Print Edition of The Observer for Thursday, January 24, 2018

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Volume 53, Issue 73 | thursday, january 24, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Students react to mural decision Groups respond to Jenkins’ decision to cover up the Columbus murals

By MARY STEURER and LAUREN BAKKE News Editor and News Writer

Campus organizations have let their voice be heard after University President Fr. John Jenkins announced his decision on Sunday to cover controversial murals depicting the life of Christopher Columbus in the Main Building.

The Native American Student Association of Notre Dame (NASAND) was quick to give its support. The group, which has in the past voiced opposition to the murals, thanked

Jenkins in a Facebook post Sunday evening.

“The Native American Student Association of Notre Dame is thankful for Father Jenkins’ thoughtful and wise decision,” the statement said. “This is a good step towards acknowledging the full humanity of those Native people who have come before us.

We sincerely hope that Father Jenkins and his administration will continue to prioritize Native issues on our campus in the coming weeks and months as there is still work to be

done.”

Alan-Mychal Boyd, vice president of NASAND, said he saw the decision as a victory for all involved.

“It’s great,” he said.

“It was really a compromise [for] both sides that would take an opinion on it. A really good step forward, I think, because in the past Notre Dame has not been the most welcoming to Natives.”

Moving forward, Boyd said he hopes the University remains receptive to NASAND and other Native American groups.

“I think this is a

really great symbolic gesture, and I would like it to be more than that,” he said. “A symbolic gesture in the sense of a new era of cooperation with not just NASA-ND but with the Pokagon Band of Potawotomi area.”

Those concerned for the murals’ future are welcome to reach out to him, he added.

“I would be willing to have a conversation [to] see if we could come to an agreement,” he said.

The Notre Dame chapter of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), a conservative

Heisler reflects on 40-year tenure at Notre Dame

By MAX LANDER News Writer

John Heisler has a perspective on media relations and sports information at Notre Dame few can claim to match. His tenure as senior associate athletic director at Notre Dame is now coming to a close.

A South Bend native, Heisler said he came to work at the University as the assistant sports information

director in the late 1970s following a year working for the Department of Sports Information at the University of Missouri, his alma mater.

“I wanted to get into something involving writing, so I went to the University of Missouri for journalism school [and] did a news editorial major,” Heisler said. “I thought I’d end up working for a newspaper or magazine.”

Having worked at the University for 39 of it’s 177 years, Heisler has been around to see the University grow and change immensely for almost a quarter of Notre Dame’s existence.

Over those many years he said he has seen the school, and especially the school’s athletics programs, expand immensely. ”I think certainly in terms see HEISLER PAGE 4

Fannie Mae invests in Saint Mary’s students

By MARIA LEONTARAS Associate Saint Mary’s Editor

Three Saint Mary’s College students recently embarked on a trip to learn about mortgages and affordable American housing with Fannie Mae during a four-day trip to Washington, D.C. Juniors Grace Hillman, Anna Mason and Mary

News PAGE 3

Wandor traveled to the nation’s capital during winter break to participate in an externship established by Saint Mary’s alumna Renee Schultz.

Editor’s Note: Anna Mason is the Associate Photo Editor at The Observer.

As the senior vice president of capital markets at Fannie Mae, Schultz felt like she could give back to the

Scene PAGE 5

community that helped her reach her goals by creating an opportunity for women to gain experience in the capital markets, as stated in a College press release.

“The externship takes place over the winter or spring break and is fully funded by Saint Mary’s alumna Renee Schultz see FANNIE MAE PAGE 4

Viewpoint PAGE 6

Mayor to run in 2020

youth organization, also released a statement on the controversy Sunday night calling on Jenkins to overturn his decision.

YAF national chairman and Notre Dame law student Grant Strobl said the group sees the move as antithetical to the University’s role as an academic institution.

“Higher education was founded for the purpose to pursue knowledge and to pursue truth and when they stray away from that mission, YAF will

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a member of the Democratic part y, announced in a v ideo Wednesday morning that he is forming an explorator y committee as he considers running for president in the 2020 election. Buttigieg was first elected mayor of South Bend in 2011 and won re-election in 2015.

In December, he stated he

see COLUMBUS PAGE 3

see PRESIDENT PAGE 4

Observer Staff Report

Snite appoints new director

By MARIANA FERRE News Writer

The new director of the Notre Dame Snite Museum of Art, Joseph Becherer, began work at the University earlier this month and has since spent time becoming familiar with his staff and the museum’s collection of art.

The University’s decision to hire Becherer was announced in the fall, and besides directing and working with exhibits in the Snite, one of his main tasks will be working towards the construction and design of the new Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, set to open in 2022.

Becherer has previously done work directing and curating pieces for exhibitions and installations including the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids. Prior to coming to Notre Dame, he was the Lena Meijer professor in the history of art at Aquinas College, where he taught renaissance, baroque and contemporary art courses.

Becherer said he is excited and honored to join the Snite Museum and the Notre Dame community.

“For me, one of the most important things is that every great university deserves to have a great art museum,” he said. “Notre Dame

ND W Basketball PAGE 12

deserves to have great museum and I am honored to help however I best can to deliver that great museum to this great university.”

During the short two weeks he has been working for the University, Becherer said he has given a lot of thought into the direction he has envisioned for the current and new art museums of Notre Dame.

“The best new museum structures, I believe, are the ones that are built from the inside out,“ he said. “It’s really a very communal experience. It starts out with the 18 people that are here on staff and extends to those faculty and our many wonderful students that engage with us regularly. So, there are a lot of people that will help us decide what that inside is going to be like and how best we can use it not just for this current generation but for future generations. ... This is a museum that you want to be relevant and interesting for today but you want to also ensure is vibrant and important for tomorrow.”

Becherer said his career thus far has been interesting, challenging and positive. He said experiences have prepared him for this special task and that he has fresh, exciting see SNITE PAGE 4

Fencing PAGE 12

2

TODAY

The observer | thursday, january 24, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Question of the Day: ndsmcobserver.com

Have a question you want answered?

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What is the best meal in the dining hall?

P.O. Box 779, Notre Dame, IN 46556 024 South Dining Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 Editor-in-Chief Courtney Becker Managing Editor Tobias Hoonhout

Asst. Managing Editor: Elizabeth Greason Asst. Managing Editor: Lucas Masin-Moyer News Editor: Viewpoint Editor: Sports Editor: Scene Editor: Saint Mary’s Editor: Photo Editor: Graphics Editor: Advertising Manager: Ad Design Manager: Systems Administrator:

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Office Manager & General Info

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Ally Staresinic

Maria Heiman

sophomore Lewis Hall

senior Howard Hall

“The Oreos from the ice cream bar.”

“Burger night.”

Charlotte Forsythe

Mary Hull

junior Ryan Hall

senior Ryan Hall

“Southwest salad at North Dining Hall.”

“Gnocchi and kale.”

Luke Giannetta

Xavier Lezynski

sophomore Dillon Hall

junior Sorin College

“Caprese pasta.”

“Asian stir-fry.”

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ANN CURTIS | The Observer

Students and faculty meet with more than 50 local service organizations to learn more about opportunities for service and civic engagement in South Bend at the Social Concerns Fair. The fair was part of a series of events for Walk the Walk Week.

The next Five days:

Want your event included here?

Email news@ndsmcobserver.com

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Mammograms on Campus Mason Support Center 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Available to students and faculty at no cost.

“The Irish Revolution of 1782 and the Age of Revolutions” 1050 Jenkins Nanovic Halls 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Harlem Globetrotters Visit Purcell Pavilion 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

See former ND player Lili Thompson.

30th Annual ND Student Film Festival Browning Cinema 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. , 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Tickets on sale now.

Service Organization Campus Visit: Amate House Geddes Hall, Room 126 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Volunteer in Chicago.

“What Sport Do You Play?”: A Discussion on Race, Athletics, and Educational Access Visitation Hall 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Welsh Family DanceFest Washington Hall 7 p.m.

Annual DanceFest event is open to the public.

Great Gatsby Dance Dahnke Ballroom Duncan Student Center 10 p.m. - 1 a.m.

20s themed dance sponsored by SCC.

Organ Concert Basilica of the Sacred Heart 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Michael Emmerich, of the Notre Dame class of 2012 performs.

2019 Harper Cancer Research Institute Virtual Race Campus-wide.

All day Help fight cancer and raise money .

News

ndsmcobserver.com | thursday, january 24, 2019 | The Observer

3

ND study abroad accepts record number

By NICOLE SIMON News Writer

As the first week of second semester neared its end, sophomore students who applied to study abroad received their decision letters, ending an anxious two-month wait since the Nov. 1 application deadline.

Director of study abroad David Younger said the University admitted a record number of students this year.

“We accepted our highest number of applicants ever this year at 870 students. This is 60 more students than last year and just about 81 percent of applicants overall,” Younger said in an email.

“Ninety percent of accepted applicants were accepted into their first choice program and the remaining 10 percent were accepted into their second or third choice program, with only six students being accepted into their third choice program.”

Both the number of students who applied and the number of students who were accepted are higher than those in past years, but only slightly so. Of the class of 2021, a total of 1,076 students applied, resulting in an 80.9 percent overall acceptance rate. Both last year and the year before had 1,022 students apply with acceptance rates of 79.3 percent and 78.3 percent, respectively. This year’s applicant pool included 50 more students and had 1.5 percent higher acceptance rate.

Columbus Continued from page 1

hold them accountable,” he said. “In this situation, Notre Dame has decided to move away from its mission of really examining the painting and learning about

The class of 2021 represents the growth of study abroad in general, both in student interest and the programs themselves.

“In general, the increase in application numbers is a trend at [Notre Dame] in recent years,” Younger said. ”While there is no hard data to explain the increased interest, Younger said it could be attributed to the expansion of existing programs, the development of new programs, increased awareness of the Study Abroad Department and current political and economic climates both within the US and internationally. The class of 2021 is merely part of a growing shift in an increasingly globalized world. However, there are a few things that make the sophomore class stand out.“ First, while the number of students who applied this year did not significantly increase, the number of applications did.

There were only about 50 more students who applied compared to last year, but the department received 318 more applications.

This is because each student who applies can submit up to three different applications to different programs.

“The percentage increase in unique applicants (each individual student who submits an application) is a small percentage higher than last year. There is a difference between unique applicants and the high number of applications we received, however,” Younger said. “We received

more applications this year due to the high number of students who applied for three different programs.”

While roughly the same number of students were interested in study abroad generally speaking, the sophomore class applicant pool suggests that they are increased in a greater variety of programs. This interest could be explained by the Study Abroad Department’s recent attempts to better market themselves in response to students’ limited understanding about the department and its programs.

“All of the information we present at our information meetings is available on our website, but we also discovered that despite the volume of information on our website, students were not reading the website consistently or in very much depth,” Younger said. “Due to these challenges, we decided to revitalize our recruitment strategy and instead of conducting a Study Abroad Fair, as we have done the past several years, we decided to have a Study Abroad Week where we would highlight events all week long that drew attention to study abroad and other internationallyfocused events.”

Younger said the implementation of Study Abroad Week increased not only attendance to information sessions, but also the overall number of applicants and applications.

This year’s competition not

only came from the number of applications, but also the applicants themselves. The sophomore class constituted a particularly competitive applicant pool.

“In the ten years I’ve been at Notre Dame, this was among the most competitive years in terms of overall GPA across all applicants with an average GPA at 3.57,” Younger said.

Moreover, study abroad programs are inevitably competitive because of a limitation on resources, he said.

“The difficulty comes when a very large number of applicants apply in disproportionate numbers to programs that have strict capacity limits,” Younger said. “In some locations, we are unable to add seats to a classroom, or beds to a residence hall, without going over local fire code limits.”

Younger and the Study Abroad Department understands the popularity of their programs as well as the logistical limitations, but they are constantly working to keep up with the growing interest of their students.

“The predominant factor of the competitive nature of our programs is capacity. We are aware of how popular a few of our programs are and one of things that we often do is work with all of our partners abroad, and our Global Gateways in particular, is to figure out ways that we can increase program enrollment capacity,” Younger said. “This can take any number of forms, but

some examples include: developing creative scheduling solutions to allow for greater participation in required or popular classes, increasing the number of exchanged students with a particular partner, and requesting more dormitory space with our partners.”

The department’s effort to expand their programs is in accordance with their mission, he said, which is to enable as many students as they can to study abroad.

“The goal of Study Abroad is to get every student we can abroad,” Younger said. “Not every student will be able, or will want, to study abroad; but for those who can or want to study abroad, we will do our best to provide students interested in academic year and summer with high-quality programs that fit a variety of academic, cultural and personal needs.”

The growing nature of study abroad in general, the increased interest on behalf of students, Younger said, and the expansion of specific programs all contribute to study abroad becoming not only more popular, but also more competitive.

“I think the growing number of applications is positive and reflects well on Notre Dame students as shows [those] students as ones who will seize and capitalize on opportunities that are available to them,” he said.

Christopher Columbus and debating the idea behind it.

Instead they’re hiding it behind curtains.”

In choosing to cover the murals, the University has also turned its back on its Catholic roots, he said. “[Columbus] is the guy who basically introduced

Catholicism to the Americas,” he said. “It seems kind of hilarious that they’re removing the very person who made Notre Dame possible …

The icon of Catholic education backed down on its own values.”

YAF started a petition asking for the decision’s reversal

Tuesday morning. In a group meeting that evening, sophomore and chapter chairman Luke Jones said it had already reached about 300 signatures.

Saint Mary’s junior and YAF member Catherine Viz appeared on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” Tuesday evening to offer her thoughts

on the controversy.

Viz caught the attention of the network after publishing an article about the murals Monday on Campus Reform, a conservative college news website.

On the show, Viz said she felt the decision would obscure students’ understanding of Columbus as a historical figure.

“As an important part of learning where we need to go in the future, we need to acknowledge the evil things that may have happened, no matter how unfortunate,” she said during the broadcast.

“To have history, you need both sides — the good and the bad.”

While Viz believes the move was made with diversity and inclusion in mind, it would only serve to stif le progress in this area, she said.

“I don’t think that the solution is to literally cover something up,” she said. “For as many times as Fr. Jenkins speaks on having fruitful dialogue and having conversation that truly stimulates culture and diversity, this is blatantly something that is completely shutting that down.”

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Contact Nicole Simon at nsimon1@nd.edu

Contact Mary Steurer at msteure1@nd.edu and Lauren Bakke at lbakke@nd.edu

4

NEWS

The observer | thursday, january 24, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

President

Fannie Mae

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

would not seek a third term.

“I belong to a generation that is stepping forward right now,” Buttigieg said in the video. “We’re the generation that lived through school shootings, that served in the wars after 9/11 and we’re the generation that stands to be the first to make less than our parents unless we do something different. We can’t just polish off a system so broken. It is a season for boldness and a focus on the future.”

The announcement follows Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris’ decision to run for office Monday. Buttigieg, a lieutenant in the Navy Reserve and former Rhodes Scholar, is the ninth Democrat to enter the race so far.

During his time as South Bend’s mayor, Buttigieg has visited Notre Dame’s campus on multiple occasions, including to address the College Democrats and speak to classes about his work. Additionally, Buttigieg and the city of South Bend partnered with the University and the city of Elkhart to begin IDEA Week, an annual weeklong event that, according to the event’s press release, “celebrates innovation, entrepreneurs and the incubation of new ideas.”

If he wins the presidential race, Buttigieg would be the youngest elected president at the age of 38. He would also become the country’s first openly gay president.

Buttigieg’s bid for the presidency follows a failed run in 2017 for Democratic National Committee chairman. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that he plans to make visits to Iowa and New Hampshire in the coming weeks in preparation for the first primary caucuses in February of 2020.

‘92,” director of the Career Crossings Office Stacie Jeffirs said in an email. “Fannie Mae serves the people who house America. They are the leading source of financing for mortgage lenders, providing access to affordable mortgage financing in all markets at all times.

Their financing makes sustainable homeownership and workforce rental housing a reality for millions of Americans.”

What began as an opportunity to network with women leaders in the mortgage industry has evolved to include a “summer internship program with

Snite Continued from page 1

points of view to bring to the table and community of Notre Dame.

Gina Costa, marketing and public relations program manager for the Snite Museum, said “[Becherer’s] experience with contemporary sculpture and the remarkable collection he has acquired from international artists at the highest level brings new expertise and a new vision to lead us into the next decade as we look forward to the new Raclin Museum.”

Particularly exciting to Becherer is the prospect of working in a Catholic university, he said, as he was born and raised Catholic and describes a particular passion about religion in the arts.

“I have always been so deeply in awe at how significant the arts have been in the history of the Catholic Church,“ Becherer said. “ ... Through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and even today the visual arts have been significant to the Catholic experience. [Being at

the goal of Saint Mary’s interns receiving offers for full-time positions for after graduation,” Jeffirs said.

Keeping with Schultz’s goal of encouraging female representation in the capital markets industry, Wandor said students interacted with many women in leadership positions.

“We met a lot of executive women, which was really important to Renee, for us to see that there are a lot of women that are higher up at the company,” Wandor said. “We got to do a lot of that. It was really cool because I got to see what various people did in the company, especially with what I’ll be doing, too.”

As an economics and

Notre Dame] adds a dimension to my work in a museum context which I find deeply moving and full of potential. So much of every large museum collection has a connection to history and traditions. For me, it’s an extremely moving and meaningful opportunity.”

Having an art museum on campus is an important resource for all members of the community, Becherer said, and he encourages everyone to come and explore the museum.

“I think that the most important thing is to realize that this museum is open to everybody,” he said. “ ... It is a very critical and affirming resource that helps you to really understand how truly beautiful and special it is to have the arts as part of the human experience and I encourage everyone to pop in. You got ten minutes? Great. Got an afternoon? Come on in. It’s free.

Just come in and see just one thing and find out what it is ... appreciate that moment.“ Contact Mariana Ferre at mferre@nd.edu

engineering double major, Wandor said she found the externship to be enlightening and is looking forward to her summer internship with Fannie Mae’s economics team.

“It was something very different to anything I’ve ever done. I had so much information thrown at me at once, but I loved it,” she said. “The whole experience, every second was just something new and exciting.”

Hillman is a business administration major who will be interning with the company’s balance management unit this summer. She said the externship was not only a great way to make connections, but also a chance to learn more about

Heisler Continued from page 1

of athletics the University has grown tremendously and become much more of a business. When I started there were only a handful of programs that really had scholarships,” Heisler said. “Not that every one of our sports now is perfectly set up to be a national champion, but we’ve certainly come light-years in that direction over the course of decades.”

Heisler said his department, sports information and media relations, has also undergone massive changes in the past couple of decades with the advent of the internet, social media and the 24-hour news cycle.

“When I started in the late [1970s] there was no website, there were no cell phones. It’s come a long way,” Heisler said.

The changing nature of media relations over the past decades makes the job, almost by necessity, a learning experience.

“There’s way more outlets,

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Fannie Mae. “It was a good trip just to see more of the mission of Fannie Mae, too,” Hillman said. “Their mission is to provide affordable housing to America, and I think that’s a really commendable thing to do.”

Hillman said the externship was an inspiring experience that was relevant to the future in a financial institution she sees for herself.

“There are a lot of good role models at Fannie Mae,” she said. “It’s staggering how many women leaders they have on their executive team and stuff.

It’s something to work for.”

Contact Maria Leontaras at mleontaras01@saintmarys.edu

from a communications standpoint, than there used to be,” Heisler said. “Things aren’t going to be a secret, no matter what it is.”

While a lot of Heisler’s work has moved from taking place on manual typewriters to smartphones and laptops, he said one aspect of the job that never changed — the importance of the relationships you build with people you meet along the way.

“I’d say you miss the relationships, because in our business that’s what it’s all about.”

Heisler said. “Everybody who comes here has their own Notre Dame story of where they come from and how they got here.”

Though his own Notre Dame story may have come to an end, Heisler’s book is far from over. Although he is currently unsure the exact direction he is heading in, he is not looking to retire and instead plans to continue to work and hopefully remain in the field of athletics.

Contact Max Lander at mlander01@nd.edu

5

The observer | THURSDAY, january 24, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

By MIKE DONOVAN Associate Scene Editor

Sharon Van Etten, age 37, leaves the confessional free of pain. Once acetic (“Break my legs so I won’t walk to you / Cut my tongue so I can’t talk to you / Burn my skin so I can’t feel you / Stab my eyes so I can’t see”), the veteran songsmith abandons flagellation in favor of empowerment. Synthesizers supplant strings, signifying a singular forward direction.

Stubbornness subverts sad, signifying closure, confidence. “Remind Me Tomorrow,” Van Etten’s fifth LP, exemplifies poet Elizabeth Bishop’s sentiment: “The art of losing isn’t hard to master; / so many things seem filled with intent / to be lost that their loss isn’t a disaster.” Bishop and Etten render loss harmless for (as Bishop writes) “Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture / I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident / the art of losing’s not too hard to master / Though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.”

“Write it!” Bishop orders herself. Pin the heart’s coarse surface to language’s grindstone. Apply pressure until you can look upon the heart’s glossy surface and see an illuminate face beaming back at you.

Do this, and do it now.

“Remind Me Tomorrow,” Van Etten retorts. Maybe (she sings on “No One’s Easy to Love”) “the resistance to feeling something that you put down before” seemed plausible as time went on the march — a sign of maturity. But “Too much has changed,” since that period of alleged maturity and self-deception (“The art of losing isn’t hard to master”) won’t cut it. “I can’t

By PATRICK WITTEMAN Scene Writer

James Blake gained a reputation as a “sad boy” after the release of his previous album, “The Colour in Anything.” With a runtime exceeding an hour and fifteen minutes, his third project hinges on strippeddown, electronic tracks that are gloomy and characteristic of an artist going through personal struggle.

Although Blake pushed back on the “sad boy” label he was pigeonholed into, many came to associate Blake with the airy falsetto and electronic production found on tracks like “Love Me in Whatever Way” from “The Colour in Anything.” “Assume Form,” his latest LP, has been in the making for well over two years. The large span of time between “The Colour in Anything” and “Assume Form” was occupied by Blake’s work on projects like Beyonce’s “Lemonade” and the “Black Panther” soundtrack.

Work on other creative projects aside, Blake began dating British “The Good Place” actress Jameela Jamil during this two year gap. This newfound love in Blake’s life has had a tremendous impact on the way Blake approaches songwriting and production on “Assume Form.” For the most part, downtrodden and somber tracks are replaced by songs that exude warmth and love. A ray of sunshine seems to have penetrated the clouds that surrounded Blake on “The

let you walk in the night,” Van Etten admits, “leave the dawn / Acting as if all the pain in the world was my fault.” Synthesized heartbeats (producer John Congleton’s doing) underneath Van Etten’s frank terms pulsate in agreement. Age does not hold the heart to the grindstone, removing its blemishes. It repackages the heart in a new casing (lyrical, sonic) thicker and equally (if not more) distorted than the last.

When Van Etten recalls the “Downtown hotspot halfway up the street” where she “used to be free […] used to be seventeen” overtop adolescent wails (vacuum tube amplifiers, upon reaching a certain threshold, can no longer produce a clean guitar tone and must distort the signal in order to increase volume), her brief dalliance with reservation (a few icy la-la-las after the second chorus) shatters when she howls “I know what you’re gonna be” with such tenacity that one can’t help but fear for her diaphragm.

The same “Downtown Hotspot halfway through life” drags along extra baggage (“I used to feel free or was it just a dream?”) but it’s not passionless. If anything, the added dimensions amplify passions, push them beyond the semi-clean elegance of their 17-year-old form.

“Comeback kid / comeback kid,” we long to shout when an artist like Van Etten returns to the spotlight. “Come back, kid / Let me look at you.” “Don’t look back / Don’t look back,” we advise (obscuring our own fondness for the old stuff). We expect her to adopt a linear perception of time (the past is the past and irrelevant as far as the present and future are

concerned) without acknowledging unwanted memories — Proustian loops along the timeline. If time were linear, then we could run from the past, clothing ourselves the armor of constant motion: the recurring “let’s get out of this town” motif in adolescent art. But time isn’t linear. It spirals around us, depositing elements of our past as mental obstacles in the present and future. The faster we try to run away from these obstacles, the greater the injury when they finally do trip us up.

Van Etten ignores the urge to run, remaining stationary for the sake of her child (just over a year old). “Don’t wanna hurt you,” she sings to the infant.

“Don’t wanna run away from myself.” She punctuates her firm foothold with a statement of gratitude to her “One start, one, light […] meaning of life.” “You, you love me either way,” she declares. “You stay.”

Colour in Anything’s” cover art. On the track “Can’t Believe the Way We Love,” a Blake loops a soulful, doo-wop sample while he reminisces on his relationship with Jamil. He exclaims, “I could’ve used you in the early days / Well, it’s been such a long, long, long, long time.” Jameela Jamil has influenced his music in a positive way, a way that has removed Blake from a stylistic rut that was constricting his creative output.

The ballads that existed on Blake’s previous albums still exist, yet they exist in a completely different form.

On the moving track “Into the Red,” Blake croons, “She was the gold rush, she was the gold rush / She was the gold rush / She sold every hand in her pocket / And she sawed off every hand.” This is Blake’s songwriting at its best. His lyrics are relatable, his vocals are stunning, and his production is near-flawless. On “I’ll Come to You” Blake’s voice is light and airy as it drifts and floats over soulful samples and production. The song oozes with warmth and love, a display of Blake’s newfound romanticism that we as listeners can feel and relate too.

Although the highlights of this album are fantastic, “Assume Form” falls short in a few places. The title track seems like a hodge-podge of vocals and piano, featuring a high-pitched, looped vocal sample.

Another track that falls short is the Metro Boominproduced “Mile High,” which features Houston rapper Travis Scott. The vocals of Blake and Scott do not

mix well, and the production from Metro Boomin seems generic and uninspired. This is not characteristic of the other Metro Boomin-produced track “Tell Them,” which features a more exciting trap beat and a Moses Sumney feature that works well with Blake’s voice and performance style.

This album is a monumental success for Blake, both sonically and lyrically. He ventures into a new emotional realm unseen in his previous work, resulting in an LP that is both emotionally vulnerable and relatable — hopefully allowing a larger listener base to appreciate Blake’s now-romantic falsetto.

Contact Mike Donovan at mdonov10@nd.edu

“Remind Me Tomorrow” Sharon Van Etten Label: Jagjaguwar Tracks: “Seventeen” If you like: Angel Olson, Alvvays

Contact Patrick Witteman at pwittema@nd.edu

“Assume Form” James Blake Label: Polydor Records Tracks: “Into the Red,” “Tell Them,” “Barefoot in the Park,” “Can’t Believe the Way We Flow,” “I’ll Come Too” If you like: Sampha, Jamie xx, Flying Lotus, Moses Sumney

LINA DOMENELLA | The Observer

6

The observer | thursday, january 24, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Inside Column

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Super blood wolf moon Nora McGreevy Scene Editor

If you were standing on the surface of the moon late Sunday night during the lunar eclipse, this is what you would have seen: the dark shadow of the Earth obscuring the sun. The sun itself hidden from view, a few rogue rays of light shoot around the edges of the shadow creating an uneven, glowing semicircle. Those rays of light make up the sunrises and sunsets taking place on Earth at that precise moment.

Standing on the surface of the Earth late Sunday night, this is what I saw: the so-called “super blood wolf moon,” framed against a clear and sparkling sky. Eager to witness the spectacular show but wary of frostbite, I darted inside and outside every half hour as the moon rose higher. At first, the luminous object looked almost comical, like a large celestial snowball with a bite taken out of it. As totality edged nearer, it took on a reddish hue — the reflection of the sunrises and sunsets. Its light dimmed, revealing, if you squinted for them, the surrounding stars, which are often rendered invisible in the moon’s bright reflective light.

At a quarter past midnight, I stood on the asphalt outside of my apartment complex, my breath rising in clouds as the cold settled in my toes, looking up.

As I’ve moved through my week since the eclipse, the image of an orangey-red moon persists at the border of my subconscious. I see amber everywhere: sweaters, notebooks and Instagram posts. Images of the eclipse resurface in my social media feeds — one of the rare instances where I don’t mind the algorithm’s unnerving ability to pinpoint my interests. Residents of North America, South America, the northwest part of Africa and bits of Europe all witnessed parts of the lunar show, and it seems like everyone decided to take a picture. As I tap and scroll, I find photo after photo. Here is a series of orangey orbs traveling through the night sky in England, here it is in Chicago, here again high over Rio de Janeiro.

Lunar eclipses are fleeting, but in its digital footprint, the event outlives itself, and I relive it again and again.

It’s hard not to try to pin a meaning on the lunar event that ushered in the year. I prefer to think of it as a beckoning into a new and final semester. Many sunrises and sunsets glisten around the turn.

Contact Nora McGreevy at nmcgreev@nd.edu The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

On covering the Columbus murals Bozho. Zada Ballew ndezhnëkas.

Bodwéwadmi ndaw mina pëgėgneniyêk nedebéndag wes.

Hello. My name is Zada Ballew. I am a member of the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians.

I w rite this today to offer my sincerest thanks and support to Fr. Jenkins for deciding to cover the Columbus murals. I would also like to share two stories about what this decision means to me and to my communities.

Five years ago, I was a prospective student touring Notre Dame for the first time.

I am the first in my family to go to college, and Notre Dame has always been my dream school. On my mother’s side, my great grandmother spent the majorit y of her life cleaning dorms at Notre Dame. On my father’s side, nearly all of his family are enrolled members of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi. I am ver y much aware of the historic relationship between the Pokagon and Notre Dame, and I wanted nothing more than to attend the school on land that my people had once inhabited.

As I walked up the stairs of the golden dome for the first time w ith my parents, I was excited, ner vous and thrilled by the thought of potentially gaining admission to a school that has been such a pivotal part of my family’s shared histor y.

My hopeful and an x ious demeanor quick ly shifted as my parents and I walked to the office of admissions. Upon entering the main hallway, my father and I were immediately confronted w ith murals of Native peoples’ original conqueror: Christopher Columbus.

At his feet were unidentified Natives that were depicted in perfect health and had traveled to foreign lands. There was no mention of the names of these people (the now extinct, Arawaks), no hint at Columbus’s motivation for exploiting the land and its people, nor acknowledgment at the possibilit y of there being two sides to this supposedly straight-for ward histor y. A lthough I ultimately decided to continue my life-long goal of attending Notre Dame, I was certain that other American Indians would feel strongly

about this issue.

Fast for ward to the spring semester of my junior year. I had the priv ilege of meeting approx imately twent y eighth graders from the Blackfeet Nation (Brow ning, Mont.).

These students attend the De La Salle Blackfeet School, a member school of the American Indian Catholic Schools Network (a branch of ACE). Ever y year, the graduating eighth graders can choose to v isit any where in the United States for their class trip, and each year they decide to take a train to Notre Dame. For many of them, Notre Dame is also their dream school. W hen I met them, I saw that same excitement and thrill that I had had when I first toured Notre Dame.

During their v isit, I had the opportunit y to give them a tour of ND’s campus. Our first stop was, of course, the golden dome. The moment we stepped into the main hallway of the second f loor, the originally chatt y students fell silent. I knew that this would be quite a jarring experience for them.

After looking at each of the murals, I asked them to document their feelings toward the murals on paper. Some responses were as follows: “This is bad because people don’t know the true stor y if they don’t know the histor y behind [the murals].”

“Ashamed that this countr y celebrates a man who did mass genocide against Native people.”

“Sad and angr y.”

“I would tell [Fr. Jenkins] the other parts of the stor y and why the murals were up.

I would also say that there was a war and Columbus wanted gold.”

“The feeling of lost hope.”

On behalf of myself, and the countless other American Indians that have walked the halls of the main building, I thank you for your commitment to justice and your w illingness to stand up for those on the margins.

Miig wetch, Zada Ballew (Pokégnek Bodéwadmik) senior Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians Jan. 21

Join the conversation.

Submit a Letter to the Editor.

Email viewpoint@ndsmcobserver.com

The observer | thursday, january 24, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

7

A blue fish in a red sea Ellie Dombrowski A Fresh(man) Perspective

W here I am from, Republicans are like unicorns: my thical creatures that we may never see in our lifetime, but we believe to ex ist. Maybe this is because I was raised in New York, or maybe I just didn’t look hard enough. Either way, coming to Notre Dame opened my eyes.

These unicorns that I didn’t quite believe to exist were here right before me, and — let me tell you — there was an sea of them. I grew up surrounded by like-minded, bold, loud individuals w ith the same views as myself. I knew that there were older Americans, like my grandparents, that were Republicans. But, they always seemed like the minority to me, not the majority. This is when the mold started to break: I started to realize that not only were Republicans real, but they could ver y well represent the majority of my generation. The reality is that times change, and w ith it do votes. Some elections there w ill be an abundance of youths who are liberal; some elections there w ill not. For example, seniors (ages 65 and up) gave the “highest percentage of votes in 1992” to Bill Clinton rather than George H. W. Bush.

Now, they tell you that a lot is going to change freshman year. But in no way did I think that I would be going to school w ith a plethora of unicorns. This begs the question “are young adults today merely deviating from the liberal trend that we expect to see? Is this just a blip? ”

Data collected at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCL A) would suggests that it’s not.

UCL A has been meticulously polling incoming freshman for more than 50 years on their political views, and have hardly found that the youths of America are all liberals. During the Obama-McCain 2008 election, it was polled that “freshman in 35 years — 30.3 percent of men and 37.4 percent of women — described themselves as liberal or left. Combined, that matches the 33 percent of 18 to 29 year-olds who described themselves as liberals in 2012.” Therefore, we can conclude that the data collected from freshman of 2008 are representative of their future political stances. Contrarily, during the Obama-Romney 2012 election, the percentage of men and women decreased four and five percent respectively from the 2008 election. A lthough this is approx imately 10 percent higher than in the Reagan administration, this is still a dramatic decline for the Democratic Party.

Confronted with my ignorance, I had to come to the realization that individuals do not merely tend to grow more conser vative and less liberal with increasing age. So, was I wrong to assume that my generation is liberal? If age isn’t the driving factor, what is? Studies in 2016, conducted after one of the most contentious presidential elections in recent histor y, would suggest this is not just a blip in the system and we shouldn’t be shocked by it either. Youths are particularly malleable: Their tendencies for political parties often times depend on the public’s view of success that the previous presidential term had.

For example, former President George W. Bush is generally viewed as a failure compared to the Reagan administration, and thus more individuals rebelled from the Republican Party during and after his term. On the other hand, those that grew up during the Obama presidency tend to ref lect the democracy of the nation.

So, what does this say about Trump’s America?

The most recent UCL A data suggests that liberalism is on the rise again, and this could be to revolt against the Trump administration. It was reported that “the largest gender gap in selfreported liberalism to date (12.2 percent)” occured in the most recent election. In 2016, UCL A reported that 41.1 percent of women reported as liberal or far left, and only 28.9 percent of men.

This is the largest number of reportedly liberal women in the past 10 years.

Now I know more of what to expect from my freshman and my generation. But it is reassuring that I am not only the only liberal in my freshman class, but there are a lot more women like me than I thought. Just as Malala Yousafzai said,”I raise up my voice — not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard ... we cannot succeed when half of us are held back.”

Ellie Dombrowski is a freshman at Notre Dame majoring in Biochemistry. She is originally from New York and currently lives in Lewis Hall. She aspires to become a surgeon and to make a change in the world.

She can be reached at edombrow@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

A new challenge for a new year Alyssa Ngo Diversity Council

During the fall semester, I went to a dinner organized to discuss a recent campus issue. The event was called by peers and attended by fellow leaders — students clearly passionate about activism and eager to work toward solutions. During the conversation, the problem of transparency came up, a common complaint about our university. In response, I mentioned the numerous focus groups, office hours and presentations various departments had hosted lately, and I commented on the poor student attendance, prompting the following dialogue with another guest: “How were students supposed to know about these things? Were they advertised?”

“There was a campus-wide email sent out to the entire student body … ” “We get so many emails though; it’s impossible to check them all. They should have physical signs so students can see it.”

“I mean, there were also table tents at all the dining hall tables, right where most people eat everyday.”

“But it would be nice to have a big central location where people can see notices.”

“Like the huge banners in LaFun? Or the big screen in Duncan?”

Notre Dame is home to wonderful, talented students who have both the ability and desire to be a force for good. Most of the people I talk to have great goals of improving their communities or leaving an impact on their respective future fields.

Yet, it seems that despite these intentions, many of us fail to adequately seize the opportunities available to improve our current community, the Notre Dame campus. We complain to our friends and make suggestions about the way things should be, but when our opinion is solicited, we fall mysteriously silent. How many of us criticize the dining

halls, but didn’t take the time to show up to the focus groups hosted by the Department of Student Life in the fall? We fault the administration’s accessibility, yet when three of our vice presidents choose to spend their evenings hanging out in our library and student centers to talk about campus climate, few students choose to access them. Why is this? I am well aware that among the student body, there is an attitude of cynicism and distrust towards university leadership, and I am sympathetic. It is of course frustrating to work hard on a proposal, only to have it shut down, or to hear stories about student reports being hushed up, and I have had my own experiences with these issues. However, over the years, the attitude I have found most personally productive is one that is realistic, yet optimistic. I am realistic about the fact that there are many problematic things about campus, and these things will likely not change without student action. Simultaneously, I am optimistic that student action can, in fact, create real change, and furthermore, I am convinced any activism work cannot be meaningfully pursued unless one genuinely trusts in the other side’s ability to change.

If you have given up on Notre Dame as a lost cause, then I suppose you are exempt from working to improve campus. In response, however, I would point to amazing accomplishments by fellow students which show change can occur.

Sophomore Rachel Ingal, for example, worked tirelessly to get the recent trip to the Women’s March approved and organized, and on Sunday, NASAND scored a major victory in the protest against the Columbus murals, two things many doubted could ever happen on our campus. These successes were won through perseverance, dedication, and most of all, a commitment to taking action — a commitment I encourage all students on campus to make.

During Monday’s luncheon, I challenged the audience to ask themselves not whether they were

doing just something, but if they were doing everything they could to fight against racism. I have chosen diversity and racial equality as my battle, but I believe this is a valuable question to ask yourself about whatever principle you hold most dear to your heart. For this new semester, I ask all of us — myself included — to reaffirm our principles, and do everything we can to prove we really stand for what we say we stand for. If we expect to graduate and go make a difference in the ‘real world,’ we must start with our immediate campus, which, like it or not, is our real world right now.

At the luncheon, I was also asked what my recommendations for concrete action steps were, and admittedly, I failed to truly provide any. So, I will end with some here. Attend some lectures and educate yourself on a new topic. Approach your residence hall senator with a concern of yours, or, better yet, go to a Senate meeting in person. Email a student leader or member of the administration and ask to discuss an issue important to you.

These may seem like small steps, but in time, they will lead to bigger ones until suddenly, you will find you have somehow forged a path. And in this way, we can show we are not just talking the talk, but finally, walking the walk.

Alyssa Ngo is a senior double-majoring in the Program of Liberal Studies and English, currently serving as the chair of Diversity Council. For comments, complaints or conversation, she can be reached at ango@nd.edu The Diversity Council of Notre Dame advocates for awareness, understanding and acceptance on issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and other intersectional identities in the Notre Dame community. The viewpoints expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Diversity Council, but are the individual opinions of the author.

You can contact Diversity Council at diversnd@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

8

DAILY

The observer | thursday, january 24, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Crossword | Will Shortz

Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Slow down and stick to what’s most important to you. If you scatter your energy, you will end up running in circles. Look at your personal and professional relationships and consider who you have time for. Clear your slate of excess debris, and set your sights on what you want to accomplish. Your numbers are 4, 15, 23, 28, 30, 33, 45.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Personal gains look promising. Expand your interests and skills, but don’t buy in to someone else’s scheme. Spend time looking and being your best and concentrating on advancing your ideas and plans. Romantic spending should not be wasted on someone with ulterior motives.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t let your personal life disrupt your business affairs. Stick to what needs to be accomplished, and don’t stop until you’ve reached your goal. How you handle your responsibilities will make a difference in the way your colleagues and superiors view you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Use your knowledge and expertise to help bring about positive change. Refuse to let someone trying to use you for something throw you off guard. Choose your friends and your lover carefully. Emotional deception is evident.

CANCER ( June 21-July 22): Make some changes at home that will allow you to pursue a creative hobby or entertain more. Set a high standard, and live by your rules. Personal gains look promising if you lead instead of follow. Walk away from unpredictable people.

LEO ( July 23-Aug. 22): Be open to new beginnings or starting something unusual with someone you enjoy spending time with. A change will do you good and give you access to people and places that will stimulate you mentally. Love is in the stars.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Don’t waste time on someone or something that isn’t good for you. Avoid excessive situations and people who skirt issues or mislead you. The best changes you can make are the ones you take control of physically and financially.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Listen carefully and base your decisions on what you verify, not what someone tells you. Problems with an older relative will add to your responsibilities. Be kind, but don’t make unrealistic promises.

Romance will bring you closer to someone special.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Think before you respond. Someone is probably asking for too much or trying to push you in a direction that isn’t in your best interest. Let your instincts lead the way to avoid getting involved in someone’s trap.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t make too much noise or someone will complain. Moderation will be necessary if you want to avoid a stressful situation. Avoid indulgent individuals as well as playing mind games. Stick close to home and to those you trust.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Consider what you want and what you can afford before you sign up for something that could turn out to be a scam.

Abide by the rules and regulations when dealing with institutions and government agencies.

AQUARIUS ( Jan. 20-Feb. 18): It’s important not to reveal secrets if you want to keep things moving along smoothly. Sharing too much personal information will put you in an awkward position. Uncertainty and inconsistency will make it difficult to make a decision. Sit tight.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Emotional matters will escalate if you sit around and stew about what’s happened. Focus on giving back, doing something nice for someone or taking better care of your needs. Someone with greater life experience will offer a wise alternative.

Birthday Baby: You are engaging, thoughtful and original. You are intuitive and robust.

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Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek

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SPORTS

W Tennis

Sports Authority

NFL overtime needs improving Grant DelVecchio Sports Writer

This past Sunday’s pair of overtime thrillers in the NFL Conference Championship games brought huge ratings to both CBS and Fox, and for good reason.

In the AFC, the New England Patriots advanced to their third straight Super Bowl after defeating the Kansas Cit y Chiefs 37-31 in overtime. The Brady and Belichick legend continues, as the two all-time greats w ill now be play ing in their ninth Super Bowl as a QB/ head coach duo.

Representing the NFC in Super Bowl LIII w ill be the Los Angeles Rams, who prevailed over the New Orleans Saints 26-23, also in overtime.

CBS’ coverage of the AFC Championship was the most watched conference title game in five years, averaging 53.9 million v iewers, and Fox’s coverage of the earlier NFC title game saw an average of 44.08 million v iewers. Together, the average v iewership of 49 million v iewers is the highest it’s been in three years.

With millions of people watching two fantastic, high-intensit y, back-andforth football games unfold, the spotlight was even brighter than usual for the NFL executives and commissioner Roger Goodell, especially after a blow n call late in the NFC title game cost the Saints a trip to the Super Bowl.

Yet, the biggest issue with the NFL that was further illuminated on Sunday was the atrocity that is the NFL’s overtime rules.

W hile most people think that college football overtime rules are far superior to the NFL’s — a statement that I agree with — I also would argue that the college rules wouldn’t fit in the NFL. In college, both teams get a possession starting at their opponent’s 25-yard line and then either match what the team before them got or beat it. W hile this makes for an extremely exciting and entertaining overtime period, starting at the 25-yard line in the NFL isn’t the answer.

Currently, the NFL overtime rules largely favors whoever wins the coin toss, as all the team needs is a touchdown and the game is over.

On Sunday, the Chiefs lost

9

ndsmcobserver.com | thursday, january 24, 2019 | The Observer

in overtime without ever touching the football.

With this being said, change is definitely needed to the format. It just isn’t right that Patrick Mahomes, front runner for this year’s MV P award, didn’t even get to touch the ball in the overtime period. The question is how hard is it to make a simple rule change? And how cool would it have been to watch Mahomes tr y and piece together a touchdown drive to match Brady’s for the Chiefs?

The Chiefs lost five games this season, and in those five losses Mahomes and the Chiefs high-powered offense averaged 36.2 points per game, which almost seems unreal. W hile it’s true that the NFC Championship also went to overtime, and the L.A. Rams were able to pull out a win because they played some defense, this doesn’t detract from the fact that each offense should be able to have a possession in the overtime period. Maybe the Chiefs shouldn’t have allowed three third-and-10 conversions to lose, but then again maybe Mahomes shouldn’t have been watching it all unfold from the sideline.

Years back, the NFL took a step in the right direction when they made overtime fairer by eliminating the rule that the first team to score in general wins (so even a field goal wins it).

Now, they must finish the job and ensure that both teams get the chance to possess the ball in the extra frame.

It is one thing to keep the current OT format in the regular season to limit the length of games, but in the playoffs, when it’s win or go home, the current rules just don’t cut it.

It’s not Brady’s fault for being Brady, and once again proving that he is the best to ever do it, but it’s wildly unfortunate that Mahomes didn’t get his shot to prove that he’s next in line.

I’m not sure what the best format for NFL overtime is, or what would be the next best step moving forward, but I am sure that the current format isn’t working, and it would be difficult to argue that change isn’t needed, especially after Sunday.

Contact Grant DelVecchio at gdelvecc@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Continued from page 12

the energy she was giving off I think was something that was a nice catalyst for all of us.”

The Irish now look ahead to their next competition, a key ACC match against the Pittsburgh Panthers (0-1) in

Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Irish, who are looking to improve their ACC record from last season, hope that the success from their first two matches will help fuel another strong performance on the road.

“It’s the building of momentum and every day we’re looking to get that one percent

better, and we use practice, we use matches, we use our fitness. Everything we do there’s a purpose to it and its always an opportunity to get better,” Silverio said. “We want to keep going about our business in the right way with integrity and just relentless with our work ethic.

Wins are great and we can always learn from them.”

Michelle mehelas | The Observer

Irish freshman Zoe Taylor prepares to hit the during Notre Dame’s victory against Bowling Green on Wednesday at Eck Tennis Pavilion. The Irish swept Bowling Green, improving to 2-0.

nCAAm | Tennessee 88, vanderbilt 83

Top-ranked Tennessee rallies, tops Vanderbilt Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Grant Williams scored a careerhigh 43 points and finished off a three-point play with 31.6 seconds left in overtime to put top-ranked Tennessee ahead to stay, and the Volunteers avoided a repeat of their last trip to Memorial Gym freshly minted as the nation’s No. 1 team by holding off Vanderbilt 88-83 on Wednesday night.

Barely.

The Volunteers (17-1, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) won their 13th straight game and first since moving to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 on Monday for the second time in program history. They also have won five of the last six against their in-state rival.

The Commodores (9-9, 0-6) came in hoping to pull off their seventh upset of a No. 1 team in Memorial Gym, a list of wins that includes knocking off Tennessee on Feb. 26, 2008, a day after the Vols took over the

top-ranked spot. That squad was ranked in the Top 25, but these Commodores are off to the school’s worst start in SEC play and have only one senior.

Williams went a career-best 23 of 23 at the free throw line.

He scored Tennessee’s first 10 points in overtime, and his three-point play came after Saben Lee’s free throw gave Vandy its last lead at 82-81 with 41.5 seconds to go.

Jordan Bone added 14 for the Vols.

Tennessee trailed 76-70 before Williams rallied the Vols in the final 1:22 of regulation. He hit two free throws off a flagrant foul on Clevon Brown with 1:22 left. Williams then scored off an inbounds play to pull the Vols to 76-74, and Admiral Schofield hit a jumper with 38.1 seconds left to tie it at 76.

Williams blocked Lee’s layup, then Aaron Nesmith blocked Jordan Bowden’s layup try for the Vols. After a scramble for the ball, Williams came up with the steal and called timeout

with 3.3 seconds to go. Brown blocked Williams’ 3-point try, and the Vols couldn’t get another shot off.

The Commodores not only outrebounded Tennessee, coach Bryce Drew got an impressive shooting performance from his team. Nesmith hit back-to-back 3s to tie it at 55 with 11:16 left, and the Commodores took their first lead since late in the second half at 56-55 on a free throw by Lee midway through the half.

Nesmith hit another 3 with 6:06 left to put Vandy up 6461, and a 3 by Lee gave the Commodores their biggest lead of the game at 70-65 with 3:47 remaining to set up a thrilling finish.

Nesmith had a career-high 24 points, Lee added 21, Ryan 12 and Simisola Shittu 10.

The Vols missed a couple of chances in the final seconds before taking a 38-37 lead into halftime. They never led by more than six in the second half.

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Wanted Can you bring words to life?

Two alumni with 5 combined degrees from ND (i.e., 2 BAs, JD, MBA, and MSc) looking for 1 or 2 ND students of ANY major (including law school students or other graduate students) to help us writing up miscellaneous projects and ideas we’re contemplating. Must be able to take

notes well and pay will be $10/ hr (probably 4 hours per week).

We will interview in person, but the work can be done remotely.

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Life’s like a road that you travel on, when there’s one day here and the next day gone, sometimes you bend sometimes you stand and sometimes you turn your back to the wind. There’s a world outside every darkened door where the blues won’t haunt you anymore where the brave are free and lovers soar, come ride

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Sports

The observer | thursday, january 24, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

W Bball Continued from page 12

team in the country,” McGraw said. “They are really in need of a win and we have got to be incredibly focused because the game could easily go either way. When you’re not winning and then all of a sudden things start going your way, everything seems to work, so we’ve got to make sure that we come out and are on our defensive intensity immediately.”

Last year’s comeback against Tennessee game is widely regarded as the game that was a spark-plug for Notre Dame’s season, after the Irish (18-1, 6-0 ACC) dropped a 100-67 contest to Louisville two games prior.

It appeared that the Irish were poised to lose big again to the Volunteers, as they were down by 23 points, but fought back and came out on top for a 84-70 win.

“During the game, as we were coming back, they still were scoring and stuff, so it wasn’t a fast comeback. We still were frantic trying to come back,” Irish senior guard Marina Mabrey said. “But once we got it to like eight, I think I was like ‘we’re good. We just need to keep on working, keep on chipping away.’ I was just really happy that we came back and stuff, knowing that our team was still there and we still had that competitive fire.”

In terms of competitive fire, McGraw is expecting to see much of what her team put on display during that game at Purcell Pavilion last season come from Tennessee in Knoxville on Thursday, as this game poses a great opportunity for the Volunteers to turn the tides of their season.

Fencing Continued from page 12

national championship as a freshman last year. Despite the talent at hand, the Irish have still faced struggles.

Kvaratskhelia says that the greatest challenge his teams have faced this season have been “youth [and] inexperience merging with an experienced group,” and injuries that have plagued the team. The coaching staff is being challenged by their rivals in recruiting as much as in competition.

“Every year is a different game,” Kvaratskhelia said of recruiting. “You have to really work to entice the great athletes to come join us. So, it’s up and down but we’re adapting to the new realities of recruiting every year.”

In fact, the Irish’s recent success (back-to-back national championships), has put a target on their back, and their rivals have stepped up their game in turn.

“Everyone recruits against us now. It’s been challenging, more than it was the year

“I think any team is capable of having a big game. Everybody’s got a game in them where everything just goes your way,” she said. “We don’t have those as often as I would like, but you can see it happening. I mean, you saw it happen to us a couple times last year, but I think it can happen at any point.”

McGraw also noted the Volunteers have something to prove after giving up such a big lead to the eventual national champions a year ago.

“They probably didn’t feel as good as we did leaving the gym that day,” she said. “That was just such a huge boost for us and they can play off of that and say that did that to us, we can do it to them. So I think we’ve go to really be on guard.”

One of the most dangerous threats for the Volunteers this season is guard Evina Westbrook. The six-foot sophomore leads Tennessee in scoring, with 108 field goals made this season. She also leads the team in shooting percentage, both from the field and from behind the arc, shooting 45.8 percent and 40.7 percent, respectively. She is averaging 16.8 points per game and leads the team in assists.

“Evina Westbrook is their go-to player right now. She’s somebody we recruited. We really wanted her to come here.

She’s a sophomore, she’s their leading scorer, she can do a lot of things,” McGraw said. “She can shoot 3s, she can go to the basket, she can pass. She’s a really, really talented player.”

Beyond Westbrook, McGraw sees a very talented Tennessee team overall.

“They’re very athletic. They can get up and guard, they can rebound, they can do a lot of damage,” McGraw said. “All

ANNIE SMIErciak | The Observer

Irish junior guard Jackie Young dribbles the ball down the court during Notre Dame’s 89-71 loss to UConn on Dec. 2 at Purcell Pavilion. Young chipped in 18 points and seven assists in the effort.

the games they’ve lost have been by one or two points.

They were ranked 10th in the country not too long ago, and just have had a little bit of trouble, so that could change at any moment.”

Mabrey noted that although the Volunteers have had some trouble lately, she is confident the Volunteers will come out strong.

“They’re still a great team, whatever’s going on, whatever’s happened during those games,” she said. “It’s really doesn’t matter because it’s a rival, it’s a big game, they’re going to be ready to play. I expect to see a really good Tennessee team [Thursday].”

McGraw also addressed the

offer announced Tuesday for furloughed federal employees. Women’s basketball has teamed up with the Irish men’s basketball and hockey teams to provide free tickets and food vouchers to a number of upcoming games for federal employees affected by the partial government shutdown, now in Day 34 (as of Thursday), and their families. The deal will be honored should the shutdown end prior to the games for which the offer is valid.

“We wanted to do something. We needed to give back in some way. Our fans have been so great to us and I know that our fans would like to do something for them as well, so we’re excited that we’re able to

offer some free tickets. Feb. 3 is the first game for tickets. Four tickets, but really as many as they need for their family, we’re going to take care of them,” McGraw said. “We’re going to put them in a great spot, give them some food vouchers, just try to help them. This is all about people, not politics. We really need to help the people in our community. There’s so much more we can do, and I know that everybody in our community wants to do more, they just don’t know how.”

Notre Dame and Tennessee will tip off at Thompson-Boling Arena at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Contact Elizabeth Greason at egreason@nd.edu

before or two years before,” Kvaratskhelia said. “[The] usual customers, Penn State, Ohio State, Columbia [and] all the Ivy League Schools are a potential threat.”

Kvaratskhelia, however, has kept his approach consistent in the face of adversity.

“Sharpening up every day.

There’s no other mentality.

When we get to the final segment of [the season], the qualifying events and ACC [championships], I will try to kick it to the next gear, but as of now [just] getting better,” he said.

Notre Dame is hosting the DeCicco duals this weekend, and Kvaratskhelia knows that the Irish are in “the final stretch starting this weekend.” But no matter the circumstances, Kvaratskhelia strives for his club to be prepared and compete, and is especially focused on qualifying his team for the ACC and national championships in February and March.

“We still have to qualify, that’s the most important [thing],” Kvaratskhelia said.

RUNJIE PAN | The Observer

Contact Hayden Adams at hadams3@nd.edu

Irish junior epeeist Zachary Zeller duels an opponent at the Castellan Family Fencing Center on Feb. 4 in the Northwestern Duals. Zeller was 4-1 on the day, and finished the year with a 20-5 record.

sports

M Tennis Continued from page 12

great job. … There’s always first match jitters, nerves, and even though [we] have played a ton of tennis matches, you know, the first dual-match of the season, there’s always something a little bit different about it.

And so again, it was good to get it underneath our belt.”

Over the weekend, the Irish were led by senior Alex Lebedev and freshman Axel Nefve.

“You look at Alex Lebedev, you know, the dominating win he had at number-one singles,” Sachire said. “That guy last year, the Kentucky player, was a top-10 nationally ranked player and for, for [Lebedev] to, to beat him as badly as he did on that guy’s home court says a lot.”

Sachire anticipates that the senior will continue to play an enormous role as the season progresses and the Irish jump in to ACC competition. Nefve will be a similarly critical part of Notre Dame’s future success, especially after proving himself a level-headed competitor against the Wildcats last weekend.

“Axel was down 4-2 in the third set came back and won 7-6 in the third to clinch the match,” Satire said. “A lot of

ndsmcobserver.com | thursday, january 24, 2019 | The Observer

freshmen don’t respond as positively to that kind of moment as he did. And so that was obviously really cool to see him flourish in a big moment.”

Despite the team’s success against the Wildcats (3-1), the Irish have already shifted their focus to what lies ahead of them this week.

“We’re focused 100 percent on Vanderbilt … on playing the best match we can play on Vanderbilt and honestly we’re 100 percent focused, I hope, on having the best practice on Thursday that we can have, and then the best practice on Friday that we can have and then playing the best match on Saturday,” Sachire said. “Once you start getting ahead of yourself a little bit and get out of the day-to-day mindset, you know, you’re in trouble.”

Notre Dame certainly has a battle in front of them in Vanderbilt, another traditional SEC powerhouse who is 2-0 on the season. But the Irish have depth on their roster, something Sachire sees as a great advantage.

“I think you’ll see a little bit of variety in our lineup throughout the course of the year just because we have so many guys that have proven themselves to be really, really good dual match players in their history and so, you know, whatever

11

ANN CURTIS | The Observer

Irish senior Grayson Broadus returns the ball to an opponent during Notre Dame’s 6-1 loss to North Carolina on March 23 at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. Broadus lost 6-3, 6-2 to the Tar Heels.

lineup we feel that gives us the best chance to win on that day, we’re going to play,” Sachire said.

The Irish will have their work cut out for them regardless of which two of the three teams they end up playing this Paid Advertisement

weekend.

“I’m worried about everybody. I’m a normal coach,” Sachire said with a chuckle.

“It’s gonna be a dog fight. It’s going to be competitive and hopefully we can compete the same way we did in the big

moments like last Saturday.”

Notre Dame’s first match of the weekend against Vanderbilt will take place Saturday, with a scheduled start-time of 2 p.m.

Contact Ellen Geyer at egeyer1@nd.edu

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The observer | thursday, january 24, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

nd women’s basketball

fencing

No. 1 ND to host weekend tourney

By HAYDEN ADAMS Sports Writer

Notre Dame registered strong showings over the weekend as it participated in both the St. John’s Invitational in New York and the Philadelphia Invitational. Both the men’s and women’s teams produced a winning record at each event, with a combined 13-3 record over the whole weekend. Despite No.1 Notre Dame’s success, Irish head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia believes his team can improve.

“The results were satisfactory,” Kvaratskhelia said of the weekend. “But we’re looking at the level of preparation for the deeper the season. So, as we are right now, we are pretty happy with the level of technical and physical preparation. We need to get better tactically, and emotionally.”

The two-time ACC Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year said his team’s greatest struggle is the influx of youth after

Notre Dame hopes to defend last year’s big win

graduating some high caliber players.

“Theye’re different athletes.

We’re younger. We graduated a few really leadership-quality seniors and replaced them with freshmen,” Kvaratskhelia said.

“So, less experience, but the goals remain the same, [be the] best we can be for the end of the season.”

The Irish are not lacking in talent however, as there are still several strong upperclassmen that have contributed to the recent success, including junior and senior captains Ariel Simmons and Axel Kiefer, both All-Americans last season.

“Our senior class is very accomplished and experienced and learned from the previous generation,” Kvaratskhelia said.

“Our captains are up to par to lead the team to the next level.”

Along with Simmons and Kiefer, another returning AllAmerican is sophomore Nick Itkin, who won the men’s foil see FENCING PAGE 10

By ELIZABETH GREASON Assistant Managing Editor

annie smierciak | The Observer

Irish senior guard Marina Mabrey drives toward the basket during Notre Dame’s 89-71 loss to UConn on Dec. 2 at Purcell Pavilion.

see W BBALL PAGE 10

nd women’s tennis | ND 7, Bowling green 0

nd men’s tennis

Irish look to continue strong start at Oklahoma

Squad sweeps Bowling Green

By ELLEN GEYER

By DOMINIC GIBSON

Associate Sports Editor

Sports Writer

After opening its season last weekend with a 5-2 win at the University of Kentucky, Notre Dame will hit the road again this weekend to face two more non-conference foes.

In Norman, Okla, the Irish (1-0) will face the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday.

Notre Dame will then face either Drake or Oklahoma on Sunday, depending on which of those two teams posts the same result as the Irish Saturday. Saturday’s winners will compete for a perfect record on the weekend, while the losers will play in a consolation match.

Looking back to Notre Dame’s season-opening win, Irish head coach Ryan Sachire felt pleased with his team’s performance overall.

“That’s a tough opening match of the year,” Sachire said. “That was our first match and, you know, our guys did a

Notre Dame improved its undefeated record on Wednesday after a dominating performance over Bowling Green. The Irish — coming off of a sweep against Western Michigan — looked to come out fast and strong again Wednesday evening and did so in convincing fashion, beating the Falcons (12) 7-0.

The Irish (2-0) earned the doubles point quickly thanks to the efforts of their No. 2 and No. 3 courts. The No. 2 doubles pairing of senior Rachel Chong and sophomore Ally Bojczuk made quick work of their Falcon opponents, winning 6-0. The No. 3 pairing of junior Zoe Spence and freshman Zoe Taylor helped the Irish secure the doubles point, winning their match 6-2.

Head coach Alison Silverio was generally pleased with her team’s quick response to open the season.

“We came out, we were ready, we had a sense of urgency, and

see M TENNIS PAGE 11

The Irish head south on Thursday to defend one of the most important victories of their national championship season: a come-from-behind win over Tennessee on Jan. 18, 2018 after being down by as many as 23 points.

The Volunteers (12-6, 1-5 SEC) dropped out of the top25 this week after losing their fifth-straight game. However, four of those losses have come by four points or fewer. Because of this, Irish head coach Muffet McGraw said the Volunteers are no less of a threat than they are year-in and year-out.

“I think last year when we looked at our Tennessee game, that’s the game that turned our season around, and I think they’re probably feeling the same way right now. For them, what better way to come out of a slump than to beat the No. 1

ANN CURtis | The Observer

Irish senior Alex Lebedev hits the ball during Notre Dame’s 6-1 defeat to North Carolina on March 23 at Eck Tennis Pavilion.

that was one thing we’ve been talking about since we’ve been back this spring and just going out there and controlling what we can control, and energy is one of those factors,” Silverio said. “We wanted to bring out the fighting spirit and have that positive energy.”

The Irish continued their momentum from the doubles matchups into their singles play, sweeping all six singles contests they played without dropping a set. The most dominating performances came from Bojczuk and Taylor, both winning their matches with a 6-1, 6-2 score line.

Silverio noted the extra work put in by Bojczuk that helped contribute to her strong performance following an impressive rookie season.

“She’s someone that’s been coming out consistently for extra work and taking care of those little details can make a big difference,” Silverio said of Bojczuk. “Her just being able to execute her game plan and see W TENNIS PAGE 9