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ND investigates past rector for sexual misconduct
Observer Staff Report
Notre Dame has announced an external investigation into allegations that Fr. Thomas King engaged in sexual misconduct during his time as rector of Zahm Hall from 1980 to 1997.
University President Fr. Robert Dowd and John Veihmeyer, chair of the University’s board of trustees, requested that the board of trustees convene a special commission to oversee the external investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations. The investigation will be led by Helen Cantwell at the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.
Cantwell, a former prosecutor for the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, “has deep experience in conducting sensitive investigations involving allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual harassment,” according to Debevoise & Plimpton.
Cantwell previously investigated allegations of sexual abuse against a Syracuse University men’s
basketball coach and allegations of sexual misconduct against two Cleveland Orchestra musicians.
In a press release, the University shared that the “key findings” of the investigation would be shared with the Notre Dame community.
University’s handling of any past complaints regarding Fr. King.”
“As University leaders, our most important duty is ensuring the well-being of our students and all who come to our campus,” the letter stated. “We are saddened that there are members of our community who may have suffered abuse while here and may not have received the support, care, and love they deserve.”
The University declined to comment while the investigation is ongoing.
The announcement came after a letter was sent by the University to Zahm Hall alumni during the period that King was rector. The letter requested that anyone who may have been a victim or anyone with additional information about the alleged sexual misconduct contact Debevoise & Plimpton at NotreDameReview@debevoise. com.
In the letter, Dowd and Veihmeyer stated that the investigation will also examine “the
Zahm Hall, where King was rector, was closed prior to the 2022 academic year. Concerns of a disregard for COVID-19 protocols, vandalism and a “troubling culture” were among the reasons cited for the decision. The building now serves as a transitional residence hall for residents of dorms whose buildings are undergoing renovation or demolition. This year, it houses the Coyle community in Zahm Hall, whose residents will move into Coyle Hall next year.
Senators justify choices on Heffernan impeachment FBI agent speaks on Madoff case
By Grace Sullivan News Writer
On Thursday, special agent
Patrick Duffy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation delivered a lecture on the largest known white-collar crime in U.S. history. Duffy discussed his perspective as one of the lead agents on the case in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme fraud in the Jordan Auditorium
at the Mendoza College of Business.
Duffy is currently assigned to the FBI’s WhiteCollar Crime Squad that specializes in corporate and securities fraud. With a B.A. in accounting, Duffy previously worked at KPMG for six years before joining the Philadelphia division of the FBI, where he would
see “FBI” on page 3
NEWS | PAGE 4
Poet laureate visits
Brenda Cárdenas of Wisconsin
discusses ekphrastic poetry at the Raclin Murphy Museam.
OPINION | PAGE 5
A blown fuse
Columnist Ivy Clark shares the ebbs and flows of a summer volunteer experiance in India.
By Julia Connolly News Writer
Last Wednesday, the student senate voted to impeach St. Edward’s Hall senator Michael Heffernan in a 22-11 vote.
Heffernan had violated section 4.4 of the student senate bylaws by missing more than seven meetings. Although senators have the option to send in a proxy on account of an expected absence, Heffernan claimed that he had previously made his constituents aware of his absences and that they had supported him. He said at his impeachment hearing that he had acquired 121 St. Edward’s Hall resident signatures on his behalf.
As a two-thirds majority is required to impeach a member, the vote was close. A few senators gave their insight into the matter, sharing reasons why they voted the way they did.
Senator Kyle Lauckner of Dunne Hall recounted his decision-making. “I decided mostly on my own conscience. I definitely could have contacted more of my
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constituents, given the complex nature of it,” Lauckner said.
Lauckner shared that three or four Dunne Hall members approached him prior to the hearing and attempted to convince him to acquit Heffernan. “And so I had to explain to them, in a relatively methodical fashion, as to why I was going the way I was ... We all signed up for the job. And they respected that,” he said.
Lauckner voted to impeach Heffernan, as he believed that following the rules of the senate that each senator signed off on was his top priority. “We all agreed to the bylaws … It begs the question, if our hall gives us permission to violate any bylaw, then shouldn’t we all just do that? It just sets a bad precedent,” Lauckner said.
In terms of convincing other senators, Lauckner said that he “thought sharing my insight could help other senators make up their mind, because I was given a stress test the week leading up to the impeachment, so I already had a pretty well-formed idea of what should occur.”
Walsh Hall senator Laurel
SPORTS | PAGE 8
Women’s soccer
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Hamilton shared her uncertainty on which way to vote. “I think I actually came in with a little bit of a skewed opinion. I wasn’t really sure how I was going to vote when I walked in, because I did think that there was something to be said about the fact that so many of the Stedsmen were very intent on Heffernan not coming to the meetings. So, I respected that,” Hamilton said.
She continued, “However there’s a lot of merit behind showing up for things … It applies outside of the dorm, for a plethora of reasons, which is why I didn’t know how I was going to vote.”
Hamilton noted that the “general consensus” of the senate was that Heffernan could have accomplished his self-governance ideal by still showing up to the meetings and abstaining from every vote. “If anything, it probably would have more of an impact,” she said.
Hamilton ultimately decided to vote to impeach Heffernan. “Where do we draw the line of letting people get away with these things?” she asked.
see “Senators” on page 4
SPORTS | PAGE 12
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beat discerns an Irish football showdown against Arkansas in SEC country.
GRAY NOCJAR | The Observer
Helen Cantwell at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP will lead an external investigation brought by the University into sexual misconduct allegiations while serving as rector of Zahm Hall between 1980 and 1997.
The footbal
GRACE SULLIVAN | The Observer
Special agent Patrick Duffy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation speaks at the Mendoza College of Business on Thursday afternoon.
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Frassati internship namesake canonized
By Emily Barlett News Writer
This fall, St. Pier Giorgio Frassati was canonized by Pope Leo XIV. This marked a meaningful moment for a particular program at the University of Notre Dame.
The Frassati Internship, one of the Alliance of Catholic Education’s prominent summer programs, is deeply inspired by Frassati’s life.
The internship offers a transformative sevenweek summer experience for students eager to engage with the intersection of professional development and service. Participating undergraduates, called Malpass Fellows, are provided an opportunity to receive mentorship and develop business skills, while working with philanthropic foundations and living in a community with their peers.
“Unlike other professional internships, the Frassati Internship is dedicated to the holistic formation of students who participate,” program director Mike Comuniello said.
Interns are put into an environment tailored to support ongoing formation into whatever career path they pursue.
“In addition to offering a rich, fully-funded internship experience, Frassati interns are challenged to wrestle with questions of discernment, vocation,
and what it means to live an integrated life,” Comuniello said.
Malpass Fellow CJ Pasquale had the opportunity to attend the Canonization Mass of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati in Rome this semester.
“It truly showed me how someone’s acts of care and service can have such a widespread effect on people, as tens of thousands of people from all over the world came to see him be honored,” he said.
As a finance and accounting intern for Seton Catholic Schools, Pasquale collaborated with a passionate team to serve underprivileged families and build community.
“My office did a fantastic job showing me and the other Frassati Interns the true impact of the organization’s work by taking us to their schools and to meet the students we were serving,” Pasquale said.
Comuniello said that what he admires most about St. Frassati was the way he valued an integrated life. The Saint’s example of a balanced way of living is intended to be reflected throughout the experience.
“He would celebrate with his friends and then invite them to the Eucharist; he would rock climb and pray at the summit; he pursued his engineering education with vigor, but never let it get in the way of his relationship with his family or Christ,” he said.
“One of my favorite aspects of the program was the closeknit community I found, both
within the internship cohort and at my placement organization,” Malpass Fellow Patrick Dolan said.
Dolan worked at the Aim Higher Foundation in St. Paul, Minn., as part of his internship experience. The foundation is committed to helping children from lowincome families receive an education from one of 80 K-8 Catholic schools. His projects also directly contributed to donor engagement and board meeting initiatives, illustrating the impact that one can make through the program.
“Verso L’Alto” or “To the Heights” is the motto of the Frassati Internship. Dolan explained that the logo of the Aim Higher Foundation is a mountain, underscoring its commitment to help students
achieve their full potential and goals.
“Simply put, these mottos encapsulate the mission of the Frassati Internship: encouraging both ourselves and others to aim higher in all aspects of our life,” he said.
The Frassati Internship has a presence in five archdioceses, offering internship opportunities in marketing, financial auditing, analytics, data system management and many more.
“This experience showed me that there are countless ways, like through nonprofits, foundations, and community work, to advance the mission of Catholic education,” Dolan said.
Contact Emily Barlett at ebarlett@nd.edu
One-credit classes offer niche learning
By Will Prisco News Writer
Each semester, Notre Dame’s undergraduate colleges and schools offer a number of onecredit courses which introduce students to in-depth topics without the workload and time commitment of a typical course.
The Appalachia one-credit course has been offered by the Institute for Social Concerns for over 40 years, introducing students to the cultural and social issues of the Appalachian region. The course, taught by Edward Jurkovic and Greg White, invites students to explore justice and community service opportunities. After discussing Catholic Social Teaching and social issues in Appalachia in the classroom, students travel to the region during fall break to connect with and work alongside local community partners.
“Our hope is that students
leave this course recognizing that justice needs to be integrated mindfully into all they do, and have a solid framework from which to do this integrative work into the future,” Jurkovic wrote in a statement to The Observer.
Noting that the one-credit nature of the course has its tradeoffs, he wrote,“there are natural limitations, you just don’t have the same amount of time as you would in a standard 3 credit course.”
Performance / Art / Politics gives students a chance to work with visiting artist Brendan Fernandes, who combines dance and visual art to explore politics and identity. Taught by professor Michael Schreffler and managing director of the Arts Initiative Rebecca Struch, this course includes workshops, performances and a trip to Chicago to see Fernandes’ work in a museum.
“The format of the one-credit course provides the flexibility needed for the kind of experiential learning that is central to the class,” Schreffler wrote
in a statement to The Observer.
“Students in the course benefit from direct engagement with an internationally recognized multidisciplinary artist whose work addresses timely issues about art, politics, and forming community.”
Chinese Calligraphy offers students the opportunity to explore the history of Chinese characters, understand the principles of formation and appreciate calligraphy as a distinct art form. In the course, students dedicate 50 minutes per week to practicing the art of writing Chinese characters with traditional brushes and ink. Associate teaching professor Jincheng Liu provides his students with a fundamental understanding of Chinese Calligraphy while also emphasizing the historical context and significance associated with the art form.
“Lecture topics include the four treasures of the writing studio, basic strokes, character structures and their development, different styles of calligraphy, and aesthetic principles of the art,” Liu wrote.
The course is taught in English and no prior knowledge of the Chinese language is required.
Wisdom in Art: How Art and Artifacts Educate, taught by Aoife-Marie Buckley, encourages students to explore history through objects and artwork. Using Notre Dame’s museums, students study various art objects and artifacts. They consider what these items reveal in terms of history and past human experiences.
“The purpose of this class is to understand public pedagogies: that we can be taught by a wide variety of media,” Buckley wrote. “We seek to expand both our collective literacy, and our ‘teachability’. One requires additional information to be sought and new practices of seeing and interpreting to be implemented. The other requires an active recognition that we can be taught by what we encounter–and thus to begin a ‘practice’ of attentiveness.”
Contact Will Prisco at wprisco@nd.edu
Courtesy of Michael Comuniello
Malpass Fellows CJ Pasquale and Colin Lee, both juniors at Notre Dame, attended Saint Frassati’s Canonization Mass at the Vatican.
Bats spotted inside Saint Mary’s College residence
By Sophie Lewandowski News Writer
Saint Mary’s College’s campus is home to a variety of wildlife, from squirrels to groundhogs to raccoons. It’s not uncommon for students to see animals in the grass or hiding between buildings. Sometimes, though, the animals wander out of their homes and into students’ homes.
Bats live all across campus and can sometimes be seen flying through the night skies at Saint Mary’s. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, they play an essential role in pest control, pollination and the spreading of seeds across wide areas.
While they are an important part of the campus ecosystem, encountering one of these unexpected visitors in a residence hall can be startling.
FBI
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become the lead agent on a case CNBC called the “Scam of the Century.”
On Dec. 10, 2008, financier Bernie Madoff confessed to committing fraud to his wife, Ruth Madoff, and his two sons, Mark Madoff and Andrew Madoff, leading to Madoff’s arrest by two FBI agents on Dec. 11, 2008. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme cost approximately 10,000 victims what was estimated to be approximately $18 billion in investor accounts collectively.
“He was an absolute
Campus Safety responds to reports of bat sightings by carefully and humanely removing them from buildings to ensure the safety of students.
An all-campus email from the director of the Campus Safety department, Phil Bambenek, described the catch and release method that the department follows when responding to bats in residence halls. This is so to not upset the bats’ role in keeping the number of insects like mosquitos to a minimum.
Charlie Simpson, executive director of marketing and communications, released a statement on behalf of Campus Safety and ResLife.
“Bats play an important role in the ecosystem,” the statement read. “Encounters in campus buildings are infrequent, but Saint Mary’s has a protocol consistent
sociopath,” Duffy said.
After being taken into custody, Madoff granted the FBI access to his investment advisory business, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (BLMIS), located on the 17th floor of the Lipstick Building in midtown Manhattan, where Madoff claimed there were 30 to 50 boxes of evidence related to his crimes.
“When the FBI went to go collect the 30 or 50 boxes that Mr. Madoff told us he had, we actually found a lot more than that. We actually found 1,500 more boxes,” Duffy said.
Inside the boxes, Duffy said, were “accounting records, trading records, account statements, trade
with Saint Joseph County Health Department recommendations to promote prevention and guide the college’s response. Buildings are inspected regularly for signs of bats, and devices are used to safely repel them without causing harm. When bats are captured, they are released in accordance with Department of Natural Resources guidelines.”
The director of residence life and community standards, Juls White, sent an email out to residents of Le Mans and Holy Cross Halls — the buildings that are primarily affected — about mitigation strategies that are being explored, including the installation of ultrasonic devices in the attics that will be monitored.
Additionally, White noted students should close the windows above their doors
confirmation slips, payroll records, bank records, employees, personal effects, you name it. It was in there, and it was all fake.”
Later, the FBI discovered Madoff’s disaster recovery warehouse. “In this warehouse, the FBI actually found approximately another 8,000 boxes of evidence … that’s now close to 10,000 boxes of evidence the FBI had to pour through to work our investigation,” Duffy said. The investigation lasted six years.
Duffy detailed the business structure of BLMIS, sharing that it claimed to offer proprietary trading, market making and investment advisory.
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at night to prevent bats from entering each room. Students should not approach any animals they may see in buildings.
Sophomore Taylor Fox said she hoped students educated themselves on what to do if they encounter a bat. “Just [be] mindful of the resources we have, and what to do in case something goes wrong,” she said. Fox also said she hopes students understand the steps they can take to prevent the issue from getting worse.
Bambenek emphasized the importance of students not approaching any animals they might encounter. “They are wild animals and may react in unexpected ways that could harm you,” he wrote.
Bats, along with other animals, Bambenek explained, can carry various diseases that can be harmful as
“The investment advisory business, that’s the block you could stamp with a fraud sign. That is the Ponzi scheme. That is the 17th floor. That’s what we were investigating,” Duffy said.
He explained that the operation of Mr. Madoff’s scheme relied entirely on backdated trades, saying, “They backdated stick trades onto client account statements, mailed those client account statements out to customers, as well as with their trade slips and trade confirmations.”
“That trading was impossible in real life. We saw trading that was done on weekends, and the stock
well. “[As] a precaution, we recommend that residents who have come into contact with a bat, especially if they were asleep prior to discovering it, consider having [a] medical evaluation to rule out problems.”
Sophomore Gracie Kline agreed that student safety is a priority when students encounter bats “[Don’t] mess with it … protect yourself,” she said. “[You] never know what a bat can have.”
Bambenek reminds students to report sightings of bats and other critters in buildings promptly. If students encounter a bat in a residence hall, they can contact Campus Safety at 574-284-5000 or through the SMC Safe app.
Contact Sophie Lewandowski at slewandowski01@saintmarys.edu
market is not open on Saturday or Sunday. We saw trading that was done on federal holidays. Again, the stock market was not open,” Duffy said. In short, Duffy said, “the trading in the investment advisory business was not real. It never happened. There never was anything.”
Madoff pleaded guilty in 2009 and was sentenced by a federal judge in Manhattan to 150 years in jail for 11 federal crimes. Members of Madoff’s family were also indicted and ultimately convicts, his brother for 10 years. At the time, Madoff was 71 years old. In April 2021, Madoff died in prison in Butner, North Carolina at 82 years old, battling the final stages of kidney disease.
According to Duffy, the amount of money BLMIS clients thought was being invested in Madoff’s firm was a staggering $64.8 billion. In actuality, the total amount of actual cash losses to investors was $17.5 billion, with more than 10,000 people affected by this scheme. The amount of money recovered by the federal government related to Madoff’s case was more than $15 billion, or 82 cents for every dollar related to Madoff’s fraud.
Duffy explained that usually Ponzi schemes’ rate of return is zero and there is no money left to return to victims.
“This is probably one of the numbers I’m most proud of personally as it relates to this investigation. Because you want to hold people accountable ... You also want to make victims of these schemes as whole as possible,” Duffy said.
Grace Sullivan at gsulli22@nd.edu
Senate reconvenes after impeachment hearing
By David Murphy Associate News Editor
After two weeks dominated by impeachment proceedings, the student senate convened for a brief session to discuss announcements and upcoming events on campus. In a surprise twist, Wednesday’s session was facilitated by student-body president Jerry Vielhauer. Traditionally, vice president Sonia Lumley runs the meetings. This week Vielhauer stepped in to take her place, explaining that Lumley was sick and thus unable to attend the meeting.
After roll call and prayer, the senate quickly found themself in general orders. The brief announcements filled the whole meeting, which only lasted 10 minutes.
Vielhauer noted a couple of noteworthy upcoming events for students to take advantage of in the coming days,
including a litter pickup around St. Mary’s Lake and a moderated discussion with U.S. representative Frank Mrvan, both scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 25. Vielhauer emphasized the lecture with Mrvan, noting that there were limited spots available for students.
“We’re gonna have a conversation with congressman Frank Mrvan from Indiana’s first district, which is tomorrow from 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. — there was a form sent out in the email this week,” he said.
“It caps at 60 slots, so if you want to go to that form, you can sign up. I think we might have hit the cap.”
Last week’s impeachment proceedings were on the minds of some senators, with Heffernan’s now permanent — no longer voluntary — absence felt during the meeting.
Max Barton, a strong supporter of Heffernan during
the impeachment proceedings and once again proxying for senator Charlie Bacon, tried to give what he called a “public service announcement,” arguing that the meeting was “a complete and utter disgrace.”
Barton’s attempted speech — considered out of compliance with the senate’s procedures — was quickly curtailed by senate parliamentarian Sam Robinson. Prior to Barton’s intended remarks, Vielhauer had taken the time to emphasize the importance of senate attendance during general orders.
“Just a reminder that you can not have more than six absences, and when you have a proxy, that does still count as an absence,” Vielhauer said. “So make sure that you are contacting [the student union secretary], let them know, and tell Sonia when she’s back.”
The remainder of the meeting was dedicated to several other announcements. Danny Ward, executive director of the Student Union Board, mentioned Acousticafe, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m., features musical performances by Notre Dame students. He also announced yoga sessions would take place at South Quad on Sept. 27.
“Saturday morning, before the game, we’re doing yoga on the quad at 10 a.m. by South Quad. We’ll have smoothies,” Ward said. “We have a sign-up on our Instagram if you want to guarantee a smoothie.”
Several senators also made their own announcements. Pasquerilla West senator Riley Evers added that her dorm was hosting their “Snow Cones and Slides” event this Friday from 2 to 6 p.m. on South
Quad, urging anyone interested to come out and show their support. Elena Rossen, the senator from Ryan Hall, announced that Ryan is once again host their signature wheelchair basketball tournament. She said that sign-ups were still available and encouraged students to register.
“Ryan Hall is hosting [wheelchair basketball] on Saturday. You guys are still able to sign up for a team,” she said.
This was followed up with information regarding Keough Hall’s annual chariot race. According to Gavin Hodge, proxy for Keough Hall senator Jack Rankin, entrance fees are 40 dollars per team, and the event will be this Saturday on South Quad at 10:15 a.m..
Contact David Murphy at dmurph23@nd.edu
Poet laureate Brenda Cárdenas talks ekphrasic poetry
By Lucy Loes News Writer
Wisconsin Poet Laureate Brenda Cárdenas presented Wednesday at the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art about ekphrastic poetry.
Ekphrasis is a literary technique that responds to visual art or uses it as a basis of inspiration. Her visit launched “Poets & Arts: Ekphrasis”, part of a multi-year partnership between the museum and Letras Latinas, the literary initiative of the University’s Institute for Latino Studies (ILS).
In addition to her lecture, Cárdenas visited both graduate and undergraduate classes at Notre Dame, and on Saturday, she will be leading an ekphrastic writing workshop that is open to the South Bend community as a whole.
This isn’t the first time Cárdenas has collaborated with the University. Notre Dame professor and director of the Letras Latinas Francisco Aragón shared that a year ago, she was commissioned to write two poems to celebrate the 25th
Senators
Continued from page 1
which is why I didn’t know how I was going to vote.”
Hamilton noted that the “general consensus” of the senate was that Heffernan could have accomplished his selfgovernance ideal by still showing up to the meetings and abstaining from every vote. “If anything, it probably would
anniversary of ILS, and in 2013, she worked closely with Aragón on an ekphrastic poetry workshop for the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Cárdenas shared in an interview that she entered the world of ekphrastic poetry fairly young, as she collaborated with many artists during her time working for the youth initiatives at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. Particularly with artworks that felt mystical, Cárdenas said that ekphrasis allowed her to interpret the art in her own way, often evoking new forms of understanding.
“Oftentimes, what I’m drawn to in any form of art is that there’s something mysterious about it … There’s something maybe magical about it, or it’s something that … lets me fill in, with my imagination, whatever isn’t on the canvas and I start storytelling in my mind, or myth making,” Cárdenas said.
At the lecture, English Ph.D. student and Joseph Gaia Distinguished Fellow in Latino Studies Karla Yaritza
have more of an impact,” she said.
Hamilton ultimately decided to vote to convict Heffernan.
“Where do we draw the line of letting people get away with these things?” she said.
Elaborating on her decision,
Hamilton shared her view that Heffernan’s passivity was failing to “foster that sense of community” that Notre Dame prides itself upon.
Alumni Hall senator Michael
Maravilla Zaragoza gave the introduction for Cárdenas and her ekphrastic poetry. Maravilla said that originally, this form of poetry felt out of reach. “I’ve always believed that the best way to learn is to dive head first into something that makes you a little uncomfortable. For me, that discomfort was ekphrastic poetry. Since undergrad, I had dismissed ekphrasis as a crutch for writers that lacked energy in their writing, a process that relied too heavily on an external image instead of a poet’s own imagination. I even thought of it as elitist, tethered to knowledge of Rembrandts and Venetian Plaster finishes,” Maravilla said.
However, after reading Cárdenas’s poetry book “From the Tongues of Brick and Stone,” and drawing parallels with her film class’s exploration of Mexican New Wave cinema, Maravilla came to a different understanding of ekphrasis. “In countless ways, writers have always been in conversation with other arts, not because it made them look smart, but because it brought
Camilleri shared that he was actually elected to the Senate due to a situation similar to Heffernan’s. The previous Alumni senator had missed a significant amount of meetings, and resigned in the face of potential impeachment.
When asked about his opinion on the impeachment, Camilleri cited that he found Heffernan’s reasoning to be strange. “It is just a little bit weird to say, ‘our preferred
them into dialogue with other artists. Suddenly, I understood that writing could be communal, not solitary, that it could reach beyond the page to converse with image, sound and history,” Maravilla said.
This is exactly what Cárdenas explained in her lecture: ekphrastic poetry requires a sort of back and forth of interpretation and inspiration, as the poet often views a piece through their own history and cultural context.
She presented a poem she wrote that was inspired by a series of artworks called “La Lotería de los 100 nombres que los Mexicanos le dan a la Muerte: La Jodida, La Huesos, La Cargona.” The pieces were of women skeletons, each carrying a particularly heavy load. Cárdenas interpreted these artworks through the context of her current life.
“I wrote that under the first Trump administration, when we saw the children being caged in the border, and there was something about seeing these images and seeing the weight each of the women is carrying, and thinking about the weight that people carry,
form of representation is to not be represented.’ That just doesn’t make sense to me” said Camilleri.
He also said that he thinks that it “sets a bad precedent for Steds” in terms of their reputation in the senate. “If you are going to sign up for it, just take it seriously,” he said.
Camilleri voted to acquit Heffernan, citing his belief that impeachment would lead to further conflict with St.
whether or not they’re literally carrying anything right to the border when they come to cross, and then when they get here, so often, that weight becomes multiplied, right? The craft of poetry, it comes from the art, but it comes from everything else too, from our own personal lives, from the larger world out there,” Cárdenas said.
Aragon, the main proponent behind the “Poets & Arts: Ekphrasis” initiative, hopes that Cárdenas’s presentation helps make poetry feel less foreign and out of reach. “Sometimes people hear the word poetry and they’re intimidated by it, and I try to demystify that art form, and hopefully by the end of the class, they will have enjoyed reading poems. People think about an art museum, and they think, ‘Oh, that’s a stuffy, elitist space.’ And our hope is that people from the community will feel welcome. Our goal is for Notre Dame to be welcoming to the community,” Aragon said.
Contact Lucy Loes at lloes@nd.edu
Edward’s that could be avoided by keeping Heffernan.
However, Camilleri said that he “had no problem with the fact that we impeached him. And I think it just sets a bad precedent.”
Camilleri did not contact his constituents before the vote, instead relying on his own conscience.
Contact Julia Connolly at jconnol5@nd.edu
Your favorite bots fall flat. They won’t replace us.
By Redmond Bernhold Opinion Editor
I remember when AI’s grip began tightening two years ago.
I sat on the second floor of Hesburgh Library with some friends studying for an organic chemistry midterm (canon STEM major event). After AI failed to help us answer a practice exam, we naturally began predicting if our careers were in jeopardy.
The future M.D./Ph.D. destined to cure cancer said no. The next Ph.D. who will singlehandedly solve the climate crisis said no. And the prospective genetic counselor humbly said no.
They then looked at me, the aspiring journalist.
“Uhhhhh… you might be in trouble,” they said with a group laugh.
With a tomato red face, I looked down at the messy hexagons beginning to blur. I couldn’t help but choke up a laugh.
“I mean, I don’t think so,” I said. They thought for a moment and shrugged. We glanced at each other briefly before re-attempting to synthesize ibuprofen.
At the time, I wasn’t completely set on my career. However, their sentiments at the time were an indicative pulse of what Americans think. Even today.
Over half of U.S. workers say they are worried and nearly onethird said they foresee fewer job opportunities, according to a Pew Research Center survey of over 5,200 working adults conducted earlier this year. Respondents who indicated they already use AI said they use bots primarily for research, editing and drafting written content.
According to another 2025 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, over half of Americans say AI will lead to fewer jobs for journalists in the next 20 years. What could be more concerning?
Two in 10 respondents said AI would be “better” at writing news
stories than humans. Another 20% said AI would be “about the same.” An additional 20% said they “weren’t sure.”
A mere 40% said it would be “worse.”
Over 70% of newsrooms use AI in some capacity, according to a report of over 300 newsroom leaders and journalists published by the Associate Press in 2024. In journalism, it’s widely understood that AI should neither write nor be used as a source. It’s vital that AI be used as a tool faced with high sources and a rigorous fact-checking process, just like any database, tool, source or piece of information. Individual human journalists should ultimately be responsible for their work.
However, AI is trained in neural networks, or layers of inputs and outputs determined by thresholds and magnitude. Think of eating soup. Your tongue senses heat, maybe an unbearable amount. Within milliseconds, the sensation is passed from your mouth through neurons all the way up to your brain, where an output is produced: “Ow, that soup is hot!”
But because large language models (LLMs) are self-trained — through many cycles of refinement observed by humans — they are inherently flawed.
In the rest of this column, I seek to understand these flaws and judge AI’s ability to report and author 100-word news briefs on the current state of Eddy Street based on previous stories authored by The Observer. I fed five chat bots articles on the first and second incidents of gunfire, a piece on new restaurants opening and a brief of a shattered window at the Embassy Suites with the prompt: “Write a 100-word news article on the state of Eddy Street Commons, based on these reports. Additionally, Blaze Pizza, previously on Eddy Street, closed.”
Here’s how each bot performed.
ChatGPT
In a 95-word statement, ChatGPT claims Eddy Street “now reflects both revitalization and unease.” It wasn’t factually accurate: It made up the claim that vehicles sustained
damage. No reports from The Observer have reported such.
Weirdly, it defied some of my expectations — there were 0 em dashes, and it’s written in AP style.
Gemini
All of Gemini’s 106 words read like a manufactured press release, noting that the state of Eddy Street is a mixed bag. Particularly, the last sentence states that the retail corridor “appears to be a mix of both new vitality in concerning challenges.”
Sigh.
Ultimately, it gave all the nuts and bolts in vanilla language, and it used oxford commas — a violation of the first commandment of journalism.
Claude
Claude measured the impulse as a “tale of contrasts.”
Not a gripping phrase, but sufficient to keep me reading for at least a few sentences.
For the rest of the 93 words, Claude kept a neutral tone. But neutral doesn’t have to mean boring. Like other bots, it could
replicate the facts well, but it didn’t seem to leave an impression. Ultimately, it gave all the nuts and bolts in vanilla language, and it used oxford commas — a violation of the first commandment of journalism.
Copilot
Copilot said Eddy Street is experiencing a “turbulent fall.” New restaurants were mentioned in a mere dependent clause, drowned out by the other reports of gunshots and police investigations. It had more dimension than Gemini, but its 98 words weren’t as balanced.
Grok
First, Grok wrote a staggering 198 words when prompted to write 100. Can it count?
And because of Elon Musk’s claims that the highly offensive bot will prohibit “woke ideology” and “cancel culture” in its replies, I wanted to see if it could deliver that promise, though it will be my first and last time using the bot.
The bot’s response didn’t have any glaring bias (no instances of news turning to opinion), but the word count and oxford comma make it difficult to redeem.
No bots left to write
On the whole, Claude and Copilot were victorious. The bots wrote news with little flaws. But how much longer will these flaws sustain?
Likely for longer. How could a program made by humans be closer to the truth than groups of journalists with dedicated codes of ethics?
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Contact Redmond Bernhold at rbernho2@nd.edu
India deserves better than untrained medical volunteers
By Ivy Clark
I am somewhat known for having a short temper. Although I would like to consider myself patient and measured, I don’t think anyone would draw likeness between me and Mother Teresa, whose organization I worked at this summer. I spent eight weeks living in Kolkata, India, through an Institute for Social Concerns fellowship working with the Missionaries of Charity at their Kalighat Home for the Dying and Destitute. Kalighat served functionally as a hospice center for those living on the streets and in the slums, ideally offering a place to die with dignity. Icons and emblems of Mother Teresa were
all over the walls, in every enclave and corner, serving as a constant symbol of peace and calm, and yet my short temper still prevailed. I like to think my temper is so explosive because I care so deeply. Although I am still working on quelling my rage at the impossibly slow walkers in DeBart hallways, more often than not I find myself completely fired up over my convictions. Usually, this serves me well. I am a decent socratic seminar participant, a good interviewee and an interesting dinner party attendant. On a more serious level, the ability to vocalize and put into words the depth of emotion I feel over these sorts of topics has ultimately led me to positions such as this — writing an opinion column for
The Observer. It also allows me to be a fierce advocate for those who have been silenced, and gives me the responsibility of using my privilege as a white, upper-middleclass student at a prestigious university, to do some sort of good in this world.
My summer in Kolkata was a masterclass in modulating my temper. Every day I was faced with what felt like insurmountable scales of injustice and suffering, and acting on my temper and overwhelming sense of moral injury was not sustainable. Moral injury, or the psychological and spiritual condition where one’s deeply held beliefs are violated through their witnessing of others undermining said beliefs, was my near constant state of being. Each
day felt like a perpetual test of my willpower and of my ability to bite my tongue.
The largest testament to my self-control came from my interactions with my fellow American volunteers. In particular, a group of brothers from Denver, Colorado seemed to make their daily vocation a living testament to my short fuse. As we rode the crowded, humid and colorful open air buses half an hour to work every morning, at least two brothers would pile in across from me (as women and men must be separated on public transportation) and badger me with questions about my personal faith and how I viewed my work in India. I was able to successfully pop my AirPods in, turn up some Japanese Breakfast
and ignore them most mornings, but there were several occasions when even the wall of indie soft pop and the constant clamor of the Kolkata streets weren’t enough to save me from my own anger. “Why don’t you ever treat the patients in the home?” Brother Anthony poked my shoulder and yelled over the drowning horns and marketplaces. “Sorry?” I yelled, weaving my head between two large straw baskets and the bus conductor. “I mean, you’re pre-med, right? Why don’t you ever help treat the patients? Do their wound care? Stuff like that?” Brother Anthony gesticulated at me, a rosary in one hand and a liter water bottle in the other. “I just
see “India” on page 6
Columnist, “The Education of an Idealist”
LIAM FLYNN | The Observer
Continued from page 5
don’t feel comfortable doing medical treatment when I’ve never been formally trained. Emphasis on the PRE-med.” I blinked and tried to turn away, hoping our conversation would be smothered by the sounds of the bus driver screaming at pedestrians as we flew by. “You don’t need training. None of us have training! That’s why we are in India — they just have different standards of care here. You just wouldn’t get it … it’s cultural!” He smiled at me, clearly unaware of the deepseated conviction he just lit in me.
This will forever be one of my biggest misgivings about international volunteering; incredibly wealthy, privileged and naive people from the Global North have decided, from the cushy pedestals of their well-funded universities with near pristine standards of healthcare, what should and
A view outside of a window in Kolkata, India a few months ago. The author traveled to India for eight weeks to volunteer at Kalighat
should not be expected for the care of the impoverished of the Global South. This post-colonial
notion of “cultural difference” is a thinly veiled excuse to perpetuate racism and structural
violence with subpar levels of care. Oppression has been so normalized and romanticized through the lens of “voluntourism;” the parameters of a net good have long been blurred at the expense of medical experience for resumes or “working through God.” The brothers, despite having no formal medical training or experience, routinely donned gloves to assist in full tissue debridement and minor toe amputations on patients with severely infected wounds. Were they working through God as their lack of medical knowledge left one patient with a lifelong limp?
I felt my face heat up and my eyes begin to water. The brothers continued claiming that “some care is better than nothing” and that “if you don’t do it, no one will!” ignoring my arguments and calls to ethics. And yet, the emotion I felt more strongly than rage was sadness. I felt my usual pang of insufficiency, of not being able to do enough for those I felt
The India you think you know
so passionately about serving. I couldn’t help but wonder: was my temper really from anger? Or was I just so distraught by the constant stream of persecutions to my convictions?
Throughout my summer, I blurred the line between temper and conscience, seemingly as a way to survive. Instead of reckoning with the injustice I saw in my everyday work, I maladapted and turned the criticism inward, blaming myself for being so reactive with such a short fuse. Although I still need to work on my patience navigating the halls of DeBart, I finally recognized that there is nothing to apologize for in emotion that arises at the injustice of others.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Contact Ivy Clark at iclark@nd.edu
This article began writing itself in my brain when my friend asked me in all seriousness if Indians, when they encountered a cow, stopped everything they were doing to bow down and worship. I answered with a loud laugh that clearly said: “You are being so ridiculous right now!” The answer, just in case you were wondering, is no: All Indians do not worship cows because India is a religiously plural country.
This article essentially wrote itself more than two years ago, growing louder in my brain until some said with real surprise, “but I thought the caste system was legal in India!” It’s not. This article demanded to be published when people asked me if there were snakes where I lived. I was on the seventh floor of an apartment in a major metropolitan city. The same feeling arose when best friend told me her classmates assumed India was a dirty place, even dirtier than the streets of downtown Los Angeles.
This article is for all of you, who are outsiders to my culture. It’s for all of you who actually know very little but boldly assume too much.
1. Do you speak Indian / Hindu?
I do not speak Indian, just like you do not speak American. I also do not speak Hindu. A “Hindu” is someone who practices Hinduism as their religion. And to most of you who are a little more educated about India, I do not speak Hindi! My mother tongue is Malayalam. You probably did not know that India is a linguistically plural country. The Indian Constitution recognizes 22 languages. Respecting this
linguistic diversity, India chose not to designate any one language as the national language. But the politics of language in my country are not as straightforward as you may think. Historically there have been tensions between speakers of different Indian languages. Generally, we South Indians tend to get a little riled up when outsiders assume we all speak Hindi. But even while these tensions persist, I am proud of the commitment made by the makers of our constitution to respect and protect all Indian languages, a commitment that continues to be upheld by the Indian legal system.
2. You are so wrong about Bollywood. When you think of Indian movies do you picture two lovers dancing together in the rain for no apparent reason? Do you picture the fearless hero who beats up a hundred villains single-handedly? Do you picture these things and tell yourself
with a proud, cultured smile, “This is Bollywood! This is Indian Cinema!” If so, I am here to tell you gently, but also condescendingly, you are so wrong.
Bollywood is not a genre. It is just a catchy word used to describe the Hindi language film industry. Although Bollywood is the largest film industry in India, we also have Tollywood, which makes films in the Telugu language, or Mollywood, which makes films in Malayalam and so on. What most outsiders understand to be Bollywood films actually belong to the genre that Indian film critics have termed “masala films.” In a masala film, everything is larger than life. These movies are often made on a large budget, and perhaps because of this, they become representations of Indian cinema to the outside world.
But the beauty of Indian cinema is not confined by the limits of larger-than-life stories. If you are looking for a delightful romp of a movie that perfectly
captures the joyousness of youth, please watch “Bangalore Days.” If you want to torture yourself with a thriller that will give you nightmares, watch “Anjaam Pathiraa.”
If you are ready to step into the ocean that is Indian cinema, watch “Srikanth,” “Tourist Family,” “KGF” and “Laapataa Ladies.”
3. Unfortunately, not all Indians eat naan and chicken tikka masala.
If you have gotten to this point in the article, you might have realized that a country with multiple languages and film industries cannot confine itself to a singular food preference. In general, South Indians prefer rice or rice-powder dishes with vegetarian or non-vegetarian curries such as rasam or beef ularthiyathu. A lot of North Indian states prefer wheat flatbreads such as chapatis accompanied by curries such as daal makhni or chicken vindaloo. But the diversity of Indian
food tastes is something that extends beyond the differences between North and South Indian taste preferences and something that I cannot try to capture even after 18 years of living in India.
All I’ve got to tell you, though, is the next time you see large bowls of chicken tikka masala at South Dining Hall, of course appreciate the dining hall for diversifying its food options instead of sticking to American staples. But also, just think about all the Indian dishes you are missing out on, all the curries that will never make your taste buds sing for joy.
Oh, I feel so sorry for you! I don’t expect you to know or love India in the same way that I do. After all, three years of life in the U.S. still makes me feel clueless when American pop culture references are made in conversations. I just wish people would not hold onto assumptions that are untrue or half-truths, choose not to put my country into a monolithic narrative of their own creation.
When you confine India’s chaotic diversity into a few stereotypes, you unconsciously impose your own beliefs of what a country should be onto mine.
All I ask is for you to have the grace to admit that you don’t know the real India because you have never lived in it.
All I ask is for you to have the humility to admit that you will never fully be able to know India because a country like India cannot be fully known even by those who belong to it.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Contact Hannah Simon at hsimon2@nd.edu
By Hannah Alice Simon Columnist, “Eyedentity”
LIAM FLYNN | The Observer
IVY CLARK | The Observer
‘Dancing with the Stars’ kicks off its 20th anniversary
By Ainslie McKenna Scene Writer
“Dancing with the Stars” kicked off its 34th season on Sept. 16. The show is also celebrating its 20th year on air, with hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough teasing a “20th Birthday Party” later on in the season. The premiere shared 14 new stars to pair up with 13 returning dance pros and one new pro. The new pro, Jan Ravnik, is a star in his own right, with claims to fame as one of Taylor Swift’s dancers on the Eras Tour.
The new stars range in careers from athletes, actors and social media influencers. First up to the dancefloor was gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles and her partner Ezra Sosa; After kicking off the first dance of the season with a salsa to Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” they received a 10/20 score. The second pair on the floor was influencer Dylan Efron, brother of Zac, and his partner Daniella Karagach; they also received a 10/20 after their chacha. The actress Elaine Hendrix, best known for her role as Meredith Blake in “The Parent Trap,” paired up with pro Alan Bersten for a chacha as well.
A surprising casting this season is not one, but two stars of the hit show, “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives”: Whitney Leavitt (partnered with Mark Ballas) and Jen Affleck (partnered with Jan Ravnik). Every season typically brings in an
unexpected athlete, with Season 34 bringing in NBA All-Star Baron Davis. He paired up with Britt Stewart, and their first dance was a cha-cha to MC Hammer. Adding to the social media influencer lineup are Alix Earle and Hilaria Baldwin. Forbes named Earle a top creator, and she is paired up this season with Val Chmerkovskiy. Baldwin, the wife of actor Alec Baldwin, focuses her brand on health and wellness and is partnered with pro Gleb Savchenko.
Of the musicians brought to the floor this season, Scott Hoying of
the a cappella group Pentatonix joins the cast, dancing with last year’s finalist pro Rylee Arnold. Lauren Jauregui of Fifth Harmony swaps singing music for dancing to it as she also joins the cast alongside her partner Brandon Armstrong. Musician and actor Corey Feldman, best known for his roles in movies such as “Stand By Me” and “The Goonies,” teamed up with Jenna Johnson. Coming off a Season 33 win, Johnson had high hopes to bring home another Mirrorball trophy with Feldman. Alongside fellow actors Feldman and Hendrix, “Boy
Meets World” star Danielle Fishel partnered up with Pasha Pashkov to deliver a 12/20 routine. The last two competitors this season are comedian Andy Richter and worldfamous wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin. Richter paired up with Emma Slater for a cha-cha, and Irwin and partner Witney Carson brought a showstopping conclusion with a jive. At the end of all fourteen performances, Leavitt and Irwin tied for top score, with 15 out of 20, followed closely by Baldwin and Savchenko’s 14. The lowest score was Feldman and Johnson’s
9, but the premiere episode had no eliminations.
In episode two, “One-Hit Wonders Night,” which aired Sept. 23, dancers competed to save themselves from the surprise doubleelimination. Teams, after working all week on improving their skills, danced with more confidence and ability now that the competition had actually begun. While some teams continued to shine, like Irwin and Leavitt, others fell short. Robert and Witney both scored an impressive 22/30, and although it tied them up with Affleck and Chiles for the night, they still had a tied lead overall after two weeks. However, the two couples that didn’t quite hit their marks were Davis and partner Stewart and Feldman and partner Johnson. These two pairs received the lowest number of points between judge scores and viewer votes.
Feldman was especially disappointed at the elimination, saying Johnson “deserved better … she was the queen from last year. She deserves to be the champ every year.” More positively, Davis was just happy for the opportunity to get back in shape and have some fun after basketball retirement. At the end of the episode, the hosts reminded everyone to tune back in for week three on Sept. 30 for “TikTok Night,” which will feature guest star and Season 31 champion, Charli D’Amelio.
Contact Ainslie McKenna at amckenn6@nd.edu
The inimitable charm of Robert Redford
By Ellie Collins Scene Writer
This past summer, my hometown’s local library was screening “All the President’s Men” — Alan J. Pakula’s 1976 political thriller about reporters chasing the truth of the Watergate scandal. I went and took my seat among the handful of older men and women as the lights dimmed in silence. Minutes later, New Hollywood’s golden boy, Robert Redford, first appeared on the screen, portraying the Washington Post’s investigative reporter Bob Woodward. Versions of “God, was he gorgeous,” were muttered by the entire group of women in front of me. Nobody in the room (or anyone, anywhere, for that matter) could blame them. There are only so many actors who have held enough charm to elicit such a reaction nearly 50 years after their work has been released; Redford will always be one of them. The incomparable star, who began his career in the 1960s and retired in 2018, passed away last Tuesday at the age of 89. Of course, while it is easy to recognize his famous appearance, Redford somehow had something more distinctive
are what appear most tangible; placed beside figures such as Paul Newman, Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman and Jane Fonda, Redford established himself early on as not only a star, but one capable of maintaining his stature beside others. “All the President’s Men” is not necessarily a Redford film, nor is “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969) or “The Way We Were” (1973). There was an authenticity to his craft that forged a balance
rather one to help prop it up to its greatest potential alongside those around him. What many would deem the most notable images of his career, such as him washing Meryl Streep’s hair in “Out of Africa” (1985), or cliff-jumping with Newman in “Butch Cassidy,” are vivid testaments to his chemistry with his fellow artists. With the trivialized grace he brought to screens, Redford was also able to convince us in ways many movie stars fail
to. When an actor’s name and face grow too familiar, they can oftentimes blend with the characters they play in the audience’s eyes. Redford, however, never ceased to blur this line; he was the reporter, the outlawed cowboy, the con-artist, the baseball player and the old high school crush. He depicted characters that felt like real people, all of whom just shared the same pretty face.
It is hard to strictly define and explore the specialty of Redford beyond his talent, probably because one of his salient qualities was his
elusiveness. Outside of the theater, his life could not be seen; his identity behind the camera always existed as a private luxury. Redford could not be touched by the media or the public, and there was a charm to that layer of mystery that we cannot often find today.
While Redford’s appearance is one wholly known by many, the man behind it has never been. One can always list the Oscar nominations he received for his acting and directing, or his acceptance of the Academy Honorary Award in 2002, as a faithful representation of his legacy. It is also necessary to highlight his constant political and environmental activism, as well as his establishment of the Sundance Institute, a nonprofit organization and film festival for independent moviemaking. Whatever sliver of his life may be noted in honor and memoriam, what he presented of himself and advocated for, while honorably conserving his own privacy, has forever left a great imprint on Hollywood’s past, present and future. And God, was he gorgeous.
Contact Ellie Collins at ecollin9@nd.edu
BEN SMITH | The Observer
BEN SMITH | The Observer
No. 2 Irish take down defending national champion
By Chris Dailey Sports Writer
The No. 2 Notre Dame women’s soccer team beat No. 22 North Carolina in an instant classic Wednesday night at Alumni Stadium. The win marked the Irish’s eighth win ever over the Tar Heels, who have won an astonishing 23 of the 43 NCAA women’s soccer championships.
Underneath an overcast sky, the Irish caught fire early thanks to a quick goal from sophomore Izzy Engle. The attack-minded Engle picked the ball up at around the halfway line after a short pass from junior midfielder Charlie Codd. Engle glided up the pitch before striking a hard-hit shot from just outside the box. The ball rocketed into the upper left corner, sending the supporters at Alumni Stadium into a frenzy.
Not long after, sophomore midfielder Grace Restovich’s corner kick floated high in the air, giving the Irish attack time to hunt the ball down. Sophomore defender
Ally Pinto rose above the crowd and buried a header to double the Irish lead. After having not appeared as a freshman, Pinto has excelled in a starting role in her second year. The goal is the first of her career.
The Irish continued to dominate much of the remainder of the first half. Their midfield outclassed North Carolina’s, constantly winning second ball opportunities. Restovich effectively controlled the tempo of the game, and classmate midfielder and forward Lily Joseph connected several nice passes.
However, Notre Dame’s momentum stalled when the Tar Heels found an answer on a corner kick of their own. Tar Heels midfielder Linda Ullmark delivered an inchperfect corner to freshman Lauren Maslom. From just shy of the penalty spot, Maslom redirected the ball to the back post, splitting the Irish’s lead in half just before the first 45 minutes of action drew to a close.
The second half saw much of the same craziness. 9 minutes into the half, freshman forward Tessa Knapp dispossessed a North Carolina
defender right in front of the 18. Tar Heel goalkeeper Abby Gundry, who was positioned at the edge of the box, dove for the ball. Knapp dribbled right around her and slotted the ball into the back of the net.
Knapp has been a key piece in head coach Nate Norman’s rotation of attackers. In her role coming off the bench, Knapp has consistently provided a high level of energy. She is a pest for opposing backlines.
After Knapp’s goal, North Carolina found their footing. 7 minutes later, Maslom struck again for the Tar Heels. This time, she drilled a volley into the upper right corner. The shot sent shockwaves around Alumni Stadium and put the Tar Heels back in business.
Both sides exchanged clever passages of play. The linkup between the Irish’s midfield remained strong, but the Tar Heels did well in creating chances of their own. Through the next 15 minutes, however, neither side was able to truly break through.
Then Joseph, minutes after receiving a yellow card, stole the ball near the corner flag and dinked in a
beautiful cross to classmate forward Ellie Hodsden. The gutsy forward dove for the ball and headed it into the back of the net.
“Lily is fantastic, creating space for herself in the side of the field. And a great finish by Ellie. Ellie always comes in and just gives us great productivity off the bench, she gives us a lift. Really happy for her, and really proud of her for what she’s gone through,” Norman said after the game.
Notre Dame dropped into a low block, packing players behind the ball on defense to hold their lead. This gave North Carolina struggles in and around the box, so it naturally took a 35-yard thunderbolt from superstar junior Olivia Thomas to give the Tar Heels a lifeline.
Thomas’ shot, taken from way downtown, barely lifted off the ground. Yet, in the fraction of a second, the ball was in the back of the net.
Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, time was not on their side. The goal came with 4 minutes left, enough for the Irish to hold on.
The victory is a pivotal one for Notre Dame. Not only is it a win against the reigning national champions and arguably the best program in the collegiate sport’s history, but it also gives them another crucial ACC win.
“UNC is a great team and a great program, so anytime you can beat them it’s a great win. Really proud of the players’ performance today,” Norman said.
Although excited with the win, Norman remains intent on the goal at hand.
“We have to stay focused. We have to keep growing. We need to be happy with what we did today but need to have humility and get ready for another really good team in Clemson,” Norman said.
The statement win moves Notre Dame to 8-0-1 on the season. Their only blemish is an impressive 2-2 road draw against No. 7 Arkansas. The Irish will next take the pitch at Clemson on Sept. 28 at 6 p.m.
Contact Chris Dailey at cdailey2@nd.edu
No. 21 Irish host SMU amid sudden hot streak
By Charlie Morris Sports Writer
No. 21 Notre Dame men’s soccer plays game four on its seasonlong seven-game homestand on Saturday, Sept. 27, as it welcomes the SMU Mustangs to Alumni Stadium at 7 p.m. The Irish enter the contest at 5-1-2, including four consecutive wins and a 2-0 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play. They have already secured wins over Pitt (ranked No. 13 at the time) and Louisville (ranked No. 12 at the time). Head coach Chad Riley’s squad has yet to allow a goal to an ACC opponent this season.
The Irish have flipped the script offensively since the beginning of the fall. The team enters the weekend with 11 goals across its
past four games (2.75 per game), a stark uptick from its 0.5 goals per game through the first four contests. Center back Mitch Ferguson has been a threat on set pieces all season, leading the Irish with four goals and eight points. Two of his tallies have come on free kicks and two on corners. The senior is coming off his first career multiple-goal game, a hat trick in a 3-2 victory over Wright State on Tuesday. He became the first Irish center back with three goals in a game since Brandon Aubrey.
Senior forward Wyatt Borso, freshman forward Luke Burton and junior midfielder Nolan Spicer all have six points, adding excellent secondary scoring, especially in recent games. Sophomore assistant captain Blake Kelly has been a rock in goal with four clean
sheets and just five goals against in eight starts. The Irish as a team have an .844 save percentage, well higher than their opponent’s .649 mark.
SMU enters the contest at 3-23, with a 0-0-2 ACC record.
The Mustangs drew both No. 2 Clemson and North Carolina 1-1 in their last two weekend matchups, with both goals coming from forward Mukisa Emmanuel.
The talented Ugandan has fit in seamlessly with the Mustangs after transferring over from East Florida State College last offseason. He will enter the contest leading all players from either team in goals (five), points (10), shots (19) and shots on goal (13).
Fellow forward Milton Lopez has three goals, two assists and 17 shots through eight games behind
FOOTBALL
Emmanuel. The dynamic duo has helped SMU to a 108-66 lead in total shots over its opponents, and a 43-26 advantage in shots on goal. The Mustangs average 13.5 shots per match, which is top 60 in the NCAA (out of 210 programs). Defensively, the Mustangs have not been consistently sharp. They have only one clean sheet all season, a 1-0 victory over Grand Canyon University on Sept. 4. Soren Russell picked up the shutout — the senior started the first six games, playing to just a .563 save percentage (seven goals against, nine saves). However, Martin Dominguez seems primed to start on Saturday, as he is responsible for both draws in conference play. He has conceded just two goals — one on a penalty kick — good for a .778 save percentage. Certainly,
SMU’s strength is in its attack, although Dominguez’s brief run as the starting keeper has seemed to settle its back line.
The Mustangs are led by head coach Kevin Hudson, who has been at the helm since the start of the 2016 season. He previously served as an assistant with SMU and has been a part of three Elite Eight runs while on staff — 2010, 2019 and last season, 2024. He enters the contest with a winning percentage of .689 as head coach and is looking to lead his team to 10-plus wins for the fourth year in a row.
The highly anticipated match begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Alumni Stadium.
Contact Charlie Morris at cmorri27@nd.edu
It just means more: Irish historically own the SEC
By Ben Hicks Associate Sports Editor
Notre Dame has long drawn the ire of the remainder of the collegiate football community for valuing its unique independence and refusing to join a conference. The most outspoken conference, and conference fans, come from America’s tradition-rich deep South and the SEC. Fans all across SEC country, where it supposedly “just means more,” aren’t shy in their disdain for the Irish. For a while, they had good reason to believe that football was played at its highest level below the MasonDixon line. Teams from the SEC won 13 of the 17 national championships
between 2006 and 2022, but with the changing landscape of the sport, each of the last two trophy hoisters have hailed from the Big Ten, and they both beat other northern schools in the title game.
Whether or not the SEC benefitted from compensating its athletes long before it was legal is up to individual speculation. What is known is that football royalty now and always resides in the college towns of the Northern heartland — Columbus, Ohio, Ann Arbor, Mich. and South Bend, Ind. to name a few examples — yet when heading south, the college football powers of the North often struggle to outduel SEC institutions defending their home turf.
Historically, Notre Dame has been the exception to that trend. The Irish have clashed with teams currently in the SEC 57 times throughout program history, winning twice as many as they’ve lost, sitting at 38-19. Under head coach Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame is 3-1 against the SEC, with the lone defeat coming this year with the heartbreaking Week Two home loss to Texas A&M. With the Irish heading into Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the first time ever this Saturday, this is a
good time to look back pn how Notre Dame has fared against each SEC member institution.
The Razorbacks, who along with the Irish were coached by the legendary Lou Holtz, are one of four SEC programs who have yet to take the field against the Irish. Auburn, Kentucky and Mississippi State are the other three, and there is no public record of any planned future showdowns.
The SEC’s, and perhaps the nation’s,
preeminent program Alabama has squared off with Notre Dame eight times, with the Irish leading the series 5-3. Notre Dame clinched the 1973 National Championship with a one-point win over the Crimson Tide on New Year’s Eve, but Nick Saban’s program returned the favor in recent years, dominating the Irish in the 2012 and 2020 postseasons. The Irish and the Tide have a home-and-home
see “ND vs. SEC” on page 10
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Casey Czerniawski freshman McGlinn Hall
“$5”
Reamon Curis freshman O’Neill Hall
“$35”
Pamela Escarcega senior Ryan Hall
Ethan Stearns freshman Stanford Hall
“$50”
CROSSWORD | WILL SHORTZ
Rogers freshman Lewis Hall
SOCIAL MEDIA POLL
Have an idea for a poll? Email dstangel@nd.edu
How locked in are you?
A recent poll conducted by The Observer via Instagram recieved 180 respondents and asked students how “locked in” they are this semester. Out of 180 respondents, the largest group, 42% said they are “sort of” locked in. Another 24% reported feeling “very” locked in, while 17% admitted they are “not at all.” Interestingly 17% also felt they were “too much” locked in. The results show that while many students are finding their focus, a significant portion are still struggling to fully settle into the semester.
THE NEXT FIVE DAYS
Want your event included here? Email news@ndsmcobserver.com
Friday
Lecture: ‘Chornobyl Madonna’ Cambridge professor presents on nuclear catastrophe. 1050 Jenkins Nanovic Halls
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Saturday
Ekaphrasis writing with Poet Brenda Cárdenas
Learn how to write based on visual art inspiration. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Sunday
Ancient Chinese ceramic lecture and hands-on workshop 1030 Jenkins Nanovic Halls
Learn from director of the Imperial Kiln Museum. 11:45 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Monday
Lecture: ‘AI in the Liberal Arts’ 138 DeBartolo Hall
Join Beyond the Dome and industry experts in AI. 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday
Notre Dame men’s soccer vs. Hope The Fighting Irish take on the Flying Dutchmen Alumni Stadium 7 p.m.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
GABRIELLA MARTIN | The Observer
Senior outside hitter Delaney Martin goes to hit the ball during Saint Mary’s win against Olivet on Wednesday evening at Angela Fieldhouse. The Belles won the game 3-1 and are now 12-0 in gameplay this season.
ND vs. SEC
Continued from page 8
on the docket for 2029 (South Bend) and 2030 (Tuscaloosa).
Georgia, the SEC’s dominant program over the last half-decade, is 3-1 against Notre Dame. The Bulldogs claimed the 1980 National Championship with a Sugar Bowl win in Dan Devine’s final game leading the Irish. They also out-toughed Brian Kelly’s Irish in both South Bend and Athens in the late 2010s, before Freeman’s crew flipped the script in last year’s Sugar Bowl. That CFP quarterfinal showdown in the Big Easy seemed to signal that Notre Dame had finally risen to match the physicality and skill of the South’s best teams.
The two SEC teams Notre Dame has faced off with most on the gridiron are the LSU Tigers and Texas Longhorns. Notre Dame holds a 7-5 edge over the Bayou Bengals, but the
pair haven’t met outside bowl season since before the turn of the millennium. The Irish also hold a convincing edge over the Horns, winning nine of the 12 meetings. They most recently threw down in Austin back in 2016, when Texas claimed a thrilling 50-47 victory in double overtime. Notre Dame has played impressively well in both Austin and Baton Rouge, going 6-3 on the road in the two series. There are no future dates with the Tigers on the schedule, but Notre Dame will renew the Texas series in 2028 (South Bend) and 2029 (Austin).
The Blue and Gold also possess a stranglehold over another of the SEC’s biggest brands, dominating the Oklahoma Sooners 9-2 all-time.
The two programs played regularly throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, a period when the programs combined to claim four national titles. Despite the success of both programs, Notre Dame commanded Boomer Sooner over the eight games played between
1952 and 1968, with the only defeat coming in a 40-0 shutout at Notre Dame Stadium in 1956. Notre Dame’s success in SEC nation carries over to this series as well, as the Irish have never lost in Norman.
The aforementioned Lou Holtz not only headed the Razorbacks and Irish, but also led the South Carolina Gamecocks from 1999-2004. Notre Dame has bested the Gamecocks in four of five meetings, with the most recent being a 45-38 win in the 2022 Gator Bowl, which also served as Marcus Freeman’s first contest against the SEC. Following the trend, Notre Dame has never been beaten in Columbia, as the lone loss in the series was a 36-32 South Carolina win in South Bend in 1984.
The Irish are also unbeaten in the SEC’s other Columbia, home of the Missouri Tigers. That showdown sits at 2-2 all-time, with the visiting side winning each of the four contests between 1970 and 1984.
Perhaps the most lopsided football
matchup, but the most comparable academic institution for Notre Dame, comes with the Vanderbilt Commodores. Notre Dame has won all three meetings, including in Nashville in 1996. The most recent affair was a nail-biting 22-17 Irish triumph in 2018, sparking the program’s first berth in the CFP. The Irish are even with Vanderbilt’s instate foe, the Tennessee Volunteers.
The eight-game series is split 4-4, with each program winning twice on the road.
The Golden Domers have matched up with Mississippi just twice, and the Florida Gators only once. The Irish were bested in Jackson by the Rebels in September 1977, before running the table the remainder of the year to claim another national championship. The only other game between the polar opposite programs was a blowout ND victory in November 1985. The sole battle with the Gators saw Notre Dame lift the 1992 Sugar Bowl trophy, but a home-and-home
for 2031 (South Bend) and 2032 (Gainesville) is set.
That just leaves the most recent SEC opponent for Notre Dame, Texas A&M. Despite Week Two’s heartbreaking last-second loss, the Irish have bettered the Aggies in four of seven tries. The Irish captured consecutive Cotton Bowl crowns in Dallas in 1993 and ‘94, as well as last year’s Week One victory at a sold-out Kyle Field in College Station.
While Kyle Field is routinely considered to be amongst the nation’s toughest environments, Freeman and Notre Dame will face a similar challenge when they enter Fayetteville on Saturday morning. Both the Irish and the Razorbacks are in desperate need of a marquee win, but if history tells us anything, it’s that football at Notre Dame “just means more,” especially when battling the college football’s self-anointed toughest conference.
Contact Ben Hicks at bhicks2@nd.edu
Can ND’s defense hold up with season on the line?
By Henry Lytle Associate Sports Editor
Marcus Freeman held an “uncomfortable” meeting for the Irish defensive staff on Tuesday following the 56-30 win against Purdue.
Knowing the challenge and stakes of the next contest against a top-five offense in Arkansas, Freeman’s meeting was aimed at unifying the staff and belief in the system. Addressing the group, Freeman said, “We’ve got one of two options. We’re going to
do this and get our guys better and believe in what we’re doing, or we’ll separate. And if we separate, it’s not going to be good for anybody.”
This statement might seem harsh considering the Irish won by 26 and lost to two top-10 schools by a
THOMAS H. QUINN SPEAKER SERIES 2025
combined four points, but it is necessary if the Irish want to have success this season. Giving up over 30 points per game is reminiscent of the teams in 2007 and 2016, who won a combined seven games and were simply not good enough. The standard
from a Marcus Freeman defense is significantly higher than a ranking of 117th in scoring defense and 101st in total defense. So where can the Irish improve heading on the road to see “Defense” on page 11
CONQUERING THE ULTIMATE DISEASE INSTIGATOR Reversing the Aging Process
Friday, October 3, 2025
3:30pm - 4:45pm
Jordan Auditorium, Mendoza College of Business Free and open to the public. No tickets or registration required.
ABOUT SERIES
The Thomas H. Quinn Lecture series is an annual event hosted by the Mendoza College of Business and sponsored by Notre Dame alumnus and trustee John W. “Jay” Jordan II, Quinn’s college roommate, longtime friend and business partner, in his memory.
Ronald A. DePinho, M.D. Physician-scientist, serial entrepreneur and past president of MD Anderson Cancer Center
In his talk, Dr. DePinho will share insights into the forces shaping scientific research and its impact on humanity. He will then dive into the mechanisms driving aging and the transformative potential of science to extend healthspan and combat age-related diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s. He will provide knowledge on how to live a healthier life.
Continued from page 10
Fayetteville, Arkansas, for a critical game to keep Playoff hopes alive?
First, in passing defense. The Irish are giving up 289 yards per game passing and 8 yards per pass, ranking 119th and 99th, respectively. They have given up everything from the big play to 75% of fourth-down attempts this season. First-year defensive coordinator Chris Ash has been criticized for the permeable zone coverage and suspect blitzing efforts, but the problem goes beyond simply play-calling. Ash will have to help inspire the unit to tighten everything from coverage to sloppy tackling up against a lethal Arkansas offense ranked 10th in yards per pass in the country at 9.6 per attempt.
Additionally, Ash’s defense has been virtually unable to generate pressure against opposing quarterbacks to make throwing uncomfortable, ranking 114th in sack percentage. Three of the four total sacks for the season came against Purdue, showing the real struggles
in the first two games against experienced offensive lines. Arkansas has the fifth-ranked offensive line in pass protection, ranking significantly higher than any previous opponent to make the task even more challenging. The Irish can start by providing better blitz packages with the edge-rushers in sophomores Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young, who have three of the four sacks. Traore recorded four sacks against Miami (Ohio) a season ago before suffering a season-ending injury and has the potential to be a force off the edge.
Injuries are already starting to hurt the Irish this year in the secondary as sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore was hurt against Purdue and is now questionable for Arkansas alongside senior nickelback DeVonta Smith. Moore’s absence was felt in a 300-yard, three-passing touchdown game for the Boilermakers, and the Irish hope to have him available against the Razorbacks. If he does not play, the top cornerback responsibilities will be assumed by junior Christian Gray.
Next, the Irish can improve in
generating takeaways. In 2024, Al Golden’s unit ranked first in the country in this category and even made a name for themselves throughout the playoffs with physical man coverage, which notably resulted in a Christian Gray interception to help Mitch Jeter kick the winning field goal in the College Football Playoff semifinal. This season, amid the tough starting schedule, they have only forced four turnovers. Arkansas gives the ball away twice per game, which can be a major opportunity for the defense to help set up freshman quarterback CJ Carr and the offense on the road. While some critics of the defense hoped Marcus Freeman might take on more future responsibility for defensive play-calling, they were mistaken, at least right now. Marcus Freeman reinforced his belief in Ash’s system, saying, “It’s not what we’re calling or why we’re calling it. It’s why aren’t we executing. It still starts with a buy-in. Everybody’s got to believe that we have the answers. It’s not [that] Marcus Freeman should be calling the defense. We have the answers. We’ve got to all buy in and execute this the right
way.” His committed stance is consistent with the Notre Dame culture of accountability and toughness, but can the belief galvanize a strong enough defensive performance to win come Saturday?
How does Arkansas match up against the Irish defense?
Arkansas’ offense is the kind of explosive group that has given Ash’s defense fits so far. The Razorbacks have a top-five offense averaging 552 yards per game, and deeper than yards, the Razorbacks rank a shocking fifth in pass protection. Led by dual-threat quarterback Taylen Green, this group has been dynamic on the ground and through the air. Green alone is accounting for 313 yards through the air and 90 on the ground per game.
Despite being 2-2, Arkansas has scored over 30 points in every game this season. This unit is one of the most potent combinations of a passing and rushing attack in the entire country, ranking second in yards per carry and 10th in passing yards per play. Freeman said, “The challenge for the defense doesn’t get any easier [with Arkansas].”
The Notre Dame rushing defense has been the only reliable part of the unit this season, giving up just over 100 yards per game and only 3.3 yards per carry. The Irish have consistently schemed well facing dual-threat quarterbacks over the last few seasons, notably against second-round pick Tyler Shough of Louisville and Blake Horvath of Navy, who ran for 1,200 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. If the Irish can manage to hold Arkansas near 100 yards rushing and less than 5 yards per carry, it will seriously limit the threat of play action and give the defense better opportunities to blitz. Chris Ash’s defense is facing significant pressure on the road in Fayetteville to help support the surging Irish offense behind Mike Denbrock. This is a make-or-break opportunity for Notre Dame’s season, where a loss virtually guarantees missing out on the Playoff. Can Marcus Freeman light a fire in the defense, or will the flame smolder and burn out against the hungry Hogs?
Contact Henry Lytle at hlytle@nd.edu
Irish begin ACC play against Syracuse, BC at home
By Payton Dymek Sports Writer
Notre Dame volleyball dropped two matches this week against rival Michigan — one at home and one on the road. Despite the losses, the matches were very competitive statistically, giving the Irish areas to improve as they prepare to face Syracuse on Sept. 26 and Boston College on Sept. 28.
In their first match against the Wolverines, Michigan outscored Notre Dame 55-43. The Wolverines had a 43-33 advantage in kills, an 8-7 edge on blocks, a 41-33 lead in digs, and a 38-28 dominance in assists. Michigan out-served the Irish as well, leading 4-3 in aces.
In the second meeting, Michigan won 56-45. Once again, the Wolverines led in kills, blocks, digs
and assists. The Irish got a ray of hope with strength on the service line, acing Michigan five times to the Wolverines’ two.
The Irish statistical leaders remained the same, highlighting the consistency of many players.
Sophomore outside hitter Morgan Gaerte continues to lead the team in kills, garnering 140 on the year, hitting a .260. Junior outside hitter Sydney Helmers has 53 kills and senior outside hitter Avery Ross boasts a .364 hitting percentage despite not playing in the Michigan games.
Both setters, freshman Maya Baker and senior Harmony Sample, continue to diversify their playmaking choices and set a variety of hitters, combining for 258 assists on the season. Defensively, the Irish continue to look strong with freshman libero Maya Evans posting 110 digs and
sophomore middle hitter Anna Bjork averaging 1.19 blocks per set.
The Syracuse Orange have had a very successful season so far with an 8-2 record, their only losses coming against Colgate. Statistically, the Orange are very close to what the Irish are putting up. Senior outside hitter Gabriella McLaughlin has 145 kills and 160 points on the season and will be big competition for Gaerte, and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Skylar George has 95 kills and 112 points on the season and will be close competition for Helmers.
Syracuse also has a silent killer on their team in junior setter Veronica Sierzant. Although she only has 41 kills on the year, she has a .400 attack percentage and 66 assists, proving she can step into any role her team needs and play effectively. Aside from Sierzant, the Orange also have
FOOTBALL
junior setter Tehya Maeva who has 334 assists on the year and is the mastermind behind Syracuse’s brilliant offense.
Defensively, the Orange are led by junior libero Rana Yamada who has 132 digs on the year and junior middle hitter Zharia Harris-Waddy with 1.21 blocks per set, which creates a massive wall Notre Dame will have to attack over.
Boston College has compiled an almost-perfect season at 11-1, even beating a tough SEC team in Arkansas, with their only loss being to Bryant University in five sets. Similar to Syracuse, the Eagles have numbers that are close to those of Notre Dame’s, which will mean every point matters.
Boston College is led by junior outside hitter Audrey Ross who has 131 kills and is closely followed by senior
middle hitter Anna Herrington with 92; however, sophomore opposite hitter Isabelle Poehlein, who has a .515 hitting percentage, making her one of the most efficient hitters across all three teams.
The offensive calls are made by both sophomore setters Lucy Mott and Aubrey Moore, totaling 337 assists, the most of the three teams. The defense is controlled by junior defensive specialist Brooklyn Yelland with 169 digs and senior middle hitter Grace Milliken who has 1.33 blocks per set, the most of the three teams. Notre Dame and Syracuse play during Hispanic Heritage Night on Sept. 26 at 6:30 p.m. Notre Dame–Boston College is slated for Sept. 28 at 1 p.m.
Contact Payton Dymek at pdymek@nd.edu
Love staying humble on field after 157-yard week
By Claire Watson Associate Sports Editor
Now 1-2 on the season, the Irish offense is led by their junior running back, Jeremiyah Love. Known for hurdling the opposing team’s defense, running further than anyone can imagine and being an all-around fantastic football player, it is fair to say that his fellow football players also think highly of him.
Redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr said, “It’s easy when you have Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price and the best O-line in the country, it just takes all the pressure off my shoulders.”
Head coach Marcus Freeman also commented on the strong offensive line and run game, saying,
“Our offense is explosive. They’re getting big plays. They’re able to control the clock, control the line of scrimmage, and that’s detrimental to a defense.”
In his freshman season, Love competed in all 13 games. He finished off his freshman season with 385 rushing yards with an average of 5.4 yards per carry, totaling 77 receiving yards.
Love came into the light in the 2024 season with highlights that most people won’t forget. This includes things such as his hurdling touchdown against Army or his 98-yard touchdown in the first round of the College Football Playoff against Indiana. He started every game and led the team with a total of 17 touchdowns, 949 rushing yards and 7.1 yards per carry.
A powerhouse in the backfield, the University City, Missouri native started off the season strong and continues to support the team. In the game against Miami, Love had a total of 10 rushes for 33 yards and added four catches for 26 yards. Against Texas A&M, Love raised the bar by rushing for 94 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown, catching four passes for 53 yards with an amazing one-handed catch on the run for a 36-yard touchdown. In the most recent game against Purdue, Love finished with a career high 157 rushing yards on 19 carries, averaging 8.3 yards per carry with two touchdowns and five rushes of 10plus yards.
Love also commented on the humility of the team and staying
grounded leading up to the game.
“We believe that no matter who we are up against, we are going out there to make plays, and the only people that can stop us are us.”
When asked about his success on the field, Love responded, “I want everybody to have their time in the spotlight, their time in the sun and their opportunity to do something great.”
The Irish now prepare to go on the road for the second time this season to go up against Arkansas, a team that is not to be taken lightly.
“As a person who has been in that type of environment before, I have knowledge to give to the young guys who are going to have their opportunity on going out and starting in this hostile environment,” Love said. “But, at the end
of the day, we’re ready for it, they’re ready for it, I’m ready for it, the team’s ready for it.”
Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock also commented on the unselfishness of the running backs, saying, “Those guys understand there’s a lot of really talented football players in that room. It obviously starts with J Love and JD, the camaraderie that’s in that room, how they trust, love and respect each other, it’s not just coach speak, it’s real and you can see that by the way they play.”
The team is facing off against Arkansas in its second away game of the season. The game is set for a noon kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 27.
Contact Claire Watson at cwatson7@nd.edu
Football beat picks: Notre Dame vs. Arkansas
By Observer Sports Staff Football Beat
Noah Cahill
Notre Dame momentarily restored calm to a panicking fanbase with its 56-30 victory against Purdue. However, the defense was anything but convincing, allowing 23 points and 286 total yards to the Boilermakers in the first half. It tightened up in the second 30, but still left many doubts.
On the other side of the ball, the offense was in full gear. The Irish rushing attack looked back to its dominant best, tallying 254 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Jeremiyah Love was established early and often, finishing the game with 19 carries for 157 yards and a pair of scores. Notre Dame has the luxury of handing the keys to Love’s backfield partner, Jadarian Price, for entire drives without seeing a dip in production. The junior carried it nine times for 74 yards and three touchdowns, another coming on a 100-yard kickoff return.
Paired with a flawless CJ Carr performance, Notre Dame looked unstoppable. It should have no trouble moving the ball against an inconsistent Arkansas defense. The question once again becomes whether or not this defense can put it together. Powered by a staunch offensive line unit and the dual-threat Taylen Green, the Razorback offense has looked like one of the best units in the nation through four games. With Leonard Moore still questionable to return on the outside, look for another high-scoring affair. However, I think Notre Dame has just enough to escape with a win
in Fayetteville. Prediction: ND 38, Arkansas 35
Chris Dailey
Notre Dame vs. Arkansas is the epitome of a “trap game” for the Irish. While Notre Dame’s offense has looked the part of a legitimate National Championship contender, the defense is in shambles. They square off against a Razorbacks team that fell to No. 13 Ole Miss 41-35 before blowing a sizable lead against Memphis. The irony of this game is that both teams fit a similar profile: elite offense and lackluster defense.
For that reason, this noon-time game in Fayetteville has all the makings to be a shootout. Don’t expect the Irish defense to fix itself overnight, or rather in a week’s time. Don’t expect the Razorbacks defense to, either. This game will be determined by the play of the offense, and luckily for the Irish, they have the best backfield tandem in the country. There is no reason why Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price can’t once again connect for five rushing touchdowns. Notre Dame will take this one in a high-scoring affair.
Prediction: ND 45, Arkansas 41
Ben Hicks
I’m probably overcompensating for not trusting my gut and instead picking Notre Dame to beat both Miami and Texas A&M, or perhaps I’m just not overconfident in the Irish defense’s ability to stop anyone. Then again, neither is Marcus Freeman. Arkansas’ perimeter speed and skill present a grave challenge for Notre Dame, just as similar personnel did
in the Miami and A&M contests. Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman put it lightly when he said, “I think we match up well,” — the Razorbacks offense is top-5 nationally in yards per game, while the Irish defense has allowed nearly 100 points across its first three games.
The bright side is that if any offense can atone for its defensive struggles, it’s CJ Carr, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. The unit was nearly perfect against both the Aggies and Boilermakers, but going on the road to hostile SEC country will create different difficulties for a still-maturing signal caller. Saturday will be a high-scoring shootout between two explosive offenses and two withering defenses. Coming off consecutive heartbreakers against Mississippi and Memphis, and with the support of the Hogs behind them, I like Arkansas to win a close one.
Prediction: ND 42, Arkansas 45 Henry Lytle I started the week thinking Arkansas would be tough but manageable on the road, but concern rose significantly the more I dove into the stats. Arkansas is second in yards per rush, 10th in yards per pass and fifth in total offense, while the Irish are outside of the top 100 on defense: In other words, it’s a terrible matchup. Notre Dame has been passable against the run, though, where Arkansas relies for play action and traditionally has done well against running quarterbacks, which is why I think there is a chance.
The other concern is that this will be potentially the most hostile environment of the season in a raucous
SEC environment. I trust Mike Denbrock, who coached Jayden Daniels to a Heisman at LSU with an equally poor defense, to create a doable game plan for Carr and the twoheaded monster at running back, which is firing on all cylinders. Just a freshman, though, Carr could gift fans with an unforgettable performance or struggle immensely and look pedestrian.
The stakes are higher than ever, and in my opinion it’s the make-orbreak game of the season for the Irish. Win or lose, if it is a 40s highscoring shootout like many expect, it will solidify that this defense is just not good enough for this team to contend for the Playoff. Under Freeman, Notre Dame has consistently played well against the SEC, played well in season-defining games and come together when the moment presents itself. If the defense steps up and holds Arkansas below 30 with a couple of big stops for field goals instead of touchdowns, I think the Irish win convincingly and keep their Playoff hopes alive.
Prediction: ND 38, Arkansas 27
Tyler Reidy
When this week began, I was sure that Arkansas would win. Notre Dame’s defense showed very little against Purdue and now walks into an SEC environment to face a legitimate offense.
Here’s the thing, though. We all can agree that Notre Dame and Arkansas are destined for both a shootout and a rather close game.
The Razorbacks have been brutal in such games, going 7-19 in their last 26 one-score games and leading all of FBS with six losses since the start
of 2023 when scoring 30-plus points. Both of Arkansas’ losses this year were in one-score games that featured 30 or more Razorback points. I can see exactly how Arkansas would run into that wall again on Saturday: proven star power. Notre Dame simply has more, especially in its backfield — maybe even now at wide receiver with Malachi Fields and Jordan Faison. If this becomes a “whoever has the ball last wins” type of game, I like the Irish to outclass Arkansas late.
Prediction: ND 41, Arkansas 33
Claire Watson
After a difficult start to the season, Notre Dame heads to Arkansas, but I don’t believe it will be as easy as most anticipate it to be. With this being the fourth game of the season for the Irish, the team’s defense looked slightly better going into the second half of the Purdue game, while the offense continues to shine on the field. But will it be enough to get through the Arkansas defense?
Arkansas, known for being a tough opponent, is similar to Miami. Notre Dame will need to step its game up, including keeping pressure on the Arkansas quarterback. Without this pressure, Arkansas will run straight through and score.
That being said, the Notre Dame offense is continuing to stay on top of the ball, not to mention junior running back pairing Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love taking the ball to the end zone like it’s no one’s business. For that reason, I believe that the Irish will come out on top so long as the defense stays strong for the running backs.
Prediction: ND 41, Arkansas 35
Time to fight: Freeman leads Irish into Arkansas
By Chris Dailey Sports Writer
Marcus Freeman is one of the premier coaches in the world of college football, and rightfully so. After a turbulent first two full seasons in charge and a shocking loss to NIU early in his third year at the helm, Freeman went on to guide the Irish to the National Championship game. Known for his uncanny ability to inspire the players, he has become a beloved figure both on campus and beyond.
Now situated at 1-2 to start the 2025 campaign, Freeman’s ability to lead is being put to the test. This dilemma is largely attributed to personnel factors. After Freeman’s right-hand man in defensive coordinator Al Golden left upon the conclusion of the 2024 season, he hired former Rutgers head coach Chris Ash in the same position. No. 22 Notre Dame’s defense has since struggled, and it looks to be a shell of its past self.
The Irish defense ranks 118th in scoring defense, 130th in negative play percentage and 132nd in passing defense. These numbers
have been of mounting concern as Freeman is now tasked with the challenge of figuring out how to solve these glaring issues. His answer, however, does not lie in taking over defensive play-calling duty — a role he excelled at in his time at Cincinnati and as Brian Kelly’s defensive coordinator in 2021.
Instead, Freeman insists this issue is a collective one.
“I think right now we got to make sure in our football facility that we’re not pointing a finger at a call ... We’re pointing a finger at ourselves as, ‘What am I not doing to execute this call the right way?’ If I’m confused, then you better speak up and say something because you’re going to be held accountable,” Freeman said in a nearly four-minute response at his weekly press conference regarding a question about defensive play-calling.
Freeman’s answer — albeit longwinded — encompasses what his time at Notre Dame has been all about: commitment to the group. Rather than offloading responsibility of the issues solely to Ash and his defensive staff, Freeman
is tackling this issue head-on. For a guy who was an All-Big Ten linebacker during his playing days, it makes sense that he’s willing to roll up his sleeves and steer the ship.
“That’s the challenge during tough times. I get excited when I talk. During tough times, there’s two options: fight or flight. And the guys that flight blame other people. It’s the call. It’s his fault. It’s this coach’s fault, or it’s that player’s fault. We gave up a big play. That corner should’ve covered him. That’s the flight mode. You deflect and blame other people,” Freeman said.
Freeman has made it clear that Ash will still be on play-calling duty and stressed that to embody the “fight” mentality, his team has no time to waste. The Razorbacks are fifth in rush offense, and quarterback Taylen Green is eighth in passing yards. In the past two games, the Razorback offense has combined for over 1,000 yards.
Arkansas poses a tall task for an Irish defense that gave up 30 points to Purdue just a week ago — a team that FCS program Southern Illinois only allowed 34 against in
comparison.
“It’s a top-five offense in the country. It’s a challenge for the defense. It doesn’t get any easier,” Freeman stated.
Freeman then continued that it’s not just the star-studded Razorback offense they have to game plan around.
“And their defense is good. They got a solid defense. Number 97 [Quincy Rhodes Jr.] is a load. Their whole defensive front is big. That’s going to present a big challenge for our offensive line.”
Although the numbers don’t lie about Arkansas’ offense, Freeman may be playing nice regarding its defense. Despite the Razorbacks’ explosive offensive group, their 2-2 record reflects a likewise struggling defense. The unit let up an average of 8.6 yards per play against No. 13 Ole Miss and ranks 70th in run defense. Much like Notre Dame, had the defense played slightly sharper, there is a good chance Arkansas is undefeated and viewed as a serious playoff contender.
In order to take down the Razorbacks in what promises to be a high-scoring affair, Freeman
emphasized that everybody must be brought into the program.
He concluded his lengthy statement saying, “And that starts with leadership. That starts from the top down. And that’s my job, but also Chris Ash’s job. It’s our coaches’ job. On down to our players. You have to create the buy-in to what we’re doing and the ownership of it. If we get that, we’ll get it corrected with urgency. If we don’t, if we do this, ‘It’s your fault, you shouldn’t have called that, Coach,’ then it’s going to be bad. I know our culture ain’t going to let that happen.”
Notre Dame is at the precipice of a season-defining moment. While questions abound about the subpar performances from the Irish’s once rock-solid defensive unit, Freeman has taken control of the situation. As the leader of the program, Freeman has reinforced that the team’s success rests not on one singular person, but rather everyone buying in and executing at a high level. That’s the Marcus Freeman way. That’s the Notre Dame way.
Contact Chris Dailey at cdailey2@nd.edu