Print Edition for The Observer for Friday, January 31, 2025
17 arrested protesters still awaiting trial
Observer Staff Report
The dispositional hearing Monday morning for the 17 student protesters arrested last May was pushed back to March 3. The students are facing charges for criminal trespassing after they refused to disperse at a pro-Palestine demonstration outside the Main Building last year.
This is the sixth hearing that has been extended since the students were arrested. The first hearing was scheduled for June 28, 2024. Subsequent hearings were postponed to later dates and the hearing on Oct. 25, 2024 was cancelled.
At Monday’s hearing, the students were not physically present in the courtroom and were instead represented by their attorneys.
The Observer granted anonymity to student
defendants to discuss the sensitive nature of the ongoing case. One of the students explained that the hearings have continued to be delayed as prosecutors requested more time. Initially, the case was set to be heard by a judge who is a Notre Dame alumni, but he later recused himself. The students have had to wait for a new hearing so the replacement judge can get up to speed on the case.
“It’s incredibly frustrating, especially considering our efforts to organize faculty allies to attend court in support of us,” the student said. “The constant changes to the hearing dates make it nearly impossible for us to ensure their presence and to ensure we give adequate notice to our professors about our absence.”
Aside from Fr. Jenkins’
Students were arrested on God Quad last May after refusing to disperse. The demonstrators have called
the University to drop trespassing charges, but will face a state court hearing now rescheduled to March 3.
Students share experience from ongoing fires SMC celebrates Lunar New Year
Notre Dame students discuss their experiences with the California wildfires fueled by winds that burned and devestated large parts of Los Angeles County and surrounding areas, describing personal losses.
By DAVID MURPHY Staff Writer
Sparked by strong winds and dry weather, raging wildfires have been devastating the Los Angeles area since Jan. 7, charring over 50,000 acres of land. While the death toll is still unknown, as of present, there have been 29 confirmed deaths and total economic losses could reach an estimated 250 billion dollars. Several
Dame students from the LA area shared their experiences witnessing the destruction during their winter breaks.
On Jan. 29, 2025, in honor of the Lunar New Year, the Student Diversity Board (SDB) and Asian American Pacific Islander club (AAPI) at Saint Mary’s College hosted a series of festivities coinciding with traditions specific to cultures that celebrate the holiday.
Lunar New Year is celebrated throughout many
Asian countries and in diaspora communities around the world. The new year invites lively festivities which usually consist of 15 days’ worth of “lion and dragon dances, fireworks, traditional food and cultural performances,” according to an Associated
MADYSON CASIANO | The Observer
Saint Mary’s College celebrated Lunar New Year on Wednesday at Dalloway’s Clubhouse and with an Asian-themed dining hall menu.
The Observer regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times. We do, however, recognize that we will make mistakes. If we have made a mistake, please contact us at editor@ndsmcobserver.com so we can correct our error.
GRAY NOCJAR
UCC offers sun lamps for depression
By EMILY BARLETT News Writer
Last week, temperatures in South Bend dipped below zero, and wind chills and snow flurries added to the cold temperatures experienced by the community.
The Notre Dame Police Department sent out an advisory reminding everyone to bundle up due to heightened risks of frostbite and hypothermia. With subzero temperatures, frostbite can develop faster and easier on uncovered skin.
The University Counseling Center also warned against Season Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression that is common during the fall and winter seasons,
Protests
statement last May, the students said they have not received any official communication from the University regarding their arrests. “What is clear, however, is that the University has repeatedly refused to drop these charges,” the student said. The University did not respond to a request for comment.
Before the next hearing on March 3, the students have to decide if they will take their case to trial. If they do, the hearing currently scheduled will be rescheduled and a trial date will be set.
As of now, the next hearing is scheduled for March 3 at 9 a.m. in the St. Joseph Superior Misdemeanor Division located on the second floor of Courthouse 2.
when the days are shorter. According to the American Psychiatric Association, SAD affects roughly 5% of adults in the United States.
“If a person notices that they experience symptoms of depression that have a significant impact on their ability to function, and they see a pattern of their mood changing at the same time each year, usually as the days start to become shorter, they may be suffering from Season Affective Disorder,” director of the University Counseling Center Christine Conway explains.
Therefore, the Counseling Center took initiatives to offer sun lamps to community members struggling with the weather. These lamps
Wildfires
CONTINUED FROM PAGE
Matias Toro, a Morrissey freshman from Pasadena, recalled his experience during the disaster’s early hours.
“My parents were out shopping. They gave me a call that night,” Toro said. “I looked out at the mountain, and it was just like a firestorm, like, the whole [forest] just burst into flames.”
As the fire spread rapidly, an estimated 200,000 residents in threatened areas were put under evacuation orders. Alex Rweyemamu, a freshman in Siegfried from the Los Angeles area, found himself ordered to evacuate multiple times.
“I remember I was at my mom’s one night in Pasadena, and … we had to evacuate. So I [decided] to go to my
An Evening with
help improve internal circadian rhythms by mimicking sunlight. Additionally, the light from the lamp could increase the production of serotonin, a mood regulator. Known as “Happy Lights,” these boxes of light can be found at the McDonald Center on campus.
Director at the Center for Student Well-Being Sarah Besse reported a large increase in sign-ups in December for the Happy Lights. To promote continued access to the lamps, the center will be hosting a “Happy Light Lounge” Friday, Jan. 31 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Duncan Student Center Meeting Room 2 North (W246).
At the event students can
dad’s house, which is fifty minutes west,” Rweyemamu said. “Then, the next day, around like four or five, the Hollywood fire happened … and I was again on evacuation watch. I would never expect that. To go from one place like, ‘Oh, I’ll be safer,’ and then [have to go] to another place.”
An estimated 10,000 homes have been destroyed by the fires. Los Angeles County, already suffering from a housing shortage, soon found rent costs skyrocketing in the aftermath of the destruction as displaced families sought places to stay.
“Before the fires, let’s say, a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment was renting for about like three to four thousand [dollars] — it’s gonna be a lot more ... now it’s like six to seven thousand dollars [to rent], which is just crazy,”
Madeline Miller & Emily Wilson
Tuesday, February 11 | 7:30 p.m.
Moreau Center for the Arts, O’Laughlin Auditorium
Visit saintmarys.edu/events for tickets.
learn more about the resource, and if interested, check out a light for themselves. The sun lamps will be arranged in a room featuring a variety of activities, including string art, sand art and snacks.
The lamps are available for use in restorative spaces, located on the second floor of St. Liam Hall, or be checked out to use at home.
“It’s not so much the weather that affects our mood, but that it’s the amount of light,” Conway said.
Students shared their experiences with the recent shift in weather.
“I am from Louisiana, so the weather here is very different than what I am used to,” freshman Emily Rowe
Rweyemamu said.
Both Toro’s and Rweyemamu’s homes went unharmed, but many families were not as fortunate.
Toro highlighted the extent of the damage. “Yeah, honestly, I got it lucky, I think 40% of the [families] from my middle school lost everything,” he said.
While luckily able to evacuate in time, Johnson Family Hall resident Keira Wood was among the thousands of LA inhabitants whose homes were lost.
“Pretty much our entire community is gone because of the fire,” Wood said. “My house, my whole neighborhood, the schools that my siblings go to, the summer camp that I work at, and the places where a lot of my family work in town … pretty much everything [is gone].”
She described the
said. “While it is cold down there during the winter, the weather here is much colder and has definitely been an adjustment for me.”
Many students reported mitigating the amount of time spent outdoors in response to the weather.
Freshman Drew Hemmesch is from Minnesota and described feeling well-adapted to the colder temperatures.
“I have followed a similar routine to the winter season at home, but many of my peers have purchased warmer clothes and tried to change the amount they spend outside,” Hemmesch said.
Contact Emily Barlett at ebarlett@nd.edu
unexpected nature of the fire’s destruction. “I don’t really live in … what was thought of as a fire dangerous area ... I was just in a neighborhood, so I never really expected anything like this to happen.”
“I think when we evacuated, we just thought that we were gonna be at my grandma's house for, like, a few hours just hanging out there,” she continued.
Toro described the strong sense of camaraderie that emerged from the fire's devastation, noting that the local schools he attended organized donation drives.
“They had a bunch of families driving in to drop stuff off. They got overflowed the first two days. It was a really smooth operation. I was helping out … because, I mean, it was just really sad to see, you know, so many people, so many families that I’d known before, lose everything,” he said.
Wood emphasized the solidarity and shared purpose emerging from those in her community, recalling specifically those she knew from the summer camp she works at in the Palisades.
“A lot of the older kids were planning on not coming back,” she said. “But now everyone’s texting [that] we're all gonna come back and rebuild the Palisades together and try to have a camp.”
She shared that despite the sudden and severe personal loss, she’s grateful and optimistic for the community.
“It just seems like everyone’s very into sticking together. You definitely feel a bond with people in your community. I’ve had people reach out to me that I haven’t seen since preschool; just checking in and making sure everyone's okay. That’s kind of strong in a way,” she said.
Contact David Murphy at dmurp23@nd.edu
From the Archives: national championships
By THOMAS DOBBS, CADE CZARNECKI and LILYANN GARDNER Assistant Managing Editor and From the Archives Researchers
Since The Observer only dates back to 1966, our record of Notre Dame’s national championship triumphs is incomplete — but what remains offers a record of resilience and dominance. After the 2024 Irish made a stunning playoff run, securing Sugar and Orange Bowl victories over Georgia and Penn State before reaching the national championship, we look back at three legendary title seasons. From Ara Parseghian’s poetic 1973 victory over Alabama to Joe Montana’s clutch performance in 1977 and Lou Holtz’s gritty, trash-talking 1988 squad, The Observer captured moments that define the championship spirit that continues to drive Notre Dame football.
A battle in the bayou: Notre Dame’s 1973 national championship victory Over Alabama
The 1973 National Championship victory over the University of Alabama was nothing short of poetic, and Notre Dame student Alan R. Wujciak (‘76) attested to this with an ode to Head Coach Ara Parseghian and his team in The Observer.
Echoing Parseghian’s own sentiments about the 1973 players being the best all-around team that he had ever coached, Wujciak's rhyming verse read: But out of the South comes the Crimson Tide
Trying to ruin the Irish pride. But Ara said, “I’ll have none of this noise, I have faith in all of my boys.” This faith was not unfounded
New Year
Press news article, “What is Lunar New Year and how is it celebrated?”
This year marks the Year of the Snake, a symbol of “good luck, rebirth and regeneration,” in addition to the pursuit of love and happiness, according to the article.
To maintain the holiday spirit, SDB and AAPI used the snake in their promotional materials surrounding the event. Throughout the day, the organizations also ran themed activities which corresponded with the holiday. Junior Giselle Martinez, president of the SDB, said that the two organizations hoped to adhere to an accurate representation of the Lunar New Year festivities by coming together.
“For this event particularly, we knew we wanted to do a Lunar New Year event, but
as a tense matchup unfolded between the number one ranked Crimson Tide and the number three ranked Fighting Irish in Tulane Stadium. A back-andforth battle commenced from the game’s kickoff to the final drive.
The Irish struck early but Alabama was quick to reply, and by the start of the third quarter, Notre Dame was down 17-14, leading to a fraught second half.
Fans were on the edge of their seats, and many were desperate to see a historic win after an arduous Amtrak journey from Chicago to New Orleans.
Staff Reporter Fred Graver (‘76) described the ride as stifling and prolonged, with over 100 people standing in the coaches and a broken headlight forcing them to travel at 10 miles per hour for an extended period.
The exhausting travels were all worth it, however, when quarterback Tom Clements connected with tight end Robin Weber to move the Irish away from the opposing end zone and secure the 24-23 victory.
Sports Editor Vic Dorr (‘74) wrote, “On New Year’s Eve in New Orleans, they convinced 85,000 fans in the Sugar Bowl, some 40 million TV viewers and the AP pollsters, that they were not only Ara’s best but the nation’s best as well.”
Parallel beginnings, different endings: 1977 Irish rally to a national championship
The 1977 Notre Dame football season started much the same as the 2024 season — the Irish prevailed over a highly ranked opponent in their opening game. In ‘77, the foe was the University of Pittsburgh, the defending national champions. Then, shockingly, Notre
none of us are with or too familiar with cultures that celebrate Lunar New Year, so we asked AAPI if they wanted to [collaborate],”
Martinez said. “[AAPI] came up with the majority of the ideas ... because they understand more of the cultural aspect and the celebrations and traditions regarding Lunar New Year.”
Martinez touched on the importance of collaboration between SDB and AAPI and other diversity clubs at large.
“It’s really important to collaborate with those diversity clubs, because a lot of the time they don’t get as much funding or attention as need be. And I think it’s really important to shine a light on these individual groups, especially to make sure that they all feel welcome here as a community,”
Martinez said.
Along with the collaboration, junior Avery Lazaro, the founder and president
Dame lost its second game. In the 1977 season it was a defeat at the hands of Ole Miss while, of course, the defeat in 2024 came at the hands of Northern Illinois University.
Following the tough loss, the 1977 squad rallied. Fullback Terry Eurick suggested that the early season loss took the pressure off the team as national expectations subsequently relaxed. Yet, in a similar fashion to 2024, the 1977 Irish started a winning streak the following week and rode it all the way to the National Championship game. While no official title game existed at the time, the Cotton Bowl against top-ranked Texas on January 2, 1978, effectively served as a de facto championship matchup after late-season losses by powerhouse programs Arkansas and Michigan ended their title aspirations.
Notre Dame defenders wrap up Texas quarterback Randy McEachern (6) during Notre Dame’s dominant 38-10 victory in the 1978 Cotton Bowl.
About 76,700 fans saw the Joe Montana-led Irish defeat Texas 38-10 in the Cotton Bowl on January 2, 1978. Paul Stevenson, the Sports Editor for the Observer at the time, said that he saw head coach Dan Devine’s pregame message on the blackboard in the locker room before the game: “It’s not where you start, it is where you finish.” The Irish would soon find out that they finished as the unanimous National Champions after being voted first in the UPI (coaches) and AP (writers) polls and being awarded the Grantland Rice Trophy and MacArthur Bowl.
On February 5, 1978, the newly-minted National Champs held a pep rally at the Athletic
of AAPI, hopes the event and club will create greater community for Asian American and Pacific Islander students.
“In starting [the] AAPI club, I’m just hoping to provide a support community and just kind of like a safe space for AAPI students, as well as celebrating our cultural differences on campus,” she said.
Many of the AAPI ideas were inspired by cultural traditions.
According to the article, many activities and celebrations focus around legends, such as Nian, a mythical beast that ate human flesh on New Year’s Day. To frighten the beast away, people hung red paper dragons, burned red lanterns and set off firecrackers.
SDB and AAPI adhere to the continuation of these activities through their own festival, using a provided space for painting lanterns and a firework show. Other
and Convocation Center. Covered live by ABC, 6,000 students and dignitaries listened to Otis Bowen, then Governor of Indiana, proclaim the date as “Notre Dame Day.” Notably, it was revealed that Fr. Edmund Joyce penned a letter to Bowen before the Cotton Bowl, urging him to attend the game as it was believed Bowen had never been in attendance for a Notre Dame loss. Bowen heeded the advice, and the victory pep rally serves as evidence of the power of superstition.
Trash-talking Irish earn 1988 championship
Last Monday night in Atlanta, former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz was in attendance to watch the Irish take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in their first national championship game appearance in over a decade. Like countless Notre Dame fans, Holtz welcomed the underdog narrative, remarking, “In a onegame, winner-take-all, anything can happen. I like Notre Dame’s culture.”
That same culture exuded by Notre Dame this past season — one of determination, self-belief and aggressiveness — was a hallmark of Holtz’s tenure, best exemplified by his 1988 championship team. “This football team is what Notre Dame spirit is all about,” Holtz said after leading the Irish to an undefeated 12-0 season. “There may be more talented teams, but there won’t be any that typify the Notre Dame spirit better than this one.”
The 1988 Irish claimed an unblemished record, defeating three top-ranked teams in their undefeated 12-0 season. They opened with a 19-17 defeat of Michigan, which finished the season ranked fourth and capped the campaign with a
events of the day featured Lunar New Year-themed bingo, a chopstick relay and the crafting of paper fortune tellers.
Another important aspect of many Lunar New Year celebrations is food.
SDB, AAPI and the Noble Family Dining Hall worked together to incorporate new and returning dishes into Wednesday night’s menu to honor the holiday. Some of the options included a pho bar, Korean chicken wings, egg rolls, Asian stir fry, pot stickers, General Tso’s chicken with duck sauce and more.
Lazaro noted the excitement around the menu and working with the dining hall.
“The part that I found most interesting about this event is that we’ve also been working with the dining hall. So if you go into the dining hall right now, we’ve got a pho bar, and we’ve got just Asian food galore,”
34-21 victory over No. 3 West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl. Along the way, they toppled No. 1 Miami and No. 2 USC. “It’s really a dream to win the national championship,” Holtz reflected. “I dreamed about it, but I never thought I’d be part of something like this as a head coach.”
In 1988, quarterback Tony Rice overcame early struggles, dismissing critics who labeled him “a running quarterback who can’t throw,” by leading Notre Dame to a national championship with 1,389 passing yards and a teamhigh in rushing. In 2024, Riley Leonard faced similar doubts after transferring from Duke, but his poised leadership in high-stakes moments echoed Rice’s transformation, proving that Notre Dame quarterbacks thrive not by avoiding pressure but by rising to it.
Rice shone in the Fiesta Bowl, earning MVP honors with 213 passing yards and two touchdowns. Yet, the Irish also drew criticism, earning 11 penalties, including eight personal fouls. “They’ve got to clean up their act,” said West Virginia’s Kevin Koken after the game, though Holtz conceded, “Our players were in the wrong 100 percent.” Despite a penalty-ridden performance, the Irish secured a victory. Senior captain Andy Heck summed up the season’s magic: “For what is good and right in America, Notre Dame deserves to be champs. This is the greatest thing I’ve ever been a part of.”
Contact Thomas Dobbs at tdobbs@nd.edu, Cade Czarnecki at cczarne3@ nd.edu and Lilyann Gardner at lgardne2@nd.edu
Lazaro said.
Freshman Jules Hollis shared her thoughts on the special dinner, expressing appreciation for the readyto-order pho.
“I liked having a different kind of food selection,” she said. Looking ahead, Hollis hopes future celebrations will feature an even broader menu, perhaps a special dessert.
There was not only excitement for the food, but for the shared experience of everyone on the Saint Mary’s campus.
“One of the chefs even created their family’s egg drop soup recipe, which I think is so wholesome,” Lazaro said. “I think it’s so cute that [the chefs are] able to give us some of their cultural background too. [The festival is] not even just for students, it’s for everybody here on campus.”
Contact Madyson Casiano at mcasiano01@saintmarys.edu
Jack Sirianni Political Paraphernalia
Is this what you voted for?
Neither wants nor needs
While Trump won this fall’s election with 49.87% of the vote, countless Americans have asked themselves this very question as they turn on the news.
As of Wednesday morning, President Trump has signed 38 executive orders in little more than a week in office. This week full of comical Sharpie signatures is just shy of one-quarter of the total number of executive orders signed during the Biden administration. The actions taken in the last week have given the American people neither what they want nor what they need.
Maybe you are a college student who voted for Trump because you are terrified of being able to afford a home or even kids someday. Your plans to pay for school may have been thrown into disarray when, on Tuesday night, the administration announced a freeze on all federal aid and loans. Not only were there concerns that student loans and aid may have been withheld, but a federal judge blocked the freeze only minutes before it was going to go into effect with little notice to the American people.
You could have been surprised by an administration that promised to reduce expenses for everyday Americans threatening trade wars to score cheap political points. President Trump’s tariff threats with Columbia could have raised prices on everyday necessities, not to mention a price jump in flowers during the runup to Valentine’s Day. You have seen that not only have eggs become more expensive, but they have reached an alltime high and are predicted to increase by an additional 20% in the next year.
Maybe you are a child of undocumented immigrants who voted for Trump because of the conservative family values that your parents instilled in you. You have always supported immigration and are sure that the administration’s new deportation efforts will only target those who have a violent criminal history, unlike your parents.
You may have been surprised when the Trump administration announced that before migrants were deported, they could be held at military bases or even Guantanamo Bay. Perhaps, you’re worried about your parents as your feed has been littered with ICE raids across the country on homes, nightclubs and places of worship deporting people whose only crime was coming to America. President Trump has also vowed to end birthright citizenship, which if achieved, could revoke the citizenship that allowed you to vote for him in the first place.
Maybe you are a member of our armed forces who voted for Trump because you wanted to see respect returned to our military and country. From a very young age, your relatives have fought in nearly every war America has waged, there is nothing more honorable in your family than to join the Army.
You may have been surprised to learn that President Trump pardoned all of the rioters who stormed the capital of the democracy you swore to defend, the rioters who beat law enforcement with the flag that you were taught to salute. You imagine what your veteran grandfather would say if he had seen the president’s billionaire advisor mimic the salute of the dictator he died knowing he helped defeat.
Maybe if President Trump went to the college campus and spoke with the first-generation student who struggles to balance her classes, studying and a part-time job to support her family back home, he would understand the status quo just won’t do. Then, he could feel the pressure
of struggling to support yourself while being pressured to be the first in your family to get a degree.
Maybe if President Trump went to the border communities and met the immigrant workers who sweat in the hot sun harvesting, he would understand how real their commitment to this country is. Then, he could understand a commitment to America as real as the bills opened, tears shed and meals shared around their kitchen table in their family home.
Maybe if President Trump went to the dive bar just off base and spoke with the nervous second lieutenant who was preparing to deploy he would understand the meaning of patriotism. Then, he could see what it means to be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in hopes of protecting something greater than oneself.
If you find yourself questioning if you are better off than you were four years ago, you are not alone. In the first two weeks of the Trump presidency, we have not seen a leader of hope but instead, a man prepared to enact his vengeance on his political enemies and steer this nation down a dark road. From coast to coast in communities across this country, Americans are waking up to a sad reality. They are realizing that maybe, just maybe, this is not what they voted for.
Jack Sirianni is a senior studying political science, journalism and public policy. He is a proud Michigander who appreciates jamming to Pete Seeger, scouring eBay for vintage Notre Dame paraphernalia and collecting stickers from everywhere he goes. On campus, Jack can often be seen by the line for Southwest Salad. For your favorite tidbits of knowledge or any other musings, his inbox is always open at jsirian2@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
How to speak billionaire
In November, Senator Bernie Sanders wrote that the Democratic Party had “abandoned working class people,” and that because of this, “it should come as no great surprise that … the working class has abandoned them.” The results of the 2024 election proved that Americans are shifting away from the left. But if today’s Republicanism is supposedly aligned with the ideals of the average American, why is it supported by the three richest men in America?
Trump’s victory came as no surprise for me, especially after returning from a trip to Pigeon Forge, TN, where locals toted GOP merch like it might be the only thing in their closets. In the Smokey Mountains, I saw an America that was fed up with “liberal propaganda,” whose primary problems (like not being able to afford gas or grocery prices) were far more pressing than the heavyweight issues of the Democratic Party (climate change, far away wars, college debt, etc).
I saw an America that was hungry, and who viewed Donald Trump’s movement as sustenance. While the Harris campaign ran on promises of inclusion and fighting for women’s reproductive rights, I believe the American people saw Donald Trump’s stances as much more tangible. The average American may not be worried about the ozone layer, but they may be concerned about whether they can afford to buy lunchmeat for their kindergartener’s lunch box.
When the smoke cleared Nov. 5, the Republican party emerged victorious, and the Democrats waved a tarnished white flag, weary and disillusioned. According to CNN, “a stunning 96% of voters” factored the high prices of gas and groceries into their vote. Of those voters who said they were “very concerned” about the increasing price of essentials, 60% voted for Donald Trump. In other words, citizens who were anxious about affording their
next tank of gas aligned themselves with Trump.
If it’s true that the Democratic Party has “abandoned working class people,” and that the Republican Party is the voice of the everyday American, I’m not sure why the spokespeople for this party are billionaires like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, all of whom attended President Trump’s inauguration.
Musk, whose friendship with President Trump is blossoming steadily, will head the new Department of Government Efficiency. The Grand Old Party is historically concerned with the livelihood of bluecollar workers and grassroots workfolk. And yet, as of Dec. 2024, the tech giant himself has a personal fortune of $442 billion dollars.
To put that in perspective, Musk could feed every single one of America’s 346 billion citizens for two months straight — buying them a McDonald’s breakfast, lunch and dinner — and still have enough money left over to provide power for the entire city of New York for the month of January ($64 million), free the country of Ecuador from all of their current debts ($59.7 billion), launch a rover to Mars ($2.8 billion), fund the entire Peace Corps for a year ($430.5 million), recover all of the insurance costs from the Los Angeles fires ($30 billion), buy an island in French Polynesia ($6.5 million), provide food relief for the entirety of East Africa ($6.2 billion) and still be the 28th richest person in all of America.
Americans who are concerned with being able to feed their hungry children’s mouths are latching onto a man who could feed every hungry child in America while still living a life of comfortable opulence.
Musk and other head-honchos get away with hoarding so much because the concept of “a billion” is nebulous to us plebeians.
We use the terms “millionaire” and “billionaire” interchangeably to denote a powerful tycoon. This language works in Musk’s favor — because we can’t
get a good grasp on how much wealth he and other moguls possess, we are less likely to be enraged by their malfeasance. Not to mention that Musk and other plutocrats have an awkward, almost pitiable demeanor that makes it easy to detach their persona from their profits.
At the inauguration, Tesla’s CEO repeatedly thanked the elated crowd, promising, “safe cities, secure borders, sensible spending. Basic stuff.” But what exactly does “sensible spending” mean to a man who earns roughly $656 per second and could purchase the most expensive home on South Bend’s market with just a little over an hour’s worth of pay? And what does “basic stuff” mean to a tycoon who can own all of the stuff, ever?
America’s politics is riddled with inconsistencies.
A president who was formerly a property financier and Ivy-league graduate now rallies a sector of America that abhors privilege and elitism. A blueblood who built his legacy from “a small loan of a million dollars” now captains citizens who value hard work and despise free handouts. The Democratic Party can be chameleon-like too — Sanders himself is part of the 1%, even after claiming that the growing disparity between rich and poor is a crisis. Left or rightwing, self-made or born with a silver spoon, America is under the control of aristocrats, the richest of whom stand behind Donald Trump. Elon Musk and other magnates have learned to speak our language. They’ve trained themselves to be placid and relatable, with vocabulary like “sensible” and “basic.” How to speak billionaire these days? Apparently, just pretend to speak like everyone else.
Gracie Eppler is a senior business analytics and English major from St. Louis, MO. Her top three things ever to exist are ‘70’s music, Nutella and Smith Studio 3, where she can be found dancing. You can reach her at geppler@nd.edu. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Gracie Eppler
The Soapbox
COIN was a band
Kate Casper Outsider Instincts
“How Will You Know if You Never Try,” 2017 I found the band COIN right when I needed them — when I was 14 and helpless and felt almost entirely alone in this world. I’d blast COIN songs with my chords in, kicking rocks and plucking dandelions and tearing leaves to shreds on long walks home from school. I was an angsty high schooler with lots of friends, but a persistent lonely gaping feeling. Call it “Growing Pains.” Call it a COIN-shaped void.
The truth is, I was never alone when I was with COIN. When I was with them, I was in a dream space on the sidewalk, wondering about all the things I didn’t know yet. Things like love. Things like getting older and looking back on everything that mattered. Things like being alone with someone you love and dancing in the dark.
To be with COIN was to be barefoot, in-touch and always wanting more. To be with COIN was to breathe.
On cold walks home, hands shoved into pockets of my beloved Notre Dame jacket, I’d listen to “I Don’t Wanna Dance,” and somehow I understood, even though no one asked me to dance at my first homecoming (and frankly, no one would ask me to dance till college).
“Malibu 1992” was my cry-on-command song. I cried not because I related, but because I couldn’t relate — not yet.
“Sweethearts that high school soured” and “your old bed replaced with a treadmill, now” had me thinking about emotions and seasons of life I hadn’t even unlocked. I’d think about the prospect of having a high school sweetheart and one day looking back on it, the prospect of not spending every night in my childhood bedroom with the pink walls. These are the things I didn’t understand yet.
My parents drove me and Madeleine to their concert our sophomore year at the 9:30 Club in Northwest. We took pictures in front of the tour bus together and wore our 18-andunder stamps with pride and screamed every single word to every single song.
“Dreamland,” 2020
“Dreamland” came out my junior year of high school. All my friends could drive, except me, and so I became everyone’s designated right-hand woman (passenger) and DJ (always on aux). By this point, I started becoming a little less awkward and angsty, a little more independent and cool. I suddenly had friends who wore thick eyeliner and smoked weed, and I often found myself almost always somewhere between the tennis courts and the theater-kid parties my friends invited me to.
I took this photography class where my friends and I spent all of class walking aimlessly in the parking circle and woods by our school, snapping photos on school cameras. Sometimes — maybe once or twice — we drove off-campus with the windows down to get McDonald’s to feel more alive. COIN was with me through all of that.
“Valentine” made me feel like wanting love wasn’t so embarrassing. “Cemetery” made me feel like I didn’t want to die rich. “Crash My Car” made me feel reckless and young and also painfully in need of a driver’s license (I just kept putting it off). “Let It All Out (10:05)” made me feel safe and seen and terrified, made me feel lost and found and free and buried and brilliant and breathing (in and out), made me feel like a current, a curtain, a west wind, a shiver — made me feel everything.
But “Babe Ruth” was the song I played when I learned to drive with my dad, driving through the West End and Del Rey and the Parkway. Everything started making sense. I had purchased orange high-top converse and stopped wearing orange lipstick (Madeline was right; it really wasn’t my color). I was a young girl taking on the world for the very first time.
“Uncanny
Valley,” 2022
The album came out my freshman year at Holy Cross. After months of struggling to fit in and find friends and figure this whole college thing (boys) out, I was finally starting to take control of my little life in Notre Dame, Indiana. I had started going on friend dates with Clare (to the library to do anything but study, to Manor Football League games to do anything but spectate); I had started to really love it here.
“Take A Picture” is a song that will forever remind me of this time in the spring of my first year, when the permacloud was alive and well and I was finding my way (flying down sidewalks on a blue vintage Schwinn, wearing clunky timberlands and sunglasses in my hair, though the sun hadn’t shined in weeks).
The words, “You’re gonna miss this / So take a picture” felt like notes of courage, reminders to take this all in, even when it totally sucks. I figured, even the times that weren’t perfect were still small gifts. Still moments I might return to at some point, somehow.
I’m glad I took it all in. I’m glad I spent my first year here making God-awful mistakes and also catching sunrises at the lake whenever I could because everything was so new and so lovely all the time (and I was determined to take nothing for granted).
I went to the “Uncanny Valley” tour that summer at the Anthem after my work shift. I went with a friend, and although she and I don’t talk anymore, it’s still one of my favorite memories. And I don’t regret a thing.
Bridging worlds
“I’m Not Afraid of Music Anymore,” 2024
Amelia and I went for drinks after the “I’m Not Afraid of Music Anymore” concert this fall; it was my third COIN concert, but I swear it felt brand new every time. We went to Pour Decisions, then Halligans. I had never been to Halligans, but I knew we were in the right place when I heard COIN songs from the new album blaring from the main bar. There, on the corner of Lincoln and Belden, I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.
To hear “It’s Hard to Care About Everything” live was transcendent, but to hear it playing outside of a bar you’d never been to, in a city you rarely frequent past when the South Shore Line trains stop running, made the place feel like home. It felt like home because of the music and the company. Because I felt something for the first time I’d never felt before — weightlessness and maturity and peace, like I was on the cusp of something.
This final COIN album felt like the beginning of the rest of my life. It felt like courage. It felt like I wasn’t afraid of love anymore. It felt like the future didn’t totally terrify me. It felt like falling. It felt like melting. It felt like it would never end.
But then it did.
One day, you’re going to a COIN concert with one of your best friends, and the next, the lead singer Chase Lawrence is informing you that the band can’t exist any longer.
So it ends. It dies. It kills. It crushes you. You cry. You think about all the stamps you cycled through all these years (under 18, under 21, and then suddenly, you can buy your own High Noons at the concert venue, and you’re in a city you don’t know that well and perhaps you’ll meet someone you’re falling for at Halligans later). You think about all the seasons this band carried you through and all the friends you put onto this group.
And then you remember that all good things come to an end. It’s just what happens. A good thing can end for a good reason. And it did.
So, now that COIN is over, you hang your head on your Habitat for Humanity 13-dollar sofa and wonder what’s next. You play every COIN album all the way through, and you think about everything that’s to come (everything that scares you, all the love that’s out there for you, in one breath).
Kate Casper is a senior at Notre Dame studying English with minors in digital marketing and Italian. She strives to be the best waste of your time. You can contact her at kcasper@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
When I first arrived in the U.S. as an international student in eighth grade, I found myself stepping into an entirely new world. My first school, Stuart Country Day School in New Jersey, was a Catholic institution — an environment that felt completely unfamiliar yet incredibly fascinating to me.
Coming from a secular background in China, I was bedazzled, surprised and ultimately developed a personal connection to those morning prayers, chapel services and the values embedded in the curriculum. It was about navigating an environment where faith and tradition were woven into daily life. At first, I felt like an outsider looking in, but over time, I began to see how these experiences enriched my understanding of how a community could be so strongly built on a collective pursuit of values.
At first, I thought cultural diversity would be just a collection of new experiences — trying unfamiliar foods, celebrating holidays I didn’t grow up with or mastering slang that made me feel like an insider. But the reality went far deeper: cultural diversity became a mirror for me to examine who I was, who I wanted to become, and how I understood my immediate environment and beyond.
One thing that has stood out to me over the years is the importance of diversity in all its forms — not just cultural, but also political, ideological and personal. Being exposed to different perspectives has taught me the value of compromise and the need to engage respectfully with views that I may not necessarily agree with. In a time of high social stratification, I’ve come to believe that diversity is not just about an attempt for coexistence but about building bridges between differences, even when the other side feels worlds apart.
As an international student, observing last year’s presidential election gave me a unique vantage point, a neutral and objective one. The process has been thought-provoking, particularly how political identities in the United States are woven into personal values and community ties. In my political science seminars, I’ve appreciated how knowledgeable and openly my classmates express their beliefs, whether they lean left, right or somewhere ambiguously in between. This stands in stark contrast to my home country, where political expression tends to be far more subdued, and discussions about governance or leadership happen in quieter, more private spaces.
What struck me most is how political diversity in the U.S. reflects the broader cultural ethos of the country. The robust debates, protests and passionate campaigning showcase a system where differing
viewpoints are not only tolerated but expected. It’s messy, yes, but it’s also an environment where compromise and understanding are made possible. For me, this has underscored the importance of empathy: of stepping outside one’s own worldview to see the humanity in opposing opinions.
Cultural diversity is not just about celebrating differences. It’s about the transformative power of open dialogue and the courage to bridge divides. Through my journey as an international student, I’ve learned that coexistence isn’t about erasing differences but creating spaces where they can thrive together. It challenges us to rethink assumptions, engage with opposing views and grow through the tension of disagreement. In a polarized world, the bridges we build through communication and understanding are what hold us together, reminding us that strength lies not in uniformity but in the harmony of many voices finding common ground.
Molly Wu is a sophomore studying Political Science and Economics. While she was originally from Beijing, China, she went to a boarding school in New Jersey since high school. Growing in an environment that stresses the importance of diversity, she enjoys absorbing and sharing different perspectives. You can contact her at lwu5@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Molly Wu Bro Meets World
By PETER MIKULSKI Scene Editor
We’re coming up on the fifth anniversary of the COVID-19 shutdown. Maybe the news department or the “From the Archives” people will write something about that, but for the intents and purposes of this section—we who care more about Broadway minutia than Walk the Walk Week happenings—the real pandemic of the early 2020s might as well have been hyperpop. Of course, as a genre, hyperpop had a pre-COVID history. “1000 gecs,” probably the most popular album in the style, had been out for almost a year by the time of the outbreak. Charli XCX and SOPHIE’s “Vroom Vroom,” one of the movement’s early masterpieces, was released in 2016. Still, hyperpop really started to gain traction—and importantly, its moniker—during the lockdown. The music spread across TikTok (when the app was first gaining its cultural ascendancy) like wildfire, and its fans tore across the internet like Huns. What, then, was hyperpop? It was different things at different times in different places to different people. That is to say, hyperpop made in the early or middle part of the 2010s in Britain was substantively different from later hyperpop in America.
British hyperpop was born out of that nation’s club tradition. t was closely associated with the label PC Music,
which was led by A. G. Cook and signed acts like Hannah Diamond, GFOTY and Danny L. Harle. SOPHIE’s records are the prototypical example of this strain of the style. It was bright, clean and hard—and probably meant to be listened to on MDMA. American hyperpop came later, and felt dirtier—i.e., more weed-coded. It was a movement led by Skrillex admirers who dressed basically like My Chemical Romance fans. Many of its producers came not from high-brow metropolises but from second-tier American cities. This music, unlike its cousin across the sea, took a lot longer to jump from SoundCloud to Spotify.
All of these threads were united under the name “hyperpop.” While, in general, artists are too precious about labels—they all think they’re too good for them—it was a little odd how an Estonian rapper called Tommy Cash and a married lady from St. Louis named Laura Les came to be lumped together under one umbrella, for example. Nevertheless, there was a golden age. Its most beautiful expression is probably Charli XCX’s “how i’m feeling now,” composed during the first summer of the pandemic. I ought to note three other things:
First, music critics were exceptionally fond of hyperpop. In some sense, it was an outgrowth of the poptimist attitudes of the Pitchfork days.
Second, the community was always disproportionately transexual.
Third, the hyperpop fanbase underwent a demographic transition during the pandemic. When I went to a pre-pandemic Laura Les performance, there was an awe-inspiring mix of zoomer twinks and millenial women and 50-year-old men. After hyperpop exploded on TikTok, the proportion of female teenagers in graphic eye makeup at the shows quintupled. (This isn’t a value judgement, just an anthropological observation.)
Every empire has its decline and fall, of course. Charli XCX began to insist that hyperpop never existed, that it had always just been pop music. Hyperpop eventually lost its pride of place in the discourse, although its artists didn’t disappear. Charli returned to selling herself as a club act, and many other figures from the British scene with her. American acts became more and more eclectic—e.g., 100 gecs got a lot more interested in real instruments.
Hyperpop was originally a genre by millennials for millennials, and then it was by millennials for zoomers, and finally it became by zoomers for zoomers. That newest crop of artists isn’t going anywhere any time soon, I think.
Editor’s Note: This is an abridged version. Read the full piece at ndsmcobserver.com
Contact Peter Mikulski at pmikulsk@ nd.edu
By HARRY PENNE Scene Writer
Growing up, I was a “Goosebumps” kid. I read the books, watched the original 90s Fox show and played the “HorrorLand” game on the Wii. In 2023, Disney+ released a contemporary reboot of “Goosebumps” with a unique take. The original series followed an anthology format of standalone stories, a “Twilight Zone” for kids; the 2023 show rather told a serialized story unfolding across the entire season and did not directly adapt one book, instead drawing ideas and plotlines from many. Made by older fans who grew up with the original series, the show was aimed towards a similar demographic. After the popularity of season one, Disney greenlit a follow-up: “Goosebumps: The Vanishing”. Disclaimer for spoilers! In the famous words of R.L. Stine, “Reader Beware—You’re in for a Scare!”
“Goosebumps: The Vanishing” premiered on Disney+ on January 10, 2025, featuring “Goosebumps” books “Stay Out of the Basement”, “The Haunted Car”, “Monster Blood”, “Welcome to Camp Nightmare”, “The Ghost Next Door”, “The Girl Who Cried Monster” and “Invasion of the Body Squeezers”. As noted above, “The Vanishing’s” older intended audience does not prohibit it from embracing the horror genre. There were moments in the show that genuinely gave me goosebumps. The original “Stay Out of the Basement” is
notorious for its use of body-horror, a “Goosebumps” rarity. In one episode, David Schwimmer’s (“Friends”) character, Anthony the botanist, encounters a parasitoid alien that plants itself into his arm. Disturbingly, Anthony cuts open his arm with scissors and pulls the alien out. While no blood is seen, it can be uncomfortable to watch and begs the question: how is this on Disney+?
“The Vanishing” tells one single narrative, abandoning the anthology format of the original 90s show. Consider the popularity of shows like “Stranger Things” or Nickelodeon’s recent reboot of another 90s kids horror series “Are You Afraid of the Dark?”; both shows tell one story per season. This shift proves the “Goosebumps” franchise is adapting to modern preferences. The previous season focused on the supernatural; “The Vanishing” features a science fiction plot which differentiates it from its predecessor. Additionally, Disney dropped all eight episodes at once, unlike the weekly release of season one. As a show made for streaming, I feel this works in its favor.
The show’s soundtrack is fantastic, and the showrunners did a spectacular job matching the music to each time-period, featuring everything from the 60s sunshine pop of The Association to Beastie Boys hip hop. The contemporary songs encompass the 2024 summer hits, including selections from “BRAT”, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and various Taylor Swift songs. I personally like the original
score from the Newton Brothers (“Doctor Sleep”) and its creepy vibes. While nothing compares with the original 90s “Goosebumps” theme tune, the new intro sets the show’s darker tone.
Every piece of “Goosebumps” media concludes with a plot twist, regardless of how absurd it may be. I personally feel there was a missed opportunity to use the iconic twist from “Welcome to Camp Nightmare” in which the characters are revealed to be aliens preparing to invade Earth, or “The Girl Who Cried Monster” twist in which the main character learns she and her family were monsters the whole time. “The Vanishing’s” ending works as a cliffhanger but lacks in “Goosebumps” zaniness.
I thoroughly enjoyed “Goosebumps: The Vanishing”. The story has a solid mystery with many twists and turns. The entire cast is fantastic, but Schwimmer steals the show, giving a performance that is both comedic and genuinely frightening. Despite being from kids’ books, the series is anything but childish, having disturbing and suspenseful moments. I highly recommend this incredible season and if you aren’t hooked after episode one, I encourage you to keep watching—it will grow on you, I promise.
Editor’s Note: This is an abridged version. Read the full piece at ndsmcobserver.com
Contact Harry Penne at hpenne @ nd.edu
Irish seek third consecutive win at lowly Miami
By NOAH CAHILL Associate Sports Editor
The Notre Dame men’s basketball team (10-10, 4-5 ACC) begins the month of February with a road trip to Miami (4-17, 0-10 ACC). After a late secondhalf surge fueled a comeback win against Georgia Tech on Tuesday, the Irish improved to .500 on the season, taking three of their last four games in ACC play. They have a prime opportunity to make it three in a row against the Hurricanes, who sit at the bottom of the conference and are winless in their first 10 ACC matchups. In 2023-24, Notre Dame dropped both regular season matchups against Miami. This season, however, the Irish will face them on a 10game losing skid, coming in as comfortable favorites.
In year two under head coach Micah Shrewsberry, the Irish have shown marked improvement. They sat at 7-14 with only two ACC wins this time last season and struggled down the stretch in close games. Their hard-fought win over the Yellow Jackets on Tuesday night was a microcosm of the progress this team has made. After hanging
ND SOFTBALL
around all game, they took their first lead with under two minutes remaining behind a pair of clutch Markus Burton threes and a dagger and-one from Kebba Njie. From there, they held on to steal an important win.
The growth of last year’s freshmen and sophomores, who form the core of the team this season, is a testament to what Shrewsberry is building. The reigning ACC Rookie of the Year Burton has taken a leap in year two. He leads the team in points and assists, averaging 20.4 and 3.3 per game respectively. His efficiency is much improved as well, putting up 46.1/43.3/86.0 shooting splits on slightly higher volume. His turnovers are also down from 3.7 to 2.0 per game. But he is not the only development success story.
Fellow sophomore and backcourt partner Braeden Shrewsberry is contributing 14.8 points per game, up from 10.2 last season, and the junior frontcourt tandem of Tae Davis and Njie have each taken steps forward as well. The two command the glass for the Irish, combining for 11.7 rebounds per game, while Davis has jumped from
9.2 to 15.8 points per game in his third collegiate season. The addition of graduate guard Matt Alloco has rounded out a muchimproved Irish starting five, the Princeton transfer scoring 9.8 points per game while providing valuable court spacing. The career 40-plus percent three-point shooter is hitting them at an outstanding 48.6% clip through his first 20 games.
The Georgia Tech win positions Notre Dame ninth in the ACC ahead of a stretch of very gettable conference games. After Miami, the Irish stay in state to face Florida State (138, 4-6 ACC), who sit one position behind them in 10th. They then return home for 12th-place Virginia Tech (9-12, 4-6 ACC) before traveling to 17th-place Boston College (9-11, 1-8 ACC). If they can take care of business, the Irish could emerge from the ACC’s middle of the pack.
Since making the first Final Four in program history in 2023, the Miami men’s basketball program has experienced a drastic fallout. After the 2023 roster was uprooted by transfer departures, the program has had no continuity since. The 10-game losing skid to finish last season has
proven to be ominous foreshadowing for this year’s nightmare campaign. After a 3-0 start, the Hurricanes have since won only a single game. After a home loss to Mount St. Mary’s gave them their worst start to a season since 1992, head coach Jim Larrañaga, the winningest coach in program history, abruptly retired. A team that was already spiraling watched their prospects worsen. They have yet to regain any form of footing under veteran assistant interim Bill Courtney, losing every game since Laranaga’s resignation.
To make matters worse, Nijel Pack, star guard and the lone player remaining from the 2023 Final Four team, suffered what looks to be a season-ending foot injury. Senior guard Matthew Cleveland has had to carry the scoring load, averaging a teamhigh 15.7 points per game on over 50% shooting. Around Cleveland, 11 new faces have come in between six transfers and five freshman recruits. Before the season, Larrañaga expressed optimism for the group’s experience, with five of the six transfers having NCAA Tournament experience in a group of eight upperclassmen.
Their recruiting class, which ranked top-10 in the country, also included five-star Philadelphia guard Jalil Bethea. But none of them have been able to provide reliable production, leaving Courtney without a confident rotation 21 games in.
The Hurricanes share a similar statistical profile to the Irish offensively, and both struggle to space the floor. On defense, however, the Irish are far stingier, allowing just over 70 points per game to Miami’s whopping 80. Coming off his fifth straight game over 20 points, a feat not accomplished since Ben Hansbrough in February of 2011, Burton will be a handful for the Hurricanes. They will need a focused defensive effort to slow him down and will hope to get production on the other end around Cleveland to pull off the upset. If Notre Dame continues to play stout defense and avoid self-inflicted errors, it should expect a comfortable win to extend the streak to three in a row. The two teams are set to face off on Feb. 1, with the tip set for 8 p.m. in Watsco Center.
Contact Noah Cahill at ncahill2@nd.edu
Irish open up Kris Ganeff era with 2025 season
By CLAIRE WATSON Sports Writer
Coming off a successful 2024, Notre Dame softball enters the new season with a few changes in its lineup and coaching staff. The team also brings back players who significantly contributed to its success last season.
The first change for the Irish is welcoming a new head coach. Last year, after coaching the team for 23 seasons and racking up 882 wins, head coach Deanna Gumpf announced that she would be retiring. Kris Ganeff, who graduated from Notre Dame in 1999, has been promoted to head coach after serving as Gumph’s assistant the past 23 seasons.
“It’s been very exciting, obviously I’ve spent a lot of time here at Notre Dame, it’s my home, and being able to take over the program has been like something that I covet and like [to] take a huge honor in because it is something I care immensely about.”
Ganeff is the fourth head coach in the program’s history and has goals for how she hopes to honor the team’s legacy. “Our whole goal from the get-go when I took it over is we’re going to honor the past and then create our own path into the future,” she said.
The team also welcomes back players who made their mark last year.
Ganeff talked about giving
the players a full and positive experience at Notre Dame. “You’re going to see some kids who maybe didn’t get as many innings as they have in the years they’ve been here but they are going to now and we’re excited,” she said.
Sophomore infielder Addison Amaral was a standout last season. She played in all 50 games, finished with a batting average of .340 and led the team offensively. She also hit 10 home runs and battled in 53 runs.
“Addy is a special player. She is one of those kids that has a unique ability to just show up every single day and be locked in and it doesn’t matter what she is doing,” Ganeff said. “She could be having a conversation with a teammate, it could be in her hitting workout, it could be whatever it is she is doing, she’s always locked in and focused on the task at hand,” she continued.
Junior pitcher and utility player Micaela Kastor also returns for the Irish this season. Last season, Kastor finished with a teambest 10 wins in the circle.
Speaking on her general attitude on the field, Ganeff said, “Kastor is another one who is just a competitor. So every time she steps onto the field, if it’s to run bases, if it’s to fill a spot in a scrimmage to play in the outfield she is that kid that just wants to compete and win and her teammates know that so they are willing to get behind her and jump
on her back because she is the ultimate competitor.”
Commenting on Kastor’s performance in the circle, Ganeff said, “She throws hard, she’s got different speeds, can put the ball up, down, horizontal and out so she’s truly a special kid.”
Senior outfielder Emily Tran also returns for the Irish. Tran finished with a .307 batting average and was a full starter last year. Even though she did not have her strongest season as a junior, Ganeff described her offseason improvement and high expectations for the senior.
“[In the offseason] Emily has been able to develop her toolbox offensively. ’m going to bet she is now going to do an even better job offensively in terms of consistency because she can drop
a drag bunt down, she can slap in the infield, she can hard slap through to the outfield and she also can hit away,” Ganeff said. “She is truly one of those players when she steps in the box you’re not quite sure when you are defending against her what she is going to do so she does a really good job reading the defense and being able to use the tools that she’s practiced with our hitting coach.”
The Irish also welcomed freshman pitcher Brianne Weiss to the roster this season. Weiss was named MaxPreps First Team AllAmerican and was the Orange County Softball Pitcher of the Year.
“She has the ability to spin the ball in a way that a lot of pitchers just don’t have that finesse, that
ability to do that. It helps that she’s left-handed,” Ganeff said. “Being a left-handed pitcher in softball at that distance, where there are a lot of right-handed hitters in the lineup, she can come in on them, come up on them, she just has the ability to spin the ball in a way I think is truly special and we’re looking forward to having her out there.”
The Notre Dame softball team is nearing the end of offseason training as their first contest approaches. They will travel to Clearwater, Florida, to compete in the NFCA Leadoff Classic starting on Feb. 7, with the first pitch set for 10 a.m. against Morgan State.
Contact Claire Watson at cwatson01@saintmarys.edu
WANTED
offer mental and emotional support and encourage you to trust and believe in yourself enough to make your dreams come true. Your numbers are 5, 17, 23, 28, 34, 36, 42. ARIES (March 21-April 19): Make home and family a priority. A change that adds to your comfort or convenience will help you do what’s best for people, situations, and concerns that matter most. Contact someone who can offer insight into using your skills most effectively to help a cause or advance your career.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Home improvements, entertaining, or changing your lifestyle to ease stress are in your best interest. Altering your mindset to accept what you cannot change and choosing to walk away will leave room to satisfy your needs and protect what’s near and dear to you. Your happiness depends on intelligent choices.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gather information. Don’t trust anyone but yourself; verify all the details you receive and only share what’s necessary. An opportunity is apparent, but it depends on your feelings about the people involved and what they expect of you. It’s not worth jeopardizing your reputation to please others. Do what’s best for you. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Put all you’ve got emotionally and physically into getting ahead and rising above any competition. Put in extra time, network, and reach out to those who can make a difference in the outcome of something you long for. Enthusiasm and a positive attitude will make a difference. Romance and self-improvement are favored.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Make choices that honor your preferences and distance yourself from anyone trying to decide for you. Taking charge will help you gain respect and open doors, encouraging exciting opportunities. Keep your private life to yourself and avoid being scrutinized for something that is nobody else’s business.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A slight change will help you gain movement when things appear to be at a standstill. Refuse to let anyone talk you into overspending, overdoing, or overthinking a situation or move. Keep your life choices simple and doable. A commitment to a special someone will bring you closer together.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Stay actively involved in learning. Stretch your imagination, and you’ll devise a plan that offers the freedom to do something you enjoy. Traveling, getting together with old friends, or exploring new possibilities and places that spark your imagination will lead to opportunities. Keep the momentum flowing, and advancement will follow.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Less talk, more action, is your ticket to success. Sign up for something engaging, and you will thrive. Put your energy where it counts, go above and beyond the call of duty, and you’ll make a stellar impression, gaining the support you need to pursue your objective. Romance is favored.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Someone will try to back you into a corner. Keep your wits about you and your eyes and ears open for any hint of unfair play. Avoid shared expenses or getting stuck paying for someone else’s mistake. You’ll do your best to look out for yourself and do your own thing.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Put your time and effort into relationships, investments, and what you plan to do next. A healthy plan that properly utilizes your connections, strengths, and skills will point you in the right direction. Don’t wait for things to come to you. Act and turn your dream into a reality.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Simplify matters, learn to adjust, and remain cool, calm, and in control. Refuse to let personal or money matters escalate, or your health depreciates due to unnecessary stress. Show your strength and be the one to step up and take credit for what you can and should do.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Gather the facts before you say or do something you regret. Pay attention to detail and make what you enjoy doing most a priority. Take a break from those who test your temper, harness your energy, and put it to work for you. Selfimprovement is favored.
Birthday Baby: You are innovative, changeable, and sensitive. You are prompt and agile.
ND WOMEN’S TENNIS
Irish aim to remain unbeaten in New York City
By TYLER REIDY Sports Editor
Off to a 5-0 start, the Notre Dame women’s tennis team will hit the road for the first time this weekend. The Irish will take on Maryland at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Columbia at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday — both games being played in New York City. Last weekend, Notre Dame played near-perfect tennis at home on Saturday, sweeping both Western Michigan and Butler by 7-0 scores. Junior Rylie Hanford continued her excellent start, improving to 5-0 in singles play. Fellow junior Bojana Pozder has shined as well, playing to a 4-0 record as Notre Dame’s No. 1 singles player.
Overall, the Irish have outscored their five opponents by a
HCC BASKETBALL
26-2 margin to open the spring season.
Maryland
Maryland started its season last weekend with a tough draw at No. 12 Texas. The Longhorns handed the Terrapins a 4-0 loss Friday, but Maryland bounced back a day later with a 4-2 defeat of BYU in Austin. Facing Columbia on Friday before battling the Irish on Saturday, the Terrapins won’t play their home opener until a Feb. 8 doubleheader against Howard and Morgan State.
After a disappointing end to the 2010s – headlined by a 3-16 record in the 2020-21 season – Maryland has risen back up nicely. The Terrapins have finished at least six games above .500 in each of the last three seasons, going 16-10 a year ago.
Heading into this season, the Terrapins did not return either of their two All-Big Ten selections from 2024. Senior Marylander Kallista Liu, who will challenge the unbeaten Pozder in No. 1 singles, ranking No. 88 nationally among singles players. She owns a 67-19 career record in singles matches and did not finish either of her contests last weekend.
On the doubles court, Liu combines with graduate transfer Danielle Hack to form the 72nd-ranked pairing in the nation. A native of England and a transfer from Massachusetts, Hack compiled a decorated career in Amherst. She departed for Maryland as a three-time Atlantic 10 All-Conference player, finishing last year as the A-10 Most Outstanding Performer of the Year and the ITA Senior
Player of the Year for the New England region. Liu and Hack were not together last week, though, with Liu competing in No. 1 doubles and Hack in the No. 2 matches.
Columbia
Columbia also comes in at 1-1 and has familiarity with the blue and gold dating back to the Notre Dame Invitational in early October. The Lions have faced Florida Gulf Coast and No. 23 UCF so far in 2025, claiming a 4-0 win and more recently taking a 4-2 loss. Their matchup with the Irish will follow a home doubleheader against Maryland and Hofstra on Friday.
Under longtime head coach Ilene Weintraub, the Lions had their best season in program history last year at 17-5 overall
and 5-2 within Ivy League play. Columbia opened the year at 9-1 and captured the ECAC Tournament in mid-February. The Lions also finished with five All-Ivy League performers, bringing back four of them for this season.
Fatima Keita, a senior for Romania, was Columbia’s lone All-Ivy selection in singles last year. Though she’ll be searching for her first individual win of the year in No. 1 singles this weekend, she’s off to a 2-0 start with Malak El Allami in No. 1 doubles. Sophia Wang, Gayathri Krishnan and Sophia Strugnell have all returned as All-Ivy doubles players, with Krishnan and Strugnell teamed up with a 2-0 start in No. 2 doubles thus far.
Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu
Saints drop both games to Indiana Northwest
By CLAIRE WATSON Sports Writer
This past Wednesday, the two Holy Cross basketball teams faced the Indiana Northwest RedHawks. Both teams took a loss, as the women’s team fell 6253 and the men’s team lost 69-57.
Women’s game
The RedHawks started off the game well as they put up the first two points, but a quick response from senior guard Jordyn Smith and senior forward Grace Adams brought the Saints ahead 6-2. The RedHawks tied up the score before a jump shot from Adams and a three-point shot from freshman forward Allie Caldwell made the score 11-6. A 10–0 run from the RedHawks allowed them to take the 16-11 lead, but a three-pointer from senior guard Kayliana Hammel made the score 16-14 in Indiana Northwest’s favor at the end of the quarter.
Indiana Northwest started off the second quarter with two points, making the score 18-14, but after a shooting foul, Caldwell hit a free throw to make the score 18-15. Five more points from Indiana Northwest extended the lead to 23-15, but a jumper from Adams and a three-point shot from sophomore forward Brooke Lindesmith narrowed the score back to 23-20. After a 7-0 run from the RedHawks, the score became 30-20, but a three from Caldwell brought it to 30-23. Four points from Indiana Northwest then made the score 32-23, but a buzzer-beater from Caldwell made the score 34-25 at the half.
Caldwell started off the third quarter with a jump shot to make the score 34-27, but three points from the RedHawks in response put them up by 10. The Saints came back, going on a 6-0 run that closed the gap to 37-33, but
Indiana Northwest responded with an 8-0 run, making the score 45-33. Nearing the end of the quarter, Caldwell put up two points, but the RedHawks scored the final two points, staying ahead 47-35.
Indiana Northwest posted the first points of the final quarter, but a quick response from junior guard Audrey Tallent brought the score to 49-37. Two more points went up from the RedHawks, but Adams put in a three-point shot and a jump shot before freshman guard Lilly Toppen added a layup to bring the score to 51-44. A 4-0 run from the RedHawks made the score 55-44, but a layup from Hammel and a layup from Adams brought the score to 55-48. In the back-and-forth quarter, the RedHawks came out on top, taking the 62-53 win.
Adams led the Saints on both ends of the floor, as she finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Saints now look ahead to face Calumet on Saturday, Feb. 1, starting at 2 p.m.
Men’s game
Indiana Northwest started off the half going on a 20-0 run to take the lead over the Saints, but after a shooting foul, senior guard Justin O’Neal put in two free throws and freshman forward Davide Brembilla added a jump shot, bringing the score to 20-4.
The RedHawks added another three-point shot to make the score 23-4, but layups from freshman forward Karl Birgisson, Brembilla and senior guard Justin Milch ahead of a three-point shot from junior guard Drew Adzia made the score 23-13. After a free throw from the RedHawks, senior guard Phil Robles II added three points, and Brembilla made a jump shot to bring the score to 24-18. In a continued back-and-forth contest, the RedHawks remained ahead
31-22 heading into halftime.
Sophomore guard Joey Garwood started off the second half scoring six points for the Saints, making the score 31-28. The RedHawks responded with a 6-0 run before Garwood put in three more points, making the score 37-31. Five points from the RedHawks were quickly followed
by O’Neal scoring seven points to make the score 42-38. A 9-0 run from the RedHawks kept them ahead 51-38, but Robles drained a three-point shot to make it 5141. After a 7-0 run from Indiana Northwest, O’Neal added two points and Garwood added two points, bringing the score to 58-48. As the offensive battle continued,
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the RedHawks closed out the 6957 win.
O’Neal led the Saints on offense, scoring 22 points and adding eight rebounds. Holy Cross will face Calumet on Saturday, Feb. 1, starting at 4 p.m.
Contact Claire Watson at cwatson01@saintmarys.edu
ND WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Irish enter 2025 season with new-look roster
By TYLER REIDY Sports Editor
In sports, unpredictability often reigns supreme, and that certainly applied to Notre Dame women’s lacrosse in 2024. Coming off a thrilling run to the Elite Eight, the Irish reached remarkable heights, achieving the program’s first No. 1 ranking, scoring three top-10 wins and hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
But Notre Dame also dropped three games at home, finishing the season with a last-second loss to rival Michigan in the NCAA Second Round. Still, head coach Christine Halfpenny and the Irish finished a program-best 16-4 with a 7-2 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
“We again took another step forward in the program’s trajectory,” Halfpenny assessed. “ ... And I think that there’s a piece of fuel to the way our season ended last year, obviously for returners, but there’s also the very clear understanding of we don’t graduate
our tradition. We are a very determined group.”
Notre Dame now enters 2025 ranked 13th nationally and with wild cards aplenty. The Irish lost the legendary offensive trio of Madison Ahern, Kasey Choma and Jackie Wolak, who combined to post 964 points across five seasons in blue and gold. They’re bringing into the mix a handful of players coming off redshirt years, and throughout the offseason, Halfpenny enjoyed what she saw.
“It was great to just start to see the same brand of gritty, fast, exciting, determined lacrosse [and] just a whole bunch of new faces,” she recalled.
Two of those new faces have arrived on the coaching staff for 2025. Ellie Masera, a Tewaaraton Award finalist last year at Stony Brook, and 2023 Villanova graduate Caroline Curnal now occupy assistant roles. Curnal worked in the same capacity at Penn last season, helping the Quakers reach the Elite Eight.
“They’ve been a great addition
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to the program in that offseason, developing really strong relationships with the players,” Halfpenny said.
Notre Dame’s roster, like its new assistant coaches, is young. The Irish graduated 17 players at the end of last season and enter this one with just six seniors and one graduate student. Halfpenny approaches her squad’s relative inexperience with optimism.
“It’s a fact, right? It’s a figure, it’s a number,” Halfpenny said about the youth. “But we certainly don’t feel as though that is a negative for us. We feel as though it’s a positive.”
“We’re able to recover and rebound from one game to the next due to our youth … There is an enthusiasm that might fill the void of the experience, and there’s some really great chemistry amongst these young players, and all they know so far is coming out, working hard and seeing some successful opportunities in front of them.”
The top order of business,
replacing the big three, is a twopronged task. First, the Irish must figure out where the 174 total goals the trio scored last year will come from. Look out for sophomore midfielder Kathryn Morrissey, who led Notre Dame freshmen in points with 26 a year ago. She played her best lacrosse at the end of the spring, recording a hat trick in the NCAA Tournament against Coastal Carolina.
“She’s a leader by example as well as a leader by her intensity of play, so we’re really excited to see what she can do this year,”
Halfpenny said of Morrissey.
Morrissey’s one of five core returners, who will help the Irish search for the type of stability that the big three once provided. Senior Grace Weigand and junior Abigail Lyons are back to anchor the Notre Dame defense, while junior Franny O’Brien and sophomore Meghan O’Hare will operate with Morrissey in the midfield. Halfpenny used a specific phrase — “experiential knowledge” — to outline how those five players can transfer their role on last year’s team to leadership in 2025.
“When you have those five convictive and extremely successful players that are in practice every single day that know what it feels like, know what they’re working for [and] have that conviction — and they can verbalize that,” Halfpenny described, “That has helped us to again make quick adjustments, respond and keep things pretty black-and-white.”
With 11 freshmen and several more players freshmen in terms of playing experience, Notre Dame may need an individual breakout season or two to compete with the nation’s best. The Irish could have just that coming with freshman midfielder Madison Rassas. A premier recruit whose bloodlines run deep with Notre Dame tradition, Rassas brings enormous potential with her to South Bend.
“I think she has that opportunity to be a really special player for us,” Halfpenny said. “She’s always smiling [and] always has that strong balance of her intensity, but also how much she loves Notre Dame and loves playing the sport and loves competing.”
Then, there are the returning redshirt players. Graduate midfielder Kristen Shanahan missed all of 2024 with an injury after playing a critical role on the 2023 Elite Eight team with 25 goals. Junior midfielder Emma Murphy has not played since March 19, 2023, but remains one of the greatest recruits to hail from Michigan. Sophomore attacker Wynter Jock will also make her debut this season as an offensive threat to watch.
Notre Dame might also pull from its former redshirts to inherit the role of draw specialist. Kelly Denes, the team leader in draw controls, graduated last year, giving senior Ava Kristynik a chance to step up in her place.
“Ava’s worked really hard on
that skill of the draw. I think that her natural hand speed, her quickness is really something else,” Halfpenny described. “Her hand-eye is extremely quick, and it’s very strong … last year she was able every day to be training with Kelly and with Arden Tierney — strong drawers. And so naturally I think she has some athletic gifts that put her in this great position, and she continues to learn.”
Halfpenny also noted that adding Curnal, whom she described as a “savant” of a draw coach, will strengthen Notre Dame’s ability in the draw circle.
Finally, in goal, the Irish lost full-time starter Lilly Callahan in the offseason and have two seniors competing to claim the crease. Isabel Pithie enters the campaign with 10 career appearances, while Malie Follet comes in with seven. Whichever goalie plays, she’ll have to understand and perform well within Notre Dame’s zone defense.
“Our goal is to really limit our opponent’s shots on cage, and them being able to continuously elevate their IQ within our defense and also just be that ball stopper,” Halfpenny said. “We’re looking for as high of a percentage in that area, and then taking care of the ball to be a catalyst to our fast break.”
With the Irish aiming to play with speed up the field, the goaltender must also possess a good feel for the outlet game.
“Our entire goalie unit has worked really hard on their stick work over the years to put them in a place where they are very confident and convictive and ready to be that quarterback that starts us off and turns defense into offense,” Halfpenny added.
For now, Notre Dame is making its final preparations for the regular season, which will begin on Friday, Feb. 7 with a visit to No. 2 Northwestern. The Irish upset the Wildcats at home last February to claim the top spot in the national rankings. Elsewhere in non-conference play, the Irish will host Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Harvard while traveling to Elon and UC Davis. ACC play will begin with No. 21 Clemson making a primetime trip to South Bend on Feb. 22. The Irish will bookend the March portion of the conference schedule by hosting No. 1 Boston College and No. 4 North Carolina, with a road clash at No. 6 Syracuse in between. April will have the Irish face No. 20 Stanford before traveling to Pittsburgh and hosting Louisville at the regular season’s end.
“Iron sharpens iron,” Halfpenny said of the schedule. “...We get a lot of tastes of different manipulations in different game plans against us, which just makes us stronger every single week so that we basically have no stone left unturned.”
Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu
ND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Irish handle Hokies, extend win streak to 13
By NOAH CAHILL Associate Sports Editor
Looking for their 13th straight win and a 9-0 start to ACC play, the No. 3-ranked Irish took on the Virginia Tech Hokies (14-6, 5-4 ACC) on the road. They emerged with a 77-61 victory but were made to work for it.
The Hokies led for the majority of the first half, finding success defensively and controlling the pace of the game. They held the Irish to 36 first-half points, well under their explosive 87.5 pergame scoring pace. On the other end, Carys Baker and Matilda Ekh carried the scoring load, the two combining for 12 of Tech’s 32 points. However, after taking their first lead of the game behind an 8-2 run to end the half, the Irish did not look back after the break. They quickly asserted their dominance on the defensive end, turning up the ball pressure and forcing six third-quarter turnovers, many of which led to easy transition buckets.
“In the second half, we locked in, picked up full court, forcing turnovers, got really a lot of energy from that,” head coach Niele Ivey said. “I thought our guards did a great job of just trying to turn their guards in the backcourt, got some steals, some easy buckets — just thought they were more locked in in the second half.”
Sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo’s nine-point first half was quiet by her lofty standards. The third quarter was a different story.
The Preseason ACC Player of the Year and the country’s secondleading scorer single-handedly outscored Virginia Tech’s entire team in the quarter. She put up 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, sinking two three-pointers and making all six of her free throws. The nation’s leader in steals also headed the defensive effort, setting the tone by picking up Hokie guards at full-court.
“She’s just an Energizer bunny, so she’s never going to stop,” Ivey described. “She’s dynamic and she loves a battle, and no matter what the scenario or the situation, she’s going to fight, so I thought she just really turned it on in the second half.”
Her efforts gave Notre Dame a commanding 15-point lead going into the fourth. Virginia Tech was kept at arm’s length for the entirety of the final period. When the Hokies got within 10, the closest they would get in the quarter, the Irish quickly answered with a 6-0 run to put their hopes to bed. Notre Dame would coast through the final minutes on the way to another impressive ACC win. Hidalgo continued to put her fingerprints all over the game, hitting the 30-point threshold en
route to her highest scoring total in an ACC game this season. Her backcourt partner, graduate student Olivia Miles, didn’t have her best shooting night but still added 15 points of her own, the two accounting for more than half the team’s scoring. Notre Dame also got quality minutes from graduate forward Liza Karlen off the bench.
“I thought Liza was amazing today,” Ivey said. “I thought she came in with such great poise. She was 5 for 5 — I thought she had an incredible week of practice, but also just her presence today was much-needed.”
The Marquette transfer had 12 points and five rebounds without missing a shot all night. Notre Dame’s 22 points scored off of turnovers combined with a second-half onslaught of threes powered it to the win. After a cold start from behind the arc, the Irish shot 5 of 9 from three-point land in the second half, finishing the game with five more makes than Virginia Tech.
Ivey was proud of her team’s performance going on the road in a competitive environment.
“I thought that again there was a lot of lessons learned today,” Ivey
said. “Just battling, being down seven in the first quarter, finding a way to fight back through some adversity — just huge win, huge ACC win for us.”
It didn’t look perfect at times for Notre Dame, but ACC road contests rarely tend to be straightforward, especially against a very well-coached Virginia Tech team.
After improving to 18-2 and 9-0 in ACC play, Notre Dame sets its sights on a trip to Kentucky to face the Louisville Cardinals (156, 8-2 ACC) on Sunday. The Irish will then take on Stanford next Thursday before taking on No. 19 Cal, both games at home. The Cardinals, who are positioned fourth in the conference, could pose a challenge. They dropped a disappointing game to the Hokies before bouncing back in their two most recent games, a pair of road wins over Virginia and SMU. Their only win over a currently-ranked team this season is a 69-60 triumph over No. 20 Georgia Tech, but they’ve played competitive losses against No. 13 Oklahoma and No. 1 UCLA in the season opener. Otherwise, they have taken care of business against lesser opponents, particularly in conference play, where
they remain within striking distance of the top spot.
The upcoming matchup with the Irish begins what will be a season-defining gauntlet for the Cardinals, one which includes No. 25 Florida State, No. 10 Duke, No. 15 UNC and No. 3 Notre Dame again on the road to close out the year. Louisville has spread the love on offense this season, with four starters averaging in double-figures. Standout freshman Tajianna Roberts, a five-star recruit out of San Diego, has paced the Cardinals in the backcourt, delivering a team-high 12.6 points per game along with almost two steals on the defensive end. Her backcourt partner, senior Jayda Curry, is right behind her averaging 11.7 per game. The frontcourt pairing of Olivia Cochran and Nyla Harris has played well together, the two combining for 20 and 11 rebounds per game, with Harris shooting just over 60 percent from the field.
Despite its impressive conference record, Louisville ranks middle of the pack statistically on both sides of the ball. Not a great three-point shooting or rebounding team, its greatest strength lies in the ability to create turnovers,
forcing nearly 20 per game, which is tied for the highest number in the conference. If there was a single area to nitpick this Irish team on its winning run, it would be in the turnover department, especially early in games. Despite eventually coasting to another double-digit win on Thursday, the Irish once again started slowly behind an 11-turnover half. While the Hokies were unable to capitalize on them, Notre Dame would end up giving the ball away 20 times in the game. If there is any path to victory against this team right now, and there doesn’t seem to be many, it could be there. With that said, most signs point to another Notre Dame win on Sunday. Their two-game hiccup early in the season seems to be left in the past. Behind the prolific play of Hidalgo and Miles, and with a fully healthy roster after some early-season injury concerns, the Irish seem to have too much firepower for almost anyone in the country.
Tip-off is set for noon on Feb. 2 at the KFC Yum! Center with ESPN2 providing the broadcast.
Contact Noah Cahill at ncahill2@nd.edu
JONATHAN KARR | The Observer
Graduate forward Liatu King releases a jump shot from the free throw line during Notre Dame’s 118-49 defeat of Eastern Michigan inside Purcell Pavilion on Dec. 15, 2024. King collected 12 rebounds in Thursday’s win at Virginia Tech for her 15th game with double-digit boards.
