Print Edition for The Observer for Friday, September 30, 2022

Talent show to highlight Black culture

Black and Cultural Arts Council to host performance including various art forms Friday

By ANGELA MATHEW Talent and i nclusion manager

The black cultural a rts council (bcac) will put on black images, a talent show, Friday at 6:30 p.m. in washington hall.

senior Zoë bonnichsen is the vice president of bcac she said the event will feature a wide range of talent.

“we have spoken word poetry performances, a rap and bass performance, several dance performances from step dance troupes to tap dance troupes,” bonnichsen said. “we also have several singing performanc es from bands to gospel choir

groups.”

bcac is an on-campus cul tural organization with the goal of responding to the needs of the black community by spon soring, promoting and support ing intellectual, spiritual, social and arts and community service programs. The council seeks to create a space that advances the values and customs within the black diaspora.

The group also hosts events like paint and sip, where students can make art together, a fashion show that celebrates the impact of black culture on design and the

‘Queer Theology’ course now offered at SMC

By CORA HADDAD news writer

during the 2021-22 academic year, professors Jessica coblentz and daniel horan o.F.m pro posed a new course to the saint mary’s college curriculum com mittee, entitled Queer Theology. The course Queer Theology, cotaught by professors coblentz and horan, started its first half, Queer Theology i, this semester at saint mary’s, and will continue next semester with Queer Theology ii coblentz and horan spoke on the circumstances of its creation, em phasizing its intentionality to ad dress a call for discussion within

the saint mary’s community.

“The unique thing about how this course came to be is that we were very intentional about be ing in conversation with students because the class was inspired by students’ desires to learn more about this,” coblenz explained. “we were really intentional about asking them, ‘what do you want to study?’ ‘what are the questions that you have that aren’t being an swered in other classes that you’re taking or in some of the extracur ricular opportunities here at the college?”

To the same accord, horan re called his moment of recognition of a need for a course such as this.

“we had a campus event, and in the Q&a session, it became clear that students were very interested in perspectives of christian theol ogy that aligned with and arose from the experiences of those who identify as lgbTQ+,” horan said.

horan further spoke on the at titude of the student body.

“There was a hunger, there was an interest, there was a desire to learn more about the work that’s being done around this topic,” horan said.

coblentz, having taught a “Queer theology” course previ ous to her time at saint mary’s,

mendoza drops 24 credits in core curriculum

By ALYSA GUFFEY e ditor-in- c hief

Flexibility is the name of the game for current firstyear and future business majors at n otre d ame.

a new college-lev el core curriculum ap proved for this year’s

first-year undergraduates in the m endoza c ollege of b usiness includes 24 fewer credit hours, or eight cours es, to check off their fouryear plan of study.

c ourses no longer re quired of all business ma jors include: s tatistics for b usiness i , a ccountancy ii ,

b usiness Technology and a nalytics, b usiness l aw, m anagerial e conomics, m acroeconomic a nalysis, Foresight/ b usiness p roblem s olving and p rocess a nalytics.

a t the same time, the class

Fed interest rate increases 0.75 percentage points

By KELSEY QUINT news writer

d uring their meetings on s ept. 20-21, the Federal o pen m arkets c ommittee (F omc ), a branch of the Federal r eserve s ystem (Fed), raised the target range for the federal funds rate by 0.75 percentage points to a range of 3.00% to 3.25%.

This current rate marks the highest interest rates since the recession of 2008. s usan c ollins, president of the Federal r eserve b ank of b oston, discussed the goals

of the Fed in a public speech on m onday, s ept. 26th.

“ i do believe the goal of a more modest slowdown, while challenging, is achiev able,” c ollins said.

h owever, the Fed recog nizes the enormous risks at play.

“a significant economic or geopolitical event could push our economy into a recession as policy tightens further,” c ollins said.

b ut just how close is a re cession? p rofessor m argaret

CHRISTINA SAYUT | The Observer

The Federal Open Markets Committee of the Federal Reserve System raised the federal funds rate from 3.00% to 3.25%.

Courtesy of Frances Ubogu

A poster promotes the Black Images Talent Show put on by The Black Cultural Arts Council, happening September 30 to highlight Black culture, art and values across campus.

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Today’s Staff

Question of the Day:

What show did you watch the most as a kid?

Traeton Stayer first-year Siegfried Hall “‘Drake and Josh.’”

Remy Finn first-year Farley Hall

Corrections

The Observer regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times. We do, however, recognize that we will make mistakes. If we have made a mistake, please contact us at editor@ndsmcobserver.com so we can correct our error.

Maggie Griffin fifth-year Lyons Hall “‘Dragon Tales.’”

Jasmin Chavez senior off-campus “‘Caillou.’”

Nick Reichart junior Dillon Hall

“‘Spongebob Squarepants.’”

t he next f ive D ays:

Friday

Talent Show: Black Images

Washington Hall

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Black Cultural Arts Council’s annual show.

Symphony Orchestra Concert

Leighton Concert Hall

8:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

First concert of the school year.

Saturday

American Religion Seminar

McKenna Hall

9 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Seminar by Philip Jenkins from Baylor.

Cookies and Canvas Library Lawn

9 p.m. - 11 p.m. Paint your own Notre Dame portrait and eat Insomnia cookies.

Sunday

Ava Longoria fifth-year Pasquerilla East “‘Spongebob Squarepants.’”

Want your event included here?

Email news@ndsmcobserver.com

Monday

Volleyball Game vs. Clemson Purcell Pavilion 1 p.m. Free admission and poster giveaway.

An Afternoon at Lukes

Holy Cross Parlor

3 p.m. - 4 p.m. Gilmore Girls themed event with fall treats.

Multi-Language Reading Club Collaboration Hub

4 p.m. - 5 p.m. Relax reading foreign language books.

Fall Fest Ave Brew Cafe 8 p.m. Kick off the Fall Fest activities with pumpkin painting.

Tuesday

St. Francis Farm Fest Sustainable Farm 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Celebrate the feast of St. Francis with food, fun and tours.

IDEAs Challenge Innovation Park Room 109

6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Pitch an idea to solve a community problem.

Senate passes resolution for UHS

By LIAM KELLY News Writer

The Notre Dame student senate passed resolutions Wednesday aimed at making recreational passes more affordable and improving the accessibility of University Health Services (UHS).

In the past year, RecSports announced they were switching from a pay-per-class system to a pass system for group recre ational and fitness classes. Now students can pay $95 for a year-long pass, $60 for a semester pass or $35 for a half semester pass.

Sophomore senator Derick Williams from Keough Hall introduced resolution SS2223-09, which seeks to fix financial issues caused by the switch to a pass sys tem. Williams brought up concerns that the pass system is too expensive and pre vents students from enjoying recreational opportunities.

In the resolution, Williams calls for the Office of Student Enrichment (OSE) to co ordinate a plan with RecSports to subsi dize passes or provide financial assistance for students with demonstrated financial aid. Williams said he hopes the subsidies will come in the form of free or reduced

price passes for those with demonstrated need seeking a pass.

Williams also expressed concern that the cost of the recreational passes was having a particularly negative effect on those struggling with their mental health.

“Recreational and fitness classes can serve as a useful tool for students to relax and reflect as a therapy and treatment method for mental health concerns,” Williams said.

In the second part of his resolution, Williams called on the McDonald Center for Student Well-Being and the University Counseling Center to work with RecSports to “identify ways in which a RecSports pass can serve as a further resource for sustaining mental well-being.” The reso lution passed unanimously.

The senate then passed resolution SS2223-10 which calls on UHS to imple ment an online self-scheduling sys tem. The resolution was introduced by McGlinn Hall senator Lauren Taylor.

Currently, appointments can only be made by calling UHS. Taylor and resolu tion co-authors Sisy Chen, the director of health and wellbeing, and Hunter Brooke, the Carroll Hall senator, argued that this

system discourages students from seeking medical attention.

“UHS offers many vital resources to support a healthy campus community, but the only way for students to schedule an appointment at the UHS currently is via phone call — a process which troubles students with significant hold times, inef ficiency and inconvenience, and frequent ly requires students to leave a message and await a return call,” Taylor said.

The authors argued that the method of scheduling over the phone is outdated, claiming that other similar universities have self-scheduling systems in place.

With the resolution in place, UHS will work with the senate to look into develop ing an online self-scheduling system.

Also announced at the meeting was an initiative to ensure that menstrual prod ucts are available in the unisex bathrooms in men’s dorms.

Next Tuesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., the senate will host a new program called Student Policy Collaboration in the Hesburgh library. Students will be able to come and voice their concerns and give ideas to senators.

Contact Liam Kelly at lkelly8@nd.edu

“‘Wizards of Waverly Place.’”

black diamond ball, a formal for members of the organization.

chinaza Udekwe is a senior and the emcee of the event.

Udekwe, who started writing poetry in high school, will also be performing some of his own works at the show.

“i’m excited to hear the other poets,” Udekwe said. “it’s always good to gain some inspiration from other people and see differ ent people’s perspectives.”

sophomore Frances Ubogu, an international student from nigeria, is the coordinator and stage manager for black images. she recalled how she first got in volved with bcac

“When i was a freshman, i went to black images because my friend vongai had invited me to come watch dance africa at the show,” Ubogu said. “and i thought it was really cool.”

This encouraged Ubogu to be come involved with planning this year’s event, finding talent for the show’s 11 acts and organizing lo gistics for rehearsal equipment.

Ubogu said that the audience will vote to choose the winners of the talent show.

“There will be a Qr code at tached to the back of the pro gram. audience members can scan it and pick their top-three favorite acts,” she said. “The

first-place winner gets $100 and a certificate, second-place win ner gets $60 and a certificate and third-place winner gets $40 and a certificate.”

Ubogu hopes black images will give students an opportunity to showcase their talents.

“i hope that freshmen and people who aren’t yet involved feel like, ‘That’s something i can definitely do,’” Ubogu said. “Just like for me last year.”

“We have an incredibly rich, culturally diverse campus and we really want to make sure that we’re highlighting what the arts look like,” bonnischen said. “not just for the black community, but really just for the community as a whole.”

bonnichsen also hopes that black images will be a fun way for students to engage with different cultures and art forms.

“it can get people out of their comfort zones to perform,” she said. “and i think it can also bring … the wider notre dame com munity to really engage with these incredible, talented people and their works of art.”

students can purchase tick ets for the show with card or cash at the box office in LaFortune student center for $5 or at the door before the show at Washington hall for $7.

Theology

expressed interest and determina tion toward the formation of the curriculum.

“We did our best, as experts in christian theology, to sort of find opportunities to introduce stu dents to ideas in academic theol ogy that connect with their own organic interest,” coblentz said.

she described some of what the course aims to cover as a whole.

“We’re exploring in the class how insights from Queer theory, sort of challenge and expand cer tain ideas in traditional christian theology and also we’re looking at how ideas in christian theology can challenge, expand and help reimagine different issues in Queer theory,” coblenz explained.

as well as the content of the course, horan shared another main element considered in the brainstorming phase, the impor tance of accessibility to the course. “a course like this had not been offered at saint mary’s or in the tri-campus community, at least to our knowledge, so we really had a chance to think from scratch, what would a course like this look like?” horan continued.

“how could we make it a course that was accessible and available to the greatest sort of number of stu dents who are interested in taking it, recognizing that students have very full plates,” he said.

The structure of the course is unique in the aspect that each se mester is worth one and a half cred its. aimed to accommodate those who have an interest in taking this class but may have a full schedule or minimal room, the course is of fered on Wednesday evenings. it is a year-long course available to stu dents to take one semester or the other or both in combination to get the equivalent of a regular course in credits.

“We wanted to do something a bit innovative even in the offering of the course, and that’s where the one and a half credit per semester kind of, part one part two structure came in,” horan said.

horan discussed the impor tance this course plays within the saint mary’s and tri-campus communities.

“i think it is important because there is, first of all, an important area of this field of study that doesn’t or hasn’t traditionally, in the tri-campus area, received much at tention in a formal academic sense. i think the second reason is that it’s important because these are press ing questions of our time, right?” horan said.

horan continued and ad dressed the specific relevance the course plays within the setting of a catholic college.

“so, at a catholic college, our mission, our vision for education is rooted in that quest for deeper knowledge about the human

person, about the world, about god, about what we see and what’s more than what we see. and so, in that regard, something like Queer theology fits in very comfortably and ideally.” horan said. “The in tersection of dialogue is a big part of what this course is about.”

coblentz also dived into the conversations within the class that have been sparked since its start this semester.

“but i think what we’re explor ing and Queer theology are some ways of bringing christianity to bear on our lives that are often overlooked, that often aren’t intro duced to students, and i think that weather students end up agreeing or disagreeing with the authors we read in class i think it’s often really productive and fruitful and excit ing to reconsider whether faith has something to offer in this regard. something to offer that maybe we haven’t thought about before,” coblentz said.

her overall passion for this course and its contents stems from the meaning she hopes others will find in it.

“This dialogue where we’re chal lenging ourselves to grow in under standing to expand our horizons to rethink things that some of us have taken for granted, that’s what all theology classes on our campus aim to do,” coblentz said.

Contact Cora Haddad at chaddad01@saintmarys.edu

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Contact Angela Mathew at amathew3@nd.edu

Forster of the finance de partment explained the causes behind the current economic state.

“The world has had low interest rates for a long time, basically since the crisis of 2007 and 2008. We have been living in a relatively low interest rate mode,” Forster said. “People have gotten used to being able to borrow at a lower rate.”

b ut then the pandemic hit in m arch of 2020. In re sponse, governments all over the world lowered inter est rates until they were tee tering on zero. At the same time, handouts increased the amount of money in cir culation. Forster described how this has produced seri ous side effects for today’s economy.

“People started to have cash to spend as the cov I d situation stabilized,” Forster said. “ b ut there were what the Fed called supply chain problems.”

c hina supplied a large portion of U. s . goods prepandemic. b ut even now, c hina continues to be af fected by cov I d lockdowns, which has decreased their production.

“ s o we have a lot of people in the U. s ., and to a certain degree in e urope, with a lot of cash and fewer goods arriving due to the supply chains,” Forster said. “ s o the first thing that happens is we start having prices go ing up, which is inflation, and we hadn’t seen that for a long time.”

The second wave of eco nomic disruption came when r ussia invaded Ukraine in February, which posed a problem in terms of energy for western e urope.

For the United s tates, the lingering issue was infla tion, which Forster said is a difficult one.

“Inflation is not good for anybody. I grew up with it,” she said. “Inflation just makes it harder for people to save and for companies to make the right decisions. s o we do want inflation to come down.”

The Fed responded as they normally would — attempt ing to “soak up money” by raising interest rates. b ut that does not come with out consequences and risks.

“Well now people are not going to invest in stocks … [They] are more interested in putting money in a safer place that gets a higher re turn,” Forster said. “If the Fed raises interest rates too high, too fast, then people really won’t want to spend anymore. And we could go into a recession. b ut the Fed is going to be aggressive and we’re going to keep raising

that interest rate until this inflation is dead.”

Forster called it a “vicious cycle,” as when people low er their buying, companies will lose money, and at the same time lose investors as people are drawn to sav ing in a high-interest rate world.

b ut how will this impact students? Forster offered a sliver of hope for a niche group of students in the short term: those studying abroad and those who will next semester.

“The safest place right now is still the U. s . dol lar,” Forster explains. “In the short run, it’s cheaper for those who are abroad and who are going abroad next semester. The dollar is strong. s o, if you’re go ing to go to, say, London, this is a short-lived bonus. It will be cheaper for you to buy stuff and spend money in e urope. b ut that doesn’t mean that it’s a good thing for the world in the long run.”

For students in the U. s ., the situation is different. The high interest rates take a toll on loans and investments.

For the current first-year class at n otre d ame, ap proximately 11% took out private, or other non-fed eral, student loans. Those are now more expensive.

“If you were thinking that you are going to have to borrow more money next year, you may want to revise that,” Forster recommended.

And as for those invest ment-savvy students look ing to make a quick profit, Forster also advises against that gamble.

“I would not anticipate that anyone who has cash would not be buying on dips in the stock market. o nly if you have a very long-term investment ho rizon,” Forster said. “For those students who are thinking, ‘ o h, I just got some free money, let me buy that cheap stock, it’s just like trading, right?’ n o, right now it is only for the professionals. And even then, I’m not sure how well they’re doing.”

s o what’s the bottom line? Forster said that she — and everyone else — does not truly know what is going to happen.

“This is very real … These are times to watch, these [are] times to be cau tious,” she said. “What’s going on is serious. This is not just a little mini-crash that is going to be over in a month. There’s some, I think, fundamental things going on, and it’s changing the way that the world is operating.”

Contact Kelsey Quint at kquint@nd.edu

Mendoza

of 2026 and beyond will have nine credit hours, or typi cally three courses, to take “broadening electives.” The stipulation is that the nine hours must be taken in at least two business depart ments outside the student’s primary major.

Why was the curriculum changed?

m artijn c remers, dean of the college, said the core changes allow students to have more control over their undergraduate stud ies while still providing a “comprehensive business education.”

“The key ‘why’ is to al low our students to be able to take more ownership of their own curriculum and ideally, allow them to take another major outside of the college,” c remers said.

The change is also part of a larger plan to offer more time for discernment among underclassmen. In fall 2019, in c remers’ year as interim dean, the college began allowing first-years to take m endoza courses, making the undergraduate degree a four-year program as opposed to three.

“The old structure meant that the sophomore year was completely dominat ed by business courses,” c remers said, adding that students had less time to decide whether to switch majors within m endoza or have the opportunity to transfer to another college within n otre d ame.

m endoza will continue to offer its five majors: finance, accounting, marketing, management consulting and business analytics.

Assistant dean Andrew Wendelborn manages the advising office and serves as the point person for undergraduate affairs in

m endoza. Wendelborn said he thinks it will allow stu dents to expand their skill set, leading to more oppor tunities for a wider variety of internships.

“Today, people aren’t just doing accounting,” he said. “People are dabbling in all sorts of stuff.”

Wendelborn’s office also approves all m endoza study abroad applications. h e says studying abroad should be come not only more flexible, but more doable, as students can consider programs that don’t offer any business courses.

“We want to see, can you still graduate, do that loca tion without business and be done in eight semesters,” he said. “ s o with the reduc tion in the c ollege c ore, that’s opening up a whole other batch of credits [and] I think it’s going to be more attractive for business stu dents to take a location that has no business courses.”

h owever, all current soph omores, juniors and seniors must finish out the old re quirements, regardless of where they are in their degree.

Junior m organ r ader, a fi nance and economics dou ble major, expects to be done with her core requirements by the end of her junior year. And that’s with a planned semester abroad in London. While she can’t take advan tage of the new space in the curriculum, she sees it as a holistic education for future business students.

“I guess I’m not really benefiting from it,” she said, “ b ut I like the idea that peo ple will have more flexibility to actually just take classes they’re interested in rather than having a set schedule plan that they have to do.”

r ader added that she thinks it may be beneficial for students to still have a “recommended” schedule to promote a well-rounded

one.

g iven that he is in a student-facing role, Wendelborn acknowledges that he knows some upper classmen are disappointed they missed the change by a year or two.

“Just to be fair to every body and consistent, we had to signal that we’re going to start with the class of 2026,” he said. “That’s just the na ture of the office.”

Implementation to af fect faculty course assignments

All courses cut from the core curriculum will still be available for students to take rather than phased out, c remers said, but they will be offered under new names. In theory, any incoming stu dent could take the same ex act curriculum as the class of 2025 and older.

Yet, as fewer students inevitably enroll in the dropped core classes, pro fessors will have to shift to teach different ones.

“We’ve made it very clear, very explicit, that due to these changes, no faculty will lose any opportunity to teach here,” he said. “We will ask some faculty to teach a different course that’s still within their expertise.”

The less structured cur riculum is also built to of fer faculty a chance to be more creative and free to teach specialized courses on topics of interest to them, c remers said.

While this fall’s news has been years in the making, c remers noted he didn’t know the last time the cur riculum had been changed, just that it had been a while.

“We haven’t revisited the c ore for a long time,” he said. “ s o I do think it’s a good idea to occasionally do this.”

Contact Alysa Guffey at aguffey@nd.edu

ALYSA GUFFEY | The Observer

The Mendoza College of Business changed its core curriculum for the class of 2026 and beyond to allow for more flexibility in academic endeavors and greater study abroad oppurtunities for undergraduates.

Students deserve more than just group counseling

who are available to assist students by appointment.

as the first full month of the semester comes to a close and midterms are on the horizon, it is essential that men tal well-being is a priority. The tri-campus community boasts a multitude of resources for student mental health, but it’s time to ask: are they enough? in a winter 2021 sur vey sent to students by the mcdonald center for student Well-being, 90% of students surveyed expressed “some level of concern” about their emotional well-being. With this amount of demand, the tri-campus community must invest more time, money and resources into caring for the mental health of its students.

right now at notre dame, the two most prominent resources for mental well-being are the University counseling center (Ucc) and the mcdonald center, colloquially known as mcWell. The Ucc advertises free counseling services for all notre dame students as well as psychiatric evaluations and group counseling sessions. on its website, the Ucc reports that approximately 16% of the notre dame student body utilizes its services every year, with 30% of students utilizing the center by the time they graduate.

similarly at saint mary’s, students can find counseling services within the angela athletic and Wellness complex. The health and Wellness center is located just inside the main south entrance of the complex. The health and counseling center has four full-time counselors on staff

While the Ucc serves an essential role on campus, it struggles to accommodate student demand for counsel ing and psychiatric care. because of the limited number of counselors on staff and the high need for individual counseling, the Ucc has encouraged residential hall staff and other campus leaders to direct their residents toward group counseling sessions instead of individual counseling this year. While group counseling can be helpful for some people, it’s often difficult to share mental health struggles with a professional, let alone a group of strangers.

students who do receive time slots for individual coun seling are met by the Ucc’s care plan, which is built to find “brief, solution-focused treatment” for their emotional needs. and although the counseling at the Ucc is adver tised to students as free, it is only the first 12 sessions that are free of charge. The number of free sessions is the same at the holy cross counseling center. While this might be enough sessions for some, many students require more in dividual counseling than the brief plan that these centers are currently offering.

in contrast, the saint mary’s health and counseling center only offers enrolled students up to eight free coun seling sessions per semester. While students can receive care from their designated counselor throughout the se mester, they can only schedule appointments every other week. This makes it difficult, especially for those who are experiencing acute issues, to see their counselor as regu larly as they need. and while the counseling centers can offer referrals to off-campus services, the cost of individual

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counseling or therapy can become a major barrier to stu dents receiving the care they need.

in order to support students fully, all three schools must direct more money and resources to make individual counseling more accessible to students. all students should have access to consistent, individual counseling for as long as they need it.

one possible step to improvement is to bring back the mental health days of the 2020-21 school year — keeping the current calendar but adding period days for students to maintain their mental well-being. it is already a practice for some professors to recommend their students take a mental health day or two if needed, but expanding the practice to apply to all classes would benefit students hesi tant to take time for themselves and professors worried about telling students to skip class.

recently in states such as Utah, maine, illinois, nevada, oregon, colorado, virginia and arizona, legislative actions have passed to allow high school students to take mental health days. This trend of legislative action has continued into 2022 with iowa, Kentucky, missouri, Pennsylvania and the district of columbia introducing measures in support of mental health days for students.

The tri-campus already has some helpful mental health resources, and it’s important to take advantage of them. but our three schools must do more, especially when it comes to the availability of individual counseling and mental health days. as it stands, the tri-campus is sending students the message that some mental health concerns are too big to handle. They shouldn’t be.

An opinion on pharmaceutical patents

Alexa Schlaerth m ind, spirit and body Politic

The recent global cov Id-19 pandemic has prompted us to look inward to reflect. one aspect subject to this reflection is none other than our healthcare system. more specifically, covid has presented an opportunity to investigate the shortcomings and advantages of our cur rent healthcare system, especially as it operates within the market/mixed economy ecosystem in modern American life. In this examination, a key ethical issue emerges: pharmaceutical abuse of patents.

The practice of medical research in pharmaceuticals is all but new. Yet, due to the very nature of research and innovation, research practices give rise to many smaller infant industries. each discovery for a new drug or treat ment creates a micro industry for itself, carving out its own section of the greater pharmaceutical industry for the taking. each new drug then captures the demand of patients in that section, hopeful that the drug will be the cure for what ails them.

Pharmaceutical companies that have developed a new drug can apply for a patent for it, which gives them ex clusive access to the licensure, manufacturing, and dis tribution of their drug for 12 years. (12 years itself, I may add, is a nontrivial amount of time, especially for those suffering with a degenerative disease, but patents may be stacked on top of each other, leading to exclusive owner ship for far upwards of the initial 12 year mark.) Patents effectively create a monopoly for the micro infant in dustry. Patents allow pharmaceutical companies to set their own prices. For life-saving medication though, this price-setting can seem to hold patients hostage, and the hefty ransom price tag can loom over them.

some examples of this monopolistic and often exploit ative behavior are the following, from the Association for Accessible medicines“The world’s top-selling brand drug, humira, treats arthritis and other chronic con ditions. on the market since 2002, 132 patents block

competition for up to 39 years.“one of the most pre scribed cancer treatments, revlimid, was approved by the FdA in 2005. The patent thicket consists of 96 patents providing potentially 40 years without competition. diabetes patients who rely on the insulin treatment, Lantus, may not see a generic alternative for 37 years due to the 49 patents issued.”

The issue of access to affordable medicine has incred ibly high stakes when we consider the desperation of the ill, especially those with terminal illness. It reaches far beyond the issue of paying more for brand name drugs as opposed to generics. but why are these mini monopolies allowed to exist? Why are there patents to begin with?

Patents incentivise innovation and research because they provide a “light at the end of the tunnel” for what is a long, arduous research process. research requires a lot of upfront investment. suppose company A researches and tests a drug. company A invests years of work and millions of dollars. Without rights to their intellectual property, company b can swoop in after the research and testing is finished and sell the drug on the market. so why did company A invest all of that just to be under cut? Patents disallow this story to take place.

A further advantage of patents is that in creating the public and formal tie of ownership, they create a rela tionship of accountability between the company and the product. If and when things go wrong, consumers know who to turn to (or who to sue, as the case may be).

Intellectual property relationships allow for consumers to air their grievances, as demonstrated by many person al injury lawyers, class-action lawsuits and even individ ual cases like that of the biomedical startup Theranos or that against the oral contraceptive brand Yaz. Theranos failed to deliver on its promise to accurately test low volume blood samples. Yaz was proven an ineffectual contraceptive. We are capable of knowing this now in part because of the relationships that patents formalize and reinforce.

Patents have clear benefits. but, just as clearly, there is a trade-off between their benefits and disadvantages. We

must negotiate this trade-off.

It would be quite easy for an ethicist with no more than a cursory understanding of this issue of patent abuse to draw overly simplistic conclusions. “Free healthcare for all” and “healthcare is a human right” are slogans thrown about in modern political discourse that only begin to touch on the issues at hand. The simple and “equitable” solution that those uneducated on the topic come to is that patents should be waived completely. but if healthcare is paid for by the government, then why does the price of drugs matter? Who’s to say the govern ment will pay for name brand drugs rather than waiting for patents to expire to qualify them for coverage?

Another possible solution a non-expert ethicist may propose is for the government to seize control of the pharmaceutical industry, subsidizing their research and therefore owning their intellectual property. but doesn’t that just shift the monopoly from one entity (the compa nies) to another (the government)? And how much of our tax dollar will we allot for medical research.

These are just a few of the important questions we need to consider for possible solutions to the patent problem. If there were a simple and effective solution available, we’d have solved the problem already. It is not enough to simply wish for free healthcare or for all the power to be seized from “big Pharma.” There are many considerations to take into account.

Alexa Schlaerth is a junior at the University of Notre Dame studying anthropology and linguistics. When she’s not slamming hot takes into her laptop keyboard, she can be found schooling her peers in the daily Wordle and NYT mini crossword, rewatching South Park or planning her next backpacking trip. As an Angeleno, Alexa enjoys drinking overpriced nondairy iced lattes and complaining about traffic because it’s “like, totally lame.” Alexa can be reached on Twitter at @alexa_sch laerth or via email at aschlaer@nd.edu.

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

I wish grandpas never died

Stephen Viz o utsider Instincts

on The observer website, this column begins with lyrics from country singer riley Green’s 2019 magnum opus, “I Wish Grandpa’s never died.” dedicating this song to his two late grandfathers, Green credits them as co-writers on a track that has been streamed 130 million times in 2022 alone. If you haven’t listened to this song, please do. because I guarantee it will at least bring up memories of growing up. For me, it reminds me of my grandparents..

Like many teenagers and young adults across the country, I grew up with grandparents who had a massive impact on my development as a child of God. And like so many other kids, I have helped lay my paternal grandpar ents to rest. I never met my maternal grandparents due to their passing before my parents’ wedding, but for 25 years, my grandparents never knew the word “no” when it came to the needs of their 11 grandchildren. devoted, tireless and generous to a fault, steve and marilyn lived a life of service and integrity that is rarely seen. I miss them dearly and am grateful for the presence they had in my life and in the lives of others.

This week commemorates the second anniversary of their passing, as my grandpa steve died eight days after my grandma, marilyn. The namesake for both my dad and I, my grandpa stephen A. “steve” viz was one of the smart est men I’ve ever met. born to hungarian immigrants in dayton, ohio in 1936, steve’s father passed away six weeks after he was born. Forged by his mother, older brothers and the city of chicago that they called a new home, my grandpa’s life was anything but uneventful.

Two weeks after being sent home from school due to the cov Id-19 pandemic, the health of both my grandparents

began to decline. After several more health scares, my grandma was sent to a rehabilitation facility for nearly five weeks. When she was released, health compilations would then arise for my grandpa, a man who had survived a heart coronary nearly forty years before. When my grand ma would return from facilities, my grandpa would enter them. A frustrating process for both me and my extended family, the five months before their deaths were filled with the dread of hospital food, cov Id visitations and health care worker availability.

but even through all this, we came to see our quaran tined spring and summer as a blessing from above. A hard reset, it gave my siblings, parents and me not only the chance to catch up, but to care for the grandparents who had cared for us for the entirety of our lives. These months were filled with belly laughs, great meals and stories. The true story of a scar on my grandpa’s lip even came to light. he detailed that in 1946, the best thing to do for kids in the city on a saturday was to participate in a “rumble” where unwatched neighborhood children would fight each other and place wagers on it. Amidst the anxieties of cov Id-19, these were the best of times.

After weeks of in-home, end-of-life care, my grandma passed away on the morning of sept. 20 2020, with my brother Thomas at her side. her wake and funeral fol lowed a Friday/saturday format that following week, and I could clearly tell that my grandpa was hurting. To see your spouse of 54 years be laid to rest would suck the life out of anyone, but still, my grandpa pushed through. on sunday, he wanted to accompany my dad and I on the drive back to south bend. our 75-minute ride back from the southwest suburbs of chicago went by quickly, but as we listened on the radio to the bears defeating the Falcons and conversed, all agony and dismay dissolved. Following an evening of noodles & company and culver’s cus tard, we exchanged goodbyes. “stephen, I love you and am

proud of you” were the final words he mentioned to me that night. Those would be the last words I would ever hear him say.

The following morning while in class, a quick barrage of texts noted news I was not expecting. “Grandpa just passed away on the drive to christ hospital. congestive heart failure.” I had no words. I was stunned. shellshocked. befuddled. discombobulated. Leaving that class, I told the professor of my next class that I wasn’t going to be taking his midterm, returned to my room and sobbed. my grandpa’s funeral would be that following weekend, exactly a week after my grandma’s funeral. And while we yearned as a family to be anywhere but that funeral home, something about these services was different. no longer was my grandfather in a wheelchair accepting condolenc es for the loss of his beloved wife. rather, we took solace in the fact that after only eight days apart, my grandparents were united again once more on the heavenly plane. my cousin, an Augustinian priest, sealed my peace of mind with his homily at my grandfather’s funeral mass. “Love and do what you will. If we can say that steve and marilyn did this throughout their christian life, then there is no doubt that they are reunited today in the eternal Kingdom of heaven.” Two years later, this anniversary is not a sol emn one, but a joyful day of remembrance that commem orates the beautiful lives my grandparents lived.

so, to steve and marilyn: may God give you rest, and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Stephen Viz is a one-year MBA candidate and graduate of Holy Cross College. Hailing from Orland Park, Illinois, his columns are all trains of thoughts and he can be found at either Decio Cafe or in Mendoza. He can be reached at sviz@ nd.edu or on Twitter at @StephenViz.

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

All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray

Associate news e ditor

“had I been blessed with even limited access to my own mind, there would have been no reason to write,” the writer Joan d idion said in a speech discussing the reasons and methods behind her writing. “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means.”

When I first read that speech in an online archived edition of The new York Times with a strangely etched illustration of d idion’s face, desper ately trying everything I could to improve my writing in the midst of college application season, I was puzzled. The idea that putting words on paper in order to learn what you’re thinking, rather than making up your mind about every idea before committing them to a Google d oc or journal page, was foreign to me. s o while I appreciated some of the speech, I resigned myself to the idea that I was not a “writer” in the way that d idion described.

And yet in the past year, I find myself increasingly awake at night or distracted at coffee shops, with the urge to open the notes app on my phone and figure out what I’m thinking. The result of this is often bleak, despondent soliloquies; I tremble at the thought of anyone reading them. And yet, they have so often lifted weeks-long fogs over my mind, allowing me to see what it is that is weighing on me or what I am truly scared of.

They’re not all apocalyptic or miserable, too, and on the occasion of this Inside c olumn, I come to my computer, ready to write, with a ques tion far more boring than my previous contribution to the v iewpoint pages: Why am I obsessed with c alifornian identity?

s o many times in high school, I told my mother and anyone who would listen how much I disliked c alifornia, how much I couldn’t wait to leave to another state that was less frustrating or insane. It didn’t help that I lived in s acramento, epitomizing to my restless adolescent self both the dysfunction of our state’s government and the utter boringness of west coast suburbia Lady bird.

I didn’t feel exactly that way when I left home for my freshman year, but in the time I’ve spent here, I constantly think about how much I’m a c alifornian and how alien that can be. The tears I cry while watching Lady bird have become so much more palpable, and there is so much more weight to hearing Lana d el rey croon about the c alifornia sun and the movie stars, or the way the b each boys say “c aliforn-aye-a” on “surfin’ U. s.A” or the mamas and Papas’ lyrics that the title of this col umn is lifted from.

I was in office hours with my political theory professor last year, and our conversation somehow made its way to how d idion’s work was in creasingly conquering the shelf of books in my dorm, as I bought sec ondhand copies of everything she wrote on weekend trips to c hicago bookstores. I had no doubt that her writing prowess and the resonance of her work was part of that, but a huge part was seeking to understand c alifornia, to feel it even while trekking through the s outh b end snow banks. Professor Kaplan told me something that has stuck with me: “There’s something about this place that lets people really learn about who they are.”

I think that in many ways, my obsession is silly. I visited a friend in v irginia a couple times this summer from my internship in Washington, d c . As we drove through the v irginia countryside, I kept coming up blank in response to questions about how things were like in c alifornia. The state is massive; there’s little my sleepy, suburban s acramento ado lescence or childhood in s an Francisco shares in common with the doz ens of o range c ounty residents I’ve met here. And yet, as I spent those months in d c ., I kept noticing things: our summers are browner in c alifornia, our old houses aren’t as old, the heat’s a different creature.

I genuinely think there are things that unify c alifornia, that define its identity and spirit. but I think that perhaps this obsession, this fixation comes not from a need to define myself or to categorize various feelings of alienation and homesickness. I don’t know. I wrote, and I did not re ceive a definitive answer. but I did finish my Inside c olumn — see you back in the (superior) news pages.

You can contact Isa at isheikh@nd.edu. The views expressed in this Inside column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

‘The ballot is stronger than the bullet’

delay this step! The rest of the steps require your registration to be complete (and some states have early registration deadlines).

“The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”

And coming from Abraham Lincoln, that must really mean something.

All jokes aside, ballots stitch our de mocracy together. Without them, the power of leaders would go unchecked, public interests would be sacrificed for personal gain and the government of the people, by the people, for the people would in fact perish from the e arth. You would expect such a powerful tool to have widespread adoption.

Instead, as many as 1 in 4 eligible voters are not registered. how can this be?

This is not a problem inherent in democracy, but in the United s tates. most nationsautomatically register eli gible individuals. In the U. s ., however, 18 year-olds are responsible for register ing themselves. Further, address, name or party affiliation changes all require registration updates, without which you can be barred from voting. This process has been simplified by the increasing availability of online registration, but over 20% of states don’t provide this option. m any states also require reg istration in advance of election day, sometimes up to 30 days. And if you’re a college student? Add extra time to mail your registration, be approved, mail in your request for an absentee ballot, be approved and send an absentee ballot, fill it out and mail it back before nov. 8.

Get the picture?

o ne organization is working to change the narrative. national voter r egistration d ay is a nonpartisan move ment that coordinates a push for voter registration every s eptember. They find community partners such as libraries, companies and schools who are willing to provide places for people to register. They create content for social media and recruit influencers to explain the registration process on various plat forms. news blasts on both local and national levels draw awareness to the campaign. And over 20,000 volunteers help run registration drives and initia tives. This year, the nationwide effort was led by s ecretaries of s tate m ichael Adams ( r-KY) and s teve s imon ( d mn ) with the collaboration of numerous organizations. o ne week ago, s ept. 20, was national voter r egistration d ay this year. s ince its inception in 2012, 4.7 million voters have registered on this holiday alone.

e ven if you missed last week’s holi day, there is still time to avoid being the 1 in 4 people unable to participate in democracy. There are four main (and easier than you think!) steps to voting in college.

Register!

vote.org does a great job of aggre gating the voting laws of every state in one location. They connect you to online registration for your state or the proper form to be mailed in. d o not

Request an absentee ballot!

vote.org can once again connect you to the resources to do this. s ome states allow you to do this online, while oth ers require a paper request to be mailed in. e ven though election day is in november, you need to start the process now, lest your ballot be silenced due to a missed deadline.

Vote, and vote informed!

After several rounds of governmental procedures, you finally got your ballot: congrats! now it is important for you to not only vote, but to vote informed. As former president John F. Kennedy once said, “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” d on’t be a misinformed or unin formed voter. Your ballot has an impact that, if misused, can have dire conse quences. Fortunately, there are a few ways to avoid this. First, ballotready. org is a fantastic resource that collects nonpartisan information on the candi dates and issues on your ballot. s econd, online versions of your local newspaper are another good source. ( r ecognize, however, that newspapers often have candidate information from explicitly partisan sources.)

Don’t forget the bottom of the ballot!

Local elections need your voice. d o you have a younger sibling? Your vote for the board of education will affect them. d o you have a family friend who owns a business? Your vote for the town manager will affect them. d o you plan on living in your hometown or state again? Your vote for town council or state representative will be affect ing you and your future family’s lives. These offices, often mistaken for small and inconsequential, affect the lives of you and your loved ones directly. r esearch and vote for them accordingly.

d emocracy’s participatory nature is quite messy, but it is the best way we know how to justly govern. however, democratic institutions cannot do this on their own. They require the time, ef fort and care of each one of its citizens. The buck stops with you. Will you reg ister to vote, request an absentee ballot and make informed decisions? o r will your apathy starve our democracy? The strength of your ballot is up to you.

Audrey Feldman (‘24) is majoring in Economics and Global Affairs and mi noring in PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics). She is a member of ND’s Write to Vote chapter.

W2V is the Notre Dame chapter of the national Write to Vote Project, a non-par tisan, pro-democracy initiative. Its goal is to support democracy, encourage civic en gagement and advance voting rights in the U.S. and around the world. You can contact NDW2V at ndw2v@nd.edu.

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

Isa Sheikh

Audrey Feldman

Write to vote

By MATHEUS HERNDL s cene Writer

released in 2013, “Grand Theft Auto v,” or “GTA v,” was one of the most successful video games ever with more than 170 million copies sold worldwide as of 2022 and an aver age score of 97 on metacritic, rockstar Games’ landmark title has been a major influence on nearly every other open world sandbox game released in its wake. naturally, fans eagerly awaited a sequel, but it seems that some were eager enough to commit one of the biggest cybercrimes in gam ing history.

After nearly a decade of waiting, rockstar Games an nounced that the development of the next GTA title was “well underway” back on Feb. 4. however, to the dissatis faction of many online, rockstar Games did not share any thing else, not even promotional images or a trailer.

six months later, we finally got more information regard ing the game, albeit from a less-than-legal source.

on sept. 18, the popular message board “GTAForums” and later the image-sharing site “4chan” were flooded with over 90 clips, assets and even the source code from the stillin-development title, which quickly spread to other social media sites like YouTube and Twitter. The leaker, going by the name “teapotuberhacker” claims to be the same person that hacked the ride-hailing app Uber on sept. 15.

The leaked footage revealed a lot of interesting informa tion about the game, such as a diner robbery mission, the miami-inspired setting of “vice city” and the two playable characters: a man named Jason and a woman named Lucia, the first ever female protagonist in the series. It also showed that “GTA v I” will have an in-game social media mechanic inspired by Facebook and WhatsApp.

of course, it’s difficult to say if any of these features will make it to the final game as most of it seems to come from an early development version of the game.

In the same day, Take Two Interactive (rockstar Games’ parent company) began issuing copyright takedown no tices on YouTube and Twitter in an effort to contain the leaks from spreading and seemingly proving that the leaks were legitimate. At this point, many online were still skep tical of the videos and believed them to be an elaborate hoax.

on the sept. 19, the “GTAForums” and the GTA subreddit were both temporarily deactivated, and threads containing links or comments about the leaks were deleted. Also on sept. 19, rockstar Games’ Twitter account issued a message confirming the hack and proving the veracity of the leaks.

The situation further escalated sept. 20 when Uber an nounced that the FbI and the U.s department of Justice had begun an investigation of an international hacker group known “Lapsus$,” who were allegedly behind theirs and by

extension, rockstar Games’ cyberattack. The same group was apparently behind other attacks against microsoft, nvidia and even the brazilian ministry of health earlier this year, all of which resulted in the theft of confidential infor mation for extortion.

on sept. 22, city of London police confirmed the arrest of a 17-year-old teenager in oxfordshire in connection with the crimes, and later, brazilian police issued a warrant for the arrest of another suspected “Lapsus$” member, al though authorities believe that there are up to five others involved with the group.

Although the primary reason for the attacks seems to be simply money, many people online theorize that rockstar Games was specifically targeted after early reports contro versially indicated that “GTA v I” would have a “culturally sensitive story” and a female protagonist to the disdain of some image-sharing sites like “4chan” where the footage was initially leaked.

In the aftermath, fans speculated on how the leaks might affect the development of “GTA v I.” A lot of the footage has received criticism regarding the game’s graphics and game play looking underwhelming, which might cause rockstar Games to change their development and even delay the release.

Contact Matheus Herndl at mherndl@nd.edu

By JANE MILLER s cene Writer

Prior to this year, the only way for a notre dame student to secure a delicious bowl of blended acai was to take a walk down to Purely Pressed on e ddy street. now, there are two places on campus that sell smoothie bowls: rollin’ and bowlin’ at the hagerty c afe in d uncan student c enter and Flip Kitchen in LaFortune student c enter. I have taken it upon myself to try each of the smoothie bowl places on and near campus so that you don’t have to. For the basis of this comparison, I have selected the bowls that are most similar to each other from each respective place: Flip Kitchen’s “Acai b anana b erry,” Purely Pressed’s “Acai” and rollin’ and bowlin’s “super monkey bowl.”

Flip Kitchen offers two smoothie bowls: “Acai banana b erry” and “Acai Peanut butter.” While one of the smoothie bowl options has peanut butter blended into the base, it is unfortunately not an option to add this as a topping for either bowl. In my mind, this is a strike against them, but for most people, a lack of peanut butter isn’t a dealbreaker.

The “Acai banana b erry” is topped with granola, strawberries, banana and a honey drizzle that adds a sweetness to the bowl, which I surprisingly enjoyed. The base is banana tasting, but the honey overpowers most of the other flavors.

I have had smoothie bowls from Flip Kitchen on two

occasions, and each time there was one major issue: the consistency of the smoothie. Flip Kitchen blends the smoothie base to the point where it is so liquidy that the toppings sink to the bottom (see the photo to understand what I mean). The bowl basically turns into a juice after about 10 minutes.

The toppings were hastily placed on the bowl and arranged in the least aesthetically pleasing way, when compared to the other two locations. The banana was cut into four giant slices, making them harder to eat and less plentiful.

All in all, the smoothie bowls at Flip Kitchen, though not very satisfying, are about what you can expect from a sandwich place that happens to sell smoothie bowls. It gets the job done, but I definitely wouldn’t choose to come here if you are craving a really good acai bowl.

Though Purely Pressed is the least convenient of the three places, if you are looking for a guaranteed quality smoothie bowl experience, I wouldn’t advise against making the trip. The staff at Purely Pressed are very friendly, and they clearly take time when ar ranging their toppings. o f the three locations, Purely Pressed definitely has the best presentation.

The “Acai” bowl’s base flavor is the least strong out of all the places. It is a blend of acai, mango, straw berry, banana and coconut milk. Though I usually prefer more sweetness, the toppings make up for what is lost.

r ather than having pre-selected toppings for the bowl, a customer is allowed to choose whichever four toppings they desire. Thus, you could be more likely to enjoy a bowl at Purely Pressed because of the au tonomy you have over your smoothie bowl destiny.

The flavor of the smoothie at rollin’ and bowlin’ is the best out of all of the bowls, in my opinion. It is a blend of acai, berries, banana, pineapple and coconut water topped with granola, coconut, banana, straw berries and chia seeds, but you can choose to omit or add on other toppings (including peanut butter!).

The toppings are the most plentiful at rollin’ and b owlin’, and, like Purely Pressed, the fruit was thinly sliced and fresh. Though the presentation was not as good as that of Purely Pressed, it was significantly better than Flip Kitchen’s.

When reviewing the bowl, I found that there were a few unblended chunks of acai. I wasn’t too bothered by this, though, as I would take a couple pieces of fro zen acai over the liquid mess of Flip Kitchen any day. however, it is worth noting that sometimes, with the chaos at d uncan student c enter, orders at rollin’ and b owlin’ can be hastily completed.

In conclusion: b est Tasting smoothie b owl: “super monkey bowl” ( rollin’ and bowlin’). most Aesthetically Pleasing b owls: Purely Pressed. If you to Flip Kitchen, just get a sandwich.

Contact Jane Miller at jmille95@nd.edu

By NICOLE BILYAK s cene Writer

In 2016, Lucasfilm released the first of the “ s tar Wars” spin-off films, “ r ogue o ne: A s tar Wars s tory.” The film was a massive success and pro vided a new perspective on the r ebel Alliance. It took until this s eptember to continue the journey “ r ogue o ne” began into the underbelly of the fa mous rebellion in “ s tar Wars” when d isney+ aired the first three episodes of the newest “ s tar Wars” show, “Andor.”

This foray into the faraway galaxy stars d iego Luna as the titular c assian Andor. In these first episodes, we meet him as an ostensibly undistin guished thief who, while searching for his missing sister, kills two officers who work for a megacor poration which essentially runs its own govern ment upholding the e mpire. This forces Andor to go on the run before company officer s yril Karn (Kyle s oller) arrests him. While trying to find a way off the planet Ferrix (which is under the ju risdiction of the company), Andor enlists the

help of b ix c aleen (Adria Arjona), a mechanic and black market dealer. s he tries to help Andor get enough money to get off of Ferrix by reaching out to her mysterious contact Luthen r ael ( s tellan s karsgård). Interspersed with this thriller are flashbacks to Andor’s childhood that explore his home planet Kenari, which has become the host of an Imperial mining project.

I have very mixed feelings about this show. o ne of its positives is that its cinematography is abso lutely gorgeous. It looked very cinematic with a film noir feel, a genre influence the showrunner (and “Jason b ourne” scribe) Tony Gilroy has pub licly celebrated. This doesn’t feel like a “ s tar Wars” product, even though it has the name attached to it; it feels very much like a spy thriller. I also like the subtlety of the flashbacks involving Andor and his sister. It didn’t detract too much from the main plot, but it serves the purpose of looking into Andor’s childhood and why he is the way he is.

The show, however, has a major problem with pacing. The first two episodes of the show were very slow, which made them a bit painful for me

to watch. As a massive “ s tar Wars” fan, I was ex pecting them to be very flashy and action-packed, so the first two episodes just didn’t do it for me. b ut when I watched the third episode, I was very satisfied, as it set up the next episode well and felt much like a “ s tar Wars” entry.

In conclusion, “Andor” is a decent addition to the “ s tar Wars” franchise and offers a look into a compelling character whom fans have been wait ing to know. The show will be releasing episodes weekly all the way up to n ov. 23, 2022 on d isney+.

Contact Nicole Bilyak at nbilyak01@saintmarys.edu

“Andor”

Starring: Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård

Favorite episode: “Reckoning”

If you like: “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”

Where to watch: Disney+

By ANDY OTTONE s cene Writer

n etflix’s new movie “ d o r evenge” intrigued me from its announcement: a plot inspired by Alfred h itchcock’s “ s trangers on a Train,” but with a high school setting. n etflix advertised its similarities to other high school classics such as “ c lueless,” a personal favorite of mine, so I came into the mov ie with cautious anticipation. The film boasts a who’s who of young adult T v stars, with c amilla m endes of “ r iverdale” as a former it girl in her senior year of high school and m aya h awke from “ s tranger Things” as a transfer student with a troubled past and a bone to pick, alongside sup porting actors from the shows “13 r easons Why,” “ e uphoria” and “ o uter b anks.”

m eeting before their senior year, d rea ( m endes) and e leanor ( h awke) find themselves both seek ing revenge on their classmates for personal reasons: d rea’s boyfriend m ax (Austin Abrams, “ e uphoria”) ruined her reputation and e leanor’s former friend c arissa had accused her of assault. While the movie’s plot follows fairly standard beats, the performances truly make the film, especially h awke’s portrayal of e leanor. At the film’s start, I felt her character was very similar to h awke’s r obin in “ s tranger Things,” and I was

worried she had been typecast as the weird girl. I was pleased to see e leanor have deeper complex ity and motivations than the film originally re veals. h awke’s performance is easily the best part of the film, especially in the moments leading up to the climax. This is not to say that d rea is not also compelling, as m endes plays the character in such a way that you can’t help but feel bad for her despite her callous, almost narcissistic behavior.

These performances elevate the film’s writing, which is not bad, but basic. n othing in the sto ry truly stood out; this is simply a normal teen movie. That is, until the third act twist. The twist reframes the whole movie and raises the tension and stakes for the rest of the runtime. The events following the twist are not the most exciting, but the performances by h awke, m endes and Abrams maintain the film’s forward momentum. The style of the film, however, is certainly impressive, whether it be the costume design or shot compo sition. The film was never boring to look at, as there was always something on screen grabbing my attention.

I appreciate the homages and references in the film, but at times I felt the movie relied too heavily on its influences, most notably “ c lueless.” s cenes such as the tour of the cliques, e leanor’s make over and the use of the song “Kids in America”

all mirror the source too closely. The toxic, bor derline romantic infatuation shared between the protagonists harkens back to the dark comedy “ h eathers,” but “ d o r evenge” doesn’t share its big sister’s captivating cynicism. Yes, this film has its own merits, but I feel the movie relies on the style of these classics too much to allow itself to form an identity of its own.

o n paper, I should like “ d o r evenge.” It takes a lot stylistically from movies I love and features a promising plot. Instead, the film neither soars nor falls flat. It is a nice, enjoyable watch, but won’t leave you with much after it ends. The film is not unwatchable by any standard — it just feels like, with its performances and stylistic flair, it could have accomplished so much more.

Contact Andy Ottone at aottone@nd.edu

“Do Revenge”

Starring: Camila Mendes, Maya Hawke, Austin Abrams

Director: Jennifer Kaitlyn Robinson

If you liked: “Clueless,” “Heathers,” “Mean Girls”

Where to watch: Netflix

Happy Birthday: Money matters are a highlight this year. Invest in yourself, your surroundings and your health, not in joint ventures or shared expenses. you need freedom regarding cash distribution and how to achieve the most physically, mentally and financially. keep consumption down and your overhead manageable. Concentrate on what’s attainable and walk away from what’s impossible. your numbers are 6, 17, 24, 32, 35, 41, 48.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Pick away at a creative idea until you turn it into something tangible. keep what you are working toward a secret, and you will save yourself from being lectured by someone who lacks your vision. Start a new fitness-and-health routine.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Speak confidently and share what you know; the response will help you get ahead. Do whatever it takes to boost your reputation, and you’ll gain access to the perfect platform to share concerns, offer solutions and take control.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Take time to get to know your peers, neighbors or community members, and the interactions will lead to opportunities. Emphasize what interests you, and you’ll attract people with connections to something you want to pursue. r omance is in the stars.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Develop a talent or skill that is forwardthinking and fitting for this moment. Be abrupt if that’s what it takes to get others on board. A change will lift you momentarily, but it will be shortlived if you overspend.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): l isten carefully, say little and look for an alternative to what someone suggests. r efuse to let anyone play with your emotions or make you feel guilty. Say no to anyone pressuring you to get involved before you are ready.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Express yourself passionately, and you’ll make progress. What you contribute will change how others perceive you. Take a different route if it will help you gain insight into something that can lead to higher income. Share your feelings and intentions.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Consider your attributes, skills and schedule, and adjust your lifestyle and cash management to fit into your plans. It’s up to you to turn your ideas into something tangible, so don’t wait for someone to do the work for you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Stick to what you know and do best. Don’t give anyone a chance to stand in your way. Think outside the box. By delivering unique presentations that make a difference and promise positive change, you’ll muster up authentic support.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Mull over what you want to achieve, but be secretive regarding your plans to avoid interference. l isten to your heart, not what someone wants you to believe. Expand your workspace or make room for a project or hobby you want to pursue.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Put everything in its place and leave nothing to chance. Talks will bring about positive change; however, actions may leave a sour taste in your or someone else’s mouth. Try not to ruffle feathers, but don’t let anyone take advantage of you.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): you’ll come up with a plan that looks lucrative. Explore the possibilities and consider how to invest safely in something you want to pursue. use your entrepreneurial desire to take the path that makes you feel vibrant and confident. follow your dreams.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): l ive and learn. Take the time to look at every angle of a situation. An emotional discussion can ruin a relationship with someone you count on for help. Choose your words wisely and stick to the truth. Simplify and live within your means.

Birthday Baby: you are secretive, possessive and determined. you are precise and observant.

Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday, The Observer is a vital source of information on people and events in the Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross communities. Join the more than 13,000 readers who have found The Observer an indispensable link to the three campuses. Please complete the accompanying form and mail it today to receive The Observer in your home.

Jumble | DAvID hOyT AND JEff kNurEk

sudoku | ThE MEPhAM grOuP

WOrk Ar EA

The year of the Jaguar

Olivia Schatz Associate sports e ditor

For 18 weeks, the n FL has control over American liv ing rooms. o ut of 32 teams in the league, only one gets the coveted Lombardi Trophy each year. People bet millions of dollars on the outcome of a threeand-a-half-hour game.

Throughout the span of 56 s uper b owls, 12 teams have yet to take home the crown. And out of those 12 teams, four have yet to make it to the game: the b rowns, the Texans, the Lions and of course, the Jaguars.

This year, I am here to inform you all that it will be the year of the Jaguar, and I have three statisti cally proven reasons you should all agree with me.

Who doesn’t love an underdog story?

s eriously, if you don’t ab solutely love an underdog story, I don’t know who you are. d o we seriously want the Patriots to win again? I love n ew e ngland more than the next person. b ut their football team is simply not it.

There are only four teams that have never made it to the s uper b owl, and you already know the Jaguars are one of them.

o k, I know it’s tough to root for Trevor Lawrence. b ut can you seriously look me in the eye and tell me you would want Tom b rady to win over him?

Listen, I might not know much about football. b ut I know you’re wrong about that one. “ o h but o livia, he’s the best of all time.” I do not care. s imply could not care less.

h e’s not the narrative we are looking for in this up coming s uper b owl. You could maybe get me on board if he didn’t quit and then come back, and then quit and then come back. That’s a lame storyline and all of his fans know it.

t hey are right on the cusp

To be fair, I learned less than five minutes ago that not all teams make it to the playoffs. b ut after some more (very simple) re search, I have determined that the Jaguars are right on the cusp of making it.

And as my friend and as sistant managing editor m annion m cGinley, who pays attention to football way more than me, puts it: “ e specially for Jaguar stan dards, they have a chance.”

If you are sitting here reading this thinking, “There is absolutely no way they are making it,” I want you to look in your past as a n otre d ame fan and think about how many times you have wished for a long shot. d one thinking? Great, let’s get back to dreaming.

We are going into week four of n FL play, which gives the Jaguars plenty of time to beat their current odds. Yes, their first game of the sea son. b ut they won the last two! c an n otre d ame fans tell me we really cannot sup port this? And the Jaguars’ last two wins have been blowouts, beating the c olts 24-0 and the c hargers 38-10.

The Jaguars face the e agles next, and while the odds are not in their favor, I believe the Jaguars still have a chance. e specially coming off of their last two wins. If the Jaguars can continue in this direction, I believe they can make the playoffs. And once they make the playoffs, I believe they can take it all the way.

t hey have a sick mascot h ow are you rooting for teams like the Patriots, the Texans and the c hargers when a team like the Jaguars exist? The alliteration in the name alone should be the reason you should want the Jaguars to go all the way this year and years following, as well.For football fans, this might be a dumb reason to want them to win. b ut if they didn’t want us to ral ly behind the mascot, why provide it in the first place?

When you think of Jacksonville, there is not too much that comes to mind. When you think of a Jaguar, you immediately think of a viscous but beau tiful predator. Whoever thought to put the two to gether is simply genius.

s tats aside (which I have conveniently left out of this argument), the Jaguars are simply the best pick.

They have the story line and the mascot and are already doing bet ter than they normally do.

There are plenty of weeks left to switch teams. s o, will you stay with that same old team you do every year? o r are you going to make the right choice and take a chance on the Jacksonville Jaguars?

Contact Olivia Schatz at oschatz@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessar ily those of The Observer.

ZeLo : overlooking the college football landscape

Tom Zwiller sports Writer

Whoever, you are, wherever you are, breathe. Feel better?

After an insane four weeks of notre dame, there is a lull in the season courtesy of an early bye week. The Irish are at an unex pected 2-2 record, and with this bye comes a chance for both fans and the team to collect their breath and prepare for the fol lowing slate of games.

moreover, with the collective pause comes time for ZeLo to look forward to the rest of the sea son — a bigger-picture view. but first, a minor update on the performance of ZeLo thus far.

In the past four weeks, ZeLo had fallen behind, trailing by FPI by 17 games. Granted, that is small in the scheme of nearly 300 games, but FPI is firmly in the lead. This weekend, however, that changed (a bit).

on saturday, ZeLo beat esPn in a head-to-head pick ’em com petition. ZeLo picked 54-12 (.818) to FPI’s 51-15 (.773).

Is that a minor victory? Absolutely, FPI is currently 14 whole games ahead of ZeLo and has an incredible brier Points margin. but it is a good sign.

ZeLo is learning and reacting to stats and results as they come in, and this week’s result shows that.

And so, with that announce ment, it is time to look at ZeLo’s projections for the rest of the season.

Notre Dame

Last week I wrote that ZeLo had picked Unc to beat notre dame by a thin margin, primar ily because of the high-powered carolina offense.

I did add that Unc looked like a paper ram because of their weak strength of schedule.

And that was precisely what happened: nd exploited a poor Unc defense and lit up the score board on offense.

That data point was a massive change for notre dame, and it took the Fighting Irish from a team that was at best .500 to a solid 7-win team.

It is probably not what you are looking for if you are among the Irish faithful, but it is at the very least good news.

nd is 2-2, so they still have plenty of time to prove me wrong, but they need to show their growth against Unc is sustain able and not a flash in the pan against a poor defense.

SEC

In August, the four sec east

teams I highlighted were Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Kentucky, with the Wildcats more of a wild card team with high upside. Kentucky seized on that upside and is now third in the sec east as a high eight-win team and a few simulations where they even turn in nine wins. Tennessee has crossed the double-digit thresh old, but Georgia is still expected to make it to the title game. not a ton has changed in the West, though it is worth not ing that brian Kelly and the LsU Tigers are now a team to be reckoned with and are currently tracking as a high seven, low eight-win team. otherwise, roll Tide.

B10

The b10 east has stayed rela tively static, though michigan has closed the gap with ohio state and the two teams should decide who wins the division (and the conference) when they face off in november.

Penn state is surging, though, and has an outside chance to be the east representative come conference championship week.

ZeLo had initially picked the Wisconsin badgers to win the West. but that prediction seems less likely by the day.

now, the Golden Gophers seem like the strongest candi date, thanks to their thrashing of michigan state.

ACC

In the preseason, the clemson Tigers seemed like a lock to win the Atlantic. And while the Tigers are still favored, the nc state Wolf Pack certainly have a chance to take the throne from them.

We will find out this weekend if they can. The FsU seminoles are considered a strong team, too. but they have yet to enter the same tier as nc state and clemson.

The coastal, the less clear divi sion, now has a clear favorite.

because of north carolina’s atrocious defense and miami’s … overall play, Pitt is now the clear favorite to win the division and has a projected two-game lead on miami and Unc

pac-12

I will go ahead and throw out the unique prediction of Arizona state being a contender for the Pac-12.

Just a perk of beta testing a brand-new model, I suppose. but do not worry, because ZeLo is back with an even hot ter take. Washington and Usc will face off for the conference crown.

At least the huskies are ranked

(unlike Arizona state in the preseason).

B12

As my colleague Joseph Tunney wrote earlier this week, oklahoma state at baylor has the potential to be one of the most critical games in the b12 confer ence schedule.

right now, ZeLo has baylor and oklahoma state as two of the three favorites to reach the conference championship, with the third being oklahoma. This matchup can potentially shape the conference championship game later this season.

G5

As of right now, the AAc Title game looks to be a showdown between cincinnati and UcF.

Though the Tulane Green Wave -— yes, Tulane -— has an outside chance to make it, too.

I am sure everyone reading this loves the sun belt conference. but why would you not? do you not just love a group of spunky underdogs?

In the sun belt, the two strong contenders to come out of the east are coastal carolina and James madison, who was recent ly promoted to the FFcs. In the West, it’s south Alabama.

conference UsA has a hand ful of teams with the potential to make the conference title game. however, the Western Kentucky hilltoppers and the UAb blazers are the leading contenders.

In the mountain West, Air Force still looks like the team to win the mountain division, though boise state has had quite the fallout.

In the West division, it looks like it should be Fresno state or san diego state (I have absolutely nothing on that one).

The only strong-seeming team in the mAc east is miami (oh), so at least there should be one successful miami team this sea son. Toledo seems like the sur est bet in the West, with central michigan and nIU looking like potential outside threats.

Unlike last time, I am going to offer a cFP prediction (though it will be brief — covering ten con ferences and nd is kind of tricky in 1,100 words).

Conference Champs

Alabama beats Georgia ohio state beats minnesota clemson beats Pitt Washington beats Usc (yes, this is real, what can I say)

baylor beats oklahoma

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Monson, Irish volleyball return to Purcell

By JOSE SANCHEZ CORDOVA sports Writer

notre dame volleyball re turns to Purcell Pavilion this weekend for the first time since their opening weekend of the season. They host the no. 11-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Friday night and the c lemson Tigers on sunday afternoon.

We are really looking for ward to being home in our gym. It’s been a few weeks away and it’ll be nice to be back,” said junior libero hattie monson. “These are some competitive teams, so we have to stay focused and fight for every point.”

This weekend, notre dame will look to overcome a heart breaking loss to m iami the last time out. After losing the first two sets by over 10 points each, the Irish ral lied to tie it and force a fifth set. The fourth set saw both teams compete, but it seemed like m iami had it wrapped up with a comfortable 24-17 lead. still, the Irish battled back and showed great mettle as they fought off seven con secutive match points to tie it at 24-24. From there, notre dame made the most of the momentum and prevailed 2826. but it ultimately wasn’t to be, and they dropped the final set 15-13 and took the loss in a closely contested matchup. despite the loss, first-year head coach salima rockwell found some positives in the performance.

“We certainly learned against m iami that we need to come out of the gates fast er,” rockwell said. “however, we also learned that we have another gear that we hadn’t seen yet. We were so competi tive, and it was great to see the team not happy at all with our level of play in the first two sets. While I had to get on them a bit, it was really them that made the mentality shift to play at another level. They showed grit and resilience and we are going to need to lean on that a ton this year.”

The Irish open home con ference play with Georgia Tech on Friday. The Yellow Jackets have been among the best teams in college volley ball to start the season. They sit at 9-2, with both losses coming against ranked op ponents ( ohio state and Arkansas). They are also un defeated in conference play. c oach rockwell relished the opportunity it presents for the Irish.

“It’s always good to play a team that is as talented as Georgia Tech. They have ex perience and they are very

good at every position,” said rockwell. “You learn more about yourselves and your weaknesses when you play top teams because they can expose those more readily than some other teams. It’s a chance to play, to get better and learn.”

Georgia Tech has been led by senior outside hitter Julia bergmann. The reigning Acc Player of the Year and a First Team All-American last sea son, bergmann has picked up right where she left off, leading her team in kills (201) while her next closest team mate, senior middle blocker e rin moss, has just 83, not even half bergmann’s total.

monson preached prepara tion ahead of a weekend that will present numerous chal lenges for notre dame.

“We’ve been really men tally preparing because this will be a tough weekend,” said monson. “We’ve been doing a really good job on focusing every day in practice to pre pare for the weekends. We’ve been watching a lot of film on our opponents and figur ing out the best way to play them.”

c oach rockwell praised monson’s effort and lead ership as the team battles through difficult moments.

“hattie monson has estab lished herself as a leader by the way she plays the game. everyone knows she’s bring ing it every day. she never takes a play off. best leader by example,” said rockwell.

notre dame’s second op ponent this weekend is the c lemson Tigers. With a 9-5

record, the Tigers present a less daunting challenge for the Irish than highly ranked Georgia Tech. c lemson is middle-of-the-pack in most statistics in the Acc but the Tigers rank dead last in blocks.

notre dame’s outside hit ters, led by junior middle blocker Lauren Tarnoff, may be able to exploit that as a weakness.

“I have been so pleased with Lauren Tarnoff’s play, and last weekend it was so cool to see her take over and be a vo cal leader on the team,” said rockwell. “It’s impactful be cause she doesn’t do it all the time, but she is so dialed into the game plan and can help direct players in every rota tion, and she did just that last weekend.”

Twelve games into the year, notre dame and rockwell are not where they want to be. They sit at the bottom of the Acc standings at 5-7 overall as the only team under .500. They are also winless in con ference play with losses to Florida state and m iami last week. despite the shaky start, rockwell kept her message consistent.

“The message is the same as it’s been,” she said. “We have another opportunity in front of us, to work hard, get better and put ourselves in a posi tion to win. We are a very pro cess-driven team, and when you put in the work and con tinue to focus on getting bet ter, good things happen.”

Contact José Sánchez Córdova at jsanche24@nd.edu.

Irish host eagles in Acc game

By ANNIKA HERKO sports Writer

After a dominating perfor mance against the Kalamazoo hornets Tuesday night, the Irish are getting ready for an Acc matchup against boston college Friday in south bend.

notre dame comes into the game with an overall record of 4-3-1, going just 1-2 in conference play so far this year. After losing to north carolina and syracuse, this game is all but a must-win for the team. While the Irish have had a less than perfect start to the season, recent successes show that there is more to this team than its record.

The eight goals by the Irish Tuesday night were scored by eight different players, including three freshmen and two sopho mores. The young players show ing they have the skills to step up and make big plays for notre dame will be critical for the rest of this season as they look to prove that last year’s ncAA tour nament run was no accident.

Junior defender Paddy burns currently leads the team with four goals scored this season (a total of eight points), while fresh man midfielder KK baffour has two goals (and a total of seven points). Junior forward daniel russo and sophomore forward matthew roou have each also scored two goals for the Irish this season.

boston college will arrive in Alumni stadium with a record of 2-3-3. The eagles are 0-3-0 in conference play, with losses to no. 1 clemson, no. 7 duke

and no. 25 Louisville. Their last game, against the blue devils, shows how much they are strug gling to create offense. The game ended with the eagles scoring no goals, taking only six shots with only one on target. And they only had one corner kick as well. however, they did rack up 10 fouls and three yellow cards.

stefan sigurdarson leads boston college with six goals scored on the season. he is defi nitely a player the Irish defend ers should keep their eyes on. In fact, siguardrson is currently tied for ninth in the country for goals scored. no other boston college player has scored more than a single goal this season.

The Irish lead in the series against boston college 10-4-2 all time. The last time these two teams met was in the first round of the ncAA tournament in 2019. notre dame won the game in double overtime.

As the Irish look to the rest of the season, there are some tough games out in front of them. matches against duke, Pitt and non-conference rival michigan jump off the page. The ncAA division I men’s soccer committee will announce the bracket in about six weeks. They aren’t that far out of the rankings. In fact, no. 25 Akron has a record of 4-2-2, which is only slightly better than notre dame’s.

If notre dame wants to be among the 48 participants, they need to stay competitive going forward.

Contact Annika Herko at aherko@nd.edu

belles continue losing streak

By LUCIA AGUZZI sports Writer

The saint mary’s belles hosted their fourth home game of the season Wednesday night when they faced the manchester University spartans in a losing match. The belles put up a fight, but the spartans ultimately de feated them in a three-set sweep.

The first set opened up with an early manchester lead, with saint mary’s trailing behind, occasionally tightening the gap in points. The spartans took the score from 6-4 to 10-4 with a four-point scoring streak. And while kills from junior outside hitter colleen mccarthy, fresh man right side mia shields, and freshman outside hitter Grace braselton, as well as a few service errors from the spartans, gave smc a four-point streak shortly after that, the score remained at

11-9 with the belles behind. The set continued on with a number of scoring streaks from manchester. They even took an 18-11 lead at one point in the set. An outstanding per formance from mccarthy, however, brought the belles a number of points. Four consec utive mccarthy kills brought the score to 21-18. While a catch-up was in sight for the belles, the team lost the first set, 25-21. set two of the night saw manchester running on a high with their scoring, springing to a 10-2 lead. The spartans kept up that large lead for the duration of the first half of the set. but once the score reached 19-9, the belles ramped up their competitive ness. saint mary’s went on a 7-0 scoring run, filled by kills from the same trio as the first set:

MARIA GORECKI | The Observer

Junior libero Hattie Monson serves the ball during Notre Dame’s five-set victory over Milwaukee in Purcell Pavilion on August 28.

SMc VOLLEYBALL

i zaiah, who is ready to put his uniform on right now and lead us into battle,” sparks said.

on the men’s side, there will be plenty of competition for the 14th-ranked irish with 24thranked butler, 25th-ranked a labama, and 27th-ranked michigan competing.

on the women’s side, the irish are led by two veteran runners in graduate student maddy denner and junior olivia markezich. sparks hopes that the women’s team can es tablish depth behind their two stars.

“We have a very veteran group led by two a ll-a merican leaders in maddy denner and olivia markezich,” sparks said. “We are looking to just estab lish our depth in our top seven. We are going to run a strong group of five women, but we aren’t sure how strong we will be in the six-seven spots. We

ZeLO

con

College Football Playoff

no. 1 alabama vs. no. 4 clemson no. 2 ohio state vs. no. 3 Georgia

Contact Tom Zwiller at tzwiller@hcc.nd.edu.

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

SMC VB

con

mccarthy, shields and braselton. The belles tightened the score at 19-16. but then they lost posses sion of the ball. The second set ended in the second smc loss of the night with a 25-19 score.

smc took the first point of the third set, setting hopes high, but while they kept the lead at a 2-3 score, they then lost the lead to manchester, who quickly gained a 9-4 edge. saint mary’s had a tough time closing the gap in this set. by the time the score was at 19-7 in the spartans’ favor, the set seemed like an easy win for manchester. The belles, however, made an effort to close that gap with a 9-3 point run, getting them up to 22-16. but the spartans quickly ended the third and final set with a score of 25-17.

The belles have faced a tough season this fall with a disap pointing 3-9 record. head coach denise van de Walle mentioned in post-match interviews the struggle the team has been fac ing. The inexperience of the team, which has a large roster of under classmen and transfers, has been a challenge. but the streak of losses that have kept their morale down since their last win on sept. 3 against defiance stings, too.

The belles host the fourth game in a homestand this saturday, oct. 1 against north Park.

Contact Lucia Aguzzi at laguzzi@nd.edu

are hoping to find some more depth on the women’s end of the roster.”

The eighth-ranked irish women will face a very diffi cult test on Friday. defending national champions and topranked north carolina state, third-ranked new mexico, and tenth-ranked a labama are all competing.

sparks said he was for both of his teams to compete at the elite level this season.

“There have been a great group of guys and women training really well this fall, but when it’s time to compete on the elite level, this will be the first time this year that either team has had elite level compe tition,” sparks said. “it will be exciting to see who takes on the leadership responsibilities for both genders.”

sparks said he plans to use Friday’s meet as another build ing block to the postseason, which begins in four weeks with the acc championships.

“it’s great to have a home

meet building towards the postseason,” sparks said. “The month of september is very comfortable for us as far as training and building towards the postseason. This is really our first competitive opportu nity. it’s a little bit of a pretest for the postseason run to see where we are today.”

The irish will have one more meet between Friday’s race and the conference meet.

“each meet kind of builds on the previous, and each meet gets a little bit more competi tive. This is the first meet with some elite teams coming to our home course to race. a nd then we will head to Wisconsin in a couple of weeks in a little bit more of an elite field compared to the Joe Piane invite,” sparks said.

The women’s 5000m race will begin at the burke Golf course at 10:30 am. The men’s 5-mile race follows at 11:15 a.m.

Contact Nate Moller at nmoller2@nd.edu

the i rish’s first goal re versed roles to combine for another. m ercado con trolled the ball in the mid dle of the field and found an open Wingate to the right. Wingate slotted the ball home in the bottom right corner of the net. The goal matched m ercado’s team high with a seventh goal of the season, making the score 2-0.

The scoring continued for the i rish in quick succes sion. Less than a minute lat er, senior forward Kiki v an Zanten used a smooth spin move to navigate through a cluster of b oston c ollege defenders and scored her third goal of the year from outside of the box to give the i rish a 3-0 lead midway through the second half.

With a n otre d ame vic tory seemingly in hand,

b oston c ollege increased the intensity of its attack. b ut graduate student goal keeper m ackenzie Wood and the i rish back line kept the e agle offense at bay and preserved a 3-0 shutout victory.

Looking ahead, the scor ing outburst should provide the n otre d ame offense with a much-needed con fidence boost. e specially since the team had scored just twice in its first three acc games combined.

The i rish, now 2-2 in conference play, will have a week off before return ing to s outh b end’s a lumni s tadium for a pair of impor tant home games. The first comes against nc s tate next Thursday at 7 p.m. a fter, they take on n o. 7 Florida s tate, the defending national champions, next s unday at noon.

Contact Matthew Crow at mcrow@nd.edu

Tuesday, October 4 at 5:00 p.m.

HESBURGH CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Paid a dverT isemen T

Irish women’s soccer bounces back, pulls away from Boston College for 3-0 win

By MATTHEW CROW s ports Writer

n o. 16 n otre d ame wom en’s soccer traveled to c hestnut h ill on Thursday night and were the aggressor throughout. The Irish ulti mately emerged with a com prehensive 3-0 victory over b oston c ollege.

After a dominant 7-0 start to the season in noncon ference play, the Irish en tered the game coming off of an up-and-down first two weeks of their conference slate. n otre d ame began

A cc play with a loss on the road against c lemson. They then bounced back with a huge home victory over n o. 2 v irginia. b ut then they lost again, this time against Pitt at home.

m eanwhile, b oston c ollege’s front-loaded

A cc schedule pitted them against a trio of highly ranked teams in Florida s tate, d uke and U nc in

their first three conference games. The e agles struggled as they dropped the games by a combined score of 12-0.

As the game began, n otre d ame controlled posses sion for most of the first half. The opening 45 min utes were defined by fastpaced ball movement and strong defensive play. This has been characteristic of an Irish team. They are among the nation’s best in putting shots on goal, but struggle in converting those chances into scores.

In the tenth minute, a cross was sent to senior midfielder m addie m ercado in close range of the goal.

b ut her volley attempt went just wide, and the game re mained scoreless. s he would have another chance just minutes later when gradu ate student forward o livia Wingate played a perfect pass through the e agle de fense that left her all alone behind the back line. This

time, m ercado delivered. s he put a low shot just past the b oston c ollege goalie to kick off the scoring for n otre d ame. The goal was the seventh of the season for m ercado, who has been effective as a starter after largely coming off the bench last year. The assist was Wingate’s third.

The Irish maintained their aggression after tak ing the lead. Late in the first half, junior midfielder e va Gaetino’s header off of a cor ner kick seemed destined to go in. b ut it was deflected off the line in a goal-saving play by b oston c ollege defender e abha o ’ m ahony.

Gaetino, who exited the game against Pitt early with a head injury, played a cru cial role in the Irish’s impres sive defensive performance in her return to action.

After the halftime break, the same duo that produced

Irish cross country teams to compete at Joe Piane Invitational

By NATE MOLLER senior sports Writer

The Irish men’s and women’s cross country teams will return to action this Friday at the Joe Piane Invitational, their biggest home meet of the season. The Irish have competed in a couple of smaller meets this year, but Friday’s meet will be the first larger meet with some high-cal iber competition.

because of the competitive ness of the invite, head coach matt sparks is racing the major ity of his top runners on Friday. The one notable runner that will not be racing is sophomore Josh methner, who sparks said will debut in a couple of weeks.

“[methner]’s had a bit of a slow start to the season,” sparks said. “he just needs another couple of weeks, and we will see him debut at Wisconsin. With his absence, it will force some other guys to step up as well.”

The men will look to fill the shoes of former All-Americans Yared nuguse, dylan Jacobs and danny Kilrea, who all gradu ated last year. sparks hopes that

a leader will emerge on Friday.

“We have a lot of talent be hind them, but we need to fig ure out who is going to establish themselves as the leader when it comes to racing,” sparks said.

sparks mentioned three men who he expects to step up on Friday.

“[sophomore] carter solomon and [junior] Tom seitzer are two guys that com peted well last spring for us and have looked great in practice and been great leaders in prac tice. Those are guys that we would like to see run up front for us,” sparks said. “[senior] matthew carmody is a veteran on the team that has competed at the national level for us pre viously. We are confident that he can find his way back to the front of the group.”

sparks is also looking for ward to seeing freshman Izaiah steury race this weekend.

“We are confident in Izaiah, who will be the only freshman running in uniform this week end on either side,” sparks said.

“he has had a great first month of practice, so we are going to

take the redshirt off of him. I expect him to be another one of those guys to establish himself as a leader.”

steury is part of an Irish re cruiting class that is arguably the best in the nation. sparks mentioned freshman ethan coleman, who is not running on Friday, as another runner with potential.

“ethan has had a great pre season of training and could potentially earn a roster spot and compete for us this year,” sparks said.

“[steury and him] are really the two that have really stepped up. They have both come from very good training backgrounds in high school.”

sparks said he understands that despite the great freshman recruiting class, it might take some time for those recruits to pay dividends.

“We arguably have the best freshman recruiting class in the country, but it takes a year or two to see that recruiting class play out with the exception of

The Irish will host the Joe Piane Invitational on Friday. At last year’s event, the men finished 11th and the women’s team was 14th.

RYAN VIGILANTE | The Observer

Irish senior defender Waniya Hudson controls possession during Notre Dame’s 4-0 home win over the Illinois Fighting Illini.