Nd political clubs gearing up for elections
Partisan and nonpartisan groups offer opportunities for campaign work and voter registration
Former professor records piece with cuban symphony
By NICOLE CARATAS
saint mary’s e ditor
w
hen p resident o bama announced his plan to reestablish diplomatic relations with c uba, allowing for more a mericans to travel to the island, he opened the door to give Jeffrey Jacob a unique opportunity: to play with the c uban n ational s ymphony and record an original piece for piano and orchestra titled “a wakening.” Jacob, a professor emeritus of music at s aint m ary’s, was selected from 300 submissions to travel to c uba for a week in a pril.
Jacob said his interest in music stems from his parents, both of whom played the piano. h e began piano lessons at five years old and went on to complete a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the u niversity of c incinnati, a master’s degree from the Julliard s chool and a doctorate degree from Johns h opkins u niversity.
Jacob said a u s .-based recording company, parma r ecordings, negotiated with the c uban government to allow a merican composers and musicians to come to c uba.
“[ parma ] issued a call for scores,” he said. “ i thought, ‘There’s no chance,’ but i had
the score, and i was going to just send it out to orchestras to see if anyone would be interested.”
a mericans have not been able to travel to c uba freely since the early 1960s, so the call for scores posed an unique opportunity for a merican composers, Jacob said.
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By EMILY McCONVILLE a ssociate news e ditor
a s first years settle in and the 2016 campaign season enters its final stages, politicallyminded student groups are helping candidates, organizing events and trying to get the student body informed and excited about the upcoming election.
both student groups connected with major political parties are working with party offices in st. Joseph c ounty and creating volunteer opportunities with local and national campaigns. s enior a ndrew galo, co-president of the c ollege democrats, said the
group is working with h illary c linton’s campaign office in i ndianapolis, as well as her national office in brooklyn.
a fter activities night brings a new crop of members, they’ll start making phone calls and knocking on doors on behalf of the d emocratic presidential candidate — mostly in i ndiana, where c linton is trailing republican nominee donald Trump, whose running mate is i ndiana governor m ike pence —but also in places like swing-state ohio. g alo said he hopes c ollege democrats will help “turn i ndiana blue.”
“a lot of people are excited
Right to Life looks to expand campus activities
By COURTNEY BECKER news writer
The leadership of n otre d ame r ight to l ife — which, with over a thousand members, is one of the largest campus organizations — is hard at work spreading the club’s mission throughout the community, recruiting new members and planning new events to be held throughout the year.
s enior president a ly c ox said the club’s primary goal for the year is to educate community members about what constitutes being prolife, starting with a series of panel discussions about pro-life values.
“This year, our largest goal for r ight to l ife is to really concretely teach our club members, primarily, but also all of wider campus, what it really means to be pro-life and all the issues that go alongside that,” she said.
c ox said the club will also continue its “ you a re l oved” campaign, an event c ox started last year that brought various
Right to Life members rally on campus last year. Inclement weather prevented them from traveling to Washington D.C. for the March.
organizations such as g ree nd and Junior c lass c ouncil together through mutual interest.
“ i t was a week-long campaign of working with other clubs who do some sort of work involving human dignity. w e were highlighting the work they do to the rest of campus and showing each other that we share
a common mission of upholding human dignity,” she said. “ i t was a really wonderful way to engage with people on campus. w e kind of looked at [the fact that] all n otre d ame students are passionate about something, and i think that a lot of us have
see club PagE 4
JOSEPH HAN The Observer
Jeffrey Jacob s aint m ary’s c ollege professor emeritus of music
ANNMARIE SOLLER | The Observer
see elecTions PagE 3
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“i’d say walsh because it’s nonexistent this year.”
Students dig in their heels at interhall Tug-of-War on South Quad on Thursday, following the rules of the National Tug of War Foundation. Siegfried Hall claimed the men’s division title while Ryan Hall brought home the women’s divsion champion.
Friday
Men’s Soccer vs. UC Irvine Alumni Stadium
7:30 p.m.
The Irish take on the Anteaters.
“The Tempest” DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Student rates available.
Have a question you want answered? Email photo@ndsmcobserver.com Want your event included here?
Saturday
Profession of Final Vows Basilica of the Sacred Heart
10 a.m. - noon Open to the public.
Women’s Volleyball vs. Cleveland State Purcell Pavilion
12:30 p.m.
The Irish take on the Vikings.
Sunday
“The Tempest” DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Student rates available.
Men’s Soccer vs. New Mexico Alumni Stadium
2 p.m.
The Irish take on the Lobos.
Monday
“Brexit: Now What?” Hesburgh Center for International Studies
4 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Panel discussion on Britain leaving the EU.
“Writing a Strong Grant Proposal” Brownson Hall
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Undergraduate workshop.
Tuesday
Film: “A Foreign Affair” (1948) DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
8 p.m. Post-WWII comedy.
Arts and Letters resume reviews Waddick’s
1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Sign up for 15-minute slots on GoIrish.
CAITLYN JORDAN | The Observer
CUSE funds student research worldwide
By ANDREA VALE news writer
senior biology major Kiley adams considers her day-to-day activities to be her most valuable memories of this past summer.
but for adams, who spent the summer researching community-based rehabilitation (cbr) models to increase opportunities for people with disabilities in rural india, those day-to-day activities were far from mundane. They included playing soccer at a Tibetan refugee camp, teaching physical therapists how to swim and “attempting [or] failing to make perfectly round chapathi for lunch.”
“i traveled to the four corners of india, [and] lived, dressed, cooked, danced and worked with locals in pursuit of [research],” adams said. “some days, my research project entailed conducting more formal interviews with cbr professionals, such as [those] at vidya sagar, an ngo in chennai for children with disabilities, but, other times, it meant getting devoured by mosquitoes while attempting to stomach bamboo stew to learn firsthand
some of the struggles of village life that may prevent people from seeking [disability] services.
“i thought i knew exactly what my indian adventure was supposed to entail — independent research on the community-based rehabilitation model for peoples with disability in rural india. little did i know it would also entail an overnight camel safari into the Thar desert — a little too close to the pakistan border for my mom’s liking — time spent living with a rural village family and learning their traditional trade of carpet weaving, or literally walking into another country – myanmar — after playing a game of glorified charades with their military personnel on border patrol. india is an extremely unpredictable country — the power may be cut at any second, you may or may not be able to find reliable water and food and just when you think you have picked up enough of one of india’s 1,652 languages, you travel a few miles away and no one speaks it anymore. The challenges to living in india are as endless as are the rewards.”
The adventure was funded by the notre dame center
for undergraduate scholarly engagement (cuse), which has recently been renamed the Flatley center for undergraduate scholarly engagement, although its acronym is still the same.
Kati schuler, administrative coordinator for cuse, said in an email that 323 grant applications were submitted to the center for the 2015-2016 academic year. of those 323 applications, 166 were for summer activities, including, schuler said, “independent research, creative endeavors, service learning, internships and research assistantships, conference presentations and attendance and immersion and discernment activities, as well as specialty grants.”
This past academic year, cuse awarded 96 grants. 38 of those were allotted for summer activities.
“after each grant deadline, cuse has a committee review all of the completed applications,” schuler said. “after the committee members review and score each proposal based on criteria for each grant type, the committee meets as a group to discuss the scores assigned to each
proposal and make award decisions. proposals that receive high scores are awarded grant funds. because funding is so competitive, students are encouraged to come to cuse for workshops … and make appointments with cuse staff [for] individual advising and proposal feedback.”
schuler said the maximum award amount available from cuse differs between the academic year and summer. The maximum award during the academic year is $1,500, but the amount increases to $3,000 for the summer period.
“as part of our grant application process, students are required to submit detailed budgets outlining all anticipated expenses, and cuse works closely with campus partners to facilitate cost-sharing arrangements to provide students with as much financial support as possible,” schuler said.
each funding recipient went through a long and strenuous process before submitting their grant proposals.
“The earlier you start planning your project and crafting your proposal, the more likely your proposal will be awarded funding,”
schuler said, “you can schedule a meeting with a member [of] our undergraduate research team to receive individual advising at any stage of the process, from how to start planning a project to proposal feedback for grant and fellowship applications. developing projects and crafting grant proposals requires various different components, such as securing a faculty mentor, requesting recommendation letters and [institutional review board] approval, all of which are taken into account when reviewing proposals and awarding grants. so start early and use the resources and services available to you.”
adams said cuse helped her conduct successful research.
“Their application process ensured that i had not only my research question more fully developed, but also my travel and safety plans,” she said. “i have found cuse nothing but helpful in the grant-writing process, with so many people willing to read drafts of proposals and budgets alike.”
Contact Andrea Vale at avale@nd.edu
galo said college democrats also organizes internships with local candidates and with the st. Joseph county democratic party. he said members interned this summer with
about hillary, so we’re hoping to get a pretty good turnout, both here on campus and in south bend and st. Joe county, but also in bigger trips, bigger phone banks and canvasses,” galo said.
paid a dverT isemen T
gubernatorial candidate John gregg; lynn coleman, who is running for u s house of representatives in the district that includes south bend; and other campaigns. galo said the internships, which the club hopes to expand this semester, are tailored
to members’ interests, from canvassing to finance.
“i’d rather go knock on doors than make phone calls — other people are the other way around — and then we’ll get other members who just want to come in and do an issue presentation on something they’re passionate about or something that they’re researching,”galo said.“There’s a lot of cool ways students have been involved in the past, and we’re hoping to get a big presence this year with the ticket being so exciting.”
college republicans is also on the campaign trail. vice president dylan stevenson said the club does not have a formal relationship with the campaign for Trump, but that if members wanted to work with the campaign, or on any campaign, the club would facilitate.
on the other hand, the group is organizing campaign activities with other federal and state candidates. one of them is eric holcomb, the current indiana lieutenant governor who took over pence’s reelection campaign after the latter withdrew to run as vice president. college republicans is also working with Todd young, who is running for the u s senate, and with incumbent u s representative Jackie walorski, with whom stevenson said the club has a “long-standing relationship.” he said the club will start campaigning for all three starting saturday.
“[we’re] knocking on doors, making phone calls, making sure what we can control — which is st. Joseph county, the mishawakasouth bend area — is aware of who these candidates are and are enthusiastic about these candidates,” he said. “we are very much the boots on the ground, the
grassroots activists for these larger campaigns.”
stevenson said he hopes some of those grassroots activists will be freshly-recruited first years.
“The freshman year is always the most enthusiastic group,” he said.
other campus groups are getting the word out not to persuade, but to educate. nd votes is a nonpartisan project by the center for social concerns and the rooney center for the study of american democracy with a student task force and representatives from each dorm and more than a dozen student organizations.
one of the task force’s main goals is voter registration — in addition to a welcome weekend drive, the group will set up tables to help students register and request absentee ballots in laFortune student center on sunday nights and, for national voter registration day at the end of september, it will have a registration drive in dorms, said task force co-chair sarah Tomas morgan.
nd votes is also organizing a number of events, including a issue discussion series called “pizza, pop and politics,” presidential debate watches complete with food trucks and homework tables, a voter education week the first week of october and an election watch party.
“my biggest hope is that students come away well informed, not just about these particular candidates, but about the specific election issues that the candidates are campaigning for,” Tomas morgan said. “That knowledge of election issues will be the best investment for students’ political life going forward.”
Contact Emily McConville at emcconv1@nd.edu
Club
con T inued F rom page 1
similar motivations of wanting to care for people who are marginalized, or suffering, or who have a condition or somehow don’t fit into the normal mold.”
w hile students might immediately associate the club with its anti-abortion stance, it is hoping to attract more students at the upcoming a ctivities Fair who might be pro-life in broader ways, such as those who care about immigration, education or abolishment of the death penalty, c ox said.
“ we want to make sure all the materials we present really show what our whole club is about [so that] people don’t just come up to sign up for the m arch for l ife and call it a day, because we really want more involvement in our club on a week-to-week basis,” c ox said. “ s o we’re trying to reorient some of our materials for the a ctivities Fair and especially our opening meeting at the beginning of the [year] to be more representative of what we stand for.”
The club keeps anyone who wants to be an active participant involved through smaller commissions that
give students “creative influence” over events on and off campus, c ox said.
“ we have our [executive] board that does a lot of the big-picture planning, and then we have 19 commissions that run individual projects year-round,” she said. “ i nstead of a small group of people controlling all the events, we give a lot of creative power over to the commissioners. … i think that most of our members fit into one of these commissions really well, or they’ll pick one or two that they’re really passionate about and they can really jump into one issue or one project.”
c ox said anyone who feels strongly about any aspect of human dignity is welcome to collaborate with r ight to l ife in various ways.
“ we really want to show campus that we’re a welcoming community,” she said. “ ... w e’re competent in our beliefs, we’re open to hearing new ideas and we want to collaborate with other people. e ven if we don’t share all of the same opinions, we want to collaborate with you on where we do stand together.”
Contact Courtney Becker at cbecker3@nd.edu
“a t a very preliminary stage, i thought, ‘i f this is selected, i ’ll be piano soloist and composer with the c uban national s ymphony, and that will mean that i ’m the first north a merican pianist in 50 years to perform and record my music with the c uban national s ymphony,’” he said.
Jacob said the process for choosing the pieces began with parma , which sent selected pieces to c uba for the musicians to choose from.
“ nobody was more surprised,” Jacob said. “ nobody was more surprised than i was when i got the word. it was an email followed immediately by a phone call. m y very first thought — and i didn’t say this to anyone — was, ‘This must be some sort of scam.’”
b ut it was not a scam, and on a pril 16, Jacob flew to c uba. he said he had played a festival for contemporary music in c uba 29 years ago, but his experience this time around was widely different.
b ecause Fidel c astro opened hotels targeted toward e uropean tourists and relaxed laws about free
enterprise, the c uban economy has improved the standard of living for c ubans and has helped the country become more prosperous, though the c uban people still largely struggle with poverty, Jacob said.
“Things have changed enormously,” he said.
a lthough c uba and a merica did not have diplomatic relations for decades, Jacob said c uban people are largely interested in having a relationship with a mericans.
“They want full access to the u s .,” he said. “They want to be able to travel here; c uban businesses desperately want u s . tourist dollars and in general … there are millions of c uban immigrants and their families in m iami and Florida and elsewhere in the u s ., so they were just delighted at this possibility of the opening of relations. They hope that it will someday lead to full diplomatic relations where there is freedom for travel and freedom for businesses.”
b eing in c uba with music at the center of the trip helped unite the two cultures, Jacob said.
“For c uban musicians, music is really important,” he said. “They were
delighted with the opportunity to be exposed to what’s going on. w ith the embargo, they had no idea what’s going on in the u s . in terms of contemporary classical music. They were very open to everything.”
Jacob, who speaks conversational s panish, said he was able to talk with the musicians during their time together.
“They were very curious about the u s . and the things being written,” he said. “They were really eager for more exchanges like this.” he was impressed with the musicians’ work ethic and passion, he said.
“a t the first rehearsal, they had practiced the heck out of the piece,” he said. “They were extremely well prepared.”
Jacob said the musicians went through the piece three times, after which he thought they were done, but the musicians insisted on running through it multiple times all day.
“They were committed to getting every detail exactly right, every note, every nuance, every phrase,” he said. “That was the highlight.”
Contact Nicole Caratas at ncaratas01@saintmarys.edu
paid a dverT isemen T
By MATTHEW MACKE scene writer
Two major events in the history of the united s tates occurred this summer: i btihaj muhammad became the first a merican woman to compete in the o lympics wearing a hijab … and i got my first comic book. w hile historians will be debating for generations which of these two events had the greater impact on a merican culture, there is no denying some similarities. i btihaj muhammad is a 5’7” muslim fencer from m aplewood, new Jersey. Kamala Khan (better known as the new m s. m arvel) is a 5’4” muslim polymorph from Jersey c ity, new Jersey.
Together, the two embody different manifestations of an increasing acceptance of diversity in the country. more importantly, m s. mohammad and m s. m arvel have already established themselves as two of the most prominent representations of muslims, particularly muslim women, in the united s tates today. a fter the huge void left by the passing of muhammad a li, the arrival of these two heroes could not have come at a better time.
Kamala Khan became the first muslim character to headline a m arvel comic book when she appeared in “m s. m arvel volume 1: no normal” in late 2014. i mmediately the writers and artists make obvious her status as a triple-threat of underrepresented groups (religion, gender and race). The 16-year-old Khan is introduced in a convenience store, where
she is smelling the bacon on the ready-made blTs for sale there (“d elicious, delicious infidel meat”) while her hijab-wearing friend, nakia, tries to hold her to her principles.
s hortly after, we are introduced to her vibrant p akistani family. d espite her obvious differences from the typical white, male superhero ( i ron m an, c aptain a merica, Thor, the hulk, b atman, s uperman, s piderman, the Flash … you get the idea), “m s. m arvel” is, at its heart, a very typical superhero narrative.
s ure, there are scenes in a mosque and she has a beatific vision of her idol, c arol d anvers (from whom she takes the m s. m arvel name), reciting incantations in urdu when she gets her powers, but when it comes down to it, Kamala Khan is just a teenager struggling to find herself.
w hen she emerges from the Terrigen mist that activates her abilities, she is in the form of m s. m arvel (tall, blond, beautiful) and wearing her “classic, politically incorrect costume,” in Kamala’s own words. it doesn’t take long for the fledgling heroine to realize that she is much more comfortable in her own skin (literally). w riting it out now, it’s clearly a heavy-handed message, but the characters are so lovingly treated that it never feels forced.
a s the series continues, the comic leans too heavily on typical high school relationship tropes to really be considered a great story. b ut Kamala is so likable that i was always excited to see what was next. a nd who’s to say that normal isn’t what the
creators were going for? a fter all, part of the point of having a d esi, muslim m s. m arvel is to make her the new normal for a wider audience, as well as to be an inspiration for all the groups she represents.
e nter i btihaj muhammad, a real-life m s. m arvel. muhammad is a frican-a merican while Khan is p akistani-a merican. muhammad wears a hijab while Khan does not, but it was impossible for me to see coverage of muhammad on T v and not see the similarities with the girl from the book in my hands. a s a child, muhammad struggled to find a sport that would allow her to use her athletic prowess while upholding her religious beliefs. e ventually, she found her way to fencing. This past summer, she competed in the 2016 s ummer o lympic g ames and managed to bring home a bronze medal in the team sabre competition. s he received an incredible amount of media coverage, and became a celebrity in her hometown. more than that, she became a hero.
a nd, in this case, i think that art fell short of reality. a s much as i love “m s. m arvel,” and as much as i can’t wait for the next collection to come out, the adventures on those pages will always lack the punch of real-life heroism. muslim girls in new Jersey can now find inspiration and solidarity in photographs rather than drawings.
o r, better yet, all a mericans can see the heroes in both.
Contact Matthew Macke at mmacke@nd.edu
By NICK LINDSTROM scene writer
s hakespeare’s “The Tempest” is a veritable spectacle, and the notre d ame s hakespeare Festival p rofessional a cting c ompany’s adaptation of the b ard’s final play is spectacular. d irected by c irque du s oleil director west h yler, the show is filled with a pageantry on par with h yler’s pedigree and is designed to delight and enamor.
a s the lights dim and the curtains open, the audience is thrust immediately into the eponymous tempest and sits helplessly as they, along with half the cast, are consumed by a massive tidal wave that whisks them off on a mystical adventure filled with deception, vengeance and, above all, comedy. p rospero, a sorcerer and the usurped duke of m ilan, was betrayed by his power-hungry brother a ntonio and is stranded on a remote island with his daughter, m iranda.
There, they live with their slave c aliban and the
spirit a riel, isolated from the world until a ntonio, along with a lonso, the King of naples, and his son Ferdinand, are shipwrecked on the very same island. w hat follows is a whirlwind of passion, hilarity and intrigue.
o ne of the largest directorial deviations from the play as written is h yler’s decision to take the role of a riel and break it up into one principal character named a riel — played by actress, aerialist and musician s arah s canlon — as well as a small ensemble called “a riel’s Qualities” in reference to an early line in the show, which is composed of various aerialists and musicians, including s aint m ary’s graduates Jennifer vosters and m aria welser, both class of 2016. i n addition to contributing occasionally to the plot, “a riel’s Qualities” provides musical accompaniment throughout the show.
n ick s andys, who portrays the sorcerer p rospero, is the undeniable star of the show. h is strong delivery and commanding voice dominate every scene and his stage presence is even larger than the storm
his character conjures. a nother standout is a lex p odulke’s c aliban, a disfigured slave who evolves over the course of the show from loathsome to pathetic to detestably likeable. w here the show’s comedic relief traditionally comes from the characters of s tephano and Trinculo, played respectively by p atrice e gleston and juggler Jacob d’ e ustachio, p odulke as c aliban contributes significantly to the humor of the show.
e ven in the face of 400 years of variations and adaptations, the nds F puts on a production that holds to the s hakespearean tradition while simultaneously treating their audience to a novel performance. e very line of dialogue is augmented by an aerial twist or dive, and the actors’ commitment to their individual roles as well as the collective show is evident.
Tickets are sold out for the final four performances in the show’s two week run.
Contact Nick Lindstrom at nlindstr@nd.edu
iNsidE ColumN
The future of scene
McGarry a ssociate scene e ditor
p art of being a member of the s cene section is being aware of pop culture. i like to think that being in s cene gives me an advantage. it keeps me aware, maybe even hip when it comes to current trends. l ately, i ’ve felt otherwise. a s a college senior, i ’m in the midst of the transition from misunderstood youth to not understanding. i ’m realizing that being a twenty-something is a whole lot different from being a teenager.
This was all too apparent this summer at the c hicago’s l ollapalooza music festival, which contrasted sharply with memories of rocking out to g reen d ay at my first l olla. unable to pass up the back-to-back rockers Jane’s a ddiction and r ed h ot c hili p eppers, i got myself a last minute s aturday pass and took the same commute i had been taking to my internship all summer to spend the day enjoying music.
The bands i had come to see were active through the ‘90s, and so attracted the more mature crowd. The interesting experience came when i filled in a mid-day lull by meeting with friends at the infamous p erry’s stage. i ronically named for the lead singer of Jane’s a ddiction who hates electronic dance music ( edm ), p erry’s is the wildly popular edm stage where every l olla horror story takes place.
e ven to a festival-lover, p erry’s was an alien planet. we gathered in the blazing sun, the teenagers and i , to watch a man in a marshmallow head (dubbing himself “ m arshmello”) click through the s potify Top 40 playlist — at least that’s what it sounded like to me.
The patterns on the screen, unimpressive in the shining mid-day sun, mesmerized the crowd. p eople squealed in excitement at the play-back of hooks from hits they’d heard on their car radio a million times. i didn’t understand.
e ven beyond the performance, the atmosphere didn’t make sense to me. e ven as someone who appreciates unconventional fashion, i couldn’t stomach walking around wearing a bra as a shirt on the same streets i usually walked to work wearing business casual.
i ’m not above rocking out at cheesy punk show or singing along with a pop star. b ut the scene at p erry’s stage? i couldn’t get into it. i admit it — i didn’t appreciate the art of this m arshmello character. i ’m sure there are many edm fans who do, and may be offended by the fact that i didn’t. i can see that there’s some value that i ’m not getting.
b y the size and enthusiasm of the crowd, i could tell that there was a youth movement going on, and at this point in my life, it’s one i ’m not a part of. i ’m aware of many trends that were “before my time,” but this is the first time i suspect one of being after my time. i ’m sure there are many more to come, and hopefully the incoming s cene writers will bring it with them.
The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
A hope for the new semester
Rebecca Feng redefining beauty
a nother semester of uncertainty, and thus, of opportunities.
words carry weight, and weight fills hearts; words bring hope and hope brightens lives; words redefine beauty, and beauty shapes minds. To discover the beauty in others’ happiness, not judging it but simply portraying it in words, is the deepest joy of an observer, i guess.
“ you don’t come all the way here to talk to me about founding a l’a rche in c hina, r ebecca — you come here to talk to me about your personal concerns. we all do,” Jean vanier, founder of l’a rche c ommunities, smiled. h is deep voice echoed in the tiny village of Trosly- b reuil in northern France. i t was a bright morning, soft clean snow melting on the red window seal.
“c ome back, and we will have another beer in this same bar, and figure out life,” my friend said. h is laughter faded into the dim light of c afé e xtrablatt in o ldenburg, n orthern g ermany. a couple was kissing in the corner of the crowded bar, their eyes locked. i t was almost midnight — the loud dance music overwhelmed my friend’s gentle sigh.
“ i will paint these shells and return them to the sea,” i murmured to myself. i didn’t have to, since nobody was listening. waves lapping upon the shore of s t. a ndrews, s cotland, i bowed and received a shell from the sea, washed it and painted on it, imagining its life journey. s o many more places it must have been than i have. The shell is a respectable true lone traveler.
“c heers for the future of s t. a ndrews, of s cotland, of the world!”
“c heers!”
“ s hut it. ‘ we know what we are, but know not what we may be.’”
“ b ad citation. o phelia was already mad at that point in h amlet.”
“ you got me.”
Friends’ faces lit up by the glowing bonfire on s t. a ndrews e ast s ands. s ’mores sizzling, friends giggling, warmth coming in waves.
a n old woman leans on the parapet of p ont a lexandre iii b ridge, smoking. a red fedora hat, heavily woody scent perfume, black leather coat, burgundy tall boots. s he stood there like a statue, resisting time’s cruelty. s he was looking at the
faraway horizon firmly, as if the faraway was her belief. i shivered because i knew she would not return my glance.
Two wine glasses on my table. “ m iss, are you alone?” “ yes i am.” “ s hall i take away one of the glasses then?” “ n o, leave it there, if you don’t mind.” i saw people looking at me, their eyes avoiding mine. s uddenly, there was something heroic about dining alone. i t is the kind of fearlessness that a lot of people call loneliness.
a student sitting next to me in the airport waiting area near the boarding gate, his glasses sat low on his nose, his mouth half-open. i wonder what music was playing in his ear buds. d ressed in a suit, he was writing down tens of mathematic formulas on a piece of yellowed paper. h e wrote with purpose, like composing music. h e looked up from his work, cleared his throat, and lowered his head again. The world passed by.
i n the twilight, a girl was walking with a professor from d e b artolo to s outh Quad. h er long black hair danced in the air and she did not care to fix it. h is white short hair stubbornly sat on his almost bald head and he did not care to fix it either. a book occupies her hands and his hands were free in the air. s he looked up at him and his eyebrows were locked. s he walked fast. h e breathed deep and hard, trying to catch up with her. Just as i was ready to marvel at what time could do to a wise man, i heard him calling her name. The pair stopped. h e pointed to the pink clouds and the orange sky in the west and soon, i heard their laughter. h ow many sunsets he had seen and how each of them was still able to move him like the first time? we must have wrinkles on the forehead, but we can try not to allow them on the heart.
l et’s hope this semester will be a “felt” one; let’s hope there will be struggles and hardships, so that we can fully engage with life; let’s hope this semester we will receive joy from observing, not judging.
Rebecca Feng is a senior at Notre Dame, double majoring in accounting and English. However, traveling and living abroad serve as her real education. She read Shakespeare and old English poems in Scotland last semester and interned for the Forbes Magazine Asia business channel in New York this summer. Email her at yfeng2@nd.edu for story ideas and comments.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Contact Kelly McGarry at kmcgarry @nd.edu
Kelly
Doing more with less
Jeremy Cappello Lee
l ost in Translation
i write this article in cambodia, a country that just four decades ago was demolished by the Khmer rouge regime.
w hen it comes to education here, there remains much to be worried about. schools are overcrowded and teach to the test. learning is through rote memorization, and students are discouraged from questioning authority. even the highest achieving students, i am told, struggle to solve problems that require application of abstract principles or critical thinking.
This isn’t to deny that much has improved in the country since 1979, when only two university professors returned to teach at the country’s only public university. but students in cambodia today lag far behind counterparts in neighboring Thailand and v ietnam, not to mention most countries in a sia. how do we change this for cambodia as well as for the developing world?
The answer does not lie in building more schools or throwing more money at the problem. The answer is much simpler: we should teach students how to read and do math. well. with these two, anything is possible.
reading not only presumes literacy, but also literary reasoning. if you can dissect an idea into its constituent assumptions and propositions, chances are you can assert and defend your own. you are less likely to be swayed by opinion, fallacy and superstition, and more likely to make sense of ambiguity.
doing math develops the analytical reasoning necessary to pursue higher education or knowledge work. if you can solve a geometric proof or make sense of
cartesian space, there is nothing stopping you from becoming an engineer, banker or civil servant.
reading and math. That’s all you need in a classroom education, because that’s all it takes to develop the lifelong habit of asking difficult questions and embracing the even more difficult task of solving them.
critics of this admittedly lean model, however, may say that setting literary and mathematical skill as the gold standard for education in the developing world is misguided. in an article for the stanford social innovation review, mark epstein and Kristi yuthas argued that emphasizing western subjects such as “mathematics,” while providing “intellectual stimulation,” was insensitive to the concerns of the poor, who would benefit more from being taught financial literacy, basic hygiene and other life skills.
They are in part right. poverty is multifaceted, and an education must address this. students must be taught to wash their hands and to manage money. students should learn to work in teams, to budget time and to approach problems with an entrepreneurial mind. but arguing these things solely constitute an education is more insensitive than the model epstein and yuthas seek to replace. w hy must an education be reduced to public service announcements and monetary games? doesn’t this limit students to an arbitrarily low standard, one that favors learning how to do things over learning how to think?
others may argue that this model — which is really the liberal arts approach distilled — does not respect cultural context outside the west.
but why should we play the gatekeepers of knowledge? education is a human right, and to deprive anyone any part of human discovery because we fear intellectual colonialism is akin to removing algebra from u s. schools because some of its inventors were
from the middle east.
yet others may say that such a proposal is impossible to scale. it might work for one student, but certainly not for an educational system. This is true if we, in the first place, favor a systemic perspective of development. if global educational benchmarks are the gold standard, then we would do best to focus on literacy and high school retention rates alone. such macro-level consideration is, of course, important, and we need to give more credit to those working towards slow improvement in overall development indices.
but i do not think we should be limited to global benchmarks. we should work just as hard to rethink education at the individual level. if just one student can be provided with the resources to learn integral calculus and read shakespeare, what is stopping two students from doing the same? or a hundred? or ten thousand?
Just look at a shesi university in ghana, founded in 2002 by patrick awuah, Jr., a swarthmore graduate. a shesi university grants degrees in business and engineering, but requires students to take courses in mathematics, humanities and the social sciences. companies clamor for their graduates, 29 percent of whom studied on full scholarship. some of these students might have been those to whom epstein and yuthas directed their recommendations.
none of this seems particularly radical. but given awuah’s recent nomination for the maca rthur Fellowship, people are just now realizing that transforming the educational standards for a few is a necessary step in raising the educational standards for all.
Jeremy Cappello Lee is a senior and can be reached at jcappell@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
a welton academy problem
i f anyone reading this has never seen the movie, d ead poets s ociety, i recommend you stop here, find a copy and watch it because the movie speaks volumes to an issue i have noticed here on campus. i n the movie, welton a cademy is a place where students come for secondary education, to be taught what is expected of high-class youths during the late 1950s. many of these students are ivy l eaguebound, to fulfill their parents’ wish for them to be successful with careers such as doctors, lawyers, and bankers. w hen they come to school, they are simply content to learn what is required, never asking questions or thinking for themselves. This is the problem i have seen in my short time here at notre dame.
For a school that seems to pride itself on having
the perfect balance of student population with attention towards undergraduate education, i see the undergraduate population falling into this welton a cademy mindset, pushing further on in the goal of personal success. From what i have seen, what is missing here is the kind of passion for learning for the sake of learning, rather than for the sake of money. That problem is extended to the larger sphere of elite institutions that we have in the united states, which are increasingly becoming the stepping stones for financial and other personal means of success.
e lite institutions like notre dame should be focusing on creating an environment where students don’t accept what they learn as fact, but rather ask questions and contemplate the larger concepts. i
am in no way saying this is universal, but i am disappointed that there is a lack of interaction in the small classes notre dame takes pride in. we are too focused at being successful in the traditional way, and it is causing us to perpetuate the sad fact that college is becoming more and more a business, a transaction between students for a guarantee of what is needed to get a job, rather than exploring the world and its profound questions and obtaining real knowledge. g et out there, ask questions and focus less on the next ladder-rung and more on being in a place where you can develop most as a person.
stop giving athletes a pass
i am a 1984 graduate of notre dame. The many things notre dame taught me include responsibility for my actions and the effect of my actions on the university, community and others.
last weekend’s events by the notre dame football players were disgraceful. a ssaulting a police officer and carrying unregistered firearms does not even come close to meeting the standards of what notre dame expects of its students, let alone its athletes. There should be no discrimination based on being a senior, junior,
sophomore or freshmen. They are responsible for their actions.
These individuals were honored with not only attending notre dame but were also provided scholarships to do so.
i know i don’t have all the specifics on the incidents, but if what is said is true, they should all be dismissed from the university. notre dame should set an example of what is and is not acceptable of college athletes. we too often give athletes a “pass” because they generate
money for their university and team. This has to stop. brian Kelly, please set the example. notre dame’s conduct board, please set the example. a nd notre dame students, stand up for what is right and not what is good for sports.
David A. Pasquel class of 1984 aug. 23
Christian Jones sophomore apr. 3
lEttErs to thE Editor
Happy Birthday: Keep an open mind and a closed wallet. Try to avoid accumulating stuff you don’t need. abundance and indulgence will bring you down. a practical approach to handling money, health and legal matters will keep you from falling behind. let your issues with others play out naturally. stay focused on your own thing. live life your own way. your numbers are 2, 18, 24, 27, 32, 39, 47.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): remember past difficulties before you put yourself in a similar situation. do your best to move forward. Take care of your health and well-being. unwarranted demands should be handled quickly. an investment will pay off.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): you’ll face opposition if you are too open regarding your plans. work toward your goals secretively, and when you have everything in place, make a strategic move. don’t let emotional manipulation get in your way.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): emotions will swell up, causing you to make poor choices. refuse to let anyone rope you into doing something you’ll regret. making a donation could cause you financial and personal stress. deception and fraud is apparent.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): secrets will lead to suspicion. Keep your plans in the open and offer incentives to those whom you think might pose a problem. delays while traveling can be expected. leave plenty of time to reach your destination. detours will be confusing.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take your rightful place at the front of the line. offer your enthusiasm and expertise, and your popularity will grow. however, it’s best not to promise anything that you might have difficulty delivering. honesty and integrity are a must.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Keep your feelings to yourself and your emotions under control. now is not the time to start an argument. deception is apparent, along with ulterior motives. step back, recalculate and prepare to take action.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): use your past experiences to deal with what’s unfolding right in front of you. be aggressive in your pursuits, and don’t put up with any nonsense. you can bring about positive changes by taking initiative and making things happen.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): don’t get emotional over money or legal matters. stay on top of contract negotiations and don’t allow anyone to slip something past you that will leave you falling short of your goal. don’t ignore health concerns.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): do your own thing. if you try to work alongside others, it may be difficult to bring your plans to completion. emotional manipulation is apparent. don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for what you want to pursue.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): you may want to help, but be careful not to let anyone take advantage of you. emotional manipulation may be used to get you involved in something you know little about. back away from anyone who makes unfair demands.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): muster the courage to take on any pressing personal matters. if you don’t like something, it’s best to share your feelings and find out where you stand. once you agree to compromise, solutions will fall into place.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): your temper will be tested and your motives will be questioned. consider what is working in your life and what isn’t, and make the adjustments necessary to get back on track. giving a false impression could result in problems.
Birthday Baby: you are emotional, compassionate and detailed. you are outspoken and smart.
JumblE | david hoyT and JeFF KnureK
sudoku | The mepham group
Just add watEr | John roddy & eric carlson
Americans would enjoy handball
This past weekend, the r io o lympics, with its vast array of health concerns and r yan l ochte coverage, finally came to an end. w hile my adverse outlook on sports packaged for non-sports fans limited my viewership of the games, i naturally, like all a mericans, encountered multiple o lympic broadcasts over the last couple of weeks. a nd while most events did not pique my interest, one event that continuously captured my intrigue — and has so in past years — was team handball.
Team handball, for those unfamiliar with it or who have not encountered while watching the o lympics, is essentially a faster version of basketball that combines various elements and visual components of hockey, dodgeball and soccer. p layers, in teams of seven, dribble and pass around a ball slightly smaller than a volleyball, with the ultimate objective of throwing it into a net defended by a goaltender. a dditionally, referees issue fouls for certain offenses and power plays are consequently awarded to teams.
n ationally, team handball’s popularity in the u nited s tates is nothing short of dismal. Those who watch the sport every four years can legitimately claim they are some of the team’s most ardent fans. Though i had the unique opportunity of playing handball during p e . in my freshman year at n otre d ame, i have yet to hear of anyone who had experienced playing it in their childhoods or high school years.
Team u s a h andball, consistent with its unheralded reputation, has been historically unsuccessful. Though the u nited s tates ran away in the aggregate r io o lympic medal count, both the a merican men and women’s teams were not good enough to even qualify for the o lympics. i n fact,
neither team has qualified in the 21st century. w hile the lack of success of the u s . might not surprise many, given that the vast majority of a mericans have never even considered playing the sport in their lives, it still astounds me how the u nited s tates has been unable to produce quality teams for a sport that so closely resembles basketball. The u nited s tates men’s and women’s teams routinely dominate basketball every four years — to the point that most of their games are unwatchable. s o why can’t a merica succeed at handball?
Furthermore, though it would be foolish to say that handball would ever reach the popularity of basketball in the u nited s tates, i certainly believe that many people would find enjoyment in watching it if a competitive and reputable league were to be constructed and televised. i t is played at a fast pace, requires handling skills similar to those of basketball players and features a considerable amount of scoring, which, in theory at least, should be a perfect recipe for popularity as an a merican sport. m oreover, though it would be unrealistic to think top athletes would leave basketball and other major sports to pursue handball, the u nited s tates undoubtedly has sufficient athletic talent and depth to develop juggernaut teams that can consistently qualify and win o lympic and world h andball events.
l e b ron James — or his handball equivalent — most likely will not be playing for the u nited s tates handball team four years from now, but the market potential and talented athletic pool to turn around the current, apathetic state of the sport in the u nited s tates definitely exists.
Contact Ryan Klaus at rklaus1@nd.edu
The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
belles eye improvement as fall seasons start
By RYAN KLAUS and DANIEL O’BOYLE sports writers
s occer
new head coach Jesse urquhart will take the s aint mary’s into the 2016 season, as he hopes to improve upon the team’s 2-15-1 record — 2-13-1 in miaa play — last year.
w ith second-team allmiaa midfielder maggie mcl aughlin and defender l indsay r zepecki, who led the team in goals last year, both graduating, the belles will be looking for seniors to step up and lead the team, urquhart said.
“o ur strength this year is, without question, great leadership,” urquhart said. “o ur senior leadership — [defender] e mily rompola, [forward] l iza Felix and [midfielder] Kate vasile — is outstanding. it starts with our seniors, but i am also blessed to have a great group of returning players — [junior defender] Kay Thursby, [junior defender] e mily l ambert and [sophomore defender] e mily beedie — who also exhibit all the qualities of a belle and an incredible group of assistant coaches. Their leadership, despite their varying roles, is exceptional and, when paired with my assistants, will serve our freshman and next generation of belles soccer players.”
The belles open the season at home next weekend with the belles i nvite, where they will face manchester and m ilwaukee s chool of e ngineering before the miaa schedule begins. a three game road trip ending at 2015 ncaa quarterfinalists c alvin will be a challenging spell for s aint mary’s before a stretch in which seven of the next eight games are at home. urquhart said each game is important for the belles, however.
“The girls know every match is big,” urquhart said. “ w ith such a young team, our two out-of-conference matches [at] home s ept. 2-3 will be very beneficial. The rest of our regular season is comprised of 16 conference matches, and every one of them is important.”
The belles finished in a tie with Trine for eighth in
the preseason miaa poll.
Volleyball
s aint mary’s enters 2016 following consecutive successful years after recording their first back-to-back 15-win seasons since 1998-99.
The belles’ season will begin in atlanta next weekend at the e mory tournament, with conference play beginning for them s ept. 9 at home against adrian.
s enior outside hitter meaghan gibbons, who won all-tournament selections at the e lmhurst and m illikin tournaments and was second in the team in kills last season, and junior defensive specialist mcKenzie Todd, who won an miaa player of the week selection in o ctober last year, are the two returning players who received recognition for their play last season.
belles head coach denise van de walle said the team’s experience should be a strength in 2016.
“ we have four seniors who will provide great leadership and experience,” van de walle said. “ we should have pretty good ball control, good setting, and good pin hitting. The team works hard and really embodies the word student-athlete. They are very easy to coach and want to be good. They also have great team chemistry. i love my players.”
van de walle said she hopes the team can improve upon their blocking for the 2016 season.
“ we really need to block better and slow down more balls,” van de walle said. “it was our weakest skill last year. we are working hard to improve in that area.”
i n their preseason poll, miaa coaches picked the belles to finish tied for sixth in the conference with Trine .
g olf
s aint mary’s opens its season this weekend with invitationals Friday and s aturday.
“i would like to use our first event of the season, the c ross Town r ivalry against holy c ross and bethel, to be a great momentum builder going into the season,” belles head coach Kim moore said.
“o f course we want to play well, but ultimately, we want to use this tournament to get us in that competitive spirit again. c oming off the summer break, it is nice to have something that we can use as a kick-starter. since my entire team will be playing in both events this weekend, it will be a really good way to get everyone, especially our new freshman, a chance to get their competitive juices flowing again.”
The belles return two seniors, c ourtney c arlson and a li mahoney, to a team that won the last of three miaa ncaa automatic Qualifying rounds in the spring. The team’s overall score of 320 at the event marked s aint mary’s best team score at an miaa event in five years.
“i feel we have a really strong team this year, and we have a very legitimate chance of doing well in our conference,” moore said. “i have a strong group of players coming back from last year’s team. i have high expectations for our two seniors this year, a li mahoney and c ourtney c arlson, and i’m looking for even better things from our sophomore, Taylor Kehoe, now that she has an entire season under her belt. it is also good to have two of our juniors — Kaitlyn c artone and lydia l orenc — back from being a semester abroad this past spring season. i am also really excited about the potential i see in our four freshman this year, l auren read, Julia mc a lindon, Kaitlyn gray and e mily besler. i think they really have what it takes to be key contributors this year.
“i’m just really excited to get the season kicked off this weekend.”
The belles will play at the c ross Town r ivalry on Friday, which will take place at e rskine park g olf c ourse in s outh bend, i ndiana. s aint mary’s will close the weekend by taking on bethel in match play at the Juday c reek g olf c ourse in granger, i ndiana. both events are slated to begin at 1:00 p.m.
Contact Ryan Klaus at rklaus1@nd.edu and Daniel O’Boyle at doboyle1@nd.edu
Ryan Klaus sports writer
Volleyball
The expectations go up as far as what they expect of themselves.
“The expectations are extremely high, and we can’t shy away from that. i f we keep improving each day and start to develop the intangibles — the effort, the discipline, the want to, the ‘how bad do you want it,’ the heart — those things are critical. a nd so the expectations are that we want to win them all. w e want to win the acc , and we want to go to the ncaa tournament.”
a s far as players to watch, m c l aughlin said that senior middle blockers s immone c ollins and Katie h iggins have been playing well in practice, in addition to junior outside hitter s am Fry. Fry led the i rish in kills, total blocks, points and points per set last year. m c l aughlin said he’s reminded the team not to think about the numbers.
minute but missed wide. i n the 22nd minute, m ichigan had a tremendous chance on a shot by sophomore forward reilly martin, but i rish senior goaltender Kaela l ittle came up with the save. The latter end of the first half was largely controlled by notre dame, as the ball remained almost entirely on m ichigan’s side of the field. w ith only 10 seconds left in the half, the i rish earned their first corner kick of the night, but they were unable to turn it into a shot. The first half came to an end with the score tied, 0-0, and both teams having put two shots on goal in the period.
The second half started with the wolverines putting a shot on goal and taking two corners in the first five minutes, but l ittle made a save to keep the scoresheet clean.
The pace of play slowed over the next ten minutes with six fouls being called on the two teams.
w ith 28 minutes left in the game, m ichigan finally broke the tie with a header goal by
sophomore midfielder a bby Kastroll. notre dame responded by attempting to push play up the field, but m ichigan took advantage and used the open space to counter. redshirt freshman midfielder Katie Foug found herself in the right place at the right time to put in a rebound opportunity just two minutes after the first goal, extending the wolverines’ lead.
a fter the game, i rish head coach Theresa romagnolo said she was not pleased with the goals.
“ we talked at halftime about not giving up silly fouls, and that caused some of our problems in the second half and allowed for those two goals,” romagnolo said. “ we were disappointed to give up two goals like those.”
s coring opportunities slowed throughout the rest of the half, as the next shot on goal did not come until a header by westendorf was saved by wolverine redshirt sophomore goalie s arah Jackson in the 85th minute to preserve the clean sheet. romagnolo said she thought her team battled well with m ichigan but failed to
of maturity, since they’ve had a couple of extra track seasons under their belt. There’s a little bit more of a comfort level there.”
execute after the half. now, the team must focus on moving on and sharpening its play going into the weekend, she added.
“i thought at halftime we had figured out the game and we were getting momentum,” romagnolo said. “ we were playing well at the half, but unfortunately we didn’t execute in the second half — couple of sloppy, soft goals — and it was a good battle, but we were hoping to be more dynamic on the attack, and it didn’t work out for us.
“ ... we worked hard and battled, but i thought technically we were sloppy and didn’t have a good performance on the ball. however, as a young team, we need to learn to move on and fix our problems. we need to get past this one quickly and get ready for next week. a s a team, we hope to learn our lessons and move on from this game.”
notre dame will look to rebound when it welcomes western m ichigan to a lumni stadium on sunday. Kickoff for the match is set for 5 p.m.
Contact Alex Bender at abender@nd.edu
“one thing that’s unique about a collegiate cross country runner is you’re also a collegiate track runner,” sparks said. “w hen people see these girls that were freshmen last fall, [now] they’ve actually competed in indoor and outdoor track. rachel, anna and annie have all had a couple of extra seasons to develop. as we race through the winter and spring in track, you always have in the back of your mind that you’ve got a cross country season coming up. so that gives them a better sense
For the men’s team, 2015 was a struggle to find consistency.
The men placed sixth in the acc championships, and michael clevenger earned a ll-american status after a dramatic comefrom-behind finish in the ncaa championships. This season, clevenger and former captain Timothy ball have graduated, and sparks said he will look to seniors chris marco and Jacob dumford to lead a freshmen-heavy team.
“They both had strong track seasons — both were very close
to four-minute milers on the track,” spark said. “but cross country’s a different game, where they have to race five-mile, sixmile races. so the men’s team’s going to lean on a freshman class that’s very talented, but unproven, obviously.”
notre dame starts its season with the crusader open in valparaiso, indiana, on sept. 4 before moving onto two consecutive home meets — the national catholic invitational and Joe piane invitational — to finish the rest of the month.
Contact Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@nd.edu
This will be a critical tournament for the four teams as it is the first of the season for all involved. The c leveland s tate team could be a serious competitor, as the 2015 h orizon l eague champions who have posted a 33-14 record in seasonopening tournaments. b ut m c l aughlin didn’t identify any one team as a particular worry.
“ i n 27 years as a head coach, i ’ve never worried about who we play, where we play or when we play,” m c l aughlin said. “ we’ll have our reports. w e have to know how to play the game and we’re learning that.”
“The numbers are going up, but i ’m not too concerned about that,” m c l aughlin said. “ e veryone has improved, but i told the girls this — people change. There’s no correlation between initial ability and final ability; it’s what happens in between. w e’re going to give all of them a chance with an even rotation, do it in a systematic way and a very objective way. Then we’ll see who changes. Frankly, we’re just at a point where we’re starting not to beat ourselves. w e’re maturing.”
The young i rish squad will put their skills to the first test of 2016 with a 7:00 p.m. game on Friday in p urcell p avilion against s eton h all. They will then play c leveland s tate and w estern m ichigan on s aturday.
Contact Maureen Schweninger at mschweni@nd.edu
paid a dverT isemen T
CAITLYN JORDAN | The Observer
Irish freshman forward Jennifer Westendorf jockeys with a Wisconsin defender during Notre Dame’s 1-0 win over the Badgers on Aug. 21 at Alumni Stadium. Westendorf had a team-high four shots against Michigan.
SARAH OLSON | The Observer
Irish senior Katie Higgins, right, and sophomore Rebecca Nunge go up for a block in Notre Dame’s 3-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Nov. 8.
being in what was ranked as the top conference at the end of 2015 according to ncaa rpi, c lark said he knows the captains will need to be the ones that guide the campaign to a successful finish in the acc . This year’s squad will be led by graduate midfielder evan panken, graduate defender m ichael shipp and senior defender matt habrowski. panken has had the most playing time of the captains, having started his playing career in 2013.
“The three captains are fantastic,” c lark said. “ you have two fifth-year boys who have very strong personalities, and matt habrowski is a fantastic kid all around. s o, you have three really tremendous role models for the younger players. They’re all superb students, with [ panken] and [ shipp] having already graduated with like 3.9-something in pre-med … and habrowski will end up with a masters in engineering next d ecember, so these are fantastic role models in every way, along with being great players.”
panken led the team with nine assists and was second on the team for points last season
with 13. shipp was named to the c osida d ivision i men’s s occer academic a ll-a merica first team and was honored with the notre dame rockne student-athlete award in 2013. he was also named the acc defensive player of the week after his performance against university of a labamabirmingham last s eptember. habrowski started 17 matches at center back last season, and he scored his lone goal of the season against then no. 9 c lemson, which turned out to be the game-winning goal in the 1-0 victory last season. now that summer camp and preseason slate are out of the way, the captains will finally get a shot to show why they were selected to lead this year’s squad to a season towards a national championship title.
“ we’re going to take it one game at a time,” c lark said. “i think we’ll be ready, and the boys are really excited to play in a game that really matters and put a top team on the field.”
notre dame will compete against c alifornia-i rvine at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and they will get back on the field against new mexico on sunday at 2 p.m. to wrap up the tournament.
Contact Manny De Jesus at mdejesus@nd.edu
paid a dverT isemen T
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
Irish junior forward Jon Gallagher scores against the Valparaiso goalkeeper in Notre Dame’s 1-1 draw with the Crusaders at Alumni Stadium on Aug. 22. Gallagher led the Irish in goals in the 2015-2016 season.
Notre Dame upset by rival Wolverines in Ann Arbor
By ALEX BENDER sports writer
no. 12 notre dame suffered its first loss of the season Thursday, conceding a pair of second-half goals to m ichigan as the i rish fell on the road, 2-0.
The i rish (2-1-0) came into Thursday’s game against the wolverines (2-0-1) following back-to-back wins at home to start the season against wright state and w isconsin, pitching shutouts in both performances.
The game got off to a quick start, as both teams alternated possessions in the opposing half of the field, yet neither side was able to generate many scoring chances within the first 15 minutes. The next 15 minutes featured the first real scoring opportunities for both sides. i rish freshman forward Jennifer westendorf launched her first of a teamhigh four shots in the 21st
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Nd VollE yball
nd aims for ncaa title return
By MANNY DE JESUS sports writer
d espite being voted third in the acc as the favorites to win the conference, n o. 11 notre d ame believes it’s more than capable of getting back into the national championship spotlight as it begins its regular season campaign Friday against university of c alifornia-i rvine at a lumni s tadium as the team competes in its annual m ike b erticelli memorial tournament, which commemorates the former i rish head coach who passed away 16 years ago.
“They shouldn’t overlook us,” junior forward Jon g allagher, who led the i rish last season with nine goals, said. “There’s no question that we’re going to be one of the top teams fighting for that top spot in the acc in the regular season, in the tournament and in the national championship. we’re feeling good about ourselves, and
that’s all that matters. a ll that other stuff is irrelevant.”
The i rish start the tournament off with a contest against c alifornia-i rvine Friday followed by a match against new mexico on s unday afternoon. b oth teams failed to make the ncaa tournament last season, but c lark was sure to emphasize not to overlook either opponent. c alifornia-i rvine last made it to the ncaa tournament in 2014, where it lost to p rovidence in the third round while n ew mexico’s last appearance in the tournament was in 2013, where it lost to notre d ame in the Final Four.
“This is a very good tournament,” i rish head coach b obby c lark, who enters his 16th season as the head coach at notre d ame, said. “There are tough games, and you shouldn’t look ahead, but it doesn’t get any easier next weekend. b ut that’s what we want.”
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Rohrer to pace deeper 2016 squad i rish ready to start year at g olden dome i nvitational
By MAREK MAZUREK sports e ditor
l ed by molly seidel and the top freshman class in the country, notre dame finished its season with an eighth-place showing at the 2015 ncaa championships, its best finish in a decade.
now, however, seidel is gone and the irish look to reload as the 2016 campaign approaches. on the course, the loss of seidel — as well as Karen l esiewicz — will loom large, but irish associate head coach matthew sparks said the team is still in good hands with graduate students danielle a ragon and sydni meunier.
“we’ve got two really good fifth-year senior leaders,” sparks said. “They both graduated, both opted to come back to fulfill another year of their athletic eligibility. … They’re doing a great job mentoring [the younger athletes].”
a nd though the 2016 iteration of the irish women’s squad may not be as top heavy after seidel’s departure, sparks said his team will find success through its
depth this season, while sophomore a nna rohrer now leads the way.
“it’s a much different team,” sparks said. “The roster looks pretty similar with the exception of molly ... obviously, that’s a big piece that you lose. The difference is going to be [that] we’re going to be a much deeper team. w henever you have two people in the top 10, you’re going to look good in the team results. now, we’re going to have success with the depth of our team. we feel like our number two through our number eight [runners] are all very interchangeable. l ast year, we were barely fielding five or six girls that were competitive. we have a much deeper group of competitive girls.”
That depth includes runners like sophomores a nnie heffernan and rachel da damio, who were both highly recruited prospects out of high school. sparks said the extra year of experience will greatly benefit heffernan, da damio and the rest of his younger runners.
By MAUREEN SCHWENINGER sports writer
notre dame is set to kick off its season schedule with the sixth-annual golden dome invitational, hosted at purcell pavilion this weekend with a slate of opponents including seton hall, cleveland state and western michigan.
The irish lost to both seton hall and cleveland state at the start of the 2015 season, and look to come back from last year’s 7-25 overall record, beginning with these non-conference games. This is the team’s second year under irish head coach Jim mclaughlin, who said 2016 brings a new maturity to the squad.
“The second season is very different,” mclaughlin said. “it’s more familiar. you go through it the first time — there’s a little bit of the unknown. i’ve always believed that when you hear it, you forget it. w hen you see it, you remember it and when you do it, you understand it. There’s a much greater buy-in now.
Nd Cross CouNtry
Nd womEN’s soCCEr | michigan 2, nd 0
mEN’s soCCEr
CAITLYN JORDAN | The Observer
Irish senior goalkeeper Kaela Little looks to pass the ball during Notre Dame’s 1-0 win over Wisconsin at Alumni Stadium on Aug. 21.
SARAH OLSON | The Observer
Irish junior middle blocker Sam Fry spikes the ball during Notre Dame’s 3-2 loss to Syracuse on Oct. 4 at Purcell Pavilion.