PDF for Tuesday, January 28, 2014

UNIVERSITY CLOSED

Winter weather warning shuts down all non-essential activity at Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s

Observer Staff Report

notre dame and saint mary’s closed due to inclement weather monday and will remain closed until Tuesday evening.

only essential employees are required to remain on the college’s campus, according to its emergency announcement. in notre dame’s emergency notification email, the university instructed snow-essential personnel to contact their supervisors.

as of press time, the dining halls at saint mary’s will remain

open during their normal operating hours.

according to a campuswide email from university spokesman dennis brown, notre dame’s dining halls will operate on a limited schedule Tuesday. brunch will be served from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. dinner will be served from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The laFortune student center and limited eateries will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for students seeking shelter and food.

south dining hall manager marc poklinkowski said the university’s closure challenged

SMC alumnae volunteer in Ghana

By HALEIGH EHMSEN

ews w riter

n

l istening to people’s stories is one of the best gifts s aint m ary’s alumna m onica m urphy said she has received through the c ollege’s post-graduate service program.

m urphy, a social work major, said she arrived in g hana last a ugust and will teach at o ur l ady of h oly c ross s chool in k asoa until mid-June.

m urphy said she decided to spend the year in g hana because she has always been a service-oriented person.

“ s erving in a frica has been a dream for years, as the stories of the children touched me in a personal way,” m urphy said.

The program in g hana allows m urphy to gain experience in many different

aspects of school life, she said.“ i am teaching a few e nglish classes to the ‘ b asic o ne’ students, another term for first grade,” m urphy said. “[ i ] am also doing social work, which involves meeting with students individually and sometimes their parents.”

m urphy said she also serves as the school’s librarian, with the help of another volunteer. s he and other volunteers brought suitcases full of books when they arrived in a ugust to replace the old, torn copies currently in the school’s possession, she said.

“ i n the library, i am reading to students and am helping them expand their reading vocabulary,” m urphy said. ”The students love when i read to them.”

see ghana PAGE 3

dining hall staffs to maintain services.

“The staff has been doing a really good job. … it’s an all-handson-deck situation,” poklinkowski said. “we were getting killed today. some student staff are staying from the breakfast shift [to help with] the dinner shift tonight.

“There’s been a lot of confusion with the university closing. it doesn’t mean we don’t have to come in. we are emergency staff members.”

The weather emergency that

st. Joseph county authorities declared monday prompted the university’s closure, according to a message sent to students via nd a lert, the university’s emergency messaging service.

under the weather warning, drivers on the roads after 7 p.m. monday, except for those with emergency reasons, will be ticketed and fined. according to a Jan. 7 report in The south bend Tribune, south bend police capt. phil Trent said this fine might total 500 dollars if individuals are cited under the

state statute that says ignoring a city’s emergency declaration is a misdemeanor.

lt. matt blank of the st. Joseph county police department told the Tribune that drivers are more likely to be cited under a county ordinance violation, which carries a fine of up to 2,500 dollars. a representative from the south bend police department said, however, that south bend police officers plan to work off of the city ordinance regarding emergency declarations, which would levy a 25 dollar fine against drivers.

‘p urple week’ raises relay for l ife funds, awareness

By MEGHAN THOMASSEN m anaging e ditor

This week, n otre d ame’s club for the a merican c ancer s ociety will host p urple w eek, a series of events to raise funds and awareness for the m arch 28 r elay for l ife at the c ompton Family i ce a rena.

The r elay for l ife is an event designed to honor cancer victims and survivors and to raise funds for research projects in the pursuit of a cure for cancer, according to the event’s website.

s tudent organizer Jack s zigety said one goal for p urple w eek, named after the signature color of the a merican c ancer s ociety, is to increase the number of student teams signed up for the race.

“ p urple w eek is like our

pump up for r elay for l ife,” s zigety said. “ r ight now we have 23 teams. … w e’re trying to have a captain at each dorm, but we only have 11 registered so far, so see purple week PAGE 3

(574) 631-4541 mdefrank@nd.edu miati@nd.edu, nmichels@nd.edu

Business Office (574) 631-5313

News Desk (574) 631-5323 obsnews.nd@gmail.com Viewpoint Desk (574) 631-5303 obsviewpoint@gmail.com

Sports Desk (574) 631-4543 observersports@gmail.com

Scene Desk (574) 631-4540 observer.scene1@gmail.com Saint Mary’s Desk krabac01@saintmarys.edu

Photo Desk (574) 631-8767 obsphoto@gmail.com

Systems & Web Administrators (574) 631-8839

Policies

Question of the Day:

Patrick Krach

junior alumni hall

“Flood

Ryan Lopez sophomore alumni hall

“e

Tony Villano junior duncan hall

“watching ‘Frozen.’”

Alex Vega

junior o’neill hall

“playing

Saad Khan senior off-campus “having an existential crisis/ stopping genocide.”

Aniekeme Ukpong freshman morrissey manor “studying.”

Today’s Staff

Corrections The

regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times.

that

we’re going to work on that this week.”

e vents for p urple w eek will run from m onday through Friday, s zigety said. a campus-wide “purple-out” decorating contest was scheduled for m onday, when The o bserver spoke with s zigety early m onday afternoon he said he thought it was probably going to be cancelled due to the u niversity closure. i f the u niversity reopens as scheduled tonight at

6:00 p.m., however, student organizers for the r elay will be recognized at the c oaches vs. c ancer men’s basketball game at 9:00 p.m. against v irginia, s zigety said. i rish coach m ike b rey will also be honored for his involvement in cancer fundraising research, he said.

“This is something that happens across the ncaa every year,” s zigety said. “ w e’re also hoping to sell the t-shirts during the game, but we haven’t gotten the okay on that yet.” T-shirts for the n otre

d ame r elay for l ife are $10 and will be on sale, in addition to various baked goods, in l aFortune on Friday from noon until 3 p.m. s zigety said the dining halls also will make “as much purple [food] as possible” on Thursday night. This will be the third year in a row that the dining halls participate in fundraising for the r elay for l ife, s outh d ining h all manager m ike p oklikowski said.

“ i t will be similar to what we did last year,”

paid a dverT isemen T

p oklikowski said. “ w e’ll have cake and cookies with purple icing and rumbleberry crisp.”

i n addition, r olfs s ports r ecreation c enter will host a blood drive from 11:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m w ednesday. p urple hair extensions will also be on sale from 12 until 4 p.m. in the c oleman- m orse c enter. a ll proceeds from the events of p urple w eek will be directed to the a merican c ancer s ociety, the website said.

Contact Meghan Thomassen at mthomass@nd.edu

con T inued F rom page 1

w orking with the nursery class is also a part of m urphy’s service, she said.

“ i n nursery, i sing songs with the kids, play with them on the playground, and assist in creative art activities,” m urphy said. “ i sometimes feed them during lunch. They are so cute, i cannot help [but] baby them.”

b ut by far, m urphy said her most treasured experience has been watching the children grow and interact with each other.

“The children here appreciate the smallest things, like bubbles. [They] serve as a reminder of what is truly important in life,” m urphy said. “ h aving the opportunity to capture some of their dreams, hopes, challenges and fears has allowed me to live through their eyes. i t is beyond gratifying.”

h elping the school’s children take control of their futures has been rewarding for her, m urphy said.

“They are born leaders and can tackle their dreams,

“They are born leaders and can tackle their dreams despite any obstacle.”

Monica Murphy

Mary’s alumna

despite any obstacle,” she said. “ w hen we show children love, they are more motivated to reach for their dreams, to think differently about their lives, believe with a can-do attitude, have boundless courage and in a way are more inspired to recapture their goals.”

m urphy said her experience in g hana has helped her to live a more meaningful life and inspired her to maintain and build relationships.

“ r elationships are one of the greatest gifts of all,” she said. “ i see many people living with empty souls, focused on the wrong things in life. i love the stories people tell, especially here in g hana, and have been inspired by their wisdom.”

m ost of all, m urphy said her time thus far in g hana has guided her spirituality, as well.

“ i n life, we are called to respond to the g ospel — for me that was traveling across the world, into the unfamiliar,” m urphy said.

Contact Haleigh Ehmsen at hehmse01@saintmarys.edu

Snow day fun

Emily McConville news writer

i’m actually pretty excited about these snow days. The campus is pretty. i don’t have classes. i can sleep in. most of all, i can finally sit down and catch up on all those new Zimbio.com quizzes. personality quizzes have always been my guilty pleasure. during my teen years i would tear through girl’s life and seventeen, looking for those pages that would tell me what my friends thought of me, where i should live or which disney channel star would make the best boyfriend for my unique disposition. later i found whole databases of online personality quizzes, ranging from the somewhatnormal (“w hat kind of wedding should you have?”), to the strange (“a re you a born kingpin?”), to the this-reallyshouldn’t-be-in-quiz-form (“w hich voice part are you?”). There’s just something reassuring about having someone else, albeit someone of dubious credibility, explain your identity to you.

That said, some personality quizzes are better than others. some, like the ubiquitous meyers-briggs Test, are so professional and thorough that you actually have to think hard about the answers, which is no fun at all. others have answer choices so obvious that you know the results of the quiz before it’s over, taking away all the mystery (for example: “w hat do you do in your free time? (a) roam the halls of hogwarts as a cat, (b) hang out with my two best friends in the slytherin common room or (c) w hat free time? i have to use a time-turner just to get to all my classes.” please.)

The perfect personality quiz is intelligent. its questions are inclusive and pointed but not overly telling. it is well formatted. The font is clean, the questions are varied and, if it’s online, the page doesn’t reload every time you click an answer. it is relevant. my favorites are the ones that tell me which book, movie or T v show character i am.

That’s why i’m pumped about all these Zimbio pop-culture quizzes. The design is slick, the questions are unexpected and i don’t have to sacrifice my individuality to find out which disney princess i am. a fter just a few minutes, i can say with perfect certainty, i a m ned stark — honorable, hardworking and “an inspiration to us lesser mortals.” i am princess leia — bold, diplomatic and confident. i am hermione granger — intelligent and loyal. The quizzes are more than just a fun way to procrastinate during a snow day. They play a crucial role in shaping identities, in helping young people realize their full potentials and…. wait a minute. i’m haymitch abernathy? That old drunk who barely got katniss and peeta through the first hunger games? how embarrassing. These quiz things are total scams. i’m out.

Contact Emily McConville at emcconv1@nd.edu

The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

lETTER To ThE EDIToR

A response to Johnny Whichard

This morning, i stumbled across Johnny w hichard’s response to katrina l inden’s article (“’post-racial a merica’ isn’t a thing,” Jan. 23) on the topic of racial inequality. in his response, mr. w hichard claims “you, and i, will succeed, or fail, not because of our skin tone or ‘ethnic-sounding’ names.”

i would invite mr. w hichard to read an article published in 2003 in “a merican Journal of sociology,” entitled “The mark of a criminal record,” by devah pager. using an audit study, ms. pager finds that “even whites with criminal records received more favorable treatment (17 percent received callbacks from employers) than blacks without criminal records (14 percent). in other words, white male criminals have a

EDIToRIAl CARTooNS

better chance of getting a job than black male non-criminals, all else being equal. i hope that, upon realizing his claims do not stand up to scientific evidence, mr. w hichard will consider the ways many individuals, including himself, unknowingly and perniciously perpetuate racism in a merica.

Thank you for your consideration.

The State of our Union is ...

John Sandberg s andman’s musing

l et me start by saying this was never a fair fight.

it takes up to three months or longer for the president and his speechwriters to complete the annual s tate of the union address. l ast year’s speech ran close to 7,000 words in length.

The president will deliver his finished product to 535 members of c ongress, dozens of distinguished guests and millions of a mericans watching at home. The address likely will last for more than an hour, all inside the historic h ouse chamber beneath the brilliantly lit c apitol rotunda.

i ’ve been given a few days and no more than 800 words (about 600 of which, i learned, will actually be read) to write this column. m y remarks will be delivered on a less-brilliantly lit webpage or on newspapers spread out over lunch tables throughout campus today.

it’s not that i ’m complaining; all writers crave any platform. you’ll just have to forgive this particular writer if his prose lacks the pomp and

eloquence we are likely to see from that of the c ommander in c hief this evening.

The s tate of our union is, nonetheless, the topic of the day. a nd what a topic it is.

a sk some and they’ll tell you our union is, politically speaking, divided and in a state of disaster.

w hat used to be the most mundane legislative tasks in c ongress are now too often knock-down, drag-out fights that leave a trail of black and blue egos and burned bridges scattered across washington. i n a place that depends so heavily on working relationships among the oversized yet delicate egos that call it home, there’s no denying this is a problem.

The state of our union is unequal. it is unequal in income, as p resident o bama will address, but the inequalities run much deeper than the differences in figures on paychecks. o ur union remains a place where your family history or zip code, among other uncontrollable circumstances, are a disturbingly accurate predictor of the type of education you will receive and the success you will see in life.

The state of our union is uneasy. g un violence tears apart many of

a merica’s inner cities, and mental illness is a problem that we are still trying to find the best way to address. m eanwhile, terrorism remains as real a threat as ever, and a merica’s proper role in checking the nuclear weapons capabilities of other countries is uncertain.

The state of our union is slow, unfortunately. we are a country with our share of problems, be it poverty on the streets, a broken immigration system or inadequate management of our schools. o ur response to these problems often lacks the sense of urgency the issues deserve. a nd yet, for all the reasons for cynicism that cast their dark shadows on a merica each day, our union is illuminated, today as ever before, by rays of hope.

o ur country remains a land of success stories. b e it the first-generation college graduates or the ex-convicts who have turned their lives around for the better, our country is one of individuals who achieved more than was expected of them, whose willpower alone allowed them to overcome their negative circumstances and enjoy real success through hard work.

it is a country that comes together when it is needed the most. The way

is the war on drugs over?

who purchase alcohol know what purity they are getting; people who purchase cocaine or heroin do not.

i n d ecember 2013, u ruguay legalized marijuana, e arlier, in 2012, c olorado and washington legalized marijuana under the laws of their states, and 21 additional states and the d istrict of c olumbia have now decriminalized or allowed medical use of marijuana. p ortugal decriminalized all drugs in 2001, and the n etherlands has practiced de facto legalization for marijuana for decades. m ore broadly, many countries have de-escalated their “ wars on d rugs.” i ndeed, p resident o bama hinted strongly in a recent interview that he supports marijuana legalization.

l egalization advocates, therefore, are feeling optimistic: m any expect full legalization, at least for marijuana, within a few years.

This euphoria is understandable, but premature.

l egalizers are correct that prohibition is a terrible approach to balancing the costs of drug abuse against the costs of policies that attempt to reduce drug abuse.

p rohibition drives drug markets underground, thereby generating violence and corruption. p articipants in black markets cannot resolve their disputes with courts and lawyers, so they resort to violence instead.

p rohibition makes quality control difficult, so the incidence of accidental poisonings and overdoses is higher than in a legal market. p eople

p rohibition spreads hiv e levated drug prices incentivize injection (users get a big bang for the buck), while fostering restrictions on clean needles. u sers therefore share dirty needles, which accounts for a large fraction of new hiv infections in the united s tates.

p rohibition harms those who use drugs despite prohibition, since they risk arrest and imprisonment in addition to the negatives of drug use itself.

p rohibition encourages racial profiling and other infringements on civil liberties. n either party to a drug transaction wants to notify the police, who therefore use more intrusive tactics in the attempt to enforce the law.

p rohibition wastes criminal justice resources and prevents collection of taxes on the production or purchase of drugs, thus adversely impacting government budgets.

a nd abundant evidence from a merica’s experiment with p rohibition, from state decriminalizations, and medicaliziations; from comparisons across countries with weak versus strong prohibition regimes; and from experience with other prohibited commodities suggests that prohibitions generates only moderate reductions in drug use.

s ome of that reduction, moreover, is a cost of prohibition, not a benefit— since many people consume drugs without ill effects on themselves or

the a merican people united behind the city of b oston in the wake of the marathon bombings last year is just the latest in a long list of reminders of how a mericans remain united in the face of great challenges.

The state of our union is innovative, with bright minds and new companies springing up each day from coast to coast.

The state of our union is connected. we are a texting, tweeting, sharing and updating mass of individuals with the potential to share information more quickly and the capacity do more good with the power of communication than any generation before.

The state of our union is aware — aware that we must do better, that we can do better.

The state of our union is imperfect, to be sure. yet it is capable, as well. i ndeed, as the president will remind us this evening, the state of our union is strong.

John Sandberg lives in Fisher Hall and is a senior studying political science. He can be reached at jsandbe1@nd.edu

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

others.

p rohibition is therefore a terrible policy, even if one endorses government attempts to reduce drug use. p rohibition has large costs with minimal “benefits” at best in terms of lower use.

s o legalizers are right on the merits, and recent opinion polls show increasing public supportfor legalization (at least for marijuana). b ut the negatives of prohibitions have been widely understood at least since the 1933 repeal of alcohol prohibition, yet this has not stopped the u s from pushing drug prohibition both at home and abroad.

i n addition, further progress toward legalization faces serious impediments.

The first is that recent de-escalation of the d rug war addresses marijuana only. yet much prohibition-induced harm results from prohibitions of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. p ublic opinion is less open to legalizing these drugs.

e ven worse, drug warriors might respond to marijuana legalization by ramping up hysteria toward stillprohibited drugs, increasing prohibition-induced ills in those markets. The public would then observe increased drug-market violence in the wake of marijuana legalization, which would appear to show that legalization causes violence. a different worry is that while public opinion currently swings toward legalizations, public opinion can change. a nd marijuana remains illegal under federal law, so a new

president could undo p resident o bama’s “hands off” approach. p erhaps the greatest threat to legalization is that many people—including some legalizers—believe policy can eliminate the black market and its negatives while maintaining strict control over legalized drugs. That is why recent legalizations include restrictions on production and purchase amounts, retail locations, exports, sales to tourists, high taxes, and more.

i f these restrictions are so weak that they rarely constrain the legal market, they do little harm. b ut if these restrictions are serious, they re-create black markets.

l egalizers must accept that, under legalization, drug use will be more open and some people will misuse. The incidence of use and abuse might be no higher than now; indeed, outcomes like accidental overdoses should decline. b ut legalizers should not oversell, since that risks a backlash when negative outcomes occur.

n one of this is meant to deny that recent policy changes constitute real progress. b ut these gains will evaporate unless the case for legalization includes all drugs and is up front about the negatives as well as the positives.

The Harvard Crimson is the independent student newspaper serving Harvard University

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

The venerable Fr. Edward F. Sorin, CSC, or at least his Twitter account @FatherSorin, contacted The Observer on Tuesday to weigh in with his thoughts on the so-called snow days. Needless to say, the snow day wasn’t his idea.

I don’t believe in “Snow Days” or, for that matter, “Cold Days.” If I had believed in them, this place never would have been founded. I had to trudge through a couple feet of snow just to get to Steve Badin’s cabin. And then all he had was cheap, local wine. Nevertheless, I founded this fine University in the midst of a good, old-fashioned, Midwestern snow storm. And I never looked back.

circumstances … but I digress. Think of living in That Hall without heat. Perhaps that might be better, since it would make the cold-blooded residents go to sleep sooner than 3 a.m.

Sure, some of you wish I would have founded the University in California. But, I might remind you that California was part of Mexico in 1842. Some of you wish I would have founded the University in Chicago. But, I might remind you that they’re not doing any better with the cold than we are right now — and besides, the Indiana land was pretty much free (thanks to my skills at Baccarat and the Bishop’s dangerous gambling habits). But thank God and his mother that I didn’t venture into that land of despoliation and misery called Michigan. We were saved by Providence.

I’m not saying you have all gone soft. But I am. Yes, it’s great to miss classes and slide down the front steps of Main Building on dining hall trays. Yes, it’s enjoyable to be told to sleep like an indigent and drink beer at will because you don’t have to report for classes. But that’s not the Notre Dame way. We muscle through all adversity and fight on to victory, no matter what the inconvenience or the cost in discomfort. We wouldn’t be the winningest college football team in history — or the best soccer, basketball, fencing … you name the sport … team in the country if a little crystalized water offended us. And you can drink the celebratory beers all you want AFTER you win.

So, yes, I’m carping about “kids these days.” It’s not that I don’t love you all — I do. It’s just that I want you to set your jaws, duck your heads, plow your ways out of your halls and get the job done. If you want me, I’ll be enjoying the warmth and comfort of Rozum’s couch — and a couple of Bourbon cocktails.

Edward F. Sorin, CSC

I’m pretty sure all of your dorms are heated. That wasn’t always the case. So, get tough; rely on the strength of your ancestors; imagine living in St. Edward’s with one castiron stove for the lot of you. Not fun — and smells pretty bad. Imagine living in Zahm … Whoa … Imagine living in Zahm under any

Contact Father Sorin at his parody twitter account, @Father Sorin. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

since their establishment, major grammy awards have gone to solely popular artists. For this reason, a shockwave went through the music community when the 2011grammy for a lbum of the year went to a rcade Fire, a canadian indie-rock band. a lthough musical hipsters (myself included) nationwide rejoiced, most a mericans responded with dismay and confusion. Twitter blew up with so many “w ho the **** is a rcade Fire?” tweets that the phrase became a meme. The a rcade Fire win seemed a symptom of a systemic change for the awards. perhaps, hoped music enthusiasts, the grammys were adapting to two new forces in music: the independent label and music blog-based criticism.

however, the next year saw indie music disappear from the album of the year nominations. Then, in 2013, mumford & sons’ “babel” won the award over several albums with far greater critical acclaim. in this context, a rcade Fire’s win seemed like a fluke. The grammys seemed to be fading back into a mere extension of the billboard 200.

one would have thought the 2014 grammy awards would either open or close the door to grammy-seeking indie acts. instead, it was left propped between the two. in almost every situation, the grammy awards compromised, awarding the major prizes to acts that toed the line between mainstream and independent music.

Daft Punk

daft punk was the darling of critics worldwide, gathering acclaim for their first studio album in eight years well as their contributions to kanye west’s yeezus. “random access memories” found immense commercial success as well, earning the duo record of the year as well. The combination of critical and commercial success allowed “random access memories” to triumph over Taylor swift’s “red” (more commercially successful) and kendrick lamar’s “good k id, m a a d city” (greater critical acclaim). in this way, daft punk’s dominance demonstrated a compromise between critical acclaim and commercial success. macklemore & Ryan lewis

macklemore & ryan lewis, despite achieving immense fame and commercial success, remain independent artists with a strong following. The unrivaled prominence of singles from “The heist” lead them to received several awards in the rap category even against

several artists whose work gathered far more critical acclaim (kanye west, kendrick lamar) and are more well-known (Jay-Z, eminem). again, the duo’s success at the show represents a compromise between critical acclaim and commercial success (although drake also fits that mold).

lorde

Filling a similar role as macklemore and ryan lewis in the pop category, lorde was an artist who worked within the indie r&b style (see also grimes, purity r ing, the weeknd) and earned hype on independent blogs until breaking into the mainstream. This independent edge wasn’t shared by any of the artists she beat out for song of the year and pop solo performance (ignoring macklemore. maybe they thought four grammys were enough for the guys).

overall, the grammy awards this year seemed eager to please everyone, critics and casual listeners alike. a s a national T.v. event, it’s probably for the best that the awards were essentially another great compromise. music on, a merica. music on.

Contact John Darr at jdarr@nd.edu

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

By CAELIN MILTKO

s cene writer

vanessa hudgens, brendan Fraser and rosario dawson all star in “gimme shelter,” a film featuring hudgens as a pregnant, homeless teen runaway. hudgens’ character, apple bailey, runs away after discovering her father said she cannot stay with him unless she gets an abortion. she runs away from the clinic and eventually finds herself in a hospital where a minster (James earl Jones) introduces her to a shelter run by a christian woman for pregnant, homeless teenagers. in an almost clichéd manner, apple finds a home there for her and her baby. both hudgens and dawson (playing apple’s mother) give fairly incredible performances in the film, which is based on a true story. The power of their characters comes through in a scene between the two of them in the hospital, as apple silently refuses to go along with her mother

as her mother rants about how she can’t give her baby up, and the welfare money that comes with it.

The movie had some fairly strong points — with that scene in the hospital being one of the most poignant. That being said, in spite of it being based on a true story, the plot line was almost too cliché at points — with hudgens almost magically transitioning from a troubled teen runaway to a happy trusting teen mother once she finds the shelter. something tells me that the real apple bailey’s transition was not quite this smooth.

This movie clearly argues that abortion is not the recommended path of action but i think the stronger message in the movie is women in bailey’s situation are put in a position where they have to make a choice, but is not a choice that can or should be forced on anyone. The true problem with the prospect of apple’s abortion is that it is nearly forced upon her by her father and her stepmother,

even though apple is clearly hesitant from the beginning to get one. it is never clear why apple chooses to keep her child. a s a character, she is never fully developed — never giving the audience a clear vision of her motives and certainly never explaining the transitions she undergoes.

This is perhaps the weakest part of the movie. For all that apple goes through, it is never clear when or how she undertakes the transition that is obvious by the end of the movie.

director ron k rauss, in an interview with the national review online, expressed his happiness that the film was even released, calling it a miracle given the heavily pro-choice parts of hollywood. a s it is, the movie delivers a powerful message about the ability to make it through tough times — even if the pro-life message didn’t come out as clearly to me as it may have been meant to.

That being said, the movie is still well worth seeing. The scenes where hudgens silently wanders the city streets, seeking shelter in unlocked cars and eating food straight from the dumpsters will tug anyone’s heartstrings and certainly the number of babies in the end of the movie will make anybody smile. w hile it may not be a cinematic masterpiece, “gimme shelter” is worth seeing.

“Gimme Shelter”

Director: Ronald Krauss

Studio: Roadside Attractions

Starring: Vanessa Hudgens, Brendan Fraser, James Earl Jones, Rosario Dawson

Fútbol foes turn violent over years

Editor’s Note: This is the seventh in a 10-part series discussing the best rivalry in sports. In this installment, Vicky Jacobsen argues for Argentina-Brazil soccer. Join the discussion on Twitter by using #BestRivalry.

don’t get me wrong. i love a good, old-fashioned american rivalry. as a dedicated red sox fan, i was raised to believe that “yankee” was a dirty word. i have no personal loyalty to north carolina, but i will drop everything to cheer for the Tar heels when they play the dastardly duke blue devils. and i attended high school with enough rabid redskins fans to know that there are plenty of people — especially around our nation’s capital — who vehemently deny that the cowboys are “america’s team.”

but if we are being honest, declaring any singular intercollegiate or regional rivalry the best in sports is rather provincial. To find truly fitting recipients of this title, we must look to the world’s most popular sport, played by two of the game’s most successful national sides, represented by two of the greatest players of all time. we should look south — way south. we should look to brazil and argentina.

To date, there have been 95 meetings in the “battle of the south americans” (the soccer version, that is), and the results have been remarkably even — 36 wins for the argentines, 35 for the brazilians, and 24 draws (or something like that. The exact figures vary depending on whether you ask the argentine or brazilian governing bodies.) This year will mark the 100th anniversary of their first meeting on the pitch, and since then the two south american superpowers have collected a combined seven world cup titles (two for argentina, five for brazil), two olympic gold medals (both by argentina) and 22 copa américa trophies (14 for the argentinians, eight for the brazilians.)

it is natural for two competitors with such distinguished histories to develop a professional, respectful rivalry — for an american parallel, just take a look at Tom brady and peyton manning. but the relationship between the two south american giants has been decidedly more adversarial. as the story goes, during the 1937 iteration of the tournament now called the copa américa (then the south american championship), verbal confrontations on the field escalated, and the crowd in buenos aires began to taunt brazilian players with racial epithets. brazilian players

decided to leave the “jogo da vergonha” (the “shame game”) before the match was officially over.

Two years later, the argentines returned the favor during a game in rio de Janeiro. a referee awarded the brazilians a penalty, and argentina’s arcadio lopez verbally attacked the official and had to be hauled away by police.

The brazilians made the penalty kick and won the game, possibly because the entire argentine team, including the goalie, left the pitch with lopez. in 1945 and 1946, successive incidents of rough play and broken legs led to an on-pitch brawl with police in the south american championship final (noticing a pattern here?), and the crowd spilled onto the field before the matter could be settled. argentina went on to win, 2-0, and the two teams did not play for the next 10 years.

The accusations continue to fly to this day. in the 1982 world cup, argentine legend diego maradona received a straight red card when he kicked brazil’s João batista, presumably out of pure frustration (brazil won, 3-1, in their meeting in the group stage.) The last time the two teams met in the world cup, in 1990, brazil’s branco accused the argentine training staff of giving him a water bottle spiked with tranquilizers. (argentina coach carlos bilardo says the “holy water scandal” never took place, and branco’s main evidence was that he was suddenly drowsy and had trouble keeping up with maradona.)

Football fans around the world —and in brazil and argentina in particular — like to debate the merits of brazilian great pelé and the aforementioned maradona. pelé, whose career stretched from the 1950s into the 1970s, was a part of three world cup-winning squads and scored 1,281 goals, 77 for his national side. he played 1,363 games, more than twice as many as maradona’s 589. about 20 years later, against a more advanced field of competitors, maradona scored 34 goals for his national team, winning one world cup.

but what more could you expect from two next-door neighbors who happen to be home to some of the world’s most dedicated soccer fans? and with the world cup headed to brazil this summer, we could be in for some more fireworks. let’s just hope they stay on the pitch.

Contact Vicky Jacobsen at vjacobse@nd.edu

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

Summerhays

and that it’d be a different game. “he challenged me and i was able to respond to that, which is always good.” going forward, notre dame (15-9-1, 4-6-1 hockey east) will need the senior to continue anchoring the team from the crease. The irish currently sit in eighth place in hockey east and have

Freshmen

other two runners are returning a ll-a merican seniors pat Feeney and chris giesting, smith said they see last season’s success as inspiration.

“we have two a ll-a merican sprinters on the team, and they really help push us,” smith said. “i don’t want to let them down. our goal is to do better than what they did last year.” similarly, dumford said he measures himself against his teammates, especially marco and graduate student Jeremy

earned just nine points in 11 conference games. a series split with second-place northeastern (15-83, 8-5-1) was a step in the right direction, but summerhays said the team needs to continue to build towards the postseason.

“To turn around and shut them out is great for our confidence in the league,” he said. “i’m sure they’re going to be there at the hockey east playoffs at the end of the year if they continue to play

rae.

“in my first three races i’ve raced against … chris marco in all three of those,” dumford said. “we kind of had our little rivalry and trash talk. There is a little fun banter back and forth.”

w hile the irish teammates try their best to defeat each other on the track, little animosity survives once the race is over.

according to stapleton, the freshmen have relied on each other throughout the tough transition to college track.

“i think the freshmen are really, really close,” stapleton said. “it’s a good friendly, competitive

how they are. so to be able to end the homestretch with a win before we go on the road next weekend is definitely big for us, and hopefully we can build on it going forward.” summerhays and the irish square off with new hampshire on Friday and saturday at the w hittemore center in durham, n h

Contact Jack Hefferon at wheffero@nd.edu

atmosphere; same with the upperclassmen, too. every practice is really competitive and we always try to push each other to be better.”

Fellow sprinter smith agreed.

“we’re all one big family,” smith said. “it’s just nice to have a bunch of people that can help you succeed and push you.”

The freshmen and the rest of the irish will return to action saturday at the indiana relays and the new mexico Team invitational.

Contact Casey Karnes at wkarnes@nd.edu

Freshmen adjust and excel in early going

By CASEY KARNES sports writer

Freshman sprinter and hurdler conner stapleton is only a few meets into his college career, but he’s already noticed a huge change from high school.

between the daily practices, weekend meets and other responsibilities of the student-athlete, he said he’s had to search for an extra gear to keep pace with the higher expectations.

“we have a meet every

weekend, and you’re always expected to perform, whether you’re ready or not,” stapleton said. “you really have to prepare yourself every way to run 100 percent and give it the best, whereas in high school, i remember being fresh all the time.”

Thus far, however, stapleton and the rest of the freshman class seem to have adjusted quite easily to the increased responsibility. stapleton notched a topfive finish in both the 400-meter dash at the simmons-harvey

invitational in a nn a rbor, mich., on Jan. 18 and the 500-meter dash at the notre dame invitational last weekend.

Two pairs of freshmen finished first and second in their events in a nn a rbor, with a lex groesch (49.55) edging harvey smith (49.81) in the 400-meter dash, and Jacob dumford (1:53.78) squeaking by teammate chris marco (1:54.13) in the 800-meter run. dumford followed up that performance with a secondplace finish last weekend in the 1,000-meter run.

irish coach Joe piane said he sees great potential for dumford and marco for the mile run.

“i think their future is definitely in the mile,” piane said. “it’ll be interesting to see how well they could do this year, but they are the next two really good notre dame milers.”

piane also singled out patrick o’connell, who won the 800-meter race last weekend, as another freshman off to a great start.

o’connell, marco and dumford all competed for the irish cross country team this fall, and dumford said that experience was great preparation for the track season.

“i’m probably running 15 to 20 miles more a week [this spring] than i was in high school,” dumford said. “but cross country was really helpful in the transition for me because … i was able to use most of the fall to put in a lot of miles and get really fit.”

smith said there was also a lot of work the freshmen had to put in off the track.

“They put me on an eating plan, so i can’t eat stuff like chocolate,” smith said. “i was

on a strict protein diet earlier in the year, but it’s not as bad now. i don’t get as much sleep as i probably should, but … i try to get my homework done early so i can get a full night.”

smith and groesch also run two legs of the irish 400-meter relay. w hile some might feel pressure about joining a team that competed in the ncaa meet last season, especially when the

Freshmen PAGE 8

monardo

connaughton form about as steady a backbone as any coach could hope for.

and while the team’s successes and failures understandably lie most immediately on those three players, it is hard to point to areas in which they have been deficient. sherman is putting up 15.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. atkins is scoring 14.2 and dishing out 5.0 assists per game, and connaughton is doing it all with averages of 13.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists. and they have all performed even better in conference play.

but a large part of those increases is due to the departure of grant. notre dame’s veterans have stepped up their play, but it clearly has not been enough to fill the void.

The team’s scoring average is a paltry 69.4 in acc games, well below the overall average of 76.3 points per game.

grant’s suspension has not been the only impediment to notre dame’s success this season. injuries have chased graduate student forward Tom knight and sophomore forwards Zach auguste and austin burgett at various times.

Freshmen have found themselves logging huge minutes against tough matchups and in crunch time. what irish coach mike brey had referred to before the season as one of his deepest squads in memory has often had nowhere to turn. notre dame has not been able to figure out a consistent starting five due to injuries and underwhelming performances. and yet brey persists in touting the merits of his team. For every close loss he endures, brey delivers at least one rendition of “i love my team” in the postgame press conference. and that is not to say he is wrong, or that he should not express the sentiment.

The truth is, despite their 11thplace standing in the conference rankings the irish still have a few bright spots. sherman, atkins and connaughton all rank in the top 17 of the acc in scoring. sherman is second in rebounding in the conference and leads the league in field-goal percentage, connaughton is sixth in rebounding and atkins has the third-most assists of anyone in the acc

For a number of reasons, notre dame is about as far away from the team it was five weeks ago, the team poised to improve to 9-3 with a marquee win over ohio state. Just like in each of notre dame’s most recent five losses, if things had gone slightly different the team could be looking at different results. There is still plenty of season left to play, but for the irish every loss from here on out is another step away from the promising team they were and another step closer to the bottom of their new conference.

Contact Joseph Monardo at jmonardo@nd.edu

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

m Basketball

“ d ifferent guys have done it at different times for them,” b rey said. “That’s the most difficult kind of team to prepare for that’s coming at you with a lot of different guys, and it can be anybody on any given night.”

The c avaliers enter with the nation’s n o. 3 scoring defense, surrendering just 56.2 points per game, trailing only c lemson and s an d iego s tate, who both allow 56.1 points.

“They’re just really efficient offensively and rocksolid defensively,” b rey said. “They’re doing it at both ends and they’re a confident basketball team, especially after that stretch at home when they won three convincingly.”

n otre d ame is averaging

76.3 points per game, good for a tie for second in the acc b ut the i rish give up 70.9 points per game, which ranks second-to-last in the conference.

n otre d ame will again be without sophomore forward a ustin b urgett, who will undergo a heart procedure Tuesday. b urgett missed the loss to w ake Forest and will be out at least seven to 10 days after the procedure. g raduate student forward Tom k night returned to the rotation against w ake Forest after missing four consecutive games with an ankle injury and an illness. h e had eight points and three rebounds in 17 minutes s aturday.

n otre d ame will host b oston c ollege on s aturday and travel to s yracuse next m onday as it tries to avoid falling too far in the acc standings.

“ w e knew it was going to be tough,” b rey said. “ w e came from a very tough league and we knew it was going to be a tough league. w e have not been as lucky as i would have liked to be

on the personnel front.”

The c avaliers and i rish are scheduled to tip at 9 p.m. at p urcell p avilion.

Contact Matthew DeFranks at mdefrank@nd.edu

Happy Birthday: a positive change will help you put the past behind you. greater opportunity will come as you explore your talents and use your knowledge to help you gain the confidence of others. This is a year to flourish, be your best and reach your goals. don’t let insecurity hold you back. your numbers are 7, 13, 19, 22, 25, 31, 42.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take pride in what you do and aim to be proactive when it comes to making decisions and doing your best to help others. Take charge and use persuasive tactics to ensure that you get what you want and prosper emotionally and financially.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): put greater emphasis on who you are and what you can do for others. learn from past encounters and mistakes and you will reach whatever destination you choose with fewer obstacles. put love, romance and personal matters first.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): discuss your goals or options with colleagues or someone who may be able to help you advance. good fortune will be yours if you show greater interest in a project. charm coupled with a heart-to-heart talk will bring good results.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): relationships are featured. do your best to share your feelings and to secure your personal connection to someone special. make personal changes that will encourage compliments and boost your confidence. romance is on the rise and plans should be initiated.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): be upfront about your intentions and plans. check out your options and ask questions. clear up any confusion that may be standing between you and a decision you are expected to make. don’t let someone’s lack of support sway you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): you are overdue for a little fun, pampering or anything else that will add to your comfort and pleasure. love is in the stars, and making plans with someone special will help you make an important personal decision. avoid impulsive spending.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): protect your home, family and future. listen carefully and observe how others react. use your head and think matters through. look for a unique way to handle any difficult matter that arises and you will bypass a setback.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): react cautiously. let your intuition guide and protect you from anyone trying to manipulate a conversation or situation. use the experience you have gained in the past. a trip will prove to be beneficial and enhance your personal life.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): a quick reaction will help you maneuver into a prime position. using the element of surprise will help you avert a deceptive ploy to take advantage of you. keep your emotions in check and stay in front of the competition.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Focus on your goals, not on what others are up to. Feeling pressured or trying to keep up with someone who is unpredictable is a waste of time. base your actions on facts and reason. common sense will win out in the end.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): put your intuition to the test. make changes based on the way you feel and you will find a way to get ahead emotionally and financially. a good idea must not be allowed to expand too quickly. what you do must be durable.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): it’s what you do to make amends or help others that will make a difference to the outcome of a situation you face. good things come to those who wait. bide your time and do things properly the first time around.

Birthday Baby: you are confident, innovative and challenging. you are quick, curious and playful.

Clash with the Cavaliers

Squad looks for much-needed ‘W’ vs. surging UVa

By MATTHEW DeFRANKS

a ssistant managing e ditor

virginia will bring its recent hot streak into frigid south bend for a matchup with notre dame on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. even with the university’s closure effective until Tuesday at 6 p.m., the game is still on as scheduled, according to a notre dame spokesperson.

The cavaliers (15-5, 6-1 acc) have won six of their last seven games, including their last three. virginia’s lone blemish in 2014 was a four-point loss at duke on Jan. 13. The irish (11-9, 2-5), meanwhile, have lost five of their last six games.

“sometimes one good win can jumpstart you,” irish coach mike brey said during a teleconference monday. “r ight now, we’re a group that’s searching for that.” since the loss to the blue devils, virginia has won each game by an average of 15.7 points. For the first time in school history, all of virginia’s acc wins have come by double digits.

virginia’s 6-1 start is the team’s best start in conference since the 1982-83 season when ralph sampson led the cavaliers to a 7-1 start in acc play.

s enior guard Joe h arris leads the c avaliers with 11.6 points per game, while redshirt sophomore m alcolm b rogdon adds 11.4 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Junior forward Pat Connaughton, shown during Notre Dame’s 70-63 victory over Virginia

and the Irish are scheduled to square off with

Season has quickly gotten away from Notre Dame

at about 9 p.m. on dec. 21, things were looking pretty good for the irish. by 9:30 on the same night, however, the outlook was decidedly less rosy. after blowing an eight-point lead in the final minute against then-no. 3 ohio state in madison square garden, things have only continued to get worse for the irish.

one day after the defeat at the hands of the buckeyes, the team announced the suspension of senior guard Jerian grant due to an “academic matter.” soon thereafter, news broke that sophomore forward cam biedscheid intended to transfer.

notre dame held things together for an overtime win over canisius the following week at purcell pavilion and even pulled off a home upset of then-no. 7 duke in its inaugural acc contest to begin the new year.

but the wheels fell off after that.

The irish have lost five of their last six outings, none by more than eight points and most being decided in the final minute. The irish had six wins within reach and came away with only one of them.

That is an especially shocking figure for a team with a core of experienced leaders as strong as notre dame’s. senior center garrick sherman, senior guard eric atkins and junior forward pat mEN’S BASKETBAll

i rish go as goaltender summerhays goes

By JACK HEFFERON sports writer

coming down the stretch of its schedule with nine games left to play, no. 14 notre dame will need to finish the regular season off strong if it wants to improve its postseason prospects.

a nd lately, as senior goaltender steven summerhays has gone, the irish have gone, as well.

This weekend’s series against

no. 10 northeastern was a model of summerhays’ impact. on Friday night, summerhays allowed four goals on seven shots (albeit several from high-scoring areas) and was pulled by irish coach Jeff Jackson in the second period to shake the team up. Freshman chad katunar came in to make seven saves and stop the bleeding, but the irish came up well short in a 4-0 loss.

“i think if you’re a goaltender,

you’re gonna have those games,” summerhays said following the loss. “even the pro guys get pulled quite often, so it’s something that comes with the position. sometimes you’re not playing the best you can and sometimes it’s to shake the team up. it’s one of those things that does wake you up and get you out of your comfort zone, but then, at the same time, you’ve got to turn the page and move forward.”

despite Friday’s performance, Jackson chose to stick with his two-year starter, putting summerhays back in net on saturday night. summerhays responded to that trust with flying colors, following up his threesave showing with a 36-save masterpiece to lead the irish to a 3-0 victory. The shutout was summerhays’ fifth of the season, which leads all ncaa goalies. a fter saturday’s turnaround,

summerhays said he needed a response following his showing on Friday.

“yeah, it was definitely a challenge. [Jackson] was showing he had the confidence in me to play me again tonight,” summerhays said. “he asked me how i thought the game went and obviously not the ideal way i wanted it to go, but i said i was ready to go [saturday],

see summerhays PAGE 8