Print Edition of The Observer for Friday, September 18, 2020

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Insider

The observer | FRIDAY, September 18, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

HEAD TO HEAD

2:30 p.m. ET notre dame stadium on nbc

notre dame

South FLorida

(Jr.) Braden

Lenzy

0

(Sr.) Avery

Davis

3

WR WR

(Jr.) Joe Wilkins Jr. 18

(Jr.) Lawrence Keys III

(So.) Kyren Williams 23 (Fr.) Chris Tyree 25

13

(Gr.) Liam Eichenberg 74

RB

(So.) Andrew Kristofic 73

(Sr.) Aaron Banks 76 (Sr.) Dillan Gibbons 76

(Gr.) Ian Book

12

(So.) Brendon Clark

7

QB

(Jr.) Jarrett Patterson 55

(So.) Zeke Correll 52

(Gr.) Tommy Kraemer 78 (Jr.) John Dirksen 56

(Jr.) Robert Hainsey 72

75

(Sr.) Josh Lugg

(Sr.) Brock Wright 89 (Jr.) Tommy Tremble 24

(Gr.) Javon

McKinley

88

(Jr.) Joe Wilkins Jr. 18

(Gr.) Nick McCloud 4 (So.) Cam Hart 5

(Sr.) Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah 6

(Jr.) Paul Moala 13

(Gr.) Shaun Crawford 20 (Jr.) Houston Griffith 3

SS

LT LG C RG RT TE WR

(So.) Kyle Hamilton 14 (Jr.) DJ Brown 12

(Jr.) Jayson Ademilola 57

(Sr.) Kurt Hinish 41 (So.) Jacob Lacey 54

(Jr.) Justin Ademilola 19

(Jr.) Shayne Simon

33

(So.) Marist Liufau 35

(Fr.) Clarence Lewis 26

(Sr.) Jonathan Doerer 39 (Gr.) Dawson Goepferich 39

(So.) Jay

Bramblett

19

(Gr.) Dawson Goepferich 39

(Jr.) Lawrence

Keys III

13

(So.) Kyren Williams 23

NOTRE DAME OFFENSE NOTRE DAME PASSING The passing game seemed to be Notre Dame’s biggest struggle offensively against Duke, epitomized by the fact the leading receiver wasn’t a receiver at all — it was running back Kyren Williams. Ian Book isn’t comfortable with his new targets yet and the Blue Devil secondary was one of their team’s stronger positions. However, with a game under his belt, things should look better this week between QB1 and his guys out wide. South Florida has a trio of strong defensive backs in juniors Nick Roberts, Bentlee Sanders and Vincent Davis, but their biggest test this year has been against The Citadel. With this matchup coming for the Bulls in week two, they haven’t had enough time or experience to prepare properly for their trip to South Bend.

EDGE: Notre Dame

NOTRE DAME RUSHING What Notre Dame did against Duke in the season opener was

PK P PR

CB

DE DT NG DE

(Fr.) Chris Tyree 25 (Sr.) Jafar Armstrong

8

(Jr.) Michael Vinson 65 (Fr.) Alex Peitsch 44

NOTRE DAME OFFFENSIVE COACHING It was a rocky start for Tommy Rees in his first game as the official offensive coordinator for Notre Dame. It will be interesting to see how he fares in his second game, this time against a team that he faced as a player in one of the most infamous games in Notre Dame history.

All things considered though,

93 Tyrone Barber (Jr.)

WLB Dwayne Boyles MLB Antonio Grier Jr. STAR Vincent Davis

Rashawn Yates (Jr.)

91

11

10 Kevin Kegler (Sr.)

6 Demaurez Bellamy (So.)

Blake Green (Sr.)

54

5

23 Thad Mangum (Gr.)

59 Andrew Mims (Jr.)

Jason Vaughn (So.)

40

3

13 Tramel Logan (Fr.)

16 Brock Nichols (Sr.)

20

(Jr.)

(Jr.)

(Jr.)

Bentlee Sanders (Jr.)

8 Christopher Townsel (Fr.)

Mike Hampton (Gr.)

7

12 Ben Knox (Fr.)

WR TE RT RG C LG LT WR

Randall St. Felix (Jr.)

5

84 Xavier Weaver (So.)

76

Mitchell Brinkman (Gr.) Jarrett Hopple (Gr.)

77 Cesar Reyes (Fr.)

52

Michael Wiggs (Sr.)

71 Uriah Greene (Fr.)

74

Brad Cecil (Jr.)

79 Dustyn Hall (Fr.)

64

RB QB

10

Kelly Joiner Jr. (So.)

21 Johnny Ford

3

Jordan McCloud (So.)

0 Noah Johnson (Gr.)

Demetris Harris(Jr.)

6 Jean Marcellus(Jr.)

73

WR

CB

(Sr.) J.D. Carney 14

EDGE: Notre Dame

Nick Roberts (Jr.)

Darrien Grant (Jr.)

45

18

(So.) Jay Bramblett 19

certainly an improvement over how the offensive line and running backs looked in the running game last season. More agile, speedy runners and a mentality of driving the defense off the ball do wonders for a team with a stagnant ground game. It should be even easier to do that this week. Despite Duke’s meandering status as a team, they have a very solid defense. They were depleted in the interior so the Irish arguably should have done more, but chalk it up to the first game after the strangest offseason ever. Look for Notre Dame to dominate in the trenches against an overmatched South Florida front seven.

2

22 Mekhi LaPointe (Jr.)

Donovan Jennings (Jr.)

57 Joshua Blanchard (Fr.)

Buck

(Jr.) TaRiq Bracy 28

FS

88 Chris Carter (R-So.)

(Gr.) Adetokunbo Ogundeji 91

FS

0 Daquan Evans (So.)

89

(Sr.) Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa 95 (Jr.) Bo Bauer 52

K.J. Salis (Sr.)

9

SS

Rover (Jr.) Ovie Oghoufo 29

Mike

DE DT DT DE

CB

(Gr.) Daelin Hayes 9

(Sr.) Drew White 40

CB

H KR LS

H KR LS

8

19

DeVontres Odoms-Dukes (Jr.) Latrell Williams (Jr.)

Jake Bobo (Jr.)

14 Dennis Smith (R-So.)

39

Trent Schneider (Sr.)

25 Kenny Scribner (R-Fr.)

1

Johnny Ford (R-So.)

80 Terrence Horne (R-So.)

49

Ian Deneen (Jr.)

50 Bryce Bernard (Fr.)

Rees called a good game after the Irish struggled on offense through their first three series against Duke. The lingering issues from then on were more a product of Ian Book struggling to connect with receivers than actual play calls. First-year South Florida defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer has more experience than Rees, but Rees has more weapons and has been with this system longer than Spencer.

end Isaiah Foskey showed out against Duke.

Along with a somewhat surprisingly sound secondary, one displaying new contributors like graduate transfer cornerback Nick McCloud and safety D.J. Brown, the Irish should have little trouble containing the Bulls’ air game, even if Kyle Hamilton is hobbled with an ankle sprain.

EDGE: Notre Dame

SOUTH FLORIDA RUSHING

SOUTH FLORIDA OFFENSE

After a rough start to the game, the Notre Dame defensive line settled in against the Duke rushing attack, limiting the Blue Devils to just 2.4 yards per carry, shutting down a potential All-ACC running back in Deon Jackson, to the tune of just 52 yards on 15 carries.

South Florida brings an intriguing offense to South Bend, as they feature two backs who received eight and nine carries last week, as well as Noah Johnson, who represents onehalf of a quarterback tandem that the Bulls featured against the Citadel. USF leaned on the run game in their opener, racking up 302 yards on 7.7

SOUTH FLORIDA PASSING South Florida leaned heavily on their run game in their seasonopening win over The Citadel, rushing 39 times for 302 yards and two scores. Three different quarterbacks combined to go 18-25 passing for 102 yards. Jordan McCloud led the pack at 11-16 throwing for 68 yards and the Bulls’ lone aerial score; he also had an abysmal QBR of 19.8. The offensive line protection was nothing that should concern Notre Dame’s pass rush, especially when seeing how sophomore defensive

PK P PR

44

Spencer Shrader (So.)

28 Jared Sackett (Gr.)

39

Trent Schneider (Sr.)

25 Kenny Scribner (R-Fr.)

9

K.J. Salis (Sr.)

84 Xavier Weaver (So.)

yards per pop. That strength will be greatly tested against Notre Dame’s defensive front, who simply looked extremely tough to run the ball against.

None of USF’s backs are better than Jackson, and their line is not as strong as Duke’s. Notre Dame has the advantage here.

EDGE: Notre Dame

BULLS SCHEDULE (1-0) EDGE: Notre Dame

Sept. 12 The Citadel (W 27-6) Sept. 19 @ Notre Dame Sept. 26 @ Florida Atlantic Oct. 3 @ Cincinnati Oct. 10 East Carolina Oct. 17 @ Temple Oct. 23 Tulsa Nov. 7 @ Memphis Nov. 14 @ Houston Nov. 21 Navy Nov. 27 UCF

IRISH SCHEDULE (1-0) Sept. 12 Duke (W 27-13) Sept. 19 South Florida Sept. 26 @ Wake Forest Oct. 10 Florida State Oct. 17 Louisville Oct. 24 @ Pittsburgh Oct. 31 @ Georgia Tech Nov. 7 Clemson Nov. 14 @ Boston College Nov. 27 @ North Carolina Dec. 5 Syracuse

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Volume 56, Issue 13 | Friday, september 18, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

College hosts outdoor lecture screening New York Times bestselling author participates in virtual Q&A for annual Christian Culture Lecture

By MIA MARROQUIN Saint Mary’s News Editor

At an outdoor Christian Culture Lecture viewing event, President Katie Conboy addressed students prior to the pre-recorded lecture.

She walked into her first formal classroom at age 17, and has not stopped learning since. New York Times bestselling author Tara Westover addressed the Saint Mary’s community Wednesday evening during the annual Christian Culture Lecture, and spoke to her path to becoming educated.

College president Katie

Conboy facilitated the discussion which was live streamed to the College’s website. importance of surrounding oneself with people from different backgrounds — whether that be religiously, politically or otherwise.

“I benefited tremendously from my experience [at Brigham Young University] as it was the first time in my life I had access to people from all over the United States,” she said.

Westover attributed some of her biggest moments of education through see LECTURE PAGE 4

Students compete to recreate famous photo series

GENEVIEVE COLEMAN | The Observer

College President Katie Conboy delivers an opening address at the outdoor screening of the annual Christian Culture Lecture. The video featured a discussion between Conboy and author Tara Westover.

RecSports resume, taking COVID precautions

By COLIN CAPECE News Writer

Notre Dame RecSports recently announced its plans for intramural sports and other recreational events to take place this fall with added safety precautions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Interhall women’s f lag football and men’s three-on-three soccer leagues began Monday, with

more sports leagues and events set to begin in the coming weeks.

This fall’s RecSports programming will be designed to allow student participation while also ensuring their health and safety.

Masks must be worn at all times by all event participants and staff regardless of physical distance during activities. Team roster sizes will be limited depending

on square footage of playing areas, the ability of participants to physically distance and the capabilities of facilities to provide proper physical distancing between individual games.

Equipment will be cleaned with disinfectant before, during and after play, and rosters will be strictly adhered to for contact tracing see RECSPORTS PAGE 4

STUDENT SENATE

LAYTON HALL | The Observer

Students participated in a competition to recreate John Baldessari’s famous photo series by tossing balls into the air.

By LAYTON HALL News Writer

Students gathered outside the Snite Museum of Art Thursday, trying to recreate John Baldessari’s famous photographic series entitled “Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line.” This contest is a part of the Snite Museum’s promotion of the featured exhibit “Touchstones of

NEWS PAGE 3

the Twentieth Century: A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame.”

The contest consisted of students throwing three balls into the air, attempting to align them, while a partner snapped a photo.

This process is an ode to Baldessari, who, when creating the set of photos now on display at the Snite, threw see SNITE PAGE 4

VIEWPOINT PAGE 7

Group addresses dining, sustainibility, racial injustice

By ADRIANA PEREZ News Writer

The Notre Dame student senate convened Thursday evening to hear from Campus Dining leadership about sustainability initiatives, menu enhancements and service format in Campus Dining operations

SCENE PAGE 8

this semester. Senior Rachel Ingal, student body president, also addressed internal tensions that came to a head with a Letter to the Editor, which criticized Student Government’s response to social justice issues.

Senators also voted to pass an order regarding

FOOTBALL PAGE 16

allocation of funds from the COVID-19 Response Financial Account and tabled an order to replace the Executive Programming Board with an Executive Committee.

The meeting began with a presentation by Chris see SENATE PAGE 5

ND MENS SOCCER PAGE 16

2

TODAY

The observer | Friday, september 18, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

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sophomore Pasquerilla West “Mint chocolate ice cream.”

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senior Lewis Hall

freshman Basil Hall

“Takis.”

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freshman Pasquerilla West

junior Knot Hall

“Dots pretzels.”

“Fruit snacks.”

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webmaster@ndsmcobserver.com Policies The Observer is the independent, daily newspaper published in print and online by the students of the University of Notre Dame du Lac, Saint Mary’s College and Holy Cross College. Editorial content, including advertisements, is not governed by policies of the administration of either institution. The Observer reserves the right to refuse advertisements based on content.

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Today’s Staff News

Sports

Mia Marroquin Emma Bacon

Mannion McGinley Charlotte Edmonds Madelyn Stout

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MARIA LEONTARAS | The Observer

Fans begin to fill the stands in Notre Dame Stadium before Saturday’s football home opener against Duke. The Irish defeated the Blue Devils 27-13. Tickets to the football game were available to students, faculty, staff and parents of football players.

The next Five days:

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Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Slow Look virtual 12:30 p.m - 1 p.m.

Join for a slow look at Mary Swanzy’s “Young Claudius.”

Football Notre Dame Stadium 2:30 p.m.

The Irish take on the Bulls in the second game of the season.

Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart 10 a.m., noon Attendance will be limited.

Vision Board Making Le Mans Hall 7 p.m.

Create a craft and socialize with others safely.

Lecture: Statue Toppling in Europe virtual 12:45 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Historian shares his European perspective.

Lecture: “Racial Wealth Gap” virtual 12:45 p.m - 1:45 p.m.

Featuring speaker Mehrsa Baradaran.

Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart 5 p.m.

Attendance will be limited.

Grief and Loss Support Group Holy Cross, room 11 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Informational session about coping with loss.

Panel: International students and COVID virtual 7 p.m.

Students share their experiences.

Immigration Prayer Service Regina Hall 7 p.m.

Pray for immigrants in the United States.

News

3

University researchers use artificial intelligence to increase CT screening efficiency

By KAYLE LiAO News Writer

Researchers at Notre Dame are using artificial intelligence to improve CT screening efficiency and relieve the burdens of the radiologists in diagnosing patients w ith COV ID-19.

Yiy u Shi, a professor of engineering and computer science, is a principal investigator of this research project.

Essentially, it’s just an AI software program that computes based on an input, which is an [CT] image and it w ill produce an output, which is the prediction result being positive or not,” Shi said.

Weiwen Jiang, a postdoctorate in the department of computer science and engineering and co-principal investigator, said there were two main phases involved w ith developing the AI model.

“The first phase is called the training phase, where we use training datasets online to train our model,”

he said. “After the training phase, we w ill go through the testing process which is the second phase. In this phase, we use the model to make predictions based on a CT image from a real case.”

The shortage of PCR tests when COV ID-19 first began motivated Jiang to improve the screening efficiency using his expertise in machine learning algorithms.

“This pandemic made a ver y bad impact worldw ide, so we would like to make some contribution to [combat] such a crisis,” Jiang said.

Shi said he was inspired to start working on this research project after w itnessing the complicated process of running a CT screening for radiologists.

In my research, I work extensively w ith doctors and radiologists at different hospitals, and one feedback I got from them w ith the coronav irus is that they’re overloaded w ith all the CT images to read from different locations and then see

if it’s positive or not,” Shi said. “Those CT images are 3D and there are multiple slices, so then they have to look at each indiv idual one to make a decision ... to make a diagnosis and that takes a long time.”

Shi and his research team has already finished the AI net work, and are currently working to transfer the network to a f lash drive.

“We already have a network now that can give prett y accurate predictions,” he said. “We are just tr y ing to put that net work into a plug-and-play USB stick so that when a doctor needs to use that assistance, he/she can just plug the USB stick into a computer and then run the program, and it [the net work] w ill give the results in just a few minutes.”

The biggest challenge for Shi and his team has been tr y ing to ma x imize the computational power of the algorithm while not encroaching on the privacy of patients.

“This whole net work

takes a lot of computation in order to get to the final prediction,” Shi said. “Now, if this whole thing can be put on Ama zon Cloud, or cloud ser v ice, then it can be prett y straightfor ward and easy. But, the problem is that we don’t want any patient’s data to be uploaded to the cloud, which would cause a lot of problems. So ideally, the prediction needs to be done locally on a computer and that w ill have ver y limited computational power.”

In addition to facult y and graduate students, five undergraduate students have also contributed to the research, Shi said.

“They are in my computer engineering capstone design class, and they chose to use this project as their capstone project, which is great,” he said. “So it’s part of their coursework and at the same time, getting something ver y useful for the communit y.”

Currently, the research team is working on perfecting the current design and

making the model efficient.

“We’re basically still working on compressing the model and we w ill make some adjustments next month,” graduate student Dewen Zeng said.

Shi’s research team has been progressing fast on their timeline, and hopes to have the whole project ready for a w ide release later this fall.

“We expect that we’ll be able to run the program on the USB stick by the end of this month or maybe early October,” Shi said.

“And we’ll spend maybe a month, or so, tr y ing to optimize the performance and the computation on a USB stick to make it faster and make it more accurate on that USB stick where we have ver y limited resources. And hopefully, we’ll be able to release the results. It’s going to be open source. Anyone can use it when we release it in mid-November.”

Contact Kayle Liao at xliao@nd.edu

South Bend struggles to shelter homeless during ongoing coronavirus pandemic

By NOLA WALLACE Talent & Inclusion Manager

During the COV ID-19 pandemic, the South Bend homeless have struggled to find safety and shelter with little aid from the city.

Since the start of COV ID, South Bend residents without housing have been kicked out of multiple encampment sites, leading to public protest and criticism from many residents.

One local advocate, Araquel Bloss, was crushed by the police’s arrival at the camp, and said it went against the County Health Department’s advice to leave the camp undisturbed, along with its recommendation to provide proper PPE and resources.

“All we wanted was help, and they did not come to help,” Bloom said.

“They came to arrest and intimidate.”

Public outcry and media

coverage of the encampment’s dismantlement sparked meetings of the town’s council, headed by Mayor James Mueller, who struggled to create a safe, inclusive and affordable plan to house those in need.

Over the summer, group members met virtually to discuss next steps for the South Bend homeless, city sanitation and more long term preparations. Nearly four months later, and there has still been no effective plan created by the city.

Although Mueller said he plans to double the current budget for the homeless in 2021, Bloss said this is not enough, because the city has received millions in aid due to the CARES Act. “The indignity of not providing water, sanitation, restrooms or even PPE is disgraceful,” Bloss said.

“Other cities have taken the CARES Act funding and used it to create systemic

change. The city knows they need housing but continues building condos.”

Without the city’s aid, it has fallen on the shoulders of the South Bend community and local organizations, volunteers like Bloss, and more recently, a mystery donor.

In late August, an anonymous donation was made through Our Lady of the Road, an outreach of The Catholic Worker house, to aid in their mission to provide housing, mental health and addiction services for those in need.

This anonymous individual’s donation has since helped kickstart a “shelter first initiative” that has housed over 64 individuals in just 3 weeks — with the hope to aid many more.

Margaret Pfeil, director and volunteer at Our Lady of the Road, said the donation was providential and acknowledged the

hard work of her volunteers spreading the words about the organization.

“The work being done is the fruit of many intentional efforts and relationships, created through dialogue and the grassroots movement,” Pfeil said.

W hile the mystery donation has helped momentarily, Pfiel and Bloss realize the donation will not last forever. The community continues to urge the Mayor and Council to create an effective, long lasting plan, such as subsidized housing initiatives, or long term, low barrier shelters.

“There should be no divide in coming together for the greater good,” Bloss said. “Invest in the people and you will get your investment back ten fold.”

Saint Mary’s junior MaryKate Dempsey, a student volunteer at the Center for the Homeless is unsatisfied with the way the city

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has handled the issue.

“I am extremely frustrated with the city’s response,” Dempsey said. “These are South Bend residents. These are people.”

During her time at the center, she spoke about feeling alarmed by the lack of resources available even before the pandemic.

“I can’t imagine what they are going through right now.”

Saint Mary’s students gathered to create hygiene kits for the homeless, organized by the Office for Civic and Social Engagement.

The director of the office, Rebekah Go, said the homeless situation in South Bend is a complex problem that needs a speedy solution.

“It is not black and white, that’s just not life,” Go said.

“Immediate needs need to be met.”

Contact Nola Wallace at nwallace01@saintmarys.edu

NEWS

4

Lecture Continued from page 1

conversations she had with her peers at Oxford who shared different opinions and beliefs especially regarding hot issue topics such as homophobia.

“Sometimes I think we get we get confused about what education is,” Westover said.

“We think it’s about finding a bunch of facts, we think that an educated person is a person who can regurgitate a whole bunch of information.

W hen in reality education, in its best form, is curiosity.”

According to Westover, this curiosity changes how you interact with people you disagree with.

“I think if you’re an educated person what you’re really trying to get is the ability to see things from another point of view and see the world from different perspectives, and understand why people are the way they are even if they’re not like you.”

Westover acknowledged that a part of learning is understanding boundaries before purposefully breaking

RecSports Continued from page 1

purposes with no additions permitted at game sites.

Additionally, participants will be encouraged not to share any personal equipment, and pinnies will not be provided for teams to distinguish from one another.

“RecSports continues to work with University officials to ensure that the leagues and tournaments we offer are conducted with the highest regard to safety,” RecSports

Snite Continued from page 1

three balls into the air 36 times as his then wife, Carol Wixom, operated the camera.

Students who participated in the night’s activity were encouraged to submit their best attempts to the museum, with the top two entries winning a Snite gift bag that includes a copy of the 400+ page photography catalogue “A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame.”

“It was surprisingly difficult to try to align all of the balls

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them.

“The fact of the matter is that you can’t be a great writer if you’re too much of a stickler about punctuation,” she said. “But if you don’t understand why the rules exist, you can’t be any kind of writer.”

Westover compared the cycle of education and relationships with professors to that of children and parents.

“First you adore them, then you hate them and then you respect them”, she said.“...

You can really only start to be your own person when you get to a perspective that says that they [parents, professors] are neither always right, nor always wrong.”

Through her experiences of imposter syndrome and abuse, Westover cultivated the emotional resilience she has today.

“Abuse totally collapses your sense of self,” she said.

“W hat gets attacked is your sense of self and sense of self worth.”

Regarding feelings of not belonging in the academic sphere, Westover advised remembering that everyone else similarly feels out of

place.

“I also think it helps to know that everyone feels overwhelmed, and it always gets better,” she said. “Your life would be very boring if nothing ever intimidated you. The panic you’re feeling? That’s actually stretching, and it’s a good thing and it eventually goes away.”

Conboy added that while much of Westover’s story is unique to her, many of the questions fielded by students for the evening came from a place of lived experiences inf luenced by what they had read in Westover’s memoir.

Westover used the analog y of an emotional keyboard to explain how individuals can grow through trauma and develop empathy for themselves in order to play any note on the keyboard they want.

“Trying to have empathy for yourself is one of the hardest things to do and it’s one of the most important things to do,” she said. “If you can’t empathize with younger versions of yourself you’re going to find that in your life you’re going be much harsher with people than you need to be,

because they remind you of younger versions of yourself.

You’re going to end up living half a life — a life with half of your emotions.”

Given that the Christian Culture Lecture was created for an individual in the humanities to speak on the inf luence of Christianity on culture, Westover spoke to how she sees faith align with education.

“I think that when I was younger, faith was almost kind of a mechanism of my education,” she said. “I learned how to read largely so I could read the scriptures. I learned to write from the scriptures.”

Westover acknowledged the bible as a complex work with a complex style of writing, and attributed that training of reading and rereading things she did not totally understand to her later success in her studies.

She then went on to discuss the role a belief system plays in education.

“Toward the end of my time at BY U, I began to realize I didn’t actually believe in some of the things I had previously believed in,”

Westover said. “The thing about beliefs that we forget sometimes is that they are often not choices. You can’t decide what you believe. I really struggled to accept that my beliefs had changed and I kind of just didn’t want to deal with it.

Westover then changed the way she considered the way she considered the world around her.

“Eventually what happened is that I did come to accept it, and I had to start reconstructing a new ethical world for myself.”

The lecture concluded with talk on the pandemic, and Westover spoke to the privilege she experiences as her daily life has been minimally affected by the pandemic.

“The effects of the pandemic are going to hit people disproportionately based on race, education level, socioeconomic status,” she said.

“I just hope it makes us more alive and awake to the fact that we do have, in some ways two Americas, two circles of living.”

director Mark Williams said in an email. “We understand that these are very challenging times for all of us and especially our students, and we spent the summer months working to develop programming that adheres to University standards.”

There are a total of 11 intramural leagues and tournaments set to take place this year, with additional programming added for weekends. All three recreational facilities on Notre Dame’s campus, including the Smith Center, Rockne Memorial and

North Dome, have reopened as of Monday. RecSports is also offering both in-person and virtual fitness classes and is currently coordinating practices for club sports.

Williams spoke to the importance of getting students back to participating in recreational activities amid the pandemic.

“We recognize that our students are very active and how vital safe recreational sports and fitness are to them,” he said. “RecSports will continue to work to provide our students with opportunities to

play and engage in safe recreational sports and fitness activities.”

Some students, like junior Jacob Messineo, are also excited to be participating in RecSports events this year.

Messineo, who serves as the RecSports commissioner for Dunne Hall, said he is glad there will be intramural sports this year.

“I’ve been doing my best to promote all of the new programming to students in Dunne, and kids seem to be receptive to all of the safety protocols,” Messineo said.

“I’m looking forward to getting back to playing sports with friends, and I plan to make a team for the three-onthree soccer tournament.”

Messineo said he hopes students continue to follow the new safety guidelines throughout the fall season.

“I think RecSports has done a great job of trying to keep people safe this year,” he said.

“I hope that the season can finish without anyone breaking the guidelines.”

right out of your hands,” first year Michael Fraizer said.

“But it was really cool to try and recreate the process that the artist went through.”

Fraizer said this was his first visit to the Snite Museum, and he wished to learn more about it after participating in the competition.

Bridget Hoyt, the curator of education for academic programs, was on site outside the Snite helping to organize the event. She and a few students helped photograph student attempts and displayed copies of Baldessari’s series of photos.

“[We want students to] realize that photography is an active thing that we can all do, and that we have the resources to do it with just the phone in your pocket,” Hoyt said.

“While celebrating photography as something to look at, it’s also important to celebrate photography as something that we can do.”

Hoyt also commended Rachel Heisler, the assistant curator of education for academic programs, whose idea led to increased student engagement with art. They hope that through this engagement, students can see their own

ability to create with the tools around them and also engage with the pieces that the Snite is showing, she said.

The Snite Museum will continue their student engagement efforts with activities planned nearly every week this semester. The second day of the Baldessari competition will proceed Friday afternoon from 2-3 p.m. and events such

as Sculpt’d, Slow Look and Trivia Snite are coming in the next few weeks.

“Touchstones of the Twentieth Century: A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame” will be available for viewing through December.

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Contact Mia Marroquin at mmarroquin01@saintmarys.edu

Contact Colin Capece at ccapece@nd.edu

Contact Layton Hall at lhall8@nd.edu

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News

Senate Continued from page 1

Abayasinghe, senior director of Campus Dining, Cheryl Bauer, director of Sourcing and Sustainability and Luigi Alberganti, director of student dining. Abayasinghe said Campus Dining has had to make many changes to adapt to public health regulations as well as students’ concerns.

“This truly has been probably the most flexible and most pivoting of times,” he said.

Some adjustments they have had to make focus on the disposable nature of containers, plastic bags and cutlery — all essential, nonetheless, to the take out format necessitated by the pandemic.

Bauer announced a switch from compostable take out containers to mineral-filled polypropylene, which retain heat better, are sturdier and are manufactured in Minnesota.

Campus Dining will also stop offering plastic bags Sept. 22 and single-use cutlery later on.

They will sell BeeGreen reusable bags at Huddle Mart and the dining halls, and will give each student two stainless steel cutlery kits beginning Sept. 28.

Student Government held a reusable cutlery giveaway Sept.

9 during which they distributed around 500 kits to students, junior Jackson Oxler, a member of the Department of Student Life and the Department of Sustainability, told The Observer.

“It’s much easier to cut stainless versus the plastic and in these new containers, you are going to be able to cut inside of them … So it seems like a winwin all the way around,” Bauer said.

Since COVID-19 regulations do not allow for drink refills, the single-use cups will still be used, according to Abayasinghe.

“Over time, what we’re seeking is an actual replacement for the vessel itself,” he said.

Other changes to dining operations include hiring more staff to serve students over 29,000 meals a day, according to Alberganti. Staff is also now serving food directly into the containers as students file past in line. Abayasinghe noted that new desserts have been introduced to the menu, such as red velvet cake, apple pie and Boston cream pie.

After Campus Dining leadership’s presentation, senior Sarah Galbenski, student body vice president and chair of the student senate, opened with an executive announcement.

She updated her peers on the first meeting of the University Committee on Women Faculty and Students (UCWFS) Thursday, which dealt with the new Title IX policies. The next meeting, she said, will take place Oct. 21 and focus on campus climate ahead of the November general election.

After Galbenski’s announcement, Ingal referred to the

ndsmcobserver.com | Friday, september 18, 2020 | The ObserveR

aforementioned Letter to the Editor published in The Observer Thursday. Dillon Hall student leaders submitted the letter ahead of the meeting, asking for a more forceful, actionable response from Student Government in addressing private prison labor.

After a student-led virtual strike for racial justice Aug. 31, the Student Senate passed order SS 2021-16, asking the University administration to continue engaging in dialogue with student organizations committed to racial justice and anti-racism.

Senior Dillon Hall senator and one of the letter’s authors, Mike Dugan criticized the resolution.

(Editor’s Note: Dugan is a former Observer news writer and Systems Administrator.)

“Rather than taking a firm stance on specific issues of racial injustice that pertain to our campus community, however, the Senate simply voted to encourage administrators to continue to talk with students,” Dugan and other Dillon student leaders said in the letter. “We believe that the Senate could have and should have taken a stronger stance.”

Specifically, the Dillon residents criticized Galbenski’s decision, as chair of the student senate, to not include a Senate Order in the agenda for the senate meeting.

Dugan and senior Ricardo Pozas Garza, Club Coordination Council president, had drafted said order “to ensure that Student Union Organizations, and groups that receive funding from the Student Union, divest from companies that use prison labor and/or forced labor in order to obtain profit.”

The letter’s authors also found fault with the rejection of their order, as they compared its contents with the other items in Thursday’s agenda.

“None of these .priorities carry the moral weight or urgency associated with ensuring that money collected from students in a mandatory fee is not spent in a socially irresponsible manner nor invested into companies that directly profit from human rights abuses,” they wrote.

In her executive announcement at the senate meeting, Ingal vouched for Galbenski.

She listed reasons why she had asked her to be student body vice president and the ways in which she said Galbenski has shown a commitment to racial justice and the student senate.

The senate had received five resolutions this week, three of which carried over from the previous week. The two new resolutions could therefore not be included in Thursday’s agenda, Ingal said, and Galbenski reached out to the authors to explain why.

While there is not a deadline requirement included in the senate bylaws, Galbenski has prepared a document with frequently asked questions for senators, in which she writes that, in order to be considered as “new business” in the week’s

agenda, a piece of legislation must be submitted by Sunday.

But Dugan and Pozas Garza’s order was not submitted until Monday, Galbenski told The Observer.

“By no means did she deny debate time to a bill she didn’t support or refuse to hear this piece of legislation,” Ingal added.

Chief of staff Aaron Benavides also spoke, characterizing the letter as “unbecoming of any member of the Student Union.”

He cautioned against personal attacks, which he said might “distract us from the essential work that we must undertake.”

(Editor’s Note: Benavides is a former Observer news writer.)

Ten senators wrote a Letter to the Editor published Friday in response to the Dillon students’ letter, expressing their support for Galbenski and explaining the situation from their perspective.

After the executive announcements, Benavides read an order presented by senior Grace Stephenson, Student Union treasurer and chairwoman of the Financial Management Board (FMB). Order SO 2021-07 would make $10,000 available from the Student Union COVID-19 Response Financial Account for allocation to Student Union organizations and special interest groups who apply. The order passed.

The second order in the agenda was read over Zoom by senior Tiffany Pages-Sanchez, Judicial Council vice president of peer advocacy, on behalf of junior Matthew Bisner, Judicial Council president.

Bisner authored the document but was not present for most of the meeting. The order, which passed, effectively made Audrey Feldman and Thomas Krapfl the First-Year Class Council Representatives for their respective dorms, Cavanaugh and Dunne Hall, since only one candidate had been received by the Judicial Council for both residence halls.

Benavides then read SO 202109. The order proposed an amendment to the Constitution of the Undergraduate Student Body replacing the Executive Programming Board (EPB) with the Executive Committee. Per the order, the committee would “serve as a forum for the executive officers of the Student Union branches to communicate and collaborate on policy, programming, and other issues relevant to the Student Body and Student Union.”

“Over the past several years, EPB has really lacked a focus or a purpose or any signs of duty,” Benavides said. “Nothing was really ever accomplished. We see that this group accomplishes more of what EPB was supposed to do, but it never really got off the ground.”

During debate time, junior Thomas Davis II, Student Union parliamentarian, asked that the senate send the order to the Committee on the Constitution first, so they could approve the amendment. The order was ultimately tabled and referred to

said committee.

“This truly has been probably the most flexible and most pivoting of times,” he said.

Some adjustments they have had to make focus on the disposable nature of containers, plastic bags and cutlery — all essential, nonetheless, to the take out format necessitated by the pandemic. Bauer announced a switch from compostable take out containers to mineral-filled polypropylene, which retain heat better, are sturdier and are manufactured in Minnesota.

Campus Dining will also stop offering plastic bags Sept. 22 and single-use cutlery later on.

They will sell BeeGreen reusable bags at Huddle Mart and the dining halls, and will give each student two stainless steel cutlery kits beginning Sept. 28.

Student Government held a reusable cutlery giveaway Sept.

9 during which they distributed around 500 kits to students, junior Jackson Oxler, a member of the Department of Student Life and the Department of Sustainability, told The Observer.

“It’s much easier to cut stainless versus the plastic and in these new containers, you are going to be able to cut inside of them … So it seems like a winwin all the way around,” Bauer said.

Since COVID-19 regulations do not allow for drink refills, the single-use cups will still be used, according to Abayasinghe.

“Over time, what we’re seeking is an actual replacement for the vessel itself,” he said.

Other changes to dining operations include hiring more staff to serve students over 29,000 meals a day, according to Alberganti. Staff is also now serving food directly into the containers as students file past in line. Abayasinghe noted that new desserts have been introduced to the menu, such as red velvet cake, apple pie and Boston cream pie.

After Campus Dining leadership’s presentation, senior Sarah Galbenski, student body vice president and chair of the student senate, opened with an executive announcement.

She updated her peers on the first meeting of the University Committee on Women Faculty and Students (UCWFS) Thursday, which dealt with the new Title IX policies. The next meeting, she said, will take place Oct. 21 and focus on campus climate ahead of the November general election.

After Galbenski’s announcement, Ingal referred to the aforementioned Letter to the Editor published in The Observer Thursday. Dillon Hall student leaders submitted the letter ahead of the meeting, asking for a more forceful, actionable response from Student Government in addressing private prison labor.

After a student-led virtual strike for racial justice Aug. 31, the Student Senate passed order SS 2021-16, asking the University administration to continue

5

engaging in dialogue with student organizations committed to racial justice and anti-racism.

Senior Dillon Hall senator and one of the letter’s authors, Mike Dugan criticized the resolution.

(Editor’s Note: Dugan is a former Observer news writer and Systems Administrator.)

“Rather than taking a firm stance on specific issues of racial injustice that pertain to our campus community, however, the Senate simply voted to encourage administrators to continue to talk with students,” Dugan and other Dillon student leaders said in the letter. “We believe that the Senate could have and should have taken a stronger stance.”

Specifically, the Dillon residents criticized Galbenski’s decision, as chair of the student senate, to not include a Senate Order in the agenda for the senate meeting.

Dugan and senior Ricardo Pozas Garza, Club Coordination Council president, had drafted said order “to ensure that Student Union Organizations, and groups that receive funding from the Student Union, divest from companies that use prison labor and/or forced labor in order to obtain profit.”

The letter’s authors also found fault with the rejection of their order, as they compared its contents with the other items in Thursday’s agenda.

“None of these priorities carry the moral weight or urgency associated with ensuring that money collected from students in a mandatory fee is not spent in a socially irresponsible manner nor invested into companies that directly profit from human rights abuses,” they wrote.

In her executive announcement at the senate meeting, Ingal vouched for Galbenski.

She listed reasons why she had asked her to be student body vice president and the ways in which she said Galbenski has shown a commitment to racial justice and the student senate.

The senate had received five resolutions this week, three of which carried over from the previous week. The two new resolutions could therefore not be included in Thursday’s agenda, Ingal said, and Galbenski reached out to the authors to explain why.

While there is not a deadline requirement included in the senate bylaws, Galbenski has prepared a document with frequently asked questions for senators, in which she writes that, in order to be considered as “new business” in the week’s agenda, a piece of legislation must be submitted by Sunday.

But Dugan and Pozas Garza’s order was not submitted until Monday, Galbenski told The Observer.

“By no means did she deny debate time to a bill she didn’t support or refuse to hear this piece of legislation,” Ingal added.

Contact Adriana Perez at aperez8@nd.edu

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The observer | friday, september 18, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

Inside Column

Should we go back to normal?

Jackie Junco Graphic Designer

The year 2020 has placed us all in an uncomfortable seat. This year has brought to light many issues that thanks to this digital age and social media, the harsh reality that many people are facing are in our feeds on the daily. Our nation is still grappling with the changes that COVID-19 has made to our everyday lives.

We were first introduced to the whole pandemic and how the economic and social difference in the country was highlighted by resources, immediate medical attention, the term “essential workers” and other people’s priorities and compassion.

However, now that much of the country is open and everyone is trying to get back to normal, this opens new questions. Now every event, action and thought is centered around trying to get around the new rules: Is this really our new normal? More importantly, should we really go back to “normal?”

Now that we are and have been in a position where we were forced to face the dilemmas of other people, domestically and internationally, does that mean that this is the right thing to do?

Does humanity — specifically looking at us in the United States — deserve to continue to live as though this pandemic and the nation-wide pandemic didn’t show the real colors of others?

Most of these questions cannot yet be answered directly since we are still facing the repercussions and still don’t know the long term effects. However, I think it’s still important to sit back and really examine our state. How the thought of “Oh I almost forgot my mask!” or ‘social distance shame cams’ at football games should be acceptable. This comes to show how this country is trying to squeeze itself out of the cobra’s grip.

You can contact Jackie at jjunco01@saintmarys.edu The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Follow us on Twitter:

@observerviewpnt

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Student government must not punt on addressing prison labor The job of the Notre Dame student senate, as stated in Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of the Undergraduate Student Body of the University of Notre Dame du Lac, is to “formulate and advance the position of the undergraduate student body on all issues concerning campus life.” In other words, the student senate is the group through which the undergraduate student body comes together not simply to discuss that which affects our lives at Notre Dame, but also to formulate where we stand on issues that arise.

Last week, the senate voted on a non-binding resolution entitled, “A Resolution to Commit to Anti-Racist Action at Notre Dame.” In affirming the text of the resolution, the senate, rather than committing to any new action, simply adopted the position that Notre Dame should largely continue to do what it has already been doing. The senate called upon Notre Dame to continue to “engage in constructive dialogue” with student leaders in the Black Student Association, Notre Dame Socially Responsible Investing and the Notre Dame Strike for Black Lives, regarding the goals of those groups. Rather than taking a firm stance on specific issues of racial injustice that pertain to our campus community, however, the senate simply voted to encourage administrators to continue to talk with students. We believe that the senate could have and should have taken a stronger stance.

The student senate is fully within its power to take a meaningful moral stand on these issues. Passing a non-binding resolution that endorses specific racial justice initiatives would ultimately provide a much clearer picture of what the student body, writ large, desires the Notre Dame administration do. In this case, however, the student senate can do more than simply pass nonbinding resolutions that offer support towards goals of racial and social justice — the student senate can enact binding action that would align with these goals.

The Black Student Association and the leaders Notre Dame Socially Responsible Investing have each written in Instagram posts that investments in private prisons are “contrary to Notre Dame’s Catholic identity and mission” and that the corporations that operate private prisons “blatantly violate human rights.”

These claims could not be more true. Just as Pope Leo XIII writes in his encyclical Rerum Novarum, “[i]f through necessity or fear of a worse evil the workman accept harder conditions because an employer or contractor will afford him no better, he is made the victim of force and injustice.” Indeed, the Church teaches that “[a] just wage is the legitimate fruit of work. To refuse or withhold it can be a grave injustice,” and that “[e]veryone should be able to draw from work the means of providing for his life and that of his family, and of serving the human community.”

Workers, therefore, have a natural right to just wages that allow them to provide for themselves and those who depend on them.

The conditions faced by incarcerated workers shock the conscience. The lack of legal protections for incarcerated workers and the inability of these workers to collectively bargain with their employer for higher wages have led to sub-dollar effective hourly wages being paid in prisons across the United States.

Public reporting indicates that certain private prisons, including at least one operated by GEO group, have been “plagued by medical neglect.” And, while the state has an obligation to protect its citizens from crime, its system of criminal justice cannot justly strip away their natural rights just because they have committed crimes. After all, as Pope Leo XIII writes, “the State has for its office to protect natural rights, not to destroy them.”

The student union constitution is not entirely silent on the rights of workers; Article XVIII, Section 4(e) prohibits the use of “sweatshops” in the manufacturing of The Shirt. However, the student union constitution only goes that far; the document does not acknowledge the rights of workers unless they are involved in the manufacturing of that particular piece of clothing. Nothing is said about those who endure forced labor in any other field of work, including the disproportionately Black and Brown incarcerated population whose labor is unjustly exploited by private prisons. Further, while there exist limits in the student union constitution on what sorts of expenses that student groups can make, existing limits do not prohibit the use of student funds to purchase goods produced through the exploitation of forced labor or prison labor. The student union constitution also does not prohibit the several endowments established therein from making investments in companies that profit off of forced labor

and prison labor.

The constitution grants the student senate the power to “establish the fiscal policies of the Student Union and supervise the proper implementation of these policies.” A binding senate order has been drafted in order to ensure that student union organizations, and groups that receive funding from the student union, divest from companies that use prison labor and/or forced labor in order to obtain profit. It’s about time that the senate adopts policies that would address these human rights issues and require groups that use student funds to be socially responsible.

Alas, this Thursday, the senate will not see this order for debate.

Why? Because student body vice president Sarah Galbenski, who serves as the ex officio chair of the student senate, is refusing to allow the senate to hear this piece of legislation then.

This is deeply frustrating for a number of reasons.

First, this delay does not appear to be warranted by the student union constitution. Article III, Section 4(g) of the student union constitution grants all senators the “right of agenda.” Senators are thereby granted their rights to introduce legislation. Article III, Section I.1(a) of the bylaws of the student senate specify that a member must provide the chair with all materials relevant to any piece of proposed legislation “sufficiently before” the deadline for the agenda for an upcoming meeting to be sent out, which is 48 hours prior to the start of such a meeting. Since the chair received this piece of legislation over one day before the agenda needed to be sent out, she certainly had the time to insert one additional line on the agenda to include the legislation and schedule it for debate.

Secondly, despite repeated requests that this piece of legislation be included on the agenda, because she maintains that she has a right “to set the agenda in alignment with what constitutes efficient and effective operation of the senate in [her] judgement,” she has the ability to pick and choose what sorts of legislation should be voted on. This holding would allow for the student body vice [resident to simply deny debate time to any bill that she does not support, which fundamentally undermines the ability of the senate to be a free and open forum through which students can advance the position of the undergraduate student body on issues relevant to campus life.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the legislation which she has chosen to prioritize does not appear to carry the same moral weight. In this case, her priorities are simple: the legislation that she wishes to discuss include suspending uncontested first-year class council elections, changing the “executive programming board” into the “executive committee” and making some additional money available for use by student government groups and student union special interest organizations. Simply put, none of these priorities carry the moral weight or urgency associated with ensuring that money collected from students in a mandatory fee is not spent in a irresponsible manner nor invested into companies that directly profit from human rights abuses.

If student government is to truly execute on its commitment to anti-racism by “actively working towards a world of justice and peace,” then student government officials must not continue to delay legislation that tackles issues of human rights and social justice. Instead, student government must face the tough issues that carry the most moral weight head-on, and the student senate must be allowed to take a firm moral stand.

Sincerely, Michael Dugan senior, Dillon Hall senator John Sayut junior, Dillon Hall president Patrick Davis sophomore, Dillon Hall vice president Thomas Peterson sophomore, Dillon Hall multicultural commissioner Andrew Linares freshman, Dillon Hall gender relations commissioner Sept. 16

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The observer | friday, september 18, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

Let’s make this election about Joe Biden, not Donald Trump Clark Bowden Snowflake Standpoint

Remember former President Barack Obama’s Vice President? The long-term senator famous for reaching across the aisle? The guy who won the Presidential Medal of Freedom and then ran away with his party’s nomination despite being out fundraised? Remember him? His name is Joe Biden, and despite what you might think, he is actually one of the candidates running for president of the United States.

In the news today, virtually all we see is non-stop coverage of Donald Trump, which makes sense given the profit motivating structure of news organizations. His intensely polarizing nature draws viewers to him like angry Notre Dame alumni are drawn to the comment section of my columns (keep it up fellas; I never get tired of reading them). Take the former CBS President Les Moonves comment on Trump’s 2016 run: “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS.” The Atlantic reporter Ethan Zuckerman also observed, “News networks rode the twists and turns of Trump’s candidacy to record ratings and ad sales, and the spotlight has not turned away from Trump for a second since he won the presidency.”

Just like in 2016, we are letting Donald Trump control the narrative and news cycles of this election. It seems unlikely that the 24-hour news conglomerates are going to shift their coverage towards more equal time between Biden and Trump, so the burden of responsibility shifts to us: citizens.

There are two reasons that we as, voters and Americans ,need to start talking more about Joe Biden. First, and most importantly, he is running for president and his policies and ideologies deserve to be debated and discussed. After all, this is the most powerful office in the world, so we should know what we’re getting if and when we vote for Joe Biden.

And second, if we don’t talk about Biden, and we continue to let Donald Trump control the media attention and narrative of this election, Joe Biden will lose. So! On that note, let’s

unpack exactly where Joe Biden stands on important issues compared to Donald Trump (and yes I can already see your eyes glazing over. I promise to keep this as light as possible).

Environment The west coast is on fire. Again. As Americans, we are starting to make Billy Joel look bad because it is becoming increasingly obvious that we actually are “starting the fire” with an appalling lack of foresight and environmental controls. According to a series of polls conducted by Pew Research in 2020, 66% of Americans say, “the federal government is doing too little to reduce the effects of global climate change”. Sixty-four percent of American believe that protecting the environment should be a “top priority” of the federal government, and 63% says that increased regulations are worth the economic cost. So knowing where public opinion rests on this issue, let’s look at the candidates. While Joe Biden has not gone as far as to endorse the Green New Deal, he has proposed plans to sharply increase regulations of the energy industry, spend over five trillion over the next three years to invest in state and local communities fighting climate change, and promised to bring America back into the Paris Climate Accord.

Speaking of platforms, you know whose platform you can’t read more specifics of anywhere? Trump’s. Because he literally does not have one. Some say he was too lazy to care while others claim that his hands were just too small to grip the pencil. In all seriousness though, we have a candidate from a major ‘party’ running for president with no platform. That’s not a party; that’s a candidate. The party has become the candidate, and that’s both sad and alarming. It also makes it incredibly difficult for me to find any substantive policy ideas Trump contains regarding environmental policy, but he did say on Monday regarding increased global temperatures that, “It’ll start getting cooler. You — you just watch. I don’t think science knows, actually.” So hey, at least we have that going for us.

Healthcare We are in the middle of a global pandemic, so I feel like healthcare should play a major role in the upcoming election. One of Trump’s campaign promises in 2016 was to abolish the Affordable Care Act, something that according to numerous polls is quite popular in America. Not only was Trump unsuccessful in this regard, he is trending in the wrong direction. Fifty-nine percent of Americans want a national healthcare option that competes with private insurance. Joe Biden — through expanding the ACA — wants a national healthcare option that competes with private insurance. Huh. Well those last two sentences sure sounded similar. But, as this past year has proven, healthcare goes beyond campaign promises and plans. America, and even the world, are in dire need of a leader who can restore structure and calm in the midst of this pandemic. We need a leader that actually listens to doctors and scientists and is less worried about his wounded ego than the lives of his fellow countrymen and women. Say what you want about Joe Biden, but he is undeniably compassionate and humble.

If we just stop obsessing over Trump, we will actually notice that Joe Biden holds significantly popular policy stances and ideologies. Let’s emphasize those positions.

This election does not have to be a referendum on Trump; Joe Biden is a way stronger candidate than people give him credit for. If we dare to take a stand and force the narrative of this election back to a head-to-head battle between Trump and Biden, I think Biden will win. Together, we can elect one of the most progressive presidents in American history.

Clark Bowden is a senior political science major.

When he’s not sleeping through his alarm or reminding people that he studied abroad, he can be found in heated political debates or watching the Washington Nationals play baseball. He can be reached at cbowden@nd.edu or @BowdenClark on Twitter.

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

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The senate attacks issues, not people Early yesterday morning, the student body woke up to a stunningly sensationalized attack piece on the student Senate. This letter, written by members of the Dillon Hall Council, was both misleading and inflammatory. Its criticism of the student government’s extensive efforts to combat racial inequalities on campus served only as a distraction from what is an incredibly important issue. Today we, members of the student senate, want to set the record straight.

To begin, the article criticizes the student senate and members of the executive cabinet as reticent when it comes to combating racial inequalities that exist on our campus. It suggests that the recent “SS 2021-16: A Resolution to Commit to Anti-Racist Action at Notre Dame” is pointless and ineffectual. While it is true that this resolution does not solve the scourge of inequality faced by many on this campus, it serves as an important base for any future legislative efforts.

The main protest of the article centered around the fact that a new order spearheaded by the Dillon Hall senator was not included on this week’s senate agenda. Simply put, the order was omitted because it was the fifth order received for this week’s meeting. Student body vice president and chair of the senate Sarah Galbenski put three items on the agenda in the order they were submitted to her. Due to the cleaning protocols of DeBartolo Hall this semester, the senate has a strict 90-minute limit on how long meetings can last.

Because of this, Galbenski informed the Dillon Hall senator in an email that “this week’s meeting is already full with the three resolutions/orders that were on new business last week” and thanked him for his “thoughtful resolution.”

The Dillon Hall senator’s passion for fostering a better

community is certainly commendable. The sentiments presented in his order are well within the bounds of the goals for which the student senate strives to achieve. However, his passion for this issue, in spite of its admirable goals, does not justify unwarranted personal attacks on Galbenski.

Galbenski had no intention to “deny debate time to any bill that she does not support,” the meeting was simply full.

Furthermore, while it is one thing to write an article with complaints, it is completely another to explicitly single out a fellow student on social media.

Galbenski has proven her commitment to aiding students of color and abolishing racism by passing SS 2021-16 and establishing the Racial Justice Working Group. She is an upstanding moral member of the Notre Dame community and an excellent public servant to the student body that did not deserve to be attacked in this way.

Finally, to contend that the student senate was merely going to drop all discussions on race relations is absolute fantasy. Our commitment remains strong to healing the wounds of injustice, exclusion, and unfairness which can still woefully be seen in our home. As stated above, SS-202116 was a jumping off point — a commitment of spirit to the goal of equality. While, yes, our work is certainly not close to being finished, this statement of intent brought forth by the executive cabinet was accepted unanimously.

We are all painfully aware of the glacial pace at which justice can move; however, while not slowing that pace further, we must be deliberate in our actions to better our campus environment, taking purposeful action in order to support and uplift marginalized members of our student body.

Notre Dame strives to be a cohesive community, solving its problems with a spirit of teamwork, unity, and commitment

to the common good.

With this in mind, we as the student senate would like to encourage the student body to view the recording or peruse the minutes from last week’s Senate meeting and form their own opinions about the situation with full context.

In Notre Dame, Grace Franco sophomore, Walsh Hall senator Renee Pierson sophomore class president Margaret Allen sophomore, Flaherty Hall senator Michael J. Murakami sophomore, Dunne Hall senator Patrick O. Lee sophomore, Stanford Hall senator Sara Kirsch sophomore, Breen-Phillips Hall senator Henry Jackson sophomore, Keenan Hall senator Sam Cannova senior class president Sept. 17

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The observer | friday, september 18, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

Memories Krista Lourdes Akiki Inquisitor of the Unconventional

“Our memories are gifts that show us life, even through the toughest times, is worth living.” -Chrissy Pinney Memories are the essence of our humanity. Sometimes beautiful, at other times painful.

Sometimes unforgettable, at other times regrettable.

Sometimes as clear as day, at other times blurred among each other…

For me, the memories I cherish have always made me feel closer to the people I love. These memories come in gentle reminders through my everyday habits and my singled-out favorites. Sunflowers are my favorite flower, Why? Because sunflowers remind me of simpler times; a time where I was six or seven years old, young and carefree … a time where my father would call me his sunflower. “How was your day, sunflower?” he would say as he walked through the door of our house at the end of a long day’s work.

Behind my love for coffee is another memory: that of fleeting minutes ahead of busy day … that of fleeing minutes spent sharing breakfast with my parents every morning. All three of us enjoyed tasty warm coffee on early mornings. A coffee machine was a staple in our home. I vividly remember the smell of our favorite coffee blend, the sound of that machine. My love for coffee makes me feel connected to my parents and my home.

London-based photographer Sandy Suffield really

toyed with the idea of objects, memories and attachment as she took photos of people and the objects they hold dearest — stuffed animals, smuggled silver, decade-old birthday party decorations, etc. “Everyone has an object with a story. It’s not about its aesthetic or monetary value; it’s chiefly about the narrative wrapped up in the object,” Suffield writes, about her photographic project “Things & People.”

“Narratives such as a wall-hanging made from shirts of a late mother. Or a handwritten recipe book passed throughout a trio of sisters. Or saved party poppers from a twenty-something birthday celebration. They’re funny and coincidental and alive. But they’re ours, a collective society of material perspective.”

In “Material Memories,” authored by Marius Kwint, Christopher Breward and Jeremy Aynsley, each writer explores the way objects speak to us through the memories that we associate with them. In essence, objects are not “blank carriers onto which humans project prior psychic dramas, but rather, place crucial importance on the precise materials from which they are made, their social, economic and historic reasons for being, and the way that we interact with them through our senses.”

Psychological research studies reveal that the retrosplenial cortex is the part of the brain that stores and recalls memories, all while integrating within them experienced sensations.

The retrosplenial cortex is most associated with episodic memory formation — the kind of memory that is sequential and records events in our minds. Because the part of the brain that forms episodic memory is the

same part that integrates sensations, memories often become associated with sensations. Whether the memory is good or bad, it will likely become triggered by that smell or sensation.

Objects hold sentimental meaning when they are involved in important events in our lives. Our brains attach the memory of the event or the people involved to whatever object is centered in the event. This is how objects retain such sentimental value to us. The object is not only special for its ability to recall memories, but because of its attachment to the person to which it is associated.

Suffield’s project, “Things & People,” perfectly demonstrates the concept of memory attachment to items and places. As Suffield puts it, “The intention is to demonstrate that things are meaningful; unsullied by judgments of being, at best, distracting clutter or, at worst, evidence of unbridled consumption.” The collection of objects with special meaning is something that all of humanity participates in, and it demonstrates the fascinating connection between our brains and our world.

Krista Akiki is a sophomore at Notre Dame majoring in Business Analytics. Coming from Beirut, Lebanon, she always enjoys trying out new things and is an avid travel-lover. She hopes to take her readers on her journey as she navigates college life and stands up for the issues she believes. She can be reached at kakiki@ nd.edu or via Twitter @kristalourdesakiki.

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

Optimizing our time Megumi Tamura Middle GrouND

If you could have more of anything in the entire world, what would it be? Would you ask for more money, vacations, pizza? Frequent flier miles, love, concert tickets? Game day weekends, Southwest Salads, warm weather? The more days I experience in college, the stronger I feel in my answer to this question: If I could have more of anything, it would be time.

I don’t know what it is about life in college compared to high school, but I feel like time here moves at twice the speed. I literally started writing this column at 9:00, threw my phone far away and sat myself down at my desk determined to have as productive of a day as possible. Somehow, it’s 9:53, and I’ve only written 130 words! It’s Saturday, but I feel like the past week didn’t even happen. It seems like I blinked once, and the entire month of August was over, and we rolled right into September. I have no idea where the time goes.

It’s taken me a month to realize this is a problem.

When I look back at the past few weeks, the most repeated feeling I recall — besides the occasional homesickness and the excitement of new experiences — has been the tight squeeze of stress in my stomach as I look at the time in the corner of my screen late at night, or the anxiety of looking at my to-do list and seeing a harrowing number of empty checkboxes. In microeconomics I’m learning that the fundamentals of economics revolve around this idea of making the most out of a scarce amount of resources. The more I think about this problem I have with time, the more I see it in this “economic” lens: time — whether that be a measure of hours in a day, days in a week, the 16 weeks of fall semester, the four years in college or however many years we get in life — is a limited resource. But, the thing is, no matter how much I wish I could have more time, we can’t add more hours to our days, or days to our weeks or years to our lives. Thus, we have to optimize the time we have.

How do we do this? How do we take this very limited thing called time — which seems to go by faster the older we get — and divide it up so we’re making the most of it?

The Pomodoro Technique I’ve been doing some research about time management techniques, and this one seems compelling.

The Pomodoro Technique is a system which breaks time into intervals called pomodoros: 25 minute chunks which are separated by five-minute breaks.

After the fourth pomodoro, the break is lengthened to 20 minutes. This technique instills urgency, as the 25 minutes intervals isn’t too much time which therefore makes you less prone to distractions, but the breaks prevent burn-out. Maybe I’ll save this technique for the next late night study session in the library.

The Hierarchy of Needs This is a psychological theory which builds a pyramid of human needs, with each level having to be met before the subsequent one. At the base of the period are physiological needs like air, water, food and shelter. This level’s followed by safety, love and belonging, esteem and finally, self-actualization at the very top — meaning in order to reach self-actualization, all the layers below must be satisfied. Self-actualization is the fulfillment or optimization of your capabilities. So, before worrying about optimizing time, it’s imperative to prioritize our other needs. That means sacrificing some studying to get some sleep (fulfilling the first level) or catching up with friends (fulfilling the third level) instead is perhaps a better use of time.

Realize optimization doesn’t only apply to work Making the most out of the limited resource of time isn’t only about making sure I study for an exam or finish writing a paper. It’s also about making sure I use at least some of my time to grab a meal with a friend, call my mom, watch an episode of Parks and Rec, go on a run around the lakes and pray at the Grotto. When deciding how to spend and divide up my time, it’s important to include these aspects of life as well.

Eat dessert first I’m someone who eats the food on my plate that I don’t like first, so I can get those out of the way and enjoy the food I do like later. I get the “bad stuff” over with so I can fully enjoy the “good stuff.” This might sound like a smart idea, but I’m realizing this strategy isn’t

KERRY SCHNEEMAN | The Observer

much good once it’s applied beyond the dinner plate.

For too long, I’ve been driven by a similar “struggle now and succeed later” mindset: I’d call off fun plans in order to study more, and push off what could’ve been joyful moments with people I love for “later.” It might seem counterintuitive to do the opposite, but it might actually be a better use of our time. After all, the purpose of optimizing your time is to live a happier life. To live a happier life, we must do what makes us happy (pretty simple). If the resource (time) needed to pursue this happier life is limited, then maybe it’s important that I prioritize the good stuff and start eating dessert first.

Megumi Tamura is a freshman in the Gateway Program. She is originally from Ridgewood, New Jersey, and enjoys going to museums, watching political debates and eating Jersey bagels. She can be reached at mtamura@nd.edu or @megtamura on Twitter.

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

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The observer | Friday, september 18, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

By NIA SYLVA Scene Writer

I don’t know about you, but spending the last few months in quarantine really made me appreciate the outdoors — most significantly, my daily runs. Before the shutdown, I preferred to use the treadmill. With gyms closed, of course, that wasn’t an option, so I had to resort to the old-fashioned outdoor jog.

In many ways, this was a positive change. But there were downsides, too. For one, boredom. On the treadmill, I could watch TV, but this was impossible to do while I was on actual pavement navigating actual streets. So I turned to music, supplementing my existing running playlist with songs that I thought would inspire me to run a little bit farther, a little bit faster, for a little bit longer. Here’s what I came up with.

fluidity that can make the empty streets feel alive in their barrenness.

3.“Dylan Thomas” by Better Oblivion Community Center, Conor Oberst & Phoebe Bridgers This selection might not be as obvious as the first two.

But mark my words, any attempt to dissect the song’s ambiguous, complex lyrics will make its three minutes and 36 seconds simply fly by.

4. “I Always Knew” by The Vaccines Upbeat drum line? Vivid electric guitar backing?

Soaring lyrics sung with earnest enthusiasm? Enough changes in tempo to keep the listener engaged? What more could anyone ask for? It gets bonus points for having played during the moment when Nick and Jess of “New Girl” first become a couple.

1. “My Body” by Young the Giant Now, I’m going to be honest. This first song has been on my playlist for years (ever since I heard it on someone else’s pump-up playlist, in fact). But the lyrics and beat still combine for an effect that is both uplifting and stabilizing: “My body tells me no / But I won’t quit ‘cause I want more” — a little on-the-nose, maybe, but just the kind of encouragement I need when I’m six-and-a-half miles into a seven-mile run and need to summon the staying power to finish off those last few hundred meters.

5. “I Wanna Get Better” by Bleachers This song oozes hope and love of life. Plus, the song’s emphatic refrain — ”I wanna get better” — can serve as a motivational mantra. Running is all about bettering yourself; make this song your self-improvement anthem.

6. “Such Great Heights” by The Postal Service Upbeat and breezy, this song is just wistful enough to make you feel like the main character of a coming-of-age film as you run down a secluded trail or through traffic.

By PATRICK WITTEMAN Scene Writer

Travi$ Scott, LaFlame, Cactus Jack — artist and McDonald’s collaborator Travis Scott has had an extensive career in music. He burst onto the scene between 2011 and 2012 as a producer for Kanye West on “Cruel Summer” and “Yeezus.” In 2018, he released one of the most popular hip hop albums of recent memory, “Astroworld,” and in 2020, he partnered with Fortnite to stage a virtual, in-game concert.

Although the Travis Scott Burger and Fortnite skin have caused ample polarization within the music community, there is no doubt that Cactus Jack has had significant success and impact within hip hop and pop culture at large. This makes definitively ranking his five solo albums even more fun.

5. “Owl Pharaoh” (2013) La Flame’s first mixtape is his worst offering, although some of his most classic tracks appear during its runtime. It’s very clear that Scott was heavily influenced by artists like Kid Cudi on his debut; however, traces of Scott’s signature sound can be found on tracks like “Upper Echelon,” “Uptown” and “Quintana.” Some of his most legendary performances occur during this period — he brought out Yeezus era Kanye during one 2013 L.A. show. With “Owl Pharaoh,” a rager was born.

8. “Pristine” by Snail Mail If you’re on a run that doubles as an escape from the obligations of everyday life (it’s a thing, I promise), this song is the way to go. “And I know myself / And I’ll never love anyone else,” sings Lindsey Jordan, sounding somewhat euphoric in her expression of self-sufficiency.

Listen and find yourself imbued with a similar power.

9. “Green Light” by Lorde I’m sorry if this is cliche, but that chorus? Imagine the words, “I’m waiting for it / That green light / I want it,” blaring in your ears as you sprint the end of your last mile. Bonus points — again — for being the soundtrack to a pivotal “New Girl” scene.

10. “505” by Arctic Monkeys The way this song slowly builds to an utter explosion of tempo and texture almost three minutes in is, quite simply, a game changer on a run that’s starting to feel a little sluggish. It’s the perfect way to hit your second wind.

7. “Jessica” by Major Lazer (feat. Ezra Koenig)

That’s the magic of a good run, isn’t it? Running is all capability; it’s all self-sufficiency. These songs, in one way or another, help me to access this inner potency.

Hopefully, they can help you, too.

This song’s tempo isn’t particularly quick, and its chill, reggae-esque vibe might not seem to lend itself

Contact Nia Sylva at asylva@nd.edu

4. “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight” (2016)

2. “Days Before Rodeo” (2014)

“Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight” was a step down for Scott. Expectations were incredibly high for LaFlame following Rodeo, and he disappointed many fans with this release. Don’t get me wrong, there are discographydefining tracks throughout the album — “Pick Up the Phone” and “Goosebumps” were mainstream hits, and I am a massive fan of the Nav feature on “Biebs in the trap.”

Overall, though, the album is melodramatic and inconsistent. Songs like “Outside,” “Lose” and “First Take” are skippable. However, Scott made up for these inconsistencies on his next release...

“Days Before Rodeo,” the mixtape that followed “Owl Pharaoh,” is a classic of the SoundCloud and DatPiff era. Scott’s signature sound emerges on “Days Before” — as soon as “The Prayer” starts, it’s clear that Scott has shifted artistic directions. “Days Before” introduced the dark, maximalist production that defined LaFlame’s following projects. “Don’t Play,” “Mamacita,” “The Prayer” and “Backyard” are the highlights of this incredibly strong mixtape, one that ultimately set the scene for Scott’s debut album.

2. “Alaska” by Maggie Rogers Where the last song is perfect for the end of a tough workout, this addition is all tranquility and peace, injecting an early morning jog with the kind of ethereal

to exercise. But there’s just something about the general quirkiness of “Jessica,” Koenig’s hazy falsetto and the oddity of the layered sounds that make up the vocalists’ accompaniment that continues to enthrall me.

Certainly an interesting way to spend half a mile.

3. “Astroworld” (2018) I may get some hate for ranking “Astroworld” at number three, but hear me out. This album is great for setting a mood; it’s ethereal, melodic and relatively strong for an album that spans 17 tracks. It is incredibly consistent, and there aren’t many skippable records across the entirety of its runtime.

This album, no doubt, vaulted Scott into the mainstream (if he wasn’t there already). I had to put it this low because, really, the highs on this album do not stand up to the highs on the albums ranked above it.

“HOUSTONFORNICATION” is the only song that holds a candle to the highs of the two remaining projects, and it still doesn’t really come close.

1. “Rodeo” (2015) “Rodeo” is Scott’s magnum opus. This album defined trap music following its release, and there aren’t many flaws in the album’s production and lyrics. On his major label debut, Travis tells his story, from growing up in Houston to ascending in the rap game. “Rodeo” was Scott’s arrival, and there isn’t really a song on the album that disappoints. “90210,” “Maria I’m Drunk,” “Antidote,” “Nightcrawler,” “3500” — the list of all-time songs on this album could continue. On “Never Catch Me,” the last track on the expanded edition of “Rodeo,” Scott raps, “My fifteen seconds last a little longer.” Scott’s fame has extended well past “Rodeo”, as he has developed into one of the most influential artists of our time.

Contact Patrick Witteman at pwittema@nd.edu JACKIE JUNCO | The Observer

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The observer | Friday, september 18, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

By COLLEEN FISCHER Scene Writer

Nirvana’s appearance at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards was iconic for many reasons — Krist Novoselic tossing his bass on his face, Dave Grohl taunting Axl Rose and Kurt Cobain wearing a “Hi, how are you?” shirt. That last part may seem less important or relevant, but it gave Daniel Johnston the exposure he needed in order to keep making music.

At the time of his death last year, he hadn’t gained much popularity but was seen as an artist’s artist. Over the years, other musicians have joined Cobain in supporting Johnston’s career. Lana Del Rey produced a short documentary about him, Cage the Elephant performed with him at Starry Nights in 2010 and hundreds of artists have covered his songs. The imprint of Johnston’s work on modern artists was never more apparent than during the Electric Lady Studio’s tribute to Johnston on the first anniversary of his death last Friday. The tribute, “Honey I Sure Miss You,” featured artists such as Jeff Tweedy, Maya Hawke, Beck, Phoebe Bridgers and more, all singing his songs and reading his poetry. The performances were each introduced with one of Johnston’s doodles.

The show brings new life to Johnston’s sound, filtering his lyrical honesty and command of melody through the performers’ own musical and life experiences. Johnston’s original work was raw and occasionally unfocused; it was a part of his charm. One lyric might ring of childish optimism, while the next sings of tragedy. Covers of his work sometimes offer

By CLAIRE RAFFORD Assistant Managing Editor

When I first downloaded TikTok back in March, a whole lifetime ago, I had two main questions. The first was “What’s the Hype House?” (To be honest, I still really don’t know). The second — and more pressing — was “Why is everyone on this app obsessed with ‘Criminal Minds?’”

It’s a real thing. TikTok is the rare app you can essentially format to your exact commodifications — clicking the “like,” “favorite” or “not interested” buttons will basically turn your “For You page” into an echo chamber of personal interests. Still, no matter what I did, I kept seeing videos from “Criminal Minds” fan accounts — clips from episodes or joke videos about the characters set to popular sounds. TikTok is the new Tumblr for fan culture, and I was somehow right in the center of it. And while I’d seen a few episodes here and there, I’d never watched “Criminal Minds” from start to finish and after a few months, I was curious as to what all the hype was about. Against my better judgement, I queued up Netflix and started from the pilot.

From a purely critical lens, “Criminal Minds,” a series about criminal profilers working in the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, is not a groundbreaking show. I’m not an expert or anything — my favorite movie of all time is “High School Musical,” I don’t pretend to have elite taste — but I think it’s fair to say “Criminal Minds” is a standard crime procedural, with a little more psychology

clarity and musical elements that add new layers to his songs.

Johnston’s experiences and struggles with mental health were retold, reimagined and remembered by artists who loved him and his work.

The tribute was shared by the Hi, How Are You Project, an organization created in Johnston’s memory focused on ending the stigma surrounding mental health — a mission Johnston started simply by sharing his work. His music has a somber tone, often reflecting on death, memory, heartbreak and isolation. This tribute takes on the same tone. Between every soul-crushing lyric, there’s another insisting that the darkness is temporary and things will get better.

Maya Hawke and Jesse Harris’ cover gives “Devil Town” a sweet sound that’s worth the listen. The Lemon Twigs add synths to “Scuttle Butt,” giving the piano ballad an even more upbeat sound. Johnston’s humor is evident in Waxahatchee’s cover of “I Had Lost My Mind,” where Johnston recounts the physical loss of his mind, as well as in Adam Green’s “Casper the Friendly Ghost.” Zella Day adds an eeriness to “Some Things Last A Long Time” with her candlelit performance.

The song takes on new meaning following Johnston’s death, adding a new layer to the refrain concerning legacy. Lyrics like, “Time comes and goes all of the while / I still think of you / Some things last a long time,” offer the comfort of permanence amongst songs that largely deal with the impermanence of life and love. Day’s cover of the song is stunning, putting her in conversation with artists like Lana Del Rey and Beach House, who covered it before.

Kevin Morby told a sentimental story about calling up Johnston as a kid, saying, “I felt like I was talking to a genius,” before he covered “Brainwash.” Phoebe Bridgers covered one of Johnston’s most literal and poignant songs about mental health, “Peek a Boo.” She offers a great cover, bringing Johnston’s words and experiences to a new generation of listeners. She uses her voice to share lyrics such as, “Please, hear my cry for help and save me from myself,” as well as a haunting last stanza, “You can listen to these songs / Have a good time and walk away / But for me it’s not that easy / I have to live these songs forever.”

Johnston’s honesty about performance and art may be one of the reasons so many artists connect with him. The performances end with Johnston’s most popular and optimistic song, “True Love Will Find You in the End,” sung by Beck.

Beck has covered many of Johnston’s songs over the years, making both his performance and the song a fitting closer.

The credits song, “Worried Shoes,” was the favorite song of Matt Johnston, Johnston’s nephew, before he passed away in 2012; it is sung by his surviving band members.

Their performance is preceded by a video of Johnston writing “When I Met You.” The camera, presumably propped up

by Johnston himself, offers us a look at the artist hard at work.

It reminds us that even if he’s gone, the part of him that lives in his music is still here to offer comfort during the darkest of times.

and a lot more twisted murder. Virtually every episode begins with a horrifying murder or abduction — always set to the same eerie background music — then the team from the BAU arrives on the scene to start creating a profile of the “unsub,” or unidentified subject. Since their profile is usually incorrect at first, they interview the wrong people until new information comes to light, someone has a “Eureka!” moment, cracks the case and the team arrives in the nick of time to save the last victim before they face an untimely demise. There are a few notable exceptions — the Season 2 episode “North Mammon,” for example, has a seriously creepy twist at the end that will forever haunt my worst nightmares — but for the most part, “Criminal Minds” always manages to be predictably terrifying.

“Criminal Minds” isn’t by any means the only show about profiling killers. Netflix’s “Mindhunter,” an original series from acclaimed director David Fincher and starring Jonathan Groff, is about the historical beginnings of the BAU of “Criminal Minds,” though it was then called the Behavioral Science Unit, or BSU. Based on a true story of how agents worked to understand serial killers in the 1970s, “Mindhunter” is technically a better show in comparison — the plots are balanced, episodes painstakingly shot and well-researched — but “Criminal Minds” has scores of fans “Mindhunter” will likely never see. Why? At least part of it has to be longevity. “Criminal Minds” just wrapped a 15-year run in February, and I would be remiss not to acknowledge that the cast and the

characters they play have captured their fans’ hearts over the years. Despite the procedural approach from crime to crime, the personal lives of the BAU agents are complex and often nuanced, and fans from the beginning have grown alongside the characters for over a decade. Dr. Spencer Reid, played by Matthew Gray Gubler, is a fan favorite, especially on TikTok — his wealth of knowledge and messily tailored good looks have earned him admiration of fans worldwide. But there’s more to the show’s popularity than Gubler’s jawline. For example, I’m a highly anxious person who hates horror movies — when I was six, my mom had to drag me out of the “Winnie the Pooh” movie because I was scared of the Heffalumps — but I can’t make myself stop watching.

Each killer terrifies me more than the last; yet, I keep clicking “next episode.”

The honest answer is that no matter how many TikToks or episodes I watch, I still won’t be able to explain the Internet’s fascination, let alone my own, with watching spine-chilling crimes play out on screen. I have only a feeble guess: Maybe part of the reason this show is so popular is not just because we’re unfortunately enthralled with the darkest aspects of humankind, but because for 43 minutes, you’re distracted by someone else’s worst nightmare instead of focusing on your own. It’s not comforting, but it is an escape — that is, until you start hearing noises right before you drift off to sleep.

Contact Colleen Fischer at cfischer01@saintmarys.edu

Contact Claire Rafford at crafford@nd.edu DIANE PARK | The Observer

Classifieds

ndsmcobserver.com | Friday, september 18, 2020 | The Observer

Crossword | Will Shortz

11

Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Care and share will sum up the way your year unfolds. How you present what you want to do will determine how well you do. Be bold, adjust to change and be passionate about your beliefs and plans as you move forward. Opportunity is within reach, but it will take effort by you to get things done properly. Focus on the future. Your numbers are 12, 19, 24, 27, 31, 33, 44.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Evaluate your relationships with others, and consider who is heading down a similar path. It’s time to revamp the way you do things and to monitor your time carefully. Change is required, but it will require patience to get what you want.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t get upset when you should get moving.

Embrace change and challenges openly, and A change may be necessary if you haven’t been getting along with someone you work alongside. Either find a way to put your differences aside and move on or remove yourself from the situation. Living in an unsettled situation will hold you back.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Do something that stimulates you mentally.

Stay focused on what’s important. If you overreact, take on too much or get involved in something that isn’t going to benefit you personally, you will have regrets. Romance is in the stars.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Let your emotions and intuition lead the way. Anger is a waste of time. Put your heart into something you want to pursue, and it will help take your mind off disruptive situations. Use your imagination, and good things will transpire.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Set rules to live by that will keep you heading down the right path. Don’t let what someone else decides to do influence you to take a risk, but remember to discipline yourself. Put your energy into personal improvements, love and building a healthy home base.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Expand your awareness. Stabilize your relationships. Take an interest in what others do and say, and you will enlist the help of those who can help you excel. Keep things in perspective, and pursue what’s doable. Moderation and practicality are key.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Stay focused on what’s important. Refuse to let anyone interfere with your plans or your personal life. Protect your self-worth from those who put demands on you and who seek to change you. Channel your energy into what matters most to you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Reconnect with people you have enjoyed working alongside, and make a proposition that will help you all improve your quality of life. A change is way overdue, and making the first move will be energizing. It’s time for a new adventure.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Put the past behind you, and start thinking about what you want. Positive changes at home will help you free up cash and encourage you to use your skills diversely. Avoid letting others interfere with your life, plans and future.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Do what has to be done, and don’t look back.

Laboring over something you cannot change will be detrimental to achieving the success and happiness you desire. Be true to yourself, and live life your way.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Look over your documents and investments to see where you stand. A joint venture with someone you love will bring you closer together. An opportunity to excel is within reach. Love and romance are on the rise.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Look for opportunities, and positive change will take place. Touch base with people who share your opinions, beliefs and values. A shift in the way you earn your living and handle your money looks promising in the future.

Birthday Baby: You are fun-loving, enthusiastic and humorous. You are assertive and persistent.

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Sports

The observer | Friday, september 18, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

Sports Authority

opponent

Believe in the no-hitter David Kramer Sports Writer

Unrelenting belief marks one of the extraordinary paradoxes of human psychology. History’s strangest narratives arguably revolve around overzealous faith in the most implausible phenomena. Cults, astrology, fake news and pseudoscience withstand the tests of time, devouring the credulity of society through ever-changing media and informational sources. Such a tendency now looms so largely that brilliant minds dedicate their careers to extensively researching defense mechanisms against it, a field better known as “informational literacy.”

But in spite of this reprisal fueled by journalists, scientists and religious leaders vying to save their integrity and career, oftentimes our pleasure found in believing the wildly improbable far outweighs our fear of it. The success of nearly every film and television series depends on our almost reckless devotion to protagonists that we insist emerge from ridiculous situations unscathed, against all odds.

As we find ourselves in low-stakes situations such as these, our heart grows heedlessly invested in the underdog. When our mind and soul need not worry about the ethical or ideological consequences of being proven wrong, our faith gravitates toward the very people that have no business being right.

Overnight sports sensations like Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Alec Mills prove no exception. Mills began his incredible climb to stardom as a walk-on at the University of Tennessee at Martin. During an otherwise normal team practice, he approached the coaching staff and requested a tryout. A dominant tenure in his college rotation earned him a 22nd round draft selection in 2012. He ascended the minor league ranks with ease, and he emerged from a battle with Tommy John with a dominant sinker.

Mills entered the majors with a four-seam fastball averaging 90 miles per hour.

In an era unswervingly consumed by intensive velocity development, the figure looks laughable next to the names of flamethrowers Jordan Hicks and Aroldis Chapman. In only his fifteenth major-league start last weekend, however, Mills’ arsenal of off-speed pitches

spoke for itself.

Needless to say, Mills’ meager five strikeouts and 114 pitches against a lackluster Milwaukee Brewers offense will not be remembered as an overwhelming dominant performance, nor even a flawless one. But the blend of sheer random chance, pitch design, happenstance and control forced outs at every turn. A quiet, goggle-donning rookie epitomized the late Greg Maddux in just the right moment, securing the most improbable of no-hitters as he embraced catcher Vic Caratini.

As I watched Mills punctuate his legacy in baseball fanfare, I expected to spread the news with the euphoria of a baseball fan relentlessly placing his faith in the underdog. I expected to enjoy it. Like my absolutely awful case of Sunday scaries, I never did.

Perhaps fear of the inevitable got the best of me. Esteemed analysts across Major League Baseball advocate against performances like that of Mills, and their rationale continues to gain rapid traction. Commonly referred to as “bull-penning,” the idea seeks to eliminate the role of starting pitchers entirely, instead sending an array of relief pitchers to the mound. Under this concept, managers would limit the use of each pitcher by the number of batters faced, the hitting teams’ spot in the batting order, and the favorable individual matchups between pitchers and hitters.

Statisticians who support bull-penning point to hitters’ drastic increase in success against starting pitchers in their third time through the batting order.

Normally a keen proponent of letting sports statistics run their course, I would seriously hate to remember Alec Mills as one of the last complete game pitchers of my generation.

Without a doubt, bull-penning stands as a well-defended, alluring idea in theory. But for a game struggling to salvage the luster of America’s past time, Alec Mills’ narrative should make its value trivial in practice. Baseball needs more stories like Alec Mills.

After all, our untamed, reckless faith depends on them.

Contact David Kramer at dkramer2@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Bulls coach Scott excited for chance to face Irish

By AIDAN THOMAS Sports Writer

South Florida head coach Jeff Scott has met Brian Kelly on the football field before. However, when Scott leads South Florida into Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday night, he will be playing a much, much larger role.

Scott was a wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator with Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers. But this time, he will be lacking the sheer talent that he had at Clemson. He does, however, bring years of experience and a staff with impressive coaching pedigree down to USF. In his first year as head coach with the Bulls, Scott is attempting to build something special down in Tampa, though he recognizes that a significant challenge lies ahead of the Bulls on Saturday.

“There is no doubt this will be as a big challenge as we’ve faced in a long time,” Scott said.

The last game the Bulls played in Notre Dame Stadium in 2011 was not a game Irish fans look back fondly on. It was sloppy not only for Brian Kelly and then-Irish quarterback Tommy Rees — who opened the season with a loss — but also in terms of the weather. The game ended up lasting six hours and was stopped twice because of a lightning delay. Then

second-year head coach Skip Holtz, son of legendary Irish head coach Lou Holtz, earned a victory for South Florida.

A similar storyline is starting to unfold with this game as Charlie Weis Jr. will be returning more than a decade after his father was leading the Irish, this time with a role on the opposite sideline as USF’s offensive coordinator.

Scott said he is confident in his youthful coaching staff and while he sits at 1-0 as a head coach right now with a win against The Citadel last week, he feels his team can play without any added pressure.

The mentality, Scott said, is that the team has nothing to lose playing Notre Dame, even if it results in a loss on the scoreboard, because preparing to play and matching up against this Irish team will be a valuable lesson for the Bulls in the future.

“This is a point in our program where, really, our guys are going to be able to go play loose, play confident and play free,” Scott said. “I’m looking forward to the day where we have a chance to play in a game like this where we’re expected to win the game. We’re not there yet, at all. We’re going from playing an FCS opponent to playing a potential national championship team in seven days. I think it’s great for us as a team and coaches and players

because we get an opportunity to kind of see where we are.

I would imagine everybody that we play after this week is somewhere in between [the talent levels of] these first two games.”

Regardless of the outcome, Scott is excited to coach a game at Notre Dame, where he feels his players will get an opportunity to see some better competition and perform on a larger stage.

“It’s a big deal. When the Texas game got cancelled, our players were really disappointed because they were looking forward to going and playing on a big stage against a ... power opponent,” Scott said. “When [vice president of athletics] Michael Kelly was able to get it worked out for us to go to Notre Dame and he asked me my opinion, I said, ‘Absolutely.’

This will be a great opportunity for our program, for our players, for our coaches.”

The Bull’s will have their work cut out for them this week, but Scott is embracing the challenge and is overall excited for a Saturday night in South Bend.

“For our program and for our young men to have that experience is something I know that they’ll cherish for the rest of their life,” he said.

Contact Hayden Adams at hadams3@nd.edu

Observer File Photo

Former Irish quarterback Tommy Rees looks downfield from the pocket during Notre Dame’s 23-20 home loss to the Bulls on Sept. 3, 2011. Rees is currently the Notre Dame offensive coordinator.

sports

ndsmcobserver.com | Friday, september 18, 2020 | The Observer

Soccer

Sports Authority

Should Boston sports fans remain unbearable?

Greg McKenna Sports Writer

As a Boston sports fan, my dad grew up knowing what it meant to root for a group of lovable losers. Of course, that outside sympathy could largely be attributed to “the curse,” Bill Buckner, and a World Series game 7 loss in both the ’70s and ’80s, but most of Beantown’s other teams didn’t exactly flout the stereotype either.

The Patriots, the only major Boston sports team that’s not a founding member of its professional league, did make an appearance in Super Bowl XX, but Ditka’s Bears made very quick work of them. Before the organization was purchased

by Robert Kraft in 1994, playoff appearances were few and far between.

After two titles when my dad could barely walk, the Bruins, one of the NHL’s original six, had five championships, but a thirty-nine year drought would shortly follow.

There was a Beantown team that still dominated, of course. The Celtics were the preeminent franchise in basketball that, unlike the Red Sox, backed up their rich history with more championships, and they inevitably attracted plenty of resentment from almost everyone else for it. The epic Magic-Bird battles didn’t always go the Celtics’ way, but their five championships during the ’70s and ’80s (out of a still NBA-leading 17), along with the especially polarizing nature of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, gave people plenty of reasons to hate.

I have never asked him, but I’m sure any flak he received for being a Celtics fan must have caught my dad off guard. Sure, every Boston team obviously has its storied rivalries, but actual resentment for winning?

He had to have been relatively unaccustomed to that. Despite the Celtics’ dominance, the heartbreak inextricably linked to being a Sox fan and the chronic mediocrity of the Pats and Bruins must have surely quelled any instinct to revel in the hate.

Twelve championships over the last twenty years, of course, naturally intensified the sporting world’s distaste for the general Boston fanbase, and so I have much more experience supporting the villain. Pulling for the team everybody else hates is really all I know. As I approach almost two decades on this planet, however, some say a golden era in Boston sports may be coming to a close. Is the era of listening to

“Dirty Water” virtually every day over? Will the “obnoxious winner” shtick no longer be a viable persona for me and Boston sports fans everywhere?

I have to take a closer look.

The Patriots: I’ve had enough grimaces and (usually playful) expletives thrown my way upon informing people of my Patriots fandom to know this is the real crux of the issue. In their heart of hearts, I bet some die-hard Yankees fans actually hate the NFL’s model organization more than the Sox. After suffering through six Super Bowl victories and 17 divisional titles, Patriot-haters everywhere seemingly had reason to rejoice over Brady’s departure this March, especially when he added insult to injury by bringing Gronk to Tampa with him. The despicable dynasty, they said, was over.

After Week 1, however, I am finding it very hard to hear them. Despite a whopping eight corona-virus opt-outs, including pro-bowl linebacker Dont’a Hightower, one the best defenses in the league last year still looks elite. Cam Newton, meanwhile, was exceedingly efficient for a guy coming off a second major surgery in under two years. Amidst the uncertainty of the global pandemic, Mr. Belichick should be thanked for reminding us of the wise old adage, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” I guess the “Brady or Belichick” debate was settled quickly after all. I’ll still assert that any reasonable person would like their footballs below 12.5 PSI, but I find the dislike for Belichick the more hypocritical anyway.

People love Bond movies but think some good scouting should be punished with confiscated draft picks? Please.

Anyway, my fantasy team has been doomed ever since I inexplicably drafted Mark Ingram as my first running back, but at least my teamname — InCamWeTrust — still rings true.

Verdict: Stay Obnoxious The Celtics: The C’s have usually played the role of adorable overachievers during the majority of Brad Stevens’s tenure, but it’s time for his team to finally deliver. If Jayson Tatum and Stevens don’t want to fall short in the Eastern Conference Finals for a third time in four years, they can’t throw away fivepoint leads with just over a minute to go like they did Tuesday night. Bam Adebayo’s block on Tatum was a terrific defensive play, and there was

no stopping Jimmy Butler in overtime, but it should have never gotten to that point.

It is also disheartening to lose when Marcus Smart is playing like a man possessed, but there is no reason to lose hope yet. Bet against “Cardiac Kemba” at your own peril, and Gordon Hayward’s imminent return will provide some much needed depth, even if he can’t be at his best. It’s usually been “close but no cigar” for the Celtics since the Big Three’s only championship in 2008, but the C’s are wellpositioned to challenge for a championship not only this season, but for many years to come. Some good ol’ fashioned Celtics hate might be on the horizon.

Verdict: Stay Obnoxious The Bruins: The last time the Bruins won a title in 2011, media coverage of the resulting riots in Vancouver almost rivaled that of the Bruins’ celebrations.

Since then, the Bruins have become accustomed to playoff heartbreak. The Blackhawks were too much in 2013, but last year’s game 7 loss at home to the Blues after rookie goalie Jordan Bennington’s virtuoso performance stung a bit more.

When the 2019-2020 season was postponed, the Bruins had the best record in the league. After the Bruins entered the bubble, it was mostly downhill from there. A 4-1 series victory for the Lightning in the conference semis signified another playoff failure.

Continued from page 16

range. “[Russo’s] hit the ground running,” Riley said.

“Kentuck y’s a ver y good team. [They have] good central defenders. For him to put a performance in like he did tonight I think speaks volumes about his potential.”

The game came to life as the Wildcats were forced to open up in pursuit of an equalizer, presenting a couple of opportunities for Notre Dame on the counter. Jack Ly nn, who was named to the ACC preseason watch-list, had a decent chance w ith almost 80 minutes gone. Ly nn briefly got past the last Wildcat defender, but he had to take his shot early and dragged it w ide. Freshman midfielder Matthew Radivojsa led all players w ith four shots, and he forced Facusse into a diving save w ith a decent effort from outside the area in the 84th minute.

Kentuck y made the Irish defend deep in their ow n penalt y area, but the Wildcats failed to manage a single shot in the final 13 minutes until they fired a free-kick harmlessly into the wall w ith just over 30 seconds to play.

Riley was impressed w ith the composure exuded by graduate student Senan Farrelly and the rest of the Irish back line.

“Even when they were near our goal, there was no panic,” he said. “I think the whole back line … did a

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really good job of dealing w ith Kentuck y being a little bit more direct at times and dealing w ith longer … balls into the box.”

Despite several hard challenges committed by both sides, no yellow cards were issued in the second half.

Riley was proud of the way his team channeled its intensit y throughout the evening and said he approved of the referee’s performance.

“A ll the teams in the countr y have been play ing against themselves for so long that we’re all getting a little test y, so … I think the ref handled it prett y well,” he said. “As the say ing goes, you want fire in the belly and ice in the veins. … We want to make sure we’re always competing and we’re tough but at the same time staying focused, and I think for the most part the guys did a decent job with that.”

Riley said he is pleased to start the shortened season with a win over a marquee opponent and is looking forward to a schedule that almost exclusively features top opposition. “[That’s] a very good Kentucky team,” he said.

“And the cool part about our fall is these are all … teams that are likely top-20 in the country, so it’ll be a really good season to test us and to grow through.”

Notre Dame returns to action Sept. 26 at Alumni Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Contact Greg McKenna at gmckenn2@nd.edu

Verdict: Learn Humility Yes, I’m aware the Red Sox are absolutely terrible.

Yes, Mookie Betts is gone.

Considering just how sparse the pitching staff was after Eduardo Rodriguez was forced to miss the entire season with myocarditis, however, I think it’s genuinely impressive that the Sox will likely win more than twenty games this season. The last time the Red Sox finished last in the East in 2015, they went on to win the division for three straight years before winning their fourth title in fifteen years in 2018. The unlikely World Series win in 2013, meanwhile, was the ultimate “worst-to-first” after going 69-93 in 2012. Don’t worry, we’ll be back.

Final Verdict: Unbearable

Stay

Contact Greg McKenna at gmckenn2@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

allison Thornton | The Observer

Irish junior forward Jack Lynn passes to sophomore midfielder Aiden McFadden during their 2-4 loss at home to Clemson on Sept. 13, 2019.

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Sports

The observer | Friday, september 18, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

Observer Roundtable: NCAA, NFL games of the week, predictions Patrick Gallagher, Aidan Thomas, Liam Cooligan, Dominic Gibson and Nate Moller Sports Writers

The Observer Roundtable is back for its second season.

With our college football season preview out of the way, we are returning to our normal format of predictions for three NCAA and NFL games per week, plus an upset pick from each of our writers.

Without further ado, let’s get on with the show.

NCAA GAMES OF THE WEEK No. 17 Miami @ No. 18 Louisville No. 24 App State @ Marshall No. 14 UCF @ Georgia Tech NFL Games of the Week Denver Broncos @ Pittsburgh Steelers New England Patriots @ Seattle Seahawks Los Angeles Rams @ Philadelphia Eagles

Patrick Gallagher Despite throwing for 343 yards and scoring four all-purpose touchdowns against Western Kentucky, Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham will be outplayed by D’Eriq King this week. The Hurricanes handled UAB in their first game with King leading the team in both passing and receiving yards. He will be backed up by a surprisingly strong Miami defense, which looks especially stout against the run.

I believe that Cunningham’s strength as a mobile threat will be neutralized, and I do not think that the Cardinals’ defense will be able to contain King. Expect Miami to upset Louisville earning an important road victory.

Appalachian State and Marshall began their 2020 campaigns with impressive wins against smaller programs; however, the Mountaineers’ rushing attack gives them the edge.

The Thundering Herd may be strong against the run, but I believe that the Mountaineers will be able to thwart their defensive efforts due to their talent at the running back position. Last week, both Marcus Williams Jr. and Camerun Peoples rushed for over 100 yards respectively while adding a touchdown each. I expect these two to have continued success, but even if they struggle, the Mountaineers also have star

receiver Thomas Hennigan as a reliable option through the air. This depth at the skill positions will allow Appalachian State to achieve victory while covering the spread.

After handing Florida State yet another demoralizing loss, Georgia Tech should be entering the matchup against UCF with some real momentum. However, let’s not forget that this is the same program that only managed to achieve three wins in a weak ACC last year. The Yellowjackets’ highly touted, freshman quarterback Jeff Sims did impress in his first collegiate performance, but he also did throw two interceptions. Sims will likely struggle against Central Florida, who allowed under 100 yards passing last week.

Georgia Tech is moving in the right direction as a program, but the Knights will still end up winning and covering the spread.

As a Browns fan, I hate to admit it, but Big Ben still looks like a legitimate star this year. Roethlisberger passed for 229 yards and scored three touchdowns — albeit against the Giants’ flimsy secondary.

Pittsburgh’s receiving core also looked impressive as JuJu Smith-Schuster grabbed two touchdowns. Denver is tough defensively; however, their entire offensive unit leaves much to be desired.

The Steelers are just a better team top to bottom, so I predict that Pittsburgh will be victorious while covering the spread.

Along with Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson looked like a bona fide MVP candidate in his first game throwing for four touchdowns and 322 yards. New England lost a few of its key defensive starters in the offseason, so I would expect Wilson to have another significant performance this weekend. Cam Newton was impressive in his Patriots debut, but Miami is a weak opponent. His performance against a real contender like Seattle will tell us more about how effectively he can lead Belichick’s offense. I think that Newton will struggle as Seattle wins and covers the spread.

After blowing a 17-point lead to the Washington Football Team, I have lost all faith in the Philadelphia Eagles. Carson Wentz started the game off strong, but his performance slowly devolved in humiliating fashion as he was held scoreless in the second half while throwing two costly interceptions.

The Rams have a much more talented defense than Washington, so Wentz will probably continue to struggle

this week. Expect the Rams to win big covering the spread.

For my upset pick, I am going with Liberty University to upset Western Kentucky.

The Flames are coming off a solid eight-win season, which included their first-ever bowl win, and are eager to impress in their second season in the FBS. Liberty coach Hugh Freeze has already beaten Western Kentucky once before as the coach of Arkansas State, and Liberty University itself also holds a 2-0 record against this program. Western Kentucky will be a tough opponent having almost pulled off an upset against Louisville in their first game. However, Liberty needs an early win to offset their three matchups against power-five opponents later in the season. I predict that the Flames take care of business on the road starting the season off on a positive note.

Aidan Thomas In the game of the week, No.17 Miami and their new quarterback D’Eriq King take on Louisville, who is an intriguing up-and-coming dark horse team in the ACC. Miami has a lot of talent, and I think they’re a team that could very well be in the ACC Championship this season, should Clemson or — more likely — Notre Dame slip up.

King is too versatile a threat for Louisville, who gave up 20 points to Western Kentucky to handle. I anticipate a signature win for the Hurricanes this weekend.

This Marshall-Appalachian State clash could be a highscoring battle on the gridiron, and I am conflicted on this one. Appalachian State didn’t look spectacular in putting away Charlotte in their opener, while Marshall was absolutely dominant, albeit against Eastern Kentucky.

It’s the first meeting between the two teams since 2002, so there is no recent history to work with either. Ultimately, I like underdogs, and Marshall has a strong program. Give me the Thundering Herd in the week three stunner.

Georgia Tech played about as bad as you possibly can while still getting a win in their ACC-opener against Florida State, and they’ll now test their luck against a superior opponent in the Central Florida Knights. I don’t think it will be close. UCF’s Dillon Gabriel is one of the best signal-callers in the nation in my eyes, and Georgia Tech looked downright horrible on offense last week. Their defense may keep them in it for a while, but give me UCF in this one.

The Broncos are coming off a very tough loss,

although they were fortunate to not lose by ore as Stephen Gostkowski missed three field goals for the Titans before nailing the game-winner.

Drew Lock and his offense full of new additions looked lethargic for most of the night and they move on to take the Steelers, who put together a relatively clean performance against the Giants. I think Pittsburgh takes this one in a fairly low-scoring battle.

I anticipate this PatriotsSeahawks to be extremely telling for both teams. Can Cam Newton lead New England’s new-look offense effectively against a highercaliber opponent? And can Russell Wilson, Tyler Lockett, Chris Carson and the Seattle offense be as deadly efficient as they were in week one against superior defenses?

I think this one is a close contest with no real homefield advantage. I think New England’s kicking game is a massive question mark right now, so I’m predicting a missed field goal to be a huge factor in this one. Give me the Seahawks by four or five points in this Sunday night clash.

Well, I started the Eagles’ defense in fantasy this past weekend, so I have a bit of a grudge against Philadelphia right after their utter meltdown in the second half against the Washington Football Team. The offensive line was an absolute mess, and Carson Wentz wasn’t good even when he had time.

The Rams weren’t exactly a display of efficiency on offense and needed a controversial OPI call to snare the win, but they looked a far sight better than the Eagles. Give me the Rams by a touchdown.

Finally, it’s time for my upset pick of the week. You’ll rarely see me head to the NFL for this pick, but I am this week, due to a lack of intriguing upset options at the college level. And if I’m picking the NFL, you know I am for sure going with Minshew Magic. Nobody told the Jaguars they were supposed to be tanking, and Minshew led Jacksonville to a seasonopening win. He’s got high hopes for the Jaguars this year, and while I won’t go that far, give me the Jags (+9) with the straight-up win over the Tennessee Titans.

Liam Coolican Louisville may surprise some people this year, but I’m not sold they’re a much better team than they were last year. Their defense looked shaky against Western Kentucky, so I’m expecting a big performance from Miami and dual-threat quarterback

D’Eriq King. The famed turnover chain will be brought out multiple times, and Miami will show why they’re a dark horse contender in the ACC. Marshall looked outstanding last week against an overmatched opponent, and Appalachian State struggled at times against Charlotte.

Appalachian State will need to take care of the ball, as they turned it over four times last week. Marshall’s defense is terrific and I expect them to limit Appalachian State’s run game. Marshall’s pass game will continue to be effective, and I’ll take the Thundering Herd to build on a strong performance and get the upset victory.

UCF vs. Georgia Tech should be among the most interesting matchups of the week. The Yellow Jackets squeaked by Florida State last week, but that was more of an indication of how poorly FSU played. UCF will be playing their first game of the season, but you can expect their offense to be potent as usual.

This game is important for the Knights because winning a game against a major conference opponent goes a long way towards the Group of 5 bid. Georgia Tech’s strong defense will contain UCF for three quarters, but their offense won’t be able to get it done. UCF’s defense will get a huge stop on the final drive to seal the game.

Moving on to the NFL, expect a bounce-back game from Drew Lock. The question is, will it be enough to beat a very good Steelers team? The Steelers looked very good offensively last week, and their defense was outstanding as well. James Connor’s availability will be a key factor in this game, but Benny Snell was effective in his stead.

The Broncos defense did contain Derek Henry for all four quarters last week, so I’ll take them to slow down the Steelers and claim an upset victory.

Cam Newton had a relatively easy test in his first week with the Patriots, but it gets much more challenging this week. The Jamal Adams trade paid off instantly for the Seahawks, who were in midseason form on both sides of the ball. Patriots will have trouble moving the ball, especially if they continue to rely on Newton as their run game. Russell Wilson played at an MVP level last week, and he always performs well in prime time games. The typical Seahawks home field advantage will be absent, but expect Wilson to keep rolling and outduel Newton Sunday night.

The Eagles were, to put it

sports mildly, disappointing last week, scoring no points in the second half. The Rams’ offense seemed to benefit from the running back by committee approach last week, and they’ll continue to pound the ball on the ground, and Jared Goff played well, too.

The Eagles do have an excellent front seven, so they’ll be able to slow down the Rams’ run game more than Dallas did a week ago. Carson Wentz knows he has to be better, and I expect he will be this week.

Wentz makes some big plays in the second half and the Eagles prevail.

The options were thin for the upset of the week, so I have to pick a bold one.

Oklahoma State has had several issues this offseason, and I don’t expect them to look like their usual selves this week. Chubba Hubbard will struggle against a tough Tulsa front seven, and the Tulsa offense is explosive. The Golden Hurricane were winning at halftime of this rivalry last year, and they’ll get the upset this time as 23-point underdogs.

Dominic Gibson The first big-time match up in the ACC will see No. 18 Louisville and No. 17 Miami clash on Saturday. Both the Cardinals and the Hurricanes took care of business and looked like solid squads in their first week matchup. While the Louisville offense boasts more weapons with quarterback Micale Cunningham and a solid running back and receiving core, it will be their defense that ends up hurting them this weekend. D’Eriq King is a solid dual-threat quarterback that will give the Cardinals a heap of trouble,

Kelly Continued from page 16

last year, much, much more scrappy in the red zone this game in the sense that we kept them off the scoreboard in terms of touchdowns,” he said. “Certainly they kick some field goals, but we were resilient down there, and I think that’s what we have to continue to do.”

One standout player from the Duke game, Kelly said, was sophomore edge rusher Isaiah Foskey who recorded his first career sack on Brice in the red zone.

“We’re so blessed that we’ve got the kind of depth that when you look at our depth chart, it looks like he’s third-string, but he’s actually a ver y, ver y fine player,” Kelly said of Foskey. “I think ever ybody knows that. And to have that kind of depth with Isaiah Foskey playing in the rotation just tells you a little bit about what we can be defensively when we get our attention to detail

ndsmcobserver.com | Friday, september 18, 2020 | The Observer

Nate Moller

more than their offense can keep up with. Look for Miami to take the win on the road.

Marshall took care of business against Eastern Kentucky winning in blowout fashion 59-0. Appalachian State, on the other hand, had their share of struggles against Charlotte.

Appalachian State’s ground game was a shining star in their performance and I think that it will be something they look to get going early against the Thundering Herd. This game should be a close one, but the Mountaineers will clean up some of their mistakes from last week and find a way to gut this one out.

Georgia Tech has certainly got off to a good start to the season after a win against Florida State last week. But I don’t think that one win is enough to shed them of the ACC cellar-dweller title. They will be playing a higher quality opponent this weekend at UCF. While Georgia Tech will have already had a game under their belt, something that should scare the Knights just a little, I think that UCF will shake off the rust quickly and take care of business. UCF will also have a little more incentive to win as the Big 10 entering the mix will certainly diminish the Knight’s chances of a playoff appearance.

The Steelers looked rocksolid in their win last Monday against the Giants and I do not think that will change going into their matchup against the Broncos. With the injuries piling up for the Broncos as well, it will be hard for them to top a team that has Big Ben hot on the offensive side of the ball.

Look for the Steelers to cruise easily in this one.

Let Russ Cook. Russell Wilson put on an absolute

clinic last weekend against the Falcons, completing 31 out of 35 for four touchdowns and 322 yards. It seems that the playbook has been opened up thanks to Brian Schottenheimer and Pete Carroll putting more faith into Wilson rather than trying to ground and pound early. On the opposite side of the ball, the addition of Jamal Adams has proven worth it so far and Bobby Wagner is still as good as ever. Cam Newton had a decent showing in his first game with the Pats, but a strong Seattle defense will keep him in check. Seattle should handle things at home like usual despite the lack of crowd noise at the C-Link.

The Eagles had themselves a game against the Washington Football Team but for all the wrong reasons. They started reasonably well but wasting a 17-point lead is never a good look. Their floundering offense is not something that will be solved in a week, and I think that they will continue to struggle against Los Angeles.

The Rams will be a much more quality opponent than Washington and Jared Goff had a solid performance that should give him some confidence and momentum. Look for the Rams to seal the win by a large margin.

In their season opener, Navy got humiliated by BYU. Missed tackles galore in large part due to the lack of normal contact practices. But with two weeks to prepare under normal circumstances, the Midshipmen will have a completely renewed identity. Despite being sevenpoint dogs to Tulane, I think that their triple-option run game and improved defense will be enough to help them pull off the upset.

Although Miami pulled away at the end of the game to beat UAB 31-14 last week, they were far from impressive.

Louisville also did not put on a great showing against Western Kentucky and only won by two touchdowns. I see this one being a closely contested battle, but I’m going to go with Satterfield’s Cardinals in this one. I think the Cardinals might have the potential to be a dark horse team this year.

Appalachian State has cemented themselves as a powerhouse in the Sun Belt the last couple of years, and it appears that they might have a chance to push for a New Year’s Six game this year if things play out well for them.

Marshall has been fairly consistent in the C-USA the last couple of years as well (8-5 last season), so this figures to be a good matchup. I like App State by 10 in this one, though.

UCF has yet to play a game this season, but the expectations are high for this top-15 Knights team. Although they struggled last year to replicate their recent success, I think 2020 will be a great year for the Knights. Georgia Tech can not be taken lightly, however, as they were able to knock off Florida State in their opener. I think this one is close at first, but the Knights pull away down the stretch.

Both the Steelers and the Broncos are interesting teams this year. Both teams have the talent to push for a division title, but I could also see either team missing the playoffs too depending on how things play out. Drew Lock looked to be the definition of mediocrity for the Broncos in their loss to the Titans, though. I’ll take the Steelers because of the

and focus down to where it needs to be.”

Another impact contributor was senior linebacker Jeremiah Ow usu-Koramoah, who led Notre Dame in tack les w ith nine and forced a key fumble which was recovered by the Irish.

“That’s the kind of player he is,” Kelly said of Ow usuKoramoah. “I think you see him on special teams, he shows up w ith a great opening tack le on the kickoff that’s kind of sets the tone.

Again, he’s a guy that continues to get better. He’s still got some work to do in his game, he knows that, from a consistency standpoint, but boy, he’s a guy that we love hav ing on our team.”

On the offensive side, Kelly was pleased w ith the play of freshman tight end Michael Mayer, whose physicalit y has earned him the locker room nickname “Baby Gronk” in reference to former Patriots and current Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski of the NFL.

“I don’t know who exactly came up w ith it, but if you take the big third-dow n conversion where he broke through the tack le, I could see where it came from,” Kelly said of the nickname.

“But he’s just a ver y talented young man, and I think he’s well respected by ever ybody. … Really, really excited about where he’s going to be this year.

It’s just he needs some more time and more reps, but he made a nice couple of really big plays for us in this game against Duke.”

Sophomore running back Ky ren Williams also f lashed potential w ith a game-high performance rushing and receiving for more than 200 all-purpose yards, and Kelly believes he can make an even bigger splash down the road.

“I think he’s got an incredibly long way to go in terms of his development, and I’m happy for him,” he said.

“I know our entire team is happy for the success that he had, but I think he’ll tell you

that he’s got a lot of growth ahead of him. … He’s going to attribute a lot of this to the offensive line and those people around him that gave him this opportunity, but it’s going to be nice to see his growth over the course of this year.”

Converted running back and current wide receiver Aver y Davis recorded the lone receiving touchdown for the Irish against the Blue Devils, one of two receptions he had on the day. Kelly praised the senior for the way he has taken his Notre Dame career in stride with several position changes.

“Good for Aver y. You know, he started as a quarterback, we moved him around a little bit,” Kelly said. “He was on the defense, running back and really tr ying to find a place for him where he can contribute, and boy did he contribute on Saturday.

One-on-one coverage goes up and takes a 50-50 ball away. And then obviously a big third-down conversion for us as well. … W hen the

15

veteran leadership from Ben Roethlisberger.

This should be one great quarterback showdown.

Russell Wilson lit it up for the Seahawks in their Week 1 win over the Falcons, and Cam Newton appears to be a match made in heaven for the Patriots. I think this one will be fairly high scoring and a great game. At the end of the day, though, the Seahawks don’t lose home night games.

Give me the Seahawks by a touchdown.

I really haven’t been sold on the Eagles as of late, and their loss to the Washington Football Team in week 1 solidified my skepticism. Carson Wentz is going to have to play better for the Eagles if they are going to beat the Rams this week. I think Wentz is up for the challenge this week. I anticipate the Eagles’ defense making some big plays in their 10-point win over the Rams.

For my upset pick, give me the Panthers over the Buccaneers. I think this Panthers team is much improved from last year, as they were almost able to get a win over the Raiders last week.

Additionally, I just don’t think the Bucs have gelled as a team quite yet. I think the Bucs can turn it around by the end of the season, but I anticipate the Panthers upsetting Tom Brady and the Bucs this weekend.

Contact Patrick Gallagher at pgallag4@nd.edu, Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu, Liam Coolican at lcoolica@ nd.edu, Dominic Gibson at dgibson@hcc-nd.edu and Nate Moller at nmoller2@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the authors and not necessarily those of The Observer.

game’s on the line, he’s a guy you want to look for.”

As for the current quarterback, graduate student Ian Book received his fair share of criticism for his performance against Duke, but Kelly tried to stress that what is most important is the final result.

“I think any time you talk about your quarterback, you want to talk about w inning, and Ian Book w ins,” Kelly said. “Can he play better? Yes. Can I coach better?

Yes. … I think we evaluate ourselves critically here in this building. But we also look at the fact that w inning is what the by product is, and we want to w in football games. We’re going to get back at it this week, we’re going to look at the things that we need to get better at and we’re certainly gonna do them. I think when you talk about Ian Book, the nice part about it is he’s a w inner.”

Contact Hayden Adams at hadams3@nd.edu

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The observer | Friday, september 18, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

Irish men’s soccer opens new season with win over Wildcats, Russo makes good impression

By GREG McKENNA Sports Writer

Freshman Daniel Russo scored on debut as Notre Dame began its eight-game 2020 slate with a scrappy 1-0 win over Kentucky on Thursday night in a nearly empty Alumni stadium.

Notre Dame (1-0, ACC) head coach Chad Riley admitted that given the uncertainty surrounding the season just a few weeks ago, his team was thrilled just to have the opportunity to play a competitive match.

“We talked about that before the game,” he said. “The team’s done such a great job from last March through now … with school, with the kind of remote soccer, with the discipline and doing what it needs to take to compete right now. So yeah, it was a good, rewarding night on a lot of fronts.”

With no in-person attendance, the game got off to a cagey start. Wildcats’ sophomore forward Eythor Bjorogolfsson recorded the

game’s first shot on target just over 20 minutes in following a slick counterattack. The Norwegian led Kentucky (0-1, ACC) with four game-winning goals in 2019, but he failed to catch Irish senior goalkeeper Keagan McLaughlin out at his near post.

McLaughlin assumed the starting spot previously held

by Duncan Turnbull, who now plays professionally for Portsmouth after graduating last year. Riley said he was impressed with McLaughlin’s confidence against a good attacking team in difficult goalkeeping conditions.

“I thought Keagan McLoughlin had a really good night,” he said. “Kentucky gets the ball in the box quick. They take shots from distance. It was a wet night. It was cold. So for … his second game in six months, I thought he played very well.”

The Irish began to find their attacking boots midway through the first half. Senior midfielder Aiden McFadden glanced a delicately chipped cutback narrowly over the

bar just a few minutes before Senan Farrelly also sent a clean header over the top on one of the four corners the Irish earned in the first half.

Kentucky had a good chance with just 30 seconds left in the half, but Brandon McManus could only poke a wellworked cutback straight at McLaughlin for a simple save.

Notre Dame took the attacking initiative after the break.

Mohamed Omar fired a longrange strike that narrowly cleared the crossbar before the Irish had a penalty shout turned down by the referee when McFadden was pushed from behind while challenging for a header.

Freshman forward Russo finally broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute following a choppy few minutes. McFadden’s delivery on Notre Dame’s only corner in the second half left Kentucky goalkeeper Enrique Facusse rooted to his line, allowing Jackson, New Jersey native Russo to head home emphatically from close see SOCCER PAGE 13

CONNERY MCFADDEN | The Observer

Irish junior forward Jack Lynn dribbles around Indiana University defender in the Irish loss 1-2 on Sept. 11, 2018 at Alumni Stadium.

FOOTBALL

Kelly discusses individual efforts against Duke Hayden Adams Sports Editor

ALLISON THORNTON | The Observer

Irish junior tight end George Takacs pushes through a pile of Midshipmen defenders during Notre Dame’s 52-20 win over Navy on Nov. 16 at home. Takacs made six appearances for the Irish last season.

Notre Dame football head coach Brian Kelly and men’s basketball announcer Jack Nolan returned Thursday night for the season premiere of “The Brian Kelly Show.” The format has changed from last season with the duo hosting remotely and without their customar y live audience in the new Irish practice facility.

After introductions, the two proceeded to revisit Notre Dame’s season-opening win over Duke by a score of 27-13.

“It’s always about, you know, where can you get better,” Kelly said. “I mean, what things did you learn about your football team that’s going to allow you to prepare on Tuesday when you get back out on the practice field? ” From his perspective, Kelly saw some good and bad out of the Irish offense, part of which is due to Duke’s passing game improvements

with the addition of Clemson transfer quarterback Chase Brice.

“I think from a defensive standpoint, probably the attention to detail, there are some things there that we probably weren’t as disciplined as we needed to be,” he said. “Some of the big plays that we gave up are uncharacteristic for us on the defensive side of the ball. … Their passing game is so much better than it was last year when we played them.

They were really struggling to throw the football last year. This year, obviously, with Brice, they are a much better team when it comes to throwing the football, but he’s ver y sore today, too. I mean, he took a lot of hits, we got to the quarterback, we harassed him. And you know, he was under 55% throwing the football.”

Kelly said he is pleased with the way in which the defense remained stout on the goalline.

“I think the other thing we did better than we did see KELLY PAGE 15

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ndsmcobserver.com | FRIDAY, September 18, 2020 | The Observer

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Notre Dame looks to secure several 4-star commitments from class of 2021

By HAYDEN ADAMS Sports Editor

Recruiting is a year-round endeavor for college football coaches. And, although the recruiting dead period has been extended through Jan. 1 by the NCAA, thus prohibiting any official or unofficial visits or evaluation days, there are other ways for Notre Dame to impress incoming recruits.

One such avenue, according to Irish Breakdown publisher Bryan Driskell, is to make sure the Irish get their highly touted freshman immediate action.

“The reality is, when you look at the Notre Dame offense the last 10 years under Brian Kelly, we just haven’t seen a lot of freshmen make impacts,” Driskell said.

The Irish did get a couple of freshmen on the field in tight end Michael Mayer and running back Chris Tyree. Tyree had six carries for 20 yards with a long of 25 in the season opener against Duke, and he also returned four kicks for 90 yards with a long of 38. Mayer had three receptions for 38 yards and a key third down conversion for Notre Dame.

Freshman receiver contributions have been so low for the Irish the last decade that Mayer already surpassed former Irish players Chris Brown and Equanimeous St. Brown for receptions by a freshman. At the pace of three receptions per game, he would surpass Kevin Stepherson (25 catches) for the most in a single season by a Notre Dame freshman.

“You know, there have been some, but for the most part they haven’t seen [freshmen

McCloud Continued from page 4

While Joseph may have been the first to bring McCloud into the fold, cornerback coach Mike Mickens has clearly been a key influence in McCloud’s time at Notre Dame.

“His tips and his coaching style is very, very modern, to help us, to help me and my teammates just on how the game is being played now. And then also just his fire and competitiveness every day,” McCloud said. “He reminds me a lot of myself so like, if I’m not ready to go, I know one thing’s for sure, is Coach Mickens is gonna be ready to go.

So just that edge that he brings

Wilkins Continued from page 4

is listed as a second-string wide receiver, backing up both junior Braden Lenzy and graduate student Javon McKinley.

He will almost certainly be

contribute], and I think that’s something that other schools are going to use against Notre Dame,” Driskell said. “‘Hey, you come here and play for Ohio State or play for Clemson, and you’re a freshman, you’re going to get a play, you’re going to get the football, you’re going to learn from a great player in front of you and also get a chance to play.’ So, I think being able to get young guys on the field is important for Notre Dame.”

Mayer was third on the team in receptions behind junior tight end Tommy Tremble, who had five for as many yards, and junior receiver Joe Wilkins, Jr. Wilkins and senior Avery Davis were the only wide receivers to catch passes and combined for six of 19 Notre Dame completions.

Because of the wideouts’ lackluster effort, Driskell sees this as an opportunity for Notre Dame to cement the position as a strength with their recruiting effort.

“I think this is a big year for Notre Dame recruiting receivers,” he said. “They already have [four-star] Lorenzo Styles in the class. You’ve got [four-stars] Deion Colzie, Jayden Thomas and Dont’e Thornton. To me, you’ve got to land at least two of those guys. … You had a really good freshman class at receiver with [freshmen Xavier] Watts and [Jordan] Johnson and Jay Brunelle; you need to balance that with another outstanding class. That’s what the top programs do, and your offense is not going to be elite if you don’t have top-level receivers at all positions.”

Colzie had originally pledged to the Irish but de-committed

in March when the coronavirus pandemic put all football activities on halt. However, Notre Dame still seems to be a choice in the Georgia prospect’s recruitment.

“The thing for Notre Dame, they did a great job when he decommitted; they didn’t give up, they didn’t back off, they stayed on him. And that was important,” Driskell said. “They kind of weathered the storm, the SEC storm of schools like Georgia and Florida coming after him. And, look, anything can happen in the next two weeks, but from all of my sources, it looks like Notre Dame has put themselves back in position to have a great chance to land him when he makes his decision on [Sept.] 28, and that would just be a huge boost to this class.”

Another area that Saturday’s Duke game highlighted as an area in need of a recruiting uptick is safety according to Driskell, especially after sophomore Kyle Hamilton went down with a sprained ankle.

“I think when you look at Kyle Hamilton and you see how good he is and then you see the drop off at the position after he gets injured, and you’ve had to move [graduate student] Shawn Crawford to safety, you’ve had to move [sophomore] KJ Wallace to safety to really shore that position group up, to me, there’s really only two high-level safeties on the roster,” he said. “One of them is Kyle Hamilton, obviously, and the other one is [junior] Houston Griffith, who I still think has a chance to be a really good player.

But depth is an issue at the position. High-level talent is an issue at that position.”

The Irish attempted to fill the

void left by the departures of captains and two-year starters Jalen Elliot and Alohi Gilman by picking up Ohio State graduate transfer Isaiah Pryor. However, Pryor only seemed to be delegated to a special teams role against Duke and has been listed as the thirdstring strong safety on Notre Dame’s depth chart.

“Let’s be honest about this. For the most part, players that are going to be grad transfers aren’t top-level players,” Driskell said.

“They’re good players — like [cornerback] Nick McCloud, good solid player. But if a guy was an elite guy that was going to help you go win a championship because of him, or a guy that was going to be somewhere even close to the level of a Kyle Hamilton, he’s not doing a grad transfer — he’s going to the NFL. … When you look at the safety position specifically, it’s a very complex position. And it’s

every day is definitely beneficial to me in the group.”

Mickens, a former NFL cornerback, is 33 and in his first season with the Irish. McCloud said that his age and proximity to the players is an asset to building a strong sense of community among the position.

“We feel like we can go in and approach him about pretty much anything that’s going on,” McCloud said. “He’s very relatable to us, and just like you said, it’s always like that relationship to where we can go to him about anything but at the same time, he is definitely going to make sure that we’re locked in when it’s time to be locked in.”

McCloud continued, sharing how Mickens’ leadership

translates to the field.

“With Coach Mickens, we come in every day, of course, we want to have great technique, we want to do our job, but at the end of the day, the most important thing in football is the ball,” McCloud said. “So just having it, that want to finish on the ball every play, like that’s something that we definitely emphasized throughout camp and that we’re still doing on a daily basis.”

While McCloud has certainly faced his fair share of adversity, he believes it has been formative to making him the player and teammate he is today.

“I feel like last year I set a lot of individual goals and, you know, the season was just taken away from me,” he said. “So this year,

I just tried to focus on what I could do better on a daily basis rather than individual goals or awards or anything like that. So I just really [have] been focused on what can I do better the next day, or what can I do better today.”

That experience and perspective seem to be paying off.

Against Duke, McCloud recorded five tackles — four of which were solo. Against USF, he might even prove to be more valuable.

While new to Notre Dame, McCloud might be arguably the most experienced member of the Notre Dame defense to take on USF this Saturday. Bulls head coach Jeff Scott has spent the past 11 seasons at Clemson, serving as co-offensive

coordinator for the past four, all of which he’s faced McCloud and the Wolfpack.

“I know they got a great coach, a winning culture with Coach Scott coming from Clemson,” McCloud said. “And then, of course, they recruit in Florida, so they’re going to have a lot of speed on the field. So just that you can’t overlook any opponents you play, so we definitely got to come prepared to play this week.”

Expect McCloud to come prepared to play this Saturday with a wealth of experience and the chance to rewrite the script in South Bend.

getting meaningful reps against the Bulls, and his knowledge and football IQ will be a valuable asset for an Irish offense trying to mesh together into a lethal unit. Getting reps Saturday will bring things full circle for Wilkins as he works his way onto the field

with Irish — back in his freshman year of high school, the Fort Myers product received his first offer from the Bulls.

As such, Wilkins is familiar with several members of the USF roster, including running back Darrian Felix, who went to Fort Myers High School.

But for Wilkins, playing USF is just another step on the way to bigger goals. He’s overcome too much at this point to get bogged down about a single play, or a game with potential emotional value. His goals remain team-oriented.

“I just want to help my team

win games,” he said. “No specific goals. I don’t care about catches, reception yards, touchdowns, none of that. I just want to do whatever the coaches tell me and help my team win.”

not a position that you necessarily want someone to have to come in and learn and only have one year to do it.”

Driskell said that Notre Dame would be better served putting their efforts into the recruiting arena than frequenting the graduate transfer market on a yearly basis.

“I just hope that Notre Dame doesn’t take, sort of, that easy way out of the grad transfer and does a better job recruiting and developing high school players that you can get four to five years out of,” he said. “That to me is the true way to make this an elite defense, because outside of quarterback, we haven’t seen a lot of grad transfers coming in and having big impacts on teams winning national championships.”

Contact Hayden Adams at hadams3@nd.edu

HAYDEN ADAMS | The Observer

The Irish offensive line faces off against Duke’s defensive line last Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame won the game 27-13.

Contact Charlotte Edmonds at cedmond3@nd.edu

Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu

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The observer | FRIDAY, September 18, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

Insider

FOOTBALL

McCloud brings conference experience, skill from NC State to Notre Dame defense

By CHARLOTTE EDMONDS Senior Sports Writer

Losing a four-year contributor and vocal leader is never easy for any program.

Few are so fortunate to have a near-copy arrive on their doorstep months later, but that’s exactly what Notre Dame got when graduate student Nick McCloud announced his decision to transfer to South Bend from NC State. The similarities between McCloud and current Carolina Panther Troy Pride Jr. are uncanny. Both from South Carolina, the two cornerbacks hover around 6-foot, 190 pounds. Even their undergraduate playing careers have been similar — both marked by highs and lows, but with resilient finishes.

For McCloud, he found a rhythm with the Wolfpack during his sophomore season, starting in eight games, during which NC State posted a 7-1 record. That momentum carried into his junior season, where he served as a permanent starter, highlighted by a career-high 10 tackles against Clemson. However, McCloud hit a roadblock this past season, only appearing in two games for the Wolfpack. That roadblock led

him to South Bend.

Within a week of entering the transfer portal, McCloud said he reached out to current defensive backs coach Terry Joseph, who explained the current state of the position. Joseph ultimately proved integral to McCloud’s decision to choose the Irish.

“I couldn’t really, I didn’t really visit any where at all, due to the pandemic, but just that choice with Coach Joseph explaining the situation to me,” McCloud said.

“Also, just my relationship with Troy [Pride] and Houston [Griffith III], it definitely helped a lot making the decision a little easier for me.”

W hile not having the accessibility to visit schools throughout the transfer process was certainly an obstacle, McCloud said he relied heavily on Pride and Griffith III’s perspective as students in making his decision.

“Being recruited through a pandemic was kind of rough, so just reaching out to those guys and just giving me the comfort that I needed from a player standpoint was big and [helped] make my decision to come to Notre Dame,” McCloud said. see McCLOUD PAGE 3

HAYDEN ADAMS | The Observer

Notre Dame graduate student cornerback Nick McCloud chases down his opponent during the season opener against Duke on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish won 27-13 against the Blue Devils.

Wilkins overcomes injuries, ready for USF

By AIDAN THOMAS Sports Writer

Joe Wilkins has overcome a bev y of injuries and obstacles to be in a position to contribute to the Notre Dame offense as a junior wide receiver. But these odds were nothing new to Wilkins, who has faced a tough climb all his life.

For Wilkins, the first reminder of that is with his name. He was named after his father, Joe Wilkins, who he never met. Wilkins’s father was tragically killed when he was 21 years old before he even knew his girlfriend was pregnant. Wilkins. was born seven months later and took the namesake of his father.

He said he considers it an honor to bear his dad’s name.

“Mom gave me that name because it was a blessing,” Wilkins said. “She didn’t even know she was gonna have a kid. So when my father passed, and a couple months later she found out she was pregnant, and she just thought I am this extension of him. I’m the last piece

of him left. One hundred percent, without a doubt, my first son is going to be Joe Wilkins III, and it’s going to live on forever hopefully. I love it.”

Wilkins’s background means he is always playing for something more than football, allowing him to maintain a calm sense of patience when it came to earning time on the field. He knew his time as a contributor would come, despite battling knee and hamstring injuries during his first two seasons with the Irish.

“I knew it was coming,” he said. “You know, patience is a virtue. My mom always told me that, you know, I knew it was coming. I’ve worked on everything — my releases, my speed, f lexibility. I’ve worked on things in film. I’m studying defense coverages, rotation, stuff like that.”

Wilkins preparation was obvious from the moment he stepped on the field on Saturday, as he helped spark a sluggish Notre Dame offense in their season opener, raking in four catches for 44 yards.

He did most of his damage in a single drive at the end of the half. With Notre Dame up 7-6, the Irish got the ball at their own 46 with a minute and 13 seconds to play. Ian Book went 3-5 on the drive, and all three completions found Wilkins, for a combined 32 yards and two first downs. Wilkins’ contributions got Notre Dame into field goal range, giving them some much-needed momentum entering the half.

“Listen to the play calls … looking at signals and I’m just studying mental reps,” Wilkins said of his ability to stay in tune, despite often not always practicing with the first-team offense. “One of the plays, I didn’t take one rep at that play all week, but my mental reps kicked in — I’m always watching, I’m always paying attention. So when I got in the game, I knew exactly what I was supposed to do.”

With graduate transfer receiver Ben Skowronek out again this weekend, Wilkins is listed as a second-string see WILKINS PAGE 3

HAYDEN ADAMS | The Observer

Irish junior wide receiver Joe Wilkins carries the ball during Notre Dame’s 27-13 win over Duke on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium.