Print Edition of The Observer for Thursday, September 5, 2019

The independent

To uncover

newspaper serving

the truth

Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s

and report

and holy cross

it accurately

Volume 54, Issue 9 | thursday, september 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

McKenna Hall undergoes renovations Conference begins two-year renovation project to expand building, house Enrollment Division

By ANDREW CAMERON News Writer

Driving down North Notre Dame Avenue, people may notice an empty construction site in place of a former hub for various types of debate and discussion on campus.

That’s because McKenna Hall, Notre Dame’s on-campus conference center and former home of the Institute for Latino Studies, is undergoing a two-year reconstruction project and isn’t projected to reopen until fall 2021. The original hall, built in 1966, was demolished July

22 to begin the construction.

With an original area of 64,000 square feet, McKenna will be expanded to have roughly 85,000 square feet, according to Mike Daly, project manager for the reconstruction.

The renovated hall will continue to serve as a conference center, but will also house the Notre Dame Enrollment Division, comprised of the Office of Outreach and Engagement Recruitment, the Office of Pre-College Programs, the Office of Undergraduate see McKENNA PAGE 4

Saint Mary’s hosts student activities fair

ANNA MASON | The Observer

Construction crews work on McKenna Hall as it begins a two-year renovation project. The building will continue to be a conference center, but it will also include space for Notre Dame’s Enrollment Division.

SMC Office for Student Success helps Belles thrive

By MARY MANSFIELD News Writer

The Saint Mary’s Office for Student Success is ushering in the fall semester with its Academic Skills & Strategies Workshops starting Wednesday.

Diane Fox, director of the Office for Student Success, started the series when the office first opened 10 years ago with the hope to achieve

Photo courtesy of Kendra Osinski

Members from Saint Mary’s Student Nurses Association pose near their booth at the Involvement and Resource Fair Wednesday night.

By CALLIE PATRICK News Writer

Saint Mary’s hosted its annual Involvement and Resource Fair on Wednesday, which showcased over 120 organizations students can participate this academic year. Representatives from school and social clubs, onand off campus-departments and organizations and local volunteer groups from the South Bend community could be found interacting

NEWS PAGE 3

with students.

Students passed the time learning about resources and opportunities available to them. One such volunteer group was called Lot2545.

“We work in Uganda with guys that are either currently or formerly called the streets home,” Amanda Jones, the organization’s founder, said.

“W hether that’s going back to school, doing vocational training, starting a small see ACTIVITIES PAGE 4

SCENE PAGE 5

two goals: To help freshman get oriented and help upperclassmen stay motivated, she said.

“Nothing is more frustrating than a professor saying to his student, ‘You should have studied more,’” Fox said. “I want to give students specific strategies to provide answers to all their questions about how to be successful in college.”

Alexis Fady, a sophomore

majoring in business administration with international business and marketing concentrations, began attending the workshops the fall of her first year at Saint Mary’s.

“The main reason why I went was because my professors offered extra credit if we attended the workshops but I kept going because of Fox,” Fady said. “She cares see SUCCESS PAGE 3

Irish playwright to present reading in Snite exhibit

By MARY STEURER Assistant Managing Editor

Kicking off new Irish art exhibit “Looking at the Stars,” acclaimed playwright Marina Carr will present a reading in the Snite Museum of Art on Thursday afternoon.

Carr is the first in a fall speaker series hosted by the Keough-Naughton Institute

VIEWPOINT PAGE 6

for Irish Studies. A native of Dublin, she is known for her modern adaptations of classical themes and has authored nearly 30 plays.

Her most famous work, “By the Bog of Cats,” has been compared to Greek tragedy, assistant director of the Keough-Naughton Institute Mary Hendriksen said.

“It’s some of the themes

ND W BASKETBALL PAGE 12

of the ancient Greeks, but in a modern context,” Hendriksen said.

The new exhibit where Carr will be speaking, “Looking at the Stars,” opened Aug. 17 and features a number of Irish paintings and photographs, including some from University benefactors Donald and Marilyn see PLAYWRIGHT PAGE 3

CROSS COUNTRY PAGE 12

2

TODAY

The observer | thursday, september 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Question of the Day: ndsmcobserver.com

Have a question you want answered?

Email photo@ndsmcobserver.com

What is the best meal you can cook?

P.O. Box 779, Notre Dame, IN 46556 024 South Dining Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 Editor-in-Chief Kelli Smith Managing Editor Charlotte Edmonds

Asst. Managing Editor: Maria Leontaras

Asst. Managing Editor: Mary Steurer

Asst. Managing Editor: Natalie Weber Notre Dame News Editor: Tom Naatz Saint Mary’s News Editor: Maeve Filbin

Viewpoint Editor: Evelyn Stein

Sports Editor: Connor Mulvena

Scene Editor: Mike Donovan Social Media Editor: Mary Bernard

Photo Editor: Anna Mason

Graphics Editor: Diane Park

Advertising Manager: Landry Kempf

Ad Design Manager: Ruby Le

Systems Administrator: Mike Dugan Office Manager & General Info

Isabel Silva

Leslie Lynch

freshman off campus

freshman McCandless Hall

“Tuna lemon salad.”

“Mac n’ Cheese.”

Jessie Snyder

Jonathan Lis

senior off campus

freshman Morrissey Manor

“Fettuccini alfredo.”

“Spaghetti and meatballs.”

Ella Holst

Mary McCann

freshman McCandless Hall

sophomore McGlinn Hall

“Lasagna.”

“Ricotta ravioli with aurora sauce.”

Ph: (574) 631-7471 Fax: (574) 631-6927 Advertising

(574) 631-6900 ads@ndsmcobserver.com Editor-in-Chief

(574) 631-4542 ksmith67@nd.edu Managing Editor

(574) 631-4542 cedmond3@nd.edu Assistant Managing Editors

(574) 631-4541 mleontaras01@saintmarys.edu, msteure1@nd.edu, nweber@nd.edu Business Office

(574) 631-5313 Notre Dame News Desk

(574) 631-5323 news@ndsmcobserver.com Viewpoint Desk

(574) 631-5303 viewpoint@ndsmcobserver.om Sports Desk

(574) 631-4543 sports@ndsmcobserver.com Scene Desk

(574) 631-4540 scene@ndsmcobserver.com Saint Mary’s News Desk

smc@ndsmcobserver.com Photo Desk

(574) 631-8767 photo@ndsmcobserver.com Systems & Web Administrators

webmaster@ndsmcobserver.com Policies The Observer is the independent, daily newspaper published in print and online by the students of the University of Notre Dame du Lac, Saint Mary’s College and Holy Cross College. Editorial content, including advertisements, is not governed by policies of the administration of either institution. The Observer reserves the right to refuse advertisements based on content.

The news is reported as accurately and objectively as possible. Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the majority of the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Assistant Managing Editors and department editors.

Commentaries, letters and columns present the views of the authors and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Viewpoint space is available to all readers. The free expression of all opinions through letters is encouraged.

Letters to the Editor must be signed and must include contact information.

Questions regarding Observer policies should be directed to Editor-in-Chief Kelli Smith.

Post Office Information The Observer (USPS 599 2-4000) is published Monday through Friday except during exam and vacation periods.

A subscription to The Observer is $130 for one academic year; $75 for one semester.

The Observer is published at: 024 South Dining Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556-0779 Periodical postage paid at Notre Dame and additional mailing offices POSTMASTER Send address corrections to: The Observer P.O. Box 779 024 South Dining hall Notre Dame, IN 46556-077

Today’s Staff News

Sports

Tom Naatz Alexandra Muck Callie Patrick

Hayden Adams

Graphics

Scene

Cristina Interiano

Mike Donovan

Photo

Viewpoint

Anna Mason

Nelisha Silva

Corrections The Observer regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times. We do, however, recognize that we will make mistakes. If we have made a mistake, please contact us at (574) 631-4541 so we can correct our error.

ANNA MASON | The Observer

After a summer of renovations, Saint Mary’s campus dining services opens with an updated look and menu for the new academic school year. With the changes, the establishment formerly known as Cyber Cafe has been officially rebranded as the 1844 Grill.

The next Five days:

Want your event included here?

Email news@ndsmcobserver.com

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

“Europe’s Policies Toward Refugees” 1050 Jenkins Nanovic 12:30 p.m.

Lecture open to the public.

Diversity and Inclusion Conference Morris Inn 8 a.m.

Day of learning and community-building.

Seminar in American Religion Morris Inn 9 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Kathleen Sprows Cummings to speak.

Basilica Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart 10 a.m. or 11:45 a.m.

Celebrate Mass with the community.

Engineering Presentation 104 Bond Hall 7 p.m. - 8 p.m.

“An Energy Corridor on Our Southern Border.”

Recital: Indian Classical Dance Decio Theater 7 p.m.

Bijayini Satpathy performs.

Memorial Mass for John Copeland Nagle Basilica of the Sacred Heart 12:45 p.m.

Service for professor.

Exhibit: “Looking at the Stars” Snite Museum of Art all day Explore collection of Irish art.

Film: “At Eternity’s Gate” Browning Cinema 3 p.m.

Film about Vincent Van Gogh and his artwork.

Peer Consulting Panel Duncan Student Center 4 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Open to all undergrads.

News

ndsmcobserver.com | thursday, september 5, 2019 | The Observer

3

STUDENT SENATE

Senate discusses new GreeNDot proposal

By JACK JERIT News Writer

In a meeting last night in the Lafortune Student Center, the Notre Dame student senate met with Club Coordination Council (CCC) chair Jordan Isner to discuss CCC fund allocation and expenses. It was the first meeting between the two organizations since legislation was passed mandating CCC leadership meet with the senate at least once a semester.

Isner, a senior, explained to the senate the function of the CCC, the process by which it allocates funds to clubs, how it decides which clubs receive cuts or support, how it reallocates funds during the winter and spring, alternative methods to funding clubs, the six types of clubs and the percent of expenses for clubs covered by the Student Union.

Per Isner’s presentation, about 16% of clubs’ total expenses are covered by assistance from CCC funds, as compared to the 31% to 100% of expenses covered by the Student Union for the various student councils, Student Union Board and other student government

Success Continued from page 1

about ever y person who is in that room, whether it’s their first time there or their hundredth. You don’t have to do ever y thing she says and the tips won’t always match your learning st yle, but there is always someone who benefits from the variet y of tips.”

Sophomore Lauren Honkamp, a social work major, agreed the main reason she found the workshops so successful was because of Fox’s charismatic approach to student success.

“I started attending the

Playwright Continued from page 1

Keough. Pieces from the University’s collections, as well as a number of visiting works, will also be displayed.

A gallery of about 50 photographs by Alen MacWeeney will be displayed in the room where Carr will present. MacWeeney has earned praise for his work capturing the lifestyle of Irish Travellers, a traditionally nomadic Irish ethnic group, Hendriksen said.

During regular museum hours, visitors can also engage with an audio portion of the exhibit prepared by the

organizations. The next slide revealed clubs receive 40% of all funds while the student government received 58% of all funds.

Isner explained to the senators at the meeting the 40% figure marked a 3% increase from last year due to legislation passed in the spring, and a substantial amount of CCC’s funds go towards club sports.

These facts and figures prompted a discussion as to whether or not clubs should be appropriated more money. Arguments amongst the senators primarily centered on the number of students these clubs catered towards, whether some of the more expensive clubs such as Men’s Rowing warranted their allocation of funds and other questions addressed toward Isner.

“I was happy to get to talk to senate about how the spring allocation process went last spring,” Isner said after the meeting. “I think it’s important that the CCC remain as transparent as possible with the senate, and I look forward to working with the senate this semester to help clubs as much as possible.”

Once debate had closed on

the CCC presentation, the topic of next week’s meeting with the student union treasurer, senior Christine Arcoleo, was brief ly mentioned. She is representing the Financial Management Board who allocates the previously mentioned 58% of funds for student government.

“For next week, I’m excited to explain to the senate how the Financial Management Board allocates money to the various student union organizations,” Arcoleo said after the meeting, “It will be beneficial for us to have a debate discussing the discrepancies between the CCC’s funding and the student union organization’s funding.”

The next topic of the night was a new resolution S01920-16, which is currently in committee. The resolution would seek to require that “all officials, elected and appointed, enumerated in [the Constitution of the Undergraduate Student Body] must complete a violence prevention training course as recommended by the University’s Gender Relations Center.” GreeNDot is the current recommended program.

The resolution has not

passed. Debate on the bill primarily focused on the usage of the word “must” as opposed to “should,” and potential ramifications to leaders who miss the established deadline. The usage of the word “must” would require punishments to those non-compliant, and “should” makes the resolution highly recommended but not actually required. Other concerns were about how many students would now need to be certified and when to schedule the course.

Senators mentioned explicitly the offices this change would impact include: student body elected officials; the executive cabinet; class council elected officers but not members; Hall President Council’s chairs, presidents and vice presidents; CCC officers but not members; Judicial Council president and vice president but not subordinate members; freshman and hall representatives; all of Freshman Class Council and all of Financial Management Board. There are potentially other offices this would affect as well.

Student body vice president Patrick McGuire, a junior,

supported passing the resolution once it had gone back through constitutional committee to update the wording of the resolution.

“I think having student leaders who are really visible being GreeNDot certified is a great way to have a very visible presence of violence prevention on campus,” McGuire said after the meeting.

In an update from last week, student leaders from Notre Dame, Holy Cross and Saint Mary’s met to discuss potential replacements for the recently-cancelled Midnight Express. The two main ideas f loated was a subsidized ride sharing plan through Lyft or Uber, and a replacement shuttle owned by the University.

Finally, the senate w ill be meeting in t wo weeks w ith Notre Dame Police Chief Keri Kei Shibata and associate v ice president for residential life Heather Rakoczy Russell to discuss the changes to ID card access. The student government w ill also be hosting its student government “First Year Bonanza” this Sunday.

sessions because going into my first year, I was really stressed about the transition to college and how to manage my time, split up my homework and study for tests,” she said. “That was just something I felt unprepared for. Fox was the only person I felt comfortable going to and her tips were simple things that you wouldn’t think of initially but which really helped me not get stressed about my work load and get ever y thing done on time.”

Fox said she utilizes a variet y of methods and strategies in helping students achieve success at the College, even

if they don’t know where to start.

“Students genuinely want to do well, but they don’t always know how to do well so I am able to give them some tools to achieve their goals,” Fox said. “Giv ing them different things to do gives them a ver y concrete way to accomplish what they want.”

Fady said she was able to implement the study skills she learned at one of the workshops to prepare for finals.

“The workshops are ver y strategically planned to correspond w ith what you’re going through in college,” Fady said. “Fox gave us a lot of

useful study tips around finals and I really took ever ything she said to heart, put in a lot of effort, and got high grades on my tests.”

The first workshop is titled “Be Ready to Learn,” Fox said.

“This first meeting is a prev iew: W hat can I get in in 30 minutes which students should have for the first weeks that w ill help them thereafter? ” she said. “It lets students know that we are all in this together and that there are resources available to them. The other sessions are more detailed and more strateg y specific.”

The sessions w ill continue

through November and w ill cover topics ranging from time management to preparing for exams. Each workshop takes place t w ice to ma x imize accessibilit y and they are open to anyone who wants to make their academic year a success.

Fady said the session was helpful in giv ing her a foundation for her success.

“It was really worth it for me to give just 30 minutes of my time to learn things which are fundamental to succeeding in college and beyond,” Fady said.

Snite’s student interns. “[McWeeney] recorded some of the songs and stories [of Travellers] and then the interns transcribed them,” Hendriksen said. “You can take your smartphone to the gallery and listen to some of the songs.”

Carr will be spending two weeks at Notre Dame as a writer-in-residence at the Keough-Naughton Institute teaching play writing and creative writing to English and Film, Television and Theatre (FTT) students.

Students joined her and FTT professor Anne GarciaRomero, english professors Susan Cannon Harris and english professor Joyelle

McSweeney for a roundtable discussion Tuesday night. On Thursday, she will be leading a play writing workshop.

“Students [will] bring a one-page monologue and actually critique each other’s work,” Hendriksen said.

W hile it is Carr’s first time at Notre Dame, she has partnered with the University’s Irish satellites for a number of years. She presented at Keough Naughton’s IRISH, a three-week Irish studies seminar for graduate students, in 2016. Carr has also been a guest lecturer and a summer creative writing instructor at Kylemore Abbey Global Centre, a venue for Notre Dame programming in

Connemara, Ireland.

Hendriksen said she considers Carr’s writing and “Looking at the Stars” natural complements.

“Her work, herself and those paintings and photography together — it’s a whole extraordinary package,” she said.

A question-and-answer session, as well as a public reception, will follow the reading.

Keough-Naughton’s fall speaker series will continue throughout September. On Tuesday at 3 p.m., professor of geography and archaeolog y at the National University of Ireland Kieran O’Conor will deliver a lecture on

ancient Irish settlements in 278 Corbett Hall.

A lecture on Irish writer John McGahern titled “The Letters of John McGahern: A Year in the Life (1970),” lead

by University of Liverpool professor of Irish literature in English Frank Shovlin will take place at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 13.

Tenor Fran O’Rourke and classical guitarist John Feely will perform songs by traditional Irish folk singer James Joyce at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 19.

Both presentations will take place in the “Looking at the Stars” exhibit.

Contact Jack Jerit at jjerit@nd.edu

Contact Mary Mansfield at mmansfield01@saintmarys.edu

Contact Mary Steurer at msteure1@nd.edu

4

NEWS

The observer | thursday, september 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

McKenna Continued from page 1

MARY BERNARD | The Observer

Students visit booths at the Involvement and Resources fair at Saint Mary’s Angela Athletic Center to learn more about organizations.

Activities Continued from page 1

business or even reuniting w ith family.”

Other volunteer groups such as conf lict resolution program TAKE10 were found utilizing the event to get students interested in their program.

“We have volunteers from Holy Cross, Notre Dame and Saint Mar y’s [which] go out into the communit y and teach our conf lict resolution curriculum to kids,” Notre Dame junior Madison Kuehl said.

TAKE10 operates outside of the Robinson Center on Eddy Street. They have been using the tri-campus activit y fairs to recruit for some time, Kuehl said.

“We come to these and get a lot of volunteers,” she said.

The fair is not limited to volunteer groups, but includes sport clubs, such as women’s water polo, as well.

“A lot of people don’t know what water polo is, but I’m teaching them today,” said sophomore and women’s water polo captain Lindsey Shank said. “This is our first year at Saint Mar y’s [career fair] because I’m the captain and I just came to Saint Mar y’s, so I decided to have a table here. We usually just do the activ it y fair at ND, but we’re expanding.”

Other academic clubs such as Physics Club, Math Club and French Club also sent representatives to the event.

“Physics is a small major, and we want to make sure anyone who’s interested in it knows we’re here,” senior Gabi Beach said. “In general, I feel like we’re more of a social club for physics and other STEM majors, to just meet ever yone else in it and feel comfortable to ask for help.”

She said Physics Club is a good option for students interested in exploring engineering.

“Any sort of people who are thinking about engineering, it’s probably a good club to join to just open your options up,” she said.

Junior Mar y Blake said Math Club is dedicated to helping students identif y opportunities related to mathematics.

“Math Club is a studentrun club that promotes math

through the SMC communit y and helps students know what opportunities are out there for people interested in math,” Blake said. “[The Involvement and Resource Fair] helps students know that we have a math club, and know more about what we’re about and what opportunities we have for them.”

The fair also saw some prev iously moribund clubs, such as French Club, make their return to the activ ities scene.

“French Club is something that was started at Saint Mar y’s several years ago, but we haven’t been pursuing French Club for a couple years because it was hard to keep our numbers up,” senior Hailey Cramer-Stevens said. “So we’re just starting the club back up this year and we right now are just organizing things, seeing what people really want on campus.”

Some students who attended the event, such as freshman Sk ye Sharp, said they were seeking to expand their horizons.

“I just wanted to enroll in a bunch of different stuff I wasn’t involved in in high school, and I want to branch out,” she said.

Sophomore Reina Galvan said she felt similarly and regretted not doing more last year.

“I w ish I would have done more last year to get involved this year,” she said.

“So I guess I can start now.”

Veronica Terrell, another sophomore, also said she was tr y ing to expand her involvement from last school year.

“I wasn’t as involved as I wanted to be last year, so I just wanted to see what options I could look into this year,” she said.

Freshman Abigail Hauser said she left the event having signed up to participate in a variet y of organizations represented at the fair.

“I was told I should come and sign up for some things from my upperclassmen friends and here I am,” she said. “I joined the Eco Club, [Societ y of Women Engineers] and I’m thinking about auditioning for the dance team.”

Contact Callie Patrick at cpatrick01@saintmarys.edu

Admissions, the Office of Financial Aid, the Office of Student Accounts, the Office of Student Employment, the Department of Strategic Ser v ices, the Department of Recruitment and Communications and the Department of Div ision Research.

“The additional square footage allows for the entire Enrollment Div ision to be added into the building,” Daly said in an email. “The amount of space dedicated to the conference portion of the building w ill be similar to what the original McKenna Hall contained.”

With regard to the timing of the reconstruction, Daly quoted the adage “there is no time like the present.”

“We know that to wait for a later date in the future to build the building we would see some amount of inf lation,” Daly said. “The Enrollment [Div ision] that is going to be accommodated are presently located

in several buildings and to get them in a single facilit y is appealing. The last point is that while the existing McKenna Hall has ser ved the Universit y well, it was time to make significant investments into the technolog y that was in the building.”

In addition to the conference center, McKenna also housed the Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies.

That group is currently situated in Bond Hall, which prev iously ser ved as home of the Universit y’s architecture program before the School of Architecture moved to Walsh Family Hall.

There currently are no plans for Latino Studies to move back into McKenna Hall when it reopens in 2021, Daly said.

Daly said the tunnel running under Notre Dame Avenue between McKenna Hall and the Morris Inn w ill reopen once the construction is complete.

“The pedestrian tunnel from the Morris Inn w ill be connected to the new

building much like it does at the ex isting building now,” he said. “Presently, it is blocked off and a small portion w ill be removed, then rebuilt once the new building is in place.”

The construction site is self-contained and Daly noted he does not anticipate it w ill significantly impact students, facult y or staff.

VenueND, Notre Dame’s reser vation and event serv ices team, is working to prov ide alternative venues for conferences and special events during the construction, he said.

“We do expect to see a bit more construction traffic on Notre Dame [Avenue] as that is how the contractors w ill access the site, but there is room on the site to contain all of the construction-related equipment and deliveries,” he said.

“Pedestrians can still move east and west along the north side of the site so pedestrian traffic should not be impeded.”

Contact Andrew Cameron at acamero2@nd.edu

Follow us on Twitter. @ObserverNDSMC Paid Advertisement

The observer | thursday, september 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

5

CRISTINA INTERIANO | The Observer

6

The observer | thursday, September 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Napkin math

Inside Column

To my letter writers Evy Stein Viewpoint Editor

Dear Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross community members, The time has finally come for my inside column, and while I’ve been reading these for almost three years as an Observer employee, I’ve felt stumped this week. My peers have written about the everyday, the extraordinary and their pet peeves, but the most excited I got in considering these categories was a cry for help in figuring out how to eat properly while living off campus.

I even consulted inside column queen Maria Leontaras for inspiration, and she suggested I follow along with a Food Network episode. (Maria, no offense, but if I just told you my stomach has been growling eight hours a day, does it really sound like I’m spending a lot of time on meal prep?)

But you know what she did make me realize? I’m avoiding the inevitable.

Some will call it self-centered, and others vengeance, but either way this is my moment to throw a taste of the wackiest, rudest letters to the editor* back at you (*names changed to protect you, even though you sent me much of this nonsense with a signature). For example: Just this Sunday I got to my Observer desk only to find this anonymous note written on a paper towel. While I respect that horoscopes are not loved by all, I am curious what the writer expected as the end result. What it really did make me question, I must admit, is who has access to the Observer office.

Near the end of last semester, I received an email — not even an email really, as all of the content was in the subject line — that said “Whoever [a treasured columnist of mine] is, he has a very good grasp of the obvious from Jim in Dallas.”

OK, Jim. Burn! I’ll be sure to let him know.

I also need to offer a shoutout to the absurd number of emails I have received about a condo association fight in London. We are not The Observer, but The Observer. And even if we were The Observer, do you think Boris Johnson really cares about your mean neighbors and reads The Observer opinion section, Karen?

As you might have guessed, the hottest Viewpoint letter of last semester (which I will not hyperlink) brought a lot of disturbing content to my inbox: Grown men confessing they have had to cancel gym memberships, way too many pictures of “the revealing nature of leggings” and even a Columbus mural x leggings controversy mashup sent from the email of “Christopher O’Leggings.”

Approximately once a month I receive an email that ends with some variation of “You need to get a life!” Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me, Tim. Having said all of this, dear letter writers, I do want to end my coveted spot on a gentler note.

I am your biggest fan. I am impressed so often by the courage you all have to articulate arguments and opinions you know will be immediate dining hall conversations. I, after all, took one of the few jobs on campus that comes with the perfect excuse not to publish my name and opinions.

To those of you who haven’t written in (yet), I also want to say thank you for reading and sharing our content. While it takes writing to fill these pages, it wouldn’t mean much without the engagement and reflection of the audience.

Please don’t forget that there is someone on the other end of the Viewpoint email, and also that your mom might read The Observer. And that your professors almost definitely do.

But please keep sending me those hot takes. I love my job.

With gratitude,

Ben Testani Off-Campus, On Topic

Despite its location in the cheapest real-estate market of major Midwest schools, Notre Dame charges the highest room and board amongst its peers. For my investigation into the costs of living on campus, my first challenge was determining Notre Dame’s peer institutions. Are our peers other top 20 schools, like Cornell and Vanderbilt? Are they other Catholic schools like Georgetown and Villanova? Or are they other flagship Midwestern schools, like those listed above?

There is no one correct answer, but for the purpose of room and board I decided schools in similar cities would be the most accurate comparison.

With the exception of Columbus, Ohio, the cities that host these universities are certainly “college towns” – small to mid-sized cities based around a prominent university. And without fail, Ann Arbor, Bloomington, Urbana-Champaign, and Columbus all have higher median rent rates than South Bend.

Yet, Notre Dame charges the most in room and board by over $3,000.

The second challenge in doing this research was deciding a fair type of rent to compare with room and board. The federal government publishes median rent rates for places ranging in size from studios all the way to four-bedrooms for every core-based statistical area in the nation. I was originally going to compare room and board with four-bedroom rates (which are cheaper) because I lived in a quad for two years on campus, but then I realized some of the women’s hall residents never live in quads at all, and students are less and less likely to stay in one after their freshman year, leading to my selection of two-bedroom rates as my point of comparison.

The third challenge is food, which is not included in the study. The most popular meal plan at Notre Dame allows for 14 swipes per week plus $500 in flex points to be spent at places like Subway and Taco Bell. The University does not itemize food separately from rent on its tuition bills, but it does publish the cost for a guest meal on its website. Lunch is $17 per guest and dinner is $19. If you average these two costs to $18.00 and do some quick napkin math, you can approximate the bill for food at $8,564 (14 swipes * 32 class weeks + $500 flex points) for the year. This leaves actual housing at $7,076, still almost $2,000 more than off-campus living in a twobedroom abode.

A lot jumps out to me from these numbers. One is that the University thought my grab-and-go hauls of seven packs of Cheez-Its was worth $17 while a pack of 45 Cheez-Its costs $11.89 at Costco. Another is how incredibly expensive our on-campus rent is.

Living in a dorm is not like signing a private lease in that your university gets to set parameters that can be much more restrictive than those of a private lease. One such stipulation is when a student can and cannot access their dorm. This year, the majority of students could not move in until Aug. 25, must move out on Dec. 21, cannot return until Jan. 12 and must move out for good on May 9. That means

you only have 236 days of housing, whereas most private leases are typically signed for 12 months at a time. So not only is off-campus living cheaper on a per-year basis, it’s cheaper on a per-day basis as well. The median two-bedroom rent in South Bend comes out to $14.22 per day when divided by 365 days, while the on-campus rate is $29.98 or more than double.

Another facet of on-campus housing is the blatant inequality between the dorms. All students pay the same in room and board, but they do not receive anything close to the same quality of housing. A brand-new double in Baumer Hall, with A/C and keycard access, costs the exact same as a double on the third floor of Alumni Hall, which lacks climate control, an elevator, or, for much of my sophomore year, paper towels to dry your hands. Room sizes, even with the same number of occupants, also vary drastically across campus.

It might not feel like there is an easy solution to the blatant dorm life inequality. Residents of halls like Dunne or Flaherty could be required to pay more than those in Sorin or Alumni. While researching this column, I noticed Michigan’s oncampus housing rates can vary by thousands of dollars based on which type of building and room you live in. However, using this method would cause campus life to further fracture along the lines of income inequality, as those who could afford it would (theoretically) opt for the newer dorms.

Notre Dame could lower the cost of living on campus, which it seems to be planning in a way.

Laundry is going to be free, single rooms won’t be more expensive and new stipends will be available to sophomores and seniors. While these changes are coming too late to make a difference to the class of 2020, they are appreciated nonetheless. They do, however, make me wonder why they waited to implement them for so long. If the administration decided in 2017 that these changes were feasible, why not start them immediately? That decision could have built up some much-needed goodwill as they prepared to further isolate those who choose to move off campus purely out of financial necessity by banning us from hall sports and dances.

It’s hard to look at all these numbers and the costs at other similar campuses and conclude the new three-year on campus requirement is about anything other than more money for Notre Dame.

So, to those in the classes of 2022 and 2023 who are impacted by the new policies, I implore you to vote with your wallet. Move off campus for your senior year. You will have more space to breathe and more freedom over your life.

Best of all, Cheez-Its will no longer cost you $2.43 per pack.

Ben Testani is a senior studying international economics, Arabic and Spanish. He comes to Notre Dame via Central New York and while currently residing off campus, will always be a proud Alumni Dawg. He welcomes feedback at btestani@nd.edu or @BenTestani on Twitter.

The views expressed int his column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Evy Stein senior Sept. 3 Contact Evy at estein@nd.edu The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

CRISTINA INTERIANO | The Observer

The observer | thursday, September 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

7

Recalling the inclusive campus survey Tiffany Rojas Diversity Council

Notre Dame faces the issue of forgetfulness. We forget about the outrage over some new administrative action we read about a few weeks ago. We forget about ‘let’s get a meal sometime’ from three weeks ago. We forget about the impactful seminar we attended last week. We forgot about the results of the Inclusive Campus Student Survey.

It’s easy to get caught up in emotions in the spur of the moment, then have that same passion fizzle out just a few short days or weeks later. Entering my fourth year, I have witnessed it happen with many movements and ideas on campus. It is easy to be forgetful when the issue at hand is not directly impacting you, when you are part of the experience of the majority. In case you forgot (which I am almost certain you did), here are some shocking statistics again. Eighty-five percent of 6,274 respondents is the number of students who either agree or strongly agree with the statement that they feel a sense of belonging on campus. If we flip that number around, that means 15% sit outside that range, or 941 students do not feel a sense of belonging on campus.

This is not a small number by any means, especially not when Notre Dame touts the identity of being a “home under the dome.”

I remember when the survey results first came out. Many were upset. Conversations about the topic arose in short bursts for a few days at a time, and suddenly, almost instantaneously, it all fizzled out.

It was brought up again in a mass email last week, but soon to be forgotten again. That 85% of the student population must be overwhelmingly comprised of the majority of campus in regards to socioeconomic class, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and health condition, because you begin to see a shift in the data in regards to inclusivity as you browse through survey demographics. Changing this statistic requires more than just the 15% to be uncomfortable — the 15% should not feel required to speak for an entire demographic when placed in a room where they are not in the majority. It requires a commitment from the entire student population to create a truly inclusive campus, particularly taking into consideration the fact that the most negatively impactful statements come from students.

Perhaps we forgot because we perceive that creating a true inclusive campus is a difficult task.

Forgetting is easier than creating a change but

forgetting means that the same pain will be felt over and over again. Forgetting means that we do not believe in a “home under the dome” for everyone, and that we do not consider every student a member of the Notre Dame family.

As we enter this new academic year, it’s time to stop forgetting. It’s time to stop putting the pressure of the 85% on the 15%. Notre Dame has a history of complacency, and it is up to everyone to put in their part and stop the cycle and ensure each student finds their home under the dome.

Either we are all Notre Dame, or none of us are.

Tiffany Rojas is a senior majoring in economics and Chinese and can be reached at trojas1@nd.edu The Diversity Council of Notre Dame advocates for awareness, understanding and acceptance on issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and other intersectional identities in the Notre Dame community. The viewpoints expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Diversity Council, but are the individual opinions of the author.

You can contact Diversity Council at wdiversnd@nd.edu The views expressed int his column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Letter to the editor

Life of surprises: Buoniconti Most of this article was written in June of 1992 – the conclusion, last week.

Some people find a little corner in your brain and nestle there forever. They disappear for years at a time, only to reappear unexpectedly when fame, hype or deja vu hauls them back. Nick Buoniconti is one of my mental lodgers. His years at Notre Dame overlapped mine, and he was the brightest light in the darkest era of Notre Dame football - dismal 2-8 and 5-5 seasons in the early 1960s.

My most vivid recollection, however, is off the football field. I often hitchhiked to Notre Dame from my home in Pennsylvania. One cold night, while returning to school from winter break, I was dropped off at a rest stop on the turnpike. There was Nick, standing beside the ramp, silhouetted against a snowy hill, also hitching back to Notre Dame. Hands in pockets, facing the wind he looked like a centurion in his black Notre Dame varsity jacket with the Gold “ND.” I needed another ride and I didn’t have the cachet of that jacket. My method was to stand at the restaurant door and tell them where I was going. It usually worked. I hit quick that night, and on my way out I saw Nick, still there. I remember thinking, “Well, at least I’m riding.”

Although I was aware that Nick had gone on to success in football, he was out of sight and out of mind until the mid-1980s. One Sunday we were sitting at home watching “60 Minutes,” and one of the segments was on snuff. Its focus was pre-teen and teenage boys, mostly athletes who use snuff in imitation of their professional sports heroes. A mother, whose snuff-addicted son had died of lip cancer, was suing the U. S. Tobacco Company for thirty-seven million dollars, claiming the company knew its product was harmful.

All of a sudden, there on the screen was Nick, now

an Executive Vice President at U. S. Tobacco. He had earned a law degree in the off-season while a linebacker with the Boston Patriots, and had gone on to a successful business career when football was over.

Nick was sitting behind a desk looking very official and sweating bullets as he attempted to fend off the accusations and to justify his company’s advertising practices. It was a discouraging performance. It takes guts to sit in front of “60 Minutes” relentless camera; but I was disappointed. What kind of intellectual or moral short circuit brings a bright guy to a situation like that? How do you defend pushing snuff to kids and still sleep peacefully at night? I don’t get it. Sometime after the show aired, the federal government mandated warning messages on snuff packaging. Once more, the memory door slammed shut.

It opened again sometime later, under equally sober, but more sympathetic circumstances. Nick surfaced as subject of a Parade Magazine article on spinal injuries. His son Marc had grown up to be a college football player like his dad – at the Citadel, in his case. While tackling an opponent, Marc suffered a grievous injury that left him almost completely paralyzed and unable to breathe without the help of a respirator.

Nick placed Marc under the care of Dr. Barth Green, founder of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, and promptly raised $5 million dollars to support the project’s work. He has set a goal of raising $30 million more.

Meanwhile, through strenuous effort, Marc trained himself to breathe by using his shoulder muscles instead of his failed diaphragm. He gets around in a motorized wheel chair by blowing on its controls through a straw. A student at Miami University, he gives speeches for the Miami project.

I’m not sure what conclusions are to be drawn

here, but I do have a few observations. Life is complicated and fame no insurance against its dangers.

The Buonicontis, father and son, are tough as hell and if the dysfunctions of spinal injury can someday be overcome, they will deserve part of the credit.

As for Nick, he left U. S. Tobacco, now hosts “Inside the NFL” on HBO Cable, and serves as a board member of The Miami Project. I doubt we’ve seen the last of him.

Sadly, he reappeared last month when, by chance, I encountered his obituary: A 2017 Sports Illustrated article had the back story.

I knew that Nick had played professional football, but was unaware of his outsized fame. Despite 20 years of the roughest football, Nick was grateful to have dodged the bullet of a life-altering injury.

He had, that is until 2009, when old age and latent CTE – the traumatic brain injury now plaguing so many retired football players - caught up with him.

Nick spent the last 10 years of his life dealing with his diminishing capabilities. On the days when he was lucid, he lobbied for greater protections for all football players, and opposed contact football for children under 14.

Nick’s story is rife with irony. As reported by Ron Borges of the Boston Herald, “Buoniconti never blamed football for that pain he, his son and their family shouldered, but faced with what he believes the game has done to him he tells [S. L.] Price [of Sports Illustrated] when asked if he knew then what he knew now would he still play, his answer is damning. “‘The answer would be no,’ he said. ‘I would not play football.’”

Follow us on Twitter. @ObserverViewpnt

John F. Cowan class of 1964 Sept. 1

8

DAILY

The observer | thursday, September 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Crossword | Will Shortz

Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Make the most out of whatever you have to work with. Live in the moment, express your feelings and expectations, and surround yourself with people who will add to your life journey.

Recognize if someone is asking for too much or taking advantage of your generosity, skills and helpful attitude. Call the shots, and see how far you can go. Your numbers are 3, 11, 17, 22, 25, 36, 43.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Go over your assets, possessions, debts and any pending contracts, settlements or decisions that need to be addressed. Refuse to let someone make decisions for you. Do what fits your itinerary instead of always accommodating other people’s needs.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Strive for perfection, and you will be happy with the results. A change is overdue, and with the right people, you should be able to reach your goals. A business trip, meeting or partnership will help you excel. 3 stars GEMINI (May 21-June 20): An opportunity will not be as puffed up as you are led to believe. Ask questions, take a wait-and-see approach, let someone else go first but most of all, protect your heart, money and personal information.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Look at the choices you have, and do what’s best for yourself. Accommodating others will leave you feeling cheated.

It’s time to take care of your needs; strive for what makes you happy.

Personal improvements and romance are favored.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Question offers and options. Following what someone else decides to do and hoping for the best will leave you with little to show for your effort. Explore avenues that show promise and allow you to accentuate what you do best.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Refuse to let anyone stifle your dreams. Be vocal, and take physical action to ensure you get what you want. Your success and your happiness are up to you. Don’t give anyone the right to make decisions for you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Recognize your boundaries and the people who are cheering for you — and those who aren’t. Having a well-rounded view of your situation will encourage you to make decisions that will eliminate some of the stress you are undergoing.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Get on with what’s important to you. Size up your situation, make the changes that will make your life better and focus on who and what’s meaningful to you. Romance will improve your personal experience and living arrangements.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Look at the logistics of a situation before you decide to take part in something questionable. Be careful not to give someone a false impression regarding the way you feel or what you are willing to contribute. Honesty is essential.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Your effort will not be in vain. Plug away at whatever challenge you take on, and your tenacity will help you reach your target. Fitness, physical improvements and nurturing essential relationships will lead to a better life.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Emotional matters will surface if someone has been manipulative or has spent money on things that aren’t necessary. Try to work through any disagreements you have by using reason. If you make a fuss, nothing will be resolved. Keep the peace.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Pitch in and help. The more you do for others, the more you will receive in return. Set high standards, and live up to what’s expected of you. Walk away from people who don’t share your values. Romance is on the rise.

Birthday Baby: You are determined, engaging and strong-willed.

WINGin’ it | OLIVIA WANG & BAILEE EGAN

Sudoku | The Mepham Group

Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek

Write Sports.

Email Connor Mulvena at cmulvena@nd.edu

Work Area

Make checks payable to and mail to: The Observer

P.O. Box 779 Notre Dame, IN 46556

Published Monday through Friday, The Observer is a vital source of information on people and events in the Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross Community.

Join the more than 13,000 readers who have found The Observer an indispensable link to the two campuses. Please complete the accompanying form and mail it today to receive The Observer in your home.

Enclosed is $130 for one academic year Enclosed is $75 for one semester Name Address City State Zip

Sports

ndsmcobserver.com | thursday, SEPTEMBER 5w, 2019 | The Observer

football

Sports Authority

Grandma’s football advice Tom Naatz Sports Writer

“Are you ready for the draft tonight?”

I whispered a quiet expletive under my breath as I read the text. I’d forgotten all about it. But I wasn’t about to let my rival — the most formidable player in the league — know that.

I typed a quick response.

“Yes, of course!” I lied. “It’s at eight, right, Grandma?”

My family’s intense dedication to sports starts all the way at the top with our matriarch, Mrs. Faye Boyle. The 81-yearold former teacher always says she “grew up on sports” and has, for example, religiously followed the New York Yankees since the late 1940s.

So when we established a familial fantasy football league, perhaps it is no surprise she ended up the top dog.

Every year, the draft ends the exact same way. Once all of the picks have been registered Grandma always drops the following phrase of matriarchal wisdom in the family group chat: “As always, my team stinks!”

In a recent interview, she recalled some of the apparent lowlights of her purportedly terrible career at the helm of “Teacher Creature,” named in honor of her 37 years of service to the New Jersey public school system.

“Let’s see, I won once, came in second once, came in third once, and last year I came in fourth,” she remembered.

An envious track record for a seven-year-old, 12-person league. She personally picks her team every year—let’s be real, auto draft is for suckers (I say as I just switched on auto draft for my other league) — and has utilized a variety of strategies over the years, always trying to fine tune her edge as she seeks to vanquish her family fantasy football foes.

“The running back is a very important position,” she advises. “It’s probably the first player who should be picked.

Then a wide receiver. Then look at the quarterbacks. Then another running back, a wide receiver, a tight end, then look at your kickers and defense.

The running backs end up being the most important. I initially thought it was the quarterback. The first few years I picked the quarterback first. But it worked for me.”

While acknowledging the importance of the draft, Grandma cannot stress enough the significance of

9

the waiver wire. She’s already dropped four players she just drafted. For help on this front, she does take outside counsel from an array of sports commentators. A frequent ESPN and Fox Sports viewer, her favorites include Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg (RIP “Mike & Mike”), Colin Cowherd and Stephen A. Smith. She does, however, humbly acknowledge that retirement is an advantage she holds over her progeny.

“I’m very lucky with the waiver wire,” she said. “I can really study it and watch the commentators during the day.

Most people are working.”

Though we are a competitive bunch, I would, of course, be remiss if I didn’t note that she takes her grandmotherly role far more seriously than her fantasy football hobby.

“Hi Tom,” she texted me once last season on a Thursday afternoon. “I just wanted to let you know two of your starters have byes this week. You might want to look at that.

Love you.” Nevertheless, she gets into the zone on Sunday.

“I get very competitive on Sunday afternoons, I’ll be honest with you,” she said. “I watch all the teams that are playing. I keep close tabs on who is giving me points and who’s disappointing me,” she says, somewhat ominously for any and all players on her team.

Regarding her thoughts on her recently-drafted squad, Grandma is sticking to the traditional line. “That’s a loaded question,” she said tersely when I asked how her team — headlined by Matt Ryan and Josh Gordon — was going to fare this year. The problem? The cosmic injustice that is the twelfth pick in a snake draft.

“Here’s the thing, Tom, you pick twice right away,” she lamented. “I couldn’t pick fast enough. I didn’t put any players in my queue. I made fast judgements. Accordingly, my team is not looking too good,” she declares.

Then she pauses. “Though, of course,” she continues, her voice assuming the mischievous tone of a teacher who has caught two students passing notes in class, “the last time I had the twelfth pick, I won.”

Challenge accepted. See you on the field, Grandma.

Contact Tom Naatz at tnaatz@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Armstrong out up to two months with groin injury Observer Sports Staff

The Notre Dame roster took another hit this week.

Junior running back Jafar Armstrong is expected to miss considerable amounts of the season following a groin injury he sustained on Monday against Louisville, according to Pete Sampson of the Athletic.

After fair-catching the kickoff, Armstrong returned to action against the Cardinals (0-1) following the opening snap of the game, rushing five yards and earning a first down for the Irish (1-0). On the very next snap, he cut across the middle to catch a pass from senior quarterback Ian Book and continued on for a total of 16 yards before being brought out of bounds in the red zone.

Upon getting up, however, he seemed uncomfortable and in pain. He remained in the game for one more snap, getting the Irish to the 3-yard line before sophomore running back sophomore Jahmir Smith subbed in.

Armstrong would not return to the field for the remainder of the game.

Sampson tweeted the understanding within the football program is that Armstrong could “miss up to two months, with a fiveweek layoff the optimistic timeline.”

Armstrong has distinguished himself as the leader of the running back corps featuring himself, senior Tony Jones Jr. and Smith.

Jones Jr. described the trio as a “1-2-3 punch“ following Monday’s 35-17 win.

After redshirting his freshman season, Armstrong made his mark on Irish football this past year. When former running back Dexter Williams was suspended for four games due to a violation of team rules, Armstrong got the start against Michigan and Ball State, rushing for 35 and 66 yards, respectively, as well as three combined touchdowns.

He continued to be a presence for the offense before being sidelined ahead

of Stanford’s visit to South Bend due to a severe knee infection. After having surgery on the site of the infection and nearly missing the entire month of October, Armstrong returned against Nav y until the end of the season, but fell down the depth chart from the time he lost.

He’s proven himself as a dual threat to the opposing team’s defense. In addition to 383 rushing yards, Armstrong recorded 159 receiving yards last season, making him the sixth-highest receiver on the team and the highest among running backs.

The loss of Armstrong means the Irish will have to rely more heavily on Jones Jr. and Smith, as well as freshman back Kyren Williams, throughout the first half of the season. Both Jones Jr. and Smith showed promise against Louisville as Smith rushed for two touchdowns on eight attempts and Jones Jr. recorded a touchdown of his own to go along with his team-leading 110 yards.

EMMA FARNAN | The Observer

Irish junior running back Jafar Armstrong carries the ball during Notre Dame’s 35-17 season-opening win over Louisville. Armstrong injured his groin in the game and is expected to miss at least a month.

The Observer accepts classifieds every business day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Notre Dame office, 024 South Dining Hall. Deadline for next-day classifieds is 3 p.m. All classifieds must be prepaid. The charge is 5 cents per character per day, including all spaces. The Observer reserves the right to edit all classifieds for content without issuing refunds.

10

Sports

The observer | thursday, september 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Riley Continued from page 12

as a player or as a student, but as an indiv idual and how you would develop over your time there.”

W hen he was offered the head job at his alma mater, Riley claimed that his familiarit y w ith the soccer program’s culture was one of the driv ing factors behind his decision to accept.

“During the inter v iew process, I got the sense that ever yone, from [athletic director] Jack Swarbrick to [Universit y president] Fr. [John] Jenkins, was focused on doing things the right way,” Riley said. “For me, working w ith great people ever y day, working at a school where I believe in the mission and the way they treat students, and the abilit y to compete at the highest level of the sport, it was just the perfect combination.”

In addition to his passion for Irish soccer, Riley’s track record of success in prev ious coaching jobs made him an ideal fit as Clark’s successor. After working as an assistant at Oberlin College and St. John’s Universit y in 2004 and 2005, respectively, he ser ved as a Notre Dame assistant under his former head coach from 2006-2011.

In 2012, Riley headed to Hanover, New Hampshire to be an assistant at Dartmouth College, but when the team’s head coach resigned at the end of the season, Riley was promoted. After a difficult first year at the helm in which his squad went 6-7-4, Riley turned the program around and led the team to four consecutive Iv y League titles.

Riley made an immediate impact in his first year at Notre Dame, guiding the Irish to the quarterfinals of the College Cup. W hen discussing his leadership st yle, Riley explained that success is often derived from instilling a sense of purpose.

“The env ironment that we tr y to create as a coaching staff is certainly one that’s educational,” Riley said.

“We’re going to show our players the way but we can’t put the work in for them. We also know that players are sometimes going to make mistakes, but our job is to help them learn and grow

from them.”

Riley also knows that for his team to continue to ascend, his entire group must buy into his team first mentalit y.

“I think one of the biggest things I learned in my first head coaching job is that success often depends on how tight a team is, meaning how much they want to work for one another,” Riley said.

“That’s also one of the most important things I learned under Bobby [Clark]. With him, it was always about the team as a whole, and I think that was a major part of his success. It’s not just going to be five or six guys or even the starting eleven. It takes an entire team to be successful, and we need our entire squad motivated and working towards the same goal.”

Riley also knows the expectation at Notre Dame is for teams to compete for national championships, and his group w ill be no exception.

“As a coaching staff, we want make sure that we are aspirational,” he said. “We are not going to set the bar low. We want to win every game we play in and when we don’t we are going to evaluate and figure out how we move forward from there.”

Riley believes to reach the top of college soccer, his program will have to focus on one year at a time.

“As a coach of course I’m always recruiting and trying to plan for the future, but the most important thing for the team is to focus on one practice at a time, one game at a time, one year at a time,” he said.

W hen asked what his team needs to do this season to advance further in the NCAA tournament, Riley discussed the importance of his players focusing more intently on the biggest games of the season.

“The margins in a knockout tournament like the College Cup are so small, so you have to make sure your players are locked in in those do or die moments,” Riley said. “You also have to make sure that you are always knocking on the door. Every year, we want to always be competing with the best and positioning ourselves to win at the highest level.”

Contact Colin Capece at ccapece@nd.edu

Please recycle The Observer.

XC Continued from page 12

“The women have been there and done that as far as top ten finishes go, so there is a bigger expectation because of what we have done in the last three or four years,” Sparks said. “The women will try to repeat their recipe for success heading into this year.”

Captain Anna Rohrer, who was redshirted in her freshman year and is now a graduate student, will be the one of the most vital runners on the team.

“She carries a lot of the load on her as far as the leadership and performance,” Sparks said.

Rohrer, a four-time NCAA All American, has placed in the top ten nationally three times. While she hopes to continue that success this year, she will need help if the women hope to compete on the national stage. The team will likely have to look to young talent ready to toe the start line.

Sophomore Jackie Gaughan was one of the top runners last year. She showed promise on the track in the offseason, posting the fastest freshman regular season time in the country in the 10K. Freshman Maddy Denner, who enrolled at Notre Dame in December, will also help contribute to the team’s success.

Denner was a 10K qualifier on the track and will look to carry the momentum from the track to the cross country course.

Denner and Gaughan look to Rohrer as a mentor.

“[Rohrer] does a great job mentoring Maddy and Jackie, who we have a lot of expectations for from a performance standpoint,” Sparks said.

While the women’s side is used to the national attention, it will be a new experience for the men’s squad. The men’s team surprised many by winning the ACC last year and qualifying for the national meet. There will be a different type of pressure on them this season, though.

“The exciting thing I’m looking for is watching the men grow and take that next step to be a top 10 team,” Sparks said. “They didn’t have any expectations on them a year ago, and now the whole conference and much of the country is curious how they are going to react to being one of those upper echelon teams.”

Sparks is confident the men will respond well to the expectations placed on them.

“They’ve got a really good blend of veteran leadership to go along with talented younger guys, so it’s a good recipe for success,” Sparks said.

The men are led by captains senior Kevin Salvano and graduate student Tony Williams and are complemented by the younger talent of junior Yared Nuguse and sophomore Danny Kilrea. Nuguse was the NCAA 1500m champion in the spring and Kilrea was an All-American and one of the top freshman cross country runners in the nation last season.

Sparks said another talented runner is redshirt freshman Dylan Jacobs. Jacobs was Paid Advertisement

a member of the first place Distance Medley Relay team in track, and his offseason training is preparing him well for the cross country distance.

Jacobs was a high school phenom, winning the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in 2017. Sparks said it will be fun to see what he can do with the longer distances of college cross country.

The ACC Championship team from last year only graduated one of its top seven runners, so there is depth across the board as well.

The first official meet of the season is the Crusader Invitational Friday at Valparaiso.

Sparks said both teams will hold out their top runners and use the meet to see the younger talent and make redshirt decisions.

“The big meet on our schedule that both teams are looking forward to is the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Friday, Oct. 4,” Sparks said.

The race will take place at the Burke Golf Course on the southwest side of Notre Dame’s campus. Both teams will race their top runners in this high profile meet featuring 12 of the top 30 teams in the country.

When asked about his goals for the season ahead, Sparks said finishing top 10 at the national meet is his aim.

“Both teams are always going to contend for an ACC Championship,” Sparks said.

Contact Nate Moller at nmoller2@nd.edu

Sports

Belles Continued from page 12

shutout performance.

In the second game of the season, Stackhouse had her second straight two-goal performance and led the Belles to a 3-2 victory over visiting Earlham. It is the first time the Saint Mary’s team has started 2-0 since the 2011 season, and the entire coaching staff expressed satisfaction with the team.

“I think it just goes to show that the plan that the coaching staff and I put in place almost three years ago during my first season came together,” Urquhart said. “It was a slow process, but we worked hard to find the right studentathletes for our college and for our program. We’re starting to see the benefits of finding the right student-athletes.

I think it’s exciting, myself, the coaching staff, and our few upperclassmen that we have; they’re excited, we’re excited by the fact that this is a group that we’re going to get to work with for essentially three years. It doesn’t change what we do necessarily, it just allows us to develop a slightly more long-term plan specific to their development as a group.”

While Stackhouse has gotten off to a hot start this season, Saunders is expected to be a key contributor to their

Mabrey Continued from pagE 12

gaining critical in-game experience on the bench. She then moved onto Louisiana State University as the director of recruiting. With three years in three different roles, her range of experience made her a candidate for a job at a strong program like Notre Dame.

McGraw said Mabrey’s drive as a competitor is what drew her to see Mabrey as an assistant coach.

“She was a competitor but she was always encouraging, she was a great leader,” McGraw said. “She was the one telling everybody in the huddle, ‘We are going to be OK, don’t worry about coach yelling at you.’ She was a leader in the locker room and had a great IQ. She has a really good head for the game.”

In addition to her competitiveness and basketball knowledge, McGraw said she believes Mabrey’s ability to relate to her players will be an asset.

“It is nice to have someone that recruits can relate to,”

ndsmcobserver.com | thursday, september 5, 2019 | The Observer

success. Urquhart noted the junior has played exceptionally well even after being moved from the center back position to midfield.

Looking ahead this season, the Belles have a tough schedule, but Urquhart believe such tests will only enable the team to grow further.

“I feel good, I think this year one of our goals is to make the conference tournament which the program hasn’t done in a number of years,” Urquhart said. “We have some younger players that complement our roster and lineup along with some quality returners, so we definitely feel like our goal of making the conference tournament this season is attainable.”

While things are looking up for Saint Mary’s on the pitch, the Belles golf team will also look to make noise this fall. In the opening Lynn Schweizer Invitational, the Belles got off to a good start by finishing tied for third out of 12 teams.

With the solid finish to open the season, and following last season’s success, head coach Kim Moore expressed eagerness to further propel her girls forward.

“Last season, we broke a lot of school and conference records; we finished the best we’ve finished since I’ve coached here at Nationals, which is a huge success for us,” Moore said. “I’m super excited about this year

because we have that core coming back along with some very talented and very committed incoming freshmen.

So, I’m super excited about what’s to come. Just being a young team and having some excitement, I’m hoping for some good things this year.”

The team is comprised of seven freshman, three sophomores, and two juniors.

Juniors Hunter Kehoe and Summer Stillson will stand in as the leaders for a Saint Mary’s team without any senior leadership.

Moore discussed the significance of having her juniors on the team.

“Kehoe came off of last year being our conference MVP as a sophomore and also Stillson came off of last season being a First-Team All-Conference selection,” Moore said. “I definitely expect some really good things from them this year; being leaders for our team and also being leaders on the course. They put in a lot of effort over this offseason that I’ve definitely seen so far and I’m looking for some good things from them going into our conference season and also in our spring.”

For Moore, coaching is a passion she said she’s grateful to be able to do on a daily basis.

“It’s honestly a dream of mine to coach college athletics, and having the opportunity to coach at Saint Mary’s

McGraw said. “Somebody that they have just seen play.

They know [her sister] Marina [Mabrey] and they know Michaela because of that. I think she has the energy of somebody that has played in this system exactly the way we’re playing now. She’s been to three Final Fours so she understands the stress, she understands the academic pressure. She can really relate to the players.”

In addition to relationships with the players, Mabrey has close ties to current coaching staff. Mabrey played under McGraw and both current associate head coaches Carol Owens and Beth Cunningham.

Mabrey emphasized that while the relationship will be different, the experience they have together can only help.

“It’s definitely different now,” Mabrey said. “They have so much experience. When I was a player I could see that, but in this type of role you really see it. I’m just excited to learn from them. They all have been at different places, besides Coach McGraw of course. I’m excited to learn from them.”

After moving three times and working in athletic offices all over the country, Mabrey emphasized she is eager to return to Notre Dame and had an intense reaction to being offered the position.

“I cried, I was super excited,” Mabrey said. “I did not think I would get this opportunity this quickly, this young. It was such a surreal moment for me.

Being here, and then having to step away but still feeling like I was here because Marina was here. I missed it. It was an incredible moment.”

Now that she is back on campus, Mabrey said her love for Notre Dame has not faded, and she is ready to get to work.

“I love this place,” Mabrey said. “I had the best four years here, I have so many good memories and am still friends with almost all of my teammates. It was an incredible four years that I loved.

It’s a place that I truly love. I love Coach McGraw, she is incredible in so many different ways. I am just so excited to be back.”

Contact Jack Concannon at jconcan2@nd.edu

is just an opportunity that is once in a lifetime,” she said.

“I’m just super excited to be here. The community that’s here at Saint Mary’s, and the passion they have for our student athletes is so awesome to have. And the support we have from not just our athletic department but everybody in our community is extremely helpful. It’s been a great seven years and I expect some great things in the future.”

The fall schedule could be challenging for any team, but especially one as young as the Belles. But Moore expects her three sophomores to step up as leaders more than they already have — they’ll help incoming freshman considering they will all be studying abroad in the spring semester, Moore said.

“Our schedule in the fall is typically pretty competitive,” she said. “We have a lot of our conference events that we have to host and attend in the fall, so typically that season is full of conference rounds where we play a lot of our conference schools. The tournament we’re always looking forward to is our last one in the fall which is our conference championship. We are looking to hopefully do what we did last year and win the conference by 100 and some strokes, so looking to defend that title and always looking to participate. I think this first conference jamboree

11

coming up is a big one too just to kind of get to see a lot of our conference schools that we will be seeing towards the middle and end of our season so this first one coming up is going to be an important one as well just to set the tone and to keep going where we left off. I’m looking forward to that event.”

The first MIA A Conference Jamboree will be held at the Pine River Country Club on Sept. 14. However, the Belles first have the Olivet College – Kyle Campbell Invite this Friday and Saturday at The Medalist Golf Club in Marshall, Michigan.

Overall, Moore said, playing any college sport to begin with is both commendable and incredibly helpful in terms of future career plans and jobs.

“Being a golfer here at Saint Mary’s … we’re a very competitive sport here and participating in our program can definitely help your game going forward,” Moore said.

“Golf is a sport you can play for the rest of your life and being competitive in that sport can also open a lot of doors and opportunities as well, especially for female golfers. It’s definitely a great opportunity to be a part of and it’s just neat to see when our alumni have been successful.”

Contact Grant DelVecchio at gdelvecc @nd.edu

ANNA MASON | The Observer

Belles sophomore forward Rose Stackhouse looks to blow by her defender during Saint Mary’s 2-1 loss to Anderson on Sept. 4.

Follow us on Twitter. @ObserverSports

12

The observer | thursday, september 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

nd Cross Country

ND Men’s Soccer

Irish ready to make run at Riley brings focused mentality national championships

By COLIN CAPECE Sports Writer

Passionate.

Purposeful.

Intense.

Second year head coach Chad Riley chose these three words to describe the way he wants his 11th-ranked Irish to play this season following a 3-2 road w in against St. Louis on Saturday. But these words also effectively explain how Riley has reached this point in his coaching career, why he found success his first year as Notre Dame’s leader and how he plans to deliver the second national championship in program histor y.

After legendar y head coach Bobby Clark decided to retire follow ing the 2017 season, Riley was hired in Januar y 2018. However, Riley’s Notre Dame connection was established nearly t wo decades before. The Houston, Texas native was a midfielder for the Irish

from 2000-2003 and played for Clark from 2001-2003 in his first three seasons at the helm. Riley tallied 32 assists in his career, which ranks second in program histor y, and also ser ved as an assistant team captain in his senior season.

“I certainly have a lot of love and a lot of pride for this place, which makes it so enjoyable to come in and coach ever y day,” Riley said in a phone inter v iew.

For Riley, it’s clear Notre Dame is a place that feels like home. W hen asked what attracted him to South Bend as a player, he discussed how the Universit y and the soccer program stood out from other places.

“W hen I was going through the recruiting process, I felt that ever yone I met here was just a little bit different,” Riley said. “Ever yone was concerned not just about you see RILEY PAGE 10

By NATE MOLLER Sports Writer

CONNERY McFADDEN | The Observer

Irish junior distance runner Yared Nuguse runs in the National Catholic Cross Country Invitational at Burke Golf Course Sept. 14.

It’s a cool, breezy fall day and the smell of fallen leaves and golf fairways spread through the air.

Hundreds of runners toe the line, anxious for the gun to go off and the race to begin.

The Notre Dame men’s and women’s cross country teams express eagerness for their seasons to begin, as both teams primed for successful seasons. There are high expectations for both squads, as indicated in the preseason ACC coaches poll. The men’s team is ranked first in the ACC and the women’s team is ranked second.

The national polls also have the men’s and women’s teams ranked No. 9 and No. 11, respectively.

With these high expectations come lofty goals for the season.

Matt Sparks, director of cross country, said the women are used to these expectations as they have competed on the national stage in recent years. see XC PAGE 10

Saint mary’s soccer, golf

ND Women’s basketball

Young Belles Mabrey thrilled to be back programs on rise with the Irish again

By JACK CONCANNON

By GRANT DelVECCHIO

Sports Writer

Sports Writer

Irish women’s head coach Muffet McGraw announced Aug. 26 that former Irish guard Michaela Mabrey is returning to the program as an assistant coach.

After her graduation in 2016, Mabrey was unsure what she wanted to do w ith her play ing career. She credits McGraw for putting her on the path towards coaching.

“W hen I was done playing I did not know what I wanted to do,” Mabrey said.

“I was going to go play overseas for a little bit then kind of changed my mind. Coach McGraw was the one who told me, ‘You would be a really great coach.’ I started at Miami doing player development, and that’s where I knew that I wanted to coach.”

After working at Miami, Mabrey moved onto Miami of Ohio as an assistant coach,

Observer File Photo

see MABREY PAGE 11

Former Irish guard Michaela Mabrey beats her defender during Notre Dame’s 90-84 loss to Stanford in the 2016 NCAA tournament.

With the fall season underway, the Saint Mary’s Belles soccer team and head coach Jesse Urquhart plan on picking up right where they left off last year.

While the Belles finished last season 1-7 in the conference and 6-12 overall, those six wins totaled five more than the previous season. In fact, dating back to the 201516 season, the Belles had only won four games total in the three seasons leading up to last year. With the team on the rise, Urquhart believes the youthfulness of his squad poses as an advantage.

“We essentially return the majority of our roster from last season, and so although we’re still a young team coming out of last season, we look at this year as a group of players that for the next couple of years will get to grow together,” Urquhart said.

The Belles will be young for the foreseeable future, too, as

the team this year has just two seniors and one junior. Coach Urquhart expressed optimism for the youth on the roster.

“We didn’t graduate anyone last year, we are a very young team,” Urquhart said. “But a young team that took a lot of strides on the field and off the field.”

This season, the Belles are already off to a solid start having won both of their opening matches. In the opener, the team recorded a convincing 2-0 shutout victory over the Bluffton College Beavers.

Sophomore forward Rose Stackhouse scored both goals in the contest, the second of which came off an assist from junior defender Megan Saunders.

Also of note, freshman forward Brandi Muys recorded her first collegiate point after serving up an assist to Stackhouse right before halftime. Senior goalie Thallia Robles made seven saves en route to her third career see BELLES PAGE 11