Print Edition of The Observer for Thursday, December 1, 2016

haitian nun leads panel on health

Sister Bernadette Nicolas, students discuss methods for treating AIDS, tuberculosis in Haiti

By AIDAN LEWIS news writer

sister b ernadette nicolas, a nun and nurse from haiti, spoke about her work with aids and tuberculosis patients in haiti on wednesday night in d eb artolo hall. nicolas is a member of the c ongregation of the l ittle sisters of st. Therese of the c hild Jesus, which she said is dedicated to helping those living in poverty in haiti.

“The congregation was founded to take care of patients in the mountains of haiti, where there are sisters working in 10 geographical areas,” nicolas said. “ we provide education, healthcare and social work.”

nicolas said the sisters noticed the lack of care available

to many aids and tuberculosis patients in haiti, and decided they needed to take action.

“o ne day, somebody went to our funder to explain the situation,” nicolas said. “o ur funder asked the sisters to go and visit these [aids patients]. we started to visit them each sunday, with food and many things for them. we took care of them.”

since this humble beginning, nicolas said the sisters have opened up a hospital dedicated to helping aids and tuberculosis. natural b aptiste, a freshman who presented at the event, said tuberculosis is an enormous problem in haiti and is called “the disease of the poor.”

SMC Club of Los Angeles releases new ornament

By NICOLE CARATAS

s aint mary’s e ditor

The saint mary’s los angeles alumnae club recently released the second in its series of five collegethemed christmas ornaments, this one featuring le mans hall.

susan rice, class of 1961, said the club decided to make christmas ornaments celebrating different aspects of the college’s history to serve as a reminder of the alumnae’s time at the college.

“we thought that we wanted [an ornament] — and we thought a lot of other people would want one too — that depicts saint mary’s, because we love saint mary’s,” rice said. “There’s so many wonderful buildings that have a nostalgi[c] feeling that we like.”

The ornaments also will be used to give back to the college, rice said.

“we hope, at the end of the day, that the money we make, we can return to the college for scholarship, but that’s a couple years down the road,” she said.

SUSAN RICE | The Observer

coursicle aids in class registration

By ANDREW CAMERON news writer

class registration is a struggle college students must face every year, but this past year notre dame students have had access to coursicle, a website designed to make designing a course schedule and registering for classes easier.

The service was founded by Joe puccio, who graduated from the university of north carolina

chapel hill in 2016, and Tara aida, who graduated from harvard university in the same year. it allows students to browse classes, make sample schedules and receive a text when a class opens up. puccio said in an email interview that the idea for coursicle came from his own struggles with registering for classes.

“when i was an incoming

Carroll Hall hosts Christmas party

tree-lighting ceremony.

By MEGAN VALLEY a ssociate news e ditor

rice said. “we thought it had a lot of charm. For those of us who don’t get to indiana very much, it brought back memories of snow and the campus at christmastime.”

“we all loved this [year’s] one,”

The first ornament in the planned series of five came out in the winter of 2015 and featured The avenue, whereas this year’s ornament features the front of le mans hall, with open doors and christmas wreaths.

rice said these ornaments help celebrate saint mary’s, especially since christmas is an important part of the time spent on campus.

“we all have wonderful

as notre dame students are beginning their last round of papers and exams, the residents of carroll hall are busy decking the halls and trimming the trees for carroll christmas. The dorm’s signature event starts at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, with the traditional christmas

“we always begin by lighting a tree,” sophomore carroll christmas commissioner matthew valenti said. “someone gives a speech about carroll christmas and carroll hall in general, and there’s a big countdown to lighting the tree that maintenance does for

Librarians discuss finished, future renovations

By DEVON HARFORD news writer

during wednesday night’s senate meeting, university librarian diane walker and sociology librarian Jessica kayongo presented on past, present and future renovations of hesburgh library.

The librarians showed the senators before-and-after pictures as well as design simulations and drawings of the sections of the library that have not been renovated yet.

“we have been renovating in stages,” walker said. “we have completed the entrance gallery, level 10, level 4 and the new scholars lounge.”

The scholars lounge was opened for the first time on wednesday and quickly filled,

walker said.

“people have already discovered it,” walker said. “i encourage you all to take a look at it early, before it fills up again tomorrow.”

The new space is intended to be an open study space, with no guarantees of quiet, walker said.

“you won’t find another area like it anywhere on campus,” she said.

The 10th floor has gained new seating and a reading room, while the fourth floor has become library staff work space. The main concourse is also complete.

The next big development, coming in december or January, will be the completion of the east wall of the concourse.

“There is a very deliberate attempt to make the concourse a good first impression for people

coming through in student tours, football games, everything,” kayongo said.

walker said the new designs have included more natural light. kayongo said led lighting also brightens spaces and is more energy efficient.

Future plans for the library, although already designed, will be implemented in pieces in order to keep the library open for use. Technology row is a section which will contain the center for digital scholarship, other specialized computers and equipment and a work spaces for the subject librarians.

additionally, there is a new teaching and collaboration hub, designed to house instruction spaces, group study spaces, mobile chairs and tables and hosting

spaces for campus partners.

“more happens in the library than just people checking books in and out,” kayongo said.

a grand reading room with rows of study tables will also be added to act as a “traditional heads down, quiet study space,” kayongo said. The area will be where the fishbowl currently sits and will include the floor above.

other additions include a fireplace and a museum-quality gallery to showcase the special collections and archives, along with more spaces for lectures and other audience events.

“we are going to make this into a 21st century library,” walker said.

after praising the progress made in the library renovations, the senate passed several resolutions regarding hall elections. one

added the phrase “social media” to a previous resolution on how to campaign appropriately online in student elections.

another resolution standardized the formation of candidate slates. a third required campaign groups to use google groups for their activities and prohibited the use of listservs and other university services for non-official business.

another resolution stated that votes to abstain would not be counted in the percentages that determine who wins a hall election. There will still be there option to vote “abstain” and express individual opinion, but abstentions will not influence the outcome of the election.

Contact Devon Harford at dharford@nd.edu

con T inued F rom page 1

“in low-income countries, 238 per 100,000 people are infected with active tuberculosis, whereas in high income countries, like america, 21 out of 100,000 people are infected,” baptiste said. “The reason why it’s so prevalent in low income countries is because of poor sanitation and a lack of proper nutrition.”

For this reason, nicolas said she felt inspired to provide any assistance she could to those who were suffering.

“it is very hard to see the young people die from tuberculosis or aids,” nicolas said. “but it was very important for me to be there to help our people.”

nicolas said that although working in the hospital is very rewarding, it has brought with it a multitude of challenges, such as inadequate resources for giving patients the treatment they need.

“we don’t have enough personnel to take care of the people,” nicolas said. “i have to do many things. in the morning we have to visit these people and see if they have enough food for a balanced diet. during the midday, we have to take them to see the doctor. i also have to educate them about their condition and provide medicines.” another problem, nicolas said, is that some patients come at a point too late in the disease for any treatment to make a real difference.

“sometimes when they try to receive a consultation, they die before we can see them,” nicolas said. however, nicolas said word is spreading in haiti about the hospital and the care it provides.

“we had one young man who came after he had first gone to a voodoo priest for help,” nicolas. “he lost all his money to this voodoo priest. but one day, someone told him to go to the hospital. when he came, he got much better. it is a testament to the hospital that someone told him to stay away from the voodoo priests and come to the hospital instead.”

Contact Aidan Lewis at alewis9@nd.edu

reviving secret santa

w hen it comes to christmas, traditions are kind of my thing.

christmas music can only be played once we’ve finished Thanksgiving dinner. my parents and i host christmas eve dinner and presents are opened between dinner and dessert, and no sooner. w hen we pull out the christmas crackers, everyone must wear the big, limp paper crown that inevitably comes flying off. once everyone leaves, we curl up on the couch and my dad reads “’Twas the night before christmas.” on christmas day, each of my parents and i can open exactly one present before mass and everything else needs to wait. The entire o’brien family — everyone on my mom’s side — rolls up to my aunt’s house for christmas dinner. a nd all of the o’brien family grandkids participate in secret santa. secret santa started when suddenly my mom and her four siblings woke up and there were 13 grandkids. it was dubbed excessive for everyone to buy everyone a present, so the tradition began in which each grandchild draws names and is assigned to one other cousin, becoming their secret santa. everyone gave a present and got a present, so it worked. at some point, the adults decided secret santa ended once you turned 21 and as everyone got older, it essentially became a thoughtless gift-card exchange. but it was still fun. it gave us a chance, or even an excuse, to interact with the cousins we might only see a few days each year.

a nd then, a few years ago, the traditions i hold so dear began to crumble. christmas fell in the middle of the week, so it was decided it would be easier to not celebrate christmas on christmas, but to instead create our own holiday, o’bFFc, or o’brien Family Fake christmas. everyone got together and celebrated christmas, but not actually on christmas. it took place on the weekend closest to christmas, which makes sense but was not the same.

a nd then, last year, the unthinkable happened. a fter much — flawed — thought and debate by the adults and much protest from the under-21 cousins, secret santa was done away with altogether. There were some mumblings about making donations in each other’s names instead but as far as i know, that never happened. only three of the five families came to christmas and while it was much more calm and tame than years past, just like o’bFFc, it was not the same.

so this year, we, the kids, are taking christmas back. over Thanksgiving break, texts flew around the o’brien cousin world, figuring out a way we could bring secret santa back, our excitement bubbling over as each cousin got on board with the plan. a nd trust me when i say that secret santa is back and better than ever.

with two more cousins aging out this year, it would be almost 50-50 for cousins under 21 to cousins who were “too old.” so we tossed the age limit. i don’t know whose idea the age restriction was, but it seems ridiculous to tell half the fam ily they’re too old for christmas spirit. everyone is back in and everyone is excited. a lmost all 13 of us are old enough to pick out gifts for each other on our own and we’re willing to put in the thought and effort to make secret santa worthwhile. or should i say 14 of us? with the inaugural o’brien cousin wedding on the horizon in august, we added one more name to the hat. my future cousin, or as my grandma now delights in calling him, her grandson in-law, victor is — willingly — being thrown into the o’brien family head-first. w hat better way to become part of the o’brien family than to become part of our crazy obsession with christmas? simply put, secret santa matters. it’s not about the present you get, it’s about the family you embrace. it brings us togeth er and forces us to learn about each other and think about each other. it forces us to show up on christmas day. a nd it’s a tradition. a nd for me, christmas wouldn’t be christmas with out secret santa.

Contact Elizabeth Greason at egreason@nd.edu

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

Have we gotten the message?

w ith the advent of social media, political activism has been intimately tied to a keyboard. Today, radical ideas displayed upon laptop screens are the most prominent and popular mode of initiating social change. a lthough venues such as Facebook and i nstagram have changed the face of modern society, has it effectively changed the political sphere in which we currently live? w ithin primary school, it was not uncommon to learn about the flavors of protesting. w hether discussing c ivil r ights e ra sit-ins or v ietnam war draft card burnings, the millennial generation has obtained an intimate understanding of the power of political activism. b ecause of this, it is not uncommon to hear commentary from elder generations in regards to the lack of substantial political involvement that has existed since the turn of the 21st century. however, it is clear to see that the face of our generation may be reverting back to the protests of the days of our grandparents. s o have we gotten the message?

i n regards to the forms of social media political involvement that have become relatively commonplace, the un coined the term “slacktivism,” explained thus: “This term combines the words slacker and activism and posits that people who support a cause by performing simple measures are not truly engaged or devoted to making a change.” The greatest difference between slacktivism and 1960s protests are not necessarily the venues through which ideas are conveyed, but rather is the underlying commitment to physical presence.

slacktivism is satisfying in that it fills the need of young, idealistic people to feel that they are working towards a better world and affecting change without requiring those involved to risk much. i n signing petitions, sharing statuses and reposting articles, we signal that we care — and we often actually do — without having to back that commitment with any real sacrifice. we can support various causes, ranging from animal rights to racial justice to environmental concerns all from the comfort of our couches, and often we get the added social benefit of showing others that we care publicly.

e ven when we have gotten up to protest, we have stood on college campuses, which often revel in productive student demonstrations. however, the risk of consequences for these

actions are relatively small, but the media follows and reposts, lending to the feeling that there is a real contribution and change being made. however, the negligible amount of personal sacrifice that millennials are willing to take on also takes away from the effectiveness of activism and protests. physical presence while protesting is an a merican tradition, and for a while it seemed as though our generation was relatively characterized by an air of abstinence … until now.

a modern example of this currently exists within the north d akota standing rock reservation. The l akota, nakota, and d akota native a mericans are protesting the north d akota a ccess p ipeline. This conflict between indigenous peoples and the united states government is characterized by a mixture of land, environmental and native a merican rights. w hether or not one is in favor of the pipeline, one must acknowledge the risk those are taking by using their physical presence at the site of protest. b ecause of this, there is legitimized hope in that the political system will respond to the pleas of the protesters.

well done, committed social movements create change. people see that there is a strong and deeply considered dedication to an issue, which leads them to seek understanding or reexamine their existing views. This is not a call to get out there and protest everyday because that would be the same kind of scattered commitment that exists online. however, when an issue emerges that is profound and that strikes someone as requiring change, when there is a real conviction that the law is not supporting the promises of the d eclaration of i ndependence, the c onstitution or a commitment to human rights, it is valuable to put some skin in the game. d emonstrating a deep belief in an issue and real commitment both creates a stronger and more honest dialogue and contributes positively to our political life in a way that paying lip service to an issue or engaging in a brief, emotional protest cannot.

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 authors. Contact BridgeND at bridgend@nd.edu or follow them on Twitter at @bridge_ND

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

Erin Thomassen

Save the brain cells

breaking news: millions of brain cells have been murdered this past football season at the university of notre dame. at the final home game, the serial killer known as the depressant struck for the sixth time this year, killing thousands of unsuspecting civilian brain cells.

a s shown by its track record, the depressant does not abide by just war theory. both happy and sad memories are subject to suppression, as well as newly encoded information such as the names of roommates’ parents.

The highest density of killings was in the Joyce center l ot and at i nnovation park. i nvestigators were called in to sweep the crime scene. c onfronted with conflicting evidence about the identity of the killer, investigators hypothesize that the depressant may be a drug lord with many underlings. They identified a series of suspect bottles and cans, which have been carted to the recycling facility for further inspection.

These mass killings have had highly destabilizing effects on brain cell survivors, especially in highly connected brain centers, typical at an academic hub like notre dame.

“i consolidate in fear,” a short-term memory neuron residing in the hippocampus reported. “i have been attempting to push all my knowledge through systems consolidation. i f systems consolidation completes, other lobes will house the important information i store, so no knowledge will be lost if i am in the next round of depressant victims.”

other neurons hope to save themselves through resistance. Those in the tolerance center have spearheaded blockades to defend themselves against high depressant dosages. They hope that these measures would result in a smaller death toll from the same

depressant dose.

neurons in dopamine receptors, on the other hand, see no issue with the killings. They rejoice when the inhibiting neurons are killed off. “more depressant means less rules. The entire brain enters a state of chaos. Fun is had by all.”

older neurons do not agree with this logic. They are wary of organizing resistance, though, and have resigned themselves to probable slaughter. That doesn’t prevent them from voicing their complaints.

“o verseas,” an elderly neural housed in the temporal center recalls, “brain cells are not subject to total war.” r ather than one or two slaughters on the weekends, european brain cells experience more regular and moderate challenges.

“a glass of wine with dinner, we can handle that,” the frontal lobe control executive predicts. one of these glasses actually provides benefits to other regions of the body, as reported by the central nervous system. “a funneled six-pack,” she counters, “increases fat cell count and unleashes biological and chemical warfare on the motor control, decision-making and memory consolidation centers of the brain.” it is also seldom consumed with commensurate solid calories, meaning the city centers are given few resources with which to withstand the attacks.

Far left-brain and right-brain cells are calling for civil war, blaming the aforequoted control executive of the frontal lobe for failing to prevent and even masterminding the depressant attack. “i don’t understand how she has gotten off scot-free,” a parietal neuron remarks. “she is in charge of decision-making, and thus is the one choosing to imbibe, subjecting our citizens to the dangers of the depressant.”

The control executive shifts the blame to the mirror neurons. she claims that their influence is so strong that she cannot possibly counter their automatic imitation of the behavior the subject encounters on game day. “a s subjects cannot help yawning when they see

i am not a victim

o n e lection n ight, i was amazed when i gradually saw states turning red on my television screen. g ranted, if i were able to switch out then-presidential nominee d onald J. Trump for s en. m arco r ubio or s en. Ted c ruz, i would have. nevertheless, given the outcome of the primary elections, i had accepted and supported our presidential nominee. o nce p ennsylvania was called and c linton had conceded, i was overwhelmed. a mericans made their voices heard through the ballots and proved that they were also ready for a change. To say that this made me proud of our constitutional republic would be an understatement.

however, to my surprise, on wednesday morning my mailbox was flooded with emails regarding classes being cancelled, safety pins being given out, immediate prayer services taking place and services on campus offering their “safe spaces.” The emails i received from the administration insinuating that Trump’s victory proves a threat to my existence as a minority and a woman is ridiculous. it seems as though i am objectively viewed as a victim of an election that ultimately placed a “white male” in the o val o ffice.

a s a h ispanic, r epublican woman from the s an Francisco b ay a rea who was raised in a family that overwhelmingly votes d emocrat, hearing opposing political views is nothing new. h owever, being called a “fake mexican,” a “disgrace,” and being told that “my heart is full of hate” through social media and in person has been astonishing. The amount of times i have been told my “white privilege is showing” is comical to say the least. Trump supporters have been called racists, but the ultimate form of prejudice is when it’s expected and assumed that all women, or even all h ispanics, must have identical ballots. we all have our reasons why we voted the way we did, and to assume that

someone voted red because they are chauvinistic, hateful individuals is nothing short of a selfrighteous disposition. To say you voted for h illary because you “stand against hate” yet continue to act hatefully and judgmentally toward people who voted for Trump is hypocritical at best.

To provide “safe spaces” and handout safety pins is in no way preparing anyone for the real world. w hen i am working at my first job, post college, it would be a stretch to assume they have safe spaces available to protect my feelings. i understand how polarizing this election has been, but to act as if Trump’s election is the end of the world seems outrageous. c laiming someone is “extremely privileged” because his or her personal choices are different than yours is also a tad extreme.

The faculty and administration have not been shy in supporting the student protests, but do they also support the students who stand with the president-elect? d o they stand with them against the hate they have received? p ersonally, i have grown tired of this campus depicting those who lean right as horrendous individuals. m eanwhile, there are posters for undocumented students, female students, muslim students, b lack students, h ispanic students, minority students and lgb TQ+ students stating, “ we accept you for who you are.” i fail to fathom why white students have been left off of these posters and are ultimately seen as “the oppressors” on campus. i understand the call for diversity, and being a mexican-n icaraguan daughter of an immigrant, i have not been blind to it. however, to portray me as a monster because i voted for a candidate who insists on a strict border policy and a stronger national defense to defeat the ideology of radical i slamic terrorism, a serious threat to this nation, is incredible.

w hile i have the utmost respect for professors

others yawn, they cannot help downing the depressant when they see others doing so.”

The mirror neurons protest that their function is to send signals to the subject to imitate perceived behavior. subjects only yields to these commands if their executive control center is too weak to form their own decisions. Furthermore, the consequence-assessment center is suppressed after the depressant has infiltrated the system, preventing the subjects from reevaluating the possible harmful outcomes of their decisions.

The control executive finally proposed a plan to avoid future depressant invasions. Frontal planning neurons will quantify maximum depressant thresholds. if the subject nears these thresholds, warning signals will be sent to the control center to prevent further depressant consumption.

additionally, confidence neurons in the speechproduction areas will be bolstered to help subjects realize that they are capable to extended small talk with visiting parents without assistance provided by the depressant.

Finally, neurons in elder, graduated subjects who may wish to relive past glories through depressant consumption will go through further educative training to understand the damage done to their brain by the depressant.

“concussions are getting all the press these days,” the control executive laments. Thankfully brain cells are becoming aware of the dangers posed by the depressant. it remains to be seen whether subjects will act in accordance with her recommendations to save the brain cells.

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.

and the administration at this institution, it would be a lie to say political opinions were not made clear this past week. This is true not only within the tri-campus community, but at college campuses around the country. now more than ever, conservative college students have voiced concerns over their grades being jeopardized for expressing views contrary to those of their professors. however, while i have witnessed this unfortunate circumstance occur to my peers, i have absolute faith in the integrity of s aint m ary’s c ollege.

o n Jan. 20, 2017, d onald J. Trump will be the next president of the united s tates of a merica. i understand the importance of open dialogue on college campuses, but ultimately masking your views in an academic setting to avoid offending the ideology of someone else is harmful to intellectual growth. c onsistently spewing hateful rhetoric towards people who hold opposing viewpoints and tastefully disagreeing are two different actions. w hile this is a time to unite as a mericans and move forward in preparation for new leadership, it is also a time to stay true to beliefs.

To my fellow deplorables: r emember that you too have a voice, so do not back down. w hile it is important to listen and learn from those around you, it is also important to stand your ground. r eject the fatal concept of identity politics. d o not let the fear of being labeled a traitor, racist, sexist, homophobe or bigot diminish your ability to stand strong in your conservative beliefs. k eep showing up at the polls and let g od handle the rest. a s a lexander h amilton once stated, “i f you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”

Happy Birthday: it’s up to you to make the changes that will make you feel good about your future. This is a year to complete the changes you’ve been contemplating and put an end to the situations that have been slowing you down or adding confusion to your life. l ook for professional opportunities that suit your skills and qualifications. your numbers are 8, 10, 14, 27, 32, 41, 44.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): e xpress your thoughts and put some muscle behind your plans. you can get ahead if you focus on using your skills to your benefit instead of helping someone else advance. c onversations can reveal valuable information that will encourage a wise choice.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): watch how others react and prepare to counter any situation that shows instability. d on’t give in to anyone who tries to push you into something you cannot afford. s omeone will offer false information about a deal you consider.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): it’s up to you to bring about change if you don’t like the direction things are heading in your life. d on’t wait for someone else to make the first move. Take control and don’t look back. g ood fortune and opportunity are within your reach.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): keep moving forward regardless of what others decide to do. a s long as you keep your plans simple and affordable, you will enjoy the outcome. a partnership will undergo difficulties if you cannot agree. b e willing to do the legwork.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Travel to a destination that has something exciting or exotic to offer. participate in a seminar or experience that will challenge you to use your talents in new and interesting ways. important partnerships will develop.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): a change at home may be useful if it keeps a dispute from developing. g etting to the bottom of things will take time and must be done properly if you are to come out on top. o ffer incentives.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): c hannel your energy into activities and events that will allow you to stand out in the crowd. The response you get from someone who can change your life will give you a reason to expand your interests. Follow your dreams.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): a professional change or dealing with institutions that can help you stabilize your financial future will pay off. use your strengths to help you gain ground and convince others to see the potential in your plans. romance is featured.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): e motions will swell and excitement will mount. d iscipline and control will be required if you want to take advantage of something that appears to be too good to be true. step up and take action and you will succeed.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): s omeone with lofty ideas will try to persuade you to be a follower. d on’t feel intimidated by a pushy individual when you have what it takes to offer something far more substantial. d o your own thing and forge ahead.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take your time and do your best. negotiate on your own behalf and turn something you enjoy doing into a fruitful venture. helping others will bring high rewards. s omeone from your past will make a difference to your future.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): you’ll lose out if you let someone take over. d o whatever you do best and get involved in the issues that concern you the most. a n honest evaluation of the relationships you have with others will lead to needed changes.

Birthday Baby: you are bold, enthusiastic and playful. you are strategic and intelligent.

Playoff committee will be tested

a conference title game, so they were declared conference co-champions.

caldwell-pope tallies 25 in p istons’ win over celtics

Associated Press

we are currently in the third year of the relatively new four-team c ollege Football p layoff format. The first two years of the format, there was little controversy in deciding who the four teams to participate in the playoff would be. That will all change this year.

Two teams already seem set: a labama and c lemson. i f those two teams win their conference’s championship game on s aturday, they will be set to make a return trip to the playoff. That leaves two spots up for grabs, and this is where things get complicated.

The b ig Ten has surprisingly been one of the strongest conferences in the country this season. The best team in the b ig Ten appears to be o hio s tate, who just beat arch-rival m ichigan in a 30-27, double-overtime thriller. you would assume the b uckeyes would be one of the teams playing s aturday for their conference’s championship.

b ut they aren’t. i nstead, that distinction belongs to p enn s tate, who beat o hio s tate earlier this season — the only loss of the season for the b uckeyes. p enn s tate only suffered one conference loss on the season to m ichigan, who just suffered their second conference loss of the year to the b uckeyes. b ecause o hio s tate’s conference loss was to p enn s tate, p enn s tate won the division the two teams are in and will be playing in the b ig Ten championship s aturday night against w isconsin, who won its division in the conference.

a s the p layoff selection committee has indicated during its first two seasons in existence, conference championships matter for a team’s resume. a ll eight teams that have made it into the first two college football playoffs were their conference’s champion. The only controversy surrounding selection into the playoff happened two years ago, when the committee had to decide whether to give o hio s tate, b aylor or T cu the final playoff spot. The committee ultimately choose o hio s tate, who won their conference championship outright by beating w isconsin 59-0 in the b ig Ten championship that year. The conference b aylor and T cu are in, the b ig 12, doesn’t have

b y making the decision to put o hio s tate in that season’s playoff — which proved to be the right decision, as o hio s tate went on to win the national championship — the committee sent the message that this is how they will determine who gets in when it comes to making tough decisions between similarly accomplished teams.

w hat makes this year’s situation so complicated is that p enn s tate has two losses to o hio s tate’s one, but p enn s tate is the team with the chance to win the conference championship. This raises the possibility that a two-loss p enn s tate or two-loss w isconsin would be chosen for the playoff over a one-loss o hio s tate, or the reverse — o hio s tate is chosen over w isconsin or p enn s tate despite losing to p enn s tate and not winning its conference’s championship.

i f the committee makes the former decision, it will raise outcries that a superior team was left out of the playoff due to a technicality.

i f the committee makes the latter decision, it will destroy the criteria it previously established to determine who gets in over who during its short three years of existence.

Further complicating the situation is one-loss washington, who also sits right at the edge of a playoff berth and will compete in the p ac-12 championship Friday. d espite their one loss, the h uskies do not have a spot guaranteed even with a win Friday, at least according to many college football experts. They could be left out to fit o hio s tate, a labama, c lemson and the future b ig Ten conference champion.

i f a labama, c lemson and washington all win this weekend, the selection committee is going to have quite a predicament on its hands. w hatever happens, this is the committee’s first real test. This weekend could provide us with an insight into the basis of how the committee is going to decide who gets into the c ollege Football p layoff for years to come.

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.

bos T on — k entavious c aldwell-pope scored 25 points and Tobias h arris had 21 to lead balanced scoring that carried the d etroit p istons to a 121-114 win over the b oston c eltics on wednesday night.

a ndre d rummond added 20 points and 17 rebounds, one night after he was ejected in the second quarter of a victory at c harlotte for a flagrant-2 foul.

i saiah Thomas paced the c eltics with 27 points, and k elly o lynyk scored a seasonhigh 19. b oston had won five of seven.

m arcus morris had 20 points and i sh smith 19 for

the p istons, who had lost eight of their first nine road games before winning away from home on consecutive nights.

d etroit used a 9-0 spree midway through the fourth quarter to open a 103-95 edge with 5:08 to play after b oston went on an 11-0 run to take its first lead since early in the opening period. morris and h arris each hit a 3-pointer during the p istons’ spurt.

d etroit pushed its lead to 112-101 on smith’s basket before b oston closed within four points in the final 30 seconds.

The p istons were shooting over 55 percent midway through the third quarter and opened their biggest lead of the game, 90-80, on Jon

l euer’s dunk.

b oston center a l horford returned after missing monday’s win at m iami due to the birth of his second child. he scored nine points. p istons: c oach stan van g undy said g reggie b ullock hasn’t gotten an appointment yet for a second opinion on the torn meniscus in his left knee.

c eltics: c oach brad stevens said there was no longer a limit on F Jae c rowder’s minutes in his sixth game back from a sprained left ankle. There was a limit when c rowder first returned. . g m arcus smart went down to the floor hard early in the fourth, but walked slowly to the bench during a stoppage.

Porzingis scores 29 to defeat the Timberwolves

Associated Press

minneapolis — k ristaps

porzingis had 29 points and eight rebounds in a thrilling duel with k arl-a nthony Towns, helping the new york k nicks beat the m innesota Timberwolves 106-104 on wednesday night.

c armelo a nthony capped a quiet night with a game-winning 18-footer over a ndrew w iggins with 2.3 seconds to play, helping the k nicks avoid what would have been an epic collapse in the fourth quarter.

Towns had a career-high 47 points and 18 rebounds for the wolves, who tied the game in the final minute after trailing by 17 with 7:30 to play.

but porzingis threw g orgui d ieng aside for a putback slam and a nthony tipped the inbounds pass on m innesota’s final possession to thwart the comeback.

brandon Jennings scored 12 points off the bench and porzingis had a big block against his friend and draft classmate Towns to help the k nicks weather the loss of Joakim noah, who sat out with a sprained left ankle. new york made 13 3-pointers to m innesota’s four.

a fter the Timberwolves lost to utah on monday, a despondent Towns vowed to do more to help his team win. he came out a man on fire, scoring 22 points on 8-for-8 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds in the first quarter.

porzingis held his own, banking in jumpers and swatting shots left and right. The two young stars rarely guarded each other, but Towns did go at porzingis late in the second quarter, rising up to try to dunk on him only to have the l atvian emphatically stuff him for Towns’ first missed shot in 11 attempts.

porzingis made 11 of 20 shots and three 3-pointers, scoring 10 in the fourth to hold off Towns and the wolves.

k nicks: a nthony had 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting. ... sg c ourtney l ee only played eight minutes because of a sprained left ankle. ... c oach Jeff hornacek said F l ance Thomas, who has not played yet because of a sore left ankle, had a good workout during shootaround and will practice on Friday in the hopes of playing in the next game or two.

Timberwolves: w iggins had

19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. ... Towns’ 22 points in the first quarter were two off of c hauncey billups’ franchise record of 24. ... g /F brandon r ush was inactive with a sore big toe that has bothered him for much of the season.

The bulls made the playoffs all five seasons with coach Tom Thibodeau leading d errick rose and noah. rose and noah were two players Thibodeau, now with m innesota, deeply respected for their competitive drive and determination.

“ you don’t realize what you have with him until he’s not around,” noah said. “he used to tell me that when i played for him because we used to butt heads all the time. he’s definitely one of the tops in the business.”

s acramento mayor and former nba star kevin Johnson met with wolves owner g len Taylor before the game. Taylor also is a part-owner of the m innesota united soccer team that will debut in the mls in 2017. Johnson sat with united’s primary owner bill mc g uire as he continues investigating bringing an mls team to s acramento.

larger rink size opens up room in the offensive zone for what has been an inconsistent notre dame attack this season, it also poses its share of challenges offensively.

“Just my experience of having been in international hockey for all those years is that there’s so much room out there, you get lost,” Jackson said.

Jackson also said the team has emphasized getting inside the face-off dots in recent weeks, but on the larger ice surface he believes that will be especially important.

“if you play outside the dots too much, you’re not going to generate a lot of offense,” Jackson said. “you have to offensively still have to try to play inside the dots. and defensively, you can’t get stretched out outside the dots.”

defending on the big ice also takes an added amount of discipline because offenses have an easier time controlling the puck in the zone, and Jackson said maintaining a presence inside the dots will also be crucial in front of irish junior netminder cal petersen.

“our defense is fairly mobile, so as long as they don’t get trapped [outside the dots] stepping up on people or getting caught outside the dot with a couple forwards,” Jackson said. “ … we have a rule that you’re not supposed to have more than one guy outside the dots defensively. and that happens occasionally when forwards are back checking, but the defense has to read it and back off more towards the middle.”

petersen has played well statistically in net for the irish this season, posting a 2.25 goals against average and a .917 save percentage, but Jackson said the team’s captain still hasn’t reached top form this season.

“i don’t think he’s given us his best games yet,” Jackson said.

“he’s had a few really good games for us, but i think there’s more there. we’ve seen it in the past.”

Jackson added that the team has hung petersen out to dry far too often this season.

“we’ve put him in some very awkward situations,” Jackson said. “w hen we make a breakdown, we make a good one where they’re getting a really good scoring chance. not like every once in a while, we’ll give up an occasional breakaway or 2-on-1, but we give up doozies. we’ve given up some 2-on-0s where our defense will get trapped or just make a bad play, and all of a sudden they’re getting a great scoring chance.”

The minutemen were dismal last season, finishing 8-24-4 overall and just 2-16-4 in hockey east play, while losing 22 of their final 24 games. notre dame accounted for two of those losses, as the irish were victorious 3-1 and 5-1 in a series sweep at compton Family ice arena.

Jackson said while the team’s record this year doesn’t reflect it, umass has already shown improvement under first-year head coach greg carvel.

“greg carvel is a really good coach, and they play a pretty much north american-style, nhlstyle game there on the olympic sheet,” Jackson said. “we had our hands full with them last year, and they’re always a competitive team.

“ … They had a tough finish last year, and i think they’ve rebounded to get off to a reasonably decent start this year. They’re competitive in every game; they’re not winning every game, but they’re not getting beat badly every game. That’s for sure.”

The irish square off with the minutemen in amherst, massachusetts, on Friday night at 6:05 p.m. while the opening faceoff saturday evening is at 7:05 p.m.

Contact Zach Klonsinski at zklonsin@nd.edu

Irish sophomore forward Andrew Oglevie controls the puck alongside junior forward

during

Oglevie

bjork. oglevie himself credited a lot of this improvement and success to his offseason work as well as the support of his coaches and teammates.

“i got a lot stronger over the offseason,” oglevie said. “other than that, it’s just been working on the little things, and i have to give a lot of credit to my linemates and coaches trusting me, putting me in more positions to make plays with being on the power play and penalty kill. it’s this along with my linemates helping me out and hard work over the offseason.”

oglevie especially credits the talk he had with head coach Jeff Jackson over the offseason, which helped him to understand why building up strength was so important in his development.

“he talked to me before the season and told me he wanted me to play on the inside more because i was more of a perimeter player

last year,” oglevie said. “i don’t think that was me necessarily wanting to be a perimeter player. i think it was just harder for me to get on this inside and play in those gritty areas of the ice.

“now, it’s easier for me to get to the front of the net and win puck battles and stuff like that with the added strength. it makes me want to go to the net more, knowing i can do it, so i think it was big, just building that confidence and getting me that extra strength to propel me into those areas.”

The improvement in the sophomore’s play has not gone unnoticed by Jackson, who credits a lot of oglevie’s improvement and rapid development to his newfound confidence.

“i think the biggest thing is confidence. his strength has improved, which helps build confidence, and he got off to a good start, which gave him even more confidence,” Jackson said. “we always knew he had some playmaking ability, and we’ve tried to encourage him to play inside the

paid a dverT isemen T

dots a little more, and i think because of his additional strength, he’s been able to do that.”

looking forward to the rest of the season, oglevie will look to continue his hot start, and that starts this weekend with a matchup against fellow a hockey east program, umass. he said he realizes the team will need to be focused in against the minutemen, and that starts with his work on the power play.

“coach has been stressing that we need to get the power play going again because we’ve been kind of lacking the last few games,” oglevie said. “i’d say as a power play goal, we want to make sure to get on the board this weekend and have some success there, and obviously as a team goal, we want to go out there and try to get two wins and come back here to focus on [boston college] so we can go have a good christmas break.”

Contact Alex Bender at abender@nd.edu

Please recycle The Observer

d isterhoft and sophomore forward m egan g ustafson — who were the only h awkeyes in double figures with 18 and 16 points, respectively — led the comeback effort.

m c g raw particularly praised the play of g ustafson, who also grabbed 11 rebounds in the game.

“ i thought that m egan g ustafson was phenomenal. s he really played well,”

m c g raw said. “ s he had a great game — a double-double — [and] really hurt us. we didn’t have an answer for her. Tried trapping her in the first half, got a couple of turnovers but overall, she was really a tougher matchup than i expected.”

b ut the stretch had just as much to do with the n otre d ame’s poor play as it did i owa’s resiliency, m c g raw added.

“ p retty much everything [went wrong],” she said. “ i don’t think we were doing anything well. we weren’t containing the ball, we weren’t guarding, and we weren’t boxing out. w e weren’t making layups, we weren’t making good decisions — we just couldn’t wait for the buzzer to go off. we just wanted the game to be over. a t least, that’s what it looked like.”

From that 2:37 mark in the third on, however, the i rish

regained control of the contest and ended it on a 23-10 run to bring the game to its 73-58 final.

Junior forward b rianna Turner led the i rish offensively in the game with 15 points. The i rish made it a point at various times throughout the game to get the ball inside and give Turner scoring chances, but m c g raw said she felt her team still has to learn to take advantage of all the opportunities to score inside, especially when teams have been playing Turner more physical as of late.

“ i think we had a little more team speed,” m c g raw said. “ we do like to drive the ball, and we were trying to drive it a little bit more. i thought we shot too many 3s today, and trying to throw the ball inside — i thought [Turner] was open, [senior forward k ristina n elson] was open. we’re just not good at looking in right now.”

n ow off to a 7-0 start, n otre d ame will have a few days off before taking on valparaiso on s unday at p urcell p avilion. The following game next wednesday, however, will mark the biggest game of the season so far for the topranked i rish when they host n o. 2 c onnecticut.

n otre d ame and valparaiso tip-off at 1 p.m. s unday at p urcell p avilion.

Contact Ben Padanilam at bpadanil@nd.edu

Irish start, finish strong in win over Hawkeyes

By BEN PADANILAM a ssociate sports e ditor

n o. 1 n otre d ame overcame poor second and third quarters to top i owa, 73-58, in its acc / b ig Ten c hallenge game w ednesday night in i owa c ity, i owa.

From the 1:52 mark in the first quarter to the 2:37 mark of the third quarter, the h awkeyes (5-3) outscored the i rish, 39-27, and turned a 14-point n otre d ame lead into a two-point margin. h owever, the i rish (7-0) used a strong start and finish to propel themselves to victory, despite what i rish head coach m uffet m c g raw described as an unsatisfactory performance.

“ i thought that we looked really sluggish,” m c g raw said. “ w e were kind of going through the motions. w e got out to a little bit of an early lead, and i think we just relaxed. i didn’t think we brought our intensity on defense — lot of fundamental mistakes. … w e didn’t play as i wanted to, but i felt we

hOckey

did enough good things at the end to win the game.”

The opening and closing quarters would prove to be critical for the i rish in the winning effort. n otre d ame was in control of the game early, starting the contest on a 21-7 run and ending the first quarter leading 23-15. i ts defense forced nine i owa turnovers in the period, and sophomore guard m arina m abrey led the offensive effort, scoring all nine of her points in the period. i rish head coach m uffet m c g raw credited the defensive effort for propelling the team to its early lead.

“ d efense — i mean we got turnovers right off the bat,” m c g raw said. “ … They were just a little off, maybe, to start the game, and i thought, defensively, we were better.”

h owever, the h awkeyes fought their way back into the game during the middle stretch of play, as i owa’s duo of senior guard a lly nd wOmen’s basketball | nd 73, iowa 58

see nd wbball PaGe 11

Oglevie, Notre Dame set to take on UMass

Irish to face Minutemen on Olympic-sized rink

By ZACH KLONSINSKI

a ssistant managing e ditor

n o. 12 n otre d ame resumes

h ockey e ast play this weekend with a series against m assachusetts on the o lympicsized ice at mullins c enter.

i nstead of the usual nhlsized rink that’s 85 feet wide, o lympic-sized ice sheets add another 15 feet in width. n otre

d ame’s c ompton Family i ce

a rena has two sheets of ice:

l efty s mith r ink, the main ice sheet for the i rish (7-5-2, 3-21 h ockey e ast), is nhl -sized, while an o lympic sheet lies adjacent to the main arena specifically for weeks when n otre d ame prepares for teams like the m inutemen (3-7-2, 1-5-1).

“[The larger ice surface] is a factor, and that’s why we’re fortunate we can practice on an o lympic ice sheet this week,” i rish head coach Jeff Jackson said during media availability wednesday afternoon.

Jackson added that while the

Oglevie emerges as offensive threat in his second season

By ALEX BENDER sports writer

i n a season in which the offensive output hasn’t quite been where no. 12 notre d ame would like it to be, sophomore forward a ndrew o glevie has held up his end in what has been a year of rapid development for the young talent.

a Fullerton, c alifornia, native, o glevie has made seen a quick ascension to being one of notre d ame’s best offensive weapons as he continues to put together an impressive resume early on in his collegiate career.

a s a freshman, o glevie played in 31 games during which he scored five goals — including two game winners — and added four assists for a total of nine points. i n just 14 games this season, he has already blown past last year’s total for six goals along with nine assists. h is mark of 14 points good enough for second on the team so far, trailing only fellow forward and junior a nders

see oglevie PaGe 10