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Volume 53, Issue 122 | wednesday, april 17, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com
ND announces leprechauns Diverse new team includes first-ever female leprechaun, Lynnette Wukie Observer Staff Report
The leprechaun lineup for the 2019-20 school year has been declared the “most diverse roster” ever, the Notre Dame cheerleading program announced Tuesday. Junior Samuel Jackson and sophomores Conal Fagan and Lynnette Wukie will all act as the University’s mascot for the upcoming year, ringing in the most diverse group since the leprechaun became the official mascot in 1965. Jackson and Wukie will be the second and third African Americans to hold the role, and Wukie will become the University’s first female leprechaun.
Fagan, who is from Derry, Northern Ireland, will enter his second season in the job. “Each bring their own strengths and personalities to the role, and I’m excited to see them represent Notre Dame on the sidelines next season,” head cheerleading coach Delayna Herndon said in the release. “As such a visible representative of Notre Dame, the leprechaun is a role model to fans across the country, and we hope this group can inspire people of all backgrounds to see themselves as a vital part of the Notre Dame family.” Jackson, a native of Alabama and a resident of
Keough Hall on campus, said Mike Brown — Notre Dame’s first African American leprechaun and current regional director for athletics advancement — and his history with the role prompted his interest. “When I first came here, I was a big Notre Dame fan, but I didn’t have the history or legacy that my friends did,” Jackson said in the release. “Being able to make my own experiences and memories here at this University and to be able to represent it — especially as a senior — is just the best feeling. I feel like I have solidified my presence and voice, and am now etching it into the very fabric of the
ND to donate to Paris
University.” Fagan, during his time as a 2018-19 mascot, has helped cheer on a wide variety of sports and accompanied the women’s basketball team to the Final Four. A resident of St. Edward’s Hall on campus, Fagan was a walk-on for the Irish men’s soccer team before taking on the role of being the leprechaun during his sophomore year. As the first native Irishman to hold the job, Fagan said he was unsure how excited he would be in the job at first because mascots and cheerleading are not a part of the culture in Ireland.
Following the recent fire at the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, the University will be making a $100,000 donation toward upcoming renovation efforts, University President Fr. John Jenkins said Tuesday in a statement issued by the Office of Media Relations. “We are deeply saddened to see the damage to the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, a church whose exquisite Gothic architecture
see LEPRECHAUN PAGE 4
see PARIS PAGE 4
Observer Staff Report
Professors discuss new book Panelists discuss on Fr. Hesburgh’s life, legacy gender inequality in workplace
By JACK LYONS News Writer
The final phrase of University President Emeritus Fr. Theodore Hesburgh’s obituary lauds his contributions to Notre Dame. “That the Notre Dame of today … stands as one of the world’s great universities is the lasting
legacy of Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C.” the obituary said. For Fr. Wilson Miscamble, that recognition came with a cost. “Might it be said that Fr. Ted did too much kneeling before the world? ” Miscamble asked in the conclusion of his new biography on the former Notre Dame president, “American
Priest: The Ambitious Life and Conf licted Legacy of Notre Dame’s Father Ted Hesburgh.” Miscamble, a professor of history at Notre Dame, discussed his book with three other Notre Dame professors Tuesday night in a panel hosted by the Tocqueville Program for see HESBURGH PAGE 3
Sorin College to be renovated in fall of 2020 Observer Staff Report
Sorin College will undergo extensive renovations during the 2020-2021 school year, Jonathan Retartha, the University’s director of residential life for housing operations, announced in an email to Sorin residents Tuesday. The building’s renovation will follow the completion of Dillon Hall’s renovation
NEWS PAGE 2
during the 2019-2020 school year. Renovation work will begin in the summer of 2020, the email said. The Sorin community will be relocated to Pangborn Hall for the school year due to the renovation’s extensive nature. In the email, Retartha said the aim is to maintain Sorin’s historical character while updating its amenities.
SCENE PAGE 5
”We are excited for this opportunity to modernize the mechanical systems and improve the community building spaces in Sorin while preserving the historical and cultural components that make Sorin so well-loved by residents and alumni,” he said. The construction will be see SORIN PAGE 4
VIEWPOINT PAGE 7
ANNA MASON | The Observer
Four panelists discuss gender discrimination in the workforce at a panel in the Welsh Parlor of the Haggar College Center on Tuesday. By MARIROSE OSBORNE News Writer
A panel titled “How to Navigate Equal Pay as a College Grad,” which explored ways how young female professionals can combat gender inequality in the workplace, was presented in Saint Mary’s Haggar Parlor on Tuesday night. The panel featured four
FENCING PAGE 12
speakers, with senior political science and gender and women’s studies major Zoie Clay beginning the discussion. Clay, who conducted her senior comprehensive research on pay discrepancies between men and women, said gender discrimination is still a pervasive issue in the working world. see EQUAL PAY PAGE 4
ND W GOLF PAGE 12