THE INDEPENDENT
TO UNCOVER
NEWSPAPER SERVING
THE TRUTH
NOTRE DAME, SAINT MARY’S
AND REPORT
AND HOLY CROSS
IT ACCURATELY
VOLUME 59, ISSUE 64 | FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2025 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM
SMC elects new student government leaders Ivory Munoz and Kayli Zelinske-Mader discuss future goals and initiatives for their upcoming term By BERH AN H AGEZOM Sa int Ma r y’s News Editor
On March 20, student body elections were held for Saint Mar y’s College students to elect the 2025-26 president and v ice president. On March 21, the results were announced in an email to students, stating that juniors Ivor y Munoz and Kayli Zelinske-Mader w ill be the new president and v ice president of the Student Government Association (SGA). Munoz, originally from Chicago, is a political science major w ith minors in justice studies and gender and women’s studies. She
currently ser ves as the director of external affairs of SGA, v ice president of Feminists United, and the Secretar y of Belles Unite Borders. Zelinske-Mader, from Minnesota, is majoring in gender and women’s studies w ith minors in justice studies and political science. She is a student ambassador for the Office of Admission, secretar y of the Residence Hall Association (RH A), director of internal affairs for SGA and v ice president of College Democrats of Saint Mar y’s College. Munoz said that when she was considering running
BERHAN HAGEZOM | The Observer
see STUGOV PAGE 4
Newly elected Saint Mary’s student government president and vice president Ivory Munoz (right) and Kayli Zelinske-Mader (left) pose in front of Le Mans Hall. The juniors were elected for the 2025-26 year.
ND grads found clothing company
Harvard prof. speaks on the future of democracy
By EMMA BETZ News Writer
Since its launch in spring 2023, The Clothesline Company has sparked the interest of many Notre Dame students. Started by recent Notre Dame graduates, Lola Fernandez ‘24 and Callie Shaw ‘24, the small business is a platform which facilitates used clothing sales across the tri-campus community. Fernandez and Shaw began their project in the second semester of their senior year and have since continued this platform for current students. During their final year at Notre Dame, Fernandez and Shaw obser ved the use of fast fashion amongst young women in college. They saw an opportunity to minimize environmental impact through sustainable shopping. “We’re passionate about sustainability and limiting waste and excess,” Shaw said. The first step in initiating the project was to gauge Notre Dame students’
NEWS PAGE 3
interests in participating. In spring 2024, Fernandez and Shaw ran a clothing sale on campus where they sold their own clothes worn throughout their college years. “Our first sale was a huge success. It was a tangible way for us to figure out what level of interest there was if we were to come up with a platform,” Fernandez said. At the sale, the two surveyed those who had come to participate – inquiring what their fellow students’ experience had been with shopping for college. Many participants discussed the financial strain in shopping for Notre Dame events, while also mentioning the f laws within online shopping and fast fashion companies. Respondents stated that shipping delays, privacy issues of buyers and excessive fees were all concerns among the general community of young, female shoppers. The content Shaw and Fernandez obtained from these sur veys became an see CLOTHING PAGE 3
VIEWPOINT PAGE 5
By SOLEDAD CASTELLANOS Staff Writer
On Thursday, Harvard professor Danielle Allen delivered the 31st Annual Hesburgh Lecture in Ethics and Public Policy as part of the 2024-25 Notre Dame Forum “What Do We Owe Each Other?” Allen, director
of both the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation and the Democratic Knowledge Project, was invited to speak on her experiences as a prominent political philosophy professor and as a nonprofit leader. Allen previously visited campus in September 2023 to speak on her book “Justice
by Means of Democracy.” University President Fr. Robert Dowd kicked off the talk by acknowledging the work of former University President Fr. Theodore Hesburgh in shaping the Notre Dame that students see DEMOCRACY PAGE 4
Advisers offer support for pre-med students By ISABEL TORRES Staff Writer
Kathleen Kolberg, associate dean for the College of Science and assistant director of the Center for Health Sciences Advising, and Kristian Lax-Walker, associate advising professor for the Center for Health Sciences Advising, have expressed excitement at Notre Dame’s efforts to improve undergraduate preparation for medical school applications through
SCENE PAGE 7
highly-involved advising. Notre Dame says that “84% of Notre Dame pre-med graduates are admitted to medical school — that’s twice the national average.” While this number is high in comparison to other institutions, the Center for Health Sciences Advising is looking to further improve its involvement in the application process and transition to medical school for their undergraduate students. Kolberg said that medical
school admissions counselors are looking increasingly away from the traditional GPA and into a holistic approach, like undergraduate institutions’ admissions processes. “We are not downplaying the importance of the science, but when you get to the heart of why you do medicine, it’s the empathy, the compassion, the ‘I want to live a virtuous life’ and my gifts allow
SPORTS PAGE 8
SPORTS PAGE 12
see ADVISERS PAGE 3