Print Edition for The Observer for Wednesday, April 26, 2023

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Volume 57, Issue 75 | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023 | ndsmcobserver.com

10th Notre Dame Day raises millions Student groups, residence halls and academic departments participate in the annual fundraiser

By PETER BREEN Associate News Editor

The 10th annual Notre Dame Day, a two-day campus-wide fundraising bonanza, got rolling Tuesday evening at 6:42 p.m.

Over 900 student groups, residence halls, academic departments, alumni clubs and other causes compete in the global crowdfunding campaign, said Brandon Tabor, senior director of annual giving in the development department.

With more than 28,000 unique gifts last year, Notre Dame Day raised over $3 million. St. Edward’s Hall and Glee Club, 2022’s highest-grossing dorm and club, brought in about $42,000 and $28,000, respectively.

This year, during the annual

Notre Dame Day broadcast, 29 cameras will be dispatched around campus. Tabor expects Notre Dame community members from close to 100 countries to tune into the program, which airs on the Notre Dame Day website.

The star-studded broadcast schedule is broken into 124 segments, featuring current and former Fighting Irish athletes, live student performances and Notre Dame alumni of all stripes, including the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See and a priest who built a 300,000-piece LEGO model of the Main Building.

“To broadcast for us is a way to engage all the Notre Dame family around the world, not see ND DAY PAGE 5

PETER BREEN | The Observer

Fr. Bob Simon stands next to his model of the Golden Dome, built out of approximately 300,000 LEGO bricks. Simon displayed his work during the 10th annual Notre Dame Day broadcast Tuesday evening.

DIANE PARK | The Observer

Rockin’ through the decades: A musical journey at Notre Dame

By THOM AS DOBBS, CADE CZ ARNECKI and SPENCER KELLY From t he A rchives Resea rchers

Get ready to rock as we journey through the music histor y of Notre Dame’s concert scene. From the 1970s to the 1980s, the biggest names in Rock ‘n Roll, countr y and pop graced the Joyce Center. Some performances left students wanting more, while others left them disappointed. Elv is Presley, Elton John and Bruce Springsteen were among the performers that left students in awe.

W hile Willie Nelson’s concert received criticism for its brev it y and poor qua lit y, the likes of Billy Joel, Paul Simon

MICHAEL HILDRETH NEWS PAGE 3

and Chuck Berr y delivered some of the best shows in Notre Dame histor y. Join us as we explore the unforgettable concerts that rocked the Joyce Center stage.

Rock ‘n Roll at Notre Dame in the 1970s April 19, 1979 | Observer Staff | Aug. 28, 1974 | Observer Staff | May 4, 1972 | Joseph Abell | Feb. 12, 1973 | Joseph Abell | Oct. 27, 1975 | Patrick Small | Sept. 12, 1978 | Stephen Belmont | Sept.

24, 1973 | R. Thomas Thues | Researched by Cade Czarnecki Notre Dame has played host to some of the most significant names in Rock ‘n Roll histor y. The 1970s k icked off the trend w ith a decade of

SEX EDUCATION VIEWPOINT PAGE 7

performances by artists still well k now n today.

The Athletic and Convocation Center (ACC) that has since become the Joyce Center sold out over and over again as students f locked to see artists such as Billy Joel, Paul Simon and Chuck Berr y.

Elv is Presley even stopped

by South Bend, Indiana, to play t wo shows at the ACC bet ween a Friday and Saturday night. There was fierce competition among students to get tickets to his 1974 shows that were priced $10, $7.50 and $ 5.

Still, Notre Dame students were often harsh critics even when they had the chance to see era-defining bands.

SHREKTROSPECTIVE

SCENE PAGE 10

Event covers adoption case

By ROSE ANDROWICH News Writer

Elton John was apparently disappointing in 1972 where he showed up w ith his f lamboyant persona lit y in a bright pink coat and proceeded to speed through his hits like “Tiny Dancer” w ith little regard for the crowd in front of him.

Similar complaints were leveled at Santana in 1973 when he apparently placed a picture of Jesus Christ on a spea ker and proceeded to intently focus on it throughout his performance.

Students were once again critica l in 1975 when the Beach Boys were lack ing in instrumentation as they only played “oldies,” hav ing not

Laura Briggs, an author and professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, discussed an upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the Indian Child Welfare Act’s adoption policy in a lecture Monday afternoon.

The event was sponsored by the gender studies program and the Reilly Center for Science, Technology and Values and was the third event in a yearlong series titled “Reproductive Justice: Talks for Solidarity and Social Change.”

“This June, the Supreme Court will issue an important, much anticipated ruling on a reproductive justice case,” she said. “It’s not about mifepristone or any abortion medication, nor about whether Tennessee or Texas can

see ARCHIVES PAGE 4

see ADOPTION PAGE 3

football PAGE 14

ND golf PAGE 16

2

TODAY

The observer | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023 | ndsmcobserver.com

Question of the Day: ndsmcobserver.com

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What’s the best kind of candy?

P.O. Box 779, Notre Dame, IN 46556 024 South Dining Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556

Leeanna Silkworth

Chloe Westrate

sophomore Regina Hall

sophomore Regina Hall

“Sour gummy worms or SweetTarts Ropes.”

“Dark chocolate peanut butter cups.”

Lauren Davis

Erin Shea

junior Le Mans Hall

senior Opus Hall

“Reese’s Peanut Butter cups.”

“Reese’s Peanut Butter cups.”

(574) 631-6900 advertising@ndsmcobserver.com

Anna McMahon

Emma Haigh

Editor-in-Chief

junior Le Mans Hall

senior off-campus

“M&M’s.”

“Anything chocolate.”

Editor-in-Chief Maggie Eastland Managing Editor Ryan Peters Asst. Managing Editor: Gabrielle Beechert Asst. Managing Editor: Hannah Hebda Asst. Managing Editor: José Sánchez Córdova Notre Dame News Editor: Isa Sheikh Saint Mary’s News Editor: Meghan Lange Viewpoint Editor: Claire Lyons Sports Editor: Andrew McGuinness Scene Editor: Anna Falk Photo Editor: Sofia CrimiVaroli Graphics Editor: Christina Sayut Social Media Editor: Emma Duffy Advertising Manager: Emili Garcia Casas Ad Design Manager: Christina Sayut Systems Administrator: Jack MapelLentz Talent & Inclusion Manager: Angela Mathew Office Manager & General Info

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Today’s Staff News

Sports

Isa Sheikh Liam Kelly Cora Haddad

Madeline Ladd

Graphics Gabriel Zarazua

Photo

Scene

MEGHAN LANGE | The Observer

On Saturday, the Notre Dame football team played in the 92nd annual Blue-Gold game. Sam Hartman led the Gold team to victory over the Blue in his first game with the Fighting Irish, ending with a final score of 24-0 despite the unpleasant South Bend weather.

The next Five days:

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Anna Falk

Viewpoint Claire Lyons

Meghan Lange

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.

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Lecture on Tocqeville 1030 Jenkins Nanovic Hall 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Harvey C. Mansfield, political philosopher.

Theology Book Launch Andrews Auditorium 5 p.m.

Notre Dame authors with an audience Q&A.

Labor Cafe Geddes Hall Coffee House 5 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Discussing the American economy.

Mariposa/Butterfly DeBartolo Performing Arts Center 11 a.m. - noon Presented by Trike Theater.

SMC Day of Service Regina Hall 123 12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.

Remembering our fallen Sisters of the Holy Cross.

SMC Writing Event First floor, CushwaLeighton Library 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Work on anything from research to revision.

Dillon Hall Milkshake Mass St. Patrick’s Chapel 10 p.m.

Stay afterward for milkshakes.

Notre Dame Baseball Game Frank Eck Stadium 6 p.m.

Notre Dame versus Florida State.

“The Coronation of Poppea” LaBar Performance Hall 7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Opera ND show.

Grease!

Saint Mary’s Little Theater 7 p.m.

The Main Stage, Inc.! production.

News

ndsmcobserver.com | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023 | The Observer

Hildreth appointed dean

By LIAM KELLY News Writer

In a press release on April 5, the University of Notre Dame announced that Professor Michael Hildreth had been appointed as the new dean of the Graduate School.

Hildreth had previously served as a professor of physics and astronomy and senior associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Science.

During an interview with The Observer, Hildreth summed up his vision for the Graduate School in two words: “excellence and distinctiveness.”

“We hear quite often that Notre Dame provides an unsurpassed undergraduate education. Why aren’t we saying that we provide an unsurpassed graduate education?” Hildreth questioned.

In pursuit of this excellence, Hildreth aims to attract the highest level students and faculty.

“The better faculty you have, the better students that you can attract, and the f lip side is also true. The better students that we can attract, sometimes the better faculty we can attract,” he said.

Attracting high caliber students and teachers stems from having robust research programs that offer tangible opportunities, Hildreth explained.

“Many students who are thinking about going to graduate school want to see how their research can have an impact, much more rapidly than ‘Oh, I’m doing basic science, so maybe 30 years from now someone will use this.’ They want to see tangible benefits of their work,”

Hildreth pointed out.

Part of demonstrating these tangible benefits includes improving career services, Hildreth said.

“We actually have quite strong career services for graduate students that have been built up over the last 10 years or so, [but] I don’t think as many graduate students as possible have been taking advantage of that,” he stated. “ … I don’t think that we have enough engagement between graduate students and their mentors, or even, maybe they need more mentors to figure out how to discern their future careers.”

Hildreth said he also intends to expand internship opportunities for graduate and postdoctoral students.

“We were doing some of that, but I think we could do more,” he said.

Hildreth emphasized that having a strong graduate research program is central to the University’s mission.

“The graduate students and postdocs are critical to both the research and teaching missions of the University.

If we want to advance the University from a research perspective, these folks are the engines that drive the research enterprise of the University,” Hildreth said.

When it comes to the part of his vision that focuses on distinctiveness, Hildreth said he aims to lean into the Catholic character of the University.

“Is there a way that we can create a graduate curriculum that ref lects Notre Dame, and Notre Dame’s vision as a Catholic research university?” he questioned.

Hildreth proposed that this could be accomplished by putting a greater focus on

questions of ethics, encouraging community outreach and fostering interdisciplinary studies.

Hildreth expressed confidence that his time in the College of Science that focused on research and graduate studies has prepared him well for his role as dean of the Graduate School, both through the work he has done and the people he has interacted with.

“I’ve been interacting with the Graduate School and trying to understand and implement graduate policies and supporting graduate students and postdocs throughout my time in the Dean’s office here in the College of Science,” he said.

Hildreth also praised former dean Laura Carlson, who served in the position from 2013 through 2022, for the work she accomplished during her tenure.

“The previous dean of the graduate school, Laura Carlson, … did a great job in terms of figuring out what kind of support services the students needed and really put a lot of these career services support structures in place. The graduate life is much, much better than it was when she started 10 years ago,” Hildreth said.

Above all, Hildreth conveyed a sense of optimism about his new role.

“I think we’re in a pretty good place,” he said. “Our task really moving forward is how do we get from good to excellent?”

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story was published online 4/20/23 Contact Liam Kelly at lkelly8@nd.edu

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Adoption Continued from page 1

block miscarriage care designed to save people’s lives or keep them out of the ICU in the name of preventing what those states called abortions.”

The anticipated ruling is regarding Brackeen V. Halland — a case which will take up the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978’s policies on adoption.

The law was enacted to protect American Indian children from removal from their tribes to be adopted by nonIndigenous families, though the states of Texas, Indiana and Louisiana, as well as individual plaintiffs, argue that the law violates the 10th Amendment.

“Adoption and fostering are often seen as particularly generous act a way of bringing a small person into intimate relationship with a household — sometimes of strangers and we’re raising them to adulthood,” Briggs said. “It can certainly be that but it’s also about taking someone away from the person who birthed [them] to maybe raise them for a while.”

Briggs contextualized adoption through the descriptions of what it does at its best and worst.

“At best, it’s full of loss for birth parents and child and especially in the case of closed adoptions for generations to come,” Brigg said. “At worst, adoption and fostering are full of coercion and even violence as police and foster agencies tear a child from the arms of parents or others who love them and fully intend to raise them.”

Briggs discussed a statement written by justice Samuel Alito regarding

3

abortion and adoption.

“The outcome of outlawing abortion in the state should not trouble us because there’s always adoption so people can simply carry the pregnancy to term, bear the medical risks of it and then not raise the child,” Alito wrote.

Briggs discussed the history of adoption and the effects on Indigenous communities.

“State governments begin going onto reservations or moving children to foster care and adoptions, mostly white homes, as boarding schools begin to enroll fewer and fewer Native kids, drawing on centuries of efforts to reform Indigenous peoples’ family, kinship and gender practices,” she said. “States argued that leaving children in the care of grandmothers and other kin ... while living without running water or electricity was tantamount to child neglect.”

Briggs discussed the strateg y of separating children from tribal nations and provided context into what the ultimate goal may be for the gaming industry. Betting operations threatened by the competition of Indian gaming want to see an end to the existence of tribal nations, Briggs explained.

“The strateg y of separating children from tribal nations means less political power and fewer people willing to fight for nations’ control of resources,” she said. “As with the gaming context, the ultimate goal may well be to return to the policies of the termination era of the 1950s and 60s when Congress passed laws to end the legal existence of tribal nations and their control over land, water and minerals.”

Fostering and adoption enforce a racial hierarchy, Briggs said. She framed the issue by saying that some groups are rendered powerless.

“To intensif y the way as a group, it’s rendered powerless and outside the body politic,” she said. “Because if you don’t have the power to raise your own children, if the state or religious groups can reach down to the intimate relationships between parent and child ... without good cause, or due process, you essentially don’t have meaningful rights.”

The standard used in adoption is a best-interests standard, which Briggs said is easily twisted and transfers kids out of their households.

“It becomes all too common sense to use the foster care and adoption system to transfer the kids of working and poor folks to middle class households,” Briggs said.

Contact Rose Androwich at randrowi@nd.edu

4

NEWS

The observer | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023 | ndsmcobserver.com

Archives Continued from page 1

released a new a lbum in three years. Students a lso lamented the hy per v igilant South Bend police that confiscated marijuana parapherna lia from many of those tr y ing to ma ke the night one to remember — or forget.

Yet, there was one performance that nobody had any thing negative to say about: Bruce Springsteen in 1978. Stephen Belmont, a student at the show, ref lected, “[it was] one of the best rock and roll shows I have ever seen.”

Belmont further noted that this was his 15th time seeing Springsteen live. In t y pical Springsteen fashion, the show lasted three and a half hours and ever y second of it felt as if the whole of his being was poured out into his music.

W hile students gave mixed rev iews of the performances, it is undeniable that Notre Dame was a hotspot for the biggest names of Rock ‘n Roll in the 1970s.

Even if the Irish were a tough crowd to please, they certainly did not scare anyone off as performers at Notre Dame in the 1980s would prove to be just as significant to music histor y.

1980s : A spectrum of musical legends Jan. 29, 1981 | Tim Sullivan | Sept. 21, 1984 | Mark Worscheh | Nov. 11, 1987 | Tom McDonald | Researched by Spencer Kelly The concerts at Notre Dame in the 1980s featured musical legends from a variet y of genres at various stages in their storied careers.

To kick off the eighties, Bruce Springsteen once again graced the Joyce Center stage. According to Tim Sullivan, Springsteen’s prev ious concert in 1978 had been “the finest rock show produced in the ACC… [a] three-hour extravaganza of nonstop v italit y and drama [that] displayed the possibilities of the rock’n’roll motif.”

However, The Boss’ subsequent show ing was even better. For Sullivan, this four-hour performance in 1981 “contained too many musical and theatrical highlights to properly list them all” and showed that Springsteen had “reached the crest of his career. The only question is: How long can he maintain his dominance in the popular music industr y? ” The answer: quite long.

With 63 shows scheduled around the world in 2023, Springsteen, while perhaps

not “dominant,” remains musically and commercially relevant.

In many ways, Springsteen’s current status as an aging star that can still draw a sell out crowd mirrors that of two other artists who came to Notre Dame in the 1980s.

In 1984, Willie Nelson performed a Wednesday night show at Joyce. Contrasting w ith Sullivan’s Springsteen rev iew, Mark Worscheh (’85) was critical of the countr y legend’s concert in front of a predominantly non-student crowd.

Worscheh argued that Willie appeared rushed, as he cut off the crowd’s clapping by starting the next song after a few seconds.

The show ended up being just two hours long and there was only one encore.

Recalling the spectacular concerts held at the same venue in recent years, Worscheh expressed disappointment w ith Nelson’s effort.

“Even though he’s no Billy Joel or Bruce Springsteen in terms of stage performance, Willie owed it to the crowd to be a little more of a show man,” Worscheh w rote.

A few years later, an even older artist proved that you didn’t have to jump around on stage a la Springsteen to give a great show.

In 1987, 71-year old Frank Sinatra performed at Notre Dame for the first time in his storied career.

Like Willie Nelson, Sinatra crooned for a primarily non-student crowd, something that made concert rev iewer Tom McDonald (‘88) “uncomfortable” as he glanced around the Joyce Center. However, McDonald

seemed to forget about his elderly audience mates as he listened to Sinatra’s legendar y “baritone voice, periodically lacquered w ith whisk y.”

“Sinatra remains the consummate performer… [and] did not require such distractions as smoke [or] lasers,” McDonald noted. “Sinatra proved to his audience that a 71 year-old man can still belt out a tune.”

Overall, while they received mixed rev iews at the time, the concerts of the 1980s are, in hindsight, an impressive demonstration of the spectrum of star power that Notre Dame could attract to northern Indiana.

Echoes in the Dome : U2 rocks Notre Dame in the 2000s Aug. 29, 2001 | Jason McFarley | Sept. 11, 2001 | Sam Derheimer | Sept. 21, 2001 | Jason McFarley | Tim Collins | Oct. 11, 2001 | Joanna Mikulsi | Oct. 19, 2001 | Researched by Thomas Dobbs Excitement was in the air in 2001 as rumors started circulating that the legendar y Irish rock band U2 would be performing at the Universit y of Notre Dame’s Joyce Center. Students eagerly awaited confirmation of the concert, and their hopes were soon answered when it was officially announced that U2 would indeed grace the campus w ith their presence.

As rumors about U2’s performance at Notre Dame circulated in 2001, Joyce Center events manager Joe Sassano braced for a stampede of interest among students from Notre Dame, Saint Mar y’s and Holy Cross. In an effort to quell any an x ieties,

Sassano issued a reassuring statement, promising that “any student who wants a ticket w ill receive a ticket.”

However, despite the attempts at organization, the ticket-buy ing process devolved into chaos, w ith students enduring l ong lines and hours of waiting.

Students were nevertheless determined to secure a spot for U2’s highly-anticipated concert, w ith many waiting in line for over eight hours. “It’s utter confusion,” said Notre Dame junior Maria Mahon, but the excitement and anticipation for the concert ultimately prevailed.

With anticipation running high, the big day had finally arrived; Joyce Center was packed to capacit y w ith excited students and fans eagerly anticipating U2’s performance.

U2 did not disappoint, putting on an electrif y ing performance that had the entire crowd on their feet, singing and dancing along to their hits.

During the concert, U2’s frontman, Bono, gave a mov ing speech about changing the world through education programs like the A lliance for Catholic Education and aid to impoverished countries. In the concert almost a month follow ing 9/11, he also paid tribute to the heroic firefighters and police officers of New York Cit y, challenging the audience to use their braver y to combat povert y.

Bono’s speech was followed by the performance of “One.” The emotional and powerful song, combined w ith Bono’s inspiring words,

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left a lasting impression on the Notre Dame communit y and reminded them of the power of music to inspire change.

Joanna Mikulski (‘03), a columnist for The Obser ver, praised U2 for not only putting on an incredible show, but also using their platform to convey a meaningful message to the audience.

The band’s focus on social justice and activ ism resonated w ith the Notre Dame communit y and left a lasting impact on many students.

“The songs of the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and N*SY NC offer no particular message... They sing of themselves,” noted Mikulski.

The concert was a testament to the enduring popularit y of U2, who had been entertaining audiences for over t wo decades by this point. Their blend of rock and roll, social commentar y and meaningful ly rics had won them countless fans around the world, and their performance at Notre Dame was no exception.

“They are once again the best band in the world and have taken their place alongside the greatest rock ‘n’ roll artists of all time,” said Notre Dame student Tim Collins (‘02) in an editorial rev iew.

For many students, the concert was not just a night of music and fun but an unforgettable experience that they would cherish for years to come.

Contact Thomas Dobbs at tdobbs @nd.edu Contact Cade Czarnecki at cczarne3@nd.edu Contact Spencer Kelly at skelly25@nd.edu

News

ndsmcobserver.com | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023 | The Observer

ND Day Continued from page 1

just the people on campus,” Tabor said. “We want to highlight not just giving, but what Notre Dame means to the world and what people do in the name of Notre Dame.”

Sophomore Nalani Malackowski, a member of Notre Dame’s ultimate frisbee team, said Notre Dame Day funds ensure that the club remains accessible.

“This year, we traveled to Florida and North Carolina, and we have to take a bus which isn’t cheap,” Malackowski said.

“Raising money for ND Day would be huge. It gives us an opportunity to keep our dues low because we want everyone to be able to play and cost not

be a factor in that.”

Malackowski, a competitive high school athlete, said she joined the ultimate frisbee club on a whim during Activities Night.

“I like running. There’s running in it. So I just like picked it up and tried it,” Malackowski said. “[Due to] the team atmosphere on the first day of practice, I just fell in love and kept coming back.”

Now serving on the club’s social committee, Malackowski said the frisbee team has impacted her time at Notre Dame on and off the field.

“We have practice three days a week and workouts the other two days. It keeps you on a schedule for your academics, which was really important to me,” Malackowski said. “But

honestly, the community is the most important part. It’s like 100 best friends that you get to go and play sports with, and I just love it.”

The 100-person ultimate club frisbee club is divided into four teams: A and B teams for both men and women.

Malackowski said her team is currently ranked number one in the region.

“We have regionals coming up, the week before final exams, and if we make out of regionals, we’re going to qualify for nationals,” Malackowski said. “We have a good chance this year and want to be able to go if we make it.”

Morrissey Manor rector Zack Imfeld said in an email that his hall uses Notre Dame Day money to give Morrissey

crewnecks to every first-year, offset the cost of the hall retreat and fund the dorm’s signature event, the Outdoor Gamewatch.

“The beauty of ND Day funds is that it gives hall leaders the chance to fund more initiatives or enhance traditions already in the hall,” Imfeld wrote.

On top of direct gifts from donors, causes have numerous opportunities to win a share of the $500,000 available in Notre Dame Day challenge and prize money, Tabor said.

“The biggest piece of that pie is the $250,000 Challenge Fund,” Tabor said. “If your cause receives a gift from a donor, you get a share of that fund. In the past, those shares have translated to [from $9 to $20 for each donation.]”

5

For patrons who don’t know where to give, Tabor said Notre Dame Day recommends three causes that impact all students: financial aid, student experience and the Rockne Athletic Fund.

Tabor just wants to see people supporting the things they love here at Notre Dame, he added.

“If that’s the ultimate frisbee club, great. If you’re like, ‘I love my residence hall, I love my major, I love this club,’ do that,” Tabor said. “Somebody helped shape your experience here at Notre Dame. And it’s everyone’s responsibility, all of us, to help shape the next generation too.”

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu

Senate suspends unopposed council elections

By LIAM PRICE News Writer

Wednesday afternoon’s Notre Dame student senate meeting featured a debate on the best state and a promotion for Baumer Hall’s “Fr. Pete [McCormick]” shirt sale, but it began w ith an adlibbed prayer.

Notre Dame student senators t y pically volunteer ahead of time to lead opening prayer for a given meeting, but at the start of Wednesday’s, student body v ice president A idan Rezner offered the opening prayer to any senator who w ished to lead it right then. Fisher senator Joseph Tunney raised his hand.

“Heavenly Father, thank you for allow ing us to gather here,” Tunney said. “Please bless ever yone in this room. Help us to do our work quick ly, efficiently and w ith the hearts and

minds of a group that keeps in mind the interest of the student body at Notre Dame.

Help us to get through this week … In your name, we pray.”

Editor’s note: Tunney is a former sports w riter for The Obser ver.

Student union secretar y Isabella Tardio took roll call for Wednesday’s meeting and asked the senators their bucket list vacation spots for the meeting’s question of the day. Rezner added another feature to the roll call section of the meeting’s agenda: “Pick One,” for which he put Duncan Hall senator Jacob Zybura on the spot, asking Zybura why he thinks New Jersey is the best state.

“W hat more could you want in a state? It’s got the beach. It’s got the cit y. It’s got some beautiful mountains, believe it or not,” Zybura said.

Zybura’s

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hometow n, according to the senate director y, is Clifton, New Jersey.

“A ll right,” Rezner said to Zybura. “I’d argue that California has that too, but that’s fine.” Rezner, for his part, is originally from Corona, California.

After the opening prayer, Rezner moved the senate into executive announcements, promoting events hosted by student government’s various executive cabinets in the upcoming week. Rezner noted that Denim Day, held on Thursday, April 20, is the student union’s most important event for the rest of the academic year.

“Make sure to wear your denim tomorrow,” he told the senators. “Make sure your dorms know to wear denim tomorrow. [It is] ver y important to show awareness and support. So jeans, denim jackets, all those are good things. A nd that w ill happen tomorrow to show our support for sur v ivors of sexual v iolence.”

Rezner, who was presiding over the senate for the third meeting of his term, had finished the rest of the executive announcements and was mov ing onto new business when Carroll Hall senator Hunter Brooke, the runner-up v ice presidential candidate in this year’s student government elections, raised his hand.

“Can I ask a point of order?

I may have been completely asleep, but did we forget to approve the minutes? ” Brooke asked.

It was true. Rezner had not approved the prior meeting’s minutes after Tardio took roll call and before executive orders.

“That’s on me,” Rezner said, and then he quick ly fixed his error by approv ing the prior meeting’s minutes w ith an unanimous vote from the senate to do so.

Brooke then gave

another motion to move up the meeting’s t wo agenda items from new business to general orders, and there was no objections from the senate.

Two items passed during general orders The first item on the agenda was a senate order to suspend off-campus council elections. Knott senator Clay Chauncey made a motion to dispense the reading portion of the order, which was approved w ith a senate vote.

During questioning, Rezner told the senate that the order’s reasoning was obv ious: “There’s only one part y running,” he said.

Isabella Marchetti and Aubrey DiStefano are the only juniors running for offcampus council president and v ice president, respectively, in the upcoming offcampus council elections.

Suspending the election simply facilitated a quicker electoral process for the unopposed candidates. The senate agreed w ith Rezner, prov iding no debate on the order and no dissent in the senate during voting.

The next agenda item was a senate resolution “to fix the Baumer Hall sign,” which Brooke, as a co-sponsor for the resolution, read out loud to the senate.

The “whereas” statements of the resolution explained that a “sign on the southeast section of campus near the Morris Inn contains names and directions to many nearby dorms, but conspicuously lacks any direction or identification of Baumer Hall.”

Furthermore, the resolution also stated that Brooke and Keough Hall president Derick Williams “have discussed this issue” w ith indiv iduals from the Office of Facilities Design and Operations, who have “placed an order for necessar y materials.”

Brooke read that the resolution calls upon the Office of Facilities Design and Operations “to efficiently and effectively add a sign designating Baumer Hall to the outdoor signage in question.” The resolution also states that, on behalf of the entire “student union and student body,” the senate “extends its full gratitude and thanks” to the office and the other indiv iduals from the Universit y who have helped w ith the issue.

Baumer Hall senator Thomas K luck said that Brooke came to Baumer Hall in Januar y and asked members of the hall what the student union could be doing better. “We said, you know, ‘we want this sign,’” K luck told the senate. “It’s not that hard of a fix and we want it done. Somebody’s got to get it done.”

The resolution passed w ith no opposing votes, and Rezner moved the senate into announcements.

Brooke raised his hand again, announcing that Carroll Hall’s Lakeside Music Festival is this Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m. At this point, however, it was Rezner who corrected Brooke.

“We’ll have to get it approved first, but hopefully it w ill happen,” Rezner said.

“But we can’t announce it officially.”

K luck announced that Baumer Hall w ill be selling shirts depicting Notre Dame director of Campus Ministr y Fr. Pete McCormick in Baumer Hall from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the meeting came to a close shortly after w ith the unanimous vote by the senate to adjourn the meeting.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story was published online 4/20/23 Contact Liam Price at lprice3@nd.edu

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The observer | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023 | ndsmcobserver.com

Inside Column

Studying abroad is not seeing the world Ryan Peters Managing Editor

One week ago, I was walking through the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul when several shop owners approached me at once to lure me into their store to haggle for some overpriced knick-knacks. There were maybe seven or eight shops in this particular hall and at least five shop owners approached me. I must have looked like a prime target. I was an ignorantlooking American study abroad student walking through one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world carrying a bag full of Turkish delight and wearing a fake Rolex I haggled for the day before. Not only did I look like a prime target, I was, in fact, one.

I brushed off the shop owners but one kept walking with me. He asked — twice — if I was Greek, then if I was German and finally if I was British. I stopped the guessing game and revealed that I was American before telling the guy I would not buy anything from him.

If there’s one thing study abroad has taught me, it’s that I am not “seeing the world.”

“Seeing the world” would take a lot of time and a lot of money.

Sure, I’m experiencing new cultures and trying new things on a daily basis, but I’m not exactly interacting with locals in small villages in Africa or scaling mountains in Asia. Heck, I haven’t even been to London.

So, what are we doing while abroad? At least from my perspective, we’re realizing just how much is out there that we haven’t seen. I’m used to locals asking if I’m British or American. But going to a place where American was the fourth guess for some stupid white college kid’s nationality was a wake-up call.

America is the greatest country on the planet. Study abroad has only confirmed this. If you need any evidence, I heard “In da Club” by 50 Cent played on two different continents in two weeks. And North America was not one of them. I’ve always known that America is awesome — and yes, f lawed. But traveling to other places has allowed me to actually appreciate

what we have and understand our faults, too. For reference, a majority of the vacations in my life have been in the great states of Michigan and Wisconsin.

I’ve seen Israeli police stationed around the Old City in Jerusalem with large rif les as the nation undergoes some of the biggest civil unrest in its history and traveled to Turkey as it experiences devastating inf lation and recovers from an earthquake that claimed over 45,000 lives. So, in my short time abroad I’ve at least been exposed to a couple of dramatically different geopolitical situations. And this is not to say these places aren’t amazing.

Visiting Istanbul and Jerusalem made for two of the greatest weekends of my life. But, they’re not America.

I’ve traveled around Europe quite a bit to the usual spots — Venice, Prague, Berlin, Barcelona, etc. All of these are amazing places. But, I’ve found you learn the most about yourself in the places where you look the most out of place.

This is no groundbreaking discovery, but it’s something that doesn’t click until you actually experience it.

Whether it was getting stuck in the Damascus Gate for an hour as Muslims left the Old City after prayer during a Friday in Ramadan or locals gifting us traditional Iftar foods outside the Hagia Sophia following the sunset call to prayer even though we had been eating food all day, we’ve certainly experienced new things this semester.

And while these are cool experiences that I will take with me forever, the real value is that it forces you to ref lect, at least, in ways I probably wouldn’t at a Thirsty Thursday at Four Winds Field. Who do these people across the world think I am?

They probably think I’m a moron tourist, and they wouldn’t be wrong. But sometimes it takes haggling for a crappy, fake watch to start to think about who you actually are and where you’re from.

You can contact Ryan at rpeters5@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

I don’t care about you anymore. Seriously.

Jonah Tran De Re Publica

I dream of a better Notre Dame society!

I dream of a society that mandates each of its students to wear identification badges on their right breast. The IDs ought not to state one’s medical history, religion or race — those characteristics are irrelevant to the visionary purpose I have in mind.

The mandate will be enforced by a reimagined Notre Dame Police Department, in which every officer will carry a pocketsized copy of du Lac with a bookmark on the page containing this amendment.

Instead, the IDs will label everyone by a simple binary: a waste of time (WOT) and not a waste of time (NWOT).

The culture of my utopian Notre Dame is divided into WOTs and NWOTs, the people of which come in many different forms.

With respect to WOTs, some are wannabe Instagram influencers, whose primary mission is to manufacture proclamations of feigned fondness toward a place or person. It is reported that the line “much love for x” is likely a sign of this group. Others are the super students who “beat the system” of college admissions by excellent test scores but lack any practical, real-life knowledge or skills. The largest defining factor of the WOTs, however, can be described by the saying, “feathers in the wind.” The feathers are people true to their name and only that. They have a characteristic unwillingness to endure any responsibility or burden, mental or physical. Feathers have cut loose their gravitas, any legitimizing moral constitution or professional aspirations so that they might be weightless and readily available for the alluring gales of comfort to cradle them away. In my experience, WOTs — people who are utter wastes of time — have been consistent causes for my annoyance.

The WOT’s counterpart, the NWOT, is rumored to have a radical culture, barbaric, even. It is said that NWOTs engage in ridiculous practices like desiring a relationship based on genuine affection, not utility, prestige or pleasure. NWOTs are embarrassingly not perfect and eager to admit their shortcomings and weaknesses.

NWOTs desire to get the most out of their time at Notre Dame by pursuing holistic development. How pitiful!

Personally, I have encountered an uncharacteristically high number of WOTs, which is why I can illustrate their character so vividly. Their negative effect on my life can be as brief as an unsavory conversation (approximately 20 minutes) or as long as a failed friendship (approximately 211,680 minutes). WOTs come in all shapes, sizes, dorms, states, countries and genders.

They are everywhere! It seems as if one who values time effortlessly attracts those who do not. And once a WOT has successfully deceived you into thinking that there could be a genuine mutual exchange, you and your time are doomed. Prepare yourself to sacrifice time and mental capacity

in an effort to cultivate that which will never grow.

Unfortunately, I lack the foresight and courage to say the definitive solution: “I don’t care about you anymore.”

This phrase may appear harsh, but that is the point. As humans, we find ourselves bending over backward to accommodate everything and everyone. It is unnecessarily stressful. Sometimes, there are just some people who are not worth a second of your time. They lack so many, if not all, qualities that are necessary for a healthy relationship, romantic or not. Their decision to waste your time may be due to a lack of maturity or ignorance or outright decision, but the cause is irrelevant.

What matters is you.

I am not calling for widespread selfishness but rather more educated time allocation. Do not hoard all your time for yourself in fear that everybody you encounter will waste it. It is necessary, however, to become more attentive to the specific ways you and another are benefiting each other. Above all, be unwilling to give time to those who will not value it, and be generous in giving time to those who will value it and return it doubly. This may not seem like a groundbreaking realization, but you would be surprised at how inept people are at attending to relationships. Chances are you have been in a toxic relationship, and you certainly have seen toxic people.

Think about it this way: Renouncing care for someone is merely stating the very thing that someone already prescribed for you.

“I don’t care about you anymore” is a phrase that we all should incorporate more often into our vocabulary. When used in the correct context, it is empowering and final. It is the bane of a supreme disrespect one could commit, namely wasting another’s time. It is a lasting principle that will govern my utopian Notre Dame since it will create an unbreakable barrier between the WOTs and the NWOTs. Although my vision will not come to fruition because of historical resistance against anything with the word “mandate” in it, I will have to settle for less. For the time being, let us examine our current actions and inhibitions to act. Are we wasting our time on low-quality people? Are we ourselves the low-quality time-waster in question? Do we find ourselves shirking responsibility in exchange for short-term comfort? Who are the people in our lives that value our time and generously give their own?

Life is short. Use your time wisely.

Jonah Tran is a first-year at Notre Dame double majoring in Finance and Classics and minoring in Constitutional Studies. He prides himself on sarcasm and being from the free state of Florida. You can contact Jonah by email at jtran5@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Submit a Letter to the Editor viewpoint@ndsmcobserver.com

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The observer | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023 | ndsmcobserver.com

Letter to The editor

Attend Antisemitism Awareness Week In 2002, Fr. Hesburgh was one of six original signatories in a letter organized by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) decrying intimidation towards Jewish students on college campuses. The statement condemned hate speech, threats of violence and destruction of property directed at Jewish students and student organizations.

It was eventually signed by over 300 college and university presidents pledging to create safer educational environments for Jewish students. The letter was published amidst a concerning rate of antisemitic incidents on college campuses in the early 2000s.

Unfortunately, the worries of Fr. Hesburgh and national leaders in higher education are more pressing today than 23 years ago. According to the AntiDefamation League (ADL), there were 3,697 antisemitic incidents in 2022. This was a 36% increase from 2021 and the highest number of incidents since 1979 when the ADL began tracking this information. Additionally, despite making up less than 2.5% of the U.S. population, the Jewish community was the target of 51.4%

of religion-related hate crimes. FBI hate crime data also reveals that antisemitic hate crimes increased by 20% from 2020 to 2021 and comprised the fourth largest proportion of hate crimes. These numbers are likely higher, given that thousands of law enforcement agencies regularly fail to report hate crimes to the FBI. College campuses aren’t isolated from the dangers of antisemitism. In fact, one can argue they’re a hotspot. A 2021 ADL and Hillel International survey found a three-fold increase in campus antisemitism between 2014 and 2021. During the 2020-2021 school year, one-third of Jewish students in the United States experienced antisemitism on campus. At Indiana University, students saw their mezuzah, a Jewish symbol outside one’s doorpost, taken down and partially burned. At UC Berkeley, the student union building was vandalized with the message “No Jew Go Away.” Jewish sexual assault survivors were kicked out of a support group at the University of Vermont.

Even Notre Dame isn’t exempt from this trend. The Jewish Club has collected

anonymous instances of antisemitism since last year, with incidents ranging from swastikas drawn outside a dorm to professors not accommodating students properly during religious holidays. This year, we witnessed a flagrant display of antisemitism and anti-Indigenous hate at the mock midterm debate when the Jewish position on abortion was equated to “Aztec child sacrifice.” During the football team’s bowl game, antisemitic groups displayed messages like “The Jewish Talmud allows child rape” and “Hitler was right” outside the stadium.

In light of the antisemitism we have witnessed across the world, our country and this campus, the Jewish Club is proud to present its third annual Antisemitism Awareness Week. The week is a series of events dedicated to educating our community about antisemitism, Jewish life at Notre Dame and methods to combat religious bigotry. We believe antisemitism is best fought through education. For that reason, we invite the Notre Dame community to attend the rest of our events this week.

While Fr. Hesburgh was president of our University, he called in two students who had bullied a student for being Jewish to the point that said student left Notre Dame.

Fr. Hesburgh told the perpetrators that they would both be expelled if they did not convince the student to come back to campus.

The Jewish student returned, and all three students graduated from our University.

We invite the Notre Dame community to join in the spirit of Fr. Hesburgh to combat antisemitism and religious bigotry.

Our University presents a unique opportunity for interfaith solidarity and the strengthening of everyone’s faith, regardless of religion. This week, the Jewish Club hopes you take this opportunity to attend Antisemitism Awareness Week. You can also find us on Instagram (@jewishclubnd) for updates.

On behalf of the Jewish Club, Katie Werner junior Sabrina Takagishi sophomore April 23

We need consent education on campus Gracie Sullivan I.M.P.A.C.T

The month of April marks the beginning of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The national recognition of this important issue recognizes the experiences of survivors and raises awareness about prevention initiatives such as education around consent. As this important month comes to a close, it is important that the Notre Dame community reflects upon the ways it has raised awareness around this issue while simultaneously recognizing areas that are in dire need of improvement.

Take Back the Night On April 12, the Gender Relations Center (GRC) applied National Sexual Assault Statistics to the student population of Notre Dame to represent the seen and unseen survivors of sexual assault on Notre Dame’s campus. 1,659 blue flags were placed on South Quad to account for the following statistics on sexual assault on college campuses: 26.4% of 4,260 undergraduate women (1,125 flags), 6.8% of 4,614 undergraduate men (314 flags), 9.7% of 1,692 graduate women (164 flags), 2.5% of graduate men (56 flags) and the 23.1% of trans and non-binary students who have been sexually assaulted on college campuses.

While these statistics do not accurately account for the reality of Sexual Assault on Notre Dame’s campus, they pose an accurate representation of sexual violence that occurs on college campuses at large.

On April 19, the GRC hosted Take Back the Night, a national event that aims to end sexual violence. This event was split into three parts: a speak-out where survivors can share their own stories, a march around campus and a prayer service at the Grotto.

Ultimately, this night aims to empower survivors and encourages allies to speak up and take action to eliminate sexual violence. This impactful event allows survivors to stand in solidarity with each other, validate one another’s experiences and offer support to one another thus creating a sense of community among a group of individuals who have often felt silenced, ignored and alone.

Title IX issues on campus Many emotions were stirred during the speak out and there were multiple stories from survivors who took the initiative to report their assault to Title IX but were unable to receive the justice they deserved. Despite having an overwhelming amount of evidence and engaging in a full-on investigation, many survivors recounted having their cases dismissed while their assaulters received little to no consequence for their actions.

By definition, Title IX states that “​​No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

However, Notre Dame has not effectively utilized Title IX, leaving many survivors left hopeless and invalidated.

Not to mention the re-traumatization of recounting their assault throughout a rigorous interview process and investigation. Put simply, Notre Dame has fallen short with implementing thorough and effective prevention initiatives and utilizing resources like Title IX to their fullest extent.

Impact of effective sex education The current education initiatives at Notre Dame around consent include a video-based program incoming undergraduates are required to complete, followed by a debrief during Welcome

Weekend. Additionally, first-years spend one week during the Moreau First Year Experience talking about consent.

As a first-year who received adequate sex education in high school and recently completed these programs, I can confidently state that these initiatives are severely lacking essential content. As defined by RAINN, consent is an agreement between participants to engage in sexual activity. Consent should be clearly and freely communicated. A verbal and affirmative expression of consent can help both people involved to understand and respect each other’s boundaries. An example of an area where Notre Dame ineffectively communicates this important concept is by showing the “Tea Video” during the consent unit of Moreau. As explained in this article, the tea video uses the idea of making tea in place of having sex. While this metaphor may make the concept of consent easy to understand, it simplifies consent and assault in a way that invalidates the importance of the topic. Using this video as one of the main sources for education around consent is problematic, it makes light of a serious topic that should be clearly, accurately and explicitly stated.

Another important factor to consider is the fact that 33% of students in the Class of 2026 came from Catholic high schools and that sex education is not commonly included in the curriculum of Catholic institutions. While Notre Dame is a Catholic institution, it is essential that it at least provides comprehensive consent-based education to accommodate the physical and mental health, well-being and safety of all Notre Dame students. Currently, the education initiatives that are in place only occur at the very beginning of the year for firstyears. A more beneficial implementation would include consent education throughout all four years of the college

experience, for sexual assault is not linear but a common repeating occurrence, especially on college campuses.

While the GRC is taking the initiative to raise awareness about the importance of this issue, it is imperative that Notre Dame begins to uphold its mission of valuing the dignity of every person on campus by taking the necessary steps to implement a fulfilling, thorough and comprehensive education initiative around the important topic of consent.

Not only would this effectively prevent sexual assault, but it would establish a commitment to ending sexual violence and prioritizing the health and safety of all Notre Dame students.

As April comes to a close, it is essential that students continue to raise awareness around this important issue to stimulate change within the Notre Dame community around improving the use of Title IX and reforming consent-based education within Notre Dame’s curriculum. No survivor should be left unseen, unheard or prevented from receiving the justice and validation they deserve. By continuing to raise awareness around this issue, Notre Dame can begin to respond to the needs of its students to create a safer environment for all.

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 The Observer

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The observer | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023 | ndsmcobserver.com

Thank you, Lulu

The betweens Gracie Eppler The Soapbox

I used to be a good reader.

I think most people expect me to be now. But admittedly, though I love to read, I’m not good at it anymore.

The nightstand near my bed is piled high with novels I promise to one day finish.

A friend asks if I’ve read “Fahrenheit 451,” “Malibu Rising” or “The Brothers Karamazov.” I say I haven’t gotten to it yet. Another asks if I’ve seen “Whiplash” or “New Girl” yet, and I assure her it’s next on my list. My grandma wonders if I’ve looked through her old belongings she set out in a pile for me, and I tell her I haven’t gotten the chance.

It’s concerning now that my “To read” section of my Goodreads account has somehow surpassed my “Have read” shelf.

Somewhere between all these papers, social gatherings, interviews and extracurriculars, I’m meant to read 134 books, finish seven series, have lunch with three CEOs and still make time to read The New York Times Daily Briefing.

Somewhere between dining hall breakfasts, 18 credits, dance rehearsals and library shifts, I’m meant to make meals with four different friends, practice the piano and call my sisters.

Somewhere between eight o’clock exams and midnight deadlines, I’m meant to be well rounded, to have hobbies that extend beyond my schoolwork, to volunteer, to exercise, to eat right and to pray.

In the rare and quiet moments when I sit in this space between, I marvel at the warmth of it. How beautiful these scarce and soft betweens are, when my mind is no longer overwhelmed by all the things I need to do and instead focuses on what I’m currently doing.

“The best four years of my life,” an old ND alum assures me at a tailgate.

He reminisces on snowball fights on South Quad, Dome dances, laundry room debacles and the chaotic student section. Never once does he mention midterms, internships or assignments.

His college years weren’t measured by what he needed to do, but what he did in those moments between.

And yet, it’s always so difficult for me to switch up my routine. I tell a friend from class I can’t meet her for dinner because I can’t afford to spend

an extra hour in the dining hall. I pass by the grotto, assuring myself I’ll take a moment to kneel the next time I have free time, unsure when that will be. As my head hits my pillow, I think about tomorrow’s duties, forgetting today’s beauty.

But these routine markers that approach so eminently — the papers, exams, meetings, commitments and networking events — are not what I will measure my life by.

As I think back to my high school years, where I was filled with brash anxiety, what are the moments I remember the most? Yes, I recall the sleepovers, the cafeteria jukebox singalongs, the park picnics and prom dresses. But I also remember the sweltering feeling of stress, of knowing that the next four years of my life depended upon these four.

Now that I’ve arrived here, I don’t want my future self to have this same anxiety when she thinks about college. All the work I put in during high school has led me to here, and I refuse to let these same pressures consume four more years of my life. I will not measure my college years in the same way I measured high school: by A-pluses and recommendation letters.

I will measure not by my GPA, LinkedIn connections, number of lectures attended or number of miles I’ve run. I will measure not by the hours spent bent over my textbooks or locked up in Hesburgh.

I will measure my life by the laughter, the spontaneous concerts, the walks around the lake, the late-night ramen noodles, the friends I’ve made, the songs I’ve listened to, the roads I’ve driven. I will measure these four years by the egg white omelets shared with my two early rising friends, the stale smell sitting within the walls of the Rockne dance rehearsal space, the pinks and oranges of a sunset reflecting over St. Mary’s lake, the sound of the chants at a midnight drum circle and the books I’ve read.

I will measure my life by the betweens.

Gracie Eppler is a sophomore Business Analytics and English major from St. Louis, MO. Her three top three things ever to exist are 70’s music, Nutella and Smith Studio 3, where she can be found dancing. Reach her at geppler@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Pablo Lacayo Reliable Ramblings

This edition of The Observer will be very special for me.

It contains the last column I write for this newspaper and is the culmination of a threesemester stint as a member of one of Notre Dame’s most select clubs, The Observer’s Viewpoint columnists. Beyond that, it will also be my final journalistic endeavor for what will probably be a very long time. I meditated on what this column should be about for a very long time. What should it be about? I could once again produce an 800word long tangent on history, current events or something about Notre Dame.

However, I have written about those topics enough and my mind chose to focus on writing about why I chose to write to begin with. As I sat in my usual spot among the sea of monitors in Hesburgh’s second-floor computer lounge, I meditated on my long relationship with journalism and writing and the one person who helped it come to life. This is what came out: I love to write. Since grade school, I have always been the first one to volunteer to write out group projects, meeting notes and essays. Words are incredible to me. They can be hurtful, helpful, loving, divisive, healing or motivating. Words can be anything you want them to be.

Knowing your way with words makes all the difference, and grasping the significance of the impact of the written word is one of the most valuable lessons I have learned so far.

In another life, I surely would have been a full-time journalist. Given that I hail from Nicaragua, a developing country, I grew up hearing that whatever I studied in college needed to have a practical application that gave me sufficient knowledge and marketable skills to survive in an economy with very limited opportunities for niche and humanities degrees. It would be very hard to break through in a country that lacks a strong journalistic tradition. However, I did not let that dissuade me and discourage me from finding the avenues to develop what I consider one of my passions on the side.

During my final two years of high school, I took on the role of editor-in-chief of my school’s virtual newspaper, The Eye of the Tiger, and helped revitalize it in order to broaden its appeal within the school community. During my tenure, I expanded the paper’s total output and worked very closely with administrators, sports teams and clubs to cover school events more thoroughly and effectively. Upon arriving at Notre Dame, I took a year long hiatus from writing and journalism, as I devoted most of my time to

adapting and getting familiar with my new environment. At the start of my sophomore year, I began to submit Letters to the Editor every now and then until that translated into an offer to come in as a regular columnist and contributor in the spring of 2022. Over the past year and a half, I have cranked out a wide array of columns covering topics ranging from Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty to the much-perfected art of stealing at Notre Dame. It has truly been a great experience.

I would like to devote this final column of mine to one of the most important people in my life, Lulu, my aunt.

Without her, I surely would never have fallen in love with writing and journalism to begin with. Many moons ago, I would sit with her late into the night as she revised and edited interviews and articles for the magazine she ran. Eight-year-old me was thoroughly impressed with how raw chunks of text came to be transformed into carefully crafted pieces worth publishing on a national scale.

To this day, we still keep an archive of all those magazines tucked away in an overflowing cabinet in my house. She was the one that instilled the power and importance of writing in me and consistently pushed me toward exploring the opportunities this field has to offer. Without your help and guidance, one of the most important parts of my identity would instead be a hollow void, forever unfilled. I believe your impact on my life cannot be quantifiably measured, but if I were to try, it would at the very least contain around 20 pieces published in The Observer, another handful in The Eye of the Tiger and two in the now defunct El Nuevo Diario.

In short: I love you, I love you, I love you.

Writing for The Observer has been an incredibly rewarding experience over the past three years. A huge thank you to all those that encouraged me to join, edited my columns and read whatever it was I had to say.

The acts of reciprocity, which could have been as small as “I read your column,” made every last bit worth it. As I close this chapter of my life and move on to the next, I carry on with the certainty that writing is one of the best tools we have at our disposal and using it for good is one of the noblest things a person can do.

Until next time. Over and out. Hasta la victoria siempre.

Pablo Lacayo is a senior at Notre Dame, majoring in finance while minoring in Chinese. He enjoys discussing current affairs, giving out bowl plates at the dining hall, walking around the lakes and karaoke. You can reach him at placayo@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

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The observer | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023 | ndsmcobserver.com

Inspired by their Japanese counterpart “Super Sentai,” “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” has stood the test of time to become one the longest-running children’s television shows ever.

Spanning over 30 years and 21 different iterations, it seems there is no end to this franchise in the near future. It made sense for the series to make a memorable anniversar y episode starring the original cast, even if not all of them are there. Still containing cheesy and corny dialogue, this hourlong special still manages to be entertaining and give a loving tribute to the original Yellow Ranger Trini, played by Thuy Trang.

Trang passed away in a car accident in 2001, though this anniversar y special is the first time her death is acknowledged in the show’s canon.

Trang originally left the show in season two, with her character moving away for a peace conference. Now being killed by old foe Rita Repulsa, “Once & A lways” deals with the team’s grief over their fellow ranger’s death, along with looking after her daughter Minh. With the show usually known for being light-hearted and full of jokes, it was interesting to see this special take a darker tone. Even though the show takes this approach, it

is still full of entertaining fight sequences, weird monsters and a plethora of references to past interactions. Diehard and casual fans alike will recognize something from either the original show or a different season.

Nostalgia aside, I couldn’t look past the many f laws the show had. Now, I understand, Power Rangers is still a show meant for kids. However, from what I remember and looked up again before writing this, even older iterations had better CGI than this. With Netf lix being the majority owner of rights to the show, I know for a fact they had plenty of money to spare for this special. The final big Megazord fight was hard to watch, even for a kid’s show. Plot elements also made little sense, even for Power Rangers. Of course, the showrunners had to find a way to write about why the original red and pink rangers, Jason and Kim, weren’t in the special. Due to scheduling conf licts and creative differences in general, Austin St. John and Amy Jo Johnson did not return. W hile this did allow for Steve Cardenas to reprise his role as Red Ranger Rocky and Catherine Sutherland as Pink Ranger Kat, they are mostly put aside and don’t make much of an impact. Having the original Blue Ranger Billy (David Yost) and Black Ranger Zach (Walter Jones) take on leading roles instead of being the usual side characters, however, was great

to watch.

It is also worth noting that this special was filmed before the tragic passing of Jason David Frank, who played the most popular Power Rangers character in the entire series — Tommy Oliver. W hile this special is meant as a tribute to actor Thuy Trang, it is hard to not also think of Jason as well, though I’m sure the series will eventually make a proper tribute to him in the future as well.

W hile not an amazing television spectacle, “Once & A lways” is what it is supposed to be: a tribute to 30 years of Ranger histor y and those who were sadly lost along the way. It’s hard to film any kind of tribute and bring back cast members who have all gone on separate paths since. This special is a fun watch for the whole family no matter what your familiarity is with the show.

By ANGELA MATHEW

(it’s not an attic apparently).

chapel and lounge (you would too if your rival lived next door). That doesn’t mean they can’t have fun though, who else but the Loyalists would host one of ND’s most beloved traditions, the Keenan Revue?

By GABRIEL ZARAZUA Scene Writer

Manager of Talent and Inclusion

The most ubiquitous Notre Dame bucket list is to visit all of the 32 residence halls on campus. You could rank food sales run by the dorms, go to Mass in each of the chapels or even participate in every dorm tradition (building boats, entering pageants, or even gambling). Dorms shape culture on campus, and past writers have imagined the halls as seniors at prom, great metropolises and even preschoolers.

This article is the upgraded Buzzfeed quiz, the personality test to put Myers-Briggs to shame: this is the ND Dorm Enneagram. (What follows is extremely unscientific, please do not contact The Observer if you disagree with these characterizations).

The Reformer (1): Ryan Hall The rational, idealistic type — principled, purposeful, self-controlled and perfectionistic. Hotel Ryan is one of the most well-maintained dorms. The Wildcats are committed to building awareness for accessibility issues through events like Wheelchair Basketball and Cat Fest. They also have cookies every Tuesday.

The Helper (2): Dillon Hall The caring, interpersonal type — demonstrative, generous, people-pleasing and possessive. From hosting its signature Thursday night Milkshake Mass to the LGBTQ+ Mass, Dillon opens its arms to everyone on campus to enjoy their lively music and sweet treats. Just don’t ask them what’s on the fourth floor

The Achiever (3): Pasquerilla West Hall The success-oriented, pragmatic type — adaptive, excelling, driven and image-conscious. P-Dub, this year’s winner of Women’s Hall of the Year, embodies the achiever — they adapted one of their study rooms into a wellness room because balance is key. Mod Quad is prime real estate and allows P-Dub girls to get everything done, from studying in NDH, socializing at Hes and everything in between.

The Individualist (4): Lyons Hall The sensitive, withdrawn types — expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed and tempermental. Most people know the beautiful arch of romance lore, but Lyons is not just a pretty face. It’s great for moody times as well with its serene views of the lake, the ominous stuffed lion on the first floor and the option to live in the basement.

The Investigator (5): Carroll Hall The intense, cerebral type — perceptive, innovative, secretive and isolated. To the outsider, Carroll seems rather cultish … Imagine agreeing to bleach your hair just to fit in with some guys you just met, but that’s probably what living in isolation on the outskirts of campus does to you.

The Loyalist (6): Keenan Hall The committed, security-oriented type — engaging, responsible, anxious and suspicious.When they’re not keeping everyone well-fed with Zaland, the Keenan Knights are busy defending their shared

Contact Gabriel Zarazua at gzarazua@nd.edu

“Once & Always” Director: Charlie Haskell Starring: David Yost, Walter Jones Where to watch: Netflix

The Enthusiast (7): O’Neill Family Hall The busy, fun-loving type — spontaneous, versatile, distractible and scattered. The O’Neill Angry Mob is fun-loving (with nicknames for every resident) and is often the place where many first-years get their first taste of college life. They love a performative streak — they had their own AcoustiCafe night this year, and they host the Miss ND pageant.

The Challenger (8): Lewis Hall The powerful, dominating type — self-confident, decisive, willful and confrontational. Lewis is one of the biggest women’s halls, and the original Chicks were multitasking nuns pursuing graduate degrees.

Now they’re the girls who host hundreds of students at midnight for LHOP and have the best community with their six-chick rooms.

The Peacemaker (9): Knott Hall The easygoing, self-effacing type — receptive, reassuring, agreeable and complacent. The men of Knott have some middling food sales like Waffle Wednesdays, defunct traditions (Is AquaKnott still a thing?) and, despite their irrelevance, they’re always trying to insert themselves in the PE-PW rivalry (Knott Hall, Knott Hall!).

Contact Angela Mathew at amathew@nd.edu MARIA DACH | The Observer

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The observer | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023 | ndsmcobserver.com

By ANNA FALK Scene Editor

As a student at Notre Dame, it’s hard to deny my love for the “Shrek” franchise. The film boasts of alleged connections with the University that have been denied by various sources but still remain present in campus culture. If it were any other film, the perpetuation of such mysteries and affections would not be the same. Then again, “Shrek” is just that iconic.

Based on a book of the same name by William Steig, the rights to the story were sold to DreamWorks for $500,000. Many things led it to develop a nasty reputation amongst its animators, including its low budget of $60 million and the laborious process of animating everything using computer generated images. This technology and the techniques featured in the movie were unlike anything that had been done before, so the animators had to start from scratch.

Director Vicky Jenson said that “Getting sent to [work on] ‘Shrek’ felt like being sent to Siberia.”

This past Saturday, the film celebrated its 22nd birthday. When it was first released, DreamWorks did not anticipate the popularity of the film among children and adults alike — a phenomenon unfamiliar to animators at the time. Before “Shrek,” animated films were just for kids. The green ogre’s comedic

By CLAIRE LYONS Viewpoint Editor

Three weeks of Ronald Gladden’s life are fake. And before you ask, yes, Ronald is very real.

In February 2022, Gladden, an average 29-year-old solar panel contractor looking for adventure, responded to a Craigslist ad about an opportunity to be in a documentary film following “the American judicial process as seen through the eyes of a jury.” What he didn’t know, however, was that he was unwittingly volunteering to star in a real-life version of “The Truman Show.”

Everybody involved in the trial is an actor. Cameras are hidden everywhere. Somewhere in a court house backroom, a team of producers huddle around screens, feed lines to actors and control the next 17 days of Gladden’s life with a script that reads like a Choose Your Own Adventure book. Gladden, sequestered in a Los Angeles hotel room with no internet, no phone and no access to the outside world, is none the wiser.

And although the court case itself isn’t real, “Jury Duty” is most certainly a trial.

Throughout the series, Gladden’s wits and kindness are constantly tested by the wild antics of the other “jurors.” He embraces his hotel roommate’s wacky and unsettling inventions with open arms, becomes a wingman for two flirtatious friends on the jury and does a little investigating of his own to ensure that justice is served. With every challenge, Gladden unexpectedly

and vulgar speech elevated the film and changed mainstream perception of what animation could look like and who it could be for.

Since the first movie — which grossed nearly $500 million worldwide — the franchise has grown and shifted dramatically along with the animation industry. Three additions to the “Shrek” franchise have been released (and another is in the works), as well as two spinoffs about Puss in Boots, various short films and a few TV specials.

Shrek revolutionized what animation could be, but this sentiment no longer seems to exist.

Netflix has canceled several of its animated series after one season, even scrapping some that had yet to make it to the platform. Cartoon Network’s merge with Warner Bros. Discovery has caused some major layoffs. Every 2D Disney classic is now being made into a live-action movie, devaluing and taking the spotlight from their original versions. It seems that the whimsy and excitement embedded within the art of animation is starting to lose favor within the mainstream.

The popularity of animated features rises and falls throughout the years, but the declines never fail to scare the artists and enthusiasts. Despite the impact of “Shrek,” animation is still considered just for kids.

However, there is hope. “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” one of the “Shrek” franchise spinoffs, has

done well in box offices worldwide. With a stunning cast, adventurous music and an altered animation style to make the film seem more like a storybook narrative, the film has continued to create buzz months after its release.

Even though the movie expands on a fairy-tale classic, it tackles real issues that people of all ages experience. Puss deals with the concept of mortality and a failed relationship, Goldi struggles with feelings of belonging in her found family and all the characters tackle the terrors of Jack Horner’s industrial plans. The moments of emotional vulnerability shine through and bring the audience to tears.

This is just one example of animation’s ability to “wow” an audience. There’s something about this medium that transcends realistic expectations all while bringing the issues of life to the forefront. It’s a difficult art to master, and those who pursue it are hardly appreciated enough for their hard work and dedication.

The anniversary of “Shrek” reminds us of its wonder but also of its power to transform a whole artistic medium. As Guillermo del Toro said in his speech at the 2023 Oscars, “Animation is cinema. Animation is not a genre, and animation is ready to be taken to the next step … Keep animation in the conversation.”

rises to the occasion and gracefully maneuvers some sticky situations. His good behavior has made him into America’s newest sweetheart and catapulted him into (relative) stardom.

In fact, the show is successful precisely because of Gladden’s kind-hearted demeanor. The key element is that Gladden is unaware of what might happen next, naturally playing the “straight man” stock character that deadpans in the face of the ridiculous and absurd.

He’s like a real-life version of Jim from “The Office,” and just might be given that “Jury Duty” was the brainchild of “The Office” producers.

But therein lies the other trial: the success of the actors and producers.

To some extent, the series is scripted. The producers have written bits for each character, but the actors have to naturally work them in to conversation. Nobody could ever predict how exactly Gladden would react to a certain situation, which required the actors to think on their feet. Their performances are improv at its most complex.

The casting couldn’t be more perfect. James Marsden (“Enchanted”) plays a diva version of himself. Mekki Leeper (“The Sex Lives of College Girls”) and up-andcoming Edy Modica have a hilarious on-screen relationship that plays to the strengths of not only their fictional characters but their own personalities. Most of the cast with more experienced acting backgrounds manage to fly under the radar. The characters with more technical parts — the judge and the lawyers — are

played by people with real life experience in law. Ron Song, who plays a slow-talking candy machine operator, was previously working as a senior director of strategic pipeline analytics at UC Irvine. The cast comes from all different walks of life, just like a jury should.

The production constantly had to toe the line of comedy, insisting on a degree of plausible deniability in order to prevent Gladden from figuring out the scheme. In a recent podcast about the show, Gladden describes the production’s strategy, “Anytime they would push the envelope too far, they would just pump the brakes for the next five or six hours or do nothing for the rest of the day.” At many points, the producers were on high-alert, wary about Gladden’s enthusiastic curiosity in the case or reactions to “planned” pandemonium.

Is “Jury Duty” ethical? I guess the jury’s out on that one. Gladden rolls with the punches and is exactly the kind of guy who is nice enough to not sue everybody. At least now he’s friends with James Marsden and $100,000 richer.

Contact Anna Falk at afalk@nd.edu

Contact Claire Lyons at clyons3@nd.edu

“Jury Duty” Starring: Ronald Gladden, James Marsden, Mekki Leeper If you like: “The Office,” “Nathan For You” Where to watch: Amazon Freevee

GABRIEL ZARAZUA | The Observer

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Crossword | Will Shortz

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Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Share your thoughts, formulate your goals for the year and balance your life with a mixture of hard work, exercise, healthy living and love.

Push forward with gratitude; what you attract will complement your dreams, hopes and wishes. Don’t let stubbornness stand in your way. Having flexibility and the willingness to work with others will be the keys to success. Your numbers are 6, 14, 21, 25, 33, 38, 40.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take a moment to examine your plans before you begin. A couple of tweaks will make the difference between OK and spectacular.

Aim to open a window of opportunity that will allow you to show everyone what you have to offer.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Do your part and everything else will fall into place.

Make the time to visit someone who both grounds and inspires you, and you’ll devise a plan that stimulates your mind and excites your soul. Pamper yourself.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t settle or live in someone’s shadow. Consider what makes you happy, and strive to incorporate what you enjoy most into your everyday routine. It’s up to you to choose the path that excites the heart.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Stop struggling and choose to proceed down the path of least resistance. Unleash your spirit and follow your dreams. Take a passionate approach to making a difference and participate in events that allow you to expand your interests and knowledge.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You’ll face opposition if you try to do things your way.

Rethink your strategy, and you’ll discover how to incorporate your ideas into what’s already in place without raising a red flag. It’s not what you do today — it’s how you do it.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Reach out and offer your skills, knowledge and ideas to an organization or someone in need of assistance, and you’ll make exciting connections that help you develop and market your attributes to suit your needs. Listen, share and adjust to what’s trending.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Slow down and take everything in before you decide what to do next. Reflect on the past and question the future. Rethink your work ethic and goals, and consider how to pivot in a direction that suits you emotionally, physically and financially.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You’ll have plenty of options, but before you make a decision, do your homework. Invest more time in learning and exploring the possibilities and what’s available. A partnership looks promising and can free up time to focus on what’s important to you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Distance yourself from trouble or anyone pushing you in a direction you don’t want to go, and you’ll begin to see opportunities that have eluded you in the past. Concentrate on personal growth, physical well-being and happiness. Peace of mind will prevail.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t hesitate when an opportunity presents itself. Changes to your living arrangements or space will positively impact your state of mind and relationships with those close to you. Share your thoughts, and the input you receive will enrich your plans.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Stick close to home; if you venture out, you’ll face resistance from someone who doesn’t share your views. Self-improvement projects will bring the most satisfaction and the least amount of controversy.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You’ve got the stamina to do something spectacular. Attend meetings, upgrade your resume or enhance your skills to help you head in a direction that inspires you to be great. Participate in events that encourage networking.

Birthday Baby: You are enthusiastic, impulsive and engaging. You are determined and loving.

Sudoku | The Mepham Group

Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek

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baseball

Sports Authority

My internship with the South Bend Cubs Tom Zwiller Senior Sports Writer

In my time at The Obser ver, I have w ritten about baseball just once. I have spent the vast majorit y w riting about Holy Cross sports or my obsession w ith college and professional football.

Yet my first love was indeed baseball. One of my earliest sports memories is getting my first Little League jersey and cap and proudly tr ying out my first bat. For the next week of practice leading up to my weekend game, I proudly told people that I played for the Chicago Cubs.

My dad, on the other hand, was quick to remind me I played for the Saint Joseph Little League team.

And while I was terrible at baseball, I loved play ing … until my league decided to remove the batting tee, making us bat from a pitching machine. That was well beyond my skill level, and I lost my love of the sport.

However, one thing that kept me interested in the sport was my family’s occasional v isits to Four Winds Fields back when it was still home to the Silver Hawks.

Going to the park and getting to see players tr y and make it to the show was always exciting. I always enjoyed my family outings to the park.

So, when the Holy Cross College Internship program suggested the chance to work for the South Bend Cubs, I leaped at the opportunit y.

Now rebranded as the South Bend Cubs (the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs), to me, it felt like destiny.

The position that the Cubs offered to me was on the team’s production staff.

I would help produce the broadcast for MiLB.T V and w ith their in-stadium entertainment. I could work ever y thing from replay to the audio mixer and, my favorite, the in-stadium cameras.

My first game was on Tuesday, April 11. As the Cubs began their title defense, and I was stationed in the outfield wall (the camera that looks dow n the pitcher’s mound onto home plate) My assignment was fairly simple, I would shoot dow n the plate to catch the pitch at the best possible angle.

Should something happen, I would move to where the

action was. Then, I would get back into position before the next pitch.

I absolutely made mistakes. I moved when I thought the director had taken me off the main screen, and I was slow to get back in position from time to time. But I learned the basics of operating my camera and figuring out some of the f low of the game.

And while the Cubs mounted a fantastic ninth-inning comeback, they couldn’t quite w in the game, falling short in the tenth. And as I walked on the warning from my spot in the outfield, I felt giddy as fireworks coated the sk y. I had helped make a fun and exciting game. And I w ill keep doing so for the rest of the summer and as long as the season lasted.

If Tuesday was Camera Basics 101, Friday and Saturday were more like Game Production 110. Now stationed inside the main production office, I worked the audio, sw itching back and forth from the broadcast talent to the PA when needed, and I also worked the score bug.

Those two tasks weren’t super time-consuming, just requiring me to follow along w ith the f low of the game so I could mix the audio as we faded to black. Being inside the production office allowed me to see what the director could actually see and why he made cuts when he did, getting the best angles for different shots and seeing how other veteran cameramen followed players, balls and shot f lavor.

Being on the outfield camera, I could only hear what the director wanted ever yone to do in my headset.

Now, seated just feet from him, I could see why he made the decisions he did. It allowed me to learn more for when I would work a camera again.

That opportunit y came Sunday, though the conditions were a lot different than my first few games.

Sunday was cold, and freezing, w ith strong w inds and a near-frozen rain. Standing in my camera well, I shook and shivered, hands protected from my camera’s rain gear. W hile I had worked a camera my first day, it would be the rain gear that made my first day trick y. My camera’s monitor was obstructed

by the plastic that protected it from rain, so I struggled to see what I was shooting.

W hat also did not help was the dark plastic that obstructed my v iew of the body of the camera, blocking my v iew of critical functions like the white-balancing button, as well as the rings that let me adjust my iris and my focus.

During a normal game, the light changes, and camera operators need to do things like white balancing, which allows for more natural color, and iris, which helps w ith brightness. I was able to find and operate these functions quick ly w ithout the raingear. With it, I was slow to figure out where the rings were, meaning I was slower to respond to direction.

As I’ve said, I made mistakes. For example, my director told me to put my camera’s rain gear back on (I had been able to take if off for a few innings w ith a break in the rain.) I was slow to get it fixed properly and missed some of the game while getting it back in place.

However, I did have a high of lining up a perfect shot on a hotly contested safe call.

That led to getting an onair compliment from one of the broadcasters and plent y of compliments from my director. W hile the mistakes made me frustrated, nailing that shot felt great and filled me w ith satisfaction. I was learning and getting better in real time. In just my second time working w ith a professional-grade camera, I was making meaningful contributions, despite my handful of gaffs.

A lot of people have asked me if I am enjoy ing my time w ith the Cubs. My answer is always the same. Ever y day so far, I have learned something, I have done something right and I have made a mistake.

Ever y time I do those three things (though hopefully more of the first t wo and less of the last one) I have fun. I have had fun four times now and am looking for ward to hav ing more for the rest of the summer.

So — go Cubs, go.

Jake Miller Sports Writer

If you’re like me, last Friday’s The Shirt unveiling was far from a surprise. Last month, on St. Patrick’s Day, the Athletics Department announced that the Irish would wear their green jerseys in their primetime matchup against Ohio State. If the team planned to sport the green in their biggest game of the year, there was no doubt in my mind that fans would wear that same iconic color.

Notre Dame’s support of green has grown recently — even in the last few years of Brian Kelly’s tenure. In 2021, for three straight games, the Athletics Department employed the use of the “Irish Wear Green” campaign.

Some argue the campaign is a way to push clothing sales and force longtime fans to add green attire to their inventories which primarily consist of blue and gold.

Of course, there’s some truth to that; Notre Dame, Under Armour and Barnes and Noble (which operates Hammes Bookstore) all want to increase their merchandise revenues.

While many students were tired of wearing green week after week, to some extent, the campaign worked. Notre Dame Stadium looked as coherent and united as it ever has. Notre Dame has notoriously faced challenges when hosting primetime games at home. In 2019, Georgians flocked to South Bend, infamously creating a sea of red across the southern half of the stadium. To a lesser extent, in 2021, Cincinnati fans did the same thing. Ohio State will be the biggest challenge the Irish have faced so far.

The quantity of Notre Dame single-game tickets available to the market at affordable prices is far higher than what most other programs offer. For many Irish fans (such as those who win tickets in a lottery), selling tickets at a ridiculous markup may be more appealing than coming to one of the best games across all of D1 football.

Notre Dame clearly needed to establish a winning strategy.

In my opinion, they did. Green should be the official color of Notre Dame Athletics. No other power-five program uses a green like the Irish. Before someone fights me, Oregon’s green is lighter, Michigan State’s is darker and Baylor is irrelevant. Green provides a sense of uniqueness which can spark energy among the fans. Unlike gold, green creates a striking appearance like the iconic whiteout at Penn State.

Of course, some fans continue to make the outrageous, erroneous claim that Notre Dame somehow plays worse in alternate jerseys. When looking at stats alone, at first glance, this appears to be true. In reality, this is a made-up storyline that has received too much attention.

Players of D1 caliber don’t win or lose games based on what color they wear. Games are lost due to poor decisions, lack of physicality, improper game preparations and differences in the level of talent.

Notre Dame has always had louder fans and better crowd support when they encourage their fans to wear green. This would never make a team lose a game; if anything, it might help a home team draw one extra false start from the crowd noise.

Don’t get me wrong — the Irish’s blue and white jerseys are clean, sleek and polished. I love them both.

In a sense, they’re very polite colors. But against Ohio State, the fierce, tenacious Fighting Irish need to come out.

Notre Dame faces a team they have a legitimate chance to beat.

For the fans, something needs to be different to highlight the solemnity of this game. This is the biggest game the Irish have hosted in three years. The Irish can’t be polite. To create a homefield advantage, the green needs to punch the red in the face. If we call Notre Dame Stadium “our home,” this is the time to prove it.

Green is the right place to start.

Contact Jake Miller at jmille89@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Contact Tom Zwiller at tzwiller@hcc-nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

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Miller: Embrace the green

MAX PETROSKY | The Observer

Student leaders of ‘The Shirt’ committee present the 2023-2024 shirt design to an audience on Library Lawn on Friday, Apr. 21.

sports

Roundtable Continued from page 14

the pressure and expectations aren’t as high. Lower stakes could mean more playing time for Buchner as well.

Also throwing in Wake Forest, wouldn’t that be ironic?

Should Notre Dame pursue a transfer portal addition at QB if Buchner leaves?

Andrew McGuinness, Madeline Ladd: Yes Andrew: This is the easiest question to answer for me: Yes. Steve Angeli is the only other viable person to take snaps at quarterback right now (no disrespect to Kenny Minchey), and he’s never thrown a collegiate pass.

As Buchner proved last year, injuries can happen at quarterback. And while Hartman doesn’t come with the same level of risk given he won’t run as much, it only takes one play to change a season. The bigger question, of course, is how likely it is Notre Dame can find a quarterback who both fits the program and the University with only four months until their season kicks off.

Madeline: I’d say yes given the unknown of Steve Angelli and freshman Kenny Minchey being the only QB’s behind Hartman.

With the unpredictability we’ve seen in the quarterback room, grabbing a solid veteran from the portal would be a safe move for the program.

However, finding someone fit for the job is another question Notre Dame will have to figure out.

J.J Post, Tyler Reidy, Aidan Thomas: No J.J: It’s marginally worrisome that the current backup options haven’t thrown a collegiate pass in their careers. But Notre Dame is also in a weird spot with their potential options in the portal. Purdue’s Brady Allen has been floated as a potential option, but would that not be another quarterback that hasn’t thrown a collegiate pass? I’m sure Notre Dame would love to add an

Men’s Golf Continued from page 16

awarded to a graduating senior for their achievements on the course, in the classroom and in their communit y.

Over the weekend, Jackson was once again on his A-game and was a model of consistency.

Jackson shot a 72 in all three rounds to finish even in the tournament, good enough to finish in a tie for 16th. Single-digit strokes separated Jackson and indiv idual w inner Michael

ndsmcobserver.com | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023 | The Observer

experienced options a’la Jack Coan … but what graduate student would want to spend their final year of college football as a backup? The Irish, as things currently stand, have one scholarship left to fill in the portal. I think another addition to a currently short safety room would be a far better use of that last slot.

Tyler: This question comes down to Notre Dame’s 2023 schedule and path to a College Football Playoff berth. If the biggest challenges were lowend top 25 teams, I would be all for an insurance option behind Sam Hartman. Expect your gunslinger to cruise through the slate and, if he can’t, have someone capable of pushing you just far enough to have a shot 12-0. However, that’s not what this season is about at all, as Notre Dame has three daunting games on the ledger (Ohio State, USC, Clemson).

Assuming they avoid an upset, the Irish will have to win at least two of those games. A backup signal-caller from the portal almost certainly won’t accomplish that goal. A different addition — say, in the defensive backs room — could make a significant difference against the high-powered passing threats of the Buckeyes and Trojans.

Aidan: I won’t take up too much space. I think the Irish could be far better suited with a defensive depth addition or maybe a talent at receiver if they can find a good boundary receiver to compete with Deion Colzie. I don’t see them finding a match with a transfer portal quarterback who’s both an upgrade over Angeli and Minchey and willing to be a backup.

Is Notre Dame’s 2024 starting quarterback currently on the roster?

Tyler: If Buchner sticks around, he’s the guy by default.

Unlike Angeli and Minchey, he has actually played a full game of live college football.

And given Notre Dame’s recent portal moves for quarterbacks Jack Coan and Hartman, experience appears to be the asset of choice right now in South Bend. Now, if Buchner leaves for good, expect a competition

Brennan of Wake Forest.

Jackson was one of just 14 out of 58 competitors to finish even or better on par fours throughout the event.

Jackson was not the only Irish golfer to have some excellent sw ings over the weekend, though. Junior Angelo Marcon also notched a top-30 finish, shooting 7372-74 to finish three over par.

Graduate student Andrew O’Lear y was great on par fives, finishing at a tie for 12th w ith a score five under par on the course’s longest holes.

For most pars in the

between Angeli and Minchey at the very least ahead of 2024, with Notre Dame ready to use the portal again if the practice reps don’t look promising.

Madeline: There is a real potential of five star recruit CJ Carr coming in and owning the job from the start. Though this has not been the track record for QBs at ND, there’s plenty of talent and youth arriving in the Notre Dame quarterback room to no doubt have an impact.

However, If Buchner does end up transferring, it could be difficult not having a veteran with collegiate experience and familiarity with the team in 2024.

Matthew: I think it’s most likely that the 2024 starter is not currently on the roster. We’ve seen the Irish be highly aggressive in the portal if they feel like there are better short-term options available than what they have. After Buchner’s dynamic performance in the Gator Bowl win, a lot of fans felt comfortable with him entering 2023 as the undisputed starter, but Notre Dame did not pass up the chance to add a proven star in Hartman. We saw a similar situation with Jack Coan the year before.

The additions of Hartman and Coan have not only shown the Irish’s willingness to find their quarterback in the portal, but also their ability to attract established starters at major-conference programs.

Assuming Buchner isn’t on the 2024 roster, I could see a bigname quarterback seeing a clear opportunity to step in as a day-one starter for one of the nation’s premier programs.

What do you think is the best move for Tyler’s career? Staying at ND or transferring?

Aidan Thomas, Madeline Ladd, Tyler Reidy, Matthew Crow: Staying at Notre Dame Aidan: I’m not anti-transfer portal and I think everyone who entered from Notre Dame prior to Buchner probably made the right decision for their career.

Buchner, however, I think has a lot to gain from starting. He’s extremely raw, but his ceiling is massive. Sam Hartman is a

tournament w ith 36, freshman Nate Stevens finished in a tie for 12th as well.

The ACC Championship was the 11th event the Irish competed in this year. Their season began back in early September at Warren Golf Course.

The Irish competed in five events in the fall semester and six in the spring.

Their best finish was a fourth-place result in the season-opening competition at Warren from Sept. 4 to 5.

Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu

consistent and prolific passer, both qualities that Buchner could improve upon. Learn behind Hartman for a year and then take the starting job by the horns next year. Like I said earlier, I’m not sure Buchner finds a situation that both guarantees him the starting job and keeps him playing against Power-Five competition.

Madeline: Though this is currently hard to predict without knowing where Buchner will end up, staying at Notre Dame would be the best move for him, in my opinion. He would be able to get more reps backing up Hartman and potentially have the job in 2024.

Transferring has the potential of putting Buchner in the shadows again, whereas there is hope of a 2024 spot if he sticks it out with the Irish.

Nevertheless, as we have seen, the job is never a guarantee.

Tyler: Buchner has the upside to garner attention from strong, but retooling, programs. However, his lack of experience holds him back from being a marquee portal name.

As a result, Buchner might have to make the difficult decision between starting and winning should he choose to leave. The non-contact clause and return contingency in his announcement further affirm the idea that it’s going to take a nearperfect fit to sway Buchner.

Matthew: I think that staying at Notre Dame would put Buchner clearly in the driver’s seat to start in 2024 and 2025.

With him continuing to improve, and with the Irish building up what will likely be their most talented rosters in recent memory, he would be in a great position to play a starring role for a team in the mix for playoff berths.

However, you have to consider that he went into last fall expecting to be the full-time starter at quarterback in 2022 and 2023, and, by virtue of injuries and Hartman’s arrival, he now stares down the likely scenario that he will start just three games in those two seasons combined. By keeping the possibility of returning to Notre Dame open, I think that Buchner ensures that he can make the right decision for

SMC Tennis Continued from page 16

national tournament. That tough road starts with a semifinal versus Hope, whom the Belles dropped a 7-2 decision to March 31. It’s a somewhat unwelcome semifinal, as Hope has been the highest ranked team in the conference but was upset by Kalamazoo to drop to the No. 2 seed. Outside of that loss, Hope won five of their other six conference matchups by 8-1 or 9-0 scorelines, with only the Belles nabbing two points.

To win Wednesday’s semifinal, the Belles will need to lean on their depth. In their regular season clash with Hope, Saint Mary’s won at No.

13

what he’s looking for at this stage of his career.

J.J. Post, Andrew McGuinness: Both could work, but leaving might help Buchner J.J: Even if Buchner was to go to Tuscaloosa and win the job this summer, there’s no guarantee of future job security. He could go to Stanford, where he’d start immediately and without question. The pressure would be as limited as one could ask for — even Buchner at his worst would likely be a welcome sight for new coach Troy Taylor and the media spotlight in Palo Alto is far from massive. But the weapons around him would be minimal and he would need to be that much more impressive to catch the eye of scouts at the next level. Or, he could return to Notre Dame, learn under one of college football’s most accomplished quarterbacks for a season and have the job open for him in 2024.

But as was proven this offseason, that job is far from a guarantee if Notre Dame thinks they can find a better option in the portal. Each of these options is distinctly different, and would produce distinctly different results depending on his performance.

Andrew: If Buchner doesn’t leave, odds are he’s the starting quarterback in 2024.

Remember, because Buchner only played in three games in 2022, he’s only used one year of eligibility. It’s absolutely possible that Buchner could spend this year learning under Hartman and then start for the Irish for the next two years.

But, if another quality school can accelerate that timeline by another year, Buchner should probably jump on it.

The one caveat I’ll add is that I’d be worried about going to a truly elite program like Alabama where the trial by fire element could be too much for someone with only two games of 20 plus pass attempts in the NCAA. Buchner might be ready for that type of opportunity in another year, but that feels like an awfully big jump to make after a year spent largely on the sideline.”

Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu

4 and No. 6 singles, with the third and fifth courts putting up the stiffest resistance in their losses. In doubles, the Belles were more competitive on the second and third courts, despite absorbing defeats in both contests.

This group of Saint Mary’s seniors have seen both their previous postseason campaigns end in 5-0 losses to Hope, and the Belles hope to reverse the trend. The team has never won an MIAA postseason match, and they’ll face a gargantuan task on Wednesday in their efforts to notch that program-defining victory. They’ll take on Hope at 4 p.m.

Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu

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Sports

The observer | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023 | ndsmcobserver.com

ND FOOTBALL

ND FOOTBALL

Buchner Roundtable

By Observer Football Beat

​ he news of Tyler Buchner T entering the transfer portal brought a host of questions along with it. Buchner says he remains open to returning to Notre Dame, but will he? If not, where will the Gator Bowl MVP take his services? And what are the ripple effects both on Buchner’s career and Notre Dame’s quarterback situation.

The Observer’s football beat delved into those questions.

Where do you think Tyler Buchner might go?

All writers agreed that Alabama is a plausible option, but here’s a look at some of the reasoning beat writers gave for the Tide or another team landing Buchner’s services. Another team listed as a potential option was TCU who is looking to replace Max Duggan under center.

Andrew McGuinness: Auburn Everyone is hyping up Alabama as a potential landing spot, and with good reason.

But the Tigers showed signs of life with last year’s mid-season coaching change. One of the things that could eliminate that progress is poor quarterback play. Between Robby Ashford, TJ Finley and Holden Geriner, Auburn has bodies but certainly no clear-cut No. 1. The Tigers give Buchner a great balance of exposure in the SEC without the sky-high, potentially crushing expectations that would come if he joins their biggest rival instead.

Matthew Crow: UCLA There hasn’t been much buzz about Buchner looking at UCLA, but it seems like a strong fit. The Bruins are in the market for a new quarterback after the graduation of five-year starter Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Buchner brings a similar dual-threat skill set to the one that helped ThompsonRobinson lead UCLA to a 9-4 season last year. Buchner fits the archetype of a long list of star quarterbacks in Chip Kelly’s dynamic offense, and UCLA provides him the opportunity to join a competitive team and return home to Southern California.

J.J Post: Alabama, Florida or Stanford Alabama is the obvious option. All the buzz out of Tuscaloosa has indicated that neither Ty Simpson or Jalen Milroe has assertively grabbed the starting job for next fall. Buchner’s principle recruiter out of high school was Tommy Rees, the new offensive

coordinator at Alabama. The optics of a consensus top five team taking an ostensible backup from a lower ranked team are wacky, but there are stranger moves.

Florida head coach Billy Napier was about as clear as possible after Florida’s spring game about wanting to check the Portal for quarterback options after an underwhelming quarterbacking display.

Buchner is currently by some distance the quarterback in the portal with the highest pedigree, and he could jump to one of the biggest brands in college football for an immediate starting job. His long-term eligibility would also fit Napier’s likely rebuild.

Stanford wouldn’t be a glamorous option by any means.

Stanford’s rebuild makes Florida’s look like a walk in the park. There’s no way around it — the Cardinal have a new coach, a difficult schedule and not much in the way of returning talent from a bad team. But Buchner is from California, and the chance to play closer to home could appeal to him.

He’d also have the chance to be the face of a return to glory if all went well. And that’s without touching the obvious value of a Stanford degree.

Aidan Thomas: Notre Dame Alabama might become a betting favorite, but to be honest, this move feels like Buchner trying to find a spot where he can start this year. To get a shot in the NFL, you have to start in college. Starting at a high level is a bonus. As of now, Buchner is the clear favorite to start for Notre Dame in 2024. Is he willing to follow Rees into a murky Alabama quarterback situation that provides no guarantees?

There’s other Power-5 options out there, but at this point in the spring, Buchner is going to almost certainly have to win a quarterback battle wherever he goes. I agree with most of the listed options as possibilities, and I’d even throw Cal into the mix. But unless someone essentially guarantees Buchner a starting job, I still think Buchner sticks it out in South Bend, where he can take over the starting role next year.

Madeline Ladd: San Diego State or ... Wake?

Though Alabama is a possible option for Buchner to reconvene with Tommy Rees, Buchner may look to scale down. With that being said, San Diego State could be a potential move for Buchner as he heads back home to the West Coast to a Group of Six school where see ROUNDTABLE PAGE 13

Tyler Buchner enters the transfer portal

By ANDREW McGUINNESS Sports Editor

​The transfer portal has played a major role in Notre Dame athletics lately. The men’s basketball team lost Cormac Ryan to North Carolina through it. Lorenzo Styles, one of Notre Dame’s most exciting receiver prospects a year ago, entered the portal just over 24 hours before the Blue-Gold game.

Prince Kollie did the same shortly after the game. But with just days remaining to enter the portal and still be eligible for next season, it seemed like the Irish would dodge any additional bullets.

Those hopes were dashed in about the most thunderous fashion possible early Tuesday afternoon. The biggest Irish name to date entered the portal: junior quarterback Tyler Buchner, as first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

If Styles’ drop-off was fast, Buchner’s fall practically came at the speed of light. After all, Buchner entered last fall as not just Notre Dame’s starting quarterback, but with the chance to be the face of the program. The former four-star recruit showed promise in a limited role as a freshman and was highly touted entering last fall. Injuries derailed Buchner’s year, as he picked up an injury late in Notre Dame’s second game of the season, ending his regular season. Buchner showed both sloppiness and signs of why he was so highly touted when he returned in the Gator Bowl. He went 18-33 for 273 yards and three touchdowns, but did throw three picks as well.

“I love Notre Dame,” Buchner said in a statement he put out on Twitter. “The people, and especially my teammates, are what makes this place special to me. I have decided to enter the transfer portal in order to explore my options, and decide what is best for my future.”

Interestingly, Buchner explicitly stated he is not ruling out staying in South Bend.

And there is precedent for this happening. Sophomore pitcher Jack Findlay entered the portal last summer after a stellar freshman season and the departure of head coach Link Jarrett to fellow ACC foe Florida State. However, Findlay ultimately chose to stay with the Irish.

That being said, the path to playing time is murky at best for Buchner in Notre Dame going forward. Graduate student Sam Hartman outclassed Buchner in Saturday’s Blue-Gold game.

And even if he hadn’t, the Wake Forest transfer has been the heavy favorite to be Notre Dame’s starting quarterback since his arrival despite head coach Marcus Freeman’s instance that the quarterback battle would last through the summer. Obviously, if Buchner leaves, that would no

longer be the case. The Irish also have several other promising talents such as sophomore Steve Angeli, freshman Kenny Minchey and 2024 recruit CJ Carr on the horizon.

Still, losing Buchner would be a big blow to Notre Dame’s quarterback depth. No quarterback

seven touchdowns. That mobility does naturally come with durability concerns, however. Buchner’s regular season-ending injury against Marshall came while he was on the run.

Thamel mentions Alabama, TCU and Stanford as potential landing spots for Buchner.

MAX PETROSKY | The Observer

Irish sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner attempts to carry the ball down the field in the Irish’s demise against Marshall, 26-21.

on Notre Dame’s roster other than Hartman has ever thrown a pass in a collegiate game. In two seasons with the Irish, Buchner has played 13 games. He threw for 949 yards on 118 attempts at a 56.8% completion clip. He has thrown six touchdowns and eight interceptions. Buchner also adds value with his legs. He has run for 459 yards on 82 attempts for

Choosing the Crimson Tide would mean reuniting with former Irish and current Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.

Rees originally recruited Buchner to Notre Dame and worked with him the last two years before leaving for Alabama in February.”

Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu

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The observer | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023 | ndsmcobserver.com

ND women’s lacrosse

Notre Dame women’s lacrosse prepares for ACC tournament

By J.J. POST Associate Sports Editor

Wednesday afternoon Notre Dame women’s lacrosse will open ACC tournament play in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The eight-team field is about as deep as they’ll come. Over half the teams competing rank in the national top 15. Three crack the top five in national RPI. Leading the pack is Syracuse, ranked second in the country behind Northwestern.

The Orange have only lost one game this year, but it was their most recent, a thrilling 17-16 defeat to Boston College at home. The loss dropped Syracuse from the national top ranking, which they had previously held.

The aforementioned Eagles took the top seed for the tournament as a result of their head-to-head win over Syracuse, despite ranking lower in both the national polls and RPI. Notre Dame had a serious shot to take down the Eagles over Easter weekend, but fell at Arlotta Field.

The Irish led by four goals with

10 minutes to play, but collapsed down the stretch. The Eagles tied the contest with two minutes remaining and won it with just 12 seconds left on the clock.

Rounding out the top three seeds is North Carolina, the defending national champions. Notre Dame’s signature win on the year came against the Tar Heels, with the Irish dispatching the No. 6 team in the country 16-12 at Arlotta.

Notre Dame will participate in the fourth versus fifth seed matchup, squaring off with Virginia.

The two sides, on paper, are about as even as they come. They enter with even records in conference play, both teams standing at 6-3.

RPI ranks the Irish one spot higher, No. 11 to No. 12 respectively. The main difference is the tie-breaker between the two teams’ equal ACC records, a 16-13 victory by the Cavaliers in Charlottesville.

Despite the head-to-head loss, Notre Dame’s momentum should inspire confidence heading into Wednesday.

The Irish have won four consecutive games since their crushing loss to Boston College. Virginia has

Belles tennis dominates Senior Sports Writer

Concluding the best regular season in program history, Saint Mary’s tennis thrashed Earlham College 8-1 on Senior Day at Angela Fieldhouse. The Belles polished off a 17-2 campaign, which included a 12-0 non-conference record. It was their first unbeaten mark in nonconference play in program history.

Additionally, their previous highest win total in a season was 14 matches. The Belles finished 5-2 in MIAA play, good for third place in the conference. They’ll take on Hope for a third straight postseason in the conference semifinals Wednesday.

Earlham entered Saturday’s clash at a serious disadvantage, bringing only four players to the match.

That meant they forfeited the third doubles court, as well as the fifth and sixth singles courts. As such, the Belles entered doubles with a 3-0 lead and a chance immediately clinch the match result. They trotted out four seniors to get the job done, and Saint Mary’s upperclassmen leaders responded. Annika Smith and Kathleen McCleod swept

Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu

MAX PETROSKY | The Observer

Junior midfielder Mary Kelly Doherty muscles past defenders to contribute to an Irish 15-9 at-home win against Louisville on Apr 20.

ND Men’s golf

SMC Tennis

By AIDAN THOMAS

dropped two in five since they took down Notre Dame.

The Irish also hold a distinct advantage on the defensive side of the ball. Notre Dame boasts one of the best goals-against records in the ACC, only allowing 135 goals in 16 games.

The Cavaliers, on the other hand, rank in the bottom half of the conference defensively, having allowed 209 goals in the same amount of games.

Notably, neither the Irish or Cavaliers have excelled away from home on the year. While both teams have stellar records on familiar territory (Notre Dame is 8-1 at Arlotta and Virginia is 6-0 in Charlottesville), both are about average on the road. The Irish have a 4-3 record in away or neutral contests while the Cavaliers are 5-5.

Notre Dame women’s lacrosse will be back in action Wednesday afternoon against Virginia in the ACC tournament quarterfinals.

The game is slated for a 1:30 p.m. start and will be broadcast on the ACC Network.

Jackson leads Irish at ACC Championships

through their opposition at the second court, winning 8-0. At the top doubles court, Lucy Chamberlin and Kalyn Borger encountered some stiffer competition but prevailed in an 8-4 final. That gave the Belles a 5-0 lead and secured the Senior Day victory.

In singles, sophomore Alayna Campbell, freshman Emma Kealy and senior McCleod cruised at the second, third and fourth courts.

Across those three matches, no Belle dropped a set, each winning by a scoreline of 6-0, 6-0. Despite Chamberlin faltering on the top court, Saint Mary’s claimed an easy 8-1 victory.

By ANDREW McGUINNESS Spor ts Editor

Belles eye up MIAA giant in playoffs Now, the Belles move forward to a much stiffer challenge in the MIAA Tournament. The Belles’ two losses all season came to Kalamazoo and Hope, the two teams ahead of them in the conference standings. In all likelihood, Saint Mary’s will need to beat both in order to win MIAA Tournament and advance to to the see SMC TENNIS PAGE 13

KAITLIN BELDIN | The Observer

Irish senior golfer Palmer Jackson watches the ball fly post-swing at the ACC Championships, the Irish’s final season competition.

The Notre Dame men’s golf team competed in the final event on its schedule for the 2022-23 season this weekend.

The Irish traveled to the Dog wood Course at the Countr y Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst, North Carolina to compete in this year’s ACC Championship.

Coming off of their best finish in program histor y in the event a year earlier, coming in fifth place in 2022, the Irish dropped to 10th place on this year’s leaderboard.

Unsurprisingly, senior Palmer Jackson led the way for Notre Dame.

Jackson’s performance in the ACC Championship came on the heels of being named a finalist for the 2023 By ron Nelson Award. The threetime PING A ll-Midwest Region golfer w ill find out see MEN’S GOLF PAGE 13