PDF for Monday, November 11, 2013

roTC battalions honor veterans

Students take part in 24-hour vigil, public ceremony to remember former soldiers

By LESLEY STEVENSON news writer

on sept. 10, 2001, r ichard evans was a civilian with plans to marry his fiancée later that year. This veterans day, 12 years later, he is an active-duty captain in the u s a rmy, a survivor of four deployments to iraq and a fghanistan and a father of four.

“it’s an awesome thing when the country gets behind and supports us [on veterans day],” evans said. “i think we’ve learned some really hard lessons from the past.

“a s a soldier, i’ve felt nothing but gratitude from south bend, mishawaka and notre dame in particular. i’m very thankful for that and the opportunity to be here.” since July, evans has served as an assistant professor of military science at notre dame and a member of the reserve officer Training corps (roTc )

cadre, or staff. despite his prior tours of duty, evans said he does not focus on his own service on veterans day.

“it’s a time for me to reflect,” evans said. “i’ve been in the military for 12 years. i’ve deployed four times, so i think about all the great men and women i’ve had the opportunity to serve with. i think about the sacrifices my family has made to allow me to pursue this career.”

Tyler Thomas, a senior naval roTc midshipman and tri-military commander of the three notre dame roTc branches, said a rmy and a ir Force cadets and navy midshipmen held a 24-hour vigil at the clarke war memorial fountain starting sunday evening in honor of veterans day.

“we protect the war memorial, which stands for all of the notre dame graduates

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A midshipman from Notre Dame’s Navy ROTC battalion guards the Clarke Memorial Fountain in honor of Veterans Day on Nov. 11, 2012.

Women’s boxing captains fight for Holy Cross missions

By CATHERINE OWERS news writer

on monday night, 78 women will take to the ring to raise money for holy cross missions in uganda in the 11th annual baraka bouts.

nine captains lead these students in their boxing training and fundraising efforts while serving as mentors and leaders for the novice boxers. senior captain anna carmack said she joined the women’s boxing team her freshman year at notre dame, not knowing she would love the sport so much.

“i was very hesitant. i had never done anything like boxing before, but i decided to give a shot,” she said. “i ended up loving it, and i was pretty good at it, as well.”

Few women join the boxing team with previous boxing experience, so the captains are responsible for teaching the basics of the sport, carmack said.

“we’re doing all the instruction. we have coaches who help us a ton, but a lot of the instruction does come down to us,” she said. “we’re teaching the girls how to stand, how to punch, how to move.

Observer Staff Report

The st. Joseph c ounty special v ictims unit is investigating an alleged rape of a student in a s aint mary’s residence hall late s aturday, nov. 3 into early sunday, nov. 4, according to g wen o’brien, the c ollege’s director of media relations.

“The c ollege took immediate actions upon learning of the alleged incident and is cooperating with the investigation,” o’brien said. “s aint mary’s c ollege has no comment at this time due to that ongoing police investigation.” v ice p resident for student a ffairs Karen Johnson said the student body did not receive

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students lament football loss

By JACK ROONEY news writer

a number of notre dame students made the nearly 400-mile trek to p ittsburgh to watch the Fighting i rish fall to the p ittsburgh panthers in a disappointing loss saturday night.

sophomore connor hayes, a p ittsburgh native, said he traveled home for the game, which was the 69th meeting between the two schools. hayes said attending the game was a unique opportunity to combine his two homes.

ambiance inside heinz Field did not help notre dame.

“The atmosphere in the stadium was flat on the p itt side … but we let p itt take advantage of us,” hayes said.

“at the start of the game, there really wasn’t much of an atmosphere [in the stadium]. The notre dame people didn’t want to be too loud, and the p itt fans weren’t into it.

“outside of the [p ittsburgh] student section, there wasn’t much energy. it was very flat. but that started to change when the tide of the game changed, and p itt fans really came alive.”

carmack said the captains help run eight practices per week, and team members must attend at least four of them.

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“The first few weeks are purely workouts and instruction. you’re not going to be in the ring; you aren’t going to be throwing punches [because] you first have to learn how to stand.”

“it was really kind of awesome to be able to go to a notre dame game in my hometown,” hayes said. “at the same time, it was really weird because the game took up so much time on saturday that it was like i wasn’t even home.”

hayes said the game was “overall frustrating” and the

sophomore gabe Jacobs said the game was disappointing because the i rish had a good chance of winning.

“i think we blew it. it was a winnable game and we made a few mistakes that really see reacTion PaGe 6

Question of the Day:

Saint Mary’s Desk krabac01@saintmarys.edu

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Joe Sulentic freshman morrissey manor

“walk up the steps of main building.”

Megan Krouse junior off campus

“give up my dining hall shopping for one month.”

Steven Sonson sophomore Keough hall

“ignore the fact that i’m lactoseintolerant.”

Beatrice Brenner junior mcglinn hall

“i would kill a man.”

Brian Mukhaya freshman duncan hall

“sit on the statue of mary on the dome .”

Lizzie Pagura freshman ryan hall

“run three miles - if it were reese’s.”

Leprechaun Johnny Romano poses for a photo during Saturday night’s football game against Pittsburgh. The Irish

are no longer eligible for an invitation to a BCS bowl game after the 28-21 loss to the Panthers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Have a question you want answered?

Monday

Veteran’s Day Ceremony

Hesburgh Library

5 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

Open to the public. Fr. Hesburgh to attend.

Women’s Basketball Purcell Pavilion

7 p.m.-9 p.m. The Irish take on Michigan State.

Tuesday

Lecture: This Country is Yours Too! Geddes Hall

12 p.m.-1 p.m.

Anthropology lecture by Laura Steil.

Men’s Soccer Alumni Stadium

7 p.m.-9 p.m. ACC quarterfinal match.

Wednesday

International Taste of South Bend LaFortune Student Center

6 p.m.-8 p.m. International cuisine.

Theatre: Cabaret DeBartolo Performing Arts Center

7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Tony Award-winning musical.

Thursday

Gender Studies Meet & Greet & Eat

O’Shaughnessy Hall

5 p.m.-6 p.m.

Major information and free pizza.

Zen Meditation Coleman-Morse Center

5:15 p.m.-6:15 p.m.

Open to students of all faiths.

Friday

Film: Shakespeare Behind Bars

DeBartolo Performing Arts Center

7 p.m. The Tempest in prison.

Men’s Hockey Compton Family Ice Arena

7:35 p.m.-9:35 p.m. The Irish face off against Merrimack.

Panel discusses ethical issues in ‘Radium Girls’

By HALEIGH EMSEN news writer

e xperts from the s aint m ary’s and notre d ame community contributed to a panel discussion Friday with d w g regory, author of the play “r adium g irls,” which was performed on campus this weekend.

The talk, titled, “r adium g irls: o pening the d oor to Justice,” was sponsored by the Justice e ducation department.

g regory said she was inspired to write the play, a story about radium poisoning of female factory workers who painted the dials on watches in 1920s new Jersey, by a documentary about radium poisoning.

“i remember watching this documentary, ‘r adium c ity,’ and just feeling like there was so much more to the story,” g regory said. “i wanted to know more about what happened to the women.”

g regory said she didn’t begin work on the play until about 10 years later when she was scrolling on the i nternet and discovered an article about a case in new Jersey involving radium poisoning of women.

“i thought, ‘oh gosh, here’s a play,’” g regory said.

“my original idea was that i was going to go out and find all this source material. i was going to look through diaries,

journals to tell the story of the women in their own words, but i quickly found out that none of that existed in any form that i could have access to.“it became clear that if i was going to tell this story, it was going to have to be a fictitious recount.”

g regory said the culture of compliance in the 1920s contributed to creating victims, and in the specific case of radium, women were often harmed.

“i knew from the beginning that i wanted to take a closer look at what it is that leads these kinds of things to happen,” she said. “For me, it wasn’t so much what happened, as it was why did it happen and why does it keep on happening.“it wasn’t just the story of the women, it was also the story of the men. a nd it wasn’t just the story of the men and women, but it was the story of the culture of the expectations of the time. it was about commercialization. it was about the period when women were just beginning to find their voices.”

“r adium g irls” has been produced more than 300 times in the united states, g regory said, and mostly by education theater programs in high schools and colleges.

“There’s a lot in it that generates a lot of interest in a lot of different disciplines,” she said.

dan g raff, a labor historian

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and director of undergraduate studies in notre dame’s d epartment of h istory, said unions have traditionally played an important role in creating a safe workplace.

a t the time of the play in the 1920s, most industrial workers like the ‘radium girls’ were

unprotected by unions, and they had to rely on their employers to provide a safe workplace,” g raff said.

g raff said workers, especially female ones, couldn’t advocate for themselves in the way unions could have advocated for their rights.

“‘r adium g irls’ hints at the workplace realities faced by workers separated by skill and usually by gender as well,” he said. “The main character, g race, is outraged to learn that workers in the lab had screens to prevent their exposure to the radiation, unlike she and her fellow dial painters.”

b arbara Fick, a professor at notre d ame l aw s chool, said in absence of unions, workers depended on the government to keep the workplaces safe.

“i n terms of government regulation in the 1920s, it was relatively new, and obviously, there were no federal regulations, so it was left up to the states,” Fick said.

unfortunately, Fick said, the regulations that did exist were inadequate.

“They would identify a specific problem, but then they wouldn’t address anything else. a nd so the next time somebody would identify a problem, they would pass another law,” Fick said.

Kelly h amilton, associate professor of history at s aint m ary’s, said many of the women working in the factories who were exposed to the radium were young and had their whole lives ahead of them.

“most of them were young women, in mid-teens to early 20s,” h amilton said. “The ‘20s brought them opportunities, liberation to work outside the home.” women who could

produce painted dials more quickly, inserting the paintbrushes into their mouths to keep the bristles together, often were the first to die, h amilton said.

“Tragically, [this method of working] may have contributed to the most gruesome deaths from radium poisoning,” she said.

h amilton said although media at the time often portrayed girls poisoned by radium in a negative light, the young women earned public support.

“These women were not victims; they fought back and were aided by other women,” h amilton said.

p atricia Fleming, provost, philosophy professor and senior vice president for a cademics a ffairs at s aint m ary’s, said ethics and informed consent are important in judging cases involving radiation.

“unfortunately, scientists are reluctant to say there is a clear cause and effect relationship [between exposure to radium and death of girls], but rather, there is a clear correlation,” Fleming said.

g regory”said the company in the play disregarded the ethical dilemma presented and is completely at fault for putting its workers in such a dangerous position.

“The company had information and knew there were issues. There is an issue of culpability to anyone that turns a blind eye,” she said. “i don’t have a lot of sympathy for the excuse, ‘i didn’t know,’ because it is your business and it’s your responsibility to know.”

Contact Haleigh Emsen at hemse01@saintmarys.edu

Professor analyzes translation on Rosetta Stone

By TORI ROECK a ssociate news e ditor

in a lecture Friday titled “The rosetta stone and the politics of Translation,” ian moyer, associate professor of history at the university of michigan, said comparing the greek and egyptian text on the rosetta stone can illuminate the political situation of ptolemaic egypt in the hellenistic period.

“[The rosetta stone] has to be one of the leading contenders for most famous, least read historical document,” moyer said. “according to the british museum stats, it’s the most visited object, and the british museum is the second most visited art museum in the world.”

The rosetta stone, which allowed scholars to decipher the egyptian language, contains a decree honoring egypt’s

hellenistic ruler ptolemy v, and its text is written in hieroglyphics, demotic egyptian and greek, in that order, moyer said. The greek was most likely written first and then translated into these two variants of egyptian, he said.

“several scholars have re-emphasized the greek form of the decree … and its connections with other decrees that were used by many greek city states to praise their benefactors, including hellenistic kings in the wider hellenistic world,” moyer said. “rather than representing an egyptianization of the ptolemaic state, the texts are rather seen as a sign that members of the egyptian elite adopted the culture and political language of hellenism and were integrated into the ptolemaic state.”

The egyptian priests who translated these decrees into greek had definitely adopted some of

the habits of their macedonian rulers, moyer said.

“egyptian priests acted like a greek polis or city-state to praise a macedonian king as if he were an egyptian pharaoh,” moyer said.

moyer said these egyptian priests were not completely hellenized, and he thinks inconsistencies in the translations on the rosetta stone and similar decrees prove they retained some of their previous beliefs. For example, in the canopus decree where new tribes were established in honor of ptolemy iii, the greek word used to mean “tribe” describes a group of people in a civic context, while the corresponding egyptian term describes a group of people in a religious context.

“From the earliest period of egyptian history, [‘tribes’] denoted groups of people who provided part time service to the

temples, or in work crews or in mortuary cults, usually in some sort of rotation system,” moyer said. “The difference between the two terms, greek and egyptian, was probably based on perceived structural and functional analogies. The greek tribes … served among other purposes as constituent groups for the selection of magistrates and officials and also for a rotation of service in the prittanies, the rotating executive council of the city.”

This difference in language proves the egyptian priests still contextualized these greek-style decrees in egyptian terms, moyer said.

“The context of this translation … suggests that the egyptian priests adopted it not just as a convenient approximation, but as a term whose political significance suited their purposes,” he said.

moyer said these discrepancies in translation reflect the competing cultural influences prevalent in ptolemaic egypt.

“on the one hand, the priests who practiced this hellenistic political discourse could well have become a community loyal to the ptolemaic state,” he said. “on the other hand, a ramified response to the demands of this hellenistic political discourse is not unlike … ‘sly civility,’ in as much as it was polite in its address but rather equivocal on accepting the terms of the actual discourse.

“in the subtle politics of translation, the decrees offer insights into the ways the egyptian priests were making sense of their world and their official communications.”

Contact Tori Roeck at vroeck@nd.edu

saint mary’s offers new abroad programs

By ALEX WINEGAR news writer

s aint m ary’s joined forces with four other holy c ross colleges this summer to create the holy c ross g lobal e ducation c onsortium ( hcgec ), which will enable the c ollege to broaden its study abroad programs.

e laine meyer-l ee, director of the c ollege’s c enter for women’s i ntercultural l eadership, said the consortium will increase studyabroad opportunities for students.

“it’s really the wave of the future how smaller schools, like us, can provide more quality options for our school

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and the resources that our faculty have,” meyer-l ee said. The colleges in hcgec include holy c ross, Kings c ollege in p ennsylvania, s tone h ill c ollege in m assachusetts and s aint e dwards in Texas, meyer-l ee said. i n addition to the eight summer-study programs s aint m ary’s currently offers, b elles can now

spend the summer studying in p eru, e ast a frica, or s pain and morocco through Kings c ollege.

meyer-l ee said the consortium enables b elles to study abroad in programs the c ollege would not have been able to fill by itself.

“a nd the holy c ross family is just a very natural one that our students and [faculty] value,” meyer-l ee said. “it’s kind of a formalizing of that relationship.”

s aint m ary’s evaluated each program put forward by Kings c ollege to make sure the options would fit students’ expectations and to prevent overlap among programs, meyer-l ee said.

“[They] didn’t overlap too much with what we already have and [provided] something sort of unique that would be attractive, so that’s in general why we opted into all three,” she said.

The summer programs provide another option to students who have difficulty fitting semester-long programs into their major requirements, meyer-l ee said. s ome students who think they aren’t ready to go abroad for a whole semester also opt for the shorter summer programs, she said.

“For some people, they do one of these at the beginning after their first year of study when they are kind of not sure yet, and often then they do find a way to spend a whole semester abroad because they get a taste of it and find it very compelling,” meyer-l ee said.

s aint m ary’s faculty members will be part of the teaching staff in the p eru and e ast a frica programs through Kings c ollege, meyer-l ee said. s he said these faculty

members can then bring this new knowledge back to their classrooms.

“a wonderful value of the summer programs is that the faculties get to go, which then keeps them engaged internationally and able to bring those global perspectives to all the classes they teach,” meyer-l ee said.

“It’s really the wave of the future how smaller schools, like us, can provide more quality options for our school and the resources that our faculty have.”

Elaine Meyer-Lee director Center for Women’s Intercultural Leadership

meyer-l ee said the consortium aligns with s aint m ary’s mission by encouraging assessment and understanding of the challenges of the contemporary world that s aint m ary’s women face.

“o ur mission within s aint m ary’s is to foster international competence, which is critical to empowering women, and to make a difference in the world,” meyer-l ee said.

“a ll of [the summer studyabroad programs] do that in one way or another.

Contact Alex Winegar at awineg01@saintmarys.edu

reaction

cost us,” Jacobs said. “o verall, we didn’t play poorly, but at the same time, we didn’t play mistake-free.”

sophomore nicole Zielinski said she stayed on campus to watch the game and her friends were incredulous at the loss.

“i watched the game in the dorms with my friends,”

Zielinski said. “There was a lot of disbelief, and then it was just sad.”

Freshman ryan l oughran said the game was an “utter disappointment” and ended notre dame’s hopes of a bcs bowl

berth.

“i can’t even bring myself to write the score on the board outside my door,” l oughran said.

hayes said notre dame was well represented in p ittsburgh, partly because of the relatively short drive from south bend to p ittsburgh.

“at least 30 to 40 percent of the stadium were probably notre dame people,” hayes aid. “There’s such a large notre dame presence in p ittsburgh, plus it’s only about a five-and-ahalf hour drive.”

hayes said the city of p ittsburgh and the nature of heinz Field added a different feel to the notre dame football experience.

“i just personally like where heinz Field is,” he said. “it’s in a great location downtown, and it was a cool change of scenery from south bend.”

hayes said his interaction with p ittsburgh fans was similar to that of previous experiences, though the loss made it

slightly more difficult to deal with opposing fans.

“before the game, [the interaction] was not as bad as i’ve

“I think we blew it. It was a winnable game and we made a few mistakes that really cost us.”

Gabe Jacobs sophomore

seen in the past,” he said. “There was some minor taunting, but nothing out of the ordinary. Toward the end, it got a little obnoxious.”

Contact Jack Rooney at jrooney1@nd.edu

ND alumni included in ‘Best American Essays’

By CHARLIE DUCEY news writer

The editors of the 2013 “best a merican essays” collection, an annual anthology showcasing exceptional essays by a merican authors, recognized works by three contributors to “notre dame magazine” in this year’s installment.

“his last game,” by brian doyle, editor of the university of portland’s “portland magazine” and a 1978 notre dame alumnus, will appear in the newest volume of “The best a merican essays.”

“wintry rooms of love,” by mel livatino, a longtime writer, and “my life in clothes,” by Kerry Temple, editor of “notre dame magazine” and a 1974 alumnus, will be included in the “notable essays” list.

doyle said “his last game” depicts two brothers playing a game of pickup basketball and going on a drive through familiar neighborhoods. “[The essay was

written] to connect, to tell a story that sings of my brother and all brothers and grace and courage and hoops and pain and laughter and attentiveness and love and loss,” doyle said.

doyle said he was shocked the selection committee chose his essay for the collection.

“you want to be read, you want to connect, you want to startle hearts, and i think the essay is the coolest most direct, naked and honest form, the one closest to the speaking voice, closest to how we think inside,” doyle said.

as a student at notre dame, doyle said he studied english and enjoyed hearing and sharing stories.“i had to read lots of voices and sorts and styles of taletelling and not just reportage,” doyle said. “i also loved history and theater as forms of storytelling. english is a great major in that it is really story-catching and story-sharing.”

doyle said he was not surprised two additional essays

from “notre dame magazine” were recognized in “The best a merican essays.”

“‘notre dame magazine’ is not only one of the 10 best in the nation every year, but it has superb writing,” doyle said. “Kerry Temple is a very fine editor, indeed. i sometimes wonder if notre dame appreciates him as much as the rest of the world does.”

Temple said for more than 30 years, he has been deeply involved in the creative process of “notre dame magazine,” reading, writing and reviewing the work of artistic, contemplative and brilliant minds concerning subjects from spirituality to scientific breakthroughs.

“our subject matter is as wideranging as the conversations found on a college campus, at a university that cares about the great questions of the day,” Temple said. “That’s one of the best aspects of ‘notre dame magazine,’ of working here. a nd

when we take on those questions, we reflect notre dame’s guiding lights – the moral, ethical, spiritual dimensions of all issues.”

Temple said his essay, “my life in clothes,” explores how clothing can define people, for better or for worse. he said knowing a reader has appreciated his work is comforting.

“it’s always great to get the affirmation, especially in that venue,” Temple said. “it’s the 10th time something i’ve done has been cited among the ‘notable essays,’ and this was especially fun because it was an offbeat topic.”

livatino said he is also happy to have his essays recognized, as he views each essay as an adventure with an unknown payoff, not the least of which is the writing process itself.

livatino’s essay, “wintry rooms of love” explores the hard-hitting tragedy of losing parents and other loved ones to

death while embracing the love that brings ‘summer’ to counteract the cold feelings of ‘winter.’ it was livatino’s first essay to be included in “notre dame magazine,” he said.

livatino said the process of writing is steeped in emotion and centered in communicating life’s important messages.

“i don’t really set goals when i write,” he said. “i catch a sight of something out of the corner of my eye, something that intrigues me and that i really want to see fully, and then i begin writing. That initial shiver of emotion pulls me in.”

doyle said stories have a powerful, communal dimensiot.

“The best stories are not about you. They are about us,” he said. “ask people about their joys and pain and grace and listen carefully to their stories. stories are food. stories are holy.”

Contact Charlie Ducey at cducey@nd.edu

SMC Dance Company interprets artwork

By REBECCA O’NEIL news writer

members of the saint mary’s dance company interpreted paintings through dance in the moreau center for the a rts on Friday.

senior bethany Tabor choreographed two dances in response to “wall to wall,” a piece by a nn Tarantino on display in the gallery. Tabor, junior Taylor couillard-rodak, sophomore Jing Zhu, senior catherine cislo and senior a lysha Zemanek performed the work.

“i think i’d title it ‘contact,’” Tabor said. “The way the dance moved — it’s sort of formally the same as the paintings on the

wall.”

Tabor, an art history and philosophy major, said she designed the compositions with Tarantino’s “lonely figures in unknown landscapes” in mind.

The black fireworks of paint Tarantino applied directly on the gallery walls compelled Tabor, also a dance minor, to turn the work she has been doing for her senior composition into a handson experience, she said.

“i am writing my senior comp on dance in the art space,” Tabor said. “a recent trend in art galleries is to have dance companies come in and dance among the art work. it’s a new phenomenon in art right now, and i’m researching that.”

Tabor said her advisor, art professor Tiffany bidler, believed Tarantino’s paintings could potentially enhance Tabor’s project.

“we’re all part of the saint mary’s dance company, and we’re dancing in a piece together for the show in February, and this is loosely based off of what we’ve done in rehearsals for that,” Tabor said.

senior Katie haemmerle said she enjoyed the piece because it portrayed themes that appeal to her particular aesthetic preferences.

“The artist, on her description, said that it was meant to convey sort of loneliness isolation and then sea life,” haemmerle said.

“i’m usually drawn to literature, art, poetry, anything with that sort of thing, so i liked it in that sense.”

beyond the emotional connotations, haemmerle said she believes dance itself offers an unusual medium to communicate ideas.

“a lot of people will perceive art as being something stationary on the wall,” haemmerle said. “i think this is a good way to express that art and dance can be combined and integrated to form something that is not just on the wall. it provides movement to something stationary.”

haemmerle said she felt the movement of the dancers reflected the intended movement

of Tarantino’s paintings.

“i don’t know if i’m interpreting the dance correctly, but the way the dancers formed the cluster and then spread out — i thought that was a good way to represent what’s on the wall with the paintings and how they’re spread out,” haemmerle said.

“They created white space with movement, which is interesting in fiction, but more so in poetry, white space has purpose. i feel like if you look at the wall, it does the same thing. it creates that isolation, and the dance i thought expressed the exact same thing.”

Contact Rebecca O’Neil at roneil01@saintmarys.edu

who have died in world war ii, Korea and v ietnam,” Thomas said. “we pay tribute to the sacrifice they gave. “u ltimately, that’s the ideal service we try to strive for. it may not necessarily mean giving our lives in the defense of the country, but they set a great example of how we should be living our lives.”

Thomas said south bend mayor pete buttigieg will address roTc students and staff members at a public ceremony monday evening in the c arey auditorium of the hesburgh l ibrary.

“[ mayor buttigieg] is in the reserves right now, and he’s actually going to be going overseas in February with the navy,” Thomas said. “it’ll be really interesting to hear his perspective, especially in his pre-deployment work up.”

Thomas said the roTc branches will participate together in veterans day activities, including a special

appearance at the women’s basketball game monday night.

“we try to make it a tri-military celebration,” Thomas said. “d uring the women’s basketball game, we’ll be doing a flag unfurling that’s tri-military.”

c hris l illie, senior cadet and battalion commander for a rmy roTc , said the rifle drill team would also make its first presentation in several years at the basketball game.

“it’s actually the first time in at least five or six years that we’ve had a drill team performance, so we’re kind of excited that we’re getting that going,” l illie said.

Thomas said veterans day unites the roTc branches beyond community-event planning. he said recognizing the service and sacrifice of all military men and women was the main lesson for midshipmen and cadets in training.

“we can learn from every service of the people who went before us, so it’s important to not just recognize navy veterans or a rmy veterans, but celebrate

their lives together,” Thomas said.

l illie said the tri-military events reflect the shared commitment of the military divisions to protecting the united states.

“[The roTc branches] don’t represent different things,” he said. “They’re all focused on different things, so seeing them come together shows that it’s one team, one fight.”

maggie a rmstrong, senior cadet and a squadron commander for a ir Force roTc , said her family’s military history made her learn and appreciate the significance of all veterans from a young age.

“it was a family holiday, and i never really understood why until my dad explained to me when i was about 12 that he had lost his entire crew in a plane crash,” a rmstrong said.

“That day was about remembering those people and the ones who’d gone before us to make our country free.“To me, veterans day is an opportunity to reflect and remember the

brothers and sisters in arms who’ve gone before us. w hether they are retired or out of service or reserves or killed in action, it’s an opportunity to remember what this country stands for and that there are people willing to fight for it.”

l illie said the same spirit extends to students at notre dame, even those who have no connections to roTc or to the military in general.

“w ith the big ‘g od, country, notre dame’ mantra that we have on campus, you’d be hardpressed to find someone on campus that isn’t big on service, and that includes service to country,” l illie said.

“w hether or not you’re actually directly involved in the military, veterans day is a big day for everyone because you can go out and support the principles that you as an a merican believe in and that the people that are fighting for a merica are representing directly.”

evans said veterans day also reminds civilians of the ongoing sacrifices that military men

and women must make.

“w hat i’m afraid of is with the nearly 3,000 K ia [killed in action] and i think somewhere near 8,000 wounded soldiers, that the general populace will start to forget the sacrifice and service that these men and women have made,” evans said. “ veterans day is a day a year to remind everybody … [of] what they’ve had to do — leave their homes, leave their families, to bring freedom to a group of people and protect our shores from future attacks.”

evans said members of the notre dame and south bend communities frequently approach him when he wears his uniform to thank him for his service. he said veterans day would be a chance for civilians to continue supporting the armed forces.

“it gives them an opportunity to be a part of something larger than campus,” he said.

Contact Lesley Stevenson at lsteven1@nd.edu

an email about the incident because she was confident the alleged assailant was no longer on campus and there was no danger to the campus community.

“That decision is made by me in consultation with our d irector of s ecurity and the

a ssistant v ice p resident for student a ffairs,” Johnson said. “There are three levels of notification we use when an incident happens: immediate and ongoing threat to the campus community — in that case, we use our early alert system, ongoing but not immediate threat to the campus community - in that case, we send out a safety notice; and no immediate or ongoing

paid a dverT isemen T

threat to the campus community – in that case, we do a report on the safety website.”

Johnson said notifications to the student body are determined on a case-by case basis and are based on level of immediacy and level of threat. “ we want our students to have enough information to be safe,” Johnson said. “i f we feel there is an ongoing concern or threat, we notify.”

baraka

“it would be a lot for us to try to be at all eight, so we can spread it out and at least have four or five of us at each practice,” she said. “we also divide up the big roles, like being in charge of merchandise and programs.’

The primary goal of baraka bouts is fundraising for the holy cross missions, carmack said.

“each girl has to raise $350 to participate because the whole point is to raise money for the holy cross missions in uganda,” she said. “one hundred dollars has to be through ticket sales, and the rest can be personal donation, donations from friends or family or ads in the program.”

senior captain anna heffron said she visited one of the schools supported by a holy cross mission in uganda this summer.

“i was actually working with a different organization, a palliative care group, but i was quite close to lakeview [secondary school],” she said. “it was amazing, and the kids were so great. They were so friendly and welcoming and enthusiastic.”

heffron said the funds raised by baraka bouts often pay for tuition for children from poorer families.

“Fifty dollars will pay for tuition and room and board for an entire semester,” she said. “additionally, at the school i visited, they were having problems with building integrity. They have to build a new dormitory … so a lot of what we raise will go toward supporting that [project].”

heffron said the baraka bouts captains try to instill the holy cross spirit in their boxers.

“we teach the mind and the body and the heart,” she said. “There’s a point where the motto ‘strong bodies fight so that weak bodies may be nourished’ clicks, and where the mission of the club clicks.“you have a strong, healthy

body, and it’s so easy to raise money through baraka bouts and women’s boxing. it makes such a huge difference. if you get five people to come to the tournament, that’s $50, and that just paid for a kid’s schooling for an entire semester.”

Junior captain Tori w hite said she enjoys seeing the girls develop their skills throughout the season.

“They want to improve, and they want to do well,” she said. “it’s been a lot of fun just watching the growth and the passion that girls develop for it.”

carmack said she is proud of everyone’s progress.

“we get these girls who have come so far, and i don’t think they realize all the time, until you stop them,” carmack said. “Then you say, ‘remember, you didn’t even know where your feet went or what to do with your hands. and now you’re going to go in there and be fighting, and you’re going to have people cheering you on.’” even after three years on the team, w hite said she is still nervous for the bouts.

“as captains, we can also be in their corners, too, and coach them through their fights,” w hite said. “so you can’t really be freaking out about your fight when you are in someone else’s corner. part of being a captain is putting your own worries on the backburner.” w hite said she always tries to keep the fundraising mission of the women’s boxing team in mind.

“you get to learn a new sport, but you are also doing it for a really good cause,” she said. “girls can get upset about losing, or they don’t think they fought well, but they’ve raised $350, and that’s going to make such a big difference in kids’ lives.

“That’s the really fulfilling part, and it’s powerful to know that you can make that much of a difference and enjoy doing [it], to.”

Contact Catherine Owers at cowers@nd.edu

To remember the forgotten

note to longboarders

John Green multimedia

The sidewalk: a place where a pedestrian can feel safe from the dangers of vehicle traffic. i often embrace my time on the sidewalk by reflecting on my life choices, namely, my fantasy football team. w hat person in his right mind would start Jacquizz r odgers at running back? o h yeah, me. o ther than that, my walks are quite relaxing. h owever, n otre d ame’s sidewalks are not always this way. They are usually crowded with the hustle and bustle of walkers, bikers and the worst: longboarders. i have a friend who will occasionally complain about groups of slowpaced walkers that he gets trapped behind. a s i wipe away his tears, i assure him, “ it is not the end of the world, m ichael.” i tend not to run into this problem because of the fast pace at which i walk. b ikers do not bother me, either, but they give problems to my stubby-legged friend m ichael. h owever, he complains about most things, so i will move on. n ow, let’s move on to the topic of longboarders, the main culprit of sidewalk danger. d on’t get me wrong — i know plenty of dudes and dudettes who could board their way to the X- g ames. b ut there is one boarder in particular that tainted the longboarder name for all of his bros. i remember it clearly. it was a wednesday. i was in high spirits as i headed toward s outh d ining h all for lunch. Then, out of nowhere, a board slammed into the back of my ankle. d oing my best Kobe b ryant impression, i gripped my a chilles in pain. i turned back to see a chubby young man walking up to me to retrieve his board. i waited for him to speak first, but just like that, he was gone. n o apology. i was shocked, to say the least.

i am trying not to let the minority of inexperienced boarders ruin my view of longboarders as a whole. a s for the few rookies, like the chubby young man, either get better at riding that thing, or show some common courtesy. Thank you.

Contact John Green at jgreen7@nd.edu

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

Caleb Cobbin v iewpoint c olumnist

i am usually a pretty private person. Therefore, it is hard for me, even with some of my best friends, to say exactly how i am feeling. This story, however, is important enough to tell anyone, despite my private tendencies:

i went to my s outh b end home — about 10 minutes away from campus — to visit my family, eat and reluctantly switch out my summer clothes for winter ones. m y grandma is a substitute teacher, so she was not at the house that afternoon. This left only my mom and my grandpa. i fixed myself some food and chatted with my mom. Throughout the visit, i kept thinking, “This house seems different.” The garden and the front yard appeared severely unkempt and neglected, ridden with weeds and fallen leaves. The large mirror in the dining room still had not been put on the wall since we painted the interior walls this summer. There were no children’s voices reverberating up and down the hallways of the house. i t felt unlike the home in which i grew up. i quickly buried the feelings as they sprung up in my head. c hange is a part of life. i had to come to terms with that.

a s i was leaving, i set my bag down and walked up to my

leTTer To The edITor

grandparents’ room, where my grandpa was sleeping. i watched him for a while. h e was much skinnier than my childhood memories painted in my mind. e ven during the two weeks since i had last seen him, the stern, kind man who taught me the importance of my faith, work and education seemed to slowly shrink from my eyes. h is gray hair seemed thinner, his bones protruded from his skin and he wasn’t wearing his teeth. i gently woke him up. h e smiled at me and began to talk. h e made no coherent sentences, just incomprehensible murmuring and chatter, but he smiled when he saw me and continued to smile and talk until i left. i counted that as an extreme blessing. m y grandpa still finds joy when i sit and talk with him.

a lzheimer’s disease and dementia currently plague more than 5 million a mericans, according to the a lzheimer’s a ssociation website. i realize now that my grandpa’s sickness has a direct correlation to the anxieties and uncertainties i professed earlier. Those simple duties around the house, which he always did with pride and diligence, fall by the wayside. w ith my twin brother and me in school, and my grandpa slowly fading, the house we knew and loved is simply not the same home.

This month is a lzheimer’s d isease a wareness m onth and

n ational c aregiver m onth. This month honors my grandpa and my grandma, respectively, as they fulfill the conjugal marriage vows they professed more than 55 years ago. This disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the u nited s tates. o ne in three seniors die with this disease or other forms of dementia. m y grandpa is one of them, and i am sure we all can think of some friend, loved one or acquaintance that also struggles with this. u nfortunately, some a lzheimer’s patients have no family to visit or to take care of them like my grandpa does. s ome seniors die and suffer alone.

To sum up, i write these words not to depress you or to garner sympathy. i say this to raise awareness. r each out in a special way to your friends and family who have been touched by the hand of a lzheimer’s disease this week. d o not forget them. There is an unimaginable love and beauty found in simple expressions of care and compassion, and to share in one person’s suffering in love is to share in the suffering of humanity. This, friends, is the greatest gift we can give to one another.

Caleb Cobbin is a senior at the University of Notre Dame. He can be contacted at ccobbin@nd.edu

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

a disconcerting item showed up in The o bserver this morning, titled “ s tudents celebrate a siatic culture” ( n ov. 8). o verall, the article by c hristian m yers is wellwritten and expresses a positive message about exposing the voices of different cultures at n otre d ame. h owever, the problem lies within the title, where the term “a siatic” is used. i don’t want to make too big a deal out of one word, so i ’ll try to keep this short.

From a quick search on i nternet dictionaries, it is clear that the term “a siatic” is outdated and offensive. i n addition, the c ambridge d ictionary defines “a siatic” as “relating to a sia, especially when considering its geography or its plants and animals, rather than social or cultural matters.” i f a sians are people and not exotic animals, then we should not be referring to their culture as “a siatic.” s ure, it’s not uncommon for

writers to make careless mistakes, but the fact that this was approved by editors is discomforting. From my experience, most n otre d ame students are conscientious people who warmly embrace diversity on campus. l et’s hope to not see this word used in this way again.

Dear patriarchy, I want to be prettier

criteria of character?

Lisa Taylor

v iewpoint c olumnist

l ast week, a good male friend of mine examined my appearance and, completely unsolicited, told me that on a scale of one to 10, i ’m a 7.5. That is, after being friends for more than three years — after working through tough times and supporting each other, after sharing our passions and our doubts about the future — apparently, he felt something was missing from our relationship: a number to quantify my desirability.

i love my friend, but his comment evoked an array of ambivalent sentiments on my part. o ne was confusion. w as that supposed to be a compliment? s econd, frustration. w hy are we, as humans, so obsessed with appearances? Third, indignation. n o one ever has the right to verbally judge another’s exterior and make her or him feel insecure. Fourth, introspection. h ow can we combat the objectification and materialism of our culture? w hen can we move beyond appearance as

i n a n ew york Times article published n ov. 6, “ m annequins g ive s hape to a venezuelan Fantasy,” the author describes how manufacturers in venezuela are now creating mannequins that mirror the supposed ideal body type: huge breasts, toned butts and miniscule waists. i n a country with dramatically rising rates of plastic surgery, women often go to their surgeons saying they want to look like the mannequins in the stores. o ne woman quoted in the article reported her own plans for future breast implants, even though a private clinic operation costs the same as three months of basic household expenses — rent, utilities and other living costs. The most shocking part of the article for me was the following quote from o smel s ousa, the head of the m iss venezuela pageant: “ i f it [the ‘defect’] can be easily fixed with surgery, then why not do it? ... i say that inner beauty doesn’t exist. That’s something that unpretty women invented to justify themselves.”

i nner beauty is a justification

for unpretty women? w hat exactly, dear m r. s ousa, do these women need to justify? Their existence as human people? i n a world of rising materialism, consumerism and the commodification of human beings, we have to stop unacceptable comments like this. w e have to stop rating each other on a scale of one to 10 as if human beings are products in a store to be bought and later discarded. w e have to fight for social space for each and every person. w hile it’s undeniable that we live in a world of bodies where physicality matters, we must stop the association between being pretty/handsome and being valuable. i know girls at n otre d ame and in other places who struggle daily with their appearances. i know girls who fight against eating disorders, who skip meals before drinking because they don’t want the extra calories and who stand in front of the mirror and evaluate themselves, asking, “ i s this skirt short enough for him to notice me?” o nce, i asked my mom why she thinks women wear makeup and men don’t, and she responded, “ i think women

l et them eat code

w e never thought we would see the day when adults were bemoaning the foresight and responsibility of the a merican youth. b ut the national anxiety over the decline of the humanities major smacks of exactly that sentiment. young adults, some argue — under pressure from their parents and an unforgiving job market — feel they must pursue practical paths. For others, the fact that fewer students are choosing to study things like e nglish and art history is evidence that our society’s cultural fabric is fraying. b ut we’re not especially sorry to see the e nglish majors go. e conomies change, as does the demand for certain types of expertise and skill. i ncreased mechanization and digitization necessitates an increased number of engineers and programmers. h umanities apologists should

be able to appreciate this — if Thought c atalog and i nstagram are any indication, they’re fans of the i nternet, too. i t’s true that fewer humanities majors will mean fewer credentialed literary theorists and hermeneutic circles. b ut the complement — an increased number of students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math — will mean a greater probability of breakthroughs in research. w e refuse to rue a development that has advances in things like medicine, technological efficiency and environmental sustainability as its natural consequence.

w hat is more, the decline of the humanities major need not give us reason to anticipate the decline of the humanities: a cademics do not have unique access to the instructions for being human. w hether they study history and literature, applied math, or organismic and evolutionary biology, people will continue to seek truth in philosophy, solace in music and company

in the pages of books.

i n fact, we suspect that humanities professors’ effective surrender of any claim to objectivity — that is, their admission that they cannot provide authoritative understandings of texts on the grounds that no such understandings exist — was the first nail in the humanities’ coffin. w hy spend four years listening to lecturers warn you that you can never really know anything? o r worrying that failing to dissect a text or event along the lines of race, class or gender will result in an accusation of moral and intellectual irresponsibility (or worse, a bad grade)? The disciplines that once could claim to open the mind and free the spirit now seem to endorse a specific, sometimes discouraging, type of thinking.

w e are skeptical that those who study math, science and engineering chose their fields because they were enamored with the idea of living problem set to problem set. i ndeed, if students are choosing

need it more.” i know girls who wake up hours early to curl their hair and do their makeup before anyone can see them, who work out compulsively to try to attain that impossible but supposedly ideal body type and who won’t eat for a couple of days before going to the beach. i know girls who won’t walk up to the fro-yo machine in the dining hall because they think others are watching them, judging them. The media tells us and shows us every day what body types are acceptable and how to adapt to that social norm, but this constant social pressure to be beautiful is unrealistic and exhausting.

l et’s stop for a moment and ask, “ w hat actually brings us happiness?” m y intuition is that it’s much more about friendships and community than makeup and the ideal body type.

Lisa Taylor is a senior studying political science. She can be contacted at ltaylo13@nd.edu

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

“rigorous” concentrations not out of a love for objectivity but out of a fear of professional failure, then that is lamentable. s till, impracticality is not a virtue in and of itself. p ractical value and intellectual merit are not mutually exclusive, and one does not necessarily dwell where the other is absent. l earning to program, or research, or calculate can be enjoyable as well as useful.

Just as wheat and corn survived the decline of the a merican farmer, our culture, our values and our yearning to understand our acquaintances and ourselves will survive the decline of the humanities major. To those who are upset with the trend, we say: l et them eat code.

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.

2013 was a year of disappointments for me i love every band mentioned below but think their albums this year, for some reason or another, received undeserved acclaim. may the unhappy reader have mercy.

5. “Tomorrow’s harvest” boards of Canada before the release of “Tomorrow’s harvest,” many critics claimed every record in boards of canada’s discography was a classic. The duo of electronic producers pioneered a singular sound with debut “music has the r ight to children” atmospheric, lushly textured synths over vocal samples and drifting hip-hop drum beats. sophomore album “geogaddi” polished that sound to create a confounding work of equal eeriness and beauty, and of complex and engaging emotional duality. “The campfire headphase” used acoustic instruments to push boards of canada’s sonic textures to the next level. “headphase” also shifted the tone to a brighter, friendlier realm the b o c. hadn’t yet experimented with.

“Tomorrow’s harvest,” released a full eight years after “campfire,” breaks the pattern. stepping into a nearemotionless space and failing to introduce anything new to the duo’s sound, “harvest” boasts the same amazingly layered atmospheres of its predecessors but lacks any sort of differentiating aspect. it’s a highly interesting, pleasurable listen, but it doesn’t deserve the same accolades of the duo’s other albums. “harvest” is a gorgeous and well-built record. but in today’s electronic music scene, those are a dime a dozen; if b o c. wants to continue making classics, they need to bring something new to the table.

4. “monomania” deerhunter

For some inexplicable reason, deerhunter decided to take their excellent-as-always songs and cover them in a cloying layer of fuzz. The many melodic layers and awesome bass lines in this record are suppressed to a

fatal point there are so many missed opportunities to grab the listener on this record. it’s the sort of record that could have been huge, that could have spawned a plethora of anthems or summer jams. instead, it’s a frustratingly flat listen that is content to sit in the background. critics called the sound an interesting step for deerhunter and universally stamped it with glowing reviews. The problem is “monomania” just doesn’t glow that much.

3. “uncanney valley” The dismemberment Plan

“you hit the spacebar enough and cocaine comes out/i really like this computer/i’m like a fat man on drugs/drowning in hugs/you know, that i love the lovin’/because of something/some people saw what they saw/a nd now, no one is saying nothing.” yes, these are the first lyrics on “uncanney valley,” and no, they do not get better.

The dismemberment plan used to say something with their lyrics, something that offset their ever-quirky vocals and challenging song structures. “uncanney valley” sees the disappearance of relevance from the d-plan’s lyrics and the innovation from their music. if it’s on the album, it’s in 4/4 time, and it has a generic verse-chorus song structure. There will be no crazy riffs, there will be no cathartic moments and there will be no unexpected twists or turns.

every song on “uncanney valley” is essentially a rather average pop song with nonsense lyrics. critics didn’t go far enough in declaring this album a mediocre disappointment in The dismemberment plan’s catalog it’s just bad.

2. “reflektor” a rcade Fire

a too-long lcd soundsytem record with a few more instruments, different vocalists, and predictable buildups which still isn’t bad. oh, and the lyrics aren’t nearly as good. i mean, i’ll follow lead vocalist win butler through “it’s just a reflection of a reflection/of a reflection of a reflection/but i see you on the other side,” but why would you follow that with an irrelevant

platitude like “we all got things to hide?” warning : sass upcoming how about win butler asking us “is anyone as cruel as a normal person?” well, yes, win, i would think that cruel people are. a nd then this chorus: “here comes the night time/coming on slow/here comes the night time/i know that you know.” doesn’t everyone know when night time is coming? w hat, exactly, is the value of a lyric like that?

The fact is, a rcade Fire’s lyrics are really lazy on this record. a nd the sound they’ve crafted dance-rock with a driving beat has already been done by lcd soundsystem, and done better with less clutter over less time. “reflektor” isn’t the top-five, best-album-of-theyear material it’s chalked up to be. it’s merely a decent reflection of records that have come before.

1. “bitter rivals” sleigh bells

“bitter r ivals” is a mess. The sound effects scattered throughout the record are unnecessary, distracting and even annoying. The guitar riffs are less original, less catchy, less grabbing and often don’t add anything to their respective songs. a nd then there are the bloodcurdlingly too-high vocal notes.

sometimes the songs seem as if the choruses and verses are actually from different songs and have been smashed together unnecessarily (“sing like a wire,” “bitter r ivals”). “bitter r ivals” loses control of everything at sleigh bells disposal huge hip-hop beats, killer guitar riffs and a fierce female singer. The clutter created by forced-sounding elements like sound effects and additional synthesizers drags the duo’s entrancing sound into a ghastly pit.

a ll the sleigh bells fans i know have also felt betrayed and saddened by the release of “bitter r ivals.” it’s safe to say that this album, granted consistently positive reviews by critics, is the most overrated album of the year.

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 MEGHAN THOMASSEN managing e ditor

The estonian national symphony orchestra (enso) came to notre dame’s debartolo performing a rts center last Thursday. conducted by nikolai a lexeev, the orchestra performed “overture no. 2” by veljo Tormis, “concerto in b minor” by a ntonín dvořák and “symphony no. 5” by p yotr ilyich Tchaikovsky. written by one of the greatest living choral composers in estonia, “overture no. 2” is an early, purely orchestral piece that premiered in 1959. This piece was the first estonian composition played at the warsaw autumn Festival in 1961.

“with ‘overture no. 2,’ you hear something truly unique,” Jonathan d. Kramer wrote in the program,

“Tormis claims that he has ‘never composed pure music,’ music for music’s sake. even the meaning in the often performed ‘second overture’ is to be found elsewhere, not in the music itself.”

l isteners certainly felt the strong narrative emerging from the dramatic music. The violins and the cellos played with intense urgency, as if a storm were rolling into the leighton concert hall.

The best moment was when the bassoons and the trumpets swelled and flowered into gorgeous blooms of harmony. Tormis wove a powerful and fluid story that transported the audience to a different time and place.

estonian prodigy silver a inomäe starred in the ‘concerto in b minor’ in 1995. a inomäe began playing the cello when he was six years old. he has performed

in more than 30 countries, but made his soloist debut with none other than the enso in 2000.

a inomäe’s operatic performance stunned the crowd. he sat in downstage center in a cobalt silk shirt, bowing and turning to the music. every once in a while, he would wrinkle his brow, as if he too saw the increasing danger told in the story of the music.

The orchestra was conducted by a lexeev, winner of the herbert von Karajan competition in 1982. The enso began as a small radio orchestra in 1926 and has toured around the world to attend music festivals in russia, italy, bulgaria and the united states. The enso also played in Turin cathedral as a part of the 20th olympic winter games.

Contact Meghan Thomassen at mthomass@nd.edu

Picked off

Irish commit three turnovers as Pittsburgh deals Notre Dame upset loss, ending BCS hopes

Everything catches up to ND in crucial loss

Andrew Gastelum Editor-in- c hief

PITTSBURGH — It all finally caught up with them. The injuries, the Bc S expectations, the biting off more than they could chew.

It has been brewing as long as I have watched Notre Dame football. It took a brief respite against Tulsa and once again for South Florida. And then 12-0 happened and the breaks were going their way. Now they’re stuck at 7-3 with no more honest shot at the Bc S.

But it wasn’t entirely their fault. After all, that was the atmosphere created around the team by themselves, the fans and the media.

I’ll be forthright. As a journalist, you’re never rooting for teams. You’re rooting for scenarios, situations, stories. I caught myself hoping for a close game so I could write how even if the Irish beat Stanford to end the year, they wouldn’t belong in the Bc S.

I had all the bowl scenarios laid out, with Alabama and Florida State in the title game, and I showed how Notre Dame wouldn’t be able to top a second SEc team, Oregon, c lemson/Miami and maybe even Fresno State for the four at-large spots, let alone whether the Irish would be in the top 14 required to be Bc S-eligible. Turns out, Notre Dame scooped me, “point-blank, period.” The team beat me to my own point with what some sad souls call a “primetime game” in Pittsburgh.

Even in the press box before the game, veteran reporters clamored about the Bc S bowl Notre Dame would go to with a win against Stanford. Sugar or Orange, Orange or Sugar, but everything went sour a few hours later. I think everyone (who wasn’t completely deluded) knew this wasn’t a Bc S-caliber team. On Saturday night, no doubt was left behind as to who didn’t belong in the Bc S curtain call.

TJ Jones was the only bright spot for the Irish. In the

By JOSEPH MONARDO Associate Sports Editor

PITTSBURGH — Seeking its fifth-straight win and with a chance to claim the top spot in all-time winning percentage, Notre Dame came up short against underdog Pittsburgh. But even more damaging was the blow Notre Dame’s BcS hopes took. Hurt by a pair of interceptions, the Irish gave up three second-half touchdowns in a 28-21 loss to the Panthers on Saturday at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

Notre Dame (7-3) was driving and threatening to tie the game in the final minutes, but a 4th-and-10 pass attempt to Irish junior receiver Davaris Daniels fell incomplete and Pittsburgh (5-4, 2-3 Acc) ran out the clock to crush Notre

Dame’s already-fleeting BcSbowl hopes.

“Disappointing, especially disappointing in the way that we played and coached,” Irish coach Brian Kelly said. “Hats off to Pittsburgh, they deserved to win.

“The execution on offense was awful. Defensively we kept drives alive — pass-interference penalties, personal fouls. We weren’t alert enough to get on the ball for the fumble. … It’s on everybody. You can’t single out one thing. To a large degree though, the execution was very poor.”

The first half brought eight combined punts and the opening drives of the third quarter were no different. With Pittsburgh receiving the ball to start, both teams punted on their respective opening drives

Player of the game

The ball-hawking defensive back forced three turnovers and tied for the team lead with seven tackles. vinopal stripped TJ Jones inside the 10-yard line, intercepted Tommy Rees in the end zone at the start of the fourth quarter and picked him off again on Rees’ next pass, returning it to the ND 5-yard line to set up the game-winning TD.

before the Panthers put together a long drive on their second possession of the stanza. The 13play, 69-yard drive concluded with a two-yard touchdown run by Panthers freshman running back James conner and evened the score at 14.

Notre Dame answered immediately, with an 80-yard touchdown pass from Irish senior quarterback Rees to senior receiver TJ Jones on the first play following Pitt’s score. The Irish did not hold the 21-14 advantage for long, though, as Pittsburgh responded with a three-play, 75yard touchdown drive that took only 1:17 off the clock. Panthers redshirt senior quarterback Tom Savage found redshirt senior receiver Devin Street for a 63-yard touchdown strike to pull the Panthers even once again. Irish junior safety Matthias Farley hit Street when he caught the football but could not bring him down, as the wideout broke free and ran another 35 yards for the score.

Trying to retake the lead, Notre Dame put together an eight-play drive that moved the ball 50 yards to the Pitt 4-yard line. Rolling to his right on second down, Rees lofted a throw back to his left that was intended for Irish sophomore receiver chris Brown. But Panthers

Mistakes on both sides of the ball crush Irish

By JOSEPH MONARDO Associate Sports Editor

PITTSBURGH — Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame had made a living off of playing strong late-season ball.

The Irish have not always looked perfect over the past four seasons, but they very nearly had been perfect in November games in the same span.

In Saturday’s 28-21 loss to Pittsburgh, Notre Dame’s turnovers, defensive lapses and inability to execute overwhelmed the team’s attempt to extend its winning streak to five games. The defeat is only the second November loss for the Irish under Kelly, a stretch in which Notre Dame is 12-2.

“I think what I’m most concerned about is the inability to put together a consistent effort tonight, in November, 10 games into the season,” Irish coach Brian Kelly said. “There’s really, for me, no reason why. And I take full responsibility for it as the head coach.

“There’s no reason why we don’t execute the level we should in November. And that happened tonight.”

Key among the many Irish mistakes was a trio of turnovers

“There’s no reason why we don’t execute the level we should in November.”

Brian Kelly Irish coach

from veteran starters. Senior receiver TJ Jones fumbled the ball at the end of a 34-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter. Pittsburgh recovered the fumble on its own six-yard line. Rees added two fourthquarter interceptions, one of which came in the end zone and the other of which came on an overthrown ball down the middle of the field.

“I just know we made mistakes and kept making mistakes,” Jones said. “It’s hard to get momentum going when you make those types of plays.”

reP ort CarD

QUarterBaCKS

Tommy Rees threw two crucial interceptions in the fourth quarter and looked off at other times throughout the night, completing fewer than 50 percent of his passes. He did manage to post 318 yards through the air, but the interceptions took away possible Irish points with one turnover and set up Pittsburgh points on the other.

rUNNINg BaCKS

Notre Dame averaged a healthy 5.8 yards per carry on 24 attempts, totaling 138 yards on the ground. But 41 of those yards came from receiver TJ Jones, and, except for a 33-yard scamper from George Atkinson, the Irish running backs were fairly quiet.

reCeIV erS

TJ Jones turned in another productive performance, racking up six receptions for 149 yards, highlighted by his 80-yard catch and run in the third quarter. Jones added another 41 yards and a score on the ground. Davaris Daniels showed up on the radar again with a touchdown.

offe NSIV e lIN e

Notre Dame did a solid job up front, mostly providing Rees with enough time to throw. But the line struggled at times to open up running lanes, especially in the second half. The unit did, however, do a strong job neutralizing Panthers defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who had just one tackle.

Defe NSIV e lI N e

Sheldon Day was impressive with three tackles for loss, and Louis Nix was active as well. Pittsburgh averaged just 2.7 yards per carry. The already-thin line, however, took a huge hit when Stephon Tuitt was ejected for targeting at the beginning of the second quarter.

lIN e BaCKerS

Jaylon Smith notched a career-high 11 tackles and Prince Shembo made a terrific strip sack, even though Notre Dame then inexplicably failed to recover the fumble. The linebacking corps helped shut down Pittsburgh’s run game.

Defe NSIVe BaCKS

Missed tackles and poor coverage dogged the secondary throughout the night and allowed Tom Savage to post solid numbers (22-for-35 for 243 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions). Right after Jones’ 80-yard touchdown put Notre Dame in front, Devin Street broke free for a 63-yard score to tie it right back up.

SP eCIal teamS

The Irish continued to struggle in kickoff coverage and allowed a 50-yard return, though they did control Pittsburgh’s punt-return game. George Atkinson had a nice 41-yard return, and Kyle Brindza punted well, though he did miss an ambitious 56-yard field goal.

CoaCh INg

With a potential BcS bowl on the line, the Irish came out and played their worst game of the season. Afterward, Brian Kelly took the blame for not having the team ready. Notre Dame abandoned the run game in the second half, rushing just six times. Tarean Folston, last week’s breakout star, carried just four times.

oV erall gPa : 2.59

Notre Dame hand-delivered three turnovers to Pittsburgh and played inconsistently on defense as well. Poor tackling spurred a Devin Street touchdown, and multiple players watched a live ball roll around before realizing they should try to dive on it. In the end, Notre Dame gave away any chance it had of clinching a spot in a BcS bowl.

Play of the game

ray VIN o Pal’S INter C e P tI o N a ND 40-yar D retU r N

The Irish came away unscathed after Rees’ first interception — though they did miss out on points of their own — but could not do the same after vinopal picked off Rees again and brought it back to the 5-yard line, setting up an easy touchdown plunge for the decisive score.

redshirt junior defensive back Ray vinopal came down with the interception in the end zone.

On third down of Pittsburgh’s ensuing drive, Irish senior linebacker Prince Shembo brought down Savage, who fumbled the ball. Believing the play to be dead after an incomplete pass, no player scooped up the free ball and the Panthers eventually fell on it. Pittsburgh punted the next play, but the Irish did not take long to give it right back. Looking for junior tight end Troy Niklas over the middle, Rees overthrew his target and vinopal came down with his second interception of the night before running deep into the red zone. vinopal also forced a first-quarter fumble from Jones.

“We can’t turn the ball over like that,” Rees said. “I take accountability for that. When you put your defense in compromising situations like that, it’s hard for the defense to make stops. It starts with me and it starts with the senior leaders. We have to come back better. There’s definitely the little things that we didn’t do that you need to win games.”

vinopal’s 40-yard return placed the ball on the 5-yard line and, two plays later, conner rumbled in from the 1-yard line to put Pittsburgh up 28-21 with 9:36 left to play.

The opening drives of the game fit the theme of recent years, if not in terms of outstanding play at least in terms of back-and-forth action. Notre Dame elected to receive to start the game but had to punt the ball away after a three-and-out. After a 49-yard punt by Irish junior Kyle Brindza, Pittsburgh got underway from the 25-yard line and traveled 30 yards on seven plays before having to punt, as

well. The Irish defense featured senior defensive lineman Louis Nix, sophomore defensive lineman Sheldon Day and sophomore safety Elijah Shumate as starters, all of whom had been battling injuries in recent weeks.

The teams traded punts once more before the Irish strung together the game’s longest drive to that point. Jones came out of the backfield and took a handoff from Rees to deliver the drive’s seminal moment, a 33-yard run. Then, on 4th-and-4 from the 34-yard line, Rees found junior tight end Ben Koyack for a 10yard gain. Two plays later, Rees lofted a perfect pass to Daniels, who had made space for himself with a slick double move. The first score of the game concluded the nine-play, 83-yard drive and gave Notre Dame a 7-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter, Notre Dame’s defense suffered a critical loss when junior defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt drew a flag for targeting while tackling Savage early in the second quarter. Following a video review, the officials upheld Tuitt’s ejection from the game.

“I tried to get momentum from it, get guys going, but losing Tuitt to the defense is a big difference,” Irish senior cornerback and tricaptain Bennett Jackson said.

“It’s a big hole to fill. And we just tried to come together as a defense and continue to pull it out.”

After the penalty Pittsburgh marched into the red zone for the first time of the night and capped off a 10-play, 71-yard scoring drive with a three-yard touchdown pass from Savage to Street.

With the Irish trying to answer, TJ Jones fumbled the ball at the end of a long catch-and-run from Rees. Pittsburgh gained possession at its own six but could not pick up a first down and quickly punted it back to Notre Dame. With a chance to put Jones’ mistake further in the rear-view

mirror, the Irish did not drag their feet. Rees completed a 38yard pass to Koyack on the drive’s opening play to put the ball at the half-yard line and Jones ran it in two plays later to give the visiting team a one-touchdown lead it would maintain heading into the break.

In the losing effort, Jones finished with 149 yards receiving and 41 yards. He also scored a rushing touchdown and caught a touchdown pass, giving him a receiving score in each of Notre Dame’s last seven contests. The stellar individual performance was not enough, however.

“It was frustrating,” he said. “Everyone was mad. No one is happy. You know that you made mistakes that cost you the game.

“We made mistakes. They didn’t. We didn’t execute. They did. Point blank, period.”

The Irish enter the bye week following the loss and will return to action in the senior day game against BYU on Nov. 23 in Notre Dame Stadium. What began as a season filled with high expectations has devolved into something much bleaker, as the loss dropped the Irish out of the top 25. Notre Dame still has plenty to play for, though, Jackson said.

“You know, we play for ourselves, and you always play for yourselves, you play for the university,” he said. “We are just going to go out and win every game that’s in front of us. Every opportunity we have we are going to go out there and compete, and that’s what we do every week. So if the BcS isn’t there, we just go out there and compete. We are brothers, we are teammates, and we play for the university.

“You don’t want to lose any games. So we are going to go into the bye week, work our tails off and try to win the ball game.”

Contact Joseph Monardo at jmonardo@nd.edu

Mistakes

Another glaring miscue came on the defensive end, when Irish senior linebacker Prince Shembo forced a fumble while bringing down Panthers redshirt senior quarterback Tom Savage for a sack. Several Irish players, including sophomore defensive end Sheldon Day, were within reach of the bouncing ball but did not pick it up.

“It was just a lapse,” Kelly said. “A bunch of inexperienced guys out there not seeing that they should have been on the ball.”

Penalties constituted another set of errors for the Irish. Irish junior defensive end Stephon Tuitt drew a flag for targeting in the opening

Upset

process, it looks like he moved up the depth chart to become the go-to running back ahead of Amir c arlisle and Tarean Folston, who was given nothing near the carries he saw in a breakout game against Navy. Jones was the leading rusher after the first quarter and the only Irish back with a touchdown. Even more baffling is the six total rush attempts in the second half.

However, Jones can’t throw the ball to himself. Tommy

quarter and senior cornerback Bennett Jackson was flagged for pass interference on a 4thand-5 play in the third quarter.

Taken together, the array of errors proved to be insurmountable for the Irish.

“No big-picture things,” Kelly said. “Not really big, heady stuff. These are just fundamentals of the game of football that were not attended to in the manner that they needed to be. Our mantra is ‘you can’t start winning until you stop losing,’ and we did things tonight that cause losing.”

The loss drops the Irish firmly out of the hunt for a Bc S bowl berth, forcing them to look elsewhere for motivation moving forward.

“Just go out the best you can,” Jones said. “You don’t

No such option exists, and it is uncomfortable to watch (paging Mr. Kiel). Meanwhile, how many times this year has there been complete indecision on 3rd- or 4th-and-short before a timeout was unnecessarily burned?

And not to mention the forgotten fumble, which Sheldon Day bounced around in his hands while other defenders congratulated the sack, thinking it was an incomplete pass. And no, as Kelly said, Stephon Tuitt was not the reason Notre Dame lost. I don’t think he would have picked up the

Something was different with this loss, as if it were Achilles at the moment of his demise. The realization of mortality and fallibility stung cold.

Rees won’t be able to forget about these game-changing interceptions since the defense couldn’t bail him out like they did against Arizona State. At one point, Pittsburgh safety Ray v inopal was third on the Irish in receptions, with two.

Which leads me to Brian Kelly. In the past, it has been easy for him. When a quarterback struggles, he has been able to pull the plug and erase mistakes with a viable No. 2 option at quarterback and a refreshing change in pace.

fumble either, and he certainly doesn’t convert touchdowns in the red zone.

Notre Dame lost because it didn’t respect the season. The team and everyone else were waiting for Stanford. That is where the season ended on the schedule and started in the minds of team, fans, etc., ever since the Oklahoma loss.

Meanwhile, to Pittsburgh, Notre Dame was its Stanford.

But Pittsburgh could have been Navy last week, Arizona State, Purdue, USc last year, BYU last year, Purdue last year

want to go out on an 0-3 streak. So you finish up the season the best you can and you take the bowl game that you get.”

Notre Dame will have an extra week to ruminate on its mistakes and regroup following the loss, as it heads into a bye week before welcoming in BYU on Nov. 23.

“We’ll go in Monday and put this behind us, from a film standpoint,” Kelly said. “We won’t put this behind us from an evaluation standpoint. But we will put it behind us in terms of the game itself. We’ll weight-train on Tuesday, and then I’ll make my decision about how we move forward the rest of the games.”

Contact Joseph Monardo at jmonardo@nd.edu

and on and on.

However, something was different with this one. In past losses, Kelly was still confident, borderline arrogant. Just look at the Tulsa “get used to it” press conference or the ordering of the players to the locker room instead of the alma mater after Oklahoma.

But then there was this Brian Kelly. Bloodshot eyes, at a loss for words, soft-spoken, not nearly the politician aura he usually carries. I wasn’t there for the national championship loss, but I have never seen Kelly like this. He accepted the blame. He said things needed to change.

Jones, Rees and Bennett Jackson all took part of the blame. I have never heard the word mistake so much as I did in that 15-minute player availability.

Something was different with this loss, as if it were Achilles at the moment of his demise. The realization of mortality and fallibility stung cold.

For once, I’m convinced something will change, or this epic will be played as a tragedy for the ages.

Contact Andrew Gastelum at agastel1@nd.edu

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

Turnover-prone ND loses

By ANDREW GASTELUM Editor-in- c hief

PITTSBURGH — With his 80yard touchdown reception in the third quarter, Irish receiver TJ Jones has a touchdown catch in each of the last seven games. The streak brings him within one game of Jeff Samardzija (2005) and Golden Tate’s school record of eight straight games. Jones also set a career high with 149 receiving yards while recording his fifth 100-yard game of the season and his

SCorINg SUmmary

N otre D ame 7, PIttSBU rgh 0

Davaris Daniels 10-yard pass from Rees (Brindza kick)

3:41 remaining

Drive: Nine plays, 83 yards, 3:29 elapsed

Notre D ame 7, PIttSBU rgh 7

Devin Street 3-yard pass from Savage (Blewitt kick)

10:20 remaining

Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards, 5:14 elapsed

N otre D ame 14, PIttSBU rgh 7

TJ Jones 1-yard run (Brindza kick)

6:34 remaining

Drive: Four plays, 39 yards, 1:05 elapsed

N otre Dame 14, PIttSBU rgh 14

James conner 2-yard run (Blewitt kick)

3:47 remaining Drive: 13 plays, 69 yards, 6:18 elapsed

Notre Dame 21, PIttSBU rgh 21

Devin Street 63-yard pass from Savage (Blewitt kick)

2:12 remaining Drive: Three plays, 75 yards, 1:17 elapsed

PIttSBU rgh 28, N otre Dame 21

James conner 1-yard run (Blewitt kick)

9:36 remaining

Drive: Two plays, five yards, 0:50 elapsed

career. The performance moved Jones into eighth place in school history in career receiving yards with 2,212.

Close-game streak ends

Notre Dame’s prowess in the clutch came to a halt as its streak of 10 wins in games decided by a touchdown or less was broken. The streak dated back to the 2011 champs Sports Bowl, where the Irish lost 18-14 to Florida State.

The streak was the longest active streak in the nation and the

third longest since 1980. It comes down to turnovers In their seven wins this season, the Irish have turned the ball over five times, but in their losses the figure rises to eight. Notre Dame lost the turnover battle 3-0 against Pittsburgh with two Tommy Rees interceptions and a Jones fumble in the red zone.

Contact Andrew Gastelum at agastel1@nd.edu

Pa NtherS PUll off UPSet

Pittsburgh defeated Notre Dame, 28-21, on Saturday at Heinz Field. The Irish, who fell to 7-3 and essentially watched any hope of a BCS bowl wither away, turned it over three times — twice when they were knocking on the door to score and another time that led to Pittsburgh’s game-winning touchdown. Notre Dame now has a bye week before facing BYU and Stanford to close the regular season.

By JIMMY KEMPER s cene writer

on Friday, nasim pedrad from “saturday night live” came to legends, courtesy of the student union board, to perform a standup comedy show. The set was definitely a far cry from pedrad’s usual snl performances, as the small-crowd setting gave her a chance to focus on herself and her quirks, instead of the zany characters she typically portrays on nbc’s long-running sketch comedy show. pedrad quickly engaged the audience by opening the show with a series of jokes about notre dame, calling it the “whitest place she’s ever been to” and worrying about how she still has not seen “rudy.” she swiftly changed the focus of the jokes from the school to herself and her upbringing by iranian parents in los a ngeles. a number of the comments centered on her awkward personality and how this affected the way she grew up, including references to her taekwondo lessons and shaving her unibrow. pedrad’s awkwardness has definitely continued into the present day, however, and she was not afraid to make note of this fact during the show. pedrad referenced her first encounter with Kim Karadashian after making fun of her on snl and how unemotional Kardashian was. pedrad finished the show with a quick Q& a session, and she surprised the crowd by advising them that they absolutely should not go into the entertainment industry unless absolutely nothing else makes them happy because it’s such a brutal industry to be in.

Contact Jimmy Kemper at jkemper2@nd.edu

This week, The Observer talked with Nasim Pedrad, currently the longest tenured woman on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL), after her stand-up set at Legends on Friday. The event was presented by the Student Union Board. Scene writer Jimmy Kemper talked with Pedrad about stand-up comedy, SNL and her future plans.

Jimmy Kemper: Thank you for doing this interview. So first, I was hoping to ask about your stand-up. How often do you get to get away from “Saturday Night Live” and do this?

nasim pedrad: i usually do college shows whenever i get a chance, and it only ends up being on hiatus weeks from snl a nd we usually have — every 3 or 4 weeks at snl , we’ll usually have 1 to 3 weeks off. so sometimes we’ll be on for 2, off for 2, on for 1, off for 1. Those are a lot of weeks off. a nd it’s a fun way to visit places that i haven’t been, like i’ve never been to indiana before. so yeah, whenever i’m off from snl

JK: How is doing stand-up routines at colleges, compared to at comedy clubs?

np: w hat i love doing about college shows and the thing that keeps it fresh and interesting for me is that i try to find out a little bit about the college before i come, because i remember being in college and loving it when a performer came and had learned a little bit about the school.because when you’re a student, you don’t necessarily know that they’re going to be knowing some of the specifics that maybe the people at that school joke about. it’s a real fun payoff when you can kind of make fun of that specific school for the same reasons that the students make fun of it or laugh about it or refer to a thing on campus, like Touchdown Jesus or whatever. every school has their own unique little specifics, but i try to do that just so the show is always different. Then my act, depending on what school i’m going to, i might pick one thing over another. i always try to mix it up to keep things interesting.

JK: Very cool. How is SNL going for you now that you’re now the longest tenured woman on the show and there are so many new cast members?

np: i am having so much fun. i think the longer you’re there, the more you understand how the show works. it’s my fifth season, and when it’s your fifth season, a lot of times you get to bring in a writer you’ve worked with, so this year they hired my friend mikey day, who i have done comedy with for a long time.

it’s been great having him there because we already have the shorthand that exists from years of working together. so that’s been fun, having a writer who i work well with. in terms of the new people, they are just the loveliest, funniest people, and i just try to be there for them in any way i can. but honestly, they’re all such pros that i’m like “oh, you guys got this.” it does feel weird to be the longest tenured woman on the show because it’s so new and i feel like i just got there. w hat i mean by “so new” is that every week is so different that sometimes i’m like, “Jude law, was he my first season or third season?” it all kind of blends together.

JK: And is the show different with all these other longtime SNL members like Bill Hader and Fred Arimsen gone now?

yeah, i think so. i miss them very much. but lorne [michaels] knows how to run it in a way that it’s interesting. There’s so many casts that come and go that people are like, “oh, the show’s going

to be screwed if these people leave.” it’s such a well-oiled machine that i feel like he’s been doing it for so long now that he knows how to keep it going even when we lose really big stars like that. it’s always evolving, and there’s always going to be new casts. maybe there’s a little bit of a new adjustment period. but honestly, this year i feel like it’s going to take time for people to get to know everyone who’s on the show because there’s so many of them. it’ll take time, but they’re already starting to understand their function.

JK: So what’s the day-to-day SNL process for you?

np: so monday we meet the host and we pitch them ideas. sometimes we’ll stay after that and start thinking of things we’re actually going to write. Then Tuesday is our writing night, and we’re there from 1 p.m. to as late as you want to be. sometimes i don’t leave till wednesday morning. we’ll table-read wednesday night, where we read all 40 sketches that were written the night before. a nd then after the table-read, we find out which sketches got picked, and we go home and sleep a lot. like, we sit in our offices and drink wine, and they’ll basically show us what’s called “picks,” and it’s the rundown where they circle the sketches that got picked. Then Thursday and Friday, we rehearse. Then saturday we rehearse all day. Thursday and Friday we’re blocking for camera. saturday we have dress rehearsal at 8 p.m. and then the show at 11:30. Then sunday we usually wake up in the middle of the day and shove chinese food down our throats in bed and then do it again on monday.

JK: Can you tell us about any horror stories from the set?

np: i’ve definitely seen sets like almost fall over because you’re moving in those sets so fast in such a small space. but we have the most amazing crew, so even that time i saw it almost fall over, there were three guys that ran immediately to catch it.

JK: Wow, that’s crazy. What about your favorite moment?

np: i guess the one that sticks out is the very first time that i got to say “live from new york, it’s saturday night” in a cold open where i played as a translator. it was just an out-of-body experience. i was like “oh my god, i’m saying it.” you can almost feel the camera lens zoom in on your face. That was the most exciting. a nd then there’s nothing more terrifying then the snl audition itself. so after the snl audition you’re like, “i can do anything now.” nothing will ever be as scary as that.

Contact Jimmy Kemper at jkemper2@nd.edu

don’t blame i ncognito alone

Greg Hadley sports writer

a ssigning blame can be a tricky thing, but accepting it can be even harder.

That’s all i could think as i read about Jonathan m artin and r ichie i ncognito this weekend.

w ho is to blame for what happened? i s it i ncognito, his teammates, coach Joe p hilbin, the d olphins organization, or the culture of the n F l in general?

o r did all of these people collectively fail to recognize that m artin is a troubled young man who never should have had to deal with what he did? Trips to l as vegas, mandatory strip club meetings, cafeteria confrontations, threatening text messages and racist epithets should not be part of any young player’s experience. it is no wonder m artin could not take it anymore. a ny healthy, happy person would be pushed to the limit by such harassment. nobody, not even i ncognito, is disputing what happened. e ven so, there has been a groundswell of support for him from the d olphins locker room with the underlying implication that m artin overreacted. g eneral manager Jeff i reland even went so far as to say that m artin should have dealt with his problems by punching i ncognito instead of looking to others for support. w hen m artin turned over the threatening texts and voicemails to the n F l , many said m artin was dealing with his problems in a cowardly way. i ncognito himself said in an interview with Fox s ports that although he regretted his use of vulgarities and racial slurs, he considers m artin a friend. he also said that within the culture of the locker room, such behavior is normal. he added that m artin even sent him a threatening text message in the past as a joke. w hen it comes to assigning blame, it is not at all clear that i ncognito is the only one at fault. c ertainly, his actions were reprehensible. s till, the problem goes beyond him. i f his teammates support him so strongly, it is obvious they do not think his actions were all that bad. a nd if executives say m artin should have handled his problems in-house, they must not want to be bothered by player complaints. The entire culture of the d olphins franchise, from the locker room to the board room, deserves as much scrutiny as i ncognito has faced. w hen it comes to accepting

blame, no one involved is interested in taking full responsibility. i ncognito apologized for using vulgarity but credited it to the locker room’s atmosphere. p hilbin said he is responsible for that atmosphere but apparently had no idea what m artin was enduring. d olphins players blamed m artin for not taking care of his problems, without admitting that maybe, just maybe, they are the problem.

m artin himself apparently never went to p hilbin to complain before he finally broke down. now he has started an n F l investigation that could possibly end a teammate’s career and embroil a franchise in scandal. a ccording to i ncognito, m artin sent him a text message saying he did not blame his teammates but instead, the culture.

The bottom line is that whatever happens, i ncognito is the perfect scapegoat. There is incriminating, shocking evidence against him. h is character witnesses are other n F l players. you know, the ones that voted him the dirtiest player in the n F l in 2009. a nd now it is coming to light that in 2012, i ncognito was accused of harassing and molesting a female d olphins employee at a golf tournament.

i n the end, i ncognito will probably be suspended for a season or two at least. b eyond that, i reland might lose his job for his punching suggestion. m artin might return to play football, and the media hoopla will die down. b ut things won’t change, because the d olphins and the n F l will blame the system, the culture and the atmosphere, but never actually admit that they make that culture.

w hen teammates and executives say it would have been better for m artin to confront i ncognito, they perpetuate a locker-room culture where people who are afraid of speaking out never will. m artin suffered abuse for a year and a half before he finally broke free. w hile p hilbin wonders why m artin never came to complain, perhaps he should instead wonder how accessible and in charge he really is.

s o, in the end, r ichie i ncognito will probably be assigned all of the blame and accept most of it. i f only others would do the same.

Contact Greg Hadley at ghadley@nd.edu

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

Ravens claim overtime victory over Bengals

Associated Press

balT imore — Their season hanging in the balance after having victory snatched away on a final desperate play of regulation, the baltimore ravens responded like champions.

v ictimized by a desperation 51-yard touchdown pass to force overtime, the defending super bowl winners edged cincinnati 20-17 on Justin Tucker’s 46-yard field goal with 5:27 left in oT sunday.

“it’s disappointment,” coach John harbaugh said of a .J. green’s catch as the clocked ran out in the fourth quarter. “but you don’t get disheartened. you still have a chance to win the game, still.”

a nd so they did, after blowing a 17-0 halftime lead.

bidding to end a three-game skid and remain relevant in the playoff hunt, the ravens committed three turnovers and managed only 189 yards of offense.

“we’re not playing great right now,” baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco conceded, “but we’re doing the best we can to win.”

The tense win thrust the ravens (4-5) into a secondplace tie in the a Fc north, just one game behind cincinnati (6-4) in the loss column. it was baltimore’s first victory since oct. 6.

Four of the ravens’ five losses have come by a combined 14 points. it seemed like this one was headed in that direction after a ndy dalton forced overtime with that heave to green to end the fourth quarter.

“i looked back and saw green with the ball in his hands and i couldn’t believe it,” ravens cornerback corey graham said.

but baltimore persevered.

“The thing is i’m most proud of is the heart of our guys,” harbaugh said. “They showed the heart of champions. w here this will lead us, we’ll find out.”

w ho knows if the ravens can rebound from their poor start to make the postseason for a sixth straight year? This much is certain: it would have been much tougher if they were 3-6 and tied for last place with p ittsburgh.

“Thank you, l ord!” shouted James i hedigbo shouted as he left the field.

Flacco threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, and ray r ice gained a mere 30 yards on 18 carries. a nd still, the ravens prevailed.

“sometimes you have to win by any means necessary,” r ice said. “w inning heals a lot. now

we’ve got to get on a roll to get back where we want to be.”

despite their comeback, the bengals lost their second straight overtime game. dalton went 24 for 51 for 274 yards and three interceptions and was sacked five times as the bengals lost to baltimore for the fifth time in six games.

a nd now it’s their turn to lament a run of narrow defeats.

“we’ve got to do whatever we can to make one more play, put ourselves in a better position where we can score and have a chance to not let the other team have it,” dalton said. “again, it didn’t happen today.”

a lmost, but not quite. on the last-second throw in regulation, green positioned himself behind the pack and caught the deflection after it flicked off the hand of i hedigbo, who earlier had the first two interceptions of his career.

“i was just looking for someone to tap the ball so i could catch it,” green said.

The bengals won the toss before overtime and moved to the baltimore 33 before giovani bernard caught a short pass, reversed field and was tackled for an 11-yard loss on fourth down.

baltimore then got a pair of first downs before Tucker kicked the winner.

detroit 21, Chicago 19

chicago — calvin Johnson saw the defensive coverage. same for matthew stafford, and they knew exactly what to do.

The result was a franchise record for one of the n Fl’s best wide receivers, and a big win for the detroit l ions.

Johnson caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from stafford with 2:22 to go, helping the l ions edge Jay cutler and the chicago bears 21-19 on sunday in a key matchup of n Fc north rivals.

“i knew immediately that one of us on the outside was going to get it,” Johnson said. “so i just wanted to work, be patient and he threw a great ball.”

Johnson also had a tiebreaking T d reception in the third quarter and reggie bush rushed for 105 yards as detroit (6-3) swept the season series against chicago (5-4) for the first time since the 2007 season.

w hen green bay lost 27-13 to philadelphia, the l ions were all alone in first in the division for the first time since the end of week 5 of the 2005 season, according to sTaTs

“we came out with a victory

on the road against a really tough team,” detroit coach Jim schwartz said. “it was a hardfought win. p roud of the players, but that’s the only thing that means (anything) today.

“i mean first place, you don’t get any prizes for first place there nine games into the season.”

Johnson’s ninth touchdown grab of the season was the 63rd of his career, breaking a tie with herman moore for the detroit record. moore still leads with 670 career receptions for the l ions, but Johnson might take that record down at some point, too.

“To be a part of history for the l ions, that’s a big deal,” Johnson said.

cutler threw for 250 yards and a touchdown in his first action since he injured his groin last month. he injured his left ankle in the second quarter and looked progressively worse as the game wore on. coach marc Trestman finally decided to put in Josh mccown before the bears’ final drive. “i didn’t want to take him out unless he felt he couldn’t do the job,” Trestman said. “it was, i thought, a very courageous performance throughout. Then at the end i took him out because i knew he would have to run around in the two-minute drill and that’s when we decided to put Josh in the game.” mccown drove the bears down the field, throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to brandon marshall with 40 seconds left.

a fter a roughing penalty on w illie young gave the bears another chance at the tying 2-point conversion, nick Fairley threw matt Forte down in the backfield to preserve the win for detroit.

“i just figured it would be a run or a play-action pass,” Fairley said. “i just scouted out the ball real good and it was just happy i made the play.”

stafford threw for 219 yards for detroit, which has won two in a row for the first time since the end of september. Johnson had six catches for 83 yards. The l ions were clinging to a 14-10 lead when chris conte intercepted an overthrown ball by stafford and returned it 35 yards to the detroit 9.

Forte then had a touchdown run negated by a holding penalty on left guard matt slauson and an apparent scoring pass to a lshon Jeffery was overturned when a replay showed he lost control of the ball when he hit the ground.

rish rally from two games down to top eagles

By KATIE HEIT sports writer

i n a comeback victory, n otre d ame rallied from two games down to win three in a row and take the 3-2 win over b oston c ollege on s aturday.

The i rish (11-14, 5-9 acc ) lagged behind early, struggling to score as they fell 1825 and 17-25 in the first two games. i rish coach d ebbie b rown said something clicked after those first two losses.

“ o ur passing got a little better,” b rown said. “ w e were able to slow down their offense a little. w e just got into a better rhythm in the last three games. o nce we

got the momentum and the confidence, we just built on that.”

The i rish controlled the third game, pulling ahead early and controlling the game until the 25-18 victory. The fourth set was more of a battle, with 17 ties and eight lead changes. The i rish fought for every point before an error by b oston c ollege and an ace by senior setter m aggie b rindock closed out the game.

The final game of the match featured eight ties and three lead changes. The e agles pulled ahead 13-11 before n otre d ame took control. w ith the i rish up 16-15, a kill by junior middle blocker Jeni h ouser gave the i rish victory of the game and the match.

b rown said the toughest part of battling b oston c ollege was the strength of their outside hitters.

“ e arly on we had a tough time stopping their outside hitters,” b rown said. “ w e did a much better job of that as the match went on, so that was the biggest challenge for us.”

The i rish posted some impressive stats throughout the match. s enior outside hitter n icole s mith led the team with 14 kills, followed closely by junior outside hitter Toni a lugbue and h ouser, each with 11 kills. b rindock had 33 assists and six digs. d espite these stellar individual performances, b rown said she thought the win was a product of the entire team working together.

“ w e played everyone on the roster who was there,” b rown said. “a t certain times, whoever we called on came in and did the job that needed to be done.”

w ith their fifth acc win under their belts, the i rish will head to c oral g ables, Fla., to take on m iami on Friday at 7 p.m.

Contact Katie Heit at kheit@nd.edu

Swimmers take two in Pa.

By KIT LOUGHRAN

s ports w riter

The i rish made quite a splash at their inaugural acc tri-meet.

summerhays’s 17 saves in the opening period allowed the irish to enter the first break with a 0-0 tie. according to sophomore left wing sam herr, the goalie’s performance allowed the irish time to build confidence.

“we kind of struggled in the first 10 minutes, and they were taking it to us,” herr said. “[summerhays] got us through the first 10 minutes. we just bared down on defense, and after we realized we could create opportunities from defense to transition, that’s when we started taking over the game.”

herr, notre dame’s leading goal scorer, also played well, adding his sixth goal of the season. senior forward bryan rust opened the scoring in the second period, driving unassisted to the net and maneuvering around gophers sophomore goalie adam wilcox to put the shot home. minnesota quickly responded when junior defenseman ben marshall knocked home a one-timer from junior forward sam warning.

The game would remain tied until, on the irish power play, herr took a pass from freshman center vince hinostroza and forced it between the legs of wilcox for the goal with 3:06 left in the second period. after some recent struggles in man-up situations, herr said the two powerplay goals were exactly what the irish needed.

“That’s a confidence booster,” herr said. “That’s been our problem, even last year. Tonight, to put in two, … everyone on the ice now is a little bit more confident, and we’ll be able to make more plays.”

The irish would add two more goals in the third. Junior right wing garrett peterson scored his first of the season before senior left wing Jeff costello put home an empty netter in the final seconds. after claiming the 4-1 victory, Jackson credited the crowd for energizing the irish.

“it was just a great crowd, so they want to do well,” Jackson said. “our student section, when they’re all there like that, it’s such a difference. They were our sixth man tonight.”

The irish were unable to sustain the same defensive effort the following night, falling 5-4 to the gophers. minnesota came out aggressively early, notching a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes.

gophers freshman forward Taylor cammarata started things off by squeezing the puck between summerhays and the post on the power play for his third goal of the season. gophers freshman forward hudson Fasching added another for

the visiting team shortly thereafter, converting an irish turnover into an unassisted goal.

The irish made it 2-1 when hinostroza hit senior defenseman shayne Taker to set up a slapshot that made it past wilcox’s glove side, but gophers freshman forward Justin Kloos scored only three minutes later to extend the minnesota lead to two.

Jackson said he knew the gophers would come out firing after putting only one goal on the board Friday.

“i expected [minnesota] to be better, and i didn’t think we were as good,” Jackson said. “and that combination, obviously, is not a good one. [summerhays] wasn’t as sharp as [Friday night]. it’s tough to play two great games in a row. i thought it was the result of a lot of mistakes in front of him, too, so i don’t put that on him.”

irish sophomore left wing mario lucia put a goal on the board with 17 seconds remaining in the first period to pull the irish within one before the break. The irish added two more goals in the second stanza, one from lucia and one from senior defenseman stephen Johns. hinostroza assisted on both of lucia’s goals, giving him three assists on the night and a teambest nine on the season, but he left the game with a lower body injury and did not return.

lucia, whose father don lucia played at notre dame and is now head coach of the gophers, said his two goals topped off a special weekend for him.

“it was nice having my dad here for parents’ weekend. it was pretty special for him to come on the ice for that. i enjoyed the experience, but it would have been a little better if we would have swept. i could have rubbed it in a bit more.”

Fasching notched his second goal of the night early in the second period to put minnesota up 4-2 before notre dame strung together the goals from lucia and Johns to even the score. The back-and-forth contest ended when minnesota freshman defenseman Jake bischoff put home a shot 8:57 into the third period, and the irish failed to respond. even with the loss, Jackson said his team showed the country its potential this weekend.

“we didn’t play our a game tonight, and we still had a chance to win,” Jackson said. “at least we know when everybody is going that we can compete with the best teams in the country.”

The irish return to play next weekend with a pair of home games against merrimack.

Contact Casey Karnes at wkarnes@nd.edu

The i rish (2-3) tallied 10 wins out of 16 events against acc competitors p itt (2-2) and v irginia Tech (7-4) at Tree p ools in p ittsburgh, p a., on s aturday. n otre d ame beat the p anthers 193-107 and the h okies 162-138 to secure two victories.

“ we performed well, and what i like about this team is we perform better every time,” i rish head coach b rian b arnes said. “ we performed better than against p urdue and better against p urdue than at our first meet of the year. … That’s a good trend to have.”

i rish sophomore c atherine g alletti said the results were a direct result of an attention to detail honed in practice.

“ we’ve been focusing on improving the details in our races — getting off the blocks quicker, having faster turns, closing in on finishes,” g alleti said. “The meet showed this.”

i n a meet that featured improvement across the whole team, senior Kelly r yan had the standout performance. r yan swept the short

distance freestyle events, taking wins in the 50, 100 and 200.

“Kelly was a great contribution to the team today,” b arnes said.

r yan also anchored the 200-medley relay team of freshman c atherine m ulquin, senior e mma r eaney and g alletti. The relay team out-swam its competitors and touched the pad first to give the i rish the victory in the opening race of the meet, putting the team in a great position to dominate the following races.

“ i t’s always fun to win the 200-medley relay because it’s the first event of the meet,” g alletti said. “ i t sets an exciting, competitive atmosphere for the rest of the day.”

i mprovement was noticeable in the medley relay as well, specifically by m ulquin.

“c atherine stepped up and really contributed to the relay,” g alletti said. “ e very leg of the relay continued to increase our lead throughout the race, resulting in a clear victory.”

i n addition to the relay victory, r eaney, junior b ridget c asey and freshman Katie m iller also boasted individual wins. r eany won

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the 200 im and took both breaststroke events in ncaa b -cut times. s he advanced her season individual event record to 8-1. c asey won the 200 fly, which marked the first time she won the event this season.

m iller claimed two individual victories in the 100 back and 500 freestyle, and she finished second in the 1000 free.

“ i was really happy to see Katie win the 100 back and 500 freestyle,” b arnes said. “That was a huge contribution to the team from her.”

Following m iller and her runner-up finish in the ,000, junior c ourtney w hyte finishedpsecond in the 100 fly, and m ulquin claimed a runner-up finish in the 100 back.

s ophomore l indsey s treepey took a second-place finish in the 1-meter dive.

“ o verall, i was happy with our race habits, and we are beginning to clean up well,” b arnes said.

The i rish return to the pool to compete against valparaiso on Friday at 5 p.m. and against w isconsin on s aturday at 11 a.m. at r olfs a quatic c enter.

Contact Kit Loughran at kloughr1@nd.edu

a ndrews falls at indoor championships in ny

By BRIAN HARTNETT sports writer

senior greg a ndrews’s run toward a national championship came to an end in the round of 16 Friday, as he fell 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 to oklahoma freshman a ndrew harris in the usTa/i Ta national i ndoor c hampionships at the usTa billie Jean King national Tennis c enter in Flushing, n y a ndrews got off to a strong start in the match, as he took the first set, 6-2.

“[ harris] started off by making a few errors, and i was really able to capitalize,” a ndrews said.

harris rebounded to claim a 7-5 victory in the next set and followed it up with a 6-3 victory in the third to seal the victory.

“starting in the second set, harris really started to serve well, and i wasn’t getting as many returns,” a ndrews said. “he also made some big returns off some of my serves. i don’t think my level of play dropped. he elevated his game, and he just got even better as the match went on.”

a lthough he is only in his first year of college tennis, harris, who won the

doubles titles at the Junior w imbledon c hampionships and roland garros Junior French c hampionships in 2012, showed his experience on the big stage, a ndrews said.

“he’s a great player, and he’ll do really well for oklahoma this year,” he said of harris. “he’s very experienced at playing big matches at a very high level.”

a fter defeating a ndrews, harris lost in Friday’s quarterfinal round to no. 8 seed i llinois sophomore Jared h iltzik. no. 6 seed ucla junior c lay Thompson took home the national title after he defeated h iltzik in sunday’s championship match.

w ith the loss, a ndrews concluded a fall season that saw him advance to the championship match of the usTa/i Ta m idwest regional c hampionships on oct. 21 and compete in last month’s i Ta a lla merican c hampionships.

a ndrews also earned a victory over no. 4 seed g eorgia sophomore austin smith in Thursday’s first round of the national i ndoor c hampionships.

“playing the a ll-a merican c hampionships earlier showed

me that i could compete with anyone,” a ndrews said. “This tournament reaffirmed my confidence, since i beat a top seed and had competitive matchups with great players. The biggest takeaway [from the tournament] would be that i could include myself in this top

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group of players.”

a ndrews and the rest of the i rish will not compete again until Jan. 17, when they begin their spring season with a match against w illiam & mary. notre dame will start acc play when it hosts v irginia Tech on Feb. 28.

“o ur main goal is to stay confident,” a ndrews said. “we want to focus on results but also really focus on the process, on getting better every day and continuing to improve.”

Contact Brian Hartnett at bhartnet@nd.edu

at the same time, the boxers only have two months to get ready to fight. To make sure everyone is prepared, all fighters must spar at least three times to fight in the bouts.

“it’s definitely an accelerated program,” carmack said. “we try to get them in the ring as soon as possible. The best way to prepare is just to spar as much as you can.” carmack and garvin are both

Women’s boxInG

experienced fighters who have participated in the bouts for several years. along with other veterans, they help to mentor the newer fighters throughout the training process.

“we expect the novices to be at point zero [to start],” carmack said. “w hen a veteran is sparring with a novice, we’ll have them take it a little easier. it’s a teaching moment, and we’re all teammates. … besides, you would be surprised how quickly girls improve once they get in the ring.”

This year, many of these inexperienced boxers are seniors coming out to fulfill a longtime college goal, carmack said.

“it’s kind of a bucket list item for a lot of them,” garvin said. “we start every year with a lot of new faces. every year the program gets stronger, and more people hear about it and build up the courage to do it. it’s going to be a great year. we have some great matchups. we’ve already sold over 1,400 tickets, so there will be a great crowd” all of it comes to a climax

baraka bouts prize service

By SAMANTHA ZUBA sports writer

The women who fight in baraka bouts are on a mission.

it’s a mission to become better boxers and stronger people. it’s also a mission to benefit holy cross mission work in uganda. a nd the captains make sure the boxers know what is at stake.

“we focus on the improvement of the whole club, and always in the back of my mind is the missions,” senior baraka bouts co-captain liz garvin said. “it really is the mission of holy cross in uganda that keeps the girls unified and focused throughout the season.”

The money the boxers raise and the proceeds from fight-night ticket sales benefit lakeview secondary school and st. Joseph’s hill secondary school in uganda.

The boxers’ performances on fight night are important, but everything pales in comparison to the cause, garvin said.

“we always have Fr. [leonard] olobo, who is one of the priests who is involved in the mission,” garvin said. “every year, we take a practice for him to talk through the mission so we can better understand who we’re helping. we talk it up in practice. we’re not only an athletic club, and we talk it up in practice so they know service is the most important part.” over the years, several boxers have participated in the mission work by traveling to uganda, often in conjunction with a studyabroad program.

This summer, two captains traveled to uganda to do service work and academic projects. Fifth-year architecture student and baraka bouts co-captain Jennifer Fitzpatrick explored the construction of schools and how to solve problems with one building’s foundation. senior cocaptain a nna heffron conducted research for her thesis on palliative care.

Fitzpatrick and heffron shared their experiences with the team, and senior co-captain a nna carmack said the constant dialogue keeps everyone aware of the mission.

The boxers also participate in several fundraisers, such as the power 24 hour in which the boxers exercise for donations from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. in front of south dining hall. The team raised

almost $1,700 during the event in 2012.

each boxer must individually raise money as well, which reinforces the meaning of baraka bouts, carmack said.

“To participate, they are required to fundraise a lot of money,” carmack said. “Talking about it pretty often makes it very apparent in everything we’re doing.” garvin added that while the boxers work to benefit the missions, they also grow personally.

“They’re not only improving their physical strength, but also for the majority of the girls, it’s learning a whole new sport,” garvin said. “it’s really fulfilling for me to watch the girls improve. most of them have never thrown a punch in their life, and it comes to fruition in our fight night. we get to see their strengths.”

The boxers put in a lot of time and grueling work at practice to get to fight night. a lthough boxing is a tough sport, it is rewarding, carmack said.

“most come from zero boxing [backgrounds],” carmack said. “w hat we’re looking for is that they’ll put in the time. They have to attend at least four two-hour practices every week. it’s not going to be easy, but they do a great job of getting in there. i know i had never boxed before coming to notre dame. it’s a big first step, and they’re always happy that they did it.”

garvin said her favorite moment comes when a boxer steps into the ring for the first time.

“my favorite part is seeing all of the surprises,” garvin said. “There’s something about fight night because you can see a girl spar, but when she gets in the ring under the lights, she just transforms. it happens every year for a few girls. you take advantage of

monday night in the ring. The winners from the first round of fights advance to the final round Thursday.

both garvin and carmack described the fight-night experience as slightly terrifying, intense and exhilarating.

“your adrenaline is pumping and you can’t see anyone or hear anything outside the fight,” garvin said. “it’s such a great, fun opportunity.”

“right before you go out there in your robe, the priest gives you

a final blessing,” carmack said. “it feels like you’re walking to your death. … if you can get a group of friends there chanting your name, it’s intense.”

The opening round of the 11thannual baraka bouts takes place monday night, starting at 6 p.m. in the Joyce center. Tickets will be sold at the door for $10 and benefit the holy cross charities in east africa.

Contact Greg Hadley at ghadley@nd.edu

your one time to shine.” baraka bouts begin monday at 6 p.m. in the Joyce center Field house. admission is $10 at the door.

Contact Samantha Zuba at szuba@nd.edu

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i rish split against acc opponents

Observer Staff Report

bolstered by six individual firstplace finishes, the irish left their first acc competition saturday afternoon with a split decision in a tri-meet against pittsburgh and virginia Tech. notre dame (2-4) beat the panthers (2-2) 162-138, and fell to the hokies (8-1) 181-119 at the Trees pool in pittsburgh.

Though this was notre dame’s first meet against acc opponents since joining the conference last summer, such meets are not commonplace in the irish’s schedule. unlike most collegiate sports, scheduling for swimming and diving meets is not tied to conference affiliation until the championships at the end of the season. in fact, notre dame will not face another acc member until they play louisville on Jan. 24.

on saturday, senior all-american Frank dyer set the pace for the irish, finishing first in both the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races, with times of 1:37.84 and 4:26.77. dyer’s 500-yard freestyle marked a ten second improvement from his previous best time this season.

Joining dyer’s first-place

total for notre dame was junior Zach stephens, also an all- american, who won the 200-yard individual breaststroke, clocking in at 2:01.14. stephens also finished first with a season-best 1:49.36 in the 200-yard individual medley. stephens rounded out his afternoon with a third place 20.54 in the 50-meter freestyle.

senior colin babcock added another first-place finish for the irish, setting the pace in the 100-yard breaststroke. The co-captain swam a 55.76 in the event, and complimented stephen’s gold medal mark with a second place finish in the 200- yard individual medley.

on the diving boards, freshman Joseph coumos continued his rookieseason success, finishing first in the 3-meter boards with a score of 345.35. coumos also took second place in the 5-meter board. irish junior diver nick nemetz finished second and fourth in the 5- meter and 3-meter, scoring 321.00 and 320.25, respectively.

The irish will host their final home meet until January this weekend, when they will welcome big-10 foes michigan state for a duel meet on Friday and wisconsin for a duel meet saturday at the rolfs aquatic center.

out her afternoon.

“defensively, she was our stopper last year, and now she’s really challenging people. she did a good job without fouling, and i thought [she] was in the right spots most of the game. i was pleased with her offense, but defensively, i thought she played a really complete game.”

notre dame held unc wilmington scoreless for several minutes at a time on multiple occasions, with the longest stretch coming in the second half for more than five minutes. The irish did not allow the seahawks to reach double digits in points until past the 10-minute mark in the first half.

offensively, the squad shot 62.9 percent from the field, its best mark since Jan. 17, 2012, against pittsburgh.

Freshman forward Taya reimer took charge on the glass, snatching 12 of the team’s 54 rebounds. nine of reimer’s boards came in the first half after she earned a starting spot with senior forward natalie achonwa on the bench, out for six weeks after a knee scope.

“[it was] a great start for a freshman,” mcgraw said. “we were anxious to get natalie achonwa back in the lineup, but until then, i think Taya’s doing a fabulous job inside.”

Fresh off the victory, the irish have a quick turnaround and will face no. 20 michigan state on monday.

The spartans (0-0) head into the

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matchup coming off lopsided exhibition wins over Ferris state and grand valley state. Freshman guard Tori Jankoska led the team with 27 points off the bench against Ferris state, and junior forward becca mills scored 18 points with five rebounds and two blocks against grand valley state.

“what a great team,” mcgraw said of michigan state. “They are so talented. This is maybe their best team ever. They’ve got great athletic wings. They’re big at every position. Their point guard [junior Kiana Johnson] is experienced and savvy. They’ve got a terrific game inside, and becca mills is playing well.

“They’re deep and really, really long. They can really guard, and i think that’s something they take a lot of pride in. and they can score, too, so i think they’re going to be a formidable opponent for us.”

mcgraw said her team needs to make some adjustments down

low and on defensive to prepare for the contest with the spartans, a much larger and longer team than unc-wilmington.

“i was disappointed early on that we didn’t score on the block more, even with the guards [against the seahawks],” mcgraw said. “i just thought we could have gone inside a lot more.

“i saw a lot of problems [on defense against unc-wilmington], so that’s good, so we can fix those. i don’t know that we’ll fix them all [in sunday’s practice], but we have some defensive weaknesses that we really need to address, and hopefully we’ll be able to fix those getting on into december and certainly by the acc season.”

notre dame takes on michigan state tonight at 7 p.m. in the purcell pavilion.

Contact Mary Green at mgreen8@nd.edu

starter needed to play more than 27 minutes.

“what i was really happy about this afternoon was that our older guys got off to such a good start,” irish coach mike brey said. “it allowed me to play our younger guys long minutes and together in a game situation, which is just a great experience for them. and the young guys played the way we play. i loved how they played together.

“so it was a good day for us, early in the season, trying to figure out our young guys. we know who our older guys are.”

irish graduate student center garrick sherman bounced back from a slow start Friday to pour in 15 points sunday. senior guard Jerian grant tied for the team lead with 15 of his own.

notre dame stormed out to a 17-3 lead, powered by a pair of threes from junior guard/forward pat connaughton and one from grant. but the hatters came back on an 8-0 run, only to see notre dame extend it back to 28-14 with 8:16 to play in the first half. The irish opened shooting 5-for-7 from 3-point range after hitting 10 of 21 long-range tries on Friday.

From there, notre dame kept pouring it on, going on a 13-4 run to extend the advantage to 41-18, thanks to unselfish passing and efficient scoring. The irish nailed 15 of their first 25 shots and assisted on 12 of the buckets.

Freshman guard demetrius Jackson mixed power with touch to close the first half, driving strongly to the hoop for two and coming right back to bury a three, as notre dame went into the halftime break leading 51-21. in total, Jackson tallied nine points, three rebounds and three assists.

“i think the key is attacking,” brey said. “he was a little sheepish the other night, but we talked to him yesterday and i talked to him this morning and i said ‘would you just attack? would you just go?’ … i thought he took a big step forward attacking. i also thought he was more solid defensively.”

notre dame was able to dip into the bench early and often throughout the afternoon and often had its five backups — freshman forward v.J. beachem, freshman guards demetrius Jackson and steve vasturia and sophomore forwards Zach auguste and austin burgett — playing together.

“we’re really getting the system down and playing well together,” burgett said. “so we just did what we did in practice and didn’t get out of character.”

The second half began slowly, as each team plodded along. notre dame outscored stetson 14-13 in the first 12:15 of the second half, and the play went back and forth the rest of the way with the irish lead never shrinking below 27 points. on Friday night, grant led the way for notre dame, as he notched a career-high 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting while hitting five of eight shots from 3-point range. grant made his first five field goals attempts including four from downtown. senior point guard eric atkins assisted on

four of grant’s first five baskets.

“guys are telling me to come out aggressive and that’s what i’m doing,” grant said. “when our point guard tells [me] he’s going to get me open to shoot the ball, that gives me a lot of confidence.”

The irish came out of the game firing and opened a 26-10 lead with 8:53 to play in the first half, but the redhawks (0-1) responded strongly to cut their deficit to seven points, 3932, at the break.

“The way it starts out, you think it’s going to be maybe like the exhibition games,” brey said. “and they make a run, which is what college basketball is all about, and you can’t really get away from them, and there’s some game pressure on you. i love that it wasn’t easy for us.”

burgett, who played just 60 minutes over 18 games as a freshman, played 24 minutes Friday — more than both Knight and sherman — and finished with seven points. notre dame’s other big man, auguste, was limited to just eight minutes after he sat out both exhibition games due to injury.

“i thought austin burgett was a key tonight, because it was hard to play two big guys, and he gave us a defensive guy on a smaller forward … and he helped us move,” brey said.

both sherman and Knight brought down four rebounds apiece on the night after combining for only one rebound after 20 minutes, as the 6-foot-2 atkins was notre dame’s leader at halftime with four and the 6-foot-5 connaughton ended the night on top with seven.

“i need to rebound better. … That’s not okay,” Knight said. “i need to focus more on the rebounding side, and i think it will definitely be something we focus on in practice.”

after the game, brey announced sophomore forward cam biedscheid would redshirt this season, following a path taken by grant and Knight and former irish all-big east forward Tim abromaitis. brey said the decision will allow biedscheid to spend more time in the weight room and focus a lot on development in practice, rather than worrying about impressing the coaching staff for playing time.

“we’ve made a decision on a fiveyear program,” brey said. “he and i have talked about it for about a week [and] methodically have come to that decision that i think it’s just best for him all the way around in his development.”

biedscheid said he asked grant, who sat out as a freshman, for advice when making the decision.

“i talked to him for a pretty long time one weekend, and he was just telling me how [sitting out] really helped him and how it really benefitted his game and his academics,” biedscheid said. “so it definitely pushed me towards making the decision.

“Taking this year off will benefit me strength-wise, skill-wise and academic-wise, and i need growth in all those areas.”

The irish return to purcell pavilion on sunday to square off with indiana state.

Contact Sam Gans at sgans@nd.edu and Mike Monaco at jmonaco@nd.edu

men’s soccer

so notre dame felt a lot pressure throughout the match, clark said.

“w hen the second goal came, that was a nice relief because we knew we had to win it to win the league,” clark said. “There’s a fair bit of emotion, a little bit of anxiety i would say because although we dominated play … until we scored the second goal, there was always a chance they could maybe get something on the counterattack.”

in the 38th minute, a pittsburgh penalty in the box handed shipp a penalty kick, which he drove into the upper left corner of the goal to give notre dame a 1-0 lead. shipp leads the irish with eight goals on the season.

cicciarelli scored his fifth goal of the season from the left side in the 81st minute off an assist from senior forward leon brown.

notre dame controlled possession in the first period with sharp passing that kept the ball around pittsburgh’s goal. in the first half alone, the irish recorded 17 shots.

despite creating so many chances, notre dame took a long time to score, but clark said the irish refused to let up.

“i think it was patience and persistence,” clark said. “i think two p’s, patience and persistence. i thought we had a lot of the ball, and we moved the ball very well, but between good goalkeeping and some last-ditch saves, the goals took a long while

in coming.”

notre dame spread the field with sweeping passes to prevent a pittsburgh counterattack. The panthers managed only three shots in the first half, and senior goalkeeper patrick wall didn’t have to make his first save until the 34th minute.

senior defender luke mishu aggressively opened the second half for notre dame with a shot that flew high over the net 17 seconds into the period.

The irish kept the heat up in the 55th minute. brown broke away and wailed a shot over the goal in a one-on-one versus panthers sophomore goalkeeper dan lynd.

The pittsburgh offense pushed harder in the second period and doubled its total shots

to six in the first 20 minutes. The panthers, however, could not overcome the irish.

shipp said notre dame proved it could compete in the acc

“i think we were picked fourth or fifth coming into the year to finish and our coach was the only one to vote us on top of the acc, so i think coming in our first year it’s pretty impressive to deal with the schedule of travel every weekend,” shipp said. “To be on top of the acc is something that we really wanted to get coming into the year.” next up for the irish are the acc quarterfinals Tuesday. notre dame will host duke at a time to be determined.

Contact Samantha Zuba at szuba@nd.edu

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: miranda lambert, 30; ellen pompeo, 44; Tracy morgan, 45; michael Jai white, 46.

Happy Birthday: your ability to pick and choose what’s good and what’s not will help you jump into opportunities that promise to bring you high returns. making interesting alterations at home will result in higher productivity and the chance to follow a personal dream that can help you raise your income and set a standard for future endeavors. your numbers are 6, 13, 18, 21, 32, 37, 43.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): stand up to anyone trying to bully you. use your intelligence and speed to outmaneuver a confrontation. re-evaluate your personal and professional positions. make whatever improvements are required to reach positive goals. Take responsibility and build a better future.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): emotional deception must not come between you and your hard-earned cash. a short trip or researching what you need to know in order to make a personal decision will pay off in the savings you earn by being diligent.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): you may feel restless and in need of a change, but whatever you decide to spend your money on must not be frivolous. invest in your skills, talents or a service you can offer. Turn what you have to offer into something tangible.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): let your true feelings show. if you don’t ask for things or answers, you will never know where you stand. you are in for a surprise that will lead to positive change. a nudge can be a good thing.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): protect your heart, your cash and your reputation. problems at work will escalate if you aren’t creative in the way you handle sensitive issues. Take a day trip somewhere that is conducive to clearing your head and figuring out your next move.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): start your year-end preparations early and you will put your mind at ease. Knowing what you have in the bank and what your disposable income is will help you make better choices. a personal partnership will improve if you are affectionate.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): stick close to home and don’t take emotional, physical or financial risks. play it safe and avoid being sorry. don’t let the unexpected changes others make alarm or confuse you. stick to your plans and you’ll reach your goal.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): let your past be your teacher. dig up creative ideas you shelved and put them back into motion. Keep your distance from anyone showing signs of emotional instability. you need a little time to follow your heart and your dreams.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): you can sell what you have to offer and advance, but don’t promise something you have no intention doing. it’s important to keep the peace, but even more important to tell the truth. deal with unwanted situations and move on.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take a leisurely break and you’ll come up with some ideas that will please the people you care about most. plans for home improvements or discussing your next vacation or family project will win you favors and affection in return.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): you’ll have trouble making good decisions if you let your emotions interfere. revisit mistakes you’ve made in the past and it will help you make better choices now. learn from the past, live in the moment and improve the future.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): personal contracts and making a promise to someone you care for will help you feel better about the future. Knowing which way you are heading and the commitment you are prepared to make will open up all sorts of opportunities.

Birthday Baby: you are expressive, proactive and imaginative. you are persuasive and passionate.

men’s soCCer | noTre dame 2, piTTsburgh 0

Seniors go out on top of ACC

Irish capture share of regular-season ACC title with shutout win over Pittsburgh

By SAMANTHA ZUBA sports writer

no. 1 notre dame honored its senior class with a 2-0 victory over pittsburgh and a share of the acc crown Friday on senior night at a lumni stadium.

notre dame (11-1-5, 7-1-3) entered the night tied for first place in the acc with maryland. The Terrapins (10-3-5, 7-1-3) also won Friday, so they will share the acc title with notre dame.

irish coach bobby clark praised the irish for securing the regular-season capstone.

“it’s the best league in the

country,” clark said. “with 11 games, six of them on the road, it’s a terrific accomplishment to be proud of. This is a great start. we always talk about the travel: winning the league and then winning your conference tournament and winning the ncaas. This is our first step towards the travel.”

goals by senior forward harrison shipp and junior forward vince cicciarelli propelled the irish to the win.

cicciarelli’s insurance goal didn’t come until the 81st minute,

see men’s soccer PaGe 18

hoCkey | nd 4, minnesoTa 1; minnesoTa 5, nd 4

notre dame splits series with gophers

By CASEY KARNES sports writer

no. 4 notre dame earned a split against no. 1 minnesota in front of a raucous home crowd at the compton Family ice arena, prevailing 4-1 in game one before falling 5-4 in the second matchup.

The irish (7-3, 1-1 hockey east) opened the weekend in front of a sellout crowd Friday night but were unable to jump on the gophers (6-11) right out of the gates. minnesota used speed and aggression to put early pressure on the irish defense, outshooting notre dame 17-11 in the

first period.

irish coach Jeff Jackson said there is always an adjustment period when the irish play a no. 1 team, regardless of their degree of preparation.

“it was everything we expected,” Jackson said. “it was a high-tempo, high-paced game. i think we played a little tight in the early stages of the game. i think our guys were a little nervous in the first 10 minutes.” enabling the irish to stay in the game was the strong play of senior goaltender stephen summerhays, who had 31 saves on the night.

see hocKey PaGe 14

Baraka Bouts fight night arrives

By GREG HADLEY sports writer

Tonight, after two months of training, conditioning and sparring, 72 women will step into the ring with pride on the line and kick off the 11th annual baraka bouts.

“Fight night is our chance to show all that we’ve been working on,” senior captain liz garvin said. “w hen you’re under the lights, you have to step it up a notch and show your friends and family everything you’ve been working toward.”

one hundred seventy-five boxers registered in september, setting a club record. over the

Team rolls in home opener

By MARY GREEN sports writer

michaela mabrey was the first player off the bench for no. 6 notre dame and came up big as the irish cruised to a 99-50 win over unc wilmington in sunday’s season opener.

The sophomore guard had a career-high 19 points and doled out six assists, spending much of her team-high 27 minutes on the court at point guard for the irish (1-0).

“it’s huge for us, especially right now, when we’re still searching for the next sub coming off the bench,” irish coach muffet mcgraw said. “so i’ve really been happy with

michaela all year. she came back in great shape, she’s playing well, she’s shooting well. we want her to keep shooting threes. she’s talking more, she’s communicating more and she’s running the team as much as she can when she doesn’t have the ball.”

mabrey also showed her skills on the defensive side of the ball, pestering seahawks junior guard Kelva atkins throughout the game, and limiting atkins to six of 15 shooting on the night and two of eight shooting behind the arc.

“defensive-wise, i tried to pressure the ball as much as i could, and i got a few steals and little tips,” mabrey said. “That’s what i’m really

trying to work on, so i thought that aspect i got better at today.” notre dame performed well as a team defensively and used the matchup with unc wilmington (01) to work out the early-season kinks in its man-to-man defense, 2-3 zone and full-court press while claiming its 19th-consecutive season-opening victory.

sophomore guard Jewell loyd also stood out on both sides of the ball, finishing with her second career double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds in just 21 minutes. loyd added a career-high three blocks and a pair of assists to round

see nd wbb PaGe 17

pair of victories begins season

By SAM GANS and MIKE MONACO sports writer and sports e ditor

following two months, the number of participants dropped as the intense time commitment and training took their toll. boxers are expected to attend at least eight hours of practice a week, which, for many, includes learning how to box for the first time.

“we take it slow at first in instruction,” senior captain anna carmack said. “The first week is just basic position, which foot goes in front of the other, and from there we progress. after two or three weeks we get into the ring and start shadowboxing with a partner to show them how to react.”

see FighT nighT PaGe 16

no. 21 notre dame opened up its season with a pair of victories over the weekend, defeating miami (ohio), 74-62, on Friday night and dominating stetson, 8049, on sunday afternoon at purcell pavilion.

The irish (2-0) opened up a 30-point lead by halftime sunday and never looked back in defeating the hatters (0-2). Ten players saw time for notre dame, and all logged at least 12 minutes, as no starter needed to play more than 27 minutes.

“what i was really happy about