PDF for Friday, February 8, 2013

Phelps promotes ‘Gameday’

Former coach encourages student participation in ESPN program

Former Irish basketball coach Digger Phelps serves as an analyst for ESPN’s “College GameDay,” which will be broadcasting live from Purcell Pavilion on Saturday morning.

By ANDREW OWENS assistant managing editor

Former notre dame basketball coach richard ‘digger’ phelps has seen it all at notre dame.

he recorded an ncaa-record seven wins over no. 1 teams as

a head coach and guided the program to its only Final Four appearance.

This weekend, he’s challenging the student body to show the enthusiasm it displayed for so much of his coaching tenure when espn’s “college gameday” visits campus.

phelps currently serves as an analyst for “gameday” and other espn programming.

“gameday,” which visited notre dame on oct. 13 prior to the 20-13 overtime victory over stanford in football, will broadcast from inside purcell pavilion on saturday from 10

a.m. to noon. notre dame is just the seventh school to earn a “gameday” visit for each sport in one academic year.

“w hen you’re here for four years, you have certain moments,” phelps said. “For a student body at your 20-year reunion, it will be ‘hey, remember louisville week? it was snowy and cold and it was a must-win for us.’ here we are cracking the top-25 again and looking to make a statement.”

phelps visited both dining halls wednesday to promote the game against louisville and espn’s on-campus appearance.

“To have it here for our student body, it’s second to none. i just want the student body to know that we’re unique,” phelps said. “‘gameday’ is about the enthusiasm of the student body.

“w hat i want is like when we played san Francisco here and they were no. 1 and 29-0 and we had the pep rally the night before and the chant for an hour

Observer Staff Report

The results of wednesday’s student body presidential and vice presidential election will be released today at 10 a.m. in the thirdfloor atrium of the laFortune student center, according to Katie hennessy, judicial council’s vice president for elections.

contrary to a report in Thursday’s issue of The observer, the results were not publicized Thursday morning due to an allegation of campaign misconduct made shortly before the 11:59 p.m. deadline wednesday. The election committee, the group within judicial council responsible for handling possible campaign violations, met to discuss the allegation and found it had no merit.

The allegation was the third made in this election. Two allegations were made against separate

conference presents student research Administrator shares lessons

By MEL FLANAGAN news writer

This weekend’s fifth annual human development conference, “in the Field: cultivating collaboration and innovation,” will highlight students’ research on their chosen topics.

“it suggests a duel meaning,” senior and conference co-chair Kara ryan said. “it can be in the field physically, or in the field of health or art, an abstract field.”

The conference, sponsored by the Ford Family program in human development studies and solidarity, features more than 60 student presenters from universities all over the country.

ryan said the students will present their research on a wide variety of topics that took them to every continent except a ntarctica.

“we promote that it’s kind

of for everyone,” she said. “we have students who present on architecture and students who present on health or culture.”

The conference is organized into a series of panels with different foci depending the research topics, ryan said.

“we have a couple health ones, some post-conflict ones,” she said. “Those are interesting because it’s cool to see students who have gone to such different places and have similar themes emerging and compare.”

other panels are geared toward specific places across the globe. a llowing student presenters from all universities enables the conference to display research from some places notre dame students do not travel to, such as rwanda, ryan said. at the end of the

see conFerence PaGe 4

Vice president for University Relations Lou Nanni gives advice to students in the Coleman-Morse Center on Thursday.

By CHRISTIAN MYERS news writer

as part of the last lecture series, lou nanni, vice president for university relations, outlined five life lessons in the hammes lounge of the coleman-morse center on Thursday.

nanni said he has learned to seek to be faithful and not successful, to surround himself with great people, to keep the sense of being a beginner, to give abundantly and to develop a long-term vision.

“leadership is best when it is given, not sought after,” he said. “be a person of integrity and let

faithfulness guide you. success will follow.”

part of seeking to be faithful is pursuing one’s passions regardless of what others think or the money to be made, nanni said.

“The toughest thing in life is having the courage to follow your passions,” he said. “if it is playing the flute that you love, play the flute day and night.”

The second lesson is to find the best, most inspiring people and get to know them, nanni said.

“Find people whose lives you want to model your lives after, then emulate, imitate and find out what makes them tick,” he said.

nanni said the third lesson is expressed by a statement of st. benedict to the effect of “if you think you’ve gotten ahead, it’s a sign you’ve fallen behind.”

nanni said he was at his best in his work with the south bend center for the homeless when

The

Question of the Day:

What is the last song you listened to?

Ben Councell sophomore alumni hall

“a ll g old.”

Heather Fredrickson freshman cavanaugh hall

“until the sunrise.”

Phil Leavers sophomore o’neill hall

“Thrift shop.”

Staff

Have a question you want answered? Email obsphoto@gmail.com

Charlie Jorden freshman Keough hall

“running on e mpty.”

Katelyn Whelan freshman ryan hall

“Total eclipse of the heart.”

Toni Schreier freshman mcglinn hall

“hey jude.”

Two students kneel at the Grotto and pray as a bystander looks on. Even when covered with snow, the Grotto has been providing a special place for prayer and reflection for members of the Notre Dame community since its construction in 1896. After visiting the original Grotto of Our Lady in Lourdes, France, Fr. Edward Sorin vowed to reproduce it on the campus of his new university.

t he next f ive D ays:

Saturday

Sunday

“Touching

Want your event included here? Email obsnews.nd@gmail.com

Tuesday

series.

Four:7 Catholic Fellowship Cavanaugh Hall 8:30 p.m.- 9:30 p.m. Student-led.

Week previews Dance Marathon fundraiser

By SARAH SWIDERSKI news writer

as saint mary’s prepares for its dance marathon on march 28, members of the planning committee will host a week of events to involve students in the cause.

executive fundraising chair and senior a lex munsey said riley week aims to raise awareness of the marathon, which benefits the riley hospital for children in indianapolis and has a “rock of ages” theme this year.

senior meghan cronin, a member of the fundraising committee, said the group has been planning riley week since november.

“everything from decorating to catering and T-shirt ideas has been bounced around in our meetings,” cronin said.

students can contribute to the dance marathon by decorating records in the student center on monday. The records will feature positive messages for the dancers and dedications to those served by riley. They will hang in angela athletic Facility during the dance marathon.

munsey said an instructor from Tu sei bella dance Fitness studio will teach a Zumba class Tuesday in angela.

“it fits in with the overall theme of dance marathon,” munsey said. “we do a morale dance. it’s

like a fun way to tie all that in together, dancing and Zumba.”

wednesday will be let’s spoon give back night, munsey said. Twenty percent of each purchase made with a riley week coupon will go to the dance marathon, according to the event’s Facebook page.

The dance marathon committee will also hold tryouts for the event’s master of ceremonies from 6 to 7 p.m. wednesday in the vander-vennet Theater in the student center, munsey said.

“we’re looking for someone who is upbeat and funny [and who will] encourage people to stay on their feet,” she said.

The dance marathon will decorate vases to spread awareness of the event and generate interest Thursday in reignbeaux lounge in lemans hall.

The week closes with coffee and doughnuts donated by sodexo and dunkin’ donuts in spes unica hall. There, dance marathon committee will discuss its “no zero-zero” policy, which encourages students to raise a least $1 for the cause.

“it makes people accountable … and helps dancers to feel like they’re a part of the marathon and that they have helped out in some way,” munsey said.

cronin said students can contribute to the dance marathon by registering as a dancer next

paid a dverT isemen T

week in the student center. she said this is the last week to register and get a T-shirt for the event. students can also drop change in containers around south bend.

“riley week is a fun way to get connected with other students all while supporting a good cause,” cronin said.

The dance marathon is more than just a fundraiser for munsey. she said the cause is personal because her friend received treatment from riley.

“i fell in the love with the place because of the doctors and nurses,” she said. “They didn’t treat him just like a patient, but like a real person. They went above and beyond to show him kindness.”

cronin said she became involved with the dance marathon after she heard stories of people who benefited from riley’s services. she said she was moved by their motivation to beat their illnesses.

“Their happiness was so genuine and their appreciation for the marathon was extremely heart warming,” cronin said. “i felt obligated to help. hospital expenses are astronomical and are only increasing. every person has a right to fight for their life, and money should not be a hindrance.”

Contact Sarah Swiderski at sswide01@saintmarys.edu

p roject addresses ideas of beauty

By CATHERINE OWERS news writer

The identity project of notre dame will address contemporary conceptualizations of beauty at this weekend’s edith stein project conference.

senior co-chair samantha stempky said the organizers discussed beauty as a broad concept and acknowledged “beautiful” is used to describe many different kinds of women. They chose “modern beauty: unveiling the mystery” as the conference’s theme.

stempky said the conference, which takes place today and saturday, asks what it means to be beautiful.

“no wonder we’re striving for this [idea of beauty] and never feel fulfilled, because nobody can be both mother Teresa and marilyn monroe,” she said.

approximately 15 students, professors and professionals will present papers they submitted to the conference saturday morning, senior co-chair margaret Kennedy said.

“That’s really cool because this is a full-scale academic conference, and yet students are able to participate,” she said.

“[The papers] will be related to the conference theme in some way, from ‘a woman’s pursuit of beauty’ to more philosophical perspectives.”

Kennedy said approximately 25 speakers from a variety of backgrounds will also speak at the conference, from magazine editors to professors from other universities.

“most of the people coming to the conference have a christian background, but they’re not all

religious talks,” Kennedy said. “They’re meant to be talks that deal with a combination of the academic side and the personal side.”

professors of theology Tim o’malley and Fr. michael heintz will be among the presenters.

The conference is about femininity, but these issues are relevant to men as well as women, stempky said.

Kennedy said although the conference originated to address feminine issues, men can also appreciate the talks.

“a s the conference expanded, we have as many sessions that deal with issues related to men as related to women,” Kennedy said. “That creates a really unique atmosphere where there’s this open engagement from both men and women.”

The conference aims to generate discussion about the complex topic of beauty, Kennedy said.

stempky said although the conference will not concretely answer “w hat is beauty?,” it will give people tools to explore that question in their own lives.

“it’s not like we have all the answers,” she said. “it’s more, ‘here are some different aspects of this issue.’ it’s more to prompt your own thinking and reflection.” stempky said the conference benefits from being hosted at the university.

“it has this academic element, as well as the personal, contemporary element,” she said. “The place where i think those two things meet best is at notre dame.”

Contact Catherine Owers at cowers@nd.edu

Columnist addresses politics and journalism

By ANN MARIE JAKUBOWSKI news writer

a merican studies professor jack c olwell delivered the fourth and final lecture in the mendoza c ollege of b usiness e thics week series Thursday, stressing the public’s responsibility to stay informed and invested in politics without falling into the trap of “taking things for granted.”

c olwell, who is also a political columnist for The s outh b end Tribune, framed his discussion of ethics with the interaction between politicians and journalists, two entities that deeply affect the public experience of government. he said the role of the journalist has shifted to accommodate the partisanship and divisive nature of politics today.

“m any viewers seek out the news that they want to believe,” c olwell said. “o bjectivity is boring and fact-checking is biased if those facts dispute what you want to believe.”

The business of journalism affects the content of the message the public receives, c olwell said, and voters today are very willing to avoid logic and rationality in order to doggedly adhere to their political parties of choice.

“ voters want to believe what

digger

was ‘29-1.’ Then with 30 seconds to go we were up by double figures. nbc made the announcement that the most-valuable player was the student body.” phelps said the atmosphere for saturday’s 9 p.m. tip-off begins during “gameday.” he said it was evident indiana fed off its student body last week prior to knocking off no. 1 michigan.

“The [players] were on the court [at gameday] and said, ‘wow’ when they saw the student body and how gameday was going,” phelps said. “i look at our student body as unique. That’s why we are notre dame. i’m very, very happy.”

Four years ago, “gameday” made its only other appearance at notre dame for a basketball game. The irish fell to connecticut and notre dame’s

is claimed by candidates and commentators of their particular side of the political spectrum,” c olwell said. “They think the other side must be lying, must be cheating, must be stealing the election, must be defeated.”

c olwell discussed the prevalence of negative political advertisements and their success in altering the public opinion of political figures. The ads’ target populations take the policies of their affiliated parties for granted and assume

45-game unbeaten streak at home was snapped.

“it was a great ‘gameday.’ great atmosphere. a lot of things went on,” phelps said. “we stood our own with the rest of the ‘gamedays.’ That’s what i want the students to realize — it’s your game. you’re the sixth man. you can’t let up for 40 minutes. we beat [north] carolina here in ’87. we were down 16 in the first half. same thing with ucla — we were down 17.” espnu will broadcast the first hour of “college gameday” on saturday, while the second hour will be shown on espn students can enter the joyce center anytime between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. Friday night to get into saturday’s broadcast before the rest of the student body.

Contact Andrew Owens at aowens2@nd.edu

anything and everything and thus, it now means nothing.”

c olwell said the unbiased presentation of facts and political information is an important part of journalists’ duty, and society needs more qualified reporters to take on this mission.

“ we need reliable news in our democracy, even if it isn’t coming from newspapers delivered on our porch like it used to be,” c olwell said. “ we need real journalists. we need real news. we can’t rely on what is said by that blogger in the basement, nor can we rely on what politicians say in their 30-second spots.”

tickets earlier wednesday. The election committee found these allegations to be unfounded. under the student government constitution, specifics of allegations are not made public to avoid swaying voters. in the event of a run-off election, a debate is tentatively set for sunday, with a final election taking place monday.

these loyalties should supersede practicality, he said.

The parties’ unwillingness to compromise severely inhibits legislative productivity and polarizes news outlets, c olwell said.

“i n c ongress, it is easy to spout anger at any time, for any purpose, in any way and that is not good for democracy,” he said. “d ivisiveness and anger in politics is not totally uncommon … but [compromise] is something i fear we lack today.”

Conference

con T inued F rom page 1

conference, sarah sievers of the e arth i nstitute at columbia university will deliver the keynote address.

ryan said she and senior co-chair hannah reiser chose sievers for a variety of reasons, including her ability to speak to seniors about their futures in the field of development.

“it’s a career that doesn’t really have a trajectory,” ryan said.

“she’s been involved in a lot of different organizations and i think she would have a positive message for students who are interested in getting involved in development.”

ryan, who is pursuing a minor in international development studies, will present her research from this past summer in india, where she worked in rural health clinics and analyzed data related to health and development.

The conference’s strength lies in its ability to connect human development to a wide variety of fields, ryan said.

“depending on what you’re interested in, there’s something at the conference that includes that,” she said. “it’s kind of a fundamental thing that everyone can relate to.”

The conference will run from this afternoon to the keynote dinner on saturday night.

Contact Mel Flanagan at mflanag3@nd.edu

c olwell said the increased number of news sources, legitimate or not, creates a disconnect between the reality of politics and public awareness.

“d on’t think that [everyone] is providing unbiased news or objective news,” c olwell said.

“i hate the term ‘news media.’

The term has come to encompass everything from The wall street journal to tabloids at the supermarket … to Twitter to some blogger writing in the basement in his underwear.

“The term now means

The ethical dilemma of the political media relates to the unbiased presentation of facts, c olwell said. The manipulation of public opinion to win elections is a dangerous, ignoble result of the media culture today.

“it’s possible, though i won’t say probable, that the voters will stop taking things for granted,” c olwell said. “a nd if they do, the political consultants will respond. Their job is to win and the negative attacks have won [in the past], but if that changes, their strategies will change as well.”

Contact Ann Marie Jakubowski at ajakubo1@nd.edu

a lumna shares experience

By BRIDGET FEENEY

a

ssociate saint mary’s

e ditor

a recent saint mary’s alumna and Fulbright scholar retuned to campus Thursday to discuss her time abroad in asia in a presentation called “Take it with you w hen you go: a Fulbright journey.”

rachael chesley received a degree in business administration with concentrations in management and international business from the college in 2011. she then lived and taught in malaysia for 11 months with a Fulbright english teaching assistantship.

“i loved my experiences abroad,” chesley said. “i knew the Fulbright scholarship was something that was for me and something that i’d enjoy.”

chesley said sen. j william Fulbright founded the Fulbright program, sponsored by the u s department of state, in 1946 to encourage mutual understanding and cultural exchange between countries. The program now operates in more than 155 countries, according to its web site.

chesley served as the student body president during her senior year at saint mary’s. she also studied abroad in rome and seoul, south Korea, while she was at saint mary’s. These months away from the united states shaped her decision to apply for a Fulbright scholarship.

Though chesley said she was initially hesitant to apply for the program, her parents and professors gave her the push she needed to take the first step.

“i thought, ‘There is no way i am going to get [the scholarship],’” she said. “but my mom and dad and professors encouraged me to apply, and then i earned it.”

although the application process was lengthy, chesley said she wanted to remove herself from her comfort zone.

“i knew i wanted an experience that allowed full immersion in a foreign environment with nothing familiar,” chesley said.

chesley spent the duration of her scholarship living in the rural state of Terengganu, malaysia, teaching english as a second language to students aged 12 to 18. her town and school were located in the muslim village of besut near Thailand, she said.

she said adapting to muslim culture was challenging.

“i learned a lot about islam and found it so interesting,” she said.

“but as a woman, it meant i had to adapt. i made sure i was covered at all times, especially my wrists and ankles. i would also always wear a scarf.”

a native of chicago, chesley said her day-to-day experiences in malaysia were significantly different than those she had known.

“Things that were familiar were replaced by something completely different than something i had ever experienced,” she said. chesley had to get used to new shopping and dining options, she said.

“my walmarts and Targets and starbucks were replaced with local stalls, mom-and-pop shops and restaurants that had cats that became your friends,” chesley said.

chesley said she was not fluent in malay, malaysia’s national language, when she arrived. she said she struggled to communicate with her students at first.

“people in my school didn’t speak english, or were too scared to,” chesley said. “as i spent more time there, i learned and spoke more malay to them to build up some trust. it was an intercultural experience, so there’s going to be some frustrations sometimes.”

homesickness posed another challenge, chesley said. although she was used to having internet access and a cell phone, she had

to adjust to a quieter lifestyle in malaysia because these tools were not always available.

“i had to prevent my mind from wandering,” chesley said. “it was a question of ‘how do you reinvent yourself somewhere else?’ i had to find new things to keep myself busy. one thing i did every day was write. i wrote a lot in journals and on my blog.”

chesley also occupied her free time by completing the projects and initiatives that are required of Fulbright scholars. For one of her initiatives, chesley said she turned to her hometown in the united states for help.

“i spoke with one of my teachers from my local high school and we set up a pen pal program with my students,” she said. “at first, i thought it was a really bad idea because my kids didn’t understand the concept. it took five weeks to write and send that first letter.”

however, chesley said the results were impressive once the language barriers were knocked down.

“it was so worthwhile when my students received those letters back,” she said. “we exchanged six letters total, and they were even published in one of the newspapers in malaysia. my school was one of the low-performing schools in the country, and for my students to be recognized like that made me so proud of them.”

chesley, who completed the Fulbright scholarship program a few months ago, said she is thankful for the experience despite its difficulties.

“perhaps the most rewarding part of an adventure is the aftermath,” she said, “when the traveler gains a new lens towards the way she sees and experiences the world.”

Contact Bridget Feeney bfeene01@saintmarys.edu

sh irt p roject’s vendor revealed

By NICOLE MCALEE news writer

with the announcement that The shirt project will use alta gracia as its vendor again this year, proceeds from the sale of The shirt will continue to improve the lives of apparel factory workers in villa altagracia, dominican republic.

The 2013 shirt marks the second collaboration between notre dame and alta gracia, a brand division of Knights apparel that provides licensed apparel to universities around the country. alta gracia’s stated commitment to providing its workers with a living wage makes it a unique vendor.

Knights apparel founder and ceo joe bozich said it has been independently verified that alta gracia pays its workers a living wage.

“This means they are getting paid the amount of money required for their family to meet all of life’s necessities, including food, water, clothing, housing, and energy, healthcare, child care, transportation and education,” bozich said. “we have included in the wages paid to the employees enough money so they can afford to send their children to school, get

an education and have hope for a better future.

“alta gracia is a pathway out of poverty and hope for a better future for the people making this college apparel.”

junior catherine simonson, a shirt project executive committee member in charge of ¬¬media and public relations, said the decision to use alta gracia again was based on the quality of its product and its commitment to workers’ rights.

“They were a top runner to begin with,” simonson said. “Their presentation was just extremely impressive, and we did consider a couple of different vendors, but at the end of the day, it was pretty unanimous that we wanted alta [gracia] again.”

simonson said the company pays its workers in the dominican republic more than 340 percent of what the law requires them to pay.

”we’re really happy to work with them again,” she said.

simonson noted notre dame’s contributions to alta gracia have been significant.

“last year, the opportunity afforded by The shirt committee paid 135 workers and their families a living wage, which was the largest single school commitment to alta gracia for 2012,” simonson said.

bozich said the relationship between notre dame and alta gracia is founded on a strong, shared dedication to justice, dignity and hope for workers.

“[notre dame and alta gracia] have something very important in common, and that is a commitment to social justice,” he said. “Through the charitable nature of The shirt program, [notre dame] and The shirt program are providing hope for those in need and those less fortunate.”

simonson couldn’t divulge any details about the design of the 2013 shirt, which will officially be unveiled april 19, but she promised it would be worth the wait.

“people [from The shirt committee] just went down to one of the warehouses in south carolina to go see a couple markups of The shirt design that we have right now,” simonson said. “we have some really cool stuff in the works.”

Contact Nicole McAlee at nmcalee@nd.edu

Fired police officer kills three

Lecture

he first began and worked especially hard because he was aware of the knowledge he lacked. he also said it is important to remember where you came from.

“never forget where you came from, never forget your hometown and never forget childhood friends,” he said.

nanni said he has met people who regret not giving more, but has never met anyone who felt he gave to excess.

“no one has ever said to me: ‘i’ve given too much’,” he said. nanni’s fifth and final lesson was the need to have a longterm vision for one’s life.

this: to be close.”

nanni said his father’s death after battling bone cancer taught him this lesson.

“death means separation,” nanni said. “death is loneliness, to be apart. i realized this wasn’t just a metaphor when my father died.”

nanni said he completed notre dame’s one-year peace studies master’s program after returning from chile. he then worked on catholic and economic issues in the dominican republic for three years.

he spent the next eight years as executive director of the south bend center for the homeless.

los angeles — a fired police officer who threatened to bring “warfare” to the l os a ngeles p olice d epartment went on a shooting rampage that left a policeman and two others dead and set off an extraordinary manhunt that had three states and m exico on alert for much of Thursday.

The search for c hristopher d orner led hair-trigger officers to mistakenly shoot at innocent citizens and forced police to guard their own.

b ut the focus of police efforts shifted Thursday afternoon to the snowy mountains around b ig b ear l ake, about 80 miles east of l os a ngeles, where police found d orner’s burned-out pickup truck and tracks leading away from the vehicle.

s an b ernardino c ounty s heriff j ohn m c m ahon said 125 officers were going door to door and attempting to track the suspect, and that a swa T team was providing added security to those in the community. s chools were put on lockdown while investigators examined the vehicle and spread out across the area.

“ h e could be anywhere at this point, and that’s why we’re searching door to door,” m c m ahon said, adding that the manhunt would continue “as long as we can.” a snow storm was expected in the region with temperatures dipping into the teens overnight.

s aid lapd a ssistant c hief m ichel m oore: “This complex and violent investigation has led to this mountain.”

The pickup was to be processed at a crime lab Thursday evening and examined by investigators from multiple agencies.

Throughout the day, thousands of heavily armed officers patrolled highways throughout s outhern c alifornia, while some stood guard outside the homes of

people police say d orner vowed to attack in a rant posted online. e lectronic billboards, which usually alert motorists about the commute, urged them to call 911 if they saw him.

“ i will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare” to l os a ngeles p olice d epartment officers, on or off duty, said the manifesto. i t also asserted: “ u nfortunately, i will not be alive to see my name cleared. That’s what this is about, my name. a man is nothing without his name.”

d orner, 33, had several weapons including an assault rifle, said police c hief c harlie b eck, who urged him to surrender at a news conference held amid heightened security in an underground room at police headquarters.

“ o f course he knows what he’s doing; we trained him. h e was also a member of the a rmed Forces,” he said. “ i t is extremely worrisome and scary.”

The nearly 10,000-member lapd dispatched officers to protect more than 40 potential targets, including police officers and their families.

The department also pulled officers from motorcycle duty, fearing they would make for easy targets.

“ i never had the opportunity to have a family of my own, i ’m terminating yours,” the manifesto said.

a t one point, officers guarding one location mistakenly opened fire on a pickup truck, believing it matched the description of d orner’s dark-colored 2005 n issan Titan. Two occupants were injured.

The chief said there had been a “night of extreme tragedy in the l os a ngeles area” and that the department was taking measures to ensure the safety of officers.

The search for d orner, who was fired from the lapd in 2008 for making false statements, began after he was linked to a weekend killing

in which one of the victims was the daughter of a former police captain who had represented him during his disciplinary hearing. Thursday was the anniversary of his first day on the job at the department eight years ago.

m onica Quan and her fiance, Keith l awrence, were found shot in their car at a parking structure at their condominium on s unday in i rvine. Quan, 28, was an assistant women’s basketball coach at c al s tate Fullerton. l awrence, 27, was a public safety officer at the u niversity of s outhern c alifornia.

“you should be able to say in one sentence your vision for your life,” he said. “w hen i was 27, i came up with my vision to be the best christian i could be, and have my identifying roles be husband and father.”

nanni said people need to overcome the tendency to think in small time increments and to think about the distant future and the end goals of their lives.

a 1984 alumnus of notre dame, nanni said he spent two years after graduating in santiago, chile, with the holy cross associates, teaching school and meeting with female political prisoners.

he said he fell in love with the poetry of uruguayan writer mario benedetti while learning spanish. nanni quoted a poem by benedetti in which a dying woman writes: “To live means

paid a dverT isemen T

nanni said he was the fifth executive director in two years and that when he started, the center was $100,000 in debt.

“a fter working harder than i ever had before, we were no longer $100,000 in debt, we were $140,000 in debt,” he said.

The center eventually became a very successful national model, nanni said.

nanne has been an administrator at the university for 13 years.

“w hat brought me back to notre dame was that i wanted the energy to be present for my kids,” he said.

To conclude, nanni read from the end of canadian writer edmund vance cooke’s poem “how did you die.”

“it isn’t the fact that you’re dead that counts,” he quoted, but only how did you die?”

Contact Christian Myers at cmyers8@nd.edu

GuaM

Military practices for crisis boy scouts consider membership policy

Associated Press

andersen air Force base — Fighter jets from the u s. and two key allies roared into western pacific skies in the combat phase of annual exercises that have gained importance as the region responds to the rise of c hina and other potential threats.

The cope north drills — which could soon swell in participants — are aimed at preparing air forces of the u s., japan and australia to fight together if a military crisis erupts. They also send a vivid reminder to beijing that a merica’s regional alliances are strong, though officers leading the maneuvers say they are not looking to bait the c hinese military.

“The training is not against a specific country, like c hina,” japan a ir self-defense Force lt. g en. masayuki h ironaka said. “however, i think (the fact) that our alliance with the u s. and australia is healthy is a strong message.”

The three allies began flying sorties together earlier in the week around the u s. territory of guam in a humanitarian phase of the exercises, dropping emergency assistance in packages that wafted down under parachutes to jungle airfields. on Thursday, fighter jets were joined by bombers, transport planes and tankers that refuel the fighters in midair. For the first time, japanese tankers were joining the drills. u s. officials said they believe more allies, particularly new Zealand and the philippines, will join the exercises soon.

maneuvers like cope north are a key element of

washington’s evolving strategy in the pacific as the u s shifts its emphasis away from a fghanistan and fighting ground wars. it is now placing more attention on a sia and the possibility of an air or sea confrontation with the rapidly modernizing c hinese military, which has been briskly improving its forces and using its growing muscle to back up territorial claims that have raised regional tensions.

This “pacific rebalance” will bring newer and more advanced aircraft and ships to the pacific theater over the next several years and spread out the tens of thousands of u s troops now primarily based in japan and south Korea. u s marines have already begun rotational deployments to darwin, in northern australia, and about 9,000 marines stationed on the southern japan island of okinawa are to be moved to this tiny island, hawaii and other locations.

The changes reflect a deepening strategic concern over the rise of c hina as a regional military power with the potential to challenge washington’s ability to intervene in a crisis, particularly around Taiwan or islands in the south and east c hina seas that are contested by c hina and u s. allies such as the philippines and japan. but the emphasis on alliancebuilding through exercises like cope north also underscores fears in the pentagon that major budget cuts looming in congress could make it difficult for washington to shoulder the whole burden of keeping c hina in check.

pacific a ir Forces commander g en. herbert carlisle said he believes the budget

cuts now being considered could threaten a merica’s role as a superpower. he noted that c hina’s military, and especially its navy, have been undergoing a “massive buildup” and are becoming a more credible challenge to their u s counterparts.

so, strategic alliances are now more important than ever.

“The united states and our partners are taking ‘joint’ to the next level,” he said. “The amount of commerce that goes through here, the amount of the world gdp that goes through here, if you look at the world’s population that is in this part of the world, the importance of the pacific can’t be overstated.”

washington’s renewed focus on a sia has generally been welcomed by its more-established and prosperous allies — like japan and australia — because they share the u s. concerns that changes in the balance of power could hurt economic growth throughout the region.

“i think nations throughout the region are looking for that increased support that working with the u s. is likely to bring,” said royal australian a ir Force a ir commodore a nthony grady. “australia welcomes the refocus.”

japan also has a more urgent need to tout its u s. alliance. its coast guard ships and fighter aircraft have been deployed frequently over the past several months to drive their c hinese counterparts away from a group of small uninhabited islands that both nations claim as their own. The dispute has soured diplomatic and trade relations and shows no sign of abating.

paid a dverT isemen T

Associated Press

it promises to be a campaign as passionate and dramatic as any big election. For the next 14 weeks, the boy scouts of a merica will be the focus of prayers, petitions and pressure tactics aimed at swaying a vote on whether to ease its ban on gays as scouts or adult leaders.

The decision will be made the week of may 20 by the roughly 1,400 voting members of the bsa’s national council. The policy was supposed to be settled wednesday by the scouts’ 70-member national executive board, but the board concluded the issue was so complex that the organization needed more time to study it.

at stake is a proposal to ease the ban by allowing sponsors of local scout units to decide for themselves whether to admit gays. gay-rights groups say the plan is inadequate, and that no units should be allowed to

discriminate. some conservative religious leaders and advocacy groups want the ban to stay in place nationwide.

both sides are girding for intensive lobbying between now and late may, hoping to influence the outcome.

“Keep the pressure on,” was the message Thursday from the gay & lesbian a lliance against defamation to its supporters. glaad, which has been active in several recent campaigns opposing the ban, provided information on how to telephone or email bsa headquarters and offered suggestions for how to advocate using Twitter and Facebook.

“Take action!” glaad exhorted. “send a message to the boy scouts that we won’t rest until they end the ban.”

The human r ights campaign, a major gay-rights group, said it will caution the bsa’s corporate donors that they would lose points in an annual “equality index” if they continued to support the scouts as long as any units were allowed to exclude gays. similar campaigns were being waged by conservative groups seeking to keep the ban in place.

“This is far from over,” wrote Tony perkins of the Family research center in an online message. The center “will continue in our efforts to help the bsa stand strong against the corporate executives and activists who care more about conformity than character.”

perkins said the efforts would include outreach to scouting parents, liaisons with religious denominations that sponsor scout units and an extension of an ongoing campaign to flood bsa offices with calls and emails.

several other conservative groups have joined in an online campaign calling for the resignation of bsa executive board member randall stephenson, the ceo of aT&T, who said last year he would try to move the scouts away from the ban on gays.

Fall and laugh

i fall a lot.

a nyone who studied abroad with me could verify that it’s one of my defining characteristics.

First i wiped out in the cafeteria of my international school in Toledo, spain. luckily, i managed to keep all my food on the plate. Talk about the luck of the i rish (or spanish?).

Then i faceplanted outside a cathedral in granada. a mildly amused man selling trinkets on the sidewalk asked if i was okay.

w hen i returned to notre dame, i made it through approximately one week of the semester before tripping up the stairs in ryan hall.

i f there’s anything my tendency to fall has taught me, it’s that i should permanently be clothed in bubble wrap. but if there’s a second thing it has taught me, it’s not to take myself too seriously.

w hen i took my tumble outside the cathedral, i was incredibly frustrated. i grumbled to my friend about why i couldn’t just stay on my feet like a normal person.

Then something surprising happened — she laughed.

a fter an initial moment of shock, i laughed, too. w ithin moments, we were both laughing so hard we could barely breathe, latching onto each other’s arms as we strolled away from the building. i nstead of sympathizing and stoking my largely undeserved self-pity, my friend demonstrated to me that my fall wasn’t actually such a big deal. w here was complaining about my bad luck and lack of coordination going to get me? it would just leave me on the ground — angry, disillusioned and going nowhere.

g etting up and laughing though would enable me to keep moving forward, focusing on the road ahead and not the path (or ground) behind me. a nd if i didn’t think about them too much, i would barely notice the battle scars.

i’m going to fall sometimes. maybe a tray-on-tray collision will leave me more acquainted with the floor of north dining hall than i’d like to be (very probable). or maybe i’ll bomb a test, struggle in a relationship or just get a little under the south bend weather.

i’m not going to say that when we fall, we just need a good friend to pick us up.

i’m going to say that when we fall, we need a good friend to laugh at us, remind us the world isn’t ending and make us get up, dust the dirt off our knees and keep walking.

a s a wise friend once said, there’s no use crying over spilled dining hall trays.

More government transparency

eDitorial

i n the days leading up to wednesday’s student government election, students became acquainted with the diverse platforms of each of the six tickets running for student body president and vice president. e ach platform contained promises and pledges, and their ideas ranged from town hall forums to balloting students on their priorities, working more closely with the s outh b end mayor to an intercollegiate social justice forum, making sure the proposed gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and questioning ( glbTQ) student organization comes to fruition to more concerts in the jacc a nd yet these different platforms all included a uniting thread — more transparency in student government.

juniors a lex c occia and nancy joyce proposed regular “state of student g overnment” reports. juniors d ominic romeo and philip hootsmans pledged to keep an accessible list for all students of their checkpoints in major projects and to update it throughout their administration. s ophomores billy c hristy and pat roemer would post monthly youTube videos to update the student body on their work. junior m ichael masi and sophomore Tim s canlan would build the student government presence on Facebook and Twitter. Freshmen austin o’brien and nick b oggess wanted to release student s enate meeting minutes every week. e ven freshmen Kevin s alat and p aul mascarenhas, the traditional Zahm house ticket, pledged to use social media in their administration, even if they pledged to do so in order to help students avoid friends during their most stressful or insufferable moments (i.e. before an organic chemistry exam).

we can be guaranteed that whatever ticket wins the election will take steps toward a more accessible, more transparent student government. The names of the victorious candidates or of the tickets to compete in a runoff election, however, have been withheld from students twice now in the wake of allegations of campaign misconduct.

i nformation on what those allegations are, what tickets have been challenged and the possible response from the judicial c ouncil has also been withheld from students. we’re waiting with more questions than answers, and the need for more transparency is especially apparent as we continue to wonder the names of the students who will lead student government next year.

honestly, The observer staff has editorialized about this more than once, and that in itself should be telling. i n 2009, the e ditorial b oard requested the judicial c ouncil publicize the reasons it found a class council ticket guilty of two charges of campaign misconduct, which meant they could

editoriaL Cartoon

not spend any additional money on their campaign during the runoff election.

“This policy should change and student government should amend the c onstitution to allow the judicial c ouncil to disclose election violations,” the 2008-2009 b oard members wrote.

i n 2011, the b oard called for a more transparent election process when a campaign “ethics clause” violation delayed the results of the student body elections, just as this year’s allegations have caused the c ouncil to withhold results again. The ticket found guilty of an election violation was required to submit an apology email to the c ouncil before election results could be published. The observer editorial proposed a number of alternate solutions, including a repeat election or eliminating the offending ticket.

“regardless of the challenges and imperfections of these alternatives, each proposal would have made at least some impact on the results of monday’s election — something the e lection c ommittee’s final decision completely and utterly failed to do,” the editorial stated.

This year, we know even less about these vague allegations. w hen the c ouncil delayed results wednesday evening, vice president of elections Katie hennessy explained she reviewed two allegations against two tickets and found them considerable enough to be brought before the e lection c ommittee. The c ommittee dismissed the allegations, yet another accusation was made before the window for complaints closed at 11:59 p.m. wednesday. hennessy said the names of the tickets in question would not be released so as not to sway any votes in a potential runoff election.

we understand the challenges faced by the judicial c ouncil are difficult ones, and we applaud the way the c ouncil challenges student government leaders to meet the standards of their c onstitution. we also appreciate how seriously the c ouncil takes its responsibility to run fair elections. but without informing students about these allegations, the judicial c ouncil continues to close the doors to the second floor offices in l aFortune and student government as a whole.

w hen students know what these allegations were, we can contribute to the debate about the best response to broken rules. we can be a part of a larger conversation about the c onstitution of the student g overnment. we can learn more about the candidates who campaign with their best selves and make informed decisions about who we want in office.

The candidates vying for the role of student body president and vice president are all ready to make their administrations more transparent and more open. it’s time the judicial c ouncil worked for that same goal.

Fostering discussion and debate

a s we are students at one of the most prominent universities in the world, i believe it is our duty to engage ourselves in the realm of public policy. For years, we’ve heard our parents and grandparents say, “ you kids are going to be the leaders of the future,” and if that is true, should we not start talking about controversial issues now? o ne of my professors jokingly mentions “ notre d ame students are too nice,” and i believe part of that is true because no one wants to say anything controversial in fear of backlash. b ut here is the sad truth: i f we are scared to voice our opinions at a university — the literal institute for academic discovery and debate — where else is there for us to discuss such divisive issues? i decided to apply to write for The o bserver because i wanted to discuss some of my libertarian-leaning ideas, hoping to probe some response from the student body. it feels like there is a grey cloud shadowing the younger generation all across a merica with apathy, and if we, the “young leaders,” want to make the future better than today, it is crucial to start discussing things sooner rather than later.

For these reasons, i would like to thank the readers of my last column on gun control who contacted me in agreement with my position — it’s great to hear people care enough to show their support — but i would

more importantly like to applaud those who contacted me in disagreement, particularly m s. c onron, who ran an article, “ i f gun control is futile, what isn’t?” on Feb. 6. i know i wouldn’t be providing provocative or stimulating articles if i didn’t rustle any jimmies in the process. c riticism forces you to discuss in further detail where you stand on particular issues and also develops your argument, just as practicing free throws will make you a better basketball player. b ut, it is this area of dissent i would like to discuss in further detail. i ’d much rather discuss something like gun control with someone who completely disagrees with me on the topic than with someone who is indifferent to the issue. d ebate is the way we as a mericans can change culture and you can’t debate someone who is ignorant to the world surrounding them. o ne of my favorite quotes reads, “a n idea whose time has come cannot be stopped,” and to be quite honest, i was expecting completely different oppositions to aspects of my last article. w ith my anti-gun-centralization position, i was expecting some people to send me emails asking questions, “a re you suggesting a merican citizens should be able to buy sniper rifles or a K47s?” or “d o you believe there should be armed guards in public schools?” Those are relevant issues and are obviously not held uniformly in the pro-gun arena, but instead of those topics arising, the primary criticism i received was for apparently being

anti-speed limit, anti-driver’s license and anti-safety.

i n order to create a community that will foster debate, discussion and a free-flow of ideas, we need to do our best to hold back emotion and approach things analytically. i n my last article, i was attempting to weave a political philosophy of anti-force and anti-coercion, stating government guns will be necessary to collect guns of private citizens; i then continued to offer statistics that suggest cities or countries with more “anti-gun” laws actually have more crime and violence. i was then incredulously surprised to see a response stating i must be against “basic regard for other people’s safety,” when in actuality, i was offering a platform that would help make our country better off (by being more safe). m s. c onron argued in her article, “if expanding gun control is futile … basically ever other government activity imaginable [will be too],” which is another argument in itself, but has absolutely nothing to do with the issue at hand. we are discussing how guns affect the safety of the public, not whether or not i disagree with being taxed for driving 67 in a 60 mile-per-hour zone.

s o to answer the question, “ d oes that mean our society should abandon all legal attempts to ensure public safety?” the obvious, simple answer is “ no.” i f we want to further this discussion of what is the most efficient at stopping violence in a merica, it won’t help to attack a misrepresentation of one side’s

argument (see “straw man”). i n order to delve into debate and actually mitigate the country’s problems, we need to be concise and stick to the issues at hand. s o please, let’s have a discussion. l et’s talk about divisive policies that will stir up emotion, but let’s also attempt to hold back our passions and keep the issues in clear sight. w ithout doing so, the one percent will just be known as “those who don’t care about the poor” and the pro-choice proponents will just be labeled as “baby killers.” a s soon as one side just starts throwing around demeaning accusations and fails to provide any concrete, relevant point or counterargument, any hope of positive change will fade into oblivion and the “debate” will simply turn into name-calling.

i would also like to clarify for those students confused by m s. c onron’s statement: “ i must have missed the day in class where we learned about our right to defend ourselves … not given by c ongress, but by g od.” d on’t worry, none of you were daydreaming in Foundations of Theology the day natural law was mentioned. That idea is explained in the d eclaration of i ndependence — check the first sentence.

Connor Roth is a sophomore economics major and constitutional studies minor. He can be reached at croth1@nd.edu

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

Thoughts on the student election

are good at your job?

Joel Kolb The p rovocateur

c overage of the student body presidential race intensified over the past week, with the election being held wednesday. e ven with the delayed results, i thought i ’d offer my thoughts on the election and voting as a whole.

i n most elections, it is often tough to discern the best way to cast your vote. This election is no different. e ssential questions need to be asked, such as, “ w hat does a vote for a candidate actually mean?” i s a vote an endorsement for the whole person? i f i vote for the pair of students running from Zahm, am i endorsing Zahm h ouse as a whole? a s a s tedsman, i surely hope this isn’t the case. o r is a vote an endorsement of strictly someone’s platform, judging them solely on what they could feasibly accomplish in office, regardless of their stances on broader moral issues? For example, a candidate might be a morally challenged person but successful at fostering pragmatic solutions to take place between two schools of thought. d oes a vote for this person implicitly tell society that it is okay to live an immoral life as long as you

a dmittedly, i have no real answers to any of these tough questions. e ven so, i believe just trying to answer these questions can lead you in the right direction when choosing a candidate.

a dditionally, every election reminds me how skeptical i am of most politicians, no matter if it involves electing a student body president or electing a u nited s tates senator. i s there any way to know for certain the person i am voting for really is the person they say he is? i t is entirely possible that my vote for the earnest b en s tiller in “ n ight at the m useum” is actually a vote for the obnoxious and knifing, albeit hilarious w hite g oodman from “ d odgeball.” i n the end, it’s always tough for me to realize that there is no way to know exactly what i have voted for.

g etting past the general uncertainty of elections as a whole, a review of the candidates in this election shows a particularly ambitious group. w e have heard about printers in each academic building and a restaurant in d e b artolo, as well as a social justice forum and even renovations to the stadium. a t the end of the day, however, i ’m not sure realistically what impact the

election of any of the pairings will bring about. a s far as probability of occurrence, the promise of d omer d ollars on e ddy s treet might as well be a monorail running from Zahm to s t. m ary’s. The sad fact is many of the election promises and goals are bound to be broken and unfulfilled.

For me, it is always tough to get past inevitable letdowns which accompany elections. m aybe it’s because i ’m cynical. m aybe it’s because the last election i ran in resulted in a loss to a close friend. r egardless, one thing which continued to bother me in this election cycle was the lack of a c atholic identity on any single ticket’s platform. i may be wrong, but i did not see any platform which included something close to building n otre d ame as a c atholic campus. s ure, candidates cited being more inclusive and broadening the n otre d ame family, but not a single ticket highlighted or looked to improve upon the foundation of this u niversity. i feel, if a ticket really wanted to break out from the pack, they would assert and embrace our c atholic tradition. i f the student body fully embraced these ideals, inclusion and a sense of family would surely follow. i nstead, i was left to choose between five similar tickets and one

ticket which at best brought about some needed comic relief. m y challenge for everyone, including myself, is to look past all the shortcomings of the election. w e all need to realize most of the action items in the platforms will go unfulfilled. b ut in the end, it is really okay. These candidates will all surely put their best effort forth, but it is our job to realize they are students, like us, who need to balance work, play and potentially running the student government on top of that. i f nothing else, it makes more sense to vote for those who i feel best represent the u niversity and its ideals rather than who will get a r edbox on campus the fastest.

i f there is a runoff, i implore everyone to ask themselves the aforementioned questions before casting their ballot. e xercising the right to vote is important to be an active member of any society and i hope that my reflections shed light onto what your vote really means.

Joel Kolb lives in St. Edward’s Hall and is a sophomore studying mechanical engineering. He can be reached at jkolb1@nd.edu

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

By WILLIAM NEAL scene writer

The following is a list of shows that, while not widely adored, redefine the typical definition of a sitcom.

“30 rock”

“good god, lemon!” “30 rock” isn’t your average sitcom. it’s a show that understands the mechanics of television comedy backwards and forwards, allowing it to dance circles around the genre. its humor often doesn’t connect widely with audiences because it’s a satirical show. but under the obscure references and fastpaced nonsense, the writing is truly smart. The main cast embodies stereotypical and peculiar personas that come off more as caricatures than real people, yet the result is witty and successful. The show laughs at itself, embraces vertical integration and never strays from its oddball format. “30 rock” changed the game by encouraging future comedies to be weird and find humor in the bizarre.

“a rrested development”

“a rrested development” is like the “breaking bad” of comedies, by which i mean you will incessantly hear from people that you have to watch it. well, they’d be right to say so, because i can say with confidence that “a rrested development” is one of the funniest shows of all time. it’s a show about an everyday guy trying to handle his family of imbeciles. each family member is unique and hilarious in his or her own way, and while they drive each other to the point of insanity, they need one another to get by. The writing is beyond clever and forces you to rewatch and find countless obscure jokes and references. it took a cancellation for audiences to truly appreciate the humor of this show, and with a fourth season arriving soon on netflix, i insist that you find time to sit down and appreciate what this show has to offer. “a rrested development” changed the game by encouraging shows like “community” to focus on wit and quality, even if they aren’t commercial successes.

“Curb your e nthusiasm”

drawing inspiration from his own life, seinfeld co-creator l arry david shows through “curb your enthusiasm” that there’s always humor to be found in first world misfortunes. david plays himself in the leading role with each plot focusing on a series of unfortunate circumstances that always build to greater humor. w hat’s really unique about “curb” is that each scene of an episode is given a premise and is then completely improvised by the actors. From this we get hysterically absurd, yet completely genuine dialogue. it has a tendency to go beyond edgy but does so to prove that there’s always humor to be found in any situation. “curb your enthusiasm” changed the game by breaking away from scripts and telling us it’s o.K. to laugh at taboo topics.

“Louie” it’s hard to call “l ouie” a comedy because it so often strays into dark and dreary territory. but then again, that’s

what makes the show stand out. l ouis c.K. plays himself as a single dad raising two girls and working as a comedian, all while trying not to let reality suck the life out of him. he highlights that quite frequently, life can be totally a drag … but that’s o.K. each episode is filled with awkward, dull and infuriating moments for l ouie that are not only hilarious but also realistic and often relatable. he opens nearly every episode with a hysterical monologue that, like “seinfeld,” ties itself into the episode. w hat follows are stories covering a range of heavy subject matter that audiences can’t help but laugh at. This show is not only smart but also one of a kind and certainly unlike any other series listed in this article. it may be hard to watch at times, but that may be because it’s all too relatable. “l ouie” changed the game because comedic genius l ouie c.K. shows viewers that the hardships of reality are funny, even when they happen to us.

Contact William Neal at wneal@nd.edu

By LAUREN MATICH scene writer

i n the dead of a south bend winter, a step taken into the blistering cold is not taken lightly. o ften making the effort to don all of the gear necessary for trudging through salty snow that will eventually stain boot toes and wind so cold that ears ache is just not worth the time it takes. This quandary is especially typical around dinnertime, when the realization hits that i will have to leave the warmth of my room to eat something besides l ean cuisine and vending machine snacks. Then i discovered delivery.

The different restaurants that extend delivery services in s outh bend have gone far beyond my expectations. There is something for every hour of the day or night, every budget and every craving. a quick glance at the urbanspoon delivery listing details the many pizzerias and italian eateries in the area open later than the average restaurant, but if you’re in the mood for something

a little more exotic, dine-i n delivery has a great selection. according to a representative from the company, there is a noticeable upward trend in ethnic foods being a favorite among students. pad Thai from siam Thai is one such favorite that makes a frequent appearance on campus. i n addition to the expected dishes, the restaurant offers a variety of chicken, beef, tofu and even a few seafood dishes. w hile the menu isn’t as extensive as other more exotic options, siam Thai sticks to the basics and does them well.

The i ndia garden is also gaining popularity with the younger crowd. a favorite across-the-board is the savory, spicy c hicken Tikka masala, but unlike siam Thai, there is no end to the spicy and exotic combinations on the extensive menu. you have the choice between six different kinds of naan, along with a host of endless sides, appetizers, soups and desserts.

a laddin’s e atery fills in the gap between the infrequent greek food rotations at the dining hall. The

mediterranean-style bistro has been contracted for less than a month in conjunction with the d ine-i n delivery s ervice, but sales have already taken off. The wide-ranging menu offers everything from pitas and party platters to shish kabobs and salads. many options are also vegetarian and gluten free.

i f you’ve been desperate enough to eat the purple-tinted refried beans from the dining hall, it’s time to call up Fiesta Tapatia. The mexican food dive serves mouthwatering burritos and offers a surprising number of combination plates with a taste of different traditional and authentic dishes. i f the entrees don’t tempt you, the side dish options will. Fiesta Tapatia is a top-scorer in s outh bend dining, and with generous entrees that average around eight dollars, it’s hard to beat.

i f you’re looking for something a little more familiar, you can’t go wrong with the staples. i recently ordered the c heesy royale yum yum g ood Times burger from m ishawaka’s houlihan’s,

and needless to say, it lived up to its name. i n addition to burgers promising good times, you’re sure to find something that whets your appetite on the menu of sandwiches, salads and homestyle entrees. The well-known menus of c hili’s and T.g i. Friday’s both are only a phone call or a click away through the delivery service as well.

a lthough not part of the d ine-i n delivery clientele, e instein bros. bagels makes upwards of 50 individual deliveries to campus per week. delivery services aren’t limited to large quantities or a catering menu, so an u ltimate blueberry smoothie and bagel to match really are just a call away.

The next time e ldorado casserole is the best option at north dining hall, glance over these delivery menus. on a cold snowy night, the ease of ordering a delicious dinner from a laptop is enticing to say the least. stay inside, keep warm and indulge. you deserve it.

Contact Lauren Matich at lmatich@nd.edu

By EMMA TERHAAR

s cene writer

notre dame’s newest addition to the creative writing program faculty, a zareen van der v liet oloomi, has many reasons to be happy. not only did she receive several literary awards during her time at brown university, but also she has a newly published work to add to her already-impressive resume. her first novel, “Fra Keeler”, was released last fall by independent publisher dorothy, a publishing project. oloomi calls it “two joyful things happening at once.”

w ith reviews cropping up in The l os a ngeles Times as well as online journals such as p ublisher’s weekly and The millions, the book is receiving plenty of positive press. jenny hendrix from The l os a ngeles Times called it “a stunning psychological thriller, a total identification with madness that creates drama

without either belittling or romanticizing the insane.”

“Fra Keeler” is the story of a man who purchases a home because of the former inhabitant’s intriguing death. he proceeds to investigate the death, slowly revealing his own madness to the readers. This unique approach makes readers question the cliché madness motif seen over and over again in similar works, a welcome change that critics have overwhelmingly applauded.

oloomi attributes much of “Fra Keeler” to the French new wave films she began to watch while writing the novel. her new midwestern surroundings are becoming influential in their own right as well.

“i have started thinking about writing a piece about south bend because i’m more interested these days in representing space and landscape,” oloomi said.

r ight now it’s just a casual idea tossed

around, but a novel about south bend, or gasp, notre dame, would definitely receive a lot of attention on campus. “Fra Keeler” can relate to notre dame in its own way as oloomi suggests.

“There’s a lot of philosophical thinking that happens in the novel,” oloomi said.

“Thinking about death, intellectual mysticism, that could relate to the culture at notre dame and why i feel that the university is a good place for me in terms of my aesthetics.”

oloomi is now finishing her second book. she said she is hugely thankful for the support she’s received on campus and from her colleagues.

“They’ve been fantastic,” oloomi said. “it’s the most supportive department i’ve ever been in.”

she also describes notre dame’s creative writing program to be very different from others, especially brown university, where she completed her master of Fine

a rts (mFa) in literary arts, because of the variety of artists notre dame has to offer. oloomi said notre dame’s mFa program in creative writing is especially rich because of the diversity of aesthetics among its faculty.

notre dame’s mFa faculty boasts a lineup including surreal poets like johannes g oransson and joyelle mcsweeney, who publish on their own press action books, bilingual poet orlando menes, nonfiction writer w illiam o’rourke, novelist valerie sayers and biotech revolutionary author steve Tomasula. Tomasula’s most recent novel, “in & oz,” was published just this winter and is also receiving great reviews.

“Fra Keeler” can be purchased in the hammes notre dame bookstore as well as online at dorothyproject.com.

Contact Emma Terhaar at eterhaar@nd.edu

global argument for the cup

Andrew Gastelum a ssociate sports e ditor

Editor’s note: This is the 10th story in a 10-part series discussing the best events in sports. In this installment, Andrew Gastelum argues for the World Cup.

i remember exactly where i was and you probably do, too. i woke up at 5:30 a.m. just a few days removed from my high school graduation and went to wake my best friend up. just for the united states vs. a lgeria game in the 2010 world cup. crazy? yeah, but so was the ending.

in fact, those 90 minutes were the most miserable decision of the summer, until the last 30 seconds.

The words “go, go, u s a.” now ring in glory, and true a merican sports fans remember where they were at that moment landon donovan put away the goal that spit in the face of expected elimination and continued irrelevance.

but here’s why the world cup is the best event in sports. because 10,000 miles away from my celebration flowed tears from an a lgerian soccer fan whose hope of soccer relevance was crushed while mine was realized. a nd 10,000 miles away from that was a Korean soccer fan up way past his bedtime gawking in amazement at that thriller of a finish.

There was no longer an excuse for soccer in a merica. That moment was the sport’s battle of yorktown, because it could finally start to legitimately build itself into the fabric of the nation. w hile we grow up dreaming about draining a buzzer beater in the nba Finals or hitting a walk-off in game 7, every other kid in the world dreams about doing what donovan did that day in south a frica.

no event in sports tugs on this global thread, not even the olympics. disagree? well, can you imagine entire countries shutting down and gathering in city centers to watch usain bolt run or michael phelps swim for days at a time?

now i’m not just talking about a city or school shutting down for the super bowl or national championship, but an entire country for just a group stage game. For just one month, fans of the most intense rivalries in soccer sing the same anthem and cheer the same cheers. you cannot tell a barcelona fan from a real madrid fan when they wear red and yellow; the same goes for an a rsenal and chelsea fan wearing white with a union jack wrapped around their back. in 2006, the world cup shut down a country for more than

just a day. Try the entire summer. in ivory coast, a civil war that left thousands dead and spanned four years forced a truce for the summer because warlords just love their soccer so. less than a year later, the war ended. i don’t remember a sporting event ever stopping a war, but then again my memory may just be a little hazy.

The world cup is the only sporting event that affects just about every country in the world. From the qualifying stages to the event itself, billions of eyes take a glance at this sultan of spectacles, this colossus of clout. it doesn’t just apply to everyone outside the u s can you remember a sporting event where a merican patriotism was higher than where it was at the 2010 world cup after that single goal? Tough call.

it is simply mind-blowing how the world cup holds this literal, earth-shattering power. but nothing quite beats one month of do-or-die soccer between 32 of the world’s best teams. call it a global march madness, where enrollment is in the millions and tailgates become unofficial countrywide holidays.

The world cup is the ultimate competitive stage for soccer, the world’s game. The olympics are an amateur’s afterthought compared to the world cup. a nd there is no way to predict a winner, especially since there hasn’t been a repeat winner since brazil won it in 1958 and 1962.

it embraces sports’ most admirable themes: perennial powerhouses, rooting for the underdogs and celebrity status. even a mericans know who pele is, soccer’s most beloved figure. but what they don’t know is that pele never played in europe against the top competition. yet he is the only player to win three world cups and because of that he is the globe’s indisputable champ.

The fact that it happens every four years gives it the anticipation of the olympics with the grandeur of the super bowl. it combines the best of the best, because it truly is the best.

This sports authority series over the past two weeks has put us all in the midst of the greatest events in sports. Those moments in sports that we remember for the rest of our lives stem from the 10 discussed in this space right here. it’s the beauty of debate, mixed in with the world of sports we all love so much. but good thing they saved the best for last.

Contact Andrew Gastelum at agastel1@nd.edu

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

Williams apologizes for bounty scandal

Associated Press

nashville , Tenn. — gregg w illiams knows he’s got to prove himself every day.

The former s aints defensive coordinator said he received a “great rebirth” Thursday when he was reinstated by the n F l and hired by the Tennessee Titans after serving a nearly yearlong suspension for his role in the new orleans bounty scandal.

but now that he’s back in the league, he’ll have to change the way he’s done things in the past.

“i’ve got a very positive outlook on things,” w illiams said. “i understand and respect the game an awful lot, and the past is the past and what i’m talking about doing right now is creating a resume from this day forward.”

w illiams took the first step when the Titans hired him as a senior assistant coach for defense. w illiams thanked c ommissioner roger g oodell for reinstating him while speaking at a news conference.

“i take full responsibility and apologize for my previous actions, and i’ve used this year to reorganize my life and put focus on positive energy and positive ways to inspire and coach and motivate in this profession,” w illiams said, reading from a statement.

“i’m grateful for this opportunity.”

The league issued a

statement saying that g oodell cited several reasons for reinstating w illiams, including w illiams accepting responsibility for his role in the bounty program, his commitment to never be involved in any pay for performance system and pledging to teach safe play and respect for the rules.

“The commissioner emphasized that w illiams must fully conform to league rules and will be subject to periodic monitoring to confirm his compliance,” the n F l said in its statement.

w hile he was out of football in 2012, w illiams started his path back.

he said he spoke to football players from the pop warner level up to high school over the past year. he also worked with

his charity, traveled and tried to improve himself including losing about “a kindergartener” when challenged by his sons to lose weight. w illiams, suspended indefinitely last march, now is the last person involved in the scandal to be reinstated by league. new orleans coach s ean payton had his suspension lifted on jan. 22. s aints general manager m ickey l oomis was suspended for eight games and assistant head coach joe v itt for six. Four current or former s aints players were also suspended after an investigation found the club had a performance pool offering cash rewards for key plays, including big hits. The player suspensions eventually were overturned.

c heese Faces defeat w.i.

Special to The Observer

This week’s big game certainly did not have the same viewership as the super bowl, but it did have all the makings of a game to be remembered. i n the rec sports game of the week, the c heese Faces topped The w i. 39-32 in 4 vs. 4 flag football.

The w i. took control early, jumping out to a 19-0 lead after three straight scoring

possessions. at the end of the first half, the c heese Faces got on the board and closed the gap to 19-7. i n the second half, momentum swung as the c heese Faces scored on their first possession to further cut the deficit. The w i. answered with another touchdown to make the score 26-13, but two unanswered scoring drives from the c heese Faces tied the game at 26 with less than a minute remaining.

next, a flurry of passing saw both teams trade touchdowns. however, the c heese Faces successfully converted their extra-point attempt, and took a 33-32 lead to complete the comeback with just seconds remaining.

The w i. attempted a lastgasp series of laterals on the last drive, but the c heese Faces intercepted the ball and ran it back for a touchdown to ice the win.

Irish seek to continue success against Duke

LEUNG | The

Irish freshman foil Lee Kiefer counters after parrying a strike on Oct. 27, 2012. The Irish took first in the Notre Dame Invitational.

By BRENDAN BELL sports writer

a fter a strong day at the n orthwestern d uals on Feb. 2, n otre d ame will travel to d urham, n c ., for the two-day d uke d uals this weekend.

s ophomore epee n icole a meli said the team fenced well together at n orthwestern.

“ w e all fenced really well, and we had solid performances throughout the day,” she said. “ w e helped each other out.”

The i rish competed against a number of topranked teams in e vanston, i ll., last weekend and both the men and women performed well. The women’s side did not drop a match, going 8-0 in dual matches. The strongest performance of the day for the n o. 2 i rish women’s team came

against n o. 1 p rinceton, when it won 14-13 against the Tigers. a meli said the breaks between matches allowed n otre d ame to rest and helped it achieve victory.

“ w e had a pretty big break between our second-tolast match and the match against o hio s tate,” a meli said. “That turned out really well for us and we are focused for next week.”

The men went 5-1 on the day. The n o. 3 n otre d ame men’s team dropped their only match against n o. 1 o hio s tate. e ven in that match, the i rish out-fenced the b uckeyes in two of the three events. n otre d ame went 5-4 in both the foil and sabre, but lost the epee 7-2.

n otre d ame will now divert its attention to the d uke d uals, where the i rish will look to continue their streak of success against

top teams. a meli expects more strong competition this weekend, including the n o. 10 d uke men. n onetheless, the i rish stuck to the same routine this week as they have most of the season. a meli said the team analyzed the positives and negatives of their last performance and will be prepared s aturday.

“ u sually when we get back from a meet we have a day off and then we have a few days to just recap and look at what we did well and what areas we need to focus on,” a meli said. “ i think we will be ready to go.”

The i rish travel to d urham, n c ., today and begin fencing at the d uke d uals on s aturday before concluding competition s unday.

Contact Brendan Bell at bbell2@nd.edu

Team hopes to carry momentum to Toledo

By ALEX WILCOX sports writer

as notre dame’s regular season draws to a close, the team may be treating its last meet against Toledo more as a tune-up. The irish will

travel to Toledo, ohio, on saturday, although the outcome does not overly concern them, according to senior diver jenny chiang.

“we’re treating this more of a tune-up,” chiang said. “at this point everyone’s focusing on the

big east championships. This meet is a good feeler to see what we still need to work on.”

while chiang and the rest of the irish may not be very excited for this meet, she said the season has come to a quick end.

“it went by a lot faster than any of us expected, but its nice to know that it’s ending because a lot of what we do is to build up to the conference meet,” chiang said.

chiang said notre dame hopes to carry its current momentum through Toledo and into the conference championships.

“The team feels really good,” chiang said. “The divers have had a couple of good meets and the swimmers had a really good meet at ohio state, so i think we’ve got some good momentum going that will hopefully just continue into conference.”

sophomore emma reaney and senior Kim holden have led the swim team this season, with several swimmers already qualified for the ncaa championships in march. but according to chiang, the divers have also posted a strong season while surpassing expectations.

“[The season]’s been going well, we’ve been doing pretty good,” chiang said. “we’ve got two freshmen on the team who we’re really impressed with, they’ve just gone above and beyond our expectations, so i’m excited to see what the next three or four years will bring.”

chiang said the coaches are also treating the dual meet with the rockets as a more of an extension of practice.

“For this meet, the coaches just want to see that we’re taking what we learned in practice and using it

in competition,” chiang said. “They just want to see that we’re making improvements. They’re trying to keep us excited about the season, because it is a long season, so by the time the end of February rolls around we’re all pretty tired.”

Irish trek to East Lansing

By MEGAN FINNERAN sports writer

n o. 30 n otre d ame is on the road this weekend, traveling to e ast l ansing to face n o. 48 m ichigan s tate on s aturday. b oth squads are 4-3, presenting equal opportunities for victory as they enter the weekend.

a ll of the losses for both teams have been to ranked opponents. These include n o. 37 n orthwestern, n o. 28 h arvard and most recently n o. 9 d uke (ranked n o. 5 when they faced the i rish). m ichigan s tate has fallen to n o. 31 m emphis, n o. 7 Kentucky and n o. 64 p rinceton.

m emphis offers the only source of comparison.

The s partans lost 6-1 to the Tigers, while the i rish took the win with a 4-0 sweep. d espite this match up, n otre d ame is still focused on the present and the competition facing the weekend.

“ m ichigan s tate is a very tough team and they are very good at home,” senior b las m oros said. “Their courts are some of the fastest in the country and take some getting used to, but most of us have played there before and know what to expect.”

The veterans on the i rish will provide leadership this weekend, as many members of the squad have throughout the season. n otre d ame brings four

ranked opponents to the competition, led by n o. 80 junior g reg a ndrews in the n o. 1 singles spot. j unior b illy p ecor stands at n o. 88, m oros is tied at 110 and sophomore w yatt m c c oy is n o. 120. The s partans do not have any ranked players.

“ we are excited and ready,” m oros said. “a win always helps for sure and it is always good to get some different guys in the lineup.”

The i rish come off a split weekend, falling to d uke but bouncing back to sweep iupui 7-0. The weekend marked improvement in all areas and added momentum to the squad.

“ w ith big opportunities like these where we have a chance to beat some good teams, motivation is never a concern,” m oros said.

“ d oubles has been progressing very nicely with our n o. 2 team playing especially well.”

i f the i rish can win the doubles point, they will start the weekend on a good foot.

The match will begin at s aturday, Feb. 9 at 12 p.m. in e ast l ansing.

Contact Megan Finneran at mfinnera@nd.edu

traCk & FieLd

Four prepare for league finals

By GREG HADLEY sports writer

with the conference championship just a week away, four irish athletes will travel to grand valley state this weekend for some last minute preparation.

Freshman aaron dunn and juniors jarod buchanon and bryce wood, all hurdlers, will compete for the men, while junior sprinter aijah urssery will represent the women. buchanon was a member of the winning 4-by-400 meter relay team at last weekend’s meyo invitational. The squad’s time was the 12th best in the nation this year to date.

“This meet is a last chance to either qualify for big east or get some confidence,” junior captain logan renwick said. “a lot of people will be using it as a final tune-up.”

This is the second trip the irish have made to grand valley state this year. The first time was for the bob eubanks open on jan. 11-12. renwick said that the facilities will work to the advantage of the irish.

“They have very nice indoor facilites,” renwick said. “Their track is big, over 300 meters. it’s actually a lot like our track.”

buchanon and wood are entered in the 60-meter hurdles, while

paid a dverT isemen T paid a dverT isemen T

dunn is entered in the 400-meter. urssery is scheduled to compete in the 200-meter. w hile the irish are sending a small contingent, the meet itself will be large, with nearly 2500 entries from every level of collegiate competition. because the meet is so big, the competition is divided into an invitational section Friday and an open section saturday. all the irish athletes are entered in the invitational section.

“it’s a great place to face some good competition,” renwick said. Teams from all over the midwest are entered, including michigan state, indiana state and marquette.

looking ahead, renwick said the entire team feels confident as they approach the postseason.

“everyone’s very positive,” renwick said. “we know that when everyone does what they’re expected to do, we have a great chance to win both [the men’s and women’s] titles. based off of the last two meets, we’re ready to go down to ohio and compete.”

The irish compete one last time before the big east conference championship at grand valley state, this Friday.

Contact Greg Hadley at ghadley@nd.edu

difficult, no matter the opponent.

“i can guarantee you that they’re playing a lot better right now,” lee said. “That was months and months ago, so they’ve been a team that much longer and been playing together that much longer, and at the same time, it’s the ccha, getting ready for the final standings and that battle for the last final spots, so no matter who it is, it’s going to be a grind.”

while the wolverines have struggled most of the season, the irish have had their own difficulties since the winter break layoff, managing a 2-7-1 record since jan. 8. The irish defeated Ferris state on jan. 26, but dropped their next game at ohio state on Feb. 1. The next night, however, the irish outshot the buckeyes 47-22 in a 2-2 tie, which jackson hopes is a sign of future progress.

“it didn’t take us a game or two to get into that mess in january,” jackson said. “it took us some time for that to develop. it’s going to take us a little time for us to get out of it, and i saw progress last weekend against Ferris, but i saw more progress this weekend against ohio state. … we’ll see this weekend if we’re continuing to progress in a good direction.”

irish junior goaltender steven summerhays has started the vast majority of games for notre dame this season, but was pulled after two periods Friday against ohio state after allowing five goals. in more than four periods of action on Friday and saturday against the buckeyes, senior goaltender mike johnson allowed just two goals, and didn’t surrender a goal in saturday’s shootout. jackson did not reveal his plans at

netminder for both nights of the michigan series, but stood behind summerhays.

“i’d say [the goaltending situation is] a little more in flux than maybe it was a month ago, but i still have confidence in steven summerhays,” jackson said. “he’s shown he can win games like we’ll need to win this weekend. we’ll need good goaltending to win this weekend. and he’s showed when he played michigan in the early stages of the year that he’s capable of making the big save and playing big games and big moments, and he has to get that mojo back.

“i still believe steven’s a guy that can win in a big environment for us, and right now every game is big, so i haven’t bailed on him yet.”

This weekend’s series marks the final regular season ccha meetings between the two programs, as michigan begins its first season

of big Ten hockey next year while notre dame moves to hockey east. jackson said he hopes the series will continue as a scheduled non-conference matchup in future years due to the passion of the rivalry, which will be on display this weekend.

“any time we play michigan, it’s always intense,” jackson said. “There’s not going to be much motivation from my end as far as playing this weekend, and i’m sure it’s the same for them. it’s just always an intense series. i won’t need to get them more physically engaged, that’ll happen naturally.”

The irish and wolverines are set to face off at 7:35 p.m. Friday and 7:05 p.m. saturday at the compton Family ice arena.

Contact Sam Gans at sgans@nd.edu

it to be that way saturday night, but i can’t put my finger on why it’s like that.

“[pitino or i] usually says, ‘how many extra do we want to play tonight? one, two, five?’”

espn’s “college gameday” will visit campus this weekend as notre dame attempts to pass louisville in the conference standings. it’s the first time the show has featured an irish basketball game since 2009 when connecticut snapped notre dame’s 45-game home-unbeaten streak.

brey said his squad gained some experience against the zone defense monday in a 63-47 loss at syracuse, who subscribes to a similar defensive philosophy as louisville.

“we came in Tuesday and watched a lot of our zone stuff against syracuse,” brey said. “more of it was not good than good. we had a couple possessions obviously, but i felt we really needed a … lesson. The first thing you have to watch is the pressure and two small guards that really get up on you and pressure you in the backcourt. That’s my first concern as we prepare for louisville.

“once you get it across midcourt, you’re dealing with the zone and i think there are things we need to clean up in the next two days of practice before we play the 2-3 zone.”

brey said he is “thrilled” with notre dame’s performance since losing 63-47 to georgetown on jan. 21. during that time, the irish won three consecutive games before dropping its fourth conference loss at syracuse.

Squad begins season in Charlotte

By MEGAN FINNERAN sports writer

This weekend, the irish finally break free from indoor practice and travel to charlotte, n c., for the charlotte Fast pitch classic. The season-opening slate includes two games saturday against wisconsin and charlotte and two games sunday against the badgers and presbyterian.

The irish finished 40-16 last year, concluding the season with an 8-3 loss to a rizona on the final day of the ncaa regionals. notre dame enters this season ranked second in the big east preseason poll, sitting behind only defending big east champion south Florida.

The irish return a majority of last year’s squad, including 2012 national Fastpitch association a ll-a merican senior catcher a my buntin and big east pitcher of the year junior laura winter. The squad will also look to senior outfielder Kelsey Thornton and junior infielder chloe

saganowich, who were both named to the 2012 a ll-big east second team, for leadership.

Five freshmen also join the roster this season.

“i believe each freshman will make valuable contributions to our program this year,” buntin said. “we will especially look for [pitcher] a llie r hodes to have a big impact in the circle for us this year. everyone else will definitely let their names be known with their bats.”

buntin and Thornton will lead the irish as captains this season. infielders Kathryn lux and jackie bowe and pitcher brittany o’donnell round out the returning senior class. “we are all very excited and ready to get outside on the dirt this weekend,” buntin said. “we have had several weeks of practice so we are all ready to take it to the field.”

notre dame looks forward to emerging from the offseason and showcasing its hard work after months of indoor training.

“our main focus this offseason has been building our

“we were up against it right then and playing bigger,” he said. “[senior center Tom Knight] has given us great energy and playing two big guys has made us more physical. … i still think we’re in the middle of improving now that we’ve had a reinvention, but i’m also excited about the prospect of if we get [graduate student guard scott martin] back to energize us, whenever that is.”

brey said martin, who has been sidelined the past four games with a knee injury, could play saturday but sounded skeptical about the chances of it.

“he hasn’t done anything in two weeks,” brey said. “i’m interested to see how he moves in shooting drills today and how he feels tomorrow. That’s as far as we can go right now. so that’s kind of my mindset with it. his frame of mind Tuesday was that he wanted to get in there and move around and see how it felt.” currently, two-and-a-half games separates the top 10 teams in the big east. notre dame — tied for seventh in the conference heading into saturday’s matchup — trails big east-leading syracuse by oneand-a-half games with eight contests remaining.

“it’s great,” brey said of the conference’s parity. “how about the drama in college basketball? it’s going to make for an unbelievable ncaa tournament. i just hope we’re a part of it and get one of those 68 spots.

“our league continues to be the drama queen league and the most-watched league. we’re right in the thick of this thing.”

Contact Andrew Owens at aowens2@nd.edu

big e ast

con T inued F rom page 20

said. “it’s not good for the [ big e ast] conference. you get all this talk about when people are leaving instead of who’s in your conference.”

r utgers announced nov. 20 it will leave the b ig e ast for the big Ten. l ouisville announced it will join notre d ame in the acc . The ‘c atholic 7’ basketball schools — d ep aul, g eorgetown, m arquette, p rovidence, st. john’s, s eton h all and v illanova — have informed the big e ast of their plans to exit the conference.

“e specially with the announcement now that you’ve got 10 schools [giving] their intention to leave, i think it’s in everyone’s interest to make that as early as possible,” s warbrick said.

confidence and bringing a presence to the field and to each at bat,” buntin said. “physically we are more than ready to take on any opponent, so we wanted to focus a little more on our mental game.”

The irish begin play in charlotte, n c. at the charlotte Fast pitch classic on saturday

morning at 10 a.m. against wisconsin followed by charlotte at noon. They continue the action sunday against wisconsin at 10 a.m. followed by with a game against presbyterian at noon.

Contact Megan Finneran at mfinnera@nd.edu

s yracuse and p ittsburgh are also both leaving the big e ast for the acc at the conclusion of this season. The o range and p anthers are allowed to leave july 1 and will pay $7.5 million fees each, according to espn

Contact Mike Monaco at jmonaco@nd.edu

Gameday

counterparts were heading into that mid-october weekend: a solid squad needing to prove itself against elite competition, in this case no. 11 louisville.

notre dame had its chance to do so against no. 9 syracuse on monday night at the carrier dome, but the irish shot 34.6 percent from the field en route to a 63-47 loss.

it seemed that maybe notre dame got its signature win against Kentucky way back on

nov. 29, when the irish upset the then-no. 8 wildcats 64-50 and the students stormed the court.

but the court didn’t deserve to be stormed. not against an inferior and inexperienced opponent playing on the road at purcell pavilion. The court now sits empty, waiting for the “gameday” gang to set up shop. The time for a signature win wasn’t a week after Thanksgiving. The time is now.

notre dame sits at 18-5 overall and 6-4 in the big east.

“Quality” wins on the ncaa tournament résumé likely read

as follows: cincinnati (maybe), Kentucky (maybe), v illanova (maybe) and byu i use the term “quality” lightly here because niT teams might be able to beat those squads.

so the irish undoubtedly need a marquee win against louisville in a conference tilt, in a primetime matchup against an elite program that will still be elite at the season’s end.

notre dame has few chances remaining to get a statement victory that not only boosts its stock in the eyes of the tournament selection committee, but also sets the tone for the rest of

the season. a nd think about the stanford game for the football team. That team had one more true chance (oklahoma) to make believers out of the bcs constituents.

The irish hoopsters are running out of chances themselves. sure, they get another crack at the cardinals and the bearcats, and they take on marquette in early march, but those are three of the last four games of the regular season. The irish need momentum now, not heading into the big east tournament.

if this was an experienced squad, i’d be fine with notre dame getting hot in madison square garden and riding that surge into march madness. but the irish aren’t the veteran squad we thought they were heading into the season.

This is a team trying to find itself, especially without graduate student guard scott martin. junior guards eric atkins and jerian grant and senior forward jack cooley may be upperclassmen, but they are each just in their second seasons as starters. sophomore guard/forward pat connaughton is still young and the only two reserves who saw time against the orange on monday, cameron biedscheid and Zach auguste, are freshmen.

This team needs the requisite momentum and confidence now so they can build

through the remainder of the regular season into the big east tournament.

a nd momentum and confidence would surely follow a win against louisville. Fresh off a trip to last year’s Final Four, the cardinals began this season with high expectations and a no. 2 preseason ranking. a fter a hot 5-0 start, louisville fell 7671 to no. 4 duke but responded by ripping off 11 consecutives victories. The cardinals lost to syracuse on jan. 19, a loss that started a three-game losing skid in conference play. but since then they have won three and a row and are trying to creep back into the top 10 in the nation.

The top 10, a place where stanford football eventually found itself at the end of the season despite its loss to the irish. That win over the cardinal catapulted the irish from comfortably-ranked squad to title contender.

notre dame eventually played in the championship jan. 7, the same night notre dame basketball got a 66-60 win on the road against cincinnati. not just any win. a quality win.

Contact Mike Monaco at mmonaco@nd.edu

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

Irish head to New Jersey to face Pirates

By SAMANTHA ZUBA sports writer

after irish coach muffet mcgraw celebrated her 700th win wednesday against villanova, she quickly got back to business. no. 2 notre dame has another game to play against seton hall.

mcgraw, who stresses focus and

defense, doesn’t want her team to forget that.

“i think for us going into every game with real focus is something we have to work on on the road,” she said. “we’ve got a big game coming up because it’s the next game on the schedule.”

with winter storm nemo threatening the northeast this

weekend, notre dame (21-1, 9-0 big east) heads to south orange, n.j., to face the pirates on saturday. The irish will need to remain mentally focused despite a change in travel plans.

“The weather is a factor,” mcgraw said. “we’re changing plans with the storm coming in, but we have to be prepared and

paid a dverT isemen T

play through adversity.”

The irish will also face basketball-related challenges. seton hall (8-13, 3-5) enters the contest in 11th place in the big east, but the pirates feature two guards who each average double-digit points. senior brittany morris scores 12.4 points per game, and sophomore Ka-deidre simmons supplies 11 points per game. mcgraw said seton hall also plays excellent defense.

“They’re just a good defensive team,” mcgraw said. “They’re holding teams to 60 points per game, and we like to put up 80. i think it will come down to our offense versus their defense.”

although the irish entered the game averaging 81.4 points per contest, the offense mustered only 59 points in the win over villanova on Tuesday. cincinnati managed to hold notre dame to 64 points saturday. despite these belowaverage scoring outputs, mcgraw said she is pleased with the offense. in both games, the irish forced turnovers and executed scoring plays whenever they had an opportunity. but villanova and cincinnati consistently took full advantage of the 30-second shot clock to keep the ball away from

the notre dame offense.

“i think we’re playing well offensively,” mcgraw said. “other teams hold the ball and try to milk the clock. you can’t look at the villanova game. we do like to score quickly.”

even though villanova kept the ball away from the irish, notre dame still shot 40.7 percent from the field. mcgraw attributed the team’s recent success.to remarkable performances by key starters. she also praised the emergence of several bench players.

“[junior guard] Kayla mcbride has been phenomenal and [junior forward] natalie achonwa has been playing great basketball this year,” mcgraw said. “[senior guard] skylar diggins has been great of course. we’ve been getting more production from the bench. we’d like them to add to the offense. [sophomore guard] madison cable is ready. [Freshman guard] michaela mabrey is looking for more playing time.”

The irish and their high-powered offense will take on the pirates at 2 p.m. saturday at walsh gymnasium in south orange, n j

Contact Samantha Zuba at szuba@nd.edu

Will Shortz No. 0104 Crossword

Edited by

Puzzle by DAVID J. KAHN

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554. Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS. AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/mobilexword for more information. Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay. Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: ashton Kutcher, 35; chris rock, 48; garth brooks, 51; james spader, 53 Happy Birthday: do what you can for others. This is a take-charge year filled with options and opportunities. The more you contribute to the well being of your community, workplace or your family, the more respect you will gain and the easier it will be to get your own way. Think ahead and you will be victorious. your numbers are 6, 17, 19, 23, 26, 34, 45.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): an emotional situation will entice you to say something that will make matters worse. bide your time, focus on a creative endeavor, and do your best to keep the peace with people you deal with daily. let past experience be your lesson.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): engage in discussions with people you can share information with and you will stumble upon a way to make a difference. don’t let a partner limit what you can do or put pressure on you to go in a direction you don’t agree with.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): concentrate on what you have and how you can make it grow — or at least maintain what you’ve got. making personal changes that will enhance your outlook or your appearance will lead to interesting new acquaintances. love is highlighted.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): speak up and take action and you can make a difference. a partnership will take an unusual turn toward greater stability. Travel to a destination that will motivate you to follow through with a plan.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): added responsibilities will surface. The way you handle your personal and financial life will set the stage for what’s to come. creative accounting and building up your assets should be your first choice. partnership opportunities should be considered.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): discuss your ideas and plans with peers and do whatever you can to position yourself for future advancement. an unusual investment or trendy idea will pay off as long as you avoid overdoing and overspending. a challenge will entice you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): change will catch you by surprise. don’t lose sight of your dreams, hopes and wishes just because someone has a change of heart or plans. secure your position by socializing with people who can help you excel.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): put your skills to the test. don’t let a relationship come between you and your goals. making simple yet unique changes at home will help you embrace new ways of doing daily tasks. stand up and make demands and you’ll get your way.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): don’t be fooled by a big talker who makes empty promises. Trust in your talent and ability to do things on your own. you don’t need a partner taking advantage of your good nature or your skills. Focus on love, not work.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): revisit a plan and find a way to make it successful. mixing the old with the new will bring back old memories and reconnect you to people from your past. listen to what others say, but follow your own path. limit spending.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): discretion will be necessary when dealing with people from different backgrounds. indulge in something new, but don’t forget where you come from and what works best for you. protect your health and your heart.

PISCES (Feb. 19- March 20): don’t look back. Focus on what must be done and move swiftly. if you slow down or let uncertainty take over, you will lose ground and be faced with opposition. don’t let shortsightedness lead to a costly mishap. cover your back.

Birthday Baby: you are diligent, progressive, outgoing and willing to make sacrifices.

Irish hope to avoid overtime with the Cardinals

By ANDREW OWENS

ssistant managing e ditor

a

it’s occurred four of the last five times notre dame and louisville have played. it’s essentially become standard procedure when the irish and cardinals face-off. it’s even gotten to the point where the two coaches joke about it with each other.

regardless of venue, dates or ranking, the annual notre dame-louisville matchup seems destined to require overtime. heading into saturday night’s marquee matchup between the no. 25 irish (18-5, 6-4 big east) and no. 11 cardinals (19-4, 7-3), it’s the top storyline as the programs try to navigate their way through the jumbled big east standings.

“There’s just been great games,” irish coach mike brey said of the rivalry with louisville. “hard-played, kids really competing and i expect

More than just ‘Gameday’

Irish guard Jerian Grant makes a move past a Villanova defender in the home matchup on Jan. 30. Grant went on to score 12 points and have 10 assists in Notre Dame’s 65-60 win over the Wildcats.

Squad looks to repeat sweep against Wolverines

By SAM GANS sports writer

as no. 12 notre dame attempts to make a move toward the top of the ccha standings, it will welcome a familiar foe to the compton Family ice arena when michigan comes to town.

The irish (16-11-1, 12-7-1-1 ccha) and wolverines (10-16-2, 7-13-2-2) will meet for the third and fourth times this season Friday and saturday, respectively. notre dame swept the wolverines at yost arena in ann arbor, mich., in november, its first sweep at michigan since 1978.

michigan was selected first in the ccha preseason media poll and began the season ranked no. 3 in the country, but has not performed up to preseason expectations and currently sits tied for eighth in the 11-team conference. however, the wolverines swept michigan state last weekend and are playing better hockey lately with the recent returns of junior defenseman jon merrill and sophomore defenseman brennan serville from injury and improvement from freshman goaltender jared rutledge, irish coach jeff jackson said.

SUZANNA PRATT | The Observer

Irish junior left wing Jeff Costello looks for the puck in Notre Dame’s game against Ferris State on Jan. 25. The Irish lost 3-1.

“michigan had a bad first half,” jackson said. “That doesn’t mean you can’t recover from it. so they certainly concern me. They’re a much better team.”

irish junior captain and center anders lee said not only are the wolverines improved from the teams’ first series, but the current ccha race makes every game

Team positioned just right for late season surge

we all remember what happened when espn’s “college gameday” came to town for what is now one of the most legendary football games of recent irish gridiron lore.

The irish, sitting at 5-0 at the time, got a signature win against a stanford team that would be elite at the end of the year.

it was a win that typified the season. it was a win that propelled the irish.

it was a win that made the team — and fans — believe. well, “gameday” is shipping out of bristol to visit south bend once again, this time for some basketball action. a nd it comes at just the right time for notre dame.

The no. 25 irish are positioned much like their football

nd to stay in big east for 2013-14

By MIKE MONACO sports writer

notre d ame d irector of a thletics jack s warbrick told espn on Thursday that notre d ame will remain in the big e ast for the 2013-14 season.

“it’s important to say all we’re confirming is where we are next year,” s warbrick said.

s warbrick’s comments came on the heels of the announcement made by i rish men’s basketball coach m ike brey, who said during a teleconference Thursday that notre d ame would play in the big e ast next season before heading to the a tlantic c oast c onference ( acc ). notre d ame announced s ept. 12 that it would join the acc in all sports except football and hockey, which will be independent and join hockey e ast, respectively.

“ we do know we’ll be in the big e ast next season,” brey said when asked of scheduling for the 2013-2014 season. “That decision was made [Feb.

1]. s o thank g od we have some direction. we will play in the big e ast next year.”

s warbrick said the decision to remain in the conference applies to those other sports, excluding hockey and football, as well. The timetable for the move to the acc , however, was initially unclear in s eptember. big e ast rules stipulate that a school must wait 27 months before leaving the conference and must pay an exit fee. s chools typically have the ability to expedite the process by paying a larger exit fee. s warbrick told espn on Thursday that he thinks it’s in everyone’s best interest for notre d ame and the nine other big e ast schools planning on exiting the conference to do so “sooner rather than later.”

“i think it’s in the interest of everybody to figure out a way to get it done sooner rather than later,” s warbrick