NBC to broadcast ND women’s basketball
By ALYSA GUFFEY e ditor-in- c hief
The last time n iele i vey stepped foot in e nterprise c enter in s t. l ouis, m issouri, she won an ncaa champi onship as part of the 20002001 n otre d ame women’s basketball team.
“ i never had an event that i had to go back there to go into the arena,” i vey said. “ s o it’s going to be actually really surreal to kind of feel that vibe again, because i know i ’ll never forget that feeling of winning in that arena.”
n ow, returning to the e nterprise on s aturday, i vey hopes to lead her squad to a win against the c alifornia g olden b ears in
the inaugural c iti s hamrock c lassic. s he will also be coaching the i rish in the first women’s collegiate bas ketball game broadcasted live on nbc and p eacock.
“ i t’s powerful,” i vey said Thursday of being even a small part of the historic broadcast. “ i t’s the reason why i came back, and i al ways want to expose my team to incredible experi ences and help mold them.”
The live broadcast will also feature an all-women broad cast team. a nd although the knitty-gritty of the broad cast is not i vey’s main focus as head coach, she described it as a powerful moment.
“ we have [an] all black broadcast staff i heard, [the] first women’s game on nbc
and then having two first a frican- a merican female head coaches at the helm of two p ower Five programs — c harmin s mith and myself — i think it’s an incredible moment, and i ’m just happy to share that with my team,” i vey said.
The game is also the first college basketball game broadcasted live on nbc since a Feb. 28, 1998, matchup between the n otre d ame and p rovidence men’s squads, according to an nbc press release.
a s the game takes place more than 350 miles away from campus, nbc will host a watch party sponsored by o n h er Turf ( oh T), nbc
Bleier recounts journey to NFL
By RYAN PETERS notre dame news e ditor
o ne day during train ing camp in 1968, recent p ittsburgh s teelers draft pick r ocky b leier had what he thought was the happiest day of his life — at least, at
that point.
Then s teelers head coach b ill a ustin approached b leier, the former n otre d ame halfback taken with the 417th pick. a ustin told him that he received b leier’s
panelists discuss midterm election
By LIAM KELLY news writer
on wednesday evening, the notre dame institute for advanced study hosted a panel discussing the implications of the 2022 midterm elections results on democracy, abortion and the 2024 presidential election.
The panel was moderated by political science professor david campbell and included notre
dame alum and new york Times opinion columnist carlos lozada, notre dame political science pro fessor christina wolbrecht and associate notre dame political sci ence professor ricardo ramirez. while the results of Tuesday’s elections are still being deter mined and control of the house and senate has not yet been de cided, the general consensus of
SMC faculty discuss violence prevention
By KATELYN WALDSCHMIDT news writer
Editor’s Note: This story contains mentions of sexual violence. A list of sexual as sault reporting options and oncampus resources can be found on the Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross websites.
on monday night, the saint mary’s college community continued its ongoing discus sion of sexual assault, violence prevention and advocacy with a panel of faculty for a ques tion and answer session.
during the event, pan elists included college president Katie conboy, liz baumann, iesha miller, sarah granger, Kris urschel and phil bambenek.
megan Zwart, an associate professor and chair of the phi losophy department, began the event with a discussion about productive dialogue. she explained this may be an emotional event for those in volved but that “emotion helps
us understand what matters to us.”
Zwart also emphasized that the purpose of this event and something to think about was “listening to understand rather than reply.”
next, Kris urschel, the direc tor of human resources (hr) and Title i X coordinator at saint mary’s, gave a brief speech about
the process of Title i X reporting.
“a big part of Title i X is the em powerment of the individual,” said said.
urschel explained the differ ent types of reporting, such as a formal report where an investi gation and hearing are pursued. she also explained that whether
The independen T newspaper serving n o T re d ame, s ain T m ary’s and holy cross To uncover T he T ru T h and repor T i T accura T ely volume 57, issue 31 | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com news PAGE 4 scene PAGE 10viewpoin T PAGE 7 FooT ball PAGE 14 bara K a bou T s PAGE 16
see shamrocK PAGE 4
For first time in history, NBC and Peacock will broadcast women’s collegiate basketball game live
ALYSA GUFFEY | The Observer
Notre Dame women’s basketball head coach Niele Ivey speaks to reporters Thursday before her team travels to St. Louis.
KATELYN WALDSCHMIDT | The Observer
Saint Mary’s College President Katie Conboy and other faculty panelists speak at an advocacy event on campus Monday.
see rocKy PAGE 3 see elecTion PAGE 5
see smc PAGE 3
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Today’s Staff
Friday
Korean Kimchi Making Workshop
Hank McNeil junior Dillon Hall “Teaberry.”
Have a question you want answered?
Email photo@ndsmcobserver.com
Corrections
The Observer regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times. We do, however, recognize that we will make mistakes. If we have made a mistake, please contact us at editor@ndsmcobserver.com so we can correct our error.
151 Decio Hall 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Learn to make kimchi and take home a jar.
Panel Discussion on Irish Language 102 Hesburgh Library 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. Discussion on historical Irish poem.
Saturday
Theatre: “Steel Magnolias” DeBartolo Performing Arts Center 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10 - 13.
Performance by Lisa Loeb DeBartolo Performing Arts Center 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Originals and remixes.
Sunday
Explore the Bend: Hike at Spicer Lake Student Center Atrium 12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Walk around the nature preserve.
Organ Recital by Colin Andrews Basilica of the Sacred Heart 8 p.m. - 9 p.m. British organist.
Monday
AAHD Exhibit: Elizabeth M. Claffey 214 Riley Hall 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Themed “Darkness and Nothing More.”
“Daughters of Our Lady” Exhibit 102 Hesburgh Library 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Celebrate 50 years of coeducation.
Tuesday
Netball Night Angela Athletic and Wellness Complex 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Wear SMC gear and cheer on classmates.
Targeting the Talent Lecture 1030 Jenkins Nanovic Halls 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.
By Rachel Whitlark.
2 TODAY
News Meghan Lange Emma Duffy Kendelle Hung-Ino Graphics Makayla Hernandez Photo Sam Godinez Sports Grace Kursweil Andrew McGuinness Scene Willoughby Thom Viewpoint Andrew Marciano
RYAN VIGILANTE | The Observer
Want your event included here? Email news@ndsmcobserver.com
Last Saturday, Notre Dame Stadium was filled with energetic Fighting Irish fans for the long-awaited game against then-No. 4 Clemson. After Notre Dame’s win, students stormed the field, recapturing the energy of 2020 to celeberate their victory, 35-14.
t he next f ive D ays: What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Question of the Day:
Emily Hunt senior off-campus “Rocky road.”
Garry McFadden senior off-campus “Half baked.”
Brian Closkey senior Dillon Hall
“Pickled mango.”
John Brach senior off-campus “Blue moon.”
ndsmcobserver.com P.O. Box 779, Notre Dame, IN 46556 024 South Dining Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 Editor-in-Chief Alysa Guffey Managing Editor Aidan O’Malley Asst. Managing Editor: Mannion McGinley Asst. Managing Editor: Genevieve Coleman Asst. Managing Editor: Maggie Eastland Notre Dame News Editor: Ryan Peters Saint Mary’s News Editor: Meghan Lange Viewpoint Editor: Hannah Hebda Sports Editor: Aidan Thomas Scene Editor: Willoughby Thom Photo Editor: Ryan Vigilante Graphics Editor: Maggie Klaers Social Media Editor: Anna Hurt Advertising Manager: Emili Garcia Casas Ad Design Manager: Christina Sayut Systems Administrator: Rachel Johnson Talent & Inclusion Manager: Angela Mathew Office Manager & General Info
Cade Sasse senior off-campus
“Cookie dough.”
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T HE OBSERVER | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022 | NDSMCOBSERVER COM
an individual files a Title i X complaint at saint mary’s, university of notre dame or holy cross college, the saint mary’s Title i X office can still give help and support.
“in Title i X, we believe our students. it’s not my role to in vestigate, it is my job to believe students,” she noted.
a fter urshel’s commentary, the panel was opened to a ques tion and answer session, with questions from both the au dience and anonymous text messages. a wide variety of questions were asked, one of the first being about health options offered for victims of assault.
sarah granger, the director of health & counseling center at saint mary’s, talked about how the center offers sTd testing to all students. director of the office of student involvement & advocacy (osia), Liz baumann added that the family Justice center is available for needs that students feel saint mary’s may fall short of.
The family Justice center is a help center for victims of most types of abuse and has a 24/7 hotline specific to st. Joesph county. They can offer assis tance such as trained advocates or transportation to hospitals.
phil bambenek, director of campus safety, touched on some physical aspects of stu dent safety. he discussed ten tative plans on including more card readers to help limit access to outsiders.
additionally, he explained that while residence halls are not monitored for student pri vacy, entrances and exits are heavily monitored. he empha sized the importance of report ing, saying “We respond to all complaints” and “if someone calls, we go and investigate.”
The idea that the faculty cannot offer help in circum stances that they are not aware of was brought up by mul tiple panelists throughout the night.
many audience members spoke up about various issues they were concerned about, but panelists continued throughout encouraging students to report instances of harassment and abuse.
The discussion also touched on what options there are for students who are willing to come forward to help re move their abuser from their life and campus. bambenek said that no trespassing orders are available for if the perpe trator has no reason to be on saint mary’s campus grounds and that the Title i X office as sists student with that type of request.
The night ended with a thank you from the two clubs sponsor ing the event, belles supporting belles and student government association (sga).
Contact Katelyn Waldschmidt at kwaldschmidt01@saintmarys.edu
1- a draft status in the mail, deeming him available for service in the v ietnam War.
a ustin told b leier that the s teelers would “take care” of the letter for him, b leier said.
b ut with three games left in the season, b leier re ceived another letter. This time around, it was his draft notification.
“ i fell through the cracks,” b leier said in an interview with The o bserver.
b ecause the letter b leier received was postdated, he had just two days to hop on a bus to report to basic training. a bout a year after making an nf L roster, the former n otre d ame nation al champion was deployed to v ietnam.
While in v ietnam, b leier and his company were on security while on 24-hour alert when b leier’s point man detected enemy ac tivity out ahead in the rice paddy. g unfire ensued, and the soldiers dove left and right into the paddy to get out of harm’s way. While in the paddy, b leier was shot in the leg.
s oon after, while b leier’s commanding officer probed the perimeter, a hand grenade flew in and bounced off the officer.
“[The grenade] rolls be tween my feet, and before i can jump out of the way, it
blows up,” b leier said.
b leier’s company moved to a secure area before a he licopter transported him to treatment. h e spent three weeks in the hospital in Tokyo before spending nine months in the hospital in the u s
The initial prognosis of the injury was that b leier would never play football again. b ut b leier, citing a human tendency to bounce back from injury, slowly began preparing for a re turn to the nf L.
“ m aybe i was just dumb enough or stubborn enough to not believe what [the doctor] was going to say,” he said. “ s o my mind set was that, ‘a lright, i ’m damaged, but i didn’t lose an arm, i didn’t lose a leg, i didn’t lose a foot.’ You spend time, you rehab, then you go out and play. a nd as simple as that may sound, that was kind of my mantra.”
b ecause he dropped from 200 pounds during his ini tial playing days to about 165 pounds during the war, his rehab process heavily relied on lifting weights.
a fter four and a half months in v ietnam, three weeks in Tokyo and nine months in the hospital at f ort r iley, Kansas, b leier was out of the armed ser vices and ready to return to football in July 1970.
b leier returned to s teelers practice, but was not fully healed. h e limped a little,
and wounds would occa sionally open up while he ran, he said. The s teelers kept him around until the last cuts before placing him on the injured reserve. The following year, b leier was placed on the taxi squad, giving him one more year to return to full health.
h e eventually earned a spot on special teams for the 1972 and 1973 seasons. h e almost quit football fol lowing the 1973 season, but returned and became a member of four s uper b owlwinning s teelers teams.
f itting back into the locker room after returning from v ietnam was not dif ficult, b leier said.
“ i t was not that i wore that experience on my sleeve,” b leier, an a ppleton, Wisconsin native, said. “ i t was just a part of my ex perience, and i had to put that in perspective because you’re focused on coming back.”
The locker room mental ity of a professional sports team was not altered by his experience, he said.
“ i t doesn’t change, and all the stupid jokes that we pulled on one another, all the pranks, it’s all the same stuff,” he said.
These days, b leier serves as an honorary board member for the n ational v eterans f oundation ( nvf ). s tarted by his friend, s had m eshad, nvf offers a lifeline for veter ans dealing with a number
of crises. v eterans reach out to the lifeline for help involving homelessness, depression and drug abuse.
The lifeline for veter ans offers immediate help when they need it the most, b leier said.
“What we want is that when we’re reaching out for help, we want somebody to help us. We want an imme diate reaction,” he said.
b leier said the nature of his return from v ietnam put him in a spot to start advocating for veterans. While he became a nation al story for returning to the football field, most veter ans returned to a polarized society where they were poorly treated.
g eneral attitudes toward veterans have become more positive since the g ulf War, but a mericans should con tinue to be aware of the struggles veterans endure, b leier said.
“ i think the big thing about v eterans d ay is just that, from the a merican people point of view, is the awareness of the veteran and being able to say thank you,” he said. “ i think that acknowledgement has become so important within our culture, just to understand that there are a group of people out there that’s served the country and ultimately fight their wars.”
Contact Ryan Peters at rpeters5@nd.edu
‘Asain Allure’ cultural showcase celebrates finding community
By CLAIRE REID a ssociate news e ditor
g rowing up in the p hilippines, junior Liyanna b aloca said she never la beled herself as “a sian.”
“ i grew up around f ilipinos my whole life,” she recalled. “ b eing a sian wasn’t something i felt i had to label myself as be cause it was just normal.”
Then, she said, she ar rived at n otre d ame and was suddenly no longer part of the majority.
a s a freshman, b aloca at tended c ampus m inistry’s a sian first-year retreat.
There, she said she met some of her closest friends and was first introduced to n otre d ame’s a sian com munity — a community, she said, has profoundly shaped her n otre d ame experience.
n ow, b aloca is the mar keting director of the f ilipino- a merican s tudent o rganization, a mem ber of the a sian a merican
a ssociation ( aaa ) and the director of this year’s an nual “a sian a llure” cultur al showcase.
“a sian a llure” showcas es traditional and modern cultural dance, music and art performances from aaa members and mem bers of other student clubs including the Korean s tudent a ssociation, s outh a sian s tudent a ssociation, f ilipino- a merican s tudent o rganization, Japan c lub and c hinese c ulture s ociety.
p erformances this year include K p op music, a “ b ollywood m edley,” a tra ditional c hinese fan dance, a Japanese flute perfor mance, a fashion show and more.
“There are also a lot of like solo acts where people are performing or singing songs from their respective cultures,” said sophomore Luke g il, event coordinator for aaa and “a sian a llure.” “a sian a llure” takes place f riday and s aturday at 7:30
p.m. in Washington h all. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $5 at the La f ortune s tudent c enter box office or for $7 at the door.
f ounded in 1996 (and taking a year off during the 2020 pandemic), “a sian a llure” is now in its 25th year. b aloca said she se lected this year’s theme, “ h ome c oming,” to reflect her personal experience finding community, an ex perience she feels much of the a sian community shares.
“ s o it’s basically the idea that if i hadn’t gone to the a sian first-rear re treat in my freshman year, i wouldn’t be where i am now — directing the ‘a sian a llure’ cultural show case,” b aloca said. “ i t’s kind of about how this one choice i made in my fresh man year put me into this community… that’s so in grained in my n otre d ame experience.”
i n between performances,
b aloca said, “a sian a llure” will follow a storyline where older students try to get freshmen to join in on the showcase and bring them into the community.
g il said the showcase is not only about bring ing together the dif ferent a sian clubs on campus, but also the n otre d ame community as a whole.
“ p ersonally, i never came to n otre d ame expecting anything like this to even be possible, so when i first got involved with ‘a sian a llure’ last year as a fresh man, it truly was amazing to see all this diverse cul ture represented at n otre d ame,” g il said. “ i think it’s a really good opportu nity for people who haven’t really experienced… cul tures outside of their own to just come and watch people work together and put on a show.”
Contact Claire Reid at creid6@nd.edu
News3 ndsmcobserver.com | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022 | The observer SMC con T inued from page 1
Rocky con T inued from page 1
s ports’ women’s empower ment brand, with m uffet m cGraw confirmed as a spe cial guest. The event will be gin at 3:30 p.m. s aturday at o ’ r ourke’s Public h ouse on e ddy s t.
s enior and oh T n otre d ame ambassador e lizabeth m ay said the chapter has been working on the watch party all semester.
“ i ’m looking forward to spreading awareness of the platform, because i feel like everybody knows nbc s ports but not everybody knows about o n h er Turf,” m ay said. “a nd i feel like the women’s basketball team is a great kind of team to use in conjunction for promot ing this platform.”
oh T has several other col legiate campus ambassa dors across the country that plan and host events spe cific to their athletic atmo sphere, m ay says.
a s a student-athlete her self, m ay says she’s seen oh T stick out in circles on campus as it specifically fo cuses on the empowerment of female collegiate athletes, especially in the time of ni L deals in college sports.
“When you find a brand like o n h er Turf that’s try ing to celebrate [collegiate] success, i think that’s even more exciting than just the generic brand deals,” m ay said.
The game s aturday also marks a homecoming for i vey and c al head coach c harmin s mith, who both grew up playing hoops in the s t. Louis area.
With her son Jaden play ing in the nba for the d etroit Pistons, i vey knows the importance of show ing up for family sporting events. i vey’s parents, sib lings and nephews will be in attendance at the game, in addition to her high school basketball coach, she said.
i n addition to a person al homecoming, i vey says she’s looking forward to showing her team where she got her start.
“ i get a chance to bring [my players] home to show them my roots,” she said. “ m y journey was not easy, so i get a chance to show them what hard work looks like, what sacrifice looks like, and i ’m excited to share that.”
Contact Alysa Guffey at aguffey@nd.edu
Poet discusses resiliency
By REDMOND BERNHOLD news Writer
natasha Trethewey, two-term 19th u s. Poet Laureate and win ner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, gave a poetry reading fo cused on her identity and inspira tion as a poet Wednesday night for the notre dame community.
“i think of myself as an elegiac poet as well as a poet concerned with remembrance and memo rialization with the intersections between and often the conten tions between public history and our personal history,” she said during the reading.
The event, sponsored by the departments of africana studies, english, gender studies, american studies, highlighted Trethewey’s main messages across her many literary works, with poetry serving as the central medium.
she started the night by thank ing the notre dame community and noting the shared intellectual curiosity.
“it’s just so exciting how many things are going on, [on] campus and you’re still willing to come and spend a little bit of time with me, she said. in the short time that i’ve been on campus, i’ve wit nessed the commitment to intel lectual inquiry and the pursuit of
knowledge. it’s palpable here.”
she shared some of her most famous poems, “mississippi” and “the pursuit of knowledge,” both of which focus on her complex upbringing, “here, a passage underlined there / a single star on the page / as in a night sky, cloud-swept and hazy / where only the brightest appears / a tiny spark…,” she read.
Trethewey went on to eplain how many interpretations of his tory are projected, and how poetry has the power to unveil the stories that have seemingly vanished.
“for me, writing is also about recovering those lost, buried, for gotten [and] erased histories,” she said.
When asked about her intri cacies in researching for her in tersectional works, Trethewey explained that, “we want to imag ine that the muse will visit us. and part of that preparation has everything to do with research… i often have very specific histori cal things that i am researching. but research even extends to the way i use the oed [oxford english dictionary].”
When the conversation shifted to an open Q& a for the audience, the topic of Trethewey’s poetry de sensitizing violence arose. she explained that poetry can
send an overlooked message in a distinct voice.
“i think it [poetry] can evoke in us a kind of empathy, that we may not get to each other in ordinary conversation,” Trethewey said.
additionally, a question arose about how to convey knowledge and combat false knowledge.
Trethewey said that poetry can open the reader to a larger per spective, often a missing one. she then noted her parents’ — at the time illegal — miscegenation in mississippi and its legal implica tions and how “facts can just roll over us.”
Throughout the whole night, Trethewey repeatedly mentioned her formative childhood and it be ing a central muse in some of her most famous works.
Particularly, her mother’s death and her father’s background had significant impacts on her.
With such complications in her life, poetry expresses not only Trethewey’s background but also her view on the world, she says. To Trethewey, poetry has a way of, “touching not only the intellect but also the heart.”
Contact Redmond Bernold at rbernho2@nd.edu
THE THOMAS H. QUINN LECTURE SERIES PRESENTS:
TOM V. MORRIS
4 NEWSThe observer | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com “Plato’s Lemonade Stand: Stirring Change into Something Great” Friday, November 18 | 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Mendoza College of Business Jordan Auditorium The talk is free and open to the public. Lecture attendees will receive a free copy of Tom’s newest book, Plato’s Lemonade Stand: Stirring Change into Something Great
Bestselling author, philosopher and renowned speaker
The Thomas H. Quinn Lecture is an annual event hosted by the Mendoza College of Business to honor the Notre Dame alumnus
and former member and chairman of Mendoza’s Business Advisory Council.
Paid a dverT isemen T
con T inued from PaGe 1
Shamrock
Survey reveals worries about US Civil War
By KATIE MUCHNICK news Writer
According to a new survey re leased by the University of notre dame’s rooney center for the study of American democracy, about half of democrats and onethird of republicans believe that the United states is on the brink of a new civil war — numbers that matthew e.K. hall called “shock ingly high.”
“I think these results highlight the extremely volatile nature of American politics in this era — especially the intense polar ization that defines modern poli tics,” said hall, who directs the rooney center.
The survey results demon strated that Americans are pro foundly concerned by the state of American democracy, though there are significant differences across party lines.
Election
the panelists was that republicans had underperformed in a year that was supposed to bring about a “red wave” of republican victories.
“Going into this election, infla tion is high, the President’s ap proval rating was low, [there were] lots of reasons to think that this was going to be just a major win for republicans,” campbell said. “While we’re waiting for the final results […] this was no red wave, democrats held out in many parts of the country.”
The panelists floated a number of theories as to the possible reason for this somewhat surprising outcome.
“If the republicans hadn’t put up such unorthodox, unappetizing candidates, in contested elections, perhaps you’d be seeing an easier takeover of the house and with republican control of the senate,” Lazada stated.
Wolbrecht argued that elections where one party wins a massive majority may be becoming a thing of the past.
“We are in this period of incred ibly strong mass partisanship, where people’s party Id matches up with their class idea, their ethnic or racial identity matches up with their rural versus urban identity, it matches up with all their religious identity,” Wolbrecht said. “so, peo ple don’t move much.”
backlash to the overturning of roe v. Wade by the supreme court this summer in the dobbs v. Jackson case was also discussed as a possible explanation for republican underperformance.
“now that the standing supreme court decision does not protect the right to access abortions, it may be that, that was enough to sort of mo bilize pro-choice voters to vote dif ferently,” Wolbrecht said.
Lozada argued that dobbs may have spurred an increase in democratic fundraising.
“Whether or not it animated in dividual voters, it animated fund raising, it animated other elements
The rooney center facilitates research on American democracy and political institutions, as well as encouraging notre dame stu dents to be engaged in civic and political life. Its programming includes weekly research work shops, a speaker series, graduate research grants and the hesburgh Program in Public service for undergraduates. The center also oversees the Washington Program, a semester-long study abroad program that allows un dergraduates to live, study and intern in Washington, d c hall said the survey is part of the center’s efforts to understand “how much danger American democracy faces in the current climate, how we got here, and what can be done to protect our democracy.”
According to hall, the rooney center contracted norc, an in dependent, non-partisan research
of the political machinery that can help turn out votes,” he said.
ramirez argued that young, particularly latino voters, are more pro-choice and may have helped democrats.
Wolbrecht did admit, however, that it is unclear what the effect of dobbs v. Jackson was.
“The truth is a lot of the informa tion that we would want to have to sort of decide, was abortion pushing democrats over in certain places, we just simply don’t have right now,” Wolbrecht cautioned.
According to an article in U.s news and World report, in final message to voters, many democrats emphasized the importance of pro tecting democracy in this election, with President biden claiming that “democracy is on the ballot.” When asked how democracy did this elec tion, the panelists were cautiously optimistic.
Wolbrecht pointed out that there was a marked decrease in claims of election frauds.
“Players who lost are all con ceding their elections,” she stated. “They’re not saying that this one was also stolen. They’re not saying others were stolen.”
Lozada urged the panelists to be cautious, however.
“It seemed a little premature to declare victory for democracy,” Lozada said. “It’s not clear to me that what happened today necessarily proves that or undoes the kind of il liberal term that we’ve seen in some parts of the American political sys tem over the past few years.”
despite the fact that this year’s election results have not even been finalized yet, discussion turned to the 2024 Presidential election and how Tuesday night’s results might impact potential 2024 candidates.
First discussed was the effect of the race on former President donald Trump.
“A lot of the Trump backed candidates lost,” Lozada pointed out, citing republican losses in Pennsylvania, michigan as well as possibly Arizona and Georgia.
“The easy outcome is this is bad for Trump,” he added. Trump is
center based at the University of chicago, to conduct the survey. The survey’s goal was to gauge support for core democratic values among the public.
researchers surveyed a nation ally representative sample of 1,500 adults residing in the United states from oct. 20 to oct. 26, 2022.
Two key principles of American democracy — free speech and vot ing rights — provoked highly dis tinct answers from republicans and democrats.
democrats tend to be more sus picious of free speech rights: 44% of survey respondents indicated that they believed government should be able to shut down me dia outlets if they spread disinfor mation. on the republican side, 52% said this should never be al lowed. on the other hand, 37.9% of republicans disagreed with the statement, “everyone should be allowed to vote.” This compares to
widely expected to announce his candidacy for president in the com ing weeks, which is unusually early for a presidential candidate.
The biggest winner for republicans this election was Governor ron desantis of Florida who won his reelection bid by al most 20% percentage points after originally being elected in 2018 by a meager 0.4% of votes, accord ing to Politico. many have pointed to desantis as a potential rival to donald Trump for the republican nomination for president.
ramirez argued that the mid term elections positioned desantis well for a 2024 run.
“The fact that you had this mini wave in Florida, that puts desantis as the winner,” he argued adding, “relatively poor performance of the republicans outside of Florida is so much better for ron desantis be cause it’s like, ‘look, I was unique.’”
When it comes to democrats in 2024, the panelists pointed out, the implications of this year’s elec tion are not as readily apparent. Lozada argued that this year’s solid showing for democrats could cause biden to seek the nomination again, saying, “[maybe] democrats doing better than expected in this midterm actually, makes the party hang on to Joe biden longer than they should have, and then to run for reelection.”
Wolbrecht, on the other hand, argued that the results could cause more democrats to throw their hat in the ring.
“one interpretation of the 2022 election is that it is a good time to be a democrat. And so that the nomination in 2024 is all the more valuable, right, because the tide is coming our way,” Wolbrecht said.
In the coming days, or even hours, the results of the election will be finalized, and the fate of the house and the senate will become clear. no matter the outcome, the country is sure to continue fervent ly discussing these issues as 2024 quickly approaches.
Contact Liam Kelly at lkelly8@nd.edu
just 13% of Independents and 6.7% of democrats.
republicans and democrats also widely disagree on the 2020 elec tion, according to the survey. Just under half of republican survey respondents agreed that Joe biden and his party “stole” the 2020 elec tion. by contrast, 88% of democrats disagreed with that statement.
About half of surveyed republicans believe that there will be a substantial amount of election fraud in upcoming elections, dem onstrating a deep mistrust in the stability of the American electoral system.
more questions and data from the survey will be released soon. however, hall said that these re sults indicate that threats to de mocracy have never been more serious.
“Interestingly, Americans are not more divided over issues than they were in the past,” hall said. “They
simply feel more negativity toward members of the opposing political party than they did in the past.”
Given the recent midterm elec tions, the results of this survey are especially relevant. hall previously said in a press release that the pro ceedings of the midterm elections are not necessarily anti-democrat ic, but they might install officials who could challenge American de mocracy in 2024.
“students should understand that we are living in an unusual and—in some ways—unprec edented time in American politics. The traditional norms of our politi cal discourse are fraying in impor tant ways, fueled by polarization, misinformation, and distrust of in stitutions. And this situation poses a critical threat to our system of government,” hall said.
Contact Katie Mucnick at kmuchnic@nd.edu
SMC French Club revived
By KATELYN WALDSCHMIDT news Writer
Wednesday night, the saint mary’s French club hosted “ballet and beignets” to kick off the club’s renewal. After finally getting the club back in action after a couple years of trying, the event was meant to draw members with beginnerlevel ballet and a delicious treat.
“I think when you think of France, a lot of people think of bal let” as the reason they chose ballet. Additionally, it puts everyone on an even playing field.
“I think when you think of France, a lot of people think of bal let,” French club board member Jesse miller said, adding that the beginning-level puts everyone on an even playing field. “We wanted something chill but also hands on, and I feel like none of us are experts in ballet.”
miller also emphasized they hoped it would be something not as intimidating for people without a French background.
co-president of Les belles Françaises chloe Westrate started the event with a brief presentation about the rich French history of ballet.
“ballet is very tied to French his tory,” Westrate said. “The first ballet dancers were French aristocrats.”
she also led the class through some common ballet terms such as plie and battement, which are also French terms to further show the connections between the language and dance.
marie claire Ferretti, a student of both French and dance, led the class. A beginner class in every sense, Ferretti began with stretches before moving on to basic feet and hand positions. Last, she taught basic movements such as plie and even threw in a few jumps before showing how a traditional ballet
class ends.
Afterwards, participants were re warded with beignets.
“beignets are French doughnuts basically,” Westrate explains. “They are especially popular in Louisiana. We want to spread awareness that French is spoken in places other than France.”
With beignets being popular in Louisiana, the club is relating French culture back home to the United states, she said.
board members talked about how the club is open to everyone, hoping to attract francophones and enthusiasts alike.
“It’s open to anyone, regardless of if you’re in French or not or even if you speak the language,” miller said.
The club says that now that they have had their kickoff event, there will start to be more meetings, which will entail learning about French culture through other fun activities such as movies.
While they don’t have any future events planned right now, the club says to be on the lookout next se mester, especially after the success of ballet and beignets.
“We are hoping to do more events highlighting French culture in countries other than France too,” Westrate said.
There is also hope to incorporate specific saint mary’s history into fu ture events.
“I think it’d be cool to dive more into the French history of saint mary’s,” Westrate said. “The sisters of holy cross who founded saint mary’s are a French order of nuns. All of saint mary’s and notre dame started in Le mans, France.”
saint mary’s students can find and join French club on belleTower and anyone can find them on Instagram @smcbellesfrancaises
Contact Katelyn Waldschmidt at kwaldschmidt01@saintmarys.edu
News5 ndsmcobserver.com | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022 | The observer
con TI n U ed F rom PAGe 1
The words unspoken
Makayla Hernandez Graphic Designer
Sometimes, I wish I could fly. Because to fly would mean to be free, and that is something my body desperately yearns for. I often dream about what freedom would taste like. Would it be a sweet nectar, smooth against my cheek? Or would it be bitter, dark and earthy — something that gets stuck in between your teeth? I want to fly. To fly away from the sorrows of today and to soar past the clouds and grasses in which I pray. I want to swoop along riverbanks and dangle my feet against the roaring currents. But I ... I cannot fly. I can bare ly even find it in me to pray at times. I walk along the shores of life and ponder about my purpose, and even then do I wish I could just escape. From school, from life, from family … from me.
I want to be a starling: dark, beauti ful and surrounded by friends. But even starlings go through times when their time meets an unlawful end. I wish to obtain their shiny, silk-woven feathers and to roam the earth with the worries of none. I want to fly away so desper ately, it burns my lungs to sing. Starling patterns shine like stars. Their feathers glitter and shimmer in the moonlight, and they are the one bird that wishes to stay away. I wish I could live as a star ling: brave, bold and unashamed. But sometimes, life does not lead me that way. Sometimes, it just feels like all I can do is watch from afar, sit along the river bank, and pray … and pray … and lay.
Others call it eerie, even go as far as query the very stitchings of my being, but I cling to the thoughts of the osprey fleeing. They’re golden eyes against seamlessly blue skies, their hawk-like cries and their circling, dizzying flies. I want to fly like an osprey: powerful, strong and courageous. I just wish to find bravery before the time is nigh and I can feel the reality shift between my fingers. To escape is to seek anew, and heaven forbid that my blood falls for you, but I could never find it in me to leave.
The anger that courses through me seldom lies, I just want it to all go away. To turn its head and die. But your emo tions never leave you, they always re main the same. It is the one thing that ties us to those that are insane. To feel is to be privileged, but to fly is to escape. And how I desperately cling to the idea of leaving this stage. I feel like a puppet with no strings: cold, hollow … empty. I want to get out of the way. I want to fly today. But even with the osprey cries or the starling’s fluttering of wings, at times, I am nothing but a road block, a wall that is placed to protect and shelter those around me.
You can contact Makayla Hernandez at mhernandez03@saintmarys.edu.
The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Now what? Activities for postfootball season
and contextualize Notre Dame’s journey from the turn of the century to 1972. Most importantly, this exhibit aims to highlight the pioneering women who helped shape the University to what it is today.
Fall can be quite an overwhelming season in college. School, club activities, job applications and social events make a week fly by. Football season makes the weekend almost as tiring as the week, leaving you with even less free time to diversify your schedule. With just one home football game left, you might be wondering: What is there to do when Notre Dame’s most famous sports season is over? Well, look no further because here’s a guide to all the happenings around the tri-campus — from sports to art to music and everything in between — so you can really explore everything this community has to offer.
SPORTS
In just two weeks, we won’t be spending our Saturdays at Notre Dame Stadium. However, there’s still plenty to enjoy in the world of Irish athletics.
Remaining Fall Sports
Fall sports aren’t done! Notre Dame volleyball is a sneaky fun environment to catch a game, and they’ve got only two home games left, including one tonight at 6:30 p.m. And if you missed it, the Irish women’s soccer team earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, meaning they’ll host all their postseason games at Notre Dame through the Elite Eight. They start against Omaha on Saturday. Enjoy watching Michael Mayer be the best at what he does on the football field? You’ll also enjoy watching Korbin Albert being the best at what she does. Get out and watch this team during its final few games.
Hockey Games
You’ll find a lot of students who argue that the best athletic en vironment sans football is a hockey game. Notre Dame students frequently pack the student section and the band sits in the mid dle, blasting everyone’s game day favorites. The Irish finished a goal short of the Frozen Four last year and are consistently a ranked team, competing against some of the nation’s best.
Your next chance to see them? This weekend against the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines. And if you can’t get a ticket in time, the Irish will return to Compton Family Ice Arena in December, and you can catch them in Big Ten action all winter long.
Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Two programs on the rise, Notre Dame men’s and women’s basketball, surged in student popularity last year. The men are coming off a Round of 32 appearance and host Youngstown State this Sunday. Want to wait for a bigger game? The Irish play Michigan State and Syracuse on Nov. 30 and Dec. 3, respectively, in a pair of massive home tilts.
On the women’s side, the Irish boast one of the best players in the nation in Olivia Miles, and she’s just a sophomore. The Irish reached the Sweet 16 last year and are eyeing bigger goals this season. They’ve got massive matchups against ranked rivals Maryland and UConn on Dec. 1 and 4, respectively.
With halftime contests, t-shirt tosses, performances from the Notre Dame Pom Squad providing entertainment and the leprechaun, cheer team and band boosting the energy, Purcell Pavilion is the place to be when either basketball squad is in town.
Olympic Sports
Notre Dame is a fencing school? You may have heard the ex pression, and it just might be true. The 12-time national cham pions have won back-to-back titles and will host the DeCicco Duals at the end of January. You can double up that weekend as well and catch the swimming and diving team host the Tim Welsh Classic. The Notre Dame track and field team usually hosts a meet or two throughout the season, so keep an eye out for that, as well.
ART
Did you know that there is a flourishing art scene at Notre Dame? Of course, you can’t miss the Snite Museum of Art, but there are other amazing opportunities to get involved and learn more about the University’s creative community.
‘Daughters of Our Lady: Finding a Place at Notre Dame’ — Ongoing exhibition in 102 Hesburgh Library, Rare Books & Special Collections
In celebration of 50 years of coeducation at Notre Dame, se nior archivist for photographs and graphic materials Elizabeth Hogan curated an exhibition which explores the University’s ed ucational and institutional evolution. Through carefully selected archival materials, visitors will have the opportunity to visualize
Artist Lecture: Rodrigo Lara — Nov. 16 from 5-6 p.m. in 200 Riley Hall
Everyone is welcome to join the department of art, art his tory and design for a lecture by multidisciplinary artist Rodrigo Lara Zendejas. Born in Mexico in 1981, Rodrigo Lara is known to explore the concept of fragmented memory as a result of his personal experiences with Catholicism, immigration and living in America.
AAHD Gallery exhibition: ‘Darkness and Nothing More’ — Oct. 6 to Nov. 16 in 214 Riley Hall of Art
“Darkness and Nothing More” is an exhibition from Elizabeth M. Claffey, associate professor of photography at Indiana University-Bloomington and 2019-2020 research fellow at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction. Claffey’s work focuses on personal and familial identity, as well as an exploration of the body and culture.
Pottery Sale — Dec. 6 to 8 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in 122 Riley Hall of Art
Come support student artists! Shop unique pieces by fellow students like Bill Kremer, Coleton Lunt, Alexander Carmen, Hans Miles, Norah Amstuts and more.
MUSIC
As Christmas fast approaches, the University is hosting a number of musical performances to get in the holiday spirit. Even though we have Thanksgiving in between, make sure to mark your calendars and purchase tickets to some of these spec tacular events.’
ND Chorale presents Handel’s ‘Messiah’ — Dec. 2 & 3 in Leighton Concert Hall
Ring in the holiday season with The Notre Dame Chorale and Festival Baroque Orchestra with their annual performance of Handel’s legendary oratorio, “Messiah.” This very performance has been a tradition for over 30 years.
Concert by Brooklyn Rider — Dec. 4 from 4 to 6 p.m. in LaBar Recital Hall, O’Neill Hall of Music
Brooklyn Rider is a string quartet from Brooklyn, New York, known for experimenting with genres, creating a uniquely con temporary sound. The string quartet has a long musical and cultural history, making it the perfect medium for invention and exploration.
Jane Lynch’s ‘A Swingin’ Little Christmas’ — Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Leighton Concert Hal l
Remember when “Glee” star Matthew Morrison visited last year? Well, the trend is continuing and Notre Dame is welcoming Emmy-winning actress, singer, playwright, author and “Glee” castmember Jane Lynch to the stage. For one night only, Lynch invites everyone to come join her by the fireside for an evening of nostalgia and Christmans carols.
FILM
Let’s all go to the movies! Many people are intimidated to go see a film at the Browning Cinema. Don’t be. There is something for everyone. Are you into indie films? Cult clas sics? International cinema? You can find anything that suits your taste and enjoy it from the comfort of campus. The Browning Cinema calendar has a list of showings and ticketing information.
CULTURAL HAPPENINGS
Notre Dame Press Book Festival and Book Sale — Nov. 15 & 16 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Hesburgh Library
Are movies or music not so much your scene, but a quiet af ternoon with a good book is? Try the annual Press Book Festival and Book Sale. This event has massive discounts and giveaways on all kinds of books, including $5 paperbacks and $7 hardbacks. Get great deals and replenish your reading supply.
An Evening with Ericka Huggins — Nov. 17 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Annenberg Auditorium at the Snite Museum of Art
Notre Dame gives you the opportunity to interact and listen to a wide variety of insightful guest speakers. One such opportuni ty is this conversation with human rights activist and Black pan ther leader Ericka Huggins. The conversation will be followed by a reception and book signing. Additionally, copies of Huggins’ new book will be available for purchase.
Editor’s note: This guide is not exhaustive! Look around on cam pus for other events. There is no shortage of things to do.
T HE OBSERv ER | FRIDAY, NOvembeR 11, 2022 | NDSMCOBSERv ER COM6 INsIDe COlumN
Political polarization, identity politics and social media
Grace Sullivan I.m.P.A.c .T.
In modern-day politics, political parties are more po larized than ever. This division between democrats and republicans has prevented bipartisan legislation from being implemented to address critical issues in the United states. however, American politics were not always so divided. This begs the question, what caused political polarization in our democracy? The answer is simple: identity politics and social media.
For historical context, in a 20221 article elizabeth Kolbert claims that the democratic and republican parties were similar around the time of the 1950s. In fact, the “American Political science Association issued a plea that democrats and republicans make more of an effort to distinguish themselves.” eventually, political scientist Lilliana mason describes “the great sorting” that took place at the start of the civil rights movement, the Women’s movement, richard nixon’s southern strategy, and roe v. Wade. These landmark movements instigated a social sorting that even tually led to the ideological division between democrats and republicans.
When thinking about the beginning of political polariza tion, it is essential to look at the topics of the movements that dramatically shifted American politics. Issues of racial and gender inequality, reproductive rights and political exploi tation formed two distinct sides around identity politics. According to the oxford dictionary, odentity politics involve the “tendency for people of a particular religion, race, social background, etc. to form exclusive political alliances, mov ing away from traditional broad-based party politics.” As ex plained in this article about the ongoing debate over identity politics, those in favor of identity politics argue that America
needs to continue discussing and fighting on issues such as gender equality, racial justice and LGbTQIA+ rights. on the contrary, those opposed argue that identity politics “serve as a distraction from issues they view as more important and politically palatable,” such as the economy. essentially, this is a debate between preserving a status quo that has histori cally protected white, cisgender, straight men and creating space for minority groups to be included in mainstream America. While economic issues are extremely important and need to be addressed on a legislative level, there needs to be equal attention to the oppression and marginalization that American citizens belonging to minority groups are facing by upholding this harmful status quo. Additionally, this ultimatum between economic and identity issues sug gests that this is an “either-or” scenario when, in fact, both of these issues can be addressed at the same time. however, political party polarization between republicans and democrats places limitations on making progress on both due to the increasing divide between political ideals.
A study by the Pew research center shows that half of democrats and half of republicans believe their politi cal opponent is immoral. Another to Kolbert’s article, a study by YouGov found that 60% of democrats and 70% of republicans believe their opposing party is a “serious threat to the United states.” both of these studies show the current and dramatic political polarization in America. In fact, the U.s. is so politically polarized that the International Institute for democracy and electoral Assistance added the U.s. to its list of “backsliding democracies” (Kolbert). currently, there are two issues that are limiting the potential for extreme political polarization to come to an end, both of which stem from the same source: social media.
not only has social media enhanced political polariza tion, but it has become a breeding ground for misinforma tion and extremism. because moderates in the republican
and democratic parties are not as active in participating in online political discussions, extremists serve as the domi nant voice and representation for their respective political parties. chris bail, the director of duke’s Polarization Lab, describes this as false polarization: individuals believe peo ple in the opposing political party are more extreme than they actually are. This brings up the first issue in combat ing political polarization: those who have done the most to polarize America seem the least inclined to recognize their own “impairments.” In terms of social media, extremists on both sides have exacerbated polarization and spread misin formation, creating a false perception of the political ideolo gies of each party. The second issue is that while each party regards the other as a “serious threat,” this does not mean they are equally threatening. events that occurred under Trump’s presidency and peak influence, such as the Jan. 6 insurrection over his questioning of the legitimacy of the 2020 election results, undermined fundamental trust in the democratic electoral process. This event dramatically shift ed American politics and enhanced polarization among the political parties even further. While there is not an obvious solution to close the widening gap between political parties’ ideologies, recognizing the false narratives portrayed by the media is one way to limit harmful stereotypes that only advance political polarization.
Grace Sullivan is a first-year at Notre Dame studying global affairs with a minor in gender studies. In her column I.M.P.A.C.T. (Intersectionality Makes Political Activist Change Transpire), she is passionate about looking at global social justice issues through an intersectional feminist lens. Outside of The Observer, she enjoys hiking, painting and being a plant mom. She can be reached at gsulli22@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Racial experiences of neurodivergence: An introduction
being a white man, I fit within the general popula tion’s preconceived idea of what an autistic person looks like. When asked to picture an autistic person, many people will automatically conjure images of young white boys playing with trains. This conception overshadows the perspectives of those who do not fit this expected mold; in an earlier column, I focused on women as people who are negatively impacted by this trope-reliant view of neurodivergence. This week, I’d like to observe how neurodivergent people of color also face unique challenges, as they must overcome grisly intersections between racial stereotypes and stereo types of the neurodivergent.
before going further, it is also important to acknowl edge that “neurodivergent people of color” should not be viewed as a monolithic group. As I shared in my first column of the year, neurodivergence can manifest itself in wildly distinct ways from person to person. When one combines this fact with the reality that racial expe riences can also vary significantly, it’s easy to recognize that there’s no possible way to describe all the different experiences that neurodivergent people of color can have. so, for this column, I simply hope to present a few of them in the hope of starting more conversations. I also hope that doing so will help white neurodivergent folks — like myself — to broaden our own understand ing of our conditions to account for these differing ra cial experiences.
neurodivergent Asian Americans primarily face obstacles created by the “model minority myth.” because many people presume that Asian Americans are inherently high-achieving and thus do not require
assistance, they might be slow to acknowledge chal lenges some of these Asian Americans face due to pos sible neurodivergence. The prominence of this positive stereotype, when combined with other factors such as “shame, socioeconomics [and] cultural barriers,” re sults in many in the Asian American community “being underrepresented in the disability community.” due to this underrepresentation, schools and workplaces are often reluctant to provide accommodations for disabled Asian Americans, including those who are neurodiver gent. due to the lack of proper accommodation, an in sufficient understanding of neurodivergent conditions and society’s insistence on standards that cater to the neurotypical population, these Asian Americans often resort to masking, or oncealing their quirks and idio syncrasies. For instance, author helen hoang — who was not diagnosed with autism until she was 34 years old — stated that she masked her autistic traits due to “her family’s lack of awareness of autism and being pressured to conform from a young age.” similar to their Asian American counterparts, neu rodivergent African Americans face issues related to under-diagnosis and underrepresentation. This underdiagnosis means that neurodivergent African American children are often assumed to be troublemakers or nuisances. For example, a study by mandell et al. focus ing on black autistic children determined “that black children were identified as having A sd later and were more likely to be diagnosed with conduct disorder or adjustment disorder than were white children.” similar issues arise for African Americans with A dhd dr. napoleon higgins, a Texas psychiatrist, points out in an interview with ch A dd that “black young men … [are] more likely to be diagnosed with conduct disor der or oppositional disorder” and that “a young black woman who is inattentive, who’s struggling in school,
may be perceived as being slow.” In these situations, criminalizing and demeaning stereotypes of black people contribute to neurodivergent African Americans being regarded with scorn rather than with compas sion. Furthermore, African Americans already have to navigate a broader society that disregards black culture as disorderly and disruptive; these negative concep tions can prove especially harmful for neurodivergent African Americans, who might also be viewed as dis ruptive due to the characteristics resulting from their specific conditions.
These constitute just a couple examples of the impli cations of racial experiences of neurodivergence. They demonstrate how it is crucial to understand neurodi vergence as one facet of an intersectional lens, one that acknowledges how multiple identity factors can play a role in one’s relationship with culture and society. While there is a multiplicity of other people’s stories that exist, far more than I could cover in a 700-word column, I can still leave you with an important remind er: Avoid narrow, stereotypical, trope-laden thinking. Whenever you’re asked about neurodivergent people, don’t rely on the stereotypical image of the white boys with trains. doing so erases a myriad of people who are also trying to navigate the neurotypical world.
Jack Griffiths is a senior at Notre Dame majoring in English with a supplementary major in global affairs. His areas of interest include neurodivergence, migration and the intersection between faith and public policy. When he’s not writing, you can find him singing with the Liturgical Choir, walking around the lakes or play ing Super Smash Bros. with folks in his dorm. He can be reached at jgriff22@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
The observer | FRIDAY, NOvembeR 11, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com 7
Jack Griffiths neurod ivergence
An appeal to reason and civil discourse
The Washington Post famously advertises the phrase, “democracy dies in darkness.” Undoubtedly this is a commentary on our unique ability in America to say what we wish, and believe it has mean ing. And so today, in the face of a changing federal landscape, I see an opportunity for all of us on this campus to come together to say what we wish, and say it civilly.
since the election of donald Trump, the state of American politi cal dialogue has gone from slightly polarized, to opposite hemi spheres. even when amongst my best friends across the aisle, I feel a pressure to conform, to hide my views, to say things I don’t mean to avoid conflict. In a sense, that freedom of speech that Americans should take pride in, has been lost by our own doing. no, it’s not a le gal matter or one party’s platform that is inhibiting our free speech. It is our social climate, one dominated by the inability to make con cessions to alternative reasoning.
There is an expectation that political discussion these days can not, and should not be casual, let alone civil. Whatever happened to debate, and middle road? What ever happened to kitchen table discussions? Whatever happened to being undecided? I am sure that many students come from families like mine where parents, grand parents, aunts and uncles all have a distinct distaste for a certain donkey or elephant. but why should we as a new generation of intel lectuals at a leading University, fall for such shallow party propagan da as they have done in the past? Why should we allow party politics to define our free thought, and our relationships? I truly believe that every time we get angry with our peers across the aisle, we are doing a disservice to our country, to our democratic process. Frustration is a strong emotion, but the pride of cooperation is stronger.
It is therefore wrong of us, and dare I say shameful, that we have let the inflammatory tweets and speeches of 80-year-olds dictate how we treat our fellow voters. It is a further disappointment that we as a generation of mass media have not found a way to discuss things more civilly than aging boomers and millennials. very soon, this country will be run by our age group and our values. We can not afford to fall into the same trap as our predecessors and further spiral into a state of disunion. In an ideal America, there are no po litical parties dividing us, nor cult of personalities defining us: just policies, values and a large heap of community and conversation.
There are many on this campus who will most likely feel sad today. maybe their congressional district, senate seat or governor ship went across the aisle. It is fine to be upset. emotion should be a springboard into conversation with the winning party about why you care so much. What policies should we know about? how can we work together? how can we all find hope? This is how we make progress: through discussion, and through listening. It is oK to disagree. In fact, I encourage you to disagree with people. We’re not robots after all. Yet it is a matter of how we disagree that I bring to your attention today. We must learn to disagree, better. Whether republican or democrat, we have a duty to participate in the political process no matter how strongly we feel about our current government. so I urge each and everyone one of you to take a deep breath, and embrace the concept that our political process is free and just. democracy did not die overnight, nor would it die should the entire chamber become blue or red next cycle. It dies when we stop talking to each other about the things that matter most. remember: we live in a republic, which means representa tion. believe in that representation, vote, and above all discuss your ideas with respect. our country was founded on the lofty aspirations that a government should be of the people, by the people and for the people; but until we hold ourselves to a higher standard of discourse, we will remain divided. We fail to fulfill the founder’s great vision when we cannot disagree with dignity. We have it in us to be the change in this toxic world. I truly believe in that. our generation will shape the future of the United states, good or bad. It can start here at notre dame, and it can start today. so whether you’re on social media, or south Quad, in the dh or in the bleachers, take a stand for civility. Take a stand for our political future. Take a stand for unity in this country so that we can mold America into a safe place for all ideas. open your mind and your heart to your fellow man, and with some luck, maybe we can make our republic work for all the people moving forward.
Jack Heatherman senior nov.
Antisemitism and the abortion debate
Blake Ziegler news with Zig
A common feature of the abortion debate is employing religious rhetoric to justify one’s position. This is especially true among the religious r ight, who frequently reference c hristian values and religious teachings to support their position against abortion. however, the religious r ight doesn’t hold a monopoly on religious rhetoric. Although some religions hold a firm stance against abortion, there’s a wide variety of positions on the topic among different faiths. Like many issues, not every religion agrees on abortion. regardless of the extent to which religion informs one’s position on abortion, religious rhetoric has an influential role in the political sphere. religious language in advocacy has se rious implications for policymaking and legal interpretations. If our arguments are rooted in religious teachings, then those values will be reflected in the text, analysis and enforcement of the laws that follow. For instance, consider Justice s amuel Alito’s opinion in dobbs v. Jackson Women’s health o rganization, the de cision that overturned a woman’s federal right to an abortion. In it, Justice Alito described a fetus as an “unborn human being” as opposed to the “potential life” terminology used in roe v. Wade. Although not explicitly religious, Alito’s language instituted a narrative rooted in some religious traditions’ view of when life begins. When numerous states began crimi nalizing abortion in nearly all circumstances, part of their justification was found in this language.
We know that religious rhetoric has a real effect on abortion policy, but it’s also impor tant to note that the language we use can also affect perceptions towards different groups. how we frame an issue and our word choice can be rooted in dangerous rhetoric, even if that wasn’t our intention. In today’s column, my intention is to highlight this issue for Jews in the abortion debate. because Judaism pur ports a more lenient stance on abortion than some faiths, at least in some circumstances, and American Jews are overwhelmingly in favor of legalizing abortion in all or most cas es, it’s easy for antisemitism to manifest. I’ll discuss in two ways how some language in the abortion debate is rooted in antisemitism.
The first aspect to consider is how some anti-abortion rhetoric is embedded in the blood libel accusation often levied against Jews. American Jewish c ommittee defines the blood libel as a “perpetuated accusation that Jews have murdered non-Jews (such as c hristian children) in order to use their blood in rituals.” despite blood rituals being ex pressly forbidden in the Torah and Jewish law, the allegation has persisted throughout his tory. The first identified case of the blood libel in medieval europe was William of norwich in 1144. After William, a young boy, was found stabbed to death in the woods, the Jews in the area were accused of engaging in a ritual mur der of him. despite no evidence to support the claim, the blood libel persisted across europe during the m iddle Ages. It continued into the Protestant reformation as e astern european Jews were subjected to pogroms or anti-Jewish riots. Arab Jews also experienced the blood libel, most notably with the 1840 damascus Affair. d uring World War II, the nazis fre quently employed the blood libel in their pro paganda. even after the holocaust, the blood
libel has persisted to justify dehumanization, persecution and violence toward Jews.
The connection between blood libel and abortion is found in language identifying abortion as “child sacrifice.” As the Antidefamation League notes, antisemites al lege that Jews employ abortion as a means to participate in child sacrifices for moloch, a c aananite deity. We see this dangerous rhetoric today. Following the dobbs decision, writer e m ichael Jones equated child sacri fice to Jews. moreover, choosing to describe abortion as child sacrifice is participation in the antisemitic trope, even if one doesn’t mention Jews. Fox news host Tucker c arlson recently described the democratic Party as “a child sacrifice cult” during an abortion seg ment. Kristina Karamo, the Trump-endorsed m ichigan nominee for secretary of state, claimed abortion constitutes “child sacrifice” and a “satanic practice.” Although neither explicitly mentioned Jews, their language is rooted in the history behind the antisemitic trope.
The second aspect of antisemitism in the abortion debate is analogizing the holocaust to aborted fetuses. Among opponents of abor tion, some have employed comparisons to the holocaust to justify a view that abortion is a moral tragedy. republican politicians have routinely likened abortion to the holocaust and nazism. Jason shepherd, a republican state representative in Georgia, suggested that companies that provide abortion access for employees are similar to the nazis persecut ing Jews. The republican nominee for Illinois governor, darren bailey, argued that the holocaust “doesn’t even compare” to deaths from abortion. In 2019, Alabama governor Kay Ivey signed a law that compared abortion to the holocaust in its text.
These holocaust comparisons are antise mitic because of their underlying effect of distorting the reality of the tragic event. The holocaust was the systematic extermination of six million european Jews and was the result of nazi rhetoric meant to dehuman ize the Jewish people. Any effort to liken the holocaust to another event, no matter what it is, diminishes the experiences of holocaust victims and survivors. It ignores their suf fering for political gain through cheap talk ing points. At the same time, it undermines efforts to emphasize the seriousness of the holocaust. We should care about the holocaust because it was the holocaust, not because some other issue appears similar to it.
The point of this column is not to take a stance on abortion. r ather, my intention is for readers to take careful note of the rhetoric they employ when they discuss abortion. The language we use to articulate our arguments matters and has serious implications. If we tolerate antisemitic rhetoric, even when it’s not clearly antisemitic, it normalizes those behaviors and spurs prejudiced attitudes to wards Jews.
Blake Ziegler is a senior at Notre Dame study ing political science, philosophy and constitu tional studies. He enjoys writing about Judaism, the good life, pressing political issues and more. Outside of The Observer, Blake serves as presi dent of the Jewish Club and a teaching assistant for God and the Good Life. He can be reached at @NewsWithZig on Twitter or bziegler@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
The observer | FRIDAY, NOvembeR 11, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com8
LeTTeR TO THe eDITOR
9
By NICOLE BILYAK s cene Writer
dc c omics has not been able to make a great film since they started trying to copy marvel’s style and themes. more often than not, dc is able to make a decent film that isn’t blatantly copying marvel. however, one exception to this rule is the recent dc film “black Adam.” released on o ct. 21, 2022, the film stars d wayne “The rock” Johnson as the titular character TethAdam/black Adam. The film’s main plot revolves around the civilization of Kahndaq, which is under the control of Intergang, an organized crime syndi cate. Archaeologist and resistance fighter Adrianna Tomaz ( s arah shahi) awakens Teth-Adam from a slumber, causing Teth-Adam to kill multiple Intergang members. After being deemed a threat by Amanda Waller ( v iola davis), the Justice s ociety of America is tasked to apprehend Adam, with the team consist ing of d octor Fate (Pierce brosnan), hawkman (Aldis hodge), Atom smasher ( noah c entineo) and c yclone (Quintessa swindell). b oth the Justice s ociety and Teth-Adam must work together to stop the supervil lain Ishmael/s abbac ( marwan Kenzari) from taking over Kahndaq.
Production for the film was delayed due to the cov I d -19 pandemic, but it finally started on Apr. 10,
2021, and concluded in s ept. 2022, one month before the film was officially released. The original script for the film tried to combine both black Adam and shazam, who is a version of black Adam, and make a movie that way. however, the film would not be able to develop both of these superheroes as their own in dividual characters. In an effort to make things go a bit more smoothly and really develop both shazam and black Adam’s individual characters, producer h iram Garcia said that his depiction of black Adam would go more toward the violent side of the charac ter as much as his superhero aspect.
“black Adam” does a pretty good job with establish ing the setting in which the film takes place in. dc c omics is widely known for its fictional locations, whereas marvel uses real-life locations such as new York. The world of Kahndaq on the screen looked very beautiful and had an e gyptian feel to it. I also was very impressed with the lore that is behind black Adam. The idea that the character is based on e gyptian my thology is a very interesting concept, and I love that. Johnson and brosnan’s performances were also en tertaining and made the movie stand out. however, with those positives, I really did not enjoy this movie as much as I would have liked to. The story was just not that interesting, and I could not figure out what was going on with the plot. The story was more character-driven rather than plot-driven, and it
really killed the mood for me. I also was not a fan of a lot of the characters and their decision-making skills. o ther than Johnson and brosnan’s characters, every one else had barely any character development, and most of them didn’t particularly contribute to the sto ry other than Adrianna, since she was a main charac ter that drives the story home. but the main problem with the characters that are not Johnson or bronson was that the decisions they made were just some of the most stupid things I have ever come across. o ne decision that the characters made was so stupid, it made me groan in the theater, but I don’t want to add any spoilers in here.
o verall, this film was just not very good at all. It has a lot of problems, and it did not deserve its own standalone film.
Contact Nicole Bilyak at nbilyak01@saintmary.edu
“Black Adam”
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Pierce Brosnan,
If you like: “Salt Fat Acid Heat,” “Our Planet”
Favorite Episodes: “Shazam,” “Justice League”
Genre: Superhero
By ASHLEY HEDGE s cene Writer
“Let me make you a promise. I’ll only tell you my darkest secrets.”
s elena Gomez does just that in her ground breaking new documentary, “ m y m ind and m e,” baring herself to the world in a way which few ce lebrities have. Gomez does not paint herself as a person unsullied by her struggles, nor does she shy away from the sometimes grim reality she exists in. s he fulfills that promise made in the opening scenes of the documentary, sacrificing her image for the sake of her message, one of pro moting mental health.
h owever, it was not this message that initi ated the project. In fact, when Gomez first ap proached Alek Keshishian, the filmmaker behind the 1991 documentary “ m adonna: Truth or d are,” she had no idea it would evolve into its current state. o riginally, Gomez intended for him to cap ture the actuality of her 2016 “ r evival” tour, shin ing a light behind the curtain of production and encompass her transition from a young pop-star fresh out of d isney to a true artist. To truly en capsulate the experience, Keshishian told Gomez
that he would have to be witness to all parts of her life, both the highest peaks and lowest troughs.
Gomez gave him all of herself and more. When the tour was canceled in 2016, the young artist entered a psychiatric facility after an episode of psychosis, at the end of which she received her diagnosis for bipolar disorder. Instead of scrap ping the film entirely, Gomez told the director that there was more to her story than being a star, and she was ready to share it, if he was willing to film it.
And film it Keshishian did. Picking back up in 2019, the team followed her through her return to the limelight leading up to the release of her 2020 album “ r are,” particularly emphasizing a trip to Kenya in collaboration with the now-con troversial W e c harity. There is a distinct tension between who Gomez is in Kenya and who she feels she needs to be when she returns to e urope to do press for her then-upcoming album.
The film is particularly revealing in what it does not cover, as much as in what it does. There is no mention of the star’s return to T v with the show “ o nly m urders in the b uilding,” or her in volvement in the n etflix series “13 r easons Why.” m ost notably, there is a lack of attention given to
her very public on-again, off-again relationship with Justin b ieber. The lack of these moments in the documentary speaks louder than their inclu sion. Gomez does not want to be defined by her accomplishments in entertainment, or even her past love life. The focus of the documentary is solely on her battle with her mental health and subsequent philanthropic efforts.
In the single, released in tandem with the docu mentary, Gomez sings, “ m y mind and me, we don’t get along sometimes and it gets hard to breathe but I wouldn’t change my life… if somebody sees me like this, then they won’t feel alone.” With those words, the artist perfectly encompasses this relative sacrifice of herself that she makes in order to promote change and awareness.
In the end, the documentary showcases the pieces of Gomez’s life that make up her journey through pain and strife. It highlights the com plexity of her battle with her own mind, resolving with the poignant conclusion of her befriending it rather than triumphing over it. o nce again, Gomez shows that she is not perfect, and she is all the more powerful for that fact.
Contact Ashley Hedge at ahedge@nd.edu
9The observer | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
MEG HAMMOND | The Observer
By WILLOUGHBY THOM s cene e ditor
“I was born with an eccentric heart.”
Growing up, I listened to a lot of music, and U2 was always on repeat. m y father is one of the biggest U2 fans you will ever meet. In addition to collect ing their records, watching their concert films and learning all about their history, my father has seen them live over 50 times, and I have accompanied him to 12 shows since 2009. he has had a number of oncein-a-lifetime experiences, such as being invited to watch a soundcheck at the Los Angeles s ports Arena in 2005 to winning tickets through 106.7 K ro Q to see them at the r oxy in LA in 2015. We made a pilgrim age to d eath valley in 2013 in search of the famous Joshua Tree, and this past spring, I made my way to Athlone, Ireland to find moydrum c astle, which graced the cover of “Unforgettable Fire.” needless to say, my dad is the reason I love U2 (and good music). After years of learning the ins and outs of each album and hearing stories about their history, it turns out there was so much I didn’t know. o n nov. 1, b ono released his memoir, “s urrender: 40 s ongs, o ne story” and began his 14-city book tour, “stories of s urrender.” Last Tuesday, my eyes were opened to b ono’s world as he graced the stage at the legendary c hicago Theatre.
Upon entering the venue, our phones were impris oned in little pouches, and we were gifted a copy of the memoir. The book is a beautiful synthesis of b ono’s illustrations, poetic descriptions and anno tated photographs, neatly organized according to 40 U2 songs. Flipping through the pages while waiting for the show to begin, it was clear that each chapter is riddled with song lyrics in conversation with sto ries of innocence and experience.
The show opened with the booming sound of b ono’s voice echoing through the theater. From the void, b ono read an excerpt from his book while vi suals were doodled across the screen. As he recited, three musicians graced the stage: a cellist, a harp ist (and vocalist) and a drummer. The three-piece band began to play the opening notes of “c ity of b linding Lights” as he dramatically appeared from the darkness, followed by a stripped-down version of “ vertigo.” This was something entirely new, and I was excited.
After introducing himself — despite needing no introduction — he was excited to present his story, no matter how frightening or difficult it was for him to express. Like he said many times, “This is a book I wrote me-self,” reminding the audience that this is a memoir about b ono and not exclusively about the band. e ven though U2 is a major part of his story, he wanted to tell the tales that often went untold,
such as his tumultuous relationship with his father and the lifelong love story he created with his wife, Ali. he sought to unveil all the nuances of his lyrics, breathing a new life into many of our favorite songs.
Unlike traditional book tours, b ono did not just stand in the front and read. Instead, he acted out his life. Through scripted excerpts from the memoir, choreographed movements, personal animated il lustrations and highly intentional uses of props, he brought his story to life. In many ways, he relived his story so we could experience it, too. b ono invited us into his world.
b ono and his accompanying band played about 15 U2 songs, and while this was not the focus of the show, it added an element of vibrancy and dynamism that was necessary to draw connections between his life and the one he tells through his lyrics. b etween the intimacy of the venue and the authenticity of his performance, it created a truly memorable experi ence and an absolutely remarkable production.
“I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song
How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?
How long, how long, how long
How long to sing this song?”
Contact Willoughby Thom at
wthom@nd.edu
By ANDY OTTONE s cene Writer
before I watched “Weird: The Al Yankovic story,” I knew very little about “Weird Al” Yankovic. What I knew was that he wrote song parodies and that he played the accordion. That’s it. however, the movie is so full of extremely specific aspects of his life that I have no reason to doubt Weird Al. I’m taking every thing the movie told me as truth. After all, who would lie in a biopic?
hoping my sarcasm transcended the page, the film revels in making up the most ridiculous lies they can about Yankovic’s life. The film presents dramatic ori gins for many of his songs, with the most outrageous being “Another one r ides the bus,” “I Love rocky road,” “my bologna,” “e at It” and “Amish Paradise.” one of my favorite parts of the movie is how it pres ents certain songs, particularly “e at It” and “Amish Paradise,” as written by Yankovic but stolen by other artists. Additionally, the film claims that he dated madonna, was the world’s deadliest assassin and fre quently assaulted music executives in states of rage. now, the fictionalized history of his life isn’t just for comedic effect, but rather a natural extension of Yankovic’s style: taking what other artists have done and adding his own spin on it. The movie hits all the classic biopic notes, with clear inspiration from “bohemian r hapsody” and “rocketman,” which
highlight: natural talent at a young age, unsupportive parents, artists meeting their collaborators, imme diately becoming a jerk after success, experimenting with drugs, alcoholic rage, performing themselves to death, the lowest point in their career before they reach a new high and, finally, everyone forgiving the artist no matter how badly they treated others throughout the film.
While most biopics present their comeback after their “lowest low” as pivotal career moments, such as e lton John’s “I’m still standing” or Queen’s perfor mance at Live Aid, it was Yankovic’s performance of “Amish Paradise” at the 1985 Grammy Awards that sparked his comeback. Again, the only real informa tion I have on his career is this movie, and I feel I know less after watching it than I did before, but I am con fident “Gangsta’s Paradise” was a 1995 release. While historical inaccuracies are just a fact of the biopic genre, I’m confident this movie is more fictional than truthful.
nevertheless, the film’s writing is fantastic, with a lot of scenes that feel dead-serious until you get to a ridiculous line that reminds you what movie you’re watching. In the film’s world, polka is the height of de bauchery. only a biopic about Weird Al would have the lines, “I don’t know if it’s from God or the devil, but the world needs to hear this” and “Pablo e scobar sends his regards.” While the writing is great on its own, it is car ried by amazing performers that treat their roles with
the utmost seriousness, heightening the absurdity of it all. daniel r adcliffe portrays Al Yankovic, and he brings his all to the role. evan rachel Wood’s portrayal of the movie’s antagonist, madonna, is unpredictable, always keeps the audience on their toes and has an in sane character twist in the film’s third act.
This movie is bizarre, but that just furthered my enjoyment. The performances being so earnest, as if it were a real biopic despite the ridiculous plot lines, on top of the self-awareness that writing parody music is a bizarre career path to gain fame from, makes the movie so much more enjoyable than the simple joke of “a dramatic biopic of Weird Al.” It takes that idea and elevates it into a film that is not only entertaining, but a poignant reflection on the musician biopic genre as a whole, making us ask ourselves, “When does exaggera tion go too far?” The answer turns out to be insisting that m ichael Jackson ripped off “Weird Al.”
Contact Andy Ottone at aottone@nd.edu
“Weird: The Al Yankovic Story”
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rainn Wilson
Director: Eric Appel
If you like: “This is Spinal Tap,” “Rocketman”
10 The observer | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
HERNANDEZ | The Observer
MAKAYLA
Happy Birthday: Adjust your lifestyle to ease stress. l ook for outlets that put your mind at ease and motivate you to spend more time doing things that put a smile on your face. Put a budget in place that helps you set up your home to suit your needs. Make convenience and comfort your priorities, and surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you. your numbers are 6, 17, 22, 24, 35, 44, 48.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): r each out to people you like to work alongside and make a proposal that’s too good to turn down. A plan and a core group will give you the confidence to forge ahead and bring about positive change.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t let curiosity be your downfall. l ook at what’s possible and use your intelligence and imagination to devise a way to use your skills and talents to get ahead.
Put a plan in place, and don’t stop until you get your desired results.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Emotions will get you in trouble. A sob story will tug at your heart and cost you one way or another. Put a plan in motion and concentrate on your end goal. Stop wasting time; take care of unfinished business.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Sharing secrets will backfire. Don’t underestimate what someone will do to make you look bad. Make personal growth, knowledge and looking your best your priorities, and steer clear of anyone quizzing you about your personal life.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): you can’t please everyone, but you can make a difference if you get involved in a cause that concerns you. g etting outside of your everyday environment will be eye-opening and push you to do something that offers satisfaction and warms your heart.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Be careful not to take on something you aren’t equipped or ready to pursue. Taking on debt to try to impress someone will leave you scrambling. Stick to what you are good at and say no to anyone pressuring you.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Sign up for something that interests you, and you’ll discover how to turn what you learn or experience into something lucrative. A business trip or meeting will give you a platform to share your findings and offer your services.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Personal gain, physical improvements and rethinking the way you live and do things will encourage greater freedom and maneuverability to turn a negative in your life into a positive. l ove and friendship are on the rise, and socializing will pay off.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): k eep the communication flowing until you get the truth and feel confident that you can work with the information you receive. Ask an expert, older friend or relative with experience for input, and you’ll gain insight into new possibilities.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Indulge in comfort or take up a pastime that excites you. l ook for unique ways to make extra cash or invest and turn a profit. A change at home will give you access to more chill time with friends and family.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Taking baby steps will help you avoid unwanted fallout from someone who likes to do things differently. Planning your actions and gaining approval before you begin will make your life easier, and your results will be stellar.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): k eep your thoughts and feelings to yourself. g iving away too much information will put you in a vulnerable spot. Pay more attention to health, finances and keeping your records straight. r omance will lead to commitment. Invest time and money in you.
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Keys to victory versus Navy
By MANNION McGINLEY Assistant managing editor
n otre d ame took their biggest win of the season last weekend, accomplish ing three goals: changing the narrative of the sea son at home, defeating n o. 4 c lemson and breaking back into the c FP rankings.
At n o. 20, the Irish head east to b altimore, m aryland to take on the m idshipmen. n avy is 3-6 on the season but has played some close games. c oming off two statement wins and three straight victories overall, these are the keys to another Irish victory.
Stopping two more quarterbacks
Yes, n avy uses the triple option run, that much is true. The Irish will have to stop this unique style to see success this week end. There’s an additional level of difficulty in an swering the triple op tion this year, though, as n avy lost their starting quarterback Tai Lavatai two weeks ago to a knee injury.
Lavatai was replaced by Xavier Arline, who now shares the spotlight with m aasai m aynor. b ecause of Lavatai’s injury, this will be the third week in a row n otre d ame has the potential to see a quar terback they don’t know a lot about. Arline has been a part of the triple option scheme even before he took over as quarterback, so he should rely on that. The wild card will be m aynor. h e can throw the ball when asked — he went three for five against c incinnati for 81 yards. b ut he’s not as good in the triple-op tion structure. In that c incinnati game, he ran the ball six times for nega tive nine yards.
The m idshipmen are still figuring out how best to move forward without Lavatai. It’s highly pos sible it will be a mixed bag in terms of who’s un der center against the Irish. r egardless, n otre d ame needs to be ready for anything that’s com ing their way. The Irish defense need to be ready for a surprise through the air from m aynor. Arline, meanwhile, can run the triple option seamlessly. c ommunication and clar ity from the linebackers is vital.
Tackle well, force a fumble
The triple option re lies most heavily on d aba Fofana, m aquel h aywood and Anton h all, Jr. The Irish will need to not only contain those three, but also take the ball back from them. Through the air, the Irish have taken the ball back; they’ve defended 17 passes and have racked up five interceptions. All of the latter figure have come in n otre d ame’s last five games. o n the ground, though, they haven’t made as much of an im pact. n otre d ame has only forced five and recovered two fumbles all season. This weekend, forcing and recovering them will play a large role in the outcome of the game.
Additionally, first touch es on the ball carrier will be important. Fofana and h aywood cannot break any tackles. If the Irish want to win, they will have to limit carries and drive length tremendously. In order to do that, the first touch on a running back will need to take him down. Without that, the Irish will lose too much yardage too quickly.
Waste time, but turn it into points e very Irish win this sea son has come on the backs of their running backs -sophomores Audric e stime and Logan d iggs and junior c hris Tyree. The run game has been instrumental to the Irish cause and has made a difference in sev eral games throughout the season.
The Irish will need to continue their success on the ground s aturday. They will need to march down field, six or seven yards at a time, and ensure they score a touchdown when they get to the red zone. s coring quickly would put pres sure on the m idshipmen to score quickly, some thing the triple option is not built for. Forcing the m idshipmen into this po sition will force them into the air and change their game, allowing the Irish defense to look for mis takes and take advantage of them. Additionally, if the Irish are ahead to start, the triple option’s benefit of wasting time no longer works in n avy’s favor.
Contact Mannion McGinley at mmcginl3@nd.edu
Ring B
Frankie “Frank the Tank” Masciopinto of McGlinn Hall def. Kiera “Red Lightning” Judd of McGlinn Hall
masciopinto opened with a flurry of punches, keeping Judd on her heels. In the first round, masciopinto forced two counts for Judd, landing several hits to her head. Judd got a few body shots in but was often knocked off her stance by masciopinto. The second round started even again be fore masciopinto doled out several more head hits, forcing another count for Judd. even when Judd got masciopinto on her heels, “Frank the Tank” was still swinging and landing. Just before the round ended, Judd received another count. masciopinto dodged every thing Judd threw at her in the third and forced the referee to count for Judd a fifth time. by the time the referee stopped the contest with 40 seconds left, masciopinto won.
Sarah “Midshipmenace” Nowak of Welsh Family Hall def. Sydney “Angry Elf” Higgins of Lewis Hall
The first round started fast, as both boxers threw every thing they had at each other. higgins quickly lost steam, though, as nowak stayed well out of her reach but landed hits of her own, forc ing a count for higgins. The “midshipmenace” stepped out in the second round with early control, but higgins landed a few hard left hooks to force a count. After that, higgins took control again, relying on her left hook again. nowak found a second win, though, as she closed the round with several head hits on the “Angry elf.” nowak dodged early hits from higgins and landed a few of her own instead. by unani mous decision, nowak took the bout.
Sabrina “Golden Stinger” curran of Flaherty Hall def. Luisa “Karma” capobianco of Welsh Family Hall
This bout was all about speed. curran got inside first and forced a count for capobianco within the first few seconds. Another flur ry of punches from curran brought on another count for capobianco to close the round. curran opened the next round on the offensive again and made capobiano’s nose bleed, but she wasn’t done. After the bleed paused time, capobianco landed her first long flurry of the bout. curran changed the tune again to start the
third, but in the second half, capobianco came back with a fire, cornering curran. After another pause to clean her nose, the rest of the third round evened out. both fighters landed several flur ries to close the bout and, by split decision, curran won the bout.
chiara “French Thunder” Thrum of Lewis Hall def. Jenny “The Big Bad” Wolf of Johnson Family Hall
To start the bout, Thrum got Wolf on her heels, but even so, Wolf landed a few punches of her own. After both women received an informal warning for slap ping, the bout resumed. A hard right hook from Thrum forced a count for Wolf and after it, Thrum immediately went back in and put Wolf on the ropes. To start the second round, Thrum cornered Wolf again. Wolf received a second informal warning not to slap and, after that third pause, Thrum cornered her again. The start of the third was more of the same as Thrum cornered Wolf once more. In this round, the pair of box ers received an official warn ing for slapping, after which Wolf forced her first count on Thrum. It was too little too late, though, and by unani mous decision Thrum won the bout.
Ocean “The Matador” Leto of Welsh Family Hall def. Layann Wardeh of Lewis Hall
This semifinal bout be tween two freshman boxers began with a series of backand-forth punches, with both Leto and Wardeh making con tact early. A more aggressive Leto seemed to take control until a hard offensive push from Wardeh gave the latter the momentum at the end of the first. “The matador” came out strong in the second, rushing at Wardeh with her fists and forcing a count on Wardeh. While Wardeh con tinued to swing and didn’t let up, Leto kept at it, forcing Wardeh on her back feet for most of the second round. Wardeh had a chance to re bound in the third after a late slip from Leto, but it wasn’t enough, and Leto won by unanimous decision.
in another count to finish out round one. After a rest, Weiss came out strong in the second, causing Giarman to have to regain her footing. As the second continued, Giarman again pushed Weiss into the ropes. In the third, Giarman sent Weiss back pedaling to round out her dominant fight. “r ico” was never able to gain any trac tion on “Ginga ninja,” and Giarman moves on to the fi nals by unanimous decision.
Nicole “Knuckles” Lies of Welsh Family Hall def. Mary “Red Sky” Quirk of Ryan Hall
This bout was aggres sive from the bell, with both women firing on all cylinders. “Knuckles” slowly wore down ‘red sky” throughout the first round by simultaneous ly blocking Quirk’s punches while throwing her own. The second round was just a fairly even bout and much like the first until Lies pushed Quirk into the ropes. Quirk rebound ed by circling the ring, but was primarily blocking Lies’ hits rather than taking the of fensive. Quirk came out in the third swinging and landing, but Lies began ducking out of the way of most of the hits, re gaining her momentum. by split decision, Lies won this semifinal bout.
caroline “Wasian Persuasion” Landry of Lewis Hall def. Emma “Slay-Ferino” Solferino of Lewis Hall vs. both boxers held noth ing back at the start of the first round, and a count was quickly called on solferino. Landry kept swinging hard at solferino again and again. “Wasian Persuasion” was cal culated in her offensive spurs, though, regaining her stance before each combination. Landry came out in the sec ond with big hits, but solferino didn’t back down, sticking with her until a hit to the head put “slay-Ferino” into a count and later, into the ropes. After another count on solferino early in the third round, the of ficial stopped time and called the bout short. by unanimous decision, “Wasian Persuasion” won.
“Ginga Ninja” Giarman of Lewis Hall def. Ryn “Rico”
cece
Weiss of Badin Hall
opening punches thrown by the “Ginga ninja” quickly forced Weiss into the corner and into a count. After, both boxers received a slapping warning from the official. Giarman continued to swing hard, knocking Weiss into the ropes on two separate occasions, with one resulting
Katherine “Bend It Like” Beckman of Howard Hall def. Annie “Big Ann” Guinan of Pasquerilla East Hall
Katherine “bend It Like” beckman won this bout by walkover, sending her to the finals.
Contact Lucia Aguzzi at laguzzi@nd.edu, Olivia Schatz at oschatz.edu, Mannion McGinley at mccginl3@nd.edu and Alysa Guffey at aguffey@nd.edu
12 Classifieds
The observer | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
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KEYS TO VIcTORY
Bouts con TI nued F rom PAGe 16
Irish redefine outlook before start of season
By MADELINE LADD Associate sports editor
Fall semester has come and (almost) gone, and that means it’s time for the notre dame swim and dive team to get back into action. With new leader ship under head swimming coach chris Lindauer and con sistency from head diving coach mark bradshaw, the Irish have a redefined outlook for their program. standout returners mixed with new talent puts the team in a promising spot head ing into regular season competi tion. Though the women did not make the ncAA Power rankings Preseason Top 25, the men clock in at no. 23
The Irish already took to the pool two weeks ago and claimed a double victory against Pittsburgh and Penn state. both the men’s and women’s teams’ ability to
top the Panthers and the nittany Lions is promising for their sea sons’ outlooks.
There are several star returners to both the men’s and women’s swim and dive squads that will help propel the Irish this sea son. For the men, school record holder chris Guiliano enters his sophomore season with sights on his own 50 and 100 freestyle re cords. Junior Tyler christianson returns for another season after some strong finishes and ncAA times last year. he also gained experience at the FInA World championships. Junior ncAA qualifiers Kaden smesko and stephan Lukashev will certainly add depth to the team. so will se niors Jack hoagland and ncAAqualifier cason Wilburn. As the only diving senior, William rains will help transition the new div ing talent.
For the women, sophomore
madelyn christman was dubbed “one to watch” by Lindauer him self. senior coleen Gillilan is likely to gain points for the Irish in her final season. The women have their sights on ncAA quali fiers this year, as they only sent one (graduated) female swim mer last year. sophomore diver calie brady was also at ncAA’s and continued to impress at this year’s Pitt versus Penn state dual after coming off a standout fresh man season.
new, top-ranked talent also abounds with 10 new freshmen for the men’s swim team and two for the dive team. These new comers accounted for several top-three finishes at the Pitt ver sus Penn state tri-meet. As for the women’s side, they welcome six new swimmers — one of them being coleen Gillilan’s sister, renee — and one new diver. With the Irish opening their
home slate on nov. 11 against no. 10 Louisville, it will be all hands on deck. The meet is even more important than meets the eye, though. Lindauer is an alum and the former associate head coach of the cardinals. Graduate student colton Paulson is also a former cardinal. The cardinals will visit south bend with three meets under their belt. Thus, they should give the Irish a true test of their depth and performance thus far.
notre dame swim and dive has a busy schedule. This differs quite a bit from last year, when several meets were canceled or abridged due to covId-19 and other is sues. After their dual against Louisville, the Irish take to Texas for a weekend with UT-Austin followed by the annual ohio state Invitational. The U.s open rounds things off for 2022.
The Irish resume competition
in January 2023 with a navyPrinceton tri-meet on the docket. The Tim Welsh classic rounds out the Irish’s regular season as they move on to the Acc championships in mid-Febru ary. here, the season will end for most. but select men and women will qualify for the ncAA championships, which are held throughout march.
With the conglomeration of talent existing on the swim and dive squad, the future is bright for Lindauer and bradshaw. The performance against Louisville will set the tone for the season, and Irish swimmers and divers new and old are looking for a vic tory. Friday’s matchup against Louisville, its alumni meeting for the year, begins at 3 p.m. eT at the rolfs Aquatic center.
Contact Madeline Ladd at mladd2@nd.edu
Observer staff predicts momentum from win over Tigers will carry into game versus Navy
Observer Sports Staff
After notre dame garnered their biggest win in recent mem ory — a 35-14 drubbing over previously unbeaten clemson — The observer staff give their picks for the Irish’s battle with navy.
Aidan Thomas - sports Editor
my heart rate hasn’t settled down from what was the most electric notre dame stadium environment I’ve personally experienced in my four years. And now, it’s time for the Irish to do something else they haven’t done: perform well after a big game. so far, the marshall and stanford atrocities have fol lowed up a tight loss to ohio state and then a big win over bYU.
notre dame is going to be prepared for the triple option. I don’t anticipate navy doing much offensively, especially with their starting quarterback out. I would anticipate more of the same for the Irish on of fense. There’ll be some great moments and great drives, coupled with some frustrat ing missed opportunities. The key is getting locked in for a noon game coming off a pair of ranked wins against a 3-6 navy team. This game might be a lit tle closer than desired early. but ultimately, notre dame should handle the midshipmen.
Notre Dame 34, Navy 10
Nate Moller - senior sports writer
For the first time this season,
the performance by the Irish last weekend was stunning in a good way. I truly did not an ticipate the Irish being able to run the ball effectively against a seemingly elite clemson run defense. but I was very wrong in that respect, as sophomore running backs Logan diggs and Audric estime were able to both rush for over 100 yards. The Irish will now face a 3-6 navy team as heavy favorites. Unfortunately for notre dame, they haven’t played well as heavy favorites this year, as their losses against marshall and stanford seem ingly came out of nowhere.
To make matters worse for the Irish, the midshipmen are starting to play better foot ball. They kept the score close against a solid cincinnati team last week. The Irish will need to take advantage of every of fensive possession they have on saturday. And I don’t think the Irish offense is efficient enough to do that. I expect navy to eat away at the clock with their triple-option attack and find a way to hang in the game long enough to stun the Irish with a late touchdown drive. In clas sic notre dame fashion, the Irish will follow up one of their best performances in recent memory with a disappoint ing letdown at the hands of the midshipmen.
Notre Dame 20, Navy 21
Mannion McginleyAssistant Managing Editor
The Irish have fallen twice after better-than-expected per formances against top teams. both the marshall and stanford
losses seemed completely out of character in light of the weeks before them. That being said, the Irish had yet to look like they did last weekend. Freshman cornerback benjamin morrison had the game of his life, and the Irish defense shut down two quarterbacks and star run ning back Will shipley. For the third time this season, the Irish seemed to be living outside their pay grade. but for the first time, they looked comfortable doing it.
so, are positive and negative performances infinitely linked? do the Irish have to succumb to an insane loss after a massive win? no. This is the weekend to break that streak. but regard less of navy’s record, it won’t be a cakewalk. The same defense that shut down the clemson offense will have to shut down the triple option. And time will fly in this game as both runoriented offenses attempt to stomp downfield. The Irish will have to come out of the gate ready to go, since they’ll get no extra time from the midshipmen. After a slight firstquarter lull from the offense, a once again stellar defense will propel this victory.
Notre Dame 24, Navy 17
Liam Coolican - Associate sports Editor
What was most impressive in notre dame’s victory over clemson was that the Irish were dominant in the trenches. not only did they shred clemson’s star-studded defensive line, but they also held the Tigers to 90 yards on the ground, their
lowest output of the season. The Irish will need more of the same against navy this weekend. navy is having a down year, but the triple option is always difficult to defend. coming di rectly after the biggest game of the season, my concern is the Irish may not have had enough time to devote to this unique style of play.
on the other side of the ball, navy’s run defense is stout, al lowing opponents just 88 yards on the ground per contest. but as marcus Freeman said af ter the clemson victory, the Irish can’t shy away from their strength. It clearly worked last week. And after a season of searching, I believe notre dame has finally found their offensive identity. In this strength versus strength matchup, I’ll take the Irish.
Notre Dame 27, Navy 13
Emily DeFazio - Associate sports Editor
If I thought the 2020 clemson game was electric, I didn’t know what electric meant. That was defined saturday night against the Tigers. I think I’ve been feeling the after effects of the adrenaline rush this entire week. I doubt it’ll go away if the Irish keep playing the way they did saturday.
While navy is a respect ful rival of notre dame, I don’t feel too nervous heading into saturday’s matchup. The Irish should walk in confident know ing that they have what it takes to notch a definitive win. The only caveat is that, in this inex plicable season, the games with
less pressure are the games they have fallen short in. If they can keep the momentum going, maybe even going so far as to experiment a little on offense against a milder opponent, the Irish should have this one.
Notre Dame 38, Navy 14
Madeline Ladd - Associate sports Editor
Last weekend was spectacu lar, but this is an entirely new week with an entirely new op ponent. notre dame must avoid the hangover from the big upset over clemson. I said after the monumental bYU, and I will say it again — now is not the time to rest. navy’s talent isn’t great, especially since navy Qb Xavier Arline only threw the ball six times in two games combined as the starter. however, navy has choices. They utilize Qb maasai maynobu as a passing option and have demonstrated the ability to control the clock. stopping their offense will re quire the notre dame defense to be especially disciplined.
The navy defense is nothing to shrug over, and they have the ability to stop notre dame if they play down to their op ponent, as shown previously with marshall and stanford. Freeman’s team has turned the corner and finally figured out their identity as a team. I predict a big game from junior quarterback drew Pyne with 300 yards passing, with estime, diggs and junior running back chris Tyree going all out on the midshipmen. notre dame has this win -- at least, they should.
Notre Dame: 42, Navy 10
ndsmcobserver.com | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022 | The observer sports13
ND swIMMINg AND DIVINg
sTAFF pREDICTIONs
How Irish selflessly forge their identity
By AIDAN THOMAS sports editor
“If I’m not down in time, call duo until you can’t speak.”
The quote from notre dame offensive coordinator Tommy rees made waves around social media this week. rees said it to Irish tight ends coach Gerad Parker after the third-year of fensive coordinator decided to come down from his box to the sideline and celebrate the Irish’s 35-14 win over then-no. 4 clemson.
“duo” is a run-game scheme that has been the “crux” of notre dame’s offense for years, according to rees. Among other things, it relies heavily on tightend blocking and great reads by the running backs. While rees’ quote about calling duo until Parker couldn’t speak was refer ring to the final minutes of the game, it served as a microcosm for the Irish offense. It certainly was on saturday when the Irish ran ragged over clemson. but it has been a focal point in recent weeks, as notre dame collected their biggest wins of the season on back-to-back saturdays.
There was a lot of doubt this could happen. After rushing for over 200 yards against hapless UnLv, there was some ques tions as to why the Irish didn’t try to explore new avenues of their offense against a middling opponent. Against syracuse, the Irish terrorized another weak run defense for 200+ rushing yards. After the game, when questioned about the continued struggles of the passing game, head coach marcus Freeman seemed con cerningly unbothered. “We scored, what, 41 points … I’m not looking for a certain number of passes or rushes.”
It was easy to say that after beat ing up on an undersized syracuse defensive line. but clemson was a different beast. surely, the Irish couldn’t just pound the rock 40+ times to beat the unbeaten Tigers.
counterpoint: “call duo until you can’t speak.”
sure enough, the Irish did just that. neither notre dame’s coaches, nor their players, were shaken by a 3-3 start and an in consistent offense. They knew their identity and continued to work to establish it. And for the third straight week, the Irish rushed for over 200 yards, this time against one of the best rush defenses in the country. “It was all about physicality,” rees said. “They have a lot of really good players, but teams don’t see our style every week.”
Irish players lean into un selfish roles to build identity
Up and down the Irish roster, players demonstrate an un selfish commitment to fulfill ing their role, no matter how
unspectacular it may be. The running back trio recognizes that the workload may vary greatly from week to week de pending on the opponent, game script and a number of other factors. Against clemson, soph omore Audric estime saw 27 snaps. classmate Logan diggs was on the field for 24 snaps. And junior chris Tyree played 19 snaps. They recorded 18, 17 and 9 touches, respectively.
At different times, the backs have discussed the relation ship that forms a tight bond in that running back room. “Logan [diggs] is my brother. We’re al ways trying to push each other every day. We have that bond, it’s unbreakable. We always feed off each other,” estime said after the syracuse win.
The week before, diggs was the bell cow against UnLv, getting 28 carries after estime fumbled for the third time in four games. “All I can do is continue to be my brother’s keeper,” diggs said after the win. “Today I was a real team mate and told him ... ‘If you want to play, you’ve got to hold onto the ball’ …We have that mutual re spect. I could tell him anything, and he could tell me anything.”
And estime demonstrated his resiliency and selflessness in re sponse. After being essentially benched against UnLv, the soph omore bounced back to the tune of 38 carries for 227 yards and three touchdowns over the past two weeks.
Tyree has become more or less the third man in the rota tion. but he continues to play a big role at pivotal moments. Five of his seven carries came on notre dame’s two longscoring drives of 75+ yards. he notched a pair of chain-mov ing receptions for the Irish, as well. Against syracuse, five of Tyree’s eight carries came on five straight plays to kickstart a key second-half scoring drive. he also came through in a key first-half moment when the play call was a play-action fake to him. syracuse keyed on the run and leveled Tyree with a monster hit. however, Pyne pulled the handoff and found junior tight end michael mayer for a key first-down conversion. The Irish eventually punched in the touchdown.
diggs spoke after the UnLv game on the team-first mentality with the running backs. “You’ve just got to go into every game knowing it’s one job. everybody got the same job when we get in. When Audric get in, standard re main the same. When chris get in, standard remain the same ... I get in, standard remains the same.”
Team-first mentality ex pands past running backs That team-first mentality
doesn’t end in the running back room. The Irish tight ends and wide receivers are bought in on this offensive style, demon strating team-first offense. The duo scheme that the Irish lean on so heavily calls for their tight ends to block. of course, their best receiving weapon is mayer. but sometimes, the game script calls for the All-American to get down and dirty with the offen sive line and block. And mayer will do that gladly. he’ll reel in 11 catches, like he did against bYU, when needed. but he’ll also settle for four catches and springing the Irish backs with an impressive run-blocking game, as he did versus clemson. notre dame’s no. 2 tight end, sophomore mitchell evans, has yet to really be unlocked in the passing game. In fact, his of fensive touches lately come via “mitch-a-palooza”, the quarter back sneak the Irish use with evans under center on short yard age situations. When he’s not do ing that, evans is developing into a fearsome blocker.
“I think [evans] has made an impact in our running game more than people ac knowledge,” rees said. “mitch’s ability to be in there and own the point of attack has been huge. It’s a huge plus for our ability to run that game.”
And then, there are the wide receivers. much is made about the lack of depth and the lack of impact from this position group. In a game where the Irish only completed nine pass es, they ask their wide receiv ers to do a lot more than run routes. on this particular play, sophomore Jayden Thomas and graduate student braden Lenzy dominated their match-ups in run-blocking and keyed a big run.
Thomas notched three catches, making him the only Irish wide receiver to garner a touch against clemson. but notre dame has embraced a team-first mental ity across their offense. And the whole team is willing to get dirty and physically overpower their opponent.
so yes, the Irish passing of fense isn’t the most exciting, and it’s more limited than what you traditionally see from a successful offense. but the Irish aren’t trying to be what they’re not. so as they look to extend their winning streak and move up in the rankings, look for more selfless, team-first football from this offense. rees and the Irish aren’t keeping it a secret. They want to physically dominate their opponent. And, like with calling “duo”, they’re going to embrace that identity until they can’t speak.
Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu
The observer | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com14 SportS
FOOTBAll MAGGIE KLAERS |The Observer
Irish seek to qualify for national meet
By NATE MOLLER senior sports Writer
The notre dame men’s and women’s cross country teams will look to secure a place in the national meet this Friday when they compete at the ncaa Great Lakes regional meet in Terre haute, indiana.
head coach matt sparks acknowledged that his team understands the high stakes of this meet. he also said the coaches have tried to decrease the amount of pressure on the athletes by treating preparation for this meet like any other.
“one of the themes of the way we coach our sport is to just continue to repeat the process. We don’t build up, and we don’t treat any meet as especially bigger than the one before it,” sparks said. “The kids know enough about each meet and
where they stand and what they need to do. so we as coaches don’t put that extra pressure and anxiety into it for them.”
sparks is pleased with how both teams have looked in practice over the last couple of weeks.
“We’ve had a great two weeks of practice. Things seem to be falling together at the right time for both genders,” sparks said.
The men’s team struggled a bit at the acc conference championships a couple of weeks ago. despite being the fa vorties to win, the irish finished fourth as a team.
despite the disappointing race, sparks was not concerned about the performance, but he suggested that he tweaked some things to make sure the men’s team was fresh for Friday.
“The men had a little bit of a rougher conference meet
than the women did,” sparks said. “so we adjusted some things over the last couple of weeks to freshen some people up and get them more ready to go.”
sparks hopes that the men’s team can have a faster start Friday as they try to rebound from accs.
“Getting off to a great start, i think it’s a key in any ath letic endeavor to give yourself a chance to be successful,” sparks said. “if you have some rough patches early in the com petition, it’s sometimes hard to recover from those. That’s a lit tle bit what the men’s team has struggled with getting a little bit lost early in the race. They were able to rally at the Joe Piane and the nuttycombe meet to finish well. at the acc meet, they just couldn’t pull it together the last half of the race.”
sparks discussed the emer gence of sophomore carter solomon, who placed first at the acc championships a couple of weeks ago, as a leader for the men’s team. solomon was an elite runner in high school. a nd sparks is ecstatic to see solomon leading the team af ter two years under his belt in college.
“he quickly asserted himself about a month into the season and recognized that somebody needed to take the reins and be a leader,” sparks said. “he’s been a great leader on the course, but also in the locker room. he’s vo cal, and he’s well respected by everybody. it’s neat to see that maturation process for him to go from where he was as an elite high school kid, but it’s taken two years for him to recognize that it is his turn now to be the leader.”
on the women’s side, sparks is excited to see his team compete after impressively finishing sec ond at the acc championships. The irish finished only a couple of points back from top-ranked and defending national cham pions north carolina state.
“The women have been espe cially healthy and had a great conference meet,” sparks said. “nc state is number one in the country, and we gave them a good run for their money. That was exciting and gave every body a lot of confidence for what the next two weeks should entail, that we are starting to see ourselves with those truly elite programs in the country.”
sparks said he thought the women benefited from a smaller field size at the acc championships, which allowed them to get out fast and have a good race.
“The last month, we’ve been racing competitions that had 25 teams in the race. it just gets very crowded, and it’s a chal lenge and you become lost in the crowd sometimes. The ath letes were able to see their way to the front of the race [at accs]. We were out especially well, got up front, and felt very confident and rode that wave of confi dence throughout the race,” sparks said.
The top two teams at region als automatically qualify for the national meet, with other teams qualifying via an at-large berth. The men’s team are the second-ranked team in the re gion and the women’s team the top-ranked. sparks is hoping both can earn an automatic bid to the national meet.
“our goal is to earn one of those two automatic berths,” sparks said. “Last year we won both races, which would be a nice thing to repeat, but at the end of the day, all we need to do is finish in the top two to auto matically qualify.”
With both team’s recent suc cess in the meet, the irish could have a target on their backs come Friday. sparks empha sized the importance of taking care of business and each team running their own race.
“We just need to keep repeat ing the process and doing what we have always done,” sparks said. “We control our own race, and that’s the theme we’ve talk ed about over the last couple of weeks. We need to do what we can do and not worry about what the other team might do. We might be the favorites com ing into it. i feel like that makes things a little more exciting, in that we just need to take care of business and be the best version of ourselves on the day.”
The women’s 6K race will be gin at 10 a.m. esT, followed by the men’s 10K race at 11 a.m. esT.
ndsmcobserver.com | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022 | The observer sports15
Paid a dverT isemen T
Nate
at nmoller@nd.edu ND cROss cOuNtRY
Contact
Moller
Women boxers compete in semifinal bouts
By LUCIA AGUZZI, OLIVIA SCHATZ, MANNION McGINLEY, and ALYSA GUFFEY sports Writer, Associate sports e ditor, Assistant managing e ditor, e ditor-inc hief
The semifinals of the 2022 baraka bouts tournament took place Thursday night. These are the results from r ing A, fol lowed by bouts in r ing b. Final rounds take place Wednesday, nov. 16 at 7 p.m.
Ring A
Kim “The Grillmaster” Nguyen of Walsh Hall def. Kaitlin “Mo Pain” Mohlenkamp of Badin Hall
In the first round, nguyen came in strong on the offen sive against mohlenkamp, who deflected punch after punch. After a few hits from nguyen, she was able to get in two strong jabs, quickly ducking from another hit.
“The Grillmaster” continued to jab quickly anytime she could in the second round, chasing “mo Pain” around the ring. The third round saw both fighters consistently de flect punches and get jabs in against the other, and the fight seemed to be an even battle between the two. In the end, nguyen did enough to win the fight by a split decision among the judges.
Lindsey “Smol Ranger” Michie def. Olivia “Mad Dog” Mancuso of Howard Hall
The first round started off with michie jabbing repeat edly at mancuso, who fought back, but continuously was knocked off her stance. “smol ranger” came at mancuso strongly with several body shots, pushing her to the edge of the ring. “mad dog” eventu ally got her footing after land ing several punches on michie as well. In the second round, michie continued to land jabs on mancuso, who was backed into the corners of the ring a few times. The third round was an aggressive fight be tween the two, with the referee having to separate the fight ers a few times. Ultimately, “smol ranger” won the fight by unanimous decision.
Monica “Mc4” Caponigro of Pasquerilla East Hall def.
Martha “The Menace” Gluck of Howard Hall
Gluck started the fight landing a few hard jabs on caponigro, but “mc4” quickly proved to be a match for the veteran fighter. They circled the ring for the duration of the
first round, with Gluck hitting caponigro with body shots toward the end. In the second round, both fighters came on aggressively, with each hitting the other with several head jabs. “The menace” was able to push caponigro around the ring, but “mc4” deflected and was able to land body shots on Gluck. The third round was a very quick jab session be tween the two, neither land ing strong punches, but rather engaging in a continuous fight. caponigro’s hits on Gluck proved to be enough to sway the judges for a split-decision victory in her favor.
Emily “Enemy Jane” Nowak of McGlinn Hall def. Amber
“The Bulldog” May nowak started off the first round with consistent jabs at may, but “The bulldog” seemed to expertly duck against many hits from “enemy Jane.” may eventually was hit with a number of head punches from nowak, and continuously lost her footing, prompting the judge to split the two up. The second round saw much of the same, with “enemy Jane” landing punch after punch to may’s head. In the third round, “The bulldog” struggled to land punches, but continued to duck and deflect from her opponent as well. The decision, however, was a unanimous victory for nowak.
Lily “The Chelsea Dagger” Whitman of Lyons Hall def. Luzolo “Power Fist” Matundu of Farley Hall
The first round started off with powerful swings from Whitman. matundu would not be silenced, and she would quickly respond with hits of her own. Whitman would throw multiple hits in a row, sending matundu back. With a few seconds left, Whitman sent matundu into her corner. The second round started off just as the first, with both box ers throwing hard hits. one from Whitman would force a break from the ref. Whitman would not give up, and would immediately corner matundu with a series of hits. matundu, again, would not lie, landing multiple punches of her own. both competitors came out hot again in the third round. Whitman and matundu were throwing heavy punches up until the bell, but by unani mous decision, Whitman would win.
Langheim came out hot, with multiple hits to buetow. but, buetow quickly found her rhythm and sent a se ries of hits toward her com petitor. one jab to the face would send buetow back a few steps, and Langheim would pounce, sending buetow back and around the ring. It was then buetow’s turn, and she would send Langheim into the cor ner as the bell rang. Langheim would open up the match again, raining punches on buetow. After a ref-mandated break, buetow would seem to find some footing and would land multiple hits on Langheim. round three again saw aggressive hits from both competitors. Quickly, however, Langeim would hit buetow into the ropes. buetow would respond again by sending Langeim into the ropes, this time, however, Langheim would be able to escape it. both women were fighting til the bell, and after a hardfought match, buetow won by split decision.
JJ “Soldier Boy” Jorgensen of Lewis Hall def. Molly “MC Hammer” Caplice of Flaherty Hall def.
both women were moving quickly around the ring for the start of the first round. Jorgensen would land some major hits on caplice to force a break. The second round opened up with a quick jab missed by caplice. Jorgensen would take advan tage of this and retaliate with a
flurry of swings. A swing from Jorgensen would cause another break. Jorgensen would not give up, and after the concussion check, she would continue to land punch after punch on her opponent. neither boxer would rest going into the third round. Jorgensen would send caplice into the ropes for the final bell, and by unanimous decision, “soldier boy” was declared the winner.
Ellie “The Hammer” Hammerschmitt of Pasquerilla East Hall def. Hannah “Happle Apple” Vespalec of Welsh Family Hall
hammerschmitt started the match by punching down on the ducking vespalec. “The hammer” would attempt to send vespalec into the cor ner, but vespalec was able to duck out of it. hammerschmitt would not let up and con tinued to send multiple hits into her opponent. Again, hammerschmitt would start the round by sending a series of hits against vespalec, eventu ally sending her to the floor.
After a quick break, hammerschmitt was back at it and sent vespalec this time into the ropes. Throughout the rest of the round, hammerschmitt was sending jabs and punches toward her opponents, and vespalec was forced against the ropes. hammerschmitt sent vespalec quickly into the corner at the start of the third round. The ref
called time for holding on to hammerschmitt, but she would not let this stop her. And, at the end of the third round, by split decision, hammerschmitt took the crown.
The final match of the night started off hot. cano sent a flur ry of jabs toward vickery be fore vickery would send cano a few of her own. both fighters were fast with their punches and sent a series of hits before taking a step back. cano was able to dodge some of vickery’s swings, but the bell would ring as vickery was on the offense. It was vickery’s turn to start the match with hits of her own. but, cano would send some, forcing a stumble from vickery. vickery would then retaliate, and land multiple powerful swings. This would eventually send cano to the ground. For the last round, both women gave it their all. With the en tire arena now cheering for their corner, the energy was palpable. vickery would send a series of quick hits, and in return, cano would send some of her own. both boxers were swinging til the final bell when vickery sent cano into the ropes, and by unanimous decision, vickery was named champion.
16 The observer | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com
Lauren “Blondie” Buetow of Flaherty Hall def. Maggie “Thunderstruck” Langheim
Jessica “The Adjudicator” Vickery of Ryan Hall def. Gabi “Texan Perfection” Cano of Pasquerilla West Hall
BOuTS
BARAKA
Sofia CrimiVaroli | The observer
see boUTs PAGE 12
Two boxers exchange heavy punches during the 2022 semifinal rounds of the Baraka Bouts. This year marks the 20th annual Baraka Bouts at Notre Dame. The boxers will return on Nov. 16 for the final bouts.