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Volume 54, Issue 17 | thursday, september 19, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com
Police chief mentions CCTV Shibata, Russell discuss residential life policy changes with student senators By JACK JERIT News Writer
In its weekly meeting, the student senate met with Heather Rakoczy Russell, associate vice president for residential life, and Keri Kei Shibata, chief of the Notre Dame Police Department (NDPD), to discuss the new rules implemented this year about residence life card access policy and some potential future safety measures such as police-operated CCTV cameras at the entrance to each dorm. The meeting began with a brief overview from the University leaders about the new policy
and its motivations. In response to a question about how NDPD can keep track of who is entering and exiting a dorm for security purposes, Shibata said the force is looking at installing Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras to monitor dorm entrances and exits. “You guys don’t know this yet, but we are looking at adding CCTV cameras to cover the main entrances and exits of the dorms, not inside the halls throughout, but just covering those entrances so that we would have that ability and the problem of holding open doors and the fact that was occurring long before
this policy was ever in place tells us that there was a gap even before this became the policy,” she said. Shibata said only police would have access to footage. “There will be very strict guidelines about who has access — it will be the police only that have access to that video used for very strict purposes of investigating or if there is something going on following an incident for criminal or safety purposes,” she said. The prospect of CCTV cameras being in the dorm did not sit well with some of the senators who asked more questions about the topic.
Former EU ambassador lectures on diplomacy By AARON PARK News Writer
Former European Union (EU) Ambassador to the United States David O’Sullivan highlighted nationalism, climate change and migration as key issues facing Europe at his Nanovic Forum Lecture, titled “Europe and the United States: Friends and Allies, or Rivals? ” on Wednesday evening. O’Sullivan, who has also formerly served as the former secretary-general of the European Commission, also addressed key ways in which the Europe-U.S. relationship has changed in recent years. “We are going through, in my opinion, a profoundly dangerous moment in the western world in terms of our politics,” O’Sullivan said. “We’re having this on both sides of the Atlantic, and I hope we will find each other at the end of this an unreconstructed believer in the importance of the transatlantic relationship.” The speech was the centerpiece of the 2019 Nanovic
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Forum Lecture, an annual event held by the Nanovic Institute for European Studies to spotlight issues surrounding European politics. Past invitees to the event include Rolf-Dieter Heuer, the former DirectorGeneral of CERN, and Polish film director Krzysztof Zanussi. O’Sullivan addressed several of the major political issues facing the EU and its relationship with the United States. He singled out the rise of right-wing populist movements in both Europe and the United States as well as the changing demographics of the United States as reasons why the transatlantic relationship between the two entities needs to be discussed and potentially reevaluated. “We need to reinvent this relationship for every generation,” O’Sullivan said. “We need to explain why African-Americans, AsianAmericans and HispanicAmericans have an interest in this relationship even if their ancestors didn’t come from there. It’s very easy if
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your ancestors came from Ireland and moved over and backwards and forwards, or from Scotland or Italy. The fact is that we share values and interests which are not dependent on connection of kith and kin and family, but rather on shared value.” O’Sullivan identified climate change and the debate over military spending as critical points of contention between the United States and the EU. “The security and economic implications of climate change are massive,” O’Sullivan said. “Climate-change migration, climate-change poverty, climate-change conf lict over scarce resources and water, desertification. Climate change has the potential to dramatically change the way this planet functions, not just ecologically and not just in terms of changing weather patterns, but actual conf lict and warfare.” Despite the political issues he has previously described, O’Sullivan remarked on the see AMBASSADOR PAGE 4
viewpoint PAGE 6
“If there was a student referendum, and it showed that students were very, very, strongly against the addition of security cameras into the main corridors of our dorms, would you guys not add it?” Daniel Feldmeier asked, a sophomore from Siegfried. “We would listen and try to understand why, but if we strongly believe that this is the right thing to do, then we need to do it whether it’s student opinion that it should be or not,” Shibata said. Russell clarified very quickly that these cameras would not be in main corridors but see CCTV PAGE 4
Rape reported at ND Observer Staff Report
A rape was reported Monday to the Notre Dame Title IX Office, according to the Notre Dame Police Department’s Wednesday crime log. The alleged incident is listed as having occurred “on campus” Sept. 1. Information about sexual assault prevention and resources for survivors of sexual assault are available online from NDPD and from the Title IX office.
Fort Wayne bishop delivers pro-life lecture
MARGARET CICCHIELLO | The Observer
Bishop Kevin Rhoades stands with Bonita Murphy, Saint Mary’s senior and treasurer of Belles for Life, after delivering a lecture. By MARGARET CICCHIELLO News Writer
On Wednesday, Kevin Rhoades, bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend, addressed students, members of Belles for Life, faculty and members of the South Bend community at Saint Mary’s in a lecture entitled “To Be Authentically
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Catholic is to be Pro-Life.” This talk was part of a series presented by Belles for Life, a student organization that “promotes the culture of life on campus, especially the life of the unborn,” senior Bonita Murphy, the group’s treasurer, said. In the past, individuals see BISHOP PAGE 3
men’s soccer PAGE 12
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TODAY
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Students meet up and study in the Hagerty Family Cafe in the Duncan Student Center. The cafe — whose offerings include crepes and gelato — is one of several eateries in the student center. The space has proven to be a popular spot for student gatherings.
The next Five days:
Want your event included here? Email news@ndsmcobserver.com
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
“Too Bad We’re Not Capitalists” 214 Riley Hall 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Closing reception for printmaking exhibition.
“What’s Peace Got to Do With It?” Hesburgh Center for International Studies 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Panel discussion.
2019 Domer Run Irish Green 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. 10K, 5K or 2-mile walk to benefit local cancer education.
Film: “Burden” DeBartolo Performing Arts Center 3 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Life of Mike Burden in the Klu Klux Klan.
Mathematics Blood Drive Hurley Hall 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Sign up online to donate blood.
Film: “Night School” DeBartolo Performing Arts Center 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Free tickets available for pick-up at 6 p.m.
Concert: Leslie Odom Jr. DeBartolo Performing Arts Center 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Tickets sold online.
Exhibit: “Looking at the Stars” Snite Musuem of Art all day View recently acquired collection of Irish art.
Organist Concert Basilica of the Sacred Heart 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Alumnus Daniel Sansone plays.
Guest Piano Masterclass LaBar Recital Hall 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Free and open to the public.
News
ndsmcobserver.com | thursday, september 19, 2019 | The Observer
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On-campus flower shop caters to students By JACKSON OXLER News Writer
With the new school year in full swing, Irish Gardens — Notre Dame’s f lower shop located in the basement of the LaFortune Student Center — is ready to take on the opportunity to grow and develop their business. Unlike some businesses or restaurants located on campus, Irish Gardens is entirely studentrun and student-managed. Discussing the services the business offers, senior Sammy Loper, the store’s general manger, said Irish Gardens aims to offer a more affordable product than other f lower shops. “We really cater to the student body. Other f lorists charge high prices, so much for delivery and there are hidden fees,” Loper said. ”We realize that college students
don’t have that kind of budget, so what you see is what you get.” Irish Gardens offers the student body a wide variety of options from bouquets wrapped in paper to full-vase displays; delivery on Notre Dame’s campus is $5 and the price for delivery for Saint Mary’s students. is $7. Loper explained that the store’s delivery capabilities cover the entirety of both campuses. “We can deliver any where on the campuses,” she said. ”We do balloons also which a lot of people don’t know about, for birthdays and pretty much any occasion.” Emily Chen, a sophomore in McGlinn Hall, said Irish Gardens provided the perfect gift when her mom came to visit campus last spring. “It was Mother’s Day and I wanted to do something nice for my mom because she was
coming to see me,” she said. ”I wasn’t sure what to do because I couldn’t get off campus, so I decided to check out Irish Gardens to get her f lowers.” Opening its doors in 1983, the f lower shop has been serving the students of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s for nearly four decades. Loper said she found the application on Facebook several years ago and decided to apply for the position. She enjoyed the work and decided to continue. “I saw the application on the Carroll Hall Facebook page when I was a sophomore, and so I applied and got the job. It’s a great place to work here, and so I just continued working. And then when it was time to choose new managers I applied and got the position,” she said. Senior Alicia Cristoforo is
another Irish Gardens employee. She started working in the shop last year and said the opportunity presents a chance to showcase her creativity as well as get a taste of the warmer months during the winter. “I started working here my junior year, and it has always been a great creative outlet in between classes,” she said. ”Getting to make f lower arrangements in the middle of the winter was something that is nice to do.” The group that operates Irish Gardens is tight knit, Cristoforo said. She also said the job has given her an opportunity to bring joy to members of the Notre Dame community. “This has been by far the best job I’ve ever had. We get to make people really happy,” she said ”Sometimes people will come in here just to look
at the f lowers. I work with really great people and we call ourselves the Flower Fam.” As the new school year begins, Loper said the business is focused on raising its profile. In particular, She said the f lower shop is trying to make more people aware of its existence and presence in LaFortune through heightened social media engagement. “We are really trying to increase our social media presence and get our name out there more,” she said. ”One of our biggest obstacles is that people don’t know we exist, being tucked away in the basement.” Students can stay up to date on all things Irish Gardens on Instagram at @irishgardens or twitter at @f lowershopnd. Contact Jackson Oxler at joxler@nd.edu
ND Outing Club organizes nature excursions By ALYSA GUFFEY News Writer
Ryan Wigglesworth, president of the Notre Dame Outing Club and a sophomore, wanted to create a space where he could share his passion for the outdoors. This nature-oriented club existed a few years ago, but Wigglesworth wanted to revamp the program. “An outing club was something that I really wanted when I was looking at colleges,” Wigglesworth said. “Notre Dame didn’t really have that, so that was my motivation when starting the club up.” Wigglesworth created the club last spring, and the 20192020 academic year is the
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such as Lisa Marino, who led a discussion about authentic womanhood, have come to speak and give different perspectives on different topics. “Everyone is welcome to come and listen,” Murphy said. Senior Morgan Chicester, president of Belles for Life, said the event presented a chance for the community to explore how to best protect life. “We have the opportunity to learn about how faith and justice can empower us to fight for the value and dignity of all human life,” Chichester said. In his remarks, Rhoades said contemporary political divisions have manifested themselves in debates in the Church. “There’s a terrible split that has taken place among some in the Church, a division
club’s official kick off. The club is holding its first day trip Saturday, where 21 students will travel to Warren Dunes State Park in Michigan. Leadership of the club is currently working on plans for the rest of the year with possible outings including a backpack trip, a ski day, kayaking and short hikes, Wigglesworth said. The club is open to all Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross students. No prior outdoors experience is necessary. “We’re trying to have a variety of activities, so there’s room for everyone to come on with a range of skill levels,” he said. “I would encourage anyone who is interested to sign up and try it out, even if it’s
just for one afternoon.” The club has an official Instagram account, @outingclubnd, where the group will share pictures and stories from a variety of trips. Instagram has been one way Wigglesworth and the other officers have reached students with an interest in the club. “I have been pretty overwhelmed by the amount of attention the club has gotten,” Wigglesworth said. “At the activities fair, we got 270 people to sign up which was pretty cool, and the Instagram has exploded.” Freshman Mary Kate Temple is one of the new members of the club participating in the trip to Michigan this weekend. Temple has
never visited Warren Dunes, but she said she is excited to explore the area with her classmates. “I knew coming to Notre Dame that I wanted to join a hiking or outdoors club,” she said. “I’m hoping to meet new friends from the club, and also get to spend some time in nature to get away from all of the stress and busyness of campus.” Wigglesworth said he hopes to create an atmosphere where students can connect with others who share similar interests. He also acknowledged the positive impact that nature has had on his life and his desire to share his passion with students across the Notre Dame community.
Wigglesworth spoke to the club’s goal of venturing off campus to foster community. “Something that we really want to focus on as a club is doing more outside trips that aren’t at Notre Dame,” Wigglesworth said. “I think it’ll help students break out of patterns and find new stuff to do over the weekend, as well as create a community of outdoors-minded people here on campus. This club is special to me because I like being outdoors a lot, and I also like other people who like being outdoors a lot, so I’m hoping it will attract others who feel the same way.”
between so-called ‘pro-life’ and ‘social justice’ Catholics,” Rhoades said. “This is a false dichotomy. The cultural and political polarization in our society has creeped into the Church. I can’t think of a saint of the Church who was not passionately committed to the love of the poor and needy and also to the love and protection of the unborn. We can’t be ‘either-or’ Catholics. One of the great strengths of Catholicism is that we are ‘both-and.’” Rhoades defined “pro-life” as a commitment to protecting human life in a variety of ways. “We believe in the sacred value and dignity of every human life, at every stage of life,” he said. He went on to emphasize the importance of combating social and pro-life issues such as euthanasia, abortion, deportation, subhuman living conditions and human trafficking.
He quoted “Gaudium et spes”, saying these “infamies … poison human society … and are a supreme dishonor to the Creator.” During the question and answer portion of his presentation, Bishop Rhoades described the large refugee service in the Fort WayneSouth Bend Diocese. He recounted how, in the past, they resettled about 300 refugees a year and how that number has decreased by approximately half since Donald Trump became president. He described how a couple thousand Burmese refugees have been resettled in this diocese and how he has learned from them and from his work on the board of Catholic Relief Services. He said he thinks being “pro-life” includes standing up for these refugees. “What they went through; that persecution in their own
country, and then waiting for some nation to welcome them, I’m so happy when we can do that in the United States. It really deeply saddens me that we have these families and these children …who are displaced,” he said. “There are people whose lives are in danger [and] I feel that we as a nation have a moral obligation to be open to refugees. I think it is a pro-life issue; it is a matter of life or death for some of them. And I think we need to be a lot more generous.” A key part of the human experience is showing love in a selfless way, Rhoades said. “We’re only truly fulfilled as human beings through selfgiving love,” he said. Murphy, who organized the event, was happy that so many were able to attend. “By inviting Bishop Rhoades to speak at Saint Mary’s, Belles for Life has incorporated all
of Saint Mary’s core values: learning, community, faith and spirituality and justice,” Murphy said. ”The talk supports learning by expanding one’s knowledge through strengthening one’s viewpoint or gaining a better understanding of a differing one. The talk strengthens community by bringing members of Saint Mary’s to a respectful, welcoming conversation. Bishop Kevin Rhoades has had longstanding commitment to the pro-life movement on a national level and is well versed in speaking in a way that honors the college’s Catholic foundation. Belles for Life, dedicated to pursuing justice and protecting the right to life of the unborn, is honored to host him in our fall 2019 speaker series.”
Contact Alysa Guffey at aguffey@nd.edu
Contact Margaret Cicchiello at mcicchiello01@saintmarys.edu
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NEWS
The observer | thursday, september 19, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com
CCTV Continued from page 1
facing main entrances and exits of the dorms. Shibata said the University decided that the past strategy whereby the locksmith office handled dorm access was no longer feasible. “Previously access control was really handled by the locksmith office, and maintenance and their department have changed a little bit,” Shibata said. “The University has come to realize that the locksmith’s office should certainly implement door hardware, the access control system and things like that, but that it shouldn’t necessarily control policy of access control, and so we put together a working group and a higher level steering committee to take a look at access control across campus and establish the right policies for campus; … Ultimately, it will result in some broader policy and probably not a whole lot of difference in people’s daily experience.” Russell addressed the context for the policy change. She brought up three main points about how the world has increasingly become more unsafe in recent years: more domestic terrorism, the fact there are now current Notre Dame students who are survivors of mass shootings with post-traumatic stress and current and past Title IX cases with both parties being Notre Dame students. “In terms of what informed the decision, I would go back to what I said a moment ago which is assessment as our standard of excellence for making these kinds of decisions at an institution like Notre Dame and also at our peer institutions. The first kind of test we looked at is what we called an Administrative Unit Review (AUR),” Russell said. “It is a process that our vice president for student affairs, Erin Hoffmann Harding, when she became vice president eight years ago, asked every department in the division of student affairs to undergo. At the time, Residential Life was called the Office of Housing and it was the first office to undergo an AUR.” Russell explained that Notre Dame looked at four peer institutions who then formally reviewed the University’s self study at the time. The biggest concern amongst those universities was safety and security. A second tool used was benchmarking Notre Dame’s standards against similar institutions in the category of safety. Lastly, they began using National Best Practices as a guidance policy. She briefly detailed each guideline. The first guideline entails that residence hall doors are locked at all times. The second entails that access to the dorm is limited to only those living in that dorm. The third specifies that all dorm traffic must be directed towards one central entrance outside visiting hours. The fourth is the presence of a card reader access system. The fifth is a general education for the community of safety standards. “Informed by the AUR, benchmarking against various schools some of which I mentioned, and
the national best practices — five of which are relevant here — that started to inform what looked like the policy that you heard announced in early August,” Russell said. Senators asked Russell and Shibata questions about the policy. Some questions centered around the issue of stalkers on campus. “Beforehand, if you couldn’t swipe into a dorm, you didn’t belong. People asked you ‘why are you here?’ or ‘who do you know?’ Beforehand, if someone was following you or you thought you were being stalked by someone who doesn’t live at Notre Dame, you could dip into a dorm and hide,” Quentin Colo, an off campus senior, said. “But now people are just letting anyone in; they just assume you are from another dorm, or now, if you are being stalked, you have to go back to your own dorm and the person has to follow you there. … Have you considered that this policy will make campus more unsafe than safer?” Russell and Shibata addressed the issue talking about an experience last year with two real students waking up to their stalker outside their dorm door and that stalkers are much more likely to be someone you are close to as opposed to a complete stranger. Russell expressed disappointment in students letting everyone inside the dorm and that she had begun educating hall staff on having residents follow the new dorm policy. Later in the meeting, the issue of stalking was brought back to light when discussing the number of stalking incidents per year. Shibata refuted the perception that stalking is done by strangers and not familiar faces; Russell also clarified that theft is the most common crime on campus. “This decision wasn’t made just because of stalking cases,” Russell said, “What is rampant, is theft, and it’s what rectors and hall staffs are regularly contacted about.” While discussion was beginning to wrap up, there was questions about whether the documentation the University used for their policy could be made available. “You repeated a lot of talking points over and over again, referring to these studies or councils that you formed,” sophomore Thomas Davis, the senate parliamentarian, said. “I was wondering if you would be willing to share all documentation from those with the student senate so that we can review them in order to understand what direction exactly these points lead to and if we would choose the same decision coming from our perspective, the people who actually live on the student’s halls.” “No, and for the reason that I would not be able — so it’s not a matter of wanting which was your question — the reason I would not be able to share the benchmarking and National Best Practices is because I don’t own that data,” Russell said. “It comes from other institutions, not our own. It is not my public property or my intellectual property to share.” Contact Jack Jerit at jjerit@nd.edu
Ambassador Continued from page 1
relative strength and stability of the EU as a whole, and downplayed several points of concern. “Yes we have problems, yes we have some challenges, but actually life goes on pretty normally and people are still living pretty well,” he said. “We have pretty good healthcare, education systems, social welfare systems, the economy’s doing reasonably well. I’m not saying we don’t have challenges, but it doesn’t actually feel like the place is falling apart in the slightest. The impression sometimes gained on this side of the Atlantic is, in my view, a little too negative.” On military spending, O’Sullivan noted that the combined military expenditure of the EU was second-largest in the world, greater than that of China or Russia. The problem, O’Sullivan said, lay in the decentralization of European military power. O’Sullivan also mentioned the EU’s contributions to overseas development, which he said constituted 60% of all overseas development spending. “That is a burden that we bear financially which is not shared by the United States because you’re spending money on defense, which I understand,” he said. On migrants, O’Sullivan noted that the size and population of the EU made the intake of one or two million refugees a less
daunting task than some critics would claim. O’Sullivan delivered his lecture in a filled-to-capacity seminar room in Jenkins-Nanovic Hall. Student attendees said they appreciated his insights about the Transatlantic Alliance. “I really liked the points where he highlighted how, from the European perspective, there’s still a deep sense of gratitude,” Kyle Dorshorst, a sophomore who attended the event, said. “There’s the shared history of a struggle and of liberation. I think in the moments when there are some divisions, if we can turn back to that history that’ll help us continue to work together heading into the future.” The former ambassador will also be on campus Thursday and Friday, meeting with students and faculty studying international politics, including Dorshorst. “He obviously has a lot of experience negotiating a lot of complex personalities and managing different interests in order to read a consensus,” Dorshorst said. “I feel like that will be really important going forward in solving some of the world’s biggest issues.” O’Sullivan will also guest lecture Professor Andrew Gould’s European politics class on Thursday. Professor William C. Donahue, the director of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, said students in that class have a unique opportunity to learn from O’Sullivan and his expertise. Paid Advertisement
“[O’Sullivan] was a guest speaker in a class that we’re offering at the Institute called the ‘Washington D.C. Seminar on Transnational European Studies’ and he gave us a 60-minute overview of the current issues in the EU, so I know what’s on [Gould]’s mind,” he said. “His students are extremely lucky to have probably the world expert on contemporary issues in the EU.” Donahue said he hoped the lecture would lead to increased student interest in the politics and problems of modern Europe. “There is a cultural lag that Europe is more of the place that we go for vacation, to look at castles and libraries and float down the Rhine and drink good wine,” he said. “All those things are fine, but I think sometimes people are hesitant to acknowledge that Europe is a place of great strife.” Donahue said the United States needs a strong Europe in order to help maintain stability in the world. “We need Europe to succeed in terms of its peacekeeping, in terms of its economics, because they’re a hugely important partner for us,” he said. “We need the stability, we need to know that it’s going to be okay, that this free-trade zone which took decades to build up is going to continue at a high level. The overall relevance of this relationship becomes clear.” Contact Aaron Park at apark2@nd.edu
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The observer | thursday, september 19, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com
By HANNA KENNEDY Scene Writer
Philosophy asks the tough questions: What does it mean to live a good life? How can I be a good person? What do I do if I see a runaway trolley moving toward five tied-up people and I have the power to save those five at the expense of one? But you’re in luck. TV has the answers. Sort of. Monday, the first question moderator Peter Holland, associate dean of the arts, posed to Mike Schur, creator of “The Good Place” and “Parks and Recreation,” and his fellow panelists, Meghan Sullivan, professor of philosophy and director of the God and the Good Life Program, and Christine Becker, associate professor of film, television and theatre, was the one that headlined the event: Can Television Make Us Better People? In response, Schur gave the honest — though probably hard to hear for any moral philosophers in the audience — answer that “if television can’t make us better people, then nothing can.” And he’s right. Schur went on to support his claim with the fact that there is nothing Americans engage
By WILLOUGHBY THOM Scene Writer
Daniel Johnston is a name that will forever be remembered but only by a select few — a small, devoted following who considers him the most influential songwriter, artist and outsider to have ever walked this earth. Johnston passed away at his home in Waller, Texas, on Sept. 11 at the age 58. If you’re unfamiliar with Daniel Johnston, you’re not alone. Unlike Eddie Money’s death last week, Johnston’s death was greatly over shadowed. Johnston was wellknown to the indie and underground rock scene, but his unconventional and raspy sound was one that was not commonly well received. However, Johnston made a huge impact on music despite going unrecognized (with the exception of Kurt Cobain and his t-shirt at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards). Johnston was one of the greatest songwriters ever to grace the underground. He was the king of old-school melodies, haunting lyrics and child-like vocals. He began releasing his music in 1980 when he was living in Austin, Texas, and working at the local McDonald’s. He recorded
with more than television. Over 39 million people alone watched the pilot episode of “The Good Place.” “If television has no impact, we’re screwed,” Schur said. Yet, according to moral philosophers, you can’t try to be a better person. To paraphrase Schur: We’re already screwed; it’s not possible. This, at least, is what he was told by Pamela Hieronymi, a professor of philosophy at the University of California at Los Angeles and current consultant on “The Good Place,” when he approached her with the idea for the show. Pressing the established professor, Schur remembers asking Hieronymi if there wasn’t just one philosopher who believed that we could try to be better people. Her response: Yes, just one. Aristotle. That was enough for Schur. He continued his deep dive into the history of moral philosophy and his desire to, in his words, take a “big swing” with his chance to produce a guaranteed season of television. Schur felt the obligation to make something meaningful because, as all three panelists acknowledged, television easily has the power to make you a worse person. As if to prove his point about the downsides of
television, much to Schur’s dismay, the audiencedirected portion of the evening veered from the “The Good Place” and moral philosophy to Schur’s role as Dwight’s cousin, Mose, on “The Office.” Devastated that this role will be his lasting legacy — even if he “cures esophageal cancer” — Schur reluctantly told the story of the fraternity-like hazing that resulted in his playing the part. The night, however, took its most unexpected turn at the very end. After the discussion had finished and the panelists were thanked, the event’s organizers took over. They had a surprise for Schur. Projected onto the screen was a clip from season three, episode 16 of “Parks and Recreation.” Fans of the show immediately knew where this was going. When Ron Swanson said, “Son, this horse has an honorary degree from Notre Dame,” everyone knew where this was going. Li’l Sebastian finally received his honorary degree from the University of Notre Dame and the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center now has a popcorn machine dedicated to the famous horse.
his debut album “Songs of Pain” on a simple tape recorder and distributed his cassettes to McDonald’s customers, people on the street and anyone who would accept a tape graced with his hand-drawn cover. Listening to “Songs of Pain” is emotional and intensely beautiful. Every song on the album is packed with sincerity and truth. The simplicity of the lyrics, the recording process and the lack of instrumental depth don’t matter because the album is a cry for truth. Music, like any type of art, doesn’t have rules that need to be followed and guidelines to adhere to. Johnston would welcome any fame but never at the expense of sincerity. No two of his songs sound alike. Throughout his life, Johnston battled with severe depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. But he also had a childlike charm. He worshipped Casper the Friendly Ghost and Captain America and — as a lover of the Beatles — he believed John Lennon had already returned to earth in another dimension. With his youthful imagination, he excelled at illustration. His drawings of crazy aliens, strange animals and cartoon-like images were all done with with magic marker — his signature style. Every album he released was decorated with one of
his drawings, adding to the innocence of his music. Johnston’s first commercial album “Hi, How Are You?” pulled him right to the edge of the limelight. With the backing of his previous albums, he eventually caught MTV’s attention and became a part of the college rock circuit, which included Sonic Youth and Butthole Surfers. Jeff Feuerzeig’s 2006 film “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” brought his artistry and imagination to the big screen. In 2017, he went on his farewell tour with members of Wilco, Fugazi and Built to Spill. It’s sad to see another brilliant musician go, but, in the minds of a faithful few, his legacy will live on.
Contact Hanna Kennedy at hkenned2@nd.edu
Five essential songs from Daniel Johnston: “Joy With Pleasure” from “Songs of Pain” (1980) “The Sun Shines Down on Me” from “Don’t Be Scared” (1982) “Speeding Motorcycle” from “Yip/Jump Music” (1983) “Walking the Cow” from “Hi, How Are You?” (1983) “True Love Will Find You in the End” from “Retired Boxer” (1985) Contact Willoughby Thom at wthom@nd.edu CRISTINA INTERIANO | The Observer
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The observer | thursday, September 19, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com
Inside Column
A guide to managing family life Colin Capece Sports Writer
Monday was my 19th birthday. It was also probably one of the toughest days I’ve had since returning to Notre Dame this fall. If this makes no sense to you, allow me to explain. Growing up in an Italian American household, one of the core values that was stressed by my parents was that family comes before anything else in life. This is something that I still pride myself on today, as my family has been my unwavering support system during my time as a college student. It’s always a pleasure to speak with my relatives when they call, but gosh, can Italians talk. Saying goodbye is actually an indication to us that we should start an entirely new conversation. On Monday, all four of my grandparents called individually to wish me a happy birthday, but then continued to talk for 45 minutes each about topics ranging from Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg to my plans for spring break in seven months. In addition, I spoke with both of my parents on the phone and took a FaceTime call with my entire immediate family (including my dog Maggie). In total, I spent roughly five hours talking to my relatives Monday. While it’s incredible to experience such love and care from the people closest to me, it’s not exactly conducive to finishing Tuesday’s business law homework in a timely manner. Monday night eventually bled into Tuesday morning, and as I type this piece, I slowly begin to doze off. I have learned over the last year that one of the most difficult things to do as a college student is to balance my family life with my life here at Notre Dame. Adjusting to the fact that I have to carve time out of my day to speak with my loved ones instead of just heading down to the kitchen was certainly difficult for me. However, I have learned that there is an art form to keeping close contact with family while still managing all of the other obligations that college students have. Here’s my advice for how to do so. First, figure out one specific day and time that you will talk to your entire family. For me, this is usually Sunday around 9 p.m., but this, of course, is dependent on your schedule and what works best for you and your family. My family members used to call me at difficult times to speak during the day, but I always felt bad telling them no. Setting a specific date and time will allow you to manage your school work better and keep you focused when you need to be. If you know exactly when you will be speaking to your family, you will make sure you finish what you need to do. Secondly, make sure you text someone from your family every day to let them know that you’re alive. My mom always appreciates when I let her know how I’m doing or if I have a question about something important going on in my life. Text conversations certainly don’t have to last as long as weekly phone conversations. A few messages back and forth each day will help you and your family members feel more connected and don’t have to completely interfere with your daily routine. Lastly, as difficult as it may be, don’t be afraid to cut conversations short if necessary. Your family loves speaking with you but is also aware that you have a life outside of them as well. Don’t let conversations carry on if you really need to take care of something, and always be transparent with your family about how much time you have to speak. They really just want what’s best for you and won’t be offended if you have to cut them short from time to time. Contact Colin Capece at ccapece@nd.edu The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Where in the world is Erin Hoffmann Harding? Ben Testani Off Campus, On Topic
In the past two years, there have been a tremendous amount of changes to student life at the University of Notre Dame. Baumer Hall has its first residents. A new women’s hall is nearing completion. Pizza Pi opened up in place of Reckers (RIP) and serves alcohol on campus. The football program added another building as it continues its slow takeover of the entire campus. And oh yeah, now everyone has to live on campus for three years, you can only swipe into your current dorm and off-campus students are being relegated to secondclass students. Those are some big changes. Thankfully, they were well planned out with input from a diverse group of students, faculty and staff. There was careful deliberation and an honest discussion with the student body before announcing these changes. Yes, God bless Campus Dining, who have been relatively transparent and receptive to student input during its entire development process. Hopefully Notre Dame residential life is taking notes. Do students even know who the people making these decisions are? They rarely meet with the student senate, let alone open-campus groups. Yet they hold immense power over our lives and wallets, forcing changes down our throats without so much as a period for public comment. There was one meeting over the three-year housing mandate, and it was back in 2017. There were zero meetings about relegating off-campus students to a lesser status or restricting dorm swipes. I encourage readers to email Heather Rakoczy Russell, our associate vice president for residential life, and share their respectful and professional opinions on the new changes. Not a student anymore, or never were one in the first place? Notre Dame loves to promote its family atmosphere, so that means your opinion matters too. Perhaps your dissatisfaction is particularly strong, or your concerns expand beyond that of residential life alone. I would direct you to Erin Hoffmann Harding, our vice president of student affairs. Unlike Rakoczy Russell, however, she does not post her email publicly on her biography on our website. That is very understandable. She is a part of the president’s leadership council with the other VPs and the provost, so she presumably does not have time to answer mundane student emails on a daily basis. After all, it is not as though I can simply text Sen. Charles Schumer when I am upset with a new congressional action at home in New York. Sen. Schumer, the current Minority Leader in the Senate, does travel around New York during recesses to meet with his constituents. A quick glance at his website shows he has even visited my home county, Onondaga, a few times in 2019. This shows me he is at the very least pretending to care about all the residents of New York, not just the wealthy donors of Lower Manhattan. Since this is not a political column, and in the interest of
nonpartisanship, I also want to point out that my Republican U.S. Rep. John Katko has hosted town halls across Onondaga County as well. My howme county has a population of approximately 465,000 people. New York as a whole is home to over 19 million people. Notre Dame has, on average, 8,500 undergraduate students from year to year. Graduate students are people too, and their concerns are equally valid, but they are much less impacted (so far) by changes to residential life and dorm policies. Despite this much smaller “constituency,” there has been one town hall since the first change to housing policies were announced, and that was over two years ago. Some of the freshmen on campus for that meeting are 21 now. The conclusion I am drawing is simple. Our university’s professional leadership needs to be more accountable for its decisions and actions. Meet with students more and in less formal settings than student senate. Ask for our feedback before making changes. Even asking at all would be an improvement. Give more power to student government, whose biggest changes year to year seem to be which artist they can book to fail to s≠how up to a show in Stepan. And to student government: Do your part to hold our professional leadership more accountable. They seem marginally more willing to meet with you as a body, so take advantage of this. Pass resolutions condemning unpopular policies. Encourage your friends and dorm neighbors to show up to senate meetings and make their voices heard. This campus is apathetic to a fault, but even we seem to have a breaking point. More than 1,000 students showed up at the Golden Dome last spring to protest the housing policy changes. I was genuinely sad I was abroad and unable to join in on the first major subversive action taken in my time at Notre Dame. I was also extremely proud of my fellow students, and of my old RA who started the petition denouncing the exclusion of off campus students from campus life. It should be noted that despite the unprecedented display of protest by their students and the petition with over 6,000 signatures, there was no response from University officials. Former President Barack Obama took time to respond to official We the People petitions on such diverse issues as funding the Death Star and freedom to choose your own cell phone network. I think our president’s council, which lists among its commitments “Build a Notre Dame community in which all can flourish,” can take the time to address a petition with a backing equivalent to almost 75% of our undergraduate population. It is far past time for our professional leadership to be more accessible and for our student leaders to demand this of them. Do your part, stay informed and get involved. Ben Testani is a senior studying international economics, Arabic and Spanish. He comes to Notre Dame via Central New York and, while currently residing off campus, will always be a proud Alumni Dawg. He welcomes feedback at btestani@nd.edu or @BenTestani on Twitter.
Submit a Letter to the Editor: viewpoint@ndsmcobserver.com
The observer | thursday, September 19, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com
7
It’s OK to not be OK Daniel Lau Diversity Council
What would you do if your best friend told you they were having a bad day? Would you tell them to “cheer up?” Would you start talking about how bad your day was too, in an attempt to show them how much you “understand?” We’re always trying to make ourselves and others “cheer up” and look on the bright side when, in reality, what we should be doing is confronting our emotions. What ends up happening, though, is quite the opposite. We just put our feelings to the side and hope they go away along with the rest of our problems. Instead, these feelings build up and transform into mental health issues like generalized anxiety and depression. But most of us don’t look for help when it comes to our mental health. Fears of being seen as “crazy” or “weird” plague our minds and stop us from getting
help. We’re so used to being “happy” all the time that the thought of being anything else should bring a great deal of worry and bewilderment to us and those around us. Walking around and hearing things like “Bro, my girlfriend is being so bipolar right now,” or, “I forgot to study for my calc test, guess I better go kill myself,” don’t help the situation at all either. Yes, we all know you literally don’t want to kill yourself, but how do you think someone who has actually wanted to kill themselves feel when they hear someone say that? It probably hurts, but we dismiss these “what if’s” because nobody is actually struggling with their mental health, right? Wrong! As a community, we can’t forget that there are some of us — really the majority of us — that suffer from mental illnesses. Whether it’s a mild case of anxiety, or severe depression, there shouldn’t be any stigma around getting help. The next time you think about saying something like “KMS” or “You’re so OCD,” maybe think about how your words affect
the broader issue, especially as we come to the end of National Suicide Prevention Month. As someone who’s dealt with mental illnesses, and still is to this day, just remember that you’re not alone, and never forget, it’s always OK to not be OK. If you or anyone you know is dealing with suicidal thoughts, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255. Daniel Lau is a freshman currently majoring in political science, and he can be reached at dlau@nd.edu The Diversity Council of Notre Dame advocates for awareness, understanding and acceptance on issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and other intersectional identities in the Notre Dame community. The viewpoints expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Diversity Council, but are the individual opinions of the author. You can contact Diversity Council at diversnd@nd.edu
Letter to the editor
A call for empathy from a gay Catholic It’s that time of year again. Time for someone to write the good ol’ “Notre Dame is Catholic and its Catholicism makes it valuable and unique, which means its LGBT students better suck it up and shut up” letter to the editor. Surely, as has happened before, upon reading this, an LGBTQ+ person will write an article in response, arguing that precisely because the University is Catholic, it has an obligation to welcome and defend its most vulnerable members; this is because of the preferential option for the poor, because of the fundamental equality of human dignity, because of solidarity or because of any number of principles of Catholic tradition. The University will not change. The University, pending an “apostasy,” will continue to, on paper, adhere to official Church teaching on matters of human sexuality. The University will continue to offer certain limited speaking opportunities to those who disagree with the Church’s teaching, continue to allow the existence of LGBTQ+ friendly organizations and continue to refuse to condemn LGBTQ+ students, faculty and staff outright. There will continue to be Observer letters making every LGBTQ+ person on this campus feel like they were just hit in the face with a brick. The Observer will continue to publish these letters. The Observer will also publish the responses to these letters. Aren’t you tired of it? I know I am. I am a Roman Catholic, Mass-attending, baptisedconfirmed-communicant, lesbian woman. And I am tired of having verbal sparring matches over my right to be included in the Body of Christ. I have spent the better part of my life fighting with God, wrestling with God, screaming at God, crying because of God, trying desperately to love God, trying desperately to be loved by God’s people and trying desperately to love God’s people. I have been to confession during my time at Notre Dame more often than my parents have been in their lives. I have grown enormously during my time here. I have had loving, beautiful relationships with women that have inspired me to love God more, to be kinder, to grow in wisdom, prudence, temperance, fortitude, faith, hope and all the other virtues as well. I have learned about myself, matured, learned to love another person and learned how to go on dates. I went to a dance for the first time in an outfit I actually liked with someone I actually liked. It hasn’t always been easy. In case anyone was in my dorm at 4 a.m. sometime my freshman year and noticed me crying in the chapel, it was about being gay. In case anyone has seen me with my head in my hands during Mass, it was about being gay. In case anyone knows that I broke up with
someone I loved very much at the start of my time here, it was because I couldn’t believe that God would allow me to love a woman in that way. In case anyone watched me practice reciting Hopkins’ “Carrion Comfort” in another dorm chapel or praying the rosary in the dark, it was because I was working through God and my relationship, our strained and tried relationship. I have loved the Church, I have been prayed over by people who professed to be able to heal me from my “affliction,” I have been to a Matt Maher concert and fervently tried to believe that celibate love will hold us together, and I have hated the Church. The turning point in the dark night of my soul was one day in the midst of prayer — same topic as always — and I suddenly laughed to myself and wondered, “What do straight people pray about?” I realized the obvious. My entire spiritual life had become dominated by one issue. And I let myself believe, for 10 seconds at first, that God didn’t actually ask this sacrifice of me. What if he didn’t plan for me to be alone forever? Then I let myself think this for 30 seconds. Then for a minute. And I considered what Christianity was about, then, if not lifelong celibacy. The freedom and peace that washed over me felt like God’s sigh of relief. Dear straight people: Help me! What DO you pray about? What do you confess? Do you feel safe when you receive the eucharist? What sacrifice could God possibly be asking of you? How do you know what vices to prune? What virtues are you trying to cultivate? What theology do you read? What do you think about the cross? How do you love Jesus? For the first time, I found myself standing in the shoes of someone who God did not ask to sacrifice one of the most fundamental manners in which they relate to other people. For those who are unfamiliar, being LGBTQ+ isn’t all about sex; it’s about the crush you have in kindergarten on a girl from across the playground, it’s about feeling uncomfortable in a locker room with other boys because you don’t want them to think you’re predatory, it’s about being a little afraid your whole life that someone will find out your secret, it’s about your grandma asking if you have a boyfriend yet, it’s about the waiter flirting with you, it’s about the button-down shirt I wear to class, it’s about the deep and abiding affection I feel for my best friend. Every small moment that connects to gender or romantic attraction is affected. Pardon me if I don’t believe you when you say that “being gay” is alright, while “acting on it” is a sin. How am I supposed to not act gay when I am? How is it that my nature, which is not evil, has an end which is evil? I’m not oversimplifying the argument, I promise; I’ve read Thomas Aquinas too. I simply believe that those
who make that argument are oversimplifying my lived experience and are failing to understand the complexities and realities of what it means to live as an LGBTQ+ person. If you can, try to imagine standing in my shoes. Imagine, for a moment, that everything was different for you and wonder what your life would have been like if you were like me. I know the Church is supposed to be unchanging and the University has its principles. Not long ago, I believed the same principles. I understand all the philosophical rigor in the world cannot be bent by the pathos-ridden argument of a young woman. However, if you, reader, truly believe that Catholicism is inseparable from heteronormativity, that heteronormativity is built into the Church’s framework like the pillars holding up Notre Dame de Paris’ spire, please know this: once, I believed that too. And that belief almost destroyed me. So every time someone argues that their opposition to LGBTQ+ inclusion is a pure, holy, objective belief that they have a right to have and that I ought not to take it personally, please know I am absolutely taking it personally because it is personal. It concerns my deepest self and the largest struggles I have faced in my life. And on a purely objective scale, the average Catholic just hasn’t thought as long and hard about it as I or many of my LGBTQ+ siblings in Christ have. This University is Catholic, and it always will be. But so am I. God willing, I will be Catholic until the day I die. And I am tired of having my existence and inclusion in a Catholic place debated as though it were a fun topic in a high school theology class. The lives of real human beings like me are affected every time we allow hatred and exclusion in our Church, in our parishes, in our universities and in our schools. Please, in the name of gentleness and mercy, if you, reader, are still opposed to LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Church, choose your words carefully and remember that there are real, complicated, dignified, made-in-God’s-image people hearing them, people that you haven’t witnessed in prayer, people that have been wounded by the Church, people that love God, people who have wept and wept about their place in God’s kingdom, people who will be far more affected by your words about gay rights than you will ever be. Lastly, as the Psalmist pleads, so I beg: may the Lord take away your hearts of stone and give you natural hearts. But trust me, I used to agree with you. I feel empathy for you. Can you feel empathy for me? Maddie Foley junior Sept. 18
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Classifieds
The observer | thursday, september 19, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com
Crossword | Will Shortz
Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Change begins when you recognize there is a problem and you want to make improvements. The time is right to assess your situation and to lay out a plan that will satisfy your needs. A savings plan, move, vocational pursuit or personal adjustment geared toward being your best will encourage positive results. Be honest and take action. Your numbers are 4, 16, 20, 26, 35, 37, 48. ARIES (March 21-April 19): You’ll be faced with pros and cons for a decision you need to make regarding partnerships and professional moves. Being practical will be less stressful, but a chance to live your dream will entice you. Be open to suggestions. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Make decisions based on your intuition. Speak from the heart, and share your thoughts and plans with those who will be affected by the choices you make. The input you receive will help you do what’s best for everyone. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Make today all about you, the youngsters in your life or your lover. Make your feelings known and what you want to do clear. An open and honest discussion will ward off hurt feelings and allow others the opportunity to offer suggestions. CANCER ( June 21-July 22): The changes you make should also benefit those who have the most significant impact on your life. Lending a helping hand, improving your living conditions or surroundings, or offering solutions that will ease stress will make a difference. LEO ( July 23-Aug. 22): Don’t make a change if it doesn’t feel right. Take your time, and consider what’s best for you. Personal improvements, educational pursuits or sorting out differences with someone you love should be on your agenda. Romance is favored. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Size up what’s going on in your life, and reach out to someone you feel can help you make positive adjustments. Simplifying your living arrangements or making physical changes that will improve your health and lifestyle are emphasized. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t count on what someone tells you regarding your health, cost of a home improvement project or a contract that’s being offered. Do your research, ask questions and go over every detail personally to avoid being shafted or misinformed. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Turn your dream into a reality. It’s up to you to take charge and make things happen. With a little ingenuity and physical input, you can achieve what you set out to do. Do your research, take care of details and be persistent. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Less arguing will leave more time to accomplish things. Focus on your responsibilities and doing the best job possible. It’s how you perform that will help you gain respect and the confidence of those who can help you advance. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): As long as you don’t let your ego or someone’s emotional manipulation interfere with what you are trying to accomplish, you will reach your goal. A positive change at home will help you reset your priorities and objectives. AQUARIUS ( Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take care of business, and don’t worry about what others do. Be responsible for your work, and refuse to get involved in someone else’s drama. Personal improvements are encouraged and will boost your confidence. Romance is featured. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You’ll be rewarded for something you do for others. Trust your judgment, not someone who is pressuring you to do something that you cannot afford or that isn’t in your best interest. Work alongside someone you love, and improve your relationship. Birthday Baby: You are active, persistent and forthright. You are cautious and thoughtful.
Sudoku | The Mepham Group
Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek
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Sports Authority
Pats don’t need Antonio Brown Mannion McGinley Sports Writer
The name Antonio Brow n comes w ith a lot of baggage. First, his requested departure from Pittsburgh due to an authorit y issue between him and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Then, his removal from the Oak land Raiders after a helmet grievance debacle and other childish complaints. Now, he’s been accused of sexual assault and misconduct, less than a week into his stint w ith the New England Patriots. None of this, however, is new for Brow n. He caused his share of drama ever y year he’s been in the league but his talent on the field used to outweigh his slip ups. With 1,000 yards and 100 catches a season for sixstraight years, he would pay fines, and problems would disappear. But as his desire for attention has grow n, so have his antics and now they are most definitely out of hand. So why then would Patriots head coach Bill Belichick sign him? Last year, when Belichick wanted to complete a trade w ith the Steelers for Brow n, it made sense. With w ide receiver Chris Hogan departing, Rob Gronkowski retiring and w ide receiver Josh Gordon suspended, there was a void for Brow n to fill. But now, he’s a greater liabilit y off the field than he is an asset on the field and w ith Gordon back, there’s plent y of receivers for Brady to hit w ithout being repetetive or predictable. Let’s compare the last two games. The Patriots’ season opener against the Steelers was a 33-3 blow-out in favor of New England, a game they played w ithout Brow n. With Tom Brady at the helm, hitting targets like Phillip Dorsett, Julian Edelman, and the now-active Josh Gordon on top of a run game led by Rex Burk head and James W hite, the offense finished w ith 373 passing yards, three passing touchdow ns and 99 rushing yards. A spectacular
defense to finish off this list seems to leave no hole for Antonio Brow n to fill. This brings us to this past Sunday’s game; one that was full of Brow n’s name, before, during and after. With a final score of 43-0, another strong New England w in, it would seem as though the offense ambushed a weak Miami defense thanks to the presence of their new receiver, but in actualit y, the passing game did much worse than in week one. Brady had t wo passing touchdow ns, only one of which was to Brow n, and 264 total passing yards. In regards to receiv ing those 264 yards, a supposedly stellar Brow n simply fell into the line up, barely standing out. He and Julian Edelman both had four catches for 56 and 51 yards, respectively. The bulk of the points, instead, came courtesy of running back Sony Michel and his one rushing touchdow n, another rushing touchdow n from Brady, kicker Stephen Gostkowski and most impactfully, the undoubtedly stellar Patriots defense w ith an interceptions from Dev in McCourt y, Jamie Collins and Stephon Gilmore, the latter t wo of which where returned for touchdow ns. With all of this to reflect on, the question for Belichick still stands: W hy sign Antonio Brow n? He causes more problems than he’s worth and likes things his way, which Belichick has never cared for. I would not be surprised if Belichick only signed him so no one else would, and I would be even less surprised if the team found a way to cut him the second things get out of hand. He’s unreliable and Bill Belichick runs too tight of a ship in the Patriots locker room for anyone unreliable to stick around.
Continued from page 12
the Irish hit .331 as a team in the regular season. However the Irish graduated Cait Brooks, the first ever First Team A ll-American in program histor y, MK Bonamy (.310 average, .886 OPS), A li Wester (.440, .907, 25 stolen bases) and Melissa Rochford (.328, .828). Even w ith the surplus of freshman talent and returning players, the question lingers as to how the Irish w ill replace a player who put up one of the best seasons in Notre Dame histor y, as well as a trio of prolific bats. “We lost four of our top hitters, so we’re going to look ver y different offensively, but I don’t think it’ll be worse; I actually think we could be better,” Gump said. A lthough it may be surprising to suggest the Irish could be better offensively after sustaining the graduation losses they did, returning talent like sophomore Emma Clark, who slapped her way to a .367 average despite just five extra-base
hits, senior A lex is Ba zos, who is hitting .283 on her career despite a tough junior year campaign, and Katie Marino, who ripped the cover off the ball to the tune of a .344 average last year, also offer promise in the batter’s box for the Irish. An area that the Irish figure to maintain excellent production is in the pitcher’s circle. W hile McManus is a promising talent joining the team this year, time w ill tell if she w ill be healthy enough to contribute this year. However, the Irish figure to be able to take their time w ith McManus, as they return their core trio of hurlers from last season in Pay ton Tidd, A lex Holloway and Morgan Ryan. Tidd was the ace of the staff, hurling t wo complete games in the NCA A Tournament. A lthough a tough-luck loser in both games, Tidd gave up just t wo earned runs combined. Overall, she posted a superb 3.01 ER A over 31 starts. Holloway was a solid second starter w ith a 4.15 ER A in 24 starts, recording the v ictor y in Notre Dame’s lone NCA A regional w in. Ryan offered depth, starting
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three games and making 21 appearances out of the bullpen en route to a 3.40 ER A. With all three returning and McManus joining the ranks, the pitching figures to be strong this year for the Irish. “A lex is Holloway dominated her freshman year. Pey ton came in last year and took a lot of innings which helped us. I’m looking for [junior] Morgan Ryan to step up. She has throw n innings for us, but I think she w ill throw a lot more. She’s getting a lot of consistency and confidence in her game and approach to hitters, and I really like where’s she’s at,” Gumpf said of her returning throwers. This fall’s seven-game slate includes matchups w ith Purdue, Purdue Northwest (t w ice), Northern Illinois, Valparaiso, Western Michigan and Loyola Chicago. “I want this team at the end of the day to play our best softball when our best softball was needed,” Gumpf said. Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma2@nd.edu
Contact Mannion McGinley at mmcginl3@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer. ALLISON THORNTON | The Observer
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Irish sophomore pitcher Payton Tidd, looks intently at the plate as she winds back to throw from the mound during Notre Dame’s home win over IUPUI on April 3 at the Melissa Cook Stadium. The Observer accepts classifieds every business day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Notre Dame office, 024 South Dining Hall. Deadline for next-day classifieds is 3 p.m. All classifieds must be prepaid. The charge is 5 cents per character per day, including all spaces. The Observer reserves the right to edit all classifieds for content without issuing refunds.
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The observer | thursday, september 19, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com
M Soccer Continued from page 12
to defend well. W hen we do have the ball, we need to be a little bit sharper than we were tonight and really continue to create more qualit y chances since scoring in soccer is a ver y difficult thing to do.” The on-the-road tie against Indiana was a key result after Notre Dame’s 4-2 home loss to No. 7 Clemson Friday, helping the Irish build some momentum in the earl stages of conference play. However, even as the team prepares for a key stretch against ACC opponents, Riley is focused solely on the next game. “I think you look back and look at momentum, but I think play ing the hardest schedule or somewhere in
Besler Continued from page 12
common thread throughout all his success has been the foundation he established during his time at Notre Dame. “Notre Dame prepared me for the real world and for a career in professional soccer,” Besler said. “I’m obviously biased, but for me, I don’t think there’s a better place to prepare young individuals for the real world.” While Notre Dame may have left a lasting impact on Besler, he made sure to leave his own mark on the University’s soccer program. Over the course of his career in South Bend, Besler made 90 appearances for the Irish, starting in 73 games. He only scored five goals in his college career, but his contributions defensively helped the team reach the NCAA tournament during all four of his years with the Irish. As a senior, Besler became the first player in program history to be named a First Team All-American and a First Team Academic All-American. He was also named the NSCAA 2008 Senior College Men’s Scholar All-America Player of the Year, an award given to a student athlete who maintains a 3.3 GPA while also starting over 50% of all games and making significant contributions to his team. Besler believes that it is the high expectations and spirit of competition that exists at Notre Dame that pushed him to be so successful. “I came into Notre Dame as a freshman similar to how most freshman at Notre Dame came in: I had some success in high school, well-rounded, involved in a bunch of activities, but then when you get to Notre Dame you realize that everyone else around you is the exact same way,” he said. “It’s extremely competitive, but I think that competitiveness really brings out the best in people. For me, both academically and in soccer, it was no different.” Following his career at Notre Dame, Besler was invited to the MLS combine, and afterwards was drafted eighth overall by
the top five hardest schedule in the countr y, not many people intentionally do it but we do it,” Riley said. “It really forces you to take each game as a single entit y. W hile it was great to get a tie against Indiana we’ll start thinking about this game and how it w ill make us better and then we’ll only focus on UNC. Momentum and streaks is kind of something you look at after the fact. Our success w ill come from how well we can focus on each day leading to the game. We have a team that can beat anyone in the countr y so now we just have to do it.” The Irish w ill take on the Tar Heels on Friday at 6 p.m. at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. junya kanemitsu | The Observer
Contact Jack Concannon at jconcan2@nd.edu
Sporting Kansas City in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. He has spent his entire 11-year career with the club and has earned honors such as Defensive Player of the Year in 2012 to go along with five MLS All-Star Game selections. But the highlight of his soccer career postNotre Dame has been the time he has spent with the U.S. national team. “Every kid that grows up playing soccer probably dreams about playing in the World Cup … representing your country, but to be honest, I never thought that I would ever get the chance to be one of those players,” he said. “Just very grateful and fortunate that I had that opportunity, definitely one of the highlights of my career if not the highlight.” Besler believes the support shown for the national team is similar to that displayed for the Irish. “There’s a lot of pride at Notre Dame. I believe that’s what makes Notre Dame so special because when people see the ND, when they see Irish, they feel something, and they feel strongly about it,” Besler said. “In a way, it’s similar to when you put on that national team jersey for the first time.” For the time being, Besler traded in the U.S. jersey for the Sporting Kansas City one, and his team will need him to be at the top of his game as they look to make a final playoff push over the final four games of the MLS season. Regardless of how many trophies Besler wins or All-Star appearances he makes, he said not much will compare to his experiences with the national team and with Notre Dame. “I think it just all comes full circle when you experience a moment like I did representing my country, and like I said, Notre Dame is still such a big part of my life,” he said. “I feel very fortunate that I was able to experience four years at Notre Dame, and I would recommend everybody that goes there just try to take advantage of it because it is such a special place.” Contact Jamison Cook at jcook22@nd.edu
Irish senior defender Spencer Farina rises to head the ball during Notre Dame’s 4-2 loss to Clemson on Sept. 13 at Alumni Stadium. Farina played all 90 minutes in the loss against the Tigers.
Charlie Ortega Guifarro | | The Observer
Irish sophomore Charley Niego and graduate student Kristin Baer jump to block a spike made by one of the Valapaiso University’s frontline players in Notre Dame’s 3-0 win over the Crusaders on Sept. 4.
Volleyball Continued from page 12
“In practice, we were saying, ‘Let’s make our practices harder than game day,’” Bent said. “We can push ourselves harder in practice so that we’re focused and prepared for what game day has to offer, both physically and mentally.” Coming off a 3-1 defeat against Cincinnati last Friday, the Irish began strong against Michigan (6-3), keeping the score within three during the entire first set. Toward the end of the set, the Irish tied it up at 21, 22 and 23 before pulling ahead and winning 25-23 on an ace from sophomore outside hitter Charley Niego. She would continue dominating the court in the second set and ended the night with a teamhigh 19 kills and four aces. Though the Irish got off to a rocky start in the second set, falling behind 7-1 after several missed blocks and digs, sophomore Bent brought the Irish back into the game with a powerful performance, assisted by consistent serving from junior libero Madison Cruzado. In another set filled with long defense-driven rallies, freshman
outside hitter Caroline Meuth excelled in the back row, picking up 16 digs for the night to accompany her 12 kills. After the Irish tied it up at 15, Michigan held the lead for the rest of the set, defeating Notre Dame 29-27. Both teams appeared to tire out in the third set, with a large part of the set marked by exchanges of missed serves from both sides. The Wolverines led for most of the set, and the Irish fell 25-20. “I think during those two sets we were playing kind of tentatively,” Bent said. “We went back into the locker room, and coach [Johnson] said, ‘Guys, what are we doing? We can play. Everyone shake it off, play loose, relax and do what we’ve been doing in practice.’ After that, we started playing a lot harder and more intensely.” The Irish offense found its groove in the fourth set with Meuth, Bent and middle hitter Lauren Wenzel racking up three kills each, and Niego adding five kills of her own. After the Irish took an early lead, Michigan tied it up at 10. Toward the end of the set, the referees called two net violations on the Wolverines, allowing the Irish to stay alive
and pull off a 25-23 win on a kill from Bent. The energy entering the fifth set was palpable in Purcell Pavilion. Bent and Wenzel came up with several key blocks, and after Michigan took an 8-7 lead, the Irish pulled ahead. A stressful tie at 13-13 was quickly resolved with two quick points from the Irish, with the match ending on an untouched ace from senior Paige McKnight. Of the seven starters on the team, five are underclassmen, but Bent said that they do not let inexperience get in the way of their play. “We don’t let ourselves being young be an excuse,” she said. “We have young players stepping up and trying to be leaders in different ways.” The Irish, currently ranked third in the ACC, will travel to Ann Arbor this weekend to face the Wolverines on their home court. “Playing on the road is a lot harder,” Bent said, “But I think if we come into that match even harder than we came into this one, I don’t see any reason we can’t beat Michigan again.” Contact Grace McDermott at gmcdermo@nd.edu
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The observer | thursday, september 19, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com
nd WOMEN’s VOLLYBALL | ND 3, Michigan 2
nd MEN’s SOCCER
ND preps for top competition By JACK CONCANNON Sports Writer
Fresh off of a 1-1 tie against No. 4 Indiana, No.16 Notre Dame w ill hit the road to face off against No. 11 North Carolina on Friday in its second ACC match of the season. The Irish (3-1-1) have played two top 10 matches since Friday, and while Irish head coach Chad Riley said the limited rest is not ideal this early in the season, the team w ill have to adapt to the challenge. “You’d like to have more than three days rest to be quite honest,” Riley said. “You probably don’t want 12, that creates its ow n problems. W hat’s nice about having a little more time during the beginning of the season is we are tr y ing to learn about ourselves and get better, so a little bit of time gives you the chance to train a bit more and watch more v ideo.
Volleyball pulls off upset against Michigan at home
We have to use these games to continue to improve.” Indiana shares some similarities w ith UNC (3-1-2). Both teams have highly concentrated scoring, w ith Indiana getting five of its eight goals this season from two players, and UNC getting eight of its 13 goals from three players. Both are stout on defense, conceding under a goal per game to their opponents to date. Riley said the Irish can learn from their last opponent and apply that knowledge to their game plan against the Tar Heels. “You have to go in to play another ver y high-qualit y opponent like ever ybody in the ACC, and we have to play away from home, so there w ill be some similarit y there,” Riley said. “There are going to be chunks of the game where we’re not going to have the ball, and we need see ND M SOCCER PAGE 10
By GRACE McDERMOTT Sports Writer
Charlie Ortega Guifarro | The Observer
Irish sophomore outside hitter Charley Niego jumps to spike the ball during a 3-0 win at home against Valparaiso University.
see ND VOLLEYBALL PAGE 10
nd softball
nd men’s SOCCCER | alumni capsule
Matt Besler reflects on time with ND, USMNT
Softball squad set to begin season
By JAMISON COOK
By AIDAN THOMAS
Sports Writer
Sports Writer
After a freshman season spent mostly on the bench with infrequent playing time, Matt Besler was determined to make sure his sophomore season at Notre Dame would be different. When head coach Bobby Clark approached him about switching to the center back position following an injury to an upperclassman, Besler, who had always played as a midfielder or forward, jumped on the opportunity. Little did he know that the transition would transform his life. Almost 15 years later, Besler is in the midst of his 11th season with Major League Soccer’s Sporting Kansas City, a club with which he has spent his entire career as a defender. He has made 47 appearances for the U.S. Men’s National Team, the most notable being the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, where he was a starting center back under coach Jürgen Klinsmann. But for Besler, a
Irish softball kicks off their fall season on Monday taking Purdue at home in Melissa Cook Stadium. This past season, Notre Dame posted an 18-6 record in conference and a 37-18 record overall. However, in the postseason Notre Dame struggled to replicate its success, notching one victory in the both the ACC tournament and the NCA A Tournament with a pair of losses by a combined three runs in the latter. While the upcoming fall season does not impact the regular season, it provides an opportunity for head coach Deanna Gumpf to see her team in action for the first time as the Irish look to make a deeper postseason run in 2020. “We’re really lucky because in the fall we get to spend time on the process of the game, and we get to take time to teach everything we need to teach before February comes
see W BBALL PAGE 10
Notre Dame (7-2) pulled off a major upset at home against Michigan (6-3), a team that received votes this past week for the AVCA Coaches’ Poll, on Wednesday night. The match went a full five sets and the teams were evenly matched, neither falling more than six points behind the other at any point throughout the night. Though it began as a scrappy, defensive game, the hitters made their presence felt during the second half of the match, and Notre Dame emerged victorious from the 3-2 thriller (2523, 27-29, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13). In order to prepare for the rivalry game, right side hitter Sydney Bent, who recorded 17 kills and seven digs against the Wolverines, said that the team put in extra effort and upped their level of play during this week’s practices.
Photo courtsey of Sporting Kansas City
Former Irish defender, Matt Besler, has played for Sporting Kansas City and the U.S. Men’s National Team. Besler graduated in 2008.
around,” Gumpf said. “Right now, I’m just looking for consistency and just doing the little things right. Working together, execution on all sides of the game, and taking things a little bit slower. It really allows them to get used to each other, and how they can become the best team they can become together.” One of the benefits of the fall season, Gumpf said, is that freshman can get their first glimpse at the college game. For the Irish, this means a chance to see their six recruits in action and get an idea of the impact they can have for this team. Notre Dame’s freshmen include switch-hitting infielder and 2019 All-USA High School Softball Team Player of the Year Joley Mitchell, a potential impact arm in Alex McManus, a pair of outfielders in Macie Eck and Leea Hanks and infielders Miranda Johnson and Brooke Marquez. As for the team as a whole, see SOFTBALL PAGE 9