Print Edition for The Observer for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

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Volume 56, Issue 2 | WEdnesday, August 25, 2021 | ndsmcobserver.com

Jenkins reflects on pandemic during homily University President opens academic year speaking on day’s readings and Albert Camus’ ‘The Plague’

By ADRIANA PEREZ Editor-in-Chief

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, novels about widespread disease flew off the shelves. Popular among them were copies of Albert Camus’ “The Plague,” and University President Fr. John Jenkins was one of the many people who felt drawn to read it.

Jenkins served as presider and homilist during the 2021-2022 academic year Opening Mass held Tuesday evening. In his homily, he shared the lessons he’d gathered from reading the 1947 novel about a fatal plague in a French Algerian town.

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart — where the Mass was moved to from the stadium due to a heat

advisory — was standing room only as attendees listened on.

“The plague steals from each of [the] characters an imagined future from themselves...,” Jenkins said. “Camus’ fictional plague in Oran was much more deadly than our COVID-19 pandemic. Still, it’s easy to see, in the novel, echoes of our experience in the past year.”

Disease, deaths, pervasive fear, isolation, uncertainty and lost futures all resonate with what many have experienced during the pandemic, he said.

Resignation and despair would be expected reactions in the midst of such suffering, Jenkins said. But the opposite happens in Camus’ novel: Doctor Bernard Rieux attends patients tirelessly, see HOMILY PAGE 3

Trader Joe’s opens South Bend location

ADRIANA PEREZ | The Observer

The Opening Mass for the 2021-22 academic year was presided by University President Fr. John Jenkins in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Tuesday. His homily centered around Albert Camus’ “The Plague.”

University offers update on health, safety protocols Observer Staff Report

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published online Aug. 8.

In an email to the Notre Dame community Friday, University provost Marie

EVAN MCKENNA | The Observer

Store associates and patrons stand outside of the new Trader Joe’s location following its grand opening ceremony on Friday.

By EVAN McKENNA Managing Editor

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published online Aug. 24.

Despite the 6:30 a.m. wake-up call, energy was high for the opening of a new grocery store in South Bend: Trader Joe’s.

In the early hours of Friday morning, South Bend residents and tri-campus

NEWS PAGE 3

students began trickling into a freshly-paved parking lot off Howard Street. A line formed many hours before the scheduled opening and slowly grew in size. As the 8 a.m. ceremonial ribbon cutting drew closer, the Notre Dame Glee Club provided live music for the eager crowd.

All this fanfare celebrated the grand opening of the see TRADER JOE’S PAGE 4

viewpoint PAGE 8

Lynn Miranda announced updated health and safety protocols for the fall semester.

“In our planning, we have worked closely with Dr. Mark Fox, deputy health commissioner for St. Joseph County, as well as other public health

officials, and have reviewed recent guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control,” the email said.

Miranda said the protocols were decided upon due to the high vaccination rates among see UPDATE PAGE 4

Saint Mary’s announces COVID guidelines for fall Observer Staff Report

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published online Aug. 13.

Saint Mary’s announced campus guidelines for the fall semester Friday in an email to the campus community from interim vice president for Student Affairs Gloria Jenkins and vice president for enrollment management and COVID response chair Mona Bowe.

“Our goal has been to create a fall semester that is full of the typical

scene PAGE 10

activities and traditions of the season, while continuing to consider CDC and Indiana Department of Health guidelines,” the email said.

The email said guidelines were influenced by high vaccination rates from students, faculty and staff following the College’s decision to mandate the COVID vaccine.

“We are pleased to report that, as of August 12, 92% of employees are vaccinated and over 88% of students are vaccinated, with additional individuals submitting

proof of vaccination every day,” the email said.

Therefore, the school has been able to reinstate some campus activity. The campus has removed plexiglass from the tables in the Noble Family Dining Hall, classrooms have been restored to their regular configurations and fully vaccinated students will not be required to wear masks in residence halls.

College FootBall PAGE 15

w soccer PAGE 16

see GUIDELINES PAGE 3

2

TODAY

The observer | WEdnesday, august 25, 2021 | ndsmcobserver.com

Question of the Day: ndsmcobserver.com

Have a question you want answered?

Email photo@ndsmcobserver.com

Any advice for new students?

P.O. Box 779, Notre Dame, IN 46556 024 South Dining Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 Editor-in-Chief Adriana Perez Managing Editor Evan McKenna

Asst. Managing Editor: Isabella Volmert Asst. Managing Editor: Colin Capece Asst. Managing Editor: Nelisha Silva

Notre Dame News Editor: Alysa Guffey Saint Mary’s News Editor: Genevieve Coleman

Viewpoint Editor: Abby Patrick

Sports Editor: Mannion McGinley

Scene Editor: Aidan O’Malley

Photo Editor: Allison Thornton

Graphics Editor: Maggie Klaers

Social Media Editor: Veronica Navarro

Advertising Manager: Landry Kempf

Ad Design Manager: Maggie Klaers

Systems Administrator: Stephen Hannon Talent & Inclusion Manager: Nelisha Silva

Helen Rothfus

Sarah Honegger

sophomore Breen-Phillips Hall

junior Welsh Family Hall

“Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to people.”

“Find a good reliable study spot.”

Kiera Murphy

Lauren Gaertner

junior Welsh Family Hall

junior Welsh Family Hall

“Make one friend in every class and get their number.”

“Put yourself out there.”

Koryn Isa

Campbell Waters

sophomore McGlinn Hall

senior Le Mans Hall

“Don’t be afraid to reach out to professors.”

“Tune into DJ N/A radio show.”

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

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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 any 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.

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Alysa Guffey Bella Laufenberg

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Maggie Klaers

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Abby Patrick

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Courtesy of Shay Jolly / Saint Mary’s College

The tri-campus class of 2025 arrived to campus on Friday to take part in Welcome Weekend, an orientation program now hosted by the newly formed St. André Bessette Committee. A group of Saint Mary’s first-year students poses for a photo before Domerfest.

The next Five days:

Want your event included here?

Email news@ndsmcobserver.com

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Information Session: Social Concerns Seminar Geddes Hall 4 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Join us to hear more.

Gallery Tour online 12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Take a virtual interactive art tour, “Three of a Theme.”

Book Panel Jenkins Nanovic Hall Rm 1030 12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Free and open to the public.

Sample the Snite Snite Museum of Art 2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Stop by to sample all the Snite has to offer.

Basilica Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart 10 a.m. & 12 p.m.

All are invited and welcome.

Art Attack DeBartolo Perfoming Arts Center 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

All are welcome to attend.

Jim Dine: American Icon Reception Snite Museum of Art 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Complimentary refreshments offered.

Basilica Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart 5:15 p.m.

All are invited and welcome.

Daily Rosary Grotto 6:45 p.m.

Come to the grotto to join in the daily rosary.

All are welcome.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Irish Green 7:30 p.m.- 10:30 p.m.

Everyone welcome.

Tickets required.

News

ndsmcobserver.com | Wednesday, August 25, 2021 | The Observer

3

Nine residence halls welcome new rectors

By RYAN PETERS Associate News Editor

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published online Aug. 20.

As the 2021-22 school year gets underway, nine rectors are settling into life in their new positions at the heart of Notre Dame campus life. Six are first-time rectors, and three are returning rectors in new positions.

Incoming Keenan Hall rector Bobby Nichols had never stepped foot on the campus, laden with landmarks such as the Golden Dome and Touchdown Jesus, until he began his position this summer.

“I feel almost in some ways excited just like a first year student is excited to see, ‘what is this place?’”

Nichols said.

Hailing from Louisville, Kentucky, Nichols’ passion for Catholic education led him to seek out a rector position at Notre Dame. He graduated from Xavier University in 2013 with a Bachelor’s degree in Theology before returning to his high school alma mater where he directed retreats and taught theology. Before becoming the rector of Keenan Hall, Nichols attended a two-year Master’s program in Theology at Villanova University.

Nichols said he’s excited to experience the Keenan Hall community and learn from the students and

Guidelines Continued from page 1

Masking All members of the community are encouraged to carry a mask with them at all times and be prepared to wear it when required. Community members are also welcome to wear a mask in situations in which it is not required and any time they prefer to do so, the email said.

Starting the first day of classes, on Monday, Aug. 23, through Sept. 30, all students — regardless of vaccination status — and unvaccinated faculty will be required to wear a mask in the classroom. Vaccinated faculty will have the option to remove their mask if they consider it best for student learning that they teach without one, and if they are able to social distance in the classroom.

Individuals who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated are required to wear a mask at all times indoors.

The College stated that an individual is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their final COV ID vaccination dose has been received.

In addition, the email said athletes will follow NCA A and/or MIA A masking guidelines.

Classroom and common area capacities All fall 2021 courses will

hall staff how he can best serve the dorm.

“While I’m the rector and supposed to be leading the charge, in reality, the men of Keenan Hall have lived here and experienced Keenan and Notre Dame more than I have,” he said. “And so there’s a lot that I had to learn from them and with them.”

After attending Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, the new rector of Farley Hall, Tricia McCarthy, participated in the Notre Dame Echo Graduate Service Program, living in an intentional faith community and earning her Master’s degree in Theology. Her experience in the Echo program further piqued her interest in ministry and eventually led her to discern the rector position at Notre Dame after serving as director of campus ministry at Butler University.

Since hearing about the residence hall tradition during her time in the Echo program, McCarthy is excited to finally experience what life on campus as an undergraduate is like.

“I’m really excited to get to know the women of Farley Hall and walk with them as they experience Notre Dame and to learn what it means, what an undergraduate experience at Notre Dame looks like,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said she anticipates facing some challenges as the campus community recovers

from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think that a challenge we’ll face this year is learning how to be together again, and what that looks like in a way that brings out the best parts of Notre Dame and each other,” she said.

Keough Hall rector Gabe Griggs returns to Notre Dame after graduating from the University in 2014 and serving as an assistant rector in Dillon Hall. A South Bend native, Griggs will be ordained as a Holy Cross priest in April 2022.

Griggs said he hopes he can help the men of Keough develop their talents to be of service to others and witness growth in their daily lives.

“As residents of a residential community, the men of Keough have the opportunity to share life together, in its triumphs and tragedies, and in the glory of the mundane aspects that go into daily life,” Griggs said in an email. “It is my great joy to be in the midst of that mundanity and to be a witness to the way in which young people at this university grow into a fuller human and Christian maturity.”

Azucena “Ceni” De La Torre will take over as the new rector of Badin Hall. De La Torre grew up in Chicago and attended DePaul University, working in campus ministry there before becoming a rector.

In Fisher Hall, Joey Quinones steps in to serve as rector,

be taught in person, and remote access to classes will not be offered. Students who are sick should follow the College’s normal practice for missed classes. For more information, students should refer to the student handbook.

In nearly all cases, capacity has been reset to normal except for certain classrooms being spaced to allow for social distancing as necessary.

Chapels and sacred spaces will be open for the Saint Mary’s campus community, per the email.

Center.

Screening tests for students and employees who are not fully vaccinated or who have received an exemption will begin the week of Aug. 23.

Daily health check and dashboard The daily health check survey should only be completed if a student is diagnosed with COV ID, develops COV ID symptoms or has been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COV ID, the email said.

The COV ID-19 cases dashboard on the Saint Mary’s website will be updated following the first day of classes.

Re-entry testing screening

and

All students who are not fully vaccinated or who have received an exemption from the vaccine will be required to provide a negative PCR test and a rapid antigen test upon arrival. Students must sign up online with the Health and Counseling

Visitors and residence hall guests All Saint Mary’s students, faculty and staff will have access to residence hall common areas and rooms.

Guest and other tri-campus community members are not allowed in residence halls or in rooms, except during movein.

The College will allow visitors on campus and ask that they honor the College’s and local health guidelines.

In addition, all visitors will be required to wear a mask indoors regardless of their vaccination status.

“As a reminder, members of the tri-campus community are not considered visitors and must follow Saint Mary’s masking and other protocols while on campus,” the email said.

The email also acknowledged the Delta variant.

“We are all aware that the Delta variant is aggressive and contagious,” the email said.

“We ask for your patience and cooperation as we nav igate a brand new set of challenges.”

filling the shoes of Rick Mazzei who stepped down in May 2021 after seven years as the Fisher rector.

Quinones graduated from Notre Dame in 2018 and earned his master’s in education in 2020 through the ACE program, where he taught fifth graders in Tulsa, Oklahoma for two years.

After stepping down as Fisher rector, Mazzei recently accepted an invitation from Residential Life to fill in as interim rector of O’Neill Family Hall. Mazzei, who graduated from Notre Dame in 1978, has served as a Catholic school educator in various capacities for the past 43 years.

Fr. Bill Dailey returns to Notre Dame as rector of Pangborn Hall.

A 1994 Notre Dame graduate, Dailey has served as a lecturer at the Notre Dame Law School, rector of Stanford Hall and Zahm House and founding director of the Notre Dame Newman Centre for Faith and Reason in Dublin, Ireland.

The new rector of Ryan Hall, Ally Liedtke, begins her new role after years of experience in campus ministry and Catholic education.

Liedtke, who grew up in Seattle, spent the last two years working in Boston College’s campus ministry program.

Sara Thoms returns to the Undergraduate Community in Fischer, a community that formed last year in the wake of cancelled

Homily Continued from page 1

Jean Tarrou organizes volunteers before authorities do, journalist Raymond Rambert stays in the city to fight the plague instead of trying to return to Paris.

The characters begin to see the suffering around them more clearly and to do what they could — according to their abilities and professions — to relieve suffering, connect with others and think about life and death more deeply, Jenkins said.

“That was the insight I took from my reading: In the midst of the tragedy and the trial of a pandemic, each of us can become more engaged, more compassionate, more connected, more fully ourselves,” he said.

He said the last year has been a difficult one, and despite encouraging the community to remain vigilant of the Delta variant, he expressed hopes for a “better, more normal” new year.

But the past year still holds many lessons, he added.

Referring back to the first reading, Jenkins recalled how the prophet Isaiah was called to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to prisoners and to comfort those in mourning. Jenkins said people are not always necessarily indifferent to the suffering of others — they just don’t see it.

“The pandemic has given us a gift to help us see the suffering of the people around us, particularly the marginalized and the vulnerable,” he said.

Jenkins then reflected on the

study abroad opportunities and upperclassmen in need of housing, after serving as rector in the fall of 2020. Thoms earned a Master of Divinity degree from Notre Dame in 2018 and has worked in Residential Life for three years.

Elizabeth Clarke takes over as rector in Lyons Hall. After attending the University of Dayton, Clarke completed her Master’s in Theology as part of Notre Dame’s Echo program, where she lived and worked in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Clarke returns to Notre Dame after completing a Master of Divinity degree at the University following her time in the Echo program. She said she is excited to help contribute to growth and development of her residents.

“The heart of a University of Notre Dame undergraduate education is the intellectual, social, physical and spiritual formative opportunities available in the residence halls,” Clarke said in an email. “The Rector position allows me to combine my interests and experiences in Student Affairs and pastoral ministry to educate the minds and hearts of students,”she wrote.

Contact Ryan Peters at rpeters5@nd.edu

second reading, in which Saint Paul talks about how gifts should be used for the common good.

This interpretation, he explained, offers an alternative to the usual modern understanding that one’s own talents are commodities to be capitalized upon for one’s own benefit.

“Third, we must not seek the gratification that selfishness seeks, but the blessings that Jesus promises,” he said. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful; they will be showed mercy. Blessed are the peacemakers; they will be called children of God. You see, that’s the point: True blessedness is found in caring for those around us.”

In closing, Jenkins made a distinction: Humanity is not trapped like Camus’ characters were, trying to make sense of a senseless world.

“We should, of course, reject facile explanations of suffering and death around us,” he added.

But, he said, in the midst of suffering and death people can use their gifts to serve others and participate in Christ’s death and resurrection “by giving [their] life for righteousness and justice, for those who mourn, for those who are brokenhearted.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been a burden and a trial for all of us,” he said. “Can we make it a moment of blessedness? Of resurrection?” wrote.

Contact Adriana Perez at aperez8@nd.edu

4

NEWS

The observer | WEdnesday, August 25, 2021 | ndsmcobserver.com

Trader Joe’s Continued from page 1

first-ever Trader Joe’s store in South Bend and the fourth in the state of Indiana.

Just three blocks south of the Eddy Street Commons and less than a mile from the heart of the Universit y’s campus, the franchise finds itself in a convenient location for both local residents and tri-campus students, according to store manager John McCall.

It’s perfect for students,” McCall said. “If you’re on a budget, or if you’re studying all day, you’ve got class, you’ve got clubs — it’s really quick, easy stuff that you can make, but it also doesn’t have any of the junk: no GMOs, no artificial f lavors, no dyes.”

A lthough McCall assumes the t y pical responsibilities of a store manager, his official name tag says “Captain,” which matches the chain’s nautical theme.

The remaining staff follows

Update Continued from page 1

individuals in the campus community and the expectation that these numbers will continue to rise in the coming weeks.

“We are proud — and grateful — that 90% of our community has provided proof of vaccination, and 94% have either provided proof of vaccination or received an exemption,” the email read.

The email noted that the updated policies are subject to change.

“Please remember that with COVID, we must be prepared to adapt and change as circumstances evolve,” Miranda said.

Vaccinations Community members can sign up for a vaccine or upload their vaccination status online. Vaccinations are required for all faculty, staff and students unless given an exemption.

Per a follow-up email from the Division of Student Affairs, “students who do not submit vaccination documentation or receive an exemption will be unable to move into their residence halls or complete the ND Roll Call process to attend classes.”

Masking Masks are optional for fully vaccinated members of the community inside campus buildings, including residence halls. In some buildings, masks will be required for everyone when the space is “generally open to the public.”

A full list of these public spaces — including the Morris Inn, the Eck Visitor

suit — assistant managers are called “mates“ and employees are “crew members.”

But, in line w ith the chain’s approach of giv ing each store a distinct local feel, the new location also features a heart y helping of South Bend f lair. The walls are adorned w ith murals depicting certain cit y landmarks and scenes of the Universit y’s campus, and select items are promoted as Notre Dame tailgating necessities.

For many in attendance, Friday’s opening was the culmination of years of anticipation. Over the course of the past decade, South Bend residents w rote letters, sent emails and created a Facebook page advocating for a Trader Joe’s location to be opened in the cit y, according to McCall. He said the communit y’s campaign eventually prompted the company to begin looking into a South Bend location.

“Finally we found that perfect location right near

Notre Dame, right near the walkable and bikeable communit y,” he said. “We think it’s going to work out great.”

And given its prox imit y to student housing options such as The Foundr y, the location has been especially popular among off-campus students.

Amanda Kabous, a Notre Dame junior liv ing off campus near the Eddy Street Commons, said she appreciates the short walk and the store’s affordable products.

“It’s a great alternative to stores like Fresh Thy me and W hole Foods, which have more expensive options,” Kabous said. “Trader Joe’s is a lot more affordable, especially for college students, and so convenient because it’s right off campus and just dow n the block.”

Other students said the cit y of South Bend should do more to invest in its local businesses, rather than bringing in large chains like Trader Joe’s. Lilly Witte, a

Notre Dame senior, said she hopes the store’s opening doesn’t divert the communit y’s attention from locallysourced options.

“People are ver y excited to see Trader Joe’s come in, and I understand the convenience of it. And it’s definitely a cheaper option for some students, so it’s ver y understandable,” Witte said.

“But I hope that the excitement for a national chain doesn’t remove people’s excitement for supporting their local businesses and farmers’ markets, because I think that Notre Dame already can be ver y removed from the South Bend communit y.”

Witte is an employee at the Purple Porch, a food co-op located near dow ntow n South Bend. Like other co-ops, Witte explained, the Purple Porch is ow ned by people in the surrounding area. Any local resident and customer of the co-op can buy a stake in the company, allow ing Purple Porch

to invest in local commerce — the store sells food from over 100 local and regional producers, including farms, restaurants and small businesses, according to their website.

In response to the growing popularit y of corporate chains, Witte urged tri-campus students to consider the impact of their consumer choices on the local communit y.

“Don’t forget about where you live and the people that are surrounding you,” she said. “I think you have a lot to say w ith where you spend your money and where you choose to put your resources towards… I think if you have the money and the resources to do so, you should think about putting them towards a place where it’s local and regional, and where you can talk to the farmer who grows your food.”

Center and the Notre Dame bookstore locations — is available online and is subject to change.

Members of the community who are not fully vaccinated will also be required to wear a mask indoors except when alone in a private room or office, or when eating or drinking.

Masks are not required outdoors.

Miranda said the University encourages individuals to wear masks outside of campus due to lower vaccination rates in St. Joseph County.

“Given that vaccination rates in St. Joseph County are considerably lower than the 90%+ rate on campus, we urge everyone to mask when shopping, dining, or otherwise interacting in the local community, for your own protection and that of our neighbors in the greater Michiana area,” Miranda said.

are not required in classrooms unless a professor asks their students to wear one.

“Faculty may require students to wear masks in their classes, studios, or laboratories. We expect students to be respectful of these arrangements,” Miranda said.

Dual-mode learning will not be used this fall. According to the email, the decision was made because balancing remote and in-person teaching proved challenging and the pandemic “reaffirmed the importance of in-person teaching and learning.”

However, faculty can use “dual delivery or lecture recording technology at their discretion and as needed.”

Students will be expected to follow pre-COVID absence policies.

The fall semester calendar will include a midterm break from Oct. 16 to Oct. 24 and a Thanksgiving break from Nov. 24 to Nov. 28.

Student activites buildings

vaccination status, Miranda said.

The Joyce Center testing site will reopen Aug. 16. Students should call University Health Services (UHS) at 574-6317497 to schedule an appointment for a diagnostic test.

In addition, weekly surveillance testing will be required for any unvaccinated student, faculty and staff. Students who are unvaccinated must also complete an entry test upon returning to campus.

and

According to the email, inperson student activities will resume without most of the restrictions in place during the 2020-2021 academic year.

All University facilities will operate at their normal capacity. This includes classrooms, laboratories, libraries, common spaces, administrative spaces, residence halls, dining halls and campus retail outlets.

Per the follow-up email from the Division of Student Affairs, Notre Dame students who do not live in the same residence hall will be allowed to socialize in each other’s rooms.

COVID-19 testing If a member of the community shows any f lu or cold-like symptoms, they will be expected to wear a mask around campus and seek a COVID diagnostic test as soon as possible regardless of their

Contact Evan McKenna at emckenn2@nd.edu

Travel According to the email from the Division of Student Affairs, community members will be allowed to travel to off-campus locations without pre-approval from UHS. However, Universityrelated international travel will have to be pre-approved by a vice president or dean and be registered with Notre Dame International. More information about the fall travel policy can be read here.

Visitors All visitors, regardless of vaccination status, are expected to wear a mask inside campus buildings except when eating or drinking, Miranda said. At this time, visitors outside the Notre Dame community will not be allowed in residence halls except for move-in.

These visitor policies are in place due to an “inability to verify the vaccination status of those outside our highly vaccinated campus community and ... to easily differentiate between those who are immediate members of the Notre Dame community versus visitors.”

Classes Classes will be taught in person. Miranda said masks

MAGGIE KLAERS | The Observer

News

ndsmcobserver.com | WEdnesday, August 25, 2021 | The Observer

Holy Cross updates fall semester health guidelines Observer Staff Report

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published online Aug. 16.

In a series of emails Aug. 9 and 10, Holy Cross College dean and v ice president of student life Andrew Polaniecki shared updated protocols for the fall semester and move-in w ith new and returning s tudents.

The first email noted most Holy Cross students are vaccinated or in the process of being vaccinated.

“We are thankful for this,” Polaniecki w rote, “as it shows care for your health and the health of the communit y.”

Vaccinations Students are encouraged to submit their COVID-19 vaccination documentation v ia the student portal or by directly emailing director of counseling and health Tom DeHorn at tdehorn@hcc-nd.edu.

According to the emails, students who do not have the proper vaccination documentation w ill not be able to move in or attend their first classes.

If there are any positive cases on campus, those who are determined to be close contacts but are vaccinated w ill not be required to quarantine, per the emails.

Masking Masks w ill not be required for students, facult y and staff who are vaccinated, according to the emails. Those who are unvaccinated and those who have an exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine w ill be required to wear masks indoors when physical distancing is not possible.

In the email, Polaniecki noted that some spaces on the Notre Dame campus w ill require masks when the space is generally open to the public, such as Notre Dame bookstore locations and the first f loor of the Duncan Student Center.

Therefore, students are encouraged to carr y a mask w ith them at all times.

Visitors A ll guests on campus w ill have to wear masks indoors when physical distancing is not possible, except when eating or drinking.

W hile Holy Cross is not requiring a negative COVID-19 test for v isitors, it is encouraged, especially for those unvaccinated or traveling by plane.

Generally, guests w ill be expected to limit the amount of time they are indoors and in groups.

Move-in The email suggested family members and friends who are unvaccinated or at high risk may want to consider any travel plans to campus due to concern over the Delta variant and the number of cases nationw ide.

W hile the College is not limiting the number of guests at move-in, the email asks each family “to carefully consider what is safe and what helps to protect our college communit y.”

The Welcome Weekend Friday dinner w ill not include a formal program this year, according to the email, but an option for eating outdoors w ill be prov ided and the dinner w ill include staggering and spacing in order to limit the number of people eating at any given moment.

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The observer | Wednesday, august 25, 2021 | ndsmcobserver.com

Bring back summer breaks

Inside Column

Don’t cook the goose just yet Evan McKenna Managing Editor

Picture this: You’re me. You’re driving down I-75, en route to South Bend, Indiana for your senior year of college. The Kentucky sun is shining. Phoebe Bridgers just came on shuffle. A Dunkin’ caramel iced latte courses through your veins. Life is good.

But fate has other plans. To your right, a goose — yes, a goose — flies alongside traffic, coasting maybe fifteen feet above the bustling interstate.

It’s so cute that you gasp in awe, audibly, as if you just saw a golden retriever puppy or a Kia Soul. “Look at him fly!” you think. “Oh my god, he’s migrating north with me,” you think.

“That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” you think.

But before you have time to think about how the geese migrated north about three months ago, the goose divebombs into traffic. You scream. Tires screech. Feathers fly in all directions as he collides with the windshield of a car ahead of you. He bounces off the glass and, in a moment of abject horror, you realize the flurry of feathers is hurtling straight towards you.

“This is it,” you think. “This is how I’m gonna die.”

But all is well. Before you even have a chance to slam on your brakes, the goose catches itself in midair, flies away. You pull into a gas station parking lot to catch your breath. You tweet about it.

And picture this: You’re still me. You survived the eight-hour drive to Catholic Disneyland, despite the militant efforts of a certain daredevil goose. As you open the trunk to grab your bags, you notice your belongings are coated in a suspicious purple goo. Turns out your purple shampoo — which you’ve had to use ever since you dyed your hair a beautiful shade of blonde — leaked en route to South Bend, and now every item you’ve ever cherished is purple and sticky.

You consider crying, but quickly pull yourself together. You haul your things into your apartment, leaving dots of purple like bread crumbs on the ground behind you. You try to wash the shampoo off, but it’s shampoo, so it just makes bubbles. You think you may never be happy again.

But all is well. Time heals all wounds. The shampoo comes off, and your belongings are colors other than purple again. The only remaining hint of tragedy is the faint smell of sulfatefree shampoo lingering on your collar. You tweet about it.

And as the day ended, as I reflected upon the brutal hellscape that was Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, I could only think one thing: “Man, this semester is gonna suck.”

Obviously, the wild goose and the spilled shampoo were foreshadowing my imminent downfall. The world was trying to tell me something that day: that my semester was doomed.

Cursed. Finished before it even started. Maybe it was divine intervention. Are you there, God? It’s me, attempted-goose-homicide victim.

But obviously, this mindset is completely illogical — foreshadowing is a literary device, not a fact of reality. One minor inconvenience in the present doesn’t signify a doomed future. My goose attack wasn’t a signal of impending catastrophe; it was just a freak accident involving a very incompetent goose.

But still, the mindset persists in all of us — we cling to the bad, convinced more bad will come with it. Things go wrong, and we convince ourselves things will be wrong forever.

And can you blame us? We’re the same species that created horoscopes, tarot cards and hot girl summer — cultural constructions that tell us what’s going to happen before it actually happens. We’re obsessed with predictions, even predictions of disaster.

And when I think about my own experience with this sort of compulsive hopelessness, I can’t help but think back to my freshman year of college. To put it simply, I was struggling — I felt lost. I felt alone. I felt useless. And, as humans do, I convinced myself that these feelings were permanent, that these bad feelings in the present predicted nothing but bad feelings in the future. Not even a full week into my first semester, I had already declared my college experience a disaster.

But eventually — although not immediately — those feelings went away. I found my people, my places, and my programs. I found my home at Notre Dame. It just took some time.

So, as a senior, I’m using the ounce of authority I have to give current freshmen this piece of advice: Don’t give up on this semester before it’s even started. Times might have be tough now, but that doesn’t mean they’ll always be tough. Don’t give up on this semester, even if it seems sucky now. Don’t give up on that calculus class with the ruthless professor, even if it seems impossible now. Don‘t give up on that group of classmates you’ve been wanting to befriend, even if it seems improbable now.

And most importantly: Don’t give up on Notre Dame, even if it all feels wrong right now. I don’t think any amount of prior knowledge can prepare you for just how difficult the first few weeks of college really are. We all felt it at one point. We felt scared. We felt overwhelmed.

We felt lonely.

These feelings and experiences are normal — but they’re not permanent, and they’re certainly not foreshadowing some calamity. Sometimes a goose is just a goose, and sometimes a bad week is just a bad week.

Believe me: There are better weeks ahead.

You can contact Evan at emckenn2@nd.edu The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Eva Analitis The Flip Side

The beginning of the school year bustle has begun. As we return to fulloccupancy buildings and attend our first class sessions of the year, we’re reconnecting with friends we haven’t seen all summer. After the hugs, waves and smiles comes the obligatory question: “So, what’d you do this summer?” This is, on its face, a well intentioned and natural question to ask our friends, as we are curious what they have been up to in our time apart. However, in certain circles — and at a school full of ambitious students such as Notre Dame — it can take on a more prying tone. Depending on who asks us what we did this summer, we may feel pressured to impress them.

Three months off of school — we better have a lot to show for it. God forbid we rested at all over break!

We’ve developed this unspoken understanding that using our summer “breaks” well means keeping busy for the entirety of them. If we take a day to breathe, that’s a day wasted that could have been used to rack up hours for our resumes. When I was making preparations for how I was going to spend my summer, it included studying for a 7.5 hour exam that would cover material from all the major classes I have taken as an undergraduate. I remember my advisor wanted to make sure I could fit “other activities” into my summer. So, of course, after I took that exam, I spent my remaining few weeks of summer searching for useful things to do. What’s more, this was after an accelerated semester in the middle of the pandemic, full of worry and social isolation and without any real breaks.

Yes, the typical employed adult works year-round with only a couple weeks of paid leave at their disposal and without the type of substantial break students are (supposedly) afforded. Any of them reading this piece might shrug off my complaints and tell me, “Welcome to the real world!” I understand the inclination toward such a response, but it would fail to address my complaints in two major ways: First, student life is inherently different from full-time work life. The former lasts only a few years, while the latter is intended to be a long-term situation (though I could write an entire separate piece on the unhealthiness of American work culture). For us students, our “work” isn’t confined to the workplace.

When we finish attending our classes and extracurricular activities for the day, we spend our extra hours studying, not to mention many of us even take on part-time jobs during the academic year.

Therefore, even if a working adult does

not need a summer “break,” we do.

Secondly, my grievance is with the guise of a chance for rest. School administrations might argue, “It’s not up to us how you use your summer break! We gave you three months off, but you chose to intern, get a job and do research.” This would be true on the surface. While we have this “break” in name, however, we are pressured not to use it in practice. If you make the personal choice to simply rest and engage in your hobbies or pick up a new skill, you’ll be left behind by your friends interning in D.C. who really miss their family and wish they could spend summer with them but who also didn’t want to be left behind by their friends interning in Berlin. So, if we’re supposed to spend summer break working and interning, say that. Make our school year a trimester system: two with classes and a third for “experience.” But don’t call it our summer break. Call it what it is.

I must make a clarification here: I’m not suggesting that we should waste away for three months and miss out on valuable opportunities for acquiring life experiences. The summer can be a great time for projects, activities or travel we couldn’t do during the semester. And, at one point or another, many of us have participated in summer activities or internships about which we were ecstatic.

So, of course we can use the summertime for these special experiences — but we should also rest, socialize and spend time doing the things we enjoy that don’t get documented on our resumes.

Unfortunately, many of us have come to view our return to campus for the fall as a chance to rest after a hectic summer!

So many friends of mine seem to have spent their summers running themselves to the ground, interning, working or volunteering. And now that “break” is over, they’re tired. The only problem is, now it’s time for a new semester to begin in full swing. As we close the door on this past summer, I hereby demand that we bring back summer breaks — ones that include real, meaningful relaxation. This week, as we get reacquainted with old friends and meet new classmates, when everyone shares what they did this summer, expect to hear everything but rest.

A former resident of Lyons Hall, Eva Analitis is a senior majoring in political science and pre-health.

Even though she often can’t make up her own mind, that won’t stop her from trying to change yours. She can be reached at eanaliti@nd.edu or @evaanalitis on Twitter.

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

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

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The observer | Wednesday, august 25, 2021 | ndsmcobserver.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Why it’s time for masks again (alas) Masks — no one likes them, they make communication hard, and yet they are about to become even more critical than ever. Locally, we enjoyed a July where the virus was (nearly) gone, and it seemed like it was back to old times (remember 2019?). Hospitalizations in our health district tell the story (you can look it up on the Indiana covid dashboard, click on health district 2 to find local values), where those hospitalized with Covid fell into single digits.

What a difference a month makes: on Friday our district crossed into triple digits of hospitalization. That’s a lot of suffering, but it can be (and will be) a whole lot worse. Even our current rate of 16/100,000 (there are about 660,000 residents in our district) is much less than the statewide rate of 25/100,000 which is better than the national rate of 29/100,000 and is tiny compared to Florida at 79/100,000.

Unless we take action, Florida is our future.

So why did this happen? It is a combination of behaving like it is 2019 again, fading effectiveness of the vaccines most of us have gotten, and the far more contagious Delta variant. The state vaccination dashboard tells the story (click on “breakthrough”). For the first five months (through mid-May) the ratio of cases/100,000 vaccinated and unvaccinated Hoosiers was only 10% or less. That’s why if you were vaccinated you didn’t really need to wear

a mask under most circumstances (although it was never a bad idea), and this protection was the basis of the CDC recommendations last spring. With Delta and a few more months of fade that has changed, big time. The rate among vaccinated Hoosiers is now up to a third of the unvaccinated rate and still increasing — so even if vaccinated you have a much higher probability of catching Covid and passing it on to others than you did this spring, usually before you even have any idea you are infected, or if you never show symptoms at all. Another way of looking at it: if you remember how hard it was to contain the original version of the virus last fall, Delta is more than twice as contagious.

Thus, Delta + vaccination is about as hard to contain as the original version was last fall. And Delta without vaccination is that much worse.

So why masks? Apart from vaccination, they are our best line of defense. That ordinary cloth mask you keep in your pocket (and hopefully wear properly on your face!) reduces the amount of virus you inhale by about 30%, but it reduces the amount you spray out by a factor of 10 or so. Why the difference? The stuff that comes out of your mouth and nose is mostly water, but this dries out almost instantly and floats around in the air, waiting to be inhaled by someone else. The change in diameter is roughly a factor of five,

equivalent to the difference between a golf ball and a bowling ball — and a cloth mask does a great job at catching the big stuff. Because it is so much better at the “out” rather than the “in” everyone needs to mask up any time you are indoors, particularly in areas where filtered ventilation isn’t great or there are a lot of people. You would be amazed at the amount of stuff that comes out of your mouth when you speak; our lab did the flow visualization and mask testing last summer for Notre Dame and it looks really impressive in a laser sheet.

Vaccinations are still critical even if they aren’t giving us “sterilizing immunity” anymore (it was nice while it lasted and resulted in cases at ND basically going to zero this summer). It is still reducing infection by a factor of three, meaning you are three times less likely to pass the virus around (pretty good!), but the protection against hospitalization and mortality is better still. If you haven’t gotten vaccinated yet, please do so if at all possible: Delta is really, really nasty.

Professor David T. Leighton, Jr. department of chemical and biomolecular engineering Aug. 22

A welcome from ND Right to Life After over a year of uncertainty and unique burdens, the ND Right to Life Executive Board welcomes the student body back to campus. An especially warm welcome to our newest members! Welcome to your Home under the Dome!

We are exceedingly grateful to be able to resume all of our regular club activities, and we invite everyone to engage with ND Right to Life throughout the year. Our first big event will be Life Fest, a fun-filled celebration of the joy of each and every life on Notre Dame’s campus. We are extremely excited to welcome you to Our Lady’s University through food and fellowship.

ND Right to Life is the largest non-academic, studentrun club on campus. We work to promote a culture of life through programming, education, service, prayer and dialogue. Our club is committed to ending abortion and the many other violations of human life that plague our nation, such as the death penalty, racial injustice and disregard for people with disabilities and for the elderly. Our mission is to support preborn children and their mothers before and after birth, particularly through our prayer and service opportunities. As the Irish Fighting for Life, we send over 1,000 students, faculty and staff to the March for Life in DC every year. But we have so many more opportunities for service, prayer and activism throughout the year on campus. We’d love for you to join us!

Our service branch is essential to promoting a culture of life and actualizing real change in our community. We offer free on-campus babysitting for the children of Notre Dame graduate students, minister to the elderly residents at Holy Cross Village, host baby showers for local expecting mothers through Project Mom and raise funds for the Moreau College Initiative, a program for incarcerated persons to take courses and receive degrees from Holy Cross College. This year, we are excited to begin working with the Divine Mercy Apostolate, a local educational and spiritual organization, and to partner with Let Them Live, a nonprofit dedicated to providing financial assistance to abortion-vulnerable women by raising ten thousand dollars for a woman and preborn child in need. We hope that these programming opportunities offer the campus community a chance to engage with pro-life ideas and discussions in a respectful, charitable and uplifting way.

In addition to service, we love to engage our peers through dialogue and education opportunities. We invite you all to participate in our upcoming academic colloquium on abortion, grab coffee with another student through our event, “Girl Talk: Let’s Talk About Abortion,” watch our annual student debate, or attend the events during our two

major programming weeks, Respect Life Week (fall) and You Are Loved Week (spring). This year, we are ecstatic to welcome the Humanae Vitae commission, focusing on Catholic fertility education and resources.

To those who are unsure about our mission and values, we’d love to chat with you! We recognize the complexities and challenges that these conversations present, so we would like to formally invite you to join us in respectful and understanding dialogue as we move into this new year. And to our members, we encourage you to continue to engage in charitable conversations, be a pro-life witness in your words and actions, and rely on Christ radically during the upcoming year.

With the Supreme Court set to hear Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, our mission remains the same. While many may be tempted to retreat into echo chambers of partisanship, complacency, or despair because of potential outcomes, we will continue to encourage honest, fruitful conversations and use this opportunity to reflect on the future of our movement and the state of our culture. Regardless of what’s happening in the courts, the states, campus politics, or social media, we are committed to actively building a culture of life, anchored by the Cross and its radical illustration of love.

ND Right to Life is a Catholic and non-partisan club, so prayer always comes first. From frequent masses to club adoration to praying peacefully outside of South Bend’s unlicensed chemical abortion facility, we constantly strive to root ourselves in prayer and set our intercessions before the feet of Jesus and His mother, Mary. Staying true to our mission, we must continue to acknowledge that every person is made in God’s image and likeness and to treat him or her with the dignity that this truth confers.

Mothers, fathers, and children, those on death row, the disabled, the elderly, the incarcerated and the lonely — they need and rely on our continued prayers, witness, and accompaniment.

To the wider community, we encourage you to engage with us, learn what we’re about, and celebrate life with us! We would be honored to work joyfully alongside you, whether you join us in our service endeavors, attend an event or two, or simply say hello! Know that we will be praying for you throughout this exciting new year!

Saint Gianna Molla, pray for us!

If you or a loved one is unexpectedly pregnant, visit the helpline at optionline.org, contact Peggy at ND’s Family Resource Center (mhnatusk@nd.edu), and get access to local pregnancy resource centers at hermichiana.org. There are several Women’s Care Centers in the South Bend area

that provide free ultrasounds and other pregnancy related services. See https://frc.nd.edu/pregnancy-support/faq/ for Notre Dame’s policy on supporting pregnant students on campus. If you or a loved one is in need of a welcoming ear and a healing presence, we invite you to visit https:// hopeafterabortion.com or https://sistersoflife.org/healingafter-abortion/or https://claritycares.org/healing-afterabortion/. Contact NDRtL at prolife@nd.edu with any questions about who we are, what we do, and how to get involved.

In Christ, The NDRtL Executive Board, 2021-2022 Mary Biese director of education, senior Mary Rice vice president of programming, junior Francine Shaft president, senior Sean Tehan director of education, senior Maggie Murray vice president of operations, junior Maura Brennan vice president of programming, junior Anna Rehagen vice president of design, senior Grace Thilken vice president of communication, junior Emma Nowak director of service, senior Mary Mueller director of spirituality, senior Caeli Jojola director of dorm outreach, sophomore Katherine Hill treasurer, sophomore Aug. 7

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The observer | Wednesday, August 25, 2021 | ndsmcobserver.com

Just say no Julianna Conley In My Own Words

Quit that club! Switch your major! Just say NO! As we start another semester and as COVID restrictions lift, a bevy of new opportunities becomes possible. Students will be flocking to activity fairs, passing out their emails more than freshman boys do their Snapchats at Domerfest and cramming their schedules tighter than Keenan boys’ pants during their strip number in the Revue. And though I support the common advice that you should join any and all activities you might be interested in, I feel it warrants reminding that you can quit activities too.

Odds are, by way of your being at Notre Dame, you’re the type of person who sticks with things. You persevere when the going gets tough, and you aren’t scared of hard work. But there’s a difference between hard work and work that doesn’t fill you up. There’s a difference between pushing yourself to do something outside of your comfort zone and forcing yourself to do something that makes you fundamentally unhappy.

The truth of the matter is, no matter how hard you try, you’re going to have to say no to something. Because your time is limited, every “yes” you reply is a “no” as well.

When you say yes to one hangout, you’re saying no to the other plans you might have made. When you say yes to your major(s), you’re eliminating other possible courses of study. When you say yes to a campus job, you’re signing up to say no to clubs that meet during your shifts.

Sometimes the “implicit no” works out well, like when you agree to go to the movies instead of sitting alone in your room. And sometimes the implicit no is a necessary bummer, like finishing an essay that’s due instead of going to an intramural game. But when you say yes to something that causes you repeated stress, when you commit to an activity that doesn’t bring you joy, you’re ultimately saying no to something that would. You’re saying no to a world of possibilities that could actually fulfill you.

When I was registering for classes my freshman year, my dad told me I should give Pre-Health Studies a try.

This was good advice. I’ve never been much of a science fan, but I loved volunteering at my local children’s

hospital in high school and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do after graduation. Registering for STEM classes let me keep my options open.

My sophomore year — when I officially knew I didn’t want to do anything with medicine, when the Career Center staff told me my studies clearly weren’t making me happy, when my Pre-Health advisor (shout out to the wonderful Maureen Dawson!) wanted me to register for writing classes instead of the required Gen Chem II — I ignored the wisdom of everyone around me and decided that after three semesters, I was in too deep. If I stopped doing Pre-Health, it’d mean I couldn’t hack it. I told myself I’d started something freshman year, and I owed it to myself to see it through. This was bad advice.

By filling my schedule each semester with Pre-Health requirements, I didn’t have room for the ACMS major or Collaborative Innovation minor I actually wanted. By refusing to give up my Pre-Health supplementary major, I was still giving up things. But instead of giving up my sources of emotional turmoil, I was giving up studies that made me happy.

Only after I allowed myself to admit my current course of study wasn’t working for me was I able to make adjustments. I’ve now happily swapped my science electives for applied math ones; I’ve gotten to say “yes” to classes that I find interesting, exciting and fun. Everything worked out in the end, but if I’d just swallowed my pride and let myself quit earlier, I could have skipped many tear-filled nights of organic chemistry-induced stress that ultimately happened for no reason.

On the flip side, during my sophomore year, I joined a club that I’d been excited about for months, my head swirling with visions of a life-changing campus community. When I realized that every week I’d fill with dread in the days leading up to the organization’s meetings, I did the unthinkable: I quit. Endowed with a new chunk of free time in my schedule, I was able to take a job on campus that has since become one of the best parts of my time at Notre Dame. By leaving a club that wasn’t filling me up and joining a job that did, I did a service to both myself and that club. Taking part in an activity I was actually excited about, I found myself going the extra mile and working to make my work the best it could be, rather than phoning in a halfhearted effort out of a sense of obligation.

I thought for a long time that quitting something signified a failure of self-discipline. I worried other people would assume my stopping an activity meant I wasn’t dedicated enough, or changing a class meant I wasn’t smart enough. But I’ve since realized there’s a difference between quitting and giving up. There’s a difference between avoiding a challenge and relieving yourself of unnecessary emotional stress. There’s a commonly held belief that quitting is the easy way out. But I believe taking the time to reflect on what you want out of your semester, your college experience, your LIFE and then acting on it is much harder.

Of course, there’s something to be said for giving a new activity a fair chance, but know when to trust your gut too. More often than not, the classes I found “suspicious” the first week of the semester were still suspicious the last week too. You know yourself better than anyone else. Be your own advocate and let yourself experience the best Notre Dame has to offer.

Obviously, every task you undertake cannot be the most fun you’ve ever had, but before you automatically decide to stick it out, make sure you take a moment to ask yourself why you’re keeping with it. Make sure the reason you’re forcing yourself to stay with a task your heart isn’t in is a good one. There are so many interesting things to learn about, so many different clubs to join, so many ideas and people and organizations that excite you! Don’t force yourself into a situation that doesn’t fit. You’ll shine best when you place yourself in situations that light you up inside.

As a new school year starts and the onslaught of emails urging you to apply for councils and join committees and sign up for a cappella groups looms ever closer, I just ask that you take the time to choose something that makes you really happy. Your resume will fill itself. Your degree will get finished. But your time at Notre Dame is fleeting.

Make commitments that bring you joy, not stress.

Julianna Conley is a senior studying sociology and pre-health studies with a minor Journalism, Ethics and Democracy. Though she is forever loyal to Pasquerilla East B-team athletics, Julianna now lives off campus.

She can be reached for comment at jconley4@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the authors and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Moving beyond the culture of busy Devin Humphreys Law, Life and the Lord

As the year opens at Our Lady’s University, with undergrads returning to the dorms and giving their “Notre Dame introductions,” law students like myself cracking open our casebooks in hopes of not bombing a cold call and campus bustling with activity once again, I am ever cognizant of the presence of God on this campus.

And when I think of what it means to be somewhere like this, where everything around you reassures you that God is present here, I am reminded of Christ’s Greatest Commandment: love God; love neighbor. Why? Because during my first year of law school, I identified a social phenomenon that is particularly concerning. I present to you: the Culture of Busy.

The Culture of Busy is essentially this idea that people either have license to be or should be too “busy” to be intentional about seeking out and establishing community. It didn’t help that we were in the throes of a global pandemic; upperclassmen would tell of the multitude of opportunities for spontaneous in-person contact that last year almost always had to be planned, and it’s much easier to avoid people if we have to reach out to them to connect in the first place.

That said, the Culture of Busy isn’t a COVID-19 problem.

It hits deeper than that. It’s especially pervasive in law school, though it’s not exclusively a law school problem either. Despite the actual busyness I’ve seen my fellow Notre Dame students grapple with during the school year,

I proffer that we do a better job at dodging it than most.

That said, we’re not immune from the Culture of Busy, and as much as face masks have helped us stop the spread of COVID-19, they don’t filter out the toxic fumes of the aftereffects of Culture-of-Busy-21.

“But Devin, what does this ‘Culture of Busy’ you’ve decided to write a Viewpoint column about look like?” Glad you asked! Symptoms include: 1. The feeling that your public face needs to be that you don’t have time for other people.

2. The idea that work or school is always a valid excuse to avoid personal interaction with family or friends.

3. The idea that you should feel guilty if you don’t actually have any work or school to do, even if you do want to interact with people.

Lies the Culture of Busy makes us believe: 1. If you have time to spend with other people, you aren’t working hard enough.

2. If you end up spending time with other people, they should apologize for taking up your time.

3. If you decide that time should be spent on things that are not work or school, you should be budgeting it down to the minute, for all such time spent is a net burden.

4. If you don’t buy into numbers 1-3, people will think you undervalue your time and they may feel justified in taking advantage of you.

I write to point out this phenomenon not because I think I’m immune to it. Last year, I caught myself, at times, taking actions that reeked of the Culture of Busy in my own life. But I’ve become aware of the existence of this social problem through my interactions on the day-to-day,

and I truly believe that the only way to fight it is to raise awareness and find those among us that agree that this is a problem. Unlike many awareness raising campaigns, which come dangerously close to virtue signaling, it is my strong belief that raising awareness of the Culture of Busy may have a concrete impact: Awareness of the Culture of Busy begets avoidance of the Culture of Busy.

All of this having been said, there is one other risk factor which needs to be addressed: I possess a multitude of privileges which end up helping to keep the Culture of Busy at bay for me. For those who find themselves in that same boat, I challenge you to remember the obligation we have to help alleviate the Culture of Busy in the ways that it drags others down. In my humble opinion, our best vaccine against this ever-present Culture-of-Busy plague is given to us by Christ himself: love God; love neighbor.

As this school year begins and Notre Dame welcomes her students back to campus, I have only this to say: Go Irish! Beat Culture of Busy!

Devin is a member of Notre Dame Law School’s Class of 2023. Originally from Farwell, Michigan, he is a 2020 graduate of Michigan State University’s James Madison College. In addition to serving as a teaching assistant at the law school, in his free time, he sings with the Notre Dame Folk Choir and discusses the legal developments of the day with anyone who will listen. He can be reached at dhumphr2@nd.edu or @DevinJHumphreys on Twitter.

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

The observer | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2021 | ndsmcobserver.com

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MAGGIE KLAERS | The Observer

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The observer | wednesday, AUGUST 25, 2021 | ndsmcobserver.com

By AIDAN O’MALLEY Scene Editor

Michelle Zauner, the frontwoman for indie rock band Japanese Breakfast, has outright stated that their third studio album is one about joy. And with a name like “Jubilee,” perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A quick listen through the record only underscores the obvious, as nearly every track is a bonafide banger — even the songs that you can’t dance to seem reflected through rose-colored glasses.

But what nonetheless makes “Jubilee” such a shock (aside from the fact that, at least so far, it stands as my favorite album of the year) is that Zauner’s previous work would better be described as “through a glass darkly.”

In 2014, her mother died of cancer; in 2016, she released her first album. Given the specificity with which Zauner can reconstruct feelings of uncertainty and grief, it’s no wonder many people have mistaken Japanese Breakfast for a one-woman show. In fact, she preceded “Jubilee” with the release of a memoir, “Crying in H-Mart,” which (due to my illiteracy) I have not read. But if the New Yorker essay upon which it expands is any indication, it’s surely her most piercing and personal work yet.

And so a Japanese Breakfast album about joy is more than just a dance party. It isn’t a celebration of sunny days so much as it’s a testament to sheer conviction, to the resolve that is required to overcome the rainy ones.

Zauner intuitively understands that joy without sorrow is empty, and the melancholy that lingers below the surface of this record makes its most exultant moments fly

only higher. “Jubilee,” after all, is the bittersweet realization that joy and despair are equals.

The album begins on a high note (literally, during the chorus) with “Paprika,” inspired by the 2006 anime by Satoshi Kon. Here, Zauner salutes the joy of making music — more broadly, of being an artist. “How’s it feel to be at the center of magic / To linger in tones and words?”

Zauner ponders. “Projecting your visions to strangers / Who feel it, who listen, who linger on every word?”

To which she cheers, “Oh, it’s a rush!”

Horns swell Sufjan Stevens-style, but there also lie hints of something sadder. “I opened the floodgates and found / No water, no current, no river, no rush.” Later: “But alone, it feels like dying / All alone, I feel so much.”

Making art is great, but making great art can be crushing. What if I have nothing to say? And what if my work can’t console me? Most of the time, it probably won’t.

But when it does: “Oh, it’s a rush!”

The song ends.

Next up is “Be Sweet,” an indie pop anthem that throws it back to the ’80s. Zauner sings to an unknown lover (“So come and get your woman / Pacify her rage”), pleading with them to give her something, anything, that she can use to forgive them. “Slide Tackle,” meanwhile, employs a scintillating sax to explore how we often have to wrestle our thoughts into submission, and “Savage Good Boy” — maybe the most fun song on a record with some tough competition — lampoons the lifestyles of billionaires by writing directly from their perspective.

But in between the bangers are slower, more pensive

works, essential to the album’s anatomy and which grow on me with each listen. “Kokomo, IN” is an ode to that particular brand of Midwestern adolescence, while “Tactics” features a beautiful string symphony as Zauner recalls the complicated melancholy of ending an unhealthy relationship. “In Hell,” about having to put down a beloved dog, disguises its aching lyrics with rousing production, while “Sit” is the unfortunate chink in “Jubilee”’s armor, a decent song washed out by its superior surroundings.

“Posing in Bondage,” the fifth song, mirrors the tenth (and final) track, “Posing for Cars.” They’re both about monogamy, but not suffocation; instead, they’re about the simple bliss of having a person, one person, in your life. “Posing for Cars” ends the album with a sprawling, three-minute guitar solo — it’s like watching the credits roll after a really good movie, the lights still down and the audience still rapt in their attention.

So be kind: Please rewind.

Contact Aidan O’Malley at aomalle2@nd.edu

“Jubilee” Artist: Japanese Breakfast Label: Dead Oceans Favorite songs: “Paprika,” “Kokomo, IN,” “Savage Good Boy,” “Tactics,” “Posing for Cars”

MAGGIE KLAERS | The Observer

Classifieds

ndsmcobserver.com | WEDNESDAY August 25, 2021 | The Observer

Crossword | Will Shortz

11

Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Take the initiative to make things happen. Dream big and explore what’s possible. Question shortcuts, and be prepared to implement lastminute changes that will save you time and money. Focus on building a strong foundation for what’s to come. Don’t back down when patience and expertise are gateways to success. Believe in your ability to finish what you start. Your numbers are 9, 16, 24, 26, 32, 38, 44.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Self-improvement projects will pay off. Focus on fitness, emotional and physical strength, and what you can do to enjoy life.

Consider your relationships with others and the benefits and liabilities you face, then make the necessary adjustments. Romance is encouraged.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Make the changes that suit your needs. Don’t sit on the sidelines waiting for someone else to make the first move. Use your intelligence, and turn your ideas into something concrete. Keep life simple, be direct and finish what you start.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Digest what’s going on around you and decide who is on your team and who opposes you. It’s OK to think big, but you are better off living within your means. Discipline and hard work will bring the best results.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Spend more time finding unique ways to up your game or make your surroundings less stressful. Be creative, and consider changes that won’t break your budget. Call on someone with experience, and you’ll be offered insight into how to cut corners.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Uncertainty is a warning that you aren’t satisfied with a proposition or situation. Rethink your steps, and consider the pros and cons. Be resourceful and check out other opportunities that may be a steppingstone to something new and exciting.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Interact with experts. Gather information, formulate a strategy and take on something that will help you achieve your dreams. Speak up, share your intentions and move forward with enthusiasm and confidence.

Embrace change, and exciting opportunities will follow.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Play to win, figure out what you want and negotiate with finesse. Do whatever it takes to stabilize your personal life. Make your space inviting and convenient. Rethink your spending habits, and be generous with love and affection, not expensive gifts.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Do something eccentric, adventuresome or creative.

Become the topic of conversation and the go-to person when others need advice.

Explore new possibilities, and stretch your mind to accommodate new options.

Use your skills distinctively, and you’ll influence future trends.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t lose sight of your objective. Be suspicious of anyone trying to take over. Information will be sketchy and require verification before you pass it along. Spend more time on personal improvements and less on trying to change others. Love yourself.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take advantage of a moneymaking opportunity.

A financial gain is apparent. The experience you have will help you instinctively know when to make your move. A positive change at home or with your assets is within reach. Monitor physical indulgence carefully.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Be secretive about financial, medical or contractual dealings. Pay more attention to the way you look and present yourself to others.

Set trends instead of adopting what others are doing. Romance is on the rise. Make a promise to someone you love.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You’ll gain respect if you follow through with your plans. Find a way to manage money efficiently, and it will loosen up cash flow and encourage you to invest more in your future. Update your skills and gather information.

Birthday Baby: You are aggressive, intuitive and wise. You are resourceful and practical.

Sudoku | The Mepham Group

Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek

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Sports Authority

Sports Authority

The (no longer) jolly Rodgers

What is wrong with the Twins?

Nate Moller Sports Writer

In a prev ious sports authorit y I w rote before the start of the MLB season, I picked the Minnesota Tw ins to make the World Series.

With the Tw ins currently sitting in the cellar of the American League Central, holding one of the worst records in baseball, I have to discuss what went w rong for them to be the most disappointing team in baseball this year. After a week of baseball, the Tw ins had a record of 5-2 and appeared to be one of the better teams in baseball. Center fielder By ron Bu xton was leading the way for the Tw ins’ on offense, Jose Berrios looked spectacular in his first start, and Nelson Cruz looked to be ageless once again.

Unfortunately for the Tw ins, that first week of the season was the high point, as the team went on to lose their next five games and failed to w in another series until the end of May. Injuries were one of the main reasons the Tw ins have had such a disappointing year. A lthough Bu xton has been spectacular while on the field this year, he has missed most of the season w ith various injuries. It looked like Bu xton was set to contend for AL MV P before all of his injuries, and the Tw ins haven’t found a way to replace his outstanding defense in centerfield, speed on the base paths, or hitting.

There were plent y of other injuries and Cov id related absences that hurt the Tw ins this year as well. It started when Josh Donaldson missed the first week of the season after injuring himself in the first game. It only got worse when the Tw ins lost t wo more starters w ith Andrelton Simmons and Ma x Kepler both testing positive for Cov id in mid-April.

Kepler then missed further time for an injur y and hasn’t been seeing the ball well all year. It continued to get worse for the Tw ins w ith Luis Arraez missing a chunk of time this summer.

Arraez is currently batting well over .300 and his time away from the team decimated the Tw ins. Injuries to A lex Kiriloff, Kenta Maeda, Michael Pineda, and Taylor Rogers also added to the Tw ins list of notable

injuries.

Another huge issue for the Tw ins has been the pitching staff. Kenta Maeda has been the most disappointing of all the Tw ins pitchers this season w ith an ER A in the mid 4s this year despite hav ing an ER A well under three last year. The offseason additions of J.A. Happ and Matt Shoemaker were busts as well w ith ER As of 6.77 and 8.06 respectively.

In the bullpen, A lex Colome has been the biggest disappointment w ith an atrocious ER A of 4.24. Colome has had an ER A under three in his past three seasons w ith an outstanding ER A under one last year.

Another huge issue for the Tw ins has been their fielding. The Tw ins are currently averaging an astounding 0.70 errors per game, which is the worst in the MLB. This is arguably the Tw ins biggest surprise, as they averaged only 0.35 errors per game in 2020, which was the best in baseball. This dow nfall was surprising in part too because the Tw ins added shortstop Andrelton Simmons in the offseason because of his fielding abilit y. W hile there is no excuse for the amount of errors this team has made this year, I think it comes dow n to injuries and inexperience at different positions. With By ron Bu xton and Ma x Kepler injured at one point, the Tw ins were forced to turn to players that had basically no centerfield experience in the Majors.

Prett y much ever y thing that could have gone w rong for the Tw ins this year has.

I clearly overestimated the abilities of this team at the beginning of the season, but there were a lot of unluck y circumstances for this team that led to its rapid and unexpected dow nfall. If there is any bright side to these injuries, the Tw ins have been able to give young players lots of experience and add some depth to their farm system at the trade deadline.

There are a handful of young players who have show n promise this year, which is a good sign for a fast rebuild. To quote the famous Minnesota sports motto: “There is always next year.”

Contact Nate Moller at nmoller2@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Thomas Zwiller Sports Writer

I am going to come out and say it: I do not understand the hype around preseason football. We do not learn a whole lot about the teams we see playing. The 2017 Cleveland Browns, who went 0-16 in the regular season, went 4-0 in the preseason. The 2017 New England Patriots, who made the Superbowl, went 1-3, losing to Jacksonville, the Texans, and the Giants. Those teams went a combined 17-31. So I decided not to write about the preseason because as interesting as some results might be, I don’t think they really matter. We know who the good teams are. The preseason should not change our perception of the contenders. Instead of writing about the preseason, I decided to write about Madden 22, which came out on August 20th. I will not review the game; I thought it would be fun to see what Madden thinks of the upcoming season.

To avoid getting an outlier season, I simulated the upcoming season five times. Here are the results:

Awards: MVP went to a few different players: Patrick Mahomes (twice), Saquon Barkley, Tom Brady, and Lamar Jackson. Coach of the Year was similar to MVP, which went to four people: Bill Belichick (twice) Matt Rhule, Arthur Smith, and Urban Meyer.

In the AFC, Offensive Player of the Year went to Patrick Mahomes four times and Lamar Jackson once. It was a much bigger pool for the NFC; however, nobody could repeat as OPOY. Ezekiel Elliot won the first season, then Jamies Winston, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, and Alvin Kamara. In the AFC, four players received DPOY; Von Miller was able to win it twice, then Xavien Howard, Cameron Heyward, and Bradley Chubb. Only Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald won the award in the NFC, two times and three times, respectively.

Zach Wilson snagged OROY in the first season, but Trevor Lawerence claimed it in the next four. In the NFC, Justin Fields took the award home every single season. The Defensive Rookie of the Year award in the AFC will please Irish fans. Jeremiah Owusu-Koamoah was given the award five times. In the NFC, Xaven Collins dominated earned it four times, with Azeez Ojulari receiving it once.

Offense Team Rankings I simply used yards to rank the top offenses in Madden; if I had

more time, I would dive deeper into rankings. Ranked in the top five offenses every single time were the KC Chiefs averaging 6993 yards. The second-best offense was Tampa Bay, making the top five four times and averaging 6963 yards. The next two teams tied, each making the top five twice: the Browns scoring 7098 yards and then Dallas clocking in at 6787 yards. The Packers were the last team to make the top five multiple times, averaging 6716 yards. The bottom five offenses are a different story. The worst offense was the Detroit Lions, making the bottom five every time, averaging 5527 yards.

Equally as bad were the Colts, who made the bottom five four times and averaged 5411 yards.

The also Dolphins finished in the bottom five three times averaging 5478 yards. Also, remember the Matthew Stafford trade? Madden seems to think it won’t work out as the Rams made the bottom five twice, along with the Giants, Jets, Vikings, and Broncos.

Defense Team Rankings None of the top five defenses were quite as dominant as the Chiefs, but the Ravens and Patriots sure came close, making the top five four times (5461 and 5618 yards, respectively). The Eagles clocked in at 5,916 yards which was good enough to get them into the top five three times.

I was surprised to see this, but I assume this was partly due to the Eagles playing in the NFC East.

The next tier of defenses made it each twice: the Cardinals, Titans, and Seahawks. The bottom five defenses were somewhat surprising to me. The Bengals and Raiders made it to the bottom five three times which made sense, but the Giants seemed like a solid defense. The Saints, Browns, Chargers, and WFT made the bottom five twice in the next tier.

The Chargers were reasonable, but the Browns improved their secondary; the Saints should still be a competent defense. WFT was the biggest surprise, as they were arguably a top-five defense last season.

Standings AFC West: The K.C. Chiefs won the division at 13-4. The Chargers and Raiders tied for second at 6.610.4, and the Broncos were close behind 6.4-10.6.

AFC East: The Patriots averaged the next best record and won the division at 11.8-5.2. The rest of the AFC was less impressive. The Bills being 7-10 feels low, as do the Dolphins at 6.6-10.4. The Jets being 6.2-10.8 feels slightly high; I feel like 6 is the absolute ceiling.

AFC North: The Ravens ended up winning the AFC North at 116. The Browns took second place at 9.8-7.2, but the Steelers aren’t far behind at 9.4-7.6. Madden didn’t see the Bengals as out of the mix; they finish at 8-9.

AFC South: The Titans won it at 9.6-7.4, and in second place were the Jaguars at 8.6-8.4. The next closest team were the Texans, 7.29.8, and the Colts’ bringing up the rear, 6.2-10.8.

NFC South: The Buccaneers had a conference-best record of 11.8-5.2, but Madden gave the Saints a solid chance of winning the division at 11-6. The Falcons showed much improvement from last season, finishing just under ten wins at 9.6-7.4. The Panthers brought up the rear at 6.6-10.4.

NFC East: Dem ‘Boys went 11.25.8 to win the NFC East, but much like the Saints, the Eagles weren’t all that far behind at 9.6-7.4. The Football team fell way down, going 5.8-11.2, a record only better than the 5.6-11.4 Giants.

NFC West: The 49ers lead the charge at 9.4-7.6, but at 9.2-7.8, the Cardinals are hot on their heels.

The Rams averaged a 9-8 finish, with Seattle in last with a record of 8.6-8.4.

NFC North: The Packers clinched the division at 9.2-7.8, worst for a division champ in the NFC. The next closest team was the Lions, who finished in second at 8.2-8.8. The Bears-led by rookie Justin Fields- finished in third at 7.4-9.6. The Vikings round out the bottom at 5.8-11.2.

Superbowl Madden felt pretty strongly about who would play in the Conference Championships.

The Chiefs made the AFC title game three times, going 2-1.

Both times they went to the Super Bowl, they ended the season as champions against the 49ers and the Seahawks.

The other AFC Super Bowl Champion was the Patriots, who made the AFC title game twice and went 2-0 but only won one Super Bowl.

In the NFC, only two teams made the NFC title game twice, the 49ers and the Buccaneers.

The 49ers went 1-1, advancing to the Super Bowl but ultimately losing to the Chiefs.

The Buccaneers did much better; they went 2-0 in the NFC Championship game and the Super Bowl.

Contact Thomas Zwiller at tzwiller@hcc-nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

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13

College Football column

Eight hot takes for the 2021 CFB season Aidan Thomas Sports Writer

Preseason rankings are always a joy to behold.

Bet ween a mix of incredible-to-behold bias towards blue blood programs and the stanch of recency bias, preseason rankings nearly boast some kind of controversy, and the release of the preseason AP Poll for the 2021 season was no exception. So rather than release some cobbled-together preseason rankings of my ow n, I’ve decided to just put it all out there. College Football Hot Takes: 2021 season edition. These takes range from lukewarm to boiling hot, and they are sure to anger more than a few. But what are my sports authorities for, if not to cause a little friendly debate? So, here goes.

Penn State, LSU bounce back Penn State was surprisingly abysmal in 2020, but voters seem to believe they may bounce back in 2021, slotting the Nittany Lions 19th in the preseason poll. I’ll go a step further — I see Penn State being a fringe top-10 team this season, going 11-1 and being a road upset of Ohio State away from making the playoffs. Penn State has among the most returning offensive production in the Big 10, and that’ll be a huge factor. An early-season non-conference test awaits against Auburn, but expect the electric white-out atmosphere to cover Penn State there. Three top-20 teams litter the first half of Penn State’s schedule, but this hot take is declaring that the

Nittany Lions top all challengers but the Buckeyes, starting w ith a statement w in at Wisconsin to start things off on Sept. 4.

Furthermore, I like LSU to be much more competitive this season, also w inning 10-11 games in 2021.

The Tigers have a bona fide quarterback battle, but both have experience, unlike last season. The defense should be much improved, and LSU looked to be back on the upsw ing w ith a big upset of Florida towards the end of last season. The Tigers should be back near the top of the SEC West and potentially inside the top 10.

SEC Championship features a battle of the unbeaten Defending national champion A labama looks to be incredible again in 2021, w ith five-star quarterback Br yce Young under center. They have to nav igate a tough SEC West once more, but I anticipate the Tide w ill do so en route to another undefeated season. Meanwhile, my theor y about Georgia running the table w ill be immediately put to the test when they play Clemson, but the Bulldogs looked fantastic w ith J.T. Daniels under center, and they should continue to play ver y well. Clemson did endure some big losses to the draft, and Georgia should be favored in this Week 1 top-5 clash. After that, it’s a ver y manageable slate for the Bulldogs, who could get to Atlanta unscathed.

West Virginia wins 10 games, finishes inside the top 20 The Mountaineers were

at the ver y bottom of the ‘receiv ing votes’ section of the AP Poll, hav ing acquired just three votes. This grossly underrated what I believe to be the thirdbest team in the Big 12. The Mountaineers face uphill battles against Iowa State and Ok lahoma, but other than that, I think they are on cruise control in conference play. Texas is going to struggle a little bit in the post-Sam Ehlinger era, and Ok lahoma State simply looked way too bad dow n the stretch for me to have any faith in them.

West Virginia has a grindit-out defensive mentalit y that should keep them in many games, and I believe the offense is going to be far better than projected. A w innable non-conference schedule makes a 10-2 record a ver y real possibilit y.

I’ve slated the Mountaineers to finish around 17th in my predictions.

UNC finishes the season unranked I w ill die on this mountain — unless the Tar Heels prove me w rong. Sam Howell is a great quarterback, but I believe the Tar Heels are grossly overrated at No. 10 in the preseason polls. They lost their top t wo receivers and top t wo running backs, along w ith arguably their most important defensive player. And that’s coming off an 8-4 season w ith t wo unranked losses. Their top-10 ranking absolutely confounds me. Yes, the defense returns ten starters. But the defense wasn’t good last season. And the offense, in one of the biggest games of the season, scored 17 against Notre

Courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics

Irish sophomore running back Kyren Williams stiffarms a UNC player to get down the field in Notre Dame’s 2020 win over UNC with a score of 31-17 on Nov. 27 at Kenan Memorial Stadium.

Dame. I’m calling a 7-5 season from UNC, w ith the Tar Heels dropping outside the top 25.

Rutgers goes bowling Rutgers has been the laughingstock of the Big 10 for a ver y long time, but this year they finally break their string of aw ful seasons. A lthough they were somewhat respectable last season, the Scarlet Knights went just 3-6 in their Big 10-only schedule. I’m predicting that Greg Schiano’s squad continues their upward trend, w inning five Big 10 games and cruising through an exceptionally w innable non-conference schedule to w in 7-9 games and go bowling for the first time since 2014.

Oregon challenges for a Playoff spot I do believe Oregon w ill lose, and potentially by a lot, to Ohio State early in the season. But after that, I don’t see a team on the regular-season schedule capable of taking dow n the Ducks, meaning Oregon could enter the Pac-12 championship as a 1-loss team. There, I anticipate that Oregon w ill rematch w ith USC for the crow n, and the Ducks have been the more talented teams in recent years, even w inning w ith a ver y young roster last season. If Oregon goes 12-1 w ith a Pac-12 championship, they could be back in the Playoff, depending on some other factors.

The ACC has 6 teams ranked in the final AP Poll The ACC has frequently been among the worst

Power-5 conferences, and only Clemson, Miami and UNC populate the preseason poll. I predict that number to double, w ith Virginia Tech, Pitt and NC State being among my sleepers that I believe w ill finish inside the rankings. There are other teams I’m cautiously optimistic about — including Wake Forest and Virginia — given how much those t wo squads return, or UNC could maybe slip inside the backdoor. Either way, w ith the SEC dominating the college football world, and soon adding Texas and Ok lahoma, the ACC w ill make a big statement w ith an overall bounce-back year.

Coastal disappoints

Carolina

It’s OK. I also hate myself for this prediction. But I have to say it.

I loved watching the Chanticleers almost play their way into the top 10 last season, but I believe the season may have been a COV ID-f luke. I think the Chanticleers are an aboveaverage Group of 5 team that w ill w in 5-6 games in the Sun Belt, and they’ll be in a bowl game.

But beyond that, I don’t anticipate Jamey Chadwell and co. being back in the New Year’s 6 conversation, and I truly don’t see them being any where near the Top 25 at the end of the season.

Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28 @nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authorit y are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics

Irish wide receiver Javon McKinley dives to make a long catch for a first down during Notre Dame’s 47-40 win over Clemson on Nov. 7.

14

Sports

The observer | wednesday, august 25, 2021 | ndsmcobserver.com

FOOtball

Chris Ackels becomes new voice of Notre Dame Stadium after Collins retires Observer Staff Report

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published online July 27.

The Universit y of Notre Dame announced July 27 that Chris Ackels w ill be taking over as the new public address announcer for the football stadium.

Ackels w ill fill the shoes of Michael Collins, who was public

address announcer for 39 years and who retired after the 2020 season.

Collins called over 230 straight games in the Notre Dame stadium.

Ackels’ voice w ill be a brand-new, and welcoming sound for the student body and fans across the countr y when Notre Dame stadium reopens at full capacit y in the fall, after COVID-19 restrictions

limited attendance to the student body and few others in the 2020 season.

“I’m getting chills up my spine thinking about how much fun it’s going to be just to be w ith that communit y on a Saturday in South Bend,” Ackels told Fighting Irish Media.

Ackels w ill ser ve in this role for all Fighting Irish home football games, including the

seven in this upcoming season.

Hav ing worked w ith the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Black hawks before, Ackels currently resides in Chicago and ser ves as the in-stadium host and emcee for the Chicago W hite Sox, according to Fighting Irish Media.

He has also announced events at four other universities. These include Saint Louis Universit y

and DePaul Universit y, where he earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees, respectively.

This is not Ackel’s first foray into the college football world either, as he has been the public address announcer in multiple conference championships and tournaments including games in the Big East, the Big Ten and the Atlantic 10.

Courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics

Crowds fill Notre Dame Stadium for a football game. As players stretch and warm up on the field, the band tunes in the stands, fans take their seats and students crowd onto the bleachers decked out in Notre Dame gear. The stadium will be back at full capacity this year starting with the home opener against the University of Toledo on Sept. 11.

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W Soccer Continued from page 16

goal.

The two early Irish goals lit a fire under the Falcons, which led to them committing 19 total fouls and picking up three yellow cards.

To close the first half, Bowling Green’s Katie Cox and Ruby Linton received yellow cards in the 34th and 40th respectively.

The Irish answered back throughout the game, accumulating 10 fouls but no yellow cards.

Shortly after the third Falcons yellow card, given to Mackenzie Reuber in the 63rd minute, Irish senior defender Brianna Martinez scored off a touch from freshman midfielder Korbin A lbert in the 67th minute.

This third goal closed out scoring for the Irish after seven shots on net and 15 shots overall.

In the 84th minute, Madi Wolf bauer gained enough momentum to find the back of the net for the Falcons.

But, despite their four shots on net and 11 shots overall, there wasn’t enough time to sw ing two more goals.

ndsmcobserver.com | Wednesday August 25, 2021 | The Observer

One place the Irish failed to convert against Bowling Green was off corners.

The Irish had six corners, none of which were converted.

Set piece struggles followed them to their Aug. 22 draw against the Indiana Hoosiers.

The Irish had nine corner opportunities during their matchup against the Hoosiers but never scored.

In the August heat, the intensit y persisted throughout the game.

Wingate, senior midfielder Brooke VanDyck and sophomore midfielder Eva Gaetino kept the pressure on the Hoosiers, but all found themselves just w ide.

Despite total shots the Irish never found the back of the net. The Irish kept the Hoosiers from scoring as well.

The Hoosiers instigated throughout the game w ith 16 fouls, but the referees handed yellow cards to just Fisher and sophomore defender Eva Wirtz, two Irish players, in the 50th minute and 99th minute.

Without a loss in the books though, the Irish turn next to face Wisconsin on Aug. 26 at 8:30 pm in Madison, W I. You can catch the game on BTN+.

Courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics

Irish senior forward Olivia Wingate steps up to receive a pass in order to take it to the goal at Alumni Stadium against Syracuse.

McKenna Continued from page 16

from the usual 64-team field, but both matches ended in 2-1 defeats.

However, Norman felt that the Irish should have won in Stillwater. If they had, he said Notre Dame would have likely been play ing in the Tournament’s last 16.

Under Norman, the Irish have been nothing if not fun to watch, but their abilit y to dominate the ball, press high and often create a plethora of chances has not always translated into results. Norman has acknowledged this trend on multiple occasions, but I agree w ith him that the huge leap for ward is coming.

Perhaps a College Cup is a bit too much to ask for, but I expect the Irish w ill surprise a lot of people when they close the regular season w ith an admittedly brutal five-game stretch.

Before hosting Wake Forest in the season finale, the Irish have consecutive games against No. 9 Clemson, No. 3 Virginia, No. 5 Duke and No. 2 North Carolina, the final three of which are on the road.

It’s been a while since the Irish dow ned a top-5 opponent. But they delivered at No. 13 Louisv ille last October in what was essentially a must-w in game to qualif y for the ACC Tournament. Notre Dame thoroughly outplayed the Cardinals for 70 minutes before holding on for a 1-0 v ictor y.

Against top-ranked UNC last year, Notre Dame was the better team early on before eventually succumbing 2-0 in Chapel Hill. But the Irish are now a team that can check off all the necessar y boxes.

Sure, the Irish have to be sharper in front of goal this year.

Notre Dame managed 1.38 goals per game last season, tied for 129th in the countr y. That w ill not cut it if the Irish hope to compete at the summit of the ACC. Chance creation is rarely a problem for Notre Dame, however, and the abundance of attacking talent at Norman’s disposal makes you believe that

the goals w ill come this year. Graduate student and three-year captain Sammi Fisher, who was able to return thanks to the NCA A’s blanket year of eligibilit y last season, is one the most dy namic players in the conference.

Watch her goal to open the scoring against Boston College last season, and you’ll understand why Norman has moved the 2020 Second Team A ll-ACC midfielder to for ward for Notre Dame’s first t wo matches this fall.

There is absolutely no doubt that she can finish in front of goal, as she did in the season opener vs.

Bowling Green, and she w ill still drop deep to create or unleash blasts from long range, like her effort that hit the crossbar from over thirt y yards out against the Falcons last Thursday.

This should also be a bounce back season for senior for ward Oliv ia Wingate. She only managed one goal in 11 games in 2020-21, but her turn and long-range strike just eight minutes into the new season didn’t look like a goal from a striker lacking in confidence.

Not many teams can say they have a third team allconference for ward waiting in the w ings as well.

Nobody performs the ‘super sub’ role better then junior Kiki Van Zanten.

She led the Irish w ith seven goals last season and was the only player in the ACC to record a hat-trick last fall.

With graduate student and former Icelandic youth international Hulda Osk Jonsdottir also an option off the bench, opposing back lines w ill have plent y to worr y about.

The Irish midfield might have even fewer question marks.

Seniors Brianna Martinez and Camr y n Dyke join Fisher as returning captains, while juniors Maddie Mercado and Kati Druzina w ill look to have breakout seasons after making 15 starts bet ween them last season.

Finally, Norman seems to have plent y of faith in Korbin A lbert, the 2018-19 ECNL Midwest Player of the Year. Norman has raved about the freshman, who has started both of Notre

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15

Dame’s first t wo games, for her proficiency in possession and desire to take defenders on one on one.

Of course, there are still going to be days when the attack is misfiring. The Irish missed some gilt-edged chances during Sunday’s 0-0 draw against Indiana, but Norman’s relatively young back-three prevented the Hoosiers from mustering a single shot on target.

Forgive the inev itable analogies from a Liverpool fan, but the Irish have their Virgil Van Dijk in Eva Gaetino.

Not only is she an imposing force in both boxes at 5-foot-11, but the sophomore also has the athleticism to stay w ith runners and is more than comfortable springing attacks w ith the ball at her feet.

Against Indiana, the Dexter, Mich., native even ex hibited the composure of a center-for ward to f lick a bouncing ball off a corner kick around a defender before hitting her volley narrowly over the bar.

It’s easy to see why Gaetino started all 13 games as a freshman last season, and Waniya Hudson’s importance at the back is similarly undeniable.

The junior led the Irish in minutes played last season, and I’d be w illing to put plent y of money dow n on her earning A ll-ACC honors at the end of the fall.

Even the least experienced member of the backthree, sophomore Eva Wirtz, still featured in 11 games last season, starting t wo.

With the veteran presence of senior Mattie Interian, who has started 25 games in goal over three seasons for the Irish, behind her, Wirtz should acclimate just fine.

So I’ll refuse to be bashful once again.

This team w ill compete w ith any program in the countr y, and they’ll play some of the most progressive, entertaining soccer you can find doing it.

Nate Norman w ill expect nothing less.

Contact Greg McKenna at gmckenna2@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authorit y are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

16

The observer | WEDNESDAY, August 25, 2021 | ndsmcobserver.com

ND WOmen’s Soccer

ND WOmen’s Soccer Column

Irish open season against Falcons, Hoosiers Observer Staff Report

Greg McKenna Sports Writer

After two ex hibition game w ins, one at home over the Ohio State Buckeyes and the other over the Fighting Illini in Champaign, IL, the Fighting Irish Women’s soccer team opened the season w ith a w in and a draw.

Against the Bowling Green Falcons, Notre Dame came away w ith a 3-1 w in at home on Aug. 19.

The Irish saw senior for ward Oliv ia Wingate step up only 7 minutes into the first half for a goal off an assist from junior midfielder Maddie Mercado.

Then, 28 minutes into the half, junior for ward Kati Druzina found graduate student midfielder Sammi Fisher for a second Irish see W SOCCER PAGE 15

Squad has no reason for low bar

Courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics

Irish graduate student midfielder Camryn Dyke prepares to send a ball down the field to her teammates for a scoring opportunity.

W hether it’s to play mind games w ith the opposition or insure against allegations of underachievement, soccer managers around the world love dow nplay ing expectations to the media.

After missing out on the NCA A Tournament for a second time in three years at a traditional women’s collegiate soccer blue-blood like Notre Dame, many coaches would be war y, at least publicly, of setting the bar too high.

Not Nate Norman.

W hen I inter v iewed the Irish head coach last spring after a uniquely grueling nine-month campaign — the ACC went ahead w ith an abbrev iated fall season while the t y pical developmental spring season was replaced by a slate of critical games due to the postponement of

the NCA A Tournament to the spring — he told me that this year’s team would be the most talented squad he’s had during his four years in South Bend.

I am similarly undaunted about encouraging loft y expectations for Norman’s teams.

A year ago today, I w rote that it was time for Notre Dame to “rejoin the elite” of women’s college soccer and advance to the College Cup for the first time since 2010, when the Irish won their third and most recent national title.

In a season of incredibly fine margins, things didn’t turn out that way. A coronav irus-induced pause in the spring meant the Irish had to get results at No. 18 Ok lahoma State and No. 7 TCU to have hopes of qualif y ing for the 48-team Tournament, contracted see MCKENNA PAGE 15

FOOTBALL

Kelly names Coan as starter for season opener Observer Staff Report

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published online on Aug. 14.

Head coach Brian Kelly has named graduate student transfer Jack Coan as the Irish starting quarterback ahead of the upcoming 2021 season.

Kelly discussed the reason for going w ith Coan as the starter instead of sophomore Drew Py ne and freshman Tyler Buchner.

“A ll three quarterbacks distinguished themselves in the spring and preseason camp,” Kelly tweeted Saturday afternoon.

“Clearly,” Kelly continued the tweet “Each has the skills necessar y to lead, but Jack Coan proved to be more consistent and therefore, going into our opener, gives us the best chance for success.”

Coan has plent y of experience as a starter, which may

prove beneficial for the Irish in their season opener in Tallahassee against Florida State.

During his career w ith Wisconsin, Coan completed 68% of his passes for 3,278 yards and 23 touchdow ns.

In 2019, Coan set a single season school record at Wisconsin by completing 236 passes.

Coan started all 14 games for the Badgers in 2019 and led his team to a Rose Bowl berth.

Coan did not play in the shortened 2020 season after suffering a foot injur y in a preseason practice.

The Badgers started then-freshman Graham Mertz the entire season, prompting Coan to transfer to Notre Dame in the offseason.

Coan w ill likely get a chance to redeem himself against his former team later this season when the Irish take on the Badgers at Soldier Field on September 25.

RYAN VIGILANTE | The Observer

Irish graduate transfer quarterback Jack Coan prepares to throw during practice this spring. Kelly announced over the summer that Coan would be the signal caller for the season opener against FSU.