THE INDEPENDENT
TO UNCOVER
NEWSPAPER SERVING
THE TRUTH
NOTRE DAME, SAINT MARY’S
AND REPORT
AND HOLY CROSS
IT ACCURATELY
VOLUME 59, ISSUE 44 | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2025 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM
ND begins ‘Walk the Walk’ By ISABELLA PONCIROLI
Nanovic hosts Holocaust lecture
News Writer
By SOPHIA TRAN
Fr. Dowd presided over service, commemorating MLK Jr.
On Monday evening, Not re Da me k icked of f Wa l k t he Wa l k Week, which commemorates Dr. Ma r t in Lut her K ing Jr.’s legacy, w it h a prayer ser v ice in t he Basi lica of t he Sacred Hea r t a nd a ca nd lelight procession towa rds t he Sacred Hea r t of Jesus statue. Universit y President Fr. Rober t Dowd presided over t he ser v ice a nd Cla ire Babineau x-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding A merica, delivered a key note ref lect ion. In celebrat ion of Wa l k t he Wa l k Week, t he prayer serv ice was centered on t he idea t hat we a re a l l sons a nd daughters of God a nd
Staff Writer
ISABELLA PONCIROLI | The Observer
Candles line the pathway to the Main Building Monday to mark the beginning of the University’s annual Walk the Walk Week.
a re made w it h a n int rinsic dig nit y. Fr. Bria n Ching, rector
of t he Basi lica, gave t he see SERVICE PAGE 3
Students gather at March for Life in Washington
Helen Epstein’s mother hid a glass container of cherries in the attic of a concentration camp in order to survive. This was just one of the many moments the writer shared from “Franci’s War,” a memoir written by her mother, Franci Epstein, retelling her experiences at Terezin, a concentration camp and ghetto forty miles north of her home in Prague. On Jan. 27, Epstein shared “Franci’s War” and her own insights on the Holocaust in a discussion event held by the Nanovic Institute for European Studies to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Epstein is
By AYNSLEE DELLACCA
Associate News Editor
Saint Mary’s News Editor
432 tri-campus students participating in the Notre Dame Right to Life club trip joined in on the 52nd March for Life in Washington on Friday, Jan. 24. The club annually programs a bus trip to the march, which includes transportation and accommodations. Nine buses left on Thursday evening and arrived in around 7 a.m. From there, students attended adoration and mass at St. Charles Catholic Church in Arlington, which has hosted Notre Dame students for decades. Students next attended the pre-march rally which Vice President JD Vance spoke at. Following the rally, students marched on the streets of Washington, beginning at the Washington Monument and passing by the Capitol and the Supreme Court. Right to Life offered two departure trips, one leaving Friday night and one leaving Saturday night. Two buses left on Friday, and seven buses worth of students stayed the
night in St. Charles Catholic Church and left the next night after having a free day in Washington. Sophomore Ellen Burks co-planned and led the trip, which is sponsored by the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture and cost students $35. “I have been attending the March for Life since I was about 10 years old, my first few times actually being with the Notre Dame group, so it was kind of full circle for me to be
Last Thursday afternoon marked the grand opening of the Indiana Women’s Caucus for Art’s (IWCA) gallery titled “Collective Impressions” in Saint Mary’s Moreau and Hammes Galleries. Of the various woman artists represented in the gallery, Berkeley Hutsebout, Kari Stieglitz Black and Teresa Greve Wolf presented their artwork and participated in a discussion panel in the Vander Vennet Theater. “The WCA is a national member organization, unique in its multi-disciplinary, multicultural membership of artists, art historians, students, educators and museum professionals,” long-time member Helen Geglio said when introducing the panelists. “The mission of the Women’s Caucus for Art is to keep [and] create community through art, education and social activism.” According to Geglio, the local chapter of the IWCA was founded in South Bend in 1978 and for over 40 years, members
SAINT MARY’S PANEL
KEEPING THE FLAME
NEWS PAGE 3
Courtesy of Andrea Jasso.
VIEWPOINT PAGE 6
able to lead the trip this year,” Burks wrote. “I have always considered the March for Life to be an excellent demonstration of how prominent the prolife position is in American society, and since the march was how I first got involved in the pro-life movement, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to take a more active role in bringing people to the largest annual pro-life event see MARCH PAGE 4
‘MUFASA: THE LION KING’ SCENE PAGE 7
see HOLOCAUST PAGE 4
SMC opens new art exhibition
By GRACE TADAJWESKI
Demonstrators, including 432 tri-campus students, gathered en masse in Washington Friday for the 52nd annual March for Life.
the daughter of Holocaust survivors and has written numerous books focusing on intergenerational trauma, including “Children of the Holocaust” and “Where She Came From.” Clemens Sedmak, director of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, moderated the talk with Epstein and later opened the floor to audience members. One of the first topics of conversation between Sedmak and Epstein involved the context of her mother’s book. “Her last interaction with her father was just him screaming at her,” Epstein said. “[He was saying] ‘Who do you think you are, taking away my ability to control my life?’ My mother felt
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SPORTS PAGE 8
of the organization have worked towards creating opportunities and recognition for women in the art atmosphere. As part of their mission, the organization offers “leadership opportunities and professional development, expanding networking and exhibition opportunities for women, supporting local, national and global art activism and advocating for equity in the arts for all,” Geglio said. Hutsebout, the vice president of the local chapter, presented her artwork first. As a disciplinary artist, she received her bachelors of fine arts in craft with a concentration in drawing and painting from the Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2015. She has also studied psychology and photography at Santa Monica College and apprenticed at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles before moving to South Bend. In addition to her work included in the “Collective Impressions” exhibition, she has also showcased work at the now-defunct Notre Dame Center for Arts see ART PAGE 4
MEN’S BASKETBALL SPORTS PAGE 12