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Volume 55, Issue 37 | WEDNESday, November 11, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com
Storming the field evokes mixed feelings After Notre Dame’s double-OT win over Clemson, celebrating fans fail to follow pandemic protocols By MARIA LEONTARAS Editor-in-Chief
MARIA LEONTARAS | The Observer
Students poured out of the bleachers and onto the field to celebrate the Irish’s 47-40 victory over Clemson, eliciting mixed reactions about the post-game gathering as COVID-19 cases continue to climb nationwide.
Electric. Magical. Terrifying. These are a few words students used to describe the storming of the field after Notre Dame football’s double-overtime victory over Clemson Saturday. There was a tangible shift in the Stadium’s energy as the Irish settled for a game-tying play. Fans rushed to the first 15 or so rows of each designated student section. As the game entered one overtime after another, the excitement in the stadium grew. When the final overtime went into the fourth down, Notre Dame senior Sophia Kartsonas pushed to the railing separating the seats from the field. Other students, she
said, followed suit. The University seemed to expect a rush of emotion at the game, hiring more ushers, event staff, police officers and private security guards, the New York Times reported, but they did little to stop the rush. “What surprised me was that the ushers were telling people where to go and how to [get onto the field],” Kartsonas said. “I did think they would try to be stopping us, but people just started running and jumping off that ledge.” And in moments, thousands of mostly masked students were celebrating on the field as the announcer attempted to get them to leave. see FIELD PAGE 5
Students report heightened stress DIANE PARK | The Observer
First Irish Guardswoman recalls historic experience By EVAN McKENNA, RENEE PIERSON, ELIZABETH CARTER, MAGGIE CLARK and ADRIANA PEREZ From the Archives Reasearchers
Editor’s Note: This is a two-part series featuring Molly Kinder. A version of the first story was published online Sept. 21. A version of the second part was published online Sept. 23. A Sept. 20, 2000 cartoon published in The Observer features five figures integral to the fight for diversity at Notre Dame. Standing between Frazier Thompson, the University’s first Black graduate, and Michael Brown, the first Black Leprechaun, is a smiling woman, wearing a kilt and a tall, feathered hat. This is Molly Kinder — the first woman on the Notre Dame Irish Guard. While Kinder’s story is one of
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triumph and progress, her experience was far from easy. This week’s edition of From the Archives revisits the “Irish guardswoman,” 20 years after she made history. Molly Kinder auditions, joins Irish Guard
Sept. 1, McCarthy
2000
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In the fall of 2000, Notre Dame senior Molly Kinder became the first woman to become a member of the Irish Guard. She auditioned her junior year “kind of for kicks,” she told The Observer, but failed to make the group. Kinder auditioned again the following year and finally achieved a goal set at the start of her freshman year: becoming a part of the Irish Guard. In joining the ranks of one of the University’s most iconic traditions, Kinder ended the group’s 51-year all-male
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tradition. Standing at 6-foot-3, Kinder met the height requirement that was said to have barred women from joining the Guard in previous years. Kinder put in months of hard work in preparation for her final audition in the months leading up to her senior year, even while studying abroad. “I practiced marching a lot in the streets of Chile and I think the people thought I was insane,” Kinder said. “When I got home I practiced marching on the football field and just continued to prepare mentally and physically for the audition.” In response to claims that the all-male tradition of the Irish Guard was broken for the sake of political correctness, Director of University Bands Kenneth Dye insisted see ARCHIVES PAGE 4
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DANE SHERMAN | The Observer
Students advocating for increased mental health awareness have asked the administration to substantially address stress. By MARIAH RUSH and DANE SHERMAN Managing Editor and News Writer
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused over 230,000 deaths in the United States since the first case of the virus nearly nine months ago. One concern of the pandemic, beyond the direct physical health impact of the virus, is its mental health impact. College students are just one of the groups feeling the mental health impact. A recent survey found that
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75% of college students reported feeling increased stress and anxiety due to coronavirus. A Notre Dame mental health survey found 50% of students to be under “severe” mental distress. Students at the University have been hit especially hard this semester. With 1,416 reported cases throughout the semester to date, Notre Dame has had more cases than almost any other school of comparable size. see STRESS PAGE 5
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