Print Edition of The Observer for Tuesday, November 5, 2019

To uncover the truth and report it accurately

Volume 54, Issue 42 | tuesday, november 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Students, faculty discuss mental health Resignation of SMC official prompts conversation about accessibility of wellness resources on campus

By GINA TWARDOSZ News Writer

Editor’s Note: This is the first article in an investigative series on the accessibility and effectiveness of mental health resources available within the tri-campus community.

On Oct. 21, Saint Mary’s announced via email that Health and Counseling Center director Elizabeth “Izzy” Fourman would resign in order to take on a position at Notre Dame. W hile the College has detailed a plan for the Center in the interim between hiring a full-time replacement, many students still feel uncertain about

many health and wellness resources on Saint Mary’s campus.

Seniors Grace Erving and Jillian Dani are enrolled in the social work courses Research Methods and Statistical Concepts I and II. Through these classes, they have advocated for increased accessibility of mental health resources on campus through a study of online mental health resources and whether those can supplement student mental health needs.

Dani said mental health is often stigmatized, which prevents those who suffer see HEALTH PAGE 4

CLAIRE KOPISCHKE | The Observer

University to release voter Week celebrates report, turnout numbers low-income, firstgeneration groups

By GRACE SCARTZ News Writer

As voters across America go to the polls for numerous local elections, the Notre Dame student body will have the opportunity to learn about its own voter registration and participation rates. In the coming week, the University will

release a report detailing the voting data of Notre Dame students starting with the 2016 elections.

“The data will be broken down very specifically for Notre Dame, including by age, gender and major,” said senior Sheila Gregory, a co-chair of the NDVotes Initiative.

NDVotes, a nonpartisan

student group within the Center for Social Concerns (CSC) that aims to promote voter education and registration, will use the report to better target their programs and increase student civic participation.

The report will help NDVotes “work on ways to see REPORT PAGE 4

Lecture examines sexual abuse, forms of protest

By CIARA HOPKINSON News Writer

The Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism hosted a lecture to discuss the sexual abuse scandal within the Catholic Church on Monday evening. The event featured Dr. Brian Clites of Case Western Reserve University, who

spoke about his work with survivors of sexual abuse in a lecture entitled “Sacred Protests: Politics and Faith after Clergy Sexual Abuse.”

Clites launched into his lecture by objecting to the term “crisis” to explain the current state of the scandal.

“Crisis suggests that this is temporally bound in a very narrow and finite way,” Clites

said. “I try to resist that language and I slip into it like everyone else, because this has been unfolding for a long, long time.”

Clites’s research begins in the 1950s, when the “paper trail” of sexual abuse in the Church began as priests were admitted to treatment programs under the guise see PROTEST PAGE 3

NEWS PAGE 3

VIEWPOINt PAGE 7

SCENE PAGE 8

By THERESA OLOHAN News Writer

Notre Dame’s Office of Student Enrichment is seeking to address inequalities on campus with its first annual First Generation and Low Income Student Week.

Assistant director of student enrichment Robyn Centilli said the week is intended to raise awareness of first-generation and lowincome students’ circumstances, hopefully promoting campus dialogue about the unique challenges these students often face.

“This is our first year doing this, but our hope is that this is something we can build on and continue to celebrate,” Centilli said. “When people look at Notre Dame and think about what we’re doing for our first-generation and lowincome students, they see that it’s a celebration around those students. We’re not just giving them money, but we

football PAGE 16

are really setting them up for success. … We are constantly putting ourselves out there to help further these conversations.”

The week kicked off with a lunch and learn panel discussion Monday in the Notre Dame room of the LaFortune Student Center which focused on “Challenges in Access for First Generation and Low Income” students.

While bias and the desire for a “full house” may motivate admissions officers at other universities, panelist and Notre Dame director of TRiO programs Nijinsky Dix said that, at Notre Dame, all students earn their admission.

“You got here the right way,” Dix said. “You are in the same classroom as those people with money, those valedictorians from other schools, you are here. And you earned your way here. Be proud of it.

That’s your badge.” see FIRST GEN PAGE 4

nd w basketball PAGE 16

2

TODAY

The observer | tuesday, November 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

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ANN CURTIS | The Observer

Students can voice their opinions on the new “Bridge the Divide” board in South Dining Hall. The prompt for Tuesday asked about the perceived artistic greatness of “Jesus is King,” Kanye West’s newest album, which recently reached a No. 1 debut on Billboard.

The next Five days:

Want your event included here?

Email news@ndsmcobserver.com

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Academic Job Search Series Duncan Student Center 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

RSVP on Handshake.

Pizza, Pop and Politics Geddes Hall Coffee House 5 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Open to the public.

Film: “Leviathan” Browning Cinema 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Free, ticketed event.

Tickets available online.

History Lecture Jordan Hall of Science 3:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.

“Radical Potentials, Conservative Realities.”

Play: “Pineapple” DeBartolo Center for Performing Arts 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Tickets available online.

Lecture: National Gallery of Ireland Hesburgh Center 5:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Lecture presented by Brendan Rooney.

SSLP 2020 Information Session Geddes Hall, McNeill Library 6 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Open to the public.

Baraka Bouts: Quarterfinals Dahnke Ballroom 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Proceeds to benefit Holy Cross Missions.

Fall Concert: Notre Dame Chorale Leighton Concert Hall 8 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Tickets available online.

Discernment Retreat Moreau Seminary All day All male college undergrads are invited to register online.

News

ndsmcobserver.com | tuesday, november 5, 2019 | The Observer

3

Concentration explores law, ethics, politics

By COLLEEN FISCHER News Writer

Saint Mary’s students gathered with assistant professor Andrew Pierce on Monday to discuss what the philosophy program’s newest concentration — Law, Ethics and Politics — means for students and the department.

The concentration within the philosophy major focuses on how the practical fields of law, ethics and politics tie into philosophy. Pierce, who is leading the new concentration, said many students in the philosophy department are double majors, and many are doubling in political science or history.

“This is the philosophy department’s attempt to kind of pull together our offerings that focus on those kinds of subjects,” Pierce said.

Protest Continued from page 1

of alcoholism and other addictions. Clites traced the progress of the issue through the decades to the 1980s and 1990s, when the first victims began to come forward. Clites emphasized the exhaustion of survivors as the inconsistencies of public interest come and go.

“When survivors are in the spotlight, when the rest of us are thinking about this problem, they enjoy a little bit of press, they’re able to share their story, they’re able to share their gospel,” Clites said. “However, they also suffer a lot. Many of them have spoken to me about the depression they go through when we inevitably switch to the next media cycle.”

Clites’s research focuses on the ways in which survivors protest and how they strive to make their stories known. Clites discussed the photographs survivors often carry when marching in demonstrations. The oftenstaged portraits of the victim, Clites said, do not seem to reflect the emotional intensity of the abuse.

“Each portrait is a snapshot frozen in time of the precise age and body of the child when they were abused,” Clites said. “Given that each survivor had endured such intimate and horrific suffering, why did they choose these very bland, common photos as the center of their public rituals? What message are they trying to convey by these portraits of their childhood selves? I only learned to appreciate these survivor portraits after I’d attended a few protests.”

At these protests, Clites asserted, he learned about the concept of “soul murder,” a term that stems from psychoanalytic theory. Soul murder refers to “the loss of a victim’s sense of selfhood and the annihilation

The concentration hopes to entice both philosophy majors and non-majors to pursue and think about the questions posed by the concentration, Pierce asserted.

“I hope it’ll draw some students who are already thinking about philosophy to maybe consider [majoring in] philosophy,” he said. “I know that among our existing group of philosophy students are also a number of students who are interested in this major, because they have these interests in these kinds of practical issues.”

Pierce said the major takes after existing programs that have been successful at other institutions.

“I did look at a number of other programs at places and they do tend to pull some of these things together,” Pierce

said. “There’s a famous program at Oxford, called the Philosophy, Politics and Economics program, which is a little bit different.”

Senior Elisabeth Barrett said she sees the program as a way of allowing philosophy students to pursue other interests while staying within the department. “[The concentration] is combining compatible areas that you wouldn’t normally,” Barrett said. “You have this practicality of law, politics and justice that you see a lot of people fascinated by, but they maybe don’t want to go into.”

Barrett believes that by placing these subjects in the context of philosophy, it gives students the opportunity to examine them under a different light than in other departments.

of a child’s core relationships, including with parents, friends and other key social figures,” he said. This concept is especially relevant among victims of clergy sexual abuse.

“When survivors picket cathedrals while carrying portraits and artwork of themselves and their loved ones, they’re trying to communicate a spiritual death,” Clites said. “For survivors of Catholic clergy sexual abuse, soul murder carries the additional weight of abuse which comes ontologically from the hands of God. ... When the priests consecrate the host in Mass and is acting ‘in persona Christi,’ he says, ‘Take of this, my body.’ I’ve heard from many survivors just how seriously they took the really real elements of that theology.”

Clites recounted the story of Bernadette, one of the survivors he spoke with whose abuse at the hands of a priest and nun starting at the age of eight resulted in dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder.

Of her 70 reported identities, Clites said, Bernadette’s most powerful is that of Emily, a seven-year-old girl. For Bernadette, one of the symbols of her abuse are the toys with which she, as Emily, plays. Toys, Clites noted, are common items survivors carry in protests and symbolize the loss of childhood.

Clites rehashed an experience he had at a march in Chicago that illustrated survivors’ goals in their demonstrations and how these protests serve as ways for survivors to process their suffering. Clites emphasized the importance to survivors of being seen and heard.

“By displaying pictures of themselves as children and carrying relics from the time period during which they or their loved ones who were abused, Chicago survivors are not only mourning the event of sexual abuse,

they’re also mourning the loss of a Catholicism that they once knew,” Clites said. “They’re mourning the loss of certainty, absolute faith … the Catholic rituals, devotions and emotional displays that characterize their pre-conciliar, pre-rape childhoods.”

Despite the unimaginable suffering the survivors have gone through, Clites pointed out that many survivors continue to identify as Catholic. The images and objects they carry, Clites said, illustrate survivors’ faith and the simultaneous spiritual pain they feel toward Church.

“By carrying portraits and relics from their soul murder, survivors are not only mourning the event of their abuse, but also the broader cultural possibility of ever fully resurrecting the Catholic world that they once loved,” Clites said.

Clites ended his lecture with a brief discussion of what survivowrs might want from the Catholic community in the wake of their experiences.

These responses included acknowledgement of the abuse survivors experienced, recognition of their suffering, concrete penance by the Church hierarchy, support within parish communities and reforms in the Church. Ultimately, Clites said, survivors’ aesthetic choices in their protests are intimately linked with their sense of loss and longing for a return to faith.

“By showcasing both their suffering and their faith, survivors wager their need to grab public attention versus their desire to talk to fellow Catholics about the ongoing trauma of their childhood abuse,” Clites said. “Shrines and photographs materialize survivors’ suffering while also demonstrating outwardly their continued belonging within the Catholic Church.”

Contact at Ciara Hopkinson chopkin1@nd.edu

“The concentration combines that understanding of what all that is with the ability to think critically about it in different ways that you might otherwise not be able to do,” Barrett said. “I think it’s great. I think, in time, it is going to help the philosophy department as well. It is kind of small, and I think it’s going to attract a lot more students.”

The program seeks to ground its students in their understanding of philosophy beyond traditional applications, Pierce said.

“We hope that it’s a way for students, in addition to getting some of the traditional philosophical training that they get in the major program, to also explore their practical interests in questions of ethics, contemporary political and legal

Report Continued from page 1

engage the University basically from the top-down, to see how we can help the CSC but also the President’s Office and any interested departments,” Gregory said.

“It is really what has been missing for us, since it will help us see whether efforts like TurboVote and emails are actually having an effect,” she said.

The University plans to publish a press release next week about the report and how to access it, Gregory said, and the report will also be available through the CSC website. This type of data has never been available for the Notre Dame student body before, and it will provide a valuable resource to students and academic departments for future research and program implementation, she said.

The report was compiled by the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE), a nonpartisan service that aggregates student registration and turnout data, run by Tufts University’s Institute for Democracy & Higher Education (IDHE) in national elections. Launched in 2013, NSLVE boasts over 10 million college student voting records in federal elections since 2012.

Notre Dame’s data, along with data from over 1,000 other colleges participating in the NSLVE program, will also help inform national studies of college student voter turnout and political participation. According to the NSLVE website, “studying the voting rates of students provides an important measure that can catalyze

controversies,” Pierce said.

“It’s one way to show as abstract as philosophy can be, it has these real, immediate and practical implications as well.”

Senior Anastacia Gomez is a philosophy major who is enrolling in the concentration this year. She is researching critical race theory for her senior composition project.

She said the program, under Pierce, is making positive steps to address the focus on white male philosophers.

“There are not a lot of people of color who major in philosophy or who specialized in philosophy,” Gomez said. “It is mostly women and it is mostly white women. … [Pierce] has given me the resources.”

Contact Colleen Fischer at cfischer01@saintmarys.edu

improvements in academic programs and co-curricular experiences.”

NSLVE works with the National Student Clearinghouse to match publicly available voter registration and turnout data with enrollment records at participating universities. The report anonymizes the data, and NSLVE never learns the names, party affiliations or individual votes of students.

The report on Notre Dame’s specific data also aims to draw students’ attentions to the issue of voter turnout in the run-up to a presidential election year.

While Notre Dame’s participation rates have been respectable, Gregory said she thinks they can continue to improve in a variety of ways.

“At Notre Dame, we always strive to be excellent,” Gregory said. “So why should voting be excluded from that?”

Nancy Thomas, director of IDHE at Tufts University, will be visiting Notre Dame’s campus Wednesday through Friday to participate in several events with students and faculty.

Thomas will be speaking at a “Pizza, Pop and Politics” event Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the Geddes Hall Coffee House regarding the importance of the youth vote in elections.

Gregory encourages all interested students to attend the event.

“It is important for students to see that we are committed to getting an engaged student body, but also that it starts with them,” Gregory said.

Contact Grace Scartz at mscartz@nd.edu

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NEWS

The observer | tuesday, november 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Health Continued from page 1

from issues with their mental health to feel as though they are able to reach out and seek the resources they so desperately need.

“Mental health seems to be stigmatized and tends to lack the proper attention really needed to help indiv iduals,” Dani said. “We felt that even though there are resources available on campus, the idea of there being more options and more f lex ibilit y could benefit the students of Saint Mar y’s.”

In 2019, the College launched “You@ SaintMar y’s,” a digital health and wellness prov ider that can prov ide students w ith resources which can help supplement counselor v isits. Students can access the program from any where w ith internet access.

Erving has looked into the You@SaintMary’s program in order to assess its potential impact on Saint Mary’s students. She said she found the program to be helpful in providing students with personal resources.

“W hen Jill and I researched online mental health resources, we did find that personal research can be a form of strength for those experiencing mental distress,” Erving said.

She then ref lected on the practical application of this research.

“So, I would categorize You@SaintMary’s as a type of program which can connect students to personal resources, but does not provide concrete mental health intervention,” she said.

The program works by surveying students and connecting them with specific articles that can help them better navigate the plethora of resources available online, Erving said.

“They offer three or four ‘reality checks’ where you can go through and answer questions in a survey to get a feel for areas where you’re thriving or struggling in life,” she said. “Once you complete the reality checks, the program will offer you articles and connection to resources that can further be of use.”

Erving said she feels that You@SaintMary’s is a “step in the right direction,” but feels that the College requires “a leap in the right direction,” not a step.

“Mental health is often not prioritized until it’s too late, and having only three counselors available for a school of 1,600 students is unacceptable given the need,” she said. “Saint Mary’s trumpets having small class sizes ... so in what way is a

533:1 counselor [to student] ratio acceptable? ” Vice president for student affairs Karen Johnson said in an email that the College, which authorizes the hiring for the Health and Counseling Center, has no plans to hire extra counselors, even though, as Erving stated, the Center employs only three counselors who each conduct 45 to 50 minutes counseling sessions with students.

In September, the Observer interviewed Fourman on the state of the Health and Counseling Center. Fourman said in an email that, inevitably, students will often wait up to a few weeks to see a counselor.

“Between high utilization and class schedules, it often takes a couple weeks to get in with a counselor,” Fourman said.

Johnson said the College has “made adjustments” to make the waiting period between appointments shorter. She said students generally wait 10 days after making an appointment to see a counselor, which is “shorter than the average on a college campus of our size.”

Saint Mar y’s employs more counselors per 1,000 students than the average college, Fourman said, but female students tend to have a higher need for counselors.

“The national average tends to be about one counselor per 1,000 students,” she said. “We have three for 1,500; however, you have to take into account that we are all female and our demographic tends to utilize [counselors] at a higher rate.”

Often, Fourman said, sessions are scheduled around the urgency of student need.

“If someone is in urgent need of a counseling appointment, they need to make us aware so we can work them in sooner,” she said. “That said, we are not a crisis center, and if someone is truly in crisis, they need to call 911 or go to the emergency room.”

Fourman said there is a session limit of eight counseling sessions per semester for students, but the Health and Counseling Center will make exceptions only if the student has an increased need for more visits.

Of the counselors, Fourman said they are a confidential resource, which means information shared with the counselors is protected by federal and state laws and cannot be shared without permission.

W hile the counselors can be a beneficial resource for students, Fourman said there are certain circumstances in which students

would be recommended to see an off-campus healthcare provider.

“There are a few situations where students would be better served by an offcampus provider,” she said, “whether for specialty care — severe eating disorders, addiction specialists — or if we simply cannot accommodate a need for more frequent or higher acuity sessions.”

Fourman said she recommends students seek out counseling services early, before they are in crisis.

“Don’t wait until you are in crisis to seek support,” she said. “If you feel like life is getting out of control, reach out.”

All in all, Erving and Dani hope their study will help bring positive and tangible change to the College’s campus.

“Jill and I really hope that at the end of this study we can hand our work to the administration, showing them concrete needs of students and what they can do to fix it,” Erving said.

Interested in sharing your own experiences about searching for mental health and wellness resources while at Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s or Holy Cross? The Observer wants to hear from you. Fill out our form online to get in touch.

Contact Gina Twardosz at gtwardosz01@saintmarys.edu

First Gen Continued from page 1

Sharing her own experience as a first-generation student and role model for her nieces and nephews, Dix encouraged students to be proud of their background and accomplishments.

“The focus is to change the trajectory for your family, doing it the right way. You can’t worry about what they’ve got going on.” she said. “Who doesn’t want to be number one? Go off, do that. We’re like mini superheroes.”

Echoing Dix’s words, firstgeneration student and senior Daniel Jimenez said it was important to take advantage of the opportunity to be a Notre Dame student without the weight of self-doubt.

“I see [being first-generation and from a low-income household] as an opportunity,” Jimenez said. “I see it as, ‘I can be the person to get my family out of this situation,’ ... you see it as, ‘Oh wow, I am the person who can shift my family’s history.’ That’s really powerful.”

The Office of Student Enrichment has planned several events throughout the week, including “Postcards of Encouragement” on Tuesday, another lunch and learn session Wednesday and a talent show for first-generation and low-income students Friday. Director of student enrichment Consuela Howell said she hoped these events Paid Advertisement

would shift public focus from what first-generation and low-income students lack to what they add to the campus community.

“First-generation and lowincome students bring a certain resiliency, grit, problem solving ability, vision, the hope that they bring with them. We know that there are a lot of problems that firstgeneration, low-income students are facing that their peers aren’t facing ... and a lot of those things are things that we as a department take it upon ourselves to solve,” Howell said. “We can’t solve everything, but we try to solve it — the lack. However, we think it is just as important, if not more important, to focus on what they add to this campus. This week is to highlight those things that they add.”

Centilli said she hopes these events work towards creating a more integrated and aware community for first-generation and low-income students and their more privileged peers.

“The events are open to everybody,” Centilli said. “I don’t want anybody to ever feel like, ‘I have privilege so can’t be part of that,’ because we should all be a part of the conversation. This should be something that we’re all talking about. ... How are we utilizing our own voice and our own abilities to uplift others?”

Contact Theresa Olohan at tolohan2@nd.edu

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The observer | Tuesday, November 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

The Purge

Inside Column

The case for Twitter

Gabriel Niforatos The Road Less Traveled

Ryan Israel Scene Writer

I love Twitter. It’s my favorite app on my phone. It’s my favorite website on the internet. It’s my favorite form of social media. A lot of people don’t understand why I like Twitter so much, so here’s why I care for Twitter.

I’ll start by listing why every other form of social media sucks. Instagram is too perfect, too filtered, too self-obsessed. Everyone on Instagram is worried about followers and likes. On Twitter, it doesn’t matter how many followers you have or how many likes you get.

You don’t even have to send any tweets at all to have a good time.

Facebook is for old people, OK boomer. Not to mention Mark Zuckerberg, whose haircut is a disaster, or “The Social Network,” which exposes the platform’s suspect beginnings, or all those pesky political ads.

Twitter doesn’t have the complicated, problematic past, and its CEO Jack Dorsey recently announced (tweeted) that the platform would stop all political advertising globally.

LinkedIn is for business majors only.

VSCO is for ~VSCO girls~.

TikTok is a sad Vine knockoff for kids born after 2005.

Twitter is for everyone.

What makes Twitter so great is that it’s tailored toward your interests. If you like sports, you can follow all the best sports players, announcers, personalities, commentators, bloggers, etc. If you like politics for some strange reason, you can follow the candidates, the representatives, the Democrats, the Republicans and even the president (although I recommend against doing that). If you like TV and movies you can follow actors, actresses, directors, critics and the shows and movies themselves. If you have a niche interest, like my interest in music and hip-hop criticism, you can follow the experts on that subject — for music and hiphop criticism, those would be @joncaramanica and @ Al_Peeair among others.

Twitter is also a great source of comedy. There are so, so many accounts that tweet nothing but funny jokes.

Twitter has even started to develop its own brand of comedy with certain joke formats taking off. If you want your Twitter timeline to be nothing but an endless stream of comedy, follow a bunch of accounts like @Fred_Delicious, @ch00ch, @jaboukie, @mrjohndarby or any of the hundreds of people tweeting out hilarious content. If you just want good vibes, there are accounts like @dog_rates that just rate dogs.

But most of all, Twitter was made for friends. You can follow your friends, liking and retweeting their posts.

Or you can direct message them tweets, ones that made you laugh, ones that made you cry or ones that just reminded you of them. Twitter was made for you, so enjoy it.

Contact Ryan at risrael@nd.edu The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

People wear masks every day. Halloween is, perhaps, the most freeing holiday there is because it allows us to fully embrace the masks we wear without restraint. It is, in the fullest sense of the word, a time when we can Purge (and I don’t mean acting on our most primitive instincts when we have another Moreau portfolio due). It is a time when the mask that we put on perhaps most accurately ref lects who we are, ironically or unironically. It is also an all-encompassing holiday. Even when it feels slightly anticlimactic that we spend Halloween in a classroom, it is undeniable that the spirit of the holiday is inescapable the entirety of the week. In his tower on the 14th f loor in Hesburgh Transylvania, I guarantee you Father Jenkins went in costume, bishop’s collar or not. My costume for a majority of this week was an exhausted college student arriving back at school after fall break, not prepared for the rest of the semester (absolutely not prepared, despite what I just stated a few sentences prior).

So with the importance of Halloween in mind, I deliberated the most important question of all: W hat mask would I don for the only time in the year when reality is f lipped, where our daily selves are actually costumes, where “regular” is a mask and madness is the “normal? ” My tell-tale heart beating wildly, I thought of a solution on a night when the full moon ref lected off the twin lakes. It was simple really. I would be an observer and go on a quest to uncover what my peers were going as in order to find the perfect “Notre Dame” costume.

The choices before me fell into but a few categories, and yet, the variety of masks within those categories was immense.

Costumes inspired by horror movies and classic figures in literature are by far the most popular, and they say the most about people than any other costume. Little did I know that Kyle from sophomore philosophy was a werewolf (which significantly raises the stakes of “to be or not to be” now that I think of it), or that the real reason Katie enjoyed Latin so much was because she was writing a book of spells that she hid between her Chemistry books back in her room. I could go as the ghost of Bond Hall and haunt the architecture majors with building plans for the old log chapel we visited in Moreau that is Notre Dame’s version of the cabin in the woods. I could lurk at the top of the Basilica as Claude Frollo and look down in disdain at Esmeralda and Phoebus below.

The second category of costumes had to do with regional affinity, although it is slightly misleading to call it that. W hen I say “regional,” I really mean costumes that fall into one of two categories. The first one is “to go green or go home,” as one friend described to me,

and to dress as a leprechaun. I cannot tell you how many suits and red beards, made of felt or otherwise, I have seen in the past week. W hile arguably Notre Dame in the most literal sense, I wanted a costume that was a bit more memorable. Hence the second regional category.

Several of my closest friends are from Texas, and their advice was extraordinarily similar.

Dress as a cowboy on the new frontier, and I would have the best costume of everyone at Notre Dame.

Still unsatisfied, I turned to my fellow political science majors for advice. The most popular suggestions I received were Karl Marx, Homer or Antonin Scalia. Of all the clubs and secret cults on campus, I have found that there is none more secretive than Marxists. I have barely scratched the surface of their network, but an anonymous source told me that it encompasses the infamous tunnels around campus and may or may not be led by a certain individual named Montressor. By the dim light of candles and halfway in the catacombs, I assured this source anonymity and swore that I would not go as Marx. This left Justice Scalia. Instead of the familiar adage of “trick or treat,” I could implore my friends to adhere to the language of originalism, judicial review and ask if they had a rational basis for turning down Reese’s and choosing Three Musketeers instead. Perhaps not.

There were also several costumes I saw that did not fit any category, and I am not entirely sure what they say about Notre Dame. One of these belonged to somebody dressed in a completely green bodysuit running at full speed down South Quad to a destination I will never know.

Halloween is a sweet escape. There is no perfect “Notre Dame” costume because it is inherently human to have an affinity for the morbid and the extreme. I am not simply talking about enjoying horror movies or not, but rather a knowledge all of us have that our lives have a compass to them and that time is its only direction. Edgar Allan Poe once said in a short story that the boundaries that divide life and death are shadow y at best, and Halloween is a way for people to make light of and understand something that is an inescapable part of what it means to be human. Of course, death does not really consist of jack-o’-lanterns and costumes and pumpkin carving. But the taste of candy is a perfect mask for the melancholy that is part of the human experience.

My time across the river Sty x will come. But until then, I will go as undead Bernie Sanders and rail against the PACS and super PACS. Gabriel Niforatos is a junior majoring in political science with a minor in the Hesburgh Program in Public Service. He is passionate about giving a voice to the disenfranchised, and writing is the muse he is persistently chasing. He can be found at gniforat@nd.edu or @g_niforatos on Twitter.

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

Follow us on Twitter. @ObserverViewpnt

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My recommendation to make Notre Dame a better place: 8-step verification Danny McMaster You’re Welcome for My Opinion

In 2019, I believe we can all agree cyber security is of the utmost importance. Over the past few years, there have been countless examples of institutions — both major and minor — falling victim to mishandling online data. It is clear there is no measure too extreme when it comes to protecting our online accounts. That is why, when Notre Dame decided to reaffirm its two-step verification process via Okta this past spring, I thought it was good, but not nearly enough. When it comes to accessing sites students use daily, we really need to put as many steps as possible between potential cyber thieves and our precious insideND accounts.

With this new Okta verification system, we still fall prey to the susceptibility present in the old DuoMobile system. If a student’s phone is compromised, a thief could easily access their Sakai and from there do God knows what (their homework?).

While some students may try and say that it is wrong that Sakai requires more security checks than their bank account, I say that for every great idea there are countless halfwits who oppose it.

For these reasons, I am recommending Notre Dame move to an eight-step verification process to

ensure cyber security. I believe this system should be run from the old DuoMobile platform, the only platform I have used, and therefore the only one I can trust. The login details are as follows, starting with step one.

Students must enter their NetID along with their password.

On their phone, or other third-party device, they must confirm via DuoMobile.

On a computer, they must verify they are requesting to confirm via another device through DuoImMobile.

Back on their phone, they must verify the computer verifying their third-party device is valid via DoubleDuoMobile.

Now that the student has completed four separate actions, they’re ready for step two.

In step two, after verifying their devices, students will receive an email, where they can click a link and proceed to step three.

The link will take students to a site where they will answer personal security questions and proceed to step four.

In step four, they will have to solve a series of riddles that du Lac has determined only they can answer. Godspeed.

In step five, students must go back to their phones and submit a scan of their fingerprint via

FingerpriNDt™.

In step six, they will need a best friend to verify that they are attempting to log in, which must be submitted simultaneously in the DyanamicDuoMobile™ app.

In step seven, students go back to their phones for a retina scan of both eyes, of course conducted through RetiNDa™.

Finally, after completing step seven, students must write a handwritten letter addressed to the Main Building, requesting access to Sakai or whatever ND program they wish to log on to. Please allow three to five days for processing, and remember that once your request is granted, you have 30 minutes to log on before your session expires. This completes the eight-step verification process.

I believe that with this system in place, no ineligible person may log onto a Notre Dame student’s account. With luck, I believe eight-step verification may keep anyone from logging on at all.

Thank you for your time.

Danny McMaster is a senior business analytics major and has never once been wrong in his entire life. He can be reached at dmcmaste@nd.edu or @DanMcMaster14 on Twitter.

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

Letter to the editor

Notre Dame – center of the 2020 debate Notre Dame has been selected to be the site of the first debate in 2020. Outside observers, including the debate participants, would be well-advised to consider Notre Dame’s arrangement of recent presentations as the best way to anticipate the atmosphere at the debate at Notre Dame next year.

Where earlier speakers invited to Notre Dame once spoke in the open, Notre Dame invited Bill Barr to speak in October behind closed doors.

Where speakers’ subjects were once announced to the student body and to the public at large, Barr’s October speech was not announced to the student body at large or to the public in advance. This arrangement may have dampened the risk of protest or disagreement with what Barr had to say, at least in advance.

Whatever the motivation for secrecy here, not all of what Barr had to say at Notre Dame was made available to the public even when he finished his prepared remarks. At the end of his speech, Barr did not take questions from reporters. Rather, reporters were led out of the room while Barr began discussing other topics with the friendly audience that remained.

During his remarks prepared for a selected Notre Dame audience, Barr claimed that religion is under attack from “secularists” and “so-called progressives.”

“This is not decay,” he said. “This is organized destruction.”

Mr. Barr also reported in his speech that he detected a “monstrous invasion of religious

liberty” by these same people. Because of what these people have done and continued to do, Barr said, Americans face the “consequences of moral chaos.”

While preparing his remarks for Notre Dame, Attorney General Barr apparently did not detect the occurrence of such things as taking babies from their parents or losing children after the United States government took custody of them or proposing to revise regulations so that people in desperate need of Food Stamps have a harder time getting food to eat. Those and similar subjects might have been of interest at a University dedicated to a Catholic doctrine that the meek are blessed, the homeless should be sheltered and the hungry should be fed. The Attorney General of the United States took the time, however, to speak against people he called “secularists” and “socalled progressives,” people he further described as trying to enforce laws as a “battering ram to establish moral relativism.”

As more than an afterthought, it seems, Barr also addressed the lawsuit that a teacher filed against the Archdiocese of Indianapolis after they fired him. You might have thought this would escape the notice of the Attorney General of the United States, but no. Barr noticed it. Until Barr brought it up, you may have thought that Notre Dame is not anywhere near Indianapolis, at least geographically.

A brief recap of the lawsuit may be in order here, especially because Barr apparently did not look at

the facts alleged by the teacher. The Archdiocese of Indianapolis allegedly ordered a teacher fired for one reason and one reason only: the teacher’s same-sex marriage. The teacher was not fired because he disrupted the workplace with talk about his marriage; in fact, all sides seem to agree that the teacher actually kept his marriage out of his workplace in that he did not bring it up either with his colleagues or with the students. The Archdiocese nevertheless took it upon itself to ignore the admonition “who am I to judge?” The Archdiocese fired the teacher. The teacher then sued them for firing him.

Based on these facts, here is Barr’s conclusion: “The lawsuit clearly infringes on the First Amendment rights of the Archdiocese by interfering both with its expressive association and with its Church autonomy.”

This lawsuit is simply intolerable in Barr’s eyes.

As he told his audience at Notre Dame, “The Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in the state court making these points and we hope that the state court will soon dismiss this case.”

Many people, including Progressives and Democrats but by no means limited to them, wonder what kind of atmosphere the first 2020 debate will be subjected to at Notre Dame. Perhaps the most likely predictions will be based on current evidence.

Dennis Wall Class of 1973 Oct. 29

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CLAIRE KOPISCHKE | The Observer

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CLAIRE KOPISCHKE | The Observer

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DAily

The observer | tuesday, november 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Crossword | Will Shortz

Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Put emotional baggage to the side. Face whatever is standing between you and what you want to do, and make changes that will allow you to pursue your dreams. The time to eliminate, organize and hone your skills has come, so don’t waste time contemplating when you should be taking action. Live in the moment, learn from experience and expand your wisdom and your awareness.

Your numbers are 2, 11, 16, 20, 28, 36, 45.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Filter through information and keep what’s pertinent to current projects. Build a foundation that will house what you want to achieve.

Personal and physical gains are within reach if you revise and update what you already have.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t let the changes going on around you cause anxiety. Take another look, and you’ll discover a way to adapt and use what’s happening to your benefit. Recognize who is on your team and who isn’t, and move forward alone if necessary.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Work hard, play hard. You will feel the rewards that satisfaction has to offer. Your diligence and passion will far exceed any opponent you come up against. Trust your instincts, and don’t stop until you reach your goal.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Think, formulate and take action. Don’t underestimate what you are capable of doing. Be innovative and passionate, and follow through with stamina and confidence. Much can be accomplished if you accept and adjust your plans.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Refuse to let emotional matters escalate or stand between you and something you want to pursue. Take action, and make a change that will ease your mind and bring you joy. Form partnerships that offer unity and promise.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Don’t lose sight of the people and pastimes that bring you joy. Sign up for something that will get you out with like-minded people who offer thoughtful advice and are good influences. Distance yourself from drama and excessive behavior.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Focus on projects that require physical activity. Do prep work for an upcoming event, or set aside a space to organize and separate what you want to keep and what to pass along. Assess emotional situations before you react.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You’ll be offered valuable information that will help you move forward if you listen and learn. Sometimes it’s difficult to see what’s directly in front of you. Open your mind, and move forward with confidence and determination. Love should have no boundaries.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Be honest about your intentions, likes and dislikes. Question anything that doesn’t seem right. Be willing to do the work yourself to avoid disappointment. Pay closer attention to the way you look and present yourself to others.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Put your differences aside. You’ll get a lot more accomplished if you go with the flow. Look for ways to compensate and to fit into the mainstream, where you can have the most significant impact on the outcome of situations and people.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Focus on getting things done. Keep your emotions in check and out of sight. You’ll reach your goal and establish future prospects if you draw on the people who have been dependable in the past. Romance is on the rise.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Impulse purchases will not live up to your expectation.

Concentrate more on what you can do for others, and spend less time on primping and pampering. A change in a meaningful partnership will unfold if you can’t find common ground.

Birthday Baby: You are sensitive, passionate and worldly. You are willful and original.

Sudoku | The Mepham Group

Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek

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Sports

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W Bball

Sports Authority

The dumbest pro sports mascots Connor Mulvena Sports Editor

I had a discussion with some friends recently that, while impressively moronic, has been on my mind for a few days now.

We were thinking about the worst names and mascots in all of sports, and we each brought up a few teams we didn’t think would spur debate but ended up being contentious. In the end, none of it really matters, but I think it’s actually interesting to think about how the branding of professional sports teams affects the way we think about them and their respective leagues. To keep this reasonable, I’ll offer what I think are the three worst names/mascots in sports, and I’m not considering obscure colleges or European soccer clubs — just MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL. All three of my choices happen to be in the NBA, but that’s because I genuinely think these are below all of the other team names around the four major American leagues.

3. New Orleans Pelicans This one has to be the least contentious on the list. Of all the possibilities — from menacing predators to symbols of abstract principles upon which our country was built — you chose the one that creepily loiters outside that dentist’s window in “Finding Nemo?” Interesting.

There’s also just that indescribable element about certain team names where you can’t really imagine saying a legendary player’s name in that context.

“Pelicans” doesn’t really scream elite. I’d say it screams something closer to struggling high school bowling team.

Maybe Zion Williamson will lead the Pelicans to several championships and the next generation of young sports fans will look at this sad beach bird as the lion of the sky, but for now, I think it’s reasonable to say that they botched this one in New Orleans.

2. Brooklyn Nets Ohh, I get it, because it’s like basketball, and there’s a net by the hoop, and you guys are playing basketball. Classic.

I’ll offer the disclaimer that I’m a Knicks fan, so I’ll always just think the Nets are lame whether they’re playing in that wasteland across the Hudson or the Barclays center. But really, how did this name get past any executive ever? Can you imagine a board meeting where someone says, “Well why don’t we just name it after the thing we shoot the ball into?” and no one stops for a minute to even question that proposition?

Also, that court is just gross.

The gray and black just gives everything a strange dreary tint. It makes me feel like I’m watching a documentary on the History Channel instead of a basketball game. Maybe it hurts that the Knicks have one of the most iconic names in all of sports, but I can’t help but think that whoever decides these things could have found inspiration elsewhere.

1. Toronto Raptors Of all my meaningless sports takes, I’d put this one in my top three most passionate. This is just a terrible name on all fronts, and it hasn’t gotten any better with the new jerseys that say “The North” (gross).

But first, let me address what many of you cool dudes and dudettes who don your throwback Vince Carter jersey to that sick darty are thinking. I get it, Vince Carter is cool, his dunks are awesome and the uniform is colorful. It makes sense; it’s a bright picture. That uniform is one of the ugliest uniforms in the history of sports uniforms.

A cartoon dinosaur? That’s what we’ve set the standard at for a classic throwback jersey?

If you asked any given three year old what he or she might name a particular sports teams, I imagine at least 70% would draw a picture of that dinosaur and say “raptors” as they drooled all over themselves.

I genuinely cannot fathom how people can stand behind the idea the raptors are a “cool” team. Were there an inordinate amount of dinosaurs in the Toronto region during the Cretaceous period of which I’m unaware? Please, someone fill me in on what’s going on here.

Continued from page 16

… We have a couple recruits out that way that can come see the game, and of course [sophomore forward] Danielle Cosgrove’s parents can come see the game as well.”

McGraw has not opened up a season with a road game in more than 20 years. Her biggest concern heading into this game, she asserted, is having to travel with such a young team. That being said, McGraw believes her entire roster of players is going to grow from the experience.

“We’re going to learn in progress,” McGraw said. “I think that it is going to be a work in progress. We’re going to find out a lot about ourselves, but we just need game experience and there is no way to get it except to have a game. We’re going to take a lot of bumps, I think, in the early going.”

In the days leading up to fall break, Notre Dame sophomore guard Abby Prohaska was diagnosed with bilateral pulmonary embolism — blood clotting in her lungs — and did not travel with the team. This is a huge blow to the Irish women, especially so early in the season. With a roster full of young players, anybody with experience playing in college is invaluable to the team.

McGraw commented on what losing Prohaska for the season means to the team.

“She is probably one of two players with game experience coming into the season,” McGraw said. “She is also somebody who gives energy, because she comes in and she takes charges and hustles. She is somebody you can point to for the freshmen to look up to and say ‘This is how you’re supposed to practice, this is

how you’re supposed to play.’

We’ve lost that experienced player that we had. … We are hopeful that she will return to the team.”

In best case scenario given Prohaska’s condition, the Irish will have to play without her until at least January.

Looking ahead to the lineup against Fordham, the starting five are freshman guard Anaya Peoples, freshman forward Sam Brunelle, junior center Mikayla Vaughn, graduate student guard Marta Sniezek and graduate student guard Destinee Walker.

Sniezek and Walker transferred to Notre Dame from Stanford and North Carolina, respectively.

Starting center Vaugn is the only player in this lineup with real experience playing for the Irish.

McGraw explained why transfer students are so unique under her coaching style.

“The problem is they’re all freshman, because our system is different,” McGraw said. “Destinee hasn’t played in two years, so she has only really had a year and a half of playing experience.

She is more like a sophomore. Marta, of course, had three years, but did not play last year, so she is probably the most experienced and understands the game the best.”

A new team means new strengths and new weaknesses for McGraw and her assistants.

“Last year, no matter what, we knew that we could score,” McGraw said. “This year, we are not sure what our identity is yet.”

Matching up against Fordham will be an opportunity for the team to evaluate its entire game.

The Irish are heading into the Bronx with a lot of goals, as well as many unanswered questions.

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“I think that we are looking for execution,” McGraw said.

“We have got to box out and rebound. We can’t give another team more than one shot at the basket. We want to try and run. We want to see what the transition game looks like. Defensively, we have got a lot of holes. We are trying to look and see what our zone looks like at this point in the season, what the man to man looks like. Who can we count on to score? Who is going to be the one to give the ball to late game? What is going to be our strength going down the stretch is a big question.”

With so many questions on the defensive end for Notre Dame, a big one heading into the Fordham game is who gets the challenge of guarding Bre Cavanaugh.

McGraw spoke highly of Fordham’s junior guard and her ability to dominate on the court.

“I hoped that she would be starting for us — she is phenomenal,” McGraw said.

“She can get her shot. She can score from so many different places. Good 3-point shooter. Can get to the basket.

Leading scorer last year. She is coming is with a lot of game experience.

Definitely a player they want the ball in her hands as much as they can.”

Even with uncertainty ahead, McGraw was adamant the entire team is excited to get out of practice and play its first game.

The women are ready to bring a high level of energy and intensity to their first opponent. All of the new faces want to show that they have what it takes to play for the Irish, McGraw emphasized.

Tip off will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Rose Hill Gymnasium in New York City.

Contact Inigo Yturralde at iyturralde@nd.edu

Honorable Mentions Atlanta Thrashers This is almost unfair because they disbanded, and I’d have to imagine this horrific name had at least a little bit to do with that.

Add this one to the list of team names that a drooling three year old would like. Thrasher sounds like what a kid names his action figure or an evil version of one of Santa’s reindeer.

Minnesota Wild Especially considering Minnesota used to be the North Stars — and they had an awesome name and jersey — this one stinks. What does “wild” even really mean? Swing and a miss.

Contact Connor Mulvena at cmulvena@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

ANNA MASON | The Observer

Irish guard Abby Prohaska reaches for the ball in Notre Dame’s 81-76 win against UConn during the 2019 NCAA Tournament on April 5. The Irish advanced to play Baylor in the championship.

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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Sports

M Soccer Continued from page 16

that. Sophomore forward Jack Lynn has been on a strong run recently, scoring in three of the last five matchups to bring his team-leading total to nine on the season. Dumas is second with three goals, but 10 different players have scored for the Irish this season. The depth will be important, because heading into the ACC tournament and potentially the NCAA tournament, they will potentially play quite a few games over the next month.

The winner of this matchup will have to travel to Clemson to face the No. 1 seed, No. 4 in the nation Tigers in the quarterfinals. Clemson is undefeated at home and only has one loss on the season, finishing with a 14-1-1 record, including 6-1-1 in ACC play. Clemson beat Notre Dame at home in their first conference matchup Sept. 13. The Irish were in the matchup for most of the game, but ended up falling 4-2. Notre Dame is seeking to return the ACC tournament finals for the first time since 2015. The Irish haven’t won the ACC tournament in their six seasons in the conference.

Contact Liam Coolican at lcoolica@nd.edu

JUNYA KANEMITSU | The Observer

Irish senior midfielder Jack Casey completes a pass to his teammate during Notre Dame’s 2-4 loss to Clemson at home in Alumni Stadium on Sept. 13, a game in which he played 78 minutes. The Irish are now 9-6-1 on the season and 3-5 within their conference.

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Kelly Continued from page 16

utilizing the talents of Harris extremely well. Jackson is a really good back as well.”

Kelly went on to comment on the athleticism of Duke’s defense, saying that, overall, the Blue Devils are a solid, wellcoached group of players.

“Defensively obviously very impressive players. [Victor] Dimukeje and [Chris] Rumph [II], the front four is very, very good. Very, very good front. They play the run very well. Got some really good athletes and are deep on the defensive line, one of the deeper groups that we’re going to play,” Kelly said. “They’ve lost a couple linebackers to graduation, but, again, those guys are extremely athletic. I think in the back end of their defense, they would like to play some man coverage. They have got some guys that can run. Good looking team across the board. Athletic. Not afraid to, as I mentioned, pressure you and play man coverage. We’re going to have to be on.

Offensively we have not executed at the highest of levels. We are going to have to execute better.

The turnovers have to obviously go away.”

Notre Dame finished the game against Virginia Tech with an impressive — and crucial — scoring drive, and Kelly said the Irish will look to build on that tempo as they head to Durham, North Carolina.

“We’ll build off the last two drives offensively of the game against Virginia Tech. We went, you know, 91 yards before we had a penalty called against us, which I’m not sure why that was a penalty, but it was called against us for a — we cut a blitzing linebacker, which pushed us back into a field goal situation.

Then we come back with an 87 yard drive,” Kelly said. “Finished the game on two really good drives. We will need to put together more of that consistency offensively and continue to play the kind of physical defense that we played. If we do that, we’ll present ourselves well against Duke.”

As far as the injuries to junior offensive lineman and captain Robert Hainsey and sophomore linebacker Jack Lamb, Kelly said Hainsey should be back by spring, although he doubts he’ll be involved in contact drills by then. Lamb, on the other hand, will be out for at least this week, according to Kelly. He went on to comment on who will replace Lamb in the nickel package.

“We’ll probably look at a couple guys right now that we think can fill in,” he said. “[Sophomore] Shayne Simon might be a guy that you might see moving into that position. [Junior] Jordan Genmark Heath. There are a couple guys we think can fit in there and do a nice job for us.”

Freshman safety Kyle Hamilton tallied an interception during the Irish win Saturday, and his impressive numbers this season might dictate to one that

he is the starter. Kelly went on to comment on Hamilton’s development, and what he expects for the true freshman as far as the future goes.

“What comes easy for him is roaming the middle the field.

Great instincts, great vision, plays the ball extremely well in the air. I think that’s pretty obvious in terms of his coverage skills and obviously finding and seeking the football. I think continue to develop in the tackling department. He’s got to fit and come downhill and be part of our run fit, so tackling,” Kelly said. “And then just, you know, the rigors of playing college football, all the games that he’s asked to play and the physicality associated with it. So that’s just a matter of time.

That’s weight room, that’s conditioning, that’s training. I think that’s going to take care of itself; both of the things that I mentioned as things that he needs to continue to work on. He just has a huge upside.”

Sophomore wide receiver Braden Lenzy has shown signs of promise throughout the season, and Kelly fielded a question about how the sophomore ought to develop in order to start putting up full starter numbers.

“I think it’s consistency — and he’s done a really nice job. But we wanted a little bit more size on the field against Virginia Tech in terms of what we are trying to accomplish with one-on-one matchups. A lot of man coverage on the outside,” Kelly said. “Just wanted a little bit more size with [senior wide recievers Javon] McKinley and Chase [Claypool].

I think he’s done a really nice job in terms of adding consistency to his practice preparation. I think that was one area that held him back a little bit. I think we’ve really seen some growth there. We like his competitiveness. I think just a matter of time that he continues to add more to the trust bank and that he gets more playing time as we continue to move forward.”

Kelly went on to praise the efforts of the kick returners this season, saying that, despite one notable error, the unit has done a great job so far this season.

“Other than obviously making a key mistake on the kickoff return, they’ve done a good job. I mean, we fair caught a lot of balls, and that’s through analytics and developing kind of a mindset as to how we want to start our drives. So that has not led to any concerns within my conversation with [special teams coordinator] Brian [Polian] relative to who is the right guy. We’re just looking for if we do in fact return it, we want that thing out past the 25.” Kelly said. “We thought that [sophomore wide receiver] Lawrence [Keys III] might give us a little bit more, and we still believe he does. He’s got a burst. He got caught on the back side one time where we didn’t expect the ball to be kicked that shallow or short, and it allowed them a short edge that got him from behind.

So I really think it continues to develop. If you give us a kick return, I think we’re going to do it.

ALLISON THORNTON | The Observer

Irish senior wide receiver Chase Claypool turns upfield to break out of a tackle after completing a catch in Notre Dame’s 21-20 win against Virginia Tech at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday.

Other than that, we are going to fair catch. I think Lawrence Keys continues to be the guy we push out front.”

Senior quarterback Ian Book, despite receiving criticism in some places this season, has continually said he remains confident as the quarterback of this team. Kelly commented on how crucial that confidence is for a quarterback.

“Look, if you lose your confidence here as a quarterback you can’t play quarterback at Notre Dame. There is just so much noise. So in the recruiting process, it’s like question number one, two, three, four and five, you know, and making sure that you vet that out in the process in terms of what kind of personality does he have, what are his traits, his makeup. Can he handle the noise? Those are absolutely crucial,” Kelly said. “Watching a guy throw the ball around in 7-on-7 is one thing. Can they handle all that is encompassing with this position here at Notre Dame is much more important. So in the recruiting process we felt like he could handle all those things.

Although it’s difficult for everybody when you don’t play particularly well, we felt like he had what it took to stand up to that.

You know, he did, and he’s come out on the other end and should be better for it.”

The Irish offensive unit, under

Book, has seemed to resort to the screen pass often unsuccessfully this season. Book and junior running back Jafar Armstrong did manage to connect on one the other day, but Kelly said the unit’s screen game needs to improve in the coming weeks. “[The screen game is] not where we want it to be. We’ve got to be better on the perimeter with our screen game. It was setup really well with our two tight end package and that we had run two or three inside power players, some missed direction off it. So it was setup quite well, but we have got to be better on the perimeter screens,” Kelly said. “They’ve been a struggle most of the year. We’ve got to keep at it. And, again, I think it’s got to open up for us. Been a little bit better. Lenzy has hit a couple that have been good.

We needed to be a little bit better on a screen that we called on Saturday, but we’re not going to go away from it. We’re going to keep working it. The slow screen was obviously pretty good.

Those become hit and miss when you’re working in the slow screen to the tailback because of the little things that can happen. But the perimeter screens have to get better.”

Kelly, in reference to offensive coordinator Chip Long and his play calling, said that, although you could point to a few

problems, overall play calling has been good.

“I think it’s been good. I mean, calling plays is an art. You know, there is a science to it. I think that when you look at it through that lens, and I certainly do having experienced that view, there is a number of times where we had some plays called that were perfect fits that weren’t executed to the level that we need to,” Kelly said. “Then there were a couple plays that were called that weren’t the best play calls.

So we always go back at the end of the day. We’re always looking at what can we call better in certain situations, what can we execute better. And then are we tipping anything off that’s giving the defense a chance to cover a particular play. I think that’s what I concern myself more with anything else, is that are we showing something that is a tip to the defense. So far, I haven’t seen that. I’m pleased with what Chip is doing in terms of his play calling. Now it’s a matter of executing at a higher level.”

The Irish will square off against Duke (4-3, 2-2 ACC) at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The game will not be televised nationally but will be broadcast via the ACC Network.

Contact Connor Mulvena at cmulvena@nd.edu

Sports

ndsmcobserver.com | tuesday, november 5, 2019 | The Observer

Notre Dame puts on impressive performance at Dick Vitale Invitational

ANN CURTIS | The Observer

Irish junior Tristan McCormick bends to complete a forehand hit back over the net during Notre Dame’s 6-1 win against Boston College at home in the Eck Tennis Pavilion on Feb. 8. McCormick earned a singles match victory over Max Mendelsohn 6-4, 6-7, 10-8 to help the Irish.

Observer Sports Staff

The Notre Dame men’s tennis team put on quite the performance at the Dick Vitale Clay Court Invitational over the weekend in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. Four players — sophomore Axel Nefve, junior William Howells, senior Conor Somers and senior Jonathan Small — traveled down south to compete in doubles and singles competitions.

Nefve and Howells played together in doubles, and they handled their competition swiftly throughout the tournament. The powerful duo started the tournament with a victory Friday morning, defeating the duo of Dabek and Durham, hailing from Navy, by a score of 8-4. Moving onto the quarterfinals, the combo defeated juniors Nick Beaty and Harrison Brown of Michigan 8-7 to advance to the semifinals. That

quarterfinals match featured a tiebreaker in which Nefve and Howells fought back from down 4-1 to claim six-straight points and the match victory.

The duo faced another tiebreaker in the semifinals, this time against juniors Brian Berdusco and Andy Andrade of Florida, and Nefve and Howells managed to hang on once again, winning 8-7 (5) to advance to the finals of the doubles tournament.

On Sunday morning, Nefve and Howells faced off against sophomores Fabien Salle and Sergio Hernandez of Louisville, and the two secured the title for the Irish by a score of 8-5.

Nefve also put on a show in the singles competitions. After losing his first match in the main draw to sophomore Ivan Yatsuk of the University of Southern Florida by a score of 5-6, 6-2, Nefve fought back to make it to the consolation singles finals.

In the first round, he beat freshman Patrick Cacciatore, hailing from Florida, 6-1, 6-4, and in the next round he defeated freshman Richard Thongoana of Florida State 6-2, 6-1.

Nefve would go on to advance to the finals Saturday morning, when he faced Salle of Louisville, whom he would go on to face in doubles play the next day, and defeated him 6-3, 6-4. Finally, Sunday morning, the same day on which he and Howells grabbed the doubles title for the Irish, Nefve won against freshman Michael Heller from Duke 6-3, 7-6 (6) after a tiebreaker to claim the finals title of the singles consolation draw.

Somers and Small also entered the doubles tournament over the weekend, but the duo fell in the first round of play.

Each player was also unable to secure a win in the singles

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tournament.

Up next for the Irish are the ITA National Fall Championships, which will begin Wednesday in Newport Beach, California. For Notre Dame, junior Richard Ciamarra will participate in singles, and junior Tristan McCormick will accompany him in the doubles tournament.

The tournament features 128 of the nation’s top singles players — 64 men and 64 women — and 64 of the best doubles teams in the nation — 32 men’s teams and 32 women’s teams.

Taking place at The Tennis Club, it is the only tournament on the collegiate tennis calendar to feature players from all five divisions. The first round of the men’s doubles tournament will begin for McCormick and Ciamarra on Wednesday morning, and Ciamarra will begin his singles tournament run on the same morning.

15

XC Continued from page 16

most consistent runners for the Irish this season.

Also receiving All-ACC honors on the women’s side were graduate student Anna Rohrer (21:06.6) and sophomore Jacqueline Gaughan (21:18.4), placing seventh and 18th respectively.

The other scorers for the Irish were junior Annasophia Keller (21:42.6) and senior Erin Archibeck (22.10.0), placing 36th and 55th respectively.

The third place finish for the Irish was a solid result, as the No. 17 Irish distanced themselves from No. 22 Virginia Tech and No. 27 Boston College.

The two teams ahead of the Irish were No. 5 North Carolina State with 64 points followed by No. 10 Florida State with 76 points.

The men’s side was led once again by junior Yared Nuguse who placed second overall and received All-ACC honors. Nuguse completed the 8K race in a blazing fast time of 24:21.6.

Nuguse found second place early on in the race and held off a late surge from an NC State runner to hold onto second.

Also receiving All-ACC honors on the men’s side were sophomore Dylan Jacobs (24:35.6) and junior Andrew Alexander (24:46.5) who placed fifth and 14th respectively.

Jacobs was the fastest sophomore in the race.

Also scoring for the Irish were sophomore Matthew Carmody (24:59.4) and sophomore Danny Kilrea (25:07.7) who placed 23rd and 29th respectively.

W hile the 20th ranked Irish were hoping to defend their ACC title, they came up five points short against No. 28 Syracuse who had all five of their runners finish within 14 seconds of each other.

Behind the Irish were No. 26 Virginia Tech, T-No. 23 Virginia, Wake Forest, No. 21 Florida State, Duke and T-No. 23 NC State.

There is plenty of the postseason ahead for the Irish as both teams attempt to achieve their goals for the season. Next up will be the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, which will take place at Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday.

Both teams will face stiff competition at the meet, as the men are currently ranked fifth in the region and the women fourth. Both teams will then hope to compete at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, which will occur Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

16

The observer | tuesday, november 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

nd women’s BASKETBALL

nd football

Kelly looks ahead to Duke matchup

By CONNOR MULVENA Sports Editor

After No. 15 Notre Dame’s 2120 victory over Virginia Tech, Irish head football coach Brian Kelly addressed the media in his weekly Monday post-practice press conference to preview the squad’s impending matchup on the road against Duke.

Kelly began the conference by saying things have been a bit quiet as the Irish begin preparation for Duke, and he went on to compliment Duke’s offensive game.

“All right, we’ll get to work here. Obviously getting back to preparation this week for Duke, a little quieter around here. I don’t know why, but it seems like if you win it’s a lot quieter. We are going to continue to try to do that. Our preparation will be such that we’ve got our players understanding what it takes to prepare and play the right way,” Kelly said. “We’ll build off that and go have some fun, play the game, enjoy it, enjoy being with

Irish open season on the road against Fordham

your teammates. Play fast, play physical against a really good Duke team. They’ve had a week off to prepare for us. … Coach [David] Cutcliffe does a great job offensively using personnel groupings — what they do best — and taking their pieces and really putting them in good position to succeed, starting with [redshirt senior Quentin] Harris at the quarterback position. Dual threat quarterback. Also the second leading rusher on the team.

Throws it well in the one-on-one matchups. Has got a good, experienced offensive line, a young offensive tackle who is playing really well for them. Just like what they do. They’re very smart.

Last time up here, they beat us.

[They’re] a well-coached football team. The two freshmen, [Jalon] Calhoun, the slot receiver, and then their offensive tackle are really helping that offensive football team grow up quickly. But, again, well-coached on the offensive side of the ball. [They’re]

aNNA MASON | The Observer

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team w ill be opening its season Tuesday against Fordham Universit y.

The Irish departed to the Bron x late Monday afternoon and are scheduled to play in the Rose Hill Gy mnasium at 7 p.m.

This is the team’s first away season opener since 1996, when the Irish traveled to Washington, D.C. to play against Georgetow n.

In an inter v iew before Monday’s practice, Irish head coach Muffet McGraw shared insights on the team and the challenges that await in New York.

“Fordham is a great team; they’re an NCA A tournament team,” McGraw said. “[Fordham head coach] Stephanie Gaitley has done a fabulous job w ith them.

see KELLY PAGE 14

Former Irish guard Arike Ogunbowale dribbles down the court during the 2019 NCAA National Championship 82-81 loss to Baylor.

see W BBALL PAGE 11

By INIGO YTURRALDE Sports Writer

nd MEN’s SOCCER

nd CROSS COUNTRY

Cross country teams place 2nd, 3rd in championship Observer Sports Staff

The postseason began for both cross country squads Friday as both teams competed in the ACC Championships in Blacksburg, Virginia. In a field that featured multiple ranked teams on both sides, the men placed second and the women third.

Leading the way on the women’s side was sophomore Maddy Denner who placed third overall and completed the 6K in a time of 20:50.0.

Denner received All-ACC and ACC Freshman of the year accolades.

Although Denner is academically a sophomore, this is her first season competing in cross country for the Irish. Denner executed a perfect race from start to finish, moving up 22 spots between the first mile and the end of the race. This race style has allowed Denner to excel at the 6K distance and hilly courses and be one of the see XC PAGE 15

Irish begin ACC preparations

By LIAM COOLICAN Sports Writer

ANNA MASON | The Observer

Irish sophomore Jack McNabola sprints forward to pass another runner at the Joe Piane Invitational at Burke Golf Course on Oct. 4.

Notre Dame men’s soccer is preparing for the start of the ACC tournament Tuesday. This is a pivotal tournament for the Irish (96-1, 3-5 ACC), as they are in good position to make the NCA A tournament, one or t wo w ins would ensure a spot when the Men’s Soccer Committee makes their final selections. Notre Dame, which finished eighth in the ACC, earned the chance to host the first game of the tournament. They w ill take on No. 9 seed Boston College on Tuesday at 2 p.m. at A lumni Stadium.

The Irish are coming off back-to-back qualit y w ins.

They earned a signature w in on the road at No. 2 Wake Forest on Oct. 26 and beat Pittsburgh on Friday on Senior Night to close out the regular season. Notre Dame senior goalkeeper Duncan Turnbull earned ACC Defensive Player of the

Week honors for his performance against Wake Forest, and this week, it was graduate student defender Felicien Dumas who took home the same honors for his all-around game against Pittsburgh. It was Dumas’ second Defensive Player of the Week award this season.

Notre Dame has made at least the ACC quarterfinals ever y year since joining the ACC in 2013, and it boasts a 6-1 record in games it has hosted in that time. Last season, as the No. 5 seed, Notre Dame lost in the quarterfinals to eventual conference champion Louisv ille.

Notre Dame did not face Boston College during the regular season, but the Irish came away w ith a 1-0 v ictor y at home last year against the Eagles. The Irish also lead the all-time season series 9-4-1. Notre Dame has had many different players step up in its last few games, and the team hopes to continue see M SOCCER PAGE 12