Question of the Day:
Anna Riddle
junior Le mans hall
“‘h idden
Jamon
“‘The
Michael Wang sophomore Zahm house
“‘Inception.’”
Mckenna Schmidbauer
junior
Sean
Anusha Jain sophomore Lyons hall
“‘[The] Usual suspects.’”
Today’s Staff
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 (574) 631-4541 so we
Wednesday
Lecture: “Concentrating Solar Energy” DeBartolo Hall 313
4 p.m. - 5 p.m. An ND Energy series.
Memes and Masculinity LaFortune Student Center
5 p.m. - 6 p.m. Food provided.
Thursday
Lecture: “Seasonal Poverty and Seasonal Migration” Hesburgh Center for International Studies
4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Film: “Once Upon a Time There Lived a Simple Woman” DeBartolo Performing Arts Center 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Friday
Lecture: “Innovative Energy Generation” Mendoza College of Business
10:40 a.m. - 12:10 p.m. Open to the public.
Performance: Bach’s Lunch DeBartolo Performing Arts Center 12:10 p.m. - 1:10 p.m. Free but ticketed.
Saturday
Total Body Conditioning
Rolf’s Sports Recreation Center 11 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Space is limited.
Men’s Basketball vs. Florida State Purcell Pavilion 6 p.m. The Irish take on the Seminoles.
Sunday
Women’s
KELLY VAUGHAN | The Observer
country] is. [it] doesn’t necessarily drive most of our skits in many ways, but it’s something that is still there.”
While the idea for the state of the revuenion theme had been discussed in previous years, senior revue producer T.J. Groden said the current political climate offered the perfect opportunity to explore the theme.
“state of the revuenion was one of those puns that was on the list but didn’t get chosen,” he said. “Then this year, with all that was happening, it was just the sort of defining dialogue of the year. We thought it was an appropriate time to use that theme to engage in that dialogue a little bit.”
The Keenan revue publicity directors capitalized on this year’s theme by putting up posters modeled after presidential candidate poster and staging mock protests against the Keenan revue — during which Keenan hall residents chanted “not my revue” — to generate increased buzz about the event, sophomore publicity director henry mulholland said.
“We usually do a flash mob dance, and we totally butchered
it last year,” he said. “so we were trying to think of something else we could do and we thought it would be funny to have a protest against ourselves. … i think it was a really important year last year in terms of the election, and everything, so we all thought that would be a fun way to make fun of ourselves and also continue with the theme.”
mulholland said he hopes those who might have had a negative reaction to the publicity campaign come to the revue to engage in a dialogue about the various events the revue will parody.
“even if it does spark a little fire for people, i think it’s good,” he said. “i think what the revue does is just kind of get people talking in a good way about topics that might be sensitive for people, so it’s a good thing overall that people will be coming out for the revue based on however they feel.”
While some of the skits address national events and discussions, Groden said they all relate to the University in one way or another.
“some of our more politicallybent skits involve Trump juxtaposed with a notre dame figure or put in a notre dame setting, so we’re sort of exploring those
of racial progress and was part of the resistance to racial integration and equality.
progress is not permanent, and there’s always the potential of moving backwards.
“Progress doesn’t look like a straight line,” c obb said. “it looks more like an e KG. We’ve seen these great moments of peaks which have been followed by valleys with the hope that the peaks are higher and the valleys are shallow.”
c obb said the rise of hateful organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and acts such as lynching was fueled by an underlying objective to eliminate a sense
c obb said discrimination was not limited to a frican a mericans and cited examples through history such as the c hinese e xclusion act. he talked about inequality for a frican a mericans among areas such as health care, life expectancy and unemployment rates.
“We find that race matters in all these kinds of ways and that it continues to replicate the hierarchies that are baked into this country’s history,” c obb said.
c obb said it is people’s responsibility to move the world
topics,” he said. “With those national topics we sort of bring it in to more of the notre dame [and] local level.”
Junior Wilson barrett, returning head writer for the revue, said adding aspects of notre dame to political skits allowed the writers to present a fresh take on frequently parodied figures and events.
“i think there’s so much conversation and comedy around President Trump right now that it’s hard to add a new voice to that conversation sometimes,” he said. “i think the place that we can lend our voice most strongly is maybe on a notre dame level.
i think that’s the fun of the revue is that you throw in outside stuff and you let that affect what goes on, but i think it’s a notre dame show about notre dame.”
While some of the material in the Keenan revue may be considered controversial, the head staff was careful to not cross any lines in deciding what to include in the show, something Groden said was not made any more difficult by this year’s theme.
“There were definitely a lot of skits that were way too inappropriate or they’re just a little or a lot over that line, and we
in a desired direction. he said 2.9 million people took to the streets to protest after President donald Trump’s inauguration, which demonstrates that movements come about when “abstract principles become concrete concerns.”
“despair is the ally of the people who you are fighting against,” c obb said. “The whole point is to break people’s will and to leave people dispirited. but keep in mind the victories people have achieved against really large odds. o ptimism is the fundamental building block of anything that comes after.”
according to c obb, that optimism is tragic because he believes racism will never fully
day of Man
sophomore sam bishop, participated in the day of man last year and said the event is “a lot of fun” despite the cold temperatures.
“Probably my best memory is standing outside of south dining hall for an hour in the freezing cold, and i was dressed as a banana and we had some funny signs, and just having a lot of fun with the passersby and people laughing at us,” bishop said. “it hurts because it’s very cold. Your fingers and toes start to hurt, but it’s worth it.”
hernick said when he participated in the day of man during his freshman year, the temperature was between 15 to 20 degrees, and it was “snowing sideways.”
“i remember i was standing outside [LaFortune student center] with one of my friends,
wouldn’t put [that] onstage and put Keenan’s name behind it,” he said. “but i wouldn’t say that this year there were any of those that were because of the theme or the political dynamic.”
Junior John mcdonough, one of two new head writers along with junior michael di re, said while the head staff was conscious of not crossing any lines, they also gave Keenan hall residents the freedom to take risks during tryouts.
“The tryouts the first time are just the Keenan guys, and we try to give the fairest feedback,” he said. “We’ve done this for a little bit, so we know what works and what’s okay and everything, but you’ve kind of got to give room for people to give it a shot, and then if you see them cross the line you pull them back.”
The process of creating the show and determining content is left primarily to the hall residents, Keenan rector noel Terranova said.
“i just on the front end try to set the right vision for what we want the show to be,” he said. “For the most part, they kind of know how to produce the content that actually meets our goals of doing something that’s both funny and insightful and actually reflects
disappear, but that it will turn from a fatal illness to a chronic ailment as people find better ways of addressing it.
c obb said there is no notion of a “post-racial society.”
according to c obb, there was an anxiety felt among some white groups who felt other racial groups were becoming more advantaged after the election of President barack obama in 2008, but that anxiety was a result of racism.
“[ i f] you are defining your citizenship by your cumulative advantages over this group of people, then yes you will find progress to be threatening,” he said. “There’s no other word for that than racism.”
c obb said it was particularly
and then on the way back, it was really cold out, obviously,” hernick said. “We decided to sprint back to siegfried, and then he slipped and dropped his cup, so i had to stand there in the cold helping him pick up all his money. ... i felt like my fingers were about to fall off, and i was really mad at the moment, but it’s a good laugh now.”
The day of man gives siegfried students the opportunity to bond, a lthoff said.
“it’s definitely an event that everyone looks forward to,” a lthoff said. “People wake up in the morning and they cut their shirts and make them even more scanty. it’s just a big group thing.”
bishop said suffering in the cold helps the men of siegfried empathize with the homeless and gives them a sense of perspective.
“it definitely bonds us because one of the main points of day of
the values of Keenan hall and the notre dame community.”
aside from political skits, barrett said the show includes parodies of University President Fr. John Jenkins and head football coach brian Kelly.
“i think on campus we have powerful or well-known people like coach Kelly and Fr. Jenkins that i think we’ve done a better job than ever [parodying],” he said. “a nd, obviously, brian Kelly has done a better job than ever. We just want to say thank you to him, he’s done a great job in giving us material. … [Those are] the other areas that we delve into most, i’d say.”
This year, Groden said, over half the Keenan hall residents are involved with the revue in one way or another.
“That was one of our big goals this year, was to try to get as many people involved — especially freshmen — as involved in the show as possible,” he said. “so there are only so many people that will be onstage and that you’ll see in the spotlight, but for every one person onstage there are five or six guys behind the scenes … [to] make the show possible.”
Contact Courtney Becker at cbecker3@nd.edu
the testing times of racism and injustice that acted as an impetus of moving forward with social progress.
“The place where i find optimism is in each moment where we have encountered these values, where we find ourselves moving backward [that] has had a catalyzing effect on people of conscience who have come together and demand that we create a more decent, equitable and more democratic world,” he said. “We have seen that shockingly small number of people summon the will to perform acts of importance far beyond their numbers.”
Contact Selena Ponio at sponio@nd.edu
man — maybe the most valuable thing in it — is an expression of solidarity with the poor, with those who are exposed,” bishop said. “in expressing that solidarity with them, we are also expressing it with each other. so we suffer together, we stand outside together. We do all of it together for others.”
according to hernick, raising awareness of homelessness is necessary, and a group from siegfried volunteers at the center for the homeless every saturday.
“The goal of the whole day is obviously to raise some money, but it’s also to raise awareness and to work really hard this one day so that people think about homelessness, and think about the problems it poses a little more the other 364 days of the year,” he said.
Contact Natalie Weber at nweber@nd.edu
Happy Birthday: keep an open mind and a positive attitude. l et your charm help you navigate through both the good times and the bad. Show compassion and understanding and be willing to see your faults and accept those of others. Sharing will help bring you closer to the people you love. Be mindful and offer kindness and consideration. your numbers are 7, 14, 18, 25, 33, 38, 46.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take your time if emotional situations flare up. Try to be optimistic and offer unique solutions instead of getting upset. l earn from your past mistakes and you will avoid making an unnecessary mistake.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Travel plans or visiting someone who can feed you information about current trends or changes going on in the workplace will lead you into an interesting project. Think big, but don’t overdo it. Moderation will keep you out of debt.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Take strides that will help you bypass any negativity or deceptive rhetoric with people who may be trying to take advantage of you. Stick close to those you trust. l ove and romance are featured.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Emotions will surface if you let what others do get to you. Avoid attempting anything that may result in minor injuries or poor health. l ook for opportunities to use your skills to get ahead instead of wasting your time arguing.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Aim to stabilize your life. Don’t let emotional issues come between you and your goals. Take pride in what you do and live within your means. having a plan in place and following each step with precision and detail will pay off.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Children or people you have helped in the past will offer an interesting perspective on a situation you currently face. l isten to advice, and if necessary, ask for assistance in order to make the changes that will improve your life.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t let your emotions stand in your way. Think big and follow through with your plans regardless of the obstacles you face. Positive changes will unfold if you are ready to do what’s necessary to make things happen.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): friends and relatives will be happy to pitch in and help if you ask. Offer incentives if they will make it easier to reach out for assistance. Ask questions and listen to those with more experience and you will get ahead.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t neglect the ones you love. you’ll be so intent on getting ahead you may lose sight of why you are working so hard in the first place. g et your priorities straight before someone complains or does something you don’t like.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Emotional matters will cause you to rethink your relationships with some of your peers. Trust is important if you want to feel comfortable sharing your ideas. Move forward with caution and avoid indulgence, excess and exaggeration.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Share your thoughts and look for ways to use your skills, talents and knowledge to get ahead. Take action and see what unfolds. Express who you are, what you have to offer and what you want. romance is highlighted.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Turn your home into a place of comfort. Aim to lower your stress by engaging in something that brings you happiness or satisfaction. Time spent with children or someone you love will improve your disposition. Aim to please.
Birthday Baby: you are proactive, focused and intelligent. you are engaging and appealing.
Jumble | DAvID hOyT AND JEff kNurEk
ryan Lidge has played — i don’t know, he’s got to be approaching the record for games played as a catcher at notre dame.”
KATHLEEN DONAHUE | The Observer
Irish junior forward Anders Bjork surveys the ice during Notre Dame’s 2-2 overtime tie with New Hampshire on Jan. 20.
Hoonhout
in the third, three successive vermont goals pushed what had been an irish lead to a sudden 4-2 deficit. it looked to be a disastrous turnaround at the time, but notre dame did not go down quietly. The irish scored two goals in the final 3:10 of regulation to send the game to overtime, but once again failed to capitalize on the momentum, and the game ended in a 4-4 tie. This is a great example of what has been plaguing notre dame all year. While they may be cardiac kings, the irish had a chance to pull out a huge win against a hockey east opponent — especially as the race for postseason seeding heats up. Yet they blew an early two-goal lead and had to battle back to get a result. This team has the mental toughness to grind out results when it needs to, especially as the irish have come back to win or tie in nine games this year.
a nd, following Friday’s near shocker, the irish dominated vermont in a 4-1 win to leapfrog them in the conference standings. but the lack of consistency has plagued this team all year, and with the postseason and some tough opponents coming up, it is questionable whether or not irish can find it within themselves to start stringing results together.
on the whole, this season has been a roller coaster ride for notre dame. The irish have been ranked as high as no. 3, but an up-and-down four months has resulted in the irish being most recently ranked no. 16, just barely good enough for the final spot in the ncaa tournament’s 16-team field. now, there is still hockey to play, including a final hockey east tournament for notre dame before it moves to the big Ten next season. still, at its current record of 15-9-4 — including a 8-5-3 conference mark — the team has struggled to sweep opponents. sure, there is no team in the hockey east that is an easy win. but as the irish have gone 1-1 against teams such as Uconn, merrimack and Umass — who sit seventh, ninth and last in the conference, respectively — those are games, on paper at least, that notre dame should be using to
pile up wins.
notre dame’s best performance of the year has undeniably been a 3-2 comeback home win against then-no. 3 boston college. despite going down 2-0 early, the irish stuck with it, and star junior forward a nders bjork was instrumental in leading the irish to three straight goals and a convincing win. it was boston college’s first hockey east loss and a huge team win for notre dame.
The irish can certainly play with the eagles, but the games in between have been constant pitfalls this season. boston college, on the other hand, has been able to sweep most of the other teams it has played, and that’s why the eagles are first in the conference. While irish head coach Jeff Jackson has talked throughout the season about the irish finding their groove, the team has yet to do it, and now it’s crunch time.
The irish have three hockey east opponents left to close out the regular season: 11th-place maine, fifth-place Providence, and second-place boston University. While it’s unlikely the irish can sweep all six games, they’ll start the challenge with maine first, and the matchup poses a huge test.
a ll season, notre dame has played competitive hockey with the boston colleges and the minnesota duluths of the world — teams of high caliber that pose a real challenge — and the matchups with the Friars and the Terriers should result in exciting, fast-paced hockey. but against teams like maine, who are nowhere near the same level as the irish on paper, notre dame has struggled to dominate. Thus, pockets of great performances have been separated by up-and-down irish streaks. if the the team can finally be consistent against the maines of college hockey — opponents that it is supposed to beat — it might be able to string some results together, start playing consistent hockey and racking up wins. a nd at this time of year, wins are all that matter.
Contact Tobias Hoonhout at thoonhou@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
mainstays from last year’s lineup like junior outfielder Jake shepski and sophomores center fielder matt v ierling — both of whom also pitched for notre dame in relief at times last season — and utility man nick Podkul also return for the irish, while sophomore infielder cole daily will also look to build on his increasing presence in the second half of last season.
Fiala, daily and Podkul will be among the new faces making appearances in an irish infield that lost starters at three of its four positions. First baseman/third baseman Zak Kutsulis and shortstop Lane r ichards both graduated last may. Junior second baseman cavan biggio decided to forego his final year of eligibility to pursue his mL b dreams after being selected by the Toronto blue Jays in the fifth round of the mL b entry draft last June.
it’s the first time in six years notre dame doesn’t have at least one biggio on its roster,
with cavan and older brother conor each playing their college ball in south bend; they represent one of a couple pairs of brothers who have found success in south bend over aoki’s tenure at notre dame. Their younger sister, Quinn, is also verbally committed to play for the softball team.
Utility man r icky sanchez, who spent time at first, third, home, designated hitter and in the outfield last season, also graduated. a ll told, notre dame said goodbye to nine seniors — the 10th, lefty michael hearne, is back for a fifth year, the only graduate student on the roster.
Fiala has his claim on shortstop this season after spending most of his time at third base last year, but the other positions around the infield are still competitive, aoki said. he added if he had to put a lineup out right now, it would have Lidge behind the plate with freshman connor Power — who also catches — at first base. continuing around the horn, aoki described second base as “a little up in the air” between some combination of daily, Podkul and freshman nick neville, while third base could be Podkul or neville, too.
This year’s senior class is smaller than the last,
numbering just four: Fiala, Lidge, left-hander scott Tully and the righty smoyer, who threw 61 1/3 innings while making 11 starts for the irish in 2016.
“This year’s class has a little bit more daily, on-the-field impact,” aoki said. “ … This group, they’re all, have been and probably will continue to have the potential to be very impactful on the field. … i think our senior class, mike and Kyle in particular, are responsible really a high level for that.” aoki said although the ups and downs of a baseball season have yet to begin, he senses a good camaraderie among this group.
“i think we’re in a pretty good place from a mindset standpoint,” aoki said. “ … i really like this group. They’re fun to be around, and there are some potentially really exciting things from them, both from a group standpoint and also from an individual standpoint. i really like being around them. i like the way they go about their daily business.”
notre dame travels to the Lone star state next week to get its season underway at the a lamo irish classic on Feb. 17.
Contact Zach Klonsinski at zklonsin@nd.edu
Paid a dverT isemen T
M bball
con T inued from Page 12
79 of the team’s 88 points, while none sat for more than five minutes the whole night.
“Those four guys made bigtime winning plays for us,” irish head coach mike brey said.
“We have guys that want to hit big shots when there’s game pressure on them,” brey said later. “We’ve got four guys that’ll do it, and that’s really a great weapon to have.”
colson was the standout performer, though, hitting both his 3-point attempts as he notched another stat-filled double-double with 27 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks.
“i told him i needed the ‘junkyard dog,’ the bonzie that’s pounding his chest,” farrell said.
“i need him playing with emotion because that gets us going.”
notre dame’s junior captain wasn’t the only big man putting up an impressive stat line, though: Wake forest sophomore forward John collins went toeto-toe with colson, scoring 24 and adding 14 rebounds in his team’s loss.
“[colson] was thoroughly exhausted — that’s why i used the timeout a couple times just to rest,” brey said. “ … We couldn’t take him out, he had to play it out. but to wrestle collins in the post and then do what he did offensively is physically unbelievable.”
a fter notre dame took that 5654 lead, it didn’t take too long for the demon deacons (14-10, 5-7) to claw the game back to a 60-60 tie. but a beachem 3-pointer put the irish back ahead, and in due time, that lead grew to eight, 7466, with just over four minutes to play. Wake forest had another run in them, though, and rattled off six straight to cut the notre dame advantage back to two.
farrell and Wake forest senior
forward austin a rians traded buckets, before vasturia put his mark on the result, hitting a 3-pointer with 2:09 to play. from there, irish maintained a two- or three-possession lead the rest of the way.
over those final 15 minutes, notre dame’s offensive efficiency was sky-high — the irish scored 46 points in their final 26 completed possessions, an efficiency rating of 176.9 — outscoring the demon deacons by 15 points over that stretch. The irish finished the game 13-for-27 from deep after a 9-for-14 second half, turning the ball over just twice in the second stanza.
continuing a trend from saturday’s loss at north carolina, the irish went small again Tuesday — senior forward austin Torres and junior forward martinas geben played just six minutes between them — and brey said that playing “fiveout” helps his four key scorers offensively.
“five-out with a smaller lineup, with [sophomore guard rex Pflueger] or [freshman guard T.J. gibbs] helps the four most important guys on my team,” brey said. “The big four are really helped by that, and it’s evident in their numbers second half of carolina and really [Tuesday].”
The win snapped notre dame’s longest losing streak in eight years — and brey’s happy to have that off his team’s back.
“man, we needed that,” brey exclaimed as he walked into his press conference. “We needed that, baby.”
brey’s team will have another chance for a resume-building win saturday, when the irish host no. 14, second-placed florida state at Purcell Pavilion. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m., a change from the initial 2 p.m. game time.
Contact Alex Carson at acarson1@nd.edu
Paid a dverT isemen T Paid a dverT isemen T
KATHLEEN DONAHUE | The Observer
Irish junior guard Matt Farrell dribbles around a defender during Notre Dame’s 71-54 loss to Virginia on Jan. 24 at Purcell Pavilion.
