PDF for Friday, April 11, 2014

Coulter delivers Lincoln Day address

Columnist and author speaks on health care reform, gun control and immigration

By JACK ROONEY

a

c onservative political

pundit

a nn c oulter addressed a standing-room only crowd at the c arey a uditorium of the h esburgh l ibrary on Thursday night as part of n otre d ame c ollege r epublicans’ l incoln d ay event in a speech centered on health care reform, gun control and immigration.

c oulter said the a ffordable c are a ct, commonly known as “o bamacare,” made the familiar a merican concept

of health insurance illegal in the united s tates and instead instituted a welfare program funded by insurance premiums.

“o bamacare has made actual insurance illegal,” she said. “ i nsurance is … when a lot of people pay a small amount to a program, and then if catastrophe strikes, that will be paid for by the program.

“ h opefully you will lose your premium, hopefully you will not have a catastrophe

students meet policymakers Committee to unveil The Shirt

By MADISON JAROS

n ews w riter

s tudent body president

l auren v idal and vice president m atthew d evine, both juniors, traveled to washington earlier this week to discuss the interests of the n otre d ame student body with policymakers as part of their involvement in this year’s a tlantic c oast c onference ( acc ) s tudent a dvocacy Trip.

The trip, which drew

representatives from 11 acc universities, focused primarily on the importance of federal funding to support undergraduate research and financial aid, d evine said.

“c ollectively, students were advocating the continued support of research and filling what they referred to as the ‘innovation gap,’ in terms of developing countries and looking at continuing federal support of … research opportunities,” he said.

The topic of federal funding is one that is important to notre d ame not only because of the importance of research and financial aid to the university, but also because of n otre d ame’s status as a private university as well, v idal said.

“ notre d ame has a lot of institutional funding from our endowment, especially when we’re dealing with student financial aid — a lot of

event examines religion, spirituality and well-being

By MACAILA DeMARIO

This week’s exploratory spirituality session, s pirituality m onday, took place Thursday and examined faith in the context of aging populations.

s enior biology major h aley Koth shared her senior composition project research findings at the s aint m ary’s c enter for s piritualitysponsored meeting.

By CHARLIE DUCEY

The notre d ame community will celebrate The s hirt’s 25th anniversary with free food, entertainment and student discounts at the unveiling ceremony at the h ammes notre d ame b ookstore beginning at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Junior John wetzel, president of The s hirt p roject, said the ceremony would spotlight members of the

community with

performances from student groups.

“The unveiling ceremony has been around since 2002, and it is always a great time for the community to come together,” wetzel said. “The event will feature fantastic performers including a cousti c afe, p-Fresh, the b agpipe b and, i rish dancers, pom squad, g lee c lub, l eprechaun l egion, the notre d ame cheerleaders and the

(574) 631-4541 ilorton@nd.edu

Bill

Brendan

Chris

kkonya01@saintmarys.edu

Photo Desk (574) 631-8767 photo@ndsmcobserver.com

Systems & Web Administrators (574) 631-8839

Policies

Doug Randolph freshman duncan hall “blue.”

Natalie Thomas freshman badin hall

“g old.”

Vince Cicciarelli junior st. edward’s hall “camo, please.”

Celebrated by Fr. Joe Corpora.

Monday

Meet with Representatives from The Haitian Project Geddes Hall

4 p.m.

Seeking volunteers.

Talk by Weston Smith Jordan Auditorium

5 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

Former CFO of HealthSouth.

Tuesday

Blood Drive

Rolfs

Twelve-hour vigil to raise awareness for Syria

By WEI LIN news writer

students will pledge to give up their shut-eye this Friday to learn about the crisis in syria, to raise money to help catholic relief services (crs) bring aid to those in and around syria and to stand in solidarity with those who are suffering, junior sharia smith said.

sleepless for syria, an event organized by the solidarity with syria coalition, will take place from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. saturday. The solidarity with syria coalition is a committee comprised of representatives from various student organizations and individual members.

“i think what’s so cool about what we’re working on right now is that this was something started by matt, myself and other students just at the beginning of the year when we really realized that this was an issue that was striking a chord with us and that we were

paid a dverT isemen T

concerned with,” smith said.

smith said the solidarity with syria coalition provides its members with an opportunity to have conversations about the pressing issues affecting syria and enables them to act through the planning committee.

Junior matthew caponigro said since the unrest began in 2011, the syrian civil war has killed over 140,000 people, stranded over 4.5 million syrians without homes inside the country and forced over 2.5 million refugees to flee to countries surrounding syria. Factions from both the government and opposition forces have been accused of war crimes, consequently affecting syria’s innocent civilians caught in crossfire, he said.

an inter-faith prayer will kick off the night, caponigro said. he said Fr. daniel groody, associate professor of theology and director of the center for latino spirituality, and imam rashied omar, research scholar of islamic studies and peace building at the Kroc institute for international peace studies, will offer prayers to commence the vigil.

caponigro said groody also

will speak about some of his experiences on the united states conference of catholic bishops delegation that observed the situation of syrian refugees in fall 2012. caponigro said a living rosary will take place at midnight, during which participants will hold candles to represent each bead and place the lit candles on the ground at the front of the group to represent the group’s continued prayers as the participants enter an hour of silence.

Throughout the night, hourly reflections will feature guest speakers and their stories, as well as readings from the bible and the Quran that pertain to traveling populations and displaced citizens, caponigro said.

manuel rocha, a senior involved with globemed, will talk about of some of the health issues in refugee camps that plague syrian refugees in particular, caponigro said.

caponigro said Jennifer betz, the midwest coordinator for crs, will present on the organization and its work with refugees in Turkey, lebanon and Jordan, including the education programs

they offer displaced children and the medical services they provide.

The event will also feature musical performances from various artists such as ameer armaly, a graduate student who will play the traditional levantine oud, which is a precursor to the guitar, caponigro said. he said notre dame alumnus and local singersongwriter peter J. hochstedler will also be performing during sleepless for syria.

The center for social concerns, center for civil and human rights, Kroc institute for international peace studies, the Kellogg institute for international studies, campus ministry, world hunger coalition, peace Fellowship nd, human rights nd, red cross club of nd, globemed, crs student ambassadors, st. edward’s hall, duncan hall, pasquerilla west hall, Keough hall and sorin college are co-sponsoring the event.

elia’s mediterranean cuisine will provide food for the benefit dinner, which will include midardara, hummus, falafel and baba ghanoush, smith said. studebagels will also provide

breakfast the next morning, she added.

smith said sleepless for syria not only brings the notre dame community together but also holy cross college, saint mary’s college and the entire south bend community to stand in solidarity with syrians.

caponigro said people can donate either at the event or online through notre dame’s online student shop. he said the goal of sleepless for syria is to raise at least $1,500.

The planning committee was able to cover all the operating costs due to the support of the many co-sponsors and local businesses, so every penny earned will go towards the crs, caponigro said. smith said the event had a large potential for fundraising and for drawing attention to the crisis.

“every drop in the bucket counts; when we pool it together it really makes an impact,” smith said. “it gives me hope that my one little act can join with everyone else’s.”

Contact Wei Lin at wlin4@nd.edu

smc takes room picks online

By HALEIGH EHMSEN

a ssociate s aint

mary’s

ditor

e

with the click of a mouse, saint

paid a dverT isemen T

mary’s students can now choose their dorm room for the following year online, since the office of residence life moved the room

selection process online using the erezlife software system for the first time this year.

director of residence life and community standards and vice president of student affairs Janielle Tchakerian said the office decided to move the room selection process online for multiple reasons designed to improve the experience for students.

“we decided to move student assignments to an online process to allow for more transparency in the process [and] allow the students to self-select a roommate and a housing assignment in accordance to what is most important to them,” Tchakerian said.

“[The software] allows our students to be able to make changes to their applications themselves and [for] our students who are not currently physically on campus during their room selection time to have control over their process instead of asking a friend to proxy for them,” she said.

Tchakerian said the online process is similar to the old process of standing in line according to lottery number, but with the new system, students are given a specific time slot according to their lottery number to pick a room online.

“[erezlife software] has run smoothly, however we have slowed it down to make sure that staff are able to respond to questions and provide individual counseling and advice with our first year students who may not be able to get the room type and/ or building they really wanted,” Tchakerian said.

Junior nina v lahiotis said the new software is significantly

more convenient for students.

“i didn’t have to wait in line, and my lottery number was sent to me via email,” v lahiotis said. “i went online during my specific time and was able to view which rooms were taken.”

v lahiotis said she understands issues with the new process if students don’t use it correctly, but she believes overall it has the potential to be convenient if used properly.

“you are able to look at all the rooms that available and have [a] backup in case you didn’t get the room you wanted,” v lahiotis said.

many desired rooms and buildings filled up quickly as the online software made the rooming selection process move much smoothly, which has created some difficulties for rising sophomores, Tchakerian said. she said this issue isn’t related to the new online process.

“we always reach a point with our rising sophomores where some options are completely filled and they need to choose a different option,” Tchakerian said. “This causes anxiety for those students as they need to choose an available room based on what is most important to them at that time.”

v lahiotis said the software makes the room selection process easier and less stressful for students.

“[erezlife] is easier to navigate online than running around a crowded room, scrambling to get the room you wanted,” she said.

Contact Haleigh Ehmsen at hehmse01@saintmarys.edu

student a ffairs recognizes student leadership

By KAYLA MULLEN news writer

notre dame’s division of student a ffairs presented awards to seven students at the annual student l eadership awards banquet on april 1, according to a university press release.

senior Jenna a hn received the blessed basil moreau, c s c ., l eadership award for her work with campus m inistry and the center for social concerns (csc ). she has served as a leader in efforts to unite students working with both offices, the press release stated.

“i think it’s essential that campus m inistry work together with the csc because the two, faith and justice, are deeply connected,” a hn said. “collaborating between campus m inistry and csc reminds us to always be contemplatives in action ⎯ where what we contemplate will be put into action and where our actions will become forms of contemplation.”

senior e lizabeth Tucker, a four-year member of the varsity women’s soccer team and two-time captain, won the r ay siegfried award for l eadership e xcellence, the press release stated. she has combined community service with her athletics, having her team adopt a patient from the local hospital and organizing tutoring at a local elementary school, Tucker said.

“my junior year … i decided that it would be really cool to get involved with the Fighting i rish Fight for l ife program, because it was a way [the soccer team] could adopt a little sister and bring someone in and bring so much happiness,” Tucker said. “it’s been really fun for me because i’ve gotten to know her very well.”

senior Julia steiner, former editor-in-chief of scholastic magazine, won the denny moore award for e xcellence in Journalism. The magazine has devoted more attention to the topic of diversity under her leadership, the press release said.

“i think it’s really interesting to not only understand the differences that we all share on the outside, but to strike up these conversations and to begin to understand how we all think differently, how we see the world differently,” steiner said. “… we did not have an outward push for diversity; it was kind of a thread that seemed to weave in throughout the year.”

steiner said she also credits the magazine’s success to all of the staff.

“i accepted [the award] individually, and i am proud of the work that i’ve done, but at the same time, it was really a group effort,” she said. “That’s probably what i’m most proud of; scholastic won news magazine

of the year for the second year in a row in the state of i ndiana.”

senior e dithstein c ho received the inaugural diversity and i nclusion award for her role as co-founder and producer of “show some skin,” a student production that aims to shed light on students’ stories about difference and identity, according to the press release.

“i saw minority students on our campus talked amongst themselves and did a lot of problem identification on race issues, which is articulating what is insensitive or racist,” c ho said. “To go beyond problem identification and to engage and change how people engaged race, the three of us [ c ho, senior h ien luu and Jeeseun c hoi, class of 2012] wanted to hear deeper narratives.

“The monologues [in ‘show some skin’] show that the writers are human beings who have flaws and prejudices of their own, alongside having their own baggage that determines how they orient themselves. we named our production, ‘show some skin,’ in order to challenge our community to dig deeper into their identity and experiences to create a starting point for dialogue. ‘show some skin’ is a form of art for social justice.”

Karen a ntonio, a doctoral student in the department of biochemistry and chemistry, won the sister Jean l enz, o s.F., l eadership award for her contributions in promoting women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics ( sT em ) fields through her organization of monthly lunch

meetings for women to present and hear research presentations, the press release stated.

“you have this informal, comfort way of talking to faculty and staff,” a ntonio said.

“you get a different side of professors; you’re eating lunch, talking about what you do, your family, your pets, whatever you want, and it’s not that constricting, professional box that you are usually in.

“a s far as women in science go, you’re able to unite people in a very comfortable way that probably would not have been available otherwise.”

senior a lex coccia, student body president emeritus, won the rev. a l eonard collins award, which is given to a senior who has made large strides toward advancing the interests of notre dame students,

according to the student a ffairs website.

coccia worked to improve the campus climate for lgbTQ students, undocumented students and students affected by sexual violence, the press release said.

“i want to ensure that all students feel welcome at notre dame, and breaking the silence on issues that create oppressive environments is the first step towards that goal,” coccia said. “u ltimately, the student experience is sacred, and we must ensure that we as students do all we can to create a welcoming environment for all.”

To nominate a student for next year’s awards, visit the student a ffairs website.

Contact Kayla Mullen at kmullen2@nd.edu

strike, and your premiums will go to pay for other peoples’ catastrophes. That is not o bamacare. o bamacare is a welfare program, and money is collected via insurance premiums.”

c oulter said the policies written into the a ffordable c are a ct make it “the most regressive tax in history.”“ it is mathematically impossible to have all insurance companies cover everyone else’s smoking cessation programs, marital counseling, gambling addiction therapy, aroma therapy, speech therapy, hearing therapy and have insurance companies cover people with very, very expensive medical problems and provide insurance to people who aren’t paying their own insurance premiums and also cover me if i get cancer,” she said.c oulter compared the a ffordable c are a ct to using car insurance to fund the united s tates d epartment of d efense.

“ it would be as if we funded the d efense d epartment through car insurance payments,” she said. “ s o every month your premium would be $20,000, and your car insurance wouldn’t pay for both collision and liability.

“ e ither it would pay collision or liability, but it would buy car air fresheners for everyone. That’s o bamacare.”

c oulter said the passage

of the a ffordable c are a ct would be almost impossible to explain to someone unfamiliar with the law. s he said it passed because the d emocrats claimed a majority in the s enate. “ i f an alien landed and said, ‘ w hy did you people pass o bamacare?’ we’d have to explain ‘because the d emocrats had 60 votes,’” she said. “That’s it. This major change to our health care was passed with one party saying, ‘ h a ha, we’ve got 60 votes.’

“Never before has a major piece of legislation changing everyone’s life like this been passed on pure party-line votes without a single vote from the opposing party. ”

Ann Coulter political commentator

“ n ever before has a major piece of legislation changing everyone’s life like this been passed on pure party-line votes without a single vote from the opposing party.”

c oulter said the a ffordable c are a ct falls in line with the history of liberal political ideology, which she said leads to inefficiency.

“The history of liberalism is replace things that work with

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things that sound good on paper,” she said. “ s o now our entire health care system is going to be run by the people who run the d epartment of m otor vehicles.”

c oulter said as public support for the a ffordable c are a ct has decreased, the only d emocratic defense against criticism has been the lack of a r epublican health care reform alternative. s he offered her own solution based on free market competition.

“ i have a plan,” she said. “ it’s a little something i ’ve been working on. i like to call it free market capitalism. m y thought is we force insurance companies to compete for our business by offering good plans at good prices.”

c oulter cited the tax code, public education, the u. s . p ostal s ervice and s ocial s ecurity, among other examples, as economically inefficient results of government intervention.

“ l iberals can’t learn from what is right in front of them: a nything provided on the free market gets better and cheaper,” she said. “a nything provided by the government gets worse and more expensive.”

c oulter also addressed the issue of gun control, particularly in light of the shooting at s andy h ook e lementary s chool in n ewton, c onn., in d ec. 2013.

“a fter n ewtown, [ d emocrats] were all on their high horses … but then senate

leader, d emocrat h arry r eid, couldn’t even get enough d emocrats to hold a vote on the so-called assault weapons ban,” she said.

c oulter said liberals cite “bogus statistics” in an attempt to scare people away from guns, but she said she refuses to believe their arguments so long as liberals themselves continue to utilize “armed security,” such as bodyguards.

“Liberals can’t learn from what is right in front of them: Anything provided on the free market gets better and cheaper. Anything provided by the government gets worse and more expensive.”

Ann Coulter political commentator

“a s soon as politicians and these media bigwigs give up their guns or their armed security, i ’ll believe them when they tell me that guns aren’t helpful,” she said. “ until then, they’re like stockbrokers telling you to ‘buy, buy, buy,’ while they’re selling, selling, selling.

“ i think a mericans know this. They know bald-faced hypocrisy when they see it.”

c oulter said the issue of gun control highlights her belief that as people become more educated about a topic, the more conservative their views tend to be.

“a fter all [the liberal] prancing around after n ewtown … one year after the shooting in n ewtown, support for gun control was the lowest it’s been in decades,” she said.

“a nd this is a corollary of the a nn c oulter theorem that the more people know about a subject, the more conservative they are. w hat happened after n ewtown is there was a lot of talk about gun control on T v, and people who had never given it any thought got to hear the facts, and support for gun control plummeted.”

c oulter said she wished gun rights advocates would transfer their fervency into the immigration debate.

“ i f only immigration patriots had the self-confidence of gun enthusiasts, i don’t think we’d have to keep going through this amnesty debate every year,” she said.

“The pro-mass-immigration people have the entire d emocratic caucus.

“ r ecently, they have the media. They have many, many r epublicans on their side. The only special interest group the amnesty people don’t have on their side are the a merican people.”

c oulter said the concept of

“anchor babies,” foreigners coming to the u s . for the sole purpose of giving birth to their child on a merican soil, stems from faulty logic and violates the true purpose of the fourteenth amendment.

“The theory of anchor babies is ‘if i successfully break into your house, i get to own it. a nd if i don’t own it, then at least my kids do, but don’t punish the children, i told them we own the house,’’ she said.

c oulter said a shift in thinking has caused a mericans to view immigration in a skewed way.

“ it’s this weird idea that’s taken hold that it’s somehow unfair for a merica to skim the cream to get the best immigrants we can get,” she said. “ i think we ought to be bringing in people who are better than us, not worse than us.

“ w hat is the point of bringing in people who instantly need the taxpayers’ help? we’re not talking about our native a mericans here. we know we have to take care of them. w hy are we bringing in people we have to help?”

c oulter said the accusations of racism inherent in the immigration debate almost always misinterpret the issue, as immigration ultimately harms a frican a mericans.

“ w henever this talk of immigration comes up, it is just shut down with the natural invocation of the word racism,” she said. “ well, i agree, i think there’s a lot of racism in the immigration debate, but it’s all on the pro-amnesty side.

“a s has been shown in study after study after study, what our immigration policy does is bring in more than a million people a year, 90 percent from the third world, most of them low-skilled. a nd who does that hurt the most? it hurts low-skilled a merican workers … but most of all it hurts a frican a mericans.”

c oulter said the debate would be altered if immigrants brought high-skilled labor and were more competitive in the labor market.

“ i think if the immigrants we were bringing in were competing with senators, with journalists, with yuppies who need maids and nannies, we wouldn’t hear so much about compassion toward the rest of the world,” she said. “ n o, it hurts the most voiceless in our society.

“ it’s one thing to apply quotas to make up for the d emocratic policies of Jim c row. it’s another thing to have affirmative actions and quotas for people who have never set foot in this country. we owe you nothing. i f you have grievances, go back and address the perpetrators.”

Contact Jack Rooney at jrooney1@nd.edu

Advocacy

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that comes from the institution, more so than other acc schools that may be public,” she said.

v idal said she and d evine also used the opportunity to discuss other important campus issues with i ndiana state representatives.

“The acc focused on the idea of federal aid and what it means to students on our campus, but we also used the opportunity to speak directly [about] our school when we were in individual meetings with representatives from

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w hile religion is, “the active expressing of spiritual beliefs through traditions in an organized faith community,” spirituality is comprised of the “personal attitudes that come from belief in a higher power,” Koth said. They are considered separate from but can include religion, she said.

Koth sought to relate the two distinct terms with the help of 23 sisters from s aint m ary’s c onvent and 17 residents of h oly c ross v illage, a

i ndiana,” v idal said. “ we really tried to capitalize on that opportunity and speak to the issues of notre d ame

s ervices mandate, which has been controversial not only for the university administration, but for many students

“The ACC focused on the idea of federal aid and what it means to students on our campus, but we also used the opportunity to speak directly [about] our school when we were in individual meetings with representatives from Indiana.”

Lauren Vidal student body president

specifically.” a major issue they discussed with representatives was the health and human

senior living community. a ll participants but one identified as c atholic; one individual was p rotestant, Koth said.

“ i set up meetings with people who demonstrated interest,” Koth said. “ we discussed the benefits and the risks and the confidentiality and objectives of the study.”

w ith the information from residents aged 60 through 100, Koth began to research the possible correlation between spirituality and health through a survey. The survey consisted of three parts, health and well-being,

as well, d evine said, especially those looking to enter the medical field.

“[ s tudents’ concern] was

religion and spirituality, and basic information questions.

w hen she concluded and began to analyze her research, Koth said she discovered “people who reported significantly higher levels of religiousness and spirituality also tended to report significantly higher levels of health and well-being.”

Koth said it is important to note that “this [correlation] is their perception of their own health and it is not an actual measure of how healthy they are.”

a ccording to Koth, there have been more than 2,000

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something that i think hasn’t been addressed from the university level … but something that i think students are worried about,” he said.

v idal said the discussions that addressed student opinions of current issues at n otre d ame allowed congressmen to gain a better understanding of campus life and important campus issues.

“[This trip] is a way for students to express the sentiment on campus from a personal standpoint where legislators and individuals who work in washington, d c ., to represent schools oftentimes … don’t have the

studies on religion and spirituality in the last four years.

“ i n many studies the two are combined into the term religious spirituality,” she said.

Koth said she conducted her research in a short time period and she wondered how the results would change if her study continued through a time span of multiple years.

“ i t would be interesting to see whether a person’s spirituality fluctuates along with changing health over a period of time,” Koth said.

Koth, a biology major with

direct connection to the students,” she said.

This is the second year the acc has sponsored this trip to the nation’s capital. v idal said she hopes notre d ame student government will continue its involvement.

“e very year that they have been in existence we have participated, because we think it’s important as a university and as a student body,” v idal said. “ it’s only the second year, but we hope to continue it. we think it’s a great opportunity.”

Contact Madison Jaros at mjaros@nd.edu

minors in chemistry and religious, has studied both fields and brought them together in her research.

“ i kind of look at religion and spirituality from a scientific type of standpoint,” she said.

The next event in the s pirituality m ondays series will take place m onday in the s tudent c enter. Jill v ihtelic, professor of business and economics, will discuss spirituality and global business.

Contact at Macaila DeMario mdemario01@saintmarys.edu

The Shirt

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[marching] band.”

wetzel said he expects a large turnout at the unveiling ceremony due to favorable weather and student discounts.

“ we’re expecting a couple thousand students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members to show up for the unveiling this year, especially if the weather is as nice as predicted,” wetzel said.

“ s tudents will also receive 15 percent off up to two shirts that they purchase at the unveiling ceremony.”

m arketing manager and senior c atherine s imonson said the local frozen yogurt shop l et’s s poon and b arnaby’s pizzeria would provide catering.

i n addition to the entertainment lineup and free food, s imonson said attendees could participate in multiple other activities before i rish coach b rian Kelly officially unveils the new s hirt at 6 p.m.

“ we’re offering a couple different interactive booths, such as face painting, a guessing station allowing people to predict the color before it’s unveiled — which is all polled

through Twitter, a photo booth where we’ll be bringing out all the previous s hirts and allowing people to try them on or hold them up and take pictures with their favorites — a really rare opportunity to see the whole collection — and a color stations allowing guests to design their own shirt templates.”

a long with expansions to the unveiling ceremony, The s hirt committee has broadened its media presence for the 25th anniversary, s imonson said.

“ we’ve really bolstered our social media,” s imonson said.

“ we created an i nstagram account over the summer and have used that as a central platform for growth. r ight now, we’re finishing up a scavenger hunt we’ve been running for several weeks now via all of our social media platforms, including a newly designed website.”

a ccording to freshman committee member m ackenzie s mith, the social media outreach aims to highlight the charitable impact of The s hirt, which helps to fund student activities.

“o ne of our goals for the year was to promote what exactly The s hirt p roject is and where the money goes,” s mith said. “ most people don’t know that the proceeds from buying The s hirt go straight back to the students and to campus through our The s hirt c harity Fund and the r ector Fund.”

the 25th anniversary edition of The s hirt will excite n otre d ame fans and sell in record numbers.

s imonson said she hopes

“This year’s s hirt takes on a whole different vibe than any of the previous years’ and we’re really looking forward to showing it off,” she said. “i ’m predicting significantly higher sales than last year, which sold 156,000. i ’d love to hit 160,000 or higher.”

Contact Charlie Ducey at cducey@nd.edu

hhs secretary sebelius issues resignation

washing T on , d c . —

e mbattled h ealth and h uman s ervices s ecretary Kathleen s ebelius is resigning as the w hite h ouse seeks to move past the electionyear political damage inflicted by the rocky rollout of p resident b arack o bama’s signature health care law.

s ebelius’ resignation comes just over a week after sign-ups closed for the first year of insurance coverage under the so-called

o bamacare law. The opening weeks of the enrollment period were marred by widespread website woes, though the administration rebounded strongly by enrolling 7.1 million people by the m arch 31 deadline, exceeding initial expectations.

e nrollment has since risen to 7.5 million as people were given extra time to complete applications.

e ven with the late surge in sign-ups, the law remains

unpopular with many a mericans and r epublicans have made it a centerpiece of their efforts to retake the s enate in the fall.

s ebelius’ resignation could also set the stage for a contentious confirmation hearing to replace her. i n a sign that the w hite h ouse is seeking to avoid a nomination fight, the president was tapping s ylvia m athews b urwell, the director of the o ffice of m anagement and

b udget, to replace s ebelius. b urwell was unanimously confirmed by the s enate for her current post.

a w hite h ouse official requested anonymity to confirm s ebelius’ resignation and b urwell’s nomination ahead of the formal announcement. o bama has not nominated anyone to replace b urwell as budget director.

o bama remained publicly supportive of s ebelius throughout the rough rollout,

deflecting r epublican calls for her resignation. b ut she was conspicuously not standing by his side last week when he heralded the sign-up surge during an event in the w hite h ouse r ose g arden.

The official said the 65-year-old s ebelius approached o bama last month about stepping down, telling him that the sign-up deadline was a good opportunity for a transition and suggesting he would be better served by someone who was less of a political target.

a spokeswoman for s en. p at r oberts, a r epublican from s ebelius’ home state of Kansas, called the resignation “a prudent decision” given what she called the total failure of o bamacare implementation.

s ebelius dropped no hints about her resignation Thursday when she testified at a budget hearing. i nstead, she received congratulations from d emocratic senators on the sign-up surge.

a popular former governor of Kansas, s ebelius has been one of o bama’s longest-serving c abinet officials and his only hhs secretary. s he was instrumental in shepherding the health care law through c ongress in 2010 and implementing its initial components, including a popular provision that allows young people to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until age 26.

InSIDE CoLumn

radio gal

Emily Kefalas news writer

up until may 18 of last year, i had never used my phone to make actual calls more than once an hour. anxious to please fresh out of high school, i was well aware that i was pushing myself completely out of my comfort zone after those first five calls to city officials asking for their availability.

“hello. yes, may i please speak with representative mitchell? do you happen to know at what number i may reach him? This is emilie Kefalas from Talk 101 Fm with busboom and wolfe.” no matter how many times i had to say this one line, i never grew tired of proclaiming it. For the first time, i had a title other than “student.”

“yes. ok. could you please? i would greatly appreciate that. Thank you very much. you too. ba-bye.” This formula for contact was, as i would discover several phone calls and emails later, the typical exchange of dialogue amongst colleagues swimming in the same communal pool of business interaction. a community such as decatur, ill., requires everyone to cross paths at least once in order for any productivity to ensue.

This internship, however, owed my thanks to communal connections. i would learn to place this reality on a mental pedestal of recognition and observe its significance every time i felt the urge to call in ill (which meant wanting to sleep in).

nothing punctures my memory more vividly about that moment i realized how much responsibility lay in my possession than that midday coffee with my mother at wildflour bakery. Two old-fashioned chairs with red cushions reflected the sun’s stare while i frantically scrolled through my phone’s google search to find email addresses, phone numbers, secretary’s numbers and secretary’s assistant’s numbers, all in pursuit of booking six different guests for the week’s remaining shows.

The lack of salary did not dampen my momentum. i had a job to do. letting scott busboom down was equivalent to disturbing the deep end of the communal pool. if he thought my skills to be inefficient and lacking in any urgency, word would quickly ripple to the water’s edge.

now that i recall that day and setting, though, i am reminded of a greater gamble, a jeopardy with stakes slightly elevated above the height of the billboard telling decatur to “wake up with busboom and wolfe!”

The listeners. w hy i cared about busboom and wolfe’s ratings as much as busboom and wolfe did not exactly puzzle me as much as it motivated me to rise to an unexplored level of greatness in my own mind. proving myself was my personal mile marker, one that would be reached every time i booked the next big name, the impossible “get’s.” getting the impossible was worth it. For loyal listeners, it provided relevancy and intrigue. For me, it unofficially officially baptized me as a go-getter. and a radio gal.

Contact Emilie Kefalas at ekefal01@saintmarys.edu

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

A call for empathetic dialogue

cloud our rationale. l ikewise, we must not dismiss legitimate, well-grounded arguments as being merely the result of emotion.

o pportunities for conversation and dialogue are constantly available in many forums, especially on the i nternet. it is incredibly easy to comment on a viral video, show symbolic cyber support by liking a status or jump into an argument about controversial issues. however, when participating in any type of conversation — particularly in an online setting — it is vital to keep in mind that the gift of this connectivity must be utilized in a productive and respectful manner. it becomes dangerously easy to abuse the chance to type exactly what we feel when we believe we are protected behind a computer screen and the veil of anonymity offered by the i nternet. it becomes especially sensitive when it happens in a relatively small campus community.

we are not suggesting the notre d ame community should avoid arguments and fear conflicts. i n fact, we urge everyone who feels passionate about something to speak out. a sk difficult questions. r esearch the topic, read up on the issue. Formulate your opinion, and maybe even write a letter. m ake a genuine attempt to listen to and understand the other side of the story. l earn something.

we would like to challenge all those at notre d ame to engage in dialogue in a way that is respectfully aware that those on the other side of the argument are fellow human beings and not just fingers on a keyboard or letters on a page. They are our friends, classmates and professors alike.

w hile it is easy to get caught up in the heat of a disagreement, we must not allow emotional responses to

w hen faced with an opposing perspective, it is convenient to focus on one potentially problematic aspect of the argument, which consequently blinds us to the overall message. This sort of refusal to see beyond our own stubborn, one-sided position creates an insurmountable obstacle towards any future constructive conversation. a willingness to respond must also include a willingness to listen and to understand.

w hether we jump into a debate in the line at starbucks or in the online comment section of a v iewpoint column, we must remember to approach any issue with a tone of empathy, awareness and respect, allowing room for neither unfounded animosity nor ignorance.

a s part of our final editorial of this school year, we set forth the hope that all in our community will be willing to work together towards becoming informed, openminded participants in all future discussions. more importantly, we ask our fellow students to remain conscious of the fact that people are much more than the title of the clubs they belong to, the positions they take on the issues that divide us or even the alias they assume online. we all are challenged by our own experiences, and we are all too easily limited by our own perspectives and forget to appreciate the experiences of others.

we all walk the same campus grounds each day. This weekend, we will once again unite as a campus to participate in the long-held traditions, including the b lue- g old g ame. we hope events such as these may remind us that, despite our differences, we are all bound by the history, tradition and strong sense of community that unites us as notre d ame.

“before we get too depressed about the state of our politics, let’s remember our history. The great debates of the past all stirred great passions. They all made somebody angry ... w hat is amazing, is that despite all the conflict, our experiment in democracy has worked better than any form of government on earth.”

Barack Obama President of

the United States

LETTERS To ThE EDIToR

Let’s have a conversation together

when i was little, i hated math. it was unfamiliar and didn’t make sense to me. my father, a chemical engineer, was assigned the task of helping me understand the concepts. although my father is a man of great patience, i always seemed to try that patience when we would work through problems together. The concepts were so simple to him, and he sometimes couldn’t see why i just didn’t get it. in return, i fought against learning math because sometimes i felt judged for not understanding something i had never been exposed to before. since basic math is necessary for functioning in society, my father persisted out of love and consideration for my personal development. he found new, relatable ways to present information, allowing me to see from a different perspective. and i grew more receptive, eventually understanding enough to make it into what i consider one of the finest universities in the country. From these memories, considering the situations occurring on campus right now, i can extrapolate several important elements forgotten in the debates occurring.

First, there is nothing inherently wrong with ignorance. in first grade, i was ignorant about mathematical concepts, and, as a child, this was understandable. often, ignorance is also understandable given an individual’s background. according to the merriam-webster dictionary, ignorance is “a lack of knowledge, understanding, or education.” many people judge those who make comments out of ignorance. however, christ calls us to instruct the ignorant. ignorance is an invitation ⎯ for education and for asking someone to consider something in a new way. although statements made in ignorance can be hurtful and offensive (and are

in no way justified or acceptable), the correct response is not anger and hatred. even when difficult, we must begin a respectful dialogue. Judgment and anger breed defensiveness and resentment, halting all forward progress. rather than making sweeping accusations and assumptions about an individual or group, begin asking “why?”

Finding out why a person holds certain beliefs is key to identifying misunderstandings and initiating change. incredibly sheltered upon my arrival at notre dame, i held beliefs about groups of people that i now realize were ignorant and unfair. but i had only been exposed to one perspective, and i had honestly never thought to question the information given to me by adults. new information widened my perspective in a way that attacking my opinions never would have. no one responds well to condescension and judgment, especially when they might not even realize that there is another reasonable side to the argument.

This being said, bigotry is unacceptable, and, by definition, cannot exist within respectful dialogue. bigotry is separate from ignorance. a bigot is “a person who is obstinately and intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices.” only after rejecting attempts at respectful dialogue without fair consideration does one become a bigot. There is no point engaging in an argument with a bigoted person because a logical argument implies a search for truth, and a person “devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices” has already found his or her truth; all that remains is to stay respectful, while declining unproductive dialogue that will only serve to further spread intolerance. second, finding common ground is essential. my father had to get creative when

he taught me. it was important enough for me to understand that he tried new ways of presenting the information until something finally made sense. consider the person next to you, those in your classes, your dorm. all of these people have their own unique stories, but we are also united in our humanity. as we engage in debate, let us not forget this common humanity. creating an “us vs. them” mentality only tears apart our community, deepening the wounds preventing us from reaching a common understanding or at least loving and respecting one another. look into your hearts, your lives, your faith, your academic interests, your geeky hobbies or your taste in music (Try disney movies, those are a pretty good bet). chances are, the person shares something with you that will humanize them. when we humanize rather than generalize, we empower ourselves to remain respectful despite difference in opinion, because we see the other person as an individual.

Third, we must be receptive to new information. i had to be willing to learn math, although it was unfamiliar and uncomfortable. in order to avoid bigotry, we have to be open to dialogue. dialogue is “an exchange of ideas or opinions.” That doesn’t mean one side telling the other side what to believe. both sides must recognize that they might not have all the answers. The beauty of dialogue is seeking truth together, not beating someone over the head with an ideology. The emphasis on “i’m right and you’re wrong” is shouted so loudly that it drowns out all else. even for conflicts that have no resolution because of a fundamental difference in understanding, there is something to be learned from opposing views, and respect remains necessary to make progress. we

can learn so much from realizing that we are not always right. in fact, we’re often wrong. but by engaging with multiple perspectives and remaining open to new and valid ideas and opinions, we fulfill the true purpose of a university and can move forward together. i firmly believe we have the potential to find much greater peace through education and unceasing dialogue.

while all problems and misunderstandings in the world are not as simple as explaining why 3/4 is bigger than 5/8, the problems we have placed on the table at notre dame are so much more important. They are among the defining issues of our generation, and discussion on such issues makes me incredibly proud of our wonderful university. everyone wants to defend his or her beliefs, and we are striving to shape the world we live in. however, the hatred and vitriol i have seen directed towards other members of our notre dame family in some of the viewpoint articles and their comments both sadden and disappoint me. our collective ignorance cries out for understanding. love one another by educating one another; don’t contribute through belittlement to the hatred you are trying to prevent. i know we, as a student body, are capable of so much more, and i challenge those who decide to speak up to do so with respect and openness, as well as humility. let us not begin to shout louder and louder until we are a sea of incoherency, unable to hear truth that is spoken. instead, let’s begin a conversation together.

samantha l essen junior l ewis hall april 11

salad bowls: a reflection on race

“as i was in south dining hall, feasting on corned beef and cabbage, garbed in green and surrounded by an emerald brigade of students and staff, i realized something. although the u s. celebration of the feast of st. patrick is a commemoration of irish culture, i think it’s only fitting that we also remember the great american immigrant experience in general, of which we are all grateful beneficiaries. whether it has been war, famine, or just the prospect of a better life, our forefathers (and foremothers) all made the calculated decision to leave their home countries to reach these shores lined with so much promise. we are a nation of immigrants, a rich patchwork of races and cultures, and it makes sense that we eat, drink, and be merry on this particular day. so i tip my hat to all migrant families, workers, and their progeny. Today, we’re all irish (whether ethnically or “Fighting”), and today we celebrate all those who came before so that we who walk in their footsteps might pursue the american dream.” in this Facebook status of 176 words, i attempted to encapsulate the overwhelming sentiment of notre dame community pride i felt on st. patrick’s day. Today, the campus is no longer celebrating, but is boiling over like a pot of the steamed cabbage, the same cabbage which we had just dined on four weeks ago, but now embroiled in a controversy about a lady in red.

The united states has been described as

a melting pot of peoples, a cultural chowder, a populist potage and a brotherly broth. The melting pot is a metaphor describing the americanization of immigrants, obliging them to lose whatever makes them different for the sake of assimilating with the rest of the country. The national identity, our collective “americanness,” had to be preserved and so that is why newcomers had to speak english to the detriment of their native tongues and why many had to adopt westernized dress. This melting-pot mentality is also why my grandmother, who became a u s. citizen a few years ago was asked whether she wanted to change her name (“divina gracia corpuz llanes”) to something a bit more homogenized (which she, thanks be to god, refused, replying in her characteristic proud manner that her name reflects her catholic faith and means “divine grace” and “body of christ.”) while i do contend that melting-pot imagery does indeed have its benefits, i prefer the more contemporary idea that the united states is a salad bowl. The salad bowl refers not to a nutritional vegan utopia, but to a society wherein diversity is celebrated and not merely tolerated. salad bowl symbolism recognizes that ethnic groups will be tossed around, yet never subsumed into a particular one — slicing and dicing stereotypes and garnishing them with the flavorful croutons of coexistence. “americanness” should not be measured by how similar we all are to

each other, but by the diversity that renders our great nation unique. ours is a common patrimony of frontier folklore and patriotic practices, a national heritage made more complex and beautiful by the rich diversity of its citizens. i certainly agree that we should do our very best to promote the traditions that distinguish the united states, but to do so in a manner which does not actively eradicate our differences or ignores their existence altogether.

as a member of the diversity council of notre dame, i actively choose to celebrate all forms of diversity. it would be foolish for us to consider “diversity” as applying only to non-whites. while many individuals on campus do hold this belief, this is an attitude that ignores the distinctive differences between germans and spaniards, between the French and the polish, between russians and italians. The diversity council welcomes all perspectives to our meetings and events, as do the so-called “racially exclusive special interest clubs,” which compose the board. yes, it is true that with names like “national society of black engineers” or “latino student alliance,” the cultural clubs may appear to dissuade those who do not fit their categories from joining. The cultural clubs should not, however, be reduced to mere gatherings of people who look the same. all are welcome to participate in such student organizations and experience the sense of belonging they offer to those who

may feel different. as a campus community, we should attempt to better understand this nebulous notion of “being different” which affects one half of the university and seems to be irrelevant for the other half. i write as a registered republican and a Filipino-american wanting to express the importance of conducting a frank dialogue about diversity and inclusion. i write as a californian who grew up in one of the poorest cities in america, in the central valley heartland cultivated by generations of Filipino and mexican migrants. i write as a concerned notre dame student who recognizes that the fruit of the ongoing debate about ann coulter is that people are now willing to talk about race relations. it is true we no longer live in an age of rampant racism, but we should not remain stagnant in the opposite extreme and pretend that we have already established a society free of cultural stigmas and prejudices, a post-race utopia. so go on: cry wolf and awaken others from their slumber of indifference. be bold and let your opinions, your prejudices and your ideas out. risk being correct and risk being corrected. a dialogue can only be mutually transformative if we engage each other through an honest exchange of experiences. prinz Jeremy l lanes dela cruz junior morrissey manor

By ALLIE TOLLAKSEN scene e ditor

e lkhart’s l erner Theatre will be hosting pop singer/songwriter g avin d e g raw next week after recently returning to the u s . from an international tour earlier this year. The platinum-earning musician will be accompanied by openers p arachute and r ozzi c rane at the a pril 15 show.

d e g raw has just released his fourth studio album, “m ake a move,” in o ctober 2013 to largely positive reviews. The album’s first two singles, “b est i e ver h ad” and “m ake a move,” both have made appearances on the b illboard charts in the last six months, and the album peaked at no. 10 on the

u s . charts.

b ut this isn’t d e g raw’s first showing on the charts. The musician burst into the pop scene in 2003 with the release of his debut album, “c hariot.”

The album sold more than one million albums and put d e g raw on the map as a pop figure with three hit singles, including “i d on’t want To b e,” which gained fame as the theme song for “o ne Tree h ill” and hit number one on pop charts. The debut album’s second single, its title track, also went platinum and established d e g raw as a hitmaker.

d e g raw followed up his debut with a remarkably successful sophomore album, a self-titled lp that debuted at no. 1 in digital sales in 2008. a fter

releasing a collection of live recordings a year later, d e g raw continued his prolific streak with “ s weeter,” his third studio lp, in 2011. “ s weeter” also proved to be a success, especially its single “not o ver you,” a songwriting collaboration with o ne r epublic’s r yan Tedder that became a Top 40 hit. now with the recent release of his fourth studio album, d e g raw has demonstrated his staying power in the pop charts.

d e g raw will be joined by p arachute, a band based out of c harlottesville, va. a fter releasing a third album in 2013, the band has toured, playing their pop-rock music with bands such as The s cript and g oo g oo d olls. a lso opening for d e g raw is r ozzi

c rane, the first artist signed to m aroon 5 frontman a dam l evine’s label. d escribed by “Teen vogue” as a “rock star in training,” she is an upand-coming singer/songwriter to look out for in coming years.

The l erner Theatre will be hosting d e g raw, c rane and p arachute on a pril 15 at 7:30 p.m. To purchase tickets for the g avin d e g raw concert, go to www. thelerner.com, call the l erner Theatre at 800-294-8223 or visit the l erner b ox o ffice at 110 s m ain st. e lkhart, i nd. a student discount is available, and for more information about this discount, contact the box office.

Contact Allie Tollaksen at atollaks@nd.edu

By CAELIN MILTKO

cene writer

s

i f you’ve been paying any attention to pop culture in the last couple months, you’ve almost certainly heard the o scar-winning song “l et it g o” from “Frozen.” i f you follow buzzFeed, you’ve almost certainly seen numerous adaptations and versions of the songs. one of the most popular is s am Tsui’s mash-up of the hit with passenger’s “l et her g o.” on Friday, notre dame students will have the opportunity to see the youTube celebrity live at l egends. The a sian a merican a ssociation and l egends are hosting Tsui as part of the “springboard music Fest,” which featured yelawolf on Thursday and will feature v icetone on s aturday night.

Tsui is known particularly for his covers, most recently of bastille’s

“pompeii” and Jason derulo’s “Talk d irty.” Tsui started posting his top40 covers to youTube while studying at yale. s ome of his most popular creations are mash-ups like the “l et it g o/ l et her g o” video, which has over eight million hits.

recently, Tsui has released his first album, titled “make it up.” The album was financed through a Kickstarter campaign he ran with his producer and longtime classmate, Kurt s chneider. i n an interview with “The wrap, Tsui said he chose not to work with record labels in order to maintain creative control on the album.

“i’m not opposed to working with other writers in the future, but what has drawn people to me is that when they watch a video, whether it’s a cover or an original, they know there is no middle man. it’s a direct to audience kind of

thing,” Tsui said.

Though his original intent was to get involved with musical theatre, his youTube covers and mash-ups led him down the path of pop music that is now bringing him to perform at notre dame.

The songs from his original album are available on his youTube channel (Thes amTsui). Three of them feature original music videos. Tsui said in the interview with The wrap that his time doing covers has helped find what works for him as an artist.

“my writing voice is a little quirkier, more singer-songwriter-y than the top40 stuff i cover. it was still heavily influenced by the fact that i’ve spent three years doing covers; it gave me exposure to songs from diverse genres and i learned what worked for me in songs.”

h is mash-ups of popular songs include ones of “Timber” and “c ounting

stars,” and another of “payphone” and “Telephone.” i n conjunction with s chneider, Tsui has become known for his annual medleys of popular songs from the year. The 2013 medley features songs like “ we c an’t stop,” “w hat does the Fox s ay,” and “m irrors.”

s am Tsui’s show is sure to feature a fun mix of his covers, mash-ups and original work. For those familiar with his work, it will be fun to see some of his most popular hits live and for those who aren’t, i suggest roaming his youTube channel for a couple minutes. you’re sure to find something you like. Tsui will be performing at l egends at 10 p.m. Friday. admission is free for notre dame and s aint mary’s students with an id

Contact Caelin Miltko at cmoriari@nd.edu

By MATTHEW McMAHON scene writer

Filmmaker and renaissance man spike Jonze cultivates emotional resonance in the strangest places. h is teamups with c harlie Kaufman, the most adept and peculiar writer in cinema, have seen tremendous heartbreak and consciousness despite — or, more appropriately, through — absurd, surreal premises. w ith 2013’s spectacular “her,” Jonze continues his streak of unrivaled filmmaking in his first individual directing and writing effort.

The film opens with the first of many subversions, as Jonze explores his newest playground. a nyone vaguely familiar with the plot of “her” seeing it for the first time assumes they are being planted into the middle of the story; instead, Jonze slowly introduces main character and personalized greeting card writer Theodore Twombly (Joaquin phoenix), along with the extremely intimate, close-up direction employed throughout the film. despite the dramatic subject matter, Jonze naturally weaves in tinges of humor, like in his previous works, by examining the conventions and implications produced by the world he created.

a nd so masterfully do Jonze and company create this setting. a near-future l os a ngeles appears just beyond the modern world’s reach, very aesthetically sleek — as usually imagined of the future — with a smooth, warm palette, cinematographically. similarly, the magnificent swelling-yet-minimalistic score perfectly accents the refined moods of every scene. still, when Twombly heads home from work after the first establishing scene, everything looks and feels subtly bleak, like the advancements to technology have put everything at society’s fingertips, except they have stripped away humanity and social connection — Twombly jokes with a friend, “i can’t even prioritize between video games and i nternet porn,” but we know this to be a more sobering statement of fact.

Through a series of face-tracking shots, Theodore uses a crowded elevator, rides a full train and walks down a lovely, expansive bridge against a sprawling l a . skyline. however, like

the direction suggests, he’s completely alone, assumedly just as each other person is around him. he whispers to his earpiece — a more developed version of apple’s siri — asking for a melancholy song, browses the news and checks his email. it is all rigidly formulaic, as though Twombly has mopily followed this routine every commute for a long time.

Quickly we learn Twombly has gone through a separation with his wife, catherine ( rooney mara), and he buys the latest operating system upgrade for his earpiece to sort out his life — an operating system capable of consciousness. The tonal accuracy of the flashbacks revealing his relationship with catherine is unparalleled, and mara takes command of a brief but scenestealing role. i n mourning of the two’s falling out, Twombly recalls only the fond memories, idealizing his relationship — and thus hanging himself up on it — to paralyzing effects. phoenix’s careful reactions and line readings often play a quiet grimness, which Jonze expertly captures by keeping the cameras fixed on the actor’s face, though offcentered to underscore Twombly’s lack of companionship.

w hen Twombly installs the new os — selecting a female identity — a hesitant, raspy but distinctly human voice greets him. her name, he asks, is samantha ( scarlett Johansson) — a response he receives in no time, but by her explanation that she read an entire book and settled on the name, he learns the absolute depth of the os’s programming. a s the premiere accompaniment for each other, Twombly and samantha quickly bond, relying on each other as confidants, ostensibly always there for each other.

at first the two have a playful friendship: Twombly laughs, “i can’t believe i’m having this conversation with my computer,” when discussing dating with samantha. she tellingly replies, “you’re not! you’re having it with me.” soon, samantha’s increasing curiosity and dutiful utility coupled with Twombly’s newfound excitement bring the two closer, eventually beginning a romantic relationship and professing their love.

Jonze uses the futuristic conceit to comment on and critique the effects

of today’s technology. people have the means to always reach one another, giving them the ability to connect much more rapidly and expedite relationships. however, this constant connection is also caustic, creating unrealistic expectations and worrisome uncertainty with even the briefest moments of noncontact — and this sentiment does not only apply to relationships, but for anything we become reliant on and immersed in technology.

Twombly and samantha’s relationship experiences many of the same stages as any human relationship, blurring the nonhuman aspects of the os, while simultaneously highlighting them. There’s the honeymoon phase, the subsequent fallout, the settling-in turned to complacency that could break down when faced with any kind of wrench and the attempts to salvage. in this case, the two face very opposing issues attached to their states of being: samantha yearns to evolve, not constrained by the limitations of humanity, while Twombly, stunted by his humanity, rehashes the difficulties he saw with his wife.

These pangs come to a head when both have pivotal interactions with those outside the scope of their very insular relationship. only after Twombly meets with catherine again does he remember their struggles, for some of which he was responsible. he has his issue and seeking comfort in a rapidly advancing os might not help him address them. meanwhile, samantha sees the disparities between humans and artificial intelligence through contact with other operating systems. i n a gradual and beautifully implicit turn of realization, she determines not only is the relationship holding her back from technologically evolving, but equally it is holding Twombly back from emotionally evolving.

spike Jonze fully commits to every concept he tackles in his work. someone falling in love with his or her os may seem implausible, but the earnest angle Jonze takes in portraying the relationship suspends the absurdity and allows acceptance. a s a result, the film is a timeless, intimately personal conversation about relationships and coping, while concurrently discussing burgeoning, perhaps unconsidered, current and

future implications, ethics and morals concerning our society’s interactions with and through technology. human beings are finite. They are imperfect, flawed and are bound to make mistakes. They do not have all the answers, nor the ability to search for them in milliseconds. realizing this and finding those you can love despite — nay, because — of those qualities is what a relationship of any nature truly boils down to. This takes mutual effort, collaborating to evolve together in ways that people are compatible. These differences complicate Twombly and samantha’s relationship and would do so to any human-operating system relationship. Their relationship — in addition to Twombly’s job writing other people’s emotionally weighty cards — also underlines the inherent risk present interacting with others solely online or, rather, not face-to-face. e ither person can gather skewed or unrealistic representations of the other because both have the ability to shape, put forward and even view idealistic versions of themselves or one another.

at its emotional core, still, “her” shows that pain is not the end; pain might remain a necessary component in healing, but it is far from the end on which to dwell. a s Twombly walks up to the roof of his apartment building with his good friend a my (a my adams, outstandingly playing a hybrid optimist/voice of reason for Twombly), he’s relieved of his pervasive os, free to experience his surroundings and connect with other, similarly free, humans. This final subversion in Jonze’s futuristic love story provides a slight, uplifting end, offering hope for the flawed humans, incapable of the transcendence of their artificial counterparts. melding all of his varied, complex ideas into not just a clear and digestible, but immensely enjoyable, movie, Jonze has created another one of the most thought-provoking, stunning and all-around well-made films in recent cinema.

“her” is playing on campus as the sub movie of the week. The movie is showing Thursday-saturday in debartolo 101, and tickets are $3.

Contact Matthew McMahon at mmcmaho7@nd.edu

noah should be more appreciated

Casey Karnes sports writer

not much is pretty about bull’s center Joakim noah’s game. his jump shot spins like a tornado, and he runs like a baby giraffe taking its first uneasy steps. with his unruly hair, gap-toothed grin and awkward rendition of a fingerguns celebration, noah has more in common the typical energy player than the stereotypical nba star. yet despite his gangly appearance and arguably ugly style of play, noah has surpassed all expectations to become one of the top players in the league.

drafted seventh by the bulls after leading Florida to back-to-back championships in the 2006 and 2007 ncaa tournaments, noah’s lack of bulk and underdeveloped offensive game elicited concerns that he may have peaked at the college level. luckily for the bulls, after a rocky rookie campaign noah soon developed into a double-double machine and defensive menace, with his passionate, loud style of the court jiving well with young star point guard derrick rose’s more reserved approach.

The bulls hired Tom Thibodeau in 2010, and the defensive mastermind’s system quickly established a new identity in chicago: accountability, teamwork and intensity. no one represented this better than noah, who became the lynchpin of the defense using his quickness, length and leadership. since noah and Thibodeau’s union, the bulls have finished top-two in fewest points allowed per game each season, including a first-place mark of 91.6 this season.

The suffocating defense headed by noah and small forward luol deng paired with derrick rose’s ascension to mvp status allowed the bulls to capture the number one seed in each of Thibodeau’s first two seasons.

Then derrick rose tore his acl, chicago bowed out in the first round of the 2012 playoffs and doubts began to set in again. with rose out, the bulls seemed rudderless, lacking an offensive presence to complement their defense. in the face of adversity, noah responded with his finest season yet, averaging career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals, with 11.9, 11.1, 4.0, 2.1 and 1.2, respectively. Those totals drove the bulls to a fifth-seed in the east, and earned noah his first all-star berth and a spot on the nba all-defensive first team. rose returned for a short and unsuccessful comeback this season, but the bulls limped out to a 14-18 start, leading chicago’s front office traded leading scorer deng to the cavaliers in an attempt to free up cap space. other than noah, the team was made mostly of journeyman veterans or inexperienced youngsters, and all but the most die-hard fans to write off the

bulls’ chances at contention. Few expected what happened next. since the deng trade, chicago is an amazing 32-14, and are tied for third in the eastern conference. even without rose and deng, the bulls have been able to persevere due to the magnificence of noah. he’s maintained his stalwart defense and rebounding skills, but also demonstrated improved range on his jump shot and his unique passing skills for a big man after taking over as the focus of the bulls’ offense. noah currently is besting his career-highs with 12.6 points and 11.2 rebounds, and his 5.2 assists per game are more than any forward or center in the league not named lebron or durant. That unique vision has also enabled him to tie lance stephenson for the nba-lead with four triple-doubles on the season. The fourth came Tuesday in the bulls’ 102-87 win over minnesota, during which noah also broke chicago’s franchise record for assists in a season.

out of the shadow of rose and deng, noah is starting to get the appreciation he deserves, earning mvp chants from his home crowd and a place on the mvp ballot of voters like espn’s chris broussard. prior to the bulls’ march 13 matchup against howard and the rockets, houston coach Kevin mchale said noah deserved to be picked as defensive player of the year.

“he should be defensive player of the year,” mchale said. “They’ve been winning a lot just on his energy and effort, determination and confidence.”

That night noah proved mchale’s point, coming just an assist shy of a triple-double while harassing howard into a subpar line of 14 just points, 10 rebounds and a whopping seven turnovers.

noah would give away all the praise and accolades in a heartbeat in exchange for an nba championship, however. he even asked fans to stop chanting mvp for him, claiming that rose is the mvp even in injury. This teamfirst attitude in what Thibodeau said sets noah apart in an often selfish league.

“he doesn’t care about his own statistics,” Thibodeau said. “he just cares about winning. To me, that’s what separates him from most.” so while noah’s game might be ungainly, nba fans should enjoy their chance to watch the bulls’ center’s distinctive combination of passionate aggression, precision passing, defensive prowess and allconsuming desire to win. above all, noah should act as a reminder that in basketball, sometimes ugly can be beautiful.

Contact Casey Karnes at wkarnes@nd.edu

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

Haas leads after round one

Associated Press

augusTa, ga. — no nerves. no worries. adam scott never knew the opening round at augusta national could be so enjoyable.

with his green jacket upstairs in the locker room for masters champions, scott made only one bad swing that cost him two shots in a round of 3-under 69. it was the lowest opening score by a defending champion in 13 years, and it left scott one shot behind leader bill haas on an otherwise demanding day.

“it was really how you hope to come out and play at any major, and especially the masters,” scott said. “and there’s no doubt winning the masters last year had me a little more comfortable on the first tee than i’ve ever been in the past, because i didn’t have the legs shaking and nerves jangling for six or seven holes like usual.”

haas, with a rich family history at augusta that includes a green jacket for his great uncle bob goalby, settled down after an opening bogey with a collection of good birdie putts and an 8-iron to 5 feet for birdie on the 18th for a 68.

it was the first time in 18 majors that haas has had the lead after any round. That only gets him a crystal vase for the low round of the day at the masters. haas knows better than to put too much stock into what happens Thursday. he was leading after the opening round in

houston last week and tied for 37th.

“There’s tons of golf left,” he said.

only one first-round leader in the last 30 years has gone on to win the masters.

Former masters champion bubba watson, who slipped that green jacket on scott last year, played his first bogey-free round in a major since the 2009 u s open and shot a 69. so did louis oosthuizen, whom watson beat in a playoff at augusta.

They were the only players to break 70, the fewest for an opening round at the masters since 2007.

“no one is really going crazy out there in perfect, perfect conditions,” graeme mcdowell said after fighting to salvage a 72. but there was something about the way scott played that grabbed most of the attention on such a gorgeous spring day in the south. golf has been waiting for a star to take control all year, even more without Tiger woods at augusta for the first time in 20 years because of back surgery.

scott was in control of his emotions and his game all day — except for once.

walking over to the heart of amen corner, the fans behind the 12th tee rose in unison to cheer the champ.

“The memory that will stick with me forever today was walking up to the 12th tee and everyone getting out of their seats as i approached there,” scott said. “it was great, the level of respect that

nCAA hoCkEY | union 5, bosTon college 4

everyone has for this golf tournament and what happens here.

“but then,” he said with a smile, “i went and hit it in the water.” scott’s tee shot bounced off the front slope and into rae’s creek — amazingly, he said it was his first shot into the water on that hole — and he made double bogey to fall out of the outright lead. he picked up a birdie on the 14th, and threeputted for par on both the par 5s on the back nine.

still, there were few complaints.

augusta national officials knew this would be a gentle day of weather, and it was clear they made sure the course was anything but that. The hole locations were severe for an opening round. with endless sunshine, the greens became firmer and quicker by the hour.

so many others paid the price.

Jason dufner took a quadruple-bogey 9 on the 13th hole with only one penalty shot. The worst of his woes was a wedge from the drop area that didn’t even make it to the creek. he wound up with an 80 in his first round in a major since winning the pga championship last summer. he was in good company. phil mickelson had a pair of 7s on his card for the first time in five years at a major, and his 76 matched the highest opening round at augusta for the threetime masters champion. u s open champion Justin rose shot 40 on the front and scrambled for a 76.

union heads to ncaa final

Associated Press

philadelphia — d aniel

c iampini broke a third-period tie with the second of his three goals to help union beat b oston c ollege 5-4 in the ncaa hockey semifinals Thursday night.

The d utchmen (31-6-4) advanced to the final for the first time. They will face the m innesota-north d akota winner in the championship game s aturday night.

m at b odie and m ike vecchione also scored and c olin stevens made 34 saves for union, the small, liberal arts college from s chenectady, n y

Johnny g audreau, steve s antini, r yan Fitzgerald and p atrick brown scored for

b oston c ollege (28-8-4).

c iampini broke a 2-2 tie on a power play at 6:31 of the third period, tipping in shayne g ostisbehere’s onetimer from the point.

o nly 18 seconds later, union’s m att h atch was given a major penalty and game misconduct for checking s cott s avage from behind into the boards, giving b oston c ollege a 5-minute power play.

The e agles failed to score, and vecchione gave union a two-goal advantage with 8:07 left off a rebound after goalie Thatcher d emko stopped Kevin sullivan on a breakaway attempt.

w ith d emko off for an extra attacker, Fitzgerald cut it 4-3 with 1:45 to go. c iampini

restored the two-goal margin with an empty-net goal with 1:09 left, and brown completed the scoring on a power play with 4.2 seconds to go. union improved to 21-1-1 when it scores at least four goals.

g audreau put the e agles on the board less than 4 minutes into the first period, scoring on a rebound in the crease off Kevin h ayes’ initial shot for his ncaa-leading 36th goal. union tied it on b odie’s slap shot from the top of the right circle 2:39 into the second. e ight minutes later, c iampini put back a quick rebound off a faceoff win to give union a 2-1 lead.

s antini countered for b oston c ollege with 4:07 left in the second.

Irish to host three teams during weekend

paid a dverT isemen T

Observer Staff Report

a fter losing three of their last four matches, the irish hope to return to the winner’s circle against two acc opponents this weekend at their home eck Tennis pavilion. The no. 12 irish (14-8, 4-4 acc ) face miami at home on Friday and host Florida state and valparaiso on sunday. in their most recent match, the irish were upset on the road by north carolina state, losing by a 4-3 margin in raleigh, n c against the wolfpack, the irish found themselves in a deficit after dropping the point in double play. senior greg a ndrews, ranked no. 20 in the country, senior ryan bandy and freshman eddy covalschi all won their singles matches what was eventually a losing effort for the irish the losing effort.

The hurricanes (13-8, 3-5 acc ), coming off a four-loss skid of their own, are also seeking regain traction as their enter the final stretch of the regular season. both teams have dropped recent matches against acc foes duke and north carolina. The irish, currently 4-4 in acc play, will need to beat miami to remain above .500 in conference playing.

Florida state (15-9, 3-5 acc ) will also enter competition having lost its last four acc matches. The seminoles fell at home to

the Tar heels and blue devils on april 4 and 6, respectively, both by the score of 5-2.

The seminoles will head to notre dame with two players ranked in to top 100 for individual play. seminole juniors dominic cotrone and christian gonzalez mendez are ranked no. 84 and no. 100, respectively. notre dame’s team also features two players ranked nationally: a ndrews and sophomore Quentin monaghan, who is currently no. 89. before sunday’s matchup with notre dame, Florida state is slated to face boston college on Friday afternoon.

valparaiso (15-6, 1-2 horizon l eague) enters the weekend on a mini-losing streak. last weekend they fell on the road to green bay, 6-1. before facing the irish, the crusaders will play detroit on Friday. a fter this weekend, valparaiso still has three more regular season matches before they compete for the horizon l eague postseason championships. a fter this weekend, notre dame will head to massachusetts on april 19 to face boston college at the Flynn recreational complex. The match will be their regular season and conference finale before the squad will head to the acc championships in cary, n c., april 24-27.

Union advances to championship

Associated Press

philadelphia — daniel ciampini and tiny union college are thriving on college hockey’s biggest stage.

ciampini broke a third-period tie with the second of his three goals to help union beat boston college 5-4 in the ncaa hockey semifinals Thursday night.

The dutchmen (31-6-4) advanced to the final for the first time. They will face minnesota — a 2-1 winner over north dakota in the second semifinal— in the championship game saturday night.

“when i came in here as a freshman, there were goals set, but our ultimate goal was not to win the national championship that year,” said ciampini, now a junior. “it’s just been growing each year.”

mat bodie and mike vecchione also scored and colin stevens made 34 saves for union, a liberal arts college in schenectady, n y., with only 2,200 students.

Johnny gaudreau, steve santini, ryan Fitzgerald and patrick brown scored for boston college (28-8-4), trying to make its fifth title game appearance in eight years.

ciampini broke a 2-2 tie on a power play at 6:31 of the third period, tipping in shayne gostisbehere’s one-timer from the point.

“i got very, very lucky,” ciampini said. “shayne blasted my stick away there — it broke on the tip. it’s good that i can produce.”

only 18 seconds later, union’s matt hatch was given a major penalty and game misconduct for checking scott savage from behind into the boards, giving boston college a 5-minute power play.

“we were pretty sure if we kill that, we get the momentum,” gostisbehere said.

sure enough, he was right.

The eagles failed to score and, only seconds after the power play ended, vecchione gave union a two-goal advantage off a rebound after goalie Thatcher demko stopped Kevin sullivan on a breakaway attempt.

“They’re a great shot-blocking team,” brown said. “i was in front and i couldn’t even see the puck because they had two or three guys in the lane every time.”

“we just never quite got in sync on that major penalty,” boston college coach Jerry york said.

Notre Dame races to Kentucky for Border Battle

Observer Staff Report

notre d ame will compete at the b order b attle in Kentucky this weekend after a drive to the university of l ouisville.

This marks the third weekend of the outdoor season for the i rish, and while the men’s team is currently unranked, the women are n o. 22 in this week’s poll.

l ast weekend, both squads travelled to the s tanford i nvitational in s tanford, c alif. There, notre d ame runners posted some of the best times ran thus far in the outdoor season, with eight i rish athletes posting times that rank in the top 10

in the ncaa . This includes two 400-meter dash runners with top-five times, senior p at Feeney (second fastest overall with a 45.56 run), and junior c hris g iesting (fourth place, 45.62). g raduate student n ick h appe, meanwhile, leads the entire ncaa in the 5000-meter run with a time of 13:43.55.

w hen the i rish travel to the b order b attle this weekend, they’ll be competing in a manner unlike their previous events this season. n otre d ame and l ouisville will team up to compete against i ndiana and p urdue in a battle of future- acc teams against b ig Ten schools.

a fter the first few weekends featured long planerides to warm locations such as Texas and c alifornia, this weekend will be the first road trip of the outdoor season for the i rish. w hile some storms are forecasted for Friday and s aturday, the temperature projects to be in the 70s all weekend. The relatively short trip to Kentucky will allow the i rish to take more athletes than their previous two events. a s a result, 30 female athletes and 29 males will travel to team up with l ouisville at the b order b attle.

The i rish and c ardinals shall join forces against i ndiana and p urdue all day Friday and s aturday at the b order b attle in l ouisville, Ky.

irish compete in Folsom, calif.

By BRIAN PLAMONDON

s ports w riter

a fter nearly a month off, n o. 9 n otre d ame will return to action in warmer weather in Folsom, c alif., for the l ake n atoma i nvitational. The regatta, just outside of s acramento, will be the first of three straight weekends the i rish will be in competition.

“ i think we’ve seen some signs that people were getting antsy during the last eight to ten days,” i rish coach m artin s tone said.

“ n ow i think we’ve planned it out so we know in advance

that it is tough coming back from the w est c oast and then immediately training again. w e will see what we need to do and quickly make the adjustment for the next race.”

n otre d ame is coming off a strong showing in the o ak r idge/ c ardinal i nvitational, where they swept w est v irginia and split their six races with l ouisville on the first day of competition.

The following day, the i rish took home three more victories. The team was pleased with their showing, but wanted to compete better against n o. 3 v irginia,

s tone said.

This weekend, the i rish will face a strong group of schools that will provide a great gauge for the competition they may see in the ncaa championships. n otre d ame will compete s aturday morning against n o. 4 usc and Kansas, and in the afternoon against n o. 1 c alifornia and o klahoma. The i rish will close s unday with n o. 7 s tanford and n o. 20 s an d iego.

“This is a level of competition we will only see in the ncaa s,” s tone said. “ w e’ll have raced three of the top 10 teams in the country — pretty special.”

This regatta will be unique in that the i rish will not race against any a tlantic c oast c onference foes.

d espite the switch from the b ig e ast, where n otre d ame won 11 straight conference titles, to the acc , s tone says the goal has not changed.

“ w e want to win conference titles and ncaa titles,” s tone said. “ i don’t think the acc is that different, and we raced those teams anyway in the past.”

a s the i rish prep for their big weekend out west, confidence seems to be running high, s tone said.

“The team is in a good place, they’ve worked really hard,” s tone said. “ i t’s going to be a pretty fun time.”

The l ake n atoma i nvitational begins with racen s aturday in Folsom, c alif.

Contact Brian Plamondon at bplamond@nd.edu

Irish host Virginia Tech for senior day

By ZACH KLONSINSKI sports writer

l ooking to continue their recent surge, notre dame welcomes foe v irginia Tech on Friday afternoon in the final home match of their inaugural year in the acc before traveling to north c arolina state on sunday.

The i rish (12-8, 4-6 acc ) are on a roll as of late, winning their last four matches by a combined score of 28-0, including last weekend’s sweeps of maryland and p ittsburgh. The i rish have won seven of their last nine matches, with the only two losses coming on the road at the hands of now no. 4 v irginia and no. 3 north c arolina. despite their recent hot streak, the i rish dropped from no. 20 last week to no. 26 in the polls this week.

w ith the weather forecast for Friday looking pleasant, it is possible the i rish and the no. 64 hokies (11-9, 3-7 acc ) could meet outside Friday afternoon. it would only be notre dame’s second home match played outdoors due to the late spring, after the victory over p ittsburgh last sunday. ideally, the majority of spring matches would be played outdoors, said i rish coach Jay l ouderback.

“ we don’t get a whole lot of home matches outdoors, so when we get the opportunity to get outside at home it’s very nice,” l ouderback said. “i f we end up hosting at the ncaa s, we play out[side], so it’s good to get some matches outdoors at home.”

w hile notre dame has played outside on road trips this season prior to last weekend, many schools in the acc have been able to play in

the sun for a couple months now. since the i rish have flipflopped between the faster inside game and the slower outdoor game a number of times now, l ouderback sees his team being able to transition and play either game fairly well now.

“ we’ll be out[side] one day and then indoors two … i think we’ve had to do that so often that adjusting for us is getting easier,” said l ouderback. “o utside you have to be a lot more patient with the ball, points last longer.”

i n addition to battling the elements, another part of the game the i rish have been battling all season has been the play of their doubles teams. There have been eight different pairs who have seen acc playing time for the i rish, with the only mainstay being the pair of senior brittany s anders and sophomore Quinn gleason. however, l ouderback’s tinkering with the teams may have unlocked something for the i rish, having won the doubles point in all four matches of their current win streak.

o ne such key has been the emergence of the doubles duo of junior molly o’Koniewski and freshman mary c loss. The pair played together for the first time last weekend, winning their two matches by a combined score of 16-3.

“molly’s really solid off the ground, doesn’t miss returns, lobs well,” l ouderback said.

“mary has a great serve and cuts balls off really well, so they complement each other really well.”

a nother key for the i rish of late has been their depth in the singles lineup. at the four, five and six positions, the i rish

have fared pretty well all season, with c loss, classmate monica robinson and sophomore Julie vrabel seeing the most playing time.

“ we won a lot early, too, but now i feel like we’re playing even better at four, five, six,” l ouderback said. “Julie vrabel

had a lot of three-setters earlier. she won a lot of them, but now she’s starting quicker. you start getting match tough from playing a lot, and i think all three of those guys have done a great job as the season’s gone on.”

The i rish will continue to

paid a dverT isemen T

draw on this depth and doubles improvement Friday at 3:30 p.m. as they look to win their final regular season home match against the hokies at the e ck Tennis pavilion.

Contact Zach Klonsinski at zklonsin@nd.edu

only two goals in the contest against v irginia. This season, Fortunato has totaled 33 goals, a team high for the i rish. Fortunato and senior midfielr m argaret s mith were both named second-team midseason a ll-a mericans. s mith is fourth in notre d ame history in draw controls and is on the watch list for the Tewaaraton award, given to the nation’s best lacrosse player.

The i rish will also be looking td junior goalkeeper a llie murray to anchor the i rish defense. murray had ten saves in the game against v irginia. d uke enters the contest cominy off a 13-11 loss to b oston c ollege on s aturday. mc mullan said the i rish are mentally prepared to take on d uke tonight.

“d uke is a great team,” mc mullan said. “ we have spent all week preparing for them. … i think if we stick to the game plan our coaches have set up for us, we should come out on top.”

The i rish are in action Friday at 7 p.m. against d uke at a rlotta s tadium.

Contact Katie Heit at kheit@nd.edu

SmC TEnnIS

coming off of two straight losses,

belles trump bethal, 7-2, in conference match

Observer Staff Report

The b elles returned to winning ways yesterday with a convincing 7-2 win over local rival b ethel. The b elles (7-5, 2-1 miaa ) began strongly in the doubles, winning two of three matches.

The sophomore pairing of

m argaret Faller and a ndrea Fetters led the way with an 8-3 victory, and this was quickly followed by another convincing 8-1 win from freshman s am s etterblad and junior s hannon e lliott. u nfortunately, senior m ary c atherine Faller and junior Kayle s exton were

paid a dverT isemen T

edged out of a close game, losing 9-7 after going up 7-6. m ary c atherine Faller also ended up on the losing end of an intense singles match, just falling short 10-6 in the super tiebreaker. h owever, s t m ary’s were able to pull off five other singles wins. a gain, m argaret Faller and

Fetters led the way, both with comfortable 6-2, 6-2 victories.

e lliot continued the winning streak with a 7-5, 6-2 win in the fourth singles match while s exton overcame a second-set deficit to win 6-3, 6-4.

i n a similar fashion, junior

Jackie Kjollede, who was trailing in the first set, came back to win her match in another super tiebreaker (10-5).

The b elles hope to continue in this form in their senior day conference match against a lma at 1 p.m. on s aturday

yankees top red sox, 4-1

Associated Press

new yor K — This much is clear: m ichael p ineda had a dark substance smudged on his pitching hand during his first win for the new york yankees.

p ine tar or dirt? we might never know.

p ineda took a two-hit shutout into the seventh inning, and Jacoby e llsbury hit an rbi single off old roommate c lay b uchholz in his first game against the b oston red s ox. The yankees’ 4-1 victory Thursday night left a bit of a mystery: were p ineda’s pitches plain old nasty, or was something more sinister involved?

“it’s dirt,” p ineda said. “b etween the innings, i’m sweating too much, my hand.

i’m putting dirt — i’m grasping the dirt. ... i’m not using pine tar.”

e llsbury drew all the pregame attention after switching sides in the rivalry during the offseason. b ut it was the dark brown, seemingly tacky substance on the lower palm of p ineda’s right hand that became the focus.

c lose-up camera shots showed p ineda (1-1) pitching during the early innings with something on his hand, and there was speculation it was pine tar to help him get a better grip on a chilly night. The game was never stopped for an umpire to examine him, and it whatever it was, it was gone by the fifth.

“i became aware of it in the fourth inning through the video that someone had seen,”

red s ox manager John Farrell said. “a nd then, when he came back out for the fifth inning, it looked, based on where it was told to me it was located, it looked like the palm of his right hand was clean.”

yankees manager Joe g irardi essentially repeated the same answer five times during his postgame news conference.

“i never saw it. There’s nothing really for me to talk about,” he said.

m aking his first yankee stadium start 27 months after he was acquired from s eattle, p ineda appeared completely recovered from the shoulder surgery that sidelined him for two years. Throwing at up to 95 mph, he allowed four hits, struck out seven and walked two.

man-up goal opportunities. The i rish may outperform the c olonials with an average of 11.56 goals per game and a record of 21 for 37 on man-up goal opportunities, but c orrigan said that the c olonials will still be a challenge for his team’s defense.

“ r obert m orris is another team that like us plays a smart controlled offense with a lot of great skill,” c orrigan said. “ w ith a lot of great offensive players on their team, we need to make sure we are playing really sound defense to force them into bad shots and turnovers. “

i n addition to playing solid defense, the i rish offense will also need to apply consistency to its efforts to get past the c olonial defensive front.

“a t the other end, we need to be aggressive in the offensive opportunities we are getting,” c orrigan said. “ we need to continue to be productive there and get better in our 6-on-6 play, which has been our most inconsistent thing this season.”

s enior midfielder Jim

Softball

con T inued F rom page 20

waldrop boasts a 0.83 era waldrop was also named acc s oftball p itcher of the week on m onday.

s enior pitcher l aura w inter leads the i rish from the circle with a 2.11 era in 21 appearances. w inter has the opportunity to meet and pass the 100-win benchmark this weekend.

s he currently sits at 98 career victories, and two wins will make her the first pitcher in i rish softball history to hit the century mark in this category.

w inter will pitch against a squad of s eminole batters who have outscored their opponents 290-70 in 43 games. redshirt junior shortstop m addie o’ brien leads Florida state with 57 hits, 16 home runs, and 64 rbi s. o’ brien was also named acc s oftball player of the week on monday. redshirt senior

m arlatt, junior attack man c onor d oyle and sophomore attackman m att Kavanagh lead the i rish offense. i n the past two games, the i rish offense has been slow to start in the first half and instead has made strong runs starting in the second half. a gainst d uke, the i rish only tallied two goals in the first half, but managed four goals in the fourth quarter alone, while against m arquette on Tuesday, the i rish scored five of the last six goals. d espite the appearance of a weak offensive start, the explosiveness of the i rish attack in the second half is exactly what c orrigan said he expects from his team.

“ p art of the slow start is that of a function that we get better as game goes along, and within each game our decision making gets better,” c orrigan said. “c ould we get off to a better start? yes. i would like to see us playing a more competitive energy at the beginning, but what we aren’t doing is taking ourselves out early in games.

“ you have to be careful for what you wish. i f we get too aggressive, that could lead to more mistakes.”

w ith that approach, and

second baseman Tiffani brown has scored the most runs for the s eminoles, with 49 on the season.

For the i rish, junior outfielder e milee Koerner leads in runs and home runs with 32 and eight, respectively. s ophomore infielder m icaela a rizmendi has earned 29 rbi s to lead n otre d ame in that category. l ooking ahead, the i rish have less than a month left in regular-season play. The majority of the remaining 17 games — including this weekend’s series — will be played at home.

The i rish have the opportunity to add three more tallies to the win column s unday and m onday. acc tensions will heat up at m elissa c ook s tadium when the i rish take on the s eminoles on s unday at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. and again m onday at 7 p.m.

Contact Christina Kochanski at ckochans@nd.edu

Irish freshman midfield Sergio Perkovic watches the ball during an exhibition match against Bellarmine on Feb. 2. Notre Dame will take on Robert Morris on Saturday at 1 p.m.

their main focus on building smart decision making, the i rish cannot afford mistakes against r obert m orris that arise from fundamentals. s aturday’s game is all

Baseball

con T inued F rom page 20

to raise awareness for it and for p ete.”

b efore beginning his career at n otre d ame (12-20, 1-14 acc ) four years ago, a oki coached at b oston c ollege (10-22, 2-13 acc ). w hen a oki began as an assistant at b oston c ollege, Frates was beginning his freshman year. Frates became a oki’s first captain during his first season as the e agles head coach. “[Frates is] just a phenomenal kid from a phenomenal family; a really, really, really good kid and a highenergy kid,” a oki said. “ h e would fit on the n otre d ame campus just the same way he did on the b oston c ollege campus.”

s tarted in 2012, the p ete Frates #3 Fund has had a variety of fundraising events over the years, including p lunge 4 p ete, a d ecember dip into chilly g loucester, m ass., water.

“The foundation’s fund that we have goes in large part to trying to raise awareness as well as covering his medical costs,” a oki said. “a t this point he needs an automated wheelchair, he needs a computer that allows him to continue to communicate with the outside world because that’s becoming more and more difficult for him. There’s a ton of costs, things that you and i take for granted, like changing our clothes and brushing our teeth and things that people have to do

about balanced consistency, c orrigan said.

“ we need to find the right balance of energy and preparation early and continue to get better as game goes on.”

for him at this point.”

d uring his senior season and a oki’s first as a head coach, Frates hit .242 with five home runs, 27 rbi and 12 stolen bases.

“This weekend means a lot to me, and we’re just trying to raise some money for p eter to cover his medical costs and help him in his battle to raise awareness of this disease,” a oki said. “ h e has tackled it head-on. h e’s been such an inspiration in the way that he has gone about this. it would have been really easy and really understandable for him to just go into his shell and feel sorry for himself about this thing, but he hasn’t. h e’s taken the absolutely opposite of whatever that would be. h e’s a kid that i love dearly, and i want to help him and his family to the best of my abilities.”

Though both teams have continued to place an emphasis on Frates and this cause, b oston c ollege and n otre d ame still do face each other as an acc matchup.

“o bviously this is a team that’s struggled a little bit in the conference but they’ve pitched pretty well and we’ve pitched it pretty well from time to time, so i think it will be a good, competitive series,” a oki said. “o bviously there’s a little bit of a rivalry factor between bc and n otre d ame, the two major football-playing c atholic universities in the country. we’re going to continue to get better, more like the team we were [against m ichigan].”

Though b oston c ollege has

The i rish host r obert m orris on s aturday at a rlotta s tadium at 1 p.m.

Contact Kit Loughran at kloughr1@nd.edu

a team batting average of .225 and a team era of 4.31, those marks are below n otre d ame’s team batting average of .248 and team era of 3.35.

“[The e agles] play really hard and they’ve gotten some good pitching performances, in particular, out of their top two guys, [junior right-handed pitcher] John g orman and [redshirt sophomore left-handed pitcher] a ndrew c hin,” a oki said. “Those two are certainly capable of shutting anybody down. i would say [ b oston c ollege] pitch it fairly well; they’re struggling a little bit at the plate; they defend it okay.”

Though both teams have struggled in the acc , combining for only three wins, the teams combine for 19 non-conference wins.

“ i think they’ve been competitive all year long. i think they’ve been very similar to our tale, a lot of close games where they’re right on the doorstep but haven’t been able to walk through, so i think it’s one of those things where we have to go there, we have to worry about ourselves and play well.”

The first game will be played today at 8:05 p.m., followed by a 3:05 p.m, game on s aturday and a 2:05 p.m, game on s unday. a ll three games will be played at c hicago s tate university b aseball s tadium in c hicago, i ll., where all ticket revenues will go directly to the p ete Frates #3 Fund.

Contact Aaron Sant-Miller at asantmil@nd.edu

Happy Birthday: stand up and be counted. show what you have to offer and don’t shy away from the limelight. be prepared mentally and physically at all times and you will be able to take advantage of opportunities that come your way. This is a proactive year that must not be overridden by unexpected setbacks. Face challenges head-on and proceed. your numbers are 4, 7, 15, 24, 26, 39, 45.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): do your best to achieve your goals. show how competitive you can be. attract attention and make new friends who are just as enthusiastic as you are. socializing with progressive people will lead to longterm alliances.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Keep a low profile and work diligently toward your own goal. avoid telling others how to do things or you will end up with an enemy, not an ally. concentrate on self-improvement and doing a good job.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Take part in things you enjoy and you’ll bypass some troubles that can develop with someone at work. a lack of honesty is apparent and can lead to poor choices. make positive changes at home as well as personal improvements.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): build your resume and add to your skills and knowledge, and it will be easier to deal with the changes occurring at work and within your industry. stability should be your concern and moderation your safety net.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): strive for perfection. your ability to see situations from all sides will help you mediate any disagreement or debate that arises. a change in position will help you build a strong portfolio and improve your standard of living.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): g o over what’s happening in your life. don’t let your finances get you down when a strict budget and greater control over family or domestic spending will get you back on track. a business partnership must delegate responsibilities before you move forward.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Tread carefully when dealing with friends, family or partners. put time and effort into getting your chores out of the way and living up to any promises you made. you may feel like making a personal or physical change, but be wary of a sales pitch that promises the impossible.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): make positive changes at home and follow through with creative endeavors. expand your circle of friends to include those who share your interests. love is on the rise and a positive twist to the way you treat someone special will benefit you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): do what you can to improve your surroundings. social activities will bring you in touch with someone you find appealing. g et physical and improve your health and overall appearance. an emotional problem will surface if you haven’t been upfront.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Keep your communication to a minimum. g o over personal papers, contracts, settlements or any research you require to make a decision. avoid arguing with someone unwilling to budge. look for innovative ways to get your way. incentive and compliments will help.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): use what you know to advance. express your interests and set up interviews or talks with those in a position to help you reach your goals. aggressive action will bring results and position you to do well on upcoming projects.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): make your moves with precision. The research you do will make a difference to the way you view what’s going on around you. a partnership will stabilize your position and encourage you to expand your interests. romance is highlighted.

Birthday Baby: you are quick to respond. you are intelligent and generous.

Irish face Boston College in emotional series

By AARON SANT-MILLER

s ports w riter

w hen n otre d ame and b oston c ollege meet in c hicago for a three-game series, the games will be about more than baseball. a ll the ticket revenue generated from the series will be donated to the p ete Frates #3 Fund, a foundation set up by former b oston c ollege outfielder and current director of baseball operations p ete Frates. i n m arch of 2012, at the age of 27, Frates was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ( als ), also known as l ou g ehrig’s d isease.

“[ als ] has really begun to take a physical toll on him, the way that this horrible disease does,” i rish coach m ik a oki said. “ s o we’re using the weekend and trying

duke to visit a rlotta stadium

By KATIE HEIT

s

ports w riter

a fter dropping their last two games against acc opponents, the n o. 10/11 i rish attempt to end their conference season on a high note when they take on no. 7 d uke on Friday at a rlotta s tadium in their second-to-last acc matchup of the season.

The i rish (8-5, 1-4 acc ) enter the contest coming off a close 11-10 loss to s tanford on m arch 29, followed by a 13-8 loss to v irginia on s aturday. s ophomore attack Kiera mc mullan said the i rish have struggled with shooting in the losses.

“ we haven’t been shooting well in the last few games,” mc mullan said. “a gainst v irginia we were held to one goal in the first half. This week we really have gone back to the basics and worked a ton on finishing our shots.”

i n addition to shooting, the i rish struggled to control the draw during their matchup with v irginia. The c avaliers won 13 of the draw controls in the second half, while n otre d ame took only four.

a s they look toward d uke (8-5, 2-2), mc mullan said the i rish need to return to the basics of i rish lacrosse.

“i don’t think we’ve been playing our style of lacrosse,” mc mullan said. “ we have let the other team gain a lead early on, and it’s difficult to play catch-up the entire game. i think we need to go back to controlling the game and playing notre d ame lacrosse.”

a gainst d uke, the i rish will be relying on several key players. Freshman attack c ortney Fortunato has been a consistent powerhouse for the i rish, though she scored

mEn’ L ACRoSSE

nD womEn’ SoFTBALL

notre dame hosts Florida state

By CHRISTINA KOCHANSKI s ports w riter

The n o. 23/25 i rish host n o. 7/8 Florida s tate in a three-game series this weekend at m elissa c ook s tadium.

The two acc rivals face off s unday at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. and again m onday at 7 p.m.

The i rish (24-8, 5-3 acc ) are coming off of a twogame series sweep of another acc rival, the n orth c arolina Tar h eels. This triumph marks the first time the i rish have swept an acc team this season. w hen Florida s tate (385, 15-2 acc ) faced the Tar h eels (21-18, 12-7 acc ) in late m arch, the s eminoles claimed victory in all three games of the series. Florida s tate is coming off

of a loss to n o. 8/6 Florida. The defeat marked the end of a 17-game winning streak that dated back to midm arch. The s eminoles have not lost two consecutive games this season. This weekend’s games present an opportunity for i rish coach d eanna g umpf to add her name to n otre d ame’s record books. w ith a victory in any of the three games against the s eminoles, g umpf will tie former baseball coach p aul m ainieri for second-most all-time wins in i rish baseball and softball. i n order to beat the s eminoles, the i rish have to best Florida s tate’s junior pitcher l acey waldrop (25-3). waldrop is the s eminoles’ leading pitcher with 30 appearances, see soFTball PAGE 18

ND welcomes Robert Morris

By KIT LOUGHRAN s ports w riter

The i rish face off against r obert m orris on s aturday at a rlotta s tadium in a midseason non-conference contest.

The n o. 10 i rish (5-4, 2-2 acc ) look to capitalize on their home field advantage over r obert m orris (5-6, 2-3 n ortheast c onference) to secure their second win of the week. a fter falling 15-7 to acc -rival d uke (9-2, 3-1) on s aturday, the i rish quickly recovered with a 12-7 on-the-road victory over m arquette on Tuesday. The loss and recovery both have significant implications for the i rish moving forward, and n otre d ame looks to apply its takeaways from this week to its tilt against r obert m orris.

“ i think the biggest thing for us going forward continues to be the consistency in our decision making on both ends of field,” i rish

coach Kevin c orrigan said.

“ we need to continue to evolve what are great decisions for our team, and we learn more about ourselves and our team as we continue to play.”

w ith consistent decisionmaking at the forefront

of their strategy, the i rish will work to combat the c olonial offense, which is executed similarly to their own. r obert m orris currently averages 9.72 goals per game and is 14 for 32 on