Print Edition of The Observer for Thursday, February 28, 2019

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Volume 53, Issue 94 | thursday, february 28, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Mental health program enacted Experts Notre Dame embarks on a new relationship with Therapist Assisted Online analyze summit

By MARIAH RUSH News Writer

Psycholog y Today reports that in a 2013 survey of college students, 57 percent of women and 40 percent of men experienced bouts of “overwhelming anxiety,” and 33 percent of women and 27 percent of men reported feeling depressed to the point of difficultly functioning in that past year.

Notre Dame is devoting resources to try to help students through this mentalhealth crisis, and its latest attempt to aid students is through a partnership with Therapist Assisted Online (TAO) that is free to students.

Although the University Counseling Center (UCC) offers a variety of counseling resources, the founder of TAO, Dr. Sherry Benton, recognized a gap in the resources available at universities in the United States.

“I was the director of a large counseling center at a large university [University of Florida] and we could never keep up with demands,” Benton said. “We tried everything — we had groups, we had workshops, we had self-help materials. Still, we could never keep up with demand. As a matter of fact, one year we got four new positions, but it only gave us two more weeks without a

waitlist.”

Benton said the biggest concern with this situation was that not being able to assist students in a timely manner would begin impacting their abilities to be students.

“If you make somebody wait five weeks to start treatment for depression, they are going to lose their whole semester. That’s not OK,” she said. “Because of the waitlist situation, we were inadvertently in a position of deciding who was going to f lourish and who was going to fail based entirely on the date that they sought help.”

Benton said she looked for programs she could buy

College promotes new director of campus safety

By MARY MANSFIELD News Writer

Saint Mary’s named Robert Post the new director of campus safety Feb 19.

With over 26 years of experience in law enforcement, Post has spent the last two years as an on-call officer at Saint Mary’s, which facilitated the transition to his new position, he said.

“I like to think that I mapped out my success by laying down the grounds,” Post said. “W hen I come on duty, I don’t just drive around in a car. I’m out and I’m on foot, talking with everybody and asking if there are any needs, any concerns. It’s just the way I do things. And I think that helped me. My colleagues know that I not only have

News Writer

Emorja Roberson, a Notre Dame graduate student in the Sacred Music department, immediately set the mood for the Black Ecumenical Prayer Ser v ice on Wednesday afternoon by leading students, facult y and members of the Notre Dame communit y gathered

NEWS PAGE 3

in song at Geddes Hall.

Eliciting laughs from the congregation, Roberson said those gathered should enjoy and partake in the ser v ice.

“We’re going to do a ver y simple song. One that’s ver y popular in the black communit y, and it says ‘Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around.’ … I want you to like church, so don’t feel

SCENE PAGE 5

On the same day President Donald Trump met with North Korean leadership and Kim Jong-Un at a summit in Vietnam, Sean King, an East Asia expert, and George Lopez, Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., professor emeritus of peace studies, held an open discussion on the subject of U.S. and North Korea relations at the Hesburgh

see PSYCH PAGE 4

see SUMMIT PAGE 4

By HOLDEN PERRELLI News Writer

Community meets on climate change

the work ethic, but I have the sincerity in that I really want to help people.”

In addition to overseeing the general security of campus, Post said he has a clear agenda of what he hopes to implement as director.

“I want to move the department further up in both professionalism, image and see SAFETY PAGE 4

ND family assembles for prayer service on race

By ERIN SWOPE

for her university, but could not find anything at another university in the country that she believed would work. So, she started looking at programs in Europe, and saw they were pairing online educational materials with brief 15- to 20-minute therapy sessions.

“I couldn’t find a system I could just borrow or buy, so we decided we would make one at my university,” she said. “We created a prototype anxiety treatment, and when we offered it to students, one of the things that happened was the students that did the online system with

bad if you want to clap.”

After singing, the Rev. Canon Hugh R. Page Jr. — a professor of theolog y and Africana studies and the v ice president, associate provost and dean of the First Year of Studies — welcomed those gathered. Page said Notre Dame plays an important role in see PRAYER PAGE 3

VIEWPOINT PAGE 6

MARIA PAUL RANGEL | The Observer

Council members Jo Broden and John Voorde address attendees of a meeting on climate change at the Council-City Building Wednesday.

By MARIA PAUL RANGEL News Writer

University students, seventh-graders, bikers, professors, mothers and restaurant owners, different people with wildly different life stories, came together as a community in order to tackle a single issue that affected them all: climate change.

Hockey PAGE 12

Enthusiasm filled the room as members of the South Bend community met at the Council-City Building on Wednesday evening with the South Bend Common Council in order to reconvene the conversation about climate change that began last week. In this particular see CLIMATE PAGE 4

ND Baseball PAGE 12

2

TODAY

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ANN CURTIS | The Observer

The Saint Mary’s Cushwa-Leighton Library displays photos of African-American Academy Award winners and books highlighting African-American contributions to cinema for Black History Month. The library has a series of monthly displays.

The next Five days:

Want your event included here?

Email news@ndsmcobserver.com

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Lecture: “On Suicidal Murder” Hesburgh Center C103 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Lecture by Nermeen Shaikh.

Lecture: “Ten Years Hence” Jordan Auditorium, Mendoza College of Business 10:40 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.

Performance: “Comala” LaBar Performance Hall 7 p.m. - 8 p.m.

By the Zohn Collective.

Senior Percussion Recital, Andrew Skiff LaBar Recital Hall 4 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Free and open to the public.

Lecture: Integral Ecology and the Promise of Green Thomism Andrews Auditorium 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Concert of Sacred Music: National Lutheran Choir Basilica of the Sacred Heart 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Musical: “Stupid Humans” Philbin Studio Theatre, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

“Sketch Me If You Can” Washington Hall 7 p.m.

Presented by the Humor Artists.

Senior Piano Recital, Noah Holmes LaBar Recital Hall 7 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Various pieces will be performed.

“The White Card” Hesburgh Center Auditorium 7 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Dramatic play reading

by Claudia Rankine.

News

ndsmcobserver.com | thursday, february 28, 2019 | The Observer

3

Night Market celebrates Asian culture at ND

By SERENA ZACHARIAS News Writer

While spreads of authentic bubble tea, butter mochi, dumplings, turon, samosas and taiyak are normally anomalous to find at Notre Dame, a number of cultural clubs on campus will be cooking these delicacies up for a night of delicious food, vibrant performances and traditional games.

The Notre Dame Taiwanese Student Association along with Multicultural Student Programs and Services and the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies will cosponsor the event, transforming the Dahnke Ballroom in Duncan Student Center to imitate the bright and bustling street markets of Taiwan for the Notre Dame

Night Market.

While the event initially began four years ago as a collaboration between the Taiwanese Student Association (TSA) and the Japan Club, the Night Market has grown to include more than 10 clubs and organizations beyond the AsianAmerican community.

“We actually have four new clubs joining us this year: Hawaii Club, Hong Kong Student Association, South Asian Student Association (SASA) and Chinese Culture Society (CCS),” senior Isabel Chan, co-president of TSA, said. “It’s just gotten bigger and better every year.”

Each club will have its own booth to serve authentic food, and some of the clubs will set up traditional games for the regions they represent. The Night

Market will also feature performances by Ballet Folklorico, Azul y Oro, Chinese Culture Society and Project Fresh.

Senior Jonny Xu, co-president of TSA, said the Night Market brings the University’s cultural clubs together to celebrate their differences.

“This is one of the only events where you can go and see all of the diversity and the different cultures represented at Notre Dame,” he said.

Students will receive two free tickets at the door that can be used to redeem food and play games at the 11 booths.

Additional tickets will cost $5 for five tickets and $8 for 10 tickets. The games also give students chances to earn raffle tickets to win various prizes including an Amazon Echo, Asian

food baskets and more.

The Night Market drew around 300 people last year, said Chris Moy, junior and vice president of TSA, and they are hoping for an even bigger turnout this year because of the addition of a few organizations not present in past years.

Chan said TSA allocates funds to the different clubs that participate in the event to spend on the food and games they will present at the Night Market.

“Inviting clubs to the Night Market and giving them funding allows them to showcase their culture, and it gives them a platform to share their club with the rest of the community, which may otherwise be difficult for smaller clubs that don’t usually have the opportunity or money to do so,” she said.

Moy also discussed how the Night Market benefits the clubs involved.

“The Night Market empowers other cultural clubs to go out and do events and connect with the people that they meet through our event,” Moy said.

Open to all members of the Notre Dame community, Chan and Moy said they encourage anyone who is interested to attend.

“At the end of the day, our culture is not something we should hide or make exclusive,” Chan said. “It’s something that we should share with the entire Notre Dame student body and try to be as inclusive [with] it as possible.”

Contact Serena Zacharias at szachari@nd.edu

Saint Mary’s students advocate for women’s home

By EMMA AULT News Writer

For 25 years, St. Margaret’s House has served South Bend as a day center where women in the community can come and seek shelter and support. For 20 of those years, the house has held its annual Winter Walk, which leads participants through downtown South Bend to raise money for and awareness about its cause, Rebekah DeLine, director of the Office for Civic and Social Engagement, said in an email to the Saint Mary’s community.

Prayer Continued from page 1

ecumenism.

“The Notre Dame community features prominently in the ecumenical movement for a number of reasons,” he said. “Our own theology department played home to many of the activities that were associated with liturgical reform.

This was also … a place where my own denomination, the Episcopal Church, held a very important special session of its general convention to talk about addressing issues with race and inequity in our own denomination.”

The noon prayer service, sponsored by the Black Faculty and Staff Association, was held in the African-American tradition with music and prayers inspired by the African-American religious experience. The theme of the service was “Stony the Road We Trod: Gathering Strength to Serve Black Students.”

Following Page’s address, Roberson, accompanied by J.J. Wright, the Notre Dame Folk Choir director, led those gathered in singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” This hymn is also referred to as the “Black National Anthem,”

Students at Saint Mary’s were able to get involved in the Feb. 17 walk — St. Margaret’s largest event of the year — with the help of the Office for Civic and Social Engagement (OCSE) and Campus Ministry. Belles and other participants assembled at 2 p.m. and began their walk at 2:30 p.m. at the County City Building through South Bend’s downtown.

The OCSE promotes engagement with the South Bend community as an important aspect of students’ time at Saint Mary’s. Now having some perspective on the event, DeLine said she was pleased with the

Winter Walk’s turnout.

“The St. Margaret’s House Winter Walk was two Sundays ago (Feb. 17), and I’m happy to say that we had great participation,” she said in an email interview.

In gratitude for their efforts, DeLine said students who participated in the walk will be publicly recognized in the Student Center.

“Each person that either joins our team or makes an online donation will be recognized by having their name written on a Converse Shoe [that] will be placed by our poster in the Student Center,” she said.

Circle K, a student group which was among those that participated in the Winter Walk, held a brief informational meeting in Warner Conference Room on Wednesday. Circle K, which is distinct from OCSE and Campus Ministry, is affiliated with the local South Bend Kiwanis, an international nonprofit organization that does work to benefit children and their communities.

Circle K is focused on “developing college and university students into responsible citizens and leaders with a lifelong commitment to serving the children of the world,”

according to the group’s mission statement.

Following the success of the St. Margaret’s Winter Walk, Circle K is now hosting a “MissA-Meal” event Thursday. DeLine said the event gives Saint Mary’s students the opportunity to donate a meal swipe and send the forgone money to St. Margaret’s House.

“If students chose to ‘MissA-Meal,’ the money they would have spent on their meal will be donated to St. Margaret’s House,” she said.

as it became the official anthem of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in the 1920s.

After a reading from Deuteronomy by senior Selwin Wainaina, Minister Karrah Herring — director of public affairs for Office of Public Affairs — delivered a short sermon, beginning by welcoming the congregation.

“In the black church experience … when the speaker gets up — and if you are so moved by the spirit — it’s alright to shout an ‘amen’ or a ‘hallelujah,’” Herring said. “Can I get a witness to that?”

After the congregation shouted a collective “amen,” Herring said it “might be the only amen I get for the next five minutes, but I will take that.”

In her sermon, Herring drew parallels between the wilderness experience of the Israelites on their 11-day-turned-40-year journey to the promised land in Deuteronomy and the Africana community and the black experience in North American culture.

Discussing why the Israelites’ journey was so delayed, she said this can be partially attributed to the disobedience and complaining among the group as well as

other powers and enemies inflicting oppression and injustice on the Israelites.

“I would argue that had they stopped for a few moments just to recognize the error of their own ways — regardless of what the culture was doing to them, regardless of what was happening during that time frame — had they stopped for a few moments to recognize that their murmuring, their complaining, their walking in circles wasn’t getting them to the next step that they needed to get to, I think they would have realized that they were on the brink of something great,” Herring said.

“They were on the brink of the blessing of the promised land that was right in front of them within their grasp, and they didn’t see it because their minds were clouded with the issues and the challenges that were in front of them.”

Herring then compared the oppression the Israelites faced to the oppression and lack of economic opportunities African Americans face in the United States. She gave statistics on the wealth gap in the United States, which says that on average, African-American family wealth sits at around $17,600 while white family wealth sits at around $171,000. Herring said

such statistics make it easy to fall into the pattern of the murmuring and complaining of the Israelites.

“When you look around you and you realize that on your professional journey, yourself and the people that look like you are often hitting a glass ceiling at a certain point — and when you look through that invisible barrier above you, you’re not looking at faces that have relatable characteristics looking back down at you — it could be very easy to lose faith, to lose hope and to lose direction,” Herring said.

Herring said the Black Faculty and Staff Association and their allies are challenged to avoid falling into that negative cycle, and instead to support the next generation in fulfilling their destinies.

“And just like God was with the children of Israel and God was with our ancestors, God is with us, covering us, guiding us, directing us so that we can move beyond our wilderness experiences and lead this next generation of leaders, students — many of whom are in the room today — into the destinies that God has called them to fulfill beyond the Golden Dome,” Herring said. “When we move out of that victim-minded state of self-pity, when we move out of

the murmuring and complaining … and realize that the promised land is just on the other side of the challenges that are in front of you, I believe that we are on the brink of something great here at the University of Notre Dame.”

After Herring’s sermon, Roberson and Wainaina led the congregation in singing “Made a Way,” which was followed by a litany for Black History Month.

Page concluded the service with a prayer asking for the power to see and the courage to do what is necessary. Before leaving the chapel for lunch in Geddes Coffeehouse, the congregation exchanged the sign of peace in the form of hugs and handshakes.

“I challenge all of us to keep in mind that though we honor the past and look to our ancestors and look to those who come before for us for guidance and wisdom, this is a new day,” Herring said in the concluding remarks of her sermon. “It is time to step into a new movement, to lead and guide the students of this University who need us to be strong so that we can all move together over it and into the promised land.”

Contact Emma Ault at eault01@saintmarys.edu

Contact Erin Swope at eswope2@nd.edu

4

NEWS

The observer | thursday, february 28, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Safety Continued from page 1

appearance through [additional] training to give my officers the tools they need to do their job,” he said. “I’m working on getting them EMT [emergency medical responder] certifications, because anytime you can save seconds by helping out somebody that’s injured it helps.”

Post said he hopes to build a stronger relationship with students by understanding their concerns and ideas for development.

“I’m working to get to where I can have monthly meetings with all the residence advisors,” he said. “They can give me their concerns and ideas, and I can share new ideas which are put forth. They can then pass that down to the leaders in their dorms.”

Utilizing the Saint Mary’s automated text message system, Post will also send weekly safety tips and establish meetings to promote life skills, he said.

“We’ll show you how to change a tire, how to jumpstart a vehicle, because a lot of girls don’t know how to do that,” Post said. “It also puts us in a teaching and mentoring

Psych Continued from page 1

brief sessions with a therapist did better than the ones who did weekly, face-to-face, 50-minute psychotherapy, and at that point we realized it was a great thing. … Then we added more and more materials, we licensed it to more and more universities and then we started licensing to more types of places.”

TAO is currently available at about 130 universities around the nation, which is not including the other companies and businesses that also have access to the self-help tool.

Although it was originally intended to be a supplement to counseling, Benton said students can also access it as a form of self-help without going into therapy or the counseling center, as a way to cope with anxiety, depression or a wide variety of other issues.

“TAO has about 400 [videos] and a couple hundred interactive exercises addressing a whole variety of common issues for adults, but particularly, it started with college

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role.”

But Post also said he is eager to learn from the students.

“The idea about using the text system was a student’s idea. It’s an excellent idea,” he said. “Working as a part-time, on-call officer I didn’t know they had this tool, but it’s an excellent resource to get information to everyone at one time.”

Alongside his plans to advance the security office, Post said he is aware of the challenges he faces and the weight of his responsibilities as director, but he knows that he has what it takes to be successful.

“It’s like moving to any other job. I’ve got a lot to learn,” he said. “But I get to take everything that I know — all my certifications, training, experience and knowledge — and put that into this job to make it a success, to make this job even better and to pass [my knowledge] on to my sergeants and officers. The big thing is being organized and communication. I believe in pure transparency in everything that I do so everybody knows what’s going on, because everybody is part of the campus.”

Contact Mary Mansfield at mmansfield01@saintmarys.edu

students,” she said. “It is intended to be not a replacement for therapy, but good tools for people who want self-help, and a good adjunct for people who are in some kind of counseling.”

Students can go to the UCC website to find guidance on how to begin TAO. Students first can set up an account, and then pick which topic and corresponding enrollment key they need. There are topics from “Leave Your Blues Behind” to “Interpersonal Relationships and Communication” to “Anger Management.”

Although Benton and the UCC encourage students to reach out to qualified professionals if they need it, TAO can still be an available resource for those who are busy and just want a little extra help.

According to the UCC website’s page on TAO, the program aims to “help you learn about struggles common to college students and to develop helpful strategies for navigating these challenges.”

Contact Mariah Rush at mrush@nd.edu

Summit Continued from page 1

Center for International Studies.

Patrick Deegan, director of undergraduate studies for the Liu Institute for Asia & Asian Studies, facilitated the talk, which was also available via live stream.

The talk began with opening remarks from King and Lopez on their thoughts about the Hanoi summit, the second public meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-Un after the two world leaders met for a summit in Singapore in June of 2018.

“I think he wants to be the president who can say he ended the Korean War,” King said.

King and Lopez fielded questions from those in attendance revolving around the history of the Korean War, North Korea’s efforts with nuclear weapons, fact-checking the president and their outlook on both summits.

“By leaving [the Trans-Pacific Partnership], Trump weakened U.S. influence in Asia at the expense of strengthening mainland China,” Lopez said.

King echoed Lopez’s sentiments, noting that leaving the partnership might make U.S. allies nervous and embolden North Korea.

“Suspending military

Climate Continued from page 1

meeting, however, the discussion centered not on the effects of climate change that were examined in the past week, but on the strategy that the city would implement as a result.

Council member Jo Broden opened the meeting by recognizing the strong presence of the younger generations, as children, adolescents and young adults represented the majority of the attendants.

Gleefully, the youth and older community members gave a round of applause as they proudly donned their bright green “Climate Champions” stickers.

Broden said the meeting would consist on three parts: one where South Bend’s current actions would be explained, another where selected communities’ strategies would be displayed and one where the future actions to be taken in the city would be discussed.

Therese Dorau, director of the South Bend Office of Sustainability, said South Bend has already taken several efforts to become more sustainable, including the purchasing of hybrid and electric vehicles, the implementation of recycling programs, the education of city employees on sustainability, the Green Corps program and the push towards alternative forms of transportation.

“We have taken the first two of the four steps of the commitment. So our next step is to set

exercises in South Korea for eight months, it makes people question the U.S. and its alliances in Asia,” he said. “Kim Jong-Un can taste that.”

When asked about the potential consequences of President Trump pulling American Troops from South Korea, King said “it would open the door for China to expand.”

Talking points on the U.S. and North Korean relations revolved around President Trump and his dealings with North Korean leadership.

King said he categorizes his outlook as “openly pessimistic,” after telling Bloomberg in April that he was “cautiously pessimistic.”

Lopez said Trump’s shortcomings in appointing strong ambassadors may have played a role in the current administration’s struggles in international relations. “[It’s a] lax attitude with appointing ambassadors to major allies,” he said. “[We’re] weak in that regard.”

While most of the discussion revolved around relations between the U.S. and North Korea, the event also touched upon the geopolitical context of East Asia.

King said he had little confidence in Trump’s ability to hold out against mounting economic

pressure from China.

“Trump will choke on the trade battle with mainland China,” he said.

King and Lopez attempted to clarify the goal of this most recent meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-Un. Lopez said the summit ultimately has shallow aims.

“It’s been made aware a number of issues were not on the table for discussion,” Lopez said.

“This is not a negotiation, not a summit in the traditional sense.

It’s a photo opportunity. There was simply not enough done by advance teams to anticipate nuclear or military resolutions.”

King said the Trump administration may broach the topics of a peace declaration and relief from targeted sanctions against North Korea, but he does not believe it is currently possible to achieve true peace on the Korean Peninsula.

“The conditions for peace do not exist,” King said.

Instead, King said an agreement of mutual non-aggression is more likely. Still, King said efforts for any sort of peace-related treaty may end up being “a slippery slope” and a “North Korean trap.”

our emissions target and make a plan to reach our reduction rate,” Dorau said.

The University of Notre Dame’s Office of Sustainability’s senior program director Allison Mihalich proceeded to showcase the strategy the institution had taken to combat climate change.

Mihalich said Notre Dame’s strategy was founded on a Catholic mission pressed by Pope Francis that consisted on small groups focused on seven important areas: energy, water, construction, waste, food sourcing, education and communication. Through extensive research and cooperation with faculty, students, experts, the Utilities Department and Student Council, Notre Dame was well on its way of achieving its long-term goal of reducing carbon emissions by 83 percent from its 2005 baseline, presently managing to achieve a reduction of 67 percent from the 2005 baseline.

Dorau said two approaches towards climate change can be taken: one of mitigation, or preventing the issue, and another one of adaptation, or managing the effects. She said the most critical aspect moving forward is learning from other communities, an aspect whose importance she emphasized in order to reach a costeffective solution tailored to South Bend’s conditions, capabilities and circumstances.

Afterwards, the floor was opened for attendants to share their comments with the council, an opportunity that students, businessmen and group leaders seized in order to voice

their worries and to even propose a few actions the city should consider.

From placing composting bins along the city and planting trees to building greater infrastructure for biking and improving the South Bend Transpo system, several ideas were suggested at the meeting that demonstrated community members have for the environment. In the discussions, eminent importance was given to the role of education in tackling climate change.

“If ignorance is bliss, then wknowledge is responsibility,” Theri Niemier, principal of Good Shepherd Montessori, said in reference to the need of education when solving environmental problems.

Though the issue discussed was certainly harrowing, the meeting concluded on a positive note. Broden and council members Jake Teshka and John Voorde said they are committed to making serious change for good.

“I am part of that generation that messed things up, and it’s incumbent on me to take responsibility for turning things around,“ Voorde said.

“It wasn’t too long ago that I needed to be convinced that climate change was a problem as opposed to maybe a natural cycle of the climate … I think that everything we do has to be looked upon how does it affect the climate and the environment and what we can do now to incrementally do positive things.”

Contact Holden Perrelli at hperrell@nd.edu

Contact Maria Paul Rangel at mpaulran@nd.edu

5

The observer | thursday, february 28, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

By DANNY LIGGIO Scene Writer

Lil Pump makes music to blast on phone speakers.

His loud, rhythmic rapping, along with his fragmented beats are made to be played on iPhone speakers at maximum volume. And the kids who would play Pump out of their phones are exactly who Lil Pump thrives with; this 18-year-old who has become too rich and famous for his own good is a Gen-Z icon.

The title of his debut album “Harverd Dropout” started as a meme — Lil Pump was said to have dropped out of Harvard to save the rap game. This joke, meant to poke fun at Lil Pump’s repetitive lyrics and status as a dyslexic high school dropout, was quickly picked up by the rapper, who is ever the social media wizard.

Throughout the album, Lil Pump owns every aspect of his life he could be ridiculed for: “Ever since I started sippin’ lean, I lost my six pack.” Just as he sports his chubbiness, he is no-nonsense about his struggles with drug dependency: “Real drug addict, what up?” However, these issues are simply parts of Lil Pump’s life, rather than anything he would want to change.

As an artist and a character, Lil Pump’s presence is fun.

He doesn’t respect authority, even the scientific authority which promotes eating as a necessary aspect of life: “I don’t need you, I don’t need school. I pop beans, I don’t

By MATTHEW KELLENBERG Scene Writer

“The Pitchfork Effect”: When a Pitchfork review, typically given on a debut or early album, appreciably alters the trajectory of a given artist. Examples include Arcade Fire (“Funeral”: 9.7/10), Bon Iver (“For Emma, Forever Ago”: 8.1/10), Travis Morrison (“Travistan”: 0.0/10). The same can be said for the indie-pop/rock project Broken Social Scene. Its 2003 debut, “You Forgot It In People,” received a 9.2/10 from Pitchfork founder Ryan Schreiber. (“‘You Forgot It In People,’” Schreiber raved, “explodes with song after song of endlessly replayable, perfect pop.”) In the 15 years since that review, Broken Social Scene has capitalized on its early acclaim with a string of quintessential indie records. Now, on its new “Let’s Try the After (Vol. 1),” the band embraces its successes while continuing to advance its legacy.

Broken Social Scene manifests its artistic confidence from the start of the record with back-to-back instrument tracks. On the album opener, “The Sweet Sea,” the band blends synths, horns and seaside field recordings into a brief yet immersive soundscape. Subsequently, on “Remember Me Young,” the band takes the listener on an endless climb of synths and background vocals. The song’s tension-building progressions evoke “Anthems for

eat food.” Lil Pump also enjoys stringing together words which may or may not mean anything in relation to each other: “Off-white. White rice. Fortnite. Pew pew pew.

Red light.” His music is free from heavy emotions and all seriousness.

In reality, most of what Pump does is senseless. He raps about whatever comes to mind and seems to live his life in the same impulsive manner. Lil Pump is the response to the existential pressures and bubbling anxiety of modern kids. We look for happiness in a world that tells us our happiness is dependent on the opinions of others.

Lil Pump, on “Harverd Dropout,” has rejected that world and still found success; he is the ideal model for today’s powerless youth.

The shackles of expectation are both ethereal and ironclad; I know I can take my life in any direction at any moment on a whim, but I never will. “Harverd Dropout” is a glance into what my life could be if I did. I could be taking drugs, cursing out my teachers and driving a Maclaren.

Lil Pump sits at the convergence of success as society describes it — money — and success as individuals desire it — happiness. He has cheated a system that is all too powerful. Rather than taking the prescribed path to success, Lil Pump is doing everything wrong and still winning. He is giving into his urges, completely disrespectful and utterly moronic in too many ways. The fact that he can live the way he does and enjoy success is a glimmer of

hope that I, and anyone who ever listens to him, may live the lives we want and still get the results society dictates that we need.

For some reason, all the technological progress in the world has made is easier to stay alive, but harder to live.

“Harverd Dropout” is one of those rare things which makes living less scary. On the album, Lil Pump is a real person who is living real crazy: he’s having fun, he doesn’t care, he’s doing what he wants. For myself and everyone else who feels the phantom tugs and shoves from what we’re supposed to do and who we’re supposed to be, “Harverd Dropout” is hope that maybe we can do it all the way we want to.

a Seventeen Year-Old Girl,” off Broken Social Scene’s debut album. Yet, “Remember Me Young” feels more magnificent and less twee than that early hit — what 15 years tend to do to an indie band.

“Boyfriends,” the first track on the record with lyrics, jumps straight into an unforgiving survey of the modern man. “They say they’re gonna love you to the end of time,” frontman Kevin Drew begins the song. “But they’re not; no they’re not.” The song tackles such issues as mansplaining, emotional manipulation and commitment anxiety. And present too is the ambiguity of Drew’s (or the narrator’s) sexuality, something the singer-songwriter has not publicly discussed. Yet, for this dense content matter, the song ably preserves Broken Social Scene’s typical minimalism.

On the fourth track, “1972,” the band revisits the placid soundscape of “The Sweet Sea.” Its mood is beachy and nostalgic, yet sweepingly morose. And singer Emily Haines’ poignant vocals have a singular presence on “1972.” The song’s content matter, however, feels rather derivative. How could lines such as “blinking in the bright light with you” and “It’s OK, got the cemetery gold” not be torn straight from a Smiths songbook? Nevertheless, “1972” is catchy, if uninventive.

Finally, “All I Want Is You” closes out the record with another tension-building progression. The

song’s instrumentation is less engaging than that on “Remember Me Young,” and its lyrics are less clever than those on “Boyfriends.” However, given its place on the record, “All I Want” feels exceedingly purposeful. “Let’s Try the After (Vol. 1)” is but the first record in a forthcoming volume, and “All I Want Is You” beckons toward that undecided future. Its thematic focus on longing complements listeners’ own desires for closure on this project.

This makes for the song’s perfectly dissatisfactory ending: “All I / All I / All I want / All I want is you.”

Contact Danny Liggio at dliggio@nd.edu

“Harverd Dropout” Lil Pump Label: Warner Music Group Tracks: “Off-White” If you like: Smokepurpp, Lil Uzi Vert

Contact Matthew Kellenberg at mkellenb@nd.edu

“Let’s Try The After (Vol. 1)” Broken Social Scene Label: Arts and Crafts Tracks: “Boyfriends,” “Remember Me Young” If you like: Wolf Parade, Grizzly Bear, Feist

LINA DOMENELLA | The Observer

6

The observer | Thursday, February 28, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Unqualified qualifiers

Inside Column

Yas Kween

Julianna Conley Fresh Impressions

Carlos De Loera Scene Writer

It wasn’t until this past weekend that I finally watched the critically acclaimed period-piece film “The Favourite.” After watching it, I instantly thought to myself, “W hy didn’t I watch this earlier and how can I keep rewatching it? ” The three main actors — Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone and Oliv ia Colman — all really went for it in this mov ie, and the results were amazing. The costuming was so extravagantly over-the-top; the script was original, dramatic and genuinely funny; and the cinematography was exceptional. But somehow on Holly wood’s biggest night, the film came away w ith only one Oscar, even though it was nominated for 10.

Instead of lamenting about what the film missed out on (it was robbed of Best Original Screenplay), I w ill focus my attention on the big, beautiful, shining moment that was Oliv ia Colman’s acceptance speech for Best Actress.

Going into the night, it was prett y much a foregone conclusion that Glenn Close was going to w in for Best Actress for her role as a w ife in “The Wife,” a mov ie that approx imately 72 people had seen. Close was taking home all the acting awards throughout awards season and all the other acting awards on Oscars night had played out as they had at prev ious awards ceremonies.

Sure, Lady Gaga had a slim chance, but the Academy had already show n that it didn’t care about “A Star is Born.” Ever yone else in the field was just happy to be recognized. So Colman won for her role as Queen Anne and all the nominees looked genuinely shocked, but perhaps no one was more surprised than Colman.

Colman opened her speech by say ing, “It’s genuinely quite stressful. This is hilarious.”

As she’s say ing this, it is obv ious by her stammering that she feels ver y ner vous. She then goes into her thanks and then essentially concedes that Glenn Close should’ve won as she calls Close her idol. W hen thanking her mom and dad, she becomes overwhelmed by emotions (a sweet moment), but manages to turn even this emotional moment into a funny one because of her keen and VERY British sense of humour. Later on, she gives a shout-out to her children, whom she hopes are watching — even though they shouldn’t be — because her w inning an Academy Award “is not going to happen again.”

My personal favourite (ahh, see what I did there?) part of Colman’s speech was when she is informed to start w rapping up and she proceeds to make a fart sound w ith her mouth and then goes on to mock her husband for cr y ing.

In closing, Oliv ia Colman is the best and she can be my queen any day.

Contact Carlos De Loera at cdeloera@nd.edu The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Recently, a friend and I got into a recurring dispute. “I believe in equality,” she explained. “But I’m not angr y. So I don’t feel comfortable calling myself a feminist.” W hile she believes in equal rights for men and women, she refuses to identif y as a feminist because of “the implications.”

In high school, a good friend and I discussed racial identity. “I strongly identif y with my mother’s Irish heritage, but I don’t want people to think of me as racist, so I don’t tell people I’m white,” a half-Ecuadorian, half-Irish friend explained to me senior year of high school.

I, too, find myself falling into the trap, answering people’s questions regarding my faith by explaining that “I’m religious, but I’m don’t shove it down other people’s throats.”

If you listen to people talk, they often justif y their identities with qualifications. They explain that they’re different from the rest of the group.

They add a clause to ensure that people understand what they mean, that people understand they are different, and special and unique. People qualif y their identity to ensure their individual status remains unburdened by the sins of the group. And it needs to stop.

W hen we justif y our complex identities, we allow others to consider us exceptions to their preconceived notions. If I say, “I’m liberal, but I’m not righteous,” I reinforce the assumption that all liberal people are strident. I differentiate myself from the main group, but I keep the stigma on the group. By explaining that I don’t fit the generalized notion of a group, I affirm the stereotype as true. By adding a but, I imply that one aspect of my identity nullifies another. That without the “but,” my identity would be invalid.

This justif ying doesn’t help anyone. Instead, it forces people to exist in social constructs. It forces a belief, a religion, a gender, an interest: an identity to present itself in one expression.

My junior year of high school, my friend Shahmir was talking to his friends when the conversation turned to politics. Someone commented on how President Trump’s immigration ban was helpful because “Muslim immigrants are terrorists.” Awkwardly, Shahmir replied, “I’m an immigrant … and I’m Muslim.” “Oh, Shahmir, we don’t mean you. We mean regular Muslims. You’re an exception.” And that was that.

In a given day, we experience so much stimuli and information, it’s impossible for our brains to process all of it. If we had to stop and actively identif y a pencil as a pencil or a teacher as a teacher, we would be paralyzed. So we bracket.

We classif y and group and generalize, and this, for the most part, helps us get through the day by streamlining our thinking.

But the problem is people are complex. They don’t necessarily fit into our streamlined brackets. They’re messy and dynamic and unpredictable. They are individuals. W hen we apply our brackets to them, we take away their individuality. We clean the messiness, but, in doing so, strip them of their unique person. We confine them to one definition. We look at a group of religious people, or immigrants or politically minded people and limit a massive, complex group of people to one expression. One way of existing.

As individuals, we recognize our own personal complexities, but we don’t want to realize that

other people are complex, too, because that forces us to redefine the narrow brackets we have created for our perceptions of the world. If we recognize Shahmir as a “regular Muslim immigrant,” it means we must re-evaluate what it means to be a Muslim immigrant. It creates discord; it makes us uncomfortable. So we consider him an exception. We hold on to our definition and explain him away. Our limited perspectives make it easy to see others as one-dimensional and classif y them as such.

However, when we look at ourselves, we don’t remember our own complexities and thus don’t feel comfortable adhering to the one-dimensional groups we imposed on others. We look at other people and put them in that group, because that’s all they are to us. But when we consider ourselves, we realize we are more. So we justif y. We add a “but” after claiming a group to explain that we’re more than that.

However, when we state who we are without qualification, we force the people around us to adjust their definitions of what it means to be a part of that group. We breach their realities, and thus, they must reconsider what is real. W hat it means to be a Christian. W ho is a feminist. W hy people are a part of a certain political group. We redefine the norm. We empower people to understand that one group contains a multitude of ideas and personalities and experiences. We allow people an opportunity to broaden their definitions of others and create a more accepting, inclusive world.

For groups with negative connotations, our unapologetic identification is even more important, because it allows us to dismantle the stigma. By being a positive member, you prove the negative association wrong. By being a religious Christian who also believes same-sex marriage should be legal, I make it impossible for someone to say that all Christian people oppose same-sex marriage.

By being a gentle, kind feminist who believes in equal rights for men and women, I make it impossible for someone to say that all feminists hate men. By claiming these groups without adding a “but,” I ser ve as a non-example against the hateful rhetoric rather than an exception that upholds it. By being religious and liberal, by loving math and English, by being white and nondiscriminator y, I refute any insinuation that the character traits are mutually exclusive. I make clear they are not contradictor y.

By existing without qualification, without apolog y, I allow myself to be ever ything and anything I feel called to be. I put aside my fear of people thinking of me a certain way and allow my actions to speak for who I am. I allow my impact to define me, rather than a word. By deleting the “but,” I make space for the “and.” I expand the limits of the classification to make space for other people who don’t fit perfectly into social labels. I set a precedent for the future.

We have the power to redefine the group. To change how people see one another. We are, by definition, society. We get to decide what that means.

Julianna Conley is a slow eating, loud talking and fast-walking freshman from Southern California. She endorses hot glue, despises mint and strongly believes the cookie is the best part of an Oreo. Julianna can be reached at jconley4@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

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The observer | tHursday, February 28, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

An actor prepares Savanna Morgan Show Some Skin

A November Observer column written by Paige Curley on her first acting experience, as a cast member in 2018’s “Show Some Skin: Try Us,” inspires this entry. I am by no means an acting pedagogist. I have no intention to convince others of my knowledge on the craft. However, I do intend to address prospective auditionees in the years to come who may be intimidated by a lack of performance experience. As the technical director for 2019’s “Show Some Skin: Drop the Wall,” I played a role in recruiting students to the audition room. Many whom I encouraged to audition for this production responded with something along the lines of “I’m not an actor,” or “I don’t have the personality.” This, I hope, is a simple solution to this notion — coming from a person whose life has always revolved around performance, but who is just now learning for what and why.

Going into “Show Some Skin: Try Us,” I thought I knew what it meant to act. My performance history began when I was 8 years old, taking the stage as a soloist at my small, Evangelical black church back home in East Texas. My passion for performance grew when I took on ensemble roles in middle school plays and got cast in community theatre productions. I took the art form with me to Notre Dame as a theatre student, and searched for every opportunity to be on stage. Show Some Skin, a documentary theatre project with a mission oriented around solidarity and social justice, seemed like a perfect fit for me. November of 2017, I marched into the audition (which happened to take place at the unfortunate location of a scorching-hot Andrews Auditorium in the Geddes Hall basement), greeted by a few unfamiliar faces just minutes after receiving an audition packet. It was a cold read. No rehearsal beforehand. “I just have to feel it in the moment,” I told myself. I’m still not certain what it means or if it happened, but in the end, I was cast.

Fast-forward to the first rehearsal of “Show Some Skin:

Try Us” in January of 2018. I had refrained from looking at my assigned monologue over winter break so I could save the impact of reading the words for the first time. Maybe if the words felt new, my delivery would be more interesting.

Maybe my voice would reflect some trepidation due to the novelty of this piece, having some sort of dramatic effect.

As far as I knew, rehearsal and performance were the same.

And my first rehearsal reading was going to make some mark. The process and technique that one should develop for acting took a backseat to making an impression on whoever was watching me. When the cast sat down for our first read-through of the show, I saw my piece was second in the reading order. At the conclusion of the first piece, I flattened my feet to the surface, straightened my back, adjusted my glasses and was prepared to captivate my audience of fellow actors and the team of directors. Two sentences into the monologue, I broke down. For the first time in my 10-year performance history, I felt the gnawing discomfort of what a genuine artistic encounter can do.

In a few lines, the anonymous writer had articulated the feelings of repression, shame and damnation I had been dealing with in regards to my sexuality. My mouth failed to eject the following lines as ceaseless tears streamed down the sides of my face. This monologue, “The First Time You Spread Your Legs For A Woman,” scraped a bit too close to the bone. In a swift moment, I fled the auditorium. It could have been due to the initial shock of how relevant the piece was, but it is more likely that I was not ready to deal with my internal struggle in a way that this monologue was demanding. Whatever it was, I did not want to go back to that place. Neither physically nor metwaphysically.

But, alas! As performers, we live by the mantra “the show must go on.” For me, that meant spending the following week of no rehearsals reading that piece over and over again, subconsciously trying to detach from the visceral pain its relevance caused me. The words constantly prodded me in spots where I was already wounded. But was it something that a little further repression couldn’t handle?

The answer was a resounding “NO,” as the rehearsal process continued. Every time I stepped foot in front of my

fellow actors to perform the monologue, I saw my soul splayed out in front of me. A mirror was being held up to me and I was forced to stare into its reflection. These moments of unavoidable encounter on the Show Some Skin rehearsal stage is where I learned what it means to act. It’s not you stepping out of yourself to create a fictionalized version of the person on the page. You are that person on the page.

Regardless of whether or not you identify with the experience, the consciousness that exists in the words on the page already exists in you. All you have to do is tell the truth. The only truth you can tell is yours. No one else’s. There is only one you in all of time, and the way you express it is unique.

You must keep your channels open, and be able to let your natural reactions to beauty and pain motivate you. Your audience deserves the full you. To appropriate the words of Amy Morton, “When you are on stage, you have license do what everyone else has wanted to do 5,000 times. Whether it’s to kill, love, hate, f--- or fly. Only you get to do it with no consequences.” How can we as actors, (yes, we, as we all have the capacity to do this no matter who we are) even dare to give less than our full selves when the audience is daring to live vicariously through us?

Not to suggest that living in this truth is easy, by any stretch of the imagination. And it ain’t always pretty. It’s not meant to be. Art isn’t pretty. It’s ugly. It’s visceral. And sometimes you have to look away from it only to return and see it for the multitude of beauty that scours its surfaces and appreciate the pain that lies at its depths.

Contact Savanna Morgan at smorgan4@nd.edu Show Some Skin is a student-run initiative committed to giving voice to unspoken narratives about identity and difference. Using the art of storytelling as a catalyst for positive social change across campus, we seek to make Notre Dame a more open and welcoming place for all. If you are interested in breaking the silence and getting involved with Show Some Skin, email tcarter8@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Leaving the United Methodist Church I remember the morning I got baptized into the Methodist faith. As a young teenager, I was mortified to be standing in front of the congregation with all eyes on me. I was so nervous standing in front of the congregation and kneeled down at the makeshift altar in the church gymnasium, because the sanctuary had been damaged by Hurricane Rita in 2005. I remember all of my senses that day. My knees on the soft cushion on the altar, my elbows on the wooden rail and my sweaty palms clasped in front of me. I barely heard the words the Pastor said over the beat of my own nervous heart, and felt the water gently placed on my head.

I loved my church. I felt more at home with my youth group Wednesday and Sunday nights than I did at school. I saw the world in black and white. I moved 12 hours away for college, and adorned my dorm room in crosses and religious symbols. The first Sunday, I walked from my dorm across University Avenue in Lubbock, Texas, to visit a Methodist Church. I was so certain again. I was certain that I would be welcomed and loved, just like I had been at my childhood church. I wasn’t. I sat in the back pew and felt like an insignificant face in the crowd. I visited churches of all denominations on and off throughout college. I compared every single one to the church I loved, and in the meantime, my distance from God grew. I still marked Christian in my mental box, like I would mark “female” or “white” or “heterosexual,” but it meant almost nothing.

I studied abroad the summer after my freshman year and met my now-husband in Spain. I realized I had a lot of questions, and I’m not sure any of the answers exist. I had lived away from home from two years, was the first member of my family to go to Europe and had started dating someone from a different culture. I changed my

major to psychology. I started to learn about sexuality and gender. I met, and became friends with, people of all colors, faiths and sexualities. I grew up. I realized that different did not mean bad. I realized that my small, predominately white Christian town maybe did not have it all figured out. I realized that if you never challenge your faith, bring it out into the light and examine it from all angles, it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny or tests. I started to feel myself tensing up when someone would talk about faith or church. I passed a church on every street corner in college and started to have “me vs. them” mentality. I spent the rest of my college years distancing myself from what I thought Christianity was.

I began law school at Notre Dame in the fall of 2017, and I continued to make friends with men and women of different colors, faiths, backgrounds and sexual identities than me. I feel like today I am at a crossroads with my faith. I am not certain if I will stay a member of the United Methodist Church. I feel that my faith has strengthened, and I was looking forward to mustering up the courage to put one foot in front of the other on a Sunday morning and cross the threshold into our local United Methodist Church. I wanted to raise my hands and close my eyes while my heart soared during a worship song. I wanted to feel the cushion under my knees and the wood under my elbows at the altar. I wanted to partake in communion.

But I woke up this morning to the news that the United Methodist Church had voted to emphasize its opposition to same-sex marriage and to gay clergy. It hurts me, and it hurts for me for those that identify as LGBTQ. It should go without saying that people are people. That no matter where you are from, the color of your skin or who you love, people are the same on what matters. We all are born, we grow, we gain friendships,

we may fall in love and eventually, we pass.

I don’t have a bible verse to put here today that unequivocally puts an end to the gay marriage dispute in the church. But sometimes your gut just knows.

Sometimes, you just know that something is right or something is wrong — and that is God within you. I know deeply, down in my gut and into my soul, that gay marriage should be celebrated in the United Methodist Church and that gay clergy should be allowed to live their lives openly and in celebration of whomever they love. There can be nothing closer to God than love. He gives us the propensity for it — in fact he gives us the burning desire to have it. He would not give someone the ability and desire for love if it were wrong. I probably would not have felt this strongly about this before I myself got married in December of 2018. I felt God deeply that day, I felt Him stronger than I have felt Him in years and the cord between us was shortened that much more. I knew I was pleasing Him while saying my vows to the man I love because I wasn’t just saying them to my husband, I was saying them to God. It is hard to believe we are having this debate in 2019, but here we are. I hope and I will continue to pray that the United Methodist Church does what I did — they take their faith out into the light and examine it from all angles. I hope they realize that love is given directly from God and cannot be wrong. I hope that one day, my feet will cross the threshold of a United Methodist Church again, but for now, I will have to worship in places where I feel Him the most — in the outdoors surrounded by the beautiful world He created for us.

Lauren Davis J.D. class of 2020 Feb. 27

8

DAILY

ndsmcobserver.com | ThurSDAY, february 28, 2019 | The Observer

Crossword | Will Shortz

Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: You’ve got what it takes to turn this into your year. Stick to your goals, and don’t stop until you feel satisfied with what you’ve accomplished. Your determination and desire will separate you from any competition you face. Your ability to get others to help you using fair incentives will turn you into a leader. Romance is highlighted. Your numbers are 2, 7, 19, 22, 28, 36, 45.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Consider what you want to do, but don’t lose sight of what others are doing. Protect your reputation, but pay close attention to detail. Take care of your responsibilities personally. Leave nothing to chance, and positive change can happen.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Drum up some energy and take charge. A business trip or meeting with someone who can make a difference in achieving your goals will bring excellent results. Know what you want, and don’t be afraid to ask.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Keep a close watch over what others do and say. Don’t get caught in someone else’s problems or fibs. If you want to make a change, be secretive until you have everything in place and ready to launch.

CANCER ( June 21-July 22): Use charm and intelligence to persuade others to help you get what you want. Your willingness to do your share will prompt others to pitch in and help. Emotional matters can be resolved, and romance will improve your personal life.

LEO ( July 23-Aug. 22): Stick to a fixed price. It’s fine to have aspirations, but if you cannot afford to follow through, make adjustments that fit your budget. Don’t let anger take over when being innovative is what’s required.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Network, participate and share ideas and plans to see what transpires. Having a goal and taking the initiative to make it happen will promote success as well as new beginnings. Love and romance are on the rise.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Be careful how you handle domestic situations.

You will face opposition and demanding people if you are too pushy or if you overspend. A change may not be welcome, but in the end, it will relieve stress and help you move forward.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A change will do you good. Discuss personal plans with someone who is heading in the same direction. Make the most of connecting with like-minded people and developing a closer bond to someone you love.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Change begins within, so don’t rely on someone else to make changes for you. Someone who uses emotional tactics to manipulate your decisions will disappoint you. Trust in yourself and your abilities, not someone else. Truth matters.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Pour your energy into things that matter to you. Home, family and your relationships with others should be at the forefront of your mind when making decisions that will affect how or where you live. Ask for input.

AQUARIUS ( Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Proceed with caution. You may want to make changes, but before you do, consider the outcome. Focus on how best to make a difference, not only for yourself, but for those in your community, circle or family. Do what’s right.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):Consider what you want. Make the changes that will represent the results you want to achieve. Be bold and ask for whatever you need to be successful. Having a solid plan will encourage others to take part and support your ideas.

Birthday Baby: You are insightful, goal-oriented and proactive. You are a thinker and a dreamer.

wingin’ it | olivia wang & bailee egan

Sudoku | The Mepham Group

Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek

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Sports Authority

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Bryce Harper, say no to New York Lauren Mathile Sports Writer

Dear Bryce Harper, Spring training has begun, and you still have yet to sign with a team. What’s the holdup? Well, since you have waited this long to make your decision, I figure it wouldn’t hurt to put my “two cents” in.

I urge you to take one team off of your radar — the New York Yankees. As a lifelong Yankees fan, I have been highly disappointed in the decisions the front office has made in recent years, turning incredible players who can hit and field their positions into designated hitters.

We saw an example of this in 2016 when the Yankees moved Alex Rodriguez from third base to designated hitter. Before his steroids scandal, Rodriguez was both a power hitter and a great third baseman. After his 2014 suspension, Rodriguez came back swinging the next season with remarkable stats: 33 home runs and 86 runs batted in. Following his comeback season, the Yankees moved Rodriguez to designated hitter for the entirety of what would be his final season, and the result was a career-low .200 batting average. Granted, he only played half of the season due to his early retirement, but either he aged a ridiculous amount in one year or there is some sort of correlation between his move to designated hitter and his career-low batting average.

Moving a well-rounded position player to designated hitter is a poor decision. On the surface, designated hitter seems like a good idea — it’s less wear and tear on the body since he’s not playing the full game — but being a power hitter is also rough on the body. When you take a position player out of the flow of the game, you are interfering with their ability.

Rodriguez isn’t the only example — just look at Giancarlo Stanton’s 2018 stats with the Yankees.

Last year, after being traded from the Miami Marlins to the Yankees, Giancarlo Stanton moved back and forth between designated hitter and the outfield. In 2017, Stanton hit a career-high 59 home runs with the Marlins, but his 2018 stats were significantly lower for a player who should have been the “Cadillac” of designated hitters.

He went from leading the MLB with 59 home runs in 2017 to just 38 in 2018, and his strikeouts increased to 211 from the previous season’s 163.

The overflow of outfielders on the Yankees’ roster partnered with Stanton’s 2017 power output may have influenced

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manager Aaron Boone’s decision to alternate Stanton between designated hitter and the outfield. But this constant back and forth did not help Stanton’s career.

This is not just a problem for the Yankees. Other players have been set up to fail by moving to this position.

Another non-Yankee player to look at is Frank Thomas. Yes, he was one of the best designated hitters baseball has ever seen, but some of his most well-rounded seasons were those that he played as a first baseman. In his 1996 season, Thomas appeared in the lineup as a first baseman.

That season, “The Big Hurt” had his second-highest career batting average (.349), 40 home runs and 134 RBI. Even though Frank Thomas wasn’t particularly good with the glove, he was arguably a better all-around player when he played in the field.

With all of the rumors about where you’ll end up this coming season, Bryce, I urge you again not to sign with the Yankees.

All of the speculation about you joining the team has made me skeptical of the executive decisions being made by the Yankees’ front office. If you joined the team, you would become just another outfielder or potential designated hitter. You know they aren’t going to move Aaron Judge out of right field — he’s far too essential to the lineup to move.

I would hate to see your career go south because of a poor decision in your first free agency.

Because of your incredible talent as a power hitter, you could be forced to alternative between the field and the designated hitter position like Stanton was last season. You have far too much talent to be a designated hitter.

For your sake, and ours, take the offer from the Philadelphia Phillies. They could build their whole team around you going forward. (Sidenote: Since the Phillies are in the National League, we wouldn’t have worry about facing you during the regular season). You deserve to be with a team that needs you and can pay you what you’re worth. I mean come on, Manny Machado just signed a $300 million contract with the Padres, and I believe that you are far more gifted all-around player than he is.

Sincerely, Lauren Mathile (a fan patiently awaiting your decision) Contact Lauren Mathile at lmathile@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Eagles will not franchise Foles, who seeks new role Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS — Nick Foles rejuvenated his career in Philadelphia. Now he wants to turn his success into an NFL starting job — and the Eagles intend to give him that chance.

General manager Howie Roseman told reporters Wednesday that the franchise will not use the franchise tag on Foles, making him a free agent.

“It’s hard when you have someone who is incredibly valuable to your organization, the most important position in sports,” Roseman said during the NFL’s annual scouting combine in Indianapolis. “But at the same time, he deserves an opportunity to lead a team. It’s a goal of his to lead another team and lead another locker room, and we feel at this point it’s the right decision.”″ Roseman said the Eagles agreed to make the move after Foles expressed his desire during a recent meeting.

And with Carson Wentz, the No.

2 overall draft pick in 2016 the established starter in Philadelphia, Foles understood it meant he would have to find a new team.

Over the last two seasons, Foles became one of the most precious commodities in sports — a backup quarterback with championship-caliber talent.

When Wentz tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in December 2017, Foles stepped in, led the Eagles to their first NFL title since 1960 and was the Super Bowl MVP. Last season, when Wentz suffered a back injury, Foles again stepped forward and led the Eagles back to the playoffs. Foles helped Philadelphia to a 16-15 wild-card victory at Chicago before losing 20-14 at New Orleans in the divisional round.

But in those two seasons he won four playoff games — more than he did in his previous five in the league combined — and turned himself into a hot commodity at the most prized position in the league.

“We’ve been so fortunate over the last couple of years to have two top-15 quarterbacks in Carson and Nick, and we spent a lot of time discussing this internally and with him,” Roseman said.

“We feel very comfortable about it. Again, hard decision because of someone who means a lot to us, professionally and personally, but at that end of the day as an organization, we felt it was the right thing to do.”

When Foles signs elsewhere, Nate Sudfeld will move into the No. 2 spot.

The 30-year-old Foles comes with a solid resume.

He was Philadelphia’s thirdround pick in 2012, starting six games as a rookie and 18 more before signing with the Rams in 2015. After one season as the starter in St. Louis, he moved to Kansas City, where he rejoined former Eagles coach Andy Reid to serve as the backup to Alex Smith. In 2016, Foles returned to Philadelphia to mentor Wentz and wound up becoming a fan favorite.

nBA | Heat 126, Warriors 125

Wade beats buzzer, helps Heat defeat Warriors Associated Press

MIAMI — Dwyane Wade jumped onto a courtside table and thumped himself on the chest three times. He took a victory lap, waving a towel. He got mobbed by teammates.

He’s been part of games that meant more.

But bigger moments — there haven’t been many, if any, than this one.

Wade’s one-legged, off-theglass, straightaway 3-point heave as time expired lifted the Miami Heat to a 126-125 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, a game where the Heat wasted every bit of a 24-point lead and had to rally from four points down in the final minute.

“I’ve been in this position so many times and so many times you don’t make the shot,” Wade said. “And the one I make is a onelegged flick from my chest. It’s crazy. Great to do it in front of fans.”

Kevin Durant made one of two free throws with 14 seconds left, putting Golden State up by two.

The Heat had no timeouts, no way to set up a play, and there was no way anyone could have drawn up what happened.

Wade brought the ball up, drove

into the lane, stutter-stepped and lost the ball for a brief moment. He gathered it and shoveled it to Dion Waiters, who was double-teamed and couldn’t get off a shot. Waiters tossed it back to Wade, who shotfaked Durant in the air and then had his first try blocked by Jordan Bell.

Wade caught the rebound with about a second left.

Off the glass, for the win.

From there, bedlam.

The fans erupted in cheers.

Some of the Warriors watched the replay on the overhead screens with a look of disbelief, and after a moment Warriors star Stephen Curry came over to offer congratulations after presumably their last head-to-head meeting before Wade retires after this season.

“I told Steph, ‘I needed this one on my way out. Y’all get enough,’” Wade said. “But it was cool. I think the one thing cool for me was I’ve got younger teammates that heard about some of the things you do but don’t always get an opportunity to see it.”

Wade scored 25 points to help Miami snap a six-game home losing streak.

“Sometimes you just need to be lucky,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after giving Wade a long bear-hug in a jubilant postgame

locker room. “We’ve had so many of these breaks go against us.”

Goran Dragic led the Heat with 27 points. Josh Richardson added 21, and Miami made 18 3-pointers.

Klay Thompson scored 36 points for the Warriors. Durant added 29 and Curry scored 24 for the Warriors, whose lead over Denver atop the Western Conference dropped to a half-game.

Golden State rallied from 19 down to win 120-118 at home on Feb. 10, and dug its way out of an even bigger hole this time — but couldn’t finish it off. Wade’s 3-pointer with 15 seconds left got Miami to 124-123, and he came up with one more when the Heat needed it most.

“Dwyane just hit an unbelievable shot,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It was going in as soon as it left his hand.”

Dragic had 25 points by halftime, getting 20 of those in the second quarter alone — setting Heat single-quarter and any-half records for a reserve. He had 11 points in a span of 69 seconds in the second quarter, and a pair of free throws with 2:59 left in the half put Miami up 69-45.

Against most teams, even in the first half, a 24-point lead might have been enough.

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The observer | thursday, february 28, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Baseball Continued from page 12

Gilgenbach, one of the Notre Dame captains, has quickly emerged as a veteran leader after his breakout season last year. In 2018, Gilgenbach led Notre Dame in home runs (10) and RBIs (45) and made the Third-Team AllACC squad. So far this season, Gilgenbach has batted .308 with three doubles and a team-leading nine RBIs. Sophomore first baseman Daniel Jung is displaying his increased experience as well, leading Notre Dame among players who have played in all seven games with a .367 batting average. He has tallied two doubles and a triple, and is second on the team in RBIs with eight. Last year as a freshman, Jung played in 53 games and got 44 starts, finishing the season with 13 doubles. Another important contributor this season has been freshman Carter Putz, who currently has the second-best batting average among those on the team who have played in all seven games at .353.

Despite Gilgenbach and Jung’s combined 17 RBIs, Notre Dame has struggled to match opponents offensively, as four of the five Irish losses have been by eight or more runs. In their first three games of the season against Arizona State, the Irish were outscored 46-13,

batting a combined .242 as a team in those three contests. In their four games since the season-opening series, the Irish have batted a combined .377.

All three teams in the upcoming Swing and Swine Classic have struggled early this season. Charleston Southern enters Friday’s matchup on a three-game

losing skid, falling to Georgia State 15-6 and 7-6 before losing to Kent State 9-1.

Ball State opened its season in the GCU Classic in Tempe, Arizona, with a 2-1 loss to No. 12 Stanford, followed by a 12-2 loss to Grand Canyon University. The Cardinals picked up their first win of the season against CSU

Bakersfield on Feb. 16. Since then, they have lost three of their last four games, most recently suffering a 6-0 loss to Alabama on Sunday.

Following the Swig and Swine Classic, Notre Dame will continue its road stretch with a three-game series at Wake Forest (5-4) March 8-10. The Irish won’t open their

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home schedule until March 22, when they host Florida State in a three-game series.

This Saturday, Notre Dame’s matchup with Charleston Southern will be broadcast on ESPN+. The first game of the weekend between the Irish and Buccaneers will begin at noon Friday.

Sports

ndsmcobserver.com | thursday, february 28, 2019 | The Observer

W Tennis

Hockey

Continued from page 12

Continued from page 12

2-1 ACC) won four matches leading up to that matchup.

Doubles play w ill begin for the Irish at 3 p.m. at Chapel Hill, N.C. on Friday.

Follow ing this weekend series, Notre Dame w ill host Louisv ille next weekend, before embarking on a threegame road tour.

He’s come up with an identity for the team, they recruit to that identity, they transition extremely well,” Jackson said.

“From a coach’s perspective, I don’t like our guys to cheat out of the zone [offensively], and that’s all they do — and it works for them. As soon as there’s any chance of them getting the puck on their own end, or even in the neutral zone, they’re going to have three, four guys going. They have a lot of players who have good puck skills, and they have good instincts, so they have the ability to find open ice and get open.

They’re probably one of the hardest teams in the country to play against.”

Jackson said the effectiveness of Penn State’s strategy depends entirely on how well the team is playing during the game.

“It’s just full-court press.

When you’re on, you can’t get away, you can’t get out — there’s nothing to do, there’s no place to go,” he said. “But when you’re not on, you get beat up the court. It’s the same concept. If you’re on, they’re gonna get 40, 50 shots a night, and have odd-man rush situations offensively … but when they’re not on, that’s what I talked about, then the other team gets two-on-ones.”

When the two teams played in December, the Irish won 5-4 before giving up nine goals in the second game. Jackson stressed that the Irish must be wary of the Penn State offense, even on home ice.

“No lead is safe. We had a big lead against them [last time], and they just keep coming at you … they play a high-tempo game,” he said. “The thing for me is that I never felt like you could win when [it] really matters when you’re playing like that, but they have won the league once [2017 postseason tournament], and they made the NCAA tournament [last year] — and they could again this year. I’m sure the kids really love playing there, playing in that type of a system, but I don’t know how much it translates to the next level.”

The Irish are coming off another split series against Minnesota last weekend — the team only has one conferenceweekend regulation sweep all season. For Notre Dame to cap off the regular season in style, Jackson said the team must overcome the one shortcoming it has struggled to maintain all season: offensive production.

“We played really well on Friday night — we got secondary scoring — and Saturday night we didn’t,” Jackson said of the performance last weekend. “I thought we played pretty well, maybe a 10-minute span in the second period we broke down a couple times defensively, but we just had the inability to score. And we didn’t

Swimming Continued from page 12

and score at the NCAAs,” Litzinger said of Smith’s success. “First steps have certainly been taken, but she has just had a tremendous year from the beginning right through the championship, so we’re looking forward to seeing what she can do at the NCAA Championships in a month.”

The women qualified seven swimmers for the NCAA Championship, and the diving team is heading to a regional qualifying meet in West Lafayette, Indiana, in two weeks. With one of their most important performances of the season behind them, the women will watch on as the men take on elite-level competition in the ACC. With

Observer File Photo

Graduate student Brooke Broda reaches for a wide shot inside Eck Tennis Center in an Apr. 6 match versus North Carolina last season.

the competition opening Wednesday, the men jumped out to a strong start behind a sixth-place team finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay featuring sophomores Sadler McKeen and Zach Yeadon, junior Aaron Schultz and freshman Marci Barta.

Yeadon and Barta having been setting the tone for the Irish early in the season. Both men have already qualified for the NCAA Championships individually. Barta currently holds the fourth-best 400 individual medley time in the nation, while Yeadon holds the fourth-best 1,650-meter and 1,000-meter free times in the country.

“In my time at Notre Dame, [the men have] gone from [seventh] place, we finished third two years ago, barely were fourth last year — just a couple points shy of third

place from Virginia — so it is a battle to be in that top three.

We have the talent to do that,” Litzinger said. “We’ve had a great dual meet season. It’s been really challenging, but I think these guys are ready to step forward. We’ve built them as a championship-type team, meaning that we can spread our talent out over a four-day championship meet, and I’m looking forward to them doing that this week.”

The men’s ACC Championship will conclude March 2. Following the conference championship, the Irish will await final seeding for the NCAA tournament before traveling to Austin, Texas, at the end of March to compete on the national stage.

Contact Jimmy Ward at wward@hcc-nd.edu

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11

get any power plays — we had one power play — but we didn’t give up any either, so it’s been the same thing that has kind of haunted us all season, just the inconsistency in scoring goals — because we had chances, especially in the third period.”

Despite the team’s loss Saturday, Jackson said he “didn’t feel that [the team was] playing poorly.”

“We had a bad spell in the second period for a bit, but I thought we were playing pretty well other than that,” he said.

“We’ve had a lot of games like that, where I felt like we played OK, we’ve not played poorly and we’ve not played maybe great, but we’ve played well enough to win, and we just haven’t been able to score.

I can probably rattle off 10 games like that. We just have to win hockey games. It was like that last month — we just need to win games, and we’ve got to come out strong on Friday night. After that, we’ll worry about Saturday.”

Saturday will also mark Senior Night for the Irish, as the program will honor four seniors — forwards Jack Jenkins, Dylan Malmquist and Joe Wegwerth, as well as defenseman Bobby Nardella — for their contributions to the program.

While Wegwerth is out for the season due to injury, Jackson said all four seniors have played major roles in giving the program one of its best runs under his tenure.

“First of all, I have a lot of respect for the guys that stick it out for four years,” he said.

“Sometimes, guys leave early — this class was originally six or seven deep. But the guys that have hung in there for four years, if you think about what they’ve accomplished over the last three years, before this year — making the NCAA tournament every year, and the Frozen Four the last two years, and they all are impactful in their own way. Bobby is having an All-American year, in my opinion, he’s having a great year offensively. Dylan is having his best year offensively since he’s been here, he’s kind of taken over that void. And Jack, he’s a coach’s player — he’s a guy you love having on your bench. He kills penalties, he can play on the first line, he can play on the fourth line, he can play center, he can play wing and he doesn’t say ‘boo’ if you move him up or down or all around, he just comes out and works every day. “ … They’ve paid their dues over four years, they’ve volunteered everything they have to this program over the last four years, they’re all quality kids and I’m proud to have had them.”

The puck is set to drop in game 1 on Friday night in Compton Family Ice Arena at 7 p.m.

Contact Tobias Hoonhout at thoonhou@nd.edu

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The observer | thursday, february 28, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

swimming & diving | ACC Championships

Hockey

ND women finish Notre Dame to honor fourth in tourney seniors against Penn State

By JIMMY WARD Sports Writer

The Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team successfully completed the ACC Championship with a fourth-place team finish Saturday after spending nearly two weeks off of competition in the water.

The women’s team took on elite competition last week at the ACC Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Its fourth-place finish came from an accumulated 909.5 points over the four-day competition. The Irish finished the meet with seven top-10 finishes, six of which were individual events.

“We finished fourth, and my first year at Notre Dame we were barely seventh place with around 537 points,” Irish head coach Mike Litzinger said. “Four years later, here we are. We climbed up four spots, finished with 909 points, had medalists, top-three

finishes individually, set five school records and qualified seven women for the NCA A [Championship], so I feel pretty good about it.”

In the diving pit, the women were led by junior Erin Isola who placed seventh in the one-meter dive with a score of 273.2 points. Freshman Sinead Eksteen finished seventh in the 1,650-yard swim with a time of 16:18.80. Senior Nikki Smith capped off the strong Irish performance on the final day of competition, recording a programbest 200-yard f ly time. Smith reached the wall in 1:54.66, earning a second-place finish. “[We’re] really proud of Nicki. She has developed wonderfully as an athlete — more so as a person — here at Notre Dame. We had some goals to chase this year, and one of those goals was to be a medalist at the ACC level and to put herself in elite company see SWIMMING PAGE 11

By TOBIAS HOONHOUT Managing Editor

ANN CURTIS | The Observer

Irish defenseman Bobby Nardella skates up with the puck during Notre Dame’s 5-2 home victory against Michigan on Feb. 12.

ND Baseball

As the race for home-ice advantage comes down to the wire, No. 17 Notre Dame is set to host No. 18 Penn State in the Big Ten regular-season finale.

While conference-rival Ohio State has clinched the regularseason title, a regulation win for the Irish (17-12-3, 10-10-2 Big Ten) over the Nittany Lions (18-12-2, 10-11-1 Big Ten) on Friday night would clinch second place and home ice for the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.

Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson said Wednesday that Penn State will pose a roller coaster of a challenge, as the Nittany Lions lead the league with a whopping 150 goals (4.69 per game), but sit bottom in scoring defense with 119 given up over 32 games.

“I give [Penn State head coach] Guy [Gadowsky] credit. see HOCKEY PAGE 11

nd women’s tennis

Irish hope to rebound during weekend series

Squad faces tough ACC road trip

Observer Sports Staff

Observer Sports Staff

After splitting series with both Eastern Michigan and Incarnate Word in the Alamo Irish Classic over the weekend, the Notre Dame baseball team will open play in the Swig and Swine Classic on Friday, against Charleston Southern. The Irish (2-5) are slated to play two-game series with Charleston Southern (26) and Ball State (2-5).

After beating Incarnate Word 2-1 on Friday, Notre Dame dropped the second game of the series Saturday, 15-7. In the second matchup, Incarnate Word took an early 6-0 lead in the top of the first inning, spurred by a threerun homer. The Irish didn’t score until the bottom of the fourth, when Eric Gilgenbach hit an RBI double. Gilgenbach finished with four RBIs and went 3-for-3 from the plate, but the Irish made four errors in the field and couldn’t recover from a costly first inning.

EDDIE GRIESEDIECK | The Observer

see BASEBALL PAGE 10

Irish senior outfielder Eric Gilgenbach swings during Notre Dame’s 2-0 home loss to Northwestern on April 11 at Frank Eck Stadium.

Notre Dame w ill look to rebound this weekend when its takes on a pair of ranked ACC opponents on the road.

The Irish (8-3, 2-1 ACC) fell in a near-comeback 4-3 loss to No. 25 Sy racuse Sunday when they played the Orange at home, their first conference and home loss of the season.. This weekend, Notre Dame w ill have a chance to improve its ACC conference record in a pair of road matches — both in North Carolina — when they face No. 2 North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Friday and No. 23 North Carolina State in Raleigh on Sunday.

Looking ahead to this weekend, the Irish w ill have their hands full w ith the top-ranked team in the countr y as the Tar Heels (141, 2-0 ACC) are coming off of a 5-2 v ictor y over in-state rival NC State. In only their third conference matchup of the season, the Irish are just starting to get a taste of what

the ACC has to offer, as eight teams in the conference are currently in the top-25. In order to have a chance to upset the Tar Heels, Notre Dame w ill need to maintain its fighting spirit that was put on display in the match last Sunday. The Irish w ill also look to improve their doubles play to start off strong and give themselves a good opportunit y on Friday. North Carolina junior A lexa Graham and freshman Cameron Morra were recently named ACC Women’s Tennis Co-Player of the Week and Co-Freshman of the Week, respectively, guaranteeing the Irish w ill have their hands full come Friday.

Notre Dame’s road trip w ill not get any easier when it travels to Raleigh for the second match in t wo days to face the 23rd-ranked NC State. Despite coming off of a loss at the hands of the Tar Heels, the Wolfpack (10-3, see W TENNIS PAGE 11