Notre Dame, ghost breeding ground
Ghost stories, narratives of university legends roaming campus with unfinished business and student-spun tall tales all add mystique to university campuses across the United States. Matthew Swayne, author of the new book “America’s Haunted Universities: Ghosts that Roam Hallowed Halls,” became intrigued by such stories while researching a Halloween-themed newspaper piece. “The actual idea took shape … trying to find some material for a Halloween issue, I found some stories about a nearby university, Penn State,” he said. “I was born on Halloween, so I suppose that has something to do with [writing the book].” Swayne said he was struck by the number of eerie stories he dug up while researching what would become his book, especially because people usually think of universities as havens of science and reason, not the supernatural. “Why are there so many ghost stories on campus? It fascinated me so much that I started collecting stories from other universities,” he said. “I also read a lot about the folklore and what role that plays into the creation and spread of ghost stories.” The University of Notre Dame and its host of ghost stories caught Swayne’s attention. “I visited the Notre Dame campus a few years ago and it just had that historic, spiritual aura that I knew was going to make fertile ground for haunted tales,” he said. Swayne said campus is very active in terms of folklore and myth but also in a supernatural sense, according to some students he met during his visits to Notre Dame. “There are some wild tales, spirits of Native Americans roaming around looking for their burial grounds,” he said. “There are ghost horses – a bit unusual for college campuses.” Two of Notre Dame’s most famous ghosts, “The Gipper” and University founder Fr. Edward Sorin, play central roles in both fact and legend as well as in the supernatural history of campus, Swayne said. “If I were taking a ghost tour on campus, I would want to see Washington Hall where George “The Gipper” Gipp has reportedly been seen … I’d also check out Main Building where Fr. Sorin is said to hang out,” he said. “On the creepier side, a few students have reported their interaction with the spirit world … a couple accounts of anomalous activity, like being pushed by an unseen hand or hearing odd sounds or voices when they were alone.” Swayne said he believes Notre Dame’s strong Catholic identity also contributes to the traditions of campus mythology. “One thing I found is that universities with an extremely rich history and a well-developed sense of culture have a rich supernatural legacy,” he said. “I also wonder whether the heightened sense of spirituality at Notre Dame doesn’t play a role in the University’s ghost lore.” While some students might find haunted tales at their college disconcerting, Swayne said such supernatural legends set schools apart from the rest. “Overall it adds to what I call the aura of a school,” he said. “Only great schools have ghosts.”
“However, the evidence needs to be gathered and interpreted, and we continue to support this.”Any change in the WHO’s assessment of risk of transmission could affect its current advice on keeping 1-meter of physical distancing. Governments, which rely on the agency for guidance policy, may also have to adjust public health measures aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.Van Kerkhove said the WHO would publish a scientific brief summarizing the state of knowledge on modes of transmission of the virus in the coming days.”A comprehensive package of interventions is required to be able to stop transmission,” she said.”This includes not only physical distancing, it includes the use of masks where appropriate in certain settings, specifically where you can’t do physical distancing and especially for healthcare workers.” The World Health Organization on Tuesday acknowledged “evidence emerging” of the airborne spread of the novel coronavirus, after a group of scientists urged the global body to update its guidance on how the respiratory disease passes between people.”We have been talking about the possibility of airborne transmission and aerosol transmission as one of the modes of transmission of COVID-19,” Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on the COVID-19 pandemic at the WHO, told a news briefing.The WHO has previously said the virus that causes the COVID-19 respiratory disease spreads primarily through small droplets expelled from the nose and mouth of an infected person that quickly sink to the ground. Topics :
But in an open letter to the Geneva-based agency, published on Monday in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal, 239 scientists in 32 countries outlined evidence that they say shows floating virus particles can infect people who breathe them in.Because those smaller exhaled particles can linger in the air, the scientists are urging WHO to update its guidance.Speaking at Tuesday’s briefing in Geneva, Benedetta Allegranzi, the WHO’s technical lead for infection prevention and control, said there was evidence emerging of airborne transmission of the coronavirus, but that it was not definitive.”…The possibility of airborne transmission in public settings – especially in very specific conditions, crowded, closed, poorly ventilated settings that have been described, cannot be ruled out,” she said.
Aubrey Kragen is a senior majoring in communication. She is also the sports editor of the Daily Trojan. Her column, “Release the Kragen,” runs Fridays. It’s that time of the season again: time for hordes of rowdy USC students and proud alumni to take over the Bay Area for the annual Weekender.Though the trip to San Francisco is always entertaining, this year might shape up to be the best Weekender game in the last four years.Since I was a spring admit my freshman year, I didn’t make the trip in 2011 — I just watched the game on TV. USC played against California at San Francisco’s AT&T Park while Cal’s Memorial Stadium was being renovated. I was especially excited to watch the game to see Cal safety Stefan McClure play, since he went to my rival high school and torched us on offense and defense every year.USC cruised past an outmatched Cal team by a score of 30-9. A young Marqise Lee beat McClure down the sideline for a 39-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter, and my love affair with the Weekender began.But 2012 was a rough year for my relationship with the Weekender. You could say the Weekender cheated on me. You could say I walked in on the Weekender cheating on me in my own bed.The trip started off with my car breaking down, and I should have known it was doomed from the start. My friends and I were stranded on the side of the freeway in the middle of nowhere until a tow truck took us to Bakersfield, the home of then-backup quarterback Cody Kessler.I still think Kessler and that Pep Boys are the only redeeming things about that city.The game at Stanford the next day added insult to injury. USC had entered the season ranked No. 1 in the country and was ranked No. 2 at the time despite taking care of business in its first two games. (I’m looking at you, Associated Press and Coaches Polls.) Stanford was ranked No. 21 following Andrew Luck’s departure for the NFL. Matt Barkley had come back for his senior season, and USC’s athletic department was already deep into its “Barkley for Heisman” campaign.Despite looking mediocre all game, the Trojans held a 14-7 lead in the third quarter, but then everything started going wrong — Stanford tied the game up at the end of the third quarter and went ahead 21-14 early in the fourth.Barkley’s Heisman hopes were over after he threw two picks and failed to lead USC down the field in the last few minutes. “Tailback U” put up a total of 26 rush yards. The sold out Stanford crowd rushed the field, and the USC students in the stands stood there, mouths agape, crushed.That game turned out to be the beginning of the end for USC in 2012. The team sputtered to a 7-6 finish, including losses to Arizona, Oregon, Notre Dame and UCLA, and fell completely out of the national rankings by the end. I look back on that game and shudder, and I’m sure you all do too.But all of the fans who made it out to the 2013 Weekender knew that the result would turn out better. At the time, Cal was 1-8, with its sole win coming against Portland State. USC, on the other hand, was 6-3 and was infused with a new energy under interim head coach Ed Orgeron.My friends and I spent all of Friday in the city, bumping into Trojan fans everywhere and filling Fisherman’s Wharf with “Fight On” cheers. We also fell victim to the infamous Bushman jumping out at us. I won’t pretend I didn’t scream like a little girl.And the game? It was a blast.Trojans swarmed the Cal tailgates down the hill from Memorial Stadium, which was a sign of the game to come. USC had a field day with the Bears, running up a 62-28 score.My cousin had just transferred to Cal to play defensive end, so it was the first time I got to see him play (and he got wrecked — sorry, Kyle). I spent the entire third quarter sitting across from USC’s student section with my grandparents, uncle and cousin. I profusely apologized for how badly we were beating the Bears, since my grandpa is a lifelong Cal fan.This year, No. 14 USC heads to No. 13 Stanford, which is coming off a 45-0 walloping of UC Davis in its first game. The Kevin Hogan-led Cardinal will surely provide a formidable opponent. The game will serve as a litmus test for first-year head coach Steve Sarkisian’s offense and will prove Kessler’s true worth this season.If you’re reading this in print, that means you’re probably not headed up to the game, but I hope you all make it up to the Weekender at least once in your college career.Fight On and Beat the Farm!