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Volume 53, Issue 24 | thursday, september 20, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
Forum features Pulitzer winner Author Marilynne Robinson speaks on religion, beauty in modern culture By MARY CLARE DONNELLY News Writer
Notre Dame Forum’s first lecture of the year, titled “The Catholic Artistic Heritage: Bringing Forth Treasures New and Old,” featured Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson. In a discussion moderated by English professor Susannah Monta, Robinson spoke on themes such as religion and beauty in her novels and how these themes immerse themselves in contemporary society and culture. “Beauty is the signature of the presence of God,” Robinson said. In response to a question from Monta, Robinson said one of her principle religious beliefs is that “we are among souls.” Robinson said her beliefs on higher education follow from this
principle. “For one thing, I think there would be a big infusion of mutual respect, inevitably,” she said. “ … We have to realize that to say that someone is a soul, to say that something is mysterious, by itself has to make us alert to the fact that people express themselves unconsciously in many cases — but beautifully.” Robinson said she believes in being open about what she believes. “How many people who could write about their religious faith, who would want to, who would create a beautiful religious art out of the fact of their faith, are stymied and silenced because they are afraid that someone might say ‘I don’t really believe see FAITH PAGE 4
Observer Staff Report
MARY CLARE DONNELLY | The Observer
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson autographs a book at her lecture Wednesday evening in the Dahnke Ballroom.
Interhall athletes reflect on dorm sports culture By NICOLE SIMON News Writer
With the Notre Dame’s football season well under way, the campus’ 30 dorms are preparing for seasons of their own as the first of intramural games took place this past Sunday. Junior S.J. Arnone played
football in high school and has played on Dillon’s interhall team for the past two years, now serving as the team’s captain. He said the sport is an important way for him to show not only his love for Notre Dame, but also for his hall. “Football is unique in the sense that it’s a sport you have to play with pride and with passion.
You need something to be passionate about, to juice you up for the game,” Arnone said. “I think Notre Dame is a school that has not only school pride — we’re very passionate about Notre Dame and that’s why we love the football team so much — but see FOOTBALL PAGE 4
Bellebots looks forward to upcoming year By SARA SCHLECHT News Writer
Bellebots, the Saint Mary’s robotics club, is looking forward to a year of growth, teaching and competing. Having formed just two years ago, the club is looking for ways to expand its presence on campus, Bellebots vice president and senior Noreen Maloney said. “We’re still kind of discerning
our niche,” she said. “We’re always adapting to what we need to do to be really relevant on campus.” Finding a place for an interest in STEM was how Bellebots began. The group’s president and founder, junior Michelle Lester, said robotics was something in which she wanted to participate when she started her first year at the College. “When I got to campus, I wanted to start something that
viewpoint PAGE 7
ND to inspect food
had to do with robotics,” Lester said. With this in mind, she found a faculty member to serve as an advisor for the group she wanted to start. Lester said Bellebots began with sending a survey to students to gauge the student body’s interest in such a club. Upon receiving positive responses, Lester’s desire started becoming see BELLEBOTS PAGE 4
Scene PAGE 9
Through a deal with the St. Joseph County Health Department, Notre Dame will now be in charge of its own food inspections and have the ability to keep the results private, according to a South Bend Tribune report Wednesday. While the health department will continue to do “initial inspections” of the University’s “new or remodeled food establishments,” Notre Dame will now be responsible for doing regular inspections of its dining halls and restaurants. see FOOD PAGE 5
‘Heritage of Hospitality’ talk discusses Mass By MAEVE FILBIN News Writer
Saint Mary’s Campus Ministry hosted the first installation of “A Heritage of Hospitality,” a four-part series exploring the Catholic Mass on Wednesday night. Anne McGowan, the assistant professor of liturgy at the Catholic Theological Union presented “Welcoming God’s Word: From Burning Hearts to Blazing World,” with responses from sophomore Kelly Burke and Marilyn Zugish. Regina Wilson, the director of Campus Ministry, introduced the three speakers and the idea of perceiving the sharing of the Eucharist as an act of hospitality. “At Saint Mary’s, the celebration of the Eucharist is central to our faith life,” Wilson said. “However, as we all know, we are a diverse campus and at times the Eucharist can be experienced as exclusionary and not welcoming. We seek
ND WOMEN’S TENNIS PAGE 16
through this project to look at the Eucharist as a practice, to look inside the Eucharist and to understand how it actually shapes us to be people who hospitably welcome and include others in the world.” McGowan spoke on this concept with a lecture calling the audience to listen with “burning hearts.” McGowan said the theme of fire was inspired by an encounter between two disciples and Jesus depicted in the Gospels. “As the title of this talk indicates, we are going to feast on fire this evening,” McGowan said. “It is Christ who calls us, breaks open God’s word with us and for us, feeds us with nothing less than Himself and then sends us out to speak the word of hope to the world and feed whoever we find there who is hungry. When God’s word is proclaimed and interpreted, the people who hear it are set on see MASS PAGE 5
MEN’S SOCCER PAGE 16
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TODAY
The observer | Thursday, september 20, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
Question of the Day: ndsmcobserver.com
What’s a skill you’d like to master?
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KENDRA OSINKI | The Observer
Ashish Sharma delivers his lecture, “Global Warming and Social Justice: Fighting for Vulnerable Chicago Neighborhoods,” in DeBartolo Hall on Monday. The lecture, part of ND Energy’s annual Energy Week, focused on the health risks of climate change.
The next Five days:
Want your event included here? Email news@ndsmcobserver.com
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Global Cafe LaFortune Student Center Ballroom 4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Celebrate the Ethiopian New Year.
ND Men’s Soccer vs. North Carolina Alumni Stadium 7 p.m. The Irish take on the Tar Heels.
Open House: Museum of Biodiversity Jordan Hall of Science noon - 4 p.m. Browse an extensive collection of fossils.
Sunday Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart. 11:45 a.m. All are welcome for the celebration.
National Voter Registration Day Festival Geddes Hall 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Food provided.
Lecture: “This is America” Annenberg Auditorium 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Explores the art of Dana Chandler.
Presenting Series Concert: Kristin Chenoweth DeBartolo Performing Arts Center 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
SUB Movie: “Incredibles 2” 101 Debartolo Hall 7:30 p.m. Second showing at 10:30 p.m.
Concert: Nathan Laube Basilica of the Sacred Heart 8 p.m. - 9 p.m. An organist performs.
Lecture: “Policy vs. Science: The Politics of Climate Change” DeBartolo Hall 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. Open to the public.
News
ndsmcobserver.com | thursday, september 20, 2018 | The Observer
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LaFortune barber reflects on 26 years of service By CLAIRE RAFFORD News Writer
Nestled in the corner of the basement of LaFortune Student Center, amidst the wafting scents of Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, sits the LaFortune barbershop. The small room is plastered in pictures of everything from the Golden Dome to motorcycles. On a table sits a red tin full of Hershey’s kisses for the women who pass through the shop.
The iconic shop is home to barber Frank Franco, 76, who has been cutting hair at the University for 26 years. The art of cutting hair is a family business for Franco — his father was a barber as well in Franco’s hometown of Alliance, Ohio. “I grew up in a barbershop, my dad was a barber,” Franco said. “He made me go to barber school and then he wouldn’t hire me. He actually wanted me to use barbering to go through
NOAH CHA | The Observer
Longtime barber Frank Franco gives a student a trim in his barbershop located in the basement of LaFortune Student Center.
college, to pay my own way through college.” After attending barber school in Akron, Ohio, Franco enrolled in Kent State University. Shortly after graduating college, he was drafted into the army during the Vietnam War. He was actually drafted twice, once while he was still in school and once barely a month after his college graduation. “The first time they drafted me, I was in Cleveland at the center and I kept telling them, you can’t draft me because for 12 more hours, I’m a bonafide student, no matter what I’m taking,” Franco said. “So they sent me home. As soon as I graduated, wasn’t a month when I saw the mailman deliver something, and I saw him give it a second look, so I knew what it was. I went back up and they knew who I was.” Franco served from 1967-1969 at the Overseas Replacement Center in Fort Lewis, Washington. He got married when he realized that he was not going to be deployed overseas, and after he got out of the army in 1969, began to work in business. He moved to South Bend from his home in Ohio to work for a fluid controls Paid Advertisement
manufacturing company. “I came to town to work for South Bend Controls,” Franco said. “I worked for a couple of companies, did some budgets for them but I got tired of working for companies and doing things for them.” Franco’s coming to Notre Dame is a story he says most people would not believe. “I was a little bit worried, out of work and some people won’t believe this but they say ND calls you,” Franco said. “In the middle of the night, I heard a voice telling me to get [myself] up here. So I was up here by 9:00 the next morning with that idea, only to learn that they already had a barbershop.” That barbershop was run by Joe D’Angelo, known among students as “ROTC Joe.” “The gentleman told me to come down and meet Joe D’Angelo, or ROTC Joe,” Franco said. “Joe and I got on pretty well, and he told me a secret nobody knew yet: he was retiring. And no one around the school knew that. That was 26 years ago and I’ve been here ever since.” After more than two and a half decades of cutting hair in LaFortune, and even more before that, Franco has his practice
down to a science. “My routine is just to come, get ready and cut hair,” Franco said. Franco said he sees anywhere from 20 to 25 customers each day — mostly students, but a mix of faculty, clergy and other administration as well. “The haircut styles haven’t changed,” he said. “Not much has changed in the last 26 years. My pricing has changed, it’s gone up, but not a lot has changed.” Though not much about his haircuts has changed, the Notre Dame campus has changed a great deal in the past few decades. “The footprint has gotten much bigger,” Franco said. “If you think of a size 8 shoe [back then], I think it’s about a size fifteen now.” When asked what his favorite thing about cutting hair in LaFortune is, Franco said over everything else, he likes the variety of his job. “The atmosphere keeps me young, because I think I’m older than I look,” he said. “My wife will tell you I’m older than I act.” Contact Claire Rafford at crafford@nd.edu
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NEWS
The observer | thursday, september 20, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
Football Continued from page 1
we also have a lot of dorm pride. I think that’s what makes interhall football so great, that dorm pride.” In addition to creating a sense of dorm pride, interhall football has strengthened his feeling of community within the dorm, Arnone said. “It’s been pretty influential in making friends,” he said. “It’s allowed me to connect with some older guys. When I was a freshman, it was kind of hard for me to get to know seniors because they were all off campus, but through interhall, I’d be seeing those guys two to three times a week. And even now that I’m older, I get to connect with the younger guys more. It definitely shaped the friends that I made in the grades above and below me.”
Bellebots Continued from page 1
a reality. Last year, Bellebots worked primarily with local high school robotics teams to help them prepare for competitions, Maloney said. Additionally, the group worked on gaining members and fundraising for future endeavors. This year, however, Bellebots wishes to compete. “The program we want to do is called VEX U, and they release a new game every year,” Lester said. “It’s always changing.” This annual change is what makes the program enticing to
Building friendships aside, one of Arnone’s main goals as captain is retaining last year’s championship title. “We’re looking to repeat, for sure,” he said. “We won the championship last year, so obviously our minds are thinking about getting back there, but I think we’ve just got to take it game by game.” To keep their title, they’ll have to beat Duncan, whose team has been runner up for the past two years. Duncan’s captain, junior Kyle Tomshack, is hopeful about his team this year. “We’ve had pretty good experiences so far,” he said. “The past two years we’ve lost by a combined three points, so maybe this year will be the year.” Tomshack said he thinks the sport is a great way to not only build community within the dorm, but with other dorms as well.
“It’s such a cool thing that Notre Dame does, being, I think, the only college now that has tackle football for intramurals. It’s a really big deal that Notre Dame still allows us to do this. For a lot of guys who grew up playing football, it’s a way to keep on playing the game they love,” he said. “It’s also a really cool way for the dorms to be competitive with each other. There are guys in other dorms that I would not know because we play against them every single week.” Sophomore Maria Ritten, captain of Pasquerilla West’s interhall B-team, said she thinks the interhall teams are a great combination of the student body’s love of school and love of dorm. “I think it says something about the people here,” she said. “Everyone’s super competitive, but everyone also loves the football culture and loves their dorms, and
I really think interhall football fosters that dorm community. Some of my closest friends I became friends with through flag football.” Playing interhall has given Ritten a deeper appreciation for the sport that is so important at Notre Dame, she said. “I think because Notre Dame is such a football school, a lot of us go in having these preconceptions about what football is. To all of us, we love going to games on Saturday, obviously, but I had never really played prior to playing interhall. Now that I play, I kind of get it,” she said. “I can’t even imagine playing actual football. I have a newfound respect for every football player.” Senior Belin Mirabile said playing football has also helped her relate to the sport in a deeper way. She is captain of last year’s champion McGlinn Hall, and is hoping
to bring home another championship for her fourth and final year of interhall. “I actually think it kind of like humanizes the football players,” she said. “A lot of them are coaches for the interhall teams. We have three varsity football players who help coach our team, Chris Schilling, Arion Shinaver and Chase Claypool. It’s really cool — them coming to practice and trying to help teach fundamentals. I think getting a chance to play that sport that everyone loves so much on this campus is a cool opportunity, especially last year when we got to be in the stadium, that’s an awesome [opportunity], and just knowing what that’s like definitely added to my Notre Dame experience.”
the group, as it allows members to work on more than just maintenance of robots between competitions, Lester said. Instead it would create opportunity for the team to use various skills on projects. Competitions such as VEX U have a registration fee, and Lester said Bellebots has already been fundraising this semester for this purpose. “Doing an actual robotics team is very expensive, so we need to make money … to be able to feel comfortable sending in that registration check,” she said. In addition to having a robotics team, Bellebots also wishes to help people learn and hone other
STEM-related skills, Maloney said. “We want to be encouraging to STEM literacy and twentyfirst century skills on campus,” Maloney said. Basic computer programming is among the skills the group intends to teach those who are interested. Lester said the ability to work on websites is useful for careers in many fields, not just STEM. “We want to have nights where we talk about STEM skills but in the sense that you could integrate them into your everyday life,” Maloney said. “We’re hoping that as a team, we’ll do somewhat occasional nights that focus on
these skills.” The goal of these nights would be to introduce students to these skills and then provide them with the resources to develop them, she said. These nights would enable students to determine if such STEM skills are what they want or need to learn. “We try to be as inclusive as possible,” Maloney said. “No STEM required.” Lester and Maloney said they know some students might be intimidated by things like computer programming and robotics but do not want that to keep people from joining. “We definitely want to start
with stuff that’s not scary to people,” Lester said. Maloney said the club has a strong leadership team that is willing to teach people who might be intimidated by robotics but is also interesting in acquiring members with skills in other disciplines to help with other aspects of robotics competitions, such as brochure design and safety. Bellebots is open to all members of the tri-campus community. The next Bellebots meeting will take place Sept. 26 at 9:30 p.m. in 140 Spes Unica Hall.
Faith
every human encounter you have.” As the final question, a member of the audience, Fr. Joe Simmons, referenced an image in one of Robinson’s essays of “washing off baptism” and asked Robinson from a critical point in the Church how can we give imagination to the world and faith. In response, Robinson said religion is a central possession in a civilization. “Anyone has the possibility of making [religion] the best possible expression of this yearning that human beings have,” Robinson said. “Religion is profoundly historical. It’s not historical in a way that traps you in it, you know what I mean? If you are deeply committed to what you and other people find most beautiful in it and are loyal to that, then you’re doing something that the civilization yearns to have you do.”
Contact Nicole Simon at nsimon1@nd.edu
Contact Sarah Schlecht at sschlecht01@saintmarys.edu
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Continued from page 1
any of that,’” she said. “There is no reason in my experience to keep people from being absolutely candid about what they believe.” A four-student panel, with both undergraduates and graduates, had the opportunity to ask Robinson questions. One doctoral student, Jillian Snyder, asked Robinson about Calvinism, a theology that heavily influences Robinson’s writing, and its impact on American discourse today. “I think he’s still very palpably present in a lot of American poetry,” Robinson said. “I think that in a way he got himself embedded in the culture … He says that anyone who confronts you is God. It is the image of God, and this means that God himself is attentive to how you react to the fact that this image is presented to you. God has an intention with
Contact Mary Clare Donnelly at mdonne22@nd.edu
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ndsmcobserver.com | thursday, september 20, 2018 | The Observer
Food Continued from page 1
The health department has faced difficulties carrying out inspections throughout the county due to staffing issues, the Tribune reported. It will continue to conduct reviews of “consumer food complaints” at the University, receive reports from the University’s inspections and maintain the ability to audit the University. The agreement runs through Aug. 1, 2019 and was implemented last month. The University’s inspections will be considered “private documents” and will not be available to the public,
according to the report. University spokesperson Dennis Brown told the Tribune in a prepared statement that the health department initiated the agreement. “The county health department approached Notre Dame earlier this year asking that we conduct our own inspections,” he said. “We are willing to do that.” However, according to the Tribune, Brown also said the agreement “contains substantial errors, including language concerning access to public records.” The county has the right to ask the University to conduct its own inspections, the Indiana Health Department told the Tribune.
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Mass Continued from page 1
fire and called to live differently. “Just as sharing stories and engaging in conversation are essential components of a memorable meal that heighten our appreciation of the food, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist are linked together in an enhanced act of devotion. God’s salvation is proclaimed to us in both words and in actions.” Spoken words hold great power, especially when delivered by God, McGowan said. For this reason, the Gospels are read aloud with respect and ceremony, she said. “When God speaks, something happens,” McGowan said. “During Mass, the Gospel in particular is understood as Christ speaking anew to us, and it is for this reason that the Gospel gets the most elaborate ritual treatment among the ancient scriptures. The book of the Gospels is treated with special
reverence, and the proclamation of the words of Jesus Christ may be accompanied with candles and incense.” God welcomes people into the Church through Holy Scripture, McGowan said, extending the warmest of welcomes while bringing everyone closer together in a shared experience of hospitality. “The Liturgy of the Word begins with God’s hospitality toward us, in presenting us with these words with the power to change us, offered out of a divine love that is not content to leave us as we are,” McGowan said. “God invites us into closer relationship through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. And by extension, we are called into deeper relationship with everyone else who God loved into existence and with all of creation. Like a good host, God stands eager to help facilitate these connections for us, opening a vision for a new way of life.” Cultural awareness and inclusion can help the Church cultivate this hospitality, McGowan
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said, and make the experience of attending Mass one that is accessible to all. “Those who prepare liturgies and those who preach on the readings can exhibit hospitality towards the assembly by being conscious of the diversity of the assembly … and by using preaching where warranted to draw out the relevant Biblical connections,” she said. Despite differences or divisions in the assembly, everyone who attends Mass and listens to the Liturgy of the Word should share an experience of love, McGowan said. “The goal at some level should be falling in love with God,” she said. “After a homily, ask yourself the question, ‘Do you love God more or less than you did before?’ The goal for preachers is to craft a homily inspired by the Holy Spirit that leaves people loving God more.” Contact Maeve Filbin at mfilbin01@saintmarys.edu
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The observer | thursday, september 20, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
Inside Column
An ode to South Bend Mariah Rush News Writer
“I hear South Bend’s not THAT bad,” says my professor to a roar of laughter from the class. I glance around, irritated. The townie in me is frustrated and it’s only the second week of school. And if you’re wondering — no, I did not grow up wanting to stay in town for college. But even so, I’m happy to be here. I don’t think South Bend, the fourth biggest Indiana city by population, is a small town with “nothing to do,” to quote a well-meaning friend. I can’t even count how many times a friend from school has truly believed the best parts of South Bend are Notre Dame and Eddy Street Commons. But anyway, I think many Notre Dame students have yet to even venture into the real South Bend. Most wander to Eddy Street Commons, University Park Mall, Nick’s Patio and maybe even a couple bars downtown. But have you explored downtown South Bend in the light of day? Or walked by the Riverwalk, day or night? I suggest heading downtown to take a look at our up and coming city, steered by Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who has been profiled by the New York Times, and other news sources of a similar level. Stop into Chicory Cafe, the New Orleans-style homey coffeehouse where I’ve had both first dates and study sessions. Or head across the street to PEGGS (formerly Le Peep), a local favorite with excellent brunch selections where my family has spent many a Mother’s Day. Or, if you’re wanting a hearty ethic meal, go to Cambodian Thai, a fantastic, authentic family-run restaurant. And those are all just within a five minute walk from each other! Yes, I do realize so far I’ve only given foodrelated options. But when people bring this up to me, I say, “What else is there to do in a city besides eat and shop anyway?” Personally, those are my two favorite pastimes. But for those less hungry and shallow than I, there are things for you to do. We have two (two!) movie theaters, a drive-in movie theater 30 minutes away, an aerial adventure park and programs going on downtown, my favorite being “First Fridays,” which on the first Friday of every month there are themed activities, food trucks, performances and more downtown. South Bend has so much to offer, but only if you’re willing to give her a chance. Any city is what you make of it, but this city especially has a lot to offer. It can teach you a lot about the world, and calling her home is something I really appreciate. There are such a wide variety of people and cultures in this area to experience and learn from outside of the Notre Dame bubble. From the amazing authentic Mexican food on the west side of South Bend, to the new vegan and healthy options slowly creeping in on Grape Road, we are a city of many faces and flavors. I don’t mean to sound like a South Bend commercial, but I am attempting to take control of the South Bend narrative. Notre Dame may be technically its own city, but that is not a reason to explore the flourishing town around us, and break down the divide between the two. South Bend, this is my swan song to you before I officially stop hyping you up like it’s my job. Am I probably going to at some point move away? Yes. But for now, I will appreciate my city. Contact Mariah Rush at mrush@nd.edu The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Remembering the sodas It was 2005, I was a senior in high school, and the only thing in my life I was confident about was that I wanted to go to Notre Dame. Talking my college options through around the dinner table, my father made it clear that my first stop should be to visit Sr. Alice, who just so happened to be a member of the Board of Trustees of my future alma mater. I was intimidated. My Catholic upbringing, with its respect for tradition, for authority and most importantly for those committed to a life of faith, didn’t make it much easier. I found a parking space at the College of New Rochelle, where she lived. After admiring the stately, gothic architecture at the center of campus, I eventually found the unassuming entrance to the sisters’ residence. I buzzed the intercom. “I’m here for Sr. Alice? Gallin? ” I sputtered. “I’m her, uh, nephew, great nephew, whatever? ” The lock clicked, and in I went. Sr. Alice was right there to meet me. Spry. A wry glint in her eye. A smile. “Come on up, come on up.” On the way, walking through the lobby, she gestured to the common spaces, and talked about the recent renovation. Clearly she was proud of her community, and the way they treated each other. We entered the apartment — the apartment of a woman who had exactly what she needed. She asked me if I wanted something to drink: “I have Coke and Sprite, which would you like? ” “Oh, either’s fine, whichever you have more of.” “Oh, I only have one of each — I bought them from the vending machine. I didn’t know which you’d prefer.” Sr. Alice Gallin was a woman with an incredible biography. Legend has it, she was a spy. Another legend tells us that she once turned down a ride on Air Force One — she already had travel arrangements with her friends, you see, and she wouldn’t want to be rude. She wrote books and she was an incredible educator, and throughout, her dedication to the Church’s role in teaching defined her scholarship and her resume. She served as the director of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, and was instrumental in helping to draft and implement “Ex Corde Ecclesiae.” She later wrote the go-to book on American Catholic higher education. It’s easy to look up. Its title is “American Catholic Higher Education” — Sr. Alice was never one to mince words. And she did all this while living in community with the sisters that she had chosen, and that she loved. This was the Sr. Alice we all knew. She and I would celebrate the Notre Dame wins at
Thanksgiving, and lament their late-season shortcomings at Christmas. Invariably, our conversations would turn to literature, to history, to what it was like to learn new languages. Sr. Alice had seen it all, and, despite being three steps ahead of all of us, she’d park right there on the sofa and listen. She was a force of nature. She was permanent. Inexorable. Small, but mighty. Installed on that couch, she had a gravity. But what I remember most is the sodas. The Coke and the Sprite. She had no need for them — I can’t imagine she ever drank that Coke I left after choosing the Sprite. But at her core she was the kind of person who loved and cared enough not just to welcome anyone and everyone, but to ensure that she could always meet each of those people in her life exactly where they were. She was a giant. As someone who has chosen to pursue a life of studying and teaching, I will always think of her scholarship and academic resume as an inspiration. W henever I meet with my students, I think of Alice. As an educator, she’d expect me to hold them to the same high standards that she held me to in that conversation we had 13 years ago, when she challenged me on why I wanted to go to Notre Dame, and whether I thought I had what it took to get in. But intellectualism only gets you so far. It was her deep intuition, her always-thoughtful-butnever-calculating way of caring for each and every person around her, that will remain with me, inside and out of the classroom. How effortlessly thoughtful, how humbly prepared she was to welcome me. To remind me that I mattered. To care. May I always be as effortlessly thoughtful as Sr. Alice. May we all. Sr. Alice Gallin, OSU, PhD was born on December 30th, 1921 in New York. She earned her BA from The College of New Rochelle 1942 before joining the Ursuline Order in 1946. She earned her PhD from Catholic University in 1955, and went on to at the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities from 1976-92, becoming its executive director. She was named a trustee of Notre Dame in 1986. Her research and teaching focused on the history of Catholic higher education, and she provided support to ND during their transition to a lay board of governance. She passed away on September 13th. She was 97. Kevin Gallin B.A. ‘10, M.A. ‘15 Grand-nephew of Sr. Alice Sept. 19
Join the conversation. Submit a Letter to the Editor: Email viewpoint@ndsmcobserver.com
The observer | thursday, september 20, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
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A message from the Latinx community Odalis Gonzalez Show Some Skin
The use of Latinx is intended as a gender-neutral term. It is also used in contrast to Hispanics as a way to encompass anyone from Latin American origin or ancestry. It is in no way meant to offend anyone. Although not the official term, Latinxs is used as the plurality form of Latinx. The celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) has arrived. This month is intended to recognize and honor the impact the Hispanic and Latinx communities have in the United States. The observation started off as only a week in 1968, and was later expanded to an entire month in 1988 under President Reagan. Now, the month is dedicated to celebrating our various cultures, histories and presences “that enrich the spiritual, cultural, economic and political life of the U.S.,” as Director of the Institute for Latino Studies Luis Fraga said in an email correspondence. Despite making up roughly 18 percent of the U.S. population, and being the second fastest-growing ethnic group, Latinxs still have many false notions about them. Misconceptions that often offend and can jeopardize relationships with us. So, from the Latinx community — on campus and nationwide — to you, here are seven misconceptions about us which we would like to clear up.
1) We are not all Mexicans It is extremely important to us that we get this off of our chest, so I’ll say it again. Not every Latinx individual is from Mexico. We come from more than 20 countries. We are from La Repbulica Dominicana, Colombia, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Nicaragua, Haiti, Ecuador and so many more countries besides Mexico. The Mexican hegemony within the Latinx community creates a bias towards the Mexican culture and traditions as the accepted norm. It becomes synonymous with Latinxs when in reality, they are but one group within the whole community.
2) Not all Latinxs look alike Because we all come from different countries, not every Latinx resembles the caricature the media portrays
us to be. We are all not short, tan and curvy human beings. Nor do we do go around wearing sombreros and sarapes. Some of us are tall and thin. We can have light skin and we can have dark skin, too. And some of us are tired of the lack of representation of Afro-Latinxs. Hello, we exist and we need to be heard! Latin America has a large African-descended population, but somehow, our history is forgotten. And Asian Latinxs, we are here too. Latinxs come in all races. There is not a single description of what a Latinx person looks like. We all look different, and that in no way diminishes our Latinidad!
3) We do not all speak Spanish Considering the previous two points, not every Latinx speaks Spanish and that is OKAY! The term Latinx encompasses all countries of Latin America origin, even those without Spanish-speaking origin, such as Brasil or Haiti. Latinxs from Brazil speak Portuguese and in Haiti, the official languages are French and Haitian Creole. Some of us grew up in the United States as second, third, fourth generations, and thus our primary language is English. Do not assume when we tell you that we are Latinx that the SAP button has switched on. It does not work like that. 4) We’re not all radically religious Catholics People like to think of Latinxs as being extremely Catholic. They picture us fondling small tokens of La Virgen de Guadalupe, praying every day in front of an altar decorated with flowers and pictures of Juan Gabriel or Chente. Not all of us are Catholic. In fact, only about 55 percent of us consider ourselves Catholic. Roughly 22 percent of Latinxs are Protestants, while 18 percent are unaffiliated. Moreover, some of us who are Catholic are not as “hardcore” as people think us to be.
5) All Latinxs immigrants
are
not
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6) Do NOT refer to us as feisty, macho, caliente, exotic etc First of all, no. Second of all, excuse you. Third of all, do NOT describe us as if we were a plate of food. We accept that we are passionate people, but that does not give anyone the permission to call us feisty. As for macho, some of us are just your typical guy. Our traditions may be different than yours, but do not refer to us as exotic as if we were an object. We do not have a higher body temperature than anyone else, so there really is no reason to call us caliente, either. Honestly, these terms are not compliments, but instead continue to objectify us, so just stop.
7) Latinxs are not all fantastic salsa dancers We don’t all love to dance salsa. People do realize that there are more types of dances within our cultures, right? Different cultures have different popular dances so not all of us know how to salsa. Some of us even suck at dancing, truthfully. But, many of us do love Salsa Night and are wondering where our nights have gone, @Legends? Can we please work on bringing back our three nights a term? Thank you! “Hispanic Heritage Month gives us the opportunity to build broader understanding of how [Latinxs] share a linked fate and common destiny with all Americans,” said Professor Fraga. Indeed, Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to learn about all the different cultures within the Latinx community. Honestly, if you want to better understand our culture and heritage, we’d much rather have you ask us directly than to go around believing misconceptions. We are here and we are proud of our cultures — Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!
undocumented
Do not assume that every Latinx person you meet is undocumented. People appear to forget that the Latinx community has been present in the United States practically since the beginning of colonization. Many of us, as stated before, are third or fourth-generation Latinxs. Some of us were born in the United States, and are therefore naturalized citizens. Furthermore, some of us are residents or visa holders. Some of us are undocumented, but that doesn’t diminish who we are as human beings (P.S. no human being is illegal so do not even go
Odalis Gonzalez can be reached at ogonzal3@nd.edu Show Some Skin is a student-run initiative committed to giving voice to unspoken narratives about identity and difference. Using the art of storytelling as a catalyst for positive social change across campus, we seek to make Notre Dame a more open and welcoming place for all. If you are interested in breaking the silence and getting involved with Show Some Skin, email tcarter8@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
We, the improvisers Lucy Collins Madame’s Musings
Amongst the plethora of possible plans for the upcoming years is the idea of law school. Talk to my mother, however, and she would say I am woefully unprepared for another round of admissions for a competitive school. How so, you ask? Because instead of using my free time to start a nonprofit or create a small business, I slowly but surely became entrenched in the most anti-establishment activity there is — improvisational comedy. Or so she says! And to prove her wrong, without further ado, here is the Bill of Rights applied to the ins-and-outs of improv!
1. Freedom of Religion, Speech and the Press This one should be pretty self-explanatory. Improv, is by definition, freedom. Freedom to say whatever you can think of in the half-second you have to respond, whether it be ridiculous, nonsensical or even a bit offensive. Because of the immediacy of the art form, we stand by the rule “don’t be afraid to f*** up!”. You have the ability to try something out, and if there are no laughs, the moment ends and you try something new.
2. Right to Bear Arms This law certainly implies to improv, but with slightly less implications in the real world. After all, the worst thing that can happen when you pull an invisible gun is that your partner mistakes it for a cell-phone, resulting in confusion for everyone involved.
3. Housing of Soldiers Hear me out — no one in America can be compelled to
house soldiers, and no one on my improv team is going to be able to afford housing after college because we are all hopeless! Ergo, if anyone from your alma mater’s improv team asks to “crash on your couch,” lock your doors because they don’t intend to leave (unless it’s me — please shelter me).
maintain our individuality. My teammates are from every college, freshman through grad-students, and choose to pursue passions as wide and diverse as you can imagine. You reserve the right to be whomever you want, off and on the stage.
4. Protection from Unreasonable Search and Seizures
10. Undelegated Powers Kept by the States and the People
The number one rule of improve is “yes, and…” meaning the only way an improvised scene will work is if you can trust that your partner will take what you say (“we’re in a doctors office”) and add to it (“yes, and look — all of the instruments are actually made of cheese!). You run with even the craziest of ideas, instead of halting a scene and seizing it of its momentum. An unwarranted change of direction hurts everyone involved, but “yes, and…” opens the door to more trust, listening and teamwork.
Power to the people, man. We have leadership roles within the team for organizational purposes, but no one gets more stage time than anyone else. No one is the “main” character in a scene, so everyone has a chance to create. Kind of the acting equivalent to participation-trophies, I guess. But to be clear, any law school admissions guides who are reading — this doesn’t apply to me. I single-handedly carry my team on my back. Look — I know much of this seems like a stretch, and that’s because it is. I realized about halfway through that it actually is quite hard to apply what I know from comedy to the fundamental tenants of our American society. Hence why I decided to cheat and clump a bunch of amendments together. I suppose Mom’s right — I need some serious time to prep for those interviews. That’s what a gap year is for, anyways. Or hey, maybe I’ll just improvise.
5/6/7/8. Rights of the Accused What happens in an improv show STAYS in the improve show. The art relies on the improvisers truly believing that what they create is fleeting — and cannot therefore be compelled to witness against themselves (i.e. if you ask me if that was me pretending to be a farting whale on stage last week, I WILL plead the fifth). In regards to cruel and unusual punishment — try asking what an improviser wants to do after college, and you’ll see us squirm.
9. Other Rights Kept by the People The best part about my time on the Humor Artists has been the different people I’ve met. We all agree to subscribe to certain “laws of the land” (for instance, if a scene is struggling, say something high-brow, like “your MOM,” and it will gain immediate laughs), and yet outside of these rules, we
Lucy Collins is majoring in economics and history, and continues to write despite knowing no one cares what she’s going to say. She can be reached at lcollin8@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
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The observer | thursday, september 20, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
By JAKE WINNINGHAM Scene Writer
“White Boy Rick,” the newest film from French director Yann Demange, is a highly entertaining and embarrassingly facile look at the war on drugs. The Rick of the title is real-life Richard Wershe Jr., who became an FBI informant and drug kingpin in Detroit at the age of 15. In telling his story, the movie takes the same tired tropes that you’ll see in almost every based on a true story film and rigs them to a souped-up engine of humor and great acting that crashes hard in the third act. “White Boy Rick” is the sophomore feature for Demange, whose 2014 IRA film “’71” is one of the best war movies of the decade. He framed that movie in the same way he does “White Boy Rick,” which draws an uncomfortable connection between the shrapnel-covered Belfast of the former film and the dilapidated Detroit of the latter. Demange’s point is clear: this is a war zone. The conflict in question is President Reagan’s war on drugs, which should provide fertile thematic ground for any movie willing to put in the effort. “White Boy Rick” has no such interest. Like its adolescent protagonist, played with machismo by the promising if uneven newcomer Richie Merritt, the movie simply wants to enjoy the ride without worrying about the future. And enjoy the ride it does, especially in the thrilling
By ETHAN UTLEY Scene Writer
Iron & Wine is an indie folk pseudonym for singersongwriter Samuel Beam. Over six studio albums and several more EPs, Iron & Wine has demonstrated poetic and harmonic perfection. It is the type of music you might find yourself listening to in times of great happiness and great sorrow. The blend of nostalgia and bliss is unparalleled among current artists. Even the name of the act evokes a double nature feel: the apathy of iron united with the warmth of wine. Samuel Beam was raised in Chapin, South Carolina, and the tone of his songwriting is pertinent to this origin. His albums deliver the trivialities of youth handin-hand with the wonder of the world. Furthermore, his roots in folk bring the listener to a simpler, happier time. Beam’s latest release as Iron & Wine is “Weed Garden.” The title of this release points to the contradictory tones often found in his music: leaving a garden to grow freely with plants which people remove makes something beautiful. His poetic inclination on this EP takes advice from Cat Stevens, preaching about life and love. The EP is six tracks long, lasting only twenty minutes total. The overall motif of the music is very happy and calm, yet the lyrics of each track usually give us something a bit more difficult to swallow. Beam always writes lyrics steeped in metaphors, and many times the
setup. Rick lives with his gun dealing father, Matthew McConaughey (in a career-best performance), and sister, Bel Powley, an Oscar-level talent waiting for the right role, whose mid-movie descent into addiction and subsequent relapse is the movie’s most sorely underutilized thread. They’re the only white family in the neighborhood, thus the movie’s title, which is bestowed on Rick when he tries to sell guns to a black gang and ends up joining their drug operation. From there, Rick’s ascent is dizzyingly fast, replete with the obvious beats you’ll see coming from a mile away if you’ve ever watched “Goodfellas”: the bad decisions and fast living that come with a new lifestyle, all captured in a slick montage set to era-appropriate music — in this case, a perfect usage of Run-D.M.C.’s “Peter Piper.” The only complication Demange throws in is the one that gives the movie its narrative push. Rick is approached by the FBI agents casing his father for arms dealing, and is asked to be their man on the inside of the gang. He says yes, with a caveat: he’s allowed to keep the money he makes selling drugs. It is in this scene that “White Boy Rick” shows off its surprisingly adept comedic sensibilities, with Rick ignoring the requests of a narcotics officer played by the always-hysterical Brian Tyree Henry, and instead upbraiding him for his fast-food choices. Part of the appeal of “White Boy Rick” does come from its jokes; this is the kind of movie that knows how ridiculous it is
when Rick has to find a new gun because his grandma stole his. As it pushes on into its second half, “White Boy Rick” keeps throwing plot embellishments at the audience to no avail. A surprise pregnancy here, a Vegas excursion there — they all detract from the movie’s most appealing factor, which is the push-and-pull between McConaughey’s Rick Sr. and his children. McConaughey has never been better, turning in an unadorned performance as a man helplessly watching his son and daughter both get sucked into a world he helped create. Rick Sr. absolves himself of any guilt by making his money selling guns and not drugs, and the one time the movie attempts any deeper commentary on his involvement is when another character challenges Rick Sr. on whether dealing one is any better than the other. Even then, the movie brushes off that question at the same time the character does. A movie doesn’t have to tackle quote-unquote “big issues” to be good or even entertaining. It is disappointing when a film feints at unpacking larger ideas and then retreats, as “White Boy Rick” does again and again. If you want a movie to watch with your brain turned off, you could do a lot worse than “White Boy Rick.” But you still may have the impression that you’re witnessing a missed opportunity.
meaning becomes a little different every time you listen. The most popular track is called “Waves of Galveston.” The song begins with two guitars and Sam Beam’s beautiful vocals; a common combination for Iron & Wine. A bass and tambourine enter a little later, however the main focus remains on vocals. It’s a really good song, and the chorus is awfully catchy. “Waves of Galveston” revolves around a small town in Texas where life seems to waste away and nothing really changes. The track comes as a nostalgic yearning for the old days, a somber cry for better days. The next track, “Milkweed,” reveals the struggling heart of Sam Beam in regards to his transition from Christianity to agnosticism. One of the lines details Sam’s agnostic views fairly well, as he writes “God of the dollars, a god of fear / The guns on the TV really get you / Kiss me again in a street light coming on.” This line is meant to show how he believes God is but a name, yet there is definitely something out there. People praise anything from wealth to fear, but when a personal experience touches you out of pure chance, God is the most real. “Autumn Town Leaves” follows and is certainly the prettiest track on the project. Again, we are given two guitars playing off of Sam’s vocals and a very toneddown bass drum and bass guitar. This song doesn’t present us with the sad and difficult lyrics so common to Sam’s writing, as the music and lyrics are
both happily reassuring. My favorite line of the album comes from this song: “songbirds only end up where they’re going.” It’s a calming lyric and reminds us that everything happens for a reason; we’re exactly where we are supposed to be. The remaining lyrics are a poetic praise of nature, with its changing seasons and warm emotions. Iron & Wine’s new EP is a grand portrayal of Sam Beam’s poetic mastery. I will leave you with the one line that best summarizes the advice of the album. The final track, “Talking to Fog,“ opens with “This is our surrender to the garden, to the weeds, all our stars are turning back to stone.”
Contact Jake Winningham at jwinning@nd.edu
Contact Ethan Utley at eutley@nd.edu
“Weed Garden” Iron & Wine Label: Sub Pop Records Tracks: “Autumn Town Leaves” If you like: Cat Stevens, Sufjan Stevens, Fleet Foxes
LINA DOMENELLA | The Observer
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The observer | thursday, september 20, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
By NICHOLAS OTTONE Scene Writer
“It wasn’t clear it was poop until somebody shouted, ‘It’s poop!’” one kid, dressed in classic Catholic school attire, says. “Then it was pretty clear.” “American Vandal” is a difficult show to describe. Its first season was a weird piece of pitch-perfect parody married to a surprisingly incisive grasp of teenage minutiae. The first season’s tale of class clown Dylan Maxwell and false accusations made against him provided at first a charmingly straight-faced goof on true crime. But as the story progressed, creators Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda delved into the complex emotional state of its adolescent characters with care and depth. It felt like a cross between “Freaks and Geeks” and “Making a Murderer,” told with the parody-minded genius of The Onion, a lightening-ina-bottle concept that shockingly cohered at all. Yet, somehow, they’ve done it again. This Peabodywinning series (seriously) doubles down on its darker elements to bring the Turd Burglar to life: a criminal terrorizing St. Bernadine’s, a private Catholic school famous for its prestigious basketball program, with fecal-based fear. The first season’s student documentarians, Peter (Tyler Alvarez) and Sam (Griffin Gluck), return with higher production values and a location far from home. A new cast of suspects emerge from the privileged environment, as the narrative twists and turns with every clue and revelation. The genius of “American Vandal” lies in its central comedic conceit: contrasting the mundane minutiae of high school with the high-stakes investigation conducted by Peter and Sam. But, unlike the first season’s victimless vandalism, the Turd Burglar wages full-on warfare: poisoning
By NORA McGREEVY Scene Editor
Tomorrow, audience members at Kristin Chenoweth’s sold-out show at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, “An Intimate Evening with Kristin Chenoweth,” will expect a performance full of Chenoweth’s characteristic charm and impressive vocals. What might surprise some ticket-holders is that eight student artists will also accompany Chenoweth for a few songs, in a rare opportunity for the students and audience members. Savanna Morgan, Teagan Earley, Kevin Hauger, Mario Simone, Ronnie Mansour, Sydney Kraft, Sam Jackson and Shane Dolan will provide back-up vocals to Chenoweth’s stunning voice in two or three songs, according to the students. All of the students are heavily involved in the performing arts on campus, and many are members of the Gold and Blue Company, a new musical student group started by the University of Notre Dame Development Office which is often asked to perform for donors at events. Chenoweth’s visit forms part of her tour, “An Intimate Evening with Kristen Chenoweth,” where the Tony- and Emmy-winning artist has been known to interact closely with attendees, often asking questions of her audience
lemonade with laxatives, shoving poop in piñatas, dusting crowds with cat droppings. This naturally makes the series darker and more serious, and the decreased humor is felt. But “American Vandal” never skimps on detailing its bizarre world. Teachers throw birthday parties for Kurt Vonnegut, bands play EDM while wearing horse masks and a hot janitor becomes a school-wide obsession. “American Vandal” excels in presenting a recognizable yet slightly distorted world three steps from our own, remaining less absurd than NBC’s “Trial and Error” and The Onion’s podcast “A Very Fatal Murder,” both fellow truecrime parodies. And what drives “American Vandal” is its perfect characterizations. All its suspects are types: fundamentalist Christian, social climber, star athlete, theater kid. Yet Perrault and Yacenda take care to provide shades and nuance to its major characters. In the first season’s Dylan Maxwell, they unsurfaced the tragic, wounded heart of a class clown. Here, they uncover the deep-seated loneliness and desperation of weirdo Kevin McClain (Travis Tope), one of the most fully realized characters I have ever seen. The prime suspect, Kevin is the archetypal weirdo and avid connoisseur of teas who is nicknamed “Fruit Ninja” because he karate chops at fruit. He speaks in a vaguely affected air to appear more intelligent yet constantly misuses common sayings (“And I was their proverbial…guy”). Yet beneath the facade is an adolescent longing for genuine connection. This longing connects Kevin to the other standout: DeMarcus Tillman (Melvin Gregg). DeMarcus is all the entitlement and teenage arrogance of high school athletic stars dumped into a blender and poured into a rarely self-aware yet charismatic frame (“I look down on
people with love,” he says sincerely). Because DeMarcus hails from humble origins, he code-switches at school to sound “more white.” Gregg is a hypnotic presence, drawing audiences into his orbit despite — or maybe because — of his character’s existence as a punchline in early episodes. Yet, Gregg and Tope give such impressive performances that they threaten to swallow the season whole. Scenes without them lack compelling focus points, leaning on small detours too often. While the propulsive plotting remains a strength, the mystery feints in the direction of indicting institutional corruption but ends on a more pat conclusion. Whereas the first season ended on an ambiguous closer, the second season places a nice bow on its mystery and themes. Maybe some of my disappointments have to do with how unexpected and surprising the first season was. No second season could replicate that inexplicable sense of discovery. I watched plenty of better shows last year, but “American Vandal” proved to be the most enduring. “American Vandal” has convinced me that true crime might be the perfect genre to tackle the teenage psyche. Obsessing over texts, Instagram posts and who said what to whom are, for better or worse, central components of high school social circles now. “American Vandal,” more than any other show I have seen, understands this in its bones, and it humanizes its subject with empathy and care. In a season all about constructed identities, “American Vandal” constructed a compelling case for its position as a vital text of modern-age adolescence. And they did it with poop.
and sharing personal anecdotes onstage. A classicallytrained soprano known for hitting exceptionally high notes, Chenoweth has garnered notable acclaim for her role as Glinda in the Broadway hit “Wicked” and won a Tony for her role in the 1999 revival of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” Sean Martin, the Associate Director of Programming and Engagement, said in an e-mail that he reached out to Kristin Chenoweth’s agent about a possible collaboration with students after the “overwhelming success” of students performing with Patti LuPone last spring. “Her road manager replied and said that, in fact, they have a version of the performance where they utilize eight local singers for a couple songs,” Martin says. “We at DPAC are always looking for ways students can interact with professional artists and this is a perfect example of how we can make that happen. Look for students performing with the great jazz trumpeter, Arturo Sandoval, next weekend too!” The students have rehearsed their songs for tomorrow’s performance, including “Upon This Rock,” arranged by Oran Eldor, and look forward to rehearsing with Chenoweth herself, junior Sam Jackson said. Chenoweth “seems to possess like a really bubbly energy,” Jackson said. “And especially as someone who is in the theatrical arts, I would love to just take everything
I can from her ... I would love to follow in her giddy footsteps.” “I feel like every theatre kid was obsessed with Kristin Chenoweth at one point,” junior Savanna Morgan said with a laugh. For Morgan, a junior Film, Television and Theater major with a concentration in voice, “‘Wicked’ was what drew me into musical theatre” in the first place, she said. “The pop vocals, the action and extravagance on stage” captivated Morgan as a young actor. Like Chenoweth, who grew up singing in her Baptist church, Morgan grew up singing gospel songs in Church until she turned to classical music and musical theatre in high school. “Musical theatre, for a lot of kids, as I’ve witnessed and experienced it, is a place for a lot of outcasts,” Morgan said. “The weirdo kids come together and get to express all their weirdness. It’s something to be celebrated. [This concert] is a moment. I feel like for a lot of theatre kids, at least the ones that are going to be performing, it’s like, ‘Wow. Look at us. We’re kind of here now.’ “Seeing this person who I’ve been listening to since middle school religiously, and making art with her — that will be super surreal.”
Contact Nicholas Ottone at nottone@nd.edu
Contact Nora McGreevy at nmcgreev@nd.edu LINA DOMENELLA | The Observer
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The observer | thursday, september 20, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
Crossword | Will Shortz
Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Make plans and follow through. A change of location or learning something new will help you make a decision that will improve your life. Taking on new responsibilities will help to stabilize your life and your mindset. A lifestyle change will give you the push you need to break old habits and embark on a new and healthier routine. Your numbers are 2, 7, 18, 21, 24, 36, 47. ARIES (March 21-April 19): Do your part and get things done. Don’t give anyone room to criticize you for not pulling your weight. Be responsible and you’ll feel good about what you’ve accomplished. Help those counting on you without complaining. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Listen to advice offered, but when it’s time to decide, rely on what makes the most sense to you. A change in the way you feel about someone or something will dictate how you move forward. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Stick to the rules, no matter what others do. Taking a risk won’t pay off. Use your energy wisely and you will discover that planning can be the most important part of whatever venture you choose to pursue. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Take a look at your choices and head in the direction that draws you most. Sometimes it’s good to break routine and to try something you’ve never done. Exploring unfamiliar territory will lead to personal growth. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Don’t worry about what others are doing. Do your part and take your responsibilities seriously. Avoid making personal changes that aren’t necessary. Take care of your health. Doing what’s best for you will be satisfying and rewarding. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Check out your options before you make a move. Refuse to let anyone put you in a precarious position that can have a detrimental effect on you physically. Set your pace and stick to what works best for you. Handle romance sensibly. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): If someone applies force, walk away. Take the time you need to consider your next move. It’s better to be cautious than to appease someone by doing something that isn’t right for you. Focus on personal growth, not joint efforts. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Check out the latest trends and set your own style. Live life to suit what you want, not what someone else wants for you. Change is only good if it results in positive improvement. Romance should be a priority. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t take a risk. You’ll feel far better using your energy to get into tip-top shape or to make a conscious effort to save money, not spend it. Don’t let anyone talk you into buying something you don’t need. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Look at the possibilities and make the most of an opportunity. You have what it takes to get ahead if you are persistent. A personal change will bring you closer to someone who will bring out the best in you. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don’t get emotional or let your guard down. Keep your thoughts and plans to yourself until you have worked out all the details. If you let others get involved in your business, it will end up costing you more than anticipated. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You don’t have to prove yourself to others. Follow your heart and do what pleases you. A positive change will improve your status, reputation and the way you live life moving forward. An unexpected gift is heading your way. Birthday Baby: You are insightful, caring and helpful. You are opportunistic and steadfast.
WINGin’ it | OLIVIA WANG & BAILEE EGAN
Sudoku | The Mepham Group
Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek
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SPORTS
ndsmcobserver.com | thursday, september 20, 2018 | The Observer
Sports Authority
MLB | phillies 4, mets 0
Evaluating Butler’s options Joe Everett Sports Editor
On Tuesday league sources first notified The Athletic that Minnesota Timberwolves star Jimmy Butler met with head coach Tom Thibodeau in Los Angeles and requested a trade before his final contract season with the T-Wolves. Well alright then. The news comes less than a week before training camp, so obviously it’s less than ideal for the Timberwolves, whose team chemistry was already beginning to splinter thanks to an increasingly hostile relationship between Butler and fellow star teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, whose work ethic Butler notably took issue with. This puts Butler and the Timberwolves in a similar situation to Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs, and we all know how that situation eventually unfolded. This situation is obviously a major distraction for Minnesota, so could we see a major trade for Butler right before the season begins? According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Butler has three preferred destinations for a trade: the Brooklyn Nets, the New York Knicks or the Los Angeles Clippers, whom sources say Butler is most determined to get to. All three teams will have enough cap space to wait a year and sign him to a max contract next summer, but that’s risky. Here’s the argument for why each of those three teams should trade the star small forward, and conversely why Butler would want to go there.
all nice pieces, but none pose the two-way threat that Butler does. Harris and GilgeousAlexander for Butler? I think the Wolves would take that return in a heartbeat, and the Clippers would be willing to give up those pieces in return for a star that will attract other stars to the City of Angels. That last part is key. Kawhi Leonard has stated he would gladly play for the Clippers next season, and with Butler already there the chances the Clippers persuade him to sign and join forces dramatically increase. Plus, from Butler’s perspective, going to Los Angeles would be ideal. He’d be a big name in a big market that would be the face of the franchise for at least a year. Plus, the team as currently constructed fits Butler’s toughnosed, defensive personality. Beverley, Bradley, Butler and small forward Luc Mbah a Moute on the same team? Good luck scoring against the Clippers.
Hoskins’ 50th career HR sparks Phillies over Mets Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — After a monthlong swoon, Rhys Hoskins and the Philadelphia Phillies are ready to make one final push for a playoff berth. Hoskins became the seventh-fastest player to hit 50 career home runs and the Phillies kept pace in the NL East with a 4-0 victory over the New York Mets on Wednesday night. Zach Eflin and five relievers combined on a six-hitter and Odubel Herrera added a tworun homer for the Phillies, who won consecutive series for the first time since July 25 and stayed 5½ games behind division-leading Atlanta. Seven of Philadelphia’s final 11 games are against the Braves, including a four-game series beginning Thursday night in Atlanta. “We’re in a pretty unique, exciting position that doesn’t happen that often. As a competitor, that’s all you can ask for,” Hoskins said. “It’s going to be a fun, really, really
competitive, really, really intense series.” Hoskins’ opposite-field solo shot against Noah Syndergaard in the first inning was his 32nd homer of the season and 50th in 192 career games. Only Rudy York (153), Mark McGwire (161), Gary Sanchez (161), Ryan Braun (171), Aaron Judge (174) and former Phillies slugger Ryan Howard (182) reached 50 quicker, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. “I think it’s kind of an arbitrary stat, but it’s cool to be mentioned in some of the same sentences as some of the guys who have done it before me,” Hoskins said. The 25-year-old Hoskins later added his 35th double, and Jose Bautista had a pinchhit RBI double in the fifth off Jerry Blevins. Eflin (11-7) struck out nine and allowed three hits in five innings. Luis Avilan, Victor Arano and Adam Morgan each went one inning. Aaron Loup allowed a leadoff single to Jay Bruce in
the ninth before Pat Neshek got the final three outs of Philadelphia’s 11th shutout. New York (70-82) was blanked for the 12th time and assured a second consecutive losing season. “Over the last two years it’s been really difficult as a player,” Syndegaard said. The right-hander gave up both homers and four hits in four innings, matching his shortest outing of the year on April 4 — also against Philadelphia. Syndergaard (12-4) posted a 5.75 ERA in four starts against the Phillies this year. “He wasn’t missing by much but he was just off the plate all night and they ran his pitch count up,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. “I thought they had a pretty good approach against him again.” Following a lengthy slump that knocked the Phillies out of first place, they’ve won four of six and manager Gabe Kapler wants his team thinking playoffs.
New York Knicks Bit of a similar argument to the Clippers hypothetical. This is all about being a big name in a big market with the ability to attract similar high-end talent. Butler has said he wants to play with another elite talent, which the Knicks certainly have in center Kristaps Porzingis. Additionally, Kyrie Irving has been rumored to be contemplating a move to the Big Apple, so the combination of Butler and Porzingis would be an attractive landing spot for the star point guard. A trade package including a combination of Frank Ntilikina, Courtney Lee or even Kevin Knox would be attractive to the Timberwolves.
Los Angeles Clippers This one makes a lot of sense to me. The Clippers have officially moved on from their “Lob City” era now that DeAndre Jordan is in Dallas, and the roster lacks a bonafide star. Center Marcin Gortat, small forward Tobias Harris, point guards Patrick Beverley and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and shooting guards Lou Williams and Avery Bradley are
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Brooklyn Nets Brooklyn has loads of cap space some tradable assets, but let’s face it, I wouldn’t go to the Nets. 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.
Write Sports. Email Joe Everett at jeveret4@nd.edu
MLB | pirates 2, royals 1
Archer shines, Pittsburgh sweeps Kansas City Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — Chris Archer came to Pittsburgh with much fanfare when he was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays on July 31. Then he went 1-3 in his first eight starts with the Pirates. It’s almost certainly too late for the Pirates to make a playoff push this season, but on Wednesday night, Archer finally looked like the pitcher they thought they were getting at the non-waiver trade deadline. He pitched seven strong innings, and Pittsburgh completed a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals with a 2-1 win. In his most impressive start since the trade, Archer (5-8) allowed one run on six hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. The right-hander made it out of the sixth inning for the first time in nine starts for the Pirates. “The one thing I hang my hat on is making starts and
pitching deep into ballgames,” Archer said. “Giving up way more runs than I wanted to this year, but the thing that frustrates me the most is my average innings. It has to be the lowest of my career, but there’s a correlation. The better you pitch, the deeper you pitch into games.” The Pirates remain marooned in fourth place in the NL Central despite a fivegame winning streak that’s moved them three games over .500. “You play the game to win the game,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “The games matter. They matter Game 1 to Game 150 to Game 151. There’s nobody that suits up and wants to go out and not play well.” Felipe Vazquez allowed one walk in the ninth but earned his 35th save one day after he let a 1-0 lead slip away — his fifth blown save of the season. The Pirates went on to win 2-1 in 11 innings on Tuesday night.
Adam Frazier broke a 1-1 tie with a homer to right-center with two outs in the fifth inning off rookie right-hander Heath Fillmyer (3-2). It was Frazier’s ninth homer of the season, and it came two days after he fouled a ball off his knee. The injury held Frazier out of the starting lineup Tuesday, although he entered in the ninth and played the final three innings. He started Wednesday at second base. Fillmyer allowed two runs on eight hits with five strikeouts in seven innings for Kansas City, which has lost four straight after winning five of six. “What do they say in baseball? You can win a game with 100 pitches and lose a game with one. That’s kind of what happened today,” Fillmyer said. “Not that I was perfect by any means, but you know what? I left one a little up. The guy got it, and it ended up being the difference.”
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Sports
The observer | thursday, september 20, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
Football Continued from page 16
Justin] Yoon out there — even though I love him — but our goal is to punch it in the end zone and we didn’t do that enough last week.” Although the Irish are still looking for their breakout offensive performance, Mustipher said he feels like they took a step in the right direction against Vanderbilt, focusing on doing the little things better. He also said the pass and run game has improved. “Nothing really, it’s just a different guy back there,” he said on the difference between junior backup quarterback Ian Book from senior starter Brandon Wimbush. “Same focus, same energy, same attention to detail that.” Mustipher also noted the shift in junior running back Tony Jones Jr.’s play style against the Commodores. “He just had confidence last week and he ran with that confidence, as you could see through his performance,” he said. “He was just trusting his offensive line and trusting the holes were made for him. you know, him running hard … He takes pride in lowering his shoulder and making guys pay for hitting him.” Mustipher said the offensive line is focusing on seeing through one set of eyes. “Clear, concise communication on each and every snap,” he said. Just like Mustipher is sure in the offenses capability to control the pace of the game, Okwara said everyone on the defense is ready to step up and make plays when called on. “We have a great strength and conditioning staff so I think we’ll be fine when we go out there with tempo,” he said “I think we can definitely handle it. We always do it in practice and I think we’ll be fine out there. Depth obviously helps … [being] able to rotate guys in and keep guys fresh out there on the field.” Okwara, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, said he’s looking forward to returning to family and friend in the Tar Heel state . “I knew before I came up to Notre Dame, a lot of my friends wouldn’t get to see me so I feel like going home is a great chance to see my friends come back and see me play because I know it’s a 12 hour drive from home,” he said. “Going back is like a homecoming for me.” Although there’s some familiarity there, the veteran understands the difference in an away environment but said it doesn’t bother him. “It’s obviously not a home environment, where you have all your fans,” Okwara said. “It’s gonna be a majority of the away teams fans. It’s not different for us, you barely even recognize who’s in the crowd
so it really doesn’t even matter to us.” Okwara said he thinks the team is ready to go out and handle the Demon Deacons. “We’re treating everybody like a new opponent, going out there and doing our job and sticking to the gameplay,” he said. Despite having full confidence in his team, Tranquill is not willing to overlook Wake Forest as he said they pose many different threats. “You got to defend a lot of different elements,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of weapons outside, you know [redshirt sophomore wide receiver] Greg Dortch coming back for them, another weapon for them.” Tranquill also said this weekend’s matchup will be a true test of Notre Dame’s ability to stick with the game
ZACHARY YIM | The Observer
Irish junior defensive lineman Khalid Kareem pressures the pocket during Notre Dame’s 22-17 win against Vanderbilt at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday. Kareem is tied for a team-high 3.5 tackles for loss. Paid Advertisement
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ndsmcobserver.com | thursday, september 20, 2018 | The Observer
EMMA FARNAN | The Observer
Irish senior quarterback Brandon Wimbush looks to pass during Notre Dame’s 22-17 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. During the game, Wimbush completed 13 passes on 23 attempts for a total of 122 yards, with an additional 84 on the ground. Paid Advertisement
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plan, regardless of what Wake Forest throws at them. “You can’t schematically have a guy in every gap when they run the quarterback like that so when they’re darting the quarterback with a lead blocker, someone’s just got to make a play,” he said. “When they get going a 10, 15 play drive, fatigue factor comes in so it’s just going to come down to guys executing their assignments and making plays and getting them off the field.” Along with Mustipher, Tranquill serves as a captain, and said although this will be a first time experience for the younger guys, he thinks the team is excited to get on the road after playing three home games. With less focus on the being the first road game, Mustipher said the greater concern for the team is the noon kickoff time. “It’s a different routine,” he said. “You’re waking up right away and you’ve got to be ready to go for a noon game … it’s just accelerating the process. As soon as you wake up you got to be ready to go, no question marks.” In his fifth year of eligibility, Tranquill said he and senior Te’von Coney both chose to return with one goal in mind — winning a national championship — and don’t mind the potential fatigue that may come with facing Wake’s offense. “We’ve got a lot of younger guys behind us and if that means carrying the snap ball unit for now while they learn, we’d rather be out there 100 plays than lose a football game so at the end of the day that’s what it come down to,” Tranquill said. “Obviously if you play that many plays throughout the season you’re going to feel some wear and tear but it’s football, everyone out there’s gonna be sore in November.” Tranquill also reflected on the breakdown of last season — losing two pivotal games down the road, which eliminating Notre Dame from playoff contention. “I like to think it was probably guys just losing focus, watching too much of the college football playoff primetime show and seeing us in the top four and losing focus on the process and the things that have gotten us to where we’re at.” he said. “That lack of focus and lack of humility, to be quite frank, lent itself to underperformance and to not playing well on the road against Miami and against Stanford. It’s just a matter of locking in for 12 weeks and not just 7 or 8. Everyone’s sore in November, Miami was sore, Stanford was sore. Everyone’s got the cumulation effect, I like to think that’s an even playing field.” Contact Charlotte Edmonds at cedmond3@nd.edu
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The observer | thursday, september 20, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
Sports
W Tennis Continued from page 16
them their first tournament appearance in a decade. Additionally, the Irish added to new faces on the coaching roster as they hired new assistant head coach Courtney Scott. Scott previously served as assistant head coach at Drexel University on both the men’s and women’s teams, overseeing both of their successful seasons in which they posted 14-7 and 15-5 records, respectively. Despite suffering a disappointing season last year — being eliminated in the first round of the ACC Championships — the new faces of the Irish coaching staff look to continue the legacy of success left by Louderback and the talent of Notre Dame shows all the potential to continue to build on the momentum of the program. Last season then-senior Allison Miller, sophomore Cameron Corse and junior Zoe Spence were named to the All-ACC Academic Women’s Team. While Miller graduated in the spring, the doubles duo of Corse and Spence are returning, in addition to sophomore standout Ally Bojczuk, who was named “Most Improved Female” from last year’s team. The Irish ended their season last year in a 4-2 loss to Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC championships last year.
ROSIE LOVOI | The Observer
Irish junior Zoe Spence makes a forehand hit during Notre Dame’s 6-1 loss to North Carolina on April 6 at Courtney Tennis Center. Last season, Spence finished with a record of 21-12, including seven consecutive singles victories, and was named to the All-ACC Academic Women’s Team. Paid Advertisement
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Bens Continued from page 16
What’s important to note is that the Irish held the opposition scoreless in the first half for the sixth-consecutive game. They were able to not only hold off the Spartans for the majority of the game, but even dominate the possession of the ball, outshooting them 11-6. However remarkable their effort was, they came up short of the extra push they needed at the end. The 2-1 loss to No. 2 Indiana was so heartbreaking I chose to ignore it when evaluating Notre Dame’s overall record. For both the Hoosiers (6-1-0, 1-0 Big Ten) and Irish, it was a quality game between two talented opponents. Once again, the Irish were unable to capitalize on chances in the second half, sending the game into overtime. Although the game-winning goal was clearly offsides, the referee waved off the call, handing the Irish their first loss of the season. Losing to two top opponents in the final minutes, the Irish have a preview of the rest of their season. College soccer boils down to fighting to the last minute, and for the Irish, finishing on their set pieces will make all the difference. Every game they continue to improve physically and mentally with
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their considerably tough schedule, one of the strongest in the country. Chad Riley has repeatedly said the team’s mentality and level of competition is rarely an issue. The momentum might run out towards the end of the game, but hopefully the more chances they create, the higher the odds they will finish. With the bulk of their season left, Notre Dame’s season will be a journey, but it has the qualities to sustain elite caliber status. They returned 23 players from last season, in which they went 11-7-2 overall, reaching the semifinals of the ACC Championship and qualifying for the NCAA championship for the 20th time in program history. They have the talent. They have the desire. They have the ability to pose a threat to any opponent. They just need a little bit of that Irish luck to push them over the barrier in the final minutes. With seven ACC games left, there’s still time for the Irish to settle in and improve their end-game performances. But when the clock hits the 90th minute, Notre Dame fans better hope their team’s possession can translate into goals. Contact Meagan Bens at mbens@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
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CONNERY McFADDEN | The Observer
Irish junior midfielder Tommy McCabe winds up for a kick during Notre Dame’s 2-1 loss to Indiana at Alumni Stadium on Sept. 11.
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The observer | thursday, september 20, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
football
Irish players look forward to Wake Forest By CHARLOTTE EDMONDS Associate Sports Editor
As Notre Dame prepares to head to Wake Forest, junior defensive lineman Julian Okwara, graduate student linebacker Drue Tranquill and graduate student offensive lineman Sam Mustipher talked about how the team has improved through the first three games and how they prepare to manage the Demon Deacons fast paced tempo during Wednesday’s press conference. A quarter of the way through the regular season, Notre Dame (3-0) has managed to maintain their perfect record thanks to strong offensive starts and consistent defensive performance. However, they’ve struggled to dominate all four quarters against any opponents, with all three wins coming within eight points. The Demon Deacons (2-1, 0-1 ACC), who boast an average 93 snaps per game, compared to the Notre Dame’s 71, are on par with Ball State’s 97
snaps they forced the Irish defense to play two weeks ago. Head coach Brian Kelly’s players understands the importance of maintaining time of possession to give the defense a break against these fast paced offensive schemes. For Mustipher, it’s an easy solution — don’t get behind the chains on first and second downs and convert third downs, keeping the plays alive. “We obviously don’t want to keep our defense out on the field for too long,” Mustipher said. “This week especially is important, especially for our defense … It’s definitely important to us and we take pride keeping them off the field.” Mustipher said he feels like the team’s physicality has them prepared for their first road test. “It’s really just honing in on [those] fundamentals and technique necessary to finish out those drives,” he said. “And not put [senior kicker see FOOTBALL PAGE 12
EMMA FARNAN | The Observer
Irish graduate student offensive lineman Sam Mustipher makes a block during Notre Dame’s 22-17 victory over Vanderbilt at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday. Mustipher was named a captain for his fifth year.
nd women’s tennis
ND men’s soccer
Notre Dame must turn possession into goals
ND to start year at Texas tourney Observer Sports Staff
Meagan Bens Sports Writer
After a strong start to the season, Notre Dame has dropped its last two matches at home, putting the team at potentially a critical junction to its postseason goals this early in the season. Six games into the season, any hope the Irish (3-2-1. 1-0-0 ACC) have of beating the projected odds of finishing similarly to last season will vary largely on if luck falls their way during the second half. Consider their recent loss to No. 5 Michigan State, a game that was decided in the final minutes. The Irish and Spartans (6-0-2) battled during a scoreless first half. Returning for the second, Notre Dame was unable to capitalize on its chances, including three corner kicks earned in the final 10 minutes. The goal that put Chad Riley’s squad away came within the last two minutes.
CONNERY McFADDEN | The Observer
see BENS PAGE 15
Irish junior defender Senan Farrelly fights for the ball during Notre Dame’s 2-1 overtime loss to Indiana on Sept. 11 at Alumni Stadium.
As Notre Dame begins its fall season Thursday, they’ll travel to Fort Worth, Texas to participate in the Big 5 Challenge hosted by TCU. Teams from the ACC, Big 12, PAC 12 and SEC will be competing against the Irish. The tournament will take place over the course of four days. This opener, featuring three opponents the Irish faced last season, will also include some elite talents with five teams ranked in the top 25 of the preseason poll. The Irish, who posted an 11-15 record last season, are looking for a fresh start. The fall season, with only four tournaments, will be a good introduction for the still young Irish team before heading into the thick of conference play in the spring, where they’ll be expected to take on the stacked ACC which boasts five teams in the top 25, including three in the top five. This tournament comes at a time of transition as the the Irish have undergone dramatic changes from last season. Most importantly, the retirement of long-time head coach Jay Louderback and the announcement of his replacement in Alison Silverio.
Louderback announced his retirement after a 29-year career with the program. He took over as head coach in 1989 when the women’s program was just four years old as a Division I sport. The program was nowhere near being nationally recognized and was yet to make an NCAA Tournament appearance. Louderback, largely responsible for the growth and success of the program, led the Irish to 24 NCAA tournament appearances, including 22 straight, from 1996 to 2017. The 14-time conference coach of the year also led the women to 19 conference titles. Silverio brings a history of success to South Bend. Silverio, who played tennis at Georgia Tech, won a national championship with the Yellow Jackets in 2007, earning herself the honor of being named tournament MVP. She graduated as the all time leader in women’s double wins at 98. She was previously head coach for the women’s program at Oregon, where she built herself a reputation of creating strong recruiting classes and landed the ducks in the rankings consistently, giving see W TENNIS PAGE 14