Print Edition of The Observer for Friday, April 5, 2019

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Volume 53, Issue 112 | friday, april 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Alumna speaks about abortion Pro-life activist Alexandra DeSanctis discusses reclaiming the abortion debate

By REBECCA STELLA News Writer

A crowd consisting of students, parents, grandparents and even a few children gathered in DeBartolo Hall on Thursday to listen to Alexandra DeSanctis’ lecture titled “Surrender is not an option — Reclaiming the abortion debate.”

Notre Dame’s Right to Life Club invited the 2016 University alumna to speak.

DeSanctis writes about and speaks out about her passion: the right to life.

“I enjoy it a lot, but it’s difficult work, and it’s disheartening work a lot of the time in many ways,” she said. “As I’m

sure you all know, I’m staring at a lot of evil. We all stare at a lot of evil when we think about this issue, and it takes a toll. But at the same time, I’m actually incredibly hopeful for the future of the pro-life movement … I’m convinced, absolutely convinced that this is a fight we can win.”

DeSanctis highlighted the points she believes could make a difference in the abortion argument.

One major point she made was the importance of defining abortion — both scientifically and factually — in order to reset the terms of this see DEBATE PAGE 4

Observer Staff Report

REBACCA STELLA | The Observer

Alexandra DeSanctis speaks at her lecture titled “Surrender is not an option – Reclaiming the abortion debate” on Thursday night.

SMC Student Diversity Board hosts Gabe Salazar

By EMMA AULT News Writer

Saint Mary’s Student Diversity Board welcomed Gabe Salazar, a motivational youth speaker, podcaster and author, for a panel in Rice Commons on Thursday night. Salazar travels the U.S. speaking at grade schools and universities about different social issues

and his life experiences.

As the author of the book “Born on Accident, Living with a Purpose,” Salazar said he wanted to speak candidly about his life experiences like he had within his book. Besides being a published author, Salazar is also a highly rated podcaster who puts out content to help motivate Latino youth.

Salazar said much of his

News Writer

“W hat are you going to do with that? ” That question is familiar to Meg Burns, and it typically follows her introduction as an art history major.

“It does open you up to fielding questions about what you are going to do with your life,” Burns, a

NEWS PAGE 2

sophomore, said.

Katherine Coogan, a sophomore majoring in business and art history, described a similar scenario when she talks about her majors.

“I’ll say it and they’re never excited about it, or upset about it; they’re just confused,” she said.

Caroline Cox, a junior art history major, has had similar experiences with

SCENE PAGE 5

Associate professor of psychological sciences Bettina Spencer received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in collaboration with Notre Dame, the College announced in a press release email sent to the Saint Mary’s community Thursday.

The grant will allow them to host a Research Experience for Undergraduates, and will allow students to gain experience in statistical techniques see GRANT PAGE 3

Club basketball gains success

life has been shaped by experiences he had as a child.

“I was born to a teen mom, abandoned by my father and grew up homeless in a car in Houston, Texas,” he said. “But I became the first of my family to go to college after overcoming obstacles of homelessness, gang inf luences.” see SALAZAR PAGE 3

Art history majors take steps towards careers

By JACK LYONS

SMC receives funds

reactions to her academic plans.

W hile art history can be perceived as an impractical major, the three students seek to prove otherwise.

The trio, all leaders in the Art History club on campus, organized and led a panel to offer students advice and ideas about obtaining see ART HISTORY PAGE 4

VIEWPOINT PAGE 7

Photo courtesy of Kate Mulshine

Members of the new Notre Dame women’s club basketball team gather with their coach Rob Coloney after a recent tournament win.

By CATE VON DOHLEN News Writer

The new Notre Dame women’s club basketball team has been very successful in their inaugural season. The team — comprised of a f luctuating 15 to 20 members and coached by Rob Coloney, the director of Graduate Career Services — has competed

ND MENS LAX PAGE 12

in four tournaments this semester.

Two of the four tournaments were in Chicago, and one was for regionals at Dayton University, where the club received a free automatic bid to nationals in two weeks in Wichita, Kansas.

see BASKETBALL PAGE 4

BASEBALL PAGE 12

2

TODAY

The observer | FRIDAY, april 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

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Today’s Staff News

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The next Five days:

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Email news@ndsmcobserver.com

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Alumni Design Conference 226-228 West Lake Hall 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Design alumni to visit.

Data Fest Mendoza College of Business all day Statistical analysis competition.

The Work of Our Hands Various venues all day Exhibition of Liturgical Vestments.

8th Annual HCRI Cancer Research Day The Morris Inn all day Information about cancer research.

Talk: “Life of a Hedge Fund” Jordan Auditorium 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Presentation by John Miczek.

Series: “Listening to Uganda” Geddes Hall Coffee House noon - 1 p.m.

Lunch will be served.

International Conference Eck Center Auditorium all day Public lectures and conference panels.

Women’s Lacrosse vs. Virginia Tech Arlotta Stadium noon Irish take on the Hokies.

Idea Week 2019 Campus-wide all day Lectures celebrating innovation and entrepreneurship.

Series: Chronicles of Narnia Eck Visitor Center 6 p.m. - 8:15 p.m.

Lectures four and five in the series.

Saint Mary’s hosts donation drive News Writer

donate by facilitating the transportation of items, Popow said.

Saint Mary’s College just concluded a week-long donation drive for its free store located in the basement of Le Mans Hall.

The annual drive serves to remind students that the free store is a valuable resource — both as a donation site and economical shopping center.

Now a junior at Saint Mary’s, ministry assistant Nicole Popow said, “The free store reminds me a lot of Goodwill. Students can donate things and then students that are in need of certain items can also sift through the store and take what they need for free.”

Recently, Popow, along with the other ministry assistants, have been working to make the store more appealing to students.

“It’s a nice space,” Popow said. “We did a lot of work this year in cleaning it out which has made it a lot more accessible. We staff the free store at specific hours, and while there was a specific drive during this month, the store is open all year and people can give all year as well.”

The drive encourages students to

“The ministry assistants in each dorm building advertised for the drive and we put bins in the lobby or by the front desk and we just asked people to bring their unwanted goods there,” she said.

Rather than having to trek between dorms with an armful of clothing or books, students are simply a short elevator ride away from dropping off their donations.

“The ministry assistants bring everything over,” Popow said. “Usually we ask people to donate in Le Mans, which isn’t always convenient for everyone so this is a good incentive to donate.”

The majority of donations which stock the free store throughout the year come from this drive, Popow said.

“We normally get donations throughout the year,” Popow said.

“But this is the time when we get the bulk of our donations.”

Popow said this year the drive was very successful.

“We had a good number of people donate. It kind of fluctuates depending

By Mary Mansfield

on the time of year, how much advertising we do, and how much people actually give, and in years past, it’s actually been kind of hit-or-miss,” Popow said. “But it’s been really good this year.”

For students who missed this drive and are reluctant to make the journey to Le Mans, another opportunity is coming soon.

Popow said, “At the end of the year, we’re doing a mega version of this drive called ‘Blue to New’. It takes place when people are moving out and have a lot of useful stuff that they don’t want to take with them and would usually throw away. So we do a drive for that as well.”

In terms of what sort of donations are accepted, anything that is not garbage or impossible to reuse is a welcome addition to the store.

“Sometimes we even get textbooks,” Popow said. “It’s just a great resource if students need anything from clothes to notebooks and folders. Instead of going to the bookstore, come to the free store!”

Contact Mary Mansfield at mmansfield01@saintmarys.edu

News

ndsmcobserver.com | friday, april 5, 2019 | The Observer

Grant

Salazar Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

He said the conversation around ambition and success is often unproductive because of conflicting definitions.

“It’s not about who went through what stuff, it’s about overcoming hard stuff,” Salazar said. “I think every individual needs motivation.

It is so important. The problem with motivation and even the word success is that half the room thinks one thing — something monetary — and the other half thinks the other thing — happiness.”

Motivation was what pushed Salazar through high school and into college, he stated, but figures in his life helped him along the way.

“Mentors will make a difference in your life,” he said. “He wrote me a letter of recommendation for a scholarship and he helped me fill out my FAFSA. I won that scholarship, I got accepted, became the first in my family to go to college and I graduated in 5.5 years.”

Once Salazar finished telling the audience about his life story, he began to speak on issues many young adults are forced to deal with, such as mental health.

“It’s no wonder in America, in 2019, we have the highest rates of depression, anxiety, teen suicide, teen drug use — more than we’ve had in the history of America — where students don’t even love themselves,” he said.

Being kind to oneself and following the Golden Rule — or the Rule of Reciprocity, as he explained it — is something Salazar said he believes in and promotes in all of his talks.

“I believe in treating others with kindness, with dignity, with respect, because I have such a high expectation and value system for myself that when I do good things for other people, I do it because that’s the value I have for myself,” he said.

Speaking on his relationship with his father, he said understanding human emotion is key to unlocking one’s potential.

“When I started understanding that emotion is a choice and the human being is stronger than any emotion — I can choose to hate and I can choose to love,” Salazar said.

“When I chose to love, something changed in me. I became a better speaker, a better father, a better husband, a better human being.”

The event ended with Salazar playing a game he had created called “Fact or Opinion.” An audience member volunteered, and he began to ask her fact or opinion questions. This was a game he played with his own daughter when she was younger to help her learn her worth as an individual. Salazar said he first began playing the game with his daughter to teach her selfworth, and now he plays the game with audiences to teach them the Golden Rule.

“Fact or opinion: we are on Saint Mary’s campus; we are in Indiana; the sky is blue; it is raining outside,” he said. “You are incredibly gorgeous. Fact or opinion, you have great significance in this room.”

Salazar continued with this exercise for a few more minutes before he had the volunteer retake her

and software.

“This grant supports the great social science research being conducted at Saint Mary’s,” Spencer said, as one of the principal investigators of the grant.

“This program takes what is unique about Saint Mary’s, the close faculty-student mentorship, and puts it on a national scale, for students from all over the country to have access to our exceptional education.”

The grant will also give opportunities to otherwise marginalized groups, the email said.

“Students from underrepresented backgrounds have been prioritized, and this year a diverse pool of women, students of color and first-generation students have been selected,” the email said.

The award will help students develop their own research

ALEXIS HERNANDEZ | The Observer

Motivational speaker Gabe Salazar talks about different social issues and his life experiences at Saint Mary’s on Thursday night.

seat. Closing his talk, Salazar said he hopes everyone learned something from the activity.

“As long as you can look in that mirror at the end of the day and

be able to say, ‘I just love who I am,’ you’ll have success,” he said.

Contact Emma Ault at eault01@saintmarys.edu

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3

projects, work with staff members from both Saint Mary’s and Notre Dame and present their work at the end of the 10-week program.

In the release, Interim College President Nancy Nekvasil expressed her pride in the College recweiving the grant.

“The training in problem solving, collaborative research and statistical work provides a rich experience that truly characterizes a Saint Mary’s education,” Nekvasil said in the email.

The program will also aim to connect students with peers and faculty professionally.

“With the rapid growth of computational social science as an approach to analyzing the social world, the program is committed to supporting students from underrepresented groups,” the release said. “In addition to the research, the program will provide opportunities for students to develop professional connections with research peers and faculty.”

4

NEWS

The observer | friday, april 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Basketball Continued from page 1

Most recently, the club hosted a tournament on Notre Dame’s campus, sophomore Kate Mulshine, who ser ves as v ice president of the club, said.

The formation of the club team has been in the works since the fall of 2017, junior Caroline VanKirk said.

VanKirk said she was connected w ith current senior Megan Kamm by Club Sports last spring. They now ser ve as co-presidents of the club.

“I had talked to a couple people at club sports about [the prospect of a women’s club basketball team] in the spring of last year, and then they gave me Megan’s

Debate Continued from page 1

debate.

“It’s very simple — we all k now t his. A n embr yo f rom t he moment of concept ion meets t he scient if ic criteria to be considered a life,” DeSa nct is sa id. “It has huma n DNA, so it’s a huma n … Its DNA is ent irely dist inct f rom bot h its mot her a nd its fat her. It is inside t he mot her but not pa r t of t he mot her. This right here is why t he rea lit y t hat abort ion is t he right t hat da re not spea k its na me matters so much.”

DeSa nct is sa id t hese facts a re never recog ni zed because t he opposit ion k nows t he resu lt of t his informat ion w i l l ex pose abor t ion for what it t r u ly is.

“If t hey ack nowledge a fetus as a huma n being, sudden ly t hey a re in a n et hica l minef ield,” she sa id. “Sudden ly t hey have to

contact because Megan had been involved in tr ying to start it the prev ious fall w ith two girls who ended up walking onto the actual team,” VanKirk said.

Freshman tw ins Cate and Maggie Murdock also said they both had interest in the formation of the club team during their senior year of high school.

“W hen we were still deciding where to [attend college] basketball was important,” Cate Murdock said.

Maggie Murdock added that they knew about the lack of a women’s club basketball team, so they emailed club sports and were connected w ith VanKirk.

After the Murdock tw ins, along w ith other interested girls, were connected w ith

VanKirk and Kamm, the team started scrimmaging a couple times a week in the fall. However, at the time, the team wasn’t allowed to reser ve courts because of its pending status as an official club sport, VanKirk said.

Recruitment was largely based on the formation of a group text which included girls who play interhall basketball, VanKirk said.

As the team is in its first year, they chose to not enter a league, which is expensive and restricts teams to certain tournaments, and instead play at indiv idual tournaments, Mulshine said.

VanKirk said their team is hav ing trouble w ith adequate funding due to their success, as there is a ma x imum allocation of funds

that first-year clubs receive.

The club is still on probationar y status, she added.

“It was weird because we won this free bid to nationals, but we have to pay for hotel rooms and plane tickets,” Mulshine said.

Mulshine and VanKirk said the club made a Notre Dame Day v ideo, and even reached out to Notre Dame Day organizers to be on the livestream. There is also a fundraiser for the club on Saturday at Chipotle.

A ll four members interv iewed said their hopes for next season include sustaining their w inning streak, getting more funding and making it to nationals for a second time.

Cate Murdock said she enjoyed the camaraderie of the

ex pla in why it is okay to end a huma n life.”

She discussed how, as a pro-life suppor ter, one must beg in to ca ll abor t ion what it t r u ly is.

“That’s t he rea l foundat ion of my rema rks tonight … because I believe we a ll k now — whet her in our minds or deep, deep in our hea r ts — t hat abor t ion is t he ta k ing of a huma n life,” DeSa nct is sa id. “Abor t ion t hrives in t he da rk, in euphemism.”

Once abor t ion is ex posed for what it t r u ly is, DeSa nct is sa id, it does not look as ent icing to its suppor ters.

“Dispensing of a huma n life does not look like exercising your rights or obta ining hea lt h ca re,” she sa id. “It doesn’t look like f reedom, a nd I doubt it feels like f reedom, but t hese a re t he t hings we hea r about when we t r y to ta lk about abor t ion.”

DeSa nct is concluded her ta lk by stat ing t hat no one

likes t he rea lit y of abor t ion, leading indiv idua ls a nd la rge g roups to sta nd up for what t hey believe in. She sa id t his belief inspires passionate pro-life suppor ters, including t he Not re Da me communit y, to ma ke t rips ever y single yea r to Washing ton, D.C., for t he Ma rch for Life to say abort ion needs to end.

“That’s t he ha rd work of t he pro-life movement,” DeSa nct is sa id. “W hat each of us chooses to do each day, whet her we ca re for ex pecta nt mot hers in need, whet her we have t hose tough conversat ions even when we’d rat her not. By never being a f ra id to say what abor t ion is, we have t he power to show women t hat t he life inside of t hem is a huma n being, t hat it’s dist inct, t hat it matters, t hat it’s va luable a nd t hat t hey a re va luable.”

Art history

Contact Rebecca Stella at rstella01@saintmarys.edu

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Continued from page 1

summer internships in the art world.

The three students, who all held internships this past summer, expressed that their internships gave them skills they could not have acquired while sitting in a classroom. They also said their experiences helped them narrow their interests and discover the work they wanted to do after graduation.

That discovery happened for Burns when she interned at the Hesburgh Library’s Ra re Books a nd Specia l Col lect ions last summer. W hi le she found t he work interest ing, t he summer helped her lea rn more about what t y pe of role she wa nted to play in museum work.

“I t hin k I wa nt somet hing t hat’s more public,” she sa id. “Somet hing t hat I get to interact w it h people.”

Students li ke Burns, Cooga n a nd Cox a im to work in t he a r t world, but t hat is not t he case for a l l a r t histor y students.

Josh Wein hold, assista nt director of communicat ions for t he Col lege of A r ts a nd Letters, sa id t hat a r t histor y students ma ke t heir way into ot her indust ries li ke educat ion, f ina nce a nd adver t ising.

However, even t hese students ca n end up using t heir a r t histor y deg ree despite work ing in a dif ferent f ield.

“A law school student might end up in some form of enter ta inment or copyright law, or someone doing a ser v ice prog ra m li ke A meriCor ps cou ld la nd a job in a n a r t-related f ield a f ter t hat,” he sa id in a n ema il.

But whi le jobs in t he a r t world ex ist, how does one go about gett ing t hem?

team.

“It’s been so fun to hangout w ith all the people on the team. We are all such close friends now,” she said.

“We actually hangout outside of basketball,” VanKirk added.

Mulshine added the communit y of the club is something she has really enjoyed.

“I’ve been here for a year, but I’ve never really found something that is my ‘thing,’” Mulshine said. “It’s really cool to find a group of girls that you have so much in common w ith from different grades and dorms.

I think we all missed that team aspect that we had in high school.”

Contact Cate Von Dohlen at cvondohl@nd.edu

Cox sa id forming connect ions w it h potent ia l employers is essent ia l.

“You t hin k Mendoza [Business School] is network ing … t he a r t world is way more,” she sa id.

St i l l, t he t hree students ag reed t hat t heir ef for t to interact w it h f ig ures in t he indust r y is not a tedious under ta k ing.

“It doesn’t feel li ke network ing,” Burns sa id. “It feels li ke ma k ing f riends.”

W hi le Burns, Cooga n a nd Cox a l l have at least one more summer before g raduat ion, t heir predecessors in t he a r t histor y prog ra m present a hopef u l f uture for when t hat day comes.

According to First Dest inat ion repor ts published by Not re Da me’s Center for Ca reer Development, zero percent of a r t histor y majors at t he Universit y who g raduated in 2017 were seek ing employ ment si x mont hs a f ter g raduat ion.

If a r t histor y students feel worried about limited employ ment oppor tunit ies, t hey do not sha re t heir concerns w it h Professor Elyse Spea ks, t he facu lt y adv isor for t he A r t Histor y Club.

In a n ema i l, she sa id t hat she cou ld not reca l l a ny t ime when students had approached her feeling unsure about t heir li keli hood of post-g raduate success.

So when Meg Burns a nd ot her a r t histor y students get t he quest ion “what a re you going to do w it h t hat? ”, t hey ca n ta ke hea r t in t he ca reers of t hose who have been asked t he quest ion before t hem.

If t he precedent set by recent a r t histor y g raduates at Not re Da me cont inues, t hey w i l l have a n a nswer.

Contact Jack Lyons at jlyons3@nd.edu

5

The observer | friday, april 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

By RYAN ISRAEL Associate Scene Editor

A classical piano plays a familiar melody. A comforting voice begins to sing, “Mama, just killed a man / Put a gun against his head / Pulled my trigger, now he’s dead.”

It’s Freddie Mercury; this is “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a classic rock song long launched back into popular culture by the historically inaccurate, self-aggrandizing Queen biopic named after the track.

Suddenly, a new instrument enters the mix, a building electronic synthesizer, Freddie’s golden voice cuts out, the piano speeds up and now you’ve entered a fullblown tropical electronic dance tune. Sam Smith’s voice begins singing his 2013 hit “Latch” and then, quite surprisingly, Post Malone is singing the chorus of his breakout hit “White Iverson.” You have no idea what’s going on, and rightfully so. From Freddie, to Sam to Post all in under a minute and a half? Well, what’s going on is the Two Friends “Big Bootie Mix, Volume 15.”

Two Friends is quite literally comprised of two friends, Eli Sones and Matthew Halper. Together, they produce some original EDM, which can be found on their Spotify.

But Two Friends are not known for their original works, rather they’re known for their “Big Bootie” mixtape series, which can be found on their Soundcloud.

The Big Bootie Mixes are hour-long mashups of wellknown current and classic songs with electronic dance

By COLLEEN FISCHER Saint Mary’s Editor

Movies exist in many planes of entertainment. The purposes of making movies are as diverse as movies themselves. There are many extraordinary pieces of film, and there are films that are less so. It might be enjoyable to poke fun at a film’s failures, but some films have been deemed “bad” that just aren’t. These movies might have one or two glaring errors, but they are relatively good and simply get a bad rap for certain reasons. These are a few movies that are not only underrated but have also been unjustly judged.

Betrayed by Marketing: Half of a film’s success depends on its marketing. The Wachowskis completely aborted the reputation they created while making the “Matrix” trilogy during the creation of their next film “Speed Racer.” Earning a 40% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, this film was not a commercial success.

The movie is filled with bright colors and exciting graphics (sometimes to a fault) while it mixes in a heartfelt underdog story with the drama of tragedy and the love for sport. The movie was marketed as the sisters’ next drama, when in fact it was an entertaining and touching story. It mixes in the fun of scenes involving

production. A fast paced melody will play, the chorus or a few memorable lines from a popular song will be sung, and then, a sudden beat drop, often accompanied by an audio sample from a popular TV show, movie or viral video, and then back to a new song — this process is repeated ad nauseam, with up to 200 songs included in a mix.

The Big Bootie Mixes are, quite simply, pure sugar.

They are an hour of energy, perfect for only a limited number of situations — when you’re too lazy to DJ your dorm party, when you overdose on pre-workout and try to beat your bench-press record or when you need something to soundtrack your Fortnite sesh. Some of the Big Bootie Mixes are actually quite good if played in the right scenario, with volume 11 and volume 14 standing out above the rest. However, the latest Big Bootie Mix, volume number 15, clearly proves that you can in fact have too much of a good thing.

The problem with “Big Bootie Mix, Volume 15” is a problem that has cropped up in a number of mixes before. Songs that are too unrelated, too dissimilar and just too wrong for each other are placed together. Early in volume 15, Earth, Wind & Fire’s bop “September” is followed by The Neighbourhood’s slow jam “Sweater Weather.” Later, “Scar Tissue” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is succeeded by Kanye West’s “Yikes,” which, even on its own, isn’t a good song. A number of songs are also included that are just plain out of place, like

Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me,” Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah,” Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World” and Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2” — all great songs on their own, but not great in an EDM mix.

“Big Bootie Mix, Volume 15” fails to create enough exciting moments and entertaining beat drops to justify an hour of listening. Granted, there are some good moments, like the transition from Sheck Wes’s “Mo Bamba” to Drake’s verse on “SICKO MODE” at the 38-minute mark and the Rihanna-introduced beat drop at the 23-minute mark. But as a whole, “Big Bootie Mix, Volume 15” is subpar; it sounds like what cheap vodka tastes like, or at least what I assume it would taste like: not good.

monkey candy heists with the harsh sting of remaining idealistic in a world spoiled by capitalism. It simultaneously depicts the love of a family and the love for sport.

Keep drinking that cold milk Speedy and stay away from those “non-jas.”

makes the viewer realize the trivial nature of any individuals’ problems while jamming out to a killer soundtrack.

Maybe this is the reason that every time my friends and I are looking for something to put on at 2 a.m., we click on “Empire Records” and escape into the world of a nonexistent record store.

Contact Ryan Israel at risrael1@nd.edu

“Big Bootie Mix, Volume 15” Two Friends Label: None Favorite Tracks: The transition from “Mo Bamba” to “SICKO MODE” If you like: to party

Betrayed by Ambition: Betrayed by Expectations: Every once in a while, a movie comes out that shamelessly caters to teenagers. “Empire Records” —which earned a solid 29% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes — is only one such movie. Though a significant amount of the movie was cut to maintain a PG-13 rating, it still has the personality of a 16-year-old girl who obsesses over vinyl and uses the word “ironic” too often, but it is incredible.

The movie shows the strife of every teenage character through breakdowns and dramatic displays of affection.

Every person you meet in high school shows up at some point in the film. What makes this movie amazing is also what caused it to fail. The humor has a certain duality of being both completely random and meticulously thought out. This movie simply needed to pick a character to focus on, but instead, it jumps between the drug-addicted princess, the artsy poor boy, the depressed emo kid, the sarcastic deep thinker and the overly sexual teenager. All this ambition — in some convoluted way — plays off the comical nature of the overly simplified characters and

With an all-star cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Morgan Freeman, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco, “Now You See Me” was bound for success.

Though it has the highest of our movies’ Rotten Tomato scores at 50%, I do think that out of these three choices this is objectively the worst. The movie does lack character and resembles a patronizing attempt to please the public, but boy is it entertaining. With the captivating subject (Who doesn’t like magic?) and a stellar cast, it did not turn out as well as it could have. Just because it did not meet expectations does not mean that it is a bad movie, though. The plot is relatively intriguing. The movie’s $75 million budget allowed for it to be well made with stunning depictions of magic. It screams nostalgia for childlike belief in magic — a sting I felt a little too hard when I watched with my parents at the end of my grade-school career. I thought I was more grown up than I was.

Contact Colleen Fischer at cfischer01@saintmarys.edu DIANE PARK | The Observer

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The observer | friday, APRIL 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Inside Column

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Design as a tool How to improve your writing for marketing grade through yet another annoying Viewpoint debtate

Ruby Le

Ad Design Manager

Among businesses and companies, there has been a disenchantment and even skepticism toward graphic design as a component of content marketing. They are missing a huge chunk of communication opportunities.

90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text. Before the audience begins to read the content, their opinion is shaped by the design. Appearance is then one of the factors that they use to form inferences about experience and credence attributes. However, an overuse and misuse in design magazines, books and websites can sometimes manipulate the audience and negatively affect customers’ buying decisions. Thus, it is important to understand how graphic designers create works that impact our perception.

There are specific elements underlying holistic package designs that are crucial for designers to keep in mind.

Every generic design is defined by the association of a certain set of design factors and elements in certain relationships: natural, harmony and elaborate. The first factor, natural, is composed of very basic characteristics such as color schemes, organic versus representative typography and images of nature. For example, a banner with a tree and green background is observed to be more environmental-friendly than that with a building and yellow background. The second factor, harmony, is all about balance and uniformity. For instance, a poster designed with symmetric elements surrounding a central subject is considered to be more harmonious. The third factor, elaborate, illustrates the depth of a design — how well designers can deliver a crucial message by taking into account all details such as typography, amount of image and text, shape, etc. If they fail to make wise decisions to elaborate their work, the essence of a message is not addressed. Thus, from the very beginning, designers need to carefully choose design elements and determine the desired level of congruity among them.

In addition, there are five holistic types of package designs: massive, contrasting, natural, delicate and nondescript designs. It can be inferred that consumers tend to perceive brands with massive packages as low in quality, inexpensive, less healthy and not classy. Take chips as an example, regardless of their brands, almost all types of chips have family size for cheaper value, and most people consider chips as unhealthy food. In contrast to massive designs, contrasting packages lead to stronger impressions of ruggedness but still hint at low quality and inexpensive. This is probably because contrasting packages, despite getting customers’ attention, fail to illustrate sophistication or quality of the product. Instead, natural designs can generate impressions of sincerity and high quality. As a result, they are perceived as healthy and reasonably expensive. To illustrate, nowadays more and more people are willing to pay more money for organiclabeled products because they are regarded as healthy and good options. However, since natural designs are simple and pure, they do not draw much excitement and ruggedness from consumers. Last but not least, delicate designs will generate impressions of high quality, classy, and expensive.

In conclusion, when it comes to product packages, it primarily depends on what brand characteristics managers want to polish and how well designers can accomplish their goals. It is important to understand that before the audience begins to read the content, their opinion is shaped by the design presentation of a product. Thus, if design communicates it is a process — not just a form — it deserves more emphasis in the business world.d.

Contact Ruby Le at ple@nd.edu The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Before you close the View point section and hit the froyo machine for a third time ( W ho’s judging? Not me, but probably God) — stop.

I can help you improve your w riting grade.

Just by reading this letter. Sentence fragments aside. Better yet, I can do it by adding to the a lready-interminable debate over leggings that’s been running since March 25. Read on, and I’ll tell you how the leggings debate illustrates some simple hacks to improve your w riting.

If you want to learn some simple ways to w rite well, read Mrs. W hite’s letter, the antileggings plea that k icked things off. Then read the responses. Ta ke it from this one-time college English teacher: Study ing this debate can improve your w riting.

First, Mrs. W hite’s letter. Agree or disagree w ith her, she w rites well. The rhetoric of her first paragraph, for instance, is deft.

There’s the repetition of three sentences, a ll beg un w ith the same phrase (“I’ve thought,” “I waited,” “I’m not tr y ing”). The rhy thm of the repeated phrases hooks you, as does the curiosit y of just what she’ll object to. Better yet, that thing to which she objects is the last word of the first paragraph. She ca lls attention to the problem by mentioning it and highlights it by putting it at the end of a sentence.

If you can structure your ow n w riting like this, a lot of your professors — especia lly the ones grading their si xth paper in a row — w ill appreciate it.

Mrs. W hite’s choice of language a lso rewards close reading. She could have used snark y, Buzzfeed-st yle lang uage to mock leggings (“5 Reasons You Love Leggings But They Don’t Love You Back”). Or, she could have used a patronizing, materna l tone (“W hen I was a young lady, I never would have been caught in leggings … ). Instead, she couches her obser vations in careful lang uage (she’s “baff led” by the emergence of leggings, not “disgusted” or “enraged”). She appea ls to the reader’s emotions w ith an anecdote (teaching her boys about self-respect w ith Leia’s Return of the Jedi outfit). She goes so far as to openly admit that “leggings are hardly slave girl outfits,” a touch of self-depreciation that creates sy mpathy. Self-depreciation’s a lso how she ends the letter (“thanks for listening to the

lecture, Catholic moms are good at those ! ”).

This is a persona l plea, in straightfor ward language you’d use when spea k ing to someone, face to face.

Contrarily, the responses to Mrs. W hite demonstrate how not to w rite. First, ta ke one student’s response letter that ran on March 27. Many student w riters have an unfortunate tendency to think stilted language sounds intelligent. Teachers hate this. Here’s an example: “In regard to the so-ca lled legging issue, let me share the ma le perspective of a student coming from a family w ith t wo sisters.” This sounds fancy, until you parse it. “In regard to the so-ca lled legging issue” — is he addressing a jur y? I’m at lunch. Or tr y ing to read something until a text interrupts me. Write as if you’re spea k ing to me, not the judge at your parole hearing. “Let me share the ma le perspective” — “the” ma le perspective? “A” ma le perspective. Unless you’re God. A lso, “let me share” — um, OK, what’s stopping you? Share away. Better yet, ma ke your point w ithout describing how you’re going to do so. If you w rite like this, you’ll lose the reader’s interest and any grade above a C-.

But the language is where this w riter rea lly loses me. “It is precisely for this reason that we can’t let something as harmless as leggings be manipulated into a vehicle for the suppression of fema le expression.” That’s 26 words for what could have been done in 10 : “Don’t ma ke clothes an excuse to limit someone’s self-expression.” Worse yet, the unnecessar y words ma ke his argument sound pretentious and silly. If you doubt that, tr y the same language in your daily life: “Hey bruh, I’m tota lly adorning myself w ith this splendiferous button-up as a vehicle for the expression of my heteronormative masculinit y at the Backer tonight.”

Using extra words to pad your argument is tiresome, and you’ll be graded accordingly.

As to the leggings argument itself, well, I don’t have much to say about that. Except, of course, George Or well’s obser vation that language “becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language ma kes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.”

Geoff Hoppe Class of 2006 April 3

Join the conversation.

Submit a Letter to the Editor: viewpoint@ndsmcobserver.com

The observer | friday, APRIL 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

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Renew the commitment This week marks the beginning of Sexual Assault Awareness Month — a time to recognize those affected by sexual assault and to work toward preventing it. On April 25, the tri-campus community will come together in support of this mission for “Take Back The Night,” an annual event meant to increase awareness and support for survivors of sexual assault. The newly elected Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s student government administrations have both voiced plans to increase awareness on the issue. But where the dedication and focus of students on this issue succeeds, the administrations continue to fail.

Both Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s have questionable records when it comes to transparency involving sexual assault. Former College President Carol Ann Mooney’s complicity in masking the problem in the late 2000s and early 2010s has significantly marred her legacy. The administrations’ failures to address sexual violence have been criticized as contributing to the death of Saint Mary’s first year Lizzy Seeberg in 2010. Ten days after Seeberg reported an assault committed by a Notre Dame football player, she was found dead from a prescription medication overdose. Though Seeberg reported the attack to campus police, the alleged perpetrator was not interviewed until five days after Seeberg’s death. That same year, the College established a Belles Against Violence Office (BAVO) led by former director Connie Adams.

As the hub for sexual assault prevention and resources at the College, BAVO originally offered means for students to share their stories confidentially.

Adams led the office for over eight years before an email to the community announced her departure on Jan. 24, 2018. The email asserted the College would be “searching for a leader … in the spring semester.”

More than a year later, however, the job remains unfilled. The position was listed on one job search website as recently as March 8, 2019.

Adams’ departure created a gaping hole for BAVO and Saint Mary’s. Survivor support programs and awareness events which were held last year have not taken place since the position has been vacant.

Adams typically used Welcome Weekend as an opportunity to inform first-year students about the threat of sexual assault and to provide information on the purposes of BAVO. This year, the presentation was absent from orientation. Without Adams to supplement the ‘Sex Signals’ skit, first-year students were left dangerously uninformed on methods to report an assault and resources available to survivors.

Adams’ position has been partially filled by Emerald Blankenship, the current director of Regina Hall. Though Blankenship is the interim BAVO coordinator, her status as a hall director makes her a mandatory reporter. Thus, she cannot remain a confidential resource as she is required to file a Title IX complaint when students come to her with allegations of sexual assault. For students who are assaulted but are not ready to take formal action, a confidant can be a valuable resource in the healing process.

While Blankenship’s willingness to step up is admirable, as a mandatory reporter, she cannot fill the role of a confidential resource.

With Blankenship serving as both the interim coordinator and a mandatory reporter, the two confidential resources available at Saint Mary’s are Campus Ministry and Health and Counseling. Health

and Counseling appointments are often booked days in advance, and the religious route through Campus Ministry cannot be expected to meet the standard that professional counseling offers and may not be a preferred choice for some members of the community.

Saint Mary’s must pursue a renewed commitment to diverse, accessible and simple means for students to report sexual assault. A step in the right direction would be filling the position of BAVO coordinator with an experienced and confidential resource, thereby reinstating the same level of leadership and involvement seen in previous years.

Saint Mary’s has taken steps towards finding a new BAVO coordinator, but the fact that the position remains unfilled over a year after the announcement of Adams’ departure is unacceptable. It is every college and university’s responsibility to ensure the safety and comfort of its students. An issue as prevalent as sexual assault on college campuses should take precedence at a women’s institution which prides itself on its supportive community.

The absence of a permanent BAVO coordinator only perpetuates a culture of silence regarding sexual assault and violence on campus. Leaving the position vacant for so long reflects poorly on the College’s priorities. Though filling this position would not resolve all of the tri-campus communities’ pertinent issues regarding sexual assault on campus, it would demonstrate a commitment to students and their safety.

Confronting sexual assault on college campuses is a complex issue, but the only way to make concrete progress toward addressing this issue is to educate students about the problem by providing them with reliable and trustworthy resources surrounding the issue.

Peggy Noonan is worth hearing Gary J. Caruso Capitol Comments

Notre Dame announced that Peggy Noonan, the Wall Street Journal Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, bestselling author and speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan will deliver the principal address and receive an honorary degree at the University’s upcoming commencement ceremony. Noonan is of my political era — rooted in a time of fierce political rivalry, but one of truth, honor and compromise. While the 1980s was a drastically different social time that former Vice President Joe Biden is currently struggling to bridge in today’s #MeToo atmosphere, it was nonetheless an honorable time for both Democrats and Republicans. Given her connection to Reagan’s political philosophies, the University shrewdly chose a safe, but not groundbreaking speaker for the commencement stage.

Reagan’s election brought the first legitimate conservative government to lead our nation since before the Roosevelt New Deal. The Reagan Administration — not unlike today’s Trump Administration — stood on the foundations of smaller government and less taxes while ironically bulging the national deficit in the name of a “peace through strength” defense policy. Prior GOP Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon had viewed government as a useful tool for bettering society. After all, Eisenhower launched the costly interstate highway public works project after witnessing firsthand the freeway wonders of Europe. Nixon created a new federal agency known as the Environmental Protection Agency; Today, Trump’s pariah.

Under Reagan, Social Security and federal pension systems’ cost of living adjustments were delayed for three months from the fiscal year start at the beginning of October to the calendar year start of January. The ACTION/VISTA agency (a domestic version of the Peace Corps) was gutted in Reagan’s budget, and only survived when the House subcommittee, for which I worked,

maintained its appropriation. Under the guise that states could better disperse funds, Reagan attempted to “block grant” funds to states rather than earmark them for specific programs. Unfortunately, states diverted funds to balance their budgets by redirecting such formerly earmarked line items as school lunches, food stamps, community policing and fine arts projects. Today’s GOP continues to maintain its rhetorical support identical to three decades ago.

As a charter member of those who opposed the Reagan/Noonan political stances, I note that Noonan now sounds like a voice of reason given the Trump chaos that rules today’s government. Truth and lies are the only sides of the same coin. One thing Democrats always knew about Reagan is that he never lied to them or reversed himself after agreeing on a compromise. To Reagan’s credit — and this writer hopes that Noonan had a hand in helping compose the Iran Contra Address to the Nation — Reagan admitted his mistakes and shouldered responsibility upon himself.

For example, Reagan famously admitted before a nationwide audience, “Your trust is what gives a President his powers of leadership and his personal strength, and it’s what I want to talk to you about this evening. … A few months ago I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that’s true; but the facts and the evidence tell me it is not.”

For her part, Noonan echoes a moral perspective when she wrote in the Wall Street Journal on March 28, “We’re in a time of absorbed but subtle and not fully noticed shifts. Old-time liberals and conservatives seem to understand each other more deeply, more generously than they did in the past: In some new way they see the other’s basic political decency. On the other hand the parties they’ve been aligned with offer constant confusion and surprise.”

Certainly, Notre Dame chose Noonan for her grace, accomplishments and oratory prowess. But the University also chose her as a symbol that reaffirms their own “premier Catholic” core values, most notably abortion. It is

safe for institutions of higher learning to feature speakers who do not challenge their orthodoxy, despite common affiliation like former Catholic Governor Mario Cuomo who refused to force his religion on his constituency.

They also avoid campus demonstrations from hard-line zealots who disrespect the office of the presidency — the highest and most prestigious secular position in our nation — like during President Barack Obama’s 2009 visit when he represented the rule of law as defined by our Supreme Court.

However, Noonan can now become feckless while speaking in the spirit of Trump’s March 21 executive order that caters to the president’s conservative base. The order merely and symbolically reiterates Trump’s edict for schools to follow existing laws guaranteeing free inquiry and directs federal agencies that fund research to withhold funding from violators. That frees Noonan as a homeschooler to espouse atheism or the qualities of becoming a Muslim worshiper, of course without espousing Sharia law. Yet, she could so choose such an approach.

Ironically, while Trump’s new executive order governing campus free speech is more symbolism than substance, the eclectic Fox News crowd would be first to oppose listening to any scholarly reasonable stance on either atheism or other hot-button subjects like abortion.

It is that type of audience that lives on the water but never learns to rock the boat. It is exactly for that reason that the imminently articulate featured commencement speaker, Peggy Noonan, should wield journalistic liberties at Notre Dame in May. Gary J. Caruso, Notre Dame ’73, serves in the Department of Homeland Security and was a legislative and public affairs director at the U.S. House of Representatives and in President Clinton’s administration. His column appears every other Friday.

Contact him on Twitter: @GaryJCaruso or email: GaryJCaruso@alumni.nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

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DAILY

The observer | friday, april 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Crossword | Will Shortz

Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Put your emotional energy to good use this year. It’s better to build physical strength through fitness and healthy living and to avoid confrontations with individuals who are trying to use you. Maintain a clear head and a fit body that will help you overcome adversity. Caution and strategy will help you reach your goal. Your numbers are 4, 18, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Keep your emotions steady and your eyes on what’s going on around you. Look at the big picture in order to see how to handle anyone who gives you a hard time. Stick to your standards and goals.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Follow through and finish what you start without making a big deal or letting others in on your plans prematurely.

What you accomplish will give you greater insight into how to build momentum and carry on.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Make changes for the right reason. If you listen to someone else, you are likely to end up making a mistake. Be resourceful, and come up with your own plan. Do your own thing, and walk away from anyone trying to interfere.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Take a close look at what others are doing to see if there is something you can learn or gain if you participate. Time is precious, so use it wisely. Time spent with someone you love will be enlightening.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Make plans to do something new. Taking a day trip, making a personal change or checking out the possibility of a position or business opportunity that can improve your life will encourage you to expand your knowledge, experience and connections.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Draw on experience, and follow the path that encourages better relationships and doing things that bring you joy. Life changes will be enlightening and offer insight into new ways to swap what’s not working for what will.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Emotions will be close to the surface, making it important to keep busy and to get into something you enjoy doing. The less time you have, the easier it will be to avoid someone who tends to be critical.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Size up what you like about your life, the way you look and the people you associate with, and make some subtle adjustments. Love and romance are featured and will promote a healthy relationship.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Spend more time at home. Set up a personal space dedicated to doing something you enjoy. Don’t let anyone use your talents for his or her benefit. If you are too trusting, someone will take advantage of you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Control your emotions in order to bypass an altercation with someone close to you. Getting along will be half the battle, and an easygoing attitude and staying focused on doing your own thing are preferable. Personal physical improvement is favored.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Consider ways to bring in more cash.

An idea you have or a talent you want to develop can lead to a new enterprise. Clear a space at home to work toward your goal. A personal improvement plan is encouraged.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Look past what’s going on around you.

Take the initiative to start something new. A day trip or educational pursuit will lead to ideas that can help you move in a different direction.

Personal gain is heading your way.

Birthday Baby: You are energetic, impressionable and adaptable. You are outgoing and trusting.

WINGin’ it | OLIVIA WANG & BAILEE EGAN

Sudoku | The Mepham Group

Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek

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SPORTS

ndsmcobserver.com | friday, april 5, 2019 | The Observer

MlB | Athletics 7, red sox 3

Sports Authority

Women’s tourney deserves respect Joe Everett Senior Sports Writer

The two upcoming Final Four matchups this weekend should prove to be must-watch TV. No, I’m not talking about Michigan State-Texas Tech and Auburn-Virginia (though those should be great games as well).

Instead, in this Sports Authority, I’m highlighting what should be an even better round of Final Four matchups: Baylor-Oregon and Notre Dame-Connecticut.

But instead of breaking down each matchup, putting forward my “keys to the game” and highlighting the important players from each team (which is admittedly a shame, since all four teams have so many fantastic players), I want to start by making a confession.

I’ve never been a fan of women’s basketball.

I mean, yeah, I’ll admit it.

You would hear the same complaints from me as you would from a lot of other people: The game’s not exciting enough, the same teams win every year and it’s not just the same as men’s basketball — it doesn’t have the same drama, flair or star power. I’d rather find $10 then have the local WNBA team win the championship.

Again, I’ll repeat it: I’ve never been a fan of women’s basketball.

That is, until now.

Now, I still can’t say that I’ve watched a lot of the WNBA (which is partially because it never really seems to be prioritized on the big networks). So, I’m still ignorant on that point.

No, my conversion came from simply watching a few games of the women’s college basketball tournament this season.

After having written an entire senior thesis about the virtue of play and the power of sports to bring people together and help cultivate a better society, the way in which I view sport — and play — has changed a lot over the past year.

When you’re on a team, by being selfless and putting the

9

goals of the team before yourself, you begin to cultivate values of solidarity, kinship and loyalty with your teammates. There is a bond there that bridges any human-made divide that we so often see within our larger society. Play, in its ideal form, can transcend all these things to something higher.

That’s what I see in the game of women’s college basketball.

It’s a beautiful game. Players cut and move and screen for each other without hesitation.

Some of the best plays are often passes or a demonstration of incredible vision to see a teammate. There’s an insane understanding of the fundamentals of basketball that is actually jaw-dropping when you stop and take time to realize how well the players play.

Aesthetically, then, it’s incredible. But it’s also great to see women make incredible individual shots and to get fired up and to trash-talk on the court. I think it’s incredibly refreshing and exciting to see.

If last year’s Final Four is any indication, there is no lack of drama in women’s basketball.

“BUT THEY CAN’T DUNK!” Well, yeah, bro, neither can I! You probably can’t either, for that matter. Yet we still love to play basketball anyway. In fact, it makes the game more fun and more challenging.

The NBA looks far too easy for so many giants nowadays. It’s much more rewarding to creatively find a way to get a good look near the basket when you don’t have the option of simply lobbing it up to the tall guy. The game becomes all the more beautiful and team-oriented.

So what am I saying? Watch the women’s Final Four tonight, and see for yourself what I’m talking about.

Furthermore, put some respect on the name of women’s basketball. They’ve earned it.

This new fan will be watching tonight. You should too.

Contact Joe Everett at jeveret4@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Write Sports.

Email Ellen Geyer at egeyer1@nd.edu

A’s beat Red Sox behind Piscotty’s bat Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. — Center fielder Ramon Laureano threw out another Red Sox runner in a key spot, and the Oakland Athletics kept Boston stumbling with a 7-3 win on Thursday.

Laureano tossed out three runners as the A’s took three of four in the series. Stephen Piscotty went 4 for 4 with a home run, double and five RBIs to help Oakland win for the fifth time in six games.

The Red Sox fell to 2-6, the worst start for a defending World Series champion since the Marlins struggled in 1998.

J.D. Martinez homered for Boston.

Mookie Betts led off the Red Sox ninth inning with a

walk and tried to take third when Andrew Benintendi followed with a bloop single. But Laureano charged the ball hard and threw on the run to catch Betts, with the out call being upheld on replay.

On Tuesday night, Laureano threw out Xander Bogaerts at third as he tried to stretch a double in the ninth inning of a game Oakland won 1-0. On Monday, Laureano threw out Bogaerts at the plate early in a 7-0 win for the A’s.

The 24-year-old Laureano made his major league debut last year. He now has 12 assists in only 57 games in the outfield with the A’s.

Brett Anderson (2-0) gave up three runs on eight hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings.

Anderson walked home

two runs in the first inning.

Martinez connected for his third home run in the third, making it 3-0.

The A’s tied it in the third on Piscotty’s three-run homer off Eduardo Rodriguez (0-2).

Rodriguez gave up six runs on eight hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings.

Piscotty got a gift two-run double with two outs in a threerun third. Oakland had runners at second and third when Piscotty hit a fly to the warning track that split Jackie Bradley Jr. in center and Betts in right — neither called for the ball and it landed between them, bouncing over the fence for a double.

A’s relievers Lee Trivino, Joakim Soria and Liam Hendriks combined for 3 2/3 innings of shutout ball.

ncaa | Women’s basketball AP awards

Gustafson wins player of year, Mulkey top coach Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. — Megan Gustafson rewrote the women’s basketball record book at Iowa.

The 6-foot-3 center led the nation in scoring for the second straight season, averaging 27.9 points, and became the fourth player to reach 1,000 points in a year. On Thursday, she won The Associated Press women’s college basketball player of the year award.

“She’s an amazing young woman who left an incredible legacy at this school,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said.

Led by Gustafson, the Hawkeyes reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 1993. That season, coach Kim Mulkey and Baylor ended their season.

Mulkey was also honored Thursday, taking the AP coach of the year award for the second time. She has led topranked Baylor to a 35-1 record and helped the Lady Bears reach the Final Four for the first time since 2012. That was when Mulkey won the coach of the year, leading Baylor to a 40-0 record and the national championship.

Gustafson set an NCAA record this season with 412 field goals. She tied the mark for double-doubles with 33. She

shot 69.7 percent from the field this season and finished her career by making nearly 66 percent of her shots.

The Iowa staff surprised Gustafson that she had won the award by slipping in a note while she was reading letters from fans.

“I was not expecting it at all.

I love my coaches and they’ve been so supportive of me,” Gustafson said. “It’s been an incredible ride. I’m in a little bit in shock right now, really excited to have represented Iowa.”

Gustafson helped the Hawkeyes reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1993 and led the nation in scoring for the second consecutive year.

Gustafson’s family was joined at the awards ceremony by her parents and her sister.

She received 15 votes Thursday from the 28-member national media panel that selects the weekly AP rankings.

Voting was done before the NCAA Tournament.

Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon received seven votes while Napheesa Collier of UConn three. Asia Durr of Louisville had two votes and Teaira McCowan of Mississippi State one.

Mulkey received 17 votes while Wes Moore of North Carolina State and Vic Schaefer

of Mississippi State each received five and Bluder one.

“Listen, any award that I receive, you know good and well that goes back to the kids you coach, period,” Mulkey said.

“We are only as good as those kids on that floor, and I’ve been blessed to coach numerous great players. And I would trade any award for every one of them to experience a national championship. Let’s get that straight.

“But at the end of the day, that award brings recognition to the program, to the players, and to the school first.

And what it does for me, it just gathers dust that I have to get a little cloth and dust off. But I’m humbled. It can go to so many people. You just want to be relevant, and you want to just give these kids an opportunity to experience a Final Four and a national championship.”

Mulkey, who brought her team up on stage after accepting the award, said she’s grown as a coach since her last trip to the Final Four in 2012.

“You know when to laugh more, and you know to cut up with them more, and when to be serious,” she said. “It’s your job as a coach to figure out those personalities and what motivates them, and make sure that you’ve got great leadership in that locker room.”

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Baseball Continued from page 12

Eric Gilgenbach, will take on a Cavaliers pitching staff that has racked up a 4.41 ERA in 255 innings in 2019. The Cavaliers have surrendered 15 home runs to opposing batters this season, good for the sixth-most in the conference.

Kavadas and Gilgenbach have combined to slug 15 home runs this season, and Aoki said Kavadas has made some corrections that have led to his power surge.

“I think Niko just early in the year struggled with a few things,” Aoki said. “He’s made a few mechanical adjustments, and he’s swinging the bat well.”

Kavadas — a Granger native and Penn High School standout — saw his batting average dip to .177 after an 0-for-5 performance against Clemson on March 15. Over his last 10 games since then, Kavadas has collected hits in 8 games

Yeadon Continued from page 12

freestyle and 14th with a time of 4:14.84 in the 500-meter freestyle event. This was a step back from his fourth-place finish last year with a time

ndsmcobserver.com | FRIDAY, April 5, 2019 | The Observer

1

and raised his batting average to .224. He has slugged two home runs over the course of his last two games.

“Niko’s a good hitter, and he wasn’t going to continue to struggle,” Aoki said.

The Irish and the Cavaliers have not faced off since 2017, but Aoki said he believes his team will be prepared for the matchup against an unfamiliar opponent.

“These days, with as much video as there is and all the information that’s out there in various forms, I don’t think [Virginia is] totally unfamiliar,” he said.

Sophomore southpaw Tommy Sheehan will start on the mound in game one of the series Friday night. Junior lefty Cameron Brown takes the hill Saturday, and junior right-hander Cameron Junker will start in the series finale Sunday. The series is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Friday.

ALLISON THORNTON | The Observer

Contact Ryan Kolakowski at rkolakow@nd.edu

Irish sophomore infielder Spencer Myers makes a dash to first base after connecting with a ball during Notre Dame’s 12-3 victory over Florida State on March 23 at Frank Eck Stadium.

of 14:35.98 in the 1,650-meter freestyle — earning himself First-Team All-America honors in the process — and 10th-place finish with a time of 14:13.95 in the 500-meter freestyle, but the performance was still good for All-American Honorable Mention honors for

Yeadon.

In the wake of this year’s season, Yeadon said he believes these results “enable [the team] to take a step back right now, and in the coming weeks, to talk about what happened and to develop a plan moving forward.”

“We have come a long way since the start of my freshman year,” Yeadon continued. “I think it’s always been for the better. We’re continuing towards a team that’s going to be able to compete at the national level.”

Yeadon is shaping up as

a force to be reckoned with across all levels of swimming.

This summer, he will represent the United States at the World University Games in Naples, Italy.

M Lax

with its effective offensive performance this season, scoring 12.12 goals per game and holding its opponents to 9.75 points per game, on average. Duke’s offensive performance has been equally effective, scoring an average of 12.36 goals per game and allowing its opponents 9.09 scores. Both teams have won a comparable percentage of their faceoffs, with .528 and .558% for the Irish and the Blue Devils, respectively.

Notre Dame has the slight edge over Duke in shot percentage — with .337% compared to .311 — and a substantially larger advantage in man-up opportunities, converting on .410% as opposed to Duke’s .250 conversion percentage.

The Blue Devils may have a slight edge over the Irish on the defensive end of the field, posting a slightly higher goalie save

percentage than Notre Dame.

Matt Schmidt, Notre Dame’s sophomore starting goalie is a pretty even match for Duke’s senior Turner Uppgren, who stops .500% of opponent’s shots compared with Schmidt’s .472%.

Notre Dame’s experienced midfielders junior Bryan Costabile and senior Brendan Gleason led the team to victory against the Orange. The duo provided positive momentum early in the game, giving the Irish a 2-0 lead about three minutes in and combined for eight goals throughout the game. The Irish will look to both for the largely successful performances they brought to Notre Dame’s three previous top-10 victories.

No. 7 Notre Dame will face off against No. 8 Duke at noon Saturday at Koskinen Stadium.

Continued from page 12

KENDRA OSINSKI | The Observer

Irish sophomore midfield Morrison Mirer cuts past a defender during Notre Dame’s 14-13 home victory over Maryland on March 3.

The Blue Devils (8-3, 0-2 ACC) are coming off a hard-fought rivalry loss at UNC, falling 10-8 to the Tar Heels in their second conference game. With homefield advantage, Duke will look to preserve its near-perfect record at Koskinen Stadium and secure its first ACC win this season.

Notre Dame’s (5-3, 1-1 ACC) recent victory against Syracuse advanced the Irish five spots in the rankings. The team’s 13 goals were on par

Contact Inigo Yturralde at iyturralde@nd.edu

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KENDRA OSINSKI | The Observer

Irish senior midfield Brooks Tyrrell attempts to divert the pathway of a defender during Notre Dame’s 14-13 victory over Maryland at Loftus Sports Center on March 3. The Irish defeated the Terps in overtime.

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The observer | friday, april 5, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Baseball | ND 7, Central michigan 17

Irish drop first game of homestand to Central Michigan, prepare to host ACC rival Virginia

By RYAN KOLAKOWSKI Sports Writer

Notre Dame is finally playing baseball at home after spending much of the early-season schedule on the road, and head coach Mik Aoki said he hopes the South Bend weather will cooperate during the second half of the season.

The Irish (11-15, 6-6 ACC) played their first 19 games — and 22 of their first 27 — on the road, mostly traveling to the baseball-appropriate climates of Arizona, North Carolina and South Carolina, Texas and Georgia. Of the 28 games remaining on the schedule, 20 will be played at Frank Eck Stadium.

The Irish began a 10-game homestand Tuesday night when they hosted Central Michigan for a mid-week, non-conference contest. The Irish fell behind after surrendering a first-inning run to the Chippewas, but sophomore catcher David LaManna’s sacrifice fly scored sophomore third baseman Niko Kavadas to tie the game at 1 in the bottom of the second.

Central Michigan scored six more runs — two of which were

unearned — over the next two innings to secure a 7-1 lead over the Irish. A Notre Dame rally cut the deficit to two runs in the seventh inning, but the Chippewas plated five runs in the eighth inning and another five in the ninth inning to flatten the Irish comeback.

Notre Dame scored two more runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the offense could not overcome the mountainous 10goal remaining deficit late in the game, dropping the matchup to Central Michigan 17-7 to start its 10-game homestand.

Despite his team’s shaky start, Aoki said he is hoping playing at home will prove to be beneficial for the Irish.

“It’s nice to be home,” he said.

“This is a league that seems like teams play a lot better at home than they do on the road, so we’re hoping to continue that.”

This weekend, Notre Dame continues its homestand with a threegame series against Virginia (17-12, 6-6 ACC). The Irish offense, led by Kavadas and senior outfielder see BASEBALL PAGE 11

ALLISON THORNTON | The Observer

Irish junior first baseman Daniel Jung makes contact with the ball during Notre Dame’s 12-3 victory over Florida State on March 23 at Frank Eck Stadium. Jung recorded two runs and two RBIs in the Irish victory.

ND MEN’S LACROSSE

Swimming

Yeadon strives for more after setting records

By INIGO YTURRALDE Sports Writer

For Zach Yeadon, swimming is not so much an individual sport as it is about the people and teammates around him.

The sophomore Sorin College resident is a rising star on Notre Dame’s swimming team. A native of San Antonio, Yeadon already boasts an impressive resume. He has competed at the collegiate and national levels and will soon represent the United States at an international meet.

Yeadon said swimming has been a passion of his from a young age, having started when he was six years old.

“I was watching the local YMCA swim,” he said. “I decided that it looked like fun, and I just started swimming after that.”

Yeadon’s swimming career has come a long way since his days at the YMCA. While a student at Reagan High School, the San Antonio-based swimmer won the 500-meter freestyle at his district championship and at the 2017 Texas 6A state

championship, setting a district record in the process.

The 6-foot-5, 170-pound swimmer committed to the Irish after his junior year of high school after particularly connecting with associate head coach Aaron Bell.

“I really liked the team when I took my official visit here,” Yeadon said on why he chose Notre Dame. “I could really see myself being a part of the team.

I loved the coaches. I really liked Aaron Bell, who recruited me the whole way and is currently my distance coach. … I think one of the best things about coming here is that I was able to refresh my training. I was able to train under Aaron, who brought in a different type of training than I trained under in high school.”

In addition to expressing strong admiration for his coaches, Yeadon said he attributes much of his growth to the guidance of upperclass members of the team.

“I was able to train with other guys such as Richard Mannix and Benjamin Jany [both of the class of 2018 who] would help me train faster in the water,” he said.

“They would push me more than I was in high school.”

As a freshman, Yeadon set program records for the 500-meter (4:12.74), 1,000-meter (8:51.16) and 1,650-meter (14:34.60) freestyle events. He bested the record of his teammate Mannix for the 1,000-meter freestyle at the first dual meet of the season. In regards to how he accomplishes these records, Yeadon said simply, “It takes a lot of hard work.”

“It becomes a journey after that to see what you truly can accomplish over the course of the season,” he said about how he pushes himself after his recordbreaking performances. “Once the records fall, then you are looking towards more nationally. Let’s get into the conversation for top eight at the NCAA competition. Then you keep going, let’s try to get top four at the NCAA competition. You just see what you can do.”

From March 27 through 30 at this year’s NCAA championships, Yeadon placed 13th with a time of 14:42.90 in the 1,650-meter see YEADON PAGE 11

Squad prepares for road matchup

KENDRA OSINSKI | The Observer

Irish junior midfield Bryan Costabile carries the ball up field during Notre Dame’s 14-13 victory over Maryland on March 3.

Observer Sports Staff

Follow ing its 13-10 home v ictor y over then-No. 8 Sy racuse, Notre Dame w ill head to Durham, North Carolina, to face No. 8 Duke at noon Saturday, the team’s third conference matchup of the season. The No.

7 Irish have already won three games against top-10 teams this season — including Mar yland, Denver and Sy racuse — and w ill face the Blue Dev ils w ith the hope of attaining a fourth big v ictor y. see M LAX PAGE 11