5 p.m

condolences to the friends, family and colleagues of alshoufi and expressed that the grief resulting from the loss of al-shoufi was felt across the entire notre dame community. associate provost and associate professor of theology rev. daniel groody, a close friend and colleague of alshoufi, delivered a heartfelt homily to the congregation. groody began by reflecting on his personal relationship with al-shoufi. The two met in 2014 as part of their work in separate activism initiatives concerning the Turkishsyrian border and the syrian refugee crisis. The first thing groody noticed about alshoufi, he said, was his kind, compassionate soul.

“While a war was raging around us, Jude’s life-giving passion, humanity, humor and love broke through like a ray of light amidst a dark storm cloud,” groody said. “it was clear that he really cared about people and wanted to spend his energy as a healing presence in the world.” six months later, groody invited al-shoufi to study at the Kroc institute, where the two collaborated on research concerning refugees and the human soul. groody quickly came to recognize the student as “a man of healing” — and this passion for healing stemmed from al-shoufi’s own experiences in a wartorn syria. he recalled alshoufi’s activism in Turkey when he organized and offered classes to 5,000 young children who had been forcibly displaced from syria.

“Jude was committed to this mission because he knew that at the core of every human heart is the desire to be known, loved and understood,” groody said. “especially in times of calamity and distress, he knew that people need a place to belong and feel connected, to tell one’s story and to be heard.”

and while the United states and notre dame provided a place of refuge for al-shoufi, groody said, he never lost sight of his roots in syria.

“[al-shoufi] longed for the day when he would see his friends, uncles, aunts, cousins and his neighborhood again,” groody said. “The desire was so deep that he also had the syriac word for ‘home’ tattooed on his wrist.” but during his time at notre dame, groody noted, al-shoufi also found refuge in christ. groody shared an excerpt of al-shoufi’s recent writing, in which he reflected on his tumultuous early life and the overwhelming power of god’s love.

“my relationship with god was more real for me than the lashes of the torturer’s whip or the pain of their punches and kicks,” al-shoufi wrote. “he gave me the space to speak when i was isolated, to feel safe when i felt afraid, to find strength when i felt helpless and to feel connected when i felt estranged.”

To conclude, groody offered a prayer for the repose of al-shoufi’s soul.

“so Lord, we thank you for the life of Jude, and we entrust him to your loving hands,” groody said. “We thank you for his commitment to healing, to freedom and to empowerment. may this refugee who was our friend and brother now find peaceful refuge in you as you welcome him into his eternal home.” following the mass, congregants were invited to process to the hesburgh center, where members of the tri-campus community gathered with friends and family of al-shoufi — not only to mourn the loss of a treasured member of the notre dame family but also to celebrate his life and legacy.

Contact Evan McKenna at emckenn2@nd.edu

vaccine doses to accommodate any member of the campus community who wishes to get vaccinated at the on-campus vaccination site — which opens Thursday.

Jenkins thus urged students to sign up to receive the first of two doses in the next week at the notre dame site.

“for students currently on campus, if you have not yet been vaccinated, we strongly urge you to be vaccinated at our on-campus site in the days and weeks ahead,” Jenkins said. arrangements will be made for students who are unable to obtain a vaccination before the fall semester or whose vaccination is not recognized by the state of indiana. students are asked to submit their vaccination status in an online tool to allow University officials to determine whether health and safety protocols can be lifted or adjusted in the coming weeks.

admissions

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“based on deposit activity over the easter weekend, we believe it is possible that we may have to close our deposit form before april 15,” the email said. “currently, we have received 67% of our maximum number of deposits — a level that we typically reach just two or three days before the deposit deadline.”

The email informed students that emails would be sent when 80% of deposits had been made, then when 90% of deposits had been made and, finally, when the maximum number of deposits had been reached. students were informed at 4:10 p.m. that same day that 80% of deposits had been reached. at 5:02 p.m., another email was sent saying, “We have now reached our target number of deposits (i.e., deposits surged immediately from 80% to 100% since our last email).”

Three admitted students confirmed no email was sent to them when the 90% threshold was reached. one admitted student, who wished to remain anonymous so as to not risk a spot on the waitlist, was at work from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and not able to make the deposit during the day Tuesday.

“i was either driving the work truck around or at a job site, so i had no ability to be able to check my email during the day,” the student said.

The student had made the decision monday night to submit the deposit after having the chance to speak with family on the financial logistics, but had not gotten around to actually submitting the deposit by Tuesday morning.

“it was a world of just pain and anger … because i was literally just 24 hours short,” the student said. another admitted student who was also at work during the day Tuesday said they were, at the time, still weighing their options and feeling like they could not yet put the deposit down in “good faith.”

“i just hadn’t placed my deposit yet because this weekend … i have an event with another school, and i just wanted to do my due diligence,” that second student said. however, after seeing the first email Tuesday morning, the student planned to submit the deposit later that day.

“[i] got that email, i was at work, but i did manage to see it, and i thought ‘okay, since it’s going up when i get home from work today, i’m going to call my dad because we’ve been kind of going through this process together,’ wanting to talk to him before i did anything else,” the student said. “but i figured, ‘Talk to my dad, i’ll probably end up depositing tonight because i want to be safe’.” ndLs reminded admitted students on multiple occasions of the policy, their spokesperson said in an email to The observer.

“We advise admitted students of this policy in their admission letter, their scholarship letter, the information packet that is mailed to them, and on the website for admitted students,” the email said.

Two admitted students — now waitlisted — confirmed they were initially told the likelihood of the form closing early was “very unlikely.”

The ndLs spokesperson said the admissions chose to err on the side of transparency in alerting students of the current percent of maximum deposits made.

Wednesday morning, legal blog above the Law published an article referencing comments from sarah Zearfoss, senior assistant dean at the University of michigan Law school, calling the process “insane” and “unhinged.”

The ndLs spokesperson said in an email that the comments in the article were “unfair” and that they mischaracterized the rationale behind their policy — that ndLs is a small law school and believes this environment benefits its students.

“Therefore, the deposit policy is designed to prevent over-enrollment and to maintain our small law school environment for students,” the spokesperson said. an email with a continued interest form was sent out Wednesday afternoon, by which students who were unable to submit a deposit could get on the waitlist. The ndLs spokesperson said those who fill out the form will be given priority over those on the normal waitlist if spots become available. regarding the $600 deposit, admitted students were encouraged to reach out to the office of financial aid to waive the fee so finances don’t impede a student’s ability to reserve their spot in the incoming class.

“The deposit is not meant to be a financial hurdle. if students contact us and explain how it is a financial hurdle for them, then we are willing to remove that obstacle,” the spokesperson said.

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