Print Edition of The Observer for Wednesday, March 28, 2018

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Volume 52, Issue 104 | wednesday, march 28, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com

Speaker connects sign language, music DEAFinitely Dope founder discusses tour with Chance the Rapper, urges inclusion for deaf community

By MAEVE FILBIN News Writer

On Tuesday, The National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association (NSSLHA) paired with the Saint Mary’s Student Diversity Board’s Diversity and Leadership Conference to present the story behind prominent sign language interpreter Matthew Maxey’s group, DEAFinitely Dope.

Hard-of-hearing and outfitted with hearing aids at the age of two, Maxey grew up in Atlanta, Georgia without ever truly being exposed to the deaf community.

“I knew nothing about it … I never knew about the deaf community, I never knew about sign language, I never knew that I was different,” Maxey said. “I noticed that nobody else had to use

hearing aids, but at the same time, it never really ran through my head that — hey, there are other people like me. I just kind of got used to it.”

Maxey didn’t learn sign language until he was eighteen, while attending Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. — the world’s only university for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. Living and learning among other deaf students opened a door to a new community, culture and personal experience, Maxey said. In order to catch up with the sign language skills exercised by his peers and professors, Maxey began to practice signing some of his favorite music.

He soon found that combining the English of rap and hip hop with American Sign Language (ASL) see DEAF PAGE 3

ANN CURTIS | The Observer

Matthew Maxey reflects on the founding of DEAFinitely Dope, which combines rap and hip hop with American Sign Language to create a sense of identity and community during a lecture at Saint Mary’s.

Jewish student association participates in Seder meal

By MARY STEURER News Writer

To celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover, the Jewish Students Association of Notre Dame hosted a traditional Seder meal Tuesday night in the ColemanMorse Center.

Senior Jonah Shainberg,

co-president of the club, said the ritual feast is held to mark the beginning of the holiday.

“Passover celebrates the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt to freedom under the leadership of Moses,” he said in an email. “It is one the most important Jewish holidays and is celebrated over the course of a

week each year.”

Kayla August, assistant director of evangelization at Campus Ministry, said she works with the Jewish Students Association every year to plan the event.

“I get to help them share their faith life and their tradition with see PASSOVER PAGE 4

Visiting writer discusses short story collection

By Nicole Caratas News Writer

As part of the Visiting Writers Series, Hasanthika Sirisena read from her collection of short stories titled “The Other One” at Saint Mary’s on Tuesday.

Taking place both in Sri Lanka and in the United States, the collection features stories about characters who deal with different aspects of the Sri Lankan civil war.

news PAGE 2

“Most of the characters, even if they’ve had direct involvement [with the civil war], I don’t depict that involvement,” she said. “I depict it in a more tangential way.”

From a young age, Sirisena wanted to write stories because she loved to read, and although she focused on the visual arts until her late 20s, she said her love of storytelling started when she was a young girl.

“I wanted to be a writer from when I was really very young,”

SCENE PAGE 5

she said. “I started reading books really early on. I enjoyed reading books, I would spend a lot of time reading and simultaneously, I wanted to create books.”

Sirisena, who writes in both fiction and creative nonfiction genres, said she tries to choose the genre that would best serve a story.

“I tend to choose the genre depending on the subject matter,” see STORIES PAGE 4

VIEWPOINT PAGE 7

Bookstore Basketball set to start

By MEAGAN BENS News Writer

The largest five-on-five outdoor basketball tournament in the world, the Notre Dame Bookstore Basketball Tournament, will begin this week.

The student-run tournament began in 1972, and it was not until 1996 when the program started to donate all the proceeds to the Jumpball Basketball Programme in Jamaica, co-president and senior Julia Pucillo said.

“It was started by two Notre Dame alumni in 1996, and they were already down there volunteering in Kingston,” Pucillo said.

“They saw the need for some sort of extracurricular opportunity for the school children, so they started Jumpball and it has grown to not only being in Kingston, but to other satellite locations in Jamaica and Haiti. Bookstore has helped fund it for a little less than a decade now. I was a coach there, a lot of Notre Dame alumni come back — some for several years

Softball PAGE 12

— and it is just [a] really great way to teach kids basketball, help them and teach them leadership and teamwork skills while being active.”

Thanks to their partnership with Under Armour and help from the Student Activities Office (SAO), co-president and senior Anthony Molinaro said, most of the money is donated to Jumpball.

“In the past several years, we have donated about $10,000 to Jumpball each year,” Molinaro said. “Anything else goes into renovating the court and getting new basketballs. Luckily we have been partnered with Under Armour, who has been providing us with free basketballs or gift cards for the winners, and even the tent we sit under. It’s a minimum cost for upkeep because [Student Activities Office] does a good job helping us fund these things because we are technically not a club that gets funding at the see BASKETBALL PAGE 3

Men’s Tennis PAGE 12

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Organ and Violin Concert Basilica of the Sacred Heart 12:15 p.m. - 12:35 p.m.

All are welcome.

Lecture: “Religion and Politics” 1030 Jenkins Nanovic Halls 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Lunch will be served.

Exhibit: “In a Civilized Nation” Hesburgh Library 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Explores the print revolution in Peru.

Paschal Vigil Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart 9 p.m.

Come celebrate the last day of the triduum.

Student Easter Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart 9 p.m.

Come celebrate Easter.

Lecture: “St. Joseph in South India” 140 DeBartolo Hall 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

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Stations of the Cross Basilica of the Sacred Heart 7:15 p.m.

Experience Christ’s final moments.

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The sacrament is open to all.

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Best Buddies to host concert

By CLAIRE RAFFORD News Writer

As part of its series of Disability Awareness Month events, the Best Buddies Club at Notre Dame is hosting a free concert featuring the band Flame. “[Best Buddies] is a club where we pair up with people in the community who have intellectual and developmental disabilities,” junior and disability awareness coordinator Maggie O’Connell said. “We meet a couple times a month and we are all assigned a buddy, and we basically hang out, dance and have parties. It’s all about gathering together the community and being inclusive — no matter your disability or ability, you come together and have a good time.”

Senior and Best Buddies club president Gregory Corning said although the club is simple, it has an important purpose.

“The real goal of the club is just to be their friend,” Corning said. “It is a really simple goal, but it is a goal that is often overlooked by people in society.”

The Best Buddies club hosted numerous events for Disability Awareness Month, including hanging Spread the Word to End the Word banners in both North and South Dining Halls. However, their biggest event for the month is bringing Flame to Notre Dame.

“Flame is a group of 10 individuals who play amazing music and also happen to have disabilities,” Corning said. “ … Their whole tagline is that they don’t let anything stop them from making the music that they want to make.”

Flame performed at Notre Dame before, about 10 years ago, and O’Connell said Best Buddies wanted to bring them back to campus.

“We thought they were good because, one, they have great music, but also because they showcase that disabilities mean a lot of things for a lot of people,” O’Connell said. “It was inclusive — they all came together despite the wide range of disabilities to go for the same goal.”

When asked what she wanted attendees to get out of their concert experience, O’Connell expressed a desire to expand others’ views about people with disabilities.

“I hope that they see that being inclusive through Best Buddies and Flame can be inspiring for a lot of people,” she said.

“I know for the buddies to see people with disabilities up on stage being superstars gives them something to look up to. I also hope we can show the Notre Dame community that they have disabilities, sure, but that’s not what you need to focus on.

They are much more than their disability.”

Corning expressed a similar sentiment when adressing what misconceptions about people with disabilities he would want to dispel.

“I think people think disabilities mean ‘disabled,’ but I think people with disabilities are a lot more able than people give them credit for,” Corning said. “This is sad, but I think this entire month is moving towards more of a realization that people with disabilities are really able. They might have something that slows them down, they might have something that impedes their success, but it doesn’t impede them from being a capable human being.”

Essentially, Flame and Best Buddies are working to show that people with disabilities can still live happy, meaningful lives with purpose and responsibility, O’Connell said.

“We want to break any stereotypes people may have about disabilities,” she said.

“We want to focus on the fact that anyone can reach their full potential as a person and having a disability does not mean that you can’t do that.”

Flame will perform in the Dahnke Ballroom in the Duncan Student Center at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Admission is free.

Contact Claire Rafford at crafford@nd.edu

News

Basketball Continued from page 1

beginning of the year.”

Although the event is centered around a tradition of basketball and charity, new creative team names appear every year. One such team, the “LimeBike Gang,” is being sponsored by LimeBike this year.

“On a whim I went to [LimeBike’s] customer service website, emailed them and told them what Bookstore Basketball was, who we are and how we are a team and how we love LimeBikes,” freshman Kilian Vidourek said. “I said, ‘Hey, if you want to sponsor us, that’d be cool.’ And a lady responded saying she forwarded our email to a South Bend representative, and then she responded a few days later with ‘We love your story, we would

ndsmcobserver.com | wednesday, march 28, 2018 | The Observer

love to give you hats, water bottles, shirts and free bikes to ride into the tournament on.’”

Although this started out as a joke due to the team members’ dedication to LimeBike, Vidourek said he thinks LimeBike’s involvement will only benefit the Notre Dame community.

“It brings attention to Notre Dame, it makes LimeBike aware of the charity work we do here and maybe it will branch out,” he said. “It was a joke that turned into a real goal to bring awareness of Bookstore Basketball to anyone who listens.”

As team captain, freshman Andrew Obert said he takes their sponsorship and their future competition seriously. “[Vidourek] mentioned winning the entire tournament in the email, so now it’s like, ‘Oh, we need to practice,’ because we can’t let down our corporate

overlords,” Obert said. “They decided to embrace us as part of the family, and anyone who opposes us really opposes LimeBike South Bend and what it stands for. We personify them. … We should be feared.

Hope whoever draws ‘LimeBike Gang’ out of the hat knows who their competition is.”

With the energy students bring to the tournament through their creative team names and the tradition that supports a good cause, Molinaro said the best moments he has had have been watching the teams play.

“The first few Saturdays when it starts to get nice out, there’s a big group of executives and commissioners all hanging out,” Molinaro said. “The teams early on at this point are not really there to win it and not super into the competitive aspect, but they’re dressed up, having fun. It’s cool to get everyone out

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there for a tradition that also goes for a really good cause.”

Pucillo said she also believes the tournament establishes a sense of community while providing entertainment and donations.

“The finals the past couple years have been memorable,” she said. “During my freshman year, a Holy Cross College team had won for the past three years and were trying to get [a] fourth win, but a Notre Dame team ultimately ended up winning.

Finals last year were also good, went into a lot of overtime.

“Some more memorable moments would have to be in the early rounds. Just hanging with other executives and commissioners watching games, it’ll be a really nice day, and you just feel happy to be there and make a difference.”

Contact Meagan Bens at mbens@nd.edu

3

Deaf Continued from page 1

allowed for a deeper, much more genuine form of communication.

“Going to Gallaudet gave me a way to express things in an artistic, creative way,” Maxey said. “Music, poetry and then sign language coming into the mix opened a new world, to the point where I was like — ok, you know what, one way or another, someone will understand me. One way or another, there will be someone I can connect with.”

Maxey began producing videos of himself signing to his favorite rap, hip hop and R&B, and entered freestyle competitions.

“People would say, ‘Wait a minute. You can do that with your hands, and talk at the same time, and still be rocking with it? You’re dope. You’re deaf, but you’re dope,’” Maxey said.

In 2014, DEAFinitely Dope was born. Maxey said his passion for music brought him and a friend together in creating a performance group that strives towards “changing the way deaf people experience music and entertainment,” while uniting the hearing and deaf communities and breaking down barriers in the process.

DEAFinitely Dope brought Maxey to Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in 2017, where he interpreted for several artists, including D.R.A.M. Unbeknownst to Maxey, Chance the Rapper was watching him sign from backstage. This first encounter led to a partnership that took Maxey and the mission of DEAFinitely Dope to Miami and Tampa, Florida, and later, on Chance’s nationwide tour.

“I don’t know what I’m doing.

I don’t know what I want to do, I don’t know what I hope to do. All I know is that I want to try to make a difference, one way or another,” Maxey said. “Whether it’s by providing a video with captions, providing a concert to be interpreted with sign language … if I can raise awareness, my job is done.”

While on tour, Chance started providing free tickets to deaf and hard-of-hearing fans, contributing to Maxey’s work of introducing mainstream America to sign language through music, which he considers to be a universal form of communication.

“Sign language really is everywhere, you just never really realize until you become involved,” Maxey said.

While learning ASL is a life-long process, Maxey said, it’s the key to finding the inclusion and identity he is demanding for the deaf community. As someone who understands the language barriers that accompany being hard-of-hearing, Maxey’s interpretation style emphasizes the importance of communication. He said while his explosive signing style is unique, it always matches the artist’s energy. Maxey uses his dynamic interpretation to portray each song, allowing for the hearing and deaf communities to come together.

“That’s what DEAFinitely Dope is about: not feeling so alone in the world,” Maxey said.

Contact Maeve Filbin at mfilbin01@saintmarys.edu

4

NEWS

The observer | wednesday, march 28, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com

Stories

Passover

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

she said. “Creative nonfiction right now has more formal flexibility.You can do more … there’s things that I can do with nonfiction that interest me that I can’t do with fiction.”

Sirisena said she started writing short stories because literary magazines wanted to publish complete stories rather than chapters of a novel, but that the short story form also was the best way for her to tell the stories she wanted to tell.

“I began to realize that the subject matter — the civil war — that I was writing about was better served if it came from multiple voices, that one voice really didn’t do justice to the scope of the war and how it affected people and it was a war that affected so many groups of people. … It just felt more honest,” she said.

The title of her collection, “The Other One,” is also the title of one of the stories within the collection.

Sirisena noted the ways in which this title reflects the conflicts between the Tamil and Sinhalese groups in Sri Lanka. “[The title] is a metaphor for the entire book because there’s always this othering going on in the book,” Sirisena said. “The Tamils are the others, or if you’re Tamil, the Sinhalese are the others. If you’re a man, then a woman would be the other. … I think the title is a metaphor for the ways in which we view people, often ostracizing people or placing them in a category exceptional to ourselves.”

Sirisena said literature is important as a reminder that there is more than one viewpoint in the world and that the world is “a place of multiplicity.”

“Literature is a reminder that people are very different,” she said. “There’s no such thing as normal. I think that’s the importance of diverse literature, that we have access to an understanding that there’s depth to people beyond what you see on the surface when you meet them. And I think we really need to become a society that doesn’t begin to code people too quickly. We do a great disservice to them and we do a disservice to ourselves.”

Writing is a long-term process, Sirisena said, but students who want to be writers should work hard at it.

“You have to find a way to persevere and to really stick with it and keep some sense of momentum and urgency and love for the work, even when you might not be as successful as you hoped,” she said.

“I think that is going to be important to find this real passion and drive for the work.”

Sirisena said students should write diverse stories because editors and publishers are looking to hear different perspectives, but also because readers are looking to hear other people’s stories as well.

“Not only is it important to own your own identity,” she said. “I think the truth is people want to hear it. … Tell your own stories because that’s what people want.”

the community,” she said.

Senior Alicia Twisselmann, copresident of the Jewish Students Association, said the organization also partners with the Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley, which helps lead the ceremony and provides the Passover meal.

For the service, guests were given Seder plates set with a number of traditional foods, each symbolizing a special aspect of Passover.

During the meal, presiders read the Haggadah, a Jewish text that is recited each Passover Seder. The Haggadah guides individuals through the Passover story and contains instructions for ceremonial customs, several prayers and psalms.

Twisselmann said reading the Haggadah helps promote understanding of Passover culture and tradition.

“It’s important to tell the story of Passover, to make sure we remember it,” she said. “It’s

Contact Nicole Caratas at ncaratas@nd.edu

mentioned in the Seder that we need to tell the story, and the more we tell the story, the better we are.”

For attendees who were not of Jewish faith, Twisselmann said she hopes they “gained an appreciation for Jewish culture and of [its] rich history.”

She said she believes that the celebration non-Catholic holidays at Notre Dame can help encourage inclusion for all religions.

“It fosters a really good dialogue here on campus. A lot of the time people haven’t encountered any faiths other than Catholicism until now,” she said.

“Having people get a chance to see how other people live and how other people celebrate is a good way to get a feel for a culture.”

Shainberg said despite Notre Dame’s Catholic tradition, he believes the University supports those of all faith backgrounds.

“I believe this campus fosters spirit — without limitation — and has made me identify more strongly with my faith than I

ever have before,” he said. “We’ve had wholesome Passover, Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah celebrations at Notre Dame that will remain special memories for me in the years to come.”

August said she values interfaith events at Notre Dame because they sponsor diversity in the community.

“It’s just a privilege because

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not only do I get to share my faith and cultivate leadership, but I get to learn so much from the students too,” she said. “We all have different ways of praying and worshiping, and we can all come together over a meal and over traditions that mean a lot to us.”

Contact Mary Steurer at msteure1@nd.edu

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The observer | wednesday, march 28, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com

By RYAN ISRAEL Scene Writer

Yes, Wendy’s did that. On March 23, the fast-food chain released a five-song, 10-minute mixtape titled “We Beefin?” I imagine the discussion amongst the Wendy’s marketing team went a little something like this: Boss: “Our food is dumb lit and our Twitter account is mad fresh, but we need another way to prove to the young ones that we are hip and cool.”

Employee: “These kids are always talking about ‘fire mixtapes.’ We should make one of those.”

Boss: “That’s genius. You’re promoted.”

I see no other way the conversation could have gone given the outrageousness of the idea that a burger joint might release a mixtape as a form of promotion. However, the idea has been used before. On April Fool’s Day in 2016, the company Hamburger Helper released a mixtape titled “WATCH THE STOVE.” So Wendy’s was not coming completely out of left field when they released their own mixtape, although theirs is so bland and uninspiring that it leaves much to be questioned.

Before I completely denounce “We Beefin?,” I want to point out the mixtape’s two positive qualities. First, the cover art for “We Beefin?” is a direct reference and tribute to The Notorious B.I.G.’s debut studio album, “Ready to Die.” The critically-acclaimed album is a piece of rap history, and Wendy’s did a good deed by paying homage

By CECE BIAGINI Scene Writer

The Moringa Tree Organic Kitchen and Wellness Studio may sound like just another restaurant catering to our generation’s health-kick craze. The Moringa Tree, however, offers customers more than just gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and vegetarian options. The Moringa Tree takes great pride in its healthy breakfast and lunch options made from high-quality, organic ingredients sourced from local providers. Superfood smoothies, raw juices and delicious sandwiches jump off the menu — all prepared from real, whole foods you can pronounce.

Customer favorites include the pesto chicken flatbread made with free-range chicken, and the Nutty ‘Naner sprouted-bread sandwich oozing with peanut butter, banana, raw honey and cinnamon. The Moringa Tree disproves the assumption that healthy food has to be boring. With options like grilled cheese and No-Nonsense Nachos, there really is something for all kinds of foodies.

Moreover, I was pleasantly surprised to see meals reasonably priced at about $10 each — especially considering the use of first-rate ingredients. While I will definitely be back for the delicious food, the powerful mission of Moringa Tree’s owner, Jenny Weaver, explains why customers come to The Moringa Tree not just to dine, but also to cultivate wellness.

Jenny Weaver considers herself “a ministry-driven business owner” who answered God’s call to open The Moringa Tree in 2013. In a community that lacked any kind of health education, The Moringa Tree would be

to the legendary project. The second positive characteristic of “We Beefin?” is the choice of artist for the mixtape.

Wendy’s, a company that has a female mascot, made the smart decision to have a female rap artist, who remains unnamed, deliver the rapping throughout the project.

That said, the two positive attributes of “We Beefin?” are easily outweighed by the mixtape’s musical mess.

Production-wise, “We Beefin?” utilizes an incredibly bland and boring array of beats. Wendy’s claimed in a promotional tweet that “We Beefin?” would have “Fresh, never frozen beats,” but that claim is far from the truth.

None of the mixtape’s five songs have a beat that could even remotely be described as fresh. Each beat that appears on “We Beefin?” fits into the category of a stereotypical trap beat. It wouldn’t surprise me if a Wendy’s employee had simply typed “trap-rap-type beat” into Soundcloud and picked out the top five results.

The rapping on “We Beefin?” also follows the trend of bland and uninspiring. The anonymous female rap artist delivers every verse on the mixtape in a monotone voice and hardly varies her flow or style. I hope this unknown artist can find success on her own, without the creative restrictions of a fast-food company.

Lyrically, “We Beefin?” consists of semi-clever, beefbased wordplay and a number of pointless insults hurled at competitors like McDonald’s, Burger King and Chicken Shack. The whole situation reminds me of the feud between hip-hop artists Drake and Meek Mill in 2015. In

this situation, McDonald’s is Drake, a well-established and dominant fixture in the game, and Wendy’s is Meek Mill, an up-and-comer taking shots at the big buck. I doubt McDonald’s will release a response as amazing as Drake’s “Back To Back,” because they don’t need to.

“We Beefin?” has created only a small amount of buzz, so it’s not worthy of attention from the industry-leading McDonald’s or anybody else.

As a marketing strategy, “We Beefin?” is a creative yet excessive attempt to attract the attention of millennials and create buzz on Twitter. As a piece of music, “We Beefin?” is a lifeless and uninteresting advertisement that is not worth more than one listen, just for humor’s sake.

the way Weaver could best serve her community. A certified and licensed Naturopathic Doctor, Nutritional Counselor and Holistic Health Coach, Weaver exudes a passion for proper nutrition and believes in the healing power of pure, whole foods. To Weaver, those who walk into The Moringa Tree are more than just customers — they are people she seeks to revive using food. She states, “God designed the body to be self-healing, and placed the fruits of the earth here for all of us to use as tools.”

Weaver practices what she preaches by sourcing only local, organic ingredients: “No sugar, no processed foods, no additives or hidden ingredients.” Even the cooking practices are health-approved: Weaver strays from using metals like microwaves, aluminum foil and cast irons that expose us to harmful toxins. She takes pride in the fact that every ingredient on your plate has been prewashed in purified water.

In addition to The Organic Kitchen, The Moringa Tree’s Wellness Studio above the dining area allows Weaver to provide a variety of services for those seeking to improve their health. The Wellness Studio offers nutritional, spiritual and stress release counseling, biofeedback body scans, personal grocery shoppers, cooks and massages.

Most importantly, the space allows Weaver to create optimal diets for clients with high stress levels, medical conditions and dietary restrictions. As someone who has dealt with health complications firsthand, Weaver is convinced that “food is our medicine.” She has lost one brother to cancer and has watched another suffer from Lyme disease. When Weaver learned that she herself had tumors in her colon, she ate a naturopathic diet, which

successfully rid her of her tumors. As a result, Weaver devotes herself to “inspiring as many people as possible to understand what health truly means and why it’s important.” She has achieved great success with “clients and customers of all backgrounds and ages — from a stage-4 cancer patient to competitive athletes.”

So far, The Moringa Tree has thrived as an organic restaurant in Elkhart, Indiana. The vibrant storefront lures customers into a cozy yet hip dining space filled with the aroma of fresh food. Diner-style booths line the walls, and bartop seating overlooks the kitchen. At 9:30 on a weekday morning, I was not surprised to be the only customer there. Nevertheless, I got the impression that this was the kind of place where neighborhood friends come to spend time with one another. My server was friendly, efficient and prepared my delicious Funky Monkey Smoothie and Golden Immunity Bowl. I left with a full stomach and the intention to return again soon.

Weaver explains the Moringa Tree attracts all types of people because “healthy lifestyles are for everyone.”

As for why Notre Dame students should make the trip, Weaver states, “Notre Dame students are savvy, smart and driven. This is exactly why they need to know the importance of taking health into their own hands. Nobody can care for you better than yourself, and understanding how to fuel yourself with real nutrition is so empowering.” Whether you want to join Weaver in her health movement or simply crave a fresh and delicious meal, The Moringa Tree will not disappoint.

Contact Ryan Israel at risrael1@nd.edu

“We Beefin?”

Wendy’s (the fast-food chain) Label: Six Course Inc. Tracks: None If you like: Ordering a Frosty and french fries at Wendy’s

Contact Cece Biagini at cbiagini@nd.edu CLAIRE KOPISCHKE | The Observer

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The observer | Wednesday, March 28, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com

Inside Column

Journalism will always prevail

Babbling in search of a new tower?

Paul Kozhipatt Paul’s Ponderings

Mary Bernard News Writer

As someone determined to enter the field of journalism, I am frequently told of its impending death. And yet, I am unequivocally convinced of its long and essential life to come.

When considering the state of journalism in today’s world, there are a few things of which I am certain. For one, the rise of technology has changed how professionals approach journalism. And two, this rise has assured both journalism’s continued necessity and its heightened credibility.

As Professor Richard Jones, director of the Journalism, Ethics and Democracy program, has reminded his classes time and time again, anyone who owns a cell phone has the ability to document news. Every person with internet access can use that access to publish information for the world to see. More people than ever have the ability to record what is going on around them, through videos, photos and words. Because of this, the internet is a hotbed of news, but not always of journalism.

We have seen this newfound power come to unfortunate ends. On Jan. 14, 2018, a story about Aziz Ansari on babe.net went viral because of its connection to the #MeToo movement. An anonymous source recounted a date she had had with Ansari that “turned into the worst night of [her] life” because of the sexual misconduct that ensued in Ansari’s apartment after dinner.

The story threatened Ansari’s career and the controversy surrounding it threatened the legitimacy of the #MeToo movement. And yet, Ansari and #MeToo endured the consequences of the story.

Because of the widespread access to social media and news outlets, journalistic integrity is exceptionally important and taken incredibly seriously. Professor Jones also tells us that journalists depend exclusively on their credibility – and once it’s gone, they may never get it back.

As we saw with the Rolling Stone article “A Rape on Campus,” the loss of credibility can be devastating. The story about a fraternity gang rape written in Nov. 2014 was fully retracted by the magazine in April 2015 because the alleged rape victim, the story’s source, was discovered to be unreliable. Doubt began to surface when Richard Bradley, editor-in-chief of Worth magazine, questioned the veracity of the article in a blog entry. Rolling Stone paid the accused fraternity $1.65 million to settle the defamation lawsuit, but it will take many years for Rolling Stone to completely reclaim its reputation as a credible source of news.

Needless to say, many media outlets have needed to recover in recent months from an onslaught of doubt created by the fake news phenomenon.

Yet, despite the nationwide lack of trust in the media, which is exacerbated by stories like “A Rape on Campus,” I stand by my earlier statement. Journalism is more necessary and more credible than ever.

We have witnessed the industry’s ability to correct itself, such as with Bradley’s contribution to the Rolling Stone article. The public is as important to a media outlet’s accountability as other outlets are. People can react to stories instantaneously, exacerbating or quelling doubts in minutes. The media can do the same, both to other outlets and to our elected officials, as we have seen through the increased necessity of tools like the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s fact checker, which analyzes statements given by our lawmakers.

Journalists want to earn the public’s trust, not by blind submission but by a healthy skepticism in their readers.

And so, in the wake of the fake news fear, journalism is not dying. Journalism is changing to accommodate and convince even the most adamant of doubters that, no matter the strength of its opponents, the truth will rise to the top.

Contact Mary Bernard at mbernar5@nd.edu The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily of The Observer.

Language is one of the most foundational elements of what it means to be a human, yet any two random individuals from our planet would have difficulty communicating with one another. The relatively recent development of centralized nation-states has made communication both simpler and more complicated through language standardization. As the world becomes more and more interconnected, the need for a global lingua franca becomes more pronounced.

Before standardization of writing forms, centralized education systems and vast global trade, the common man spoke various forms of dialect continuums. A dialect continuum is when the spoken language differs only slightly from adjacent towns, but in aggregate these differences over large distances lead to mutually unintelligible dialects.

Language was fluid and not shaped by discrete political borders.

With the advent of nation-states, there has been a strong push toward domestic language standardization. A shared language not only fosters a common national identity, but also serves practical purposes such as simplified communication and lower administrative costs. Providing government services in multiple languages is not only expensive, but also can be awkward; trains in Belgium and Singapore make lengthy announcements in four languages. France is a prominent example of how an infamously strong central government developed a single national language from many unique local dialects and languages. In 1539, France enacted the Edict of Villers-Cotterets, which codified Standard French into law as France’s sole official language.

The French government has created institutions such as the Academie francaise to not only ensure the preservation of the French language, but to also promote the standardization of the language. In fact, the French government is so committed to the idea of “one country, one language” that France is the only European Union member to not ratify the EU Charter for Regional and Minority Languages.

Language standardization within nation-states has undoubtedly simplified domestic communication, but this convenience has come at a price. In the French example, local languages such as those spoken in Brittany and Corsica have almost gone extinct.

Somewhat paradoxically, fringe dialects actually simplified communication in certain situations.

Towns on the German-Dutch border used to speak dialects of their respective national languages, which were mutually intelligible to speakers of the other language. However, when the German and Dutch governments standardized their languages, residents of these border towns could no longer easily communicate across the border. Instead of a dialect continuum, residents of these towns spoke “standard” German and Dutch, which was largely influenced by the dialects spoken near their country’s respective capitals. Standardization of national languages has led to the near disappearance of many dialects which served as valuable bridges between countries.

It is impossible to learn even a fraction of the many thousands of languages spoken on this planet.

Thus, lingua franca languages play an important role as a bridge between speakers of different languages. English is currently the world’s de facto lingua franca. English’s status as a link language is evidenced by the fact that it only has 340 million first language speakers but 510 million total English speakers. Speakers of other languages everywhere from Brussels to Bangalore see the value of learning English to communicate with the broader world.

But throughout history, various languages have held this mantle. For much of the 17th through 20th centuries, French was the world’s primary language of diplomacy, commerce and culture. Many of Europe’s great royal courts spoke French rather than the local vernacular. A similar phenomenon existed in Mughal India, where the royal administrators spoke Persian instead of one of the hundreds of local native Indian languages. In modern-day India, English is extremely prevalent in business, government and the courts, serving as a valuable lingua franca in a nation with 22 official languages. After the United States, India has the world’s second-largest English-speaking population. Interestingly, each epoch’s lingua franca sheds light on that era’s underlying realpolitik power dynamics.

International institutions such as the EU and the United Nations are heavily dependent on lingua franca working languages. The use of English is so prevalent within EU Institutions that the dialect of English spoken is known as Euro English. The EU administration’s dependence on the English language will surely be questioned with the imminent departure of the organization’s largest Englishspeaking member. But lingua franca languages have an even more pronounced informal impact. English language films and music are nearly ubiquitous anywhere in the world. Recently, after strong lobbying from French radio stations, the French government lowered the quota of French language music that had to be played on French radio stations from 40 percent to 35 percent due to the popularity of English music.

Even non-native English-speaking artists such as Daft Punk and ABBA chose to make music in English, rather than French and Swedish, to cater to a larger audience.

Language is not static; it rapidly evolves and is shaped by the broader political climate. The number of languages used will likely shrink as the world shrinks. There are many causes for this linguistic consolidation ranging from multinational businesses seeking to standardize communications, to a desire to understand the next blockbuster Hollywood hit. Do American English, Indian English and Euro English serve as harbingers for the world’s linguistic future, where more and more of the world speaks some form of English albeit slightly different than the Queen’s Received Pronunciation?

Paul Kozhipatt is a senior political science and information technology management major. Paul grew up on three continents, but calls New York home. He can be reached at pkozhipa@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily of The Observer.

Join the conversation.

Submit a Letter to the Editor: viewpoint@ndsmcobserver.com

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The observer | Wednesday, March 28, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com

Ranking the arguments with my friends Davis Gonsalves Highest-Ranking Column According to Me

Many intellectual friend groups argue about pressing issues surrounding our current culture. Race, gender, income inequality, etc. are discussed in order to educate and hopefully change our society. I am not in one of those friend groups. I should revise that: We talk about those things, but sparingly, and we all usually end up agreeing anyway. What I have instead are the inconsequential arguments that are equally rage-inducing but much less practical. I’ve decided to lay them out here so that you, the reader, can clue into what I have to deal with. They are ranked by how controversial they are to everyone involved. Hopefully, you can give your own take to help settle some of these ongoing points of contention.

11. Is “Despicable Me” the greatest animated movie of all time?

There are hot takes and there are inferno takes. When my friend Sarah says that “Despicable Me” is the greatest animated film, you have to believe it is simply too hot to handle.

This argument came about when discussing whether the Minions were cute or not. I believe they are Satan’s spawn, so Sarah decided to back her position by doubling down and hitting me with this fireball. She ranks it above the likes of “Toy Story,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Shrek” — “Shrek!”

I rank it last because it divides no one. Only she thinks this way and I don’t know how anyone else could.

10. Is “Avengers” better than “Deadpool?”

9. How communist should America be?

8. Should I know what a plantain is?

7. Does America mean all of the Western Hemisphere?

These next four all come from my Honduran roommate Alfredo, who is a walking “caliente” take. This man spews out his half-baked opinions claiming “Deadpool” was a garbage movie and “Avengers” is much better, even though every other critic and friend of mine disagrees. His come in a block because they all start the same way. My roommates and I make a funny yet poignant statement like, “Gee, I love Amazon Prime’s two-day delivery, it shows the benefits of capitalism,” and this somehow triggers Mr. Duarte into critiquing our entire economic system. I understand he is

studying in a foreign country, but there are certain customs he needs to get used to — like how Americans are woefully unaware of the plantain as compared to the banana and that America means only the stars and stripes within its borders, not two whole continents.

6. Is Howard a top-20 dorm?

5. Am I allowed to rank a friend group in my Observer columns?

When I wrote my dorm ranking column, I received much flak from a variety of friends. Almost none was equal to the spite I encountered from the girls of Howard, who were ranked a modest No. 27 out of 30. This has led to ongoing tension with a particular friend group, and I tried to rank them in my “I’m Ranking Everything” column last semester. All my editors at The Observer answered this second question with a resounding “No,” but I have fought the head of Viewpoint regardless. Mostly because I want to end up winning this fight.

4. How many holes does a straw have, and likewise, how many holes are in a T-shirt?

There is the philosophy we learn at Notre Dame and there is the philosophy that is actually important to our life.

This serves the latter and has caused quite a division. I was almost settled that a straw has one hole when a friend gave the argument, “It’s only a hole if a theoretical hole punch could make it.” Then the T-shirt example threw a wrench in my entire psyche and I’m back to questioning everything.

Most friends have decided on one hole, but I think there is a deeper meaning out there. It remains to be seen.

3. Would you still marry the love of your life if that person had to sleep in a coffin every night?

This comes from my friend MC, who loves to play the game “would/would not.” Essentially, you start with the pretense that you are about to meet the love of your life, and it’s your choice to marry them, but it comes with one large caveat. Do you still marry them? Some examples include: would/ would not, has lizard skin or would/would not, has cheetos for fingers. This coffin one has been the peak, though. Yes, they have to bring the coffin with them on vacations or can buy one there. You can choose whether to sleep in the coffin with them or not, you are not forced to. I go back and forth depending on how morbid I’m feeling.

2. Is it okay not to know what a curved TV is?

Some of you right now are saying, “who the [expletive] doesn’t know what a curved TV is?” Others are asking if a curved TV is a real thing. Personally, I didn’t know what a curved TV was, and an outside observer might have thought I claimed some neo-Nazi values because of the subsequent reaction. A curved TV is not popular. I don’t care if you succumbed to whatever marketing scheme they used so you still know about their inferior product. I’ll take my ignorance as a point of pride.

1. If you saw Hitler at a party would you take a picture with him?

Oh, the best one yet. Let’s lay down some ground rules.

It is not your party, everyone at the party knows it’s Hitler and he’s not older or used a time machine, it’s just assumed it’s him. There is no uniform, you just see him come in the party and know that it is Hitler. The arguments for taking the picture have said, “I want a picture with him for my own personal memories. I don’t support him, but I want to document history.” The arguments against have said (more reasonably, in my opinion) that you don’t want to take a picture with a man who is responsible for 11 million murders. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. To me, it’s a pretty cut-and-dry argument, but it has not stopped most of my friend group from debating the usefulness of a photo with a sociopath. The battle rages on.

Please, if you have your own thoughts on any of these issues, send me your responses. This data from a random sample of people will settle many of these, and I’m tired of thinking about coffins and plantains. For now, you should not rest easy knowing there are people on campus who want to take photos with literally Hitler. There are other, less tactful arguments I am not allowed to write in a newspaper, so if you want to hear those also, bang my line.

Davis loves to rank people, places, things, ideas and sometimes even verbs. His current junior year places third 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.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The arc of Notre Dame’s Catholic identity “Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

On April 4, we will mark the passage of 50 years since the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. On that day in history, our nation lost a visionary, a leader and someone who pursued justice and peace with a fiery passion.

As we reflect on the life and work of King, we must call to mind how the world today continues to face injustice and violence. It is imperative that we celebrate the progress made in the decades since, yet also note the steps backward we have taken.

Genocide remains a reality for populations around the world. Brown- and black-bodied men and boys in the United States continue to experience discrimination and lose their lives to excessive use of force and violence by police. Sexual harassment and abuse remain underreported and overlooked in our communities and justice systems. Migrants, refugees and their children face stress, uncertainty and discrimination from a nation comprised of former immigrants. Many other forms of cultural, structural and direct violence persist.

At the same time, others have followed in King’s footsteps and provided us with more models of what a life striving for justice and peace looks like. Dolores Huerta has dedicated her life to advocating for the rights of farmworkers and laborers. Nelson Mandela’s legacy of fighting apartheid in South Africa will remain with us for a long time to come. Malala Yousafzai continues to speak out about the importance of education for girls and women around the world.

As co-chairs of this year’s Student Peace Conference, which is sponsored by the Kroc Institute, we invite the members of the Notre Dame community to join us in considering how we can heal the harms of the past and address the violence of the present through mechanisms of justice and peace-building.

Our keynote speaker, Alexis Templeton, is an activist and gender-nonconforming scholar at Washington University in St. Louis. Alexis is a co-founder of Millennial Activists United, which was created on the ground of the Ferguson Uprising and aims to disrupt daily activities to confront the ways that state oppression disrupts black livelihood. Alexis centers black people in all her efforts and endeavors, and will speak about her experience with the intersections of justice and peace.

We encourage our students, staff and faculty to consider in a special way what it means for us to be having these conversations at Notre Dame. In recent discussions of our campus’s culture and identity as a Catholic university, we feel that our call to be peace builders and seekers of justice has been largely overlooked. We have spent a lot of time weighing the finer points of the administration’s policies and the way they do or do not “maintain Catholic identity.”

While this is a topic of considerable importance, we also feel that maintaining Notre Dame’s Catholic identity encompasses much more than debates over the finer points of health insurance policy. Being at a Catholic university means engaging with the complex, difficult issues and the violence of our world today. It means orienting ourselves toward those who are marginalized and working toward a

vision of a shared future. Being part of a Catholic/catholic community means creating a place at the table for everyone and acknowledging what Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew: “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” It is when we fail to acknowledge the worth of all people and ignore our call to be peacemakers that we start to lose our Catholic/ catholic identity.

We hope that you will consider attending the conference on April 13 and 14 as we continue to search for the place where “truth and mercy have met together; peace and justice have kissed.” Cornel West writes, “America … needs citizens who love it enough to re-imagine and re-make it,” and we think the same can be said about our Notre Dame community. Join us as we re-imagine and re-make the world to become one in which the ideals King fought for and dedicated his life to are actualized.

More information about the Student Peace Conference can be found at nd.edu/~peacecon/ or by emailing peacecon@nd.edu. The deadline to register is Thursday, April 5.

2018 Student Peace Conference Co-Chairs Elizabeth Hascher senior Erin Prestage senior March 27

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Daily

The observer | wednesday, march 28, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com

Crossword | Will Shortz

Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Expand your horizons and open your mind to trying new things. Take greater interest in others as well as in your personal affairs.

Look for clear-cut ways to get the most for the least. Avoiding excessive behavior and people who tend to lead you in the wrong direction will help you maintain a lifestyle that is comfortable and fun. Your numbers are 2, 10, 21, 29, 34, 38, 44.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Emotional issues will surface if you can’t find common ground or an ability to compromise when dealing with others. Inconsistency and outbursts will only make matters worse. Keep the peace and think twice before you say something regrettable.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Make changes at home or at work for the right reasons. Don’t let emotions take over or motivate you to head in a direction that may not be suitable over the long term. Intelligence and research will be your tickets to success.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): If someone is acting erratically, back away instead of tagging along. Concentrate on what’s best for you and what you want to pursue. An honest assessment of your current situation will help you make a wise choice.

CANCER ( June 21-July 22): Rethink your lifestyle and the way you handle your money. Building a healthy nest egg will ease your stress. A physical approach to your responsibilities will help you impress others and gain access to a higher position.

LEO ( July 23-Aug. 22): Keep busy. Exercise, rigorous activities, taking action and making your dreams come true should be on your agenda.

It’s up to you to take control if you want to get ahead or make your life better.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Offering to help others is fine, but don’t let anyone take advantage of you. Make clear what you are able to contribute before you get started. Avoid excessive people or temptation. Overdoing it will lead to regret.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Get active and fit. Do your best to get rid of bad habits or frivolous behavior. Make wise choices that will encourage you to keep moving and to do the best job possible, and you’ll avoid complaints and criticism.

S CO RPIO ( Oct . 23-Nov. 21) : A b u s i nes s tr i p or meeti ng w i ll encou rage s u cces s. Di s cu s s you r i d eas and plans and you’ll b e gi ven i nteres ti ng choi ces. Walk aw ay from anyone w ho s how s s i gns of i ncons i s tency or u npred i ctab i li ty. Ali gn you rs elf w i th s tab le i nd i v i d u als.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Let the past guide you. A legal or financial experience will save you from a similar fate. Recall what happened and make adjustments to ensure you don’t lose this time around. Don’t hesitate to say “no.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Partnerships will need to be handled with the utmost care. If someone appears to be the least bit erratic or inconsistent, it may be best to keep your distance. Trust in facts and only spend what is readily available to you.

AQUARIUS ( Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Make a stress-free environment your priority.

Live frugally and question your relationships with people who tend to be indulgent. Stay focused on what’s important to you and what will bring you the greatest stability.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Speak from the heart and be open about the way you feel and what you want. Walk away from situations that are casting a shadow on your life or your ability to get ahead. Don’t let anyone stand in your way.

Birthday Baby: You are sensitive, intuitive and caring. You are charismatic and outgoing.

WINGin’ it | BAILEE EGAN & Olivia wang

Sudoku | The Mepham Group

Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek

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ndsmcobserver.com | Wednesday, march 28, 2018 | The Observer

Sports Authority

Men’s Golf | Kansas state bighorn invitational

Europe is future of U.S. soccer Tobias Hoonhout Managing Editor

#TheProcess.

No, this column is not about the Philadelphia 76ers, even though my roommate finally thinks the glory days of Philly basketball have returned.

It’s about the U.S. Men’s National Team.

Now, to say that the United States missing out on the 2018 World Cup is a setback for the sport in the States is more than an understatement. As my colleague Ryan Kolakowski pointed out last fall, the USMNT had practically a guaranteed spot in Russia this coming summer, as long as the squad handled lowly Trinidad and Tobago.

It collapsed in a 2-1 loss.

While disappointing and downright embarrassing, the setback has sparked change. Out is head coach Bruce Arena, who replaced Jurgen Klinsmann after a startlingly poor start to qualifying, particularly at home. But Arena couldn’t get the job done. Also gone is longtime U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati, who stepped down after the fiasco, and Carlos Cordeiro has taken his place.

There has been change in the team as well. The team’s core group of regulars in recent history — players like Howard, forward Clint Dempsey, midfielder Jermaine Jones and defender DaMarcus Beasley — are now reaching the twilight of their careers. There has been a serious question of who would take up the torch, only emphasized by the retirement of American legend Landon Donovan, who was famously left off of that 2014 roster by Klinsmann.

Luckily, that question has been answered in the emergence of Christian Pulisic, who at only 19 is already a star for German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund and has some of the biggest clubs in the world circling over acquiring his talents this summer.

Pulisic may very well be the once-in-a-lifetime talent that American soccer has been craving, and he is most certainly the byproduct of the emergence of soccer in the States and its first true success story. But what has actualized his success? His emergence in Europe.

As the USMNT ushers in a new era, the debate about where U.S. stars should play their club soccer swirls around the proceedings. For Klinsmann, Europe was the place where American stars needed to be, but there was pushback against his preference of foreign-born players who held dual citizenship but who really were only American by passport. Enter Arena, who made his name coaching in the MLS — the domestic league in the U.S. — and who believed that

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American players playing at home were the answer.

Both were wrong.

Yes, the USMNT should want American players who everyday Americans can relate to. And yes, the recent rise of the MLS and the emergence of ambitious clubs like NYCFC, Atlanta United FC and LAFC have made soccer in America more than just a retirement league for aging international stars.

But for American soccer to be truly great, it needs to combine both systems — homegrown youth development and European exposure.

The U.S. needs to recognize both its strengths as a place where worldclass talent can be produced, but also its weakness as a non-factor in really fostering talented youngsters into superstars. While Pulisic is the exemplar, he really should only be the beginning.

For its ­­­win against Paraguay in an international friendly Tuesday, interim coach Dave Sarachan assembled an incredibly youthful roster, with 18 players having five or fewer caps. But there are a number of American-born players who are now breaking through in Europe.

There’s no Pulisic. But there’s central midfielder Weston McKennie, who turned down a contract with MLS-side FC Dallas and a scholarship at Virginia to pursue his dream, and is now a regular for German club FC Shalke. There’s 18-year-old Tim Weah — son of African legend George Weah — who was born in New York City and recently made his debut for French powerhouse PSG. And there’s right back Shaq Moore, who as a teenager decided to try and make himself in Europe, currently going up against the likes of Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo while playing for Levante in La Liga.

What unites all of these players? Not only are they the future of U.S. soccer, but they’ve taken the leap of faith to prove they belong among the world’s elite. As with Pulisic, there was no safety net or sheltering in MLS for these youngsters.

And they know it. Weah recently tweeted a reference to #TheProcess. For as the USMNT rebuilds, it also has the chance to usher in a new era. As a number of talented and ambitious young Americans have started to break through into the sport’s highest echelons, the chance at forging a Golden Age of U.S. soccer is tantalizingly close.

Will they succeed? Only time will tell. But as Yoda said, “Do or do not, there is no try.”

Contact Tobias Hoonhout at thoonhou@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Irish take sixth place at weekend invitational Observer Sports Staff

Notre Dame came home with a sixth-place finish at the Kansas State Bighorn Invitational after a competitive weekend of golf. The competition was a two-day, 54hole event, which took place at the Canyons Course of the Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, California.

The par-72, 7,000-yard course featured excellent conditions with quickly-rolling greens. This, coupled with perfect weather, made for two days of strong golf.

The tournament field included

12 total teams, of whom five were in Golfstat’s most recent top 50. No. 15 Illinois, No. 32 Brigham Young and No. 35 Kansas headlined the field, and Illinois emerged victorious at 40-under par by the end.

Notre Dame’s 12-under par performance was good enough to secure a sixth-place finish. However, Notre Dame’s play declined over the course of the three rounds, carding a 1-over-par 73 in the final round.

Nevertheless, the 12-under team total marked the best Irish play yet this spring.

Four golfers for Notre Dame

finished the Invitational under par, highlighted by freshman Davis Chatfield’s 14th-place individual performance. Chatfield had three strong rounds, able to stay below par in each, and finished with a 5-under 211. Meanwhile, junior Ben Albin finished 18th, with a 3-under 213, while junior Miguel Delgado and sophomore John Felitto each tied for 21st with scores of 2-underpar 214s.

Notre Dame next travels to Keowee Falls, South Carolina, to compete in the Clemson Invitational beginning April 13.

ND women’s tennis | duke 7, nd 0; wake forest 6, nd 1

Irish drop matches to pair of ranked conference foes

By CHARLIE ORTEGA GUIFARRO Sports Writer

Notre Dame had a difficult weekend on the road, dropping matches at No. 4 Duke and No. 19 Wake Forest. The Irish were facing ranked opponents for the secondstraight week, but was unable to come up with a win this time around.

Competition started out Friday night in Durham, North Carolina, where the Blue Devils (14-1, 6-0 ACC) have yet to lose a match this season. Duke was too much for the Irish (10-6, 2-4) as it won 7-0, with dominant wins in doubles and singles competitions. Duke won the first doubles match 6-1, and then clinched the doubles point with another 6-1 victory in the second doubles match. Duke senior Samantha Harris and freshman Kelly Chen — the fifthranked doubles pair in the nation — won the point-clinching match over Irish seniors Brooke Broda and Allison Miller.

The singles play followed the same pattern as the Blue Devils maintained an elite level of play throughout. Notre Dame fell in two sets in all but one match, between Irish freshman Ally Bojczuk and Duke junior Ellyse Hamlin.

Hamlin — the 73rd-ranked singles player in the nation — won the first set 6-1, but Bojczuk came

KATHRYNE ROBINSON | The Observer

Irish seniors and doubles partners Brooke Broda, left, and Allison Miller compete in a doubles match Feb. 24 at Eck Tennis Pavillion.

back in the second set with her own 6-1 win. Hamlin once again overcame the Irish freshman in the third, as Duke moved on to sweep the Irish after Hamlin’s 6-3 win in the third set.

The Irish hit the road again for a short 26-mile trip from Duke to Wake Forest (15-5, 4-3 ACC). Notre Dame started off the doubles matches by taking an early lead after the Demon Deacons forfeited one of their matches. Notre Dame’s duo of Broda and Miller was unable to clinch the doubles point, however, as they fell to the 31st-ranked doubles pair of junior Emma Davis and sophomore Chandler Carter.

The doubles point would come down to the pair of freshman

Cameron Corse and sophomore Zoe Spence, who rallied late in their match but came up short in a 7-5 loss.

Wake Forest would go on to control the singles matches despite giving up a forfeiture loss on one of the courts. The closest match for the Irish once again included Bojczuk, as she took on Wake Forest junior Joanna Zalewski in a 6-4, 3-6, 1-5 (10-5) decision favoring the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest won 6-1 overall.

Next up for Notre Dame is two more road ACC matches against No. 3 Georgia Tech on Friday and Clemson on Sunday.

Contact Charlie Ortega Guifarro at cortegag@nd.edu

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10

Sports

The observer | wednesday, march 28, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com

M Tennis Continued from page 12

matches I feel like we had pretty good momentum starting in doubles, and that kind of carries over into the singles. Our main focus is on how we play, and I thought we played well in doubles this weekend, and that was the key, quite honestly, for us in practice.

We spent a lot of time last week on that, and we’ll continue to do so.

That was one positive.

“Then against Virginia Tech on Sunday we did a good job of all six guys out there for singles being really competitive and really taking pride in what they are doing and giving ourselves a chance to win all six singles matches. When you do that, I think we are a pretty tough team to beat.”

Sachire said his team will adjust to playing in different conditions during practice this week.

“We’re going to play outdoors again on Friday,” Sachire said.

“We spent this last weekend playing inside, so I think just getting back to the outdoor tennis conditions will be part of our focus in practice. Then just continue on the path that we are on and the biggest thing for us is taking pride

Track Continued from page 12

coach Sean Carlson stressed the importance of this weekend’s competitions for the team.

“Stanford and North Carolina State will be in attendance [this] weekend, and they’re pretty big meets for our whole track team in general,” he said. “This weekend

Baseball Continued from page 12

Notre Dame (10-13, 4-5 ACC).

Kent State added to its lead in the next inning, this time against Irish sophomore right-hander Zack Martin, who replaced Vorsheck on the mound. Golden Flashes junior third baseman Pavin Parks singled up the left side with one out in the frame, and he then trotted over to second when senior first baseman Brad Hamilton, the batter behind him, took first on a walk.

Senior catcher Tim Dalporto then singled to score Parks and move Hamilton over to third.

But Martin escaped allowing just the one run, striking out the next batter and forcing a groundout to end the inning.

The Irish cut the margin in half in the bottom of the third, as sophomore first baseman Daniel Jung led off with a double to right field. A single courtesy of freshman third baseman Jared Miller advanced Jung to third, and another single — this time from junior shortstop Cole Daily — plated Jung, making it a 2-1 game.

The score remained 2-1 until the sixth inning, when Hollander did the damage once again.

Elsen singled up the middle with two outs, and his timely hitting

in and having a lot of confidence in our doubles. If we can perform well in that area in our match, I think our singles play kind of follows suit afterwards.”

Notre Dame will be back in action this weekend when they travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, to take on conference foe North Carolina State on Friday. The Irish will then make the trip to Winston-Salem, North Carolina for a match with No. 1 Wake Forest on Sunday.

Sachire said mentality will be a big part of carrying his team’s current momentum into this weekend.

“I think having the mentality that we’re going to be good in all nine spots, all six singles matches and all three doubles matches,” Sachire said. “We know with the level of competition we will be playing against, if we’re battling, fighting and competing, giving ourselves a chance to win in all nine spots, I like our chances of winning the team match. I think making sure that every guy that’s out there is locked in, competitive and confident is going to be the biggest thing for us.”

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Contact Michael Ivey at mivey@hcc-nd.edu

[our goal] is to kind of get a little bit of momentum going into that.”

Competition will begin in Palo Alto, California at 10 a.m. Friday and will run through Saturday.

The Raleigh Relays will also be a two-day competition, beginning at noon Friday.

Contact Peter Baltes at pbaltes@nd.edu

was reward almost immediately when Hollander swung on a 2-0 count and crushed a home run off Martin, hitting the right field foul pole and extending the Kent State lead to 4-1.

In the eighth inning, the Irish appeared poised to close in on the lead the Golden Flashes had built. After Miller struck out swinging to open the inning, Daily was able to lay down a successful bunt and race his way to first base. Senior designated hitter Alex Kerschner singled up the middle to move Daily into scoring position, prompting Kent State to make a move on the mound, switching out redshirt senior southpaw and starter Jared Skolnicki for freshman lefthander Collin Romel. And with one out and runners on first and second, Irish junior second baseman Nick Podkul flied out to left field and junior center fielder Matt Vierling popped out to second base to end the inning.

The final frame did not yield many chances for the Irish, as they left one runner on after a walk, ending the game with a final score of 4-1 in favor of the visitors.

Next up for Notre Dame is the second game of the Kent State series, which will be Wednesday at Frank Eck Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.

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Sports

ndsmcobserver.com | wednesday, march 28, 2018 | The Observer

Softball Continued from page 12

CHRIS COLLINS | The Observer

Irish junior outfielder Ali Wester beats out the throw to first base during Notre Dame’s 6-1 win over Eastern Michigan on Tuesday at Melissa Cook Stadium. During the game, Wester went 4-4 at the plate with a run.

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dropped a single into center field to move Bazos on to second.

Wester finished the game with four hits and one run.

“Ali had a great game. When she sets the tone, we’re better,” Gumpf said.

Freshman left fielder Abby Sweet followed with an RBI triple. Down 4-0, Eastern Michigan (4-22, 0-3 MAC) subbed in senior pitcher right-handed Trisha Trujillo for freshman left-handed pitcher Kiara Hurley to close the inning.

“She started the last game, so I knew when they brought her in — I thought she’s tough,” Gumpf said. “She moves the ball enough to keep things interesting, but I think attacking early … we got the momentum. The great thing was we kept it for the entire game.”

Notre Dame carried its momentum from the second inning into the third to add two more runs to its lead. After Rochford reached first after a throwing error on the shortstop, Marino sent the ball right over the top of the center fielder to earn an RBI triple to extend the lead to 5-0.

Later in the inning, junior first baseman MK Bonamy grounded into a fielder’s choice that plated Marino.

11

Heading into the bottom of the fifth, the Irish were up 6-0, needing two more runs that inning to secure the early win. Rochford and Marino were both called out when senior pitch hitter Sara White stepped up in place of MK Bonamy. But White failed to make it on base and end the game early.

Eastern Michigan continued to dig in and earned its only run in the sixth inning. With senior center fielder Haley Hostetler on third and Logan on first, junior third baseman Amanda Akles hit a sacrifice fly to allow Hostetler to cross the plate.

Irish freshman right-handed pitcher Morgan Ryan closed for starting senior left-handed pitcher Katie Beriont in the seventh inning, after allowing only two hits and one error. Eastern Michigan sophomore designated player Sam Isaly sustained a hit to the elbow resulting in a walk to first but otherwise the game was solidly in Notre Dame’s control.

Gumpf said Beriont didn’t feel like she had her stuff but complimented her pitching.

“When she has a strong drop, good things will always happen,” she said.

As the team dives into the thick of the season, it will host Purdue on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Contact Charlotte Edmonds at cedmond3@nd.edu

12

The observer | wednesday, march 28, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com

Men’s tennis | UNC 6, nd 1; nd 7, vT 0; nd 6, iupui 1

nd softball | nd 6, eastern michigan 1

ND hits back with victory Irish rebound to over Eastern Michigan go 2-1 on weekend

By CHARLOTTE EDMONDS

By MICHAEL IVEY

Associate Sports Editor

Sports Writer

After struggling to score against Eastern Michigan last season in a 1-0 victory, the Irish came out of the dugout Tuesday ready to make a statement.

Looking to bounce back from their series with North Carolina last weekend — where they dropped two games — head coach Deanna Gumpf said she challenged her team to attack early.

The Irish (21-10, 5-3 ACC) got on the scoreboard during the bottom of the second inning when sophomore second baseman Katie Marino doubled down the left field line to score the leadoff batter, junior third baseman Melissa Rochford.

Later in the inning, sophomore right fielder Alexis Bazos stepped up to the plate with Marino still on second and drilled a twoout single down the right field line to drive Marino in and help Notre Dame take a 2-0 lead. Next up, junior left fielder Ali Wester

No. 26 Notre Dame (12-9, 3-2 ACC) hosted two conference opponents during a three-match weekend at Eck Tennis Pavilion this past weekend. The Irish fell 6-1 to No. 5 North Carolina on Friday but rebounded to defeat Virginia Tech 7-0 and IUPUI 6-1 on Sunday.

Notre Dame head coach Ryan Sachire was pleased with his team’s performance over the weekend.

“I thought we did a pretty good job,” Sachire said. “We wanted to do a little bit better than we did against North Carolina on Friday than we did, but there were some good spots in that match. Some of our guys played very well. Then Sunday was a really good day for us. I thought we took another step forward on Sunday and I thought we played a more complete match. We had our whole lineup clicking on all cylinders and beat a pretty good Virginia Tech team 7-0, and that is hard to do. So all in all I thought it was a good weekend to be able to build some

see SOFTBALL PAGE 11

CHRIS COLLINS | The Observer

Irish junior designated player Cait Brooks connects on a pitch during Notre Dame’s 6-1 win over Eastern Michigan on March 27.

track & field | black and gold invitational

momentum here for this upcoming weekend as well.”

Against the Tar Heels on Friday, freshman Richard Ciamarra grabbed the only Irish singles victory (6-1, 6-2) on court No. 3. On court No. 1, junior captain Alex Lebedev narrowly lost his match in three sets, 7-2, 6-7 (2-7), 1-0 (10-4).

Against IUPUI on Sunday, Notre Dame was powered to singles victories by sophomore Guillermo Cabrera, sophomore Matt Gamble, freshman Paul Gota, senior Brendon Kempin and sophomore Jonathan Small.

A sweep on the doubles court featured wins by Ciamarra and Kempin, senior Drew Dawson and junior Nathan Griffin and freshmen William Howells and Tristan McCormick.

Sachire said he liked what he saw from his team’s doubles play.

“Specifically focusing on Sunday, I thought being effective in doubles is important, especially for us,” Sachire said. “It’s only worth one point, but it’s a big point and when we play our best see M TENNIS PAGE 10

baseball | kent state 4, nd 1

Team picks up two Notre Dame loses home top-five finishes series opener to Kent State

By PETER BALTES Sports Writer

This past weekend, several Notre Dame athletes competed at the Black and Gold Invitational at Vanderbilt University. The Irish fielded runners in three different events, competing well and picking up two top-five finishes over the course of the twoday meet.

On the men’s side, the Irish had athletes compete in the 2,000-meter steeplechase and the 800-meter and 1,500-meter races. Notre Dame sophomore distance runner Dustin Macuiba placed third in the steeplechase, crossing the finish line in 6:02.52.

Junior Anthony Williams and sophomore Sean Kurdy also competed in the event. Williams earned sixth place in 6:05.21, while Kurdy placed eighth with a time of 6:18.62.

The Irish men also had three runners in the 1,500-meter race.

Freshman Andrew Alexander (3:58.14), graduate student Connor Sheryak (3:59.14) and freshman Vincent Zona (3:59.34)

placed 18th, 19th and 20th in the event, respectively. In the 800-meter event, Notre Dame freshman Matt Fraizer finished 18th overall with a time of 1:57.23.

The Notre Dame women competed in both the 800-meter and 1,500-meter races. Freshman distance runner Erin Sullivan secured the other top-five finish for the Irish on the weekend.

Sullivan earned fourth place overall in the 800-meter, finishing the race with a time of 2:15.70.

Senior Notre Dame distance runner Stephanie Knight competed in the 1,500-meter event, finishing in 4:38.59 and earning a 13th-place finish.

This weekend, the Irish will be splitting up to compete at the Stanford Invitational and the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State. Both meets are high-profile meets that draw strong competition from across the nation, and the Irish will be looking to make a statement.

In an interview on March 21, Notre Dame men’s distance see TRACK PAGE 10

Observer Sports Staff

ANN CURTIS | The Observer

Irish freshman pitcher Tommy Sheehan delivers a fastball during Notre Dame’s 7-6 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday.

Notre Dame hosted Kent State for the first of a two-game series Tuesday evening. The Irish were unable to generate much offense against the Golden Flashes, and despite being having the tying run at the plate in the eighth inning fell short, 4-1.

After stranding two runners in the top of the first, the Golden Flashes (12-8, 1-2 MAC) managed to get on the board first in the second inning. Irish senior righthander Charlie Vorsheck walked Golden Flashes freshman second baseman Greg Lewandoski, the first batter of the inning, before striking out junior designated hitter Pete Schuler and forcing freshman left fielder Nick Elsen into a fielder’s choice, as Lewandoski was called out at second on the play, giving Vorsheck two outs with a runner on first. However, junior shortstop Josh Hollander blasted a double to right field, bringing Elsen home and giving the Golden Flashes a 1-0 lead over see BASEBALL PAGE 10