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Volume 53, Issue 61 | thursday, november 29, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
Bookstores offer ‘uNDefeated’ products Hammes Notre Dame shops carry new merchandise to celebrate undefeated football season By ALEXANDRA MUCK News Writer
Notre Dame fans celebrated Saturday night when the football team beat USC, earning the team an undefeated season. The next day, a T-shirt was available for purchase in the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstores on campus and Eddy Street, commemorating the season. “We buy it ahead of time, so if we win, we can offer it to fans the next day,” Justin Stecz, the Eck Center store manager, said. “We had it available Sunday morning for anyone who wanted to come in and shop after the game.” W hile the shirt has not yet
sold out, Stecz said over 450 shirts were sold in the two bookstores on Sunday and the shirts have continued to sell. Stecz said the team started to work on the order for the shirts — as well as other merchandise such as a hoodie, gift items and children’s and women’s shirts — at the beginning of November. “Once we got Florida State, we talked about the shirt, and the vendors put together the product lines and [it went] through licensing and approvals, so it’s all sort of been set into place,” he said. After the Syracuse game, which Stecz said was “sort of see BOOKSTORE PAGE 4
KENDRA OSINSKI | The Observer
Hammes Notre Dame Bookstores at the Eck Center and Eddy Street are stocked with gear advertising celebrating the football team’s 12-0 season. The stores have sold over 450 shirts since beginning sales.
Support group to ND students to participate help those coping in ‘Dressember’ campaign with recent loss By CATE VON DOHLEN
News Writer
By CLAIRE RAFFORD News Writer
For many in the Notre Dame community, the holiday season is a joyful time of year and something to look forward to during the stress of finals. However, for those suffering from the recent loss of a loved one, Christmas, and all that comes with it, can sometimes bring more pain than cheer. To help those experiencing loss during the holiday season, Notre Dame’s Campus Ministry is holding a grief support group called “Home For the Holidays,” Associate director of pastoral care Tami Schmitz said. “The holidays can be particularly tough, especially if it’s the first time [someone is] celebrating without one of their family members,” she said in an email. “The purpose of the session is to
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remind students they are not alone and to offer some practical suggestions for facing the holidays.” Schmitz said though Campus Ministry offers a variety of grief groups throughout the year, they have never offered this specific session. “We sensed that it was something needed this year,” she said. Though this is the first year “Home for the Holidays” is being offered, Schmitz said Campus Ministry has been helping bereaved students heal for over a decade. “Our grief ministry began about 15 years ago when there was an incoming first-year student whose father was tragically killed a few days before bringing her to Notre Dame,” Schmitz said. “Jerry and Dorene Hammes, who were see HOLIDAYS PAGE 4
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A club fairly new to Notre Dame, the International Justice Mission ND, will participate in Dressember, a larger non-profit campaign to end human trafficking and and help victims. In Dressember, participants wear dresses or ties the thirty-one days of December
and have the option to campaign while they do so. The Dressember kickoff will take place Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Sorin Room of LaFortune Student Center. There will be hot cocoa, free desserts and a photo shoot. Those attending are encouraged to wear a dress or a tie to start Dressember together. Sophomore co-president Malia Marshall will explain
the event and provide an introduction to fundraising. It is not required for participants to fundraise, but if participants choose to do so, each individual will fundraise independently throughout the month. At the end of December, the club will combine all funds raised and send them to see DRESSEMBER PAGE 3
College community hosts madrigal dinners By COLLEEN FISCHER News Writer
Every late November, the lobby of Regina North is transformed back in time. People from departments across campus including the costume shop, the dance department, dining services, the set shop, the music department and the Office
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of Campus and Community events join together to create a night of music, magic and storytelling through the Madrigal dinner. Attendees are transported back in time to the Renaissance period for a night of dancing signing and holiday cheer.
helped to do the logistics of the event in addition to selling the tickets and managing how the event operates,” Richard Baxter, the director of campus and community events, said. Though the event is entertaining, it also serves the higher purpose of
“This office has always
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