Print Edition of The Observer for Monday, September 26, 2016

shaken up

Brian VanGorder fired after Duke scores 38 points to stun heavily favored Notre Dame

coach Brian Kelly fired defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder on Sunday afternoon, just four games into his third season at the position. Notre Dame has allowed over 35 points in three of its four games this season.

Notre Dame flirts with rock bottom in Duke defeat

Renee Griffin sports Writer

The loss to Michigan state a week ago confirmed that Notre Dame had exited the playoff hunt. The loss to Duke on saturday showed that it has instead entered the hunt for rock bottom.

And, like the variety of blue Devils players who found the end zone in Notre Dame stadium, rock bottom might be something the Irish (1-3) haven’t actually hit yet.

There were a number of times saturday when it seemed the team could sink no lower. First, when it allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown and 78yard touchdown drive to Duke to close out the first quarter, surrendering a 14-point lead in a span of fewer than six minutes.

Then, when Duke (2-2) recovered a fumble by junior quarterback Deshone Kizer and immediately scored on a 25-yard pass over the head of Irish junior safety Drue Tranquill to take the lead.

Then, when the Notre Dame

By ALEX CARSON Assistant Managing Editor

On s aturday night, following Notre Dame’s 38-35 home loss against Duke, Irish head coach b rian Kelly backed defensive coordinator b rian vanGorder’s staff in his post-game press conference.

On s unday afternoon, just 18 hours later, Kelly announced vanGorder’s exit.

“This is a difficult decision,” Kelly said in a press release announcing the change. “I have the utmost

respect for b rian as both a person and football coach, but our defense simply isn’t where it should be and I believe this change is necessary for the best interest of our program and our student-athletes.”

vanGorder will be replaced by Greg Hudson, who joined the Irish staff as a defensive analyst over the offseason following a threeyear stint as defensive coordinator at Purdue. Kelly said Hudson, a former Irish linebacker, will be expected to get the struggling defense

playing to its potential.

“He’s got great spirit on the defensive side of the ball and bringing him here, [we were] looking for some more experience and brain power and we got that,” Kelly said. “And now as the defensive coordinator, he’ll assume the responsibilities of the coordinator to get some energy into the group, some passion and get that unit playing the kind of football that I know they are capable of.”

see vANGORDER paGe 2

Fast start gives way to Irish collapse against Blue Devils

By MICHAEL IVEY sports Writer

Notre Dame’s secondary problems continued to prove problematic as the Irish fell to Duke 38-35 s aturday afternoon at Notre Dame stadium.

All four of the blue Devils’ touchdowns on offense came on plays of 18 yards or more. b oth the defense and offense looked inconsistent as the Irish fell to 1-3 on the season. It was a totally different story at the beginning of the game.

The Irish offense got off to a roaring start as junior

quarterback De shone Kizer led the Irish on an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on their first possession of the game. Kizer found sophomore receiver Equanimeous st. brown on an eight-yard touchdown pass to cap the scoring drive. After Duke (2-2) went three-and-out, the Irish offense went right back to work as Kizer threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Kevin stepherson to put the Irish up 14-0 with 8:57 left in the first quarter.

That’s when the tide began to turn.

On the ensuing kickoff,

Duke junior returner shaun Wilson took the ball 96 yards to the house to instantly cut the Irish lead in half. After a Notre Dame three-andout, Duke freshman quarterback Daniel Jones led the blue Devils on an eight play, 78-yard drive capped by a 25-yard touchdown run by senior running back Jela Duncan to tie the game at 14-14.

In the middle of the second quarter, Kizer fumbled a snap and Duke recovered on the Irish 25-yard line. The next play, Jones threw a

Kelly promises personnel changes following loss

By TOBIAS HOONHOUT sports Writer

After last week’s playoffcrushing loss to Michigan state, Irish head coach brian Kelly said, “There’s no panic.”

How times change.

Fast forward a week, and Notre Dame is now 1-3, losing to a Duke team that many thought would be a walk in the park. In a season that is now about playing for pride, Team 128 failed to defend their home turf against a blue Devils team that had had only scored 27 points combined over its last two games with arguably mediocre opponents in Wake Forest and Northwestern. And who then scored 28 in one half against the Irish.

Despite all the talk centering around brian vanGorder and his firing sunday, Kelly was very clear where he thought the problem lay after saturday’s game.

“Once you feel like you’ve got something going pretty good, we tend to make a mistake and let teams back into the game,” Kelly said. “so, I told our guys essentially that we’re going in the wrong direction. We’re

VanGorder

vanGorder’s firing comes after a string of games where his defense struggled mightily: in Notre Dame’s last five games against Power Five schools — all losses — it surrendered 38, 44, 37, 36 and 38 regulation points.

“ b rian is as fine a defensive coach as there is out there,” Kelly said during his s unday teleconference. “He knows the game. He loves Notre Dame. He wanted to succeed as much as anybody here, but it wasn’t working. … The fact remains that at the end of the day, I’ve got to find a way

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25-yard pass touchdown to junior receiver Quay c hambers to give Duke a 21-14 lead. The Irish responded with a nine-play, 72-yard drive that ended in a 13-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Dexter Williams.

On the ensuing Duke drive, Jones hit senior receiver Anthony Nash on a 32-yard pass in the end zone to give Duke the lead again just before halftime, and the blue Devils went into the locker room with a 28-21 lead.

With 4:54 left in the third quarter, sophomore running back Josh Adams capped a sixplay, 83-yard drive with a nineyard touchdown run to tie the game. A rejuvenated Notre Dame squad would go on to come up with a big stop on the next Duke drive, as freshman defensive back Donte vaughn intercepted a Jones pass in the end zone.

In the fourth quarter, Notre Dame regained the lead on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Kizer to st. brown with 7:46 left in the game. Duke responded just 59 seconds later on a 64-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Nash, who broke several tackles on his way to the end zone.

The Irish began their next drive backed up deep in their own territory. On a third-andlong, Kizer was intercepted by senior safety Deondre singleton with 5:10 left in the game. Duke then orchestrated a 10-play, 44-yard drive that ended with a 19-yard field goal by freshman kicker AJ Reed with just 1:24 left in the game.

to get our defense to play at a higher level, and they certainly weren’t.”

After s aturday’s loss, Kelly said he felt better about the defensive coaching. b ut s unday, he said he wasn’t going to discuss his coaches’ job security at the post-game presser.

“c ertainly that’s not the time or the place to get into debates about your coaching staff,” Kelly said. “I make those decisions. c learly, when I have the opportunity to evaluate it and had time last night to evaluate our current situation, and you know, [I] made what I felt to be the best decision for the program.”

With time ticking down, Notre Dame attempted a comeback.

On the first play of the Irish’s final drive, Kizer found senior receiver Torii Hunter Jr. on an 11-yard pass for a first down to move the ball to the Irish 36yard line. After a seven-yard route to junior Josh Adams and a couple incompletions, Notre Dame faced a do or die fourth-and-3.

Kizer’s throw was behind st. brown and fell incomplete.

Notre Dame’s rushing game struggled on the day, finishing with a 153 yards on 37 attempts. Kizer finished tied with Adams for the team’s top rusher of the game as both players put up 60 yards and a touchdown.

Notre Dame’s defense was gashed for 208 yards on the ground as well as 290 passing yards for a total of 498 yards, while the Irish offense racked up 534 yards of total offense.

After the game, Irish head coach brian Kelly talked about his team’s lack of consistency.

“Once you feel like you’ve got something going pretty good, we tend to make a mistake and let teams back into the game,” Kelly said. “I told our guys essentially that we’re going in the wrong direction. We’re not going to continue to go in this direction, we’ll have to re-evaluate what we’re doing, who we’re doing it with, and how we’re doing it, all of those things.”

When asked about the defensive coaching, Kelly responded that the defense was the one area that he felt better about after the game.

“We did what I wanted today in terms of coaching,” Kelly said. “And coaching had

Kelly said Hudson, who also had stints as the defensive coordinator at Minnesota and East c arolina, was promoted over full-time members of the Irish coaching staff because he fit the bill for what the Irish need right now.

“Each situation, you evaluate it at face value, and what I was looking for, I thought Greg was the perfect fit to bring that energy level up to where I want to see it,” Kelly said. “Guys played hard, but we lacked some of the energy and enthusiasm and fun, quite frankly, that you need to have when you’re playing on defense.”

While Kelly didn’t use the “interim” tag to describe

Hudson’s position, he indicated the appointment isn’t necessarily a long-term one — though no coach on the staff is assured of his position for 2017.

“As I told Greg, you know, everybody’s interviewing,” Kelly said. “Everybody on our staff … is on a very public interview. s o everybody’s got a chance to continue in their roles, and we’ll all have that very public interview as we play each and every week.”

That public interview includes offensive coaches and the head man himself.

“I’m under review, as well,” Kelly said. “I mean, we’re all in this together: all the players, coaches, everybody.”

Despite the Irish closing last season with high-scoring losses to s tanford and Ohio s tate, Kelly said he didn’t consider a change at defensive coordinator in January.

“No, there was no consideration,” Kelly said. “We won 10 games and we were close to being in the playoffs. You know, we were a play away, maybe two plays away from being in the playoffs last year. There was no thought of this occurring. This was not part of where I thought we’d be. s o I’m reacting to a place where I did not expect us to be.”

Contact Alex Carson at acarson1@nd.edu

nothing to do with the outcome today. I was pleased from that perspective. Obviously, we put our defense in a bad situation today and they gave our offense a chance to win, quite frankly. Those turnovers were deadly and obviously the kickoff return for a touchdown just put us in a tough situation.”

Less than 18 hours later, however, Kelly announced he

About six minutes into the first quarter, everything appeared to be going as planned for Notre Dame, which had just scored on a 44-yard touchdown pass that put the Irish up 14-0. Then, Duke running back shaun Wilson fielded the ensuing kickoff and ran it 96 yards to the end zone, the first of three

had relieved brian vanGorder of his duties as defensive coordinator. Irish defensive analyst Greg Hudson will take over as the defensive coordinator, Kelly said in the announcement.

Kelly also hinted that player personnel changes could be seen in the future.

“If you want to play for me moving forward, you better,

and I don’t care what your resume says, I don’t care if you were a five star (recruit), if you had a hundred tackles or 80 receptions or 30 touchdown passes, you better have some damn fire and energy in you,” Kelly said. “We lack it. We lack it. s everely.”

Contact Michael Ivey at mivey@hcc-nd.edu

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How do you feel about Brian VanGorder getting fired?

Robert Browne senior off campus

“can’t wait for hoops season.”

Katie Miller senior off campus

“At least we have a better shot at having a better record than the browns.”

Emily Seranko senior off campus

“Hopeful that it means seeing a win at home during senior year.”

Noelle Gooding senior off campus “Ecstatic.”

Shannon Meyer junior Pasquerilla East Hall “Hopeful.”

Meg Dalton senior off campus

“Hopeful that they’ll hire me instead.”

Senior Noelle Gooding cuts upfield during Pasquerilla East Hall’s game against McGlinn Hall on Sunday at Riehle Fields. The Pyros defeated the Shamrocks, 13-0, and improved to 2-0 on the young season.

Today’s Staff

Corrections

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t he next f ive D ayS :

Monday

Lecture: “Sisterhood, Social Justice and Scholarship”

O’Laughlin Auditorium

7:30 p.m.

Event is ticketed.

Presidential Debate Watch

South Quad

9 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Rain location is South Dining Hall.

Tuesday

Open Campaign Organizing Meetings

Geddes Hall

1:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.

For those interested in racial justice.

Lecture: “Plasma: From Lightning to Medical Applications

Jordan Hall of Science

7 p.m. - 8 p.m. Open to the public.

Want your event included here? Email news@ndsmcobserver.com

Thursday

Architecture & Urbanism Lecture: “The Spirit of Cities” Bond Hall

4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Open to the public.

Screening: “Thank You for Playing” Eck Visitors Center

6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Screening to be followed by discussion.

Graduate Student

Social

and miscommunications, lack of police training and lack of nationwide standards for police.

Whisman compiled what she considers her own unbiased definition of toxic masculinity.

“The majority of policemen are men, which is why I’m discussing toxic masculinity,” she said. “It’s emotional detachment, hyper competitiveness, aggression, intimidation, violence, sexually predatory and sexual objectification.”

In a short documentary Whisman showed, titled ‘The Mask You Live In,” former NFL player Joe Ehrmann said how toxic words can be to a boy.

“The three most destructive words that every man receives when he’s a boy is when he’s told to ‘be a man,’” Ehrmann said.

These words are toxic because they tell boys they need to always be masculine, Whisman said.

“because we have such a great divide, masculine means you aren’t feminine at all, and that leads to insecurity,” she said. “We raise guys within our society to bottle up emotions, and when they do show emotions it ends up in anger and violence.”

For police officers, this insecurity can follow them in the field, Whisman said, but she added the issue is not limited to law enforcement.

“We have all of these factors where men are told they have to be on top, they have to be masculine,” she said. “It’s not just in the

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rugby alumni reunion, but we are trying to make it become an annual event,”

s tinson said. “It’s football weekend, and people are already coming a long way here. s o why not get together on a Friday night to watch a rugby match?”

s tinson played on the very first rugby team at Notre Dame.

“[The rugby team] was started by b ob Mier in 1961,” s tinson said. “He was the guy who made it all happen. We played interhall football together, and when he asked if we wanted to play rugby, we all laughed and said ‘What’s rugby?’”

s tinson said rugby became an integral part of his Notre Dame experience.

“Not just merely playing it mattered, but we built strong teamwork, we raised money, and my best friends from Notre Dame were also my rugby mates,” s tinson said.

Phil c alandra, Notre Dame class of 1974, said the Notre Dame rugby team is a group that “makes the impossible possible.”

police; it’s in mass shootings, domestic violence.”

Whisman said she thinks implementing national training standards in the United states would help officers control toxic masculinity and help officers have greater sympathy for victims.

“The FbI standardizes their training because it’s a national force, but local and state police get trained on a local or state level,” she said. “The socioeconomic factors really do play into this. If you have less funding and smaller departments, it means you have less training going into officers.”

compared to Europe, Whisman said the U.s. lacks essential law enforcement training such as crisis intervention.

“crisis intervention is de-escalation,” she said. “[In Europe] they would try verbal warnings, fire shots in the air and aim shots at the victim’s legs.”

Instead of de-escalation, Whisman said U.s. police officers are trained to take a ‘kill’ shot.

“In the U.s., only eight states require verbal warning,” she said. “If you don’t require the verbal warning, you’re more likely to kill a person in the encounter.”

she said the reason officers aren’t trained to de-escalate is simply because it is easier not to train them that way.

“The reason you go for the kill shot in training is because it is easier to train someone how to shoot the big torso,” she said. “Aiming for the knees would take more precision training.”

Another European training tactic is empathy training, which combats racism and lack

of understanding for people with mental health issues.

“Empathy training is very much emphasized in other countries,” Whisman said. “In the U.s. we’re dealing with people who are supposed to protect other people, and it’s turned into people controlling a dehumanized people.”

Whisman said the result of a lack of training is violence.

“You have this brotherhood based in violence and this lack of training,” she said. “If we train officers to see other people as people and not as a stereotype or a threat, it would probably helpful to distinguish if it’s a true threat or if they just feel it’s a threat.”

saint Mary’s junior Liana O’Grady commented during Whisman’s presentation that people should not project toxic masculinity and racism on all officers.

“I feel like we shouldn’t do that because we’re generalizing it to all of the police force, it’s just some of them that are in the news,” O’Grady said. “I think it’s partially the media. If they showed more positive images I feel like we would have a different view of police officers.”

Whisman agreed with O’Grady.

“Media plays a huge role,” Whisman said.

Despite the small percentage of officers who perform acts of brutality, Whisman said standardized training would benefit the U.s

“It’s something that the entire police force could benefit from,” Whisman said.

Contact Stephanie Snyder at ssnyder01@saintmarys.edu

Grotto

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it, it’s great,” she said. “You can’t describe it except it’s a calm, happy feeling.” besides football weekends, the busiest times for the Grotto are exam weeks, according to the staff.

Froning, who has overseen the care of the Grotto for three years, said she can personally attest to the calming atmosphere of the Grotto. One summer, in

between Grotto caretakers, she and the other basilica workers had to care for the grotto every day. One member of the basilica staff at that time was sick and died, and the staff said caring for the Grotto helped the other staff members mourn.

“something — it’s gotta be the blessed Mother — just makes it a very nice place to work and also a comforting place,” Froning said.

Contact Alexandra Muck at amuck@nd.edu

Contact Erin Shang at yshang@nd.edu rugby

In the spring of my senior year, my friend and I worked together to bring both teams to b uffalo to have a match. It seemed so crazy that we even got lots of local T v coverage,” c alandra said.

The team bonds with each other not only in the sense of the sport but also through various its service to the larger community, McMahon said.

“One of the coolest thing we do every year is that we play with the University of Arizona, and we raise money through the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation for NiemannPick Disease Type c , a disease that … Parseghian’s grandchildren passed away from,” McMahon said. “Every year, this event is always bigger than just the game but a chance for our team to also contribute to the world in our own way.”

c alandra said rugby had a major impact on his life well beyond his time on the Notre Dame club team.

“Rugby has meant a lot to me,” c alandra said. “All over the world, there always are people playing rugby. And as a businessman, I see rugby as a global network.”

“I grew up in b uffalo, New York. I had a friend who played rugby at c ornell University.

By CARLOS DE LOERA

s cene Writer

sNL creator Lorne Michaels chose not to renew the contracts of Taran Killam, Jay Pharoah and Jon Rudnitsky for the upcoming season. This comes as a bit of a shock because Killam and Pharoah, both cast members since 2010, had become two of the most popular and consistently funny members of the cast. Rudnitsky had been a strong member since 2015. This is not, however, the first time that Michaels has left behind big names in order to revitalize the long-running show. In the 1990s, Michaels let go of stars c hris Rock, Adam s andler, c hris Farley and Norm Macdonald in response to low ratings. With the departures of Killam, Pharoah and Rudnitsky comes the excitement and potential of new featured players Mikey Day, Alex Moffat and Melissa v illasenor.

The most experienced and proven of the three new members is Mikey Day, who has been in the comedy arena since 2002. After graduating from Uc LA in

2002, Day performed with the famed Groundlings improv troupe. He then moved on to one of his recognizable roles as a cast member of Nick c annon’s “Wild ‘N Out,” in which he appeared in seven seasons. Many may also recognize him from his role as one of the amazed and hilariously terrified spectators in the “David blaine street Magic” videos, which have close to 100 million views on Youtube. Recently, Day has been one of the head writers for sNL since season 39 and co-head writer of N bc ’s “Maya & Marty.”

Alex Moffat is the least-known of the three new cast members, but nonetheless has a solid background in comedy. The c hicago native has performed with iO Theater, Annoyance and The s econd c ity, which has produced the likes of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, stephen c olbert and a myriad of other famous comedians. Moffat is also known for his web shows “El show with Alex Moffat” and “Good Little Winnetka b oy” and his role in the 2015 indie film “Uncle John.” surprisingly, the addition of Melissa v illasenor marks the first time that sNL has had a fully Latina

cast member in its 42-year history, which, as the Emmy Awards showed this past weekend, is part of a larger movement to display diversity in T v. Aside from being a historical addition, she is also a proven comedian and impressionist. v illasenor is best known for her run on season six of “America’s Got Talent,” where she was one of the finalists. she has also gained fame through her YouTube channel, which has millions of viewers. What really makes v illasenor a standout talent are her spot-on impressions of various celebrities, including c hristina Aguilera, s arah silverman, Miley c yrus and, my personal favorite, Owen Wilson. Her vocal talents have landed her roles in “Adventure Time” and “Family Guy.” Her talents will surely strengthen the already superb female cast of the show.

With the addition of these new members, the future of sNL looks bright. The 42nd season premieres Oct. 1.

Contact Carlos De Loera at cdeloera@nd.edu

By AUGIE COLLINS s cene Writer

Every few years Devendra banhart pops in to offer his next charming collection. The fickle nature of his output is a defining characteristic, his tracks are not put through the grinder to come out in neatly labeled cans. banhart’s new album “Ape in Pink Marble” is as raw as it is refined, a collection of late night musings more than concentrated effort. The record as a whole sounds like a collection of tracks that serendipitously came about through banhart casually plucking away at his guitar.

If listeners had begun to expect banhart would abandon his quirky and other-worldly sound, “Ape in Pink Marble” proves otherwise, sticking to banhart’s signature melodies and dreamy lyrics. The leading track “Middle Names” coaxes the listener with its flowing, sunny melodies. banhart’s voice is soothing as he gently speaks to a lover, “sitting there in front of the station,” as the rain falls down with gentle thuds. The album does not come with guns a-blazing but

rather slowly seeps into your subconscious. At some points the music actually stops its slow progression and crawls to a dead halt, the middle portions of “Linda” punctuated by absolute silence and the occasional strum of a lazy chord. The haunting acoustics of the track give it a remarkably melancholy feel. This composition, as well as that of others on the track, comes across as inventive, but never strays too far from the path.

banhart’s funky ode to personal growth and love “Theme for a Taiwanese Woman in Lime Green” presents not only a mouthful of a title, but also the thoughts of a man who wants to love this mysterious woman, but he is in a hurry and has to go. “There’s no one in the world that I love, and that no one is you,” banhart whispers. He cannot wait for the moment to be over so he can “close [his] mouth and not say a thing.” However, filled with bottled-up passion, he croons, “Love’s making me sing.”

The whimsical and campy feel of “Mourner’s Dance” calls to mind the opening sequence of the show “Twin Peaks.” c ombined with trippy lyrics, this makes for a

classic Devendra banhart track.

Not everyone is going to be pleased with “Ape in Pink Marble,” especially those who were hoping for something with a little more oomph. What the album provides to listeners is a deeper understanding of the man behind the curtain. shying away from politically infused lyrics, the album is a vibrant 13-track quilt of banhart’s innermost thoughts and ponderings.

Contact Augie Collins at jcolli15@nd.edu

“Ape in Pink Marble”

Devendra Banhart

Label: Nonesuch Records

Track: “Fig in Leather,” “Saturday Night,” “Middle Names”

If you like: Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine

You have bad taste in music

R.J. Stempak sports Writer

In a world where anyone can put together a public playlist on whatever music streaming service they subscribe to, so many people are fixated on the idea of having a good taste in music. but what does that even mean? We don’t judge people’s taste in other mediums of art as much as we do with music. You rarely hear someone say that their friend has a bad taste in watercolor paintings. Not only because watercolor paintings are rarely a topic of conversation in the first place, but also because art cannot be objectively ranked in that way.

Despite this, many people hold the idea that music can be objectively evaluated. sure, there are plenty of albums that have more popularity, are more inspired works of art and generally more pleasing to listen to. but the objectivity stops there. Everyone has different tastes for a reason, and whatever someone likes can be in good taste. Every genre has something to offer, every genre appeals to each person differently. Does this mean that it is not possible to have a bad taste in music? No. We should rethink what it means to have bad taste in music. It is not bad to like any particular song or artist; it is bad to restrict yourself to one particular genre or type of music, placing that genre on an infallible pedestal that is superior to all others.

The world is so full of interesting music and access to it is better than ever. so go out and search through different genres. Always be on the search for new music. This is what good taste in music should be: the will to explore. Finding one genre that pleases you and then stopping there is a crime.

When I make playlists they are never based on a mood or genre, each playlist is a look into my taste in music at a particular time in my life. They are not restricted by any type of music, so they are not the best for playing all the way through for other people to listen to. Instead they are a personal retrospection, and all of the music in each set is forever connected to emotions from a past time.

constant exploration is exhausting during times where you don’t find anything you particularly love. During those stretches of time I really appreciate looking back and listening to the songs I put in the time capsule months or years ago. but no feeling is better than listening to an amazing album for the first time, hearing new sounds you haven’t heard before that make you instinctively nod your head. You have a taste in music. Make it better by exploring.

Contact R.J. Stempak at rstempak@nd.edu

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

letters to the edItor

My most worthwhile educational investment

Juniors, seniors, anyone thinking about the future: I’m not writing to convince you to spend time doing service. I am, though, hoping to share some thoughts that could help nudge you out of your own way if you’re hesitating to give some time to service when your Notre Dame graduation rolls around oh-so-soon.

In all the years and conversations leading up to my last year at Notre Dame, I had always presumed my next step to be law school. And until spring break of senior year, I was still barreling blindly down that path. Thankfully, the week-long csc trip to a L’Arche home in Dc gave me a glimpse into a different and lovely life, and thankfully, threw a glitch into my plan.

Around the world and in various cities in the U.s., L’Arche communities are built of homes where adults with and without intellectual disabilities live together to support each other in daily life. I was incredibly drawn to the joy and welcome and love in the homes I visited, accepted L’Arche’s open arms to me, and jumped headfirst into the journey one week after graduating. While I was taking a big step into the unknown, doing so may singularly be one of the best decisions I’ve made to date. I unwittingly gave myself the gifts of time and space to learn and think and care in ways I had not allowed while caught up in the school grind.

Today, my days look very different than my days at L’Arche and just about the only similarity is that I’m still in Dc. Two years with L’Arche, two years of grad school, and a year of work later, I am on the legislative team of a U.s. senator. bit of a change, right? It sure is. but my growth at L’Arche is uniquely foundational to my current career success. L’Arche allowed me to discover new passions, but more importantly, helped me develop the skills that are making me more successful in pursuing these passions.

Hopefully this doesn’t surprise you, but people want to work with good people. Notice, I didn’t say “smart” people; I expect you’re all smart people, and frankly, there are lots of those in this world, disproportionately so in the industries and career paths Notre Dame students will choose. being smart and having that strong education will open doors for you, but your humanity is what will get you invited through those doors. It remains eye-opening to find the “break” I was taking equipped me with far more desirable qualities

than my many years of top-notch education, and I still find daily that my most used and most useful skills did not come from my 20 years in the classroom, but in fact from my two years giving time and self to community.

In these two years, I learned about grace. I learned about love. I learned about patience. I learned about people and how to care for one another’s humanness. I learned about priorities and what really, deeply matters to me and to others. I gained some chill, I gained some perspective on life, and I gained a group of strong and tender people with whom I still share regular dinners and celebrations and life. Without my L’Arche experience, I would be a different person. And would I want to work with that other version of me? No, not really.

I could continue on to share the ways in which employers have invited me through doors based on my service experience and how they identify that it has formed me. However, I hope you don’t choose service because it will get you ahead; I hope you are called to service from your heart. How a person chooses to invest their time reflects to the world, and the genuine desire for service shines a commitment to self and others that cannot easily be imitated. And the right people will identify this in you and seek you out for it, I promise.

In any and all of the wonderful, beautiful, life-giving service options from which you can choose, you have a world to gain in ways that classes and internships just won’t compare. Give yourself the gift of the time and the space to grow into a better version of yourself — you will be so much more prepared for the world and much more capable of navigating it gracefully. could a year or two of service change you, maybe even change your plans? Yes, definitely — it likely will. And I challenge you to see that as a good thing. Really, see it as a great thing. Embrace and jump in! If you are looking for a service opportunity to jump into, stop by the Postgraduate service Fair to explore options with the 60 organizations that will be on campus to meet students like you. The Fair is Wednesday from 5 - 8 p.m., in the Joyce center’s Heritage Hall (2nd floor concourse).

Megan Hrdlicka class of 2011 sept. 25

students, be better

Dear angry mob,

As an alumni who does most football game watching via television or the internet, it is always great to see and hear the student section and observe the spirit and tradition of school pride that makes the Notre Dame student section a special place across all of college football. Listening from afar and hearing the chants to “fire vanGorder” did nothing to make the student section seem very special. students, consider the father, friend, mentor, husband and human being on the receiving end of your “spirit.” c onsider the negative and demoralizing impact on the entire defensive unit who undoubtedly feel overwhelmed and dejected by the situation, before your loud cheers come from on high. blame and vitriol rarely solve problems. Look at our political climate, racial tensions and antagonism with police officers. As members of Our Lady’s university family,

you represent who we are today. be better. be loving. be merciful.

Even now with the intent of the chanting a reality, it does not seem that this is how we should send off those who have devoted a great measure of dedication and sacrifice for our boys in Gold and blue. The community that supports you and supports our football team is proud of who you are and who you are becoming. It is a great gift and blessing to be a member of the Irish family. We are called to fight for great things with virtue, thoughtfulness and love. When we have the next opportunity to support our coaches and athletes, let’s do it with the best we have to offer.

Dan Cook class of 1996 sept. 25

The conservative path to immigration reform

Stewart

Across the political spectrum, public figures frequently refer to the U.s. as a “nation of immigrants.” To some extent, this is almost certainly true: American history is inseparably linked to the experiences and achievements of American immigrants.

Even today, the U.s. remains the world’s most popular destination for immigration, attracting about 20 percent of the world’s international migrants. The inflow of foreign students, scientists and engineers has been a key factor that has enabled the U.s. to maintain its competitive edge in research and development.

However, to suggest that because the U.s. is a nation of immigrants, it should not defend its borders from illegal immigration is idiotic and dangerously naive. The U.s. is a sovereign nation with the means of facilitating safe and lawful migration. It is a nation of immigrants, but also a nation of laws, and there is no reason to believe these concepts are mutually exclusive.

As a first generation immigrant to the United states, the issue of immigration is one I care deeply about. My family immigrated to this country when I was 13 years old — we did so legally. American tech companies like Microsoft, my father’s employer, provide over 85,000 H-1b visas each year, and they are in high demand. Employment-based visas like these attract highly skilled individuals to come and work in the U.s., and many become American citizens. These individuals immigrate legally, usually retain well-paid jobs, purchase goods, pay taxes and peacefully assimilate into the “melting pot” of American culture.

America is a free-market society, and labor is an essential part of that market. The role of government is to facilitate this movement of labor in a way that benefits the

national economy and keeps America safe. Americans of all backgrounds, including most legal immigrants, just want to see immigration law enforced in a manner that is firm but fair. before congress can address the issue of amnesty or the limits of employment-based immigration, it must ensure that the border is secure, and that the executive branch is willing to enforce the law.

In 2014, an enormous surge of illegal immigrants, including thousands of unaccompanied children, flooded across the U.s. southern border. This crisis triggered a senate inquiry into Homeland security and its ability to assist and apprehend aliens at the border. A report from the GAO found that just 44 percent of the border was under “operational control.” state and local law enforcement officers were legally prohibited from making arrests or providing meaningful assistance to federal agents. Due to the limited capacity of detention facilities, roughly 41,000 immigrants arrested crossing the border were released into the U.s. pending immigration hearings. Unsurprisingly, almost 70 percent of these individuals never showed up for their hearings.

In the aftermath of the 2014 crisis, President Obama announced he would take action to “make our immigration system more fair and more just.” Instead of addressing border security concerns, the President issued a series of executive orders, effectively shielding up to five million illegal immigrants from deportation. As you might expect, this announcement infuriated Republican lawmakers and triggered an avalanche of public outrage. In response, the President employed the concept of “prosecutorial discretion,” arguing that the executive branch has the power to prosecute criminals as it sees fit. since 2010, executive directives have made entire categories of illegal immigrants exempt from deportation, even in cases where aliens are charged with or convicted of crimes. According to the Department’s own data, federal agents declined to deport 68,000 criminal aliens in

sticks and stones

insignificant, and it should give pause to all internet users. In taking this action, Twitter has made it clear that they have no problem suppressing ideas and opinions that they determine unfit to be spread.

2013 alone. These convictions included everything from traffic violations to sexual assault and even homicide.

As the nation’s chief executive, President Obama should be held accountable for the failures of federal agents to detain illegal immigrants and deport criminal ones. President Obama’s executive amnesty policies and failure to enforce existing immigration laws have demonstrated not only his unwillingness to work with Republicans, but his blatant disregard for the constitutional limitations of his office. No matter how frustrated a president becomes with congress, he does not have the authority to circumvent the elected representatives of the people. The power of the President is limited to faithfully executing the law, not unilaterally creating it.

The issue of immigration has become increasingly polarized, dividing Americans between political extremes like categorical amnesty and radical protectionism. Neither of these approaches will ensure U.s. security while still allowing for the economic benefits of legal immigration. A wall is not enough. Amnesty is not enough.

What this country needs is a comprehensive approach to immigration reform that includes both conservative and liberal ideas. The first step on this path must begin with the President, and his constitutional duty to administer the law with fidelity and objectivity. Only then can the legislative branch begin to debate and reform the immigration and naturalization system.

Liam Stewart is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Letters, majoring in political science. Liam was born and raised in the beautiful Irish city of Dublin, although he has been proud to call Seattle home for the past six years. He enjoys country music, hardback books and binge-watching TV shows. He can be reached at lstewar4@nd.edu

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

breitbart News editor and self-proclaimed Twitter troll Milo Yiannopoulos has found internet fame in recent months for his outspokenness as a gay conservative in support of presidential candidate Donald Trump but also, perhaps more notably, for receiving a permanent ban from Twitter. The popular social media platform suspended Milo following an altercation between his rowdy supporters and comedian Leslie Jones, who didn’t seem to agree with Milo’s negative review of her all-female “Ghostbusters” reboot. Milo, a master provocateur if nothing else, responded to one of Jones’s posts, criticizing the actress for “playing the victim” as she complained about hate mail she received after the film’s release. Milo’s Twitter following took this opportunity to unleash a deluge of memes, GIFs and some raciallycharged insults upon Jones, to which the “saturday Night Live” actress personally responded by launching a flurry of swearing and insults back at the 338,000-strong legion of Milo fans. The Twitter account of the “most fabulous super villain on the internet” was shut down immediately that same evening.

begotten from the ever-increasing influence of social media platforms, Milo Yiannopoulos is the archetypal mischievous little brother on the family road trip. He selects an easy target within reach, the readily-vexed older brother, and begins to poke and nudge him harmlessly to prompt a reaction. After a short while, the older brother loses his cool and snaps, hitting the little rascal and handing him exactly the attention he was seeking. The usual ending to the scenario shows the keeper of order, the parent in the front seat, turning around to scold the older brother (who claims to be the true victim).

Instead, Twitter opted to throw the little brother out of the moving car.

Regardless of your politics or beliefs, a massive social media platform suspending a user (for a reason other than spreading actually intimidating or harmful material) is not

To be clear, websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google, are private corporations and do not have any legal responsibility to uphold the First Amendment right to free speech. However, with the World Wide Web now a standard tool for communication and information-sharing, social media websites and apps have grown beyond their “status update” and “What’s on your mind?” origins in the mid2000s. Twitter is now considered a source of news even more instantaneous than live 24-hour television broadcasting. Facebook’s “Trending” sidebar collects the latest in politics, sports and entertainment without the need to wait through a commercial break. Even snapchat now highlights photos and videos from major global events like the Democratic and Republican National conventions and the Olympics.

With this great power over the world’s consumption of information, then, these companies must also be held to a great responsibility. social media platforms are now regular modes of communication and news broadcasting alongside telephones, television and radio, and as such they have the obligation to show the world’s 3.4 billion internet users an unfiltered, untainted exchange of ideas.

Instead of surveilling opinionated journalists or controversial politicians, the efforts of social media corporations would better serve as watchdogs for the directly harmful messages on their websites, such as those posted by the hundreds of thousands of Twitter and Facebook accounts utilized by Islamic state and other terrorist groups every day to recruit new members and propagate their warped ideologies across the world.

Ultimately, this internet censorship will likely only have a negative impact on the “social media etiquette” Twitter was hoping to improve. The more relevant take-away for internet users (especially preceding this social mediaheavy presidential election) should be this: be alert. With Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, snapchat, Google and hosts of other sites promising you perfectly-tailored outlines of the

day’s top headlines (“perfectly-tailored” according to their algorithms, anyway), make sure to browse multiple reliable sources of information. We can easily end up unwittingly entranced by the narratives and spins of organizations with agendas.

While this concern of “subliminal internet brainwashing” might sound like the stuff of conspiracy theories, a recent report from sputnik News follows up on sourcefed’s viral video that took Facebook by storm back in July, which claimed that Google’s autocomplete feature had been suppressing search suggestions that seemed negative towards presidential candidate Hillary clinton. The report explains that, while nothing can be proven without a direct confirmation from within Google, experiments conducted by the nonpartisan American Institute for behavioral Research and Technology have concluded that the possibility of Google censoring search suggestions and results should not be dismissed. With independent voters predicted to be such a major factor in the upcoming election, tampering with internet searches for the candidates’ platforms and remarks has been estimated by research psychologist Robert Epstein to affect as many as three million votes.

As the manipulations of these social media platforms become more and more evident, usage will plummet, and these silicon valley giants will hear the message loud and clear: people want to see the World Wide Web as it is. The minor annoyance brought by a few online trolls and their memes, GIFs, and insulting jokes is truly a small price to pay for the freedom of opinion. You know what they say: “sticks and stones may break my bones, but 140 characters will never hurt me … unless they’re sent by a terrorist.”

Julian Mancini’s column is respectfully dedicated to the memory of Mr. Elias Howe, who, in 1846, invented the sewing machine. He is a sophomore at Notre Dame studying civil engineering with a minor in collaborative innovation. Send amusing Photoshops and sarcastic remarks to jmancin1@nd.edu

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

Happy Birthday: Don’t hold back. Express your thoughts and feelings and share your plans for the future. It’s important to know where you stand before you make a life-altering decision. Make an assessment based on the feedback you receive and make the changes that will bring you the most joy. Trust in your instincts and use your talent and skill to advance. Your numbers are 2, 4, 18, 24, 36, 40, 47.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): s low down or you may miss an opportunity to learn something new. Travel, networking and doing things with family members will give you a different perspective on a situation you are facing at work. Live and learn.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): An emotional incident will surface if you haven’t paid enough attention to someone who loves and depends on you. Assure the ones you love that you are there for them. Offering an unusual solution will turn you into a hero.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Plan a day trip or go on a shopping spree. Making positive personal changes will boost your confidence and help you choose a new direction. s ocializing will encourage friendships that can lead to new partnerships.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Honesty will play an important role in whatever you do or say. Emotions will surface if you make an unexpected decision that affects the people you love. Make special plans that include the people who mean the most to you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): A change of location or visiting a place you’ve never been before will spark your imagination and help you broaden your vision. A physical challenge will be exhilarating as long as you don’t overdo it.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your desire to lend a helping hand will be well received, but don’t feel pressured to contribute cash as well. Paying to help others will leave you short when it comes to your household responsibilities. A personal change will boost your confidence.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t let your emotions take over. Focus on what you can do, not what you cannot. If a change is required to improve relations with those you love, do your best to accommodate them and keep the peace.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Keep a low profile and try to avoid exhaustion. Take time out to relax and rejuvenate. Reading, research and expanding your knowledge will lead to new possibilities. c oncentrate on improving your personal and domestic comforts.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Position yourself for a win. A gift or other reward is heading your way. Don’t let greed be your downfall. Your generosity to others will be what brings you ongoing favors and benefits.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Learn from experience. Emotional manipulation will lead to loss. c oncentrate on your health and financial matters. A little romance will help ease your stress and reassure you that you have someone who can offer you understanding and support.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Protect against insults or injury. Put more time and effort into the relationships that give back. b eing used by someone will not build your confidence, but working amicably to reach a goal you share with someone will pay off.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): What you do for others will generate a positive image that will help your reputation personally and professionally. Put your efforts into finding new ways to improve your productivity. A partnership with someone from your past looks promising.

Birthday Baby: You are progressive, courageous and intense. You are persuasive and appealing.

Browns fail to make right calls

Alex Carson Assistant Managing Editor

I wake up every morning and praise the world for giving me Lebron James.

because Lebron — and the Indians, this year — has given me everything the c leveland browns never will: hope, fun and competence.

Here’s the thing with the browns: I want them to go 0-16 this year, because I’m smart enough to realize that the team is going nowhere without a couple generational talents on board. Those don’t really exist on the roster right now.

s o, all things considered, I shouldn’t be that upset about sunday’s 30-24, incredibly dumb overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins.

but damnit, ain’t happiness on a sunday nice?

New browns head coach Hue Jackson seemed like a good hire. And at the end of the day, he might be.

He was also really, really stupid sunday.

Let’s start with the final play of regulation, a missed 46-yard field goal from c ody Parkey, a kicker the browns literally picked up s aturday. The try was setup by a forced Ryan Tannehill fumble in the closing seconds of a tie game — and after taking over, the browns kneeled down to setup what they hoped would be the final play of the game.

Here’s the only issue: Parkey had already missed twice in the game from similar distances.

Instead of letting c ody Kessler, who’d actually looked good, and your offense try to make a play to get at the least closer to the uprights, you let your kicker try to do what he was 3-for-5 doing on the day.

A predictable miss — one that sent the game to overtime.

Unfortunately though, that wasn’t the “brownsiest” thing of the day. Oh man, not even close.

The browns won the coin toss that starts overtime, which was fantastic news. being guaranteed a chance at the win before your opponent is a big plus, right?

Not if you’re the browns, man.

c leveland, rather than opting to take the ball, decided to kickoff to start the overtime period.

Perhaps there’s an argument to be made in favor of kicking. If you’re playing in a 40-degree downpour with 30-mile-per-hour winds, sure, I’ll back picking the wind. but the browns were playing in Miami, where it was, you

know, nice and sunny and warm and stuff like that. but let’s look at this from an analytics standpoint.

The browns’ goal, more than likely, was to get a three-andout to win the field position battle, since — if you think your offense won’t score a touchdown to end the game when receiving — both strategies require kicking a field goal and getting a stop.

Average starting field position is, roughly, the 20-yard line, so let’s assume that was the expectation. Even if the browns defense gets a threeand-out — let’s say giving up five yards in the process — they’ll expect to take over on their own 30-yard line after a 45-yard punt.

Is what is, at best, a 10- or 15-yard benefit really worth giving your opponent an extra possession?

When you receive under the NFL’s overtime rules, you’re guaranteed at least as many chances to win the game as your opponent — and if you win the game through a score, you’re doing it on an equivalent possession your opponent didn’t have.

Of course, it’s that extra chance that came back to bite the browns on sunday.

c leveland didn’t force a three-and-out anyway, so when it got the ball back following a Miami punt, Kessler and the offense were taking over inside their own 10-yard line. s o at best, the decision had cost around 10 yards. but after the browns drive stalled out, partially via penalty, it set the Dolphins up with short field for their second possession of the overtime period.

The Dolphins scored a touchdown on that second possession of overtime and won the game, 30-24.

The browns never had a second possession of overtime.

Now, I’m just a stats nerd who’s debating whether or not to pursue grad school or to try and find some entry-level job for next year.

but Jackson, and countless coaches who’ve come before him — I wrote one of these things last year about going for it on fourth down, mind you — make millions to screw up what should be easy, probabilistic decisions.

And when it’s my team being stupid? It makes my head hurt even more.

Contact Alex Carson at acarson1@nd.edu

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

YU | The Observer

Irish junior setter Caroline Holt sets up a kill during Notre Dame’s 3-0 loss against Coastal Carolina on Sept. 2 at Purcell Pavilion. Holt registered at least 30 assists in each of Notre Dame’s wins this weekend.

Volleyball

cONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

impressed, but not surprised by the freshman’s performance.

“Hopefully she’s in much higher pressure situations [going forward], so it’s a step in the right direction,” McLaughlin said. “s he’s got good composure; she’s a confident girl; she’s smart; she’s got a lot of good qualities. b ut, she did a good job.”

Notre Dame also led the way with respect to its service game. Junior middle blocker s am Fry, who sits atop the Acc leaderboard for total service aces and aces per set, picked up another ace to add to her total and was accompanied by three other Irish players, giving Notre Dame a total of five aces on the match.

A major focus for the Irish this season has been reducing errors. McLaughlin said his team’s errors were not as low as he would have liked, but they were made up for by the fact that the Irish were able to capitalize on Louisville’s errors, as the c ardinals failed to convert on opportunities and continuously gave the Irish free points with service errors.

“We were at seven, 11 and 15 [errors in each set against Louisville], so that’s a little high,” McLaughlin said. “And it’s all about us playing clean and hitting good shots, good swings, but we were a little

high, but so were they. We had some good opportunities in transition that we didn’t finish. b ut we’re creating opportunities, so now we’ve got to learn how to finish those, and that’s a function of everybody doing their job at a higher level.”

Junior setter c aroline Holt registered 30 assists in the three-set victory over Louisville. s he also recorded three kills, which is uncommon for a setter. McLaughlin said the kills are not something Holt has worked on in practice; rather, her ability to attack comes naturally.

“s he’s just a good athlete, and we put the ball a little tight and she had to just take care of it,” McLaughlin said. “b ut she has that ability. s he’s a good setter, and we want her to set the ball and our passers passed it off today.”

McLauhglin added Holt and sophomore libero Ryann DeJarld have been working on their communication skills on the court, and he said he saw a marked improvement in this Friday.

“[They did] way better,” McLaughlin said. “It’s like anything; it’s like passing or hitting. It’s something you have to continually get better at, and, you know, they’re starting to make noise. And now they’ve got to make meaningful noise and start speaking our Notre Dame language, and it’s different from anywhere.”

The Irish toppled the c ardinals in three sets, 25-15,

25-20 and 25-14, before traveling to Miami to take on the Hurricanes (6-8, 0-2 Acc ).

Notre Dame’s sweep was headlined by a powerful offensive, as kills were the name of the game for the Irish.

s ophomore outside hitter Rebecca Nunge, junior outside hitter s ydney Kuhn and Fry recorded eight kills apiece in the match, while Yeadon picked up nine kills and senior middle blocker Katie Higgins topped all of them with 10. Holt also tallied 38 assists in the match. Notre Dame dominated Miami, winning the first set by a three-point margin, and the last two sets by the same score, 25-15. The sweep also saw the Irish record a seasonbest hitting percentage of .360.

As a whole, McLaughlin said he was pleased with his team’s performance and is looking forward to seeing what more the Irish have to offer this season as they strive for an Acc title.

“Wins are always good,” McLaughlin said. “They’re hard to come by, and any win is a good win. It’s significant, but as I told the girls, this is not the end point. We’ve got to just keep getting better and better.”

The Irish will continue their schedule against Acc foe Duke on Friday at 7 p.m. at Purcell Pavilion.

Contact Elizabeth Greason at egreason@nd.edu

s occer

The second half began much like the first, with both teams testing each other and unable to create many scoring chances. In the 52nd minute, Nanco got off a shot low left that was turned away by Irish senior goalkeeper c hris Hubbard. Hubbard than made a save off the resulting corner kick to keep the Irish lead at 1-0. In just the first 20 minutes of the second half, s yracuse trimmed Notre Dame’s shot advantage to 11-9.

“You try to lock them in their half,” Irish head coach b obby c lark said about defending s yracuse. “We were able to do that in the first half, but in the second half they knocked it up rather than playing it up. We just weren’t able to play the game enough in their half. We still outshot them overall, but in the second half they outshot us 8-4. It was definitely a game of two halves.”

In the 79th minute, Orange senior defender Oyvind Alseth’s corner kick found sophomore defender Miles Robinson, who knocked it into the back of the net, knotting up the game at 1-1. b ut Gallagher and the Irish responded 11 minutes later. With overtime looming and just 16 seconds left on the game clock, Gallagher dribbled to the top of the box and shot into the top left corner, scoring the gameclinching goal and sending his team home with a 2-1 victory.

“We were pushing in the first half, [and] I thought we dominated,” Gallagher said. “Then, they threw the kitchen sink at us in the second half, and unfortunately they got the goal. We kept plucking away, and Jack [ c asey]

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a cross from the left that was met by freshman forward Jennifer Westendorf, who volleyed the ball in from close range. Irish head coach Theresa Romagnolo said she felt like the team was hungry for more after its first goal.

“I feel like we’ve been close on a lot of opportunities, and we’ve been winning 1-0 or tying,” Romagnolo said. “ s o I think today, the floodgates opened a bit and they were excited to be back at home, and I think they were just attacking balls in the box and we got a lot of good numbers in the final third.”

Meghan Doyle’s cross was met by junior forward Karin Muya, whose header looped high into the air and slipped through the hands of Francis and into the net.

Romagnolo said every member of the team was responsible for the successful first 45 minutes.

“In the first half, we were making each other look good,” Romagnolo said. “We were moving the ball well, we were trusting the pass. … Monica [Flores] had a great game in the first half, especially in the center mid — she was doing a great job moving the ball for us.

any more serious chances but preventing the Panthers from doing the same as Romagnolo used the comfortable lead to make changes to the lineup. Romagnolo said making an early impact gave her great freedom to experiment.

gave me a great ball into the middle and I just knew what I was going to do from there. Thankfully, the work this summer has paid off, and I’m very happy I could help the team.”

The victory also marked the 200th career win at Notre Dame for c lark. He said he was very pleased with his team’s performance but was unaware of his milestone achievement until after the game.

“It was a surprise, and I had no idea,” c lark said about the milestone. “I should’ve known something would happen, it always does around my birthday. I remember my 100th overall win was at s tanford, and it was on my birthday. My 200th overall win was at c incinnati, and it was also on my birthday. My birthday [this year] is on Monday so it is close but not quite. What a goal to win it. It was a fantastic goal. There are a lot of good things happening tonight.”

s yracuse proved to be a worthy opponent, putting pressure on the Irish throughout the second half en route to a tight match, c lark said.

“[ s yracuse] was chasing the game,” c lark said. “We had a couple of good breaks, but they were a tough opponent. A tie would’ve been fair to everyone, but seeing as it was coming up on my birthday, it was fitting that it was a win for us. I thought we worked hard, and a lot of guys did a good job today. We needed that win — if we lost that one, it would’ve put us back and made it quite difficult.”

Notre Dame travels to Pittsburgh for its next game Friday at 7 p.m.

Contact R.J. Stempak at rstempak@nd.edu

The Irish extended their lead again before the 20-minute mark, as sophomore midfielder Natalie Ward sent a high cross into the box. Olmsted rose above the Panther defenders and headed the ball in to push Notre Dame’s lead to 3-0.

The Irish continued to dominate in terms of possession and scoring opportunities, Junior midfielder Taylor Klawunder’s header from a Flores corner beat Francis in the Panther goal. b ut a Pittsburgh defender produced a diving header on the goal-line to keep the ball out, keeping the game at 3-0.

It wouldn’t be long before the Irish did add a fourth tally though. Junior forward

I thought [senior] s andra [Yu] and Taylor Klawunder again owned the midfield, which is something they’ve been doing well all year.

Kaleigh [Olmsted] had her first goal of the year, and it was a really special goal to have. [Jennifer Westendorf] had a great goal off of Kaleigh’s cross. s o I think there are a lot of highlights, especially in the first half.”

Alexis Martel-Lamothe almost got in on the act too, as a ball from sophomore midfielder s hannon Hendricks found the freshman defender in space, but with Martel-Lamothe’s shot looking destined for the bottom corner of the goal, Francis managed to get a fingertip to the ball and turn it around the post.

The Irish controlled the second half, not creating

“I think it’s huge,” Romagnolo said of being able to rotate fresh legs into the game. “It just gives you that nice cushion. For us, it let us try some people in new positions, to rest some people — obviously we wanted to stay sharp and focused in the second half after being up 4-0, but it gave me an opportunity to play some people who don’t get as many minutes and give them that look, so it was a great day.”

After a four-game road trip that saw the Irish travel across the country to meet s tanford, s anta c lara, s yracuse and North c arolina s tate, the game was the first at Alumni s tadium for the Irish in three weeks. Romagnolo said it was good to be back at home, where her team is a perfect 6-0 and has yet to concede a goal all season. The Irish will once again take to the road s aturday when they play Louisville at Lynn s tadium in Louisville, Kentucky. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Contact Daniel O’Boyle at doboyle1@nd.edu

men’s soCCer | ND 2, sYRAcUsE 1

ND bests Syracuse in top-three showdown

By R.J. STEMPAK sports Writer

No. 2 s yracuse visited No. 3 Notre Dame on Friday night in a rematch of the 2015 A cc championship game in front of a crowd of 2,468, and the Irish came out with a 2-1 victory behind a 90th-minute goal from junior forward Jon Gallagher.

The evenly-matched teams began the game as expected, with neither the Orange (81-0, 2-1-0 A cc ) nor the Irish (7-1-0, 2-1-0) able to jump out to a quick score.

s tarting around the 24th minute, Notre Dame had a couple of strong scoring opportunities. Irish senior defender b randon Aubrey took a free kick from ten yards outside the box — where he has excelled all year — but was unable to strike it past the wall. Gallagher then drove into the box and earned a corner for the Irish. The cross bounced to junior midfielder b lake Townes at edge of the box and he shot it high and on target, but Orange sophomore goalie Hendrik Hilpert made the save to keep the game

scoreless.

Notre Dame controlled most of the possession in the first half but were unable to translate their 10 shots into more than one goal goal, while s yracuse kept trying to air the ball out to senior forward c hris Nanco for a counter attack without much success.

In the 45th minute, Irish graduate student midfielder Evan Panken crossed the ball in from the left wing in the direction of slashing freshman midfielder Jack c asey near the far post, and c asey directed the ball skillfully into the back of the net. The first career goal for the true freshman gave the Irish a 1-0 lead at the half.

“Evan Panken crossed it in for me,” c asey said. “A couple minutes earlier, a similar play happened and the ball got to the back post and was pretty open, so I knew on the next play I should get there. It all happened so fast, and the ball went over everyone, so I don’t exactly know what happened, but I was really excited.”

nd women’s soCCer | ND 4, PITTsbURGH 0

Quick start propels Notre Dame over Pitt

By DANIEL O’BOYLE sports Writer

A dominant first half was enough for No. 24 Notre Dame to cruise past Pittsburgh at Alumni s tadium, with four different goal scorers before the break powering the Irish to a 4-0 victory s unday afternoon.

The Irish (7-1-3, 2-01 A cc ) took the lead less than five minutes into the game when junior defender Monica Flores’ corner kick found junior forward Kaitlin Klawunder, who sent a header past Panther senior goalkeeper Taylor Francis and into the net.

Just three minutes later, Notre Dame almost made it 2-0 thanks to another cross by Flores, but senior forward Kaleigh Olmsted could only send Flores’s fast-paced ball wide of the wide open net. It didn’t take long for the Irish to find that second goal though, as Olmsted sent in

Irish sweep first Acc matches

By ELIZABETH GREASON sports Writer

Notre Dame kicked off its A cc campaign with a pair of victories, sweeping reigning A cc champion Louisville, 3-0, at home Friday evening before traveling to Miami to sweep the Hurricanes on s unday morning.

The Irish (11-3-0, 2-0 A cc ) came out strong and fast to start the first set, capitalizing on the errors by the c ardinals (5-7, 0-2) and their out-of-system play. Irish head coach Jim McLaughlin said every point matters, although he added maintaining consistency throughout the match will continue to be a key to picking up wins.

“I think you’ve got to come with good energy, but I also think you’ve got to finish really strong,” McLaughlin said. “ s o, early points are as critical as late points, and to play with consistency is the deal. b ut we have a little bit better focus, we could have much better discipline and

those are the two elements of consistency.”

Freshman outside hitter Jemma Yeadon had the crowd on double-double watch once again Friday, ultimately finishing the match with 12 kills and seven digs as the Irish took home a win in their first A cc match of the season. Yeadon said she did not feel any additional pressure during the match, despite it being Notre Dame’s A cc opener, and added she felt that her impressive performance was just her doing her job.

“It’s just holding my own and just doing what’s expected of me, every day and in practice, and then implementing that in our games,” Yeadon said. “A big thing that we focus on in practice is kind of just every game is the same. It doesn’t matter who were are playing, we play Notre Dame volleyball all the time.”

McLaughlin said he was

personnel

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not going to continue to go in this direction, we’ll have to re-evaluate what we’re doing, who we’re doing it with, and how we’re doing it, all of those things. … Every position, every position, all 22 of them, will be evaluated. Each and every position. There is no position that is untouchable on this football team.”

Defensively, the first half was a disaster. Duke freshman quarterback Daniel Jones, who had not thrown a touchdown since week one, torched the Irish secondary for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Neither were defended well. In the second half, the starters in the Irish secondary all sat out at one point or another, and three freshmen and one sixthyear transfer played snaps instead.

For much of the half, the personnel shift worked. The Irish managed to get their first sack of the year, courtesy of junior linebacker Nyles Morgan, and freshman corner Donte vaughn intercepted Jones in the end zone for the first pick of his career. Yet once again, when it mattered most, the curse of this defense reared its ugly head — missed tackles. Up seven with six minutes left, freshman safety Devin studstill missed a tackle on senior receiver Anthony Nash, who sprinted another 50 yards to score and tie the game. Duke went on to kick the go-ahead

Griffin

cONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

defense allowed the blue Devils — a team that scored 14 points against Wake Forest and 13 against Northwestern — to march down the field in 2:06, with cornerback c ole Luke getting burned on the 30-yard touchdown toss that gave the visitors a lead heading into halftime.

Then, in many ways, it got worse.

In the first half, Duke’s ability to stay even with the Irish — a team that was considered a playoff contender a single month ago — could be largely blamed on the defense’s inability to tackle and stay tight in coverage.

In the second half, the beleaguered defense stood tall in a few crucial moments with an interception, a sack and several stops in and-short situations (though, notably, it still allowed more than 250 yards). It was the renowned Notre Dame offense, led by Kizer, that failed to do its job and outperform Duke when it mattered most.

The home team’s six offensive drives in the second half ended in the following: fumble, touchdown, punt, touchdown, interception, turnover on downs. The interception

field goal on its next possession and keep the Irish offense from staging a last-minute comeback.

The turnover in personnel on defense clearly says something about where this team’s mentality is. Kelly and the remaining staff are rethinking who needs to be on the field. It’s now up to the players to stay cohesive and focused. From a leadership perspective, that seems to be the goal.

“Any time you have a situation like this, when you have a losing record, that’s the first thing that happens, people start pointing fingers,” senior captain Isaac Rochelle said after the game. “We haven’t had that issue up to this point, but we have to stick together, and we’ll emphasize it so it doesn’t become an issue.”

Fellow captain and linebacker James Onwualu furthered the mindset.

“You need to find [that passion] in yourself, you look to the man next to you and you fight for him,” he said. “You play and practice for the next week and that’s really all that matters. … Guys just have to look at themselves and figure out what they want from the year. Do they want to get better or do they want to continue to lose? And that includes myself.”

The problems extends beyond the defense, though. As Kelly said, the whole team is under scrutiny at this point.

The loss to Duke was not because of one play or a single player. Every facet of the team

paved the way for Duke’s goahead field goal, and the final turnover trashed any hope of avoiding the embarrassment of defeat.

sure, there were touchdowns, but this is a team that is built on the idea that its offense will make up for lacking defense. It didn’t do that on s aturday, nor on the s aturday before that, nor on the season-opening sunday night in Austin, Texas.

What are the realistic chances it will be able to do so in the future this year?

After the game, head coach brian Kelly said poor execution was the main issue. He is not wrong; the team played badly. Four games in, the team has more often played badly than played well.

Kelly proposed to fix these issues of execution with personnel changes, exempting no position except the longsnapper from scrutiny, making sure to put the players with the most “fire and grit” on the field.

but more fire, grit, passion — whichever buzzword comes to mind — probably does not come easily to a team that is 1-3 and full of young players that have never been on a team with a losing record.

If those emotions Kelly talked about were absent

had its troubles saturday. On special teams, there was the 96-yard Duke kickoff return and the missed 42-yard field goal. For the defense, there was the poor play and waste of a timeout early in the second half because too many players were on the field, as well as giving up almost 500 yards to a mediocre offense. Even offensively, despite totaling 534 yards of offense, the Irish failed to deliver when clock was winding down and the game was on the line.

For Kelly, the solution is simple.

“[We need] guys that have fire and grit and, we had one guy in the entire football team that had emotion and fire,” Kelly said. “That is Dexter Williams. He’s the only one. He’s the only one that I saw. One guy. so, if you want to play for me moving forward, you better, I don’t care what your resume says, I don’t care if you were a five star, if you had a hundred tackles or 80 receptions or 30 touchdown passes, you better have some damn fire and energy in you. We lack it. We lack it. severely.”

Notre Dame next plays syracuse, a team that the Irish are favored to beat by double digits. but Duke was a threetouchdown underdog, too.

There is no “on paper” anymore. As Kelly has said, it’s time for the Irish to re-evaluate themselves and find out who really deserves to play.

Contact Tobias Hoonhout at thoonhou@nd.edu

for a crucial home matchup against the spartans, or for a potentially redeeming game against the mediocre blue Devils the following week, then I find it hard to believe they will arise for a road game against a high-tempo offense like syracuse, which the defense already struggled against in week 1, or against a top-10 team like stanford with one of the best runners in the country.

For that reason, I’m not sure that the loss to Duke — as disheartening as it was — was rock bottom for the Irish this year. Firing defensive coordinator brian vanGorder will help the defense in the longterm, but it was not a magical antidote to the array of problems plaguing the team. The defense might get worse before it gets better.

Kelly referred to himself s aturday as a “1-3 coach.”

Even combined with the replacement of vanGorder, fire and grit may not be enough to prevent him from becoming a coach with a losing record when the 2016 season comes to a merciful end.

Contact Renee Griffin at rgriffi6@nd.edu

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

SCoRing Summa Ry

n otR e Dame 7, Du K e 0

Deshone Kizer 8-yard run (Justin Yoon kick)

12:07

remaining

Drive: Eight plays, 75 yards, 2:53 elapsed

notR e D ame 14, Du K e 0

Kevin stepherson 44-yard pass from Kizer (Yoon kick)

8:57

remaining

Drive: Four plays, 64 yards, 1:48 elapsed

notR e D ame 14, Du K e 7

shaun Wilson 96-yard kickoff return (AJ Reed kick)

8:44 remaining

D u Ke 14, n otR e Dame 14

Jela Duncan 18-yard run (Reed kick)

3:32

remaining

Drive: Eight plays, 78 yards, 3:08 elapsed

D u Ke 21, n otR e Dame 14

Quay chambers 25-yard pass from Daniel Jones (Reed kick)

6:35

remaining

Drive: One play, 25 yards, 0:07 elapsed

n otR e Dame 21, Du Ke 21

Dexter Williams 13-yard run (Yoon kick)

3:28

remaining

Drive: Nine plays, 72 yards, 3:07 elapsed

D u Ke 28, n otR e Dame 21

Anthony Nash 32-yard pass from Jones (Reed kick)

1:22 remaining

Drive: Six plays, 70 yards, 2:06 elapsed

n otR e Dame 28, Du Ke 28

Josh Adams 9-yard run (Yoon kick)

4:54 remaining

Drive: Six plays, 83 yards, 2:32 elapsed

n otR e Dame 35, Du Ke 28

Equanimeous st. brown 12-yard pass from Kizer (Yoon kick)

7:46

remaining

Drive: Nine plays, 81 yards, 4:06 elapsed

D u Ke 35, n otR e Dame 35

Anthony Nash 64-yard pass from Jones (Reed kick)

6:47

remaining

Drive: Three plays, 75 yards, 0:59 elapsed

D u Ke 38, n otR e Dame 35

Reed 19-yard field goal

1:24

remaining

Drive: 10 plays, 44 yards, 3:47 elapsed

only 210 yards total in their last two games.

DamneD by the Devil S

Notre Dame’s defense allowed 38 points and 498 total yards en route to the team’s third loss in its first four games. In a tie game, DeShone Kizer threw an interception that ultimately set up an AJ Reed field goal from 19 yards out to give the Blue Devils a 38-35 win. Just one day after Saturday’s defeat, defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder was fired and replaced by Greg Hudson.