Print Edition of The Observer for Tuesday, November 17, 2015
University, College respond to sexual assault
Initiatives and campaigns at ND promote awareness
By CATHERINE OWERS a ssociate
Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of a five-part series on sexual assault at Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s. Today’s stories focus on the administrative responses to sexual assault.
in recent years, both notre dame administrators and student government leadership have focused on ending sexual violence on campus with, among other initiatives, campaigns to promote awareness and bystander intervention.
The committee on sexual assault prevention (csap), comprised of faculty, staff and student representatives, offers recommendations to the office of student affairs on supporting victims of sexual violence, encourages collaboration in programming and promotes educational initiatives. csap was born out of a resolution from student senate in december 2008, which asked for a review of “the effectiveness of the university’s sexual assault, rape and sexual misconduct policy, resources for victims of sexual assault and the university’s disciplinary options available
By NICOLE CARATAS news writer
Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of a five-part series on sexual assault at Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s. Today’s stories focus on the administrative responses to sexual assault.
The s aint m ary’s administration and the s tudent g overnment a ssociation ( sga ) have responded to the nationwide movement of college students pushing schools to take more action against sexual assault on campus by creating a more open dialogue among notre d ame, s aint m ary’s and holy c ross, as well as implementing a Task Force to focus on the issue.
i n a letter to the students a pr. 29, c ollege p resident c arol a nn mooney announced the creation of the p residential Task Force. s he said the task force would be comprised of students, faculty and staff and would promote the conversation about sexual violence.
“This task force will recommend ways to further improve
p rayer service examines perceptions of assault
By SELENA PONIO news writer
Just one day after the campuswide launch of greendot, an initiative committed to replacing violent and sexual injustices on campus with positive acts, students received an email nov. 7 alerting them to a reported sexual assault. students and other members of the notre dame community prayed for healing at the grotto on monday evening after this most recent report.
“we are privileged to attend a school whose campus is beautiful in every season,” junior natalie vos said during the service. “but i think far too often
people are in denial. They see the beauty of this campus and feel the sense of family on football weekends and focus on the positives of this campus. They feel so safe and at home that they cannot comprehend that such disgusting acts occur on this campus.”
vos said due to the busy lives many students lead, many find it hard to take a moment to put these issues in perspective and look at the situation around them.
“we forget to look up at mary in awe; we forget to look down at the rainbow of colorful leaves.
see service PaGe 3
KATHRYNE ROBINSON | The Observer
Students gather in front of the Grotto during Monday evening’s prayer service. The service was held in the wake of a reported campus sexual assault and included prayers for healing in the face of sexual violence.
Policies The observer is the independent, daily newspaper published in print and online by the
Corrections
The
Who would play you in a movie about your life?
Question of the Day: t he next f ive D ays:
Tuesday
“Crafting a Strong Grant Proposal” Brownson Hall
4 p.m.-5 p.m. Workshop to find best funding sources.
Men’s Basketball vs. Milwaukee Purcell Pavilion
7 p.m.-9 p.m.
The Irish take on the Panthers.
Audrey Cross freshman regina hall “myself.”
Gina Craig junior le mans hall “m iley c yrus.”
Jackie Rooney junior le mans hall “shakira.”
Kathleen Nester junior le mans hall “Tom hanks.”
Kat Morris junior le mans hall “shia l ebeouf.”
Stephanie Villareal junior le mans hall. “50 cent.”
Wednesday
Physics Colloquium
Nieuwland Science Hall
4 p.m.-5 p.m.
“Galaxy collisions in our local neighborhoods.”
ND Women’s Basketball vs. Toledo Purcell Pavilion
7 p.m.-9 p.m.
The Irish take on the Rockets.
Thursday
2015 Laura Shannon Prize Lecture
Jordan Hall
5 p.m.-6:15 p.m.
Sir Christopher Clark will present.
“For Freedom Set Free” McKenna Hall all day Part of the 16th annual fall conference.
Friday
Mammograms
Library Circle
9 a.m.-4 p.m.
This preventative offering is free to women over 40.
ND Volleyball vs. Georgia Tech Purcell Pavilion
7 p.m.-9 p.m.
The Irish take on the Yellow Jackets.
Saturday
Men’s Basketball vs. UMass-Lowell
Joyce Center
2 p.m.
The Irish take on the River Hawks.
“Little Shop of Horrors” DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Musical production.
Faculty panel discusses European migration crisis
By EDDIE DAMSTRA news writer
Three faculty members examined the current migration crisis in europe in a panel discussion titled titled “migration to europe: situating the current crisis,” held monday afternoon in andrews auditorium of gedddes hall. karen richman, director of undergraduate academic programs for the institute for latino studies, moderated the event.
alia Fardi, a master of laws candidate in international human rights law, quoted the fourteenth article of the universal declaration of human rights, a document promoted by the united nations that establishes a set of inalienable rights for all people.
“everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution,” she said.
The term “refugee,” she said, is a person who faces persecution because of his or her race, religion, nationality, political preference or membership to a particular social group.
“They have to be outside of their home
country because if they are inside their home country, they are internally displaced,” she said.
refugees are different from economic migrants, Fardi said, because economic migrants are those pursuing better living standards, not fleeing persecution.
“refugees can not return home because of fear of persecution, while migrants could,” she said.
maurizio albahari, assistant professor of anthropology, said 819,218 refugees arrived in europe in 2015 and another 3,460 refugees died or went missing at sea.
he said these statistics motivate him to work towards a solution.
“my priority, my concern is preventing further loss of life at sea. i’m not convinced it’s a universal objective,” he said.
he said he proposes working to allow those seeking refuge to enter countries as legal immigrants.
“let’s start doing what can be done, immediately,” albahari said.
Fr. daniel g groody, associate professor of theology, said there is a connection between the refugee crisis and the call of christians. he said the recent story of a
carpenter on the island of lampedusa demonstrates this connection.
according to groody, the carpenter, Franco, helped save 358 migrants when their ship crashed.
“Franco found driftwood along the coastline, and he felt like he wanted to give expression to what was going on there,” he said.
groody said Franco began making procession crosses out of the driftwood he found and made 400 crosses in three days. eventually, news broke that pope Francis was coming to the island, and Franco was in charge of preparing the liturgy, he said. Franco carved a chalice out of the driftwood, made a lectern out of boat rudders and a ship wheel, and formed an altar out of a small refugee boat.
“it is from this place that the pope declared the gospel,” groody said. “To steer the church in a new direction, to steer it back to its foundations, back to deep waters, back to the place of human vulnerability, back to the margins and from there to announce the good news.”
Contact Eddie Damstra at edamstra@nd.edu
our efforts to prevent sexual assault and sexual misconduct and to assist and support student survivors of sexual assault,” m ooney said in the letter. “ it will also examine procedures for handling cases of sexual assault when they occur.”
The task force held its first meeting s ept. 18, according to an email dated s ept. 22 in which m ooney announced she would send a campuswide email summarizing each meeting. s he said the task force will address three issues: steps to reduce and eliminate sexual assault, ways to improve the c ollege’s procedures for handling claims of sexual violence and ways to better support students who have survived sexual violence. The email also announced the formation of three subcommittees — education, procedures and support — to address each of these issues.
building a task force
r egina w ilson, director of c ampus m inistry and chair of the support committee on the task force, said the task force meets once a month.
“The three committees are working independently, and at the larger task force meeting we share our minutes and the work we’ve done, and then there’s interaction,” she said. w ilson said the future of the task force after this school year is unknown; m ooney, who commissioned the group, will retire at the end of this school year.
Junior c aylin m c c allick, a member of the procedures committee, said specific details about the group’s meetings cannot be made public until the task force releases
its official minutes. Though it was originally announced that the task force would release the previous meeting’s minutes after the following meeting, m c c allick said the task force currently plans to wait for the c ollege’s new website to launch before doing so.
The procedures committee in particular has been tasked with updating the Title i X process at the c ollege, m c c allick said.
“There’s a set [way] to handle Title i X,” she said.
“Just because you’re complying with the rules doesn’t mean it’s on time or doesn’t mean it’s going as smoothly as possible for all the parties involved.
“ we really want a system of accountability for all parties involved in the claim,” she said. “ we’re working to make sure everyone is held responsible for their individual parts of the Title i X process.”
“ m y goal is to make [the task force] a voice for students,” m c c allick said. “ i ’m open to people telling me what they’ve experienced and seeing if i can bring that to the discussion and seeing what we can do about it. i ’m also hoping that it brushes off the cobwebs of things we didn’t used to talk about.
“ i know that this is a hot topic on campus, and i think it should be because it’s something that affects all of us,” she said. “ i hope that it accomplishes the goals that m ooney set out to accomplish.”
m ooney sent an email m onday with the most recent update on the task force. The email included names of all current members on the task force, as well as specifications for the intended end result of the task force.
“The taskforce will write a report that will be delivered
paid a dverT isemen T
to the community no later than m ay 1, 2015,” the email said. “The report will contain: a list of what measures we currently take to educate our students; what is currently available for our students; suggestions and recommendations for improvements to what we are currently doing and recommended next steps and suggestions for change.”
Finding support in ministry
w ilson said c ampus m inistry’s role in the issue of sexual assault is for the most part one of support.
“ we are all trained,” w ilson said. “ we have professional ministry degrees so we are all trained to spend time with students and to provide pastoral care to them.”
s he said the c ollege recently defined c ampus m inistry’s role in the sexual assault process for students.
w ilson said. “a ll the campus ministers are a confidential resource for students who have experienced sexual violence.”
w ilson said her role in the process is meeting with students and listening to anything they have to say. s he said she will encourage the students to seek other resources if the student wishes.
“ b ecause we’re pastoral care, we’re here if they want to pray,” w ilson said. “ i f they have questions related to their faith or spirituality that have been affected by their experience…we’re here to be with them and to in a sense be a presence of g od offering them care and attention and assurance that they’re supported and loved.”
Working within s G a
s tudent body president k aitlyn b aker said although sga’s role in dealing with sexual violence has largely been
s ervice
we forget to look around at faces of people that we share this beautiful campus with,” she said.
s he said that the hectic nature of study and work at n otre d ame means the email alerts can be in danger of getting lost in the flurry of notifications that students are already receiving.
“ h owever, as we are sitting with our friends, we receive a notification on our phones and suddenly the d ome doesn’t shine as bright and the colors of the leaves seem a little more brown than red,” vos said. “Too often we choose to ignore the pain because we don’t need any more stress in our lives … because we feel that the email does not affect us personally.”
s he said although many times people will not know
turned over to the task force, they still have done some work in terms of addressing the issue.
“[ v ice p resident] m addie [ k ohler] and i meet once a month with the presidents and vice presidents of h oly c ross c ollege and n otre d ame,” b aker said. “The sexual assault topic is something we touch on every time. … we’ve been giving them feedback on our students’ experiences and changes we’re making over here as well as things they can do over there to help and vise versa.”
b aker said n otre d ame’s student council consulted sga in regards to their proposal to the university’s b oard of Trustees, which outlined four categories on the issue of sexual assault for the b oard to address.
“ we worked together to help them get in contact with different students who have had experiences over at n otre d ame dealing with sexual assault,” she said. “They reached out to s aint m ary’s students to get that feedback. … They did a good job in getting a lot of different student perspectives from s aint m ary’s as well as notre d ame, and pointing out some of the changes that need to be made over there, especially when it comes to how their process works.”
sga does not plan on delivering a similar proposal to s aint m ary’s b oard of Trustees; however, the c ollege’s b oard interacts with students on a regular basis, and discusses issues including sexual assault, b aker said.
s he said sga also partners with the c ollege’s b elles a gainst v iolence o ffice ( bavo ), and there are plans to have an sga representative work closely with bavo and sit on bavo’s g reen d ot c ampus c ommittee, which consists of
the victim personally, there is a solidarity that comes with the victim being a person one has never met before but shares the same experiences as a n otre d ame student.
“It might take years, and it will require the conscious effort of every person on this campus. Legislations, policy and rules will not fix thispeople will.”
Nicole McAlee senior Notre Dame
“ s exual assault is more than that crime alert. it does not simply happen and then get forgotten. it destroys trust and hope,” she said.
20 faculty, staff and students and whose goal is to promote campus culture change.
a lthough b aker said she does not work closely with the administration on sexual assault, she said she does bring issues to their attention when students express concern.
“i meet with administration multiple times a week … i f students come up to me with concerns or things they want to see changed, i’m always bringing it up,” she said.
b aker said the biggest concerns students raised were about the investigators involved in the Title i X process and the fact that the c ollege’s legal counsel is also the Title i X coordinator.
“The three investigators were hired out,” b aker said. “The task force is deciding on if the legal counsel and the Title i X coordinator need to be two separate positions or not.”
i n addition to acting as an intermediary between students and administration, b aker said she wants to encourage more students to attend the Title i X trainings that occur each semester.
“The Title i X training actually brings representatives from n otre d ame who are familiar with their system and talk to our students about what that process would look like if you were to go over there,” she said.
“ … i don’t think anyone realizes how much that training encompasses,” she said. “ it’s not just going over what Title i X is. it’s really going over what it is, how that looks on our campus, what that looks like if it’s violated, and it also goes over what that looks like for a s aint m ary’s student over on n otre d ame’s campus.”
Contact Nicole Caratas at ncaratas01@saintmarys.edu
s enior n icole m c a lee said every occurrence of sexual violence on campus is a gross violation of the university’s values, and there is still more to be done.
“ it might take years, and it will require the conscious effort of every person on this campus,” she said. “ l egislations, policy and rules will not fix this — people will.”
m embers of this shared community must stand in hopeful support of all survivors, m c a lee said, and one step towards healing is reframing the conversation around sexual assault in a way that places responsibility on the whole of the community.
“ we are n otre d ame, and we are a powerful force of good in this world. we can change this. b e hopeful, be angry, be courageous,” m c a lee said.
Contact Selena Ponio at sponio@nd.edu
notre dame
con T inued F rom page 1
to victims of sexual assault.”
2012 Campus Climate survey
in 2012, the first campus climate survey was administered to students to gauge areas of need, the results of which vice president for student affairs erin hoffmann harding said were “extremely helpful.”
hoffmann harding said the 2012 survey demonstrated that non-undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students had lower awareness than undergraduates on university policies and support services dealing with sexual assault.
“so in response, what we’ve done over the last few years is add a variety of different training programs particular to those two student populations,” she said.
in response to students’ demonstrated confusion on the concept of consent, hoffmann harding said the university has added clarification points and training for students, “to try to better articulate those nuances and provide information.”
“Following the survey in 2012, the next year we additionally conducted a series of focus groups with students, particularly around areas we wanted to better understand,” she said.
“now, last spring, we administered our second climate survey
and heather [ryan, deputy Title iX coordinator,] is in the process, she’s three weeks into her new role, and actually one of her responsibilities is to analyze this climate survey.
“our intention is again to share the results with the csap, which is a cross-campus and cross-community survey, and to utilize those results in a way to improve communication on campus.”
benchmarking
deputy Title iX coordinator heather ryan said more and more colleges have begun to administer climate surveys, as well.
“as we go back and forth, we haven’t had any data available externally, from institutions, prior to this year,” ryan said. “and so i think that this next year or two are really going to be key in gaining that information, to figure out what are the best practices possible.”
matt lahey, associate general counsel for the university, said notre dame annually examines its policies and compares it to benchmark schools.
“we made revisions this summer to our policies, as we did the summer before, and benchmarking these policies helps us with that effort, he said. “we do a lot of benchmarking related to education, those initiatives.
“green dot came out of that benchmarking, looking at what
major programs other universities are using, how they’re trying to change their culture,” he said. “no one has the absolute one right approach, and what everyone is trying to do is understand what approaches have been working.”
christine caron gebhardt, director of the gender relations center (grc) said one of the challenges in choosing a violence prevention program is the lack of research on the effectiveness of the programs.
“… because what’s your measure of success? your cases increase? or your cases decrease? and how do you know the case decrease isn’t merely [the cases] going underground? so part of it, what we’re trying to do is to find a way, how do you measure success,” she said.
caron gebhardt said green dot’s measure of success is that when 15 percent of the student body is bystander-trained. at the 15-percent point, incidence of sexual assault should decrease, measured in reports to both confidential and nonconfidential resources.
she said the university is one of several institutions studying the effectiveness of green dot, and therefore has been very deliberate in its implementation on campus.
student government
student government has played a large role in creating student body engagement on the issue, the director of the department of gender
paid a dverT isemen T
issues, junior danny Funaro, said.
Funaro said the department of gender issues has participated in the green dot launch as well as worked on promoting the “it’s on us” campaign, the university’s iteration of the national movement commissioned by the white house to end sexual violence on college campuses.
“‘it’s on us’ tries to get people to take ownership of the issue, so the main thing that goes with that is the ‘it’s on us’ pledge,” he said. “pledge cards were last year’s version of this pledge — this year we’ve put more of a focus on the itsonus.nd.edu pledge.”
more than 200 students have signed the pledge this year, Funaro said.
“The main way we’ve done that is by going door-to-door in different dorms,” he said. “you can actually get good conversations with people … [and] get people that really want to get involved.”
Funaro said he has noticed there is sometimes more difficulty getting men involved in programming and campaigns to end sexual violence.
“To get the general male population involved is a little bit harder, but i think we’ve made inroads in that, versus last year, when the ‘it’s on us’ pledge was signed mostly by women,” he said. “This year there’s a much better balance.”
in october, student body president and senior bryan ricketts
spoke to The observer on the report student government delivered to the board of Trustees on sexual violence on notre dame’s campus.
“sexual violence is something we’ve been talking about on our campus for a long time now,” ricketts said. “… There’s a lot of talk about prevention and what we’re doing on front, and in addition to that it’s sort of widely accepted as a rule — but also statistically at notre dame — that the number of reported assaults does not nearly match the number of actual assaults that we have on campus.
“Those are still issues that we’re trying to work through,” he said. “That was a big reason behind the impetus of this report, to give some context to where we are on campus as well as to do a little digging what we need to do better and where we’re not meeting the standards.”
The report focused on four major topics: campus conversation surrounding sexual violence, the trajectory of change on the issue at notre dame, alcohol culture’s role in sexual violence and a process overview, supplemented by students’ experiences. it concluded with a series of recommendations to the trustees on how to curb sexual violence on campus and how to improve the process of reporting and navigating the Title iX process.
Contact Catherine Owers at cowers@nd.edu
brothers became The coen brothers.
i’m a film and television person. so when i hear “the ’80s” i think of terrible movies like “red dawn,” pat tales of quarter-life crises like “The breakfast club,” and sitcoms like “Full house,” which feel facile when compared to current comedies like “Transparent.” a nd while it’s not fair to characterize an entire decade of audiovisual media as glib — we’re talking about the decade that gave us “caddyshack,” after all — i do think the ’80s suffer in comparison to its bookends. The ’70s saw the rise to prominence of robert a ltman and martin scorsese, whose ’80s work is arguably less significant than that from the ’70s. in the ’90s, indie filmmakers like wes and paul Thomas a nderson broke onto the scene, and the coen
The ’90s also claims the earliest television show i love, “seinfeld” (which, yes, technically premiered in the ’80s. but that first season is practically unrecognizable. “seinfeld” became “seinfeld” in the 90s). one aspect of ’80s culture, however, that is every bit as good as that of the ’70s and ’90s, is the music.
The 1980s birthed the glorious alternative rock movement. p iercing, syncopated guitar chords contribute to a sound whose best analog is that moment when your headphones become partially unplugged but crackly music is still making its way into your ears. The movement was also characterized by defiantly realist lyrics delivered in an almost deadpan tone. This was an era when dancing and jumping up and down meant the same thing.
The reason i love The Jesus and mary chain, particularly their 1985 album
“psychocandy,” is because they use this strange, alt-rock aesthetic to deliver an emotional punch — a seemingly contradictory feat. you and your friends can be jumping up and down to the wall of sound that is “The hardest walk,” when the band pulls the rug out from under you, as Jim reid sings, “oh, and it’s plain to see that it’s dead / The thing swims in blood and it’s cold stony dead.” There’s a certain cognitive dissonance that comes with dancing to a song about a stillbirth.
“my l ittle underground,” the best track on “psychocandy,” is more baroque than the sensory assault of tracks like “in a hole,” which mimics tinnitus with its discernable melody. it’s the melody that allows childlike, innocent lyrics like “i’m gonna run and find / a place where i can hide / somewhere that no one knows / someplace that no one goes” to work. a nd yet, reid sings in an exasperated run-on sentence,
suggesting he doesn’t really believe what he’s singing. it’s an ironic mix of youthful naiveté and adult ennui, and is reminiscent (or prescient) of the works of wes a nderson.
i would be remiss if i didn’t mention the album’s most famous track, “Just l ike honey.” The lyrics don’t particularly make sense (“i’ll be your plastic toy”), but that’s not exactly a necessity. “Just l ike honey” — perhaps by virtue of being so closely associated with one of my all-time favorite films, “l ost in Translation” — delivers pure, ineffable emotion. it’s everything i love about “The Jesus and mary chain,” and music in general: it makes me feel.
Contact Nick Laureano at nlaurean@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
By KELLY McGARRY
The entrance into adulthood is an interesting one for any teenage heartthrob, and Justin bieber has had his share of bumps along the way. no longer a puppet of the industry, bieber emerges as an artist with the new album “p urpose.” working with the progressive production of skrillex and diplo was a power move for the pop star, resulting in an alternative electronic vibe that screams out a deviation from the crowd-pleasing days of the past. a nd it turns out bieber’s smooth, seductive voice complements the electronic beats well. a barrage of powerful singles preceded the release of this album. “w here a re Ü now” is hardly recognizable as a bieber track, because it was truly part of a project by skrillex and diplo. bieber’s emotional vocals took the backseat to the toned-down yet danceable version of the characteristic electrostep and trap styles characteristic of the edm dance duo. “w hat do you mean?” could have marked bieber’s peak, but he impressed again with another dance track, “sorry.” The muted reception of “i’ll show you”
feels right for the slowed-down track. only days before the album, he released “l ove yourself,” an infectious heartbreak redemption song in the vein of ed sheeran’s “don’t.” unsurprisingly, sheeran himself was behind biting lyrics like “my mama don’t like you and she likes everyone.”
These singles were expected to dominate the album, but it was complete with 13 carefully produced tracks on the standard version, and 19 on the deluxe, taking on hip-hop and r & b styles with mixed results. big sean’s awkward verse in “no pressure” interrupts the smooth track, a disappointment from such a big name. Travis scott’s contribution to “no sense” is more natural, flowing from the hip-hop beat of the song. closing out the trio is “The Feeling,” a true edm track, complete with obscure lyrics and a nod to hedonism. The chorus featuring halsey is airily brilliant.
it seems like the songs on this album come in categorical threes, and the sentimental next group is a time capsule back to old bieber. ironically, “l ife is worth l iving,” which is intended to demonstrate bieber’s new wisdom, is one of the most immature tracks of the album
with its simple progressions, whiney vocals and cliché lyrics. The title track and final song on the standard length album, “p urpose,” follows the trend of the attempting to be profound but ending up cheesy and most characteristically bieber, it even includes many lines of spoken word.
“children” appears to be another example of sentimentalism, but with a closer listen to the lyrics and taking into consideration the dance beat, i hope the irony of this track was intended. The competitive or glamorous attitude reflected in lines like “w hose heart is the biggest?” seems more likely to occur in this dance club than actual worry about the well-being of the children.
a huge part of the excitement of the album’s release was the release of 13 accompanying music videos – only three of which (“mark my words,” “i’ll show you” and “w hat do you mean?”) include bieber himself. To me, this says that despite the sexuality of many of the tracks, bieber isn’t trying to be the teen idol sex-symbol he once was — he’s instead taking part in a piece of art. The videos featured various forms of interpretive dance: “l ove yourself” is an
expressive duet; “w hat do you mean” features the return of the upbeat “sorry” girls, but this time with a few guy friends and “l ife is worth l iving” is a cathartic, emotionally heavy ballet duet. w ith this latest album, bieber seems to have make the opposite transition of The weeknd’s “beauty behind the madness” earlier this year. w hile The weeknd went from mysterious electronic production to a more transparent pop star, bieber has veered in the opposite direction, with the two albums just barely meeting somewhere in the middle — a direction sure to spawn new beliebers.
Contact Kelly McGarry at kmcgarry@nd.edu
“Purpose”
Justin Bieber
Label: Def Jam
Tracks: “The Feeling,” “No Sense,” “Love Yourself”
If you like: The Weeknd, Diplo
Nick Laureano scene writer
scene writer
Lend me your ears
Open to all suggestions
Clare Kossler a ssociate news e ditor
“ w hat? you’re majoring in history and math?”
“… i nteresting …”
“s o what exactly do you plan to do with that again?”
To all those who have asked me this question, today i can announce with complete and utter confidence: i don’t know. perhaps i should qualify. it’s not so much that i don’t know as i don’t want to know. e ver since i first came to notre dame, i’ve been putting off trying to find an answer to the dreaded question of what i want to do with my life. d uring my time here, i’ve generated rather a nice list of jobs i can rattle off whenever someone asks: lawyer, historian, journalist, consultant, entrepreneur — the list goes on. a nd for the most part, my list satisfies — at least temporarily — whoever is wondering. The real problem is that it doesn’t satisfy me.
This is not to say that i don’t want to be a lawyer, that i can’t see myself as a historian, that i would rather not find a job as a journalist, a consultant or an entrepreneur. Quite the opposite, actually — i want to be and do all of those things. i want to stand inside a courtroom, channeling Jack mc c oy as i assert that the jury should return a ruling of guilty. i want to travel to sites of historical importance, making some ground-breaking discovery after months of seemingly fruitless research. i want to relay the news instead of receiving it passively; to solve problems and analyze outcomes; to start my own business and experience the thrill that accompanies risking your money and your pride. i want all of it, and i can’t bear to think i must limit myself to just one path.
i had the same trouble choosing my major freshman year, which is how i wound up with the — i’ll admit, rather strange — combination of history and math. i couldn’t decide between the humanities and sciences, so i picked a major in each. i wanted to major in all the humanities, so i settled upon one that seemed to include a little bit of each: history. i was wavering between the course offerings of the science department, and finally chose math, the logic being that every one of the sciences relies upon math to some extent. c hoosing history and math was my way of not choosing, of keeping my options open, of delaying the moment when i would have to decide more definitively the course of my life and in so doing, close myself off to my other interests.
but now, nearly halfway through junior year, that moment when i will have to decide is drawing nearer, and i am still no closer to an answer than i was coming in freshman year. The plan for now? To continue my policy of denial and indecisiveness and hope inspiration will strike me sometime in the near future. i’m open to any and all suggestions.
Stephen Raab l et’s Talk smart
more than 121,000 people are currently waiting for organ transplants in the united states. Today, 22 of them will die. The deaths of these people are particularly tragic because they are largely caused by one factor — low donor turnout. a lthough 95 percent of a mericans support organ donation, only 40 percent of eligible donors have registered. as of 2013, there were but 14,250 donors in the entire country. To be fair, the various agencies in charge of managing donation have gone a long way towards dispelling some of the myths that have previously discouraged donations. no, there is no possibility of your organs being extracted while you are still alive on the operating table. no, your dependents won’t be charged for the costs of donation. a nd if you’re a roman catholic, muslim or a member of most protestant or Jewish branches, no, organ donation is not against your religion.
a single organ donor can save the lives of eight people. corneal and tissue donation can improve the lives of many others. in fact, if you aren’t already an organ donor, i strongly recommend you to go out and become one at your first opportunity. but even that is still not enough to balance the books, and this failure has life-or-death consequences. Firmer measures are necessary than mere encouragement.
a law ought to be passed requiring all a mericans to become organ donors upon their death. The sole permitted exceptions would be for religious reasons, in keeping with the First a mendment; as previously discussed, the impact on the total organ supply due to these objections would be minimal. such a law would go far towards clearing out the backlog of patients awaiting donations. it would also eliminate the dangerous practice of “organ tourism,” by which desperate patients seek transplants outside the united states. These procedures are often unsafe, resulting in a high rate of rejection and infection. moreover, the impact on the citizen will be almost
letter to the edItor
nonexistent. a dead man certainly does not need his organs, and the extraction procedure is so non-invasive as to allow for open casket funeral services. The adoption of such a law stands to secure a great good at minimal cost; every day that passes without such legislation condemns another 22 people to death.
That being said, i know there are some who will object to government-mandated organ donation. w hile the constitutional basis for the law through congress’s authority to “promote the general welfare” is strong, there are sure to be plenty of objections on grounds of personal autonomy. a fter all, if we eliminate a citizen’s control over his or her own body parts, haven’t we sort of given up on the fundamentals of private property? even after i’m dead, shouldn’t i be allowed to determine what happens to my body?
i understand such concerns even if i do not entirely agree with them; therefore, i suggest a compromise. a so-called “opt-out” system would begin with all persons registered to donate organs, and they would check a box to remove their donor status. w hen tried elsewhere, this strategy has markedly increased donation rates; germany’s opt-in system yields 12% donation, while austria’s opt-out system results in 99% donation. a fter all, there’s only one thing most people object to more strongly than gratuitous and sustained violations of their civil liberties, and that is being moderately inconvenienced in any way. if you think this isn’t true, think about the last time you answered “yes” to the prompt “i have read and agreed to the Terms and conditions.” we must take action to prevent the needless deaths of those awaiting organ transplants. voluntary increases in donation are a good first step, but the ultimate solution to this problem will be mandatory donation. lives are at stake.
Stephen Raab is a senior studying chemical engineering. He resides in Alumni Hall and welcomes discourse at sraab@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
perfect place to grow
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” ecclesiastes 3:1.
wednesday at 5 p.m., the veteran’s day ceremony filled north Quad as notre dame roTc servicemen stood to show respect for all the living and deceased men and women who served before them. at the same time, just steps away from the ceremony, students gathered to demonstrate their support for students of color at the university of missouri.
students across the country have written countless articles and social media posts about the issues taking place at mizzou and other college campuses. The events that occurred and continue to occur at mizzou have illustrated the unacceptable results of racism, institutionalism and bigotry that unfortunately are more widespread than anyone can fully comprehend. This letter is not meant to belittle the severity of the incidences at mizzou. rather, it is to communicate three things:
First, that the actions of the student demonstrators at notre dame were inconsistent with their proclaimed values.
second, that the timing of the “nd for mizzou” event lacked discernment.
Third, that it is possible to respect others and disagree with them simultaneously. in theory, the “nd for mizzou” event on wednesday was dedicated to the support and respect of our fellow humans and their dignity. however, the video from this gathering shows a greater tendency towards appeals to emotion, anger and passion than to morality and solidarity.
“To the students of color at mizzou, we, the students of color at notre dame, stand with you in solidarity. To those who would threaten their sense of safety, we are watching.” posted on Facebook timelines again and again, this statement employs a similar exclusive and threatening
disposition that the students communicating it so actively combat. w hy do the statuses not read, “we, all the students of notre dame, support all the students at mizzou who need our support.” The issue is not simply wording, but rather a deeper-rooted issue of exclusivity in a movement that calls for widespread unity. as adults, we need to have the maturity to control our emotions and not act in a reactionary manner. as notre dame students, we are especially called to approach every decision with thoughtful principle, conviction and faith. if wednesday’s “nd for mizzou” event was focused on the respect for human life and dignity, it lost credibility when its organizers scheduled it at the same time as the veteran’s day ceremony. There is no excuse for this conflict.
it is our moral responsibility to respect one another, but it is not anyone’s responsibility to be politically correct. political correctness is defined as, “agreement with the idea that people should be careful to not use language or behave in a way that could offend a particular group of people.” people across the country can always grow in their understanding and treatment of others, especially towards those who are different from them, but it is ultimately up to each individual to choose how to react towards political incorrectness. w hether they choose to be offended by or empathetic towards the offender, individuals can still ultimately respect that people have different cultural, religious and political opinions, without having to agree with the opinion itself. until we can coexist with that understanding, conversations will divide, movements will exclude and progress cannot be made. Thankfully, our university is the perfect place to grow together.
Lauren Hill sophomore breen-phillips hall
We keep living anyway
Scott Boyle The sincere seeker
c hances are we’ve all had moments that capture our attention to such a degree that we can’t stop focusing on them. For me, those moments usually come in the form of music. i f i hear a song that grabs me, i ’ll listen to it on repeat — sometimes hundreds of times over multiple days.
The first song that i can remember listening to extensively was c oldplay’s “ v iva la v ida.” The year was 2008 and i was a high school senior. The door to my room could not contain c hris m artin and the rousing, sweeping arrangements that accompanied his vocals.
n ot much has changed in the years that have followed. i never know when there might be another song that might capture my attention and imagination. n ow, if you were to walk down the halls of my office in g eddes h all, you would be likely to hear “ wait for it,” a song from l in-m anuel m iranda’s new musical “ h amilton.”
m iranda wrote the show under the inspiration of a biography of founding father a lexander h amilton. w hile the show shines a light into the depths and complexities of h amilton’s life, its true genius lies in its ability to draw insights into universal values and timeless themes. m iranda’s show molds complex arrangements, rap and up-tempo beats into a not-so-subtle examination of the human condition.
i n this particular song, rival a aron b urr laments the adulation that has been directed toward a lexander h amilton. Jealously in the face of h amilton’s success causes b urr to revisit his
own hurts. The song finds b urr turning toward big questions, searching for faint whispers of consolation in face of greater pain.
we discover this pain stems from a life filled with great loss. we discover that b urr has been an orphan from a young age, having lost his mother, father and paternal grandfather to smallpox.
b urr reflects on the lessons he’s learned from loss, proclaiming, “ d eath doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints. it takes and it takes and it takes, and we keep living anyway.”
These lines have taken on much greater meaning for me as i have found myself in a state of mourning these past days. n ot only do i mourn with the n otre d ame students who grieve the loss of one of their own, but alongside the world community as well. o nce again, we are left to sift through the residue of the great evil that has been left in the wake of the heinous terrorist attacks in p aris.
“ d eath … takes and it takes and it takes.” w hile the narrative of our lives often offers us innumerable joys, cases of unexplainable tragedy like these often give us pause and cause us to revaluate who we are and what we believe.
i n my case, tragedies of inexplicable evil that “take and take” still render me speechless. o ne might think that after six years of theology studies, i might have some answer, some words that might get rid of the pain or the questions.
b ut i don’t. w hat follows in the wake of evil is scary precisely because defies explanations. b ut death and evil, i ’ve learned, never make sense, and this is the source of their power. They want to shake our foundations to such a degree that we lose our trust in one another and in g od. i f they cause us to see the world as fundamentally
flawed, if we are consumed with constant eyes of suspicion toward others, there’s a good probability we turn in on ourselves, away from sources of light and truth.
Turn in too much and we risk losing the ability to live our lives in and for communion. we risk losing our ability to look out for one another, to reach out to support each other during those times of vulnerability, struggle and loss that will still plague the living. d eath, evil and sin win if they leave us paralyzed and incapable of loving one another.
b ut g od does not promise that evil will not exist in the world, only that it will never have the last say. Through his resurrection, c hrist promises us that it is life, his life, which will have the last word.
a nd we must make sure that it does because “we keep living anyway.” yes, those of us who are left to journey and tarry in the world cannot take any of this pain away. b ut we are the sinners and saints who can make sure life is lived differently. we must meet each other with open eyes and hands so that we can know each other’s pains, and bear and shoulder them together.
e ven if we cannot see the results, we can never give up hope that we can be g od’s mouthpieces. until we, too, are called home, we must unceasingly proclaim that goodness and love will ultimately win and work to make sure that they do.
A 2012 and 2015 graduate of Notre Dame, Scott currently serves as the assistant director for Notre Dame Vision in the Institute for Church Life. He can be reached at sboyle2@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
The name’s bond, barely adequate bond
g ood morning everyone. morning, m ike.
we’ve got a great new b ond film for you. it’s going to be bigger and better than the last one (and at least $100 million more expensive). p icture this. c amera pans over mexico c ity, daytime d ay of the d ead. Thousands of extras kick dust up on the most beautiful main road leading out to this gorgeous open plaza. m assive skeleton puppets snake through the air, dancers in elaborate costumes parade down the main street, cutting through the onlookers. c ut to a man in a skeleton mask, dressed in an a rmani suit, with an attractive mexican woman in a low-cut, fitted corset by his side. we follow them through the city in one continuous camera shot, and they end up in a hotel room. They almost end up having sex with each other, and then the man in the mask turns out to be b ond, and he goes out to save the world.
That sounds amazing. w hat happens next? e rgh, haven’t quite got that far yet.
This, ladies and gentleman, must have been the pitch for the latest b ond film. “ s pectre,” b ond’s latest enormously successful stint, could be described as a kind of lacklustre stab at the old spy motif. There’s guns, there’s girls, there are classic shots of b ond almost dying but just straightening his cuffs and moving along, and that’s about it. The movie plays like a bunch of really aesthetically beautiful scenes strung together with no actual storyline or plot.
The opening scene described above basically sets the the bar for the rest of the film, and also proves that it is impossible for any production team to actually sustain such a high quality of extravagance. “ s pectre” went way over budget (as mentioned above $100 million more than what “ s kyfall” cost), and they ended up having to cut scenes and replace some actors (most significantly, cutting c hiwetel e jiofor for a ndrew s cott, as revealed in the s ony hackings a while ago, because e jiofor’s salary was just too expensive, and they really needed to fly out to middle of nowhere in a desert for a half hour of film. They just needed to.). i n the weeks leading up to its release, hosts of problems about the production were brought to light, and they are very obvious throughout the film.
o ther than the obvious production issues, the b ond franchise is inherently problematic in a progressive society. The familiar tropes of b ond girls, and b ond’s inexplicable lack of s T d s or alcoholism, run rampant throughout this film, although they try to solve the b ond girl problem by having him “fall in love.” g ranted, the girl that he falls in love with is about 20 years younger, blonde, busty and rather bland, leading us to wonder just how long that will probably last (most likely answer, she’ll be murdered in the next movie, and b ond will have to avenge her death).
d on’t get me wrong, i love b ond films, probably more than is good for me. i love the classic suave spy who gets his way with women, knows his way around a gun and drives the most beautiful car known to man, an a ston m artin. a nd if there is one good thing to say about this movie, viewers should go just to witness the sheer beauty and power of
the custom-made a ston m artin, enough of a draw in itself (also, a classic example of why they went over budget). b ut this movie was such a letdown after the brilliance of “ s kyfall.”
p erhaps the biggest problem lay in the lack of villain. c hristoph waltz, the man who won an o scar for his portrayal of the grotesque nazi general h ans l anda in “i nglorious b asterds,” was picked as the follow-up to Javier b ardem’s brilliantly creepy r aoul s ilva, and he couldn’t have done a worse job. it wasn’t really his fault though — the script and organization of the movie barely helped us to understand anything. There was too much mystery for the audience to have to wrap their heads around, and by the time the big reveal actually occurred, all that was in your head was, “ w hy, i don’t understand, what do you mean?” There was no lead-up, no follow-up and you just had to wrap your head around the fact that all these characters were somehow related. it was a confusing mess, that so obviously demonstrated that “ s pectre” had not gone into filming with any kind of plausible script.
The takeaway from this for s am mendes i hope will be: i f you have to, make a film that goes through all the original b ond tropes. i can stomach attractive girl plot devices and car chases, but please tell a story
Kitty Baker is a senior program of liberal studies and film, television and theatre major and 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.
Kitty Baker british i nvasion
CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: maggie gyllenhaal, 38; martha plimpton, 45; dean mcdermott, 49; marg helgenberger, 57.
happy birthday: speak your mind and follow through with hard work, practicality and confidence. let past experiences help you make good choices and bring about the changes that will allow you to use your skills to their fullest. a wide variety of opportunities await you if you are progressive and ready to put yourself on the line. your numbers are 3, 8, 19, 23, 32, 39, 45.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): show some initiative. if you wait too long, someone will outmaneuver you. look out for yourself and refuse to let anyone charm you into taking on responsibilities that don’t belong to you. compliments will not pay the bills.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): consistency will make you look good and help you outperform anyone who is trying to beat you at your own game. it’s vital for you to stay focused and do your best to finish what you start. don’t let emotional issues cost you financially.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): get involved in activities that are conducive to meeting new people or sharing something special with someone you love. Take pride in the way you look and put your best foot forward. don’t neglect your responsibilities.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): do the things you enjoy. Take care of your health and be careful while doing anything that requires physical action or working with dangerous equipment. a financial investment looks inviting. check out a piece of property.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): don’t back someone else financially. a deal being offered isn’t as good as you are being led to believe. invest in your skills and knowledge, not in what someone else is trying to accomplish. romance will improve your life.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): share concerns with friends and you’ll come up with a solution to a problem that has been keeping you awake at night. honesty will bring emotions to the surface. confront anyone who has been leaning on you too heavily.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): you’ll face problems at home if you try to ignore the emotional issues that are bothering you. check out ways to cut corners or bring in extra cash if your finances are getting you down. update your look for a quick pickme-up.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): expand an idea you have and share your plans with the people you feel can contribute. a steady approach and a unique presentation will capture attention. short trips will pay off as long as you are open to suggestions.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): doubt will set if you aren’t precise and detailed in all that you do. it’s important to express your thoughts and ask questions if something is unclear. you can bring about positive changes at home that will improve your love life.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): don’t let a last-minute change of plans end up costing you financially. stay on top of your money matters and avoid joint ventures. a discussion with someone you work with will help you advance. protect your health.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): someone will provide you with poor information. make changes based on what works best for you. There is money to be made if you invest in your abilities, your appearance and your future. romance will lead to a commitment.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The information you pick up at a tradeshow, conference or just by listening to someone who has more life experience will help push you in a favorable direction. a partnership or contribution will be the influence and boost you need.
Birthday Baby: you are relentless and courageous. you are a perfectionist and a humanitarian.
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is $75 for one semester
Jumble | david hoyT and JeFF knurek
sudoku | The mepham group
Just add Water | eric carlson & John roddy
manning better as a backup
Daniel O’Boyle sports writer
Five-for-20. 35 yards. no touchdowns. Four interceptions. peyton manning will forever be associated with those stats. The stats from sunday’s game, in which he broke brett Favre’s all-time passing yardage record and was subsequently pulled in the 3rd quarter. The stats from what might be his last game. even those stats are generous to the 5-time mvp. The underthrown deep balls are one thing; those can be blamed on injuries. a fter all, it was a miracle manning came back so well from those neck surgeries to begin with. but some of manning’s decisions seemed completely inexplicable for the greatest mind in the game.
in January, when i started writing this column, i said it was time for the broncos to move on from manning. now, it’s hard to imagine anyone thinking otherwise. brock osweiler is set to take the reins at least for this week against chicago, but it wouldn’t be surprising if we see the 6-foot-8 monster, who looks more suited to gary kubiak’s offense, for a few more games beyond that.
but manning is still on the broncos roster and still earning $15 million. so what can he do while osweiler takes the reins of the offense?
well, the answer is obvious, isn’t it? did you see drew stanton on the sidelines against seattle? his dance moves, which bore a certain amount of resemblance to holly holm’s moves to defeat ronda rousey on saturday night, were surely some of the highlights of this season. a nd competing in the a Fc against formidable patriots and bengals teams, denver could benefit from having a legendary figure like manning on its sideline.
i’m not talking about manning’s legendary career as a quarterback here, though i guess that might come in handy at some point. but it’s manning’s advertising career that should really come in handy as a backup.
if stanton’s moves can inspire a ndre ellington into the end zone for cardinals, what kind of impact can manning’s iconic
seven-syllable nationwide jingles have? with that power to remain stuck in your head for weeks or months, manning’s tunes could keep osweiler motivated for the remainder of the season and even into a deep postseason run.
“good job brock, i’m proud of you.”
it’s memorable, it keeps osweiler focused, it sells insurance. it’s just what an experienced head like peyton manning (and as far as experienced heads go, there are none bigger than peyton’s) should do. in today’s nFl , where small margins could be the difference between winning and losing, manning’s classic jingle could prove the difference.
if that doesn’t work, there’s always manning’s most iconic brand of all: papa John’s pizza. peyton is pretty much a father figure to young players on the broncos roster. so why shouldn’t he play the twin roles of advertising symbol and father by providing a pizza party to osweiler and company after victories to celebrate, courtesy of papa John’s? That kind of publicity could make him millions and boost team morale. a fter all, after taking more and more from college and even high school offenses, it’s about time nFl teams looked to pee-wee football for inspiration.
peyton is a legend on the field, but he’s a legend of the commercial break too, and if he wants to contribute to a new brock osweiler-led denver broncos team, he needs to play to his strengths. if he can’t perform with his arm, he’s got to do it in the marketing game, where he’s still number one (as much as luke mccown has been challenging him this season). Think of how much he can still do in selling insurance, pizza and maybe even jeans if he wants to break another of brett Favre’s records.
a nd if osweiler doesn’t work out at quarterback, maybe kubiak could try starting “really high voice” peyton manning instead.
Contact Dan O’Boyle at doboyle1@nd.edu
The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Irish drop a pair of ACC matches in Florida
By HUNTER McDANIEL sports writer
The i rish continued their tough season in conference play with a pair of losses over the weekend, stretching their losing streak to 11 games, though they did show some improvement in s unday’s loss at m iami.
n otre d ame (6-22, 1-15 acc ) spent the weekend in Florida, starting with Friday’s match at n o. 20 Florida s tate. The i rish and the s eminoles (21-6, 13-2) started the match trading point for point and working to a 13-13 tie, but Florida s tate pulled away in the first set and never looked back.
a fter securing a 25-18 first set win, the s eminoles cruised to a 25-14 second set. The i rish came back strong from break to fight to a 9-9 tie early in the third set, but Florida s tate was simply too much for the young i rish, who fell 25-19 in the final frame as the s eminoles completed the three-set sweep.
s ophomore outside hitter s am Fry again led the i rish against Florida s tate with seven kills and finished with a .400 attacking percentage.
Then on s unday afternoon, n otre d ame made the trip from Tallahassee to m iami to take on the h urricanes (18-8, 11-4), who came into the match riding
an 11-1 record at home this year. w ith a 3-1 victory over n otre d ame, they secured their twelfth home victory of the season.
h owever, for a team in the midst of an extended losing streak, the i rish were able to hold their own against a solid m iami team. Though m iami dominated the first set, the i rish were able to take the second set and tie the match at one. n otre d ame closed out the second frame by scoring 10 of the last 14 points and limited the errors that have plagued them all year.
The i rish struggled to keep the momentum they gained in the second set and ultimately dropped the next to on the way to yet another conference loss.
m uch of the i rish success in the match as a whole can be attributed to freshman middle blocker m eg m orningstar, who turned in the statistically strongest match of her brief acc career with six blocks and eight kills for a .727 attack percentage.
m orningstar recognizes what even the smallest improvements can mean for a team that is looking to the future with hope, she said.
“ i think that moving forward, it’s always good to be making individual improvements and as a team we’re beginning to take steps forward,” m orningstar said.
“ w e’re making strides in
practice and in matches and it’s good to see for us.”
Though this season has been a long one for a team dominated by underclassmen, m orningstar said that the future is bright for the team as they get used to first-year head coach Jim m c l aughlin’s system.
“ i t’s all about improving and trying to put together games and points the way we’re supposed to,” m orningstar said. “a big part of it is getting more consistent, and moving into next year the new system will be a bigger part of us.
“ w ith not many upperclassmen, it’s hard to come into a brand new system. i think that we’re getting much more familiar with the system and that will be something we can build on heading into next year.”
The i rish have just four matches left on their schedule with the final two coming next weekend. n otre d ame has a couple more chances to break its losing streak before turning to next season, starting with g eorgia Tech (17-11, 8-8) on Friday night. They then close out their home schedule against the only team they’ve beaten in conference play this season as c lemson (6-22, 1-15) comes to p urcell p avilion on s unday..
Contact Hunter McDaniel at hmcdani1@nd.edu
SARAH OLSON | The Observer
Freshman middle blocker Meg Morningstar,16, stands with her teammates after a 3-0 loss to Pittsburgh at Purcell Pavilion on Nov. 8. Morningstar’s eight kills against Miami on Sunday were her personal career high.
“she is hands down the best perimeter player out there that can shoot the ball from three,” mc graw said. “she’s a big guard, about [6foot-2]; she can rebound; she can do so many other things as well. [ she’s] going to fit in perfectly with our offense, so [we’re] really thrilled with her.
“she’s really going to be able to stretch the defense. we’re going to be able to get so much more out of the post with her at the four spot because they’re going to have to come out and guard her so they won’t be able to pack it in around [sophomore forward brianna Turner]. i think she really helps the offense.”
a dditionally, mc graw said young provides further versatility and an ability to score that complements b oley well.
“Jackie young set the [ i ndiana] single-season scoring record [and] led the state in scoring last year,” mc graw said. “The girl can put the ball in the basket, and we certainly need that. she reminds me a little bit of [ k ayla mcbride], and i think the fans are really going to love watching her.
“she is someone that can pull up and shoot the midrange jumper; she’s got a three; she can rebound; she can do a lot of things in transition; so she’s a very versatile
guard [and] can help us in a lot of different ways.”
w ith the strength of the incoming class, mc graw says she is content with the class’s size and will not be looking to further bolster it.
“ we’re done,” mc graw said.
“ we had 13 this year and really wanted to get back down to 12. now with [freshman guard a li p atberg] dropping down a class, we have three in that class so we’ll graduate four, bring in three, and that will be exactly the number that i’m looking for.”
i n the end, the i rish recruiting staff set out to replace this season’s upcoming losses to the roster and found the best fit to replace them, mc graw said.
“ we look at what we’re losing,” mc graw said. “ we’ve really just tried to replace what we’ve had. [ we] always want to look at the best players in the country, but it’s all about the fit. it’s not necessarily the most talented; it’s always how it’s going to fit with the rest of the team.”
That said, for next year’s class, notre dame seems to have been able to get both. now, with next year’s recruiting class rounded out, mc graw and the i rish will return their focus to this season, which continues wednesday at 7 p.m. when the team welcomes Toledo to p urcell p avilion.
Contact Ben Padanilam at bpadanil1@nd.edu
start for him, just kind of keep growing his confidence as our quarterback.”
monaghan, lawson fall in semifinals at championships
Observer Staff Report
notre d ame concluded its fall season this weekend as two seniors competed in the us T a / i T a national i ndoor i ntercollegiate c hampionships while eight more team members played in the b ulldog s cramble. For the i ndoor c hampionships, the i rish sent senior Quentin monaghan, who is ranked no. 5 nationally, to compete in the singles tournament and senior a lex l awson to compete with monaghan in the doubles tournament. monaghan had received an at-large bid to the singles competition due to his high ranking, while he and l awson, the n o. 28 pair in the country, qualified for the doubles event as a result of their win at the r egional c hampionships, which the i rish hosted o ctober 22-26. i n Thursday’s round of 32, monaghan drew a matchup with s tanford sophomore no. 20 Tom Fawcett. Fawcett upset monaghan, defeating him in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. however, monaghan recovered with two wins in the consolation bracket
Friday and s aturday, defeating o klahoma junior a lex g hilea and i ndiana senior s amuel monette in straight sets. That would be as far as monaghan would advance, however, as he then fell in the semifinals of the consolation bracket to d artmouth senior no. 23 d ovydas s akinis on s aturday to end his run in the tournament. monaghan found more success in the doubles tournament with l awson. a s the nation’s 28th-ranked doubles team, the duo received a first round bye on Thursday before defeating s tanford’s team of Fawcett and sophomore d avid w ilczynski in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) to advance to the quarterfinals.
i n the quarterfinals on Friday, l awson and monaghan ran into the no. 23 pairing of seniors d iego h idalgo and g ordon watson of Florida. i n a back-and-forth, tightly-contested match, the i rish duo was able to win in three sets, 6-3, 6-7(4), 10-7. however, in the semifinals on s aturday, l awson and monaghan were unable to defeat north c arolina’s no. 18 pair of senior b rett
c lark and sophomore r obert k elly, falling in another close match, 7-6(3), 4-6, 10-6, ending the i rish duo’s run in the tournament.
w hile l awson and monaghan were competing at the i ndoor c hampionships, eight other team members competed at the b ulldog s cramble, which g eorgia hosted at d an m agill Tennis c omplex.
o verall, the team found only moderate success in the event, as the i rish compiled a record of 13-16 in singles play and 6-10 in doubles play over the course of the weekend. h ighlights for the i rish included senior k enneth s abacinski and freshman d aniel r ayl posting 3-1 records in the singles play, leading the way for the team. a dditionally, the i rish as a team went 3-1 on s unday in doubles play to round out the tournament after getting off to a 3-9 start.
notre d ame will return to the courts when they open their regular season on January 16, welcoming m ichigan s tate and youngstown s tate to e ck Tennis p avilion.
“he was more aggressive [Friday] than he’d been in practice hunting his stuff, and i love it,” brey said. “i think we’re going to need him to do that. great
despite Jackson’s strong play Friday, brey was quick to point out the importance of having sophomore guard matt Farrell so that the irish can play Jackson at multiple spots on the
floor. Farrell, who figures to be the team’s sixth man this year after serving in a reserve role last season, scored 7 points in 17 minutes off the bench.
“matt Farrell coming in helps [Jackson] though — he can slide off the ball and matt can handle the ball,” brey said. “i thought
matt gave us really good minutes again in that role.”
w hile players like Farrell and two freshmen, forward matt ryan and guard rex pflueger, try to find their roles on the team, brey confirmed that freshman forward e lijah burns will be on the five-year plan due to nagging injuries and a crowded depth chart.
“i think he has a really bright future, but let’s get him healthy,” brey said. “a lso, there’s a logjam of big guys if you look out there. we got some big guys stacked on each other. … he doesn’t need any more surgery — just a micro fracture — just needs time to heal.”
even without burns in the fold, the irish still have a deep contingent of players jockeying for playing time. despite 12 players seeing minutes Friday, brey said he’s starting to see what his team’s identity is.
“i’ve gotten on our front line guys to really go to the boards — to get to the offensive board,” brey said. “a nd we have emphasized that more.
“… w hen [senior forward] Zach [auguste] did that, he’s fabulous. a nd that’s what he did the last six weeks of the season last year. he was on the offensive board like a maniac. a nd now he knows when he gets fouled, gets three-point plays on put-backs, he’s more apt to do it.” auguste, who totaled 14
rebounds Friday, will be matched up in the post with milwaukee senior forward matt Tiby, a preseason a ll-horizon l eague selection. so far this season, Tiby is averaging 13 points per game to go along with eight rebounds, consistent with his numbers last season. Tiby leads a two-pronged panther attack along with junior forward austin a rians (15.3 points per game), who sat out last season but was the leading scorer for milwaukee in their most recent ncaa Tournament game, a 2014 loss to v illanova.
a lthough notre dame opened as a 13-point favorite, Jackson said early in the season it is always hard going against teams with which the irish are not familiar, but he trusts their preparation.
“our coaches do a great job of letting us know what [each team is] going to be running on offense, how they’re going to play defense, their tendencies,” Jackson said. “They do a great job of educating us. but at the same time, we need to go out there and play, be smart, and stay together.”
notre dame will look to halt milwaukee’s hot start when it welcomes the panthers to p urcell pavilion on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Contact Brian Plamondon at bplamond@nd.edu
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
Junior guard Steve Vasturia pushes the ball up the court during a 70-63 Irish victory over Virginia Tech on Jan. 19, 2014, at Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame returns to action Tuesday night against Milwaukee.
Forest’s new scheme, the d emon d eacons also kept the i rish off the field — n otre d ame ran just 23 plays in the first half and 49 in the game, more than 10 plays below its previous season low.
“ i think what the real issue was that w ake Forest controlled the football,” k elly said of the offense’s low yardage output s aturday.
o utside of freshman running back Josh a dams’ record-breaking 98-yard touchdown run, the i rish offense struggled against the d emon d eacons, and k elly said he thinks teams coming off a bye have an edge when facing n otre d ame.
“ i t’s an advantage, clearly,” he said. “ i ’ll be honest; when you get a week off this late in the season, just like [ b oston c ollege] will, we have to do a really good job of looking at our own selfscouting and analyzing what we do because they really were totally different in the way they defended our run game and things in the back end of their defense.”
a s k elly noted, the e agles (3-7, 0-6 acc ) had the weekend off prior to their showdown with the i rish in b oston, but he said he doesn’t expect to have to
face wholesale changes two weeks in a row.
“They’re a different animal in terms of how they play in the back end,” k elly said. “ i would expect them to be a little bit more like who they are.”
The e agles are the topranked unit in total defense this year, allowing just 236.5 yards per game, as well as the third-best scoring defense, ceding 14.4 points per game.
Injury update
a trio of i rish players — sophomore defensive lineman d aniel c age, senior running back c .J. p rosise and sophomore tight end n ic w eishar — missed s aturday’s game with concussions. h owever, k elly expects the three to be available for this week’s s hamrock s eries clash with b oston c ollege.
“ i ’d say probable on all of the concussion guys,” k elly said.
James o nwualu suffered an mcl injury against w ake Forest, and k elly said the junior linebacker won’t be healthy for s aturday’s game.
“ o nwualu will be out.
h e’s got a second-degree mcl ,” k elly said, later noting o nwualu’s injury would not require surgery.
k elly also updated freshman receiver e quanimeous s t. b rown’s status, who will undergo surgery for a
paid a dverT isemen T
shoulder injury suffered in last w ednesday’s practice. k elly estimated he would be out for six weeks.
The i rish head coach also noted a minor ankle injury to graduate student receiver a mir c arlisle.
shamrock s eries
s aturday’s contest will be the seventh installment of the now-annual neutral-site game, and b oston’s Fenway p ark will take its name alongside n ew york’s yankee s tadium and c hicago’s s oldier Field as historic venues to host a s hamrock s eries game.
“ w e love these s hamrock s eries games,” k elly said. “ w e play great venues throughout the country, and this will be another great one in an iconic venue in Fenway p ark, and the guys were really excited about playing in a stadium that has such great tradition.”
n otre d ame, who is 6-0 in s hamrock s eries games, will wear special uniforms s aturday, taking the field in an all-green uniform matched with a special gold helmet. b oston c ollege will throwback to a set worn in 1984 when d oug Flutie, now the color commentator on nbc ’s n otre d ame broadcast, quarterbacked the e agles.
Contact Alex Carson at acarson1@nd.edu
races and we’ve got that under control. w e just need another performance like that out of her at the national meet.”
w ith the second-place finish, the i rish finished behind m ichigan but edged out defending national champion m ichigan s tate, which finished third. s parks said beating the s partans will give the team confidence.
“ m ichigan and m ichigan s tate, the two teams we competed with, are two of the top teams year-in and yearout in the country,” s parks said. “ m ichigan s tate won the ncaa title last year and we beat them. The girls on the team know that and they respect those programs, and for them to do that lets them know that we’re at the right place at the right time as far as competing when it matters.”
Though the women received an automatic berth in the ncaa c hampionships, the men finished fourth at the g reat l akes r egional and did not qualify for an at-large selection. Though the season is over for the men’s team, s parks said the fourth place finish will give the team momentum for next year.
“[The fourth place finish] was a big step in the right direction,” s parks said. “The men were picked ninth going into that race. i t gave the guys some respect points throughout the collegiate cross country world that we are one of the better programs in the country. w e missed out this year ... but
we return our entire top seven [runners]. b oth [seniors] m ichael [ c levenger] and Tim b all have a fifth year of eligibility... i t sets us up for a good 2016.” a nd while the men’s team did not make the championships, standout m ichael c levenger will be competing as an individual at the championship meet for the second straight year following a third place finish with a time of 30:21.5. s parks said that c levenger has done a lot for the team, both on the course and in the locker room.
“[ c levenger] is the guy, when it comes time to race, who is always up front,” s parks said. “ h e’s the guy that runs the locker room as well. i think the component to have a successful team is when you’ve got the same guy leading things in the locker room that’s leading things on the course.” w a nd so this s aturday the women will head to l ouisville, k entucky, for the ncaa c hampionships. l ast season, the i rish came away in 29th place behind an a lla merican performance from s eidel. This year, however, s parks has his eyes on a bigger result. “ w e’d like to be in the top 15,” s parks said. “ i think we’re ranked somewhere in that ballpark. i f we put it all together we can maybe be top 10, and we’d like to have two a ll- a mericans in that group.”
The ncaa c hampionships will take place s aturday at 12:00 p.m. for the women and 1:00 p.m. for the men.
Contact Marek Mazuerk at mmazurek@nd.edu
WEI LIN | The Observer
Irish senior Molly Seidel, right, competes at the National Catholic Championships on Sept. 19, 2014, at Notre Dame Golf Course.
nd Cross Country
Kelly discusses BC matchup, injury updates
By ALEX CARSON a ssociate sports e ditor
For the fifth time in as many games — and sixth in seven — n o. 4 n otre d ame will take the field s aturday against a team that had more than seven days of rest prior to playing the i rish when they take on b oston c ollege at Fenway p ark in b oston.
w ake Forest, last s aturday’s opponent in a 28-7 i rish (9-1) win, had a bye week before coming to s outh b end — and i rish head coach b rian k elly said the d emon d eacons (3-7, 1-5 acc ) made adjustments to their defense in the 13 days they had between games.
“They played their front totally different than they had all year,” k elly said during his s unday teleconference. “ s o clearly they game planned a lot of the stuff for us, specifically with that week off.”
i n addition to w ake
see FooTball PaGe 11
seidel, rohrer lead nd to second place
By MAREK MAZUREK sports writer
For the second straight meet, a ll- a merican senior m olly s eidel and freshman a nna r ohrer finished first and second in the ncaa g reat l akes r egional to lead the women’s team to a second place overall finish and an automatic berth in the ncaa c hampionships.
“They’re just confident people,” i rish assistant head coach m atthew s parks said of the pair. “ i t’s championship season and when elitelevel people are confident, that’s a hard combination to match. The talent and confidence is all there at the same time for both these two.”
s parks said s eidel, who finished the six kilometer race in 20:04.4, benefits from having r ohrer, who finished in 20:18.4, around to push her during training and on race day.
“ i think it’s a real tribute to m olly,” s parks said. “[ s he is] a senior that knows what
it takes to be successful and she knows how helpful it is to have a teammate to work with throughout workouts and throughout races. s he’s always doing what she can to help teammates have success.”
b ehind s eidel and r ohrer, the women had their top five runners finish within the top 30 spots with freshman r achel d a d amio finishing 21st, graduate student k aren l esiewicz finishing 27th and freshman a nnie h effernan finishing 28th. s parks said a top-30 showing from h effernan is what put the women’s team over the top in the regional meet.
“That’s something we’ve been looking for all season long: our fifth runner to step up and contribute right there with our third and fourth [runners],” s parks said. “a nd a nnie, in practice, has been doing that. s he just had some breathing issues when she got into
Notre Dame looks to cool off hot Milwaukee Boley, Young commit to Irish
By BEN PADANILAM sports writer
Two of the nation’s top high school women’s basketball players signed their national l etters of i ntent to attend no. 3 notre dame starting next fall, the team announced monday.
w ith the early signing period coming to a close wednesday, the i rish (1-0) were looking to lock in their class for next season, and they did just that when e rin boley, a stretch forward from e lizabethtown h igh s chool in hodgenville, kentucky, and Jackie young, a guard from p rinceton c ommunity h igh s chool in p rinceton, i ndiana, each made their official commitments to the program.
i rish head coach muffet mc graw said this recent recruiting class fills the team’s needs and has the program in a strong position for next season.
“i couldn’t be happier with the two we got,” mc graw
said. “They are exactly what we needed. we were looking for some good guards, obviously, losing some great shooters in [senior] m ichaela mabrey and [graduate student] madison c able [after this season].
“They’re both willing to go inside, to rebound, to be physical inside defensively, and that is something that we also need very much.” according to the espnw 100 rankings, boley is ranked no. 5 and young is ranked no. 11, but both players are ranked in the top 10 of many other recruiting services’ rankings. a s a result, it is all but certain that notre dame will have a top 25 recruiting class for the 20th straight season.
mc graw said she was ecstatic with the way the class has rounded out. i n particular, mc graw said boley provides the i rish with the best perimeter player in the country, filling a need with the best available talent.
By BRIAN PLAMONDON sports writer
a fter opening its season with a convincing victory, no. 18 notre dame will stay at home at p urcell pavilion when it welcomes milwaukee to town Tuesday night.
notre dame (1-0) will look to build off its 87-56 win over st. Francis (pennsylvania) on the same night that the irish unveiled their 2015 acc championship banner.
milwaukee (3-0) will try to improve upon its hot start, which included three wins over the weekend in santa clara, california, to take home the cable car classic Title.
a lthough one game isn’t enough to judge how the season will turn out, irish head coach mike brey said he was pleased with his team so far, particularly junior guard and captain demetrius Jackson. Jackson tallied a careerhigh 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting against st. Francis.
men’s basketball
nd Women’s basketball
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
Junior guard and captain Demetrius Jackson drives the lane during Notre Dame’s 77-73 victory over Duke on Jan. 28 at Purcell Pavilion.
EMMET FARNAN | The Observer
Freshman running back Josh Adams takes the first steps of a 98 yard run during a 28-7 Irish win over Wake Forest on Saturday.
