Print Edition of The Observer for Thursday, October 3, 2019

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Volume 54, Issue 26 | THURSDAY, october 3, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Students attend provost listening session Provost Search Committee seeks undergraduate input on qualifications for position candidates

By MARIA PAUL RANGEL News Writer

Following the announcement that Thomas Burish was stepping down as provost at the end of the academic year, University President Fr. John Jenkins and the search committee elected by the Academic Council held a listening session for undergraduates Wednesday afternoon.

The goal of the session was to “inform our thinking about the qualities we should seek in the next provost of Notre Dame,” Jenkins said in an email sent last week to the University’s students. After receiving input from students, faculty and staff, the search committee will develop a position prospectus

describing the qualities candidates for the position should possess, the President explained.

“Few decisions are as consequential for a university as the selection of a new provost,” Jenkins said in an email to the community sent last month.

The provost is in charge of a wide range of duties, Carl Ackermann, search committee member and professor of finance at the University, said.

“The provost is charged with administering and coordinating the academic activities and functions. But an excellent provost does so much more. She or he must be an exceptional listener, see PROVOST PAGE 4

EMMA FARNAN | The Observer

Carl Ackermann, a finance professor and member of the Provost Search Committee, talks at the provost listening session on Wednesday night. The purpose of the session was to capture student feedback.

SMC dinner Lecturer discusses celebrates Electoral College changes Hispanic Heritage

By GRACE McDERMOTT News Writer

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump won the White House on the strength of his Electoral College triumph, though he lost the national popular vote to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Since then, the legitimacy of the Electoral College has been the subject of national debate. On Wednesday, ND Votes kicked off this year’s iteration of their Pizza, Pop and

CALLIE PATRICK | The Observer

A mariachi band performs at a dinner Wednesday hosted by Saint Mary’s Student Diversity Board to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

By CALLIE PATRICK News Writer

Hispanic Heritage Month is a nationwide celebration running this year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 in the United States.

It is a time for people to recognize the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the country’s

NEWS PAGE 3

culture, heritage and history.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage month, Saint Mary’s Student Diversity Board held a dinner for students who wished to come together and celebrate these contributions with the community. see HERITAGE PAGE 3

SCENE PAGE 5

Politics lecture series with a presentation titled “Reforming the Electoral College: Silver Bullet or Dangerous Gamble?” Professor Joshua Kaplan, the political science department’s director of undergraduate studies, was invited to host the first lecture of the academic year and opened with a slide reading, “Be Careful What You Wish For.” The opening slide was not meant to take a position on one side or another of the debate, but to present Kaplan’s argument

that every reform of the Electoral College comes with its own consequences and problems.

“I don’t want to debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College or to make a recommendation, but this is going to be very important in the coming years,” Kaplan said. “It has gone from being a technicality in the way we elect a president to a contentious and partisan political argument.”

Kaplan prefaced his see COLLEGE PAGE 4

College hosts prayer event for environmental cause

By HANNAH THOMAS News Writer

An opportunity to unwind through prayer for the world is just around the corner at the Saint Mary’s Prayer of Care for Creation event. Liz Palmer, Campus Ministry’s assistant director, and Trevis Young, campus minister for music and liturgy, are heading the prayer

VIEWPOINT PAGE 6

service for the environment.

Young said the event is meant to evoke Pope Francis’ environmental teachings.

“The Pope wrote ‘Laudato Si,’ which kind of tried to bring back to our mind that we were actually originally instructed to take care of the Earth, not to just use it for our own needs,” he said.

For her part, Palmer said

CROSS COUNTRY PAGE 12

the event fits in nicely with other programming Campus Ministry has done this semester, such as the Busy Person’s Retreat.

“They will touch base with a spiritual guide or mentor for 30 minutes to talk about where has God’s movement been in their life, where has it been in their see PRAYER PAGE 4

MEN’S GOLF PAGE 12

2

TODAY

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Cheerleader Estefania Guthrie performs on the sideline during Notre Dame’s 35-20 win over Virginia on Saturday in Notre Dame Stadium. With the win, the Irish improved to 3-1 on the season. The team will take on Bowling Green this coming weekend.

The next Five days:

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Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Indianapolis Ballet DeBartolo Peforming Arts Center 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Tickets available online.

“Fairness, Sanction and Condemnation.”

104 Bond Hall 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Lecture by consultant on “The Good Place.”

Saturdays with the Saints Andrews Auditorium, Geddes Hall 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Lecture Series.

Basilica Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart 11:45 a.m.

All are welcome to attend.

Lecture: Socialist China and the West 1050 Jenkins-Nanovic Hall 12:30 p.m.

Liu Institute to host.

“Even the Rain — También la lluvia” Hesburgh Center, Auditorium 6:30 p.m. - 9 p.m Film and discussion.

Labor Café: “Green New Deal” Geddes Hall Coffee House 5 p.m. - 6 p.m Open to the public.

“Looking at the Stars” Snite Musuem of Art All day Irish modern painting exhibit.

Rosary for Life Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes 1 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Hosted by the McGrath Institute.

Men’s Golf: Fighting Irish Classic Warren Golf Course All day Men’s golf’s only home event of the year.

News

ndsmcobserver.com | THURSDAY, october 3, 2019 | The Observer

3

STUDENT SENATE

Senate discusses residential life policy changes

By JACK JERIT News Writer

At their weekly meeting, the Notre Dame student senate met with the sophomore class council leaders to discuss the new policy regarding off-campus seniors’ ability to participate in formal dorm events. Members of the sophomore class council had been meeting with vice president for student affairs Erin Hoffmann Harding and associate vice president for residential life Heather Rackoczy Russell about the school’s intentions with the change and potential modifications to the policy.

Sophomore class council president Jordan Theriault said the administration was interested in working with students to modify new residential life policies announced last spring.

“From what they gathered from the students, there seemed to be some sort of confusion between about what the relationship with offcampus seniors was, whether they were supposed to and were able to come back and participate in sports, hall, dances and whatnot. … They don’t want seniors to come in and take full advantage of those without having something to give,” he said. “To sum it all up, they released this policy last year with still a lot to be worked out, but it was not a policy completely set in stone; they wanted to work with us about solutions going forward.”

Other issues covered in the meeting between the council

Heritage Continued from page 1

The dinner included popular Latino dishes such as empanadas, quesadillas and enchiladas with a dessert section that included Spanish f lan and churros and drinks such as pineapple agua fresca. The celebration and meal was accentuated with the addition of an eight member mariachi band playing in the forefront. Students could be seen dancing to the band and giving song suggestions as the celebrations continued.

“During Ronald Reagan’s presidency, Congress passed a law that established a

and the school administrators included the final deadline to decide upon this policy change and protests regarding the shift. There are plans in place for the sophomore class council to send out a survey to students about the exclusion policy.

Senators had a variety questions and comments about the meeting and this potential survey to be sent out in the coming weeks. Senior Quentin Colo, off-campus senator, took concern over the description of the relationship between off-campus seniors and the dorm.

“I know you’re not arguing for their policy — you’re just the liaison — but taking oneway relationships the way the University is describing it, it sounds like the relationship between off-campus students and on-campus students is parasitic; that we are somehow coming on campus and taking,” Colo said. “I think that language is incredibly harmful to anyone who is offcampus. I like to think that my off-campus friends [and I], we provide a lot to the on campus community.”

Theriault clarified some of the sensitive issues with language coming from the administration.

“It is all about language.

We had a conversation with Heather Rackoczy Russell about community, and that is the heart of what this really stems from and trying to figure out what the administration views as community and what we view as community on campus; there seems to be a sort of rift between them,”

he said, “Part of the policy is trying to form it into language that is both clear and also not degrading to off-campus [residents].”

The sophomores said the University indicated it will allow seniors to partake in formal dorm events as long as they meaningfully participate in their dorm’s community.

This idea of meaningfully participating in the dorm begot more concerns from senators, including junior D.C. Morris from Fisher Hall.

“What is participation? Is it like going back to my study room in Fisher and helping other chemistry majors with class? Because that is not official participation,” Morris said. “The very presence of off-campus seniors advising, telling kids about life at Notre Dame — that’s not official.

That isn’t like playing shoots and ladders with the RA or anything like that. The whole idea of participation, it seems they are trying to formalize that, like if you come back for certain events or raise money for the dorm and stuff like that. It’s more than that; it’s like the very presence of those seniors being there to tell kids what classes to take, what internships to do.”

Luke Sheridan-Rabideau, sophomore senator from Keenan, pointed out a contradiction between building community and attendance at dorm events.

“The events are kind of what builds community,” SheridanRabideau said. “That’s where I’ve met pretty much everybody who is an off-campus senior, so I think having the

requirement that you need to build community to go to the events is kind of counterproductive since the events are what build community.”

Sophomore Samuel Delmer, the Dillon senator, pointed out that seniors contributed to the dorm for the three years prior to moving off-campus.

“Seniors who have contributed to their dorm before, clearly they don’t stop — having contributed in the past — by virtue of being seniors; they’re not just seniors alive for that year. They’re human beings who have contributed to the dorm in the past,” Delmer said. “The administration really likes the dorm policy, and it’s something they pride themselves in. They may think it’s what makes Notre Dame special. I think we are ultimately what makes Notre Dame special, and I think our decisions as adults are what make Notre Dame special.

Telling us where to live, where we can go and what communities we can join is kind of degrading.”

Other points brought up in the meeting include trying to involve the Hall Presidents Council in the talks, hearing from members of the dorms at hall council meetings, involving freshmen and other ways of showing participation.

In addition to the meeting today, the student senate passed a bill proposed last month requiring all individuals holding enumerated student government positions to complete GreeNDot training

by January 1, 2020.

Main concerns previously in discussion were whether

to make the training recommended or mandatory, and the logistics of getting more than 100 officials certified. An amendment made the training mandatory, and Anne Jarrett, student government’s director of gender relations, addressed concerns about logistics at the meeting.

“I had a meeting with the [Gender Relations Center] and basically found out that there are 20 plus GreeNDot trainings a semester usually,” Jarrett said. “The GRC was not concerned at all about making it super easy. They basically have GreeNDot training once a week, and then the way the checking would work is that either you have all positions sign a release that they are GreeNDot status whenever they take office, it can be released to president, vicepresident or chief of staff, or we can do what the athletics department does because the athletics department requires the same kind of thing with GreeNDot training and that would mean that we print out the list of people who have positions. We hand the list to the GRC; the GRC says ‘yes’ and what date, gives the list to Karen Kennedy and from there she can make the list of who we need to contact. Super feasible, and the GRC is very excited about this.”

At the recommendation of senior Tiffany Rojas, chair of the Diversity Council, the student senate may look into a similar bill for racial awareness.

Hispanic Heritage Month on Aug. 17, 1988. President George H. W. Bush then issued the first proclamation of the national holiday on Sept. 14, 1989,” said senior Jazmin Herrera, president of the Student Diversity Board.

“This year marks the 30th annual Hispanic Heritage Month.”

Senior Eliana Sanchez — president of La Fuerza, the College’s club representing Latina culture on campus — said the month is a celebration of the beauty of countries with Hispanic heritage.

“We are the fruit that our parents and grandparents planted. Our culture enriches this country. Seeing our

people becoming successful and overcoming the odds is something worth celebrating,” Sanchez said. “Each one of us sitting in this room is worth celebrating. We have future law yers, educators, activists and so many more bright futures at every table.

Please continue the growth our parents, grandparents and peers have created.”

On the topic of positive growth, the two students shared some facts pertaining to the growing accomplishments of the Latino population.

“By 2020, the Hispanic population is expected to reach 70 million, and by 2050 one in four Americans will be

Hispanic,” Herrera said.

America’s Hispanic community also holds growing economic clout, Sanchez said.

“If it were a nation in itself, the U.S. Hispanic market would be one of the top 10 economies in the world,” Sanchez said.

Furthermore, Herrera said the Latino population is increasingly represented in the top educational tier of American society.

“The Hispanic population has been steadily increasing in college degree attainment by about 0.5 percentage points each year, and over the last decade, they have raised their representation between 30% and 40% in

teaching, law, medicine and management professions,” Herrera said.

The two speakers urged for students to continue to fight for positive growth.

“Although we have accomplished a lot in this nation, there is still much more work to do,” Sanchez said.

Herrera expressed gratitude for the College’s effort to support its Latina students.

“Keep fighting for our representation, advocacy and future in this country,” Herrera said. “Thank you to all of those who nurture our growth, here at Saint Mary’s.”

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Contact Jack Jerit at jjerit@nd.edu

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4

NEWS

The observer | THURSDAY, october 3, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Prayer

College

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

prayer life, and having that continuity of mentorship and meeting allows us to analyze life in an intentional way,” she said.

The retreats and prayer services allow students to establish consistent involvement with Campus Ministry. Students are also able to lead both the upcoming and future prayer services once they attend a training workshop.

“I always appreciate these types of prayer opportunities,” Palmer said. “I think it empowers women to find their space in the worship community and how to bring a community together, how to lead that community through prayer and create this welcoming inclusive space through their presence.”

The Prayer of Care for Creation is intended to be a mindful service for those in the retreat as well as the public. Attendees will ponder God’s gift of creation and how humans are meant to interact with it.

“The care for creation came about because, for a long time, the Church saw creation as God’s gift to us as humans to … care for it, and now we realize that we’ve really abused the Earth,” Young said. “We haven’t taken care of it.”

The service is designed similarly to what is known as a vesper, which is meant to create a space for prayer and reflection. In the upcoming service, there will be scripture readings with corresponding psalms and music.

“A vesper service ... is just an evening prayer service in the Catholic Church,” Young said.

“There’s usually two psalms … so one is giving thanks for creation, and then one that’s kind of a prayer for ourselves to be thinking about being mindful.”

Along with a hymn, known as the Litany for the Earth, the service will also include a silent reflection.

“There’s a time for people to [stop] and pause from their busy days and pause from their lives and just try to focus on creation and being mindful,” Young said.

Young said the event offers a chance to step back at the end of the day.

“It’s just a way to calm my mind as you go towards the evening, kind of to put your mind at ease and have some peace,” he said.

This prayer service also presents an opportunity for people who are thinking about how to best advocate on behalf of the world’s climate through their faith, Palmer said.

“That call to action through prayer, and how it is grounded in faith, I think, especially coming off of last week, which was the Global Climate Strike and how we saw advocacy across campus,” she said. “I think that this is a great way to integrate those experiences into a worship space in prayer and having this be a culminating experience.”

presentation by refuting the idea that Clinton would have certainly won the without the Electoral College. The College, in which every state gets a certain number of votes based on its total number of representatives in both houses of Congress, is now capped and does not adjust for population growth or loss, leaving urban voters underrepresented by their electors.

Kaplan noted that even with an accurately proportioned Electoral College, Trump still would have won the College.

Though he did not lean one way or another on the current debate, Kaplan did say he does not think the Electoral College would happen today if the United States rewrote Article 2.

“I think it’s safe to say that none of us would come up with Electoral College. Even the most ardent defenders probably wouldn’t recreate it if we had a chance to start fresh today,” he said.

No system of voting is neutral, though, Kaplan said. During his hour-long talk, he presented four alternative options being considered by different states, along with each option’s possible benefits and detriments on the voting system in the U.S. The first two options

Contact Hannah Thomas at hthomas01@saintmarys.edu

Provost Continued from page 1

decision-maker, and communicator and fund-raiser. In fact, it is someone who lights up the spirit of the entire University,” he said.

Though the listening session was an attempt to include student voices in the decision-making process of selecting a new provost — essentially the senior administrator under the president — two students attended the event held at DeBartolo Hall’s Room 101 at 4 p.m.

“This session is the one I am most excited about because the undergraduates are our largest and most important constituency, and, let’s face it: the undergraduates are the ones who know what is really going on,” Ackermann said.

Ackermann acknowledged there was a benefit from having a small crowd.

“We usually have 40 or so attendants, so people are only able to give one comment. However, with few students we were able to get deeper responses,” he said.

The students in attendance were senior Jack Ferguson and freshman Crystal Lin. They were joined by the search committee comprised by Kasey Buckles, associate professor of economics; Patrick J. Flynn, professor and chair at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering; Michael Hildreth, professor of physics and associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Science; Margaret Meserve, associate dean for the humanities and faculty affairs and associate professor of history; Ramachandran Ramanan, professor in Department of Accountancy; Laura A. Carlson, vice president,

— the automatic plan and the direct election plans — both require constitutional amendments.

“In the automatic plan, you keep electoral votes and eliminate the electors, which solves the problem of faithless electors,” Kaplan said, referring to electors who vote against the wishes of the people of their state. “There have only been 67 faithless electors in the history of the country, but 10 of those were in 2016, so it has the possibility to become a significant factor in the near future.”

On the other end of the spectrum is a simple direct election which eliminates electors altogether, where each vote is equally significant and whichever candidate gets a majority of the votes wins.

“The direct election plan would completely change the process,” he said. “It would promote thirdparty candidates, the nomination process would be different, campaign strategies would be different, party platforms would change their strategies. This would be most different from the way we do things now, and it’s the way most of the rest of the world works.”

Proponents of this plan, Kaplan said, were disillusioned by the results of the 2000 and 2016 election in which the candidate who won the popular vote lost the presidency. However, runoff situations

could still make it so the most popular candidate may not win the final election.

The other two plans Kaplan presented — the proportional plan and the national popular vote — would not require a constitutional amendment and are being actively examined by different states throughout the country.

In the proportional plan, Kaplan said, the Electoral College vote would more closely reflect the outcome of the popular vote.

The Congressional District proportional plan, in which each representative votes for the same candidate as its district and the two Senate votes are given as bonuses to the winner of the entire state, is currently being pushed for in states that voted for Barack Obama in 2012 but have Republican majority state legislatures.

“Redistricting is done by the majority party in the state legislature, which can lead to attempts to maximize representatives from its own party, meaning that gerrymandering becomes a factor in electoral votes,” he said. “Under this plan, Nixon would have beaten Kennedy and Romney would have won in 2012, so it can obstruct the popular vote in its own way.”

The final alternative Kaplan presented, the national popular

vote, is an interstate agreement that would go into effect if the states that have agreed to the system have a total of 270 electoral votes. As of now, 12 states — most of which lean Democratic — have signed the agreement.

“The idea is the states pass a law saying that we promise after the elections, all of our electors will support the winner of the national popular vote,” he said. “The problem is I wouldn’t want to be the person who has to explain to all of California why their votes went to Trump if he won the popular vote.”

ND Votes is a nonpartisan group connected with the Center for Social Concerns that “fosters conscientious engagement in political and civic life among students,” according to the ND Votes website.

“One of the issues with the Electoral College is that it lowers voter turnout because people believe their votes don’t matter,” Kaplan said. “You could say that there are a lot of young voters who could tend this way or that way, but if I’m running for president and I have to decide whether to go after young voters, they don’t vote.

There’s kind of a chicken and egg situation there.”

associate provost and dean of the Graduate School and professor in the Psychology Department; Veronica Root Martinez, professor of law; Ackermann, teaching professor of finance; junior Maria Salerno and graduate student Karen Angeles.

In order to get a sense of the attributes Notre Dame’s new provost should have, the committee framed the session around three questions, which included the University’s most important recent accomplishments, future central opportunities and challenges the provost will face and the essential qualities and skills that the next provost will need in order to be succeed.

Ackermann explained that in order to excite prospective candidates, the committee wanted to highlight Notre Dame’s accomplishments. He started the event by asking participants what they considered to be the University’s most important achievements.

Ferguson mentioned the renowned faculty and departments within the College of Arts and Letters, in particular the Program of Liberal Studies.

“Peer universities do not have [this] and are envious of what we have,” he said. “ ... [W]ithin Arts and Letters, I know that some of the departments and faculty have been highlighted and nationally recognized.”

Lin considered that Mendoza College of Business’s academic excellence to be an important accomplishment.

“In some schools only the business school is very good, but at Notre Dame almost everything is great,” Lin said.

The committee then asked what student accomplishments

should be taken into account, as the student body is part of Notre Dame’s attraction. The attendants mentioned inspiring student leaders such as Samuel Jackson, who is serving as one of the leprechaun this year.

“Sam Jackson is the face of the school to millions of Americans turning on their televisions and seeing a close-up shot of his face.

I think it’s a great thing for us this year,” Ferguson said.

After this question, the committee wondered about the qualities embodied by the Notre Dame student body, which the attendees said were kindness, compassion and intelligence, as well as a motivation driven by faith.

The committee recognized that the next provost would face several obstacles in the coming years as well as opportunities to position Notre Dame as a leader, including several sustainability initiatives that are currently being enacted. As such, they asked students to name challenges and opportunities they believed the provost would have on his plate in the next five years.

Lin pointed out that, even though Notre Dame had reduced its coal emissions, more work can be done regarding the University’s sustainability efforts. Meanwhile, Ferguson elaborated on the challenges the new provost could face in the midst of current polarized political climate.

“The provost will have to steer us in a safe, stable, temperate path through waters, considering the political climate,” Ferguson said.

Considering that the new provost would be tasked with facing these issues, the committee then asked the students to pin-point which qualities he or she should have in order to be successful at

Notre Dame. The attendees answered that the candidate must present both empathy and good listening skills. Lin also mentioned that she would like the person to “lie in the center of the political spectrum” and to be kind and considerate. Ferguson added that the ideal candidate would be someone who is inspiring to the community and who personifies the Catholic identity that distinguishes Notre Dame.

“The Catholic identity has the potential to be sort of a bridge,” he said. “It is sort of the underlying foundation of a lot of the political debates that take place here, and it’s a wound-healer, something that is more important to some people than their politics.”

In their closing remarks, both Lin and Ferguson expressed their gratitude for the education they have received at Notre Dame, and said they had decided to attend out of civic duty to the school. They also lamented that a greater number of students had not attended the event since it was a platform to voice their ideas and concerns.

“I think people unfairly bash the administration for not listening to students all the time, but there are opportunities; people just don’t show up,” Ferguson said.

The committee, however, said that more opportunities would be available for students to participate in the process. They encouraged undergraduates to attend the listening session on October 16 at 4 p.m. in DeBartolo Hall 101. Any concerns, questions, ideas, and candidate nominations could be sent to presprovostsearch@nd.edu

Contact Grace McDermott at gmcdermo@nd.edu

Contact Maria Paul Rangel at mpaulran@nd.edu

5

The observer | THURSDAY, october 3, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

By JAKE WINNINGHAM Scene Writer

Yesterday, I counted down the 20-11 spots on my list of the best films from 20 years ago. Today, I’m joined by a group of ornery Colorado children, a particularly talented impostor and John Malkovich to list the 10 best movies of 1999.

10. “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut” (directed

by Trey Parker and Matt Stone) Don’t laugh. All of the worst tendencies of the longrunning animated series are sanded down for its feature film adaptation, with Cartman and company taking a stand against censorship in an uproariously puerile farce that just may be the best film musical of the last 20 years.

7. “The Sixth Sense” (directed by M. Night Shyamalan) Even if the film’s final twist has been spoiled by 20 years of discourse, Haley Joel Osment’s delivery of “I see dead people” still has the power to stop viewers in their tracks.

That Shyamalan had to be convinced to change the iconic line from his original “I observe deceased individuals” only speaks to the alchemical nature of his near-perfect first feature.

6. “Todo Sobre Mi Madre” (directed by Pedro Almodovar) In a career built on empathetic portrayals of life’s outcasts, Almodovar hits his peak with this story of pregnant nuns, transgender sex workers and grieving mothers. With a title that alludes to “All About Eve” and a plot that nods to Tennessee Williams, “Todo Sobre Mi Madre” is a heartbreaking portrayal of the families we make for ourselves.

9. “Dogma” (directed by Kevin Smith) Smith is one of the most purely talented comic writers to work in any medium with a dedication to rhetoric more akin to George Bernard Shaw than any screenwriter. His target is the Catholic Church, but instead of skewering organized religion, Smith uses his slyly heartfelt tale of two exiled angels and a 13th apostle to expertly interrogate how Catholicism can help and hinder in equal measure.

5. “The Blair Witch Project” (directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez) Full disclosure: Any one of the top five films here could have been number one on this list. Of those five, certainly none are more influential than “Blair Witch,” a genuinely terrifying film that pioneered found-footage horror and guerrilla internet marketing in equal measure. It is a movie even non-horror fans need to watch; that being said, maybe turn a few lights on first.

8. “Being John Malkovich” (directed by Spike Jonze)

4. “Office Space” (directed by Mike Judge)

Along with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, Jonze crafts a wildly inventive tale of a puppeteer and his wife who discover a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich — playing himself in a nifty bit of self-mythologizing.

Easily the most quotable movie on this list, Judge’s comedic triumph turns the impending Y2K scare into just another day at the office. Armed with a killer cast and an equally hilarious soundtrack (shout-out to the Geto Boys’ immortal “Damn It

By WILLOUGHBY THOM

churning out music for a profit, not for expression.

It is every musicians’ dream for their music to be heard, but their authenticity shouldn’t be exploited to make a profit.

For example, Nirvana’s albums “Bleach” and “Insecticide” caused a corporate rift in punk rock. The music industry made a new type of punk known as grunge. The industry saw potential in punk, but due to its obvious anti-capitalistic philosophies and progressive social agenda, they decided to essentially “rebrand” punk. By marketing modern punk as “grunge,” they removed the stigma that the industry placed around punk, and it resulted in great profits. However, the irony isn’t lost. Like legendary punk rocker Henry Rollins said to me earlier this year in an interview, “It’s safe to say that at least some punk rock practitioners have been corporatized … [but] the joke is on the corporations as the music they’re promoting is pointing out their less than enviable aspects.”

What this world needs to understand is that to make good music, you need to suck. You need to get your friends together, write simple songs, make noise, suck and have the best time of your lives. One of the biggest misconceptions of music is that you need to be skillfully trained and have a flawless voice. That is false. People compare themselves to artists that artificially create “perfection” in their music — it

Scene Writer

There is perfection in chaos, but there is no such thing as pure perfection.

Chaos is natural, but as a society, we are constantly trying to achieve an ideal perception of perfection in a world of self.

That is unrealistic.

We are trapped in the ether of the scroll — a digital panopticon, so to speak. As a society, we are continuously being watched by others and by ourselves. We are hungry for attention and acceptance; however, the search for perfection has cornered society into a paradox of identity. The idea of being normal is viewed as being abnormal whereas abnormality is seen as normal. It is our natural desire to be unique, but the fear of rejection overpowers the confidence to be individual, resulting in uniformity. This identity crisis isn’t only applicable to individuals, but it is also seen in modern music.

Music, regardless of genre, has become sterile and mass produced. Music has fallen into the trap of corporate commoditization. This idea of commodifying music isn’t new, but it has become more apparent and appalling since the 1990s, a decade that considered the music industry a factory

Feels Good To Be A Gangsta”), “Office Space” is a beautiful ode to the allure of doing nothing — and liking it.

3. “The Talented Mr. Ripley” (directed by Anthony Minghella) Fresh off the painfully overwrought “The English Patient,” Minghella’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel feels positively breezy despite its two-hour-plus runtime. A fashionable, chilling thriller, “Ripley” is bolstered by its trio of lead performers: Matt Damon, Gweneth Paltrow and a neverbetter-looking Jude Law give life to Highsmith’s characters as Minghella translates her lavish prose to the big screen.

2. “Three Kings” (directed by David O. Russell) “Are we shooting?” With those three words, Mark Wahlberg’s Troy Barlow plunges us into Russell’s kinetic war satire, where the Gulf War is a playground for bored American soldiers until they’re forced to act against their government’s wishes. The best scene of any 1999 movie is George Clooney’s exasperated definition of the Kuwaiti bullion at the center of the plot — “No, not the little cubes you use to make soup.”

1. “Election” (directed by Alexander Payne) When it was released, Payne’s second feature was a slight commercial flop and equally modest critical success. The subsequent years, however, have revealed “Election” as the masterpiece it truly is. Never has the Midwest been more accurately portrayed on screen; never has the sexism and egocentrism of politics been better crystallized into a wickedly entertaining package, all served up like one of Tracy Flick’s signature cupcakes.

Contact Jake Winningham at jwinning@nd.edu

is mass produced. It lacks the heart and the soul that is required for it to be music in the first place.

We all have ideas, thoughts and opinions, and music allows everyone, no matter the musical background, a chance to express themselves. There is no formula to follow. There are no guidelines, so what is holding us back from forming a band? Exactly, nothing. People are so worried about how they will be perceived and how their music will be received that they lose focus of what really matters: truth.

The truth sucks. Honesty is hard. Sing about it. Write poems about it. Do something about it. There is nothing wrong with confronting frustration or celebrating life with others because, chances are, they are feeling the same way, too.

The world craves music that is authentic, so be a part of that movement to satisfy the hunger. Don’t be afraid — get your friends together and start a band. Play on backyard porches, stages of dingy clubs and on the floors of leaky basements.

Embrace the fact that you suck because that’s awesome.

Perfection is only an idea, not a reality.

Have the best time of your life making music that sucks because you may be surprised that it actually doesn’t.

So go make some beautiful chaos.

Contact Willoughby Thom at wthom@nd.edu CRISTINA INTERIANO | The Observer

6

The observer | thursday, October 3, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Inside Column

How to save your soul by doing nothing Cristina Interiano

Gender inequality in dorm system is about more than parietals, alcohol Ben Testani

Graphic Designer

Off Campus, On Topic

The title of this column is incredibly misleading, but ultimately, I want to share two ideas I came across recently that have shaped my perspective on how to live and spend my time.

The first one I heard in a podcast called “The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast” where Fr. Mike discusses different life and worldly topics. Even though I am a Catholic myself, his ideas seem to be applicable at a cosmopolitan scale, especially his episode on “How Do We Spend Our Time?” This episode relates what Jenny Odell portrays in her book “How to Do Nothing,” urging us to resist the attention economy that has led to a global misconception of what it means to be productive and how we should spend our time.

One of the concepts that Fr. Mike introduces is reducing our estimated lifetime to a 24-hour time span.

For example: If you are 15 years old, it is approximately 10:25 a.m. in the 24 hour clock of your life, at 20 years old it is 11:34 a.m., 35 years old — 3 p.m., 45 years old — 5:15 p.m. and the last age he gives is 70 years old — 11 p.m.

This became a scary metaphor to take in because there are many days like today, in which I write my to-do list for the day in the morning, thinking I still have the whole day. Suddenly, I come to realize it Is already 7:01 p.m., and I have only crossed off two of the seven things I had written down. It is terrifying to think of being 70 years old and realize it is suddenly 11 p.m. at night, and all I did in my life was procrastinate all my goals and think I still have a lifetime to get to them.

The problem is not necessarily a deficiency of time but our conformity to this age of distraction. Father Mike Schmitz defines a distraction as “anything that takes your attention away from what you should be doing,” even if what we should be doing is as simple as sleeping. This is where Odell’s lessons on “How to Do Nothing” come in where she describes the ‘attention economy’ that is capitalizing on our most valuable commodity — time. Social media platforms especially take advantage of our declining ability to be entirely present in a moment, feeding off of our divided attention.

These habits have resulted in the misbelief that if we are not doing more than one activity at a time while checking our texts and refreshing our emails every 10 minutes, then we are not being productive. Odell emphasizes how it is equally important to slow down and focus on one thing, as much as doing industrious tasks: “The point of doing nothing as I define it isn’t to return to work refreshed and ready to be more productive, but rather to question what we currently perceive as productive.”

Instead of trying to do 10 things at a time, do one but do it well and do it with all your undivided attention. Not only this, but tying back to the podcast, really think about what we should be doing. From a Catholic perspective, this means how God wills us to be spending our time, but for those non-believers could be interpreted on what we could be working to fulfill our life purposes or simply living in the best way possible. Again, this does not need to be taken in a big picture perspective as in feeding the hungry, but as in “in order to excel in my activities tomorrow, I should sleep rather than distract myself on YouTube.”

To tie these ideas with the column’s title , I want to introduce a quote from St. Alphonsus Liguori, who said, “There are two ways a person can lose their soul: mortal sin and voluntary distraction.” In an age of distraction, what does this say about my soul? Our souls? What I mean to say with this quote is that I, like many of us, need to take into perspective how we cannot afford to keep living in distraction that is really taking us nowhere but to being close to ‘midnight’ and realizing we were robbed of time to accomplish all our goals. As a Catholic, I want to focus on having a clear sense of what I should be doing, that is, God’s will or my purpose of being here, while it is still only noon.

Many people have written in The Observer about gender inequality in the dorm system at Notre Dame. Typically, they focus on issues such as uneven enforcement of parietals or alcohol rules between the men’s and women’s halls. These are valid complaints, and most Notre Dame students would probably agree that men’s halls are far less strict than women’s halls. Think back on the last time you attended a pre-game, dorm party or even a game watch in a women’s hall. I remember when I had my personal moment of reckoning with this discrepancy. Before attending Pasquerilla West’s fall dance my sophomore year, my friends and their dates met not anywhere in PW but rather in Knott Hall to avoid any potential infractions stemming from pre-dance festivities. The agency of the Weasels to control their night was taken away from them at their own dance.

I believe most students here would have stories of their own about a Du Lac violation going unpunished in a men’s hall to the shock of their female friends, but all of the “evidence” for this issue is anecdotal. I would like to focus instead on a more concrete example of gender disparity that is becoming more and more prevalent on campus as the University throws itself wallet-first into a wide range of dorm related changes. As part of the policy changes supposedly starting next year, many of the dorms on campus are scheduled for renovations to bring their facilities more in line with those of the newest halls like Baumer and Flaherty. In an article from the spring of 2019, University leadership described planned renovations as including “a full kitchen as well as food sales in new and renovated men’s dorms and a full kitchen on each floor in women’s dorms.”

Presently, six of the women’s halls have kitchens on each floor, and it is reasonable to expect the soon-to-be completed Johnson Family Hall to have this many as well. Since the Pangborn community is technically Johnson Family Hall in Pangborn this year, that means seven of the eventual 14 women’s halls have kitchens on every floor. By contrast, only two of the women’s halls have a paid food service (i.e. Zaland or Dawg Pizza) in-house, with Johnson Family Hall’s status to be determined. By contrast, 14 of the men’s halls have paid food services inhouse. The current Dillon residents carried over Bullwinkle’s Pizza Bagel Service to Baumer Hall with plans to re-establish the eatery in newly renovated Dillon while Baumer launches their own place to eat next school year. Meanwhile, not a single men’s hall has a kitchen on every floor. Most of this information can be verified on official Residential Life pages for the dorms, but in an effort to be as current as possible, I emailed the president of each dorm to confirm their current amenities.

Why does the University think women’s halls need kitchens while men’s halls need businesses? That is another example of a great question the student body could ask our administration if they ever elect to meet with us about the new housing policies. In my correspondence with the hall presidents, multiple women’s hall presidents expressed interest in opening their own food service in the dorm. Their absence stems from lack of space, not lack of enthusiasm. It is no secret the business world continues to be harder for women to break into than men.

Our own Mendoza College of Business is just 36% female, as of the most recent year statistics were available. Running a pizza kitchen or café or deli,

Contact Cristina Interiano at cinteria@nd.edu The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of

the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

KERRY SCHNEEMAN | The Observer

as our dorms do with great success, requires plenty of business acumen and presents an opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship in a controlled setting. These places also make money. George Lyman, president of Dunne Hall, told me the profits from Pizza Dunne Right go toward funding the dorm retreat in the winter. Not only are student jobs created (with very student-friendly hours, as most of these eateries are only open late at night) but more money goes into the dorms, allowing them to offset costs for dorm-wide events.

Less important, but still valid to wonder about, is why the University thinks men do not want or need as much kitchen space as women. Personally, living in Alumni Hall, I never once saw the kitchen used for any cooking beyond microwaving oatmeal. It is completely devoid of any useful kitchen implements. John Esposito, president of Stanford Hall, called their kitchen “outdated.” Presumably, this will change after each hall’s eventual renovations, but there will still be a blatant discrepancy in the amount of kitchen space available to the men and women on this campus.

It is possible that there exists an explanation for the kitchen and food service policies that has nothing to do with archaic gender stereotypes, or that the long-term plan of the University will eventually rectify the amenities across both genders. The fact remains, however, that we as students have no way of knowing what the truth is, as the University continues to operate as opaquely as possible. Until Notre Dame becomes a place for dialogue, those of us without a voice in the conversation will be left to wonder about the reasons behind the changes.

Ben Testani is a senior studying international economics, Arabic and Spanish. He comes to Notre Dame via Central New York and while currently residing off-campus, will always be a proud Alumni Dawg. He welcomes feedback at btestani@nd.edu or @BenTestani on Twitter.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

The observer | thursday, october 3, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

7

What the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue should mean to us Estefan Linares Diversity Council

The Sacred Heart of Jesus statue is one of the most iconic, symbolic but also controversial pieces of public art on Notre Dame’s campus.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus sits right in front of the Main Building on God Quad, and if one looks at the statue directly, one can see the Basilica of the Sacred Heart is to the right and Washington Hall is to the left. The Sacred Heart of Jesus was sculpted

by Robert Cassiani, and it was dedicated to the University during the 1893 commencement exercises. Cassiani modeled this statue after the statue of the Sacred Heart created by Gabriel Thomas that stood in Paris’ Montmartre Basilica until 1900 hoping to recreate its impact.

The statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus portrays what is implied in its name: Jesus Christ with the sacred heart ablaze and visible through his chest.

The sacred heart is one of the most revered symbols in Roman Catholicism, and it specifically represents Christ’s love for mankind through his sacrifice on the cross for human sin. Christ’s suffering is portrayed in the sacred heart with a knife going through it and a crown of thorns surrounding it.

Despite this agony he had to endure, Christ’s love for humanity shines even brighter and outweighs the evil brought against it, which is represented with the sacred heart remaining “ablaze” through the pain. Notre Dame and the Congregation of the Holy Cross wanted to use the sacred heart in the statue to represent this same love but in an interactive way. The sacred heart could be seen as two sides, with one side representing God’s traditional

love for humanity but the other side representing humanity’s love for God. The Congregation of the Holy Cross created this duality in the sacred heart because they saw it as a clear means for forming Notre Dame’s culture. They envisioned the Notre Dame family to be revered by God through the good works that its people engaged in, but they also envisioned the Notre Dame family revering God by making a positive impact in His name. The Sacred Heart of Jesus brings this two-sided love together in its portrayal at the “heart” of the campus, where the most notable Notre Dame landmarks surround it.

This is to say that the University revolves around the sacred heart, utilizing its love to power its mission.

The other notable piece of the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue is the outstretching of Christ’s arms.

The statue was designed so both of Christ’s arms were extended widely towards Our Lady on top of the Golden Dome of the Main Building. Taking this into account, it may seem that the more obvious representation of this gesture is to display Christ’s love towards Mary, his mother, as well as her university. However, the meaning goes much deeper, where controversy ensues. On the base of the statue there is an inscription, which reads “Venite Ad Me Omnes.” In Latin, this means “come to me all,” and now it is evident why Christ’s arms are extended towards the Golden Dome. This is Notre Dame’s way of saying everyone is welcome in its community, and all members of the Notre Dame family are meant to be respected and revered for who they are regardless of their background. This is the reason why we often see a picture of the statue next to the University’s Spirit of Inclusion, which details its

commitment to diversity and acceptance among Notre Dame’s students. The University has Jesus’ “open arms” to all students and members of the Notre Dame family.

However, many members of the Notre Dame family unfortunately do not feel the same way.

Instead, they see the statue as a sign of hypocrisy.

The demographics of the University do not seem to foster the commitment towards diversity and inclusion at first glance, since the University is about 70% white, with the largest minority group being Latinos at a mere 11%. The question is, if the University truly cared about diversity and inclusion among its members, wouldn’t its students and faculty be much more diverse, too? Wouldn’t more people be “welcome” here by Christ’s extended arms? One may be left to question whether the statue is genuine or artificial, but its presence in front of the largest administrative building on campus can end the question. Hopefully, the Sacred Heart of Jesus will remind everyone who walks past it what Notre Dame’s mission is meant to be.

Estefan Linares is a junior business technology and Latino studies major, and can be reached at elinares@nd.edu The Diversity Council of Notre Dame advocates for awareness, understanding and acceptance on issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and other intersectional identities in the Notre Dame community. The viewpoints expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Diversity Council, but are the individual opinions of the author.

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

Letter to the editor

ND Right to Life identifies abortion clinic as holy ground “Support life through prayer and presence.”

This is the tagline of Respect Life Week’s upcoming Saturday “pilgrimage” to Whole Woman’s Health of South Bend, an abortion clinic west of campus.

I do not care where you fall on the spectrum of pro-choice to pro-life. I don’t. But please, just call it what it is. This is not a “pilgrimage.” It is a protest. A protest that, at its heart, will shame women who are struggling with what can be an unbelievably difficult choice.

A “pilgrimage” is a very personal spiritual journey that pilgrims make to a holy place of gathering. Tell me, pro-life friends, is Whole Woman’s Health of South Bend considered holy ground to you? Somehow I doubt that.

The only way I see this as something close to a

pilgrimage is if any ounce of protest is removed from the equation. I’m talking no visibility, only praying in the forest out back, no interaction with women walking in or cars passing by. I’m serious about this.

Anything else, and it becomes a protest.

A protest rooted in shaming others with the guise of a spiritual journey.

There are far more issues at play here than false advertising. When I think of “prayer and presence” outside abortion clinics, I think of fringe religious folks who make vulnerable women feel unsafe and downright oppressed as they go about their lives.

I think of a pro-life movement that disregards “to grave” for a hyperfocus on “cradle.”

I certainly don’t think of an individual’s personal journey of spiritual growth.

If you want to pray for the souls of unborn

children and pregnant women, please be my guest.

Prayer can be a beautiful and powerful thing. But when prayer becomes a spectacle that humiliates women who we should be showing love, support and respect, I can no longer stand by it.

I am begging you to show me a pro-life movement that respects lives. The lives of women.

I advise against attending this event.

Protest at the Capitol.

Pray at home.

Or, if you’re looking for an alternative pilgrimage location, try Customs and Border Protection in Clint, Texas. I’ve heard they could use some prayers.

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Annie Morejón junior Oct. 2

8

Classifieds

The observer | THURSDAY, october 3, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

Crossword | Will Shortz

Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Look at the long-distance outcome, not what’s going on at the moment. Having an open mind and an idea of the possibilities will make it easier for you to put everything in place. Take the time to plan properly and to execute what you want to happen with precision, detail and the understanding that the greater the effort, the better the outcome. Your numbers are 8, 14, 18, 29, 34, 38, 44.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Live in the moment. Experience what life has to offer. Look for good deals and people to share with. Make today a good memory, and fill your day with activities and people that are good for you mentally, emotionally and physically.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You may be addicted to change right now, but you’d be wise to keep whatever you apply to your life simple and clear of debt. Focus more on long-term benefits and signing up for something that promotes peace of mind.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You’ll be drawn to people who are exciting and adventuresome, but also those who will take advantage of you and lead you into tempting situations. Know enough to put your health and well-being first.

Romance is highlighted, but discretion must be maintained.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Don’t trust anyone who is overly friendly or asks too many personal questions. Put your energy to good use, and make changes that are going to make a positive difference in your life. Trust your intuition.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Keep your emotions out of meaningful discussions. Use your knowledge, experience and intelligence to fight for what you want. Look at the big picture, and pick and choose what you like best based on what fits well with your plans.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Change takes effort. Don’t stop and look back when you should be looking forward. Doing the work yourself using discipline and determination will far exceed what you accomplish trying to get others to do the work for you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Look for a peaceful way to spend your day. Refuse to get tangled up in someone else’s melodrama. Arguments will not be worth the mental frustration or the cost involved. Say no to joint ventures and pushy people.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Observation will give insight into what others are going to do next. Being prepared for whatever comes your way will provide you with the edge you need to bring about positive personal change and to help others adjust.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t let anger cast a shadow on what needs to be done. Dismiss the past, and head into the future with a clean slate.

Surround yourself with people who share your concerns and values. Personal improvements will enhance meaningful relationships.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Keep busy, and make the most of your day. What you accomplish will be what counts, so don’t waste time on petty situations or temptations that will get you into trouble. Change begins within. Do and be your best.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Mull over what you’ve accomplished and what you still have to do. Make sure you have all your paperwork in order and know exactly what and who you are up against before you proceed. Preparation will be what counts moving forward.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Put what’s going on around you in perspective.

Refuse to let an emotional incident take precedence over what needs to be done. Stick to tried and true methods and people you know you can count on to eliminate risk and meddling.

Birthday Baby: You are easygoing, peaceful and accommodating. You are curious and intelligent.

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Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek

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M Golf

Sports Authority

Evaluating 49ers upcoming games Charlie Law Sports Writer

After years of trudging through losing seasons and watching their division rivals, the Seahawks and the Rams, each reach a Super Bowl within the last few years, the San Francisco 49ers have finally fought their way back to the top. Not only do the 49ers (30) currently sit atop the NFC West, they stand alone in first place in the NFC — they would be the No. 1 seed in the playoffs if the season ended today.

Unfortunately for Niners fans everywhere, it doesn’t.

And before members of the Faithful start booking their plane ticket and hotel for Super Bowl LIV, let’s slow down for a minute and take a more measured look at the 49ers’ prospects.

49ers fans — especially those who didn’t live through the glory days of Joe Montana and Steve Young — have had a rough time of it for a while now. Colin Kaepernick looked like the answer for a season or two, but — and let’s focus solely on football here — he fell off considerably after the Super Bowl run in 2012-13, and the job ended up in Blaine Gabbert’s hands. After a few more quarterbacks came and went, and with them a number of losing seasons, the Niners finally found their long-term solution: former Patriots backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo.

Garoppolo has had incredibly high highs — see his five-game stretch at the end of 2017 — and some rough times, like when he started off 2018 poorly and then tore his ACL in the third game of the season.

But this year, Garoppolo is both healthy and playing reasonably well. John Lynch, the Niners’ General Manager, has made plenty of questionable decisions, but he has brought in a much-needed influx of young talent. Garoppolo has plenty of offensive weapons including superstar tight end George Kittle, receivers Marquise Goodwin, Dante Pettis and Deebo Samuel, and Matt Breida alongside Tevin Coleman and Raheem Mostert out of the backfield.

Defensively, the Niners boast a strong defensive line with rookie Nick Bosa and veteran interior rusher DeForest Buckner wreaking havoc and an improved secondary with a healthy Richard Sherman and a more experienced Akhello Witherspoon. I completely understand why some Niners

fans might be getting ahead of themselves: It’s been too long, and this team looks great through three games.

Yet the 49ers have unquestionably gotten lucky this year. They beat Tampa Bay because of some terrible quarterbacking by Jameis Winston and a few opportunistic defensive plays, and squeaked by the Mason Rudolph-led Steelers despite committing five turnovers. The combined record of the teams the Niners have beat this year is 3-9. The 49ers have plenty of roster issues: The secondary still needs improvement; the linebacking corps is thin and the offensive line is one or two injuries away from collapse.

However, the 49ers have a great opportunity to prove their legitimacy Monday night against the Cleveland Browns, who stumbled early this season but are coming off an impressive 40-25 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

If the Niners can take care of business against Baker Mayfield and the Dawgs and improve to 4-0, their prospects brighten significantly. It would mean their early season success was no fluke, and it would also help them down the stretch when the Niners face a veritable gauntlet of matchups. The Niners will face the Packers, Ravens, Saints, Falcons, Rams and Seahawks — who have a combined record of 15-9 — in weeks 12 through 17, which means they’ll need to win a lot of games early in the season — so far, so good. If the Niners can build up a buffer of wins before that stretch, they might be able to make a playoff push.

That’s what I think the 49ers are this season — a borderline playoff team, one that might finish 8-8 or 9-7. Some people, invariably, will take the Niners’ early season success to mean that they’re a top team in the NFC — a true competitor for a Super Bowl this year — but the team just isn’t there yet. Don’t fret, though, Niners fans. This team has a lot of promising young talent, and if Jimmy Garoppolo stays healthy and elevates his play a little, the 49ers could be competing for a Super Bowl sooner rather than later.

Even if there’s no Super Bowl in the cards this year, a trip to Wild Card Weekend would be pretty cool, too.

Contact Charlie Law at claw2@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Continued from page 12

confidence of some great performances to start the year.”

Historically in sports, teams that jump out to a hot start often regress as the season goes on and tend to lose a certain degree of vigor in terms of drive and motivation. Handrigan ssaid this won’t be an issue for this year’s irish team.

“I know that that’s typically a concern, but we have a highly motivated team and even when they won the first tournament they weren’t content and they wanted to win the second one, and then we won the second tournament and the same thing happened for the third tournament,” Handrigan said.

“You don’t always win, but they put themselves in a situation to win so that motivating mindset with our team is so strong that I don’t see them letting up. I’ve seen it in practice this week to be honest; they only get to play at home one time a year, so they’re motivated to defend their home course and play their best against some of the top teams in the country.”

The Fighting Irish Classic is an annual 54-hole tournament hosted by Notre Dame at the Warren Golf Course, and after last year’s fifth place finish, the Irish are looking to take it all this year.

The team has had several stand out golfers over these past three tournaments, specifically senior Hunter Ostrom, who finished as the runner-up in the first two tournaments and has finished in the top 10 in all three, and freshman Palmer Jackson who has had an immediate impact for this year’s Irish team. Handrigan emphasized the fact that all nine golfers have the ability to win one any day.

“We focus on the team, and the team’s not one player, so

we have a really deep team this year, nine really highquality players and even some of the guys that haven’t been in the top five are playing some great golf here when we are out on the road,” Handrigan said. “I think we have nine guys pushing each other to play some great golf, and I look forward to seeing who is gonna stem to the top at this home tournament because we have nine really high-quality players and any one of them can win at any point in time.”

This year’s Irish team is the first to win back-to-back tournament titles to start off the season featuring a field of 10 teams or more since the 1999-2000 season. Yet, Handrigan was quick to detail the coaching staff’s approach to this year hasn’t been any different than years past.

“Our message continues to stay the same for the three years that [assistant coach Scott] Gump and I have been together. We’ve continued to focus on the same things, but sometimes it takes longer to get that culture put in to place, and it has taken us three years to get there, but I’m really proud of this team because we pushed hard for those three years and obviously it’s starting to show for sure,” Handrigan said.

Handrigan continued stressing that despite the team’s strong start, their still maintaining a mentality of constant improvement. ”Like I said we’re not happy with where we are now, we’re happy but not content and we are looking for more,” he said.

Understanding that to be the best you have to beat the best, Handrigan and the rest of the Irish coaching staff have tried to develop a schedule in which their golfers are playing against the best teams on the toughest courses.

“Our philosophy on our program is to play the

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strongest golf courses we can against the best competition and we feel that it is going to get our players ready for the next level playing at professional golf. And we’ve done that, and we’ve really built our home tournament up as much as we can to get a strong strength of field,” Handrigan said.

“This year we’ve got the No. 1 team in the country coming with Arizona State coming from the West Coast and UNC who I believe is in the top 10 as well, so we’ve got a couple of powerhouses coming to our home course and we are playing well so it’s going to be a pretty fun dog fight along with a lot of other great teams across the country that are coming but those are probably two of the most notable.”

While the top-five players have yet to be selected for the upcoming tournament, the great thing about home tournaments is that all nine players are allowed to compete in the tournament, which makes it even more interesting to see who will step up this time for Notre Dame.

Moving forward, Handrigan was very clear about what his goals and expectations are for this year’s team; the same as they would be for a team that didn’t start off as great as this year’s team did.

“We have a pretty simple expectation and goal, and that is to win everything we play in. So, it doesn’t matter if it’s a qualifying round or a tournament round or a fitness workout, we try to win everything we do and that’s where expectations are with Notre Dame golf,” he said. ”That seems to be working so far for sure, and I think we’re definitely on track and that will be our goal this week heading into our home event is to go for another victory.”

Contact Grant DelVecchio at gdelvecc@nd.edu

Photo courtesty of Josh Bates

Notre Dame senior Hunter Ostrom prepares for the upcoming season on Sept. 5. Ostrom is hoping to build on last season’s success when he won the Northwestern Intercollegiate individual award.

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as a whole.

“We didn’t necessarily circle this date, but it is a good reference point for us,” Carlson said. “Training into this has been prett y tough.

We haven’t really backed dow n too much at all.”

Carlson hopes the team w ill be able to compete w ith some of the best in the countr y. No. 4 Colorado, No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 15 North Carolina State w ill all be stiff competition for the No. 9 Irish.

“We see the top teams in the countr y, top teams in the region and top teams in our conference at this meet,

so we get a lot of reference points as far as what we need to do over the next t wo months to improve,” Carlson said.

In order to compete w ith these teams, Carlson said the Irish w ill use a similar race strateg y to the National Catholic Inv ite.

“We should have t wo packs of guys that find each other, run w ith each other and help each other out throughout that race,” Carlson said. “It w ill help us find out where runners are at and who they should be running with going into the championship season.”

Carlson said he is looking for ward to watching National Catholic Invite w inner, sophomore Dylan

Jacobs.

“We will see how he fares under more pressure and in a more national spotlight, but we are going to be counting on him to be one of our key guys this year,” Carlson said.

On the women’s side, team captain and veteran runner Anna Rohrer will be making her season debut.

“W henever we have her out there, we feel confident about what we are going to do,” Matt Sparks, head women’s cross countr y coach, said.

The women’s side also features some of the nation’s premier teams. Sparks said he hopes the Irish can compete with teams like No. 8 North Carolina State and No.

emma farnan | The Observer

Notre Dame junior AnnaSophia Keller runs down the final stretch at the Burke Golf Course during the National Catholic Invitational on Sept. 14, 2018. Keller finished fifth for the Irish at that home meet.

9 Wisconsin.

There are some injur y concerns for the Irish like sophomore Jackie Gaughan — typically the number two runner for the Irish — whose participation is questionable for Friday’s race. A decision about her race status will be made in the coming days.

“If Jackie is running and is her normal self, we are confident we can be competitive with those teams ranked between eight and 18,” Sparks said. “Without one of our top five, we are not quite ourselves, but we are shooting for the end of the season, so if we don’t have [Gaughan] Friday, we obviously want to have her at her best by the end of the year.”

Sparks said he is looking for ward to seeing sophomore Maddy Denner compete in her first national-level cross countr y race. Denner won the Crusader Invitational and National Catholic Invite earlier this year.

“It will be a good chance for her to see if she can crack into that top 10 or 20.

If she can do that, then she could potentially be an A ll American by the end of the year,” Sparks said.

Sparks said this meet is meaningful not only for the stellar competition but also because it honors the greatest Notre Dame cross countr y and track and field coach of all time — Joe Piane.

“The kids know it’s a competitive meet already, but when they know it’s got a name on it and they are curious to learn more about him, it’s got a little more energ y,” Sparks said.

Piane was the head men’s cross countr y and track and field coach for nearly 40 years, and he recently retired in 2014. His impact on the program was immense and is still present to this day.

“From facilities to the climate of competitive sporting events on campus, these are all things that [Piane] brought,” Sparks said. “The philosophy of the program that he established is still carried for ward. The competitive fire that he had in him when he established the team in the 70s and 80s was carried over to the 2000s, and it is still living strong today.”

Piane had great success on the team level, including 11 top 10 NCAA men’s cross countr y finishes and third place finishes in 1990 and 2005. Piane is also a two-time national cross countr y coach of the year and mentor to 189 Notre Dame A ll Americans.

Piane will be inducted into the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Countr y Coaches Association (USTFCCA) in December “It’s a fitting award. We have supported him in the process to be inducted. He had nothing to do with it himself; his accolades stood upon themselves. It’s a well deser ved honor,” Sparks said.

Sparks said Piane is much more than just a good coach.

“He is about as personable as you can be and about as friendly and outgoing person that I’ve met during my time here,” Sparks said. “Seeing how he interacts with people on a daily basis and the way he cares about people and makes ever ybody feel a part of this program is something I’ve taken away from him and tried to develop and build on during my time here.”of the best in the countr y. No. 4 Colorado, No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 15 North Carolina State will all be stiff competition for the No. 9 Irish.

Contact Nate Moller at nmoller2@nd.edu

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Notre Dame sophomore Kelli Reagan strides toward the finish line during the National Catholic Invitational on Sept. 2014, 2018 at the Burke Golf Course. Reagan was the sixth finisher for the Irish.

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golf right now, which I’m excited about. I think if she just continues to develop as a player and continues to learn every time she goes out and competes I think her progression will continue.”

Holt commented on how Claire’s rich family history in golf has molded her into the golfer she is now.

“I think it has impacted her a lot,” she said. “I mean her sister Emma graduated last year, and she graduated as really the best player in the history of our program in terms of stroke average. … I think Claire certainly benefited from being on the team last year with her sister and getting to witness the work ethic that her sister had. I think she realizes that you get out of it what you put into it, and her sister is a great example of that.”

Claire consistently shoots in the mid to low 70s. If she continues at this rate, she could soon put herself in a position to chase down some of her sister’s records. With such a small roster heading into the 2019-20 season, Claire, as well as every other golfer on the squad, is guaranteed to see plenty of playing time.

“We do have a small team, but I think that benefits us as our player progress,” Holt said. “They are going to be competing and playing pretty

ndsmcobserver.com | THURSDAY, october 3, 2019 | The Observer

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much all the time. We have six players on our team this year, so every one of our players will be traveling to every single trip and competing until we get to the ACC tournament. I think it’s great.

There’s nothing like competing and learning as you go.

We’ve got a great group. They are a lot of fun to be around; they work really hard and they are super supportive of each other.”

Claire may find motivation in those around her, Holt said.

Her teammates, junior Abby Heck and freshman Lauren Beaudreau, both shot 66 in the second and third rounds respectively of the Schooner Classic this past weekend.

There are many places the younger Albrecht can look to for inspiration, but Holt says the most important thing to look for is her trust in herself.

“I think the biggest thing for Claire — and I think it is true for anyone that plays the sport of golf — is to have a belief in yourself and confidence in what you are doing and commitment,” she said. “Yesterday my message to all of our players was to make confident committed swings.”

The next competition for the Irish is the Illinois Women’s Invitational, which will take place Monday and Tuesday at the Medinah Country Club in Chicago.

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Notre Dame sophomore Claire Albrecht competes in an exhibition game at the Warren Golf Course on Aug. 28, 2018. Albrecht posted an 80.13 stroke average throughout her freshman season.

Swim & Dive Continued from pAge 12

the class of 12 sophomores shows promise. Led by Team USA representative Zach Yeadon, what the Notre Dame team lacks in age they make up for with depth and talent.

On the women’s side, the team set nine different program records last season. The Irish women broke seven individual and two relays records — the 100-meter free, 200-meter free, 1000-meter free, 1650-meter free, 200-meter backstroke, 100-meter f ly, 200-meter f ly, 200-meter medley relay and 800-meter free relay. Some of the women’s records date back to as early as 2010. This year’s team is looking top them all.

This season, there are five seniors on the women’s team:

Clare Andrews, Abbie Dolan, Lauren Heller, Erin Isola and Reilly Lanigan. These seniors account for some of the team’s top performers and will be looking to make a splash on everyone’s radar this year.

Similar to the men’s team, the Irish women also have young talent. The women’s team is largely comprised of new faces, with 11 freshman swimmers being added to the roster for the season. At the end of last season, Coach Litzinger expressed particular excitement about freshman Coleen Gillilan and what she will bring to the table for the program.

As the season commences, the Irish aim to top all of last year’s ACC and NCAA achievements.

The meet against Florida State is set to start at 5 p.m. Friday at Rolfs Aquatics Center.

Write Sports.

Email Connor Mulvena at cmulvena@nd.edu

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The observer | THURSDAY, october 3, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com

ND MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

nd women’s golf

Albrecht ready for breakout year

By JIMMY WARD Sports Writer

Heading into her sophomore season, Claire A lbrecht continues to prov ide consistency for the Irish.

A lbrecht has been around golf her entire life, as her mother Annie golfed for the Wichita State Shockers.

Annie would lead the Shockers to a Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference title in 1987, and she would go on to play at the professional level on the LPGA Futures Tour.

Claire’s father Eric A lbrecht, was a member of the James Madison Universit y golf team for three years before he went on to ser ve as the v ice president of marketing for the Ladies Professional Golf Association.

Annie and Eric’s first born daughter Emma holds multiple Notre Dame school records.

Claire’s older sister broke the single-season stroke

Cross country anticipates top teams in home meet

average record w ith a 72.31 in the 2017-18 season, and she is Notre Dame’s leader in career stroke average w ith a 73.30. The two are the fifth pair of sisters to golf for Notre Dame, and the first pair since Katie (2006) and Annie Brophy (2010).Claire has not matched Emma quite yet, but she looks capable, as she shot a career best 72 in the final round of the Minnesota Inv itational earlier this season.

Head coach Susan Holt also believes Claire w ill soon be play ing at a high level.

“Claire, I actually pulled her off to the side yesterday after the tournament — she’s play ing some great golf right now,” Holt said. “She is ver y capable. She had a really good fall last year and kind of just didn’t keep that pace into the spring. But she has kind of come back and is play ing some really good see W GOLF PAGE 11

By NATE MOLLER Sports Writer

CONNARY MCFADDEN | The Observer

Irish junior Brian Griffith runs on the Burke Golf Course during the National Catholic Invitational on Sept. 14, 2018.

Men’s golf prepares for Fighting Irish Classic

By GRANT DelVECCIO

Irish set for upcoming season Observer Sports Staff

Sports Writer

see M GOLF PAGE 9

see M SOCCER PAGE 10

nd swimming and diving

nd men’s golf

Thanks to back-to-back wins and a third-place finish in its first three tournaments to open up the season, Notre Dame men’s golf is riding a wave of confidence as they prepare to compete in their one and only home tournament of the year next week: the Fighting Irish Classic.

“We are feeling great, we have a lot of confidence right now, deservingly so with how we’ve performed,” said John Handrigan, the team’s head coach. “I think it’s by far the best the team has ever done in the history of the program so it’s pretty special what we’ve done so far coming off of a first, first and third place finish, and depending on what ranking you look at, we are around top 10 in the country so that stems a lot of confidence, and for our home tournament it feels pretty good to go in there with the

The Notre Dame men’s and women’s cross countr y teams may discover a lot about themselves Friday as some of the nation’s premier cross countr y teams in the nation battle it out at the Joe Piane Inv itational. A lthough both teams have their eyes set on postseason goals, this meet figures to give a good reference point for both teams.

The men’s team w ill be running their full roster w ith sophomore Danny Kilrea, juniors Yared Nuguse and Andrew A lexander and graduate student Tony Williams racing in their first competition this year. Head men’s cross countr y coach Sean Carlson said this race w ill be a good indicator of potential postseason success for these indiv iduals and for the team

Photo Courtesy of Josh Bates

Irish junior Davis Chatfield reacts and follows through on his swing during one of the team’s practice sessions on Sept. 5.

Notre Dame aquatics is set to kick off its season Friday against Florida State.

Coming off of a record season and off-season, the Irish said they are ready to face the challenges of the year ahead.

At the helm for the Irish sw im team this year is head sw im coach Mike Litzinger.

This is Litzinger’s fifth year at Notre Dame. In that time, he has been to both the ACC and NCA A Championships.

Under his leadership, Notre Dame has sent sw immers to the NCA A Championships for the last three seasons.

Coaching the div ing team this year is veteran coach Caiming X ie. This is X ie’s 42nd year as a div ing coach and 25th as head div ing coach at Notre Dame. He has helped coach Notre Dame divers to multiple Big East Championships, A ll American nominations and NCA A Championships.

This year, the Notre Dame

sw imming and div ing squads have a full schedule ahead of them. The Irish are set to compete at home this weekend before competing in 11 straight away competitions. The team w ill not compete in home waters again until Jan. 24 at the Shamrock Inv itational.

The Irish men’s team set four different program records last season in the 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter f ly, 400-meter indiv idual medley and 800-meter free relay. The team w ill be looking to break these and other records in the upcoming meets this season.

There are four seniors on the men’s team this upcoming season. Nick Milikich, Jack Montesi, Rex Riley and Aaron Schultz are set to lead this year.

The men’s team possesses a great deal of youth this year. After a successful first year sw imming for the Irish, see SWIM & DIVE PAGE 11