THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING NOTRE DAME, SAINT MARY’S AND HOLY CROSS ESTABLISHED 1966
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2025 | VOL. LX, NO. 24
Cardinal McElroy speaks with Fr. Dowd on cultivating hope
Students explore careers, service By Julia Connolly
By Maria Alice Souza Maia
News Writer
News Writer
On Oct. 17, Cardinal Robert McElroy visited Notre Dame for a conversation with University President Fr. Robert Dowd titled “Healing our National Dialogue and Political Life.” Now the archbishop of Washington, D.C., McElroy received a bachelor’s degree in American History from Harvard and both a master’s degree in American history and a doctorate in political science from Stanford University along with a doctorate in moral theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Pope Francis appointed McElroy to the College of Cardinals in May 2022 and to be the eighth archbishop of Washington on Jan. 6, 2025. Dowd introduced McElroy as “an ideal person to have on our campus to talk about what it means to cultivate hope.” Cultivating hope is the theme of this year’s Notre Dame Forum, inspired by Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year of Hope. McElroy began by describing his
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MARIA ALICE SOUZA MAIA | The Observer
Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of Washington, spoke on building a unified society and the role of politics amidst polarization.
job in the archdiocese of Washington and comparing it to his work in the diocese of San Diego, where he served for 10 years. “There are two other dimensions in Washington that I did not have in San Diego. The first one is that because it is the capital, many Catholic institutions in the country have either their headquarters there, educational institutions, social service centers. So part of my work as archbishop is collaborating with all of those groups in the city of
Washington,” McElroy said. McElroy has also been called to speak on public policy as the archbishop of Washington. “As the archbishop of Washington, as any bishop does, we have to speak to the moral dimensions of public policy from time to time. And because it’s in Washington, it has a resonance that it would not have elsewhere,” he said. Although he speaks on the moral side of public policy issues, McElroy see “Cardinal” on page 2
After nine weeks of classes, some students seized the opportunity to relax over fall break while others participated in service trips, travelled to cities for career treks and attended professional conferences. Junior Erin May traveled to New York City on a career trek sponsored by the film, television and theatre department and the sports media and culture minor. Seventeen students and representatives from the career center spent three days visiting companies and corporations such as the NFL, NBA and WWE. The film, television and theatre major also hosts a career trek to Los Angeles that runs concurrently with the New York trip. On Tuesday night, May’s group went to dinner with Sarah Boyle and Kasey Choma, two Notre Dame alumni who work at NBC in sports marketing. On Wednesday, students visited Oak View Group, a company that owns arenas in various
parts of the country. “We met the CEO and a couple of young employees, which is really exciting,” May said. The group travelled to the NFL headquarters, where they met Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL. “I’m a huge Eagles fan, and I got to see the Super Bowl ring, and since they just won the Super Bowl, that was super cool to see,” said May. The group spoke with several Notre Dame alumni, including Brent Lawton and Kaitlin Prestegaard, who work in sectors such as development and global partnership. Students visited the NBA headquarters and received a full tour of the office and met with more alumni, including Tim Frank, the senior vice president of league operations and communications. The Notre Dame Club of New York hosted the trek group at a pub on Wednesday night for more networking with people involved in sports. May said that she “talked to a woman in social media at the see “Break” on page 4
University hosts national sustainability summit By Zander Daigle Last week, Notre Dame hosted the second annual National Sustainability Society Conference from Oct. 20 to 22 in Jenkins Nanovic Halls. According to the society’s website, the NSS is a a nonprofit member organization that aims to “foster a thriving crosssectoral, transdisciplinary, and intersectional society that advances a just, resilient, and sustainable world.” The NSS held its first meeting in 2022 and hosted their inaugural conference in 2024 at the University of Washington. The Pulte Institute for Global Development sponsored this year’s conference in partnership with the Frontiers Research Foundation. In addition to the Pulte Institute, the NSS directly partnered with the University of Washington, Arizona State University and the University of Michigan. Dani Fielding, a junior who
interns with Notre Dame’s Office of Sustainability, shared the University’s role in assisting with planning the conference. “Many of Notre Dame’s faculty and staff were involved with planning, including three of my colleagues on Notre Dame’s sustainability team: Geory Kurtzhals, Olivia Farrington and Arun Agrawal,” they said. For Fielding, the conference was a “great opportunity to share both Notre Dame’s progress and perspective with partners across the country and to learn about how other universities are operationalizing sustainability.” Beyond students and representatives from the organization’s university partners, a variety of South Bend residents, career professionals and global researchers attended the conference. According to panelist Dan Brown from the University of Washington, approximately 400 individuals participated. Day one of the conference commenced with a series of workshops hosted by various
speakers, including local educators, visiting professors from Stanford University and career professionals from the Sustainability Education Accreditation Commission. The workshops also included site visits such as a campus green tour and an excursion to Rum Village Park, which, according to their website, includes “a wildlife oasis offering hiking trails, biking trails, picnic areas, and a chance to escape to the quiet calm of one of the nicest woodlands in the area.” Mara Morales, a junior studying environmental engineering, enjoyed the campus green tour, especially “visiting the sculpture garden area and witnessing things I have never seen before, like the scattering of native pollinators across campus.” Morales appreciated meeting students and attendees from other universities. “I feel like I made new friends throughout the tour. It is so fun meeting a lot of new people not directly connected to Notre Dame,” she said.
Following the workshops and site visits, the first day of the conference concluded with several small-group sessions and panels, along with a keynote presentation. “I enjoyed discussing the intersection of poverty studies with forest regeneration. The topics discussed were fascinating,” Morales said. The second day of the conference began with a yoga session, coffee social and poster session featuring doctoral candidates, graduate and undergraduate students highlighting their respective areas of interest and research. Similar to day one, the agenda included a variety of small-group sessions and panel discussion, featuring a conversation with deans from Notre Dame, Stanford University, the University of Southern California and the University of Alabama. Madeline Stewart, a master’s student in the University of Ohio’s Science and Environment, Natural Resources and Public Administration program, was one of the presenters. She spoke about
how rain gardens affect property values and resident perceptions. “Dr. Jeremy Brooks, my advisor, attended the first annual NSS conference, and thought it would be a good experience for me, as I was interested in presenting and receiving feedback from the broader community,” Stewart said. In addition to her presentation, Steward enjoyed the “experience of touring the power plant at Notre Dame.” For Stewart, the “most interesting takeaway was just how intense power still is in its manufacturing stage.” The final day of the conference included informational sessions and discussions, following another morning of student research presentations. Laura Vang Rasmussen hosted the final keynote presentation, representing the University of Copenhagen. The conference concluded with a presentation by Ohio State’s
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Senior research fellow Jayme Lemke spoke at SMC about the progression of women’s rights.
Columnist Allison Eishoff delves into the work of political science professor David Campbell.
The artist made his return with the release of ‘Deadbeat,’ an album made for the dance floor.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will face their longtime rival the Boston College Eagles Saturday.
Over break, Notre Dame hockey beat St. Lawrence twice and Robert Morris once.
News Writer
Women’s rights
Off the Dome
Tame Impala is back
Holy War returns
see “Summit” on page 4
Hockey wins thrice