Print Edition of The Observer for Wednesday, March 16, 2016
community remembers Theresa s agartz
‘She was so entirely giving of her time, her wisdom and her witty charm’
By KATIE GALIOTO news e ditor
“she’s one of the most genuine people i’ve ever met — and she’s that way with everyone,” junior e rica Tabor said.
“i think that’s the reason why so many people are hurting through this loss. she touched anybody that she came in contact with, whether it was sharing with them in laughter or helping them out with schoolwork. she just related to anybody.”
Theresa s agartz, a junior and former resident of p angborn hall, died last week in her off-campus apartment from natural causes related to a chronic medical condition. s agartz was originally from a lbuquerque, n m ., and was pursuing a degree in chemistry.
“she was incredibly loyal and caring for her friends, which is definitely one of the things i’ve admired most about her,” matt s chaefer, s agartz’s boyfriend, said. “it was always kind of amazing to me how she was always able to put them first.”
‘so entirely giving’ Tabor, s agartz’s roommate, said s agartz loved taking care of others, regardless of whether they were a close friend or a complete stranger.
“ we would joke and say, ‘Theresa, you could get emotionally attached to a rock,’” she said. “ w hen we lived offcampus this year, i don’t think i cooked us dinner once because she was the house mom who just loved taking care of
see memorial PaGe 5
court rules in favor of espn
Observer Staff Report
The i ndiana c ourt of a ppeals ruled Tuesday that notre d ame s ecurity police ( ndsp ) is a public agency subject to public record laws, reversing a decision made in the trial court in notre d ame’s favor.
The university was sued by espn in January 2015, after notre d ame refused to release incident reports related to student-athletes on two separate occasion
The st. Joseph c ounty superior c ourt issued a ruling in notre d ame’s favor in a pril 2015. espn appealed the decision, and both parties presented their oral arguments to a three-judge panel on feb. 25. The case hinges on ndsp ’s status as either a private or public agency — under i ndiana’s a ccess to p ublic records a ct ( apra ), if ndsp is considered a public agency, it would be required to release certain records. espn
reporter m aggie smith argued the duties of ndsp are equal to those of any public police department.
“ w hat we know from notre d ame’s own crime logs is they arrest, search, interrogate for crimes such as rape, burglary, larceny, aggravated battery, counterfeit, drug possession, dui s — these are not the actions of your library security guard who is there to make sure that kids don’t take books,” she said, according to an audio recording of the oral arguments available on the i ndiana Judicial branch’s website.
notre d ame attorney d amon l eichty argued the law was never intended to apply to private colleges and universities. however, since o ctober 2014, two state officials — p ublic a ccess c ounselor l uke britt and a ttorney g eneral g reg Zoeller — have said they consider ndsp to be subject
see espn PaGe 4
Sister of Mercy explores theme of joy in poverty
By MARTHA REILLY a ssociate saint mary’s e ditor
Just last week, s ister m arilyn l acey resided in a cave in s outh sudan, where she works to transform the lives of women in poverty. b ut last night she spoke over 7,000 miles away at s aint m ary’s about the abundance of mercy and joy in all of g od’s creation.
l acey said g od maintains connections with all h is people, even those who feel as if their sins render them unworthy of h is love.
“ we somehow got the feeling as young people that we had to be ready to meet g od,” l acey said. “The funny thing is, g od doesn’t wait for us to be ready. g od’s goodness is always flowing. it doesn’t matter how distracted we
are.”
recognition of such constant support from g od can help people interpret life’s challenges as blessings, according to l acey.
“g od is constantly giving his goodness, his mercy, his love, whether or not we are paying attention,” l acey said. “ we’re not often in touch
see mercy PaGe 5
Professor dies in Texas
Observer Staff Report
Theology professor fr. virgilio elizondo, who is widely considered the founder of u s latino theology and received the 1997 laetare medal, committed suicide monday in san antonio, according to a south bend Tribune report.
“san antonio police department officers were called at 1:55 p.m. monday to a house
owned by elizondo,” the report stated.“The bexar county medical examiner confirmed to the [san antonio] express-news on Tuesday that elizondo was pronounced dead five minutes after officers arrived, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
elizondo, the university of notre dame professor of pastoral and hispanic Theology, was named in a 2015 san antonio civil suit alleging elizondo sexually
abused the unnamed plaintiff when he was a minor, according to a report originally run by wsbT. elizondo last taught at the university during the fall 2014 semester, according to a statement made by university spokesperson dennis brown in the south bend Tribune report.
The lawsuit was filed against the archdiocese of san antonio, fr.
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RACHEL O’GRADY | The Observer
A candle display at the Grotto spells out the initials of junior Theresa Sagartz, who died last week from natural causes related to a chronic medical condition.
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Question of the Day:
Have a question you want answered? Email photo@ndsmcobserver.com
What three words would you choose to describe yourself?
Carolyn Arcuri sophomore regina hall
“stressed, goofy, killin’ it.”
Cat Murad sophomore holy cross hall
“outgoing, nice, chill.”
Evelyn Andersen first year regina hall
“approachable, loyal, funny.”
t he next f ive D ays:
Wednesday
Carnatic Classical Music Concert
Andrews Auditorium
7 p.m.- 8 p.m. Featuring vocals, violin and mridangam.
Memorial Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart
9 p.m.- 10 p.m. In remembrance of junior Theresa Sagartz.
Thursday
Pasquerilla East Paddy Parade campus-wide
4:30 p.m.- 5:30 p.m. Featuring ND bagpipes and campus clubs.
Irish and English Bilingual Mass Basillica of the Sacred Heart 5:15 p.m.- 6:15 p.m. Celebrating St. Patrick.
Kaylie Johnson sophomore regina hall
“compassionate, intelligent, empowered.”
Leticia Cobarrubias first year regina hall
“caring, outgoing, zealous.”
Maggie Williams junior le mans hall
“nurse, outgoing, happy.”
Want your event included here? Email news@ndsmcobserver.com
Friday
Men’s Tennis vs. Duke Eck Tennis Pavilion
3:30 p.m.- 5:30 p.m. The Irish take on the Blue Devils.
LGBT Retreat all day Sacred Heart Parish Center PrismND’s 24-hour retreat.
Saturday
Hawaii Club’s Lu’au Stepan Center
5 p.m.- 8 p.m.
Hawaiian food, hula dancing and a leimaking station.
Men’s Lacrosse vs. Virginia Arlotta Stadium
6 p.m.- 8 p.m. The Irish take on the Cavaliers.
Sunday
Men’s Tennis vs. Miami Eck Tennis Pavilion
12 p.m.- 2 p.m. The Irish take on the Hurricanes.
Palm Sunday Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart
12 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. Music by the Notre Dame Folk Choir.
speaker considers economic future
By LUCAS MASIN-MOYER news writer
The man once named washington’s funniest celebrity, robert p gwinn p rofessor of e conomics at the university of c hicago austan g oolsbee, spoke Tuesday evening in the e ck c enter on the future of the a merican economy.
Today’s Staff
Corrections
The observer regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times. we do, however, recognize that we will make mistakes. i f we have made a mistake, please contact us at (574) 631-4541 so we can correct our error.
“it is usually the case that when you have a deep downturn, it is followed by a rapid recovery,” goolsbee said. “we didn’t have this ‘v-shaped’ recovery after the worst economic downturn since we’ve had gdp data, it never came back.”
These groups believe, according to g oolsbee, “we go through a recession, a financial crisis, and once the deleveraging finishes then we will start growing.”
g oolsbee, who formerly served as chairman of the council of e conomic advisors to p resident obama, said proponents of this idea rely on flawed logic.
“The fed and the private sector have been wrong year after year because they have embodied in their mind an implicit return to normal,” he said. “i n their mind what is normal is defined as
what it was in 2006.”
g oolsbee said the economy has undergone fundamental changes which disprove this theory.
“a ll the v-shaped recoveries in u s history have come when the economy can return right back to what it was doing before the recession,” he said, “This time we had a [housing] bubble, and the bubble popped, and we can’t return to that.”
a transformation of the u s. economy from that which existed before the 2008 financial crisis, according to g oolsbee, is necessary for a full recovery.
“Transforming from what we were doing to something new, and that is never a fast process, and it is never an easy process,” he said. “ … it’s happening, but it’s happening slowly, and that is why we never had a v-shaped recovery.”
There are four major factors that many economists believe could help save the a merican economy: consumer spending, other countries, oil prices and washington. a ll these fail short according to g oolsbee. he said other countries cannot help the recovery, and lower oil prices won’t help the economy because of low global
demand for goods and oil and the lessened importance of oil in the economy due to energy efficiency.
a s for washington, g oolsbee said if the government did anything, it might do harm rather than good.
“p robably they would do nothing,” he said. “There is a small probability that they do something way worse like we like default on the u s. debt for no reason.”
despite the forecast of many economists that the u s. economy is entering a period of stagnation, g oolsbee said there is reason to be hopeful.
“we start from a position of strength and not of weakness,” he said. “ … The cost of capital is favorable, we have a productive workforce, we have a strong rule of law, and it is consistently shown in survey … the number one place to invest is the united states.
“we remain the most entrepreneurially-oriented, innovative culture on earth, if you look at data. ... The ability of u s. businesses to adopt to new technology ... we have proven better at that than anyone else.”
Expert examines political communities
By JENNA WILSON news writer
p olitical philosophy is in the bricks of n otre d ame, according to d avid c ampbell, political science department chair, who opened the inaugural series of the n iemeyer l ectures in p olitical p hilosophy on Tuesday. a ccording to a u niversity press release, the n iemeyer l ectures are presented by the political theory program to “honor the contributions and memory of the late g erhart n iemeyer, professor of political philosophy at [ n otre d ame] from 1955 to 1997.”
Jeremy w aldron, professor of law at n ew york u niversity, is the first speaker in the n iemeyer l ecture series. a ccording to a u niversity press release, w aldron will give four lectures over a period of two weeks titled “The p rinciple of p roximity.”
h is first lecture, “Two m odels of p olitical c ommunity,” tackled the topic of political association and the division of distinct political communities. w aldron said people should
form political communities with those who are close to them in physical space, particularly those with whom they are most likely to fight.
“ w e should divide ourselves into communities — of whatever size — that bring us to terms with people in our vicinity, whoever they are,” he said. “ w e need to come to terms with those people we are side-by-side with.”
a ccording to w aldron, typical political philosophy divides societies by ethnic groups or nationalist tendencies. w aldron first said the “affinity” models of political communities are inherently incorrect. h e said those who submit to these theories enter a political community with others they are similar to and believe that the basis of a political community should be people with a shared sense of sympathy, friendship and cooperation — though that does not always have to be the case.
“ i wish to cast doubt on the principle that political communities should function as ethnical or national
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homelands,” w aldron said.
“ w e should dispel the theories that the ethnic national model is the only one in town. you have a responsibility to join in a political
“We should dispel the theories that the ethnic national model is the only one in town. You have a responsibility to join in a political community with those who you are most likely to fight. These people need to come to terms with each other, otherwise they will fight. ”
David Campbell department chair political science
community with those who you are most likely to fight. These people need to come
to terms with each other, otherwise they will fight. They need to set up political and legal structures to create peace.”
h e said “conflict models” of political communities, popularized by Thomas h obbes and i mmanuel Kant, explicitly remove the idea of “choice” from the formation of political community.
Kantian theory notes that those “quarreling” with one another have a moral obligation to enter into a political community with each other, and w aldron said he supports this theory.
h owever, w aldron said he is not encouraging the dissolution of nationality or the eradication of culture.
a ccording to w aldron, culture should not dictate the foundation of a political community.
“ i nstead of viewing [culture and national spirt] as a prerequisite for political community, instead of viewing it as the building block for a political community, we might see it instead as a very helpful artifact,” w aldron said.
h e said his theory does
not require a state to enter a constant period of conflict, but he does believe that the state is born out of compromise, which stems from conflict.
“ m ine is not a theory of state minimalism, it is not a theory of the night watchman state, i am not saying that settling and reentering conflict is the sole function of political community and the sole task for the state, but it is necessary and indispensable,” he said.
w aldron said the conflict model accounts for fighting between people, unlike the affinity model, which deals with fighting by simply separating people.
“a t least the conflict-based model, the Kantian model, the h obbesian model, acknowledges up front that we have to come to terms with conflict over resources, rather than trying to wish that away with the formation of the state,” he said. “ s o i think [this model] is a safer bet for our modern, mixed up world.”
Contact Jenna Wilson at jwilso35@nd.edu
Graduate students present research in competition
By MEGAN VALLEY news writer
n otre d ame graduate students from the c olleges of a rts and l etters, e ngineering and s cience will present their research in the final round of Threem inute Thesis (3 m T) on w ednesday night in the Jordan a uditorium in a competition to win $1,000.
e van b ryson, communications specialist for the graduate school and publicity coordinator for 3 m T n otre d ame, said the competition provided graduate students with a unique opportunity.
“ i t’s this opportunity for graduate students, in a competitive space, to describe the fantastic research they’re doing here,” b ryson said. “ i feel like this is a quality contest because i don’t think graduate students really have a public forum at n otre d ame to describe the work that they do, especially with each other and with undergrads and with people from the community. w e’re framing it as a celebration of their research.”
3 m T originated at the u niversity of Queensland in a ustralia as an academic competition for p h. d . students. i t has since spread
to more than 35 research universities in the u nited s tates, including many of n otre d ame’s peers, according to b ryson.
c ompetitors in the finals have been preparing since mid-January.
“ i t was pretty strict this year, with what was regulating entries,” b ryson said. “ you had to have passed your candidacy exams, you had to be well in your way in a p h. d .; you couldn’t be a master’s student. you had to be dissertating or, at least, working towards a dissertation. r eally, this was just a gate for people who were deep in their research and had something to share.”
n ine p h. d . students — three from each of the colleges — will be presenting in the finals, selected from over 30 presenters in the preliminary rounds.
“ i sat in on all of them and it was really fun,” b ryson said. “ p art of this experience is getting graduate students to be able to talk about their research in a way that isn’t specific to other researchers, that isn’t just a conversation they’re having with their lab, but is something you or i could understand, that anyone coming into the competition would want to
hear about because it’s set up in such a way that’s jargon-free and that’s general enough for a non-specialized audience and is also captivating.”
s outh b end m ayor p ete b uttigieg, s outh b end b rew w erks co-founder and owner d rew e legante, Trustee of the s outh b end c ommunity s chool c orporation m aritza r obles and d ean of the g raduate s chool l aura c arlson are the judges who will choose the first- and second-place winners; attendees will vote for the third-place winner. l ou n anni, n otre d ame vice president of university relations, will be the master of ceremonies.
The first-place winner will represent the u niversity at a conference in a pril.
“This really is just promoting really fascinating research that’s happening on campus that i think anyone would be interested in hearing about,” b ryson said. “The people who are presenting are fascinating individuals with diverse backgrounds. They’re intense scholars and it’s mesmerizing to listen to people who are experts.”
Contact Megan Valley at mvalley@nd.edu
Professor
Jesus armando dominguez and elizondo in bexar county district court. it alleges dominguez repeatedly sexually abused the plaintiff, listed as “John doe” in the 1980s. w hen the plaintiff asked elizondo for help dealing with dominguez’s abuse in 1983, the lawsuit alleges “elizondo began to fondle the plaintiff’s genitals, taking advantage of the same sexual liberties plaintiff complained of with father dominguez.”
in a report in the express-news, elizondo denied the allegations.
“The allegations made against me are not true and have absolutely no basis in fact,” elizondo said in the express-news report. “i deny all the claims which have been asserted against me.”
The lawyer representing the plaintiff in the lawsuit, Thomas J. henry, said elizondo’s death is “unfortunate,” mysantonio.com reported Tuesday.
“The next stage in this litigation was discovery production and the taking of depositions,” henry said. “The taking of father elizondo’s deposition could have led us to the truth regarding his actions, and his untimely death at this juncture raises even more questions. we will continue to seek and uncover the facts of this matter.”
esPn
to apra
Zoeller said in a statement that he considers the appeals court ruling to be “a qualified victory for public access and transparency, concepts my office long has supported. The public has the right to transparency and accountability when police power is being exercised,” according to the s outh bend Tribune.
according to the c ourt of a ppeals ruling, ndsp does qualify as a “public agency” under apra’s definition of the term because it exercises public functions.
“it would not be appropriate for the police d epartment, having availed itself of its statutory right to exercise these public functions, to then be able to circumvent public records requirements to which all other entities exercising these same functions are required to adhere,” the ruling stated.
The case will return to the trial courts to determine which records ndsp will be required to produce.
“ we do not, as espn requests, find that the trial court must order the police department to produce the
public documents espn sought,” the ruling stated. “ we instruct the trial court to determine which of the records the police department was required to produce under apra and then order the police department to produce only those records.”
paul browne, vice president for public affairs and communications at notre dame, said in an email that the university believes the c ourt of a ppeals went “beyond the law.”
“since the opinion is not certified or final, it does not yet have effect, and the parties cannot act on it,” he said. “ we will appeal to the i ndiana supreme c ourt.”
The appeals court ruling may have a reduced impact if i ndiana house bill 1022, a bill to change the public record requirements for private universities, is passed into law. The bill would require police departments at private colleges and universities to only release information about incidents that result in arrests or incarcerations, exempting a large portion of cases occurring on college campuses.
The bill passed i ndiana’s g eneral a ssembly last week and is now being considered by g ov. m ike pence.
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people.”
s enior Taryn g utierrez, who knew s agartz in middle school and high school, said s agartz would rearrange an already busy schedule to check in with one of her friends or family members if she thought they needed company.
“Theresa was hyper-aware of what others needed, sometimes before we even knew what we needed,” g utierrez said. “ s he was so entirely giving of her time, her wisdom and her witty charm. h er laugh was contagious and possibly the best remedy she could offer to any ailing situation.”
Junior c lare c armody said s agartz helped her transition when she transferred from s aint m ary’s to n otre d ame last year.
“ i had known Theresa since freshman year. s he didn’t care that i went to s aint m ary’s. s he was always very friendly and open with me,” she said. “a nd when i got in, she completely welcomed me with open arms.”
‘ r eady for everything’ d uring her senior year of high school, s agartz planned to attend the a ir f orce a cademy when she was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, g utierrez said. s agartz was forced to withdraw from the a cademy and instead came to n otre d ame.
“ n othing could get that girl down,” she said. “ h er faith, coupled with an unrivaled drive for life, made her one of the strongest people i knew.”
s agartz could always be counted upon for a spontaneous trip to l a f ortune
s tudent c enter or the dining halls, junior c hristine Kager said.
“ s he was also just ready for everything,” Kager said. “ e ven if she didn’t necessarily want to do something but you asked, she would be ready to go in five minutes. you didn’t question it at all. s he just wanted to spend time with you.”
Junior m aggie m c d evitt said s agartz had a love for exploring the outdoors, especially in her home state of n ew m exico.
“ s he was very adventurous. s he loved hiking, camping — she loved n ew m exico,” m c d evitt said. “ s he just thought a lbuquerque was the best place in the world.”
s chaefer said s agartz always had a witty response at the ready.
“ s he was very funny and didn’t get caught up in a lot of the typical things,” he said. “ r ight after she turned 21, she was planning to go to her ‘first f eve,’ which was h alloween week. i nstead of the usual college-aged girl h alloween outfit, she decided to wear a pizza onesie.”
‘a passion for learning’
mc d evitt said s agartz was “secretly a total genius.”
“ s he’s the kind of person that was in really hard classes — she’s the only reason i made it through chemistry freshman year — but you never knew it,” she said. “ i don’t know when she did all her work.”
Tabor said s agartz was always asking questions, about academic subjects, people’s feelings and every topic in between.
“ w hether it was baseball team stats or asking me about accounting … she would just sit and ask hundreds of questions, just to hear what we
know. a nd then she would remember it all,” she said.
a t notre d ame, s agartz served as secretary for the c ollege r epublicans and worked as a student manager in l a f ortune s tudent c enter. s he was also devoted to research projects she did on campus, Tabor said.
“ i n the final weeks, she was really dedicated to doing a research study on her disease because there wasn’t much known about it. it’s a very rare disease,” she said.
“o ne of the last things she did was participate in this study to help people learn more about it.”
s r. m ary d onnelly, s agartz’s former rector in p angborn h all, said s agartz was passionate about everything she did.
“[Theresa] was a young woman who was filled with life and energy and enthusiasm, and this spirit was contagious,” she said. “… s he was determined to do her best at all times and in all things.”
‘Unapologetically herself’
Junior heather l ennon, who lived with s agartz her freshman and sophomore year, said s agartz stayed true to her convictions in every aspect of her life.
“s he is just so unapologetically herself,” l ennon said. “s he’s 100 percent who she is — and she’s not only okay with that, but she loves that.
“ you could have a 30-second conversation with her and still feel like you knew her, just because she was so upfront and genuine.”
s chaefer said this openness made s agartz an easy person to talk to and confide in.
“s he was confident, in a very charming way, about who she was,” he said. “s he had great stories, but she was also a great listener.”
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mc d evitt said s agartz was never afraid to express herself and her beliefs.
“s he knew what she believed, and she stood up for it all the time. s he didn’t compromise,” she said. “s he wasn’t mean or aggressive about it. s he would just say, ‘This is what i believe, and this is what i think is the truth. i’m going to defend that.’”
‘This too shall pass’
mc d evitt said s agartz always wore a ring with the words “this too shall pass” — her favorite quote — inscribed in it.
“it wasn’t just that things will get better, like ‘this bad thing will pass,’” she said. “it meant even the good things are fleeting, so you have to enjoy them. They’re not going to last forever, so while they’re here be present and really enjoy them.”
s agartz lived out this mantra, especially in recent months, Tabor said.
“ s omething that has really helped me … is that when Theresa passed, she was the happiest she’s ever been,” Tabor said.“ s he was in love, she was in good places with all her friends, she had a plan for what she was going to do when she got out of college.
“s he was just so happy, and she had so much love to give. we just need to keep that happiness and love and carry it with us.”
s agartz’s bright personality brought others happiness as well, l ennon said.
“s he is the most loving, naturally beautiful, caring, kind, hilarious, best friend in the entire world. s he is just a beautiful person inside and out,” she said.
Contact Katie Galioto at kgalioto@nd.edu
mercy
con T inued from page 1
with that, but when we are, it changes everything.”
l acey said her extensive work with displaced populations in a frica, a sia and the u nited s tates taught her to seek hope in the least likely of places. s he said she was recently strolling through s outh s udan when a young man she did not recognize pulled over his car, picked her up and twirled her around, claiming that she helped him at a refugee camp in Kenya 12 years ago.
“ h e said, ‘ e verywhere i go, i ’m looking for you. i knew i would see you one more time,’” l acey said.
This particular instance showed l acey the importance of trusting g od, for in accepting h is mercy, she abandoned stress and worry.
“ i was leading a very busy life, a distracted life,” l acey said. “ i had this insight that maybe there was a little part inside me, like a pilot light, that was always attentive to g od. i t’s so affirming. i t’s so freeing.”
l acey said people should strive to learn from their mistakes and recover, rather than dwelling on flaws.
“ g od wants mercy not perfection,” l acey said. “ w hen you can laugh at your mistakes and just enjoy the exuberance of g od’s presence, your life changes. g od’s own joy begins to take root in us.”
l acey said she believes people should treat others with the same compassion g od has bestowed upon them, which motivated her to found m ercy b eyond b orders, which assists oppressed women in s outh s udan.
“ s outh s udan is at a critical point where it has never educated girls,” l acey said. “ w e are forging ways for women and girls in extreme poverty to learn, connect and lead. … w e are all kin, and that compels us to resist what is not of g od. s eparateness causes divisions in our world. g oing out and doing justice is not a burden.”
h er desire to help the helpless stems from an admiration for g od’s mercy, which grants her the agency to interact with and learn from others, l acey said.
“ r ecognition of g od’s mercy is humbling and freeing, and it connects us with others in the world,” l acey said. “ i t’s so constant and ever-present. l ike the air, we don’t pay attention to it. w e are absolutely immersed in mercy. g od is busy trying to get us to pay attention to it and to believe it.”
Contact Martha Reilly at mreilly01@saintmarys.edu
Are you proud?
The best college advice
Matt McMahon scene writer
i’m graduating in two months, and i want to leave behind some parting advice for anyone who has anywhere from just those two months to three or four whole years left in their time at college. i n my almost four years at notre dame, i’ve noticed it is very easy to fall into routines. The campus is pretty self-sufficient and there are plenty of fail-safe systems set up expressly to make sure you remain comfortable and complacent. yet these same systems very much can, and do, put potentially harmful limitations on your college experiences. but that talk is for another time; come find me in person and i’d love to have a conversation about my takes on everything from the dorms to du l ac to students’ access to s outh bend. i’ve experienced both the highs and lows of the social structures created by the university’s carefully constructed path for student life — again, come find me for my side of a fairly funny story i’m not going to get into here — and have come away with one general piece of advice. simply put: try new things. more specifically, don’t feel it is ever too late in your college career to try something for the first time, or feel that you’ve passed some initial entry point to a new experience. i n my four years, i told myself i would try at least one new thing and try to stick with it for the rest of that year. i f i still liked it after that i kept with it; if not, i moved on with, at the least, the comfort — or, in some cases, the slight discomfort — of having tried it. my freshman year i joined the student i nternational business c ouncil, and while i didn’t like the culture, i got to work on a couple real-world, creative-minded marketing projects. my sophomore year, i started writing for the s cene section of this very newspaper, and you can guess how that’s gone. Junior year, i explored a few of my interests in comedy, both in writing and performing, and am constantly trying to wedge those into the everyday. i also began my second major late that year and, as such, have dedicated my senior year’s “try something new” slot to making sure i complete it.
i am incredibly thankful i challenged myself to this “one new thing a year” rule because it was the catalyst for at least one of the most foundational activities i’ve participated in here over my four years. Through working at The observer, i met my closest friend at notre dame, and have formed many meaningful relationships with people whom i probably would have otherwise never gotten close. i n fact, hands down the three most formative, influential people on my time here i met as a result of what boils down to following a passion.
w hat i’ve taken away from this is that there are most certainly other people at this school passionate about the same things you are, and they are waiting for you to join them in exploring those passions. There are no barriers to entry — you can join at any time and with as much or as little prior experience and you will, no matter what, be not only accepted and included, but also befriended. a nd if there are barriers to entry, that’s probably a sign you don’t want to be a part of that thing. o r, on the off chance your interests aren’t represented by a group or club yet, you bet there are others out there waiting for one to be created — like, for example, the notre dame memory Team founded in 2013. w ho knows, taking that plunge and joining The observer as an inexperienced staff writer just might lead to you three years down the road starting a podcast about cereal with one of the other writers — except don’t do that exactly, ‘cause that’s my thing.
Contact Matt McMahon at mmcmaho7@nd.edu
The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
eight-year-old sofia yassini, a resident of dallas and a muslim-a merican, has recently spent many sleepless and tear-filled nights checking and rechecking the locks on her doors, convinced that president Trump would soon be sending the military to snatch her away. her fears are not unwarranted, given Trump’s chilling comments on forcing muslim citizens to wear special identification. worse, he has threatened to torture and murder the families of terrorists, seemingly for the sheer sport of it, and has given his approval to the idea of summarily executing suspected terrorists by firing squad with bullets coated in pigs’ blood.
The exploitation of fear for political gain is textbook terrorism, but the presumptive nominee of the republican party is guilty of far worse. he is a proto-fascist lunatic with no regard for moral boundaries of any sort.
but this is no longer about Trump. Truthfully, it never has been. demagoguery is only an interesting phenomenon in so far as what it represents, not for the identity that embodies its megalomania. Trump, the actor, the entertainer, is no force in and of himself; he is rather an ugly reflection of something brewing in this country.
True, the toupee may be a passing fad, but what it evinces will remain. Trump supporters existed before this election, and they will continue to exist after it has concluded. i would venture to say that nearly all of these individuals had their predispositions formed long before Trump ever arrived on stage. he did not galvanize these people towards hatred, bigotry or ignorance in June of 2015; it was embedded in their hearts long before.
w hile the existence of such reactionaries may seem anathema to our democratic principles, they have in fact always played an integral role in liberal society. The political philosopher l ord John acton once noted: “at all times sincere friends of freedom have been rare, and its triumphs have been due to minorities, that have prevailed by associating themselves with auxiliaries whose objects often differed from their own. a nd this association, which is always dangerous, has sometimes been disastrous.”
conservatism has in particular been attacked throughout its history for being plagued by the ignorant and the bigoted. This criticism is, as a matter of fact, true. but anyone who has read russell Kirk, l eo strauss or yuval l evin knows well that the conservative tradition is rich with not only intellectual thinkers, but compassionate and unprejudiced men and women striving to advance the human condition. so yes, it is true that these “friends of freedom” have had to rely on the ignorant and prejudiced to advance themselves electorally through the years, but are we truly fool enough to believe that the progressive and libertarian movements are ripe with enlightened supporters down to the last voter? it is the raw fact of politics that all ideological movements are buttressed in part by the masses of the ignorant. This is certainly proven by the well-documented fact that Trump also pulls substantial support from self-identified liberals and independents. There is no doubt in my mind that the republican party has stumbled, but for all my considerable reservations with their policy stances, i refuse to charge their bedrock philosophy with some sort of inherent bigotry or racism. rather, the gop has made the fundamental error of selling this
philosophy, the soul of their movement, for electoral gain. They, in effect, fed the beast and lost their hand in the process. in willingly stoking the anger and resentment of those who feel suspicious of our growing multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism, the gop has unleashed a monster they can no longer control. acton’s partnership was meant to be an unhappy marriage of convenience. The republican party has turned this into an abusive relationship of dependency.
Those who belong to the progressive side of the spectrum are not free of blame either. “Trumpic” demagoguery is as much a result of poor decisions of progressive “friends of freedom” as of those on the right. for how long did the progressive movement believe that they could utilize the fundamentally undemocratic judicial system to ram blanket liberal policies down the throats of 300 million a mericans? l eaving the question of moral weight aside, supreme court decisions such as obergefell v. hodges drastically altered the social and cultural customs of millions of conservative a mericans, men and women who felt their voices ripped from them by actors they have no control over. w hen politically-induced change becomes such a distant and elitist process that the average voter feels he no longer has any say in his country’s trajectory, resentment begins to percolate from the ground up. Trump now embodies this resentment. by sidestepping the organic and glacial process of acceptance that gay communities were already experiencing state-by-state, the progressive movement has threatened their judicial victories. beyond this, Trump represents a reactionary menace to the hard-earned progressive successes of not only lgbTQ groups, but racial and religious minorities as well.
some on the progressive side celebrate the presumptive nomination of Trump as the heralding of the end of the conservative movement. personally, i think this is foolishness. donald Trump will be a far more challenging opponent for hillary clinton than many of us are willing to admit. clinton beats Trump by a mere 6 percent in real clear’s national head-to-head, and this quite frankly understates Trump’s strengths in this election. Turnout, a far greater indicator of electoral success than early head-to-head polling, has been record-breaking this primary season for republicans and dismal for democrats. a nd even if Trump does not manage to win, his followers and his movement will remain. a Trump nomination will guarantee that this type of political demagoguery continues at all levels of government in the future. it is time for all friends of freedom, progressive, conservative and libertarian alike, to begin taking this problem seriously. w hile i do not pretend to have the answer, all i can advise at present is to think of sofia yassini and ask yourself: a re you proud of the a merica that we have created?
Patrick Kearney is a senior in St. Edward’s Hall majoring in political science. BridgeND is a bipartisan student organization that brings students from across the political spectrum together in discussions concerning public policy issues. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of BridgeND. Contact BridgeND at bridgend@nd.edu or follow them on Twitter @bridge_ND
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Patrick Kearney bridging the gap
Where do you come from?
it is a truth universally acknowledged not only that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife, but also that the united states of a merica is the melting pot of the world. but has anyone heard of the tossed salad metaphor? a merica as a tossed salad examines a merica as a place where many different cultures live together, but are not melted into each other. worlds collide but do not lose the parts that are integral to their being. we live next to each other, but not necessarily as one.
This is becoming clearer as we become a more diverse country. a s we encounter different religious traditions, different cultural traditions, we have to learn to understand. it means we have people like my sisters and i, third-culture kids, who have grown up in one place, with the values of another and trying to understand how both can operate under the same circumstances.
i am an immigrant from the united Kingdom. i speak the same language as many a mericans, i have been very privileged to go to catholic elementary and high schools (and obviously notre dame). i have never been afraid to walk around at night in my neighborhood, i have never been mistreated because of the color of my skin and i have not suffered in the ways that other immigrants have suffered.
but there are differences, some subtle, some not, that mark all those whose parents hail from another country.
i remember the first day i found out i wasn’t a merican. i was bitterly disappointed. i had gotten into
leTTer To The edITor
“l ily, what is your real name?,” a girl in my class asked me. i looked up from my laptop screen, shocked. i believed i did a good job to hide my identity as an international student from china. This question just punched me in my face, as if all my work was in vain. w hen i do the usual notre dame introduction, i would intentionally forget to mention my hometown. This amnesia started second semester freshman year, as the difference of how people treated me before and after they knew i was not from the united state was so drastic that it hurt my feelings. i have done experiments to assure myself of this. if i tell someone i am from beijing the first time we meet, then the conversation usually lasts no more than five minutes. however, if i tell them after we have already become good friends, the friendship could usually continue. so the problem is not me being unable to make friends, but rather the time i choose to answer the simple question: “w here are you from?”
one of my friends has tried to persuade me many times that i should use my real name, as it makes me different. The thing is, i want to be the opposite of different. i miss being called Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu is a verb from the bible meaning “inform” and “tell.” more importantly, Xiaoyu can only be used by g od. my parents want me to spread god’s word to the world, and finish whatever mission god plans me to do. apparently, Xiaoyu is not a common english name,
a big argument at school after my classmates found out i wasn’t born here, and therefore could not be a merican. i felt hurt by this. To my little second-grade mind, it did not make sense why i had to be born here to be an a merican. To all intents and purposes, i identified as an a merican.
The idea of nationality had never crossed my mind. i had lived here since i was two and a half and whatever failings my british parents had, had not transferred to me. That night, however, my parents confirmed that i in fact was not a merican. a nd i cried.
i look back on it now, and it may have been a slight overreaction — i was a very emotional child. it is a beautiful thing to be from a different country, to have different views on the world.
but at the same time, there is a wonderful sense of belonging to live in the country your passport is issued by. i grew up without the many cousins, aunts and uncles living nearby as my friends did. i had amazing friends, and in many ways, we were the same. but they didn’t have british parents, they didn’t say funny words, they didn’t watch bananas in pajamas or read hairy maclary from donaldson’s dairy.
a simple piece of paper was all it took for me to feel different.
This might seem foolish. This might seem ridiculous to the many people who have lived in this country for so long. but think about it. your nationality has never been questioned. you have never been asked why your british father is working for an a merican company at customs. your right to be here has never been asked of you. have i gotten used to being english in a merica? absolutely. i love a merica. i’m probably more supportive of a merica than a lot of my a merican friends. part of it may be because i’m an idealist, but also because i
my real name
and i understand that most english-speaking people have trouble pronouncing it, so i hide it from others, like hiding a dirty secret.
don’t get me wrong, i do like being kindly asked, “w here are you from?” it allows me to tell my friends all the amazing things about beijing, and about china, where i am really proud to be from. i do like how my friends curiously ask me, “w hat is your chinese name?,” before trying so hard to pronounce it. i do like hearing “it’s a cool name, i like it” after i have told people the story of my name. w hat i am afraid of, however, is the interrogate: “w hat is your real name?”
i believe that a real friend would not be scared away by my hometown or my accent. however, the thought that if i told my friends that i am chinese the first time i met them, we might have missed the opportunity to be friends makes me sad. most of the time, i do not want to endanger a potential friendship, so i choose to keep my mouth shut.
not talking does not mean not thinking. i am trying very hard to figure out the answer to the question: how do i want others to address me, as l ily or as Xiaoyu? i have had the a merican name “l ily” since i was six, and my austrian and german friends call me l ily, so i relate myself to it. on the other hand, i have been called Xiaoyu all my life. i do not know which one defines me, or maybe i am both. having lived at notre dame for almost two years, i am definitely changed. i become
have seen the way that a merica has changed a lot since i was little. but i’m still not a merican. my little green card still reminds me every day that i’m not.
maybe one day i will become an a merican (i have one friend who made a bargain with me for my citizenship, we’ll see if she holds her end up).
but i still question whether i feel a merican. a nd i think i would belittle the citizenship process, if i just chose to be a merican because i could be.
The question, “w here are you from?,” still bugs me a little. i prefer, “w here do you live?” my parents think we are too a merican. i still feel too english.
The whole point is that we all came from different places. we all arrived in this great country differently, and whether we are the tomatoes, the lettuce or the cucumber, we all have a place here. finding that place is difficult, and in the current recent election, it’s making it more and more difficult for immigrants to feel included.
if i felt difficulty fitting in, for silly reasons, then other immigrants, who face real difficulties, must feel like complete outsiders.
we’re all different and that’s great. That’s what makes a merica so beautiful. it’s part of the reason that people come to this country, because you don’t have to be from here to be a merican.
you can become a merican. in a way that i think is the best part of this place.
Kitty Baker is a senior majoring in the program of liberal studies and film, television and theatre. She is a proud Cavanaughty. She can be reached at cbaker7@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
more and more l ily, but i am still Xiaoyu. This struggle of name and identity has taken place the moment i arrived in the united states, and is going to continue for a while. hopefully the enlightened moment can come soon, as ralph ellison says in invisible man: “w hen i discover who i am, i’ll be free.”
a s a chinese student who was expecting huge culture shock and serious homesickness, i am grateful to meet so many wonderful friends at notre dame. one time, i was with a group of friends, and everyone was joking that i am a spy from china. a girl whispered to me asking: “l ily, are we being annoying for making fun of you or you are okay with it?” i told her i was fine and i found the joke funny as well (i am not a spy but just an ordinary student). even today, i am still thankful for her kindness and understanding.
it is not hard to distinguish what question should be asked and what should not. if the question is coming from kindness and curiosity, then it is fine. if a question is from something else, for example, a negative stereotype impression of a group of people, then i would suggest not to ask. The most important thing to keep in mind is that no matter where we are from or what we are called, we are all irish in this loving and accepting notre dame community.
Kitty Baker british i nvasion
Lily (Xiaoyu) Yu sophomore
Happy Birthday: look at all sides of a situation before you make a personal or professional move. change is needed, but your motives must be right and your strategy securely in place before you proceed. if you hide from the truth or neglect to share your feelings, you should limit what you can accomplish. precision, detail and honesty will come first. your numbers are 5, 17, 22, 26, 30, 37, 45.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): live in the moment, but be reflective about what transpires around you. a nonjudgmental attitude will give you greater insight into yourself as well as those around you. make a commitment to be objective and positive.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): share your thoughts, feelings and intentions, and you will be met with interesting responses that will help you find the best solutions. enlist the help of those who have the skills you need to reach your goal.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): a contemplative attitude will be in your best interest. watch and you will be able to determine what’s required of you in order to avoid any misunderstandings. stay in control by being informed so that you can make a practical decision.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): embrace the unknown, and you will expand your mind and your interests. share your thoughts with someone who comes from a different background or educational position, and you will obtain valuable information. love and romance are featured.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): you need a little excitement in your life. Try something new or engage in a situation that challenges you mentally and physically, and you will come out the victor. Travel, learning and delving into alternative lifestyles are favored.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): don’t leave anything to chance. detail and precision will be important if you don’t want to suffer a loss. Keep your emotions in check and avoid a dispute with anyone who is acting unreasonably.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): get involved. being an onlooker will not help you advance. change your routine or find a way to stand out and be noticed. don’t be afraid to speak your mind or bring about the changes that will open up controversial discussions.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Take charge and plan to get a lot done. delve into projects that excite you and spend time with people you find inspiring. romance should be high on your list as a motivation to explore different options and lifestyles.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): you will be questioned if you aren’t detailed and precise. an explicit account of a situation that has the potential to disrupt your life should be dealt with head-on if you expect to come out on top.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take the road less traveled and you will find something that will change your life. a philosophical discovery will help you move in a direction that will ease your stress and satisfy your spiritual, physical and emotional needs.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): use ingenuity and muscle and you will get what you want. it’s up to you to take action and make things happen. express your feelings, but be willing to compromise. a promise someone makes will be honored. pitch in and help.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Keep the peace if you want to get anything done today. don’t give in to trivial annoyances or waste time with others’ complaints. do your own thing and steer clear of any interference or arguments. focus on love and personal perfection.
Birthday Baby: you are proactive, innovative and engaging. you are perceptive, sensitive and persuasive
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LSU was a mistake for Simmons
Ryan Klaus sports writer
since its inception in 2006, college basketball’s contentious one-and-done rule has consistently and deservedly been criticized. year in and year out, the rule highlights the laughably-conspicuous hypocrisy of an organization that, on the surface, stands for a balanced intersection of academics and athletics, but annually makes a significant portion of money on games headlined by players that have no interest in graduating and are only part of the process because of a one-year obligation.
The most recognizable athlete who became a part of the hypocrisy in this year’s freshman class is b en simmons, who has long been the presumed number one overall pick in June’s nba d raft.
a s has been extensively analyzed, simmons’ pit stop in college, which concluded with lsu’s blowout loss to Texas a & m over the weekend, was, in many ways, an unmitigated disaster. a fter choosing to play his one year at lsu, simmons was a part of an underwhelming Tigers team that failed to meet any of the steep postseason expectations it was assigned. w hile simmons’ personal numbers were undeniably impressive, he has persistently been scrutinized for lacking competitiveness and character. a dditionally, he was suspended late in the season and taken off the prestigious wooden award finalist list due to his inability to maintain a 2.0 gpa
w hat the simmons disaster suggests in the scope of all college basketball is two things: that the ncaa’s oneand-done rule is obviously ridiculous, and that s immons’ and lsu’s failures could be bad for parity in the sport in the future.
The first point is almost not worth arguing because it would be naïve to think the one-and-done rule will be abolished anytime soon, even though this year’s tournament, which will feature more senior stars than in recent history, might be the optimum backdrop for
contending that the ncaa could survive losing the entertainment and skill of its one-and-done players. m any fans of the sport that recognize its hypocrisy are likely to never universally support a rule change if only because of their desire to not watch the sport lose several entertaining players.
w ith regard to parity in the sport, it would not be surprising if the disastrous season of simmons and lsu influences the college choices of oneand-done players in future recruiting classes. i n choosing lsu, simmons strayed from the norm of most top recruits that annually choose to play for blue-blood programs like d uke, Kansas, north c arolina and Kentucky.
p rospective recruits looking at simmons’ experience at lsu will undeniably have a hard time identifying benefits of deviating from past patterns in their college decision processes. i n addition to the fact that simmons will be sitting on his couch during the entirety of the upcoming ncaa tournament, many scouts have said his weaknesses remain the same after a year of being coached by lsu coach Johnny Jones, who is far less esteemed when it comes to developing players than the highly-regarded mainstay coaches in the sport.
it is worth noting that simmons’ unique college choice was heavily impacted by the fact that his godfather was an assistant coach for lsu still, it is certainly foreseeable that his success as a one-and-done player at a nontraditional basketball school could have impacted the variance of the college decisions of top recruits in future years and, in turn, the overall parity of college basketball. w hile this parity has been prevalent to unprecedented levels in this year’s regular season, it may not actually be visible in the number of teams winning championships in the coming years.
Contact Ryan Klaus at rklaus1@nd.edu
The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
belles pick up first win in h ilton head
By ELIZABETH GREASON sports writer
saint mary’s had a busy and successful spring break trip to hilton head, south carolina, this past week, picking up its first win of the year against elms.
The belles (1-2) also tallied two losses during the week, falling to both shenandoah and bryn mawr.
belles head coach amy long stated before the hilton head trip that her goal was for the team to return home with at least one win from their three games. This is a goal that the belles were able to achieve in their 15-8 victory over the blazers (1-2), which was their second of the trip’s three games. saint mary’s fell to the hornets (2-5) by a score of 13-5 in its first game of the season and lost a tight contest, 11-10, to the owls (2-0). despite the losses, long said she feels that the trip was a very good one.
“our trip was a great success, not because we earned a win, but because we improved greatly throughout the week,” long said.
“The coaching staff observed numerous improvements across the field from the first game to our final game in hilton head.
“obviously, we would have liked to finish the job in the bryn mawr game and earn a second win, but we learned a lot about
swImmInG & dIvInG
playing in a very close game and the adjustments we need to make for our next one-goal or overtime game. losing a hard fought game by a single goal was difficult, but i expect the lessons learned from this experience to only help us as we prepare for our conference play in april.”
The belles’ offense lived up to long’s high expectations, she said, with numerous players stepping up throughout the three-day trip. in the belles’ lone win, five different players scored goals. freshman midfielder Kate Kelly had an especially strong start to her collegiate career, scoring five goals against elms, and scoring in each of the belles’ other games. long said she was particularly pleased with her offense’s ability to work together.
“our team worked well together throughout the course of the trip,” long said. “our team cohesiveness, both on and off the field, is a strength for us and something that developed even more over the course of our trip. our offense did a great job working as a unit and all contributing to create openings for themselves and their teammates. we had 10 different players produce a goal or assist during our three-game trip.”
looking forward, long said she believes a key to earning more wins will be working on
transitions, shot placement and cleaning up some basics, such as ground-ball pickups. according to long, putting in this effort is what the season is going to revolve around as it moves forward.
“we have more than hope for a great season,” long said. “our team motto this year is ‘mental Toughness, extra effort,’ and we know by staying mentally tough and putting extra effort into everything we do, we will have our best season yet. it is not a hope, it is an expectation for this year.” in its next game, saint mary’s will head to concordia-chicago, a team in its first season. while this can be difficult to prepare for, long said she has made sure her team is as informed as possible on its opponents.
“i have been able to scout their team through our video exchange and will provide our team with a few key points from what i saw,” long said. “we will prepare for this game, like any other game, by focusing on what we can control, which is how we play. i expect us to come out and play hard each minute of the game, which can only lead to a great result.”
The belles will take on the cougars on wednesday at 6 p.m. at concordia stadium.
Contact Elizabeth Greason at egreason@nd.edu
Three divers qualify for ncaa championships
Observer Staff Report
notre dame competed in the Zone c ncaa qualifier meet in west lafayette, indiana, this past week and saw three divers from the women’s squad qualify for the ncaa championships. both the men and women entered competitors in the onemeter, three-meter and platform events. in each event, the top 18 finishers in the preliminary round advanced to the finals, with their scores carrying over, and had the opportunity to qualify for the ncaa championships, which will be held in atlanta this weekend and next.
on Thursday, the women’s onemeter and men’s three-meter events were held. The women’s side put forth a strong showing, with seniors lindsey streepey and emma gaboury earning automatic bids to compete in the event at the ncaa championships, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively. although gaboury sat just outside qualification in 13th place after the
preliminary round, both she and streepey had improved to be within the automatic qualifying placements by the end of the round, as streepey’s final dives improved her placement from eighth to sixth. gaboury surged from 13th to seventh place with her final dives. for the men’s team, junior James lichtenstein just missed out on advancing into the finals in the men’s three-meter competition, finishing 19th.
The next day, the women’s squad made program history by qualifying a third diver for the ncaa championships. gaboury and sophomore annie crea both earned automatic bids in the three-meter competition. following the morning preliminary round where she placed eighth, gaboury improved to fourth place in the afternoon final round, while crea, who was 17th after the morning, capped off the day with an impressive showing, jumping to sixth place to earn her spot in the championships.
The meet concluded saturday, with both teams competing
in the platform event. on the men’s side, lichtenstein broke the school record in the event. as the only entrant for the irish, lichtenstein stood in ninth place after the preliminary round with a score of 305.90 and advanced to the finals, where he stayed in ninth place but improved his overall score to a total of 603.05. both dives surpassed nick nemetz’s previous school record tally of 294.25, scored at the 2014 iowa hawkeye invitational meet. however, lichtenstein just missed the automatic qualifying mark, as only the top eight finishers advanced to the ncaa championships. on the women’s side, crea and gaboury failed to advance to the finals by placing 19th and 20th, respectively, while streepey advanced to the finals but did not qualify for the championship in the event, due to her 13th-place finish. crea, gaboury and streepey will compete in the ncaa championships starting on Thursday at the georgia Tech campus recreation center.
however, after a scoreless first overtime period, it was the cardinals who scored the winning goal just nine seconds into the second overtime session, as senior midfielder Kaylin morissette, who dominated the irish on the draw by notching up nine draw controls, assisted senior midfielder Kelli gerding to end the game.
irish head coach christine halfpenny said she believes her team learned from their first defeat of the season.
“credit to the team, i think we learned a lot from the loss,” halfpenny said. “we didn’t really belabor it at all. we were able to look at it and say that we played a really good team in l ouisville, we battled, and we found a way to give ourselves extra time, and at the end of the day, this is lacrosse, and l ouisville made the final play of the game and we just missed.
“so we really turned around quickly to getting back to doing what we do. a nd quite honestly, i think we can say we were grateful for that l ouisville game. maybe not for the loss, but for getting our offense moving again. it got us moving a little bit instead of falling into a trap against a sagged pressure defense that continues to switch off of our players. we recognized that we didn’t have to adjust what we were doing, we just had to keep doing what we’re doing.”
The irish followed the defeat
with two games in two days in v irginia. on march 8, the irish were led by junior attack grace muller, as her four goals off the bench pushed the irish to a 1910 victory over v irginia Tech. The irish pulled away in the second half, turning a 7-5 lead at the break into a convincing victory.
halfpenny’s squad had no difficulty playing l iberty the very next day, as the irish tied a school record for goals scored in a single game with a commanding 25-2 victory that also marked the 200th win in the history of the program. graduate student defender barbara sullivan had a strong performance, causing five turnovers to break the notre dame career record of 122. halfpenny said sullivan’s ability to generate turnovers in a game where notre dame controlled possession was a testament to her ability.
“we controlled the ball a lot, but when l iberty tried to get on that break, she had five caused turnovers,” halfpenny said.
“a nd there were some [one-onone] chances that she took. i think it’s just barbara, her feeling confident enough with the group behind her, the offense controlling the ball and the depth that we play with that allows her to play with this free style and get all these caused turnovers.”
following the road trip to v irginia, the irish returned home sunday to face no. 7 princeton. The irish built up a 6-3 lead, but the Tigers began to fight their way back into the
mcon T inued from page 16
par in the rain-shortened tournament.
Kubinski said the i rish’s improvement could be attributed to multiple factors.
“our improvement from auburn to Texas was probably a combination of things, the largest of which were being able to continue right on through playing and the turf conditions in Texas being much more playable,” Kubinski said.
rushton and a lbin tied at 14th place individually at threeunder par, once again leading the way for notre dame.
Kubinski said he was particular impressed with a lbin’s play.
“ben’s play has been very, very solid this semester,” Kubinski said. “h is confidence keeps growing with each event. most impressive to me is his ability to self evaluate, always looking for ways to improve, in a positive way. h is efforts will definitely motivate his
game with two quick goals with just over seven minutes left in the half. however, two irish goals before halftime and four afterwards set the teams apart. a lthough princeton would close back in, the notre dame was still able to hold on for the win, 16-11.
halfpenny said her team’s run on either side of halftime decided the game.
“w inning by a total of five, that 6-0 run was critical,” halfpenny said. “again, that came down to some great draw work from barbara and [junior midfielder] casey pearsall. That combo, one-two punch is huge. i’m really proud of their efforts, just battling for those ground balls.”
sullivan followed her performance against l iberty by tying a school record, which she had tied earlier in the season against stanford, with seven caused turnovers. sullivan said the unit around her helps her play a more aggressive style of defense.
“i think it’s credit to our entire defensive unit,” sullivan said. “They let me take some of those risks that i wouldn’t be able to take if i didn’t know that every single defender behind me would have my back if i missed. so that confidence and the belief in what’s behind me leads me to be able to go for those checks.” notre dame will next be in action saturday at 2 p.m., when v irginia comes to a rlotta stadium.
Contact Daniel O’Boyle at doboyle1@nd.edu
classmates to push forward with scores, just as [freshman] m iguel [ delgado] pushed ben last semester.”
The i rish hope to carry over their momentum from the border olympics as they head to their next tournament — the c lemson i nvitational — at The c liffs at Keowee falls course in salem, south carolina on april 1 - 3.
Kubinski said his team will look to continue to build on their previous performances in south carolina.
“c lemson’s tournament will offer us an opportunity to build on that 283 in Texas,” Kubinski said. “The goal will be to get four, and then five, competitive scores each round, building on the one, two or three we’d see earlier in the season. w ith our juniors now providing sound leadership and our freshmen understanding what it takes, our upside is very high moving forward.”
Contact Dominic Iannelli at riannell@nd.edu
CAITLYN JORDAN | The Observer Freshman goalie Samantha Giacolone looks to clear the ball during Notre Dame’s 14-4 win over Colorado on Feb. 26.
Irish extend winning streak to 17 games
Observer Staff Report
n o. 19 n otre d ame continued to roll over spring break, winning all nine contests to extend its winning streak to 17 games.
a t the f lorida g ulf c oast s pring b reak c lassic on m arch 5 and 6, the i rish (213, 3-0 acc ) tallied four wins for a weekend sweep. o n the first day of the invitational, the i rish squeaked by s tony b rook, 4-3, before comfortably defeating f lorida g ulf c oast, 6-1. i n the game against the s eawolves (5-11), the i rish trailed for most of the game, but a three-run seventh inning helped n otre d ame stave off the upset attempt.
The next day, n otre d ame outscored its opponents by a combined score of 14-1
baseball
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felt so much better about our club because of the manner in which we competed and the way in which we played down there.” a lthough the team walked away from the louisville series winless, the irish received a couple of outstanding performances
en route to a victory over b all s tate and a second win against s tony b rook. f reshman second baseman a li wester had five hits and scored four runs on the day to lead the i rish. i n addition to several other strong offensive performances, senior a llie r hodes and junior r achel nasland turned in solid games on the mound. r hodes pitched six shutout innings against the s eawolves and gave up only two hits, while nasland tallied six strikeouts against the c ardinals (12-14) in six innings pitched.
Three days later, on m arch 9, the team traveled to m iami to take on f lorida i nternational in a pair of games. The i rish emerged victorious against the p anthers (17-10, 3-0 c onference usa ) in the first game by a score of 17-8. s enior
from senior first baseman Zak Kutsulis and sophomore left hander sean guenther. Kutsulis became the first notre dame player to hit for the cycle since 2000, going 4-for-5 from the plate in the first game friday, while guenther pitched 7 2/3 innings saturday, surrendering just a single run on six hits.
“i think Zak, from beginning to end ... has been probably our
rowInG | oaK ridge inviTaTional
nd collects four first place finishes
Observer Staff Report
no. 17 notre dame won four races and finished as the runner-up 10 times over the course of 17 races at the o ak r idge i nvitational this past weekend.
The regatta was hosted by no. 20 l ouisville in oak r idge, Tennessee, at melton l ake rowing venue, and featured some of the nation’s top programs, including the c ardinals, no. 4 v irginia and no. 11 m ichigan.
notre dame jumped out to a strong start, picking up two wins and two runner-up finishes in the morning session of the first day. The i rish earned the two wins over l ouisville, m innesota and west v irginia with their 2nd varsity eight and 3rd varsity four boats. i n the afternoon session, notre dame competed against v irginia, Kansas and m ichigan state and picked up four second-place finishes in its five races.
day two of the regatta saw the i rish put forth a similar
catcher c asey a fricano led the i rish with four rbi s in the game, but the whole team was involved in the scoring as wester added three rbi s and freshman third baseman m elissa r ochford drove in another four.
n otre d ame’s bats were not as active in the second game against f lorida i nternational, but the i rish rode wester’s four-hit performance to a 6-3 win.
The i rish finished their road trip with a three-game series against v irginia in c harlottesville, v irginia, this past weekend. n otre d ame took the first game, 9-2, with a scoreline dominated by r hodes’ seven-inning, onerun performance. w ith two wins over the c avaliers (8-18, 0-3 acc ) this past weekend, r hodes improved to 10-2 on
most consistent bat,” aoki said. “ … Zak has really matured a lot as a hitter and understanding his swing and understanding the things that he needs to do to be successful.
“ … i think [guenther’s] done a really good job making that transition from the bullpen to starter. i think he just has to continue to rely on his preparation and continue to just compete pitch by
the season.
The team built off its early momentum in the second game, as r ochford launched a two-run homer in the top of the first inning to give n otre d ame a 2-0 lead from the get-go. The c avaliers did not give up, and a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning brought v irginia to within one run at 4-3. The i rish put the game away in the seventh inning, however, with sophomore shortstop m organ r eed knocking in senior first baseman m icaela a rizmendi on an rbi double, as the i rish went on to win, 7-3.
Then on s unday, the i rish closed out their series against the c avaliers with a commanding 16-3 win. The 16run output represented their second largest of the season
pitch and try to execute the very best pitches that he can.” aoki said senior left hander michael herne will take the mound when the irish step onto their home turf for the first time this season wednesday against the rockets (2-13-1). hearne has thrown 12 innings this year over two starts and one other appearance, but has yet to record a decision this season.
and allowed the i rish to extend their winning streak to 17 games.
To complement r hodes’ strong pitching over the break, r ochford was awarded acc p layer of the week on m onday. d uring n otre d ame’s five wins over f lorida i nternational and v irginia, r ochford had at least one hit in each contest and boasted a batting average of .444 to go along with a team-high 10 rbi s.
r ochford and junior cocaptain Karley wester are the only n otre d ame players to have won the award as freshmen.
The i rish will put their winning streak on the line when they play their home opener against b owling g reen on Thursday at 5 p.m. at m elissa c ook s tadium.
“our goal [ wednesday] is to play, basically, as well as we can play,” aoki said. “That’s the only thing that i’m going to get myself concerned with.”
The irish and rockets are set to get underway at 6:05 p.m. wednesday at frank eck stadium.
Contact Zach Klonsinski at zklonsin@nd.edu
performance, as they picked up two more wins with their 3rd varsity eight and 3rd varsity four and added another four runner-up finishes.
The 3rd varsity eight team — consisting of seniors megan mcKeon and mairead d unne, junior Kate Trankina, sophomores stephanie d ubois, l auren matchett and l auren mcKee, freshmen Katie w iedenhoft and niijor may and junior coxswain e rin c oscia — defeated Kansas head to head with a time of 7:07.64. i n the 3rd varsity four race, notre dame again topped the Jayhawks, as the team of sophomore l auren s aunee, freshmen molly p ierce, evelyn mcmanus and Kelly fischer and junior coxswain s amantha hedrick finished their race in 7:49.89, lowering their time from s aturday morning’s session.
notre dame now has two weeks of training ahead of it before heading off to Town l ake, Texas, for the l onghorn i nvitational on march 25 and 26.
paid a dverT isemen T
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contention for the job.
“ we’ve got really three outstanding quarterbacks, and obviously de shone Kizer, malik Zaire are easy names to throw around, but we really like brandon w imbush, as well, and brandon will get an opportunity to compete,” Kelly said.
notre dame had planned to redshirt w imbush last season
before Zaire’s season-ending ankle injury s ept. 12 at v irginia, and while it may still be a possibility for 2016, he’ll compete for the starting job in a battle that might not be truly resolved by the season opener.
“i f we had a tape recorder on our meeting, it would be a consensus that we’d love to be able to come out of the spring with a no. 1 quarterback,” Kelly said.
“but we know that the nature of the guys that we have here and the guys that are competing are probably not going to
let that happen.
“ … we don’t see it happening that way. we’ve got a feeling that this thing is going to be so closely contested that it’s going to take us some time to figure out, if we ever get to that, that we clearly have a no. 1.”
Kelly said Zaire, who opened last year at the starter, is fully cleared for practice.
“no [limitations], none,” Kelly said. “it’s been full for him. he’s been — his numbers were really good, too. i mean, even with the ankle, he didn’t
back off from any of the testing. we gave him an opportunity not to do some of the testing, and he didn’t want anything to do with that.”
other competitions
Quarterback is far from the only position Kelly said he expects to see battles during spring practice, though, with the i rish looking to replace seven offensive and six defensive starters ahead of the 2016 season.
The most glaring openings might be at linebacker, where captains Jaylon smith and Joe s chmidt held down starting spots last season. Kelly said junior nyles morgan, a highlyrated recruit who sat behind s chmidt on the depth chart the last two seasons, enters the spring as the favorite for the middle linebacker job.
“i think really for nyles, for him, i think it’s going to be a great spring,” Kelly said. “he’s got nobody in front of him, and i think that’s going to help him dramatically. There’s no Joe s chmidt in front of him, and as much as we loved having Joe s chmidt here and as much as we’ll miss him, it’s going to help nyles not to have Joe s chmidt here because now he can just go and play and not have a wall in front of him.”
Kelly said sophomore Josh barajas, who redshirted the 2015 season, figures to be a player at either open spot, while sophomore a smar bilal is also in the conversation at linebacker. freshman defensive lineman daelin hayes, one of five early enrollees, might be
cross-trained at outside linebacker, he added.
The cornerback battle between senior c ole luke, junior nick watkins and sophomore shaun c rawford was one that interested Kelly, as well as the competition for slots on the offensive line, where senior hunter bivin, junior a lex bars, junior s am mustipher and sophomore Tristen hoge figure to compete for three open slots.
Injury updates
s enior running back Tarean folston, who missed nearly the entire 2015 season with a torn acl , isn’t yet cleared for full practices yet but is getting workouts in, Kelly said.
“he’s doing everything with us,” Kelly said. “he’s [partially cleared], but he had surgery done on [ s ept. 5]. he’s healed, it’s strength and it’s really volume for him, but he’s in all of our drill work. i suspect that he’ll do quite a bit with us.” folston and Zaire highlighted Kelly’s long list of injury updates Tuesday. o ther notables included two linebackers — junior greer martini and sophomore Te’von c oney — who will miss spring practice, as well as hayes and senior cornerback devin butler, who will be limited during spring.
bars, who started twice on the offensive line last season, is partially cleared but nearing a return to full practice, according to Kelly, while sophomore receiver e quanimeous st. brown is fully cleared.
Contact Alex Carson at acarson1@nd.edu
Kelly opens up quarterback competition
By ALEX CARSON
a ssistant managing e ditor
w hen n otre d ame opened spring practice w ednesday, most expected the quarterback battle would dominate the headlines until the season opener at Texas on s ept. 3.
“ i f there is one kind of underlying fact about this spring, all eyes would be on the quarterback position,” i rish head coach b rian Kelly said. “ i think that’s an understatement.”
b ut while most thought Kelly would be considering two quarterbacks for the starting role, he put an end to that thought at his first press conference of the year Tuesday: n otre d ame’s competition will feature three players, with sophomore b randon w imbush joining senior m alik Zaire and junior d e s hone Kizer in
men’s GolF | Tiger inviTaTional, border olympics
rushton shines over spring break
By DOMINIC IANNELLI sports writer
n otre d ame competed in two tournaments over spring break, the Tiger i nvitational at the g rand n ational l ake c ourse in o pelika, a labama, from m arch 6 - 8 and the b order o lympics at the l aredo c ountry c lub in l aredo, Texas, on m arch 11 and 12.
i n the Tiger i nvitational, the i rish finished 15th in a field of 18 teams. h owever, the team had a strong performance from junior captain m atthew r ushton, who finished in 11th place individually with score of oneover par. f reshman b en a lbin also finished in the top half of the field, earning a tie for 38th place with a score of nine-over par.
i rish head coach Jim Kubinski said r ushton’s big weekend was important for both his and the team’s continued development.
“ m att has stepped up both through his play on the course and off the course
with his mentoring of our younger players,” Kubinski said. “ h is impact is an important part of our team’s growth.”
w hile a 15th-place finish was not the goal for the i rish, Kubinski said a possible explanation for the team’s higher scores could be the playing conditions in the s outh.
“ o ne of the things our players have traditionally been challenged by is the thin, often muddy, dormant b ermuda grass, which is common around the greens this time of year in the s outheast, that we encountered at a uburn,” Kubinski said. “ i t’s an area to work on for most every player, especially those who grew up playing on more n orthern grasses. o ur players do typically improve in this area.”
a t the b order o lympics this past weekend, the i rish rebounded with a top-10 finish in another 18-team field and a final score of three-over
baseball Kutsulis hits for cycle in l ouisville
By ZACH KLONSINSKI a ssistant managing e ditor
notre d ame opens its home slate wednesday evening against Toledo, looking to crawl back into the win column after being swept by no. 4 l ouisville on the road last weekend.
The i rish (6-8, 0-3 acc ) hung right with the c ardinals (14-2, 3-0 acc ) in the first and last matchups in the three-game series to conclude spring break. notre d ame lost the first game of f riday’s doubleheader, 4-3, on a walkoff home run by l ouisville in the bottom of the 11th inning and then fell 1-0 in s aturday’s series finale. Those results sandwiched an 8-2 loss in the second game f riday.
The i rish split its four games at the usa b aseball-i rish c lassic over the first weekend of spring break, which i rish head coach m ik a oki called a “little bit of a disappointment.” a oki noted his squad
finished the c lassic on a high note though, as freshman right hander m att v ierling hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat n iagara, 6-5. v ierling, the designated hitter for the i rish the first nine innings, took to the mound in the 10th and didn’t allow a hit while allowing one walk.
d espite ending the c lassic with the win, a oki said he was apprehensive entering the l ouisville series.
“a ll week long, i was concerned and worrying about our team and where we were at, even though we had finished on such a high note, and it was just the way we were playing,” a oki said. “i thought we looked a little uninspired and there was something missing. Then you go to l ouisville and lose three difficult games … to open the acc at 0-3, which is always a tough way, but this week, i think i’ve
lacrosse |
Irish suffer first defeat of the year against Cardinals
By DANIEL O’BOYLE sports writer
no. 5 notre dame suffered its first loss of the season over the break but was able to bounce back with three straight wins.
The i rish (8-1, 2-1 acc ) opened the break ranked fourth in the nation and traveled to no. 6 l ouisville. The i rish struck first with two early goals. a lthough the cardinals (7-1, 2-1) quickly tied up the score, notre dame again looked to have the edge, taking a 5-2 lead halfway through the first half.
l ouisville closed that gap as the game went on, however, before taking the lead for the first time when junior attack hannah Koloski scored her fourth goal of the game with just over three minutes remaining. The i rish sent the game into overtime following a goal by senior attack rachel sexton with just over a minute left in the game.
see fooTball PaGe 15
see baseball PaGe 14
CHRIS COLLINS | The Observer
Junior quarterback Malik Zaire winds up for a pass during Notre Dame’s 38-3 win over Texas on Sept. 12.
