Print Edition of The Observer for Monday, September 12, 2016
Students, alumni commemorate Sept. 11
University honors victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks
By EMILY McCONVILLE a ssociate news e ditor
notre dame’s young americans for Freedom chapter started early sunday morning, planting 2,977 american flags on south Quad in memory of the 2,977 people who lost their lives on sept. 11, 2001. as they worked, the bell of the basilica tolled, ending at the moment a hijacked plane struck the south Tower of the world Trade center in new york 15 years earlier. several minutes later, a prayer service in memory of the victims began. The notre dame marching band played the national anthem. university president emeritus Fr. edward “monk” malloy welcomed the several dozen who ringed the sidewalks around the quad, including notre dame police officers and firefighters.
were planted on
Saint Mary’s community reflects on global tragedy
By NICOLE CARATAS saint mary’s e ditor
This year, many students starting their freshman year of high school will be the first class to learn about the sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks largely as history, not something they lived through. but for those who witnessed the tragic events 15 years ago, the memories of that day are still very real.
saint mary’s professor of history bil svelmoe remembers the day vividly: he was teaching a history course at the college during the attacks. he said he and the students turned the news on during class after another professor told them an attack happened.
“we sat glued to the television for a long time,” he said. “every class the rest of that day were just students staring at me wide-eyed.
see nd 9/11 paGe 4 see smc 9/11 paGe 3
Vigil promotes racial justice
By AIDAN LEWIS news writer
in response to recent events involving racial tension and violence throughout the united states, the center for social concerns and multicultural student programs and services held a solidarity for racial Justice vigil Friday afternoon at geddes hall. melissa marley bonnichsen, the director of social concerns seminars and the main organizer of the event, said racial justice will be a focus this year on campus.
“Today kicks off our own campaign for racial justice,” bonnichsen said. “in the center for social concerns, this year’s catholic social teaching theme is solidarity, the soul of development. we believe this is part of our ongoing dialogue about what is at the heart of solidarity and what is at the heart of development.”
The vigil began at geddes hall and then continued to the sacred heart of Jesus statue. Twelve candles bearing the name of a victim of racially charged violence were lit at each location, including candles for a lton sterling, Trayvon martin and the three baton rouge police officers killed July 17.
“we will be mindful of those who are suffering from the senseless violence, those continuing to deal with the harassment and excessive force and those facing oppression in local communities,” bonnichsen said during the prayer.
The vigil ended at the statue of Father sorin. bonnichsen said she hoped students would continue to make notre dame a force for good in the world, as Father sorin predicted.
“Today, our world is torn apart with prejudice, arrogance and
sbpd removes officer
Observer Staff Report
The s outh b end p olice d epartment removed an officer involved in the arrest of n otre d ame football player d evin b utler from patrol duties last Friday, according to the s outh b end Tribune.
a ccording to the Tribune, p olice c hief s cott r uszkowski said officer a aron Knepper will be kept off patrol until internal investigations into the arrest of b utler and another highprofile arrest in m arch 2014
are conducted.
a t a panel discussion on the relationship between the s outh b end police and minorities Thursday night, groups of protesters caused a disruption and called for the removal of Knepper, according to the Tribune.
The following day, r uszkowski announced that he had removed Knepper from patrol the previous week. h e would not disclose whether Knepper will be placed on leave or transferred to office duties, citing legal discretion to withhold
personnel records.
Knepper has been involved in at least four controversial police confrontations since 2012, according to the Tribune. s outh b end police officers arrested b utler outside the l inebacker l ounge early on the morning of a ug. 20 on felony charges of resisting law enforcement and battery against a public safety official. a ccording to court documents, officers were dispatched after receiving
Roberies, assault reported
Observer Staff Report
Two armed robberies and a simple assault occurred over the past five days just south of the notre dame campus, according to an email students received Friday night.
The email said one of the robberies happened to a local couple at 11:35 p.m., and the other, took place at 2:20 a.m., involved a notre dame student. The simple assault occurred at 7:50 a.m., according to the email.
The crimes are currently under investigation by the south bend police department (sbpd), and the email encouraged students to contact sbpd if they have any information. additionally, sbpd will have an increased presence in the area, according to the email.
vigil paGe 3 see oFFicer paGe 3
CAITLYN JORDAN | The Observer
American flags
South Quad on Sunday, representing the 2,977 lives lost 15 years ago in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and Flight 93.
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Question of the Day:
What is your favorite pump-up song?
Doug Lyon freshman carroll hall
“‘you and me’ by Flume remix.”
Ryan Rogers freshman carroll hall
“‘bonfire’ by c hildish gambino.”
Caroline Colella sophomore Flaherty hall
“‘Tears dry on Their o wn’ by w hitney houston.”
Have
Today’s Staff
Corrections
The observer regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times. we do, however, recognize that we will make mistakes. i f we have made a mistake, please contact us at (574) 631-4541 so we can correct our error.
Monday
Study Abroad Fair
Jordan Hall of Science
5 p.m. -8 p.m.
Information about resources for study abroad, internships.
“A Conversation with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg” Joyce Center 5:30 p.m. -7:30 p.m.
Tuesday
Research Seminar Geddes Hall
8:30 a.m. -9:30 a.m.
The Idea of a Catholic Social Tradition Research Lab.
Men’s Soccer vs. UConn Alumni Stadium
7 p.m.
The Irish take on the Huskies.
John Calzaretta sophomore alumni hall
“‘p ump it’ by The black eyed peas.”
C.J. Pine senior siegfried hall
“‘brave’ by sara barielles.”
Kara Shumaker freshman ryan hall
“‘roses’ by The c hainsmokers.”
Want your event included here? Email
Wednesday
Blood Drive Rolfs Sports Recreaction Center
12 p.m. -6 p.m. Donate to South Bend Medical Foundation.
Notre Dame Forum DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
7 p.m. -8:30 p.m. Reflect on the upcoming election.
Thursday
Blood Drive
Rolfs Sports Recreaction Center
12 p.m. -6 p.m.
Donate to South Bend Medical Foundation.
Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart
5:15 p.m. -6:15 p.m. Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Friday
Higgins Labor Cafe Geddes Hall
5 p.m. -6 p.m.
Bring questions and concerns to inform discussions.
Football Pep Rally Joyce Center
5:45 p.m. -6:30 p.m. Free and open to the public; no tickets necessary.
Speaker advocates for veterans
By STEPHANIE SNYDER news writer
as sept. 11 approached, this week’s Justice Friday installment, presented by saint mary’s junior and Justice education social relations officer alex shambery, served as a way to promote social awareness for homeless u s veterans.
shambery began by sharing statistics she found through the national coalition for homeless veterans (nchv) website.
“eleven percent of homeless adults are veterans,” she said. “of those 11 percent, 51 percent have disabilities and 50 percent have serious mental illnesses. seventy percent have substance abuse which ties into mental illness issues.” in the bigger picture, shambery said 1.4 million veterans are at risk of living in poverty.
“about 40,000 veterans are homeless on any given night,” she said. “america’s homeless veterans have been in world war ii, the Korean war, The cold war and vietnam.” according to shambery, one-third of the veterans who are homeless were directly in these war zones, although she added these numbers are approximations.
“There’s no way of getting a very specific number,” she said. “it’s usually based
on average and information they get from homeless shelters.”
all of these statistics raises the question as to why these veterans are homeless. shambery said the main reason is due to a lack of support.
“mainly because of an extreme shortage in affordable housing and a lack of family and social support,” she said. “you train to go over there and dedicate your life to try and save your country and then you come back and people tell you that your experience won’t help you find a job in america.”
saint mary’s junior alex morales said she recently talked to someone who found himself in a similar situation after being deployed.
“he said it almost felt like what would happen if you would die,” morales said. “he said you lose all of those connections. it’s a weird gray area. i think it just spirals from there.”
Justice education president and senior caylin mccallick agreed with morales.
“The training in the military isn’t necessarily transferring,” mccallick said. “when i was in roTc, one of my military instructors was a captain in the army. he was an army ranger, but he couldn’t get a job better than working in a factory.”
shambery said it is the duty of students to
reach out through volunteering at homeless shelters. in south bend specifically she suggested the center for the homeless and the robert l miller senior veterans center.
“a lot of people think the government is going to take care of it, but it’s all of our issues,” shambery said.
Justice education vice president and senior Katie dwyer said spreading awareness among the community is key in helping the veterans.
“i think it’s out of sight out of mind,” dwyer said. “i think the first thing we should do is spread more awareness about it.”
Justice education secretary and junior morgan matthews said students can help give veterans part of the supportive environment they need by merely spending some time with them.
“They are coming from a life style that is hectic,” matthews said. “Then they come to a life of boredom in comparison.”
“i think also what needs to be established is veteran-on-veteran support,” matthews said. “you can sit with a veteran for as long as you want and try to understand, but i think in some cases it might not be enough compared to veteran on veteran.”
Contact Stephanie Snyder at ssndyer01@saintmarys.edu
we had to talk about it, but we didn’t know much about it at the time.”
svelmoe said students who lived off-campus called him that day asking if it was safe to come to campus.
“The story that was out there was that they were trying to hit really well-known landmarks, and the golden dome is a pretty wellknown landmark.” he said. “it was a terrible, stunning day.”
svelmoe said his job as a professor was to provide students with a place to talk about the attacks.
“we had to let students talk about it, and talk about it when we didn’t have a lot of answers for what was going on ourselves,” he said. “a lot of it was just gathering information and then helping [the students] talk through their fears. we tried to give some historical context, but i was no expert on the middle east or on islam. you just let students talk and try to help them process it and try to reassure them that we weren’t going to get attacked here in south bend.”
senior helen Kovach said she remembers the attack because her family had recently moved to hungary.
“i vividly remember watching the events unfold on T v,” she said. “The strange thing is, had we been living in the states, then i would not have seen the images, as we did not have a T v at home. i probably was not mature enough to see
it happen.”
Thirteen years after the attacks, Kovach studied abroad in angers, France, and was there during the charlie hebdo shooting.
“it was déjà vu watching the Tv with my host mom during the hostage situation,” she said. “my host family asked me questions about 9/11 and my experience then. … These are huge tragedies, but our grief is a powerful equalizer.”
after experiencing new york as an adult, Kovach said the attacks changed her perspective on war.
“Three weeks before the attacks, my family had flown out of [John F. Kennedy international airport in new york], but i didn’t look out the window,” she said. “no one on that flight could have known that only days later the skyline would change forever.
“w hen i was little, i was naïve and thought that wars and bad things only happened far from home. … i don’t think anyone watching that day could fully know what was happening, but what i remember was that planes crashed and there were tall buildings on fire and people were trying to get out. i was terrified for them.”
“w hen people ask me why i still want to travel after so many recent terror attacks,i tell them while the attacks are horrible, the best way to respect the memories of the victims is to live,” Kovach said. “we can’t let the terrorists win by living in fear.”
saint mary’s alumna sarah sullivan bigelow, class of 1996, remembers her friend and college roommate suzanne Kondratenko,
also class of 1996, who died in the attacks. bigelow was late on her way to work in chicago when the attacks happened.
“The gravity of the event wasn’t even apparent at that time, but after the second plane hit, i remembered that suzanne was in new york,” she said. “i called her right away, hoping maybe she was back in chicago, or that she, too, would go in late for work that day. her cell phone voicemail was as close as i could get to her. a few hours later, her sister and office confirmed she was in the second tower when it was hit.”
senior clare durant has multiple family members and connections who worked in the world Trade center and miraculously escaped before the Towers fell. according to durant, one of her uncles was in the towers and made a quick decision when the people in the office were told to evacuate.
“They say don’t use an elevator in emergencies,” durant said. “w hen you’re on the 84th floor, you’re not going to get down fast enough. he gets in the elevator and people are shoving in, and they’re being told ‘no, you can’t use the elevator,’ but you can’t walk down those stairs.”
durant said her uncle’s coworker left the elevator to find his laptop despite her uncle begging him to stay.
“he basically had to make the decision to go,” she said. “he wasn’t back fast enough. … They go down, and right when they get to the bottom in the elevator,
that’s when the second tower was hit.”
durant’s mother and notre dame graduate rosemary durant said the news of the attacks did not spread rapidly because of the lack of social media. she said even people who lived in parts of new york had no idea what had happened until later in the day.
“if you were above 34th street … nobody knew what was going on,” she said. “you heard a little bit on the news, but we got the feeling they didn’t want us to see it.”
now, after 15 years, people have different perspectives on the events of that day.
svelmoe said teaching the attacks to students who may not remember it or who have not lived through it becomes like teaching any other historical event in which you need to thoroughly explain the climate around the event.
“To me it’s about context,” he said. “you’re always looking, when you’re talking about the past, to help students to connect what they’re studying to what is going on today. … That’s easier to do with 9/11 because we’re still living with the involvement, we still have a presence in the middle east.”
alumna rosemary durant said she still finds hope in all of the bad that happened. she and her family visited ground Zero in July after the attacks and saw tributes surrounding a nearby church in memory of the victims of the attacks.
“you could see the rubble; you could smell it,” she said. “it was
horrible. … but there’s hope, there’s life. There’s all this beauty surrounding this church. i wasn’t directly affected. it could have been worse. but you think that some people died, some people lived, some people got second chances. i know a lot of good stories that came out of the bad.”
bigelow said her personal connection to the tragedy changed her point of view.
“it almost makes it less about foreign policy and more about the personal tragic loss,” she said. “every time i go through Tsa, i think to myself, ‘This is still risky.’ They can’t convince me this is completely safe.”
bigelow said she thinks of her friend on the anniversary every year.
“To me, the date signifies a preciousness of life and humility,” she said. “we’re not in charge down here, and we may never understand the crosses we [carry]. we do our best every day and anticipate the eternal reunion.”
Kovach said the event was significant in her life, even though she was so young when it happened.
“w hen i was with my host family, it was difficult for me to speak about the attacks, but [it was] important to,” she said. “until speaking to them, i never realized how much the attacks affected the whole world, not just americans. at 9/11, the world mourned together.”
Contact Nicole Caratas at ncaratas01@saintmarys.edu
pride,” mylan Jefferson, a senior and a co-chair of the diversity council, said during the prayer. “help us all to love and understand one another better. give us the courage to work fiercely for racial justice.” bonnichsen said the prayer
service had been requested by the president of u s. bishops, who reserved sept. 9 as a day of prayer for racial issues and the newly formed bishops’ task force on race.
“The president of the u s. bishops commissioned a task force, such that the task force would work together and talk to communities, especially minority communities to think about how
parishes and the church as a whole in the united states could figure out how do we promote racial justice, how do we improve the dialogue and how do we participate in the dialogue,” bonnichsen said.
sept. 9 was chosen specifically because it is the feast day of st. peter claver, who according to catholic.org ministered to african slaves and worked tirelessly for
paid a dverT isemen T
the abolition of the african slave trade. The date also conveniently fell on the Friday before notre dame’s first home football game.
“i think awareness is what notre dame needs, especially since it’s a football weekend, so a lot of people will see us,” marissa browne, a sophomore attending the vigil, said.
bonnichsen said there are many more events planned for
the solidarity of Justice campaign in the near future, including book groups, panel discussions and a racial dialogues week in late october.
“we need to find really plausible and helpful places for action that students can participate in on a daily level,” bonnichsen said.
Contact Aidan Lewis at alewis9@nd.edu
reports of a fight in the l ounge.
p olice said officers l uke p ickard and a aron Knepper saw one woman kick another in the head outside the bar. b efore they could intercede, b utler approached and lunged at the woman who had kicked the other one, according to court documents.
a s p ickard pulled b utler away, the football player allegedly started cursing and punching both officers. o ther officers eventually detained b utler using a Taser. h e was brought to a holding cell at the s t. Joseph c ounty Jail.
b utler is set to appear in s t. Joseph s uperior c ourt again on o ct. 17.
b utler remains indefinitely suspended from the n otre d ame football team.
By NICOLE CARATAS
cene writer
r ain showers set an angsty mood in the suburbs of c hicago on Friday night as blink-182 unsurprisingly filled the hollywood casino a mphitheatre with thousands of poncho-clad fans ready to scream at the stage.
a lso unsurprising was the recent addition of a lkaline Trio’s matt skiba to the band — replacing Tom del onge — only adding to the band’s usual energy and theatrics.
a c hicago native, skiba came out on stage in a cubs jersey and immediately dove in to blink classics such as “Feeling This” and “w hat’s my a ge a gain?” The setlist wove together older songs that
all blink fans love with some of the best from their newest album, “california.”
l istening to “california” nearly nonstop in the weeks leading up to the concert, i wondered what it would be like to hear skiba perform del onge’s parts in the older songs. would “a ll The small Things” sound like it should without Tom’s unique voice?
i’m happy to report that the classics were not noticeably different. skiba’s stage presence and crowd interaction overshadowed his deeper voice.
m idway through the show, mark hoppus announced a setlist change as a tribute to c hicago, promising that we would “tell [our] grandchildren about this one day.” hoppus told crowd members to take out their cellphones and
turn on their flashlights. w ith a sea of led lights in front of them, the band became very serious before breaking out into “happy holidays, you bastard.” is there anything more typically blink-182?
between the fireworks and the flares, blink-182 did what they do best — entertained thousands of people with their jokes and immaturity. hoppus called out Travis barker for being “so sad” because they were about to play their “emo” song, “stay Together for the Kids.”
blink played seven songs off their new album, including my favorite “san diego,” though the title track did not make the setlist. The set ended with “l os a ngeles,” during which the main lights
were turned off and a strobe light show encapsulated the spirit of the song. a fter minutes of cheers and applause, they ran back out for their four-song encore. Though most blink fans agree that “a ll the small Things” is overplayed, the crowd could not contain themselves when the first notes sounded — screams erupted and everyone sang along. “brohemian r hapsody,” off the new album, served as proof that even after all this time, blink-182 has not changed who they are as artists or as people. even as three guys in their 40s, blink-182 made everyone feel like they were in middle school again.
Contact Nicole Caratas at ncaratas01@saintmarys.edu
By CAELIN MILTKO
s cene writer
Theatre season at notre dame is currently in the eye of the dramatic storm. The notre dame shakespeare Festival concluded before the end of august, and the first FTT plays won’t premiere until the very end of the month. but the drought on campus need not be the end of the story for theatre-goers — the morris performing a rts c enter has already begun its fall theatre schedule.
The national touring production of “ w icked: The untold story of the w itches of oz” began its run at the morris last week. The play is based on a 1995 novel of the same name that also resurrects the character of The w icked w itch of the west.
i n “ w icked,” her name is e lphaba, and she is tragically misunderstood, strongwilled and green. at shiz university, where most of the plot takes place, she rooms with her exact opposite, the fantastically popular, fashionable and blonde galinda (later glinda the g ood).
The parts were originated in the broadway production of “ w icked” by idina menzel as e lphaba and Kristin
c henoweth as galinda, and “defying gravity” quickly became the most identifiable tune from the soundtrack.
The version of “defying gravity” by a manda Jane c ooper ( galinda) and Jessica vosk ( e lphaba) is compelling, though difficult to compare to menzel and c henoweth’s rendition readily available on spotify.
h ighlights from the s outh bend show, however, included two slightly less famous numbers. c ooper’s rendition of “popular” was perfectly adolescent. i f her “ valley girl lift” could be a bit much at times when she was speaking (though it gave her the perfect giggle in response to her first meeting with Fiyero), it was ideal for this song. she was fantastically physical, flouncing and twirling across the stage and on her and e lphaba’s beds. vosk’s version of “no g ood deed” was equally wonderful — she took over the stage with ease and her anger and heartbreak were tangible throughout the performance. The end of this musical number garnered the largest applause of the night s ept. 8.
The supporting characters were particularly strong — the few solos performed by nessarose ( e lphaba’s sister)
make you wish Kristen martin had more opportunity to show off her voice. o verall, the show was wickedly wonderful. madame morrible ( wendy worthington) was not overly remarkable at her first appearance. but by the end, when her voice transformed to mimic the traditional w icked w itch of the west, she was one of the strongest characters.
Fortunately, perhaps, the most negative aspects of the show have nothing to do with the production itself.
The morris does not have a consistent policy against allowing people to enter the show late, and unfortunately that meant several large groups were allowed to enter the theatre five to 15 minutes after the show began. despite warnings at the beginning of the show, a cellphone did go off 10 minutes into the performance. at the end, several groups left before the final bows were taken.
perhaps most shocking to me, however, was the fact a woman sat behind me and sang along to all of her favorites from the soundtrack, including “defying gravity.” it is, unfortunately, the most memorable part about that
particular number for me.
i mention these annoyances not because they ruined the production for me (“w icked” was still a great experience), but to remind anyone who attends a live performance this year (or ever) to remember the rules of theatre etiquette.
a rrive on time, silence or turn off your phones, stay in your seats to applaud the performance (unless it was truly awful) and remember you aren’t the only one in the audience. singing along is only appropriate when encouraged to do so by the performer. These things are not merely marks of respect for your fellow audience members, but also for the performers. it actually makes their job harder when there are multiple distractions in the audience.
despite these points, the performance of “ w icked” was definitely worth the trip into downtown south bend. Tickets for “ w icked” at the morris are available online at their website and the show runs through s ept 18. Tickets prices range between $25 and $139.
Contact Caelin Miltko at cmoriari@nd.edu
| The Observer
InSIde ColuMn
my experience abroad
growing up, i’ve always had a passion for traveling to places i’d never been before. i didn’t realize just how strong that passion could be until my sophomore year of high school when i decided to go on a school trip to l ondon, paris and barcelona. honestly, going on this trip was the last thing i wanted to do with my spring break. spend more time with my teachers and give up the freedom to do whatever i wanted to do during my break? no thanks. on top of that was the fact that i had never been out of the country before, let alone without my parents. i was always the kind of girl who got homesick easily and getting on a plane and flying eight hours overseas was not a fact that comforted me. yet there i was packing my bags just weeks after my friend convinced me, “it will be fun!”
she was right. it was a blast. i had never experienced such freedom and simultaneous anxiety as when i was thrown into a foreign country where i didn’t know the language or have any bearings at all and was given “free time” to explore the city at only 16 years old. i will never forget the time my friends and i had to sit on the side of the building, harrods, while eating our lunch because every time we sat down somewhere, we were told we weren’t allowed to sit there. even on the sidewalks. or how jealous i was when the upperclassmen came back one night from sneaking out to p iccadilly c ircus to meet Theo James and shailene woodley during the “divergent” premiere, a once in a lifetime opportunity. or when we got to see the inside of notre dame de paris, a place of serene beauty and so meaningful to me. or when we met the Justin bieber of France, Quentin bieber, on our train. he’s real, i’m not kidding, look him up. a ll of these mini adventures and more combined to form my budding love of traveling abroad. but it’s not just about the sightseeing. Traveling abroad led me to make new friends and life-long connections with peers from my school and other schools that i never would have had the chance to talk to if i hadn’t gone on this trip. it gave me a sense of freedom and independence that has helped me get through my first three weeks of college. w ith great anticipation, i eagerly await my opportunity to jump at a semester, or even a year, abroad in a country where i can relive my dreams and fill the void in my heart that is for traveling.
Contact Emma O’Brien at eobrien03@saintmarys.edu
The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
An open letter to your pointless open letters
lighthearted death threat t-shirts for dads contemplating murder.”
This generation deserves a better class of internet. a nd we all should start giving it to them.
The internet has grown from a novel bit of technology to an essential means for the general public to communicate, find entertainment and receive information. h owever, it is our generation’s abuse of this brilliant innovation that has begun to threaten the preservation of this significant status that now allows it to stand alongside milestones such as the telephone, radio and broadcast television.
i now live in a world where both my peers (who are mostly college-educated members of society) and the media (who are mostly professionals in information distribution) seem to think that they are benefitting the general public by saturating the internet with billions of gigabytes of unnecessary noise. i don’t take issue with using the internet for entertainment. i ’m just as big a fan of p arks and r ecreation gi Fs and h arambe memes as the next guy. i ’ll even admit that a my s chumer’s unamusing c omedy c entral sketches aren’t the core of this plague that is slowly infecting cyberspace at large.
n o, when i speak of “unnecessary noise,” i refer two movements that are spreading at an alarming rate: the rise of “clickbait” and “listicles” and the escalation of redundancy.
c lickbait is the monster created by the same people whose job is to create pop-up ads and phishing emails. The popular article headline format began on blogs and entertainment sites but has since become standard for reputable news sources who want increased readership. c lickbait plays with the notso-difficult-to-figure-out psychology of human curiosity. h eadlines featuring phrasing such as “ you’ll n ever g uess w hy…”; “ w hat h appens n ext w ill s urprise you!”; and “ w hat we Found was s hocking,” teases everyone’s natural inclination to find truth, just as that spam email claiming that the prince of a non-existent a frican nation needs your help (and social security number) to get back to his family’s fortune makes you hesitate before clicking “delete” (“because what if he does plan on giving me 11 million dollars if i click this link!”).
working together like thunder and lightning, the clickbait title is rarely unaccompanied by its similarly useless companion, the listicle. i f you seek to call yourself a journalist but lack any literacy whatsoever, meet the listicle, an “article” (for lack of a better term) that is literally a list of things, usually supplemented by animated gi Fs of quotes from mid-2000s movies that are completely unrelated to the topic of your nonsensical list.
These tools are now commonplace on the webpages of blogs and news sites everywhere, but the worst offenders include o dyssey o nline and The Tab (which offer college students the opportunity to obtain “real experience” in journalism by getting published on the internet, allowing them to go on to become professional youTubers, i suppose), which are only outdone by the a ntichrist of productivity, usefulness, and all that is right in the world, b uzzFeed.
These sites pride themselves on producing trash by millennials for millennials, featuring meaningful (and #relatable) articles with headlines such as “ h ow to enjoy being single,” “33 surprising things you probably didn’t know about ‘The n otebook,’” and “17
The second source of this cancerous “internet noise” is one that is more easily subdued than the multi-billion-dollar industry known as “internet procrastination.” The problem of redundant and unnecessary posting was a plight first seen in the earliest days of social media (as your Facebook posts from 2011 will remind you), and it was people’s adversity to this sharing constant status updates and every random thought that popped into their heads that allowed social media platforms to morph into the instantaneous sources of news and humor that they are today. h owever, after several years of apathy towards this original purpose for social networks, people have begun to fill everyone’s phone’s notifications with the same junk they were five years ago.
Fifteen years following s eptember 11, 2001, the most despicable terror attacks on a merican soil in the nation’s history, i can only imagine the collective reactions of the internet’s 3 billion users had that dreadful event occurred in 2016. b ased on the reactions to recent terror attacks such as those in p aris and o rlando, it wouldn’t be difficult to predict the deluge of somber essay-long posts excessively utilizing the word “solidarity,” the “# p rayfor ny ” hashtags, and the red, white and blue temporary profile pictures that would have filled my Facebook, Twitter and i nstagram feeds for days had these internet communication platforms existed at the dawn of the twenty-first century.
b ecause yes, just as the s upreme c ourt was sure to check that enough people changed their profile pictures to rainbows before they ruled on the gay marriage issue, when a tragedy occurs, g od has one of the archangels count up all the tweets containing your “prayerful” hashtags.
w hile i ’m sure those of my peers participating in the aforementioned social media reactions to current events mean well, they should realize that under no circumstances can their reverent or upset post that received over 200 “likes” have any outcome other than taking up space on my computer screen. it’s “viral” movements such as these, whose only accomplishment is filling space, wasting time and “blowing hot air,” that must be stopped (in addition to those amateur opinion pieces on the superiority of b irkenstocks over c hacos and uneducated Facebook opinions on why c ommunism is the obvious solution to all of our sociopolitical problems).
e ven so, everyone deserves the freedom to say what he desires online. a s the definitive television caricature of the l ibertarian p arty once held, “The whole point of this country is [that] if you want to eat garbage, balloon up to 600 pounds, and die of a heart attack at 43, you can. you are free to do so.” b ut, as with the First a mendment right to free speech, we do have a responsibility to use the internet for sharing accurate information and informed opinions. a nd seriously, nobody cares about your temporary profile picture.
Julian Mancini’s column is respectfully dedicated to the memory of Mr. Elias Howe, who, in 1846, invented the sewing machine. He is a sophomore at Notre Dame studying Civil Engineering with a minor in Collaborative Innovation. Send amusing photoshops and sarcastic remarks to jmancin1@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Emma O’Brien news writer
Julian Mancini m ilquetoast & me
a head of the pack
Notre Dame pulls away from Nevada in second quarter on its way to blowout win
Notre Dame did what it
needed to against Nevada
Alex Carson a ssistant managing e ditor
w ho said it had to be pretty?
n o. 18 n otre d ame’s first quarter was pretty sloppy. a fter an offensive pass interference penalty negated a first down on the i rish offense’s first drive, the defense handed n evada two first downs via penalty on the ensuing drive. That preceded a second-drive threeand-out for the i rish (1-1), who closed the game’s opening quarter deadlocked with visiting n evada (1-1).
w hat followed, though, was everything a n otre d ame fan could have hoped would happen s aturday.
Junior quarterback d e s hone Kizer? a cool 15for-18 and two touchdowns through the air for the game while adding 35 yards and a score on the ground. a ll that in a performance that largely looked pedestrian.
By ELIZABETH GREASON sports writer
a fter a clumsy first quarter, n o. 18 n otre d ame turned the tide s aturday at n otre d ame s tadium, taking down n evada in its home opener, 39-10, after a short week of preparation.
i n that first quarter, n otre d ame picked up five penalties costing the team 50 yards, failing to gather momentum offensively; the i rish punted the ball twice in a scoreless quarter.
The i rish looked stronger right off the bat in the second quarter, though, finishing off a 75-yard drive that began with in the second quarter with a sophomore kicker Justin yoon field goal from 21 yards out, putting the first points on the board for a 3-0 lead. The field goal came after the i rish, led by junior quarterback d e s hone Kizer, failed to convert firstand-goal for a touchdown.
w ith senior receiver Torii hunter Jr. out with a concussion, sophomore c .J. s anders made his first career start, doing so alongside fellow sophomore e quanimeous s t. b rown.
s anders caught the first touchdown pass of the
game, a 7-yard connection from Kizer, who was scrambling on the play. yoon missed the point after, giving the i rish a 9-0 lead.
n otre d ame’s next points came in an unconventional manner, as n evada sophomore receiver a hki muhammad received yoon’s kickoff at the front of the end zone. There was a clear miscommunication between muhammad and the sideline, and muhammad stepped out of the end zone, as if to return the kick, and then back in, taking a knee. This resulted in a safety for the i rish, giving them an 11-0 lead.
Freshman receiver Kevin s tepherson made an impact s aturday, making his first career catch — a touchdown — in the second quarter to extend the lead to 18-0. s tepherson’s touchdown was made possible by a graduate student defensive lineman Jarron Jones interception at the start of n evada’s drive. The interception gave the i rish fantastic field position, setting them up with a first-andgoal situation. Jones said he was not surprised by his interception.
“ i think i have great
hands,” Jones said. “These hands aren’t big for nothing. i know i can grab a ball.”
Kizer said despite n otre d ame’s receivers being young, he trusts the corps.
“They played great,” Kizer said. “ i had to put an emphasis on trusting those guys in big environments such as their first home game. Kind of got to toss it up, throw them into fire, see what they could do. i have to treat them like the guys they are. They’re elite athletes. h ave to get the ball to e quanimeous, let them make plays.”
s enior running back Tarean Folston put his first points of the season on the board to give the i rish their best quarter since s eptember 2005. The game was also Folston’s first at home since n otre d ame’s season opener against Texas last season, when he suffered a season-ending injury. Folston mentioned he was anxious about stepping onto the n otre d ame s tadium turf again, but he fully lived up to his expectations.
“ it felt good,” Folston said. “ i ’m not gonna lie, i was
Kizer, young receivers star in Irish victory
By R.J. STEMPAK sports writer
i n his first week this season as the lone starter, junior quarterback d e s hone Kizer delivered as n o. 18 n otre d ame’s leader, manufacturing three scoring drives of 75 yards or more on the way to a 39-10 victory over n evada. Kizer lead the i rish (1-1) with consistency and poise in his 15-for-18 passing performance, one i rish head coach b rian Kelly praised — especially his improvement near the goal line.
“ i think you can see this more than anything else, in the red zone, where now he’s had two touchdowns in the red zone where he’s been really patient, hit his third and fourth option down there,” Kelly said. “ i think that’s showing itself to a higher completion percentage down there.”
i n the red zone, Kizer went 4-for-4, leading the team to three touchdowns and a
EMMET FARNAN | The Observer
Irish junior quarterback DeShone Kizer readies to take a snap during Notre Dame’s 39-10 victory over Nevada at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday. Kizer went 15-for-18 in passing, throwing two touchdowns and running for another. Irish head coach Brian Kelly praised his red zone performance in the matchup.
kind of nervous to play on the field again because i had my injury here, but this is football. There’s nothing wrong with the field, it’s just me and my mind. b ut i ’m good on any field and to get that touchdown meant a lot to me.”
The i rish shut out the wolf p ack in the first half, putting up 25 unanswered points.
Kizer led another successful scoring drive in n otre d ame’s first possession of the second half, leading the team 85 yards in nine plays, including a successful fourthdown conversion. The drive also included a breakaway 43-yard rush from sophomore running back Josh a dams, who dodged defender after defender until he was finally knocked out at the 21-yard
line. a dams that this long run was exactly what he expects out of himself and his team.
“ i n the end, my mindset is to just get as many yards as i can and to make something out of nothing,” a dams said. “a nd of course, the offensive line was doing an awesome job, as always, of helping me and moving the chains, so that’s what really happened on that play.”
The drive culminated in Kizer rushing two yards for the touchdown, giving the i rish a 32-0 lead.
Kizer’s racked up 35 rushing yards on the game, third to only a dams and fellow sophomore back d exter w illiams.
The shutout bid came to an end as the wolf p ack were able to march 66 yards into the red zone on the next drive. a fter losing yardage on second down, n evada settled for a 27yard field goal attempt, which
senior kicker b rent Zuzo converted for the visitors’ first points of the game.
n otre d ame’s final points of the game were put on the board at the end of the third quarter, as w illiams scored his first touchdown of the season. it appeared that w illiams scored on a 24-yard run, but after review, the ball was placed half a yard from the goal line. w illiams finished the job on the next play, however, diving into the end zone to give the i rish a 39-3 lead.
The n otre d ame running game has put up more than 200 yards in two straight games, and a dams feels this will be a key to n otre d ame’s success going forward.
“ w hen we can go out there and play as a unit, it just does wonders,” a dams said. “ it helps us move as an offense and it helps us execute the
way we know how. it’s great to have guys that you can put in there and the offense still moves at that high tempo that we need to move up.”
w ith just over five minutes remaining, sophomore n evada quarterback Ty g angi, who saw reps throughout the game, led the wolf p ack down the field to score their lone touchdown of the game, a freshman running back Jaxson Kincaide score, leading to the 39-10 final.
s ophomore cornerback s haun c rawford tore his a chilles early in the first quarter and will be out for the remainder of the season.
i rish head coach b rian Kelly said he is looking to sophomore n ick c oleman to step up in c rawford’s absence.
“c oleman goes to corner,” Kelly said. “[Freshman] Julian l ove is at the nickel. you saw [freshman] d onte
vaughn out there. … i t’s the next man up.
“ i thought n ick did some really good things. h e was on body. h e fell down on that one opportunity they had a big pass completion in the third quarter. b ut n ick played with much better technique, a lot better confidence. h e’s got to be that kind of player for us now with s haun now lost for the season.”
Kelly was pleased with his team’s performance against the wolf p ack, but made sure to note that the game was won by his team’s hard work.
“ you don’t accidentally win football games,” Kelly said. “ it’s hard to win. … o ur kids put in the time, they put in the effort. i t wasn’t lucky that they won the game today. They prepared to win.”
Contact Elizabeth Greason at egreason@nd.edu
Play of the game
J a RR on J ones’ inte RC e P tion
a fter a bizarre couple of minutes, notre dame led 11-0 and had nevada backed up deep into its own territory. a big play would cement the irish as the dominant team in the matchup, and Jones’ interception did just that. he read the screen pass well, jumping in front of a weakly-thrown pass, to give the irish offense a 4-yard field. Three plays later, the irish lead was 18-0; just a few minutes earlier, the
EMMET FARNAN | The Observer
Notre Dame sophomore receiver C.J. Sanders celebrates after his 7-yard touchdown reception during the second quarter of the 39-10 Irish win over Nevada at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday. It was the first of five touchdowns the squad scored on the day.
field goal. h e notes his experience from last season has much to do with making him more comfortable in the red zone.
“ you got to understand that in the red zone that if the first option is not there, go to the second or third,” Kizer said. “ i f the third isn’t open, don’t force it. That was my biggest fault last year.”
w ithout a clear leading receiver, Kizer’s development as a leader may be more important than ever for the i rish. Through two games, he has shown improvement in his patience and decision-making, and according to Kelly, it is part of the strategy for Kizer to have high-percentage games.
“ we’ll continue to emphasize that with a high-percentage completion, again, from d e s hone,” Kelly said. “That’s kind of who we’ll be most of the year, high-percentage completions, move the ball around to a number of receivers. There is not one guy that is going to end up with 100 catches. you’re going to see a lot of guys touch the ball.”
a potential problem with spreading the ball around, though, is n otre d ame’s inexperience at receiver.
o f the seven players that caught passes against
n evada, three hauled in their first career reception: junior c orey h olmes, freshman Kevin s tepherson and sophomore c hris Finke. s tepherson also nabbed his first career touchdown s aturday.
“ we felt like it was important to get c orey and s tepherson and those kids some touches early, get them some confidence,” Kelly said. “ i f they got some confidence, they’d make some plays for us. o bviously, getting s tepherson the touchdown catch was a big catch for him, getting some confidence there. b ut, no, there was a concerted effort to get [the young receivers] the football.”
d e s hone Kizer echoes his coach’s words on his young receiving corps, acknowledging that touches are the only way his receivers can gain confidence.
“There’s no favoritism when it comes to receivers,” Kizer said. “ we’re going to be able to spread the ball around. young guys can make plays. Those guys need to make big plays. They’re going to develop. we’re not going to refer to them as ‘young guys’ any longer.”
a t the forefront of the receiving corps, sophomores e quanimeous s t. b rown and c .J. s anders have emerged as Kizer’s favorites. s t. b rown contributed six catches for 85 yards, while
s anders added five for 46 and a touchdown. d espite their inexperience, these two rising stars radiate confidence, allowing them to play more like veterans.
“ i t all starts on the practice field,” s t. b rown said. “ i just needed to get on the practice field. i f you put in the work, [being on the practice field] boosts your confidence and that translates to the field.”
s anders said he enjoys the opportunity to work in an offense where no receiver is preferred over the other.
“ i love it,” s anders said about the offense. “ i t gets to show that everyone, no matter who you are, you get to make plays. i think we showcased that today. Just showing everyone that when you get the ball in your hands, you can be a baller.
“ … The biggest thing is just being a baller. e Q is a baller, whoever is in there is a baller. you just want to show people that you can make plays.”
The young “ballers” got their first true taste of success as a unit this week against n evada, but a tougher test will come next week against n o. 12 m ichigan s tate.
n otre d ame’s season may rest on how fast the young receivers keep settling in.
Kevin stepherson 4-yard pass from Kizer ( yoon kick)
8:23 remaining
Drive: Three plays, 4 yards, 1:05 elapsed
n otR e Dame 25, nevaDa 0
Tarean Folston 2-yard rush ( yoon kick)
:35 remaining
Drive: 13 plays, 88 yards, 4:28 elapsed
n otR e Dame 32, nevaDa 0
Kizer 2-yard rush ( yoon kick)
8:35 remaining
Drive: Nine plays, 85 yards, 4:36 elapsed
n otR e Dame 32, nevaDa 3 brent Zuzo 27-yard field goal 3:54 remaining Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 4:36 elapsed
The i rish ground game? it opened up really well, especially on the strength of sophomore running back Josh a dams, who rushed for 106 yards on 10 carries.
The receivers? Junior c orey h olmes was the only upperclassman to record a catch, yet you could’ve convinced most people the corps was full of veterans, not underclassmen. b etween Texas and n evada, sophomores e quanimeous s t. b rown and c .J. s anders have shown they’re not the future of the i rish passing game, rather the present. a nd while the defense got off to a bit of a shaky start — giving up those two first downs via penalty on n evada’s opening drive — it responded exactly as it needed to, stuffing the wolf p ack on fourth-and-1 early on. g oing through a game without any adversity wouldn’t have been particularly productive. n otre d ame’s defense made a necessary big play, then followed it up with two three-and-outs and an interception.
i f that isn’t everything you wanted and more, i don’t know what else to tell you.
w hen n evada did move the ball again, the i rish defense was bending, not breaking — to resurrect everyone’s favorite 2012 phrase. That’s progress, the type that wins you games against better football teams. o ne more bend, rather than a break, a week ago at Texas means a win, not a loss.
b ut let’s face it: The only way we were really learning anything about this i rish team s aturday was if things went horribly wrong, one way or another. That hasn’t happened.
There are still things to worry about, sure. Tackling was a bit of a concern, as was the early-game sloppiness. Fail to execute in those places again, and next week’s matchup with n o. 12 m ichigan s tate will likely drop the i rish to 1-2.
s ophomore cornerback s haun c rawford’s absence will be a big hurt, too. The second cornerback spot, opposite senior c ole l uke, remains a concern.
b ut on the whole, if n otre d ame can replicate the gains it made between Texas and n evada ahead of next week’s visit from the s partans, they’ll be in a good spot to come away with a key win that’ll really kickstart the season.
Just look at junior safety d rue Tranquill, who went from getting benched against Texas to making back-to-back key plays — a pass break-up followed by a hurry — to force a n evada punt.
o r how about the front seven as a whole, which held the wolf p ack under 100 yards rushing on 30 carries? a fter getting bullied around a week ago by Texas’ ground game, largely in a 3-3-5, the core i rish 4-3 defense looked good s aturday.
i f you’re looking for more improvement, just look at how the i rish coaches handled those aforementioned young receivers. s ix days earlier, they passed up a chance to go for the sticks on third-and-long late in the fourth quarter at Texas. o n s aturday, they got them involved in big plays from the get-go.
a t the end of the day, what happened s aturday at n otre d ame s tadium was what — a bizarre safety aside — was supposed to happen. a fter last week’s thriller, ain’t that kinda nice?
Contact Alex Carson at acarson1@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
n otR e Dame 39, nevaDa 3 dexter williams 1-yard rush ( yoon kick) :38 remaining Drive: Seven plays, 57 yards, 3:07 elapsed
n otR e Dame 39, nevaDa 10
Jaxson Kincaide 6-yard rush (Zuzo kick)
5:06 remaining
Drive: Three plays, 6 yards, 1:14 elapsed
R ushing yaRD s
hungRy foR the Wolf
After a sloppy first quarter, Notre Dame came alive Saturday, scoring 32 consecutive points to earn a convincing win over the visiting Wolf Pack at Notre Dame Stadium. Junior quarterback DeShone Kizer, given the starting nod last week, went 15-for-18 on the day for 156 yards in the air. Defensively, the Irish kept Nevada out of the end zone until the game’s final six minutes.
CAROLINE GENCO | The Observer
Notre Dame senior running back Tarean Folston evades a Wolf Pack defender to reach the end zone during the 39-10 Irish win over Nevada at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday. The scoring run was the finish to a 13-play, 88-yard drive in the second quarter.
GRACE TOURVILLE | The Observer
Irish sophomore cornerback Nick Coleman makes a tackle during Saturday’s 39-10 victory over Nevada after coming in for injured sophomore cornerback Shaun Crawford.
CAITLYN JORDAN | The Observer
Irish sophomore running back Josh Adams outruns the Nevada defense in Saturday’s 39-10 Irish win.
EMMET FARNAN | The Observer Graduate student nose tackle Jarron Jones is tackled after his interception on Saturday.
CAROLINE GENCO | The Observer
Notre Dame junior quarterback DeShone Kizer makes moves upfield during the 39-10 Irish win over Nevada on Saturday.
The right to offend
Liam Stewart c onservative c onscience
on far too many college campuses, administrations unreasonably restrict student expression to designated “free speech zones.” For decades, these zones have been the subject of great contention among students, faculty members and government officials. This debate has expanded to include terms like “trigger warnings,” “microaggressions” and so-called “safe spaces.” even today, the issue of free speech on college campuses remains, ironically, highly controversial.
according to the Foundation for individual r ights in education, approximately one in six of the top 400 universities in a merica have adopted some form of free speech zones. Typically, access to these zones requires pre-registration and approval, and is subject to time and space restraints. students wishing to exercise their first amendment rights often find themselves banished to these remote areas of campus.
universities exist to promote higher education through instruction and intellectual discussion. students should be encouraged to share their views, to challenge others’ ideas and to reassess their own preconceptions. by restricting free speech to specific areas of campus, universities are significantly reducing the ability of students to learn from one another and engage in meaningful discussions about contemporary issues.
recently, free speech zones have been eclipsed by a revival of “safe spaces.” These spaces prohibit anyone from sharing ideas that others may find offensive. The concept has garnered support among many college students, some of whom believe these spaces will help protect marginalized groups.
a lthough the movement consists overwhelmingly of liberal-leaning students, a number of prominent democrats have criticized “safe spaces.” even president obama has distanced himself from the issue,
letter to the edItor
declaring: “i don’t agree that you, when you become students at colleges, have to be coddled and protected from different points of views.”
yet despite significant criticism, the movement has continued to gain traction on many college campuses. l ast year, students at the university of missouri received national attention after creating a “safe space” outdoors on a public quad. The situation quickly became tense when students began shoving reporters and arguing with bystanders. one woman, professor melissa click, threatened a student photographer and was later charged with third-degree assault.
yale received similar national attention following a bizarre controversy over halloween costumes. The media highlighted a video of a seemingly hysterical young woman, yelling at a professor for failing to create a “safe space.” The yale controversy shows us that even the nation’s most prestigious universities are not immune from the resurgence of “safe space” advocates.
“safe spaces” are tangible manifestations of the notion, increasingly popular among millennials, that schools should protect students from uncomfortable and divisive ideas. however, while shielding vulnerable young adults from opposing viewpoints may seem like as good idea, it is irreparably damaging to students’ education. intellectual diversity — that is, the diversity of ideas — is integral to academia. students don’t need to be protected, they need to be challenged, exposed to new ideas, and willing to engage in rational debate.
Further, once you designate some spaces as “safe,” you imply that the rest are somehow “unsafe.” This demonstrates the truly damaging nature of “safe space” ideology. disagreement, even vehement debate, does not make a space unsafe. a free and open exchange of differing views is the healthy and natural product of any intellectual environment.
notre dame seems to recognize the value of free speech and intellectual diversity in education.
a lthough it is a private institution, and thus not legally required to protect free speech, the university offers students a great deal of freedom. we are free to host speakers of our choosing, distribute literature, organize peaceful demonstrations and utilize the resources of the student activities office. notre dame promises that “students and student organizations are free to examine and to discuss all questions of interest to them and to express opinions publicly and privately.” even so, the pervasive culture of political correctness is an ever-pressing concern, even at more conservative institutions like notre dame. The university prohibits the use of resources to “post, view, store or send obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit or offensive material.” but what is the standard in determining what is and is not “offensive?” should we not have the right to openly express our views, even if others may be offended? can free speech truly be considered free at all if it does not extend to the expression of potentially offensive ideas?
perhaps the biggest tragedy of western education today is that freedom of speech is no longer a right that students can take for granted. increasingly, even in a merica, student expression has been forced to compete with political correctness, “safe spaces,” “free speech zones” and a flurry of other so-called “progressive” idiocies. we must stop this indulgence in selfinfantilization and engage in open and meaningful political discourse. we must defend not only the right to be offended, but the right to offend.
Liam Stewart is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Letters, majoring in political science. Liam was born and raised in the beautiful Irish city of Dublin, although he has been proud to call Seattle home for the past six years. He enjoys country music, hardback books and binge-watching TV shows. He can be reached at lstewar4@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
w hy ndcr should hop off the Trump train
i n the closing weeks of the summer, the h arvard republican c lub posted a thorough denouncement of its party’s presidential candidate, d onald Trump. Four days later, the notre dame c ollege republicans released a similar statement on Facebook — announcing instead its support for that same candidate. i f the latter club plans to maintain any relevance in the political discussion on this university’s campus, it should rescind their support as soon as it can get around to typing 500 words of political reframing.
The argument against Trump has become a cliche at this point, with two main parts: First, give a brief litany of the shocking statements and controversies that have entertained the 24-hour news channels for the past 14 months. This usually starts with the time he called former pow John mc c ain “not a war hero” and ends with his most recent colorful outburst, which conveniently refreshes itself about twice a week. s econd, elaborate on said most recent outburst and claim that this is the one step too far — that mainstream republicans cannot possibly continue to support him after this one thing that is just too offensive, too explosive, too racially charged.
Four months after Trump became the presumptive nominee, the national republican wall of support for him still resembles a pack of exasperated court-appointed public defenders whose client seems determined to secure his own conviction. The cycle has become pathetically repetitive: Trump goes off the teleprompter, sparking a controversy. Then, mainstream republicans like p aul r yan thoroughly denounce the statement, then reiterate their unwavering support for him with a now-familiar
pained look on their faces.
a s shameful as this behavior from top republicans is, it is at least logical. They have constituents to avoid alienating, and allowing oneself to be blamed for electing h illary c linton is tantamount to treason in many republican circles. This is not the case with the notre dame c ollege republicans.
members of notre dame c ollege republicans as a club are not elected officials and do not run the risk of alienating constituents like republican members of c ongress and others. r ather, they exist in an environment where honest deliberation should determine actions, not blind adherence to the party line. v ice p resident d ylan stevenson was quoted by the observer as saying that the club decided “to support whoever that nominee was” back in a pril. That kind of reflexive obedience to party is the surest way to help torpedo the future success of republicans in the decades to come.
Trump embodies a caricature of the lowest, most common d emocratic lines of attack against republicans: he is an old, white man who doesn’t care much for the poor, looks down on minorities and women, and uses fear to win voters. w hen the republicans who support him are accused of those things in the future, they will have forfeited the legitimacy to defend themselves from those accusations. p aul r yan provided one shining moment of respectability when he called Trump’s attack on Judge g onzalo p c uriel “textbook racism.” a s for other republicans who flatly denied that Trump’s comments were racist, why should they be taken seriously when the left accuses them of racism for an offhand, out-of-context comment?
a s an aside: it is a moot point whether or not Trump actually is, deep down, a racist. w hat matters are people’s perceptions. w hen the general public hears the republican nominee’s comments and widely perceives them to be racist, they project that image on the party far beyond the current election cycle.
The notre dame c ollege republicans have been active in the political discussion on campus. w hen the leadership is willing to turn a blind eye to Trump’s off-the-rails ramblings, what ground do they have to stand on in future discussions and debates? For a club whose mission it should be to shape the public perception of the republican p arty in a positive way for the young people here, it is unthinkable that they would actively work to undermine it.
i n June, republican s enator and Trump detractor l indsey graham put it well when he said that “There’ll come a time when the love of country will trump hatred of h illary.” it remains to be seen whether that will hold true for the republican leadership here at notre dame.
The clock is running out on this election. i n less than two months, Trump will likely lose — ending his candidacy, which was ironically built around him being a winner, in a sad, anticlimactic train wreck. ndcr leadership still has a chance to hop off the Trump train before it’s too late, or permanently mar the club’s reputation for years to come.
Nicholas Dedo sophomore sept. 9
happy birthday: put your creative insights to work for you. you will intuitively know when to make your move. d on’t hesitate because someone is trying to deter you from following your gut feeling. it’s up to you to take action if you want your vision to turn into a reality this year. stay focused and resolute, and you will reach your destination. your numbers are 7, 13, 22, 26, 31, 43, 47. birthday baby: you are strong-minded, focused and in control. you are persuasive and persistent.
aries ( march 21- april 19): d o your due diligence before making a decision that will affect your employment status. refuse to let emotions lead to mistakes. Focus on getting things done and steering clear of anyone who tries to meddle in your personal or professional affairs.
Taurus ( april 20- may 20): a day trip or outing with children or friends will be enlightening. l isten carefully, and you will find out personal information about someone that will change your opinion about the relationship. Knowledge is a powerful asset.
gemini ( m ay 21-June 20): r eplace negative feelings with positive possibilities. r omance and fun can be yours to enjoy if you make realistic choices and plan affordable activities. d on’t let temptation turn into a costly personal loss.
cancer (June 21-July 22): Keep your plans to yourself until you have everything in place and are confident you can avoid interference. use your knowledge and experience to ward off any negativity. b e willing to walk away and do your own thing.
leo (July 23- aug. 22): g et involved in activities that will challenge you to look, feel and be your best. o pportunity will come to those willing to put in time and effort. update your look and celebrate your success with someone you love.
virgo ( aug. 23- sept. 22): g et involved in activities that will bring you closer to the people in your life who count. activities that involve friends who share the same passions as you will ease your stress and help you gain a better perspective on life.
libra ( sept. 23- o ct. 22): step out with friends or get involved in something that will help you improve your image, appearance or a personal relationship. d on’t let anyone you live with dump his or her responsibilities on your lap. l earn to say “no.”
scorpio ( o ct. 23- nov. 21): d on’t share anyone else’s secrets. i f handled diplomatically, an emotional situation will buy you the time you need to figure out the best way to move forward. l et your intuition and keen sense of justice lead the way.
sagi TTarius ( nov. 22- d ec. 21): put your efforts into personal, self and relationship improvements. The changes you make at home should offer incentives to the people you want to keep the peace with while you bring about the changes that will make you happy.
capricorn ( d ec. 22-Jan. 19): home improvements will bring you satisfaction, comfort and added convenience that will lend itself to spending more time at home and less at work. The more you invest in what you have already acquired, the more secure your future will become.
aQuarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): you’ll be tempted to partner with someone who appears to be savvy, but don’t rule out how smart and efficient you are on your own. Take a moment to relax with someone you love, and as time passes you’ll realize what’s best for you.
pisces (Feb. 19- march 20): g etting involved in something you believe in will satisfy you, but for those you live with or who count on you personally, your absence will not be appreciated. Take care of your home and family before helping others.
JuMble | david hoyT and JeFF KnureK
SudoKu | The mepham group
JuSt add water | eric carlson & John roddy
Impressions after week 2
i do not have a vote in the ap Top 25. Though it would be pretty neat if i did, given i probably put more time and effort into ranking teams in my head than many pollsters actually do.
but despite not having a vote, i’m going to rank the 10 teams that have impressed me more than any other so far this season. There’s one rule: you have to have played, and beaten, someone half-decent to be there.
no. 1: a labama
it’s pretty clear cut who the best team in college football is through two weeks of play. a fter trouncing usc on the opening weekend, the crimson Tide took care of business this week against western Kentucky. most years, i’m against the often-lazy “a labama at no. 1” vote, but this time, it’s deserved.
no. 2: houston
i’m going non sequitur from the no. 2 slot here and picking the cougars, who have college football’s best win this year. it’s not merely the fact that they beat oklahoma that slots them here, but the nature in which they did it, too, looking like the better team by a decent margin. houston’s matchup with l ouisville on nov. 17 could be one of the games of the season.
no. 3: Florida State
we have one real data point on the seminoles, but it’s a good one: their 45-34 come-from-behind win over mississippi. if Florida state had controlled that game throughout, i’d be inclined to sit the seminoles at no. 2, like the ap poll actually does. They can change that this week, though, with a win at l ouisville.
no. 4: texas
The l onghorns are here, not just because of their doubleovertime win over notre dame, but also because of the way in which they did it, going toe-to-toe with a playoff contender from a year ago, while running a new-look offense. malik Jefferson is going to be the best defensive player in the big 12, and it’s not like you need defense in that conference, anyway.
no. 5: w isconsin
we’re quickly running out of great data points here, so i’ll go with the badgers at no. 5. Truth be told, their opening-weekend win over lsu
wasn’t all that shocking, given w isconsin is the type of team that should be able to pull an upset against a team like the Tigers. back-to-back-to-back games against m ichigan state, m ichigan and ohio state will define their season, though.
no. 6: l ouisville
i’ve mentioned the cardinals twice already, but i’ve been extremely impressed with l amar Jackson, who’s been the best quarterback in college football so far. beating syracuse isn’t anything special, but routing the much-improved orange is noteworthy. The cardinals can beat one of Florida state, c lemson or houston. can they beat them all?
no. 7: Stanford
The cardinal have the best skill position player in college football, c hristian mccaffrey, so we’ll slot them here. a sept. 30 trip to seattle — note that’s a Friday night — to face washington could be the defining game of stanford’s season.
no. 8: Clemson
a lright, i’m gonna cave and put the Tigers in here. a road win at auburn, no matter how messy, shouldn’t be scoffed at, but c lemson fans should have some concerns after just squeaking by Troy in death valley.
no. 9: washington okay, i’m definitely violating one of my rules by calling rutgers a “half-decent” team, but i’m doing it anyway because i think washington is a pretty good football team. plus, the huskies’ pac-12 slate is favorable: they have stanford at home, while avoiding ucla in cross-division games.
no. 10: texas a &M
i’m going to feel pretty terrible about whoever i put here anyway, so let’s make it the team that’s bound to get embarrassed in a 40-point loss when it plays a labama in october. a& m always starts impressively, then always fades.
but fear not, ohio state and m ichigan: you both finally play a power Five opponent this week, so i will gladly welcome you here next week. well, presuming you win.
Contact Alex Carson at acarson1@nd.edu
The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Volleyball
con T inued F rom page 12
saturday, the irish achieved another three-set sweep, 25-17, 25-17, 25-19. both teams got off to a strong start, as the score was tied, 16-16, by the middle of the opening frame. Then irish sophomore outside hitter rebecca nunge registered back-to-back kills during a 9-1 streak by her squad to close out the set, 25-17. notre dame also took command of the second set by jumping out to a 15-4 lead on its way to another 25-17 set win.
The a ztecs (5-5) kept the score tight throughout the third set until a 6-2 run by the irish, which pushed their lead from 16-14 to 22-16. Freshman outside hitter Jemma yeadon came up with two key kills for the i rish off assists by holt. irish sophomore libero ryann deJarld contributed six digs, two assists and a service ace, while nunge led the way for the irish with a team-high nine
w Soccer
con T inued F rom page 12
b ronco forward m addie g onzalez twice in the first period to preserve the draw and the clean sheet.
The i rish returned to the field on s unday hoping to create some production offensively against the n o. 2 team in the nation, who had outscored their opponents 15-3 to start the season. b ut the game started off poorly for the i rish, as the c ardinal struck first when senior forward m egan Turner scored in the 27th minute to put the i rish down 1-0.
i n the second half, n otre d ame came out with a vengeance, and persistence paid off when junior forward m eghan d oyle tied the game up in the 53rd minute off an assist from senior striker and captain Kaleigh o lmsted. i t didn’t take long for s tanford to respond, however, as Turner scored again in the 57th minute to put the c ardinal back on top. b ut n otre d ame’s displayed resilience once again as westendorf curled a free kick from just outside the box into the net to tie the game at two.
“ i n the second half we actually switched our system, we played a 4-4-2, and i think
kills while also contributing five blocks. notre dame’s attacking percentage was .280 over the three sets, which was markedly better than san diego state’s clip of .115 in the match. The host, r hode island, proved to be the toughest competition for notre dame, but the i rish finished their sweep of the weekend with a 3-1 victory, 25-17, 22-25, 26-24 and 25-15. Junior libero natalie Johnson got notre dame off to a 10-3 start in the first set with a series of strong serves and a pair of aces, and the irish never trailed from that point on in the set. The rams (4-5) battled back with energy after regrouping, and a 12-4 run proved to be the turning point in the second frame for the hosts, who snatched the match-tying 2522 victory.
w hen notre dame returned to the court for set three, it took an 8-2 advantage in part thanks to two service aces by Fry and one by yeadon. r hode island rallied back to tie it at 23
late the in the set. rams senior outside hitter audrey castro made several key plays and led both teams with 20 total kills for the day, earning her alltournament honors. but it was Fry who stepped up to finish the set with two kills and a final block, which gave the irish the close 26-24 win. in the final set of the match, the i rish outplayed r hode island with a 17-9 lead and never let go, taking the match and the tournament sweep with a 25-15 decision. Fry, deJarld and nunge garnered all-tournament honors at the end of the night. Fry led the attack with 29 kills and added 15 blocks in the three matches. deJarld garnered mvp honors for her 40 digs in the three matches, averaging four per set. nunge recorded 23 kills with 10 blocks to round out the all-tournament trio.
The irish travel to the spartan c lassic in east l ansing, m ichigan, for its final weekend of nonconference play Friday and saturday before acc competition begins in two weeks.
we were able to go off of better pressure on the ball earlier up the field, and so we forced them to turn the ball over, and i thought we did a great job of countering,” r omagnolo said. “ i thought everybody, to be honest, had a great game and played well defensively. e ven in the first half we only allowed two shots, and one was a wonder goal so we were doing a great job of just limiting their opportunities.”
The game was back and forth for the remainder of the 90 minutes, and l ittle made two huge saves in the last five minutes to send the game to overtime. i n the extra periods, l ittle made two more saves to keep the game alive, and the i rish defense stayed strong to earn the team another hard-fought draw.
a fter the road trip, r omagnolo was happy with the results, she said. “ i t’s great preparation,” she said. “ s tanford is second in the country right now so to be able to play that type of game before acc play is just fantastic, to get that type of experience. i ’m really proud of the strides that we’re making. we’re about a month and a week in since we started our preseason, and i just feel like we are making some massive strides. i t’s been really fun to see how great our defense has blossomed and how we are really starting to click on offense, so i love where we’re heading. we just have to focus on getting better every day.”
Contact Tobias Hoonhout at thoonhou@nd.edu
Alex Carson a ssistant managing e ditor
EMMET FARNAN | The Observer Senior captain and goalie Kaela Little launches a goal kick on a Sept. 4 game against Mizzou at Alumni Stadium. The Irish won 1-0.
saves when he was called on. he really made the key saves,” i rish head coach b obby c lark said. “g oals change games, obviously. [ v irginia Tech] is a good team, and we saw why they were 4-0 coming in here.”
The second half began with a loose ball in the box gathered by a cuna, who was unable to beat hubbard once again. Five minutes into the half, v irginia Tech was up to six shots and hubbard had made three saves to keep the hokies scoreless.
v irginia Tech controlled the first 15 minutes of the half, preventing notre d ame from getting a shot on goal while putting up five shots of its own. The drizzle returned while the i rish back line held strong against the hokie attack. c lark said he recognized the hokies had to come out aggressive in order to stay in
the game.
“The opening 15 minutes [of the second half], they were two goals down and they had to pressure, and then i think they ran out of steam,” c lark said. “ you only can do that for so long. i f they had gotten a goal at that time, it would have made it very difficult [for us to win]. we were taking water in those first fifteen minutes. They suddenly went way up in shots.”
notre d ame regained control of the contest with a less than 13 minutes left in the contest, when p anken crossed the ball to the far post where a ubrey was waiting for it. The senior headed the ball past the keeper to score his second goal of the match.
“its something we work on in the training field all the time,” a ubrey said. “ we have e van [ p anken] putting in crosses and me running the back post for the headers, and finally it came off tonight.”
The third goal put notre
d ame firmly in the driver’s seat as the game was coming to an end, according to c lark.
“ … o bviously, when we got the third goal, that also killed it,” c lark said. “[Junior forward Jeffery Farina] just held the ball up front, and we got the game back in their half because we needed the person to hold the ball and let the rest of us get back in. a nd we when did that, we were fantastic. a nd blake [Townes] — i know the goal was great, but what he did apart from that was fantastic. it was a team performance.”
i n the closing minutes, the drizzle turned to downpour, and a ubrey appropriately poured it on by converting a free kick from 20 yards out, completing his hat trick.
“The set pieces are something i worked on a lot this summer ... and i am just happy its finally all paying off,” a ubrey said a s the crowd of 1,824 at a lumni stadium dissipated, v irginia Tech earned a penalty kick with just over four minutes left in the game. u ltimately inconsequential, hokie senior forward s om e ssome scored on the penalty, putting the final score at 4-1 in favor of the i rish.
notre d ame is back in action Tuesday night against visiting c onnecticut. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at a lumni stadium.
Contact R.J. Stempak at rstempak@nd.edu
KATHLEEN DONAHUE| The Observer
Captain and graduate student defender Michael Shipp is taken down by a New Mexico player as sophomore Thomas Ueland, left, and senior Mark Gormley, right, look on. Notre Dame is ranked number one in the NSCAA Division I National Top 25 poll for the seventh time in the last four seasons, and defeated 15th-ranked Virginia Tech 4-1 this past Friday.
SoCCer | nd 4, virginia Tech 1
Aubrey’s hat trick shines in win over Hokies
By R.J. STEMPAK sports writer
a midst a light drizzle at the opening whistle, no. 1 notre d ame began its acc slate Friday night when it hosted no. 15 v irginia Tech at a lumni stadium in a battle of unbeaten teams.
The i rish (5-0-0, 1-0-0 acc ) struck first to take an early lead over the hokies (4-1-0, 0-1-0 acc ). notre d ame earned the first corner kick of the game in the 13th minute. The cross by graduate student midfielder e van p anken bounced right to junior midfield b lake Townes, who was waiting right outside the box. Townes rocketed the ball off the side bar and into the back of the net for his first career goal.
“it was a really good strike,” Townes said. “i have been training in practice, getting the ball at the top of the box and then shooting. s o i just took my chance and buried it. i’m really happy, and hopefully i’ll score some more soon.”
v irginia Tech jumped right back into the action with
an overhead through ball to sophomore forward m arcelo a cuna, who fired a low shot on goal. i rish senior goalkeeper c hris hubbard stretched out and blocked the shot, however, for his first save of the game.
i mmediately after the hokies’ shot attempt, hubbard punted the ball back upfield to junior forward Jon g allagher, who drew a foul in the box. i n the 16th minute, senior defender brandon a ubrey netted the penalty kick — his fourth goal of the season — to extend the i rish i rish lead, 2-0.
Towards the end of the half, i rish senior midfielder o liver h arris fired a high shot on goal, only to be denied by hokie junior goalie b en l undgaard. The stop kept the score at 2-0 as the game went into halftime. The hokies and i rish both took four shots in the period, but hubbard led notre d ame’s defensive effort to keep v irginia Tech scoreless in the period.
notre dame swept its three matches at the a rt carmichael i nvitational at the university of r hode island this past weekend en route to its seventh victory of the year, matching the program’s win total from all of last season.
The i rish (7-2) opened the invitational with a dominating three-set victory over stony brook on Friday, 25-17, 25-14, 25-12. i rish junior setter caroline holt established the team’s tempo with five points as server — four via attack errors by the seawolves (2-9) and one from an ace — to put the i rish up 8-2 early in the first game. notre dame took control for the rest of the match, which saw just two lead changes due to a well-rounded i rish attack. Five players accounted for at least five kills, led by junior middle blocker sam Fry with nine, and supported by holt’s 32 assists.
playing san diego state on
woMen’S SoCCer | nd 2, sTanFord 2
l ittle’s heroics give i rish draws
By TOBIAS HOONHOUT sports writer
i n two displays of defensive fortitude, the n o. 20 i rish battled to earn two draws this weekend in c alifornia against s anta c lara on Friday and second-ranked s tanford on s unday. b oth games went to double overtime, and the defense, helped by 13 total saves by senior captain and goalie Kaela l ittle, held firm to keep the i rish in both games.
“ i thought we defended very well in both games,” n otre d ame head coach Theresa r omagnolo said. “ i thought we also had chances in both games to win it, but we didn’t convert, but what i loved [about s tanford] was the fight that we showed to come back from being down twice with two quality finishes.”
o n Friday night, the team faced off against a s anta c lara team that had been winless through its
past four games, and as the game opened the i rish looked to gain a quick advantage. o ffensively, however, the team was wasteful, only putting one of eight shots on target. o n the other side, n otre d ame’s defense was largely untroubled, as s anta c lara only managed one shot in the first 45 minutes.
i n the second half, however, the b roncos began to grow into the game, and l ittle was called on to make several saves from s anta c lara junior midfielder Jordan Jesolva. The i rish tried to break the deadlock and came close in the 84th minute with a try by freshman forward Jennifer w estendorf, but the effort was saved by b ronco freshman keeper m elissa l owder.
i n overtime, s anta c lara had several good chances to win, but l ittle played the hero once again, denying
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
Irish sophomore libero Ryann DeJarld keeps the ball in play during a match against Coastal Carolina at Purcell Pavilion on Sept. 2.
KATHLEEN DONAHUE | The Observer Senior defender Brandon Aubrey dribbles past a New Mexico player during a game at Alumni Stadium on
1-0 and were crowned champions of the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament.
