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Volume 49, Issue 11 | monday, september 7, 2015 | ndsmcobserver.com
Freshmen react to first game of the season Notre Dame’s newest students share their impressions of first home game, victory over Texas By ANDREA VALE News Writer
Saturday marked the first home football game of the 2015 season, and though the entire campus was abuzz with the excitement of starting a new year, only a fraction of the spectators – 2,011, to be exact – were experiencing that particular thrill and anticipation of attending a Notre Dame home football game for the first time as a student. Freshman Edna Ofelia Martinez said the game versus Texas was her first Notre Dame football game. “I think part of what made it such an incredible experience was getting to sit with all of my closest friends,” Martinez said. “We had a blast cheering and jumping and whooping … all in all, I wouldn’t
take back a thing about my first Notre Dame game.” Many freshmen reactions to the 38-3 win over the Texas Longhorns reflected a learning experience to the traditions and norms that come with being a member of the student section. “I wasn’t completely sure about the words to all of the chants, but it was fairly simple to pick up on,” Martinez said, “The dance to the Celtic Chant is my favorite. With some of the other ones, it was a little hard to pick up on what people were saying, but I managed O.K. I now know most of the words to our Fight Song and the Alma Mater. “The first touchdown, I didn’t go up. I was still confused as to what that all meant, but once see FRESHMEN PAGE 3
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
Football fans from all over the country filled Notre Dame stadium Saturday night to watch the Irish take on Texas in the first home game of the 2015 season. The Irish defeated the Longhorns 38-3.
Saint Mary’s events raise mental health awareness
Student lectures on sustainability By ALEX WINEGAR Associate Saint Mary’s Editor
SUSAN ZHU | The Observer
In an effort to increase mental health awareness and foster a sense of unity on campus, Saint Mary’s will host several events this week as part of its Support a Belle, Love a Belle (SABLAB) initiative. Junior Mary Joy Dingler, cochair of the Student Government Association’s Social Concerns Committee, said she and her cochair junior Jenna Wozniak collaborated to schedule both new
events and continue successful ones. “Jenna and I worked together all summer planning this week,” Dingler said. “The student panel and guest speaker are traditions for SABLAB, so we just had to organize those. Apart from that, Jenna and I just tried to think of events that would bring girls together.” Dingler said she can personally attest to the transformative power of SABLAB, as she took part in years prior. “I remember participating in
events my freshman year and loving everything about it,” she said. “It brings girls together in a unique way and under a different type of circumstance.” According to Dingler, students of all ages can benefit from this week as they bond with other Belles and gain understanding of mental health issues. “I think it is something upperclassmen look forward to every year, but I think it is also important
Scene PAGE 5
viewpoint PAGE 6
men’s soccer PAGE 12
By MARTHA REILLY News Writer
see SABLAB PAGE 3
The Justice Friday series continued at Saint Mar y’s on Sept. 4, w ith a ta lk on sustainabilit y by sophomore Kristhel Torre. The discussion, titled “How SMC Students Contribute to Env ironmenta l Problems and W hat We Can Do About It,” focused on minimizing trash output and practicing a sustainable lifest yle. Torre said the problem resulted from an excess amount of trash being produced. In response, the consumers need to find a lternative ways of disposa l, she said. “The problem is we’re entirely producing way too much waste, ver y unnecessar y waste in the world from food waste, containers, things that we don’t take into consideration that we can reuse or give away to someone else instead of just throw ing it away in the trash,” Torre said. “I was look ing through
the trash cans around school and was look ing at what was in it, if people were putting stuff in there that could be recycled or could have been used in a different way,” Torre said. “I saw a lot of cardboard and papers and water bottles that could have easily been put towards the recycling and not contributing towards the landfills.” Torre said the average American produces more than four pounds of waste per day. In a three-person household, 90 pounds of trash are produced per week, not including recycling. “I’m rea lly passionate about this and saw this as a problem,” she said. “Especia lly in the United States because we are producing a ll this stuff but we aren’t rea lly consuming ever y thing. … We don’t ta ke it into consideration how we could reuse it or find other ways to use it.” see JUSTICE PAGE 4
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