Print Edition for The Observer for Wednesday, April 23, 2025
By HENRY JAGODZINSKI Assistant Managing Editor
Pope Francis, the first Jesuit and first Latin American pontiff, died on Monday of a stroke and heart failure in his apartment at Casa Santa Marta, a guesthouse in Vatican City. He was 88. Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced his death and said Francis had died at 7:35 a.m. in Rome.
Francis, who became pope in 2013, brought special attention to the social teachings of the Catholic Church and pushed for reforms in the governance of the Vatican. His pontificate focused heavily on the marginalized and vulnerable in society, and his empathetic and
Pope Francis, voice of reform, dies at 88 Former UN ambassador speaks on democracy
pastoral approach won sympathy from across the world. He frequently lamented politicians’ lack of care for migrants, including at a 2015 address to Congress. The pope’s first official trip was the island of Lampedusa in the Mediterranean that was a major landing point for refugees and asylum seekers fleeing from Africa to Europe. His frequent refrain to “build bridges, not walls” has been adopted by University President Fr. Robert Dowd, who echoed his words in his inaugural address last year. More pointedly, Francis decried the Trump administration’s program of mass The
image of Pope Francis draped in black
Monday, April 21. The
Students granted Google AI tools
By ZACK POHLMAN
Associate News Editor
As students begin to prepare and study for finals, which begin in less than two weeks, they now have access to premium AI tools directly through their Notre Dame Google accounts. On March 18, the Office of Information Technology sent a campus-wide email announcing
student access to Google AI tools Gemini and NotebookLM.
Gemini is Google’s large language model (LLM), a generative AI resource similar to ChatGPT. NotebookLM, on the other hand, works directly with users’ documents, providing summaries and acting as a research assistant.
see AI PAGE 4
By EMMA BETZ News Writer
On Wednesday, from 5–6 p.m. in Hesburgh Auditorium, Chris Lu, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations for Management and Reform, spoke on the state of American democracy in conversation with Mary Gallagher, Marilyn Keough dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. The talk was facilitated by Notre Dame’s Democracy
Initiative, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies and the Liu InstituteforAsiaandAsianStudies.
Throughout the discussion, Lu offered insight into the reality of government interaction with higher education, the rise of China and the prevalence of checks and balances.
Gallagher prompted a talk on federal involvement in higher education initiatives with a brief discussion of the role of civil society in maintaining democracy. She stated that
universities, lawyers, media and nonprofit organizations play a role in maintaining a functioning American democracy. This led to a question on how outside organizations are seen and how they become part of democracies. Lu responded by discussing the importance of higher education in maintaining democracy. He mentioned the relevance of First Amendment rights such as free
By BERHAN HAGEZOM
Saint Mary’s News Editor
being LGBTQ+ at Saint Mary’s College?”
SMC holds LGBTQ+ storytelling event Students and rectors share insights on formals
Saint Mary’s Sexuality and Gender Equity Club (SAGE), LGBTQ+ Center and Department of Gender and Women’s Studies co-hosted the annual SAGE Stories, an event Wednesday where students and faculty were invited to perform anonymous stories submitted virtually in response to the prompt: “What is your experience of
Eli Williams, assistant director of The LGBTQ+ Center, first went onstage to introduce the event, which took place in SMC’s Little Theatre.
“This format of anonymous true stories read by supportive volunteers is a well established tradition in our community,” Williams said. She spoke on the
see STORYTELLING PAGE 4
By MEGAN CORNELL Staff Writer
Each of Notre Dame’s 32 residence halls host their own formal, but these events vary in location, cost and itinerary. Formals are held everywhere from South Dining Hall to downtown Chicago, with corresponding event logistics and planning
processes at varying levels of sophistication.
Formals that are held on campus are typically planned by students. Each residence hall appoints a dance commissioner who oversees the coordination of the formal.
“As the dance commissioner, I would update our hall president about the events and she would
see AMBASSADOR PAGE 4
inform the rector about what is happening... It’s completely student run which is really cool,” Flaherty hall dance commissioner Lauren Whitlatch said. Residence halls often choose to pair up for their formals to increase their budgets and streamline the planning process
see FORMALS PAGE 4
HENRY JAGODZINSKI | The Observer
An
stands near the altar in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on
Bascilica will hold nine days of memorial Masses in remembrance of the pontiff.
On April 17, in their last game of the regular season, the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team faced off against the Louisville Cardinals in Arlotta Stadium. The game ended in a 17-6 win for the Irish with 12 different Notre Dame players netting at least one goal.
Today’s Staff
News Sophie Hanawalt
Megan Cornell
Maria Clara Corona
Graphics
Isabelle Rutland
Photo
Mariella Taddonio
Corrections
Sports
Henry Lytle Ben Hicks
Scene Ayden Kowalski Viewpoint
Abby Hernan
The Observer regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times. We do, however, recognize that we will make mistakes. If we have made a mistake, please contact us at editor@ndsmcobserver.com so we can correct our error.
Wednesday
Sonnetfest 2025
Hagerty Family Cafe
11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Marathon reading of all 154 of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
“Prosecuting Power” ND Law School, McCartan Courtroom
5 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Discussion on U.S. v. Donald J. Trump.
Thursday
Paint the Ice Compton Family Ice Arena
5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Painting messages on the ice rink.
ArtWords
Raclin Murphy Museum of Art
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Poets celebrate visual and spoken art.
Friday
Symphony and Glee Club Concert DPAC
8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Dmitiri Sostakovich’s symphony: “Babi Yar.”
Well-being screening Fieldhouse Mall 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Take an anonymous well-being screeing to enhance your health.
‘Le Nozze di Figaro’ DPAC
1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Conducted by Joana Mallwitz, live from The Metropolitan Opera.
Baseball vs. Cal Frank Eck Stadium
2 p.m.
Notre Dame baseball men takes on UC Berkley.
Sunday
Softball vs. UNC Melissa Cook Stadium noon
Notre Dame softball
GABRIELLA MARTIN | The Observer
deportations, arguing that the administration’s policies violated human dignity.
Francis, who turned down some of the more regal trappings of the papacy in favor of simplicity, was also an outspoken advocate for the poor. He condemned rising economic inequality, urged governments to tax billionaires, emphasized the need for dignified wages for workers and called for the forgiveness of developing nations’ debts. He said at the beginning of his pontificate that he sought a “poor Church for the poor.”
Francis’s encyclical “Laudato Si,” which influenced the UN climate summit that approved the Paris Agreement, called for swift action to combat climate change. He referred to care for the environment as a moral imperative. He urged wealthier nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to assist poorer countries suffering most from the effects of climate change.
The pope also spoke out strongly on issues pertaining to life and human dignity. He denounced abortion as an attack on life, vociferously opposed euthanasia and condemned the death penalty, changing the Catechism of the Catholic Church to say that the death penalty is “inadmissible” in all cases. He decried what he referred to as a modern utilitarian “throw away culture,” which he said treated the lives of the
elderly, the impoverished and the unborn as disposable.
Francis also extended the Vatican’s ecumenical efforts and interreligious dialogues. He had close ties with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the spiritual center of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and also with the former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Anglican Communion. In 2016, he asked forgiveness for past Catholic persecution of other Christians. He also engaged in dialogue with Muslim leaders, signing the Document on Human Fraternity in 2019 with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb. He also maintained close relationships with Jewish leaders and repeatedly condemned antisemitism.
The pontiff was known for his pastoral approach toward LGBTQ+ people. He met with transgender people in a number of audiences and said that transgender people could be baptized in certain situations. He approved a Vatican document allowing informal, spontaneous blessings for same-sex couples, supported civil unions for same-sex couples and called laws that criminalize homosexuality unjust. He did not change Church doctrine on sexuality, however, and reaffirmed the Church’s teaching on gender.
Francis also opened the Church to new roles for women, allowing women to lead major Vatican offices for the
PAID ADVERTISEMENT
first time. He selected a nun as the first woman to serve as the prefect of a dicastery and appointed three women to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops. However, he said no to ordaining women as either deacons or priests.
The pope governed the Church amid a difficult period in which the institution grappled with a sexual abuse crisis. He apologized for the Church’s protection of priests who had sexually abused children and promised reform and “zero tolerance” for abuse. In 2019, he issued “Vos estis lux mundi,” which established policies to investigate bishops who were accused of covering up abuse. He also established the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to advise the pope on how to protect children and vulnerable adults from sexual abuse. However, many criticized Francis for not moving quickly enough on the issue, treating accused clergy too leniently and not providing sufficient transparency.
Francis entered his papacy with a mandate to reform the Curia, the governing body of the Vatican, and to address the Vatican financial scandals which had broken under his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. He overhauled the bureaucracy of the Vatican with the issuance of a new constitution. He also instituted financial reforms, which centralized the Vatican’s finances and aligned them with international standards. However, the Vatican’s
financial state remains precarious, with a yawning deficit and unfunded pension liabilities.
Francis was elected pope on March 13, 2023 at age 76. He was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina to a family of Italian descent. He was ordained as a Jesuit priest in 1969, became archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, and was named a cardinal in 2001.
Prior to his death, Pope Francis had undergone a weeks-long hospitalization during which he was treated for a respiratory infection and pneumonia. He was discharged from the hospital on March 23 and was undergoing a period of recovery at the Vatican before he died. He made a public appearance at St. Peter’s Square the day prior to his death for an Easter Sunday blessing.
His death leaves 1.4 billion Catholics without a shepherd for the time being. The Church is now in a formal period of mourning which spans nine days. His funeral will be held Saturday, April 26 in St. Peter’s Square. Francis made it known before his death that he wished to be buried in Rome in the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major, rather than St. Peter’s Basilica.
A conclave to elect the next pope will be held 15–20 days after his death. Cardinals must select the new pope by a twothirds majority. There are 135 cardinals currently eligible to vote in a conclave, 80% of which have been appointed by Francis. The conclave will be more representative of the global Church than the conclave which elected Francis, with more cardinals from Asia and Africa and fewer from Europe.
Two events at Notre Dame that were set to take place this week were affected by the pope’s passing. “10 Years After ‘Laudato si’: Faith, Anthropocene, and Justice in the Global South,” part of the Notre Dame Forum 2024-25, was cancelled as the death of the pontiff prevents the two speakers, Cardinal Pedro Ricardo Barreto Jimeno and Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, from traveling to campus. The Keely Vatican Symposium on “The Catholic Church and the Anthropocene: Science, History, Hope,” also with Cardinal Turkson has been postponed, but the event has not yet been rescheduled.
Dowd released a statement on Monday following the pope’s death.
“The Notre Dame community joins with the Church and the world in mourning the passing of Pope Francis,” Dowd said. “Through his heroic and prophetic ministry, he has inspired and challenged us to respect the God-given dignity of all people and the integrity of creation. The Holy Father’s life and witness call us to awaken from indifference to
the suffering of others, to embrace our responsibilities to one another and to be agents of faith, hope and love for a world in need. As Pope Francis often reminded us, no one is far from God’s merciful love, and the Church must be a ‘field hospital’ to warm hearts, heal wounds and open doors.”
Francis met with Dowd and Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees in February 2024. During the audience, Francis thanked the group for “assisting Notre Dame to remain ever faithful to its unique character and identity as a Catholic institution of higher learning.”
Dowd concluded the statement asking for the intercession of the deceased pope. “We pray in thanksgiving for Pope Francis’ extraordinary leadership and ministry. As we seek to follow his example, we hope Pope Francis will pray for us from Heaven,” he said.
Holy Cross College President Marco Clark issued a written statement after the pontiff’s passing.
“I join with the Church and the world in mourning the passing of Pope Francis. His papacy was a remarkable witness to compassion, humility, and the joy of the Gospel. For many of our students, Pope Francis has been a constant voice throughout their lives, calling them to be joyful disciples and to find Christ in the face of every person. He invited the world to embrace a culture of encounter, encouraging us to dialogue, and walk with those on the margins with courage and tenderness … As we give thanks for the extraordinary life and ministry of Pope Francis, may we honor him by being joyful and benevolent agents of encounter and hope — shining a light in the darkness and walking boldly in the footsteps of Christ,” Clark wrote.
Saint Mary’s College President Katie Conboy likewise released a statement Monday morning.
“With profound sorrow, we reflect upon the news of the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis. A shepherd of compassion, humility, and unwavering faith, Pope Francis dedicated his life to serving the Church and the world, inspiring countless people with his message of love, mercy, and justice,” she said.
In her statement, Conboy also said that the Center for Faith, Action and Ministry would be sharing prayer opportunities with students.
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart and Notre Dame Campus Ministry said in a social media post that Pope Francis “will be remembered at Masses in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, where doors will be draped in black bunting and a photo of Pope Francis will be placed in the sanctuary.”
Contact Henry Jagodzinski at hjagodzi@nd.edu
SNL cast member Heidi Gardner visits ND campus
By EMILY BARTLETT News Writer
On Tuesday, at 7 p.m. in Washington Hall, Heidi Gardner hosted a comedy performance that included audience interaction and a Q&A session. Gardner is known for her roles in films such as “Hustle” and “Life of the Party”, along with a recurring appearance on the television show Saturday Night Live (SNL).
Throughout the production, Gardner opened up about her journey and navigated through her own life path with jokes targeted at the audience.
Gardner started the show with a comedic skit centered around a character named Lynn Starr who was a college professional, pitching a product she deemed essential for college students.
For one of the skits, she pointed out students in the audience that she claimed looked like they would become college dropouts.
“I know I was accusing all of you of dropping, but I dropped and guess what I got — a boyfriend,” Gardner shared.
She also mentioned to students that success does not have a set timeline, as “What you can’t major in is success.”
Gardner incorporated themes relating to common student
Storytelling
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
establishment of anonymous storytelling event SMC Monologues in the early 2000s, which inspired the creation of Michiania Monologues in South Bend with the co-sponsorship of Saint Mary’s. She shared that this event raised over $80,000 for “local organizations that support survivors, women, BIPOC individuals and LGBTQ+ people.”
She also noted that Come Out Michiana, a similar project produced in South Bend, contributed to the amending
experiences and popular brands.
“I was addicted to Celsius,”
Gardner said, which brought immediate laughter from the crowd.
She also actively engaged with the audience throughout the performance. “I received a very sweet card from the SUB and they told me that you guys are actually funny here,” Gardner said.
This led to the next session where she asked students for feedback on SNL and allowed students to join her on stage. Some students asked more about the weekly process of putting on the show, in which Gardner described the importance of audience response, referencing the “Duolingo” sketch.
“We included that in the 50th anniversary because we haven’t had something go this big in a long time,” Gardner explained. She discussed that the public often decided which characters and personalities come back each week.
One student asked Gardner about what it is like being a woman in this industry.
“In this industry, you have to fight for your ideas,” Gardner said. “Follow who you are and what your taste is.”
The Student Union Board (SUB), the organization that hosted Gardner, mentioned how events like this offer something different to the community. It also provides
of the South Bend Human Rights Ordinance to include gender identity and sexual orientation.
The production featured a total of 21 stories performed by students and faculty. These stories were reviewed for inclusion by a committee that ultimately decided to include them all for equal representation and inclusion.
Two microphones were arranged onstage for readers to perform, whether solo or in larger groups. The first story included five speakers addressing the question: “What does it mean to be a
the student body with an opportunity to see a performance within their campus.
“Students get excited when celebrities come to campus as they often get stuck in the cycle of school and work. Events like this shake things up,” Emily McDougall, executive director of SUB, said.
This semester, SUB aimed to organize a comedic event to shift away from a regular speaker series and provide an engaging performance. Their goal is to bring in one guest celebrity each semester.
“With SUB, we are always trying to amplify diverse voices and her being such a successful woman comic is rare to see,” Jamil Allan, co-director of programming, said.
The Live Entertainment Committee of SUB responsible for bringing in celebrities to provide memorable experiences for students on campus. They operate through reaching out to the agencies of different celebrities and speakers.
“The production is an exciting way to switch up a normal Tuesday and performers love coming here as Notre Dame has developed a reputation for eager audiences,” McDougall said.
Contact Emily Bartlett at ebartlett@nd.edu
Belle?”
A range of story topics were presented, covering the reversal of allowing transgender applicants at the College, the experience of harassment and discrimination as an LGBTQ+ individual, the complex relationship between being queer and religious and the process of finding an LGBTQ+ community and space.
Editor’s Note: This is an abbreviated version. The full version can be found on The Observer’s website.
Contact Berhan Hagezom at bhagezom01@saintmarys.edu
press, free speech and academic freedom being fundamental to both American democracy and to American universities.
“We need a free press that is a check on all powers in government and we need [a] civil society that can advocate for people who don’t have a voice. I think all of those are under attack in this country,” Lu said.
Gallagher inquired on the history of federal funding to universities for political leverage. Lu said that while the federal government does have the authority to release grants to higher education institutions, recent interactions between the
federal government and Harvard University may have overexerted governmental authority in the area of higher education funding.
“Look at what the government has asked Harvard to do. They are saying we have the ability to go into each one of your schools, to each one of your programs, to look at the professors, look at the students, look at the diversity of viewpoints. I mean that cuts right into the heart of academic freedom,” Lu said.
Gallagher shifted the conversation toward an international angle drawing from Lu’s experience with the United Nations. Gallagher inquired on other nations’ perceptions of the United States — wondering how
FROM PAGE 1
In her message to students, vice president of information technology and chief information officer Jane Livingston emphasized the benefits of these tools compared to the wide range of others on the market.
“When accessed via your Notre Dame account, both services offer the same data protection as Google Drive, meaning your data is never resold, shared, or used to train future AI models,” she wrote.
When researching how to roll out AI tools on a university-wide basis, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) focused heavily on privacy. Google’s data protection policy was originally limited to students’ Google Drive accounts, but the technology giant offered to extend that protection to AI use with no additional licensing fee.
“We do the same kind of due diligence all the time. Anytime we buy software, we want to make sure they’re using our data in a responsible way,” Brandon Rich, director of the AI enablement team, said. “But AI is a little bit different, because we know they want that data not just to sell or market to people, but to train models. We never want that to happen with private Notre Dame data.”
Notre Dame’s AI enablement team was formed after Notre Dame’s generative AI task force released a report last spring.
Formals
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Whether they partner with another dorm or have a formal for just their residents and their dates, commissioners submit information about which venue and dates they prefer the Spring before the formal.
“We had to have everything ready to go by April 1 [the academic year before the formal]. A lot of us were communicating in advance during March, and we picked to do a dance with Cav[anaugh Hall] again. You have to have everything planned out a year in advance, which is
According to their webpage, the task force “actively partners with groups across campus to advance AI literacy, promote responsible innovation, and provide foundational AI technology services to support the University’s strategic mission.”
Notre Dame students and faculty already have access to Google apps, as the University switched over to become a Google campus in 2013. The AI tools are already integrated with these apps. By typing the @ symbol into Gemini’s chat box, students can directly interact with whichever app they need.
“The ability to chat with your Gmail, chat with your calendar, ‘Hey, when’s my next meeting? Help me find this doc that I know is somewhere in my drive,’ that has been really cool,” Rich said. Given Google’s existing relationship with the University, adding their AI services was more logical to Rich than finding another partner. But Gemini was not always an intriguing service to him, often outshined by other high-quality LLMs.
“A year ago, I would not have found [Gemini] very interesting,” Rich said. “What I’ve really been impressed with with Google is how they have updated and improved the service.”
Editor’s Note: This is an abbreviated version. The full version can be found on The Observer’s website.
Contact Zack Pohlman at zpohlma2@nd.edu
kind of crazy,” Whitlatch said. Dance commissioners are in charge of picking themes for each formal, which can vary from “masquerade” to “Great Gatsby.”
“We ran by the girls different theme ideas they wanted and decided our theme would be ‘all that glitters is gold’ in honor of the national championship that we almost won,” Whitlach said.
Editor’s Note: This is an abbreviated version. The full version can be found on The Observer’s website.
Contact Megan Cornell at mcornell@nd.edu
closely foreign countries watch American actions.
“The lifeblood of the UN is conversations,” Lu said. He went on to discuss the reality of foreign knowledge of the United States, saying, “They know keenly what is happening in our country on a dayto-day basis. They know minutia about our country in the way that we know.”
He explained how the detailed knowledge held by foreign governments on American politics and society contributes to an interconnectedness amongst the worlds’ greatest foreign powers. This sharing of knowledge allows for the citing of many national successes but also many national failures — prompting both comparison and competition.
In regard to heightened tension between the United States and China, Gallagher asked, “How has the increase in competition between the United States and China affected democracy in the United States?”
Lu responded by stating, “If there’s one bipartisan thing in Washington, it is distrust in its opposition to China. It’s absolutely the case that China is our greatest competitor at this period of time.”
Lu expanded on the negative history of China throughout American history, attributing this as a factor in the nations’ tense relationship.
Lu went back to his previous talk on higher education and drew important connections between American universities and the rise
of China.
“It is the case that American universities are the soft underbelly. It is absolutely the case that the Chinese are trying to obtain information from American research universities,” Lu said.
Lu also maintained his previous claim, emphasizing the danger of over-surveillance of American universities through the government. He discussed the fine line between protecting national security and engaging in over surveillance.
“We need to separate what the real danger is, but do that in a way that protects our civil liberties,” Lu said.
Contact Emma Betz at ebetz@nd.edu
Noah Cahill Sports Editor
Why are you doing this?
For the high-achieving perfectionist applying to college, Notre Dame is the dream school. For that same high-achieving perfectionist attending college, it can become a nightmare.
Sometimes, I feel like the school community here loses the plot. I am personally of the belief that no one should be taking 15-plus credit hours while having to lead a project team, serve on a dorm committee, work an on-campus job and apply for a summer internship. And yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could name at least five people with that exact resume or one similar. That’s not to say that as a student, you shouldn’t look to maximize the many opportunities this university has to offer. They are exactly what makes this place special. However, I encourage you to ask yourself: Why am I doing this? And “for my resume” is not an answer.
Life after school is scary. There’s no doubt about that. Why not just take the safest route to a stable income and live comfortably? You can do the social work or pursue that passion project once you get set up. That’s a valid approach; the more sensible one,
even. But at that point, why pay hundreds of thousands for higher education? It’s in the name, “higher” education. But what does higher mean to you? Does it mean a degree from an institution ranked higher than others, one you can slap front and center on a resume? Does it mean better alumni connections to get that investment banking job? Maybe. Or maybe it means learning a different way of thinking about the world. Maybe it means learning how to care for that world and the people you share it with. Maybe, just maybe, it means taking a perspective that is so unique to you, it leads to the creation of a whole new path forward. A job that doesn’t even exist yet. A true “dream job” that is yours and yours only.
This discovery is only possible if you pour yourself fully into what you love doing. That returns to the “why” question. I don’t think many of us, myself included, have a good enough answer when we take the time to sit down and think about all that we do. Much of that is no fault of our own, but that of the establishment. We do what we do because we have been shown or told we are “supposed to.” If we don’t take enough credits, we won’t graduate. If we don’t get a high enough GPA, we won’t be competitive in grad school. If we don’t get leadership experience, we won’t get a job. If we don’t have a job, we
won’t make money. What is expected of students at Notre Dame is monumental, and that reality can feel inescapable.
But we have agency in the process. In the end, the decisions are in our hands. We don’t have to conform to any perceived standard of success. With intentional choices, we can study and do what we truly love. That is a blessing, one that so many others wish to have but can’t because they don’t have the means or fell just outside the 9% of accepted applicants. I believe we have a responsibility to take that opportunity. A responsibility to all those who dream of being in our very place, but even more so, a responsibility to ourselves.
I won’t tell you how to live your life. In the end, you may decide that the guaranteed job is not worth passing up, and nothing will stop you from getting it; no amount of class credits, no amount of extracurriculars, no amount of sacrifice. What I will ask you to do before you make that decision is look inward and ask that “why” question. Just make sure you are content with the answer.
You can contact Noah Cahill at ncahill2@nd.edu. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
LETTER EDITOR
Saint Mary’s is sustainable scrambled eggs
As a current senior at Saint Mary’s College, my college experience has been unique in that it has been colored by controversy. I encountered the first of the tri-campus tensions that would accompany me for four years during my first fall on campus. These tensions arose when Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross students were included in a tricampus ticket lottery for the 2021 Shamrock Series game. Students took to Yik Yak to express their disapproval over Saint Mary’s students’ inclusion in the lottery which spurred on hostilities across the three campuses. It was around this time that I first encountered anti-Smick sentiments firsthand. I remember the hot, heavy feeling I felt when my friends and I were greeted by “get them out” after introducing ourselves as Saint Mary’s students at a Notre Dame dorm party.
In the spring of my sophomore year, another controversy erupted when a series of student-written letters stirred up a debate over the identity of Saint Mary’s as a Catholic college. Then last fall, Saint Mary’s gained national attention after an update was made to our non-discrimination policy that was subsequently reversed. Now, in my final weeks as a Saint Mary’s student, my commencement day has been overshadowed by a debate surrounding our commencement speaker. Over the last four years, I have encountered a lot of opinions about what Saint Mary’s is or isn’t. What it should or shouldn’t be. What Saint Mary’s is lacking or wrongly promoting. When I tell someone where I go to college, I often find myself preparing for whatever criticisms may be lurking amidst the response that follows. I won’t be speaking to these controversies because that has not been what my experience at Saint Mary’s has been about. Of all the articles, letters and comments that I have encountered about Saint
Mary’s over the last four years, I feel that none of them have spoken to the heart of my experience as a Saint Mary’s student.
I admit that amidst all these controversies, there have been moments when I have lost sight of why I love this place. However, there is one moment that I always come back to in order to remind myself of what Saint Mary’s means to me. This moment came about when I was standing in the kitchen at Our Lady of the Road, a hospitality house in downtown South Bend, surrounded by my fellow Smicks. We were gathered around a big black bowl cracking eggs and the occasional joke. As we filled that bowl with the bright yellow yolks, we reflected on how those eggs had come to be there.
The story of these eggs started in the Saint Mary’s Dining Hall, where every student takes a few extra seconds to scrape their leftover food scraps into a blue bin next to the trash can. These bins are retrieved by student workers every day and brought out to the chicken coop on the Saint Mary’s sustainable farm. The chickens recognize the sight of students arriving with food and hurry over to the fence to eat their fill of our leftovers. Once they’re well-fed, these chickens return to the coop where they lay their eggs. Students and staff members then collect these eggs, organizing them into recycled egg cartons. These cartons are loaded into the trunks of student’s cars and driven to Our Lady of the Road on the first Friday of every month.
Standing over that bowl of eggs, one of my friends remarked, “I love Saint Mary’s,” and she said it with such conviction that I couldn’t forget it. Because Saint Mary’s is the kind of place where students get up before the sun rises on a Friday morning to go make scrambled eggs for our neighbors. It’s the kind of place where sustainability is not just
a buzzword, but a real priority. It’s a place where we regard every neighbor with dignity and where we respond to injustice with action. Saint Mary’s is a place where we give the very best that we have: rich, nourishing eggs prepared with joy and friendship, and we give it to those who are in need in our community.
After I graduate in a few short weeks, I don’t think I’ll look back at Saint Mary’s and remember all the controversy or the moments when people in my community made me feel lesser than for where I chose to attend college. I think I’ll remember the image of my friends passing out plates of scrambled eggs at Our Lady of the Road. This is what Saint Mary’s is to me. A place where, true to Blessed Basil Moreau’s vision, the mind is not cultivated at the expense of the heart. I’ll always think of my sisters, poised with their plates of sustainable scrambled eggs, ready to go out into the world to serve. They’ll leave Saint Mary’s as nurses, teachers, ministers, lawyers, scholars, engineers and counselors, and they will leave nourishment and healing in their wake wherever they go. No matter what critics say about my alma mater in the forthcoming years, I’ll never stop believing in the cultivation of hearts that has occurred over the last 180 years at Saint Mary’s College. The impact of her students might not be as flashy or lucrative as some others, but in so many places, Smicks have been the sustainable scrambled eggs that have kept communities filled and nourished. So, as I march into my last weeks as a Saint Mary’s student, my decree will now and always be, long live the sisterhood!
Brigid Hull senior
INSIDE COLUMN
Big brother is still mad
Mariella Taddonio
Photo Editor
“It’s not you, it’s me. Let’s just be friends,” was probably what Saint Mary’s College said in 1971.
Campus animosity between Saint Mary’s and Notre Dame most likely started before 1971, but that’s the year Saint Mary’s rejected former University President Fr. Theodore Hesburgh’s invitation to merge with Notre Dame. “Big brother” is still mad. But get over it and stop bullying the daughters at your sister’s campus.
Our Holy Cross history began in 1841 in Le Mans, France, when Blessed Basil Anthony Moreau sent University founder Fr. Edward Sorin and six other brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross to the United States: specifically northern Indiana. One year later, Sorin asked Moreau to send sisters and, in a letter to Moreau, said “Once the sisters arrive, and their presence is ardently desired, they must be prepared not merely to look after the laundry and the infirmary, but also to conduct a school, perhaps even a boarding school.”
That’s exactly what happened. The Sisters of the Congregation of the Holy Cross started a school in Michigan just six miles away from Notre Dame in 1844, named Saint Mary’s College. 11 years later, the College moved to South Bend, Indiana.
Fast forward to December 1971: after many months of negotiations between Hesburgh, the acting-president of Saint Mary’s, Sister M. Alma Peter, and the superior-general of the Sisters, Sister M. Olivette Whelan, rejected Hesburgh’s offer to merge schools. According to Hesburgh, “the main difficulty was tied up with the problem of identity. They did not want to lose their identity. It was very much their own. You could not blame them. For more than a century, talented and heroic Holy Cross women had devoted their lives to achieving identity.”
The following fall of 1972, Notre Dame began admitting women to the University.
This leads to an important question: if ND is
supportive of women’s equal education, why is there still hostility towards women who attend Saint Mary’s?
A considerable number of Notre Dame students believe that we have no right to be here or to be involved in events and organizations at the University. Some may argue that we want to participate in Notre Dame’s culture without the complexity of being a Notre Dame student. Others believe Saint Mary’s women only attend the institution to find a husband across the street. And still others may even argue the academic route — that Saint Mary’s students later transfer to Notre Dame after their freshman year as an easier gateway to Notre Dame. Mounds of other condescending arguments have been made towards us, but from my experience and in talking with others, we are shown hatred simply because we are different from Notre Dame.
But do we actually deserve it?
No.
Since Notre Dame was rejected, Saint Mary’s has become stronger as a community. The presumed sisterhood is very real, which makes us unique from any other school. We are a powerful community, united and supporting each other beyond our time at college. However, just because we are an allwomen’s college does not mean that we should be treated differently.
I remember when I was applying for college, I already knew a bit of the resentment between the two schools, since I had family members that attended Notre Dame, but little did I know what I was getting myself into.
Once I got onto Saint Mary’s campus, I hoped everything would change. In the first few months on campus, I threw myself into my academics and different organizations on campus, including The Observer. By becoming involved in so many circles, I found my community within the promised sisterhood on Saint Mary’s campus and at Notre Dame.
After a year under my belt, I still see and now fully understand that, no matter what, some people at Notre Dame will always have a prejudice against me
and the sisterhood because of stereotypes and our choice in school. My motives in choosing SMC will always be questioned. My presence on the Notre Dame campus will always be unwanted. This is the type of animosity and hatred that Saint Mary’s students still experience from Notre Dame students. It needs to end.
The definition of a tri-campus community is a collaborative network formed by three colleges to “invite students to take full advantage of all academic and social resources at neighboring institutions,” as stated by Holy Cross College.
In order to enrich the education of every student, I want to emphasize that Notre Dame and Holy Cross students are welcomed to Saint Mary’s campus as much as we are welcomed to theirs. As a tri-campus community, we are meant to share resources, opportunities, passions, research, classes and traditions with one another. We cannot achieve a community with bitterness and discrimination towards each other. We were not meant to be isolated from one another.
In hindsight, it seemed that Hesburgh knew of the tension between the two schools, but I don’t think that he thought it would go this far.
As Hesburgh said, “I resolved to do whatever I could to improve the relationship between the two schools. I supported anything that would give the Saint Mary’s women a reason to visit our campusdances, plays, concerts, and so forth.”
Hesburgh wanted us to be united but still have our own identity, advocating to be in communion with one another as equals. Just as Catholic social teaching and Holy Cross values encourage us to go out into the world and support one another as children of God, we must first do so in our own community, our own home. Take your very own Hesburgh’s advice and “improve the relationship” with your fellow Saint Mary’s sisters.
You can contact Mariella Taddonio at mtaddonio01@ saintmarys.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
A message to all the CEOs of the world
about your religion less as a strict set of rules and regulations and more as an active, dynamic relationship.
It is my hope that you clicked on this article thinking that you would enjoy an earful of arguments for why every chief executive officer of a corporation is evil. You may have anticipated arguments for why the workers should own the means of production or why we should “eat the rich,” as it were. Maybe you were hoping to hear the forbidden word that starts with “E” and rhymes with the patch of grass in the front outside your home. I hate to disappoint you, but I am addressing a different crowd of CEOs. I write this article to the Christians out there who only make it to church or Mass on Christmas and Easter, only — hence CEO. This is by no means an uncommon practice among many Christians. I believe it is wholly unacceptable to demonize other people for their religious beliefs and how they practice their respective faith traditions. It is completely unproductive and simply inexcusable. With this said, I will begin to systematically criticize and denigrate these CEOs.
Just kidding.
But I do want to give this crowd of people, whoever and wherever they are, another, perhaps more compelling perspective. Obviously, the third commandment is to “keep holy the Sabbath,” which in Christian terms, means go to church or Mass on Sunday. Pretty simple, right? Well, not really. I would argue that the mindset shift that needs to occur is this: thinking
Imagine your relationship with God as you would a very close friend. How could you maintain a functioning, thriving relationship with a friend if you do not talk, ever, to him or her? How could you maintain a functioning, thriving relationship with a friend if you do not spend with him or her, ever? The bilateral relationship in a friendship holds true for your relationship with God: it’s a two-way road.
Now, you would be more inclined to do something for or listen to the advice of someone you trust or have a strong relationship with. This is common sense. Think of the favors or requests that your serious relationships in your life have asked of you. In a romantic relationship, your partner asks you to do something, and you do it to make your partner happy. Simple. If your parents ask you to do something, yes, there is some sort of filial obligation given that they literally brought you into the world, but it would not be unreasonable to say that you do things for your parents to make them happy, since you love them — I hope.
Let’s place this very, very simple framework onto the Christian life. Let’s say that you actually pursue a friendship with God. You might visit him to chat about your day. You might tell him about things you saw during the day that reminded you of him. You could tell him what makes you happy and what pisses you off. You would do all the things friends do, since you are friends. It is truly not rocket science.
And what would follow is this. You would feel more
inclined to do things that He asks of you since you have built up this really great relationship with Him, and you wish to make him happy, in the same way that you want to do right by your actual friends. Then, the obligation to go to church or Mass every Sunday ceases to seem like an obligation and appears to be more like a privilege, that you get to visit and spend time with your dear friend. Moreover, every other thing he asks you to do seems less like a bunch of rules and regulations but rather a set of opportunities to make Him, God, happy.
Though the shift in mindset that I propose seems ridiculously simplistic and maybe even nonsensical, I would argue that most people, especially CEOs, overlook this simple reality. If you lack the interior desire for God, then the exterior rules and obligations and going-through-the-motion actions are useless, completely. And the way you begin to cultivate that interior desire is by just talking to God, in the exact same way you cultivate a friendship with someone else by just talking to them. Like I said, this is seriously not that complicated.
Happy Easter, everyone.
Jonah Tran is a junior at Notre Dame studying finance and classics. He prides himself on sarcasm and never surrendering. You can file complaints to Jonah by email at jtran5@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Jonah Tran
Amate et Odite Deo
By LUKE FOLEY Scene Copy Editor
Ryan Coogler is one of Hollywood’s most brilliant young directors. However, for the past decade, he has tragically been trapped in the Marvel machine, directing the “Black Panther” films. Despite those being some of Marvel’s best, I’ve been itching to see him make an original film free from all franchise constraints, superhero conventions and Kevin Feige meddling. My wish has finally come true with “Sinners,” which has surpassed all my expectations. Coogler’s Southern Gothic tale of vampires is bursting with an abundance of ideas, tones and styles, making it a profound and exhilarating triumph.
“Sinners” unfolds with remarkable patience and attention to detail. Set in the 1930s, the film follows two twins, Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan), returning to their small Mississippi town after making it big running with gangsters in Chicago. They want to open a juke joint, and the film’s first half is entirely focused on their recruitment and procurement efforts to get it up and running in one day. They visit many old friends and ask for their help, with each interaction deftly revealing years of prior relations and drama. Each side character is fleshed out, compelling and illustrates some unique theme. It’s immensely satisfying to watch Coogler so assuredly set up all these moving pieces in the first half. The world he crafts is so palpable and engrossing. And while the historicity is all there with lavish costumes and layered environments, Coogler is not using them as a crutch; he more importantly hooks you on the emotions and the aspirations of these characters within the Jim Crow South.
Once we reach the juke joint’s opening night, Coogler enters a whole new realm of cathartic filmmaking. He stages larger-than-life celebrations of music and community, with a joy and eroticism that touches the transcendent. There’s a specific one-shot where the space-time continuum in the juke joint bends as decades of black music interweave. It’s a beautiful and stirring sequence that could have been corny in the hands of a lesser director. Coogler, however, is hesitant to paint the twins’ enterprise as something purely altruistic. There’s an ambivalence of whether the two are community heroes trying to provide a safe third place or sleazy capitalists looking to make more money after their time in Chicago went sour. The film presents a dialectic on capitalism as both a source of empowerment and subjugation. Entrepreneurship is a way for black people to gain more power and control in a racist country, but it comes at the cost of exploiting vices and ruthless commerce. How can capitalism provide liberation to oppressed communities when it often relies on hierarchy, exploitation and internal division within these communities to sustain itself? Coogler daringly probes this paradox.
It is at this halfway point, however, that things also take a gory, supernatural turn. Sammie, played by Miles Caton in an exceptional acting debut, and his performance at the juke joint were a little too good, causing a vampire named Remmick (Jack O’Connell) to descend upon the juke joint. Remmick wants to convert the patrons and Sammie into vampires and use Sammie’s transcendent music to exalt their community and connect with the spiritual realm. Just as he did in “Black Panther,” Coogler makes his antagonist occupy a compelling moral gray area. Remmick, an Irishman
who has also faced discrimination in the Anglosphere, tries to convince Sammie and his friends that becoming a vampire is the best escape from the evils of the Jim Crow South, that trying to make it on their own terms — empowering the black community from within — is futile. The KKK will get you, capitalism is a trap, the North is just as racist as the South — everything is a dead end. To a certain extent, his offer is alluring, but his suicidal fatalism is ultimately worthless and just a cheap escape from the problem at hand. His solution is a self-destructive assimilation into a vampiric community that subsumes all peoples and cultures into an amorphous, hokey blob. Sammie refuses to let his artistry be co-opted and instead fights for his integrity. It’s here that it becomes evident that Sammie is a self-insert of Coogler, a filmmaker who’s had to constantly deal with corporations desiring his talent for mass art. The film is an ode to art as a pure, powerful interface with ourselves and the world around us. There’s so much more that could be said about “Sinners” — Autumn Durald Arkapaw‘s gorgeous and warm cinematography, the rich ensemble performances, the commentary on Christianity in the black community — but that’s what makes it so exceptional. Coogler has crafted a film that’s immediately exciting and fun, full of sensuality, effective horror and endearing characters. But it’s also loaded with complex, incisive themes and subtext. It’s a brilliant tightrope act that sets a new standard for blockbuster films. Here’s to hoping Warner’s next big auteur swing — Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” — is a similar commercial and artistic triumph.
Contact Luke Foley at lfoley2@nd.edu
By SHEILA-MARIE MANYARA Scene Writer
The Netflix limited series “Adolescence” has reached critical acclaim since its initial release. In four episodes, each done in a single camera shot, we learn about Jamie, a 13-yearold boy arrested for the murder of another 13-year-old, Katie, as well as the aftermath of his arrest. When I first heard of the series, I thought it would be a typical mystery/thriller where Jamie swears he didn’t do it, and we spend the rest of the series figuring out who did. While he does spend most of the first episode denying his crime, we see the damning camera footage at the end and realize this isn’t a story about who killed Katie, but why Jamie killed Katie — a question that lingers in viewers’ heads over the next three episodes. In episode 2, a few days after the arrest, the detectives interview students at Jamie’s school hoping to understand why he did what he did. In episode 3, set several months after the arrest, we witness the final session Jamie has with child psychologist Briony Ariston, and in the final episode set about a year after the arrest, we see how Jamie’s father, mother and sister have been coping since the arrest and their reaction to Jamie deciding to plead guilty at his trial.
Despite the series unpacking the different elements of
Jamie’s psychology to understand his motive, there is no concrete answer that can be found by the end of the series. In episodes 2 and 3, we learn about Jamie’s interactions with social media, the manosphere and girls, particularly Katie, and in episode 4, we see glimpses into how his parents might have impacted his crime, but neither of these factors are treated as the sole reason for Jamie’s crime.
Although the series centers on Jamie, it also shows us whose voices are unheard or ignored in cases like Jamie’s: women’s. In episode 2, detective sergeant Misha Frank comments on how obsessed everyone is with figuring out Jamie’s motives and how everyone has already seemed to forget Katie. Her colleague, detective inspector Luke Bascombe, barely acknowledges Misha’s observation before proceeding with his investigation. Additionally, Katie’s best friend Jade has a violent outburst in which she attacks Jamie’s friend, Ryan, but this isn’t an incident on which the detectives follow up. Jade expresses her fears to her tutor about having no one there for her now that Katie’s gone, and despite her tutor’s reassurance, in the end, she is distraught and all alone.
In episode 3, Briony holds in all the anger, fear and despair she has for Jamie despite his numerous outbursts, only breaking down when she knows she is alone. This is similar to Jamie’s mother Manda, who spends the majority of episode 4
holding herself together in the midst of her husband’s fits of rage before finally crying by herself.
“Adolescence” is a disturbing show, and it isn’t based on a true story, but rather multiple true stories of young boys turning to violent crimes in a strange and disturbing modern trend. Most people came out of this show talking about the rise of social media with young teenagers and specifically alpha male podcasters, but there is no clear cause for Jamie’s crime. It’s suggested that the cause of Jamie’s actions was an amalgamation of his upbringing, his social media use and his own decisions. It also notes a difference between Jamie and Katie. We learn Katie insulted Jamie, a form of bullying, but Katie herself was also a victim of bullying, having her private and intimate photos leaked to her classmates, but she didn’t kill anyone because of it, unlike Jamie. This is a question reflected in our own world. What is happening in young men’s upbringing to lead them violence? “Adolescence” doesn’t answer this question, but it initiates a discussion of the factors at play with troubled teenagers like Jamie.
Editor’s note: this is an abbreviated version. The full version can be found on The Observer’s website.
Contact Sheila-Marie Manyara at smanyara01@saintmarys.edu
Irish top Duke as Kastor records 250th strikeout
By HENRY LYTLE Associate Sports Editor
Sitting at 20-24-1 on the season, the Irish faced a critical road series at No. 17 Duke to stay inside the top12 of the ACC. With a onegame lead on Pitt, the Irish needed to win at least one game, which they did by going 1-2 in the series. Junior Micaela Kastor pitched an incredible three game stretch, notching 10 strikeouts to earn her career 250th strikeout and her 100th of the season. These three performances helped Kastor also hit her 10th win of the season matching her win total as a sophomore. With the help of career games from sophomore Addison Amaral with two home runs, the Irish toppled Duke in game 3, winning 6-5. They followed that up by battling back from a two-run deficit to score six in a row to beat Central Michigan 8-4.
Duke Game 1
The Irish started strong from the plate to begin a four-game streak of scoring in the first inning. Freshman Caroline O’Brien doubled down the right field line to begin the game before advancing on a sacrifice bunt from senior Emily Tran. Senior Rachel Allen then smashed a home run over the right field fence to score O’Brien and get the Irish out to an early 2-0 lead. Duke was quick to respond in the bottom of the first. The first two Blue Devil batters singled up the middle on sophomore Kami Kamzik. They were quickly brought home by an Ana Gold home run over the left center field wall. Duke followed up the three-run shot with another home run that would be the last of the scoring in the bottom of the first. Through one inning, the damage was 4-2 in favor of Duke.
The Irish regained scoring momentum in the third inning with help from the top of the order. Tran singled to begin the inning with Amaral doubling to right field to advance Tran. Allen then continued her big day by hitting a clutch single to center to score both Amaral and Tran and even the score at 4-4.
Sound pitching from Kamzik held the Blue Devils from reaching the plate. However, Duke finally scored on an RBI in the infield to regain the lead in the bottom of the fourth to lead 5-4. In the top of the seventh, the Irish had a scoring chance with two outs and freshman
Avery Houlihan pinch running on second base. Amaral singled to shallow center field to advance Houlihan to third. Houlihan rounded the bag with a full head of steam but was thrown out at home plate as the potential tying run, and the Irish fell 5-4.
Duke Game 2
The Irish looked for revenge in game two on Friday, April 18. O’Brien began the game with a single up the middle before advancing on an Irish groundout and finding the plate to give the Irish an early 1-0 lead on an Amaral sacrifice fly.
Kastor started the game for the Irish, pitching six innings only allowing six hits to go along with five strikeouts. Kairi Rodriguez hit a solo home run for the Blue Devils in the top of the second inning to break even at 1-1 but the Irish held strong outside of that.
The Irish made another push in the fifth inning after a single from senior Anna Holloway. She advanced to third with help from a Jane Kronenberger single to left and a ground out. However, the second baseman was stranded as the next two batters grounded out. The Blue Devils took advantage of the Irish failure to regain the lead and found the plate off consecutive hits to lead 2-1.
The 2-1 lead was too much for the Irish and they only got on base once more throughout the remainder of the game, coming on a throwing error. Moving to 0-2 against Duke, the Irish desperately needed at least one win to remain ahead of ACC competition for the final two spots in the ACC tournament, setting up a crucial game three.
Duke Game 3
In the final road game of the season, the Irish needed a monster performance from the mound and the plate to keep their spot in the ACC tournament. For a third straight game, the Irish found home in the first inning. Tran hit an infield single to get to first and Amaral smoked a two-run home run over center field.
The Irish started senior pitcher Shannon Becker in her sixth game of the season. She threw an inning of scoreless relief in game one on Friday night, but allowed one run for the Blue Devils on Sunday. Kastor took over again at the stripe on the defensive side hoping she could remain effective after a complete game the previous day with 82 pitches.
Duke evened the game off her in the bottom of the second at 2-2, and this score stuck through the fourth inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, Duke capitalized on an overturned double-play that would have ended the inning. A double from KK Mathis earned the first lead of the game for Duke at 3-2.
To start the sixth inning, Amaral returned the favor with another two-run home run over the left field wall to tilt the game back in Notre Dame’s direction. The Irish added two insurance runs in the seventh inning to bring the score to 6-3, but the game was not over. Duke battled back in the seventh inning to score two runs and cut the lead to only one. Kastor found the extra strength to force a ground ball that Holloway calmly threw to first to secure the critical 6-5 win.
Kastor’s 11th inning in the past two days showed her ability to step into the clutch and earned the Irish their second highest-ranked win of the season, just behind No. 15 Missouri. This puts the Irish one game ahead of Pitt in conference play, and two or more ahead of the other three teams vying for a spot in the top 12.
Central Michigan
Notre Dame took on the Central Michigan Chippewas after being away for a twoweek road stint since April 8.
Finally back in Melissa Cook Stadium, the Irish hoped to earn another win to inch back toward an even record.
Kastor was stellar again, recording her 250th career strikeout and 100th of the season during 2.2 innings of work. This marked her 10th win of the season, alongside a three-strikeout game.
The Irish kept the streak alive of scoring the first
inning with a single for Tran and walk from Amaral before Kronenberger lined into left field to score Tran. The Irish faced a 4-2 deficit in the bottom of the sixth but exploded on the offensive side to score six runs on six hits in the inning. Holloway scored three RBI by herself with her second home run of the day. Tran also finalized her fifth career three-hit game for the Irish in the frame. The inning allowed the Irish to emerge victorious 8-4.
Looking to build off consecutive wins, Notre Dame hosts Valparaiso at 5 p.m. today in Melissa Cook Stadium as part of the seven-game homestand left to close the season. Sitting at 22-26-1, the Irish face a critical series against North Carolina this weekend beginning on April 25.
Contact Henry Lytle at hlytle@nd.edu
MAX PETROSKY | The Observer
Junior pitcher Micaela Kastor high fives teammates following a Notre Dame win at Melissa Cook Stadium. She eclipsed the 250-career strikeout plateau during her 37-pitch outing on Tuesday evening.
Happy Birthday: Pause, think, and set your sights on this year’s desired outcome. There is no
to rush or take on unnecessary projects or responsibilities if they don’t
your agenda. A
of what you want and need in your
will make it easier to stay on target and reach your goal. Stick close to home and utilize your strengths to ensure you fulfill your dreams. Your numbers are 2, 12, 19, 26, 32, 41, 47.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take advantage of an opportunity to discuss your interests and how to use your skills and market yourself effectively. Think outside the box, and you’ll discover how to diversify and update your attributes and experience to realign yourself with what’s trending in your field of expertise.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Keep moving. Idle time is your enemy today. Too much time to think, complain, or get into trouble will stand between you and taking care of business. Be responsible and take better care of your health and finances. Avoid unnecessary spurof-the-moment purchases. A physical change will boost your confidence.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Broaden your horizons, participate in thought-provoking events, and get in touch with people who can offer experience and hands-on help. However, find out what’s expected in return before you start. Communication is your greatest asset, so keep the conversation going and grab as much free information as possible.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Zero in on what’s important to you instead of pussyfooting around the outer perimeters of situations, topics, and possibilities. Speak openly, from the heart, and directly to those most likely to tell the truth. Put more onus on how you appear and feel, and use your talents to reach your goals.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Finish what you start, do things by the book, and take responsibility for yourself and what you say and do. Arguing will waste time and deter you from reaching your objective or destination. Rethink your strategy before you start a conversation that can alter your course, lifestyle, or meaningful relationship.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You are overdue for a change. Look at yourself, what you do, how you look, and the goals you want to achieve. Be open to suggestions and learn all you can that might give you an advantage over anyone competing with you. A positive attitude will outweigh negativity and anger.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Take a break, get out and mingle, network, or participate in something that motivates or stimulates you to give your all. Use your ingenuity, and you’ll devise a plan that helps you excel when dealing with associates and superiors. Now is the time to express yourself with confidence, not waffle.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Accept change and keep moving forward. How you deal with what’s happening around you will determine how others perceive you and your influence on your goals. Run the show instead of letting someone step in and take over. A positive attitude will bring about progressive change. Personal gain looks promising.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Social events will result in heartfelt discussions that give you something to think about and consider. Your reaction or what you agree to contribute will require time and effort. Be sure you can deliver before you commit. Falling short will be a reflection that can alter your reputation.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take care of financial matters, apply for a position that interests you, and manage your health care with finesse. Don’t leave anything to chance or up to someone else. Push for what you want, but use diplomacy, experience, and knowledge to ensure you get what you want.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Do your part in organizing and setting things up to accommodate what you can contribute. Look at the long-term effects and pace yourself. Refuse to let someone drag you into their drama when you are best to designate your time to what benefits you most.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Make changes that improve your lifestyle and health and encourage reaching your goals. Discipline and saying no to temptation is essential. Put together a plan to restrict overspending, allowing you to funnel your money into what’s necessary. Micromanagement, along with common sense, will help stabilize your life.
Birthday Baby: You are resourceful, expressive, and dynamic. You are assertive and productive.
Men’s golf finishes season with fifth-place finish
By CLAIRE WATSON Associate Sports Editor
Over Easter break, the Notre Dame men’s golf team competed in the Boilermaker Invitational, placing fifth. The team finished its regular season finale shooting a total of 843 (-9). The four teams that surpassed the Irish were Marquette University in the No. 1 spot, Purdue in No. 2, Illinois at No. 3 and Michigan State at No. 4.
Freshman Mike Qiu led the Irish on the fairway to finish 18th and gained his lowest score of the season. Over the three rounds, the freshman finished overall with a final score of 212 (-1). To kick off the invitational, Qiu started the day finishing with a score of 72 (+1) before finishing the back end carding his best score of the season 66 (-5) to place him in competition with the top individual performers overall. Qiu finished out the competition scoring 74 (+3). Following Qiu were sophomores Jacob Modleski and Rocco Salvitti who tied for
BASEBALL
23rd place with a score of 213 (E). Despite Qiu’s strong start in the invitational, Salvitti scored the lowest to start day one shooting 67 (-4) holding first place through the first 18 holes. Salvitti finished out the day carding a 69 (-2) before heading into Sunday’s competition where he shot a 77 (+6). Modleski followed as he finished day one shooting 73 (+2) before rounding out Saturday carding 69 (-2).
The sophomore finished with a 71 (E) on the final day of competition.
A pair of juniors finished one stroke apart as Nate Stevens took 43rd with an overall score of 216 (+3) and Calen Sanderson finished 47th with a score of 217 (+4).
Starting off the competition, Stevens posted a score of 73 (+2) and finished the day with a score of 75 (+4). Going into the second day and final round, Stevens carded a 68 (-3) to move up 25 places in the competition. Sanderson earned a season-low second round of 68 (-3), but followed up the strong performance
with a 76 (+5) in his third. In the final round on Sunday, Sanderson’s final score of 73 (+1) landed him in 47th place. Looking ahead to the ACC tournament, the Irish have much to look forward to. They
will tee off against fierce competition in the tournament including Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina, North Carolina State, SMU,
Stanford and Virginia. The first round is set to start on Thursday, April 24 in Bowling Green, Kentucky at 9 a.m.
Contact Claire Watson at cwatson01@saintmarys.edu
Notre Dame baseball sweeps Stanford
By CLAIRE WATSON Associate Sports Editor
Over the break, Notre Dame baseball went 3-0 in a series against Stanford, dominating 9-3 and 11-0 in the first two. The series was capped off as the Irish earned a thrilling 10-9 win over the Stanford Cardinals and now look to face off against Purdue Fort Wayne. The Irish now sit at 20-17 overall and 7-14 in the ACC.
Game 1
The team took a quick 9-3 win to kick off the series. Starting the first inning, the Irish were unable to score but in the bottom half of the first, Stanford added on their first run of the day to take the early lead after facing sophomore right-hander, Jack Radel, at the mound. In the second inning, Notre Dame made their comeback as they sent in a run of their own thanks to sophomore catcher Davis Johnson and freshman infielder Parker Brzustewicz who each made it on base. A sacrifice fly from junior infielder Estevan Moreno allowed Johnson to score and tie up the game 1-1 as Stanford went scoreless at the bottom of the inning.
Graduate student outfielder Brady Gumpf started off the third inning strong for Notre Dame as he hit a single up the middle. Sophomore catcher
Carson Tinney followed the start by knocking one over the fence to pull the Irish ahead 3-1. Neither team scored any runs in the fourth or fifth inning, but in the sixth, Stanford closed the margin to one run at 3-2. The Irish came alive in the seventh, eighth and ninth inning totaling six points over these three to take the 9-3 win.
Game 2
It was a similar story for the Irish as they pulled off a runruled 11-0 win. Tinney nailed a double to start off the first inning followed by Brzustewicz who walked to put runners on the corners. This was followed by graduate student infielder Connor Hincks who hit a line drive to centerfield to allow Tinney to score and put the Irish up 1-0. In the second inning, freshman outfielder Jayce Lee led off for the Irish knocked a line drive to center followed by a walk from senior Nick DeMarco put the runners in scoring position. A sacrifice bunt from Gumpf and a hardline drive from graduate student outfielder Jared Zimbardo drove in Lee to keep the Irish ahead 2-0. Johnson began the third with a single followed by Hincks who hit a triple to the outfield to let Johnson score for Notre Dame’s third run of the day. Neither team scored in the fourth inning but the Notre Dame offense
continued their momentum into the fifth inning as a homerun from Tinney kept them ahead 4-0. Notre Dame continued to hold the Cardinal offense in the bottom of the fifth. In the top of the sixth, the Irish scored four more runs putting them ahead 8-0. Finally in the seventh, Notre Dame run-ruled the Cardinals 11-0 as they put three more runs on the board to earn their second win.
Game 3
Hitting at the start of the first inning, Notre Dame was unable to score against a tough Stanford defense. On the other side, the Cardinals went scoreless against graduate right hander Jackson Dennies who took the mound for the Irish. Moreno knocked one over the left-field fence to put the Irish on the board in the top of inning two and Notre Dame held the Cardinal offense empty in the bottom of the second.
Zimbardo and Tinney each tallied a single to put runners on the corners to start the top of the third inning. Freshman infielder Bino Watters followed with a fielder’s choice to allow Zimbardo to score. Brzustewicz followed with a hit to the right side allowing Tinney to score. Dennies continued to find success on the mound, holding the Cardinals at bay on the back end of the third inning and striking out two to help the Irish lead 3-0.
At the plate, Moreno hit a down-the-line double to get on base, but the Irish were unable to bring him in and the score stuck at 3-0. Two freshmen saw the circle in the bottom of the fourth. Right hand pitcher Kellan Klosterman started on the mound and halfway through the inning, right hander Chase Van Amedye took over as Stanford added two runs to close in on the lead.
Zimbardo led the fifth inning with a single and a stolen base to put himself in scoring position. Tinney followed with a single to the outfield to put runners on first and third and a walk from Brzustewicz loaded the bases for the Irish. Hincks drilled a triple down the right-field line to clear the bases as the Irish took a 6-2 lead. Moreno used a sacrifice fly to drive Hincks in and give the Irish the 7-2 lead. Stanford combated this by adding one run in the bottom of the inning to bring the score to 7-3.
Notre Dame could not keep their offensive momentum in the top of the sixth inning, but Stanford made their comeback knocking in four runs to tie up the score. In the top of the seventh, Notre Dame managed one run, but Stanford came back with two more to take the 9-8 lead.
Trailing in the ninth, Tinney led off the hitting with a single to left field. Next up, Bino Watters
sent a huge home run opposite field, which would be the goahead hit for the Irish to regain control 10-9. In the down-tothe-wire game, McDonough held two runners on base from scoring by inducing a grounder and fly ball to end the contest from the defensive side. This thrilling 10-9 win capped off a critical conference sweep for the Irish.
Purdue Fort Wayne
Currently 6-13 in the season and 5-12 in conference, Purdue Fort Wayne is next up for the Irish. Purdue Fort Wayne is coming off of a three-game series loss against Northern Kentucky, losing the first game 4-7, the second 14-19 and the third 4-10. The team faces off against Michigan State before heading to Notre Dame to face the Irish.
Offensively, Purdue Fort Wayne has two game leaders in Camden Karczewski and Justin Osterhouse. Karczewski leads the team with a batting average of .308 and Osterhouse follows with an average of .286. In the on-base slugging category, Osterhouse leads with a .881 percentage.
The first pitch at home against Purdue Fort Wayne will be at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23.
Contact Claire Watson at cwatson01@saintmarys.edu
KAITLAN BELDEN | The Observer
Junior Nate Stevens chips at the Warren Golf Course during the Fighting Irish Classic. Stevens shot even in the three-round tournament, and just wrapped up his season with a +3 outing at the ACC Tournament.
By CHRIS DAILEY Sports Writer
Steve Angeli to enter transfer portal
After a hard-fought quarterback battle this spring, senior Steve Angeli has announced his decision to enter the transfer portal. The rising senior threw for 772 yards during his time with the Irish, highlighted by his memorable 6-of-7, 44-yard performance against Penn State in the Orange Bowl as he stepped in late in the first half to replace the injured Riley Leonard. Angeli’s poise helped reinvigorate Notre Dame and put three vital points on the board before the first half drew to a close — a pivotal moment in a narrow 27-24 win for the Irish.
The news of Angeli’s decision comes shortly after head coach Marcus Freeman
ND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
stated following the BlueGold Game, “you would like to be able to kind of go in the fall with a two-quarterback battle. It’s really hard having a three-quarterback battle.”
Angeli’s lone start for Notre Dame came in the 2024 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl against Oregon State. Angeli threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns on 15-of-19 passing, proving that he was more than capable of playing at a high level.
However, a long-term starting role at Notre Dame never materialized for Angeli. After Sam Hartman’s one-year stint as a starter following his transfer from Wake Forest, the Irish then called upon highly touted Duke transfer Leonard for 2024. Although Angeli appeared in 11 games
throughout Notre Dame’s memorable season, Leonard remained the locked-in starter.
Even in a backup role, Angeli garnered praise from teammates, coaches and fans alike for exemplifying what it means to be a Notre Dame student-athlete.
Freeman praised Angeli for his heroics in the Penn State game, saying, “We’ve got a lot of confidence in Steve, and those other guys that had to step up, when their numbers are called. They’ve earned that confidence in practice, and Steve’s earned it in some game opportunities.”
Following Notre Dame’s loss to Ohio State in the National Championship, questions arose about which of their three talented quarterbacks
who sat behind Leonard would receive the nod to start.
Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr were each ranked among the top quarterback recruits in their respective high school classes, forming another uphill battle for Angeli. Though the senior got off to a slow start in the Blue-Gold game, he found his rhythm as the game moved along. Meanwhile, both younger signal-callers impressed throughout.
With Angeli now officially in the transfer portal, the quarterback race will remain open between Minchey and Carr. This means that the Irish will open their season at Miami with a quarterback who has yet to make a collegiate start if they do not pick up a new field general in the transfer portal. Moving forward with either
inexperienced quarterback is a bold move by Freeman, but it’s not to say that it hasn’t been done before. Freeman fielded an offensive line with a combined total of six starts in the Irish’s season-opener away at Texas A&M last season, a courageous move that ended up working out well for Notre Dame.
As for Angeli, it remains unclear where he will transfer. He held offers from Arizona, Boston College, Rutgers and 19 others coming out of high school. Another possible option could be Tennessee after their star quarterback Nico Iamaleava unexpectedly left the program. Angeli has two years of eligibility remaining.
Contact Chris Dailey at cdailey2@nd.edu
Citron, Westbeld and King all drafted to WNBA
By HENRY LYTLE
Associate Sports Editor
Rising senior guard Sonia Citron was drafted No. 3 overall by the Washington Mystics in the WNBA draft to headline a celebratory night for Irish women’s basketball. Soon after, graduate forward Maddy Westbeld and graduate forward and transfer Liatu King were also drafted in the second and third rounds respectively. Graduate guard Olivia Miles was projected to be the No. 2 overall pick, but chose to transfer to TCU and utilize her final year of eligibility in college. Notre Dame finished the season 28-6, losing to
TCU once in the regular season and were knocked out by the Horned Frogs in the Sweet 16 to conclude the season. Citron, Westbeld and King were three impactful starters throughout the 2024-25 campaign, and with three players selected in one draft, this marks the most players taken from Notre Dame since 2019.
Citron headlines the draft night for the Irish as the 11th player taken in the first round from South Bend. She joins the likes of Kayla McBride, Skylar Diggins, and Devereaux Peters as No. 3 overall picks to the WNBA. In the 2024-25 season, Citron was a reliable scorer for
the Irish but most significantly, a lockdown defender throughout the season. Averaging 14.1 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Irish, she shot 48.4% from the field, 37% from 3-point range and led the team in free throw percentage at 89%.
Citron scored her season high against Virginia with 25 points. Her most impactful game was arguably against the Final Four Texas Longhorns where she recorded 18 points, seven rebounds and seven steals, shutting down Madison Booker, one of the most dangerous scoring threats in the country. Citron’s wide-ranging skillset and defensive ability display her value
beyond the box score numbers. Citron guarded the likes of Booker, Juju Watkins, first overall pick Paige Bueckers and No. 11 pick Hailey Van Lith throughout the season. A three-time All-ACC Selection, 2022 ACC Rookie of the Year and an AllAmerica Honorable Mention in 2023 and 2025, the senior from Eastchester, New York is headed to the Washington Mystics. Westbeld was selected in the second round at No. 16 overall by the nearby Chicago Sky. Pairing alongside runner up in Rookie of the Year Angel Reese in the 2024 WNBA season and recently selected Hailey Van Lith, Westbeld will have a
chance to shine at forward in the WNBA. Westbeld average 14.4 points 8.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists between 2023 and 2024, but sustained a leg injury that held her out until well into the 2024-25 season. She still averaged 7.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in her fifth starting season and joined her sister Kat in 2023 as the only sisters to each score 1,000 points in blue and gold. A three-time All-ACC selection and 2021 ACC Rookie of the year, Westbeld was immensely productive scoring a career 1710 points to put her 13th in school history.
King became the third Irish player from this group to get drafted, going No. 28 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks. King transfered from Pittsburg to start 33 games for the Irish. Even listed at 6’0, King led the team in rebounds at 10.4 per game. Throughout her collegiate career, she averaged 11.1 points and 8.4 rebounds. King displayed a strong defensive ability to guard multiple positions and an ability to finish difficult plays through contact in the paint.
While the draft and transfer portal leaves many questions and only four scholarship players on the roster, the moment is an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments and futures of these three players. Irish fans hope that the next recruiting classes can provide the scoring, leadership and commitment to the Notre Dame team identity that these players so willingly displayed throughout their careers.
Contact Henry Lytle at hlytle@nd.edu
ND MEN’S LACROSSE
Irish down North Carolina, sit atop the ACC
By NOAH CAHILL Sports Editor
After falling behind 4-0 in the first 15 minutes, the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team used an 11-2 second half to earn a massive 12-6 road win over then No. 5 North Carolina. The victory improved their conference mark to 3-1, putting them in pole position to earn one of the top two seeds in the ACC Tournament. They currently sit atop the conference, having played all four of their games. They will keep the No. 1 seed if North Carolina defeats Syracuse this Saturday, but the Orange would steal the top spot with a win, owning the headto-head tiebreaker over Notre Dame after their 14-9 victory on April 5. Now sitting at 7-3 overall, the win also bolsters Notre Dame’s strong resume ahead of the NCAA tournament, propelling them to No. 6 in the national rankings. While the Irish historically play fewer games than other teams in the country, head coach Kevin Corrigan built a schedule with elite ACC competition and weekly nonconference opponents ranked in the top 25, all in preparation for May. They will play their final regular season contest of the season at home against Penn on Saturday, April 26.
The Tar Heels started on the front foot, firing 16 shots on goal to Notre Dame’s nine in the first period. They converted four of these attempts, including a man-up goal with 31 seconds
ND WOMEN’S LACROSSE
remaining in the frame. Brady Wambach’s dominance at the dot fueled the early surge, with the sophomore winning four of his five faceoffs in the first 15.
Senior Chris Kavanagh got the Irish on the board with just under a minute remaining in the second period to bring the score to 4-1 in favor of the Tar Heels. Graduate forward Jake Taylor scored the first goal of the second half, cutting the deficit to two, 4-2, early in the third. North Carolina’s leading scorer, Dominic Pietramala, answered minutes later, taking advantage of another man-up opportunity. While senior Will Lynch was on the losing end of the faceoff battle in the first half, the veteran flipped the script in the third, winning seven of his nine draws to power the Irish run. His faceoff win set up a transition goal for Kavanagh that made the score 3-5. Notre Dame’s leading point-getter erupted in the quarter, scoring three, including a pair of highlight-reel goals. He went airborne at point-blank range for the first, finishing through illegal contact to tie the score at 5-5. The second was an off-balance, righty cannon that he unleashed after ducking under a Tar Heel double team. The Tewaaraton Award hopeful reminded everyone why he’s one of college lacrosse’s best, willing his team into the driver’s seat in the game.
He had help from the prolific scoring output of the Irish midfield; senior midfielder Jalen Seymour tallied two
while freshman Matt Jeffery, junior Will Maheras, sophomore Jordan Faison, senior Ben Ramsey and graduate Devon McLane all got on the scoresheet with one apiece. Seymour’s first was part of the three consecutive goals that evened the score at 5-5 in the third. After Ryan Levy and Kavanagh traded goals, Maheras finished a perfectly executed final possession, leaving only 13 seconds on the clock and taking the first lead of the game 7-6. The Irish would carry the momentum of their
first lead into a dominant fourth quarter performance, where they won 5-0 and shut the water off for the Tar Heel attack. Junior netminder Thomas Ricciardelli put in another stellar showing in the cage, saving nine North Carolina shots with a .600 save percentage. Junior Will Donovan led the rope unit, forcing three turnovers and scooping a career-high six groundballs. The sophomore longstick duo of Shawn Lyght and Nate Schwitzenberg locked down the explosive attacking
duo of Pietramala and Owen Duffy, holding the two to a combined one goal and one assist. The 12-6 victory was a reminder from Notre Dame to the rest of the country that college lacrosse still runs through South Bend. The Irish will wrap up their regular season on Saturday afternoon against Penn, with faceoff set for 2 p.m. at Arlotta Stadium with ESPNU providing the broadcast.
Contact Noah Cahill at ncahill2@nd.edu
Irish close season with big win over Louisville
By BEN HICKS Associate Sports Editor
In a roller-coaster season that will be most remembered for numerous close losses against top competition, the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team returned home on Thursday afternoon with one more opportunity to cap off the 2025 season. In a battle between two of the ACC’s already eliminated squads, the Irish welcomed the Louisville Cardinals to Arlotta Stadium for the season finale in which they dominated 17-6. Although both teams entered play at 1-7 in conference play (tied for 10th), Notre Dame had been much more competitive throughout the gauntlet ACC schedule than Louisville
had. The talented but young Irish, who came in at 6-8 overall, suffered one-goal defeats against No. 19 Clemson, No. 9 Syracuse, and No. 10 Stanford. The team also lost by one goal at Pittsburgh, which was their only loss outside the top-25. On the contrary, the Cardinals suffered double-digit losses to all of those opponents except Pittsburgh. In theory, the Irish had nothing to play for, but the team came out on fire to start the contest. After both sides found the back of the net on their opening possessions, Notre Dame embarked on a furious 9-0 run to end the first quarter. Eight different Irish players scored the first eight goals for the team, including the first career goals for two defenders, senior Grace
Weigand and junior Abigail Lyons. Sophomore attacker Kate Timarky punctuated the period with the final two goals, including a buzzer beater to make the score 10-1.
In the second quarter, a third Irish defender netted a first career goal, when senior Julia Carr beat the Cardinal keeper. Additional goals from junior attacker Emma Murphy and freshman midfielder Lila O’Brien made the score 13-3 at the intermission.
The third quarter was highlighted by O’Brien securing her second goal of the match, which was assisted by her sister, junior midfielder Franny O’Brien. With the game in hand and the running clock initiated, the Irish opted to slow down the offense,
before graduate captain Kristen Shanahan culminated her outstanding five years in South Bend with a goal in the final half minute of the game.
All told, the Irish triumphed 17-6 over Louisville, marking the team’s third largest victory on the season. Led by Shanahan with two goals and three assists, the Irish had 12 different players record goals throughout the afternoon. Sophomore midfielder Kathryn Morrissey also turned in an impressive performance with two goals and two assists.
The Notre Dame defense also had their best outing of the season, collecting 23 ground balls off 13 caused turnovers.
Weigand received her second All-ACC postseason accolade this week making All-ACC
second team with freshman Madison Rassas. Meghan O’Hare was also named to the All-ACC Third Team.
The dominating victory finishes the Irish season at 7-8 overall and 2-7 in the ACC. It is the program’s first losing regular season record under 14th-year head coach Christine Halfpenny, as well as the first time Notre Dame has failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament since 2018. The program will now look to build on endof-season momentum by pairing the youthful roster with the nation’s 4th-ranked incoming recruiting class in preparation for the 2026 season.
Contact Ben Hicks at bhicks2@nd.edu
KEIRA JONES | The Observer
Freshman midfielder Matt Jeffrey carries the ball during Notre Dame’s 12-7 win over Virginia at Arlotta Stadium on April 12, 2025. Jeffrey scored twice in the game, including the go-ahead shot in the third.
