Print Edition of The Observer for Thursday, September 8, 2016
Companies, students converge at Expo
More than 270 companies attend Fall Career Expo, provide networking opportunities for students
By ALEXANDRA MUCK News writer
Notre Dame’s annual fall career e xpo was held wednesday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Joyce center. the event hosted over 270 companies, with 2,000 student attending.
in a change from past years, the event, organized by the career center, only lasted one day. additionally, the backstage pass program, a chance for firsttime fair attendees to arrive at the fair early to see the layout of the event and get tips from some employers, was reinstated.
preparing for the event is a long process, career center director hilary flanagan said in an email.
“basically, as soon as one fair is over, we start planning for the next one,” flanagan said. “w hile career fairs are just a small piece of our overall operation, they are extremely time-intensive and visible programs across campus.”
flanagan said the event is important step for students looking to network with companies, as well as to get information about them.
“we ... hope students will take the opportunity to learn more about the industries and organizations that interest them,” she said.
the career center offered several tools for students to prepare before the event, such as listing the companies attending on go irish and offering resume reviews. During the event, recruiters who are Notre Dame alumni were given a ribbon to wear, allowing students to recognize recruiters who were also graduates.
freshman charlie maxwell said he thought chances were slim he would gain an internship from the career fair because he had just started his Notre Dame career, but he still saw a benefit in attending.
New InsideND aims to improve user accessiblity
By MEGAN VALLEY News writer
students returned to school this year to discover more had changed than the addition of two resident halls and the introduction of smashburger in la fortune student center: the insideND portal that was installed in 2004 had been replaced.
John hartman, who served as project manager for the office of information technologies (oit)’s portal replacement project, said in an email that the old insideND’s vendor told the department that the product would not be supported after July 1. “we had no choice [but to switch], since the old portal was no longer viable from a technology standpoint,” he said.
oit conducted feedback sessions last fall with over 75 campus representatives from all major departments, faculty, staff and students to design a new portal. hartman said the “top issues” were that there was no search function, the application wasn’t mobile-friendly, defunct links couldn’t be detected, cost and maintenance requirements were high, and high cost and the entire portal required password access.
“the old portal required a net iD and password to use,” hartman said. “with the new portal, net iD and password are not required until you access a link or function that require authentication. w hat this means is that it opens the portal, and thus campus services, out to
SMC welcomes new campus ministry priest
By MARTHA REILLY a ssociate s aint mary’s e ditor
four months ago, fr. stephen Newton fell 20 feet off a ladder, breaking his back and neck. Newton said harrowing experiences such as this remind him to value life’s unpredictability and embrace its challenges, an outlook he will carry with him in his new role as the saint mary’s campus m inistry priest.
“t here are no straight lines in my life,” Newton said. “everything is kind of jagged. i’ve been through a number of things that brought me to the brink of hopelessness, and then, i broke through to hope.”
Newton’s path to becoming ordained was far from straight and narrow, he said. he said he struggled with an addiction to alcohol that forced him to resign temporarily from the seminary, leaving him
homeless and poor.
Newton began to overcome his alcoholism when he found a dime on the ground one day, with which he was able to fund a pay phone call to an addiction center. he said seeking treatment strengthened his relationship with g od and taught him the importance of remaining open to g od’s plans.
“c ontrol is not success, but letting go is,” Newton said. “l iving a life based on spiritual principles is a lot better than living a life on self-will or pride.”
Newton said his application for re-admission to the seminary was accepted, allowing him to approach his studies with a renewed sense of purpose.
“i used to thank g od for recovery, but now i thank recovery for g od,” he said. “c oming through all of that helped me
with my faith. you learn so much about how we are not the center of the universe.” Newton said he now accepts change as a natural part of life, for it fosters personal growth and encourages him to take risks that could lead to increased knowledge.
“we are always growing, and if we’re not, we’re not living,” Newton said. “i might define what i believe now, but if you said ‘is that what you’re going to believe in five years?’ i’d say ‘i don’t know. it’ll probably be along those lines, but it’ll be deeper.’”
w hen Newton fell from the ladder recently, he suffered no cognitive or peripheral damage, shocking the doctors who treated him. a fter four months of rehabilitation, Newton said the lessons he learned from the accident remind him
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
A student reviews informational brochures provided by visiting companies at the Fall Career Expo. The Expo, held in the Joyce Fieldhouse, allowed students to meet and interact with prospective employers.
Policies the observer is the independent, daily newspaper published in print and online by the students of the university of Notre Dame du lac and saint mary’s college. editorial content, including advertisements, is not governed by policies of the administration of either institution. the observer reserves the right to refuse advertisements based on content. the news is reported as accurately and objectively as possible. unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the majority of the editor-in-chief, managing editor, assistant managing editors and department editors. commentaries, letters and columns present the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the observer.
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Brody Scholl junior Knott hall
“sausage, egg and cheese plain bagel.”
Austin Matheny junior o’Neill hall
“eggs benedict.”
Ellen Bleier freshman welsh family hall
“i don’t want to answer this question. i have a grudge against breakfast.”
he next f ive D ays:
Thursday
Life Lunch
Geddes Hall
noon - 1 p.m.
Join professor Ann Astell for the first in a three-part series.
Artist Talk
Snite Museum of Art
5 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Paulette Tavormina discusses her current exhibition.
Friday
Graduate Student Mass
Basilica of the Sacred Heart
5:15 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. Weekly Mass.
Men’s Soccer vs. Virginia Tech Alumni Stadium
7 p.m.
The Irish take on the Hokies.
Saturday
Have a question you want answered? Email
Christian Wood junior Duncan hall
“ham and cheese omelette with salsa.”
Miranda Gonzales freshman welsh family hall
“strawberry pancakes.”
Marty Burns fifth year stanford hall
“Nilla wafers.”
Want your event included here?
Email news@ndsmcobserver.com
Sunday
Saturday With The Saints Geddes Hall
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Lecture will be on St. Joseph.
ND Football vs. Nevada Notre Dame Stadium
3:30 p.m.
The Irish take on the Wolf Pack.
9/11 Memorial South Quad
9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
A memorial service for the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Vespers
Basilica of the Sacred Heart
7:15 p.m. - 8:15 p.m.
The celebration of evening prayer.
Monday
Study Abroad Fair
Jordan Hall of Science
5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Information about resources for study abroad, internships.
“A Conversation with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg” Joyce Center
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Senators undergo diversity training
By RACHEL O’GRADY a ssociate News e ditor
s tudent senate convened wednesday night for Diversity and i nclusion training with r achel wallace, the Diversity c ouncil representative to the s tudent union, and assistant a fricana studies professor m aria m cKenna.
mcKenna said diversity is especially important at Notre Dame.
“Diversity gets thrown around a lot, and many think it just means race, but i want you guys to think about it more broadly,” m cKenna said. “ we want you guys to keep talking about this — we’re not just here to preach at you; we’re trying to start a conversation. Notre Dame has never been as diverse as it is in this moment.”
wallace said it was important to pay attention to implicit biases — subtle, unconscious judgments.
“ i feel like a lot of times people judge me unfairly, and sometimes, i judge people unfairly,” she said. “a nd it’s definitely a real thing that we deal with with implicit biases, and it’s very much an issue at Notre Dame.”
m icroaggressions have also become more important to pay attention to at Notre Dame, wallace said.
“ m icroaggressions are things that look harmless on the surface, but actually can be hurtful or based off an unfair assumption,” she said.
i n addition to listening to other’s perspectives, wallace said it was important to validate other’s experiences.
“[ it’s saying], ‘you’re allowed to feel that way’ ... and that really just goes a long way,” she said. “ it’s ok to say the wrong thing, but when that happens, it’s important to recognize that as well.”
mcKenna said that, as student leaders, everyone in the student senate has a responsibility to make Notre Dame feel like home while not impeding difficult conversations.
“ w hen a nn c oulter was here a couple years ago, everyone was up in arms, including me, but not for a second did i want her uninvited, because we do want to keep this conversation going, even when it’s hard,” mcKenna said. “ we want you all to stand up and be able to say, you know, that’s
not okay to say, and here’s why. Keep an open mind about where you have that conversation and how you keep that conversation going.”
i n addition to diversity training, student body president c orey r obinson opened the floor to questions about and critiques of the new s afe b ouND program, formerly known as o’ s N ap
“ we’re getting back to the basics here,” r obinson said. “ we’re trying to reduce the number of [ s afe b ouND] requests so the people that actually need to use the program can use the program.”
s enate parliamentarian monica montgomery said that, according to a number of studies run last year, the former o ’ s N ap program was not used for the right reasons.
“ t here would be people that would wait upwards of an hour to get a ride, which we think really is unfortunate because they really did need that ride,” montgomery said. “ t he system really was overused and abused.”
Contact Rachel O’Grady at rogrady@nd.edu
sTudEnT sEnATE
Insidend
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the community. a ccess can now be made by parents, vendors, or others that require use of campus services but do not have a net i D.”
o ther items oit sought to address included providing the new portal as a cloud-based application, a responsive design, the ability for campus “publishers” to administer and update content easily, self-organization according to most used services and favorites and adopting a philosophy of “s earch, click, done.”
t he new insideND portal is powered by o ne c ampus, and h artman said it is being operated “exactly as it was delivered, without modification,” but that changes will be made if necessary.
“ w hat is being changed or added to insideND often corresponds to the feedback we receive from users for changes they would like to see,” he said. “for example, besides the favorites grouping, some campus users have asked to be able to build groupings on their own. t his will soon be available.”
t he o ne c ampus solution was the result of a “consortium of universities [led and developed by i ndiana university]
Expo
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“ i t’s still good to shake some hands and just get your name out there so people know who you are and that you’re coming up,” he said. “ i t’s a good networking opportunity, and a lot of big names are there.”
Jaihee c hoi, a sophomore double-majoring in economics and applied and computational mathematics and statistics ( acms ), enjoyed meeting the large number of Notre Dame alumni at the career fair.
“ i t was really relatable,” she said. “ i t was really comfortable, so it made me proud to be at this school, to have so many options for alumni.”
Priest
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difficulties happen for a reason.
“ i ’m still healing,” Newton said. “ i didn’t survive that broken neck and back and all that to just retire.”
a t s aint m ary’s, Newton looks forward to dispelling misconceptions that may distance people from the c hurch and welcoming those who might feel unwelcome.
“a cross the board, there are people who have felt alienated,” Newton said. “ m aybe their notion of church and
that pooled their requirements and came up with a common solution,” h artman said. i n the first several weeks after its launch, the platform was met with mixed reviews from students.
“i don’t understand what they’re going for,” junior s awyer w illiams said. “it looks like it’s supposed to look like an i phone screen, but it’s not user-friendly.”
Junior a leks g awronska said she thought the change was good in theory, but could still use some updates.
“i feel like they had a good idea with all the tiles because that is a lot simpler than the system they were using before, but i feel like their execution is subpar,” she said. “i feel like there are three tiles that everyone uses everyday and none of them can be found. e ven with the favorites option, i think they could have categorized them [the apps] a little neater.”
c omplaints about the application directed to oit have been few, h artman said.
“it seems that getting familiar with the new portal is key to tapping into its effectiveness,” he said. ‘ t his is certainly a paradigm shift in how we access campus services.”
Contact Megan Valley at mvalley@nd.edu
t he c areer c enter hosted several other events this week before the f all c areer e xpo, such as the s tudent o rganization r everse f air, panels with companies and networking events.
f lanagan said students who missed the career fair still have plenty of resources. “ s tudents should keep in mind that the f all c areer e xpo is just one of the many resources for students to use in their career development,” she said. “ t he c areer c enter has countless other resources and programs available throughout the year with some of these same and other industries and organizations represented.”
Contact Alexandra Muck at amuck@nd.edu
the reality of what Jesus wanted it to be are at odds and can be reconciled.”
Newton said his own path, while not orthodox, ultimately made him a better priest.
“[ m y experience] really renewed my faith and brought me to a different place with it than i otherwise would have been,” he said. “ i might have been a nice-guy priest, but i don’t think there would have been much empathy or compassion or true openness to the grace of g od.”
Contact Martha Reilly at mreilly01@nd.edu
pai D aDvertiseme N t
pai D aDvertiseme N t
By CHRISTIAN BUNKER s cene writer
the oxford, england-based quartet glass animals is one of those bands that evade easy categorization into a genre. equal parts indie rock and electronica, their music often sounds positively tribal yet owes a clear debt to the bristol trip-hop scene of the nineties. however, no matter what genre you put them in, their music is primarily atmospheric. layers of synths, percussion, vocals and guitar electronic effects create a lush and inviting sonic world. this is where glass animals truly excel — the band’s talent for crafting sound was already made evident by killer tracks such as “intruxx” and “black mambo” off of “Z aba,” the band’s previous album. this unique talent is continued on the new record, “how to be a human being,” in the likes of “cane shuga” and “the other side of paradise.” the album also features equally entrancing tracks such as “season 2 episode 3” and “mama’s gun” that deviate noticeably from the previous glass animals mold, yet still find ways to captivate the listener. however, on their sophomore album the band attempts to fashion a concept to link the music together, and this is where the album falters. glass animals are adept at creating dense instrumentals. in this case, however, such a skill clashes with their attempt to establish a concept across the record. accomplishing such a task is highly dependent on meaningful lyrics, which are often best placed against sparse arrangements.
with the glass animals’ atmospheric sound, lyrics are just one out of the many layers of a given song. imagine how hard it would be to follow “lily, rosemary and the Jack of hearts,” if Dylan had overdubbed synths and a hypnotic bassline. w ho can be bothered to care what lead singer Dave bayley is saying while the maddening beats of “cane shuga” crowd out the vocals?
ironically, if the band was unaware of this trade-off, i believe the album still would have turned out quite well. we could have all pretended that the title was another meaningless tetragram and enjoyed the music. instead, though, they appear to make a conscious effort to keep parts of the album stripped down to avoid masking the lyrics. in an interview with paste magazine, the band said that “cane shuga” was “the only track on the record that didn’t start with lyrics” when it was being written. this reveals an unfortunate preoccupation with concept rather than sound that seems to have placed a talented band on the path to a subpar album.
that’s not to say the record is without its high points. the aforementioned “cane shuga” makes for an obvious high point. “mama’s gun” is an even more enjoyable and creative song, and its sampled flute might be the best use of that instrument since “olsen olsen.” the energetic latter halves of “take a slice” and “life itself” also have considerable merit. however, it’s frustrating to wade through a record of so much unreached potential; much of the record presents repressed beats designed to showcase lyrics
that can’t rationalize their place in the spotlight. Don’t even get me started on the hopelessly trite filler “[premade sandwiches].” running “fitter happier” through a meat grinder a couple of times, speeding up the result, then putting it in the middle of an album doesn’t make it a concept album; it just becomes another track to skip. in all honesty, i’m not giving glass animals a hard time because they’re bad, i’m giving them a hard time because they’re good and i know they can do better. their new album shows them taking a musical step forward, but their preoccupation with concept and lyrics amount to a simultaneous two steps back. so while “how to be a human being” probably isn’t one to add to your vinyl collection, keep an eye out for a (hopefully more straightforward) sequel.
Contact Christian Bunker at cbunker@nd.edu
“How to Be a Human Being”
Glass Animals
Label: Canoline Records
Reccomended Tracks: “Mama’s Gun” “Cane Shuga” If You Like: Chvrches, Chet Faker
weekend at a glance
friday saturday sunday
What: “Creating Art to Build Solidarity” Lecture
When: 12:30 p.m.
Where: Geddes Hall Coffee House How Much: Free
i nternationally renowned visual artist c laudia b ernardi will be giving a lecture on how art can help establish bonds across socioeconomic and cultural barriers. s he has recently worked with victims of state terror, state violence and human rights violence. b e sure to catch her presentation this f riday at g eddes.
m atthew h all, an associate professor from Notre Dame’s very own political science department, will be unveiling the personal biases that can rock the theoretically impartial decisions of the supreme court. a ttending before the big game might come in handy when trying to understand the referee’s calls later on.
What: “Sustainable Wisdom” Conference When: All Day (Sunday - Thursday)
Where: McKenna Hall How Much: Free
starting sunday, Notre Dame will be hosting a conference that offers presentations and workshops for those wishing to learn about how Native a merican culture and wisdom can help our world move towards a more sustainable way of life. w ith a large range of activities and renowned artists driving the conference, “sustainable w isdom” is sure to be enlightening.
Scenecast is a weekly podcast featuring the best and brightest minds here in The Observer’s scene section.
r oses are red, a shley i is blue, Josh loves a manda but pizza, too. a fter a finale with more proposals than Notre Dame during spring, s cene has prepped a breakdown of b achelor in p aradise that is sure to put i zzy’s to shame. c atch the waves at 7:30 p.m. t hursday on wvfi
w hat does it mean?
t he month is January, the city is l ondon and the building is Notre Dame’s c onway hall. f lat 301 houses 10 girls, split between two quads and a double, with beds thrown into high lofts to make space for the few possessions that fit into the overfilled suitcases brought across the atlantic.
fast forward to may, and it’s back to a house on a quiet street in l ake Zurich, i llinois, with plenty of room for a family of five, a dog and the stuff that’s accumulated over 20 years of living there.
t hen three weeks later it’s a small room in a plain house in a lower-middle class neighborhood in south central l os a ngeles, just past the outskirts of usc’s campus, where the houses squeezed onto the lots on either side blast music with spanish lyrics at all hours.
a fter two and a half months there, the summer is almost over and it’s an apartment in south bend, i ndiana, a few steps away from the edge of Notre Dame’s campus, becoming more and more comfortable as décor is put up on the walls and friends fill the space that seems so much larger than the dorm rooms of farley hall.
t hese places really don’t have much in common, except that i’ve lived in each of them in 2016. i was spurred to consider them when reading a piece by g eorges perec assigned in my creative nonfiction class; in it, he asks the following:
“w hat does it mean, to live in a room? is to live in a place to take possession of it? w hat does taking possession of a place mean? a nd from when does somewhere become truly yours?”
t hese questions are hard to answer, especially for college students. i n dorm life, your room is not even yours alone; there’s a roommate or two or three, who can sometimes make the space feel more like home, and sometimes less so.
similarly, the flat i lived in in l ondon has been occupied by scores of Notre Dame students over the years, so while it was “mine” for a single semester, i don’t think i ever “took possession of it,” as perec says. i was always glad to return to that flat after an exhausting weekend in spain or malta or switzerland, but my presence there was inevitably temporary.
my little room in l os a ngeles felt even less like my own. i was subletting from a usc student and didn’t bring a single piece of my own furniture, since i was only there for 10 weeks. i ordered a cheap mattress off a mazon and did not grow fond of it. plus, l os a ngeles is so unlike any other city that i’ve spent time in, with its lack of public transportation and sprawling size, that i never got used to it.
a lready, though, i feel more “in possession” of my room in my simple i rish f lats apartment than i did in l os a ngeles, and maybe even in l ondon. t hat could be because it’s the first time i’ll live in the same room for more than a semester since sophomore year, when i lived in a quad in farley. or it could be because the answer to perec’s question is that we don’t live in rooms at all. we sleep in them, we decorate them, we hang out in them, but the real living is done elsewhere — perhaps in the city the room is located in, or, in this case, the one-of-a-kind campus the room is right next to.
The dating game
t his past summer, i sat at family dinner on fourth of July weekend in manhattan, and the conversation on the younger end of the table was turning to discussion of relationships. t he subject was ripe with possibilities: my sister had a new boyfriend, one of my brothers had recently broken up with his girlfriend and another had been dating the same girl for some time. my youngest brother was relatively inexperienced, but his youth brought on a welcome change of perspective. at 12 years old, he was just beginning to dip his toes into the world of romantic connection. w hen i was his age, i learned about relationships by example — dissecting snippets of gossip whispered in middle school hallways, constructing a manual in my head to navigate through the dating process. b y the time i had finished high school, i had developed my own personal approach for maneuvering through the dating scene. w hile my friends around me developed relationships lasting months or even years, i hopped around from possible girl to possible girl, never advancing the relationship beyond its early stages.
years passed, and slowly i came to realize why i acted this way. at some point, instinct, desire for connection or some random human impulse is supposed to take over to guide you toward love. w ith girls, i didn’t have that. Dating, or love or whatever — it’s not formula-based. i guess that explains why my first kiss with a girl didn’t happen until i entered my senior year of high school — or, maybe, why i never really thought about kissing girls at all.
i never planned to come out as “John haley, gay man.” for some time, i had cultivated a belief that my sexuality constituted something shameful and unnatural, so i pushed down feelings which started as early as seventh grade to live as “John haley, straight man.” i n some ways, it was a strangely peaceful existence. it was also a false one. i never struggled much with my sexuality until i came out to one of my closest friends after my freshman year of college. t hen i broke down, and living with it — the truth — grew much more complicated.
i kind of destroyed myself. i became depressed, lost my appetite, fell behind in school. s ome nights when i went to sleep, i didn’t seem to care if i woke up the next day. a nd when morning came and i did wake up, i walked in a daze to the bathroom and turned on the shower full blast and gasped for air.
l ater, people would tell me how brave i was, but i’ve never really felt brave. i’ve always surrendered: pretended to be straight, started meaningless flings with girls, ran away from them before things got serious. i f i came out to people, it was only because i felt dangerously vulnerable — and because of this, i felt, more than anything, like a coward.
w hen i started treatment for depression, my counselor suggested examining the way i viewed myself to determine why i struggled with self-acceptance. t he thoughts in my brain, intrigued by her suggestion, huddled up and tossed a few self-perceptions between themselves before saying “well, whatever” and throwing in the towel. i skipped counseling, and
i stopped taking Zoloft. i didn’t really feel like getting better. g etting better meant accepting that being gay is okay — and this, on a personal level, was pretty hard for me.
you see, it’s infinitely easier to condemn hatred from the sidelines. from that angle, everything — what is right and what is wrong — is clearer. but when you’re a member of the demographic being targeted, you sometimes catch yourself wondering if maybe you deserve the hatred and rejection that people like you often face. from the sidelines, i surveyed the grand landscape of a merica and declared that gay marriage was an essential human right, but i also stood on the field, in the heat of the action, and declared that being gay, for me, was wrong. my mind was never on the game. i was looking far away into the crowds in the stands, and they didn’t seem too happy to see the real me.
it’s strange and messed up, but in this world there is a clamor of voices eager to gauge the value of other humans — an army of apothecaries who prescribe worth based on factors outside an individual’s control. it’s a pretty terrible feeling to think someone has surveyed the world and hand-picked you as the problem — something everyone would be better off without.
i think that’s why i’ve never pursued love with a guy. more than the romantic love shared between two people, i wanted the world to love me for me. i n the small circle of people i have come out to, the response has been pretty loving. yet i’ve thrown this love offered to me aside to stand out in the heat, sweating as i waited for the anti-lgbt coalition to give in and love me the same way.
back at the restaurant in manhattan, the relationship conversation continued, and one of my brothers suddenly remarked that i had never really dated anyone. i fired back some witty response about being “forever alone,” everyone laughed, the conversation moved on, and i excused myself to go to the bathroom. i was breathing heavily as i descended the stairs. i banged open the bathroom door and stood in the center of the empty room, hands raised to my head, exhaling long and slow, eyebrows furrowed, tears in my eyes. my heart thumped and whispered, “time is passing. you’re still waiting.”
Despite being relatively certain of my sexuality by the time i left seventh grade, i’ve never allowed myself to try to love someone. e ight years of waiting — how many missed opportunities have been crumpled up and tossed into the wastebasket behind me as i waited for the world, the entire world, to tell me it was ready to love me unconditionally? i think i’d be waiting forever for that message. actually, i kind of feel like i have waited forever.
c oming to you live from the field, eyes fixed on the game in front of me — John haley, gay man.
John Haley junior sept. 7
lETTEr To ThE EdITor
Renee Griffin sports writer
Passion versus paycheck
Erin Thomassen
t he e xamined l ife
w hat do desk jobs and vampires have in common? t hey can both be life-sucking. Now, i say “can” and not “are” because some vampires refuse to suck human blood (throwback to the cullen clan), and some people love desk jobs. t hey can’t get enough of e xcel spreadsheets. t hey score powerpoints. t heir favorite song is the ditty played while they are on hold with the help desk.
some office workers, on the other hand, feel like prisoners chained to their desk from nine to five. t his summer, i was one of those workers. i worked on jet engines at a prestigious and exciting company. t he majority of my work involved solving fascinating engineering problems. but i did not want to work on those problems for eight hours a day. Not even performing water ballet or eating chicken wings is enjoyable for eight hours straight.
i am not an anthropologist, but i am fairly certain that humans were not made to sit (or stand) at a desk for eight hours a day. c oming from college, where i bopped from class to the library to choir, i had trouble staying put. my dog sits and stays, but i cannot. i study sprawled out on the floor, so simply working at my desk was a challenge.
i spied on my adult colleagues to learn how they had adapted to the cubicle biosphere. unlike me, they did not seem to be battling the urge to sprint outside. p utting my sherlock hat on (which surely qualifies
tGeralyn Smith
bridging the g ap
as business casual), i inspected their desks for hints. from a framed school portrait to a tacked-up watercolor, the evidence suggested that these adults had one commonality: kids.
birds regurgitate worms for younglings. maybe humans give up dreams for theirs. my mentor said he once envisioned himself in the biomedical field, creating devices to save lives. he already had this job, though, and it was “not bad,” so why quit? yes, my colleagues described their jobs as “not bad,” and they weren’t british. w hat stopped them from searching for something greater? maybe it was desire for stability or fear of risk. t heir desk décor suggest it may have been the need to provide not only for themselves, but also for their families. it seems like a noble but disappointing way to live.
twenty-one and single, i may never even face the dilemma of sacrificing my vocation for children. yet, i couldn’t help but wonder if i could be as selfless as the parents i passed in the office and on the highway. i f an office job is not my cup of tea, i will most likely take a lower-paid teaching job. i would probably not be able to provide my children with the same advantages i experienced growing up. finances were far from a piece of cake in my family, but my mom worked her butt off at a job she didn’t love so that i could go to private school and take dance lessons. she wanted me to discover and develop my passion. she didn’t let hers get in the way.
a m i strong and selfless enough to be like my mom? p robably not. i may not be able to be c hrist-like in the self-sacrificial sense, but maybe i can imitate him by
living how i wish my children to live. i f i pursue a vocation rather than a paycheck, i can show my children the importance of using your passions to improve the world. for if parents sacrifice their passions for their children, and those children become parents, no one will ever do what they want to do. t he world will be forever robbed of passionate professionals.
t here is obviously a balance that a parent must achieve in pursuing a passion. i f unable to support my hypothetical family, i will have to re-evaluate my choices and possibly sacrifice my passions. i f a more inspiring job only requires lifestyle sacrifices, such as driving a used car and eating beans for dinner, i and my family can deal. it may seem like a selfish choice, but parents who are happy at work are happier at home. i f i encourage my kids to follow their dreams but don’t follow my own, they will see the discrepancy in my words and actions. w hen it comes time for them to make job decisions, they may be more susceptible to the siren call of job security.
a final note: o ther than sims life and occasional nannying, i have no real world experience in heading a family. it is possible that this article is completely erroneous and irrelevant to your situation. o r maybe it’s not.
Ms. Thomassen is a senior studying mechanical engineering. She lives at the Château off campus, with four friends and more crêpes. She can be reached at ethomass@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
his election is too important
t his year, many of us will exercise our right to vote for the next leader of the united states of a merica for the very first time. it’s an exciting feeling to play a part in the electoral process. e specially considering the historical weight, the lives lost and battles fought for us all to have this right. for this reason, i understand the severe disillusionment that so many feel when they look up at the two major party candidates for this year’s election. for eighteen or more years of our lives we have dreamt of having a hand in shaping this country. s o how can anyone ask us to throw away our first vote to a candidate who we feel does not deserve it?
t hat’s exactly what i’m asking you to do now. i am not speaking to the staunch trump or c linton supporters. t hese are the people who have weighed their options and, for better or for worse, have made up their minds. i am speaking directly to you my undecided, fence riding and third party leaning friend. it is time for you to get your head in the game and make the responsible decision. t here is a high probability that you belong to one or more of the following three categories: 1) you think Donald trump and h illary c linton are equally bad for this country, 2) you are considering not voting at all or 3) you are so disgusted with the major parties that you would rather vote third party.
Number one is pretty easy to tackle because it is false. w hatever images you have in your mind of “c rooked” h illary or, my new favorite, h illary “rotten” c linton, her political and moral misdeeds come nowhere near those of Donald “J is for jackass”
trump. her greatest scandal seems to be moving confidential emails to a private server. w ith a job as hectic as s ecretary of state i cannot say that i blame her for wanting to streamline her tasks and improve efficiency. however, i will concede to the fact that it was not the most secure tactic. i blame s ecretary c linton and her team for not fully understanding the pitfalls of their technology. t he same crime of which many people’s parents are guilty. Donald trump, on the other hand, is a known xenophobe among other dangerous social ills. he is the more despicable candidate by a landslide. i f you disagree then consider yourself the victim of a masterfully designed campaign to vilify a good woman.
Number two is also easy to tackle. too many people sacrificed so much for you to have the right to vote. honor their memory by exercising that right. t here is not much more that needs to be said on the matter.
t his brings us to number three. you feel driven by your conscience to vote for a third party candidate. i n truth, this is a noble choice. it keeps alive the spirit of those who warned against the rule of the majority and the control of factions at this country’s inception. it is also a matter of pride. you crave the satisfaction of knowing that you did not compromise your values. i n any other election i would applaud your choice. t hat being said, this election is too important. a ny vote against h illary c linton is a vote for Donald trump. i say this because we are at a unique point in a merican h istory where the presidential election is just as much about keeping one candidate out of the oval office as it is about getting another one into office. i f you have any inkling of how the electoral college works then you know that a third party candidate’s chances of becoming elected are dismal
at best. to know this and vote third party anyway is bordering on selfish behavior. i am not calling into question your morals or skills of discernment because i have the utmost respect for every individual’s right to decide who best represents their interests. i nstead, i am asking you to be realistic and put the country’s interests above personal pride. e xperiment with the electoral process in the future. uproot the failures of the system when you can. Now, however, is not the time. t his election is too important to throw fruitless political tantrums or remove yourself from the entire process. your vote matters and i implore you to make the responsible choice.
i f for some reason it was not clear enough in the column, i’m with her. however, i am not against disagreement, having my opinions challenged or even having them changed. i welcome the opportunity to discuss these and many other issues facing our country. t his is why i am a member of bridgeND. w hile my views definitely do not represent those of the entire club, i savor the fact that i have a group of people willing to engage with me in virtuous discourse.
Geralyn Smith is a junior studing film, television and theatre and Spanish. She can be reached at gsmith14@nd.edu
BridgeND is a bipartisan student organization that brings students from across the political spectrum together in discussions concerning public policy issues. The viewpoints expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of BridgeND, but are the individual opinions of the author. Contact BridgeND at bridgend@nd.edu or follow them on Twitter at @bridge_ND
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
happy birthday: open up about the way you feel and what you want to see take place this year. honesty will enable you to bring about the changes that will give you something to look forward to. refuse to let what others do keep you from following the path you instinctively feel is right for you. push harder in order to reach your goals. your numbers are 3, 12, 17, 22, 30, 38, 42.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): a commitment can be made, opening up a vast number of opportunities that were closed to you in the past. focus on gaining greater stability emotionally and financially. a learning experience will be an eye-opener that helps you make a snap decision.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t feel uncomfortable if someone makes a fuss. Do your own thing and stay focused on what will teach you new skills or increase your chances of getting ahead professionally. Do your best to get along with your peers.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t pick a fight or disagree with someone who could use personal information against you. protect against being misinterpreted or irresponsible. focus on making personal improvements, not trying to change others. false information will cause a financial loss.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): share your feelings and you will improve the relationships you have with personal and professional partners. expressing a sincere appreciation of others will help you get the support you need to achieve your goals.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): good fortune will be yours if you follow through and finish what you start. persistence, discipline and an energetic approach will help you overcome defeat. a networking function will help you develop a new personal connection.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): visit an old friend or someone you have worked with in the past, and you will be privy to information that will help you broaden your perspective regarding what you have to offer. shared feelings will be revealed. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): it’s time to begin something new. a chance to encounter interesting people through travel, educational pursuits or spiritual growth will help you make changes in your personal or professional world that will contribute to a better lifestyle.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Don’t allow anger or bullies to push you in the wrong direction. grab any opportunity you get to voice your opinion. you have plenty to offer and can easily move into a position of power if you are steadfast in your pursuits.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t give anyone the authority to speak on your behalf or take care of your personal affairs. you will be taken advantage of if you don’t do your own research. take care of an important relationship to avoid discontent.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): an unusual chance to make extra cash or be a part of something that excites you looks promising. listen and share your thoughts, and you’ll impress someone who can offer you exactly what you need to reach your goals.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): live and learn. make sure you are paying close attention when it comes to joint money ventures or paying upfront for something that has been promised. good fortune will come from hard work and doing things for yourself.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): let your feelings and intuition take over and you will end up doing what’s best for you. a partnership based on similar beliefs and goals will help you find new ways to bring you closer to the life goals you set. Nurture what you cherish.
Birthday Baby: you are progressive, unstoppable and insightful. you are sensitive and caring.
JumblE | DaviD hoyt aND Jeff KNureK
sudoku | the mepham group
JusT Add wATEr | JohN roDDy & eric carlsoN
Give hockey’s World Cup a shot
on monday, training camp for the eight teams participating in the 2016 world cup of hockey began. the rare tournament will last from saturday, sept. 17 to saturday, oct. 1 and will feature eight teams, canada, the united sates, russia, finland, sweden, the czech republic, team North a merica and team europe. a ll tournament games will be played at the a ir canada centre in toronto and will be broadcasted on espN networks.
the tournament will look a lot like the fifa world cup, with the best hockey players in the world representing their respective countries and competing against one another for world hockey domination. however, this tournament features a few twists. only four teams will advance past the preliminary round and compete in the semifinals. the winners of the two semifinal games will play each other in a best of three final round. two teams, team North a merica and team europe, represent a number of countries, not just one. team North a merica features players from canada and the united states who are younger than 23 years old, while team europe features professional hockey players from european countries not known for hockey, like slovenia, italy and germany. this is intended to ensure that the best hockey players in the world get to participate, making the tournament more exciting to watch. the first world cup of hockey was held in 1996, when team usa defeated canada two games to one in the best of three final. the next world cup wasn’t held until 2004, when canada beat finland in the final.
a fter a twelve-year hiatus, the tournament is back and the majority of the hockey world is excited about it. however, not everyone feels the excitement. many hockey writers and fans are criticizing the tournament for taking place too close to the Nhl season and disrupting Nhl training camps and the preseason schedule. many of them claim most of the players don’t even want to play in the tournament and cite the fact that many players who were selected to play for their country’s
team, like Duncan Keith, sean monahan, Jeff carter and henrik Zetterberg, have all dropped out of the competition in the past few weeks due to injuries they want to rehabilitate. t hey also fear the players who will play in the tournament risk injuring themselves by participating.
a ll i have to say to those people is this: w hy not give the tournament a shot?
those who know me best know that i’ll watch any international sporting tournament. w hether it’s the fifa world cup, the world baseball classic or the olympics, there’s a good chance i’m watching it. my favorite international sports tournaments are the men’s and women’s ice hockey tournaments at the winter olympics every four years. the tournaments at the last two winter olympics in particular have been absolutely spectacular. canada has won the gold in every one of them, but many memorable moments happened to team usa also, like t.J. oshie’s performance in usa’s victory over russia in 2014. there are rumors that the Nhl will not allow their players to participate in the 2018 winter olympics in south Korea, so this might be the last chance in a while to watch Nhl players compete for their countries on an international stage. for the people saying the players don’t want to participate, my argument is simple: if they didn’t want to play they wouldn’t be playing. t hey could have said no to the invitation, but instead they accepted it because they want to represent their country and participate in a rare event. they know the injury risks. there are injury risks in every international tournament. but the players continue to play. instead of looking for flaws and things to complain about, why can’t we hockey fans just be excited about having the opportunity to watch the best players in the world play meaningful hockey against one another a couple of weeks before the actual Nhl season starts? w hat’s so bad about that?
Contact Michael Ivey at mivey@hcc-nd.edu
The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
cotton shines in major league debut for a’s
Associated Press
oaKlaND, california — catcher stephen vogt came to the mound and offered a congratulatory embrace to Jharel cotton, then gave the young pitcher one last bit of advice for the afternoon: “hey, just enjoy this walk right now.”
the entire infield hustled in to celebrate cotton’s memorable major league debut wednesday, and he showed the last-place oakland athletics a glimpse of a promising future when they beat the los angeles angels 4-1.
for all the nerves during a lousy pregame bullpen session, the 24-year-old right-hander (1-0) sure looked poised from the moment he stepped on the rubber in the first. cotton impressed with four pitches, dazzling with his changeup, showing strong command of his fastball and mixing in some solid curveballs and sliders to keep the angels guessing.
“it could not be any better,” he said. “of course my dream is to
get to the big leagues. i’m here now, my dream came true. i got to pitch in front of the oakland a’s fans and i’m happy i did a great job and showed them i can pitch up here in the big leagues.”
cotton allowed one run and two hits over 6 1/3 innings, striking out three and walking two in a 102-pitch performance. he got the ball as a keepsake, a pie in the face from every player and had 30 text messages to greet him from thrilled family and friends.
when his day was done, cotton jogged off the mound in the seventh and stopped to tip his cap for the sparse crowd on an unseasonably warm september afternoon.
“that was a great ovation. our fans, weren’t too many out there today but they were our loyal ones,” vogt said. “they always have our back and they always cheer loud for us. he deserved better today. but they gave him a great ovation and we’re so thankful for our fans that showed up today.”
born on st. thomas in the
u s virgin islands, cotton became the fourth pitcher in big league history born in the virgin islands. he came to the a’s from the Dodgers at the trade deadline in a deal that sent Josh reddick to los angeles. he nearly tossed a one-hitter in his second start for triple-a Nashville, giving the oakland front office a preview of his potential at the next level.
c.J. cron homered on a 3-2 pitch leading off the seventh with a drive that tipped off the glove of center fielder brett eibner, someone manager bob melvin wanted to evaluate at the position.
the angels couldn’t muster much offense the way cotton was brilliantly mixing pitches.
“we didn’t get too many good looks at him,” manager mike scioscia said.
eibner hit an rbi double and yonder alonso and max muncy added run-scoring singles to back cotton.
ryan madson, oakland’s third reliever, finished for his 29th save.
Tigers fall to White Sox amid bullpen failures
Associated Press
chicago — Detroit manager brad ausmus glanced at the stadium scoreboard with his team ahead and saw baltimore had lost. if the tigers held on, they’d enter their weekend series against the orioles tied for the final al wild-card spot.
t hen shane greene and the bullpen faltered and ausmus had to settle for what he called a “mediocre” road trip.
avisail garcia hit a go-ahead single against his former team in a four-run eighth inning and the chicago w hite sox beat Detroit 7-4 on wednesday to keep the tigers a game behind the orioles.
“it could be worse, .500 isn’t awful,” ausmus said of their trip. “would have been nice to
take this one today and take four out of six. but we’ll go 3-3 and we’ve got a big series with baltimore coming up.”
Jose abreu led off the eighth with a single for his third hit and scored on Justin morneau’s double off greene (3-4). a fter todd frazier grounded out, garcia singled to right-center.
“i left some balls over the plate and they hit all of them,” greene said. “this one is on me, and i won’t let it happen again.”
tyler saladino and adam eaton added rbi singles before the tigers finally got out of the inning after using three pitchers.
“t hat’s the thing about the back of the bullpen,” ausmus said, “when they have an off day you generally lose.”
chris beck (2-1) got four
outs in relief before David robertson made it interesting in the ninth.
J.D. martinez walked and Justin upton singled to before robertson, who has seven blown saves, retired the next three batters for his 35th save. t he start was delayed 40 minutes for a threat of thunderstorms that never arrived on a steamy day with the heat index approaching 100 degrees. upton hit an early three-run homer and Jose iglesias had an rbi single in the seventh that put Detroit ahead 4-3. in what could be his last start in the tigers’ rotation, a nibal sanchez allowed three runs and eight hits over five innings. Jordan Zimmermann’s return from injury could move him to the bullpen.
Michael Ivey sports writer
fun. and i liked the people in the volleyball family. as you grow older, you start to recognize girls and coaches and it’s a pretty small volleyball world, so just the community is pretty fun to get into. but just essentially the intensity and the speed of the game was very intriguing to me. and it was just really fun to play.”
holt began her collegiate career by playing two seasons of Division i volleyball at loyola university chicago. she joined the irish midway through her sophomore year, in the spring of 2016. a lthough the decision to transfer was not an easy one, holt knows she made the right one, as she wanted to be pushed to her limits.
“w hen i went to loyola, i loved the school aspect of it and i loved the girls and even though things didn’t work out there, i still loved my time there,” holt said. “but i just wanted something more volleyball-wise and here, it’s completely night and day. it’s everything that i dreamed of. people say Notre Dame is their dream school — i now understand why. it’s an amazing place to be and i’m so happy to be here. i’m really grateful for the opportunity that [irish head coach] Jim [mclaughlin] and [assistant head coach] mike [Johnson] and [assistant coach] Katie wilson and all of the administration and my teammates have given me. my teammates were so accepting of me coming and the transition was really easy, and so, i’m really blessed to be here.” in her two seasons at loyola (chicago), holt racked up over two thousand assists, earned the title of team captain, and made a name for herself nationally, placing 24th on the national assists leaderboard her freshman year. but holt’s ambitions of a future in the volleyball world needed more than the loyola (chicago) program could offer her. according to holt, those ambitions need
exactly what mclaughlin has to offer her.
“everyone knows Jim in the volleyball world,” holt said. “he’s great. so that was a really big deciding factor for me because i did want something more volleyballwise and i have aspirations of playing after and i know that Jim has a really good track record of producing the best players in the world, especially setters. so, when i got to talk to Jim for the first time on the phone it was a pretty exciting moment and also pretty humbling because i knew how much work that i had to put in to play for him. but it’s everything that i dreamed of so far. ... i would like to play volleyball at the highest level and i know that takes a lot of hard work, and i know i’m not exactly there yet, and i know that, where i am right now and the resources that i have right now can help me get to that point.”
w hile the mid-year transition was not easy for the illinois native, she noted that the Notre Dame community made it as seamless as possible and allowed her to launch into the fall season headfirst.
“like i said, Notre Dame’s a pretty special place,” holt said. “everyone here is accepting and just all-around caring and kind. academically, i mean, it’s Notre Dame, so it’s going to be pretty challenging, but there are so many resources here that i’m able to use, so that’s helpful. my teammates mean the world to me. they’re just a great group of girls and i automatically had best friends when i came here, so that was pretty nice. i know it’s probably pretty hard getting a new player that’s not a freshman and to try to get them to learn your system. but that’s why i’m really glad that i came in the spring because i was able to kind of get that training under my belt and be ready for this fall.”
and holt was nothing if not ready for this fall. the junior setter has already picked up nearly 250 assists in Notre Dame’s first
six matches this year. Despite her success up to this point, however, holt often flies under the radar with the crowd and media outlets, as kills and digs typically draw more attention than assists, making her the unsung hero of the team. holt says that this doesn’t bother her in the slightest, but is, in fact, exactly what she wants.
“i’ve never really liked attention,” holt said. “i can’t even handle giving a speech in front of eight people, so i’d say with everything that i’ve done, i mean, in basketball i was the point guard, in softball i was a shortstop and now volleyball being a setter, they’re all very important positions, but they also are the ones not always getting the glory. w hich is fine for me. i like helping others achieve their goals, so if that means i have to be really good at my job and be consistent in my sets for my hitters to get a kill and hit at a high hitting percentage, then i’ll do that for them. a nd they would do the same things for me. and the passers do the same thing for me. give me good opportunities to have good sets.”
holt has high hopes for both herself and her team in the 2016 season and she fully believes that if she and her teammates put in the work, they will meet those hopes.
“personally [my goal] is just to make the team better,” holt said. “overall, i want to win, so i’ll do whatever it takes. we have our goals of winning the acc this year and making it to the Ncaa tournament and i think we can truly do that and everyone’s all in, so, we’ll see how it goes. [i’m motivated by] knowing that i have the opportunity to, with this group of girls and this group of coaches, to turn this program around. i think that’s a pretty big deal to us. so, i’d say that motivates me every day to be the best i can, because i want to be able to turn this program around.”
Contact Elizabeth Greason at egreason@nd.edu
Volleyball
to who we want to serve to on their team, know who they like to set a lot and try to get people in front of them,” mclaughlin said.
in the second match of the tournament the irish will take on san Diego state. the a ztecs (3-3) come into the tournament with two wins in their last three games, with wins over uc Davis and murray state. for san Diego state, sophomore a lexandra psoma leads her team with 2.77 kills per set and 61 kills on the season. the a ztecs are also strong in the serving department, committing 18 less service errors than their opponents this year.
finally, in the last game of the
tournament for Notre Dame, the irish will take on host team r hode island. the rams (3-3) will begin the weekend on a three game win streak, looking to improve their record on their home court. senior layne self earned atlantic 10 defensive player of the week honors after her team forced three shutouts in the past week. the middle blocker has contributed 1.32 blocks per set for her team on the season.
Notre Dame will look to find its identity and improve on its game plan as they go into their last tournament before acc play. with each game, the irish learn more about who they are and work to improve on their weakness, mclaughlin said.
“we’re still forming the systems and focusing on playing clean and getting good shots,” mclaughlin said. “we took a lot of bad swings last week. we want to take more good swings every week. we had signs of passing better, we got to set better and react to the setter better.” as the irish compete away from home court for the first time, mclaughlin said he hopes that they will take lessons learned from last week’s tournament over to r hode island.
“i saw us respond to some adversity when we were down 2-0 [against howard], and we came back, something we didn’t do last year,” mclaughlin said. “we are playing harder, and i think we learned over the weekend that we came out flat in the first two games against howard, and we control that. then we had a nice edge in games three, four and five. i see a higher commitment level, and behaviors that are needed to be successful happening more often. a ll of those things add up to becoming a better team.”
Contact R.J. Stempak at
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
Irish sophomore libero Ryann DeJarld passes the ball during a 3-0 defeat to Coastal Carolina on Sept. 2 at Purcell Pavilion.
Football
amazing athlete and there’s going to come a time where you’re definitely going to see him on the field, i believe. t hat hasn’t really been talked about too much. a ll i know is [Kelly]
told me to prepare to be the starter on saturday, and that’s what i plan to do.”
Kizer threw for 215 yards and five touchdowns in sunday’s loss, adding 77 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Contact Alex Carson at acarson1@nd.edu
Felitto
asks me, ‘w hen do you start playing?,’ this summer back at my home club, i tell them, ‘yeah, our first event is beginning of september at the olympic club.’ a nd everyone goes ‘wow!’ and their eyes bug out. so i’ve been looking forward to this for a year, you know, since the schedule came out.”
felitto’s golf career so far has been an extensive one. he started playing golf at age five, but his game took off when his father joined a local country club. he had his pick of schools to attend to play golf, but according to felitto, once Notre Dame was in the mix, there was no comparison.
“[assistant coach] coach [scott] gump contacted me at the beginning of my junior year and after visiting here, there was really nowhere else to go,” felitto said. “Notre Dame is by far the best combination of academics and athletics that you could find anywhere, and i visited a bunch of schools — a bunch of warm schools — and nothing really
compares to here.”
a lthough he has only been at school for a few weeks, felitto has already left his mark on the Notre Dame community with his win and the community has already made a lasting impression on him, a fact that felitto made clear.
“a ll the guys, they make it really fun for me,” felitto said. “you just kind of hang around the locker room and being a part of the team is really the coolest thing because everyone treats the freshmen great. it’s not like we’re strangers around here, it’s like everyone knows you the first day you get here so just being friends with everyone has been great.”
the freshman has had the two years since Notre Dame appeared on his radar to build up his expectations, but he said that, so far, his expectations for his golf career have been met.
“[my first tournament] was great,” felitto said. “i had a great time playing with Davis [lamb] and liam [cox], as an individual, and luckily, since we were first off, we got around in a decent amount of time and it was quick.
a nd to play like this, in my first event, was really, really great.” going into next week’s tournament at olympic club, however, felitto said he knows he cannot rest on his laurels if he is going to achieve his goal of constant improvement.
“[i need to work on] my chipping this week,” felitto said. “my chipping wasn’t great from the fairway and that cost me actually a couple shots. so, that’s definitely important. short game is always important. i want to just improve as a player, improve my short game and become more of a team player than i have been. this is all new to me. high school golf isn’t nearly the same as this. this is really next level and all the guys have really opened up to me really well, so i’m just excited to grow as a player.”
felitto will see his first action since his win at the Notre Dame Kickoff challenge at the university of san francisco olympic club intercollegiate, which will take place sept. 12 and 13 at the olympic club.
Contact Elizabeth Greason at egreason@nd.edu
Follow us on Twitter. @ObserverSports
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FooTbAll
Kizer will start at quarterback Saturday
By ALEX CARSON
a ssistant managing e ditor
a fter a week of a two-quarterback system, No. 18 Notre Dame has one clear starter.
Junior Deshone Kizer, who took the vast majority of snaps in the 50-47, double-overtime loss sunday at now-No. 11 texas, announced wednesday he will be the starter for Nevada’s visit saturday, beating out senior malik Zaire for the job.
“i had a conversation with coach Kelly today and he decided that this week that i was going to get the first snap for sure,” Kizer said. “he kind of congratulated me on fighting through the process and encouraged me to maintain the same mindset and just ensured me that i would be the guy on saturday.”
“a s of now, i’m expecting to be the only guy,” he later added. “t he conversation was just more to let me know i’ll be the guy. we’ll see how the game goes. obviously, malik is an
see football PAGE 11
nd VollE ybAll
mEn’s GolF
felitto hopes to shine immediately
By ELIZABETH GREASON sports writer
every so often, a young athlete comes around and starts turning heads. t hat is exactly what Notre Dame freshman John felitto did saturday when he not only won the Notre Dame Kickoff c hallenge, his first collegiate event, but did so by shooting a six-under-par 65 in his second round of the day.
felitto entered the tournament with the mindset that he would have to shoot low, not only for his own personal success, as felitto was competing in the Notre Dame Kickoff c hallenge as an individual, but in order to qualify for the team’s upcoming event at the olympic c lub in san francisco.
t he university of san francisco olympic c lub i ntercollegiate has been at the forefront of the team’s mind throughout their preparation for the 2016 season. t he olympic c lub has played host to multiple u s o pens and is one of the most distinguished
and renowned tests of golf to be found in the united states and felitto affirmed that the idea of playing at this club was one of his primary motivating factors going into the Kickoff c hallenge.
“[ w inning] feels really great,” felitto said. “i came into today thinking i needed some low numbers to qualify for our first full-field event next week at the olympic c lub which is what i care about right now. everyone’s playing really well. you know, three under is what got into the playoffs for the last couple spots and i’m just glad to have been able to do that, as well as win today.”
t he mountainside, New Jersey, native noted that he has been looking forward to and hoping to play in the olympic c lub i ntercollegiate for about a year now, and that all eyes at home will be on his performance there as well.
“i’ve been talking about it,” felitto said. “w hen everyone see felitto PAGE 11
Notre Dame looks to continue growth
Irish leave home court for Rhode Island tournament
By R.J. STEMPAK sports writer
Notre Dame returns to action this weekend away from home for the first time this season. t he irish (4-2) will travel to Kingston, r hode island for the a rt carmichael invitational, with contests lined up against stony brook, san Diego state and host r hode island.
stony brook (1-6) is coming off of five consecutive losses, with only two set wins in those five games. t he seawolves are led by junior melann a mory who averaged 1.67 digs and 2.31 kills per set last season. Notre Dame will face stony brook on friday, and irish head coach
Jim mcl aughlin noted that even though his team spends most of their time in between tournaments working on improving themselves, the i rish have to prepare for each different challenge they face.
“every team has a characteristic or two, so we pay attention
Junior Caroline Holt makes immediate impact
By E LIZABETH GREASON sports writer
it is not all that common for an athlete to join a program halfway through her collegiate career. it is even less common for that athlete to make an immediate impact on that program. Notre Dame junior setter caroline holt is the exception to that rule.
holt’s full-fledged pursuit of volleyball began later than most, as she also played softball and basketball growing up. however, holt was drawn to the sport for a variety of reasons, and when it came to college athletics, volleyball came out on top.
“i’m kind of odd in that way, i guess,” holt said. “i didn’t start playing volleyball competitively for a club until junior year of high school. i always played school ball, but i also played basketball and softball. i started playing club and that was a big time commitment and it was really fun. i loved all the girls and traveling and just the speed of volleyball is really
see holt PAGE 10
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
Irish junior Caroline Holt sets the ball during a 3-0 defeat to Coastal Carolina on Sept. 2 at Purcell Pavilion. Holt contributed 39 of the 40 Irish assists to go along with eight digs during the match.
CAITLYN JORDAN | The Observer
Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer throws a pass in Notre Dame’s double-overtime loss to Texas at DKR–Texas Memorial Stadium.
