth, serving as its chaplain since 2008. “They stayed at Moreau seminary the night before the game and then had mass the next morning … [they’d] head over to north dining hall for their pregame meal before heading to the stadium,” he recalled. Entering his tenth season as chaplain, Thesing has seen his role evolve depending on the needs of the team. Following a
vacancy in 2008, Thesing said Campus Ministry looked at a number of different options for how to structure the chaplaincy model before settling on two chaplains – one for home games and one for away game — not wanting hall rectors to be gone from campus for extended periods of time. “I was transitioning from rector of Keenan to Business Manager of Student Affairs and they approached me and said ‘Would you be interested?’ and I said ‘Sure’,” Thesing said. “I kind of slowly went into it, the first year I did a few games and then the next year I did all the away games … and Fr. Paul Doyle did all the home games, as he had done for a good number of years.” After the 2012 national runner-up season, Doyle stepped down entirely from his role with the football team and Thesing took over the entire operation. see FR. THESING PAGE 12
By CHARLIE ORTEGAGUIFARRO Sports Writer
connery mcfadden | The Observer
Irish sophomore forward Paul Rothrock dribbles the ball upfield during Notre Dame’s 1-0 loss to North Carolina on Sept. 21.
Kelly discusses injuries, successes of players By JOE EVERETT
Brey announces tri-captains Observer Sports Staff
Sports Editor
see FOOTBALL PAGE 14
see M SOCCER PAGE 13
nd men’s basketball
football
After his team’s big 38-17 win over Stanford last Saturday, in what was Notre Dame’s first top10 matchup at home since 2005, Irish head coach Brian Kelly spoke to the media Tuesday afternoon ahead of No. 6 Notre Dame’s road matchup with No. 24 Virginia Tech Saturday night in Blacksburg, Virginia. “[I’m] excited about how our team has kind of come together over the last few weeks — offense, defense and special teams,” Kelly said. “ … Of all that you try to search and find for your football team, is it’s beginning to complement each other. “ … The offense is complementing the defense. The defense is complementing the offense. And certainly the special teams is part of that. And that certainly wasn’t the case early in the year. So when each unit is complementing each other very well, you’re playing
No. 15 Notre Dame beat Northwestern on Tuesday night by a score of 3-0, extending its winning streak to three games. The Irish (6-3-1, 2-1 ACC) used a three-goal onslaught in the second half to beat the Wildcats (45-2, 0-3-1 Big Ten) in Evanston, Illinois. The first half of the game was slow, with neither team getting a shot on goal. Irish head coach Chad Riley said it was “just not a very sharp first half from both teams.” One notable chance came when Irish freshman forward Jack Lynn took a shot in the 31st minute from outside the box, but the ball went over the bar. Despite the lack of action in the first 45 minutes, the Irish extended their firsthalf clean sheet to 10-straight games. Coming back from the
anna mason | The Observer
Irish senior running back Dexter Williams celebrates a touchdown during Notre Dame’s 38-27 victory over Stanford on Saturday.
Head men’s basketball coach Mike Brey announced a trio of captains for the 2018-19 Notre Dame season on Monday. Seniors Rex Pflueger and Elijah Burns will be joined by junior T.J. Gibbs as the team-selected leaders for the upcoming season. After the Irish lost then-seniors Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell for significant portions of last season, Pflueger was named a team captain midway through the 2017-18 season to make up for the absence of senior leadership on the court. The then-junior guard stepped up to the challenge, recording career-highs in minutes played (1,153, 32.9 per game), points (281), assists (112) and steals (37), and finished 10th in the ACC in assist/turnover ratio (2.15). The lone four-year senior on the roster, Pflueger is considered by head coach Mike Brey and staff to be one of the best defenders on the team, and is often tasked with guarding the
opposing team’s best perimeter scorer. Pflueger also has developed a knack for last-minute shot tip-ins, beginning by his tipping in the game-winning rebound with 1.5 seconds left against Stephen F. Austin in the second round of the 2016 NCAA tournament his freshman year, and continuing the trend last season on the road against Syracuse by out-hustling the Orange down the floor to put back T.J. Gibbs’ miss for the game-deciding points with 2.3 seconds remaining. Junior guard Gibbs was also thrust into a leadership role due to the absence of Farrell and Colson, especially in regards to providing scoring for Brey’s squad. Gibbs responded by leading the team in points (552, 15.3 per game) while dishing out 107 assists and shooting over 40 percent from threepoint range. His 552 points were enough for the ninth-best single-season total for a sophomore in Notre Dame history. The New Jersey native logged see M BBALL PAGE 15