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The

Question of the Day:

James Ko junior sorin college “crinkle fries.” What is your favorite form of potato?

Benjamin Foley sophomore Keough hall

Ana Sophia Marxuach sophomore howard hall

“French fries.”

Sierra Avery sophomore mcGlinn hall

“In curry.”

Caoimhe MacRunnels sophomore mcGlinn hall

“e ither tater tots or shoestring fries.”

Keenan MacQuarrie sophomore Zahm house “regular french fries.”

Senior Ian Dwyer plays “Rhapsody in Blue” and other piano selections for a group of colleagues and professors. Over the last four years, Dwyer has taught himself the solo piano version of “Rhapsody in Blue,” a classical piece with jazz-influenced effects.

Today’s Staff

Corrections

An article published Thursday incorrectly stated the positions of Judicial council vice president of elections shady Girgis and vice president of peer advocacy myrofora Zambas. The observer regrets this error.

Cardio

Workshop: “Theater and Politics

University prepares for fundraising broadcast

By COURTNEY BECKER news e ditor

The University will host o lympians, s uper b owl champions and two members of the “ h amilton” c hicago c ompany — in addition to other notable guests — this weekend as part of the fourth annual n otre d ame d ay, which will take place s unday and m onday.

The event — a 29-hour fundraiser for almost every aspect of student life at n otre d ame, including residence halls, student groups and financial aid — gives community members who donate to the University the opportunity to cast votes to determine how money raised through n otre d ame d ay will be distributed.

For the first minimum $10 gift to the University community members make through n otre d ame d ay, they receive five votes to cast for whichever registered area of the University they choose. With each subsequent minimum $10 gift, community members will receive one vote. Pablo m artinez, program director of n otre d ame d ay, and member of the class of 2011, said this strategy — which was implemented in the event’s second year — allows every person who donates to make a significant impact on the University.

“ n otre d ame d ay is different in that it allows anyone to have the same impact,” he said. “ s o even if you make a $1,000 gift on n otre d ame d ay, you only get five votes — unless you decide to divvy up that $1,000 gift into multiple gifts. s o the $10 gifts prove just as valuable in terms of the votes you get, and how you get to say who gets the c hallenge Fund and who comes out on top at the end of the leaderboard. It’s

equitable in that way.”

The recipient of the c hallenge Fund is determined by the percentage of votes a certain organization receives, tracked by the n otre d ame d ay leaderboard. c ommunity members receive updates about the leaderboard standings throughout a live broadcast taped in the LaFortune s tudent c enter. m artinez said this broadcast ensures n otre d ame d ay includes every member of the community in some way.

“ n otre d ame d ay kind of divides out into two things,” he said. “It’s a celebration for all of our alumni, parents and friends. They celebrate by watching the broadcast and giving to and voting for what they love the most. b ut for students, it’s an opportunity for them to take advantage of, one, a little bit of extra funding, but also showcase the amazing work that they’re doing.”

s tudents have responded so well to this opportunity, m artinez said, that the n otre d ame d ay team is adding a Facebook Live stream to the event in order to accommodate more interviews with students.

“We can usually fit about … 200 spotlights of students and interviews and stories, but the demand was so high that we decided to shift over to Facebook Live and have that as another option,” he said. “ s o what you see on the broadcast for 29 hours will be its own content, and then we’re going to have unique content that will accommodate all sorts of student groups to come in and talk about what they’re doing — or what they need funding for — during our Facebook Live segments. And that will all air on the Proud to be nd Facebook page.”

m artinez is happy to see

students respond to notre d ame d ay in an increasingly engaging manner, and said the notre d ame d ay team has come up with additional ways of including the student body this year, such as a notre d ame d ay s napchat filter.

“We’ve also gotten better at involving students,” he said. “I think the first year we did this we had like 500 groups, the next year we had 600, last year we had 800 [and] this year we had — when I first grabbed the list, there were like 940.”

The limited availability for interview spots during the broadcast is largely due to the enthusiastic response from University alumni, something associate director of student philanthropy and 2015 graduate e llen r oof said is valuable when reaching out to guests for the broadcast.

“It’s a pretty good spot to be in,” she said. “ … [ o ften] you think of a backup option being less good, but here we’re never in that scenario because everyone we invite has a really compelling story

and such a passion for n otre d ame that the way they say it and what they bring to the broadcast is really awesome. s o it is great to know that we’re going to have phenomenal guests no matter what.”

This involvement is possible, m artinez said, thanks to the hard work that goes into producing the broadcast each year.

“The fact that [ nbc n ews correspondent and member of the class of 1979] Anne Thompson was invited the very first year and she came in from n ew York to do this, and then was [so] blown away that she was like, ‘sign me up every year’ … just shows how people want to be involved,” he said. “ … b ut then even the local community that we bring in — and they do all the broadcasts for us, and they do a lot of the anchoring and interviews — they’re just blown away by the way that we set everything up and the way everything works.”

n otre d ame d ay also provides students with valuable experience in fundraising

for various causes with the help of the University, r oof said.

“I think it’s pretty great,” she said. “ … We’re pretty much saying this is your time for your campaign, these are some of the best practices that we can kind of highlight for you and help you as you’re thinking through what you want to tell the alumni and parents and friends, and what you want this money for, and everything like that.”

As n otre d ame d ay’s tagline emphasizes, m artinez said, the ultimate goal of the event is to ensure that “every gift counts, every vote matters and every student benefits.”

“When I’m able to meet with students, I always tell them this is a chance for you guys to maximize your resources and tell people what you do at the University,” he said. “ ... I think we do a really good job of that with n otre d ame d ay.”

Contact Courtney Becker at cbecker3@nd.edu

Students distribute LGBT pride flags to protest Pence

By LUCAS MASIN-MOYER a ssociate news e ditor

students passionate about LG b T voices at notre d ame are coming together in an effort to find ways to protest this year’s c ommencement speaker, v ice President m ike Pence.

Fifth-year student bryan r icketts said this campaign is in response to the “hostility” Pence has expressed toward LG b T rights.

“he’s, in the past, been against same-sex marriage because it harms people, which is demonstrably false and really offensive,” he said. “i n addition to that, he passed a budget which supported funding for conversion therapy, which is also just a whole other level of harmful to LG b T people. s o it feels pretty offensive to have him coming on campus [to] give a c ommencement speech where he tells me how to go out into the world.”

r icketts and others came together and decided to distribute pride flags with the help of volunteers and alumni donations to send a message to Pence, he said.

“a wonderful show of solidarity, this brought together alumni, current students and faculty who wanted to be a part of showing students on notre d ame’s campus that this a place where they are welcome and appreciated,” r icketts said.

o n Wednesday, the first day of the event, r icketts said, there was a massive amount of initial support due to the dedication of student organizers.

“it was just a group of people

Paid a dverT isemen T

who are like, this is really important to us,” he said. “a nd we’ve gotten a huge response. We’re almost out of flags and it’s the first day.”

The event’s Facebook page urges students to hang these flags out their windows to demonstrate solidarity against Pence’s speech.

Freshman m arisa Perino said she volunteered to help with the campaign because of Pence’s actions against the LG b T community.

“[ he] voted for bills that allowed businesses to discriminate based on religious freedom,” she said. “ … That’s also extremely discriminatory, and i feel like notre d ame should not be supporting [him].”

The event has not gone off without a hitch, organizers said, as those distributing flags at LaFortune s tudent c enter were asked to stop by the student a ctivities o ffice ( sao ).

“We were just sitting at a table, we had flags and a computer ... i was passing out flags, everyone was super happy, there was no drama,” Perino said. “The director of activities for [LaFortune student c enter] came up to me and was super intimidating, and super condescending and said, ‘You need to leave, you can’t be here.’”

Perino said she was told she could not distribute flags because she was not part of a sanctioned club event.

“he said that all clubs need to reserve a table … and i was like ‘We’re not with a club,’” she said. “i’m an individual student handing these out on my own, and he was like, ‘You need to have it reserved, you can’t solicit here, every activity needs to be planned out.’ he didn’t understand this wasn’t an activity, just a private student. he wasn’t even willing to listen to anything.”

ron Grisoli, interim director of student activities facilities, said the students were asked to leave because they had not registered their distribution

Paid a dverT isemen T

of flags.

“ s pecific areas in LaFortune [ s tudent c enter] and around campus are designated for ‘tabling,’ or activities where recognized student groups may distribute anything from donuts, to t-shirts, to flags or petitions,” he said in an email. “ i ndividual students not affiliated with a recognized student group may seek approval from the vice president for campus safety to hold a demonstration. The reason the students were asked to leave yesterday had nothing to do with the nature of their activity, but rather because they were not affiliated with a recognized student group. … o nly officially recognized student groups who submit their request for space and activities through [ sao ] may use designated space in LaFortune [ s tudent c enter].”

d espite this explanation, Perino said she still believed it was her right as a private student, who was not part of a club, to distribute these flags. r icketts said it felt like the University was, to some degree, silencing the group.

“it’s frustrating being a LG b T student at the University,” he said. “Prism nd, the official notre d ame group, isn’t allowed to do anything that could be construed as a political action. o fficially, we’re not allowed to do anything, but when we do things as individuals we’re not allowed to do it, so it’s a really frustrating place to be. … it’s like the University doesn’t want us to speak at all, and that’s frustrating.”

d espite this setback, r icketts, Perino and others will continue to distribute flags out of the c ollege d emocrats office in LaFortune student c enter.

Feedback had been overwhelmingly positive toward the event, r icketts said, and they had received widespread support he believed could be sustained.

“[There have been many] people who saw the [event] online … and were like, i want to be part of this,” he said. “c ertainly lots of LG b T alumni who wished [a show of solidarity like this] could have happened during their time here, but plenty of allies too.”

Contact Lucas Masin-Moyer at lmasinmo@nd.edu

University seniors refurbish south bend houses

By TOM NAATZ news Writer

With the help of an investor, seniors Tom Taylor and John Kennedy purchased three unoccupied houses adjacent to their off-campus residence, refurbished them and are planning on renting them to other notre d ame students through three limited liability corporations (LL c ).

“We’re both business guys, and we’ve always talked about projects and different endeavors aside from our primary jobs,” said Taylor. “We were sitting in our house one day, looking at houses around us — which are unoccupied — and we started digging. We lived in a house and know how fun it can be, and [we] wanted to maximize that for other people.”

e ventually, Taylor and Kennedy found out st. Joseph c ounty owned the three houses, and after several months of negotiating with the county, the houses were sold at auction Feb. 21 of this year. Taylor and Kennedy won the auction with the help of an investor, who wished to remain anonymous.

“since then, we’ve been putting in a lot of work to get them renovated [from] top to bottom,” Kennedy said.

The process of renovating the houses is “going great,” Taylor said. a lthough the houses did not need a full renovation, the pair decided that they would “start over” with each house.

“We wanted to make them perfect,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy and Taylor said they wanted to make the houses into “something that college students want to live in.” Though they are not tailoring the houses toward parents, another mental test they are using is to consider what a parent walking through the house would think. The houses will be ready in a ugust, before the start of the school year.

Taylor and Kennedy said their own experiences living off campus had inspired them to take on this project.

“We’ve done both apartment and house,” Taylor said. “What we wanted to do

was to give people the good part of what we had and get rid of the bad parts, such as problems with heating, drains, and things falling apart.”

Kennedy said the pair wanted to “remove the headache.”

The two also hoped to alleviate the shortage of offcampus housing, noting that their current house is already rented out to current freshmen for their senior year. They believe the houses’ 20 collective bedrooms will provide “a huge injection.”

For Taylor and Kennedy, the main attraction of the houses is the large backyard the three houses and the pair’s current residence share. They joked that they might entitle their enterprise “m adison Garden e states,” given that the houses are located one mile south of campus at the corners of north Francis and e ast m adison streets.

Kennedy said the neighbors have reacted well to the development.

“We never had a problem with neighbors,” he said. “They have been very positive. The houses were not occupied, so the neighbors are excited to see neighborhood looking good again.”

e ach house will have its own LL c , and the pair plan on hiring a property manager for each one. i n the project’s first few years, however, Taylor and Kennedy anticipate playing a big role in the renting process.

Kennedy said they also wouldn’t rule out an expansion of their business.

“it’s a possibility,” he said. “This is a good market to be in. We could use proceeds to do more investments in s outh b end and elsewhere.”

Taylor said he and Kennedy are excited to contribute to improving the s outh b end community.

“We’re big fans of s outh b end, we think it’s on the rise and want to be a part of it,” he said. “We want to look back on rise of s outh b end and see that we were a part of it.”

Contact Tom Naatz at tnaatz@nd.edu

Saint Mary’s senior wins ‘The Price is Right’

By MARTHA REILLY

saint mary’s e ditor

saint mary’s senior a lyssa mazurek had good fortune over spring break when “The Price is right” host drew carey asked her to “come on down” during a march 15 taping of the show.

mazurek said she, her boyfriend and his friend traveled to the “The Price is right” studio in Los a ngeles with no expectations of being selected to participate.

“We thought we would just go into the city and get to watch the show,” mazurek said. “how often do you get to go on a T v set? We didn’t think any of us would actually get up there, because why would we?”

a ll audience members were interviewed upon arrival, according to mazurek.

“it can be anywhere from five seconds to a minute, depending on how bubbly and personable you are,” she said.

before taking their seats, everyone participated in a dance party, which the producers watched to evaluate individuals’ varying levels of interest, mazurek said.

“i was just having a good time at that point,” she said. “Then we were seated in the third row, smack dab in the center. … We were number 200 or so out of 300 people in the studio, so we thought ‘oh, we’re going to be in the back.’ but then they pulled us out of line and said ‘You guys are going to go to this spot.’”

mazurek said she and three other contestants were selected when the taping began.

“We have to give our initial bets on the first prize that comes down,” she said. “it was two video cameras. i’m not aware of prices, and i was still totally in shock at that point.”

she said her bet on the video cameras earned her the first spot on stage, where she was asked whether a trip to seattle or a trip to chicago was more expensive. Though mazurek answered this question incorrectly, she still had the chance to prove herself by spinning the wheel, she said.

“i got 85 right off the bat,” she said. “The next two people went, and they both went over, so then by default i got to go to the final portion.”

mazurek said she waited in the audience for the second half of the show, during which contestants were narrowed down to determine who would challenge her in the final segment.

“i appreciated that because i could mellow down and actually process what was happening,” she said.

her opponent, david, bid on the first showcase, so mazurek had to estimate the cost of the second, which included a sixnight trip to Germany for two and a Ford Fiesta, she said. she said she could still see her boyfriend and friend in the audience, so she relied on their opinions when formulating her answer.

“one of them said $27,000 and

one said $26,000, so i just cut it in the middle and said $26,500,”

mazurek said. “drew carey read david’s number first, and he went over, so all i had to do was be under ... and i won. The actual price was $26,767.”

mazurek said she was unsure how to react to her victory since she was in such shock.

“i had no idea whether to shake [drew carey’s] hand or hug him,” she said. “They tell you to run over toward the prize, because the car was on the stage.”

The new car and trip to Germany are the highlights of an overwhelming and unexpected experience, she said.

“i’m about to graduate college, and there’s no way i could afford a brand new car,” she said.

mazurek said she could not tell even her closest friends or family she won for the three-week period that separated the filming

date from the episode’s airing.

“it was really hard to keep it a secret,” she said. “a lot of people were like ‘Why didn’t you tell me? You lied straight to my face.’”

The saint mary’s community has been supportive of her achievement, she said.

“People keep stopping me, if they hear about it, and saying ‘You won,’” she said. “i am still in shock about it too. Professors i haven’t had in a while email me, or people in meetings congratulate me. These people truly think it’s a truly great thing that happened to me, so it makes me appreciate it a lot more.”

according to mazurek, her saint mary’s education prepared her to participate on “The Price is right” with enthusiasm and vitality.

“i accredit a lot of my confidence being up in front of people to saint mary’s,” she said. “even though i was out of it and in shock, i was able to compose myself and not look like a total idiot on T v.”

mazurek said she won far more than prizes from the experience, since she learned a valuable lesson about life’s unpredictability.

“if something not great just happened, look forward,” mazurek said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”

Contact Martha Reilly at

Night

con T inued from page 1

said. “ i stood at the back of [the group] this year, and it’s incredible when you see a story resonate with someone new and they realize that this is happening in our community.”

n otre d ame junior c ameron m oore said the event helped clear up some misconceptions and attitudes of victim blaming that centered around overdrinking or faulting the victim for not doing more to control the situation.

“ i think these kinds of events bring to light what’s really hard for people to talk about,” m oore said. “ i t brings awareness to the actual severity of the issue.”

b ellacapella, the allfemale a capella group at s aint m ary’s, was invited to sing after the speak out, junior “ b ella” member Kayse m c g ough said. The group sang “ r ise u p” by a ndra d ay and “Quiet” by mi L c K, she said.

“ b oth are supportive, uplifting songs,” she said. “ i t was special to sing after the speak out, to kind of provide some empowering music before they marched across n otre d ame’s campus.”

m c g ough said the speak out was an eye-opening experience, and singing in front of those who had the courage to share their stories was very powerful.

“When you come to s aint m ary’s, you hear the statistic one in four,” she said. “ b ut you don’t really realize what it means until you’re at an event like this, and what those numbers mean — that that is a whole class at s aint m ary’s, or one of four daughters. i ’m glad i could be a part of it, and i ’m glad we have Take b ack the n ight here.”

n otre d ame junior Kaitlyn Keffler said she thinks most students are only made aware of the reality of sexual assault through the “vague, uncomfortable emails” sent out by n otre d ame s ecurity p olice ( ndsp ). s he said

events like Take b ack the n ight help in raising awareness, which she hopes will in turn lead to a reduction in sexual assault.

“ i t’s more common than we think,” Keffler said. “ i think that sexual assault is an issue that a lot of people are uncomfortable talking about, but it’s very important and pervasive in our campus life.”

The event ended with a prayer vigil, where s aint m ary’s junior Leann Tulisiak was a cantor. Tulisiak said she decided to attend this year because she wanted to learn ways of supporting fellow students who have been through experiences similar to those of the speakers.

“ i t was really humbling and inspiring to see these people’s courage,” Tulisiak said. “ i t inspired me to become more involved with [ b elles a gainst v iolence] and go back to Take b ack the n ight next year.” i n the end, Tulisiak was struck by the feelings of support and comfort from everyone there, she said, and was glad she witnessed the courage of those who chose to speak.

n otre d ame junior c arolina o choa said she believes Take b ack the n ight is a step toward a more comprehensive understanding of the gravity of sexual assault. o ther than misconceptions about sexual assault, she said, people joking about sexual assault is also damaging to awareness of the issue.

“ e ven if it’s harmless, it just makes it okay in some minute way that should not happen,” o choa said.

f acing the reality of sexual assault through the uncensored stories of survivors aids in campus healing, o choa said.

“ i t does bring awareness and starts a conversation about sexual assault, which is something that needs to be done,” she said.

Contact Selena Ponio at sponio@nd.edu and Kathryn Marshall at kmarsh02@saintmarys.edu

commander, respectively.

vanneste said her and o’bryan’s mental and physical strength qualifies them to play major roles in the program.

“it can run in anyone’s hands really, but it’s nice that we can take on that responsibility and put our foot in the door,” vanneste said. “i think it’s a really unique thing because we’re not just a part of their program. We help develop it, we help improve it and we help make it what it is.”

according to vanneste, a saint mary’s education prepares women to lead effectively by encouraging them to set and achieve challenging goals.

“They always say ‘We prepare our students to be confident and go into everything thinking they can come out on top,’” she said. “i really do think that has translated into my role.”

o’bryan said the college’s emphasis on female empowerment enables her to reassure potential roTc members who doubt their capabilities.

“i’ve had to talk to quite a few incoming freshmen for next year about my experiences in roTc,” o’bryan said. “The females always ask ‘should i be nervous? should i be worried about being a female in roTc? Will i be

Title i X

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and rape culture,” according to a We stand for press release. fifthyear student bryan ricketts said he hopes the event provides clarity on current and potential Title iX policies.

“There’s lots of confusion out there,” he said. “and so the point of ... the event here is to really drill down what Title iX is about, what that means here at notre dame, how that impacts various communities here at notre dame and what people can sort of expect moving forward — both at a national level, but also how they can get involved here on campus at a community advocacy level.”

The group decided to host a teach-in rather than a rally — as columbia did — in order to educate the notre dame community about why this kind of activism is

treated differently?’ being in the leadership position i’m in, i’ve been able to show them there is no difference.”

seeing women in positions of power can motivate young girls to unapologetically pursue their ambitions, o’bryan said.

“it kind of shows females the things that they’re able to do,” she said. “do what you want to do. do what you set your mind to.”

Through helping students discover their passions, saint mary’s ensures its graduates are wellequipped to set examples for others, vanneste said.

“When i’m in classes at saint mary’s, it’s all females, but when i go across the street [for roTc], females are a minority,” vanneste said. “it just goes to show that my confidence doesn’t need to change whatsoever. it stays the same wherever i go.”

vanneste said the lessons she learned from her involvement with roTc reinforced the values and skills she developed at saint mary’s.

“it’s definitely opened my eyes and my perspective to what could be out there in the future, and how i could best benefit the greater good,” she said. “a lot of it goes with integrity, with doing the right thing when no one’s looking.”

o’bryan said her peers at saint mary’s encourage her to believe she can successfully fulfill the role of air force Wing commander,

necessary, Watkins said.

“our university doesn’t have the same kind of culture of activism around Title iX that the other involved campuses did,” she said. “so i view this, personally, as almost an attempt to catch up the student body to the point where there can be active rallies and protests around Title iX.”

The discussion will focus mainly on national issues, Watkins said, but will tie them into policies at the university.

“We will be talking about national policy level decisions through the lens of how they’ll affect our campus,” she said.

While students are welcome to share stories of their own experiences with the Title iX process at notre dame during the teach-in, ricketts said there is no pressure for anyone to do so.

“i wouldn’t even necessarily say that that needs to be a part of someone’s journey as someone

since female leadership at the college is normal and expected.

“i’ve always felt like i have a lot of support for the roTc program — not even just friend-wise, but from the whole community,” o’bryan said. “i’ve definitely learned not to be afraid.”

o’bryan’s leadership position enables her to connect with other roTc members who may be going through personal struggles, she said.

“it’s really helped me be able to talk to them and say, ‘hey, what’s going on? do you want to grab coffee? do you want to do something?’” she said. “i might do that normally, but i think i’ve been able to do that more often and be more comfortable doing that kind of thing.”

vanneste said she hopes others realize students from saint mary’s are just as capable as those from notre dame. she said the navy battalion commander for roTc is a woman from notre dame — senior Katherine smart — meaning all three of the highest-ranking positions in roTc are held by women.

“having the three female faces up there shows we’re here to stay, and we’re here to do just as good of a job,” vanneste said. “it goes to show we are a presence, and we can do just as good of a job as the guy who came before us.”

Contact Martha Reilly at mreilly01@saintmarys.edu

who is a survivor of sexual violence,” he said. “if they want to, that’s wonderful, and we’ll absolutely support that, but i think we want to change the conversation beyond just sort of lamenting about how frustrating the process can be here, and move toward a conversation on how can we change that and ensure there are fewer of these stories.”

Watkins said she hopes students who attend the teach-in leave with a greater understanding of Title iX policy.

“i want them to walk away knowing their rights,” she said. “i think that’s one of the most powerful ways to remain engaged and navigate the system and be empowered. and also [i want them to] have a mind to what may come in the next four years and how to prepare for that.”

Contact Courtney Becker at cbecker3@nd.edu

because they’re not living there, they’re not taking on leadership roles,” she said. “it’s also harder for them to be more involved in campus leadership.

“ ... some students live in some excellent, very safe places, and some students don’t. some students live in areas of town that aren’t great or in houses or places that aren’t the most well-kept. We are helping to provide them with the most safe options on campus.”

The office of student affairs has been working with student

government to conduct focus groups. Junior and student body president becca blais said the campus life council’s focus group discussions included the input of around 260 people.

“We brought all that data together and a few themes came up as to why people are moving off,” she said. “from that, we formed recommendations for how to keep people on campus for their senior year, and in a few weeks we’ll be doing the board report to the board of Trustees on this very topic — we have nine recommendations.”

senior and former student body president corey robinson said they were looking for a “holistic

view” of how students make housing decisions.

“one of the things that we kept hearing over and over again was the transparency of fees — what exactly are they paying for?” robinson said. “it’s one lump sum, as opposed to off campus, when they give you every breakdown. That’s what we’re pushing for. What are we really paying for and what are we getting on campus?

… We just want people to make an educated decision.”

morgan said suggestions to address financial concerns — “the story is it’s cheaper to live off campus” — ranged from changing laundry quotas to changing the

type of meal plans that are offered. one suggestion from students that morgan shared was creating a senior apartment complex.

“an idea that came up — and i’m not sold on it — is a senior apartment complex,” she said. “if that really mattered to students and we could figure out how to make that happen, i think it would be interesting. ... i heard in a lot of the focus groups that that was important to people, and i think that could be an interesting in-between option for some students.”

blais and robinson, on the other hand, said they felt the senior-only housing didn’t address some of the reasons why bringing seniors back

to campus has been made a priority.

“With the intention to get seniors on campus to be in the dorm culture, we decided it may not be the best opportunity to do something like senior dorms,” he said.

Whatever incentives are provided, morgan said the choice is still ultimately up to the students.

“i think this is eventually going to be a culture change, and changing a culture takes time,” she said. “You can incentivize it, but ultimately it has to come from the students. and they’re the ones who will tell us if it’s important to them or not.”

Contact Megan Valley at mvalley@nd.edu

Free others from your falsified words

Stephanie Snyder news Writer

What if I tell you that I completely have my life in order – that I am going to be interning at not one, but two renowned companies this summer, that I only have a job at school because it’s something I enjoy doing rather than something I need to be doing for a paycheck, or that I get straight As without even trying.

m aybe you would believe me because this column is printed in hundreds of papers across campus in black ink that has already become one with the page.

What if, instead, I tell you that I’m drowning – that school used to be a priority but no longer is because I can’t keep up, that I spend so much time working and doing school work that I haven’t talked to my family in weeks and my roommates in three days, that even though I know I am luckier than many people on this earth, I’m still not satisfied with where I am.

Things just got more complicated – now what are you supposed to believe? Was one of those scenarios true? Was one untrue? Was there a little truth to both? o r none at all?

o nly I know. s o let’s move on.

What if what I tell you is no longer about me –that your kind words keep me going during the day, your hard work ethic inspires me to work harder, your charming smile is contagious?

If we knew each other, would those words make you feel good about yourself?

What if, instead, I tell you that I can’t stand to be around you because any kind words you give have a demeaning undertone, what you consider to be hard work isn’t good enough so you need to work harder, and your incessant smiling is more obnoxious than it is contagious.

I imagine you probably wouldn’t appreciate those words as much. s o then, what if I tell someone else those things about you? You would know they’re not true, but would the others?

e very word I speak or write I can use to manipulate you to think what I want you to think. e ven if you don’t know if what I say is true, you couldn’t know.

Words have power. If you’ve never been negatively affected by words before, maybe you didn’t know this, or maybe you have been told this and you just didn’t process the extent of how much truth that statement holds. When you lie, you’re purposely manipulating other people to do your bidding, but why? o ne would think grown adults would know better. o ne would think a grown adult would know the imminent consequences. o ne would think a grown adult would have enough respect to be honest. o ne would think a grown adult wouldn’t be so selfish as to take someone else as prisoner to their manipulating locutions. Take to heart what I know you all have learned even before you entered preschool and free others from your falsified words.

Contact Stephanie Snyder at ssnyder02@stmarys.edu The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

leTTer

To THe ediTor

Putting a price (and expiration date) on life

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in o ur image, according to o ur likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ … God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”

“It was very good,” this s cripture passage from Genesis 1 reads. h umanity is good, the words communicate. c reation is good; the earth is good; all of nature is good. b ut do we truly believe this? d o we treat it as such? d o we treat one another as such?

This past weekend, I attended the e aster v igil m ass on campus at the b asilica of the s acred h eart. The liturgy, celebrated the night before e aster s unday, began in darkness to commemorate Jesus’ suffering and death and evil’s temporary victory over God’s goodness. The somber vibes were short-lived, however, as the worship space quickly filled with candlelight, a visible sign of hope, and our anxious awaiting of c hrist’s rising on the third day. n ot long after, “alleluias” echoed throughout the church and the celebration of e aster — Jesus’ r esurrection and triumph over sin and death — had officially commenced. The congregation beamed endlessly (myself included) as the n otre d ame Liturgical c hoir led us in song, we welcomed 12 new members into the c atholic c hurch through the sacraments of b aptism, c onfirmation and e ucharist, and rejoiced in recognition of our new life in c hrist and the blessing that it is to exist on this earth. m uch like the s cripture passage quoted above, the e aster v igil m ass (at which these verses from Genesis were read) in whole communicates the beauty of life — that of Jesus’ storied existence, as well as that of our very own, mortal, day-to-day lives lived in relationship with God and one another. r eminders of the beauty of our common humanity, and of our common home, lie all around us. They are gifts, and with them, each of us has a right and responsibility to respect the inherently good, life-giving nature that we possess. Unfortunately, that is not always easy and, in our culture, it’s something that is not often acknowledged.

In reflection of these e aster mysteries, these themes of new life and our simple “goodness” in God’s eyes, I pondered what a greater respect for the beauty of the gift of life might look like in a real world context. m y mind was drawn to the most recent developments in a number of capital punishment cases in Arkansas. A quick summary of the situation: the state of Arkansas is currently fighting to execute eight inmates before the supply of a key drug used in lethal injections expires at the end of the month. At a time when most states are increasingly retreating from the practice, Arkansas has scheduled eight lethal injections to happen in the span of 11 days, a pace unmatched in the modern era. A “shortage” of the lethal drug is looming, the state claims, and the government would lose the thousands of taxpayer dollars invested in acquiring these injections if the execution windows were to pass. Thus, Arkansas moved

forward in setting the execution dates for these eight inmates; that is, until a series of appeals and legal proceedings began delaying the carrying out of the state’s unprecedented injection backlog. Looking ahead, the future of the inmates’ cases and lives is unclear, while new updates on the judicial hearings are released daily.

As a pro-life student and member of n otre d ame r ight to Life, I am saddened by this news. The death penalty is unnecessarily cruel and expensive; at its core, the punishment involves the intentional taking of human life by human life, i.e. murder. d espite these eight inmates’ “undisputed guilt,” I cannot consent to the reasons why their executions might be considered safe, just or warranted for the good of society. To think that the value and worth of a human life can be so easily decided based upon the expiration date of the drugs that take away that life is disturbing. The idea that these inmates, albeit convicted murderers, have been “priced” at the point where the cost of keeping them alive outweighs the cost the state of Arkansas would incur by allowing their lethal drug supply go to “waste” is demeaning and truly discouraging. It’s antihuman and it’s anti-the natural beauty of life, no matter the circumstances.

Later in the Genesis creation story, Adam and e ve commit the first sin, the same sin that all of us fall victim to every day of our lives. This sin sets us back in relationship with God and one another; but our sins, our mistakes, can never discount the love he has for us, the love he continually calls us to, and the love that is found in all of creation. Personally, I am challenged to love those who have hurt me, in the same way that our society is challenged to love those in prison and those on death row. I am inspired, though, by the gift of life, the right every human being has to it, and the inestimable potential of every life, regardless of what one has done, where one comes from, or what a government entity may believe should happen to him or her. As c ardinal s ean o ’ m alley puts it, our aim is to “help to build a culture of life in which our nation will no longer try to teach that killing is wrong by killing those who kill. This cycle of violence diminishes all of us.” Further, a culture of life requires compassion, mercy and the continual affirmation of our unconditional dignity, all of which might more easily bring about a safe, just and peaceful society and world.

h ence, the pro-life mission and n otre d ame r ight to Life stands for those on death row, those incarcerated and marginalized of society, and advocates for their value and right to live, simply because they are human. We attempt to see (and share!) that people are “very good”, as God says of h is creation in Genesis, and that all humanity should have the opportunity to experience the abundant joy of life — the same joy of new life we are called to celebrate and witness this e aster season.

Michael Krebs junior April 19

Graduating seniors: defend and resist

Although the graduating class of 2017 may have matured within our harsh hashtag digital age replete with anonymous and insensitive cyber bullying, society thrives when we stand on our principles while acting with grace and tolerance. As much as we banter how exceptional America might be — or how premier a catholic university notre dame may claim — we fail as American christians whenever we narrow our rhetoric and slight our neighbors. As Pope Francis has extolled throughout his papacy, the complexities of our world do not preclude our acting out of conscience in a respectful yet at times compromising manner.

What are the challenges graduates must face after departing their cocoon at catholic disneyland? most of us may dream of Trump-resort opulence while managing a trailer-park budget. dreams may mold the soul, but conduct chisels our character. Too often we take comfort in “belonging” while living near like-minded people while listening to like-minded philosophies and surviving our like-minded lives. Americans are greatest when we embrace our diversity, and christians are true to the word when they tolerate others, especially whenever they avoid stubbornly judging others within their own religion.

Let’s face it, we each carry differing perceptions of the meanings behind the slick hashtags of “resist” or “black Lives matter” or any number of shorthand descriptions for positions and movements. With such varying acuities facing us daily, we can maintain personal principles without diminishing our opponents or completely discarding their discourse. clutching to a black and white notion of the world without examining any shades of gray has polarized political discourse whether at home between democrats and republicans or internationally between Israelis and Palestinians. dissolving

those barriers may be as simple as adhering to a Judge Judy quip, “God gave you two ears and only one mouth for a reason!”

This column has previously noted the inconsistencies of some who officially represent notre dame or graduated from the University not as a way to solely criticize them, but to remind them that others hold a more inclusive approach or note an inconsistency in their actions. We oftentimes become passionately ensnared in the rhetoric of the moment while advocating a principle, but fail to maintain a dialogue with those we oppose. many also profess allegiance to a cause but selectively embrace only the most convenient aspect of that principle. Two examples best showcase how easily one can defend and resist while acting exceptionally above the chatter. certainly notre dame alumnus and former virginia Governor bob mcdonnell (nd ’76) allowed shadowy angels to guide him when he accepted a $6,000 rolex watch and posed for pictures in a Ferrari convertible. While the optics of accepting these gifts alone may suggest corruption — which the supreme court found was not acceptance of a bribe in return for special considerations under the ethics rules of the time — it diminished the political reputation of mcdonnell. however, as a staunch pro-life candidate against abortion, mcdonnell permitted darker angels to pilot his gubernatorial duties when he refused to grant pro-life clemency and allowed a 41-year-old grandmother with a 72 IQ, Teresa Lewis, to be executed. For mcdonnell, “pro-life” fundamentally meant that he could oppose abortion but ignore capital punishment or war deaths with indifference.

The call to be unique, premier or exceptional is one that steps away from the forest to see the trees without a plank in one’s eye. If defunding Planned Parenthood’s abortion procedure is the mission’s goal, do not shutter the facility without preserving the many beneficial health services the organization currently offers to poor women who have no other healthcare. This column challenged notre dame’s center for ethics and culture

about its rhetorical pro-life bluster against Planned Parenthood funding that failed to also demonstrate just how uniquely exceptional the University can march through its catholic mission. A foremost cutting-edge leader like notre dame should consistently in one breath espouse its principle, but in the next breath also embrace efforts to correct the collateral inadequacies that may result from such actions. To remain mute according to the audience present seems disingenuous despite publicly supporting healthcare for the poor in other venues.

As seniors prepare for life in the “real world,” the universal graduation wish should be that time should never trap you and that the world should have time for you. be stubborn in defending and resisting, but be civil, open and tolerant in listening. never fall into a state of being I once heard someone say: “An open bible means a closed mind.”

my suggestion for graduating seniors — whether you support the commencement speaker vice President Pence or not — is to visually defend your principles without impolite disruption or raucous displays. I suggest that if you support Pence, wear a red “X” of electrician’s tape across the top of your mortarboard hat. If you oppose Pence, place a blue “X” with painter’s tape on the mortarboard. If you don’t give a damn, leave it blank. I cannot think of a more unique way to show the nation how premier graduates conduct themselves in a classy, exceptional way. bonne chance.

Gary J. Caruso, Notre Dame ’73 American Studies major, serves in the Department of Homeland Security and was a legislative and public affairs director at the U.S. House of Representatives and in President Clinton’s administration. His column appears every other Friday. Contact him on Twitter: @GaryJCaruso or e-mail: GaryJCaruso@alumni.nd.edu

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

reminiscing on The observer

my name is Pat collins; I was The observer’s editorin-chief from 1967–1968. I was a part of a team that engineered and executed a sort of journalistic coupe that led to the formation of The observer. As most of you know, there was a time when the newspaper at notre dame was called The voice. It came out every now and again. It was funded by the University and it was a journalistic afterthought to scholastic, a slick, weekly, Timelike magazine. but it wasn’t edgy, it wasn’t challenging and it wasn’t a newspaper.

In a scheme that we thought to be creative, some members of the scholastic staff joined The voice with a plan to kill it.

our philosophy was a simple one: Whoever controls the funding controls what you print.

since the University controlled The voice funding, it could never be independent until it could be self-sufficient.

so we arranged for a subscription fee from the student Union, started selling advertising and used students to perform most of the pre-production work.

Using Ibm selectric composers, light tables and sometimes even borrowed wax from the Grotto, we managed

to get the paper out and even make enough money to pay salaries to some of the students. not big money, but enough for beer, and pizza, and cigarettes and maybe a little something else.

I begin by talking about the business side, because if we didn’t cover our costs, The observer would have tanked. every editor who followed me can probably relate to that.

I had a great business manager, bill Kelly. he was my everyday reality check: “you can’t do this ... we can’t afford that.” Then he would go and find a way to do it.

I had bill Knapp; he was the father of the Green rabbit classified ads. bill could sell head and shoulders to a hairless man. We even did football saturday editions, selling names and numbers a lot cheaper than the University-sponsored programs.

now onto the editorial side. on and about campus there was a lot to talk about: the vietnam War, “Get clean for Gene,” “don’t trust anyone over 30,” the Pentecostals, A r A and on and on and on.

We had a stable of writers, the best on campus: dennis Gallagher, Tom condon, Tim Figel, bob brady and so many others. I could fill the page. When there was the

march on Washington, we sent dennis Gallagher. he rode the bus and dictated wonderful stories from bus stop to bus stop.

There were some sad times as well, none sadder than the night we lost our managing editor, mike smith. he was found dead; the death was ruled a suicide. We met in south dining hall. We had to decide how to handle it — what should we do? Put out the paper, we decided. Put out the damn paper.

It didn’t take long before The observer was the mustread at notre dame. The observer, sharp and sassy. scholastic, though shiny and slick, seemed old and irrelevant.

I am very proud of the people I worked with during the early years at The observer and very proud of what The observer has done over the years. I wish I could be there to celebrate with everyone. remember we worship at the altar of the truth. report like a champion ... and put out the damn paper.

Pat Collins class of 1968 April 16

Irish set for top-20 matchup

By BEN PADANILAM e ditor-in- c hief

The Acc tournament is a week away, but no. 6 notre dame will first play host to no. 16 north carolina on saturday in its penultimate regular season game of the season.

The Irish (6-3, 1-2 Acc) last played April 11, when they squeaked by marquette following a game-winning goal by captain and senior midfielder sergio Perkovic in the 11-10 win. The 11-day hiatus between that win and the contest with the Tar heels (6-6, 1-2), however, represents the longest break between games of the season for the Irish. Irish head coach Kevin corrigan said he believes the extended time between contests is an advantage for his team at this point of the season.

“At this time of the year, a little bit of a break, I think, will do great things for us,” corrigan said. “ … I’m really looking at it as a nice advantage to be able to kind of get everybody excited and geared up for the rest of the year.”

The Irish took advantage of the break in a big way, corrigan said. With easter taking place during the hiatus, the players had Friday and monday off from classes, so corrigan was able to give the team two days off and still put them through an entirely different practice routine. he said the team treated the week’s practices as if it were training camp, as the emphasis was placed on fundamentals as opposed to game planning for saturday’s game.

“[The break] absolutely changed our routine,” corrigan said. “We told our guys we were going back to camp — we did a bunch of fundamental work over the course of three days where we didn’t talk about anybody, any opponent or anything else. We just worried about ourselves and getting fundamentally better. We were still able to take two full days off over

the weekend and let the guys get mentally recharged. I think it’s a terrific thing to have that kind of break at this point in the season, and I think it will only benefit us this weekend.”

The hope is that the increased emphasis on fundamentals will help the team with its execution and efficiency, corrigan said. one area he felt the team struggled in its win over marquette was in being efficient on a consistent basis on the offensive end. After scoring eight goals in the first 16 minutes, the offense only managed three goals in the final 44 minutes of game action, and that inconsistency put a lot of pressure on the defense as the Irish struggled to win the time-of-possession battle.

“We just have to be a little bit more efficient — more consistently efficient — offensively,” corrigan said. “The marquette game was another game where we had a run of terrific possessions. We were very, very efficient. … Then, we became less so. … We need to be a little bit more consistent than that, and if we had done that, then we would have been able to balance out that offense-defense time of possession that’s such as an important part of our game.”

That offensive efficiency will particularly be key against north carolina because the Tar heels excel in taking advantage of unsettled situations and creating transition opportunities as a result, corrigan said.

“They’re a very good team in transition and unsettled situations,” corrigan said. “They’ve got some excellent scorers, and they’re just a long, athletic team that can really get out and make you play full field.”

The Irish and Tar heels will face off in the last Acc regular season game of the year at noon saturday at Arlotta stadium.

Contact Ben Padanilam at bpadanil@nd.edu

notre dame prepares for Acc championship

By KYLE BARRY sports Writer

notre dame will look to build on its victory at the battle at the Warren from last weekend and apply the momentum toward the Acc championship, which begins Friday, at musgrove mill Golf club in clinton, south carolina.

The Irish are coming off one of their top performances of the season, winning the battle at the Warren by 20 strokes with a score of 577. And that did not even include the performance of sophomore Kevin conners, who medaled at the event with a score of 1-over competing as an individual.

The victory at the battle at the Warren marked notre dame’s fourth win of the season, as it had previously won at the notre dame Kickoff challenge, the Georgetown Invitational and the Yestingsmeier match Play. notre dame success at the Acc championship has been mixed, finishing 11th in 2015 season and 10th last season.

At the 2015 Acc championship, the Irish finished with a team score of 911. senior blake barens, a sophomore at the time, was notre dame’s top finisher, posting a final round 2-over-par 74.

At last year’s Acc championship, the Irish finished 10th, with a total score of 883. Then-junior matthew rushton finished in a tie for 16th with an even-par 216 for the event. ben Albin, currently a sophomore, finished tied for 25th after totaling a 218, while barens placed 45th with a score of 226. clemson would win the tournament with a 25-under 839.

coming into the Acc championship, the Irish are ranked 11th in the conference. Irish head coach Jim Kubinski wants his golfers to focus on the task at hand, as opposed to the potential results of the tournament.

“I try not to focus on result expectations going into any tournament,” Kubinski said. “my focus is all about our preparation. Are we practicing the best way, working on the areas we need to? does each player have a good plan to play the golf course we’re about to play? What are the less obvious things that we need to account for? These are the questions I ask myself and our players. From there, it’s just about bringing strong focus and a positive energy to each shot, which elevates execution. At that point, we can expect success.”

conners is entering the Acc championship with a win under his belt from the battle at the Warren last week. conners

finished with a 1-over-par 141 to claim the victory.

barens has consistently played well this season, with his best finish coming at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf classic in october when he claimed medalist honors with a 9-under-par 201.

Kubinski said he is excited to see how his seniors, barens and rushton, as well as the rest of his squad will play at the Acc championship.

“It’ll be fun to watch our two seniors, blake and matt, bring their experience to this event,” Kubinski said. “our goal, though, is to have all five guys in the mix for our team score as late into rounds as possible. having five solid scores to choose our best four from, the college golf format, is a huge advantage over teams that will have a player or two out of the mix early on. our guys understand that staying patient and very positive are effective ways to do this.”

musgrove mill Golf club in clinton, south carolina, is a private golf course that is set up as a 6,951-yard par 72 for the Acc championship. The course was designed by the late Arnold Palmer.

Kubinski said adjustments will be made in order to have success at musgrove mill Golf club.

“There are some adjustments to make here, as this course is very different than our Warren,” Kubinski said. “We’ll hit fewer drivers. We’ll need

to be mindful of playing shots to smart areas, especially on and around the greens. mostly though, especially from a mental approach standpoint, it’s more about making consistent habits of the good things we’re now doing much more regularly, rather than adjusting.”

This is the first time musgrove mill is hosting the Acc championship, after it was held at the old north state club in new London, north carolina, for the past 15 years.

The field for the 54-hole Acc championship includes seven of the country’s top-30 teams, led by no. 9 Wake Forest.

The top-seeded demon deacons enter the event with momentum after claiming six top-five finishes, including two wins at the rod myers Invitational and the General hackler championship. no. 2 seed clemson is the defending Acc champion. The Tigers had a five-event winning streak before it was snapped saturday at the Wolfpack spring open in raleigh, north carolina. no. 3 seed v irginia comes into the Acc championship with four regular season wins. The cavaliers have never won the Acc championship.

The Irish will begin the Acc championship on Friday at 10 a.m. and are paired with no. 10 seed Louisville and no. 12 seed boston college.

Contact Kyle Barry at kbarry@hcc-nd.edu

con T inued from page 20

break, maybe that’s when my leg comes up and that’s when i’m slowly coming forward. i was being super fast earlier in the year. i wasn’t really in rhythm with him, so i was late on balls, super early on balls.”

“he was pressing a bit to force some things, and in this game that never works,” irish head coach mik aoki said of his catcher. “ … it also really throws off your timing. it tends to lengthen up the swing, and it kind of felt like he was that way early in the year. and i felt like he kind of battled with that last year.”

Lidge’s batting average bottomed out at .125 in the clemson series finale on march 12, notre dame’s 14th game of the season.

Lidge has found his groove recently, however. in notre dame’s last 23 games, Lidge has hit .289 with 16 rbis while drawing 12 walks and posting a .381 on-base percentage.

“i put a little more rhythm in my swing. once i had that, there was just a day where it just clicked,” Lidge said, snapping his fingers for emphasis. “i think it was way back in pitt when we played them [march 17 and 19]. from there, i’ve just been a lot more comfortable at the plate, not pressing or anything.”

Lidge said focusing on the little things he did right in each at bat slowly pulled him out of his funk.

“i just kind of sat back and said i had to start taking positives from things that maybe had a negative result. maybe i hit a hard ground ball to the second baseman with two strikes, but i hit it on the barrel, just right at him. or maybe i swung at the pitch i wanted to, and maybe it resulted in a fly out.

“The game is so hard and it’s such a game of failure, but it’s those positives that you’ve got to take to help you keep going.”

“even [Tuesday against central michigan], he only had one hit to show for a solid game,” aoki added. “and the hit that he had got was the one that he hit absolutely the worst. he stepped on the other three balls he hit — a missile to the second baseball, one bomb to center field the guy somehow got to and there was one more that he just absolutely stepped on.”

during his current 15-game onbase streak though — dating back to notre dame’s win over chicago state on march 28 — Lidge has hit .320 and posted a .426 on-base percentage while knocking in 13 runs and drawing 10 walks.

“now i tap the plate, i say, ‘alright, have a dance with the pitcher right here,’” Lidge said. “every pitcher is different with where i have to time him up, but for the most part, i just try to get my leg up early and trust that my foot is going to get down.”

Lidge figuratively completed his return to form Wednesday night.

With notre dame trailing 3-0 and two outs in the bottom of the first inning against illinois state at frank eck stadium, Lidge stepped to the plate with two outs and two runners on.

he turned on the 3-1 pitch and sent the ball flying down the right field line, hooking all the way.

“i hit it and i see it tailing, and i’m just praying, ‘please. please, please, please,’” Lidge said. “i pretty much knew the only way it was going to be fair was if it hit the very, very edge of the foul pole.” it did just that, glancing off the outside of the pole for his first home run of the year. combined with an rbi double in the third inning, Lidge’s four-rbi night powered the irish to a 7-6 victory.

“That was huge, just to get our energy back up,” irish head coach mik aoki said, adding the team did not return to campus until 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning after its game against central michigan at detroit’s comerica park on Tuesday night. “That

could have easily been where we slept-walked through something, so Lidge giving us that spark was really big.”

Lidge’s return gives notre dame another weapon in its lineup that struggled to score runs for much of the early part of the season.

“There was a stretch there, those first three weekends of us getting turned around, where we had like five guys in our lineup that were hitting, and our pitching staff really picked us up,” aoki said. “now you see [freshman left fielder] Jake [Johnson] coming out of it a bit. Lidge has come out of it in a big, big way. now we’re able to actually score some runs.

“it adds a dimension that was sorely needed.”

despite his recent success with the bat in his hands though, Lidge said he still knows where he’s needed most.

“i go out there and say, ‘catching first’ because you’re a catcher,” Lidge said. “You’re in every play.

“hitting’s kind of an extra.”

Lidge demonstrated his abilities calling a game behind the plate Wednesday night, too. With the irish clinging to a one-run lead, Lidge combined with junior righty closer sean guenther to strike out five of the six batters illinois state sent to the plate over the final two innings.

“i love catching sean guenther,” Lidge said. “ … sean is just like a bulldog coming out of the pen. You can see it in his face. he says, ‘i’m going to get you out. if you get a hit, good for you, but i’m going to get you out.’ he just says, ‘here it is.’”

Lidge said he gets a thrill out of the chess match of calling a game, and not just against the opposing batter.

Softball

con T inued from page 20

to kind of step up as a leader, being shortstop and kind of the runner of the infield,” r eed said.

a nd that test of early leadership was important to her growth as a player, as it helped her develop confidence in her own abilities, which r eed said has been crucial to her ability to take on a greater role as a leader this season.

“ i think that [being a leader] also goes with confidence and just trusting your abilities,” r eed said. “[The team has] worked so hard for our entire careers to get to this point, and i think trusting our fundamentals and trusting what we have practiced over and over again is what gets us to where we are now.” it hasn’t always been easy for r eed, however. When the i rish started 4-8 in their first 12 games of the season, she

“i just like the chemistry with the pitcher,” Lidge said. “a guy like [senior left hander] scott Tully who shakes a ton versus a guy like sean who might never shake, or [graduate student lefty michael hearne] who might never shake. The, ‘oK, i get it, you don’t want that. now i know what you want.’ Then later as the game goes on, that feeling that we’re on the same page, that we want the same pitch.

“it’s hard to explain, but it’s like you have that connection, that energy flow between the two that i think is really cool.”

Kind of like dance partners? That drew a laugh from Lidge as he started back toward the dugout.

“a baseball game’s just a dance i guess.”

Contact Zach Klonsinski at zklonsin@nd.edu

said it was a challenge for the team to find its groove. b ut she said she believes maintaining her confidence was crucial for her personally, and helping her teammates to embrace, what she called the “year of the fighter,” became her focus. r eed said the team really began to embrace that fighting mentality, and the recent results support it; the i rish have won 15 of their last 17 games, and they hope to maintain that success as they enter the home stretch of their season.

“ i think this year’s different, though, because we’re just finding our groove,” r eed said. “The beginning of the year was a struggle, but this is the year of the fighter — i think all of us have really embraced that.

“Just trying to help other people embrace that role as well is something that i ’ve tried to focus on.”

Contact Ben Padanilam at bpadanil@nd.edu

with her, even when we’re not playing together. s he’s one of my best friends, no matter what. The time we got to spend getting to know each other at notre d ame has just continued our relationship til now.”

The Fever lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2016, falling to the Phoenix mercury. however, the Fever advanced to the W nba finals the previous year and most recently won the title in 2012. a chonwa said she and her teammates are prepared to make a run for the title again this season.

“ … i believe it’s always going to be a battle for a championship,” a chonwa said. “We have a coach, we have good players, we can get new players, so it’s always going to be a fight and that’s always going to be our end-goal. i ’m just excited to see the new identity of the team and of course i would love to win a championship. That’s why we all do it.”

Seattle Storm

Former i rish guard Jewell Loyd, the first overall pick in 2015 W nba draft, is about to enter her third season with the s eattle s torm. Loyd has made her mark in the league, earning the W nba r ookie of the Year award in 2015 and being named to the a ll-W nba s econd Team in 2016. Loyd said she plans to carry that momentum over into 2017.

“i really wasn’t expecting

[to be named a ll-W nba ], just because i was worrying about playoffs and trying to get better every day, stuff like that,” Loyd said. “b ut, this season, you know, with the relationship [ b reanna s tewart] and i have built over this offseason, i think we’re definitely excited for the new season, to just get back and bring the energy back in the building that we had finishing the season and, personally i just want to go out there and make everyone better. i think playing overseas every year i get better, just because different teams actually do different things, and i worked on a lot of stuff this offseason, so i think my focus is going to be on fullthrottle this year. Just go out there and not hold back.”

The s torm fell in the first round of the playoffs last season to the a tlanta d ream, finishing the regular season with a 16-18 record, after two seasons of not qualifying for the playoffs. Loyd said the early exit from the playoffs will motivate the team this year.

“i f you’re a competitor, any loss pushes you through and kind of motivates you for every game, every practice, every rep, and that’s definitely something that has been on my mind this whole time off, kind of, and thinking about that, like what could’ve happened differently, was it something energy-wise or stuff like that,” Loyd said. “ s o, i think that loss definitely kind of fueled our whole

Paid a dverT isemen T

team just to get better in the offseason.”

Loyd joined the s torm at the same time as head coach Jenny b oucek — something she said aided her transition to the W nba

“ s eattle has done a great job of making sure that everyone who comes into s eattle felt love and comfort,” Loyd said. “a nd that comes from our owners, our G m s, everyone. They made sure that everyone who comes in our program is taken care of, so, right away Jenny and i just had a good relationship. We sat down and talked early on in the season, got to know each other a little bit better. We kind of came into this journey together, so it made it easier, i think, just because we both started together.”

The s torm lineup is stacked, to say the least. Loyd plays alongside a squad of veterans, headlined by s ue b ird, and former Uc onn forward b reanna s tewart, who is coming off a strong rookie season. however, Loyd said the s torm is able to balance the individual talent and make a cohesive unit.

“The great thing about our team is that no one is really selfish and we like to cheer each other on and we’re the biggest cheerleaders for our team,” Loyd said. “i think that’s very evident when we play. We like sharing the ball, we like letting everyone score, so it’s very easy on our team. no one lets their pride get in

the way. it’s just really a family on our team.”

While the s torm did not have a first round draft pick this season, Loyd said before the draft that she expects any player who joins their ranks to be a talented one and a player who gives her all every day.

“Whoever comes to camp, this is for everyone, not just people coming to our camp, they’d just better be ready because it’s a total different transition,” Loyd said. “You want to compete, you want to see girls compete and these last couple years, the game has changed, so it’s so much more talented. Girls coming in here are so much more athletic and ready to change the game, so you just want to see good competition come up in the next couple draft classes.”

l indsay a llen

Lindsay a llen was drafted 14th overall by the new York Liberty — the second pick of the second round. a chonwa said before the draft that she thought a llen deserved to be selected in the first round.

s he thought the team that ended up with a llen would be a very lucky one.

“i mentioned this the other day on Twitter, but i mentioned that i think any team that picks up Lindsay a llen should be very grateful,” a chonwa said. “That kind of calm demeanor that she has, the smart, intelligent player that she is, and someone had said, ‘well, what about the

Fever pick?’ i think we have pick 17 and i said, ‘a s much as i’d like her in a Fever jersey, i think she deserves to be in the first round.’ i mean, i’d love to have her on our team, but i really think she deserves to be a first round draft pick.”

While a llen did ultimately fall to the second round, mc b ride said a llen would eventually exceed all expectations anyone might have once she starts playing professional basketball.

“i’m really excited for [ a llen]. s he was obviously my point guard when i was a senior and to see how much she’s grown in in her four years at notre d ame is really special,” mc b ride said. “ s he’s not one to talk about herself, but i think her growth and her ability to take advantage and do things as well as she did, and continue to do them and continue to grow every single year at notre d ame, that was really special.

“b ut, i think at the next level, she’s going to be more successful than a lot of people think because i think [ i rish head coach muffet] mcGraw does a really good job, and [associate head coach] n iele i vey, they do a really good job at getting players ready for that next step. e specially during your senior year. s o, i know that she’s going to be a lot more ready than a lot of people think.”

Contact Elizabeth Greason at egreason@nd.edu

Irish continue to send athletes to WNBA

By ELIZABETH GREASON sports e ditor

Irish senior guard Lindsay Allen became the 14th n otre d ame player to be chosen in the W nb A draft, as she was selected as the 14th overall pick by the n ew York Liberty on Thursday. s he will become the sixth active former Irish player in the W nb A when the season begins in m ay — and those players are excited to see her join their ranks and are looking forward to the coming W nb A season.

s an a ntonio stars

Kayla m c b ride, a member of the class of 2014, is entering her fourth season as a guard for the s an Antonio s tars. The s tars struggled last season, going 7-27, but the offseason has been a time of rebuilding for the squad. s tars general manager r uth r iley — the former Irish center named m ost o utstanding Player in the Final Four for the 2001 national championship team

— is entering her second season at s an Antonio’s helm, v ickie Johnson is looking to right the ship in her first season as head coach and m c b ride is returning to the lineup healthy.

“We obviously kind of revamped this offseason. We had r uth r iley come in, obviously a n otre d ame grad, last season, and then we had a new head coach come in,”

m c b ride said. “We have the n o. 1 pick, things like that. I think all of those added up, myself being healthy, [ s tars guard] m oriah Jefferson, we’re just kind of ready for that reset button, so I think coming in, the players coming into training camp this month, I think everybody’s just focused on this season. You can’t really look back on the things that have happened these last few seasons. We kind of want to just take all of our energy and put it into this one coming up.”

m c b ride missed the majority of last season after

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reed embraces role as leader

By BEN PADANILAM

ditor-in- c hief

e

o ver the last three seasons, the heart of the Irish lineup has been fueled by some of the program’s most powerful hitters, such as the likes of double-digit home run threats Katey h aus, e milee Koerner and m icaela Arizmendi.

s o it might have been a surprise to some when a new face was slotted into the middle-of-the-order, runproducing role in the lineup at the start of the season: junior shortstop m organ r eed.

h aving hit for an average of at least .325 in each of her first two seasons, r eed had more than proven herself to be capable at the dish. b ut with only seven home runs and 62 rb Is total in her first two seasons, she didn’t exactly profile as a run-producer, either.

b ut since being handed the reins of the offense, r eed has taken off: The junior leads the Irish in batting average (.400), home runs (five) and rb Is (39) after 42 games, and

Lidge hits stride at critical time for Notre Dame

she’s been exactly the leader n otre d ame was looking for to fill out the middle of the order at the beginning of the season, upping her slugging percentage of .531 from last season to .638 this year.

“I think it is another year of experience. It’s huge,” r eed said of the success she’s found in her new role.

“Just having confidence up at the plate is everything.

It’s 95 percent mental and 5 percent fundamental, so you really have to go up there with a good mindset.”

b ut carving out a leadership role for the Irish (2715, 11-7 A cc ) is far from a new thing for the m aylene, Alabama native. While her role in the lineup is different than from years past, r eed said she has felt as though she has had to lead since she stepped foot on the diamond at m elissa c ook s tadium, especially since she was tasked with playing shortstop her first season in a n otre d ame uniform.

“e ven as a freshman, I had see soFTbALL paGe 17

By ZACH KLONSINSKI senior sports Writer

For Irish senior catcher ryan Lidge, baseball is a series of dances. behind the plate, he has multiple partners: the umpire, the batter and his pitcher on the mound. Those are dances he’s excelled at — he was named the top defensive catcher in the northwoods League during summer ball in 2014, and then as a sophomore he was named to the Johnny bench Award Watch List for the nation’s best catcher. he finished second in the Acc that season with six runners picked off and fourth in the conference cutting down 17 wouldbe base stealers. After dealing with injuries during much of his junior season, Lidge has already gunned down 13 runners while picking off two more this year.

but for most of last season and the first third of the 2017 campaign, Lidge tried to dance with two left feet while in the batter’s box.

“There’s a saying I heard from a couple big leaguers, and it’s ‘dance with the pitcher,’” Lidge said Wednesday night. “have a dance with him, so that when his hands

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